U.S. patent number 3,765,408 [Application Number 05/235,365] was granted by the patent office on 1973-10-16 for soft obstetric vacuum cup for assisting childbirth.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Kawai Tosando. Invention is credited to Kiyoshi Kawai.
United States Patent |
3,765,408 |
Kawai |
October 16, 1973 |
SOFT OBSTETRIC VACUUM CUP FOR ASSISTING CHILDBIRTH
Abstract
A soft obstetric vacuum cup for assisting childbirth comprising
a cup body made of an elastic material, a plurality of recessed
portions formed around the inner surface of the cup body in a
spaced apart relationship, a suction tube connected to the bottom
of the cup body, and a plurality of passages each communicating one
of the recessed portions to the suction tube.
Inventors: |
Kawai; Kiyoshi (Tokyo,
JA) |
Assignee: |
Kabushiki Kaisha Kawai Tosando
(Tokyo-to, JA)
|
Family
ID: |
22885196 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/235,365 |
Filed: |
March 16, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
606/123 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
17/442 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
17/42 (20060101); A61B 17/44 (20060101); A61b
017/42 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/33R,300,352,361 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,087,487 |
|
Aug 1954 |
|
FR |
|
840,885 |
|
Jun 1952 |
|
DT |
|
Primary Examiner: Truluck; Dalton L.
Claims
I claim:
1. A soft obstetric vacuum cup for assisting in childbirth,
comprising a cup-shaped member made of an elastic material, means
forming a plurality of mutually isolated bowl-shaped recesses
distributed in and around the inner surface of the cup-shaped
member in spaced relationship, a suction tube connected to the
bottom of said cup-shaped member, and a plurality of passages
formed entirely within and extending through the wall of said
cup-shaped member and communicatively connecting said recesses to
said suction tube permitting suction to be present only at said
recesses.
2. A soft obstetric vacuum cup as defined in claim 1 wherein said
recesses are formed along the periphery of said cup-shaped
member.
3. A soft obstetric vacuum cup as defined in claim 1 wherein each
of said passages comprises a tube embedded within said cup-shaped
member.
4. A soft obstetric vacuum cup as defined in claim 2 wherein said
passages are radially distributed about the interior wall of said
cup-shaped member.
5. A soft obstetric vacuum cup as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
plurality of recesses are formed along the inner surface of said
cup-shaped member near the upper peripheral portion thereof.
6. A soft obstetric vacuum cup as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
suction tube is connected to an evacuation device through an
extension tube and a release valve for releasing the negative
pressure within said cup-shaped member to the outside atmosphere.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a soft obstetric vacuum cup to be used
for assisting child delivery when the parturient force of the
mother is not sufficiently strong.
Heretofore, an obstetric cup has been made of metal and formed to
have a size comparatively smaller than the head of a fetus so that
the cup can be easily inserted into a required position in vagina.
When the air inside of the cup is evacuated through a pipe
connected to the cup body, the fetal head is drawn into the metal
cup, and the fetus is drawn out of the uterus of the mother.
However, in such a conventional construction of the obstetric cup,
there has been a tendency of the fetal head, still weak in
structural strength to be sucked into the cup, a so-called
"Artificial Caput Succedaneum" being thereby caused on a portion of
the fetal head. This condition requires a considerably long period
for a complete cure and sometimes leaves a permanent scar on the
head of the fetus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide
an improved obstetric cup of a considerably large size facilitating
the reception therein of the fetal head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved
obstetric cup which can be easily and safely inserted into the
required position.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved
obstetric cup wherein the suction portions are not in the limited
area as in the case of the conventional design but are distributed
around the inner periphery of the obstetric cup, whereby the
possibility of causing Artificial Caput Succedaneum is
substantially eliminated.
These and other objects of the present invention can be achieved by
an improved obstetric cup which comprises a cup-shaped body made of
an elastic material, a plurality of recessed portions formed around
the upper inner periphery of the cup-shaped body in a spaced apart
relationship, a suction tube communicating with the bottom of the
cup-shaped body and extending outwardly therefrom, and a plurality
of passages formed through the wall of the cup-shaped body to
communicate the recessed portions with the suction tube.
The nature, principle, utility, and further features of the
invention will be better understood from the following detailed
description of the invention when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like
reference numerals.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a soft obstetric vacuum cup according to
the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the obstetric cup as
shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a plane view of the soft obstetric vacuum cup shown in
FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view, on a greatly enlarged scale,
showing a recessed portion and a passage communicating the recessed
portion to the suction tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an soft obstetric
vacuum cup comprising a cup-body 1, an suction tube 3 connected to
the bottom of the cup body 1, an extension tube 7, and a fitting 6
connecting the extension tube 7 to the suction tube 3.
According to the invention, the cup body 1 is made of an elastic
material such as a silicone rubber which is highly resistant to
heat and chemicals, and the size of the cup body 1 is comparable to
the size of the fetal head. A plurality of recessed portions 2 are
formed around the upper inner periphery of the cup body 1 in a
spaced apart relationship as is best seen in FIG. 2, and each of
the recessed portions 2 is communicated with the suction tube 3
through a corresponding passage 4 in the wall of the cup body.
More specifically, the passages 4 are formed by a plurality of
tubes 5 of a narrow diameter buried in the wall of the cup body 1,
one end of each tube 5 being connected to a respective recessed
portion 2 of the cup body 1, and the other end being combined
together with the corresponding ends of the other tubes 5 connected
to the end of the suction tube 3.
As is shown in FIG. 1, a release valve 8 is provided in an
intermediate portion of the extension tube 7. When the release
valve 8 is manipulated into the release position, the inner space
of the obstetric cup is communicated with the outside atmosphere,
and the suction adhering force of the obstetric cup is thereby
released.
Since the cup body 1 of the obstetric cup according to the present
invention is made of a soft and elastic material, such as a
silicone rubber, the cup body 1 can be folded as desired and
thereby inserted easily into the required portion of the vagina.
Thus, the cup body 1 is placed relative to a fetal head indicated
by double dot chain line in FIG. 2, and the air inside of the cup
body 1 is evacuated through the absorption tube and extension tube
by an evacuating device, not shown, connected to the other end of
the extension tube 7.
As a result, negative pressure created at the recessed portions 2
attracts the head of the fetus and causes it to fit into the cup
body 1 of the obstetric device. The cup body 1 with the fetal head
thus held therein is then drawn gradually out of the vagina. By the
above described procedure, the head of the fetus is caught
satisfactorily by the cup body 1 without causing any Artificial
Caput Succedaneum or the like on the fetal head, and the body of
the fetus can be effectively drawn out of the uterus of the
mother.
As described above, since the obstetric device according to the
present invention is so constructed that the cup body 1 of the
device is made of an elastic and heat-resistant and
chemical-resistant material, such as a silicone rubber, and the
suction tube and extension tube are connected to the bottom of the
cup body to extend outward, the cup body 1 can be easily inserted
into the vagina, and because of the sufficiently large size of the
cup-like body 1, the head of a fetus can be easily and fully
received into the cup body 1 when the inner space of the cup body 1
is evacuated under the operation of the evacuating device (not
shown) connected to the outer end of the extension tube 7.
When the fetus is safely delivered, the release valve 8 is brought
into the releasing position and the negative pressure within the
cup body 1 is released to the outside atmosphere.
Throughout the period of the delivery, the fetal head is drawn, at
a plurality of recessed portions 2, into the cup body 1, whereby
the possibility of causing a severe "Artificial Caput Succedaneum"
as was the case in the conventional devices is substantially
eliminated, and the parturition of the fetus can be effectively and
safely assisted.
* * * * *