Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a sink with at least one
basin and a waste opening for the disposal of waste into a
garbage receptacle that is located beneath this opening.
Various versions of sinks of this kind are known, for
example, from DE-OS 35 01 443 and from DE-OS36 39 723.
A shaft is generally used to connect the waste opening with
the garbage receptacle beneath it. This shaft is either
connected rigidly to the sink or else inserted into the sink
from above in the form of a removable insertion element, the
lo lower end of which extends into the garbage receptacle. The
last-named design has the advantage that the waste shaft can
be more easily cleaned of residual garbage that adheres to
the inside wall of the shaft because, when so needed, the
housewife can simply withdraw the shaft from the sink and
then clean it more convenlently and more simply. This factor
is extremely important for the utility value of the sink, for
it is unappetizing if old, dried-on fragments of food are
seen on the inside walls of the shaft once the cover that
closes off the waste opening has been removed.
It is here that the present invention is of use. It is an
object of the invention to so improve a sink with an
integrated waste opening that the cleaning problems in the
area of garbage disposal are alleviated or at least
drastically reduced. The sink is also characterized by cost
effective construction and greater utility value.
According to the present invention there is provided in a
sink comprising at least one basin with a waste opening for
the disposal of waste into a receptacle located beneath the
opening, said receptacle serving as a garbage receptacle, the
improvement wherein the upper end of a disposable flexible
hose is attached to the waste opening of the sink so as to be
easily removable.
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The cross-section of said hose corresponds approximately to
tl~e cross-section of the waste opening.
The present invention is based on the knowledge that even if
the waste shaft is cleaned on a regular basis, it is scarcely
possible to ensure one hundred per cent removal of every
centre of microbial activity. In addition, there is also the
fact that the area beneath the sink is subjected to constant
heating from the dishwasher that is usually adjacent thereto,
which further promotes the intensification of said microbial
activity.
The present invention eliminates these disadvantages in an
optimal manner by the configuration of the waste channel in
the form of a disposable, flexible hose, as is provided for
by the present invention. Instead of resorting to imperfect
and difficult cleaning of the waste shaft, the housewife
simply has to replace the soiled hose by a new one. This
means that in the waste area. The sink is not only clean in
the aesthetic sense, but also absolutely clean in the
hygienic sense, so that there is no possibility of bacteria
spreading from decomposing food scraps to other areas of the
sink. Thus, the sink according to the present invention
satisfies the most stringent demands imposed by hygiene.
Finally, the sink according to the present invention is
distinguished by cost advantages because the waste shaft in
the form of a rigid plastic part, which was formerly
required, is no longer needed.
There are a number of a possible ways to secure the waste
hose. Preferably, the waste opening has a collar that
extends upwards or downwards beyond the surface of the sink
and to which the end of the hose can be secured. This can be
clamped onto the inner and/or the outer cylindrical surface
of this collar. This clamping can be effected by means of a
spring clamp, a clamping ring, or the like. Additionally,
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the collar can incorporate a groove that extends in a
peripheral direction, into which the spring clamp or the like
can snap.
Because of the advantages described, this hose solution is
recommended for retrofitting of formerly known systems that
work with a fixed or removable waste shaft. In this case,
the hose is used as a liner for the shaft. The upper end of
the hose itself can then be secured to the waste opening or
the collar arranged thereon, or even to the waste shaft
itself, in the manner described in the introduction hereto.
Here, too, clamping by means of a spring clamp or the like is
desirable.
It is especially favourable if the end of the hose is clamped
between the easily removable waste shaft and the waste
opening or the collar arranged therein. Such clamping also
entails the simultaneous advantage that the waste shaft no
longer rests loosely on the basin, but is fixed in a clamping
seat. More advantageously, to this end, the waste shaft can
incorporate projections at its upper end, by means of which
; 20 it can be snapped into corresponding recesses in the collar,
with the hose end interposed between them.
The collar itself can be formed in one piece with the basin,
` for example, in that an appropriate edging is provided at the
waste opening, or in that a suitable piece is welded on.
One-piece formation is particularly favourable in the case of
plastic sinks, because the collar is then produced together
with the sink.
In like manner it is also within the context of the present - -
invention that the collar be a separate piece that is -
~0 subsequently joined with the sink. This is particularly
expedient if effected by means of a snap connection.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the hose
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is used not only as a guide element for the waste or as a
lining for the waste shaft, but it is also extended downwards
and then closed at the bottom end so that it serves as a
waste receptacle on its own. When this is done, its lower
area can also open out into the conventional waste
receptacle. In order to exploit its cross-section, the hose
can be of a cross-section that is matched thereto and, in the
case of a waste opening that is smaller in comparison, either
be tapered upwards or else inserted into the waste opening
with overlapping pleats. Both instances entail the advantage
that the cleaning work formerly required in the garbage area -
is eliminated and all that is required is to replace the
garbage bag.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:-
Figure 1 is a cross-section through a sink with the
associated cupboard and the garbage receptacle beneath it;
Figure 2 is an enlarged drawing of the waste opening in a -
longitudinal cross-section through the sink;
Figure 3 is an enlarged drawing of the waste opening in a
longitudinal cross-section through the sink, with an
additional waste shaft; and
Figure 4 is an embodiment that is similar to figure 3, but
which involves a sink with a separate collar.
