Connector

#This invention relates to a fluid flow coupler that is useful in the practice of peritoneal dialysis for persons who have suffered kidney failure.

#Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is a system of dialysis wherein a quantity of dialysate is admitted to the peritoneal cavity of a patient, permitted to remain there for a period of about six hours within which it performs its dialysis function and then drained from the peritoneal cavity. The step of admitting fresh dialysate to the peritoneal cavity is repeated after drainage. About two liters of dialysate is usually admitted to the cavity. A patient on the system is required to change the dialysate four or five times a day, six or seven days a week.

#The dialysate is preferably supplied to the patient from a plastic container and provision must be made for connecting and disconnecting the container to a tube through which flow can take place to or from the patient.

#In the drawings:

#FIG. 1 is an illustration of a patient sitting while connected to a bag of dialysate;

#FIG. 2 is an illustration of a cupped member for a coupler according to this invention mounted at the neck end of a container for liquid with a cap therefor;

#In FIG. 1 of the drawings, a patient 10 is shown receiving dialysate from a plastic bag 12 that is suspended on a stand 14. The dialysate flows by gravity from the bag through the plastic tube 16 which is connected to a catheter permanently implanted in the patient's peritoneal cavity. The tube 16 is connected to the bag by means of a coupler generally indicated by the numeral 18. One part 20 of the coupler has a skirted base and the other part 48 of the coupler has a skirted base and interconnection of the bag to the tube is made by joining the two parts of the coupler. A manually releasable clip 26 is mounted on the tube 16 and can be manipulated to pinch the tube to stop flow therethrough in the position illustrated in FIG. 4. Alternatively, it can be released to permit flow through the tube. The construction and operation of the clip 26 is well known and will not be referred to in detail in the specification.

#In use, the bag of dialysate 12 with its coupler part 20 is supplied to the patient with a cap 26 as illustrated in the sectional view which is FIG. 3 of the drawings.

#It will be noted that coupler part 20 has a skirt 21 that forms a skirt for the cupped member 23. It also has a tubular connector 28 that terminates at the membrane 32 that extends thereacross and seals the contents of the container 12 in the container until broken as will be explained later. The inside of the outside skirt 21 of the connector part 20 is threaded as at 34 to threadedly receive a wall 36 that is spaced inwardly from the outside wall 38 of cap 26.