CA1232506A - Urine meter and drainage bag combination - Google Patents
Urine meter and drainage bag combinationInfo
- Publication number
- CA1232506A CA1232506A CA000478068A CA478068A CA1232506A CA 1232506 A CA1232506 A CA 1232506A CA 000478068 A CA000478068 A CA 000478068A CA 478068 A CA478068 A CA 478068A CA 1232506 A CA1232506 A CA 1232506A
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- Prior art keywords
- meter
- burette
- tube
- panel
- panels
- Prior art date
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Abstract
Abstract of the Disclosure A rigid urine meter with an enclosed relatively flexible burette has a pas-sageway at the lower end of the meter behind the burette to continuously equalize the fluid levels in the meter on either side of the burette. A groove and ribs are formed in the rear panel of the meter to support the burette, maintain its generally circular cross-section, and to provide strength and rigidity to the meter itself. The outlet port of the urine meter is directly sealed to the front panel of a drainage bag and the meter includes a lip at the port which extends into the drainage bag.
Description
This invention relates to urological apparatus and more specifically to urine meters with burettes and an attached drain-age bag.
Urine meters in fluid communication with drainage bags such as that shown in United S-tates Reissue Pa-ten-t 30,607 are well known. Such meter bag combinations, however, require a sep-arate par-t for connecting the bag to the urine Peter (see Fig. 2 of the 30,507 patent). In urine meters it is desirable to have more accurate measurement of small volumes of urine. The 30,607 patent accomplishes this by having a series of urine meter sec-tions, each of larger volume (and less accuracy) than -the preced-ing section. It would be desirable to have a separate chamber wholly contained inside the meter to measure these smaller vol-umes, but such a separate chamber canno-t be formed using two vac-uum-formed shells (vacuum-forming being an economical way to make such parts) if one requires the liquid level -to remain the same on both sides of the meter. If a third vacuum-formed part were used to make the separate, smaller volume chamber, a second seal-ing operation would be required.
The present invention provides a urine meter which canbe sealed to a drainage bag without the necessity of third part between the meter and the bag; to provide a urine meter which accurately measures small volumes; to provide a urine meter with a separate chamber for measuring small volumes; and to provide such a urine meter which is reliable and economical in manufac-ture.
Briefly, the urine meter of the present invention in-cludes a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, and a relatively flexible extruded tube extending along the axis of the meter generally from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette. The front and rear panels are secured together along their periph-~3~2S~
eries to form the body of the meter. The tube extends from thefront panel to the back panel through a substantial portion of its length so that the panels support the flexible tube in place.
One of the panels has a passage formed therein at the bo-ttom of the meter -to permit body fluids to pass around the -tube to equal-ize the level of such fluids in the meter on each side of the tube. Suitab]y the passage is formed in the rear panel. Desir-ably the rear panel is generally planar and the passage formed in the rear pane] extends out of the plane of the rear panel.
Preferably one of said panels includes a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube. Suitably the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube. Preferably the groove and ribs are formed in the same panel as the passage and terminate above said passage.
ln a second aspect of the invention, the meter includes a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a rela-tively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending generally along the axis of the meter from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a bure-tte. The front and rear panels are secured together along their peripheries to form the meter. And one of the panels has a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube. Suitably the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
Desirably the groove and ribs are formed in the rear panel, and the front panel is comparatively flat.
In a third aspect of the invention there is provided a urine meter for collecting and measuring urine comprising a rela-tively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a rela-tively rigid rear panel forming the back of -the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form a meter chamber, and a tube having an upper end and a lower 3~
end extending substantially vertically and generally from the top to the bottom thereof and between and closely adjacent the front and rear panels to form a buret-te substantially dividing the me-ter chamber into laterally spaced chamber portions, means includ-ing a drain tube for introducing urine into the burette, theburette having an outlet adjacent the upper end thereof so that urine is flowable from the burette to said chamher portions, the lower end of said burette being fixedly connected -to the meter at the bottom thereof, one of said panels having a transverse pas-sage formed therein at the bottom of the meter chamber extendinggenerally laterally between said chamber portions connecting said chamber portions together in fluid communication to permi-t urine to pass laterally by the burette between said chamber portions to equalize the level of urine in said chamber portions during use of the meter.