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Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a sink 1 that
incorporates two openings 2iand 3 that are of equal size. ~As
viewed from the front of the sink, these two openings lie one -
behind the other and, as described in DE-PS 36 39 723, are
provided, as desired, with two waste disposal openings or
with only one waste disposal opening and a dispenser for
cleaning materials. This means that this sink is suitable
for conventional garbage disposal without any structural
changes to the sink model, in that the opening 2 is used as a
waste disposal, and the opening 3 is used for a cleaning-
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agent dispenser, or else for separate waste disposal, in that
both the openings 2 and 3 are used as waste disposals, with
one opening being used for compostable waste, the other for
such waste as is destined for garbage disposal.
Beneath each waste opening 2 and 3 there is a receptacle 5,
6, respectively, and these can be installed in a common frame
7. Depending on the type of garbage disposal, the cover 8
can have only one opening or a second that is adjacent to the
first.
It is essential that it is not a conventional, rigid shaft
that is arranged within the waste opening 2, but rather a
hose 10 of flexible plastic film that is in the form of a
disposable item.
At its upper end, the hose 10 is secured to the waste opening
2, and its lower end extends into the waste receptacle 5.
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The attachment of the upper end of the hose to the sink can
~ be seen in figure 2. This is a plastic sink that has a
- moulded collar 11 in the waste opening 2. The collar 11
extends a short distance up and down, beyond the surface of
the sink. It thus makes it easier to push the hose 10
through, and in particular makes it possible to secure the
`~ end of the hose from above, because of its upward projecting -
part lla. To this end, the upper end of the hose is pushed
onto the upper part lla and clamped onto the outside of this
part by a clamp 12.
;~ In order that the clamp 12 and thus the end of the hose 10 be
properly secured, the area lla that works in conjunction with
~` the clamp can have localized depressions that extend in the
peripheral direction, these then preventing the clamp 12 from
; 30 slipping upwards. It is expedient that at both of its ends
(which cannot be seen in the drawings) the clamp 2 has clips
or the like that make it easier to fit, open, and remove when
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the hose 10 is to be replaced.
Figure 3 shows the same plastic sink 1, although in this case
it incorporates an additional waste shaft 13. This is the
rigid shaft that is know per se, although in contrast to the
prior art, this snaps into the sink at its upper end. As
this drawing shows, this snap connection is produced between
the waste shaft and the collar 11 of the sink. To this end,
on its inner side, the collar 11 has a circular groove llb
into which the corresponding projections, in this embodiment
a turned-down edge 13a of the shaft 13, can snap into
positlon .
Of course, the arrangement of the projections and the recess
that are used to form the snap projection can be reversed,
and in like manner this snap connection can also be produced
at the top of the collar 11 or on the outside thereof (as is
shown in figure 2), if the upper edge of the shaft 13 is
appropriately bent. The projections and the recess need not
be continuous; they can equally well be localized projections
and recesses.
The snap connection between the shaft 13 and the sink that
has been described is most expediently used to fix the hose
10. To this end, the hose 10 need only be folded back a
short distance and drawn down a little way on the outside of
the shaft 13, when it is automatically clamped when the shaft
13 snaps into position.
Finally, figure 3 shows yet another element that serves to
guide the shaft 13, this being a rib llc that extends inward
at the lower end of the collar 11 and which encloses the
shaft 13 and, together with the snap connection described
heretofore, provides for stable installation.
Fiqure 4 shows a solution that is similar in principle,
although here the sink 14 is of stainless steel that does not
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incorporate a moulded-on collar, but rather a separate collar
15 in the waste opening 2.
In this case, the opening 2 is formed by a bent-up edge 2a of
the sink, and this edge fits into an outer groove 15a of the
collar 15. This outer groove 1sa is so dimensioned, and the
material for the collar is so selected, that it can be
pressed into the opening 2 from above whilst being
elastically deformed, and then, as soon as its groove 15
reaches the bent-up edge 2a of the sink, the latter snaps
into the groove.
Once again, the shaft 13 and the hose 10 are fixed within the
collar 14 by way of the bent edge 13a that snaps into the
inner groove 15b of the collar 15. Reference should be made
to figure 3 for existing alternatives to this.
In these embodiments, the hose 10 is always described as
having an open lower end; however, the lower end can be - -
closed off, when the hose itself can serve as a receptacle
for the waste.
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