US20140338110A1

US20140338110A1 - Traveler Urine Cup and Use Thereof

Info

Publication number: US20140338110A1
Application number: US13/897,395
Authority: US
Inventors: Sung F Huang; Shuzo Hirokawa
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-05-18
Filing date: 2013-05-18
Publication date: 2014-11-20

Abstract

The invention discloses a urine collecting system for collecting urine waste, comprising a traveler urine cup, wherein the cup comprises a top opening, a bottom opening, an elongate section between the top and bottom openings, and a reversible shut-off valve within the elongate section; and a receiving bottle container having an upper opening for receiving the urine waste from the cup.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a traveler urine cup having an opening with an angled shape adapted for reversibly fitting onto certain human being's body intimately for emergency urinary use. The cup is made of leak-proof plastic material with characteristics of being squeezable by hands or a pair of fingers to trigger a shut-off valve to open and unload the content of the cup, which valve is self-sealing tightly closed in default.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

We all have experienced urgent need for our body to urinate when work or walk away from home or traveling in a car under traffic jams where there is no available public restroom facilities. The present invention fulfills this kind of needs and does not have to wear the paper disposable diapers that need wrapping around our body before traveling.
Previous invention such as Disposable Urine Collector, patent application publication 2007/0270716, discloses using a collecting cup and sticking tape to be peeled off to stuck on the urine reservoir for disposal. This urine collector could be in danger of spillage when collecting urine, if the cup head or reservoir is accidentally squeezed.
The prior art, Disposable Urine Collection Device, U.S. Pat. No. 8,388,587, discloses using a diaper-like material pouch to collect urine. After use, the pouch may be folded and disposed of in a plastic bag. This device also could be in danger of spillage during its use and/or holding period when being wrapped for disposal.
The prior art, Retractable and Disposable Urinal, U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,388, discloses a plastic retractable tube formed by a plurality of convolutions, having the absorber polymer that can gelatinize very fast the urine collected.
The present invention provides a spill-free, sure-and-safe Cup with a shut-off valve for a traveler to collect urine in case of urgent need or emergency, and a container bottle that can lock on to the cup's cap-head to receive the urine load for disposal. The container bottle can be easily obtained in our daily life from any used drinking water bottles or the like available in any market.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a disposable traveler urine cup, also known as a urine collection device, having an upper opening with an angled shape that is configured to fit into human being's body appropriately, suitable for men or women, to receive urinating urine in case of urgency or urgent needs. The cup is made of relatively soft or semi-rigid leak-proof plastic material. The cup's body may be squeezed by a pair of fingers to trigger a built-in shut-off valve to open which is self-sealed or closed in default. The urine waste can be unloaded into a receiving bottle container when the shut-off valve is squeezed. After unloading the urine waste into a receiving bottle container, a matching bottle cap is provided to lock the bottle container and the waste urine along with the bottle is ready for disposal. The detached traveler urine cup may be water washed or cleaned for re-use, whereas a new bottle container may be easily obtained from our daily life of used drinking water bottles to receive the urine waste again.
Thus, the present invention gives the user a confidence of spill-free and a sense of recycling use of the water bottle, and most importantly, a simple traveling device prepared for urgent use during a traffic driving or home-away walking/traveling.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system for collecting urine waste from a human being, comprising: (a) a traveler urine cup, wherein the cup comprises a top section having a top opening, a bottom section having a bottom opening, an elongate section between the top and bottom sections/openings, and a manually reversible shut-off valve within the elongate section; and (b) a receiving bottle container having a bottle body, a single upper opening for receiving the urine waste from the cup, an upper section having optionally threads, and optionally a bottle cap. In one embodiment, the cup is disposable or is made of plastic non-absorbent material that enables the cup to be cleaned and re-used. In another embodiment, the top opening comprises a ring-like rim or edge boundary that is generally circular in shape, wherein the rim is in an angled shape with respect to a center line of the cup and wherein the top opening and/or the rim is configured to be disposed proximate to groin/genitals area of a person for collecting the urine waste. In a further embodiment, the rim is made of a cushioned tissue-like material for utmost comfort when in contact with human skin of a user.