U.S. patent application number 12/288213 was filed with the patent office on 2009-04-30 for toilet plunger having disinfectant dispenser.
Invention is credited to Mark C. Dressel.
Application Number | 20090106887 12/288213 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40580938 |
Filed Date | 2009-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090106887 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dressel; Mark C. |
April 30, 2009 |
Toilet plunger having disinfectant dispenser
Abstract
A toilet bowl plunger includes a fluid reservoir for containing
a disinfectant fluid and a fluid dispensing mechanism for
dispensing the disinfectant fluid from the reservoir out from the
toilet bowl plunger upon activation by a user.
Inventors: |
Dressel; Mark C.; (Narberth,
PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WOLF, BLOCK, SHORR AND SOLIS-COHEN LLP
250 PARK AVENUE, 10TH FLOOR
NEW YORK
NY
10177
US
|
Family ID: |
40580938 |
Appl. No.: |
12/288213 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60980598 |
Oct 17, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
4/255.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C 1/308 20130101;
E03D 9/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
4/255.11 |
International
Class: |
E03D 11/00 20060101
E03D011/00 |
Claims
1. A toilet bowl plunger, comprising: a plunger handle having first
and second end regions; an inverted cup-shaped plunger portion
connected to said second end region of said handle portion; a fluid
reservoir associated with said toilet bowl plunger for containing a
disinfectant fluid or the like; and a fluid dispensing mechanism
associated with said toilet bowl plunger for dispensing said
disinfectant fluid from said reservoir out from said toilet bowl
plunger upon activation by a user.
2. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 1 wherein: said fluid
reservoir is situated in an interior space within said handle.
3. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 2 wherein: said fluid
dispensing mechanism comprises a fluid dispensing part including a
first one-way valve situated within said second end region of said
plunger handle portion.
4. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 3 wherein: said fluid
dispensing mechanism comprises an activating part including a
second one-way valve situated in said plunger handle.
5. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 4 wherein: said
activating part further includes an activating handle coupled to
said second one-way valve.
6. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 1, wherein: said fluid
dispensing mechanism comprises a valve situated at said second end
region of said plunger handle.
7. A toilet bowl plunger as recited in claim 1 wherein: said fluid
dispensing mechanism comprises a valve adapted to dispense the
disinfectant fluid into a space defined by an inner concave surface
of said inverted cup-shaped plunger portion.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the filing date of U.S. provisional
application Ser. No. 60/980,598 filed Oct. 17, 2007, the disclosure
of which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to apparatus for removing
obstructions from a toilet bowl drain pipe and, more particularly,
to toilet bowl plungers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The use of toilet bowl plungers for removing obstructions
from toilet bowl drain pipes is well known. A toilet bowl plunger
is typically used when the trap becomes obstructed with waste
matter, including fecal matter. The obstruction prevents water and
other matter from being flushed from the toilet bowl into the
sewage system.
[0004] A typical toilet bowl plunger comprises an elongated handle
and an inverted cup-shaped plunger portion connected to an end of
the handle. The plunger portion is formed of rubber or some
equivalent resilient material. When the trap becomes obstructed,
the open end of the plunger portion is placed over the opening at
the bottom of the bowl and the walls of the plunger portion
collapsed in response to a downward push on the handle thereby
forcing air under pressure into the trap. The plunger portion is
then returned to it's initial shape pulling upwardly on the handle
thereby applying suction to the trap. The resulting agitation tends
to dislodge and free the obstruction from the trap.
[0005] A drawback to the use of conventional toilet bowl plungers
is that during the process of dislodging the obstruction from the
toilet trap, the plunger portion of the plunger comes into contact
with unsanitary waste material. After flushing the toilet, the
plunger portion can be rinsed in the clean water which fills the
bowl. However, simply rinsing the plunger portion with water in the
toilet bowl, or elsewhere, is not sufficient to disinfect the
plunger portion which has been in direct contact with human waste
material. Disinfecting the plunger portion by simply applying a
disinfectant from a separate bottle onto the surfaces of the
plunger portion can be time consuming and messy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to
provide a new and improved toilet plunger.
[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a new
and improved toilet plunger having self-contained apparatus for
dispensing disinfecting fluid.
[0008] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a new and improved toilet bowl plunger including a self-contained
reservoir for containing a disinfectant fluid and a self-contained
fluid dispensing mechanism for dispensing disinfectant fluid from
the self-contained reservoir.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
new and improved toilet plunger which can be cleaned and
disinfected within the confines of the toilet bowl area.
