CA1045491A

CA1045491A - Sheath arrangement for male urinal device

Info

Publication number: CA1045491A
Application number: CA192,476A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Crit H. Rogers (Iii); Joseph S. Rocheleau (Jr.)
Original assignee: Mentor Corp
Current assignee: Mentor Worldwide LLC
Priority date: 1973-02-12
Filing date: 1974-02-12
Publication date: 1979-01-02
Also published as: JPS49112490A; GB1459486A; US3863638A

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A sheath arrangement for a male urinal device in which there is a urinal sheath of flexible material designed to extend over a substantial portion lengthwise of the penis and a liner pad of synthetic, resiliently compressible, deformable, waterproof material in the form of a relatively wide strip to be wound around the penis to form a cushion between the penis and the sheath. The liner pad is wide enough to extend from the head of the penis upwardly along the penal shaft a sufficient distance to provide an adequate cushion between the sheath and the penis and long enough to be wrapped at least one and a half turns around the penis. The liner pad may be either of a polymer-oil elastomer-ic combination or of a closed cell foam material and, preferably, has at least one adhesive surface as to cling to the penis. In some form of the invention, we also employ a relatively wide tape of elastic material designed to be wrapped under tension over the sheath to hold the sheath firmly against the liner pad.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is concerned with a sheath arrangement for such a male urinal device in which the discomfort experienced by the wearer when a urinal sheath of elastic material is worn for a long time is avoided by the use of a liner pad of synthetic, resiliently compressible, deformable, waterproof material in the form of a relatively wide strip which is wound around the penis for at least one and a half turns to form a long cushion between the penis and the sheath. The liner pad is preferably of a width such that it extends from a point close to the head of the penis to an area near the upper end of the sheath so that practically the entire portion of the penis upon which any pressure would be exerted by the sheath or tape is protected by the liner pad. The liner pad is preferably deformed after being applied so that the overlapping portions closely fit together to produce a liquid-tight barrier. The liner pad preferably has an adhesive surface to retain the pad in position on the penis as well as to maintain the sheath in place with respect to the liner.
Cne form of liner pad which we employ is a pad of a polymer-oil elastomeric combination. Such a material forms a very soft pad which readily conPorms to the shape of the penis and causes no irritation, even when worn for long periods of time. The material, furthermore, tends to adhere to itself - so that it forms a good seal between the penis and the sheath. An alternative form of liner pad which we may employ is one formed of a closed cell polyure-thane foam. Cne form of polyurethane foam particularly suitable for this purpose is one which is cross linked by electron radiation. With either of these liner pads, we have found it desirable to wrap over the sheath a rela-tively wlde tape of elastic material. The elastic tape is preferably of a type which is capable of adhering to an underlying layer of the tape when wrapped under tension. The tape may be initially corrugated before being tensioned so as to increase its extensibility. The elastic tape, while wide, is ~omewhat narrower than the liner pad so that it terminates before the end -~.

of the sheath. It thus acts to press the sheath down against the liner pad over the intermediate portion of the liner pad.
We have found, however, that if a pad of closed seal, foamed, resilient material having an adhesive layer on both surfaces is used as the liner pad and if the sheath is rolled over the end of this pad, it is possible to eliminate the need of an outer tape of elastic material. This results in a much simpler construction which is much mo~e comfortable to wear because of the absence of the surrounding elastic tape.
Various other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying specification, claims and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Pigure 1 is a plan view of a penis with my improved sheath arrange-ment secured thereto, the bottom portion of the sheath being broken away;
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but with the sheath arrange-ment shown in longitudinal cross-section;
Figure 3 is a sectional view through the sheath arrangement and the penis taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a strip of the elastic tape, showing the tape in the corrugated condition it assumes when not under tension; and ; Figure 5 is a plan view similar to Figure 1 but showing a modi2ied ~ -form of the liner pad.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modlfied~form of our sheath construction; -Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view through the sheath arrangement of Figure 6 and the penis to which the sheath arrangement is applied, the section being taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 6;
Figure 8 i8 a view of the liner pad used in the modification of Figures 6 and 7 with portions of the protecting backing partially peeled away; and Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of a portion of the sheath with the body portion completely rolled up until it engages the bulbous portion of the sheath.

