WO1998052455A1

WO1998052455A1 - Portable urine holding system

Info

Publication number: WO1998052455A1
Application number: PCT/US1997/009358
Authority: WO
Inventors: Larry Garlock
Original assignee: Larry Garlock
Priority date: 1997-05-21
Filing date: 1997-05-21
Publication date: 1998-11-26
Also published as: CA2261658A1; AU3223497A

Abstract

A system for holding and disposing of urine for patients who are continent comprises a urinal (10), a drainage tube (14), and urine receptacle (18). When a continent patient desires to urinate, he or she simply positions the urinal (10) properly and urinates. The urine entering the urinal (10) is conveyed through the urinal (10) to the drainage tube (14) and into the receptacle (18) which may be disposed for or may be used for medical tests. In a preferred embodiment, the drainage tube (18) includes a one-way flow valve (58) to prevent urine in the receptacle (18) from accidentally flowing into the urinal (10) in the event that the urinal (10) is dropped or the receptacle (18) suddenly raised.

Description

PORTABLE URINE HOLDING SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for holding and disposing of urine for patients, and in particular, to such a system which decreases the risk of the patient developing incontinence.

The disposal of urine for non-ambulatory and semi- ambulatory patients is a significant problem for hospitals, nursing homes, and families having a member who is not mobile enough to go to a rest room alone, or who does not go to the rest room for other reasons. When urination is necessary, the person who is continent will usually either call for a care giver to assist him/her, or use a urinal such as that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,716,871 issued to Borse . At night, it is more common for the patient to use the urinal as care givers are generally less available. Even ambulatory older patients may prefer to use a urinal during the night to avoid the risk of falling when getting out of bed or attempting to navigate in a darkened room and when care givers may not be readily available.

While there are several types, urinals are usually a container with a detachable lid and an opening large enough to receive urine. The urinals commonly used, however, have several problems. First, it is common for a patient using such a urinal at night to drop the urinal before the lid is attached, or to knock the urinal off of the night stand on which the urinal is placed while the person is sleeping. Additionally, many patients, though continent, are in a somewhat weakened state and are fearful of reusing the urinal before it has been emptied, because even a momentary slip could cause urine to escape from the urinal and spill on the patient, the patient's bed, or on the floor. In addition to the smell associated with such a spill, the wet floor greatly increases the risk of slipping if the patient attempts to get out of bed. A further concern with such urinals is that a patient may occasionally mistake the urinal for his/her water bottle during the night .

Because of these concerns, it has become common for the care giver to be called after each urination to empty the urinal. In hospitals and nursing homes this is an inconvenience as the nurses or other medical personnel are required to take time from performing medical activities to empty the urinals. In home environments, the toll is much greater as the care giver is often awakened several times each night to empty the urinal. Eventually, this leads to care giver "burn out" and a loss of self-esteem for the patient.

In response to these concerns, some have resorted to using external and internal catheters and similar devices on patients who are continent and semi- ambulatory simply to decrease the stress on the care giver. Such a solution, however, often leads to the patient becoming incontinent, as the body quickly stops controlling the flow of urine once it realizes that it is attached to a urinal. As a result of this, patients who are temporarily semi-ambulatory (i.e., a person who suffers a severe leg fracture) must relearn to control their urination. Often this takes several days and is quite embarrassing to the patient. Thus, there is needed a urine holding system which safely and effectively disposes of urine without requiring the care giver to empty the urinal between each urination. Additionally, there is a need for a urine holding system which requires the patient to position the urinal before each use so as to prevent induced temporary incontinence. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a urine holding system with which a patient may temporarily dispose of urine without the assistance of a care giver.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a urine holding system which will not increase the likelihood that the patient will become temporarily or permanently incontinent. It is an additional object of the invention to provide a urine holding system which is inexpensive to manufacture and is disposable.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a urine holding system which prevents urine from spilling on the user.

The above and other objects of the invention are realized in a urine holding system including a urinal, a drainage tube and a receptacle. The urinal is designed so as to rest on the patient's bed during use, and to direct urine away from the patient and into the drainage tube . Once in the drainage tube , the urine flows down into the receptacle which is typically mounted on the side of the patient's bed in much the same way as the bag of a catheter is mounted. As the patient urinates, the urine will collect in the receptacle .

