Toddler Urinal
A flushable toddler urinal comprising a housing having a front basin for receiving urine, a top opening, and a front opening located under the front basin, a removable water talc assembly, a waste tray slidably received in the front opening, and an adjustable mount assembly removably attached in a back surface of the housing for adjusting the height of the toddler urinal.
The present invention relates to potty-training devices for young male toddlers and, more specifically, relates to a toddler urinal that aids in training young male toddlers to urinate while standing up.
Potty-training devices for training young children to use a toilet are well known in the art. However, many current devices are designed to simulate a conventional toilet, and teach both male and female toddlers to urinate in the seated position. Although convenient for female toddlers, these devices can be inconvenient and difficult for male toddlers, because the standard toilet bowls are often too high for the toddlers to reach without a stepstool, or the deflectors used for boys to urinate while sitting down make it difficult for a male toddler to properly use. Recently, the concept of a toddler urinal to foster training has been introduced into the market but all attempts have had significant deficiencies.
Applicant's earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,804, which is hereby incorporated by reference, attempted to solve this problem. The '804 patent discloses a portable male toddler urinal that simulates a conventional urinal. Although the toddler urinal of the '804 patent solved some of the problems in the art, there exists a need for an improved flushable toddler urinal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present toddler urinal includes means for adjusting the height of the urinal to meet the needs of a growing male toddler. The height of the present toddler urinal can be easily adjusted without the use of any tools. The present adjustable toddler urinal can either be mounted to a wall or stably supported on the floor, depending on the training needs of the parent. Further, the toddler urinal is preferably flushable.
Specifically, the present flushable toddler urinal includes a housing having a front basin for receiving urine, a top opening, and a front opening located under the front basin, a removable water tank assembly, a waste tray slidably received in the front opening, and an adjustable mount assembly removably attached to a back surface in the housing for adjusting the height of the toddler urinal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
The front basin 14 includes a drain 28 having a plurality of holes for transmitting urine from the front basin into the waste tray 22. Although a plurality of holes are shown in the drain 28, one or more slots or other apertures could instead be provided.
Shown in
The adjustable mount 33a or 33b includes a plurality of notches 44 facilitating height adjustment, best shown in
The adjusting means 48 facilitates the height adjustment of the urinal 10 in the same manner described above. However, these concepts are meant as examples and not as limiting in scope. Although the latch 38 and notches 44 height adjustment mechanism is utilized in the present urinal 10, it is appreciated that other mechanisms for height adjustment are available, as are known in the art, and could be used in place of the latch-notch mechanism.
Referring to
Shown in
The flush tank reservoir 50 includes a chamber 54 having a base 56 and a flush valve assembly 58, as shown in
Referring to
Shown in
To activate the flushing capabilities of the present urinal 10, the fresh water reservoir 52 first needs to be filled with water. The fresh water reservoir 52 is removable from the housing 12 so that it can be carried to a sink or other water source. The cap 88 is removed from the circular opening 86 for filling. After replacing the cap 88, the fresh water reservoir 52 can be placed over the flush tank reservoir 50. When the fresh water reservoir 52 is in place, the cap valve stem 92 engages a projection 94 on chamber base 56 (
After the male toddler has urinated into the front basin 14, he can flush the urinal 10 by pressing the push button 80. When the push button 80 is pressed, shown in
Accordingly, a two-stage flush is provided. The first flush stage occurs when the fresh water reservoir 52 is placed over the flush tank reservoir 50, causing the threaded cap valve stem 92 to engage the projection 94 of the flush tank chamber base 56, opening the cap valve and facilitating transfer of the volume of fresh water front the fresh water reservoir to the flush tank chamber 54. The second flush stage is shown in
The fresh water reservoir preferably has a volume that is at least twice the volume of the flush tank reservoir, so that the present flushable urinal 10 can be flushed at least twice and preferably several times before the reservoir 52 needs to be refilled or the waste tray 22 needs to be emptied. When the waste tray 22 does need to be emptied and cleaned, it can easily be slid out of the front opening 18, emptied, and slid back into the front opening when ready for use.
To further aid in the ease of emptying and cleaning the components of the urinal 10, the waste tray 22 is provided with an integrated handle 98, best shown in
It is also contemplated that because the urinal 10 is manufactured from a durable plastic, as is known in the art, the waste tray 22 and other components of the urinal can easily be cleaned or washed without experiencing wear. However, it is appreciated that other materials are available that provide similar durability and ease of cleaning properties.
Referring to
The water tank assembly 102 includes a flush tank reservoir 104 inserted into the top opening 16 and covered by a fresh water reservoir 106.
