Condom holder

Abstract

To provide an individually packaged condom used as a means of contraception and prevention of transmission of infectious diseases, more specifically, to provide a condom holder configured to facilitate putting on a condom and prevent the condom from being contaminated or damaged during the putting on process. The condom holder comprises a base with a gripping means for the condom ring and a locking device, the locking device being in the form of a locking claw with a stopper. The base is detachably configured. The gripping means for the condom ring is hook-shaped. The base is provided with a handle for gripping with the fingers. As a technical result, the condom remains securely fixed during the donning process (when the condom ring is being unrolled) and during transport and storage in the individual package.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of hygiene and human health, namely to individually wrapped condoms used as a means of contraception and prevention of the transmission of infectious diseases, and in particular to a condom holder adapted to facilitate donning of the condom and prevent contamination or damage of the condom during the donning process. [Background technology]

[0002] A condom package is known from the prior art, which consists of two flexible film sheets, the two ends of which are welded together to form a cavity in which the rolled condom is placed (RU 2562052, published on 10 September 2015 (Patent Document 1)). One of the flexible sheets is provided with a line of weakest resistance (opening line) formed in a circular shape. This sheet is provided with a tab that can be grasped with the fingers to facilitate opening. After opening, the user removes the condom and places it manually on the erect penis.

[0003] Such packages do not provide any means for facilitating application of the condom to the erect penis, and they provide an undesirable level of hygiene, since the user must remove and apply the condom with hands that may not be sufficiently clean. Furthermore, the need to directly touch the condom with the fingers makes it vulnerable to damage (the condom dries out and breaks) due to scratches from fingernails, jewelry, or dry, rough skin, or the lubricant being rubbed off by the hands. All of this is exacerbated by the user's arousal, because it is difficult to properly place the condom on the erect penis without excessive tension.

[0004] The closest prior art is a condom holder disclosed in RU 2343880 (Patent Document 2), published on January 20, 2009, which includes a gripping portion for fixing the edge of a condom and a connecting portion between the gripping portions that at least partially defines a space in which the condom can be placed and is at least partially elastic, and is configured to change the shape of the connecting portion between two configurations, a first configuration in which the space is reduced and a second configuration in which the space is expanded. In the first configuration, at least a part of the connecting portion is distorted and easily deformed into the second configuration, and in the second configuration, at least a part of the distortion is released. The gripping portion is hook-shaped. The holder is provided with a handle configured to be gripped by the user's hand during the condom putting on process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Russian Patent No. 2562052 [Patent Document 2] Russian Patent No. 2343880 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Disadvantages of known technical solutions include unstable retention of the condom in the folded state (unused during transport or storage) and during the application process on the erect penis. This is because the user holds the device with only one hand, which may be the non-dominant hand (i.e. the motor skills of the hand are not developed), and therefore the degree of force required for application is not desirable. In this case, when applying with one hand, it is not possible to correctly position the device so that its trajectory is parallel to the penile axis (the plane of the condom ring is perpendicular to the plane passing through the penile axis). These factors lead to situations where the rolled condom ring comes off the grip at the beginning of application, making it impossible to use the device, or when the condom ring comes off the grip during the thinning process, making it impossible to continue using the device and the condom.

[0007] The technical challenge is to provide a condom holder that keeps the condom securely in place during the donning process (while the condom ring is unrolling) and during transport and storage in the individual package. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the present invention, the technical result is achieved in that a condom holder comprises a base having a gripping means for a ring of a condom and further comprises a locking device.

[0009] In a specific embodiment of the invention: the locking device is formed in the form of a locking pawl having a stopper; the base is formed so as to be detachable; the gripping means of the condom ring is hook-shaped; and the base is provided with a handle for gripping with fingers.

[0010] The presence of the locking device in this condom holder allows the condom to be unrolled (unrolled) evenly without distortion, and each part of the base can be quickly and easily separated from the condom ring without touching the condom with fingers. Furthermore, even if the individual package is subjected to an impact during transportation or storage and the base breaks (along the line of the temporary fastening), the condom is always securely fixed inside the individual package by the locking device, making it possible to use the condom even with the base broken.

[0011] During the development of the claimed condom retainer, tests were carried out to verify the achievement of the claimed technical results. For this purpose, 100 condoms of various sizes were placed on a device (glass ball) that mimicked an erect penis. Half (50 condoms) were placed in the traditional way by rolling them by hand, and the other half were placed using the claimed retainer. The first group (with the traditional method) was placed carefully and took about 13-20 seconds. When trying to speed up the application, the condom was prevented from being unrolled by distortion of the condom ring, which resulted in some condoms (43%) breaking. The second group (placed using the claimed device) was placed in 2-3 seconds without any tears, wrinkles or release of the locking device. Thus, the design and configuration of the retainer ensures that the condom remains secure during the application process (while the condom ring is being unrolled) and during transportation and storage in the individual package.

