Abstract:
A bandage dispenser comprising a housing having a magazine rotatably mounted therein; an advancement assembly for rotating the magazine and a pusher mechanism. The magazine including a plurality of sterile individual pie shaped compartments each receiving a sterile bandage assembly. The pusher mechanism sequentially penetrating the compartments and ejecting the bandage assembly therefrom after each compartment is aligned with the pusher mechanism by the advancement assembly. The advancement assembly including a ratchet mechanism on the magazine and an advancement solenoid.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application is directed to an on demand dispenser for sterile bandages and, in particular, to such a dispenser that dispenses bandages from a rotating magazine. 
     Many medical facilities utilize a large number of bandages for covering minor punctures or wounds. For example, nurses stations that give shots, especially flu shots during the start of flu season, or the like must obtain, prepare and apply a bandage over each syringe puncture. Likewise, stations that take blood for various tests and the like must cover the resulting puncture with a bandage. Often such bandages must be applied in rapid succession. Furthermore, the doctor, nurse or technician performing the medical procedure may have their hands at least partly occupied with vials or syringes and it is inconvenient to unwrap a conventional bandage from its sterile packaging and then apply it to the patient. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to have a dispensing apparatus that quickly and easily provides a sterile bandage that is free of wrapping on a rigid or semi rigid backing from which the bandage can be easily and quickly removed and applied to a patient, even using a single hand. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A sterile bandage dispenser includes a housing and a sterile bandage magazine. The magazine holds a plurality of bandages between top and bottom sterile but penetratable walls in a daisy wheel configuration such that the bandages are each in a separate compartment that extends radially outward from a central axis. Located on the exterior of the magazine or, alternatively, on a separate carriage for the magazine is a ratchet mechanism. 
     Supported by the housing and aligned to sequentially engage teeth of the ratchet mechanism is a first solenoid that has a plunger that operably engages one of the teeth on demand and advances the magazine to place the next bandage compartment over a discharge opening or slot. Once the first solenoid has advanced the magazine, a second solenoid is triggered. The second solenoid is located above the next in line full compartment and extends a plunger associated therewith upon receiving an indication that the magazine has advanced. The plunger of the second solenoid penetrates the cover at the top of the chamber, engages a bandage assembly and pushes the bandage assembly with bandage on the bandage holder or backing through the barrier or cover at the bottom of the chamber, so as to partially project from, but be held by the surrounding cover. 
     The medical provider then takes the bandage and holder. The holder is a rigid or semi rigid disc or plate with a central break region or area of weakness which allows the medical provider to bend the holder so that the bandage becomes loose on one side and can be easily removed to be applied to a patient. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the objects of the present invention are: to provide a sterile bandage dispenser that easily and rapidly presents a bandage to a health care provider for application to patient such that the bandage requires little preparation by the provider before applying to the patient; to provide such a dispenser that utilizes a magazine of bandages that can be easily exchanged for a fresh magazine when empty and which maintains individual bandages sterile until needed; to provide such a dispenser having a rotating daisy wheel or magazine that has individual pie shaped compartments for each bandage and penetratable upper and lower foil covers that seal the compartments; to provide such a dispenser that has an advancer that rotates and indexes each compartment over a dispensing opening and a pusher that both directly or indirectly penetrates the covers on each compartment and discharges the bandage from the compartment through a dispensing opening to allow grasping by a health care provider; to provide such a dispenser in combination with bandages individually positioned on a stiff backing wherein the backing has a line of weakness therein that allows a provider to bend the backing and expose part of the bandage to facilitate removal of the bandage therefrom; and to provide such a dispenser that is especially easy to use, that expedites health care, that is comparatively inexpensive to produce and that is especially well suited for the intended usage thereof. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. 
     The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bandage dispenser in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective and exploded view of the bandage dispenser opened to insert a magazine and shown mounted on a support. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged top plan view of the dispenser with portions broken away to show the interior thereof. 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged bottom plan view of the dispenser. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross sectional view of the dispenser, taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged front elevational view of the dispenser with portions broken away and showing discharge of a bandage thereof. 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged and fragmentary side elevational view of the dispenser showing a bandage being removed therefrom by a hand of a user. 
         FIG. 8  is a front elevational view of the bandage shown being held by fingers of a user. 
