Patent Application
20070089231
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to emergency eyewash stations and more particularly to an emergency eyewash station having a piercing mechanism to puncture a sealed bladder having a “sterile” eyewash fluid contained therein.
2. Background of the Related Art
Government and employers are increasingly aware of the need for protecting the health and safety of workers. For this reason, it is common to find eye wash fountains at industrial work sites, laboratories, and other locations where workers are exposed to gaseous fumes, liquids or solid materials which can irritate or injure eyes upon contact therewith. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has made eye wash fountains mandatory for particular industrial work stations.
Early installations of eye wash fountains employed sprays of regular tap water fed from regular plant plumbing connections. These devices were adequate for a period of time, but suffered from the drawbacks of using the regular water supply. For example, there could be contaminants and bacteria in regular plumbed water. Furthermore, the pressure of regular running water is inconsistent creating an uneven water flow, or in the event of a major facility accident, the water may not be running at all.
Later devices, such as the eye wash fountains disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,798 to Liautaud and U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,146 to Liautaud, were self-contained, gravity-fed, and independent of any plumbing connections. These self-contained eye wash fountains typically included a reservoir (or bottles) of wash fluid spaced above two opposed liquid spray nozzles. Upon activating the fluid flow, the wash fluid from the reservoir is fed solely by gravity to the nozzles to cause a gravity-induced spray of wash fluid from the nozzles. These stations provided improved safety in terms of the quality of the water utilized but suffered from low and/or inconsistent water pressure to properly flush the eyes.
In an effort to encourage more suitable eye wash facilities, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) promulgated voluntary standards for portable eye wash fountains relating to flushing periods and the rate of flow of wash fluid. These standards dictate that portable eye wash fountains should deliver no less than 0.4 gallons per minute (1.5 liters per minute) of eye wash fluid for a time period of 15 minutes. Responsive to the new ANSI standard, several designs emerged that included means for maintaining a constant eye wash flow rate without any powered pumping mechanisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,406, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,124 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,641 all issued to Demeny et al, disclose an emergency eyewash station having a gravity assist mechanism that acts on a flexible reservoir contained in a disposable paperboard box. The self-contained emergency eye wash station generally comprises a housing, a reservoir, and a platen. The housing includes a shelf that supports a pair of flexible containers arranged in side-by-side relation. The flexible containers are of the type generally referred to as “bag-in-a-box” packaging, having an inner flexible plastic bag containing the eyewash fluid, and an outer cardboard box structure, which supports the flexible bag in a predetermined shape. The housing further supports a delivery platform including a nozzle, which is in fluid communication with the flexible container. The nozzle selectively dispenses the eye wash fluid from the flexible container when activated. The housing further includes a drain that captures the eye wash fluid dispensed from the nozzle and directs the eye wash fluid into the reservoir. The reservoir is slidably mounted to the housing and the platen is connected to the reservoir. As the reservoir fills, the platen presses downward on the flexible container with a downward force proportional to a weight of the eye wash fluid collected in the reservoir. The transfer of the weight of the eye wash fluid collected in the reservoir to the platen maintains a constant flow of eye wash fluid dispensed from the nozzle.
The above-noted gravity assist configuration has been very successful in the marketplace and is still in widespread use today. Because the 6 gallons of fluid is divided into two smaller containers, the flexible reservoirs are relatively small and easily replaced by service personnel. In addition, the bag-in-a-box packaging technology is well established, and the costs for producing, maintaining and replacing the disposable cartridges at established intervals of time have heretofore been relatively inexpensive. The costs for this type of system are such that the manufacturer could cost effectively provide a pre-assembled delivery tube and nozzle assembly with each of the disposable cartridges, making installation and replacement that much easier.
However, new ANSI and OSHA regulations have created new issues that will need to be addressed, and will require improvements to the existing designs to maintain compliance. In particular, upcoming OSHA regulations will soon require the use of “sterile” eye wash fluids. The regulatory and production requirements for “sterile” eyewash fluids are far greater than the previous “non-sterile” standards and will make the production of the existing cartridges cost prohibitive.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for an improved cartridge assembly which can be filled with a sterile fluid, maintained in a sterile condition for the required shelf-life of the product, provide for safe shipment, handling and storage of the product, and provide for simple installation and replacement, and finally provide a reliable dispensing arrangement for emergency use. Furthermore, there is a need for an improved delivery system which can accommodate the different requirements of the new “sterile” cartridge assemblies, while reducing costs and maintaining simple installation and upkeep of the system.
