Urinal spreader assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10132068-B2
Application number	US-201414340097-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 24, 2014
Priority date	Jul 25, 2013
Publication date	Nov 20, 2018
Grant date	Nov 20, 2018

Abstract

A urinal is disclosed as having a spreader assembly. The spreader assembly includes a spreader body that may be mounted to the urinal, and a spreader mat. The spreader mat includes a series of spray holes. The spreader body is connected to a water supply, and a perimeter of the spreader mat is sealed to the spreader body. Each spray hole of the spreader mat is oriented to direct water onto a particular area of the urinal, when water is supplied to flush the urinal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spreader assembly for a urinal, comprising:
a spreader body configured to be fluidly coupled to a water supply and coupled to the urinal, the spreader body comprising:
a front wall having a first portion of a channel in an end thereof; and
a rear wall separated and offset from the front wall by a water chamber, the rear wall having a second portion of the channel in an end thereof;
wherein an opening into the water chamber is defined at least in part by the end of the front wall having the first portion of the channel and the end of the rear wall having the second portion of the channel; and

a spreader mat that is disposed in the opening and is coupled to the spreader body, the spreader mat comprising:
a flange having a plurality of spray holes; and
a seal, a first portion of the seal extending radially from the flange and engaging the first portion of the channel, and a second portion of the seal extending radially from the flange and engaging the second portion of the channel;

wherein when flush water is supplied to the spreader body, the flush water flows through the water chamber and from the spray holes within the spreader mat; and
wherein in an installed position with the urinal, each spray hole of the spreader mat is oriented toward a particular area of the urinal in order to direct flush water thereto.

2. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , wherein the spreader mat is silicone.

3. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , wherein a perimeter of the spreader mat is configured to be sealingly coupled to the spreader body, the spreader mat has a C-shape relative to a longitudinal axis of the spreader body, and each spray hole of the spreader mat is aligned at a different radial direction along the C-shape in order for each spray hole.

4. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a spreader cover that is configured to hold the spreader mat against the spreader body, wherein the spreader cover comprises an annular side wall that is located radially outward relative to the spreader body, and wherein at least one spray hole of the plurality of spray holes extends through an opening in the side wall.

5. The spreader assembly of claim 4 , further comprising a spreader bottom that is configured to be coupled to a rear side of the spreader body, when the spreader body is coupled to the urinal;
wherein the spreader bottom, the spreader body, and the spreader cover are cooperatively configured to be fastened together; and
wherein the side wall includes a plurality of semi-annular elongated openings and a set of the plurality of spray holes extends through each opening of the plurality of semi-annular elongated openings.

6. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , wherein the spreader body further comprises a head portion having a water chamber;
wherein when water flows from the water supply to the spreader body, the water enters the water chamber before flowing out of the spray holes of the spreader mat.

7. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , wherein the spreader mat is flexible, and the spreader mat is a first spreader mat that is configured to be interchangeable with a second spreader mat for use with a second urinal, where the second spreader mat has a plurality of spray holes having different alignments than the plurality of spray holes of the first spreader mat and the second urinal has a basin having a different shape than a basin of the first urinal.

8. The spreader assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a spreader cover that is configured to hold the spreader mat against the spreader body by having a first portion of the spreader mat retained between the spreader cover and the front wall and a second portion of the spreader mat retained between the spreader cover and the rear wall, wherein the spreader cover is coupled to the spreader body through a fastener.

9. The spreader assembly of claim 8 , further comprising a spreader bottom that is configured to be coupled to a rear side of the spreader body, when the spreader body is coupled to the urinal;
wherein the spreader bottom, the spreader body, and the spreader cover are cooperatively configured to be fastened together with the fastener.

10. A spreader assembly for a urinal, the spreader assembly comprising:
a spreader body configured to be coupled to the urinal, the spreader body having a groove;
a spreader mat including:
a lip extending around a perimeter thereof, the lip being configured to engage the groove of the spreader body; and
a plurality of apertures configured to disperse water in a predetermined pattern; and

a spreader cover configured to retain the spreader mat position on the spreader body, the spreader cover comprising an annular side wall that is located radially outward relative to the spreader body, wherein the annular side wall includes a plurality of slots, and wherein a set of the plurality of apertures extends through each slot of the plurality of slots.

11. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein a water chamber of the spreader body is defined by a front wall of the spreader body, a rear wall of the spreader body that is spaced apart and separate from the front wall, the interior wall of a spreader body, and an inside of a spreader mat, wherein the water chamber is fluidly coupled to the water supply, and wherein the plurality of apertures are disposed linearly within a central portion of the spreader mat.

12. The spreader assembly of claim 11 , wherein the spreader mat is located between an outer profile the front wall and an outer profile of the rear wall of the spreader body, so that each of the outer profile of the front wall, the outer profile of the rear wall and the spreader mat has a semi-circular shape.

13. The spreader assembly of claim 12 , wherein the spreader mat comprises a silicone and has a generally C-shaped cross-section.

14. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein the spreader mat is configured to be attached to, and detached from the spreader body.

15. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein the spreader mat is flexible.

16. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein the spreader mat is silicone.

17. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein the spreader mat includes a flange having the plurality of apertures, wherein the annular side wall of the spreader cover is configured to hold the flange of the spreader mat against the spreader body, and wherein each aperture has a unique alignment relative to the flange compared to the other apertures of the plurality of apertures.

18. The spreader assembly of claim 17 , further comprising a spreader bottom that is configured to be coupled to a rear side of the spreader body, when the spreader body is coupled to the urinal;
wherein the spreader bottom, the spreader body, and the spreader cover are cooperatively configured to be fastened together.

19. The spreader assembly of claim 10 , wherein the engagement between the spreader mat and the spreader body forms a watertight seal.

Assignees

• Kohler Co

Inventors

• Bogard Douglas E
• Hokel Kyle L
• Kajuch Peter

Classifications

• E03D13/00 Primary

  Urinals (without flushing devices A47K11/00 ){; Means for connecting the urinal to the flushing pipe and the wastepipe; Splashing shields for urinals} · CPC title