The present invention will be further illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings in which:-Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a urine meter and drainage bag combination of this invention;
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a spacer which is preferably disposed in the combination of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away, of the lower portion of the combination of Fig. l;
Fig. 5 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away, of the upper portion of the combination of Fig. l;
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Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 1 with the bottom portion broken away;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the urine meter in its vertical position; and Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of Fig. 4.
.
Similar reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several vlews of the drawings.
Turning now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a flexible urinary drainage bag 11 in combination with a relatively rigid urine metering collection chamber or urine meter 13. Bag 11 is suitably secured, by radio frequency sealing or the like, to a drainage bag support 15 such as disclosed in applicant's U.S. Patent No. ~,562,984 issued January 7, 1984.
- 2b -so that in use bag 11 may be sus-pended vertically from a hospital bed or -the like (not shown) to collect body fluids, e.g. urine, iron a patien-t. Specifically, body fluid such as urine flows through a drain tube 17, which terminates at its distal end with an inclined cut, into a burette 19 disposed inside and constituting part of meter 13. Bag 11 also has a vent 21 of conventional clesi~n secured by raclio îrequency sealing or -the lil<e in the front ti-ereof to permit the expulsion of air from bag 11 as the bag is filled wi-th urine. At the lower end of the bag 11 is a manually actuable valve 23 which when open provides a path for urine to exit frorn the interior of bag 11. Meter 13 similarly has a manually 10 operable valve 25 at its lower end for the same purpose.
Buret$e 19 preferably is an extruded, relatively flexible tube of a plastic such as polyvinyl chloride (PYC). By way of example, burette 19 can have an outside diameter of about 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) and a wall of approximately 0.05 inch (1.5 mm).
The burette extends from the bottom of meter 13 to generally the top thereof (approx-imately 6 inches (15.3 cm) for example) and is sealed at the bottom thereof to the body of the meter and valve 25 so that urine entering the burette from drain tube 17 fills burette 19 from the bottom without leaking out. Burette 19 can thus be used in conjunction with a set of gradations 27 printed or otherwise permanently affixed to the transparent vinyl (PVC) front of meter 13 to provide accurate measurement of a 20 relatively small amount of urine, e.g. two to thirty ml. As urine fills the burette to or approaching the uppermost of gradations 27, it spills out of an opening 28 in buret-te 19 into the main bocly, labelled 29, of meter 13. Also printed or otherwise affixed on the face of meter 13 is a second set of gradations 31 which permit the measure-ment of somewhat larger amounts of urine, e.g. 35 to 200 ml, in the main body ofthe meter. As is best seen in FIG. 8, a passage 33 is provided in main body 29 behind burette 19 to ensure that urine levels in tlle main body of the meter on both sides of the burette are equal, so that the measurement given by gradations 31 is accurate.
For convenience, the front of bag 11 is also transparent or translucent, is preferably calendared and has printed or otherwise affixed thereon a tllird set of 30 gradations 35, so that the amount of urine in the bag itself, as opposed to in the meter, may be at least approximately measured in increments of, for example, from approximately 100 ml to approximately 1~00 ml.
A spacer 37 (FIG. 2) of relatively rigid polyvinyl chloride material having a thickness of approximately 0.01 inch (0.25 mm) is provided for inclusion inside bag 11.
