Portable Dual-Sink Hand-Washing Station

Abstract

A portable dual-sink hand-washing station which includes a base supporting a sink structure thereabove, the sink structure defining an upper surface area, and a station top supported above the sink structure and having a vertical support structure defining a diagonal divide of the upper surface into two sections, each section having a sink opening with a rear edge along the vertical support structure such that each sink opening has a larger end and a smaller end, whereby each larger end provides increased clearance for hand-scrubbing. At least one of the sink openings has an increased maximum length to accommodate forearm-scrubbing. Various embodiments with preferred features are also disclosed.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is generally related to the field of hand-washing stations and, more particularly, to portable hand-wash sink-station devices of the sort that provide two sinks to accommodate two concurrent users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention disclosed herein is portable sink apparatus of the kind that includes two separate sinks in a compact space. There are a number of instances in which portable hand-washing stations provide important and often essential functionality. These include, among other things, usage at temporary events/locations (both indoors and outdoors) in which large crowds are gathered (e.g., fairs, musical events, sporting events, and the like) and also at sites for construction, renovation, and other similar work sites. Often such uses require a large number of such devices to be temporarily installed and serviced; thus, compact units which are conveniently portable and periodically easily serviced are highly desirable.

Because of the nature of such devices, the sinks they provide tend to be fairly small and not nearly as accommodative as permanently-installed sinks such as in homes and public buildings. To be specific, there tends to be lesser-than-normal space to facilitate scrubbing of two hands together, particularly the vigorous hand-scrubbing desired and helpful to construction workers and the like. And, in many instances, more than simple hand-washing is desirable. For example, the scrubbing of a user's forearm can be constrained by the typically fairly small and non-accommodative nature of sinks of such portable sink stations.

It would be highly desirable in sinks of portable hand-washing stations to provide sinks with increased clearance for hand-scrubbing. It would even be more desirable to provide sinks in portable hand-washing stations with sink dimensions of increased length to accommodate and facilitate forearm-scrubbing, as is frequently desired, for example, by construction workers and the like. Yet, because of practical considerations, achieving these advantages and capabilities can be challenging, particularly for dual-sink hand-washing stations, the sorts of stations to which the present invention pertains.

Some of the practical considerations relate to the size, shape and footprint of such portable hand-washing stations. More specifically, because companies or departments that typically own and provide such stations are often transporting (by truck) several, often even a great number, of such stations for temporary set up at a site, it is important that many of such stations be placed on a truck-bed or the like without taking too much room. And, it is typically quite important that each hand-washing station take minimal ground space or floor space when installed and ready for use, so that a good number of such stations can be placed for use without taking any more floor or ground space than necessary.

Moreover, each of such stations, once installed, must readily accommodate the frequent servicing which is necessary at a site. Servicing of such a portable hand-washing station requires cleaning the station, reprovisioning consumables such as soap and towels, filling of the station's fresh-water storage tank, and emptying grey water (i.e., dirty water that drained from the sinks) from the station's grey-water collection tank. For events having large crowds over extended periods, the scale of the periodic servicing function both during and after the extended period of use can be substantial.

Furthermore, considerations involving site usage by plural portable hand-washing stations are important when it come to servicing, because proximity of a service vehicle to plural stations, allowing concurrent servicing from one vehicle position, is considered very desirable.

Given all the above considerations, it can be seen that shape, footprint and size of portable dual-sink hand-washing stations are a matter of practical importance and value. It would be highly desirable to have portable dual-sink hand-washing stations with configurational characteristics providing sinks having increased clearance for hand-scrubbing, and even sink dimensions of increased length to accommodate and facilitate forearm-scrubbing, but doing so while still having minimal station footprint.

The dual-sink portable hand-washing stations of the prior art have failed to provide such characteristics and advantages, and it is to providing these characteristics and advantages that this invention is directed. And these are provided while facilitating efficient transportation of plural stations, efficient site arrangement of plural stations, and convenient station servicing.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a portable dual-sink hand-washing station including: a base; a sink structure above and supported by the base, the sink structure defining a substantially-horizontal upper surface area; a station top supported above the sink structure and including vertical support structure which defines a diagonal divide of the horizontal upper surface area into two sections, each of which has a sink opening with a rear edge along the vertical support structure such that each sink opening has a larger end and a smaller end, whereby the larger end of each sink provides increased clearance for hand-scrubbing within the sink. At least one of the sink openings preferably has an increased maximum length to accommodate forearm-scrubbing.

