Portable elimination device

The portable elimination device is a portable container for receiving human waste products, in particular, urine and fecal matter. In a first embodiment for micturition by males, the device is a cylinder having an outside layer made from a pliable, liquid impermeable plastic and an inside layer made from a soft, absorbent material. The device includes a pair of foldable flaps at the open mouth of the cylinder and a bead and groove seal to close the mouth of the cylinder for disposal after use. In a second embodiment for micturition by females, the device is generally rectangular with rounded corners having an outside layer made from a pliable, liquid impermeable plastic and an inside layer made from a soft, absorbent material. A flap is attached to one end of the outside layer and flexible shroud is attached to an opposing end of the outside layer, so that, after use, the flap is used to fold the device in half and the shroud is pulled over the doubled up layers for disposal. In a third embodiment for receiving solid waste, the device includes an inflatable, cylindrical chamber having a well defined therein. A liquid impermeable plastic bag is placed over the chamber, the bottom of the bag having a layer of absorbent material chemically treated to reduce odor being disposed in the bottom of the well, the mouth of the bag being retained to the outer wall of the chamber by hook and loop fastening material. After use, the bag is tied for disposal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to toilets and sanitation devices, and
 particularly to portable elimination devices for receiving human waste,
 such as urine and feces.
 2. Description of the Related Art
 Human beings frequently experience the need to void urine or to eliminate
 solid waste when access to a water closet or other indoor plumbing
 facilities is not available. This need may arise when camping,
 backpacking, or on extended travel by motor vehicle.
 Portable latrine facilities are also necessary for military personnel in
 the field. Invalids confined to bed or persons who are hospitalized for
 surgery may be unable to use conventional toilet facilities. Pregnant
 women and small children often have small capacity and experience a
 frequent need to void. Public restrooms may be poorly maintained and in
 unsanitary condition, or may be located where women traveling alone feel
 the environment is unsafe. For all of these reasons, portable elimination
 devices offer an alternative solution.
 Various devices have been presented to solve these problems U.S. Des. Pat.
 No. 328,126, issued Jul. 21, 1992 to J. K. Wadsworth, Jr., shows what
 appears to be a hinged toilet seat supported by struts placed over a box
 lined by a bag. U.S. Design Pat. No. 355,710, issued Feb. 21, 1995 to
 Hostetler, et al., shows a chair frame with a bag depending from the chair
 seat and a toilet seat placed over the bag. U.S. Des. Pat. No. 383,199,
 issued Sep. 2, 1997 shows a portable chemical toilet in the form of a
 bucket with a handle, a hinged seat placed over the bucket, and a cover
 which appear to have downward projections for snapping onto annular
 flanges around the top of the bucket.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,249, issued Aug. 20, 1991 to R. Diaz, describes a
 collapsible commode made from corrugated cardboard having vertical fold
 lines and a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, and no bottom wall. A
 plastic bag is placed into the box and draped over the walls. After use,
 the plastic bag may be sealed by adhesive tape around the inside of the
 mouth of the bag.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,972, issued Oct. 10, 1995 to R. B. Williams, teaches a
 disposable bed pan bag large enough to receive a bed pan and having a pad
 made of absorbable material attached to the outside of one side of the bag
 between its ends, the pad being treated with crystals which absorb urine
 and human waste. The bag is placed over the bed pan with the pad
 positioned in the bottom of the bed pan well. After use, the bag is turned
 inside out and closed with a tie fastener.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,670, issued Jul. 15, 1997 to A. Iscovich, discloses a
 bag for the collection of vomit or urine made from polyethylene and having
 a strap attached to opposite ends of the bag opening for hanging the bag
 around the user's neck. The bag has reinforcing strips across the opening
 of the bay with curved metal fasteners that snap into holes on the
 opposing side which supplement adhesive strips for sealing the bag. The
 patent mentions that a zip-lock.RTM. bead and groove fastener may be used
 alternatively for sealing the bag.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,830, issued Dec. 29, 1998 to M. Horn, describes a
 portable urinal device having a plastic or rubber conical funnel with a
 spout connected by tubing to a collection bottle. An alternative funnel
 having a curved top and flat bottom for receiving a penis is shown. The
 funnels include a filter containing charcoal for absorbing the odor of
 urine. An alternative embodiment in the form of a flexible bag with
 perforations which may be separated for access during use is also shown.
