GB2104801A

GB2104801A - A device for use in personal hygiene

Info

Publication number: GB2104801A
Application number: GB08224921A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ah Chow Cheah
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-09-02
Filing date: 1982-09-01
Publication date: 1983-03-16
Also published as: GB2104801B

Abstract

The device, especially for cleaning the vagina, comprises a tubular body adapted for connection via a tube (15) to a water tap, said body including a nozzle (10) at one end, an enlarged shoulder area (11) and a portion (13) which tapers towards the end remote from the nozzle for connection to or integral with the tube. The tapered portion (13) has external ribs (14) normal to the axis of the body. A rose (12) is provided internally at the shoulder area (11) to turn the tap water into a spray. The tube is preferably detachably secured to the body; the used body portion can then be discarded or sterilized for re-use. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A device for use in personal hygiene This invention relates to a device for use in personal hygiene, especially, but not exclusively, for cleaning the vagina.

Douches are known for such purposes but a disadvantage of a douche is the need to fill it with the cleaning liquid. An object of the invention is to obviate or mitigate said disadvantage.

According to the invention, there is provided a device for use in personal hygiene comprising a tubular body adapted for connection via a tube to a water tap, said body including a nozzle at one end, an enlarged shoulder area and a portion which tapers towards the end remote from the nozzle for connection to or integral with the tube.

Preferably, said tapered portion has external ribs normal to the axis of the body.

Preferably also, the tube is detachably secured to the body.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:~ Fig. 1 is an elevation of a device according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a twopart device; and Figs. 3 and 4 are external and internal elevations of a device according to another aspect of the present invention.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the device is a hollow elongate body member open at both ends. It is made of a plastics material which is non-medicated and has no harmful effects to the human body.

One end of the device terminates in a nozzle 10 which extends from an enlarged 'shoulder' area 1 1, so that the passage through the device is restricted towards that end, the outlet end; consequently liquid emitting from the device will be a jet. Within the device, at the lower end of the shoulder area is a 'rose' 12 see Fig. 2 i.e. a disc with a number of small holes; thus, liquid passing through the rose becomes a spray.

The remainder of the device is a ribbed portion 13 extending from the shoulder; it tapers towards the end remote from the nozzle, and it has external ribs 14 around it, i.e. normal to the axis of the device.

When the tapered end of the device is removably inserted into one end of a tube (not shown) which is preferably about 13 metres in length, some of the ribs 14 assist in holding the device in the tube, while the ribs nearest to the shoulder remain outside the tube, these ribs assist during use.

The device is about 30 cms in length, and about 5 cms diameter at the shoulder. The nozzle may be 1 cm diameter at its outlet and the tapered end may also have an opening of 1 cm diameter.

The device may be made as a one-piece article as illustrated in Fig. 1 or a two-piece article as illustrated in Fig. 2. In the later arrangements the nozzle 10 and the shoulder part 1 1 form one-piece and the ribbed part 13 the other piece. The nozzle piece has externally threads 15 at the shoulder part and the other piece 13 has internally threads 16 so that the two pieces can be joined. The rose 12 is located in the ribbed part 13.

In a second embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4, the device includes an integral tube 17, but otherwise has the same features as the device described in the first embodiment. The overall length of the device of the second embodiment may be 150 cms of which the body portion is 20 cms.

In use, the other end of the tube is secured over a water tap and when the tap is turned on, a fine jet of water will exit from the nozzle. The device can then be used to clean the desired part of the body, especially, but not exclusively the vagina; for that purpose the device can be inserted into the vagina, and the ribs 14 at the shoulder area assist in retaining the device therein against the pressure of the water jet.

An advantage of the device is that the cleaning water continues to flow as long as the tap remains turned on so there is no need to constantly refill the device.

The device can be sold in either of its two forms, i.e. with an integral tube or with the body portion and tube separate, the latter being preferable, so a women will be able to use the device in the privacy of her own bathroom.

The device can also be used in hospitals.

An advantage of the preferred form of the device is that after use the body portion can be removed from the tube and replaced; the used body portion can then be discarded or sterilized for re-use. A further advantage of the two-piece body portion is that it can be separated into its various parts for sterilization.

Claims

1. A device for use in personal hygiene comprising a tubular body adapted for connection via a tube to a water tap, said body including a nozzle at one end, an enlarged shoulder area and a portion which tapers towards the end remote from the nozzle for connection to or integral with the tube.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which said tapered portion has external ribs normal to the axis of the body.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the tube is detachably secured to the body.

4. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, in which a disc with a number of small holes is provided internally at the shoulder area so that liquid passing through the device becomes a spray.

5. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the body portion comprises a nozzle/shoulder part and a ribbed part detachably secured together.

6. A device for use in personal hygiene substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.