US3160893A

US3160893A - Bedpans

Info

Publication number: US3160893A
Application number: US200412A
Authority: US
Inventors: Steel Geoffrey Carter; Doherty Harold Alfred
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-06-07
Filing date: 1962-06-06
Publication date: 1964-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1981-12-15
Also published as: GB1026786A; GB1021831A; US3163868A

Description

1964 G. c. STEEL ETAL 3,

BEDPANS Filed June 6, 1962 #770 Hwy s United States Patent 3,160,893 I BEDPANS Geoffrey Carter Steel, 14 Roehampton Gate, London SW. 15, England, and Harold Alfred Doherty, Oak Trees, Cockfosters Road, Barnet, Hertiordshire, England Filed June 6, 1962, Ser. No. 200,412 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 7, 1961,

20,601/ 61 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-112) The invention relates to bedpans and has for an object to provide an improved form thereof.

The invention provides a bedpan comprising a support frame providing an upwardly facing surface to support the users body and means for holding said surface in a raised position, said surface being formed with an aperture and, in combination with the frame, an expendable waterproof open-mouthed receptacle beneath the aperture and supported by the frame with its mouth registering with the aperture.

In one form of the invention the support frame is of generally oval shape in plan, has an upright outside wall, which maybe of open or closed construction, and has a top cover part providing the surface aforesaid.

Preferably the receptacle is of flexible sheet material (e.g. paper, thin gauge polythene or other plastic). The receptacle may have a flange around its month which flange overlies the said surface, or a part thereof. In one construction the receptacle is of open dish-like form, produced by folding from a sheet blank.

A specific construction of a bedpan according to the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the support frame with a receptacle positioned ready for insertion into the support, there is also shown in chain lines, a receptacle in place in the support,

FIGURE 2 shows a blank from which a receptacle may be folded.

The support frame is of unitary thin-walled construction and made of resin bonded glass fibres or moulded of a suitable plastic. The frame, which is of generally oval shape, as seen in plan, has an upright outside wall and a cover part providing an upwardly facing surface 11 shaped to support the body. There is a rectangular aperture 12 in this surface. The head end 13 of the surface 11 is of substantial width to support the lower part of the users back.

As an alternative to the use of a continuous outside wall to support the surface 11, there may be used a frame of tubular construction having upper and lower oval rings interconnected by tubular uprights.

The receptacle 14 is of open-mouthed rectangular dish-like shape with an external flange 15. The dish-like portion fits within the aperture 12 and depends from the flange 15 which seats on the surface 11. The receptacle is folded from a blank of water-proofed card having the shape shown in FIGURE 2. The blank is creased where shown in chain lines and provides a bottom 18, side walls 19, end walls 20,

corners

21, 22 and

flange portions

24, 25, 26. The corner pieces 22 and the adjacent areas 28 are provided with latex adhesive on the surface of the blank which will be outside in the folded receptacle, these parts then adhering together to hold the receptacle erected. The ends of the adjacent flange 3,160,893 Patented Dec. 15, 1964 ice portions overlap at the corners when erected and may also have self-adhesive coatings, if desired. Hand-holes (e.g. as shown at 30) may be provided in the flange portions.

The

walls

19 and 20 taper slightly inwardly and downwardly so that the receptacles may be nested together for stacking and storage.

After use the receptacles, and their contents, may be comminuted or pulverized and then passed into a sewage waste system. The comminution or pulverization may be effected by apparatus of the kind having rotating cutting blades or hammers cooperating with fixed blades or other parts and jets of water for washing the particles into a sewer.

As an alternative to comminution, the receptacles may be incinerated or partially incinerated and the remainder comminuted.

We claim:

l. A bedpan for use by a patient confined to bed and comprising a support member providing an upwardly facing surface to support the users body and having a rectangular aperture therein and means for holding said surface in a position raised from the bed surface and, in combination with the support member, an expandable container folded from a single blank of water-resistant flexible sheet material, said container comprising a rectangular open-mouthed tray having a flat base with upstanding walls folded upwardly from the base and said walls being continuous around the base and united at the corners of the tray by pleated portions of the material, and flanged portions which extend outwardly from the upper edges of the walls, overlapping each other at the corners, and seat on the said upwardly facing surface, the tray portion being located within the aperture and dependent from said surface.

2. A bedpan as claimed in claim 1 in which the walls of the container slope outwardly and upwardly from the base of the container so that similar containers will stack one within another.

3. A bedpan as claimed in claim 1 in which the material of the container has weakened fold lines defining the sides of the rectangular base and forming the attachment of the walls to the base, fold lines at the ends of the walls and biseoting the angles between the ends of adjacent walls, the corner material between the ends of adjacent walls being pleated about the fold lines and secured to one of the adjacent walls, and fold lines defining the top edges of the walls and forming the attachment of the flanges to the walls, the flanges being severed from said pleated portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,230,413 Kinch June 19, 1917 1,388,155 Abraham Aug. 23, 1921 1,401,794 Koif Dec. 27, 1921 2,063,797 Ebert Dec. 8, 1936 2,304,631 Ensing Dec. 8, 1942 2,320,845 Bolton June 1, 1943 2,336,494 Metcalf Dec. 14, 1943 2,685,399 Crosby Aug. 3, 1954 2,893,017 Beck July 7, 1959 2,942,769 Kuchenbecker June 28, 1960 3,061,840 Presseisen Nov. 6, 1962

Claims

1. A BEDPAN FOR USE BY A PATIENT CONFINED TO BED AND COMPRISING A SUPPORT MEMBER PROVIDING AN UPWARDLY FACING SURFACE TO SUPPORT THE USER''S BODY AND HAVING A RECTANGULAR APERTURE THEREIN AND MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID SURFACE IN A POSITION RAISED FROM THE BED SURFACE AND, IN COMBINATION WITH THE SUPPORT MEMBER, AN EXPANDABLE CONTAINER FOLDED FROM A SINGLE BLANK OF WATER-RESISTANT FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL, SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING A RECTANGULAR OPEN-MOUTHED TRAY HAVING A FLAT BASE WITH UPSTANDING WALLS FOLDED UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE AND SAID WALLS BEING CONTINUOUS AROUND THE BASE AND UNITED AT THE CORNERS OF THE TRAY BY PLEATED PORTIONS OF THE MATERIAL, AND FLANGED PORTIONS WHICH EXTEND OUTWARDLY FROM THE UPPER EDGES OF THE WALLS, OVERLAPPING EACH OTHER AT THE CORNERS, AND SEAT ON THE SAID UPWARDLY FACING SURFACE, THE TRAY PORTION BEING LOCATED WITHIN THE APERTURE AND DEPENDENT FROM SAID SURFACE.