The Creation of my Odorless and Overflow-less Toilet System.
The thought of odor removal at the source (the toilet), came to me back in the year of 1981. I was in the military. My Company was on an exercise with our NBC gear (chemical protection). We were on break. Approximately 200 of us had the use of ten stalls and several urinals in a restroom with very poor ventilation.
After waiting in line for several minutes, I had finally made it to the stall. The smell was horrific. If I could have “held on”, I would have left immediately. I couldn’t. I had to forge ahead. Once I was in the stall, I thought to myself, Hey, I wonder if this gas mask will work in here, so I put it on and it did indeed work.
I had a few minutes to contemplate; how could odor be better controlled? The gas mask surely was not the answer. I realized then that if odor could be removed at the toilet before it could become airborne, that would be the solution.
For the next twenty plus years I talked about it, nothing more. After seeing a few other ideas I talked about go to market, I felt the need to pursue my idea further was imperative.
I was clueless to the entire process and it took me a few years of research to figure out how to proceed. After purchasing and experimenting with different software programs, I had viable drawings to present my product. I then chose a firm specializing in patents to initiate the process of a patent search.
Months later I received two voluminous binders containing over forty patents on toilet odor removal. I obviously was not the first to come up with this idea. What a feeling.
I begrudgingly shelved my idea and began the “getting over it” process. I felt like the person who sent in his world’s smallest drill bit to patent only to receive it back with a smaller hole drilled in the middle of it.
Years later I picked up the search results and began studying those two huge books again. I closely studied each patent for odor removal and grew more convinced that my invention was better, simpler and less expensive. At this time I discovered the internet and the USPTO which also reignited my enthusiasm. In my search I found a patent very similar to mine. Once again: What a feeling.
This time however, I embraced the challenge and set about finding any faults or improvements as I compared my idea to his. I found that both inventions would have a problem if the toilet overflowed. The line would become trapped with overflow that could not escape, rendering the odor removal feature useless.
Hence, I created the UTA and incorporated it into my design. The UTA is a device that deals with overflow conditions and simplifies installation. It is engineered to allow each of the different units to function flawlessly and does not conflict with the odor removal feature. My invention was now an odorless and overflow-less system that could be incorporated into any type toilet or urinal.
Results of the next patent search rendered promising and positive results; I filed the provisional patent and started the networking and submitting process. Now, a year later, I have filed for a non-provisional patent.
Ronald F. Pickle
Inventor of the:
Odorless and Overflow-less Toilet System.
Simply a “Better Toilet”
My Site: http://bettertoilet.com/
The thought of odor removal at the source (the toilet), came to me back in the year of 1981. I was in the military. My Company was on an exercise with our NBC gear (chemical protection). We were on break. Approximately 200 of us had the use of ten stalls and several urinals in a restroom with very poor ventilation.
After waiting in line for several minutes, I had finally made it to the stall. The smell was horrific. If I could have “held on”, I would have left immediately. I couldn’t. I had to forge ahead. Once I was in the stall, I thought to myself, Hey, I wonder if this gas mask will work in here, so I put it on and it did indeed work.
I had a few minutes to contemplate; how could odor be better controlled? The gas mask surely was not the answer. I realized then that if odor could be removed at the toilet before it could become airborne, that would be the solution.
For the next twenty plus years I talked about it, nothing more. After seeing a few other ideas I talked about go to market, I felt the need to pursue my idea further was imperative.
I was clueless to the entire process and it took me a few years of research to figure out how to proceed. After purchasing and experimenting with different software programs, I had viable drawings to present my product. I then chose a firm specializing in patents to initiate the process of a patent search.
Months later I received two voluminous binders containing over forty patents on toilet odor removal. I obviously was not the first to come up with this idea. What a feeling.
I begrudgingly shelved my idea and began the “getting over it” process. I felt like the person who sent in his world’s smallest drill bit to patent only to receive it back with a smaller hole drilled in the middle of it.
Years later I picked up the search results and began studying those two huge books again. I closely studied each patent for odor removal and grew more convinced that my invention was better, simpler and less expensive. At this time I discovered the internet and the USPTO which also reignited my enthusiasm. In my search I found a patent very similar to mine. Once again: What a feeling.
This time however, I embraced the challenge and set about finding any faults or improvements as I compared my idea to his. I found that both inventions would have a problem if the toilet overflowed. The line would become trapped with overflow that could not escape, rendering the odor removal feature useless.
Hence, I created the UTA and incorporated it into my design. The UTA is a device that deals with overflow conditions and simplifies installation. It is engineered to allow each of the different units to function flawlessly and does not conflict with the odor removal feature. My invention was now an odorless and overflow-less system that could be incorporated into any type toilet or urinal.
Results of the next patent search rendered promising and positive results; I filed the provisional patent and started the networking and submitting process. Now, a year later, I have filed for a non-provisional patent.
Ronald F. Pickle
Inventor of the:
Odorless and Overflow-less Toilet System.
Simply a “Better Toilet”
My Site: http://bettertoilet.com/
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