Compressed Toilet Cleaning Tablets with Wand Indentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toilet cleaning products, such as water-degradable brush heads, pose issues like clogging and incomplete degradation, leading to concerns about flushing and hygiene.
Innovation Solution
Development of dissolvable solid unit dose formulations, specifically compressed tablets, that can be attached to a wand for cleaning toilets. These tablets include surfactants, organic acid, and an organic acid buffering agent, designed to dissolve quickly in toilet water, ensuring effective cleaning and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If water-degradable brush heads are used, then cleaning function is provided, but clogging and incomplete degradation occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the brush head from water-degradable polymer to water-soluble materials (cellulose, starch, proteins) with specific solubility characteristics. This parameter change ensures complete dissolution in water without leaving degradable residues that cause clogging, directly resolving the contradiction between providing cleaning function and preventing harmful clogging effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable compressed tablet brush head designed for single-use. The tablet is attached to the wand, used for cleaning, then removed and flushed away where it completely dissolves. This disposable approach eliminates the need for repeated degradation cycles, ensuring complete dissolution each time and preventing cumulative clogging problems associated with multiple degradable brush heads.
2Reliability
If dissolvable tablets are used, then complete dissolution and no clogging occur, but structural integrity during use must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite material formulation combining water-soluble materials (cellulose, starch, or proteins) with binding agents. This composite structure provides the necessary mechanical strength for handling and cleaning operations while maintaining complete water solubility. The binding agents hold the composite together during use but dissolve completely in water, resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and complete dissolution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different regions of the tablet structure. The bulk material provides water solubility and dissolution, while the compressed density and binding agent distribution provide structural integrity during handling and use. This local differentiation of material qualities allows the single tablet to simultaneously achieve both complete dissolution and adequate strength.
3Reliability
If compressed tablet formulation is used, then structural integrity and dissolution rate are improved, but manufacturing precision is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the manufacturing process into distinct stages: material preparation, blending with binding agents, and controlled compression. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently, reducing the cumulative precision requirements. By breaking down the complex compression process into manageable segments, the patent achieves consistent dissolution rates without requiring extreme manufacturing precision across the entire process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes compression parameters (pressure, temperature, duration) to achieve the desired balance between structural integrity and dissolution rate. By carefully controlling these parameters within specific ranges, the patent ensures that tablets dissolve completely and at appropriate rates without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing. The parameter optimization compensates for normal manufacturing variations, maintaining reliability without demanding extreme precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The dissolvable tablets provide a reliable and hygienic cleaning solution by dissolving completely in toilet water, preventing clogging, and maintaining structural integrity during use, while also offering good foaming and resistance to humidity.
Implementation Method 1
Water solubility (as opposed to degradability) is a desirable feature for a toilet cleaning 'brush' because it allows the head to be flushed immediately after use
Implementation Method 2
The formulations include surfactants, organic acid and an organic acid buffering agent compressed into a tablet
Data Source
AI summary
A compressed unit dose toilet cleaning tablet for use with a wand. The unit dose contains surfactant, organic acid, and an organic acid buffering agent and is compressed into a tablet or puck that dissolves in toilet water after cleaning. The tablet has a top surface, a bottom surface, a height extending from the top surface to the bottom surface, and a diameter. The top surface has an indentation adapted to receive and engage with a wand. A ratio of the height to the diameter of the tablet is between 0.2 and 0.3. A kit contains a plurality of the tablets and a wand.