Container with self-closing one-way valve

Claim 2

In combination, a container for fluid or the like including a pair of closely spaced confronting flexible walls secured together along certain marginal portions thereof and being unsecured along other portions thereof to form a supply opening for the container; a valve mounted in said supply opening, said valve comprising a pair of confronting walls of flexible sheet material secured together along part of the margins of the valve to provide a flattened sleeve-like structure open at the opposite ends thereof so fluid can be passed into the container between the valve walls, said valve walls being respectively secured to said container walls only at points spaced from the inner end portions thereof, an arcuate seal-forming spring member secured to and extending across the outside of the inner end portions of one of said valve walls at points inwardly of said points of connection thereof to said container walls so forces tending to separate the container walls will be de-coupled from the portion of the valve walls sealed by said spring member, and with the convex side thereof facing said one valve wall, the resiliency of said arcuate spring member pulling said confronting valve walls around the convex side of said spring member to bring the confronting valve walls into sealing relation, and a pair of oppositely curving partially expanded confronting spring members extending along the inner surface of said valve walls adjacent said container supply opening, said confronting spring members curving about an axis extending in the direction of the open ends of the flattened sleeve-like valve structure with the concave sides thereof facing one another, the ends of said confronting spring members being of a size and positioned to be grasped by one hand of the user through the container walls from the outside thereof and squeezed to balloon the same outwardly together with the valve walls on the outside of the same to a degree which also separates the valve walls adjacent to said seal-forming spring member against the sealing force thereof and forms a large inlet passageway for the container.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 wherein said container adjacent said partially expanded confronting spring members have apertures on the opposite sides of said spring members to provide clearance for the passage of the user''s thumb and at least one other finger of the same hand to permit the opposite ends of said confronting spring members to be squeezed by the user.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 1 wherein said container is an enema bag or the like having attached thereto an open-ended tube with a releasable tube shut off means, said tub communicating with the inside of the container and adapted to be thrust into the anal canal of a patient.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 1 wherein said container is a urine collection bag, and there is connected to the inlet side of said valve as an outer extension of said container wall means forming an open inlet urine-collection passageway with a large inlet mouth for catching the urine stream emanating from a patient and directing the same to the space between said valve walls at the inlet end of the valve adjacent to said confronting spring members.

Claim 6

The combination of claim 4 wherein said wall means forming said urine collection inlet passageway forms a large elongated oval-shaped inlet mouth to receive a female urine stream.

Claim 7

The combination of claim 4 wherein said wall means forming said urine collection inlet passageway being manually severable from the rest of the combination of the said container and valve so said valve is positioned at the newly formed outer margin of the resulting combination after severance of said wall means.

Claim 8

A container having a supply opening with a valve forming portion therein comprising a pair of confronting walls of flexible sheet material secured together along part of the margins of the valve to provide a flattened sleeve-like structure open at the opposite ends thereof and through which fluid can be passed into said container from the outside thereof, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the outside of one of said confronting walls of the valve, the resiliency of said seal-forming spring member pulling the confronting valve walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member to bring the confronting valve walls into sealing relation, and a pair of oppositely curving partially expanded confronting spring members extending along the inner surface of said valve walls, said confronting spring members curving about an axis extending in the direction of the open ends of the flattened sleeve-like valve structure with the concave sides thereof facing one another, the ends of said confronting spring members being of a size and positioned to be grasped by one hand of the user and squeezed to balloon the same outwardly together with the valve walls on the outside of the same to a degree which also separates the valve walls adjacent to said seal-forming spring member against the sealing force thereof and forms a large inlet passageway for the container.

Claim 9

A container having a supply opening with a valve forming portion therein comprising a pair of confronting walls of flexible sheet material secured together along part of the margins of the valve to provide a flattened sleeve-like structure open at the opposite ends thereof and through which fluid can be passed into said container from the outside thereof, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the outside of one of said confronting walls of the valve, the resiliency of said seal-forming spring member pulling the confronting valve walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member to bring the confronting valve walls into sealing relation, and a pair of oppositely curving partially expanded confronting spring members extending along the inner surface of said valve walls, said confronting spring members curving about an axis extending in the direction of the open ends of the flattened sleeve-like valve structure with the concave sides thereof facing one another, the ends of said confronting spring members being of a size and positioned to be grasped by one hand of the user and squeezed to balloon the same outwardly together with the valve walls on the outside of the same to a degree which also separates the valve walls adjacent to said seal-forming spring member against the sealing force thereof and forms a large inlet passageway for the container.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 7 wherein said container adjacent said partially expanded confronting spring members have apertures on the opposite sides of said spring members thereof to provide clearance for the passage of the user''s thumb and at least one other finger of the same hand to permit the opposite ends of said confronting spring members to be squeezed by the user.

