AU666082B2 - Improvements in personal waste receptacles - Google Patents

Description

666082 PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: PM5225 PM6925 PM6926 PM5445 Related Art: Dated Dated Dated Dated April, 1994 July, 1994 July, 1994 May, 1994

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TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: WILLIAM ADAMSON Address of Applicant: 103 Prince Edward Park Road WORONORA NSW 2232 Actual Inventor: AS ABOVE Address for Service: ANDERSON-TAYLOR ASSOCIATES, Registered PaLent Attorneys of 10 Harrison Avenue BONNET BAY N.S.W. 2226 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVEMENTS IN PERSONAL WASTE RECEPTACLES The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: This invention relates .o personal waste receptacles and more particularly discloses an improved form of toilet or water-closet which assists-in the evacuation of the *user's bowel.

Conventional toilets typically comprise a flushable pan or bowl which is located below and in front of a water cistern. The rim of the bowl and overlying seat are substantially horizontal and arranged so that the user sits in a generally upright position with feet on the floor, thighs horizontal and back straight at about degrees to the thighs. It is an established medical fact however that such position is not particularly conducive to evacuation of the bowels. Indeed the squatting posture adopted in some primitive rural communities where defecation is often undertaken without any toilet facilities is considerably better adapted for bowel movement.

It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages and accordingly this invention discloses a waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel, said receptacle having a front, a rear and a seat means for supporting the user's buttocks over said receptacle, said seat means having a wedge shaped insert located thereunder which in use of the receptacle locates over an upper rim of said receptacle so that said seat means is sloped downwardly toward the rear and an elevated foot rest adjacent the front so thatt'said user -is constrained to adopt

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a squat-like position with the knees drawn up toward the chest and elevated relative to the buttocks whereby evacuation of the bowel is obtained with less exertion by the user.

In another aspect this invention also discloses an insert for placing between the upper horizontal rim of a conventional toilet bowl and the hinged seat thereof, said insert being wedge shaped and serving to elevate the front of the seat so that it adopts a sloping position inclined towards the rear of said bowl and a raised foot rest adapted for positioning adjacent the front of said bowl.

.Preferably the insert would be formed either as one piece with the seat or be manufactured separately for subsequent attachment to the underside of said seat.

The currently preferred embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic side elevational view of one form of toilet according to this concept with a user sitting thereon, Figure 2 is a front view of the toilet uf figure 1, -3- Figures 3 Figures 4 and 3A are schematic side views of a conventional toilet bowl fitted with a wedge shaped seat and separate foot rest according to another aspect of this invention, and and 4A are underside perspective and side views of a separately manufactured wedge insert for fitting between the seat and bowl rim of a conventional toilet.

*Oe* 0000 0 0 0000 0 @000 0 Referring first to fugures 1 and 2 there is shown a toilet comprising a pan 1, water cistern 2 with connecting pipe 3 and sewer connection 4. A seat 5 and cover 6 of any suitable design are hinged to the top of the pan 1 as shown. In accordance with this invention the upper rim 7 of the pan is inclined downwardly towards the rear of the toilet. With this particular example the angle of incline is about 20 degrees however it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific amount of slope. An elevated foot rest 8 is also provided under the front of the rim 7. This foot rest may be formed as one piece with the bowl 1 or alternatively may be separate and attached by any suitable means. A user 8A is thus constrained to raise his thighs 9 relative to his buttocks 10 and assume a slightly doubled up or squat-like posture as shown.

It has been found through extensive experimenta i by the inventor that such position substantially eases the emptying of the bowl which otherwise with persons of all ages can be a particularly slow and often 00 *r 9 00 0900 0 @000 -4- I 1 unsuccessful ordeal to the extent that their health is adversely affected.

Although the invention is not limited to any specific mode of operation it is believed that the ,quat-like posture required when using the toilet enables or encourages the sphincter muscle which controls the opening and closing of the bowel to relax. Therefore less extertion, if any, is needed to cause a bowel movement. This in turn reduces the chances of constipation, cancer of the colon, haemorrhoid development and other related ailments.

As shown in figures 3 and 3A this invention also proposes separate insert and foot rest devices to enable conventional S' toilets to be modified to provide the aforementioned advantages. In this case there is a seat 11 formed with a wedge shaped insert 12 on the underside so that in 0* the operational position (figure 3) a sloping support for the buttocks is provided similar to that of figure 1.

When not in use the seat would swing back toward the rear as shown in figure 3A. The foot rest 13 would preferably be shaped to fit around the base of the toilet bowl and would be secured in place by any suitable muans such as adhesives or straps etc. Preferably the seat/insert and foot rest would be moulded from plastic however any other suitable material could be used. As with the first embodiment the invention is not limited to any specific 4 1 slope for the insert although in this case the seat is disposed at about 10 degrees to the horizontal.

In those instances where it is not feasible or economic to remove an existing seat a separate insert 14 as shown in figures 4 and 4A is also proposed by this invention.

This could be fastened to the underside of an existing seat or merely positioned over the existing rim of a conventional toilet bowl. As a preferred feature a downwardly extending ridge 15 may be formed around the lower inside lip of the insert. This would operate to reduce splashing during use of the toilet.

It will thus be appreciated that this invention at least

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in the form of the embodiments described provides a novel and useful improvement to toilets. Clearly however the particular examples disclosed are only the currently preferred form of the invention and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a 0 person skilled in the art. For example the slope of the toilet bowl rim, or insert is not limited to any specific value so long as it is sufficient to provide the required sqatting posture while at the same time not causing undue discomfort or instability for the user.

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Claims (4)

1. A waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel, said receptacle having a front, a rear and a seat means for supporting the user's buttocks over said receptacle, said seat means having a wedge shaped insert located thereunder which in use of the receptacle locates over an upper rim of said receptacle so that said seat means is sloped downwardly toward the rear and an elevated footrest adjacent the front so that said user is constrained to adopt a squat-like position with the knees drawn up toward the chest and elevated relative to the buttocks whereby evacuation of the bowel is obtained with less exertion by the user, said footrest being fixed in position and formed as one piece with the base of the receptacle and being adapted to elevate both feet of the user. coo

2. The waste receptacle as claimed in claim 1 wherein a downwardly extending ridge is formed around the lower 0 inside lip of the insert to reduce splashing during use I Y of the receptacle. oo

3. The waste receptacle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the insert is attached to or formed as one piece with said seat means.

4. Thp waste receptacle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said waste receptacle is a flush toilet. -7- A waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel, said waste receptacle being substantially as described herein with reference to figures 1 and 2 or 3 and 3A. Dated this 14th day of November, 1995 William Adamson By his Patent Attorney MICHAEL ANDERSON-TAYLOR *ooo *o *o oeu -8- ABSTRACT There is a waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowl. The receptacle has a front, rear and seat for supporting the user's buttocks (10) over the receptacle. The seat is sloped downwardly toward the rear and there is an elevated foot rest adjacent the front. The user (8A) is thus constrained to adopt a squat-like posture with the knees drawn up toward the chest and elevated relative to the buttocks. Such posture causes the user's sphincter muscle to relax and evacuation of the bowel is obtained with less exertion. 0* 0* o*o o 0 *o*