Abstract:
A collapsible, hands-free emesis container is provided with improved portability, deployment and emesis reception characteristics. The container includes a receptacle for receiving emesis, a chute for directing emesis and a retainer to maintain desired positioning of the container about a support structure, which may be the neck of an impaired patient. The container may be provided in a package having size characteristics for easy storage and access by emergency medical service personnel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to bodily fluid containment devices, and more specifically to a hands-free emesis container. 
         [0002]    Emergency medical service (EMS) workers frequently encounter situations where a patient is unconscious, semi-conscious, altered, weak or otherwise impaired. The workers must act quickly to evaluate and stabilize the patient, set up IVs, prepare the patient for transport, communicate with hospital emergency staff, administer medications, and monitor and transport the patient to the hospital. These situations frequently involve patients who are vomiting or are on the verge of vomiting. 
         [0003]    Emesis, or regurgitated contents of the stomach, is a medical treatment reality. Emesis further complicates emergency medical situations by distracting EMS workers from other important tasks. The workers suddenly find themselves juggling and holding traditional emesis basins or bags near the patient&#39;s face while simultaneously performing other lifesaving tasks, thereby reducing the multi-tasking efficiency of EMS workers. Despite a caregiver&#39;s best efforts, traditional emesis devices do not prevent patients from vomiting all over themselves while EMS workers are attending to other tasks. 
         [0004]    In general, emesis containers are known in the art. These devices have several drawbacks, however. Most of the prior devices are not collapsible. An emesis container that is not collapsible may be suitable for some environments, but in an emergency medical situation, such configuration is inconvenient. If a collapsible container was provided in the past, it consisted of multiple pieces that required assembly prior to use. Such assembly simply subtracts precious seconds from attending to other medical needs in an emergency situation. 
         [0005]    Additionally, prior devices did not address adequately the needs of a patient that is largely impaired. Most traditional emesis containers required, as previously noted, that the patient or caregiver support the container near the patient&#39;s mouth. While some devices offered supporting mechanisms, such as neckstraps, a minor patient head movement may remove the container from the flow path of the emesis, thereby allowing containment of only some of the fluid. 
         [0006]    Therefore, the field of emergency medicine would benefit from a hands-free, collapsible emesis container with improved deployment and emesis reception characteristics. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a hands-free, collapsible emesis container with improved deployment and emesis reception characteristics. 
         [0008]    The container is comprised generally of a receptacle, a chute, and a retainer. The receptacle is preferably a liquid impervious material that may enable inspection of contents and may have volume demarcations thereon. The receptacle has an open end having a perimeter and a closed end. The chute is preferably a fluid impervious material having a back panel, with a front surface and back surface, of substantial surface area and side panels extending from the bottom panel front surface. The junction of the bottom panel and the side panel provide a fluid trough. Extending from the chute and at least partially around the bag open end perimeter are support tabs. The support tabs provide added structural integrity for maintaining the open end of the receptacle in a wide open position. 
         [0009]    Although emesis always complicates an emergency situation, the availability of a hands-free emesis container will help considerably. Such availability is provided by a preferred method of packaging the container, which allows the emesis container to be carried easily by emergency personnel in their starter boxes, fanny packs, shirt pockets or glove holsters. Quickly attaching a hands-free emesis container to a patient will enable EMS workers to multitask more efficiently without being distracted by holding traditional emesis containers near the face of an impaired patient. Attachment of the device to a patient is enabled by the retainer, which is preferably adapted to be situated around the patient&#39;s head or neck. With the aid of a chute having an increased surface area and curbed side sections, EMS workers can attend to other life-saving tasks, even when the patient is incapable of holding a conventional emesis container or substitute device, such as a trash can or bag. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an emesis container according to the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective exploded view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3A  is a front elevation view of an embodiment of an emesis chute according to the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3B  is a close-up view of a retainer site on the chute of  FIG. 3A . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3C  is a close-up of an alternate retainer site. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4A  is a front elevation view of a first assembly step in a first process for assembling the emesis container of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 4B  is a front elevation view of a second assembly step in the first process for assembling the emesis container of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 4C  is a front elevation view of a third assembly step in the first process for assembling the emesis container of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 4D  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a partial cross-section view taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in a folded and packaged configuration. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a left side elevation view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in use. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in use. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0023]    Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structures. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of an improved emesis container  100  is shown. The container  100  includes a receptacle  102 , a chute  104 , and a retainer  106 . 
         [0025]    With reference also to  FIG. 2  the receptacle  102  is preferably in the form of a bag  108  having a back portion  108   a  and two side portions  108   b  extending between an open end  108   c  and a closed end  108   d . The open end  108   c  of the bag  108  has a perimeter  110 . The bag  108  is preferably formed from a flexible, liquid impervious material, such as polyethylene. While it should be understood that the receptacle  102  may be of any desirable size, a preferred bag has a capacity of at least 1200 milliliters of liquid. Furthermore, to aid in monitoring a patient&#39;s condition, the receptacle  102  may be provided with volume demarcations  112 , which indicate the amount of liquid contained in the receptacle  102 . In addition, the receptacle  102  may be formed of a material that is transparent or translucent to allow quick visual inspection of the container contents. 
