Abstract:
A portable toilet adapted for use on a vehicle seat, and adapted to efficiently utilize the space in a vehicle. A portable toilet adapted for use on various surfaces, including surfaces not parallel to the ground. A portable toilet with an adjustment portion allowing the toilet to be used on surfaces of various angles relative to the ground

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to toilets, and particularly to a toilet adapted to be used on a vehicle seat and other locations.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Portable toilets are known for use while camping, boating, and for other uses. Many portable toilets are designed to be placed on the ground and present a seat height similar to that of a traditional toilet. Some of these portable toilets are fixed in height, while others are designed to be collapsible for ease of storage and transportation. An example of such a collapsible portable toilet is U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,790 to Abraham et al.  
         [0005]     The need for a portable toilet while traveling in a vehicle has become more pronounced in recent years. It is not uncommon for roadside vendors to have no restroom facilities available to the public. Also, publicly available facilities may not be clean, or may not be private. Thus, a restroom may not be available for use when needed while traveling by automobile.  
         [0006]     While traveling through the countryside, no facilities of any kind may be available. Although there may not be a privacy issue if one were to stop to use a full size portable toilet in the outdoors in some locations, many people are uncomfortable with this sort of idea. In addition, a full size portable toilet is bulky and difficult to transport.  
         [0007]     An example of a vehicle seat with a built in toilet is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,513 to Rauskauskas. Although this device allows for the user to relieve oneself in the privacy of their automobile, the device requires an extensive retrofit of the vehicle, and is then limited to that vehicle only. An example of a portable toilet for children that can be used on the seat of an automobile is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,576 to Cosby. This portable toilet is surrounded by a restraining wall that helps to constrain children in the proper position on the seat, and is also of substantial heft such that it is adapted to be able to be used on the ground as well.  
         [0008]     A problem exists in that an adult that wishes to use a portable toilet in a vehicle, on the vehicle seat itself, cannot be raised too far off of the vehicle seat without having their head interfering with the ceiling of the vehicle. In addition, most, if not all, modern vehicle seats are not flat with respect to the ground. Thus, in order to make efficient use of the limited space in a vehicle, a portable toilet needs to be adapted to the vehicle seat geometry. Another problem exists in that many prior art devices are not adapted to be for personal use, such that the portable toilet may be used for just one individual, with a second individual having their own second portable toilet.  
         [0009]     What is called for is a portable toilet for use in a vehicle by adults. Such a portable toilet should be adapted to fit in substantial conformance with the geometry of an automobile seat to utilize the limited space in the vehicle. Such a toilet may be used as a personal toilet by the user.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     In accordance with the present invention, a portable toilet adapted for use on a vehicle seat, and adapted to efficiently utilize the space in a vehicle. A portable toilet adapted for use on various surfaces, including surfaces not parallel to the ground. A portable toilet with an adjustment portion allowing the toilet to be used on surfaces of various angles relative to the ground. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention place on a vehicle seat.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a partial cutaway view of the seat lid interface area according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention with a rectangular seat opening.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of the interface between the seat portion and the base container.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a portable toilet with a leveler in the stowed position according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a side view of a portable toilet with a leveler in the deployed position according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a portable toilet with a leveler in the deployed position according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a portable toilet  100  has a base container  101  and a seat portion  104 . The periphery  109  of seat portion  104  aligns with the upper edge of the base container  101 . In some embodiments, the seat portion  104  and the base container  101  are separate pieces which may be removeably attached to each other. In some embodiments, the seat portion  104  and the base container  101  are formed together as a unitary piece. The seat portion  104  and the base container  101  may be of metal, plastic, or other appropriate materials.  
         [0021]     In some embodiments of the present invention, the base container  101  has a bottom element  107  which is surrounded by a front vertical element  103 , a rear vertical element  106 , and two side vertical elements  102 . In some embodiments, the base container is substantially rectangular in shape. The front vertical element  103  is shorter in vertical height than the rear vertical element  106  in some embodiments. Because of the variation in height of the front vertical element  103  and the rear vertical element  106 , the seat portion  104  is not substantially parallel to bottom element  107  of the base container  101 .  
         [0022]     In some embodiments, the portable toilet may have a base container  101  that is not substantially rectangular. The base container  101  may be of oval, or other shape. In such cases, the front and rear vertical elements may not be as strictly defined, but would refer to areas at the front of and at the rear of the base container  101 , respectively. In some embodiments, the front vertical element is approximately 2 inches shorter than the rear vertical element. In some embodiments, the front vertical element is approximately 2 inches in height.  
