Disposable receptacle for bodily waste

A disposable receptacle for receiving bodily waste, comprising of a fluid permeable inner layer and in impermeable outer layer, with an absorbant outer layer, with an absorbant layer in between, and a rim portion with fastening means to attach the receptacle so it depends downwardly through the hole in a bed pan support or toilet trainer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a disposable receptacle for receiving bodily 
waste material so that it can be disposed of easily and in a sanitary 
manner. In particular, it relates to receptacles for receiving the waste 
material from small children who are undergoing toilet training. 
2. The Prior Art 
Disposable diapers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,848,594 and 4,041,951. 
Such diapers have a thin, soft, waterproof outer sheet and a non-wicking, 
water-permeable inner sheet joined to the outer sheet around the perimeter 
thereof, or adjacent to the perimeter. The two sheets thus form a 
generally rectangular envelope, and a layer of fluffy, water adsorbent 
material is held within the envelope. The inner sheet may have pleats 
formed in it, and the outer sheet may have an elastic strand captivated by 
an inwardly turned edge portion of the outer sheet, the purpose of the 
pleats and the elastic strand being to cause the diaper to have a shape 
that is somewhat form-fitting on an infant. 
The fact that the inner sheet, or film, is non-wicking but water-permeable 
means that urine and even fecal moisture will pass through it to be taken 
up by the water-adsorbent material. The fluid will not be retained by the 
water-permeable material in sufficient quantity to feel wet to the infant. 
However, diapers of the type just described are not arranged as sacks 
joined together to form a united structure nor does the diaper have an 
outwardly extending rim with fastening means to attach the rim to a 
support means, such as a child's training chair. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the invention to provide a receptacle capable of 
receiving bodily waste material to allow the material to be disposed of 
neatly and easily. 
Another object is to make it more comfortable for a child to sit on a 
toilet-training chair than is presently the case with respect to chairs 
not provided with such receptacles, whereby the child will enter more 
willingly into the toilet-training routine. 
A further object is to control disagreeable odors and procedures associated 
with toilet-training structures at the present time and thereby make 
toilet training of small children less onerous for other members of the 
household. 
Still further objects will be apparent from the following specification and 
the accompanying drawings. 
In accordance with this invention, a receptacle is formed that basically 
comprises two sacks, one inside the other. The outer sack is formed of 
soft plastic material such as the waterproof outer sheet of a disposable 
diaper. The inner sack is formed of water-permeable material, and its edge 
may or may not extend all the way to the edge of the waterproof outer 
material. The two sacks are joined together so that they will not fall 
apart without a specific effort's being made to separate them, and between 
the two sacks, or at least between their respective bottom regions, is 
water-adsorbent material. 
The rim of the united structure may be formed of the rim of either or both 
sacks and is provided with fastening means to hold it in place on a 
suitable support, such as a toilet-training chair. Preferably the rim has 
an annular pad that forms a soft seat on which a small child can sit 
confortably, thereby making it easier for the child to be willing to sit 
there long enough to produce the desired results of a toilet-training 
session. 
The bottom and side regions of the united structure extend downwardly 
through the hole in a toilet-training chair, and deodorizing material is 
located within the combined sacks to control any odors emenating from 
bodily waste eliminated by the child. Preferably the deodorizing material 
is normally in a dry condition, such as powder or crystals adsorbed on the 
surface of the myriad fibers making up the water-adsorbent material, and 
is activated by fluid from the child to produce the deodorizing effect. 
After being used, the receptacle can be gathered up by unfastening its rim 
and can be disposed of in the same manner as a disposable diaper. Unlike 
the usual rigid receptacle used in toilet training, it is not necessary to 
spend any time getting the disposable receptacle of this invention ready 
to be used again. Because of the deodorizing material the odor usually 
associated with getting a rigid receptacle ready for its next usage is 
substantially reduced or even eliminated, thereby making the task much 
less onerous.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The chair 11 in FIG. 1 is a typical chair used for toilet training of small 
children and has a seat 12 with a central hole in it. Typically such 
chairs have a slide structure under their seats to receive a rigid cup, 
but no such slide structure is required when the chair 11 is used with a 
disposable receptacle 13 according to this invention. The receptacle 13 
shown in FIG. 1 comprises a sack portion 14 and an outwardly extending rim 
16. The sack portion extends through the hole in the seat 12 and the 
perimeter of the hole is covered by the rim 16. 
