US2382276A - Female urinal - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1945 M. WELLS FEMALE URINAL Filed Sept. 7, 1942:

. 3nv entor, .MApT/N 14 2145 '(Ittorneg urinal. e

It is an object of the-inventionto'pljovide a: female urinal having a funnel provided withf'a Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED" rnmnmpnrmn Martin Wells, Los Angeles; Calif. Application September 7,1942, Serial No. 451,573

v a v is, cami My invention relates to equipment usefulat the sick bed, and relates in particular to improve ments in female urinals. r

The present invention solves in asatisfactory manner the problem of providing a female urinal for use where the 'patientis in supine position and substantially immobile. The prior art discloses many forms presenting to the public prior inventors conceptions. Many of these have not gone into use publicly or in hospitals and an analysis of them brings 'to light the reason for their failure to meetwith public acceptance;

It is an object of the present invention to provide a urinal especially adapted for female use, although it will be perceived from a further understanding of the advantages of the urinalthat there are many circumstances under which male use thereof will prove advantageous.

It is an object of the invention to providela female urinal which may be inmany instances sealing engagement with the bbdfpartseh'g'aaed so that leakage does not occur; and which is so formed that after completion of the act, adhering liquid will be removed from the mucous" membrane and skin exposed withinthe area of the applicator or funnel of the the mouth of vertically elongated oval mouth defined by 'a lip which curves inward from top to b ttom-seas to conform in general to the part of the vulva or; adjacent skin engaged by th li'p, and which lip is yieldably supported so that when it is applied to the user, the lip will readily conformto the shape of the parts engaged, and providean ef,- ficient sealing engagement of substantially the entire lip with the engaged bodilyparts." g

It is an object of the invention to providea urinal with a receivin fitting orfunnel 'and a; receptacle of-expansible characterwhich, when" not in use, remains in contracted condition with substantially all air excluded therefrom. A val? uable characteristic of the invention is that when liquid flows into thereceptacle, it expandsso as to accommodate the same; therefore, the mouth of the funnel may be applied to the body parts in substantially airtight-engagement, since the entry of liquid into the receptacledoesn'ot in- 65= the labium'niajuin f volve displacement ofiair therefrom-but instead a changein shape of thereceptacle whereby its internal volume is increased as liquid flows thereinto; 3 1' i A further object of the invention is to provide 1 a female urinal'of the general character set-forth: inith'e foregoing, having a :receptacle which is' flat and of large horizontal area, theupperand lower walls thereof lying substantially in engage: ment'when the urinal isnot muse, thus providmg a'rec'eptacle having substantially zero'volume;

when empty, andthe volume of which increases gradually to maximumas the volume ofiliquid introduced'increas'es. 1 1 v r A further object of the invention is to provide in a urinal-of the general" class described-a receptacle which is substantially flat wheri empty' and which has inassociation therewith:lateral or horizontal stifiening means which will cause when the the receptacle to lie fiat upon the bed funnel thereof is applied for use.

, 20 of its use handled and applied bythe userwithout the assistance of a nurse,'which hasa mouth or a funnel part with a yieldableedge portion adapted to readily conform to thevulva' of the user, which when applied automatically'forms a A further bject of the invention is to provide a female urinalhaving an applicator'or funnel with lips so formed asto provide a pronounced effective sealing ri'b inenga'gement with the body parts, which lip is so' supported that the side portions thereofwill'ilex outwardly when the funnel is applied, thereby producing a sealing engagement andseparating the labia:

A. further object of the invention is to provide in a female urinalafunr'iellfor application tothel vulva or adjacent skin, this funnel having inf the lower portion thereof a lip facing upward direction so that by upward movement of the funnel, adheringliquid may be therebyremoved cm the encompassed area. i V An-attem jted soluti n of the'problemhas been through provision of a small nozzle or inletfittirlg havingf'an opening] but little larger than the mouth 'o'fthe urethi a. It is found, however, that :when' such device is pressed ag'ainst thejmejme brane surrounding' the menus urinarious there is a tendencyto 'constrict the mouth and thereby interfere' with a free flow" of urine'ftherethrought Also, it is found that'where small nozzles are vused, centralization thereof with respect to the meatus urinarious is difficult, and if suchjdevice is placed toolow 'so as to overlap the mouth of the: vagina, leakage Willoccunthrough the introitus vaginea. -It is afeature of my invention to pro *5' vide a urinal having a funnel formed soa's to make a leak-proof contact and having a lip of such size as to'engagefthe perineum and toencompass an 'area including the introitus vaginea, the meatus urinarious and at least a portionof Fig. is a sagittal section, to reduced scale,

showing a manner of use of the urinal.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the urinal hasa receptacle '5 formed almost completely by upper and lower flat walls 6 and For flexible material such as a rubberized fabric or rubber compound.

