EP1073392A1

EP1073392A1 - Means for cleaning of wounds

Info

Publication number: EP1073392A1
Application number: EP99913800A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Eddie Jones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-03-25
Filing date: 1999-03-22
Publication date: 2001-02-07
Also published as: CA2325884A1; SE509985C2; CN1301143A; NO20004735D0; SE9800999L; JP2002507455A; AU3179199A; WO1999048457A1; SE9800999D0; NO20004735L

Abstract

The invention concerns an apparatus (1) related to an instrument for cleaning wounds (2) in the form of a holder (3) which contains liquid (4) for treating wounds and the like. According to the invention the liquid holder (3) and a further space (5), which contains liquid absorbing material (6) like for instance cotton, are separated from each other by a valve (7) which can be activated to open a passage (8) between said liquid holder (3) and space (5) for liquid absorbing material (6), which forms a tip for said instrument for cleaning wounds (2).

Description

Means for cleaning of wounds

The present invention concerns means related to wound cleaning aids in the form of a holder which contains liquid for treating wounds and the like.

It is a problem to treat wounds oneself since it is hard to handle and prepare known means that are suitable for this, for example to apply liquids for cleaning wounds on the wound and to clean the wound. A lot of different operations are required to attain this and it is therefore a problem to provide necessary articles accessibly.

In connection with outdoor life and sports it must be quick and easy to get necessary articles for cleaning wounds. If one furthermore has injured for example ones right hand and one is right-handed it is difficult to open packages of cleaning liquid, take out cotton and clean the wound oneself with the left hand when the hand is injured. It is also hard to open for example tissues for cleaning wounds.

It has also proved to be a problem that opened packages of wound cleaning liquid are not durable for a long period of time. As time goes by bacteria are generated in the liquid and while this liquid is meant to be used for cleaning wounds it goes without saying that this does more harm than good.

Attempts have been made to solve said problem with a means according to the prior art known from GB. A. 506789. A number of fairly small holders which contain cleaning liquid and wound cream, respectively, are arranged to be screwed together forming a pen like apparatus for storage and having a socket including bandage. A desired holder has then been opened to get at the contents therein. This enables the carrying of different materials for treating wounds but the said opening of the holder requires the assistance of at least two uninjured hands. Furthermore, no means to pick in the wound and to put cleaning liquid in the wound with are included. 2 The main object of the present invention is primarily to solve the said problem by simple and well functioning means and to provide a means which is both compact and which is suitable to be used with the help of only one hand.

The said object is obtained with a means according to the present invention, which is essentially characterized in that the liquid holder and a further space, which contains liquid absorbing material like for instance cotton, are separated from each other by a valve which can be activated to open a passage between said liquid holder and the space for liquid absorbing material under the influence of pressure of the liquid absorbing material which forms a tip for said aid for cleaning wounds.

The invention is described in the following as a preferred embodiment with reference to the appended drawings in which,

Fig. 1 shows a section view along a dispenser with a received holder for cleaning,

Fig. 2 shows a blast view of the dispenser,

Fig. 3 shows a perspective length section view of the whole apparatus.

Fig. 4 shows a further length section view of the dispenser,

Fig. 5 shows the dispenser in perspective obliquely from behind.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective length section view of the apparatus with an encircled front part.

Fig. 6A shows an enlargement of the encircled front part in Fig. 6.

Figs 7-8 show the dispensers with received holders in a row obliquely from the front and obliquely from behind, respectively.

Figs 9-10 show a holder in section obliquely from the front and obliquely from behind, respectively,

Fig. 11 shows a cross section of the apparatus,

Fig. 12 shows a length section of the holder along the line XII-XII in Fig. 1 1 and with an encircled valve,

Fig 12A shows an enlargement of the valve,

Fig. 13 shows a perspective view of the holder, 3

Fig. 14 shows a functional picture of the different parts of the holder,

Fig. 15 shows the housing of the holder,

Fig. 16 shows a holder wall, formed like a tray,

Fig. 17 shows a lid for the holder,

Fig. 18 shows an entire and a sectional view respectively, of a holding part of the dispenser,

Fig. 19 shows a seal for the back part of the dispenser,

Fig. 20 shows views of a valve spring,

Fig. 21 shows a counter part of the dispenser in perspective and in section, respectively,

Fig. 22 shows the tubular body of the dispenser in perspective,

Fig. 23 shows an end view of the dispenser,

Fig. 24 shows sectional views of the dispenser,

Fig. 25 shows a side view of a feeder included in the dispenser,

Fig. 26 shows a sectional view along line XXNI in Fig. 25,

Fig. 27 shows perspective views of the feeder obliquely from the front and obliquely from behind with an encircled part of a plaster tear edge, and

Fig. 27A shows said tear edge enlarged.

