GB2296665A

GB2296665A - Holder for a bag receiving liquid waste from the body

Info

Publication number: GB2296665A
Application number: GB9523572A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm Ian Falconer
Original assignee: ER Squibb and Sons LLC
Current assignee: ER Squibb and Sons LLC
Priority date: 1995-01-05
Filing date: 1995-11-17
Publication date: 1996-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-17
Also published as: GB2296665B; GB9500123D0; GB2296664A; GB9523572D0

Description

2296665 BAG FOR CONTAINING LIQUID This invention relates to a bag for

containing liquid, e.g. urine; and relates particularly though not exclusively to a leg bag and a holder therefor. Leg bags are known. They are usually bags of plastics material provided with an inlet and optionally an outlet. They are used by incontinents. Their purpose is to temporarily store urine. The urine is conducted from the bag wearer to the bag via a suitable incontinence appliance and a plastics or rubber tube.

Various methods of attaching a leg bag to the leg of the wearer have been proposed.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a bag for containing liquid and holder therefor which is comfortable to wear, unobtrusive, in which changing of the bag is readily accomplished, and which includes means for ensuring that the bag can be securely held in place on the wearer.

According to the invention, there is provided a combination comprising a holder and a bag in which the holder includes a first sheet of material which can conform to the curvature of a portion of the body of the wearer, a second sheet of material attached to the first sheet for movement relative to the first sheet generally about an axis, a bag having an entry hole at its upper end, and an attachment device connected to the first sheet and capable of passing through one or more holes in the second sheet, the attachment device having a movable attachment portion shiftable between a first position which permits the second sheet to be hinged open and a second position in which the second sheet is caused to remain in a closed position, the second sheet being held closed by the movable attachment portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment device is constructed as a clamp having its movable attachment portion shaped to embrace a tube which, in use, is inserted into the entry hole.

Advantageously, the second sheet is pivotable relative to the first sheet about a substantially horizontal axis located at or near the bottom of the first 1 is sheet, though it is also possible for it to be hinged, door-like, about a substantially vertical axis.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a clamp may be provided which has a pair of pivotable "wings" which can be caused to embrace a tubular hollow probe which can be inserted into a bag designed to contain liquids, e.g. urine.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following particular description, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are denoted by like reference numerals, and in which-

Figure 1 is a view of a person wearing one example of a leg bag according to the invention; Figure 2 is a view of an example of a leg bag holder; Figure 3 is a view of a probe which may constitute the lower end of a urine drainage tube, whose upper end is connected to an incontinence appliance; Figure 4 is a front view, partly cut away, of one example of leg bag according to the invention:

Figure 5 is a front view showing the leg bag with the probe inserted; Figure 6 is a front view, with part of the holder cut away, of the leg bagholder combination, showing the attachment device with its movable attachment portion in its open condition; Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the attachment device closed; Figure 8 is a side view of part of a second embodiment according to the invention, showing a clamp-probe device having a pair of foldable "wings"; Figures 9 and 9A are respectively end view and a section on the plane XX of Figure 8 of the clamp-probe device; Figure 10 is a side elevation showing the device in its open position; Figure 11 shows the clamp in the closed condition; Figure 12 is a view at 90' to the view of Figure 11 but showing the wings 2 in the open position; and Figure 13 illustrates the clamp-probe device closed onto a bag for containing liquid and securely connecting the tubular probe with the bag, so that the tube cannot be accidentally pulled out of the bag.

In this specification the words "upper" and "lower" are used in a descriptive and not a limiting sense and refer to the position of parts on the assumption that the wearer of the leg bag is standing upright with his/her leg that is wearing the bag-holder combination also upright. "Forward" and "rear" used herein are used in the sense that "rear" is the closer to, and "forward" is further from. the body of the wearer.

Figure I illustrates a holder 10, with a leg bag therein, attached to a leg 12 of the wearer. A drain tube 14. connected at its upper end to an incontinence appliance. not shown, is shown inserted into a hole in a drainage bag 40 (Fig.4). The holder 10 has a band 16 which may be fastened around the leg 12 in any convenient way (e.g. buckle and strap. VELCRO [Reg. T.M.] or buttons).

Figure 2 illustrates one form of holder according to the invention, which has a rear sheet 20 to which is hingeably connected a front sheet 22. As illustrated, this enables the front sheet 22 to pivot about a substantially horizontal axis relative to the rear sheet 20. the rear sheet 20 being connected to or integral with, both the band 16 and the front sheet 22. However, as illustrated by the arrow at the lower part of the drawing, the front sheet 22 may instead be hinged about a substantially vertical axis. The front sheet 22 has a cut out 24 to accommodate the probe end of the tube 14, this being seen in Figure 3 and, in its inserted position, in Figure 5. As seen in Figure 3, the lower end of the tube 14 receives a probe 15, which may be made of plastics material, and which has a slightly enlarged and tapered end 15A. This can be forced into a hole in the upper end of the bag, as will be later described.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, the illustrated leg bag is made of a pair of superposed sheets (walls) of suitable plastics material, peripherally welded at i 5 3 is 15, resulting in the assembly seen in Figure 7, in which it will be seen that the bag 40 is securely and comfortably retained in the holder 10. When it is desired to empty the bag, or fit a new bag, the clamp 18 is opened, the probe 15 is withdrawn from the hole 46, and the bag 40 can then if desired be discarded.

