The present invention relates to chamber pot bowls that are used to receive excrement for disposal, and particularly, although not exclusively, relates to an easily portable child's chamber pot.

Chamber pots and chamber pots for children (often called potties) have been in existence for centuries. In more recent years, chamber pots have been developed which comprise a supportive rim and thin plastic liners of no fixed shape. These plastic liners, or bags, are intended to be disposed of after each use with the excrement contained therein. The use of bags that are disposable has disadvantages; disposable bags are not

environmentally friendly, are costly and are sometimes not convenient.

A chamber pot of the above type is disclosed in British patents GB 2218902 and GB2442198, and a bag suitable for use with the chamber pot is disclosed in GB 2243594.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved chamber pot bowl.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chamber pot bowl that is moveable between a collapsed storage state and an expanded in use state, where said bowl is made from a flexible liquid impermeable material that comprises at least one stiffer section and at least one less stiff section, where the at least one less stiff section can flex to permit the bowl to adopt the collapsed state.

A chamber pot bowl in accordance with the present invention has a bowl shape when in the expanded configuration. The stiffer section enables the excrement to be easily disposed of without spilling and thus enables the bowl to be reusable. In addition, by manufacturing the bowl from a suitable flexible impermeable material, it is possible to repeatedly collapse and expand the bowl, making the bowl easily portable. The flexible liquid impermeable material of the bowl comprises at least one stiffer section and at least one less stiff section and, preferably, this variation in stiffness is provided by a variation in the thickness of the flexible material of the bowl. This is advantageous as it enables the bowl to be integrally moulded as one piece, possibly by injection moulding, for example from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material.

Manufacturing the bowl from a single piece reduces production costs and reduces the chance of leakage.

The at least one stiffer section helps the bowl to maintain its shape when in its use state, particularly when the bowl is tipped up to be emptied. Preferably, the at least one stiffer section of the bowl is the central section. Additionally, this section is preferably in the form of a strip where, when the bowl is in its in use state, the strip forms side wall sections and a base section of the bowl. The central section is also preferably stiffer than any other base section of the bowl and, preferably, this central section is wider at the bottom of the base of the bowl than it is at a rim of the bowl.

The at least one less stiff section of the bowl can flex to allow the bowl to adopt a collapsed storage state, and when the bowl is in this collapsed state, pleats are preferably formed in the flexible material. These pleats are formed by the sections of the flexible material folding on top of each other. The sections of flexible material are preferably separated by small channels. These channels are areas of reduced thickness in the flexible material of the bowl and are said form fold guides. The presence of the fold guides is advantageous as these assist the collapse of the bowl to form a pleated structure. The fold guides are, preferably, provided on the outside surface of the bowl. This leaves the inside surface of the bowl substantially smooth when the bowl is in the in use state, resulting in the inside excrement receiving surface of the bowl being easy to clean.

The bowl may be shaped to fit onto a frame, the upper rim of the bowl being shaped to be secured over this frame, and the bowl having location bands for securing it to the frame. Preferably, the rim and location bands are integrally moulded with sections of the bowl. These connections ensure the bowl stays in place once it has been attached to the frame. Furthermore, the rim and bands retain the bowl in place on the frame and thus enable the bowl to be emptied whilst still attached to the fame.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chamber pot comprising a bowl as described above and a frame. It is possible to detach the bowl from the frame and, once detached, the bowl can then be collapsed. The frame of the chamber pot preferably comprises a seat portion and foldable legs secured to the seat portion. When the frame is in the storage state, the legs inwardly face each other. The legs can be unfolded so that they extend generally at right angles to the seat portion. In this (vertical) position the legs are said to be in the in use state. Additionally, it may be preferable to have a frame in which the legs can be folded to extend generally away from one another, to extend horizontally outwards from either side of the seat portion. This arrangement permits the frame to be used as a toilet training device without the bowl attached. The upper rim of the bowl is preferably shaped so that it can be secured over the seat portion of the frame, with the location bands arranged so that they fit over the front and rear portions of the seat. Additionally, the bowl is also preferably provided with location bands that are arranged to fit over the legs of the frame when the legs are in their in use (vertical) state.

A chamber pot bowl embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chamber pot bowl in its expanded in use state; Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the chamber pot bowl of Figure 1;

Figure 3 A to Figure 3H are perspective views of the bowl of Figure 1, but shown in various intermediate stages when changing from the expanded in use state to the collapsed storage state;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a frame for a chamber pot bowl, with the legs shown folded inwardly to face each other;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a frame for a chamber pot bowl, with the legs shown extending generally at right angles to the seat portion;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a frame of Figure 4, with the legs shown extending generally away from one and other; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a chamber pot bowl of Figure 1 in use with the frame of Figure 5.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a chamber pot bowl 1 generally comprises side sections 2a, 2b, 2c and a central section 3, fold guides 4, a rim 5, and location bands 6 and 7. In this figure, the bowl is in its expanded in use state 11.

As shown in Figure 2, the sections 2a, 2b, 2c and 3 of the chamber pot bowl can be made from different thicknesses of the flexible impermeable material of the bowl. In this example, the central (base) section 3 is thicker than the side sections 2a, 2b, 2c. The rim 5 is also thicker than the side sections 2a, 2b, 2c, and is of comparable thickness to the central (base) section 3.

Figures 3A to 3G illustrate a bowl collapsed from its expanded state. The first stage of this process, as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, involves bending the location bands 6 by 180° so that they lie flat against the rim 5, and bending the location bands 7 so they lie flat against the outer surface of the bowl. Then, as shown in Figure 3C, the bowl is compressed either side of the central section 3 until, as shown in Figure 3D, the rim is pushed towards the base portion of central section 3 to form the pleated structure of Figure 3E. The two ends 9 of the pleated structure are then folded towards the middle of the body of the pleated structure, as illustrated by Figure 3F. This process results in the bowl adopting the collapsed state 10 illustrated by figure 3G, where it may be slid into a conveniently shaped package to retain it in the collapsed state, as shown in Figure 3H. Indeed, the bowl could be sold in the package, in the collapsed state, to minimise transportation and distribution costs. A frame for the chamber pot bowl is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6. The frame comprises a seat portion 13, and foldable legs 14 secured to the seat portion. The frame can be folded to the positions shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 which show respectively the frame in its storage state 15, in its use state as a potty 16, and in its use state as a toilet training aid 17.

In the storage state of Figure 4, the legs 14 are folded to minimise storage space, enabling the frame and collapsed bowl to be easily transported together in a bag or other suitable container. In use as a toilet training aid, as shown in Figure 6, the frame bridges a conventional toilet seat, not shown, enabling a child to progress from using a potty to using the toilet, whilst still using the seat of the frame with which they have become familiar.

Referring to Figure 7, there is illustrated a chamber pot (or potty) comprising both the bowl 1 of Figures 1 to 3H, and the frame 12 of Figures 4 to 6. Here the bowl is in its expanded state, and the frame is in its in use state, where the legs 14 extend generally at right angles to the seat portion 13. The bowl is secured by the rim 5 and location bands 6 to the seat portion 13 of the frame, and location bands 7 secure the bowl to the legs 14 of the frame. The rim 5 and the location bands 6 and 7 retain the bowl in place on the frame and thus enable the bowl to be emptied whilst attached to the frame. The bowl can be detached from the frame and changed from its expanded state to its collapsed state, and the frame can be changed from its in use state to its storage state, or to its in use state as a toilet training device. Although the above description details a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that the various components described above may assume different configurations within the scope of the claims.