×

Hands-free portable towelette dispenser apparatus

  • US 6,427,839 B1
  • Filed: 04/17/2000
  • Issued: 08/06/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A hands-free portable pre-moistened antiseptic towelette dispenser system for providing users with near omnipresent proximal and virtually universally adaptable access to varying quantities of pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes that can be used for multiple antiseptic skin cleansing and other sanitary cleansing purposes by nearly anyone, any time, anywhere, for self and others, and including cleansing of inorganic surfaces having a potential for high concentrations of pathogens, prior to skin contact therewith, said dispenser system providing a means for controlling the primary mode of the spread of infectious disease by reducing direct and indirect contact transmission of infectious pathogens which occur primarily before eating by hand transmission via a fecal to oral route;

  • said portable antiseptic towelette dispenser system not being intended to replace traditional hand washing means, but rather to provide a convenient and efficient alternative means of antisepsis when traditional hand washing means, including sink with running warm water, soap and paper towels and other hand drying means are either unavailable, or sufficiently inconvenient to a person so as to result in non-compliance with safe hand hygiene;

    with material components of said antiseptic towelette dispenser system further being designed to implement classical and operant conditioning strategies by providing adaptability and versatility in portability, function, and context of use, so as to provide multiple forms of adaptation to efficiently meet the requirements of busy, high-demand and fast-paced lives and which can be worn around the waist, on a wrist, an ankle, diagonally across the chest, and vertically over a shoulder in addition to attachment to items worn, carried by, and in close proximity to users;

    wherein during use of said system, classical and operant conditioning strategies function to change undesirable and unhealthy human hygiene habits of users into desirable and healthy hygiene habits, in terms of both frequency and effectiveness of hand decontamination;

    wherein new healthy hand cleansing habits are taught, elicited, facilitated, provoked, effortlessly and unconsciously learned, reinforced, and sustained by highly redundant, multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional, multi-modal and effortless conditioning of people in the use of said pre-moistened antiseptic towelette dispenser system, as a result of which users of said system develop sustained healthy, safe hand hygiene habits and wherein other antiseptic skin cleansing habits and sanitary object cleansing habits are also learned;

    so that users of said system are influenced to behave in ways that control and prevent the spread of infectious disease, said hands-free portable pre-moistened antiseptic towelette dispenser system comprising;

    a plurality of towelettes which are in a pre-moistened and antiseptic condition prior to use, said towelettes being adapted for providing positively reinforcing, soothing, non-drying, and no-rinse cleansing of skin surfaces on hands and other body parts;

    a sturdy, moisture-resistant bag made from durable materials and having a first compartment and a second compartment, said first compartment being configured and dimensioned to receive a quantity of said unused pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes in a stacked and folded configuration, said second compartment being configured and dimensioned to receive said towelettes after use, said bag also having an exterior front portion, opposing sides each with a rearward portion, a reflecting and washable outer surface, insulation means adapted for isolating contents in said first and second compartments from external environmental influences, said bag further having a sturdy elastic base for expansion and contraction of bag size according to fullness of said compartments which are refillable;

    an insulated, moisture-proof divider separating said first and second compartments that is configured to prevent contamination of said unused pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes in said first compartment by any of said soiled towelettes placed within said second compartment;

    a pair of straps, each of said straps being permanently connected at a proximal end to a different one of said rearward portions of said bag, each of said permanently connected straps having a distal end and multi-configuration hook-and-loop strap closure means of alternating hook and loop members permanently attached to said distal end, each said strap closure means on said distal end of one of said permanent straps being complementary to said strap closure means on said distal end of its paired permanent strap, said strap closure means also being adapted for secure removable locking connection between said distal ends of said permanent straps, as well as secure removable attachment of said two permanent straps around body parts and items transported by a user, mobile items in contact with floor and ground surfaces the movement of which is guided by users, and inanimate objects;

    whereby said permanent straps provide multiple means of hand-free portability, so that users of said dispenser system are enabled to select the means of hands-free transport for said system according to changing situational requirements of the user, thereby providing opportunities for frequent, repetitive use of said dispenser system and strengthening the classical Pavlovian conditioned associative bond between the proximal presence of said dispenser system and the use of said antiseptic towelette dispenser system for hand decontamination purposes;

