Combination footstool and child potty

• US 9,936,843 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2014
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Marsden, Andrew W, Pina, Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): DEERY, ERIN LEAH
• Application Number:
  US14/496,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 4483, 4479, 4902
• 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 child potty includes an elevated seat pad for seating a child and a waste collector associated with the seat pad. A platform can lie above the child potty to elevate a child above a floor underlying the child potty.

Claims

1. A juvenile bathroom system comprising

a child potty formed to include a waste-collection chamber and adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet and

a footstool including a shell formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber sized to receive the child potty therein and adapted to be set on the floor when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber and a first potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend in a radially inward direction into a first tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the potty-storage chamber without impeding use of the footstool to elevate children or caregivers above the floor,

wherein the child potty is configured to be set on the floor and used when not received in the footstool,

wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include the waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and support the waste-collection chamber in spaced-apart relation to the floor when the child potty is set on the floor.

2. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 1, wherein

the bowl-support frame is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel.

3. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 2, wherein the bowl-support frame includes a seat pad coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around a top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber formed in the waste-collection bowl and a pad-support rim arranged to elevate the seat pad above the floor underlying the child potty to locate the waste-collection bowl between the seat pad and the floor and the pad-support rim is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel.

4. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 3, wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to overlie and lie in proximity to the seat pad to cover the top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall coupled to the child-support platform and arranged to extend downwardly from the child-support platform and to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall and arranged to extend into the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame of the child potty when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber.

5. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 2, wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to cover the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall arranged to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall.

6. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 5, wherein the bowl-support frame is formed to include a second tab-receiver channel and the footstool includes a second potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into the second tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in the stationary position.

7. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 6, wherein the shell includes an inner surface facing toward the child potty when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and each of the first and second potty-retainer tabs is cantilevered to the inner surface of the shell and arranged to extend inwardly toward the child potty.

8. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second potty-retainer tabs extends along a common reference line.

9. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 5, wherein the shell of the footstool is made of a transparent material to provide means for viewing an orientation of the child potty retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell without inverting the shell of the footstool to peer into the potty-storage chamber formed therein through a bottom aperture that opens into the potty-storage chamber.

10. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 1, wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to cover the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall arranged to surround the waste-collection chamber and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall.

11. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 1, wherein the child potty is formed to include a second tab-receiver channel and the footstool includes a second potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into the second tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in the stationary position.

12. A juvenile bathroom system comprising

a child potty formed to include a waste-collection chamber and adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet and

a footstool including a shell formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber sized to receive of the child potty therein and adapted to be set on the floor when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber and a first potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into a first tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the potty-storage chamber without impeding use of the footstool to elevate children or caregivers above the floor,

wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include the waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and the bowl-support frame is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the bowl-support frame includes a seat pad coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around a top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber formed in the waste-collection bowl and a pad-support rim arranged to elevate the seat pad above the floor underlying the child potty to locate the waste-collection bowl between the seat pad and the floor and the pad-support rim is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to overlie and lie in proximity to the seat pad to cover the top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall coupled to the child-support platform and arranged to extend downwardly from the child-support platform and to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall and arranged to extend into the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame of the child potty when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the footstool,

wherein the child potty is adapted to be set on the floor and used when not received in the footstool, and

wherein the platform-elevation side wall is made of an elastic deformable material having an undeformed first shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to extend into the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame to retain the child potty in the stationary position in the potty-storage chamber and a temporarily deformed second shape generated in response to application of an external squeezing force to the platform-elevation side wall in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is withdrawn from the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame to free the footstool to be separated from the child potty.

13. A juvenile bathroom system comprising

a child potty formed to include a waste-collection chamber and adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet and

a footstool including a shell formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber sized to receive the child potty therein and adapted to be set on the floor when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber and a first potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into a first tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the potty-storage chamber without impeding use of the footstool to elevate children or caregivers above the floor wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include the waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and the bowl-support frame is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the bowl-support frame includes a seat pad coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around a top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber formed in the waste-collection bowl and a pad-support rim arranged to elevate the seat pad above the floor underlying the child potty to locate the waste-collection bowl between the seat pad and the floor and the pad-support rim is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to overlie and lie in proximity to the seat pad to cover the top aperture that opens into the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall coupled to the child-support platform and arranged to extend downwardly from the child-support platform and to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall and arranged to extend into the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame of the child potty when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the footstool,

