Description

Technical Field

The present invention finds application in the technical field of the frames and particularly relates with a highly hygienic handle assembly.

State of the art

As known, one of the most felt problems in public places is the need to avoid bacteria and other pathogens to diffuse among the various people who attend the same place.

Several studies confirm that some pathogenic bacteria, such as staphylococcus and enterobacteria, can be transmitted from one person to another simply by touching a contaminated surface.

From this point of view, one of the most critical places for the presence of pathogenic organisms and the possibility of contamination is certainly represented by public toilets, wherein it is possible to find billions of bacteria of all species, which not only colonize the toilet, but also faucets, floors, doors and handles.

For this reason, after using the toilet it is good practice to wash the hands or sanitize them. However, this operation can be made vain, or in any case less effective, by the subsequent contact of the hand with the handle, which is also a source of contamination.

To overcome this problem, several solutions of disposable handle cover have been provided, designed to be inserted on the handles as the user grabs them, to avoid contact with a surface previously touched by another person and therefore potentially infected.

A first type of hygienic handle cover, disclosed for example in US2006/0059663, provides for the use of a disposable handle cover complementarily shaped with respect of the handle and designed to be removed and thrown away immediately after its use.

These solutions have not proved to be particularly effective as they present a high risk that the user, after use, may not proceed with the correct disposal of the handle cover.

In particular, it may happen that the used handle covers can be left on the floor or on the handle, forcing the next user to remove it and thereby making vain the purpose of the handle cover itself.

US2003/0056319 discloses a disposable handle cover consisting of a bag made of an elastic material provided with an opening having an elastic ring for insertion on the handle. A similar solution is disclosed in W02009112173, wherein the handle cover is designed to be fitted on the handle.

Yet another similar solution is disclosed in US2012/167347, wherein the handle cover consists of a cuff having an open elastic edge to be fitted on a rounded handle. The edge is also provided with a lanyard to allow the cap to be tightened on the handle.

However, such solutions are not particularly convenient to apply, nor totally efficient, since the application of the handle cover still entails the risk of bringing the hand into contact with the surface of the handle.

In particular, in the last mentioned case it is necessary to grasp the cuff with the fingers to enlarge it and subsequently to put it on the handle, with the concrete risk of touching the handle itself. The application of the lanyard, then, does not allow the stable and immediate anchorage to the handle, nor its rapid removal.

Last but not least, such solutions do not allow the application of multiple overlapping covers.

Scope of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a highly hygienic handle assembly which is characterized by high efficiency and relative cost-effectiveness.

A particular object is to provide a highly hygienic handle assembly which includes the use of a disposable handle cover which can be quickly and conveniently fitted onto the handle and without the risk of bringing the hand into contact with the handle surface. Another object is to provide a highly hygienic handle assembly wherein the handle cover can be fixed in a stable and easy manner to the handle, without the rotation of the handle causes the fall thereof.

Still another object is to provide a highly hygienic handle assembly wherein it is possible to overlap several handle covers on the same handle, always guaranteeing their stable attachment to the handle.

These objects, as well as others which will become more apparent hereinafter, are obtained by a highly hygienic handle assembly which, according to claim 1, comprises a handle adapted to be fixed to a door, one or more disposable handle covers each having a flexible tubular body open or adapted to be open at one end to be slipped onto the gripping surface of said handle to allow the gripping thereof by insulating the hand from said gripping surface, means for anchoring said one or more handle covers to said handle.

The anchoring means comprise one or more female coupling elements, respectively male, made in said gripping surface of said handle and a grip element integral with said flexible tubular body of said handle cover and provided with one or more male coupling elements, respectively female, adapted to engage a corresponding female element, respectively male, of said handle when said handle cover is fitted on said handle.

This combination of features will allow the handle cover to be inserted easily onto the handle, preventing the handle cover from falling out after the handle has been rotated or following any other movement produced by opening the door.

Furthermore, it will not be necessary to widen the open end of the handle cover to insert it onto the handle or perform any locking action of the handle cover after its placement, as the handle cover will lock immediately once it has been fitted on the handle.

