Patent ID: 7879016
Filing Date: 2011-02-01
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A drainable ostomy pouch having sidewalls of flexible sheet material which define a cavity for receiving body waste material and which in an open condition of the pouch define a downwardly extending neck portion terminating in a discharge opening that can be moved to a closed condition of the pouch for use in receiving body waste material in the cavity by folding the neck portion upwardly and can later be moved to an open condition of the pouch for draining body waste material from the cavity by unfolding the neck portion downwardly; wherein the improvement comprises a transversely-extending bias member integrally associated with each of the sidewalls adjacent the discharge opening in an open condition of the pouch such that the bias members are separated by the sidewalls in back-to-back relation; the bias members normally being flat so as to be straight and parallel to maintain the sidewalls in a closed condition but being moveable so as to be bowed away from each other and to have smoothly arched curvatures under inwardly directed finger pressure applied to opposite ends of the bias members to move the sidewalls to an open condition and hold the discharge opening in an open position; the bias members comprising stiff but flexible, springlike shape-recoverable strips permitting selective control of the rate of discharge of body waste material from the cavity in an open condition of the pouch by applying varying finger pressure to opposite ends thereof to thereby vary the smoothly arched curvatures of the strips.