Male condom

A male condom having a flexible sheath to receive the glans of the penis and a wide elastomeric belt to lie around and grip the penis immediately behind the glans. A part of the penis behind the belt is left bare while on the other hand one or two elements connect the elastomeric belt to another belt intended to lie around the base of the penis.

The invention relates to a male condom.
 The known male condom comprises a flexible sheath which is rolled onto the
 penis to cover the entire length of the penis to the base thereof. One
 reason why men may not be willing to use the known male condom is that it
 reduces the sensation that they feel during sexual intercourse. In
 particular, the condom reduces or eliminates the sense of touch on the
 surface of the penis.
 According to the invention there is provided a male condom comprising a
 flexible resilient sheath to receive the glans of the penis and a wide
 elastomeric belt to lie around and grip the penis immediately behind the
 glans leaving the majority of that length of penis which is behind the
 glans bare.
 A man wearing the condom according to the invention will thus have
 heightened sensation during intercourse compared with the known condom as
 all or the majority of the shaft of the penis is bare. At the same time,
 the wide elastomeric belt gripping the penis behind the glans will ensure
 that sperm do not escape backwards past the belt so that the contraceptive
 and prophylactic qualities of the condom according to the invention are
 the equal of the known condom. The condom of the invention is designed by
 the resilience of the sheath and the grip of the belt, such that it cannot
 be pulled off an erect penis. The grip of the belt is preferably such as
 to prevent gas or liquid entry to the sheath in use. Thus any force on the
 sheath to remove the condom will stretch the resilient sheath thus
 increasing the vacuum within the sheath and hence increasing the opposing
 force acting to keep the condom on. The inherent reaction force acting to
 keep the condom on makes it very safe. The belt preferably smoothly tapers
 to its rear edge. This also reduces any force acting to pull the condom
 off.
 The belt is preferably so stiff that it cannot be rolled in use. This also
 reduces the possibility of removal of the condom. The belt may be arranged
 to be manually reversed by a user when putting on the condom. This method
 is similar to the unrolling method of the known condom.
 The belt may be of any suitable width and may be less than 60 mm wide,
 preferably less than 25 mm wide and most preferably less than 12 mm wide.
 Clearly a balance is to be struck between the elastic force of the belt,
 in acting effectively to prevent semen passing through the belt, and its
 width. While a narrow belt is desirable from the point of view of
 sensation as more of the penis is bare, the comfort of the user must also
 be considered and the increased elastic strength of the belt may make the
 condom less comfortable to wear. A compromise should be adopted.
 The wide elastomeric belt may be arranged to be in direct contact with the
 skin of the penis, but alternatively at least part of the axial length of
 the belt is lined with absorbent material. The absorbent material may take
 any suitable form and may be for example neoprene. The absorbent material
 preferably contains a contraceptive or prophylactic substance such as
 spermicide and may also contain a substance with a pleasant fragrance.
 The belt is preferably shaped at its forward end to the shape of the
 coronal sulcus. Thus the forward edge of the belt is preferably smoothly
 curved forward to the underside of the condom to a rounded point. This
 gives a very good fit around the narrowest part of the penis to prevent
 semen from passing back beyond the belt. The rear edge of the belt may be
 in a simple circle so that the belt is wider on the underside of the
 condom than on the top. A restriction is preferably provided at the
 forward edge of the belt to further improve the fit and to increase the
 elastic force in that region.
 Preferably, the condom is arranged such that the underside of the penis can
 be left bare in use.
 The condom in one embodiment leaves the part of the shaft of the penis
 behind the wide belt entirely bare. In another embodiment the condom
 includes a further belt to lie around the base of the penis in use and at
 least one element connecting the two belts. This provides additional
 security against the condom being pulled off. The or each element may take
 any suitable form and may taper from each belt to a central region of the
 element. In one embodiment the condom includes a single element and in
 another embodiment the condom includes two oppositely disposed elements.
 The part of the condom which is in contact with the shaft of the penis may
 include forwardly and inwardly directed projections. These will act to
 resist pulling off of the condom as well as producing a tighter elastic
 force if the condom should move forwards. The projections are preferably
 in the form of at least one circumferential band. The projections are
 preferably in the form of at least one circumferential band so as to form
 a barrier in addition to providing the other functions described.
