SE538265C2 - Systems, vessels, plugs and method for collecting urine and one method for manufacturing the system - Google Patents

Abstract

18 ABSTRACT The disclosure is related to collection of a urinesample. In particular, the disclosure relates to asealable receptacle for collecting a urine sample. Thedisclosure provides for easier transportation andeasier, cleaner and more hygienic handling of urinesamples. In one embodiment, a system for collecting aurine sample is provided, which comprises a receptacle10 for containing the urine sample upon collectionthereof, having a front portion 14 and a rear portion16, a top wall 44 and a bottom wall 42 between thefront portion 14 and the rear portion 16, and asealable inlet 19 for positioning at an outlet of anurethra of a subject, such as a female; and a plug 20 for sealing the sealable inlet 19 when the urine sample is collected. Figure to be published with the abstract: Fig. 1

Description

Field of the Invention This invention pertains in general to the field ofurine collection. More particularly, the invention relatesto a sealable receptacle for collecting urine and even moreparticularly to a system for collecting a urine sample from ö. WOmän .

Description of the Prior ArtThere are some prior art urine specimen container systems. One of these systems is disclosed in US 665l259 Bl. The system disclosed in this document consist of a receiving member l2, a container 40 and a cover 48 (refer to e.g. column 4, lines 6-38). However, this system is designed to be reusable, and is therefore not very hygienic. Furthermore, the system can easily be tampered with or manipulated without being noticed, and is thereforenot suitable for doping tests or tests related to drugs. Itis further easy to spill a urine sample, e.g. before thecover has been put on.

There are also some other prior art, such as US3523537 and US2007/Ol85466 Al disclosing methods andsystems for taking urine samples from infants. However,these documents disclose the use of adhesive patches fori.e. securing the specific positioning, the right position, lO of the systems. Thus, these systems may be painful to use for infants.Thus, it would be advantageous to have a new systemfor collecting urine, which facilitates or provides for less spilling, less smell, easier transportation, easier, cleaner and more hygienic handling, and/or a system, which cannot be manipulated or tampered with, without suchmanipulation or tampering being detected.

It may further be advantageous to have a system forcollecting urine, which can only be opened and emptiedonce.

In addition, it may be advantageous to have a systemfor collecting urine, which is not painful for an infant.Moreover, a compact and small system for collecting urine, which is stackable, may also be advantageous, e.g. for logistic purposes and/or for storage.

SUMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, embodiments of the present inventionpreferably seek to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more deficiencies, disadvantages or issues in the art, such as the above-identified, singly or in any combination or toprovide one or more of the above-identified advantages byproviding a system, a receptacle, a plug and a method forcollecting urine as well as a method for manufacturing thesystem, according to the appended patent claims.One situation, in which the invention may beparticularly useful, is when urine samples for dopingcontrols or for drug testing have to be collected. This isdue to the fact that the system according to the invention cannot easily be manipulated or tampered with, without lO being noticed, since the receptacle of the system willbreak if someone tries to open it after it has been sealed.

According to aspects of the invention, a system, areceptacle, a plug and a method for collecting urine aswell as a method for manufacturing the system aredisclosed, whereby a receptacle of the system is sealable.According to one aspect of the invention, a systemfor collecting a urine sample is provided. The systemcomprises a receptacle for containing the urine sample uponcollection thereof. The receptacle has a front portion anda rear portion. The receptacle also has a top wall and abottom wall between the front portion and the rear portion.Furthermore, the receptacle has a sealable inlet forpositioning at an outlet of a urethra of a subject, such asa female. The system also comprises a plug for sealing thesealable inlet. The plug may seal the receptacle after theurine sample has been collected.

