U.S. patent number 3,904,217 [Application Number 05/395,154] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-09 for support stand for a self-contained toilet apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Thetford Corporation. Invention is credited to Edward J. Hutcheson, Charles L. Sargent.
United States Patent |
3,904,217 |
Sargent , et al. |
September 9, 1975 |
Support stand for a self-contained toilet apparatus
Abstract
Apparatus for hospitals and nursing homes that comprises a
self-contained toilet and a stand for supporting and transporting
the toilet. The toilet is formed in two sections, an upper seat and
bowl section which has a water compartment for flush purposes, and
a lower holding-tank section which can be carried as a suitcase for
evacuation purposes. The stand has arms and a back rest and legs
that normally will hold the apparatus against slipping on a
supporting surface. Wheels are provided so that the apparatus can
be tilted rearwardly onto the wheels for transportation to a
desired location.
Inventors: |
Sargent; Charles L. (Ypsilanti,
MI), Hutcheson; Edward J. (Ann Arbor, MI) |
Assignee: |
Thetford Corporation (Ann
Arbor, MI)
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Family
ID: |
26940226 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/395,154 |
Filed: |
September 7, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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249633 |
May 2, 1972 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
280/47.25; 4/479;
297/188.09 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03D
7/00 (20130101); B62B 1/12 (20130101); E03D
11/11 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E03D
11/11 (20060101); E03D 11/02 (20060101); B62B
1/12 (20060101); B62B 1/00 (20060101); E03D
7/00 (20060101); B62B 001/12 () |
Field of
Search: |
;280/47.25,47.24,47.26,47.18,47.38 ;4/134,185R,170
;297/134,130,DIG.4,193 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1,077,765 |
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May 1954 |
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FR |
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803,925 |
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May 1958 |
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GB |
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1,027,935 |
|
Apr 1966 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Schonberg; David
Assistant Examiner: Pekar; John A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Olsen and Stephenson
Parent Case Text
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION.
This is a division of Application Ser. No. 249,633, filed May 2,
1972 now abandoned.
Claims
It is claimed:
1. A stand for supporting and transporting a portable
self-contained toilet comprising a base portion on which the bottom
of the toilet can be supported and having front and rear legs for
resting on a supporting surface, arm rest portions of generally
inverted U-shape extending upward from opposite sides of said base
portion, and a back portion of generally inverted U-shape extending
upward from the rear of said base portion, said base portion having
brackets extending upward adjacent to its opposite sides for
securing the portable toilet on the base portion and wheels mounted
on said rear legs in spaced relation to the supporting surface and
located so that when the stand is tilted rearwardly on the rear
legs the wheels will engage the supporting surface for moving the
stand on the wheels.
2. The stand that is defined in claim 1, wherein the inverted
U-shape of said back portion provides a transverse member, and a
hook opening in a forward direction is secured to the transverse
member so that at least a portion of said toilet can be suspended
therefrom within the opening of the U-shaped back portion.
3. The stand that is defined in claim 1, wherein a toilet tissue
holder is mounted on one of said arm rest portions.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in toilet facilities,
especially for use by people in hospitals, nursing homes and the
like.
A substantial improvement in portable toilet facilities of the
self-contained variety occurred with the development of the
portable toilet disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.
3,570,018, issued Mar. 16, 1971 to R. J. Sargent et al., entitled
"Portable Toilet". To permit utilization of a portable toilet of
this character in hospitals, nursing homes and the like, a need has
arisen for a suitable supporting stand which will assure maximum
safety and convenience when used by incapacitated or elderly people
or hospital patients, and which will permit attendants to transport
and service the unit in a most effective manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides improved apparatus whereby portable
toilets of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.
3,570,018 may now be used more readily in hospitals, nursing homes
and the like.
According to a preferred form of the present invention a
self-contained toilet assembly and a stand for supporting said
toilet assembly are provided wherein said toilet assembly includes
a portable lower holding-tank section and an upper seat section
removably supported thereon. The seat section has a handle in its
rear for lifting purposes and a liquid fill means adjacent to the
handle for filling flush liquid into a storage chamber located
within the seat section. The holding-tank section has a top wall
with a port for receiving material flushed from the seat section, a
valve for closing the port, and a handle in a wall of the tank for
carrying the same. A discharge outlet means for evacuation purposes
is provided in one of the walls of the holding tank. The stand
includes a base portion on which the toilet assembly is releasably
attached, a back portion having a support member on which the
handle of the seat section can be positioned when it is desired to
suspend the seat section therefrom for gaining access to the
holding-tank section and to facilitate filling flush water into the
seat section. The stand includes bracket means interlocked with the
holding-tank section to restrain the latter against lateral
displacement with respect to the base portion. The toilet assembly
includes tiedown clamp means for holding the toilet assembly in the
interlocked relationship on the base portion.
The stand has two wheels located at the rear of the base portion
which are normally out of engagement with the supporting surface,
but which can be placed into engagement with the supporting surface
by tilting the stand rearwardly after which the stand and the
toilet supported thereon can be transported to any desired
location.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved toilet facility for use in hospitals, nursing homes and
the like.
