GB2485572A

GB2485572A - Dispensing apparatus for a reel of disposable tourniquets

Info

Publication number: GB2485572A
Application number: GB1019574.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shakeel Islam
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-11-19
Filing date: 2010-11-19
Publication date: 2012-05-23
Also published as: GB201019574D0

Abstract

A dispenser 1 for a reel of disposable tourniquets 5, or similar elastomeric material, comprising: a chamber 3 to accommodate a reel 4; an aperture 6 in the wall of chamber to allow a disposable tourniquet to pass through; and a pair of opposable grip members 8A, 8B located adjacent said aperture. One of the grip members may be fixed relative to the chamber and the other is moveable 9 in order to clamp the tourniquet and allow tearing. Preferably a cutter is disposed adjacent the pair of grip members and a second pair of opposable grip members are provided such that the cutter is located between the two pairs. The grip member and cutter may co-operate as a grip-and-cut mechanism to grip the tourniquet at two spaced-apart locations and the cutter cuts the tourniquet between those locations. Means, such as a clamp, may be provided for mounting the dispenser to a wall or to a trolley.

Description

DISPENSING APPARATUS

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to apparatus for dispensing sections of tape-like material from a reel, and especially for such material that is elastomeric in nature. In particular aspects, the invention relates to apparatus for dispensing disposable elastomeric tourniquets from a reel of such devices, and especially those that are perforated and intended to be torn from a reel containing multiple such tourniquets.

Background

Tourniquets have been used by physicians for many years not only to stem the flow of blood following an injury, but more commonly to assist gaining access to a vein for procedures such as administering intravenous drugs, taking blood samples, or introducing a cannula.

In order to have ready access to tourniquets during their working day, many physicians carry a reusable tourniquet with them comprising a webbing strap and loop, that may be fixed around the patient's arm to provide circumferential pressure leading to an accumulation of blood in the surface vasculature, thereby assisting access to a vein. With the constant desire to reduce the incidents of cross infection, especially in hospital environments, disposable tourniquets are now available. One well-known example of these comprises an elongate strip of an elastomeric material such as poly-isoprene that can be used to apply pressure to a patients arm. The strips are typically around 25mm wide and are provided on a roll containing 25 such tourniquet lengths, each approximately 45cm long, and separated from each other by a series of perforations.

Whilst such disposable tourniquets provide great advantages in the reduction of cross infection between patients, in practice they are not used as frequently as they might be, for a number of reasons: In many occasions, a roll of disposable tourniquets might be present on a ward, but they often get either mislaid, or are stored in locations unknown to the attending physician and might, for example, be left in a drawer at a nurses' station. The lack of ready availability of the disposable tourniquets leads physicians to use their reusable tourniquets in order to be able to carry out venipuncture procedures quickly and efficiently.

In addition, it is often quite difficult to separate individual tourniquets from these rolls because the elastomeric nature of the tourniquets makes it difficult to tear them at the perforations; in essence, the tourniquets arc more likely to stretch than tear.

In addition, the tearing operation requires that the physician grasps the strip of tourniquets with two hands, either side of a perforation. This leads to the possibility of microbial transfer to the tourniquets remaining unused within the reel.

It is amongst the objects of the present invention to provide a solution to these and other problems.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the inventor provides a dispenser for a reel of disposable tourniquets comprising: a chamber; so sized as to accommodate said reel; an aperture in the wall of said chamber, so sized as to allow a disposable tourniquet to pass through; and a pair of opposable grip members located adjacent said aperture. Typical reels of disposable toumiquets will require a chamber of generally circular cross-section, with an internal depth of approximately 30mm and a diameter of approximately 10cm.

Preferably, one of said opposable grip members is fixed relative to said chamber. In this way, the grip members can be operated to grip a region of the strip of tourniquets, adjacent a line of perforations, thereby allowing this to be carried out with a single hand.

Preferably, in any aspect of the invention, said dispenser further comprises mounting means to allow the dispenser to be affixed to a wall. In this way, the supply of disposable tourniquets may be located within a ward such that they arc easily accessible by physicians in need of them.

Preferably, said mounting means is arranged such that, in use, the access of a reel of disposable tourniquets within said chamber is substantially perpendicular to a wall when said chamber is affixed thereto. In this way, the dispenser does not unduly protrude from the wall which might pose a hazard.

