Automated catheter construction

Claim 2

A catheter assembly including an elongated tubular body having opposite open ends, a catheter having its distal end slidingly and guidingly telescoped into one end of said body, a lubricant reservoir from which lubricant may be expressed and including a tubular outlet neck telescoped into and in axial alignment with the other end of said body and over said distal and of the catheter, said outlet neck and body including coacting means engaged with the outer surface of the catheter and operative to lightly clampingly engage said catheter to prevent longitudinal shifting of the latter relative to said body responsive to penetration of said outlet neck into said other end of said body with the clamping force being exerted solely by said outlet neck, whereby lubricant discharged from said outlet neck into said body and toward said one end thereof will not be effective to shift said catheter proximally in said body, said one end of said body including a centrally apertured end wall at said one end of said body and extending radially inwardly thereof loosely receiving said catheter therethrough, said body including an apertured partition therein centrally through which said catheter is slightly received, said apertured partition being disposed intermediate said end wall and said coacting means, the interior of said body between said partition and said end wall defining a lubricant chamber for lubricating said catheter proximally of said distal end during distal shifting of said catheter relative to said body during insertion of said distal end through the urethra and into the bladder.

Claim 3

The catheter assembly of claim 1 wherein said body includes a peripherally extending and outwardly projecting plate adjacent said one end of the body, the outer periphery of said plate including a tubular guide shield projecting toward and beyond said other end of said body.

Claim 4

The catheter assembly of claim 2 wherein said shield, plate and body are longitudinally slotted into two halves and said two halves are joined by breakable portions bridging between said two halves, whereby said two halves may be manually gripped and pulled apart.

Claim 5

The catheter assembly of claim 2 wherein the distal end of said tubular guide shield includes a laterally outwardly projecting finger-engageable portion.

Claim 6

The catheter assembly of claim 1, wherein said body includes a peripherally extending and outwardly projecting plate, supported intermediate the ends of said body, the outer periphery of said plate including opposite side distally and outwardly projecting flanges and upper and lower outwardly and distally inclined flanges.

Claim 7

The catheter assembly of claim 6 wherein said upper and lower flanges, said plate and body are longitudinally slotted and held together by frangible bridging portions enabling the shield comprising said opposite side flanges and said upper and lower flanges to be manually broken in half.

Claim 8

The catheter assembly of claim 6 including a tubular flexible envelope comprising opposite side strips releasably secured together along corresponding longitudinal edge portions, said envelope being telescoped over the proximal end of said catheter and having its forward end secured to said plate about the proximal end of said body, said strips of said envelope being separable from each other when said plate and body are broken apart and moved outwardly in relation to each other.

Claim 9

The catheter assembly of claim 3 including a tubular flexible envelope comprising opposite side strips releasably secured together along corresponding longitudinal edge portions, said envelope being telescoped over the proximal end of said catheter and having the forward ends of said side strips secured to the halves of said shield with the corresponding longitudinal edge portions aligned with the slots in the shield, said strips of said envelope being separable from each other when said shield is broken in half and the separated halves moved laterally away from each other.

Claim 10

The catheter assembly of claim 1 wherein said lubricant reservoir is provided with seal means to prevent lubricant in the reservoir from drying during storage, said seal means being rupturable by pressure when lubricant is expressed from said reservoir by subjecting the lubricant to pressure.

Claim 11

The catheter assembly of claim 1 wherein said coacting means includes a plurality of inclined fingers extending longitudinally and inwardly from said body with the free ends of the fingers received in the end of the outlet neck on the lubricant reservoir, said outlet neck including an inwardly facing, longitudinally extending wedge surface engaged with the outer surface of the fingers and deflecting them inwardly into clamping engagement with the catheter in response to longitudinal inward movement of the outlet neck in relation to the body.

Claim 12

A lubricating and guiding assembly for a catheter for use in inserting the catheter into a body orifice comprising a tubular body having a longitudinal bore extending therethrough adapted to receive a catheter therethrough, shield meas attached to the tubular body and projecting laterally thereof for engagement by the fingers of a person using the device to position the tubular body in alignment with the body orifice to facilitate alignment of and insertion of the catheter received through the tubular body into the body orifice, a lubricant reservoir including a squeezable bulb having a quantity of lubricant therein and a pressure rupturable seal preventing the lubricant from drying out during storage, said lubricant reservoir including a tubular outlet neck aligned with the tubular body and adapted to receive the end of the catheter when the catheter is positioned through the tubular body, said tubular body and shield means being constructed of two separable halves joined together by frangible connecting means, said tubular body including inwardly extending means movable inwardly for clamping engagement with a catheter received in the tubular body when the outlet neck is moved longitudinally into engagement with the inwardly extending means for deflecting the inwardly extending means inwardly for clamping engagement with the catheter without exerting any outward force on the tubular body and shield means thereby eliminating breakage of the frangible connecting means between the halves of the body and shield means while the outlet neck is engaged with the inwardly extending means and lubricant is being discharged into the interior of the tubular body so that discharge of the lubricant will not dislodge a catheter received in the tubular body and the lubricant will be applied to the catheter as it moves through the tubular body into a body orifice after the lubricant reservoir and outlet neck have been separated from the tubular body, said inwardly extending means on the tubular body including a plurality of deflecctable fingers each having one end rigid with the body and a free end extending longitudinally and inwardly of the tubular body with the inner end of the outlet neck including a wedging surface engaging the outlet surfaces of the fingers to deflect the fingers inwardly when the outlet neck is moved longitudinally inwadly in relation to the fingers.

Claim 13

A lubricating and guiding assembly for a catheter for use in inserting the catheter into a body orifice comprising a tubular body having a longitudinal bore extending therethrough adapted to receive a catheter therethrough, shield meas attached to the tubular body and projecting laterally thereof for engagement by the fingers of a person using the device to position the tubular body in alignment with the body orifice to facilitate alignment of and insertion of the catheter received through the tubular body into the body orifice, a lubricant reservoir including a squeezable bulb having a quantity of lubricant therein and a pressure rupturable seal preventing the lubricant from drying out during storage, said lubricant reservoir including a tubular outlet neck aligned with the tubular body and adapted to receive the end of the catheter when the catheter is positioned through the tubular body, said tubular body and shield means being constructed of two separable halves joined together by frangible connecting means, said tubular body including inwardly extending means movable inwardly for clamping engagement with a catheter received in the tubular body when the outlet neck is moved longitudinally into engagement with the inwardly extending means for deflecting the inwardly extending means inwardly for clamping engagement with the catheter without exerting any outward force on the tubular body and shield means thereby eliminating breakage of the frangible connecting means between the halves of the body and shield means while the outlet neck is engaged with the inwardly extending means and lubricant is being discharged into the interior of the tubular body so that discharge of the lubricant will not dislodge a catheter received in the tubular body and the lubricant will be applied to the catheter as it moves through the tubular body into a body orifice after the lubricant reservoir and outlet neck have been separated from the tubular body, said inwardly extending means on the tubular body including a plurality of deflecctable fingers each having one end rigid with the body and a free end extending longitudinally and inwardly of the tubular body with the inner end of the outlet neck including a wedging surface engaging the outlet surfaces of the fingers to deflect the fingers inwardly when the outlet neck is moved longitudinally inwadly in relation to the fingers.

Claim 14

The structure as defined in claim 11 together with a flexible protective envelope adapted to completely enclose the catheter with one end of the envelope being connected to the shield means and the envelope including longitudinal edge portions separably connected with the longitudinal edge portions being in alignment with the juncture between the two halves of the shield means and body for separation of the envelope when the two halves of the shield means and body are separated and moved apart.