Toilet drip and splash guard

A toilet drip and splash guard is comprised of an annular sheet with a central opening. A down-turned flange is arranged at an inner edge of the sheet, and an upturned flange is arranged at an outer edge of the sheet. A tongue is arranged at a rear end of the sheet. The guard is positioned on a toilet rim, with the tongue inserted between the hinges of the toilet seat to prevent the guard from rotating. The inner diameter of the guard is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the toilet rim. The guard is centered about the toilet rim by having the down-turned flange engaged around the inner edge of the toilet rim. The toilet rim is thus shielded from urine drips and splashes. The guard is substantially wider than the toilet rim, so that it is projected substantially beyond the toilet rim for shielding the floor under the toilet from urine drips and splashes. The front of the guard is narrower than the sides so as not to obstruct a user standing in front of the toilet. The sheet is easily installed and removed, and it is also very easy to clean.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to splash guards for toilets. 
2. Prior Art 
When using a toilet, men and boys often drip and splatter urine on the rim, 
seat, and floor. This is a problem in private homes, but especially in 
public restrooms. The urine must be frequently cleaned from the toilet and 
floor, otherwise the stench and mess can become overwhelming. 
Various splash guards for containing splashing and dripping urine are known 
in the prior art. A splash guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,851 to 
Perry is comprised of a funnel with a lower end aligned with an outer edge 
of a toilet rim. Brackets extending down from the lower end engage the 
toilet rim to keep the guard in position. However, the top of the toilet 
rim is still exposed to drips and splashes. The toilet seat cannot be 
lowered when the guard is in the raised position. The guard must be 
lowered before the toilet seat can be lowered and a person seated on the 
seat. 
A splash guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,135 to Jones et al. is 
comprised of a ring mounted to an outer edge of a toilet rim. A pair of 
folding arms are connected between the ring and a toilet seat, which when 
raised, an accordion shield is raised by the arms. However, the toilet rim 
is still exposed to drips and splashes. Although the toilet is protected 
by the guard, the guard itself must be cleaned regularly because it is 
permanently attached to the toilet. The folds in the accordion shield and 
the moving parts are difficult to clean. 
A splash guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,589 to Rego et al. is 
comprised of a pair of triangular accordion shields attached on opposite 
sides of a toilet between a toilet seat and a toilet rim. Because the 
shields are generally planar, they can only extend to the midpoint of the 
toilet rim. The front and rear of the toilet rim are still exposed to 
drips and splashes. The folds in the accordion shields are difficult to 
clean. 
A splash guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,512 to Bressler is 
comprised of a vertical tubular shield with an open front. It is supported 
inside a toilet rim by clips extending from its sides. However, the toilet 
seat cannot be lowered when the guard is in position. Further, the front 
of the toilet rim is still exposed to drips and splashes. 
A splash guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. Des. 353,659 to Hall is comprised of 
a molded shield with down-turned inside and outside flanges positioned 
over a toilet rim. The toilet seat must be detached from its original 
mounting and reattached to hinges on the shield. The guard is thus 
permanently attached to the toilet, so the guard itself must be cleaned 
regularly. 
Some of the prior art guards prevent the toilet seat from being lowered, 
some are difficult to clean, some allow urine to roll off onto the toilet 
rim, and some are difficult to install. Further, none of the prior art 
splash guards can prevent urine from dripping or splashing onto the floor. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, objects of the present toilet drip and splash guard are: 
to shield a toilet rim from dripping and splashing urine; 
to prevent urine from rolling off onto the toilet rim; 
to also shield the floor under the toilet from dripping and splashing 
urine; 
to allow the toilet seat to be lowered while still in position on the 
toilet; 
to not obstruct a user standing in front or sitting on the toilet; 
to be very easy to install and remove; 
to be very easy to clean; and 
to be very economical to produce. 
Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from a 
consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A toilet drip and splash guard is comprised of an annular sheet with a 
central opening. A down-turned flange is arranged at an inner edge of the 
sheet, and an upturned flange is arranged at an outer edge of the sheet. A 
tongue is arranged at a rear end of the sheet. The guard is positioned on 
a toilet rim, with the tongue inserted between the hinges of the toilet 
seat to prevent the guard from rotating. The inner diameter of the guard 
is slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the toilet rim. The guard is 
centered about the toilet rim by having the down-turned flange engaged 
around the inner edge of the toilet rim. The toilet rim is thus shielded 
from urine drips and splashes. The guard is substantially wider than the 
toilet rim, so that it is projected substantially beyond the toilet rim 
for shielding the floor under the toilet from urine drips and splashes. 
