Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a surgical glove package
and a simple apparatus designed Eor use therewith which
greatly Eacilitates the donning of surgical gloves and
eliminates the possibility of accidental contamination of
the outer ylove surfaces during the procedure of donning
the gloves.
The technique now used for donning surgical gloves
require that the sealed package containing sterile gloves
be carefully opened so that the inner surfaces of the
package, and more particularly, the outside surfaces of the
gloves contained therein, do not come in contact with any
surface. Upon being opened, the gloves are positioned
next to each other with the large part of the cuff portions
of the gloves being turned on themselves or inside out. An
assistant grasps one glove ~y the folded cuff portion so as
to touch only that surface when the glove is donned. The
touched surface will thus correspond only to the glove's
inner surface. After removing the glove from the package,
the assistant grasps the cuff portion of the glove with
the fingers of both hands and stretches the opening as much
as possible in order to enlarge the cuff opening. The
glove is then held in a somewhat vertical position in order
to present the glove opening to the surgeon's hand. Care
must be taken to make sure that-the drooping glove fingers
do not touch any surface other than the adjacent outer
glove surfaces. The surgeon then vigourously thrusts his
hand into the enlarged glove opening in an attempt to gain
full entry into the fingers of the glove. The assistant
must maintain a firm grip on the glove cuff portion in
order to provide the resistance to the thrust necessary for
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the surgeon's hand to gain access to the fingertips of
the glove. At the precise moment the surgeon's hand
reaches the fingertips, the assistant must release hold
of the glove to permit the cuEf portion to snap tiyhtly
around the surgeon's wrist. The same procedure is followed
for donning the second glove~
Obviously this procedure is fraught with accidental
contamination possibilities, especially during times of
distress and urgency as may exist when torn gloves have to
be replaced during an operation. In addition, this
techni~ue requires assistance of a second person with the
necessary skill. Moreover, because of the difficulty in
fully inserting the hand into the glove, the inner surfaces
of the glove must be heavily powdered to lubricate the
glove surface relative to the surgeon's hand. The powdering
operation normally results in powder getting on the external
surfaces of the glove. As a result, the surgeon must use
sterile wipes to cleanse the ylove surfaces of powder
because the presence of powder particles in the surgical
wound would aggravate internal organs and tissue and would
adversely affect healing following surgery.
In the instances where the user of latex gloves does
not have any assistance, care must be taken to avoid touching
the outer surface to avoid contamination. This is difficult
to do since the wearer must also stretch the glove enough
to provide access with one hand while inserting the other.
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According to the present invention there is provided
a glove package including a packaging ring and a glove made
of elastomeric material haviny a sterile outer surface and having
the cuff portion stretched around the edge of the ring. The
ring has an axial dimension shorter from the cuff thereof to
the fingertips thereof and a sleeve made of fle~ible impervious
material attached to the ring around the circumEerence of the ring.
The sleeve includes means to maintain the sleeve in a position
covering the outside surface of the glove, that the sleeve
is sufficiently large to cover the glove when a hand has
been inserted fully into the glove.
The present invention also resides in a system for
facilitating;the donning of a glove of the above described
glove package, there being provided inflating means for in-
flating the glove while the cuff of the glove is stretched around
the edge of the ring to the outside surfaces of the ring.
The method of donning a glove according to the present
invention includes the steps of mounting the glove on a
packaging ring by stretching the cuff portion of the glove
ground the end edges of the ring to open the cuff portion of the
glove for entry of the hand. ~ sleeve made of flexible
impervious material is attached to the ring around the circum-
ference of the ring with the sleeve covering an outside surface
of the glove. The glove and ring are positioned over an
opening to a chamber which is otherwise separate from the
ring in a manner that the glove will be infla-ted by air
passing through the opening and reducing the pressure within the
chamber below the pressure outside of the chamber. The glove
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is thus sucked into the chamber and inflated. The hand is
inserted into the glove while it is inflated and with the
sleeve covering the glove. The glove is then deflated
around the hand and the cuff portion of the glove is released
from the ring after the glove has been deflated on the hand.
