Abstract:
An improved dispenser for thin, flexible hand coverings includes a unique mechanism to retain the opposing edges of the flexible film as it is advanced and applied to the hand, thereby promoting a controlled stretching, adherence and release. In the preferred embodiment, the entrapment of the film edges is carried out using interlocking chains that advance through guide channels. Another improvement is that the housing of the dispenser in this case is raised as the user pulls down the film to be adhered, and it is the weight of the dispenser that causes the unit to reset for the next use, thereby eliminating the need for springs, at least for this purpose.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/418,681, filed Oct. 15, 2002, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention is related to protective hand coverings and, more particularly, to a dispenser for a protective hand covering formed from a sheet of thin flexible film which is temporarily bonded to a user&#39;s hand during use.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    In many fields, such as the dental, medical, food service, laboratory, and precision manufacturing fields, reducing the potential for contamination is a primary concern. Because workers in these fields routinely manually handle contaminated or contaminatable materials, it is critical that some type of barrier be interposed between the hands of the workers and the contaminated or contaminatable materials. Typically, this barrier comprises a latex or plastic film glove or mitten. The user places their hand into the glove or mitten prior to handling the contaminated or contaminatable materials and this prevents contamination from being transferred to or from the substance or object being handled.  
           [0004]    There are primarily three routes for the transfer of contaminates. The first route is the transfer of contaminates from the contaminated material to the user handling the contaminated material. In the dental, medical and other health care fields, the AIDS epidemic has heightened awareness of the possibility of patients infecting their health care workers with the HIV virus through exposure to body fluids. Even before AIDS was a concern, however, the presence of other highly contagious infectious agents, such as hepatitis, justifiably caused serious concerns among health care workers and resulted in procedures and precautions being implemented for reducing this possible route of contamination. For industrial and laboratory workers handling toxic or hazardous materials, particularly persistent toxins such as mercury, lead and pesticides, extreme precautions are taken to avoid any worker exposure to these materials.  
           [0005]    A second route is the transfer of contaminates from the user to the contaminatable object or materials being handled. Some types of computer and electrical components, such as disk drive storage media and halogen light bulbs, can be ruined by being merely touched with an unprotected hand. Detectable amounts of oil, moisture, skin flakes, etc. will inevitably be transferred to any object which is handled with an unprotected hand. Laboratory samples and crime scene evidence are two other types of materials that can easily be contaminated if proper protective hand coverings are not worn.  
           [0006]    A third route for contamination is the transfer of contaminates from an earlier object handled by a worker to a later object handled by that worker or a co-worker. This third route is often the most difficult to control because the contamination may be indirect (i.e. it may not be directly from the earlier object to the worker to the later object).  
           [0007]    Health care workers typically remove their old gloves and put on new gloves prior to examining or treating a new patient. What may be overlooked, however, is that when their gloves become contaminated during examination or treatment of a patient, any object touched by these gloves, such as a door handle, a pen, a drawer handle, or treatment equipment, may itself become contaminated. When handling particularly virulent infectious agents, an attempt may made to use cleaning or sterilizing agents, such as chemical solutions, to remove or neutralize contaminates which have been transferred to these areas. Remedial measures, such as applying cleaning or sterilizing agents, are typically less than completely effective in eliminating contamination. Similar issues arise when industrial or laboratory workers handle toxic, hazardous or contaminated materials. The preferred method for eliminating this route for contamination is to eliminate the contamination of these areas altogether.  
           [0008]    A primary reason these areas become contaminated is the difficulty of removing and putting on typical hand coverings. Typical hand coverings require that the hand or a portion of the hand be place inside and positioned with respect to a closed section of the hand covering. It can take a greater part of a minute to remove a contaminated pair of conventional latex gloves, replace them with a new pair and properly position the new gloves over the user&#39;s hands. If after handling potentially contaminated materials, a health care worker must operate treatment equipment, the worker must first remove their current pair of gloves and then put on a new pair of gloves before handling the equipment. To avoid accidentally contaminating the patient with contaminates that may have been present on the machine, the worker must then remove this second pair of gloves and put on a third pair of gloves before again coming into contact with the patient.  
