Patent ID: 7331937

Claim:
Applicator for inserting a tampon into a natural orifice of a human body, the applicator being shaped to the female anatomy, comprising: the tampon having a length, a proximal end, a distal end and being inserted into a tubular outer, a plunger intended to expel the tampon from the tubular outer, and a flexible sleeve fixed concentrically to the outer, between the distal end of the outer and the tampon; wherein the sleeve deploys around the tampon within the orifice and surrounds the entire length of the tampon, including the distal end of the tampon, when the tampon is expelled from the outer under the effect of the plunger, the deployed sleeve having a length at least equal to the length of the tampon to surround the tampon fully until insertion into the natural orifice by the plunger is complete, and wherein the length of the plunger corresponds at least to the sum of the length of the tubular outer and the deployed sleeve, the length of the plunger enabling the tampon to be held in place relative to the wall of the natural orifice while the tampon is disengaged from the sleeve by sliding the outer and the sleeve in the opposite direction to the direction of insertion.