This will eliminate any action that could potentially cause the hand to come into contact with the non-aseptic surface of the handle.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are obtained according to the dependent claims.

Brief disclosure of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more evident in the light of the detailed description of preferred but not limiting embodiments of a highly hygienic handle assembly according to the present invention, illustrated as a non-limiting example with the aid of the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an assembly in a first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a detail of the assembly of Fig. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of an assembly according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the assembly of Fig. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the assembly of Fig. 1 with several overlapping handle covers;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an assembly according a third embodiment.

Best modes of carrying out the invention

With reference to the attached figures, some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of a highly hygienic handle assembly according to the invention are shown.

The assembly may be applied to any type of door, without particular limitations neither in the intended use nor in the methods of opening the door, which may be of the swing or sliding type, with or without lock.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the assembly, generally indicated by 1, comprising a handle 2 adapted to be fixed to the door and one or more disposable handle covers 3 each having a flexible tubular body 4 open or openable at one end 5 to be inserted on the gripping surface 6 of the handle 2 and allow it to be gripped, isolating the hand from the gripping surface 6.

The handle 2 may be fixed to the door by fixing means 7 designed according to any of the methods known from the prior art and illustrated only schematically in the figures but not described in detail as they are not limitative of the present invention.

In particular, the handle 2 may be either hinged to the door, to be connected to a lock and allow the door to be opened following its rotation, or of the fixed type or have other types of movement.

In the figures the handle 2 is L-shaped, with a cylindrical gripping portion 8 provided with the gripping surface 6 and a fixing portion 9 to the door.

However, even this embodiment is just one of the many embodiments that could be adopted for the handle 2.

The assembly 1 also comprises means for anchoring the handle covers 3 to the handle 2, which, in the illustrated embodiment, comprise a plurality of female coupling elements 10 formed in the gripping surface 6 of the handle 2 and a grip element 11 integral with the flexible tubular body 4 of the handle cover 3.

The grip element 11 is provided with a pair of male coupling elements 12 adapted to engage a corresponding female element 10 of the handle 2 when the handle cover 3 is fitted thereon.

In particular, the female coupling elements 10 of the handle 2 are radial grooves made in the gripping surface 6 and longitudinally offset from one another along the longitudinal extension axis L of the gripping surface 6, preferably but not exclusively at the gripping portion 8.

As can be seen more clearly from Fig. 2, the male coupling elements 12 are defined by radial fins projecting inwardly from the grip element 11 and adapted to fit into a same groove 10.

The number of fins 12 is not limiting as they can also be more than two. This particular embodiment will allow a large number of reciprocally superimposed handle covers 3 to be positioned and anchored to a same handle 2 because the respective male members or fins 12 will always engage the free female element or groove 10 farthest from the free end 13 of the handle 2 in correspondence of which the handle cover 3 is inserted.

Preferably, the grooves 10 will be sized to house more pairs of fins 12 belonging to mutually superimposed handle covers 3, so that the handle 2 can receive and hold a large number of the handle covers 3 before the partial or complete removal thereof is needed. The grip element 11 is preferably positioned at the open end 5 of the tubular body 4 of the handle cover 3 to allow complete unwinding thereof.

In particular, as shown in Fig. 3, the grip element 11 has a quadrangular shape with a central passage 14 from which the fins 12 protrude radially.

According to a not shown variant, the grip elements 11 may be provided with respective mutual coupling means which will have the aim of increasing the stability of the coupling between two superimposed handle covers 3.

By way of example, the coupling means may be of the male and female type, with each grip element 11 having male means and female means on opposite faces so as to be able to engage respective female means and male means associated with the opposite faces of another adjacent grip element 11.

According to a further variant, the coupling means may be defined by a layer of adhesive spread on one of the faces of the grip element 11.

Conveniently, the tubular body 4 will be made of a flexible plastic material to be self- folded and onto the grip element 11, so that before its use it is contained within the central passage 14.

