Abstract:
A gripping device defined by flexible sheet of material for use to be temporarily wrapped about a handle of a device, such that a person&#39;s hand grips the sheet instead of directly gripping the handle, for sanitary purposes, preventing transfer to the person&#39;s hand or hands of microbes or bacteria that are possibly disposed on the handle. The sheet temporarily self-secures to the handle but is removable therefrom. At least the handle-engaging surface of the sheet is slip resistant. The sheets may be dispensed from a coil thereof that is conveniently located, and may be disposable.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/523,619, filed on Aug. 15, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This relates to the field of personal hygiene accessories and more particularly to sanitary devices to prevent transmission of microbes when it is required to manually grip handles and the like in public areas. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    It is well known that microbes become deposited and thrive on surfaces of articles that are gripped by various different people and thereby can become transferred from person to person. Many such articles are handled very frequently by different persons, including handles of shopping carts in stores and supermarkets, support poles of public transportation vehicles, and also free weights and gymnasium equipment in physical fitness centers or sporting goods stores. Even when such surfaces are often sanitarily wiped and cleaned using soaps and/or antibacterial or antimicrobial wipes or solutions, microbes can quickly return, carried and deposited by the next person to touch them, and be transferred to the next person thereafter, and so on. While many people take steps to try to limit microbes on their hands, for example, by frequently washing their hands or utilizing sanitary items such as treated wipes or small dispensers of antimicrobial solutions such as Purell® polyvinyl alcohol cleanser (trademark of GOJO Industries, Inc.) that they carry with them or which are posted in public areas like stores, hospitals and the like, such precautions are often forgotten or may be inconvenient at times. Some people even choose to wear gloves at all times when in public, however, such can be very inconvenient. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Briefly, the present invention provides a griping device defined by a small flexible sheet of material used by a person to be easily interposed as a barrier between the hand or hands and the surface of an article to be gripped, such as a shopping cart handle, for example. Preferably, the sheet would be of a material such as rubber or gel or open-celled foam, and at least the one surface of the sheet to be placed adjacent the article to be gripped, would have a slip resistant property, and preferably both surfaces would be slip resistant. The article-adjacent surface could have a weak adhesive to facilitate surface adherence, but would not leave any residue when removed. Also, preferably, after application to the target surface, the sheet would remain in place if temporarily released from being gripped. Such sheets would be inexpensive and could be disposable, or they could be reusable. Unlike the antimicrobial wipes of the prior art, the sheets of the present invention need have no antimicrobial solutions, compounds or characteristics, to be effective for their intended prophylactic purpose. 
         [0005]    One embodiment is a square or rectangular thin sheet of material that is easily rolled around a cylindrical handle into a coil. Such sheets of material could be carried by a person, or could be dispensed from a dispenser stand placed near the shopping cart corral or barbell area, where the sheets are provided in a roll and easily detachable by use of perforations. 
         [0006]    Another embodiment could be a mitt-shaped sheet having a finger-strap or thumb-band, or both, affixed to the hand-engageable surface of the sheet. Such a sheet could be provided for each hand, and thus be configured accordingly, with the finger-strap and thumb-band to be positioned and sized appropriately. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of the a sheet form gripping device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the gripping device of  FIG. 1  wrapped about a handle such as of a barbell or shopping cart. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of an alternative gripping device in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of another gripping device in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the gripping device of the present embodimetn having an elongated length and narrow width when compared to the device of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of a roll of sheets of the gripping device of  FIG. 4 , where the end sheet is easily detachable from the roll. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is am isometric view of another gripping device in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The term “handle” is used herein to include without limitation the portion of a device adapted and intended to be gripped by hand to move or hold the device, or part thereof, or to enable a person to secure themselves in position, where the device may be, without limitation, a hand-grippable pole of a vehicle for public transportation such as a bus, train or trolley, a shopping cart handle, a shopping basket handle, a free weight shaft or gymnasium equipment, and the like. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The terms and expressions used herein, and the embodiments illustrated below, are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These terms, expressions and embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention. 
         [0015]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a gripping device  10  in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The gripping device  10  of the present embodiment consists of a sheet of thin material of generally rectangular form, with adjacent sides almost equal in length. The gripping device  10  may have various configurations and may be of any desired size. In the illustrated embodiment, the gripping device  10  is sized for one hand, i.e. it provides a barrier for the entire surface of one of the user&#39;s hands. In this embodiment, if the user intends to grab one or more devices with both hands, the user would utilize a second gripping device  10  for the other hand. An exemplary size for the gripping device  10  would be about 6 inches (152 mm) by 7 inches (178 mm). It is preferable that the gripping device  10  is sized such that the edges  12 ,  13  will overlap one another when wrapped about the handle  100 , as indicated by edge  12  being shown in phantom in  FIG. 2 . In this way, a complete barrier to microbes is provided. 
         [0016]    The gripping device  10  is manufactured from a flexible material and defines a handle-engaging surface  14  and a hand-engaging surface  16 . As described herein, the handle-engaging surface  14  and the hand-engaging surface  16  may have some similar properties and some distinct properties. The gripping device  10  may be manufactured from a single layer of material with treatments or the like applied to the surfaces  14 ,  16  to achieve distinct properties or the gripping device may be manufactured from two or more layers secured to one another, with the different layers providing different properties, or a combination thereof. As some examples, without limiting, the gripping device  10  itself, or individual layers of the gripping device  10 , may be a soft flexible material such as of rubber, gel, or open or closed celled foam. One or both surfaces  14 ,  16  may be maid from an antimicrobial material or have an antimicrobial applied thereto. 
