Nasal aspirator

Abstract

To provide a nasal aspirator with improved usability. [Solution] A nasal mucus aspirator X for manually aspirating snot from within a nasal cavity, comprising a connecting tube which defines an internal space S1, a nozzle portion 2 whose tip is inserted into the nasal cavity, and a pump portion which generates negative pressure in the internal space S1, the connecting tube having a communication passage which communicates the internal space S1 with the external space, and a valve portion 13 interposed in the communication passage, the nozzle portion 2 being connected to the tip side of the connecting tube, the pump portion having a housing portion 31 connected to the base end side of the connecting tube, a piston portion stored in the housing portion 31, and a reciprocating means 33 for reciprocating the piston portion, the reciprocating means 33 being stored in the housing portion 31 and including a biasing member which biases the piston portion towards the tip side, and a grippable lever portion 33b which slides the piston portion towards the base end against the biasing force of the biasing member, the lever portion 33b being provided protruding from the housing portion 31.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention relates to a manual nasal aspirator. [Background technology]

[0002] A nasal aspirator is a device used to efficiently and safely remove mucus from the nasal cavities of subjects who are unable to expel mucus on their own, such as young children and infants. Conventionally, there are manual and electric types of nasal aspirators of this kind, each of which has its own characteristics and uses. In particular, manual nasal aspirators are known to be suitable for home use because they have a simple structure, are low in manufacturing cost, and do not require a power source.

[0003] Furthermore, in conventional manual nasal aspirators, a suction nozzle is inserted into the nasal cavity of a patient and a pump unit is used to manually perform suction to remove nasal mucus. This makes it possible to ensure sufficient suction power despite the simple structure.

[0004] However, in many of the conventional technologies, the operating noise generated during suction and the shape of the suction device can make the patient feel uneasy or intimidated, and users may be required to be creative, especially when using it on young children.

[0005] Regarding the above, Patent Document 1 discloses a manual nasal aspirator equipped with a suction nozzle, a pump unit, and a connecting tube.

[0006] The invention described in this document aims to improve the operability and safety of the pump unit by providing an exhaust valve portion on the outer periphery of the pump housing and forming a valve guard convex portion protruding from the outer periphery. With this structure, we aim to provide a simple and inexpensive nasal aspirator that protects the valve while not compromising suction performance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7228297 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, the nasal aspirator described in Patent Document 1 is configured by connecting the suction nozzle and the pump unit with a connecting tube of a certain length, so the user needs to hold the suction nozzle and perform suction using the pump unit with different hands. For this reason, for example, when suctioning nasal mucus while holding an infant, the nasal aspirator described in Patent Document 1 has problems in terms of usability.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a nasal aspirator that is easy to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To achieve this objective, the present disclosure provides nasal aspirators [1]-[5].

[0011] [1] A nasal aspirator for manually aspirating nasal mucus from within the nasal cavity, a connecting tube that defines an internal space, a nozzle portion whose tip is inserted into the nasal cavity, and a pump portion that generates negative pressure in the internal space, The connecting tube has a communication passage that communicates the internal space with the external space, and a valve portion interposed in the communication passage, The nozzle portion is connected to a tip end side of the connecting tube, the pump portion includes a housing portion connected to a base end side of the connecting tube, a piston portion housed in the housing portion, and a grippable lever portion that reciprocates the piston portion, The lever portion is provided so as to protrude from the housing portion. Nasal aspirator.

[0012] [2] The lever portion is provided to extend from the housing portion toward the nozzle portion. [1] A nasal aspirator as described in the above.

[0013] [3] The nozzle portion is provided detachably with respect to the connecting tube. A nasal aspirator as described in [1] or [2].

[0014] [4] The pump unit is detachably provided to the connecting tube. A nasal aspirator according to any one of [1] to [3].

[0015] [5] The nozzle portion is covered with a lid portion attached to the connecting tube. A nasal aspirator according to any one of [1] to [4]. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, a nasal aspirator with improved usability can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the nasal aspirator according to the embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view showing a nasal aspirator according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the upper part of the nasal aspirator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the lower part of the nasal aspirator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the nasal aspirator according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the nasal aspirator according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a nasal aspirator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment shown below is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment shown below. In these drawings, the symbol X indicates the nasal aspirator according to this embodiment.

