US3473772A - Urinal holder - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 21, 1969 F. w. NILSON v 3,473,772

URINAL HOLDER Filed March 15, 1967 F71 Teen/5V 3,473,772 URINAL HOLDER Fred W. Nilson, lLos Angeles, Calif assignor of one-half to Ralph Nilson, Burbank, Calif. Filed Mar. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 622,747 Int. Cl. Afilg 7/06, 9/00 US. Cl. 248-214 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to holders for hand-held urinals, and more particularly to such holders adapted for use in the hospital or sickroom.

Anyone who has spent any time in a hospital or sickroom, either as a visitor or a patient, has been aware of the awkward presence of the ubiquitous portable urinal.

Although a vital necessity for the bed-ridden patient, the very sight of this appliance in even the most sanitary and attractive of rooms is both unpleasant and disquiting. Yet, with the ever increasing work load imposed on nurses and orderlies in our hospitals and the problems associated with providing constant attention for the confined patient at home, it is often necessary that the urinal be stationed within easy reach from the bed. And all too often the same circumstances prevent the immediate removal of the unsightly and unhygienic receptacle once it has served its purpose.

Essentially the subject invention comprises an upright container having a flat rear wall, upwardly and outwardly tapered sides, and an outwardly curved front wall. One or both of the side walls is provided with an upwardly open slot in its upper end to receive the urinal handle when the urinal is inserted into the holder in an upright position. A flat bottom allows the holder to stand upright without support on a fiat horizontal surface, even with a urinal in place. One or more hooks is attached to the outside of the rear Wall near is upper end to releasably engage one of the horizontal bars of a hospital bed guard rail or the like, and supports the holder in an upright position against the guard rail.

It is a primary object of the subject invention to furnish an aesthetically attractive holder for hand-held urinals which may be easily mounted on a bed or other available support for convenient access by the patient.

It is another object to provide such a holder which may be manufactured inexpensively in either permanent or disposable form. It is still another object to provide attachment means for a holder of this type which may readily be applied to a number of supporting structures commonly found in the hospital or sickroom.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of several of its preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing one form of the holder mounted on the rails of a hospital bed, with a urinal in place;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the holder of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side detail view of the attachment means shown in FIGURE 2 taken in the direction 3-3 of that figure;

ted States Patent "ice FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary end detail view of the same attachment means taken in the direction 4-4 of FIGURE 3 with the steps to be followed in dismounting the attachment means illustrated by dotted lines and arrows;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side view of another form of the subject holder showing different attachment means;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary rear view of the holder of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side detail view of another embodiment of the subject invention illustrating a modified form of attachment means; and

FIGURE 8 is a rear perspective view of a portion of still another embodiment of the invention showing a further modification of the attachment means.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 the holder 11 of one preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an upright container open at its top to receive a typical handheld urinal 12 and tapered somewhat downwardly to hold the steel or aluminum body 13 of urinal 12 securely. A slot 14 is provided extending downwardly from the top of one or both of the sides 15 to receive and hold securely the urinal handle 16. Although in normal use the holder 11 will be held upright and suspended from a support, such as hospital bed rails 18 by attachment means such as hook 17, it is preferably provided with a flat bottom 19 capable of supporting the holder 11 and urinal 12 upright of the floor or other convenient surface without the need for additional support.

Since one of the principal aims of the subject invention is to provide an attarctive container for what is, at least psychologically, a basically unpleasant object, the specific external design features of holder 11 are to a great extent a matter of aesthetic discretion. Similarly, the choice of materials used in the construction of holder 11, whether plastic, metal, wood, leather, a paper product, ceramic, glass or some other, is a matter of personal taste and manufacturing practicability. While each of the materials mentioned has a certain advantageous quality, it is preferably to mold holder 11 inexpensively with thin yet durable walls and bottom of plastic Fiberglas materials so that it can be disposed of if desired without substantial economic loss. The tapered design of holder 11 of FIGURES 1 and 2 lends itself readily to such a molding process.

FIGURES 3 and 4 illustrate in greater detail the construction of the attachment means, hook 17, shown in the embodiment of the subject invention depicted in FIGURES l and 2. Hook 17 is bent to conform to the outside diameter of upper bed rail 18. Hook 17 is provided with an elongated shank 21 terminating at its opposite end in an upwardly projecting slide 22 in the form of an inverted U adapted to fit over the upper edge of side 15 of holder 11. The second hook assembly illustrated in FIGURE 2 is substantially identical to that illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, except that slide 21 is formed with the free end of the inverted U projecting outwardly of the opposite side 15 of holder 11 and away from the assembly illustrated in those figures.

A coiled extension spring 23 is mounted on shank 21 between retainers 24 and 25, which are mounted to slide freely on shank 21. Shank 21 slides freely through opening 26 in the rear wall 27 of holder 11.

