Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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DESCRIPTION
LIC~IJID R~CTIVE SUSSTd~f~CE DISPENSEO~ F~R 1~.C. S~!~L
TECHNICAL FIELD
s The present invention relates to a liquid active substance dispenser to be
housed within the !~!/.C. bowl, and of the type comprising:
a bottle for containing active substance in the liquid state, and having an
exit mouth, and
a support means, separate from the bottle, for supporting said bottle in an
io inverted position with its mouth facing downwards, in a position subjected
to the action of the flushing water flow,
the support means comprising:
an active substance-containing reservoir located in a position subjected to
the action of the flushing water flow and arranged to receive the mouth of
is the bottle,
a closure member for closing the mouth of the bottle,
at least one active substance descent passageway enabling the active
substance to descend in a gauged manner into the containing reservoir,
at least one ventilation passage which, when in use, connects the internal
2o chamber of the bottle to the ambient air,
said containing reservoir defining a volume for containing a quantity of
active substance which closes said active substance descent
passageway.
2s E~CI~C3R~IJi~D ART
A dispenser having the described characteristics is illustrated in
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international patent application PCT/EPO~/11765.
The liquid substance contained in the bottle descends through said
descent passageway and accumulates in the containing reservoir until it
reaches or nearly reaches (but without exceeding it) the maximum level,
s by which it closes the descent passageway for the active substance.
Using an active substance having a sufficiently high viscosity and a
sufficiently small ventilation passageway, the active substance does not
emerge from this passageway.
At this point, as its mouth is hermetically closed, a vacuum environment
io forms in the upper part of the internal chamber of the bottle, which in
combination with the external atmospheric pressure and the weight of the
substance contained in the bottle, reaches static equilibrium, in which the
substance does not emerge from the bottle.
When a flush is activated, the flushing water penetrates into the containing
is reservoir and carries away in small measures a part of the active
substance contained in the reservoir, to dilute it and release its deodorant!
cleansing/refreshing/disinfectant action.
It has been observed experimentally that when a part of the active
substance is carried away, this, probably together with the turbulence
2o produced by the flush, causes a little ventilation air to enter the bottle
through the ventilation passageway. This changes the equilibrium
between the pressure in the bottle and the external pressure, to cause a
gauged descent of a measure of active substance, with consequent
restoration of the level in the containing reservoir.
2s A problem present in fihe dispenser is that a little flushing water remains
in
the top of the containing reservoir to replace that part of the active
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substance R which was carried away; this water which remains in the top
of the reservoir is then partly drawn, together with the ventilation air, into
the bottle where the pressure is less than that outside; the result is that
that as the number of flushes produced by the user increases, the active
s substance becomes increasingly diluted, until its percentage is excessively
low compared with the water, to the point that the positive action of the
active substance gradually falls in intensity in an unacceptable manner.
This problem is avoided by providing, in the containing reservoir, at least
one drainage aperture of gauged passage size such as to enable water to
to pass while preventing passage of the active substance.
However this solution is not always effective as its success depends on
various physical-chemical values of the substance, on the ambient
temperature, on exact constructional dimensions, and on the geometrical
form of the W.C. bowl, all factors which it is difficult to control.
is An object of the present invention is therefore to improve dispensers of
the
aforesaid type in such a manner as to solve said problem of dilution of the
active substance contained in the bottle by an effective and reliable
solution.
2o DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
These and further objects are attained by the invention as characterised in
the claims.
The invention is described in detail hereinafter with the aid of the
accompanying figures, which illustrate one embodiment thereof by way of
2s non-limiting example.
Figure 1 is a section through a first embodiment of the dispenser of the
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invention taken on the vertical plane of symmetry I-I of Figure 2
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the support means of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section on the plane III-III of Figure 2.
Figure 3A is an enlarged detail of Figure 3.
s Figure 4 is a perspective view of the support means of Figure 1, without
fihe bottle.
