Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F13/00—Bandages or dressings; Absorbent pads
  • A61F13/15—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators
  • A61F13/45—Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators characterised by the shape
  • A61F13/47—Sanitary towels, incontinence pads or napkins
  • A61F13/471—Sanitary towels, incontinence pads or napkins specially adapted for male use
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F5/00—Orthopaedic methods or devices for non-surgical treatment of bones or joints; Nursing devices; Anti-rape devices
  • A61F5/44—Devices worn by the patient for reception of urine, faeces, catamenial or other discharge; Portable urination aids; Colostomy devices
  • A61F5/451—Genital or anal receptacles
  • A61F5/453—Genital or anal receptacles for collecting urine or other discharge from male member

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an incontinence guard which is intended to be worn by a male user and to be attached around the wearer's genitals in use within an absorbent article such as a diaper or an incontinence guard, or within the conventional underpants of the user, and also to a method of manufacturing the incontinence guard.
• incontinence guards When designing incontinence guards for adults, it is neces- sary to take into account that the degree of incontinence and therewith the quantity of liquid discharged will vary widely from individual to individual. Furthermore, the absorption capacity requirement can vary with one and the same person. For instance, a greater absorption capacity is required over the nighttime hours, since the incontinence guard cannot be changed equally as often during the night as during the day. Consequently, in order to meet the different absorption capacity requirements, it is necessary to produce adult incontinence guards in several sizes. A large size range, however, results in higher costs, both with regard to manufacture and to storage of the incontinence guards. It is therefore desirable to restrict the number of sizes as far as possible.
• the incontinence guard shall also be small and discrete when worn, and be very reliable against leakage. Since the size of the guard is directly connected with its absorption capacity, the guard should be constructed in a manner which will utilize the available absorbent material to the full. Male users of incontinence guards present a particular problem in this regard, since the male anatomy makes it difficult to know precisely where in the incontinence guard t h e liquid will be discharged. This is because the penis of t h e wearer is able to move within the guard, for instance in response to wearer movement.
• the incontinence guard has been put on initially with the penis wrongly positioned, for instance turned upwards towards the wearer's stomach or towards an edge part of the inconti ⁇ nence guard.
• the incontinence guard may have been wrongly fitted on the wearer because the incontinent wearer is handicapped with regard to hand movements, a handicap which is particularly usual among older men. Inexperience or haste on the part of the nurse fitting the incontinence guard may be another reason.
• Random parts of the absorbent material will be utilized in absorbing liquid, depending on the position of the penis within the incontinence guard.
• an edge-part of the guard for instance, will be saturated with liquid, whereafter further liquid that is discharged will leak from the guard, despite the fact that parts of the absorbent material remain unused.
• E P 1 40 478 describes an incontinence guard in the form of a liquid-impermeable bag filled with absorbent material.
• the bag is provided with an opening through which body liquid is able to pass into the absorbent material.
• a pocket is provided in the proximity of the bag opening. In use, the user's penis is inserted down in the pocket, so that discharged urine will be led in through the opening and absorbed within the bag.
• SE 8903869-9 describes an absorbent insert intended for use inside a diaper or an incontinence guard.
• the insert is comprised of an absorbent body enclosed between two casing sheets of mutually different liquid-permeability.
• the inner casing sheet which in use is intended to lie proximal to the wearer, has a higher liquid-permeability than the outer casing sheet, which in use is intended to lie proximal to the diaper or the incontinence guard.
• the concept is that body liquid absorbed by the insert will pass through the outer casing sheet of the insert slowly and in a con ⁇ trolled manner and be absorbed by the diaper or incontinence guard.
• the present invention provides a male incontinence guard and a method of manufacturing said male incontinence guard in a simple and cost-effective manner.
• the incontinence guard is intended to be carried by a male user and, in use, is intended to be fitted around the wearer's genitals, within an absorbent article such as a diaper, or within another incontinence guard, or within the normal underclothes of the user.
• the incontinence guard is comprised of a generally liquid-impermeable sheet, an absorbent layer and a liquid-permeable sheet, preferably made of nonwoven material and joined together in the aforesaid order, wherein the generally liquid-impermeable sheet and the liquid- permeable sheet have a greater extension than the absorbent layer in all directions.
• the generally liquid-impermeable sheer, the absorbent layer and the liquid-permeable sheet are also folded so that when seen in cross-section, they will have the form of a Z whose base or foot is joined to a mirror image of the Z, therewith forming a bottom piece, two intermediate elements and two top elements, and a liquid- impermeable sealing element which lies on top of part of the liquid-permeable sheet.
• the incontinence guard also includes one or more fastener devices which are fastened to the rear side of the generally liquid-impermeable sheet.
