GB2218903A

GB2218903A - Sanitary pan

Info

Publication number: GB2218903A
Application number: GB8909551A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Booth
Original assignee: Warwick Service & Satisfaction
Current assignee: Warwick Service & Satisfaction
Priority date: 1988-05-27
Filing date: 1989-04-26
Publication date: 1989-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 2009-04-26
Also published as: GB2218903B; GB8909551D0; GB8812682D0

Abstract

A sanitary pan (10), primarily for hospital use, comprises an integrally formed injection moulding including an elongate receptacle (11) having a generally planar base (12) and a peripheral wall (13), a seat (16) comprising a pair of side flanges (14) integrally connected to said wall (13) at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange (15) linking the side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle (at 17), the seat (16) being generally parallel to the base (12) of the receptacle. A pair of side walls (19) depend from the side flanges (14) towards the level of the base, to provide stiffness and to stabilise the sanitary pan in use. The internal and external surfaces of the sanitary pan are smooth and devoid of ribs, seams and crevices and all curved surfaces have a radius of greater than 5 millimetres. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE: SANITARY PAN This invention relates to sanitary pans, also known as bed pans.

Sanitary pans have been manufactured for many years from ceramic materials. Although these are strong, they are prone to accidental damage and are very heavy.

Since ceramic material cannot readily be sterilised, they do not meet modern hygiene requirements.

Disposable types of sanitary pan are in use. These have adequate strength and meet hygiene requirements since they are disposed of after a single use but, in the long term, such disposable products prove expensive.

Other sanitary pans are manufactured of metal such as stainless steel. These are strong and are not heavy, can be reused many times and sterilised very readily by machine. However, the initial capital cost of such stainless steel sanitary pans is very high. Further, they are not particularly comfortable for a patient to use.

It has therefore been proposed to use plastics materials for sanitary pans of a reusable type. These have the advantage of being light, strong and reusable, cost less than a stainless steel sanitary pan and provide good patient comfort.

However, previous sterilisable plastics sanitary pans may not meet the higher standards of cleansing which are coming to be expected.

This is because previously proposed designs have usually been blow moulded in an internal mould. Air entrapment against the face of the mould results in an external surface which is not absolutely smooth and which may therefore trap soil, making it difficult to ensure cleansing by machine.

The flexibility of the plastics material is such that it may not take very heavy weight patients or may feel insecure in use. Where reinforcing ribs are provided to reduce this disadvantage, the ribs provide recesses or crevices in which soil can again be trapped.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new or improved sanitary pan.

According to the invention, there is provided a sanitary pan comprising an integrally formed injection moulding including; an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall; a seat comprising a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said seat being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle; and a pair of side walls depending from said side flanges towards the level of the base; wherein the internal and external surfaces of the sanitary pan are smooth and devoid of ribs, seams and crevices and wherein all curved surfaces have a radius of greater than 5 millimetres.

Preferably; the angle of the return flange relative to the base is between 6 and 100 to permit visual inspection of the interior of the entire receptacle.

The side walls may terminate in outwardly turned lips at a level spaced above the level of said base by between 5 and 10 millimetres.

The invention also provides a method of making a sanitary pan comprising injection moulding an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall, a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said side flanges and return flange being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle, the method involving the use of a two-part mould core, and including the sequential steps of withdrawing a first, retractable mould core from below the return flange and subsequently retracting a second, main core of the tool from within the receptacle formed.

Viewed from a further aspect, the invention provides an injection moulding apparatus for moulding an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall, a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said side flanges and return flange being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle, the apparatus comprising a twopart mould core, and including a first, retractable mould core adapted to lie below the return flange and a second, main core of the tool adapted to lie within the receptacle during formation.

A sanitary pan embodying the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the sanitary pan.

FIGURE 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view taken on the arrow 4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, a sanitary pan is generally indicated at 10 and comprises an elongate receptacle 11 having a generally planar base 12 and a completely surrounding peripheral wall 13. The peripheral wall is upstanding from the base and inclines slightly outwardly to enable the entire article to be moulded as a one piece injection moulding.

At opposed sides of the elongate receptacle a pair of outwardly extending side flanges 14 are provided. At one end of the receptacle these are linked by a return flange 15 so as to form a continuous seat generally indicated at 16 surrounding the major portion of the circumference of the receptacle. The return flange 15 overlies the rear part 17 of the receptacle as can best be seen in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The forward end of the receptacle is open, with the upright wall 13 terminating in a slightly outwardly turned lip 18.

Thus; the receptacle is surrounded by a broad seat which is generally parallel to the base 11 of the receptical to support a patient for use of the sanitary pan.

