Abstract:
A urinal includes a body that has a front wall, a rear wall, opposed side walls, a bottom wall and a top wall. The body has a front portion having an opening and has a rear portion. The body has an opening in the front wall portion adapted for entry of a male body portion. The front wall portion has an S-shaped portion forming a ridge extending below said opening. A ledge is formed by part of the S-shaped portion to form a support for the male body portion entered into the opening. The rear portion is higher than the front portion such that the body is tapered in a directon from back to front. The body also tapers in width from back to front, so that it is adapted to fit comfortably between the thighs of a user.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to a male urinal, which is especially for use by a person in a wheelchair or bed. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Portable urinals are known in the art. Such urinals can take the form of simple bowls or containers, or may have spouts or the like. 
         [0005]    It is, however, a problem in the art to provide a urinal which provides more freedom and a more hygienic environment for a person seated in a wheelchair or in a bed. 
         [0006]    It is a further problem in the art to provide a urinal which stays in place without being held, and is resistant to urine spillage. 
         [0007]    It is another problem in the art to provide a urinal which can be comfortably used and is ergonomically shaped. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    From the foregoing, it is seen that it is a problem in the art to provide a device meeting the above requirements. According to the present invention, a device is provided which meets the aforementioned requirements and needs in the prior art. Specifically, the device according to the present invention provides a male urinal that is ergonomically shaped, resistant to spills, and stabilized during use. 
         [0009]    The ergononimcally shaped male urinal of the present invention provides freedom and a hygienic environment for a person in a wheelchair or bed. The urinal is shaped so it stays in place without being held, is resistant to spillage, and can be comfortably used for hours at a time. In one preferred embodiement, the urinal includes a relatively soft, translucent or clear plastic body with rounded edges, and is shaped so it fits close to the body of the user and under the thighs of the user. It thereby uses the pressure of the thighs of the user to hold it in place. The urinal has an S-shaped front section, conforming with the male anatomy, allowing a closer and more comfortable fit for male users. 
         [0010]    The urinal of the present invention has a shape that is generally tapered downward in a direction from rear to front, and has a wide rear surface forming a base so that it can be stood on its end. It also includes a handle that extends from to top of a spout-like portion of the urinal, which can conveniently be used to hang the urinal from a beds or wheelchairs. 
         [0011]    The urinal further includes a Day-Glo type of lid, which can glow at night and which is irridescent and/or brightly colored for good visibility in daylight and in well-lit environments. 
         [0012]    The S-shaped portion of the urinal of the present invention provides a ledge for supporting the male body portion inside the urinal interior without letting it enter a pool of liquid inside. 
         [0013]    Further, the base of the urinal has ribs for added slip resistance. It also uses the pressure of the thighs of the user to hold it in place. 
         [0014]    The S-shaped front portion of the urinal conforms with the male anatomy, allowing a closer and more comfortable fit for male users. The aforementioned ledge portion also helps the urinal to retain liquid without spilling even when it is tilted forward. Thus, the urine cannot be spilled backward into the body of the user unless it is tilted to an extreme angle or filled to over its capacity. 
         [0015]    The opening of the urinal also serves as a pouring spout formed along the forward and upper portion of the opening in the receptacle area. The emptying or pouring can for example be performed by rotating the urinal backwards, front end over the rear end thereof. The urinal body is rounded for ergonomic purposes, as well as for manufacturing purposes. 
         [0016]    The urinal of the present invention is formed of translucent soft plastic. It can, however, also be made of clear plastic. And, the body of the urinal can be formed with markings in liquid measure intervals such as milliliters (ml.) for easy measuring, for use in keeping urine output records. The urinal is provided with a wide opening so that it can be disinfected with ease. 
         [0017]    Many other applications exist for the urinal of the present invention, including for use in trucks, cars, airplanes, subways, boats, camping, and for recreational outings. 
