WO2022122219A1

WO2022122219A1 - Device for suctioning nasal discharge

Info

Publication number: WO2022122219A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/077822
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas SEEBERGER
Original assignee: Seeberger Thomas
Priority date: 2020-12-10
Filing date: 2021-10-08
Publication date: 2022-06-16
Also published as: AT524112A4; AT524112B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for suctioning nasal discharge, comprising: a cylinder unit (1), which has a cylinder chamber (3) surrounded by a cylinder wall (2) and having a front suction opening (4) for placement against a nasal opening; a plunger unit (20), which is axially displaceable between a front end position and a rear end position, enlarging and reducing a portion of the cylinder chamber (3) located in front of the plunger unit (20); and a spring (15), which acts on the plunger unit (20) in the direction of the rear end position thereof. The plunger unit (20) has a cylinder part (21) with an interior (23), which is surrounded by an inner wall (22) of the cylinder part (21) and in which there is arranged a plunger part (25), which is axially adjustable relative to the cylinder part (21), wherein the size of a portion of the interior (23) of the cylinder part (21) in front of the plunger part (25) and open toward the cylinder chamber (3) of the cylinder unit (1) is changeable.

Description

Device for suction of nasal secretions

The invention relates to a device for aspirating nasal secretion with a cylinder unit, which has a cylinder space surrounded by a cylinder wall with a front suction opening for attachment to a nasal opening, a piston unit which is located in front of the piston unit with enlargement and reduction Section of the cylinder chamber between a front end position and a rear end position is axially displaceable, and a spring which acts on the piston unit towards the rear end position.

A device of the type mentioned above can be seen from FR 2632528 A3. The piston unit has a piston arranged in the cylinder space, to which a piston rod is attached, which protrudes from the back of the cylinder unit. The spring, which urges the piston into the rear end position, is arranged between the cylinder wall delimiting the cylinder space and a jacket wall surrounding the cylinder wall, with the spring at its front end on an annular connecting wall connecting the cylinder wall with the jacket wall and at its rear end supported on webs connected to the piston rod and protruding through slots in the cylinder wall. After each suction process, the device must be emptied, whereby care must be taken between the suction process and the emptying that the piston rod is not pushed forwards in order not to force secretion out of the suction opening .

Further suction devices for suction of

Body fluids can be found in WO 2018/127613 A1, CN 110201253 A, CN 206792708 U and DE 10 2015 219 775 A1.

The object of the invention is to provide an advantageous device of the type mentioned at the outset, in which suctioned secretion can be safely stored until it is emptied and/or which can be used in a user-friendly manner for several suction processes. According to the invention, this is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1 .

In a device according to the invention, the piston unit has a cylinder part with an interior space surrounded by an inner wall. Depending on the present position of the piston unit, the inner wall protrudes more or less far into the cylinder space surrounded by the cylinder wall of the cylinder unit and is sealed off from the cylinder wall. The piston unit also has a piston part arranged in the interior of the cylinder part, which is axially adjustable relative to the cylinder part, with the size of a section of the interior of the cylinder part located in front of the piston part, which is open to the cylinder chamber of the cylinder unit, being variable.

Due to the design according to the invention, after a suction process by adjusting the piston part of the piston unit relative to the cylinder part of the piston unit, an interior space of the cylinder part of the piston unit can be reached additional storage space for nasal secretions can be provided.

Before a suction process, which is carried out using the emptied device, the piston part can advantageously be adjusted to a front piston position in the front end area of the cylinder part, so that the air space between the suction opening and the piston part is as small as possible, which results in a high extraction performance results. The suction process takes place by moving the piston unit from its front end position to its rear end position by means of the spring. As a result, the piston part can be adjusted backwards relative to the cylinder part, starting from the front piston position, in order to form the additional storage space in the interior of the cylinder part of the piston unit. Due to the formation of this additional storage space, the piston unit can subsequently in turn be pushed into its front end position, without aspirated nasal secretion escaping through the suction opening at the front end of the cylinder unit. The suction opening can then advantageously be closed by means of a cover part. The device can thus be transported in a compact pack size until it is emptied. If necessary, further suction processes can also be carried out before emptying, as will be described in more detail below.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the piston unit has a rotatably mounted spindle for adjusting the piston part relative to the cylinder part, which spindle extends axially in the interior of the cylinder part and penetrates a threaded bore through the piston part. It will thus enter between the spindle and the piston part Screw gear designed to adjust the piston part. The piston part is expediently secured against rotation relative to the cylinder part, for example by axial guide webs on the inner wall of the cylinder part or on the outer wall of the piston part, which engage in guide grooves in the other of these two parts, or by a cross-sectional shape of the inner wall of the cylinder part that deviates from the circular shape and a corresponding outer contour of the piston part.

