GB2467190A

GB2467190A - Dispenser of gloves and method of donning

Info

Publication number: GB2467190A
Application number: GB0910004A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan William Stollery; Kim Marie Jones
Original assignee: Altevo Ltd
Current assignee: Altevo Ltd
Priority date: 2009-01-27
Filing date: 2009-06-11
Publication date: 2010-07-28
Also published as: GB0910004D0; WO2010086645A1; GB2467234B; GB2467234A; TW201036883A; GB201001218D0; TW201032771A; GB2467180A; WO2010086644A2; WO2010086644A3; GB0901296D0; GB201001215D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dispensing and donning gloves to be used in an environment where hygiene and time saving are important. A glove dispenser (1) for dispensing gloves 3 in a consistent orientation comprises a container 2 for holding a plurality of gloves 3 to be dispensed, the container 2 having a dispensing aperture 12 through which a glove 3 may be removed from the container 2, and a stack 4 of gloves held within the container. The gloves 3 each having a cuff portion 30, and the stack 4 of gloves 3 being arranged such that the gloves 3 can only be removed from the dispensing aperture 12 cuff 30 first. The gloves 3 are in a uniform orientation with a thumb (42) of each glove 3 being on the same side of the stack 4 relative to the dispensing aperture 12 such that, when a glove 3 is removed from the dispenser (1), it is always in the same orientation with respect to a user permitting the user to don the gloves 3 in the same way each time the dispenser is used.

Description

Packing and Donning of Gloves

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dispensing and donning gloves to be used in an environment where hygiene and time saving are important.

b. Related Art The control of infection of patients in hospitals, clinics, and doctors' surgeries has become an ever more pressing concern with the rise of infectious bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, in particular methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium dificile (C. dificile). In the United Kingdom alone there are thought to be about 5,000 deaths a year from infections caught in hospitals but some experts believe the number could be as high as 20,000.

Research has shown that high levels of MRSA and C. dificile are present on everyday items in hospitals. Samples taken from an intensive care unit at a London hospital found MRSA on charts, bins, pens, medical notes, phones and computer keyboards. There was also MRSA present on staff aprons and hands.

The most common route for MRSA infection is between patients or via a doctor or nurse. Hospital staff can spread MRSA by using such items after having contact with patients.

Research has also shown that if someone has MRSA or C. dificile on their hands, the bacteria would be left on the next four surfaces touched by that person. Once MRSA is on an item it will remain there for up to 80 days unless that item is cleaned. C. dificile will remain active on surfaces much longer than that.

Most gloves used in hospitals and clinics are examination gloves, and these are used in large numbers such gloves are supplied not in individual sterile packages, but in relatively inexpensive cardboard dispensing boxes. Use of these disposable medical gloves can help prevent cross-contamination, however, a problem arises if external parts of the glove are touched by a person's bare hand prior to or during donning of the glove. This happens in particular when it is necessary to use a first gloved hand to turn around a second glove in order for it to fit onto the second hand, This is because it is then necessary for the first glove fingers to touch the cuff of the second glove in the same place as it has been held by the other bare and potentially contaminated hand. Such external parts of the second glove to be donned can then become contaminated prior to contact with a patient, if these external parts are the fingers or palm area of the glove the likelihood of a patient being contaminated is dramatically incieased.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient and reliable arrangement for dispensing gloves in a medical or clinical environment or in any other environment where the control of hand-borne contamination is important. In particular it is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement where the gloves can only be removed from the container by the cuffs, the gloves are dispensed in a consistent and known order, and consequently where the gloves can be donned by the method to be described without the wearer contaminating the first glove to be donned when donning the second glove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a glove dispenser for dispensing gloves in a consistent orientation, the dispenser comprising: -a container for holding a plurality of gloves to be dispensed, the container having a dispensing aperture through which a glove may be removed from the container; and -a stack of gloves held within the container, the gloves each having a cuff portion; wherein the stack of gloves is arranged such that the gloves can only be removed from the dispensing aperture cuff first, and the gloves are in a uniform orientation with a thumb of each glove being on the same side of the stack relative to the dispensing aperture such that, when a glove is removed from the dispenser, it is always in the same orientation with respect to a user.

The gloves are stacked such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the left of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser, however, alternatively and preferably, the gloves may be stacked such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the right of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser.

Because the gloves are all oriented the same way, the user is able to don the gloves in the same way each time the dispenser is used. The donning process can therefore be systematised so that the user follows a set procedure to ensure that minimal contact is made between the user's skin and any outer surfaces of the gloves and, as will be explained below, also so that any such remaining contact is made only with a cuff portion of the first glove to be donned.

