Abstract: This invention is a disposable bag having a foldable funnel mounted in the throat of the bag. The bag has a convergent, upwardly tapered neck toward the mouth of the bag. The mouth and a portion of the neck are inverted inside the bag where it forms a reflux valve below the funnel. One side of the funnel includes an upwardly extending closure that can be folded across the funnel into sealing engagement with the other side of the funnel.

Abstract: This invention is a disposable bag having a foldable funnel mounted in the throat of the bag. The bag has a convergent, upwardly tapered neck toward the mouth of the bag. The mouth and a portion of the neck are inverted inside the bag where it forms a reflux valve below the funnel. One side of the funnel includes an upwardly extending closure that can be folded across the funnel into sealing engagement with the other side of the funnel.

Abstract: A comminution and extrusion apparatus and method for comminuting a block of frozen food into a frozen puree and extruding the frozen puree from the apparatus. The food product is prepared from any suitable source of edible food such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and artificially produced food items. The edible food is prepared and then frozen into blocks which are shipped and stored in the hard-frozen state. The blocks are processed by comminution to produce a soft frozen food product suitable for immediate consumption. The apparatus includes an electric motor and a rotor that is mounted to the electric motor. A housing encloses the rotor and has a feed port for introducing a block of frozen food into contact with the rotor and a spout for removing frozen puree extruded by the rotor. The rotor includes rows of teeth angularly offset incrementally from parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor to provide a longitudinal force component to the frozen puree to extrude it from the housing.

Abstract: A single-use disposable hypodermic syringe is described in which a plunger is initially coupled to a piston to permit filling of the syringe with fluid. During the filling step, the plunger is constrained to only move in the outward direction as required for filling. In order for injection to occur, the plunger must be rotated into a second position in which the plunger is irreversibly decoupled from the piston. In this position, the plunger is constrained so that it may only move inwardly as required for injection. The plunger and plunger guide also include corresponding sets of ribs and detents which cooperate in a rachet action to restrict the direction of travel of the plunger. This restriction means that the plunger can be pulled out only once (to draw liquid into the syringe) and pushed in only once (to expel the liquid from the syringe). Since the plunger can no longer be recoupled to the piston, and also since the plunger is locked in its forward position, re-use of the syringe is rendered impossible.

Abstract: This invention is an inflatable bedpan apparatus and method whereby an inflatable torus is mounted to a liquid-impervious base sheet. The torus is placed under the pelvis of a bed-ridden patient and inflated to create a waste collection reservoir on the base sheet. An end of the base sheet is secured at the inside bottom of a waste disposal bas so that the base sheet can be pulled into the waste disposal bag while the mouth of the waste disposal bag is held stationary. The inflatable torus includes an inflation system from a pressure vessel and a deflation port.