Disposable bag toilet

Aug. 6, 1957

Filed Aug. 9, 1954

G. A. LA GORGE ET AL

DISPOSABLE BAG TOILET

2,801,426

Sheets-Sheet 1

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2,801,426

Aug. 6, 1957

G. A. LA GORGE ET AL

DISPOSABLE BAG TOILET

Filed Aug. 9, 1954 ² Sheets-Sheet 2

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<td> \ 40 N^i-41 । -¹i FIG---7</td><td> w ' Jr ¹⁰ GERALD A. LA GORCE PAUL DOUGLAS LA GORCE INVENTOR.</td>

2,801,426

Patented Aug. 6, 1957

United States Patent Office

A further object of our invention is to provide a portable toilet which may be employed with a more or less permanently mounted supporting bracket, or the same may be wholly supported on a plurality of legs.

A further object of our invention is to provide a portable toilet which will hold a disposable bag in convenient open position for use and at the end of the use means are provided for automatically closing the bag with a calculated amount of applied effort so that a secure closure 10 will be effected and the bag will not be torn or injured through the application of an indeterminable amount of force which might be employed by various individuals.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the draw15 ings, Or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in Which our toilet is supported as from a wall and illus20 trating the manner in which the disposable bag is secured in position for use;

Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 but showing the unit complete in its position for use;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the action of 25 our toilet arrangement after it has been used and illustrating the manner in which the bag is securely closed;

Figure 4 is a bracketed view with certain parts broken away, and shown in section, illustrating a preferred form of wall bracket and that portion of the bag holding rim 30 which coacts with the wall bracket;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view partly in section illustrating the latching means for the front end of the toilet :seat;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in 35 section, illustrating the manner in which the front legs are anchored and held firmly in position when the device is being 'used; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the manner in which the draw strings are secured in readiness 40 for use.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure m the drawings, the numeral 10 designates the seat supporting rim which may be made of any suitable material that is both light in weight and has the required strength. Metal ⁴⁵ such as the various aluminum alloys has proved very satisfactory and also certain of the moldable plastic materials. To support the front of the rim a tubular frame 12, forming a dual leg, is employe! having the floorengaging bar 14 and the two vertically disposed portions ⁵⁰ as 16 and 17. These latter portions of the leg member 12 should be suitably and firmly anchored in ring 10, as by means of the bosses indicated at 20 and probably best shown in Figure 6. The rear of rim 10 has an extension, probably best illustrated in Figure 4, in which ⁵³ an outwardly extending portion 22 is provided as a connecting means to supporting bar 24. This bar is provided with a plurality of openings 26 arranged to accept a second dual leg member, as 30; or where the device is to be used in semi-fixed positions, a wall mounted bracket ⁶⁰ 32 is provided. This bracket is provided with suitable openings for screws, as 34, and is further provided with two upstanding detents, as 36 and 37, which also are adapted to engage openings 26 of the T-shaped support bar 24. It follows that a device of this order, if it is ⁶⁵ going to have general utility, should be usable in various combinations of legs 12, 30, or bracket 32, consequently they should all be easily removable from rim 10. Rim 10 is further provided with an angularly disposed slot 40 which terminates in an upwardly directed portion, as 41, which finally is swelled out into the preferably circular opening 42. This arrangement is employed in the bag closing operation which will be explained in detail.

2,801,426

DISPOSABLE BAG TOILET

Gerald A. La Goree and Paul Douglas La Goree, Bellevue, Wash.

Application August 9,1954, Serial No. 448,458

Claims. (Cl. 4—142)

This present invention relates to the general art of light weight or portable toilets and, more particularly, to a form of toilet which uses an impervious bag supported beneath a more or less conventional toilet seat so that the bag is in an open condition ready for use. After use, by unlocking a hold-down latch on the toilet seat, and releasing the same, the seat is carried upwardly by a spring and in so doing, pulls the draw strings closing the bag. With the bag closed, all odors are confined and the same may be disposed of by any convenient means.

Due to the general migratory instincts of the general public and particularly families, there are many occasions when adequate toilet facilities are not available. This is a matter of some real concern partcularly when children or invalids are involved. A great many people take their families camping or on extended fishing or vacation trips and they endeavor usually to seek out less frequented spots and under these conditions sanitary toilet facilities are not available. There is further the general educational plan directed to having persons using outlying areas responsible for the cleaning up of their camp grounds so that there will be less need to put them in sanitary conditions for subsequent users. Our light weight portable toilet arrangement is ideally suited for use under such conditions and all that is required after using the device is that the bag containing excretion and the like be buried.

