Title of Invention

AN EAR SYRINGE

Abstract This invention preovides a safe ear syringe comprising a flexible see-through plastic bottle with a cap for closing its mouth, a tubular nozzle projecting out and extending downwards through the said cap and a flexible tube extending downwards from the said nozzle towards the bottom of the bottle, and a weighted nipple capable of being connected to the lower end of said flexible tube.
Full Text

This invention relates to an ear syringe for syringing the human ear.
It is standard practice to use metal syringes for ear syringing. These have an elongated hollow body open at both ends, said hollow body being fitted with a threaded cap like nozzle at one end and a threaded cap like handle at the other end. The plunger is pushed forwards with the right thumb introduced in a ring shaped handle of the plunger, holding on to the ring shaped handle with the other fingers of the right hand and leaving the left hand free to hold the extemal ear. With increased profit taking by the manufacturers syringes made of very thin metal sheets and having defective threaded joints at the two ends of their hollow bodies are manufactured and marketed. Instances have been noted in which up on syringing the ear, the nozzle of the syringe had struck at the ear canal of the patient with great force causing injury to the intemal parts. In one case, after slipping at the threads the cap like handle with the ring shaped handle of the plimger was firmly held in the right hand whereas the unsupported hollow body of the syringe with the nozzle pushed forwards by the sealing cup of the plunger went and struck against the ear canal of the patient causing excruciating pain. Other problems with the commonly used metal syringes are that they require drying before storage and frequent messy lubrication to ensure smooth performance. Also small indentations can be easily produced on the hollow body of a metal syringe that has accidentally fallen down resulting in a stuck piston and the only option left in such cases is to buy a new syringe.
The object of this invention is to propose an inexpensive and safe device for syringing the human ear. It is also another object of this invention to provide an ear syringe that can be used a few times to push out water without refilling the syringe fully each time.
Accordingly this invention provides an ear syringe comprising a flexible see-through plastic bottle B provided with a cap C for closing its mouth, a tubular nozzle E projecting out and extending downwards through the said cap and a flexible tube F extending downwards from the said nozzle towards the bottom of the bottle, the lower end of said flexible tube F being weighted to enable sinking of the tip of said flexible tube when the filled bottle is tilted.
The preferred method to weight the tip of the flexible tube is to attach a weighted nipple at the tip of the flexible tube. A short rubber teat at the tip of the straight tube vidll prevent damage to the ear in case of an accidental hit.
The invention will now be described with reference to tlie accompanying drawing, wherein: Fig.l: is the sectional elevation of an ear syringe according to the invention.
As shown in the figure the ear syringe according to the invention comprises a flexible see-through plastic bottle B provided with a cap C having a tubular nozzle E (both made of

plastic) projecting out through the said cap. The lower end of said nozzle E extends downwards as the flexible tube F provided with a weighted nipple N made of stainless steel, glass or brass. A straight and short (between 4 cm and 18 cm, preferably around 8 cm) nozzle has been found to serve the purpose. The view provided of the ear canal and the control obtained at the tip of the nozzle when the bottle is being squeezed have been found to be satisfactory with this type of simple straight outlet tube. A very short rubber teat T is provided at the tip of the nozzle E to minimize the injuries in case of an accidental hit. The cap C illustrated in the figure is a threaded cap. A press-fitting cap or a combination of threaded and press-fitting caps may also be used.
The bottle filled with lukewarm water W is held in a tilted position between the thumb and the other fingers of the right hand with the palm facing the cap of the bottle, the patient remaining in the sitting position. The nozzle E having the rubber teat T is directed into the ear canal and the bottle squeezed. The tilted position in which the bottle is held is illustrated in the figure. When the squeezed bottle is released, air enters the bottle through fine openings around the cap. The main advantage of such a modified squeeze bottle over a simple rubber bulb with an outlet pipe at the top is that the squeeze bottle can be squeezed several times to provide a water jet at each squeeze. In practice the tilted bottle can be squeezed several times to expel almost the whole of the water in the bottle as the weighted nipple N would fall down to the most dependant part of the bottle containing the residual water. With this arrangement air is likely to be squeezed out only at the end from the tilted bottle filled with the water. After testing on several patients the squeeze bottle so modified has been foimd to be satisfactory for the removal of wax and foreign bodies and is being recommended for universal use.





I claim:
l.An ear syringe comprising a flexible see-through plastic bottle B provided with a cap C for closing its mouth, a tubular nozzle E projecting out and extending downwards through the said cap and a flexible tube F extending downwards from the said nozzle towards the bottom of the bottle, the lower end of said flexible tube F being weighted to enable sinking of the tip of said flexible tube when the filled bottle is tilted.
2.The ear syringe as claimed in claim 1, wherein a weighted nipple N capable of being connected to the lower end of said flexible tube is provided for weighting the tube.
3.The ear syringe as claimed in claims 1 to 2, wherein a short rubber teat T is provided for fitting at the tip of the nozzle E.
4. The ear syringe as claimed in claims 1 to 3, wherein said nozzle is straight and has a length within the range of 4 cm to 14 cm.
5. An ear syringe substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.


Documents:

467-mas-1999-abstract.pdf

467-mas-1999-claims filed.pdf

467-mas-1999-claims granted.pdf

467-mas-1999-correspondnece-others.pdf

467-mas-1999-correspondnece-po.pdf

467-mas-1999-description(complete)filed.pdf

467-mas-1999-description(complete)granted.pdf

467-mas-1999-drawings.pdf

467-mas-1999-form 1.pdf

467-mas-1999-form 19.pdf

467-mas-1999-form 3.pdf


Patent Number 210236
Indian Patent Application Number 467/MAS/1999
PG Journal Number 50/2007
Publication Date 14-Dec-2007
Grant Date 25-Sep-2007
Date of Filing 23-Apr-1999
Name of Patentee DR. JOSE THAIKATTIL
Applicant Address PHYSICIAN, UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE, CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.O,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 DR. JOSE THAIKATTIL PHYSICIAN, UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE, CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.O ,
PCT International Classification Number A 61 M 05/32
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 NA