GB2506386A

GB2506386A - Door opening apparatus with sanitiser dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2506386A
Application number: GB201217294A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jon Todd
Original assignee: Personnel Hygiene Services Ltd
Current assignee: Personnel Hygiene Services Ltd
Priority date: 2012-09-27
Filing date: 2012-09-27
Publication date: 2014-04-02
Also published as: GB201217294D0

Abstract

A door operating apparatus can be manually engaged by a user to move the door between open and closed positions by contact with a user engagement element. The door operating apparatus comprises a liquid receptacle 10 defining a reservoir for containing a sanitising liquid, and a wick member having a liquid contact portion located within the reservoir, and a user contact portion. The door operating apparatus is configured to be mounted to a door with the user contact portion of the wick 28 being arranged such that a user engages the user contact portion when operating the door. The user contact portion may be a handle or a push plate. The handle may comprise a grip 2, with the user contact portion of the wick being provided at the rear of the handle.

Description

A SANITISING DOOR ENGAGEMENT ELEMENT

The present invention relates to a door operating apparatus for a door, and in particular to a door handle including a reservoir of sanitising fluid and a wick for transferring the same to a user.

Preventing the spread of bacterial diseases is an ongoing and serious problem within hospitals. In recent years the emergence of strains of bacteria which are increasingly resistant to antibiotics such as MRSA has focused attention on this problem. This focus has Jo led to the rates of bacterial diseases such as MRSA falling because of increased awareness of the infection by both medical staff and the public. However, MRSA still places a considerable strain on healthcare services.

To prevent the spread of MRSA and stop infection, hospital staff, paticnts and hospital visitors are encouraged can take simple hygiene measures such as repeated hand washing and the use of a fast-acting antiseptic solution like a hand wipe or hand gel with dispensers being positioned at multiple locations around hospitals such as by patients beds and at the entrance to clinical areas to ensure hands are cleansed on entering and leaving wards.

Regular and thorough cleansing regimes are also essential. However, such measures require staff, visitors and patients to actively disinfect themselves at regular time intervals and specific locations and prior to entry to high risk areas. While staff have become highly efficient in such sanitisation routines through training and repeated application, it is more difficult to ensure that visitors and patients are following a similar regime.

It has been identified that door handles contribute significantly to the spread of infectious microbial diseases. Bacteria carried on the hands are readily transferred on contact.

Surfaces such as door handles are engaged constantly throughout the course of day by a multitude of people, and bacteria deposited on a door handle by a person is readily transferred to the hands of those people contacting the handle subsequently. The use of antimicrobial matcrials is known to assist in lowering the spread of infection by reducing the levels of bacteria on frequently engaged objects such as door handles. The use of materials ineorporatin.g silver ions has been shown to be particularly effective against illness causing bacteria such as MRSA, E.Coli and Salmonella. However, while the use of antimicrobial materials may reduce bacteria levels on the handles thereby reducing onward transmission, they are ineffective at neutralising bacteria which may already have been present on a user's hands prior to contact.

Furthermore, it has been found that the antimicrobial action of such silver ion containing materials diminishes in efficacy overtime. Therefore, the use of such materials in installations such as door handles is avoided as the requirement to replace such items on a rcgular basis is both costly and can lead to damage of doors as screw fixings are regularly removed and reintroduced.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved antimicrobial door handle which addresses the above described problems and/or which offers improvements generally.

According to the present invention there is provided a door operating apparatus for a door as described in the accompanying claims.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a door operating apparatus for a door which is configured to bc manually engaged by a user to move the door between an open and closed position. The door operating apparatus comprises a liquid receptacle defining a reservoir for containing a sanitising liquid; and a wick member having a liquid contact portion located within the reservoir and an engagement portion. The door operating apparatus is configured to be mounted to a door with the engagement portion of the wick being arranged such that a user engages the user contact portion when operating the door.

