Abstract:
A surgical scrub appliance is disclosed having a rigid housing ( 10 ) to which a sponge ( 20 ) is connected, the housing forming at least one container ( 30, 40 ) for liquid, the container having a sealable opening.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a surgical scrub appliance. 
   Before conducting an operation, surgical staff are required to “scrub up”. This involves carefully and thoroughly washing the hands and arms up to the shoulder. Conventionally, dispensers of soap or other cleaning solutions have been provided for this purpose. However, the act of using a dispenser can be a cause for contamination. Furthermore, the dispenser requires refilling and general servicing usually needing a contract with an outside firm leading to expense. 
   Proposals have been made, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,197 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,949 to provide surgical scrub brushes which includes a supply of antiseptic soap or other cleansing liquid. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,197 the cleansing liquid is provided in an independent chamber to one side of the scrubbing brush. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,949, the soap is provided in a reservoir between a sponge and a housing to which the sponge is connected. Both proposals have the disadvantage that they are expensive to manufacture, with a separate independent member needing to be connected to the surgical brush of U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,197 and an internal reservoir being provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,949. The presence of this internal reservoir also makes it very difficult to attach the sponge to the housing in a secure manner. Furthermore, in both these proposals, a single reservoir is provided although it is necessary to wash both arms with a single surgical scrubbing brush and it is difficult for the user to assess how much soap has/is able to be used for the first arm while leaving enough for the second. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide a surgical scrub appliance which alleviates at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art noted above. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the invention there is provided a surgical scrub appliance comprising a support to which a sponge is connected, the support forming at least one container for liquid, the container having a sealable opening. 
   Since the container is formed as part of the support, the container contributes to the overall structure of the appliance. 
   The support may be rigid. 
   In one preferred form, the opening may be sealed by a plug. In another preferred form, the opening is sealed by an elastomeric member with the elastomeric member preferably including a resealable dispensing opening and a resealable filling opening. 
   Most preferably, the appliance further comprises a second container for liquid formed in the housing, the second container having a sealable opening which in a preferred form may be sealed by any of the techniques noted above. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded three dimensional view of a first embodiment of the surgical scrub appliance of the invention; 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are respectively a front view and side view of the brush of  FIG. 1  (unexploded); 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded three dimensional view of a second embodiment of the surgical scrub appliance of the invention; and 
       FIGS. 5   a –c are cross sectional three views of an elastomeric sealing member of the embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference to  FIGS. 1–3  the first embodiment of the invention is shown which comprises an injection molded plastics support  10  having a first surface  10   a  to which a sponge  20  made of foam material is connected by an adhesive. The support  10  is formed by injection moulding from rigid or tough but flexible plastics material and is provided with a base  70  and two containers or cavities  30 ,  40  which in use are filled with a liquid used during the surgical scrub procedure, for example an antiseptic skin cleanser such as Alphcidine scrub or skin conditioner. Each cavity  30 ,  40  is sealed by a plug  50 ,  60 . On a second surface  10   b  of the support  10 , which is an outward facing surface of the base  70  of the support  10 , a brush  80  is formed integral with the base  70 . 
   In use, the surgeon, when scrubbing up, removes one cap  50  and uses the liquid therein to wash one arm. When he has finished, he grasps the appliance in that arm and removes the cap  60  of the second cavity  40  and then scrubs up that arm using the liquid in cavity  40 . 
   Since the cavities  30 ,  40  are formed as part of the support  10 , they contribute to the overall structure of the appliance and at the same time provide a firm surface to which the sponge  20  may be attached. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the openings of the cavities  30 ,  40  are disposed in a third surface  10   c  of the support  10 . 
   A second embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  and comprises an injection molded support  100  to which a sponge  120  is attached to a surface  100   a  by an adhesive. Two cavities  130 ,  140  are formed in the support and are fillable, like the embodiment of  FIGS. 1–3  with liquid such as antiseptic skin cleaner. Each cavity  130 ,  140  is provided with an opening  135 ,  145  disposed on another surface  100   c  of the support  100  and in which an elastomeric member  150 ,  160  is sealably fitted. Each member  150 ,  160  is provided with two openings, a dispensing opening  155 ,  165  and a filling opening  157 ,  167 . A brush  180  is integrally connected to the housing in the manner of the embodiment of  FIGS. 1–3  (i.e., the brush  180  is connected to yet another surface  100   b  of the support  100 ). 
     FIGS. 5   a – 5   c  show the dispensing operation of elastomeric member  150  with  FIG. 5   a  showing a cross sectional view through opening  135  with elastomeric member  150  in place,  FIG. 5   b  being a close up of an edge of the elastomeric member showing how this is sealed against the support  100 .  FIG. 5   c  is similar to  FIG. 5   a  showing a dispensing operation. 
   The elastomeric member  150  includes a peripheral support portion  190 . A movable sealing flap  192  is separated from the support portion  190  by a slit  193  formed on three sides of the flap  192  and is joined to support portion  190  by means of a bridge portion  195 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The sealing flap  192  effects a seal against support portion  190  along slit  193  when in the position shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5   a . This seal may be augmented by applying a sealing tape or such like over the portion  192  if required. The flap  192  has a finger actuation projection  194 . The support portion rests upon a peripheral lip  196  of the opening  135 . The lip  196  is flat apart from two opposed arcuately recessed portions  197 . The peripheral side  198  of the opening  135  adjacent the lip  196  is provided with a bead  199  which engages with a peripheral hollow  200  of the member  150 . At one end of side  198 , a further lip  202  is provided to retain the elastomeric member  150  in place. The portion of the elastomeric member  150  below bead  199  is also a slight interference fit in opening  135  to improve the sealing effect, with the portion of the elastomeric member  150  above bead  199  being a snug non-interference fit. 
   In use, as shown in  FIG. 5   c , the thumb of the user engages the finger actuation projection  194  causing the sealing flap  192  to be depressed thus allowing liquid to escape from the container  130 . The arcuate recessed portion  197  of lip  196  allows part  190   a  of the support portion  190  to also be depressed allowing a larger opening for liquid than would otherwise be the case. 
   The filling openings  157 ,  167 , which are in the form of star-shaped slits allow a filling member to be inserted into the cavities  130 ,  140  after the elastomeric members  150 ,  160  have been fitted in place in openings  135 ,  145 . When the filling member is withdrawn, the filling opening closes behind it thus sealing the cavity. This provides advantages in mass production of the brush since the cavities to be filled after the elastomeric members have been fitted, leading to a much cleaner filling method. 
   The embodiments of the invention as described are not to be construed as limitative. For example, the cavities may be sealed by any other convenient means, for example using a metal foil seal in the manner of a yogurt pot. Furthermore, only a single cavity or more than two cavities may be provided depending on need. Furthermore, the cavities may be filled with the same liquid, for example, soap, disinfectant or skin conditioner or may be filled with different liquids depending on need. The sealing means for the cavities may be colour coded.