Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Flush closet – Bowl
Patent
1996-03-05
1998-02-24
Phillips, Charles E.
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Flush closet
Bowl
4661, E03D 1100
Patent
active
057200548
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for in situ sampling urine excreted by the individuals at a toilet installed in residences, offices or other facilities to obtain urine sample for use in urine analysis. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus capable of sampling urine at a toilet equipped with a standardized water closet bowl fixture commercially available on the market.
BACKGROUND ART
In view of the trends for longevity of the individuals, the importance of health care and maintenance has been receiving increasing attention. As urine is an important source of information that represents the health conditions of an individual, various dysfunction such as pancreatic disorders (typically, diabetes), hypohepatia, and kidney disorders can be detected advantageously in a non-invasive manner by performing quantitative analysis of certain urine constituents, such as glucose, protein, urobilinogen, occult blood and other substances. Accordingly, proposed in the art are toilets having a urinalysis function which are capable of performing sampling and analysis of urine so as to assist the individuals in rendering their health check by making use of toilets provided in residences, offices and other facilities.
For instance, JP-A-59-217844 of Toto Ltd., U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,431 to Ikenaga et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,550 to Ikenaga et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,741 to Saito et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,500 to Saito et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,539 to Hiruta et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,359 to Tsutamura et al., propose to form a urine sampling cavity or sampling well on the bowl surface of a water closet bowl fixture to sample a quantity of urine excreted into the toilet bowl, the urine sample being subjected to urinalysis by way of liquid chromatographic process, colorimetric analysis process, or polarographic or voltammetric process.
The advantage of these sampling systems which are designed to make use of the urine sampling cavity or sampling well formed on the bowl surface is that urine excreted into the toilet bowl is received and collected by a considerably wide surface area of the bowl so that urine is readily sampled regardless of the direction of urination or the variation in the trajectory of urine column. Therefore, an adequate quantity of urine necessary for urinalysis can easily be sampled even in the case of elderly people who are apt to suffer from the shortage of the amount of urine per urination.
However, the problem associated with these systems is that they require a special-purpose toilet bowl fixture provided with a urine sampling cavity or well formed on the bowl surface for the purposes of sampling of urine so that a standard-type toilet bowl fixture having the conventional bowl configuration cannot be used. Accordingly, in order to sample urine and perform urinalysis at a toilet of residence, office or other facility, the existing conventional bowl fixture must first be removed and then a special purpose bowl fixture envisioned for sampling and urinalysis must be installed. This involves a great deal of labor and expenses for reform works and necessitates to discard the existing bowl fixture.
Furthermore, as such special purpose toilet bowl fixtures must be manufactured specially and separately from standard-type toilet bowls, it is difficult to produce them via the mass production process. As a result, these systems are too expensive to be installed widely in regular households and offices.
Another disadvantage is the difficulty in obtaining a good urine specimen since residual flushing water remaining in the urine sampling cavity of the bowl surface after flushing of the bowl tends to dilute the fresh urine to be sampled. Similarly, the fresh urine sample is susceptible to contamination by residual urine and feces since the urine sampling section is formed on the bowl surface.
In FIG. 4 of JP-A-62-187253 of K.K. Inax, there is disclosed a sampling apparatus wherein a swing arm supporting an excrement sampling vess
REFERENCES:
patent: 4636474 (1987-01-01), Ogura et al.
patent: 4961431 (1990-10-01), Ikenaga et al.
patent: 4962550 (1990-10-01), Ikenaga et al.
patent: 4982741 (1991-01-01), Saito et al.
patent: 5073500 (1991-12-01), Saito et al.
patent: 5111539 (1992-05-01), Hiruta et al.
patent: 5184359 (1993-02-01), Tsukamura et al.
patent: 5625911 (1997-05-01), Nakayama et al.
Koguro Toshio
Matsuno Takanori
Nakayama Chiaki
Sato Naoki
Shinohara Kuniaki
Phillips Charles E.
Toto Ltd.
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