WO2016201098A1

WO2016201098A1 - Glove-dispensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2016201098A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/036691
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Dale CRAIG
Original assignee: Craig William Dale
Priority date: 2015-06-10
Filing date: 2016-06-09
Publication date: 2016-12-15

Abstract

An embodiment provides a glove dispensing system, including: a box having a glove stack therein; the box including an opening defined by the top and a front side of the glove box; a mounting board; an air source on the mounting board that directs airflow towards the opening in the front side of the box; and a glove stack contained within the box; wherein gloves of the glove stack are adhered to a substrate by a fastening mechanism that secures a bottom cuff of each of the gloves but not a top cuff of each of the gloves. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Description

GLOVE-DISPENSING APPARATUS

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62/230,553 filed on June 10, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

[0002] The subject matter described herein relates to dispensers for gloves used in food service, medical settings, and like applications.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Workers wear gloves for protection of items handled (e.g., food) and for protection of themselves (e.g., from a hazardous substance). Depending on the circumstance, workers may be required to don a new set of gloves repeatedly.

Moreover, donning of gloves without touching the exterior thereof may be important, e.g., for sterile applications.

[0004] While vacuum generating machines and other complex devices have been proposed, e.g., such as that in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2014/0305974, these are often cost prohibitive, expensive and/or difficult to operate. BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] In summary, an embodiment provides a glove dispensing system, comprising: a box having a glove stack therein; the box including an opening defined by the top and a front side of the glove box; a mounting board; an air source on the mounting board that directs airflow towards the opening in the front side of the box; and a glove stack contained within the box; wherein gloves of the glove stack are adhered to a substrate by a fastening mechanism that secures a bottom cuff of each of the gloves but not a top cuff of each of the gloves.

[0006] Another embodiment provides a glove box, comprising: a box having a glove stack therein; the box including an opening defined by the top and a front side of the glove box; and a glove stack contained within the box; wherein gloves of the glove stack are adhered to a substrate by a fastening mechanism that secures a bottom cuff of each of the gloves but not a top cuff of each of the gloves.

[0007] A further embodiment provides a glove box mounting board, comprising: a mounting board having a plurality of fasteners arranged in a rectangular array to accommodate a rectangular glove box; an air source on the mounting board that directs airflow towards a side of the rectangular array; and a connection to a commercial power source that supplies the air source with power.

[0008] The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting.

[0009] For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a glove box according to an embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a glove stack arrangement according to an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates a glove dispensing system according to an embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 4(A-B) illustrates a glove dispensing system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.

[0015] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0016] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of example embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

[0017] The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

[0018] Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a glove box 101 according to an embodiment. The box 101 includes an aperture or opening 102 in a top 103 and side 104 of the box. The aperture 102 extends from the top 104 of the box 101 to a front side 104 of the box, creating an air inflow area 105. This may be the only opening in the box 101. The aperture 102 may be formed by tearing away part of the box 101, e.g., by removing a perforated portion of the box 101, e.g., if the box 101 is formed of cardboard or like material.

[0019] A box 101 may include a prepared glove stack 206, as shown in FIG. 2. The glove 206 may be placed within the box 101 such that the cuff end of glove(s) 209 are proximate to the air inflow area 105. The gloves may be made of several materials or a combination of materials, including but not limited to polyethylene, polyurethane, vinyl, nitrile, and natural rubber.

[0020] The gloves 209 may be adhered to a substrate 207, e.g., a cardboard substrate, which may be integral to (e.g., the bottom of) the box 101. The cuffs of the gloves 209 may be adhered to the substrate 207 by use of an attachment mechanism such as staple(s) 208. The bottom side of the cuff of gloves 209 in glove stack 206 are longer than the top side of the cuff of the gloves 209, which facilitates securing of only the bottom cuff and leaving the top cuff of the glove free. This permits forced air entry into the interior of the glove, as further described herein. Thus, the bottom cuff of the gloves 209 is attached to the substrate 207, whereas the top side of the cuff of the gloves 209 is free.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, an air source 310 such as a fan may be adhered to a substrate or mounting board 311 and may provide air flow to air inflow area 305 of box 301. The mounting board 311 may include a mechanism for adhering to a surface such as a food counter. In an embodiment, there are four suction cups located on the mounting board 311 that allow the glove dispensing apparatus to be held down on the food counter.

