Ergonomic condom

An elastomeric condom that covers the entire male genitalia. An elastomeric scrotal pouch is integrally molded with an elastomeric closed end tubular member. The tubular portion and the pouch are joined at a constriction band that runs at an oblique angle instead of being transverse to the axis of the tubular portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The use of condoms as a means of preventing the incidence and spread of 
sexually transmitted diseases (STD) has increased significantly in recent 
years. This is particularly important in view of the appearance of 
antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic organisms responsible for 
diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea, and especially in view of the 
incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), for which there is 
still no cure. 
Disclosures by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and reports at the 
International AIDS Conferences have focused international attention on the 
proliferation of AIDS in the general population. The diseases with which 
AIDS has been or is suspected to be linked include Pneumocystitis carinii 
pneumonia, Kaposi's sarcoma, esophageal or bronchopulmonary candidiasis, 
extrapulmonary cryptococcus, cytomegalovirus internal organ infection, 
disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex or M. kansasii infection, chronic 
herpes simplex ulceration, chronic cryptosporidiosis enteritis, 
toxoplasmosis of the brain, high-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 
disseminated histoplasmosis, chronic isosporiasis enteritis, and lymphoid 
interstitial pneumonia in children. 
Since condoms afford a safe, low cost and generally reliable means of 
containing the spread of STD's, the demand for condoms is increasing both 
in developed and developing countries. A major drawback of standard 
sheath-like condoms is their inability to provide an impermeable barrier 
for areas of the skin other than the shaft of the penis that come into 
contact during sexual intercourse. In particular, conventional condoms do 
not protect the skin of the scrotum. The art discloses several condoms 
that also enclose the scrotum. Protecting the scrotum with a condom poses 
difficult problems of comfort and reliability. It is inherently difficult 
to pull on a condom over the scrotum and also difficult to keep the condom 
snugly on the scrotum during sexual intercourse without causing the user 
needless discomfort or even pain. A common shortcoming of the scrotal 
protection condoms of the prior art is that the scrotal protection pouch 
is coaxial with the rest of the condom, meaning that the area of the 
condom material that is superior of the scrotal protection pouch bunches 
up after the condom is pulled on by the user. See, in particular, U.S. 
Pat. No. 5,318,042, issued Jun. 7, 1994. The disclosure of that patent 
suggests that the bunching up that is experienced after pulling on that 
condom will provide increased pleasure for the female partner during 
intercourse, but that statement appears dubious at best. Other condom 
designs have included a constricted band portion close to the comdoms's 
distal end (generally, the open end) that helps keep the condom on snugly 
in place during use. The designs of the prior art show such constricted 
bands at a perpendicular or transverse angle relative to the axis of the 
tubular portion of the condom. Use of such a constriction band with a 
scrotal protection condom would only exacerbate the bunching up problem 
described above. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a condom that provides 
added protection for the scrotum of the wearer from sexually transmitted 
diseases, and is constructed ergonomically to more closely approximate the 
true shape of the external male genitalia during sexual activity. It is 
another object of the present invention to provide such a condom that does 
not bunch up in the area superior of the scrotal pouch. It is another 
object of the present invention to provide for an additional constriction 
band to help ensure a snug effective fit of the condom during use. These 
and other objects of the invention will become clearer by reference to the 
following written description and accompanying illustrations. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In brief summary, the invention is an elastomeric condom, comprising a 
closed distal end portion to cover the glans of the penis; a non-axial 
hollow tubular portion to cover the shaft of the penis, integrally 
continuous from the closed distal portion, having an inner surface and an 
outer surface, and having an open proximal end, a scrotal pouch to cover 
the scrotum that is non-axial with the tubular portion, integrally 
continuous with the hollow tubular portion by an annular constricted band 
portion that is of lesser diameter than the tubular portion, the 
constricted band portion joining the tubular portion to the scrotal pouch 
at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the median axis of the tubular 
portion; and a formed constricted band portion that terminates the scrotal 
pouch and that is non-axial with the tubular portion, the band being of 
lesser diameter than the scrotal pouch. The annular constricted band that 
joins the tubular portion to the scrotal pouch comprises a ring of 
constricted elastomeric material that, when the condom is in place on the 
male genitalia, circumferentially covers the area that the scrotum is 
joined to the underside of the penis, the lateral areas that the scrotum 
is joined to the penis, and the area that the abdominal wall superiorly 
joins the penis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS AND BEST MODE OF THE 
INVENTION 
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is seen in side view the condom of the 
invention in use by a wearer. Condom 13 is fitted over the male external 
genitalia, shown comprising the glans 17, the penis shaft 15, and the 
scrotum 25, also shown superficially bisected by raphae 29. Condom 13 has 
several constituent structural components. In a preferred embodiment of 
the invention, at the proximal end covering glans 17 is a teat 19 that is 
designed to collect and contain ejaculated semen to prevent its 
transmission to a partner during intercourse. The teat 19 is continuously 
and integrally an extension of the tubular portion of condom 13. The 
volume of teat 19 should be approximately in the range of from 3 to 10 
cubic centimeters. 
