Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a glove dispensing and donning apparatus comprising: a first and a second grabber, each being coupled to an arm affixed to a base with a mount connected to the arms, said mount comprising moving means adapted such that one or both arms are moveable between a first position in which the grabbers are placed in proximity and a second position in which the grabbers are spaced apart, said grabbers being provided with fastening means such that one side of a disposable glove placed in the glove dispensing and donning apparatus can be fastened by the first grabber, while the other side of the disposable glove is fastened by the second grabber thereby such that said grabbers cause the opening for hand entry to expand thereby facilitating the insertion of a hand into said opening for hand entry when said grabbers are moved from their first to their second position.

Background of the Invention

Thin gloves, generally constructed of plastic, have been available commercially for several years. Such gloves are quite inexpensive and are intended to be used by any individual involved in activities where there is a possibility of transfer of disease or infection. Today, disposable gloves are available for free use in many supermarkets. The actual delivery takes place through dispensers from which the customer takes a glove and then applies it to his/her hand.

The typical dispenser consists of a box containing several folded gloves and the costumer/user typically must pull a single glove out through an opening in the box. However, it is quite common to - unintentionally- extract several gloves at a time which commonly results in the unneeded gloves being discarded. As disposable gloves are made of thin plastic, it is often almost impossible for a user to open the glove, to insert his/her hand, without touching the outside of the glove which of course means that pathogenic contaminants can be transmitted from the user to all the objects the glove subsequently comes in contact with. Or worse, users may even be tempted to apply saliva to their fingers to get a better grip, and when this happens, contaminants in the form of viruses and bacteria will inevitably be transmitted from the user's mouth to the outside of the glove. After all, it is often a cumbersome and time-consuming procedure to simply put on a pair of gloves on one's hands and therefore users are often tempted to skip this step and simply refrain from using disposable gloves.

Object of the Invention

There is a need for a glove dispensing and donning apparatus which facilitates the installation of the glove onto one's hand thereby making the installation of the glove convenient and quick.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a solution that solves at least some of the above problems.

Summary of the Invention

This is achieved in that: the first grabber comprises a body having the two claws, each being provided with a tip and in that, the fastening means on the first grabber comprises a spring based mechanism, which connects the claws such that the first grabber opens the claws when the tip of the first grabber is pressed against a surface and closes the claws when the tip of the first grabber is unaffected by the pressure.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first grabber is operatively connected to a foot pedal such that the first grabber can be moved by means of the foot pedal and cause the opening for hand entry to expand thereby facilitating the insertion of a hand into said opening for hand entry when only the first grabber is moved by the foot pedal, the number of moving parts is reduced and thus also the risk of malfunction.

Embodiments of the glove dispensing, and donning apparatus are recited in the dependent claims 2-6.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a grabber as recited in claims 7-12.

In the description and claims the word “donning” is being used. Donning means in this application to put on the gloves or the process of applying the gloves. “A donning apparatus” is an apparatus which assists in the process of applying or putting on gloves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to exemplary embodiments in accordance with the accompanying drawings, in which: fig. 1 shows, a cross section, of an arm and a head provided with claws; fig. 2 shows, a side view, of two connected claws and, a cross section, of a head with two claws inserted; fig. 3 shows, a side view, of an arm provided with a head; fig. 4 shows, seen from above, the arm with head shown in figure 3; fig. 5 shows, the arm with head shown in figure 3 seen from the left side; fig. 6 shows, a cross section, of a head provided with a wedge; fig. 7 shows, in perspective, two claws; fig. 8 shows, a part of a glove dispensing and donning apparatus seen in side view; fig. 9 shows, a cross section, of a part of a glove dispensing and donning apparatus; fig. 10 shows, in perspective, a glove dispensing and donning apparatus. In figure 1 is shown a grabber for fastening of a glove in a glove dispensing and donning apparatus (not shown). The grabber comprises a body having two claws 30, 50. Each of the claws are provided with a tip 80, 80 a. The purpose of these tips is to form gripping surfaces that can catch one side of a disposable glove when the claw is opened and closed while in contact with the side of the glove.

In the embodiment shown, the tips are made of material different from the material of the claws. Preferably, the tips of the claws are made of EPDM. The tips are usually not replaceable. However, they can also be made changeable as recited in the claims. The adhesion and/or molding of a tip can take place in a so-called in-mold molding process, where a tip - in an injection molding process - is cast/molded on a claw that lies in the mold. Such processes are well known to persons skilled in the art and accordingly, they will not be described further in this application. Preferably, the claws with tips are made in a 3d printing process.

The grabber comprises two claws 30, 50 provided with tips 80, 80a and a fastening mechanism that can open and close the claws 50, 30 of the grabber such that a side of a disposable glove (not shown) can be caught between the tips 80, 80a.

Figure 3 shows an arm with a head 5 and as shown in figure 4, the head comprise two sides 3,4.

Now turning to figure 1 again, the head and the claws 30, 50 are mutually adapted to the claws such that the claws can be inserted between the sides. Prior to insertion, the claws are resiliently connected by use of an elastic O-ring 70 which is placed in thereto adapted recesses 71 , 71a (shown in figure 7).

As indicated in figure 2, the connected claws are inserted into the head of the arm from above,. As also indicated in the figure, the lower parts of the claws must be separated before they are inserted and this is because they must be inserted such that the claws enclose an inner wedge 2 when they are placed in the head 5.

As best seen in figure 7, the claws are each preferably provided with flanges 53, 53 a, and 33, 33a. These flanges form an inner cavity when the claws are assembled. It is this cavity that can enclose a part of the wedge 2 when the claws 30, 50 are inserted into the head as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The cavity in the claw 50, shown to the left in figure 1 is adapted to the wedge 2 such that some of the wedge 2 lies inside this claw, when the claws are inserted in the head 5.