[0019] <Configuration> The configuration of the nasal aspirator X will be described below with reference to Figs. For convenience of the following description, the x-axis direction in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is the left-right direction, and the y-axis direction is the up-down direction.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the nasal aspirator X is used to manually aspirate nasal mucus from within the nasal cavity, and is equipped with a connecting tube 1 that defines an internal space S1, a nozzle portion 2 whose tip is inserted into the nasal cavity, a pump portion 3 that generates negative pressure in the internal space S1, and a lid portion 4 that covers the nozzle portion 2 and is attached to the connecting tube 1.

[0021] <<Connection tube>> As shown in Figure 3, the connecting tube 1 has a connecting tube main body 11, a communicating passage 12 that connects an internal space S1 formed at the tip side of the connecting tube main body 11 with an external space, and a valve portion 13 interposed in the communicating passage 12.

[0022] The connecting tube body 11 is an approximately cylindrical body that is generally transparent as a whole, and the tip side of the connecting tube body 11 is configured so that the diameter gradually decreases toward the tip.

[0023] The communication passage 12 includes a valve portion storage space 12a, and communication passage forming spaces 12b, 12c extending to the outside and inside of the connecting tube body 11 on either side of the valve portion storage space 12a.

[0024] The valve portion storage space 12a is a space that extends in the left-right direction and is open on one side (the right side) and closed on the other side (the left side).

[0025] The communication passage forming spaces 12b, 12c are respectively inside cylindrical bodies k1, k2 protrudingly provided on either side of the valve portion storage space 12a.

[0026] The valve portion 13 includes a valve body 13a stored in the valve portion storage space 12a, a pressing portion 13b provided on the right side of the valve body 13a, and a spring portion 13c stored in the valve portion storage space 12a while abutting against the valve body 13a.

[0027] The valve body 13a is an elastic body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and made of synthetic resin such as silicone. Further, the valve body 13a is provided on the right side with a communication hole H penetrating therethrough in the vertical direction.

[0028] The pressing portion 13b protrudes from the opening of the valve portion storage space 12a.

[0029] The spring portion 13c is a compression spring, and in a compressed state from its natural length, is disposed between the blocked right side of the valve portion storage space 12a and the valve body 13a, thereby biasing the valve body 13a toward the pressing portion 13b (opening side).

[0030] <<Nozzle section>> The nozzle portion 2 is an elastic body having a roughly conical shape, which is entirely made of a synthetic resin such as silicone, and as shown in FIG. 3, it is detachably connected to the tip side of the connecting tube 1 by pushing it into the internal flow path and into the cylindrical body k1 which constitutes the communication passage forming space 12b.

[0031] <<Pump section>> As shown in Figure 4, the pump section 3 has a housing section 31 connected to the base end side of the connecting tube 1, a piston section 32 stored in the housing section 31, and a reciprocating means 33 for reciprocating the piston section 32.

[0032] The housing portion 31 includes a first housing portion 31a having an opening on the base end side, and a second housing portion 31b that covers the opening of the first housing portion 31a and is connected to the first housing portion 31a.

[0033] The first housing portion 31a is composed of a large diameter portion m1 that defines an internal space S2, a medium diameter portion m2 that is connected to the tip of the large diameter portion m1 and has a smaller diameter than the large diameter portion m1, and a small diameter portion m3 that is provided inside the medium diameter portion m2. The large diameter portion m1, the medium diameter portion m2, and the small diameter portion m3 are each configured as a substantially cylindrical body, and are arranged coaxially.

[0034] A substantially arc-shaped support arm n protrudes from the side surface of the large diameter portion m1 and supports the lever portion 33b described later. A pair of engagement holes j (see Figures 1 and 2) are provided at the base end side of the support arm n to which the second housing portion 31b is connected.

