Connecting member and connector for an ostomy device

[0001] The present invention concerns a connecting member for an ostomy device as well as a connector for an ostomy device.

[0002] An ostomy device is in general formed of two elements: a support intended to be affixed to the skin of a patient and a pouch forming a receptacle. These two elements must be joined in a secure and tight manner through two connecting members placed on the respective elements.

[0003] A connector for an ostomy device has two major functions, firstly to ensure that the weight of the device is supported, particularly when it contains evacuated matter, and secondly to prevent the passage of liquids and gas (unpleasant odours) to the outside of the device.

[0004] There are numerous types of connectors for ostomy devices, pertaining to two main categories, mechanical connectors and glued connectors. The invention relates to a connector of the mechanical type.

[0005] The support is usually glued on the patient's skin. For the patient's comfort, as well as for the good mounting of the pouch, it is necessary for the support to fit the patient's contours. The connecting member mounted on the support often prevents a good fit of the support, since the member is fairly rigid.

[0006] The object of the invention is therefore to make available to users an ostomy device offering greater comfort and fitting the patient's body better.

[0007] This problem is solved, according to the present invention, by means of a connecting member of an ostomy device which is mounted on a support intended to be affixed to the skin of a patient and which surrounds an opening in the support. The member according to the invention is characterised in that it comprises a first piece consisting of a flexible material and with two essentially parallel faces, the first of which is affixed to the support. The member further comprises at least one second piece consisting of a rigid material. This second piece is affixed onto the second face of the first piece and extends at least partially beyond the external contours of the first piece.

[0008] The connecting member according to the invention ensures a good fit between the support and the patient's skin. The first flexible piece does not prevent the easy deformation of the support in order to fit the contours of the patient. The second piece(s), which extend(s) slightly beyond the contours of said first piece(s), allow(s) a corresponding connecting element, such as for example a lip of a second connecting member, to be locked in behind the rim formed by the second piece(s). The second piece(s) are preferably relatively thin so that they are flexible despite being made from rigid material.

[0009] The connecting member may in particular comprise one or more second pieces, or, in other words, the second piece may be a single piece or consist of several pieces. A single second piece makes it simpler to manufacture said connecting member. Several second pieces increase the flexibility and fit of the connecting member.

[0010] Optionally, the connecting member may comprise a third piece consisting of rigid material and being arranged between the first piece and the support. The third piece shall extend at least partially beyond the external contours of the first piece so that it can serve as a dead stop when the pouch is mounted. Furthermore, the third piece ensures a good fit of the pouch on the first piece of the connecting member and avoids that the pouch may slip off the connecting member toward the support if the support is strongly deformed during the use.

[0011] The first piece of the connecting member according to the invention may in particular be ring-shaped. It may have two essentially parallel faces, one of which may be affixed to the support, or the third piece, respectively. The second face may be used to affix the second, rigid piece onto the first piece. [0012] The second piece may also be essentially ring-shaped, with an external radius slightly larger than the external radius of the first piece, thus extending slightly beyond the contours of the first piece. The second piece may alternatively have sections with an external radius equal to or less than the radius of the first piece. Thus, the second piece extends only partially beyond the contours of the first piece. The second piece may be formed of a single piece or of two or more separate pieces.

[0013] The thickness of the first piece between its two faces is sufficient to allow a retaining element, such as for example a lip of a second connecting member to lock behind the rim formed by the second piece, extending beyond the contours of the first piece. The second piece is preferably much thinner than the first piece, in order to ensure a good fit and sufficient flexibility of the assembly despite the rigidity of the second piece.

[0014] For a secure connection, the second piece only has to extend beyond the external contours of the first piece by less than 1 mm and in particular by less than 0.5 mm.

[0015] The optional third piece is preferably also ring shaped, but any other shape, as for example square, rectangular or oval, may be used as well to achieve its function as dead stop. The third piece extends - in contrast to the second piece - not only slightly beyond the contours of the first piece. In order to maintain the flexibility of the support, the third piece is preferably only affixed to the support along its inner circumference. The remaining surface of the third piece towards its outer circumference is preferably not affixed to the support.