At its top spacer 37 includes a tab 39 suitable for radio freguency sealing or the like to the top of bag 11 to hold spacer 37 in place inside the bag. Along its left and right peripheries, spacer 37 includes a pair of ribs 41, 43 which extend generally perpendic-ularly approximately 0.5 inch (12.5 mm) out from the main body, labelled 45, of spacer 37. The size and shape of spacer 37 and the placement of ribs 41 and 43 is selected so that the urine meter seats between ribs 41 and 43. Spacer 37 also includes a second pair of ribs 47, 49 extending generally perpendicularly approximately 0.3 inch (8 mm) out frorn main body 45, ribs 47 and 49 being generally paralled to the longi-tudinal axis of spacer 37. Ribs 47 and 49 are shorter in length than ribs 41 and 43 that is, (they project out a shorter distance perpendicular to the main body of the spacer) and, as best seen in FIG. 4, termina-te at their upper end in the vicinity of an inlet port or opening 51 of bag 11.
The lower portion of bag 11, meter 13, burette 19 and spacer 37 are shown in 10 section in FIG. 3. Bag 11 is seen to have a relatively flexible, transparent front panel 53 of calendared vinyl (PVC) having a thickness of approximately 0.01 inch (0.25 mm) suitably secured as by radio frequency sealing at its periphery to a relatively flexible, opaque rear panel 5~ of vinyl PVC of approximately the same thickness, said rearpanel preferably being white to contrast with any urine in bag 11. spacer 37 is dis-posed inside bag 11, i.e. between panels 53, 55 with ribs 41 and 43 being disposed exteriorly of meter 13. Ribs 47 and 49, on the other hand, can come into contactwith the rear of meter 13 through front panel 53 of bag 11. Ribs 47 and 49 are not as tall (do not extend out from the body of spacer 37 as far) as ribs 41 and 43, thereby reducing the overall width of the bag and meter combination from wha-t it would be 20 if ribs 47 and 49 were as tall as ribs 41 and 43.
Meter 13 has a transparent, relatively rigid front panel 57 of vacuum formed polyvinyl chloride and an opaque, perferably white, rigid rear panel 59, also of vacuum formed polyvinyl chloride, which panels are suitably sealed together such as by radio frequency sealing along their edges, each panel having a thickness of approximately 0.025 inch (0.6 mm). Rear panel 59 has formed therein a recess or groove 61 and a pair of ribs 63, 65 to receive and support flexible burette tube 19 against transverse movement. The ribs also strengthen the meter itself and maintain the circular cross-section of the burette. Ribs 63 and 65 terminate short of the bottom of meter 13(see FIG. 4) and channel 33 is formed in rear panel 59 (see FIG. 8) to permit urine to 30 freely flow behind burette 19 to equalize the urine levels in each half of meter 13.
Referring back to FIG. 3, front panel 57 supports burette 19 as well by being infrictional contact therewith even though the front panel is not molded to receive the burette.
The tops of meter 13 and burette 19 are shown in greater detail in FIG. 5.
Drain tube 17 is secured in the top of meter 13 in a clear plastic bushing 67 of PVC
whose inclined lower end terminates in burette 19 and which is itself secured by a suitable adhesive or sealing process to the top of meter 13. Rigid panels 57 and 59 extend around bushing 67 and help hold it in place. The inclined distal end of bushing ~3~
67 thus constitutes the inlet port of meter 13. Tube 17 extends generally from the inlet port of rneter 13 upwardly a prede-termined distance to a section thereof labelled 69 which has a length much shorter than the predetermined distance. At section 69 the wall of tube 17 has been thinned to provide a predetermined point of weakness.
This thilliling, which is exaggerated in FIGS. 5-7, is accomplished without changing the inner diamter of tube 17, which diameter remains substantiaily cons-tant through-out its length by, for example, placing the distal portion of the tube over a mandrel and rotating it about its longitudinal axis while sirnultaneously heating section 69 and stretclling -tlle tube. By way of example, the inner diameter of tube 17 through-10 out its length is approximately 0.3 inch (8 mm) while the outer diameter can varyfrom 0.4 inch (1 cm) above and below section 69 to approximately 0.36 inch (9 mm) at section 69. However, even this much thinning of the wall is not necessary. P-ll that is required is that the wall be thinned enough at section 69 to make section 69 the weakest part of the tube 17 so that when bent, the tube will kink off at that point.