         [0018]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an ergo-male urinal according to the present invention, showing a top portion, a front portion, and one side portion. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken along a central longitudinal plane of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 , according to the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1  showing a bottom portion, a rear portion, and the side portion. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a sectonal view taken along a centerline of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a top elevational view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a bottom elevational view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a front elevational view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a rear elevational view of the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a top elevational view of a lid for use with the ergo-male urinal of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an ergo-male urinal  100  according to the present invention, showing a top portion  60 , a front portion  40 , and a side wall  80 . The ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1  also includes a handle  10 , a bottom wall  50 , a rear wall  30 , and an opening  20  which communicates with a hollow interior of the ergo-male urinal  100  which serves as a receptacle portion to contain liquid. 
         [0030]    The opening  20  is bounded by a rim portion  22 , a ridge portion  24 , a wall portion  26 , and a lip portion  28 . 
         [0031]    The outside region near the opening  20  of the ergo-male urinal  100  includes a curved wall portion  44  and a connecting wall portion  23  which supports a handle connecting portion  14  which in turn is connected to a body portion  12  of the handle  10 . The handle  10  includes the portions  12  and  14 . 
         [0032]    As seen in  FIG. 1 , the side wall  80  includes a wall portion  82 , and a connecting wall portion  84  which extends to the bottom wall  50 , and a connecting wall portion  86  which extends to the top portion  60 . The bottom wall  50  has a plurality of rib portions  56  to improve gripping and improve stability. 
         [0033]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken along a central longitudinal plane (indicated by line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ) of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 . The numerals corresponding to those of  FIG. 1  are as described hereinabove. In this view, the concave curved shape of the curved wall portion  44  is shown, as well as the lip portion  28 . The lip portion  28  forms a ledge to support the male anatomy entered into the opening  20 , so that it does not enter into the liquid in the urinal  100 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  additionally shows a lowermost front wall portion  42  connected with the bottom  50 , a curved wall portion  43  connecting the wall portion  42  with the curved wall portion  44 .  FIG. 2  thereby shows clearly an S-shaped front portion formed by the wall portions  43 ,  44 , and  28 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  also shows a relatively flat wall body portion  32  of the rear wall  30 , and a relatively flat wall body portion  52  of the bottom wall  50 . Additionally,  FIG. 2  shows a main wall portion  64  of the top portion  60  as well as a connecting wall portion  62  which connects the wall portion  64  with the handle  10 . This view also shows a side wall  70 , which is the counterpart of the side wall  80  shown in  FIG. 1 . The other half of the urinal  100  is a mirror image of the half shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0036]    The ergononimcally shaped male urinal  100  of the present invention provides freedom and a hygienic environment for a person in a wheelchair or bed. The urinal  100  is shaped so it stays in place without being held, is resistant to spillage, and can be comfortably used for hours at a time. In one preferred embodiment, the urinal  100  includes a relatively soft, translucent or clear plastic body with rounded edges, and is shaped so it fits close to the body of the user and under the thighs of the user. It thereby uses the pressure of the thighs of the user to hold it in place. The urinal  100  has the S-shaped front section elements  43 ,  44 ,  28  as shown in  FIG. 2 , conforming with the male anatomy, allowing a closer and more comfortable fit for male users. 
         [0037]    The urinal  100  of the present invention has a shape that is generally tapered downward in a direction from rear to front, and has a wide rear surface forming a base so that it can be stood on its end. It also includes a handle that extends from to top of a spout-like portion of the urinal  100 , which can conveniently be used to hang the urinal  100  from a beds or wheelchairs. 
         [0038]    The urinal  100  further includes a Day-Glo type of lid  202  (shown in  FIG. 10 ), which can glow at night and which is irridescent and/or brightly colored for good visibility in daylight and in well-lit environments. 
         [0039]    The aforementioned S-shaped portion of the urinal  100  of the present invention provides a ledge or lip portion  28  for supporting the male body portion inside the urinal interior without letting it enter a pool of liquid inside. 
