Dispensing device for adhesive-backed articles

An apparatus is disclosed for dispensing an adhesive-backed article. An adhesive-backed article has a first adhesive disposed on at least a portion of its bottom surface. The bottom surface of the adhesive-backed article is bonded to the top surface of a backing layer by a bond formed by the first adhesive. The top surface of the adhesive-backed article is bonded to the bottom surface of the support layer by a bond formed by a second adhesive disposed on at least a portion of the bottom surface. The bond formed between the top surface of the adhesive backed article and the bottom surface of the support layer is stronger than the bond between the bottom surface of the adhesive-backed article and the top surface of the backing layer such that when the support layer is separated from the backing layer, .the adhesive-backed article remains affixed to the support layer. Further, the bond formed between the top surface of the adhesive-backed article and the bottom surface of the support layer is weaker than a bond formed between the adhesive on the bottom surface of the adhesive backed article and a surface to which it is applied, such that when the adhesive-backed article is applied to an application surface and the support layer separated from this surface, said adhesive-backed article will remain bonded to the application surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to a dispensing device for adhesive-backed articles, 
such as bandage strips. More particularly, this invention permits 
one-handed access, removal, and application of adhesive-backed articles. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
While adhesive-backed articles such as adhesive bandage strips are known in 
the art, they are commonly sealed in sterile, individual wrappings and 
packaged within paper or metal boxes. Examples include the well-known 
"Band-Aid.RTM." brand bandage strips. While popular, these products suffer 
certain disadvantages such as the fact that the bandages themselves can be 
difficult to remove from the wrappings and difficult to apply to the 
desired location. The user generally must remove the bandage from the 
wrapping, remove the nonstick layers from the adhesive portion of the 
bandage and then attempt to apply the bandage to the desired location 
without the bandage curling or having the bandage adhere to itself. 
Attempts to improve upon this concept include U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,586 to 
Taulbee, et al. which discloses a bandage dispenser device in which a 
continuous strip is grasped with one hand and a bandage is removed with 
the other hand. This is accomplished by the use of a continuous strip with 
a first and second layer. Bandages are placed on sterile mounting pads 
affixed to the first layer. The bandages and the first layer are then 
enclosed by a second layer and stacked or rolled within a container. In 
use, the sheet is pulled through a splicer attached to the container that 
cuts the first and second layer. The second layer is then lifted and 
removed. The first layer is then grasped with one hand and a bandage is 
removed with the other. 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,477 to Etheredge, et al., also discloses a bandage 
dispenser device employing the use of a continuous strip. The strip has a 
nonstick coating upon which one end of a bandage is affixed. The other end 
of the bandage and the cotton gauze area of the bandage are covered with a 
release sheet. In use, the continuous sheet is grasped with one hand and 
the bandage is grasped and removed with the other hand. The bandage is 
then applied to the desired location by affixing the exposed half to the 
skin. Once applied, this end of the bandage is held in place while the 
release sheet is removed from the bandage and the other end of the bandage 
is applied to the skin. 
Despite these and other prior art devices, there remains a need for a 
dispensing device for adhesive-backed articles, such as adhesive bandage 
strips, by which the article may be grasped with one hand from the front 
of a dispenser and then applied, also one-handedly, to the desired 
location without the article curling or adhering to itself. Both Taulbee 
and Etheredge require the use of two hands to remove and apply a bandage 
strip and neither address the problem of the bandage strip curling or 
adhering to itself. Further, the device disclosed by Taulbee would entail 
considerable manufacturing costs due to the splicer structure. 
