IL106967A - Vaginal speculum - Google Patents

Description

SERGE REISS 34 VA6INAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a vaginal speculum for visual observation of the cervix uteri and the vaginal walls surger It relates particularly to a vaginal speculum to be readily inserted into the vagina in closed state after having been permitting clear of the cervix without obstruction by the lateral vaginal Conventional specula generally comprise two opposed blades which in closed state are in shape allowing their smooth insertion into the closed After insertion the blades are separated to a distance allowing clear view of the interior and are held in this position during examination In a embodiment of the speculum the two blades are connected at their proximal which requires their distal ends to be opened wide for viewing of the thereby causing unnecessary pain to the Another drawback is the shape of the blades is necessary for their smooth insertion but the inwardly bent edges of the blades diminish the diameter of the circular field of In another embodiment of the known specula the blades are brought into position in parallel alignment by means of a but this speculum shows the same shape of the blades with their inherent a serious obstruction of the view in all known specula are the side which intrude from both sides into the space between the two which no construction has been able to The speculum has another drawback that the breadth of the blades is limited by the initial length of the vagina into which the tool is to be resulting an oblong final opening which is additionally made narrower by the vaginal side It has been tried to this drawback by making a speculum in the shape of a flexible sheet to be inserted into the vagina in which then opens up by its Another proposed speculum comprises a tube consisting of a hollow wall after is to be inflated by air pressure to the desired tube The drawback of the latter inventions is the difficulty of their insertion into the since their distal end is not sufficiently pointed and rounded like the afore mentioned specula of For these reasons it is the main object of the present invention to provide a vaginal speculum will open the vagina to its full extent without obstruction by its lateral and thus allow It is a further object to provide a speculum of ially flat or oval cross section and a rounded end permitting its ready insertion without It is another object to provide a speculum offering an unobstructed view of the cervix uteri by preventing the vaginal side walls from being sqeezed into the space between the two as experienced with conventional And it is a further object to provide a speculum of simple design to be easil handled for opening and And it is a final object to make the speculum in execution for repeated use as as at low as of plastic for discarding after a single SUMMARY OF THE Before going into detailed description of the it should be noted that the expressions and will be used as in medical but may from time to replaced by the expressions and and will be used to denote the position and direction of the and and to denote the parts in the opposite position and In a broad aspect the vaginal speculum of the invention includes an annular base connected to a handle and an which form the proximal portion remaining outside the The distal portion is stantially perpendicular to the direction of the base and the handle and in opened six longitudinal strips of cross section which are hingedly jointed to each other along their longitudinal They include an upper and a lower rigid in the following called upper and lower two second rigid lateral strips and two flexible lateral To form the tube they are hingedly jointed in the following circular the upper a rigid lateral a flexible lateral the lower the second lateral rigid stri the second flexible lateral The width of each blade and strip is smaller than the initial length of the vaginal opening into which the speculum is to be The upper blade is rigidly to the top of the annular while the lower blade is connected to the actuating mechanism adapted to pull it down to the full extent of the Each rigid lateral strip is with a rearwardly extending bar sideways moving of these In closed before the lateral strips are into four layers and positioned between the uppe and lower blade are approximated to the combined thickness of the four thus a bar of oval cross Their distal ends are rounded in such a manner in folded the combined ends form oval end of the this shape greatly facilitating their insertion into the After insertion of the speculum into the vagina in closed state the lower blade is pulled down and the two rigid lateral strips are pulled sideways by means of the wardly extending bars which are slipped into recesses in the In a preferred embodiment of the invention the upper blade is firmly connected to the annular base while the lower blade protrudes through the opening of the annular base in rearward direction and is connected to the handle by a bar which is movable in a vertical opening in the In a first embodiment of the speculum the rigid lateral strip have their rear ends elongated in the form of one bar serving for engagement with ecesses both sides of the circular opening of the annular base