SINGLE-USE TOILET IN THE FORM OF A BAG

Abstract

A single-use toilet intended to be used for relieving one-self. The invention is characterised in that the single-use toilet is in the form of a bag (1) of a size sufficient to be used for relieving oneself, in that the bag (1) can be sealed after use, in that the bag (1) is made from an essentially gas-tight material that is impermeable to fluid, in that the bag (1) contains urea (8) in an amount sufficient to inactivate intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in that the bag (1) is made from a material (5, 6, 7) that is biodegradable, and in that the biodegradable material (5, 6, 7) is impermeable for fluid during the period that is required to inactivate micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the said urea.

Description

The present invention relates to a single-use toilet.

It is only a small minority of the population of the world that has access to toilets and to clean water, and the lack of these makes it difficult to maintain a good hygienic standard.

One problem in this context is that it is often not possible to arrange infrastructure such that toilets can be built or installed in the regions in which toilets are lacking.

Pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses and parasites, are spread to, among other targets, water, as a result of open defecation, and the water that people use can in this way easily become contaminated, whereby diseases are spread. This is particularly the case in regions in which the population density is high. The most important reason for the introduction of toilet systems is that the fecal-oral infection pathway is in this manner broken.

The present invention solves this problem by offering a single-use toilet.

The present invention thus relates to a single-use toilet intended to be used for urination and defecation, and it is characterised in that the single-use toilet is in the form of a bag (1) of a size sufficient such that it can be used for relieving oneself, in that the bag (1) can be sealed after use, in that the bag (1) is made from an essentially gas-tight material that is not permeable to fluid, in that the bag (1) contains urea (8) in an amount that is sufficient to inactivate intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in that the bag (1) is made from a material (5, 6, 7) that is biodegradable, and in that the biodegradable material (5, 6, 7) is not permeable to fluid during the period that is required in order to inactivate micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the said urea.

The invention is described in more detail below, partially in association with an embodiment of the invention shown in the attached drawings, where

FIG. 1a shows a bag according to the invention in a condition ready for use,

FIGS. 1b-1d are a sequence showing how the bag is un-folded in order to achieve the form shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 2 shows schematically a cross-section of the bag when in its folded condition,

FIG. 3 shows the bag according to FIG. 1a from above,

FIG. 4 shows schematically and at a larger scale a cross-section of the wall of the bag according to one embodiment.

A single-use toilet according to the invention intended to be used for urination and defecation is described below.

According to the invention, the single-use toilet is in the form of a bag 1 of a size sufficient such that it can be used for relieving oneself. Such a bag is shown in FIG. 1a in a side view. The bag is shown in FIG. 1b in a folded condition, corresponding to how conventional paper bags are folded before use. FIG. 1c shows how a flap 2 has been unfolded, while FIG. 1d shows how a second flap 3 has been unfolded.

The user subsequently puts one hand down into the bag such that also the side walls of the bag are unfolded. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of a folded bag. The approximate appearance from above of the bag after it has been unfolded is shown in FIG. 3.

According to the invention, the bag can be sealed after the user has relieved himself or herself. The bag is made from an essentially gas-tight material that is impermeable for fluid.

According to one essential characteristic of the invention, the bag contains the compound urea (CO(NH₂)₂) in an amount that is sufficient to inactivate pathogenic bacteria, viruses, etc., in the excrement. According to another essential characteristic of the invention, the bag is made from a biodegradable material. Furthermore, a biodegradable material is to be selected that is not permeable to fluid during the period that is required to inactivate pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the said urea. A sufficient amount of urea is 2-4 g per bag, but this amount can be adapted as required. It is possible that suitable auxiliary chemicals can be added in order to increase the inactivation process.

When urea comes into contact with excrement, it is broken down into ammonia and carbon dioxide, and this leads to an increase in the pH. When the process of hygienisation starts, other biological activity stops. This means that no anaerobic activity takes place in the bag. If an anaerobic activity were to take place in the bag, it is possible that a problem with the production of gas would arise, namely that the gas would develop in such a volume that the bag splits.

Ammonia is a compound that inactivates micro-organisms at high concentrations. At the same time, nitrogen in the form of ammonia is an important fertilising agent.

The process of hygienisation should typically take 9-14 days.

Through the present single-use toilet, it is achieved that the bag is sealed after the user has relieved himself or herself, after which pathogenic bacteria and viruses, parasites, etc., are inactivated before the wall material of the bag decomposes. When the wall material has decomposed to such an extent that the excrement can leak out, thus, the excrement is not harmful and can be used as fertilising agent in cultivation.

According to one preferred embodiment, the bag has a length that is sufficient such that it will be possible to seal the bag 1 with a knot around itself at the opening region of the bag.

According to an alternative preferred embodiment, the bag has a length that is sufficient such that it will be possible to seal the bag 1 at the opening region of the bag 1 with a string 4 or its equivalent that is attached to the bag. A string 4 has been suggested with dashed lines in FIG. 1.