         [0026]    Coupled to the receptacle  102  is the chute  104 . Referring more specifically to  FIGS. 3A-C , in addition to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the chute  104  preferably comprises an entrance end  104   a  and an exit end  104   b , with a back panel  114  and side panels  116  extending therebetween. The back panel  114  has a front surface  114   a  and a back surface  114   b . The back panel front surface  114   a  is generally the receiving surface for emesis and, therefore, preferably has sufficient surface area to help collect the emesis. The preferred surface area comprises at least forty square inches. The side panels  116  preferably extend away from the back panel front surface  114   a , perpendicularly or obliquely, along a panel junction  120 , which may be provided as a score or crease  146 . The side panels  116  may be formed integrally with the back panel  114  or attached thereto. To enable one method of assembly, the exit end  104   b  of the chute  104  is preferably formed with notches  122  proximate the panel junction  120 . The chute  104  preferably includes an attachment margin  124  including and extending from the exit end  104   b  towards the entrance end  104   a . The chute  104  preferably extends around less than the entire bag open end perimeter  110 . The open end perimeter  110  preferably encompasses an area of at least thirty square inches. The chute  104  may be comprised of a material that is more rigid than the material comprising the receptacle  102 . The added rigidity helps to maintain the receptacle  102  in a wide open configuration when the device  100  is in use. 
         [0027]    To provide reinforcement that helps to maintain the receptacle  102  in an open configuration when the container  100  is in use, support tabs  118  are coupled to or formed integrally with the chute  104 . While it is preferred that the chute  104  not extend around the entire bag open end perimeter  110  (see  FIG. 1 ), the support tabs  118  may do so (not shown). To add further support to a coupling of the receptacle  102  and the chute  104 , a reinforcement member  126  may be used. While various reinforcement members  126  will occur to those having skill in the art, the preferred reinforcement member  126  is a plastically deformable member such as a metal wire  128  or flat metal strip (not shown). The plastic deformability of the wire  128  aids in positioning and maintaining the open end  108   a  of the receptacle  102  in a desirable wide open configuration. Furthermore, the chute  104  may be provided with score lines  146 , including the panel junctions  120 , to aid in manufacturing, folding and packaging the container  100 . A plurality of reinforcement members could also be used, such as foldable L- or U-shaped channel reinforcement structures (not shown) arranged over and supporting predetermined score lines  146 . 
         [0028]    To provide hands-free emesis collection by the container  100 , a retainer  106  is provided, which is coupled to the chute  104  at retainer sites  130 . While the retainer  106  may take many forms, the retainer  106  preferably comprises a flat strap  132 . As seen in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a first preferred retainer site  130  comprises an aperture  134  having a hole  136  and a slot  138 , and notches  140  cooperating with the aperture  134  to create a stress riser  142 . The shape of the hole  136  is not specific or limiting. Rather, the hole  136  provides an area of less frictional resistance—than the slot  138 —between the chute  104  and the retainer  106 . A second preferred retainer site  130  is provided in  FIG. 3C . In this embodiment, the retainer  106  is a flat strap  132  held in slidable, frictional contact with the chute  104  by a staple  144 . In this embodiment, the frictional resistance between the chute  104  and the retainer  106  is kept relatively constant. With an appropriate choice of retainer  106 , however, such as a strap  132  having elastic properties, when the retainer  106  is stretched, the friction lessens, enabling adjustment of the retainer  106  in the direction of the application of the stretching force. About the staple  144 , perforations  148  may be provided, thereby creating at least one stress riser to enable tearing or removal of a portion the chute material for a quick disconnect of the device  100  from a patient or other support. Further, if a staple  144  is used to maintain the strap  132  in contact with the chute  104 , the ends of the strap  132  may be provided with an inelastic portion or obstruction, such as a knot or aglet (not shown), that would prevent slippage through the staple  144 , thereby preventing accidental removal of the strap  132  from the retainer site  122 . In addition, an additional friction fit slot  149  may be provided in addition to the staple  144  to further reinforce the coupling of the retainer  106  to the chute  104 . 
         [0029]    Turning now to  FIGS. 4A-D , a preferred method of assembling an embodiment of an emesis container according to the present invention includes forming the receptacle  102 , the chute  104  and the retainer  106 , and then coupling the components together. The receptacle  102  is formed from raw materials. For instance, where the receptacle  102  is a bag  108 , polyethylene sheet material may be used. The chute  104  may be formed from a material suitable for liquid exposure over a determinable time. For example, the chute  104  may comprise a paperboard material having at least one side coated with a liquid impervious wax or plastic coating. The retainer  106  may be a simple flat strap portion cut from a spool of material. 