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the receptacle is made of a clear material and has volume markings on the side of the receptacle so that a care giver can assess the patient's urine, both for clarity and volume .

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a one-way valve is positioned along the drainage tube so as to prevent urine in the tube or receptacle from spilling in the event that the receptacle is lifted above the patient, or the urinal is accidentally dropped . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above, and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description presented in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a fragmented, elevated perspective view of a urine holding system made in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the urinal being enlarged.

FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the urinal shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a side-cross sectional view of another embodiment of a urinal made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the drawings in which the various elements of the present invention will be given numeral designations and in which the invention will be discussed so as to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an elevated perspective view of a urine holding system, generally indicated at 2, which includes a urinal 10, a drainage tube 14 and a receptacle 18.

The urinal 10 includes an inlet opening 22 positioned at one end of the urinal and an outlet opening 26 positioned at the opposing end. The space between the inlet opening 22 and the outlet opening 26 is surrounded by an upper wall, sidewalls 34 and a bottom wall 38 and an end wall 41 which extends downwardly from the inlet opening to the bottom wall . The sidewalls 34 taper outwardly and downwardly away from the inlet opening and then inwardly and downwardly toward the outlet opening. A handle 40 extends upwardly^" (or some other convenient direction) from the upper wall 30 so as to enable the patient to move the urinal 10, and to hold it securely in place during use. A lid 44 can also be provided and attached to the handle by a cord 48. When the urinal 10 is not in use, the lid 44 covers the inlet opening 22 to prevent odors from reaching the patient.

Ideally, the top wall 30, side walls 34 and bottom wall 38 should be disposed such that the urinal 10 has a volume of about 600 cubic centimeters. This ensures that the urinal will not overflow in the event that the patient urinates faster than the urine is carried away by the drainage tube 14. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the likelihood of such overfilling could be alleviated by simply increasing an interior diameter of the drainage tube 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of legs 50 can be attached to an outer surface of the bottom wall 38 so that the bottom wall slopes downwardly from the inlet opening 22 to the outlet opening 26 when the urinal 10 is placed on a flat bed (represented by line 54) . This slope causes the urine to flow into the drainage tube 14 rather than merely pool on the bottom wall 38. Preferably, the legs will be between 1/2 inch and 1 inch so as to provide a slope sufficient to direct the urine into the drainage tube 14, without rendering the urinal 10 unstable.

In use, a patient will get into a comfortable position and then position the urinal opening 22 properly. The patient then releases urine into the urinal 10 through the opening 22 and the urine is channeled by the upper wall 30, sidewalls 34 and bottom wall 38 to the outlet opening 26, where the urine passes into the drainage tube 14. Typically, the drainage tube 14 will have a one-way valve, indicated at 58, to prevent fluids from flowing back into the urinal 10 in the event that the urinal is dropped, or the receptacle 18 is suddenly lifted above the urinal. The valve 58 can be a diaphragm valve, a ball valve, a flutter vale. In FIG. 1, the one-way valve 58. is disposed adjacent to the urinal 10. However, it will be equally common for the one-way valve 58 to be disposed at the junction between the drainage tube 14 and the receptacle 18.

Because urinals are commonly used at night, they are frequently dropped by patients, causing urine to spill on the floor of the room, leaving a foul odor and increasing the risk of infection. The spilled urine also increases the risk that the patient or medical personnel will slip and fall. By providing the one-way valve 58, the only amount of urine which may spill on the floor is that which has not passed through the valve. This will usually be a small quantity which can easily be cleaned up. For this reason, it is preferential to position the one-way valve 58 at a location near the urinal 10. However, this may not always be practical or economical, and providing the one-way valve 58 nearer to the receptacle 18 will still significantly limit the amount of spilled urine.

