Portable potty apparatus

• US 6,341,386 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1999
• Issued: 01/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Phillips Environmental Products, Inc. (American Innotek Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Phillips Environmental Products, Inc. (American Innotek Incorporated)
• Inventors: Phillips, William A., Phillips, Pamela
• Primary Examiner(s): Eloshway, Charles R.
• Application Number:
  US09/468,594
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 448/4, 447/9, 446/0, 490/2, 423/6, 424/0, 383/36, 383/105, 383/120, 383/126
• US Class Current: 4/484
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 11/06 Chamber-pots bed pans or other sanitary devices for bed-ridden persons A61G9/00; Throw-away urinals for non-bedridden persons; Chamber-pots for children, also with signalling means, e.g. with a music box, or the like

Abstract

A portable potty apparatus comprises a base unit which includes a top base surface and a bottom base surface. A seat unit is hingedly connected to the top base surface. A plurality of folding legs are connected to the bottom base surface. The seat unit includes a seat ring. The top base surface includes a bag ring reception groove for receiving the top portion of a bag holder. A sealing or clamping member attaches the bag holder to the base unit underneath the seat ring. A disposable bag for collecting human waste is adapted to be supported in the bag holder in proximity to the seat ring and the seat unit. The folding legs include a front leg and a pair of rears. Each of the front leg and the rear legs includes a leg hinge portion which is received in a complimentary leg hinge reception portion in the base unit. A top cover is provided for connection to the base unit. The top cover includes top cover lock tabs, and the base unit includes lock tab reception slots for receiving the top cover lock tabs. A bottom cover is also provided for connection to the base unit. The bottom cover includes bottom cover lock tabs which fit into the lock tab reception slots. The same cover may be used as the top cover or as the bottom cover.

Claims

1. A portable potty apparatus, comprising:

a base unit,

a seat unit movably supported on said base unit, and

a plurality of folding legs connected to said base unit to support said base unit above a supporting surface when said legs are unfolded,

said base unit including an upstanding annular wall for supporting said movably supported seat unit thereon,

a flexible bag holder, said flexible bag holder adapted to extend from said annular wall in proximity to said movable seat unit, and

a disposable bag, said disposable bag being adapted to be at least partially supported by said bag holder for collecting waste material,

further including a clamping member removable from engagement between said base unit and said seat unit for removably attaching said flexible bag holder to at lease a portion of said upstanding annular wall,

wherein said disposable bag has a first closed portion for insertion within said flexible bag holder and a second open portion for engagement between said movable seat unit and said clamping member when said clamping member attaches said flexible bag holder to said at least portion of said upstanding annular wall.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said flexible bag holder is comprised of mesh-like material.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said disposable bag first closed portion comprises a confinement space adapted to receive a quantity of waste material gelling compound.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said first closed portion comprises a first medial portion, a first lateral portion disposed at an angle to said first medial portion on one end thereof, and a second lateral portion disposed at an angle to said first medial portion on another opposed end thereof whereby said second open portion of said disposable bag and said first lateral portion and said second lateral portion define a funnel for channelling waste from said second open portion to said first medial portion.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said movable seat unit is joined to said base unit by a hinge unit, said hinge unit comprising a pair of hinge arms protruding from said movable seat unit and a hinge bracket on said base unit for receiving said pair of hinge arms, and wherein said hinge arms include a locking member associated therewith for enabling removal of said hinge arms from said hinge bracket in a predetermined orientation of said movable seat unit relative to said base unit.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said pair of hinge arms has associated therewith an arresting surface for engaging a step surface on said base unit and preventing unlimited rotation of said movable seat unit relative to said base unit by the action of said hinge unit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said clamping member is flexible and has a U-shaped transverse cross-sectional shape defining a pair of spaced leg portions extending longitudinally along said clamping member, and at least one of said leg portions includes a barbed retaining ridge extending toward the other of said leg members.