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10454gl Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the sheath of our invention is indicated by the reference numeral 11. This comprises a very thin body por-tidn 12, joined at 19 to a conical portion 13 terminating in a tubular portion 14 extending to some urine receptacle (not shown). The sheath is formed of a flexible material, which may be elastic, and the conical portion 13 and tubular portion 14 are formed of relatively heavy material so as not to pinch off readily. The body portion 12 is formed of very thin material capable of being unrolled up over the penis 10. Initially, when it is being applied, the body portion 12 is completely rolled up and the sheath is applied over the penis 10. The body portion is then unrolled until the desired portion of the penis has been covered. The remaining unrolled portion is indicated by the reference numeral 15.
The sheath 11 forms part of the urinal device of the type shown in our United States Patent No. 3,835,857, granted September 17, 1974 and entitled Male Urinal Device. As pointed out above, the sheath has, in certain prior devices, been held rather snugly against the penis by a narrow tape wrapped under tension about the sheath to form a relatively I liquid tight seal with the surface of the penis~ Unfortunately~ this results J, 20 in constriction of the urethral passage and discomfort to the wearer when the sheath must be worn for long periods of time~
In the sheath arrangement of the present invention, a liner pad 16 is disposed between the penis 10 and the body portion 12 of the sheath 11. This liner pad is formed by wrapping around the penis prior to the application of the sheath 11 thereto, a strip of synthetic, resiliently compressible water-proof material, The strip should be of a length sufficient to wrap around the penis and overlap somewhat, preferably at least one and a half turns alto-gether. In other words, the length of the strip should be substantially greater than the circumference of the penile shaft. It will be noted from Figure 3, which is a cross-sectional view, that the strip 16 in the particular example ,' ~, . . . .
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shown in the drawing, completes almost two fu:Ll turns around the penis. ~he strip should be of a width sufficiently great ~o extend from a point adjacent to the head 17 of the penis to a point near the rolled portion 15 of the sheath 11.
In this modification, the strip is wide enough to extend abovP the end of the rolled portion. We found that a strip of a width between 2-1/2 and 2-3/4 inches is desirable. In the modification shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the liner pad 16 is formed of a polymer-oil elastomeric combination. A suitable material of this type is described in the U. S. patent 3,676,387, granted July 11, 1972. Such a material is resilient but somewhat deformable. Thus, as shown in Figure 3, it is possible, because of the material being deformable, to have the overlapping portions closely fit together to produce a relatively liquid tight barrier. Furthermore, the material tends to adhere to itself so that when the material is wrapped around the penis in more than one layer, the overlapping portions adhere firmly to each other. We have found it desirable to employ a strip about 3~1/2 inches long and an eighth of an inch thick. When this is wrapped around the penis, it forms a cushion of substantial thickness which is highly resilient and yieldable.
After liner pad 16 is applied and held in place, the sheath 11 can now be positioned on the penis. As pointed out above, this is done by initially having the sheath completely rolled up. The sheath is then placed over the end of the penis and the body portion 12 is then unrolled until a short distance remains between the end of the sheath and the end of the liner pad 16. Since there is some tendency for the sheath material, parti-cularly where it is a resilient material such as latex, to adhere to the polymer-oil elastomeric material of which the pad 16 is formed, it is desirable before the sheath is unrolled to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, to apply some powder such as talcum powder to the pad 16. This talcum powder may be applied only over the upper portion of the pad 16 so ~ -; that the lower portion of the sheath still adheres to the pad 16. This aids in maintaining the sheath in position with respect to the pad. By placing powder over at least the upper portion of the pad 16, it is possible to more readily remove the sheath 11.

