ITUA20163446A1 - HYGIENIZATION DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR SANITARY AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND ITS FILLING PROCEDURE. - Google Patents

Description

"SANITIZATION DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR SANITARY AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND RELATED FILLING PROCEDURE"

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a sanitizing device, particularly for sanitary ware and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a sanitizing device capable of releasing a sanitizing product following the passage of water in contact with it or through it, and to a method for filling the device itself.

As is known, devices are used for sanitizing sanitary ware which comprise a sort of cage inside which a tablet sanitizing product is arranged.

The device is hooked to the sanitary in such a way as to remain in contact with the internal wall of the sanitary, in particular in a position that corresponds to a water passage point.

When the water is discharged, the water laps or passes through the tablet containment device and the tablet releases sanitizing product to sanitize the toilet.

Currently, sanitizing devices comprise wire-hood-type containers suitable for housing a tablet product consisting of a gradual-release sanitizing product. This tablet is typically made of solid material, housed in the cage, which melts when the water passes.

Such tablets, however, have several problems.

In the first place, the tablets have an unpleasant aesthetic, being opaque and their external appearance worsens as they wear out.

Furthermore, the tablets are made using inert materials such as sodium carbonate, sodium sulphate, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, etc., in order to give a solid consistency. These inert substances do not have a purpose linked to the performance of the product, but only serve to ensure that the latter has a solid consistency. However, on the other hand, some of the inert substances used tend to run and therefore leave unwanted streaks on the internal surface of the sanitary ware.

Moreover, given the solid nature and rich in inorganic substances of the tablet, the latter is very dense, with the drawback that in order to have a tablet of sufficient volume it is necessary to use a relatively high quantity by weight of the product, with consequent high costs.

Still further, the presence of inert and anionic surfactants does not constitute a factor that favors the yield of the perfume during the use of the tablet, and the perfume is one of the most important characteristics for attracting the consumer.

An alternative solution known in the art for the sanitation of sanitary ware concerns the use of gel, that is of adhesive substances in semi-solid form, applied directly on the internal surface of the sanitary ware. However, these solutions too are not free from drawbacks. In particular, the application of gel directly on the wall of the sanitary fixture entails the need to come into contact with the wall itself, a situation that is often unwelcome for the user regardless of the cleanliness conditions of the sanitary fixture. Furthermore, the application of a dose of gel on the wall is a much more complex operation than attaching a cage to the sanitary itself, as it involves exerting sufficient pressure, so as to make the dose of gel adhere to the wall, and a minimum of dexterity in handling the gel application device, be it in the form of a syringe (single-dose or multidose) or in the form of a blister.

Finally, liquid tablets are known, the content of which is therefore aqueous and without inert materials. These tablets also contain viscous liquids but have the drawback of having to be handled like a liquid and therefore the container that receives them must be perfectly closed and in order to obtain the desired sanitizing effect, complex and expensive mechanisms must be provided to allow the release. gradual flow of the liquid in use.

On the other hand, sanitizing devices are not currently available comprising a container body of the cage type with openings suitable for directly collecting the water and for directly releasing the product washed out therefrom and housing a sanitizing gel product. This is due to the fact that the gel product is very difficult to load into the container body, since, upon its insertion into the container body, which is suitably provided with slits for the gradual release of the product, the gel immediately stretches to pour out of the container body itself, making it substantially impossible to load the container body with the gel product.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a process for filling a sanitizing device with a gel product, which overcomes the problems highlighted above with reference to the known art.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for filling a sanitizing device for sanitary ware, in which the device has all the advantages of the gel without however requiring the user to come into direct contact with the inner wall of a sanitary.

Not least object of the present invention is to provide a method for filling a sanitizing device for sanitary ware which is highly reliable, relatively simple to manufacture and at competitive costs.

This task, as well as these and other purposes which will appear better below, are achieved by a process for filling a sanitizing device, characterized in that it comprises the steps which consist in:

providing a container body suitable for containing a gel sanitizing product, said container body being affected by slits designed to allow direct access of a flow of water into the toilet and the gradual release of said sanitizing product, said slits having a maximum width such as to prevent the gel product from escaping upon loading said gel product into said container body;

heat a gel product;

pour said gel product into said container body, in such a way that the gel product initially comes into contact with a region of said container body substantially free of slits or with slits having a maximum width such as to prevent the gel product from escaping at the act of loading the gel product into the container body;

allowing the gel product to expand inside said container body and reach a final viscosity with cooling of at least 50 Pa * s.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the sanitizing device according to the present invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a further perspective view of the device of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a rear view of the device of Figures 1-3;