In an alternative embodiment, it is preferred that the dispenser further comprises mounting means, such as a clamp, to allow said dispenser to be affixed to a trolley. In many ward and clinic situations, tourniquets are used by a phlebotomist who has most the equipment needed for blood sampling on a movable "Phlebotomy Trolley". Providing the dispenser with a clamp, such as a releasable hand-operated clamp, or more preferably a clamp that may be affixed and removed only by use of a tool, such as a spanner or screwdriver, and that facilitates mounting the dispenser on such a trolley is particularly advantageous because mounting the dispenser in this way will ensure that a supply of disposable tourniquets will always be readily on hand when needed.

In any aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the dispenser further comprises a spindle within said chamber upon which a reel of disposable tourniquets may be mounted.

Preferably, said spindle is configured such that a reel of disposable tourniquets mounted thereon can freely rotate with respect to said chamber. This may be achieved by providing a fixed spindle of a diameter less than the central hole of a reel of disposable tourniquets; a typical diameter for such a fixed spindle would be between 10 and 30mm, preferably around 20mm. Alternatively, a freely rotating spindle may be provided on which a reel of tourniquets may be affixed. This is particularly advantageous in the particular case of dispensing a strip of elastomeric material (as opposed to the many dispensers available for substantially inelastic materials) because any significant force required to pull the end of the tourniquet reel from the dispenser would lead to stretching of the tourniquet reel with the result that the free end of the reel, once one tourniquet section had been detached, might snap back within the body of the dispenser chamber.

Also in any aspect of the invention, it is preferred that a cutter is provided, disposed adjacent said pair of opposable grip members. In this way, a non-perforated reel of elastomeric material may be provided with the cutter serving to allow individual tourniquet elements of a required length to be readily dispensed.

Where such a cutter is provided, it is further preferred that a second pair of opposable grip members is provided, and wherein said cutter is located between said two pairs of opposable grip members. In this way, each of said two pairs of opposable grip members can grip the band of elastic material in a spaced-apart fashion, thereby allowing the cutter to more easily cut the elastomeric strip between the two grip members.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the two pairs of opposable grip members and cutter are arranged to co-operate as a "grip-and-cut" mechanism such that when the mechanism is operated, the two pairs of opposable grip members are caused to grip a disposable tourniquet strip at two spaced apart locations, and then the cutter subsequently acts to cut the tourniquet strip between these two locations.

Also included within the scope of the invention is a dispenser substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1-2 show cross-sections of an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 show a perspective view of part of an embodiment of the invention; Figures 4-5 show a cross-sections of an embodiment of the invention, illustrating the mounting means; and; Figures 6-9 show the operation of a "Grip-and-cut" mechanism of an embodiment of the invention.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

Is Figure 1 illustrates, in schematic plan view, a dispenser, generally indicated by 1, according to an aspect of the invention. The dispenser is of generally circular cross-section, and has an external wall 2 defining a chamber 3 within the dispenser. Also illustrated, is a reel of disposable tourniquets 4 located within the chamber 3, and with one end of the strip of elastomeric tourniquets 5 protruding from an aperture 6 within the wall 2 of the dispenser 1. In this embodiment, there is also provided a central spindle 7 located within the chamber 3 and upon which the reel of tourniquets 4 can freely rotate.

Located either side of the elongate aperture 6 are two opposable grip members 8A and 8B that may be moved towards each other along the direction indicated by the pair of arrows 9 in order to grip a region of the strip of tourniquet protruding through the aperture 6. If the strip of tourniquets is positioned such that the perforations are located approximately as indicated by 10, the grip members 8 can be used to grip the remaining reel of tourniquet allowing the elastomeric tourniquet to be detached from the reel at the region of the perforations.

The faces of the grip members 8A, 8B that contact the tourniquet strip may be preferably provided with a non-slip surface to enhance their gripping capability.

Figure 2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a dispenser of the present invention, with corresponding portions numbered as in figure 1. This embodiment has again two opposable grip members 8A, and 8B, but in this embodiment, the grip member 8A is fixed relative to the chamber 3, by being formed as part of the wall 2 of the dispenser.

This design allows the dispenser to be operated using a single finger to move the grip member 8B towards member 8A along the direction indicated by the arrow 9.