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In addition to the adhesion between the sheath 11 and the liner pad~
we have found it desirable in this modification to employ over the sheath an elastic tape 18 which is wound over the sheath in a plurality of layers. We preferably use a tape which tends to adhere to an underlying layer when wrapped under tension over an object. This may be accomplished either by use of a pressure sensitive adhesive coating or by use of a material which by reason of its composition and surface texture tends to result in adhesion of overlap-ping layers under tension. A type of tape which is particularly suitable for this purpose is that marketed under the trademark COBAN. Such a tape is formed of spaced aligned elastic yarns which are sealed between two thin porous gathered nonfibrous webs by means of a soft flexible coherent binder.
Such a tape is described in U. S. patent 3,575,782 granted on April 20, 1971, to Paul E. Hansen, Because of the elasticity of the yarns, when the tape is not under tension, the webs are drawn normally to assume a somewhat corrugated condition, the corrugations being shown in Figure 4 and identified by the ref-erence numeral 19. When the tape is placed under tension as when it is wrapped around the penis, these corrugations tend to be removed, When one layer is placed upon another under tension, the successive layers tend to adhere to one another by reason of the corrugations interlocking as the tension is removed. Furthermore, because of the elasticity of the tape and the corrugations, the tape is very extensible and conforms closely with a surface upon which it is wrapped.
As will be noted from Figures 1 and 2~ the tape 18 is relatively wide. In actual practice, we employ a tape which is two inches wide. While this is substantially shorter than the liner pad 16, it is nevertheless wide enough so that the pressure it exerts is distributed over a relatively long portion lengthwise of the penis.
Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the urethral passage is indicated by the numeral 20. It will be noted that this passage is relatively close to the surface of the penis on the underside. It would be obvious that if the sheath ll were directly applied over the penis and if a relatively narrow non-elastic band were applied over the sheath to hold the sheath in position, ~ .

lV4549i considerable restriction of the urethral passage could result. With our arrangement, however, this is overcome in several ways. In the first place, because of the nature of the liner pad 16, any pressure exerted upon the sheath by the tape 18 is absorbed to a large extent by the cushioning effect provided by pad 16. Furthermore, because of the width of the tape 18 and the elasticity thereof, the tape does not exert the constricting effect upon the penis that would be the case if a narrow tape were used. Thus, as a result of the combined effect of the pad 16 which extends over the entire portion of the penal shaft covered by the sheath and the width and elasticity of the tape 18, the construction of the present invention enables the sheath to be worn with a high degree of comfort. This is extremely important whenever a urinal of this type must be worn more or less continuously for long periods of time.
It will be noted that the outer corners of the liner pad 16 and the tape 18 are shown as turned outwardly. This is purely for purposes of illustration to show better the construction of these members. It is to be understood that in actual practice, these corners will be held securely against the underlying layers.

The modification of Figure 5 is basically the same as that of Figures 1 through 3 with the exception that the liner pad, identified in this figure by the numeral 25, is made of a closed cell foam material. One form - which we found particularly desirable is a polyurethane foam which has been cross-linked by electron radiation. Such a foam material is waterproof and ~ -resiliently compressible. We have found it desirable where such a foam material is employed to employ a layer about one-sixteenth of an inch thick and six inches long. This results in a number of layers of the material about the penis. Thus, while the thickness of the foam material is only about half that which is employed when the polymer-oil elastomeric combination is employed, the length is sufficiently great that there are more layers of the material about the penis and the total thickness of the pad is approximately the same. While . , , ~ .

lV45491 this material does not tend to adhere to underlying layers to the same extent as the polymer-oil elastomeric combination of the species of Figures 1-3, it does have a surface that makes it relatively easy to apply and that does not adhere as much to the sheath 11. Consequently, it is not necessary to apply powder to the liner pad in order to permit removal of the sheath from the pad.
Because the material of which the liner 25 is made is somewhat less distortable than that of which liner 16 is made, we have found it desirable to employ a strip which may be just slightly less in width than that of strip 16. In other words, when strip 16 is stretched, it tends to become somewhat narrower. Thus, in one instance, we found it desirable to employ a strip two and one-half inches wide while the liner 16, before being stretched, was approximately two and three-quarters inches wide.
It will be appreciated that in both the species of Figures 1 through 3 and that of Figure 5, the elastic tape 18 is applied in the same way and functions in the same manner. In each case, it acts to hold the sheath 11 firmly in engagement with the liner material to prevent any leakage around the liner material between the sheath and the penis. In the modification of Figure 5, as well as that in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the effect of the wide cush-ioned pad 25 along with the wide elastic tape 18 is to result in a sheath construction in which there is a minimum amount of discomfort in wearing the urinal sheath. At the same time, because of the waterproof nature of the liner pad and the tendency of the material to conform to adjacent surfaces, ;
there is very little opportunity for any leakage between the sheath and the penis.

