Abstract:
The present invention relates generally to a system and methods for providing protective coverage of an operational surface and any items that may be on the surface. Certain embodiments of the system may be used to help to maintain the sterility of a surface and the items on the surface. Advantageously, such embodiments of the system may be used to maintain the sterility of surgical instruments and materials, and the table surface on which they are placed prior to the start of the surgical procedure. Other embodiments of the system may be used to at least help to prevent the contamination of or maintain the freshness of food and the containers and utensils used to hold, prepare, and serve the food.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/887,680 filed on Oct. 7, 2013, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a system and methods for providing protective coverage of an operational surface. More specifically, the invention is directed to a system that includes a protective cover and an attachment component through the use of which the cover may be secured relative to the operational surface to provide coverage of the surface and any items that may be on the surface. Certain embodiments of the system may be used to help to maintain the sterility of a surface and the items on the surface. Advantageously, such embodiments of the system may be used to maintain the sterility of surgical instruments and materials, and the table surface on which they are placed prior to the start of the surgical procedure. Other embodiments of the system may be used to at least help to prevent the contamination of or maintain the freshness of food and the containers and utensils used to hold, prepare, and serve the food. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In a variety of contexts, items are placed on table tops as a step in or in preparation for and in order to facilitate some other procedure. 
         [0004]    One such context is a medical operating room and the surgical procedures conducted there. In order to conduct a surgical procedure, a surgical team typically needs ready access to a variety of surgical instruments, such as scalpels, forceps, scissors, claims, retractors, and the like. In order that the surgical team may have such ready access, the surgical instruments and possibly other materials are placed on a surface that is positioned within easy reach of the team members. Often this surface is the top of a table. The table is often movable so that it can be repositioned according to the needs of the team during the course of surgery. 
         [0005]    The surgical instruments are often not placed directly onto the surface of the table. Instead, one or more sterilized covers may be placed onto the surface of the table and the instruments and materials needed for the surgery positioned on the upper surface of the covers. In such cases, the one or more sterilized covers act as under covers. 
         [0006]    The above described steps define a certain portion of the routine work-flow that takes place before many surgical procedures. However, this procedure of preparing the one or more tables that are used to hold the instruments and materials that are needed during surgery takes time. The additional time required to prepare the surgical instrument table with instruments is commonly referred to as “mandatory” preparation time within the profession. “Pre-preparing” the surgical instrument table before surgery is currently not recommended when the patient on which the surgery is to be conducted is human largely because there is no way for the surgical team to be confident that the surgical instruments are still sterile once they are placed on the surgical instrument table and remain there for a length of time. In other words, if the surgical instrument table was “pre-prepared” prior to a scheduled surgery, it is possible that the sterility of the instruments placed on the table may be compromised during the period of time between when the surgical instrument table was prepared and when the surgical instruments are actually used to perform a surgical procedure. The use of non-sterile surgical instruments could lead to undesirable surgical complications such as infections. Simply placing a sterilized cover of the same type that may be used as the table under cover over the “pre-prepared” instrument table would not solve the problem. Such sterilized covers are often made from materials that are opaque. As a result, a person could not confirm without lifting the opaque cover whether the proper instruments had been laid out on the table in the position and order required by the surgical team for the given procedure. 
         [0007]    Another context is the food industry. Often times, a variety of items including vegetables, meats, sauces, and spices are needed to prepare dishes. If such items are prepared in advance, they are often times individually covered. With the initiation of and during the preparation of the dishes, these covers must be individually removed from each of the containers. The covers are placed back onto the containers as the use of each of the items is completed to maintain the freshness and prevent the contamination of the contained items. Such contamination may come not only from unintended materials from falling into the open containers but also the odors and smells produced by the cooking or processing of other food items. This process of removing the covers and returning the covers to the containers takes time which slows down the process of making the dishes. Such time is often in short supply especially in busy restaurant kitchens. Also, space must be provided for the covers as they are removed so that they can be easily reached by the chef and placed back onto the proper container. Such space—within arms&#39; reach of the chef preparing a dish—is often also in short supply in commercial kitchens. Also, the covers removed from the containers must be placed in some order so that a busy chef can easily find the correct cover for a container. 
         [0008]    In certain contexts, dishes are prepared in advance and placed on one or more tables before those for whom the dishes are prepared actually are given access to the dishes. These dishes are often individually covered. A buffet table is one example of such an arrangement. The covers are removed just prior to the time the diners are given access to the dishes. This process of removing the covers of all the dish containers prior to allowing diners to access the dishes is a time consuming process. Also, space must be provided on which the removed covers can be positioned as they are removed. This space must be separate and apart from the immediate area in which the dishes are positioned in order to maintain the aesthetics of the area and prevent a diner from coming in unintended contact with the covers. 