According to another aspect of the invention, areceptacle for containing a urine sample upon collectionthereof is provided. The receptacle has a front portion anda rear portion. The receptacle also has a top wall and abottom wall between the front portion and the rear portion.Furthermore, the receptacle has a sealable inlet forpositioning at an outlet of a urethra of a subject, such asa female. The sealable inlet is sealable with a plug.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, aplug for sealing a receptacle used for containing a urinesample is provided. The plug has a flange for closing aninlet of the receptacle. The plug also has a rim for sealing the receptacle. lO According to yet a further aspect of the invention amethod of collecting urine is provided. The methodcomprises collecting a urine sample in a receptacle. Themethod also comprises sealing an inlet of the receptaclewith a plug. Furthermore, as an option the sealedreceptacle is delivered for analysis. As another option,the breakable seal is broken in order to empty thereceptacle for the analysis. One such analysis may be drugdetection in the urine sample.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, amethod of manufacturing a system for collecting a urinesample is provided. The method comprises molding of areceptacle for containing the urine sample upon collectionthereof. The receptacle has a front portion and a rearportion, a top wall and a bottom wall between the frontportion and the rear portion, and a sealable inlet forpositioning at an outlet of a urethra of a subject, such asa female. A preferred method of molding the receptacle isblow molding. The method further comprises molding a plugused for sealing the sealable inlet when the urine sampleis collected. Preferred methods of molding the plug areinjection molding, blow molding or compression molding.Further embodiments of the invention are defined inthe dependent claims, wherein features for the second andsubsequent aspects of the invention are as for the firstaspect mutatis mutandis.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for no orless spilling compared to prior art.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for, no or less smell compared to prior art. lO Some embodiments of the invention provide for easiertransportation of one or more urine samples.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for easier,cleaner and more hygienic handling of urine samples.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for urinesamples that cannot be manipulated or tampered with,without being noticed.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for a safe,reliable system.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for thatthe sealed receptacle can be opened and emptied only once.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for theexcess urine to be drained instantly without moving thesystem away.

Some embodiments of the invention provide for abetter or an improved drainage of the excess urine.

Some embodiments of the invention also provide for acompact and small system for collecting urine, which isstackable. The top wall of a first system or a firstreceptacle may be formed and sized to receive a bottom wallof another system or receptacle on top. Thus it may bepossible to stack the systems or receptacles on top of eachother.

Some embodiments of the invention also provide for asystem that is not painful to use for infants or preterminfants.

It should be emphasized that the term”comprises/comprising” when used in this specification istaken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThese and other aspects, features and advantages ofwhich embodiments of the invention are capable of will beapparent and elucidated from the following description ofembodiments of the present invention, reference being madeto the accompanying drawings, in whichFig. l is perspective view of a system for collecting a urine sample;Fig. 2 is a lateral view of a system for collecting aurine sample; andFig. 3 is a lateral view of a plug for use with a receptacle of a system for collecting a urine sample.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the invention will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.This invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventionto those skilled in the art. The terminology used in thedetailed description of the embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of theinvention. In the drawings, like numbers refer to likeelements.

The following description focuses on an embodiment of the present invention applicable to a system for collecting lO a urine sample and in particular to a system for collecting a urine sample from a female or a woman. However, it willbe appreciated that the invention is not limited to thisapplication but may be applied to many other applicationsincluding for example collecting a urine sample from ancollecting a urine sample from a child, infant, collecting a urine sample from an adult, collecting a urine samplefrom a pet and collecting a urine sample from an animal.In an embodiment of the invention according to Fig.l, a system l for collecting a urine sample is provided.The system according to this embodiment comprises areceptacle lO for containing the urine sample uponcollection thereof. The receptacle has a front portion l4and a rear portion l6. The receptacle further has a topwall 44 and a bottom wall 42, both located between the front portion l4 and the rear portion l6. Furthermore, thereceptacle lO also has a sealable inlet l9 for positioning at an outlet of a urethra of a subject, such as a female or a woman. The sealable inlet l9, also seen in fig. 2, may be arranged in the top wall 44 and is used for receiving theurine sample from the subject so that the urine sampleenters the inside of the receptacle lO. Once the urine sample is contained inside the receptacle lO, i.e. when the urine sample is collected, a plug 20 can be used to sealthe sealable inlet l9. Since the receptacle lO iscompletely sealable, it may be used for collecting urinesamples for doping controls or for drug testing. Theinvention is particularly suited for these applications,since the system l cannot easily be manipulated or tamperedThis is due to the fact that with, without being noticed. once the receptacle lO has been sealed with the plug 20, it can only be opened by either breaking a breakable seal 30 or by breaking either the plug 20 or the receptacle 10. The plug 20, also seen in fig. 3, has a flange 24 for closing the sealable inlet 19 of the receptacle 10. Thus, once the receptacle 10 has been closed with the plug 20, nothing can enter into the receptacle 10. The plug 20 also has a rim 22 for sealing the receptacle 10. Thus, once the plug 20 has been inserted far enough into the sealable inlet 19, therim 22 will prevent the plug 20 from being pulled outagain. The plug 20 can therefore after insertion into thesealable inlet 19 not be pulled out, without damagingeither the plug 20 or the receptacle 10. Consequently, itcan easily be detected if the receptacle has been tamperedor manipulated with. Thus, a safe and reliable system isprovided.

