US3537109A - Hanger structure for medical liquid collection container - Google Patents

Description

N0). 3, 1970 SPURRIER ETAL v 3,531,109

HANGER STRUCTURE FOR MEDICAL LIQUID C OLLECT ION CONTAINER Filed April 15, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w 4 '9 H2 6 2 'HUlm "I"""' wil p Nll" mill lsoo cc IOOO'CC mu mpum m 5 001i 0. mu

4 T TORNEY uvvEA/ro RS 1970 H. M. SPURRIER L HANGER STRUCTURE FOR MEDICAL LIQU ID COLLECTION CONTAINER Filed April 15, 1968 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8. FIG. [0.

s m T w WW M L 4 H ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice Patented Nov. 3, 1970 3,537,109 HANGER STRUCTURE FOR MEDICAL LIQUID COLLECTION CONTAINER Hal M. Spurrier, Granada Hills, and Cole C. Williams, Burbank, Califi, assignors to American Hospital Supply Corporation, Evanston, Ill., a corporation of Illmors Filed Apr. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 721,244 Int. Cl. A61g 9/00 U.S. Cl. 4110 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flexible plastic bag for collecting urine from a patient. The bag has a plastic handle with a tubular neck which handle is sealed to an upper end of the bag. Fillets adjoining the neck and pointed ends on the handle create a smooth contour for a liquid-tight heat seal between the bag and handle. This handle has undercut shoulders adjacent the tubular neck for holding a collection tube adapter to the tubular neck and has a tear-off hanger strap that is adapted to be looped around a bedrail to suspend the container during collection of urine.

This invention relates to a container for collecting urine from a patient. More particularly it relates to a unique handle construction which is integrally sealed to a top end of a urine collection bag and this handle has its own hanging strap, which is removable, for suspending the from a bedrail.

In hospitals it is often necessary to collect urine from a patient. This happens frequently with post operative patients and patients with urological disorders. To collect urine from the patient, a nurse inserts a catheter into his or her urethral canal. This catheter is connected to a flexible collection tube which leads to a container below the patient, and urine drains by gravity from the patients bladder, through the collection tube, and into the container.

To prevent cross-contamination and to eliminate the need for repetitive sterilization of a particular container, the entire collection tube and container are discarded after use on a particular patient. Because of this one-patientuse, economics dictate that such urine collection systems be made very inexpensively. This invention provides an inexpensive, disposable urine collection container which includes its own hanger strap integrally molded with a thermoplastic handle, which handle is sealed within a mouth of the container. This handle has a tubular neck for joining to a collection tube and preferably has unique converging end portions and fillet structure for forming a liquid-tight seal with the container. A one-piece, injection-molded, thermoplastic part provides the entire handle and hanging strap structure for the container. The invention provides a great improvement over previous containers that had elaborate, separately formed hangers of string, hooks, chains, etc.

A better understanding of the invention will be had with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the container with attached collection tube;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the container hanging from a bedrail by the hanging strap;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 1, showing how the handle is sealed in a mouth of the bag;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view of the tubular neck portion of the handle shown with a collection tube;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the adapter shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a plug used to close 01f the handles tubular neck when not connected to the flexible collection tube; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 1010 of FIG. 9.

Referring in detail to these drawings, FIG. 1 shows a layfiat thermoplastic bag 1 joined along its side edges and transversely heat sealed at 2 along its bottom. The bag has opposed walls 3 and 4, the tops of which are sealed along heat seal 5 to a thermoplastic handle 6. Handle 6 has a pair of finger holes 7 and 8 for carrying the bag. Preferably, one wall of the bag has volumetric calibrations to indicate the amount of urine collected. In FIG. 1, flap sections have been torn from the bag to show its construction.

When urine is collected from a patient, the collection container is usually hung from a bedrail. In the past, there have been elaborate brackets, chains, strings, etc. for connecting the container to the bedrail. While these systems worked, they required assembly by the manufacturer, thus adding to the cost of the container. This invention includes a hanging strap 9 that requires no assembly by the manufacturer. It is integrally molded to a top portion of the handle and is connected thereto by a frangible web portion with a V-shaped groove 10.

'In connecting the container of this invention to a bedrail, a nurse simply tears off the integral strap 9 and threads it through an aperture 11 in the handle. One end of strap 9 has a slot with a wide portion 12 and a narrow portion 13. The opposite end of the strap has a stem 14 with an enlarged spherical head 15, which head will pass through the large portion of the slot but not through the narrow portion of the slot. Thus, the headed stem and slot will hold the strap in a loop around the bedrail as shown in FIG. 3. A pair of detents 16 and 17 at the mouth of the narrow portion 13 of the slot retains the stern in the narrow portion of the slot.