Figure 5 is a front view of the device of Figures 1-4.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Figure 7 is a side view of the device of Figure 6;

figure 8 illustrates in a further perspective view the device of figures 6 and 7;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Figure 10 is a side view of the device of Figure 9;

Figure 11 illustrates in a further perspective view the device of Figures 9 and 10;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the device according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the sanitizing device according to the invention, globally indicated by the reference number 1, comprises a container body 2 able to define a sort of cage for a sanitizing product, and a support stem 3, connected to the container body 2 , and adapted to be hooked to the edge of a sanitary. The general term "sanitizing device" is intended to indicate a sanitizing and / or perfuming and / or cleaning device.

The support stem 3 can be made angled with respect to the front surface of the container body 2, as illustrated in Figures 1-3, or it can be aligned with the front surface of the container body 2.

Conveniently, the container body 2 is suitable for containing a sanitizing gel product 4.

Conveniently, the container body 2 is provided with a plurality of slits 5 suitable for allowing the release of the gel sanitizing product 4, with the slits being advantageously arranged in correspondence with the bottom surface of the container body 2, i.e. the surface suitable for being facing the wall of the sanitary ware to which the sanitizing device is applied.

Conveniently, the slits 5 are arranged so as to leave a central region 6 of the container body full, with the slits 5 extending laterally thereto.

This particular configuration of the slits 5 allows the container body 2 to be filled without the gel product 4 leaking immediately through the slits 5, as will be described in detail below.

Advantageously, it is possible to provide, at the bottom surface of the container body 2, slits 5 which can also be continuous at the bottom of the container body 2, provided that they are made of a particular size, as will be described in detail below.

A further variant of the slits 5 provided at the bottom of the container body 2 provides that the slits widen upwards with respect to the pouring direction of the gel product, i.e. in correspondence with the edge regions of the container body: in this case the slits widen into a region 7, arranged for example orthogonal to the development of the slits.

The size of the slits is extremely important to ensure that when pouring the gel product, which must be loaded into the container body 2, the product does not come out of the slits themselves.

In order to avoid this drawback, and therefore make it possible to produce a sanitizing device with a gel product loaded therein, the slits 5 can have various shapes and sizes, with a dimensional limit of 2 mm in width.

Basically, the previously indicated dimensional limit of 2 mm for the width of the slits 5 ensures that, when the gel product 4 is poured into the body 2 of the container, the product does not come out of the slits themselves.

To this end, the gel is suitably heated and cast at a certain temperature so that it is at the same time pourable but at the same time as viscous as possible.

The heating temperature to which the gel is heated must be such that at the time of pouring the gel has a minimum viscosity of 500 mPa * s.

Basically, what is desired is to have a heating temperature of the gel such that the gel can have a viscosity that allows it not to pour through the slits 5 once it is loaded into the container body 2.

The actual filling temperature of the container body varies according to the composition of the gel. For example, aqueous gels containing ethoxylated alcohols may require temperatures between 75 ° and 80 ° C for casting; for other gels, temperatures below 60 ° C may suffice. The important aspect is that the gel is poured into the cage at a viscosity which is higher than 500 mPa * s or even more preferably higher, between 800 and 1200 mPa * s.

The maximum width of 2 mm foreseen for the slits 5 allows the gel not to pour, as mentioned, when it is loaded into the container body 2, but at the same time allows to guarantee the functionality, that is the passage of the water once the gel tablet is in use.

The procedure for pouring the gel into the container body 2 can provide, in addition to the above-indicated heating of the gel, also possibly the expedient of pouring the gel initially in correspondence with a region where there are no cracks or there are cracks of very reduced thickness. , in such a way as to give the gel time to form a certain mass such that it has more difficulty in exiting the slits once the gel mass reaches the region where the slits are arranged.

In the case of the embodiment where the slits 5 are interrupted in correspondence with a region defined on the bottom surface of the container body 2, it is appropriate to provide for the gel to be poured exactly in this region substantially free of slits 5, and therefore to allow the mass to gel to then flow towards the area of the slits once the gel has created such a mass as to prevent the gel product from dripping through the slits 5.

In the case of the embodiment where the slits 5 widen into an enlarged slit portion 7, this slit portion 7 will have a maximum dimension even greater than the 2 mm previously indicated, since this slit portion 7 is located in a region of the container body 2 at its edges, a region that is reached by the mass of gel loaded into the container body 2 when this mass is no longer able to flow through the slits, even if the slits 5 have a size greater than 2 mm.

