Abstract:
A urinary device for use by a person has an elongate tube having an outside wall, an inside wall and a length, a cup for collecting urine, the cup of greater diameter than the tube, formed at a free end of the tube, substantially concentric with the tube, for placing over the person&#39;s urethra, and a shield formed about the outside wall of the tube, near the cup, substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tube, the shield having a concave surface facing the cup shaped to conform to a user&#39;s pubic area.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present invention claims priority to a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/913,077, filed Apr. 20, 2007, entitled “Feminine Urination Device”, and to a U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/916,023, filed May 4, 2007, entitled “Urination Device”; disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety at least by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention is in the area of personal devices, and pertains more particularly to a device for enabling women, and in some cases men, to urinate in a standing position with ease. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of the State of the Art 
         [0005]    It is well-known that a lady cannot urinate in a standing position like a male can without soiling herself due to the nature of the female external genitalia. Women usually open their legs wide and/or bend forwards with their knees folded and urinate into a larger receptacle behind such as a water closet. 
         [0006]    A number of devices have attempted to solve this need. They have all been based on a device whose whole contour matches the body around the external genitalia like a very large funnel. These devices were made large for easy use, but are easily soiled because of sealing devices to prevent the urine from leaking out, and cannot be personalized because of the same reasons, for example, a lady cannot carry it around like when she goes to a movie house, and if the movie house installs such a device a second person cannot use it without washing after the previous person&#39;s use. Also, due to varying body sizes, many sizes are required to suit the population. 
         [0007]    What is clearly needed is a relatively small, hand-held urinary device that may be carried by a user, such as in a purse, so there is no need for more than one person to share the use of a single device. In some cases such a device may be adapted for either a male or a female to use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A problem stated above is that existing female urinary devices are difficult to use and have large funnel like receiving ends that are awkward, promote leakage, and make the device difficult to stow away inconspicuously. The inventor therefore has considered functional elements of a urinary device looking for elements that could be modified to provide a device that could be smaller and easier to stow, but without compromising ease of use of the device. 
         [0009]    Every urinary device for females includes a funnel or collector to catch urine and a conduit for carrying the urine away from the user. The inventor realized in an inventive moment that if the collector-end of a urinary device could be provided small enough to just cover the urethra without compromising the ability of the user to successfully orientate the device for use, significant improvement in stow ability of the device might result. The inventor therefore constructed a unique female urinary device with a small collector and a location shield that allowed users to conveniently stow the device while maintaining convenient orientation utility of the device aided by a unique body-conforming shield, and in some cases, a positioning rib. As a result, users were able to use the device inconspicuously without discomfort and without leakage from the device. 
         [0010]    Accordingly a urinary device for use by a person is provided, comprising an elongate tube having an outside wall, an inside wall and a length, a cup for collecting urine, the cup of greater diameter than the tube, formed at a free end of the tube, substantially concentric with the tube, for placing over the person&#39;s urethra, and a shield formed about the outside wall of the tube, near the cup, substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tube. The shield acts as top for a user&#39;s fingers. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment the device tube is bent at one point along the length by an angle of from one to forty-five degrees. In another embodiment the bend is from ten to thirty degrees. In some embodiments there is an elongate rib formed longitudinally on the outside wall of the tube, spanning and connecting the cup and the shield, and also in some embodiments the inside wall of the tube comprises a longitudinal groove to serve as a gutter for urine in use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a female urinary device according to one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the device of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a process flow chart illustrating steps  300  for practicing the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of a urinary device according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The present invention in one embodiment comprises a relatively small, hand-held device that can go into a handbag. In this embodiment it includes a tube of predetermined size which mates directly with the female external urethral orifice. To compensate for dilation of the orifice during higher discharges, the device in this embodiment has a gutter at the mouth of the collector, which takes the effluent away from the body. Further, in this embodiment the tube has a projection that nests in the vestibule of the vulvae and helps locating. For a feeling of well being to the person, this projection also may engage with the clitoris. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a female urinary device  100  according to one embodiment of the invention. Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the urinary device  100  of the present invention is illustrated in perspective. Device  100  may be manufactured of one material, preferably a durable medical-grade polymer, such as by injection molding. Other rigid and semi-rigid materials may also be used like some metals and ceramics. In one embodiment, device  100  is molded in one piece from medical grade polymer. Device  100  is adapted to be used repeatedly as needed to re-direct urine out and away from the urethra, and may be cleaned and disinfected between uses. 
