BAG WITH SEALING DEVICE AND COLLAR FOR DISPOSING OF WASTE
The present invention provides a disposable waste container for us in ambulances, planes, sick bays, hospitals, or in other environments where contamination is a risk. The container comprises a bag of appropriate material and a collar extending around the opening of the bag which may serve itself as part of the sealing mechanism. Also the sidewalls of the bag may extend over and under the collar. This invention was designed to contain bodily fluids or human waste in a more hygienic manner over the prior art.
The present invention relates to a waste collection containers and in particular to containers which collect human excrement such as vomit, urine and/or faeces in temporary holding devices before permanent disposal. Hereinafter, the invention will be described with reference to this application; however, it will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted this particular field of use.
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PROBLEMS OF THE PRIOR ARTKnown waste containers include vomit bags, urine bottles and bed pans. All known waste containers described below share the following common shortcomings; therefore, the shortcomings will be described with regard to vomit bags by way of example but are inclusive of all excrement (vomit, urine and faeces) collection devices.
Common methods used to capture vomit in crowded and confined environments such as hospitals, clinics, transportation vehicles such as aeroplanes, and sporting environments include the following:
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- 1. Disposable bags, such as plastic and paper bags, suffer the disadvantage that they are not able to be sealed reversibly, quickly or efficiently to provide a leak-proof and odourless containment.
- 2. Dishes, such as kidney shaped dishes, suffer the disadvantage that they are prone to spillage, particularly if the individual is heaving during the vomiting and does not limit the odour or seal the waste from the environment.
The smell of vomit can trigger vomiting in people located in the immediate surrounds. Vomit waste needs to be disposed of cleanly and quickly, without contaminating the environment.
Patented vomit/waste collection devices typically have the following problems:
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- 1. the collection device lacks a means for sealing the collection bag or dish as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,990,145 and 7,029,463 and US Patent Application 20030116575;
- 2. the collection device is too large and bulky for use in crowded locations as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,332, 5,822,806; or
- 3. the collection device requires the addition of sealing means to be added independently to the collection means as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,277, which involves an enclosable bag being laid within a waste collection kidney dish.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,039 is a commonly known vomit/waste collection system with an annular neck. In practice this only partially seals the waste bag at the neck of the bag, leaving the contaminated mouth of the bag exterior to the sealing join and consequently exposed to contaminate the surrounding environment. The content of the vomit/waste bag in practice seals at a point that leaves a section of the vomit/waste bag unsealed. Further, the sealing device is prone to leakage and is not air tight.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTIONAn object of the present invention is to provide disposable Waste Containers for use in ambulances, planes, sick bays, hospitals, or in other environments where contamination is a risk. The invention can sealingly contain vomit and/or other human waste in a more hygienic manner than the prior art commonly used. The Waste Container is enabled to minimise contamination of the surrounding air and physical environment by:
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- 1. sealing all contaminated waste within the container; and
- 2. decreasing the risk of leakage of waste from the container.
A further object of the present invention is to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.
According to the invention, there is provided a Waste Container for receiving excrement including:
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- a) a Waste Collection Bag having a closed bottom and an open top with sidewalls extending from said bottom and terminating in said top defining an opening;
- b) a sealing means located on said upper portion of said sidewalls substantially near to said Bag's said top, such that said open top can be closed with sealing engagement of said sidewalls so as to sealingly enclose excrement within said Bag; and
- c) a Collar extending around the upper portion of said sidewalls of said Waste Collection Bag;
- such that said sidewalls are enabled to:
- I. pass through and over said Collar; and
- II. fold back under said Collar,
- to house said upper portion of said sidewalls and said top of said Waste Collection Bag.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a Waste Container for receiving excrement including:
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- a) a Waste Collection Bag having:
- i. a closed bottom;
- ii. an open top, wherein said top defines an opening; and
- iii. one or more sidewalls, wherein said sidewall(s) extend(s) from said bottom and terminate(s) in said top;
- b) a Collar attached at an upper portion of said sidewall(s), wherein:
- i. said Collar includes a closing means;
- ii. said closing means enables said Waste Collection Bag to be sealingly closed to prevent leakage of content.
- a) a Waste Collection Bag having:
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
1) extruding from the Waste Container's spout; and
2) folded back over the Collar of the Waste Container's spout towards the mid-section of the urine Waste Container;
1) adjacent to the Waste Container's neck and spout; and
2) folded back over the Collar towards the mid-section of the urine Waste Container;
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- 1. a urine Waste Container from which the inner plastic bag, shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9 , has been removed (along with any captured waste) such that the Waste Container is ready for re-insertion of a new Waste Collection Bag; and - 2. a used urine Waste Collection Bag according to the invention, illustrating how the Waste Collection Bag is sealed at its mouth such that the potentially contaminated inner surface of the Waste Collection Bag is sealed within the enclosed locking mechanism, ready for disposal.
- 1. a urine Waste Container from which the inner plastic bag, shown in
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by reference to the drawings. The following detailed description in conjunction with the figures provides the skilled addressee with an understanding of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the applications described below.