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, covering the inferior 
surface of the penis, there is an elongated hollow cavity 21 that is 
designed to more closely conform to the shape of the erect penis. The 
penis is attached to the front and sides of the pubic arch. In the flaccid 
condition it is cylindrical in shape, but when erect assumes the form of a 
triangular prism with rounded angles, one side of the prism forming the 
dorsum. It is composed of three cylindrical masses of cavernous tissue 
bound together by fibrous tissue and covered with skin. Two of the masses 
are lateral, and are known as the corpora cavernosa penis. The third is 
median, and is termed the corpus spongiosum penis, which contains the 
greater part of the urethra. The cavity 21 accounts for the contour formed 
by the corpus spongiosum during sexual activity, and thus adds better fit 
and more comfort. 
In the most preferred embodiment of the invention, a constricted band 23 is 
formed in the elastomer material of the condom, which band has reduced 
diameter relative to the diameter of the tubular portion 13. Band 23 is 
not coaxial with tubular portion 13, nor does band 23 form a transverse 
plane with the axis of tubular portion 13. Instead, band 23 can be seen to 
form a circumferential annular constriction that runs from the area where 
the scrotum 25 joins the underside of the penis 15, and circumferentially 
continues along both lateral sides that the scrotum joins the penis, up to 
the area where the abdominal wall 11 joins the penis, thereby overall 
forming a band that in side view is at a substantially greater angle than 
a prior art constriction band that is essentially transverse to the axis 
of the tubular portion of the condom. This difference is further 
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, which compare and contrast the difference in 
the angles of the constriction bands between the invention and the prior 
art. In the prior art, constriction band 22 is virtually transverse to the 
axis of the condom, forming an area 24 that will bunch up when the condom 
is pulled on by the user, since such an area does not exist ergonomically 
in the male external genitalia during sexual activity. 
Scrotal pouch 27 is seen to cover scrotum 25. Scrotal pouch 25 is 
continuous and integral with tubular portion 13, being connected by 
constriction band 23. Scrotal pouch 27 covers the scrotum over to the area 
of attachment of the scrotum to the junction of the genitocrural region 
and the anterior region of the perineum on the lateral and inferior sides 
of the penis, and to where the abdominal wall 11 joins the superior side 
of the penis, being secured by band 31. Band 31 is most preferably a 
toroidal band, being formed by the rolling up of a predetermined length of 
the elastomer material chosen for the condom. The toroidal ring enables a 
user to pull on the ring, which aids in putting on the condom. 
In use, the condom of the invention is removed from its protective 
packaging, and pulled over the external genitalia, tucking the scrotum 
into the pouch and securely pulling the band 31 around the penis and 
scrotum as shown in FIG. 1. The condoms of the invention may e provided a 
several sizes such as small, medium and large. 
As used herein, the term "elastomeric" in reference to thermoplastic 
materials useful for forming condom articles in accordance with the 
present invention means a material which subsequent to elongation thereof 
under an applied tensional force, regains at least a significant portion 
of its original dimensional characteristics when the applied tensional 
force is released. Suitable elastomeric materials for use in making 
condoms of the present invention include polyurethane materials, as for 
example the polyester-based polyurethane material commercially available 
from Mobay Corporation, Pittsburgh, Penn., under the trademark Texin.RTM.; 
polyester elastomers, such as the block copolymers of polybutylene 
terephthalate and long chain polyether glycol, which are available 
commercially from E.L Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del. 
under the trademark Hytrel.RTM.; polyether block amides such as those 
commercially available from Atochem, Inc, Glennrock, N.J., under the 
trademark Pebax; multiblock rubber based copolymers, particularly those in 
which the rubber block component is based on butadiene, isoprene or 
thylene/butylene, such as the multiblock rubber based copolymers 
commercially available from Shell Chemical Company, Houston, Tex., under 
the trademark Kraton.RTM.; ethylene octene copolymers such as those 
commercially available from the Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich. under 
the trademark Attane.RTM.s; as well as any other suitable homopolymers and 
copolymers and mixtures thereof. 
Polyester based polyurethanes, and multiblock rubber-based copolymers are 
most particularly preferred. 
The composition of multiblock rubber based copolymers employed as materials 
of construction for the condom articles of the present invention may be 
varied widely, it being understood that the non rubber repeating units of 
the copolymer may be derived from any suitable monomers, as for example, 
methacrylate esters, such as methyl methacrylate, cyclohexylmethacrylate, 
vinyl arylenes, such as styrene, and so forth. 
