Urinal splash guard employing flexible bristles

• US 8,856,977 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ed Ramirez
• Original Assignee: Ed Ramirez
• Inventors: Ramirez, Ed
• Primary Examiner(s): BAKER, LORI LYNN
• Application Number:
  US11/438,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20070266486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,067 Days
• Field of Search: 422/21, 430/9, 430/0, 466/1, 430/03, 444/3
• US Class Current: 4/309
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 13/00 Urinals without flushing devices A47K11/00 ; Means for connecting the urinal to the flushing pipe and the wastepipe; Splashing shields for urinals
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 13/005 Accessories specially adapted for urinals
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 9/00 Sanitary or other accessories for lavatories hand tools for cleaning the toilet bowl A47K11/10; seats or covers for closets A47K13/00; body supports, other than seats for closets A47K17/02; devices for preventing contamination of drinking-water pipes E03C1/10 ; Devices for cleaning or disinfecting the toilet room or the toilet bowl; Devices for eliminating smells cleaning, disinfecting or deodorising the seat A47K13/30

Abstract

A mat or other object for attenuating reflective spray during use of a urinal comprises a urine impingement region that includes a plurality of upstanding, flexible bristles. In one embodiment, each of the bristles: has an appropriate thickness and flexibility configured to flex when struck by a typical stream of urine, wherein adjacent bristles are separated from one another by a distance such that the typical stream of urine contacting a bristle and causing it to flex will also contact at least two adjacent bristles and cause them to flex as well; has a thickness and a height, wherein the thickness of each is less than one fifth of its height, and further wherein each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness from it; is elongated, and the bristles are configured densely enough that an imaginary circle having a radius equal to a stream of urine'"'"'s mean radius, centered on a given bristle, and drawn on the upper surface will include at least three other bristles within its boundary; or any combination of these. In some embodiments, the plurality of bristles that compose a urine retention region has an ordered arrangement, while in others plurality of bristles has a disordered arrangement.

Claims

1. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, the bristles covering substantially all of the surfaces of the guard other than where it is punctuated by drain holes, and being configured so that at least three bristles wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break UP a stream of urine when the urine impingement region is contacted by the stream of urine from a user of the urinal.

2. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 1 wherein the bristles are at least five times taller than they are thick.

3. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 2 wherein each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness.

4. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 1 wherein each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness.

5. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, the bristles covering substantially all of the surfaces of the guard other than where it is punctuated by drain holes, wherein the bristles have a thickness, flexibility, and spacing such that when a bristle is struck by a stream of urine sufficient to make it wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break UP the stream of urine, it contacts at least two adjacent bristles causing them to wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface as well.

6. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles at least five times taller than they are thick, arranged so that each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, the bristles covering substantially all of the surfaces of the guard other than where it is punctuated by drain holes, and being configured so that at least three bristles wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break UP a stream of urine when the urine impingement region is contacted by the stream of urine from a user of the urinal.

7. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, the bristles being configured so that at least three bristles wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break up a stream of urine when the urine impingement region is contacted by the stream of urine from a user of the urinal.

8. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 7 wherein the bristles are at least five times taller than they are thick.

9. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 8 wherein each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness.

10. The splash attenuating urinal guard according to claim 7 wherein each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness.

11. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, wherein the bristles have a thickness, flexibility, and spacing such that when a bristle is struck by a stream of urine sufficient to make it wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break up the stream of urine, it contacts at least two adjacent bristles causing them to wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface as well.

12. A splash attenuating urinal guard, comprising a base having an upper surface including a urine impingement region comprising a plurality of upstanding bristles at least five times taller than they are thick, arranged so that each bristle has at least three adjacent bristles within a distance of two times its thickness, and a plurality of drain holes through the base, the upstanding bristles being substantially parallel, the bristles being configured so that at least three bristles wick down onto the urine impingement region of the upper surface to break up a stream of urine when the urine impingement region is contacted by the stream of urine from a user of the urinal.