Patent Publication Number: US-6701541-B2

Title: Odor trap for a waterless urinal

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an odor trap for a waterless or low-flush urinal, particularly to an odor trap with a cup-shaped housing that has an inlet located on an upper end and an outlet located on a lower end, with a siphon that blocks the passage of gas from the outlet to the inlet and with a urine collector in the shape of a funnel. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Odor traps of this type have been known for a long time. They have the significant advantage that the urinal requires no water connection and no flushing device or that the urinal requires only a little water. In such urinals, however, it is difficult to guarantee the necessary hygiene and to completely prevent the occurrence of unpleasant odors. The prior art suggests numerous solutions to the problem. In WO 97/15735, for example, an odor trap is disclosed in which there is a sealing layer that consists of an oil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,037 teaches an odor trap in which a cup-shaped float is inserted in the inlet, which float is closed on top and open on the bottom. WO 99/57382 discloses an odor trap in which, below the inlet opening, there is a spherical float which floats in the collected urine and thereby closes the opening. During use, the float briefly opens the opening so that the urine can flow into the siphon. One problem with this odor trap, however, is that a residue of urine always remains above the float, which contributes significantly to the occurrence of an unpleasant odor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to create an odor trap of the type described above which is characterized by an even lower propagation of unpleasant odors and is also more reliable. 
     The invention teaches that this object is accomplished on an odor trap of the type described above wherein the inlet funnel empties into an open tube that has a relatively small inside diameter, and that on the lower end of the tube there are surfaces for the condensation of the odorous substances that are given off. The tube with the relatively narrow inside diameter reduces the ascending air current which carries the odorous substances. Before the odorous substances that are produced can enter the tube, they condense at least partly on the above mentioned surface. The quantity of odorous substances is therefore largely retained by the above mentioned surfaces and the condensation on these surfaces as well as by the minimization of the passage opening. Tests have shown that the condensation is particularly effective when the above mentioned surfaces are realized in a shape similar to that of an Erlenmeyer flask. Alternatively, hemispheric surfaces are also suitable, along which the exiting air must flow and on which the odorous substances produced condense at least partly. In one development of the invention, the generation of unpleasant odors is suppressed particularly effectively if an additional siphon that has a relatively small surface area is located above the main siphon. The effect is further enhanced if two or more such siphons are arranged in a cascade fashion. 
     In one development of the invention, the odorous substances are extracted above the main siphon by means of a fan. In a development of the invention, the odorous substances extracted are transported to the drain line. The extracted air can also be cleaned in a filter, for example by means of activated carbon or with catalytic deodorization. The formation of odors in the body of the urinal itself can then be prevented, while in one development of the invention, the extracted air is introduced into the urinal body so that it flows downward on the inside of the urinal body into the inlet of the odor trap. Odorous substances in the urinal body are then carried along by the air and can be removed in a filter. 
     Additional advantageous features of the invention are described in greater detail in the dependent claims, in the following description and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a vertical section view through an odor trap according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a vertical section view through an odor trap in another embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an odor trap, whereby an insert is shown in an elevated position; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a vertical section view through an odor trap in an additional embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a vertical section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, whereby an insert is shown in an extracted position; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9; 
     FIG. 12 is a vertical section view through an additional embodiment of an odor trap according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, whereby an insert and a fan are shown in an extracted position; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the odor trap illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13; 
     FIG. 16 is a vertical section view through an additional embodiment of an odor trap according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 17 is a vertical section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is vertical section view through the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 19 is a plan view of the odor trap illustrated in FIG. 16; and 
     FIG. 20 is a schematic vertical section view through a urinal with an odor trap according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The odor trap  10  illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 has a cup-shaped housing  1  which is composed of an upper housing part  2  and a bottom housing part  3 . The two parts  2  and  3  can be permanently connected to each other, by welding for example. On the lower end of the housing  1  there is an outlet pipe  8  which is connected to a drain line which is not shown here. Inserted into the lower housing part  3  is an overflow container  5  which has openings  5   a  on the top, into which a submerged tube  6  is inserted. The overflow container  5  and the submerged tube  6  with the collected urine  7  form a siphon which prevents the ascent of air and odorous substances from the drain line into the inlet  9 . 