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3A, showing a second embodiment of
the trap-means.
With reference to the first embodiment, shown in Figures 1-4, the
io dispenser of the invention (indicated overall by 10) comprises a bottle 11
for containing, in its internal chamber, an active substance R of known
type in the liquid (more or less viscous) state, able to cleanse and/or
deodorize and/or air-refresh and/or disinfect, and provided with an exit
mouth 12 for the active substance R.
is 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
W.C. bowl 7, and able to support said bottle 11 in an inverted position with
its axis vertical or nearly vertical and its mouth 12 facing downwards, in a
2o 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 in order to be located in the W.C. bowl.
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
2s exposed to the action of the flushing water flow. Usually, the water flow
emerges either along the rim 8 from holes provided in its lower part, or
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from a rear central mouth of the bowl and made to flow in a tangential
direction along the inner surface ~1, below the rim 3.
The support means 20 comprises, for containing the active substance, a
reservoir 21 with an upwardly facing concavity, located in a position
s subjected to the action of the flushing water flow and arranged to receive
the mouth 12 of fihe bottle, and further comprises a closure member 30
positioned in said containing reservoir 21 to close the mouth of the bottle
11.
The containing reservoir 21 comprises a lower base wall 25 having an
io upper surface, on which the active substance collects, and a substantially
vertical side wall 22, which extends upwards from the lower wall 25 and
passes through a round angle about the mouth 12 of the bottle to define a
volume for containing a quantity of substance. The inner diameter of the
side wall 22 is greater than the maximum outer diameter of the exit mouth
is 12, so that this can be contained within the side wall 22 at a short
distance
from it.
Preferably, said closure member 30 is in the form of an upwardly facing,
substantially cylindrical or slightly frusto-conical tube piece coaxial with
the
bottle 11, its lower end being joined to the base wall 25 and being closed
2o thereby. The tube piece 30 has an upper end 30' which projects upwards
beyond the exit mouth 12 of the bottle when associated with the support
means 20, the exit mouth 12 being in geometrical relationship with the
tube piece 30 such that its inner surface sealedly embraces the lateral
surface of the tube piece 30.
2s In the illustrated embodiment, with said closure member 30 there is
associated a passageway 35 enabling the active substance R to descend
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from the internal chamber of the bottle 11 to the containing reservoir 21,
the quantity of active substance collected by this latter being such as to
close said descent passageway 35.
The descenfi passageway 35 f~r the active subsfiance is defined by a
s gauged vertical corridor formed by a valley provided in the cross-section of
the oufier lateral surfiace of fihe fiube piece 30, starting from a point
within
the chamber of the bottle 11 and terminating below the exit mouth 12 of
the bottle 11; said corridor 35 extends along the entire height of the tube
piece 30.
io The dispenser comprises at least one ventilation passageway 31 which,
when in use, connects the internal chamber of the bottle 11 to the ambient
air. This ventilation passageway is preferably separate from the descent
passageway 35 for the active substance R.
In the illustrated embodiment, the ventilation passageway 31 is defined by
is a gauged vertical corridor formed by an arched valley provided in the
cross-section of the outer lateral surface of the tube piece 30, starting from
a point below the exit mouth 12 of the bottle and terminating within the
chamber of the bottle 11; said corridor 31 extends along the entire height
of the tube piece 30.
2o The reservoir 21 is arranged to contain a determined maximum level of
liquid (indicated by L1 in Figure 3A), and to contain the exit mouth 12 of
the bottle 11, with its lower end exit section (indicated by P1 in Figure 3A)
positioned below the maximum liquid level L1.
The upper end edge of fihe side wall 22 determines the maximum level L1
2s of the liquid which collects within the reservoir 21.
