05/169232

07/17/1973

08/05/1971

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Cutter Laboratories, Inc. (Berkeley, CA)

4/144.200

229/117.130, 206/459.100, 229/117.320, 229/104

B65D5/10; B65D5/36; B65D5/46; B65D5/60; B65D25/56; G01F19/00; B65D5/02; B65D5/56; B65D25/00; B65D5/40; B65D5/60

229/41C,14B,14BE,14BW,62 4/110,112,111

3309008	Bedside and portable drainage collector	March 1967	Huck
3579653		May 1971	Kuhn

Moorhead, Davis T.

I claim

1. A collapsible disposable urine container comprising a unitary body including wall means adapted to form an open ended enclosure when said container is erected and a flat unit when said container is collapsed, said wall means including a plurality of hingedly connected wall panels, aid wall panels being provided with at least one score line spaced from and extending substantially parallel to the peripheral edges of said wall panels adjacent the open end of said enclosure, and bottom panel means hingedly connected to one end of said wall means and adapted to close one end of said open ended enclosure when said container is erected, said bottom panel means including two lock portions provided with cooperative locking means operative when said container is erected to lock said bottom panel means in position across one open end of said enclosure to hold said container in the erected state, and a flexible, liquid impervious bag having an open end secured to said wall panels and mounted for reception in the enclosure formed by said wall means, the portions of said wall panels above said score line being foldable over said score line to close the open end of said liquid impervious bag.

2. The collapsible disposable urine container of claim 1 wherein top locking means are mounted upon said wall panels, said top locking means being adapted to hold the portions of said wall panels above said score line folded over said score line to lock said liquid impervious bag in the closed position.

3. The collapsible disposable urine container of claim 2 wherein the open end of said liquid impervious bag is adhered to the outer surfaces of said wall panels in proximity to said core line.

4. A collapsible disposable urine container comprising a unitary body including wall means adapted to form an open ended enclosure when said container is erected and a flat unit when said container is collapsed, said wall means including at least six hingedly connected panels forming first and second hingedly connected front wall panels, first and second hingedly connected rear wall panels, a first sidewall panel hingedly connected between said first front and rear wall panels and a second sidewall panel hingedly connected between said second front and rear wall panels, said first and second front, side and rear wall panels being oppositely disposed but substantially aligned when said container is collapsed and adapted to form a substantially hexagonal enclosure when said container is erected, bottom panel means hingedly connected to one end of said wall means and adapted to close one end of said open ended enclosure when said container is erected, said bottom panel means including two lock portions provided with cooperative locking means operative when said container is erected to lock said bottom panel means in position across one end of said enclosure to hold said container in the erected state, and a flexible, liquid impervious bag formed of transparent material and having an open end secured to said wall panels, said bag being mounted for reception in the enclosure formed by said wall means and said first and second sidewall panels being provided with substantially aligned openings to permit observation of the contents of said bag.

5. A collapsible disposable urine container comprising a unitary body including wall means adapted to form an open ended enclosure when said container is erected and a flat unit when said container is collapsed, said wall means including at least six hingedly connected panels forming first and second hingedly connected front wall panels, first and second hingedly connected rear wall panels, a first side wall panel hingedly connected between said first front and rear wall panels and a second side wall panel hingedly connected between said second front and rear wall panels, said first and second front, side and rear wall panels being oppositely disposed but substantially aligned when said container is collapsed and adapted to form a substantially hexagonal enclosure when said container is erected, bottom panel means hingedly connected to one end of said wall means and adapted to close one end of said open ended enclosure when said container is erected, said bottom panel means including two lock portions provided with cooperative locking means operative when said container is erected to lock said bottom panel means in position across one end of said enclosure to hold said container in the erected state, a handle extending from between said first and second rear wall panels and support legs extending beneath said bottom panel means when said container is in the erected state, said support legs including a first support leg positioned at the juncture of said first and second rear wall panels and second and third support legs positioned at the junctures between said first side wall and front wall panels and said second side wall and front wall panels respectively, and a flexible liquid impervious bag having an open end secured to said wall panels, said bag being mounted for reception in the enclosure formed by said wall means.

