Patent Document

[0001]    Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119, the benefit of priority from provisional application 62/231,849, with a filing date of Jul. 17, 2015, is claimed for this non-provisional application. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to rail coverings, and more particularly to covers for rails and adjoining touch surfaces where the covers&#39;surfaces are antimicrobial. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Microbes, to include bacteria, fungi, viruses and spores, are readily deposited on hard surfaces. The presence of small amounts of moisture on such surfaces promotes microbe growth. Human or any host contact with such surfaces provides a transmission vehicle for the microbes leading to further deposition, growth, transmission, and, in many cases, human infection. 
         [0004]    Microbe growth and transmission is of great concern in hospital settings as well as public areas that present frequently-accessed contact surfaces. In hospitals, a patient&#39;s bed presents a number of hard contact surfaces (e.g., bed rails, headboard, footboard, etc.) that caregivers, visitors, and a patient will touch frequently throughout a hospital stay. Since patients are often in a weakened immune state, they are prime candidates for microbe infection. In public areas, hand rails present hard contact surfaces that are prime candidates for microbe deposition, growth, and transmission. 
         [0005]    Actively disinfecting contact surfaces is a time-consuming process that is often neglected due to cost, forgetfulness, or lack of concern. Replacement of structures such as hospital beds with completely new structures embodying microbe-susceptible contact surfaces with antimicrobial materials (e.g., the antimicrobial solid surface material disclosed in PCT Application No. PCT/US2013/054040) is a costly proposition beyond the budget constraints of many businesses, institutions and/or cities/municipalities. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide antimicrobial covers for contact surfaces. 
         [0007]    Another object of the present invention is to provide antimicrobial covers for rail-like structures. 
         [0008]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide antimicrobial covers for rail-like structures that can be installed quickly and without personnel training. 
         [0009]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings. 
         [0010]    In accordance with the present invention, a rail cover assembly includes a first cover portion having opposing and longitudinally-extending L-shaped lips and having surface regions defined by an antimicrobial material. At least one pair of first slots is defined at opposing locations along the lips. The assembly also includes a second cover portion having opposing longitudinal edges for nesting with the first cover portion&#39;s lips. The second cover portion also has surface regions defined by the antimicrobial material. At least one pair of second slots is defined at opposing locations along the second cover portion&#39;s edges and is aligned with a corresponding pair of the first slots. A joiner is partially engaged in each of the first slots and partially engaged in a correspondingly aligned one of the second slots. Each joiner includes a first spring-loaded portion engaging the first cover portion and a second spring-loaded portion engaging the second cover portion. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of a portion of a rail cover assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is an isolated plan view of a portion of the top-of-rail cover as viewed from the underside thereof; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the top-of-rail cover taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an isolated plan view of a portion of a bottom-of-rail cover as viewed from the top side thereof; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom-of-rail cover taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a cover-joining clip in its pre-installation configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of the cover-joining clip taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of the bottom-of-rail cover with cover-joining clips in the slots thereof; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of a rail cover assembly to include its cover-joining clips taken along line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a magnified microscopic image of the surface of an antimicrobial material that has undergone surface texturing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , a portion of a rail cover assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown and is referenced generally by numeral  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, rail cover assembly  10  includes a portion  10 A that can completely encase a rail (e.g., a tubular type of rail  100  illustrated in phantom lines) and an adjacent portion  10 B that covers the top of a wall  102  (also illustrated in phantom lines) from which rail  100  extends. For example, wall  102  can be a portion of a headboard or footboard of a hospital bed that includes rail  100 . As is known in the art, a conventional hospital bed footboard incorporates a rail  100  at the sides thereof to aid a patient in getting around in his hospital room. These same rails are used by caregivers (or even visitors) when moving the bed. Accordingly, rail  100  and the top of wall  102  present hard surfaces that are prime candidates for microbe deposition, growth, and transmission. For applications where only a rail is to be covered, portion  10 B can be omitted. Rail cover assemblies of the present invention can be used to provide biocidal treatment in a wide variety of applications such as, but not limited to, hospital bed headboards, footboards, and side rails; staircase railings; hallway railings in medical facilities and/or public buildings; rails found in public forms of transportation to include buses, trains, and airplanes; etc. 
