GB2489326A

GB2489326A - Glove dispenser for minimising contamination of gloves

Info

Publication number: GB2489326A
Application number: GB1205066.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan William Stollery; Kim Marie Stollery
Original assignee: Altevo Ltd
Current assignee: Altevo Ltd
Priority date: 2011-03-24
Filing date: 2012-03-22
Publication date: 2012-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-22
Also published as: GB201222396D0; GB2489326B; GB2495023A; GB201104956D0; GB201205066D0; GB2495023B; GB201109996D0

Abstract

A container 2 for dispensing a stack of gloves has an inner dispensing aperture 30 and outer dispensing aperture 6 which together define a dispensing passage. A removable cover 42 which, prior to use, closes the outer dispensing aperture, has a removable panel 44 positioned away from the edges of the dispensing passage. It can be pushed inwards by a finger to expose a hole which can be gripped by the finger to remove the removable cover without contaminating the edges of the dispensing passage. The container is a cardboard box holding a stack of interfolded gloves arranged for cuffâ first dispensing. The edges of both the cover and the panel may be partially perforated. The container is particularly for use in dispensing gloves in the medical environment.

Description

Glove Dispenser

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the dispensing of gloves from a dispenser, and particularly the dispensing of disposable inspection gloves for use in clinical, veterinary or medical environments.

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). 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 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, but a problem arises if external parts of the glove are touched by a person prior to or during donning of the glove. Such external parts can then become contaminated prior to use.

US 4,844,293 discloses a glove dispensing system where a package of gloves is placed in an outer container, and gloves are dispensed through registering apertures in the package and the outer container. The cuffs of the gloves are not directly accessible to the user.

This arrangement encourages users to touch a glove only by the cuff and so minimise the risk of contamination, but at the cost of increased mechanical complexity and the need to apply an adhesive to the otherwise pristine external surface of the glove.

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. One way of controlling contamination on such examination gloves is disclosed in patent document US 5,816,440. In this disclosure, gloves are packaged with over-folded cuffs within a box having a dispensing aperture. The fingers of each glove are looped partially or interfolded around the cuff of the subsequent glove so that as each glove is pulled from the dispensing aperture, the cuff of the next glove is pulled out of the aperture to make it easy for a user to get hold of the over-folded cuff of the next glove. To avoid users having to reach inside the dispensing aperture to get hold of the first glove to be dispensed, the first glove is packaged with the cuff already extending from the dispensing aperture. One limitation of this type of dispenser is that there is no biasing means to keep the next glove to be dispensed adjacent the aperture. It is therefore necessary to position the dispenser so that gloves are dispensed from the bottom of the container so that gloves are held be gravity next to the dispensing aperture.

WO 20071108860 Al discloses one type of biasing means in which an elastic component such as a resilient compressed, expandable foam, or alternatively elastic bands, are used to bias a stack of gloves towards a dispensing aperture.

The foam or bands act on a movable plate which in use moves towards the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed. The foam rests on the container base side, and the elastic bands are attached to side walls of the container.

Although such systems are effective at biasing gloves towards a dispensing aperture, the biasing systems require numeral additional components as compared with container not having any such biasing means, and also can present difficulties in loading the biasing means with a stack of gloves.

It may also be necessary to strengthen the side walls or base of the container against which the biasing means acts.

A further difficulty is that the biasing means or consequent container reinforcement takes up space and can therefore significantly reduce the number of gloves that can be held in a box container. Running out of gloves in a clinical environment can be more than just an inconvenience. Although double dispensing containers such as those disclosed in US 5,816,440 or WO 2011/01 7496 A2, it is always desirable to maximise the number of gloves held within a dispensing container.

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.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a glove dispenser for dispensing a stack of gloves, comprising: -a box-like glove container, the container being formed from a card material and having a plurality of sides and at least one dispensing aperture leading to a dispensing passage in a dispensing side thereof, the dispensing passage being bounded by one or more edges of said passage; -at least one stack of gloves held within the container, the stack being interfolded for cuff-first dispensing through the dispensing passage, and the dispensing side having at least one external removable cover, said cover extending over the dispensing aperture prior to dispensing of gloves through the dispensing passage and which when removed opens the dispensing aperture to permit the dispensing of gloves cuff-fist through the dispensing passage; wherein said cover is a card material, said cover being attached to the dispensing side of the container along a line of weakness prior to removal of said cover, the card material of said cover having a separable panel which, when separated from the remainder of said cover opens a hole in said cover so that a user's finger can engage with said cover to pull and separate said cover from the dispensing side of the container, the separable panel being spaced away from said edges of the dispensing passage so that that a user will not touch any of said edges of the dispensing passage while removing said cover to expose the dispensing aperture.