 United Kingdom Patent No. 686,682, published Jan. 28, 1953, teaches a
 collapsible toilet made from annular rings in fluid communication with a
 nozzle for inflating the rings. The pot has a liner, which may be a
 disposable liner.
 None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in
 combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a
 portable elimination device solving the aforementioned problems is
 desired.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The portable elimination device is a portable container for receiving human
 waste products, in particular, urine and fecal matter. In a first
 embodiment for micturition by males, the device is a cylinder having an
 outside layer made from a pliable, liquid impermeable plastic and an
 inside layer made from a soft, absorbent material. The device includes a
 pair of foldable flaps at the open mouth of the cylinder and a bead and
 groove seal to close the mouth of the cylinder for disposal after use. In
 a second embodiment for micturition by females, the device is generally
 rectangular with rounded corners having an outside layer made from a
 pliable, liquid impermeable plastic and an inside layer made from a soft,
 absorbent material. A flap is attached to one end of the outside layer and
 flexible shroud is attached to an opposing end of the outside layer, so
 that, after use, the flap is used to fold the device in half and the
 shroud is pulled over the doubled up layers for disposal. In a third
 embodiment for receiving solid waste, the device includes an inflatable,
 cylindrical chamber having a well defined therein. A liquid impermeable
 plastic bag is placed over the chamber, the bottom of the bag having a
 layer of absorbent material chemically treated to reduce odor being
 disposed in the bottom of the well, the mouth of the bag being retained to
 the outer wall of the chamber by hook and loop fastening material. After
 use, the bag is tied for disposal.
 Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a
 portable elimination device for micturition by males having an absorbent
 inner layer to prevent the spillage of urine.
 It is another object of the invention to provide a portable elimination
 device for micturition by males which is disposable, being made from a
 pliant, plastic material with a bead and groove seal for closing the
 container for disposal.
 It is a further object of the invention to provide a portable elimination
 device for micturition by females which is disposable having an absorbent
 inner layer and a shroud for enclosing the device for disposal.
 Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable elimination
 device for solid waste having an inflatable chamber lined with a
 disposable bag, the bag having an absorbent inner layer chemically treated
 to reduce odor.
 It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and
 arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive,
 dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
 These and other objects of the present invention will become readily
 apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently
 throughout the attached drawings.
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 The present invention is a portable elimination device, designated
 generally as 10 in the drawings. A first embodiment of the device 10, for
 micturition by males, is shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. The body 12 of the
 device 10 is substantially cylindrical in shape, having a bottom wall 14
 and a continuous side wall 16, the side wall 16 defining an open mouth 18
 at the top of the cylinder. As shown in FIG. 3, the device 10 has a soft,
 pliable, plastic outer layer 20 which is impermeable to liquids, and in
 particular, to urine. The device 10 has a soft, absorbent inner layer 22,
 which may be made from nonwoven fabric, lining the walls 14, 16 of the
 cylinder and defining a cavity 24. The inside surface of the side wall 16
 has at least one semicircular projecting ridge or bead 26 and,
 correspondingly, at least one semicircular groove 28 about the mouth 18 of
 the cylinder. The soft, absorbent inner layer 22 includes a pair of
 foldable flaps 30 which extend above the open mouth 18 of the cylinder
 when in an unfolded position in order to cover the bead 26 and groove 28.
 In use, the flaps 30 are unfolded and extended above the mouth 18 of the
 cylinder, as shown in FIG. 2A. The male inserts his penis through the open
 mouth 18 and into the cavity 24, the flaps 30 protecting the skin from
 chafing by the bead 26 and grooves 28. As the urine is voided, the inner
 layer 22 absorbs most of the liquid. After use, the flaps 30 may be folded
 down into the cylinder below the open mouth 18, as shown in FIG. 2B, and
 the cylinder is sealed by snapping the bead 26 into the grooves 28 after
 the fashion of a zip-lok.RTM. seal to form a disposable, leakproof
 container, as shown in FIG. 3.