Claim 11

In combination, a flexible bag-like container body having an opening at the top thereof defined between closely spaced confronting walls; and an inlet passageway and valve-forming unit having an upper relatively wide inlet passageway-forming portion positioned in said container body opening and a lower relatively narrow valve-forming portion projecting downwardly into said container body, said inlet passageway-forming portion of said unit having conveying slanting bottom walls which guide a container filling material into the upper end of said lower valve-forming portion, said flexible container body and said inlet passageway and valve-forming unit being secured together with the container interior body sealed up to said lower valve-forming portion, at least said lower valve-forming portion of said inlet passageway valve-forming unit comprising a pair of confronting walls of flexible sheet material forming a flattened sleeve-like structure open at the opposite ends thereof and through which fluid can be passed into the container body, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the outside of the bottom portion of one of said confronting walls with the convex side thereof facing the same, the resiliency of said arcuate spring member pulling said confronting walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member to bring the confronting walls into sealing relation with a sufficiently light force that a stream of liquid directed between confronting walls from the inlet passageway forming portion will separate the walls to pass into said container body, the confronting valve walls being respectively secured to the adjacent confronting container walls at points only above said seal-forming member so the tension in the container walls is not applied in opposition to the sealing force of the spring member, and a pair of oppositely curving partially expanded confronting spring members within the upper portion of said valve walls, said pair of confronting spring members curving about an axis extending in the direction of the open ends of the flattened sleeve-like structure formed by said valve walls, the concave sides thereof facing one another, the squeezing of the ends of said pair of confronting spring members causing the same to balloon outwardly thereby to separate the valve-walls previously sealed by said seal-forming spring member; said container body having openings at the opposite sides of the upper portion of said valve walls above the sealed portion of the container adjacent said confronting spring members to permit the passage of at least the thumb and one of the other fingers of the same hand therethrough to enable the ends of said confronting spring members to be squeezed.

Claim 12

In combination, a flexible bag-like container body having an opening at the top thereof defined between closely spaced confronting walls; and an inlet passageway and valve-forming unit having an upper relatively wide inlet passageway-forming portion positioned in said container body opening and a lower relatively narrow valve-forming portion projecting downwardly into said container body, said inlet passageway-forming portion of said unit having conveying slanting bottom walls which guide a container filling material into the upper end of said lower valve-forming portion, said flexible container body and said inlet passageway and valve-forming unit being secured together with the container interior body sealed up to said lower valve-forming portion, at least said lower valve-forming portion of said inlet passageway valve-forming unit comprising a pair of confronting walls of flexible sheet material forming a flattened sleeve-like structure open at the opposite ends thereof and through which fluid can be passed into the container body, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the outside of the bottom portion of one of said confronting walls with the convex side thereof facing the same, the resiliency of said arcuate spring member pulling said confronting walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member to bring the confronting walls into sealing relation with a sufficiently light force that a stream of liquid directed between confronting walls from the inlet passageway forming portion will separate the walls to pass into said container body, the confronting valve walls being respectively secured to the adjacent confronting container walls at points only above said seal-forming member so the tension in the container walls is not applied in opposition to the sealing force of the spring member, and a pair of oppositely curving partially expanded confronting spring members within the upper portion of said valve walls, said pair of confronting spring members curving about an axis extending in the direction of the open ends of the flattened sleeve-like structure formed by said valve walls, the concave sides thereof facing one another, the squeezing of the ends of said pair of confronting spring members causing the same to balloon outwardly thereby to separate the valve-walls previously sealed by said seal-forming spring member; said container body having openings at the opposite sides of the upper portion of said valve walls above the sealed portion of the container adjacent said confronting spring members to permit the passage of at least the thumb and one of the other fingers of the same hand therethrough to enable the ends of said confronting spring members to be squeezed.

Claim 13

The combination of claim 9 when the inlet of said passageway and said valve-forming unit and container body are interconnected by seal lines extending across the same at points above said seal-forming spring member and below said pair of confronting spring members adjacent thereto.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 9 Wherein there is provided means forming a tear line extending across the assembly of said container body and inlet passageway and valve-forming unit at points immediately above the upper end of said lower valve-forming portion of the latter unit, so the inlet passageway portion thereof can be separated from the rest of the combination above this tear line.

Claim 15

The combination of claim 9 wherein said inlet passageway and valve-forming unit is comprised by a pair of flexible confronting walls which are relatively wide at the top thereof, where they form an oval-shaped tubular body with a correspondingly shaped inlet orifice to catch a female urine stream, and relatively narrow at the bottom thereof to form said relatively narrow valve-forming portion thereof, and there is provided a resilient ring secured to the inside of said pair of confronting walls at said inlet orifice which resilient ring expands said confronting walls to maintain said oval-shaped inlet orifice despite the flexibility of said confronting walls.

Claim 16

The combination of claim 12 wherein said confronting walls are folded down at the top thereof at said inlet orifice to form a depending skirt covering said resilient ring.