The glove package and the apparatus of this
invention makes it possible fox the surgeon to don the
surgical gloves quickly and easily without assistance and
without any powder appearing on the outside of the glove.
The system of the present invention comprises a glove
inflating apparatus which generates in a chamber a low
pressure. The surgical glove package of the present
invention is positioned over an opening to the chamber. The
low pressure in the chamber greatly inflates
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the glove within the chamber so that it resembles a swollen COW
udder in appearance. With the glove thus inflated, the enlarged
opening of the glove is presented to the sur~eon's hand, which
is easily accommodated right to the ~ingertip ends of the glove
without any difficulty. When the hand has been fully inserted
into the glove, a slight twist o the sur~eon's hand restores
the pressure in the chamber to atmospheric pressure and permits
the surfical glove to instantly snap back to conform tightly
around and encase the surgeon's hand. At this time, the surgeon
pushes the gloved hand forward within the chamber. This slight
forward movement increases the air pressure within the chamber,
which serves to release the cuff portion from the glove package.
Upon release of the glove ~rom the package, the surgeon then
simply withdraws his gloved hand from the apparatus.
The procedure may then be repeated to don the second
glove since the glove package containing the second glove can
easily be positioned on the apparatus across the opening with
the remaining ungloved hand. Alternatively, however, separate
glove inflating apparatus for each hand may be employed with the
packaged glove being inflated on each apparatus prior to the
donning of the gloves.
The glove in1ating apparatus according to one
embodiment of the invention comprises a pair of telescoping
tubes with a sliding air seal provided between the tubes and
with the outer tube closed at one end. The glove in a
specially designed package is placed over the opening of the
inner tube. When the inner tube is withdrawn from the outer
tube, the low pressure produced in the chamber within the
tubes inflates the glove.
The sliding air seal between the telescoping tubes
may be provided by means of a cylindrical elastomeric band, such
as a wide rubber band, having one side fixed in a stretched
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condition to the end of the outer tube so that the other side
oE the band flexes against the outer cylindrical surface of
the inner tube.
The present invention thus ma]ces possible a simple
and easy technique for the surgeon to don the surgical gloves
without assistance.
In addition, the present invention provides a simple,
inexpensive apparatus for inflatin~ a flexible device such as a
surgeon's glove and a simple inexpensive, but very eective air
seal between telescoping cylinders.
The present invention also provides a convenient
surgeon's glove package designed to be inflated on the apparatus
and serving as a convenient means for shipping and storing the
sterile gloves.
Should the glove to be donned be defective for reason
as having a pinhole, the glove will not inflate. Thus, the
existance of the pinhole will become immediately apparent.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention
will become readily apparent as the following detailed description
of the invention unfolds when taken in conjunction with the
drawings identified below.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus
of the invention with the surgical glove package mounted
on the apparatus of the invention ready to be inflated by
the apparatus;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment
of the surgical glove package of the invention;
Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken along
the lines 3-3 of Figure 2 illustrating the surgical glove
package in elevation;
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of
another embodiment of the surgical glove packaye of the
invention;
Figure 5 is a partial sectional view taken along
the lines 5-5 of Figure 4 showing the glove package of
Figure 4 in elevation;
Figure 6 is an exploded view of the glove inflating
apparatus of the invention with a glove package to be
lnflated;
Figure 7 is a paxtial sectional view in elevation
of the glove inflating apparatus with the glove package
mounted in position on the apparatus to be inflated;
Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the lines
8-8 of Figure 7i
Figure 9, which appears on the same sheet of
drawings as Figure 6, is a partial sectional view in
elevation of the glove inflating apparatus showing a glove
inflated in the chamber thereof;
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- Figure 10, which appears on the same sheet of
drawings as Figure 8, is a partial view in elevation of the
glove inflating apparatus of the invention showing a point
of opera~ion of the apparatus after the glove has encased the
surgeon's hand;
Figure 11, which appears on the same sheet of
drawings as Figure 8, is an enlarged sectional view showing
the sliding air seal of the inflating apparatus;
Figure 12 is a partial sectional view in elevation
of just the outer portion of an alternative embodiment of
the glove inflating apparatus according to the present
invention;
Figure 13 is a partial sectional view in elevation
of the entire glove inflating apparatus embodiment of Figure
12 illustrating a point of operation thereof; and
Figure 14 is a sectional view taken along the
lines 14-14 of Figure 13.
