Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
  • E03C—DOMESTIC PLUMBING INSTALLATIONS FOR FRESH WATER OR WASTE WATER; SINKS
  • E03C1/00—Domestic plumbing installations for fresh water or waste water; Sinks
  • E03C1/12—Plumbing installations for waste water; Basins or fountains connected thereto; Sinks
  • E03C1/28—Odour seals
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
  • B25B—TOOLS OR BENCH DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, FOR FASTENING, CONNECTING, DISENGAGING OR HOLDING
  • B25B33/00—Hand tools not covered by any other group in this subclass
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
  • E03C—DOMESTIC PLUMBING INSTALLATIONS FOR FRESH WATER OR WASTE WATER; SINKS
  • E03C1/00—Domestic plumbing installations for fresh water or waste water; Sinks
  • E03C1/12—Plumbing installations for waste water; Basins or fountains connected thereto; Sinks
  • E03C1/28—Odour seals
  • E03C1/281—Odour seals using other sealants than water
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
  • E03D—WATER-CLOSETS OR URINALS WITH FLUSHING DEVICES; FLUSHING VALVES THEREFOR
  • E03D9/00—Sanitary or other accessories for lavatories ; Devices for cleaning or disinfecting the toilet room or the toilet bowl; Devices for eliminating smells

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a tool for insertion and removal of a cartridge into and from such a device as a waterless urinal.
• Waterless urinals such as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,644,339 and No. 6,xxx,xxx [Serial No. 09/855,735 (filed 14 May 2001)] and United States Patent Application, Serial No. 10/143,103 (filed 07 May 2002), employ a cartridge which may or may not include a urine diverter to prevent impingement of urine on the sealant contained within the cartridge. Because of the snug emplacement of such cartridges in the urinal, it is often difficult to insert and remove them into and from the urinal, especially in a sanitary manner.
• the present invention is directed to address and overcome this and other problems by utilizing a simple tool which is engageable with the upper wall of the cartridge and placeable over a diverter which may have been secured to the upper wall.
• the tool employs fingers which are adapted to mesh with holes or openings in the upper wall.
• FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a urinal as represented by its wall, a cartridge set in the urinal wall, and a urine diverter positioned on the cartridge and secured to its upper wall;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective of the cartridge as viewed from its top side;
• FIG. 3 is a perspective of a first embodiment of a tool for inserting and removing the cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 into and from the urinal;
• FIGS. 4-6 respectively are top, front and side views of the tool illustrated in FIG. 3;
• FIG. 7 is a view, in perspective, of the tool depicted in FIG. 3 coupled to the cartridge depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2;
• FIG. 8 is an enlarged view, in perspective, illustrating the coupling mechanism effective to engage the tool with the upper surface of the cartridge
• FIG. 9 is a view in partial cross-section showing the engagement of the tip of the tool portrayed in FIG. 3 engaged within the opening in the cartridge upper wall
• FIG. 10 is a perspective of a second embodiment of a tool employed to insert and remove the cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 into and from the urinal
• FIGS. 11 and 12 respectively are front and side views of the tool illustrated in FIG. 10
• FIG. 13 is a view of the cartridge-engaging tip portion of the tool taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 12
• FIG. 14 is a view of the portion of the tool taken orthogonally to that shown in FIG. 13;
• FIG. 15 is an exploded view, in perspective, of the tool depicted in FIGS. 10-14;
• FIG. 16 is a view, in perspective, of the tool depicted in FIG. 10-15 coupled to the cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;
• FIG. 17 is a view in partial cross-section showing the engagement of the tip of the tool portrayed in FIG. 10-15 engaged within the opening in the cartridge upper wall;
• FIG. 18 is a perspective of a third embodiment of a tool employed to insert and remove the cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 into and from the urinal;
• FIGS. 19-21 are front, side and top views of the tool depicted in FIG. 18;
• FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the tool taken along line 22-22 of FIG.
• an odor trap 40 comprises a cartridge 42, which is sometimes referred to as an "oil sealant-preserving drain odor trap.”
• Cartridge 42 is provided with an upper wall 44 in which a central opening 46 may be disposed.
• Opening 46 may comprise a simple hole or one configured as a tripartite arrangement of three arced slots 46a, 46b and 46c, centered about a generally horizontal flat center portion 48 as best shown in FIG. 2.
• cartridge 42 is disposed to receive urine through central opening 46 and thereafter transported to a drain which is connected to a urinal, such as represented by urinal walls 49, in a manner as described in patents 6,644,339, 6,053,197, 6,245,411 , 6,644,339 and 6,xxx,xxx [Serial No. 09/855,735 (filed 14 May 2001)].
• a urine diverter 50 as generally depicted in FIG.