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system having a traveler urine cup, wherein the elongate section of the traveler urine cup is flexibly squeezable and has a self-sealing shut-off valve that is built-in along an interior side of the elongate section. In one embodiment, the shut-off valve is a two-leaflet or three-leaflet valve that is in a liquid-proof or leak-proof tightly closed position by default. In another embodiment, the cup further optionally comprises a simple on-off valve distal to the shut-off valve, wherein the volume of the elongate section between the shut-off valve and the on-off valve is configured to provide a reservoir adequate for temporarily storing at least one urinate loading from a user.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system, wherein the cup is generally made of a soft or semi-rigid leak-proof material. In one embodiment, the cup further comprises a distal section of funnel shape and wherein the distal section optionally comprises a threaded outer surface or a smooth outer surface. In a preferred embodiment, the distal section has an adaptive cap (also known as ‘auxiliary bottle cap’) proximal to the distal end of the cup, wherein the void surface of the adaptive cap faces the distal end for receiving the upper section of the receiving bottle during unloading of the urine waste from the cup at a later stage into the receiving bottle.
In one embodiment, the adaptive cap comprises a peripheral continuous female thread at an inner side of the bottle cap that intimately matches the male thread on an outer side of the threaded upper section of the receiving bottle for tightly closing and sealing the bottle with the adaptive cap during the urine unloading stage. In still another embodiment, the adaptive cap having the peripheral continuous female thread of the present invention forms a part of the cup by connecting or attaching onto the outer surface of the distal section of the cup.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system for collecting urine waste, comprising: (a) a traveler urine cup, wherein the cup comprises a top opening, a bottom opening, an elongate section between the top and bottom openings, and a shut-off valve within the elongate section, wherein the elongate section comprises an adaptive cap with a female thread; and (b) a receiving bottle container having a bottle body, an upper opening for receiving the urine waste from the cup, a threaded upper section with a matching male thread for receiving the adaptive cap, wherein the receiving bottle container is adapted to connect to the traveler urine cup via the adaptive cap. In one embodiment, the cup of the urine collecting system is disposable. In another embodiment, the cup of the urine collecting system is made of plastic non-absorbent material that enables the cup to be cleaned and re-used.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system, wherein the top opening of the cup comprises a ring-like rim that is generally circular in shape. In one embodiment, the rim of the urine collecting system is in an angled shape with respect to a center line of the cup and wherein the top opening is configured to be disposed proximate to groin/genitals area of a person for collecting the urine waste. In another embodiment, the rim is made of a cushioned tissue-like material for utmost comfort when in contact with human skin of a user.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system, wherein the elongate section is flexibly squeezable and has a self-sealing shut-off valve that is built-in along an interior side of the elongate section. In one embodiment, the shut-off valve of the urine collecting system is a two-leaflet or three-leaflet valve that is in a leak-proof closed position by default. In another embodiment, the cup of the urine collecting system further comprises a simple on-off valve distal to the shut-off valve, wherein the volume of the elongate section between the shut-off valve and the on-off valve is configured to provide a reservoir adequate for temporarily storing at least one urinate loading from a user.
Some aspects of the invention provide a urine collecting system, wherein the cup of the urine collecting system is generally made of a semi-rigid leak-proof material. In one embodiment, the cup of the urine collecting system further comprises a distal section and wherein the distal section comprises a threaded outer surface. In another embodiment the distal section of the urine collecting system is flexibly bendable. In still another embodiment, the bottle cap of the urine collecting system comprises a peripheral continuous female thread at an inner side of the bottle cap that intimately matches male thread on an outer side of the threaded upper section of the bottle for securely closing and sealing the bottle with the cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be best understood from the following Detailed Description of the Exemplary Embodiments, when read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a urine collecting system of the present invention, comprising a traveler urine cup and a receiving bottle.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a traveler urine cup for collecting the urine from a user of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a disposable urine collecting bottle that is adapted for unloading the urine content from a traveler urine cup of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows the shut-off valve of the present invention at a closed position when at default without being squeezed.

