VOMIT CONTAINER

Abstract

A vomit container suitable for children is described herein.

Description

RELATED INVENTIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/596,039, entitled WASTE CONTAINER, filed on Aug. 25, 2006, hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

This invention relates to containers and more particularly to a container designed for children to vomit into.

BACKGROUND

Nausea and vomiting are uncomfortable and often not-infrequent experiences for young children. Vomiting is a frightening and often painful experience for any child, but it is also a normal and expected element of childhood often occurring as a result of an illness or due to motion sickness. During such experiences, it is beneficial for the child to receive immediate comfort, security, and protection from the odorous and unpleasant fluids expelled. Parents also need confidence that the expelled stomach fluids will be safely contained, thereby protecting bedding, furniture and/or car interior from damage.

In most situations, children are often required to throw up into objects their parents can provide quickly and conveniently. Unfortunately, such items frequently include food bowls, dishes, cups, garbage bags, plastic shopping bags, and even diapers. Besides being unsanitary, food bowls, dishes or cups are often cumbersome, heavy, too small, poorly shaped and/or breakable. Plastic bags and even air sickness bags are similarly cumbersome and prone to spilling or breaking and are often difficult for a child to operate. Such items also fail to comfort the child during the experience as they are not designed for such purposes or for use by children. For instance, a child may not feel comfortable throwing up into a bowl they know they may also eat from. Traveling with sick child or one that is prone to motion sickness present even more of a challenge to parents as the child's situation often necessitates the use of even more undesirable alternatives such as toilet bowls, roadside bushes or even the street. When traveling by car, vomiting often begins before the parent can safely stop the car and unstrap the nauseated child from his/her safety seat.

Most often, when a child is nauseous due to an illness or motions sickness, they become sick or vomit repeatedly. Typically, the container most easily accessible is often inadequate to hold the contents of repeated use and must therefore be emptied or cleaned between each episode. As a child's illness is usually unannounced, the parent or adult is not often in a location that would allow for the repeated emptying or cleaning necessary with typical containers. Furthermore, since such containers are not designed for use by sick children, the contents often escape the container during use by leaking or spilling out of the container or by being directed out from the bottom or sides of the container. Most bowls are often too shallow or have side walls that are too steep to contain the child's vomit. Similarly, the typical bag can not be easily emptied or set down after the initial use without the possibility of spilling the contents. Also, bags most often have an opening that is too narrow for a child to use without some vomit missing the opening or spilling off the sides of the bag during use.

Without having a container that is designed for children to get sick into, parents often adopt a crisis-based approach to their child's sickness. They scramble to utilize what ever container is within reach or readily available, thereby adding to the fear and discomfort the child is already experiencing. Nausea and subsequent vomiting is a normal occurrence in some children and it is beneficial to the child's well being that he/she is reassured that this is a normal and expected occurrence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a lid.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a spill/splash guard unattached.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a spill/splash guard affixed thereto.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a disposable liner.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a disposable liner.

FIG. 3C is an exploded view of an embodiment of a vomit container with a disposable liner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the vomit container has a depth of approximately six to ten inches with a wide flat base for stability in use and storage. The size and capacity of the container is such that it can be used repeatedly without the need for the user to empty the contents between uses. The width of the container is designed to be stable on uneven surfaces before, during and after use to allow for the safe storage of the contents until it can be properly disposed of or until the child's sickness has passed. The container also includes enlarged narrow handles positioned on opposite sides of the vomit container. The handles are designed for a child's hands and aid the child in securely manipulating the container before, during and after use.

The vomit container, in another example, can be made from a lightweight, non-toxic, non-breakable and dishwasher safe material such as melamine, plastic, rubber or the like. As the container is designed for use by a child, it can be made lightweight for ease of handling and of a material that can be safely sterilized. Similarly, the vomit container could also be made to be disposable utilizing lightweight plastic, waterproof paper, wax lined paper, or the like. The container can then be disposed of after use in situations where cleaning or sterilization is not possible or when storage of the container after use is inconvenient such as when traveling.

