Patent Abstract:
A quick release antimicrobial hospital curtain is disclosed. The curtain is made up of a ventilated top portion attached by curtain carriers and eyelets to the existing curtain track, and a bottom portion, the bottom portion being impregnated with an antimicrobial material and woven through with elemental silver threads. The quick release mechanism is a breakaway zipper, also preferably made of an antimicrobially impregnated polymer that may be unfastened either with a conventional zipper handle or simply pulled to detach the bottom portion from the upper.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to hospital curtains and, more specifically, to a quick release hospital curtain consisting of a ventilated narrow upper portion slideably attached along an existing ceiling track. A wide lower portion of the curtain fabricated out of an antimicrobial fabric is removably attached to the narrow upper portion by a breakaway longitudinally extending zipper placed therebetween. A vertical flap secured by VELCRO can be lifted up to access a cover strip to expose a starting point of the zipper on one side of the curtain, so that the wide lower portion can be pulled away from the narrow upper portion. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are other hospital curtains which provide for an enclosure utilized for hospital beds, surgical facilities, emergency rooms, intensive care units and recovery rooms. While these hospital curtains may be suitable for the purposes for which they where designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. 
     It is thus desirable to provide a quick release hospital curtain comprising a narrow ventilated upper portion that is slideably mounted by curtain carriers to an existing ceiling track. A wide antimicrobial lower portion is removably attached by a zipper to the narrow upper portion. A vertically disposed VELCRO flap can access a cover strip to expose a starting point of the zipper allowing the wide lower portion to be pulled away or removed from the narrow upper portion. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain, in which an antimicrobial lower portion can be easily removed from a thinner upper portion. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain, in which the lower portion is fabricated out of an antimicrobial fabric. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain, in which the narrow upper portion is ventilated. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain, in which a top segment of the narrow upper portion is fabricated out of a mesh material 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain having a breakaway longitudinally extending zipper between the narrow upper portion and the wide lower portion. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain wherein the breakaway longitudinally extending zipper may additionally be manufactured with an antimicrobial material. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain containing a vertical VELCRO flap on one side of the curtain affixed at a top end to the narrow upper portion and removably attached at a bottom end to the wide lower portion. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a quick release hospital curtain further containing a cover strip secured by the vertical VELCRO flap affixed to a lower end of the narrow upper portion that can be pulled up to expose the zipper. 
     Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a quick release hospital curtain consisting of a ventilated narrow upper portion slideably attached along an existing ceiling track. A wide lower portion of the curtain fabricated out of an antimicrobial fabric is removably attached to the narrow upper portion by a breakaway longitudinally extending zipper therebetween. A vertical VELCRO flap can be lifted up to access a cover strip to expose a starting point of the zipper on one side of the curtain, so that the wide lower portion can either be unzipped from or be pulled away from the narrow upper portion. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention suspended from a track, showing a wide lower portion starting to be separated from a narrow upper portion; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention fully assembled; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 3 , showing the wide lower portion starting to be separated from the narrow upper portion; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention with parts broken away; 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 5 , showing the VELCRO flap and the cover strip lifted up; and 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 6 , showing the zipper being opened and the wide lower portion being pulled away from the narrow upper portion. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the use of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
       10  hospital curtain     12  curtain track     14  wide lower portion     16  narrow upper portion     18  elemental silver threads     20  upper portion top section mesh     22  curtain carriers     24  eyelets     26  cover strip     28  upper portion top edge     30  upper portion lower edge     32  breakaway zipper     34  upper zipper track     36  lower zipper track     38  interengaged zipper teeth     40  vertically disposed cover strip securing flap     42  curtain left edge     44  curtain right edge     46  zipper handle     48  cooperating VELCRO patches   A 1 , A 2 , A 3  directional arrows   N user   

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention  10  suspended from a track  12 , showing a wide lower portion  14  starting to be separated from a narrow upper portion  16 . The present invention is a quick release hospital curtain  10  comprising a wide lower portion fabricated out of an antimicrobial fabric that includes a plurality of silver threads  18  incorporated into its construction. The elemental silver  18  serves to aid in the antimicrobial protection already provided by the lower portion  14 . The invention  10  also includes a narrow ventilated upper portion  16 . The upper portion  16  has a top segment  20  made of a mesh material for ventilation and is slideably attached along an existing ceiling track using a plurality of curtain carriers  22  coupled to spaced apart eyelets  24  on a top edge  28  of the narrow upper portion  16 . As seen in the following Figures and described more completely below, a cover strip  26  is attached to a lower edge  30  of the narrow upper portion to hide a breakaway zipper  32 . The cover strip  26  is held in place by a vertically disposed cover strip securing strap  40 . The breakaway zipper  32  extends longitudinally between the wide lower portion  14  and the narrow upper portion  16  of the hospital curtain  10 . The breakaway zipper  32  has upper and lower zipper tracks  34 ,  36  with matingly interlocking teeth  38  that are separable for removing the wide lower portion  14  from the narrow upper portion  16  of the hospital curtain  10  when desired. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention fully assembled. Shown is the quick release curtain  10  of the present invention comprising the wide lower portion  14  fabricated out of an antimicrobial material and, further, having a plurality of silver threads incorporated therethrough. Also seen is the narrow ventilated upper portion  16 . A number of different materials may be used to provide the antimicrobial attributes of the lower portion  14 . These various antimicrobial materials may be topically applied periodically or they may be impregnated within the curtain material during the manufacturing process. This, along with the elemental silver threads  18  incorporated in the lower portion  14 , provides an impediment to germs in the environment surrounding the bed or examination area by denying a surface where the organisms can multiply. The breakaway zipper  32  (discussed further below) extends fully from the left edge of the hospital curtain to the right edge of the hospital curtain. The breakaway zipper has upper and lower zipper tracks  34 ,  36  with matingly interlocking teeth  38  that are separable for removing the wide lower portion  14  from the narrow upper portion  16  when the matingly interlocking teeth  38  are disengaged from one another. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the present invention. The quick release hospital curtain  10  of the present invention provides the cover strip  26  affixed to the lower edge  30  of the narrow upper portion  16  of the hospital curtain  10  to hide the breakaway zipper  32  which extends from the left edge  42  of the hospital curtain  10  to the right edge  44  of the hospital curtain  10 . A vertically disposed VELCRO cover strip securing flap  40  is provided and is located on the left hand side  42  of the hospital curtain in the illustrated embodiment. 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 3 , showing the wide lower portion  14  starting to be separated from the narrow upper portion  16 . The quick release hospital curtain  10  of the present invention provides the cover strip  26  affixed to the lower edge  30  of the narrow upper portion  16  of the hospital curtain  10  to hide the breakaway zipper  32  which extends from the left edge  42  of the hospital curtain  10  to the right edge  44  of the hospital curtain  10 . This breakaway zipper provides a combined breakaway and engagement means that allows a user to remove the antimicrobial lower potion  14  from the upper portion  16  when desired, as will be discussed below. A vertically disposed VELCRO cover strip  40  is provided and is located on the left hand side  42  of the hospital curtain  10  in the embodiment described herein. The vertically disposed VELCRO cover strip  40  is lifted to access and move the cover strip  26  thus exposing the zipper  32  starting point and the zipper handle  46  which may then be used to disengage the interlocking teeth  34 ,  36  (as indicated by directional arrow A 1  in the Figure) to release the wide lower portion  14  from the narrow upper portion  16  of the hospital curtain  10 . In the preferred embodiment described herein, the interlocking teeth  34 ,  36  would be made of a polymer substance and would also be impregnated or infused with an antimicrobial compound similar to the lower portion  14  of the hospital curtain  10 . Note also that it is contemplated that in the case of an emergency, if the curtain needed to be removed quickly, the interlocking zipper teeth  34 ,  36  could be disengaged from one another by simply pulling downwardly as indicated at directional arrow A 2  in the Figure, which would also cause the teeth  34 ,  36  to detach from one another. 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention with parts broken away. Shown is a detailed view of the quick release curtain  10  of the present invention with the vertically disposed VELCRO cover strip  40  in a closed position and the cover strip  26  covering the breakaway zipper  32 . Breakaway zipper  32  is shown with the upper zipper track  34  and the lower zipper track  36  engaged with one another. Also shown is the interengaging VELCRO patch  48  disposed on both the VELCRO cover strip  40  and the lower portion  14  (both placements seen in  FIG. 4 ). 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 5 , showing the vertically disposed VELCRO cover strip  40  and the cover strip  26  lifted up. Shown is a detailed view of the quick release hospital curtain  10  of the present invention comprising the wide lower portion  14  fabricated out of antimicrobial material having the plurality of silver threads  18  incorporated therethrough (as seen in  FIGS. 1 and 3 ). The breakaway zipper  32  extends from the left edge of the hospital curtain to the right edge of the hospital curtain. The breakaway zipper  32  has the upper and lower zipper tracks  34 ,  36  with the matingly interlocking teeth that are separable for removing the wide lower portion  14  from the narrow upper portion  16  when the matingly interlocking teeth are disengaged. 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged partial front view of the present invention similar to  FIG. 6 , showing the zipper  32  being opened and the wide lower portion  14  being pulled away from the narrow upper portion  16  as indicated by directional arrow A 3 . The breakaway zipper  32  has the upper and lower zipper tracks ( 34  and  36 , respectively) with matingly interlocking teeth that are separable for removing the wide lower portion from the narrow upper portion when the matingly interlocking teeth are disengaged as shown. As mentioned above, the user N (seen in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ) may either use the zipper handle, indicated at  46  in the Figures, or may, in case of urgency, simply pull the interengaged teeth apart as shown. 
     A wide variety of antimicrobial agents are available and would present themselves to the skilled practitioner. In combination with the elemental silver threads  18  the present invention provides a privacy curtain foe hospital room or examination room use. With the rise of infections contracted in hospitals, some of these being partially or substantially resistant to antibiotic treatment, the present invention addresses a real need by denying any airborne organisms or germs unknowingly carried by a person in the environment a surface proximate the patient where the pathogens can rest or multiply. As mentioned above, the antimicrobial material that makes up part of the lower portion  14  of the curtain  10  may be impregnated within the curtain material during the manufacturing process, be topically applied on a predetermined schedule, or both. Additionally, the elemental silver threading  18  incorporated into the lower portion  14  of the present invention increases the antimicrobial properties thereof. It is contemplated that the lower portion  14  of the invention  10  would be easily washable and able to undergo sterilization procedures (high temperatures, chemical treatment, or the like) in case of being badly soiled. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0