Purses – wallets – and protective covers – Protective cover made of flaccid material
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-18
2004-04-27
Weaver, Sue A. (Department: 3727)
Purses, wallets, and protective covers
Protective cover made of flaccid material
C150S165000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06725893
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover assembly for a multi-purpose, mobile, utility cart, commonly known as a “crash cart,” which is generally used in hospitals or similar medical facilities to quickly and easily transport a variety of equipment and supplies in a medical emergency.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of a multi-purpose, mobile utility cart in a hospital or similar environment to quickly and easily transport equipment and supplies in a medical emergency is well known. This type of cart, commonly known as a “crash cart,” is necessitated by the fact that in a medical emergency, response time is critical. Therefore, hospitals and other types of medical facilities frequently utilize a cart equipped with multiple shelves and/or storage compartments, and which is movably supported on wheels or casters, to permit quick and easy transport of medical equipment and supplies to an area where they are required.
A “crash cart” is utilized to contain, support and transport a variety of medical equipment and supplies to a location, wherever they may be required. The equipment and supplies range from highly technical equipment such as, for example, heart defibrillators, electronic monitoring devices or electronic monitoring screens associated with one or more computers, to more common items including intravenous treatment supplies, respiration masks, oxygen supply tanks, syringes, bandages, and medication. The variety of equipment and supplies included on a crash cart permit medical personnel to quickly respond to common medical emergencies including, for example, a heart attack, stroke, and/or trauma, which occur with some frequency in a hospital or similar medical facility.
Although a crash cart provides a quick and easy means to transport required medical equipment and supplies in a medical emergency, there is room for concern with regard to the sanitation of the equipment and supplies included on a crash cart. First, because a crash cart is designed to be mobile throughout most, if not all, areas inside and outside of a hospital or similar facility, the equipment and supplies included on a crash cart are likely to be exposed to perhaps more than just a small amount of dust, dirt, blood, bacteria, and other potential germ sources, whereas medical equipment which is permanently stationed in an area is not as likely to be so exposed. Further, because crash carts are often stationed at locations around a hospital facility for ready access by medical personnel, they are also readily accessible to non-medical personnel who may inadvertently contaminate the equipment or supplies by handling, removing, dropping and/or replacing items on the crash cart, not to mention sneezing and/or coughing around such items. Also, due to the delicate nature of some equipment, and the hazardous nature of others, access by unauthorized personnel is generally not acceptable. Accordingly, it would be beneficial if there were an assembly or other means of ensuring that a crash cart and/or the equipment carried on one are at least reasonably sanitary. If any such assembly were developed, it would preferably be relatively simple to implement and use such that a time consuming procedure would not have to be followed for its use. Simply put, without an efficient and effective means to assure proper sanitation, the often life saving advantages of crash carts may be diminished, and possibly lost, if medical personnel are hesitant to use them due to concerns about the proper sanitation of the equipment and supplies included thereon.
It is believed that in some hospitals, it is possible to observe the placement of a tarpaulin or similar, standard type of cover over a crash cart in an attempt to protect them from dust, and possibly other contaminants, while not in use. However, these types of standard covers are typically made of an opaque material which can result in the loss of valuable time in an emergency situation as medical personnel may not readily identify the covered object as a crash cart. In addition, even if identified as a crash cart, valuable time may still be lost due to medical personnel uncovering the cart to verify that it contains the specific equipment they require in an emergency. Therefore, a need exists in this field for a cover assembly which permits medical personnel to view the crash cart without removing the cover. Moreover, it is possible that the placement of a tarpaulin or other type of standard cover on a crash cart may hamper accessibility to the equipment and supplies included on the cart in an emergency. Thus, a need also exists for a cover assembly for a crash cart which may be quickly and easily removed to allow access to equipment and supplies in a medical emergency or which readily facilitates access to such equipment in the first place.
In addition, tarpaulins and similar standard covers typically have a generally rectangular configuration which when draped over a crash cart, leaving an opening at or near the bottom only, and this presents additional problems with regard to the mobility and maintenance of the crash cart. For example, a crash cart often contains electrical equipment which requires a connection to an electrical source either for operation or maintenance of a charge on portable electronic equipment or a portable power supply. However, tarpaulins and similar standard covers are not designed to accommodate an electrical connection to the covered object. Thus, it would be desirable if any new cover assembly for a crash cart were to include an opening specifically designed to permit electrical connections to be made there through. Also, there are many crash carts which carry an electronic video display monitor and/or computer associated therewith, either or all of which usually needs to be accessed daily to perform diagnostic tests on the equipment included on the cart. As such, it would be preferable to provide a cover assembly for a crash cart which permits access to the electronic display monitor and/or computer without uncovering the entire crash cart.
In addition, the use of tarpaulins and similar standard types of covers may hamper the ability of medical personnel to properly grip the handles provided on many crash carts, as necessitated during its being transported to the location of an emergency, without at least partially removing the cover. As noted above, however, the movement of a crash cart though the hospital, or similar facility, is one of the sources of potential contamination to the equipment and supplies included on the crash cart. Thus, it would also be desirable to provide a cover assembly for a crash cart which allows access to the handles without removal of the cover.
Accordingly, there remains a need in this field of art for a cover assembly to be used with a “crash cart” or similar type of utility cart, which can be, but does not have to be, quickly and easily removed, and further, which allows the equipment and supplies included on the cart to be viewed, while the cover assembly remains in place over the cart. If any such cover assembly were developed, it would be beneficial to permit easy access to and operation of an electronic video display monitor carried on the crash cart, including any computer associated therewith, and an interconnection to an external power supply, while the cover remains in place over the cart. Any such cover assembly would preferably also be structured to readily permit accessibility to the handles of the cart while the cover remains in place over the cart in order that these may be gripped directly for facilitating the cart's being transported within a hospital to the site needed in an emergency, and further, to permit quick and easy adjustment to assure a proper fit of the cover over the equipment and supplies included on the crash cart.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended to address these and other needs which remain in the art and is directed to a cover assembly for multi-purpose, mobile, utility carts, and in parti
Malloy & Malloy P.A.
Weaver Sue A.
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