           [0009]    In my U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,889, I describe a protective hand covering for adhering to a user&#39;s hand. In the preferred embodiment, a pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to the back surface of a sheet of thin flexible film. The pressure-sensitive adhesive provides a sufficiently strong bond to prevent the hand covering from being inadvertently dislodged, but a sufficiently weak bond to allow the hand covering to be removed without injuring the user. The film is sufficiently impervious to contaminates to prevent the transfer of contaminates from the substance or object being handled to the user, and vice versa.  
           [0010]    As disclosed in the &#39;889 patent, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference, several methods for packaging and dispensing protective hand coverings are feasible. For example, a stack of protective hand coverings may be packaged in a tablet or fan-fold format. The hand coverings could also be dispensed from a continuous roll mounted in a holder. The importance of the dispenser is that by substantially decreasing the time it takes to remove and put on hand coverings, the time required to perform certain types of procedures can be dramatically reduced. Increasing the ease of putting on (and removing) hand coverings will also encourage workers to put on new hand coverings more frequently, which will in turn reduce the likelihood of indirect contamination.  
           [0011]    In my U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,660, also incorporated herein by reference, I describe a dispenser for receiving a roll of thin, flexible film of the type described in my &#39;889 patent. The dispenser includes a backing member over which film may be drawn from the roll through rotation such that the adhesive surface faces outwardly, enabling a user to place the palm and fingers of a hand against the film and backing member prior to severing the film into a sheet now adhered to the hand. The backing member itself preferably forms part of a compressible body enabling a user to squeeze the body through the film for improved adherence of the sheet to the hand.  
           [0012]    Various mechanisms may be used alone or in combination to sever the film into an individual sheet. The sheet itself may include lines of perforations, spaced apart along the roll at a distance sufficient to cover a hand. Additionally, the dispenser may include an element which the film is drawn past to cut the film. Such an element may be in the form of a blade having a knife edge or serrations, and maybe heated. Depending upon the configuration, such an element may be between the backing member and the roll or on the other side of the backing member with respect to the roll.  
           [0013]    The dispenser may further include a mechanism for preventing the roll from rotating while the film is severed into a sheet. Such a mechanism may also be coupled to the backing member. In the preferred embodiment, the backing member is moveable away from the roll, enabling a user to move the hand bearing against the film and backing member away from the roll to assist in severing the sheet from the roll.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    The invention described herein resides in an improved dispenser for thin, flexible hand coverings of the type described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,889. Unique to the present invention, the dispenser includes a mechanism to retain the opposing edges of the flexible film as it is advanced and applied to the hand, thereby promoting a controlled stretching, adherence and release.  