[0035] The medium diameter portion m2 is provided on its outer circumferential surface with a ring-shaped sealing member g1 that abuts against the inner circumferential surface of the connecting tube 1 to ensure airtightness of the internal space S1. The medium diameter portion m2 is a cylindrical body with a bottom, and together with the small diameter portion m3, forms a double cylinder structure.

[0036] A cylindrical sealing member g2 is inserted into the small diameter portion m3 to ensure airtightness between the internal space S1 and the internal space S2, and a suction tube t is inserted into this sealing member g2.

[0037] The second housing portion 31b is provided at its tip side with a pair of engaging claws (not shown) that engage with each engaging hole j, and on its inner surface is provided along the circumferential direction with a plurality of protrusions r that impart a spring force to the biasing member 33a (described later) by pushing the biasing member 33a toward the tip side. Further, a part of the side surface of the second housing part 31b is cut away so that the lever part 33b can protrude from the internal space S2 of the housing part 31.

[0038] The piston portion 32 is entirely housed in the large diameter portion m1, and includes a substantially disk-shaped piston portion main body 32a, and a rod 32b protruding from the base end side surface of the piston portion main body 32a.

[0039] An annular sealing member g3 for improving the airtightness of the internal space S2 is provided on the outer surface of the piston body 32a. In order to improve the slidability of the piston body 32a, a lubricant such as grease may be appropriately applied between the outer surface of the piston body 32a and the inner circumferential surface of the large diameter portion m1.

[0040] The rod 32b is configured in a substantially T-shape, and one end of the lever portion 33b is engaged with the base end portion of the rod 32b.

[0041] The reciprocating means 33 includes a biasing member 33a that is stored in the large diameter portion m1 and biases the piston portion 32 toward the tip end, and a graspable lever portion 33b that slides the piston portion 32 toward the base end against the biasing force of the biasing member 33a.

[0042] The biasing member 33a is a compression spring, and is stored in the housing part 31 in a state in which a predetermined spring force is stored by being pressed by the protrusion r of the second housing part 31b.

[0043] The lever portion 33b is generally configured to be curved in a substantially J-shape as a whole. Furthermore, the end of the portion of lever portion 33b that is stored in housing portion 31 has a curved shape that can be engaged with the base end portion of rod 32b.

[0044] Furthermore, the portion of lever portion 33b that is not stored in housing portion 31 (the portion protruding from the cut-out portion of second housing portion 31b) is provided extending from housing portion 31 toward nozzle portion 2 (tip side). Furthermore, this part extends diagonally upward from the cut-out portion of the second housing portion 31b and is curved slightly inward, so that it fits comfortably in the user's hand and allows the piston portion 32 to slide smoothly when the lever portion 33b is operated.

[0045] <<Lid part>> The lid portion 4 is a cylindrical body with a bottom, the entirety of which is substantially transparent. Further, a side surface of the cover portion 4 is provided with an elongated slit s formed by cutting away a predetermined length from the open end so that the pressing portion 13b does not interfere when the cover portion 4 is attached to the connection tube 1.

[0046] <<Other>> Here, the internal space S1 communicates with the internal space S2 via the suction tube t, while a certain level of airtightness between the internal space S1 and the internal space S2 is ensured by the sealing member g2. Moreover, the internal spaces S1 and S2 are semi-sealed with a certain degree of airtightness from the external space by the sealing members g1, g3 and the valve body 13a interposed in the communication passage 12.

[0047] <Operation mode> Hereinafter, the operation of the nasal aspirator X having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to Figs.

[0048] First, the user removes the cover portion 4, then holds the entire nasal aspirator X in one hand and inserts the tip side of the nozzle portion 2 into the nasal cavity of the user or an infant.

[0049] Next, the user generates a negative pressure in the internal space S1 using the pump unit 3, as shown in FIG. In more detail, the user grips the nasal aspirator X with the hand and rotates the lever portion 33b around the end of the support arm n as an axis, thereby sliding the piston portion 32 toward the base end against the biasing force of the biasing member 33a.

