US3699984A - Cleaning and sterilizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

A housing into which the hands and forearms may be inserted and subject to sequential cleansing steps preparatory to performing aseptic surgery. The housing includes openings through which the forearms are sealing received and spray cleaning means for sequentially spraying soap, bacteroicide and alcohol solutions completely about the external surfaces of the hands and adjacent forearms portions disposed within the housing. In addition, means is provided whereby heated and filtered air may be subsequently blown over the cleansed forearms and hands prior to their being removed from within the housing.

Description

United States Patent Davis [4 1 Oct. 24, 1972 CLEANING AND STERILIZING DEVICE Inventor: Charles T. Davis, 1150 N. Country Club Drive, Mesa, Ariz. 85201 Filed: Jan. 12, 1971 Appl. No.: 105,830

u.s. c1 ..134/95, 15/21 R, 134/199 1m. (:1. ..B08b 13/00 Field 61 Search ..15/21 R, 21 B, 210, 21 1), 15/97; 134/44, 46, 47, 58 R, 95, 199; 4/1; 128/366, 66; 34/202; 182/148, 132

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS St0bbe ..-15/2l D McBeth ..134/ 199 X Deahl ..182/132 Alcamo ..15/21 D Grant ..182/148 UX 3,066,336 12/1962 Stobbe ..15/21 D 3,081,471 3/1963 Examiner-Edward L. Roberts Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B. Jacobson ABSTRACT A housing into which the hands and forearms may be inserted and subject to sequential cleansing steps preparatory to performing aseptic surgery. The housing includes openings through which the forearms are sealing received and spray cleaning meansfor sequentially spraying soap, bacteroicide and alcohol solutions completely about the external surfaces of the hands and adjacent forearms portions disposed within the housing. In addition, means is provided whereby heated and filtered air may be subsequently blown over the cleansed forearms and hands prior to their being removed from within the housing. I

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BY gm CLEANING AND STERILIZING DEVICE The cleaning and sterilizing device of the instant invention includes a support from which a housing is supported at a predetermined elevation and the support further includes a platform disposed in front of and below the housing which is adapted to be stood upon by the person using the sterilizing device. The housing includes a pair of arm receiving openings which open forwardly in a horizontal direction and spray cleaning heads are disposed within the housing for spray cleaning the hands and adjacent forearm portions of a person utilizing the device. However, inasmuch as the hands and forearms are received within the housing with the forearms substantially horizontally disposed and in predetermined laterally spaced relation according to the spacing between the forearm receiving openings within the front wall of the housing, the platform and housing are supported from the main support for relative vertical shifting whereby each user of the cleaning and sterilizing device may adjust the height of j the housing relative to the platform according tohis or her height.

The housing includes axially spaced and aligned circular spray heads through which the hands and adjacent forearm portions of the user are received and the spray heads are operable to sequentially spray fine streams of water mixed with soap and antiseptic solutions onto the hands and forearms of the user and to thereafter successively rinse the hands and adjacent forearm portions with clearwater (either tap or pre sterilized), an antiseptic solution and finally alcohol. Further, the housing includes drying structure whereby warm dry and filtered air is diverted into the chamber for driving the external skin surfaces of the hands and adjacent forearm portions of the user as well as the internal walls of the housing and the entire cleaning process is automatically controlled by atimer-type actuating mechanism operable to sequentially effect the various sprays and thereafter the discharge of drying air into the housing.

The main object of this invention is to provide an apparatus which may be readily used by doctors and nurses for cleaning their hands and adjacent forearm portions preparatory to preforrning and assisting in aseptic surgery.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning and sterilizing device in accordance with the preceding object which will produce less micro-trauma to the skin than conventional cleaning processes.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which will be operable to automatically to dry the hands and adjacent forearm portions after their having been sprayed with cleaning and rinsing solutions thereby eliminating the necessity of drying the hands and forearms with towels prior to donning gloves.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumer'ated herein is to provide a hand and forearm cleaning apparatus in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to" conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the view taken substantially upon the plane passing through the center of the assemblage illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane indicated by the section line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, thenumeral 10 generally designates the hand and forearm cleaning and sterilizing device of the instant invention which includes a support structure referred to in general by thereference numeral 12 including ahorizontal base plate 14 and an uprighthollow standard 16 supported at its lower end from thebase plate 14.

