AU2002318746A1

AU2002318746A1 - Lavatory Cleaning Device

Info

Publication number: AU2002318746A1
Application number: AU2002318746A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Fa Jung Jack Van
Original assignee: J & P Biotech C Ltd
Current assignee: J & P Biotech C Ltd
Priority date: 2002-02-08
Filing date: 2002-12-11
Publication date: 2003-08-28
Also published as: TW545492U; NZ522835A

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

Invention Title: Lavatory Cleaning Device The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -2- LAVATORY CLEANING DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lavatory cleaning device for use in lavatories and particularly to a passive cleaning device has a dispenser with a sucking disc for mounting inside to an urinal and/or a toilet bowl to interrupt the flow of water as the urinal or the toilet is flushed, and to dispense lavatory cleansing materials into the lavatory bowls. This invention also relates to a lavatory cleanser in conjunction with the dispenser to be used in urinals and/or toilet bowls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Urinal cleaners, such as those in the form of cleansing blocks are well known.

For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489415 (Van Vlahakis et 5,813,058 (Quigley et al.) and 5,365,616 (Morad), cleaners are placed on the bottom of urinals. And toilet bowl cleaners, such as those in the form of lavatory cleansing blocks immersed in cisterns or toilet rim blocks with a cage dispenser hanging in toilet bowl rims are also well known. For example, EP0341836, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,671(Purzycki et al.) 5,205,955(Bunczk et al.), 5,562,850(Woo et 5,759,974(Menke et 5,945,390(Veltman et ao.), 6,103,681 (Chantler et al.) and 6,311,340 B 1 (Thompson). However these urinal cleaners are settled to the bottom of urinal. It would be desirable to provide a cleanser device mounted on the top of urinal and then clean the urinal from the top to the bottom with every flush. It would be more desirable that the same cleanser device could be mounted in toilet bowls as a toilet bowl rim cleaner. A dispenser with a sucking disc holding a cleansing block can do both functions in one lavatory cleaning device.

106162nzPs,1 102/AH/iv -3- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to provide a lavatory cleaning device having a sucking disc fixedly attached to a cage type dispenser that can be compressed for mounting the dispenser on the dispersing flow path in a urinal. The sucking disc can provide suction force (a negative pressure) and formability. Before installation, the lavatory bowl is flushed and the sucking disc on to which the lavatory cleansing device is to be mounted, is setted. A regularly moisted disc will ensure a tight fitting for a very extensive period of time. Moisture acts like an isolator to prevent air leakage in the disc. Hence the dispenser can be easily mounted on the dispersing water flow path at a desire elevation and location. When the urinal is flushed, the sucking disc and the dispenser interrupt water flow and channel a portion of water into the dispenser to discharge the cleansing materials into the urinal. The dispenser is located on the upper section of the urinal. The lavatory cleaning device that contains a controlled solubility lavatory cleanser can effectively clean the surface of the urinal from the upper to the bottom section, and substantially prevent the urinal surface from becoming stained, and urine can be smoothly flushed and discharged. Conventional urinal cleaners tend to block passage to the outlet of urinals. The same lavatory cleaning device of the invention can also be used in toilet bowls as a toilet bowl rim cleaner. It may flexibly approach and fit in any types of toilet bowl. Conventional toilet bowl rim cleaners can only be hung on the sides of toilet bowl. Experience suggests that it is not able to fit in some types of toilet bowl in which strong water flush comes out from the front and back of the toilet bowl instead of the sides.

A controlled solubility lavatory cleanser of the invention can be effectively used for both urinals and/or toilet bowls. Preferably the cleanser of the invention is a solid lavatory cleansing composition. The composition desirably comprises an anionic surfactant works as a primary surfactant, such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulfate; a nonionic surfactant, such as coconut monoethanolamide, linear primary fatty alcohol; a 106162nzPs.I 102/AH/iv filler or diluent, such as sodium sulfate; fragrance and germicide, such as pine oil, phenyl ethyl alcohol; a bleach, such as sodium percarbonate, sodium dichloroisocyanurate; stabilizer or binder, such as mineral oil, cellulosic polymer, gum; a color agent or dye. The composition is formed into a solid block by mixing the ingredients with a ribbon blender to form a dough to be fed to a screw extruder and cutting the extruded dough to a desired block size. The dispenser of the invention has an opening for receiving the cleansing block. The cleansing block may be directly dropped into the dispenser to refill or replenish without having to open or remove the dispenser. The cleanser of the invention can also be in a jelly form when the dispenser adopts a cleansing jelly container (see Fig. As the dispenser of the invention is simply constructed, it also can be designed as an openable close-type cage dispenser (see Fig. Then the present invention can be pressed to attach the lavatory cleanser device in lavatory bowls. The device may be shifted to a position and rotated to control the dispensing volume of the cleansers. The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser of the invention FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the dispenser of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the invention, showing the method of placing a lavatory block into the dispenser.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the invention, showing the dispenser containing a lavatory block.