In the species described above, an elastic tape was employed outside of the sheath. The purpose of this elastic tape was to insure that there was no leakage between the sheath and the penis and to hold the sheath in position on the penis. We have found, however, that if a particular type 30 of sheath liner is employed, the sheath can be maintained in position in a -~
liquid-tight manner without any elastic tape. This greatly facilitates the .~ ' .

_ 7 _ lU4S491 the comfort of the wearer since even with the elastic tape referred to above, there is some tendency for pressure to be exerted upon the penis When the urinal is worn for long periods of time, the pressure can eventu-ally lead to considerable discomfort.
The modified form of our construction is shown in Figures 6 through 8. In this figure, the sheath 11 is basically the same as in Figures 1 through 5 and the same reference characters have been applied to designate it, and the elements of it, as in those figures. In this modification, a liner is used which has at least one adhesive surface and which is readily deformable so as to form when wrapped around the penis a soft cushion which forms a complete seal against fluid between the sheath and the penis. The material is sufficiently soft and yieldable to cause very little irritation. Further-more, because of the adhesive coating on the liner pad, it is possible to dispense entirely with the outer elastic band. The comfort to the patient is further increased by rolling the end of the sheath over the end of the liner so that the rolled end of the sheath exerts relatively little pres-sure on the penis.
Referring specifically to the drawing, the liner pad 35 is formed of a blend of nitrile rubber and polyvinyl chloride which has been expanded to form a closed cell foam structure. A typical material of this type is disclosed in United States patent 2,570,182 granted October 9, 1951, Such material is sold under the trade mark ENSOLITE, Type M by Uni-Royal, Inc.
Secured to the opposite surfaces of this material are adhesive layers 26 and 27 of an adhesive which is adhesive pressure sensitive and nonirritating.
A typical adhesive of this type is sold under the trade mark MACTAC by ~
Morgan Adhesive Company of Stowell, Ohio. This adhesive is a copolymer of ~ -

2-ethyl-hexyl-acrylate and vinyl acetate. The adhesive has the properties of having substantial tensile strength and adhering to the skin but readily separable therefrom. Secured to the adhesive layers 26 and 27 are liner strips 28 and 29 so as to prevent the adhesive layers 26 and 27 adhering to other objects until the liner pad is to be used.
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1045g91 A typical liner pad, as shown in Figure 8, is 1-3/4" wide, 5-3/4"
long and 3/32" in thickness. The width will, of course, depend upon the length of the penis and the length upon the circumference. The Iength should be positioned that the strip can be wrapped around at least one and one-half times. Thus, the length should be at least one and one-half times the circumference of a typical penis when in flaccid condition.
Referring to Figures 6 and 7, it will be noted that the strip 35 is wrapped around the penis 10 about 2-1/2 times.
In use, the liner strips 28 and 29 are removed and the liner pad 35 is wrapped around the penis relatively firmly. The liner pad may now be molded to the penis by grasping the wound liner and forcing it firmly against the penis. The sheath is then rolled back on itself as far as it will go, that is until the rolled portion 15 approaches the re-entrant portion 12. The pos~ion of the sheath when rolled back in this manner is shown in Figure 9. It will be noted that the rolled portion 15 of the sheath i8 in engagement with the bulbous portion of the sheath so that the inner diameter of the roll 15 tends to expand slightly to conform with the inwardly increasing diameter of the curved portion of the sheath ; adjacent to point 19. In this way, it is possible to roll up the entire body portion of the sheath into a roll 15 which has a diameter substantially equal to or even greater than the inner diameter of the body portion when it i8 unrolledO This makes it very easy for the wearer to apply the ~heath 11 to the penis. It is merely placed in position, the tip of the peni~ extending into the conical portion 13 as shown in Figure 6 and -the body portion is then unrolled upwardly along the penis to assume the position shown in Figure 1. The same procedure can be employed in con-nection with the sheath arrangements of Figuresl through 5O In the case of the arrangement of Figures 6 through 9, the roll 15 is brought up over the end of the liner pad 35. Because the roll 15 at this point-has only a few remaining turn~ to it, it exerts practically no constricting force _g_ .

