SPEAKING VALVE PROTECTOR

Abstract

A shower shield for use with a tracheostoma, having a chamber with a port for connection to a speaking valve or tracheostomy base plate, and a downwardly-facing aperture, and further provided with a resiliently-deformable wall region so that a user's finger pressure on the wall region said region can actuate the speaking valve or occlude a tracheostoma.

Claims

1. A shower shield for use with a tracheostoma, said shield comprising a chamber having: (a) a port in communication with the interior of said chamber for connection to a tracheostomy speaking valve or tracheostomy base plate; and (b) an aperture that may be positioned to face downwards, in use; wherein the wall of said chamber opposite said port is provided with a resiliently-deformable region so that a user's finger pressure on said region can cause said region to deform and at least contact a speaking valve or base plate when attached to said port.

2. A shower shield according to claim 1 in which said resiliently-deformable region comprises an elastomeric membrane.

3. A shower shield according to claim 3 wherein said elastomeric membrane is co-moulded with a plastics chamber.

4. A shower shield according to claim 1 wherein the interior surface of said resiliently-deformable region is provided with a protuberance extending towards said port.

5. A shower shield according to claim 4 wherein said protuberance extends so as to touch the surface of a speaking valve when attached to said port and said resiliently-deformable region is in its undeformed configuration.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0017] The invention will be describer with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the context for use of a speaking valve protector of the invention with a cross-section of the head of a user;

[0019] FIGS. 3-4 illustrate in perspective and cross-sectional views respectively a known shower shield;

[0020] FIGS. 5-6 illustrate, in cross-sectional views, known embodiments of speaking valves; and

[0021] FIGS. 7-12 illustrate, in cross-sectional views, embodiments of shower shields of the invention, in use with speaking valves.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] FIGS. 7-9 illustrate, in cross-sectional view, an embodiment of a shower shield of the invention, generally indicated by 20, together with a speaking valve 13. The perspective view is essentially the same as FIG. 3.

[0023] The shower shield 20 comprises a chamber 9 having a port 10 to which a tracheostomy speaking valve 13 may be fitted, and an aperture 11 that may be positioned to face downwards, in use. In this embodiment, a connector 19 is provided on the port 10 to connect the shield 20 to a corresponding connector 18 on a speaking valve to which the shower shield 20 is to be connected. In this embodiment, the connectors 18, 19 are illustrated as an interacting circumferential indent and detent, but other configurations are possible, and not crucial to the operation of the device, other than the connector should be water resistant and substantially air resistant.

[0024] The shower shield 20 may be connected to a speaking valve 13 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0025] On the forward-facing face 12 of the shower shield there is provided a resiliently-deformable region 21. The region 21 is located opposite the position of the port 10. The resiliently-deformable region 21 is configured such that finger pressure from a user can deform the region 21 to an extent that it can at least touch the speaking valve 13, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

[0026] Further pressure on the region 21 would serve to actuate the speaking valve in a known fashion if the valve were provided with e.g. a movable occluder plate as described above. Alternatively, the speaking valve might comprise a cap with a hole in it, and moving the deformable region 21 to the position illustrated in FIG. 9 would serve to allow vocalization.

[0027] The resiliently-deformable region 21 may comprise an elastomeric membrane. This could, e.g. be co-moulded with the rest of the shower shield using an elastomeric plastics for the resiliently-deformable region 21 and an essentially rigid plastics for the rest of the shield. Alternatively, an essentially rigid plastics shield could be provided having a hole where the resiliently-deformable region is desired, and a resiliently-deformable elastomeric cover placed over the shield (avoiding the port 10 and the aperture 11) to provide the required deformable region 21. In other embodiments, an essentially rigid plastics shield could again be provided having a hole where the resiliently-deformable region is desired, and a plug formed of resiliently-deformable material could then be disposed in the hole to produce the desired structure.

[0028] FIGS. 10-11 illustrate, in cross-sectional view, a further embodiment of a shower shield of the invention, generally indicated by 20. Features in common with the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7-10 are numbered correspondingly.

[0029] In this embodiment, the resiliently-deformable region 21 is provided with an inwardly-extending protuberance 22 on its inside surface, the protuberance extending towards the port 10. The protuberance 22 could form part of the deformable region, or could alternatively be attached to the inside surface of a separate deformable region. By the addition of this feature, the region 21 does not have to be deformed as much as in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7-10 in order for the protuberance 22 to touch and then actuate the speaking valve, as illustrated in FIG. 11 where the speaking valve is shown in its closed position.

[0030] FIG. 12 illustrates a yet further development of the shower shield illustrated in FIGS. 10-11. Again, features in common with previously described embodiments are numbered correspondingly.

[0031] In this embodiment, the protuberance is so sized as to touch the surface of the occluder plate 14 of the speaking valve 13 when the region 21 is in its undeformed state, as illustrated. In this way, the movement required to be imparted by the user onto the resiliently-deformable region 21 is the same as when they use the speaking valve 13 without the use of a shower shield.