Cartridge Package For A Sanitary Toilet

Abstract

A cartridge package for a sanitary toilet includes an annular container having spaced apart inner and outer walls to provide the container with a central opening and an annular storage space. An elongated plastic tube having one end closed by heat sealing is accordion folded within the annular storage space so that the closed end extends across the central opening of the container. A thin, flexible plastic film extends across the top of the container and is secured to the outer wall thereof. The film is provided with a circular perforation spaced outwardly of the inner wall of the container to provide a detachable central portion. The tube can be withdrawn from the storage space as desired by pushing downwardly on the central portion of the film and the closed end of the tube to detach the central portion and push it into the tube as the tube is pushed downwardly through the central opening.

Description

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a cartridge package for use with sanitary toilets. The invention finds particular utility with portable sanitary toilets such as the toilet described in my copending application entitled "Portable Sanitary Toilet," Ser. No. 92,107, filed Nov. 23, 1970. Such toilets conventionally use an elongated plastic bag or tube to collect the waste material, and the tube can be stored in a cartridge or container as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,192.

Portable toilets which utilize plastic tubes to collect the waste material may include some sort of drawing mechanism for pulling the tube from its storage space as needed after each use of the toilet, and if the tube is stored in a cartridge, the tube should be capable of being easily fed into the drawing mechanism of the toilet and capable of being readily withdrawn from the cartridge by this mechanism. Further, since the tube must be replaced after a certain number of uses, it is desirable that cartridges which are sold as replacement units be packaged in convenient, ready-to-use form which will prevent inadvertent withdrawal of the tube before the cartridge is used but which will permit the tube to be easily withdrawn and inserted into the drawing mechanism when desired.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a cartridge for a sanitary toilet in convenient ready-to-use package form. The plastic tube is accordion-folded into the annular space of the container, and the heat-sealed end of the tube extends across the central opening of the container well above the bottom thereof. The thin, flexible film covers the tube and prevents inadvertent removal of the tube from the container. When the cartridge is to be used, the tube can be withdrawn for positioning in the drawing mechanism of the toilet merely by pushing downwardly on the central portion of the film. The downward force breaks the perforation in the film to detach the central portion thereof, and continued downward movement will withdraw the tube from the container, the detached portion of the film being captured by the sealed end of the tube. The sealed end of the tube can be easily inserted into the drawing mechanism of the toilet, and the remainder of the covering film terminates outwardly of the inner wall of the container so that the tube can be easily withdrawn from the container without interference from the film.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention will be explained in conjunction with an illustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cartridge package formed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the cartridge package;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cartridge package;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the cartridge package;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary and broken sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the central portion of the film and the sealed end of the tube being pushed downwardly; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the cartridge positioned within a portable toilet and the tube being pushed further downwardly through the central opening of the cartridge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates generally a cartridge for use with a portable sanitary toilet which is supplied in package form. The cartridge includes an annular container 11, an elongated plastic tube 12 stored within the container, and a thin, flexible plastic cover film 13 secured to the container.

The container 11 may be formed of rigid plastic and includes generally cylindrical spaced-apart inner and outer walls 14 and 15, respectively, joined by an annular bottom wall 16. The inner and outer walls diverge slightly as they extend from the bottom wall 16, and the upper end of the inner wall terminates in a rounded peripheral flange 17 which curves inwardly and downwardly to define a central opening for the container. The upper end of the outer wall 15 extends slightly above the peripheral flange 17 of the inner wall (FIG. 5) and terminates in an outwardly extending peripheral flange 18.

The elongated plastic tube 12 has a diameter greater than the maximum diameter of the inner wall 14 so that the tube can be stored within the annular storage space 19 provided by the walls of the container. The plastic tube includes an open end 20 which is positioned at the bottom of the annular space, and the tube is accordion-folded into the container so that a tube substantially longer than the depth of the container can be stored therein. In one specific embodiment of the invention, a 12 foot long plastic tube was stored in a container having a depth of about 21/2 inches. The other end of the plastic tube is closed by a heat-sealed seam 21, and the tube is folded and tucked within the annular storage space of the container until the closed end of the tube extends substantially straight across the central opening of the container formed by the peripheral flange 17, as shown in FIG. 6. The closed end of the tube is thereby spaced well above the bottom wall 16, and the cartridge can be supported by the bottom wall without having the tube become snagged, caught, or inadvertently withdrawn from the central opening.

The flexible plastic film 13 is generally circular in shape and has a diameter approximately the same as the outer diameter of the peripheral flange 18. The film is secured to the peripheral flange 18, as by a heat seal 23 (FIG. 5), and the film 13 is secured so that it extends relatively tautly over the annular storage space and central opening of the container in covering relationship with the plastic tube. The film 13 is provided with a circular perforation 24 which extends concentrically with the inner and outer walls of the container and which is spaced slightly outwardly of the rounded peripheral flange 17 of the inner wall. The circular perforation divides the film 13 into a detachable circular central portion 13a and an annular outer portion 13b.

Before the cartridge is used, it is provided in a compact form in which the plastic tube is protected and covered by the plastic covering film 13. The film prevents inadvertent withdrawal of the tube from above the container, and inadvertent withdrawal of the tube through the bottom of the central opening of the container is prevented since the closed end of the tube is positioned well above the bottom wall of the container.

