Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a coupling for joining an
ostomy bag to a pad or surgical dressing. Ostomy bags are
usually secured to a pad or surgical dressing which contacts
the user's skin and surrounds the stoma. There is a need for
a coupling between pad and bag which allows the bag to be
readily removed when necessary, and replaced by a clean, empty
bag. At the same time, it is essential that the coupling should
10 be a secure one, and prevent leakage particularly of liquids and
gases.
Efforts have been made, see for example the proposal in
British Paten-t Specification No. 1,021,145 published in 1966, to
provide a connector whereby the bag can be readily removed and
replaced. But this arrangement invol~es two separate operations,
firstly one must unscrew the connector which carries the bag from
the connector which is secured to the body, and then one must
unscrew the parts of the first connector in order to separate
the bag therefrom. It will be appreciated that at this time the
20 bag is full or partly-full of bodily waste products, and manipula-
tion of the coupling will be an unpleasant operation even if, as
is often not the case, the user has a high degree of dexterity.
British Patent Specification 1,099,455 discloses an appli-
ance in which one ring co-operates with a second part-ring which
is used to trap the neck of a bag when the two rings are inter-
engaged with the bag mouth between them. If adequate security
against leakage is to be provided, it is necessary that the two
rings should be a tight rit; however this makes it difficul~ for
the user to pull off the part - ring. As the part - ring is pulled
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- off, there is the probability that the security of attachment
of the first ring to the surgical drQssing, or of the dressing
to the skin of the wearer, will be impaired. This may also cause
discomfort to the wearer.
In ~ritish Patent Specification No. 1,212,904, a compli-
cated approach has been adopted. A clamping ring which has a
ring-closing lever associated therewith embraces a mouth of a
bag and causes the clamping ring to clamp the bag mouth to an
annular shoulder of a rnember which is held against the user's
body by a belt. Such a construction is relatively complicated
and is not suitable for mass-production. In addition, removal
of a full bag without spillage will require care and skill, and
especially for old or infirm patients there is still an unsatis-
fied need, despite the many attempts shown n the patent litera-
ture, for a desiyn which allows quick and easy bag-changing with
reduced risk of spillage.
According to the invention, there is provided a coupling
for forming a pad or dressing to an ostomy bag including a first
member of closed loop form for defining a stoma aperture therein,
the first member having a formation which defines two opposed
walls, and a second member of closed loop form also defining a
stoma aperture, the second member having a rib or projection
dimensioned and positioned to be disposed between and to sealingly
engage at least one of the walls when the members are connected.
The rib or projection may be gripped between the two walls
of the second member in the mutually coupled positions of the
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members.
Preferably, one of the members is of channel form seen
in cross-section and the other is dimensioned to be gripped
between the mutually opposed channel walls.
The rib may, but need not necessarily have, a thin resil-
ient deflectible seal strip extending therefrom which, when
inserted in the channel, tends to spring outwardly to tightly
engage one channel wall so improving the sealing properties of
the coupling. The seal strip may be, but need not be, integral
with the rib or projection.
The first and/or second coupling member may be secured
to or integral with one or more outwardly extending ears. These
may be provided for one or both of two purposes, namely to afford
attachment points for a belt by which the user holds the bag on
his body and to provide accessible parts which the user can grip
with his thumb and a finger to pull apart the interengaged first
and second members, when the bag is to be replaced.
.The first and second coupling members are preferably,
but need not necessarily be of circular form. The flange may
extend from the rib all the way round its periphery, and may be
located on the radially inner or radially outer surface of the
rib. The first and second coupling members may but need not be
of low density polythene. The first coupling member may have a
rim extending towards the interior of the channel and located at
or near the free end of one of the channel limbs. This improves
the mechanical security of the coupling. The rim is preferably
on the radially outer limb of the channel.
The first or the second coupling mem~er may be made
integral with the pad or secured to it, for example by an
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adhesive. In the case of a particularly advantageous form of the
invention, the pad is made of a plastic adhesive material compris-
ing a blend of a water-soluble or water-swellable, viscous elastic
binder. Such a material may be cast or formed in a mold to sur-
round and thus form an article effectively integral with the bag.
For example, when both the bag and the coupling member are of
synthetic plastics material, the two may be heat-welded together
or secured together by an adhesive.
Either or both of the coupling members may be injection
10 molded from any suitable synthetic plastics material.
The first or second coupling member may define a passage-
way leading from its interior to the exterior, and this passageway
may contain a filter acting to reduce the odors in any gases which
escape therethrough. The filter may be in the form of a replaceable
cartridge containing carbon cloth.