wherein the platform-elevation side wall is made of an elastic deformable material having an undeformed first shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to extend into the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame to retain the child potty in the stationary position in the potty-storage chamber and a temporarily deformed second shape generated in response to application of an external squeezing force to the platform-elevation side wall in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is withdrawn from the first tab-receiver channel formed in the bowl-support frame to free the footstool to be separated from the child potty, and

wherein the child potty further includes a urine deflector coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to deflect a stream of urine into the waste-collection chamber, the platform-elevation side wall of the shell of the footstool includes a front side portion aligned in confronting registry with the urine deflector and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to a front face of the pad-support rim to define a gap therebetween when the platform-elevation side wall assumes the undeformed shape, a rear side portion arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the front side portion to locate the waste-collection bowl therebetween and in confronting relation to a rear face of the pad-support rim, and a first side portion arranged to extend between the front and rear side portions and configured to have an inner surface facing toward a first side face of the pad-support rim, the first side face of the pad-support rim is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel, and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the inner surface of the first side portion of the platform-elevation side wall of the footstool to move therewith to withdraw the first potty-retainer tab from the first tab-receiver channel during elastic deformation of the platform-elevation side wall to change the platform-elevation side wall from the undeformed first shape to the temporarily deformed second shape.

14. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 13, wherein the platform-elevation side wall of the shell of the footstool further includes a second side portion arranged to extend between the front and rear side portions and lie in spaced-apart relation to a second side face of the pad-support rim to locate the waste-collection bowl between the front side portion, the rear side portion and the second side portion, the second side face is formed to include a second tab-receiver channel, and the footstool further includes a second potty-retainer tab arranged to extend into the second tab-receiver channel formed in the second side face of the pad-support rim to retain the child potty in the stationary position in the potty-storage chamber when the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to assume the undeformed shape, and the second potty-retainer tab is coupled to an inner surface of the second side portion of the platform-elevation side wall of the shell to move therewith to withdraw the second potty-retainer tab from the second tab-receiver channel during elastic deformation of the platform-elevation side wall to change the platform-elevation side wall from the undeformed first shape to the temporarily deformed second shape.

15. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 13, wherein the shell of the footstool is made of a transparent material to provide means for viewing an orientation of the child potty retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell without inverting the shell of the footstool to peer into the potty-storage chamber formed therein through a bottom aperture that opens into the potty-storage chamber.

16. A juvenile bathroom system comprising

a child potty formed to include a waste-collection chamber and adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet and

a footstool including a shell formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber sized to receive the child potty therein and adapted to be set on the floor when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber and a first potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into a first tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the potty-storage chamber without impeding use of the footstool to elevate children or caregivers above the floor, wherein the child potty is adapted to be set on the floor and used when not received in the footstool,

wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include the waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and the bowl-support frame is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to cover the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall arranged to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall, and

wherein the platform-elevation side wall is made of an elastic deformable material having an undeformed shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to extend into the first retainer-tab channel to retain the child potty in the stationary position in the potty-storage chamber and a temporarily deformed second shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is withdrawn from the first tab-receiver to free the footstool to be separated from the child potty.

17. A juvenile bathroom system comprising

a child potty formed to include a waste-collection chamber and adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet and

a footstool including a shell formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber sized to receive the child potty therein and adapted to be set on the floor when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber and a first potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into a first tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the potty-storage chamber without impeding use of the footstool to elevate children or caregivers above the floor,

wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include the waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and the bowl-support frame is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel,

wherein the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform arranged to cover the waste-collection chamber when the child potty is retained in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell and a platform-elevation side wall arranged to surround the waste-collection bowl and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the platform-elevation side wall,

wherein the platform-elevation side wall is made of an elastic deformable material having an undeformed shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to extend into the first retainer-tab channel to retain the child potty in the stationary position in the potty-storage chamber and a temporarily deformed second shape in which the first potty-retainer tab carried on the platform-elevation side wall is withdrawn from the first tab-receiver to free the footstool to be separated from the child potty, and

wherein the child potty further includes a urine deflector coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to deflect a stream of urine into the waste-collection chamber, the platform-elevation side wall of the shell of the footstool includes a front side portion aligned in confronting registry with the urine deflector and arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to a front face of a pad-support rim to define a gap therebetween when the platform-elevation side wall assumes the undeformed shape, a rear side portion arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the front side portion to locate the waste-collection bowl therebetween and in confronting relation to a rear face of the pad-support rim, and a first side portion arranged to extend between the front and rear side portions and configured to have an inner surface facing toward a first side face of the pad-support rim, the first side face of the pad-support rim is formed to include the first tab-receiver channel, and the first potty-retainer tab is coupled to the inner surface of the first side portion of the platform-elevation side wall of the footstool to move therewith to withdraw the first potty-retainer tab from the first tab-receiver channel during elastic deformation of the platform-elevation side wall to change the platform-elevation side wall from the undeformed first shape to the temporarily deformed second shape.

