GB2323286A

GB2323286A - Orifice coupling

Info

Publication number: GB2323286A
Application number: GB9705906A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Leslie Steer; Keith G M Hollands
Original assignee: Bristol Myers Squibb Co
Current assignee: Bristol Myers Squibb Co
Priority date: 1997-03-21
Filing date: 1997-03-21
Publication date: 1998-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 2017-03-21
Also published as: GB9705906D0; GB2323286B

Abstract

An orifice coupling, such as an ostomy, incontinence or wound care coupling comprises first and second coupling members (12, 14) and a mechanical locking ring (24, 26) for releasably securing the coupling members together. A deflectable or compressible sealing memher (40) on one of the coupling members deflects or compresses in a generally axial direction to produce a generally axial sealing force.

Description

ORIFICE COUPLING This invention relates to an orifice coupling. The invention is particularly suitable for use in the fields of ostomy, incontinence or woundcare couplings, but not all aspects of the invention are limited to such fields.

Ostomy couplings are used to connect and disconnect a bag for receiving a stomal discharge to and from a medical grade adhesive pad or base which is applied to the peristomal area of the skin of the wearer.

Many designs of ostomy coupling are known. Factors which play an important part in the design of such couplings include ease of assembly/disassembly of the coupling members, the establishing of a fluid-tight seal between the coupling members, and the coupling reliability (ie. the ability of the coupling to prevent accidental separation of the coupling members and loss of seal integrity in use).

A particularly successful sealing arrangement is described in GB 1579657 in which a radially directed annular wiper is provided on one coupling member to form a radial seal against the peripheral external surface of the second coupling member.

As the coupling members are assembled to each other, the wiper is deflected in a radial direction to expand the wiper and generate a radial sealing force against the second coupling member. Such an arrangement has been used in numerous subsequent couplings, examples of recent coupling designs being illustrated, for example, in GB-A-2151482, EP-A-0737456, EP-A-0737457, EP-A-0737458, EP-A0737459 and EP-A-0737460. One characteristic which is believed to have contributed to the success of the deflectable wiper is that the wiper generally offers little resistance to assembly of the coupling members, which enables the coupling to be assembled without discomfort to the wearer.

Broadly speaking, in contrast to the prior art in which a sealing member is deflected in a radial direction, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a sealing member which, during assembly of the coupling members, is compressed or deflected to generate an axial sealing force between the coupling members.

Preferably, the sealing member is deflected or compressed in a generally axial direction.

The present invention is based on the appreciation that one limitation of radial type seals is the limited amount of deflection attainable when two coupling members are brought together. Radial deflection increases the inner diameter of the sealing member, and hence involves stretching the material in a circumferential direction (to accommodate the increased diameter). Generally, the deflection is limited to fractions of a millimetre, which means that the manufacturing tolerances still have to be relatively precise to meet such tolerance demands. As well as manufacturing tolerances, size variations of the sealing member and of the co-operating surfaces can occur depending on the age of the coupling members, temperature, the manner in which the coupling members are worn, and the shape or contours of the wearer's body. For example, noticeable size variations occur between generally lean people and fatter people.

By using compression or deflection in an axial direction, the limitations of circumferential stretching can be substantially avoided. Generally it is possible to obtain greater amounts of deflection, enabling a wider range of size variations to be accommodated without impairing seal reliability and performance. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture coupling members to less critical manufacturing tolerances, and thus reduce manufacturing costs.

In one form, the sealing member may comprise a deflectable strip or blade which projects from one sealing member and is deflected in an axial direction when the coupling members are assembled. The sealing member may be annular, and preferably frusto conical in shape. The sealing member may be integrally formed with the coupling member. In a particularly preferred form, such a sealing member may project from the nose or tip of a male coupling member for engaging a complementary surface of a female (or twin walled) coupling member.

In another form, the sealing member may comprise a compressible member.

In a particularly preferred form, the compressible member is received within a channel formed by two preferably continuous walls of one coupling member, the channel receiving a complementary wall of the other coupling member when the coupling is assembled. For example, the compressible member may be held in the channel by adhesive, by friction (if it is a tight fit), by tension (if it is slightly undersize), or by being moulded or injected into the channel. The compressible member may either be hollow to accommodate compression, or it may be of compressible material, such as closed or open cell foam.