The separable panel may be a push-in panel, which, when pushed by finger moves inwards into the dispensing passage, for example by separating fully from the remainder of said cover.

The separable panel may, however, remain partially attached to the cover. This may be done, for example, by providing a line of weakness between the separable panel which is not a closed loop so that the separable panel separates along the line of weakness from the remainder of the cover but not between the ends of the line of weakness. The separable panel may then be bent inwards or outwards when pushed or pulled by finger, to open a hole in the cover where the separable panel has been separated from the rest of the cover.

The separable panel is preferably a central portion of the removable cover.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dispensing passage includes an outer aperture and an inner aperture, said apertures defining the dispensing passage.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, prior to the removal of the separable panel from the remainder of the cover, the separable panel is spaced away from the edges of the dispensing passage by a surrounding portion of the removable cover. The surrounding portion of the removable cover may be a substantially annular portion of the removable cover, for example being substantially circular or oval in shape.

The separable panel may, in use, be fully separable from a surrounding portion of the removable cover. The separable panel may, however, be partially separable, in which case the panel will remain attached to the remainder of the cover along an edge of the panel.

The finger pull hole when removed from the removable cover creates a finger pull hole in the removable cover.

The separable panel, when removed prior to removal of the removable cover, preferably exposes a portion of the first glove to be dispensed, preferably a cuff portion, and preferably also exposes no edges of the dispensing aperture.

The line of weakness can be any local weakness in the card material, for example a perforation or local thinning. The push-in panel may come free of the cover when pressed inwards, or may be hinged to the cover along a part of its periphery so that the panel remains attached to the remainder of the removeable cover.

A person may then hook his finger into the hole provided by the pressed-in panel in order to insert his finger into the hole, or alternatively grip the edges of the hole, and pull the cover off without touching any of the surfaces in the surrounding dispensing passage, the press-in panel is therefore preferably provided away from any edges of the removable cover and well away from edges of the dispensing passage.

The container has an inner volume for holding the stack of gloves. The container has a plurality of inner sides extending around the inner volume including a first inner side, the dispensing aperture being provided in the first inner side. A stack of gloves held within the inner volume is located within the inner volume such that gloves are positioned for dispensing through the dispensing aperture one at a time from a first end of said stack proximate the dispensing aperture. The stack extends away from the first inner side from the first end of the stack towards a second end of the stack. The stack has between these ends a stack boundary defined by outer surfaces of the stacked gloves. The dispenser includes glove stack compression means within the inner volume for compressing the stack between the first and second ends of the stack. The compression means keeps the stack compressed as gloves are dispensed from the first end of the stack, the compression means comprising at least one elastic component, a fixed compression member and a movable compression member. The elastic component is stretched between the compression members and the compression members are engaged with the ends of the stack such that the stack is compressed between the compression members. A glove stack locating means is provided within the inner volume for locating the compressed stack within the inner volume. The locating means keeps the first end of the stack located proximate the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed from the first end of the stack. The locating means comprises at least two separate positioning members spaced apart around the periphery of the stack boundary, each of these positioning members being connected to the fixed compression member and extending away from the first inner side to engage with another one of the inner sides and thereby locating the first end of the stack proximate the dispensing aperture. The, or each, elastic component is stretched between the compression members across the stack boundary in spaces between the separate positioning members.

Because the stretched elastic component is located in spaces or gaps between separate positioning members, the positioning members do not interfere with the motion or degree of travel of the second compression member as this moves towards the first compression member during dispensing of gloves. Furthermore, the movable compression member, in use, moves freely towards the fixed compression member as gloves are dispended from said stack.

The first compression member being in contact with the first or dispensing side of the stack and the second compression member is in contact with the second or base side of the stack.

The inner sides preferably comprise a second inner side, the second inner side being opposite to the first inner side and the positioning members each engaging with the second inner side to locate the first end of the glove stack proximate the dispensing aperture.