18. A juvenile bathroom system comprises

a child potty adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet so that it can be used by a young child during toilet training,

a footstool adapted to be set on the floor and formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber that is sized to receive and store the child potty therein during use of the footstool to elevate the child above the floor, wherein the footstool includes a shell formed to include the downwardly opening potty-storage chamber, the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform and a downwardly extending platform-elevation side wall coupled to a perimeter edge of the child-support platform, and the footstool also includes a potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend in a radially inward direction into a companion tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is deposited into the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell to retain the child potty in a stationary position on the footstool, wherein the child potty is configured to be set on the floor and used when not received in the footstool,

wherein the child potty includes a waste-collection bowl formed to include a waste-collection chamber and a bowl-support frame coupled to the waste-collection bowl and arranged to extend around the waste-collection chamber and support the waste-collection chamber in spaced-apart relation to the floor when the child potty is set on the floor.

19. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 18, wherein the platform-elevation side wall of the shell includes an inner surface bounding the potty-storage chamber and surrounding the child potty stored therein and the potty-retainer tab is cantilevered to the inner surface of the platform-elevation side wall of the shell.

20. A juvenile bathroom system comprises

a child potty adapted to be set on a floor away from a toilet so that it can be used by a young child during toilet training,

a footstool adapted to be set on the floor and formed to include a downwardly opening potty-storage chamber that is sized to receive and store the child potty therein during use of the footstool to elevate the child above the floor, wherein the footstool includes a shell formed to include the downwardly opening potty-storage chamber, the shell includes a horizontal child-support platform and a downwardly extending platform-elevation side wall adapted to be set on the floor and coupled to a perimeter edge of the child-support platform, and the footstool also includes a potty-retainer tab coupled to the shell and arranged to extend into a companion tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty when the child potty is deposited into the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell to retain the child potty in a stationary position in the footstool,

wherein the platform-elevation side wall of the shell includes an inner surface bounding the potty-storage chamber and surrounding the child potty stored therein and the potty-retainer tab is cantilevered to the inner surface of the platform-elevation side wall of the shell, wherein the child potty is adapted to be set on the floor and used when not received in the footstool, and

wherein the shell is made of an elastic deformable plastics material and a portion of the platform-elevation side wall is arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the child potty when the child potty is stored in the potty-storage chamber formed in the shell, the potty-retainer tab is arranged to extend into the companion tab-receiver channel to anchor the footstool to the stored child potty, a side portion of the platform-elevation side wall that carries the potty-retainer tab is configured and arranged to deform in response to application of a squeezing force to opposite front and rear side portions of the platform-elevation side wall by a caregiver to cause the potty-retainer tab to move outwardly away from the child potty to a disengaged position that is withdrawn from the companion tab-receiver channel formed in the child potty to release the child potty from the footstool so that the footstool can be lifted upwardly leaving the child potty in a stationary position on the floor.

21. The juvenile bathroom system of claim 20, wherein the side portion of the platform-elevation side wall includes a right side portion extending between the front and rear side portions and carrying the potty-retainer tab and a left side portion also extending between the front and rear side portions to lie in laterally spaced-apart relation to the right side portion and carrying a left-side potty-retainer tab, the front side portion is moved inwardly toward the child potty and the platform-elevation side wall is deformed and changes shape when the caregiver applies a squeezing force to the front and rear side portions to cause the left side and right side portions to move away from one another and from the child potty located therebetween to cause the potty-retainer tab cantilevered to the right side portion to disengage the companion tab-receiver channel formed in one side of the child potty and to cause the left-side potty-retainer tab coupled to the left side portion to disengage a companion second tab-receiver channel formed in a second side of the child potty to release the child potty so that it can be removed from the potty-storage chamber formed in the footstool.