Disclosed is a wheel system, kit and method. In particular, is a wheel system having preassembled wheels and kit most often for use with an extension or quick connect for curtains, and most often, for use in health care facilities to maintain a clean environment.
Health care facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, doctor's offices, urgent care facilities, and long-term care facilities are becoming more and more concerned with infectious diseases being present. The COVID-19 pandemic is one major infectious disease that has brought attention to the public by the media to the concerns of cleanliness of health care facilities and other public spaces. In addition to COVID-19 are other infections diseases such as bacterial infection diseases like Anthrax, bacterial botulism, brucellosis, cholera, diphtheria, Lyme's disease, tuberculosis; fungal infectious diseases like aspergillosis, blastomycosis, candidiasis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis; parasitic infectious diseases like ascariasis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, malaria, scabies; prion infectious diseases like Alper's syndrome, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru; and viral infectious diseases like COVID-19, AIDS, chickenpox, Common Cold, Ebola, herpes, Influenza, mumps, rabies, rubella, viral meningitis, yellow fever and many more.
One location in the hospital that has a concern with infectious disease are the privacy curtains in locations such as the Emergency Room (“ER”) and Intensive Care Unit (“ICU”). Medical personnel will take many precautions such as washing hands, wearing gloves and wearing personal protection equipment. However, while wearing gloves they will grab the curtains with their gloved hands which may leave infectious diseases on the curtains due to contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, urine, mucous, phlegm, etc. In addition, patients which are surrounded by the curtain systems will cough, sneeze or perform other bodily functions which expel airborne liquids into the air surrounding their bed or private space.
Curtain systems for hospitals are generally attached to the ceiling. The curtains systems have a track which is affixed to the ceiling. Within the track are rollers, guides or wheels.
A difficulty with this system is that the tracks and hooks are attached to ceilings that can be from 7 to 12 feet above the floor. This requires maintenance personnel at the hospital to use ladders or other stools to replace the curtains.
A further difficulty is when replacing the curtain system, the wheels, guides or rollers have hooks which many times need to be crimped causing repetitive problems with the installer having problems with muscles and tendons due to repetitive installation of the curtains on the hooks.
Another difficulty is that the most curtain systems are not easily and quickly disassembled and require personnel to remove the curtains, one hook at a time.
Another difficulty is that the track generally is sold separately or are already existing and thus when installing the elongate member or extension and quick release requires extensive work that needs to be done to attach the system in-situ while the installer is on a ladder.
Another difficulty is that the tracks come in multiple sizes. The individual installing or replacing of the wheel systems needs to be selected from multiple sizes of wheels to fit the appropriate track.
Another difficulty is that hooks and metal loops don't allow for quick attachment systems to be quickly aligned due to difficulty of rotation and alignment and are susceptible to binding with one another.
Disclosed is a wheel system, kit and method for a disposable curtain system or other hanging slidable devices. An advantage is the ability to quickly attach a disposable curtain system to a pre-existing or installed curtain system.
Another advantage is the ability to quickly attach a disposable curtain system to a pre-existing or installed track.
Another advantage is during installation, there will be no or minimal need for health care personnel to climb on ladders or stools to reach the hooks for replacement of the curtains.
Another advantage is that health care personnel will not need to crimp the hooks used on pre-existing wheel systems.
Another advantage is removal and disposal and or recycling of the curtains on a regular basis.
Another advantage is that the quick release and lock system may be usable by an installer/disassembler at approximately a height of 6-7 feet for easy installation and removal, it will have disposable curtain attachments that quickly attach and detach with a single or small number or movements during installation and disassembly.
Another advantage is the current system makes it possible to remove the end from a track and install the wheel system with the elongate member or extension and quick-release all at once. In the case of replacement, the old rollers or wheels merely need to be removed.
Another advantage is that with a link, releasably attached to an end cap, the length of the elongate member or extension may be easily changed.
Another advantage is that an end cap may rotate so that it need not align with the direction of the quick-release connectors because the connection between the link and the end cap may swivel or rotate.
Another advantage is that wheel system may rotate so that it need not align with the direction of the quick-release connectors because the connection between the link and the wheel system may swivel or rotate.
Another advantage is that the link is releasably attached at the wheel system and at the end cap so that either the wheel system or the extension or quick release may be quickly detached and replaced.
Another advantage is that the wheel system is dimensioned for multiple tracks thus reducing the number of wheel systems and installer must carry to fit into various tracks.
Another advantage is having a wheel system that will easily glide along the track and not bind up with hooks from nearby wheel systems.
Another advantage is that a kit with multiple wheel sizes, carriage sizes, wheel angles may be provided so that an installer may easily install the wheels without the need for finding the proper fit for the track. Another advantage is that the wheel systems may be easily interchanged based upon the size of the track.
