Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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LIQUID ACTIVE SUBSTANCE DISPENSER FOR W.C. BOWL
This invention relates to a dispenser for liquid active substances
(deodorants/cleanserslrefreshers/disinfectants and the like) for a W.C.
s bowl.
It has been known for some time to use cage-like containers which are
suspended below the rim of the W.C. bowl in a position such as to be
struck by the flow of flushing water. An active cleansing and/or deodorant
and/or air refreshing and~or disinfectant substance in solid block form is
io placed in the cage, to release its action on encountering the flushing
water
flow, and be diluted into it.
One defect is that the quantity of perfuming substance which can be
incorporated as a component in the mixture which forms the solid block is
relatively small, and moreover some components, and in particular this
is perfuming substance, are washed out by the water flow more quickly than
others, with the result that their action does not have constant behaviour
during the life of the block, but rapidly decreases to quickly disappear.
Containers suitable for containing an active substance in the form of a gel
are also known, having holes through which the water enters and leaves,
2o entraining with it a part of the dissolved active substance.
EP 538957 describes a dispenser for a W.C. bovvl comprising a bed of
sponge material which is suspended below the bowl rim in a horizontal
position, to be lapped by the flushing water flow, On this sponge bed a~
bottle containing liquid active substance is positioned inverted, with its
2s mouth in contact with the sponge.
Other solutions are illustrated in W099/66139 which shows an inverted
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bottle containing liquid active substance with its mouth positioned in
contact with a plate provided with thin grooves for diffusing the liquid.
Still further solutions are illustrated in the patents EP878586, EP1046756
and W001104428, which do not use a sponge bed.
s An object of this invention is to provide a device of the type to be housed
within a W.C. bowl, comprising a bottle for containing active substance in
the liquid state, and having an exit mouth for the active substance and a
support means for supporting said bottle with its mouth facing downwards,
in a position subjected to the action of the flushing water flow, which is
to different from known devices and is able to overcome the drawbacks
arising in the operation of known devices, and in particular is able to effect
a sized and relatively regular delivery of the active substance from the
bottle, so preventing wasteful substance loss.
Another object is to provide a dispenser which is of simple low-cost
is manufacture.
These and further objects are attained by the dispenser of the invention
as characterised in the claims.
According to the invention, the support means comprises:
a closed transition chamber positioned below the exit mouth to contain
2o and retain, for at least part of its volume, the active substance,
a bottle mouth closure member which connects the mouth to the transition
chamber via a sized hole through which the active substance descends,
said transition chamber having in the top of the chamber in
communication with atmospheric pressure a sized hole for ventilating the
2s interior of the bottle, and having an aperture for the discharge of the
active
substance from the interior,
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a substantially horizontal diffuser plate positioned adjacent to said active
substance exit aperture,
said exit aperture being sized in relation to the physical-chemical
characteristics of the active substance such that this occupies and closes
s the hole and halts the discharge of the substance from the bottle interior"
it
outflowing therefrom only through a relatively short distance,
said diffuser plate being disposed in a position relative to the W.C. bowl
such that the flushing water washes said exit aperture.
The invention is described in detail hereinafter with the aid of the
io accompanying figures, which illustrate one embodiment thereof by way of
non-limiting example.
Figure 1 is a section Through the dispenser of the invention taken on the
vertical plane of symmetry I-( of Figure 2.
Figure 2 is an enlarged detail of Figure 1.
is Figure 3 is a perspective view of the support means of Figure 1, without
the bottle.
Figure 4 is a top plan view of the support means of Figure 1, without the
bottle.
Figure b is a detailed section on the plane V-V of Figure 4.
2o Figure 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention.
Figure 7 is a top plan view of the support means of Figure 6, without the
bottle.
The dispenser of the invention (indicated overall by 10) comprises a bottle
11 for containing, in its internal chamber, an active deodorantldisinfectant
2s substance R, i.e. able to cleanse andlor deodorize and/or air-refresh
and/or disinfect, which is in the (more or less viscous) liquid state, and
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provided with an exit mouth 12 for the active substance R.
The dispenser 10 also comprises a support means 20 having a usual
hooking means 28 in the form of a hook-shaped elongate element of
elastically flexible material, by which it is hooked to the upper rim 8 of a
s W.C, bowl 7, and able to support said bottle 11 in an inverted position with
its axis in a vertical or near-vertical position and with its mouth 12 facing
downwards, in a position subjected to the action of the flushing water flow.
The bottle 11 is separate from the support means 20 and is associated
with it to be located in the W.C. bowl.
~o The entire dispenser 10, including the bottle 11, is to be housed within
the
W.C. bowl 7 against its inner surface 71, below its upper rim 8 and
exposed to the action of the flushing water flow. Usually, the water flow
emerges either along the rirn 8 from holes provided in its lower part, or
from a rear central mouth of the bowl and made to flow in a tangential
is direction along the inner surface 71, below the rim 8.
The support means 20 comprises a closed transition chamber 30
positioned below the dispenser exit mouth 12 to contain and retain, at
least for a part of its volume, the active substance. The transition
chamber 30 is enclosed by side walls 32 and by a horizontal upper walH
20 31, which define a box of rounded parallelepiped form.