DESCRlPTIO~ OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in Figure 1, the glove inflating apparatus
comprises a pair of telescoping tubes 11 and 13~ The outer
tube 13 has a plate 15 fixed to the bottom thereof closing
off the end of the tube 13 with an airtight seal. The tubes
11 and 13 may be made of any suitable rigid material, but a
transparent plastic material sucll as an acrylic is preferred.
The assembly of the telescoping tubes 11 and 13 and the plate
15, which comprise the glove inflating apparatus, are
supported on a stand 17. The bottom edge of the plat~ 15
rests on a support plate 19 of the stand 17 against a bracket
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21 which is secured to the support plate 19. The front
end of the tube 13 rests on a vertically extending wall
23 secured to the horizontal supporting plate 19. The
wall 23 is provided with a recess 25 shaped to fit around
the outer cylindrical
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315
surface of the tube 13 and the tube 13 is cradled in this
recess. The wall 23 is proportioned relative to the
dimensions of the plate 15 so that the axis of the tubes
11 and 13 are inclined at an angle of about 15 or 20
degrees ~rom horizontal with the front end of the tubes
11 and 13 resting on the wall 23 positioned higher than
the back ends of the tubes 11 and 13 at which the plate 15
is located. This means that the plate 15 wili be inclined
from the vertical and the upstanding wall of the bracket
21 is inclined with respect to vertical at the same angle
so that the back of the plate 15 rests flush against the
wall of the bracket 21~
A package containing a surgical glove is shown
mounted on the front end of the inner telescoping tube 11
in Figure 1 and is designated by the reference numeral 25.
The glove package 2~, as better shown in Figures 2 and 3,
comprises a ring 27, which may be made of paperboard or
may be molded from a rigid plastic such as styrene or high
density polyethylene. A conventional surgical glove 29,
which is made of a thin, impervious, elastomeric material
is removably moun~ed on the ring 27 together with a thin,
flexible, impervious, transparent sleeve 31 coverlng the
outer surface of the glove 29. The outside walls o~ the
sleeve 31 at one end thereof are sealed to the ring 27.
The other end of the sleev 31 is preferably sealed closed
so that the sleeve 31 forms a bag completely enclosing the
outer surfaces of the glove. As shown in Figures 2 and 3,
the outer surfaces of the mouth of the sleeve 31 are
sealed to the inner cylindrical wall of the ring 27.
However, the sleeve 31 may be secured to the ring by sealing
the inner surfaces of the mouth of the sleeve to the outer
surface of the ring 27. The sleeve 31 may be made from
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ver~r thin, flexible, plastic film.
The embodiment of the package shown in Figures 2
and 3 is designed for gloves provided with a bead at the
end of the cuEf portion o~ the surgical glove. The cuff
of the surgical glove is stretched around the end wall of
the ring and the bead of the glove designated by -the
reference number 33 fits in a circular groove 35 extending
around the cylindrical wall of the ring 27. Since the
cuff of the glove 29 is stretched around the end of the
ring 27, it fits tightly against the ring 27 so that the
sleeve 31 sealed around the ring 27 completely encloses
the outer surface of the glove 29 and protects the sterility
thereof.
