Tracheal tube and method of production

Abstract

It is the object of the invention, which relates to a tracheal tube (1) and a method for producing a tracheal tube (1), to provide a tracheal tube (1) with a connector (3), wherein the connector (3) is connected to a curved tube (2) by way of a rotatable and pivotable connection that can be easily realized. This object is solved with a device having a joint head part (4) of a ball joint arranged on first end of the connector (3) facing the curved tube (2), a first partial socket (2.1) of the ball joint arranged on a first end of the curved tube (2) facing the connector (3), a locking socket (5) arranged as a second partial socket of the ball joint, and a locking ring (6) arranged for connecting the locking socket (5) with the curved tube (2).

Claims

1. A tracheal tube (1), which comprises: at least one curved tube (2), a connector (3), wherein the connector (3) has a first end facing the curved tube (2) forming a joint head part (4) of a ball joint, wherein the curved tube (2) has a first end facing the connector (3) forming a first partial socket (2.1) of the ball joint, a locking socket (5) arranged as a second partial socket of the ball joint, and a locking ring (6) connecting the locking socket (5) with the curved tube (2).

2. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 1, comprising a first latch securing a first end of the locking ring (6) on the locking socket (5).

3. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 2, wherein the first latch comprises a bead (11) and a groove (12).

4. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 1, further comprising an outer tube (7) surrounding the curved tube (2), and a second latch securing a second end of the locking ring (6) on the outer tube (7).

5. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 4, wherein the second latch is a bayonet closure.

6. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 1, wherein the curved tube (2) is composed of a soft plastic having a Shore hardness of 40 Shore-A to 90 Shore-A and comprises a bend.

7. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 1, wherein the connector (3), the locking ring (6) and the locking socket (5) are made of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.

8. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 1, wherein the connector (3) has at a second end a diameter of about 15 mm.

9. A method for producing a tracheal tube (1), comprising the steps of: providing a connection between a curved tube (2) and a connector (3), wherein the connector (3) is provided on a first end facing the curved tube (2) with a joint head part (4) of a ball joint, wherein the curved tube (2) is provided on a first end facing the connector (3) a first partial socket (2.1), wherein a locking socket (5) is provided as a second partial socket of the ball joint, wherein the joint head part (4) of the connector (3) is formfittingly and movably secured by the two partial sockets (2.1; 5), wherein the second partial socket is connected to the curved tube (2) by a locking ring (6), and mounting the connector (3) with the joint head part (4) so as to be pivotable in spatial directions X and Y and rotatable about its longitudinal axis (9).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the locking ring (6) is provided on a first end with a latch for securing on the second partial socket (5) and wherein the locking ring (6) is provided on a second end with a bayonet closure for securing on an outer tube (7) surrounding the curved tube (2).

11. The tracheal tube (1) according to claim 6, wherein the soft plastic has a Shore hardness of 60 Shore-A to 70 Shore-A.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1: a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the tracheal tube according to the present invention,

(2) FIGS. 2A & 2B: a plan view and a sectional view, respectively, of the embodiment according to FIG. 1,

(3) FIG. 3: an partially enlarged sectional view of the connection of the curved tube with the connector according to FIGS. 2A & 2B,

(4) FIG. 4: an example of the coupling of the arrangement according to the invention with an outer tube, and

(5) FIG. 5: a perspective view of the tracheal tube according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows a not-to-scale schematic diagram of an embodiment of the tracheal tube 1 according to the invention. The tracheal tube 1 includes a curved tube 2, indicated by a dashed line. This curved tube 2 may, for example, be arranged inside an outer tube 7, which is arranged through a throat and trachea incision into the trachea of the patient. In this position of the tracheal tube 1, the neck plate 8 rests against the neck of a patient. An arrangement of the curved tube 2 in an outer tube 7 is an option and is not necessarily required for the present invention.

(7) The tracheal tube 1 further includes a closure, which is designed as a locking ring 6, which formfittingly connects the curved tube 2 with the connector 3 such that the connector 3 is connected with the curved tube 2 both for pivoting in the indicated spatial directions X and Y as well as for rotation about its longitudinal axis 9. Such a pivoting movement of the connector 3 that is different from its central alignment is not shown in FIG. 1. The connector 3 is arranged on an end of tracheal tube 1 facing away from a patient. This end is alternatively referred to as the machine-side end.

(8) FIG. 2A is a view of the tracheal tube 1 along the longitudinal axis 9 and FIG. 2B is a sectional view along the illustrated section line A-A.

(9) FIG. 2A thus enables a view onto the curved outer tube 7 and the neck plate 8.

(10) FIG. 2B shows a sectional view of a connector 3, which may be, for example, a customary standard connector 3 with a diameter of 15 millimeters. This connector 3 is designed to have on its first end facing the curved tube 2 a so-called joint head of a ball joint. In this case, this first end of the connector 3 forms only part of a spheroidal joint head of a known ball joint, namely a so-called joint head part 4, as shown in FIG. 2B. The connector 3 also has on this first end an opening oriented toward the curved tube 2.

(11) According to the prior art, a joint head of a ball joint is affixed by arranging the joint head in a so-called socket. This socket which at least partially encloses the joint head is realized in the present invention by two parts or by two partial sockets 2.1 and 5. This allows and facilitates easy assembly or disassembly, i.e. establishing a connection of the curved tube 2 with the connector 3 and releasing this connection.

(12) A first partial socket 2.1 is formed by the first end of the curved tube 2 facing the connector 3. The first end of the connector 3, i.e. the joint head part 4, is inserted or arranged in this first partial socket 2.1. Furthermore, the socket is formed by arranging a locking socket 5, which forms the second partial socket and enables the joint head part 4 of the connector 3 to be formfittingly mounted.

