Hand shield dispenser and disposal system

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6726055
  • Patent Number
    6,726,055
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, June 19, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 27, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
The combination of a door and a dispenser for storing hand shields including a door for a generally enclosed area with a front side and a back side and the dispenser including a plurality of housings is disclosed. The dispenser is mounted in the vicinity of the back side of the door. A plurality of hand shields are stored within each of the housings and each of the housings has an opening through which the shields are dispensed. A disposal passage extends from inside the enclosed area to outside the enclosed area and has an opening in the vicinity of the front side of the door. A receptacle is in communication with the disposal passage and has a vacuum source for collecting and housing used shields. In one embodiment the receptacle is mounted to the door. In another embodiment the receptacle is positioned at a location remote from the door.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is directed toward a hand shield to be used in a restroom and more particularly, toward a dispenser that provides the hand shields and a vacuum disposal system for disposing of used hand shields.




Germs are present on many surfaces, especially on door knobs or handles found in public restrooms, hospital rooms, doctors' offices, and the like. While washing one's hands is a common way to remove germs therefrom as well as to prevent the spread of germs, it is not always very effective. For example, after washing one's hands in a public restroom, a person must exit the room which quite often requires the person to come into contact with a door knob. Thus, it is very likely that the hands that were just washed will again come in contact with germs.




There are patents that address this problem and have proposed solutions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,645 to Teaster discloses a glove-type of shield, a plurality of which may be stored in a dispenser and used in a public restroom so that a person may use the glove in order to open the door after washing his/her hands, thereby preventing the spread of germs. A problem with these gloves, however, is that there is no place to dispose of the used glove upon exiting the restroom.




U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,805 to Katsanevas addresses the disposal problem discussed above with regard to the patent to Teaster. Katsanevas discloses a towelette dispenser located on or near the door of a restroom so that the towelette may be used to open the door in order to prevent the spread of germs. The device also includes a collection bin into which used towelettes may be disposed. While this patent provides a solution to the problem of where to dispose of a used hand cover after the restroom door has been opened, the device appears to allow for some contact by the person's clean hand with the collection bin or with other used towelettes, particularly if the bin has not been emptied in a timely manner and is overflowing.




Therefore, a need exists for a hand shield dispenser and disposal system that prevents the spread of germs in an effective manner.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hand shield dispenser and disposal system.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum disposal system for a used hand shield.




In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided the combination of a door for a generally enclosed area and a dispenser for storing hand shields comprising a door having a front side and a back side and a dispenser including a plurality of housings. The dispenser is mounted in the vicinity of the back side of the door and a plurality of hand shields are stored within each of the housings. Each of the housings has means for dispensing the shields. A disposal passage extends from inside the enclosed area to outside the enclosed area and has an opening in the vicinity of the front side of the door. A receptacle is in communication with the disposal passage and has a vacuum source located therein for collecting and housing used hand shields.











Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.





FIG. 1

illustrates the front side of a door with the opening of the disposal passage of the present invention extending therethrough;





FIG. 2

illustrates the back side of a door with the dispenser and disposal system mounted thereto;





FIG. 3

is a front perspective view of the dispenser and disposal system of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a partial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention where the vacuum disposal receptacle is connected to the door; and





FIG. 5

is a partial cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention where the vacuum disposal receptacle is located remotely from the door.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference numerals have been used throughout the various figures to designate like elements, there is shown in

FIG. 2

, a first embodiment of the hand shield dispenser and disposal system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and designated generally as


10


.




The present invention essentially includes the combination of a door


12


for a generally enclosed area such as a public restroom or the like and a dispenser


14


for storing a plurality of hand shields


16


. The door


12


has a front side


18


located outside of the restroom and a back side


20


located within the restroom. The dispenser


14


includes a plurality of preferably transparent plastic housings


22


,


24


, and


26


mounted to a plastic backing


28


, which in turn, is mounted in the vicinity of the back side


20


of the door


12


. Alternatively, each housing


22


,


24


, and


26


may be mounted directly to the door


12


. In all cases, however, the materials from which the dispenser and disposable system are made are preferably lightweight.




Each housing


22


,


24


, and


26


may be generally rectangular with an open top end


30


,


32


, and


34


, respectively, or an opening within the top end, a back wall


36


,


38


, and


40


, respectively, that is mounted to the backing


28


or back side


20


of the door


12


, a right side wall


42


,


44


, and


46


, a left side wall


48


,


50


, and


52


, and a front wall


54


,


56


, and


58


. The front wall


54


,


56


, and


58


includes means for dispensing the hand shields, such as an elongated opening


60


,


62


, and


64


. A plurality of hand shields are stored within each of the housings in a manner typically known in the art where only one shield is dispensed at a time. Hand shields may include, for example, tissues, towelettes, paper or plastic gloves, paper towels, etc. The hand shields may be stored in boxes or containers, shown for example, as box


66


, that fit within the housing


22


through the open top


30


. (See

FIG. 3.

) The box


66


has an elongated opening


66




a


that aligns with the elongated opening


60


of the housing


22


, for example, when the box


66


is placed within the housing


22


.




