Patent Abstract:
A cart handle with an integral wipe dispenser for storing and dispensing sanitary wipes which consists of a hollow cylindrical canister portion with two ends and an operatively-sized main chamber, two coupling end portions one each attached to each of the two ends of the canister portion, a lid portion hingedly coupled to the main chamber and having an operatively sized and positioned opening, whereby individual sanitary wipes can be dispensed and used for sanitizing the cart handle.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a dispenser device for use on a cart such as a shopping cart, and more particularly, to a rigid and hollow adapter attached to and integral with the handle of carts for the purpose of storing and dispensing sanitary wipes. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Shopping carts are common in most retail outlets. Due to various reasons including storage method and locations, infrequent cleaning, poor maintenance, contamination from goods carried especially at grocery stores where raw produce is sold, shopping carts have long been considered a medium for spreading germs and diseases. 
         [0003]    Lately, growing focus has been placed on improving the sanitary level of the handle of shopping carts since users must contact the handles while pushing the carts. U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,085 issued Mar. 22, 2005 to Pettigrew et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,211 issued to Alvarez, U.S. Pat. No. D521,207 issued May 16, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,392 issued Jun. 27, 1995 to Duer and numerous other patents all teach some forms of protective sheath or cover for cart handles. These protective covers can come in layers so users can peel the outer layer off and push the cart by holding onto the newly exposed (sanitary) cover. Additionally, shoppers can bring their own protective covers to the stores. 
         [0004]    The multi-layered protective cover still requires users to touch and contact the used, and hence contaminated, protective cover while removing it. Moreover, due to heavy traffic in most stores and the limited quantity of protective covers which can be installed, layered protective covers impose logistic problems in maintenance and replenishment. 
         [0005]    Moreover, most shoppers have sanitary concerns beyond cart handles, especially shoppers who put their babies and toddlers in the basket portion of carts. Their babies and toddlers may touch any part of the entire shopping carts and contract germs and contaminants. Or they may chew or suck on the cart handle. According to a study conducted by the Environmental Research Laboratory of University of Arizona, grocery carts are havens for traces of human waste, mucus and saliva. Shopping carts have ranked high on the list for worst public items to touch. This is probably due to the fact that most shopping carts are used by many different people and that the seat where babies or other personal items rest with one customer may be used for fruit, raw meat and other products by another. According to an article in the Health section of MSNBC.com dated Oct. 23, 2007, shopping carts rank No. 5 of 12 germiest places in your life. It states that saliva, bacteria and fecal matter are just a few of the substances found on shopping cart handles. Steps to promote more sanitary, less germ filled shopping carts are being promoted in New Jersey and Arkansas, where recent bills have been passed requiring sanitary wipes to be given to customers. 
       ADVANTAGES AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention is a device and method to enhance sanitation of hand and shopping carts with minimum logistic efforts. The system consists of a rigid and hollow adapter attached to and integral with the handle of carts to store and dispense sanitary wipes. 
         [0007]    One object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a device with versatility and flexibility to be installed on any type of hand or shopping cart. 
         [0008]    Another object and advantage of the present invention is to provide the capacity to store a sufficient number of sanitary wipes to minimize stress imposed on maintenance and replenishment. Store or other management can easily switch and refill stock of sanitary wipes from supply. 
         [0009]    Yet another object of the present invention is to allow shoppers to wipe down any part of carts to satisfy their own sanitary standards and concerns. 
         [0010]    The present invention is a rigid tube-like adapter with a hollow interior which attaches to any cart handle. Once affixed, the device is permanently or detachably attached to the cart. The present invention includes a disposable container or canister filled with sanitary wipes. An opening slot in the tube adapter allows users to extract one or more wipes from the internal canister. These wipes are designed to be used to clean the surfaces and points of contact with the cart and are safe enough to clean hands and faces. The primary purpose is to diminish the numerous bacteria and viruses which are known to cause diseases which have also been documented in various studies to be associated with hand carts and shopping carts. 
         [0011]    As used herein, the term “disinfect” and “sanitize” shall equally and interchangeably mean the elimination of many or all harmful, pathogenic or otherwise medically undesirable bacteria, viruses, mold, or any other microorganisms on the surface of any product, as well as the reduction of any of said undesirable bacteria, viruses, mold, or any other microorganisms or other contaminants on the surface of a product to levels considered safe according to local, customary or required municipal health regulation. 
