This invention relates to condoms and it is especially concerned with condoms which will line the wall ofthe vagina and. unlike male condoms which are initially donned by the male and fit closely around the penis, are dimensioned to looselv enclose the penis, at least over the length of the condom received within the vagina For convenience such condoms are referred to herein as " female condoms ^"

There is currently marketed a female condom consisting of a flexible thin- wailed bag-like liner with a ciosed end and an open end opposite the closed end The liner is formed from two sheets of plastic material seaied together at their edges, and a solid nng of relatively stiff plastic mateπal is fixed to the liner at the open end and acts to hold the mouth ofthe liner open The pnmarv function ofthe stiff nng is to maintain the open end ofthe condom outside the vagina The liner is provided with a second relatively stiff ring which is of smaller diameter than the first nng and is inserted loosely into the liner This second nng is intended to hold the closed end of the liner in place adjacent the uterus

The known female condom is not convenient to use and its insertion, particularly due to the need to ensure correct positioning of the loose inner nng, is rather awkward and frequently necessitates an undesirable interruption in the process of sexual activity leading to coitus. Due to the liner being formed from sheet material and the inclusion of the ioose nng. the liner has a natural tendency to collapse laterally, which does not facilitate its insertion into the vagina

The present mvention aims to provide a female condom which is more convenient to use without requiring prior application to the penis, and according to the invention there is provided a female condom comprising a closed end and an open end. a ring adjacent to the open end for expanding the condom to a maximum diameter at the location ofthe ring to maintain the open end outside the vagina, and a tubular wall poπion extending between the closed end and the nng. said wall poπion being of a size to form a loose fit around the male penis and being formed with a senes of circumferential grooves of such a depth that the tubular wall readilv folds in a bellows or conceπina-like manner wherebv the condom collapses iongitudinallv to a substantially fiat condition

There have been numerous proposals ot condoms which are corrugated in some manner, and there have been numerous proposals of condoms with πngs or flanges which remain outside the \ agina. but the paπicuiar combination of a large ring and a grooved wall poπion as provided in a condom in accordance with the invention, and which results in an especially convenient and efficacious condom, has not been previously suggested Fuπhermore. the condom oϊ the invention is suitable for large scale production bv conventional manufactuπng processes, whereas the complexities of any of the proposals contained in the pnor an would involve manufacturing difficulties making economic production on a commercial scale extremelv difficult and in some cases impossible

The number ot grooves included in the tubular wall poπion need not be large and verv satisfactory results can be obtained with 3 to 5 grooves Four grooves are currently preferred Suitably the depth o the grooves is in the range of 0 5 cm to 1 5 cm. and the presently preferred depth is between 0 8 cm and 1 2 cm In a preferred emoodiment. the grooves are tormeα with intervening circumferential ridges, and the width o the grooves is substantially equal to the width or the πdges e 0 5 cm to I 0 cm preferably about 0 8 cm The grooves

and ridges can be wider, however, such as up to about 1 5 cm e g around 12 or 13cm and ndges are preferably formed with the bottoms ofthe grooves and the crests o the ndges substantially semi-circuiar in cross-section or shaped to merge smoothly with each other to preclude any sharp discontinuities and potential weaknesses along the tubular poraon

The condom ofthe invention is conveniently manufactured by coating a former with latex or a polymer and allowing the coating mateπal to cure if required before the condom is stripped from the former The coating can be applied by spraying or bv a dip moulding process in which a shaped former is dipped into a liquid bath e g of latex, liquid polyurethane. or other polymer compos oα and withdrawn carrying with it a thin laver o the coating mateπal The manufacture by dip moulding may be bv multiple dips into the same or successive liquid baths and this can be used to control the thickness of the moulded condom The former is provided with annuiar grooves for forming the circumferential grooves o the condom and due to natural flow effects during the dipping process the liquid coating at the bottoms of the grooves can be slightly thicker than on the other suπace poπions ofthe former This may result in the wall thickness ofthe condom being increased at the bottoms o the grooves e g by around 10% to 50%. which can assist the natural tendency for the condom to collapse iongirudinallv and for the radial undulations to be maintained during the folding process

The nng adjacent to the open end of the condom is conveniently and preferably integrally formed with the tubular wall the condom av compnse a separately made rubber nng. e g a solid silicone rubber nng or a nng formed from rubber tube, which has desirable characteπstics of resilient flexibility and can ensure a good of comrbπ The separate ring mav be securely attached to the condom wall ana can oe embedded in the mateπal of the wall by locating the πnu onto the former before it is coated with mateπal to foπn the

condom. Alternatively the nng could be secured to the condom after it has been formed.

In use. a condom in accordance with the invention can be held in its longitudinally collapsed substantially flat form over the vaginal opening, and the closed end of the condom can be pushed into the vagina by the penis as it penetrates the vagina at the beginning of sexual intercourse, the nng which is preferably at least about 7cm in diameter ensuring that the open end remains outside during initial inseπion and throughout the coital act

According to one embodiment of the invention, the female condom includes a second ring of smaller diameter attached to the condom wail a shoπ distance beyond the larger ring. This second ring, which, in accordance with a method known per se. can be provided by rolling down a poπion of mateπal coated into the former before it is fully cured, is dimensoned to have a close fit around the penis so that when the penis is withdrawn it removes the condom from the vagina

Femaie condoms embodying the invention are more convenient to use than those currently available

To facilitate a clear understanding of the invention some paπicular embodiments will now be descπbed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which -

Fisiure 1 is a side view of a femaie condom embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the condom shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a former used to manufacture the condom of Figures 1 and 2.

