US2477666A

US2477666A - Prostate gland massaging implement

Info

Publication number: US2477666A
Application number: US768105A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harry M Smallen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-08-12
Filing date: 1947-08-12
Publication date: 1949-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 1966-08-02

Description

Aug. 2, 1949, H. M. SMALLEN PROSTATE .GLAND MASSAGING IMPLEMENT Filed Aug. 12, 1947 kNVENTOR. HflRE) M swam A TTOR'NE 7T Patented Aug. 2, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT GFF-IQE PRO STA'I- E' MAS SAKGING IMPLEMENT Harry M. Smallen, New York, N. Y.

Application August '12, 1947", Serial- No": 7 68,105

5'Claims. l

The present invention relates to a: simple instrument by means of which: the-"prostate'gland can be massaged, and constitutes generally an improvement upon the prostate gland" massaging implement forming the subject matter' of: my copending application, Serial No. 658,819, filed: April 1', 1946.

In my aforesaid application; the chief facts and: desiderata concerning the prostate gland have been set forth, but I wish to emphasize here that while the prostate gland is situated below the bladder and adjacent the front Wall" of the rectum, it is easily accessible'via the anal canal. In chronic prostatitis and in other diseases and infections of the prostate gland, it has been found that gentle manipulation and massage constitute the best form of treatment. Whether this acts to eliminate accumul'at'ed'secretions, to stimulate the contractionof smooth muscle fibres, to complete the removal of periph eral adhesions, or in some other therapeutic manner, the fact remains that many cases of prostatic disease are improved or alleviated in such manner. Treatments of such character have been primarily carried out by the physician using protected finger, but for reasons out-- lined in my said copendingapplication, it'would be highly advantageous to provide a simple in strument with which the patient cancarry out the necessary massaging himself in the privacy of his home. A suitable instrument was provided for the first time, I believe, by my afore said application, but I have now' additionallyfound that quicker and more effective and lasting results may be achieved by a modilied forn'l of instrument.

It is, accordingly, an object of" this invention to provide an improved prostate glandz massager of such nature that a layman. can readily learn. how to massage his own prostate. gland, easily and safely after short instructions from a phy sician.

Another object/of the invention. is tO'DIOVifiEE a prostate gland massaaer t extremely simple" construction but admirably adapted. to. ease; of? manipulation from the front of the body.

An additional object of the invention resides: in a prostate gland massager having a circunr ferentially resilient massaging tipofv greater... massaging area and power than the implement: of my said copending' application;

A further object of the invention is to produce a prostate gland massager having a circumferentially resilient massaging tip withaam: rigid spine eccentrically" disposediinsuch: tin-1..

Other-iandsstill further objects and advantages will be: understood. and appreciatedzzloythose skilledrin this art; onwill be apparent on pointed out; h ereinaften.

In: the: accompanying drawing in which": ex; emplary embodiments of the invention? have been iliustratedc" Fig; 1. is: a partial section: through a lumran: bodyshowing'my new massager inipositi'ongs ready for use".

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevational viewof the massager.

Fig. 3: is a view of the massager'as viewed lnthe direction of thet arrows il -3 in Fig. 1-.

Figs. 4e, 5,1.and 6 are," respectively; front; side and sectional views of'the'tip or: spine. without its: covering members.

Fig; 5w i-s'a similar view to. Fig; 5; but' with the coveringmembersr'im place thereon:

Eigsz. 7. and-I 81 are front and side views of a modified form. of resilient? sponge rubber element adapted! taint-over the tip or spine" of Figs;

Fig: 9 is a partial: elevation and partial: sec-'- tion: through a: tip or: spinesimilar to Fig. 511; but mndifiedi thereover;

Fig.1 1G: is: 'a transverse section through F 'ig 91 Fig; 111; a v iew simil'ar toFi'g. f a further modified tip or'Jspine.

Riga. 12: is a'transverse: section through Fig: 1I'.'

My 'new' prostate glandimassager has a: relatiyelystraightand vertical handle portion ll) terminating? in at bent. end or hook portion H" extending more" or' less horizontally forwardly. Below porlfion lllf the massager' curves rear'wardly and-downwardly, as at I 2,. substantially concenttically to the: adjacent abdominal: portion- [3 oiihody Band" them continues downwardl'y and rearwardlyapproximately parallel to the groin portion. M of 1. the body B; final-1y. turning upwardlydrr-a: slightly forwardly tilte'd tip or'spine portibn li'a which is adaptedixto pass through the anai opening oncanal l-B"leadingto the rectum l1 adjacent the forwardwall til of whichv liesthe iprostate." gland" l9 traversed by urethra; 2U whichi connects withi bladder" 21-. The portion ot the: massagen oppusite groinr l l 'h'as ofiSet' zzl'tovby-"pass the genital organs 23 (Fig; 3*)". The tip orspine I?) has one flat side24 which connects witlrlthe circulanba-lanceof the mas-- sagerviamerging: transition piece Errandan annulani transverse?! grooves 26 just 'beyond --piece 25. The parts of the massager so far described are preferably" composed of: a synthetic pl astic material: such; asfililucitegbuu any othen'suitablef material: be equally welhusedz As will be observed from Fig. a, the spine I5 is surrounded by sponge or foam rubber member 21. This may be a tubular member slipped over spine [5 or in any other suitable physical form such as a sheet of sponge rubber wrapped around such spine. The spine and sponge rubber are enclosed by a rubber cot 28 which compresses the sponge rubber member 21 and forms a circumferentially resilient massager. Since the spine I5 is at one side of the instrument, i. e., is asymmetrically disposed, the massaging end of the instrument when covered by the sponge rubber member and the cot has the spine eccentrically arranged therein with a buffered tip 28a. The cot 28 is secured by a neck-like extension 29 which is anchored in groove 26 by friction, compression or adhesive or a combination of such. While the cot-covered end of the massager is in general finger-shaped, it increases somewhat in diameter toward its distal end and is well-rounded and firm but resilient and yielding under pressure. In this connection, the materials and arrangement are such that the massager tip yields in every direction in which force or pressure may be applied thereto and hence is circumferentially resilient.

