US2448366A - Bandage - Google Patents

Description

E. GLEDHILL Aug. 31, 194s.

` BANDAGE Filed OCT.. 18, 1945 Patented Aug. 31 ,V 1948 emanada4 Edward GleahimNew York, N. Y.

Application October 18, 1945, Serial No. 623,094

The pres-ent invention relates generally to band- I ages, but more particularly to a novel and i-mproved as well as simplified construction of an adjustable bandage which will efliciently and adequately protect a sore or injury from outside pressure.

Heretoiore it has been the practice to provide ready made commercial adhesive bandages which consist of multiple layers of` gauze secured in the center of a band of adhesive plaster or surgical tape. In this type oi bandage the gauze carrying the medication covers the sore or injury and the adhesive band holds the gauze bandage securely in place over the sore or injury. This type of bandage has many disadvantages, especially where the sore orinjuri7 is in a position where it contacts articles of clothing or where the injury occurs on parts of the body such as 'the hand, whi-ch frequently come in contact with outside objects. Then too, this conventional type of dressing or bandage often retards the rate of healing by actually increasing the friction and pressure. It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a novel and improved type of dressing or bandage which will not only overcome the disadvantages hereinabove pointed out, but which will als-o permit a wide latitude of adjustment and flexibility so as to afford a maximum application to the common type of sore or injury occurring .on all parts of the body.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a novel and improved construction of a ready made adhesive dressing or bandage in which a plurality of strips of gauze are positioned so that intermediate portions of certain of the strips lie contiguous to and are pressed into contact with an adhesive strip while the intermediate portions of certain other of these gauze strips are arranged to loosely contact the .injuryand are spaced from the rst named strips of gauze with the co-extensive ends of all the strips of gauze being folded in a plurality of folds so as to form, in effect, oppositely disposed cushions or pillars attached to the central portions of the bandage to alleviate any pressure on the cut or injury.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and impr-oved adhesive dressing or bandage in which the opposite ends of a plurality of gauze strips are folded into a plurality of plies to form adjustable and spa-ced apart pillars so that the medicated portion of the gauze may loosely .contact the cut or injury. These pillars are so formed and detachably attached to the adhesive strip that the height of either or both pillars may Claims.` (Cl. 12S- 156) I be raised to quickly adjust the bandage to conform to the configuration of the surface of the body adjacent the sore or injury so that the pressure at all times on the injury may be alleviated. K

A further object of the invention is to provide la novel and improved dressing or 'bandage having a freely suspended medicated gauze portion extending between the opposite ends of the gauze folded in the form of pillars whereby the pillars may be not only adjusted in height, but adjusted for varying the spacing therebetween to accommodate bandages for various types and locations of injuries to the body.

These and other objects are accomplished by providing a construction and an arrangement of the various parts in the manner hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

' Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improved type of dressing or bandage with the protective gauze or covering for the same in position .to be removed therefrom;

' Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view showing the manner in which the bandage is applied to the surface of the body for covering the wound or injury;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional view in a somewhat exaggerated form showing the manner in which the gauze strips are folded and positioned on the opposite sides of the center cf the adhesive strip so as to support that portion of the gauze carrying the medication in loosely suspended form;

Fig. 4 is a similar longitudinal cross sectional viewof the same bandage showing the manner in which the pillars may be adjusted for increasing the space therebetween and for raising the height of the individual pillars to accommodate the bandage to bridge a relatively larger .fwound or injury; and

Fig. 5 isa similar cross sectional view of the same bandage showing the manner in whi-ch one of the pillars only i-s adjusted for height for adapting the bandage to conform to the curvature of the body where the injury occurs.

. In illustrating one form of my invention, it will be noted that I employ a substantially rectangular form of adhesive plaster or tab generally indicated by the reference character lll. Attached to the adhesive side of the strip or tab I0 are a plurality of folded gauze strips so as to form, in eiect, opposite cushioning I pillars generally indicated by the reference characters Hand l2. These pillars H and-I2 are normally pillars II and I2 and the intervening connectingportions I3 and I4 are made of a plurality (pref-`` erably four) lengths of gauze of substantially;

the same length. These separate lengths of gauze are designated by the referencel'charactersi i In order toform thecushion-a Y.