The side wall 22 possesses a number of wall extensions 22b in the form of
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crenellations, which project upwards beyond the upper edge of the wall 22
to define a resting means for the body 13 of the bottle 11 in order to
position the bofitle mouth 12 in a predetermined and precise geometrical
relationship with the tube piece 30 and the reservoir 21. The bottle 11
s possesses a shoulder 13', from which there projects a cylindrical neck 14
carrying the mouth 12 at its end. The crenellations formed by the
extensions 22b surround the mouth 12 and neck 14 of the bottle 11 when
in an inverted position, to supportingly receive the shoulder 13' on their
upper end edges; when in this position the mouth 12 is inserted into the
io reservoir 21, with its lower exit section P1 lying at a level less than the
maximum level L1.
In detail, the mouth 12 comprises an annular element 12a rigidly fixed to
the end of the neck 14, to which there is joined a circular disc 12b for
hermetically closing the passage port for the active substance R.
is The lower end surface of the element 12a defines the lower end passage
section P1. This section P1 lies a small distance from the upper edge of
the lateral wall 22 of the reservoir 21, so that a narrow passageway
(indicated by F) remains defined for the flushing water towards the
concavity of the reservoir 21.
2o Specifically, the tube piece 30 is cut in an inclined manner to form an
upper point which projects upwards by an extent such as to penetrate
through the mouth 12 of the bottle when placed in ifis position of use.
To dispose the bottle 11 in its position of use, it is inserted and pushed
manually downwards to cause the tube piece 30 to penetrate into it so that
2s the point of the tube detaches or tears the circular disc 12b away from the
annular element 12a, to enable the active substance R present in the
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bottle 11 to descend through the exit mouth 12. The support means 20
together with the thus coupled bottle 11 is then placed in the ~V.~. bowl
such that the base wall 25 lies substantially horizontal or nearly so, and
the flushing water fed into the 1I1LC. bowl strides the region in which the
s reservoir 21 lies.
According to the invention, a siphonic trap-means 40 is provided having an
inlet which draws liquid from the containing reservoir 21 at a level L2 lower
than the lower outlet section P1 of the bottle mouth and discharges to the
outside of the reservoir 21.
to The trap-means 40 comprises a vertical conduit 41 joined to the base wall
25 and passing through it, its lower section defining the outlet of the trap-
means. Above the vertical conduit 41 there is positioned a cap 42 having
its concavity facing downwards to cover the upper mouth 41' of the conduit
41, and its lower edge 42' positioned at a lower level than the upper mouth
is 41' of the conduit 41. Said lower edge 42' defines the inlet mouth of the
trap and is positioned at said level L2 which is lower than the level P1.
The upper mouth 41' of the conduit 41 defines instead the triggering level.
i.e. the minimum level which the liquid must exceed to trigger the syphon
action; said mouth 41' is positioned at a level higher than the level of the
20 lower section P1 of the mouth P1 and also higher than the level L1.
In plan view, the side wall 22 extends as a closed ring which partly passes
about the tube piece 30 at a distance therefrom and partly passes about
the trap-means 40 at a distance therefrom, so as to enclose both within
the containing reservoir 21.
2s The containing reservoir 21 is enclosed within a collection region 50
arranged to temporarily retain the flushing water until it reaches a level
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such as to trigger the action of the trap-means 40, end then to release the
water into the 1~V.~. bowl.
laid collection region comprises a horizontal platform 51, which in practice
is a prolongafiion of the base wall ~5 and surrounds the collection surface
s of the reservoir ~1, which platform is itself joined to a substantially
vertical
side wall 52 which surrounds the entire platform 51 and the reservoir ~1,
at a distance from fihe lateral wall 22 thereof; the wall 52 is provided with
a
number of wide apertures 53 for passage of the water, these reaching the
level of the platform 51.
io The liquid substance R contained in the bottle 11 descends through the
(open) mouth 12 and fills the internal closed space of the tube piece 30;
this substance flows outwards only through the corridor 35, from which it
descends into the reservoir 21 where it accumulates until it reaches the
level of the section P1, but without exceeding the maximum level L1.
is Using an active substance R having a suitable viscosity (for example
1000-3000x10-2 poise), it has been found that if a sufficiently small
ventilation passageway 31 is provided, the active substance R does not
descend along the passageway 31.