The emergency eyewash station of the present invention addresses the problems of the prior art by uniquely providing an emergency eyewash station including an improved cartridge assembly having a sterile “bag” or bladder with a sealed filling port, and further including a dispensing nozzle having a piercing element to pierce the sealed filling port upon actuation of the unit.
The improved cartridge assembly of the present invention addresses the problems of the prior art by providing an improved “bag-in-a-box” cartridge assembly comprising a reusable, rigid plastic, outer housing and a disposable flexible inner bladder or bag containing a sterilized eyewash fluid therein.
The flexible bag comprises a flexible plastic material configured for optimal displacement and capacity within the housing. The flexible bag is filled using a proprietary filling system and filling port that maintains sterility of the inside of the bag and the fluid during the filling process. The filling port is sealed with a plastic membrane that can be pierced to release the fluid. The filling port includes a rigid plastic retaining collar having spaced flanges that are captured in an orifice formed between the mating halves of the housing. The filling port is thus captured in a fixed position for puncturing of the membrace and dispensing of the fluid when mounted in a corresponding dispensing unit, i.e. emergency eyewash station.
The main body portion of the eye wash station has a pivoting actuator arm assembly having a dispensing structure thereon for dispensing the eyewash fluid. The actuator arm assembly can be pivoted from an upright closed position to an activated prone position. Attached to the dispensing structure is an eyepiece for dispensing eyewash fluid, which has one end of a dispensing hose attached thereto. The opposite end of the dispensing hose is connected to a piercing mechanism having a piercing element slidably received therein. The piercing mechanism is positioned below the filling port of the cartridge assembly. As noted above, the filling port is retained in a fixed position for puncturing thereof. The eyepiece, hose and piercing mechanism are in fluid connection to each other. Upon activation of the eyewash station by pivoting the actuator arm assembly, the actuator arm assembly drives the piercing element of the piercing mechanism through the membrane on the filling portion, thereby rupturing the membrane and allowing the eyewash fluid to flow therefrom.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Referring to
The cartridge assembly 11 generally comprises a reusable, rigid plastic, outer housing and a disposable flexible inner bladder or bag 30 containing a sterilized eyewash fluid therein.
The housing is formed from two symmetrically identical housing sections 11a, 11b each having interfitting mating formations that permit the housing sections to be snap-fit together and maintained in assembled relation.
The flexible bag 30 comprises a flexible plastic material configured for optimal displacement and capacity within the housing. The flexible bag 30 is filled using a proprietary filling system and filling port 11c that maintains sterility of the inside of the bag and the fluid during the filling process. The filling port 11c includes a rigid plastic retaining collar 11d having spaced flanges 11e, 11f that are captured in an orifice formed between the mating halves 11a, 11b of the housing. The filling port is sealed on the inside by a membrane 11g. A retaining collar 11h cooperates with an edge of the one of the housing sections to form the orifice to capture the fill port in fixed position. The filling port 11c is thus captured in a fixed position for puncturing and dispensing of the fluid when mounted in the dispensing unit 12.
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Therefore, it can be seen that the present invention provides a unique solution to the problems of the prior art by providing an emergency eyewash station that uniquely includes a piercing mechanism to rupture a bladder containing eyewash fluid.
Referring to
The cartridge assembly 102 can comprise a structure somewhat identical to the cartridge 11 of the earlier embodiment or may comprise a bottle structure as illustrated. In either case, the cartridge 102 includes a filling port having a membrane 11h (not shown in the present embodiment) that seals the eyewash fluid within the cartridge.
The main dispensing unit 104 includes a platform 106 for supporting the cartridge 102 and a pivoting actuator arm 108. The platform 106 in turn includes a stationary piercing element (not shown) which is positioned immediately below the neck of the bottle and directly in alignment with the sealing membrane 11h.
The pivoting actuator arm 108 includes a dispensing structure 110 thereon for dispensing the eyewash fluid. The actuator arm 108 can be pivoted from an upright closed position (
It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the present invention except as limited by the appended claims.
The present invention claims priority to earlier filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/729,513, filed Oct. 24, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60729513 | Oct 2005 | US |
