Eye wash system

• US 6,398,766 B1
• Filed: 12/27/1999
• Issued: 06/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vista Innovation LLC
• Original Assignee: Vista Innovation LLC
• Inventors: Branch, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, Kim M.
• Application Number:
  US09/472,248
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 604/294-302, 604/289, 128/200.23, 222/498, 222/527, 222/533, 222/556
• US Class Current: 604/302
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 35/02 for the eyes

Abstract

An eye wash system including a first base member slidable on a second base member from a retracted storage position to an extended operative position. One base member has an eye piece on its front end. The other base member pivotally supports a coupling assembly on which a flexible squeeze bottle is attached. A fluid line from the coupling assembly leads to a spray nozzle mounted on the front end of the other base member. A seal structure on the back side of the eye piece is moved rectilinearly into engagement with the spray nozzle to seal it when the one base member is in its retracted storage position. The bottom wall of the other base member has a resilient tongue with a detent ridge at its free end. Detent grooves on the coupling assembly cooperate with the detent ridge to latch it in the vertical or horizontal positions of the coupling assembly. Modifications of the spray nozzle include means for metering the liquid to be sprayed.

Claims

1. An eye wash system, comprising;

a first base member;

a second base member slidable on said first base member, said base members having corresponding front and rear ends;

eye piece means formed at the front end of said first base member for positioning said system for flushing a user'"'"'s eye when said eye piece means engages a user'"'"'s face;

a coupling assembly mounted on said second base member, said coupling assembly having means for receiving an eye wash liquid;

a fluid line mounted on said second base member for conveying the eye wash liquid from said coupling assembly to a spray outlet at said front end of said second base member;

closure means at said front end of said first base member, said closure means being adapted to engage and close said spray outlet;

slide means for enabling said first base member to slide on said second base member from a forward position at which said spray outlet is positioned to spray eye wash liquid into the user'"'"'s eye to a rearward position at which said closure means engages said spray outlet to close said spray outlet.

2. The eye wash system according to claim 1, wherein said coupling assembly is pivoted to said second base member adjacent said rear end of said second base member, being pivotal to a first vertical operative position or to a second horizontal storage position.

3. The eye wash system according to claim 2, wherein an eye wash liquid container is coupled to said coupling assembly to feed the eye wash liquid to said means for receiving an eye wash liquid.

4. The eye wash system according to claim 3, wherein said first and second base members are nested to from a trough.

5. The eye wash system according to claim 4, wherein said container lies within said trough when said housing is in said storage position.

6. The eye wash system according to claim 3, wherein said container is a flexible squeeze bottle.

7. The eye wash system according to claim 3, further comprising flexible detent means on said second base member to hold said coupling assembly in said vertical operative position or said horizontal storage position.

8. The eye wash system according to claim 3, further comprising means for attaching a mirror to said coupling assembly, said mirror, when said coupling assembly is in said vertical operative position, facing said eye piece, means so that the user may view his eye.

9. The eye wash system according to claim 1, wherein said spray outlet is formed on a nozzle housing, said nozzle housing comprising metering means for limiting the quantity of the liquid dispensed through said spray outlet.

10. The eye wash system according to claim 9, wherein said metering means comprises a flexible disk within said nozzle housing and wherein said flexible disk has peripheral indentations.

11. The eye wash system according to claim 10, wherein said nozzle housing has a conical end wall with said spray outlet at the apex of said conical end wall and a cylindrical chamber, the outer diameter of said disk being substantially equal to the inner diameter of said cylindrical chamber, said fluid line being adapted to dispense the eye wash liquid to said cylindrical housing, whereby when said cylindrical housing receives said eye wash liquid, some of the liquid flows through said indentations and said spray outlet and the pressure of the liquid on said disk forces said disk against said conical end wall to close said spray outlet, whereby only a limited quantity of the liquid is dispensed through said spray outlet.

12. The eye wash system according to claim 11, wherein said peripheral indentations have corners which are folded over toward said spray outlet to increase the springiness of said disk.

13. The eye wash system according to claim 9, wherein said metering means comprises fluid responsive biased valve means.

14. The eye wash system according to claim 13, wherein said biased valve means comprises a disk movable along a guide pin aligned with said fluid line and said spray outlet and spring means biasing said disk to close said fluid line, said disk being pushed along said guide pin by fluid in said fluid line to allow a limited quantity of the liquid to be dispensed through said spray outlet.

15. The eye wash system according to claim 1, wherein said second base member has a bottom wall with a flexible detent means formed on said bottom wall, and wherein said coupling means comprises a retaining member, said retaining member having first means for cooperating with said flexible detent means to retain said coupling means in said vertical operative position and second means for cooperating with said flexible detent means to retain said coupling means in said horizontal storage position.

16. The eye wash system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second base members comprise retaining means to retain said first base member in said forward position or in said rearward position.

17. The eye wash system according to claim 1, wherein said first base member has a bottom wall, said bottom wall having an aperture with a bridge member at the rear end of said first base member closing said aperture, and wherein said second base member has a bottom wall having a recess formed on its bottom side and a boss projecting from said recess to form a pair of shallow grooves, respectively fore and aft of said boss on said bottom side, said shallow grooves having substantially the same width as said bridge member, whereby said bridge member seats in the rearward groove when said first base member is slid its rearward position to retain said first base member in said rearward position and said closure means in engagement with said spray outlet, and in the forward groove when said first base member is slid to its forward position to retain said first base member in said forward position.

18. The eye wash system according to claim 17, wherein said bottom wall of said second base member comprises slots defining a resilient tongue member, said boss projecting from the bottom side of said resilient tongue member.

21. The eye wash system according to claim 2, wherein said nozzle has a conical end wall with said spray outlet at the apex of said conical end wall and a cylindrical chamber, the outer diameter of said disk being substantially equal to the inner diameter of said cylindrical chamber, said fluid line being adapted to dispense the eye wash liquid to said cylindrical housing.

22. The eye wash system according to claim 21, wherein said peripheral indentations have corners which are folded over towards said spray outlet to increase the springiness of said disk.

19. An eye wash system, comprising:

a first base member;

a second base member;

supply means mounted on said second base member for supplying an eye wash liquid;

a spray outlet mounted on said second base member;

means for feeding the eye wash liquid from said supply means to said spray outlet;

closure means mounted on said first base member and adapted to engage and close said spray outlet; and

means for sliding said first base member relative to said second base member from a first position in which said spray outlet is positioned to spray said liquid into the user'"'"'s eye and a second position in which said closure means engages and closes said spray outlet.

20. An eye wash system comprising:

dispensing means for dispensing an eye wash liquid through a spray outlet into a user'"'"'s eye; and

a nozzle housing, said spray outlet being formed on said nozzle housing, said nozzle housing comprising metering means for limiting the quantity of the liquid dispensed through said spray outlet;

said metering means comprising a flexible disk having peripheral indentations, whereby when some of the eye wash liquid flows through both said indentations and said spray outlet, and the pressure of the liquid on said disk forces said disc to close, said spray outlet dispenses only a limited quantity of the eye wash liquid.

23. The eye wash system according to claim 20, wherein said metering means comprises fluid responsive biased valve means.

24. The eye wash system according to claim 23, wherein said biased valve means comprises a disk movable along a guide pin aligned with said fluid line and said spray outlet and spring means biasing said disk to close said fluid line, said disk being pushed along said guide pin by fluid in said fluid line to allow a limited quantity of said liquid to be dispensed through said spray outlet.