NL1040294A

NL1040294A - Non-invasive urinary aid for women in a supine position.

Info

Publication number: NL1040294A
Application number: NL1040294A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Astrid Madsy Senus
Original assignee: Astrid Madsy Senus
Priority date: 2012-01-06
Filing date: 2013-07-05
Publication date: 2013-08-19
Also published as: NL1040294C2; NL1039286A; WO2013103291A3; NL1039286C2; WO2013103291A2

Abstract

The present invention describes a non invasive inlet opening (1) for urinary aids for women as well al the urinary aids in which said inlet opening is applied. Presented urinary aids allow women to urinate without leakage in a standing, a sitting or a lying position. The urinary aids are manufactured of a firm, easy to clean material are closable and may be used repeatedly. The urinary aids are small, portable, and may be used discreetly without assistance. When in use the inlet opening is pressed upon the commissural posterior and the labia majora forming a leak proof sealing while a passage for urine ensures all urine is guided via the urinary aid to a lower place. The vulva can be effectively dried by sliding the backside edge (2) of the inlet opening over the labia.

Description

Non-invasive urinary aid for women in a supine positionField of invention

The here disclosed invention relates to the field of urinary aids for women, inparticular to non invasive portable devices that facilitate urination in a supineposition. Special attention is given to the features and the secure engagementof the inlet opening with the body-tissues in the region of the vulva and to theclosure of the urinary aid.

Background of the invention

The direction and place of the outflow of urine from the female member aredetermined by the natural shape of the vulva and the position of the flexibletissue of the labia majora pudent and labia minora pudent. Urine outflow canoccur along the edges of said labia before leaving the vulva. Also, usually aresidue of urine remains between said labia, which makes the drying of thevulva after urination desirable to prevent soiling of clothes.

In order to diminish the residue of urine in the vulva the most effective andnatural position for women to urinate is to be sitting on a sanitary device (toilet)with an opening below the body or in a crouching position. In said positions thevulva has a natural downward direction and is somewhat spread open whichfacilitates the outflow of urine in the desired direction.

However it is not always possible for women to urinate in the above mentionedpositions. This may occur for instance when physical conditions prevent theuse of such facilities because it is difficult to crouch or sit down.

Bedridden women or women confined to a wheelchair are usually dependenton the availability of adapted sanitary facilities as well as on assistance of acaretaker to use these facilities. It is known that women in this dependentsituation often reduce their fluid intake in order to avoid unpleasant situationswhen assistance is not available in time. This not only places the womenconcerned in a dependent position for a frequent normal necessity, it also consumes a lot of the caretakers time. This is an undesirable situation in termsof health and well-being.

In order to prevent spilling of urine when urinating in a supine position anadequate urinary aid is required to control the outflow of urine and it is obviousthat a reliable, easy to use urinary aid is desirable in this situation both for thewomen concerned as well as for caretakers in order to reduce their workload.

Various urinary aids for women of different shapes, materials and sizes havebeen disclosed in the past. Many devices, often used in hospitalized situationsderive their working from absorbing material or are inserted in the urinary tract.Both may cause an increased risk of irritation or infection and therefore areconsidered to be uncomfortable or undesirable for the user and fall outside thefocus of this invention.

Devices typically designed to be applied by nurses or other caregivers likebedpans with a large inlet opening are difficult to handle by the user withoutassistance and therefore also fall outside the focus of this invention.

Urinary devices of the 'bottle-like' type for example as presented inUS2009036848 and DE102005039004 that collect urine inside may be usedwithout assistance by bedridden women or women confined to a wheelchair.Urinary aids of this type are usually equipped with a round or oval inlet openingthat covers the whole genital area. Some inventions of this type have specialhandles to hold on and a specially curved inlet opening to improve theengagement with the vulva in order to prevent leakage or to position the devicecorrectly. Devices of this type usually can be stored in a special holder at thebedside and are often equipped with a lid to close the inlet opening.

For supine use many inventions of urinary aids of the 'bottle-like' type areprovided with a flat bottom side that may rest on the mattress when in use.Although urine devices of the 'bottle-like' type are designed to be usedindependently they are bulky and, when used repeatedly without emptyingbecome more and more cumbersome to handle because of the urine stored inside. Therefore the use of 'bottle-like' devices requires frequent assistance toempty the urinal.

