Abstract:
A portable and disposable toilets for temporary use. The toilet has an interlocking foundation formed by a pair of front and rear walls interlocking a pair of sidewalls, and a top support interlocking the foundation defining a sitting area. The toilet may also have a liner with a collection bag attached thereto. The bag has its opening facing up when the liner is used to line the top support for each use. The liner can be adhesively folded closed after each use, thus also sealing the bag to prevent leakage and contamination. The liner may have a pair of loops at both ends, which serves both as a lock onto the top support and as a handle when the liner is folded after each use.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present application claims priority based on Provisional Application filed Dec. 6, 2004, entitled “FOLDABLE AND DISPOSABLE TOILET,” Ser. No. 60/633,960, by inventors hereof. The entire disclosure of the provisional application is incorporated as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to portable toilets and more particularly relate to easily packable, portable and disposable toilets that are made of environmentally-friendly and bio-degradable materials and for temporary use.  
       ART BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Mobile toilets are quite useful in situations where there are none or not enough permanent toilets for use, such as outdoor concerts, construction sites or festivals. However, in settings away from civilization, such as wilderness exploration, camping, military maneuvers and disaster relief, there are not even mobile toilets around for use. In the case of disaster relief operations, lack of proper toilet facility has contributed to the spread of diseases, exacerbating an already dire crisis. To provide for such extraordinary needs, another form of mobile and portable toilets has been developed. These toilets are generally designed for the users to carry around, or transport them, until usage.  
         [0004]     Some prior devices have been in use, although they don&#39;t necessarily meet the aforementioned ideal requirements. One such device is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,414 issued to Bailey on Apr. 11, 2000, entitled COMBINATION PACKABLE TOILET AND STOOL. The Bailey device is a unitary structure, made of die-cut paperboards. The Bailey device does not utilize a liner, which would have made it more sanitary for use, as well as for disposal. The construction, using double-layer of cardboard, is more costly and complicated than necessary, and the unitary structure is somewhat unstable when lateral forces are exerted upon it.  
         [0005]     Therefore, there has been a need for portable and disposable toilets that can be simply manufactured and quickly transported to the affected areas for deployment. Such portable and disposable toilets should satisfy both sanitation requirements as well as logistic requirements. The portable and disposable toilets should be too heavy to transport, nor too light or flimsy to use. On the other hand, the toilets should not be too sturdy, such that they are susceptible to repeated or extended use, which can be a health hazard. Also, they should be easily packable for storage and transport, until they are ready for use, which requires simply assembly. Finally, they should provide a sanitary, as well as environmentally friendly, function.  
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
       [0006]     The portable and disposable toilet in accordance to the present invention is preferably constructed from corrugated cardboard materials, or from other light-weight, materials. The portable and disposable toilets of the present invention are simple and yet strong enough to support a person weighing at least 200 pounds. The toilets can be easily shipped flat, with some pre-assembly, and can remain sanitary and disposable without harming the environment. Additionally, the materials and structure of the toilets can withstand inclement outdoor conditions. All materials used for the toilets are preferably recyclable and bio-degradable, although the portable and disposable toilets can be readily constructed using other light-weight and low-cost materials.  
         [0007]     The portable and disposable toilets in accordance with the present invention comprises an interlocking foundation, a top support, and a liner. The liner may also include a bag, which has its opening facing up when the liner is used to line the top support for each use. The liner can be adhesively folded closed after each use, thus also sealing the bag to prevent leakage and contamination. The liner may have a pair of loops at both ends, which serves both as a lock onto the top support and as a handle when the liner is folded after each use. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     Additional objects, features and advantages of the portable and disposable toilet in accordance with the present invention will become apparent in the following description, wherein:  
         [0009]     FIGS.  1  ( a )-( d ) illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the portable and disposable toilet is shown to illustrate its basic components  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates a complete exemplary cardboard blank  20  from which the foundation panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , and the top support  110  are constructed.  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  ( a )-( j ) illustrate the exemplary assembly steps of the portable and disposable toilet in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the exemplary liner  100  construction in more detail.  