upon the penis 10. Furthermore, because of the fact that it extends over the end of the liner pad which is of much greater outer circumferential extent than the penis 10 at the point where it is surrounded by the roll 15, the roll 15 is prevented from exerting any particular pressure upon the penis 10. The engagement of the roll 15 with the penis is not relied upon to effect a seal. Rather, the seal is effected between the sheath and the liner pad 35 and in turn between the liner pad 35 and the penis.
In order to insure that the sheath can be readily removed from the liner pad despite the adhesive layers 26 and 27, it is desirable to soak the sheath prior to use in a mixture of 100 cc of sulfuric acid, 200 cc of a chlorine bleach containing 15 percent chloride and ten gallons of waterO The sheaths are agitated in thls material for about one-half hour, then washed and allowed to dry. The effect of this is to make the surface less sticky and to enable it to be rolled more readily away from the a & esive liner pad when it is desired to remove the sheath.
We have also found it desirable prior to applying the liner pad 35 to use an alcohol impregnated swab to remove any residential body oil from the penis. This causes the liner to adhere better to the penis and to minimize the chance of any leakage.
We have found that the sheath arrangement shown in Figures 6 through 9 can be worn for long periods of time with no leakage and with a minimum of discomfort to the wearer. This is due to the fact that there i9 no outer elastic band as in the modifications of Figure~ 1 through 5. Furthermore, the residual rolled-up portion 15, since it is rolled past the liner pad, exerts very little constricting force on the penis. The material of which the pad 35 is formed is readily moldable to form a water-tight seal without exerting any appreciable pressure upon the penis. The portion of the sheath which surrounds the liner pad 35 and the penis lO is of relatively thin material and hence exerts compara-tively little compressive force upon the liner pad and the penis within the liner pad.

. ,. -10-While we have shown the sheath and the liner pad in the positions they occupy on the penis, it is to be understood that they are sold in unassembled form in a box or other container. With the modifications of Figures 1 through 5, the box also contains a roll of the elastic tapeO
Thus, the buyer is able to obtain in a simple container all of the components of our novel sheath construction.

CONCLUSION
It will be seen that the sheath arrangement of the present appli-cation results in an arrangement which is comfortable enough so that it may be worn for long periods of timeO It could be readily applied and removed when necessary. While we have shown certain specific embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that this is only for purposes of illustrati-on and that the scope of the ~nvention is limited solely by the appended claims.

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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A sheath arrangement for a male urinal device comprising:
a urinal sheath of flexible material designed for applica-tion to a penis for covering a substantial portion lengthwise of the same and having connection means secured thereto for connecting the sheath through a suitable conduit to a urine receptacle, and a liner pad of synthetic, resiliently compressible deform-able waterproof material in the form of a strip of such material having a width sufficiently great to extend over a substantial portion length-wise of a normal flaccid penis and of a length substantially greater than the circumference of such a normal flaccid penis to enable the strip to be wrapped at least one and a half turns around the penis before appli-cation thereto of said sheath.

2. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which at least the surface of the liner pad intended to be in contact with the penis is adhesive so that it tends to be held in place on the penis.

3. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which both surfaces of the liner pad are adhesive so that the liner pad is held in place on the penis and the sheath is held against movement with respect to the liner pad.

4. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which the liner pad is made of a closed cell foam material.

The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which the liner pad is made of an expanded vulcanized, closed cell blend of nitrile rubber and polyvinyl chloride.

6. The sheath arrangement of claim 5 in which the strip of liner pad is of a thickness of approximately 3/16" of an inch.

7. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which the material of said liner pad is a polymer-oil elastomeric combination.

8. The sheath arrangement of claim 4 in which said closed cell foam material is a polyurethane foam cross linked by electron radiation.

9. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which there is a tape formed of elastic material, said tape having a width substan-tially less than the width of the liner pad and of a length at least twice that of the circumference of a normal flaccid penis to enable a plurality of layers of said tape to be wrapped over the sheath when in position on a penis to hold the sheath firmly in engagement with the liner pad.

10. The sheath arrangement of claim 1 in which the portion of the sheath which extends over the penis is relatively thin as compared with the remaining lower portion thereof.

11. The sheath arrangement of claim 3 in which the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive and in which the sheath is formed of a thin rubber which has been treated in a sulfuric acid solution to reduce the tendency of the rubber to adhere to the adhesive.