 Advantageously, the absorbent inner layer 22 and the bead 26 and groove 28
 seal prevent accidental spillage of urine after use. Although a bead 26
 and groove 28 seal has been described, other methods of sealing the
 cylindrical body 12 may be used, such as adhesive tape. The volume of the
 cylindrical body 12 is such that, given the absorbency of the inner layer
 22, the device 10 has the capacity to accept the normal volume output on
 voiding, given that the normal capacity of the urinary bladder in an adult
 is about 0.5 liters when distended.
 A second embodiment of the portable elimination device 10, for micturition
 by females, is shown in FIGS. 4 through 8. The device 10 has a
 substantially rectangular body 40 with rounded corners 42 adapted to fit
 between the legs and cover the vaginal area extending from the mons pubis
 to the perianal area, and has a first end 44 and a second end 46. As shown
 in FIG. 8, the body 40 has a soft, pliable, plastic outer layer 48 which
 is impermeable to liquids, and in particular, to urine. The body 40 has a
 soft, thick, absorbent inner layer 50, which may be made from nonwoven
 fabric. As shown in FIG. 6, the outer layer 48 has a flexible flap 52
 which is folded over and temporarily secured to the bottom side of the
 body 40 at the first end 44 by at least one adhesive tack 54, or spot of
 adhesive. The outer layer 48 also has a shroud 56 attached at the second
 end 46 which is folded over, and which may be pleated, temporarily secured
 to the bottom side of the body 40 by at least one adhesive tack 58.
 In use, the female positions the body 40 of the device 10 between her legs
 with the inner layer 48 facing the vagina, which may be done while still
 wearing undergarments. The absorbent inner layer 48 is thick enough to
 absorb the volume of output produced by a normally distended urinary
 bladder, thereby avoiding any spillage. After use, the flap 52 is used to
 fold the body 40 back upon itself into a doubled over position, as shown
 in FIG. 7. The shroud 56 is then folded over the doubled over body 40, as
 shown in FIG. 8, in much the same manner as a sandwich bag is folded over
 a sandwich. The used device 10 may then be disposed of.
 A third embodiment of the portable elimination device 10, for receiving
 solid waste, is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The device 10 includes an
 inflatable chamber 60 having a generally cylindrical shape. The chamber 60
 has a substantially cylindrical well 62 having a bottom wall 64 defined
 therein. An inflation nozzle 66 is provided for inflating the chamber 60
 with a hand pump, a foot pump, an air compressor such as a portable,
 rechargeable tire compressor, orally, or by any other conventional means.
 The device 10 includes a disposable, liquid impermeable plastic bag 68
 which may be disposed over the chamber 60 with the bottom of the bag 68
 disposed in the bottom of the well 62.
 The bag 68 may be temporarily secured to the chamber 60 and maintained in
 an open position for use by a plurality of hook and loop fastening strips
 70, such as Velcro.RTM., fixedly attached to the exterior of the mouth of
 the bag 68, and a corresponding plurality of strips 72 of mating hook and
 loop fastening material fixedly attached to the outside wall of the
 chamber 60. A layer 74 of absorbent material for absorbing liquids from
 the waste, which has been chemically treated for the reduction of odor
 (such chemical treatment for the reduction of odor from urine and fecal
 matter is well known in the art), is disposed in the bottom of the bag 68,
 which, in turn, is disposed in the bottom of the well 62 during use. The
 absorbent layer 74 may be fixedly attached to the bag 68, as by adhesive.
 The use of the device 10 is obvious from the foregoing description. After
 use, the bag 68 may be removed from the chamber 60 and the mouth of the
 bag 68 may be tied for disposal.
 It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that each of the three
 embodiments of the portable elimination device 10 may be made in different
 sizes and with different capacities for the accommodation of adults and
 children.
 It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the
 embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments
 within the scope of the following claims.