Abstract:
A protective barrier for preventing the spread of disease and the exchange of fluids between partners during oral sex is disclosed. The device, system and method may include a first portion having an area approximate to the vaginal area of a user and a second portion having a cylindrical shape with an open proximate end and a closed distal end, wherein the second portion is attached to a central portion of the first portion at the proximate end and extends into the vagina of the user.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/377,611, titled HYGIENE PROTECTION BARRIER SYSTEM AND METHOD, filed Aug. 27, 2010 and is incorporated herein as if set forth in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed to barrier device and, more particularly, to hygiene protection barrier device for use during oral intercourse, and a method of making and using same. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Although much attention has been paid to preventing the spread of disease and the exchange of fluids between partners during vaginal and anal intercourse, oral intercourse, specifically including the vaginal area of a woman, has not been adequately addressed. 
         [0004]    Thus, there exists a need for a barrier device, system and method that prevents the spread of disease and the exchange of fluids between partners during oral sex. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a barrier device and, more particularly, a hygiene protection barrier device for use during oral sex, wherein at least a portion of the vaginal area of at least one of the participants is covered by the barrier device. The barrier device may further include at least one adhesive area for securing the device to the at least one participant and may further include at least one locking mechanism for securing the device from within the at least one participant. 
         [0006]    Thus, the invention provides a device, system and method that allows for the preventing of the spread of disease and the of exchange of fluids between partners during oral sex. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0007]    The present invention will be described herein below in conjunction with the following figures, in which like numerals represent like items, and wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a plan view illustration of an embodiment of the barrier of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2   a  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2   b  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2   c  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2   d  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2   e  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3   a  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 3   b  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3   c  is an illustration of a an aspect of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a plan view illustration of an embodiment of the barrier of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a side view illustration of an embodiment of the barrier of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for the purposes of clarity, many other elements found in typical devices, systems and methods involved in physical relations. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable and/or required in order to implement the present invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein. 
         [0020]    The present invention provides for a protective barrier that may be used during oral sex. More specifically, the present invention provides protection for both participants during cunnilingus, herein defined to include oral sex performed within and proximate to the vaginal area. 
         [0021]    The barrier of the present invention may consist of at least one layer of latex, or similar material suitable for skin contact and capable of preventing the transmission of viruses and germs, for example, shaped to fit and maintain substantial contact with the vaginal area. Suitable construction materials and methods thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,540 to Lipkin, et al, issued Dec. 7, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,969 to Gardon, issued Dec. 7, 1999, both hereby incorporated by reference. The barrier of the present invention may also be constructed of composite elastic materials, such as multi-component materials or multilayer materials. For example, a multilayer material may have at least one elastic layer joined to at least one gatherable layer so that the gatherable layer is gathered between the locations where it is joined to the elastic layer. Such a multilayer composite elastic material may be stretched to the extent that the nonelastic material gathered between the bond locations allows the elastic material to elongate. This type of multilayer composite elastic material is disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,415 to Vander Wielen et al., issued Jan. 19, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,668 to Abuto et al., issued Aug. 1, 2001, and a process for making the same is disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,973 to Heath et al., issued Oct. 12, 1999, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the barrier may be die cut to include an upper flap  120 , a main body  150 , and a lower flap  110 . The main body  150  may optionally include at least one protrusion  130  which may extend away from the main body  150 . The main body  150  of the barrier  100  may be cut to conform to the natural curvature of the body where the inner thigh intersects with the vaginal area. Such a curvature cut  140  may be made uniformly within the main body  150  and/or may be obliquely cut to better accommodate variations in the size and shape of various thigh and vaginal intersections. 
         [0023]    The main body  150  may be tall enough to substantially cover at least the pubic region of the vaginal area and at least wide enough to cover the vaginal area between the inner thighs. The main body  150 , and particularly curvature, cut  140 , may comprise a removable adherent for adhering to, for example, the inner thigh. 
         [0024]    The barrier may also include an upper flap  120 . The upper flap  120  may be attached to the main body  150  just above the pubic region of the vaginal area and may extend to just below the belly button, by way of non-limiting example. The upper flap  120  may be provided with at least one adhesive region  210  which may be used to secure upper flap  120  to the wearer of the barrier, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2   a - d.    
         [0025]    The adhesive used may include pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) or contact adhesives, for example, and may be applied in at least a single layer on a portion of upper flap  120  and/or curvature  140 . Such an adhesive may also be a hypoallergenic suitable adhesive. Adhesive that may be used includes, but is not limited to, acrylic adhesives, and the like, e.g., a polyurethane membrane coated with a layer of an acrylic adhesive such as TEGADERM® from 3M Corporation. 