           [0015]    In the preferred embodiment, the entrapment of the film edges is carried out using interlocking chains or other cooperative members that advance through guide channels. Another improvement is that the housing of the dispenser in this case is raised as the user pulls down the film to be adhered, and it is the weight of the dispenser that causes the unit to reset for the next use, thereby eliminating the need for springs, at least for this purpose. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the preferred embodiment, taken from below to better illustrate a carriage mechanism;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the way in which the interlocking chains engage;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4A is a schematic side view of a dispenser according to the invention, showing the disposition of certain features prior to use;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4B is a schematic side view of the dispenser of FIG. 4A, showing the disposition of certain features prior to use; and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4C is a schematic side view of the dispenser of FIG. 4A, showing the disposition of certain features at full carriage extension prior to release;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5A is a side-view drawing that shows schematically how the edge of the film is trapped by interlocking chains;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5B shows one form of interlocking belts that may be used to trap the film edges;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5C shows an alternative form of interlocking belts;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 5D illustrates the use of two flexible magnetic belts (or one magnetic belt and a magnetically attractive belt); and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5E shows the use of two substantially flat belts with pressure applied to pinch the film edge. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]    [0027]FIG. 1 depicts from an oblique perspective a preferred embodiment of the invention indicated generally at  100 , with some of the outer shrouding removed to better illustrate various internal features of the dispenser. A roll of thin, flexible film to be used as a hand covering is shown at  102 . Applicable films are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,889, incorporated herein by reference. The film is drawn through the dispenser, with the right edge of the film being trapped between two chains  110 ′,  112 ′, and the left edge of the film being trapped between chains,  110 ,  112 . The leading edge of the film is shown at  108 , and the adhesive surface of the film faces outwardly.  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 4A in particular, the film to be administered is fed into interlocking chains  110 ,  112 , at point “X,” and is retained as the chains and film travel in unison until released at point “Y.” As better seen in FIG. 3, the chains travel in guide channels machined out of side members  101 ,  101 ′ which are constructed of polyethylene or other suitable metallic or polymeric material. FIG. 5A is a side-view drawing that shows schematically how the edge of the film  500  is trapped by interlocking chains  502 ,  504 . FIG. 5B shows one form of interlocking belts which may serve the same purpose. FIG. 5C shows an alternative form of interlocking belts. FIG. 5D illustrates the use of two flexible magnetic belts (or one magnetic belt and a magnetically attractive belt), and FIG. 5E shows the use of two substantially flat belts with pressure applied to pinch the film edge. Thus, although reference is made to “interlocking chains,” it will be appreciated that this is not the only film-edge entrapment mechanism anticipated by the invention, and that “chains” should be taken to include at least these alternative mechanisms.  
         [0029]    The film is held suspended in the dispenser between a compressible, graspable form  114  and an opening  106  formed into front panel  104 . The opening  106  preferably shaped to guide either a right or left hand through the opening to gasp the form  114  through the film, thereby stretching the film over the form. Pulling down on the form  114  causes various actions, including the lifting of certain housing portions, the staging of a new sheet of film trapped between the opposing chain mechanisms, as well as the cutting of the new sheet. These details are perhaps better understood with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4A to  4 B.  
         [0030]    The form  114  connects to a linkage  116  which, in turn, connects to a device  117 . The device  117  connects to chains  119 ,  119 ′ at points  115 ,  115 ′, and also connects to bar  120  through connector  113 . Chains  119 ,  119 ′ wind around respective portions  118 ,  118 ′, which are connected and wall-mounted at point  134 . The side members of the housing  101 ,  101 ′ and also respectively connected to the chains  119 ,  119 ′, such that as the form  114  and link  116  are pulled down, chains  119 ,  119 ′ rotate around the portions  118  and  118 ′, causing the enclosure and connected components to lift up as the user pulls down on the form  114  with the film adhered to the hand.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 2 is a drawing of the dispenser  100  with the form  114  and link  116  pulled down, and over which a cut sheet of film  108  is disposed. The user&#39;s hand grasping the form  114  to apply the adhesive side of the film  108  to the hand is shown in broken line form at  109 . Note that with the portions  118 ,  118 ′ wall-mounted, the body of the enclosure, including side members  101 ,  101 ′, panel  104 , and chains  110 ,  112 ,  110 ′,  112 ′ are raised up as the form is pulled down. This action will perhaps be better understood in conjunction with the schematic diagrams of FIGS.  4 A-C.  