Other objects of this invention will appear in the following
description and appended claims, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein
like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the
several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination toilet assembly and
supporting stand embodying the present invention, illustrating the
first step of separating the seat section of the toilet from the
holding tank for evacuation purposes;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the seat
section supported on the back rest of the stand for filling flush
water and showing the holding tank being removed from the
stand;
FIG. 3 is another view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing the
holding tank as it can be transported for evacuation purposes;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the supporting stand showing
in phantom a portable toilet mounted thereon;
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the supporting stand and
showing the portable toilet in phantom as it is normally mounted on
the stand, and also showing in broken lines the seat section in its
suspended position on the back rest;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the lines 6--6
of FIG. 4; and
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary end view as seen from lines 7--7
of FIG. 5.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.
Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be
understood that the invention is not limited in its application to
the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in
the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.
Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology
employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of
limitation.
Referring now to the drawings, the invention will be described in
greater detail. The portable toilet or self-contained toilet
assembly 10 comprises the lower holding-tank section 12 and the
upper seat section 14 supported thereon. For detailed descriptions
of the interiors of the seat section 14 and the holding-tank
section 12 reference is made to the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No.
3,570,018. Briefly, the upper seat section 14 is molded to define a
bowl having a discharge outlet in the bottom wall of the section
and to provide in its interior a fresh-water compartment for flush
purposes. These internal details of the seat section 14 are not
illustrated in the drawings, but for a showing of these features,
reference is made to the issued United States Letters Patent No.
3,570,018. A fill opening with a closure cap 16 is provided in the
rear wall of the seat section 14 for filling the internal
fresh-water compartment (not shown). Formed as an integral part of
the rear wall of the seat section 14 is a handle 18 which can be
used to carry the seat section and which can be used to suspend it
in a position to facilitate filling flush water into the
fresh-water compartment when the cap 16 has been removed. The
opposite side walls of the seat section 14 have mounted thereon tie
down clamp means 20 for a purpose to be described. A cover 22 is
provided which is pivotally connected adjacent to the rear wall of
the seat section, and this cover can be pivoted to an open position
when the toilet is to be used.
The lower holding-tank section 12 is molded so as to define a
closed compartment which has in its top wall an inlet port 22 which
is in registry with the outlet (not shown) in the bottom wall of
the seat section 14 when the latter is in the assembled position
shown in FIG. 4. A suitable valve mechanism with a
manually-actuated handle or foot lever 24 is provided for opening
and closing the port 22. This valve mechanism can be of the type
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,018 wherein it is arranged to be
actuated by the foot of the user, or it can be a hand-actuated
slide valve of the type shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.
3,333,814, issued Aug. 1, 1967 to R. J. Sargent entitled "Wedge
Gate Assembly". The holding-tank section 12 has a discharge outlet
closed by the closure cap 26 and a handle 28 for carrying the
holding-tank section. The holding-tank section 12 also has recesses
30 on opposite sides adjacent to the tie down clamp means 20 of the
upper seat section 14 for use in securing the two sections 12 and
14 together.
The support stand 30 is preferably formed from tubular stock
material which has two similarly shaped members 32 and 34 for
defining arm rest portions 36 and rear legs 38, and another tubular
portion 40 which defines a back rest portion 42 and part of the
base portion 44 as well as the front legs 46. Transverse bars 48
complete the base portion of the stand. To prevent sliding of the
stand 30 on a supporting surface, it is preferred that suitable
pads 50 of rubber-like material be fitted to the ends of the front
and rear legs 46 and 38. For purposes of moving the stand 30 wheels
52 are mounted on the rear legs 38 so that the wheels 52 normally
are spaced about the supporting surface a small increment 53 as
shown in FIG. 7 whereby when it is desired to transport the stand
30, this can readily be accomplished merely by tilting the stand
rearwardly so that the wheels 52 engage the supporting surface and
are the only portion of the stand 30 resting on the supporting
surface. The stand can then be pushed or pulled to a desired
location.
The base portion 44 is provided with two spaced brackets 54 which
are located to fit into the recessed portions on opposite sides of
the holding tank 30. Thus, the holding tank 30 is interlocked with
the brackets and the tie down clamp means 20 of the upper seat
section 14 can be connected thereto so that the toilet assembly or
portable toilet 10 will be securely fastened to the stand 30. This
arrangement also clamps the seat section 14 tightly against the
holding-tank section 12 to cooperate in maintaining a tight seal
between these units at the port 22.
Connected to the back rest portion 42 is a hook 56 which opens to
the front as can be seen best in FIG. 6. The hook is provided so
that seat section 14 can be suspended in this manner, the closure
cap 16 can be removed and the flush water chamber within the seat
section 14 can be filled conveniently by means of a small hose
connected to a water tap. The hook also can be used to suspend the
seat section 14 when it is desired to remove the holding-tank
section 14 for evacuation purposes. A toilet tissue holder 50 is
mounted on one of the arms 36 for use in the conventional
manner.
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the sequence of steps that are normally
followed for carrying out this operation will be described. As
there shown, the tie down clamp means 20 have been released in FIG.
1 and the attendant is lifting the seat section 14 for suspending
it from the hook 56. In FIG. 2 the seat section is shown in its
suspended position and the attendant is lifting the holding-tank
section 14 by the handle 28. In FIG. 3 the attendant is carrying
the holding-tank section 12, as a suitcase, to a toilet or other
location where the tank can be evacuated. After the tank has been
evacuated and restored to its position shown in FIG. 1, the flush
water can be introduced into the chamber of the seat section, to
the extent needed after which the toilet assembly can be secured
together for further use. As previously indicated, the attendant
can move the toilet assembly and stand to various rooms in the
nursing home or hospital merely by tilting the unit onto the wheels
52.
* * * * *