FIG. 5 shows the shut-off valve of the present invention at an open position when the cup is squeezed by fingers.

FIG. 6 shows stages of (A) unloading the collected urine to the disposable urine collecting bottle container; (B) providing a cap for sealing the bottle container; and (C) capping the urine collector for disposal of.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention described below relate particularly to description and disclosure of a urine collecting system comprising a traveler urine cup comprised of an upper opening for receiving the urine from a human being and a lower opening for unloading the collected urine waste to a disposable receiving bottle container, whereas the cup is equipped with a self-sealing shut-off valve to open and unload the liquid content in the cup to a receiving bottle container, which valve is tightly closed and leak-free in default. While the description sets forth various embodiment specific details, it will be appreciated that the description is illustrative only and should not be construed in any way as limiting the invention. Furthermore, various applications of the invention, and modifications thereto, which may occur to those who are skilled in the art, are also encompassed by the general concepts described below.
As depicted in FIGS. 1-6, the present invention is directed to a traveler urine cup that is disposable and/or reusable after cleaning. The traveler urine cup of the present invention comprises a top opening at the proximal end of the top section, a bottom opening at the distal end of the bottom section, and an elongate section in therebetween, wherein the elongate section is flexibly squeezable from opposite sides at appropriate points of the cup and has a self-sealing shut-off valve. The top opening and/or its ring-like rim has an angled shape adapted for reversibly fitting onto human being's body intimately for urinary use, wherein the cup is made of soft or semi-rigid plastic material with characteristics of being squeezable by a pair of fingers or hand(s) at its elongate section to trigger a self-sealing shut-off valve to open which is tightly closed in default without squeezing. The traveler urine cup is configured for ease of use when on the go and ready of unloading at an appropriate time.
As discussed briefly above, the cup 10 is generally made of a semi-rigid leak-proof material having a single opening 11 at the top (proximal end) section to receive or collect urine waste from a user and a single opening 12 at the bottom (distal end) section to unload or discharge urine waste to a container when so desired. The top opening 11 or the ring-like rim 14 at the top opening with an angled shape with respect to a center line 15 of the cup is configured to be disposed proximate to the groin/genitals area of a person for collecting urine. In a preferred embodiment, the ring-like rim or edge 14 of the urine cup 10 is generally circular or the like in shape. The elongate section 13 of the cup between the top opening 11 and the bottom opening 12 forms a leak-proof tube. The rim 14 of the top opening may be made of a cushioned tissue-like material or the like for utmost comfort when in contact with human skin of the user.
FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a traveler urine cup for collecting the urine from a user of the present urine collecting system. As described, the cup 10 comprises an elongate section 13 having at least one built-in valve 16, wherein the circular peripheral boundary of the built-in valve is tightly attached and securely sealed onto and along the interior surface of the elongate section to form a leak-proof circular boundary between the valve and the interior surface, which boundary line 23 is substantially horizontal with respect to the center line 15. In one embodiment, the valve is a bi-leaflet valve or a tri-leaflet valve or the like, which valve is in a leak-proof closed position by default. The valve itself is resilient or flexible such that the leaflet(s) 17 of the bi-leaflet valve or the tri-leaflet valve is movable between an open position with a clearance 25 when being squeezed by a pair of fingers, fingertips or other simple squeezing devices at certain appropriate points 24 a, 24 b of the elongate section 13 and a closed position at a default state. In one embodiment, the valve default position is defined as ‘the mouth, clearance or opening between leaflets returns to the closed position in a leak-free manner once the pressure exerted by squeezing fingers is released’. In another embodiment, the valve is a self-sealing leak-proof valve that can be opened by squeezing the appropriate middle section of the elongate section 13. In one embodiment, the leaflets are made of silicone or other elastic polymers.
In a similar manner, a self-sealing, shut-off valve may be incorporated into any other cup cover, cup lid or the like of any liquid-filled semi-rigid container or the liquid-filled container itself to provide a convenient opening or the flow-through means by fingers' squeezing without any concern of spillage when at default.
In one embodiment, the cup 10 is made of plastic non-absorbent material that enables the cup to be cleaned and re-used. In another embodiment, the cup contains absorbent material which allows the transfer and distribution of urine to be temporarily absorbed during the urine collecting stage for later disposal.
As described, the cup 10 further comprises a distal section 18, wherein the distal section optionally comprises a threaded outer surface 19 that is configured to adaptably receiving an auxiliary bottle cap 20 a (also known as ‘adaptive cap’) having a central opening with central male threads to intimately match the counterpart female threads on the threaded outer surface 19 of the distal section of the cup, wherein the auxiliary bottle cap 20 a is identical to the bottle cap 20 b of the urine receiving bottle 30 except that the auxiliary cap 20 a has the central male threads. In one embodiment, the outer surface 19 of the distal section 18 of the cup is without threading. In a further embodiment, the auxiliary bottle cap 20 a is a permanent body of the cup 10 so both of the bottle cap 20 b and the auxiliary bottle cap 20 a have female threads to adaptably receive the bottle head 32 of the receiving bottle 30, wherein the bottle head 32 has matching male threads toward the female threads of the bottle cap 20 b and/or the auxiliary bottle cap 20 a.