The or each elastic component preferably contacts the stack boundary in the spaces or gaps between the separate positioning members in order to help contain outer surfaces of the stacked gloves.

The fixed compression member and the at least two separate positioning members may be formed from a folded card material, for example folded cardboard, stiff paper, plastic sheet material or any other suitable type of folded sheet material. All such suitable sheet-like material will be referred to herein as "card material".

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fixed compression member is a plate.

Also in a preferred embodiment of the invention the movable compression member is a plate.

The stack boundary may be substantially four-sided with two pairs of opposite sides, a first pair of these sides being contained by the positioning members and a second pair of these sides being contained by the stretched elastic component.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the positioning members extend between the first compression member and an inner surface of the container opposite said first inner side.

In one embodiment of the invention, at least one adhesive member may be used to adhere the first compression member to an inner surface of the container. The, or each, adhesive member then preferably adheres the first compression member to an inner surface of the container around the dispensing aperture.

The positioning means may comprise at least two positioning legs, these legs extending transversely away from the first compression member to engage with an inner surface of the container opposite the dispensing aperture.

The first compression member and said at least two positioning legs may form a frame that extends around a plurality of sides of said stack of gloves.

The container may be formed from any suitable card material, for example folded cardboard, stiff paper, plastic sheet material or any other suitable type of folded sheet material. All such suitable sheet-like material will be referred to herein as "card material".

Because the stretched elastic components cause the stack of gloves to be compressed between the first compression member and second compression member, there is no need to reinforce the container, as restoring forces against the stretched elastic component are provided between the first compression member and second compression member. The separate positioning means also ensure that the top of the stack is positioned with the next glove to be dispensed adjacent the dispensing aperture without interfering with the operation of the, or each, elastic member.

As will be explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the legs will extend away from the first compression member at the sides of the stack. The legs therefore do not take up space that could otherwise be used by stacked gloves, thus helping to maximise the number of gloves than can be stored within the container. Furthermore, as will be explained in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a glove stack compression and locating sub-assembly can be pre-loaded with a stack of gloves prior to insertion of the compression and locating sub-assembly and stack of gloves into the container. The container does not therefore have to be structurally modified to work with the compression and locating sub-assembly.

The container will, in general, have a dispensing side and opposite the dispensing side a base side. The aperture is then provides in the dispensing side and the base side, in use, contacts the legs to keep the first compression member positioned adjacent the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed from the dispensing side of the compressed stack. The legs therefore support the first compression member, and as the stack of gloves is compressed between the first compression member and the second compression member, the legs therefore also support the stack in position.

The container is preferably a box-like container having a plurality of sides, the dispensing aperture being provided in a dispensing side and the containing having a base side opposite the dispensing side, the legs resting on an inner surface of the base side when the first compression member is positioned adjacent the dispensing aperture.

In use, the first compression member spans the compressed stack of gloves with the stack being located between the positioning legs supporting the first compression member.

The positioning legs help to guide the movement of the second compression member towards the first compression member as gloves are removed from the dispensing side of the compressed stack through the dispensing aperture.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first compression member is preferably a compression plate, which may also be a "central plate" positioned in the centre of two supporting members. This plate acts as a bridge plate and spans the stack of gloves and bears the compression force from the elastic means. The central plate may in some configurations also carry the weight of the stack of gloves. The central plate has opposite edges and at least one of the legs being provided at each of the opposite edges of the central plate. The central plate may have a passage in alignment with the dispensing aperture so that, in use, gloves from the dispensing side of the compressed stack may be dispensed through the dispensing aperture. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the passage is provided by an aperture in the first compression member.

The positioning legs keep the central plate positioned adjacent the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed from the dispensing side of the compressed stack, the central plate being configured to permit gloves from the dispensing side of the compressed glove stack to be dispensed from the dispensing aperture.

This first compression member passage and dispensing aperture therefore provide a dispensing passage through which gloves are dispensed.

The aperture in the first compression member preferably lies within the bounds of the dispensing aperture.

The positioning legs may be provided by a first plate and a second plate, the first and second plates extending transversely away from opposite edges of the first compression member.

The second compression member is preferably a compression plate, the -11 -compression plate, in use, being pressed against the second end of the stack of gloves by the elastic component(s).

