FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally related to biological diagnostic apparatuses, more specifically to biological diagnostic apparatuses activated by the user's urine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many medical diagnostic tests require the detection of specific components which are found in urine specimens. Most medical tests for the presence of components in the urine are conducted in a laboratory. However, there are many benefits to self-administered medical tests including decreased costs, saving of time and increased privacy. The most common example is that of the home pregnancy test which generally utilizes a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) indicator which changes color if hCG is found in the urine which is suggestive of pregnancy.

Despite the advantages of self-testing, the handling of urine and urine-ladened test devices is objectionable. First, a person taking the biological test has to hold the container, or sometimes the biological detection mechanism (strip carrying proteins), which may be unpleasant. Further, plastics containers for collecting the urine are problematic to reuse and/or recycle. Additionally, when urinating into the container having the biological detection mechanism therein, a large amount of urine generates a chemical reaction with the proteins, which may be too much, resulting in inaccurate tests, as the amount of specific materials exceeds a predetermined threshold due to the amount of urine touching the biological detection mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a disposable cup comprising a biological detection mechanism and an attaching element configured to attach the biological detection mechanism to the disposable cup. The mechanism may be activated in response to detection of urine, or another activating material associated with a specific person, such as blood, saliva or any other material desired by a person skilled in the art. The attaching element is also configured to prevent the activating material from touching an upper section of the biological detection mechanism.

The disposable cup may be formed of plastic, paper, recycled paper, or any other sheet of material used to produce disposable cups. The sheet of material may be covered by a covering material, or a material configured to improve the liquid impermeability of the cup. Such covering material may comprise polyethylene. The disposable cup size and shape are configured to enable a user to release urine into the cup. That is, the cup's opening has to be in a cross section area of at least 10-20 cm ² . Further, the height of the cup's sidewalls is at least 2.5 centimeters to prevent the liquid, for example the urine, to bounce back at the user. The total volume of the cup may be in the range of 150-250 milliliters, but may be higher or lower than the range according to a design or need of a person skilled in the art.

The biological detection mechanism may be configured to detect a status or value of the person associated with the activating material. The activating material may be liquid or fluid, or a combination of liquid and solid. The biological detection mechanism may detect presence of a material in the person's body or organ, may detect pregnancy, may be an ovulation test, may detect the presence of prohibited drugs, or provide any medical or biological diagnostic test resulting from ad-hoc analysis of the activating material.

The covering material may be in contact with both the cups' inner sidewall and the biological detection mechanism, being wider than the biological detection mechanism. In some exemplary cases, the covering material is impermeable, preventing fluid, such as water, blood, urine, or any body fluid or liquid to pass through and contact the upper portion of the biological detection mechanism. The covering material may comprise adhesive material as selected by a person skilled in the art. The covering material may be mechanically attached to the inner sidewall after the biological detection mechanism is placed next to the inner sidewall, for example using hooks, screws, pins, connectors of any type and the like. The covering material may be made of PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, PET and any other plastic material. The covering material may be transparent or semitransparent, to enable the user to view the output of the biological detection mechanism without removing the covering material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows an external view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows an upper view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention; and,

Fig. 4 shows an external view of a diagnostic apparatus having a perforated window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention discloses a biological diagnostic apparatus, comprising a disposable cup, a biological detection mechanism mounted on an inner sidewall of the disposable cup and an impermeable cover attached to the inner sidewall of the disposable cup and to an upper portion of the biological detection mechanism. The impermeable cover prevents fluid, such as urine, from touching the upper portion of the biological detection mechanism. The sidewall may have a window located near the biological detection mechanism, to enable a person or a camera to view the output of the biological detection mechanism outside the disposable cup. The window may be closed by a second cover located on an external sidewall of the disposable cup, to prevent the activation material from flowing outside the cup. The window is advantageous especially when the material activating the biological detection mechanism is unpleasant, such as urine used to diagnose pregnancy or ovulation, as well as other biological diagnostics. The user prefers to view the result without being close to the unpleasant material. In some other cases, at least a portion of the sidewall is transparent or semi-transparent, for example a piece of polyethylene attached to the sheet of paper used to manufacture the disposable cup.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The diagnostic apparatus 100 comprises a disposable cup having an inner sidewall 130 and an external sidewall 140. A biological detection mechanism 160 is placed on the inner sidewall 130, for example attached via an adhesive. In some cases, the adhesive is part of a cover configured to cover the upper portion of the biological detection mechanism 160, for example the upper 75 percent of the biological detection mechanism 160. The cover forces the liquid poured into the disposable cup to flow upwards using capillary power, to touch the biological detection mechanism 160. In some exemplary cases, the cover is configured to cover only a portion of the upper portion of the biological detection mechanism 160, routing the liquid poured by the user to the non-covered parts. The biological detection mechanism 160 may be a pregnancy test, ovulation test, or any biological diagnostic test. The biological detection mechanism 160 may provide a biological indication in the range of 5-300 seconds after receiving the liquid poured into the disposable cup. The biological detection mechanism 160 may be in a form of a strip, having a width in the range of 3-25 milliliters, and a height in an exemplary range of 1.5-6. The height is defined as a parallel line to the imaginary line from the cup's base until the cup's lips (240 of figure 2). The cup's external sidewall 140 is attached to a second cover 120, configured to prevent leakage of the activation material from the cup. The activation material may be urine, blood, biological material mixed with water or another liquid, configured to activate the biological detection mechanism 160. The output of the biological detection mechanism 160 may be displayed towards the center of the cup and towards the window 150, to enable the person to view the result also without holding the diagnostics apparatus 100, and/or from an external view of the cup's sidewall 130. The window may be positioned in a height and size that conform to an indicative part of the biological detection mechanism 160. For example, in case the entire biological detection mechanism 160 is 24 millimeters high and is mounted 10 millimeters from the cup's base, the window's distance from the cup's base may be in the range of 15-30 millimeters. The window 150 may be a void missing in the sheet of material forming the cup's sidewall 130, or a transparent or semi-transparent sheet connected to the sheet of material used to form the cup. In some cases, the entire sidewall is transparent or semi-transparent. When at least the window 150 is transparent or semi-transparent, and there is no need for the second cover 120, as the window itself blocks the liquid leakage.