The thickness of the wedge (perpendicular to the vertical plane) is adapted to the two surfaces 53 and 53a (shown in Figure 7) in the left claw such that the claws cannot move perpendicularly (in the depth direction of the figure) to the plane the figure is shown in, and at the same time allows some movement parallel to the plane the figure is shown in. I.e. up and down as well as right and left.

As best seen in Figure 6, the arm 1 comprises a head 5 in which the wedge 2 is fixed and the arm further comprises a surface 12.

Turning again to Figure 1 , these parts functionality will be explained in more detail.

As can be seen in Figure 1 , the claw to the right in the figure comprises a surface 32 made complementary to surface 12. This surface abuts slidably against the surface 12.

In figure 8 is shown a part of a glove dispensing and donning apparatus seen in side view, the head 5 may in an embodiment be equipped with a handle 102. Figures 9 and 10 show an embodiment of the invention, where the grabber with claws 30, 50 sits on an arm 1 , which can be rotated so that the tips 80, 80a of the grabber are pressed against a surface 100. Normally, this surface is provided with disposable gloves (not shown in the figure) such that the grabber is pressed against a side of a glove when pressed against the surface. At the top of the head shown in figure 10 it is indicated (by using a dashed line), that the grabber (or head) can be fitted with a handle (102 in figure 8), but it will also be such that the arm can be turned towards the surface 110 by means of a mechanical connection that is activated via a foot pedal.

If the grabber is pressed against a side of a disposable glove, the tips will - relatively speaking - thus be affected by a force in the upward direction, which will open / separate the grabber's claws. During this movement, the tips of the claws will slide on the surface of the glove. When the force disappears, the O-ring will pull the claws together, and during this movement, the tips of the claws will mainly curl the thin plastic material - which disposable gloves are usually made of - between the tips. This curling entails that the tips of the claws, in almost all cases, grip the side of the disposable glove.

This mechanism is seen more clearly in Figure 9, where an arrow F shows how a force on the arm 1 in the direction of the arrow will open the claws when the tips are - at the same time - prevented from movement by a blocking surface 110. As can also be seen in figure 9, the claws are provided with rollers 31 and 51. These rollers are situated at the tip 3 of the wedge, when the claws are unaffected by external forces.

The force F, will cause the arm with wedge and side 12 to be pushed downwards and during this movement the sides 12 and 32 will be in sliding contact. Simultaneously with this movement, the rollers 31 and 51 will roll on the moving surfaces of the wedge 2. The roller 31 sitting on the claw 30 shown on the right in Figure 9 will not normally be forced to move beyond rotation, while the roller 51 sitting on the claw 50 on the left in the figure will be forced to the left by the downwardly moving wedge and this movement will separate the tips of the claws,

As explained above, during this relative movement, there is also a sliding displacement between the two surfaces 12 (which sit on the arm) and 32 (which sit on the right claw). In one embodiment of the invention, the surface 12 is extended towards the bottom of the claws (downwards in the drawing). The purpose of this extension (which is not shown in the figures) is to form a stop and thereby achieve that this extension hits the surface 110 before the wedge 2 is pressed out between the tips 80, 80a and against the surface 110.

This extension will thus spare (and protect) the inner parts of the grabber (rollers and wedge) if a user misuses the grabber by pressing the grabber against the surface 110 with unnecessary force.

The grabber can be used in an apparatus for donning gloves, as it can grip one side while another grabber grips the other.

Such a donning apparatus comprises a grabber according to the invention and the grabber may be the first or the second grabber in a glove dispensing and donning apparatus comprising: a first and a second grabber, each having an arm 1 ,100 affixed to a base comprising a mount 202 connected to the arms 1 , 100, the mount comprising moving means adapted such that one or both arms can be moved between a first position in which the grabbers are placed in proximity and a second position in which the grabbers are spaced apart.

Such a glove dispensing, and donning apparatus 200 is shown in figure 10. Figure 10 shows a glove dispensing and donning apparatus 200 comprising: a first 30, 50 and a second grabber 201 , 100, the first grabber being coupled to an arm 1 , and the second grabber 201 201 is in the shown coupled to an arm 100 which is stationary in the shown embodiment.

The arms 1 , 100 are affixed to a base with a mount 202 connected to the arms. The mount 202 comprises moving means adapted such that one or both arms are moveable between a first position in which the grabbers are placed in proximity and a second position in which the grabbers are spaced apart.

Please note, the word "arm" in this application does not necessarily mean something that is long and thin. For example, the lower part 100 of the apparatus shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 is to be interpreted as an "arm" since this arm is movable relative to the other arm 1 by means of the moving means comprised by the mount the mount.

The glove dispensing and donning apparatus are provided with a holder (not shown) for at least one disposable glove with two sides, said holder fixating the disposable glove such that the first grabber 30, 50 is in functional contact with one side while the second grabber 201 , 100 is in functional contact with the other side while said arms are in their first position. Fastening means are provided on said grabbers such that said grabbers cause the opening for hand entry to expand thereby facilitating the insertion of a hand into said opening for hand entry when said grabbers are holding the sides of a glove while being moved from their first to their second position,

The first grabber comprises a body having the two claws 30, 50. Each of the claws is provided with a tip 80, 80a. The fastening means on the first grabber comprises a spring-based mechanism 70, 71 , 71a, which connects the claws 30, 50 such that the first grabber opens the claws when a tip 80, 80a of the first grabber is pressed against a surface 110 and closes the claws when the tip of the first grabber is unaffected by the pressure.