A urinal

Abstract

A floor mounted urinal stall having a main body 2 formed as an elongate chamber 6 standing vertically in use, having side walls 6, a rear wall 4 and an open front face, a drainage basin 24, for collec

Description

Field of the Invention This invention relates to a urinal and, more especially, this invention relates to a urinal which prevents splash back. Background of the Invention Male public lavatories most often contain at least one urinal, toilet, sink and drying apparatus. Male urinals are advantageous to both public and private owners of communal lavatories. A male urinal is beneficial as it (i) occupies less space than a conventional lavatory, (ii) uses less water than a conventional lavatory and (iii) allows a greater rate of users than a conventional lavatory. Disadvantageously, male urinals are a known source of poor hygiene and therefore disease. A factor of poor hygiene is relevant to the inherent design of a generic male urinal, wherein liquid effluence may inadvertently be reflected outside of the urinal capture area, this is colloquially referred to as ‘splash back’. Splash back effects both users, neighbouring users of a second urinal and the surrounding environment, such as floors, walls and nearby amenities. Often splash back is the result of the urinal dimensions and angle of discharged liquid effluence. A second factor of poor hygiene and associated disease with male urinals is the common issue of ‘overspill’, wherein liquid effluence may breach the shallow basin of the urinal and spill out into the surrounding environment. Overspill of urinals may be a transient occurrence wherein the rate of discharged liquid effluence is greater than the rate of drainage, ora more permanent occurrence wherein the drainage of the urinal is blocked. Overspill not only risks spoiling the users’ clothes and shoes, but presents a slip hazard on tiled and hard floors. A third factor of poor hygiene and associate disease with male urinals, is the progressive accumulation of dried liquid effluence substrate, solute and the growth of bacteria thereon. Such accumulations are often the result of infrequent cleaning of the urinal and / or the infrequent / improper flushing of the urinal after use. Such accumulations cause visual and odorous repulsion of users as well as increasing the risk of spreading disease and attracting vermin. The present invention seeks to provide a urinal which improves on the advantages of known urinals and to overcome the problems associated with poor hygiene and disease caused by splashback. Separately, another problem of public lavatories is the high volume of water required for the flushing of urinals and the washing of a user’s hands. Such water use is expensive to the proprietor of the lavatory and in some circumstance necessitates the proprietor charging a fee for the use of their lavatories. This issue both restricts the access of the public to lavatories and incurs a finical burden on the proprietor. Therefore, in another aspect of the present invention seeks to resolve the problem of high-volume water use caused by dual need of water supply for both flushing of urinals and the washing of user’s hands. A further problem of public lavatories is the space required to install both lavatories for the relief of users and a separate wash area for users to wash their hands. The space required to support both the instalment of urinals and a wash area places a limitation on the capacity of a public lavatory. High-capacity lavatories are susceptible to long queues of users and risk the accumulation of effluence from over-use. Therefore, in a third aspect the present invention seeks to resolve the problem of space required in public lavatories caused by the requirement of having a separate urinal and wash area. Statements of the Invention According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a urinal comprising: a main urinal body for capturing urine; a drainage basin for collecting the captured the urine; a standing platform located substantially over the drainage basin; wherein; the main body is formed as elongate chamber that stands generally vertical in use, the chamber having side walls and a rear wall with an open front face; a gap is provided between the standing platform and the rear wall of the main body; at least part of the rear wall of the main body slopes downwardly away from a user when the user is standing on the platform such that urine entering the chamber is directed towards the rear face to be received through the gap into the drainage basin underneath the platform. Preferably, a sink is integrally formed upon the top of the main body. Preferably, the sink has a drainage outlet leading directly to the chamber of the main body. Preferably, the urinal further comprises a jet positioned below the drainage outlet of the sink. Preferably, the jet is connected to a water source independent to the sink. Preferably, the drainage basin includes a floor with an upstanding peripheral wall. Preferably, the floor of the basin includes a drainage outlet at or near the rear wall of the main body. Preferably, the floor of the drainage basin is angled downwardly from a distal end to the rear wall of the chamber. Preferably, the slope of the floor is in the range of 1% to 8%. Preferably, the standing platform takes the form of a grill. Preferably, the urinal further comprises a jet located at the distal end of the standing platform. Brief Description of Drawings The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: - Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 3 is a side cross-section view of an alternative embodiment of the invention. Detailed Description of the Invention Figure 1 shows a urinal constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. The urinal is formed of of durable, easy to clean, resistant to corrosion and non-porous materials, such as, but not limited to stainless steel, porcelain or ceramic, vitreous China, fiberglass, solid surface material, plastic or polyethylene, epoxy resin, enamel-coated steel, tempered glass and cast iron. The urinal comprises a main body 2 having a rear wall 4 and two side walls 6 to form an elongate chamber 8 to be orientated generally vertically in use. The chamber 8 has an open front face through which a user can urinate into the chamber 8. A sink 10 is integrally formed upon the top of the main body 2. The sink 10 includes a tap 12, suitable to deliver hot or cold water activated by a motion sensor 14. The sink 10 may have added other features beneficial to the user, such as a tissue dispenser 16 (shown in figure 1) and / or a soap dispenser 18 (shown in figure 2). The sink 10 has a drainage outlet 20 that leads directly into the chamber 8 below. The outlet 20 is best seen in Figure 2 which shows an alternatively shaped urinal otherwise having all the same features of the first embodiment of figure 1. A water jet 22 is provided directly beneath of the drainage outlet 20 within the chamber 8 to increase the velocity of water 1 drained from the sink 10 and to direct the flow to and against the rear wall 4 of the chamber 8. The jet 22 cannot be seen in figures 1 and 2 but is shown in figure 3, which also shows the directional flow of water 1 expressed from the jet 22. The jet 22 may be activated by further water source in the event that the sink 10 is not used but a jet of water 1 is still desired to clean the rear wall 4. The rear wall 4 of the chamber 8 is sloped inwardly, away from a user when they are standing in front of the open face of the chamber 8 using the urinal. This ensures that urine is directed away from the user, down the rear wall 4, preventing splashback. The base of the main body 2 is shaped to form a drainage basin 24. The basin 24 has a floor 26 with an upstanding peripheral wall 28 forming a central recess to capture the urine (best show in figure 3). In the embodiment of figure 2, the rear wall 4 has two inclined sections. The upper section 30 is inclined inwardly, away from a user when they are standing in front of the open face of the chamber 8 using the urinal. The lower section 32 is inclined downwardly at a lesser angle, towards the drainage basin 24. A drainage outlet pipe 34 is provided in the basin 24 through the floor 26 in the base at or near the junction with the rear wall 4. The floor 26 of the basin 24 is angled downwardly from its distal end to the rear wall 4 of the chambers to cause any liquid in the recess of the base to flow towards the rear wall 4 and through the drainage outlet 34 to avoid liquid building up and becoming stagnant. The slope of the floor 26 is preferably in the range of 1% to 8% (1 in 12). Preferably still, the angle is between 1.5% and 2.5%. A grill 36 is provided on the base, supported by the side walls 28 and extending above and over the recess. To this end, the top surface of the side walls 28 may be formed with a partial recess to support the edges of the grill 36. The grilled arrangement enables any drips and spillage to fall directly into the recess of the base. A gap 38 is provided between the rear wall 4 and the grill 36 to allow urine flowing down the rear wall 4 to flow unimpeded into the recess and out of the outlet 34. In the embodiment shown in figure 3, a second jet is 40 is provided at the distal end of the base, supported on the distal end of the grill 36 to direct jets of water 1 onto and across the length of the grill 36 to clean its surface. The grill 34 may have a slope the same as, or similar to the floor 26 of the basin 24. It will be appreciated that the forgoing is merely exemplary of a urinal apparatus in accordance with the invention and that modification can readily be made thereto without departing from the true scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims

1. This invention provides a urinal comprising:a main urinal body for capturing urine;a drainage basin for collecting the captured the urine;a standing platform located substantially over the drainage basin;wherein;the main body is formed as elongate chamber that stands generally vertical in use, the chamber having side walls and a rear wall with an open front face;a gap is provided between the standing platform and the rear wall of the main body;at least part of the rear wall of the main body slopes downwardly away from a user when the user is standing on the platform such that urine entering the chamber is directed towards the rear face to be received through the gap into the drainage basin underneath the platform.

2. A urinal according to claim 1, wherein a sink is integrally formed upon the top of the main body.

3. A urinal according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sink has a drainage outlet leading directly to the chamber of the main body.

4. A urinal according toany one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a jet positioned below the drainage outlet of the sink.

5. Aurinal according to claim 4, wherein the jet is connected to a water source independent to the sink.

6. A urinal according to any preceding claim, wherein the drainage basin includes a floor and upstanding peripheral wall.

7. A urinal according to claim 6, wherein the floor of the basin includes a drainage outlet at or near the rear wall of the main body.

8. The urinal according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the floor of the drainage basin is angled downwardly from a distal end to the rear wall of the chamber.

9. The urinal according to claim 7, wherein the slope of the floor is in the range of 1% to 8%.

10. The urinal according to any preceding claim, wherein the standing platform takes the form of a grill.

11. The urinal according to any preceding claim, further comprising a jet located at the distal end of the standing platform.

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