The elastic component may be any suitable elastic component, but is most preferably an elastic band that is stretched between the first compression member and second compression member. The elastic band may be stretched in a loop around the both first and second compression members, and may also extends across opposite sides of the stack of gloves between the first and second of the stack of gloves.

Preferably, there are two elastic bands per stack of gloves, each of the elastic bands acting to compress the first and second compression members on opposite sides of the stack of gloves.

The second movable compression member is preferably a completely separate component from the frame, for example, being held only to the frame by means of the elastic member, and free to move between the positioning legs towards the first compression member as gloves are dispensed from the glove dispenser.

The, or each, stretched elastic component is connected to the first compression member proximate one of the positioning legs.

The first compression member and/or the second compression member may have a location feature for locating the position of the stretched elastic component, for example a notch into which the stretched elastic component is seated.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the glove container is for holding at least two stacks of gloves including a first stack and a second stack. There are then at least two corresponding dispensing apertures including a first dispensing aperture and a second dispensing aperture and at least two corresponding compression and locating sub-assemblies including a first biasing means and a second biasing means, the first stack being separated from the second stack within the container by means of at least one of the positioning legs of at least one of the sub-assemblies. It is therefore not necessary to provide any additional means to subdivide the internal volume of the container. The legs therefore also help to keep the stacks in place, even after one of the stacks has been depleted.

In all embodiments of the invention, the card material may be any suitable card material or sheet material, for example, stiff paper, cardboard, plastic sheet material, etc. The container will, in general be a box-like container have an internal volume for holding a plurality of gloves to be dispensed and have a plurality of sides including a dispensing side.

The cuff of the first glove to be dispensed may be adhered to the removable cover so that the cuff of the first glove is pulled away from the container as the cover is removed.

The gloves held within the internal volume of the card box container may be interfolded in a stack of gloves with thumbs of each glove being positioned on the same side of the stack.

The gloves may be for use in a medical or clinical environment, for example medical examination gloves.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a glove dispensing system for dispensing gloves cuff first, comprising a glove dispenser, the glove dispenser being according to the first or second aspect of the invention, and a holder for mounting to a vertically extending support, the holder being arranged to receive and hold the container such that after removal of the removable cover the dispensing aperture is free to dispense gloves and is oriented with the dispensing aperture facing outwards or downwards so that, in use with the holder mounted to said support, the cuff of the glove next to be dispensed extends through the dispensing aperture and away from the container.

The invention further provides a method of opening a glove dispenser for dispensing a stack of gloves, the glove dispenser comprising a box-like glove container of card material and having a dispensing side with at least one dispensing aperture leading to a dispensing passage, and the dispensing side having at least one external removable cover, the removable cover being attached to the dispensing side of the container along a line of weakness extending over the dispensing aperture prior to dispensing of gloves through the dispensing passage and the removable cover having a separable panel, the method comprising the steps of: -separating the separable panel to open a hole in the removable cover so that a user can grip said removable cover; -pulling said gripped removable cover to separate said cover from the dispensing side of the container, the separable panel being so positioned that a user's fingers will not touch any edges of the dispensing passage while removing said cover to expose the dispensing aperture.

A main benefit of the invention is that the glove dispenser can be placed within the holder prior to opening of the container by removing the cover. This keeps gloves inside the container clean or sterile until such time as the first glove is needed. The cover may then be removed without having to touch any part of the container adjacent the dispensing aperture.

The holder may comprise a mounting bracket and on opposite lateral sides of the bracket a pair of supports that extend away from said bracket surface and between which is held the container. Each of the supports has extending from the bracket a vertically extending member, this vertically extending member laterally positioning the container. Each vertically extending member may have at a lower end thereof a horizontally extending member, this horizontally extending member vertically positioning the container in the holder. For downward dispensing, the -14 -horizontally extending members are then separated by a gap such that the supports do not interfere with the dispensing of gloves from the dispensing aperture.

Each vertically extending member preferably has a vertically extending side section and a vertically extending retaining section. The side section then extends between the bracket and the retaining section. The arrangement is such that the lateral positioning of the container in the holder is provided by the fit of the container between these retaining sections and the bracket and the fit of the container between the two side sections. For forwards dispensing, the vertically extending retaining sections are then separated by a gap such that the vertical supports do not interfere with the dispensing of gloves from the dispensing aperture.