[0050] As a result, the air in the internal space S1 is sucked in through the suction tube t by the above-mentioned gripping action, generating a negative pressure in the internal space S1. When the user releases the grip, the piston portion 32 slides toward the tip side due to the biasing force of the biasing member 33a, and in conjunction with this, the lever portion 33b rotates about the end of the support arm n as an axis and returns to its initial position.

[0051] Here, the user can perform the reciprocating movement of the piston portion 32 by gripping and releasing the grip as described above once or multiple times, and the magnitude of the negative pressure changes depending on the number of piston movements, making it possible to vary the suction force described below.

[0052] Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the user presses the pressing portion 13b against the biasing force of the spring portion 13c with the fingers of the hand holding the nasal aspirator X, thereby sliding the valve body 13a within the valve storage space 12a, thereby connecting the communication hole H to the communication passage forming spaces 12b, 12c.

[0053] As a result, the internal space S1 changes from a semi-sealed state in which it maintained a certain level of airtightness with the external space to a state in which it is completely connected to the external space, the negative pressure in the internal space S1 is eliminated, and a suction force is generated through the nozzle portion 2. This suction force causes the mucus in the nasal cavity to be sucked into the nozzle portion 2 .

[0054] When the user removes the pressure on the pressing portion 13b, the valve body 13a returns to its initial position due to the biasing force of the spring portion 13c, and the internal spaces S1 and S2 are again put into a semi-closed state.

[0055] <Effects> The nasal aspirator X in this embodiment is configured with a connecting tube 1 at the center, a nozzle portion 2 connected to the tip end, and a pump portion 3 connected to the base end, and a graspable lever portion 33b that reciprocates the piston portion 32 is provided protruding from the housing portion 31. This allows the user to hold the entire nasal aspirator X in one hand and operate the lever portion 33b with this hand, improving usability.

[0056] Furthermore, by providing lever portion 33b extending from housing portion 31 towards nozzle portion 2, lever portion 33b can be operated by a gripping motion, further improving usability.

[0057] Furthermore, since the nozzle portion 2 is detachably attached to the connecting tube 1, even if a runny nose accumulates in the nozzle portion 2 due to repeated use, the inside of the nozzle portion 2 can be easily cleaned.

[0058] Furthermore, since the pump portion 3 is provided detachably with respect to the connecting tube 1, the inside of the connecting tube 1 can be easily washed even if snot enters the internal space S1.

[0059] Furthermore, the cover portion 4 makes it possible to maintain the nozzle portion 2 in a good sanitary state when not in use.

[0060] The shapes and dimensions of the components shown in the above-described embodiment are merely examples and can be modified in various ways based on design requirements, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] X Nasal Aspirator 1 Connection tube 11 Connection tube body 12 Communication path 13 Valve section 2 Nozzle part 2 3. Pump section 31 Case 32 Piston section 33 Reciprocating means 4 Lid S1, S2 interior space

Claims

1. A nasal aspirator for manually aspirating nasal mucus from within the nasal cavity, a connecting tube that defines an internal space, a nozzle portion whose tip is inserted into the nasal cavity, and a pump portion that generates negative pressure in the internal space, The connecting tube has a communication passage that communicates the internal space with the external space, and a valve portion interposed in the communication passage, The nozzle portion is connected to a tip end side of the connecting tube, the pump portion includes a housing portion connected to a base end side of the connecting tube, a piston portion housed in the housing portion, and a reciprocating means for reciprocating the piston portion, the reciprocating means includes a biasing member that is stored in the housing and biases the piston portion toward a tip end side, and a graspable lever portion that slides the piston portion toward a base end side against the biasing force of the biasing member, The lever portion is provided so as to protrude from the housing portion. Nasal aspirator.

2. The lever portion is provided to extend from the housing portion toward the nozzle portion. The nasal aspirator according to claim 1.

3. The nozzle portion is detachably provided to the connecting tube. The nasal aspirator according to claim 1.

4. The pump unit is detachably provided to the connecting tube. The nasal aspirator according to claim 1.

5. The nozzle portion is covered with a lid portion attached to the connecting tube. The nasal aspirator according to claim 1.

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