I5, I6, I'I and IB. K ing pilla-rs II and I2, the outer'endsof the four strips of gauze, namely Iii, I6, I'I and.-Iii-fare.

folded into three folds of four-ply, so as to form in effect sixteen plies ofgauze to form: the respective-pillars. It will be. obvious,.of course, that a larger number of vthesestripsof gauze than thoseindicated maybe employed but for practical purposes, it has been found satisfactory inthe use of thebandage tolimit thesame to the ifo'ur strips of. gauze disclosedin the drawings.

The construction -my improved ,bandagev normally. assumes islikethat shown inY Figs'. 1,I 2 and 3'of the drawings, but the sameisy capable of` adjustment soI as to space the `cushioning pillars ata .greater distance-.,apart. and simultaneously increasing the height of they pillars, from the. constructionshown .in mFig. r3 to the arrangement4 shown in Fig.'y 4 In this connection itnwill be noted ,that considerable` difficulty is usually encounteredin handling adhesive plaster or tape when necessity requires the.detachment of the gauze from the tapein. effecting. anadjustment of the spacing between the pillarsY or in adjustingtheheight of the respective pillars. In order to facilitate the detachment of` these pillars from the adhesive tape. inmaking the adjustment. forv the .spacing between thel respective pillars II andIZ', I have .provideda means for. neutralizing the` adhesive at a point` adjacent the outer base portions of the respective-pillars solthat. substantially one-fourth of the iareaaof thebase. of each of the -pillars rests-` onv'thisfneuf tralizedportion ofthe adhesive-tapferI Various methods `or materialsmay be'employed to4 provide such as neutralized areafbutv I preferablyfuse ra transverse -A strip of sterile` r paperV as shown at I9. From the above,;it-wilhbeobviousithauthe outer 'ends of eac-hfof the pillars; I I and; I 2l shown in Fig; .3 of therdrawings and frestingcuponvthe neutralized strip'of paper' I Ill-can bevreadilyilifted to aid` invv detaching the pillar. from. the.l adhesive' tapegIfso that :when one .fold is ';unwound',-;theA remaining-,portionsxmay be doubled oryfoldedztasV shown at 2li and subsequently pressed :intojen--t gagement with the` adhesivestrip I Ily beyondl the outer edgesy ofthe. paper strip. I9l Iasshown at.=2 I: in vFig-,4 Vof the drawings.. Inlthis'gcon'n'ection it will ,be notedthat: the spacing-between :the pillars II and .I2v in Figrl ofthedrawings. is :morezthan' doublev lin distance,` and i. the height ofithe 4cushion pillars is. increased .tovtwenty-.four :pliesof gauze, thereby giving "greaterrheightl to the-pillars:and at the same time increasingthe' spacingotheree bet'weenqto ,effectivelyy take` care of.` a relatively larger sore` 'or 'injury with the lsame'bandage;

In'gthis connection it will be. observed .that the primary function Aof, the. protective: pillarszisfzto. protect` .thef sore or` injury' from youtside pressure so that under the circumstances, the farther away the protective pillars are from the injury, the higher or greater elevation these pillars should have. In other words, in order to secure the maximum comfort and utility from my new type of bandage, the protective pillars have to be adjustable so that they may be placed immediately adjacent the sore and the adjustment for height and spacing affords a completeexibility of the bandage so.th'at,lit may befmade compjlementary or adaptable to the surface of the body where such adjustment is required.

