U.S. patent number 3,737,920 [Application Number 05/137,246] was granted by the patent office on 1973-06-12 for portable toilet.
Invention is credited to Kenneth N. Savee.
United States Patent |
3,737,920 |
Savee |
June 12, 1973 |
PORTABLE TOILET
Abstract
A portable toilet apparatus having a rotatable bowl, or
platform, for supporting the lower end of a flexible, leak-proof
bag of material, such as plastic, the upper end of the bag being
fixed and aligned with an opening in the top wall of a housing,
there being a toilet seat hinged to the top wall. Within the bowl
are a plurality of fins for positive engagement with the closed
lower end of the bag. A spring is operably connected with the bowl
to rotate it in one direction, and there is a manually actuatable
lever for rotating the bowl in the opposite direction and, at the
same time, put the spring under tension for rotating the bowl when
the lever is released. Rotation of the bowl in one direction twists
an intermediate part of the bag to seal the bag, and rotation of
the bowl in the opposite direction untwists and opens the bag.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present
invention relates, generally, to portable toilets and relates, more
particularly, to devices of this type utilizing a disposable bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art There are various prior art toilet
devices that use disposable bags. However, many of these devices
are complicated and may be awkward to use. Further, removal of the
bag without having it opened up is difficult. SUMMARY OF THE
INVENTION The present invention is a portable toilet with a
disposable bag, and comprises a housing having a top wall with a
relatively large opening therein and a seat hinged to said top
wall, the opening in the seat being aligned with the opening in the
top wall. There is a bowl disposed on a vertical pivot, the bowl
having pins therein for engagement with the closed lower end of a
disposable bag suspended within the housing and having the upper
end releasably secured to studs, or pins, in the top wall of the
housing. There is a spring for rotating the bowl in one direction
and a manually operated lever for actuating the bowl in the
opposite direction, said level having its lower end operably
connected to the bowl. The upper end of the lever extends through a
slot in the top wall and one end of the slot serves to limit
movement of the lever in one direction, the lever being releasably
held at the opposite end of the notch by a latch. The arrangement
is such that the bag is open for use when the lever is at one
position and is twisted intermediate its ends to seal same when not
being used and the lever is at the opposite position. There is a
door at the front of the housing to provide ready access to the
interior thereof, so that the bag may be readily removed in this
twisted condition and the bag permanently sealed by means of a
cord, rubber band, or the like. OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE
INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a portable
toilet having a removable bag of plastic, or some type of
biodegradable material. It is another object of the invention to
provide apparatus of this character having mechanical means for
inducing a twist in the suspended bag intermediate the ends of said
bag, to seal same. It is another object of the invention to provide
apparatus of this character having a bowl rotatably mounted on a
vertical axis and having vanes, or fins, projecting upwardly from
the bottom of said bowl, so as to make positive contact with the
bottom of the bag during the twisting sequence. It is still another
object of the invention to provide apparatus of this character
having spring means for rotating the bowl in one direction and
manually operated means for rotating said bowl in the opposite
direction. The manual means for actuating the bowl in one direction
comprises a lever pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end
operably connected with the bowl for rotating said bowl in
opposition to the action of the spring. A still further object of
the invention is to provide means for releasably holding the lever
in one position, as when the bag is sealed by the twisting of a
portion thereof intermediate its ends. The characteristics and
advantages of the invention are further sufficiently referred to in
connection with the accompanying drawings, which represent one
embodiment. After considering this example, skilled persons will
understand that variations may be made without departing from the
principles disclosed, and I contemplate the employment of any
structures, arrangements or modes of operation that are properly
within the scope of the appended claims.
Inventors: |
Savee; Kenneth N. (Whittier,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
22476467 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/137,246 |
Filed: |
April 26, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/484; 4/315;
220/495.08; 4/144.2; 220/908 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K
11/00 (20130101); Y10S 220/908 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47K
11/00 (20060101); A47k 011/00 (); A47k
013/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;4/142,134,135,141,144,111,116,138,131,110 ;74/89.2,89.22
;53/181,370 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Artis; Henry K.
