WO1984004667A1

WO1984004667A1 - Applicator for setting in place an object into the vagina of a female animal

Info

Publication number: WO1984004667A1
Application number: PCT/FR1984/000138
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean Robert Fournier
Original assignee: Europ Rech Instr
Priority date: 1983-05-24
Filing date: 1984-05-24
Publication date: 1984-12-06
Also published as: FR2546399A1; EP0151126A1; FR2546399B1

Abstract

The applicator comprises a tubular body (1) wherein a mandrel (5) may slide. The body (1) has a shape and a length adapted to the morphology of the animal specie in question so as to traverse the vagina (A) throughout its length and reach the bottom of the vagina at the immediate vicinity of the neck (C) of the uterus (D). The object to be set in place (6) is extracted from the tubular body (1) which contains it by removing the latter while maintaining motionless the mandrel (5). Thereby, anybody and not only a veterinary may set correctly in place the object (6) by simple manipulations and without causing any trauma to the animal.

Description

APPLICATOR FOR THE PACKING OF AN OBJECT IN THE VAGINA OF A PEMELLE ANIMAL It has long been known that absorbent pads intended to be placed in the vagina of a woman during her period.

For this, the woman uses an applicator essentially comprising a tubular body containing the tampon and a mandrel which can slide in the tubular body. The tubular body is engaged in the vagina at a random depth and then the mandrel is penetrated further into the tubular body so that the tampon is pushed outside the tubular body and beyond its end, after which the assembly is removed tubular body and mandrel.

Despite the imprecision of this known device, it is acceptable for women because they act themselves and are fully aware of the operation, so that they can rectify a possible installation incident.

When it comes to operating on an animal female, the known devices cannot be used because the physiology and anatomy of the animals in question are completely different from those of women.

In addition, when it comes to introducing an object such as a contraceptive into the vagina of an animal, it is essential that a human being acts "from the outside" and to be certain that the operation was carried out correctly, it is necessary to have a real knowledge of animal physiology, so that these operations are, until now , entrusted to veterinarians.

This is particularly so when it comes to placing an intrauterine contraceptive such as an IUD.

The present invention relates to an applicator intended for the placement of an object in the vagina of an animal and the operation of which is simple enough so that it can be used by all people and no longer only by veterinarians.

This saves the animal a painful session and the master the constraint of a trip to a veterinary clinic.

Therefore, it is possible to consider the repeated use of objects such as absorbent pads, which is particularly desirable especially for the canine species.

The patent FR-A-1,107,782 as well as the patents US-A-2,616,424 and US-A-3,765,417 each describe an applicator for object (absorbent pad, capsule and others) and comprising a curved outer tubular body and an interior pusher. The length of the body and the pusher is such that the body must be inserted into the vagina to an arbitrary depth, but in any case below the cervix so that the pusher can be moved to eject the object beyond the end of the tubular body kept fixed.

The patent US-A-3,949,752 relates to an applicator of the same typical those described above (see column 3 lines 2-3) but whose body and pusher are rectilinear.

The present invention relates to an applicator also having a tubular body and a pusher but their general structure is very different from those known because it is designed to ensure precise interaction between the vaginal cavity and the applicator.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an applicator intended for placing, in a vagina of a female animal, an object such as a contraceptive, an absorbent tampon or the like, of the type comprising a movable mandrel in a tubular body intended to contain said object, characterized in that the tubular body has a shape and a length adapted to the morphology of the animal species considered so that by simply pressing said tubular body into the vagina, it crosses the latter throughout its length and makes contact with its end forming a stop against the bottom of the vagina, in the immediate vicinity of the cervix, while its opposite end s 'extends outside the vulva of the animal over a length sufficient to ensure a grip for its traction, while the mandrel exceeds this end by a length substantially equal to that of the object. According to other characteristics of the invention:

- The end of the mandrel opposite to that which must be engaged in the tubular body has a means, such as a flat, facilitating its holding and extending beyond the length substantially equal to that of the object;

- The tubular body comprises a means, such as at least one external relief, facilitating its traction. The invention will be better understood from the detailed description below made with reference to the accompanying drawing. Of course, the description and the drawing are given only by way of an indicative and nonlimiting example.

Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of an applicator according to the invention placed in the vagina of a dog. Figures 2 to 4 are schematic sectional views showing the placement of an object and the corresponding withdrawal of the applicator.

Figure 5 is a partial schematic sectional view showing a particular embodiment of an applicator according to the invention.

An applicator according to the invention must allow the safe and precise placement of an object in the bottom of the vaginal cavity of an animal and not only in the vagina in general. The operator must be able to achieve this result without particular anatomical knowledge and, of course, without having to intervene in a traumatic way on the animal.

In addition, this result must be achieved although the animal cannot participate effectively in the operation by giving information since it is absolutely incapable of it and despite external manifestations such as complaints or grunts which can mislead the person. assumed to be non-specialized.

An applicator according to the invention therefore has a shape and a length adapted to a given animal species, or even to a particular breed.

In Figure 1, there is shown in vertical section the vagina of a dog and we can predict, for this species, three different dimensions corresponding to small, medium and large breeds. We can assume, for example, that Figure 1 corresponds to a medium breed dog such as a cocker spaniel.

It can be seen that a dog's vagina A extends in a posterior-anterior curved arc from vulva B to the neck C of the uterus D, the connection to the neck C being made by a progressive narrowing.

The applicator according to the invention adapted to this physiology has a tubular body 1 of curved shape, of radius corresponding substantially to that of the vaginal cavity A. The end 2 of the tubular body 1 is rounded so as not to be offensive and has slots 3 determining between them kinds of tongues 4 recalling the petals of a flower.

Inside the tubular body 1, there is a sliding mandrel 5 produced, with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4, in the form of a tube with the same curvature as the tubular body 1 and with an outside diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the body 1, so that the mandrel 5 can slide easily inside the body 1.

As is known for applicators of female absorbent tampons, object 6 which must be placed in the vagina A of the bitch is disposed inside the tubular body 1 in the immediate vicinity of its end 2 and has a length L1.

However, unlike these known applicators, it has a length such that its end 2 constitutes a stop intended to bear against the cervix C of the uterus D, or in the immediate vicinity, but at a small distance and clearly less than the length L1 of the object 6.

To this end, the tubular body 1 has a length which is greater than that of the vagina A so that it protrudes outside the vulva B when the end 2 is in abutment against the neck C of the uterus D.

In this way, the user has only one operation to perform which is to engage the entire body 1, the mandrel 5 and the object 6 in the vulva B by simply respecting the direction of the curvature. and when he finds a clear resistance to this depression, he knows that the end 2 has reached the neck C and that the assembly is in good position.

The mandrel 5 extends beyond the end 7 of the tubular body 1 and the user can thus keep the mandrel 5 immobile while it removes the tubular body 1. This maneuver is entirely different from that which is known with the prior devices because it ensures the release of the object 6 and its extraction from the tubular body 1 by withdrawal of the latter while the mandrel 5 acting on the object 6 is kept stationary.

The tubular body 1 has a length sufficient to protrude outside the vagina B and thus present a secure grip so that the user can exert traction on it. The mandrel 5 projects beyond the end 7 of the tubular body 1 by a length L2 equal (or roughly equal) to that L1 of the object 6. Thanks to this precaution, the accident which would consist in pushing involuntarily is avoided the mandrel 5 in the tubular body 1 over a length such that the internal end of the mandrel 5 exceeds the end 2 of the tubular body 1 and could injure the animal. The relative position of the ends 7 and 8 of the tubular body 1 and of the mandrel 5 unambiguously indicates to the user that the tubular body 1 has been withdrawn of a length sufficient to ensure that the object 6 has been completely released from said body tubular 1 by withdrawing it while the mandrel 5 kept it stationary.

The user then knows that he can remove both the tubular body 1 and the mandrel 5, the object 6 remaining in place in the vagina 1, very close to the cervix C of the uterus D.

