BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dispenser for individually wrapped pads. The pads may be sterile alcohol pads, bandages, moist wipes, or any other similarly packaged products. The dispenser is designed to be attached to the body of a hospital worker, preferably at the waist, wrist or arm.
Description of Related Art
Individually-wrapped sterile alcohol pads have long been used to disinfect health care products prior to their contact with a patient's body. Recent changes in medical safety regulations caused an increase in the number of products, items and/or devices that must be wiped clean with a sterile cloth before being introduced into the patient atmosphere. Generally, these pads are maintained in boxes that are placed on a shelf or countertop or other inconvenient location in a room where treatment is being provided. Health care providers must routinely delay potentially life-saving treatment until sterile cleansing is completed, making instantaneous access to sterile wipes critical. Treatment is delayed because the health care worker must stop to obtain the sterile pad from a location that is frequently distant or inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, a need exists for a wearable sterile alcohol pad dispenser that provides convenient access to such pads causing minimal delay in treatment. The present invention is designed to facilitate immediate, on-demand access by way of its wearable design so that health care providers can access sterile wipes from a portable housing worn on their own bodies.
In one example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device including a housing defining an interior cavity, a lid configured to move between an open position and a closed position, the lid being positioned on a top surface of the housing, a biasing mechanism positioned within the interior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing, and at least one partition positioned in the interior cavity, the at least one partition being adjustable to adjust the width of the objects that can be received within the housing.
In another example of the present disclosure, the biasing mechanism may include a wedge member, and a spring that biases the wedge member towards the opening in the housing. The spring may be a constant force spring steel. One end of the spring may be anchored to a portion of the housing and an opposing end of the spring may be held on the wedge member. The opposing end of the spring may be wound on a drum positioned within the wedge member. The wedge member may include a hook member that is configured to latch onto a rib extending from a portion of the housing. The at least one partition may include two partitions that are positioned on opposite sides of the biasing mechanism. At least one slot may be defined in the housing to receive the at least one partition. The interior cavity may be configured to receive a disposable cartridge holding the objects. The biasing mechanism may be configured to move within the disposable cartridge to bias the objects towards the opening in the housing. An arm band or IV band may be removably connected to the housing. The objects may include sterile wipes.
In another example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device may include a plate, a biasing mechanism positioned on the plate for biasing objects positioned on the plate towards a front end of the plate, and an arm band or IV band removably connected to the plate.
In another example of the present disclosure, the biasing mechanism may include a wedge member, and a spring that biases the wedge member towards the opening in the housing. The spring may be a constant force spring steel. One end of the spring may be anchored to a portion of the housing and an opposing end of the spring may be held on the wedge member. The opposing end of the spring may be wound on a drum positioned within the wedge member. At least two locking tabs may extend from an upper surface of the plate, wherein the at least two locking tabs may be configured to latch onto corresponding locking detents on a disposable cartridge of objects.
In another example of the present disclosure, a dispensing device may include a housing defining an interior cavity, a lid positioned on a top surface of the housing, a front plate removably attached to a front surface of the housing, and a biasing mechanism positioned within the interior cavity to bias objects towards an opening in the housing. The front plate may define an opening from which the objects may be dispensed. The front plate may be movable between a first position in which the opening is positioned adjacent a bottom surface of the housing and a second position in which the opening is positioned adjacent the top surface of the housing.
These and other features and characteristics of the dispensing device, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of the device, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the disclosure. As used in the specification and claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a dispensing device according to one example of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the exploded view of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an attachment method for the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another attachment method for the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a top view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a front view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a side view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a rear view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 12 is a top perspective view of a dispensing device according to another example of the present disclosure;
FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the exploded view of FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a top view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 17 is a front view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 18 is a side view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 19 is a rear view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 20 is a bottom view of the dispensing device of FIG. 12;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a dispensing device according to another example of the present disclosure;
FIG. 22 is a top perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21;
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21 with a front plate in a first position; and
FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of FIG. 21 with a front plate in a second position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”, “longitudinal”, and derivatives thereof, shall relate to the invention as it is oriented in the figures. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary examples of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the examples disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting.
Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views thereof, the present disclosure is generally directed to a dispensing device and, more particularly, to a wearable sterile alcohol pad dispensing device.
With reference to FIGS. 1-11, a dispensing device 2 (hereinafter referred to as “device 2”) of the present disclosure is shown and described. The device 2 includes a housing 4 having a front surface 6, a rear surface 8, a top surface 10, a bottom surface 12, and two side surfaces 14, 16. In one example, the housing 4 may be substantially rectangular. The housing 4 may be made of plastic, including medical-grade plastic to prevent contamination of the housing 4 in an operating room or examination room. The housing 4 may be molded as a single monolithic structure.
The front surface 6 may be angled or sloped relative to a longitudinal axis of the housing 4. An opening 18 is defined in the front surface 6 to permit access to an interior cavity 20 defined by the housing 4. As will be discussed below, the interior cavity 20 is configured to hold a plurality of sterile wipes 22 that can be dispensed from the housing 4. The opening 18 may have a first portion 24 with a circular shape and a second portion 26 with a rectangular shape that extends along the width of the housing 4. The first portion 24 allows a user to contact a sterile wipe 22 that is positioned adjacent the opening 18 within the housing 4, and the second portion 26 allows the sterile wipe 22 to be dispensed from the housing 4. An additional opening 28 is also defined in the front surface 6 opposite the opening 18. This opening 28 provides another method for the user to grip and pull a sterile wipe 22 from the housing 4.
As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 30 may be defined in the top surface 10 of the housing 4 to permit access to the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4. A lid 32 may be attached to the top surface 10 to cover the opening 30. The lid 32 may be removably attached to the top surface 10 such that the lid 32 can be completely removed from the top surface 10 and reattached to the top surface 10. In another example, the lid 32 may be hingedly attached to the top surface 10 such that the lid 32 can be rotated between open and closed positions. A portion of the lid 32 may overlap on the side surface 16 of the housing 4. The lid 32 may be held on the top surface 10 using a snap fit connection. It is also contemplated that alternative locking mechanisms may be used to lock the lid 32 on the top surface 10, such as friction fit connection, interference fit connection, lock and key connection, a tabbed connection, or any other connection that would allow the lid 32 to be locked in a closed position and moved to an open position. In one example, the lid 32 may include ventilation holes 34 to permit air flow through the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4.
With reference to FIG. 3, the loading and unloading of sterile wipes 22 into/from the housing 4 is described. As shown, in one example of the present disclosure, the housing 4 is adapted to receive a disposable cartridge 36 of sterile wipes 22. The disposable cartridge 36 may hold a plurality of sterile wipes 22. In another example, a non-disposable cartridge may be used that can be reloaded with sterile wipes 22 once empty. The disposable cartridge 36 is substantially rectangular and similar in shape to the housing 4. The disposable cartridge 36 may be sized to fit within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4. The disposable cartridge 36 is positioned within the interior cavity 20 by opening the lid 32 on the housing 4 and inserting the disposable cartridge 36 through the opening 30. The disposable cartridge 36 may rest on a bottom surface of the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of adjustable partitions 38, 40 may be removably positioned within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4. The partitions 38, 40 are movable within the interior cavity 20 to adjust the size of disposable cartridge 36 that can be received within the housing 4. The housing 4 defines a plurality of slots 42 within the interior cavity 20 that are adapted to receive the partitions 38, 40. The slots 42 may extend from the front surface 6 to the rear surface 8 of the housing 4. The slots 42 may have a width that is substantially equal to or slightly less than the width of the partitions 38, 40. The partitions 38, 40 include small tabs on a bottom surface thereof that allow a user to insert the partitions 38, 40 into the slots 42. Since the width of the slots 42 may be slightly less than the width of the partitions 38, 40, the partitions 38, 40 may be held within the slots 42 via a friction fit. Since the partitions 38, 40 are removably positioned within the slots 42, a user can move the partitions 38, 40 towards and away from one another to adjust the distance between the two partitions 38, 40, which corresponds to a width of a disposable cartridge 36 that can be received within the interior cavity 20. Therefore, the adjustable partitions 38, 40 can be adjusted to accept different types of disposable cartridges 36, which may include smaller sterile wipes or larger sterile wipes as needed by the user. In one example, if the user would like to use large sterile wipes in the device 2, the partitions 38, 40 are moved to the outermost slots 42 to accommodate the large width of the disposable cartridge 36.