The user engagement portion may be a handle, or a push plate, or a part of a handle of push plate, a push button or pad for electronically opening the door or any other suitable member configured to be engaged by user to operate a door either directly or remotely.

Locating the wick member such that it is contacted by the user when contacting the engagement member ensures that sanitising liquid is transferred to every user each time the door is opened. This transfer is passive in that it does not require the user to actively undertake to sanitise their hands. As such, the sanitising operation is not subject to the user remembering to apply sanitizing liquid when passing the sanitising stations, and instead is automatically conducted each time a user for exampEe grips a door handle, an operation which is required on a regular basis for passage around a hospital environment. The automatic sanitising operation can of course be supplemented by the standard fixed sanitising dispensers, for example at locations where automatically operated doors are used.

The user contact portion of the wick member is preferably arranged relative to the engagement member such that when a user engages the engagement member to operate the door they simultaneously engage the user contact portion of wick. The door operating apparatus may comprise an engagement mcmbcr configured to be engaged by a user to apply a force thereto to manually operate said door. The engagement member preferably provides the structural component for operating the door, and as such the wick itself is not required to withstand the mechanical loading of an engagement element such as a handle, which enables the wick portion to be of limited size.

The engagement element may be a handle configured to be gripped by a user to operate a door, and the user contact portion of the wick member is connected to the handle in a position such that it is engaged by a user's hand when gripping the handle. The handle may comprise a grip portion and at least one connection member configured to connect the grip portion to the door in a spaced arrangement from the door. The user contact portion of the wick member is secured to the rear surface ot' the grip portion which in use faces towards the door. In this way the palm of the user engages the grip portion in a secure manner without the risk of slipping, while the ends of the users fingers engage the wick as they cxtend behind the grip portion.

The connection member preferably comprises a bracket configured to secure the upper end of the handle to the door and wherein the reservoir is configured to be secured to the door and Lu the lower end of the handle to secure the lower end of the handle to the door in a spaced arrangement. As such the reservoir functions as a lower bracket for securing the handle portion to the door as well as a liquid receptacle, thereby minimising the size and number of components.

The door operating apparatus may comprise a bracket for securing the reservoir to the door. The reservoir preferably comprises a cover that is removable to permit the sanitising liquid within the reservoir to be replenished, while also containing the liquid during normal use, The wick member is preferably formed from a porous plastic material. The porous plastic s ensures that the wick doesn't degrade during use, as would he possible for example with a material wick, and maintains its form. The wick can therefore remain as a permanent component of the handle rather than requiring regular replacement. The wick may be removably connected to the handle such that it can be replaced if damaged or should a sanitising schedule determine that replacement of the wick at predetermined intervals is ii) required.

The door operating apparatus may further comprise a support member configured to hold and support the wick section and secure it to the handle, which may be in a removable manner.

Preferably at least a portion of the outer surface of the handle section arranged to be gripped comprises an antimicrobial material.

The handle may be releasably connected to the connection member and the reservoir to permit the handle section to be removed and replaced. The support member and the reservoir preferably comprise co-aligned guide means aligned with each other and arranged to slideably engage with the handle, In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a door handle comprising a handle portion, a liquid receptacle for containing a sanitizing liquid, and a wick member having a first end arranged to contact liquid contained within the receptacle to wick said liquid therefrom, The wick is arranged relative to the handle such that a user contacts the wick with their hand when gripping the handle.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to tile following illustrative figures in which:

S

Figure 1 shows a door handle according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the handle of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a cross sectional view of an alternative handle according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 shows a detailed view of a wick and handle section of a door handle according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 5 shows a view from the rear of a door handle according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figure 1 a door handle 1 is configured to be secured to a door in a spaced arrangement to permit a user to grip the handle to operate the door. The handle 1 includes a grip section 2 which is secured to a door at its upper end by a bracket 4. The bracket 4 includes screw holes 6 for screwing the braekct to the door and a second screw hole 8 for screwing the bracket 4 to the grip section 2. The bracket 4 includes a vertical section configured to be secured to the door via the screw holes 6 and a horizontal portion which extends from the vertical section and spaces the handle away from the door to permit the user's hand to extend around and behind the ip section 2 to grip the handle.