to effect keeping the strips in their outspread position and to prevent the tube The speculum is inserted into the vagina in closed It is opened by downward pressure on the rearwardly protruding end of the lower until this reaches its position on top of the Opening of the blades frees the two lateral rigid strips on each side of the which are now urged to the sides by pushing the ends of the solid strips sideways them into the recesses the thereby forming a circular while the flexible strips are tensioned between the blades and the respective rigid up of the tubular portio and removal of the speculum is carried out in opposite order of Another embodiment of the speculum includes two rigid two rigid lateral all of cross and two flexible lateral The rigid strips much thinner than those of the first since a rigid tube is inserted into the tubular space formed by the blades and the strips after opening the which tube supports the entire distal BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE Figure 1 is longitudinal section of the speculum in opened Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the speculum in closed Figure 3 is rear view of the speculum in opened Figure 4 is a rear view of the speculum in closed Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of a second of the in opened Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the speculum of Figure in closed Figure 7 is a longitudinal section of the solid tube before insertion into the opened speculum of Figure Figure 8 is a rear view of the speculum of Figure in closed and Figure is a view of the m of Figure in opened DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE The open vaginal speculum as shown in Figures 1 and 3 includes a distal portion in the form of a tube attached to annular base 5 and held in position by a handle The tube is composed of an upper blade 1 which is rigidly connected to the base and a lower blade 2 which is movable in upward and downward Four lateral strips 4 and 10 connect the blades on either being hingedly jointed to the lateral edges of the blades and to each They on each rigid strips 3 and of cross section and flexible strips 4 and 10 the flexible strips permitting folding of the four lateral strips between the two blades as will be shown in Figure Each rigid strip is elongated to the rear by one bar 6 and respectively which extend through the annular base for the purpose of locking the strips in position by engagement ith shaped recesses 12 and 13 in the opening of base The lower blade 2 extends to the rear through the base opening and is rigidly connected to a vertical bar 7 which is movable a vertical bore 14 in handle allowing up and down of the lower blade for purpose of opening or closing the Figures 2 and 4 illustrate the speculum in partly closed state with the lateral strips 9 and 10 folded between blades 1 and It is easy to understand that the flexible strips 4 and 10 lie between rigid strips 3 and and the blades 1 and 2 in such a manner that they form a solid bar of oval cross section to be readily inserted into the vagina and to be opened into tube shape after The bar 7 is provided with snap buttons 16 which bold the bar in its upper and lower position by engagement with the respective top and bottom end of the handle The embodiment of the speculum illustrated in Figures 5 through 9 is similar to the previously shown speculum with the difference that all rigid components are made thinner and lighter for the reason that the tubular portion is not but is reinforced by a solid tube 12 inserted into the tube formed by blades 1 and 2 and strips 9 and As can be realized from the the annular base 5 is integral with the upper blade while the rear end of the lower blade 2 is in form of a tongue 17 slightly protruding beyond the The speculum is held by means of a handle 18 attached to the base ring permitting insertion of the closed speculum into the It is opened by pressing blade 2 down by the while the lateral strips are pushed to both sides by the other As soo as the tube is formed the rigid tube 12 is inserted by means of its handle After examination or surgery tube 12 is first whereafter the strips collapse and permit easy withdrawal of the It is understood that this type of speculum is for use only and be discarded after It is to be manufactured in several sizes for different preferably of plastic material which permits ready forming the flexible joints between the six It is also proposed to manufacture the speculum of a transparent plastic which will permit viewing the vaginal side walls through the In order to illuminate the inner organs it is proposed to mount a such as a small at the rear end of the preferably on the annular and to provide electric energy in the form of an electric It will be understood that the two embodiments of the speculum shown and described in the foregoing represent only examples of the possible shapes and forms of the medical which may be modified taxing into account the formation of the tubular portion from four rigid and two flexible Thei connection to a base and their operation may be in any other but it can be shown that the present embodiments are easy to without causing any unnecessary pain to the insufficientOCRQuality

Claims (14)

C L A I M S :.

