US3528420A - Colostomy appliance - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent [72] inventor John l-lenning Schiott Nielsen Lille Vaerlose, Denmark [21] Appl. No. 711,606 [22] Filed March 8, 1968 [45] Patented Sept. 15, 1970 [73] Assignee Pharma-Plast A/S Lille Vaerlose, Denmark [32] Priority March 10, 1967 [33] Denmark [31] No. 1266/67 [54] COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 128/283 A6lt5/44 [50] Field of Search 128/283 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,039,464 6/ 1962 Galindo 128/283 3,043,306 7/1962 l-lergatt et a1. 128/283 3,283,757 11/1966 Nelsen I 128/283 FORElGN PATENTS 147,953 12/1936 Austria 128/283 Primary ExaminerCharles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-Ernest F. Marmorek ABSTRACT: A colostomy appliance comprising a connecting member and a detachable bag adapted to be connected to the connecting member. Said connecting member having at one end a carrying flange attached to an adhesive flange adapted to be attached to the body, and at the other end an outer lock flange. Between said carrying flange and said lock flange the connecting member consists of an annular supporting member being outwardly tapered towards the lock flange. The bag isprovided with an opening in the one side, the edges of which opening being secured to an outer flange of a retaining ring, having an axially extending annular engaging flange extending into the bag and being provided with a tapered inner side having cross sectional dimensions corresponding to but slightly smaller than the corresponding dimensions of the outside of the connecting member, so that when the retaining ring is arranged on the connecting member it squeezes around the same. Further the axial length of the said inner side being slightly smaller than the axial length of said outer side, so that the retaining ring is easy to arrange on the connecting member, but when arranged tends to slide towards the lock flange, whereby airtightness is ensured. The connecting member as well as the retaining ring being made from a relatively hard, but nevertheless resilient mouldable material, the ring preferably being somewhat more resilient than the connecting member.

COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE This invention relates to appliances for post-operative use following colostomy, ileostomy and the like surgical treatment. Without being limited to the use in connection with colostomy in the following such an appliance is designated colostomy appliance" and the invention is described and explained below for use following colostomy surgical treatment.

Especially the present invention relates to colostomy appliances comprising an annular connecting member attached to an adhesive flange adapted to be attached to the body surrounding the colostomy opening, and a detachable waste receiver or bag having an opening provided with a retaining ring attached to the bag and adapted to engage the said connecting member.

Colostomy appliances are known, comprising an annular connecting member of metal or rubber adapted to be held in position on the body by means of a belt and to which the bag may be attached. Such a colostomy appliance is easy to clean, since it may be entirely removed every time replacement of the bag is required. The attachment of the bag to the connecting member is inconvenient, however, and moreover, as a consequence of the movements of the body, it is difficult to secure airtightness between the connecting member and the body.

Colostomy appliances are also known, the connecting member of which is attached to the body surrounding the colostomy opening by means of an adhesive and is provided with an external circumferential groove, whereas'the inlet opening of the bag is provided with a casing for a string or rubber band by means of which the edge of the inlet opening can be brought tightly to engage the groove'of the connecting member. Provided the string is tightened sufficiently, such a colostomy appliance renders it possible to attain airtightness, on the other hand it may involve difficulty to release the bag and to keep the protuberant rim of the connecting member clean.

The object of the invention is to provide a colostomy appliance that permits replacement of the bag in a quick and convenient manner, and so that absolute airtightness be established automatically immediately the bag is in place, at the same time as convenient cleaning of the connecting member is secured.

This is attained according to the invention, in that the annular connecting member, being made of a relatively hard and nevertheless resilient mouldable material, comprises a radially extending carrying flange airtight secured to the adhesive flange, and an annular supporting member protruding axially from the carrying flange, and having an outside tapered away from the flange, and at the outer edge of the supporting member an external, radially extending lock flange, and in that the retaining ring likewise made of a relatively hard and nevertheless resilient mouldable material, comprises a radial connecting flange, by which the ring is airtight secured to the bag surrounding the opening thereof, and an axially extending annular engaging flange stretching into the bag and having an inside conform to the outside of the supporting member and so dimensioned that when engaging the supporting member it squeezes around the same, the axial length of the engaging flange, measured from the outside of the part of the connecting flange next to the opening thereof and to the inner edge of the engaging flange being slightly smaller than the minor axial distance between the outside of the carrying flange of the connecting member and the locking flange.

