GB2441114A

GB2441114A - Disposable fluid collection bag for hygienic purposes having welded foil non return valve

Info

Publication number: GB2441114A
Application number: GB0616911A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kalle Jon Nordbo; Magnus Goransson; Trygve Kalf Hansen
Original assignee: Unomedical AS
Current assignee: Unomedical AS
Priority date: 2006-08-26
Filing date: 2006-08-26
Publication date: 2008-02-27
Also published as: GB0616911D0

Abstract

The invention concerns a fluid collection bag for use for hygienic purposes comprising a flexible foil pouch (1, Figure 1) defining a fluid collection compartment and an inlet opening collar 2 which is mounted in the pouch (1) for allowing fluid to enter the pouch, and non-return valve means 3 mounted directly to the inlet opening collar 2. The valve means 3 comprises a plurality of flexible foil layers 31,32,33 having different lengths between the inlet opening collar 2 and the fluid collection compartment for preventing the fluid from escaping the fluid collection compartment, wherein the foil layers have different lengths and that discrete spot weldings 35 are provided at the end sections of each set of foil layers joining together all the foil layers at that point, said spot weldings 35 having mutual distances sufficient to ensure satisfactory inlet flow passage through the non-return foil layers. The bag may be a disposable urine bag.

Description

DISPOSABLE FLUID COLLECTION BAG FOR HYGIENIC PURPOSES

The present invention relates to a disposable fluid collection bag for hygienic purposes.

From EP 0 748 620 Bi and EP 0 847 742 Bi, a fluid collection bag for use for hygienic purposes of this kind is known. This type of disposable urine bag disclosed in EP 0 748 620 BI and EP 0 847 742 Bi comprises a collar having an opening into a plastic pouch having two walls. Between said walls is provided a non-return valve is integrally formed. The non-return flow arrangement consists of three pairs of plastic foil sheets extending down from the opening with increasing lengths, loosely held in place by point welding spots on each pair of foil sheets transversely of the pouch in order to divide the pouch into an upper and lower part. The upper part is provided with a weld along the edge of the pouch to seal it.

A disadvantage of this urine bag is the limitations in relation to its manufacturing, in particular to the welding of the urinal, It is found complicated to join together eight layers by welding in a fluid tight manner since the welding must join together two pouch walls and six valve layers, i.e. three pairs for forming a non-return flow system below the inlet. The side walls are typically made of a first type of plastic material, whereas the non-return flow layers are of another and/or individually different plastic material. This results in different welding conditions along the bag as the number of layers and the types of materials differ depending on which part of the bag is to be welded. This incurs extra production costs since it must be ensured that the weldings are fluid tight irrespective of foil materials or amount of layers involved.

Moreover, these known types of disposable urine bags include a relatively high amount of material, i.e. eight plastic layers in said upper section.

US 5,569,225 and US 4,990,145 disclose a disposable bag for collecting bodily fluids for testing. In this bag design, the trapez-like shaped inlet is succeeded in the inward flow direction with a substantially congruent trapez-shaped flexible valve which overlaps the inlet. However, this valve means does not provide a satisfying prevention of fluid return flow. Therefore, the bag is provided with a hand protection shielding the hand of a user gripping around the test fluid bag. This does not ensure a hygienic use of the fluid collection bag. Accordingly, this bag is exclusively designed for collecting small samples of bodily fluids, where the required fluid volume is relatively small compared to urinary collection bags.

It is an object by the present invention to provide a disposable fluid collection bag for hygienic purposes, in particular urine bag, which is simple and inexpensive in manufacture and which reliable in use so that the function of the non-return valve means does not malfunction and obstruct the inlet flow of fluid into the bag.

This object is achieved by a fluid collection bag for use for hygienic purposes comprising a flexible foil pouch defining a fluid collection compartment and an inlet opening collar which is mounted in the pouch for allowing fluid being entered into the pouch, and non-return valve means comprising a plurality of flexible foil layers having different lengths between the inlet opening collar and the fluid collection compartment for preventing the fluid from being escaping the fluid collection compartment, wherein the foil layers have different lengths and that discrete spot weldings are provided at the end sections of each set of foil layers joining all the present foil layers together, said spot weldings having mutual distances sufficient to ensure satisfactory inlet flow passage through the non-return foil layers.

Preferably, the bag is a disposable urine bag. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the non-return valve means comprises a plurality of foil layers of different lengths, where these foil layers extending from the inlet collar and are joined together to define a general flow direction into the fluid compartment.

By providing the flexible non-return valve means as a separate element, the non-return valve means may be made in a special flexible foil material, since the valve foils need not be welded together with the foils forming the pouch. By mounting the valve means directly to the inlet collar, the pouch is not divided into two compartments since the entire volume of the pouch may constitute the fluid collection compartment thereby increasing the capacity of the fluid collection bag. r

This also means that when emptying the fluid collection bag, the bag may be punctured at its uppermost portion, above the fluid level and the fluid can be poured out through this opening. This is not possible by the hitherto known disposable urine bags due to the integrally formed non-return valve means.