         [0012]    The present invention relates to a disinfecting wipe, housing system and disinfecting composition for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, in which the disinfecting wipe comprises sanitizing composition adsorbed onto an absorbent carrier material. The present invention also relates to a housing system for storing and dispensing a single or multiple number of disinfecting wipes. 
         [0013]    The present invention is an adapter to store and dispense sanitary wipes. The adapter consists essentially of a hollow chamber for coupling integrally with the handle of a cart. 
         [0014]    The present invention is also a cart handle that consists essentially of an integral wipe dispenser for storing and dispensing sanitary wipes, the cart handle comprising a hollow canister portion having two ends and an operatively-sized main chamber, two coupling end portions one each attached to each of the two ends of the canister portion, a lid portion having an operatively sized and positioned dispenser opening, the lid portion detachably coupled to the canister portion, whereby individual sanitary wipes can be dispensed and used for sanitizing the cart handle. 
         [0015]    In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the canister portion has a cylindrical shape. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the dispenser opening has a predetermined shape selected from the group consisting of rectangle, oval and circle. 
         [0017]    The wipe dispenser of the present invention has a total length in the range of approximately 20 cm to 45 cm. 
         [0018]    In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the coupling end portions further comprises a mechanical fastening system such as adhesives for firmly attaching to any cart handle. 
         [0019]    In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the mechanical fastening system is selected from the group consisting of circlips, cable tie and adhesives. 
         [0020]    The present invention is also a cart handle having an integral wipe dispenser for storing and dispensing sanitary wipes. The cart handle of the present invention comprises a hollow canister portion having two ends, an operatively-sized main chamber for hosting an internal housing portion and a lid portion having an operatively sized and positioned dispenser opening, the lid portion detachably coupled to the canister portion, an internal housing portion, the internal portion having an operatively sized and positioned aperture, whereby individual sanitary wipes can pass through and two coupling end portions one each attached to each of the two ends of the canister portion for coupling the cart handle to a cart, whereby individual sanitary wipes can be dispensed and used for sanitizing the cart handle. 
         [0021]    The wipe dispenser of the present invention further comprises a mechanical coupling to keep the internal housing portion in place. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the mechanical coupling is selected from the group consisting of flexible clamps, adhesive material, hook and loop material, screws, nuts and bolts. 
         [0023]    The present invention is also a method of storing and dispensing sanitary wipes in a shopping cart which includes the following steps: 
         [0024]    Step 1. Obtaining a cart handle having an integral wipe dispenser for storing and dispensing sanitary wipes, the cart handle comprising (1) a hollow canister portion having two ends and an operatively-sized main chamber, (2) two coupling end portions one each attached to each of the two ends of the canister portion, (3) a lid portion having an operatively sized and positioned dispenser opening, the lid portion detachably coupled to the canister portion, whereby individual sanitary wipes can be dispensed and used for sanitizing the cart handle; 
         [0025]    Step 2. Selecting sanitary wipes that can fit into the main chamber; 
         [0026]    Step 3. Installing the sanitary wipes canister inside the chamber and pulling the outer tip of sanitary wipes through the dispenser opening of the lid portion; 
         [0027]    Step 4. Closing and locking the lid portion; and 
         [0028]    Step 5. Pulling out desirable amount of sanitary wipes. 
         [0029]    Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be come apparent through the following descriptions, and will be included and incorporated herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a representative top side isometric view of an embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 2  is a top side exploded view of an embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  shows a method of use of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. 
           [0033]      FIG. 4  is a top side exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100 ′ of the present invention. 
           [0034]      FIG. 5  is a representative top side isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  500 ′. 
           [0035]      FIG. 6  shows a method of use of the cart handle dispenser  500 ′ of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0036]    The description that follows is presented to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principals discussed below may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed, but the invention is to be given the largest possible scope which is consistent with the principals and features described herein. 
         [0037]    It will be understood that in the event parts of different embodiments have similar functions or uses, they may have been given similar or identical reference numerals and descriptions. It will be understood that such duplication of reference numerals is intended solely for efficiency and ease of understanding the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting in any way, or as implying that the various embodiments themselves are identical. 