Figs. 7 and 8 show a somewhat flattened and grooved out sponge rubber member 210. which has a rectangular aperture 30 atone end. Spine I5 is inserted through this aperture so that member 21a covers such spine with its flange-like marginal portions 3|, and that a cot is applied over the whole and secured in place as already explained. Members 2'! and 21a are, therefore, preshaped in order to produce a massager tip of proper size and configuration.

In Figs. 9 and 10, the massager lOb has its eccentric spine [51) opposed by a U -shaped sponge rubber member 2'") in such manner as to leave an air space 32 therebetween, thus modifying the resiliency of the tip as a whole due to an aircushion effect when pressure is exerted more or less laterally against the tip which is covered on the outside by a cot 28b secured at 291) as hereinbefore described. The resiliency of the massager tip may be still further modified, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, by substituting an infiated, balloon-like member 33 for the U-shaped sponge rubber member 211). Member 33 also provides an air space 34 but in a specifically different manner. In other respects, the construction .of the massager is like those described above, as will be appreciated from the numerals employed.

When the massager is to be used, it is placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the body being preferably bent forwardly i. e., the thighs being bent substantially at right angles relative to the abdominal wall and a suitable lubricant having been applied to the outside of the cot to prevent undesired friction. The massager is grasped by the handle ID with the hand up against the stop II and the massager is then moved or oscillated laterally by handle portion H! in a manner and for a period of time prescribed by a physician. This action is similar to that accomplished by the physicians massaging finger. The hooked end serves as a stop to afford a good grip to hold the hand from sliding off the handle l0. Instead of being hook shaped, the stop may take any other form, for instance, a ball on the end of handle Ill would serve the same purpose.

In this manner, the required massaging action is applied to prostate gland l9 through rectal wall Hi. It will be noted that the soft resilient wall 4 21 will readily adapt itself to any pathological irregularity of the gland with a minimum of irri- .tation. The treatments can be carried out by the patient in the privacy of his home without embarrassment, without requiring an undue amount .of the physicians time and hence at a correspondingly diminished cost. The massager can readily be sterilized after use and is relatively inexpensive as to its initial cost. Due to the configuration-of the massager and the off-set portion 22, the adjacent body parts are not rubbed, chafed or otherwise disturbed or affected. Actual use of my new massager has proved the efilcacy and value thereof and the ease of treating the prostate gland therewith.

While the massaging tip and finger out have been described as being of rubber it will be obvious that any other suitable resilient and waterproof material may be used for the purpose, and wherever the term rubber is used in the claims it is intended to include various other suitable plastics and other materials.

The foregoing is presented as illustrative and not as limitative since various further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or principles thereof. The invention is rather that defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A prostrate gland massager comprising a relatively straight, vertical handle portion with a, terminal stop, a rearwardly and downwardly extending portion having an intermediate lateral off-set and an upwardly and slightly forwardly tilted tip which is circumferentially resilient and adapted to contact the frontal rectal wall of a human body, said tip having a spine positioned eccentrically relative to the body member of the massager, a resilient member on said spine with a thickened portion on the massaging side thereof, and a resilient cot covering said resilient member and spine and secured to said massager, in a substantially water and air tight manner.

=2. A prostate gland massager comprising a relatively straight, vertical handle portion with a terminal hook, a rearwardly and downwardly extending portion having an intermediate lateral off-set and an upwardly and slightly forwardly tilted tip which is circumferentially resilient and adapted to contact the frontal rectal wall of a human body, said tip having a spine positioned eccentrically relative to the body member of the massager, a resilient member on said spine and a resilient cot covering said resilient member and secured to said massager, said resilient member being a pre-shape resilient sponge tube.

3. A prostate gland massager comprising a relatively straight, vertical handle portion with terminal hook, a rearwardly and downwardly extending portion having an intermediate lateral off-set and an upwardly and slightly forwardly tilted tip which is circumferentially resilient and adapted to contact the frontal rectal wall of a human body, said tip having an eccentrically located spine, a resilient member on said spine and a resilient cot covering said spine and resilient member and secured to said massager, said resilient member being of pre-shaped soft waterproof material having marginal flanges and an aperture in one end for the reception of said spine.

4. A prostate gland massager comprising a relatively straight, vertical handle portion with a terminal hook, a rearwardly and downwardly extending portion having an intermediate lateral off-set and an upwardly and slightly forwardly tilted tip which is circumferentially resilient and adapted to contact the frontal rectal wall of a human body, said tip having an eccentrically positioned spine, a resilient member on said spine and a resilient cot covering said resilient member and spine and secured to said massager, said resilient member being of U-shaped soft waterproof material disposed to form an air space between it and said spine.

5. A prostate gland massager comprising a relatively straight, vertical handle portion with a terminal stop, a rearwardly and downwardly extending portion having an intermediate lateral off-set and an upwardly and slightly forwardly tilted tip which is circumferentially resilient and HARRY M. SMALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Smith Dec. 7, 1937 Number