         [0017]    Preferably, the handle-engaging surface  14  has a property of slip resistance and/or stickiness or tackiness for mild adhesion. The slip resistance may be achieved by providing a surface texture on the handle-engaging surface  14 , for example, bumps, grooves or the like. Alternatively or additionally, the handle-engaging surface  14  may have a level of stickiness or tackiness such that the gripping device  10  will stick to the handle  100  or to itself when the gripping device  10  is wrapped about a handle  100  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . In this way, the gripping devie  10  self-retains on the handle  100  once wrapped therearound. Additionally or alternatively, the gripping device  10  may include flexible magnets (not shown) at innermost and outermost ends to self-retain around a handle of magnetizable material such as stainless steel or iron; or, Velcro® strips (not shown) could be used on opposing sheet surfaces  14 , 16  to secure the coils of the coiled sheet to itself in position about the handle. 
         [0018]    The stickiness or tackiness may be achieved by the inherent properties of the material used to manufacture the handle-engaging surface  14 . For example, the handle-engaging surface  14  may be formed from expanded vinyl material which provides a good frictional or “tacky” quality that remains disposed on the surface of the gripping device  10 , but does not transfer such tackiness to the handle  100 . Alternatively or additionally, the tackiness may be achieved through an adhesive or the like applied to the surface  14 . An exemplary adhesive is a microsphere adhesive or other repositionable glue. It is desirable that if the handle-engaging surface  14  has a tackiness, no adhesive residue remains on handle  100  when gripping device  10  is removed. 
         [0019]    In applications wherein the edges  12 ,  13  overlap as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the gripping device  10  may be manufactured from a self-sticking material such that the overlapped portions will stick to one another and temporarily retain the gripping device  10  on the handle  100 , but will not stick to the handle  100 . For example, the surface  14  may be manufactured from material coated with tiny latex particles or latex-free particles which provides a cohesive property of the material such that it sticks to itself. 
         [0020]    The hand-engaging surface  16  preferably does not have sticky or tacky properties, however, in some applications it may be desired. The hand-engaging surface  16  preferably provides a soft gripping surface which may be smooth or textured. Advantageously, the handle-engaging surface  14  and the hand-engaging surface  16  have different colors or other indicia  15  to provide a visual indicator to the user to increase the likelihood that the user will only handle the hand-engaging surface  16  which is intended to remain microbial free. The gripping device  10  is preferably reusable many times and is easily carried by a person. In this regard, it is preferable that the gripping device  10  is made from a washable material so that it can be cleaned occasionally. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a gripping device  10 ′ in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown. The gripping device  10 ′ is substantially the same as in the previous embodiment accept that the gripping device  10 ′ includes shaping members  20  and a wrist strap  24 . Each shaping member  20  extends from one edge  12  to the other edge  13  and are configured to pre-shape the gripping device  10  into a concave configuration wherein the hand-engaging surface  16  is the outer surface and the handle-engaging surface  14  is the inner surface. As such, the user is inclined to contact only the microbe free hand-engaging surface  16  and easily continue to bend the device  10  about a handle  100 . The shaping members  20  may take various forms, for example, stitching which is tighter on the inner surface, preformed wire, or the like. The wrist strap  24  may be, for example, an elastic band which allows a user to retain the gripping member  10 ′ on their wrist inbetween uses, for example, as they move between equipment in a gym. The wrist strap  24  may be utilized on any of the embodiments of the invention. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a gripping device  30  in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown. The gripping device  30  is substantially the same as the gripping device  10  except that the gripping device  30  has an elongated narrow rectangular shape compared to the gripping device  10 . An exemplary size for gripping device  30  would be about 21 inches (533 mm) by 4 inches (101 mm). With this size and shape, the gripping device  30  is narrow but is sufficiently wide to be wrapped at least once about a handle (see  FIG. 2 ) and be sufficiently long for gripping of the handle with both hands. In one application, a plurality of the gripping devices  30  may be provided in roll form  32  and have perforations  34  for ease of separation from an adjacent sheet on the roll, serving as a dispenser at an optimal location such as at a shopping cart corral or free weights/gym equipment area of a physical fitness center. The gripping device  30  may be disposable. 
         [0023]      FIG. 6  illustrates a gripping device  50  in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The gripping device  50  has a mitt configuration with a finger region  52  and a thumb region  54 . As illustrated, the gripping device  50  is discernable as being configured for use by a person&#39;s left hand, and would be preferably used with a companion sheet for the right hand (not shown). A flexible strap  56  is affixed to the hand-adjacent surface  58  of the gripping device  50  in the finger region  52 , providing for a person&#39;s fingers to be inserted thereunder. Similarly, a flexible strap  60  is affixed to the hand-adjacent surface at the thumb region  54 , for the person&#39;s thumb to be inserted thereunder. The gripping device  50  could therefore be worn temporarily on the hand as a mitt, when needed for gripping a handle. Exemplary material would include an open-celled foam rubber, but other materials may be utilized. Dimensionally, the sheet could be about 7.5 inches (191 mm) in length from bottom edge  62  to top edge  64 , about 5 inches (127 mm) in width in finger region  52 ; and, the thumb region could be about 3 inches (76.2 mm) in length along the bottom edge  62 . Finger strap  56  could be about 4.5 inches (114 mm) in length. The gripping device  50  can be made in different sizes, if desired. 
         [0024]    It may be discerned that the present invention could be re-usable or disposable, and could be provided individually (or in pairs) or dispensed at a conveniently-located site. The sheets could be rectangular, or mitt-shaped or of some other shape. Desirably, the sheets would leave no residue after use, and would be biodegradable. 
         [0025]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.