With continued reference to FIG. 3, the device 2 also includes a mechanism for assisting in pushing the sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18 to allow the user to remove the sterile wipes 22 from the housing 4. In particular, a spring-biased wedge member 44 is movably positioned within the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4 to bias the sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18. The wedge member 44 may extend from a bottom surface of the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4 and may be movable towards and away from the front surface 6 of the housing 4. In one example, the wedge member 44 is biased towards the front surface 6 of the housing 4. The wedge member 44 may have a substantially sloped front face. The wedge member 44 may be positioned between the partitions 38, 40 in the interior cavity 20. As shown in greater detail in FIG. 4, the wedge member 44 is connected to the housing 4 via a spring 46. In one example, the spring 46 is a constant force spring steel. One end of the spring 46 may be wound around a drum 48 positioned within the wedge member 44 and an opposing end of the spring 46 may be anchored to the housing 4 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4). The spring 46 is configured to roll up on the drum 48 to move the wedge member 44 towards the opening 18 of the housing 4.
For installation of a disposable cartridge 36 within the interior cavity 20, the wedge member 44 must be pulled back towards the rear surface 8 of the housing 4. Since the wedge member 44 is biased towards the front surface 6, the user will have to push or pull the wedge member 44 towards the rear surface 8 to unravel the spring 46 from the drum 48. Since the wedge member 44 is biased towards the front surface 6, if the user were to release pressure on the wedge member 44, the wedge member 44 would slide back towards the front surface 6. To load a disposable cartridge 36 within the interior cavity 20, the wedge member 44 must be pushed back to the rear surface 8 to allow the disposable cartridge 36 to be inserted into the interior cavity 20. To assist in keeping the wedge member 44 out of the way of the disposable cartridge 36 during insertion into the housing 4, a rib 50 extends downwardly from the top surface of the interior cavity 20. The rib 50 is provided adjacent the rear surface 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the wedge member 44 includes a hook member 52 that extends from a top surface thereof. As the wedge member 44 is moved towards the rear surface 8, the hook member 52 latches onto the rib 50 to hold the wedge member 44 at the rear surface 8 of the housing 4. The hook member 52 may be made of a resilient material, so that as the hook member 52 is pushed against the rib 50, the hook member 52 can bend to latch onto the rib 50. Once the hook member 52 has been latched onto the rib 50, the wedge member 44 is held stationary within the interior cavity 20 to permit the user to insert the disposable cartridge 36. After the disposable cartridge 36 has been inserted into the interior cavity 20, the user can press down on the wedge member 44, which will cause the hook member 52 to be pressed down as well. As the hook member 52 is pressed down, the hook member 52 can unlatch from the rib 50 to permit the wedge member 44 to move towards the front surface 6 once again.
With reference to FIG. 3, the disposable cartridge 36 may define a slot 54 to receive the wedge member 44 once the disposable cartridge 36 is installed in the interior cavity 20. The width of the slot 54 is substantially similar to the width of the wedge member 44. In another example, the width of the slot 54 is larger than the width of the wedge member 44. The slot 54 is sized and configured to receive the wedge member 44 once the disposable cartridge 36 has been installed in the interior cavity 20. Once the disposable cartridge 36 has been installed in the interior cavity 20, the wedge member 44 can be released from the rib 50 so that the wedge member 44 is biased towards the slot 54 in the disposable cartridge 36. The wedge member 44 is moved into the slot 54 and abuts the sterile wipe 22 that is positioned in a rear end of the disposable cartridge 36. The pressure against the sterile wipe 22 by the wedge member 44 biases and pushes the remaining sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18 in the housing 4. Therefore, as a sterile wipe 22 is removed from the housing 4 via the opening 18, the wedge member 44 pushes the remaining sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18 to fill the gap that was left by the sterile wipe 22 that was removed. In this way, the wedge member 44 continues to bias all of the sterile wipes 22 towards the opening 18 until all of the sterile wipes 22 in the disposable cartridge 36 have been removed from the device 2. As the sterile wipes 22 are removed from the device 2, the wedge member 44 is biased through the slot 54 in the disposable cartridge 36 towards the opening 18. Once all of the sterile wipes 22 have been removed from the disposable cartridge 36, the user can open the lid 32 and remove the disposable cartridge 36 to insert a new disposable cartridge 36 full of additional sterile wipes 22.
With reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the device 2 may also include an attachment mechanism for attaching the device 2 to a user or a fixture in an operating/examination room. In one example, the attachment mechanism is an arm band 56 that is used to attach the device 2 to a portion of a user's arm, such as a wrist, forearm, or bicep. The arm band 56 may be shaped as a resilient cuff that can accommodate many different sized portions of a user or different users. It is also contemplated that other attachment mechanisms other than a band may be used to attach the device 2 to a user's arm. The arm band 56 may be removably attachable to the device 2. In one example, a base member 58 may be attached to and extend from the bottom surface 12 of the housing 4. The base member 58 may define a keyhole opening 60 that receives a corresponding keyhole tab 62 on the arm band 56. The arm band 56 may be slid into the keyhole opening 60 of the base member 58 so that the keyhole tab 62 can be snap-fit into the keyhole opening 60 to removably attach the arm band 56 to the base member 58. It is also contemplated that other alternative methods may be used to removably attach the arm band 56 to the base member 58, including Velcro, snap tabs, buttons, and any other suitable methods. In one example, the keyhole tab 62 is rotatably mounted on the arm band 56 so that, once the arm band 56 is removably attached to the base member 58, the user can rotate the device 2 on the arm band 56 into different positions as needed. As shown in FIG. 5, an IV band 64 may be removably connected to the base member 58 in a similar way that the arm band 56 is removably connected to the base member 58. The IV band 64 is configured for attachment to an IV pole. The arms of the IV band 64 may be resiliently expandable to snap fit onto the IV pole and securely hold the device 2 thereon.
With reference to FIGS. 12-20, another example of a dispensing device 100 (hereinafter referred to as “device 100”) according to the present disclosure is shown and described. This example of the device 100 is substantially similar to the device 2 described above, but includes a few different features. In particular, instead of using a housing 4 to receive the disposable cartridge 36, the disposable cartridge 36 is held on a plate 102. In one example, the plate 102 is configured to only receive one size of disposable cartridge 36. After the disposable cartridge 36 is empty of sterile wipes 22, the disposable cartridge 36 can be removed from the plate 102 and a new disposable cartridge 36 can be installed on the plate 102. It is contemplated that the plate 102 may be sized according to the desired disposable cartridge 36. The disposable cartridge 36 may be held on the plate 102 using a plurality of locking tabs 104 that extend from an upper surface of the plate 102. The locking tabs 104 may be made of a resilient material so that the locking tabs 104 can be pushed out of place and will snap back into place once pressure is released therefrom. The disposable cartridge 36 has corresponding locking detents 106 that are defined in a lower surface of the disposable cartridge 36. As the disposable cartridge 36 is pressed onto the plate 102, the locking tabs 104 are pushed outwardly to receive the disposable cartridge 36 and then snap back into place within the locking detents 106 to hold the disposable cartridge 36 on the plate 102.
With reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the same wedge member 44 may be used on the plate 102 to bias the sterile wipes 22 towards the front end of the disposable cartridge 36. The wedge member 22 is attached to and operates in the same manner as described above with the device 2. However, with the device 102, there is no corresponding rib on the plate 102 for latching onto the hook member of the wedge member 44. Therefore, a user must apply constant pressure against the biasing force of the spring 46, while the disposable cartridge 36 is installed on the plate 102. Further, a similar arm band 56 or IV band 64 may be removably connected to a base member 58 provided on a bottom surface of the plate 102. The base member 58 and the arm band 56/IV band 64 may have a similar connection method as discussed above in reference to the device 2.
