Hand cleanliness

• US 9,013,312 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biovigil Hygiene Technologies LLC (BioVigil Healthcare Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Biovigil Hygiene Technologies LLC (BioVigil Healthcare Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bolling, Steven F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US13/184,988
• Publication Number:
  US 20120068843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,373 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/309.7, 340/572.1, 340/514, 73/14.4, 73/14.5, 116/208
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/26 using a biometric sensor integrated in the pass
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

Among other things, an entry monitor has circuitry to detect when a person enters a monitored space and an indicator perceptible to other people in the space to indicate a cleanliness state of the hands of the person who has entered the space.

Claims

1. An apparatus to be carried or worn by a person, the apparatus comprising:

an electronic sensor to perform a reading on the person'"'"'s hands to determine a cleanliness state of the person'"'"'s hands; and

an element separate from the electronic sensor to communicate information associated with the person to the electronic sensor, in which the element contains a storage device configured to store information associated with the person about at least one of places in which cleanliness tests were performed, and which other people were present in a space when the tests were performed.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the storage device is coupled to the electronic sensor to store information about cleanliness measurements performed by the person using the electronic sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the information includes a unique identifier of the person that can be read electronically.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, in which the element is configured to communicate the unique identifier in order to allow the person access to a building or space.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the electronic sensor is part of a badge holder and the element is part of a badge that can be placed in the badge holder and removed from the badge holder by a user.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the element further comprises a wearable identification badge.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the element communicates information to a second element located on a wall mount.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the element comprises RFID technology.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the element comprises a wireless transmitter or transceiver.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the element comprises a wireless radiofrequency transmitter or transceiver.

11. An apparatus to be carried or worn by a person, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor to perform a reading on the person'"'"'s hands to determine a cleanliness state of the person'"'"'s hands, to be mechanically detachable to an element that is also to be carried or worn by the person, and to obtain from the element information associated with the person; and

circuitry to count a number of times a person has run a cleanliness test using the sensor and compare the number of times cleanliness tests have been run using the sensor to a number of total test cycles.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the element contains a storage device configured to store information associated with the person.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, in which the storage device is coupled to the sensor to store information about cleanliness measurements performed by the person using the electronic sensor.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, also including a communication circuit to communicate the counted number of times a person has run a cleanliness test wirelessly for reporting to a third party.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, in which the communication circuit comprises a radio frequency communication circuit.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 also including an indicator to signal when the sensor is reaching the end of its useful life.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the electronic sensor comprises a biometric detection device.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, in which the information comprises a unique identifier for the person.