In this way, the handle cover 3 will take on a non-use configuration having a considerably reduced overall dimensions to simplify storage thereof.

Moreover, for its unfolding, it will be sufficient to grasp the grip element 11 and insert it on the handle 2 by sliding it thereon until the fins 12 will be inserted into the farther free groove 10.

In this way, the user’s hand should not come into contact with the gripping surface 6 of the handle or with a previously placed handle cover 3, preserving the hygiene of the operation. The grip element 11 will preferably be made of a semi-rigid material such as paper, cardboard or the like to be light and economical.

According to a variant, the grip element 11 will be made of a biodegradable material, such as PLA, Mater-BI or other bioplastic.

However, regardless of the chosen material, which may also be common plastic, the grip element 11 will have higher stiffness than the tubular body 4 so as to keep the open end always in a configuration suitable for allowing the insertion of the handle without requiring its enlargement.

The material of the tubular body 4 of the handle cover 3 may be selected from the common plastic materials without particular limitations. In an exemplary configuration, the tubular cover 4 may also be microperforated.

In the first configuration the grooves 10 are arranged along a spiral having an axis coinciding with the longitudinal extension axis L of the gripping surface 6 of the handle

2.

Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment which differs from the previous one essentially in that the grooves 10 are substantially annular and are arranged on respective transverse planes orthogonal to the longitudinal extension axis L of the handle 2, longitudinally offset from each other.

Moreover, the annular portions 15 of the handle 2 comprised between two consecutive grooves 10 have rounded edges.

Fig. 5 shows a handle 2 on which several superimposed handle covers 3 are positioned, whose anchoring fins 12 all engage a same groove 10.

According to a not shown variant, the handle 2 may comprise a plurality of male coupling elements projecting radially from the gripping surface 6 and adapted to engage corresponding female coupling elements of the handle cover 3.

These latter may be radial slots made at the inner edge of the grip element 11 with a height lower than that of the male projections.

Fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of the assembly 1 wherein the handle 2 comprises, at the connection zone between the gripping portion 8 and the fixing portion 9, a coupling jacket 16 having a hollow seat 17 for snugly fitting the grip elements 11.

In this embodiment, the handle 2 may be provided or not with the grooves 10 and in the same way the handle cover 3 may have the fins 12 because the hollow seat 17 and the grip elements 11 will act as female and male coupling elements.

The mutually complementary shapes of the female coupling elements 10 and male coupling elements 12 allow to immediately make the handle cover 3 integral with the handle 2, directly or indirectly through the previously inserted handle covers 3, without having to act on further locking elements, which would result the risk of bringing the fingers into contact with non-aseptic surfaces of the door or of the handle itself.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the assembly 1 may also comprise a handle cover dispenser, not shown, designed to be placed near the door.

Preferably, the dispenser will comprise a reel of handle covers mutually joined at a pre cut side of a respective grip element 11.

In particular, before being picked up, the handle covers 3 will be in the completely closed embodiment.

The grip elements 11 will preferably have a quadrangular shape with sides mutually joined at a pre-cut line, so as to be easily removed from the reel at the time of use without having to touch the other handle covers.

Regardless of the embodiment of the handle 2, according to a particular variant, the handle covers 3 designed to be inserted in a same dispenser may also have different values of the inner diameter of the tubular body 4.

In this way, it will be easier to insert the handle covers 3 in a mutually superimposed position.

In an exemplary manner, a same reel may be provided with several sets of handle-covers 3 different from one another in the inner diameter of the tubular body 4. The series will be arranged so as to have the largest diameters placed further inside, so that after having inserted all the handle covers 3 with same diameter of a same series and having increased the overall thickness, it will however be possible to insert further handle covers 3 as the series with increased diameter will be available.

The assembly is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which fall within the inventive concept expressed in the appended claims. All the details may be replaced by other technically equivalent elements, and the materials may be different according to requirements, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

Even if the assembly has been disclosed with particular reference to the attached figures, the reference numbers in the description and in the claims are used to improve the intelligence of the invention and do not constitute any limitation to the claimed scope of protection.