System and device for urination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current urination devices for immobile patients and females face challenges such as leakage, discomfort, and infection risks due to gravity-dependent designs and lack of self-cleaning capabilities, making them unsafe and inefficient for bedridden individuals and females who need to urinate standing up.
Innovation Solution
A system and device that uses a vacuum pump to create an aerosol mixture of urine through directed air streams, eliminating leakage by ensuring a secure seal and incorporating sanitization features to prevent infections, with customizable designs for both bedridden users and females to urinate standing up.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If gravity-dependent urine collection devices are used for bedridden patients, then the device structure is simple, but the device cannot function when the patient is in a lying-down position and causes leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a vacuum pump to create negative pressure that actively draws urine from the patient's body into the collection container, replacing gravity-dependent passive collection. This pneumatic approach enables urine collection regardless of patient position, eliminating leakage issues associated with gravity-based systems when patients are lying down.
2Reliability
If vacuum pump is used to capture urine, then leakage is eliminated, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates automatic sensors that detect when urine is present and trigger the vacuum pump operation without manual intervention. The pump automatically activates, collects urine, and deactivates, reducing the need for complex manual control mechanisms while maintaining reliable leakage-free operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable collection containers and/or sanitization components that can be discarded after use, eliminating the need for complex cleaning and sterilization systems. This approach maintains reliability while simplifying the overall system by replacing complex maintenance mechanisms with simple disposable elements.
3Ease of operation
If traditional bedpan method is used for immobile patients, then the procedure is simple, but it is challenging and unsafe due to patient weight and immobility
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum-based system allows the collection container to remain positioned near or below the patient without requiring physical lifting or repositioning. The vacuum force draws urine through tubing from the patient's body into the container, eliminating the need for caregivers to manually handle heavy patients or unstable bedpan positioning, thereby removing safety risks associated with patient weight and immobility.
4Adaptability or versatility
If portable urine collection units are used for active patients, then portability is achieved, but the devices are not suited for bedridden patients as they depend on gravity
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces gravity-dependent collection mechanisms with vacuum-driven urine transport. The vacuum pump creates negative pressure that actively draws urine from the patient's body into the collection container, enabling the device to function effectively for bedridden patients who cannot rely on gravity-assisted collection. This maintains portability while expanding adaptability to different patient conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively captures urine without discomfort, reduces infection risks, and provides a leakage-free solution for both cognitive and in-cognitive users, with sanitization capabilities to maintain hygiene, enhancing safety and usability for immobile patients and females.
Implementation Method 1
The urination device forms the vital link connecting the human genitals to the vacuum pump. The Urination device is uniquely designed to capture the urine without discomfort to the human through the suction effected by vacuum pump.
Implementation Method 2
The urination device creates an aerosol mixture of urine through introduction of directed streams of air all along the interface of the device with the genitals
Implementation Method 3
The device's low volume profile ensures a high velocity of inrush air necessary for urine to be picked up and transported to the vacuum port in the device
Implementation Method 4
The system comprises an enclosure having a sanitization fluid container and an overflow container placed therein
Implementation Method 5
A vacuum pump is connected with the control circuit for vacuuming the urine output of the user through the urination device
Implementation Method 6
A control circuit is provided for filling and vacuuming the sanitization tray for sanitizing the urination device
Implementation Method 7
A timer circuit is configured to receive the thumb switch input to turn ON the vacuum pump for pumping sanitization fluid into a sanitization tray to a predetermined level. The sanitization tray has a drain port and an overflow port
Data Source
AI summary
A system and device are provided for self-help urination for bed ridden users as well as females to enable urinating standing up. The system enables auto-monitoring of urination of in-cognitive bedridden patients or cognitive patients and evacuating the urine to a storage canister. Currently, such patients are invasively inserted catheters to evacuate urine with subsequent vulnerability to infections and expensive post-operation processes. The device is provided with the capability to capture a flowing stream of urine. In a flowing stream, any escape of fluid from the vacuum zone is manifest as leakage which is not acceptable. The invention provides genital device customized to males and females, to safely vacuum the urine by placing it on the genitals without discomfort to the patient. The process of introducing air during suction also dries the genitals thus significantly reducing the risks of infection.