         [0023]    In accordance with the present invention, rail cover assembly  10  includes a top-of-rail cover  12  and a bottom-of-rail cover  14  that can be entirely made from antimicrobial or biocidal material or can be constructed such that at least exposed surfaces of the covers are made from antimicrobial or biocidal materials. By way of example, the exposed surfaces of the top-of-rail and bottom-of-rail covers of cover assembly  10  can be a composite solid material made from a polymeric resin with copper oxide particles mixed therein disclosed in PCT Application No. PCT/US2013/054040, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is to be understood that other antimicrobial or biocidal materials could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. When the entirety of the top-of-rail and bottom-of-rail covers is made using such antimicrobial materials, the covers could be cast, molded, or fabricated in a variety of ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0024]    As will be explained further below, top-of-rail cover  12  is mechanically coupled to bottom-of-rail cover  14  using rigid (e.g., metal) cover-joining clips  16  ( FIGS. 6-9 ) in a way that supports rail cover assembly  10  being quickly and securely assembled/coupled to rail  100  and top of wall  102  without any training of personnel performing such an installation. Once rail cover assembly  10  is in place, the most readily-touched surfaces of rail  100  and wall  102  are covered/protected by antimicrobial materials to thereby substantially reduce microbe growth and transmission at the surfaces of rail cover assembly  10 . 
         [0025]    Referring additionally now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , top-of-rail cover  12  is shown in isolation with a plan view from the underside thereof shown in  FIG. 2  and a cross-sectional view thereof shown in  FIG. 3 . Top-of-rail cover  12  includes a portion  12 A that forms part of the complete encasement portion  10 A of rail cover assembly  10 , and a portion  12 B that forms the portion  10 B of assembly  10  that covers the top of wall  102  as described above. Along the length of portion  12 A, an inner surface  120  is shaped to engage the top portion (e.g., the top half) of a rail. For example, if the rail to be covered is cylindrical as shown in  FIG. 1 , inside surface  120  is semi-cylindrical to rest on the top half of the rail. Inside surface  120  can also be contoured along portion  12 A to accommodate contours in the portion of a rail it is to cover such that the top portion of a rail to be covered nests with inside surface  120 . A bottom edge  121  is defined along each edge of inside surface  120 . Each bottom edge  121  has one or more slots  122  defined therein. Each slot  122  will receive a portion of a cover-joining clip  16  shown in  FIGS. 6-9  and as will be described further below. Each slot  122  has length “L S ” along edge  121 , a width “W S ”, and a depth “D S ”. A flange  123  extends perpendicularly from the outside edge  121  A of each bottom edge  121  such that the combination of bottom edge  121  and its corresponding flange  123  define an L-shaped lip all along each side of portion  12 A. All along the length of portion  12 B, an inside surface  124  is shaped to engage or rest on the top portion of a non-rail structure (e.g., wall  102  as described above) that is adjacent to a rail being covered by portion  12 A. Similar to inside surface  120 , inside surface  124  can be contoured along portion  12 B to accommodate contours of the top of a structure (e.g., top of wall  102 ) it is to cover. Opposing longitudinal edges  125  of portion  12 B can be aligned with edges  121  of portion  12 A. 
