The increase in bacterial immunity to modern antibiotics is problematic and one of the chief vectors of infection is the human hand. Hence, when not in the proximity of a washroom to disinfect one's hands, it would be useful to have a means to accomplish such sanitation. Also, in the midst of daily activities, it can be inconvenient to uncap bottles of disinfecting gels or hand lotions to otherwise treat the hands.
Fortunately, it has been established that ethyl alcohol is a most effective antiseptic for gram-negative pathogens; it is of low viscosity, easily dispensed from a portable container, and does not require the use of a material wipe or cloth because of the speed of evaporation. Further, an adequate dose for sanitizing the hands comprises but a few drops of this antiseptic. To prevent chafing, glycerin can be added to the alcohol without levels of viscosity increase that would be deleterious to the dispensing process.
Various methods of portable disinfectant or lotion dispensers have been disclosed in the prior art. These include body-mounted dispensers, wrist bracelet dispensers, and others. U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,946 discloses a dispensing tube that drips liquid onto the hand. U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,898 discloses a tube-fed finger dispenser. A body-worn dispenser of form factor similar to a pager is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,548.
What has not been demonstrated is a dispenser that is wrist- or arm-worn that provides ease of actuation and, more specifically, single hand actuation. Neither has there been a device that can be surreptitiously actuated. This is an important consideration with respect to public relations. Individuals such as business and sales personnel may come in contact with and greet many people during the day. It would be desirable to have the option of sanitizing the hands after a handshake with a person without conveying a disdainful message to that person in so doing.
A wrist-mounted dispenser that achieves dispensing directly to the hand with a simple hand action is a major advantage of the present invention. This is especially useful to nurses and doctors in busy hospital settings, as well as for allied healthcare workers who cannot take time to repeatedly wash their hands with soap and water. With the advent of new forms of communicable disease such as SARS, an important consideration regards means to prevent disease spread. In this vein, the present invention provides a dispensing modality for viricidal and antibacterial prophylactic treatments of the hands and other exposed parts of the body.
The present invention discloses a wrist- or forearm-mounted device for dispensing a small amount of alcohol-based disinfectant hand rub, moisturizer, or other hand medicament. Even powder-based hand treatments can be dispensed using the present invention. A wristband or other attachment means affix the device to arm or wrist. Various locations are feasible including the top, side, or underside of the wrist or forearm. In a preferred embodiment, the device is in the form of a wrist-mounted dispenser with a nozzle that uses refill cartridges to supply a small amount of dispensed skin treatment when actuated. Surreptitious actuation and dispensing of hand treatments is made possible with embodiments of the invention that are mounted on the underside of the wrist and can be easily actuated in a casual, not easily detected manner.
Because only a few drops of alcohol-based disinfectant comprise a dose adequate to achieve sanitation of the hands, the device of the present invention can dispense hundreds of doses of disinfectant before requiring cartridge refill or disposal. It can be used at any orientation of the arm and will avoid leakage when not actuated.
Several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) Provide a convenient, portable means for dispensing hand treatments;
(b) Provide a cost-effective means for dispensing hand treatments;
(c) Provide an unobtrusive means for dispensing hand treatments;
(d) Provide an easily actuated means for dispensing hand treatments:
(e) Provide an arm- or wrist-mounted means for dispensing hand treatments;
(f) Provide a cartridge- or packet-based means for dispensing hand treatments;
The present invention is useful for dispensing either hand treatments such as moisturizers or disinfectants; even powders can be dispensed in powder-aerosol form. Typically, the active ingredient in hand antiseptics such as Purel™ is ethyl alcohol. This is fortuitous because it is a relatively non-toxic liquid that exhibits low viscosity over the temperature range of interest for this application. This makes delivery of a directed stream of fluid relatively easy. In contrast to liquid, alcohol gels are useful in that they do not run and although they will require more force to dispense than liquid, such higher viscosity disinfectant or moisturizing formulations can be accommodated in differing embodiments of the present invention. Various means of dispensing the aforementioned hand treatments are feasible and can be tailored to the type of material to be dispensed. The target locations for deposition of the hand treatment include the regions on the top of the hand, and the underside of the hand, either fingers or palm. The preferred embodiment for a means of dispensing hand treatment dosages is a device that attaches to either the top or underside of the wrist. Such a device can be worn unobtrusively underneath a long-sleeved shirt.
For children, the dispenser can be in the shape of or be embossed with the logos of sports teams, super heroes, or cartoon icons. Further, dose-delivering dispensers in the shape of cartoon characters are feasible. With a cartridge or refillable dispenser other functions can be added to the dispenser such as having LEDs on them that light up with use. High brightness, low current LEDs as used on cell phones are quite striking. Consideration can be given to a time delay for sequential dispensing so that children would be less inclined to waste the hand treatment material. By this, is meant that it would take a minute or two before a second dose could be dispensed. This could be achieved by establishing the time constant for repressurization of the dispensing cartridge using a suitably small sized air hole.
It is to be understood that a plethora of cartridge or packet designs and form factors are within the scope of the present invention, including color-coded packets that can distinguish the type or strength of hand treatment contained therein. Also within the scope of this invention are various means to dispense hand treatment material from such packets including the mechanisms for extracting the hand treatment material from said packets. Extraction mechanisms can invoke pressure (internal or external to packet) or suction.
Pluralities of alternate attachment schemes are possible for dispensers of varying form factor. Examples of other attachment schemes include magnetic means, mechanical clips, loops, slide inserts, etc. Various types of dispensers can be made attachable including disposable, and refillable as in the case of packet dispensers described above.
While there have been shown and described the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention can be embodied otherwise than is herein specifically illustrated and described and that, within such embodiments certain changes in the detail and configuration of this invention, and in the form and arrangements of the components of this invention, can be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.
This is a division of application Ser. No. 10/729,757, filed Dec. 5, 2003.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10729757 | Dec 2003 | US |
Child | 11543537 | Oct 2006 | US |