Patent Publication Number: US-11039981-B2

Title: Portable eye washing station

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM. 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to eye washing devices and more particularly pertains to a new eye washing device for flushing a user&#39;s eyes in a remote location. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a spike that can pierce a fluid source and the spike is hollow to pass fluid therethrough. A feed tube is fluidly coupled to the spike to receive the fluid from the spike. A fitting is fluidly coupled to the second end of the feed tube and the fitting has a pair of outputs to pass the fluid therethrough. A distribution tube is fluidly coupled to each of the outputs on the fitting such that the distribution tube forms a closed loop for wearing around a user&#39;s head. A cannula is fluidly coupled to the distribution tube. The cannula has a pair of outlets to pass the fluid therethrough. Each of the outlets is aligned with a respective one of the user&#39;s eyes when the distribution tube is worn around the user&#39;s head. Thus, each of outlets directs the fluid into the user&#39;s eyes for flushing the user&#39;s eyes. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a portable eye washing station according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective in-use view of a funnel of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new eye washing device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the portable eye washing station  10  generally comprises a spike  12  for piercing a fluid source  16 . The spike  12  is hollow to pass fluid therethrough similar to that of a hypodermic needle, and the spike  12  has a first end  18  and a second end  20 . The first end  18  tapers to a point for piercing the fluid source  16 . As is most clearly shown in  FIG. 3 , the fluid source  16  may be a bottle  15  of drinking water or any other commonly available water bottle  15 . The first end of the spike can pierce a cap  14  of the water bottle  15 . As is most clearly shown in  FIG. 1 , the fluid source  16  may be an intravenous bag of saline  17  that has an output  19 . The first end  18  of the spike  12  can be inserted into the output  19  of the intravenous bag of saline  17 . A feed tube  22  is fluidly coupled to the spike  12  to receive the fluid from the spike  12 . The feed tube  22  has a first end  24  and a second end  26 , and the first end  24  of the feed tube  22  is fluidly coupled to the second end  20  of the spike  12 . 
     A fitting  28  is fluidly coupled to the second end  26  of the feed tube  22  and the fitting  28  has a pair of outputs  30  to pass the fluid therethrough. A distribution tube  32  is fluidly coupled to each of the outputs  30  on the fitting  28  such that the distribution tube  32  forms a closed loop. Thus, the distribution tube  32  can be worn around a user&#39;s head  34 . The distribution tube  32  has a first end  36  and a second end  38 , and each of the first  36  and second  38  ends of the distribution tube  32  is fluidly coupled to a respective one of the outputs  30  on the fitting  28 . In this way the distribution tube  32  receives the fluid. A bolo  40  is slidably positioned around the distribution tube  32  for slidably adjusting a diameter of the closed loop formed by the distribution tube  32 . In this way the distribution tube  32  can accommodate a variety of head sizes. 
     A cannula  42  is fluidly coupled to the distribution tube  32  thereby facilitating the cannula  42  to release the fluid. The cannula  42  has a pair of outlets  44  and each of the outlets  44  is aligned with a respective one of the user&#39;s eyes  46  when the distribution tube  32  is worn around the user&#39;s head  34 . In this way each of outlets  44  can direct the fluid into the user&#39;s eyes  46  for flushing the user&#39;s eyes  46 . The cannula  42  has a body  48  that is integrated into the distribution tube  32  such that the fluid flows through the body  48 . Moreover, the body  48  is centrally positioned between the first  36  and second  38  ends of the distribution tube  32 . Thus, the body  48  extends over a bridge of the user&#39;s nose  50  when the distribution tube  32  is worn around the user&#39;s head  34 . A tab  51  may be coupled to the body  48  of the cannula  42  that serves to stabilized the cannula  42  on the user&#39;s head  34  when the distribution tube  32  is worn around the user&#39;s head  34 . 
     Each of the outlets  44  is fluidly coupled to the body  48  and each of the outlets  44  angles outwardly from a center of the body  48 . Thus, each of the outlets  44  extends toward a respective one of the user&#39;s eyes  46  when the body  48  extends over the bridge of the user&#39;s nose  50 . Each of the outlets  44  has a distal end  52  with respect to the body  48  and the distal end  52  of each of the outlets  44  releases the fluid into the respective user&#39;s eye  46 . 
     A valve  54  is provided and the valve  54  is positioned around the feed tube  22 . The valve  54  compresses the feed tube  22  when the valve  54  is closed to inhibit the fluid from flowing through the feed tube  22 . The valve  54  disengages the feed tube  22  when the valve  54  is opened to allow the fluid to flow through the feed tube  22 . The valve  54  may be a roller valve that is common to intravenous lines or the like. As shown in  FIG. 5 , a funnel  56  may be provided that can be coupled to a fluid source  16  that has no cap  14 , such as a faucet or other uncontained fluid source. Thus, the spike  12  can be inserted into a narrow end  58  of the funnel  56  for receiving the fluid in the fluid source  16 . The funnel  56  may be comprised of a resiliently compressible material, such as rubber or the like, and the narrow end  58  of the funnel  56  may form a fluid impermeable seal with the spike  12 . 
     In use, the spike  12  is inserted into the fluid source  16  and the distribution tube  32  is worn around the user&#39;s head  34 . The body  48  of the cannula  42  is positioned to extend over the bridge of the user&#39;s nose  50  thereby facilitating each of the outlets  44  to point toward the respective user&#39;s eye  46 . The fluid source  16  is elevated over the user&#39;s head  34  and the valve  54  is opened. Thus, the fluid flows outwardly from the outlets  44  and into the user&#39;s eyes  46  to flush the user&#39;s eyes  46  when a chemical or foreign substance has been introduced into the user&#39;s eyes  46 . Additionally, the user&#39;s eyes  46  can be flushed using any fluid source  16  in any location. In this way an individual can flush their eyes  46  when the individual is working or performing other duties in a remote location or the like. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.