It will be understood that the present invention extends to
either of the coupling members as defined above if sold or offered
for sale ~ndependently from the other. In particular the invention
extends to a bag having one such coupling member (as broadly defined
2~ abo~e); and it also extends to a pad having one such coupling mem-
ber (as broadly defined above). It will be realized that one pad
may last a given user several days, before it has to be replaced,
whereas several bags are used per day. The invention i5 therefore
not to be regarded as limited to the combination of a first and
second coupling member.
Figure 1 is an elevation view of a first embodiment of the
invention, illustrating a first couplins member, looking in a dir-
ection outwardly from the user;
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Figure 2 is a vertical axial section on the line II-II
through the coupling member shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken in a vertical (or
any radial) plane showing one form of rLm construction on the
member shown in Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is an elevation view of one form of second
coupling member, looking towards the user;
Figure 5 is a vertical axial section on the line V-V
through the coupling member shown on Figure 4;
Figure 6 is an enlargement of part of Figure 5;
Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a second embodiment of the
invention, which is a refinement of the embodiment shown in
Figures 1 - 6. Figure 7 is an axial (or any radial) section
through a modified first coupling member and Figure 8 is a
similar section through a complemenatry second coupling member;
Figure 9 is an axial section through a third embodiment
of the invention, showing the coupling members in the mutually
coupled.positions but now showing the ostomy bag or the body of
the wearer;
Figure 10 is an axial section through a fourth embodi-
ment ~f the invention showing a stud and socket engagement
between the first and second coupling members.
In Figures 1 - 6 the ostomy bag is indicated at 10, as
note Figure 2, and is secured by heat-welding to a surface 12,
facing away from the user, on the first coupling member'l4.
This member is circular and defines an aperture 15 which in
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use surrounds t}le user's stoma. The aperture of course need
not be circular but could be of any suitable shape. The
second coupling member 16 (Figure 5) is made of two parts,
preferably integral with each other, namely a flange 18 and a
circular rib or projection 20 which cooperates with the channel
shaped first coupling member 14. The flange 18 has a circular
aperture 22 and is intended to be secured to a pad or surgical
dressing (not shown) which has a similar circular aperture and
whose opposite surface contacts the skin of the patient. The
pad may be a dressing as disclosed and claimed in British Patent
No. 1,088,992.
Referring to Figure 3, the first coupling member 1~ is
of channel-shape seen in any radial cross-section and has a
radially inner wall or limb 24 and a radially outer wall or limb
26. A rim 28 extends inwardly around the inner periphery of the
wall 26 and, together with the wall 24, defines a restricted
annular mouth or entry 28A in o which, in use, the rib part 20
of the second coupling member 16 is pushed to firmly connect the
first and second coupling members. Three ears 27, 29, and 30
(Figure 1) are secured to or molded integrally with the channel
and each may serve to be gripped and pulled by the user when he
wishes to separate the bag 10 from the pad. The ears 29 and 30
also serve for attachment of a belt if desired. For convenience
of the user, the ear 27 may be located at any position around
the axis and need not be at "12 o'clock" as illustrated.
The second coupling member 16 (Figure 6) is principally
in the form of a cylindrical rib 20 extending substantially per-
pendicularly from the flat flange 18, and includes a thin resi-
lient flexible and deflectible seal strip 32. As shown, this is
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of tapering form seen in cross-section and extends at an angle
radially inwardly from an inner surface 34 of the rib. In use,
when the two coupling members are engaged, it springs radially
inwardly to firmly engage the radially-inner wall 24 of the first
coupling member to enhance the tight sealing properties of the
coupling. Another surface 36 of the rib may be provided as
shown with a peripheral rim 38 which cooperates with the rim 28
in providing mechanical security.
The seal strip 32 is illustrated as integral with the
rib 20 but it could be a separate part adhesively or otherwise
secured to the rib 20.
As seen in Figures 4 and 5, the second coupling member
includes a passageway 40 by which gases can escape from the
interior 22 of the coupling and hence from the interior of the
bag when it is being worn by the user. The passageway 40 may
contain filtering or deodorizing agents such as activated carbon,
or fibrous active carbon cloth such as is described and claimed
in British Patent No. 1,301,101. The filter can be in the form
of a replaceable cartridge housed within passageway 40 having one
or more layers of carbon cloth arranged parallel to the path of
the escaping gas. Rather than a single passageway, the cartridge
can consist of a plurality of hollow pegs fixed into a holder
located within passageway 40. Of course, other arrangements of
vents and filters can be employed.
The arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 through 6 herein
has the advantage of being light, inexpensive to manufacture,
hygienic, secure and relatively easy to use.
Referring now to Figures 7 and ~, in this version of the
invention, the profile of the rin is chosen such that there is
an annular surface inclined to the common a~is of the coupling
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members and Eacing towards a diagonally opposite part of the
channel section coupling member. The other coupling member,
that is to say the rib of closed loop form, also has a rim
extending towards the r~m-carrying limb of the channel section
coupling member. The rim on the rib preferably also has an
inclined annular surface constructed to engage in face-to-face
contact with the other annular surface when the two coupling
members are in their mutually-coupled positions.
An important feature of the constructions so far described
is that one coupling member has at least one pair of opposed
walls be~ween which a part of the other coupling member is
trapped temporarily by the inherent resilience of the material,
the latter being preferably low density polyethylene. A wide
variety of profiles may be employed having this general charac-
teristic.
The illustrated first coupling member 48 in Figure 7
has radially inner and outer limbs 50 and 52 joined by a radially
extending web 54. The outer limb 52 has a rim 58, and this has
an annular surace 60 at approximately 45 to the axis 62 of the
member 48. The ostomy bag (not shown) is secured by heat weld-
ing to surface 56 of first coupling member 48.
The second coupling member 66 seen in Figure 8 is made
of two parts, namely a rib 68 and an outwardly-extending flange
70. These are preferably but not necessarily integral. The
second member may be molded as a single molding from synthetic
plastics material such as low-density polyethylene. The pad or
surgical dressing (not shown) which contacts the skin of the
wearer is secured for example by heat welding or by adhesive to
the surface 72 of the member 66. The rib 68 is of generally
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cylindrical form with a bead or rim 74 which has a flat annular
surface 76 facing at an angle towards the flange 70. The sur-
face 76 may be at about 45 to the axis of the coupling. A
deflectible seal strip 78 engages the outer surface 55 of the
inner wall 50 of the first coupling member 48.
The dimensions of the first and second coupling members,
and in particular the width of the channel and the rib, the dim-
ensions of the rim, and the material and dimensions of the peri-
pheral seal strip 78 are all chosen to allow secure interconnec-
tion of the two coupling members in a gas-tight and liquid~tight
manner, while allowing the user to mannually separate the two
members.
It will be appreciated that modifications are possible
without departing from the invention. For example, the rim 58
could be placed on the radially inner wall 50 of the member 48,
and the seal strip 78 and the rim 74 reversed in position on
the member 66. Alternatively the ostomy bag could be secured
to the coupling member 66 and the pad secured to the coupling
member 48. As yet further alternatives, in any of the above
constructions, the seal strip 78 could be separate or separable
from its associated coupling member, and it could be disposed on
either the radially inner or outer surface of the rib, or on the
radially inner or outer limb of the channel section member. The
seal strip can be omitted if the rib is a tight fit in the channel.
A third embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
Figure 9.
The f irst coupling member has a ring with an enlarged or
arrowhead end which cooperates with a complementary annular recess
in the second coupling member. The arrowhead end is a push fit
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into the recess and is enabled to enter due to its shape and
due to the inherent resilience of the material. It is trapped
therein until a substantial separating force is applied.
Figure 9 shows a pad 80 of the surgical material such
as that disclosed and claimed in-Patent No. 1,088,992 The pad
has a central aperture 82 and its surface 84 is adhesive to the
body of the user. The stoma of the user-projects outwardly
through the aperture 82. The pad is fixed in any convenient way
(e.g. adhesive, heat welding) to a flat plate or disc 86 which
has a central aperture 88 in approximate registry with the aper-
ture 82. The disc 86 has integral therewith, or secured thereto,
a ring 90 which encircles the aperture 88 and extends away from
the disc 86 in an axial direction, that is, away from the user's
body. The ring 90 has an enlarged and resilient end portion 92
which in the preferred embodiment of this version of the invention
is of arrowhead configuration, consisting of two flanges 94 and
96. The parts 86,90,92,94,96 consitute a first coupling member.
A second coupling member is shown attached to an ostomy
bag. One wall (the body side wall) 100 of the bag is shown having
an aperture 102 in approximate registry with an aperture 104 in
a ring 106. The ring 106 has an annular channel 108 let into
its surface 110. The opposite surface 112 of the ring 106 is
attached (e.g. by adhesive or welding) to the bag wall 100. The
ring 106 constitutes one part of the second coupling member and
a second part thereof is formed by an apertured disc 114. This
is fixed to the surface 110 e.g. by heat welding or by suitable
adhesive. The radially inner wall 116 of the disc 114 is located
a distance from the axis which is greater than the radially inner
wall of the channel 108 and less than the radially outer wall
thereof. In other words, the disc 114 partly overlaps the channel
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and defines a restricted entry thereto, through which the
resilient end portion 92 of the first coupling member can be
manually forced to temporarily but securely connect the two
coupling members together. That is to say, in this way while
the pad 80 stays attached to the user, he or she can readily
remove the ostomy bag 100 and replace it with a clean, fresh
one.
