Patent Publication Number: US-9895034-B1

Title: Hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
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     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of medical and veterinary science including an accommodation for a patient, more specifically, a bed pan, urinal, or other sanitary device. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism is adapted for use in collecting urine from a human being. The hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism is a hand-held collection device that comprises a medical urinal, weight bar, and a semi-rigid connector. The medical urinal is commercially available device that is further defined with a bottle, a neck, a cap, and a handle. The medical urinal is modified through the addition of the weight bar and the semi-rigid connector. The weight bar and the semi-rigid connector act as a counterbalance that adjusts the location of the first moment (often informally called the center of gravity) of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism relative to the first moment of just the medical urinal. The addition of the weight bar and the semi-rigid connector reduces the change in the first moment of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism that is caused by the addition of urine to the medical urinal during the use of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism. This reduction in the change of the first moment increases the stability of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism which makes the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism easier to hold during the collection of urine. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism in detail, it is to be understood that the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure across  4 - 4  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     Detailed reference will now be made to one or more potential embodiments of the disclosure, which are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4 . 
     The hand-held urinal with stabilizing mechanism  100  (hereinafter invention) is adapted for use in collecting urine  165  from a human being. The invention  100  is a hand-held collection device that comprises a medical urinal  101 , weight bar  102 , and a semi-rigid connector  103 . The medical urinal  101  is a commercially available device that is further defined with a bottle  161 , a neck  162 , a cap  163 , and a handle  164 . The medical urinal  101  is modified through the addition of the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103 . The weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  act as a counterbalance that adjusts the location of the first moment (often informally called the center of gravity) of the invention  100  relative to the first moment of just the medical urinal  101 . The addition of the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  reduces the change in the first moment of the invention  100  that is caused by the addition of urine  165  to the medical urinal  101  during the use of the invention  100 . This reduction in the change of the first moment increases the stability of the invention  100  which makes the invention  100  easier to hold during the collection of urine  165 . 
     The medical urinal  101  is a readily and commercially available hand-held urine  165  collection device that is used for the purpose of: 1) accommodating the biological needs of non-ambulatory patients; or, 2) for measuring the volume of urine  165  discharge of a patient. The medical urinal  101  is further defined with a bottle  161 , a neck  162 , a cap  163 , and a handle  164 . The medical urinal  101  receives a urine  165  stream through the neck  162 . The urine  165  stream is stored within the interior of the bottle  161 . The bottle  161  is sealed with a cap  163 . In the first potential embodiment of the disclosure, the handle  164  is a structure that is attached to the exterior surface of the bottle  161  for the purpose of manipulating the invention  100  by hand. 
     The weight bar  102  is a cylindrically shaped structure that provides the mass that is used to alter the location of the first moment of the invention  100  relative to the first moment of the medical urinal  101 . The weight bar  102  mitigates the changes to the first moment of the invention  100  caused by the addition of urine  165  to the bottle  161  through two mechanisms. In the first mechanism, the additional mass of the weight bar  102  decreases the proportion of the mass of the urine  165  relative the mass of the invention  100  compared to the mass of the urine  165  relative the mass of the medical urinal  101  alone. This proportional decrease makes the invention  100  less sensitive to the mass changes caused by the urine  165  relative to a similar mass sensitivity of the medical urinal  101 . In the second mechanism, the weight bar  102  is attached to the medical urinal  101  in a dynamic manner that allows the weight bar  102  to move relative to the medical urinal  101 . Specifically, the as the force of gravity applied to the additional mass of the urine  165  causes the location of the first moment of the invention  100  to move relative to the location of the initial first moment, the weight bar  102  will move in reaction to the gravitation forces in a manner that counteracts or inhibits the shift in the first moment thereby increasing the stability of the invention  100 . The dynamic attachment mechanism is provided by the semi-rigid connector  103  and is discussed elsewhere in this disclosure. 
     The weight bar  102  further comprises a metal cylinder  111  and a protective skin  112 . The metal cylinder  111  is a cylindrical structure that is formed from a metal. The use of a high density metal, including but not limited to, steel, iron, or lead is preferred. The protective skin  112  is a coating that is applied to the metal cylinder  111 . The purpose of the protective skin  112  is to: 1) protect the metal cylinder  111  from corrosion; and, 2) to prevent the metal forming the metal cylinder  111  from leeching into the environment. Methods to form metal cylinders  111  and to coat metal cylinders  111  are well known and documented in the metal working arts. 
     As shown most clearly in  FIG. 2 , the semi-rigid connector  103  is a curved rectangular bar that connects the bottle  161  of the medical urinal  101  to the weight bar  102 . The semi-rigid connector  103  is formed from a semi-rigid material that has an elastic nature. The semi-rigid connector  103  is further defined with a first end  131  and a second end  132 . The first end  131  attaches to the medical urinal  101  in the manner of a cantilever. The second end  132  of the semi-rigid connector  103  attaches to the weight bar  102  in such a manner that a straight line drawn between the center point of the semi-rigid connector  103  and the center point of the weight bar  102  will perpendicularly intersect the center axis of the metal cylinder  111 . Because the weight bar  102  has no other points of attachment the combination of the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  will be treated as a cantilever. 
