A SINGLE-USE TOILET IN THE FORM OF A BAG

TOILETTE JETABLE SOUS LA FORME D'UN SAC

English Abstract

A single-use toilet intended to be used for relieving one- self. The invention is characterised in that the single-use toilet is in the form of a bag (1) of a size sufficient to be used for relieving oneself, in that the bag (1) can be sealed after use, in that the bag (1) is made from an essentially gas-tight material that is impermeable to fluid, in that the bag (1) contains urea (8) in an amount sufficient to inactivate intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in that the bag (1) is made from a material (5, 6, 7) that is biodegradable, and in that the biodegradable material (5, 6, 7) is impermeable for fluid during the period that is required to inactivate micro- organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the said urea.

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne une toilette à usage unique destinée à être utilisée pour pouvoir se soulager. L'invention est caractérisée en ce que la toilette jetable se présente sous la forme d'un sac (1) ayant une taille suffisante pour être utilisé de façon à ce que quelqu'un puisse se soulager, en ce que le sac (1) peut être scellé après utilisation, en ce que le sac (1) est réalisé à partir d'un matériau sensiblement étanche au gaz qui est imperméable aux fluides, en ce que le sac (1) contient de l'urée (8) selon une quantité suffisante pour inactiver des micro-organismes pathogènes intestinaux, comme des bactéries, des virus, des parasites, etc., en ce que le sac (1) est réalisé à partir d'un matériau (5, 6, 7) biodégradable, et en ce que le matériau biodégradable (5, 6, 7) est imperméable aux fluides pendant la période nécessaire pour inactiver les micro-organismes, comme des bactéries, des virus, des parasites, etc. dans les excréments à l'aide de ladite urée.

Claims

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CLAIMS
1. A single-use toilet intended to be used for urination and
defecation, the single-use toilet being in the form of a
bag of a size sufficient to be used for relieving
oneself, the bag being sealable after use at an opening
region and comprising urea in an amount sufficient to
inactivate intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms, the bag
being made from a gas-tight material that is impermeable
to fluid and that is biodegradable, the material of the
bag being impermeable for fluid during the period that is
required to inactivate micro-organisms in the excrement
by the urea.
2. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, wherein the
bag has a length that is sufficient for it to be sealable
with a knot around itself at the opening region of the
bag after use.
3. A single-use toilet according to claim 1, wherein the
bag has a length that is sufficient for it to be sealable
at the opening region of the bag with a string attached
to the bag.
4. A single-use toilet according to any one of claims 1 to
3, wherein the bag is made from a material from the
group of polysaccharides, aliphatic polyesters, proteins
and polyolefines, with suitable additives.
5. A single-use toilet according to claim 4, wherein the
bag is made from a single material or in the form of a
laminate of two or more layers.

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6. A single-use toilet according to any one of claims 1 to
3, wherein the bag is made from a material that is a
copolymer or a polymer mixture of two or more materials.
7. A single-use toilet according to any one of claims 1 to
6, wherein urea is applied on a substantial portion of
an inner surface of the bag.
8. A single-use toilet according to any one of claims 1 to
6, wherein urea is present in the bag.

Description

CA 02679950 2013-10-31
A SINGLE-USE TOILET IN THE FORM OF A BAG
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a single-use toilet.
Background
It is only a small minority of the population of the world
that has access to toilets and to clean water, and the lack of
these makes it difficult to maintain a good hygienic standard.
One problem in this context is that it is often not possible
to arrange infrastructure such that toilets can be built or
installed in the regions in which toilets are lacking.
Pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses and
parasites, are spread to, among other targets, water, as a
result of open defecation, and the water that people use can
in this way easily become contaminated, whereby diseases are
spread. This is particularly the case in regions in which the
population density is high.
The most important reason for the introduction of toilet
systems is that the faecal-oral infection pathway is in this
manner broken.
Summary of the invention
The present invention solves this problem by offering a
single-use toilet. According to one broad aspect, the
invention provides a single-use toilet intended to be used for
urination and defecation, the single-use toilet being in the
form of a bag of a size sufficient to be used for relieving
oneself, the bag being sealable after use at an opening region
and comprising urea in an amount sufficient to inactivate

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intestinal pathogenic micro-organisms, the bag being made from
a gas-tight material that is impermeable to fluid and that is
biodegradable, the material of the bag being impermeable for
fluid during the period that is required to inactivate micro-
organisms in the excrement by the urea.
Description of the drawings
The invention is described in more detail below, partially in
association with an embodiment of the invention shown in the
attached drawings, where
- Figure la shows a bag according to the invention in a
condition ready for use,
- Figures lb-ld are a sequence showing how the bag is unfolded
in order to achieve the form shown in Figure 1,
- Figure 2 shows schematically a cross-section of the bag when
in its folded condition,
- Figure 3 shows the bag according to Figure la from above,
- Figure 4 shows schematically and at a larger scale a cross-
section of the wall of the bag according to one embodiment.
Description of the embodiments
As shown in the drawings, the single-use toilet is in the form
of a bag 1 of a size sufficient such that it can be used for
relieving oneself. Such a bag is shown in Figure la in a side
view.
The bag is shown in Figure lb in a folded condition,
corresponding to how conventional paper bags are folded before
use. Figure lc shows how a flap 2 has been unfolded, while
Figure ld shows how a second flap 3 has been unfolded.

