Menstrual cup

Abstract

The cup (1) has an opening bordered by a rounded rim (11) as a seal against the vaginal wall (4), and an air inlet orifice (21) into the cup. The orifice (21) is offset from the wall (14) of the cup (1) and communicates with an air inlet (20) that maintains the sealing function of the rim (11). A chimney (16) is provided in the cup, with said air inlet (20) as the air inlet of the chimney and said air inlet orifice (21) in the cup as the air outlet of the chimney (16). The chimney (16) extends into a sheath (15) inside the cup (1). The cup can be extracted from the vagina without difficulty or pain. (See abstract figure: Figure 4)

Description

Title of the invention: Menstrual cup

[0001] The invention relates to a menstrual cup, or cup, intended to collect menstrual blood.

[0002] A menstrual cup is roughly in the shape of a funnel at the opening of which is provided an upper rim, or border, in the form of a relatively thick rounded ridge, and whose bottom is extended by a stem, sometimes a ring.

[0003] Since the cup is intended to be inserted into the vagina, its rim in the form of a bead acts as a seal against the vaginal wall to ensure that menstrual blood does not flow out of the cup, which is held in place by the pelvic muscle.

[0004] The stem, which extends from the bottom of the cup, is in fact a pull tab designed to allow the cup to be pulled out of the vagina and extracted.

[0005] The wall of the cup, near its opening edge, is pierced with one or more orifices so that air from the vagina, passing through these orifices and spreading into the cup, which is inserted partially folded back on itself, can cause it to expand and allow it to resume its funnel shape.

[0006] When the cup is extracted from the vagina, the air inlet holes pierced in its wall should, again thanks to the passage of air outside the cup, avoid a suction effect and thus facilitate extraction.

[0007] However, when the cup is properly inserted into the vagina, the vaginal wall presses against it and obstructs the air inlet holes located under the rim. Since the rim acts as a seal and the holes are no longer functional, there is no longer any airflow into the cup, and when the tab is pulled to remove the cup from the vagina, a suction effect (from above) is created. Users are then forced to manually break the seal between the rim and the vaginal wall, thus creating a vacuum and breaking the suction effect by slightly folding the cup back on itself.

[0008] Because of this suction effect, the extraction of the cup becomes not only difficult but also painful.

[0009] This problem has always been a concern for manufacturers of menstrual cups.

[0010] A menstrual cup with a pull tab extending to its upper seal is known, notably from US reference 10,357,395 B2. Pulling this tab breaks the seal and separates the portion of the seal to which it is attached from the vaginal wall. However, while such an arrangement does break the suction effect, it has the major drawback of allowing menstrual flow to escape from the cup.

[0011] The present invention therefore aims to solve the problem of the ease of the extraction of the cup from the vagina, and this without pain.

[0012] For this purpose, the present application relates to a menstrual cup, to be inserted into a vagina, with an opening bordered by a rounded rim to ensure a sealing function against the vaginal wall, at least one air inlet orifice being provided in the cup to cause an air intake when the cup is extracted from the vagina, characterized by the fact that said orifice is separated from the wall of the cup and communicates with an air inlet while preserving the sealing function of the rim when the cup is placed in the vagina.

[0013] Thanks to the arrangement of the cup, the extraction of the cup from the vagina can be carried out without difficulty or pain, which is the result which was sought by the invention.

[0014] In the preferred embodiment of the cup of the invention, it comprises a chimney duct, with said air inlet as the air inlet of the chimney duct and said air inlet orifice in the cup as the air outlet of the chimney duct, the chimney duct extending into a sleeve inside the cup.

[0015] In this case, the chimney duct inside the cup hardly deforms, the risk of obstruction of its air outlet and therefore of the air inlet into the cup, by the vaginal wall, is avoided.

[0016] Advantageously, the air inlet of the chimney flue is a low inlet and the air outlet of the chimney flue is a high outlet.

[0017] It should be noted here that the sealing of the cup of the invention is ensured, that is to say that a flow of part of the menstrual fluid out of the cup is impossible.

[0018] Advantageously still, the sheath which extends inside the cut is a sectoral side of a tubular element closed longitudinally by two flexible lips.

[0019] Also, the two lips can be separated from each other to open the sheath on the outside and access the inside of the sheath, and thus be able to wash it properly.

[0020] It should be noted here again that this form of embodiment greatly facilitates the manufacture of the cup.

[0021] Preferably always, the cup of the invention, comprising a bottom distant from its opening bordered by the seal, said air inlet orifice in the cup is conical, diverges towards the outside of the cup and with an axis inclined towards the bottom of the cup.

[0022] In this case, we are really sure that menstrual fluid cannot enter the air inlet orifice.

[0023] Finally, it is noteworthy that the perfect elimination of the suction effect, in the cup of the invention, avoids any risk of loss or displacement of an ultra-uterine device (IUD) when the woman using the cup is wearing one.

