GB2331009A

GB2331009A - Urinal

Info

Publication number: GB2331009A
Application number: GB9723372A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hugh Flint
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-11-06
Filing date: 1997-11-06
Publication date: 1999-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 2017-11-06
Also published as: GB9723372D0; GB2331009B

Abstract

A urinal comprises a head portion (4) and means (2,6,10) for mounting the head portion such that its height and/or orientation can be adjusted. The head portion 4 is arranged for a gentleman to urinate into it and has an internal surface arranged to present an oblique incident surface to the urine. The head portion (4) is preferably provided with a tubular flange (18) which extends around its opening, the tubular flange being formed with an inlet (20) for receiving a supply of flushing water from a supply pipe (12) and a plurality of outlets (22).

Description

Urinal The present invention relates to a gentleman's urinal.

Virtually all modern homes are fitted with a conventional lavatory bowl at which a gentleman will stand to urinate. As lavatory bowls are intended primarily to be sat upon, neither their shape nor their positioning is particularly suitable for standing use.

Whilst public gentlemen's lavatories are typically fitted with upright urinal arrangements which might easily be adapted for domestic use, these arrangements take up a considerable amount of space, and the arrangement of their incident surfaces do not always prevent splashing which may soil a gentleman's clothing.

Furthermore, both conventional lavatory bowl and urinal arrangements comprise large incident surfaces over which a flow of cleaning water must be distributed for flushing, and are therefore wasteful of natural resources.

I have now devised a urinal which overcomes the limitations of existing lavatory arrangements.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a urinal comprising a head portion and means for mounting said head portion such that its height and/or orientation can be adjusted, the head portion being arranged for a gentleman to urinate into it and having an internal surface arranged to present an oblique incident surface to the urine.

By adjusting the height and/or orientation of the head portion of this urinal, a gentleman may position himself very close to the head portion and thus the dimensions of the head portion may be made relatively small. The angle between the urinating gentleman and the incident surface of the head portion interior may therefore be more acute than would be possible if the incident surface were larger so that the likelihood of splashing is reduced.

Also, the urinal may comprise means for supplying a flow of water to the head portion to flush its interior, in which case the amount of water required for flushing a smaller urinal head will be less than that required by a conventional arrangement having a much larger surface area.

Preferably the internal surface of the head portion is arranged such that, regardless of its height or orientation, it will only ever present an oblique incident surface to the urinating gentleman.

Preferably the interior of the head portion comprises a substantially frusto-conical portion tapering from a drainage outlet at its apex towards a cylindrical portion extending outwards from its distal end.

Preferably the urinal comprises means for releasibly securing the head portion to an upright surface, for example to the side of a toilet cistern or to a wall.

Preferably the urinal includes means responsive to movement of the head portion from a rest position to cause a flow of water to the head portion to flush its interior.

Preferably the urinal comprises a drainage pipe along the exterior or interior of which a second pipe extends to supply flushing water to the head portion. Preferably the head portion comprises a circumferential channel for distributing the flow of flushing water evenly over the interior surface of the head portion.

Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a lavatory arrangement comprising a conventional lavatory bowl and cistern arrangement and a urinal comprising a head portion of adjustable height and/or orientation into which a gentleman may urinate and whose internal surface is arranged to present an oblique incident surface to the urine, the urinal being arranged to discharge directly into the drainage outlet of the lavatory bowl.

Preferably the lavatory arrangement comprises means for supplying a flow of water to the head portion of the urinal to flush its interior.

Preferably the flow of water to the head portion of the urinal is derived from the supply of water to the cistern.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of an example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a urinal in accordance with the present invention fitted to a wall; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the head portion of the urinal of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional through the head portion of the urinal.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a gentleman's urinal is shown comprising a drainage pipe 2 formed with an enlarged head portion 4 which is secured by a bracket 6 to a wall 8, so that the head portion normally resides at a height corresponding roughly to that of a gentleman's waist.

The pipe 2 comprises a flexible joint 10 which allows the head portion 4 to be released from its mounting bracket 6 for use, and pivoted forwards towards a gentleman stood facing the wall. Means (not shown) are provided to respond to the release and/or pivoting the urinal forwards to cause a flow of flushing water to be supplied to the head portion via a supply pipe 12.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the head portion of the urinal comprises a substantially frusto-conical portion 14 tapering outwardly from the drainage pipe 2 towards a cylindrical portion 16 extending outwards from its distal end.

The head portion is provided with a tubular flange 18 which extends around its opening, the tubular flange being formed with an inlet 20 for receiving a supply of flushing water from the supply pipe 12, and a plurality of outlets e.g.

22, spaced equidistantly around the circumference of the head portion, for distributing the flushing water over its interior surface.

In use, provided that the head portion 4 is inclined upwards towards its opening, both urine and flushing water are washed outwards from the head portion through the drainage pipe 2.

The arrangement thus described provides an alternative gentleman's urinal which is more economical in terms of the amount of space and flushing water it requires, and which also reduces considerably the risk of the gentleman's clothing becoming soiled from splashing.

Claims

Claims 1) A urinal comprising a head portion and means for mounting said head portion such that its height and/or orientation can be adjusted, said head portion being arranged for a gentleman to urinate into it and having an internal surface arranged to present an oblique incident surface to the urine.
2) A urinal as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the internal surface of said head portion is arranged such that, regardless of its height or orientation, it will only ever present an oblique incident surface to the urinating gentleman.
3) A urinal as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the interior of said head portion comprises a substantially frustoconical portion tapering from a drainage outlet at its apex towards a cylindrical portion extending outwards from its distal end.
4) A urinal as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising means for releasibly securing said head portion to an upright surface.
5) A urinal as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising means for providing a flow of water to said head portion to flush its interior.
6) A urinal as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said means for providing a flow of water to said head portion are arranged to respond to movement of said head portion from a rest position to provide said flow of water.
7) A urinal as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein said head portion comprises a circumferential channel for distributing said flow of flushing water evenly over the interior surface of said head portion.
8) A urinal as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 7, comprising a drainage pipe along the exterior or interior of which a second pipe extends to supply flushing water to said head portion.
9) A urinal substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
10) A lavatory arrangement comprising a conventional lavatory bowl and cistern arrangement and a urinal comprising a head portion of adjustable height and/or orientation into which a gentleman may urinate and whose internal surface is arranged to present an oblique incident surface to the urine, said urinal being arranged to discharge directly into the drainage outlet of said lavatory bowl.
11) A lavatory arrangement as claimed in Claim 10, comprising means for supplying a flow of water to said head portion of said urinal to flush its interior.
12) A lavatory arrangement as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said flow of water to said head portion of said urinal is derived from the supply of water to said cistern.