[0016] The first piece of the connecting member may preferably be made from a TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer), such as for example styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), styrene ethylene butadiene styrene (SEBS), or ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), or from a TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane), or a silicone, or even a rubber. It preferably has a hardness between OshA and 40shA, more particularly between OshA and 20shA, and in particular 3shA. [0017] The second piece may be made from polypropylene. The second piece preferably has a hardness between 60shD and 90shD, more particularly between 70shD and 80shD, and in particular 76shD.

[0018] The third piece may be made from TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer), such as for example ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), with a hardness between 60shA and 100shA, more particularly between 80shA and 100 shA, and in particular 95shA. The third piece may alternatively be made from polypropylene or low density polyethylene, and preferably from the same material as the second piece. It then has a hardness between 60shD and 90shD, more particularly between 70shD and 80shD, and in particular 76shD. The third piece preferably has

[0019] The connecting member may comprise optional spacer elements consisting of rigid material which are arranged between the second and third pieces. Such spacer elements are in particular useful if the hardness of the first piece is very low. The spacer elements limit the squeezing of the first piece when the pouch is mounted on the connecting member.

[0020] The spacer elements may be integral with the second and/or third piece(s) to facilitate the manufacturing and assembly of the pieces. If the spacer elements are integral with the second and third pieces they also limit the deformation of the first piece when the pouch is removed.

[0021] The spacer elements preferably have the form of small columns or thin walls which are spaced apart from each other to maintain the flexibility of the assembly despite the rigid material of the spacer elements.

[0022] The problem to be solved by the invention is also resolved by a connector for an ostomy device of the type comprising a first connecting member which is mounted on a support intended to be affixed to the skin of a user and of a second connecting member mounted on a pouch forming a receptacle. The first member of this connection surrounds an opening in the support and the second member surrounds an opening in the pouch. The first member has an external contour in a plane essentially parallel to the plane of the opening in the support, and the internal contour of the second member in a plane essentially parallel to the opening in the pouch is essentially complementary but slightly larger than the external contour of the first member. The second member comprises on its internal side an elastically deforming lip, the free end of which is oriented towards the pouch. This lip reduces the internal dimensions of the second member to slightly less than the external dimensions of the first member. The first member of this connection has the characteristics of the connecting member described above.

[0023] The lip of said second connecting member may preferably be made from low density polyethylene. It preferably has a hardness between 20shD and 100shD, more particularly between 40shD and 60shD, and in particular 50shD.

[0024] Different embodiments of the invention are explained in greater detail in the following, with reference to the attached drawings: Figure 1 represents a first embodiment of a connecting member of an ostomy device in plan view;

Figure 2 represents the connecting member from figure 1 in cross section along line A-A;

Figure 5 represents a second embodiment of a connecting member of an ostomy device in plan view;

Figure 4 represents an embodiment of a connector for an ostomy device with the connecting member from figure 2 in cross section;

Figure 5 represents a third embodiment of a connecting member in cross section;

Figure 6 represents a fourth embodiment of a connecting member in cross section.

[0025] A first embodiment of the connecting member of an ostomy device according to the invention is shown in plan view in figure 1. The connecting member 1 is ring- shaped. It is mounted on a support 2 intended to be affixed to the skin of a patient. The connecting member 1 surrounds an opening 3 in the support 2.

[0026] The member 1 comprises a first piece 4 made from styrene ethylene butadiene styrene (SEBS) with a hardness of 3shA. Said first piece 4 has two parallel faces of which one is affixed to the support 2. The external contours of the first piece 4 are represented by a dotted line.

[0027] A second piece 5 made from polypropylene with a hardness of 76shD is affixed to the second face of said first piece 4. The second piece 5 extends beyond the external contours of the first piece 4 along its entire circumference by around 0.5 mm.

[0028] Figure 2 represents the connecting member from figure 1 in cross section along line A-A. The connecting member 1 is mounted on the support 2 and surrounds the opening 3 in the support 2. One face 6 of the first piece 4 of the connecting member 1 is affixed to the support 2.

[0029] A second piece 5 is affixed on the other face 7 of said first piece 4. The second piece 5 extends beyond the external contours of the first piece 4 and thus forms a groove 20 to accommodate, for example, the lip of a complementary connecting member.

