Valve and methods for urinary control

A valve adapted for closing a body orifice, the valve comprising:

• a bulbous tube formed of a flexible polymer, the bulbous tube having an inlet adapted to be fixed across the body orifice and an outlet adapted to be positioned away from the body orifice;
• a passage within the bulbous tube for extending from the inlet along an axis therethrough;
• a wall of the bulbous tube, the wall between the inlet and the outlet, the wall having a barrel shape tapering toward the inlet and the outlet thus the bulbous tube being wider therebetween, the wall between an inside and an outside;
• a hinge about the bulbous tube, the hinge located in the wall substantially wherein the barrel shape wall defines the passage as wider, the hinge as an area of preferential bending so the bulbous tube is normally flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge into the passage, the outlet has one or more holes located through the wall, each hole located in a plane substantially normal to the axis and way from the inlet and axially beyond the hinge, and
• a seat within the bulbous tube, the seat located on the inside of the wall and integral with the wall, the seat disposed within the passage to engage the outlet when the bulbous tube is flipped into the passage by bending the hinge acutely so the outlet is moved along the axis toward the inlet and held against the seat, the outlet surrounds a bottom of the bulbous tube so that when the flipped bulbous tube moves the bottom axially into the passage the bottom locates the one or more holes in contact with the seat and positions the bottom to close the inlet.

A method of making a valve adapted for closing an orifice, the method including the steps of:

• forming a bulbous tube of a flexible material;
• having on the bulbous tube an inlet fixed for placement across the orifice and an outlet positioned away from the orifice;
• extending a passage within the bulbous tube from the inlet along an axis therethrough;
• having a barrel shaped wall on the bulbous tube, the wall tapering toward the inlet and the outlet and thus wider therebetween, the wall between an inside and an outside;
• locating a hinge about the bulbous tube and in the wall as an area of preferential bending so the bulbous tube is normally flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge into the passage, and
• locating a seat on the inside of the wall to engage the outlet when the bulbous tube is flipped into the passage by bending the hinge acutely so the outlet is moved along the axis toward the inlet and held against the seat, whereby the seat is integral with the inside of the wall.

A method of using a valve including a bulbous tube formed of a flexible material, the bulbous tube having an inlet fixed across the orifice and an outlet opposite thereto the bulbous tube having a barrel shape tapering toward the inlet and the outlet, a hinge about the bulbous tube, the hinge as an area of preferential bending so the bulbous tube is normally flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge so a seat within the bulbous tube seals the outlet, the method of using with the steps of:

• providing the valve;
• locating a flange with a generally flat ring shape around the inlet of the bulbous tube to interface about the orifice;
• flipping the bulbous tube by bending the hinge acutely so the outlet is moved toward the inlet and held against the seat, and
• unfolding the acutely bent hinge.

A valve adapted for closing a body orifice, the valve comprising:

• a bulbous tube formed of a flexible material, the bulbous tube having an inlet adapted to be fixed across the body orifice and an outlet adapted to be positioned away from the body orifice;
• a passage within the bulbous tube for extending from the inlet along an axis therethrough between the inlet and outlet;
• a wall of the bulbous tube, the wall between the inlet and the outlet, the wall having a barrel shape tapering toward the inlet and the outlet thus the bulbous tube being wider therebetween, the wall between an inside and an outside;
• a hinge about the bulbous tube, the hinge located in the wall substantially wherein the barrel shape wall defines the passage, the hinge as an area of preferential bending so the bulbous tube is normally flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge into the passage, and
• a seat within the bulbous tube, the seat located on the inside of the wall, the seat disposed within the passage to engage the outlet when the bulbous tube is flipped into the passage by bending the hinge acutely so the outlet is moved along the axis toward the inlet so the outlet is held against the seat to seal the inlet and close the passage;
• wherein the outlet has a plurality of holes located through the wall in a region of the hinge, each of the plurality of holes having a side wall and located in a plane substantially normal to the axis and way from the inlet and axially beyond the hinge, wherein fluid within the passage is expelled therefrom through the plurality of holes;
• wherein the seat has a plurality of protruding members extending outwardly from the inside of the wall, wherein the outlet surrounds a bottom of the bulbous tube so that when the flipped bulbous tube moves the bottom axially into the passage, the bottom locates each of the plurality of holes through a portion of each of the matching plurality of protruding members such that each side wall is held against each matching plurality of protruding members to seal the inlet and close the passage.