WO2012053920A1

WO2012053920A1 - Combination of cleansing product and water displacement device for toilet cistern

Info

Publication number: WO2012053920A1
Application number: PCT/PT2011/000034
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maria Filomena Figueira Da Silva
Original assignee: Maria Filomena Figueira Da Silva
Priority date: 2010-10-18
Filing date: 2011-10-11
Publication date: 2012-04-26
Also published as: PT105343A

Abstract

The present invention is characterized by a lavatory cleansing product, an absorbent material contained within a flexible container (1) and a mounting hook (4); when the flexible container is submerged in the water tank of the toilet, the absorbent material begins to absorb the water that passes through the perforations of the flexible container and once the lavatory cleansing product that has a controlled ionic concentration is diluted it forms a cleaning solution that does not affect the absorption capacity of the absorbent material contained within the flexible container, and each time the toilet tank is emptied a small amount of cleaning solution is released and also saves a volume of water due to the volume of water displaced by the flexible container.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

COMBINATION OF CLEANSING PRODUCT AND WATER DISPLACEMENT DEVICE FOR TOILET

CISTERN

Technical Domain of the Invention

The present invention is referred to a water displacement device in water storage vessels, and a Lavatory cleansing product placed in water storage vessels such as flush cistern in sanitary installations and individual W. C. appliance.

This is a unique invention, which has the property to save water every time the toilet tank is emptied, while the toilet is cleaned and disinfected, fulfilling two functions with a single device.

Background of the invention

Water displacement devices started to be used because there has been a considerable emphasis in saving water in residential, commercial and educational premises. A modern W.C. cistern contains in excess of 6 litres of water and many older cisterns currently used contain from 9 litres up to 13 litres of water; this not only represents a considerable wastage of water being excessively burdensome upon water supply and waste water treatment installations, but it is also financially wasteful where water usage is measured by meters and the consumer pays for water according to the volume usage.

However, there is a problem regarding these water displacement devices: the plastic bag has a limited useful lifetime underwater and given the pressure forces it is subjected to, by the end of that period the bag might break inside the tank and its content would end up at the bottom of the toilet bowl and/or blocking the toilet valve. There is also a problem regarding water displacement devices that use superabsorbent polymers as absorbent material: when it is submerged in a cleaning/disinfectant solution, its absorption capacity and its liquid retention capacity is reduced up to 50% because the ionic concentration of the aqueous solution will significantly reduce the absorption ability of the superabsorbent polymers; this is due to the presence of valent cations in the solution that will impede the polymers ability to bond with the water molecule. Regarding the lavatory disinfectants, as they lose weight and contact surface they can break into small pieces and move away from their original position inside the toilet tank, and it may cause a blockage of the toilet flush valve and the reduction of its useful lifetime.

Nowadays there is a wide variety of products in the market used to disinfect toilets (including solid block disinfectants), and there are also products designed to save water inside the toilet tank. However, until now no product combines both properties, and given the fact that it is expected that the home cleaning market will have a moderate growth over the next few years and that these products are expected to perform better in terms of value, the proposed invention is an effective alternative to satisfy all these requirements.

Drawings Description

Figure 1 :

In this figure can be seen how the Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device should be placed inside the toilet cistern tank (1), taking care not to block the float (2) and the inlet valve (3), and holding the device inside the toilet tank with the mounting hook provided for that purpose (4) .

Detailed Description

Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device consists of a flexible container, a Lavatory cleansing product, an absorbent material, and mounting hook where the cleaning product and the absorbent material are placed inside the flexible container, and a mounting hook is attached to the flexible container.

The flexible container can have any shape or size and must be made out of any type of antioxidant material (preferably plastic or fabric) ; it must be placed in the toilet cistern tank in such way that the discharge valve and float filling are not obstructed (Figure 1), and must keep all its characteristics throughout the useful lifetime of the product. Likewise, the flexible container must have the ability to allow the entry of water and release a cleaning solution (consisting of water being in contact with the disinfectant contained in the flexible container) and should also be able to prevent the escape from the absorbent material or the toilet cleaner product contained in it.

The lavatory cleansing product of controlled ionic concentration used can be made out of granules, powders, liquids, gels, or any other form, capable of dissolving in water and create a cleaning solution that will not affect the absorption and retention capacity of the absorbent material and will allow to sanitize the toilet; it could also have some kind of dye, to give the user an indication that the device should be replaced when the intensity of colour in the water begins to diminish; also, the lavatory cleansing product may contain fragrance, germicidal agents, water softeners and/or limescale remover. It should be noted that the toilet cleaner product should be denser than water to help keep the flexible container submerged at the time of introducing it in the toilet tank.

It should be emphasized that the toilet cleaner product contained within a water displacement device must release their active ingredients to the water inside the toilet tank gradually, so it is desirable that the toilet cleaner product has a useful lifetime of at least a week, because otherwise, the device would need to be replaced very frequently and it would not be affordable for the user. The absorbent material is preferably selected in granular form for convenience of packaging, but any material that is capable of expanding to two more times its original size can be used to displace an adequate volume of cleaning solution in the toilet tank, provided in the scope of the present invention, while maintaining the flexible container submerged inside the tank.

Product placement within the toilet tank should be performed as follows:

^■Step 1: the toilet tank lid needs to be removed, and afterwards the toilet should be flushed to make sure the tank is completely empty.

^■Step 2: the bag must be placed inside the toilet cistern tank using the mounting hook provided to place it in a fixed position (figure 1) making sure that the inlet valve is not obstructed, and afterwards the lid must be put back in place.

^■Step 3: once the water starts to fill up the tank, it penetrates the water displacement device and starts to dilute the lavatory cleansing product forming a cleaning solution, which is retained by the highly absorbent material in the flexible container, and every time the toilet is flushed the pressure generated in the bag will then gradually release the disinfectant solution into the water in the cistern tank.

Claims

1° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device, characterized by a lavatory cleansing product and an absorbent material contained within a flexible container.

2° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 1, in which the flexible container has very little perforations that can hold the absorbent material and also the lavatory cleansing product, and simultaneously is able to release the cleaning solution into the toilet cistern tank.

3° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to any preceding claim, in which the flexible container may have one or two compartments. The flexible container of a single compartment includes a lavatory cleansing product, along with the absorbent material; the two-compartment flexible container includes a section where the Lavatory cleansing product is placed and other section in which the absorbent material is placed.

4° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to any preceding claim, in which the flexible container has a flexible mounting hook used to hang the flexible container to the toilet cistern tank wall, and has the property to keep it in a fixed position within the toilet cistern tank.

5° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 4, in which the mounting hook can be made out of any material, size and shape.

6° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 1, in which the flexible container may have a magnet inside and another magnet attached to the toilet tank external wall, to keep the flexible container in a fixed position within the toilet cistern tank.

7° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 1, in which the absorbent material can be expanded by at least two times or more its original volume.

8° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 1, in which there is a controlled volume of absorbent material that can absorb any kind of liquid, like water or cleaning solution, and is capable of retain it and release it gradually.

9° Lavatory cleansing product contained within a water displacement device according to claim No. 1, in which the Lavatory cleansing product may contain fragrance, germicidal agents, dye, water softeners and/or descaling agent.