Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Wash receptacles – With proximity operated valve
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-16
2003-02-25
Fetsuga, Robert M. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Wash receptacles
With proximity operated valve
C004S262000, C004S628000, C004S668000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523193
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a prevention system and a method of preventing infectious diseases, that is applied suitably in an ordinary home or a facility such as a hospital, a food factory and the like. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying fluids that can be suitably used for a prevention system and a method of preventing infectious diseases.
As is well known, gargling, washing hands, and disinfecting fingers with a disinfectant are encouraged in medical facilities such as hospitals, in order to prevent infectious diseases such as MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), VRE(vancomycin resistant Entrococcus) and the like. It is possible to an extent to prevent people from being infected by infectious diseases in medical facilities such as hospitals by striving for gargling and washing hands. However, now in an aging society, there also is a fear of becoming infected with infectious diseases in an ordinary home or household since what is called home nursing is increasing.
Influenza often prevails when the seasons change. It is known that gargling and washing hands are effective for preventing an infectious disease such as influenza. Furthermore, it is known that gargling and washing hands when getting home from outside improve the patient's ability to prevent an allergic disease such as hay fever (a pollinosis).
As mentioned above, gargling and washing hands is effective for preventing infectious diseases and allergic diseases. In particular, people can effectively prevent being infected by an infectious disease by gargling and washing hands before taking off their shoes just after they get home.
The gargling and washing hands are usually conducted by using a sink and a water supply function provided in a washroom. However, in an ordinary household, since the washroom is usually located far from an entrance, it is troublesome for an inhabitant to go directly to the washroom just after coming home from outside, or he is apt to forget to do so. Therefore, it is hard to expect that gargling and washing hands will be reliably conducted before taking off one's shoes just after one gets home.
Furthermore, in a facility such as a food factory and the like, usually the employees have to gargle and wash their hands as a matter of course before they start to work in the factory. However, in a case where a washroom for gargling and washing hands is not located near an entrance to the factory, there is a fear that they will forget to gargle and wash their hands.
As an apparatus which is to be placed in a washroom for gargling and washing hands, there is a known apparatus provided with a plurality of fluid supply mechanisms for supplying different kinds of fluids such as a gargle fluid and hand washing water. The apparatus also has a valve or a nozzle (what is called a faucet or a tap) having a discharge port at the tip thereof disposed on the upper portion of the sink for each fluid supply mechanism. The different kinds of fluids include, for example, chemicals such as soapy water, a disinfectant and a gargle fluid except for water and warm water for washing hands. Furthermore, there is also known an apparatus that can supply warm air in addition to those liquids.
However, in the above-mentioned apparatus, it is required, for each fluid supply mechanism, to manufacture a valve or a nozzle (a faucet) by using a casting process, for example, and also to mount them on the upper portion of the sink. The production of these parts costs a great deal and takes a lot of time, and it is a real bottleneck in attempting to reduce the manufacturing cost of the whole apparatus.
Furthermore, as a fluid supply apparatus for gargling and washing hands, there is known an apparatus provided with a common cover of a hollow covering member made of resin, for example, standing on the upper surface of the sink. In this kind of apparatus, a discharge port of each fluid supply mechanism is provided at a predetermined position of the common cover, instead of providing each fluid supply mechanism with what is called a faucet.
According to such a constitution, a supply tube of each fluid supply mechanism is connected to the corresponding discharge port in the cover, so that the need for providing each fluid supply mechanism with a faucet individually is eliminated.
However, in order to manufacture such a cover, it is required to prepare exclusive molding dies and to mold the cover by filling resin material into the exclusive molding dies. Also, it is required to prepare various types of molding dies in accordance with the type of fluid supply apparatus, since numbers and/or types of the discharge holes to be formed in the cover are changed. In addition, the design of the cover itself is sometimes changed in accordance with the type of fluid supply apparatus. Furthermore, in such a case, the covers are to be manufactured in small lots. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost including the expense for molding dies increases a great deal, and it is hard to achieve a successive cost reduction in comparison with the case where a faucet is provided individually for each fluid supply mechanism when they are manufactured in small lots.
Furthermore, such a cover is usually mounted upright on a sink along the periphery of a concavity or recess thereof. In the case of a prior art cover, since it is considerably large and high, it will cover a part of the recess when it is mounted upright on the sink. Thus, a part of the light from above is blocked by the cover, and the user has to suffer much inconvenience in using the fluid supply apparatus when he washes his hands since a part of the sink recess is darkened at his hands. Furthermore, such an arrangement is not preferable from the view of design and appearance of the apparatus since it gives the impression of being untidy at the periphery of the sink.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been developed in view of above-mentioned technical problems. A purpose of the present invention is to provide a system and a method effective for prevention of infectious diseases. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for supplying fluids that preferably can be utilized suitably for the above-mentioned system.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides a prevention system against infectious diseases, comprising: a fluid supply apparatus provided with a sink and a plurality of fluid supply mechanisms for supplying different kinds of fluids, having at least a hand washing function and a gargle supply function, and disposed near a doorway in a building. A human body detection sensor detects a person entering into the building from the doorway and a voice output apparatus outputs a vocal sound to recommend that the person conduct gargling and hand washing when the human body detection sensor detects him or her.
Also, a second aspect of the present invention provides a method of preventing infectious diseases, comprising the steps of: arranging a fluid supply apparatus near a doorway in a building, wherein the fluid supply apparatus is provided with a sink and a plurality of fluid supply mechanisms for supplying different kinds of fluids, and having at least a hand washing function and a gargle supply function; and outputting a vocal sound to recommend that a person conduct gargling and hand washing when he or she enters into the building from the doorway.
According to the first or the second aspect of the present invention, a person entering the building from a doorway is recommended to wash their hands and gargle by a voice, and the chemical supply apparatus A is provided near the doorway. Therefore, the person can wash his or her hands and gargle without feeling troubled. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent infectious diseases. Allergy can also be prevented effectively.
Further, a third aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for supplying fluids, and the apparatus includes a plurality of fluid supply mechanisms for
Fetsuga Robert M.
Saraya Co., Ltd.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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