Needle disposal container

A disposal container comprising:

• a) a hollow container body;
• b) a top;
• c) a complete barrier means, positioned within said top, for isolating needles deposited into said hollow container body so that said needles are completely isolated and secure from the environment outside said disposal container, at least a portion of said barrier means comprising;
• i. a rotatable cylinder positioned within said top, at least a portion of said rotatable cylinder comprising a rotatable slot in the surface of said rotatable cylinder, said rotatable cylinder being rotatable around an horizontal axis between an upward and downward position with respect to said rotatable slot being oriented in an upward and a downward position, said rotatable slot permitting access from the environment outside said disposal container to the interior of said rotatable cylinder when said rotatable cylinder is in the upward position, said rotatable slot also permitting access from the interior of said rotatable cylinder to the interior of said hollow container body when said rotatable cylinder is positioned in the downward position;
• ii. a stationary curved surface affixed to the top and adjacent to a portion of the rotatable cylinder to prevent communication between the environment outside said container and the interior of said hollow container body through said rotatable slot when said rotatable cylinder is in intermediary positions between the downward position and the upward position, said curved surface not smaller in dimension than said rotatable slot so that said rotatable slot is never open to the environment outside of said disposal container and to the interior of said container body simultaneously;
• and
• d) an external rotating device whereby said rotatable cylinder can be rotated around said horizontal axis.

A Sharps disposal container comprising:

• a) a hollow container body;
• b) a top;
• c) a complete barrier means, positioned within said top, for allowing the deposit of needles into the interior of said container body while also maintaining a complete physical barrier between the inside of said container body and the outside of said sharps disposal container at all times, at least a portion of said barrier means comprising;
• i. a rotatable cylinder positioned within said top and including a rotatable slot in the surface of said rotatable cylinder, said rotatable slot providing access into and out of said rotatable cylinder, said rotatable cylinder being rotatable around horizontal axis between a downward position and an upward position with respect to the orientation of said rotatable slot in an upward position and a downward position, said container body being completely closed to the enviroment outside of said sharps container when said rotatable cylinder is in the upward position, in the downward position and in any position in between the upward and the downward positions;
• ii. an elongated curved surface affixed to said top and disposed adjacent to and conformorming to the longitudinal surface of said rotatable cylinder so as to prevent direct communication between the outside of the container and the inside of the container through the rotatable slot when the rotatable cylinder is in intermediary positions between the upward position and the downward position, said elongated curved surface completely covering said rotatable slot when said rotatable cylinder is rotated approximately 90 degrees from the upward position toward the downward position and when said rotatable cylinder is rotated approximately 90 degrees from the downward position toward the upward position, said elongated curved surface is of large enough dimension to prevent the rotatable slot from being open to the environment outside of said sharps disposal container and open to the interior of said container body simultaneously;
• and
• d) an external rotating device whereby said rotatable cylinder can be rotated around the horizontal axis.

A disposal container for medical sharps, comprising:

• barrier means for partitioning an inner chamber from an external environment, said barrier means comprising:
• a receptacle member having a continuous sidewall extending from a closed end to an open end;
• a cover member for covering said open end, said cover portion being removably secured to said receptacle member and defining an opening therethrough;
• transfer means for transferring the sharps from the external environment into the inner chamber, said transfer means comprising:
• a longitudinally extending cylindrical member rotatably mounted on said cover member to cover said opening, said cylindrical member defining a transfer chamber therein and defining a transfer opening communicating with the transfer chamber, wherein said cylindrical chamber is rotatable so that the transfer opening sweeps out a first arc wherein the transfer opening communicates between the external environment and the transfer chamber and sweeps out a second arc wherein the transfer opening communicates between the inner chamber and the transfer chamber;
• and
• isolation means for preventing direct communication between the inner chamber and the external environment during transfer of the sharps from the external environment into the inner chamber;
• said isolation means comprising:
• wall members, secured along said opening in said top portion, for covering said transfer opening to prevent said transfer opening from simultaneously communicating with said external environment and with said inner chamber.