     Introduced into the housing  1 , from above, is an insert  4  which is supported on the submerged tube  6  and which is fastened with a removable retaining ring  12  on the upper edge of the housing  1 . The insert  4  has an inlet funnel  4   a  which extends essentially over the entire width of the housing  1 , is comparatively flat and has an opening angle of significantly more than 45°. The inlet funnel  4   a  empties into an open tube  4   b , the inside diameter of which is significantly narrower than the conically expanded area. The tube  4   b  empties at a lower end into a conically widening area  4   c  which has a correspondingly conical inside  4   d . The tube  4   d  and the area  4   c , as shown, have the shape of an Erlenmeyer flask, whereby only the bottom of the flask is missing. If odorous substances are given off from the surface  7   a  of the urine  7 , they travel into the insert  4 . These odorous substances are partly condensed on the sloping wall  4   d  of the area  4   c  and return to the urine  7 . The constriction created by the tube  4   b  also reduces the flow of air upward into the inlet  9 . The insert with the inlet funnel  4   a , the tube  4   b  and the area  4   c  forms a unit and can be replaced following the removal of the retaining ring  12 . Because the unit  4  can be manufactured very economically from plastic, a comparatively frequent replacement is very economical and can also be done very quickly. 
     The odor trap  20  illustrated in FIGS. 4-7 also has the above mentioned housing  1  with the drain pipe  8  and an inlet  9 . The odor trap  20  differs from the odor trap  10  by an insert  11  which, however, is also one-piece and replaceable. The insert  11  has an inlet funnel  111  which corresponds to the inlet funnel  4   a  and which empties into a comparatively short tube  11   k  that a comparatively narrow inside diameter. Below the tube  11   k  the wall makes a transition into a hemispherical area  11   b  in which a hemispherical part  11   d  is fastened by means of webs  11   f . Between the area  11   b  and the part  11   d  there is a space  11   c  which is open to an passage  11   a . The part  11   d  forms a siphon with a ring-shaped part  11   b . The part  11   d  is thereby immersed with its lower edge in the urine (not shown here), which collects in the ring-shaped part  11   h . A sleeve-shaped area  11   g  of the part  11   h  forms a vertical passage. Odorous substances given off from the urine  7  travel through the passage  11   i  into the interior of the part  11   d . However, these odorous substances cannot escape from the interior because the passage into the space  11   c  is blocked by the siphon which is formed by the part  11   h  and the part  11   d . However, odorous substances given off from the urine in this siphon can travel into the space  11   c . During the upward flow of the air to the passage  11   a , however, these odorous substances condense at least partly on the inside of the area  11   b  and flow back into the above mentioned siphon. The quantity of odorous substances given off that can get into the space  11   c  is significantly less than the quantity of the odorous substances that can be given off from the urine  7  because the surface of the siphon which is formed by the parts  11   h  and  11   d  is significantly smaller than the surface of the urine  7 . 
     FIG. 6 shows the insert  11  to which the plunger body  5  is fastened. The plunger body  5  can therefore be easily replaced together with the housing  1 . 
     FIGS. 8 to  11  show an odor trap  30  which has an insert  21  which is constructed in the manner of a cascade. The insert  21  consists of an upper part  21   b , an inner part  21   c  and a lower part  21   e . The upper part  21   b  has, in the center, a vertical, tubular pipe  21   a  through which urine travels from the inlet  9  into a cup  21   c , whereby the pipe  21   a  projects into this cup  21   c . The pipe  21   a , with the cup  21   c , forms a first siphon  23 . Overflowing urine travels from the cup  21   c  into a cup  21   g  underneath it which forms another siphon  22  with an upwardly projecting pipe  21   f . Overflowing urine ultimately travels from the cup  21   g  into the overflow container  5 . The cascade arrangement makes it possible for the surface of the urine, from which the odorous substances can escape by evaporation, to be kept very small. The surface area of the urine that emits the odorous substances is reduced by the siphon  22  and is further reduced by the siphon  23 . Substances exiting the siphon  23  are also condensed on the walls of the pipe  21   a  at least partly and travel back into the siphon  23 . 