Fisiure 4 shows the condom in its flat folded condition.

Figure 5 is a side s ieu of a second female condom according to the invention.

Fitiure o is a plan view o the condom shown in Figure 5

Figure ~ is a side elevation of a former used to manufacture the condom of Figures - and 6. and

Figures 8 and 9 show in side elevation two modified formers suitable for manufactuπng condoms generally similar to that of Figures 1 and

The female condom illustrated in Figures 1. 2 and 4 is formed of latex or polyurethane by a dip moulding process using the former oi Figure 3 The condom has an open end 1. a closed end 2 and a tubular wall 3 interconnecting the ends and formed with radial undulations defined by alternate circumferential ndges 4 and grooves 5 At the open end 1 the condom is provided with a relatively stiff but flexible ring ό which may be silicone rubber or made of tubular rubber, but can be conveniently formed integrally with the tubular wall. The ring has a diameter of about 7 cm and it radially expands the condom to a maximum diameter The former includes an upper moulding poπion 12 of cylindrical form and having a diameter approximately equal to that o the condom ring 6 At its lower end the former has a substantially hemispherical dome-shaped poπion 13 for forming the closed end wall 2 of the condom Between the poπions 12 and

13 are a series of annular ndges 14 which define annular grooves 1 5 for forming the ndges 4 and grooves 5 or the condom, respectivelv The crests of the ndges

14 and the bottoms o the radial grooves 15 are substantially semi-circular in cross-section and the grooves are about 1 0 cm deep and 0 8 cm wide. The former is dipped into a bath of e g. iiquid latex and becomes coated to a level a little below the upper edge of the poπion 12 The thickness of material coating the bottoms o the grooves is typically 0 04 to 0 10 mm compared with a thickness of 0 02 to 0 06 mm at the ridge tops, although the thickness may be up to 1 mm at the grooves and up to 0 1 mm at the ndges Vfter curing sufficiently, some o the material coating the poπion 12 is roiled down from its upper edue to form a bead which becomes the ring b o the condom If required

additional bead mateπal couid be applied over the pan of the dipped matenal to be rolled to form the bead When the latex is cured, the condom is stπpped from the former, and after appropnate testing it is collapsed longitudinally to the fiat condition shown in Figure 4 which is readily ed since the condom has a natural tendency to fold in a bellows-like manner due to the grooves 4 The condom is then packaged When it is to be used, it is removed from the packaee and held in the flat condition over the vagina to be mseπed as previously descπbed

The condom of Figures 5 and b and the former of Figure 7 are for the most pan the same as those described above and oniv the modifications will be described The condom has a large nng 26 and beyond it at the open end a smaller nng 2? having a diameter about half that of the large ring The former has an upper poπion with a cviindπcal section located between frusto-conical sections 33.34 and a neck poπion 35 above the upper frusto-conical section 33 When provided with a dipped coating, the mateπai coating the neck poπion 35 is roiled down from its upper edge to form a bead which constitutes the smaller nng 27 o the condom After the condom has been stπpped from the former, a separate solid rubber ring is inseπed to provide the larger ring 26 If prefeπed the rubber nng can be locatec onto the cvlinαπcai section 32 of the former before it is coated so tnat the nng becomes embedded in the condom matenal during the dip moulding process

The condom is used in essentially the same wav as the first embodiment However, when used to inseπ the condom into the vagina the penis is passed through the small ring 27 as well as the larger ring 26 which alwavs remains outside the vagina When the penis is subsequently withdrawn, as it is _' .rnppeα lightlv bv the nng 2 ^" " the condom will be simultaneously withdrawn trom the \ ag a

Althou-th the condoms described herein nave for convenience been

referred as ^" female condoms ^" , it should be understood that this term has been used only to mean that the poπion ofthe condom between the closed end and the expansion nng will be a loose tit around the penis, and if preferred by users, there is no reason why the condom should not be placed over the penis of the make before inseπion into the \ agina ofthe female

The formers of Figures 8 and 9 are paπicularlv suited to the manufacture of condoms as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and having integral rincs at their open ends \bove the lower grooved section each former has a substantially uniform cylindrical shape with a diameter of about 7cm This cylindrical poπion can be coated with mateπal which is rolled up from its free edge before the mateπal had dried or cured in order to form the integral ring In the former of Figure 8 the bottoms of the annular grooves 1 5 have a radius of curvature of about b mm and the crests of the annular ndges 14 between the grooves have a similar radius of curvature The diameter of the former at the bottoms of the grooves is about 41 mm and at the crests of the ridges the diameter is about b mm. the depth of the grooves being about 12 mm The width o the ndges and ofthe grooves, measured at half the deptn o the grooves where the curvature changes from concave to convex, is 12 mm In the former of Figure 9. the grooves 1 5 are shallower, the diameter of the former at the bottoms of the grooves 1 5 being 50 mm and the diameter at the crests of the ndges 14 being b5 mm so the groove depth is 7 5 mm The radius of curvature at the bottoms of the grooves and at the crests of the ndges is 7 mm The edge profile of the grooved section of the former is more sinusoidal than with the formers ofthe previous embodiments The width ofthe ridges and the grooves, again measured at half the groove depth where the curvature changes from concave to convex is about 13 mm The formers of Figures and 9 have small nippies 45 at the centre o the lowermost dome-shaped poπions 13 for producing shallow pockets at the closed ends o the condoms produced on these formers

will be appreciated that the condoms moulded on the formers of Figures 8 and will have dimensions which are essentiallv the same as those of the formers