Patent Application
20210145625
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The disclosure and prior art relates to catheters and more particularly pertains to a new catheter for a discrete and comfortable solution to female urinary incontinence.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a collection unit having a partially cylindrical collection area and an inner band coupled around a perimeter of the collection area, the collection area being configured to cover from above a user's vagina to a user's perineum. A cover extends from a right side, a top side, and a left side of the inner band and an outer band is coupled to a perimeter of the cover. An inner surface of the collection unit has an adhesive coupled from the inner band to the outer band. The inner band is configured to adhere to a user's labial folds and the outer band is configured to adhere a user's outer vaginal area and the perineum. The collection area has a drain aperture extending therethrough adjacent a bottom side. The collection unit is flexible and is configured to form to the shape of the user's vaginal area. A drain port is coupled to the drain aperture and a hose is coupled to, and in fluid communication with, the drain port. A collection bag has an upper aperture extending through a top edge selectively engaged with a distal end of the hose and a lower aperture adjacent a bottom edge. A release tube is coupled to the lower aperture. A clamp is selectively engageable with the release tube to seal and alternatively unseal the release tube.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A drain port 38 is coupled to the collection unit 12. The drain port 38 comprises a collar 40 coupled to the drain aperture 34 and an elbow 42 coupled to the collar 40. The elbow 42 may be rigid to allow easy connection with the collar 40 which may be flexible and rubberized to create a liquid seal around the elbow 42. A hose 44 is coupled to, and in fluid communication with, the drain port 38. The hose 44 is selectively engageable within the elbow 42 and may be a soft silicone. A leg clip 46 has a base 48 and a sleeve 50 coupled to the base 48. The base 48 is adhesive and is configured to selectively adhere to a user's leg to guide the hose 44 and prevent accidental removal from the drain port 38. The sleeve 50 is coupled around the hose 44. The base 48 may be square and has rounded corners for user comfort.
A collection bag 52 is coupled to the hose 44. The collection bag 52 has a neck 54 extending from a top edge 55 and an upper aperture 58 extending through the neck 54. A rigid rim 56 is coupled to the neck 54 to selectively receive a distal end 58 of the hose. The rim 56 may have a wider grip portion 60 proximal the neck 54 and a thinner mouth portion 62 extending above the grip portion 60 to receive the hose 44. The grip portion 60 provides more surface area for the user to grip the rim 56 when inserting and removing the hose 44 from the collection bag 52. A front face 62 of the collection bag has a plurality of linear volume markings 64 to keep track of urination and a lower aperture 66 adjacent a bottom edge 68. A release tube 70 is coupled to, and in fluid communication with, the lower aperture 66 to empty the collection bag 52. A tip cap 72 selectively engages a tip end 74 of the release tube for sanitary purposes. A clamp 76 is selectively engageable with the release tube 70 to seal and alternatively unseal the release tube 70. The clamp 76 may have a hinge 78 and a pair of jaws 80 extending from the hinge on either side of the release tube 70. The pair of jaws 80 are selectively engageable to maintain a pinched position sealing the release tube 70 while the collection bag 52 is in use.
In use, the collection unit 12 is applied to sealingly enclose the vaginal area with the hose 44 coupled to the drain port 38. The base 48 of the leg clip is adhered to the user's leg and the clamp 76 is maintained with the jaws 80 in the pinched position. When desired, the clamp 76 is released and the collection bag 52 may be emptied through the release tube 70.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