6. The collapsible, disposable urine container of claim 1 wherein said wall means include at least six hingedly connected panels forming first and second hingedly connected front wall panels, first and second hingedly connected rear wall panels, a first sidewall panel hingedly connected between said first front and rear wall panels and a second side wall panel hingedly connected between said second front and rear wall panels, said first and second front, side and rear wall panels being oppositely disposed but substantially aligned when said container is collapsed and adapted to form a substantially hexagonal enclosure when said container is erected, said score line constituting a horizontal score line spaced from and extending substantially parallel to the peripheral edges of said wall panels adjacent the open end of said enclosure, said first and second front wall panels each being provided with a score line extending diagonally away from a point on said horizontal score line at the juncture therebetween and said first and second rear wall panels each being provided with a score line extending diagonally away from a point on said horizontal score line at the juncture therebetween, said diagonally extending score lines operating to permit the portions of said wall panels above said horizontal score line to be compressed together and folded flat over said horizontal score line to close the open end of said liquid impervious bag.

7. The collapsible disposable urine container of claim 6 wherein top locking means adapted to hold the portions of said wall panels above said horizontal score line folded together are provided upon said sidewall panels, said top locking means including a locking tab on each sidewall panel having a locking slot formed therein for engagement with the locking slot on the opposite locking tab, said locking tabs being adapted to be folded upwardly around, and engaged above the folded portions of said wall panels.

8. A multisided collapsible unit erectable by the application of oppositely directed compressive forces on hinged connections of said unit when in a collapsed condition to form an open ended enclosure having a locked bottom arrangement which provides a closed end to said enclosure comprising a unitary body including wall means adapted to form said open ended enclosure when said unit is erected and a flat unit when collapsed, said wall means including a plurality of hingedly connected wall panels and a plurality of bottom panel means hingedly connected to one end of said wall means and adapted to close one end of said open ended enclosure when said unit is erected, said bottom panel means including at least a pair of bottom flaps opposite to each other and permanently secured together to bridge one end of said enclosure when said unit is erected, and at least a pair of oppositely positioned lock portions provided with cooperative locking means engageable and operative when said unit is erected to lock said bottom panel means in position across one open end of said enclosure to hold said collapsible unit in the erected state.

9. The multisided collapsible unit of claim 8 wherein said oppositely positioned lock portions are dimensioned to move across said bridging bottom flaps to meet and engage in overlapping relationship to said bottom flaps.

10. The multisided collapsible unit of claim 9 wherein said wall means include at least six hingedly connected panels forming first and second hingedly connected front wall panels, first and second hingedly connected rear wall panels, a first side wall panel hingedly connected between said first front and rear wall panels and a second side wall panel hingedly connected between said second front and rear wall panels, said first and second front, side and rear wall panels being oppositely disposed but substantially aligned when said unit is collapsed and adapted to form a substantially hexagonal enclosure when said unit is erected, the bottom flaps of said bottom panel means including a first bottom flap extending from said first side wall panel, a second bottom flap extending from said second side wall panel in substantial alignment with said first bottom flap, portions of the adjacent surfaces of said first and second bottom flaps being joined to cause said flaps to bridge the space between said side wall panels when said unit is erected, and said oppositely positioned lock portions including a first lock portion extending from said wall means on one side of said joined first and second bottom flaps and a second lock portion extending from said wall means on the side of said first and second joined bottom flaps opposite to said first lock portion.

11. The collapsible, disposable urine container of claim 2 wherein said locking means includes a projecting locking member extending from said first lock portion and a locking member receiving slot formed in said lock portion to receive said locking member when the container is erected.

12. The multisided collapsible unit of claim 7 wherein includes a liquid impervious bag having an open end secured to said wall panels adjacent the edges of said wall panels which are opposite to said bottom panel means.