The glove 29 and the sleeve 31 are folded up within
the cylinder defined by the walls of the ring 27 so as to
provide a compact, convenient package for storage and
transportation. The package is sealed with appropriate
outer wrapping, which is removed before the package is
placed on the glove inflatin~ apparatus, and the glove thus
packaged are provided with suitable identification "right"
and "left". ~he contents of the sealed package are sterilized
with ethylene oxide gas in the conventional manner as well
known in the artO
The alternative embodiment of the ring package
illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is designed for use with
gloves which do not have a bead at the cuff end of th~
glove. In this embodiment, the ring is provided with a
ridge 37 extending around the outer surface of the ring 27
and the sleeve of the glove 29 is stretched around the end
of the ring and over the ridge 37. An elastic band 39,
such as a conventional rubber band, is provided to secure
the cuff end of the glove to the ring 27. The rubber band
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is position.ed around the cuff portion of the glove against
the shoulder defined by the ring 37 on the opposite side
thereof from the end of ~he ring 27 around which the cuff
portion of the glove 29 is stretched.
~ s best shown .in Figures 6 and 7, the front end or
mouth of the inner tube 11 has a section 41 reduced in
diameter at the mouth of the tube 11 ~or mounting the glove
package 25. The section 41 is provided with a stepped
inner cylindrical wall surface having a larger diameter
inner wall section 43 adjacent the mouth thereof to define
a shoulder 45 facing the mouth of the tube 11. The structure
of the reduced opening may be conveniently provided by
cementing to the end of a plastic tube section, which forms
the main body lla of the tube 11, a ring to form the
radially extending wall 41a. Then two tubular rings, one
fitting within the other, may be cemented to the radially
extending wall to form the reduced diameter section 41 with
the shoulder 45 being provided by the inner tubular ring
being axially shorter than ~he outer tubular ring. The
outer cylindrical surface of the ring 27 is~designed to fit
sufficiently tightly within the cylindrical wall section 43
against the shoulder 45 to form an air seal. An air tight
seal may be affected by means of a rubber gasket, which is
cemented to the outside of tube 11 and extends approximately
1/4 inch beyond the inner wall section ~3 in order to flex
around the outer rim of ring 27. The diameter of the reduced
end section 41 as well as that of the ring package 45 need
only be large enough to permit entry of the surgeon's hand,
which upon initial entry into the inner tube 11 will be
held in the somewhat closed normal position for donning a
glove as shown in Figure 9. The reduction in the diameter
at the mouth of the tube 11 minimizes the amount that the
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cuff of the glove has to be stretched while at the same
time permitting a larger diameter interior of the tube 11
to permit flexing of the surgeon's hand to facilitate
donninr~ of the glove once inside the tube ll.
Near the back end of the tube ll on the outer
cylindrical wall thereof are cemented arcuate segments 51
arranged in a circular configuration around the tube 11
as shown in Figures i and 8. The segments 51 make a sliding
fit with the inner cylindrical wall surface of the outer
tube 13. The gaps between the segments 51 define grooves
in which axially extending guide bars 53 are positioned.
The guide bars 53 are cemented to the inner cylindrical
wall of the outer tube 13 and make a sliding fit with the
outer cylindrical wall of the inner tube 11. Thus, a
clearance is provided between the outer cylindrical surface
of the outer tuhe 13 to accommodate the segments 51 and
the guide bars 53.
A round rod 55 is mounted in the inner tube 11
extending across the diameter thereof near the back e~d
thereof. This tube acilitates manipulatlon of the inner
tube relative to the outer tube in the opera~ion of using
the apparatus to free the surgical glove from the package
after the user has inserted his hand into the glove and
also aids in maintaining a desired orientation o~ the
inner tube relative to the glove and surgeon's hand during
this operation as is described below.
As best shown in Figures 7, 8, 10 and 11, a wide
circular elastomeric band 57 is cemented to the outer
cylindrical surface of the tube 13 at the front end thereof
so that part of the elastomeric band 57 extends out beyond
the front end of the ~ube 13. The band 57 is mounted Gn
the front end of the tube 13 in a stretched position so
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that the distal end of the rubber band 57 extendiny out
beyond the ~ront end of the tube 13 is reduced in diameter
and engages the outer cylindrical surface of the tube 11
thus providing a sliding air seal between the tubes 11 and 13
at the mouth or front end of the tube 13. ~s shown in
Figure 7, when the tube 11 is all the way in the tube 13,
the elastomeric band 57 will wrap around the front edge of
the tube 13 and engage the tube 11 with the 5urface of
the elastomeric band which is normally the outer surface
thereof. ~hen the inner tube 11 is pulled out from the
outer tube 13, as shown in Figure 9, the elastomeric band
57 will unfold and the i.nner surface of the rubber band 57
will engage the outer cylindrical surface of the tube 11
as shown in Fi~ures 9, 10 and 11 while maintaining the
air seal around the tube 11 at the mouth of the tube 13.