         [0026]    Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, self-adhesive film may be used on upper flap  120  or lower flap  110 . A suitable self-adhesive film is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,584, to Griesbach, III, et al., issued Dec. 16, 2003, and is hereby incorporated by reference. 
         [0027]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the upper flap  120 , extends from the main body  150  to an area proximate to the wearer&#39;s belly button in a configuration similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 2 , and is substantially covered by at least one layer of adhesive. The relative strength of adhesive used may allow for the reduction in size of upper flap  120  which may reduce the amount of interaction with the wearer of the barrier  100 . 
         [0028]    For example, a very strong adhesive may allow the upper flap  120  to be no more than approximately 0.5 inches tall. Similarly, the amount of adhesive used may be decreased without decreasing the height of the upper flap  120 . By way of further example, upper flap  120  may extend to a distance approximately halfway to the wearer&#39;s belly button and may include adhesive on only the upper half of the upper flap  120 . 
         [0029]    Lower flap  110  may be attached to the main body  150  and may extend to the anal region of the wearer. The properties of upper flap  120  may also be used in conjunction with lower flap  110 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3   a , although lower flap  110  may take a shape similar to upper flap  120 , lower flap  110  may have a decreased surface area given the limited size of the area between the vaginal area and anal region. 
         [0030]    In an embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in  FIG. 3   b , the lower flap  110  may include at least two arms that may secure the lower portion of the main body  150 . The at least two arms may, for example, extend away from the main body  150  and may terminate on opposite sides of the wearer&#39;s back-side. The ends may include adhesive and/or may be of a material which may adhere to the skin without the use of an adhesive as previously described above. The lower flap  110  may, for example, consist of a single arm as illustrated in  FIG. 3   c  and may, for example, extend to at least the lower back of the wearer. 
         [0031]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the optional at least one protrusion  130  may be located proximate to the center of main body  150 . Protrusion  130  may take the form of a tube that may be inserted in the vagina and may be closed at the terminal end. The protrusion  130  may be circular and/or oblong to naturally fit inside a vagina. The protrusion  130  may consist of substantially the same material as the main body  150  and may be sufficiently thin as to allow for slight pressure and movements to be felt by the wearer. The protrusion  130  may also be conical in nature which may allow for great flexibility in fit and comfort of the protrusion  130  in light of the variations between wearers. 
         [0032]    The protrusion  130  may also act as an anchor or, and may thus include an anchor or protrusion at the distal end for, the main body  150 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the barrier  100  may not include an upper flap  120  or lower flap  110 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the barrier  110  consists of the main body  150  and the protrusion  130  wherein the protrusion  130  is of a sufficient length as to provide stability to main body  150  when oral sex is being administered to the wearer of barrier  100 . As described above, the main body  150  may be shaped to fit between the inner thighs of the wearer and may extend to cover the whole of the vaginal region. 
         [0033]    The protrusion  130  may include at least one protrusion remote from the surface of main body  150 . Such protrusion may consist of a series of bumps, for example. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the at least one protrusion of protrusion  130  may consist of a ring formation located near the proximate end of protrusion  130 . Such a ring structure may assist in anchoring the barrier  100 . The at least one ring structure may be located sufficiently away from main body  150  so as to reside behind at least the labia of the wearer when fully inserted. To increase the anchoring effect of the ring structure, more than one may be included on protrusion  130 . 
         [0034]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one ring structure may be a closed system to the protrusion  130  and may, for example, be filled with a material to create a more rigid structure. Materials suitable to provide rigidity may include, for example, the material used for the protrusion  130 , saline, silicon, a hypo-allergenic gel and/or micro-beads. In addition to providing stability, one or more rigid ring structures may provide the wearer with stimulation. As used above, the term rigid and its like is meant to mean a greater rigidity to the protrusion  130 . 
         [0035]    The barrier  100  may be engaged by the vaginal area by placing the barrier  100  between the thighs, such as with the distal end of the protrusion  130  facing towards the wearer and with the protrusion  180  centered on the vagina. The application of the barrier  100  may apply force to push the protrusion  130  onto the vagina so as to allow the main body  150  to substantially engage the vaginal area. 
         [0036]    In an embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion may be sufficiently long enough to accommodate, an erect penis. This may allow the barrier  100  to function as both a safety device for oral sex, but also a conventional condom without the need to switch between safety devices for both types of acts. 
         [0037]    Thus, as would be evident to those possessing an ordinary skill in the pertinent arts, any myriad of materials may be implemented to create the prevention device of the present invention. The system of the present invention may allow for the prevention of the spread of disease and the of exchange of fluids between partners during oral intercourse and may provide similar protections during vaginal or anal intercourse. 
         [0038]    Although the invention has been described and pictured in an exemplary form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the exemplary form has been made by way of example, and that numerous changes in the details of construction and combination and arrangement of parts and steps may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims hereinafter.