Portable sterile bandage dispenser

Details Portable sterile bandage dispenser Portable sterile bandage dispenser

1998-10-13

2001-04-10

Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)

Article dispensing

Progressively destroyed cellular magazine-type supply source

C225S010000, C221S073000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06213343

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to dispensers for sealed bandages.
2. Description of Related Art
Various dispensers for bandages have been proposed in the art. To date, however, none of the prior art dispensers teach, show or suggest the present novel design.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,894 to Garland discloses a dispenser for bandages that strips the outer wrapping of the bandage; however, inter alia, Garland discloses a bulky, wall-mounted design that does not lend itself to manufacture into an easily portable, hand-held unit as the present design, nor does the complicated gearing in Garland suggest the compact design of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,530,494 to Baratta, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,140 to Pellegrino and U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,586 to Taulbee et al., are examples of rolls of bandages dispensed by manually pulling the bandages from a roll; however, neither of these references suggest the present invention, as they lack, inter alia, a way of dispensing a bandage mechanically.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved bandage dispenser that allows bandages to be dispensed serially from a roll. The bandage dispenser dispenses bandages one at a time whenever an actuator is depressed.
One aspect of one embodiment of the invention involves the dispensing of bandages ready for immediate application to the injured area, without the need to separately remove the covering liners from the bandage.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide for a bandage dispenser that can dispense an integral multiple of individual bandages, with the bandages sealed in a wrapper lining, for later use.
Still another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide for a bandage roll having an improved design for use in a dispenser as disclosed herein.
Yet another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an improved drive mechanism for engaging the bandage roll of the dispenser and dispensing bandages while simultaneously stripping off the bandage liners. To this end, several improved drive mechanisms are disclosed. In one preferred embodiment a rack and pinion drives a plurality of cooperating pinch rollers.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a dispenser with a modern, compact design that can be mass-produced, be lightweight, portable and readily fit in a user's hand.
In accordance with a specific illustrative embodiment of the invention , a handheld bandage dispenser includes a roll of bandages, with each bandage being individually wrapped, the bandages serially connected together at their longitudinal ends, with the top and bottom liners surrounding the sterile bandages having pressure sensitive adhesive securing the liners together. The dispenser includes a pair of pinch rollers and a finger actuated drive mechanism for rotating the pinch rollers to dispense one or more bandages.
The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3530494 (1970-09-01), Baratta
patent: 3955711 (1976-05-01), Schroter et al.
patent: 4560087 (1985-12-01), Sato et al.
patent: 4576311 (1986-03-01), Horton et al.
patent: 4664306 (1987-05-01), Levy
patent: 4735342 (1988-04-01), Goldstein
patent: 4993586 (1991-02-01), Taulbee et al.
patent: 5005730 (1991-04-01), Pickrell, Jr. et al.
patent: 5065894 (1991-11-01), Garland
patent: 5213653 (1995-05-01), Akahori et al.
patent: 5234093 (1993-08-01), Abe et al.
patent: 5358140 (1994-10-01), Pellegrino
patent: 5482182 (1996-01-01), Thompson et al.
patent: 5806713 (1998-09-01), Dudley et al.
patent: 5863384 (1999-01-01), Reddy
patent: 5906701 (1999-05-01), Smythe

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