The spindle is preferably attached to a rotary knob which is rotatably mounted by the cylinder part of the piston unit.

The cylinder unit advantageously has a casing wall surrounding the cylinder wall at a distance, the spring designed in the form of a helical spring lying in the intermediate space between the cylinder wall and the casing wall at least over a front part of its longitudinal extension.

Advantageously, the cylinder part has an outer wall surrounding the inner wall at a distance, with the spring lying in the intermediate space between the inner wall and the outer wall over a rear part of its longitudinal extension. The outer wall of the cylinder part of the piston unit favorably protrudes at least with a front part of its longitudinal extension into the intermediate space between the cylinder wall and the jacket wall of the cylinder unit, the outer wall of the cylinder part lying radially outside the spring.

A compact design can thus be achieved, with the receiving space receiving the nasal secretion being able to be easily cleaned. In the front end position, the piston unit is preferably connected to the cylinder unit by a snap connection, which can be opened by means of an actuating element. Before a suction process, the piston unit is thus pushed into its front end position and the snap connection is closed. In this state, the suction opening is attached to the nasal opening and the actuating element is actuated, as a result of which the suction process is initiated.

The expressions “front” and “rear” in this document refer to the axial position relative to the end of the device at which the suction opening is located and which represents the front end of the device.

Further advantages and details of the invention are explained below with reference to the enclosed drawing. In this show :

Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a device according to the invention in the front end position of the piston unit;

Fig. 2 is a side view analogous to FIG. 1, in the rear end position of the piston unit;

Fig. 3 shows an exploded side view of the device;

Fig. 4 is an exploded oblique view;

Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal center section along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the front end position of the piston unit and the front piston position of the piston part, with the cover part lifted off the cylinder unit; Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal center section analogous to FIG. 5, but in the rear end position of the piston unit;

Fig. 7 shows a longitudinal center section analogous to FIG. 6, but in the rear piston position of the piston part;

Fig. 8 shows a longitudinal center section analogous to FIG. 5 in a central piston position of the piston part and with the cover part closed;

Fig. 9 shows a longitudinal central section of the device in an oblique view, in the front end position of the piston unit and the front piston position of the piston part, with the cover part lifted off;

Fig. 10 shows a longitudinal central section in an oblique view analogous to FIG.

9, but in the rear end position of the piston unit and the rear piston position of the piston part.

From an exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention is shown below with reference to FIG. 1 to 10 explained .

The device for aspirating nasal secretion has a cylinder unit 1 having a central longitudinal axis 8 . This has a cylinder space 3 surrounded by a cylinder wall 2 . At the front end, the cylinder unit 1 has a suction opening 4 opening into the cylinder chamber 3 .

Apart from a front end section, the cylinder wall 2 is surrounded by a casing wall 5, with a rearwardly open space 6 lying between the casing wall 5 and the cylinder wall 2. To the front of this intermediate space 6 is connected by an annular connecting wall connecting the casing wall 5 to the cylinder wall 2 , which in the exemplary embodiment is at right angles to the longitudinal axis 8 of the cylinder unit 1 . In the exemplary embodiment, the suction opening 4 is formed in a nozzle part 9 which is fixedly connected to the front end of a base part of the cylinder unit 1, for example by gluing. The base part comprises the cylinder wall 2 , jacket wall 5 and connecting wall 7 .