The purpose of section 69 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Rear panel 59 of urine meter 13 has an ou-tlet port 71 molded therein with a lip 73 thereof which extends into and is suitably secured to front panel 53 of bag 11. As urine fills meter 13 to the bottom of outlet port 71, the urine spills over lip 73 through inlet port 51 of bag 11 20 into the bag. Many times, however, the meter is not allowed to become this full.
Father, periodically a nurse records the amount of urine in meter 13 and then rotates meter 13 from its generally vertical portion of FIG. 6 around plane A (FIG. 5) to a substantially horizontal position shown in FIG. 7 to dump the contents of the meter into the bag. Section 69, being the point of weakness, thereupon Icinks off tube 17.
This action closes the lumen of tube 17 and ensures that the urine passes into bag 11 instead of traveling up tube 17.
When the urine is dumped into bag 11, spacer 39 and specifically ribs 41, 43, 47 and 49 hold walls 53 and 55 of the bag apart to promote rapid dumping of the urine into the bag. The calendared texture of front panel 53 also promotes rapid30 dumping as it reduces the tending of the front and rear panels of the bag to stick together.
Urine meters in fluid communication with drainage bags such as that shown in United S-tates Reissue Pa-ten-t 30,607 are well known. Such meter bag combinations, however, require a sep-arate par-t for connecting the bag to the urine Peter (see Fig. 2 of the 30,507 patent). In urine meters it is desirable to have more accurate measurement of small volumes of urine. The 30,607 patent accomplishes this by having a series of urine meter sec-tions, each of larger volume (and less accuracy) than -the preced-ing section. It would be desirable to have a separate chamber wholly contained inside the meter to measure these smaller vol-umes, but such a separate chamber canno-t be formed using two vac-uum-formed shells (vacuum-forming being an economical way to make such parts) if one requires the liquid level -to remain the same on both sides of the meter. If a third vacuum-formed part were used to make the separate, smaller volume chamber, a second seal-ing operation would be required.
The present invention provides a urine meter which canbe sealed to a drainage bag without the necessity of third part between the meter and the bag; to provide a urine meter which accurately measures small volumes; to provide a urine meter with a separate chamber for measuring small volumes; and to provide such a urine meter which is reliable and economical in manufac-ture.
Briefly, the urine meter of the present invention in-cludes a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, and a relatively flexible extruded tube extending along the axis of the meter generally from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette. The front and rear panels are secured together along their periph-~3~2S~
eries to form the body of the meter. The tube extends from thefront panel to the back panel through a substantial portion of its length so that the panels support the flexible tube in place.
One of the panels has a passage formed therein at the bo-ttom of the meter -to permit body fluids to pass around the -tube to equal-ize the level of such fluids in the meter on each side of the tube. Suitab]y the passage is formed in the rear panel. Desir-ably the rear panel is generally planar and the passage formed in the rear pane] extends out of the plane of the rear panel.
Preferably one of said panels includes a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube. Suitably the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube. Preferably the groove and ribs are formed in the same panel as the passage and terminate above said passage.
ln a second aspect of the invention, the meter includes a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a rela-tively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending generally along the axis of the meter from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a bure-tte. The front and rear panels are secured together along their peripheries to form the meter. And one of the panels has a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube. Suitably the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
Desirably the groove and ribs are formed in the rear panel, and the front panel is comparatively flat.
In a third aspect of the invention there is provided a urine meter for collecting and measuring urine comprising a rela-tively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a rela-tively rigid rear panel forming the back of -the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form a meter chamber, and a tube having an upper end and a lower 3~
end extending substantially vertically and generally from the top to the bottom thereof and between and closely adjacent the front and rear panels to form a buret-te substantially dividing the me-ter chamber into laterally spaced chamber portions, means includ-ing a drain tube for introducing urine into the burette, theburette having an outlet adjacent the upper end thereof so that urine is flowable from the burette to said chamher portions, the lower end of said burette being fixedly connected -to the meter at the bottom thereof, one of said panels having a transverse pas-sage formed therein at the bottom of the meter chamber extendinggenerally laterally between said chamber portions connecting said chamber portions together in fluid communication to permi-t urine to pass laterally by the burette between said chamber portions to equalize the level of urine in said chamber portions during use of the meter.
