Patent Application
20210353114
The present invention relates, in general, to a disposable human waste collection system and, more particularly, to a device which allows a person to urinate or defecate comfortably into a bag, preferably made of an eco-friendly material. It is known that handheld disposable human waste collection devices are an existing staple in medical facilities, as well as in the world of travel and recreation.
The present invention is a human waste collection system, that permits a person to urinate or defecate into a bag, preferably made of compostable material. This invention provides an enforced funnel structure, which allows easy handling for the purpose of the act of urination or defecation, as well as a convenient disposal of the bag after each use. The funnel can also be disposed when contaminated, but it is not limited to a single use. The system consists of two main components. First component is a funnel-shaped configuration, preferably with a rolled or folded edge, intended for safety. Second component is a bag, preferably made from compostable material, that would collect human waste material, and later be disposed inside a trash can. The disposable nature of the invention would allow humans of all ages, to urinate or defecate when it is needed, while avoiding contaminated restrooms and saving valuable time on the road. In the world today, individuals on-the-go have no choice but to urinate into plastic bottles or bags, and even adult diapers, all of which are not convenient at all and cause real harm to the environment. Plastic bottles can take thousands of years to degrade and diapers can take over five hundred years.
Due to the bio-hazardous nature of the collected urine and/or feces, plastic bottles and bags can never be recycled, and medical facilities are forced to dispose of billions of them daily around the world.
Useful examples for the need of such an invention are everywhere. The problem of incontinence affects humans of all ages. Even parents of little children must deal with kids screaming “I need potty now!” just when there is no bathroom in sight. This invention would allow a parent to help a child go potty in the bag and dispose the bag in any available trash can later. In view of the foregoing inherent problems associated with contaminants such as the COVID-19, many would prefer to avoid using bathrooms outside their homes, and therefore it is desirable to develop a device or system, which is simple in construction, easy to use, readily disposable and can be useful to any person, of any age, in any physical condition.
In one embodiment, this urination/defecation system includes a tubular element having a first end defining a first opening and a second end defining a second opening, the tubular element including a rigid outside layer and a soft inside layer. A flexile element including an open end and a sealed end. The flexile element is positioned within the tubular element such that the open end is positioned about the first opening and the sealed end extends from the second opening for collection of human waste.
In a second embodiment, the portable human waste collection system includes a funnel having a first end defining a first opening and a second end defining a second opening, the funnel including a rigid outside layer and a soft inside layer.
A flexile element including an open end and a sealed end, is positioned between the funnels rigid layer and its soft layer. The flexile element extends from the second opening for collection of human waste.
In one embodiment, a method of using a portable human waste collection system is provided as such: providing a two-part system consisting of a tubular element and a flexile element. The tubular element includes a first end defining a first opening and a second end defining a second opening. The tubular element includes a rigid outside layer and a soft inside layer and the first end includes a soft circumferential edge aimed at the user. The flexile element is provided separately, and it includes only one open end, which is aimed at the user. The user will pass the flexile element through the tubular element such that the sealed ends extend from the second opening, while folding the open end around the soft circumferential lip. The soft lip and open edge of the flexile element point at the user, while filling the flexile element with human waste. When the urination/defecation is completed, user will be removing the flexile element from the tubular element, closing the open end of the flexile element, and disposing of it in the trash.
The present invention is a disposable portable human waste collection device system, which is intended for medical use or travel, and intended to collect human waste from a human being. It is designed to be light weight and fit into a pocket for discrete carry. Despite the invention's size and weight, it is cleverly constructed to collect large amounts of human waste, while reducing the weight burden significantly.
It would enable individuals, with poor fine-motor physical ability, to enjoy an easy experience without the assistance of a care giver. This invention is also taking into account the world's persistent problem with un-recyclable plastic waste, that is filling up landfills and floating in the ocean. While this invention is constructed to be durable, as well as disposable, it is strictly made from eco-friendly material, which would be a great alternative for plastic bottles or bags, that are currently selling in stores or offered in medical facilities.
