Protective hand covering and dispenser apparatus

Abstract

A protective hand covering for adhering to the user's hand. Pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to the back surface of a sheet of thin flexible film, which is shaped to cover a protected area of the users hand. The pressure-sensitive adhesive provides a sufficiently strong bond to prevent the hand covering from being inadvertently dislodged, but a sufficiently weak bond to allow the hand covering to be removed without injuring the user. The film is sufficiently impervious to contaminates to prevent the transfer of contaminates from the substance or object being handled to the user and vice versa.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 110,987, filed Jul. 7, 1998, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 725,831, filed Oct. 7, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,889. The entire content of each application and patent are incorporate herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention is related to protective hand coverings and particularly to a protective hand covering formed from a sheet of thin flexible film backed by a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The adhesive allows the hand covering to be temporarily bonded to the user's hand during use. [0003] In many fields, such as the dental, medical, food service, laboratory, and precision manufacturing fields, reducing the potential for contamination is a primary concern. Because workers in these fields routinely manually handle contaminated or contaminatable materials, it is critical that some type of barr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a protective hand covering that can be easily and quickly put on and removed by the user. It is designed to be placed directly over other hand coverings, such as gloves or the existing protective hand covering, without the need for repositioning. The inventive hand covering prevents contamination and reduces the likelihood of indirect contamination, which can be a big advantage in health care settings. It is also cost-effective and efficient in reducing waste compared to conventional gloves or mittens."

Problems solved by technology

Even before AIDS was a concern, however, the presence of other highly contagious infectious agents, such as hepatitis, justifiably caused serious concerns among health care workers and resulted in procedures and precautions being implemented for reducing this possible route of contamination.

Some types of computer and electrical components, such as disk drive storage media and halogen light bulbs, can be ruined by being merely touched with an unprotected hand.

Laboratory samples and crime scene evidence are two other types of materials that can easily be contaminated if proper protective hand coverings are not worn.

This third route is often the most difficult to control because the contamination may be indirect (i.e., it may not be directly from the earlier object to the worker to the later object).

What may be overlooked, however, is that when their gloves become contaminated during examination or treatment of a patient, any object touched by these gloves, such as a door handle, a pen, a drawer handle, or treatment equipment, may itself become contaminated.

Remedial measures, such as applying cleaning or sterilizing agents, are typically less than completely effective in eliminating contamination.

Similar issues arise when industrial or laboratory workers handle toxic, hazardous or contaminated materials.

A primary reason these areas become contaminated is the difficulty of removing and putting on typical hand coverings.

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