Preferably the sack portion substantially fills the hole in the seat 12 and 
would not fall through the hole prior to being used, but it is not 
necessary that the fit be a close one: it may be somewhat larger or even 
somewhat smaller. In any event the weight of waste material deposited in 
the receptacle 13 by a child would tend to pull the rim 16 down through 
the opening in the seat, and in order to prevent this the rim is fastened 
to the chair that supports the receptacle. Any suitable fastening means, 
such as snaps, strings, elastic bands or adhesive material may be used, 
but it is extremely important to minimize the cost of the receptacle and 
to make it as easy as possible to use it with any existing chair 11, and 
both of those results are more easily attained with adhesive material than 
with any of the other fastening means. Specifically, a layer of 
pressure-sensitive adhesive on the outer surface of the rim 16 can be used 
to hold the receptacle 13 in place. 
FIG. 2 shows a disposable receptacle 17 in cross section. It includes an 
outer layer 18 formed into a sack 19 that has a bottom region 20. The 
bottom region is shown as being flat, although in reality the softness of 
the receptacle would allow it to take any shape. The layer 18 is a thin 
sheet of soft material, such as waterproof polyethylene. In the idealized 
structure shown in FIG. 2, the polyethylene material that forms the bottom 
region 20 curves upwardly at its perimeter to form a cylindrical side 
regions 21 and then, at the upper edge 22 of the side region 21, outwardly 
to form a generally radial annular flange, or rim, 23. The outermost edge 
of the flange is shown as having been turned back on itself to present a 
rounded outer perimeter 24, even though the polyethylene material is so 
soft that there is virtually no chance that even the die cut edge of it 
can cut a child. An annular ring 26 of pressure-sensitive adhesive is 
coated on the under surface of the rim 23, that is, on the surface that 
faces in the same direction that the sack 19 extends from the rim 23. 
Inside the sack 19 and more or less congruent with it is a second sack 27 
of water-permeable material, such as a thin sheet of non-woven cellulose 
or perforated or porous polyethylene. Like the outer sack 19, the inner 
sack 27 has a bottom region 28, a more or less cylindrical side region 29, 
and an outwardly extending rim 31 that is also turned under, like the rim 
23, to present a wounded outer perimeter 32. 
The bottom regions 20 and 28 are spaced apart to hold water-adsorbent 
material 33, such as comminuted cellulose known as air felt. It will be 
noted that the water-adsorbent material does not extend all the way up 
between the side regions 21 and 29 but stops at an intermediate location 
33a well below the rims 23 and 31. The reason is that liquid passes 
through the material that forms the inner sack 27 and is held by the 
surfaces that make up the infinitesmal particles of the material 33, and 
it is not desirable that the liquid follow the material 33 up to the rims 
23 and 31. If it did, it would wet the child using the receptacle 17, and 
such wetness would be directly contrary to the effect sought in toilet 
training. In the embodiment in FIG. 2 the material that forms the inner 
sack 27 is porous, or permeable to liquid, but it should not have wicking 
properties. In fact, it should be hydrophobic so as to repel water, and it 
can be made so by its nature or by treating it with materials that make it 
so. For example, if the material of which the sack 27 is formed is porous 
polyethylene, it is inherently hydrophobic. Other materials, such as 
non-woven cellulose may not be hydrophobic but may be treated with oil to 
make them so. 
It is well known that all materials that are to come into contact, or might 
come into contact, with a baby or small child must be absolutely safe. 
Thus, it would be appropriate to make the receptacle 17 out of materials 
that have already been established as safe for use in a disposable diaper, 
although it is to be understood that other materials may be perfectly 
satisfactory and may be used instead. The invention is not limited to 
specific materials. 