         [0013]     FIGS.  5  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the exemplary cardboard blank with cut-out and fold lines in place.  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates an alternate exemplary embodiment of the portable and disposable toilet in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  shows the exemplary cardboard blank  20   a , where the foundation  12   a ,  14   a ,  16 ,  18 , and top support  110   a  can be constructed on the same cardboard blank  20 .  
         [0016]     FIGS.  8  ( a ) and ( b ) show the formation of the foundation  12   a ,  14   a ,  16 ,  18 , and the top support  110   a . FIGS.  8  ( c )-( j ) show the assembly of the liner  100  to the top support  110   a , much in the same way as in the other embodiment.  
         [0017]     FIGS.  9  ( a )-( d ) show the exemplary liner  100  in more detail, which has the same middle section  104  as in the aforementioned embodiment.  
         [0018]     FIGS.  10  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the exemplary cardboard blank with dimensions.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     A portable and disposable toilet for temporary use is disclosed. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a full understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.  
         [0020]     Reference is first turned to FIGS.  1  ( a )-( d ), where one embodiment of the portable and disposable toilet is shown to illustrate its basic components.  FIG. 1  ( a ) illustrates a liner  100  with a plastic bag  102  attached thereto. The liner  100  has a pre-cut interior section  104  (also shown in  FIG. 3  ( c )) in the middle, to which the bag&#39;s opening is aligned. The pre-cut section  104  can be folded up to expose the bag  102 . After each use, the liner  100  can be folded and closed and sealed by exposing the adhesive strips ( FIG. 3  ( h ),  106 ) placed around a portion of the edges of the liner  100 . The adhesive strips are just one example of the methods commonly used to seal a bag. Other such methods include Velcro, draw strings or elastic bands. In some embodiments, the liner  100  and the bag  102  may be optional and avoided, thus lowering the cost of manufacturing and simplifying assembly.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  ( b ) illustrates a top support  110 , which has an interior opening in its middle. The front of the top support  110  can be bent downward to lock onto the front and top corners of the side panels  12 ,  14  through its pre-cut openings  114 ,  112 , respectively. At the rear of the top support  110 , a folded-down portion can interlock the slots  116 ,  118  of the top support with the slots  124 ,  126  on the side panels  12 ,  14 , respectively. Instead of having the front portion bent down, or sloped down, both the front portion and the rear portion could be folded-down to engage the side panels  12 ,  14 . Both the front and rear portions would then be symmetrical. The slots  112 ,  114  at the front portion would be cut from the front edges of the top support  110 , just as in the case of the rear portion. A pair of protruding tabs  36 ,  37  may be formed by leaving pre-cut lines on the top support, and folding down and sloping down of the rear and front portions. However, the top support  110  may not be implemented with the protruding tabs  36 ,  37 , so as simplify the design and manufacturing. The top support  110  is preferably constructed of single-layer corrugated cardboard material, but other light-weight material could also be used.  
         [0022]     FIGS.  1  ( c ) and ( d ) illustrate the foundation, which is formed by two pairs of interlocking vertical single-layer corrugated cardboard side panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 . The foundation is formed by interlocking the cardboard panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  to each other, which can still be easily folded flat for shipping. When the side panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are interlocked using the pre-cut slots  120 ,  122 ,  128 ,  129  ( FIG. 2 ),  133 ,  134 ,  135 ,  136 , the panels form the four walls of the foundation. Even when the cardboards are interlocked, they can still be collapsed, or flattened, thus making easy shipping and storage.  
         [0023]     On the panels  12 ,  14 , the slots  120 ,  122 ,  128 ,  129  are cut vertically from the bottom edge upward. On the panels  16 ,  18 , the slots  133 ,  134 ,  135 ,  136  are cut vertically from the top edge downward. The slots are preferably cut to middle of the height of the panels, such that when the panels  12 ,  14  interlock with panels  16 ,  18 , they maintain a uniform height, same as the height of the panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 . Additionally, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and top liner  110  can all be formed on the same, preferably single-layered, cardboard blank, thus simplifying the manufacturing.  