The present invention will be further illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings in which:-Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a urine meter and drainage bag combination of this invention;
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a spacer which is preferably disposed in the combination of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away, of the lower portion of the combination of Fig. l;
Fig. 5 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away, of the upper portion of the combination of Fig. l;
- 2a -~32~
Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 1 with the bottom portion broken away;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the urine meter in its vertical position; and Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of Fig. 4.
.
Similar reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several vlews of the drawings.
Turning now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a flexible urinary drainage bag 11 in combination with a relatively rigid urine metering collection chamber or urine meter 13. Bag 11 is suitably secured, by radio frequency sealing or the like, to a drainage bag support 15 such as disclosed in applicant's U.S. Patent No. ~,562,984 issued January 7, 1984.
- 2b -so that in use bag 11 may be sus-pended vertically from a hospital bed or -the like (not shown) to collect body fluids, e.g. urine, iron a patien-t. Specifically, body fluid such as urine flows through a drain tube 17, which terminates at its distal end with an inclined cut, into a burette 19 disposed inside and constituting part of meter 13. Bag 11 also has a vent 21 of conventional clesi~n secured by raclio îrequency sealing or -the lil<e in the front ti-ereof to permit the expulsion of air from bag 11 as the bag is filled wi-th urine. At the lower end of the bag 11 is a manually actuable valve 23 which when open provides a path for urine to exit frorn the interior of bag 11. Meter 13 similarly has a manually 10 operable valve 25 at its lower end for the same purpose.
Buret$e 19 preferably is an extruded, relatively flexible tube of a plastic such as polyvinyl chloride (PYC). By way of example, burette 19 can have an outside diameter of about 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) and a wall of approximately 0.05 inch (1.5 mm).
The burette extends from the bottom of meter 13 to generally the top thereof (approx-imately 6 inches (15.3 cm) for example) and is sealed at the bottom thereof to the body of the meter and valve 25 so that urine entering the burette from drain tube 17 fills burette 19 from the bottom without leaking out. Burette 19 can thus be used in conjunction with a set of gradations 27 printed or otherwise permanently affixed to the transparent vinyl (PVC) front of meter 13 to provide accurate measurement of a 20 relatively small amount of urine, e.g. two to thirty ml. As urine fills the burette to or approaching the uppermost of gradations 27, it spills out of an opening 28 in buret-te 19 into the main bocly, labelled 29, of meter 13. Also printed or otherwise affixed on the face of meter 13 is a second set of gradations 31 which permit the measure-ment of somewhat larger amounts of urine, e.g. 35 to 200 ml, in the main body ofthe meter. As is best seen in FIG. 8, a passage 33 is provided in main body 29 behind burette 19 to ensure that urine levels in tlle main body of the meter on both sides of the burette are equal, so that the measurement given by gradations 31 is accurate.
For convenience, the front of bag 11 is also transparent or translucent, is preferably calendared and has printed or otherwise affixed thereon a tllird set of 30 gradations 35, so that the amount of urine in the bag itself, as opposed to in the meter, may be at least approximately measured in increments of, for example, from approximately 100 ml to approximately 1~00 ml.
A spacer 37 (FIG. 2) of relatively rigid polyvinyl chloride material having a thickness of approximately 0.01 inch (0.25 mm) is provided for inclusion inside bag 11.