         [0009]    When food is to be offered and consumed outside, such as at a barbeque or picnic, components for meals and individual dishes are often placed on a variety of support surfaces—or example, wooden picnic tables, folding tables, and the like—and individually covered to prevent insects from gaining access to the dishes, or the dishes becoming contaminated, and otherwise to maintain the integrity and freshness of the dishes. As above, in order that the food can be used to prepare other dishes or meals or served, the covers must be removed and placed in some order and location so that the covers do not become contaminated and, when needed, can be easily located and attached to the containers. It is not unusual in an outdoor setting to have no such readily available place to store such covers during the course of a barbecue or a picnic. 
         [0010]    From the above, it is clear that there is a demand for a system and methods through the use of which a surface, on which one or more items are positioned, may be covered to preserve the sterility or freshness, or prevent the contamination of the surface and the items. The present invention satisfies the demand. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The present invention is directed to a system and methods for providing protective coverage of an operational surface and the items placed on the surface. For purposes of this application, an operational surface is any apparatus or device that may include some component or have one or more items placed on the surface that may be useful for some procedure. Certain embodiments of the present invention is directed to a system that includes a flexible cover and an attachment component through the use of which the cover may be secured relative to a surface to provide protective coverage of the surface and that which is positioned on or through the surface. 
         [0012]    Certain embodiments of the system may be used to help to maintain the sterility of an operational surface and the items on the surface. Such embodiments of the system may be used to maintain the sterility of the surface of a surgical instrument table on which the instruments, items, and materials that may be used during the surgery may be placed. Certain specific embodiments of the present invention that may be used for such a surgical application include a protective cover that may be secured to the surface of, for example, a surgical table through the use of an attachment component in order to maintain the sterility of the surface and that which is placed on it. Another embodiment of the present invention may include a protective cover having an attachment component that may be securable to the upper surface of the one or more separate sterile covers positioned on the surface of the surgical table on which the surgical instruments and materials are placed. An example of such a separate cover to which the protective cover of the present invention may be secured is a conventional sterile cover used as an under cover for the surgical instruments and materials. 
         [0013]    The protective cover may include one or more forms of attachment components. One embodiment of an attachment component includes an adhesive surface positioned on one side of the protective cover. The adhesive surface may be maintained by a peel-off layer that is removable in order to expose the adhesive as needed to secure the cover to the operational surface. Certain embodiments of the adhesive surface may include an adhesive or other material and/or may be configured so that it is evident that at least the adhesive component has been disturbed and/or the protective cover has been at least partially opened. Such embodiments are advantageous when it is critical to know whether the operational surface has been exposed prior to a procedure and the sterility or freshness possibly compromised. 
         [0014]    Another embodiment of the present invention includes an attachment component that facilitates a mechanical connection of the protective cover to or adjacent to the operational surface. One example of such an attachment component that facilitates such mechanical connection includes a closure mechanism that includes one or more male members that may be received in female members. In certain embodiments, the one or more male members may be positioned on a surface of the protective cover and received in an appropriately aligned and number of female members positioned on or adjacent to the surface of the operational surface. One such embodiment includes the one or more female members positioned on the surface of a flexible tape, the reverse side of which includes a covered adhesive component. By exposing the adhesive, the tape may be secured to the operational surface or the sterile under cover in a position to facilitate the easy insertion of the male members aligned on a surface of the protective cover. An additional embodiment includes a table surface which includes one portion of the closure mechanism—for example, the female shaped component—formed in the table surface. Such an embodiment is advantageous in that the additional time to add the female component to the surface of the table or the sterile under cover is rendered unnecessary. Such a component may be configured and formed of a material such that it may be easily sterilized when the entire operational surface is sterilized. Other embodiments include a reversed arrangement in which the one or more female members are positioned on a surface of the protective cover and the one or more male members are positioned on the surface or adjacent to the surface or formed in the operational surface. By pressing the male members into the female members the protective cover may secured to and protectively cover the operational surface. Embodiments of the present invention that include a mechanical connection attachment component are advantageous in applications in which the protective cover may need to opened and closed more than once. Applications involving food preparation or food service are such applications. A chef may need to open the protective cover to gain access to one or more items needed to prepare a dish, then close the protective cover to preserve the freshness or prevent the contamination of the items collected on the operational surface. 
