Device for delivering an object to a cavity
US4822332A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1988 |
| Grant date | Apr 18, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S604/904
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An applicator for delivering an object, such as a menstrual tampon, to a cavity, such as the vaginal canal, which applicator is not much longer than the object when delivered to the user, is provided. The applicator is a unitary injection blow-molded device which includes a first tubular section housing the object, a second collapsible and extensible corrugated tubular section abutting the first section, and a third tubular section abutting the second section and serving primarily as a handle. An integral pusher member is formed in the interior of the applicator attached to the inner wall of the third section, and is biased to assume a position along the centerline of the applicator. The applicator is delivered to the user in a collapsed state, with the pusher alongside the object in the first section. The user extends the object by pulling on the first and third sections, withdrawing the pusher from the first section so that it aligns itself behind the center of the object. The applicator is inserted in the cavity and the object is ejected by pushing the third section toward the firsts section, collapsing the second section and driving the pusher member forward.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.