A liquid reservoir 10 is provided at the lower end of the grip section 2, The liquid reservoir 10 comprises a base 12 and upstanding walls 14 defining a liquid containing enclosure having an open upper end 16, A bracket iSis provided for securing the reservoir 10 to the door. The bracket 18 includes a pair of wing tabs 20 which are received within corresponding slots at the rear of the reservoir 10 to allow the reservoir 10 to be slid over the bracket 18 when it is secured to a door. The reservoir 10 includes a guide 22 located on its front face comprising a pair of spaced guide rails 24 which are vertically orientated. The inner surface of the grip section 2 includes a corresponding vertical guide formation 26 which is arranged to engage and co-operate with the guide rails 24 to connect thc grip section 2 to the liquid enclosure 10 when it is slid over the guide rails 24 such that the grip section 2 may not be pulled horizontally away from the liquid enclosure 10 due to the interaction between the guide rails 24 and the guide formations 26 of the grip section 2.

A wick member 28 is provided having a liquid engagement portion 30 which extends into the sanitising liquid reservoir 10. The liquid contact section 30 is arranged such that it is at least partially submerged within the sanitising liquid within the reservoir 10 and preferably extends substantially to the base of the reservoir to maximise the duration of contact with the liquid as the reservoir empties. The wick member 30 also includes an tipper user contact portion 32. The user contact portion 32 is greater in width and stepped out from the lower liquid contact portion 30 to maximise the contact area. The user contact portion 32 is an elongate section having a width substantially equal to the width of the grip portion.

A support member 34, which may be formed from a moulded extruded plastic material, is provided to receive and hold the wick member 28. The support member 34 engages with and is secured to the user contact portion 32 of the wick 28.

A channel extends along the length of the support section 34 on its rear face and is configured to receive the engagement portion 32 of the wick 28. On its front face the wick support 34 ineludcs a guide rail formation 36 of the same configuration as the guide rail formation 24 of the reservoir 10 such that the wick support 34 slidingly receives and connects to the grip portion 2. The wick support is aligned with the reservoir 10 such that the grip portion 2 slides over both the guide rail formation 36 of the wick support 34 and the guide rail formation 24 of the reservoir 10 to secure the grip section 2 to both the wick support 34 and the reservoir 10 and to interconnect and join the reservoir 10 to the wick support 34 and hence to the wick 28, The sliding engagement of the grip section 2 with the wick support 34 and the reservoir 10 enables the grip section 2 and/or the wick 28 to be removed and replaced.

The wick 28 is preferably formed of a porous plastic material. The plastic material is substantially rigid and comprises an open cell porous structure. The interconnecting open pores draw liquid from within the reservoir 10 under capillary action. The pores of the material are open to the surface and as such as the liquid is drawn up the plastic wick it is excreted to the surface where it forms a surface liquid film.

The user contact portion 32 of the wick 28 is located on the rear surface of the grip section 2 of the handle 1. As such, as a user grips the handle ito push or pull the door the palm of the user's hand engages the outer surface of the grip section 2 while the fingers engage in section 32 of the wick 28 on the rear surface of the grip section 2. As such, the user's hands become coated with sanitising liquid which transferred to the user within the user having had to intentionally dispense sanitising liquid onto their hands. The wicking action through the wick 28 replenishes the liquid removed by the user's hand once their hand is removed.

A cover 38 is provided to cover the reservoir 10. The cover includes outer waIls 40 and a lid section 42. The cover 40 slides over the top of the reservoir 10 to close the reservoir 10. An aperture is formed at the fronL edge of the lid 42 that is configured to receive the lower end of the grip section 2 as well as the corresponding guide rail section 24 of the reservoir 10. The cover 40 may be slidably removed from the reservoir 10 in order to refill the reservoir 10 when the sanitising liquid has been expended. The cover 40 is also removable to permit removal of the grip section 2 and/or the wick 28.

