Patent Publication Number: US-2019183278-A1

Title: Sanitary hospital curtain

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/598,793 filed Dec. 14, 2017 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The instant invention relates to privacy curtains used in hospital and other medical treatment facility settings. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A hospital curtain (also known as a cubicle or privacy curtain) is a dividing cloth used in a medical treatment facility that provides a private enclosure for one or more patients. The curtain is usually made from inherently flame retardant fabric, and is suspended from a supporting structure or ceiling track. Curtains are traditionally hung from ceiling mounted tracks that allow for the curtains to be moved around the patient&#39;s bed to provide for privacy. Curtains are traditionally grabbed and moved by many people inside the facility throughout the course of one day. This creates an opportunity to spread bacteria as traditional privacy curtain fabric provides an environment for germs and bacteria to live and spread. Traditionally privacy curtains have not been changed frequently enough and have been a subject of ongoing controversy in the hospital setting. They can be touched by thousands before being removed for sanitization thus creating a safe harbor for the spread of germs and bacteria. The present invention solves this problem by allowing for routine maintenance in between complete removal in an effort to provide a safe handling zone for the maneuvering of privacy curtains. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is for the purpose of providing a removable cleanable surface on the front and back handhold points on a privacy curtain. This is achieved by using removable medical grade impervious antimicrobial handhold panels that are attached to the curtain via snaps or Velcro or some other fastener. Without limitation, the removable panels can be comprised of vinyl, polyester, or 100% non-woven polypropylene and the attaching fasteners can include, but not be limited to, buttons, zippers, and hook and loop fasteners. The impervious panels can be easily removed for more frequent sanitization with traditional disinfectants and or laundered as part of the standard privacy curtain laundering process. Such panels can be vinyl in one embodiment, but can be made from any impervious antimicrobial material. 
     It should be understood that the disclosure of the use of Velcro or snap fasteners and the use of vinyl as a impervious antimicrobial panels in this application is not meant to limit the reach of the invention described herein, specifically to exclude coverage hereunder for other types of suitable fasteners, such as buttons and buttonholes, or other impervious materials for said panel. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a portion of the curtain of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded front view of a first embodiment of the curtain of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded front view of a second embodiment of the curtain of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the curtain of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts the base portion of hospital curtain  10  of the present invention consisting of a sheet  11  made of inherently flame retardant fabric attached at its top by fabric piece  13  to a header  12  made of open mesh. Curtain  10  has a top fabric piece  14  that allows said curtain to be hung from a rod or track installed on the ceiling of a hospital room or medical treatment facility. L-shaped attaching pieces  15  are affixed to each side of sheet  11  that provide for attachment by way of Velcro or snaps, depending on the embodiment of the invention chosen, as described below. 
     One embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 2  which is based on using Velcro (hook and loop) fasteners to attach each of two removable medical grade impervious antimicrobial panels  17  to each side of sheet  11  of curtain  10 . Each panel  17  has an L-shaped Velcro (hook or loop) fastener strap spanning attaching piece  16   v  affixed to its edge that is juxtaposed in the same relationship to the respective Velcro (being the opposite, loop or hook) attaching piece  15   v  on each side of sheet  11  of said curtain  10 . 
     A second embodiment is shown in  FIG. 3  in which snap fasteners (interlocking metal or plastic discs attached by riveting) are used to replace Velcro fasteners on both attaching pieces  16   s  of each panel  17  and on both attaching pieces  15   s  on each side of sheet  11 . 
       FIG. 4  depicts a fully assembled curtain  10  having panels  17  attached at either side of sheet  11  by using fastening systems as described in either embodiment above, that is by way of Velcro fasteners as in  FIG. 2  or by way of snap fasteners as in  FIG. 3 , such that each attaching piece  16  attaches to and covers its respective attaching piece  15  (not shown in  FIG. 4  as obscured by covering pieces  16 ). In either embodiment, vinyl sheets  17  at each side of sheet  11  of curtain  10  provide an antimicrobial impervious gripping surface that is exclusively used to move said curtain  10  in order to avoid the buildup of bacteria on said curtain  10 . Each such sheet  17  can be readily disengaged from curtain  10  for cleaning by undoing the fasteners, whether Velcro as in  FIG. 2  or snaps as in  FIG. 3 . 
     In the preferred embodiment of this invention, panels  17  are made of vinyl; however, it should be understood that the disclosure of the use of Velcro or snap fasteners and the use of vinyl in order to manufacture the impervious antimicrobial panels  17  in this application is not meant to limit the reach of the invention described herein, specifically to exclude coverage hereunder for other types of suitable fasteners, such as buttons and buttonholes, or other medical grade impervious antimicrobial materials for said panel.