The solution of the problem of simple handling and functioning of wound cleaning aids comprises a tubular holder with several cartridges for cleaning wounds, so called cleaning tips, which are formed of cotton or an other effectively absorbing material, and which are supplied according to consumption. An unused cartridge is sealed in a sterile way with some kind of hermetic seal, for example a protective cover made of some stiff plastic material. This eliminates the problem of the durability of the liquid for cleaning wounds at the same time as the cotton tip is clinically clean until it is used. After use the next cartridge is supplied and the used cartridge is discarded.

At the cleaning liquid is supplied by pressing the cotton tip inwards for example against the skin beside the actual wound. The tip is drenched with liquid when the tip is pressed sσ hard that the spring loaded valve opens. The liquid is distributed in the cotton tip through capillary forces. One should however not press directly on the wound, since this may 4 cause irritation. After this it only remains to pass the drenched tip over the wound to clean it.

If one wants to absorb blood or superfluous liquid the next cartridge is fed out. the protective cover is removed and feeding at liquid is avoided. This is possible if one avoids pressing the tip inwards with such a force that the spring loaded valve is opened. This way the tip will be totally dry and may be used to absorb blood and liquid.

The cotton tip is slightly wedge formed with a bevelled upper part. The reason why its formed this way is that it will facilitate mechanical cleaning out and cleaning of the wound of for example dirt particles, gravel etc. The tip will basically act as a spatula.

The cartridges are supplied by pressing the feeder in the top (upper part) of the tubular holder, the so called main pipe. The main pipe will at the same time be a handle easy to grip which can be compared to a penholder. In the lower edge of the main pipe barbs are arranged along the inside of the pipe. The barbs made of for instance somewhat thinner and thereby softer material are turned in a direction towards the lower edge of the main pipe, in order to prevent the cartridges from being fed back into the main pipe. The barbs will lock the cartridge in the main pipe in a transported position for use. When the tip of the cartridge is pressed for supplying liquid the barbs should operate so that the cartridge will not be brought back in the main pipe again.

The feeder part has a smaller diameter than the main pipe which enables it to be pushed in and downward telescopically in the main pipe for transporting new cartridges. The feeder part is spring loaded to return to starting position after transport of a cartridge. Its lower edge is also provided with barbs to make the transportation work.

The spring loaded valve will not be influenced by the transportation of unused cartridges since the protective cover of the cartridges is made of a non-deforming material. The last (the uppermost) cartridge in the main pipe will be pressed with its protective cover against 5 the back edge of the cartridge in front of it and will at the same time push all cartridges in front of it one step further in a chain reaction.

The protective cover will also protect the cotton tip against dirt, dust and bacteria in the supplied position.

The invention will be suitable for humans as well as for animals.

Individual cartridges can be used separately, since they are arranged so that they without trouble can withstand such handling.

The invention, which is described more in detail in the following, includes an apparatus 1 related to an aid for cleaning wounds 2 in the form of a holder 3 which contains liquid 4 of a suitably kind for example disinfecting liquid, a solution of common salt etc. for treating wounds and the like.

According to the invention the liquid holder 3 and a further space 5. which contains liquid absorbing material 6 like for instance cotton, are separated from each other by a valve 7. The valve 7 can be activated to open a passage 8 between said liquid holder 3 and the space 5 for liquid absorbing material 6 through pressure influence of the liquid absorbing material 6, which forms a tip for said aid for cleaning wounds 2.

The valve 7, which preferably is formed of a valve body 10 having an integral spring 9. is arranged to activate the opening of said passage 8 against the action of said spring 9, said passage 8 passing through a board 1 1 acting as a delimiting wall between the liquid holder 3 and the space 5 in which the liquid absorbing material 6 is receivable.

