Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to a device for removing a bodily fluid, particularly nasal fluid applying a vacuum source, preferably a vacuum cleaner, comprising a body adapted for receiving a collector vessel fitted with a suction inlet opening and an outlet opening, and an interconnection pipe fitted with a connection member connecting the outlet opening to the vacuum source.

Background art

The prior art includes a number of different devices for removing unwanted exudates from the human body. An example of known devices for removing, by suction, nasal fluids is a pipette terminated by a rubber cap, wherein the fluid is removed applying vacuum produced by manually compressing the rubber cap. A common drawback of these devices is that they are not capable of completely removing the exudate, and at the same time are either not suited for reuse or reuse involves the risk of infection.

To address this problem, Hungarian patent HU 215 563 discloses a device that is adapted for being connected to a vacuum cleaner and has a collector vessel for receiving the removed bodily fluid.

A number of technical solutions addressing the problems related to the use of the device are included in the prior art.

Such technical solutions are disclosed in the utility models No. HU 3471 and HU 3472, wherein the suction head of the device is connected to the collector vessel, and the device itself consists of releasably interconnected bottom and upper portions that have conical and arcuate configuration.

A common disadvantage of known devices is that the collector vessel of the device is in many cases incapable of retaining the removed bodily fluid, resulting in that the exudate enters the connection pipe of the vacuum cleaner (or the vacuum cleaner itself) due the suction effect resulting from the applied vacuum, causing undesirable contamination.

This is dependent on the consistency of the bodily fluid being removed.

In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have introduced a number of allegedly antibacterial/medicinal nasal sprays that are capable of loosing and diluting deposited exudates. After dilution, the bodily exudate has a water-like consistency, and therefore it cannot be safely removed applying known devices because the vacuum-generated airflow can carry it off from the collector vessel.

Disclosure of the invention

The objective of the invention is to provide a device that, while preserving the advantageous characteristics of known technical solutions, is capable of safely removing and storing diluted, water-like bodily fluids.

The objective of the invention has been fulfilled by providing a device that is suited for removing a bodily fluid, particularly nasal fluid, applying a vacuum source, preferably a vacuum cleaner, comprises a body adapted for receiving a collector vessel fitted with a suction inlet opening and an outlet opening, and an interconnection pipe fitted with a connection member connecting the outlet opening to the vacuum source, and is characterized in that the body thereof consists of a suction bell comprising, at one end, an opening receiving a torchshaped member having a suction cone, and, at the other end, a central member, and a discharge bell that is connected to the suction bell under the central member and is fitted with a connection pipe at its end situated opposite the central member.

In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the central member consists of a receiving space and a disc adapted for bounding the receiving space, with bores being disposed in the surface of the disc, and the components of the central member being made integrally.

In another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, the suction bell comprises protrusions at its bottom portion connected to the discharge bell, and the discharge bell comprises seats that are disposed at the upper portion thereof and are adapted for receiving the protrusion of the suction bell.

In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the upper portion of the connection pipe situated in the bottom portion of the discharge bell extends towards the central member, the bottom portion thereof extending over the discharge bell, and, at its botom free end, the discharge bell is fited with protrusions running parallel with the bottom portion of the connection pipe.

In all preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention the suction bell and the discharge bell have a slightly conical configuration, and the suction bell, the discharge bell, their subcomponents, and the central member, as well as the connector members - such as the torch-shaped member fitted with a suction cone - are made of plastic. Brief description of the drawings

A preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention is explained in detail referring to the accompanying drawings, where

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the device according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is the sectional view of the central member of the device shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is the top plan view of the central member illustrated in Fig. 2.

Detailed description of the invention

The device 1 according to the invention is adapted for removing by suction a bodily fluid, primarily nasal fluid, and can be preferably attached to a vacuum cleaner suction pipe.

The device 1 consists of a releasably interconnected suction bell 2 and discharge bell 3, with a central member 4 being included between the suction bell 2 and the discharge bell 3.

The suction bell 2 is adapted to receive a torch-shaped member 5 having a replaceable suction cone 6, with the bottom portion of the torch-shaped member 5 extending into the receiving member 14 of the central member 4.