Between the rim 23 and the rim 31 is an annular ring 34 of soft material to 
make the seat as comfortable as possible. By making the ring 34 of 
water-adsorbent material, such as the material 33, the annular cushion can 
be made to adsorb any perspiration from the child. Such perspiration might 
occur during warm, humid days in the summer and would be likely to make 
the child sitting on the surface of the rim 31 uncomfortable. Since the 
rim 31 is water permeable and even hydrophobic, any perspiration from the 
child would pass through the rim 31 and be adsorbed in the ring 34. While 
the moisture would remain close to the child, the effect would at least be 
more comfortable for the child than if the child were forced to sit on a 
seat that is not only hard but impervious to moisture. I have found by 
actual experimentation that children are willing to sit longer on the 
padded seat of the receptacle of this invention than on standard, hard 
seats. Such extended time on the seat is more likely to result in the 
action desired of the child than in the case when the child is forced to 
sit on a hard, uncomfortable seat. Since the receptacle is not intended to 
stay on the supporting seat long, the fact that the soft ring 34 may get 
wet with perspiration or otherwise creates no problem. On the other hand, 
one reason seats of the type commonly in use at the present time are made 
hard is to prevent their soaking up any liquid. Permeable padding material 
on such seats could become unpleasant and even medically dangerous by the 
accretion of mold, bacteria, and the like in moisture in the padding 
material. 
FIG. 3 shows a modified receptacle 35 that has an outer sack 36 with only a 
plain rim 37 but no padded ring of the type shown in FIG. 2. In addition, 
the perimeter 38 of the rim 37 is not turned under, and an inner sack 39 
is provided that has no rim. Instead, the side region 40 of the inner sack 
terminates at an edge attached by glue or any other suitable means to the 
side region 42 of the outer sack 36. As in the embodiment in FIG. 2, the 
outer sack is made of waterproof material and the inner sack is of 
water-permeable material and there is a quantity of water-adsorbent 
material 43 between the bottom regions of the two sacks. Since the 
water-permeable material of the inner sack 39 does not even extend up to 
the rim 37 of the outer sack, no liquid that falls to the bottom of the 
united sack structure can rise into contact with the child, even if the 
material of which the inner sack 39 is made has a wicking property. 
The outer sack 36 can be molded as a one-piece unit or it can be formed by 
joining the annular rim 37 to the edge 44 of a separate piece of 
waterproof material that forms the side region 42. The side region can be 
formed as an extruded tube or it can be formed by sealing opposite edges 
46 and 47 together, as by a heat-sealed seam 48. The bottom region 49, 
which may have a polygonal contour instead of a round one, is sealed to 
the side region 42 along a seam 51 that extends along the entire length of 
the contour. 
The inner sack 39 may likewise be made up of separate panels of 
water-permeable material glued or otherwise joined together. Opposite 
edges 52 and 53 of a rectangular or other-shaped piece of material can be 
glued or otherwise joined together along a seam 54, and one edge of the 
resulting generally tubular side region 40 can be attached along a seam 55 
to the perimenter 56 of a piece of water-permeable material that forms the 
bottom region 57 of the inner sack 39. 
FIG. 4 shows the rim 37 of the receptacle 35 of FIG. 3. Although the rim is 
generally annular, its inner and outer perimenters are not precisely 
circular. In fact, the embodiment in FIG. 4 includes several contour 
arrangements. At selected limited areas 58-61, which are on the reverse 
surface of the rim 37 as indicated by the dotted contours of these areas, 
the rim has patches of pressure-sensitive adhesive to hold it in place on 
a training chair. While the entire reverse surface of the rim 37 might 
have an annular ring of pressure-sensitive adhesive, limited areas are 
sufficient. 
Furthermore, parts of the rim 37 that are not cemented to the supporting 
seat provide areas that may be easily grasped to separate the receptacle 
35 from the seat when the receptacle is to be disposed of. Alternatively, 
the rim 37 may be provided with one or more tabs, such as the tab 63, for 
the same purpose. 
A still further alternative is to join an elastic strand 64 to the 
perimeter of the rim 37. The strand is free of the rim material at regions 
65 and 66 to allow the strand to be grasped and stretched over projections 
on the chair. The projections would have to be in regions, such as corners 
of the chair, where they could not hurt the child, and even when so 
located, they should be safely rounded. Alternatively, the strand 64 could 
be looped over corners of the seat if the corners project outwardly far 
enough. 
While the receptacles have been described as being suitable for 
toilet-training small children, the same receptacle in larger size can be 
used for larger children who, for some reason cannot use a standard 
toilet, and it can also be used by incontinent adults or by older children 
or adults whose fecal matter must be analyzed without having been 
contaminated from any other source.