The receptacle 5 is ordinarily referred to as a" rubber bag, although-it may or may not have cloth or: thread reenforcement therein. When the re v ceptacle 5 is empty, the upper and lower walls 6' and I lieuinengagement as shown in Fig. 2 so that. the internal volume of the receptacle is at a value substantially zero.v So-that it willlie fiatuponthe bed when in use, there'ceptacle 5 has lateral r'e'enforcement shown as a layer of stiffening material such as rubberized fabric 8 at the rear end of the receptacle 5; This stifiening member'B 'm'ay be conveniently placed between therearwardextremities of the upperan'd-lower walls 6 and 1 and join therewith, in-the process of molding or curing thematerial-from which the receptacle is formed.- As indicated by dotted lines.

9,. the edges-"of the upper and lower walls 6 and I are joined-,and at the-front or rightward end of the receptacle 5 an entrance mouth l0 is formed whichreceives the rearwardly or leftwardly projecting outlet tube ll of a funnel.- t2, comprising the entrance fittingifor the urinal adapted to be applied tothe-bodily partsof the user.

-When--viewed from above, as in Figs. 1 and.3,

it Will-be noted that the-funnel IZexpands only a small'famount in lateral direction from the outlettube l l' to' the side portions of' the continuous lip-l3- which defines the mouth of. the funnelr,

As will benotedinFig. 2, the lower wallportion M1 or the, funnel 123 extends forwardly or rightwardly in; substantially a straight .line from the bottom wall of th'e tube H,- with which the wall oftherunnelJ2;is merged is to say, the lower wall portion ltdoes not-drop below the lowe'rywall portion lltof the outlet tube-H sothat urine deposited onthe forward portion of the lower,wall-.=portion. M may flow readily in rearwarddirection, through the outlettube H into the receptacle 5., Also, the-front part ll! of.

the lower wallportion M slopes upward as. it approaches the li-p l3 andat t8 theupward slope of the front part i1 is, increasedz so that it will meetthe front face IS; of ;the lowerpart of the lip l 3 in a manner .to form a thin upwardly faced edge providing a squeegee having utilityhe-reinafte described. 3 H a As indicated at; 2!; the upper wall portion, 22 of thefunnel l2 slopes upward sharply from the upperportion ofthe outlet tube H and then ata point 23 intermediate the ends of the funnel levels off so to follow aline nearly parallel to the bottom wall portion l4. Theupper wall portion 22 then slopflsupWardlyat 2,4,,tothetcp 25 ofthe lip 13.. Asindicated bythe'foregoingde scription, the principal enlargementof the funnel [2 from the outlet tube l| thereof'tothemouth defined by the lip I3 is in upward direction, and the funnel is thereby given an oval cross section having its major axis vertical.

As shown in Fig. 2, the lip I3 is curved in, or rearward, between its upper and lower extremities so as to conform approximately to the bodily parts to be engaged. The walls of the funnel forming and adjacent the lip are made from a material having the characteristics of rubber, and the entire funnel is preferably molded from riibber compound. Thefwalls .ar'e yieldable and flexible so that when the funnel I2 is forced with reasonable pressure against thebodily parts, the

lip will readily conform thereto. For reenforcerhen'tof the intermediate portion of the funnel ;l2 .-an-d also for use in applying forward pressure in the use of the device, a-rib 25 is formed externallyi'in the wallof the funnel l2. In applying thefunnel I2, the user will ordinarily place the index' and middle fingers of one hand, as indicated-by the dotted circles 2'! and 28; adjacent and .engagementwith the rearward portion of the rib 26. The form of the'front portionof the nozzle I 2 is such that when forward or rightward pressure-is appliedjfrom: the zone of the rib 26, the; side portions 29 of'the lip 13 will flex outward-1y to or through positions such as'indicated at 29 in-d-otted lines, moving the skin 30 engaged there'- by and forthwith separating the labia. Especial means are provided' for, forming aseal between the lip and the engaged part-thesame being a prominentshoulder 3| extending up the-sides of the lip from the. sharp edge 20 whichforms the squeegee-in-the bottom of the mouth of the funnel l2? =A;s the side portions of the lip flare outwardly,

as indicated byydotted lines 29?, the :shoulder presses into or indentsthe engaged skin o-rv mem.- brane so that even though hair. may lie across the lip, a, :fluid tight-sealwill bemade.-

,Referring toFig: 4, a stopper;35- is provided for" the. receptacle'-5 ofthe urinal. This s'topper 35- comprises a hollow rubber'body 3 6 normally larger in .diameter than theopening through the outlet tube-J-l ,of the funnel l2 From. the end of the bodyj36 a, tube extends, this tube being of, a lengthat-Jeastas great asthe distance from the front end-of theoutlet tube ll tothe lower portion of the lipl3, andehaving on its forward end an engageable member, preferablya disct38.

A. plungeror pin-.39 extends through the'tube 31 and has on its rearwardend a head 4,0 which e ngages the rear end 4| of the hollow body 36a gBy placingthe thumb against a head-42 onthe, front end-of the plunger 39, with the index and middle fingersstraddlin'g'the tube 31: adjacent the disc 3 8,- the plunger 39 may be forced inwardly within the tube; 31-, --thereby elongating the hollow body 36.;anddecreasing its external diameter. The hollow body 3610fthev topper 35.may be then inserted in .theoutlet tube H of the funnel l2, and uponrelease of pressure against the plunger 39; the; body 36: will be allowed toexpand within the outlet tube- ,l luand effectively close: the same. Theuri-nal withiits individual stopper, maybe used by a; patient/without assistance. from a nurse.- fl heyurinal may be'conveniently placed callinga nurse from other, duties.-

bythe bedside, may beapplied and used, by the patient, who; may; then insert thestopper and place the-partly filled urinalto one side without The manner oruse of the urinal is-shown in the sagittal sectiomzFig; 5; Itwill-be noted that thevertica-l dimensionyof' the f-unnel I2 is such that-the lower part moi the lip l3 may be p sitioned so as' to-engage .the area'between the introitus vaginea fland the anus 5|,with the.

upper extremitypf the lip positioned well above the meatus'urinarious 52. "This lower portion I9 of the lip maybe positioned to engage the fossa navicularius 43 or the perineum 44. With the funnel l2 so positioned, 'the' lower and side parts 'of the lip 13 will be in"engagementwith continuous relatively smooth skin or membrane, and'will not traverse the mouth'of an aperture. Therefore, an effective-seal will bemade between the funnel l2 and the engaged bodily part to avoid the possibility of escape of liquid or subsequent to voidance. l l l v The invention takes into consideration the fact'th'at the buttocks'45 'o'f the patient/normally depress the engaged portion 45 ofthe bed so that there isa lowering 'of the'mouth of the urethra with relation to the more remote portion 4''!" ofthebed or mattress, this being especially so when the legs are raised. Even under these conditions," the lower wallportion M of the funnel I2 is disposed above the normal'mattress level and there is a continuous downward slope of the forward portion of the receptacle 5 so that liquid may flow readilythereiritoJ; Thereceptacle 5 is of large horizontal area so that a large'volume of' liquid may be received therein withoutthe level ofthe same reaching the funnel 22. As

liquid flows into the receptacle mu e upper wall 6 thereof will rise as indicated by the dotted line 6 in Fig, 5 and the, internal volume of the receptacle' 5 will increase in accordance with the volume of liquid introduced. After voidance is completed, pressure of the funnel 12 against the bodily parts of the user may be reduced, and the funnel I2 may be moved upwardly with the lip 3| still in engagement .so that the squeegee will upwardly traverse the patient and accomplish its intended function, leaving the parts reasonably dry. Such liquid as may be removed by the squeegee 20' will flow through the funnel l2 into the receptacle 5.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a female urinal for supine use, the combination of: a receptacle of yieldable material adapted to lie flat upon the bed, said receptacle comprising upper and lower horizontal walls of readily flexible material and of relatively large area joined at their edges and lying close together when the receptacle is empty, whereby said receptacle will lie flat upon a bed and be substantially devoid of air; stiffening means to make said walls lie substantially flat; a funnel connected to the front end of said receptacle, said funnel being of vertically elongated oval cross section and having a resilient lip forming an oval mouth of such size that the lower part will engage the bodily part below the introitus vaginea and the upper part of said lip will engage above the meatus urinarius and preferably in the zone of the mons veneris, the side walls of said lip being so formed that they will move outwardly when said funnel is pressed against the bodily parts and thereby separate the laibia, the lower part of said lip having an upwardly faced edge to form a squeegee and the side portions of said lip having a pronounced shoulder for sealing engagement with the bodily parts of the user; and expansible closure means applicable to the throat portion of the funnel where it joins the receptacle, said closure means having elongated parts extending to the exterior of the lip of said funnel for actuation of the closure means.