1 0 6 162nzPs. I 102/AH/iv FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the invention, showing a cleansing jelly container to be placed in the dispenser.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the invention in use, mounted on an urinal.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the invention in use, bonded to a toilet bowl.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an openable close-type dispenser according to the invention..

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an open able close-type dispenser of the invention. When it is closed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED

EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the lavatory cleaning device has a dispenser 1 with a sucking disc according to the invention which mainly consists of a box cage type main body 2 and a round sucking disc 3 fixedly located on one side of the main body 2. Preferably they are manufactured by thermoplastic injection. The main body 2 is made from PP or PE thermoplastic materials. The sucking disc 3 is made from PCV or TPR thermoplastic material. The box type main body 2 has a plurality of slot openings 20 formed on the upper side, lower side and sidewalls. The upper side and the right sidewall of the main body 2 has an opening 21 for receiving the cleanser. Referring to FIG. 3, solid cleansing block 4 may be dropped into the dispenser 1 through the opening 21 on one side in a biased manner. FIG. 4 shows the dispenser 1 containing the cleansing block 4. The sucking disc 3 can generate a vacuum suction force which is a negative pressure against atmosphere air pressure, when compressed for attaching the dispenser 1 to the inner wall of an urinal at a selected location, preferably on the top of the dispersing flow path of flush water as shown in FIG. 6. The 106162nzPs. I 102/AH/iv -6lavatory bowl should be flushed and cleaned to remove stains or particles before installation.