When the cartridge is to be used, it may be inserted into a sanitary toilet such as the toilet described in my copending application entitled "Portable Sanitary Toilet," Ser. No. 92,107, filed Nov. 23, 1970, above the tube-drawing means therefor. A portion of a toilet is shown in FIG. 8, and, since the toilet does not form part of this invention, it is believed that a detailed description thereof is unnecessary. The toilet may include a cartridge holding plate 26 which is mounted within the toilet casing above the tube-drawing means and which is provided with a central opening 27. A cover plate 28 and a toilet seat 29, which are both provided with central openings therethrough, are removably mounted within the toilet casing above the holding plate, as by hinges.

When the toilet is to be used, the toilet seat and cover plate are removed, and a cartridge is placed on the holding plate 26 with the cover film 13 intact. The user may then push downwardly on the central portion of the film 13 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7, either before or after replacing the toilet seat and cover plate, and this downward force breaks the perforation 24 and detaches the central portion 13a of the film from the remainder 13b of the film. Continued downward movement forces the detached central film portion 13a against the closed end of the tube and moves the closed end of the tube downwardly through the central opening of the container toward the tube-drawing mechanism of the toilet. The detached portion 13a of the film need not be withdrawn and is tucked into the bottom of the tube as the tube is forced downwardly as shown in FIG. 8. The tube is pushed until the closed end thereof can be inserted into the drawing mechanism of the toilet, and the heat-sealed seam of the closed end facilitates the insertion of the tube into this mechanism. For example, if the drawing mechanism uses rollers such as described in my said copending application, the heat-sealed seam can be inserted into the nips of the rollers without separating the rollers. After the tube is inserted in the drawing mechanism, the tube can be automatically withdrawn from the container after each use of the toilet.

Since the perforation 24 is spaced outwardly of the upper edge of the inner wall 14, the inner edge of the annular portion 13b of the film which remains secured to the container terminates outwardly of this upper edge. The tube can therefore be withdrawn from the container over the rounded flange 17 without interference from the remainder of the film. Further, the outer wall of the container advantageously terminates above the inner wall to position the portion 13b of the film which remains secured to the container above the flange 17.

In one specific embodiment of the invention the circular perforation was spaced about three-sixteenths inch outwardly of the top of the rounded flange 17, and the top of this flange was spaced about one-sixteenth inch below the top of the flange 18.

While in the foregoing specification, a detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention was set forth for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that many of the details hereingiven may be varied considerably by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A cartridge package for a sanitary toilet comprising an annular container having spaced-apart generally cylindrical inner and outer walls and a bottom wall extending between the inner and outer walls to provide the container with a central opening and an annular storage space, an elongated plastic tube having a diameter greater than the diameter of the central opening of the container and a length greater than the depth of the container and having an open end and a closed end, the plastic tube being folded into the annular storage space so that the closed end extends across the central opening in the container, and a thin flexible generally circular plastic film extending over the central opening and the annular storage space above the plastic tube, the outer periphery of the film being secured to the outer wall of the container, the film having a circular perforation to provide a detachable central portion whereby the central portion can be detached from the remainder of the film and the central portion and the closed end of the tube can be pushed downwardly through the central opening of the container to withdraw the tube from the storage space by pushing downwardly on the central portion of the film.

2. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the closed end of the plastic tube is heat sealed.

3. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the circular perforation in the film extends generally concentrically with the inner and outer walls of the container and is spaced outwardly from the upper edge of the inner wall.

4. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the upper edge of the inner wall terminates in an inwardly and downwardly extending rounded peripheral flange, the tube bearing against the rounded peripheral flange as it is withdrawn downwardly through the opening of the container.

5. The cartridge package of claim 4 in which the upper edge of the inner wall terminates below the upper edge of the outer wall.

6. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the inner and outer walls diverge slightly as they extend upwardly from the bottom wall.

7. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the container is plastic and the outer periphery of the film is heat-sealed to the outer wall of the container.

8. The cartridge package of claim 1 in which the container is plastic and the upper edge of the outer wall terminates in an outwardly extending flange, the outer periphery of the film being heat-sealed to the outwardly extending flange.

9. A cartridge package for a sanitary toilet comprising an annular plastic container having spaced-apart generally cylindrical inner and outer walls and a bottom wall extending between the inner and outer walls to provide the container with a central opening and an annular storage space, the inner wall terminating in a rounded peripheral flange extending inwardly and downwardly, the outer wall extending above the rounded peripheral flange and terminating in an outwardly extending peripheral flange, an elongated plastic tube having a diameter greater than the diameter of the central opening of the container and a length greater than the depth of the container, the plastic tube having an open end and a closed heat-sealed end and being accordion-folded into the annular storage space so that the closed end extends across the central opening in the container, and a thin flexible generally circular plastic film extending over the central opening and the annular storage space above the plastic tube, the outer periphery of the film being heat-sealed to the outwardly extending peripheral flange of the outer wall of the container, the film having a circular perforation spaced outwardly of the rounded peripheral flange of the inner wall to provide a detachable central portion whereby the central portion can be detached from the remainder of the film and the central portion and the heat-sealed end of the tube can be pushed downwardly through the central opening of the container to withdraw the tube from the storage space by pushing downwardly on the central portion of the film.