         [0030]    After the receptacle raw material is selected and the chute  104  is formed, the coupling of the bag  108  to the chute  104  is achieved preferably through the use of a thermal bonding process including a thermal press or crimp. While the bag material could simply be thermally pressed to the chute attachment margin  124  or other attachment points, it is preferred that the attachment margin  124  be folded towards the chute back panel back surface  114   b  (as shown) or folded towards the chute back panel front surface  114   a  (not shown). Into the fold, the material to comprise the bag  108  may be inserted and then heat bonded to both the chute attachment margin  124  and the chute back surface  104   b . The sheet material is then folded over the attachment margin  124 , as is shown in  FIG. 4A . 
         [0031]    After the bag material has been heat sealed to the chute  104 , the chute  104  may be folded along a medial score  146 , thereby causing the sheet material to fold too, as seen in  FIG. 4B . A formed joint can be seen in  FIG. 5 . A desired shape of the bag  108  may be obtained by using a heat sealer, such as an L-bar heat sealer or heated wire in a desired shape, to seal and trim the bag  108 , as seen in  FIG. 4C , along a front seam  108   e  and the closed end  108   d , and excess material may be trimmed from the open end  108   c  of the bag  108 . 
         [0032]    An emesis container according to the present invention is preferably packaged in a compact way that allows easy deployment by users in emergency medical situations, among others. The ease in deployment is facilitated by convenient packaging  150 . As seen in  FIG. 6 , an emesis container  100  is folded in such a way to allow compact packaging. The folding may be aided by the scoring or creases  146  provided in the chute  104 . The package  150  is preferably formed from a plastic sheet material as is well known. An emesis container  100  in a packaged configuration is preferably no larger than four inches long by four inches wide by one-half of an inch thick. Such a size enables convenient, easy storage of the devices. 
         [0033]    While the emesis container was designed to be rather self-explanatory to use, the packaging  150  may further contain instructions (not shown) directed to proper use of the container  100 , adjustment of the retainer  106 , and proper disposal methods. 
         [0034]    With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , to use an emesis container according to the present invention, a user removes a container  100  from its package  150 , unfolds the container  100 , and places the retainer  106  about a support structure, such as the neck of the patient  1 , to allow positioning of the chute  104  under the chin of the patient  1 . The retainer  106  maintains proximity between the emesis container  100  and the mouth of the patient  1 . Preferably, the patient  1  may be positioned in various poses and the retainer  106  will maintain such proximity, such as when the patient  1  is walking, standing, or sitting, or when the patient  1  is in a semi-Fowler&#39;s, a high-Fowler&#39;s, a left-lateral, or a right-lateral position. Indeed, the container  100  may even be used when the patient  1  is fitted with a cervical brace. 
         [0035]    The retainer  106  is adjusted to provide proper positioning. Where the retainer  106  is a flat strap  132 , the strap  132  may be adjusted a number of ways. While the strap  132  could be provided with an adjustment buckle, preferred adjustment is achieved by using the retainer site  130 . If the strap  132  is kept in frictional contact with the chute  104  by a staple  144 , the strap  132  may be pulled through the staple  144  to adjust positioning of the container  100 . 
         [0036]    A staple  144  may not work for some situations, however. For example, the retainer  106  may not be long enough to easily slip over a desired support structure. In such circumstances, the retainer  106  is preferably a flat strap  132  in cooperation with the chute  104  at a retainer site  130  having an aperture  134 . The strap  132  can be removed from the site  130 , threaded about a support member such as the neck of the patient  1 , and threaded back through a hole  136  of the aperture  134  from which it was removed. While the strap  132  is in the hole  136 , the strap  132  can move relatively freely through the aperture  134 , thereby allowing easy adjustment. When desired positioning is achieved, the strap  132  can be forced into the slot  138  of the aperture  134 . While the strap  132  is in the slot  138 , a friction fit is provided, thereby maintaining the desired positioning. 
         [0037]    To remove the container  100  from the patient  1 , one method involves lifting or supporting the container  100  while removing the retainer  106  from the support structure. For instance, if the retainer  106  is a strap  132 , the strap  132  may be lifted up and over the patient&#39;s head. Alternatively, the retainer  106  may be disconnected from one or both retainer sites  130 . If the retainer  106  is a strap  132  coupled to the chute  104  by a staple  144 , the strap  132  may be pulled out of the friction fit and the container  100  removed from the patient  1 . Alternatively, if a staple  144  is used, the retainer site  130  may be provided with the perforated section  148  to enable tearing or removal of a portion the chute material for a quick disconnect of the device  100  from a patient or other support upon the exertion of a determinable force. This method is preferred if the strap  132  includes an anti-slip mechanism, such as an aglet. In a similar fashion to using a strap  132  in combination with a staple  144 , if the retainer  106  is a strap  132  in frictional cooperation with an aperture  134  at a retainer site  130 , the strap  132  could be removed from the aperture  134 ; or the chute  104 , itself, may be caused to fail at a stress riser  142  formed by the aperture  134  and cooperating notches  140 . Once the container  100  is removed from the patient  1 , the container  100  is simply disposed of, preferably by being thrown into a biohazard receptacle. 
         [0038]    The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.