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The user subsequently puts one hand down into the bag such
that also the side walls of the bag are unfolded. Figure 2
shows a cross-section of a folded bag. The approximate ap-
pearance from above of the bag after it has been unfolded is
shown in Figure 3.
According to the invention, the bag can be sealed after the
user has relieved himself or herself. The bag is made from an
essentially gas-tight material that is impermeable for fluid.
According to one essential characteristic of the invention,
the bag contains the compound urea (CO(NH2)2) in an amount
that is sufficient to inactivate pathogenic bacteria, vi-
ruses, etc., in the excrement. According to another essential
characteristic of the invention, the bag is made from a bio-
degradable material. Furthermore, a biodegradable material is
to be selected that is not permeable to fluid during the
period that is required to inactivate pathogenic bacteria,
viruses, parasites, etc., in the excrement by means of the
said urea. A sufficient amount of urea is 2-4 g per bag, but
this amount can be adapted as required. It is possible that
suitable auxiliary chemicals can be added in order to in-
crease the inactivation process.
When urea comes into contact with excrement, it is broken
down into ammonia and carbon dioxide, and this leads to an
increase in the pH. When the process of hygienisation starts,
other biological activity stops. This means that no anaerobic
activity takes place in the bag. If an anaerobic activity
were to take place in the bag, it is possible that a problem
with the production of gas would arise, namely that the gas
would develop in such a volume that the bag splits.

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Ammonia is a compound that inactivates micro-organisms at
high concentrations. At the same time, nitrogen in the form
of ammonia is an important fertilising agent.
The process of hygienisation should typically take 9-14 days.
Through the present single-use toilet, it is achieved that
the bag is sealed after the user has relieved himself or
herself, after which pathogenic bacteria and viruses, para-
/o sites, etc., are inactivated before the wall material of the
bag decomposes. When the wall material has decomposed to such
an extent that the excrement can leak out, thus, the excre-
ment is not harmful and can be used as fertilising agent in
cultivation.
According to one preferred embodiment, the bag has a length
that is sufficient such that it will be possible to seal the
bag 1 with a knot around itself at the opening region of the
bag.
According to an alternative preferred embodiment, the bag has
a length that is sufficient such that it will be possible to
seal the bag 1 at the opening region of the bag 1 with a
string 4 or its equivalent that is attached to the bag. A
string 4 has been suggested with dashed lines in Figure 1.
According to one preferred design, the bag is made from a
material from the group of polysaccharides, for example
starch, amylopectin, amylose, cellulose derivatives, chi-
tin/chitosan, alginate, carrageenan and aliphatic polyesters,
for example poly-Z-caprolactone, polylactide, polyglycolide,
polyadipine acid and polyhydroxycanoates. Furthermore, pro-

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teins and polyolefines, for example polyethene, with suitable
known additives can be used.
According to one embodiment, the bag is made from a material
5 that is a laminate of two or three of the said materials.
According to a further embodiment, the bag is made from a
material that is a copolymer and/or a polymer mixture of two
or more of the said materials.
The bag can be made as a combination of laminate, copolymers
and/or polymer mixtures.
Figure 4 shows an illustration of a cross-section through the
wall of the bag. The layer denoted by the reference number 5
is a moisture barrier. The layer denoted by 6 is a gas bar-
rier, and the layer denoted by 7 is a moisture barrier.
According to one preferred embodiment, urea is applied onto
essentially the complete inner surface of the bag. Urea forms
in this manner a sufficiently thick layer on the inner sur-
face of the bag as is illustrated in Figure 4 with the layer
8, such that it will be possible to achieve the inactivation
mentioned above.
According to an alternative embodiment, urea is present in
the bag, in the form of, for example, a granulate or a pow-
der.
A number of embodiments have been described above. It is,
however, obvious that the form of the bag can be altered such
that it has a circular cross-section with a funnel-shaped
upper part when in its unfolded condition. Furthermore, the

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funnel-shaped upper part can be sufficiently wide that the
user can hold the bag and fold down the upper part of the
funnel over the hand with which the user is holding the bag.
It is obvious that the bag may have any suitable form at all
for its purpose, and the forms specified above are for this
reason only embodiments given for the purpose of exemplifica-
tion.
/0 The strength of the bag, furthermore, can be varied through
the thickness of the wall. The bag may also have a non-
constant thickness, where, for example, the part of the bag
that is open and that is held by the user has a greater wall
thickness than the upper part of the bag.
The present invention, therefore, is not to be regarded as
limited to the embodiments specified above, since it can be
varied within the scope specified by the attached patent
claims.

Representative Drawing