Disposable douche product

Abstract

A completely contained, disposable douche product is disclosed which comprises a flexible sealed container having a quantity of douching liquid sufficient for a single application. An easily severable plug seals the container. The container head is particularly shaped to receive a mating pipe in sealing relationship. The pipe includes an elongated flexible nozzle section having apertures therethrough and an annular skirt base portion adapted to be snap-fitted onto the container head. The entire product is designed to be thrown away after a single use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to douching apparatus and, more particularly to a totally self-contained disposable douche product.

Conventional douching apparatus normally contains a reusable flexible bag having an opening at one end, a tube adapted to be mounted on and removed from the bag and a nozzle attached to the distal end of the tube. In order to use the douching apparatus, the bag is manually filled with a liquid douching solution and the bag is then supported in an elevated position in order that the liquid may be gravity fed under sufficient pressure.

Use of this conventional douching apparatus is accompanied by many inconveniences. To being with, the user must make the appropriate douching solution, usually by mixing a powder with a liquid in the bag. The bag must then be raised and mounted in an elevated position, which is not always convenient or easy to do. A clamp on the hose must be closed to avoid the solution from unintentionally escaping. When finished using the apparatus, it is necessary to carefully clean and store the apparatus since it is intended to be used repeatedly. This problem is compounded in institutional use, such as in hospitals, wherein the apparatus must be sterilized before each use.

A more convenient douching apparatus is formed of a resilient bulb having a pipe or nozzle extending therefrom. The user must make the appropriate solution and place it in a glass, evacuate the bulb by squeezing it, insert the nozzle in the solution and release the bulb to injest the solution into the bulb. The apparatus is then ready for use and the liquid is expelled from the apparatus by squeezing the bulb. Since this unit is not disposable, it must be carefully cleaned.

Accordingly, it is an objective of this invention to provide a completely self-contained, disposable douch product which need not be elevated to obtain adequate pressure and which is disposed of after a single use to avoid the need for cleaning the product.

Additional objectives and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the foregoing objectives and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the disposable douche product of this invention comprises a flexible container having a head at one end thereof at least a portion of which has a greater radial rigidity than the container, the head including a neck extending from the container, an annular collar integrally formed on the neck and spaced from the container, the collar having opposed sloped shoulders forming a tapered collar, a first passageway through the head, a plug integrally formed on the end of the head distal from the container and obturating the passageway, the plug having a weakened section to facilitate severing the plug from the head and thereby opening the passageway. A sufficient quantity of douching liquid for a single application is contained within the container. A pipe is adapted to be sealingly snap-fitted onto the exterior surface of the head, the pipe including an annular skirt base portion defining a cavity therein and having an annular recess spaced from the proximate end of the base, the proximate end being the end adapted to be closest to the container when the pipe is mounted on the container head. The recess formed in the interior surface of the skirt conforms to the mating shape of the collar. The pipe also includes an elongated flexible nozzle section having a second passageway therethrough and communicating with the cavity, plurality of apertures through the distal end of the nozzle section communicating with the second passageway, said first and second passageways being in flow communication when the plug is severed from the head and the pipe is mounted on the head, whereby squeezing the container effects ejecting the douching liquid through the apertures.

Preferably the proximate end of the pipe base is beveled from its interior surface toward its exterior surface in order to facilitate snap fitting the pipe onto the container head. Furthermore, an annular ring may be integrally formed on and project from the interior surface of the base portion adjacent to and surrounding the second passageway, the ring being adapted to sealing engage the distal end of the head.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements shown and described. The accompanying drawing, which is incorporated in and constitutes a part of this specification, illustrates one embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable douche product formed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a portion of a sealed container of the product of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of pipe adapted to be mounted onto the container of FIG. 2 in order to form the disposable douche product illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an end view of the pipe of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Terms of orientation used throughout the specification and claims, such as upper, lower, inner, outer, etc. are used with reference to the douche product as shown in the drawing for simplication of description and are not intended to have any limiting connotation.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a disposable douche product formed of two elements, namely a container and a dispensing pipe or nozzle. As here embodied, a disposable douche product 10 includes an elongated flexible container 12 having a body 13 and a head 14 integrally formed on one end thereof. A dispensing pipe or nozzle 16 is adapted to be snap-fitted onto the head 14 and sealingly attached thereto to avoid leakage between the head 14 and the base 18 of the pipe 16. The container body 13 must be flexible to permit the user to easily squeeze the container in order to eject the douching solution contained therein. Polyethylene, or other conventional plastic materials, are suitable for forming the container 12.

In accordance with this invention, the container body 13 is formed with the head 14 integrally formed thereon. Because the pipe 16 is to be snap-fitted onto the head 14, head 14 is provided a greater radial rigidity than the container body 13. This can be accomplished by controlling the wall thickness of these two sections so that the container head wall thickness is greater than the wall thickness of the body 13.

The head 14 is formed with a generally cylindrical neck 20 extending outwardly from the container body 13. The neck is hollow thereby forming a fluid-flow passageway 22 therein. An annular collar 24 is integrally formed on the neck 20 at a position spaced from the container body 13. The collar 24 is formed with opposed sloped upper and lower shoulders 26, 28 respectively and a cylindrical land 30 on its periphery between the sloped shoulders 26, 28 as can be seen in FIG. 2. The shoulder slope should not be too shallow or it will serve as an abutment to prevent the pipe 16 from easily fitting on the head 14. However, if the slope is too steep, the pipe would not be adequately retained on the head 14. It has been found that a slope of 25.degree. from the horizontal is suitable.

The distal end 32 of the head, namely the end of the head spaced from the container body 13, has a plug 34 integrally formed thereon which is intended to be easily removed. To facilitate easy removal of the plug 34, the wall thickness at the point where the plug joins the distal end 32 of the head 14 is provided with a weakened or tear section 36. Furthermore, the plug is formed with a transversely extending projection or handle 38 so that the user can easily grasp the plug 34 to tear it off from the head 14 such as by rotating the plug 34. Of course, the plug can also be removed cutting it with a scissors or knife. When the plug 34 is removed the passageway 22 through the head 14 is exposed to the outside through a port 40 formed through the distal end 32 of the head 14.

In accordance with this invention, enough douching liquid for one application is loaded into the container 12 and sealed therein by the plug 34. The loading and sealing can be accomplished by conventional equipment presently available; however, a preferred method for producing the container is to simultaneously blow-mold and fill the container such as with a machine of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,860, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

Further in accordance with this invention, the pipe or nozzle 16, as shown in FIG. 3, includes a base portion 50 having an annular skirt 52 which defines a cavity 54 therein. The cavity 54 has the general mating shape of the head 14 and is slightly smaller to form a tight fit therewith. An annular recess 56 is formed in the interior surface of the skirt and conforms in shape and size to mate with the annular collar 24 formed on the head 14 of the container 12. This conformation of shape and size permits the base portion 50 to sealingly engage the head 14 of the container 12.

In order to facilitate snap-fitting the pipe 16 onto the head 14, the proximate end 60 of the base 50 is beveled as at 62 from the interior surface toward the exterior surface. This beveled surface 62 serves as a camming surface when the pipe 16 is fitted over the head 14 and is moved downwardly toward the body 13. The beveled surface abuts against the upper shoulder 26 of the collar 24 and since the beveled surface and upper shoulder 26 are sloped in the same direction, the beveled surface 62 tends to force the annular skirt 52 to spread outwardly permitting the base to fit over the head until the distal end 60 of the base snaps over the annular collar 24.

The pipe 16 also is provided with an elongated flexible nozzle section 64 having a passageway 66 longitudinally therethrough which is adapted to communicate with the cavity 54 in the base 50 when the pipe is mounted on the container 12. Preferably, the exterior surface of the distal end 68 of the nozzle section 64 is provided with recessed sections. This can be accomplished through use of a general cruciform shape as can best be seen in FIG. 4. A plurality of apertures 70 are provided through the distal end 68 of the nozzle section and communicate with the passageway 66 in such a manner that the douching solution when forced through the passageway 66 is ejected through the apertures 70. Preferably, the apertures are located at the recessed sections of the cruciform in order to prevent the apertures 70 from becoming obturated in use.

The pipe 60 is designed to be easily molded of a flexible, inexpensive plastic, for example polyvinylchloride.

The container 12 containing the douching liquid and the pipe 16 are packaged together, although the pipe is not mounted on the container 12. To use the douche product 10 of this invention, the user grasps the plug 34 and twists it in order to sever the plug from the distal end 32 of the container 12 and exposes the port 40. The user then takes the pipe 16 and forces it downwardly over the head 14 until the collar 24 is sealingly received within the annular recess 56 in the base 50. Because of the resiliency of the skirt 52, a sealed fit is provided by the mating interior surface of the skirt 52 and the exterior surface of the head 14, particularly the collar 24 which also firmly locks the pipe onto the container 12. Squeezing the container body 13 forces the douching liquid under pressure through the port 40 in the head of the container into the pipe passageway 66 and out through the apertures 70 at the distal end of the pipe 16.

While adequate sealing can be obtained by the structure described above, even more effective sealing can be obtained by forming an annular ring 72 on the interior surface of the base portion wherein the ring is adjacent to and surrounds the passageway 66, as can be seen in FIG. 3. The annular ring 72 abuts against the distal end 32 of the container body head 14 to provide an annular line contact around the head aperture 40 and the pipe passageway 66. To further effect sealing of the pipe 16 to the head 14, the distal end of the head can be made of a relatively soft material so that the annular ring 72 actually becomes embedded in the distal end 32 of the head 14 when the pipe is snap-fitted onto the head. The snapping force provided by the proximate end 60 of the base 50 acting against the lower shoulder 28 of the collar 24 provides the necessary sealing force.

It can be seen that a simple, inexpensive, self-contained disposable douche product is provided which is formed of only two basic parts, namley the container 12 (including the body 13 and integral head 14) and a separate pipe 16. Both parts are suitable for molding from inexpensive plastic material. The douching liquid is contained within the container 12 and is immediately available for use. After the user is finished, the entire product is disposed of, thereby avoiding the cleaning and sterilizing inconveniences of the past. The liquid ejecting pressure is provided by simply squeezing the container.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable douche product comprising:

a. a flexible container having a body and a head at one end thereof at least a portion of which has a greater radial rigidity than the body, the head including a neck extending from the container, an annular collar integrally formed on the neck and spaced from the container, the collar having opposed sloped shoulders forming a tapered collar, a first passageway through said head, a plug integrally formed on the exterior surface of the end of said head distal from the container and obturating said passageway, said plug having a weakened section to facilitate severing said plug from said head and opening said passageway;

b. a douching liquid sealed within said container, the quantity of said liquid being that needed for a single application; and

c. a pipe adapted to be sealingly snap-fitted onto the exterior surface of said head after said plug is severed from said head, said pipe including an annular skirt base portion defining a cavity therein and an annular recess spaced from the proximate end of the base, the proximate base end being the end adapted to be closest to the container when the pipe is mounted on the container head, the recess being formed in the interior surface of the skirt and conforming to the mating shape of said collar, an elongated flexible nozzle section having a second passageway therethrough communicating with said cavity, a plurality of apertures through the distal end of said nozzle section communicating with said second passageway, said first and second passageways being in flow communication when said plug is severed from said head and said pipe is mounted on said head whereby squeezing said container effects ejecting said douching liquid through said apertures.

2. A disposable douche product as defined in claim 1 wherein said proximate end of the base is beveled from the interior surface of the skirt toward the exterior surface to facilitate snap fitting the pipe onto the container head.

3. A disposable douche product as defined in claim 1 wherein the distal end of said pipe is formed with at least one recessed section and wherein said apertures extend through said recessed section.

4. A disposable douche product as defined in claim 3 wherein the distal end of said pipe has a general cruciform configuration.

5. A disposable douche product comprising:

a. a container including a flexible, blow-molded, plastic, elongated container body and a head at one end thereof, the head including a neck extending from one end of the container body, an annular collar integrally formed on the exterior surface of the neck and spaced from the container, the collar having spaced apart opposed sloped annular shoulders forming a tapered collar, the collar and the portions of the neck contiguous to the collar having a greater radial rigidity than said body, a first passageway through said head, a plug integrally formed on the exterior surface of the end of said head distal from the container body and obturating said first passageway, said plug having a weakened section and a projection extending transversely therefrom to facilitate manually grasping said plug to effect severing of said plug from said head at said weakened section and opening said passageway;

b. a doucing liquid sealed within said container, the quantity of liquid being that needed for a single application; and

c. a pipe adapted to be sealingly snap-fitted onto the exterior surface of said head after said plug is severed from said head, said pipe including an annular skirt base defining a cavity therein, an annular recess spaced from the proximate end of the base, the proximate base end being the end adapted to be closest to the container body when the pipe is mounted on the head, the recess being formed in the interior surface of the skirt and conforming to the dimensions and shape of said collar, the proximate end of the base being beveled from the interior surface thereof toward the exterior surface to facilitate snap fitting the pipe onto the container head, an elongated flexible nozzle section having a second passageway therethrough and communicating with said cavity, a plurality of apertures through the distal end of said nozzle section communicating with said second passageway, said first and second passageways being in flow communication when said plug is severed from said head and said pipe is snapped onto said head so that squeezing said container effects ejecting said liquid through said pipe andout through said apertures.

6. A disposable douche product as defined in claim 5 wherein the end of said pipe is formed with a plurality of recessed sections and wherein said apertures extend through said recessed sections.