AU673128B2

AU673128B2 - Improvements in personal waste receptacles (floor inset)

Info

Publication number: AU673128B2
Application number: AU42040/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: William Adamson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-02-01
Filing date: 1996-01-18
Publication date: 1996-10-24
Anticipated expiration: 2016-01-18
Also published as: AU4204096A; WO1997038176A1

Description

_111_11 PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Related Art: e4 e .°'Priority: Related Art: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: 0 TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT William Adamson Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: 103 Prince Edward Park Road WORONORA NSW 2232 Actual Inventor: AS ABOVE Address for Service: ANDERSON-TAYLOR ASSOCIATES, Registered Patent Attorneys of 10 Harrison Avenue BONNET BAY N.S.W. 2226 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: IMPROVEMENTS IN PERSONAL WASTE (FLOOR INSET)

RECEPTACLES

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -1- This invention relates to personal waste receptacles and more particularly discloses an improved form of toilet or water-closet which assists in the evacuation of the user' s bowel.

Conventional toilets typically comprise a flushable pan or bowl which is located below and in front of a water cistern. The rim of the bowl and overlying seat are substantially horizontal and arranged so that the user sits in a generally upright position with feet on the floor, thighs horizontal and back straight at about ooo e e degrees to the thighs. It is an established medical fact however that such position is not particularly conducive to evacuation of the bowls. Indeed the squatting posture e• oooe adopted in some primitive rural communities where defecation is often undertaken without any toilet ooeoe: "facilities is considerably better adapted for bowel movement.

It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages and accordingly there is disclosed a waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel, said receptacle having a front, a rear, a base and a seat means for supporting the user's buttocks over said receptacle, the base of said receptacle being adapted for placement into an aperture or depression in a toilet room floor whereby the seat means may be sloped downward toward said rear and is at a height which constrains the user to adopt -2the aforementioned squat-like posture with the knees drawn up toward the chest and elevated relative to the buttocks.

Preferably said base is formed with a lip which overlies the edge of said aperture or depression to stabilise the receptacle when in place.

It is further preferred that the lowermost surface of the base be formed to provide a flat bearing surface whereby .*TT the receptacle may be stood on a floor for display or e ee storage purposes.

oe The currently preferred form of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings in eo e which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a waste e receptacle according to this concept, **"Figure 2 shows a front view of the waste oeeee: receptacle of figure i, Figures 3 and 4 show side views of the waste receptacle when installed in the inclined and horizontal positions respectively, Figures 5 and 6 are side views of the waste receptacle showing the posture of the user in two different inclined positions, I. ~1 Figure 7 shows a lurther front view of the waste receptacle with the toilet seat, cover and cistern installed.

The toilet 1 shown in this case comprises a pan 2 and sewer connection 3 with the water cistern, seat and cover being omitted in figures 1 to 4 for simplicity of illustration. The upper rim 4 of the pan or bowl is sloped downwardly toward the rear 5 at an angle in figure 3 of about 10 degree§. Other angles of slope however may also be used. The base 6 is shaped for placement into a depression or aperture 7 in the toilet floor 8 and is supported in this position by a lip or ridge 9 which extends around the base part way up from the bottom. This overlies the edge of the depression 7 and ensures a stable mounting and support for the toilet.

When the bowl is placed into the floor in this manner say for example to a depth of about 180 mm the rim 4 is lowered sufficiently that a user is constrained to adopt the aforementioned squat-like position The invention however is not limited to any specific degree of inset into the !loor as this may be changed according to design preference or the requirements of the user. For example as shown in figure 4 concrete fill 10 may be inserted under the rear lip of the bowl to raise it above the Iloor surface to provide a substantially horizontal rim 4 if desired.

I the lip 9 isnt an angle which is not horizont al to either the base or the rim 4. This allows the installer to set the bowl in a position so that the rim can be either horizontal to the floor or at an angle causing the rim to be inclined downwards toward the rear.

Preferably as shown in figures 5 and 6 the bottom section of the bowl extends forward to form a built-in footrest To facilitate use by small children so that they can adopt the natural squatting posture at once and prevent future bowel problems such as kinking of the colon which o occurs.when using conventional toilets, Preferably the lowermost surface of the toilet receptacle is formed into a flat bearing surface 11 of sufficient size to provide a stable support when the toilet is placed on a floor for display or storage.

As best shown in figures 5 and 6 a user 12 is constrained to raise his thighs 13 relative to his buttocks 14 and assume a slightly doubled up or squat-like posture as shown. It h;s been found through extensive experimentation by the inventor that such position substantially eases the emptying of the bowel which otherwise with persons of all ages can be a partic larly slow and often unsuccessful ordeal to tl h cxtent that tlhe i h.ealth is adversely affected.

Although the invention is not restricted to any specific mode of operation it is believed that the squat-like posture required when using the toilet enables the sphincter and puberectalis muscleswhich controls the opening and closing of the bowel to relax. Therefore less exertion if any is needed to cause a bowel movement.

This Ln turn reduces the chances of constipation, cancer of the colon, haemorrhoid development and other related ailments.

It will thits be appreciated that this invention at least in the form of the embodiment described provides a novel and useful improvement to toilets. Clearly however the particular example disclosed is only the currently *o preferred form of this invention and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example the slope of the toilet bowl rim is not limited to any particular value so long as it is sufficient to provide the required squatting posture while at the same time not causing undue discomfort or instabitity for the user. -6-

Claims

2. The waste receptacle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lowermost surface of said base is shaped to provide a flat bearing surface so that the receptacle during display or storage may be stood on a floor.
3. The waste receptacle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the base extends forward to form a built-in footrest.
4. The waste receptacle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the seat means is inclined at an angle of about degrees to said lip. A waste receptacle for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel, said receptacle being substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings. Dated this l8thday of June, 1996 William Adamson By His Patent Attorney MICHIAEL ANDERSON-TAYLOR ABSTRACT There is disclosed a waste receptacle 1 for receiving the evacuated contents of a user's bowel. The receptacle has a front, a rear 3, a base 6 and a seat means 4 for suporting the user's buttocks 14 over said receptacle. The base 6 of the receptacle is adapted for placement into an aperture or depression 7 in a toilet room floor 8 so that the seat means 4 may be sloped downward from the front to the rear and the height of the seat oo.* means constrains the user to adopt a squat-like posture with the knees drawn up toward the chest and elevated relative to the buttocks. 0 o a C. C