Other dispensing arrangements are, of course, possible for example upwards facing dispensing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a shows a preferred embodiment of a glove dispensing system including a wall-mounted holder for mounting to a vertically extending support, and a double glove dispenser held within the holder and having over dispensing apertures removable covers that have been already removed, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the glove dispenser of Figure 1, with a base side of the container opened up to reveal two side-by-side stacks of disposable gloves held within glove stack locating means and compressed by glove stack compression means; Figure 3 is a top perspective view of one of the glove stack locating and glove stack compression means of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic cross-section through container and the side-by-side compressed stacks of gloves of Figure 1; and Figure 5 shows a top view of the glove dispensing system of Figure 1, prior to removal of one of the removable covers, showing how a removable cover is removed by first pressing in a separable panel and then pulling the cover away from the dispensing side of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a glove dispensing system I having a wall-mountable holder 3 holding a glove dispenser 2. In this example, the glove dispenser is a double dispenser with a pair of identical side-by side dispensing apertures 6, 6', although the invention described herein is equally applicable to single glove dispensers having a single dispensing aperture 6. The glove dispenser 2 has an outer box-like glove container 4 which in this example is rectangular and formed from folded card material.

The apertures 6, 6' may have any convenient shape but in this example each aperture is oval and is bounded by an edge 9 in the material forming the container 4.

The holder 3 has the same rectangular shape as the glove dispenser 2 and is wall mounted with an open long side 5 of the holder uppermost so that a glove dispenser can be inserted downwards, as indicated by an arrow 7, into the open side of the holder.

With reference now also to Figures 2 to 4, the container holds two stacks of gloves 8 8', one for each aperture 6, 6'. Each stack has a first end or side 11 and a second end or side 10, which are here respectively a dispensing side 11 nearest the dispensing aperture and at the opposite end of the stack a base side 10.

The container 4 holds within its internal volume 12 also a pair of glove stack compression and locating sub-assemblies 14. The sub-assemblies 14 provide both compression means 13 and locating means 15 for the glove stack 8, 8', and therefore compress the stack of gloves so as to minimise its volume or maximise the number of gloves in the stack as well as locating each stack within the volume 12 SO that the dispensing side 11 remains proximate or towards a corresponding dispensing aperture 6, 6'. Each aperture is situated for dispensing gloves 16 cuff-first from the stack through the dispensing aperture. Because the location of the dispensing side 11 remains close to the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed, the compression means also serves to move the base side 10 towards the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed one at a time.

The gloves 16 are interfolded so that a cuff 18 of the next glove to be dispensed is pulled out from the stack as each preceding glove is dispensed.

The compression and locating sub-assembly 14 is engaged with the stack 8, 8' so that, in use, the stack is moved towards the dispensing aperture 6, 6' as gloves are dispensed from said stack through the dispensing aperture.

The sub-assembly 14 comprises a main member 20, the main member including a first compression member 26 and two positioning members 27, 27' that are separate from each other. The positioning members serve to locate the first compression member 26 50 that this is fixed in position relative to the dispensing aperture 6, 6'. The sub-assembly 14 also comprises, separate from the main member, a second compression member 22, and a pair of elastic members which in this example are a pair of stretched elastic bands 24. The first compression member 26 is relatively fixed in place relative to the dispensing aperture, and the second compression member 22 is relatively movable towards the dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed from the stack. The main member 20 is formed from a single piece of a folded card material such that the first compression member is a central plate 26 in the main member with the two separate positioning members being positioning legs 27, 27' that locate the frame and fix the position of the first compression member 26 relative to the dispensing aperture 6, 6'. The legs 27, 27' are integral with the central fixed compression plate 26, being defined by fold lines 28, 28' at opposite sides of the fixed compression plate to extend transversely away from the fixed plate. The central compression plate 26 and the connected adjacent positioning members 27, 27' therefore form the locating means 15 for holding a stack of gloves, which in this example is therefore a three-sided frame 15. Each side of the frame is a close fit with the internal dimensions of the container volume 12 SO as to constrain movement of the frame within the container volume.

The second, movable compression member 22 is also formed from a card material such that the second compression member is a second movable compression plate.

Each elastic band 24 is stretched between the fixed and movable compression members so that the bands cause each stack of gloves to be compressed between the fixed and movable compression plates 26, 22, while the positioning legs 27, 27' keep the position of the central plate essentially fixed relative to the adjacent dispensing aperture as gloves are dispensed from the dispensing side of the compressed stack.