As can be seen from fig. 3, the rim 22 is in someembodiments located at a distance from the flange 24, with an intermediate portion 23 there between. Moreover, in some embodiments, the plug 20 also has a top portion 26.Furthermore, the system 1 provides for less smell and less spilling, easier transportation, easier, cleaner and more hygienic handling, since the receptacle is sealed.

In some embodiments, the receptacle 10 comprises atubular shaped portion 32 at the rear portion 16 of theIn other embodiments, receptacle 10. the tubular shaped portion 32 may be located at the front portion 14. Thetubular shaped portion 32 may protrude outwardly from thereceptacle 10 and may also have an outlet with a breakableseal 30. The breakable seal 30 is used for emptying thereceptacle 10. When the breakable seal 30 has been broken, the receptacle 10 can be emptied. This action may be performed at a lab, wherein the urine sample is to be analyzed. With the breakable seal 30, the sealed receptacle 10 can be opened and emptied only once. Thus, the system 1 for collecting urine may be disposable. However, since thesystem 1 for collecting urine may be made out of arecyclable material, such as plastic, the system 1 may berecyclable.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the receptacle 10 hasa hull-shaped or canal-shaped portion 12 with a hollow forreceiving the urine. The hollow may be formed in the topwall 44. The sealable inlet 19 is located inside the hollow, i.e. in the top wall 44. The sealable inlet 19 maybe located in a center or in a central position of thehollow. The sealable inlet 19 may further be located at the lowest position of the hollow. Thus, urine will be drainedinto the interior of the receptacle 10.

In some embodiments, the hull-shaped portion 12extends to the rear portion 16 and/or to the front portion14 of the receptacle 10 for excess urine to be discardedover an edge of the rear portion 16 and/or over an edge ofthe front portion 14. Thus, excess urine can be drainedinstantly without moving the system 1 away.

In some embodiments, the rear portion 16 and/or the front portion 14 has a pointed shape. Thus, there may be abetter or improved drainage of the excess urine.

In some embodiments, the received urine is containedinside the receptacle 10, between the top wall 44 and thebottom wall 42.

In some embodiments, a receptacle 10 for containing aurine sample upon collection thereof is provided. The receptacle 10 has a front portion 14 and a rear portion 16, a top wall 44 and a bottom wall 42 between the frontportion 14 and the rear portion 16.The receptacle 10 isfurther provided with a sealable inlet 19 for positioning at an outlet of a urethra of a subject, such as a female or a woman. The sealable inlet 19 is sealable with a plug 20.

In some embodiments, a plug 20 for sealing a receptacle 10, the receptacle 10 being used for containing a urine sample, is provided. The plug 20 has a flange 24 for closing an inlet 19 of the receptacle 10. The plug also has a rim 22 for sealing the receptacle 10.

In some embodiments, a method of collecting urine is provided. The method comprises collecting a urine sample in a receptacle 10. The method further comprises sealing a sealable inlet 19 of the receptacle 10 with a plug 20.

