Abstract:
A novel bandage dispenser is disclosed for dispensing bandages from a roll of sterilized, individually wrapped bandages. Several bandage feeding mechanisms are disclosed, to serially dispense a bandage and simultaneously strip off the liner surrounding the bandage, upon depression of a hand actuated switch. Also disclosed is an improved roll of bandages suitable for use in the bandage dispenser.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to dispensers for sealed bandages. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Various dispensers for bandages have been proposed in the art. To date, however, none of the prior art dispensers teach, show or suggest the present novel design. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,894 to Garland discloses a dispenser for bandages that strips the outer wrapping of the bandage; however, inter alia, Garland discloses a bulky, wall-mounted design that does not lend itself to manufacture into an easily portable, hand-held unit as the present design, nor does the complicated gearing in Garland suggest the compact design of the present invention. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,494 to Baratta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,140 to Pellegrino and U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,586 to Taulbee et al., are examples of rolls of bandages dispensed by manually pulling the bandages from a roll; however, neither of these references suggest the present invention, as they lack, inter alia, a way of dispensing a bandage mechanically. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an improved bandage dispenser that allows bandages to be dispensed serially from a roll. The bandage dispenser dispenses bandages one at a time whenever an actuator is depressed. 
     One aspect of one embodiment of the invention involves the dispensing of bandages ready for immediate application to the injured area, without the need to separately remove the covering liners from the bandage. 
     Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide for a bandage dispenser that can dispense an integral multiple of individual bandages, with the bandages sealed in a wrapper lining, for later use. 
     Still another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide for a bandage roll having an improved design for use in a dispenser as disclosed herein. 
     Yet another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an improved drive mechanism for engaging the bandage roll of the dispenser and dispensing bandages while simultaneously stripping off the bandage liners. To this end, several improved drive mechanisms are disclosed. In one preferred embodiment a rack and pinion drives a plurality of cooperating pinch rollers. 
     Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a dispenser with a modern, compact design that can be mass-produced, be lightweight, portable and readily fit in a user&#39;s hand. 
     In accordance with a specific illustrative embodiment of the invention , a handheld bandage dispenser includes a roll of bandages, with each bandage being individually wrapped, the bandages serially connected together at their longitudinal ends, with the top and bottom liners surrounding the sterile bandages having pressure sensitive adhesive securing the liners together. The dispenser includes a pair of pinch rollers and a finger actuated drive mechanism for rotating the pinch rollers to dispense one or more bandages. 
     The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser, showing a user operating the dispenser. 
     FIG. 2 is a view of the bandages from the bandage roll used in the dispenser of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cut away radial cross-sectional view of the dispenser, holding a roll of sterile sealed bandages. 
     FIG. 4 is a partially cut away perspective view of another embodiment of the dispenser. 
     FIG. 5 is a view of the bandage feeding mechanism driving the driver rollers in the FIG. 4 dispenser. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following is a detailed description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention. The section titles and overall organization of the present detailed description are for the purpose of convenience only and are not intended to limit the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 discloses a plan view of the dispenser  10 , having a dispenser assembly  17  including a housing enclosing a roll  15  of sealed, serially-connected, sterile bandages. The bandage roll  15 , which may be wrapped about a reel or simply rolled into a roll on a disposable core or mandrel, can be replaceable and removable from the dispenser  10 , or affixed permanently and sealed therein, as for single use only. Individual bandages (e.g., Band-Aids®, a registered trademark of Johnson &amp; Johnson, One Johnson &amp; Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, N.J., 08933-7003), as known per se, are dispensed from the dispenser  10  ready to be applied. The bandages have an adhesive portion bisected by a gauze pad, and are sandwiched between a top and bottom liner, with the sticky surfaces on one side exposed. As shown, the outside frame of dispenser  10  fits easily in an adult hand, and forms a hand handle, being less than  12  inches in linear dimension in any one direction, and of a portable, lightweight construction, which may be plastic. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, bandages  20  are supplied wrapped as a roll  15 . The roll  15  is formed of a plurality of individual bandages  22  attached together serially at their ends  24 . The bandages are scored with separation perforations  26  at ends  24 . Each bandage  22  is lined with an upper liner  28  and a lower liner  30 , which may be made of paper. Individual bandages  22  are sealed along their longitudinal side edges of upper and lower liner  28 ,  30 , as well as at their ends  24 . A lower layer  32  faces the adhesive portion of the bandage, and is treated with an anti-stick or release coating such as silicone. As an alternative, each bandage may have underneath its sticky ends a liner portion, to prevent adhesion to the lower layer  32 . A gap region  34  on each side of the perforations  26  is made to be adhesive free, in order to allow the upper and lower bandage liners  28 ,  30  to be easily separated from the remainder of the roll at perforations  26 , once the mechanism is actuated. 