The container volume 12 is bounded by three pairs of opposite inner sides, namely: a dispensing inner side 61 and a base inner side 62 opposite the dispensing side; opposite left and right inner sides 63, 64; and opposite front and back inner sides 65, 66. The ends of the legs 27, 27' therefore engage with the base inner side 62 while the first compression plate engages with the dispensing inner side 61.

The compression means 13 is therefore provided by the interaction between the fixed compression member 26, the elastic members 24 and the movable compression member 22.

The locating means 15 fits within the container volume 12 as follows. The fixed compression member 26 abuts in contact or near contact the first inner side 61.

The two separate positioning members 27, 27' extend away from the compression member 26 and the first inner side 61 to contact or nearly contact the opposite base inner side 62 and thereby locate the first end 11 of the glove stack 8, 8' proximate the dispensing aperture. Each glove stack 8, 8' is located in the front to rear direction by contact or near contact with the opposite front and rear inner sides 64, 65. In the left to right direction, one of the positioning members 27, 27' will be in abutting contact or near contact with either the left or right inner sides 63, 64 and the other of the positioning members will be in contact or near contact with one of the positioning members of the other compression and locating sub-assemblies 14 within the container volume 12, and this therefore serves to locate both of the fixed compression plates 26, 26' in the left-right direction.

In practice, there will often be some relatively small clearance gaps between the compression and locating frame 14 and adjacent surfaces of the container or the other compression and locating frame 14 within the container, allowing some limited degree of relative movement between the dispensing side 11 of the glove stack 8, 8 and the dispensing aperture 6, 6", but not so much as to have any effect on glove dispensing, as will be described below.

The elastic bands 24 are each located in notches 23, 25 in the compression and fixed plates 22, 26. The notches 25 on the fixed plate 26 are closer to the edge of the glove stack 8, 8' than the notches 23 on the compression plate. This minimises the mechanical advantage on the fold lines 28, 28' owing to the forces imparted by the bands 24, thereby minimising any inward bowing of the fixed plate 26, while the compressive force from the compression plate 22 is more concentrated towards the centre of the stack, thereby helping keep the central portion of the stack intact and compressed.

The two positioning members 27, 27' extend separately from the central, fixed compression member so that there are two corresponding spaces or gaps 29, 29' between the positioning members. The stack of gloves 8, 8' has between the ends 10, 11 an approximately square stack boundary 31 that is defined by outer surfaces of said stacked gloves, As can be seen from the drawings, the two separate positioning members or legs 27, 27' are spaced apart around the periphery of said stack boundary, in this example being on opposite sides of the stack boundary. The positioning members cover and help to contain the stack boundary on these two opposite sides.

As shown most clearly in Figure 3, the spacing between the separate positioning members 27, 27' provides spaces or gaps 33 between positioning members on the two other opposite sides of the stack. The elastic components 24 are each stretched between the compression members 22, 26 across said stack boundary 31 in these spaces 33 between said separate positioning members. Although only one such space 33 is shown in Figure 3, the compression and locating sub-assembly 14 is symmetric left to right and front to back and so there is a similar spacing or gap on the side of the frame hidden from view in Figure 3.

This arrangement is particularly advantageous, as it permits free movement of the movable compression member 22 all the way up to the fixed compression member while still maintaining compression of the stack as this is depleted. The arrangement also permits use of inexpensive card material components for the compression members and positioning members.

Although there are no positioning members on two of the sides of the stack boundary 31, the bands 24 help to contain the stack boundary on these sides.

The fixed plate has a dispensing aperture 30 configured to permit gloves 16 from -20 -the dispensing side 11 of the compressed stack 8, 8' to be dispensed from the dispensing aperture cuff-first, one at a time. The fixed plate dispensing aperture 30 is bounded by an edge 35 in the card material forming the fixed plate 26. The fixed plate dispensing aperture 30 is an inner aperture that is substantially centered within the bounds of the outer aperture 6, 6' in the container 4, and together the outer and inner apertures 6, 6', 30 for a dispensing passage for the gloves 16, 16'.

