US2358139A - Sanitary basin - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 12, 1944. BRACKE 2,358,139

' SANITARY BAS I N Filed Aug. 16, 1943 Patented Sept. 12, 1944 SANITARY BASIN Robert F. Bracke, Arlington Heights, 111., assignor to R. F. Bracke & Company, Chicago, 111., a partnership composed of Robert F. Bracke and Robert Anderson Application August 16, 1943, Serial No. 498,809

9 Claims.

My invention relates to sanitary basins, and is more particularly adapted for, but not limited to, use in the lavatories of industrial establishments employing people who handle foodstuffs or surgical dressings or other articles which are to be protected against contamination.

An object of my present invention is to provide a sanitary basin which supplies a fresh quantity of disinfecting liquid to each user of the basin.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitary basin wherein the disinfecting liquid is applied to the hands of the user in the form of a spray, whereby a relatively small quantity of liquid is effective thoroughly to disinfect all portions of the users hands.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitary basin of a type wherein the disinfecting liquid is contained in a bottle which may be readily removed and refilled or replaced by another bottle containing a full charge of liquid.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved sanitary basin which is inexpensive to manufacture, may be easily installed, and has an attractive appearance.

The sanitary basin herein illustrated and described is an improvement over that disclosed in my issued Patent No. 2,319,034., for Sanitary apparatus, dated May 11, 1943.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a front view of a preferred form of sanitary basin embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

I have illustrated my novel sanitary basin as having a pedestal l provided with any suitable base, not shown, and intended to rest upon the floor of a lavatory or other room. The upper end of the pedestal l0 merges into a trough l2 having an upwardly inclined forward portion l4 terminating in a rounded edge l6 providing an opening through which both hands of the user may be inserted into the trough. Above the trough I2 is a liquid receptacle l8 adapted to contain a quantity of disinfecting liquid for application to the hands of the user. This liquid may be supplied from any suitable source, but I have found it preferable to provide the upper end of the liquid receptacle [8 with a support or rest 20 for a bottle 22 containing the disinfecting liquid and forming a source of supply for the liquid receptacle or container [8.

The bottle 22 may be of any suitable size and type, and I have found that the five-gallon bottle commonly used to supply Water for water coolers and like purposes is eminently suited for this purpose. This bottle is merely turned upside down in the annular support 20 which is conformed to fit accurately to the portion of the bottle surrounding the neck and thereby provides a firm and adequate support for the bottle and its contents. The annular support 20 has a reversely curved edge 24 which rests upon the upper edge of the wall 26 of the liquid receptacle I8.

When a bottle containing disinfecting liquid is first installed in the rest 20, part of the liquid runs out of the mouth of the bottle and fills the lower portion of the liquid container 18, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. When the liquid level in this container reaches and seals the mouth of the bottle, no additional liquid flows from the bottle into the container until some of the liquid in the container is withdrawn. In other words, the liquid level in the container is automatically maintained at the level shown in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that the annular support 20 is not intended to form an airtight seal with the upper edge of wall 25, and if necessary or desired, the upper part of this wall may be serrated or provided with openings to provide free communication between the upper part of the liquid container l8 and atmosphere.

The trough I2 is divided into two hand-receiving compartments 28 and 30 by a central partition 32 depending from the base of the liquid container l8 and illustrated as being integral therewith. That part of the container base located above each of the compartments 28 and 30 is provided with an integral boss 34 into which a nozzle 38 is threaded or otherwise suitabl secured. The upper end of each nozzle 36 has a tapered valve seat 38 which is normally closed by a tapered valve (it) carried by and reciprocable with a rod 52 having its lower end projected downwardly below the lower end of the nozzle 36 and terminating in a knob or button 44. The lower end of each nozzle 36 is inclined inwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and forms a guide for the lower end of the rod 42.

The upper end of each rod passes through an opening in the lower leg 46 of a U-shaped bracket 48 secured to the rear wall of the liquid container 18. A spring 50 interposed betweenthis leg and valve 4%] normally holds this .valve in closed position. The upper end of each rod 42 is located immediately beneath a switch 52 in such manner that when a rod is moved upwardly,

the upper end of this rod engages the adjacent switch 52 and closes the normally open contacts thereof. The two switches 52 are carried by the upper legs of brackets 48 and are arranged in series in an electrical circuit 54 which controls the latch on a toilet door in the manner disclosed in my said patent, or controls the latch on a turnstile as disclosed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 498,810, filed August .16, 1943.