The front of the guard is narrower than the sides so as not to obstruct a 
user standing in front of the toilet. The sheet is easily installed and 
removed, and it is also very easy to clean.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIGS. 1-2 
A preferred embodiment of a toilet drip and splash guard 10 is shown in a 
top view in FIG. 1 and a sectional view in FIG. 2. Guard 10 is comprised 
of a horizontal annular sheet 11 with a central opening 12. Sheet 11 is 
generally in the shape of a conventional toilet rim. A down-turned flange 
13 is arranged at an inner edge of sheet 11, and an upturned flange 14 is 
arranged at an outer edge of sheet 11. A tongue 15 is arranged at a rear 
end of sheet 11. A pair of notches 16 are arranged on sheet 11 on opposite 
sides of tongue 15. Guard 10 is preferably made by forming or stamping a 
flat cardboard or plastic sheet. 
In this example, the sides of guard 10 have a width W1 which is preferably 
about 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), the front of guard 10 has a width W2 which is 
preferably about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm), and flanges 13 and 14 are preferably 
about 0.125 inch (0.31 cm) to 0.25 inch (0.64 cm) tall. Alternatively, 
guard 10 may be provided with other dimensions. It may also be made of a 
glow-in-the-dark material for providing an aiming point in the dark and 
preventing missing the toilet. 
FIGS. 3-4 
In FIGS. 3-4, toilet seat 20 is raised, and guard 10 is positioned on a 
toilet rim 17 of a toilet 18, with tongue 15 inserted between a pair of 
hinges 19 of toilet seat 20 to prevent guard 10 from rotating. The inner 
and outer edges of toilet rim 17 are shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3. 
Notches 16 are respectively positioned around hinges 19 to also prevent 
guard 10 from rotating. The inner diameter of guard 10 is slightly smaller 
than an inner diameter of toilet rim 17. Guard 10 is centered about toilet 
rim 17 by having down-turned flange 13 engaged around the inner edge of 
toilet rim 17. The entire toilet rim 17 is thus shielded from urine drips 
and splashes when toilet seat 20 is raised as shown. Guard 10 is easily 
installed on toilet 18. 
The sides of guard 10 are substantially wider than toilet rim 17, so that 
the outer edge of guard 10 is projected substantially beyond toilet rim 17 
for also shielding the floor under toilet 18 from urine drips and 
splashes. Urine caught by guard 10 is prevented from rolling off by 
upturned flange 14. Guard 10 is preferably about double the width of 
toilet rim 17. The front of guard 10 is preferably narrower than the sides 
to avoid obstructing a user standing in front of the toilet. Guard 10 is 
at least rigid enough to maintain itself in a horizontal position 
projecting beyond the outer edge of toilet rim 17. 
Guard 10 is easily removed for cleaning. Being removable, guard 10 is much 
easier to clean than if it is permanently attached to toilet 18. Guard 10 
is mostly flat and smooth, so that it is also very easy to clean. Flanges 
13 and 14 each has a gentle radii to avoid trapping dried urine and making 
cleaning easier. 
FIG. 5 
In FIG. 5, toilet seat 20 is lowered while guard 10 is still in position. 
Guard 10 also allows a user to sit on toilet 18 while still in position. 
Guard 10 is wide enough to project beyond toilet seat 20 to shield the 
floor from drips and splashes. Guard 10 is extremely simple and economical 
to produce. It is cheap enough to make and easy enough to install to be 
disposable for completely eliminating the need for cleaning. 
SUMMARY AND SCOPE 
Accordingly, the present toilet drip and splash guard shields a toilet rim 
from dripping and splashing urine. It prevents urine from rolling off onto 
the toilet rim. It also shields the floor under the toilet from dripping 
and splashing urine. It allows the toilet seat to be lowered while still 
in position on the toilet. It does not obstruct a user standing in front 
or sitting on the toilet. It is very easy to install and remove. It is 
very easy to clean. It is also very economical to produce. 
Although the above description is specific, it should not be considered as 
a limitation on the scope of the invention, but only as an example of the 
preferred embodiment. Many variations are possible within the teachings of 
the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined 
by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not by the examples 
given.