According to one preferred design, the bag is made from a material from the group of polysaccharides, for example starch, amylopectin, amylose, cellulose derivatives, chitin/chitosan, alginate, carrageenan and aliphatic polyesters, for example poly-Σ-caprolactone, polylactide, polyglycolide, polyadipine acid and polyhydroxycanoates. Furthermore, proteins and polyolefines, for example polyethene, with suitable known additives can be used.

According to one embodiment, the bag is made from a material that is a laminate of two or three of the said materials.

According to a further embodiment, the bag is made from a material that is a copolymer and/or a polymer mixture of two or more of the said materials.

The bag can be made as a combination of laminate, copolymers and/or polymer mixtures.

FIG. 4 shows an illustration of a cross-section through the wall of the bag. The layer denoted by the reference number 5 is a moisture barrier. The layer denoted by 6 is a gas barrier, and the layer denoted by 7 is a moisture barrier.

According to one preferred embodiment, urea is applied onto essentially the complete inner surface of the bag. Urea forms in this manner a sufficiently thick layer on the inner surface of the bag as is illustrated in FIG. 4 with the layer 8, such that it will be possible to achieve the inactivation mentioned above.

According to an alternative embodiment, urea is present in the bag, in the form of, for example, a granulate or a powder.

A number of embodiments have been described above. It is, however, obvious that the form of the bag can be altered such that it has a circular cross-section with a funnel-shaped upper part when in its unfolded condition. Furthermore, the funnel-shaped upper part can be sufficiently wide that the user can hold the bag and fold down the upper part of the funnel over the hand with which the user is holding the bag.

It is obvious that the bag may have any suitable form at all for its purpose, and the forms specified above are for this reason only embodiments given for the purpose of exemplification.

The strength of the bag, furthermore, can be varied through the thickness of the wall. The bag may also have a non-constant thickness, where, for example, the part of the bag that is open and that is held by the user has a greater wall thickness than the upper part of the bag.

The present invention, therefore, is not to be regarded as limited to the embodiments specified above, since it can be varied within the scope specified by the attached patent claims.

Claims

1. A single-use toilet intended to be used for urination and defecation, characterised in that the single-use toilet is in the form of a bag (1) of a size sufficient to be used for relieving oneself, in that the bag (1) can be sealed after use, in that the bag (1) is made from an essentially gas-tight material that is impermeable to fluid, in that the bag (1) contains urea (8) in an amount sufficient to inactivate intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in that the bag (1) is made from a material (5, 6, 7) that is biodegradable, and in that the biodegradable material (5, 6, 7) is impermeable for fluid during the period that is required to inactivate microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the said urea.

2. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, characterised in that the bag has a length that is sufficient for it to be possible to be sealed with a knot around itself at the opening region of the bag (1) after use.

3. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, characterised in that the bag (1) has a length that is sufficient for it to be possible to be sealed at the opening region of the bag (1) with a string (4) or its equivalent attached to the bag (1).

4. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, characterised in that the bag is made from a material from the group of polysaccharides, for example starch, amylopectin, amylose, cellulose derivatives, chitin/chitosan, alginate, carrageenan or aliphatic polyesters, for example poly-ε-caprolactone, polylactide, polyglycolide, polyadipine acid or polyhydroxycanoates, or proteins or polyolefines, such as polyethene, with suitable known additives.

5. A single-use toilet according to claim 4, characterised in that the bag is made from a monomaterial, or in the form of a laminate of two or more of the said materials.

6. A single-use toilet according to claim 4, characterised in that the bag is made from a material that is a copolymer and/or a polymer mixture of two or more of the said materials.

7. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, characterised in that urea (8) is applied on essentially the complete inner surface of the bag (1).

8. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, characterised in that urea is present in the bag (1).

9. A single-use toilet according to claim 2, characterised in that the bag is made from a material from the group of polysaccharides, for example starch, amylopectin, amylose, cellulose derivatives, chitin/chitosan, alginate, carrageenan or aliphatic polyesters, for example poly-ε-caprolactone, polylactide, polyglycolide, polyadipine acid or polyhydroxycanoates, or proteins or polyolefines, such as polyethene, with suitable known additives.

10. A single-use toilet according to claim 2, characterised in that the bag is made from a material from the group of polysaccharides, for example starch, amylopectin, amylose, cellulose derivatives, chitin/chitosan, alginate, carrageenan or aliphatic polyesters, for example poly-ε-caprolactone, polylactide, polyglycolide, polyadipine acid or polyhydroxycanoates, or proteins or polyolefines, such as polyethene, with suitable known additives.

11. A single-use toilet according to claim 5, characterised in that the bag is made from a material that is a copolymer and/or a polymer mixture of two or more of the said materials.

12. A single-use toilet according to claim 2, characterised in that urea (8) is applied on essentially the complete inner surface of the bag (1).

13. A single-use toilet according to claim 2, characterised in that urea is present in the bag (1).

14. A single-use toilet according to claim 3, characterised in that urea (8) is applied on essentially the complete inner surface of the bag (1).

15. A single-use toilet according to claim 3, characterised in that urea is present in the bag (1).