While the prior art has improved upon access to adhesive-backed articles, 
there is a need for both improved access to the article and improved 
applicability of the article. This would permit, for example, a lab 
technician who is drawing blood from a patient to apply an adhesive 
bandage strip with one hand while maintaining pressure on the puncture 
with the other. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Stated generally, the present invention comprises an apparatus for 
dispensing an adhesive-backed article. An adhesive-backed article has a 
first adhesive disposed on at least a portion of its bottom surface. The 
bottom surface of the adhesive-backed article is bonded to the top surface 
of a backing layer by a bond formed by the first adhesive. The top surface 
of the adhesive-backed article is bonded to the bottom surface of the 
support layer by a bond formed by a second adhesive disposed on at least a 
portion of the bottom surface. The bond formed between the top surface of 
the adhesive-backed article and the bottom surface of the support layer is 
stronger than the bond between the bottom surface of the adhesive-backed 
article and the top surface of the backing layer such that when the 
support layer is separated from the backing layer, the adhesive-backed 
article remains affixed to the support layer. Further, the bond formed 
between the top surface of the adhesive backed article and the bottom 
surface of the support layer is weaker than a bond formed between the 
adhesive on the bottom surface of the adhesive-backed article and a 
surface to which it is applied, such that when the adhesive-backed article 
is applied to an application surface and the support layer separated from 
said surface, said adhesive-backed article will remain bonded to said 
application surface. 
Embodiments of this invention include the use of adhesive bandage strips 
positioned on a continuous sheet and packed within a dispenser. Sterile, 
nonstick mounting pads are affixed to the continuous sheet and the 
adhesive bandage strips are placed on each of the mounting pads. Each 
bandage is then joined by a temporary adhesive to a support strip 
containing a pull tab. The continuous sheet and each support strip are 
sealed together by the temporary adhesive so as to enclose the bandage. 
When the tab of a support strip is pulled, the support strip and the 
adhesive bandage strip are peeled together from the continuous sheet and 
the mounting pad, leaving the cotton gauze area of the bandage strip 
exposed. The adhesive bandage strip may then be placed on the desired 
location and the support strip is peeled away from the bandage strip. 
The temporary adhesive joining the bandage strip and the support strip is 
strong enough to permit the bandage strip and the support strip to be 
removed together from the mounting pad and the continuous sheet, but also 
permits easy removal of the support strip after the bandage is affixed to 
the skin. This is due to the fact that the temporary adhesive joining the 
adhesive bandage strip to the support strip creates a bond of greater 
strength than that between the adhesive bandage strip and the nonstick 
mounting pad, but of lesser strength than the bond between the adhesive 
bandage strip and a user's skin. 
The dispenser itself may be a desktop or wall-mounted refillable container 
constructed of metal, plastic or paper. The dispenser has an opening or a 
window to provide access to sterile, individually wrapped adhesive bandage 
strips affixed to a continuous sheet. The continuous sheet is layered or 
rolled in the bottom of the dispenser and is fed across the dispenser 
window and exits either through one end of the dispenser or is attached to 
a spool. As the bandage strips are used, the sheet may be pulled through 
or the spool advanced, thus exposing additional bandage strips in the 
dispenser window. 
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved 
dispenser for adhesive-back articles such as adhesive bandage strips. 
It is also an object of present invention to provide a device and method 
allowing the user to apply a common sterile adhesive bandage strip using 
only one hand in the process of removing the bandage strip from the 
dispenser and applying it to the desired location. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a convenient dispenser 
which displays several adhesive bandage strips for immediate use and 
eliminates the handling of individually wrapped bandage strips and the 
disposal of the wrappings. 
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method for 
one-handed application of a bandage strip to its desired location without 
the bandage strip curling or adhering to itself.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an adhesive bandage strip 1 joined to 
a support sheet 4 with a pull tab 5. The adhesive bandage strip 1 is 
generally constructed out of plastic, paper or cloth material with an 
adhesive substance on one side 2 of the strip and a cotton gauze area 3 in 
the middle of this adhesive side 2 of the strip. A conventional adhesive 
bandage strip, such as the "Band-Aid.RTM." brand bandage strip, may be 
used. 
The adhesive bandage strip 1 is joined to a support strip 5 by a temporary 
adhesive. The support strip may be constructed out of paper or plastic 
material. The temporary adhesive used to join the adhesive bandage strip 1 
and the support strip 4 is of the same or lower bonding strength than the 
adhesive substance used on the adhesive side 2 of the adhesive bandage 
strip 1. Examples of the temporary adhesive substance include 
"DryLine.TM." Temporary Adhesive made by The Gillette Company. The support 
strip 4 also contains a pull tab 5 for ease of removal, as explained 
below. 
FIG. 2 is a top perspective view showing the positioning of the adhesive 
bandage strips 1 and the support strips 4 on the continuous sheet 6. The 
continuous sheet 6 may be constructed out of paper or plastic material. It 
is of variable length and can be folded accordion-like, as shown, or 
rolled. 