(13) A locking ring 6 is provided for securing the joint head part 4 arranged on the first end of the connector 3 with the first partial socket 2.1 and the locking socket 5. The locking ring 6 may for example be connected to the outer tube 7 in the form of a bayonet closure. This locking ring 6 may, for example, be pushed over the curved tube 2 and over the first partial socket 2.1 and interlock by way of suitable means on the locking socket 5 in the position shown in FIG. 2B. Alternatively, the locking ring 6 may also make the connection to the locking socket 5 in the form of a bayonet closure.

(14) Fixing the locking socket 5 in the indicated position on the first partial socket 2.1 and receiving the joint head part 4, which is partially formed as a ball joint, of the connector 3 in the aforedescribed manner provides a formfitting connection between the curved tube 2 and the connector 3 which can be readily released via the locking ring 6. By virtue of this positive fit, the connector 3 can move both in the spatial directions X and Y as well as rotate about its longitudinal axis 9. Forces exerted on the connector 3 of the tracheal tube 1, for example, by a ventilation hose connected to the connector 3 can be kept away from the patient by virtue of this freedom of movement of the connector 3. This improves the comfort of the tracheal tube 1 and reduces stress on the patient. In addition, the risk of the breathing hose detaching from the connector 3 is reduced by the agility of the connector 3.

(15) It is envisioned to produce the connector 3, the locking ring 6 and the locking socket 5 from a hard, easy-to-process and dimensionally stable plastic, whereas the curved tube 2 is preferably made of a soft plastic. For example, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) can be used as a hard plastic.

(16) FIG. 3 shows in an enlarged sectional view part of the connection of the curved tube 2 with the connector 3 in accordance with FIG. 2B. Illustrated is the first end of the connector 3 that forms the joint head part 4. As can be seen, this joint head part 4 abuts the first end of the curved tube 2, which forms the first partial socket 2.1. The second partial socket is formed by the locking socket 5. This socket, which is formed by the first and the second partial socket, is dimensioned such that the joint head part 4 of the connector 3 is far enough enclosed so as to produce a formfitting connection which securely holds the joint head part 4 in place. On the other hand, in order to allow the connector 3 to move in the spatial directions X and Y, the joint head part 4 is not completely enclosed by the formed socket.

(17) As an example, the agility of the connector 3 in the spatial direction Y is indicated in FIG. 3 by the double arrow shown in the joint head part 4. The likewise present agility in the spatial direction X as well as the agility about the unillustrated longitudinal axis 9 of the connector 3 have been omitted in FIG. 3, since this is well known to those skilled in technical field of ball joints.

(18) FIG. 3 shows the locking ring 6 which is pushed over the first end of the curved tube 2 and connected to the locking socket 5, and which securely holds the curved tube 2, the locking socket 5 and the connector 3 together after latching in the locking socket 5.

(19) FIG. 4 shows the subsystem composed of the curved tube 2 with the first partial socket 2.1, the locking socket 5, the locking ring 6 and the connector 3 when connected with an outer tube 7.

(20) It is envisioned to connect this subsystem with an outer tube 7 and to thereby complete the system to a functional tracheal tube 1, wherein the outer tube 7 is arranged in a throat and trachea incision of a patient and extends into the trachea of the patient.

(21) For this purpose, the outer tube 7 has, for example, a region with an increasing cross-section 10 where the outer tube 7 is connected with the neck plate 8. A detailed description of this connection has been omitted, since this connection can be implemented in a manner known in the art. In this complete embodiment, the tracheal tube 1 is intended for routine use with a patient, with the neck plate 8 abutting the neck of the patient when the tracheal tube 1 is inserted.

(22) In one embodiment, the locking ring 6 is designed to be connected to the outer tube 7 via a formed bayonet closure. In this way, the locking ring 6 can be pushed, for example, over the part that forms the bayonet closure on the outer tube 7 and secured in a conventional manner by rotation. The end of the locking ring 6 facing away from the bayonet closure may be constructed such that it has an at least partially circumferential bead 11 which reduces the diameter of the locking ring 6. In this case, the locking socket 5 is formed such that it has an at least partially circumferential groove 12 receiving the bead 11. The connection of the locking ring 6 with the locking socket 5 is in this case established by latching the bead 11 of the locking ring 6 in the groove 12 of the locking socket 5. An improved diagram of the elements bead 11 and groove 12 can be seen in FIG. 3.

(23) Alternatively, the connection of the locking ring 6 with the locking socket 5 can also be implemented as a type of bayonet locking ring.

(24) Means, which are necessary or advantageous for the practical implementation of a bayonet locking ring, can be suitably supplemented by a person skilled in the art.

(25) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the tracheal tube 1, wherein the connector 3 with its formed joint head part 4 is, unlike all the other elements, not shown in a sectional view. The illustration of FIG. 5 shows in more detail the socket composed of two parts, i.e. of the first partial socket 2.1 and the locking socket 5, in which the joint head part 4 is movably mounted and fixed. This attachment of the joint head part 4 allows the already described pivoting motion of the connector 3 in the spatial directions X and Y and simultaneously its rotation about the longitudinal axis 9. The curved tube 2 arranged in the outer tube 7 can in this embodiment of the arrangement also be designated as inner tube of a tracheal tube 1.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

(26) 1 tracheal tube 2 curved tube 2.1 first partial socket 3 connector 4 joint head part 5 locking socket (second partial socket) 6 locking ring 7 outer tube 8 neck plate 9 longitudinal axis 10 region of increasing cross section 11 bead 12 groove