Patent Application
20190216272
The present invention relates to personal hygiene. More particularly, it relates to a self-supported easily used portable waste container which a user may employ as a toilet to maintain sanitary conditions where toilet facilities may not be readily available.
The present invention addresses the widespread issues encountered for personal hygiene, more specifically in the capture and disposal of human waste such as urine and stools. This is a particular problem for the homeless who now live on the streets of large cities and even small towns, and who have no public restroom facilities readily available. This problem has been exacerbated in areas of the country where hepatitis has become epidemic due to the lack of sanitary restroom facilities. It is also a problem for hikers, hunters, boaters, and other individuals who, during the course of travel, may end up on a locale which lacks restroom facilities.
While many devices have been provided in the past to facilitate capture and disposal of such human waste, most are clumsy to use, such as plastic bags which must be user-held during use, and consequently are prone to the user missing the targeted bag. In such cases, it is frequently the hands or person of the user, or the surrounding pavement or ground, on which the human waste is deposited.
The device and method herein disclosed provides a waste bag which includes an easily held tubular support frame operatively engaged with the open end of the waste bag. This support frame maintains the bag open during use, providing a wide opening, and making it easy to hit the target as well as providing an easy means to seal a soiled bag after use.
It should be noted, the foregoing examples of related art in portable human waste collection devices and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the device and system described and claimed herein. Various limitations of the related art are already known or will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the specification below and the accompanying drawings.
An object of the present invention is the provision of an inexpensive and easy to use portable waste collection device.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a portable waste collection device, which includes a support frame configured for the user to hold the open end of the bag elevated during use.
Yet a further object of this invention is the provision of such a portable waste collection device wherein the open end of the plastic bag employed for waste collection, is easily sealed by the user once their task is finished.
Further objectives of the disclosed portable disposable waste collection invention herein will be brought out in the following parts of the specification wherein the summary and detailed description of the invention are for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.
The device herein provides a solution to the shortcomings of prior art through the provision of a human waste collection device, which is portable, disposable, self supporting and self sealing upon cessation of use.
The device provides a plastic bag or receptacle having an open end providing access to the inner cavity of the plastic bag. The open end of the bag is slidably engaged upon a support frame configured to both hold the open end enlarged, and to hold the open end closed once cinched by the user.
The support frame is preferably formed of a hollow elongated member, which is of a flexible material having a stiffness or hardness which will resist bending. The elongated flexible member forming the frame, extends from a connector formed at a first end, to a distal end of the elongated member. An aperture or opening formed in the connector, communicates with the axial cavity which runs through the elongated member, such that the distal end of the elongated member, can be inserted into the axial cavity and through the opening or aperture in the connector end of the member. Preferably the diameter of the aperture in the connector, is slightly smaller than the diameter of the elongated member, such that when the distal end of the elongated member, is communicated through the axial cavity at the connector end, and through the aperture, that the aperture will frictionally engage around the circumference of the elongated member. Thus, the elongated member can be formed into a support frame which forms an expanded configuration which resists bending when held horizontally by the user.
The plastic bag is engaged in a sliding connection with the frame formed by the elongated member. This sliding connection holds the opening of the bag open and expanded when the bag surrounding the open end of the bag is engaged to the frame while in the expanded configuration.
The self supporting, expanded frame allows a large opening for the user to deposit waste into the bag during user. The frame itself may be held in the hand of the user during use, or optionally, a handle can be provided which extends from the frame such as from the connector end. The handle allows the user to hold the frame from outside of the opening, thereby lessening the potential that waste will contact their hand during use of the device.
Upon finishing their task, the user may seal the open end of the bag, by pulling the elongated member through the aperture in the opening such that it collapses the open end of the bag. The frictional engagement of the aperture on the circumference of the elongated member will hold the bag closed. Alternatively, projections extending from the exterior circumference of the elongated member, once communicated through the aperture, will prevent the elongated member from sliding out of engagement therewith.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the herein portable disposable human waste collection device and method herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The self supporting and easily sealed waste collection device herein described is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other self supporting waste collection devices and for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed system. It is important, therefore, that the claims herein be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology, insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Referring now to the drawings,
The opening 14 at the open end of the bag 12 is slidably engaged upon a support frame 16. The support frame 16 is preferably formed of a hollow elongated member 18, which is formed from a flexible material having a stiffness or hardness which will resist bending such as a polymeric material or one or a combination of polymeric materials from a group including PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, and other plastics. The elongated member 18, so formed, has an axial passage 19 running from the first or distal end 20 to and through a connector end 24, such that the distal end 20 can be inserted into the axial passage 19 at the connector end 24, and then through a formed aperture or opening 22 in the wall of the elongated member 18.
The elongated flexible elongated member 18 is formed to the support frame 16, by the positioning of the distal end 20 of the elongated member 18 through and engaged in an opening 22 formed at a connector 24 at the opposite end of the elongated member 18 from the distal end 20. This opening 22 has a circumference which is slightly smaller than the circumference of the elongated member 18, such that when the distal end 20 is pulled therethrough, the opening 22 elastically engages around the exterior circumference of the elongated member 18. This frictional engagement holds the distal end 20 and a portion of the elongated member 18, in an engagement with the opening 22, and forms the elongated member 18 to a support frame 16 as shown in
Thus, as noted, the elongated member 18 can be formed into the support frame 16 configuration of
The formed support frame 16 itself may be held in the hand of the user during use, or optionally, a handle 26 can be provided which extends from a connection to the support frame 16 such as a connection extending from the connector end 24. In use of the device 10, the handle 26 allows the user to hold the support frame 16 from the outside of the opening 14, and elevated during use. Upon finishing their task, the user may seal the opening 14 of the bag 12 by pulling the elongated member 18 through the opening 22 in the connector end 24, whereby the support frame 16 collapses and holds the opening 14 of the bag 12 closed. The frictional engagement of the opening 22 on the circumference of the elongated member 18 will maintain the bag 12 closed. Alternatively, projections 28 extending from the exterior circumference of the elongated member 18, once communicated through the opening 22 at the connector 24, will lock the elongated member 18 from sliding in an opposite direction through the opening 22 and thereby prevent the elongated member 22 from sliding out of engagement therewith. This holds the opening 14 of the bag 12 more securely closed.
While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the disposable self supporting waste collection device herein have been described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instance, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should be understood that such substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations are included within the scope of the invention as defined herein.
