Disposible protective shield for human body part

Abstract

The shield is formed of a single thin (approximately 2 mils thick) flexible sheet, which may be made of polyurethane. The sheet has a surface and a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge has the shape of the body part to be protected. The surface is coated with an adhesive. The coating is adapted to removably attach the shield to the body part to protect the body part from contamination from objects to which the protected body part may come in contact. A second shield formed of a similar sheet has a peripheral edge with a shape that is substantially the mirror image of the peripheral edge of the first sheet for use with paired body parts, such as hands or feet.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disposable protective shield for a human body part, such as a hand or foot, formed of a single thin, flexible protective sheet with a coating of adhesive and a method for protecting the body part with the shield.

2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The world we live in is full of surfaces that contain germs or other contaminates. We all come into contact with those contaminated surfaces on a daily basis. Examples of such surfaces are doorknobs, handles for shopping carts, bathroom fixtures, remote control devices, which hands commonly come in contact with, and floors in public places such as locker rooms or showers and the like which often must be walked on with bare feet.

Disposable gloves are available commercially to protect the hands. However, those gloves are relatively expensive and not easy to put on and take off the hands. Similarly, paper slippers are available to protect the feet but are also relatively expensive and difficult to use. As a result, those products are not commonly used by the public in everyday life.

Clearly there is a need for a product which can protect a human body part, such as a hand or foot, and which is disposable, inexpensive to produce, easy to transport in the purse or pocket and is convenient to use.

It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for protection of a human body part.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which consists of a single thin, flexible sheet with an adhesive coated surface.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which can be quickly and easily mounted on and removed from the body part.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which does not require the user to separate layers in order to insert the body part.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which is easily transported in the purse or pocket of the user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which is inexpensive to produce.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable protective shield for a human body part which can be easily discarded after use.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, the above objectives are met by the present invention which is a disposable shield for protecting a human body part from contamination. The shield consists of a single thin, flexible sheet having a surface with a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge of the sheet substantially corresponds to the shape of the body part which the shield is designed to protect. The surface of the sheet has an adhesive coating. The adhesive coating is adapted to removably attach the sheet to the body part to protect the body part from contamination from objects to which the protected body part comes in contact.

The sheet that forms the shield may have a peripheral edge in the shape of a hand or a foot. The peripheral edge of the sheet can correspond to the shape of a large, medium or small body part. The body part can be male or female, adult or child.

For protecting paired body parts, such as hands or feet, two shields may be provided. The shields are formed in the shape of the body part, but in mirror image. In this manner, left and right extremities can be protected.

Preferably, the sheet which forms the shield is made of polyurethane and has a thickness of approximately 2 mils.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for protecting a human body part from contamination. The method includes the steps of: forming a single thin, flexible sheet having a surface with a peripheral edge; forming the peripheral edge to have a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the protected body part; forming an adhesive coating on the sheet surface; and removably attaching the sheet to the body part, using the adhesive coating, so as to protect the body part from contamination from objects to which the protected body part comes in contact.

The method further includes the steps of: providing a second sheet with substantially the same structure as the first sheet; and shaping the peripheral edge of the second sheet to be substantially the mirror image of the peripheral edge of the first sheet.

The sheet may be formed with a peripheral edge in the shape of a hand or a foot. It may be formed to correspond to the shape of a large, medium or small body part. It may be formed to fit an adult or child.

The single sheet is preferably formed of polyurethane. The sheet is formed to have a thickness of approximately 2 mils.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS

To these and to such other objects that may hereinafter appears, the present invention relates to a disposable protective shield for a human body part as described in detail in the following specification and recited in the annexed claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a disposable shield in the shape of a hand in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a disposable shield in the shape of a hand in accordance with the present invention showing how same would be affixed to the hand of a user;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of a section of disposable shield in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a pair of shields in the shape of right and left hands illustrating the steps in the fabrication process;

FIG. 5 is an idealized view of the machinery used to fabricate a disposable shield in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an elevation view showing examples of different size and shape disposable shields.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and 6, the invention is disposable shield, generally designated 10, for protecting a human body part from contamination. The body part may be a hand or a foot, or any other body part likely to come in contact with a surface having germs or other contaminates. Shields 10 in the shape of a hand are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Shields in the shape of a foot are shown in FIG. 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, each shield 10 consists of a single thin, flexible sheet 12 having a surface 14. As illustrated in FIG. 1, each shield has a peripheral edge 16. The shape of peripheral edge 16 substantially corresponds to the shape of the body part which the shield is designed to protect, which in FIG. 1 is a hand.