         [0023]     In some embodiments, the seat portion  104  has a seat opening  105  that is circular is shape. The seat opening  105  is adapted to receive a seat lid  108 . The seat lid  108  seals the seat opening  105  in some embodiments. The seat lid  108  is removed during the use of the portable toilet  100 .  
         [0024]     As seen in  FIG. 3 , portable toilet  100  is adapted to reside on top of the bottom cushion  132  of vehicle seat  130  in some embodiments. The bottom surface  107  of the base container  101  is not parallel to the plane of the seat portion  104  of portable toilet  100 , but is adapted to fit into the angle of the top surface of bottom cushion  132  while keeping the plane of the seat portion  104  relatively horizontal. The rear vertical element  106  of the bottom element  107  may reside against the lower portion of the seat cushion  131  of the vehicle seat  130 .  
         [0025]     The fitted nature of the portable toilet  100  in the vehicle seat  130  allows for a more efficient use of space within the vehicle. The seat portion  104  of the portable toilet is relatively horizontal in this embodiment, yet the base container  101  is able to have increased volume with a shorter front vertical element  103 . Thus the user is not projected as far upwards towards the ceiling of the vehicle when the portable toilet  100  is used in a smaller vehicle. The shorter front vertical element  103  coupled with the longer rear vertical element  106  allow for a larger volume in the base container while not projecting the user upwards into the vehicle ceiling. The fitted nature of the portable toilet  100 , and the efficient use of space that it enables, allows for more ease of storage of one or more portable toilets  100  in the trunk of a car, for example. Each passenger would then be able to have their own personal portable toilet, allowing for the avoidance of possible embarrassment, and contributing to hygiene, and for other reasons.  
         [0026]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as seen in  FIG. 4 , the interface area of the seat lid  108  to the seat portion  104  is shown. The seat portion  104  has an internal ring  142 . The seat lid  108  has a lid ring  143  with a groove  141  around its periphery. The groove  141  has an O-ring  140  which seals the lid ring  143  of the seat lid  108  against the internal ring  142  of the seat portion  104 . In some embodiments, the seat lid  108  has a stop ring  144  which prevents the seat lid  108  from being inserted too far into the seat opening  105  in the seat portion  104 .  
         [0027]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as seen in  FIG. 5 , a portable toilet  200  has a substantially rectangular seat opening  205  in the seat portion  204 . The seat opening  205  has an internal ring  242  in some embodiments. The seat portion  204  is attached to the base container  101  in some embodiments. The seat portion  204  is part of a unitary piece with the base container  101  in some embodiments. The seat opening  205  is substantially rectangular, but may have rounded corners so that the mating seat lid can utilize an O-ring for sealing.  
         [0028]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as seen in  FIG. 6 , the seat portion  204  is removeably attached to the base container  101  with an intervening gasket  61  providing a seal. The outer periphery  63  of the seat portion  204  has substantial width to mate to a land  62  of the base container  102 . The gasket  61  may be a one piece gasket that follows the outlines of the outer periphery in some embodiments. The gasket  61  may be constructed from rubber, silicone, or other suitable materials. Clip  64  is used to removeably attach the seat portion  204  to the base container  101 . There may be multiple clips in some embodiments. The clips may be positioned around the periphery of the base container  101 . In one embodiment, the clip  64  attaches to the base container  101  at a base boss  66 . The clip  64  attaches to the seat portion  204  at a seat boss  65 . The clip may be partially elastic such that it can be removed to allow separation of the seat portion  204  from the base container  102 , for cleaning and other purposes, while still being rigid enough to fasten the pieces together.  
         [0029]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as seen in  FIGS. 7, 8 , and  9 , the base container  101  has a pair of levelers  71  that are used to level the plane of the seat portion  104  when used on relatively horizontal surfaces. In some embodiments, the leveler  71  is attached to the base container  101  on leveler boss  72  using screws and washers or other suitable methods. The leveler stop  73  is situated such that when leveler  71  is rotated from its stowed position, as seen in  FIG. 7 , to its deployed position, as seen in  FIG. 8 , the leveler  71  is supported in the stowed position. In some embodiments, as seen in  FIG. 9 , the end of leveler  71  is shaped such that the leveler rests flat on a horizontal surface when deployed.  
         [0030]     In some embodiments of the present invention, a non-slip pad or cushion pad may be attached to the bottom surface of the base container. The pad may substantially cover the bottom surface of the base container, or may cover just portions of it. In some embodiments, one or more pads may be attached to the bottom surface of the base container.  
         [0031]     As evident from the above description, a wide variety of embodiments may be configured from the description given herein and additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is, therefore, not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures from such details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant&#39;s general inventive concept.