         [0015]    Other embodiments of the present invention that permit the protective cover to be opened and closed more than once include an adhesive component in which the adhesive portion is a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. Such an adhesive allows the protective cover to be stuck to an object, easily lifted off the object, and re-stuck as needed. 
         [0016]    Additional embodiments of the attachment component can include magnetic elements in which a magnet on the surface of the protective cover may be attached to the operational surface when the operational surface is of a composition to which the magnet may attach. 
         [0017]    Such embodiments of the system that allow the protective cover to be opened and closed as needed may be used to at least help to prevent the contamination of or maintain the freshness of protect food and the containers and utensils used to hold, prepare, and serve the food. The need for multiple covered containers in which the multiple covers must be removed, stored, then replaced is thereby obviated. 
         [0018]    Other embodiments of the present invention include a protective cover including an attachment component that is configured such that the cover may form a pouch in which the items or materials to be protected are enclosed. Additional embodiments of the present invention may be used in conjunction with each other such that a protective pouch is formable by joining two or more protective covers with each other through the attachment component on each. It is appreciated that two or more protective covers can be attached together so as to form a pouch that may contain one or more instruments or other equipment, such as a surgical microscope, that may not be necessarily on a table. 
         [0019]    An advantage of certain embodiments of the present invention that allow sterile conditions to be maintained within the interior defined by the protective cover is that the “mandatory” preparation time for a surgical procedure may be eliminated altogether. The surgical instruments and materials needed by the surgical team can be laid out in advance and, through the use of certain embodiments of the present invention, the sterility of these items maintained until needed. Surgical teams can initiate emergency surgical procedures—such as intracranial arterial thrombectomy for acute stroke patients or emergency surgical interventions for life threatening bleeding—more quickly. Success rates may improve. Overall, surgical instrument tables that are “pre-prepared” through the use of the present invention can improve operating room efficiency through work-flow improvement and possibly decrease the cost of surgical procedures. 
         [0020]    While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the present application. Moreover, the advantages described herein are not necessarily the only advantages of the invention and it is not necessarily expected that every embodiment of the invention will achieve all of the advantages described. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1A  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention ready for deployment relative to an operational surface; 
           [0022]      FIG. 1B  shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention deployed relative to an operational surface and including an under cover; 
           [0023]      FIG. 1C  shows a perspective view of a portion of the embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 1B ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 1D  shows an overhead view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 1E  shows an overhead view of a portion of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1D ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2A  shows a perspective view of a portion of an attachment component; 
           [0027]      FIG. 2B  shows a perspective view of a portion of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1C  deployed relative to an operational surface; 
           [0028]      FIG. 3A  shows a perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of the present invention that includes a tab to facilitate the opening of the protective cover; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3B  shows a side view of a portion of the embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 3A  in which the tab is being used to open the protective cover; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4A  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a restraint that may be used in certain embodiments of the present invention to secure the protective cover relative to an operational surface; 
           [0031]      FIG. 4B  shows a perspective view of the embodiment of the restraint shown in  FIG. 4A  positioned to secure the protective cover relative to an operational surface; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4C  shows a perspective view of the embodiment of the restraint shown in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  in a securing position; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5A  shows a side view of an embodiment of the present invention in which a tab is being used to open the protective cover; 
           [0034]      FIG. 5B  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in which the protective cover has been opened and showing the possible downward movement of the lower portion of one embodiment of the protective cover to thereby drape a portion of the table; 
           [0035]      FIG. 5C  shows a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 5B  in which the draping action of the lower portion of the protective cover has been largely completed; 
           [0036]      FIG. 6  shows side views of various embodiments of the present invention and possible sizes; 
           [0037]      FIG. 7A  shows a cross section of an embodiment of the present invention in which a portion of an operational surface is configured to facilitate the mechanical attachment of a protective cover; and 
           [0038]      FIG. 7B  shows a cross section of another embodiment of the present invention in which the attachment component facilitates the mechanical connection of the protective cover relative to the operational surface. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0039]    The present invention is directed to a system  31  and methods for providing protective coverage of an operational surface  21 . Certain embodiments of the system  31  include a protective cover  51  and an attachment component  71  through the use of which the protective cover  51  may be secured relative to a surface to provide protective coverage of that which is positioned on or through the operational surface  21 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 1A  provides a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention in place for deployment relative to an operational surface  21 . The operational surface  21  shown in  FIG. 1A  is the top horizontal surface  20 H of a table  20 . A table  20  with which the present invention may be used may be more made mobile with the use of leg casters such as the table  20  shown in  FIG. 1A . The illustrated table  20  includes sets of opposing vertical surfaces  121 V,  122 V,  123 V,  124 V that meet at corners  221 C,  222 C,  223 C,  224 C. Certain items for which protection is sought by a user—collectively identified by the number  101 —are positioned, for example, on the horizontal surface  20 H of the table  20  in preparation for some additional procedure to be conducted. 
