DE202020001246U1 - Hygienic manipulator for operating and using objects - Google Patents

Abstract

Hygienic manipulator for operating and using objects, characterized in that it is shaped for use by the hand (5) and has one or more hooks (1) and one or more operating aids (2).

Description

Brief description of the invention:

A hygienic manipulator is used as an aid for the contactless operation of various objects, for example buttons, door handles and control panels. The invention is generally intended to prevent smear infections from contaminated surfaces. The hygienic manipulator is designed to ensure adequate protection against critical viral load, solid and liquid pollutants and against bacterial and fungal contamination.

Common hygienic manipulators have a number of technical and functional deficiencies. These are in the area of inadequate ergonomics, limited functionality and in the area of poor protection against microbial contamination and are detailed below. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings.

ergonomics

Hygienic manipulators of the usual design are characterized by a handle in the shape of a hole, through which users apply the necessary force with their fingers by pulling down the door handle to open the door.
The common shapes represent an ergonomic burden when opening doors, especially for tall people, since they have to bend down to open and close the doors. This is the only way to transfer the necessary pulling force to the door handle. In addition, the stress in the contact area of the fingers is considerable. Using a finger opening also makes it difficult to manipulate buttons and control panels.
With the attached invention, the problem described is eliminated by an ergonomically optimized handle. The hygienic manipulator is equipped with an elongated handle, which enables gripping with several fingers (see protection claims 2 and 3). This increases the contact area in the area of the fingers. This allows less effort to open and close doors and more precise operation of buttons and control panels.

In conventional hygienic manipulators, the front opening is made of a hard material (such as plastics such as PVC or metal) on which no additional attachments or reinforcements are built.
Due to the fact that they are made exclusively from hard material, hygienic manipulators of the usual design do not offer adequate adhesion to door handles. Due to the hard contact surface, a non-slip lowering of the latch is not possible without increased effort.
With the present invention, the risk of slipping when lowering the door handle is minimized with the aid of an additional elastomer, a similar soft coating or manufacture from a softer plastic (see protection claim 6). In addition, the increased frictional force between the pawl and the contact surface significantly reduces the effort required by the user.

Functionality

Hygienic manipulators of conventional design do not have an outstanding manipulator.
As a result, they are not suitable for precisely controlling control panels, buttons and buttons.
The invention has one or more outstanding operating aids (see protection claim 4) with which a precise operation of control panels, keys and buttons is made possible.

The operation of modern capacitive touchscreens is not supported by hygienic manipulators of the usual design, since no conductive material is used and no corresponding outstanding operating aid is available.
The configurations of the present invention make this possible through an outstanding, soft-coated, conductive operating aid in combination with a conductive surface of the component (see protection claims 5 and 8). In addition, an elastomer cap or a soft coating in the area of the outstanding operating aid prevents scratching of the mostly sensitive surface to be operated (e.g. the smartphone display).

Protection against microbial contamination

Hygienic manipulators of the usual design consist of materials such as plastic or metal that do not offer the user any additional protection against microbial contamination.
Therefore, numerous microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria accumulate on the surfaces of hygienic manipulators of the usual design made of conventional materials, and they can survive or even multiply there for a certain time. If the contact surface of the hook is touched or if the manipulator is insufficiently disinfected, smear infections can occur. This problem is counteracted by the fact that the hygienic manipulator is partially or completely manufactured from antimicrobial materials or coated with them (see protection claim 6). The use of antimicrobial materials reduces both the concentration and the survival time of microorganisms on the hygienic manipulator. The risk of smear infections is thus significantly reduced.

An embodiment of the invention is based on 1 explained.

In 1 the hygienic manipulator is shown with a hook ( 1 ), an outstanding operating aid ( 2 ), Contact surface of the hook ( 3 ), a thumb recess ( 4th ) and a grip surface for the fingers ( 5 ).

The hygienic manipulator can be held in either the right or left hand. The handle is enclosed in the user's hand. The hook ( 1 ) protrudes from the closed hand in the direction of the thumb.

List of reference symbols

(1)

hook

(2)

outstanding user assistance

(3)

Contact surface of the hook

(4)

Thumb recess

(5)

Gripping surface for fingers

Claims (8)

Hygienic manipulator for operating and using objects, characterized in that it is shaped for use by the hand (5) and has one or more hooks (1) and one or more operating aids (2). Hygienic manipulator after Claim 1 , characterized in that a support surface (4) is provided on the top for the thumb. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is a handle (5) which can be grasped with two or more fingers. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or more protruding operating aids (2) are present. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the operating aids (2) is covered with a conductive coating or is provided with a conductive elastomer cap. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a soft coating is present in the inner course of the hook (3) or in that the entire hygienic manipulator is made entirely from a soft plastic. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is manufactured partially or completely from an antimicrobial material or in that it is partially or completely coated with an antimicrobial material. Hygienic manipulator according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is covered with an electrically conductive coating or is itself made of a conductive material.

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