         FIG. 9  is a front elevational view of the bandage similar to  FIG. 8  except subsequent to bending a backing holding the bandage to expose a portion of the bandage. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
     The reference numeral  1  generally indicates a bandage dispenser in accordance with the present invention mounted by a bracket  2  to a support  3 . The particular structure of the support  3  is not of great importance as long as the dispenser  1  is accessible by a user and structures such as partial walls, cabinets or even independent dedicated stands can be used for the purpose. 
     The dispenser  1  includes a casing or housing  10 , a magazine  11 , an advancer  12 , a pusher  13  and a control system  14 . 
     The housing  10  is shown open in  FIG. 2  attached to the support  3  and closed in  FIG. 1 . The housing  10  has rectangularly shaped upper and lower portions  20  and  21  joined along a rear thereof by a hinge  22 , so that the upper portion  20  can be swung between a closed or covering position, as seen in  FIG. 1 , and an open or uncovering position, as seen in  FIG. 1 . 
     The control system  14  is mounted mainly in a hollow interior  25  of the upper portion  20 . Also, the pusher  13  is mounted in the upper portion  20  and is located over an aperture  27  that allows the pusher  13  to function as will be described below. Located on a front end  28  of the upper portion is a wall  29  within which is mounted a push button type selector switch  30  that is part of the control system  14 . The switch  30  is mounted so as to be accessible to a user from the front of the dispenser  1 . 
     The control system  14  includes a power supply which is batteries in the present embodiment, but which can be a standard plug in type 120V AC supply also. The control system  14  is joined electrically to the advancer  12 , pusher  13  and includes the selector switch  30 . 
     The dispenser lower portion  21  is generally rectangular in outward shape forming an exterior boxlike structure and having an interior hollow cylindrical shaped magazine receiving opening  32  that has an axis A that is aligned so as to be generally vertical during use. The diameter of the opening  32  is somewhat smaller than the outer horizontal dimensions of the lower portion  21  and offset from center of the lower portion  21  to the left and rear slightly so as to create a space in the front right thereof to receive the pusher  13 . The pusher  13  communicates with the opening  32  via an aperture  27 . 
     Mounted on a bottom wall  35  of the lower portion  21  and extending upwardly therefrom is a magazine receiving spindle  38 . The spindle  38  is cylindrically shaped and is coaxial with the axis A of the opening  32 . The illustrated spindle  38  extends above an upper end of the lower portion  21  and into an opening  39  therefor in the upper portion  20  when in the closed position. 
     The lower portion bottom wall  35  also has a pass through dispensing slot  40  located therein and communicating with the lower portion opening  32 . The slot  40  is located to cooperate with the magazine  11  and pusher  13 , as will be discussed below. 
     The magazine  11  is a generally cylindrical shaped structure having a central circular bore  42  axially aligned and sized and shaped so as to rotatably receive the spindle  38 . Located on the lower radially outer perimeter of the magazine  11  is a ratchet assembly  44  having a series of teeth  45  that are equally spaced and extend entirely around the magazine  11 . The magazine  11  is designed to be easily changed out for another as described below and it is foreseen that the ratchet assembly  44  can be an integral part of the each magazine  11  or separately mounted to the remainder of the magazine  11  so that only an upper part of the magazine  11  is changed out or replaced. A frictional stop  47  operably engages the ratchet assembly  44  and prevents the magazine  11  from freewheeling, while allowing the magazine  11  to rotate incrementally the distance between adjacent teeth under control of the controller  14 . 
     The magazine  11  has a generally hollow interior  50  separated into a plurality of pie shaped compartments or chambers  52  by radially extending dividers  53 . An upper cover  55  and a lower cover  56  are sealably joined to the top and bottom of the magazine  11  respectfully and also sealably join with opposite sides of each divider  53  so that the chambers  52  can each be initially sterile and maintained as such until use. The covers  55  and  56  are constructed of paper, aluminum foil or the like that can be easily penetrated by use of force, but which retains the sterile aspects of the chambers  52  until a specific chamber  52  is penetrated. 
     Located in each of the chambers  52  is a bandage assembly  60 . Each bandage assembly  60  includes a backing  61  and a bandage  62 . In the illustrated embodiment, the bandages  62  are circular having a central pad  65  and an adhesive surface  66  surrounding the pad  65 . The bandages  62  are of a conventional type and it is foreseen that other sizes and shapes can be used in accordance with the invention. 
