Patent Application
20240090965
The disclosed embodiments relate to single use glove waste reduction and more particularly, systems and methods for reducing waste of single use gloves and reducing contamination in sterile environments.
Systems and methods meant to reduce single use glove waste are currently known in the art. Single use gloves often come in a standard rectangular box with a single rectangular or elliptical opening to allow for removal of a plurality of gloves. In doing so, it is common that more than one glove is removed from the box, causing it to fall into a contaminated area and thus it can no longer be used. This removal of excess gloves causes a considerable amount of waste and can significantly increase the operating costs of a facility. Additionally, such a large opening in the top of the box allows for easier contamination of the gloves that remain in the box.
Current systems and methods meant to control glove waste and contamination include arc shaped films covering the existing opening, containers with a restricted opening where the box of gloves is placed in the container, methods for folding the gloves for more efficient removal, and boxes with smaller openings. Such conventional techniques have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, when using traditional methods, single pull failure rates are still relatively high, and traditional methods have not included a method for reducing glove waste and reducing contamination within the same method or system. There remains a need in the art for a system and method that will both reduce glove waste and reduce contamination. There is also a need for a system and method that is disposable and efficient to implement.
The disclosed embodiments relate to a new and useful way to reduce glove waste and contamination. One embodiment disclosed herein is a device for reducing glove waste comprising a flexible sheet configured to be adhered to a glove dispensing box, where the flexible sheet has a non-linear, elongated slit dimensioned to permit passage of a glove therethrough, and the flexible sheet contains an antimicrobial additive disposed to inhibit bacterial growth proximate the slit. In embodiments, the device comprises an elastic polymer. The polymer can be an elastic thermoset material and/or an elastic thermoplastic material. In some cases, the device is made of a synthetic rubber or a variety of other materials suitable for the purpose. The nonlinear slit of the device can have a generally sinusoidal pattern. In embodiments, the flexible sheet has a generally uniform thickness, and in some cases the slit has a length that is longer than the length of an existing opening on the glove dispensing box. The device also can have an adhesive that is pre-applied to the flexible sheet and is covered by a protective sheet before use. The device further has an antimicrobial additive that can be incorporated into the flexible sheet during manufacture, or the antimicrobial additive is applied to a surface of the flexible sheet after manufacture. The device can be the flexible sheet and adhesive contained in a package.
Another embodiment herein relates to a method for reducing glove waste comprising forming a flexible sheet, forming an elongated, narrow opening in the flexible sheet, applying an adhesive layer to a portion of one side of the flexible sheet and disposing a protective covering over the adhesive layer, removing the protective covering from the flexible sheet, and attaching the flexible sheet over an opening in a glove dispensing box using the adhesive layer.
The disclosed embodiments also relate to a system for reducing glove waste, comprising a glove dispensing box having a first opening through which gloves can be manually pulled, a flexible sheet positioned over the first opening in the glove dispensing box, the sheet having a non-linear, elongated slit dimensioned to provide for passage of an individual glove and to inhibit the passage of multiple gloves with a single manual pull, and an antimicrobial additive disposed to inhibit bacterial growth proximate the slit. The system can be the flexible sheet and adhesive contained in a package and later removed from the package when ready to be applied to a glove dispensing box.
Yet another embodiment is a system for reducing glove waste comprising a glove dispensing box having an enclosure formed by a top portion, a bottom portion, a first rectangular side portion, a second rectangular side portion, a first rectangular end portion, and a second rectangular end portion, the top portion having an opening though which a glove can be pulled; a flexible sheet adhered to the glove dispensing box, wherein the flexible sheet is connected adjacent to the opening, the flexible sheet having a nonlinear, elongated slit dimensioned to permit passage of a single glove therethrough and to inhibit the passage of multiple gloves with a single manual pull; and an antimicrobial material disposed to inhibit microbial growth proximate to the slit.
Another embodiment is a method comprising forming a flexible sheet having a first side surface and an opposite second side surface, the sheet including an antimicrobial material; forming an elongated, narrow slit in the flexible sheet; and obtaining a glove dispensing box capable of being formed into an enclosure, the glove dispensing box including a top portion having an inner surface and an outer surface, a bottom portion, a first rectangular side portion, a second rectangular side portion, a first rectangular end portion, and a second rectangular end portion, the top portion having an opening through which a glove can be pulled. The method further comprises applying an adhesive layer to at least one of a portion of the first side surface of the flexible sheet, and the top portion of the glove dispensing box; and attaching the flexible sheet adjacent to and in direct contact with the top portion of the glove dispensing box adjacent to the opening.