As explained, the handle 6 and hanging strap 9 are integrally molded as one-piece. The handle also has an integral vertically disposed tubular neck 19 through which urine can enter the bag. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the tubular neck 19 is much wider than the remainder of the handle. We have found it difficult to reliably heat seal the walls of the bag on each side of a cylindrical neck of a flat handle so the bag does not leak at juncture points between the handle and neck. This invention overcomes this problem by providing tangential fillets 20, 21, 22 and 23 between the tubular neck and flat handle portion. Thus, the bag Walls are sealed along a contour which has no abrupt changes that might cause points of leakage. It has also been found that seals of the bag walls are improved by laterally tapering the ends 24 and 25 of the handle 6 to provide pointed ends as shown in FIG. 4, and extending the bag walls beyond these pointed ends where the bag walls are sealed to each other.

Referring to FIG. 1, handle 6 also has a perforated extension 26 on tubular neck 19. Extension 26 is inside the flexible bag and acts as a safety feature, preventing the bag wall from getting folded across the tubular necks outlet to block urine flow.

As used, the container is connected to a flexible collection tube 27. At a distal end of this collection tube is a connector 28 for attaching to a catheter, and at a proximate end of the tube is an adapter 29 for joining to the tubular neck 19 of the handle. This adapter cooperates with the handle sections near the tubular neck for assem- 3. blying the adapter to the neck and holding them together.

FIGS. 5, 7 and 8 show the adapter 29 which has a depending inner skirt 30 and a top wall 31 which extends laterally beyond the inner skirt to form a flange that overlies a lip of the tubular neck. The inner skirt 30 fits inside the tubular neck and a small outer skirt 32 fits outside the tubular neck. The inner skirt is substantially larger in diameter than the collection tube 2 7, and the adapter has a drip tube 33 extending downwardly from its top wall 31. Hence, the inner skirt 30 provides a drip housing that causes an air break in the urine column and reduces the chance of creep contamination from the collected urine back into the patients bladder. Between the inner skirt 30 and tubular neck 19 are a series of longitudinal ribs 35 and 36. These ribs can be either on an inside surface of the tubular neck or on an outside surface of inner skirt 30. The ribs combine with a vent rib 34 on the adapter flange to form an air vent and urine overflow system forthe container.

FIG. best shows the adapter flange which has a pair of diametrically opposed notched ears 37 and 38. These ears are used to cam sloping surfaces 39 and 40 apart so the ears can snap under overlying shoulders 41 and 42 on the handle, which shoulders hold the adapter to the tubular neck. The adapter is held from rotational movement by the notches engaging upstanding handle surfaces 43 and 44 directly beneath the shoulders. However, the adapter can be manually twisted to remove the ears from under the shoulder to disconnect the adapter from the tubular neck for emptying the bag.

When the adapter is removed from the tubular neck either before or after collection of urine, the tubular neck can be closed off by a plug 45 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This plug has notched ears similar to the adapter and has inner and outer skirts 46 and 47. If the container is sold with the plug 45 in the tubular neck, preferably the outer skirt 47 is spot welded to the tubular neck in one narrow area to indicate the plug had not been tampered with. The spot weld is weak enough to be broken by twisting the plug when the container is ready for use.

In the foregoing specification, specific examples have been used to describe the invention. However, it is understood that persons skilled in the art can make certain modifications to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In combination:

a medical liquid collection container;

a thermoplastic handle permanently secured to the top of said container for supporting the container,

said handle including a detachable hanging strap integrally molded with said handle and being manually separable from said handle;

said handle and strap including a mutual manually-frangible section integrally joining the same, said handle having strap-receiving means, said strap having loop-forming means at each end for joining the ends of the strap when separated from the handle, and forming a loop extending through the strap receiving means for suspending said container, said handle including means for introducing a medical fluid into said container whereby separation of said strap from said handle apprises one that the medical liquid collection container has been previously used and inadvertent reuse before sterilization is prevented.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the strap-receiving means is an aperture in the handle.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the handle has at least one finger hole distinct from the strap-receiving aperture.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the manually frangible section includes a V-groove.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the loop-forming means includes a slot at one end of the strap, which slot has a wide portion and a narrow portion; and a stem with an enlarged head at an opposite end of the strap, said enlarged head being able to pass through the wide portion of the slot but not through the narrow portion of the slot.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the container is a layflat bag having opposed side Walls with a mouth at the bags upper end, and the thermoplastic handle is flat and fits within said mouth, said combination also including: laterally converging end portions on the handle which become pointed on each end; said means for introducing a medical fluid into said container comprises a vertically disposed tubular neck integrally formed with the handle, said tubular neck being wider than the handle; and integrally-formed tapering fillets on each side of said tubular neck joining the neck to the handle, said walls being bonded in a liquid-tight seal to the neck, fillets and handle including its converging end portions to form a liquid-tight chamber.

