| Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber -> Monitor Keywords |
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Glove with integrated antiseptic absorberRelated Patent Categories: Brushing, Scrubbing, And General Cleaning, Implements, Fabric, Wiper, Dauber, Or Polisher, Mitts, Cots, And ShoesGlove with integrated antiseptic absorber description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060185109, Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] 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 [0002] 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. [0003] 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. [0004] 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. [0005] 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. [0006] 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. [0007] 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. [0008] 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 [0009] 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. [0010] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1. [0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the glove of FIG. 1 after being everted. [0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a glove that incorporates an alternate embodiment of the disclosed system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cleaning member 10 may comprise a fluid-impermeable liner 12 having a shape suitable to enclose at least a portion of a person's hand. The fluid-impermeable liner 12 may comprise any appropriate material such as latex, rubber, vinyl, plastic, etc. The liner 12 may optionally define a plurality of finger portions 14 each shaped to enclose a finger on a person's hand so that the cleaning member 10 takes the form of a glove. Alternatively, the glove 10 may be of a form that omits the finger portions 14 so that the cleaning member 10 may take the form of a mitten. For convenience, the cleaning member 10 will hereinafter be referred to as a "glove" 10, though it should be understood that the glove 10 may be of any arbitrary shape that at least partially encloses a human hand. Preferably, the glove 10 is shaped to completely enclose a human hand to at least the wrist. [0014] The glove 10 may also include fluid-absorbing material 16 affixed to a palm-side outer surface 18 of the liner 12 of the glove 10. The fluid-absorbing material 16 may be affixed to the liner 12 in any convenient manner, e.g. through the use of an adhesive, or other desired means. The glove 10 may also preferably include a fluid-impermeable member 20 positioned adjacent the fluid-absorbing material 16. The fluid-impermeable member 20 preferably contains antiseptic fluid 22 and isolates the fluid 22 from the fluid-absorbing material 16 until the impermeable member 20 is intentionally ruptured. [0015] 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 the glove 10 and rupture the fluid-impermeable member 20 by squeezing the glove into a fist or by any other appropriate means. Once the fluid-impermeable member 20 is ruptured, the antiseptic material is absorbed into the adjacent fluid-absorbing material 16 at which point the glove 10 may be used to clean and disinfect the contaminated surface. The glove 10 simplifies the process by which bio-hazardous material is cleaned from a surface by integrating the glove-shaped liner 12 with both an antiseptic 22 and fluid-absorbing material 16, obviating the need for antiseptic wipes, and also if desired integrating the liner 12 with coagulating agents. Further, it should be appreciated that the glove 10, unlike the aforementioned prior art, does not need to be vacuum-enclosed to prevent the fluid antiseptic 22 from evaporating. [0016] The fluid-absorbing material 16 is preferably affixed over a majority of the portion of the liner 12 corresponding to the palm of a hand inserted into the glove 10. To increase the capacity of the glove 10 to absorb additional quantities of fluid, it may be desirable to affix fluid absorbing material 16 to the outer surface of the finger portions 14 of the liner 12 as well as the palm-side outer surface 18, as shown in FIG. 1. If this option is utilized, those portions of the fluid absorbing material 16 affixed to the finger portions 14 may include gaps 24 corresponding to the joints of the fingers inserted into the glove 10 to facilitate the manual dexterity of the user and to more easily permit the glove 10 to be squeezed into a fist when selectively rupturing the fluid-impermeable member 20. The fluid-absorbing capacity of the glove 10 may be increased even further if the glove 10 is shaped like a mitten so that the fluid-absorbing material 16 may continuously extend over that portion of the outer surface of the liner 12 that corresponds to the inner portion of the hand of a person using the glove 10. [0017] The fluid-impermeable member 20 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. [0018] The fluid-impermeable member 20 may be configured in any appropriate and desired shape. For example, the fluid-impermeable member 20 may be of a generally cylindrical shape, such as a capsule. Alternatively, the fluid-impermeable member 20 may be of a generally planar shape that extends over a large portion of the palm-side outer surface 18 of the glove 10 so that the antiseptic fluid is more widely dispersed throughout the fluid-absorbing material 16 after being ruptured. [0019] FIGS. 1 and 2 show the fluid-impermeable member 20 positioned between the fluid-absorbing material 16 and the fluid-impermeable liner 12. This configuration facilitates retention and absorption of the antiseptic fluid 22 throughout the fluid absorbing material 16 once ruptured. Alternatively, however, the fluid-impermeable member 20 may be positioned adjacent the outer surface of the fluid-absorbing material 16, if desired. [0020] The fluid-impermeable member 20 may be designed to rupture using any desired action or combinations of actions. Preferably, the fluid-impermeable member 20 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 the glove 10 into a fist, putting pressure on the fluid impermeable member 20 with a finger of the hand not enclosed by the glove 10, by pressing the palm-side outer surface 18 against a rigid surface such as a table or floor, or any other desired method. Continue reading about Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber... Full patent description for Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Cleaning or dusting pad cross-reference to related applications Next Patent Application: Variable angle corner tool Industry Class: Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Glove with integrated antiseptic absorber patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.16244 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m 174 |
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