Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
. CA 02838997 2014-01-08
PORTABLE FEMALE URINAL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Related Application
The present application is a continuation-in-part of pending
U.S. Patent Application Number 13/742,926 filed 01/16/2013, the
subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable female urinal
and more particularly pertains to facilitating intra-labial
positioning and urine collecting, the positioning and collecting
being done in a sanitary, safe, discreet, convenient and
economical manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the disadvantages inherent in the known types of
urinals now present in the prior art such as U.S. Patent Number
6,592,560 to Snyder, the present invention provides an improved
portable female urinal. As such, the general purpose of the
present invention, which will be described subsequently in
greater detail, is to provide a new and improved portable female
urinal and method which has all the advantages of the prior art
and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises
a portable female urinal. The portable female urinal includes a
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collector having a bottom and an open top and a peripheral wall.
The collector has an outlet opening. The bottom and the
peripheral wall form a chamber. The chamber has a front and rear
and sides and a peripheral edge adjacent to the open top. The
peripheral edge is positionable intra-labially between the labia
majora to cover a user's genitalia including the user's clitoris
and urethral orifice, with the chamber front overlying the user's
rigid pubic symphysis and with the chamber rear overlying soft
tissue in proximity to the labia majora, vagina and anus. The
collector is held in place during use solely by the fingers of
the user adhesive free and insert free.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more
important features of the invention in order that the detailed
description thereof that follows may be better understood and in
order that the present contribution to the art may be better
appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the
invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form
the subject matter of the claims attached.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment
of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited in its application to the details of
construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth
in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The
invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced
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%.
and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the
purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the
conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be
utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures,
methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the
present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims
be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as
they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present
invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a new and improved portable female urinal which has all
of the advantages of the prior art urinals and none of the
disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
new and improved portable female urinal which may be easily and
efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a
new and improved portable female urinal which is of durable and
reliable constructions.
An even further object of the present invention is to
provide a new and improved portable female urinal which is
susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both
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materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of
low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such
portable female urinal economically available to the buying
public.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide
a new and improved portable female urinal for facilitating intra-
labial positioning and urine collecting, the positioning being
within the labia majora allowing the collecting to be done in a
sanitary, safe, discreet, convenient and economical manner.
These together with other objects of the invention, along
with the various features of novelty which characterize the
invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims
annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the
specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to
the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and objects other
than those set forth above will become apparent when
consideration is given to the following detailed description
thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed
drawings wherein:
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=
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a portable female
urinal system constructed in accordance with the principles of
the present invention.
Figure 2 shows the area of the female anatomy where the
urinal of the present invention is received.
Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of
Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of
Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a plan view taken along line 5-5 of
Figure 1.
Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the container
and tube of Figure 1.
Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the container
and tube of Figure 6 but after use.
Figure 8 is an exploded view similar to Figure 6 but
illustrating an alternate embodiment of the invention.
The same reference numerals refer to the same parts
throughout the various Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
Figure 1 thereof, the preferred embodiment of the new and
improved portable female urinal embodying the principles and
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concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the
reference numeral 10 will be described.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a female
portable urinal 10 is provided for facilitating intra-labial
positioning and urine collecting. The positioning and collecting
is done in a sanitary, safe, discreet, convenient and economical
manner. The system includes an intra-labial collector 14, a
container 16, a container closure 18 and a tube 20. The
collector initially receives the urine from the user. The
container accepts the initially received urine from the collector
for disposal or usage. The tube couples the collector and the
container.
The intra-labial collector has a generally rectilinear
configuration with a bottom 24. An opening is in the bottom for
draining. The collector has an open top 26. Note Figure 3 which
illustrates the inter-labial collector from the bottom. Figure 5
illustrates the inter-labial collector rom the top. Figure 4 is
a cross sectional view vertically through the center of the
inter-labial collector.
The bottom and the open top are separated centrally by a
depth of 5.56 centimeters plus or minus 25 percent. The intra-
labial collector has a left side wall 28 and a parallel right
side wall 30 separated by a width of 3.69 centimeters plus or
minus 25 percent. The intra-labial collector has a front wall 32
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and a rear wall 34 separated by a length of 4.70 centimeters plus
or minus 25 percent. The intra-labial urinal has a bottom outlet
continuous with an opening in the side of the cylinder 36
extending laterally from the bottom. The cylinder is configured
to extend laterally, then downwardly at a 90 degree angle.