The problem of the accumulating urine is addressed in various inventions byproviding urinary aids that are connected to an external collecting vessel via ahose. However, until now none of these devices are widely available forwomen. Taking this observation into account, it may be concluded that existingurinary aids with an external collecting vessel have limitations with regard to thedrainage of urine, the secure engagement with the vulva or the handling of thedevice.

The here presented urinary aid for use in a lying position provides a smalldevice that is easy to handle, has a secure sealing with the vulva, a reliabledrainage and may be used repeatedly without assistance. The present urinaryaid can be closed and stored at the bedside in a cap that is equipped with ahandle.

Above mentioned characteristics make the presented urinary aid very suitablefor use in a variety of situations as it may be used unassisted in hospitalizedsituations, at home, or even as a sanitary aid for women with limited mobilitywhen travelling.

In the present invention the contact area of the urinary device with the bodytissue between the labia is minimized by providing an inlet opening havingrelatively thin but comfortably rounded edges that are placed mainlyperpendicular upon the outside skin of the labia majora and relevant bodytissues in the cavity between the buttocks.

Testing with the here presented urinary aid revealed that a device with an inletopening having a backside edge with a pointed or semi circular shape will,when used for wiping dry, cause the top of the edge to slip between the labiatouching delicate parts of the vulva which is not effective for wiping dry, causesdiscomfort and may be painful. The above mentioned discomfort caused by thecontact of the backside edge with the delicate parts of the vulva was diminished by applying a flat area in the centre of said backside edge. Moreover, testingalso revealed that some women experienced difficulties with the discharge ofthe last urine from the bladder caused by the pressure exerted with aprotruding backside edge on the area of the commissura posterior. Thisproblem was minimized by lowering the central region of the backside edge ofthe inlet opening forming a central downward curvature or notch.

Summary of the invention

The urinary aid for a supine position hereinafter referred to as 'UA-bed' is asmall elongated urinary aid for women to urinate in a supine position thatdirects the urine away from the body via a hose to a lower positioned collectionreservoir without soiling clothes or body.

It is the objective of this invention to provide an improved urinary aid forwomen, hereinafter referred to as a ‘urinary aid’, that is reliable, comfortable,easy to use and can be handled by the user without assistance in order toincrease well being and independency of said user.

It is another objective of this invention to provide an affordable urinary aid thatcan be used repeatedly, that is small and portable and can be closed easily.

The proper closure of the device, preventing odours or droplets to exit thedevice and preventing objects to enter the device when stored is considered animportant feature for a hygienic storage and transportation.

The urinary aid here presented is preferably made of a high quality rigidmaterial with water resistant characteristics, suitable for long-term use that canbe cleaned easily. The urinary aid is equipped with an improved inlet openingthat makes sure all urine is guided into the urinary device in such a way that theresidue of urine remaining in the vulva after urination is diminished to aminimum and that a device equipped with this inlet opening is easy andcomfortable in use.

The UA-bed offers a perfect solution for women to urinate without anyassistance in a supine position provided it is stored at a place that is in easyreach of the user.

Brief description of the drawings

In all figures visible parts are displayed in uninterrupted lines while dashed linesshow parts that are not visible from the outside in order to present a clear viewon the various parts and their position in the devices. In figures 4 and 5 the sizeis reduced by 1/3.

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a urinary aid for a supine position

Fig. 2 is a perspective side view of the device showed in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a perspective back view of the device showed in Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a perspective side view of the cap/holder

Fig. 5 shows the device when placed in the cap/holder as showed in Fig. 4

Description of the use and the preferred embodiment of the invention

The present invention provides a small device comprising a straight, mainlytubular drain pipe having a mainly triangular urine inlet opening, a closed frontend that has an upward orientation during use, a flat bottom side opposite tothe inlet opening which improves an easy positioning during use and abackside that slopes down from the inlet opening towards a hose connectionthat forms the outlet. An more extensive description of the features of the inletopening is given in the detailed descriptions of figure 1 and 2 below.

When in use the UA-bed is held with one hand between the legs of the userwith the upper side, holding the inlet opening, towards the user in a mainlyvertical position while the backside is oriented downward. To facilitate a quickdrain-away of urine by gravity to a collecting reservoir the backside slopesdown from the inlet opening towards a hose connection that forms the outputsection and outlet at the opposite side. Said backside may be funnel-shapedbut may also slope down all the way to the bottom side.

A flat section at the bottom side opposite of the inlet opening facilitates the userto place the inlet opening correctly against the vulva without visual contact.