Optionally, the method also comprises delivering of the sealed receptacle 10 for analysis. As an option, once delivered, a breakable seal 30 of the receptacle can be broken for emptying the receptacle 10. Thus, an analysis of the urine sample can be performed. Such an analysis may include urinalysis. As a result of the urinalysis performed, e.g. blood cells, such as white or red, glucose, protein, drugs, such as cannabis, marijuana, amphetamine, ecstasy (MDMA), cocaine or heroin, or performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids (AAS) can be detected in the urine sample.In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing asystem 1 for collecting a urine sample is provided. Themethod of manufacturing comprises molding, preferably blowmolding, a receptacle 10 for containing the urine sampleupon collection thereof. The molded receptacle 10 has a front portion 14 and a rear portion 16, a top wall 44 and a 11 bottom wall 42 between the front portion 14 and the rearportion 16. The molded receptacle 10 also has a sealableinlet 19 for positioning at an outlet of a urethra of asuch as a female. subject, The method of manufacturing may also comprise molding of a plug 20, which plug 20 is usedfor sealing the sealable inlet 19, when or immediatelyafter the urine sample is collected. The method of moldingthe plug 20 is preferably injection molding, blow moldingor compression molding.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of thereceptacle 10 is formed and sized to fit around an outletof a urethra of a subject, such as a female.

In some embodiments, the system 1 including thereceptacle 10 is an integrated unit. The system 1 may in some embodiments be disposable. Thus, the system is only used once. This is in contrast to the urine specimencontainer system disclosed in the prior art document US6651259 B1, which system is for reuse. Thus, the systemaccording to the present patent application has anadvantage over the system disclosed in the prior artdocument US 6651259 B1, since it is more hygienic andsanitary.

In some embodiments, the system 1 for collecting aurine sample may be shaped and sized to fit infants,children, adults, women, pets, and/or animals. The system 1for collecting a urine sample may be formed and sized forputting it inside a diaper for the collection of urine.Thus, there is no need for any adhesive strip or similarmeans and hence the collecting of urine may be less painful for e.g. infants or preterm infants. 12 In some embodiments, the receptacle 10 is of an oval shape, e.g. shaped as an oval with the axis of symmetry running through the front portion 14 and the rear portion 16. However, in other embodiments the receptacle may be of a round or round-like shape.

In some embodiments, a compact and small system for collecting urine is provided, which is stackable. The top wall 44 of a first system or a first receptacle may beformed and sized to receive a bottom wall 42 of another system or receptacle on top. The bottom wall 42 may also be flat or flattened. Thus, a more stable receptacle 10 is provided. Consequently, it may be possible to stack the systems 1 or receptacles 10 on top of each other. Thus, transportation and/or storage of systems for collectingurine is facilitated.

In some embodiments, the system 1 or the receptacle 10 is provided with identification, such as a label, a barcode or radio frequency identification (RFID). Thus, the system and receptacle are traceable.

In some embodiments, the receptacle 10 may be provided with a urine test strip or a powder for urinalysis. A test strip or a powder may be put inside the receptacle 10 at a position, such as adjacent to the bottom wall 42, so that the presence of an amount of e.g. leukocytes, protein or Proteinuria, pH, glucose, nitrite or Nitrituria, erythrocytes or Hematuria, specific gravity, bilirubin, ketone, acetone, Urobilinogen, early pregnancy factor (EPF), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), luteinizing hormone (LH), cannabis, marijuana, amphetamine, ecstasy (MDMA), cocaine, heroin and/or performance- enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids (AAS), can be lO l3 visually determined from the outside without opening the receptacle, directly or at least within 2 minutes. Thus,the presence of a disease/drug or the absence of adisease/drug can be immediately indicated. Thus, it may be possible to immediately find out e.g. if the person who submitted the urine sample has a urinary tract infection or not. It may also be possible to immediately find out if the sample contains substances of a certain drug. Furthermore, with the test strip or powder, it may be possible to detect ovulation and/or pregnancy. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the powder is freely moving around in the receptacle. the singular forms "a", "an" As used herein,"the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "includes," "comprises," "including" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or"coupled" to another element, it can be directly connectedor coupled to the other element or intervening elements maybe present. Furthermore, "connected" or "coupled" as usedherein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. Asused herein, the term "and/or" includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.all terms Unless otherwise defined, (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in 14 the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined incommonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as havinga meaning that is consistent with their meaning in thecontext of the relevant art and will not be interpreted inan idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly sodefined herein.