     FIG. 3 discloses a cut away radial cross-section of the dispenser  10 , showing one embodiment of the feeding drive and guide mechanism for the bandage dispenser. A plurality of drive and guide rollers  302 ,  304 ,  308 ,  310  are journaled in the housing of the dispenser  10  by shafts running through the rollers and held by the housing. A pinion drive roller  302  is driven as part of a rack and pinion arrangement. Drive roller  302  in turn drives upper pinch roller  304  in countervailing direction (as indicated by the reference arrows of rotation). Driver roller  304  cooperates with a lower pinch roller  308 . Pinch rollers  304 ,  308  draw the leading edge  315  of bandage material from the roll of bandages  15 . A lower guide roller  310  cooperates with the lower pinch roller  308  to draw away, guide and help remove one portion of the bandage liner, the bottom cover waste liner  314 . The second portion of the bandage liner, the top portion  316 , is stripped and ejected by cooperating rollers  302 ,  304 , from the top of the dispenser to the rear, from an opening at the rear of the dispenser. An optional shroud  307  guards the bandage roll liner waste from entanglement with moving parts. 
     Drive roller  302  is engaged to be driven by a spring biased thumb knob  31 , attached to a toothed rack  306  through a slot  19  extending along the radial cross-section of the dispenser frame, along with a return spring  352  biasing the knob to the retracted position. The rack  306  engages a pinion drive roller wheel  302 , which may be a combination toothed and smooth roller, such as the roller  402  shown in FIG.  5 . Pinion drive roller  302  is journaled to a portion of the frame that holds the pinion shaft running through the roller. Each of the other rollers also have journals in the dispenser housing to hold their respective shafts. Engaging the knob or thumb activator  31  with one&#39;s thumb (as shown in FIG. 1) and pushing with the thumb, against the knob return tension spring  352 , moves the rack  306  across the pinion from an engaging position at distal point  350  to a position closer to a proximal point on rack  306  near the thumbswitch  31 . The rack, thus translated, rotates the engaging pinion  302 , which drives the drive pinch roller  304 , which, in turn, engages drive pinch roller  308 , and guide roller  310 , to dispense a bandage from the bandage dispenser. In between drive pinch rollers  304 ,  308  is threaded the serially connected bandage roll  15 . In between rollers  308  and  310  is threaded bottom cover liner waste sheet  314 , while in between rollers  302 ,  304  is threaded top cover liner waste sheet  316 . 
     To operate the bandage dispenser to dispense bandages, first a roll of bandages is inserted into the dispenser by threading the leading edge  315  of the bandage roll  15  through the dispenser. The top and bottom waste liners  316 ,  314  can also be threaded through their respective cooperating pinch rollers. The dispenser can be composed of two halves, which come apart to expose the internal mechanism of the dispenser. The roll  15  may be wound on a core, spool, or hub, or otherwise wound in a coil. Alternatively, the dispenser may be sealed, for single use only, and come already loaded with a bandage roll. 
     Next the user inserts an index finger in hole  360 , which forms part of the handle for the frame, in that a user can support the frame with one&#39;s finger through hole  360 . The user&#39;s thumb pushes down on spring loaded knob  31 , as shown in FIG.  1 . The bandage roll leading edge will move in the direction  21 . Top and bottom liners  28 ,  30  will peel off and expose the sticky leading edge  315  (see FIGS. 1-3) of each individual bandage. The leading edge of the individual bandage, now shorn of its lining, is applied to the point of application, and the dispenser is pulled away to complete the bandage application. The point of application may be pressed with a pressure plate  362 , to provide pressure to the sticky portion of the bandage. 
