The present invention relates to disposable containers for hospital sharps and infectious waste, and pertains particularly to a secure disposable container and alternate closure assemblies for stand alone and for insert containers.
Hospitals and medical clinics use great quantities of sharps, such as needles, syringes, surgical blades, and the like, that are disposed of rather than cleaned and reused. It is necessary that the sharps be disposed of in a manner that prevents them being reused without sterilization. In particular, it is necessary to keep them from falling into the hands of those, such as intravenous drug users and the like, who are likely to use them without proper sterilization.
Numerous containers have been developed in recent years, which are reasonably secure and disposable for receiving and disposing of hospital sharps, wastes and the like. Many of these containers are disposable inserts that mount into a security housing which is lockable and is securely mounted on a wall or other support structure. Many of these insert containers however have an inadequate security closure built into it, and are out dated so that they do not provide adequate security against pilfering of used syringes and the like therefrom. While improved containers have been developed which cannot readily be reopened and articles cannot be easily removed therefrom, such containers must be kept in a secure place or securely mounted to non-removable structure to prevent unauthorized removal.
Many hospitals and clinics that have the older secure housings with insert type disposable containers do not wish to invest in new housings. It is therefore necessary to develop improved insert type disposable containers for these housings with improved closures for the combination. It is also desirable that new stand alone units be available.
An example of a prior art disposable insert type container and mounting housing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,498 of Hanifl dated Dec. 29, 1987. This patent discloses a sharps container having a closure door that provides limited access to the interior of the container for mounting in a protective housing. However, an improved closure is desirable for such containers.
Examples of stand alone type containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,860, granted Apr. 12, 1988 to Bemis, and entitled SHARPS DISPOSAL CONTAINER, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,107, granted May 9, 1989 to Spencer and entitled DISPOSABLE CONTAINER FOR SYRINGES. It is desirable that simpler more effective disposable containers be available.
In the manufacture of multiple related or similar products, it is desirable that as many parts be interchangeable as possible in order to reduce manufacturing costs. It is also desirable that different variations of the product be available to meet different conditions and needs. It is, therefore, desirable that an improved securable disposable container combination be available to provide both insert and stand alone containers.