Preferably, the coupling members comprise mechanical engagement means for releasably locking the coupling members together. The locking means may include a springy split ring which can be manipulated to permit separation of the coupling members, but the invention can also be embodied in a two-part coupling such as the "snap-fit" design illustrated in GB 1579657.

Embodiments of the invention are now described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an ostomy coupling; Fig. 2 is a partial section along the line II-II of Fig. 1 showing the coupling just prior to full engagement; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the coupling in full engagement; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a modified embodiment of first coupling member; Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view of a further embodiment, showing the coupling prior to engagement; and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the coupling in full engagement.

Referring to Figs. 1-3 an ostomy coupling 10 comprises a first coupling member 12 and a second coupling member 14. in this embodiment, the first coupling member 12 is the bodyside coupling part, and the second coupling member 14 is the bagside coupling part. These parts may however be reversed, so that the first member 12 is bag side and the second member 14 is bodyside.

The first coupling member 12 comprises a radial body flange 16 from which upstand concentric inner and outer walls 18 and 20, respectively, defining a channel region 22 therebetween. The outer wall 20 has a radially outwardly opening recess within which is received a springy split locking ring 24. Radially inwardly directed tabs 26 of the locking ring 24 project through apertures 28 in the outer wall 20, into the channel region 22.

The second coupling member 14 comprises a radial bag flange 32 from which depends a generally cylindrical wall 34 which has a radially outwardly opening annular recess 36. In use, when the coupling is assembled, the cylindrical wall 34 of the second coupling member is received within the channel 22, and the tabs 26 of the locking ring 24 snap into the recess 36 of the cylindrical wall to fasten the coupling together. To release the coupling, a user manipulates the locking ring 24 to withdraw the tabs 26 radially from the recess 36, which thus permits separation of the coupling members. As described thus far, the structure of the coupling, and its manner of operation, are very similar to those described in EP-A-0 737 456. The reader is referred to that document for further detail.

A resilient sealing member 40 is received within the channel 22 adjacent to the channel base 42. When the coupling members are assembled, the cylindrical wall 34 bears axially against the sealing member 40, to compress the sealing member 40 and establish an axial sealing force between the two coupling members.

In this embodiment, the sealing member 40 is normally convex shaped (see Fig. 2). Further, the leading edge of the cylindrical wall 34 has a projecting convex surface 44. As the two coupling members are brought together, the cylindrical wall 34 deforms or deflects the sealing member 40 into a generally concave channel" shape (see Fig. 3). The base 42 of the channel 22 is formed with a downward bulge to accommodate the deflection of the sealing member 40. In the fully engaged position, the material of the sealing member 40 may be partly compressed (for example, against the base 42), although it will be appreciated that flexing of the sealing member 40 between its normal convex shape and its concave shape can provide a seal over wide range of axial engagement positions of the two coupling members.

In the present embodiment, the sealing member may, for example, be made of silicon rubber, silicones, TPE and foamed polystyrenes. When the two coupling members 12 and 14 are separated, the sealing member 40 springs back to its natural convex shape.

As a modification, the region 45 between the sealing member 40 and the base 42 could be filled with an easily compressible elastomeric material. As a further modification, a single piece compressible, rather than deflectable, sealing member 46 may be used, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 4. In that embodiment, the base 42' of the channel 22 is generally flat, and the sealing member 46 is applied to the base 42'. In Fig. 4, the locking ring 24 is omitted for the sake of brevity. The compressible sealing member 46 may be made of any suitable synthetic injectable plastics foam, preferably a closed cell foam (as it is less prone to sealing). The foam material should preferably have an outer "skin" so that it can be wiped clean easily.

In the above embodiments, the sealing members may be retained on the first coupling member 12 by any suitable means. For example, a solid O-ring type member may be retained by being a tight fit between the channel walls 18 and 20, or by being slightly undersize, or by adhesive. A soft O-ring type member may be retained by adhesive, or it may be injected into the channel 22 in a flowable form, in a similar manner known for applying a sealing layer to inner face of lids for jars, such as jam jars and the like. A yet further option is to use a multi-shot moulding process (known per se) to integrally mould the sealing member 40 or 46 with the first coupling member 12.