Surface 14 of the sheet is provided with an adhesive coating 18. Coating 18 is adapted to removably attach sheet 10 to the body part. In this manner, the body part is protected from contamination from objects to which the protected body part comes in contact.

Preferably, sheet 12 is formed of polyurethane. Preferably, the sheet has a thickness of approximately 2 mils.

As shown in FIG. 4, the shield is provided with a removable cover sheet 20 to protect coating 18. The cover sheet is removed by peeling it off the shield prior to mounting the shield on the body part.

As shown in FIG. 6, the peripheral edge 16 of the sheet may be in the shape of a large, medium or small body part, such as a foot, for use by different size users, such as adults, teenagers or children. The peripheral edge 16 of the sheet may have a shape which corresponds to the shape of a male or female body part. Although only shields in the shape of a hand or foot have been illustrated herein, the invention shown not be considered to be limited to shield of those particular shapes, as shields having the shape of any body part which requires protection can be fabricated by selecting dies of the desired shape.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in situations where protection of paired body parts is desired, such as hands or feet, first and second mirror image shaped shields 10, 10′ may be provided.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the shield fabrication process begins by removing a thin plastic sheet from a roll 22. That plastic sheet will become layer 12 of the shield. As the sheet moves along the machine, it passes through an adhesive deposition station which deposits a thin layer of adhesive 18 on the surface of the plastic sheet. The adhesive coat plastic sheet then passes underneath a roll 26 of paper release paper 20 which is deposited on top of the adhesive layer to protect the layer during the die cutting operation, packaging and shipment.

The covered, adhesive coated plastic sheet then travels through a die cutting station 28 which has a reciprocating die with a cutting edge in the shape of the body part which the shield is designed to protect. In cases where shields for paired body parts are desired, such as right and left hands as illustrated in FIG. 4, the die in station may cut shields with mirror image shapes simultaneously. The finished products are then packaged for shipment.

While only a limited number of preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for purposes of illustration, it is obvious that many modifications and variations could be made thereto. It is intended to cover all of those modifications and variations which fall within the scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A disposable shield for protecting a human body part from contamination, the shield comprising a single thin, flexible sheet having a surface and a peripheral edge, the peripheral edge substantially corresponding to the shape of the body part to be protected, said surface having an adhesive coating, said coating adapted to removably attach the shield to the body part to protect the body part from contamination from objects to which the protected body part comes in contact.

2. In combination, the shield of claim 1 and a second shield formed of a sheet of substantially the same structure as said sheet of the shield of claim 1, said second shield having a peripheral edge with a shape that is substantially the mirror image of the peripheral edge of said sheet of the shield of claim 1.

3. The shield of claim 1 wherein said sheet comprises polyurethane.

4. The shield of claim 1 wherein said sheet has a thickness of approximately 2 mils.

5. The shield of claim 1 wherein said sheet has a peripheral edge in the shape of a hand.

6. The shield of claim 1 wherein said sheet has a peripheral edge in the shape of a foot.

7. The shield of claim 1 corresponding to the shape of a large, medium or small body part.

8. The shield of claim 1 corresponding to the shape of a male or female body part.

9. The shield of claim 1 corresponding to the shape of the body part of a child.

10. A method of protecting a human body part from contamination, the method comprising the steps of:

forming a single thin, flexible sheet having a surface and a peripheral edge;

forming the peripheral edge to have a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the body part to be protected;

coating the surface of the sheet with adhesive; and

removably attaching the sheet to the body part, using the adhesive coating, so as to protect the body part from contamination from objects to which the protected body part comes in contact.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of:

providing a second sheet of substantially the same structure as the sheet of claim 10; and

forming the peripheral edge of the second sheet to be substantially the mirror image of the peripheral edge of the sheet of claim 10.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the sheet comprises the step of forming the sheet of polyurethane.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the sheet comprises the step of forming the sheet to have a thickness of approximately 2 mils.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the peripheral edge comprises the step of forming the peripheral edge in the shape of a hand.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the peripheral edge comprises the step of forming the peripheral edge in the shape of a foot.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the peripheral edge comprises the step of forming the peripheral to have a shape which corresponds to the shape of at least one of a large, medium or small body part.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the peripheral edge comprises the step of forming the peripheral edge to have a shape which corresponds to the shape of at least one of a male or female body part.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of forming the peripheral edge comprises the step of forming the peripheral edge to have a shape which corresponds to the shape of the body part of an adult or child.