8. A portable potty apparatus, comprising:

a base unit,

a movable seat unit on said base unit, and

a plurality of folding legs connected to said base unit to support said base unit above a supporting surface when said legs are unfolded,

said base unit including an annular wall in proximity to said seat unit,

a flexible bag holder, said flexible bag holder extending from said annular wall in proximity to said seat unit, and

a disposable bag at least partially supported by said bag holder for collecting waste material,

wherein said base unit and said movable seat unit define a top surface of said apparatus and said plurality of folding legs defines a bottom surface of said apparatus, further including a first cover, said first cover being adapted to be selectively attached to either said top surface of said apparatus or to said bottom surface of said apparatus.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further including a second cover, said first cover and said second cover being identical to one another, wherein said first cover is attachable to said top surface of said apparatus and wherein said second cover is attachable to said bottom surface of said apparatus.

10. A portable potty apparatus, comprising:

a base unit which includes a top base surface and a bottom base surface, said top base surface and said bottom base surface having a first central opening extending therebetween,

a seat unit having a second central opening therein, said seat unit adapted to be fitted on said top base surface of said base unit with said second central opening communicating with said first central opening, and

a plurality of folding legs connected to said bottom base surface, wherein;

said top base surface including an annular groove surrounding at least a portion of said first central opening, said annular groove defining a first annular wall having a first top edge surface and a second annular wall radially spaced from said first annular wall defining a second top edge surface, said second central opening of said seat unit defining an annular seat ring portion of said seat unit surrounding at least a portion of said second central opening thereof,

said apparatus further including in combination therewith;

a bag holder for a disposable waste bag, said bag holder having a rim portion and a body portion, at least a portion of said rim portion being adapted to be received between said annular seat ring portion and said base unit and within said annular groove defined by said first top edge surface and said radially spaced second top edge surface when said seat unit is fitted on said base unit such that said body portion of said bag holder extends through said first central opening of said base unit, and said annular portion of said seat ring is engaged by and supported by one of said first annular wall top edge surface or said second annular wall top edge surface to securely anchor said rim portion of said bag holder to said base unit and said seat ring when said apparatus is in use.

11. A portable potty apparatus, comprising:

a base unit which includes a top base surface and a bottom base surface,

a seat unit having waste receiving hole therethrough,

said seat unit being adapted to be disposed on said base unit top base surface, and

a plurality of folding legs connected to said bottom base surface,

wherein said folding legs include;

a front leg, and

a pair of rear legs, and wherein said base unit includes a peripheral side wall having a bottom edge and said peripheral side wall defines a receptacle in said bottom base surface, said front leg and said rear legs being hingedly attached to said bottom base surface such that each said leg may be folded between an inoperative position where said corresponding leg is folded substantially flat against said bottom base surface within said receptacle and an operative position where each said leg extends beyond said peripheral side wall bottom edge thereby to support said base unit in an elevated position relative to a support surface engaged by said legs, each of said legs being attached to said base unit bottom surface by a corresponding hinge assembly defining a separate hinge axis substantially parallel to said base unit bottom surface, respectively, and wherein each said hinge axis of said rear legs intersects the other at an angle and each also intersects the hinge axis of the front leg, the hinge axis of the front leg being parallel to an adjacent front edge portion of said bottom base surface.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said front leg and said rear legs includes a leg hinge portion which is received in a complimentary leg hinge reception portion in said base unit.

13. A portable potty apparatus, comprising:

a base unit which includes a top base surface and a bottom base surface,

a seat unit,

a hinge connected between said base unit and said seat unit, and

a plurality of folding legs connected to said bottom base surface,

further including;

a top cover for connection to said base unit,

wherein said top cover includes top cover lock tabs, and

said base unit includes lock tab reception slots for receiving said top cover lock tabs,

further including;

a bottom cover for connection to said unit,

wherein said bottom cover includes bottom cover lock tabs which fit into said lock tab reception slots, and

wherein said top cover lock tabs and said bottom cover lock tabs are offset from each other so that a single top cover lock tab and a single bottom cover lock tab can share a lock tab reception slot when said top cover and said bottom cover are connected to said base unit.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said bottom cover further includes bottom side engagement tabs for engaging said bottom base surface when said bottom cover is connected to said base unit.