The card material of the compression plate 22 includes a pair of opposite side tabs 32 that are folded inwards relative to the glove stack 8, 8' to contact the inner surface 34 of the leg plates. This helps keep the compression plate located correctly with respect to the legs, and also help to prevent gloves from dangling through the gap that would otherwise exist between the leg plate inner surface 34 and compression plate 22.

The holder 3 has a vertically extending side panel 36 that extends perpendicularly away from a supporting wall surface. The lowermost portions of the holder 3 have a supporting ledge 38 and a front portion of the side panel has a vertically extending side section 40.

As shown in Figure 5, each aperture 6, 6' is initially covered over by a tear-off cover 42, 42', which is joined to a dispensing side 50 of the container 4 along a line of weakness 49, 49' in the card material of the container 4, for example an embossed line or a line of perforations. After loading 7 a fresh box container 4 of gloves 16 in the holder 3, a user then presses in a panel 44, 44' in a central portion of the cover 42, 42'. The panel is movable when pressed by finger and may therefore either be pulled away from the reminder of the cover, or pushed inwards in order to fully separate the panel from the rest of the cover. Each panel 44, 44' is a central portion of the cover 42, 42', and is joined to the remainder of the cover along a line of weakness 47 in the card material of the container 4, for example an embossed line or a line of perforations. The line of weakness may go fully around the panel 44, 44' so that the panel can be fully removed from the surrounding portion of the cover. Alternatively, the line of weakness may extend -21 -partially around the panel, for example in the form of an open loop (not illustrated) so that the panel, when pressed by finger bends along a fold line in the card material but remains attached to the remainder of the cover. In this case, the loop in the line of weakness preferably extends around at least half the circumference of the panel illustrated in the drawings. In either case, the panel when moved separated either partially or fully from the cover to create a finger pull hole 45 in the surrounding portion of the cover. As illustrated, when the line of weakness 47 extends fully around the panels 44, 44', a panel 44' may be fully dislodged from the surrounding cover 42' to create the finger pull hole 45 in the cover 42'. The finger pull hole 45 enables a user to engage with the cover by hooking his finger through the hole and inside the cover to pull, as indicated by arrow 46, the cover away from the surrounding dispensing side 50 of the container 4. Alternatively, a user may with two fingers or with one finger and a thumb, pinch the edge of the finger pull hole 45 in order to grip or otherwise engage with the cover and pull this away from the remainder of the container 4.

During removal of the cover 42, 42', the user's finger will only come into contact with the portion of the first glove nearest the cuff 18. This is because each of the finger pull holes 45 is located sufficiently far away from the line of weakness 49, 49' in the card material of the container 4 that define the edge 9, 9' bounding the outer dispensing aperture 6, 6' in the container 4, so that a user does not touch the surrounding edge 9, 9' of the outer aperture 6, 6' with his finger during the process of pulling away the cover 42, 42'. Similarly, each of the finger hole pulls 45 is located sufficiently far away from the edge 35 in the card material of the fixed compression plate 26 that defines the inner fixed plate dispensing aperture 30, so that a user does not touch the edge of this inner aperture 30 with his finger during the process of pulling away the cover 42, 42'. Contamination of these inner and outer aperture edges, and also the exposed outer surface of the fixed plate 26 between these edges, is thereby avoided so that subsequently dispensed gloves coming into contact with the edges and surfaces around the inner and outer dispensing apertures are not thereby contaminated.

-22 -Although not illustrated, an adhesive layer or double-sided adhesive pads may be used between the fixed plate 26 and dispensing inner side 61 in order to reduce or eliminate any movement of the compression and locating sub-assembly 14 and also to provide additional strength to the siting of the sub-assembly 14 within the volume 12 of the container 4.

Optionally, the dispensing side 50 of the container may be formed from a double layer of card material (not shown) if this is needed for increased strength, for example if the dispensing apertures are uppermost and an adhesive layer is used to fix the central plate 26 to the dispensing inner side 61. However, this may not be needed when the dispensing side is vertical, for example in a wall mounted holder 3 as shown in Figures 1 and 5.

A particular advantage of the invention 2 is that each compression and locating sub-assembly 14 and stack 8, 8' is assembled outside the container 4, then inserted, after which a flap 51 forming a base side 52 of the container is closed 53 and tabbed, glued or adhered to the rest of the assembled container 4, as can be appreciated from the view of Figure 2.