Dictionary of Defined TermsTable 1 is a dictionary of terms defined according to the invention. Terms defined in Table 1 are denoted with the use of capitalisation throughout the document. If a term is not capitalised then its plain meaning is to be construed, unless otherwise specified.
The elements of the invention are now described under the following headings:
Commonly Used Means for Vomit CollectionReferring to
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- 1. a Waste Collection Bag 30 (here shown as a plastic bag) with a base 3 and sidewalls 4 diverging upwardly from the base 3 and terminating in a top 6 defining an opening, which forms the Waste Container's open mouth 2. The open mouth 2 is the entry point for waste, such as vomit, as it is heaved forward into the Waste Collection Bag 30; and
- 2. a Collar 5 surrounding and terminates at the Waste Collection Bag's top 6 such that the Waste Container's open mouth 2 is formed by the Waste Collection Bag's top 6 being held open by the Collar 5. Both the Collar's top outer rim 20 (the upper edge of the Collar) and the Waste Collection Bag's top 6 terminate to form the lips of the Waste Container's 1 open mouth 2.
In known devices for vomit collection, as described above, vomit waste is retained in the Waste Container 1 by means of threading the neck of the Waste Collection Bag 30 sideways through a slot 6 in the Collar 5.
The Collar 5 surrounds the neck of the Waste Collection Bag 30. In contrast to the prior art, the Collar 5 in the present invention (as shown in
As a result of the top section of the Waste Collection Bag 30 being folded back over the outer rim 20 of the Collar 5:
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- 1. the inner surface of the Collar 5 is held against the external surface of the Waste Collection Bag 30; and
- 2. the folding back of the tubular bag results in the formation of lips 32 at the fold line along the outer rim 20 of the Collar 5.
The sliding arrangement of the Collar 5 enables the lips 32 to be moved towards the open top of the Waste Collection Bag 30, eventually meeting a sealing mechanism 35 located substantially at the uppermost peripheral edge of the Waste Collection Bag 30 (that is, the edge furthest away from the base of the Waste Collection Bag 30 when the Waste Collection Bag 30 is fully extended).
Also shown in
When closed, the zip lock seal 35 performs the function of closing the mouth of the Waste Collection Bag 30 and thereby sealing any contaminated waste within the Waste Collection Bag 30.
Referring to
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- 1. sealing of the top of Waste Collection Bag 30 by using the sealing mechanism to close the mouth;
- 2. releasing the Collar 5 so it is no longer fixedly held in position and can be removed; and
- 3. enabling disposal of the Waste Collection Bag 30 (separately to the Collar if so required).
Referring to
Referring to
In a preferred embodiment, an opening seam is located on opposing sides of the Collar 5. The opening seams 38 pass:
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- 1. from the Collar's internal face 60 through to its external face 65; and
- 2. from near the outer rim 20 of the Annular Ring 5 towards the inner rim 40 of the Collar 5.
The only portion of the Collar that remains intact after snapping open the opening seam(s) 38 is an outer ring 70 along the outer rim 20. This opening seam 38 can be formed from perforated materials for single use, or made from reversibly snap locking materials for multiple use.
In another embodiment of the invention, the outer ring 70 can be extended further upwards in the direction of the inner rim 40 so that the outer ring 70 acts as alternate housing for an unused Waste Container 1. In this embodiment, the Waste Collection Bag 30 sits hidden passing over the Collar's inner rim where it is tucked adjacent to the Collar's internal face 60, ready for release at the appropriate time.
The snapping of the Collar 5 breaks apart all regions of the Collar 5 except the outer ring 70. In this embodiment, this snapping mechanism is enabled by applying pressure on two opposing points of the Collar as marked on
Another embodiment of the invention will now be described where the Waste Container and Waste Collection Bag are separate physical entities that can be combined for use and separated for efficient transport and disposal.
Referring to
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- 1. extruding from the Waste Container's spout; and
- 2. folded back over the exterior surface of the Waste Container's spout towards the handle of the urine Waste Container 100.
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- 1. adjacent to the Waste Container's 100 neck and spout; and
- 2. folded back over the Collar towards the mid-section of the urine Waste Container 100.
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- 1. a urine Waste Container 100 with the Waste Collection Bag 110 removed (along with any captured waste) such that the Waste Container 110 is ready for re-insertion of a new Waste Collection Bag 110; and
- 2. a used urine Waste Collection Bag 110 according to the invention illustrating how the Waste Collection Bag 110 is sealed 120 at its mouth such that the potentially contaminated inner surface of the Waste Collection Bag 110 is sealed within the enclosed locking mechanism 130, ready for disposal.
- This figure does not show the Waste Container 100 reversibly locking seams such that the Waste Container 100 can be opened and in some embodiments separated into two parts to lower the Waste Container 100 bulk/volume.