Usually the gloves held within the dispenser are for use in a medical or clinical environment, and so, advantageously, the dispenser may comprise a removable cover extending over the dispensing aperture to reduce contamination of the gloves in the container during storage.

The glove dispenser may comprise mounting means for mounting the dispenser on a vertical surface such that the dispensing aperture faces downwards, further reducing the risk of contaminants entering the dispenser.

Additionally, the glove dispenser may comprise a set of instructions for donning the gloves, wherein the gloves each have finger, palm and cuff portions and wherein the instructions enable a user of the dispenser to dispense and don gloves in such a way that the finger and palm portions of the gloves are not touched by ungloved fingers of the user.

Preferably the instructions are provided on an outer face of the container and include the steps of removing a first glove with a first hand and donning it on a second hand and then removing a second glove with the gloved second hand and donning it on the first hand.

Also according to the invention, there is provided a method of donning gloves by a user of the gloves, the method comprising the steps of the user: i) removing a first glove from a glove dispenser by gripping a cuff of said first glove with a first hand, the glove dispenser being as claimed in any of Claims I to 6; ii) pulling said first glove over a second hand in order to don the first glove; iii) using the gloved second hand to remove a second glove from the dispenser by pulling a cuff of said second glove; and iv) pulling said second glove over the first hand in order to don the second glove; wherein by following steps iii) and iv) the user dons the second glove without touching an outer surface of the second glove with an ungloved hand.

If the gloves are stacked in the dispenser such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the left of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser, then preferably the method comprises removing the first glove with a right hand and putting it on a left hand, and removing the second glove with the gloved left hand and putting it on the right hand. Whereas, if the gloves are stacked in the dispenser such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the right of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser, then preferably the method comprises removing the first glove with a left hand and putting it on a right hand, arid removing the second glove with the gloved right hand and putting it on the left hand.

In some situations, it may be advantageous for the dispenser to include a removable cover extending over the dispensing aperture. In this case, the method comprises the step of removing the removable cover prior to removing the first glove from the dispenser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a glove dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing how a cuff of a glove to be dispensed hangs freely downwards from a lower surface of the container when the container is supported in a wall-mountable bracket; Figure 2 is a perspective view from below of the glove dispenser of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic exploded diagram of the three layers forming the face of the dispenser containing the dispensing aperture; Figure 4 is a perspective view from below of the glove dispenser of Figure 2, with the removable cover still attached; Figure 5 is a cross-section through the glove dispenser, taken along line A-A of Figure 2, showing schematically how the removable cover is removed from the container to release the cuff of the first glove, and how gloves are interfolded within the container for cuff-first dispensing of subsequent gloves; Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the steps in the method used to remove gloves from the dispenser and don to avoid unnecessary contamination of the gloves; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of a glove dispenser according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figures 1 and 2 show a glove dispenser I comprising a box container 2 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. An internal volume of the container 2 is filled with a stack of interfolded gloves 4 (see Figure 5), which in this example are disposable medical inspection gloves 5.

The container 2 is substantially cuboid, and in this example the container 2 has external dimensions of 120 mm in width, 130 mm in depth and 130 mm in height.

In this example, the container 2 is made from card having a thickness of between about 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, and preferably about 0.6 mm. The container 2 is filled with disposable ambidextrous medical examination gloves 5 which may be made from latex, nitrile or vinyl material that is typically 100 pm to 125 pm thick. The gloves 5 are typically about 240 mm long from finger tip to cuff edge, and when the container 2 is filled this can hold typically about 100 nitrile gloves or about 120 latex gloves 5, although this does depend on the thickness of the material.

The container 2 is designed such that one face of the container 2 is a dispensing face 6 which includes an aperture through which the gloves 5 are dispensed from the container 2.

The dispensing face 6 of the container 2 comprises at least three layers, as shown in Figure 3. An innermost layer or panel 10 of the face 6 includes a dispensing cut-out or elongate dispensing aperture 12. The next outmost or middle panel 14 has a spacer aperture 16, which has larger dimensions than the dispensing cut-out 12 and lies fully outside the bounds of the dispensing cut-out 12. The outermost layer or panel 18 includes a finger grip cut-out 20 and perforated removable cover 22. The removable cover 22 has dimensions that are aligned with those of the spacer aperture 16, except for a projecting portion of the cover which forms a grip feature 24 which when pulled allows the cover 22 to be removed from the container 2. The cover 22 is formed in a central portion of the dispensing face 6 and has dimensions that overlap fully the edge of the dispensing cut-out 12. The grip feature 24 and finger grip cut-out 20 lie outside the bounds of the spacer aperture 16 so that there is no gap in the dispensing face 6 of the container 2 leading to the dispensing aperture 12. This helps to prevent any contamination getting into the dispensing aperture 12 prior to removal of the cover 22. The removable cover 22 is separable from the rest of panel 18 along a perforated edge 26 in the card material.