In the preferred embodiment 2, there is some limited degree of freedom of movement of the main member 20 and glove stack 8, 8' within the container volume 12, however, not so much as to make an appreciable difference in the registration of the stack dispensing side 11 with the dispensing aperture 6, 6'. To all intents and purposes, the main member 20 fixes the position of the stack dispensing side with respect to the dispensing aperture.

thief an adhesive is used between the fixed plate 26 and dispensing inner side 61, then this will limit almost all movement between the glove stack dispensing side 11 and the dispensing aperture 6, 6'.

In the glove dispenser described above 2, all forces of compression are generated and contained within the compression and locating sub-assembly 14 and -23 -compressed stack 8, 8', so no reinforcement of the container 4 is required to counter the compression forces. Equally, the container will not distort due to such compression forces.

The invention therefore provides convenient and economical glove dispenser 2 for dispensing a stack of gloves and glove dispensing system including a holder for mounting to a vertically supporting surface.

It should be understood that the invention has been described above by way of example only and that modifications in detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the claims.

Claims

-24 -CLAIMS1. A glove dispenser for dispensing a stack of gloves, comprising: -a box-like glove container, the container being formed from a card material and having a plurality of sides and at least one dispensing aperture leading to a dispensing passage in a dispensing side thereof, the dispensing passage being bounded by one or more edges of said passage; -at least one stack of gloves held within the container, said stack being interfolded for cuff-first dispensing through said dispensing passage, and the dispensing side having at least one external removable cover, said cover extending over the dispensing aperture prior to dispensing of gloves through the dispensing passage and which when removed opens the dispensing aperture to permit the dispensing of gloves cuff-fist through the dispensing passage; wherein said cover is a card material, said cover being attached to the dispensing side of the container along a line of weakness prior to removal of said cover, the card material of said cover having a separable panel which, when separated from the remainder of said cover opens a hole in said cover so that a user's finger can engage with said cover to pull and separate said cover from the dispensing side of the container, the separable panel being spaced away from said edges of the dispensing passage so that a user will not touch any of said edges while removing said cover to expose the dispensing aperture.
2. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 1, in which the separable panel when pushed by finger moves inwards into the dispensing passage to open said hole.
3. A glove dispenser as claimed in Claim 2, in which the separable panel when pushed inwards by finger creates a finger pull hole in the removable cover.
4. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the separable panel is a push-in panel, which, when pushed by finger separates fully from the remainder of said cover.

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5. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the separable panel is a central portion of the removable cover.
6. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the dispensing passage includes an outer aperture and an inner aperture, said apertures defining the dispensing passage.
7. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which prior to said separation of the separable panel, said panel is spaced away from said edges of the dispensing passage by a surrounding portion of the removable cover so that a user will not touch any of said edges while removing said cover to expose the dispensing aperture.
8. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said surrounding portion of the removable cover is a substantially annular portion of the removable cover.
9. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the separable panel, when removed prior to removal of the removable cover, exposes a portion of the first glove to be dispensed.
10. A glove dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the separable panel, when removed prior to removal of the removable cover, exposes no edges of the dispensing aperture.
11. A glove dispensing system for dispensing gloves cuff first, comprising a glove dispenser, the glove dispenser being as claimed in any preceding claim, and a holder for mounting to a vertically extending support, the holder being arranged to receive and hold the container such that after removal of the removable cover the dispensing aperture is free to dispense gloves and is oriented with the dispensing aperture facing outwards or downwards so that, in use with the holder -26 -mounted to said support, the cuff of the glove next to be dispensed extends through the dispensing aperture and away from the container.
12. A method of opening a glove dispenser for dispensing a stack of gloves, the glove dispenser comprising a box-like glove container of card material and having a dispensing side with at least one dispensing aperture leading to a dispensing passage, and the dispensing side having at least one external removable cover, the removable cover being attached to the dispensing side of the container along a line of weakness extending over the dispensing aperture prior to dispensing of gloves through the dispensing passage and the removable cover having a separable panel, the method comprising the steps of: -separating the separable panel to open a hole in the removable cover so that a user can grip said removable cover; -pulling said gripped removable cover to separate said cover from the dispensing side of the container, the separable panel being so positioned that a user's fingers will not touch any edges of the dispensing passage while removing said cover to expose the dispensing aperture.
13. A method of opening a glove dispenser for dispensing a stack of gloves, substantially as herein described, with reference to or as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.