Body waste detecting device

Claim 1

A body waste detecting device including, in combination: a. an elongated flexible electrically insulating plastic strip having a length L, width W and thickness T, wherein L is at least 15 W and W is at least 20 T; b. a first conductive longitudinal path on the surface of said strip running adjacent to and parallel with one longitudinal edge of the strip; c. a second conductive longitudinal path on said surface of said strip adjacent to and running parallel with the opposite longitudinal edge of said strip, each of the conductive paths having a plurality of connected conductive transverse paths extending towards the other longitudinal path in a staggered manner and terminating short of the other path to define inter-digitated fingers insulated from each other; d. a protective conductive coating overlying each of the conductive paths; e. a casing incorporating a directional light source, a battery, and circuit means connected between the battery and light source; f. manually attachable fastening means on the exterior of said casing for supporting the casing to a frame portion of a wheelchair or bed; and, g. electrical connecting means for connecting said first and second conductive longitudinal paths to said circuit means in said casing, said circuit means being responsive to a change in resistance resulting from body waste contacting a surface portion of said strip in a manner to bridge any portion of the first and second conductive longitudinal paths and corresponding conductive transverse paths to energize said light source, whereby said casing may be easily attached to a wheelchair or bed frame and said strip disposed beneath a patient in said chair or bed, energization of said light source providing a discreet indication of the presence of body waste from said patient.