         [0026]    Referring additionally now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , bottom-of-rail cover  14  is shown in isolation with a plan view from the top side thereof shown in  FIG. 4  and a cross-sectional view thereof shown in  FIG. 5 . Along its length, bottom-of-rail cover  14  has an inside surface  140  shaped to engage the bottom portion (e.g., the bottom half) of a rail. For example, if the rail to be covered is cylindrical, inside surface  140  is semi-cylindrical to rest against the bottom of the rail. Inside surface  140  can also be contoured to accommodate contours in the portion of a rail it is to cover such that the bottom portion of a rail to be covered nests with inside surface  140 . An edge  141  is defined along each opposing longitudinal edge of inside surface  140  and is sized to nest with the opposing L-shaped lips defined by cover  12 &#39;s bottom edge  121  and flange  123 . When top-of-rail cover  12  and bottom-of-rail cover  14  are assembled to define cover assembly  10  as shown in  FIG. 9 , each bottom edge  141  has one or more slots  142  defined therein and located to be in correspondence with slots  122  of top-of-rail cover  12  such that slots  122  and  142  align with one another as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 9 . While the number of slots used in covers  12  and  14  is not a limitation of the present invention, there will generally always be at least one pair of slots on opposing sides of a top-of-rail cover  12  and an aligned pair of slots on opposing sides of a corresponding bottom-of-rail cover  14 . Each slot  142  will receive a portion of a cover-joining clip  16  ( FIGS. 6-9 ) as will be described further below. Each slot  142  has a length “L S ” along edge  141 , a width “W S ”, and a depth “D S ”, where such dimensions can be matched to the corresponding dimensions of slots  122 . 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a cover-joining clip  16  is shown in its pre-installation configuration in side and plan views, respectively. Clip  16  is made from a rigid sheet of material (e.g., metal). In the illustrated embodiment, clip  16  has a generally rectangular outer shape whose width “W C ” is less than the length L S  of slots  122  and slots  142 . The length “L C ” of clip  16  is longer than the depth D S  of slots  122  and longer than the depth D S  of slots  142 . By way of example, if the depth D S  of slots  122  is approximately equal to the depth D S  of slots  142 , the length L C  of clip  16  can be up to twice that of the depth D S  of slots  122  and  142  in order to allow edge  121  rest against edge  141  when cover assembly  10  is completed as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 9 . Prior to inclusion of clip  16  in cover assembly  10 , the height “H C ” of each clip  16  is greater than the width W S  of slots  122  and  142  as shown in F″IG.  6 . 
         [0028]    In the illustrated example, clip  16  is a monolithic structure having an outer, continuous frame  160  and an inner open region  162  with frame  160  lying in a plane. For example, clip  16  can be stamped from a sheet of metal. Frame  160  circumscribes an “I-shaped” inner open region  162  of clip  16 . That is, frame  160  is defined by the clip&#39;s material and open region  162  is defined by air. I-shaped open region  162  includes a central rectangular region  162 A and four slots  162 B extending away from the four corners of central region  162 A. As a result, ramp regions  166  are defined and extend away from frame  160  near opposing longitudinal ends  164  of frame  160  into central region  162 A. When clip  16  is stamped from a single sheet of metal, each ramp region  166  is bent along a region referenced by dashed line  166 A such that each ramp region is angled at an acute angle α with respect to the plane of frame  160 . The angle α is selected such that the pre-installation height H C  of clip  16  is greater than the width W S  of slots  122  and  142 . While angle α will typically be approximately the same for each ramp region  166  of a clip  16 , each such angle could be different without departing from the scope of the present invention. By virtue of this configuration, each ramp region  166  will have a spring bias away from the plane of frame  160 . In the illustrated embodiment, each of ramp regions  166  terminates before the center  168  of clip  16  that divides the clip into two mirror-imaged halves relative to center  168 . 