The front marginal edge portion of thebase plate 14 has aplatform assembly 18 supported therefrom and theassembly 18 includes an upwardlyopening housing bottom 20 including abottom wall 22 which rests upon and is secured to thebase plate 14 and a downwardly openinghousing top 24 including atop wall 26. An upstanding extendable motor in the form of afluid cylinder 28 is secured at its upper and lower ends to thetop wall 26 andbottom wall 22 and thetop wall 26 includes push-type actuator switches 30, 32, 34 and 36 whose actuator portions project upwardly above thetop wall 26. Theswitches 30 and 32 are electrically connected to an electric motor driven hydraulic pump assembly (not shown) for causing extension and retraction, respectively, of thefluid cylinder 28 and theswitches 34 and 36 serve functions to be hereinafter more, fully set forth.

The lower end of the standard 16 encloses ventedfluid tanks 38, 40, 42 and 44 for containing soap, a bacteriocide, alcohol and any other suitable liquid, respectively. The tanks orcontainers 38, 40, 42 and 44 include discharge lines 38', 40', 42' and 44', respectively, havingsolenoid valves 38", 40", 42", and 44", respectively, disposed therein and thelines 38, 40', 42' and 44 open into aheader pipe 46 into which the inlet end of oneinlet neck 48 of a motor drivenfluid pump 50 opens. The fluid pump also includesinlet necks 52 and 54 for communication with sources of hot and cold water and'anoutlet line 56 extends from the outlet port of thepump 50 through thefront wall 58 of the standard 16.

A housing referred to in general by thereference numeral 60 is supported from thefront wall 58 forwardly of the latter and thehousing 60 includes ahinged cover 62 hingedly supported from the remainder of the housing as at 64. Thecover 62 includes afront wall portion 66 which coacts with thefront wall portion 68 of the and 68 are provided with coacting recesses opening toward each other'to define a pair offorearm receiving openings 70 havingseal strips I 72 and 74 extending thereabout. Theseal strips 72 and 74 also serve to form a fluid tight seal between abutting wall portions of thehousing 60 and thehinge cover 62.

An electric motor driven blower assembly referred to in general by thereference numeral 76 is mounted within the standard 16 and includes anoutlet pipe 78 opening into the rear of thehousing 60 through aflap valve 80. Theblower assembly 76 includes internal heating means v(not shown) and the inlet for theblower assembly 76 opens through therear wall 80 of the standard 16 and is provided with asuitable filter 82. The pump outlet line orpipe 56 projects through thefront wall 58 and therear wall 84 of thehousing 60 and thereafter opens into two pairs ofannular spray heads 86 including innerperipheral outlet openings 88. Each pair ofspray heads 86 is axially aligned with a cor responding opening 70 and additionalannular spray heads 86 may be provided if desired.

A pair offluid motors 90 are operably connected between thehousing 60 and theclosure cover 62 therefor and may be actuated by any suitable means (not shown) for opening and closing thecover 62. Further, thebottom wall 92 of thehousing 60 includes a drain fitting 94 to which the inlet end of adrain pipe 96 is secured and thedrain pipe 96 has a motorizedpump 98 operatively associated with its discharge end, thepump 98 discharging into any suitable drain hose orpipe 100.

Atiming mechanism 102 is supported by the upper portion of thefront wall 58 and includes atimer control knob 104 which is engageable by a person standing on theplatform assembly 18 in front of thehousing 60.

Theswitches 34 and 36 comprise an on switch for electrically actuating thetiming mechanism 102 and an emergency off switch for terminating operation of the cleaning and sterilizing at anypoint during its cleaning cycles.

In operation, a person wishing to clean his hands and adjacent forearms initially places himself upon thetop wall 26 of theplatform assembly 18 and actuates theswitches 30 and 32 in order to adjust the elevation of thetop wall 26 relative to thehousing 60 by extending or retracting thefluid cylinder 38. Thereafter, that person may activate the onswitch 34 after properly setting thetimer control knob 104 of thetimer 102 and place his hands and adjacent forearms within theopen housing 60. Thereafter, if thefluid motors 90 are electrically controlled by thetimer 102, theclosure cover 62 will swing to the closed solid line position thereof illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings and the motorizedpump 50 will be actuated together with thesolenoid valve 38" in order to pump warm water and soap solution into thespray heads 86 for discharge therefrom on the external surfaces of the hands and adjacent forearm portions of the person using thedevice 10. Subsequently, the solenoid actuatedvalve 38" will be closed and the solenoid actuatedvalve 40" will be opened under the control of thetimer 102 and warm water and antiseptic solutions from the tank orcontainer 40 will be pumped to thespray heads 86. Thereafter, thesolenoid valve 40" will be closed and thesolenoid valve 42" will be opened whereupon an alcohol rinse may be discharged from thespray heads 86. If other rinsing solutions are desired, they may be placed within the container ortank 44 and subsequently discharged through thespray heads 86.