Then the dispenser 1 is compressed against the intended installation location. The suction force of the sucking disc 3 can anchor the dispenser 1 on a selected spot. The sucking disc 3 is made 26 mm. in diameter of PVC. The suction force of the sucking disc 3 of the invention can support hanging objects up to 500 grams in weight. In normal use, the entire lavatory cleanser device has a weight of only substantially 60 grams, which is much smaller than the support capacity of the sucking disc 3. In order to shorten the experiment time to see how long the disc 3 may hold the device in a lavatory bowl, the cleanser is replaced by a 200 grams weight of metal lead, and then attached to a toilet bowl. Experiments and field tests show that all the test modules are still fixedly mounted on the same position in toilet bowls after 3 months. Any small air leakage inside the sucking disc 3 would reduce the suction force. Weighting test as describes above is a simple way to amplify an air leakage, if any, so that the leakage is detectable at an early stage. Moisture inside the sucking disc 3 between disc and bowl wall acts as an isolator to avoid an air leakage. And a regular moisturesucking disc 3 is preferred to contain a substantial amount of water molecules inside its interior making its structure denser so as to ensure a tight fitting for a very extensive period of time (many months or even years) In normal use, the device will be refilled and resettled every two months, as the sucking disc 3 has great formability. The device may easily be installed to a desired installation spot and elevation. It also can be easily adapted for use both in urinals and toilet bowls of various types and sizes. When a urinal is flushed, flush water forms a flat dispersing water flow path on the inner surface of the urinal. The thickness of the dispersing water flow is only about 3 mm. The dispenser 1 must be closely mounted on the surface of the urinal. Preferred the gap between surfaces of dispenser 1 and urinal is in between 1.5mm. 2.5mm. So the dispenser 1 and sucking disc 3 located on the dispersing water flow path may interrupt the flushing water and channel a portion of the flushing water 106162nzPs.1 102/AH/iv -7over the cleansing block 4. As a result, cleansing materials carried by the water are poured into the urinal to accomplish a cleaning effect. As the strength, cycle-time and volume of flushing water of urinals vary in terms of their conditions and types, installation location and positioning of the device may be altered by shifting and rotating the device to adjust the dispensing amount of cleansing materials. In other words, the dispenser is capable of being rotated and/or shifted on the surface of the toilet bowl or the urinal when in use. The solid cleansing block 4 contains active cleansing materials that are carried by the flush water into the urinal from the upper section to the bottom section. Hence the surface of the urinal from the top to the bottom can be maintained smoothly without stain, and urine can be discharged smoothly without being detained in the urinal. Conventional urine block cleaners placed on the bottom of a urinal tend to block the passage of the urine to the outlet of the urinal. In addition to cleaning with each flush, the active ingredients of the cleansing block 4 can also provide more functions, such as forming, bleaching, deodorizing, fragrancing, and carrying germicides. The same lavatory cleanser device of the invention can also be used in toilet bowls as a toilet bowl rim cleaner. Referring to FIG. 7, the device of the invention may be mounted to the upper section of the inner periphery of the toilet bowl below the flush water path. Similar to the mechanism of a urinal, flush water can carry cleansing materials into a toilet bowl. The device of the present invention may flexibly approach and fit in any types of toilet bowl. Conventional toilet bowl rim cleaners can only be hung on the sides of a toilet bowl. Past experience suggests that conventional toilet bowl rim cleaners are not able to fit in some types of toilet bowl in which strong water flush comes out from the front and back of the toilet bowl instead of the sides. When this happens conventional hanging bowl cleaners cannot adjust the dispensing volume and it becomes very difficult to find a position to attain a satisfactory cleaning result. Besides making the cleansing materials in solid form like the cleansing block 4 set forth above, the cleansing materials may also be made in jelly 106162nzPs.1 102/AH/iv -8form. FIG. 5 illustrates the invention adapted for a jelly form cleanser. A cleansing jelly container 5 is provided and housed in the dispenser 1. A jelly type cleanser is poured into the cleansing jelly container 5. The cleansing jelly dissolves in the flush water, which flows into the container to become a concentrated solution. When the urinal is flushed, the concentrated solution is diluted and flows out into the cleaning system of the urinal (as shown in FIG. thereby achieving similar cleaning effects and results as those achieved by the solid cleansing block 4. Furthermore, the dispenser with a sucking disc lavatory cleaning device of the invention may also be designed as an openable close-type dispenser. FIG. 8 shows the most preferred embodiment of the present invention that has a box type cage main body After the cleansing block 4 is placed into the box cage main body a pair of symmetrical latch structures 22' may be moved to engage with each other to form a closed main body FIG. 9 shows the openable close-type dispenser according to the present invention with the box type main body 2' closed. This invention also relates to a cleanser with a composition in conjunction with the dispenser. A controlled solubility lavatory cleanser of the present invention can be effectively used with the same device for both urinals and/or toilet bowls. Preferably the cleanser of the present invention is a solid lavatory cleansing composition. The composition desirably comprises active ingredients including, an anionic surfactant working as a primary surfactant in a range of amount of 25% 75% by total block weight, such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulfate; a nonionic surfactant 3% 15% by weight, such as coconut monoethanolamide, linear primary fatty alcohol; fragrance and germicide 0% 15%, such as pine oil, essential oil, phenyl ethyl alcohol; a bleach 0% 30%, such as sodium percarbonate, sodium dichloroisocyanurate; a filler or diluent 0% 40%, such as sodium sulfate; and other ingredients, a stabilizer or binder 0% 15%, such as mineral oil, cellulosic polymer, gum a colour agent or dye, such as acid blue 1, acid blue 9 and the known of blue, green dye. The composition is formed into 106162nzPs.l 102/AH/iv -9a solid block by mixing the ingredients with a ribbon blender to form a dough to be fed to a screw extruder and cutting the extruded dough to a desired block size. Various known ingredients are useful in connection with the present cleanser, such as, anionic surfactants including, NANSA HS 80/S, HS 85/S, sodium olefin sulfonate, UFARYL DL-80, DL-90; nonionic surfactants including coconut lauryl amides, amine oxide, Neodole 25-7 C12-C 15 linear primary alcohol condensed with 7 moles of ethylene oxide, Neodole 23 C12- C13 linear primary alcohol; fillers including calcium sulfate, sodium carbonate, sodium chloride; binders including hydroxy ethyl cellulose, hydroxy propyl cellulose, polyethylene glycol, gum; and enzymes including protease, lipases. A controlled solubility lavatory cleanser of the invention is intended for used in the inner rim of toilet bowls and/or on the dispersing flow of urinals. The description given in the following examples are merely in relation to the preferred embodiments. Claims will be given for the full scope of the present invention.

A lavatory cleansing block composition of the invention will be described by the following examples.

Compositions for toilet bowl rim-block and/or urinal attach-block Example 1 2 3 Ingredient Weight Weight Weight Ufara DL-80 65.0 Nansa 85/S 62.0 64.0 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate 8.0 Coconut Monoethanolamide 106162nzPs. 1102/AH/iv Neodole 25-7 4.0 Sodium Sulfate 12.0 14.0 Magnesium Sulfate 3.0 Sodium Percarbonate 25.0 Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol Perfume Oil 4.0 4.0 Green Dye (0.5 Slu.) 1.0 1.0 Total 100 100--- 100 Ufara DL-80; 80 Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate, 13% Sodium sulfate, 5% Sodium Citrate, 2% Free Oil.

Nansa 85/S; 85 Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate and balanced mainly sodium sulfate.