[0010] Briefly, in accordance with the invention, these and other
objects are attained by providing a plunger comprising a plunger
handle having first and second end regions and an inverted
cup-shaped plunger portion connected to the second end region of
the plunger handle. A fluid reservoir is associated with the
plunger handle for containing a disinfectant fluid or the like. A
fluid dispensing mechanism is associated with at least one of said
plunger handle and plunger portion for dispensing the disinfectant
fluid from the reservoir upon actuation by a user.
[0011] In one embodiment, the fluid reservoir is situated in the
plunger handle and the fluid dispensing mechanism includes an
activating part associated with the plunger handle and a fluid
dispensing part at the second end region of the handle through
which disinfectant fluid is dispensed into the open space defined
by the inner concave side of the inverted cup-shaped plunger
portion upon activation of the activating part.
[0012] In use, after the plunger has been used in a conventional
manner to dislodge an obstruction in the trap of a toilet, the
toilet is flushed to fill the bowl with clean water. The plunger is
then held over the bowl with the plunger portion situated over the
water in the bowl whereupon the user activates the activating part
to dispense disinfecting fluid into the water of the bowl through
the dispensing part. The disinfectant is concentrated so that when
it is mixed with the water in the bowl, a disinfecting solution is
formulated which is effective to disinfect the surface of the
plunger portion. The plunger portion is submerged into the newly
formed disinfectant solution in the bowl and agitated thereby
causing the disinfectant mixture to flow over all of the surfaces
of the plunger portion to effectively disinfect the same.
[0013] The invention thus provides a convenient arrangement by
which the plunger portion of a plunger can be disinfected within
the confines of the area of the toilet bowls without having to fill
a bucket with a disinfecting solution or to obtain a separate
container of disinfectant and apply the disinfectant directly to
the plunger portion either of which can be time consuming and
messy. The toilet bowl itself becomes a tank for containing a
disinfectant mixture and is sufficiently deep that the entire
plunger portion can be immersed in the disinfecting solution.
[0014] According to another embodiment of the invention, the fluid
dispensing part can be designed to dispense disinfectant fluid
directly onto the inner surface of the plunger portion upon
activation of the activating part. In this embodiment, the user
activates the activating device to dispense disinfecting fluid
directly onto the inner surface of the plunger portion from which
it can be wiped using ordinary paper towels or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] A more complete appreciation of the present invention and
many of the attendant advantages thereof, will be readily
understood by reference to the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet bowl plunger in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a front elevation view, in section, of a first end
region of a plunger handle and an activating part of a fluid
dispensing mechanism of a toilet bowl plunger in accordance with
the illustrated embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the components of
the activating part of the fluid dispensing mechanism;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a front elevation view, in section, of a second
end region of the plunger handle of the illustrated embodiment of
the invention to which a plunger portion is connected, and showing
a fluid dispensing part of the fluid dispensing mechanism; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the components of
the fluid dispensing part of the fluid dispensing mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference
characters designate identical or corresponding parts throughout
the several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1, an embodiment
of a toilet bowl plunger 10 in accordance with the invention
includes a plunger handle 12 having first and second end regions
12a and 12b and an inverted cup-shaped plunger portion 14 connected
to the second end region 12b of plunger handle 12. An activating
handle 16 is coupled to the first end region 12a of the plunger
handle 12 and comprises a component of the activating part of a
fluid dispensing mechanism described below. The plunger portion 14
comprises an inverted cup-shaped member formed of rubber. Other
suitable flexible materials may be used. An opening 18 (FIG. 4) is
formed through the apex of plunger portion 14 which is surrounded
by an internally threaded collar 20 integral with plunger portion
14, and an externally threaded portion of the second end region 12b
of plunger handle 12 extends through the opening 18 and is threaded
within collar 20 and is thereby connected to the plunger portion
14.
[0022] Turning to FIGS. 2 and 4, the plunger handle 12 comprises a
tubular member formed of aluminum. Other metallic or plastic
materials may be used, such as aluminum composites, rubber
composites, polyurethane, acrylics and the like, so long as the
material is rigid. In the illustrated embodiment the plunger handle
12 should be non-porous since a hollow interior portion of plunger
handle 12 functions as a reservoir 22 for disinfectant fluid 24.