         [0041]    The embodiment of the system  31  illustrated in  FIG. 1A  includes a protective cover  51  and an attachment component  71 . The illustrated embodiment of the protective cover  51  is formed as a continuous sheet  53  having an outer surface  53 A and an inner surface  53 B. The protective cover  51  is securable relative to the operational surface  21  through the use of the attachment component  71 . The embodiment of the system  31  shown in  FIG. 1A  includes an attachment component  71  that is securable as an adhesive securing element  73 . The adhesive securing element can be sized and shaped as needed to secure the protective cover to or adjacent to the operational surface  21 . The adhesive securing element  73  of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1A  includes an adhesive layer  74  positioned on the inner surface  53 B and in the lower portion  57 B of the protective cover  51 . The adhesive layer  74  shown in  FIG. 1A  is sized and shaped to permit the protective cover  51  to be secured to each of the generally vertical surfaces  121 V,  122 V,  123 V,  124 V of the table  20 . The adhesive securing element  73  includes a removable element  75  that protects and prevents the exposure of the adhesive of the adhesive layer  74  until a user wishes to secure the protective cover  51  relative to the operational surface  21 .  FIG. 2A  shows a portion of the adhesive securing element  73  in which the removable element  75  is lifted to show the adhesive layer  74 . As so secured, the protective cover  51  provides a protective interior  91  in which the items  101  positioned relative to the horizontal surface  20 H of the table  20  are protected from additional exposure to “ambient conditions” defined for purposes of this application as conditions that exist at, above, and exterior to the outer surface  53 A of the protective cover  51 . Such conditions may be non-sterile conditions, or contaminated conditions, or contain one or more sources from which contaminants may be produced. 
         [0042]      FIG. 7A  shows an embodiment of the present invention by which at least partial securement of the protective cover  51  to the operational surface  21  may be accomplished through a mechanical connection. In the illustrated embodiment, the surface  20 H of the table  20  includes a female element  77 A in which an appropriately configured male element  77 B formed on or as part of the inner surface  53 B of the protective cover  51 . With such an attachment component  71 , the protective cover  51  can be opened and closed as needed. 
         [0043]    To provide additional protection for that which is positioned on or relative to the operational surface  21 , an additional cover  81  may be used. One embodiment of the additional cover  81  is illustrated in  FIGS. 1B  and is a cover element  81 C of the type that has been conventionally used as an under cover for items  101  placed, for example, on the horizontal surface  20 H of a table  20  in preparation for a surgical procedure. The cover element  81 C is sized and shaped to cover at least the horizontal surface  20 H. The embodiment of the cover element  81 C shown in  FIG. 1B  is sized and shaped to cover not only the horizontal surface  20 H but also, by draping vertically, the sides  121 V,  122 V,  123 V,  124 V of the table  20 . Such coverage of at least a portion of the sides of the table by a sterile cover  81  allows the table to be touched or moved during the course of, for example, surgery with some confidence that such action did not contaminate the user. Certain embodiments of the protective cover  51  may be secured to the upper surface  82  of the cover element  81 C by removing the removable element  75  and pressing the exposed adhesive layer  74  onto the surface  82 . When so secured, the protective cover  51  provides a protective interior  91  in which the items  101 —positioned relative to the horizontal surface  20 H of the table  20  and on at least a portion of the upper surface  82  of the cover element  81 C—are protected from additional exposure to ambient conditions. 
         [0044]      FIG. 7B  illustrates an embodiment of the system  31  in which the attachment component includes a tape component  78  having an adhesive element  78 A by which the tape  78  may be secured directly to the operational surface  21  or to a cover  81  placed on the operational surface  21 . The tape component  78  includes the portion of a mechanical connector—in the illustrated embodiment, a female tape element  79 A—that corresponds to the portion that is formed in or on the protective cover  51 —in the illustrated embodiment, a male cover element  79 B. By pressing the male cover element  79 B onto the female tape element  79 A, the protective cover  51  may be secured to the cover  81  and thereby the operational surface  21 . The cover  51  thereby may be opened and closed as needed. 