In another embodiment, the vomit container can have a spill/splash guard incorporated into the container. The guard has sidewalls that deflect the child's vomit down and away from the side of the container thereby minimizing the risk of the vomit being deflected out of the container. The spill/splash guard can also prevent the contents from leaking or spilling out of the side of the container when it is tipped or rapidly moved from side to side.

In yet another embodiment, the vomit container can include a bag (e.g., of plastic, paper, latex or the like) for use when traveling or in a location where cleaning or sterilizing the container is difficult or not possible. The bag can be designed to fit within the vomit container and can be secured using a securing rim or via the use of the aforementioned spill/splash guard. The bag can be used with the container to accommodate multiple uses during travel or for use by more than one child. Disposal of the contents can then be accomplished without the need to clean the container between uses.

As shown in FIG. 1, one exemplary container 100 is designed to be handled and utilized by a child. The container 100 can be made from a lightweight, non-toxic, non-breakable and dishwasher safe material such as melamine, plastic, rubber or the like. The container 100 could also be made to be disposable utilizing lightweight plastic, waterproof paper, wax lined paper, or the like. The bowl 150 of the container 100 is approximately six to ten inches deep, with two side handles 120 and container rim 110 at the bowl's opening. The bowl 150 can taper to container base 140. The taper can be increased in slope to substantially decrease the likelihood of vomit splashing out of the bowl 150 during use. The handles 120 can be made from a soft, slip resistant material like rubber, neoprene, plastic or the like. The handles 120 would likewise be sized appropriately for a child's hand. The container rim 110 could be made from a soft material like rubber, neoprene, plastic or the like, and can be made rounded or oversized to protect against scraping of the child's skin during use. The container base 140 can be made to be wide and slip resistant for stability while use and for storage afterwards. The bowl 150 can be tapered from top to bottom allowing the sides to be steep enough to prevent splash back and contain the vomit at the container base 140. The container 100 can also include a lid 160 for sanitation and to prevent spills after use. The bowl 150 could have a towel attachment (not shown) for attaching a towel to the container 100 for clean up of spills both on and off the container 100.

FIG. 2A shows an alternative embodiment of a container 200. Spill/splash guard 210 fits securely inside of catch bowl 260. The spill/splash guard sides 230 of spill/splash guard 210 taper in from its edge 205 to the open ended bottom 220 to help prevent the contents from being deflected off the spill/splash guard 210 or splashing out of the catch bowl 260. The length of the spill/splash guard sides 230 is approximately two-thirds the length of the catch bowl sides 270 such that the open ended bottom 220 is positioned approximately one to two inches off the catch bowl bottom 265. The spill/splash guard 210 includes a sealing bead 270 that fits into the sealing groove 280 on catch bowl 260 when the spill/splash guard 210 is secured into catch bowl 260. The sealing bead 270 and sealing groove 280 create a seal such that the contents (not shown) of the catch bowl 260 are unlikely to spill out of the container 200 when it is tipped or moved. The sealing bead 270 and sealing groove 280 also secure the spill/splash guard 210 in place.

FIG. 2B shows container 200 with the spill/splash guard 210 attached to the catch bowl 260. The spill/splash guard 210 secures to the catch bowl 260 such that the contents (not shown) within catch bowl 260 will not spill out when the container 200 is tipped or moved. The open end bottom 220 of spill/splash guard 210 is shown approximately one-third of the length of catch bowl sides 270 from the catch bowl bottom 265.

FIGS. 3A, B and C show yet another alternative embodiment of a container 300. A disposable bag 350 fits down into the container bowl 320. Disposable bag end 355 extends beyond the bowl edge 330 such that when the securing rim 310 attaches onto the bowl edge 330, the disposable bag end 355 is secured between the securing rim 310 and bowl edge 330 such that the disposable bag 350 is secured to the container bowl 320 during use. After use, the securing rim 310 can then be detached allowing the disposable bag 350 to be removed and disposed of. The size of container bowl 320 could be such that a standard size Ziplock® of Racine, Wis. type baggie could be used in place of the disposable bag 350.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a whole variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein.