In any event, after the spraying operations have been completed, thetimer 102 terminates operation of the motorizedpump 50 and initiates operation of the electric motor drivenblower assembly 76 and attendant heating element whereby warm, filtered and dry air will be blown into the interior of thehousing 60 for drying the skin on the hands and adjacent forearm portions of the user as well as the internal surfaces of thehousing 60. After theblower assembly 76 is operated for a predetermined time, thetimer 102 will terminate operation of theblower assembly 76 and the extensible motors will be actuated to swing thecover 62 toward the open phantom line position thereof illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. At this point, thedevice 10 will automatically terminate operation and be disposed in readiness for use by the next person.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, said machine including a support from which said housing is supported at an elevation with said one wall comprising a forwardly facing front wall, va platform disposed forwardly of an upstanding plane containing said front wall and at an elevation below said opening, said platform and housing being supported for relative vertical adjustment.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said housing is stationan'ly supported from said support.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said spray head means includes a plurality of axially spaced and aligned frame-like spray heads disposed generally coaxial with said center axis.

4. The combination ofclaim 3 wherein said center axis is generally horizontally disposed.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one wall has a pair of spaced openings formed therethrough, each of said openings having a set of said spray head means operatively associated therewith.

6. The combination of claim 1 including a plurality of fluid containers in said housing, the last mentioned means including means for supplying fluid from each of said containers to said spray head means.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said last mentioned means also includes foot engageable control means supported from said platform operative, when actuated, to sequentially pump fluid from said container to said spray head means;

8. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, and means operative to pump filtered heated air into said housing.

9. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, said housing including a hinged closure cover portion which may be swung to an open position affording ready access to the interior of said housing, said closure cover portion and said housing including closely opposing sets of corresponding marginal edge portions when said closure cover is in the closed position, at least one set of opposing edge portions defining diametrically opposite sides of said opening and being provided with resilient seal means for forming a relatively good air tight seal about a forearm projecting through said opening.

' 10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said machine includes power means operative to selectively swing said closure cover portion between open and closed positions, whereby a person using the machine may remove his forearm and hand from the machine without contamination thereof by contact of his forearm or hand with any external portion of the machine.

Claims (10)

1. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, said machine including a support from which said housing is supported at an elevation with said one wall comprising a forwardly facing front wall, a platform disposed forwardly of an upstanding plane containing said front wall and at an elevation below said opening, said platform and housing being supported for relative vertical adjustment.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said housing is stationarily supported from said support.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said spray head means includes a plurality of axially spaced and aligned frame-like spray heads disposed generally coaxial with said center axis.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said center axis is generally horizontally disposed.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one wall has a pair of spaced openings formed therethrough, each of said openings having a set of said spray head means operatively associated therewith.

6. The combination of claim 1 including a plurality of fluid containers in said housing, the last mentioned means including means for supplying fluid from each of said containers to said spray head means.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said last mentioned means also includes foot engageable control means supported from said platform operative, when actuated, to sequentially pump fluid from said container to said spray head means.

8. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, and means operative to pump filtered heated air into said housing.

9. A hand and forearm spray cleaning machine including a housing having one wall in which at least one hand and forearm receiving opening is formed having a horizontal center axis, and spray head means supported within said housing inwardly of said one wall spaced apart along and about the center axis of said opening, said spray head means including means for discharging jets of fluids delivered thereto generally radially inwardly toward the center axes, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said spray head means, said housing including a hinged closure cover portion which may be swung to an open position affording ready access to the interior of said housing, said closure cover portion and said housing including closely opposing sets of corresponding marginal edge portions when said closure cover is in the closed position, at least one set of opposing edge portions defining diametricallY opposite sides of said opening and being provided with resilient seal means for forming a relatively good air tight seal about a forearm projecting through said opening.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said machine includes power means operative to selectively swing said closure cover portion between open and closed positions, whereby a person using the machine may remove his forearm and hand from the machine without contamination thereof by contact of his forearm or hand with any external portion of the machine.

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