         [0038]      FIG. 1  is a representative top side isometric view of an embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , in an embodiment, the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention is comprising of canister  104  firmly attached to two end portions  102 . In one embodiment, canister  104  is a hollow structure in cylindrical shape. End portions  102  have a taper shape with the broader ends firmly attached to the canister  104 . 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , lid  108  is hingedly attached to canister portion  104  on one edge and by a locking closure  110  on the other edge. In one embodiment, lid  108  is curved in a cylindrical shape and completely seals canister  104  inside an enclosure or chamber area. As shown in  FIG. 1 , there is a dispenser slot  106  in lid  108 . The main function of dispenser slot  106  is to dispense and allow sanitary wipes  204  to be pulled through by users. In one embodiment, lid  108  runs almost the entire length of canister  104  or long enough to allow easy access to the hollow interior  202  of canister  104  during replenishment of sanitary wipes  204 . The main function of lid  108  is to seal canister  104  completely to decrease evaporation of cleaning liquid on sanitary wipes  204 . It will be understood that lid portion  108  needs only to be sufficiently large to allow replacement of a new roll of wipes  204  as needed. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  is a top side exploded view of an embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , canister  104  is a hollow structure with a hollow interior chamber  202 . The main function of canister  104  is to provide storage for sanitary wipes  204 . Sanitary wipes  204  can take the form of a roll, stack, interleaved stack or other designs. In one embodiment, sanitary wipes  204  are confined by the space between the two end portions  102 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , lid  108  is hingedly attached to canister  104  on one edge with a plurality of hinges  200  and screws  208 . In one embodiment, the curvature of lid  108  should match the curvature of opening side edges  210  of canister  104  for a well-fitted seal. In one embodiment, lid  108  can be secured to canister  104  by lock  110 . The main function of locking canister  104  is to secure and otherwise prevent unwanted theft or tampering with of sanitary wipes  204 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , dispenser slot  106  is a through hole in the shape of a round or circular, rectangular, slotted gripping and sealing rubber diaphragm or other elastomeric and flexible membrane member or other. The area of dispenser slot  106  should be big enough for operative passing of sanitary wipes  204 , but not large enough to allow excessive contact with air or other environmental impurities and undesirable materials. 
         [0041]    In one embodiment, shop management can pick their choice of sanitary wipes  204  as long as they come in a package that is small enough to fit inside the hollow interior chamber  202  of canister  104 . Also, sanitary wipes  204  must be able to continuously dispense prescribed portion of sanitary wipe from the top through slot  106  on the lid  108 . In one embodiment, recommended sanitary wipes should contain chemicals strong enough to kill most common germs and bacteria on shopping carts but gentle enough to be used on human skin. 
         [0042]    With respect to the chemical composition of the wipes, an essential purpose of the wipes is to provide sanitation of the cart and handle and any other portion of the cart desired, including but not limited to cart interior, baby seats, lower surfaces, etc. It is important to emphasize that these disinfecting and sanitizing agents are anti-bacterial or anti-septic in nature. Typical and customary sanitizing and sterilizing agents which can be used safely and effectively with the present invention include but are not limited to the following categories of chemicals and materials: Alcohols, ethanol, isopropanol, aldehydes including glutaldehyde, halogens including chloramine, chlorine, hypochlorites, iodine, oxidizing agents including chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, ozone-based chemicals, acid salts, sodium chloride, hypochlorous acid, peracetic acid, potassium permanganate, potassium peroxymonosulfate, phenolics including phenol, phenylphenol, chloroxylenol, hexachlorophene, thymol, quaternary ammonium compounds such as benzalkonium chloride, and other home disinfectants and skin and product sanitizing agents. 
         [0043]      FIG. 3  shows a method of use of the cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention is firmly attached to cart handle  302  of cart  304  by means such as screws, adhesive, etc at end portions  102  of cart handle dispenser  100  of the present invention. In one embodiment, after replenishment of sanitary wipes  204 , the tip of sanitary swipe  204  should be pulled through slot  106  on lid  108  so users can retrieve an entire swipe  204  by pulling it out of the slot  106 . Users can then proceed to wipe down any part of the cart  302  as they desire. 