In some exemplary cases, the window is created by the user and not during manufacture of the diagnostic apparatus. In such case, the area defined as the window 150 is perforated from the sheet of material forming the disposable cup 130, and when attaching the biological detection mechanism 160, the sheet forming the window protrudes from the sidewall and can be detached from the sidewall by the user. The sheet forming the window may protrudes outwards, away from the biological detection mechanism 160.

In some cases, the inner sidewalls provide an indication to a sufficient amount of activation material, such as urine or another liquid or fluid containing biological indicators. The indication on the inner sidewalls may be provided by printing graduation marks or scale marks. The indication may also be imprinted on the sidewalls. In case the graduation marks or scale marks are printed, the inner sidewalls may be covered in order to preserve the printing quality for a long time, and also preserve the printing after the urine touches the inner sidewalls. The inner sidewall cover may be made of a transparent material such as polyethylene, nylon, polypropylene, and any transparent impermeable material desired by a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 2 shows an external view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The disposable cup may be made of a single sheet of material comprising a base and a sidewall 210, extending from the base (330 of figure 3) to the lips 240. The external view shows the second cover 220 configured to prevent liquid leakage from the window 230 formed from the sheet of material. The process of manufacturing the diagnostic apparatus comprises forming the sheet of material in the desired size that includes both the base and the sidewall. Then, cutting a window in the sidewall. The method also discloses covering the window from the external sidewall and attaching the biological detection mechanism to the inner sidewall, for example using an adhesive and covering the upper portion of the biological detection mechanism using a first cover. The order of at least a portion of the steps disclosed above may vary according to various needs, technological requests and changes in manufacture mechanisms.

Fig. 3 shows an upper view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The cup comprises a base 330 attached to sidewall 340. In some cases, the base 330 and the sidewall 340 are made of a single sheet of material, folded into its end at folding point 350. Biological detection mechanism is attached to the inner sidewall 340 of the cup. An upper portion 325 of the biological detection mechanism is covered by a first cover 310 attached to the inner sidewall 340, while the lower portion 322 is exposed to the activation material that activates the biological detection mechanism. The first cover 310 covers a portion of the biological detection mechanism, enabling the liquid, for example urine, to flow upwards using capillary force. In some exemplary cases, the first cover 310 is adhered to the biological detection mechanism in its front surface, enabling the liquid to flow upwards from the lateral surfaces on both sides of the biological detection mechanism. This way, the activation material flows upwards on the strip that forms the biological detection mechanism.

Fig. 4 shows an external view of a diagnostic apparatus having a window in the cup's sidewall, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The diagnostic apparatus 400 comprises a window 425 in the cup's external sidewall 410. An upper portion 430 of the window 425 is designed according to a height and size of the biological detection mechanism 420. The window 425 is, configured to enable viewing an indicator 422 of the biological detection mechanism 420 from outside the disposable cup. Thus, the indicator 422 may be located on a rear section of the biological detection mechanism 420, closer to the sidewall of the cup, or viewable from the rear side of the biological detection mechanism 420. The biological detection mechanism 420 is wider than the window 425, such that when tilting the apparatus 400, the urine or other liquid does not spill through the window 425. When the biological detection mechanism 420 is printed on the inner sidewall of the cup, the indicator is viewed by the inner sidewalls 410.

In some exemplary cases, the diagnostic apparatus comprises a disposable cup having enzymes and/or proteins printed thereon, instead of having a biological detection mechanism protrudes from the sidewall.

In some exemplary embodiments, the cover is made of paper coated by a coating material. The coating is configured to react to an ultrasonic welding, in which acoustic signals vibrate the cover onto the biological detection mechanism, which may be a plastic stick, or may be embedded in the disposable cup.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but only by the claims that follow.