Claims
I claim:
1. A portable toilet, comprising:
a housing including a top wall with an opening therein and a bottom
wall;
a toilet seat hinged at the back to the top wall and in register
with the opening in said top wall;
bag-supporting means rotatably mounted on the bottom wall in
alignment with the opening in the top wall;
said toilet seat being adapted for clamping the upper end of a
flexible bag to said top wall and supporting said bag against
rotation with the lower end of said bag supported by the supporting
means;
and means spaced from said toilet seat for rotating the supporting
means and thereby rotate the lower end of the bag in one direction
to twist an intermediate part of the bag.
2. The invention defined by claim 1, including means for rotating
the supporting means in the opposite direction.
3. The invention defined by claim 1, including means for positively
engaging the bag carried by the bag-supporting means.
4. The invention defined by claim 3, wherein the bag-supporting
means comprises a rotatable bowl with bag-engaging upstanding fins
disposed therein.
5. The invention defined by claim 4, wherein one of the means for
rotating the bowl comprises a spring.
6. The invention defined by claim 4, wherein the means spaced from
the toilet seat for rotating the bowl in one direction comprises
manually operable means.
7. The invention defined by claim 6, wherein the manually operable
means comprises a lever having a handle portion at the upper end,
said handle portion extending upwardly through a slot in said top
wall and spaced from said toilet seat, said lever having an
operable connection with the rotating bowl.
8. The invention defined by claim 7, including a releasable latch
for retaining the lever in one position.
9. The invention defined by claim 5, wherein one of the means for
rotating the bowl comprises manually operable means which, when
rotating the bowl in one direction, places the spring under tension
so that, when the manually operable means is released, the spring
will rotate the bowl in the opposite direction.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, which are
for illustrative purposes only:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus embodying the present
invention with a portion of the door broken away to show the
interior of the housing;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the
latching means for the manually operable lever; and
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the top wall of the housing with the
bag holding pegs adjacent the opening in said top wall.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown a housing, or cabinet,
indicated generally at 10, having a bottom 12, side walls 14 and
16, respectively, back or rear wall 18, and top wall 20, the latter
having a large opening 22 therein. There is a door 24 at the front
of the housing carried by hinges 28 having vertical pins. The door
24 closes a large opening 30 in the front wall 32 of the housing.
The opening 30 of the front wall 32 provides access to the interior
of the housing when the door 24 is opened. Any suitable, well-known
type of releasable latch may be used to releasably hold the door 24
in the closed position.
Within the housing 10 there is an upwardly opening bowl 36 having
an axially arranged, depending hub 38, said hub being secured to
the bottom of the bowl by any suitable means. The hub 38 has an
axial bore extending upwardly from the lower end thereof, the bore
being closed at its upper end and receiving a pivot pin 41 secured
to the bottom 12 of the housing and aligned with the opening 22 in
the top 20 of the housing.
There is a spiral spring 40 having its inner end secured to the hub
38 adjacent the lower end thereof, the opposite end of said spring
being secured to a pin 42 set in the bottom wall 12 in spaced
relation to the hub 38.
There is means for manually effecting rotation of the bowl, said
means comprising the lever 44 pivotally secured intermediate its
ends to one of the side walls, as side wall 14, for example, by
means of a pivot pin 46 which is secured to said side wall 14. The
upper end of lever 44 extends upwardly through a slot 48 in the top
20 and is adapted to slidably move through said slot. The lower end
of the lever 44 is connected to the hub 38 by means of a flexible
member, or element, such as a cord 50, or the like. One end of the
cord 50 is secured to the hub 38 by any suitable, well-known means.