Accordingly, various embodiments of the invention disclosed include: Accordingly, provided is a wheel system, for use with a track, said wheel system comprising: a wheel carriage; a set of wheels, attached to the wheel carriage; a link, having a first end, releasably attached to the wheel carriage and a second end releasably attached to an extension.
Accordingly, further embodiments of the invention provide a kit, wherein the kit includes a wheel system comprising at least two sets of wheel systems. The wheel systems have wheels with axes at different angles with respect to each other. The wheel systems have wheels of different sizes. The wheel systems are interchangeable. The wheel systems have different sized wheel carriages.
Accordingly, various embodiments of the invention disclosed include: A wheel system, for use with a track, said wheel system comprising: a wheel carriage; a set of wheels, attached to the wheel carriage; a link, having a first end, operatively attached to the wheel carriage; wherein angles of the wheels and the width of the wheel carriage are sized to fit into multiple sizes of tracks.
Accordingly, various embodiments of the invention disclosed include: A method for attaching a disposable curtain system comprising: providing a track; preassembling a wheel system having: a wheel carriage, wheels attached to the wheel carriage; a link, having a first end releasably attached to the wheel carriage; and an extension releasably attached to a second end of the link; inserting an end connector into an extension or a quick release system, inserting the pre-assembled wheel system onto the track; and attaching the curtain using a curtain attachment to the quick-release system.
Some of the embodiments will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein like designations denote like members, wherein:
Disclosed are various embodiments of the inventions. Referring to
The extension 140 may be telescoping poles, poles that may be discreet sizes and interchanged depending on size needed, straps which may include a buckle that may be adjusted for size or the strap may be cut, a string, cable or wire that may be adjusted or cut. Since the extension will remain in place it is important that is easily cleanable for infectious diseases with an extension pole that has disinfectant. The material of the extension should not absorb liquids but should be made from a nonabsorbent plastic such as polyvinyl, acrylic, polyacrylic, nylon, carbon composite, PVC, polyethylene or the like.
The curtain 180 comes in discreet sections, such as 6-12 feet and most commonly 9 feet. The curtain discreet sections of 9-12 feet may be snapped together with snaps so as to make longer curtains. The curtains are made from disposable recyclable material such as polypropylene. Alternatively, the curtains may be made of cloth for quick change for washing. The curtains 180 may be attached to the extension 140 with a quick-release mechanism 150 and a curtain attachment assembly or curtain attachment 160. The curtain attachment has a locking mechanism 80. The curtain attachment 160 during shipping and the initial assembly may be held together with a zip-tie, twist tie 90 or a holder such as 500 shown in
Referring to
The tracks 110 shown in
Line 5-5 shows the cutaway of
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A method for attaching a disposable curtain system is also disclosed. The method is performed by providing a track 110. Next is the step of preassembling a wheel system 120 having a wheel carriage 130, wheels 122, 124 are attached to the wheel carriage 130. A link 200, having a first end 200a releasably attached to the wheel carriage 130e; and an extension 140 releasably attached to a second end of the link 200b. The step of inserting an end connector such as an end cap 300, 400 or a clip or clasp 550 with wire loop 540 into an extension 140 or a quick release system 150. The wheel system 130 is inserted onto the track; and attaching the curtain 180 using a curtain attachment 160 to the quick-release system 150.
In the method, the extension 140 has a first end attached to an end cap 300, 400, 700 and a second end attached to the quick release system 150.
The method further comprising: providing an end cap 300, 400, 700 with a cylindrical portion 305, 405 for engagement with the extension 140 or quick release 150, said cylindrical portion 305, 405 further including a catch 310, 312 or 310, 412 for attachment to the extension 140; and a cap 303, extending from said cylindrical portion 305, said cap 303 having a connector 332 for attaching to a wheel carriage 130; and the step of inserting the end cap 300, 400 further comprises inserting the cylindrical end 305, 405 into an extension 140 or a quick release system.
The end caps 300, 400, 700 and wheels systems are all made using injection molded parts using materials such as thermoplastic or thermosetting polymers, elastomers or metals. Common polymers like epoxy and phenolic are examples of thermosetting plastics which nylon, polyethylene and polystyrene are thermoplastic or acetyl plastics.
Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of preferred embodiments and variations thereon, it will be understood that numerous additional modifications and variations could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.
For the sake of clarity, it is to be understood that the use of “a” or “an” throughout this application does not exclude a plurality, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements. The mention of a “unit” or a “module” does not preclude the use of more than one unit or module.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/510,787 filed on Oct. 26, 2021, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 17/225,321 filed on Apr. 8, 2021; U.S. application Ser. No. 17/011,571 filed on Sep. 3, 2020; U.S. application Ser. No. 17/004,625 filed on Aug. 27, 2020; and U.S. application Ser. No. 16/933,545 filed on Jul. 20, 2020 which all disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17510787 | Oct 2021 | US |
Child | 17510864 | US |