 The part of the condom which is in contact with the shaft of the penis may
 additionally or alternatively include suckers to hold the condom onto the
 penis. As these will inevitably leave a fluid flow path around themselves,
 means to provide a fluid tight seal will need to be provided behind them.
 The condom may include a teat which may be resilient to resist collapse.
 Thus, the wall of the condom teat may be thicker than the wall of the part
 of the condom which is arranged to receive the glans of the penis. In this
 way, the condom will resist the tendency for collapse of the teat to drive
 semen ejaculated into the condom back towards the elastomeric belt.

The condom 10 of the first embodiment comprises a wide elastomeric belt 12,
 a bulb part 14 to receive the glans of a male penis and a teat 16.
 The condom 10 is formed integrally of elastomeric material. The belt 12 is
 in the form of a cylindrical tube of uniform wall thickness except at the
 rear edge 18 which is tapered inwardly. The wall thickness of the bulb 14
 is thinner, being similar in wall thickness to the wall thickness of the
 known condom, so that the bulb 14 is highly flexible. There is a smooth
 transition in the outer wall from the belt 12 to the bulb 14. The bulb 14
 leads to the teat 16 at the front of the condom where the wall thickness
 increases again although not to the same thickness as the wide belt 12.
 Although the teat 16 is of thicker material than the belt 14, the teat 16
 is still flexible, like the bulb 14, but is more resilient to resist
 collapse. The teat 16 is also larger than on the known condom.
 The condom 10 is supplied with the belt 12 folded forwards over the bulb 14
 which is itself scrolled inside out. The bulb 14 can thus be rolled onto
 the end of the penis in the normal way. While the belt 12 is too thick to
 roll, it can be flipped back onto the shaft of the penis, as shown in
 dotted lines in FIG. 1, to lie immediately behind the glans as shown in
 FIG. 2. This leaves the majority of the penis behind the glans bare to
 allow greater sensation during sexual intercourse. On ejaculation the
 semen will collect in the teat 16. The increased resilience of the teat 16
 will reduce back pressure which otherwise causes semen to be urged back
 through the bulb 14 towards the wide belt 12. The enlarged size of the
 teat 16 also reduces this back pressure. The resilience of the thick belt
 12 gripping the shaft of the penis also acts to prevent sperm from
 reaching the rear edge 18 of the condom 10.
 The smooth transition in the outer surface of the condom between the teat
 16, bulb 14 and belt 12 ensures that there are no raised shoulders which
 could act either to pull off the condom 10 or to push the condom 10
 further onto the penis thus reducing the size of the teat 16 and
 increasing back pressure. Similarly, the tapered rear edge 18 acts to
 reduce any force tending to pull off the condom. Any force to pull off the
 condom will be resisted by stretching of the bulb 14 to cause a pressure
 decrease in the bulb 14 acting to resist stretching and hence to keep the
 condom 10 on.
 The belt 12 may be 0.5 inch i.e. 12.7 mm long.
 FIG. 3 shows the second embodiment which is similar to the first and the
 same reference numerals will be used for equivalent features. The wide
 belt 12 is no longer of increased wall thickness but instead has fitted
 within it a cylindrical tube of resilient absorbent material 20 such as
 neoprene. The resilient absorbent material 20 may contain contraceptive
 and/or prophylactic substances such as a known spermicide and may also
 contain a fragment substance to give the condom a pleasant odour and mask
 any rubbery odour which it may naturally have. The absorbent resilient
 material 20 acts as a physical barrier to semen as well as containing
 substances to act as a chemical barrier to sperm reaching the rear edge 18
 of the condom 10.
 FIGS. 4 and 6 show the third embodiment which is again similar to the first
 embodiment and only the differences from the first embodiment will be
 described.
 In the third embodiment a condom as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided with
 an element 24 extending rearwardly from the rear edge 18 of the condom 10.
 The element 24 extends from a region of about half the circumference of
 the rear edge 18 and tapers smoothly to a central region from which it
 widens symmetrically and is connected to a narrow belt 26. The belt 26 and
 element 24 are formed integrally with the rest of the condom 10.
 In use, it is intended that the second belt 26 should lie around the base
 of the penis, as shown in FIG. 6, as an additional measure to ensure that
 the condom 10 is not pulled off. It is intended that the element 24 should
 lie along the top of the penis, as the underside of the shaft of the penis
 is the most sensitive part of the shaft.