It appears that such a retaining ring can be quickly and securely pushed over and inside the lock flange of the connecting member, due to the resilience of the materials used.

After the retaining ring has been thus pushed into position, its

engaging flange will tightly surround the supporting member, and owing to the engaging flange having inside dimensions slightly smaller than the outside dimensions of the supporting member, the engaging flange will automatically tend to move outwards on the supporting member, until its edge engages the inner face of the lock flange on the supporting member. In this manner completely airtight connection is established between the connecting member and the retaining ring and the latter is simultaneously securely attached to the connecting member.

On the other hand, when replacement of the bag is required, it

is easy to strip off the retaining ring from the connecting member as for this operation it is only required to exert an outwards pull at a point of the circumference of the retaining ring, which pull can not be produced by the bag proper, not even through very vigorous movements by the user.

To facilitate positioning and removal of the retaining ring, this ring may be made of a mouldable material somewhat more resilient than the material used for the connecting member, whereby it is ensured that, during positioning and removal of the bag, mainly the members of the retaining ring will give way, so that it is avoided that the connecting member, generally used over a relatively long period of time is exposed to any permanent deformation.

The inner surface of the lock flange, facing the adhesive flange ought to form an angle not exceeding with the axis of the connecting member and should preferably be undercut, whereby the locking effect of the lock flange on the engaging flange of the retaining ring is increased without any difliculty in connection with removal or positioning of the retaining ring arises.

Other aspects, objects and the several advantages of this invention will be apparent from a study of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a connecting member constituting a part of a colostomy appliance according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a colostomy bag provided with a retaining ring according to an embodiment of the invention and FIG. 3 is a fragmental sectional view of the retaining ring shown in FIG. 2 positioned on the connecting member show in FIG. 1. r

10 indicates the upper part of a colostomy bag provided with an opening 12 enclosing a retaining ring 14 of a relatively hard and nevertheless resilient mouldable material, for example a medium hard synthetic plastics material such as a polyvinyl chloride.

16 indicates a for example square or circular adhesive flange of a relatively thin and flexible material, for example a synthetic plastics material. This flange 16 has a central opening 18 and, on the back, an adhesive coating, by means of which it can be attached to the skin of a body in such a manner that the opening 18 encloses the colostomy opening.

On the front side of the adhesive flange 16 a connecting member 20 is arranged enclosing the opening 18. The connecting member 20 is at its end facing the adhesive flange 16 provided with an outwardly extending carrying flange 22 secured to the adhesive flange 16 by welding or in another airtight manner.

The connecting member 20 comprises a tapered annula supporting member 24 protruding from the carrying flange 22. The outside of this member shall be tapered in any case, whereas it is not strictly necessary that the inside thereof has the same taper as the outside. Thus the supporting member 24 may be thinner at the front edge than at the rear edge, and its inside may be cylindrical.

The supporting member 24 is provided at its front edge with a radial extending lock flange 26 preferably having a rounded forwardly facing outer edge 28. The side face 30 of the locking flange 26 facing the carrying flange 22, may either be arranged in a plane at right angles to the axis of the connecting member 20 or, more conveniently, as shown, on a conical surface forming an acute angle with the axis of the connecting member 20 and having its apex in front of the said member, in such a manner that the inside 30, having a sharp angular transition 32 to the outside of the connecting member24, is undercut.

The retaining ring 14 of the bag 10 is provided with a radially extending connecting flange 34, which by welding or in another airtight manner is secured to the outside of the bag 10. From the connecting flange 34 an axially extending engaging flange 36 is stretching into the bag 10, which flange is, in any case on its inside 38, tapered with the same conicity as the outside of the supporting member 24 of the connecting member 20 and having slightly smaller sectional dimensions than the said outside, so that the engaging flange 36, when positioned on the connecting member 24 surrounding the same as shown in FIG. 3 fits tightly thereon.

The engaging flange 36 has a free end-portion 40 which is relatively short in the axial direction, and which is cylindrical on the inside. The end-face 42 of the end portion 40 is located on a conical surface, 1 inclined outward and rearward, towards the connecting flange 34, and has a slightly rounded transition to the inside of the end portion.

