Not Applicable
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to a sharps disposal unit, and, in particular, to a sharps disposal unit having a permanent top portion with a disposable bottom portion, which reduces the potential of one reaching inside of the sharps disposal unit, and which allows for coating of the sharp end and shaft of, for example, a used needle.
Current sharps disposal units are typically fully disposablexe2x80x94that is, when the unit is filled or partially filled with sharps (i.e., syringes, needles, scalpels, etc.) the unit is disposed of and replaced with a new unit. To help reduce contact with the sharps in the unit, the units typically advise that once the unit is filled to a predetermined fill line the unit should be disposed of and replaced with a new unit. The fill line usually corresponds to the unit being 70-80% full. However, many of the currently available units are opaque and do not provide any manner to determine how full the unit actually is. Thus, in practice, the unit is not disposed of until sharps are readily visible near the open top of the container, at which point, the unit is filled past the fill line.
This method of use has inherent risks associated with it. If the container is accidentally dropped, it is likely that the sharps in the container will spill out of the container, requiring additional handling of potentially dangerous items. Additionally, sharps near the top of the container may be readily accessible to probing hands. These could be the hands of a patient, such as a curious child in a pediatrician""s office. Further, the ease of accessibility to needles, even dirty needles, is a factor in medical facilities located in areas of high drug use, or where people break into doctors"" offices to steal needles.
Several sharps disposal units have been designed which encase the complete syringe, for example. Although, these disposal units do make the needle inaccessible and unusable, there is no need to encase, for example, the syringe tube and plunger. To reduce the possibility of sticks, all that need be encased is the tip of the needle. Because these units encase the entire syringe, they use a significantly greater amount of encasing material than is necessary.
We know of no currently available unit which reduces the possibility of spillage or of accidental contact with the sharps contained within the unit. Nor do we know of any currently available unit which allows for easily sealing the sharp without encasing the complete sharp.
Briefly stated, a sharps disposal unit of the present invention includes a cover and a disposable container. The cover has a front wall, a back wall, side walls, and a top surface. A drop slot is formed in the top surface through which sharps can be dropped A baffle slopes downwardly from an edge of the drop slot. A pair of arms or plates extend downwardly from the cover top surface. The plates have a length sufficient to engage the top of the container, as described below. A heated, removable well or container is placed in the cover top surface to hold a supply of a liquid sealant, such as paraffin or hot melt glue, which will solidify upon cooling. The sealant can be colored and/or provided with a germicide. A removable lid is provided to cover the well. The lid is domed shaped, having a generally central opening and a funnel shaped surface surrounding the opening. The domed lid forms a space into which liquid sealant flows if the cover is tipped or dropped, thereby containing the substantially all sealant that would spill out of the well. The lid opening is sized to be slightly smaller than a finger, to prevent someone from inadvertently placing a finger in the heated well. Additionally, the lid, when placed over the well, creates a substantially enclosed chamber which traps the heat in the well. Prior to placing the needle into the unit, the medical personnel can dip the needle into the sealant. Preferably, the well of melted sealant is sufficiently deep to allow the complete shaft of the needle to be coated with the sealant. Gravity tends to cause a bulb of sealant or a thicker wall of sealant to form at the end of the needle to encase the needle and provide a dull tip at the end of the needle to reduce the possibility of sticks. A storage well can be positioned near the heated well to hold a supply of unmelted sealant.
The disposable container has side walls, a bottom, and a top. The side walls are preferably accordioned so that the container can be compressed during shipping and storage, and then expanded for use. A door or flap is formed in the container top. The container door is positioned beneath the cover drop slot and is opened by the cover plates when the container and cover are assembled together. When the container door is pushed or flexed inwardly by the cover plates, the door defines a second baffle, which slopes in an opposite direction of the cover baffle. The door is defined on three sides by slits in the container top surface. The container top surface is made of a flexible material having a xe2x80x9cmemoryxe2x80x9d, such as a thermoplastic material. When the cover and container are separated, the container door will automatically move towards a closed position to be at least partially closed. To maintain the door in a fully closed position, the container top surface is provided with retainers. The retainers can be cable ties, twist ties or a barbed nylon cable with a lock device at one end to accept the notches or barbs of the cable and not allow them to loosen. The retainers are threaded through holes placed on opposite sides of the slit. The ends of the retainer extend up through the holes, and the tie traverses the slit along an underside of the container top surface. The retainers are used to secure the door in its closed position and traverse the slit along an upper side of the container top surface when pulled.
A bracket is provided to hold the cover and container together. The cover includes a shoulder along each of the side walls, and the shoulder includes a dip in an upper surface of the cover. Similarly, the container includes a bottom surface in an upper lip or neck of the container above the first accordion or pleat of the container. An upwardly curved dip is also formed in this surface. The bracket includes a pair of upper arms and a pair of lower arms. The upper and lower arms are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the distance between the cover shoulder top surface and the container neck bottom surface, when the cover is on the container. The two arms of each pair are spaced apart horizontally a distance equal to the side-to-side width of the sharps disposal unit. The upper and lower arms each include a bend which engages the respective dips in the cover shoulder and the container neck surfaces to positively hold the cover and container together. The cover and container, which assembled together, can simply be slid into and out of the bracket. The bracket can be provided with a mounting plate to mount the unit on a wall or with a stand to stand the unit on a counter top.