By means of the constructions set forth above, the dispenser with a sucking disc lavatory cleaning device of the invention can be widely adopted for automatically cleaning lavatories.

It offers a novel way to clean urinals, and also has more advantages than conventional hanging type toilet rim dispensers.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word, such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification the phrase "sucking disc" and variations of that phrase are intended to include "suction cup" and such variations.

I06 I62nzPs. I 102/AHfJNE

Claims

1. A lavatory cleaning device, having: a dispenser with a sucking disc for mounting in a toilet bowl and/or a urinal, said dispenser comprising: a main body for holding a lavatory cleanser having a plurality of slot openings formed to receive and discharge flush water, through the dispenser which carries block cleansing materials or dilute and dissolve jelly type cleansing materials in fluid, into a lavatory bowl, and at least one sucking disc providing a negative pressure for hanging the dispenser, or fixedly mounted to the dispenser to generate a vacuum suction force under compression to hold the dispenser at a selected location of a urinal and/or a toilet bowl.

2. The lavatory cleaning device of claim 1 having a lavatory cleaning composition disposed within the dispenser, wherein the dispenser is able to be mounted to a toilet bowl and/or an urinal on the dispersing flow path of flush water such that the sucking disc and the dispenser block a portion of the flush water from flowing downwards and channeling a portion of the flush water into the dispenser to carry the lavatory cleanser composition out of dispenser and/or the dispenser is mounted to a toilet bowl rim to dispense the lavatory cleanser composition into a toilet bowl.

3. The lavatory cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the dispenser is capable of being rotated and shifted on the surface of the toilet bowl or the urinal when in use. 106162nzPs.1102/AH/ME -12-

4. The lavatory cleaning device of any one of claim 1 or claim 3, wherein the dispenser is mounted to the upper section of the inner periphery of a toilet bowl to receive flush water to dispense the cleansing materials. The lavatory cleaning device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispenser is mounted to an urinal on the dispersing flow path of flush water such that the sucking disc and/or the dispenser block a portion of the flush water from flowing downwards and channelling a portion of the flush water into the dispenser to carry the cleansing materials out of dispenser.

6. The lavatory cleaning device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sucking disc material is selected from thermal plastic materials.

7. The lavatory cleaning device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispenser is an openable close-type dispenser for carrying a solid cleansing block.

8. The lavatory cleaning device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispenser is ajelly container dispenser for carrying a jelly cleanser.

9. The lavatory cleaning device according to any one of the preceding claims, having a lavatory cleaning composition including: at least one active cleansing agent; (ii) a fragrance component; (iii) a colour agent; and (iv) further comprises a germicide agent. 106162nzPs. 102/AH/ME 13 The lavatory cleaning device according to claim 9, wherein the active cleansing agent is a surfactant, which may be an anionic surfactant combined with a nonionic surfactant.

11. The lavatory cleaning device according to any one of the preceding claims, having a lavatory cleanser composition comprises an anionic surfactant in a range of amount 25% 75% by total block weight, such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulfate; a nonionic surfactant 3% 15% by weight, such as coconut monoethanolamide, linear primary fatty alcohol; a fragrance 0% 15%, such as pine oil, essential oil; a germicide such as phenyl ethyl alcohol; a bleach 0% 30%, such as sodium percarbonate, sodium dichloroisocyanurate; a filler 0% 40%, such as sodium sulfate; and a binder 0% 15%, such as mineral oil, cellulosic polymer.

12. A lavatory cleaning composition including: at least one active cleansing agent; (vi) a fragrance component; (vii) a colour agent; and (viii) further comprises a germicide agent.

13. A lavatory cleaning composition includes an anionic surfactant in a range of amount 75% by total block weight, such as sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium lauryl ether sulfate; a nonionic surfactant 3% 15% by weight, such as coconut monoethanolamide, linear primary fatty alcohol; a fragrance 0% such as pine oil, essential oil; a germicide such as phenyl ethyl alcohol; a bleach 0% 30%, such as sodium percarbonate, sodium dichloroisocyanurate; a filler 106162nzPs.l 102/AH/ME -14- 0% 40%, such as sodium sulfate; and a binder 0% 15%, such as mineral oil, cellulosic polymer.

14. A lavatory cleaning device as hereinbefore described with reference to the examples and drawings.

15. A lavatory cleaning composition as hereinbefore described with reference to the examples and drawings.

16. A lavatory cleaning device and cleaning composition as hereinbefore described with reference to the examples and drawings. Dated this 11 th day of December 2002 PIPERS Attorneys for the Applicant J P Biotech Co. Limited 106162nzPs.1 102/AH/ME