Oh patents! Solidarity with the Dolle Minas

Copyright @ Françoise Herrmann

Enough is enough! Feminists in Amsterdam (Holland) are demanding potty parity.  Just three public convenience facilities out of the remaining 35, in Amsterdam, are women-accessible.

Copyright Le Monde - 29-09-2017

Amsterdam is another European city in need of what the British call universally-accessible “superloos” produced by JC Decaux, a company accustomed to bringing equal access port-a-potties to cities worldwide. Beginning in Paris, the highly patented JC Decaux, street furniture superloos, termed “Sanisette” in French, replaced 480 urinals, installed in Paris, in 1830. 

For example, US2005055767 titled Public convenience equipped with a floor cleaning device, discloses an automated floor-washing component for the JC Decaux sanisette. The abstract is included below with a patent image showing a perspective view of the public – universally accessible – public convenience.  

There is provided a convenience (1) comprising a frame (2), a floor (6) and a floor cleaning device (9), said floor cleaning device (9) comprising a water feeding conduit (10, 11) and a water dispensing nozzle (13), connected to said conduit (10, 11) and opening close to the floor (6), said nozzle (13) comprising a neck (14) having two converging surfaces (16, 17) facing each other, one of which is formed in the frame (2) of the convenience (1).

Note: The Dolle Minas (Mad Minas) are a Dutch feminist group of the 1970s, now occupying Amsterdam’s urinals!

References

Chemaly, S. (Jan. 05, 2015) The everyday sexism of women waiting in public toilet lines. TIME Magazine.  

http://time.com/3653871/womens-bathroom-lines-sexist-potty-parity/

Stroobants, JP (Sept. 29, 2017) A Amsterdam les femmes réclament des toilettes publiques. Le Monde.

http://abonnes.lemonde.fr/m-actu/article/2017/09/29/a-amsterdam-les-femmes-reclament-des-toilettes-publiques_5193177_4497186.html

JC Decaux

http://www.jcdecaux.com/

Herrmann, F. (July 1, 2017) Oh, patents! JC Decaux (1). Posted at Patents on the soles of the your shoes.

https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2017/07/oh-patents-jc-decaux-1.html

Herrmann, F. (July 4, 2017) Oh, patents! JC Decaux (2), Posted at Patents on the soles of the your shoes.https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2017/07/oh-patents-jc-decaux-2.html  

Herrmann, F. (July 6, 2017) Oh, patents! Velib’ and JC Decaux (3), Posted at Patents on the soles of the your shoes.
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2017/07/oh-patents-velib-and-jc-decaux-3.html