A variable number of sterile, nonstick mounting pads 7 are permanently 
affixed to the continuous sheet 6. The sterile, nonstick mounting pads 7 
are generally constructed out of paper, such as the release liner-type 
paper manufactured by Rhinelander Paper Company. The adhesive bandage 
strips 1 are then positioned on the sterile, nonstick mounting pads 7 such 
that the adhesive side 2 of a bandage strip 1 is in contact with the 
sterile, nonstick mounting pad 7. Alternatively, the continuous sheet 6 
itself can be treated with a nonstick substance such that the adhesive 
bandage strips 1 may be placed directly on the continuous sheet 6. 
A support strip 4 is then joined to each of the adhesive bandage strips 1 
as discussed above. The support strip 4 covers the adhesive bandage strip 
1 and adheres to that area of the continuous sheet 6 immediately 
surrounding the adhesive bandage strip 1, such that each adhesive bandage 
strip 1 is sealed within the support strip 4 and the continuous sheet 1. 
This enclosure ensures that the adhesive bandage strips 1 remain sterile 
until use. 
In operation, the support strip 4 is grasped via the pull tab 5 such that 
the adhesive bandage strip 1 and the support strip 4 are peeled together 
from the sterile, nonstick mounting pad 7 and the continuous strip 6. The 
temporary adhesive joining the bandage strip 1 and the support strip 4 is 
of sufficient strength to overcome the bond between the adhesive side 2 of 
bandage strip 1 and sterile, nonstick mounting pad 7. The adhesive bandage 
strip 1, supported by support strip 4, is then applied to the desired 
location on the user's skin. 
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the typical application of an adhesive 
bandage strip 1 with a support strip 4 to a user's skin. Once the adhesive 
bandage strip 1 is applied, the support strip 4 is peeled away from the 
user and the adhesive bandage strip 1. The temporary adhesive joining the 
adhesive bandage strip 1 and the support strip 4 is of lesser strength 
than the bond between the adhesive side 2 of bandage strip 1 and a user's 
skin. The support strip 4 is then discarded after use. 
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the elements of dispenser 
10. The dispenser 10 consists of a top half 11 defining an access window 
12, a bottom half 13, a support ledge 14, a spool 15, and a knob 16. As 
can be shown, the support ledge 14 is positioned within top half 11 
directly underneath access window 12 and is supported by bottom half 13. 
The bottom half 13 is generally hollow so as to provide space for the 
packing of the continuous sheet 6. The spool 15 is generally located on 
one end of the lower half 13 and communicates with knob 16 on the exterior 
of the dispenser 10. 
The dispenser 10 can be manufactured out of metal, plastic or paper. The 
dispenser 10 may be refillable and may be used on a desktop or mounted to 
the wall. 
FIG. 5 is a side cut away view showing the dispenser 10 packed with a 
continuous sheet 6 of adhesive bandage strips 1. As can be seen, the 
continuous sheet 6 is packed accordion-like in the bottom half 12 of 
dispenser 10. The continuous sheet 6 is fed through and across support 
ledge 14 such that the adhesive bandage strips 1 are exposed through 
access window 12. The leading end 8 of continuous sheet 6 is attached to 
spool 15 such that the continuous sheet 6 can be advanced by rotating knob 
16 as the adhesive bandage strips 1 are removed. 
In an alterative embodiment, not shown, spool 15 and knob. 16 can be 
eliminated in favor of an aperture in the upper half 11 of dispenser 10 or 
between the upper half 11 and lower half 13, such that the leading end 8 
of continuous sheet 6 is fed through the opening. The continuous sheet 6 
may be pulled through the aperture so as to advance the continuous sheet 6 
as the adhesive bandage strips 1 are removed from the access window 12. 
While the invention has been disclosed with respect to an adhesive bandage, 
it will be appreciated that the invention is equally well suited for other 
types of adhesive-backed articles, e.g., bumper stickers, adhesive-backed 
name tags, and the like. It is also understood that this description is 
not meant to be limiting because further modifications may now suggest 
themselves to those skilled in the art and is intended to cover such 
modifications as fall within the scope of the following claims.