[0030] The support 2 is formed of a flexible material to better fit the contours of the patient. The first piece 4 of the connecting member 1 is also formed of a flexible material, in this case styrene ethylene butadiene styrene (SEBS), in order to fit the contours of the patient and in order not to reduce the flexibility of the support 2 too much.

[0031] The second piece 5 of the connecting member is a ring washer formed of rigid material, in this case polypropylene. The external diameter di of the washer is slightly greater than the external diameter d ₀ of the first piece 4. However, the thickness of the second piece 5 is less than that of the first piece 4. The second piece 5 thus forms a rim 12 behind which the connecting means of a second complementary connecting member may lock. [0032] Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of a connecting member 1 of an ostomy device shown in plan view. The member 1 according to this embodiment comprises a first ring-shaped piece 4 identical to that of figure 1 , but two second pieces 5a and 5b that only partially exceed the circumference of said first piece 4.

[0033] Figure 4 represents an embodiment of a connector for an ostomy device in cross section. The connector is of the type comprising a first connecting member 1 mounted on a support 2 intended to be affixed to the skin of a patient and a second connecting member 8 mounted on a pouch 9 forming a receptacle. The first member 1 surrounds an opening 3 in the support 2 and the second member 8 surrounds an opening 3 in the pouch 9.

[0034] The first member 1 in this embodiment is identical to the connecting member of figure 1. It is circular in shape and has an external diameter di. The second member 8 is also circular and has an internal diameter d ₂ slightly larger than the external diameter di of the first member 1.

[0035] The second member 8 has on its internal side 10 an elastically deforming ring-shaped lip 11 , the free end of which is oriented towards the pouch 3, that is, towards the top in the representation in figure 4. This lip 11 reduces the internal diameter of the second member 8 to slightly less than the external diameter di of the first connecting member 1. The second member 8 including the lip 11 is formed of high density polyethylene with a hardness of 50shD.

[0036] The pouch 9 may thus be attached to the support 2 by means of the two connecting members 1, 8. When the two connecting members are connected, the lip 11 of the second connecting member 8 deforms elastically to lock behind the rim 12 of the second piece 5 of the first connecting member 1. Since the second piece 5 is formed of a rigid material, the lip 11 is held securely behind its edge 12 extending beyond the first piece 5. At the same time, the lip 11 of the second connecting member 8 forms a joint against the first piece 4 of the first connecting member 1. Said first piece 4 is relatively flexible and may easily conform to the shape of the lip 11 to form a tight joint, the more so as the pressure in the pouch 9 increases. [0037] Figure 5 represents a connecting member with an optional third piece 15 arranged between the first piece 4 and the support 2. The third piece 15 is made from rigid material, in the present case from ethyl vinyl acetate with a hardness of 95shA. It extends beyond the external contours of the first piece 4 for 10 mm to form a dead stop for the corresponding connecting member mounted on the pouch. The third piece 15 is relatively thin, in the present case 0,8 mm, to be flexible despite being made from rigid material. The third piece 15 is fixed to the support 2 only along its inner circumference 16, i.e. essentially in the region where the first piece 4 is affixed to its opposite side. The remaining surface towards the outer circumference 17 of the third piece 15 is not affixed to the support 2 so that the support 2 keeps a maximum of its flexibility. The third piece 15 keeps its shape when the support 2 is deformed to adapt to the contour of a patient. The third piece 15 can hence still fulfil its function as dead stop for the matching connecting member of a pouch and avoids that the connecting member of the pouch slips off the first piece 4 towards the support 2 if the support 2 is strongly deformed during the use.

[0038] Figure 6 shows another embodiment of the connecting member comprising a third piece 15 and spacer elements 25 between the third piece 15 and the second piece 5. The spacer elements are integral with the second and third pieces 5, 15 and hence made from rigid material. They avoid that the first element 4 made from flexible material with a very low hardness is excessively squeezed when the connecting member of a pouch is mounted. Furthermore, the spacer elements 25 keep the assembly stable when the connecting element of a pouch is removed and avoids the rupture of the connecting element by excessive stretching of the flexible first piece 4. The spacer elements 25 have the shape of small columns and are spaced so that the whole assembly is still quite flexible despite the rigid material of the spacer elements 25.