Retrofittable Waterless Urinal Assembly with Pump Spray Odor Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional urinals waste significant water due to frequent flushing, leading to inefficiency and environmental concerns, while existing waterless urinals are often large, costly, and difficult to install.
Innovation Solution
A retrofittable waterless urinal assembly that eliminates the need for water flushing by using a receptacle with a funnel-shaped inner body and a truncated cone outer body, combined with a lid assembly featuring a pump spray mechanism for cleaning and odor control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If conventional urinals use water for flushing, then odor control and cleaning are effective, but water consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the water flushing function from the urinal system by installing a separate sink with a P-trap downstream. The urinal drains directly to the sink's existing water trap, eliminating the need for dedicated flushing water while maintaining odor control through the sink's P-trap mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The sink acts as an intermediary between the urinal and the drainage system. Urine from the wall-mounted urinal drains into the sink basin, and the sink's P-trap provides the water seal for odor control, mediating the connection without requiring additional water consumption.
2Loss of substance
If waterless urinals are installed to conserve water, then water consumption decreases, but device size and installation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the urinal function with the existing sink and drainage system. The wall-mounted urinal drains directly into the sink, utilizing the sink's existing P-trap and drainage infrastructure, thereby eliminating the need for separate complex waterless urinal mechanisms while achieving water conservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sink serves multiple functions: it acts as the receiving basin for urine from the wall-mounted urinal, provides odor control through its P-trap, and utilizes the existing drainage system. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated complex waterless urinal mechanisms.
3Area of stationary object
If urinal is mounted on wall or attached to toilet, then space is utilized, but risk of detachment and urine spillage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible gooseneck connector between the urinal and the sink, allowing the urinal to be securely mounted on the wall while accommodating movement and preventing stress concentration that could lead to detachment. The flexible connection maintains reliability while enabling space-efficient wall mounting.
4Ease of manufacture
If urinal directly connects to drainage downstream of P-trap, then installation is simple, but water trap fills with urine causing odor and sanitation issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the urinal drainage connection point from downstream of the P-trap and relocates it to the sink basin itself. This allows the urinal to utilize the P-trap for odor control while preventing direct contamination of the water seal with urine pools.
Solution Approach 2:
The sink basin acts as an intermediary chamber between the urinal and the P-trap. Urine from the wall-mounted urinal drains into the sink basin where it is diluted and flushed along with sink water through the P-trap, preventing direct accumulation in the water seal while maintaining sanitation.
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 solution effectively conserves water, reduces maintenance costs, and provides a cleaner bathroom environment by eliminating splashback, dripping, and aerosolized particles, while being easy to install and suitable for residential use.
Implementation Method 1
a pump spray assembly in fluid communication with the liquid storage chamber, wherein the pump spray assembly is configured to be activated by the actuation member, and in response, to distribute a cleaning solution from the liquid storage chamber to the receptacle in a form of a mist
Implementation Method 2
an inner body in a form of a funnel, wherein the inner body comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion defines a cavity for receiving urine, the lower portion comprises a conduit for discharging the urine
Implementation Method 3
the tops and side walls of the inner body and the outer body and the bottom of the outer body together define a leakproof space
Data Source
AI summary
A waterless urinal comprises a receptacle, a lid assembly, and a pipe. The receptacle comprises an inner body and truncated-conical outer body; a leakproof liquid storage chamber is defined between inner and outer bodies. The lid assembly is movably attached to receptacle and comprises a pump spray assembly in fluid communication with the liquid storage chamber and distributes a cleaning solution drawn from the liquid storage chamber to the receptacle in a fine mist. The pipe supports the receptacle and lid assembly and in fluid communication with the receptacle and waste line of a bathroom fixture at a position upstream of a water trap. The waterless urinal may be adapted for female users. A method for installing the waterless urinal to a bathroom fixture is also provided, and a tailpiece may be used to replace a drain line for retrofitting the fixture with the waterless urinal.