In highly preferred embodiments, at least one of the sink openings is quadrilateral in shape. In highly preferred embodiments, the two sections of the horizontal upper surface area defined by the sink structure are quadrilateral sections each having at least one pair of opposite sides of unequal length. And in such situations, it is preferred that at least one of the sink openings is quadrilateral in shape.

In certain preferred embodiments, the station top includes one or more hang-members configured to hold user accessories. In such embodiments, the station top preferably includes one or more vertical post structures each at an opposite end of the diagonal vertical support structure and each having a post distal end which forms one of the hang-members. Positioning hang-members in this manner allows a user's bag, coat or other hanging object to be further back and removed from a hand-scrubbing area, a helpful convenience. Such hang-member(s) is/are preferably integrally-formed with the vertical support structure.

Certain embodiments of the portable dual-sink hand-washing station of this invention further include features to prevent leakage or spillage during and before the process of removing grey water by suction from the grey-water storage tank in the base of the hand-washing station. Such embodiments, which include a suction tube extending from an inlet end thereof within the grey-water storage tank upwardly and from there downwardly to an outlet end thereof at a bottom portion of the base, have a check valve in the suction tube. The check valve has a cracking pressure sufficient to prevent flow of grey water from the grey-water storage tank through the suction tube without application of sufficient suction at the outlet to overcome the cracking pressure.

In certain of such embodiments, the check valve is preferably at the inlet end. In certain other embodiments, the check valve is positioned outside the grey-water storage tank. In some embodiments, the suction tube has a highest point positioned above a highest level of grey-water storage, and in certain of such embodiments the check valve is positioned in the tube above the highest level of grey-water storage. Regardless of the location of the check valve, some embodiments may also have an outlet valve at the outlet end of the suction tube.

Certain embodiments of the portable hand-washing station have a very practical feature, namely, the base of the unit including four handles spaced therearound. This facilitates movement, installation, and position adjustment of the portable hand-washing stations, including facilitating arranging plural portable hand-washing stations with their diagonal vertical support structures parallel to one another and in parallel alignment for visual orderliness at a site.

The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of this invention will include a fresh-water storage tank and, for each sink, a spigot above the sink and a foot-pedal-actuated pump unit for user actuation of fresh-water flow to the spigots. Preferred embodiments of the base of the portable hand-washing station preferably include a main upper structure and a ground-engaging lower structure. The ground-engaging lower structure is the portion of the apparatus in contact with the ground, a parking-lot surface, a floor, or whatever surface supports the hand-washing station. Typically, the main upper structure is or encloses the grey-water storage-tank and is or encloses the fresh-water storage tank.

In preferred embodiments, the pedal-actuated pump units are attached to the lower structure, with each pump unit having a plurality of attachments to the lower structure, one or more of which are fastener-free attachments. This feature facilitates pump-unit installation as well as pump-unit removal and replacement or re-installation after repair of a pump unit. The fastener-free attachments each engage a complementary receptor on the lower structure. In preferred embodiments, each fastener-free attachment is a tab on a pump unit and each complementary receptor is a tab-receiving pocket on the lower structure, preferably on the upper surface of the lower structure.

The term “quadrilateral” as used herein (1) with respect to the “sections” of certain preferred embodiments resulting from diagonal division of the horizontal upper surface area of the sink structure and (2) with respect to sink openings in certain preferred embodiments, allows the four sides of such sections or such openings to be straight or non-straight or even irregular while still being identifiable as sides; moreover, rounding of corners and/or gentle rounding of sides retains the characteristic of being quadrilateral.

The term “along” as used herein in describing the relationship of the rear edge of a sink opening with respect to the diagonal vertical support structure includes both parallel and non-parallel relationships.

The term “clearance” as used herein with respect to hand-scrubbing refers to the distance or possible distance of the user's hands from the inner walls of the sink. The term “increased clearance” as used herein with respect to such clearances means a clearance which is increased over whatever clearance would be possible if the claimed invention were not used in a portable dual-sink hand-washing station of comparable size and footprint.

The term “maximum length” with respect to accommodating forearm scrubbing refers to the longest cross-dimension (i.e., inner wall to inner wall) of a sink, and the term “increased maximum length” as used herein with respect to such maximum lengths means a maximum length which is increased over whatever maximum length would be possible if the claimed invention were not used in a portable dual-sink hand-washing station of comparable size and footprint.

