Patent Application
20180055595
The present invention generally relates to medical waste containers, and more particularly to a modular sharps container system.
In general, medical waste must be safely collected and disposed of. Medical waste can include, for example, gloves, needles, lancets, syringes, broken glass, scalpels, culture slides, culture dishes, broken capillary tubes, broken rigid plastic, exposed ends of dental wires, stents, laboratory slides and cover slips contaminated with infectious agents. Such medical waste is typically placed in a “sharps container” or a “sharps bin.” Sharps bins enable the safe storage and disposal of all categories of sharps waste.
In general, a sharps bin is a puncture-resistant container with a wide rectangular opening for horizontal loading of medical waste, having the size and dimensions of a domestic waste basket.
The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The present invention generally relates to medical waste containers, and more particularly to a modular sharps container system.
In an aspect, the invention features a sharps container including a curved front wall, a flat or curved top panel attached to an upper portion of the curved front wall, a flat or curved bottom panel attached to a lower portion of the curved front wall, the dimensions and shape of the top panel and the bottom panel matched to the dimensions of the curve of the curved front wall, and a flat back panel attached to a back portion of the curved front panel, the top panel and bottom panel, the flat back panel including one or more attachment features.
In another aspect, the invention features a system including a first half shell sharps container, the first half shell sharps container comprising a flat back panel including a first set of attachment features and a second half shell sharps container, the second half shell sharps container comprising a flat back panel including a second set of attachment features, the first set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the first half shell sharps container detachably joined to the second set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the second half shell sharps container.
In still another aspect, the invention features a method including providing a first half shell sharps container, the first half shell sharps container comprising a flat back panel including a first set of attachment features, providing a second half shell sharps container, the second half shell sharps container comprising a flat back panel including a second second of attachment features, and linking the first set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the first half shell sharps container to the second set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the second half shell sharps container.
These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of aspects as claimed.
The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the detailed description, in conjunction with the following FIGs., wherein:
The subject innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the present invention.
In the description below, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A, X employs B, or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Moreover, articles “a” and “an” as used in the subject specification and annexed drawings should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
A sharps bin in accordance with the present invention is configured as a half cylindrical receptacle with appropriate portal for introduction of a sharps for disposal. Sharps can include, but are limited to, needles (whether or not attached to a syringe or covered by a plastic guard), IV tubing with needle attached, glass Pasteur pipettes, disposable glass pipettes, glass slides and cover slips, scalpels, razor blades, and lancets, and broken glass and splintered plastic, when contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious material, for example.
The sharps bin is adapted to be affixed or mounted securely and temporarily to a wall via a molded fixture or some other fixation device located on or part of the sharps bin. Moreover, the sharps bin is configured to mate or join with a second sharps bin of similar design such that the overall shape and dimensions of the paired sharps bins enable the two joined “half shells” to be placed efficiently into a cylindrical sterilization system, such as an autoclave. In general, an autoclave is an apparatus that uses pressure and steam to reach and maintain a temperature that is too high for any microorganisms or their spores to live.
As shown in
The mating of the back wall 25 and the back wall 30 may be effectuated with any suitable linking device, such as a molded feature, bracket, latch or the like. The selected molded feature, bracket or latch may be constructed of, for example, plastic or metal. More particularly, for example, the back wall 25 can include a first molded feature or a first set of molded features that is adapted to lock to a corresponding second molded feature or a second set of molded features on the back wall 30. In operation, the first molded feature and the second molded feature complement each to effectuate linking.
In implementations, the first molded feature on the back wall 25 and the second molded feature on the back wall 30 may be used to mount each of the first sharps container 15 and the second sharps container 20 separately to a wall for storage or during use individually, before both sharps containers 15, 20 are joined to each other. In other implementations, the back walls 25, 30 include additional mounting features to enable a wall mounting. These additional features can include supplemental molded features and/or mounting hardware, for example.
As shown in
The top panel 105 includes an opening 115 designed to receive syringes and the like for disposal. The opening 115 is designed in such a way as to be open-proof such that sharps cannot be retrieved easily once placed in the container 110.
The back panel 25 includes a first set of molded features 120. Each of the molded features 120 may enable the sharps container 15 to be mounted on a wall, or other features may be included that serve that function, as was described above. Moreover, in one specific embodiment, the first set of molded features 120 enable the sharps container 15 to be linked to corresponding second set of molded features on a back wall of second sharps container, such as the back panel 30 of second sharps container 20 in
In embodiments, the top panel 105 may also include a handle (not shown) to aid in handling the sharps container. In such a configuration, the handle may pivot outwardly for ease of grasping. In other embodiments, the sharps container side wall may be tapered such as may be required for certain molding technologies.
In normal operation, to dispose of a syringe, the syringe is inserted into the top opening 115. As soon as the first sharps container 15 is filled, the second sharps container 20 is filled in a likewise manner. Once both sharps containers 15, 20 are filled, they are dismounted from the wall and potentially linked to each other as described above, i.e., a first set of molded features on the first sharps container 15 is mated to a second set of molded features on the second sharps container 20. Once placed or linked together, the two “half shells” may be deposited efficiently into a cylindrical sterilization system for disposal, thereby maximizing the throughput of the sterilization system. The sterilization system may include, for example, an autoclave, a chemical treatment system, a gas vapor system, or other regulated waste processing machine.
As shown in
As shown in
The modular sharps container process 200 includes providing (220) a second half shell sharps container, the second half shell sharps container comprising a flat back panel including a second set of attachment features.
The modular sharps container process 200 includes joining (230) the first half shell sharps container to the second half shell sharps container by linking the first set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the first half shell sharps container to the second set of attachment features of the flat back panel of the second half shell sharps container.
The overall dimensions of the joined first half shell sharps container and the second half shell sharps container enable placement into a cylindrical sterilization system.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims. Such variations are intended to be covered by the scope of this present application. As such, the foregoing description of embodiments of the present application is not intended to be limiting. Rather, any limitations to the invention are presented in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/380,544, filed on Aug. 29, 2016. The disclosure of the prior application is considered part of and is incorporated by reference in the disclosure of this application.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62380544 | Aug 2016 | US |
