A Valve System for a Collection Bag.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns an outlet valve system for a collection bag for urine from urine-incontinent or urostomy operated humans. The valve system comprises a base member which is secured to the collection bag and a movable member which is sealingly fixed to the base member; the base member has an open conduct leading into the cavity of the collection bag and conducting liquid to the movable member. The movable member has a discharge tube which is rotatably displaceable with respect to the base member and which is rotated out of the plane defined by the outer surface of the collection bag. The movable member has at least one open position and at least one secured closed position where the discharge tube is point- ing upwards Collection bags for urine are weil known and typically consists of plastic sheets which are joined by welding along their peripheries to form a cavity between the sheets in which the urine is collected. When out of bed the user normally carry the bag by the lower part of the leg and in order to discharge urine from the bag, the bag is supplied with an outlet valve system at its lowermost part.

When the bag is full it is possible for the user to empty the bag and reuse it.

Discharge of urine from the valve system takes place through a tube or hose member having a discharge opening which forms part of the valve system. At least a few drops of urine will always be left in the discharge tube or hose member, and in order to prevent malodours from such drops it is necessary to prevent these drops from getting in contact with the users clothes or body. To prevent this the drops can either be removed or the opening of the discharge hose can be plugged or placed in an upright position. An advantage of placing the discharge tube in an upright position when closed is that the bag including the valve system is shorter and nothing sticks out of the trouser leg.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In WO 93/17642 is a valve system for a urine collection bag demonstrated. This valve system has a base member (10) being secured to the bag and a movable means (20). The movable means is formed by a discharge tube member having an inlet section (21), a tube section (22) and a discharge opening (23). The inlet section (21) is sealingly engaged around a cylindrical portion (12) of the base member and the movable means are able to rotate around this cylindrical portion (12). The cylin- drical portion (12) of the base member is hollow and supplied with a hole (14) through which liquid can pass into the movable means (20). The movable means can rotate between two positions (fig. 4 and 5); in the first position (fig. 5) the movable means has been rotated to a position in which the tube section (22) is arranged concentric opposite the hole (14) in the cylindrical portion (12) of the base part which allows urine to pass from the bag out through the valve system; in the second position (fig. 4) the movable means has been rotated to a position in which the walls of the inlet section (21) totally covers the hole (14) and no urine can pass through the valve system.

When this valve is open and urine flowing out of the discharge opening the user need to direct the flow away from the vertical plane in order to avoid the flow of urine getting in contact with the footwear. This operation of reaching to the feet can be very difficult for users who are placed in a wheel chair such as paraplegics or for other users with low motility.

The valve in this document also has to be placed on a relatively flat part of the bag in order to be able to rotate the tube section easily and this will increase the length of the construction of the bag and valve system.

Another valve system is known from British Patent Application no. 2 285 496. The valve described in this document is opened and closed by relative rotation of its inlet and outlet pipes (12,18) about an axis perpendicular to their longitudinal axes. The inlet and outlet pipes (12,18) project from housing parts (14,16). One housing part has a barrel fitting inside the other housing part. The valve is open when the inlet

pipe (12) is upright and the outlet pipe (18) points downward as the housing parts each have an aperture that are in alignment when the pipes are aligned this way (fig.

1). When the pipes both face the same direction the valve is closed. The outlet pipe (18) according to this invention can be rotated at least 180° relative to the inlet pipe (12).

Also with this valve care has to be taken in guiding the discharge from the outlet pipe away from the users leg and shoe when the bag is emptied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the valve system according to this invention the discharge tube is rotated to an open position situated between more than 90° and less than 180° from upright verti- cal and here the discharge tube is secured.

With the discharge tube in this open position it is not necessary for the user to hold the discharge tube while the outflow is directed away from the users leg. Also the bag and valve system will be as short as possible with the discharge tube in the upward closed position.

The construction of this valve system is simple and the system is easy to use even for elderly or disabled users with limited motility and strength as the movements of the discharge tube is firmly guided and leaves the user little possibility to accidentally leave or push the tube into the open position.

In a preferred embodiment of the valve system the discharge tube has at least three secured positions. The first is the upward closed position, the second is a downward closed position and the third is a downward open position. This embodiment increases the users control of when to drain urine from the bag and when to keep it closed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more details below with reference to the drawings, in which fig. 1a and 1b shows two examples of base members according to the invention, fig. 2a and 2b shows an example of a movable member according to the invention, fig. 3 shows the base member and the movable member combined as a valve system with the discharge tube in an upward closed position, fig. 4 shows a cut A-A through the combined valve system with the discharge tube in the upward closed position, fig. 5 shows the base member and the movable member combined as a valve system with the discharge tube in a downward closed position, fig. 6 shows the base member and the movable member combined as a valve system with the discharge tube in a downward open position, fig. 7 shows a cut E-E seen from above through the valve system of figure 3, fig. 8 shows an enlargement of a section F of figure 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The base member in figure 1A is a preferred embodiment of the invention and consist of a plate 1, a conduct 2 and a container 3. Fluid from the bag pass freely through a hole in the plate 1 into the conduct 2. Whether the fluids are stopped or flows through the conduct 2 into the container 3 of the base member depends on the position of the movable member. The base member does not need to be fastened to the bag via a plate 1 it might be fastened to the bag via an inlet tube 1 a as shown in