As shown by dotted lines in FIGURE 3, to mount holder 11 on a supporting structure such as bed rails 18, slides 22 are forced toward rear wall 27 and into the position designated by numeral 22a. Hook 17 then occupies the position designed by numeral 17a. Holder 11 is lowered until shank 21 rests on the selected rail 18, and the rearward pressure on slides 22 is released, allowing springs 23, acting on retainers 24 and 25 to force slides 22 back to their original positions and pulling hook 17 snugly around rail 18. The force exerted by springs 23 maintains the rear wall 27 of holder 11 in tight contact with the upper rail 18, allowing the weight of holder 11 to maintain the lower portion of rear wall 27 in contact with lower rail 18. Holder 11 is now ready to receive urinal 12, and cannot be easily dislodged or up-ended.

When holder 11 is to be discarded or repairs are neces sary, hooks 22 may be easily removed. In normal operation slide 22 is in position A. Reversing the procedure illustrated in FIGURE 3 holder 11 is removed from rail 18 and slide 22 returned to its rest position. Slide 22 is then raised to the position designated B with the free end of the inverted U clear of the upper edge of side 15. Slide 22 is then rotated into the position designated C, thereby inverting hook 17, which may now readily be withdrawn through opening 26 in wall 27 by elevating slide 22. Slide 22 may be replaced or mounted on a new holder by reversing this procedure.

In the attachment means illustrated in FIGURES and 6 holder 11 is provided with a pair of inverted resilient hooks 31 (only one shown) which may be integrally formed on, or releasably connected by conventional means to, the outside of rear wall 27 near its upper corners. A third J-shaped hook 32 having an upwardly projecting slotted flange 33 is slidably attached to the outside of wall 27 at a point below and intermediate hooks 31 by means of a bolt 34 and wing nut 35.

To attach this form of the invention to bed rails 18 or similarly arranged supporting means hooks 31 are lowered over an upper supporting element, such as upper rail 18, and hook 32 is secured under the lower supporting element, such as lower rail 18 and fastened in place by means of wing nut 35. Releasing wing nut 35 permits the easy removal of holder 11 when its use is no longer required.

FIGURE 7 illustrates a modified attachment hook 41 in the form of a resilient spring clip provided with caming means 42 fixed to the outside of rear wall 27. A pair of such hooks may be substituted for hook 17 or 31 near the upper corners of wall 27 for attachment to a bed rail 18, the back of a chair, or any other convenient supporting member. As with the attachment means described in FIGURES 3 and 4, the use of a pair of resilient hooks 41 obviates the necessity for additional attachment or clamping means, such as the hook 32 of FIGURES 5 and 6.

FIGURE 8 shows a modified form of a disposable holder 11 with attachment means usable with a variety of supporting structures. In this form of the invention the attachment means 51 comprise a universally adjustable clamp having a wing nut operated lug clamp 52 adapted to secure universal clamp 51 to a boss 53 provided on the rear face of wall 27. This embodiment of the invention is particularly suited for use in the residential sickroom, or elsewhere where the patients bed does not have rails such as those illustrated'in FIGURE 1. Equipped with universal clamp 51 the subject invention quickly turns a conventional floor lamp or almost any other piece of household furniture into an adequate support for holder 11.

What is claimed is:

1. A vertically disposed holder for a hand-held urinal adapted to be releasably mounted on a hospital bed rail or the like comprising:

a flat upstanding rear wall;

upwardly outwardly tapered upstanding sides;

an upwardly open slot at the upper end of at least one of said sides adapted to receive the urinals handle:

an outwardly curved front wall, said front wall, sides,

and rear walls substantially surrounding and releasably holding the urinal in an upright position;

a fiat bottom adapted to support said holder and urinal in an upright position on a horizontal surface without external support;

an inverted, generally U-shaped resilient hook formed on the outside of, and integral with, said rear Wall adjacent its upper end, said hook being of sufficient length, and adapted, to substantially surround and firmly grasp said rail While subtending an are or more than and having earning means at .[S

' free lower end whereby said end is directed outwardlv of said rear wall and around said rail by the application of force downwardly upon said holder.

2. A vertically disposed holder "for a hand-held urinal comprising:

a fiat upstanding rear wall;

upwardly outwardly tapered upstanding sides, said sides and rear wall releasably holding the urinal in .111 upright position;

an upwardly open slot at the upper end of at least one of said sides adapted to accept the urinals handle:

a fiat bottom adapted to support said holder and urinal in an upright position on a horizontal surface, without external support;

means formed on the outside of said rear wall and removable from said holder for releasably attaching the holder to a supporting structure, said means 1ncluding a pair of openings through said rear wall adjacent its upper end,

a pair of elongated shanks loosely journalled slidably through each of said openings and having a downwardly depending hook at their outer ends and 'an upwardly directed inverted U-shapect slide at their inner ends adapted slidably and releasably to engage the upper edge of the adjacent side of said holder, and

an expansion spring mounted on each of said shanks within said holder between said rear Wall and said slide.

3. The holder described in claim 2 including also .1 pair of spring retainers slidably mounted on each of said shanks within said holder at the opposite ends of said springs and adapted to engage said upwardly directed inverted U-shaped slide and the inside of said rear wall. respectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,401,672 12/1921 Claussen et al 248226 K 1,345,252 6/1920 Rubin 248-311 K 2,191,782 2/1940 Valane 248-31 1 K 2,195,955 4/1940 Hillenbrand 248--22 3,229,947 1/1966 White 248-314 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 24831l

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