| WO1985001864A1 | 1985-05-09 |
| US5664266A | 1997-09-09 | |||
| US4510631A | 1985-04-16 | |||
| GB1467455A | 1977-03-16 | |||
| EP1300124A2 | 2003-04-09 |
DATABASE WPI Derwent World Patents Index; Class P26, AN 1999-511499/43
DATABASE WPI Derwent World Patents Index; Class D22, AN 2002-181984/24
DATABASE WPI Derwent World Patents Index; Class D22, AN 2000-551708/51
DATABASE WPI Derwent World Patents Index; Class P21, AN 2001-633849/73
DATABASE WPI Derwent World Patents Index; Class P21, AN 1987-350218/50
| 1. | An accessory kit to transform a chair into a covered commode chair which can be emptied without the necessity to disturb the person sitting in it. |
| 2. | The seat as shown in FIG. 1 replaces the original seat and safely secured to the frame of the chair. |
| 3. | The cushion as shown in FIG. 2 rests upon the seat and is secured to the uprights of the chair. |
| 4. | The supporting frame as shown in FIG. 3 is secured into place under the hole in the seat and extends downwards to hold the receptacle. |
| 5. | The receptacle as shown in FIG. 4 is a jug which is made of a clear material to enable an attendant to see at a glance whether or not it has been used. |
| 6. | The loose cover as shown in FIG. 5 will be washable and will completely cover a chair. It has a rear flap which can be lifted to check or change the receptacle. |
| 7. | The underpants"nappy"as shown in FIG. 6 will be made of biodegradable plastic with a paper liner in the upper area to prevent irritation to sensitive skin. It will have tabs to enable it to be secured around the wearer and will have a tube instead of a gusset to enable the passage of wastes to the receptacle. This tube passes through the cushion and seat and down into the receptacle. |
| 8. | The track pant halves as shown in FIG. 7 will be made of windcheater material. They are designed this way to enable them to be put on or taken off a person who is either lying down or seated. |
| 9. | The leg rest as shown in FIG. 8 is designed to attach to the front legs of a chair and rest in any of three positions and will be able to be folded away when not in use it will have padding i. e. a mattress/cushion for comfort. |
| 10. | The table as shown in FIG. 9 will attach to the front of the arms of a chair and will be shaped and tilted slightly downwards to catch anything which may be spilled or dropped. |
| 11. | The items available in the kit are designed to work in conjunction with each other. The washable items i. e. loose cover, cushion cover, receptacle come in pairs to enable one to be worn and one to be washed. There are to be three sets of pants as they will require changing at least daily. |
Having been involved in the care of the elderly, disabled, injured, chronically ill over the past 30 years I have noted people who are unable to walk and who may or may not be incontinent can experience physical pain by having to be manhandled onto and off toilets or commodes, psychological pain by being unable to attend to their own needs and emotional pain by having their private parts uncovered and covered by others.
Attendants have over the years have had to manually lift people but now, in some situations, have lifting machines to move people about to attend to their toileting needs. Both scenarios are unpleasant for the person being lifted but if the lift is manual there is a great risk to the health and safety of both the lifter and the lifted.
It is often a very difficult task to make the decision to place a person into care i. e. hospital, nursing home, alternate accommodation and even harder to find a placement.
In order to maintain their health a person needs to keep their fluid intake up to keep kidneys flushed and remove waste from blood stream, they may also be taking diuretics to reduce fluid retention, this encourages the passing of waste therefore if a person needs to wear pads they need to be changed regularly this means there are a number of soiled pads being placed into garbage bins every day. It further means that garbage collectors are handling what could be highly infectious material and are placing it into tips or garbage disposal depots where it can be"handled"by any number of people, not to mention the amount of plastic going into such places.
If a person is wearing a pad they are prone to infection and or excoriation due to sitting in a wet or dirty pad. Those who have indwelling catheters are prone to penile or vaginal infection because there is tube (foreign body) inserted into their bladders.
These chair accessories are designed to do away with the need for pads and catheters to a large degree i. e. most would not be required during the day and in the event there was a catheter it would drain directly away into a receptacle the tube from a colostomy could also drain directly away.
These chair accessories are designed without dimensions as they are to be able to be fitted to new or existing chairs :-day ; wheel ; motorized; shower.
These chair accessories are designed to reduce the amount of manhandling experienced by a person in need of being cared for and to help preserve their comfort, modesty and dignity and to reduce the amount of lifting required from attendants/nurses. To reduce the amount of plastic and body waste being handled by garbage workers and being placed into landfill. To enable some people to remain at home instead of having to go into a care facility for as long as possible or even permanently. This reduces the anxiety of the person in need as well as their care givers.
These problems are overcome by this invention which provides for a person to be able to sit in comfort and maintain their dignity whilst actually being seated on a commode chair.
To assist in understanding the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one example of the invention.
In the drawings: FIG. 1. shows one example of a seat which is made of impervious material and has an oval and eccentrically situated hole through which the tube carrying the waste materials away will pass; FIG. 2. shows one example of a cushion which has a washable cover and an oval and eccentrically situated hole through which the tube carrying the waste materials away will pass ; FIG. 3. shows one example of a frame which attaches to the under side of the seat and holds the receptacle in place ; FIG. 4 shows one example of a receptacle which will be made of a clear material and will hold at least four litres of fluid ; FIG. 5 shows one example of a loose cover which is placed over a chair to hide the workings and preserve dignity of a person. It has a rear flap which is able to be lifted and secured whilst used receptacle is being replaced with an empty one; FIG. 6. shows one example of a pair of underpants"nappy"which has a tube at the crotch to transport the wastes to the receptacle. It is to be made of biodegradable material and has adhesive tabs to enable fastening about the wearer; FIG. 7. shows one example of a pair of halves of a track pant with tabs/ties to enable fastening about the wearer; FIG. 8. shows one example of a padded leg rest with three height adjustments and which fixes to the front legs of a chair; FIG. 9. shows one example of a table which attaches to the front ends of the arms of a chair and which is shaped to enable catchment of any spillage.
Summary of the Invention The invention provides in a first aspect an undergarment adapted to be worn by a person and to allow urination and excretion by the person while seated in a chair having a hole therein for urine and excreta to pass through into a receptacle below the hole.
In a second aspect the invention provides a further garment adapted to be worn by a user outside the said undergarment and to allow passage through the further garment of a chute or tube included in the said undergarment. The further garment is preferably made in joinable halves that enable it to be placed on a seated person without requiring the seated person to be lifted from, or to leave, a chair in which the seated person is seated.
In a still further aspect the invention provides a chair for an incontinent person the chair having: a seating surface with a hole suitably located for urine and excreta from the person to pass therethrough while the person is seated in the chair; and means for supporting a receptacle below said hole.
A loose cover of fabric or the like may be applied to the chair to enhance its appearance, in particular by concealing the receptacle. The loose cover has an opening or cutaway section to enable the receptacle to be exposed when a person is seated in the chair over the hole.
The invention provides, in a still further aspect a method for modifying a chair to enable the chair to be used by an incontinent person including the steps of: providing a chair as disclosed above.
The invention further provides a combination of the chair, loose cover, the undergarment, the outer garment, or any combination of some or all thereof.