The side flanges 14 extend integrally into downwardly depending side walls 19 which terminate just short of the level of the base 12 of the sanitary pan. The depending side walls 19 preferably end about 6 mm above the level of the base but the separation may be between 5 and 10 mm. Each of the depending side walls 19 terminates in an outwardly turned lip 20 best seen in Figure 2 of the drawings.

The sanitary pan is made as a one piece integrally formed injection moulding. The injection moulding method and apparatus are suitably adapted to produce the shape described. Specifically, the portion of the receptacle beneath the return flange 15 up to the dotted line 21 in Figure 3 is formed about a retractable mould core which is withdrawn before retraction of the main body of the tool is completed from the receptacle 11. The return flange 15 is provided with a draw angle of between 60 and 100 relative to the general plane of the base 11, partly to assist in the removal of the tool after moulding and partly to permit of visual inspection of the rearmost part 22 of the receptacle, immediately below the return flange.

All the internal surfaces of the sanitary pan have radii of more than 5 millimetres and preferably more than 10 millimetres, to allow for good circulation of cleansing liquid in a standard mechanical cleansing apparatus.

The same criteria apply to the internal radii below the seat 16, indicated at 23 and 24 in Figure 2. It will be seen that no support ribs or the like are provided below the seat 16. The seat is supported and rendered rigid by the channel section formed between the peripheral wall 13, the side wall 19 and the flange 14 or 15.

The sanitary pan is made of a plastics material which is capable of withstanding washing cycles carried out at 850C without deterioration, and the typical expected life of the sanitary pan is at least 500 washing cycles. All of the surfaces of the sanitary pan are available for visual inspection after washing has taken place, without any additional equipment being required, and this particularly applies to the portion 22 beneath the return flange. The. plastics material is sufficiently heat resistant to permit sterilisation by autoclave and may be for example polypropylene.

So far as capacity is concerned, it is preferred that the overall size of the sanitary pan should be 360 millimetres in length by 298 millimetres in width and 109 millimetres in depth at its maximum dimensions. Such a sanitary pan has a capacity of approximately 3 litres when mounted horizontally and, when tipped to an angle of 300 is still capable of retaining one litre.

The maximum patient bearing surface on each side of the sanitary pan is between 50 and 60 millimetres, represented by the width of the return flange 15 and side flanges 14.

When mounted on a resilient surface, such as a bed, the depending side walls 19 with their out turned lips 20 give additional stability. However the sanitary pan can also be used in a commode, in which case the inherent flexibility of the material is just sufficient to take up the separation in the levels of the base 12 and outwardly turned lips 20 so that the sanitary pan is retained level and stable without rocking or tipping. Even when mounted on a hard surface, no more than 100 of tilt can be experienced.

The material thickness is calculated so as to enable the sanitary pan to carry a load of 125 kilo without significant distortion after 45 minutes, so as to make it capable of use without damage by heavy patients.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A sanitary pan comprising an integrally formed in jection moulding including; an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall; a seat comprising a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said seat being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle; and a pair of side walls depending from said side flanges towards the level of the base; wherein the internal and external surfaces of the sanitary pan are smooth and devoid of ribs, seams and crevices and wherein all curved surfaces have a radius of greater than 5 millimetres.

2. A sanitary pan according to claim 1 wherein the angle of the return flange relative to the base is between 60 and 100 to permit visual inspection of the interior of the entire receptacle.

3. A sanitary pan according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the side walls terminate in outwardly turned lips at a level spaced above the level of said base by between 5 and 10 millimetres.

4. A method of making a sanitary pan comprising injection moulding an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall, a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said side flanges and return flange being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle, the method involving the use of a two-part mould core, and including the sequential steps of withdrawing a first, retractable mould core from below the return flange and subsequently retracting a second, main core of the tool from within the receptacle formed.

5. A method according to claim 4 of forming a receptacle having internal and external surfaces which are smooth and devoid of ribs, seams and crevices.

6. A injection moulding apparatus for moulding an elongate receptacle having a generally planar base and a peripheral wall, a pair of side flanges integrally connected to said wall at opposed elongate sides of the receptacle and extending outwardly away from the receptacle, and a return flange linking said side flanges and extending inwardly to partly overlie the receptacle, said side flanges and return flange being generally parallel to the base of the receptacle, the apparatus comprising a two-part mould core, and including a first, retractable mould core adapted to lie below the return flange and a second, main core of the tool adapted to lie within the receptacle during formation.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 for moulding a receptacle having internal and external surfaces which are smooth and devoid of ribs, seams and crevices.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said first, retractable mould core has a draw angle of between 60 and 100 relative to the general plane of the base.

9. A sanitary pan substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of making a sanitary pan according to claim 4 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. Apparatus for injection moulding a sanitary pan according to claim 6 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.