At its top spacer 37 includes a tab 39 suitable for radio freguency sealing or the like to the top of bag 11 to hold spacer 37 in place inside the bag. Along its left and right peripheries, spacer 37 includes a pair of ribs 41, 43 which extend generally perpendic-ularly approximately 0.5 inch (12.5 mm) out from the main body, labelled 45, of spacer 37. The size and shape of spacer 37 and the placement of ribs 41 and 43 is selected so that the urine meter seats between ribs 41 and 43. Spacer 37 also includes a second pair of ribs 47, 49 extending generally perpendicularly approximately 0.3 inch (8 mm) out frorn main body 45, ribs 47 and 49 being generally paralled to the longi-tudinal axis of spacer 37. Ribs 47 and 49 are shorter in length than ribs 41 and 43 that is, (they project out a shorter distance perpendicular to the main body of the spacer) and, as best seen in FIG. 4, termina-te at their upper end in the vicinity of an inlet port or opening 51 of bag 11.
The lower portion of bag 11, meter 13, burette 19 and spacer 37 are shown in 10 section in FIG. 3. Bag 11 is seen to have a relatively flexible, transparent front panel 53 of calendared vinyl (PVC) having a thickness of approximately 0.01 inch (0.25 mm) suitably secured as by radio frequency sealing at its periphery to a relatively flexible, opaque rear panel 5~ of vinyl PVC of approximately the same thickness, said rearpanel preferably being white to contrast with any urine in bag 11. spacer 37 is dis-posed inside bag 11, i.e. between panels 53, 55 with ribs 41 and 43 being disposed exteriorly of meter 13. Ribs 47 and 49, on the other hand, can come into contactwith the rear of meter 13 through front panel 53 of bag 11. Ribs 47 and 49 are not as tall (do not extend out from the body of spacer 37 as far) as ribs 41 and 43, thereby reducing the overall width of the bag and meter combination from wha-t it would be 20 if ribs 47 and 49 were as tall as ribs 41 and 43.
Meter 13 has a transparent, relatively rigid front panel 57 of vacuum formed polyvinyl chloride and an opaque, perferably white, rigid rear panel 59, also of vacuum formed polyvinyl chloride, which panels are suitably sealed together such as by radio frequency sealing along their edges, each panel having a thickness of approximately 0.025 inch (0.6 mm). Rear panel 59 has formed therein a recess or groove 61 and a pair of ribs 63, 65 to receive and support flexible burette tube 19 against transverse movement. The ribs also strengthen the meter itself and maintain the circular cross-section of the burette. Ribs 63 and 65 terminate short of the bottom of meter 13(see FIG. 4) and channel 33 is formed in rear panel 59 (see FIG. 8) to permit urine to 30 freely flow behind burette 19 to equalize the urine levels in each half of meter 13.
Referring back to FIG. 3, front panel 57 supports burette 19 as well by being infrictional contact therewith even though the front panel is not molded to receive the burette.
The tops of meter 13 and burette 19 are shown in greater detail in FIG. 5.
Drain tube 17 is secured in the top of meter 13 in a clear plastic bushing 67 of PVC
whose inclined lower end terminates in burette 19 and which is itself secured by a suitable adhesive or sealing process to the top of meter 13. Rigid panels 57 and 59 extend around bushing 67 and help hold it in place. The inclined distal end of bushing ~3~
67 thus constitutes the inlet port of meter 13. Tube 17 extends generally from the inlet port of rneter 13 upwardly a prede-termined distance to a section thereof labelled 69 which has a length much shorter than the predetermined distance. At section 69 the wall of tube 17 has been thinned to provide a predetermined point of weakness.
This thilliling, which is exaggerated in FIGS. 5-7, is accomplished without changing the inner diamter of tube 17, which diameter remains substantiaily cons-tant through-out its length by, for example, placing the distal portion of the tube over a mandrel and rotating it about its longitudinal axis while sirnultaneously heating section 69 and stretclling -tlle tube. By way of example, the inner diameter of tube 17 through-10 out its length is approximately 0.3 inch (8 mm) while the outer diameter can varyfrom 0.4 inch (1 cm) above and below section 69 to approximately 0.36 inch (9 mm) at section 69. However, even this much thinning of the wall is not necessary. P-ll that is required is that the wall be thinned enough at section 69 to make section 69 the weakest part of the tube 17 so that when bent, the tube will kink off at that point.