         [0018]    Device  100  in a preferred embodiment includes a conduit or tubing section  101  that is formed or molded to bend at an angle creating tube section  104  and tube section  103 . The bend may be relatively abrupt, as shown, or very gradual, in a sweeping curve. Tube section  104  has an annular cup  107 , also referred to as a collector, formed on one open end for facilitating a snug fit over the urethra. Cup  107  may be formed on one end of conduit  101  by shaping, molding or flaring before forming the bend creating tube sections  104  and  103 , depending on the method of forming or manufacture. In one embodiment, cup  107  may be a separate part that is heat welded, glued or otherwise affixed to the end of tube section  104 . 
         [0019]    In some embodiments a placement shield  105  is provided on tubing section  104  nearer to cup  107 . In this example, shield  105  is positioned over the peripheral wall of tube  104  and may be glued, heat welded or otherwise formed or affixed to the peripheral wall of the tube. In some embodiments a user may manipulate placement shield  105  in order to accurately place device  100  into a suitable position for use. In some embodiments shield  105  may have a concave surface  106  on the side that faces cup  107 . An important purpose of the shield is to act as a stop for a user&#39;s fingers in use. In some embodiments Shield  105  may also have a crescent-shaped profile that is curved toward cup  107  more so on the lower part of shield  105  than the upper portion of the shield. The combination of the profile of shield  105  and surface  106  provides a naturally conforming surface that conforms to the pubic mound of a user around the urethra to help prevent any leakage that may escape from cup  107 . 
         [0020]    Shield  105  is strategically positioned away from cup  107  to an amount that facilitates a comfortable fitting of cup  107  over the urethra while the shield rests either against intervening clothing or against the body. The curvature and shape of placement shield  105  may conform to the proximal curvature of the female genital area (pubic mound) or, in other embodiments, may have another shape. A support rib  108  is provided in the embodiment shown on device  100 . Support rib  108  bridges the inside of placement shield  105 , the top of tube section  104 , and cup  107 . Support rib  108  is molded, heat welded, or otherwise affixed substantially near the top center portion of the re-directing end of the device. Support rib  108  is not specifically required in order to practice the present invention, but helps a user to locate the urethra by providing an indicator of device position during the act of placing the device over the urethra. 
         [0021]    Cup  107  is adapted to encompass or cover the urethra while the user urinates. Holding shield  105  such as with an index and middle finger of one hand holds the device in place against the urethra and the vaginal area surrounding the urethra. In use of the device, the general position and extended direction of tubing section  104  is angularly downward, for example, while a user is standing and using the device while tubing section  103  is presented at a lesser downward angle and away from the user. The exact angle of bend for sections  104  and  103  may vary, generally from zero to about forty-five degrees, however an approximate 10 to 35 degree bend angle is suitable for most users. 
         [0022]    While a user is urinating into the device, holding the device in place with one hand, urine is redirected through tube section  104  and tube section  103  and out of the device into a urinal or other selected vessel or urinary target. A user may control the direction of a urine stream by rotating the device slightly clockwise or counter clockwise to vary the direction of tube section  103 . 
         [0023]    In one embodiment of the present invention, device  100  may be used while the user is fully clothed, as long as there is access to the urethra through one or more layers of clothing, for example, through a zipper opening, or some other opening fabricated in clothing. Also in one embodiment, device  103  may be used during menstrual periods without removing a sanitary shield as long as the shield is adapted with a flap opening of the sort that may be opened to provide access to the urethra. 
         [0024]    Device  100  is purposely designed to be relatively small so a person may carry it discretely, for example in a purse or bag. The diameter of the cup and conduit may vary in different embodiments from about one-quarter inch to about one-half inch, and the overall length is from about four to six inches. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is an elevation view of device  100  of  FIG. 1 . Conduit section  101  may begin as one section of plastic tubing that is flared or formed at one end to form cup  107  and may be bent to form tubing section  104  and tubing section  103  as shown. Shield  105  and support rib  108  may be provided as separate components that are attached to conduit  101  during a molding process or by some other method such as heat welding, gluing, or the like. Further, in some embodiments, cup  107  may also be a separate attachment so that one device can accommodate cups of different diameters. 
