United States Patent 19 ll 3,923,061

Rossignol (45) Dec. 2, 1975

54 TOOL FOR HYGIENE AND CARE OF THE 2,701,559 2/1955 Cooper................................ 128/2 B
CAVTES OF THE BODY 2,767,703 10/1956 Nieburgs............................. 128/2 B
(76 Inventor: Jacques Rossignol, 12, rue H. Durre, 3540.332
3,613,664
(1979 Aye................................. 128/2 B
10/1971 Willson ............................... 128/2 B
59230 - St. Amand les Eaux, France 3,724,463 4/1973 Vail .................................... 128/269
3,800,781 4/1974 Zalucki............................... 128/2 B
22 Filed: Nov. 4, 1974
(21) Appl. No.: 520,954 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cameron, Kerkam, Sutton,
30) Foreign Application Priority Data Stowell & Stowell
Nov. 6, 1973 France .............................. 73.40377

52 U.S. Cl.................. 128/269; 128/2 B; 128/2 W 57 ABSTRACT

(51 Int. Cl.'................... A61B 10/00; A61 M 35/00 An instrument for hygiene and care of the body's cavi
(58) Field of Search....... 128/2 B, 2 W, 269; 15/21 1 ties has a body with at least one padding at its end.
56 References Cited The padding is made up of numerous flexible curved
UNITED STATES PATENTS
lamellae. A stick may be used to mount the body.
2,514,665 7/1950 Myller................................. 28/2 B 10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures
U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 3,923,061
 3,923,061
TOOL FOR HYGIENE AND CARE OF THE
CAVTES OF THE BODY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
curvature about the body around the axis of the stick
The invention relates to a tool for the care and sanita 5 instead of being on a plane and are radially set, at least
tion of the cavities of the body and more specifically
but not exclusively to a type of tool commonly called
a swab. It is sometimes used to cleanse the mucosities
of the nose but especially to extract ear wax.
Ear wax is secreted by the sebaceous glands of the
skin's external auditory duct which allows this duct to
be lubricated and prevents dust and small solid bodies
from getting in. Unfortunately, if this substance accu
mulates it can cause ear singing and some deafness.
At first, ear swabs were used to extract the cerumen,
but as these little instruments were made of horn, bone
or ivory they could damage the ear duct.
Therefore, they were quickly replaced by a flexible
swab fitted with cotton on at least one of its ends. This
provided a cushion which prevented wounding the ear
duct, while it furthermore enabled it to absorb some of
the substance to be extracted. Unfortunately, the ab
sorption capabilities of this heavy and thick padding
are small. Further, while the swab stick is being in
serted, it is inconvenient and awkward as it packs down
a sizeable amount of the cerumen at the bottom of the
auditory duct which could bring about the troubles pre
viously mentioned.
A result provided by the present invention is that a
tool of this nature will not push down the substance to
be extracted to the bottom of the cavity, while allowing
a sizeable amount of this substance to be removed.
To this end, the invention provides a tool such as the
one aforementioned, however, deferring in that the
padding (cotten) absorbing part which is made up of
several flexible laminations.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A swab for use in body cavities has a body mounted
on a stick. The body is a body of revolution around the
axis of the stick with a hemispherical top and a trun
cated cone base. Padding covers or forms the body and
is a plurality of spaced flexible laminations fixed to the
body. The laminations may have a slight helical curva
ture in the same direction about the body around the
axis of the stick.
REFERENCE TO THE APPENDED DRAWINGS
The invention will with reference to a preferred em
bodiment now be described as a non-restrictive exam
ple, as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a face view of the instrument; and
FIG. 2 is a sectional view on the line II - II of FIG.
1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENT
Following the swab stick example, the tool according
to the invention as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is comprised
of a stick 1, with at least one padding at its end which
has a shape circumscribed by a revolving area around
axis 3 of stick 1, having a hemispherical portion 4 with
a diameter D, connected to a major base area in the
shape of a truncated cone 5.
According to the invention's main characteristic, the
padding 2 is made up of several flexible laminations 6,
2
which are connected to the stick 1 by one of their edges
7.
Preferably, the laminations 6 presents a slight helical
locally. As the laminations 6 are all curved in the same
way, when the padding is inserted in the ear duct, it will
create, according to the direction of rotation of the
stick 1 variations of diameter D. This, on the one hand,
10 can be decreased for an opposite rotation to the direc
tion of arrow F, in order to facilitate insertion of the
padded area, for example, or it can be increased by ro
tation in the direction of arrow F in order to accentuate
the pressure on the duct's wall by the external range of
15 laminations 6. In order to improve the drawing of the
substance to be extracted from the wall of the duct, it
is useful to turn down the tips 8 of the laminations, in
a rounded fashion or at an angle as at 9, against the ad
jacent area of the body, placing these extremities sub
20 stantially tangent to said wall and thus to the area cir
cumscribing the shape of the padding 2.
In order not to limit the amount of substance to be
extracted by this instrument, to the specific space vol
ume 10 between the laminations 6, laminations are set
25 helically (FIG. 4) in such a manner that they will move
the product to be extracted toward the outside of the
duct.
The set of laminations 6 can be molded into one
piece with the stick 1, or with a cylinder liner 11 which
30 will cover the tip of a separate stick.
The padding 2 will be advantageously manufactured
in rubber or plastic.
This tool will be very useful in taking cerumen out of
the auditory duct.
35 The flexible laminations 6 in fact, do not run the risk
of injuring the wall of the duct; the cerumen will not be
packed down at the bottom of the duct as it enters the
laminations 6; there is no limit to the quantity of ceru
men that can be extracted in one operation; and it can
40
be used in ducts with very different diameters.
Moreover, this instrument is not limited to the ex
traction of harmful substances, it can also be used for
the deposit of pasty or liquid substances in great quanti
ties, which will have been previously inserted between
45
the laminations. If the padding is dipped in a container
for example, deposit can be made by rotating the pad
ding in the opposite direction to arrow F, causing a de
crease in volume between the laminations, and thus the
50 removal of the substance from the padding which will
evenly apply itself on the wall of the duct.
What I claim is:
1. An instrument for hygiene and care of cavities of
the human body comprising a body portion, a stick for
said body portion, padding on at least one end of said
55
stick forming said body portion, said padding having a
circumscribed shape of a body of revolution around the
long axis of said stick, one end of said padding being a
hemispherical cap and the other end of said padding
60 being a base in the shape of an inverted truncated cone
merging into said cap, and said padding being a plural
ity of normally contiguous flexible radial laminations
around and extending from the axis of said stick form
ing said cap and said truncated cone into said body por
65
tion.
2. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, said
flexible laminations being connected to said stick along
one of their edges.
 3,923,061
3 4
3. An instrument in accordance with claim 2, all of laminations being helically disposed around the axis of
said laminations having a slight helical curvature in the said stick.
same direction forming the body around the axis of the 7. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, said
stick.
laminations being rubber.
4. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, the tips 5 8. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, said
of said laminations being bent on the end opposite to laminations being plastic.
the extremities of said laminations that are connected
to said stick towards an area defining the shape of said 9. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, the
padding. padding forming a monoblock with said stick.
5. An instrument in accordance with claim 4, said 10 10. An instrument in accordance with claim 1 includ
bent tips contacting the adjacent one of said lamina ing a cylinder liner on said stick, the padding forming
tions in a rounded shape. a monoblock with said cylinder liner.
6. An instrument in accordance with claim 1, said >k ck k ck ck

15

20

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65