The present invention concerns a novel gas supply reel that allows persons using therapeutic gas to easily coil in or pay out an amount of tubing to allow the person to be in any part of a room without having extra tubing underfoot. More specifically, the present invention concerns a therapeutic gas reel that includes a quick alignment mechanism and a method of tube replacement, which allows the easy removal of used or otherwise contaminated tubing and complete replacement with fresh tubing.
The use of oxygen or other therapeutic and anesthetic gases in hospitals, clinics, at home, and in other medical situations often requires an individual""s connection to a fixed source of the gas. Typically, the source of the gas and the location of the patient, for therapy, surgery, rest or other procedure, changes depending on the time of day, procedure or location of equipment. As a result, patients can rarely be provided with a length of tubing that will exactly accommodate the patient""s needs at all times. Typically, the patient is given a large amount of tubing such that the patient may travel or be moved to all corners of a therapy room without running out of tubing.
In hospitals, oxygen and other therapeutic gases are typically provided through built in sources found as wall outlets. At clinics, doctor""s offices, and homes, therapeutic gases are typically provided in heavy compressed gas canisters that, while more portable, are often quite heavy (and not conducive for movement, particularly by infirm individuals, and because of the potential explosive nature of gases under pressure). As such, gas sources are usually fixed in place in a therapy room and lengths of tubing are provided between the source and the user. This has often resulted in long lengths of such tubing being laid such that it is underfoot both for the person using the therapeutic gas line and for those visiting or providing therapy. Such tubing can become a safety hazard to the user of the tubing and to those visiting or working near and around the user. The tubing can get trampled by feet or equipment, causing kinking, crushing or tearing of the tubing and providing a risk of severing the user from the supply of gas, or allowing the introduction of bacteria, germs or other contaminants into the gas line. Further, tubing underfoot can cause a tripping or entanglement hazard to the user and others in the vicinity.
To alleviate this problem some users of therapeutic gases will collect and wind, or reel, the excess tubing and lay it aside. This, however, provides the added complication of forming an entanglement and potentially also forming a kink in the tubing, requiring the user to untangle the tubing when movement is desired, or to find the kink when it is discovered that therapeutic gas has been limited or cut-off by a kink in the tubing. Reels, resembling garden hose reel devices, onto which a length of tubing may be placed and payed-out or reeled-in as needed, have begun to appear. These devices have generally been undesirable in that they do not allow for the easy and/or rapid removal and replacement of tubing. In such units, replacement of tubing, typically, can be so difficult as to discourage the user from regularly replacing the tubing. As a result, users, who can only stand a short time off of their supply of gas, and the elderly, or persons having physical handicaps may not change the gas supply tubing often enough to insure a healthy and sanitary carrier for oxygen or other gases. Further, some of these reels include built in, non-interchangeable, connection parts which may, after some use, cause the collection of germs, bacteria or other contaminants to be transferred from the reel to the tubing and the patient in due course.
We have invented a new and novel therapeutic gas tube reel that provides a means to supply gas to a user while keeping a significant length of reserve tubing stored until needed in a convenient container. The tubing is reeled into the device such that the flow of gas is continuous through the stored tubing and to the patient. The device of our invention allows the quick and easy alignment of an inner reel and an outer casing such that the tubing may be quickly and easily exchanged as needed. Further the device provides a swivel hub which allows the rotation of the device without kinking the tubing within. Further, the swivel device is changeable, being typically connected only to the supply of therapeutic gas, through a tube, and to the tubing in the invention. The tubing and swivel device is otherwise unconnected to the reel or case. The present invention further comprises means to retract the tubing, which has been paid out, back into the reel when a smaller length of tubing is desired.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to have a device that would allow for the storage of a length of clean and sanitary gas tubing, and allows the easy pay out and collection of the gas tubing. It is a further object of the present invention to have a reel device that is spring loaded to assist in the reeling of tubing which has been payed out. It is a further object of the present invention to have a reel device in which sterile elements are only contacted by parts which can also be easily removed and sterilized or replaced. It is a further object of the present invention to have an easy and rapid means of removing and replacing the entire length of gas tubing, such that removal and replacement can be done often to avoid the problems of bacteria, germs and other contaminants.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
In accordance with the present invention, a safety reel for therapeutic gas tubing, comprising: a case defining a tube opening and a reel alignment means is provided. A reel for storing tubing is also provided, the reel comprising a case alignment means, a barrel having a tube inlet defined therethrough and a hub and a tube passageway defined between the opening and the hub. In one embodiment of the device a spring, attached to the reel and the case, is provided such that the payout of tubing causes the spring to coil so that the tubing may be recoiled into the case and onto the reel when desired. In a further embodiment, the spring retraction governed by a ratchet such that recoil tension on the tubing can be controlled as desired. The safety reel further comprises an air swivel for connecting the air tubing to a source of therapeutic gas such that the tubing is not twisted when it is wound up onto the reel.
In one embodiment the alignment means, of the real and case, are automatically controlled such that the movement of a knob towards an alignment indicator causes the alignment of the reel and case to facilitate the complete replacement of the tubing.
In a preferred embodiment, the reel and case are made of a strong and durable plastic material, allowing for a lightweight and low cost device having considerable structural strength and integrity.
In a further embodiment, the length of tubing, within the reel, is connected solely to a replaceable device that is itself connected solely to the gas supply source. In a preferred embodiment the connection is by means of a swivel device that allows connection of tubing to a supply line while allowing the tubing to be coiled and paid out without entanglement of the line. The swivel device is designed to be disposable such that it may be removed and disposed of, and a new swivel device attached when fresh tubing is installed.
In a further embodiment, the safety real includes a swivel bracket for mounting the assembly to wall or oxygen source such that the reel and housing tracks the user as they move about.
Further, a method of installing and easily replacing tubing is provided in the present invention. The method includes the steps of providing a storage case that comprises a tube inlet, for inserting and paying-out tubing, and a reel alignment indicator. The method, further, includes the steps of providing a length of tubing, of the type used with therapeutic gases, and providing a tube reel on which to hold the tubing. The provided reel comprises a case alignment means and a barrel portion defining a tube opening. The reel further defines a hub and a tube passage, between the tube opening on the barrel and the hub. The hub defines an exterior opening of the tube passage and is the situs for bringing therapeutic gases into the case.
The method further includes aligning the case tube inlet and the barrel tube opening by manipulating the reel and aligning the reel alignment opening with the case alignment opening respectively on the case. Further, the method includes, inserting the tubing into the aligned case tube inlet and the reel tube opening, manipulating the length of tubing through the tube passage and to the hub for connection to tubing swivel and then to an external source of therapeutic gas.
In a preferred embodiment, the method is improved by providing a reel alignment indicator, on the case, that shows when the reel is aligned for replacement of the tubing. In the method of the present embodiment, the case tube inlet and the barrel tube opening may be aligned with each other by manipulating the reel and aligning the reel alignment indicator.
In replacing therapeutic gas tubing presently within a safety reel of the present invention, the inventive method includes the steps of paying out substantially all tubing within the case, aligning the case tube inlet and the barrel tube opening by manipulating the reel and aligning the reel aligning opening and the case aligning opening, respectively on the case and reel and pulling the tubing from the device. The user then provides a new length of tubing, which is installed according to the method described above. In a preferred embodiment, the tubing swivel is replaced when the tubing is replaced.
A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.