A connection pipe 7 that is coaxial with the torch-shaped member 5 situated in the suction pipe 2 is disposed at the bottom portion of the discharge bell 3, with the upper portion 8 thereof extending towards the central member 4 inside the discharge bell 3, and with the bottom portion 9 thereof extending over the end of the discharge bell 3 and forming a connection stub adapted for receiving a connection member.

The bottom portion of the discharge bell 3 is fitted with a protrusion 10 parallel with the bottom portion 9 of the connection pipe 7 such that, together with the bottom portion 9 of the connection pipe 7, it forms a seat adapted for receiving a connection member not shown in the drawings.

Fig. 2 illustrates in sectional view the central member 4 of the device 1 according to Fig. 1 that is essentially formed of a receiving space 14 and a disc 13 adjoining the receiving space 14 and being made integral therewith, the disc 13 comprising bores 15 having a diameter D (see Fig. 3).

The device according to the invention is operated as follows.

In a state wherein the device 1 is ready for use, the discharge bell 3 and the suction bell 2 are snapped together. To provide a safe connection, the protrusion 11 of the suction bell 2 is passed into a seat 12 formed on the upper portion of the discharge bell 3, and then the suction bell 2 and the discharge bell 3 are interconnected by slightly rotating the suction bell 2 along the discharge bell 3. It should be noted that the protrusion 11 of the suction bell 2 and the seat 12 of the discharge bell 3 can be configured such that the connection is made solely by the protrusion 11 snapping in place in the seat 12 during the interconnection of the suction bell 2 and the discharge bell 3, without performing any further operations.

After that, portions of the torch-shaped member 5 are placed in an opening 16 disposed on the upper portion of the suction bell 2, with the bottom portion of the torch being terminated inside a receiving space 14 of the central member 4 of the suction bell 2. The suction cone 6 is then placed on the top opening of the torch-shaped member 5.

It has to be noted here that the torch-shaped member 5 and the suction cone 6 can also be implemented as an integral member.

This is followed by attaching a connecting element, i.e. a flexible plastic pipe, to the bottom portion 9 of the discharge bell 3, with a connection member known per se, adapted for facilitating the connection of the device 1 to the suction pipe of the vacuum cleaner, being disposed at the other end of the connecting element, situated opposite the discharge bell 3.

The device is now ready for removing a bodily fluid, and can be operated by inserting the suction cone 6 into a nostril of a child, and by removing by suction the bodily fluid applying the vacuum produced by the vacuum cleaner.

The air/bodily fluid mixture flowing at a high velocity - 1.5-2 m/s - is passed via the suction cone 6 and the torch 5 into the receiving space 14 of the central member 4, where the flow direction is reversed, and due to its inertia the fluid is splashed against the wall of the suction bell 2, followed by accumulating at the bottom of the discharge bell 3 while air is carried on unhindered as there is a many thousandfold difference in specific weight between the fluid and air.

Due to the sudden increase of flow diameter, the air flow velocity is significantly reduced - to 1-2 cm/s -, so it cannot carry off the precipitated fluid any more, even if the fluid gets diluted to a near- water consistency.

Under the effect of vacuum, air is carried further along the connection pipe 7 of the discharge bell 3 of the device 1 that is adapted for preventing fluid from being discharged from the device 1 at any spatial orientation thereof.

Due to its configuration, the device 1 can hold approximately 5-6 cm ³ of fluid

(depending on density) at any given time, which is entirely sufficient for a single instance of removing by suction a bodily fluid.

After use, the device can be disassembled to its components and can be easily cleaned, or, if necessary, sterilized. The advantage of the device according to the invention is that it can safely remove the fluids accumulated inside the difficult-to-access cavities irrespective of their density. The removed bodily fluids can be safely retained inside the device, completely preventing them from entering the suction device.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 device

2 suction bell

3 discharge bell

4 central member (sun wheel)

5 torch-shaped member

6 suction cone

7 connection pipe

8 upper portion

9 bottom portion

10 protrusion

11 protrusion

12 seat

13 disc

14 receiving space

15 bore

16 opening