1. A vaginal speculum for insertion into a vagina for observation of the cervix uteri without obstruction by sideways intruding vaginal side walls,the speculum including, a proximal portion in the shape of an annular base having a circular opening of a diameter coextensive with a tubular distal portion to be inserted into a vagina, and a handle attached to the outside of said base, a distal portion having an axis substantially perpendicular to said annular base and comprising at least six longitudinal strips flexibly jointed along their respective lateral edges, wnereof one first strip is rigidly attached to a portion of said annular base adjoining said opening, and whereof said remaining five strips are adapted to be folded onto said first strip in the form of a bar of flat rounded cross section and of a rounded tip for easy insertion into a vagina and whereof, after inserrtlon said five strips are adapted to be pulled away from said first strip in respective downward and sideway direction into cylindrical tubular shape.

2. The speculum of Claim 1, wherein said distal portion includes four rigid strips of arc-shaped cross section and two strips of a flexible material, whereof one of said rigid strips, hereinafter called "the upper blade", is firmly attached to a portion of said annular base opposite the position of said handle, and whereof a second of said rigid strips, hereinafter called "the lower blade", is manually movable from a folded position close to said upper blade to an open position adjacent said handle of said base, and whereof said other two strips, herein after called "rigid lateral strips8, are flexibly jointed each to one lateral edge of one of said blades, and wherein said flexible strips are jointed along their edges to one blade and to one rigid lateral strip, respectively, and wherein, in closed state, said flexible and said rigid lateral strips are foldably assembled between said stationar upper blade and said lower blade moved into close alignment with said upper blade*

3. The speculum of Claim 2, wherein said two rigid lateral strips are elongated to the rear by two bars extending through said opening in said base and adapted to be fastened to two hook shaped recesses provided on the sides of said opening.

4. The speculum of Claim 2, wherei said lower blade is provided with a bar-shaped handle extending from its rear end in perpendicular direction and movable in a bore in said handle of said annular base.

5. The speculum of Claim 4, wherein said bar-shaped handle is provided with snap buttons adapted to alternately engaging with the upper and the lower end of said handle in order to keep said lower blade in its respective closed or opened position.

6. In the speculum of Claim 1, wherein said distal portion includes four rigid strips of arc-shaped cross section and two strips of a flexible material, whereof one of said rigid strips, hereinafter called *the upper blade", is firmly attached to said annular base in stationary position opposite the position of said handle, and whereof a second of said rigid strips, hereinafter called "the lower blade1*, is movable from a folded position close to said upper blade to an open position adjacent said handle of said base, and whereof said other two strips, hereinafter called "rigid lateral strips11, are flexibly Jointed each to one lateral edge of one of said blades, and wherein said flexible strips are jointed along their edges to one blade and to one rigid lateral strip, respectively, and wherein, in closed state, said flexible and said rigid lateral strips are foldably assembled between said stationary upper blade and said lower blade moved into close alignment with said upper blade, the additional feature of providing a rigid tubebe of a diameter and of a length coextensive wit the diameter and the length of said tubular distal portion adapted to be inserted into said opened distal portion through the opening of said annular base.

7. The speculum of Claim 6, wherein said annular base is provided with a light, donward ly bent handle.

8. The speculum of Claim 6, wherein said lower blade is provided with a downwardly bent rear end extending through said opening in said annular base for pulling said blade in downward direction.

9. The speculum of Claim 6, wherein said blades and said rigid lateral strips are of small thickness.

10. The speculum of Claim 1, wherein all components are made of a plastic material.

11. the speculum of Claim 10, wherein said plastic material is a transparent material.

12. The speculum of Claim 1 manufactured in several sizes for different anatomy.

13. The speculum of Claim 1, wherein a light source is mounted at the rear end of said tube and connected to an electric battery.

14. The speculum of Claims 1 through 13 and substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. FOR THE APPLICANT,