Once the urine passes through the drainage tube 14, it enters the receptacle 18. The receptacle 18 will typically be a plastic bag which has at least one transparent face 60 so that the care giver can observe the clarity of the urine, and be alerted if there are any problems such as blood in the urine . The receptacle 18 will also usually be graduated; i.e., it will have markings, such as those indicated at 64, for determining the quantity of urine produced by the patient during a given period of time. Additionally, while the receptacle 18 can be thrown away each morning and replaced with a new receptacle, the receptacle will typically have a discharge valve 68 for draining the receptacle, and for taking urine samples when needed. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a holder 72 which can be mounted to the patient's bedside, or in another convenient location. The urinal 10 can be placed in the holder 72 when not in use, so that the urinal will not be in the patient's way. Additionally, by placing the tapered section of the urinal 10 pointing down into the holder 72, any urine remaining in the urinal will be pulled down into the drainage tube 14 by gravity.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a bottom view of the urinal 10 shown in FIG. 1. The urinal 10 is fairly wide at the sidewalls 34 and along most of the bottom wall 38 so as to provide stability when placed on the patient's bed. The legs 50 are also spaced apart to provide additional stability when placed on a patient's bed. The urinal 10, however, narrows near the outlet opening 26 like a funnel so as to channel the urine into the drainage tube (not shown) . Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a side cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment, generally indicated at 110 of the urinal 10 of FIGs. 1 and 2. The urinal 110 includes an inlet opening 122 and an outlet opening 126; the space between the openings being surrounded by a top wall 130, side walls 134 and an interior bottom wall 138 which taper as they approach the outlet opening 126. As shown in FIG. 3, the interior bottom wall 138 is sloped so as to direct urine to the outlet opening 126. The interior bottom wall 138 forms what is commonly referred to as a false bottom within the urinal 110. Ideally, the false bottom (interior bottom wall 138) will slope between 1/4 and 3/4 inch over the length of the urinal to provide proper drainage . The bottom side of the urinal 110 is provided by an exterior bottom wall 142. The exterior bottom wall is generally flat so that the urinal 110 may rest horizontally on a bed while being used by a patient. As with the bottom wall 38, shown in FIG. 2, the exterior bottom wall 142 will be relatively broad to give the urinal 110 lateral stability, and limit the risk that the urinal will be knocked over accidentally. As shown in FIG. 3, the urinal 110 also includes a handle 146 which extends from, the upper wall 130 to facilitate movement of the urinal by a patient. The handle 146 should be comfortable and easy to grip as the handle will be used each time the patient desires to urinate. Unlike other systems which have been developed, the urinal 110 should not be permanently attached to the patient. If this is done, the risk of temporary or permanent incontinence increases significantly. By being unattached, the urinal 110 forces the patient to make a conscious decision about whether to urinate.

Also shown in FIG. 3, an attachment 150 is provided about the exterior of the outlet opening 126 for attaching the drainage tube (not shown) to the urinal 110. A barbed attachment, such as that shown as 150, would allow the care giver to remove the drainage tube and replaced it with a fresh one. A presently preferred embodiment includes forming the urinal 110 from a polypropylene material, and the drainage tube from polyvinyl chloride. The two materials essentially form a seal about the barbs 150. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that an adhesive attachment, a threaded attachment or a clamp attachment could also be used to secure the urinal to the drainage tube. A threaded or otherwise releasable attachment is particularly beneficial if the drainage tube and the receptacle (not shown) were formed as one integral unit, as may be done to reduce production costs. The urinal could then be rinsed out to prevent any trace urine from developing unpleasant odors. If the entire unit was to be thrown away, the drainage tube could be adhesively attached to the urinal 110, or the urinal and drainage tube could be formed as one piece . In the manner described, an improved Urine Holding System is provided. The system utilizes a urinal, a_. drain tube, and a receptacle to remove urine and decrease the likelihood that a patient will spill on himself/herself . Unlike other systems, the urinal is not strapped to the patient, thereby decreasing the likelihood that a patient will become temporarily (or permanently) incontinent. Rather, the urinal can be mounted in a holder which prevents the urinal from interfering with other activities of the patient. It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A portable urine holding system for hospital patients and the like, the system comprising: urinal means for receiving urine from a patient and comprising an elongate hollow container having an inlet opening disposed at one end, and an outlet opening disposed at an opposite end, the container tapering outwardly to a central section which is wider than the inlet opening, and then tapering inwardly from the central section to a point adjacent the outlet opening so as to channel urine in the urinal means toward the outlet opening; drainage means in fluid communication with the outlet opening for receiving urine passed out of the outlet opening; and receptacle means in fluid communication with the drainage means for receiving and storing urine from the drainage means .