 In an alternative embodiment, two elements 24 are provided in oppositely
 disposed positions as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5. In this case it is
 intended that the condom should be worn with the elements extending one
 down each side of the shaft of the penis so that the underside of the
 penis is still exposed.
 Clearly, in a further variant, one or more elements 24 could be connected
 to the condom of the second embodiment in the same manner, if desired.
 While in the embodiments the teat 16 is given additional resilience in
 comparison with the bulb 14 by increasing the wall thickness, the teat 16
 could have the same wall thickness as the bulb 14 for ease of manufacture
 and its resilience could be increased by an additional treatment such as
 heat treatment or chemical treatment.
 An inwards bead may be provided around the inner edge of the belt 12 to
 increase grip at that position.
 FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 show the fourth embodiment which is similar to the
 first embodiment. FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show a penis 28. The wide belt 12 of
 the first embodiment was in the form of a cylindrical tube. The wide belt
 12 of the fourth embodiment is the same as its rear edge, but at the front
 edge 32 it is contoured to fit closely into the coronal sulcus 30 of the
 penis. From the upper side of the condom, the front edge 32 of the wide
 belt 12 curves smoothly forwards to terminate in a blunt point 34. This
 provides a much better fit to assist the contraceptive and prophylactic
 function of the condom, as well as making the condom more comfortable. The
 condom includes an inwards projection 36 at the front edge 32 of the wide
 belt 12 to provide an especially tight fit in the coronal sulcus. This has
 a number of functions and advantages. Firstly, it increases the fluid
 tightness of the condom at that area. It should be pointed out that while
 the wide belt is sculpted inwards to follow the tapering shape of the
 shaft of the penis into the coronal sulcus, the bead 36 provides even
 greater elastic force in this area. The blood supply to the penis lies
 towards the centre of the penis, while blood flowing away from the penis
 is carried in veins on the surface. This bead 36, together with the
 elastic belt 12 itself, will act to reduce blood flow away from the penis
 so that greater swelling of the glans results. This acts to deepen the
 crevice which is the coronal sulcus providing a more tortuous path for any
 semen and increasing the fluid tightness of the condom. Semen passes
 through the penis through a duct on the underside. The restriction of the
 bead 36 may be so tight as to reduce the flow of semen which will improve
 the contraceptive effectiveness of the condom. The inner surface of the
 wide belt 12 may be smooth, but alternatively may be roughened to provide
 frictional resistance to the condom being pulled off. In an alternative
 embodiment, the inner surface of the wide belt 12 may be coated with an
 adhesive, which may have a cover sheet. The adhesive will bind the condom
 to the penis to resist removal of the condom.
 FIG. 13 shows a further embodiment which is similar to the fifth embodiment
 and in which an additional section to the rear of the wide belt 12
 includes two spaced tightness bands 28 of reduced diameter. These will
 provide a further barrier to escape of semen.
 In the seventh embodiment, shown in FIG. 14, the inner surface of the wide
 belt 12 is covered with a regular array of suckers 40. These will again
 help to hold the condom onto the penis. The diameter of the wide belt 12
 is reduced at 42 behind the array of suckers 40. Thus, any semen which
 passes by the bead 36 and between the suckers 40 will be held within the
 condom.
 FIG. 15 shows yet another embodiment in which the inner surface of the wide
 belt 12 is provided with inwardly and forwardly directed circumferential
 ribs 44. The ribs 44 are resilient. If semen should reach the ribs 44. It
 will be directed behind the ribs which will reduce the chance of escape.
 Furthermore, if there is any force to pull the condom off the penis, the
 ribs 44 will act to resist that and in addition will straighten to
 increase the elastic force exerted by the ribs 44.
 A number of different features are disclosed which may be used as described
 or in other combinations. For example adhesive may be used with the
 suckers in the seventh embodiment. Indeed the features of the last three
 embodiments may all be combined. In particular the feature of the use of a
 body of absorbent material 20 containing spermicide and/or prophylactic
 substances as in the second embodiment may be incorporated into any of the
 other embodiments.
 The condom may be made of the conventional latex material or may be made
 out of any other known condom material such as the new polyurethane
 material which is very strong and can therefore be made very thin for
 enhanced sensation.