For example, the hollow interior of the plunger handle 12 is filled
with a suitable disinfectant fluid, such as chlorine bleach (sodium
hypochlorite). An activating part 26 (FIG. 2) of a mechanism for
dispensing the disinfectant fluid from the reservoir 22 is
associated with the plunger handle 12 at its first end region 12a,
while a dispensing part 42 (FIG. 4) of the disinfectant fluid
dispensing mechanism is associated with the plunger handle 12 at
its second end region 12b. The activating and dispensing parts 26,
42 each comprise a one-way valve situated at a respective end of
the plunger handle 12 to trap disinfectant fluid in the reservoir
22. The dispensing part 42 utilizes a spring to control the
compressive force acting on a gate to close the gate as described
below. Where chlorine bleach is used as the disinfecting fluid, the
amount dispensed should be adjusted based on the quantity of water
in the bowl such that, preferably, about a 5% solution is
achieved.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, activating part 26 comprises a
valve housing 28 affixed, such as by glue, to the end of the first
end region 12a of plunger handle 12, a valve gate 30 slidably
mounted in a lower chamber of valve housing 28, a spring 32 mounted
in an upper chamber of valve housing 28, a toggle lock 34 having a
keyway shaped opening 35, a washer 26 and an activating handle 16.
A screw 38 is threaded upwardly through a threaded bore in the gate
30, and passes through the valve housing 28, spring 32, toggle lock
34 and washer 36 and is then threadedly connected to an axially
extending internally threaded bushing 40 in activating handle 16.
The activating part 26 functions as an upper seal to prevent the
disinfectant fluid from escaping from reservoir 22. The spring 32
normally urges the activating handle 16 via washer 36 upwardly
which urges the screw 38 and gate 30 upwardly to close the valve.
The toggle lock is slidable back-and-forth in a lateral direction
through slots 39 formed at opposite sides of activating handle 16.
If the toggle lock 34 is in its unlocked position as seen in FIG. 2
moving the activating handle 16 in a downward direction moves the
gate 30 downwardly thereby allowing air to enter the top of the
reservoir. When in its unlocked position, the enlarged portion of
the keyway opening is situated below the washer so as not to
present an obstacle to the movement of the activating handle. When
in its locked position, the reduced portion of the keyway opening
is situated beneath the washer, which is larger than the reduced
portion of the keyway opening and prevents downward movement of the
activating handle. When the toggle lock 34 is in its unlocked
position and the activating handle 16 is moved downwardly, the
force of the fluid moving in the downward direction is sufficient
to overcome the force of the spring in the lower dispensing part 42
of the fluid dispensing mechanism so that gate 30 moves downwardly
opening the valve.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the dispensing part 42 comprises
a valve housing 44 affixed, such as by glue, to the end of the
second end region 12b of plunger handle 12, a valve gate 46
slidably mounted in a lower chamber of valve housing 44, a spring
48 mounted in an upper chamber of valve housing 44, and a washer
50. A screw 52 passes downwardly through openings in the washer 50,
spring 48 and valve housing 44 and is threadedly connected to gate
46. Spring 48 normally urges the washer 50 upwardly which in turn
urges the screw 52 and gate 46 upwardly to close the valve.
[0025] When the activating handle is moved downwardly, the force of
the fluid moving in the downward direction overcomes the resistance
of spring 48 and allows gate 46 to open to dispense the
disinfectant. The force of the downwardly moving fluid overcomes
the spring force in the lower fluid dispensing part 42 thereby
allowing disinfectant fluid to be dispensed from the second end of
the plunger handle 12 into the space defined by the concave inner
surface of plunger portion 14.
[0026] In use, after the toilet bowl plunger 10 has been employed
in a conventional manner to dislodge an obstruction in the trap of
a toilet, the toilet is flushed to fill the bowl with clean water.
While holding the plunger 10 so that the plunger portion is
situated over the water in the bowl, the user slides the activating
handle downwardly to dispense disinfecting fluid into the water in
the bowl. The disinfectant mixes with the water to form a
disinfecting solution which is effective to disinfect the surface
of the plunger portion. The plunger portion is submerged into the
disinfectant solution in the bowl and agitated to cause the
disinfectant mixture to flow over the surfaces of the plunger
portion to disinfect the same.
[0027] The upper activating part 26 can be adjusted to increase or
reduce the amount of disinfecting fluid dispensed with each
downward movement of activating handle 16 over the plunger handle
12. This is accomplished by rotating the activating handle 16 to
raise or lower the handle 16 on screw 38. Rotating the handle 16 to
further compress spring 32 reduces the amount of fluid dispensed
through the lower dispensing part 42, and vice versa.
[0028] Other arrangements are possible. For example, the reservoir
for disinfecting fluid may take the form of a separate cylinder
attached to the exterior of the plunger handle and fluidly coupled
to the dispensing part of an external rubber tube. An electric pump
can be activated by pushing a button to pump the disinfecting fluid
from the reservoir through the dispensing part. Alternatively, only
a portion of the plunger handle may be hollow and function as the
disinfecting fluid reservoir. Other one-way valve constructions may
be utilized for the activating and fluid dispensing parts, such as
ball valves.
[0029] Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It
is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the claims
appended hereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise then as
specifically disclosed herein.
* * * * *