Preferably, there is provided two sections of spot weldings, wherein the innermost section comprises at least two spot weldings joining two times three foil layers and an outermost section consisting of at least one spot welding joining two times two foil layers, as the foils are provided in tubular configurations inside each other.

Moreover, the innermost section is preferably provided with a first distance from the distal end of the longest foil layer and the outermost section is provided with a second distance from same, wherein said second distance is substantially smaller than the first distance, preferably the second distance is half the fist distance.

The spot weldings of the inner-and outermost sections may advantageously be provided alternately.

Preferably, a total of three spot weldings are provided with a mutual distance of at least approx 1/4 of the width of the foil layers. Hereby, an uninterrupted inlet flow through the non-return valve is ensured.

In the preferred embodiment, the inlet opening collar is provided centrally on the pouch, which may be substantially rectangular in shape. By providing the inlet centrally on the upper side of the bag, the upper corner regions may be used for handling and emptying, which in turn provides for an easy handling of the bag during use.

The inlet collar is preferably moulded with a flattened configuration, which is openable by pushing at the two opposite folds in the flattened configuration against each other. Various inlet collar features may advantageously be provided.

A bag according to the invention may be provided with outlet means for emptying the fluid in the collection compartment. In a preferred embodiment, the outlet means is provided adjacent the inlet opening of the bag. Various outlet means may be provided.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a test compartment is provided adjacent the outlet means in such a manner that the test compartment is filled with the fluid during the emptying of the pouch for collecting a sample e.g. for further analysis of the collected fluid.

A bag according to the invention may be made of flexible transparent or translucent plastic foil material.

The invention is described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. I shows a fluid collection bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows the flexible foil arrangement in a non-return valve means; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an inlet collar according to the invention; Fig. 4 shows the same from a bottom perspective view; Figs. 5 to 7 are schematic views of three embodiments of a fluid collection bag according to the invention with outlet means; and Fig. 8 shows a preferred embodiment of the non-return valve means of a bag according to the invention.

With reference to figure 1, a fluid collection bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The bag comprises a pouch 1, an inlet opening collar 2 and a flexible foil arrangement 3 forming the non-return valve means ensuring that fluid which flow through the inlet 2 and into the pouch 1 cannot escape through the foil arrangement 3. The foil arrangement 3 is mounted directly below the inlet collar 2 and extends into the pouch I as it is apparent in fig. 1.

In the pouch 1 there is formed a small compartment 16 and a tear strip 11 providing means for fluid outlet in the upper corner adjacent the centrally disposed inlet collar 2. In the opposite upper corner region of the pouch 1 a handling aperture 17 is provided for e.g. hanging the urine bag on a hook or the like and/or for holding the bag during filling and emptying fluids.

The pouch 1 includes two flexible foil layers, e.g. two identically shaped foil sheets as shown in fig. 1, or one foil which is folded. The foils are provided with a weld seam 18 along the periphery of the pouch 1. The non-return valve foil arrangement 3 is welded or otherwise permanently joined to the inlet collar 2. Subsequently, the inlet collar 2 is sandwiched between the foil layers making up the pouch and welded together with the foil layer to form the inlet of the pouch 1.

The non-return valve foil arrangement 3 is not welded to the sides of the pouch, as it is the case in the prior art, but extends from the inlet collar and into the fluid compartment of the pouch. The Non-return valve 3, which is shown in fig. 2, is made of six flexible foil layers formed in three pairs 31. 32, 33, where the foil layers 31, 32, 33 are welded along their sides 34 and a spot welded 35 at the distal end of the foil arrangement to form directional flow path F through the non-return flexible foil valve arrangement 3. In this embodiment, the inner foil layers may be provided with a length of 10 cm, the pair of middle foil layers having a length of 13 cm and the outermost foil layers having a length of 14 cm. The material of the foil may be PELD, which is a low density polyethylene which is transparent and soft and highly flexible.

However, it is realised that other types of flexible foil materials may be used, including both mono and multilayered foils. The inlet collar is made of a relatively rigid plastic material.

The point weldings 35 are provided in one or more lines, and the lowermost line could extend all the way across and could also join the outermost non-return valve foils 31 to the bag foils forming the pouch 1.

The inlet collar 2 is shown in more detail in figures 3 and 4. The inlet collar 2 is disposed in the central portion of the urine bag, as shown in fig. 1. The inlet collar 2 is made in a resilient plastic material and with a generally flat configuration, which is openable when pressure is applied to the side edges, as indicated by the arrows P. Hereby, the two side portions 23 bend outwards and creates the flow passage allowing the flow F to pass through the inlet opening. The outermost periphery 23 may be provided with a cut-out 24 at the two corner edges in order to avoid the inlet collar sides 23 to buckle when opening the inlet collar 2 by applying the inward pressure P on the folds.

As shown in fig. 3, the inlet opening collar 2 is preferably moulded with an elliptically shaped outermost end periphery 21 and a generally flat openable innermost end periphery 22.

