EAR AND NOSE HYGIENE DEVICE

Abstract: A personal hygiene device (1) adapted for insertion into the ear canal or the nostrils, e.g. to remove exudate, being an oar-like device having a stem (2) and one or two broad end bodies (3), each at an end of said stem, said body having a rim portion (5) and one or more exudate engaging members (7) integral with and surrounded by said rim.

Description: EAR AND NOSE HYGIENE DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a personal hygiene device. More specifically it concerns a device for cleaning the ear canal and/or for cleanin Όs, the nostrils. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cleaning of ear wax or scratching the ear canal in response to itching may be performed by "improvise" implements such as toothpicks, soiled handkerchiefs, etc., or by means of a cotton swab. The use of improvised implements may be damaging and further may result in a driving of accumulated wax further down the ear canal. Use of a swab may result in an undesirable drying of the ear canal. Cleaning of nostrils, particularly of infants, is necessary at times to allow free breathing. It may be achieved by similar devices, or with similar associated problems. In addition, in the case of infants, it is important to ensure free breathing also while cleaning. Various types of such cleaning devices are known. U.S. Patent No. 147,660 teaches the use of an ear cleaner consisting of a handle made of a twisted wire, furnished at one or both ends with a loop for the attachment of a swab, with or without a spoon at the opposite side of the cleaner. U.S. Patent No. 2,096,162 discloses an implement for cleaning the nostrils which is comprised of a stem and an end portion in the form of a clover leaf. German Patent DE-3, 633,585 describes a device which is comprised of a shaft of flexible material attached to a knob. The shaft has a helical ridge extending over its whole length and terminating in a flat surface. U.S. Patent 3,203,418 discloses an ear swab having a disposable swab member securely attached thereon which can be replaced by selectively removing it therefrom. U.S. Patent 5,334,212 discloses an apparatus which comprises a loop curette to extract wax from the ear and a safety stopper having a slit and central resting hole to control the insertion depth of the loop curette. These known devices and others, although allowing some degree of cleaning of the ear canal or the nostrils do not perform sufficiently well, i.e. effective cleaning on the one hand, and performing this art in order to avoid hurting the ear canal and the tympanic membrane during ear cleaning or hurting the delicate membranes on the inner surface of the nostril. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which can be used efficiently for cleaning and/or scratching of the ear or the nostrils. Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. In the following description the term "exudate" will be used to denote both ear wax and nasal mucus. The present invention provides a personal hygiene device adapted for insertion into the ear canal or the nostrils, e.g. to remove exudate, being an oar-like device having a stem and one or two broad end bodies, each at an end of said stem, said body having a rim portion and one or more exudate engaging members integral with and surrounded by said rim. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, said rim portion has a smooth external surface so as to allow minimal friction between the device and the surrounding walls of the ear canal or the nostrils. According to one embodiment of the invention, said rim portion has the form of a loop with said engaging members being a plurality of inwardly directed projections. In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, the one or more engaging members is selected from the group consisting of a grid, a perforated element, a plurality of partitions extending between opposite sections of the rim portion, etc. Said body may be planar, or it may be bent or twisted so as to increase the surface of the area which comes into contact with the exudate to be removed and/or to be adapted to fit the space within the ear canal or nostril. The broad end portion may have a variety of other desired forms, e.g. it may be convex, concave, concavo-convex, etc. According to an embodiment of the invention, the device comprises a safety stopper, which defines a maximum insertion depth of said device. This may be important particularly for such devices intended for use in children or for use by a nurse within the framework of treatment of disabled individuals. The device is typically made out of plastic, but as will no doubt be appreciated by the artisan, the device may also be made from a number of other materials such as wood, metal, ceramic material, etc. The invention will now be illustrated by a description of some specific embodiments. In the described embodiments, the device comprises a single broad end body and it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto and encompasses in its scope also such devices comprising two end bodies, each at an end of said stem. It will further be appreciated, that the described embodiments are by way of example only and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figs. 1-3 are front views of a device in accordance with the invention where the exudate engaging members are inwardly extending projections; Figs. 4 and 5 are front views of devices in accordance with embodi- ments of the invention where the exudate engaging member is a perforated matrix; Fig. 6 is a front view of the device in accordance with the embodiment of the invention where the exudate engaging members are parallel partitions; Fig. 7 shows a device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention where the exudate engaging member has the form of a grid; Fig. 8 shows a device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention where the broad end portion is bent with respect to the longitudinal axis of the stem; and Fig. 9 shows a device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention provided with a safety stopper: Fig. 9a shows a front view of the device; Fig. 9b shows a top view of the device. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Reference is first being made to Fig. 1 showing a device in accordance with the embodiment of the invention, generally designated 1 comprising a stem 2 and a broad end portion 3. The stem portion 2, only a small part of which is shown, is typically several times the length of the broad end portion 3. Broad end portion 3 has a rim portion 5 being provided with a plurality (6 in this embodiment) of inwardly directed projections 7. These projections in this embodiment (unlike the embodiment in Fig. 3 - see below) extend beyond the longitudinal axis 9 of the device. The embodiments shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are similar to that of Fig. 1 and like elements were given like numbers. The difference in these embodiments lies in the structure of projections 7' and 7" as compared to projections 7 of the embodiment in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2, projections 7' have somewhat wavy and curved, structure, whereas as projection 7" have a similar geometry to projection 7 of the embodiment of Fig. 1 but being shorter and not crossing the longitudinal axis of the device. In the device according to the embodiment of Fig. 4, the central portion, which is the exudate engaging member, is perforated with the perforation providing larger surface for engagement with the exudate. The embodiment of Fig. 5 is essentially similar to that of Fig. 4, with the main difference residing in the structure of the exudate engagement member 41', in that the perforations have a rectangular cross-section. Fig. 6 shows a device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention comprising a plurality of exudate engaging members which have the form of parallel partitions 61. In the embodiment of Fig. 7, the engaging member has the form of grid 71. The device of the embodiment shown in Fig. 8 has a stem 81 and a broad end portion 83 with a curved profile. It will be appreciated that in addition to a curved profile, the broad end portion may have a variety of other desired forms, e.g. it may be twisted, convex, concave, concavo- convex, etc. The device of the invention may also be equipped, as shown in Fig. 9, with a safety stopper 93. Such a stopper is intended to control the depth of penetration into the ear canal or nostril of the broad end body 95. The two components of the device, namely the stem and the broad end portion, may be integral with one another, or may be two separate members which are adapted to be engaged with one another.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A personal hygiene device adapted for insertion into the ear canal or the nostrils, e.g. to remove exudate, being an oar-like device having a stem and one or two broad end bodies, each at an end of said stem, said body having a rim portion and one or more exudate engaging members integral with and surrounded by said rim. 2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein said rim portion has a smooth external surface. 3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said rim portion has the form of a loop with said engaging members being a plurality of inwardly directed projections. 4. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the one or more engaging members is selected from the group consisting of a grid, a perforated element and a plurality of partitions extending between opposite sections of said rim portion. 5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the broad end body is bent or twisted. 6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said broad end portion is convex, concave or concavo-convex. 7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device further comprises a safety stopper which defines a maximum insertion depth of said device.

Inventors: BEGUN JACOB, BEGUN, JACOB
Applicants: BEGUN JACOB, BEGUN, JACOB
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A61F11
IPC codes: A47K7, A61B17, A61F11