STERILE PACKAGE FOR CLINICAL THERMOMETERS AND THE LIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT

• US 3,847,280 A
• Filed: 08/31/1972
• Issued: 11/12/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: George W. Poncy
• Original Assignee: George W. Poncy
• Inventors: Poncy, George W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixson, Jr., William T.
• Application Number:
  US05/285,255
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 206/16.5,63.2R,306,498,212 128/260 229/48T 93/35
• US Class Current: 206/306
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2050/316 double- or multiple-walled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/30 Containers specially adapted for packaging, protecting, dispensing, collecting or disposing of surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments for wound clamps A61B17/10; for ligaturing clips A61B17/122; packages or dispensers for surgical gloves or finger-stalls A61B42/40
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/25 Protective devices therefor, e.g. sleeves preventing contamination

Abstract

An improved sterile, disposable, sheath and sheath cover for thermometers and the like, and method of making it, packaged so as to preserve the sterility of the sheath during handling and storage, the sheath cover comprising the packaging material being strippable from the sheath along a tear seal to expose the same for clinical use when a thermometor or the like is inserted into the sheath. In some applications the sheath is covered on its outer surface during manufacture with a lubricant, medicated or otherwise, to facilitate insertion into a body cavity. The package is particularly designed for economical mass production.

Claims

1. A sheath-package for surgical instruments and the like comprising superposed laminations of material formed into two separate layers, the inner layer of each lamination forming a sheath for the reception of an instrument, said sheath having an open end and a closed end, the outer portions of each lamination comprising a cover for said sheath, said laminations being joined together by a seal defining said sheath, said seal between said laminations being constructed so that said outer portions are strippable from said sheath along said seal upon the insertion of an instrument into said sheath.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said laminations are formed into strips.

3. A flexible sheath package comprising a flexible sheath having an open mouth, and being of a size and shape to sheathe a thermometer, said sheath being formed from a first pair of strips of sheet material bonded together along a seal line to define said sheath, an outer cover enclosing outer surfaces of said sheath, said cover comprising a second pair of strips of different sheet material than said first pair of strips, said first pair of strips being sandwiched between said second pair of strips to enclose said sheath, each of the strips of said second pair having an inner face in face-to-face contact with an outer face of the corresponding strip of said first pair, a surface area of the inner face of each of the strips of said second pair being bonded to a corresponding surface area of the outer face of the corresponding strip of said first pair across the ends of said strips at the mouth of said sheath, said cover being open at the mouth of said sheath so that the sheath package of said sheath and said cover is open to the interior of said sheath through the mouth thereof, whereby a thermometer may be readily inserted into such sheath while outer surfaces of said sheath are still enclosed by said cover, said cover having defined therein a separation line along which the material strength of said cover is weaker than remainder of said cover, said separation line comprising means causing severing of said cover along said separation line to expose said sheath when said cover is stressed in a predetermined manner after a thermometer has been inserted in said sheath.

4. A flexible sheath package as recited in claim 3 wherein the exterior surface of said sheath is sterile and said cover comprises means to protect the sterility of the exterior surface of said sheath until said sheath is exposed.

5. A flexible sheath package comprising two flexible layers sealed together along a seal line to define a sheath, a cover enclosing the outer surfaces of said layers within said seal line, the seal between said inner layers being constructed and said cover being fixed to said layers in a manner so that the outer portions of said flexible layers outside of said seal line is torn away from said sheath when said outer layer is peeled from said sheath with an instrument within said sheath.