WO1998029019A1

WO1998029019A1 - A foldable toilet

Info

Publication number: WO1998029019A1
Application number: PCT/EP1997/000589
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eitan Raziel
Original assignee: Foster, David, Martyn
Priority date: 1996-12-31
Filing date: 1997-02-07
Publication date: 1998-07-09
Also published as: AU1723097A; IL119940A0

Abstract

The invention provides a foldable, erectable and dismantable toilet pot (10), comprising a structural member (12) made of a faced corrugated material, the member having four sides (14) and an upper face (16) connected thereto, the upper face being provided with an opening (18) sized to enable the passage therethrough of discharges from an infant sitting thereover, the member (12) being used in combination with a disposable container (20) having a closed end (22) and an open end (24), the open end being arranged to receive discharges passing through the opening of the structural member.

Description

A FOLDABLE TOILET

The present invention relates to a foldable toilet pot, preferably for the use of infants.

More particularly, the invention provides a toilet pot which is foldable, readily transported, erectable, dismantable and is disposable completely, or in part, after a single use.

The toilet training of infants usually requires considerable effort and patience from parents and attendants. A common difficulty is that adult- sized toilets are frightening to some infants, so recourse needs to be made to adapter seats for children which fit over an adult-size toilet seat, or to a children's toilet pot, during transition stages of training.

After infants have been toilet trained, usually at the age of 2 - 3 years, they should not be allowed to regress to diapers, even when on a journey, unless there are some exceptional circumstances, for example illness, or the child has undergone an exceptionally stressful experience. A further consideration well-known to parents is that during or shortly after toilet training the demand of a child to relieve him or herself should be catered to without delay. In home surroundings there is no difficulty in meeting this demand, but when the child is away from home, traveling or at the beach, in the country or in town, suitable facilities are often lacking. Even where public facilities are available in a nearby location, problems of hygiene persuade many parents to search for alternative solutioπs. Such facilities, even if clean and without an offensive smell, invariably lack child-sized toilet seats.

In recent years more stress has been placed on environmental issues, and there is less tolerance of parents or attendants allowing children to relieve themselves in the street, at the beach, in parks or other areas.

Rarely do parents take the traditional type of children ^' s toilet pot along on a trip. This item is bulky, unattractive, uncomfortably cold and hard for seating the infant and requires thorough washing after use. Shaped children ^' s chamber pots of more attractive design have been introduced in recent years, but the improvement effected has been limited to the sphere of aesthetics; as regarding portability, these are even more bulky than the plain cylindrical type which has been in use for centuries.

Bearing in mind this state of the art, it is surprising that nothing has been done so far to meet the well-defined requirement of a pot for children suitable for use while traveling and away from home.

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior-art children ^' s toiiet pots and to provide such an article which is readily portable as well as being optionally disposable.

The present invention achieves the above objectives by providing a foldable, erectable and dismantable toilet pot, comprising a structural member made of a faced corrugated material, said member having four sides and an upper face connected thereto, said upper face being provided with an opening sized to enable the passage therethrough of body waste discharges from an infant sitting thereover. The structural member is used in combination with a disposable container having a closed end and an open end, said open end being arranged to receive discharges passing through the opening of the structural member.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a foldable toilet pot wherein said disposable container is a plastic bag.

In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a foldable toilet pot wherein the structural member is made of a single performed sheet, typically of carton.

While the foldable toilet pot of the present invention is primarily designed for infant use and will be described hereinafter in this context, it will be realized that the structure claimed herein, can also be used for manufacturing sturdier and larger foldable toilet pots also for adults.

Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.

It will thus be realized that the novel device of the present invention is compact in storage and during travel, and a) is thus available when and where needed; b) is comfortable for the infant's seating due to minor deformation of the upper face in use; and c) the container is readily disposed of, and the structural component is collapsed and either folded for re-use or is also disposed of; there is therefore no need to wash anything. Complete disposal is possible as, due to the moderate load to be supported, the unit can be manufactured at low cost using less than 100 gram of corrugated carton.

The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.

With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partially fragmented perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the toilet pot according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment using a disposable plastic bag;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment provided with a hand grip recess; FIG. 4 is a plan view of the structural part of an embodiment made of a single pre-formed sheet;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a toilet pot erected using the sheet described with reference to FIG. 4, the plastic bag being shown fragmented;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment provided with means to retain the plastic bag which is shown fragmented; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment which is wholly disposable.

There is seen in FIG. 1 a foldable, erectable and dismantable toilet pot 10 according to the present invention.

