Abstract:
A urine basin which has head attachments for males and females. In addition, the basin has a filter for capturing kidney stones and a handle for carrying the basin.

Description:
Applicant claims priority of Provisional Ser. No. 60/147,473, filed Aug. 9, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates, in general, to urinals, and, in particular, to urinals which assist in the capturing of kidney stones. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     In the prior art various types of have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,172 to Friedman et al discloses a female urinal with a tapered opening at the top of a collection basin. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,426 to Geddes discloses a urinal with a detachable handle and a removable cap. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,649 to Burnett discloses a urine collection system with a removable, tapered upper collection fixture. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,118 to Green discloses a urine collection system with a tapered opening designed for use by women. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a urine basin which has head attachments for males and females. In addition, the basin has a filter for capturing kidney stones and a handle for carrying the basin. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved urinal basin. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved urinal basin which will assist medical personnel in capturing kidney stones. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved urinal basin which is easily used by either a man or a women. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded front plan view of the male version of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the male top of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded front plan view of the female version of the present invention without the basin. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the female top of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the present invention. The invention comprises both a male version (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) and a female version (shown in FIGS.  1  and  2 ). The male version is shown in FIG.  1  and comprises a basin  1  having an open top  2  and a handle  3  on the side of the basin  1 . Above the basin  1  a filter  4 ,  5  is shown. The filter is designed to be used in facilities such as hospitals to capture items such as kidney stones that are passed in the urine of a patient. The basin  1  is preferably made from clear plastic and has graduated lines  12  along he side so technicians could measure the amount of liquid in the basin  1 . 
     The filter has a top portion  4  which will sit on top of the opening  2  in the basin  1 . Attached at the bottom of the top portion  4  is a filter screen  5  which will sit within the open top  2  of the basin  1 . The filter screen  5  can be made from any material suitable for the intended purpose, however, plastic is the preferred material. The screen  5  should have a fine mesh which will allow urine to pass through into the basin  1 , however, the openings in the mesh should be small enough to trap any kidney stones which are present in the patient&#39;s urine. In addition, the filter  5  could be provided with a litmus strip  13 , in any conventional manner, which would detect the presence of blood in the urine. 
     Located above the filter is a male top  6 ,  7  (also shown in FIG.  8 ). The male top has an upper portion  7 , which as shown in FIG. 2, is angled starting at the top of the upper portion down toward the bottom portion  6  to make it convenient for a male to use the invention. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper portion  7  is tapered to prevent flashback when used by a male patient. The bottom portion  6  will engage the top of the filter  4  and be secured in that position for use by male patients. How the bottom portion  6  engages the top portion  4  of the filter is not material as long as the two items are secured to one another. For example, the bottom portion  6  could fit snugly inside the top portion  4  of the filter, or it could fit outside the top portion  4  of the filter. 
     Positioned on top of the top portion  7  is a cap which engages the top of the bottom portion  7  to prevent the urine from accidentally spilling. How the cap  8  engages the top portion  7  is not material as long as the two items are secured to one another. For example, the cap  8  could fit snugly inside the top portion  7 , or it could fit outside the top portion  7 . It could be secured with a friction fit or the cap could be made from a resilient material which can be squeezed over or into the top portion  7 . 
     The female version of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It should be noted that the female version uses the same basin  1  as the male version, however, the basin  1  has not been shown in FIG. 3 for clarity. The same filter  4 ,  5  as is used in the male version will also be used in the female version. The filter has a top portion  4  which will sit on top of the opening  2  in the basin  1 . Attached at the bottom of the top portion  4  is a filter screen  5  which will sit within the open top  2  of the basin  1 . The filter screen  5  can be made from any material suitable for the intended purpose. however, plastic is the preferred material. The screen  5  should have a fine mesh which will allow urine to pass through into the basin  1 , however, the openings in the mesh should be small enough to trap any kidney stones which are present in the patient&#39;s urine. 
     Above the filter is a female top  10  which has a flared upper portion  11 , forming a channel, which will make it convenient for a female to use the present invention by directing the urine into the top  10  and then into the basin  1 . A cap  9  with a complimentary shape to the top of the female top is placed onto the female top  1   1  and serves the same purpose as the male cap  8 , as explained above. However, the female cap  9  is shaped to fit within the top of the female top  10 . The female cap  9  can be secured by friction, or it can be made resilient enough to be squeezed into the top of the female top  10  in order to secure the cap to the top. 
     It should be noted that the urinal system of the present invention would include the basin  1 , the filter  4 ,  5 , the male top  6 ,  7 , the female top  10 ,  11 , the cap  8 , and the cap  9 . This way the user could select whichever top and cap was suitable for the user. In addition, the urinal system of the present invention is not solely limited to use in hospitals. It could also be used in activities such as camping trips where normal bathroom facilities are not available. Of course, the system does not have to be used with the filter  4 ,  5  if trapping kidney stones is not a priority. 
     Although the Universal Stone Catcher Urinal System and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of this invention.