13. A hexagonal container comprising a unitary body erectable to form a locked bottom arrangement by application of oppositely directed compressive forces on the fold edges of said container when in a collapsed condition, said container, in its collapsed condition, including

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The increasing development and use of inexpensive, disposable medical instruments, utensils and supplies has resulted in a tremendous saving of time, space and money. It is no longer necessary for a medical institution to purchase, store, clean and repeatedly sterilize a large number of medical implements, and inexpensive, properly sterilized medical instruments and utensils are now readily available to the general public in disposable form. However, there are still many medical, laboratory and sickroom supplies which have not yet been effectively converted to disposable form, and among these are the urine specimen container and urinal.

The use of non disposable urine specimen containers and urinals renders necessary the extremely distasteful task of cleaning and sterilizing such containers after each use. Additionally, an excessive amount of space is required to store urine specimen containers and urinals in institutions where a large number of these containers are utilized. Although some of these containers are made of paper or plastic and are somewhat disposable, nevertheless they require considerable storage space. Therefore, there is a definite need for an effective, inexpensive, collapsible and disposable urine specimen container and urinal.

Unfortunately, the inherent nature of urine specimen containers and urinals as containers for a noxious liquid has discouraged the development of collapsible disposable containers for this use, for it is difficult to design such a liquid container which is not subject to leakage or spillage. To be effective, such a container must be simple to erect from a collapsed state and must not collapse while filled or in use.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved disposable urine specimen container and urinal which folds flat for shipment and storage but which may be easily erected for use. This container includes a novel bottom locking construction which is easily engaged in erecting the container to lock the container in an erected state and effectively prevent container collapse during use, as well as to provide a firm base to support a liquid impervious bag and the contents thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved disposable urine specimen container and urinal formed primarily from cardboard or similar inexpensive foldable material and a flexible bag of liquid impervious material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved disposable urine specimen container which is designed to be effectively sealed after use to permit movement and handling thereof without leakage or spillage and to minimize the escape or odor therefrom. This container is readily adapted for use by male or female users.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved collapsible container which, in the erected state, exhibits enhanced stability and support at the bottom portion thereof.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved collapsible container which, when erected, includes means for controlling fluid flow as liquid contained therein is poured into another vessel.

These and further objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon a consideration of the following specification and claims in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cut and scored blank for the urine specimen container of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the blank of FIG. 1 assembled to form a collapsed urine specimen container and an attached liquid impervious bag;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the first step in erecting the collapsed urine specimen container of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bottom of the urine specimen container of FIG. 3 before the bottom lock is engaged;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bottom of the urine specimen container of FIG. 3 after the bottom lock is engaged;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the urine specimen container of FIG. 3 in erected condition during sealing;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the urine specimen container of FIG. 3 in the erected and sealed state;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a cut and scored blank for a urinal embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the blank of FIG. 8 assembled to form a collapsed urinal; and

FIG. 10 is a view in side elevation illustrating the urinal of FIG. 8 assembled and resting in an inclined position for bed patient use.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an unassembled blank 10 constructed for assembly to form the hexagonal urine specimen container of the present invention. The blank 10 is a unitary blank of cardboard or similar foldable material which is scored to define six wall forming panels hingedly connected. These panels include rear panels 12 and 14 at opposite ends of the blank, side panels 16 and 18, front panels 20 and 22 separated by score lines 24a-g which define the corners of the assembled container. A handle assembly flap 26 is connected to the rear panel 12 by the score line 24a and includes a first handle panel 28 separated from a second handle panel 30 by a score line 32. The handle panels are provided with corresponding cutout sections 34 and 36 which align to form an opening through the handle assembly flap when the first handle panel is folded against the second handle panel about the score line 32. The second handle panel includes an extending leg tab 38 which forms a support leg when the urine specimen container is assembled.

An assembly flap 40 is connected to the rear panel 14 and separated therefrom by the score line 24g. This assembly flap includes a cutaway portion 42 which is designed to align with the corresponding cutout sections 34 and 36 when the assembly flap is inserted between the handle panels 28 and 30 after the handle panels have been folded together about the score line 32. The assembly flap is provided with an extending leg tab 44 which is adapted to fold against the leg tab 38 when the urine specimen container is assembled.