     The semi-rigid connector  103  acts as a spring. Specifically, when a force is applied perpendicularly to the center axis of the semi-rigid connector  103 , the elasticity of the semi-rigid connector  103  creates a force that opposes the displacement created by the force applied the semi-rigid connector  103 . The displacing force places a strain on the semi-rigid connector  103  creating an opposing force within the semi-rigid connector  103  such that the opposing force of the strain is in the direction that returns the semi-rigid connector  103  to its relaxed shape. More specifically, when a force is applied to the cantilever, the elasticity of the cantilever creates a rotational torque that opposes the displacement created by rotating the cantilever around a pivot point located at the first end  131  where the cantilever is attached to the receptacle. This rotational torque places a strain on the cantilever such that the force of the strain is in the direction that returns the cantilever to its original position. The curve formed in the semi-rigid connector  103  is designed to increase this spring like operation through all potential orientations of the invention  100  relative to the force of gravity. Methods to form cantilevers that perform the functions of a spring are well known and documented in the mechanical arts. 
     The theory of the mechanism of operation of the invention  100  is described in this paragraph. When the invention  100  is held by hand during use, the addition of a mass of urine  165  to the medical urinal  101  will cause the orientation of the invention  100  relative to the force of gravity to shift. The liquid nature of the contents within the interior of the medical urinal  101  cause a change in the orientation of the invention  100  relative to the force of gravity which will further cause a shift in the first moment of the invention  100 . However, the shift in the orientation of the invention  100  relative to the force of gravity to shift further causes a shift in the orientation of the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  relative to the force of gravity. This change in orientation of the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  counterbalances the change in the first moment caused by the additional mass of urine  165  thereby maintaining the first moment in its original location and keeping the invention  100  stable. 
     As shown most clearly in  FIG. 2 , the invention  100  is stored with the weight bar  102  located between the handle  164  and the bottle  161 . To use the invention  100 , the semi-rigid connector  103  is deformed such that the weight bar  102  is brought to the side of the handle  164  that is distal from the bottle  161  such that the weight bar  102  and the semi-rigid connector  103  can move freely. The invention  100  is then used in a normal manner. After use, the weight bar  102  is then returned to the space between the bottle  161  and the handle  164 . 
     The following definitions were used in this disclosure: 
     Cantilever: As used in this disclosure, a cantilever is a beam or other structure that projects away from an object and is supported on only one end. 
     Center: As used in this disclosure, a center is a point that is: 1) the point within a circle that is equidistant from all the points of the circumference; 2) the point within a regular polygon that is equidistant from all the vertices of the regular polygon; 3) the point on a line that is equidistant from the ends of the line; 4) the point, pivot, or axis around which something revolves; or, 5) the centroid or first moment of an area or structure. In cases where the appropriate definition or definitions are not obvious, the fifth option should be used in interpreting the specification. 
     Center Axis: As used in this disclosure, the center axis is the axis of a cylinder or cone like structure. When the center axes of two cylinder or like structures share the same line they are said to be aligned. When the center axes of two cylinder like structures do not share the same line they are said to be offset. 
     Cylinder: As used in this disclosure, a cylinder is a geometric structure defined by two identical flat and parallel ends, also commonly referred to as bases, which are circular in shape and connected with a single curved surface, referred to in this disclosure as the face. The cross section of the cylinder remains the same from one end to another. The axis of the cylinder is formed by the straight line that connects the center of each of the two identical flat and parallel ends of the cylinder. In this disclosure, the term cylinder specifically means a right cylinder which is defined as a cylinder wherein the curved surface perpendicularly intersects with the two identical flat and parallel ends. 
     Elastic: As used in this disclosure, an elastic is a material or object that deforms when a force is applied to it and that is able to return to its original shape after the force is removed. A material that exhibits these qualities is also referred to as an elastomeric material. 
     Exterior: As used in this disclosure, the exterior is use as a relational term that implies that an object is not contained within the boundary of a structure or a space. 
     Hand-held: As used in this disclosure, when referring to an item or device, hand-held means that the item or device is small and light enough to be operated while a person holds the item or device in their hands. 
     Interior: As used in this disclosure, the interior is use as a relational term that implies that an object is contained within the boundary of a structure or a space. 
     Relaxed Shape: As used in this disclosure, a structure is considered to be in its relaxed state when no shear, strain, or torsional forces are being applied to the structure. 
     Semi-Rigid Structure: As used in this disclosure, a semi-rigid structure is a solid structure that is stiff but not wholly inflexible and that will deform under force before breaking. A semi-rigid structure may or may not behave in an elastic fashion in that a semi-rigid structure need not return to a relaxed shape. 
     Spring: As used in this disclosure, a spring is a device that is used to store mechanical energy. This mechanical energy will often be stored by: 1) deforming an elastomeric material that is used to make the device; 2) the application of a torque to a rigid structure; or 3) a combination of the previous two items. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention described above and in  FIGS. 1 through 4  include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention. 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.