It will be seen that the two coupling members are all
of a simple shape and construction, and can be readily and
inexpensively manufactured from synthetic plastics material
using only simple molds and straight forward, trouble-free pro-
cedures.
While an arrowhead configuration 92 is preferred, it
will be appreciated that other configurations (e.g. a bull head)
could be used without sacrificing the advantages.
Figure 10 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the inven-
tion. This embodiment of the invention includes two coupling
members, one for attachment to a pad or dressing and on~ to an
ostomy bag. A stud and socket type of connection is employed.
One member has a formation which defines two opposed annular
walls, and the other coupling has a formation which defines an
annular projection of a size and configuration chosen to be
gripped between the opposed walls of the first coupling when the
two coupling members are connected.
In such an arrangement, the direction of relative move-
ment between the two coupling members is generally axial, that is,
towards and away from the abdomen of the user, and the annular
projection is posit:ioned to project from one of the coupling
members in a generally axial direction towards the other coupling
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member.
As disclosed herein, a coupling of the kind aforesaid
comprises a first and a second coupling member which are man-
ually separable, the first member having a body with a central
aperture and a pair of generally concentric annular grooves of
re-entrant cross-section, and the second member also having a
body with a central aperture and having a complementary pair of
ribs upstanding therefrom, the free ends of the ribs being
enlarged relative to the remainder of the respective ribs so
that the two coupling members can be joined by manually forcing
the enlarged ends of the ribs into the respective grooves. It
will be understood that the first and second coupling membexs
are of a resilient material, such as synthetic plastics material,
which is easily deformed under manually applied pressure.
Either the first or the second member may have a sealing
wall extending around its aperture and this, when the two members
are coupled, extends into a complementary groove or recess in
the other coupling member to provide a liquid-tight and gas-
tight seal between the coupling members. In this way, undesired
escape of unpleasant odors or liquids can be achieved even though
the ostomy bag and the coupling member to which it is fixed can
be readily removed and replaced with a clean one by its wearer,
with small danger of spillage.
The first coupling member may be fi~ed to the pad and
the second to the bag, or vlce versa. The sealing wall may be
on the first member and the groove or recess (which is additional
to the pair of re-entrant grooves) may be on the second coupling
member, or vice versa.
The sealing wall may be radially inwardly or outwardly
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of the pair of re-entrant grooves, or it may be located between
them~ view~d in a radial direction.
As stated, ~Igure 10 ~ 8- a diagramat~c axial cross~sec-
tion through a coupling showing the two coupling members separated
from one another, the first being connected to an ostomy bag and
the second being connected to a surgical dressing pad. The
latter is preferably a dressing as clisclosed and claimed in
British Patent No. 1,088,992.
The illustrated coupling is between a bag 120 and a pad
122. The bag has an orifice in its wall 124. The latter is
secured to a first coupling member 126 in the form of a resilient
synthetic plastics ring having generally flat faces 128 and 130.
The face 128 of the ring 126 has a concentric pair of re-entrant
grooves 132, 134 and an annular recess 136 of V-shaped cross-
section.
The second coupling member is also of resilient synthetic
plastics material and is in the form of a flat ring 140 having a
face l42 to which is secured the surgical dressing pad l22. The
other face 144 has a pair of ribs 146, 148 and a sealing wall
150 projection from it, and each rib has an enlarged head end
which is slightly wider than the entry to its associated re-
entrant groove.
It will be understood that with this construction, the
two coupling members can be securely but temporarily joined by
manually pushing them together so that the heads of the ribs
146 and 148 are received in the respective re-entrant grooves
132 and 134, and the sealing wall is received in its recess 136.
Preferably, the dimensions of the parts are such that when
coupled, the faces 128 and 144 come into mutual contact. In
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the drawing, the axial extents of the parts 146, 148 and 150
have been exaggerated for clarity of illustration.
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