Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Dry closets – Urinal
Patent
1996-12-02
1998-12-01
Phillips, Charles E.
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Dry closets
Urinal
A47K 1100
Patent
active
058422331
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a device for collecting urine or other organic body fluids, comprising a flexible bag made of liquid impervious sheet material, means for receiving and conducting urine into the bag, and means for preventing urine from leaving the bag through the urine-receiving means.
A device of this kind eliminates, among other things, the various problems associated with the use of bottles and bedpans by patients confined to wheelchairs and beds. Furthermore, the device improve the hygiene of both patients and nursing personnel or minders, and many of the unpleasantnesses associated with the handling of bedpans can be eliminated, because the urine is handled while enclosed in a throw-away liquid-impervious plastic bag.
Urine-collecting devices of this kind can also be used by healthy people in many circumstances, for instance in automotive vehicles, boats and aircrafts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,875 describes a urine-collecting device of this general kind. The manufacture of this known device, however, requires several working stages, among other things the fabrication of a separate valve housing with a loose float, therewith making manufacture relatively expensive.
The object of the present invention is to provide a urine-collecting device of the aforedefined kind which can be used by both men and women without the risk of spillage. The device shall also have a construction which enables the device to be manufactured in a very efficient manner and at low cost.
These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by virtue of the coaction of a part of the wall of the bag with a mounting flange such as to obtain a check valve function.
An inventive urine-collecting device is characterized in that the urine-receiving means is attached to a mounting flange which is welded sealingly to the bag and which includes a bottom which lies at least partially loosely against the bag wall and which includes openings through which urine is able to pass; and in that the part of the bag wall which lies beneath said bottom has provided therein at least one cut such as to form at least one flap which while enabling urine to pass into the bag through the openings in said bottom, effectively closes these openings when urine tends to flow in the reverse direction.
A device of this kind can be readily manufactured since, among other things, it includes no separate valve housing and float, and can be fully automated.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the bag wall has formed therein two flaps which are preferably generally semi-circular in shape and which face away from one another and are hingedly connected to an intermediate part of the bag material.
The urine-receiving device will conveniently be removably attached to the mounting flange, for instance through the medium of a bayonet fitting. This enables the urine-receiving device to be re-used after having first removed the urine-containing bag therefrom, whereafter the bag cab be discarded.
According to one preferred embodiment of the urine-collecting device, the bag has a generally rectangular shape and the urine-receiving device is mounted at one short side of the bag. A part of the bag on the side of the receiving device opposite to said short side is welded by means of a transverse weld which joins the bag walls together. This prevents the heavy flow of urine against the flap from the interior of the bag, said flag functioning as a check valve, which further reduces the risk of urine leaking from the device.
The weld join will conveniently extend over a central part of the bag, such as to leave free urine passageways along both edge sides of the bag. The flaps are cut out of the bag wall such that one of said flaps is opened against the transverse weld join, meaning that urine is unable to flow directly towards the flap opening.
Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following claims.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof and also with reference
REFERENCES:
patent: 3473172 (1969-10-01), Friedman et al.
patent: 3781922 (1974-01-01), Ericson
patent: 3901235 (1975-08-01), Patel et al.
patent: 5010599 (1991-04-01), Nilsson
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