As described with reference to fig. 1 a tear strip 11 may be provided in the corner of the pouch for providing an outlet opening. As shown in fig. 5, another embodiment could be to provide a multiple of substantially congruently formed tear strips 11 a, 11 b, 11 c in the corner region for providing a plurality of possible sizes of outlet opening.

Other embodiment of outlet means in a fluid collection bag according to the invention are shown in figures 6 and 7. For instance, as shown in fig. 6, the outlet means may include tearing means 12 for destroying the non-return valve 3 as two weld spots 15 are provided joining the flexible non-return valve 3 to the pouch foil.

Another embodiment is shown in fig. 7, where a teanng strip 13 is provided in the pouch I for providing a by-pass of the non-return valve 3 and allowing the collected fluid to flow from the fluid collection compartment to the inlet opening 1.

In figure 8, a preferred embodiment of the non-return valve arrangement 3 is shown mounted on the inlet opening collar 2. The flexible non-return valve 3 comprises three sets of foil layers 31, 32, 33 with different lengths, where each foil layer is folded around the collar 2 thereby creating a flexible tube, which is flat when not in use and opened to a tubular fluid flow passage when a fluid flow is present. The foils 31, 32, 33 are essentially provided in a concentric configuration, where the shortest of the foils 33 is the innermost and the longest foil 31 is the outermost of the three foils. The foil layers 31, 32, 33 are spot welded together to each other and at least the smallest of the foil layers is welded onto the lowermost rim portion of the collar 2 so that a fluid that passes through the inlet collar 2 and between the foil layers.

The foil layer arrangement constitutes the non-return valve 3 and according to a preferred embodiment as shown in fig. 8 includes a first foil layer 31 having a width of 99 mm and a length of approx. 140 mm, a second foil layer 32 having a width of 99 mm and a length of approx. 120 mm, and a third foil layer 33 with a width of 99 mm and a length of approx. 100 mm. The foils are welded together by spot weldings 35, where a first row of spot weldings 35 are provided between all three foils 31, 32, 33 and a second row including at least one spot welding 35 is provided joining the first and second foil layers 31, 32. By these spot weldings 35, a return flow of fluid is prevented from re-entering the inlet collar 2. However, the spot weldings 35 also restrict the inlet fluid flow. In order to prevent an unacceptable flow restriction of the non-return valve 3, the spot weldings 35 are provided at a suitable mutual distance and alternately provided in the two rows. In the preferred example of figure 8, the two rows are provided with a distance d2 between each other and as the innermost row is provided at a distance d1 from the distal end of the first (longest) foil, the distance from said distal end to the second row is d2. The spot weldings 35 are provided with a lateral distance d3 which is preferably 1h of the width of the foils 31, 32, 33 as the innermost row includes two joinings 35 and the outermost row a single joining 35. The lateral distance d3 is preferably approx the same as the distance d2 whereby sufficient opening between the spots 35 may be provided for the inward fluid flow without any severe flow restriction.

The invention is described above with reference to some preferred embodiments.

However, it is realised that other embodiments and variations of the fluid collection bag may be provided without departing from the scope of protection defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims: 1. A fluid collection bag for use for hygienic purposes

comprising a flexible foil pouch defining a fluid collection compartment and an inlet opening collar which is mounted in the pouch for allowing fluid being entered into the pouch, and non-return valve means comprising a plurality of flexible foil layers having different lengths between the inlet opening collar and the fluid collection compartment for preventing the fluid from being escaping the fluid collection compartment, wherein the foil layers have different lengths and that discrete spot weldings are provided at the end sections of each set of foil layers joining all the present foil layers together, said spot weldings having mutual distances sufficient to ensure satisfactory inlet flow passage through the non-return foil layers.

2. A fluid collection bag according to claim 1, wherein the bag is a disposable urine bag.

3. A fluid collection bag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the non-return valve means comprises a plurality of foil layers of different lengths, where these foil layers extending from the inlet collar and are joined together to define a general flow direction into the fluid compartment.

4. A fluid collection bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible pouch is made of two flexible foil sheet layers of substantially identical shape joined together along their periphery with the inlet opening collar provided between said foil sheets, and that said sheets are joined to the inlet collar instead of each other at the position of the inlet opening collar of the bag.

5. A fluid collection bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein two sections of spot weldings, wherein the innermost section comprise at least two spot weldings joining at least six foil layers and an outermost section consisting of at least one spot welding joining at least four foil layers.

6. A fluid collection bag according to claim 5, wherein the nnermost section is provided with a first distance from the distal end of the longest foil layer and the outermost section is provided with a second distance from same, wherein said second distance is substantially smaller than the first distance, preferably the second distance is half the fist distance.

7. A fluid collection bag according to claim 6, wherein said spot weldings of the inner-and outermost sections are provided alternately.

8. A fluid collection bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a total of three spot weldings are provided with a mutual distance of at least approx of the width of the foil layers.

9. A fluid collection bag according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-return valve means are in fluid tight connection with the inlet opening collar.

10. A fluid collection bag for hygienic purposes substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.