Patent Application
20220054680
There are many surfaces that people touch in normal life that have the possibility of transmitting disease or illness-causing pathogens. For examples microbes (bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, amoebas, and slime molds), viruses, and like harmful organisms/pathogens can exist on handles, rails, and other surfaces for significant periods of time and can be transferred onto a human's skin when touched. If the human then touches her/his face, or the pathogen otherwise comes into contact with sensitive tissue on the human's body, illness or disease may ensue. Common surfaces with this issue include shopping cart handles, hospital bed railings, fuel pump handles, commercial building door handles, and staircase railings.
There have been many proposals for dealing with the problem of pathogen transfer from a handle or railing to a human user. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,066 provides a removable foam rubber grip for a shopping cart handle that prevents the shopper's hands from coming into contact with a conventional grocery cart handle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,215,319 and 5,820,142 provide removable rigid plastic sanitary coverings for a shopping cart handle, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,109,524 utilizes an elongated flexible shopping cart handle cover with an interior anti-bacterial composition. U.S. Pat. No. 10,166,158 shows a rail cover assembly having top and bottom components made of antimicrobial or biocidal materials that couple together around railings to provide a sanitary gripping surface, and US Patent Publication No. 2005/0267233 teaches using a wide variety of antimicrobial components on a handle to allow sanitary usage of the handle. While all of these proposals can be effective under some circumstances, the invention seeks to provide a system and method that are more robust and permanent than are provided by most of the above teachings and very effectively prevent pathogens from transferring from a handle or rail to a human's skin.
According to one aspect of the present invention a system for sanitizing a handle or railing comprises a retrofit covering for the handle or railing that includes a stability-enhancing interior element, and a cover of metal (preferably aluminum) that has a pathogen-eliminating outer surface. The system of the invention is particularly applicable to shopping cart handles, but is useful for a wide variety of other handles and rails.
The stability-enhancing interior element preferably comprises compression foam which operatively engages an existing handle or railing, such as by being attached thereto with an adhesive. Surrounding/jacketing the interior compression foam is a cover of a metal such as anodized aluminum with a pathogen-eliminating outer surface, such as an antimicrobial or biocidal coating including those disclosed in US Patent Publ. 2005/0267233, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/946,272 filed Dec. 10, 2019 and entitled “Process For Making Biocidal Metallic Materials,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,705, or U.S. Pat. No. 8,900,716. The aluminum cover may comprise two components which have interlocking or inter-engaging elements which allow the components to be mechanically connected together and held in place to provide a new, pathogen-eliminating surface which will be engaged by the user. Alternatively the aluminum cover could comprise a single sleeve that is crimped at one or more locations to secure it over the foam interior. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided, in combination, an existing handle or railing having an outer surface; a compression foam structure adhesively secured to the existing outer surface; and a metal cover for the compression foam having an outer surface for engagement by a user, the outer surface having pathogen-eliminating properties. Desirably the metal cover is anodized aluminum with an antimicrobial or biocidal coating on the outer surface thereof, the cover comprising two components with interlocking or inter-engaging elements to hold them together, or a single component crimped at one or more locations thereof. Typically the existing handle or railing preferably comprises a shopping cart handle, although other handles and railing may be utilized.
According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for retrofitting a sturdy sanitary cover on an existing handle or railing. The method comprises a) at least partially covering the existing handle or railing with a stability-enhancing element, and then b) jacketing the stability-enhancing element with a metal cover having an outer surface with pathogen-eliminating properties. In the method a) may be practiced by adhesively securing a compression foam to the existing handle or railing, and b) may be practiced utilizing an anodized aluminum cover with an outer coating of antimicrobial or biocidal material. In the method b) may be further practiced by interlocking together or inter-engaging two components, or by crimping a sleeve. The method is particularly applicable for use on a shopping cart handle although it could also be practiced on hospital bed railings, staircase railings, commercial building door handles, or other handles or rails.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a robust system for sanitizing a handle or railing, and a method of retrofitting an existing handle or railing to provide an effective pathogen-eliminating user-engaging surface. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from a detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.
A retrofit sanitary handle system/covering according to the invention is shown generally by reference numeral 10 in
The system 10 includes a stability-enhancing interior element shown generally by reference numeral 14 in
The compression foam 16 preferably comprises a high or medium compression foam selected from the group consisting essentially of polyurethane, polyethylene, and neoprene foam, and combinations thereof, with a density of about 2-40 lbs./ft3 and which requires a pressure of about 4-15 psi to compress it 25%, preferably a density of about 8-30 lbs./ft3 and requiring a psi of about 6-12 to compress it 25%. The adhesive 18 preferably comprises an acrylic and/or silicone adhesive with an effective operating range of −40 to 120° F. The surface of the handle or railing 12 is cleaned, such as with a liquid or spray isopropanol, or an alcohol wipe, and left to dry before applying adhesive 18, and then the foam 16 to the adhesive 18.
Jacketing the compression foam 16 and securely in engagement therewith is a metal cover shown generally by reference numeral 20 in
The interlocking/inter-engaging ends 23, 24 are provided in the gaps 17 between the upper and lower portions of the foam 16, as seen in
As an alternative to the components 21, 22, the cover 20 may be provided as a sleeve and crimped into contact with the foam substantially continuously along its length, or at one or more spaced locations.
The outer surface of the metal cover 20 has a pathogen-eliminating coating 26, shown greatly exaggerated in size in
The covering 10 according to the invention is shown in side view in
According to the method of the invention, there is provided a method for retrofitting a sturdy sanitary covering 10 on an existing handle or railing 12. The method comprises: a) at least partially covering the existing handle or railing 12 with a stability-enhancing element 16 (or 16/18) as shown in
In the method a) may be practiced by adhesively (18) securing a compression foam 16 to the existing handle or railing 12. Also in the method b) may be practiced utilizing an anodized aluminum cover 20 with an outer coating 26 of antimicrobial or biocidal material. In the method b) may be further practiced by interlocking together or inter-engaging two components 21, 22 of the cover 20 (such as by using hook 23 and projection 24 ends thereof in a transition or interference fit, and snap together with a “clicking” sound) so that they are securely held together and preferably in secure contact with the stability-enhancing element 16; or alternatively b) is further practiced by tightly crimping a sleeve of aluminum into contact with the stability-enhancing element. Most desirably, a) and b) are practiced on a shopping cart handle 12 as the existing handle or railing, as seen in
While the invention has been herein shown and described in what is presently conceived to be preferred embodiments thereof it is to be understood that the system, combination, and method of the invention are to be accorded the broadest interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all equivalent structures and procedures limited only by the prior art. This disclosure is also to be interpreted so as to encompass all narrower ranges within a broad range; for example a foam density of about 2-40 lbs./ft.3 specifically covers 3.0-33.2, 8.4-30.5, 1.95-6.8, and all other specific ranges within the broad range.