         [0032]    The chains  119 ,  119 ′ also connect to a bar  120  through device  117  and connector  113 . The bar includes tabs  121 ,  121 ′ on either side which engage with chains  112 ,  112 ′ which travel through a serpentine path on either side of the enclosure. As bar  120  moves downwardly with the form  114  and link  116 , this causes the chains  112 ,  112 ′ to rotate as well, at least until the bar  120  and tabs  121 ,  121 ′ extend past the bottom of the enclosure. During rotation of the chains  112 ,  112 ′, however, the next sheet of flexible film is drawn from the roll and indexed into position.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3 better illustrates how one of the tabs  121 ′ temporarily engages with a chain ( 112 ′), and how opposing arms  117 ,  117 ′ are linked to chain  119  for the purpose of lifting the dispenser housing. Although the tabs  121 ,  121 ′ may be spring-loaded, they are slightly rotatable and shaped such that gravity causes them to automatically ratchet and re-engage with the chains  112 , and  112 ′ as the enclosure falls back into position.  
         [0034]    To cut the film, a spring-loaded roller  130  rolls past a cutting blade  132 , shown schematically in FIG. 1. The blade fits into a diagonally oriented groove including a retainer enabling authorized personnel to change/maintain the. The roller  130  is linked to the wall mounted portions, whereas the blade  132  is connected to the housing portions which rise up during use. Thus, although the roller effectively “remains in place,” relative movement between roller and blade exists to sever each sheet from the roll. Indeed, each sheet of film is actually cut twice: once when the enclose falls back into position, causing the roller to roll up and past the blade, and a second time when the form  114  is initially pulled down. Since the blade is oriented on an angle, at any time there is only one point of contact between the blade and the roller, such that any imperfections in the roller or the blade are inconsequential in the sense that the system automatically resets to maintain cutting action in the event of an imperfection or void.  
         [0035]    FIGS.  4 A- 4 C are simplified, side-view diagrams of a preferred embodiment of the invention, perhaps better illustrating the way in which the various mechanisms operate during use. FIG. 4A shows the status of the dispenser with a sheet having a forward edge  108  in position, trapped between chains  110  and  112 , and having been cut initially by roller  130  riding against blade  132 . The roll of hand covering is shown at  102 , and the base portion  118 , being adhered to side member  101  shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C.  
         [0036]    The form  114  is shown schematically connecting to link  116  which connects to device  117 . Device  117  is shown schematically connecting to chain  119  that winds around wall-mounted form  118 , and to bar  120  through connector  130 , with one of the side tabs engaging with chain  112 , being shown at  121 .  
         [0037]    In FIG. 4B, the form  114  has been pulled down somewhat, causing sheet S to move in unison. The chains  110  and  112  also move in the directions shown due to the engagement of tab  121  with chain  112 . Note that a next sheet, S 2 , is being drawn off the roll  102 , also due to the relative movement of chains  110 ,  112 . In FIG. 4C, the chains  110 ,  112  no longer move, as the bar  120  and tab  121  have now been moved entirely from these chains. However, the bulk of the enclosure continues to move upwardly relative to the side member  101 , since the body  117 , connected to chain  119  at point  115 , continues to cause that chain to rotate around the form  118 . This sheet S is shown molded around form  114 , though the hand of the user is not shown. Form  114 , through link  116 , will continue to move down, with the bulk of the enclosure continuing to move up, until the user lets go, at which time the enclosure will move down, and the form  114  and link  116  will move up, to regain the position shown in FIG. 4A, ready for the next use.  
         [0038]    Although a system has been described wherein the pulling down on a form causes the rotation of interlocking chains or other cooperative members through dedicated linkage (link  116 , device  117 , connector  113 , bar  120  and ratcheting tabs  121 ,  121 ′), in an alternative embodiment the film itself may be used as the pulling mechanism. That is, assuming the film it sufficiently strong and that the interlocking chains or other cooperative members rotate freely enough, the tension of the film alone may be adequate to cause the rotation of the chains or other members without the need for an additional connection. In such a case, a simpler arrangement of chain  112 ,  112 ′ may be possible, such as the simple loop of chain  110 ,  110 ′. In this and in other embodiments, the film may be cut within the enclosure or pre-cut (i.e., perforated), though registration of the perforations would be a consideration.