    said permanent straps further operantly conditioning frequent use of said dispenser system by providing positively reinforcing convenience, ease and speed of use, immediate accessibility, and adaptability via multiple user-selected hands-free portability options, for user-friendly availability of antisepsis despite the context of usage;

    each said strap closure means on said distal ends of said permanent straps also being adapted for secure removable locking connection of each of said permanent straps to itself through lateral folding substantially in half, the hook and loop members in each half of said strap closure means being complementary to those in the opposing half of said closure means for secure removable attachment of said permanent straps to belt loops and narrow clothing and accessory straps, and also for secure removable attachment to additional fastening mechanisms including two-part quick-release buckles, so as to provide hands-free portability for said towelette dispenser system by allowing secure removable attachment of said bag around items worn and transported by users, inanimate objects, and mobile items in contact with floor and ground surfaces the movement of which is guided by users;

    said multi-configuration hook-and-loop strap closure means thereby providing users with additional multiple hand-free opportunities to conveniently, frequently and redundantly access said pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes from said bag, thereby providing a method of classical Pavlovian conditioning in the use of said towelette dispenser system for antiseptic hand cleansing purposes and other sanitary cleansing purposes; and

    , further augmenting hands-free portability of said bag by consistently providing positive incentives for use of said bag by making said bag proximal, convenient, easily accessible, and an immediate source of said pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes that further operantly conditions use of said bag for contagion control purposes;

    at least one extension strap being adjustable in length and configuration, each said extension strap having opposite ends and fastening means associated with each of said opposite ends, each said fastening means having separable opposing parts being adapted for quick attachment and disconnection from one another, with at least one of said fastening means comprising permanently attached multi-configuration hook and loop strap closure means with alternating hook and loop members and wherein said hook and loop members in each half of said strap closure means are complementary to those in the opposing half of said strap closure means, said fastening means also being adapted for lateral folding substantially in half for secure removable attachment of said extension straps to belt loops and narrow clothing and accessory straps, as well as secure, removable non-folded attachment of said extension strap ends to said distal ends of said permanent straps, and further wherein said fastening means is user selected from a group consisting of multi-configuration hook-and-loop strap closure means of alternating hook and loop members, strap-length-adjusting strap couplers, and two-part quick-release buckle mechanisms each having an anchoring end adapted for receipt of a strap having multi-configuration hook-and-loop strap closure means attached thereto so that said anchoring ends of said two-part quick release buckle mechanisms can be securely and removably attached to said opposite ends of each said adjustable extension strap, and also attached to said distal ends of each of said permanently connected straps, through lateral folding of said multi-configuration hook-and-loop strap closure means substantially in half, around one of said anchoring ends, and further through application of slight pressure to said closure means after being substantially folded in half so that said secure removable fastening means provides multiple user-selected options for hands-free portability of said bag further augmented by said adjustable extension straps, thereby providing users with repetitive, redundant, quick, and easy access to said pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes in said bag for breaking the cycle of contagion of infectious diseases through redundant effortless classical and operant conditioning irrespective of context and age limitation;

    wherein the resultant lessening of infectious disease incidence and contagion provide positive reinforcers for additional use of said bag for contagion control purposes in domestic, business, commercial, educational, health care, child care, food preparation and service, long term care, institutional, military, and government settings;

    said first compartment in said towelette dispenser bag having a first selectively and easily openable cover , and also having a first part of at least one of said hook-and-loop closure mechanisms permanently attached thereto, and said first cover also having a first part of at least one two-part pressure clip closure mechanism permanently attached thereto, all of said multiple part closure mechanisms being configured for fast, easy, and secure removable attachment of said first cover to said towelette dispenser bag via complementary second parts of each said hook-and-loop closure mechanism and pressure clip permanently attached to said exterior front portion of said bag;

    wherein easy and secure removable attachment of said first cover provides a positive incentive for frequent use of said bag for contagion control purposes by preventing contamination, dehydration, and inadvertent loss of stored contents in said first compartment;

    thereby protecting the sanitary integrity and safety of said pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes;

    wherein such protection relieves users of worry and required protective measures to insure safety and sanitary integrity of unused ones of said towelettes stacked in said first compartment, thereby facilitating ease of using said towelette dispenser bag which positively reinforces and further promotes increased use of said towelette dispenser system for contagion control purposes via operant conditioning;