The grip section 2 is preferably formed having at least an outer surface formed from an antimicrobial material such as a material containing silver ions. As such the bacteria levels on the surface of the outer face of the grip portion 2 are maintained at a low level by the antimicrobial action of the material while the rear surface comprising the engagement portion 34 of the wick 28 actively imparts antibacterial sanitising liquid to the hands of the users on engagement. Providing the engagement portion 32 of the wick 28 on the rear surface of the grip portion 2 ensures that suitable frictional engagement between the user's hand and the handle may be achieved to operate the door without the user's hand sliding against the handle due to the liquid surface film. It will however be appreciated that in other embodiments the user contact portion of the wick may be provided on the outer face of the handle as well as or instead of the rear face. It will also be appreciated that while the above embodiment describes the door operating apparatus as a handle in an alternative embodiment the wick may form a push plate for a door which is pushed against by the user to operate the door, or the engagement portion of a door operating pad or button.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of * the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon,

Claims

CLAIMS1. A door operating apparatus for engagement by a user to cause a door to move between an open and closed position, the door operating apparatus comprising: an engagement element arranged to be contacted by an operator to cause movement of the door; a liquid receptacle defining a reservoir for containing a sanitising liquid; and a wick member having a liquid contact portion arranged to contact liquid stored within the reservoir and a uscr contact portion; wherein the user contact portion of the wick is arranged relative to the engagement element such that a user contacts the user contact portion of the wick when engaging the engagement element to operate the door.
2. A door operating apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the engagement e{ement comprises a member configured to have a force applied thereto by a user to manually operate said door, wherein the user contact portion of the wick member is arranged relative to the engagement member such that when a user engages the engagement member to operate the door they simultaneously contact the user contact portion of wick.
3, A door operating apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the engagement member is a handle configured to be gripped by a user to operate a door, and the user contact portion of thc wick member is connected to the handle in a position such that it is contacted by a user's hand when gripping the handle.
4. A door operating apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the handle comprises a grip portion and at least one connection member configured to connect the grip portion to the door in a spaced arrangement from the door, wherein the user contact portion of' the wick member is secured to the rear surface of the grip portion which in use faces towards the door.
5. A door operating apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the connection member comprises a bracket configured to secure the upper end of the handle to the door and wherein the reservoir is configured to be secured to the door and to the lower end of the handle to secure the lower end of the handle to the door in a spaced arrangement.
6, A door operating apparatus according to claim 5 comprising a bracket for securing the reservoir to the door.
7. A door operating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the reservoir comprises a cover that is rcmovable to permit the sanitising liquid within the reservoir to be replcnished. I0
8. A door operating apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the wick member is formed from a porous plastic material.
9. A door operating apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7 further comprising a support member configured to hold and support the wick section and secure it to the handle.
10. A door operating apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 8 wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of the handle section arranged to he gripped comprises an antimicrobial material.
11. A door operating apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 9 wherein the handle is releasably connected to the connection member and the reservoir to permit the handle section to be removed and replaced.
12. A door operating apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 11 wherein the support member and the reservoir comprise co-aligned guide means aligned with each other and arranged to slideably engage with the handle.
13. A door handle comprising a handle portion, a liquid rcecptaclc for containing a sanitizing liquid, and a wick member having a first portion arranged to contact liquid contained within the receptacle to wick said liquid therefrom and a second contact portion, wherein the wick is arranged relative to the handle such that a user contacts the contact portion of the wick with their hand when gripping the handle.
14, A door handle according to claim 13 wherein the wick is formed from, a porous plastic material.
15. A door operating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and/or as shown in the accompanying Figures.

16, A door handle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and/or as shown in the accompanying Figures.