Waste Disposal Apparatus For Hospital Beds And The Like

Abstract

A bed including hospital beds has a frame, a spring and a mattress and combined therewith a waste disposal apparatus. This apparatus includes a funnel chute nested and supported within a similarly shaped aperture through the mattress extending through the spring. A plastic disposable bag below said spring is threaded through the chute and its open end folded over and retainingly engages the funnel rim. A removable plug of sponge rubber with plastic cover is snugly nested down into the mattress with its top surface flush with the top surface of the mattress. In a modification, the funnel extends all the way through the mattress and the disposable bag extends around and is secured to the lower portion of the funnel. A further modification includes in combination with a funnel through the mattress and spring of a bracket slidably supporting a bedpan.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of bedpans for convalescent patients at home or in hospital beds is often inconvenient and uncomfortable and difficult to handle. Various efforts have been made heretofore in providing a mattress construction by which waste disposal may be provided for and directly through an aperture in the mattress.

Examples of such efforts are shown in U.S. Pat Nos.

3,332,090 2,932,831 3,503,083 3,668,720 3,345,652 3,562,824

These were found in the Patent Office classes and subclasses as follows:

CLASS: SUBCLASS: ______________________________________ 5 90, 91, 92 4 112, 120, 124, 142 128 283 222 108. ______________________________________

Each of the foregoing patents show very complicated and involved mechanisms for accomplishing similar results, intended for the increased comfort of the patient who is restricted to the bed. Each of these are costly and impractical.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved waste disposal apparatus for a bed, including hospital beds, which have the usual frame, spring and mattress and, wherein a very simplified apparatus may be employed limited modification of the mattress and spring.

It is another object to provide a waste disposal apparatus for beds wherein the funnel is disposed upon and through an upright aperture in the mattress and spring and a plastic disposable bag below the spring is threaded through the chute to fold over the funnel.

It is a further object to provide a removable plastic covered plug of resilient material which normally closes the aperture in the mattress at its upper end so as to be flush with the mattress surface for the comfort of the patient.

It is another object to provide a simplified waste disposal apparatus wherein the chute extends substantially to the top surface of the mattress and, wherein the disposable bag extends over the lower end of the funnel and is removably secured thereto.

It is another object to provide a waste disposal apparatus which includes a funnel disposed within and through the mattress and spring for use in conjunction with a bedpan slidably supported upon brackets on the under surface of the spring.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specification and claims in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

THE DRAWING:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a bed showing the conventional mattress, spring, frame and the present waste disposal apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a plan section taken in the direction of arrows 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the disposable bag and funnel as employed in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the disposable bag removably connected to the lower end portion of the funnel.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary schematic view of a modification illustrating the slide supporting of a removable bedpan axially below a funnel disposed through the mattress and spring.

It will be understood that the above drawing illustrates merely a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claims hereafter set forth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawing, a bed is generally indicated at 11 which may be a conventional bed or a hospital bed which includes spring assembly 13, a rectangular frame 15 and mounted thereover a conventional mattress 21 shown in cross section in FIG. 1.

Centrally disposed within the spring is a metallic ring 17, FIG. 2, approximately six to eight inches in diameter which is built into the spring using a series of spring segments 19 arranged in pairs of slightly different length than the conventional spring segments for supporting the ring and provide an aperture through the spring.

Projected through the mattress is a cylindrical bore 23 at the upper portion thereof which terminates in bore 25 which is tapered or of frusto-conical shape.

The tapered bore provides a support for the funnel 27 made of a plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride, polypropelene or polystyrene or other suitable plastic to define a chute. Tapered portion 29 of the funnel is supportably positioned upon the corresponding taper bore 25 within the mattress with the lower portion of the funnel depending through the spring and there below as shown in FIG. 1.

A suitable disposable plastic or rubber bag 31 is positioned below the spring with its throated upper end portion 33 threaded through and upwardly of the funnel or chute with its free edge folded over the upper rim of the funnel, as best shown in FIG. 3.

Within the cylindrical bore 23 of the mattress, and extending down into the funnel, there is provided a plug 35 of sponge rubber or other resilient material enclosed within a plastic washable cover 37 of vinyl or other plastic material. The top surface of the plug is flush with the top surface of the mattress, FIG. 1.

Within the cylindrical bore in the mattress at 23 there is provided and secured a flexible plastic sleeve 39 which is similarly washable for sanitary purposes. It is this sleeve which cooperatively receives the cylindrical portion of plug 35. Said plug may be cylindrical in shape.

MODIFICATION

A slight modification is shown in FIG. 4 where plastic disposable bag 31 at its upper end is mounted over the lower end of funnel 27 and secured thereto by a resilient fastener or elastic band 41.

In both situations FIGS. 3 and 4, after use, the bag is easily removed from the funnel with its upper end suitably sealed and tied up for disposal and a new bag replaced for use when needed.

MODIFICATION

A modified form of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5, wherein, the aperture through the mattress receives funnel 27. Depending from the spring are a pair of opposed guide support brackets 43 adapted to supportably receive the lateral flanges of removable bedpan 45.

Having described my invention, reference should now be had to the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a bed including a hospital bed having a frame, a spring and a mattress;

a waste disposal apparatus;

said mattress having an upright aperture therethrough cylindrical at the top and terminating in a frustoconical portion;

a funnel chute nested and supported within said aperture;

said funnel chute having a frustoconical upper portion cooperatively nested and supported in the frustoconical aperture of the mattress, and a cylindrical portion depending through and below said spring;

a plastic disposable bag depending axially below said spring having a throated upper end portion threaded through said funnel chute with its free open end folded over and retainingly engaging the funnel rim and suspended therefrom, said folded over portion of the bag being frictionally retained between the funnel chute and mattress;

and a plug of sponge rubber and having a washable plastic cover, snugly nested down into said mattress aperture with its top flush with the top surface of the mattress.

2. In the bed of claim 1, a sleeve of plastic material secured to the mattress within the mattress aperture.

3. In the bed of claim 1, the spring aperture being defined by a metal ring nested within and secured to said spring coaxial to and outward of said funnel chute.

4. In a bed including a hospital bed, having a frame, a spring and a mattress;

a waste disposal apparatus;

said mattress having an upright aperture therethrough cylindrical at the top and terminating in a frusto-conical portion;

a funnel chute nested and supported within said aperture;

said funnel chute having a frusto-conical upper portion cooperatively nested and supported in the frusto-conical aperture of the mattress, and a cylindrical portion depending through and below said spring;

a plastic disposable bag depending axially below said spring having a throated upper end portion threaded over the cylindrical portion of said funnel chute;

a resilient fastener surrounding said throated portion and funnel chute;

and a plug of sponge rubber and having a washable plastic cover snugly nested down into said mattress aperture with its top flush with the top surface of the mattress.