[0022] The box 301 may also be adhered to the substrate or mounting board 311, e.g., by one ormore fasteners 312. The one or more fasteners 312 may permit securing of a glove box 301 onto the substrate or mounting board 311 in a releasable manner, e.g., such that a new glove box may replace an existing glove box once all gloves have been used.

[0023] The glove stack 306 is arranged in the box 301 such that the cuffs 309A, 309B are proximate to the air inflow area 305. This permits forced air flow to pass over the longer cuff 309B of the glove and catch the shorter, top cuff 309A of the glove. While the airflow provided by air source 310 may not entirely inflate the topmost glove of the glove stack 306, particularly when a new glove stack 306 is first used, the top cuff 309A of the topmost glove will separate enough for a user to place a digit (finger, thumb) into the partially opened glove and proceed to fit a hand partially into the glove.

[0024] Once a user has placed a digit within the opening between the top cuff 309A and the bottom cuff 309B, created by airflow of air source 310, the user may pull the glove off of substrate 207 such that it is released and may be donned.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4(A-B), the air source 410B may be powered by electricity. FIG. 4A illustrates that a connection 419A to a commercial power source may provide power to substrate or mounting board 411 A, e.g., on which a glove box 40 IB may be placed. The power line 415 A may be fixed to the substrate or mounting board 411 A via a fastener 416A and shielded or insulated by material 417A such as a heat shrink tubing from the bottom or underside of the glove box 401B.

[0026] The box 40 IB (which is empty in FIG. 4B) may be fixed and removed from the substrate or mounting board 41 IB by way of fasteners 414B, 418B, e.g., pan heads and screws or like fastening mechanism. The air source 410B draws power from line(s) 415A and produces an airflow to the box 401B, particularly directed, e.g., by a fan guide, to air inflow area 405B. The air source 410B may be operated by a switching mechanism or may be configured to continuously provide airflow.

[0027] This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

[0028] Although illustrative embodiments have been described herein, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A glove dispensing system, comprising: a box having a glove stack therein; the box including an opening defined by the top and a front side of the glove box; a mounting board; an air source on the mounting board that directs airflow towards the opening in the front side of the box; and a glove stack contained within the box; wherein gloves of the glove stack are adhered to a substrate by a fastening mechanism that secures a bottom cuff of each of the gloves but not a top cuff of each of the gloves.

2. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the bottom cuff of each of the gloves is longer than the top cuff of each of the gloves.

3. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the substrate to which the glove stack is adhered is a bottom wall of the box.

4. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the air source is a fan comprising a fan guide that directs the airflow towards the opening in the front side of the box.

5. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of fasteners on the mounting board that are arranged around the glove box.

6. The glove dispensing system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of fasteners permit the glove box to be removed from the mounting board.

7. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, further comprising a power connection to a commercial power source.

8. The glove dispensing system of claim 7, wherein the power connection to a commercial power source comprises one or more power lines.

9. The glove dispensing system of claim 8, wherein the one or more power lines are insulated.

10. The glove dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the gloves of the glove stack are made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyurethane, vinyl, nitrile, and natural rubber.

11. A glove box, comprising: a box having a glove stack therein; the box including an opening defined by the top and a front side of the glove box; and a glove stack contained within the box; wherein gloves of the glove stack are adhered to a substrate by a fastening mechanism that secures a bottom cuff of each of the gloves but not a top cuff of each of the gloves.

12. The glove box of claim 11, wherein the bottom cuff of each of the gloves is longer than the top cuff of each of the gloves.

13. The glove box of claim 11, wherein the substrate to which the glove stack is adhered is a bottom wall of the box.

14. The glove box of claim 11, wherein the gloves of the glove stack are made of a material selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polyurethane, vinyl, nitrile, and natural rubber.

15. A glove box mounting board, comprising: a mounting board having a plurality of fasteners arranged in a rectangular array to accommodate a rectangular glove box; an air source on the mounting board that directs airflow towards a side of the rectangular array; and a connection to a commercial power source that supplies the air source with power.