The present disclosure has been described above withreference to specific embodiments. However, otherembodiments than the above described are equally possiblewithin the scope of the disclosure. Different method stepsor a different order thereof than those described above maybe provided within the scope of the disclosure. Thedifferent features and steps of the disclosure may becombined in other combinations than those described. Thescope of the disclosure is only limited by the appended patent claims.

Claims (9)

1. lJ A disposable system (l) for collecting a urine sample to be analyzed, comprising: a receptacle (l0) for containing said urine sampleupon collection thereof, having a front portion (l4)and a rear portion (16), a top wall (44) and a bottomwall (42) between said front portion (l4) and saidrear portion (l6), and a sealable inlet (l9) forpositioning at an outlet of an urethra of a subject,such as a female; and a plug (20) for sealing said sealable inlet (l9)“a§d said receptacle (l0) when said urine sample is collected. .The system of claim l, wherein said plug (20) has a flange (24) for closing said inlet (l9) of saidreceptacle (l0) and a rim (22) for sealing said receptacle (l0). .The system of claim l, wherein said receptacle (l0) further comprises a tubular shaped portion (32) atsaid rear portion (l6) of said receptacle (l0), saidtubular shaped portion (32) protruding outwardly fromsaid receptacle (l0) and having an outlet with a breakable seal (30) for emptying said receptacle. .The system of claim l, wherein said receptacle (l0) has a hull-shaped portion (l2) with a hollow for receiving said urine. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein said hull-shapedportion (12) extends to said rear portion (16) of saidreceptacle (10) for excess urine to be discarded overan edge of said rear portion (16). 6.The system of claim 5, wherein said rear portion has apointed shape. 7.A disposable and sealable receptacle (10) forcontaining a urine sample, which urine sample is to beanalyzed, upon collection thereof, having a frontportion (14) and a rear portion (16), a top wall (44)and a bottom wall (42) between said front portion (14)and said rear portion (16), and a sealable inlet (19)for positioning at an outlet of an urethra of asubject, such as a female, and said sealable inlet(19) being sealable with a plug (20). 9.A.¿1-ï <*0; ft” ~c,J~n¿ “-;t:: q.- (10) f LtJ.,,inl_J a a_i__ sample, said ¿l_g ("O) ha"i:g afian¿, <^;> irl :it ing an i;1_: (19) tf .alu f r .-allPg qai-8w@LLmmA method of collecting urine with the system ofany of claims 1-6, said method comprising: collecting a urine sample in a receptacle (10);sealing an inlet (19) of said receptacle (10) with a plug (20); delivering said sealed receptacle (10) for analysis; and of claims 1~6f^r c^llcüting ^ breaking a breakable seal (30) for emptying saidreceptacle (10) for said analysis, in particular detection of a drug in said urine sample. 49, A method of manufacturing thâa system (1) or any comprising: m ldin¿, pr;f~ra}l; blow molding, a receptacle (10)for containing said urine sample upon collectionthereof, said receptacle (10) having a front portion(14) and a rear portion (16), a top wall (44) and abottom wall (42) between said front portion (14) andsaid rear portion (16), and a sealable inlet (19) forpositioning at an outlet of an urethra of a subject,such as a female; in¿, prcfcrablg injection molding, blow molding orcompression molding, a plug (20), said plug (20) beingused for sealing said sealable inlet (19) when said urine sample is collected.