The term “grey water” as used herein refers to the waste water which has drained from the sinks of a portable hand-washing station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C are three perspective-view illustrations of an embodiment of the inventive portable dual-sink hand-washing station disclosed herein. FIG. 1A is a view generally from the side of the station which shows the outlet (drain) of the grey-water storage tank at the bottom portion of the station base. FIG. 1B is a view generally from a side of the station facing the front edge of one of the sinks. FIG. 1C is a view generally from the side of the station opposite to that of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is top-view illustration of the sink structure of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C with accessories removed from the station top.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the station top and sink structure of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C, including one spigot and the accessories (towel and soap dispensers).

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 6A is a top-view illustration of the portable hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C with the station top and sink structure removed.

FIG. 6B is a cutaway illustration of the base, fresh-water tank and suction tube of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C.

FIG. 6C is a perspective-view illustration of the hand-washing station embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1C with just the elements of the grey-water removal system which prevents grey-water discharge in the absence of sufficient suction.

FIG. 6D is a perspective-view illustration similar to that of FIG. 6B but with the addition of the bottom portion of the base of the station.

FIGS. 7A-7D are four modified fluid-flow schematics of various embodiments of the grey-water removal system of the portable hand-washing station of this invention. FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate the ascending portion of the suction tube inside the grey-water tank and the descending portion of the tube outside the grey-water tank. FIG. 7A illustrates a check valve at the inlet of the suction tube. FIG. 7B illustrates the check valve at the highest point of the suction tube with such point being above the highest level of grey-water storage. FIG. 7C illustrates the check valve outside of the grey-water tank. FIG. 7D illustrates a configuration similar to that of FIG. 7A but with the addition of a valve at the outlet end of the suction tube.

FIGS. 8A-8D are four modified fluid-flow schematics which correspond to FIGS. 7A-7D, respectively, but with both the ascending and descending portions of the suction tube being inside the grey-water storage tank.

FIGS. 9A-9D are four perspective-view illustrations of one corner of the bottom portion of the base of the embodiment of the inventive portable dual-sink hand-washing station of FIGS. 1A-1D. FIG. 9A illustrates a pump unit installed in the bottom portion of the base. FIG. 9B illustrates the bottom portion of the base without a pump unit installed. FIG. 9C illustrates a pump unit being installed into the base, showing four attachments of the pump unit. FIG. 9D illustrates the installed pump unit from a different view angle than that of FIG. 9A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1A through 6D and 9A through 9D present various views and levels of detail of one or more embodiments (or portions thereof) of the inventive portable dual-sink hand-washing station described herein. FIGS. 7A through 8D present schematic drawings which provide detailed description of pertinent fluid-flow portions of the hand-washing station. Reference numbers of like parts are the same, but not all views include a full complement of reference numbers in order to prevent cluttering the figures.

FIGS. 1A-1C are three perspective-view illustrations (from three different angles) of an embodiment 10 of the inventive portable dual-sink hand-washing station disclosed herein, hereinafter referred to as station 10 or embodiment 10. Station 10 includes a base 12 which supports a sink structure 18 above base 12. Sink structure 18 defines a substantially-horizontal upper surface area 22. Station 10 also includes a station top 24 supported above sink structure 18 and includes vertical support structure 26 which defines a diagonal divide 28 of upper surface area 22 into two sections 30. Each section 30 has a sink opening 20 which has a rear edge 20R along vertical support structure 26 such that each sink opening 20 has a larger end 20L and a smaller end 20S. Each larger end 20L provides increased clearance for the hand-scrubbing action within sink 20. Diagonal divide 28 also serves to increase the maximum length within sink 20 available to accommodate forearm-scrubbing. (Note that reference number 20 refers herein to both sink opening 20 and sink 20 for purposes of simplicity.)

Base 12 of station 10 includes a main upper structure 14 which in embodiment 10 is also a grey-water storage tank 14. Base 12 also includes a bottom portion 16 which is also referred to as a ground-engaging lower structure 16. Ground-engaging lower structure 16 includes two pump units 36, one for each sink 20 of station 10. Pumps 36 may be actuated by a user's foot and provide a flow of fresh water from a fresh-water storage tank 40 (see FIG. 6A) through spigots 34, one for each sink 20. As seen in FIGS. 1A-1C, base 12 also includes four handles 38 spaced around base 12.