A disposal passage


68


extends from inside the enclosed area to the outside of the enclosed area, for example, through the door


12


and the backing


28


and has an opening


70


in the vicinity of the front side


18


of the door


12


. (See

FIG. 4.

) The passage


68


may be in the form of a hose made from rubber or like material. The hose


68


connects to and is in communication with a receptacle


72


which houses used hand shields


74


. Located within the receptacle


72


is a vacuum source


76


for collecting the used hand shields


74


as will be described in greater detail below. The receptacle


72


is mounted to the backing


28


, generally below the housings


22


,


24


, and


26


and preferably is made from a transparent plastic so that the contents can be viewed. Alternatively, and similar to the housings, the receptacle


72


may be mounted directly to the door


12


. The receptacle may be enclosed and may be lined with a bag that is replaced as needed. Appropriate key locks may be provided to lock the dispensers and/or the receptacle to prevent unauthorized access thereto.




In order to use the device of the present invention, as a person exits an enclosed area such as a public restroom, hospital room, doctor's office, etc., he/she removes a hand shield from one of the housings


22


,


24


, or


26


via opening


60


,


62


, or


64


and covers his/her hand with the shield. The person uses the covered hand to open the door


12


via the handle


78


. Once the person has left the room, he/she disposes of the hand shield through the opening


70


located in the front side


18


of the door


12


. (See

FIG. 1.

) The vacuum source


76


sucks the used hand shield


80


through the passage


68


and deposits the same into the receptacle


72


. (See

FIGS. 1 and 4

.)




The vacuum may be activated automatically when the door is opened through the use of a limit switch or the like that is tripped when the door is opened and stays on for a fixed period of time such as thirty seconds. This will give the person leaving the restroom sufficient time to dispose of his or her hand shield after closing the door and before the vacuum turns off. Alternatively, the vacuum may be activated when a sensor senses the presence of a tissue located in the opening. Other means for activating the vacuum well known in the art may be used.




A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.


5


. The device


110


of this embodiment is similar in function and structure to the device described in the first embodiment with the differences noted below.




In this embodiment, the dispenser includes a plurality of housings, seen as housing


122


, where each housing stores hand shields


116


. The housings are mounted to a backing


128


located in the vicinity of the back side


120


of the door


112


. A disposal passage


168


extends from inside the enclosed area to the outside of the enclosed area, for example, through the door


112


and may be in the form of a hose. The hose


168


has an opening


170


located in the vicinity of the front side


118


of the door


112


. The hose


168


connects to the receptacle


172


located generally below the housings. However, in this embodiment the receptacle may be located within the room and need not be mounted to the door. Again, as described in the first embodiment, the vacuum source is stored within the receptacle and may be activated in any of the ways described above.




It should be realized that while the dispenser and disposal system in both embodiments have been described to be used in combination with a door of a room, other combinations are possible. For example, the dispenser and disposal system may be used with a wall or other types of room partitions, such as a restroom stall door.




Also, reference to the dispenser or housing being mounted in the vicinity of or adjacent the door and reference to the opening of the disposal passage located in the vicinity of or adjacent the door are not intended to be limited to the door per se. That is, the housing or dispenser could be mounted on the wall next to the door such as shown in the Katsanevas referred to above. Similarly, the disposal passage could be through the wall next to the door with the vacuum opening


70


readily accessible by the person leaving the restroom through the door


12


. Combinations of these arrangements are also intended to be included in the expressions vicinity of the door or adjacent the door. That is, the dispenser or housings may be mounted on the door or on the wall while the opening is located in the wall or in the door.




The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. The combination of a door for a generally enclosed area and a dispenser for storing a plurality of hand shields comprising:a door having a front side and a back side; a dispenser including a housing, said dispenser being mounted in the vicinity of the back side of said door; a plurality of hand shields stored within said housing and said housing having means for dispensing said hand shields; a disposal passage extending from inside the enclosed area to outside the enclosed area and having an opening in the vicinity of the front side of said door; and a receptacle in communication with said disposal passage and having a vacuum source for collecting and housing used hand shields.
  • 2. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said dispenser includes a plurality of housings with a plurality of hand shields stored within each of said housings.
  • 3. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 2 wherein each of said housings has a generally rectangular shape with an open top end, a back wall mounted to the back side of said door, and a front wall.
  • 4. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 3 wherein said dispensing means is located in said front wall and includes a generally elongated opening.
  • 5. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said hand shields include tissues, towelettes, or gloves.
  • 6. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said disposal passage includes a hose.
  • 7. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is mounted to said door.
  • 8. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said receptacle is positioned at a location remote from said door.
  • 9. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein said dispenser is mounted on the back side of said door.
  • 10. The combination of a door and hand shield dispenser of claim 1 wherein the said disposal passage passes through said door and said opening is located on the front side of said door.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
2566016 Cochran Aug 1951 A
3885835 Breeden May 1975 A
4919302 McPherson Apr 1990 A
5083704 Rounthwaite Jan 1992 A
5687875 Watts et al. Nov 1997 A
5987645 Teaster Nov 1999 A
6237805 Katsanevas May 2001 B1