Such configuration facilitates convenient positioning of the
collector during use by the fingers of the user. The bottom and
side walls and front and rear walls and cylinder are fabricated
of a generally rigid plastic material with limited flexibility.
The side walls and front and rear walls form a peripheral
edge 38 adjacent to the open top. A soft, pliable air-filled
chamber 40 covers the peripheral edge. The air filled chamber
has a diameter of 5.00 millimeter plus or minus 25 percent. The
peripheral edge is adapted to be formed of any of a plurality of
other soft, pliable materials such as a rolled edge or a foam
elastomer. The intra-labial collector during use is laterally
positionable and held intra-labially solely by a user's fingers,
adhesive free and insert free between the labia majora 42 to
cover a user's genitalia including clitoris 44 and urethral
orifice 46 forwardly of the vagina 48, with the collector in
proximity to the front wall overlying the labia minora 50 and the
rigid pubic symphysis 52 and with the chamber adjacent to the
rear and side walls overlying soft tissue adjacent to the labia
majora and anus 54.
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The container has a closed base 56 and an upper opening 58
and a periphery. The upper opening has male threads 60. The
container is adapted to be supported between the thighs of the
user during use. The container is fabricated of a plastic
material and adapted to receive urine from the intra-collector;.
The container closure has a cylindrically-shaped component
64 with female threads 66 removably received on the male threads
of the container. The cylindrically-shaped component has a
raised central section 68 with a central passageway 70 and air
exit vent holes 72. The container closure has a dome-shaped
component 74. The dome-shaped component has an interior sealing
ring 76 positionable on the raised central section. The dome-
shape component also have an intermediate sealing ring 76
positionable on the cylindrically-shaped component adjacent to
the raised central section. The dome-shaped component also
having an exterior sealing ring 80 positionable on the
cylindrically-shaped component remote from the raised central
section. More or less sealing rings are adapted to be utilized
as may be needed or desired. The container closure has a living
hinge 82 coupling the cylindrically-shaped component and the
dome-shaped component. The dome-shaped component is spaced from
the cylindrically-shaped component prior to and during use. The
dome-shaped component covers the cylindrically-shaped component
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after use. The container closure is fabricated of a plastic
material.
The flexible tube 86 having an upper end received on the
outlet cylinder of the collector. The flexible tube has a lower
end positionable in the container. The flexible tube has an
intermediate extent positionable through the central passageway
of the container closure during use. The entire flexible tube is
positioned within the container after use with the dome-shaped
component positioned in a leakproof manner over the
cylindrically-shaped component and the container.
An alternate container 104 is fabricated of an elastomeric
material. Such alternate container, prior to use, is configured
generally flat with parallel inner and outer flat side faces 106
positionable between the user's thighs. In this manner, urine
entering the alternate container will expand the side faces into
a three dimensional shape. The alternate container includes a
support pouch 120 in a rectilinear configuration with a closed
bottom and closed sides and an open top removably receiving the
container. The support pouch is constructed to include a mesh
material for facilitating expansion during use. A strap 108 with
free ends 110, hook and loop strips 114 on the strap adjacent to
the free ends is adapted for positioning around a user's thighs.
Hook and loop patches 112 on the support pouch and on the strap
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remote from the free ends to facilitate positioning of the
alternate container between the user's thighs.
Hook and loop fasteners, such as Velcro-type fasteners, are
disclosed as the preferred mechanisms for releasably coupling the
various components of the system. Velcro is a trademark of
Velcro Industries B.V. Limited Liability Company of Netherlands.
It should be understood, however, that a wide variety of
releasable fasteners such as hooks and eyes, snaps, buttons and
loops, clasps and the like could readily be utilized.
In all of the embodiments, the urinal is laterally
positionable to cover the user's genitalia including clitoris and
urethral orifice. The urinal has a front wall positionable
overlying the labia minora and the rigid pubic symphysis of the
user. Also, the urinal has rear and side walls positionable
overlying soft tissue adjacent to the labia majora.
It should be understood that the container or multiple
containers may be filled, sealed, and collected for disposal or
use at a later time and/or location. Use of urine in the
generation of electricity is the subject of current
experimentation.
As to the manner of usage and operation of the present
invention, the same should be apparent from the above
description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the
manner of usage and operation will be provided.
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With respect to the above description then, it is to be
realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts
of the invention, to 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 present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only
of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous
modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in
the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly,
all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to,
falling within the scope of the invention.
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