The purpose of section 69 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Rear panel 59 of urine meter 13 has an ou-tlet port 71 molded therein with a lip 73 thereof which extends into and is suitably secured to front panel 53 of bag 11. As urine fills meter 13 to the bottom of outlet port 71, the urine spills over lip 73 through inlet port 51 of bag 11 20 into the bag. Many times, however, the meter is not allowed to become this full.
Father, periodically a nurse records the amount of urine in meter 13 and then rotates meter 13 from its generally vertical portion of FIG. 6 around plane A (FIG. 5) to a substantially horizontal position shown in FIG. 7 to dump the contents of the meter into the bag. Section 69, being the point of weakness, thereupon Icinks off tube 17.
This action closes the lumen of tube 17 and ensures that the urine passes into bag 11 instead of traveling up tube 17.
When the urine is dumped into bag 11, spacer 39 and specifically ribs 41, 43, 47 and 49 hold walls 53 and 55 of the bag apart to promote rapid dumping of the urine into the bag. The calendared texture of front panel 53 also promotes rapid30 dumping as it reduces the tending of the front and rear panels of the bag to stick together.
Claims (26)
1. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relative-ly rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible extruded tube extending along the axis of the meter generally from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette, said tube extending from the front panel to the back panel throughout a substantial portion of its length, whereby the flexible tube is supported in place by the front and rear panels, one of said panels having a passage formed therein at the bottom of the meter to permit body fluids to pass around the tube to equalize the level of such fluids in the meter on each side of the tube.
2. The meter as set forth in claim 1 wherein the passage is formed in the rear panel.
3. The meter as set forth in claim 2 wherein the rear panel is generally planar and the passage formed in the rear panel extends out of the plane of the rear panel.
4. The meter as set forth in claim 1 in which one of said panels includes a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube.
5. The meter as set forth in claim 4 wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
6. The meter as set forth in claim 5 wherein the groove and ribs are formed in the same panel as the passage and terminate above said passage.
7. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relative-ly rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending
7. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relative-ly rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending
Claim 7 (Cont'd) generally along the axis of the meter from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette, one of said panels having a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube.
8. The meter as set forth in claim 7, wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
9. The meter as set forth in claim 8, wherein the groove and ribs are formed in the rear panel, and the front panel is comparatively flat.
10. A urine meter for collecting and measuring urine comprising a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form a meter chamber, and a tube having an upper end and a lower end extending substantially vertically and generally from the top to the bottom thereof and between and closely adjacent the front and rear panels to form a burette sub-stantially dividing the meter chamber into laterally spaced cham-ber portions, means including a drain tube for introducing urine into the burette, the burette having an outlet adjacent the upper end thereof so that urine is flowable from the burette to said chamber portions, the lower end of said burette being fixedly connected to the meter at the bottom thereof, one of said panels having a transverse passage formed therein at the bottom of the meter chamber extending generally laterally between said chamber portions connecting said chamber portions together in fluid com-munication to permit urine to pass laterally by the burette be-tween said chamber portions to equalize the level of urine in said chamber portions during use of the meter.
11. The meter as set forth in claim 10, wherein said burette is circular in cross-section.
12. The meter as set forth in claim 11, wherein one of said panels has a vertically extending groove within the meter receiving portions of the burette to prevent lateral movement of upper portions of the burette.
13. The combination as set forth in claim 12, wherein the tube extends from the front panel to the back panel of the meter throughout a substantial portion of its length, whereby the tube is supported in place by the front and rear meter panels.