7. In combination: a layflat thermoplastic bag having opposed walls and a mouth at an upper end of the bag; a flat thermoplastic handle fitting within the mouth of the bag, and permanently secured thereto, said handle including means for permitting a medical fluid to be introduced into said bag, said handle having an aperture therethrough; an elongated flexible thermoplastic hanging strap integrally molded to a top of said handle as a homogeneous thermoplastic unit with the handle; a frangible section including a V-groove joining the strap and handle, whereby the hanging strap can be manually torn from the handle and used to support the container by forming a loop through the aperture in the handle; said strap having an elongated slot in one end of the strap, which slot has a wide portion and a narrow portion; and a stem with an enlarged head extending from an opposite end of the hanging strap, said enlarged head being capable of passing through the wide portion of the slot but not through the narrow portion of the slot.

8. In combination: a flexible thermoplastic bag having opposed side walls with a mouth at the bags upper end; a flat thermoplastic handle fitted within said mouth, said handle having laterally converging end portions that become pointed on each end; a vertically disposed tubular neck integrally formed with the handle, said tubular neck being wider than other portions of the handle; and integrally formed tapering fillets on diametrically opposed sides of said tubular neck and joining the neck to other portions of the handle, said bag walls being bonded in a liquid-tight seal to the neck, fillets and handle, including the handles converging end portions, to form a liquidtight chamber.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein the bag walls extend transversely beyond the pointed ends of the handle and the bag walls are sealed'to each other at such extensions.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 8 which also includes a flexible collection tube with a distal end adapted to connect to a fluid source; and anadapter joined to a proximate end of the collection tube, said adapter con necting with the tubular neck whereby fluid can flow from the collection tube, through the adapter and tubular neck, and into the bag.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 wherein the handle extends above said tubular neck and has at least one overhanging shoulder surface adapted to abut a top of the adapter keeping it connected to the tubular neck.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 11 wherein the adapter has a depending skirt fitting within the tubular neck, said adapter having a notched ear portion which can temporarily lock to the handle under said overhanging shoulder surface, whereby upon rotation of the adapter to remove the ear from under the overhanging shoulder surface the adapter can be lifted from the tubular neck.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein the handle has a lead-in surface portion above said overhanging shoulder surface, which lead-in surface portion slants toward said tubular neck, whereby the adapter can be shoved downwardly to connect to the tubular neck with the notched ear camming against the slanted surface portion until the adapter snaps under the overhanging shoulder surface.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein the combination also includes a plug with a depending skirt that fits within the tubular neck, said plug having means thereon for retaining the plug connected to the tubular neck.

15. In combination: a flexible, thermoplastic bag having opposed side walls joined together about their periphery except along their top edges which form a mouth of the bag; a flat thermoplastic handle fitted within said month, said handle having laterally converging end portions that become pointed at each end, the handle including at least one finger hole therethrough; a vertically disposed tubular neck wider than other portions of said handle, which neck is integrally formed with the handle; overhanging shoulder surfaces on the handle on opposite sides of the tubular neck; the handle having lead-in surfaces above said overhanging surfaces, said lead-in surfaces slanting inwardly toward said tubular neck; integrally formed tapered fillets on each side of the tubular neck joining the neck to the handle, said bag walls being bonded in a liquid-tight seal to the tubular neck, the fillets and the handle including its converging end portions; a flexible collection tube with a connector on its distal end for connecting to a fluid source; an adapter connected to the proximate end of the collection tube,

said adapter including a top Wall and a depending skirt telescopically joining with the tubular neck, said top wall extending beyond the skirt and overlying a lip of the tubular neck; and a pair of diametrically opposed notched ears on the adapter, the ears being adapted to cam the lead-in surfaces of the handle outwardly until the ears snap under the overhanging shoulder surfaces, said adapter being removable from the tubular neck upon twisting the adapter until the notched ears are free from the overhanging shoulders.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein the tubular neck and adapter skirt have vent means therebetween.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein the adapter has a drip tube extending downwardly from its top wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,048,911 8/1962 Alrnon 25-118 3,344,977 10/1967 Kamins et a1. 229-54 3,357,429 12/ 1967 Folkrnan et a1. 150-8 3,371,897 3/1968 Serany et a1. 248- FOREIGN PATENTS 626,853 7/ 1949 Great Britain.

FRED C. MATTERN, JR., Primary Examiner R. I. SHER, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.

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