Abstract:
A foldable, hanging urinal includes a back surface, hooks and a receptacle. The foldable hanging urinal folds flat for transportation, inventory and disposal. Hooks on the back of the foldable hanging urinal fold out and the foldable hanging urinal hangs on a toilet fixture. The receptacle folds out to form a cup during use and the cup is positioned at a height lower than the rim of the toilet fixture thereby enabling urination by a person that is too short to reach the rim of the toilet fixture.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/243,646, filed Oct. 1, 2008, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to the field of disposable portable urinals for children and more particularly to a disposable portable urinal for a male child that hangs on a toilet facility. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Children are often trained to urinate in a toilet at a very young age, usually between one year and three years of age. Often, a child of such an age, especially a boy child, cannot reach the standard plumbing fixtures. This is especially true while traveling. 
         [0004]    At home, often, the child has a small potty seat designed for the child&#39;s size or a stool that the child can stand upon while utilizing the adult toilet. These aides are often not available when traveling or visiting friends and relatives. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,553 to Jermann proposes a child&#39;s urinal that hangs from the side of a standard toilet. This device functions well at home, but does not fold and would not be useful for travel such as when used for public restrooms or when visiting fiends and relatives. Additionally, it has to be cleaned after each use. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,097 to Shin proposes a disposable urinal for a child that can be folded into a small package and easily carried. This device does not have hooks and is not intended to overhang an existing toilet or urinal and therefore must be held or placed atop another fixture while the child urinates, creating a mess due to any splashes or a miss. 
         [0007]    What is needed is a child&#39;s urinal that is portable, disposable and hangs onto the side of a toilet or urinal. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A foldable, hanging urinal includes a back surface, hooks and a receptacle. The foldable hanging urinal is preferably made from planar cardboards stock and folds flat for transportation, inventory and disposal. Hooks on the back of the foldable hanging urinal fold out for hanging the foldable hanging urinal on a toilet fixture. The receptacle folds out to form a cup to accept urine. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, a foldable hanging urinal is disclosed including a back shield with two hooks hingedly interfaced to its back surface. A foldable receptacle is interfaced to a front surface of the back shield. The foldable receptacle is open at a top end for accepting urine and is closed and water tight at a bottom end for holding the urine. When in use, the foldable hooks fold out and hook over an edge of a toilet/urinal and the foldable receptacle is extended and located at a point lower than the edge of the toilet/urinal to facilitate urination by a user who is not tall enough to reach over the edge of the toilet/urinal. When not in use, the two foldable hooks fold flat against the rear surface of the back shield and the foldable receptacle folds flat against the front surface of the back shield for carrying, transportation, stocking, etc. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, a foldable hanging urinal is disclosed including a back shield having two hooks hingedly interfaced to a back surface. A receptacle on the front surface of the back shield has a top lip and has a water-tight base for holding urine. When in use, the hooks have an open configuration in which the hooks extend from the back surface of the back shield and the hooks removably attach the foldable hanging urinal over an edge of a toilet/urinal and, therefore, the receptacle is positioned at a point lower than the edge of the toilet/urinal to facilitate urination by a person too short to reach the edge of the toilet/urinal. When not in use, the hooks have a closed configuration in which the hooks fold flat against a back surface of the back shield. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment, a foldable hanging urinal is disclosed including a back shield made from planar cardboard stock and two hooks also made from the planar cardboard stock. The two hooks are hingedly interfaced to the back section by folds between the hooks and the back section. A receptacle is formed from folded planar cardboard stock and is attached to a front surface of the back shield. The receptacle has an open upper rim and a closed, water-tight base for holding urine. When in use, the hooks hold the foldable hanging urinal over a rim of a toilet/urinal and the open upper rim of the receptacle is at a lower position than the rim of the toilet. When not in use, the hooks and the receptacle have a folded position in which the hooks lay flat against the back section of the back shield and the receptacle lays flat against the front surface of the back shield. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of the present invention in a folded configuration. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the present invention in an open configuration. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a men&#39;s urinal of the prior art. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of the present invention attached to the urinal of the prior art. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4A  illustrates a perspective view of the present invention attached to the toilet of the prior art. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  illustrates a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention before assembly. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the present invention from the rear. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a perspective view of the present invention is shown in a folded configuration. The foldable hanging urinal  10  has a back shield  23 . A receptacle  20  (see  FIG. 2 ) for capturing a flow of urine is shown flat against the back shield  23  exposing the outside surface of the receptacle&#39;s front panels  1 / 2 / 7 / 8 . The rear panels  3 / 4 / 5 / 6  of the receptacle  20  are shown folded between the back shield  23  and the front panels  1 / 2 / 7 / 8 . Two hooks  30  are hingedly interfaced to a back surface of the back shield  23  and are shown folded against a back surface of the back shield  23 . Preferably, the foldable hanging urinal  10  is made from a cardboard stock that is coated with a water shield to prevent the cardboard stock from degrading and leaking when exposed to the child&#39;s urine. In some embodiments, both sides of the cardboard stock are coated with the water shield while in other embodiments, only one side of the cardboard stock are coated with the water shield (the side outwardly exposed). 