The present portable human waste collection device system, which is intended for medical use, travel, or recreation, shows great improvement over all other human waste collection device products currently sold in the market, due to its layered design, soft edge technology and eco-friendly materials, while providing the same purpose, with a strong construction, easy handling and safety features. It is made of two main components: a funnel and a compostable bag. The human waste collection device system is used for the purpose of accommodating the biological needs of a human being with incontinence. The human waste collection device system facilitates measuring the volume or quality of human waste that is collected from a patient. The human waste collection device system allows human beings with incontinence to travel safely with a discrete device that can fit inside a pocket. It also provides parents a tool to collect human waste from their children without exposing them to contaminated restrooms, that are not designed for their size. The human waste collection device provides an eco-friendly substitute to other devices on the market that are oversized for a single use, cannot be made eco-friendly, and contain hazardous materials within. For example: plastic bottles, plastic bags. All these examples are used for less than 30 seconds and take 3000 years to degrade in nature into poisonous plastic particles that prevent the land from being used for future crops. Non-disposable devices make a serious health risk for both humans and wildlife. Devices such bedpans or toilets require constant cleaning with harmful chemicals that end up being drained into the ocean, where they kill coral reefs and ocean creatures, or being recycled into “sufficiently healthy” drinking water, which are absolutely insufficient and require additional sanitation and the use of expensive home filtration system. This invention is both available and eco-friendly, eliminating the need for using plastic, ceramic, metal or water elements for urination or defecation, while providing a discrete, disposable, lightweight, well-constructed device that anyone can use.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to facilitate further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, show an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary drawings provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims for this invention.
The portable human waste collection device is further defined as a cylindrical shaped funnel, with a soft rolled top edge, and a smaller opening at the bottom, which is used to visually alarm the user and prevent overflowing or back-splashing at the user, while leaving sufficient flexile material to close the flexile element and dispose of it in the trash.
The manufacturing methods used to produce this invention, are described in this section. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the portable human waste collection device, includes a cylindrical or tubular funnel (1) having a first opening (3) and a second opening (2). Opening (3) is configured to be aimed at the user. In some embodiments, it is to be understood that the portable human waste collection device includes a funnel (1) and a flexile element (6), for example, a bag. The funnel (1) includes a soft lip or circumferential edge (0) formed at the opening (3). Edge (0) is configured to resist and/or prevent slipping and/or prevent tearing of bag (6). The soft inside layer of funnel (5) is rolled/folded from the in-side out, such that the soft edge (0) is created. Bag (6) is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the portable human waste collection device with soft edge and a bag (6).
It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the portable human waste collection system. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
All the examples herein refer to one way for the use of this invention and enables a person who is skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are in no way intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, summary or the following detailed description. The following detailed references will now be made to describe to potential uses of the disclosure, which are illustrated in
There are two options for successfully creating the same exact visual:
In the first embodiment, the invention is made of a rigid exterior (4), a soft interior (5), and a compostable grade bag (6). In this option, the device would be provided to the user as one piece. The bag (6) is placed between the rigid exterior (4) and the soft exterior (5).
The rigid layer is placed over the bag's (6) exterior, leaving only the open edge of the bag (8) exposed at the large opening (3). Then the soft layer (5) is put inside the rigid funnel (4), locking the bag (6) in place. The soft layer (5) is slightly longer than the bag remaining open edge (8), which is also slightly longer than the exterior rigid layer (4). The edge of the interior layer is rolled/folded, over the bag's (6) edge, towards the rigid layer, making all three parts, a unified device container.
At the bottom of the funnel (1) is the remaining of the bag, pointing down with the bag's sealed edge (7) and functions as the reservoir (9) for the collected human waste. When the user is done, the funnel (1) is twisted against the bag (6) and the user can place the entire apparatus in the regular trash.
In second embodiment, the invention is made of a rigid exterior (4), a soft interior, and a compostable grade bag. In this method the bag (6) is offered separately from the funnel (1), to allow re-use of the funnel (1). The funnel (1) is created with a rigid material, which is treated on one side to provide the soft layer (5).
The funnel's large edge (0) is rolled, or folded, outwards, creating a soft rolled, or folded edge (3). The bag's sealed edge (7) is pushed into the funnel's large opening (3), and through the small opening (2). The bag (6) is folded (10) at the large opening (3) for a secure grip during use. The reservoir (9), which is created by the bag's sealed edge (7), is meant to collect urine and/or feces, and visually allows the users to see when the bag (6) is reaching the bottom of the funnel (1). When done, the user will remove the bag (6) from the funnel (1), by pinching the bag (6) right below the small opening (2), letting go of the folded top of the bag (6), and allowing it to be pulled downwards from the funnel (1) with gravity. The user will tie the bag (6) and dispose of it in a trash can.