In Figure 2 we see the phase of the process described above and which corresponds to the abutment of the end 2 of the tubular body 1 in the vagina A, near the neck C of the uterus D. The object 6 is found entirely inside the tubular body 1 and placed without any constraint between the inside of the tongues 4 and the internal end of the mandrel 5.

In Figure 3 there is shown an intermediate position on which we see that the tubular body 1 has been pulled, while the mandrel 5 was held stationary.

As a result, the tongues 4 are spread apart by the thrust caused by the object 6 and the latter is already partly located outside of the tubular body 1.

In Figure 4 there is shown the position of the elements when the tubular body 1 has been extracted to the maximum, which corresponds to the moment when it is necessary to remove both the tubular body 1 and the mandrel 5. We see the tabs 4 still separated but resting on the mandrel 5 and no longer on the object 6, the latter therefore being completely released from the tubular body 1 while still being held by the mandrel 5.

After simultaneous removal of the tubular body 1 and the mandrel 5, the object 6 will remain in the position shown in FIG. 4 and that is, with respect to the organs of the bitch, the same as that which it occupies since the establishment shown in Figures 1 and 2. There is therefore no movement of the object 6 in the vagina. The correct positioning of the tubular body 1 is revealed to the user not only by the resistance to sinking but also by the distance which remains outside the vulva

B and which becomes, with very little habit, a sufficiently precise reference, the applicator thus becoming a sort of gauge.

To illustrate the invention, an object 6 has been shown here in the form of an absorbent pad provided with a wire 10 which must protrude outside the vulva B for the purpose of extracting said object 6.

The mandrel 5 being tubular, it can easily be removed despite the presence of the wire 10 since the latter extends freely. the inside of the mandrel 5 as is known with female absorbent pads.

It is also possible to provide a mandrel produced in a different manner as shown in FIG. 5. It can be seen that with this embodiment, the mandrel comprises a transverse pusher 11 and a flexible filiform rod 12. binds wire 10 passes through the transverse pusher 11 through wine passage 13 which can be formed either by a hole or not a peripheral notch. The advantage of this embodiment is that the mandrel can be produced by simple molding and can be used for tabular bodies of different lengths and different curvatures, the internal diameter being itself constant.

The material retained to constitute the rod 12 must have sufficient rigidity to allow the operation of the pusher 11 while allowing the rod 12 to have almost any curvature.

To facilitate the holding of the mandrel 5 in order to ensure its immobility and then its removal, one can provide a means produced here, in the form of a flat 14. This must extend beyond the length L2 so that the user can continue to hold the mandrel 5 still and then pull it when the tubular body has been pulled and covers the entire length L2. This flat 14 can thus serve as a reference indicating to the user that the extraction of the tubular body 1 relative to the stationary mandrel 5 actually corresponds to the position of FIG. 4 and that the object 6 is released.

To facilitate traction on the tubular body 1, the latter is provided with a means produced, here, in the form of external annular reliefs 15.

Claims

1- Applicator intended for the placement, in a vagina (A) of a female animal, of an object (6) such as a contraceptive, an absorbent pad or the like, of the type comprising a movable mandrel (5) in a tubular body (1) to contain said object (6), characterized in that the tubular body (1) has a shape and a length adapted to the morphology of the animal species considered so that by simply pressing in said tubular body ( 1) in the vagina (A), it crosses the latter in its entire length and makes contact by its end (2) forming a stop against the bottom of the vagina (A), in the immediate vicinity of the cervix (C) of the uterus ( D), while its opposite end (7) extends outside the vulva (B) of the animal over a length sufficient to ensure a grip for its traction, while 'the maindrin (5) exceeds this end (7) by a length (L2) substantially equal to that (L1) of the object (6).

2- Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the end (8) of the mandrel (5) opposite to that which must be engaged in the tubular body (1) has a means, such as a flat (14), facilitating its holding and extending beyond the length (L2) substantially equal to that (L1) of the object (6).

3- Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubular body (1) comprises a means, such as at least one external relief (15), facilitating its traction.