The disclosed embodiments, both as to organization and method of practice, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
One embodiment disclosed herein is a glove waste reduction system that also functions as an antimicrobial barrier, thus simultaneously preventing excess glove waste and reducing the chances of contamination. Conventional methods for reducing glove waste typically include folding the gloves in a particular manner during packaging, enclosing the box of gloves in a housing, or reducing the size of the orifice where the gloves are removed. However, the difficulty with each of these methods is that none function both as a barrier to contaminants and also as a device that reduces excess glove waste. With the disclosed embodiments, a user places a flexible, sheet-like layer with an incorporated antimicrobial additive over top of the already opened box of gloves. The width of the slit in the flexible sheet is smaller than the width of the existing opening in the box of gloves, and is characterized by a generally sinusoidal shape that extends laterally across the flexible sheet. The sheet has a frictional strength that is able to overcome the frictional attraction of the gloves to one another. This allows the user to pull only one glove at a time, while any attached gloves are stripped away and remain in the box with no part exposed. The antimicrobial additive is able to prevent excessive growth of harmful bacteria, and is effective in killing unhealthy germs. In some cases, the antimicrobial additive includes a silver-containing material such as silver nitrate. Non-limiting examples of other silver-containing antimicrobial compounds include silver glass, colloidal silver, and silver nanoparticles. The antimicrobial additive prevents the gloves remaining in the box from becoming contaminated with outside pollutants, or any contaminants that were on the user's hands when the glove was retrieved. While an additive containing silver nitrate is preferred, one skilled in the art would readily appreciate that the make-up of the antimicrobial additive can be determined based on the specific need for the environment and/or the material used for the flexible sheet without deviating from the scope of this disclosure. An additional advantage of the disclosed embodiments over conventional methods is that the flexible sheet is disposable and can be thrown away with an empty box of gloves. This eliminates the time needed to wash a box housing between uses on various boxes of gloves. The system as described in this application presents a much more efficient way of reducing glove waste and reducing contamination than previously known methods.
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subject invention. For purposes of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, a partial view of an exemplary embodiment of the glove waste reduction device comprising a flexible sheet in accordance with the invention is shown in
With reference now to
The sheet has an elongated slit 104 formed therein. While shown in the
With reference now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Sheet 600 is also not limited to a generally rectangular shape but can be have any shape that allows for slit 604 to meet the length necessary to effectively cover existing opening 603, as shown in
Sheet 100 is generally not larger than box of gloves 102. In embodiments, sheet 100 is of a material that is soft enough to be cut by the user should sheet 100 initially extend beyond the dimensions of box of gloves 102. Sheet 100 is flexible to allow peaks 105 to bend during removal of a glove, but rigid enough so that peaks 105 provide enough friction to prevent multiple gloves from being pulled during extraction. The flexible nature of sheet 100 allows for peaks 105 to return to their starting position, thereby reducing the ability of contaminants to enter box of gloves 102. Sheet 100 has a coefficient of friction f, where f is in the range of about 0.1 to about 3, or about 1 to about 3, or about 1.5 to about 1.9, when interacting with nitrile gloves. It is expected that sheet 100 has a coefficient of friction fin the range of about 0.1 to about 3, or about 1 to about 3, or about 1.5 to about 2, when interacting with gloves formed from neoprene, vinyl, latex, or another elastic glove material.
Slit 104 has a width that is smaller than the width of an existing opening 103 in box of gloves 102. In some cases, the length of slit 104 is smaller than the length of the existing opening 103 in box of gloves 102. The width of space between the two sides of slit 104 typically is within the range of about 0 mm to about 1 mm. Slit 104 can be formed by simply cutting the sheet, resulting in an opening having a width of about 0 mm, or by removing a thin section of material. In embodiments, slit 104 is has a width perpendicular to length L that is smaller than the width perpendicular to length l of existing opening 103.
Sheet 100 is generally made using a synthetic rubber material, however sheet 100 can also be created from a variety of thermoplastic elastomers and thermoset elastomers, including but not limited to neoprene, polychloroprene, polyisoprene, nitrile butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM rubber), or the like. Each of the alternative materials has generally similar flexibility properties, similar tensile strengths, similar ability to be sterilized and incorporate antimicrobial additives, and can be substituted depending on need. The material of sheet 100 may be chosen based on the desired properties but will generally have a durometer hardness of about 20 A to about 80 A, or about 30 A to about 70 A, or about 40 A to about 60 A, where durometer hardness is measured using the Shore A scale. Sheet 100 is to have an antimicrobial component. The antimicrobial component can be incorporated into sheet 100 during manufacture, or the antimicrobial component can be added to sheet 100 as a spray coating, dip coating, roll-on-coating, brush coating, etc. when manufacture is complete. The antimicrobial coating can be applied before or after the slit 104 is formed in the sheet 100. The antimicrobial coating can be applied to the entire sheet 100 or only to the portions of the sheet 100 proximate the slit. In some cases, the antimicrobial coating is applied in a layer that extends about 1-2 cm around the slit. In some cases, the antibacterial coating is applied only to the outer surface of the sheet, while in other cases the antibacterial coating is applied to both the outer surface and the underlying surface of the sheet.
While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordance with certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and changes therein may be effected by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/200,776 filed on Mar. 13, 2021 which in turn is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/380,893 filed Apr. 10, 2019, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,959,799 on Mar. 30, 2021.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17200776 | Mar 2021 | US |
| Child | 18525782 | US | |
| Parent | 16380893 | Apr 2019 | US |
| Child | 17200776 | US |