Above the transition chamber 30 there is provided, for closing the bottle
mouth 12, a closure member 21 which connects the mouth 12 to the
transition chamber via a sized hole 33 through which the active substance
descends.
zs Said member 21 consists of a tube which extends vertically upwards from
the upper surface of the upper wall 31, its upper end being preferably cut
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s
by an inclined plane to define a pointed element. 'fhe exit mouth 12 is in
geometrical relationship with the tube 21 such that its inner surface
sealedly embraces the lateral surface of the tube.
In use, the bottle 11 is coupled to the tube 21 by making this penetrate its
s mouth 12, hence also breaking a diaphragm 13 closing the mouth 12,
before the bottle 11 engages the support means. At the centre of the
base of the tube 21 there is provided in the upper waif 31 a sized hole
which defines said hole 33 through which the active substance descends
towards the interior of the transition chamber 30.
io For ventilating the interior of the bottle 11, the transition chamber 30 is
provided with a sized hole 34 positioned in the top of the chamber 30, it
being provided in the upper wall 31 at a distance from the hole 33, in
communication with atmospheric pressure.
An aperture 35 for the exit of the active substance from the transition
1s chamber 30 is provided in a vertical wall 32 of the chamber.
The transition chamber 30 extends upwards from the upper surface of a
substantially horizontal diffuser plate 25; the exit aperture 35 for the
active
substance is positioned flush with the upper surfiace of the plate 25 and, in
particular, is in the form of a low elongate slot extending in a horizontal
zo direction along the lower side of the wall 32. The diffuser plate 25 is
disposed in a position relative to the W.C. bowl such that the flushing
water washes said exit aperture 35.
The exit aperture 35 is sized in relation to the physical-chemical
characteristics of the active substance R such that this occupies and
zs closes the aperture 35, and also hafts the discharge of the substance R
from the interior of the bottle 11, overflowing therefrom only for a
relatively
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short distance,
Using an active substance R having a viscosity of '1000-3000 x 10-2 P
(poise), excellent results have been obtained with an exit aperture 35
having a height from 10 to 20 x 10-' mm; the length is not critical.
s To dispose the bottle 11 in its position of use, it is inverted and thrust
manually downwards causing the tube 21 to penetrate into it, so that the
point of the tube detaches or tears the diaphragm 13 closing the mouth
12, to enable the active substance R present in the interior of the bottle 11
to descend through the exit mouth 12. The support means together with
io the bottle 11 coupled to it is then located in the interior of the W.C.
such
that the diffuser plate 25 is substantially horizontal and is exposed to the
water flow entering the W.C.
The active substance R contained in the bottle 11 descends through the
mouth 12 (open) and at least partly fills the closed internal volume of the
is transition chamber 30; a small part of this substance leaves the chamber
30 through the exit aperture 35 and obstructs it; in this situation the mass
of the substance R present in the chamber 30 prevents communication
between the ventilation hole 34 and the descent hole 33. Consequently,
by virtue of the viscosity of the active substance R, in relation to the
2o dimensions of the hole 33 and of the exit aperture 35, and of the vacuum
which forms in the interior of the bottle 11, a situation of static
equilibrium
is achieved, blocking descent of the substance from the bottle and its exit
from the transition chamber 30.
When a flushing water flow is activated, this runs along the diffuser plate
2s 25 to lap the exit aperture 35 and entrain that small quantity of the
substance R which escapes from it, then dilute it and release its
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deodorantlcleansinglrefreshingldisinfectant action.
It has been observed experimentally that because of the removal of this
quantity of the substance R the equilibrium situation changes to produce a
further small outflow of substance R through the aperture 35; this causes
s the level of the substance in the chamber 30 to fall and a little
ventilation
air to enter the interior of the bottle 11 through the hole 33 and reach the
top of the interior. This changes the equilibrium between the pressure
inside the bottle and that outside it, to cause a gauged descent of the
substance R, corresponding to the quantity removed by the water, with
io consequent restoration of the equilibrium situation. For this to happen,
the
geometrical characteristics of the descent hole 33 and ventilation hole 34,
and of the exit aperture 35, are in suitable relation to the physical-
chemical characteristics of the active substance R (in particular to its
viscosity).
is To facilitate the halting of the active substance R occupying the exit
aperture 35, an upward projection 27 is provided external to the chamber
30 on the upper surface of the diffuser plate 25 to the front of and a short
distance from the exit aperture 35, to define a wall for halting the outflow
of the active substance from the aperture 35. This consolidates the static
2o equilibrium situation.
To facilitate the washing away and removal of tree active substance R by
the water flow, the diffuser plate 25 is surrounded by a side wall 24
defining a relatively large basin provided with numerous large apertures
24' for water passage and surrounding the transition chamber 30.
zs Drainage apertures 41 are provided to prevent rnrater accumulation on the
bottom of the plate 25.
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The second embodiment of the invention, shown figures 6 and 7, differs
from the above described one with regard to the upward projection 27,
as an upward projection 27A is provided external to the chamber 30 on
the upper surface of the diffuser plate 25, to define a wall for halting the
s outflow of the active substance from the aperture 35, similar to the
projection 27 of Figure 1, but defining an enclosure wall whose ends join
against the side walls 32, so bounding a closed field. Anyway, there may
be provided a vertical slot 29 in the upward projection 27A particularly for
draining the water which mixes with the active substance R inside said
io enclosure.
This second embodiment is suitable for active substances R having a
relatively low degree of viscosity.
Numerous modifications of a practical and applicational nature can be
made to the invention, but without leaving the scope of the inventive idea
is as claimed below.