The most preferred multiblock rubber-based copolymers are those having an 
A-B-A structure comprising polystyrene endblocks and an elastomeric 
midblock 
In general, the non-rubber blocks in the multiblock rubber-based copolymer 
preferably are derived from monomers which are none-elastomeric in 
character, so that "soft" rubber blocks and "hard" none-elastomeric blocks 
are provided in the multiblock copolymer. Such hard blocks may suitably be 
derived from monomers having a glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) of 
at least about 50.degree. C., with styrene being generally preferred. The 
rubber block of such multiblock copolymers may be formed of repeating 
units derived from synthetic rubbers such as butadiene, isoprene, 
ethylene/butylene, etc., with butadiene and ethylene/butylene elastomeric 
blocks generally being preferred. 
In the general use of a multiblock rubber based copolymer as the material 
of construction for the condom article of the present invention, the 
copolymer material preferably is characterized by the following physical 
properties: a Shore A hardness of from about 25 to about 100; a tensile 
strength of from about 500 to about 4500: a 300% modulus of from about 120 
to about 1,000 psi; and an ultimate elongation of from about 200 to about 
1400%. 
With reference to the use of polyurethanes as materials of construction for 
the condom of the present invention, preferred material characteristics 
include: a specific gravity of from about 1.1 to about 1.25, a Shore A 
hardness from about 80 to about 95, a break tensile stress from about 4500 
to about 6,000 psi; a tensile stress at 50% elongation of from about 720 
to about 2400 psi, an ultimate elongation of from about 450% to about 
600%, a flexural modulus of from about 4,000 to about 37,000 psi, and a 
tear strength of from about 500 to about 1,000 psi. 
A condom of the present invention can be manufactured by several 
non-limiting processes. As a first example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,156, 
issued Mar. 18, 1986 to Namfred F. Dyke discloses a condom formed of a 
thermoplastic polyurethane material, having a generally cylindrical 
configuration with an open proximal end and a closed distal end. That 
condom has a thickness of from about 0.001 millimeters, or less, to about 
0.25 millimeters. The thermoplastic polyurethane employed to form the 
condom is disclosed as having an average Shore A hardness of from about 50 
to about 90, a tensile stress at 10% of elongation, between about 300 and 
1,000 psi, and a tensile stress, at 300% elongation, between about 800 and 
3,000 psi. Suitable thermoplastic polyurethane compounds for manufacturing 
the condom include polyether or polyester based urethane elastomers. A 
film of the polyurethane material in a 6 inch square is heated to a 
temperature high enough to soften the polymer but low enough to avoid 
chemical degradation, preferably in a clamping frame, and at a temperature 
of about 400 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated film then is brought 
into contact with a preformed mandril to cause the film to assume the 
shape of the mandril, preferably with application of a vacuum to the 
system in order to bring about uniformity in wall thickness. Thus, for 
example, an extruded film of Pellethane.RTM. X5036-80AA polyurethane (the 
Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, Mich.) is clamped on a clamping frame and 
heated at 460 degrees Fahrenheit for 180 to 200 seconds, following which 
vacuum is drawn on the film and the mandril moved downward into the film. 
Vacuum is shut off as the mandril moves into the film, then is applied at 
the base of the mandril after it has moved down into the film completely, 
such vacuum causing the film to pull down tightly and assume the shape of 
the mandril. After 30 to 100 seconds of vacuum forming in this manner, the 
vacuum is released, excess material at the base is cut off, and the film 
is pulled off the mandril and then is dusted with powder 
As another example, European patent application 0 147 072 published Jul. 3, 
1985, discloses a process for making a polyurethane condom with a uniform 
thickness of from about 1.5 to about 4 mils. A heat cured polyurethane 
prepolymer solvent solution is employed into which a mold is dipped and 
withdrawn for heat curing on the mold, The polyurethane prepolymer which 
is employed in the dipping medium is a prepolymer which is the reaction 
product of a polyisocyanate with at least one long chain polyol. The 
condom mold may be dipped into and withdrawn from the polyurethane 
solution at a rate of about 16 to about 90 centimeters per minute. The 
dwell time of the condom form in the polyurethane prepolymer solution is 
on the order of from about 20 to about 70 seconds. After withdrawal of the 
dipped mold, the polyurethane film deposited on the dipped form is air 
dried and then cured at elevated temperature of about 130 to 175 degrees 
Centigrade for about 20 to about 40 minutes. The polyol is amorphous at 
room temperature, has an average molecular weight of from about 500 to 
about 5,000, a hydroxy number of from 25 to about 22.4, and a NCO/OH ratio 
of from about 0.95:1 to 1.1:1. 
Those of ordinary skill in the art of molded elastomeric condom 
manufacturing will readily be able to apply any of these methods or 
variations thereof to the manufacture of the condom of the invention, once 
the mandril, form or mold necessary to achieve the desired ergonomic shape 
has been fabricated. 
While the invention has been described with reference to particular 
examples and embodiments, it will be apparent that numerous variations, 
alternatives, and modifications are possible, and accordingly all such 
variations, alternatives, and modifications are to be regarded as being 
within the spirit and scope of the present invention.