In a preferred embodiment, the distal section 18 is with a flexible neck formed by a plurality of convolutions. The flexible distal section enables a user to bend the cup at an angle most suitable to the user's need.
Optionally, the cup 10 further comprises a simple on-off valve 21 distal to the shut-off valve 16, wherein the optional on-off valve may be operated manually. The volume of the elongate section 13 between the shut-off valve 16 and the on-off valve 21 is configured to provide a reservoir 22 enough for temporarily storing at least one urine loading from the user, for example about 100 ml to 1000 ml. In any urgent case, the collected urine waste can be stored inside this reservoir until any later convenient time for unloading the urine to a receiving bottle container for disposal. This is for protection of accidentally squeezing the cup, still with leak-proof protection.
FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a disposable urine collecting bottle that is adapted for unloading the urine content from a traveler urine cup of the present urine collecting system. The receiving bottle container 30 comprises a bottle body 33, a single opening 31 at its upper end, a threaded upper section 32, and a bottle cap 20 b for separate use later. The bottle cap 20 b comprises a peripheral continuous female thread (not shown) at the inner side of the cap that intimately matches the male thread on the outer side of the threaded upper section 32 for tightly closing/sealing the bottle 30 with the cap 20 b. In one preferred embodiment, the urine collecting bottle 30 is connected securely to the cup 10 via the auxiliary bottle cap 20 a and forms an integral part of the urine collecting system. In this case as shown in FIG. 1, the whole urine collecting system is disposed of after use.
FIG. 4 shows the shut-off valve of the urine collecting system of the present invention at a closed position when at default without being squeezed, whereas FIG. 5 shows the shut-off valve of the present invention at an open position with a flow-through opening 25 between the leaflets 17 when the cup 10 is squeezed by fingers at opposite points 24 a, 24 b, of the cup 10.
FIG. 6(A) shows the matching mechanism to reversibly secure the bottom disposable urine collecting bottle 30 with the top travel urine cup 10 during the step of unloading collected urine from the cup to the collecting bottle container. In another embodiment, the urine collecting system comprises the cup 10 and the receiving bottle 30 that is securely connected to the cup via an auxiliary bottle cap 20 a to form an integral system.
In operations, a user disposes the ring-like rim 14 of the urine cup 10 proximate to the groin/genitals area of a person gently for collecting urine. In one preferred embodiment after urine waste 34 is collected into the cup, gently squeeze the cup to open the shut-off valve so to release the urine into the reservoir while the on-off valve 21 is in closed state. Optionally, there is an intermediate stage for temporarily storing the urine loading before unloading to a receiving bottle container at a later time. In another embodiment after urine waste is collected into the cup, connect the upper opening 31 of the receiving bottle container 30 to the distal opening 12 of the cup 10 via the auxiliary cap 20 a securely. Thereafter, squeeze the cup by fingers or a hand to open the shut-off valve 16 and/or optionally open the on-off valve 21 to unload the urine waste from the cup 10 to the receiving bottle 30. Once the urine is completely unloaded, detach the bottle 30 from the cup 10 and seal the bottle 30 using a bottle cap 20 b (FIGS. 6A-6C). Then dispose of the urine-containing bottle lately. As described, the cup can be disposed of or reused. FIG. 6 shows stages of (A) unloading the collected urine 34 to the disposable urine collecting bottle container 30; (B) providing a cap 20 b for sealing the bottle container; and (C) capping the urine collector bottle 30.
In another preferred embodiment, the urine collecting system is one piece as shown in FIG. 1. In operations, a user disposes the ring-like rim 14 of the urine cup 10 proximate to the groin/genitals area of a person gently for collecting urine. Simultaneously, gently squeeze the cup to open the shut-off valve so to allow the urine to flow naturally into the receiving bottle 30, wherein the system has no on-off valve or the on-off valve is open during this operation. As described, the distal section 18 is bendable.
Some aspects of the invention relate to a urine collecting system for collecting urine waste, comprising: (a) a traveler urine cup, wherein the cup comprises a top opening, a bottom opening, an elongate section between the top and bottom openings, and a shut-off valve within the elongate section; and (b) a receiving bottle container having a bottle body and an upper opening for receiving the urine waste from the cup. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a urine collecting system of the present invention, comprising a traveler urine cup and a receiving bottle.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific details of certain embodiments thereof, it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention except as and to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A urine collecting system for collecting urine waste, comprising: (a) a traveler urine cup, wherein the cup comprises a top opening, a bottom opening, an elongate section between the top and bottom openings, and a shut-off valve within the elongate section, wherein the elongate section comprises an adaptive cap with a female thread; and (b) a receiving bottle container having a bottle body, an upper opening for receiving the urine waste from the cup, a threaded upper section with a matching male thread for receiving the adaptive cap, wherein the receiving bottle container is adapted to connect to the traveler urine cup via the adaptive cap.

2. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the cup is disposable.

3. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the cup is made of plastic non-absorbent material that enables the cup to be cleaned and re-used.

4. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the top opening of the cup comprises a ring-like rim that is generally circular in shape.

5. The urine collecting system according to claim 4, wherein the rim is in an angled shape with respect to a center line of the cup and wherein the top opening is configured to be disposed proximate to groin/genitals area of a person for collecting the urine waste.

6. The urine collecting system according to claim 4, wherein the rim is made of a cushioned tissue-like material for utmost comfort when in contact with human skin of a user.

7. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the elongate section is flexibly squeezable and has the shut-off valve that is built-in along an interior side of the elongate section.

8. The urine collecting system according to claim 7, wherein the shut-off valve is a two-leaflet or three-leaflet valve that is in a leak-proof closed position by default.

9. The urine collecting system according to claim 7, wherein the cup further comprises a simple on-off valve distal to the shut-off valve, wherein volume of the elongate section between the shut-off valve and the on-off valve is configured to provide a reservoir enough for temporarily storing at least one urinate loading from a user.

10. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the cup is generally made of a semi-rigid leak-proof material.

11. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the cup further comprises a distal section and wherein the distal section comprises a threaded outer surface.

12. The urine collecting system according to claim 11, wherein the distal section is flexibly bendable.

13. The urine collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the bottle cap comprises a peripheral continuous female thread at an inner side of the bottle cap that intimately matches male thread on an outer side of the threaded upper section of the bottle for securely closing and sealing the bottle with the cap.