2. In a female urinal for supine use, the combination of: a receptacle of yieldable material without :restrict'ing outward movement of the troitus vaginea and the upperpart of said lip will engage above the meatus urinarius and pref erablyrinthe'zone of :the mons veneris, the side walls of 'saidlip being so iform-ed that they Will move apart when said funnelis: pressed against the'bodilypartsiand therebywseparate the labia; the lower part of said liphaving an upwardly faced edge toformi'a'squeege'e andthe sidepor-r tions of said lip having'xaa'spronounced-shoulder for sealing engagement with thezbodily parts of the user; and means formin'g shoulders spaced from. said lip'l onthe'sidewalls of said funnel by which manual pressure may 'be applied to the funnel to forcethe, same against the bodily parts side Walls of? said :lip as the'lip is pressed against theybodily parts.

3. In-a femaleurinal for supine use, the combinationbfra flatreceptacle; aTunneI'connected to the front end. of: said receptacle; said: funnel being 'longated in a pl'ane substantiallyi per. pendicular to the plane of said ir'eceptacle and of oval cross section and having a resilient lip forming an oval mouth of such size that the lower part will engage the bodily part below the introi-tus vaginea and the upper part of said lip will engage above the meatus urinarius and preferably in the zone of the mons veneris, the side walls of said lip being so formed that they will move outwardly when said funnel is pressed against the bodily parts and thereby separate the labia, the lower part of said lip having an upwardly faced edge to form a squeegee and the side portions of said lip having a pronounced bination of: a flattened in a horizontal plane receptacle; a funnel connected to the front end of said receptacle, said funnel being of vertically elongated oval cross section and having a resilient lip forming an oval mouth of such size that the lower part will engage the bodily part below the introitus vaginea and the upper part of said lip will engage above the meatus urinarius and preferably in the zone of the mons veneris, the side portions of said lip being flared and'the side walls of the funnel adjacent thereto being so formed that they will flex inwardly and cause the side portions of said lip to move outwardly,

when said funnel is pressed against the bodily parts and thereby separate the labia; and means.

forming shoulders spaced from said lip on the side walls of said funnel by which manual pressure may be applied to the funnel to force the same against the bodily parts without restricting outward movement of the side walls of said lip as the lip is pressed against the bodily parts.

5. In a female urinal for supine use, the c0mbination of; areceptacle of .yieldable material i horizontally flattened and adapted to lie fiat upon the bed, said receptacle comprising pper and lower horizontal walls of readily flexible material and of. relatively large area joined at their edges and lying-in iace' to face contact when the receptacle is empty sothat the interior of the receptac'le will be substantially devoid of air; and a funnelconnected to the front end of said receptacle, said funnel being of vertically elongated oval cross sectionnand having a flared resilient lip forming an oval month which faces away from the front end of the receptacle and is of such size that the lower part will engage the bodily part below the introitus vaginea' and the upper part ofisaid' lip will engage above the meatus urinarms; said funnel having side walls leading from;

mouth at the front end thereof elongated in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of said receptacle and a throat at the lower rear endthereof cormected to said receptacle, the lower wall or said throat and the lower wall of assaa'z'e I said receptacle forming a substantially straight line, saidamonth defining at lip lying in a plane disposed at an angle .ofat, least about, 9 to a longitudinal line inscribed along the lower wall of said hollow body.

h In a female urinal, the; combination of: a fiat receptacle adaptedto lie'in a substantially horizontal plane; and a funnelrconnected to the fl'O1l t :'6lEld,0f said receptacle, said funnei havingavertically elongated hollow body witha moutha-t-the front end: thereof and a throat at the lower rear end: thereof connected. to said receptacle, the side walls of said hollow body Ebei-ngfiexi'bleand' having the -frontedge portions thereofflared so; that whenthefunnel: is pressed against the bodily jparts, the edge portions of said sidewalls will-spread and thereby separate the'labfia; g a p a 8. In a urinal; I the; combination of a receptacleof yieldable material adapted to lie fiat upon the: bed, said receptacle comprising upper andlower horizontal walls of readily flexible material-v and-of relatively large area joined at their edges and? lying substantially in contact when the receptacleisempty; stiffeningmeans compl-iSi-nga sheet of stifleningmaterial applied to the receptacle so as to extend from side to side of the rear part of the receptacle to make said walls lie substantially fiat; and a tunnel connected to thefrcnt endof said receptacle. i

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