     The odor trap  40  illustrated in FIGS. 12 to  15  is provided with a likewise replaceable insert  31 , which consists essentially of an upper funnel-shaped part  31   b , a lower plate-shaped part  31   a  and two parts  32  and  33  that are held between these two parts. The parts  32  and  33  are located at some distance from each other and each have a plurality of rectangular openings  34  and  35 . The part  31   a  has, in the center, an opening  31   d  through which the funnel-shaped part  31   b  projects with its tubular lower portion. An upper housing part  2 ′ is provided with a tube  36  which extends radially outward and in which a fan  37  is inserted. This fan  37  can be an axial fan and can have a rotor  38  which is operated with an electric motor which is not shown here. This fan  37  generates a forced air current, as a result of which air flows from the inlet  9  through the part  31   b  downward toward the surface  7   a  of the urine  7 . Through the opening  31   d , the air then travels upward and through the slot-shaped holes  35  and  34  radially and in the peripheral direction outward and through the pipe  36  to the fan  37 , and finally through openings  39  into a drain tube not shown here or into another type of line that leads away. After the entry through the inlet  9 , this air current carries odorous substances with it, and these odorous substances are ultimately transported with the air current into the above mentioned line As shown in FIG. 14, the insert  31  can in this case also be replaced with the housing  1 ′. 
     The odor trap  50  illustrated in FIGS. 16 to  19  has an insert  41  which has an inlet funnel  41   a  which emerges into a cylindrical tube  41   b  which projects downward. Fastened to a lower end of the tube  41   b  is a disc-shaped part  41   c  which, as shown in FIG. 16, has a plurality of penetrations  41   d . These penetrations  41   d  lead into a ring-shaped space  45  which is formed by an upper housing part  1 ″ and the insert  41 . Shaped onto the housing part  1 ″ is a pipe  42  in which a fan  37  is inserted. The outlet of this fan  37  leads into a connecting piece  43  and from there into a curved tube segment  44  which is connected in a downward-pointing area  44  with the pipe  8  of the bottom housing part  3 . The fan  37  generates an air current through which fresh air at the inlet  9  flows in through the tube  41   b  toward the surface  7   a . Through the openings  41   d , this sucked-in air travels into the ring-shaped space  45  to the fan  37  and finally via the tube segment  44  into a pipe  46  which is connected to a drain line not shown here. The air flowing in at the inlet  9  carries odorous substances with it and ultimately transports them into the above mentioned drain line. Through a deflector segment  44   b , as shown in FIG. 16, the air carrying the odorous substances is introduced into the drain line, whereby the deflector segment forms a check valve. 
     Alternatively to the above mentioned extraction of the air carrying the odorous substances, in the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 20, the air laden with odorous substances is conducted into a space  53  which is formed by a urinal body  31  and a building wall  59 . The urinal body  51  is fastened as usual to the building wall  59  and the space  53  is realized in the conventional manner. The air laden with odorous substances introduced into the space  53  travels upward, as shown by the parts  54 . In the urinal body  51 , above the odor trap  40 , there are one or more passage channels  55 , through which the aid laden with odorous substances travels outward into the cup  58  and ultimately to the inside wall  57  downward toward the inlet  9 . The odor trap  40  which is inserted as usual in an opening  52  of the urinal body  51 , as a result of the suction force of the fan  37  at the inlet  9 , collects the air present in the cup  58 , which is normally likewise laden with odorous substances. Located in front of the channel  55  is an odor filter  60  which can contain activated carbon, for example. However, it can also be located somewhere else, in particular also on the odor trap  40  and can be replaced at appropriate intervals of time. The location shown in FIG. 32 has the significant advantage that the air present in the cup  58  is also constantly or periodically sucked out and cleaned. Instead of the odor trap  40 , a correspondingly modified odor trap  50  can also be provided. In an additional conceivable realization, the fan  37  is not located directly on the odor trap  40 , but at another point in the air circulation system, for example in front of the channel  55 .