         [0029]    To assemble rail cover assembly  10  as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 9 , a clip  16  is pressed into each slot of one of a top-of-rail cover  12  and bottom-of-rail cover  14 . For example,  FIG. 8  illustrates a cross-section of bottom-of-rail cover  14  with clips  16  positioned in slots  142  thereof. Each clip&#39;s ramp regions  166  can face to the outside of cover  14  (as shown) or to the inside of the cover without departing from the scope of the present invention. Since the length L C  of clip  16  is approximately twice the depth D S  of a slot, approximately half of each clip  16  is in the corresponding slot and half extends from the slot. Since the pre-installation height H C  of clip  16  is greater than the slot&#39;s width W S , clip  16  is firmly held in place as ramp region  166  engages the sides of slot  142 . For example, when clip  16  is made from a sheet of metal, each ramp region  166  is driven or flexes towards the plane of frame  160  (i.e., against the spring bias of each ramp region) as clip  16  is pressed into slot  142  thereby allowing clip  16  to act as a compressed spring engaging the side walls of slot  142 . With clips  16  in place as shown, bottom-of-rail cover  14  can be positioned under a rail to be covered and a corresponding top-of-rail cover  12  can be positioned over the rail and pressed into engagement with the exposed portions/halves of clips  16  extending from bottom-of-rail cover  14 . Since the length L S  of the slots in each cover  12  and  14  is greater than the width W C  of clips  16 , an alignment tolerance is defined between covers  12  and  14  thereby facilitating an efficient and fast assembly process. The assembly process is completed by simply pressing an aligned top-of-rail cover  12  over its corresponding bottom-of-rail cover  14 . As cover  12  is pressed towards cover  14 , the portion of each clip  16  extending from cover  14  engages a corresponding slot  122  in the same way clip  16  engaged a slot  142  of cover  14  as described above. Once assembled, flange  123  of top-of-rail cover  12  covers edge  141  of bottom-of-rail cover  14  to thereby define a tubular assembly that completely encase a rail  100  as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 9 . 
         [0030]    As mentioned above, when covers  12  and  14  have their exposed surfaces or their entire structure made from an antimicrobial material, the resulting rail cover assembly defines a hard surface that continually provides biocidal treatment of microbes deposited thereon without any periodic disinfection operation being required. To further enhance the material surface&#39;s biocidal activity, the covers of the present invention can have their outer surfaces constructed to provide increased surface area. The increased surface area enhances the biocidal activity at the cover&#39;s outer surfaces. Since microbes are microscopic particles, surface treatment of the covers&#39; outer surfaces can occur at either microscopic or macroscopic levels. For example, it may be desired for the outer surfaces of the covers to present a macroscopically smooth surface for purpose of aesthetics, ease of cleaning, etc. In this case, biocidal enhancement could be provided via a microscopic texturing (e.g., piercing, roughening, etc.) of the covers&#39; outer surfaces. Such microscopic texturing can be incorporated into a molding or casting process. 
         [0031]    By way of example,  FIG. 10  illustrates a microscopically-textured surface of the above-referenced polymeric resin with copper oxide particles mixed therein. In this example, the depth of the valleys (indicated by the darkest regions in the image) formed during texturing range up to approximately 60 micrometers. In tests comparing these textured cover samples against non-textured cover samples made from the same material, it was found that the textured cover samples performed substantially better in terms of biocidal activity. Specifically, when both types of textured-surface and non-textured-surface samples had the Enterobacter Aerogenes (ACT  13048 ) bacteria deposited on the samples&#39;surfaces, the textured cover samples achieved a 99.98% reduction in the Enterobacter Aerogenes (ACT 13048) bacteria after only 45 minutes of contact time. The non-textured-surface samples did not achieve such substantial reductions in bacteria in the same 45 minute test time. 
         [0032]    The advantages of the present invention are numerous. The antimicrobial covers provide a simple and long-term solution for microbe protection of rails and adjoining contact surfaces that are breeding grounds for microbe growth. No messy glues or noxious-smelling adhesives are required to assemble the covers. The cover assemblies can be installed on rails “in situ” and in minutes by maintenance personnel with little or no training. The antimicrobial material provides long-term biocidal activity that can be enhanced by microscopic texturing having no impact on the macroscopic feel or appearance of the covers. 
         [0033]    Although the invention has been described relative to specific embodiments thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. For example, adhesive/glue and/or small pieces of adhesive strips/tape could be provided on inside surface regions of the covers to hold the covers in place during the assembly process and/or make their installation more permanent. Further, shapes of the covers&#39;slots and/or the clips used to join the covers could be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. Still further, the covers of the present invention could include other decorative and/or functional materials to satisfy an application&#39;s requirements. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.

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