- In operation, the assembly of the tubes 11, 13 and
base plate 15 are placed on the stand 17 as shown in
Figure 1 and the ring package containing the surgeon's
glove is positioned in the mouth of the tube 11 against
the shoulder 45 as shown in Figures 1 and 7. The tube 11
is then withdrawn from the tube 13 thus causing the pressure
inside the tube 13 to be reduced as a result of the sliding
air seal between the tubes 11 and 13 and the air seal
bet~Jeen the ring 27 and the mouth of the tube 11. As a
result of this reduced pressure, air will flow into the
mouth of the tube 11 through the ring 27 to suck the
glove 29 and sleeve 31 into the chamber defined within the
tubes 11 and 13 and inflate the sleeve 31 and the glove 29
as shown in Figure 9. The inner tube 11 is withdrawn far
enough for the segments 51 to be past the end of the guide
bars 53 and the inner tube 11 is rotated to bring a portion
of the segments 51 in axial alignment with the guide bars
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and thus lock the inner tube 11 in the withdrawn position.
The reduced air pressure generated within the tubes 11 and 13
acting through the inflated and stretched glove will exert
a force on the inner tube to tend to draw it hack into
the tube 13 and hold the segments 51 against the guide
bars 53. ~ith the glove inflated in this manner, the
surgeon can then easily insert his hand through the ring
27 and the mouth of the tube ll and fully into the inflated
surgeon's glove 29. Because the glove 29 will be fully
inflated to a size larger than the surgeon's hand, the
surgeon~s hand goes fully into the glove very easily.
The surgeon then continues to thrust his hand forward until
he grasps the bar 55 with his fingers -thus positioning his
hand in the glove relative to the tube 11 at a desired
orientation. The surgeon then rotates the tube ll with
respect to the tube 13 back to its origina] angular position
in which the guide bars 53 register with the gaps between
the segments 51, at which time the reduced pressure within
the tube 13 will pull the tube ll back toward the fully
inserted position along with the hand of the surgeon encased
in the glove 29. The surgeon at this time will press the
inner tube forward holding onto the bar 55 until the cuff
of the glove explodes off the ring and onto his wrist.
The cuff does, in fact, explode off the ring and around the
wrist as he pushes the inner tube forward because this
action will cause the pressure inside the tube 13 to exceed
the atmospheric pressure and thus exert pressure between
the cuff of the glove 29 and the ring 27 where the cuff is
mounted on the ring. The air pressure will cause the cuff
of the glove to release from the ring onto the surgeon's
wrist with a pronounced popping sound. If the bar 55 were
not present, then the rotation of the inner tube ll relati~e
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to the outer tube 13 would have to be done by ~he surgeon
flexing his hand to an open position to engage the tube 11
and the tube 11 would have to be made small enough to
permit this to be done. This in turn might interfere ~ith
the normal flexing operation of the hand as the hand is
being inserted into the glove particularly for persons with
large hands. Thus, the bar 55 enables the inner tube 11
to be made large enough, five inches in diameter, to
accommodate the largest handed user of the apparatus.