This first embodiment of the invention provides the following advantages:
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- 1. The Waste Container 100 is not contaminated by waste and therefore can be recycled and reused. This is an advantage where the Waste Container 100 is a rigid structure that consumes considerable space and therefore requires greater storage resources;
- 2. A used Waste Collection Bag 110 can be disposed of in a waste collection bin such that the disposed Waste Collection Bag's 110 can be stacked more efficiently to assume the volume of the waste only, as opposed to a rigid Waste Container 100 (be it full or empty) which is inefficient in its use of space when disposed of; and
- 3. An un-used Waste Collection Bag 110 can be transported as a substantially flat packed article and re-inserted into recycled Waste Containers 100 as needed.
Consequently relatively fewer rigid Waste Containers 100 are required to collect effectively more waste. Moreover, a space saving is achieved with this combination of rigid Waste Containers 100 with disposable, sealable insertable Waste Collection Bags 110.
A Second Embodiment-
- i. a handle or holding means, for holding the Waste Collection Bag in a position suitable for the collection of waste (for example, when being used as a sick bag or a urine bottle); and
- ii. a support (e.g. for resting the buttocks on when the Waste Collection Bag is being used as a bed pan);
Referring to
In all embodiments, the Collar 5 includes a closing means. The closing means includes one or more opening seams, as illustrated in
By applying pressure at the opening seams 38, the Collar 5 can be forced to snap open along the opening seams 38. This enables one half of the seat 100 to folded over to sit on top of the other half, thereby closing the opening of the Waste Collection Bag, which sits within the Collar 5.
The seat includes one or more fold lines 110, which guide the folding of the Collar 5 along the opening seams 38. In the arrangement illustrated in
The closing means includes a locking means to hold the Collar in a closed position. The locking means can take the form of a variety of fastening devices including a clasp, a clip or a hook.
Once the Waste Collection Bag's opening has been sealed, then disposal of the Waste Container can be performed. The Collar 5 in other arrangements may be separated from the Waste Collection Bag allowing the Collar 5 to be reused if so required.
Other arrangements of the invention will now be described with regard to the Collar, where the Collar and the Waste Collection Bag are separate physical entities that can be combined for various uses, including as a bed pan, urine bottle, sick bag, etcetera.
Once the Collar 5 is securely closed, a locking means is engaged to maintain the Collar in a closed position and the opening of the Waste Collection Bag is sealingly closed. Referring to
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many different other forms.
Claims
1. A Waste Container for receiving excrement including:
- a) a Waste Collection Bag having a closed bottom and an open top with sidewalls extending from said bottom and terminating in said top defining an opening;
- b) a sealing means located on said upper portion of said sidewalls substantially near to said Bag's said top, such that said open top can be closed with sealing engagement of said sidewalls so as to sealingly enclose excrement within said Bag; and
- c) a Collar extending around the upper portion of said sidewalls of said Waste Collection Bag;
- such that said sidewalls are enabled to: I. pass through and over said Collar; and II. fold back under said Collar,
- to house said upper portion of said sidewalls and said top of said Waste Collection Bag.
2. The Waste Container according to claim 1, wherein said Collar includes at least one seam, said seam enabling said Collar to be opened to:
- a) release said Waste Collection Bag portion housed under said Collar,
- b) allow said Bag to be partially or fully extended from folded back position,
- c) free said top of said Waste Collection Bag to allow said Bag to be closed
- such that excrement is enclosed within the inner portions of said Bag.
3. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said Collar curves outwardly and back toward said bottom of said Waste Collection Bag such that:
- a) a handle is formed to hold said Waste Collection Bag; and
- b) force can be applied on said Collar to snap open along said seam, enabling said Collar to be removed from said Waste Collection Bag.
4. A Waste Container for receiving excrement including:
- a) a Waste Collection Bag having: i. a closed bottom; ii. an open top, wherein said top defines an opening; and iii. one or more sidewalls, wherein said sidewall(s) extend(s) from said bottom and terminate(s) in said top;
- b) a Collar attached at an upper portion of said sidewall(s), wherein: i. said Collar includes a closing means; ii. said closing means enables said Waste Collection Bag to be sealingly closed to prevent leakage of content.
5. The Waste Container according to claim 4 wherein said Collar includes a seat, wherein said seat forms a cupping device such that said cupping device assists to guide excrement into said opening, when using said Waste Collection Bag.
6. The Waste Container according to claim 4 wherein said closing means includes at least one seam, wherein said seam enables said opening to be closed.
7. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said Collar is enabled to be opened along said seam such that said Collar to be closed on itself such that said Waste Collection Bag is sealed by said Collar.
8. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said closing means includes a locking means to hold said Collar in a closed position.
9. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said locking means includes one or more fastening devices, wherein said fastening device(s) include(s) a clasp, a clip or a hook.
10. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said fastening device(s) latch(es) over an edge of said Collar to hold said Collar in a closed position.
11. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said locking means includes (a) reciprocal slot(s) to receive (a) fastening device(s) such that when said fastening device(s) is (are) engaged with said slot(s), said opening is sealingly closed.
12. The Waste Container according to claim 1 wherein said closing means includes a raised portion and a reciprocal well, such that when said raised portion is inserted into said well, said opening is closed.
13. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 7, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2012
Inventor: Stephen Hunt (New South Wales)
Application Number: 12/672,314
International Classification: B65D 33/16 (20060101);