figur 1 B where the inlet tube replaces the plate 1 and the conduct 2. No matter how the form of the base member is the base member can be fastened to the bag by welding.

In figur 2A and 2B is shown a preffered embodiment of the movable member. In figure 2A the movable member is seen from the front side and in figur 2B from the back side (the side turned towards the user). The movable member comprises a discharge tube 4, an internal part 5 and an external part 6. The internal part 5 is sealingly and rotatably inserted into the container 3 of the base member. The inter- nal part 5 is at least partly hollow which means that fluids, when the valve is open, can pass from a hole 14 in the wall of the internal part 5 which corresponds with the conduct 2 of the base member, through the internal part 5 and out of the discharge tube 4. In this preferred embodiment of the movable member the outside of the inter- nal part 5 has a larger diameter than the outside of the external part 6. This feature secures a limited axial movement of the movable part along the axis of rotation as the base member is provided with an inward turned bead 7 which the internal part 5 with the increased diameter cannot pass. if it is chosen to make the movable part without the external part 6 the inward turned bead 7 can be replaced with an end wall which totally or partly covers the end of the container 3.

The forming of a cut out of the container 3 limited by two straight edges, a lower 11 and an upper 8, and a curved edge 12, combined with guiding means placed on the surfaces between the movable member and the base member, determines the tracks along which the movable member moves. Thus in the preferred embodiment of the base member which is showed in the figures the valve opens in two step and closes in one step.

Rotation of the movable member to the upward and closed position is stopped when the upper side of the discharge tube meets the upper edge 8 of cut of the container 3 and this position of the movable member can be secured by a groove 9 in the inward turned bead 7. This groove 9 corresponds to an projection 10 on the external part 6 of the movable member. When the valve is to be opened the projection 10 is forced out of the groove 9 and then the movable member is rotated to a downward

position. The rotation is stopped when the lower side of the discharge tube 4 touches the lower edge 11 of the cut out of the container 3. To open the valve it is now necessary to push the movable member axiatty to the left along the axis of rotation until the left side of the discharge tube 4 touch the curved edge 12. When the movable member is in this position the hole in the conduct 2 corresponds with the hole 14 in the movable member and the liquid flows out of the collection bag.

When the user want to close the valve it is only necessary to push the movable member upwards as the inclined curved edge 12 assure that the movable member is both displaced axially and upwards.

In order to open the valve in one step and close in one step the curved edge 12 would have to be approximately vertical.

Figure 3 shows the base member and the movable member combined into a valve system and the system is showed when being in an upward closed position.

Figure 4 shows a cut A-A through figure 3. Here it is possible to see the groove 9 of the base member and the projection 10 of the movable member which secures the movable member in the upward closed position.

Figure 5 shows the combined valve system in a downward closed position. To get the movable member to this position the projection 10 has to be forced out of the groove 9 and the discharge tube 4 afterwards has to be rotated to the downward position.

Figure 6 shows the valve system in a downward open position where liquid flows in through the conduct 2, through the hole 14 into the hollow internal part 5 and pass out through the discharge tube 4.

Fig. 7 shows a cut E-E through the valve system of fig. 3. In this embodiment of the valve system the container 3 has been made with a bowl shaped cavity 13 in the one end. The movable member also has a bowl shaped cavity at the internal part 5 and this cavity fits very tightly around the cavity of the base member. This bowl

shape of the two members prevents an accumulation of urine in the end of the container 3.

Fig. 8 shows an enlargement of a section F marked on fig. 7. This shows a mecha- nism according to claim 7 which help guiding the movable member from one position to another.

From the discharge tube 4 is in the upward closed position and until the discharge tube 4 rotates to the downward closed position of fig. 5 the small projection or tenon 15 on the bowl part of the movable member can not pass the round going elevation 16 on the bowlshaped part of the base member. Only when reaching the downward closed position where the discharge tube 4 touch the lower edge 11, the small projection or tenon 15 meets a track in the elevation 16 which make it possible to push the movable member axially to the downward open position of fig. 6. The upward side of the small projection 15 has been bevelled which make it possible to force the smalt projection 15 sidewards out of the track and return the discharge tube 4 to the upward closed position.