The said liquid absorbing material 6 preferably comprises a bevelled treatment surface 12 or an other tip part with an extended surface which is suitable to function as a treatmeat part or an application part for wounds 13 after removal of a socket formed lid 14 located in 6 the front, for example for scraping gravel and sand from the wound 13 before allowing application of treatment liquid 4 on the wound 13.

To protect the said liquid absorbing material 6 from dirt and contact, a socket formed lid 14 may be arranged to be easily removable from covering the said liquid absorbing material 6 when one wants to use the aid 2 for treatment of wounds. The lid is suitably formed as a cover 14 which with its open end 14A is arranged to be received on a projecting lowered socket formed portion 15 in the open end 3 A of the liquid holder 3. The said liquid holder 3 continues with a socket formed closed back portion 16 and ends with a gable wall 17.

The said aid for cleaning wounds 2 which is formed as a cartridge can be used one by one manually by grasping manually the back liquid holder 3 by hand after which the lid 14 located in the front and covering the liquid absorbing material 6 is removed, which as a compact unit is held axially displaceably 18 in a fitting receiving space 19 in the front part of the said holder.

With a view to be able to store the aid 2 and also to be able to change the aid 2 at any desired opportunity, several such aids 2 can be arranged to be receivable in row after each other in the inside space 21 in a tubular dispenser 22. which also is arranged to function as a handle for said cartridges 2 when cleaning wounds with the cartridge 2 located in the front row 23.

The dispenser is formed of a pipe 22 which is provided with a received manually activated cartridge feeder 24, which is formed of a number of elastic ejecting tongues 25, 26 which are arranged to eject the first one of the cartridges 2, 2', 2² , 2', 3" located in row upon activation by a common holder part 27.

Said ejecting tongues 25. 26 are each received in a through going axial slit 28 arranged attire said holder part 27, and are further each arranged to be received in an internal axial canal 30 arranged in the inner envelope surface 29 of the pipe 22. The said ejecting tongues 25, 26 extend from a cylindrical holder portion 24A of the feeder 24, at its back portion 24B.

The said ejecting tongues 25, 26 each preferably include an inwardly angled thick wedge formed press portion 31, 32 which is arranged to be resilient towards the center 33 after it has passed by a so called aid cartridge 2... to engage the verge part 34 of the back gable wall of the cartridge in front thereof, and to be able to press against the same for a further feeding of a used cartridge 2, etc.

Inside the front part 22 A of pipe 22 there are a number of barbs 35 made of gum or an other friction material. Said barbs 35 are resilient and bend in the feed direction 36 for the cartridges 2... which feature is provided by having the barbs turned so that they lean in the feed direction 36 and thus act as a counter for said cartridge 2...when it is influenced by the pressure force F to be axially pressed in 18 toward the interior 21 of the pipe.

The said barbs 35 can be located inside an annular part 37 which can be inserted into the pipe 22 at its front part 22A in a suitable notch.

At the back part 22B of the pipe there is a space 38 which is delimited from the cartridge receiving space 21 at the other parts 22A and 22B of the pipe. In said back receiving space 38 plaster and similar bandage aids can be stored, and for enabling the tearing off of a desired length thereof a toothed slit 39 can be arranged to extend all the way through said plaster magazine 38 from the back end 22D of the pipe. The plaster is easy to tear off when required by pulling out a wanted length of plaster radially through said slit 39. To close said plaster magazine 38 a seal 40 for instance in form of a plug can be arranged to close the back orifice 41 of the pipe.

The spring 9 at said cartridge 2... is preferably formed of a leaf spring which lies with its free end 9 A against the said back gable wall 17 of the liquid holder 3, and its opposite end 9B can be connected to said valve body 10, like for instance shown in Fig. 12 A. and 8 suitably integrated therewith. A part 43 of the valve body 3 expanding towards the out flowing direction 42 for liquid 4 from said holder 3 through the passage 8 ascertains that liquid 4 in a controlled manner can flow out via the passage 8 to the space 5 where the liquid absorbing material 6 is received.

An opening 46 adapted to the external form of said formed valve plate 43 is provided at the plate like partition wall part 11 to bring about an effective seal. This out flow of liquid 4 will continue for as long as the valve 7 is activated to be open. The opening of valve 7 takes place by pressing the liquid absorbing material 6 against for example the skin 44 beside the wound 13 when one wants to apply liquid 4 in the wound 13 to clean and disinfect it.

