Abstract:
A package housing a condom and dispenser for holding the peripheral wall of the condom folded into a tubular accordion stack and operable upon application of a predetermined force to the closed end of the condom to meter the folds in progression.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The teachings herein constitute a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/419,040 filed Apr. 6, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,166,975, and the benefit of the earlier filing date being claimed and the content thereof incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth hereon. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to condoms and packaging for therefore. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Amongst the many purposes served by condoms is limitations on the transmission of diseases. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the incidence and spread of sexually transmitted diseases which has driven the public to utilize condoms as a prophylactic measure to reduce the risk of infection and transmission. The advantage of avoiding contact to the condom by a partner with an unknown sexual history are apparent. 
     One of the causes for the increase in incidents and rate of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases are the development of increasingly antibiotic-resistant strains of disease-causing organisms such as those responsible for syphilis and gonorrhea. Another factor has been the absence of any effective cure for the acquired immunodeficiency. 
     Factors bearing on the partner&#39;s election to make use of condoms is the delay necessary for donning of the condom and the fact that an improperly applied condom will detract from the comfort of the users. Many efforts have been made to provide condoms that do not counter the prevailing mood and which are easily positionable as by the utilization of a split ring holder. It has been proposed to provide an annular C-shaped condom holder for receipt of a rolled or folded condom. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,357 to Martin et al. Other efforts have lead to a proposal that condoms be housed in a U-shaped package in a rolled or folded configuration as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,286 to Stratton. Deficiency in devices of this type is that the rolls or folds may be dispensed in a relatively disorganized manner which may result in wrinkles along the length of the condom or incomplete application which may detract from the comfort and pleasure of the partner as well as the prophylactic effectiveness. 
     Other efforts to improve the construction of condoms to facilitate the rapid and convenient donning has lead to the proposal that the packaging be split so it may be separated and the parts of the package drawn laterally apart to stretch the open end of the condom. It has been proposed to provide condom packaging which includes an annular ridge or hook attachment means for holding the end of the hand ring of the condom while the condom is being donned. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,887 to Potts et al. Other condom devices include split packaging facilitate spreading of the open end of the condom. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,120 to Persson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,018 to Van Rensburg. Thus, prior to the present invention, users have been faced with the dilemma of utilizing condoms which provide certain challenges to donning thereof and which risk incomplete or improper application, thus detracting from the enjoyment of the partners. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention includes a package and condom apparatus including a dispenser for releasably holding the peripheral wall of the condom in a pack of organized accordion folds. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a combination package and condom apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an end view of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a top plan view similar to  FIG. 1  but showing a seal separated from the package; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 4  and inverted; 
         FIGS. 7 ,  8  and  9  are diagrammatic front views of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  being applied to a penis; 
         FIG. 10  is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the package and condom apparatus of the present invention, partially broken away; 
         FIG. 11  is a transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a partial transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, similar to  FIG. 11  but with the fold stack unfolded and the package received; 
         FIG. 13  is a partial transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a transverse sectional view of a third embodiment of the combination of condom and packaging apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 15  is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 16  is a transverse sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along line  16 - 16  of  FIG. 15 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  6 , the combination condom and packaging apparatus  30  of the present invention includes, generally, a condom  31  packaged in a package  33  to hold a series of accordion folds defining a stack  35  formed with a radially inwardly facing surface  40  ( FIG. 6 ) held releasably in place by a dispenser  37 . The package  33  is openable to form apertures  41  and  43  on the respective back and front sides thereof for axial displacement of the closed end of the condom in the direction of the directional arrow  45  to provide progressive dispensing of the folds from the end of the stack proximate the closed end of the condom. 
     Condoms are typically constructed of thin walled, highly flexible thermoplastic polyethylene material to form a cylindrical shape having a closed end  39  an open end  51 . In one preferred embodiment the condom is formed at the opposite sides of its open end with diametrically outwardly flared ears  52  and  54 . 
     As is well-known in the art, condoms may be constructed by blow-extrusion forming to provide a tubular film or may be formed in a film over a male mold. For the purposes of this invention, the sheath forming the condom may be formed by any well-known specific structure or molding. Materials particularly useful for forming the condom articles of this invention include elastomeric materials, as well as flexible non-elastomeric materials such as nylons, polyethylene terephthalate, and olefinic homopolymers and co-polymers; e.g., ultra low density polyethylene. 