         [0040]    Further, the base  50  of the urinal  100  has ribs  56  for added slip resistance. It also uses the pressure of the thighs of the user to hold it in place. 
         [0041]    The S-shaped front portion of the urinal  100  conforms with the male anatomy, allowing a closer and more comfortable fit for male users. The aforementioned ledge portion  28  also helps the urinal  100  to retain liquid without spilling even when it is tilted forward. Thus, the urine cannot be spilled backward into the body of the user unless the urinal  100  is tilted to an extreme angle or filled to over its capacity. 
         [0042]    The opening  20  of the urinal  100  also serves as a pouring spout formed along the forward and upper portion of the opening in the receptacle area. The emptying or pouring can for example be performed by rotating the urinal  100  backwards, front end over the rear end thereof. The urinal body is rounded for ergonomic purposes, as well as for manufacturing purposes. 
         [0043]    The urinal  100  of the present invention is preferably formed of translucent soft plastic. It can, however, also be made of clear plastic. And, the body of the urinal can be formed with markings in liquid measure intervals such as milliliters (ml.) for easy measuring, for use in keeping urine output records. 
         [0044]    The urinal  100  is provided with a wide opening ( 20 ) so that it can be disinfected with ease. 
         [0045]    Many other applications exist for the urinal of the present invention, including for use in trucks, cars, airplanes, subways, boats, camping, and for recreational outings. 
         [0046]    The benefits of the urinal  100  of the present invention include providing a safe and sanitary alternative to use of catheters which might precipitate an internal urinary tract infection. Another benefit is the decrease in the possibility of bedsores from having the urine spill on the body of the user. Further, there is the benefit of freeing the user from having to hold the urinal in place manually for extended periods of time, and of freeing a caregiver or caretaker from having to hold the urinal in place manually. 
         [0047]    The urinal  100  can advantageously be used in bed, and in seats or chairs including wheelchairs. The urinal  100  is reusable and sanitary, and can be used in homes, nursing homes, and hospitals, for example. 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1  showing the bottom wall  50 , the rear wall  30 , and the side wall  80 . The rear wall  30  includes a generally trapezoidally shaped ledge portion  36 , and wall portions  34 ,  35  connecting the ledge portion  36  with the wall portion  32 . A bottom edge  37  is indicated where the rear wall  30  meets the bottom wall  50 . 
         [0049]      FIG. 4  is a sectonal view taken along a centerline of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 3 . It shows the curves outlines of the aforementioned elements of the invention, and omits most of the numerals for the sake of clarity. 
         [0050]      FIG. 5  is a top elevational view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 . This view shows the side walls  70  and  80 , and the rear wall  30 , as viewed from above. 
         [0051]      FIG. 6  is a bottom elevational view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 , showing the ridges  56 , as viewed from below. 
         [0052]      FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 . In this view, a line marked R generally follows the tapering top portion of the urinal  100  of the present invention, showing that it tapers in a direction downwardly from rear to front. A line marked S is shown paralled to the bottom wall ( 50 ). The lines marked R and S meet at an angle, denoted T, as shown in  FIG. 7 . The angle T is approximately in the range of 15 to 24 degrees. 
         [0053]      FIG. 8  is a front elevational view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 , showing the front portion  40  and the opening  20 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 9  is a rear elevational view of the ergo-male urinal  100  of  FIG. 1 , showing the rear wall  30  and the end portion of the handle  10 . 
         [0055]      FIG. 10  is a top elevational view of a lid  202  for use in covering the opening  20  of the urinal. The lid  202  is circularly shaped with a projecting tab (unnumbered) for ease of removal. The lid  202  is preferably a snap-on type of lid. In a preferred embodiment, the lid  202  includes a Day-Glo type of material such that it glows in the dark. The lid  202  also can includes a brightly colored Day-Glo type of material for enhanced visibility in daylight and in well-lit environments. 
         [0056]    The invention being thus described, it will be evident that the same may be varied in many ways by a routineer in the applicable arts. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.