         [0022]    The folded configuration is useful for transportation, disposal, distribution, etc. As will be shown with  FIG. 5 , the foldable hanging urinal  10  is made from a single sheet of cardboard stock. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a perspective view of the present invention is shown in an open configuration. The foldable hanging urinal  10  has a back shield  23 . A receptacle  20  for capturing a flow of urine is interfaced to the back shield  23  and two hooks  30  are interfaced to a back surface of the back shield  23  for hanging the foldable hanging urinal  10  on a rim of a toilet (not shown) or front of a urinal  50  (as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). Preferably, the foldable hanging urinal  10  is made from a cardboard stock that is coated with a water shield to prevent the cardboard stock from degrading and leaking when exposed to the child&#39;s urine. In some embodiments, both sides of the cardboard stock are coated with the water shield while in other embodiments, only one side of the cardboard stock is coated with the water shield (the side outwardly exposed). 
         [0024]    The receptacle  20  is formed by panels of the cardboard stock. The panels  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8  of the receptacle  20  are folded to extend the receptacle  20 . The face surfaces of the inner sides  11 / 12  of the receptacle  20  are affixed to the face surface of the back shield  23 . The back surface of the rear-most sides  4 / 5  of the receptacle  20  are affixed to the back surface of the inner sides  11 / 12 . 
         [0025]    The hooks  30  fold out from the back surface of the back shield  23  and the receptacle  20  folds out from the front surface of the back shield  23 . As will be shown with  FIG. 6 , the foldable hanging urinal  10  is made from a single sheet of cardboard stock. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a urinal of the prior art is shown. The urinal  50  is similar to a urinal normally found in public men&#39;s rooms. For very young boys  52 , the height  54  from the floor  56  to the lip  53  of the urinal  50  is often too high for the young boy  52  to urinate into the urinal  50 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a perspective view of the present invention attached to the urinal  50  is shown. The foldable hanging urinal  10  is hung over the lip  53  of the urinal  50  with the hooks  30 . The receptacle  20  is facing outward and low enough to accept a stream of urine (not shown) from the young boy  52  (see  FIG. 2 ). As shown, the distance  55  from the floor  56  to the receptacle  20  is less than the distance  54  (see  FIG. 3 ) from the floor  56  to the lip of the urinal  53 . After urination, the foldable hanging urinal  10  is lifted and turned into the urinal  50  to dispose of the urine and then the foldable hanging urinal  10  is discarded. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 4A , a perspective view of the present invention attached to the toilet  150  is shown. The foldable hanging urinal  10  is hung over the edge  153  with the hooks  30 . The receptacle  20  is facing outward and low enough to accept a stream of urine (not shown) from the young boy  52  (see  FIG. 2 ). After urination, the foldable hanging urinal  10  is lifted and turned into the toilet  150  to dispose of the urine and then the foldable hanging urinal  10  is discarded. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention before assembly is shown. In a preferred embodiment, the foldable hanging urinal  10  is made from a contiguous, flat sheet of cardboard stock  11  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The flat sheet of cardboard stock  11  is cut, folded and glued into the shape shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 . Any known method of cutting, folding and gluing (adhering) is anticipated. 
         [0030]    The receptacle  20  is formed by creasing the cardboard stock  11  at receptacle fold lines between each of the front panels  1 / 2 / 7 / 8 , rear panels  3 / 6  and end panels  4 / 5  of the receptacle  20 . The inner panels  11 / 12  interface to the back panel at back panel fold lines and are folded at the fold lines so the face surface of the inner panels  11 / 12  lay against the face surface of the back shield  23 . The face surface of the inner panels  11 / 12  is adhered to the face surface of the back shield  23 . The rear-most or end panels  4 / 5  of the receptacle  20  interface to the inner panels  11 / 12  at intermediate fold lines and are folded so the back of the end panels  4 / 5  lay against the back of the inner panels  11 / 12 . The backs of the end panels  4 / 5  are adhered to the back of the inner panels  11 / 12 . 
         [0031]    The hooks  30  are formed by cutting the cardboard stock  11  at cut lines  31 / 33 . The hooks  30  hinge from the back section  25  along a fold line  32 . 
         [0032]    The back section  25  is folded along a fold line  28  allowing the back of the back section  25  to interface with the back of the back shield  23  and the back of the back section  25  is adhered to the back of the back shield  23 . 
         [0033]    In some embodiments, a catch  40  formed by folding out the catch  40  from the back section  25 . When present, the catch  40  helps keep the foldable hanging urinal  10  from lifting off of the urinal  50  while in use. 
         [0034]    It is known in the industry how to pre-cut and pre-crease cardboard stock  11  such that the cardboard stock  11  is easily bent, folded, separated and glued into the foldable hanging urinal  10 . Although any cardboard stock material is acceptable, it is preferred that the face of the cardboard stock  11  be coated with a water-resistant coating to enhance urine retention. In some embodiments, both the face and the back of the cardboard stock  11  are coated with a water resistant coating. 
         [0035]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a perspective view of the present invention from the rear is shown. The back of the back section  25  and some of the back of the back shield  23  is visible. The hooks  30  are shown pulled slightly away from the back section  25  and the catch  40  is shown extending from the back section  25 . 
         [0036]    Equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result. 
         [0037]    It is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.