When the bag is to be positioned on the annular connecting member 20, which is preferably made of a mouldable material somewhat harder than the one used for the retaining ring 14, for example a hard polyvinyl plastics, or a hard polypropylene plastics, for example the lower part of the retaining ring 14, is first pushed over and inside of the lock flange 26 of the connecting member 20, until the end portion 40 is brought into position behind the lock flange 26. This pushing into position involves no difficulty, owing thereto that the axial length of the engaging flange 36, measured from the outside of the connecting flange 34 to the extreme edge of the end portion 40, is slightly, and only slightly, smaller than the axial distance between the carrying flange 22 of the connecting member 20 and the outer edge of the inside 30 of the lock flange 26. When a steadily progressing pressure is exerted along the remaining circumference of the edge of the end portion 40, the pressure being applied through the bag 10, the final positioning of the retaining ring 14 in its entirety behind the lock flange 26, will involve no difficulty owing to the resilience of the materials used. Immediately after having been pressed into position, the retaining ring 14 will be located with the outer side of its connecting flange 34 closely up to the carrying flange 22 of the connecting member 20 but, as a consequence of the squeezing effect of the engaging flange 36 on the annular supporting member 24, the engaging flange 36 of the retaining ring 14 will by itself move slightly outwards along the outside of the annular member 24 until the end portion 40 is in close contact with the lock flange 26. Due to the narrow contact zone of the said end portion 40, owing to its conical shape, it will exert a relatively high surface pressure on the lock flange 26, whereby the airtightness already secured by the tight fit of the engaging flange around the connecting member 24 will be further ensured, and at the same time a small annular interspace is provided between the rounded inner edge of the end portion 40 and the bottom of the sharp angular transition 32, whereby a kind of labyrinth sealing develops. In this manner the tightness has become so effective that, even in the case of a relatively high overpressure developing in the bag 10, and even in the case of the ventvalve 44 of the bag, closed with an odour filter, being so clogged that it permits no relief of the overpressure this way,-

no air, and consequently no foul air, can escape between the two members 14 and 20.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown, and various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Thus the lock flange 26 of the annular connecting member 20 may have a slight outward inclination on the inside, although this might involve a reduced safety in respect of the attachment of the bag if the user moves very vigorously. Further the engaging flange of the retaining ring 14 may be conical along its entire inner side.

It should be noted that the retaining ring 14 and, in turn, the bag 10 can easily be manually removed from the annular connecting member 20 by pulling, in the first instance, a part of the retaining ring out over the lock flange 26, and thereafter the entire retaining ring can easily be pulled off. It will also be seen from the drawing that the retaining ringlprotects the connecting member from being fouled, and t at the latter can easily be cleaned even if the adhesive flange 16 remains affixed to the body of a user.

I claim:

1. A colostomy appliance comprising an annular connecting member attached to an adhesive flange adapted to be attached to the body surrounding the colostomy opening, and a detachable bag having an opening provided with a retaining ring attached to the bag and adapted to engage the said connecting member, said connecting member, being made of a relatively hard and nevertheless resilient mouldable material and comprising a radially extending carrying flange airtight secured to said adhesive flange, an annular supporting member protruding axially from said carrying flange and hav ing an outside tapered away from said carrying flange, and at the outer end of said supporting member an external, radially extending lock flange, said retaining ring likewise being made of a relatively hard and nevertheless resilient mouldable material and comprising a radially extending connecting flange airtight secured to the bag surrounding the opening thereof, and an axially extending annular engaging flange stretching into the bag and having an inside conform to the outside of said supporting member and so dimensioned that when engaging said supporting member it squeezes around the same, said engaging flange having an axial length measured from the outside of the part of said connecting flange next to said opening of said bag and to the inner edge of said engaging flange, slightly smaller than the minor axial distance between the outside of said carrying flange of said connecting member and said lock flange.

2. A colostomy appliance according to claim 1, said retaining ring being made of a mouldable material more resilient than that used for said connecting member.

3. A colostomy appliance according to claim 1, the side face of said lock flange facing said carrying flange forming an angle with the axis of said connecting member that does not exceed 4. A colostomy appliance according to claim 1, said engaging flange being provided at its free end with a short end portion having an inside of a more axial orientation than the inside of the remaining part of said engaging flange.

5. A colostomy appliance according to claim 4, said end portion being provided with a rounded inner edge.

6. A colostomy appliance according to claim 4, the end face of said end portion having an outward and rearward inclination towards said connecting flange.

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