` In Fig. 5 ofthe drawings, only one of the pillars I2ffis shown adjusted. In this case, the normal pillar I2 (as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings) is adjustedto this form by detaching the same from thecadhesive stripf-l,0, folding the same in the center as shown at 22 so as to form in effect thirty-two plies of gauze, elevating this pillar to twice the height of the..protective or cushioning pillar II in ythis zflgure..` At the Sametime ltwill be: noted that :the spacingrbetween tha-pillars; is retainedfatfthesame'. distancesas that disclosedin Fi"g.z3 ofthe drawings.. When thebandage is.ad. justed in `themanner` disclosed inFig. 5,1'. it has special application to and may be used in lcon nection witha rounded portionof the body where an. injury. or. sore` occurs,. requiring :that type -of bandage to arelieve the pressure thereon. The bandage is provd'edfwi-th the' conventional'protective strips 23 which are removed before applying.. the bandage 1 to the i-sore or injury?- Summarizingiithe 1 advantages and -functlo'nsfof operation of. my--improved bandage, litwilli be'job` vious that by providing detachable 'cushioning pillars-Onthe' opposite sides-'ofthe central portion ofthe adhesive plasteryby the simple'expedient ofi employing awseries of fourlstrips-of gauze-'of substantially thesame length7 foldingthe-outer ends of these strips vin the form' of=-cushioning pillars withone portion l"ofi the :intervening gauze looselycontacting the injury andthe other intervening portion .securing thev gauzeY in position on they adhesive plaster, i the'- manufacture and ad`rr justrnent of .the-bandage is reduced toa simple operation. With thisv newf bandage vitwill'falsobe notedthat the spacing between thefpillars` can--be increased`- 'and at'the same time,-thefheight^ofthe pillars canbeiv alsoi increased- -byA Athe simple ein pedient of folding the pillarfat thecenter thereof. and `securing the same in place at vits extended position'.I This novelJ constructionaffords atwide range of flexibility softhattli'e bandagecaneasily be adjusted to conform-to a wound orinjury'foci curring i on any par-tof' the' body;v Itfwillfurther be lobserved that the bandagesshown'infthedraw# ings can be manufactured in' relatively long-strips. fromwhich the individual bandages ofvarying widthsmay be'severeoLfl While@ in the above specification I haVef."'de;- scribed one embodiment-which rnyinventionmay assume in practice, itr will,of course; beunde'r-U stood thatthe same is capabler of'modi-cationiand that modification may bef'madeV without"'depart-- ing'fromfthe spiritand 'scope of the'inventlongas expressed in the appended claims'.v

Whatf I claim as my invention'and' Axdesireto secure by LettersiPat'ent'is-v 15A bandage comprising a tab'havingf adhesive on one' side?y thereof land-adapted to lbe lapplied adjacent-a wound; a plurality ofrgauzc 'strips 'have` ing their opposite-ends folded intoa pluralityiof plies located on1 the yopposite sidesrofthe' approxi;j mate transverse center y'-pertion'iof-saidrtaband securedto-the adhesive side thereoffcertain por-r' tions of said gauze loosely bridging the central portion of said tab, and certain other portions of said gauze attached to said tab.

2. A bandage comprising a tab having adhesive on one side thereof and a plurality of substantially uniform lengths of gauze strips having their opposite ends folded to form oppositely disposed cushioning pillars attached to said tab, intervening portions of said gauze strips extending between said pillars, certain of said intervening portions loosely suspended and carrying medication for application to the wound, certain other of said intervening portions attached to said tab.

3. A bandage comprising a strip of adhesive plaster, a plurality of gauze strips having their opposite ends folded to form cushioning pillars attached to and spaced on the yopposite sides of the transverse center of said plaster strip, certain portions of said gauze strips loosely bridging said pillars and carrying a medication thereon, certain other gauze portions between said pillars engaging said adhesive plaster, and means for neutralizing certain portions of said adhesive plaster to facilitate the'detachment of said pillars from said plaster strip.

4. A bandage comprising a strip of adhesive plaster, a plurality of plies of gauze strips having their opposite ends folded to form cushioning pillars on the opposite sides of the central portion of said adhesive strip, the intermediate portion of certain of said gauze strips loosely suspended between said pillars, the intermediate portion of certain other of said gauze strips engaging said adhesive strip.

5. A bandage comprising a strip of adhesive plaster, a plurality of plies of gauze strips having their opposite ends folded to form cushioning pillars on the opposite sides of the central portion of said adhesive strip, the intermediate portion of certain of said gauze strips loosely suspended between said pillars, the intermediate portion of certain other of saidgauze strips engaging said adhesive strip, and means for neutralizing certain portions of said adhesive plaster adjacent said pillars for facilitating the detachment of said pillars from said adhesive strip.

EDWARD GLEDHILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,133,609 Eustis Oct. 18, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 149,772 Australia May 28, 1937 433,920 France Jan. 19, 1912 604,923 France May 17, 1926

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