The relative alignment of the panels 10, 14, 18 is shown schematically in Figure 4 with dashed and dotted lines superimposed on the cover 22 which is illustrated still affixed to the remainder of the container 2.

The spacer panel 14 acts to space apart the removable cover 22 from the dispensing aperture 12 in order to provide a gap between the removable cover 22 and the surrounding edge of the dispensing aperture 12. In this way, when the cover 22 is removed, a recess 28 exists in the dispensing face 6 of the container 2 bounded by the peripheral edge 26 of the aperture in the outermost layer 18 and a portion of the innermost layer 10 surrounding the dispensing aperture 12. The recess 28 is designed to receive the cuff 30 of a first glove 3 to be dispensed from the container 2. This cuff 30 is packaged protruding from the dispensing aperture 12 and is held inside the gap between the cover 22 and the inner panel 10, such that as soon as the cover 22 is removed, the cuff 30 is released to be pulled by a user of the dispenser 1.

Preferably, the container 2 is mounted such that the dispensing face 6 is lowermost. In one embodiment, the container 2 is supported in an optional holder or wall-mountable bracket 32 as shown in Figure 1. The shape and dimensions of the bracket 32 are such that the bracket 32 accepts and holds the container 2 with the dispensing side 6 lowermost and without obscuring the removable cover 22.

Removal of the cover 22 on a downward facing side of the container 2 naturally results in a person moving his hand downward and away from the dispensing aperture 12 as the cover 22 is pulled away thereby reducing the possibility that a person's hands will come into contact with the dispensing aperture 12 or the glove 3 itself.

This orientation of the dispensing container 2 has the further advantage that because the downward hanging cuff 30 of the next glove 3 to be dispensed is fully beneath the container 2 and bracket 32, this cuff 30 is substantially protected from downward drifting dust or other contamination in the air above the glove dispenser 1. In addition, because the glove container 2 is mounted to a vertical supporting surface such as a wall (not shown) by means of the bracket 32, the container 2 also gains some protection from accidental contamination by the presence of the vertical supporting surface.

After loading a fresh box 2 of gloves 5 in the bracket 32, a user then grips the grip feature 24 and pulls down and away as indicated by the arrow 34 in Figure 5 to tear the removable cover 22 away and expose the dispensing aperture 12 and a cuff 30 of the first glove 3 to be dispensed. This results in the cuff 30 dropping down as indicated by the arrow 36. This may be aided by a small amount of tacky adhesive (not shown) between the cover 22 and the cuff 30.

To help ensure that the cuff 30 is not touched by a person during this procedure, the cuff 30 is packed folded on the far side of the dispensing aperture 12 relative to the grip feature 24. The glove cuff 30 therefore does not start to fall until the person's hand, holding the grip feature 24, has already moved downwards and away from the dispensing aperture 12. Preferable, the arrangement is such that the glove 3 does not drop until the cover 22 is substantially or fully removed. This location of the packed cuff 30 in the recess 28 is shown schematically in Figure 4 by diagonal dashed lines.

Figure 5 illustrates the stack of gloves 4 schematically with each of the gloves 5 being represented by a single line and the end of the cuff 30 of each glove, which will normally be an end roll portion, represented by a circle. So that the arrangement can be more clearly seen, there are spaces between each glove, but in fact the gloves 5 would ideally be tightly packed in a full container 2. -10-

The gloves 5 are interfolded in a stack of gloves 4. This configuration results in the finger portion of one glove being located between the palm portions of the next two gloves 5 in the stack 4. Furthermore, the end of the cuffs 30 of adjacent gloves 5 in the stack 4 are located on opposite sides of the stack 4, such that when the stack of gloves 4 is loaded in the container 2, half of the cuffs 30 lie proximate a front face 38 of the container 2 and the other half of the cuffs 30 lie proximate a rear face 40 of the container 2.

This interfolded stack arrangement provides a number of benefits including reducing the lateral size of the container 2 to an approximately square outline as viewed from above. The interfolding of gloves 5 is such that each glove 3 is dispensed by the cuff 30. The removal of a glove 3 by pulling on the cuff portion 30 delivers the next cuff portion 30 through the dispensing aperture 12 to the same dispense position as for the preceding glove 3 and cuff 30. This action is due to the friction between the gloves 5.