In the exemplary embodiment, the cylinder wall 2 and the jacket wall 5 have concentric circular cross-sections, as is preferred. However, other cross-sectional shapes are conceivable and possible.

In order to close the suction opening 4, a cover part 14 can be placed on the front end section of the cylinder wall 2 until it rests against the connecting wall 7. In the fitted state, the cover part 14 is preferably flush with the casing wall 5 .

The device further comprises a piston unit 20 having a central longitudinal axis 26 . The longitudinal axis 26 of the piston unit 20 and the longitudinal axis 8 of the cylinder unit 1 lie on a common straight line.

The piston unit 20 has a cylinder part 21 . The cylinder part 21 has an inner wall 22 which surrounds an inner space 23 . Depending on the position of the piston unit 20 relative to the cylinder unit 1, the inner wall 22 protrudes more or less far into the cylinder chamber 3 of the cylinder unit 1, namely from a rear end of the cylinder chamber 3, the inner wall 22 being sealed off from the cylinder wall 2. In the exemplary embodiment, this is achieved in that the inner wall 22 is designed with a corresponding loose fit relative to the cylinder wall 2 . In this case, the very small gap between the inner wall 22 and the cylinder wall 2 alone brings about the sealing. The outer contour of Inner wall 22 thus corresponds to the inner contour of cylinder wall 2 , which is cylindrical in the exemplary embodiment. However, the arrangement of a separate sealing element between the inner wall 22 and the cylinder wall 2, for example an O-ring, would also be conceivable and possible.

In the inner space 23 of the piston unit 20 surrounded by the inner wall 22 there is a piston part 25 which is sealed off from the inner wall 22 . This sealing can only be achieved by the very small gap between the inner wall 22 and the piston part 25 . The piston part can be made of a hard plastic. An additional sealing element made of a soft plastic could also be provided on the piston part 25 for sealing between the piston part 25 and the inner wall 22 .

The piston part 25 can be adjusted axially in the interior space 23 relative to the cylinder part 21 . In the exemplary embodiment, a rotatable spindle is provided for this purpose, which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis 26 of the piston unit 20 and passes through a threaded bore of the piston part 25 . An external thread of the spindle 27 interacts with an internal thread of the threaded bore in the piston part 25 . A helical gear is thereby formed, so that the piston part 25 is axially adjusted by rotating the spindle 27 .

An annular sealing element 24 is expediently arranged on the piston part 25 for sealing between the piston part 25 and the spindle 27 . This elastic sealing element 24 consisting of a soft plastic is pressed onto the external thread of the spindle 7 . Spindle 27 is attached to rotary knob 28 . This is rotatably supported by the cylinder part 21 of the piston unit 20 . In the exemplary embodiment, the rotary knob 28 has latching arms 29 projecting axially forward with latching projections which are snapped into an annular collar 30 at the rear end of the piston unit 20 .

The piston part 25 is secured against rotation relative to the cylinder part 21 in that axial guide webs, which are formed on the inner wall 22 of the cylinder part 21, engage in axial guide grooves on the outer wall of the piston part 25. Axial guide webs could also be formed on the outer wall of the piston part, which fen eingrei in formed on the inner wall 22 of the cylinder part 21 axial guide grooves

The inner wall 22 of the cylinder part 21 is surrounded by an outer wall 31, with an intermediate space 32 lying between the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 31, which is towards the front end of the piston unit 20 out of fen.

In the rear end position of the piston unit, the outer wall 31 protrudes with a front end section into the intermediate space 6 between the cylinder wall 2 and the jacket wall 5 . When the piston unit 20 is displaced from its rear end position in the direction of its front end position, the outer wall 31 is increasingly pushed into the intermediate space 6 between the cylinder wall 2 and the jacket wall 5 .

The intermediate space 32 between the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 31 is connected to the rear by a connecting wall 33 connecting the outer wall 31 to the inner wall 22 . The piston unit 20 is acted upon in the direction of its rear end position by a spring 15 designed in the form of a helical spring. In the rear end position of the piston unit 20, a front part of the longitudinal extent of the spring 15 lies in the intermediate space 6 between the cylinder wall 2 and the casing wall 5, and a rear part of the longitudinal extent of the spring 15 lies in the intermediate space 32 between the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 31 of the cylinder part 21 of the piston unit 20 . The front end of the spring 15 is supported on the connecting wall 7 of the cylinder unit 1 . The rear end of the spring 15 is supported on the connecting wall 33 of the cylinder part 21 of the piston unit 20 .