The bottom of the urine specimen container is formed by flaps or tongue shaped bottom panels 46 and 48 which are separated from the side panels 16 and 18 by score lines 50 and 52. A score line 110 extends diagronally across the lower portion of panel 46 to assist in the folding of the bottom panels when the container blank is assembled. These bottom panels cooperate with a lock panel 54 and a lock tongue 56 to close the bottom of the assembled urine container.

The lock panel 54 extends from the front panel 20 and is separated therefrom by a score line 58. A wing shaped aperture or slot 60 is centrally formed in the lock panel and is adapted to receive laterally extending lock tabs 62 formed on the end of the lock tongue 56. A central score line 64 divides the lock panel into opposed sections 66a and 66b.

The lock tongue 56 is separated from the rear panel 14 from which it extends by a score line 68, and is divided into two sections 70a and 70b by a central score line 72.

Support tabs 74 and 76 extend from the side panel 16 and front panel 20 and side panel 18 and front panel 22 respectively. The support tab 74 is centrally bisected by the score line 24c, while the support tab 76 is centrally bisected by the score line 24e. These support tabs cooperate with the extending leg tabs 38 and 44 to form support legs for the assembled urine specimen container.

An assembly tongue 78 extends from the rear panel 12 and is separated therefrom by a score line 80. This assembly tongue is designed to lie against the section 70b of the lock tongue 56 to impart additional rigidity to the lock tongue during the assembly of the urine specimen container. Similarly, an assembly tab 81 is separated from the front panel 22 by a score line 83. This assembly tab operates to strengthen the lock panel 54.

The side panels 16 and 18 support centrally located lock tabs 82 and 84 respectively which are connected to the supporting side panels at score lines 86 and 88. These lock tabs are provided with cutaway sections 90 and 92 which terminate in lock slots 94 and 96.

Two spaced, substantially parallel score lines 98 and 100 extend across the panels 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. Additionally, the rear panels 12 and 14 are provided with diagonal score lines 102 and 104 respectively which are inclined upwardly from the score lines 24b and 24f and which extend across the respective rear panel to the juncture between the score line 100 and the score lines 24a and 24g. Similarly, the front panels 20 and 22 are provided with diagonal score lines 106 and 108 which incline upwardly from the score lines 24c and 24e to an apex at the juncture between the score lines 24d and 100.

Preuse assembly of the blank 10 for shipment and storage in the form illustrated by FIG. 2 is accomplished by folding the blank back upon itself about the score line 24d to bring the assembly flat 40 against the under surface of the handle panel 30. Then the handle panel 28 is folded along the score line 32 to overlie the assembly flap, and the assembly flap is suitably secured to the under surfaces of both the handle panels 28 and 30. Opposed surfaces of the blank to be secured are preferably glued with pressure sensitive adhesive which is previously applied thereto, although other known adhesives may be employed.

The section 70b of the lock tongue 56 is folded back along the score line 72 to bring the back surfaces of the sections 70a and 70b together. This may be accomplished before the assembly flap 40 is brought against the handle panel 30, so that when the blank 10 is folded about the score line 24d, the outer surface of the lock tongue section 70b is brought against the under surface of the assembly tongue 78. The assembly tongue is then secured to the outer surface of the lock tongue section 70b.

Folding the blank 10 about the score line 24d must be accomplished by also folding the lock panel 54 back upon itself along the score line 64 so that the sections 66a and 66b thereof are brought into back-to-back aligned relationship. Similarly, the tongue shaped bottom panels 46 and 48 are brought into back-to-back aligned relationship. Now the tongue shaped bottom panels are secured together beneath the score line 110 in FIG. 2, and the under surface of the assembly tab 81 is secured to the outer surface of lock panel section 66b.

Finally, the open end of a liquid impervious bag 112 is secured to the outer surfaces of the panels 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 in the area of the score lines 98 and 100. This is accomplished by placing a glue line 114 below the score line 98, and then slipping the open end of the bag over the open end of the folded blank 10 and sliding the bag end down to a point between the score lines 98 and 100. The inner surface of the bag is now affixed to the blank by means of the glue line 114.