In a preferred embodiment, the gloves 5 are stacked 4 in the container 2 in a uniform orientation, such that the thumbs 42 of all the gloves 5 are positioned on the right of the stack 4 in the container 2 when the container 2 is viewed from the front face 38. Alternatively, the gloves 5 can be positioned in the stack 4 of interfolded gloves 5 with all the thumbs 42 on the left of the container 2.

These configurations can be combined with a method of donning gloves as described hereafter, and as illustrated in Figure 6.

With the container 2 mounted such that the dispensing face 6 is pointing downwards, a user of the dispenser 1 first removes 50 the cover 22 to expose the cuff 30 of the first glove 3 to be dispensed. This first cuff 30 falls from its packed position so that it hangs from the underside of the container 2. The gloves 5 are then dispensed by the cuff 30 from the container 2 in the following way. -11 -

The first glove 3 is removed from the container 2 by pulling 52 the cuff 30 with a first hand. Holding this glove 3 by the cuff portion 30, the glove 3 is then pulled 54 onto the second hand of the user. A second glove 3' is then taken from the dispenser by pulling 56 the exposed cuff 30' with the gloved second hand.

Holding this second glove 3' by the cuff portion 30' it is then pulled 58 onto the first hand of the user.

In this way, only the cuff 30 of the first glove 3 is touched with bare fingers. This reduces the risk of contaminating the outer surfaces of the gloves 5.

Preferably, if the gloves 5 are packed with all the thumbs 42 on the right of the stack 4 when the stack 4 is viewed from the front 38 of the container 2, the first glove 3 is removed by grasping the cuff 30 with the left hand and is then put on the right hand. The second glove 3' is then removed using the right gloved hand and pulled onto the left hand.

Alternatively, with the gloves 5 stacked with all the thumbs 42 on the left when the stack 4 is viewed from the front 38, the first glove 3 may be removed with the right hand and the second glove 3' removed from the container 2 with the left hand.

With all the gloves 5 in the stack 4 oriented in the same way, the gloves 5 will be dispensed in a consistent and known orientation, permitting the user to don the gloves in the same way each time the dispenser is used. Donning the gloves 5 by the method described means that the gloves 5 do not have to be turned around or re-oriented before being pulled onto each hand. For example, if the thumbs 42 of the gloves 5 in the stack 4 are on the left, then if a first glove 3 is pulled from the container 2 using the right hand, it may be pulled onto the left hand without rotating the glove 3 if the left hand is positioned palm up. The second glove 3' is then removed from the container 2 using this left hand, and the glove 3' may be pulled onto the right hand without rotating the glove 3' if the right hand is positioned palm down. -12-

However, it will be appreciated that if the gloves 5 are packed with all the thumbs 42 on the right of the stack 4 the first glove 3 may be dispensed using a right hand, with the second glove 3' removed from the container 2 using the resultant gloved left hand. Likewise, if the gloves 5 are packed with all the thumbs 42 on the left of the stack 4 the first glove 3 may also be dispensed using a left hand, with the second glove 3' removed from the container 2 using the resultant gloved right hand.

Importantly, by stacking and donning gloves 5 in this way, contact by bare fingers of the finger or palm portions of the glove is avoided, thereby reducing or eliminating contamination of finger or palm portion of the donned gloves.

If a person dispensed the gloves using a method not according to the invention, for example by dispensing the first glove 3 using their right hand and putting it on their left hand, and then also dispensing the second glove 3' using their right hand, this glove would have to be transferred to their left hand before being pulled onto their right hand. This would result in any contamination being passed from the bare fingers of the right hand to the cuff 30' of the second glove 3' and then to the fingers of the glove 3 on the left hand. This contamination may then be passed to a patient during an examination for example.

Therefore, in order that a user of the dispenser 1 removes and dons the gloves 5 in the desired manner to avoid contamination, it may be advantageous to provide instructions 44 setting out the correct dispensing of the gloves 5. These instructions 44 may be printed on the front face 38 of the container 2, as shown in Figure 1.

Alternatively, the instructions may be printed on a notice or poster or similar which may be displayed near the container 2.

It will be appreciated that the method of donning gloves as described above may be applied to any type of glove dispensing container 2 holding a stack of gloves 4 -13-uniformly oriented as described above and designed to dispense the gloves 5 by the cuff-first method. Furthermore, the dispensing aperture 12 may be located in any suitable position on the container 2, and the container 2 may be positioned in any suitable location and orientation during use, for example the container 2 may be placed on a table with the dispensing aperture 12 uppermost or the container 2 may be mounted on a wall with the aperture 12 facing a user of the dispenser 1.