• one or more of the components of the incontinence guard can be delivered to the manufacturing process from reels on which said one or more components is/are supplied.
• the guard components can be glued, welded or otherwise bonded together to form finished products.
• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred material composition of an inventive incontinence guard.
• Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a further preferred material composition of an inventive incontinence guard.
• Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of an inventive incontinence guard.
• Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment of an inventive incontinence guard.
• Fig. 5 illustrates a preferred embodiment of an inventive incontinence guard.
• the invention which is illustrated in the aforesaid Figures with associated reference numbers, is comprised in a first preferred embodiment, illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, of a liquid-permeable sheet 7, preferably made of nonwoven material, a generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5, preferably made of plastic material, and an absorbent layer 6 encased therebetween.
• the liquid- permeable layer 7 and the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 have the same extension, whereas the absorbent layer 6 is slightly smaller, and when the sheets are joined together, there is formed around the incontinence guard 4 an edge- margin which is thinner than the remainder of the inconti ⁇ nence guard 4.
• the preferred embodiment also includes a fastener device, in the illustrated preferred case a so- called hook and loops type fastener, which is fastened to the rear side of the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 and functions to hold the incontinence guard 4 firmly within a diaper or some other incontinence guard.
• the aforesaid first preferred embodiment also includes a sealing element 11 which is placed on top of the liquid-permeable sheet 7 in the region of the incontinence guard 4 which is normally lower in use. The sealing element 11 is joined to the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 along three sides thereof so as to obtain a liquid-tight, bag-shaped configuration, as shown in Fig. 5.
• the main part of the incontinence guard 4 comprised of the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5, the absorbent layer 6 and the liquid-permeable sheet 7 has a shape similar to a Z whose base or foot is connected to a mirror image of the Z, such as to present the configuration illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5.
• a further absorbent body 8 is placed centrally between the absorbent layer 6 and the liquid-permeable sheet 7, as evident from Fig. 2 for instance, wherein the absorbent body 8 defines the width of the bottom or base member 1 of the aforesaid mutually joined Z-shapes.
• the second preferred embodiment coincides with the first preferred embodiment in other respects.
• the intermediate element 12 and the top element 13 of the mutually joined Z- shapes are formed differently to the corresponding intermedi ⁇ ate element 22 and top element 23 of said third preferred embodiment, so that one side will overlap the other, as shown in Fig. 4.
• the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 of each of the aforesaid embodiments is able to allow liquid to pass through when the incontinence guard 4 is saturated.
• the liquid that passes through the generally liquid-impermeable sheet is transported preferably to a diaper or to the incontinence guard in which the incontinence guard 4 is fastened.
• the incontinence guard of each of the aforesaid embodiments is manufactured preferably from material in reel form, i.e. the materials used are supplied on reels.
• the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 is advanced first, preferably continuously, whereupon the absorbent layer 6 and/or the absorbent body 8 is/are then delivered, preferably in reel form and are cut into appropriate lengths upon delivery.
• the liquid-permeable sheet 7 is then applied, preferably continuously and from a reel.
• the various compo- nents can be joined together in a variety of different ways, preferably by gluing although ultrasonic welding or laser welding, etc., may be used.
• the aforesaid order in which the guard is manufactured may, of course, be reversed.
• the fastener device 10 is preferably comprised of a so-called hook and loops type fastener material or tape and can be fastened to the rear side of the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5 at any stage of the manufacturing process.
• the fastener device is preferably applied prior to cutting-off the incontinence guard, which follows application of the liquid-tight sealing element 11.
• the material from which the fastener device 10 is obtained is also preferably supplied on a reel and clipped to appropriate lengths, preferably prior to being fastened to the rear side of the generally liquid-impermeable sheet 5.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Reproductive Health (AREA)
• Nursing (AREA)
• Orthopedic Medicine & Surgery (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20396519

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (6)

Citations (1)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1994
  • 1994-12-30 SE SE9404566A patent/SE508240C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1995
  • 1995-12-11 GB GB9525256A patent/GB2296440A/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1995-12-13 IL IL11637395A patent/IL116373A0/xx unknown
  • 1995-12-15 WO PCT/SE1995/001519 patent/WO1996020665A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1995-12-15 AU AU44033/96A patent/AU4403396A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-12-15 TW TW084113405A patent/TW286281B/zh active
  • 1995-12-28 PE PE1995288106A patent/PE12197A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1995-12-28 ZA ZA9511040A patent/ZA9511040B/xx unknown
  • 1995-12-28 TN TNTNSN95142A patent/TNSN95142A1/fr unknown

Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events