The flush tank reservoir 104 includes a base 108 having a projection 110 and a recess 112, shown in
The recess 112 has a generally centrally located opening 114 and is configured for receiving a valve assembly 116 that includes a valve stem 118 and a valve head 120. The valve head 120 rests inside the recess 112 when the urinal 100 is not in use, as shown in
When the urinal 100 needs to be flushed, the user pushes down on a handle 122 located on the housing 12, shown in
According to another embodiment of the toddler urinal, a lower-cost construction of the urinal can be provided and is generally designated 130. Shown in
Shown in
Still another embodiment of the urinal is provided in
Similar to the urinal 10, the toddler uses the urinal 160 by urinating into the front basin 14. However, the urinal 160 is designed to encourage the toddler to use the urinal by activating the interactive device 162 when the toddler properly uses the urinal. For example, if the toddler's urine stream hits the target 164 during urination, a score will appear on the LED display 165 and the at least one bulb 166 will be turned on, signifying that the toddler has done a good job. Every time the target 164 is hit, the score on the LED display 165 will increase. Alternatively, the device 162 could emit a noise or both light up and make a sound such as a whistle or a bell when the target 164 is hit. It is also appreciated that different sounds or lights could be emitted from the bulb 166 depending on the area of the target 164 that is hit. In addition, the interactive device 162 could be activated by voice or sound recognition. Furthermore, it is recognized that other types of interactive devices 162 could be used, such as a dartboard, through-hole target, or the like, and that the invention as claimed is not limited to those described herein.
It is contemplated that the interactive device 162 will provide an element of full to potty training, which is generally an arduous task for both parent and toddler alike.
While particular concepts of the flushable toddler urinal have been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A toddler urinal comprising:
- a plastic housing having a front basin integrally molded in the housing with an integrated drain, and a front opening located under said front basin;
- a removable one-piece molded plastic waste tray slidably received in said front opening below said drain; and
- a water tank assembly connected to said housing, said water tank assembly comprising a flush reservoir mounted to said housing above said basin and a fresh water reservoir removably placed above said flush reservoir.
2. The toddler urinal of claim 1 further comprising an adjustable mount assembly comprising a frame mount attached to said housing, a floor mount and a wall mount, said frame mount adapted to alternately receive one of said floor mount and said wall mount, for adjusting the height of the toddler urinal.
3. A toddler urinal comprising:
- a housing having a front basin for receiving urine, said basin having a drain,
- a waste tray removably held by said housing below said drain; and
- a height adjusting assembly including a frame mount attached to the housing and adapted to alternately receive one of an adjustable floor mount and an adjustable wall mount.
4. A toddler urinal as in claim 3, wherein said height adjusting assembly includes a push button device for selectively changing the height of the basin.
5. A flushable toddler urinal comprising:
- a housing having a front basin for receiving urine and a drain from said basin;
- a water tank assembly connected to said housing, including a flush reservoir and a removable fresh water reservoir, said fresh water reservoir having a volume that is at least twice the volume of said flush tank reservoir; and
- a waste tray slidably received in said housing below said drain.
6. The flushable toddler urinal of claim 5 wherein said flush reservoir is mounted to said housing above said basin and said fresh water reservoir is removably placed above said flush reservoir.
7. The flushable toddler urinal of claim 5 wherein said fresh water reservoir includes a valve assembly for automatically releasing a predetermined volume of water into said flush reservoir.
8. The flushable toddler urinal of claim 5 wherein said further comprising a diverter connected to said water tank assembly above said front basin for receiving water from said tank assembly and diverting it across a surface of said basin.
9. A flushable toddler urinal comprising:
- a housing having a front basin for receiving urine with a drain, and a front opening located under said drain;
- a flush reservoir mounted to said housing above said basin, said flush reservoir having a flush valve;
- a fresh water reservoir removably placed on said flush reservoir, said fresh water reservoir having a valve for automatically releasing a predetermined amount of water from said fresh water reservoir into said flush reservoir;
- a waste tray slidably received in said front opening of said housing below said drain; and
- an adjustable mount assembly attached to said housing for adjusting the height of said front basin.
10. A flushable toddler urinal as in claim 9 further comprising a diverter adjacent the top of said basin and receptive of water from said flush reservoir for diverting water across said basin.
11. A flushable toddler urinal as in claim 9, wherein said fresh water reservoir holds a sufficient amount of water for multiple flushes.
12. A toddler urinal comprising:
- a plastic enclosed housing having a front inner basin for receiving urine;
- an emptying spout on a top of the housing for emptying urine from said housing; and
- an adjustable mount assembly removably attached to said housing for adjusting the height of the toddler urinal.
13. The toddler urinal of claim 12 wherein said adjustable mount assembly comprises a frame mount attached to said housing, a floor mount and a wall mount, said frame mount adapted to alternately receive one of said floor mount and said wall mount.
14. A toddler urinal comprising:
- a housing having a front basin for receiving urine, the basin having a drain;
- a target in the front basin; and
- a waste tray slidably received in said housing below said drain.
15. The toddler urinal of claim 14, further comprising at least one of a lamp, a sound maker, a display, or voice or sound recorder configured for receiving and playing back pre-recorded messages, said lamp, sound maker, display or recorder being activated when said target is hit.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 29, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 6, 2008
Inventors: Scott Zeeb (Chicago, IL), Marcia Hauflaire (Palos Park, IL), Aaron Eiger (Chicago, IL), Philip Anthony (Chicago, IL), Scott Rote (New Lenox, IL)
Application Number: 11/587,877
International Classification: A47K 11/00 (20060101); E03D 5/016 (20060101);