Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61J—CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE
  • A61J15/00—Feeding-tubes for therapeutic purposes
  • A61J15/0011—Feeding-tubes for delivery of nourishment to the mouth; Mouth pieces therefor

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a drinking device for, e.g., bed-ridden persons.
• the drinking device is particularly intended to facilitate the intake of liquid by bed-ridden persons suffering from motor disturbances or other disable ⁇ ments, such as shaking or trembling tendencies, for instance persons suffering from an advanced stage of Parkinson's disease.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a device which can be managed easily by a bed-ridden patient, which will not "obstruct" nursing personnel and which is function ⁇ ally reliable, meaning, among other thing, that it will not leak, and which can be manufactured cheaply and is suited for mass-production.
• Fig. l is a perspective view of an installed inventive drinking device
• Fig. 2 illustrates an element of said device in larger scale.
• Fig. l illustrates a liquid container generally referenced 1.
• the container may conveniently be a plastic bottle or flask, although other materials are conceivable, such as glass or metal sheet. However, it is important that a rigid material is used, so as to enable a vacuum (subpressure) to be generated in the container.
• a hose is referenced 2.
• One end of the hose is connected to the container 1 through the medium of a connection 3 in the form of a screw cap firmly screwed in the container 1.
• the contain ⁇ er 1 is mounted at one end of a bed 4, in the illustrated case at the head end of the bed, with the aid of a mount 5 which is arranged so that the hose connection 3 on the container 1 will face downwards.
• the container 1 is closed by means of the screw cap 12 of the hose connection 3.
• the container 1 can be removed from its fitting 1 by unscrewing the cap 12, and the container then opened so as to enable it to be filled with liquid.
• the other end of the hose 2 carries a nozzle 6 and a handgrip 7 which is located adjacent the nozzle.
• the handgrip 7 and nozzle 6 are hung from a hook 8 with the aid of a highly elastic rubber cord 9.
• the length of the rubber cord 9 can be adjusted with the aid of an adjuster 10. This enables the length of the cord 9 to be adjusted so that the nozzle 6, via the handgrip 7, hangs from the cord 9 at a height generally level with the liquid container 1.
• the height of the nozzle is conveniently adjusted so that the nozzle will not lie beneath the lower part of the container 1, but so that the level of liquid will lie immediately beneath the nozzle 6 or at least beneath the nozzle tip.
• the screw connection and the pressure abutment of the neck 13 of the container with a planar part 14 of the cap 12 provides an effective liquid seal.
• no guaranteed effective air seal is obtained, such a seal being undesirable with respect to the inventive arrangement.
• the function of the device presumes that air is able to diffuse into the container 1 , when a vacuum (subpressure) prevails therein.
• a groove 15 has been scored in the neck 13 of the container adjacent the planar part 14 of the cap.
• the groove or score 15 can be produced with a very thin cutting tool, for instance a razor blade or some corresponding device, without impairing the material, such as to score the elasto- meric material of the container 1, which is made of plastic. Due to the pliant nature of the elastomeric material, the score 15 will lack width in the actual meaning of the word, meaning that the walls of the score will close together and therewith prevent the passage of liquid through the score. On the other hand, the score guarantees that air will diffuse (leak) slowly into the container in the manner desired, when a subpressure prevails therein.
• the nozzle 6 When the bed-ridden patient desires to drink from the container, he/she moves the nozzle 6 into his/her mouth while stretching the rubber cord 9. The desired quantity of liquid is sucked from the container, whereafter the patient releases the handgrip 7 so that the handgrip returns to its position of readiness shown in Fig. 1, hanging from the rubber cord 9. If the patient fails to release the handgrip 7 after taking a drink from the container, but moves the handgrip down to a level substantially beneath the container 1, no liquid will run from the nozzle 7 because of the subpressure that has been generated in the container 1 as liquid is sucked therefrom, and because the container 1 is closed and liquid-tight and is comprised of a rigid material, so that a subpressure can be generated in the container 1 above the liquid level 16.
• a suitable height is one in which the nozzle is level with the level of liquid 16 in the container 1, or more specifi ⁇ cally a height in which the nozzle orifice will lie/hang slightly above this level.
• the hose 2 has sufficient length to enable it to rest on the bed and to allow the patient to freely handle the handgrip 7 with nozzle 6.
• mount 5 can be placed in some other position than at the head end of the bed, for instance at the foot end of the bed.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Details Of Rigid Or Semi-Rigid Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20395899

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (2)

Citations (4)

• 1994
  • 1994-11-09 SE SE9403838A patent/SE9403838D0/sv unknown
• 1995
  • 1995-10-17 WO PCT/SE1995/001210 patent/WO1996014821A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1995-10-17 AU AU38843/95A patent/AU3884395A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (4)

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