         [0026]    The wall thickness for the conduit and for other parts of the device is largely a design choice, and a thickness of 0.1 inch has been found by the inventor to be adequate. The bend angle in device conduit  101  is illustrated herein as an angle D and may vary between zero and forty-five degrees with a nominal preference range of approximately 10 to 35 degrees. Other conduit and cup sizes as well as other angles of bend may be implemented in device  100  without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Device  100  is approximately 6 inches in overall tubing length with approximately 4 inches for tubing section  104  and approximately 2 inches for tubing section  103 . The exact lengths of tubing sections  104  and  103  as well as the overall length of device  100  may vary without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
         [0027]    In one embodiment of the invention, device  100  may include a gutter (not illustrated) formed on the bottom center of the device tubing, the gutter extending into the cup. The gutter may be provided as part of a molding process to help train the urine through the device faster than otherwise would be the case with a round tube. 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  is a process flow chart  300  illustrating steps for practicing the invention. At step  301  a user grasps the urinary device. At step  302  the process branches according to whether or not the user is clothed when using the device. If the user is not clothed at step  302 , then the process moves to step  304  where the user orientates the device over the urethra before urinating. If the user is clothed at step  302 , the process branches to step  303  where the user creates an opening in the clothing such as by unzipping trousers or the like to provide access to the urethra. 
         [0029]    At step  304  the user orientates the device over the urethra aided by the natural curvature of the shield of the device and the position indicator rib ( 108 ) if provided. At step  305  the user holds the device firmly in place, the cup covering the urethra and the shield resting against the user. 
         [0030]    At step  306 , it is determined if the user is using a urine receptacle such as a toilet. If there is a urine receptacle that the user desires to evacuate urine into, the user positions the device output end over the receptacle at step  307  while still firmly holding the device in place over the urethra. At step  308  the user urinates into the device. If at step  306  there is no receptacle, for example, the user is outdoors in the field, the process moves directly to step  308  where the user urinates into the device. At step  308  the user remains in a standing position. At step  309  the process ends. The user may rinse the device after use and stow the device away in a case or plastic bag provided and adapted for the purpose. 
         [0031]    In one embodiment, a version of device  100  may be provided with an enlarged conical cup in place of cup  107  so that the device may accommodate a man&#39;s genitalia. Such an enlarged cup may be shaped appropriately to accommodate the user while in either a flaccid or erect state. In one embodiment, device  100  may be provided with two separate attachment cups, one for a female such as cup  107  and a larger cup for a male. In still another embodiment, tubing  101  may be telescopic in nature so that the overall length of device  101  may be collapsed for more convenient carrying and then extended to an appropriate length for use. 
         [0032]    In the case of a device  100  that is meant to accommodate both men and women, shield  105 , used to provide and interface for a woman to manipulate the device is not required in a version of the device adapted for men using a larger cup attachment. Therefore, in one embodiment, shield  105  may be detached from the urinary device. Likewise, cup  107  may be a separate attachment. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of a telescopic urinary device  400  with a male attachment. Device  400  comprises a tubing section  404  of a specific diameter and a tubing section  402  having a specific diameter just larger than the diameter of section  404  to provide for telescopic assembly and use. Device  400  may be telescopically collapsed when not in use. A length T illustrates a length defining the added or retracted length of device  400 . 
         [0034]    In this example, device  400  as a male attachment cup  403  that can be used in place of cup  107  in an embodiment where device  400  can be used by a male or a female. Cup  403  is in the general shape of a cone and may be formed using a molding process. The conical shape of cup  403  should not be construed as a limitation. Cup  403  may also be generally cylindrical in shape. Cup  403  may have a shaped wall  404  provided thereto to conform to a male anatomy, specifically testicular anatomy. A formed portion of cup  403  such as wall  404  may serve to add a level of comfort to the user and to help prevent splash back of urine while in use. Device  400  may also include a gutter as described further above for device  100 . 
         [0035]    Device  400  may be configured back into a female urination device by removing cup  403  and adding the female cup attachment  107  and the other attachments like the shield and the support rib if provided. 
         [0036]    It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the urinary device of the invention may be provided using some or all of the mentioned features and components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent to the skilled artisan that the embodiments described above are exemplary of inventions that may have far greater scope than any of the singular descriptions. There may be many alterations made in the descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.