The bag 112 may be formed of any flexible, liquid impervious material, but preferably the bag is also constructed of transparent material. Once the bag is affixed to the folded blank, the bas is positioned within the blank between the inner surfaces of the panels 12, 16 and 20 and the opposed inner surfaces of the panels 14, 18 and 22. The flat, folded blank may be sterilized and is now ready for shipment and storage prior to use.

The urine specimen container may be easily converted from the flat folded state of FIG. 2 to a locked erected state for use by a user. As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, pressure applied by a user to the rear panels 12 and 14 and the front panels 20 and 22 of the folded blank of FIG. 2 causes the wall forming panels of the blank to define a hexagonal enclosure. As the wall forming panels move apart, the support tabs 74 and 76 extend downwardly to form support legs, which together with the support leg formed by the combination of tabs 38 and 44, form a stable tripod arrangement for the container. Also, as will be noted in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connected tongue shaped bottom panels 46 and 48 are drawn inwardly by the outward movement of the wall panels about the score lines 50 and 52. Simultaneously, the lock panel 54 and lock tongue 56 move inwardly about the score lines 58 and 68 respectively toward a locking position around the tongue shaped bottom panels. As the lock panel and lock tongue continue to move to a rest position over the tongue shaped bottom panels, the lock tabs 62 snap into place within the slot 60 and lock as illustrated in FIG. 5. This secures the lock panel and lock tongue together and locks the urine specimen container in the erected state.

As will be noted from FIG. 3, the open hexagonal mouth of the erected urine specimen container readily adapts this container for use by either a male or female user. Once a sample of urine or other material has been collected in the container, the upper portions of the container above the score lines 98 and 100 are compressed together and then folded over twice about the score lines 98 and 100 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The diagonal score lines 102 and 104 in the rear panels 12 and 14 and 106 and 108 in the front panels 20 and 22 permit the upper portions of the container to be compressed flat for folding about the score lines 98 and 100.

Since the open end of the liquid impervious bag 112 is secured below the score line 98, the folding of the upper portions of the front, rear, and side panels operates to effectively close the open mouth of the bag to retain the contents therein. To ensure the maintenance of this closure, the lock tabs 82 and 84 are folded upwardly about the score lines 86 and 88 and locked together. by means of the lock slots 94 and 96 above the folded upper portions of the container panels as illustrated in FIG. 7. The openings previously occupied by these lock tabs now facilitate visual observation of the contents within the closed, transparent bag.

With the specimen sealed within the specimen container as illustrated in FIG. 7, the container may be stored on a flat surface and may be readily transported to a laboratory or similar location where analysis of the contents is to occur. Access to the contents of the specimen container is easily obtained by unlocking the lock tabs 82 and 84 and unfolding the upper portions of the container to open the liquid impervious bag. The spout or lip created by the V-shaped juncture at the top of wall panels 20 and 22 allows contents of the bag to be poured conveniently without spilling or dripping into whatever vessel is required for performing analyses. Once analysis of the container contents is completed, the container may readily be disposed of.

The basic urine container of FIGS. 1-7 may be modified for a number of various uses without substantially departing from the basic constructional combination of the novel urine specimen container. For example, by altering the relative size and shape of some of the wall panels and providing a larger blank with rearranged diagonal score lines, a collapsible, disposable urinal for hospital and sickroom use may be provided. The basic blank for such a urinal is indicated generally at 120 in FIG. 8 wherein constructional features which are similar in structure and perform the same functions as constructional features in the blank 10 of FIG. 1 are indicated by like reference numerals.

In the urinal blank of FIG. 8, the overall blank will noramlly be of much larger size than the urine specimen container blank 10, and the relative wall panel shapes are somewhat different. For example, all wall panels are essentially the same width. This is not true in the urine specimen container blank.