         [0045]      FIG. 6  shows embodiments of the protective cover  51  deployed relative to different sized tables  20  and over different sized operational surfaces  21 . The embodiments shown in  FIG. 6  include protective covers  51  whose overall size is larger than but in proportion to the operational surface  21  on and over which each is deployed. Through such configurations, an interior  91  is developed that is appropriate for the size and shape of the operational surfaces  21  and the items  101 . By way of example only, a small size may be about 15″ larger than the table  10  on each side; a medium size may be about 25″ larger than table  10  on each side; and a large size may be about 35″ larger than table  10  on each side. For example, X (shorter side) by Y (longer side) size surgery instrument table: (a) small size-[X+31 inch: (15.5×2)]×[Y+31 inch: (15.5×2)]; (b) medium size-[X+51 inch: (25.5×2)]×[Y+51 inch: (25.5×2)]; and (c) large size-[X+71 inch: (35.5×2)]×[Y+71 inch: (35.5×2)]. In these embodiments, a 0.5″ extension beyond the side of the table is shown to allow for adequate coverage of all four sides of the table. 
         [0046]    In certain applications in which the protective cover  51  is intended to be secured and opened once, the adhesive used to form the adhesive layer  74  may vary, and includes, but is not limited to, drying adhesives (solvent based and polymer dispersion adhesives), pressure sensitive adhesives, contact adhesives, and other synthetic adhesives such as epoxy, polyurethane, cyanoacrylate and acrylic polymers. In other applications in which the protective cover is intended to be secured, and possibly opened and closed many times, the adhesive used to form the adhesive layer  74  may be a “low-tack”, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. Such an adhesive allows the protective cover to be stuck to an object (including a surface  20 H of a table  20  or a bench), easily lifted off the object, and re-stuck as needed. 
         [0047]    Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a protective cover  51  that will be opened only once and that readily inform the user whether the protective cover has been opened. For example, if the protective cover  51  is used to maintain sterile conditions of surgical instruments and materials  101  positioned on a surgical table, the protective cover  51  will be removed once. It is important in this application to know whether the protective cover  51  has been disturbed and the surgical instruments  101  exposed to possibly non-sterile ambient conditions. For such an application, certain embodiments of the adhesive layer may be configured to visually inform a user that the adhesive layer has been disturbed and that the protective interior  91  possibly exposed to ambient conditions. To signal such disturbance of the adhesive layer, the adhesive  74  may change in color (e.g., from clear to blue) at least at a portion of the protective cover at which the disturbance has occurred. It can be appreciated that other tamper indicators may be used, such as paint, tape, or labels. For example, a tamper proof tape that leaves a permanent residue on the surface from which it is being removed may also be used. Examples of the type of tape used in certain embodiments include the SafeLabel™-HR type tape manufactured by TamperSeals Group®. Examples of additional tamper indicators include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,509,196; 4,557,505; 4,652,473; 4,980,222; 5,082,702; 5,518,763; 5,770,283; and 6,395,376 and U.S. Publication Nos. 2002/0142121; 2007/0071968; 2010/0285398; and 2012/0244623, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The tamper indicator may or may not be sterilized depending on the application. 
         [0048]    To allow a user to gain access to the protective interior  91 , certain embodiments of the system  31  may include a tear portion  61 . In certain embodiments of the present invention, the system  31  includes a tear portion  61  positioned such that at least a portion of the protective cover  51  may be separated from the portion by which attachment relative to the operational surface  21  may be accomplished.  FIG. 1A  through  FIG. 1E  and  FIG. 5A  illustrate certain embodiments of the system  31  that include a tear portion  61 . In these illustrated embodiments, the tear portion  61  is disposed around the entire circumference of the protective cover  51 . However, it is appreciated that embodiments of the present invention may include a tear portion  61  disposed along a select portion of the cover  51  (e.g., along two perpendicular sides, or along two adjacent sides) or that the system  31  include multiple tear portions  61  that may be used to gain access to certain portions of the interior  91 . 
         [0049]    In these embodiments, by operation of the tear portion  61 , the protective cover  51  can be opened to form a top portion  57 A and a lower portion  57 B. A weakness in the material from which the protective cover  51  is formed may define the tear portion  61  and by operation of the tear element  63  the section at which the top portion  57 A is openable relative to the lower portion  57 B. 
