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US 4,889,533 AGranted
Female urinary collection devices having hollow-walled filled urine receptacles
AssigneeNone recorded
InventorWilliam H. Beecher
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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorWilliam H. Beecher
Estimating the term…
The disclosed device comprises a cup-shaped receptacle for collecting urine from the orifice of the female user's urethra. Such receptacle has a bottom wall portion and an annular side wall portion projecting upwardly therefrom and terminating in a soft rounded compliant annular lip portion for sealing engagement with the user's external vestibular tissues around such orifice. A drain tube portion connects with the bottom wall portion. The side wall portion is hollow and comprises spaced inner and outer shells merging at thier upper extremities to form such rounded lip portion. The inner and outer shells, including the lip portion, are made of a thin highly flexible compliant silicone elastomer or other similar material. The space between the inner and outer shells is filled with a viscous liquid silicone elastomer gum or gel, or other similar material, enabling such lip portion to conform precisely with the exact contours of the user's vestibular tissues, with a minimum of pressure between such lip and such tissues. The bottom wall portion of such receptacle preferably comprises a laterally projecting bottom flange for engaging the user's external labia majora tissue portions. The device also preferably comprises a soft flexible pessary member mounted on such bottom flange portion for insertion into the user's vagina to stabilize the position of the receptacle. The pessary member may be detachable form the device and preferably comprises a thin flexible hollow outer shell, made of a silicone elastomer or the like, and filled with a viscous liquid silicone elastomer gum or gel, so that the pessary member is extremely soft and compliant. As an alternative, the pessary member may be inflatable with air or other fluid, and also easily deflatable.
A female urinary collection device, comprising
A female urinary collection device, comprising
A female urinary collection device, comprising
A female urinary collection device, comprising
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
Details or parts: valves or valve arrangements specially adapted therefor ; Fluid inlets or outlets
Details or parts: closure means other than valves
Devices worn by the patient for reception of urine, faeces, catamenial or other discharge ; Colostomy devices: having venting or deodorant means,…
Genital or anal receptacles: for collecting urine or discharge from female member
Term ended 26 Dec 2006 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
This invention relates to urinary collection devices for use by human females, to collect urine externally, from the mouth or orifice of the urethra. There is a need for such devices by females who are incontinent, in that they are unable to contain urine on a consistent basis. A urinary collection device in accordance with the present invention is worn by a female and enables her to move about freely and to engage in virtually all normal activities.
In the prior art, previous efforts have been made to produce female urinary collection devices. One example is disclosed in the Hall and Beecher U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,355, issued Jan. 29, 1985, and entitled EXTERNAL FEMALE URINARY APPLIANCE. Such appliance includes a generally cup-shaped receptacle which is Worn by the female user so as to enclose the external orifice of the urethra. Such prior appliance has various disadvantages and problems, in that such appliance is somewhat uncomfortable to wear, and is subject to leakage of urine in some cases, due in large part to the fact that such appliance is unable to accommodate itself to the rather considerable variations in the shape of different female bodies, around the orifice of the urethra. If the pressure between such prior appliance and the female body is increased to reduce the incidence of leakage, the discomfort to the wearer is increased. Such prior appliance involves the further problem that the appliance is subject to dislocation from its intended position, in sealing engagement with the female body around the orifice of the urethra.
One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved female urinary collection device having a receptacle with an unprecedented ability to conform itself to variations in the shape of the female body, around the orifice of the urethra, so that a perfect seal is easily and reliably achieved.
Further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will appear from the following description of illustrative embodiments, such description being taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a general elevational view of a female urinary collector device, to be described as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is a fragmentary elevational detail, similar to a portion of FIG. 1, but showing a detachable pessary construction.
FIG. 1 is a general elevational view of a preferred illustrative embodiment of the present invention, in the form of a female urinary collection device 40, including a urine collection receptacle 42, which is generally cup-shaped, as shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 16, the receptacle 42 is adapted to receive urine from the mouth or orifice 44 of the female user's urethra 46. The receptacle 42 has a generally annular side wall 48 with a very soft rounded compliant upper lip 50, adapted to form a seal with the user's vestibular tissues 52, around the orifice 44 of the urethra 46. The lip 50 has an initial shape corresponding generally to the contours of the vestibular tissues 52. Moreover, the lip 50 is extremely soft, compliant and resilient and is able to conform itself precisely to the exact contours of the vestibular tissues 52, so as to form a perfect seal, with a minimum of applied pressure between the lip and the vestibular tissues. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the urine collection receptacle 42 fits between the labia majora lip tissues 54 of the user. As an optional but preferred construction, the cup-shaped urine receptacle 42 has a bottom flange portion or plate 56, adapted to engage the lower extremities of the labia majora lip tissues 54, to assist in positioning and stabilizing the urine receptacle 42, relative to the orifice 44 and the vestibular tissues 52.
As another optional but preferred construction, the female urinary collection device 40 has a pessary member 58, adapted to be received in the user's vagina 60, as shown in FIG. 16, whereby the position and orientation of the urine collection receptacle 42 are stabilized and maintained. The pessary member 58 is located to the rear of the urine collection receptacle 42 and may be either permanently secured to the bottom flange plate 56, as shown in FIG. 1, or may be detachably mounted on the bottom flange plate 56, as shown in FIG. 1A, which illustrates a modified pessary member 58A, to be described in greater detail presently.
As shown in FIG. 3, the urine receptacle 42 has a bottom wall portion 62 formed with a drain opening 64 to which a drain tube 66 is connected. The urine flows out of the receptacle 42 through the drain tube 66 and into a drain hose 68 having an extremely flexible section 70, connected to the drain tube 66. Preferably, the flexible section 70 is corrugated or convoluted, as shown in FIG. 1. For the sake of compact illustration, the hose 68 is shown in an S-shaped curve in FIG. 1, but, in actual use, the hose 68 extends downwardly, as shown in FIG. 16, so that the urine flows along the hose 68 by gravity. The lower end of the hose 68 is connected by a coupling assembly 72 to a storage bag 74, or some other suitable receptacle. At its inlet, the bag 74 has an anti-reflux valve 75 inside the bag, to prevent reverse flow of the urine from the bag, back into the coupling assembly 72. The bag 74 is made of resinous plastic film, or some other suitable material. As shown, the bag 74 is adapted to be emptied through a spout 76 having a removable and replaceable closure cap 78. The bag 74 is a disposable item and may be removed, discarded, and replaced with a new bag, as desired.