More persons than ever before are taking to the water in relatively inexpensive boats. Such boating facilities have largely resulted from the decreased cost of the small cruisers and the like due to the employment of t outboard motors as the prime movers. Now such boats owe their speed and efficiency to their light weight and they must, of necessity, be kept small in order that these outboard motors can drive them at reasonable speeds. Whereas, the more conventional inboard power cruisers have flushable toilets and the like, these units are heavy, expensive and take up considerable space. On the other hand, our portable toilet folds into a very compact package and needs only to be unfolded when use is intended. It has no pumps or other flushing means which involves the use of heavy castings and the like. Consequently, particularly due to its light weight and convenience, our toilet especially well serves this field of use. It has an added advantage in that the toilet facilities may be used and the odor-proof bags retained for a reasonable time so that there will be no fouling of certain restricted waters. This is a special need and one not served by the conventional marine toilet.

There are many uses for a unit which will provide toilet facilities in a portable form, particularly with children. Our present toilet can be used on the floor of an automobile while the same is either moving or parked. Such a use is a very great convenience.

The principal object of our present invention therefore is to provide a light weight, foldable, portable toilet which employs, in a very convenient manner, a disposable impervious bag.

2,801,426

Fixedly secured to the rearwardly disposed bar 24 of rim 10 is a one leaf spring hinge 46 having an internal spring subject to adjustment by means of the pin locked ring 48 similar to the type of hinge used on the better grade of screen doors and the like. Secured to the movable leaf 50 of hinge 46 is the toilet seat 52. This may be formed substantially after the mode of making toilet seats and as lightness is a desirable attribute, it has been found convenient to make seat 52 of marine type waterproof plywood. On the underside of the rim seat 52 is a resilient gasket 54 which should conform accurately to the contour of rim 10 so that it will seat securely thereon.

Also secured on the underside of seat 52, and outwardly from gasket 54, is a spring closing latch member 56. This latch is composed of bracket member 58 secured fixedly to seat 52 and the pivoted pawl member 59. Pawl member 59 is, in turn, adapted to operatively engage latch 60 which is adjustably secured to ring 10. This latch assembly holds seat 52 in its using position, after the showing of Figure 2, against the urgence of spring hinge 46 which at all times tend to raise the seat.

Normally disposed within the opening provided by ring 10 is an impervious bag 64. This bag, in addition to being impervious, should preferably be translucent or opaque for obvious reasons. Various types of material ²⁵have proven satisfactory for this use among which are the flexible sheet plastics, plastic impregnated cloth or paper, and certain types of waterproof, flexible paper are also satisfactory. In the upper or open end of bag 64, we provide a double hem so that two independent ³⁰but co-acting, draw strings as 66 and 67 may be employed.’ The general arrangement of these draw strings is similar to the well-known draw string arrangement in a Bull Durham tobacco sack. It is desirable that the draw string be positioned down an inch or two from the top so sufficient of the bag’s upper margin will be free to fold over ring 10 as shown in Figure 1. Such an arrangement has been found to give the greatest certainty of a positive closure and one in which the effort of the two strings moving in opposite directions loop within each ⁴⁰other so that the final tightening brings the two loops together and thus any over stressing of the closing of the bag is taken by the strings themselves and therefore any damage to the bag material is reduced to a minimum Tffie double draw strings are brought out on the opposite sides and passed through slots 40, 41 into openings 42 which are diametrically opposed in ring 10. The bag itself is then put in place, after the showing in Figure 1 in which the upper margin of the bag fully overlies ring 0 so that the resilient gasket 54 can give the assurance that it will hold the bag in the desired position during the periods of use. When the bag has been thus arranged the length of the draw strings in use is then determined ana the loose ends on each side are secured, after the showing of Figure 7, in which a resilient keeper member 70 anchored only at one end is employed so that in coaction with the outstanding headed screw 72, a quick and convenient means is provided for securing the ends of the cords, as 67. When bag 64 has been used and closed, after the showing of Figure 3, the same can be easily removed from rim 10.

Bie position of use of our toilet arrangement is shown in Figure 2 with seat 52 in the normal position of a toilet seat. When the user has finished with the toilet he can release latch 56 and allow the seat to spring upwardly under urgence only of spring hinge 46. By suitable adjustment of the spring within hinge 46, a firm closure of this bag, after the showing of Figure 3 “^{n be},^eS^Cted_J^ai^{d yet the strain} P^{laced u}P°ⁿ the cords t ^{and bag 64 are weI1 within} ‘he margins of strength that can be easily provided, Bag 64 is then either left in the toilet for disposition later or it can be removed by releasing each of the double cords 66 and 67 withdrawing the cords out through slot 40 and pos- , sibly as a security measure, winding the same around puckered ends of the bag. The fact that the draw strings are positioned considerably below the top of the bag adds to the convenience of this operation. The bag, which is of very economical construction, can then be disposed of in any convenient manner.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a disposable bag toilet.