The section of the outer wall 31 of the cylinder part 21 that protrudes into the intermediate space 6 between the cylinder wall 2 and the casing wall 5 of the cylinder unit 1 is therefore located radially outside of the spring 15 .

In the front end position of the piston unit 20 the intermediate space 32 between the inner wall 22 and the outer wall 31 of the cylinder part 21 is at least largely within the intermediate space 6 between the cylinder wall 2 and the jacket wall 5 .

The piston unit 20 is held in the front end position relative to the cylinder unit 1 by means of a snap connection against the force of the spring 15 . For this purpose, the cylinder part 21 has, in the area of the outer wall 31 , spring tongues 34 which project forward and which are arranged in opposite areas of the circumference of the outer wall 31 . The spring tongues 34 have outwardly projecting locking lugs, which open in locking openings 11 in the casing wall 5 are snapped . The outer surfaces of these latching lugs of the latching tongues 34 form actuation elements 35 for actuation by a user. If a user presses these actuating elements 35 so that the latching lugs of the spring tongues 34 disengage from the latching openings 11, the snap connection is opened and the spring 35 moves the piston unit 20 from the front to the rear end position.

In this rear end position, the piston unit 20 is held against the force of the spring 15 by stop elements. In the exemplary embodiment, these stop elements are formed by the edges of stop openings 12 in the jacket wall 5, with which the latching lugs of the spring tongues 34 engage, as is most clearly shown in FIG. 10 can be seen.

If the actuating elements 35 formed by the outer surfaces of these locking lugs are pressed in by the user when the piston unit 20 is in the rear end position, the piston unit 20 can be completely removed from the cylinder unit 1 . This enables thorough cleaning of the device.

To use the device, the piston unit 20 is first brought into the front end position. The piston part 25 can be in the front piston position. This state of the device is shown in FIG. 5 .

The suction opening 4 is attached to the nasal opening and the actuating elements 35 are actuated, as a result of which the spring 15 moves the piston unit 20 into the rear end position and nasal secretion is sucked into the cylinder chamber 3 by the negative pressure formed in the cylinder chamber. The state of the device after such a suction process (without any secretion taken up) is shown in FIG. 6 .

The piston part 25 can now be brought into the rear piston position, cf. Fig. 7 . If the device is held with the suction opening 4 upwards, the stored nasal secretion can thus flow into the released interior space 23 inside the inner wall 22, which forms an additional storage space for nasal secretion. The entire receiving space for aspirated nasal secretion is thus formed by the cylinder space 3 located outside of the cylinder part 21 plus the interior space 23 located in front of the piston part 25 .

In this state, the piston unit 20 can be moved back into the front end position without nasal secretion escaping from the suction opening 4 .

If the interior space 23 is not yet completely filled with nasal secretion when the piston is in the rear position, the device can be used for a further suction process without emptying the stored nasal secretion. The piston part 25 is in this case advantageously adjusted as far as possible from the rear piston position in the direction of the front piston position without stored nasal secretion being pressed out of the suction opening 4, which is controlled by the user. Since this minimizes the air space between the stored nasal secretion and the suction opening, the suction capacity for a subsequent suction process is improved. With such a middle piston position, as shown by way of example in FIG. 8, a renewed suction process can then advantageously be carried out. For quick emptying of the device, the piston unit 20 is advantageously first brought into the rear end position by means of the spring 15 by actuating the actuating elements 35 . The piston part 25 is now moved into the front piston position. With the cover part 10 removed, the piston unit 20 is subsequently pressed into the front end position, with stored secretion being sprayed out through the suction opening.

As already described, the piston unit 20 can be completely removed from the cylinder unit 1 for thorough cleaning.