     The combination condom package depicted will typically be housed an external package or envelope which is openable to expose the subject internal package  33 . For the purposes of illustration, the package  33  is depicted constructed of conventional packaging material and formed with elliptical back and front walls  55  and  57 , respectively. 
     The front wall  57  is sealed parametrically to the back wall  55  and, as manufactured, the walls are formed with weakened transverse, spaced apart lines  61  which may define circular discs  63  on the back and front walls,  55  and  57 , respectively and joined around the front and back sides by narrow straps  65  and  67  to cooperate in forming a releasable seal. In the preferred embodiment, the seal is formed with a pull tab  71  which may be pulled to remove the discs and straps  65  and  67  along the weakened lines to leave the package formed with the apertures  41  and  43  in the back and front walls, respectively, as depicted in  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6  while also separating the package into opposite halves  46  and  48 . 
     The walls  55  and  57  provide sufficient body to hold the folds of the stack  35  organized under the bias of the distally acting force on the rim  79  of the outer annular side wall  38  to thus maintain the folds slightly axially compressed against distal wall  55  to be held in their stacked relationship with the radially inner side  40  of the stack abutted against the annular wall defined by the distenders  59  and  61  until such time as a penis  81  is entered through the aperture  41  and pressed against the closed end  39  with sufficient force to commence dispensing of the folds. The folds will typically be drawn distally unfolding from the stack in progression from the location proximate the closed end  39  to thus allow the penis  81  to be progressively sheathed by the deployed condom as depicted in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     It will be appreciated in some embodiments that the wall  55  is constructed of foil with sufficient resiliency to cause the rim  79  to be biased upwardly as viewed in  FIG. 6  to thus maintain a bias on the stack  35  as the folds are dispensed in an orderly fashion. 
     Disposed on the radially interior sides of the diametrically opposite sides of the stack  35  are semi-circular ring-like female and male distenders  59  and  70  to cooperate at their respective distal edges with the respective rims  79  to define respective narrow slots  62 . The ears  52  and  54  flare generally diametrically outwardly from the respective strap-like distenders  59  and  61 . The opposite ends of the male distender  61  telescope into the respective open ends of the tubular female distender  59  to cooperate in forming an annular inner wall. The opposite extremities of the male distender may thus be drawn therefrom from the ends of the female distender  59  as the package halves  46  and  48  are drawn apart. 
     As will be appreciated, that in use, once the seal straps  65  and  67  are removed, the opposite sides of the package are separated laterally so that the user might grasp those sides individually squeezing down on the ears  52  and  54  sandwiched between the front and back walls  55  and  57  to spread the package sides diametrically apart to thus facilitate the opening of the open end of the condom. 
     It will be appreciated that the user will access the exterior envelope in which the package  33  is contained. The opening tab  71  may than be grasped and peeled back to separate the back wall disk  63 , straps  65  and  67  and corresponding front disk  63  to thus separate the package halves  46  and  48  and open the respective apertures  41  and  43  ( FIG. 6 ). The user may then grasp the opposite halves of the package and draw those halves apart causing the ears  52  and  54  to draw the respective distenders diametrically outwardly to stretch the condom to open condition. Then, as the package  33  is drawn over the penis  81 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , a sufficient force will be applied to the closed end  39  to drive that end distally and draw the condom wall out the slots  62  to unfold the folds of the stack  35  progressively from the dispenser against the modest retaining pressure afforded by the rim  79  against the distal edges of the distenders  59  and  61  to progressively sheath the penis in a smooth and rapid manner. Once donning of the condom has been completed, the opposite halves of the package  33  may be discarded. 
     Referring back to  FIGS. 10-13 , in one embodiment of the present invention, a pair of semi-circular female and male holders defining distenders, generally designated  141  and  143 , are formed integral with a condom, generally designated  144 , and are telescoped together at their confronting ends and lay at the radial interior of the diametrical opposite sides of the stack  35 . The female distender  141  is generally channel shaped to define a tube to terminate in respective open female ends  153  for slidable receipt of the male ends  151  of the male distender  143 . The distenders  141  and  143 , while being resilient, have sufficient body and memory to generally cooperate and maintain a generally circular in-plan-view configuration for stacks. 