If the container 2 is supported such that the dispensing aperture 12 is uppermost, then it may be necessary to provide a spring biasing means (not shown) within the container if the container is sized to contain more than about 20 gloves. With the container in this orientation, it has been found that the interfolding is sufficient to draw the next cuff 30 through the aperture for the first 20 gloves, but if the full container contains more than this number, then it becomes necessary to provide means to lift the remaining stack of gloves 4 within the container towards the dispensing aperture 12 as the container is emptied.

It will be appreciated that the container 2 may comprise any suitable aperture 12 and cover 22 such that the cover 22 covers the dispensing aperture 12 and prevents contamination of the gloves 5 during storage, and when the cover 22 is removed, gloves 5 may be removed from the container 2 through the dispensing aperture 12.

Figure 7 shows a further embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention, with identical features labelled with reference numerals incremented by 100. A container 102 holds a stack 104 of disposable gloves 105 with each glove oriented with a cuff 130 at one end of the stack 104, so that each glove 105 can be dispensed cuff-first at a dispensing end 46 of the container 102. The orientation of a topmost one of the gloves 105 is shown by a dotted line in Figure 7, with each glove 105 laid flat within the container 102. Alternatively, each glove 105 may first be folded in half before being laid flat in the container 102 on top of an adjacent folded glove 105.

In this way, a desired stacking arrangement of the gloves 105 may be chosen for a particular application, so long as the gloves 105 are uniformly oriented with the thumbs 42 on one side of the stack 104. The interior dimensions of the container 102 can then be set according to the width and length of the stack of gloves 104, so that the packed gloves 105 fit snugly within the container 102 with minimal wasted packing volume.

The invention therefore provides a convenient and economical dispenser and a method of dispensing and donning gloves, whereby the gloves can be donned without the wearer contaminating the first glove when donning the second glove. -15-

Claims

CLAIMS1. A glove dispenser for dispensing gloves in a consistent orientation, the dispenser comprising: -a container for holding a plurality of gloves to be dispensed, the container having a dispensing aperture through which a glove may be removed from the container; and -a stack of gloves held within the container, the gloves each having a cuff portion; wherein the stack of gloves is arranged such that the gloves can only be removed from the dispensing aperture cuff first, and the gloves are in a uniform orientation with a thumb of each glove being on the same side of the stack relative to the dispensing aperture such that, when a glove is removed from the dispenser, it is always in the same orientation with respect to a user.
2. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the gloves are stacked such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the left of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser.
3. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the gloves are stacked such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the right of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser.
4. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the dispenser comprises a removable cover extending over the dispensing aperture, to reduce contamination of the gloves in the container during storage.
5. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gloves are for use in a medical or clinical environment.
6. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising additionally a mounting means for mounting the container on a vertical surface -16 -such that the dispensing aperture faces downwards.
7. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising additionally a set of instructions for donning the gloves, wherein the gloves each have finger, palm and cuff portions and wherein the instructions enable a user of the dispenser to dispense and don gloves in such a way that the finger and palm portions of the gloves are not touched by ungloved fingers of the user.
8. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the instructions are provided on an outer face of the container.
9. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the instructions include the steps of removing a first glove with a first hand and donning it on a second hand and then removing a second glove with the gloved second hand and donning it on the first hand.
10. A method of donning gloves by a user of the gloves, the method comprising the steps of the user: i) removing a first glove from a glove dispenser by gripping a cuff of said first glove with a first hand, the glove dispenser being as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6; ii) pulling said first glove over a second hand in order to don the first glove; iii) using the gloved second hand to remove a second glove from the dispenser by pulling a cuff of said second glove; and iv) pulling said second glove over the first hand in order to don the second glove; wherein by following steps iii) and iv) the user dons the second glove without touching an outer surface of the second glove with an ungloved hand.
11. A method as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the gloves are stacked in the dispenser such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the left of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser, and wherein the method comprises -17-removing the first glove with a right hand and putting it on a left hand, and removing the second glove with the gloved left hand and putting it on the right hand.
12. A method as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the gloves are stacked in the dispenser such that the thumbs of the gloves are all on the right of the stack from the point of view of a user of the dispenser, and wherein the method comprises removing the first glove with a left hand and putting it on a right hand, and removing the second glove with the gloved right hand and putting it on the left hand.
13. A method as claimed in any of Claims 10 to 12, wherein the dispenser comprises a removable cover extending over the dispensing aperture and the method comprises the step of removing the removable cover prior to removing the first glove from the dispenser.
14. A glove dispenser, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in Figures 1 to 5 and 7.
15. A method of donning gloves, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in Figure 6.