Bacteria tend to multiply in crevices. On the apparatus itself it is therefore important that bacteria brought towards the apparatus by contaminated hands are not transferred to the apparatus by touching. On the hands, it is important that the fingers are spread to allow cleansing fluid to enter the crevices between them.

According to the invention there is provided hand cleansing apparatus comprising means defining a gap to receive human fingers, said means including a convex surface defining one side of the gap for tending to urge said fingers apart when said fingers contact the convex surface, a nozzle on one side of the gap for directing fluid into the gap and means for supplying cleansing fluid to the nozzle.

There is preferably provided a second nozzle on the other side of the gap opposite the side on which the first- mentioned nozzle is provided. The apparatus preferably comprises second means defining a second gap, the two gaps receiving the fingers of the user's two hands. Other optional features will be apparent from the description below.

Examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part of one example of the invention, Figures 2a and 2b are front and side diagrams of a fluid reservoir in the stem of the apparatus which extends below the upper portion shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a diagram of the fluid supply mechanism for the apparatus of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a front elevation of an alternative embodiment.

In the two embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the apparatus comprises a central stem 11 formed by a casing 12 for a fluid reservoir 13. The casing 12 has a vertical slot 14 to allow the fluid level within the reservoir to be viewed.

Above the stem 11 is provided a body 21 for receiving the hands to be cleansed. The body 21 is symmetrical about the centre line of the apparatus and defines a gap 22 on each side for receiving at least the fingers of a hand of the user. The lower side of the gap is defined by a mesh dome 23 releasably mounted on the mouth of a dish 24 within which is mounted a nozzle 25 for directing fluid from the reservoir 13 through the mesh 23 to the underside of the user's hand placed above or on the dome.

The upper side of the gap is defined by an arm 26 extending over the dome with a nozzle 27 also connecte to the fluid reservoir 13 for directing fluid downwards on to the upper side of the user's hands when placed in the gap 22 with some component directed into the junction of the fingers with the body of the hand.

A proximity switch 28 is mounted on each arm for energising a pump to pump fluid from the reservoir to the nozzles 25,27 when a hand approaches the switch in either gap.

Fluid from the nozzle 25 within the dish 24 passes through the mesh 23 to cleanse the underside of the user's hand and fluid from the nozzle 27 in the arm above the gap cleanses the upper side of the user's hand. The dome-shape of the mesh 23 ensures that the user will open his or her hand to allow fluid to enter between the fingers. Although

it is important that bacteria are not transferred from one user to another through touching portions of the apparatus, it does not matter if the user rests his or her hand on the mesh 23 because the mesh is cleansed by the fluid from the nozzle 25 within the dome every time the apparatus is used.

The mesh domes 23 are mounted on the dishes by a short screw thread and can easily be replaced when they appear to be contaminated. At the lower side of the mouth of each dish there is provided a gutter 31 for fluid from the nozzles 25,27 which has drained off the hands and the gutters 31 lead to a drain 32 feeding a channel 33 in front of the reservoir in the casing of the stem of the apparatus, the channel being filled by a vapour strip 34 which is exposed to the atmosphere through vents 35 in front of the casing. Since it may be necessary to replace the vapour strip 34 at frequent intervals to avoid contamination, the portion of the casing 12 formed with the vents 35 may be easily openable to facilitate such replacement.

The arrangement shown in Figure 3 shows a central electric pump 41 which can be operated in response to the proximity switches 28 having an inlet 42 leading downwards to the reservoir and four outlets 43 leading to respective nozzles 25,27.

The apparatus shown in Figure 4 is similar to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 but has slimmer upper arms 26 with nozzles 27 located at the extreme ends of the arms which are ball-shaped.

The proximity switches 28 described above could be replaced by a foot pump or any other device suitable for arranging transfer of fluid from the reservoir to the nozzles on demand. The proximity switches can be combined with a time lapse switch (not shown) to arrange for the pump to continue to be energised for a predetermined period after the approach of a hand has been detected.