At this point, as the mouth 12 is hermetically closed, a vacuum
2o environment forms in the upper part D of the internal chamber of the bottle
11 above the level of the active substance R, which in combination with
the external atmospheric pressure and the weight of the substance
contained in the bottle, reaches static equilibrium, without the substance R
emerging from the bottle 11.
2s ll~Jhen a flush is activated, the flushing water runs along the reservoir
21
and carries away with it a small quantity of the substance R contained in
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the reservoir 21, to dilute it and release its deodorant/cleansing/
refreshing/disinfecfiant action into the bowl ~.
The same flush of water temporarily fills the collection region 50 and also
the cap 42, fio hence trigger the action of the trap-means 4.0, after which it
s rapidly leaves through the apertures 53, which are suitably dimensioned to
enable the water to drain quickly; however a small amount of water
remains within the top of the reservoir 21 to replace that part of the active
substance R which has been washed away by the flush. This water lying
in the top of the reservoir 21 is quickly drawn out by the action of the trap-
to means, triggered by the flushing water, which ceases when the liquid level
in the reservoir 21 falls to the level L2.
Two important effects are obtained by this. The first effect is that the
upper layer of liquid consisting mostly of water is extracted from the
reservoir 21, while the lower layer all substantially consisting of active
is substance is left; this hence avoids or at least considerably reduces the
risk of the water of the upper layer being drawn into the bottle interior by
the vacuum present therein, which would increasingly dilute the active
substance in the bottle interior during use, to a value which would no
longer provide an acceptable action.
2o The inlet level L2 of the trap is set at a distance from the level of the
lower
section P2 of the mouth such that a large part of the upper layer of liquid
formed mostly of water is removed from the reservoir 21, to leave within
the reservoir the liquid f~rmed essentially ~f active substance.
The second effect is that as the level L2 is set slightly lower than the lower
as section P1 of the mouth, when fihe liquid in the reservoir 21 reaches this
level, the ventilation passage 31 is temporarily freed so that a little
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ventilation air enters the bottle 11 through the passageway 31 and
reaches the top ~ of the chamber of the bottle 11. This changes the
equilibrium between the pressure in the bottle and the pressure outside
the reservoir 21, to cause a gauged descent of the active substance R into
s the reservoir 21 until, on exceeding the level P1 of the mouth 12, it again
closes both the descent paassageway 35 for the substance and the
ventilation paassageway 31, with consequent restoration of the level in the
reservoir 21. In this respect, the difference between the trap inlet level L2
and the level of the mouth lower section P2 determines the quantity of
to active substance which is dispensed by the bottle 11 to the reservoir 21,
and can therefore be suitably gauged for this purpose.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that as the trap-means
40 extracts the more liquid upper layer from the reservoir 21, this layer is
prevented from continuing to drip out of the reservoir 21 and then into the
is W.C. bowl after the flow of flushing water has ceased, as occurs in
dispensers of known type; this dripping is a problem felt in particular when
the active liquid is of intense colour and drips onto the inner surface of the
bowl to soil it by leaving ugly traces.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3A, the cap 42 is a piece which is
2o constructed independently of the support means M and possesses a
number of radial fins 43 provided in the interior of the cap without
hindering water passage, and by which it is fitted to the upper end of the
conduit 41 by forcibly mounting the inner edge of the fins 43 over this
upper end.
2s In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the cap 42 is a piece which is
formed in one piece with the bottle 11, to which it is joined by a vertical
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web 44, and becomes associated in correct manner with the conduit 41, t~
define the trap-means 40, when the bottle 11 is fitted in its utilisation
position to the supporf means ~0.
i~umerotas modifications of a practical and applicational nature can be
made to the invention, but without leaving the scope of the inventive idea
as claimed below.