2. The portable urine holding system of claim 1 , wherein the container comprises a top wall and a bottom wall, and wherein the top wall includes a handle means for moving the urinal means .

3. The portable urine holding system of claim 2 , wherein the urinal means further comprises a plurality of legs disposed rearward of the inlet opening and beneath the central section and extending generally downwardly from the bottom wall so as to cause the bottom wall to slope downwardly toward the outlet opening when the urinal means is placed on a generally horizontal surface.

4. The portable urine holding system of claim 2 , wherein the bottom wall of the urinal means comprises an interior wall and an exterior wall, the interior wall forming a false bottom within the urinal means.

5. The portable urine holding system of claim 4 , wherein the interior wall of the bottom wall is sloped relative to the exterior wall such that when the exterior wall is positioned generally horizontally, the interior wall slopes downwardly toward the outlet opening .

6. The portable urine holding system of claim 1, wherein the drainage means comprises a drainage tube extending from the urinal means to the receptacle means.

7. The portable urine holding system of claim 6 , wherein the drainage tube is adhesively affixed to the urinal means .

8. The portable urine holding system of claim 6, wherein the drainage tube is threadedly attached to the urinal means .

9. The portable urine holding system of claim 6, wherein the drainage tube is held to the urinal means by a plurality of barbs.

10. The portable urine holding system of claim 6, further comprising a seal disposed at a point wherein the drainage tube is held to the urinal means.

11. The portable urine holding system of claim 1, wherein the drainage means comprises a one-way flow means for preventing urine from flowing from the receptacle means into the urinal means.

12. The portable urine holding system of claim 11, wherein the one-way flow means comprises a ball valve.

13. The portable urine holding system of claim 11 wherein the one-way flow means comprises a diaphragm valve .

14. The portable urine holding system of claim 11 wherein the one-way flow means comprises a flutter valve.

15. The portable urine holding system of claim 1 wherein the receptacle means comprises a graduated, water-proof plastic bag with an outlet valve disposed thereon.

16. The portable urine holding system of claim 1, further comprising holding means for maintaining the container away from a patient when not in use.

17. A portable urine holding system for semi- ambulatory patients, the system comprising: urinal means for receiving urine from a patient, the urinal means comprising a plurality of walls forming a container, an inlet opening disposed at one end of the container for receiving urine from a patient, and an outlet opening disposed at an opposite end so as to be lower than the inlet opening when the container is resting on a generally horizontal surface, a portion of the walls adjacent- the inlet tapering downwardly and outwardly and a portion of the walls adjacent the outlet opening tapering generally inwardly and downwardly toward the outlet opening so as to channel urine in the urinal means through the outlet opening; drainage means in fluid communication with the outlet opening for receiving urine passed out of the outlet opening, the drainage means comprising a one-way flow means to prevent urine from passing from the drainage means back into the urinal ; and receptacle means in fluid communication with the drainage means for receiving and storing urine received from the drainage means .

18. The portable urine holding system of claim 17, wherein the urinal means further comprises a pair of legs disposed beneath the plurality of walls, a bottom wall of the urinal to be sloped downwardly toward the outlet opening so as to cause urine in the urinal to flow out of the urinal through the outlet opening.

19. The portable urine holding system of claim 17, wherein the urinal means further comprises a pair of bottom walls, an exterior wall being disposed so as to be generally flat when placed on a horizontal surface, and an inner wall being sloped downwardly relative to the outer wall from an upper end adjacent to the inlet opening to a lower end adjacent to the outlet opening so as to cause urine in the urinal to flow down the inner wall and out of the urinal through the outlet opening.