The hose connection is connected with the UA-bed in an angle of about 45°with the longitudinal axis (x) of the device which prevents the close kinking ofthe hose when in use. The attached hose should be led below the leg andplaced flat on the mattress in order to facilitate a correct draining of urine to alower placed collection reservoir for example a bottle, a bucket or a plastic bagto which the hose is attached. The backside edge of the inlet opening may beused for comfortable removal of traces of urine by sliding upward over the labiawhich makes additional use of paper unnecessary. The UA-bed can be storedin a holder in the shape of a mainly straight, tight fitting tubular cap that closesthe inlet opening and is equipped with a handle to enable storage at thebedside.

The preferred embodiment of the UA-bed is illustrated in figures 1,2, 3,4 and 5.

Fig. 1 show the UA-bed in a vertical (operating) position. The inlet opening 1 islocated at the upper side (towards the user). As shown the inlet opening 1 hasa mainly triangular shape with two tapered elongated side edges 3 that connectin a rounded tip 5 pointing towards the front of the urinary aid and connect inconnecting points 4 with the a mainly straight, thickened (2-5 mm) and roundedbackside edge 2. (rounding-off radii r < 4 mm)

The front end 7 of the UA-bed (oriented upwardly during use) is closed andmay hold a small air hole 8.

In Fig. 1 and 2 is shown that the backside edge of the inlet opening protrudesabove the connection points 4 with the side edges of the inlet opening with asemi-circular course and has a central flat area or preferably a rounded notchor inward curvature 6.

The side edges and the projection plane p through the backside edge form anangle a, where 60° < a < 120° while a is preferably about 80°.

Fig. 2, fig. 3 and fig. 5 show the flat section 11 at the bottom side. In thepresent embodiment at the lower side a funnel-shaped backside 9 is holding a hose connection 10 that is connected to the device with an angle ofapproximately 45° with the longitudinal axis x.

Fig. 4 shows a straight tubular cap/holder having an open section 12 thatallows flat bottom section 11 and hose connection 10 of the device to protrudeoutside the cap/holder when the UA-bed is stored. The cap/holder is equippedwith handle 13.

Fig. 5 shows a bottom view of the device when placed in the cap/holder

It is anticipated that there are more options to facilitate the correct orientation ofthe device by the user, for instance a protruding ledge or a recessed part at thebackside. Said options also should be considered as included in the presentinvention.

Claims

A pee aid for women comprising - an input portion with a substantially straight tubular shape that is sealed at the front (7), has an input opening (1) at the top, and is largely closed at the rear by a preferably rear-shaped rear (9), and - an output portion in the form of a hose connection characterized in that - the inlet opening is predominantly triangular in shape with the upper edge being formed by the two predominantly straight, long sides (3) which are connected at the front in a rounded point (5) and a rear (2) which rise sharply in the projection plane (p) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (x) of the device from the connection points (4) with said longitudinal sides and - the rear runs from the edge at the rear of said inlet opening in the direction of the outlet opening in the hose connection (10) which is located on the underside of the device, said hose connection being at an angle of approx spring 45 ° with the longitudinal axis (x) of the device.

Sliding aid according to claim 1, characterized in that the aid on the underside opposite the inlet opening is at least partially provided with a flat part (11).

Sliding aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rear edge of the inlet opening is arcuate or semicircular, the rear edge (2) being provided in the middle with a sloping notch (6).

4. Peeing aid as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the rear edge of the inlet opening is arcuate or semicircular, the rear edge being provided with a flat part in the middle.

Sliding aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the side edges (3) of the inlet opening are substantially straight and run with an angle of inclination <15 ° from the connection point (5) on the front side of the inlet opening to the connection points (4) with the rear edge.

Sliding aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rear edge of the inlet opening rises at an angle (a) from the connection with the side edges in projection surface (p) at which 60 ° <α <120 °, and where α is preferably approximately 80 °.

Peeing aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least the part of said rear edge of said projection surface (p) protruding above the connection with the side edges (4) has a thickness between 2 and 5 mm and is provided with a rounded edge with radii <4 mm.

Peeing aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the input opening is placed in the aid such that none of the edges protrude beyond the contours of the aid and said input opening can be closed with a closure means according to claim 9 which is provided with a suspension device (13 ) and also of a recess (12) which offers space for the hose connection (10) and flat part (11) to pass.

Closure means for closing off the inlet opening of a pee aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is a tight-fitting elongated tubular cap of such a shape and size that it encloses at least the portion of the pee tool that comes into close contact during use with the fabric of the vulva.