[0024] The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description of the preferred embodiment of the cut of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawing, on which • [Fig. 1] is a half-view of the female genital system, which has a plane of symmetry represented in the figure; • [Fig.2] is a perspective view from above and from the back of the cross-section of the invention; • [Fig.3] is a front view of the section of [Fig.2]; • [Fig. 4] is a view of section AA of section [Fig. 3] and • [Fig.5] is a view of section BB of section [Fig.3].

[0025] The cup 1 of the invention is intended to collect menstrual flow after having been introduced into a female genital tract 2, more particularly inside the vagina 3 and, even more particularly, against the vault 41 of its wall 4. Menstrual flow, or menstruation, is the evacuation of the superficial layer of the lining of the uterus 5 and which occurs when an oocyte from the ovary 6, which passes through the Fallopian tube 7, has not been fertilized inside the uterus 8.

[0026] The menstrual cup of figures 2-5 has the shape of a funnel, with a high opening bordered by a rounded rim 11, a closed bottom 12 extended downwards by a stem 13.

[0027] The rim 11, after placing the cup 1 in the vagina 3, acts as a seal against the vaginal wall 4 so that the menstrual flow flows well inside the cup 1 held in place by the pelvic muscle.

[0028] The stem 13 is in fact a pull tab intended to pull the cup 1 out of the vagina 3.

[0029] A ring could be provided in place of the rod 13.

[0030] It will be noted that the pull tab 13 is shaped so that, by cutting it, it can adapt its length at the depth of the vagina 3, that is to say at the height of the cervix 9 of the uterus 8. This prevents it from being too long and causing discomfort to the user.

[0031] The cup 1 may be made of rubber, latex or, preferably, medical-grade silicone. In any case, it must be made of a flexible and biocompatible material.

[0032] A sleeve 15 is provided in the cut 1, here in one piece with the wall 14 of the cut, to form a chimney duct 16.

[0033] The sheath 15 is here a sectoral side of a tubular element open along a longitudinal slit 17 extending from bottom to top to provide, on the sides of this slit, taking into account the flexible nature of the material of the cut, two lips 18,19 which can be separated from each other to access the inside of the sheath 15, i.e. in the chimney duct 16, and thus be able to clean it.

[0034] By sectoral flank of a tubular element, with reference to [Fig. 5], it is understood that the ring, by which it is represented in cross-section, extends only over an angular sector, and not over 360 degrees, due to the presence of the slot 17 between the two lips 18,19.

[0035] The two lips 18,19, at rest and therefore not separated from each other, extend the wall 14 of the cup while leaving the slit 17 to remain.

[0036] The sheath 15 therefore extends inside the cup 1.

[0037] The chimney duct 16, in the sleeve 15, has an air inlet orifice 20, at the bottom of the slot 17 and pierced in the bottom 12 of the cup 1, and an air outlet orifice 21, at the top of the slot 17, but pierced in the top of the wall 22 of the sleeve 15 extending inside the cup 1, under the bead 11. This air outlet orifice 21 of the chimney duct 16, away from the wall 14 of the cup, is the air inlet orifice in the cup.

[0038] It should be emphasized that the arrangement of the chimney flue in the sheath preserves the sealing function of the bead 11 while ensuring that a suction effect cannot be created, the orifice 21 cannot be obstructed by the vaginal wall 4.

[0039] In addition, the air inlet orifice 21 in the cup 1 is conical here, diverges towards the outside of the cup and its axis 23 is inclined towards the bottom 12 of the cup, which ensures that menstrual fluid cannot enter this orifice.

Claims

Demands

1. A menstrual cup (1), to be inserted into the vagina (3), having an opening bordered by a rounded rim (11) to provide a seal against the vaginal wall (4), having at least one air inlet orifice (21) in the cup to create a suction effect when the cup (1) is removed from the vagina (3), said orifice (21) being offset from the wall (14) of the cup (1) and communicating with an air inlet (20) preserving the sealing function of the rim (11) when the cup (11) is placed in the vagina (3), the cup having a chimney (16) in it, with said air inlet (20) as the air inlet of the chimney and said air inlet orifice (21) in the cup as the air outlet of the chimney (16), said chimney (16) extending into a sheath (15) inside the cup (1), characterized by the fact that the sheath (15), which extends inside the cup (1),is a sectorial flank of a tubular element closed longitudinally by two flexible lips (18,19), leaving a longitudinal slit (17) between them.

2. Section (1) according to claim 1, wherein the air inlet (20) of the chimney duct (16) is a low inlet and the air outlet (21) of the chimney duct (16) is a high outlet.

3. Cup (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein, a bottom (12) being distant from its opening bordered by the rim (11), said air inlet orifice (21) is conical, diverges outwards from the cup (1) and its axis (23) is inclined towards the bottom (12) of the cup (1).

4. Cup (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, made of silicone.

Images