With reference to FIGS. 21-24, another example of a dispensing device 150 (hereinafter referred to as “device 150”) according to the present disclosure is shown and described. This example of the device 150 is substantially similar to the device 2 described above, but includes several different features from the device 2. In particular, the housing 4 includes a reversible, removable front plate 152 held on the front surface 6 of the housing 4. The front plate 152 may define an opening 154 that permits a user to access the interior cavity 20 of the housing 4 to pull a sterile wipe 22 therefrom. The front plate 152 is removably attached to the front surface 6 of the housing 4 via a snap-fit, but may be connected using any other known method that would allow the front plate 152 to be removably attached to the housing 4. In this embodiment, the front surface 6 includes four tabs 156a-156d in each corner thereof that define slots therebetween. The tabs 156a-156d are configured to receive the front plate 152 therebetween when attached to the front surface 6. The front plate 152 is reversible between two different positions that accommodate two different methods of removing sterile wipes 22 from the device 150. In a first position shown in FIG. 23, the opening 154 of the front plate 152 is positioned adjacent the bottom surface 12 of the housing 4. In this position, the user can slide his/her finger or thumb along the opening 154 to push the sterile wipe 22 out of the device 150 and away from the bottom surface 12 of the housing 4. In a second position shown in FIG. 24, the front plate 152 may be reversed on the front surface 6 of the housing 4 so that the opening 154 is positioned adjacent the top surface 10 of the housing 4. In this position, the user can slide his/her finger or thumb along the opening 154 to pull the sterile wipe 22 out of the device 150 and towards the top surface 10 of the housing 4. Therefore, using these two positions for the front plate 152, the user can adapt the device 150 based on the desired motion the user would like to use to pull the sterile wipes 22 out of the housing 4.
This example of the device 150 is configured to receive individual sterile wipes 22, instead of a disposable cartridge 36. The sterile wipes 22 can be inserted into the housing 4 by lifting the lid 32 and inserting the individual sterile wipes 22 into the interior cavity 20. The device 150 includes a similar biasing arrangement that includes a wedge member 158 that is spring-biased towards the front surface 6 of the housing 4. The wedge member 158 can be pushed towards the rear surface 8 of the housing 4 by the user as the user inserts sterile wipes 22 into the interior cavity 20. In another example, a locking arrangement, similar to the rib 50 and hook member 52 of device 2, may be used to hold the wedge member 158 in an extended position while the sterile wipes 22 are inserted into the interior cavity 20. The device 150 also includes an attachment feature for securing the device 150 to the user. The device 150 may include a belt clip 160 that is connected to the bottom surface 12 of the device 150 so the user can clip the device 150 on his/her belt to easily access the sterile wipes 22. It is also contemplated that the belt clip 160 may be used on the devices 2, 100 described above.
The devices 2, 100, 150 described above comply with health care regulations requiring sterile wipes to be individually packaged by allowing a user to “load” the devices 2, 100,150 with disposable cartridges of sterile wipes or individually-packaged sterile wipes. Users can thereafter access individual sterile wipes by swiping a thumb (or finger) across the opening at the open end of the device 2, 100, 150. The friction and downward pressure created by the user's thumb (or finger) will cause a sterile wipe to advance out of its plastic housing and into the user's hand.
Those skilled in the art will understand that individually packaged wipes or bandages of any type may be used with the present invention. Sterile alcohol pads, hand sanitizer wipes, or tissues may also be inserted into the devices 2, 100, 150. The dimensions of the dispenser can be modified to fit the package size of the wipes.
While several examples of the dispensing device are shown in the accompanying figures and described hereinabove in detail, other embodiments will be apparent to, and readily made by, those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, it is to be understood that features of each example of the dispensing device may be incorporated into the other remaining devices. Accordingly, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive.
Patent Application
20180263436