FIG. 2 is top-view illustration of sink structure 18 showing diagonal divide 28 of vertical support structure 26 from which station-top 24 accessories have been removed to show upper surface area 22 of sink structure 18 more easily. Upper surface area 22 is clearly shown as divided into two quadrilateral sections 30Q, and each sink 20 has its rear edge 20R along vertical support structure 26. Sections 30 each have two pairs 30P of opposite sides of unequal length (only one such pair 30P indicated by reference number). Quadrilateral section 30Q on the right side of FIG. 2 includes a quadrilateral sink opening 20Q having two pairs 20P of opposite edges of unequal length. Both sinks 20 include larger and smaller ends 20L and 20S, respectively.

Sink structure 18 also includes a fresh-water fill port 40F through which fresh-water storage tank 40 may be filled. Again referring to FIGS. 1A-1C and also to FIGS. 3-5, station top 24 includes accessories mounted on vertical support structure 26. In embodiment 10, such station accessories include towel dispensers 42 and soap dispensers 44. Vertical support structure 26 of station top 24 also includes two vertical post structures 26P each at an opposite end of diagonal vertical support structure 26, and each post structure 26P has a post distal end 26D which forms a hang-member 26H for user accessories. In station 10, hang-members 26H are integrally-formed with top structure.

A check valve is included in the drain line of the grey-water storage tank in order to prevent unwanted drainage/leakage from the tank and to provide a simple, suction-enabled drain connection to the storage tank. FIGS. 6A-6D are a set of perspective-view illustrations of portions of station 10 to illustrate the elements of the grey-water removal system which prevents grey-water discharge in the absence of sufficient suction. FIGS. 6A and 6B show fresh-water storage tank 40 inside of grey-water storage tank 14 from top and side cutaway views, respectively. All four illustrations, FIGS. 6A-6D, show suction tube 50 and check valve 52, and FIGS. 6B-6D each also show ascending 50A and descending 50D portion of suction tube 50 and highest point 50H of suction tube 50. Station 10 includes a suction-tube sheath 54 which surrounds descending portion 50D of suction tube 50 which is outside of grey-water storage tank 14 (also main upper structure 14).

In embodiment 10, check valve 52 is positioned in suction tube 50 at an inlet end 58 of suction tube 50. Check valve 52 is configured to have a cracking pressure sufficient to prevent flow from the grey-water storage tank through the suction tube without application of suction at the outlet to overcome the cracking pressure. In other words, check valve 52 prevents any siphoning flow from grey-water storage tank 14 from occurring in station 10. Thus, a suction force applied at suction-tube outlet end 56 which is sufficient to overcome the cracking pressure is necessary for removal of grey-water from tank 14; no flow of grey-water from station 10 will occur without such level of suction.

FIGS. 7A-7D are four modified fluid-flow schematics of various embodiments of the grey-water removal system of the portable dual-sink hand-washing station of this invention. These fluid-flow schematics are said to be modified since they include some aspects of the geometry of the flow path along suction tube 50 to illustrate the physical relationships between various elements of the schematics. In these figures, grey-water tank 14 is indicated by a portion 14W of the wall of tank 14.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate ascending portion 50A of suction tube 50 inside grey-water tank 14 and descending portion 50D of suction tube 50 outside of grey-water tank 14. Each of these figures includes a suction pump 62 which is temporarily connected to outlet end 56 in order to provide the suction necessary for removal of grey-water from grey-water storage tank 14. FIG. 7A shows check valve 52 at inlet end 58 of suction tube 50 as it is in embodiment 10. Check valve 52 may be positioned at any other location along suction tube 50. FIG. 7B shows check valve 52 at highest point 50H of suction tube 50 with such point being above a highest level 60 of grey-water in grey-water storage tank 14. (Note that highest level 60 of grey-water may be above highest point 50H, although this configuration is not shown.) FIG. 7C shows check valve 52 outside of grey-water storage tank 14.

FIG. 7D illustrates an alternative embodiment similar to that of FIG. 7A but with the addition of an outlet valve 64 at outlet end 56 of suction tube 50. Valve 64 may be used to prevent ingress of dirt into outlet end 56, to capture drips from the inside surface of descending portion 50D of suction tube 50 after grey-water removal by suction is complete, or to otherwise protect suction-tube outlet end 56.