Referring now to Figures 8-13, the illustrated clamp-probe device 60 is made of a mouldable plastics, e.g. polypropylene and comprises a hollow tubular portion 62 to which is integrally attached, by so-called "plastics hinges" 64 and 65, a pair of wings 66 and 67. The shape of the wings can be seen from Figures 8-10. It will be noted that there is an engaging detent and recess structure 68,69 on each wing so that when folded closed they are releasably connected together. The inside surface of each wing has a number of shallow projections 70 which when the wings are in their closed position are received in a recess 72 formed in and extending around the external surface of the tubular portion 60. In use, the clamp device-probe 60,62 can be opened by lifting each wing 66 or 67, and the probe is then inserted into a suitable entry passageway provided at the tope of the bag 40 for containing liquid. The clamp is then closed by manually swinging each wing 66,67 through substantially 90' and then squeezing the two wings together so that the structures 68,69 interengage. The edges of these structures are able to interengage by virtue of the presence of holes 74,76, Figure 13, in the upper part of the bag, which are the equivalent of the holes at 48 in Figure 5 in the first embodiment of the invention.

Important advantages this embodiment of the invention are that the clampprobe can very easily be inserted into a drainage bag, a secure attachment is achieved by virtue of the wings, and yet disengagement is easy, even for relatively non-dexterous users, when it is desired to disconnect the tube from the bag.

Among the advantages of the invention are that it is unobtrusive and comfortable to wear, and that it provides a very secure attachment between the tube 14 and the bag. Due to this construction, the occurrence of leaks is It is 15, resulting in the assembly seen in Figure 7, in which it will be seen that the bag 40 is securely and comfortably retained in the holder 10. When it is desired to empty the bag, or fit a new bag, the clamp 18 is opened, the probe 15 is withdrawn from the hole 46 and the bag 40 can then if desired be discarded.

Referring now to Figures 8-13, the illustrated clamp-probe device 60 is made of a mouldable plastics, e.g. polypropylene and comprises a hollow tubular portion 62 to which is integrally attached, by so-called "plastics hinges" 64 and 65, a pair of wings 66 and 67. The shape of the wings can be seen from Figures 8- 10. It will be noted that there is an engaging detent and recess structure 68,69 on each wing so that when folded closed they are releasably connected together. The inside surface of each wing has a number of shallow projections 70 which when the wings are in their closed position are received in a recess 72 formed in and extending around the external surface of the tubular portion 60. In use, the clamp device-probe 60,62 can be opened by lifting each wing 66 or 67, and [he probe is then inserted into a suitable entry passageway provided at the top of the bag 40 for containing liquid. The clamp is then closed by manually swinging each wing 66,67 through substantially 90' and then squeezing the two wings together so that the structures 68,69 interengage. The edges of these structures are able to interengage by virtue of the presence of holes 74,76, Figure 13, in the upper part of the bag, which are the equivalent of the holes at 48 in Figure 5 in the first embodiment of the invention.

Among the advantages of the invention are that it is unobtrusive and comfortable to wear, and that it provides a very secure attachment between the tube 14 and the bag. Due to this construction, the occurrence of leaks is minimized. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the leg bag 40 which will be discarded, can be made from a disposable material which dissolves or disintegrates when flushed down a watercloset (wx).

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Claims

1. A combination comprising a holder and a bag for containing liquid in which the holder includes a first sheet of material which can conform to the curvature of a portion of the body of the wearer, a second sheet of material attached to the first sheet for movement relative to the first sheet generally about an axis, a leg bag having an entry hole at its upper end, and an attachment device connected to the first sheet and capable of passing through one or more holes in the second sheet, the attachment device having a movable attachment portion shiftable between a first position which permits the second sheet to be hinged open and a second position in which the second sheet is caused to remain in a closed position, the second sheet being held closed by the movable attachment portion.

2. A combination according to claim 1 in which the attachment device is constructed as a clamp having its movable attachment portion shaped to embrace a tube which, in use, is inserted into the entry hole.

3. A combination according to claim 1 or 2 in which the second sheet is pivotable about a substantially horizontal axis located at or near the bottom of the first sheet.

4. A combination according to claim 1 or 2 in which the second sheet is hinged, door-like, about a substantially vertical axis.

5. A combination substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1-7 of the accompanying drawings.

6. A combination according to claim 1 in which a pair of pivotable wings 7 attached to a hollow tube can be shifted between an open position and closed position wherein they maintain the bag holder closed.

7. A combination according to claim 6 in which the wings are connected to the tube by respective integral plastics hinges.

8. A combination according to claim 6 or 7 in which the tubular portion has a recess formed in and extending around its external surface, and in which the wings each have one or more projections on their inner surfaces, which projections are sized to be accommodated in the recess.

9. A combination according to any preceding claim in which the bag contains a superabsorbent.

is

10. A combination substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 8-13 of the accompanying drawings.

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