In the urinal blank 120, observation slots 122 and 124 are provided in the side walls 16 and 18 and replace the locking tabs 82 and 84 of FIG. 1. Additionally, the upper peripheral edge 126 of the front panel 22 is diagonally cut away between the score lines 24d and 24e.

The front panels 20 and 22 of the blank 120 are provided with substantially arcuate score lines 128 and 130 respectively which extend between the score line 24d and the score lines 24c and 24e. A diagonal score line 132 extends substantially parallel to the panel edge 126 from the score line 130 across the side panel 18 to the juncture between the upper edge of this side panel and the score line 24f. A second score line 134 extends from the juncture point between the edge 126 of the panel 22 and the score line 24d to the juncture point between the score line 24c and the upper edge of the panel 20. A third score line 136 extends substantially parallel to the score line 134 from the arcuate score line 128 across the side panel 16 to the juncture point between the upper edge of the side panel and the score line 24b. It will be noted that the juncture point between the arcuate score lines 128 and 130 and the score line 24d is also the juncture point of the score line 134 with the panel edge 126.

FIG. 9 illustrates the urinal blank 120 of FIG. 8 in assembled but collapsed position prior to assembly for use. As in the case of the urine specimen container blank of FIGS. 1 and 2, the urinal blank 120 is assembled in the collapsed state by folding the blank about the score line 24d to bring the assembly flap 40 against the under surface of the handle 30. The handle panel 28 is then folded along the score line 32 to secure the assembly flap to the undersurfaces of the handle panels 28 and 30.

The section 70b of the lock tongue 56 is folded along the score line 72 in the manner described in connection with the urine specimen container blank of FIG. 2, and is secured against the undersurface of the assembly tongue 78. Also, the lock panel 54 is folded along the score line 64 and the tongue shaped bottom panels 46 and 48 are secured together below score line 110. The undersurface of the assembly tab 81 is secured to the outer surface of the lock panel section 66b in the manner previously described.

To this point, the assembly of the urinal blank 120 is identical to that of the urine specimen container blank 10 previously described. However, as will be noted in FIG. 9, the upper edge of the front panels 20 and 22 of the urinal are tapered downwardly, and this is accomplished by folding the upper corner of the front panel 20 downwardly about the score line 134 and gluing or otherwise securing the outer surface of this folded portion to the undersurface of the front panel 22. Thus, when the front panels 20 and 22 are brought together and the upper folded over portion of the panel 20 is glued to the undersurface of the panel 22, the edge 126 and score line 134 form the tapered upper front edge of the folded blank.

The flexible, transparent, liquid impervious bag 112 is then secured to the blank 120 along the glue line 114 as previously described, and is inserted within the enclosure formed by the flat blank. Both the urine specimen container and the urinal may be provided with graduated indicia 138 along one side panel thereof to provide an indication of the liquid volume container within the liquid impervious bag.

The collapsed urinal of FIG. 9 is assembled for use in the same manner as the urine specimen container illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, and the bottom locking structure of the urinal is identical in operation to that of the urine specimen container. The outer configuration of the erected urinal is slightly different from that of the urine specimen container in that the front wall of the urinal tapers downwardly to a point 140 in FIG. 9 and as the lock panel 54 moves rearwardly, the forward portion of the urinal below th point 140 inclines rearwardly, pivoting about the arcuate score lines 128 and 130. The urinal in its erected configuration may sit in a stable vertical position resting on legs 38, 74 and 76, or it may rest in a stable, inclined position supported on legs 74, 76 and apex point 140 as shown in FIG. 10. In this inclined position, the urinal may be easily employed by a patient confined to a bed.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel urine specimen container and urinal of the present invention may be economically formed from disposable material and may be folded flat for shipment and storage. However, the substantially self locking action of the bottom section of both the urine specimen container and urinal make these containers extremely simple to erect and use. This, combined with the top locking feature of the urine specimen container adapts the container for shipment from a use location to a location where analysis of the container contents is to be accomplished.

It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that a disposable container constructed in accordance with the present invention may be used to contain a variety of objects or substances, particularly where it is advantageous to hold and transport the contents in a sealed and locked condition.