FIGS. 8A-8D are four modified fluid-flow schematics of various alternative embodiments of the grey-water removal system of the portable hand-washing station of this invention. FIGS. 8A-8D correspond to FIGS. 7A-7D, respectively, but with both ascending 50A and descending 50D portions of suction tube 50 being inside grey-water storage tank 14.

As described above, station 10 includes two pedal-actuated pump units 36, one for each sink 20. FIGS. 9A-9D are four perspective-view illustrations of one corner of bottom portion 16 of base 12 of station 10, showing the mounting of pump units 36 into ground-engaging lower structure 16 (also bottom portion 16). Pump units 36 each include four attachments to lower structure 16; in station 10, two such attachments 36F are fastener-free attachments 36F and two attachments 36A are attached using a fastener (not shown). The use of fastener-free attachments 36F increases the ease with which pump-units 36 are installed during manufacturing and replaced during maintenance in the field. (Note that attachments 36F are shown as having through holes; such holes are not used.)

Fastener-free attachments 36F each engage a complementary receptor 16R on lower structure 16. In station 10, each fastener-free attachment 36F is a tab (also 36F) on pump unit 36, and each complementary receptor 16R is a tab-receiving pocket (also 16R) on the upper surface of lower structure 16.

FIG. 9A shows one pump unit 36 installed in lower structure 16; FIG. 9B shows lower structure 16 having two complementary receptors 16R without pump unit 36 installed; FIG. 9C shows pump unit 36 aligned for installation into lower structure 16; and FIG. 9D shows pump unit 36 installed from a different view angle than that of FIG. 9A, with attachments 36F inserted into complementary receptors 16R.

While the principles of this invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood clearly that these descriptions are made only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A portable dual-sink hand-washing station comprising:

a base supporting a sink structure thereabove, the sink structure defining a substantially-horizontal upper surface area;

a station top supported above the sink structure and including vertical support structure defining a diagonal divide of the upper surface area into two sections; and

each section having a sink opening with a rear edge along the vertical support structure such that each sink opening has a larger end and a smaller end,

whereby each larger end provides increased clearance for hand-scrubbing.

2. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 wherein at least one of the sink openings has an increased maximum length to accommodate forearm-scrubbing.

3. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 wherein at least one sink opening is quadrilateral in shape.

4. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 wherein the sections are quadrilateral sections each having at least one pair of opposite sides of unequal length.

5. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 4 wherein at least one sink opening is quadrilateral in shape.

6. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 wherein the station top includes one or more hang-members configured to hold user accessories.

7. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 6 wherein the station top includes one or more vertical post structures each at an opposite end of the diagonal vertical support structure, each post structure having a post distal end which forms one of the hang-members.

8. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 7 wherein the hang-member(s) is/are integrally-formed with the vertical support structure.

9. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 further including:

a grey-water storage tank positioned in the base, the tank receiving grey water draining from the sinks;

a suction tube extending from an inlet end thereof within the grey-water storage tank upwardly and from there downwardly to an outlet end thereof at a bottom portion of the base; and

a check valve in the suction tube, the check valve having a cracking pressure sufficient to prevent flow from the grey-water storage tank through the suction tube without application of suction at the outlet to overcome the cracking pressure.

10. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 9 wherein the check valve is at the inlet end.

11. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 9 wherein the check valve is positioned outside the grey-water storage tank.

12. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 9 wherein the suction tube has a highest point positioned above a highest level of grey-water storage.

13. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 12 wherein the check valve is positioned in the tube above the highest level of grey-water storage.

14. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 further including an outlet valve at the outlet end of the suction tube.

15. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 wherein the base further includes four handles spaced around the base.

16. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 1 further including a fresh-water tank and for each sink a spigot above the sink and a foot-pedal-actuated pump unit for user actuation of fresh-water flow, wherein:

the base has a main upper structure and a ground-engaging lower structure, the pedal-actuated pump units being attached to the lower structure; and

each pump unit has a plurality of attachments to the lower structure, one or more of which are fastener-free,

thereby facilitating pump-unit installation and removal.

17. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 16 wherein the fastener-free attachments each engage a complementary receptor on the lower structure.

18. The portable dual-sink hand-washing station of claim 17 wherein each fastener-free attachment is a tab on a pump unit and each complementary receptor is a tab-receiving pocket on the lower structure.