Claim 17

The combination of claim 12 wherein said pair of confronting walls forming said upper inlet passageway-forming portion being sealed together along seal lines converging downwardly to the upper end of said valve-forming portion to form said converging slanting bottom walls of said inlet passageway-forming portion.

Claim 18

A urine collection unit comprising: a flat flexible container including a pair of closely confronting flexible walls secured together along the marginal portions at the sides and bottom thereof and forming an opening at the top thereof, a valve unit secured in said opening, said valve unit including a pair of confronting flat walls of flexible sheet material secured together along part of the margins of the valve to provide a flattened sleeve-like structure and a vertically extending opening at the top and bottom ends thereof and through which urine can be passed into said container from the outside thereof, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the bottom portion of the flattened sleeve-like structure and secured to the outside of one of said walls thereof with the convex side thereof facing the same, the resiliency of said arcuate seal-forming spring member pulling said confronting valve walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member with a force such that only the passage of a stream of urine through said flattened sleeve-like structure will overcome the sealing force of said seal-forming spring member, said valve walls including therebetween expandable means which is expandable with a manual force widely to separate the confronting valve walls for the entire length thereof to permit the ready passage of a sterile tube through the container without touching any of the walls of the valve or the container.

Claim 19

A urine collection unit comprising: a flat flexible container including a pair of closely confronting flexible walls secured together along the marginal portions at the sides and bottom thereof and forming an opening at the top thereof, a valve unit secured in said opening, said valve unit including a pair of confronting flat walls of flexible sheet material secured together along part of the margins of the valve to provide a flattened sleeve-like structure and a vertically extending opening at the top and bottom ends thereof and through which urine can be passed into said container from the outside thereof, an arcuate seal-forming spring member extending across the bottom portion of the flattened sleeve-like structure and secured to the outside of one of said walls thereof with the convex side thereof facing the same, the resiliency of said arcuate seal-forming spring member pulling said confronting valve walls tautly around the convex side of the spring member with a force such that only the passage of a stream of urine through said flattened sleeve-like structure will overcome the sealing force of said seal-forming spring member, said valve walls including therebetween expandable means which is expandable with a manual force widely to separate the confronting valve walls for the entire length thereof to permit the ready passage of a sterile tube through the container without touching any of the walls of the valve or the container.

Claim 20

The combination of claim 15 wherein there is provided at the upper portion of said container an inlet passageway-forming portion much wider than said flattened sleeve-like valve structure and forming a widely open top, tubular body for receiving a urine stream directly from a patient and guiding the same into the upper portions of said valve structure.

Claim 21

The combination of claim 16 wherein said inlet passageway-forming portion is separable from the rest of the combination along a tear line extending immediately above the upper portion of said valve structure.

Claim 22

A urine collection unit comprising: a flat flexible bag-like structure including closely spaced confronting walls secured together to form an elongated oval-shaped tubular upper section with an elongated oval-shaped mouth for receiving a male or female urine stream, and a constricted lower portion defining a relatively narrow passageway communicating with said tubular upper inlet section to receive the urine stream received thereby and opening into a urIne collection compartment in the bottom portion of the bag-like structure, means forming a one-way valve in said relatively narrow passageway which passes the urine directed thereto from said elongated tubular upper section and preventing back flow of urine within the bag to the outside thereof, and means forming a tear line across the bag at the base of said elongated oval-shaped tubular upper section so this section of the bag-like structure can be manually severed from the rest of the same, leaving a more compact bag structure.

Claim 23

A urine collection unit comprising: a flat flexible bag-like structure including closely spaced confronting walls secured together to form an elongated oval-shaped tubular upper section with an elongated oval-shaped mouth for receiving a male or female urine stream, and a constricted lower portion defining a relatively narrow passageway communicating with said tubular upper inlet section to receive the urine stream received thereby and opening into a urIne collection compartment in the bottom portion of the bag-like structure, means forming a one-way valve in said relatively narrow passageway which passes the urine directed thereto from said elongated tubular upper section and preventing back flow of urine within the bag to the outside thereof, and means forming a tear line across the bag at the base of said elongated oval-shaped tubular upper section so this section of the bag-like structure can be manually severed from the rest of the same, leaving a more compact bag structure.

Claim 24

The urine collection unit of claim 18 wherein said relatively narrow passageway is formed by confronting walls forming a flattened sleeve-like structure located just below said tear line and held in sealing relation by spring means which forms a one way valve by forcing at least a portion of the confronting walls of said flattened sleeve-like structure together into light liquid sealing relation which force is overcome by the guided flow of a urine stream therebetween, and there is provided manually graspable means which upon operation by one hand widely separates said confronting walls of said flattened sleeve-like structure for its entire length so a sterile urine specimen withdrawing tube can be passed therethrough without touching any of the walls of the same.