         [0024]     Also, on the panels  12 ,  14 , slots  33 ,  34  are horizontally cut so that they can receive the tabs  31 ,  32  ( FIG. 2 ), when the top liner  110  has the tabs  31 ,  32  folded down.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates a complete blank  20  from which the foundation panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , and the top support  110  are constructed. Preferably the pre-cut blank  20  is made of cardboard material; however, other light-weight materials can also be used. Currently, the cardboard blank  20  may have a dimension of 41 inch by 24 inch. Also, the orientation of the corrugation within the cardboard blank  20  should preferably reinforce the strength tolerance against a user&#39;s squatting position.  
         [0026]     FIGS.  3  ( a )-( j ) illustrate exemplary assembly steps of the portable and disposable toilet in accordance with the present invention. In  FIG. 3  ( a ), after the foundation is erected from the two interlocking pairs of cardboard panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , the top support  110  is engaged to the foundation by engaging the corners  301 ,  302  of the panels  12 ,  14  to the slots  112 ,  114 , respectively at the front of the top support  110 . At the back, slots  124 ,  126  of the side panels  12 ,  14 , interlock the slots  116 ,  118 , respectively of the top support  110 . As a result, the side panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are interlocking, forming a simple and yet strong foundation, which is further interlocked with the top support  110 . Because of the interlocking by the top support  110 , the lateral integrity of the four side panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  is achieved.  
         [0027]     In  FIG. 3  ( b ), after the top support  110  is locked onto the foundation, the tabs  31 ,  32  on each inner side of the top support  110  can be folded down and inserted into the pre-formed slot  33 ,  34  on each side of the side panel.  
         [0028]     In FIGS.  3  ( c ) and ( d ), the pre-cut tabs  36 ,  37  are preferably formed on the top support  110  at the front and back. The tabs  36 ,  37  can be inserted through the handles  38 ,  39 , respectively, on the liner  100  and then folded down, thus stabilizing the liner  100  onto the top support  110 . The pre-cut tabs  36 ,  37  may be avoided in some embodiment to simplify the design and manufacturing.  
         [0029]     In FIGS.  3  ( e ) and ( f ), the liner  100  has perforation in the middle, so that three sides of a middle section  104  can be separated and pulled up from the liner&#39;s edge prior to use. Now the bag  102  underneath the liner is exposed, allowing human waste to be deposited. The folded middle section  104  need not be removed since it can be used as a lid to close the liner  100  after use, as shown in  FIG. 3  ( g ). The liner  100  may have an adhesive strip  106  on its edges, which can be used to fold and seal off the liner  100  for disposal, as shown in FIGS.  3  ( i ) and ( j ). To remove the liner  100 , it is lifted from the cavity of the foundation and then folded and sealed using the exposed adhesive strip  106 . It should be noted that other methods of sealing or closing the liner, e.g. Velcro, draw string, elastic band, could also be used, as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that the bag  102  may have chemical agents or re-agents already in place for treating the human waste on contact ( FIG. 4  ( d )). Alternately, the bag  102  itself may be constructed of moisture absorbing material.  
         [0030]     FIGS.  4  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the liner  100  construction in more detail. It should be noted that the liner may be avoided in a different embodiment.  FIG. 4  ( a ) shows the lifting of three sides of the middle section  104  of the liner  100 .  FIG. 4  ( b ) illustrates the liner  100  with a handle on each end. In the middle section  104 , cut-out lines are provided on three sides, and a fold line  107  is provided on the one remaining. Opposite to the fold line  107 , an additional cut-out line  108  is formed, so that it allows the user&#39;s finger to easily begin the removal of the middle section  104 . FIGS.  4  ( c ) and ( d ) illustrate that chemical agents  40  may be deposited into the bag  102  for on-contact treatment of the human waste. The liner  100  preferably has wax coating to shield against moisture. The bag  102  may be implemented with bio-degradable material. Also, the cardboard panels  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  preferably may also have wax coating to shield against moisture, since the portable and disposable toilet may be deployed outdoors in some less-than-ideal conditions.  