A structural member 1 2 is made of a faced corrugated material. Member 1 2 has four sides 14 and an upper face 1 6 connected thereto, upper face 1 6 being provided with an opening 1 8 sized to enable the passage therethrough of discharges, e.g., from an infant sitting thereover.

Flaps 1 9 are inserted in slots 1 7 during erection.

A low-cost plastic may be used for the corrugated material used for manufacturing the structural member 1 2. However the alternate use of carton has several advantages. It is produced as material in roll form in very large quantities for use in packaging. Furthermore, carton is readily color printed . Color printing, including motifs to which children relate, such as vehicles, animals, toys and the like, is important to the present article, as an attractive appearance increases sales and encourages use by small children.

Carton being a poor heat conductor also feels warmer than many alternative materials when contacted by the skin of the user.

Contacting the upper face 1 6 of member 1 2 is a disposable container 20 having a closed end 22 and an open end 24 surrounded by a projecting lip 26. The open end 24 is arranged to receive body waste discharges passing through opening 1 8 of structural member 1 2. The lip 26 retains the container 20 in place and sits over the upper face 1 6 of the structural member 1 2.

In the present embodiment the disposable container 20 comprises a bowl made of a non-structural plastic, for example polyvinyl chloride or polystyrene. Such containers are available at low cost due to the mass production of such bowls for use as disposable serving dishes.

With regard to the structural member 1 2, this can either be disposed of after use or folded for reuse in combination with a new disposable container.

With reference to the rest of the figures, similar reference numerals have been used to identify similar parts.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is seen a further embodiment 28 wherein the structural member 30 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1 , but two opposite sides 32 of the four are trapezoidal. The trapezoidal shape gives added strength to the structure, which can thus support a distributed load of at least 20 kg, even where the material used is faced corrugated carton only 1 /8 inch thick.

The disposable container shown in this embodiment is a plastic bag 34. This is easily separated from the structural member 30, and its use is advantageous due to the bag 34 being easily closed, disposed of after use, and replaced at negligible cost.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment 36 wherein one side 38 is provided with a recess 40 serving as a hand grip for manipulating the toilet pot. The recess 40 further serves to stabilize the structure 42 when placed on an uneven horizontal surface for use.

Seen in FIG. 4 is a flat pre-cut form of an embodiment wherein the structural member is constructed from a single performed sheet 46.

It will be readily appreciated that many other cut forms can be devised which can be erected to form the required structural member. The shape shown has certain advantages. It is quickly foldable for erection, stable when erected and the oval opening 48 conforms to the body shape of the infant.

The same embodiment is shown in erected form in FIG. 5. The flaps 50 are bent over and inserted in the slots 52. Similarly, the extensions 54 are inserted in the slots 52. The 50 flaps can be used for retaining the open end 58 of the plastic bag 60, shown fragmented, in the slots 52. Connector flaps 44 are interlocked during erection.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is seen an embodiment 62 also provided with retention means for the disposable bag 64, seen fragmented. Such means comprises four apertures 66 in upper face 68 in proximity to corners 70 thereof. By using finger pressure, a portion of the open part 72 of bag 64 is readily insertable in each aperture 66, to securely hold the bag 64 in place during use, and yet to allow its easy removal thereafter.

FIG. 7 illustrates a completely disposable toilet pot 74. The pot 74 is manufactured with the open part 76 of a bowl-shaped plastic bag 78 pre- attached to upper face 80. After erection the pot 74 is thus ready for immediate use. The infant sits comfortably on the smooth upper face 80. After use the sides 82 of the structural member are bent upwards and over to cover the upper face 80. The upper face 80 itself is then folded to compact the pot 74 for convenient disposal.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1 . A foldable, erectable and dismantable toilet pot, comprising a structural member made of a faced corrugated material, said member having four sides and an upper face connected thereto, said upper face being provided with an opening sized to enable the passage therethrough of discharges from an infant sitting thereover, said member being used in combination with a disposable container having a closed end and an open end, said open end being arranged to receive discharges passing through said opening of said structural member.

2. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 1 , wherein said disposable container is a plastic bag.

3. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 1 , wherein said faced corrugated material is carton.

4. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 1 , wherein at least two of said four sides are trapezoidal.

5. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said four sides is provided with a recess serving as a hand grip for manipulating said toilet pot.

6. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 1 , wherein said structural member is constructed from a single performed sheet.

7. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 2, wherein means are provided for retention on said upper face of said open part of said disposable plastic bag.

8. A foldable toilet pot according to claim 7, wherein said retention means comprises four apertures in said upper face in proximity to corners thereof, a portion of said open part of said bag being insertable in each aperture.

9. A disposable toilet pot according to claim 2, wherein said open part of said plastic bag is pre-attached to said upper face.