         [0050]    One embodiment of such a tear element  63  is a string  63 S positioned within the material at least in part defining the tear portion  61 .  FIG. 1B  illustrates such a tear element  63 . When pulled by a user, the top portion  57 A of the protective cover  51  opens relative to the lower portion  57 B. 
         [0051]    Another embodiment of the tear element  63  may include a tab  63 T in the protective cover  51  that by pulling causes the protective cover  51  to tear. A weakness in the material used to form the protective cover  51  may make it easier to operate the tear element  63  and provide direction to the tearing. 
         [0052]    The protective cover may be made from a material that provides the protective coverage sought for the operational surface  21  and the items  101  positioned relative to it. In order to maintain sterility of the interior  91 , the entire protective cover  51  or the top portion  57 A may be a clear cover made out of single or multiple layers of plastic or plastic-like material, such as polycarbonate, a composite, or any other material that is capable of maintaining sterility. Examples of an embodiment of the top portion include the Tiburon® Femoral Angiography Drape, which includes clear side panels. The protective cover  51  may be formed also by the extrusion of thermoplastic material as a continuous single or multi-ply web. The material from which the cover  51  is formed may be a multi-layer impermeable film, such as EVOH ply adhesively secured between polypropylene and low density polyethylene piles. 
         [0053]      FIG. 1C  provides a top view of one embodiment of the protective cover  51 . In the embodiment shown here, the protective cover  51  has a rectangular shape (with the “Y” length in this embodiment greater than the “X” length). However, it can be appreciated that the cover  51  can have a square shape, circular shape, or any shape that is suitable by which protective coverage can be provided for an operational surface  21  and the items  101  positioned on it. As shown in  FIG. 1D ,  FIG. 1E , and  FIG. 2B , the bottom portion  57 B may be configured to be complimentary so as to form one or more cover corners  58  that correspond to the one or more table corners  221 C,  222 C,  223 C,  224 C. Such complimentary correspondence aids in the maintenance of non-ambient conditions within the interior  91 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 4A ,  FIG. 4B , and  FIG. 4C  and  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  illustrate additional embodiments of the system  31  that include a restraint  95 . The restraint  95  may be a security string/band that is sized and shaped and configured to be extendable around part or all the outer circumference of at least a portion of the outside surface  53 A of the protective cover  51  and secure it relative to the operational surface  21 . Such a restraint  95  may facilitate the development of a outer surface  53 A of the seal by the protective cover in order to maintain, for example, the sterility of the surgical instruments  101  placed on the operational surface  21  or the freshness of food items or to prevent their contamination. The restraint may be used as the attachment component  71  for the protective cover  51  or in conjunction with another attachment component  71  such as a securing element  73 . The restraint  95  may be made from any suitable material by which engagement with the protective cover  51  can be accomplished including fiber, plastic, silastic, rubber, cloth or the like. The restraint may include a tamper-proof lock  95 A.  FIG. 4A  shows one such embodiment of such a restraint  95 .  FIG. 4B  shows the embodiment of the restraint  95  shown in  FIG. 4A  in place around the lower portion  57 B of the protective cover  51 .  FIG. 4C  shows the embodiment of the restraint  95  shown in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  tightened to assist in securing the protective cover  51  relative to the operational surface  21  with the tamper-proof lock  95 A engaged. 
         [0055]    The following describes the operation of the embodiments of the system  31  that include a tear portion  61 . A user by grabbing, for example, the string  63 S shown in  FIG. 1B  or the tab  63 T shown in  FIG. 3B  and  FIG. 5A  can disrupt the tear portion  61  and open the protective cover  51  to form a top portion  57 A and a lower portion  57 B.  FIG. 5B  illustrates an embodiment of the protective cover  51  in which the cover is made from a flexible material. By the operation of the tear portion  61 , the lower portion  57 B of the protective cover  51  can drop and/or be manipulated to drape over the sides  121 V,  122 V,  123 V,  124 V of the table  20  The restraint  95  maintains the lower portion  57 B in position relative to the illustrated table  20 . Such embodiments provide additional protection for the users during a procedure as explained above. 
         [0056]    In certain embodiments, the protective cover  51  is provided within suitable packaging. The protective cover and other components may be provided as a kit, optionally containing certain items needed for the anticipated procedure. Depending on the application, the protective cover can be sterilized for medical applications—for example, chemically, by heat, or by radiation—or may be washable and possibly reusable for food or other applications. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the sterilization method and cover components must be compatible. In certain kit embodiments, the surgical cover can be sterilized together with surgical instruments.