Claims

1. A spill resistant vomit container comprising:

a first receptacle having: walls defining a first closed side, closed bottom and first open top; at least one handle positioned on outermost side of said first closed side; and with any second handle positioned on a substantially opposite sides of said first closed side;

a nesting second receptacle having: walls defining a second closed side, an open bottom; and a second open top;

wherein said second closed side tapers inward from said first open top to said open bottom; and

wherein said nesting second receptacle is removably positioned on top of and within said first receptacle such that an outside top edge of said second closed side contacts said first open top such that a seal is created between said second closed side and said first open top.

2. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 1, further comprising a bag having a bag opening wherein said bag is positioned within said first receptacle, said nesting second receptacle is positioned within said bag, the ends of said bag opening extend over said first open top of said first receptacle and is located between said outside top edge of second closed side and said first open top when said nesting second receptacle is removably positioned on top of and within said first receptacle.

3. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 1, wherein said first closed side is substantially 1 to 5 times the length of said second closed side.

4. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 1, wherein said second open top has a diameter substantially 1 to 2 times the diameter of said open bottom.

5. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 1, wherein said first receptacle and said nesting second receptacle comprise injection-molded plastic material.

6. A spill resistant vomit container comprising:

a bowl having: a first bottom surface; a first radiused sidewall extending upward from said first bottom surface to a top bowl rim; and a first and second opposed handles positioned on the outside of said first radiused sidewall; and

a splash guard having: a second open bottom; and a second radiused sidewall extending upward from said open bottom to a top splash guard rim, wherein said splash guard is removably positioned within said bowl such that a seal is created between said bowl and said splash guard.

7. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 6, further comprising a bag having a bag opening wherein said bag is positioned within said bowl, said splash guard is positioned within said bag, said bag opening extends over said first radiused sidewall of said bowl and is located between said top slash guard rim and said top bowl rim when said splash guard is removably positioned within said bowl.

8. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 6, wherein said first radiused sidewall is substantially 1 to 5 times the length of said second radiused sidewall.

9. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 6, wherein the top edge of said second radiused sidewall has a diameter substantially 1 to 2 times the diameter of the second open bottom.

10. The spill resistant vomit container of claim 6, wherein said bowl and said splash guard comprises injection-molded plastic material.

11. A vomit container bowl having:

a bottom surface; and

a radiused sidewall extending upward from said bottom surface to a top bowl rim; and

an improvement comprising: said radiused sidewall having a substantially outward turned lip extending continuously about said top bowl rim; a first and second opposed handles positioned on the outside of said radiused sidewall on substantially opposite sides of said radiused sidewall; and a lid removably positioned on top of said radiused sidewall such that a seal is created between said lid and said substantially outward turned lip across the length of said substantially outward turned lip.

12. The vomit container bowl of claim 11, further comprising a bag substantially extending to said bottom surface and extending beyond and over said substantially outward turned lip.

13. The vomit container bowl of claim 11, further comprising a removable rim radially disposed along the length of said outward turned lip wherein said removable rim contacts said bag at said substantially outward turned lip and removably attaches to said substantially outward turned lip to secure said bag to said substantially outward turned lip.

14. The vomit container bowl of claim 11, wherein said top bowl rim has a diameter substantially 1 to 2 times the diameter of the bottom end of said radiused sidewall.

15. The vomit container bowl of claim 11, wherein said vomit container bowl being of an injection-molded plastic material.

16. The vomit container bowl of claim 11, further comprising a spill/splash guard having walls defining a closed sidewall, and open top and open bottom, wherein said spill/splash guard is removably positioned on top of said radiused sidewall, said open top contacts said radiused sidewall such that a seal is created between said open top and said radiused sidewall, said closed sidewall and said open bottom extend below said top bowl rim, said closed sidewall is 1 to 5 times the length of said radiused sidewall.