Although in the above embodiments, the sealing member is on the first coupling member, it will be appreciated that the sealing member could be on the second coupling member 14 if desired. As shown by the dotted line 48 in Fig. 2, the "nose" region 50 of the cylindrical wall 34 of the second coupling member 14 could be made of compressible material to form a compressible seal against the solid base 42 of the channel. For example, such a nose could be made by a two-shot moulding process.

An alternative embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. In these figures, the structure of the first and second coupling members 12 and 14 and the manner in the which the coupling members fasten together is the same as in the first embodiment and so will not be described further here; the same reference numerals are used where appropriate.

The principal difference is that the sealing member 40 of the first embodiment is omitted. Instead, the second sealing member 14 carries a deflectable sealing member 52 on the leading edge of the cylindrical wall 34. The sealing member 52 is integrally moulded with the cylindrical wall and comprises an annular strip 54 which projects or depends in a frusto conical shape from the radially inner edge of the cylindrical edge of the cylindrical wall 34. The strip thickness decreases towards its radially outer edge, to provide progressively greater flexibility towards its tip.

Referring to Fig. 6, when the coupling is assembled, the tip of the strip 54 bears against the flat base 42 of the channel 22 of the first coupling member 12 to form an axial seal. As the coupling members reach their final engaged positions, the strip 54 flexes relative to its fixed end to accommodate any positional variations.

It will be appreciated that the use of a strip to give an axial seal in this embodiment can provide a greater range of flexing movement and accommodate greater positional variations than a radial strip as used in the prior art, since it is not constrained by the same circumferential stretching problems.

In this embodiment, the strip 54 is joined integrally to the circumferential wall 34 around the radially inner edge, as this can simplify the mould required for manufacture. The mould parts can be withdrawn radially outwardly to extract the finished moulding from the mould. If desired, the strip could be arranged to project of depend from the radially outer edge, but a more complicated mould (with radially inwardly withdrawable tongues) would then be required.

In this embodiment, the strip 54 is integrally moulded with the cylindrical wall 34, and is made of the same material as the remainder of the second coupling member 14. The reduced thickness of the strip 54 provides the strip's necessary flexibility. If desired, the strip could be made of a different material and, for example, moulded using a two shot moulding process.

In this embodiment, the strip 54 is provided on the second coupling member 14, as this is more convenient than trying to incorporate the strip in the channel 22 of the first coupling member 12. However, if desired (and particularly if the coupling member has a different configuration, for example without a channel 22), the strip could be provided on the first coupling member instead.

The structure of the coupling members, and the manner in which the coupling members fasten together, is similar to that described in EP-A-0 737 459 referred to above. However, the invention may be used with any suitable type of coupling construction with or without a mechanical locking arrangement. The systems described in EP's 0 737 457, 0 737 458, 0 737 459 and 0 737 460 are particularly suitable.

While reference has been made herein to circular circumferential walls and to radially-extending parts, it will be realised that the coupling oculd alternatively be of oval shape, and the claims herein are to be broadly interpreted in this regard.

Although the invention has been described above in the field of ostomy couplings, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to such use. in particular, it is envisaged that the invention will find applications in the fields of incontinence and woundcare couplings, as well as others.

Features and aspects of the invention believed to be of particular importance have been identified in the foregoing description and the appended claims. However, the Applicant claims protection for any novel feature or combination of features described herein and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings irrespective of whether emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. An ostomy, incontinence or woundcare coupling comprising first and second coupling members surrounding an orifice, mechanical locking means for releasably securing the coupling members together, a deflectable or compressible sealing member on at least one of the coupling members which, in use, is deflected or compressed during assembly of the coupling members to produce a generally axial sealing force between the coupling members.

2. A coupling according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is deflected or compressed in use, in a generally axial direction.

3. A coupling according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealing member is resiliently deformable.

4. A coupling according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the sealing member is of compressible material.

5. A coupling according to claim 4, wherein the sealing member comprises a compressible member or region carried on a generally non-compressible region of the respective coupling member.

6. A coupling according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the coupling member comprises a deflectable element of generally non-compressible material.

7. A coupling according to claim 6, wherein the deflectible element is carried on a generally non-deflectable region of the respective coupling member.

8. A coupling according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the sealing member comprises a deflectable strip.

9. A coupling according to claim 8, wherein the strip is annular.

10. A coupling according to claim 9, wherein the strip is generally frustoconically shaped.

11. A coupling according to claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the strip tapers towards its tip.

12. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the first coupling element comprises walls defining a continuous or discontinuous channel for receiving a projecting portion of the second coupling member.