Figure 3 illustrates, in perspective view, an embodiment of a dispenser according to the present invention. Again, the dispenser is of generally circular cross-section and comprises an outer wall 2 defining a chamber 3 within the dispenser 1. A central spindle is 7 is also provided Figure 3 illustrates the presence of an elongate aperture 6 within the wall 2 of the dispenser 1, allowing the end of a roll of tourniquets to be passed through the aperture. Also provided (not illustrated) is a sealing cap or lid that may be used to seal the chamber 3 after a reel of tourniquets has been loaded into it. As well as preventing the reel from falling out of the dispenser when mounted in a vertical orientation, the lid provides a clean environment for the tourniquets, preventing the accumulation of dust that may carry microbial contamination. The lid may be affixed to the rest of the dispenser by providing a thread on the spindle 7 that co-operates with a corresponding thread located centrally on the cap.

Figure 4 illustrates, schematically as a horizontal cross-section, a dispenser 1 according to the present invention provided with mounting means, in the form of holes 10 in the back plate 11 of the dispenser. Screws or other fixing means may then be conveniently used to mount the dispenser 1 on a wall 12 thereby locating the device such that the access of a reel of disposable tourniquets within said chamber (and also the axis of the spindle 7) is substantially perpendicular to the wall 12 when the dispenser 1 is affixed thereto.

Also illustrated in figure 4 is the sealing lid or cap 13 provided to seal the chamber 3 once a reel of tourniquet 4 has been mounted therein.

Figure 5 illustrates an alternative embodirnent of a dispenser according to the present invention where a mounting means in the form of a mounting block 14 is provided on the outer face of the wall 2 of the dispenser, said block 14 being provided with means, such as a screw plate, allowing it to be fixed to a wall 12. In this orientation, the axis of the spindle 7 is approximately parallel with the face of the wall 12.

Figures 6-9 illustrate a "grip-and-cut" mechanism, generally indicated by 15, that may preferable be disposed against an aperture in the wall of a dispenser according to the present invention. A first pair of grip members 8A, 8B is provided, adjacent an aperture in the wall of a chamber forming part of a dispenser according to the present invention.

Said grip members 8A, 8B may optionally be provided with a high friction grip surface 16 located between the opposing grip members. A second pair of opposable grip members 8C and 8D are also provided. These may also be provided with a high friction surface 16, to aid gripping of a tourniquet passing between the grip members.

Located between each pair of opposable grip members is a cutter comprising, in the embodiment illustrated, two co-ordinating cutter members 16A, 16B. In the embodiment illustrated, one such cutter member 116A comprises a blade 17 that co-operates with an opposing slot 18 in the second cutter member 1 6B.

Upon operation of the "grip-and-cut" mechanism the two pairs of opposable grip members close to grip the disposable tourniquet at two spaced-apart locations, as illustrated in figure 7. Upon further operation of the grip-and-cut mechanism, the cutter 16 acts to severe the tourniquet S between the two grip members as illustrated in figure 8.

Finally, when the grip-and-cut mechanism is released, the opposable grip members and cutter retract from the tourniquet, a length of which is now severed, for use.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A dispenser for a reel of disposable tourniquets comprising: a chamber, so sized as to accommodate said reel; an aperture in the wall of said chamber, so sized as to allow a disposable tourniquet to pass through; and a pair of opposable grip members located adjacent said aperture.
2. A dispenser according to Claim 1 wherein one of said opposable grip members is fixed relative to said chamber.
3. A dispenser according to either Claim 1 or Claim 2 further comprising mounting means to allow said dispenser to be affixed to a wall.
4. A dispenser according to Claim 3 wherein said mounting means is arranged such that, in use, the axis of a reel of disposable tourniquets within said chamber is substantially perpendicular to a wall when said chamber is affixed thereto.
5. A dispenser according to either Claim 1 or Claim 2 further comprising mounting means, such as a clamp, to allow said dispenser to be affixed to a trolley.
6. A dispenser according to any preceding claim further comprising a spindle within said chamber upon which a reel of disposable tourniquets may be mounted.
7. A dispenser according to Claim 6 wherein said spindle is configured such that a reel of disposable tourniquets mounted thereon can freely rotate with respect to said chamber.
8. A dispenser according to any preceding claim further comprising a cutter disposed adjacent said pair of opposable grip members.
9. A dispenser according to Claim 8 further comprising a second pair of opposable grip members, and wherein said cutter is located between said two pairs of opposable grip members.
10. A dispenser according to Claim 9 wherein said two pairs of opposable grip members and said cutter are arranged to cooperate as a grip-and-cut mechanism such that when said mechanism is operated, the two pairs of opposable grip members are caused to grip a disposable tourniquet at two spaced-apart locations, and then the cutter acts to cut the tourniquet between those locations.
11. A dispenser substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated by any appropriate combination of the accompanying drawings.