         [0031]     FIGS.  5  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the exemplary cardboard blank with cut-out and fold lines in place. It should be noted that the dimensions are for illustrations purposes and those skilled in the art can readily create their own specification based on the teaching of the present invention. Also, other light-weight material, instead of cardboard, may be used to produce the blank. The invention is not limited to just cardboard material.  FIG. 5  ( a ) shows the front and back said panels  16 ,  18 .  FIG. 5  ( b ) shows the top support  110  with inside tabs  31 ,  32 .  FIG. 5  ( c ) shows the side panels  12 ,  14  with pre-cut slots  33 ,  34 , which is used to engage the inside tabs  31 ,  32 .  FIG. 5  ( d ) shows the liner  100  construction, where the cut-out line  108  is also indicated.  
         [0032]      FIGS. 6-12  illustrate another embodiment of the portable and disposable toilet in accordance with the present invention. It should be noted that those features in the drawings that are similar to the other embodiment are indicated by appending a letter “a” to the reference numeral. Also, those features that are the same as the other embodiment are not reproduced in  FIGS. 6-12  and should be referred to the drawings associated with the other embodiment. The alternate embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 6 , is different from the other embodiment by not providing the pre-cut slots  33 ,  34  on the side panels  12   a ,  14   a . As shown in  FIG. 7 , the tabs  31   a ,  32   a  have adhesive pads on them so that they can be affixed to the inside of the side panels  12   a ,  14   a . As a result, the side panels  12   a ,  14   a  do not have the cut-out  33 ,  34  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 7  shows the cardboard blank  20   a , where the foundation  12   a ,  14   a ,  16 ,  18 , and top support  110   a  can be constructed on the same cardboard blank  20 . Note that in this embodiment, the top support  110   a  has adhesive tabs  31   a ,  32   a , applied to one side for securing the top support  110   a  to the side panels  12   a ,  14   a , when the tabs  31   a ,  32   a , of the top support  110   a  are folded down after placement onto the foundation.  
         [0034]     As in the other embodiment, FIGS.  8  ( a ) and ( b ) show the formation of the foundation  12   a ,  14   a ,  16 ,  18 , and the top support  110   a , which has an adhesive tab  31   a ,  32   a  for securing itself to the foundation&#39;s inside side panels  12   a ,  14   a.    
         [0035]     FIGS.  8  ( c )-( j ) show the assembly of the liner  100  to the top support  110   a , much in the same way as in the other embodiment.  FIG. 8  ( d ) shows the optional tabs  36 ,  37  on the top support  110   a  being anchored through the handles of the liner  100 .  FIG. 8  ( e )-( h ) show the pull-back of the middle section  104  of the liner  100 , and exposing the adhesive tapes  106  of the middle section  104  around the edges of the liner  100 . FIGS.  8  ( i )-( j ) show the removal of the liner  100  from the foundation and seal off of the liner  100  using the exposed adhesive tapes  106 . FIGS.  9  ( a )-( d ) show the liner  100  in more detail, which has the same middle section  104  as in the aforementioned embodiment.  
         [0036]     FIGS.  10  ( a )-( d ) illustrate the exemplary cardboard blank with dimensions. As can be appreciated, those skilled in the art can readily create their own specification based on the teaching of the present invention.  FIG. 10  ( a ) illustrates the front and back panels  16 ,  18 .  FIG. 10  ( b ) illustrates the top support  110   a , with the adhesive tabs  31   a ,  32   a .  FIG. 10  ( c ) shows the side panels  12   a ,  14   a , and  FIG. 10  ( d ) shows the top liner  100 .  
         [0037]     As previously mentioned, while the portable toilet in accordance with the present invention is shown in cardboard construction, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that the portable toilet can readily manufactured using other materials, bio-degradable or not.