The viscosity of the gel during filling should preferably be about 800-1200 mPa * s measured with a Haake VT550 MV2 viscometer at 5s-1.

This value is also indicative and not limiting of the preferred gel viscosity.

What is extremely important is that during the pouring phase, the gel must initially meet a surface that is locally closed or provided with sufficiently small slots to prevent the gel from escaping, and then progressively fills the containment device also in correspondence with the slits 5.

In practice it has been found that the sanitizing device according to the present invention and the relative filling method fully accomplish the intended aim and objects.

In fact, the device according to the invention allows it to be loaded with a tablet made with a gel product, with the gel product which is loaded into the container body of the sanitizing device without the gel product coming out of the product release slits. act of loading.

This is due both to a particular choice of the maximum width dimension of the slits and to a particular choice of the method of loading the gel product, which provides that the loading takes place initially on very thin slits or in a region substantially free of slits and then let the gel mass flow into the other regions of the container (cage) as the mass is now significant and no longer able to flow through the slits themselves.

The use of gel inside a device of the type illustrated allows to overcome both the problems of the known art as regards the use of solid type sanitizing tablets, and the problems related to the use of liquid tablets that require a completely closed container, and the problems related to the use of gel applied directly on a wall of the sanitary ware.

In fact, the characteristics of the gel allow to create containment devices also open or partially open, for example with numerous openings in the upper and lower part of the cage (with respect to the flow of water) and to exploit the rheological characteristics of the gel that allow it to be stable. permanence inside a perforated container, even under the effect of water flows. In the same way, the convenience of applying a cage-like device to the sanitary remains unchanged, which does not require particular dexterity or the need to come into contact with the internal wall of the sanitary fixture to directly apply a dose of gel.

The device and the method thus conceived are susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the attached claims.

Furthermore, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In particular, the person skilled in the art easily understands that the shape of the container body, as well as the dimensions and shapes of the slits, can be multiple according to the filling method adopted and the composition of the gel. For example, it is possible to provide a container body shape with internal walls arranged "in a labyrinth", such that the gel is poured in correspondence with these walls and reaches a sufficiently solid state before arriving in proximity to the slits necessary for the passage of the 'water.

Figure 12 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the container body 2 is equipped, in correspondence with its upper surface, adapted to face towards the opening of the sanitary fixture, with a plurality of walls 10 arranged in a labyrinth, staggered between them. In this case the container body is shaped like a "boat" and the walls 10 are configured as vertical vanes.

Figure 13 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention, similar to that of Figure 12, with the walls 10 provided with holes 11 or slits 12.

Figure 14 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the device according to the invention, similar to those of Figures 12 and 13, in which the slits 5 defined on the container body 2 have a different orientation.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

Claims (8)

R I V E N D I C A Z I O N I 1. Process for filling a sanitizing device (1), characterized in that it comprises the steps which consist of: providing a container body (2) suitable for containing a gel sanitizing product (4), said container body (2) being affected by slits (5) suitable for allowing the gradual release of said sanitizing product (4), said slits (5 ) having a maximum width such as to prevent the gel product (4) from escaping when loading said gel product into said container body (2); heating a gel product (4); pour said gel product (4) into said container body (2), so that the gel product (4) initially comes into contact with a region of said container body (2) substantially free of slits or with slits ( 5) having a maximum width such as to prevent the escape of the gel product (4) upon loading the gel product into the container body (2); let the gel product (4) expand inside said container body (2) and reach a final viscosity with cooling of at least 50 Pa * s. 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said gel product (4) is heated to a temperature such as to obtain a viscosity of the gel product (4) sufficient to prevent said gel product from escaping from the slits (5) of said container body (2) when it is poured into said container body. 3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said gel product (4) has a minimum viscosity at 20 ° c of 50 Pa * s. 4. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slits (5) have a maximum width of 2 miri. 5. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slits (5) are defined in correspondence with the bottom surface of said container body (2). 6. Process according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said slits (5} are defined at the bottom surface of said container body, with an interruption at one of its central regions (6). 7. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slits (5) widen at the edges of said container body. 8. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said container body (2) is equipped, in correspondence with one of its upper surface, adapted to face towards the opening of the sanitary ware, with a plurality of walls {10 } arranged in a labyrinth, staggered between them.