[0012] The present claimed invention is accompanied by drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the condom holder (with two locking tabs open). [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the condom holder (with two locking tabs open). [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram (axonometric view) showing a condom holder (one prong closed). [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a condom holder in use (condom not shown). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The condom holder comprises a base 1, a condom ring (i.e., a condom in a folded state) gripping means 2 and a locking device 3 (Figs. 1 to 5) (the condom is not shown).

[0015] The base 1 is made detachable, preferably splittable, into two parts, which are connected to each other by temporary fasteners that break when the base is pulled in different directions or slightly bent (e.g. with a jumper) to ensure that the condom is protected during storage and transportation in the individual package.

[0016] The central portion of the base 1 has a hole 4, and the ring (nimbus) of the condom is positioned along the edge of the hole 4.

[0017] The base 1 is provided with a condom ring gripping means 2 along the edge of the hole. The gripping means 2 may be of any shape that orients the condom with respect to the hole 4 and may be configured to slightly affect the condom during the condom putting on process (pulling the condom when the base is unfolded in different directions). In a preferred embodiment, the gripping means 2 are hook-shaped, with their ends pointing outwards from the geometric centre of the base 1 (each gripping body being located inside the deployed condom ring), as shown for example in Figures 1 to 5. Here, the bending radius of the gripping means 2 may be slightly greater than or equal to the thickness of the rolled condom ring (but not less than this thickness so as not to compromise the integrity of the condom). The number of condom gripping means 2 may be increased or decreased depending on the size of the base 1 and the deployed condom, and is preferably four or more. In a specific embodiment, the holder may be provided with additional gripping means 5 with a hook-shaped end facing towards the geometric centre of the base 1. Such gripping means 5 prevents the condom from being detached from the main gripping means 2 in case of strong bending of the package (and thus of said base), e.g. during transport or storage.

[0018] The locking device 3 is located in the base 1, outside the condom ring. The locking device 3 may be designed in various ways. In a preferred embodiment of the device, the locking device 3 may be in the form of a locking claw with a stopper 6, i.e. a hook-shaped component that is pivotally fixed to the base and that is secured in the closed state by the hook-shaped stopper 6, with a gap 7 (space) between the end of each hook-shaped component and the corresponding end of the gripping means 2 (the double arrow in the figure points to the gap 7). In a specific embodiment, a gap 7 (not shown) may be formed between the end of the hook-shaped component and the base 1.

[0019] In other embodiments of the device, the locking device 3 may be made elastically bendable (by using a material of the desired elasticity) so that it can be elastically bent during manufacture and packaging to bend to place the condom (after exposure) and to create a gap 7 (space) between its end and the end of the gripping means.

[0020] The number of locking devices 3 may be increased or decreased depending on the shape and location of the locking devices 3, so long as it ensures that the condom is rolled evenly (ie, that the condom rings are positioned in the same plane).

[0021] The materials used for the base 1, gripping means 2 and locking device 3 may be any polymeric material having the desired performance characteristics (optimum flexibility, strength, cytotoxicity parameters, etc.).

[0022] The locking device 3 may be one piece with the base.

[0023] The base 1 is provided with a handle 8 for gripping with fingers. The shape, size and number of the handles 8 may vary widely. In a preferred embodiment, each part of the base 1 is provided with a handle 8. Here, to prevent the fingers from slipping when each part of the base is pulled in different directions, the handle 8 may be provided with a placement portion 9 or a groove 10, or the handle 8 may be formed in a curved shape (e.g., curved upward).

[0024] This holder is used as follows:

[0025] After opening the individual package (e.g., a traditional foil package), the holder with the condom is removed. At this time, the locking device is in a closed state, and the condom is securely fixed. The user then grasps the handle and breaks the base (by pulling the base in opposite directions or bending the base), and spreads each part of the base in different directions. In this case, the condom is pulled by the gripping means, which changes its planar shape from a rectangular shape to a square shape (shown by the two-dot chain line in Figures 1 and 5) during the pulling process, maximizing the stretched area of ​​the condom, allowing the user to quickly put on the condom without touching it with their fingers. During the condom putting on process, the condom is smoothly and uniformly unrolled (unrolled) by the action of the locking device, which keeps the condom rings securely fixed in the same plane during the condom putting on process, so that the condom does not come off the gripping means. At the final stage of the donning process, when the condom ring is at its thinnest, it slips through the gap (space) between the end of the hook-shaped component and the end of the gripping means, making it easier to separate the various parts of the base.

[0026] In this way, the present invention makes it possible to hold the condom securely in place during the donning process and during transport and storage in the individual package.

Claims

1. 1. A condom holder comprising a base having a gripping means for a ring of a condom, further comprising a locking device.

2. 2. A holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking device is formed in the form of a locking pawl having a stopper.

3. 2. The holder according to claim 1, wherein the base is formed to be separable.

4. 2. The retainer of claim 1, wherein said gripping means of said condom ring is hook-shaped.

5. 2. The holder of claim 1, wherein said base portion is provided with a handle portion for gripping with fingers.

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