    wherein according to the Laws of Human Learning, Motivation, and Emotion, positive operant conditioning provided by said first easily opening cover further increases the probability of subsequent use of said towelette dispenser system for contagion control by the user, and simultaneously provides a means of strengthening the classically conditioned associative bond between the presence of and use of said bag for antiseptic hand cleansing and other contagion control purposes;

    said first easily openable cover further being configured for providing prompt one-handed access to said soothing and nourishing pre-moistened antiseptic towelettes which leave residual pleasant feelings on the skin, thereby conditioning positive anticipatory behavior in the user so as to reliably increase subsequent use of said towelette dispenser system, and also reliably strengthening a classically conditioned associative bond, in the user, between the proximal presence of said dispenser system and use of said system for skin cleansing purposes, said easily openable cover further strengthening both the classically conditioned associative bond and desired operantly conditioned response by being strategically designed for easy and safe use without negative reinforcers, and thereby avoiding anxiety in users due to complexity and uncertainty regarding correct and safe use of said bag;

    wherein any such negative emotional response to the use of said antiseptic towelette dispenser system resulting from complexity and uncertainty would negatively reinforce employment of said bag for contagion control purposes thereby predictably reducing the frequency of use of same;

    with any resulting decreased frequency of use tending to cause a further decrease in strength of classical associative conditioning use of said bag for contagion control purposes;

    wherein to the extent that said classical conditioned associative bond is extinguished in the user, unlearning of conditioned healthy contagion control behavior would lead to decreased frequency of use of said bag for contagion control purposes; and

    said second compartment in said towelette dispenser bag having a second selectively and easily openable cover with an interior surface and a first part of at least one of said hook-and-loop closure mechanisms permanently attached to said interior surface, and said second cover also having a first part of at least one two-part pressure clip closure mechanism permanently also attached to said interior surface, all of said multiple part closure mechanisms being configured for secure removable attachment of said second cover to said bag, wherein, the second parts of each said closure mechanism used with said second cover are attached permanently to said outer surface of said bag wherein said multiple part closure mechanisms are configured for secure removable attachment of said second cover to said outer surface of said bag, in order to minimize environmental contamination and inadvertent loss of stored contents in said second compartment;

    wherein opening and closing said covers of said first and second compartments are identical actions, thereby providing users with one of a multiplicity of repetitive and redundant actions, which induce in each user effortless learning, via classical conditioning that establishes an unconscious association of antiseptic hand cleansing and other sanitary cleansing functions, with the presence of said towelette dispenser system, and contributes to the multiple conditioning strategies integral to material structural components of said bag thereby eliciting increased frequency and effectiveness of hand cleansing behavior on behalf of contagion control of infectious diseases;

    further wherein opening and closing said covers allows users to employ only one hand to lift away said covers with the back of a user'"'"'s hand and leave all five digits on that hand free for dispensing use;

    single-handed securing, dispensing, and discarding of a desired number of said towelettes; and

    removal of the user'"'"'s hand from underneath said first cover to allow said first parts of each said pressure clip attached to said first cover to again make contact with its paired second part attached to said bag, and also allow said first part of each said hook and loop closure mechanism attached to said first cover to again make contact with its paired second part attached to said bag, and thereafter securely re-attaching said closure means on said interior surface of said covers to said complementary and cooperating closure means on said outer surface of said bag with slight pressure from the back of only one hand, said towelette dispenser system thereby safely and conveniently leaving the other hand free to perform non-towelette dispensing functions;

    further wherein said two-part quick-release buckles, said strap couplers, and said hook and loop strap closure means provide rapid attachment and disconnection of said extension straps and thereby assist in providing users with an easily learned, fast and convenient means of hand and other antisepsis, of which the ease, speed, and convenience provides positive reinforcement of the use of said towelette dispenser system, via positive operant conditioning that reliably increases the probability of repetition of healthy user hygiene habits; and

    further wherein when users perform identical steps of opening, dispensing, depositing, and closing said first and second compartment covers, which in addition to the ease, speed, and convenience of antiseptic hand cleansing provided, elicit repetitive and redundant classical and operant conditioning for desirable healthy hand hygiene and other sanitary cleansing behavior by the user, behavior modification in the form of increased frequency of use of said bag for hand decontamination and other sanitary cleansing purposes is provoked on behalf of contagion control of infectious diseases.

View all claims
  • 0 Assignments
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×