In addition, the bar 55 provides another very
important function. When the surgeon inserts his hand into
the tube 11 and grabs the bar 55, he then determines a
fixed orientation of the glove 29 relative to the tube 11
and the ring 27 during the time that the tube 11 is being
reinserted into the tube 13. If the bar 55 were not there,
then when the inner tube 11 is rotated back to the position
in which the guides 53 register between the segments 51,
the reduced pressure inside the tube 13 might draw the tube
11 into the tube 13 faster than the gloved hand moves into
the tube 13 and thus cause an unwrapping of the sleeve of
the glove about the wrist of the surgeon and preventing
effective release of the sleeve from the ring 27. ~n the
other hand, the surgeon might mo~e his hand in faster or
further into the tube 13 than the tube 11 is withdra~7n back
into the tube 13 and thus cause the cuff of the glove to
bind around ~he front edge of the ring 27 and prevent it
from being exploded off during this operation. The grasping
of the bar 55 by the surgeon's gloved hand maintains the
gloved hand in a fixed position with respect to the inner
tube 11 and thus enables the increased pressure inside
the tube 13 to effectively explode the cuff of the glove
off the ring 27 and onto the surgeon's hand. After the cuff
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- has been released from the ring and snaps around the
surgeon's wrist, the surgeon then withdraws his gloved
hand from the tube ll and ring 27 as shown in Figure 10.
In the embodiment of the glove inflating apparatus
illustrated in Figures 12-1~, the arcuate segments 51
have been eliminated and a different svstem is employed
for retaining the inner tube 11 in the withdrawn or extended
position after the glove has bee~ inflated. In this
embodiment, one of the guide bars S3, designated 53a, is
made shorter in axial length than the other guide bars 53
so that the front end of this guide bar terminates about
midway in the tube 13. Since the tube 13 preferably is
about ten inches in length, the guide bar 53 ~Jill be about
five inches long with the rear end thereof terminating
at the plate 15. The other guide bars 53 are ~ade about
seven inches in axial length with the front ends terminating
about two inches nearer to the mouth of the tu~e 13 than
the guide bar 53a. The radial thickness of the guide bar
53a is made greater than that of the other guide bars and
in the preferred embodiment is 1/8 inch thick. The guide
bar on the opposite side from the guide bar 53a is made
about 1/16 inch thick in this embodiment and the other two
guide bars are each made about 3/32 in thickness. The
thickness of the guide bars is chosen so that a loose or
sloppy sliding fit is provided between the guide bars and
the outer cylindrical surface of the tube llo Preferably
about 1/16 inch of play is provided bet~een the tube 11
- and the guide bars 53 and 53a. This play is achieved by
making the sum o~ the thicknesses through the guide bars
on opposite sides from each other equal to about 3/16 of an
inch.
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The guide bar 53a is given a distinctive color
such as red so that it is clearly visible through the
clear plastic material of the tubes 11 and 13. The other
three guide bars 53 are made oE the same clear plastic
material as the tubes 1l and 13.
In this embodiment, the glove is inflated just as
described above with respect to the embodiment shown in
Figures 6-8. However, after the ~ube 11 has been withdrawn,
the back tube 11 is retained in the extended or withdrawn
position by slightly cocking the tube so that the back end
of the tube 11 lodges against the front end of the guide
bar 53a as shown in Figures 13 and 14. This cocking of the
inner tube is permitted by l/I6 inch play between the
guide bars and the inner tube ll. With the inner tube
cocked and the back end thereof lodged against the front
end of the guide bar 53a, the reduced pressure within the
tubes ll and 13 acting through the inflated glove will
apply force to the inner tube ll to hold the back end of
the tube 11 against the front end of the guide bar 53a. In
this manner, the inner tube ll is maintained in its extended
or ~lithdrawn position with the glove inflated ready for
insertion of the surgeonls hand. After the surgeon inserts
his hand, he merely grasps the bar 55 and uncocks the inner
tube by moving it to one side to disengage it from the
guide bar 53a so that the tube ll may be reinserted back
into the tube 13 as described above with respect to the
embodiments of Figures 6-8.
The above described system of the present invention
makes it possible for the surgeon to very quickly and
easily don sterile surgical gloves without danger of
contamination and without the need for assistance of a
second person. Moreover, this easy and effective donning
of the gloves is achieved by means of a very simple apparatus
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and convenient glove package.
~ he above description is of preferred embodiments
of the invention and many modifications may be made
thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
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