Waste handling apparatus for wheelchair

Abstract

A waste disposal system which is incorporated into a wheelchair. The system is compact enough to be installed in a standard sized motorized or manual wheelchair. The system allows for the separation of solid waste from liquid waste, with separate receptacles allowing for separate containment. The system may be incorporated into both collapsible and non-collapsible wheelchairs with minimal modification. In order to facilitate incorporation into a collapsible wheelchair, at least one of the components of the system is hinged at a point corresponding to the folding axis of the collapsible wheelchair. The other components are either selectively removable or attachable to the wheelchair without adding a significant amount of weight or girth thereto. The separate receptacles for containing solid and liquid waste may be separately emptied and cleaned.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 10 / 866,478 filed on Jun. 14, 2004.1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to waste disposal systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a portable waste containment and disposal system which may be integrated into a wheelchair. STATEMENT OF THE PRIOR ART BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] A common problem with wheelchair bound persons is that of incontinence. The problem is particularly acute for those who are paralyzed, for they cannot even sense when a bowel movement or urination event occurs. Accordingly, many devices have been proposed to minimize the negative implications of uncontrolled urination or defecation by wheelchair bound persons. These devices fall generally into two broad categories. The first category is diapers or other absorbent garments which are worn by the person at all times and changed periodically. While gen...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] It is another object of the invention to provide an improved waste handling apparatus for a wheelchair having means to minimize sloshing and spillage of liquid waste.

Problems solved by technology

A common problem with wheelchair bound persons is that of incontinence.

The problem is particularly acute for those who are paralyzed, for they cannot even sense when a bowel movement or urination event occurs.

While generally effective at containing the waste and preventing soiling of the garments and wheelchair, absorbent garments and the like suffer from drawbacks.

Among the drawbacks, the patient is required to sit, possibly for a considerable period of time, in the soiled garment.

The prolonged period of contact with urine and feces can lead to skin infections and pressure sores, which can be especially difficult to treat in elderly patients or patients with compromised immune systems.

In order to prevent this problem, the garments would have to removed and replaced after every urination or bowel movement which is not practical even for patients in nursing homes.

Also, disposable diapers are expensive and create a great deal of refuse, which refuse tends to have a strong odor requiring special disposal containers.

These systems tend to be overly complicated and therefore expensive and subject to maintenance, or too simplistic and therefore ineffective.

This system, and other similar systems suffer from several drawbacks.

First, the waste is collected in a bag which, although stably supported, can still move around enough to cause sloshing of the waste which increases the chance of seepage and leaking over time.

Even if the bag were replaced with a solid container, there would be considerable sloshing of the waste.

This highly specialized system is not generally useful for most wheelchair bound patients and does not have any means for collecting and maintaining solid waste.

Also, the waste is contained in a bag and is subject to the aforementioned problems.

While this complicated system, which includes a water supply and flushing mechanism, is capable of handling both solid and liquid waste, it cannot be used with a wheelchair.

This system suffers from the drawback that in the vent the seal is broken liquid will escape, as could easily happen if the container is bent or otherwise damaged.

Also, as the receptacle is designed to be stabilized by another portion of the apparatus, it cannot be used as a stand alone device.

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