Cord, or cable, 50 is passed about a pulley, or sheave, 52
pivotally mounted to a block 54 by means of a pin 56. Block 54 is
secured to the bottom 12 at the front of the housing and adjacent
the side wall 14. The opposite end of the cord is secured to the
lower end of the lever 44 by being passed through an opening 60 and
tied thereto, or otherwise fastened.
There is means for retaining the lever 44 at its rearward position,
said means comprising a retainer spring having one end 64 secured
to the wall 14 adjacent the rear end of the slot 48. The end 64 of
the retainer spring is secured to the inner side of the wall 14 and
is inclined inwardly and rearwardly in the housing 10. An end
portion 66 of the retainer spring is bent outwardly at right angles
and extends through an opening 68 provided therefor in the wall 14,
said part 66 of the retainer spring terminating at its free end in
a knob outside of the housing.
A toilet seat 72 is secured to the top, or top wall 20, by means of
a transverse hinge 74, said seat being of well-known character.
Beneath the seat 72 are a plurality of bag studs 76 fixed to the
top 20, said bag studs being adjacent to the opening 22 in the top,
or top wall, but spaced somewhat therefrom.
There is a flexible bag 80, the upper open end of which is held
open by stretching its lip around and over the studs 76 which are
equally spaced from each other. As shown, studs 76 are arranged in
a square pattern and the bag is suspended through the hole 22. The
bottom of the bag rests in the bowl 36 and the latter is provided
with a plurality of fins 82 which are radially arranged within the
bowl and secured to the bottom thereof. The upper edges of the fins
82 are arcuate in shape and are below the plane of the top of the
bowl.
Normally, the upper end of the lever 44 is at the forward end of
the slot 48. Bag 80 is then in its open position, with the bottom
supported by the bowl which may be considered a rotating,
supporting platform for the bottom of the bag. Rearward movement of
the upper end of the lever causes a forward motion of the bottom of
the lever and this action causes the cord to unwind from the
spindle which imparts a rotating motion to the bowl and produces a
tension in the spiral spring 40. The rotating bowl imparts a
turning motion to the bottom of the bag and, because the top of the
bag is fixed in position, produces a twist, indicated at 86 in FIG.
3, thus sealing the bag intermediate its ends. As the upper end of
the lever completes its rearward motion, it presses a retainer
spring aside and, as the lever passes said retainer spring, the
latter returns to its normal position, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and
5, so that the upper end of the lever is locked, or secured, in its
rearward position. When the upper end of the lever is moved to its
rearward position, the spring 40 is placed under tension.
When the lever retainer spring is released, the upper end of the
lever 44 returns to its forward position and the tension of the
spiral spring 40 attached to the hub, or spindle, 38 causes the
bowl to rotate backward to its original position. The rotation of
the bowl causes the bag to untwist and return to its open position,
so that the device may be used. After the device has been used, the
upper end of the lever is moved to its rearward latched position.
It is to be noted that, when the upper end of the lever is moved to
its rearward position, the lever is rotated in the
counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2.
It is to be noted that there are a plurality of fins 82, four being
shown by way of example. These fins are important, since the length
of the bag decreases as it is twisted and these fins serve to
maintain operating contact with the bottom of the bag as the
shortening action takes place with the twisting of said bag.
The apparatus can also be operated in the reverse sequence as
follows:
Before placing the bag on the studs 76, the upper end of the
actuator lever is moved to its rearward position and the bowl is
rotated, to place the spring 40 under tension. The bag is then put
in position and, when the lever retainer is released, the bowl is
rotated by the spring as it unwinds, and automatically twists and
seals the bag. To re-use, the upper end of the lever is returned to
the rearward position so that the bag is untwisted and returned to
its open position.
The bag if flexible and may be of suitable plastic, or it may be of
a bio-degradable material, such as a special paper.
The invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from
the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various
changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of
the parts of the invention without departing from the spirit and
scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, the
arrangement hereinbefore described being merely by way of example,
and I do not wish to be restricted to the specific forms shown or
uses mentioned, except as defined in the accompanying claims.
* * * * *