When the rods 42 are raised to engage the switches 52, valves 40 are moved to open position and liquid from container Hi can flow downwardly through the nozzles 36 and onto the hands which'are engaging the knobs 44 and holding the rods 42 in elevated position. The lower ends of the nozzles 36 are preferably provided with a plurality of small openings 56 so that the liquid is delivered to the hands in the form of a spray which quickly disinfects all portions of the hands. As soon as the hands are removed from beneath the buttons 44, springs 59 and the force of gravity acting on the rods 42 return these rods to valve-closing position to cut off further flow of disinfectant from the container l8. Any disinfectant which does not strike the hands of the user or which drains oif of his hands, falls into the trough l2 and is carried away by pipe 58 connected to the sewage system of the building.

In the drawing I have illustrated a form of my invention wherein the pedestal H3, trough l2, container 18, and partition 32 are all part ofa single iron casting, which may be enameled or otherwise finished in any suitable or conventional manner. It is not essential, however, that these parts of my novel sanitary basin be formed in this manner, as the several parts may be separately formed in any suitable manner and made of any suitable material, and may thereafter be secured together in any conventional or suitable way. Where it is preferable to support the sanitary basin from a wall or other partition instead of resting it on the floor, the pedestal l may be dispensed with and an integral or separate bracket may be provided for attachment to a wall or other support in a manner similar to that disclosed in my said Patent No. 2,319,034.

Since the two switches 52 are arranged in series in the electrical circuit, this circuit is only completed when both switches are closed. It is therefore necessary for a person to use both hands to operate the valve rods 42, since partition 32 prevents operation of both of these rods by a single hand. The operation of these rods produces a spray of fresh disinfectant so that the user does not come incontact with disinfectant which has been previously used by others. All used disinfectant quickly drains into the sewer pipe 58 so that used disinfectant does not collect and stand in the trough l2.

Whenever the bottle 22 becomes empty, it may be readily removed for refilling or replacement by another bottle containing a full charge of disinfectant. The unused disinfectant is protected at all times against dirt and other contamination, and evaporation is reduced to a minimum by the limited communication between the disinfectant and atmosphere. By supplying the disinfectant in the form of a spray, a minimum quantity is required for each person and the disinfectant is well distributed over the person's hands.v

While I have illustrated and described in detail only asingle embodiment of myinvention,

it is to be understood that my invention may as-;

sume numerous other forms, and includes all variations, modifications, and equivalents coming within the following claims.

' Iclaim:

1. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough carried by said pedestal, a partition dividing this trough into two hand-receiving compartments, a liquid container above said trough, means for automatically maintaining a predetermined liquid level in said container, a spray nozzle located in each hand-receiving compartment and communicating with said liquid container, a valve controlling flow through each nozzle, a rod for operating each valve, each rod having a hand engaging portion located in one of said compartments, and switch means operated by each rod, said switch means being adapted to be arranged in series in an electrical circuit.

2. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a unitary casting providing 'a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough, a partition dividing said trough into two compartments, a liquid-containing vessel located above said compartments, a nozzle connecting each compartment with said vessel, manually operated valve means for each nozzle, and an electrical switch operated by each. of said last named means.

3. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a single casting providing a hand-receiv-- ing trough, a liquid container located above said trough, a, partition dividing said trough'into two hand-receiving compartments, conduit c0nnecting said liquid container with each of said com-- partments, manually operated valve means foreach conduit, and latch releasing means con-- trolled by said valve means. 7

4. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a hand-receiving trough, means dividing;v

said trough into two hand-receiving compart-- ments, a liquid container for supplying disinfectant to said compartments, a separate manually operated valve means for each compartment, and a bottle support mounted on said container.

5. A sanitary basin of the class described.

comprising a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough carried by said pedestal, a partition dividing; this trough into two hand-receiving compartments, a liquid container above said trough, a; spray nozzle located in each hand-receiving com-- partment and communicating with said liquid.

container, a valve controlling flow through each.

nozzle, a rod for operating each valve, each rodi having a hand engaging portion located in one; of said compartments, and switch means operated by each rod, said switch means being adaptedtto be arranged in series in an electrical cir-- cu1 6. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a pedestal, a hand-receiving trough, a partition dividing said trough into two compartments, a liquid-containing vessel located above said compartments, a nozzle connecting each compartment with said vessel, manually operated valve means for each nozzle, and an electrical switch operated by each of said last named means. a

7. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a hand-receiving trough, a liquid container located'above said trough, a partition di-- ally operated valve means for each conduit, and

latch releasing means controlled by said valve means.

8. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising two hand-receiving compartments, a liquid container for supplying disinfectant to said compartments, conduit means connecting said container and compartments, a separate manually operated valve means for each compartment, a bottle support mounted on said container, and

control mechanism operated jointly by both valve 10 means.

9. A sanitary basin of the class described comprising a trough having upwardly inclined walls surrounding a drain opening in the lowermost portion of said trough, means dividing said trough into two hand-receiving compartments, means for supplying a spray of liquid to each of said compartments, a manual control for each of said last-named means, and electrical switches operated by said controls.

ROBERT F. BRACKE.

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