13. A coupling according to claim 12, wherein said seal is established between the projecting portion of the second coupling member and the base of the channel of the first coupling member.

14. A coupling according to claim 13, wherein the sealing member is carried by the first coupling member in or on the base of the channel.

15. A coupling according to claim 13, wherein the sealing member is carried by the second coupling member on the projecting portion for engagement with the base of the channel.

16. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the locking means comprises a resilient split locking ring on one of the coupling members for releasably engaging the other coupling member.

17. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the sealing member is integrally moulded with the respective coupling member.

18. A coupling according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the sealing member is secured to the respective coupling member by adhesive.

19. An orifice coupling comprising first and second coupling members surrounding an orifice, a resilient split locking ring on one of the coupling members for releasably engaging the other coupling member to secure the coupling members together, a deflectable or compressible sealing member on at least one of the coupling members which, in use, is deflected or compressed during assembly of the coupling members to produce a generally axial sealing force between the coupling members.

20. An orifice coupling substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.

20. A coupling according to claim 19, wherein the locking ring is carried by the first coupling member, the first coupling member comprising inner and outer walls defining a channel for receiving a projecting portion of the second coupling member, in use, the projecting portion being retained in the channel by the locking ring.

21. An orifice coupling comprising first and second coupling members surrounding an orifice, a deflectable sealing strip on at least one of the coupling members which, in use, during assembly together of the coupling members, is deflected in a generally axial direction to produce a generally axial sealing force between the coupling members.

22. A coupling substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. An ostomy, incontinence or woundcare coupling comprising first and second coupling members each having an aperture, and assemblable together such that the apertures define a common orifice through the coupling, a deflectable sealing strip on the first coupling member which, in use, during assembly together of the coupling members, is deflected in a generally axial direction by contact with the second coupling member, to produce a generally axial sealing force between the coupling members.

2. A coupling according to claim 2(, further comprising mechanical securing means distinct from the sealing member, for

:QIQccsaiorcl Feieas ecuring the coupling members together.

3. A coupling according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealing strip is resiliently deformable.

4. A coupling according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the sealing strip comprises a deflectable element of generally noncompressible material.

5. A coupling according to claim 4, wherein the deflectable element is carried on a generally non-deflectable region of the respective coupling member.

6. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the strip is annular.

7. A coupling according to claim 6, wherein the strip is generally frusto-conically shaped.

8. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the strip tapers towards its tip.

9. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the first coupling member comprises walls defining a continuous or discontinuous channel for receiving a projecting portion of the second coupling member.

10. A coupling according to claim 9, wherein said seal is established between the projecting portion of the second coupling member and the base of the channel of the first coupling member.

11. A coupling according to claim 10, wherein the sealing strip is carried by the first coupling member in or on the base of the channel.

12. A coupling according to claim 10, wherein the sealing strip is carried by the second coupling member on the projecting portion for engagement with the base of the channel.

13. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the securing means comprises a resilient split locking ring on one of the coupling members for releasably engaging the other coupling member.

14. A coupling according to any preceding claim, wherein the sealing strip is integrally moulded with the respective coupling member.

15. A coupling according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the sealing member is secured to the respective coupling member by adhesive.

16. An orifice coupling comprising first and second coupling members each having an aperture, and assemblable together such that the apertures define a common orifice through the coupling, a resilient split locking ring on one of the coupling members for releasably engaging the other coupling member to secure the coupling members together, a deflectable or compressible sealing member on at least one of the coupling members which, in use, is deflected or compressed during assembly of the coupling members to produce a generally axial sealing force between the coupling members.

17. A coupling according to claim 16, wherein the locking ring is carried by the first coupling member, the first coupling member comprising inner and outer walls defining a channel for receiving a projecting portion of the second coupling member, in use, the projecting portion being retained in the channel by the locking ring.

18. A coupling according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the sealing member is integrally moulded with the respective coupling member on which it is carried.

19. A coupling according to any preceding claims, wherein the first coupling member comprises a first flange from which projects a generally cylindrical first wall, and the second coupling member comprises a second flange from which projects a generally cylindrical second wall, the cylindrical walls being received one within the other when the coupling is in it assembled condition.