     FIG. 4 discloses another embodiment of the invention, employing a pistol grip. The FIG. 4 embodiment has a similar drive roller arrangement to the FIG. 3 embodiment described herein, comprising pinch drive rollers  402 ,  403 , feeding the leading edge  409  of a roll  410  of serially attached, individually sealed bandages. A pistol grip frame  412  supports the rollers and roll. As best seen in FIG. 5, in lieu of a linear rack and pinion drive feeding mechanism, as in the FIG. 3 embodiment, the embodiment of FIG. 4 drives drive roller  403  by depressing the trigger  426 , and through the rocker arm rack mechanism  500 . A rack  505  engages driver roller  403  at pinion gear  503 , which in turn is engaged with a second driver roller  402  at gear  502 . The rack  505  resides on top of a rocker arm  510  which is pivoted about pivot point  520 . The rocker arm rack  505  is biased by spring  532  to remain in a neutral position. The spring  532  may be a tension or compression spring, as appropriate. Another spring, in a mirror image reflection about fixed axis  534 , may be disposed opposite spring  532  to maintain the rocker arm  510  in a neutral position. As can be seen, fixed axis  534 , fixed to the housing, is attached to one end of the spring  532  to form a stable fixed anchor point for the spring while the other end of the spring is attached to rocker arm  510 . A slot  536  allows the rocker arm  510  to pivot about pivot point  520  and swing past fixed axis  534 . The spring  532 , when thus elongated, opposes the rocker arm  510  whenever the rocker arm is pivoted past a neutral position of the rack mechanism  500 . The spring(s)  532  provides a return force back to a neutral position by biasing the rocker arm  510  opposite the direction the rack mechanism  500  travels to when dispensing a bandage strip, which is when the mechanism  500  travels to the right (clockwise) in FIG.  5 . Thus spring  532  provides a return force to restore the trigger  426  of the dispenser to a ready to fire position. Upon depressing the trigger  426 , which can be operatively connected to, or one and the same with rocker arm  510 , the rocker arm  510  and rack  505  rotate clockwise, engaging pinch drive rollers  402 ,  403  to rotate counter-clockwise to feed bandage strip leading edge  409  away from the dispenser, in the direction  542 . Guide roller  405  cooperates with driven roller  403  to strip from the leading edge and lead away bottom bandage waste liner  414 , while guide roller  404  cooperates with driven roller  402  to lead away top waste liner  416 . 
     Regarding an idling or locking position of the FIG. 5 embodiment, there is shown an idling position  536 ,  538  (not to scale) on rack  505 , which is a smooth portion on the rack  505  of the rocker arm  510 . The idling position is for disengaging the rocker arm feeder drive mechanism  500  so that drive mechanism is in an idle position. Thus when the trigger is depressed furthest, the idling position  538  is reached, so the rack  505  does not engage pinion gear  503 . A groove may be provided for the pinion to fall into and disengage from the rack when the idle position is reached. The trigger may be locked to remain in this idling position with a trigger lock, preventing further dispensing of bandages by the actuation of the trigger. Also, the roll of bandages may be more readily threaded through the rollers when the rack is in the idle position, as the pinion would free wheel. Other suitable disengagement and idling mechanisms may be employed from the teachings of the present invention. 
     Regarding both embodiments of the invention, the dispenser actuators (both the thumb knob actuator and the pistol grip trigger actuator) may be designed so that when fully depressed they dispense a single bandage, in order to promote uniformity in dispensing; in the alternative the dispenser actuators may dispense an integer multiple of bandages when fully actuated. 
     Further regarding the invention, from the teachings herein two dispenser units may be used in parallel fashion to dispense a plurality of different sized bandages. Thus, for example, two dispensers of the type shown in FIG. 4 are attached side by side, each of which may dispense bandages of a desired size depending on actuation of the selected trigger, or other actuator. In addition, suitable bandage feeding drive and guide mechanisms, other than the embodiments shown herein, can be employed from the teachings of the present invention. Moreover, the dispenser may be modified, using the teachings of the present invention, so that bandages from the bandage roll may be dispensed serially but with the outermost liner intact, which maintains the bandages in sterile condition. Thus the bandages would be dispensed still sealed inside their liners. The user would tear or cut individual bandages from the roll (along suitable tear lines) and the dispenser would thus dispense sterile bandages. For example, the dispensers described herein may be used in this embodiment, by simply not feeding the bandage upper and lower liners around the guide rollers when loading the bandage roll into the dispenser, so the liners are not stripped off and discarded at the back of the dispenser, but rather the liners are kept on the bandage roll and simply fed out with the bandage itself by the pinch drive rollers. 
     Although the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments above, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. Thus, by way of example and not of limitation, frictional drive rollers may be employed instead of the rack and pinion mechanisms, and other known mechanical movements may be employed. It is intended that the scope of the present invention extends to all such modifications and/or additions and that the scope of the present invention is limited solely by the claims set forth below.