14. The combination as set forth in claim 12, wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
15. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, said meter having a longitudinal axis, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending along said axis of the meter substantially from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette extending substantially from the front panel to the back panel throughout a substantial portion of its length, the burette being supported in place by the front and rear panels and having an outlet in fluid communication with the meter, one of said panels having a passage means formed therein within and at the bottom of the meter extending transversely of the burette and said axis and in fluid communication with portions of the meter on both sides of the burette to permit body fluids to pass trans-versely by the burette to equalize the level of fluids in the portions of the meter on each side of the burette when the meter is in use.
16. The meter as set forth in claim 15 wherein the passage means is formed in the rear panel.
17. The meter as set forth in claim 16 wherein the rear panel is generally planar and the passage means formed in the rear panel extends out of the plane of the rear panel.
18. The meter as set forth in claim 15 in which one of said panels includes a groove in which the burette seats to pre-vent transverse movement of the burette.
19. The meter as set forth in claim 18 wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the burette.
20. The meter as set forth in claim 19 wherein the groove and ribs are formed in the same panel as the passage and terminate above said passage means.
21. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relatively rigid front panel forming the front or the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, said meter having a vertical longitudinal axis, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending substan-tially along said vertical axis of the meter from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a bur-ette, means closing the bottom of said burette to allow the bur-ette to collect body fluid therein, one of said panels having a groove extending along said axis and in which the burette seats to prevent movement of the burette transversely of said axis, and drain tube means having one end portion for connection with a source of body fluid and the opposite end portion extending into the meter in fluid tight sealing engagement therewith and also extending into the burette for conveying body fluid thereto, the burette having an outlet adjacent the upper end thereof in fluid communication with the meter so that body fluid can flow from the burette into the meter, and transverse passage means in fluid communication with the meter on both lateral sides of the burette at the bottom of the meter to allow body fluid to flow laterally by the burette to equalize levels of body fluid on the lateral sides of the burette.
22. The meter as set forth in claim 21 wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
23. A meter for collecting and measuring body fluids comprising a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter, a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, and a relatively flexible tube extending generally along the axis of the meter from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels to form a burette, one of said panels having a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube, the panel with the groove further including a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube, the groove and ribs being formed in their rear panel, and the front panel being comparatively flat.
24. In combination, a meter for collecting and measur-ing body fluids and a drainage bag in fluid communication there-with, said meter having a relatively rigid front panel forming the front of the meter and a relatively rigid rear panel forming the back of the meter, the front and rear panels being secured together along their peripheries to form the meter, said drainage bag having a relatively flexible front panel with an inlet port therein, the rear panel of the meter having an outlet port there-in, the inlet port of the front panel of the bag being directly sealed to the outlet port of the rear panel of the meter, the meter including a relatively flexible extruded tube extending along the axis of the meter generally from the top to the bottom thereof between the front and rear panels of the meter to form a burette, the tube extending substantially from the front panel to the back panel of the meter throughout a substantial portion of its length, the flexible tube being supported in place by the front and rear meter panels, one of said meter panels having a passage formed therein at the bottom of the meter extending gen-erally transversely of said axis to permit body fluids to pass around the tube to equalize the level of such fluids in the meter on each side of the tube.
25. The combination as set forth in claim 24 wherein one of the panels includes a groove in which the tube seats to prevent transverse movement of the tube.
26. The combination as set forth in claim 25 wherein the panel with the groove further includes a pair of ribs, one on each side of the groove and parallel thereto, to further support the tube.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000478068A CA1232506A (en) | 1985-04-01 | 1985-04-01 | Urine meter and drainage bag combination |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000478068A CA1232506A (en) | 1985-04-01 | 1985-04-01 | Urine meter and drainage bag combination |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1232506A true CA1232506A (en) | 1988-02-09 |
Family
ID=4130169
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000478068A Expired CA1232506A (en) | 1985-04-01 | 1985-04-01 | Urine meter and drainage bag combination |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1232506A (en) |
-
1985
- 1985-04-01 CA CA000478068A patent/CA1232506A/en not_active Expired
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |