US20060185109A1 - Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber - Google Patents

Abstract

A glove is usable for removing fluid material from surfaces and, in a particular embodiment, is usable for cleaning blood or other bio-hazardous material from surfaces.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 10/719,908, filed on Nov. 21, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention relates to a glove used for removing fluid material from surfaces, and in one particular aspect, to a glove used for cleaning blood or other bio-hazardous material from surfaces.
• In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding the spread of communicable illnesses through casual contact with bio-hazardous materials including blood and other biological fluids. For that reason, any surface upon which exposed blood or other biological fluid is spilled should be promptly cleaned and disinfected to minimize the potential for inadvertent communication of illnesses. Such spills may occur anywhere, but are particularly recurrent in areas such as hospitals, athletic arenas such as gymnasiums, boxing rings, and basketball courts as well as workplace areas such as construction sites and manufacturing plants.
• Unfortunately, the communication of illnesses may potentially occur during even the brief contact with blood or other biological fluids during the time a person is cleaning them from surfaces. For that reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has promulgated detailed regulations pertaining to the manner in which blood or other bio-hazardous materials are to be safely removed from surfaces. These procedures include the requirements that persons cleaning such surfaces wear fluid-impermeable gloves and that any cleaning materials such as sponges or other absorbent material be disposed of in containers clearly marked as containing bio-hazardous material. In addition, many institutions not bound by these OSHA regulations either voluntarily comply with them, or adopt similar procedures.
• To facilitate the procedure of cleaning blood or other bio-hazardous material from a surface, pre-packaged “kits” are available that contain a number of items necessary to safely clean and disinfect a surface from such material. One such kit, for example, includes one or more latex gloves, a packaged congealing agent, a plastic scoop, packaged disinfectant wipes, one or more paper towels, and a plastic bio-hazard bag labeled with the international symbol for bio-hazardous waste. When using such a kit on a blood spill on a basketball court, for example, a person may first sprinkle the congealing agent over the spill which causes the blood to coagulate into a more solid form. Then, wearing gloves, the person may scoop the coagulated blood into the plastic bio-hazard bag. Because the surface will still likely contain blood or blood-borne bacteria, the person may then scrub the spill area with the disinfectant wipes and then dry the area with the paper towels, being sure to place the plastic scoop, the wipes, and the paper towels inside the bio-hazard bag for safe disposal.
• One drawback of such kits are that they are bulky and do not facilitate the quick removal of fluids from a surface due to the multiple steps involved in coagulating the blood or other biological fluid, disinfecting and drying the contaminated surface, and then disposing of all the materials in a biohazard bag. Further, the risk of accidental contact with the hazardous material increases proportionally with each additional step in the disposal process, as the latex glove may be punctured, the fluid may splatter beyond the boundaries of the latex glove, etc.
• Another type of existing product that facilitates the removal of bio-hazardous material from a surface is an absorbent bag or glove as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,766 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,668. Each of these products is designed to enclose a person's hand and often shaped like a glove or a mitten. Absorbent material is affixed to the palm-side surface of these products so that a person may clean fluid material from a contaminated surface. The absorbent material is typically impregnated with an antiseptic to both neutralize any bacteria or virus present in the fluid and disinfect the surface. Impregnating the absorbent material with an antiseptic, however, is problematical. Absorbent material impregnated with a dry or powdered antiseptic is relatively ineffective, particularly with respect to the absorption and disposal of viscous fluids because while the powdered antiseptic may neutralize most of the fluid absorbed, the surface is inadequately disinfected because the absorbent material is not sufficiently wetted. Conversely, if the absorbent material is impregnated with fluid antiseptic, the absorbent material must be vacuum sealed during storage to prevent the antiseptic from evaporating.
• What is desired, then, is an improved system for the safe removal of bio-hazardous material from surfaces.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glove that incorporates the disclosed system where the glove is shaped to receive a person's hand.
• FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line A-A inFIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the glove ofFIG. 1 after being everted.
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a glove that incorporates an alternate embodiment of the disclosed system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Referring toFIGS. 1 and 2, acleaning member10 may comprise a fluid-impermeable liner12 having a shape suitable to enclose at least a portion of a person's hand. The fluid-impermeable liner12 may comprise any appropriate material such as latex, rubber, vinyl, plastic, etc. Theliner12 may optionally define a plurality offinger portions14 each shaped to enclose a finger on a person's hand so that thecleaning member10 takes the form of a glove. Alternatively, theglove10 may be of a form that omits thefinger portions14 so that thecleaning member10 may take the form of a mitten. For convenience, thecleaning member10 will hereinafter be referred to as a “glove”10, though it should be understood that theglove10 may be of any arbitrary shape that at least partially encloses a human hand. Preferably, theglove10 is shaped to completely enclose a human hand to at least the wrist.
• Theglove10 may also include fluid-absorbingmaterial16 affixed to a palm-sideouter surface18 of theliner12 of theglove10. The fluid-absorbingmaterial16 may be affixed to theliner12 in any convenient manner, e.g. through the use of an adhesive, or other desired means. Theglove10 may also preferably include a fluid-impermeable member20 positioned adjacent the fluid-absorbingmaterial16. The fluid-impermeable member20 preferably containsantiseptic fluid22 and isolates thefluid22 from the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 until theimpermeable member20 is intentionally ruptured.
• When fluid material, such as blood for example, is desired to be removed from a contaminated surface, a person may insert his or her hand into theglove10 and rupture the fluid-impermeable member20 by squeezing the glove into a fist or by any other appropriate means. Once the fluid-impermeable member20 is ruptured, the antiseptic material is absorbed into the adjacent fluid-absorbingmaterial16 at which point theglove10 may be used to clean and disinfect the contaminated surface. Theglove10 simplifies the process by which bio-hazardous material is cleaned from a surface by integrating the glove-shaped liner12 with both an antiseptic22 and fluid-absorbingmaterial16, obviating the need for antiseptic wipes, and also if desired integrating theliner12 with coagulating agents. Further, it should be appreciated that theglove10, unlike the aforementioned prior art, does not need to be vacuum-enclosed to prevent the fluid antiseptic22 from evaporating.
• The fluid-absorbingmaterial16 is preferably affixed over a majority of the portion of theliner12 corresponding to the palm of a hand inserted into theglove10. To increase the capacity of theglove10 to absorb additional quantities of fluid, it may be desirable to affixfluid absorbing material16 to the outer surface of thefinger portions14 of theliner12 as well as the palm-sideouter surface18, as shown inFIG. 1. If this option is utilized, those portions of thefluid absorbing material16 affixed to thefinger portions14 may includegaps24 corresponding to the joints of the fingers inserted into theglove10 to facilitate the manual dexterity of the user and to more easily permit theglove10 to be squeezed into a fist when selectively rupturing the fluid-impermeable member20. The fluid-absorbing capacity of theglove10 may be increased even further if theglove10 is shaped like a mitten so that the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 may continuously extend over that portion of the outer surface of theliner12 that corresponds to the inner portion of the hand of a person using theglove10.
• The fluid-impermeable member20 may be composed of any material capable of rupturing under manually applied pressure, such as gelatin, plastic, etc. Such materials are well known in industry. One appropriate material, for example, is a gelatin composition used to form imitation blood capsules that may be selectively ruptured when performing visual effects. Another appropriate material might be a plastic composition similar to those used to contain controlled amounts of ketchup, mustard, and other condiments dispensed to take-out customers of fast-food restaurants.
• The fluid-impermeable member20 may be configured in any appropriate and desired shape. For example, the fluid-impermeable member20 may be of a generally cylindrical shape, such as a capsule. Alternatively, the fluid-impermeable member20 may be of a generally planar shape that extends over a large portion of the palm-sideouter surface18 of theglove10 so that the antiseptic fluid is more widely dispersed throughout the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 after being ruptured.
• FIGS. 1 and 2 show the fluid-impermeable member20 positioned between the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 and the fluid-impermeable liner12. This configuration facilitates retention and absorption of theantiseptic fluid22 throughout thefluid absorbing material16 once ruptured. Alternatively, however, the fluid-impermeable member20 may be positioned adjacent the outer surface of the fluid-absorbingmaterial16, if desired.
• The fluid-impermeable member20 may be designed to rupture using any desired action or combinations of actions. Preferably, the fluid-impermeable member20 is capable of rupturing under hand pressure that results from any one of a number of chosen manual actions, such as squeezing a hand inserted into theglove10 into a fist, putting pressure on the fluidimpermeable member20 with a finger of the hand not enclosed by theglove10, by pressing the palm-sideouter surface18 against a rigid surface such as a table or floor, or any other desired method.
• Theantiseptic fluid22 may comprise any desired and appropriate composition having antiseptic properties. For example, the antiseptic fluid may comprise an iodine solution, or a mixture of ethyl alcohol and chloroxylenol, or any selective one of a number of known antiseptic fluids. Preferably, the chosen antiseptic is capable of neutralizing known blood-borne bacteria. Optionally, theantiseptic fluid22 may include a coagulating agent to prevent spillage.
• In an alternate embodiment, it may be desirable to impregnate the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 with a dry antiseptic, such as sodium iodide, potassium iodide, or sodium hypochlorite, for example. In this instance, the fluid-impermeable member20 may not be necessary, or, if the chosen dry antiseptic is activated after being hydrated, the fluid-impermeable member may simply contain water. In still another embodiment, the fluid-absorbingmaterial16 may be impregnated with a dry coagulating agent, such as sodium dichloro isocyanurate while the fluid-impermeable member20 contains a fluid-antiseptic.
• Though theglove10 is primarily intended to be used to clean and disinfect surfaces containing spilled blood or other bio-hazardous materials, theglove10 may be adapted for use in cleaning and disinfecting surfaces contaminated with more mundane materials, such as household bacteria from food and the like. In that event, the chosen antiseptic need not be capable of neutralizing blood-borne bacteria, and may comprise a simple alcohol solution or other common household disinfectant.
• As previously mentioned, OSHA regulations require hospitals and other workplaces to dispose of any material containing bio-hazardous agents, such as blood, in a specially marked biohazard disposal bag. Such bags typically are either colored bright orange or are red and labeled with the international symbol for bio-hazardous waste. To this end, theglove10 may be included within a cleaning kit that optionally includes such a biohazard bag, and if desired, a packaged congealing agent, a plastic scoop, one or more paper towels, or any combination of the preceding. Alternatively, referring toFIG. 3 which shows theglove10 in an everted condition, i.e. turned inside out, theglove10 may include a fluid-impermeable liner12 having aninner surface26 marked as a biohazard bag so that once theglove10 has been used to clean and disinfect a surface, theglove10 may be everted so that the glove itself becomes abiohazard bag30 that contains the bio-hazardous material inside it. In this instance, theinner surface26 should either be either colored bright orange or colored red and include thesymbol28. These examples of the coloration and markings of the biohazard bag are illustrative only, but preferably, thebiohazard bag30 is marked in accordance with the current OSHA regulations. Also, the biohazard markings may be colored or imprinted on the fluid-impermeable liner12, or may be colored or imprinted on an inner layer affixed to theliner12.
• To facilitate the selective eversion of theglove10 to create abiohazard bag30, theglove10 may include astiffener32 positioned about awrist portion34 of theglove10. When it is desired to evert theglove10, a person need only grasp thewrist portion34 with his or her free hand at thestiffener32 and pull the glove off. If theglove10 has aliner12 of latex or other similar material, theglove10 will evert as it is pulled off. If the glove is made or rubber or some other thick material that does not easily evert, it may be necessary to grip the glove with the enclosed hand by curling the inserted fingers or otherwise to cause the glove to evert when pulling thewrist portion34 with the free hand.
• Theglove10 may optionally include adrawstring36 used to seal theopening38 at thewrist portion34 once a person's hand is removed. Alternatively, theopening38 may be sealed using adhesive material40 (shown inFIG. 1) on the outer surface of theliner12 along thewrist portion34, or include a zip-lock type seal, or other desired sealing mechanism.
• FIG. 4 shows aglove50, similar to theglove10 in that theglove50 includesfluid absorbing material16 affixed to the fluidimpermeable liner12 and is disposed over thefinger portions14 as well as the portion of theglove50 corresponding to the palm of an inserted hand. Theglove50, however, includes a plurality of fluidimpermeable members20 dispersed throughout theglove50 including thefinger portions14, where each fluid-impermeable member is adjacentfluid absorbing material16. In this manner, theantiseptic fluid22 is more evenly dispersed through thefluid absorbing material16 when the fluidimpermeable members20 are selectively ruptured by, for example, clenching an inserted fist, pressing theglove10 against a surface, etc.
• Theglove50 may also include aliner12 that has aninner surface26 that functions as a biohazard bag when everted. When theglove50, theglove10, or any other similar glove is everted in the manner previously described, i.e. by using the free hand to pull thewrist portion34 over thefinger portions14, thefluid absorbing material16 may tend to compress. This may be problematical if the fluid absorbing material has absorbed exceptionally large quantities of fluid containing bio-hazardous or other infectious material, because the compression may tend to release the fluids back onto the surface being cleaned, onto the skin of the person using the glove, or onto some other undesired location.
• To counter this problem, theglove50 may include acontainment bag52 having asurface54 defining anopening56 into thebag52. Thecontainment bag52 preferably includes anelastic band53 around theopening56, or includes some other material capable of stretching so that theopening56 may have a variable size. Thesurface54 may have afirst portion55 that is preferably affixed to thewrist portion34 of theglove50 over at least half the circumference of thewrist portion34, and preferably the half of the wrist portion adjoining the palm-sideouter surface18. Alternatively, thefirst portion55 may be affixed to thewrist potion34 over less than half of the circumference of thewrist portion34, or may be affixed to another part of theliner12 instead of thewrist portion34, or may be affixed to thewrist portion34 opposite of or offset from the palm-sideouter surface18. Thesurface54 may also include asecond portion57 that is not affixed to theliner12 so that thesecond portion57 may be moved, or stretched via theelastic band53, to a containment position where thecontainment bag52 at least partially, and preferably completely, covers the fluid-absorbingmaterial16.
• When it is desired to evert theglove50, a user may first stretch theopening56 of thecontainment bag52 over thefinger portions14 of theglove50 and back to thewrist portion34 so that the containment bag encloses theglove50 and covers thefluid absorbing material16. The user may then grasp thewrist portion34 together with thesurface54 of the containment bag and evert theglove50 in the manner previously described so that any fluids escaping from theglove50 due to the compression of thefluid absorbing material16 is captured within thecontainment bag52 during the glove eversion process. Once everted, theglove50 becomes a bio-hazard container. If thecontainment bag52 does not include anelastic band53 or other material capable of stretching, thebag52 and theopening56 may be sufficiently large to pull over and enclose theglove50 without stretching thesurface54.
• Alternatively, if theliner12 of theglove50 comprises a sufficiently stiff material, such as rubber, so that it is feasible to remove an inserted hand without everting theglove50, thecontainment bag52 may be appropriately marked as a biohazard bag. In this instance, the containment bag may be pulled or stretched over theglove50 immediately prior to the removal of a person's hand from theglove50 and optionally sealed using adrawstring36, or other appropriate means.
• The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims (6)

1. An antiseptic cleaning apparatus comprising:

(a) a fluid-impermeable liner shaped to at least partially enclose a person's hand;

(b) fluid-absorbing material affixed to said liner; and

(c) a containment bag having a surface defining an opening, said surface having a first portion affixed to said liner and a second portion selectively moveable to a containment position where said containment bag at least partially covers said fluid absorbing material.

2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said surface comprises an elastic band around said opening.

3. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said opening has a variable size.

4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said containment bag is sized to enclose said liner while a hand is inserted in said liner in an open-handed position.

5. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said liner has an inner surface marked as a biohazard bag.

6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 where said containment bag has a surface marked as a biohazard bag.

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