As press part 45 projecting axially from the formed valve plate 43 is arranged to lie against the back end 6A or an other part of the plug formed liquid absorbing material accumulation 6. Inward pressing of the plug 6 will make said press part 45 activate the valve 9 to be compressed and the liquid 4 to flow out through the opening 8 to be absorbed by the liquid absorbing material 6, for example a cotton or an other fibre body 6. While the valve 7 is located near the center 33 of said aid 2...it will facilitate use if one directs said aid vertically so that the liquid 4 can flow out freely from its holder 4 through the opening 46. If one arranges several openings located nearer the envelope surface 47 of the holder the liquid 4 can flow out also if the aid 2 is held in a horizontal direction.

The invention should have been understood from the above and from the provided drawing. After completed treatment with an aid 2 said aid will be removed through dislocating the holder part 27 in the supply direction 36. after which the aid is pressed out of the pipe 22 and the next aid 2¹ is in turn to be used after its lid 14 has been removed manually, etc.

New aids 2...can be refilled in pipe 22 when it is empty or needs to be refilled. 9

The said aid 2...includes such means that it will resist bitter cold as well as heat without being out of order, for example so that it may be stored in a first-aid bag in a vehicle, or in other places where the temperature may vary much.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments showed and described but they can be varied within the scope of the claims without deviating from the idea of the invention.

Claims

10 Claims

1. A means (1) related to an aid for cleaning wounds (2) in the form of a holder (3) which contains liquid (4) for treating wounds and the like, characterized in that the liquid holder (3) and a further space (5), which contains liquid absorbing material (6) like for instance cotton, are separated from each other by a valve (7) which can be activated to open a passage (8) between said liquid holder (3) and space (5) for liquid absorbing material (6) under the influence of pressure of the liquid absorbing material (6) which forms a tip for said aid for cleaning wounds (2).

2. A means in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the said liquid absorbing material (6) comprises a bevelled treatment surface (12).

3. A means in accordance with any one of the claims 1-2, characterized in that a socket formed lid (14) is arranged to removably cover the liquid absorbing material (6).

4. A means in accordance with any one of the above mentioned claims, characterized in that several cartridges formed aids (2, 2¹, 2² , 2 .. 2") for cleaning wounds are receivable in a row behind each other in a tubular dispenser (22) which also is arranged to act as a handle for said cartridges when cleaning wounds with the cartridge (2) located in front of the row (23) (Fig. 5).

5. A means in accordance with claim 4, characterized in that the dispenser is formed of a pipe (22) with a received cartridge feeder (24) in the form of a number of elastic ejecting tongues (25, 26) which are arranged to eject the cartridge (2) located first in the row (23) under the influence of a common holder part (27).

6. A means in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that the said ejecting tongues (25, 26) are each received in a through going slit (23) arranged in said holder part (27) and are each arranged to be received in an individual canal (30) arranged internally at the pipe (22) in its inner envelope surface (29).

7. A means in accordance with any one of the claims 4-6, characterized in that inside the front part (22A) of the pipe (22) there are a number of barbs (35) made of gum or an other friction material and which barbs (35) are turned in the feeding direction (36) and thus act as a counter for the cartridge when it is influenced to be pressed (18) toward the interior of the pipe (21). 11

8. A means in accordance with any one of the claims 4-7, characterized in that there is a space (38) at the back part (22B) of the pipe which is delimited toward the cartridge receiving space (21) at the other parts (22A, 22C) of the pipe and that a toothed slit (39) extends to said back space which acts as a plaster magazine (38).

9. A means in accordance with claim 8, characterized in that a seal (40) is removably arranged to close the back orifice (41) of the pipe.

10.A means in accordance with any one of the above mentioned claims, characterized in that the valve (7) is formed of a valve body (10) having an integral spring (9) which body is arranged to activate the opening of said passage (8) against the effect of said spring (9) through a board (1 1) acting as a delimiting wall between the liquid holder (3) and the space (5) in which the liquid absorbing material (6) is receivable, and which spring (9) is formed of a leaf spring which lies with its free end (9 A) against a gable wall (17) at the liquid holder (3).