• Diverter 50 includes a shell 52, a urine level detector, comprising a float 54 and a see-through protective cap 56, and, if desired, a deodorant and/or sanitizing tablet 58 and a tablet retainer 60 for retaining the tablet within shell 52.
• the diverter is slightly spaced from upper wall 44 of cartridge 42 to assure a clear path for flow of the urine and to space retainer 60 and tablet 58 from the cartridge upper wall. Such spacing is effected by use of a standoff 62 which depends from shell 52.
• diverters While a specific diverter is depicted herein, other diverters may be employed herein, both of which are described in copending patent application, Serial No. xx/xxx,xxx [a continuation- in-part of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/535,463 filed 09 January 2004 (Docket No.7148-117A-US)], and it is to be understood that any similarly functioning diverter may also be utilized.
• At least two diametrically opposed holes or openings 64 are formed in cartridge upper wall 44 and are used in conjunction with the cartridge insertion and removal tool of the present invention. Holes 64 may also be used in conjunction with a third hole, all of which act as air vents that communicate with the interior of cartridge 40, as described similarly in above-noted co-pending U.S.
• tool 120 comprises a U-shaped holder 124, to which a pair of opening-engaging elements 126 are secured and from which they extend. Opening-engaging elements 126 are embodied as cartridge-engaging tips or prongs.
• a shaft 122 is joined to holder 124 and to a handle 125 for manipulation of the tool.
• Elements or tips 126 are provided with rectangular shapes in cross-section and are further configured to form hooked ends 128.
• the holes in cartridge upper wall 44 and similarly configured into rectangularly-configured holes 64a.
• Tool 120 can accordingly be manipulated to effect a grasping engagement of hook-shaped tips 126 with diametrically opposed holes 64a, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7-9.
• tool 120 comprises a U-shaped holder 224, to which a pair of opening-engaging elements 226 are secured and from which they extend. Opening-engaging elements 126 are embodied as cartridge-engaging tips or prongs.
• the holder terminus, from which tips 226 extend, is formed as a pair of slanted ends 228, as best seen in FIG. 13.
• a shaft 222 is joined to holder 224 and to a handle 225 for manipulation of the tool.
• Tips 226 are bent at an angle from the main body of holder 224 and thereby, when manipulated, are adapted to engage and grip diametrically opposed holes 64, as shown in FIGS. 1 , 16 and 17. Manipulation of tool 220, when tips 226 are inserted into cartridge upper wall holes 64, is aided by the slants of ends 228. By twisting tool 220, when secured to cartridge upper wall 44, cartridge 42 can be inserted into or extracted from urinal 49. Referring finally to FIGS. 10-17, tool 320 comprises a wire core insert 322
• FIGS. 23-25 which is encapsulated within a plastic holder 324 and which terminates in cartridge-engaging tips or prongs 326 that act as opening- engaging elements.
• the holder has a U-shaped configuration which, in a manner that is comparable to the prior two embodiments, employs a pair of shaft-like portions 327 joined at a handle 325 to form a shaft-handle combination. Tips 326 are bent at an angle from the main body of insert 322. When insert 322 is so encapsulated, only its cartridge-engaging tips 326 extend from the holder. Tips 326 are bent and, thereby when so manipulated, are adapted to engage and grip one of a pair of two diametrically opposed holes 64, as shown in FIGS.
• holes or openings 64 and 64a are illustrated as being diametrically opposed from one another and the several fingers or cartridge-engaging tips 126, 226 and 326 are likewise arranged to accommodate the holes, these inter- engageable elements may be otherwise arranged, e.g., the holes may be located at angles other than 180° from one another or numbered differently from two along with accordingly matched tools and their tips.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
• Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Sanitary Device For Flush Toilet (AREA)
• Investigating Or Analysing Biological Materials (AREA)
• Bidet-Like Cleaning Device And Other Flush Toilet Accessories (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34811310

Family Applications (3)

Family Applications Before (2)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (21)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2005
  • 2005-01-09 KR KR1020067015282A patent/KR20060135728A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2005-01-09 WO PCT/US2005/000594 patent/WO2005071172A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-01-09 WO PCT/US2005/000723 patent/WO2005071173A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-01-09 WO PCT/US2005/000593 patent/WO2005071171A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2005-01-09 EP EP05705313A patent/EP1713983A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-01-09 JP JP2006549450A patent/JP2007518005A/ja active Pending
  • 2005-01-09 US US11/032,307 patent/US20050229297A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2006
  • 2006-08-09 CO CO06078327A patent/CO5721025A2/es not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (3)

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