         [0044]    In one embodiment, shop management can pick their choice of sanitary wipes  204  as long as they come in a package that is small enough to fit inside the hollow interior  202  of canister  104 . Also, sanitary wipes  204  must be able to continuously dispense prescribed portion of sanitary wipe from the top through slot  106  on the lid  108 . In one embodiment, recommended sanitary wipes should be a stable cleaning and disinfecting wipe and article that is capable of cleaning and removing residues from soiled surfaces while simultaneously destroying undesirable microorganisms, e.g. bacteria, mold, viruses, prions and the like that colonize on common surfaces with which people come into contact on shopping carts. In one embodiment, one effective disinfecting and cleaning composition can be but not limited to hypohalite bleach which is an alkali metal and/or alkaline earth metal hypochlorite, or mixtures thereof. More preferably, for liquid compositions said hypohalite bleach is an alkali metal and/or alkaline earth metal hypochlorite selected from the group consisting of sodium hypochlorite, potassium hypochlorite, magnesium hypochlorite, lithium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite, and mixtures thereof. Even more preferably, for liquid compositions said hypohalite bleach is sodium hypochlorite. 
         [0045]      FIG. 4  is a top side exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  100 ′ of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , canister  104  is a hollow structure with hollow interior chamber  202  to house an internal cylinder  404 . In one embodiment, internal cylinder  404  is a tube like secondary-enclosure structure with one open end and a matching seal lid  406  at the open end to close internal cylinder  404 . Ideally, internal cylinder  404  should be a customized canister that fits interior chamber  202  and is pre-filled with sanitary wipes  204  . End users can simply re-fill cart handle dispenser  100 ′ with a new internal cylinder  404  with pre-filled sanitary wipes  204 . In one embodiment, slot  408  is present on the side of internal cylinder  404 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , a roll of sanitary wipes  204  is inserted in internal cylinder  404 . Sanitary wipes  204  can take the form of a roll or other designs. In one embodiment, a plurality of clips  402  are firmly affixed at the base of hollow interior  202  of canister  104 . Clips  402  are to grasp internal cylinder  404  and to minimize movement of internal cylinder  404  once it is nested with slot  408  facing upward. In one embodiment, the main purpose of having secondary-enclosure internal cylinder  404  is to avoid sanitary wipes  204  from rolling and moving around inside canister portion  104  during use of the cart. As shown in  FIG. 4 , lid  108  is hingedly attached to canister  104  on one edge with a plurality of hinges  200  and screws  208 . In one embodiment, the curvature of lid  106  should match the curvature of opening side edges  210  of canister  104  for a fitted seal. In one embodiment, lid  106  can be secured to canister  104  by locking closure  110 . The main function of locking canister  104  is to avoid tempering of sanitary wipes  204 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , dispenser slot  106  is a through hole in the shape of a rectangle or other shape that registers and/or corresponds with slot  408  . The area of dispenser slot  106  and slot  408  should be big enough for smooth passing of sanitary wipes  204 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 5  is a representative top side isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the handle dispenser  500 ′. As shown in  FIG. 5 , alternative cart handle dispenser  500 ′ consists of two clip end portions  504  with a lengthwise opening in the shape of a slit or slot on the base, making the section of the clip end portion  504  resemble a circular “C” clip or other type of circlip. It will be understood that the lengthwise tubular portion  504  adjacent the hollow chamber  202  will clip firmly to the handle portion  302  of a cart  304 . In this fashion, handle dispenser  500 ′ can serve to retrofit or renovate/upgrade any existing handle such as tool handles, shopping and other cart handles, staircase handles, esclator handles, etc. 
         [0047]      FIG. 6  shows a method of use of the handle dispenser  500 ′ of the present invention with a cart. As best shown in  FIG. 6 , the cart handle dispenser  500 ′ can be installed by simply clipping the elongated slit or opening clip end portions  504  onto the cart handle portion  302  of any cart  304 . Attachment can be enhanced or reinforced by chemical or mechanical means. The alternate embodiment of the cart handle dispenser  500 ′ is particularly useful and convenient in conjunction with existing shopping carts  304 . This embodiment  500 ′ is also part of a kit in which an existing cart  304  can be modified or retrofit to provide the enhanced sanitary wipe dispensing handle retrofit kit  500 ′ of the present invention. 
         [0048]    Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are now described. All publications and patent documents referenced in the present invention are incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0049]    While the principles of the invention have been made clear in illustrative embodiments, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, the elements, materials, and components used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from those principles. The appended claims are intended to cover and embrace any and all such modifications, with the limits only of the true purview, spirit and scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8