     For these embodiments, a package, generally designated  146 , envelopes the condom and in some embodiments is constructed to be opened to expose apertures on the front and back sides for access by the penis in the direction of the directional arrow  45  to push the end wall  148  distally and withdraw the folds. Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the distenders may be constructed to lay along the radially inner sides of the diametrical opposite sides of the stack  35  or may be partially incorporated in the open extremity of the condom. 
     As shown, the wall of the condom on one diametrical half may feed off the stack  35  at  147  to lay axially along the radially interior side thereof and turn radially inwardly to then turn axially upwardly as viewed in  FIG. 11  and to the turn outwardly and back down to cooperate in forming a generally rectangular-in-longitudinal cross section stack. The open end of the condom female dispenser is formed in with a rectangular-in-cross section hollow tube  153  ( FIG. 13 ) open at its circumferential end  155  to telescopically receive a tab  151  defining one circumferential end of the male distender  143 . The radially outer walls  156  of the package cooperate with the respective distenders  141  and  143  to form an annular dispenser cavity  157 . The distal extremity of the radial walls  156  turns radially inwardly to define an annular retainer flange flange  161  projecting toward the distenders to cooperate in defining an annular slot  163  to releasably hold the respective stacks for metering out of the folds. The opposite end of the cavity  157  is open at  160 . 
     In operation, it will be appreciated that the seal may be opened to expose front and back apertures and the penis may be entered in the direction of the directional arrow  45  to press the wall  148  distally as the ears  52  and  54  are drawn diametrically outwardly to draw the distenders  141  and  143  to fully open the mouth of the condom. As will be appreciated the package may be separable at  168  so the ears  52  and  54  can be drawn diametrically outwardly. The peripheral wall of the condom will thus be drawn progressively distally outwardly from the annular dispenser cavity  157  to meter folds out through the respective stacks slots  163 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 14 , in a further embodiment of the present invention, a package, generally designated  91 , includes a back wall  93  openable to form an aperture  94 . On the back wall is a mounted resilient channel section, generally designated  95 , which includes a planar mounting tab  97  turned upwardly on its radially inner extremity to form a semi cylindrically shaped channel section  101  formed at its distal extremity with an inwardly resilient turned retainer lip  103 . The section of the back walls are turned back on themselves to sandwich there between respective tabs  98  which project radially inwardly and turn axially distally to form a cooperating channel section  109  which cooperates with the channel section  101  to form a semi circularly shaped dispenser channel  111  cooperating to releasably retain the fold stack  35  formed by the peripheral wall of the condom. The channel section  109  extends distally and turns radially outwardly to form an annular resilient retainer finger  113  cooperating with the lip  103  to form an annular slot opening having a radial width slightly greater than the thickness of the condom wall to thereby cooperate in forming a dispenser to progressively dispense the folds of the stack  35 . 
     Thus, in this embodiment, when the penis encounters the closed end  39  of the condom with sufficient force to slightly flex the retainer finger  113  and continues progression, the folds of the stack  35  will be drawn progressively from the stack to thus sheath the penis in a smooth and progressive manner. 
     The embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIGS. 15 and 16 , includes, a pair of semicircular-in-plan view combination distenders and dispensers, generally designated  121  and  123 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , the combination distenders and dispensers  121  and  123  include respective distally opening dispenser channels  125  formed with respective concentric, annular flanges  127  and  129  cooperating to form a respective semicircular storage compartments  131  for receipt of the condom bead  132  and condom folds in a stack  35 . The interior flange  127  is generally cylindrically shaped. The exterior flange  129  projects distally and turns radially inwardly to form a resilient retainer finger  135  cooperating with the distal tip of the flange  127  to form an annular slot  137  for progressively and controllably dispensing the folds of the stack  35  as the penis moves distally relative thereto. The channel  131  is thus reduced in radial cross section in the distal direction to house the folds of the search progressively diminishing in radial width in the distal direction. 
     From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the combination packaging and condom of the present invention provides an economical and practical means for housing and dispensing of the condom in an orderly and rapid fashion for convenience of donning and assurance of proper sheathing.