     The backing  61  is constructed of a stiff (semi rigid) or rigid material such as plastic or the like that allows a respective bandage  62  to removably adhere to a surface  67  thereof. Centrally located on the backing  61  is a weakened line or region  68  that extends entirely across the backing  61 . The region  68  allows a user to bend and break the backing  61  along the region  68  after removal from the dispenser  1  and as is seen in  FIG. 9 , so as to separate and expose half  70  of an associated bandage  62  from the backing  61  and thereby allow easy removal by the user for transfer to a patient. 
     The illustrated advancer  12  is a solenoid having a plunger  72  that extends outwardly when the advancer  12  is activated. The plunger  72  sequentially engages each tooth  45  of the ratchet assembly  44  and rotates the ratchet assembly  44  as required by the user. 
     The illustrated pusher  13  is a solenoid having a plunger  73  that extends outwardly when the pusher  13  is activated. The plunger  73  is aligned so as to be located over a selected one  74  of said chambers  52  and the slot  40 , such that when the pusher  13  is activated, the plunger  73  extends and first penetrates the upper cover  55 , enters the selected one chamber  74  and engages the top of a bandage assembly  60 . Thereafter, the pusher plunger  73  continues to extend thereby urging the bandage assembly  60  through the lower cover  56  and through the slot  40 , such as is seen in  FIGS. 4 and 6 . It is foreseen that the advancer  12  and pusher  13  could be provided by other structure than solenoids that provide an equivalent function of rotating the magazine  11  and discharging the bandage assemblies  60  respectively. 
     The controller  14  includes an algorithm that subsequent to triggering the switch  30  by pushing inward thereon by a user, the controller  14  first triggers the advancer  12  to extend the plunger  72 . A feedback system such as a light sensor checks to see if the magazine  11  rotated and, if it did, the pusher  13  is activated to dispense a bandage assembly  60 . If the magazine  11  does not rotate, then the controller  14  first repeats and if the magazine  11  still does not rotate, the controller  14  signals for the operator to clear a jam before proceeding by flashing a display  75  on the switch  30 . 
     In use the dispenser  1  is initially configured by placing a new magazine  11  into the dispenser lower portion  21  and the upper portion  20  is closed over the lower portion  21 , as seen in  FIG. 1 . The magazine  11  initially includes a bandage assembly  60  in each of the chambers  52  within which the assemblies  60  are positioned to be both generally vertically aligned and radially aligned relative to the spindle  38 , as is seen in  FIG. 5 . 
     When a bandage  62  is needed by the user, the selector switch  30  is depressed. Preferably, the switch  30  has the display  75  which includes a LCD numeral counter thereon which tells the user how many bandages  62  are left in the current magazine. When the switch  30  is activated, the advancer  12  first extends the plunger  72  thereof which engages one of the teeth  45  on the ratchet assembly  44  and advances or rotates the magazine  11  one increment equal in radians to the size of each incremental chamber  52 . Thereafter, the pusher  13  extends its plunger  73  which penetrates and passes through the upper cover  55  above a particular chamber  52 , such as is seen in  FIG. 6  at location  77 . The pusher  13  continues to advance the plunger  73 , also as seen in  FIG. 6 , so as to both engage an associated bandage assembly  60  and push the engaged bandage assembly  60  through the lower cover  56  at the location  78 . The lower cover  56  rolls backward at location  78 , but remains in sufficient frictional engagement with the assembly  60 , so as to suspend it below the dispenser  1  and allow a user by the user&#39;s finger  82  to pull it downwardly to fully remove the assembly  60  from the dispenser  1 , as seen in  FIG. 7 . 
     After removal from the dispenser  1 , which is shown near completion in  FIG. 7 , the user grasps the assembly backing  61 , as shown in  FIG. 8  with the users fingers  82 . Thereafter, the user bends the backing  61  so as to break the backing  61  along the weakened region  68 , as seen in  FIG. 9  to expose the bandage half  70 . The user then grasps the bandage half  70  and removes a remainder  80  from the backing  61 . Thereafter, the bandage  62  is applied to a patient. After all of the bandages  62  in a magazine  11  are utilized, the upper portion  22  is raised and the depleted magazine  11  is replaced with a new magazine  11 . 
     It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.