Different modifications of the exemplary embodiment shown are conceivable and possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, to prevent the piston part 25 from rotating relative to the cylinder part 21, instead of interlocking webs and grooves, it could be provided that the inner wall 22 of the cylinder part has a cross-sectional shape that deviates from the circular shape, for example a (slightly) oval cross-section shape and the piston part has a corresponding outer contour.

Instead of the rotatably mounted spindle 27 , a spindle could also be attached to the rear of the piston part 25 (rigid or rotatable), which penetrates a threaded hole in a bottom of the cylinder part 21 . The piston part can be adjusted axially relative to the cylinder part by turning the spindle on an external actuating element (rotary knob). A rod could also be attached to the rear of the piston part, which passes through a through-opening in a bottom of the cylinder part and can be adjusted axially, for example, in several stages, the rod being held in a respective set position by a latching mechanism.

L e g e n d to the reference numbers:

cylinder unit

cylinder wall

cylinder space

From suction opening

coat wall

space

connecting wall

longitudinal axis

nozzle part

detent opening

stop opening

cover part

Feather

piston unit

cylinder part

inner wall

inner space

sealing element

piston part

longitudinal axis

spindle

knob

locking arm

ring collar

outer wall

space

connecting wall

spring tongue

actuator

Claims

Device for sucking off nasal secretion with a cylinder unit (1) which has a cylinder chamber (3) surrounded by a cylinder wall (2) with a front suction opening (4) for attachment to a nasal opening, a piston unit (20) which under enlargement and reduction of a section of the cylinder chamber (3) located in front of the piston unit (20) which can be displaced axially between a front end position and a rear end position, and a spring (15) which acts on the piston unit (20) in the direction of the rear end position, characterized in that that the piston unit (20) has a cylinder part (21) with an interior space (23) which is surrounded by an inner wall (22) of the cylinder part (21) which, depending on the current position of the piston unit (20), is more or less wide projects into the cylinder space (3) surrounded by the cylinder wall (2) of the cylinder unit (1) and is sealed off from the cylinder wall (2), and in which a piston part (25) is arranged, which is axially adjustable relative to the cylinder part (21), the size of a section of the interior (23) of the cylinder part (21) lying in front of the piston part (25) leading to the cylinder space (3rd ) of the cylinder unit (1) is open, can be changed. Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the piston unit (20) for adjusting the piston part (25) has a helical gear which comprises a spindle (27) extending axially in the interior (23) of the cylinder part (21). Device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the spindle (27) is rotatable and passes through a threaded bore in the piston part (25), which is secured against rotation relative to the cylinder part (21). Device according to Claim 3, characterized in that the spindle (27) is attached to a rotary knob (28) which is rotatably mounted by the cylinder part (21) of the piston unit (20). Device according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the cylinder unit (1) has a casing wall (5) surrounding the cylinder wall (2), the spring (15) being located at least over a front part of its longitudinal extent in the intermediate space (6) between the cylinder wall (2) and the jacket wall (5). Device according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the cylinder part (21) of the piston unit (20) has an outer wall (31) surrounding the inner wall (22), the spring (15) extending at least over a rear part of its longitudinal extension in the Space (32) between the inner wall (22) and the outer wall (31). Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the outer wall (31) of the cylinder part (21) of the piston unit (20) at least with a front part 18 of its longitudinal extension into the intermediate space (6) between the cylinder wall (2) and the casing wall (5) of the cylinder unit (1). Device according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the piston unit (20) in the front end position is connected to the cylinder unit (1) by a snap connection, which can be opened by means of at least one actuating element (35). Device according to Claim 8, characterized in that to form the snap connection, the piston unit (20) has at least one spring tongue (34) which has a latching lug which latches into a latching opening (11) in the cylinder unit (1) when the snap connection is closed is, wherein the at least one actuating element (35) is formed by the outer surface of the latching lug of the at least one spring tongue (34). Device according to Claim 9, characterized in that the rearward displacement of the piston unit relative to the cylinder unit in the rear end position is limited by stop elements which are guided by the latching lug of the at least one spring tongue (34) and an edge of a stop opening (12) associated with the respective latching lug. of the cylinder unit (1) are formed.