US 6,161,227 AGranted

Portable hand cleaning device

OwnerScott Bargenquastinventor

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Abstract

A hand cleaning device includes a housing having an inner cleaning compartment. A pair of access openings are formed in the housing and communicate with a pair of cleaning chambers within the cleaning compartment. A reservoir is provided in the housing below the cleaning compartment for storing a supply of cleaning fluid. A plurality of nozzles are positioned in each cleaning chamber for directing cleaning fluid toward the hands of a user when inserted through the access openings. A pump is fluidly connected between the reservoir and the nozzles for transferring cleaning fluid from the reservoir to the nozzles. A power supply is connected to the pump and a switch is located within the housing between the power supply and the pump. The switch is operable to actuate the pump when a user's hand is positioned in the cleaning compartment. The switch may be manually actuable or may automatically sense the presence of a hand in the cleaning compartment.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A hand cleaning device, comprising:

a housing including an inner cleaning compartment with an upper side wall portion and a lower side wall portion spaced from the upper side wall portion, the upper and lower side wall portions dividing the inner cleaning compartment into first and second cleaning chambers, the first and second cleaning chambers being in fluid communication with each other in the space between the upper and lower side wall portions;
first and second access openings formed in the housing and communicating with the first and second cleaning chambers, respectively, each of the access openings being sized to receive a user's hand;
a reservoir for storing a supply of cleaning fluid;
at least one nozzle positioned in each of the cleaning chambers for directing cleaning fluid toward the user's hand;
a pump fluidly connected between the reservoir and the nozzles for transferring cleaning fluid from the reservoir to the nozzles under pressure;
a power supply connected to the pump for operating the pump;
and
a switch electrically connected between the power supply and the pump, the switch being operable to actuate the pump when a user's hand is positioned in one of the cleaning chambers.

5 more elements

A hand cleaning device, comprising:

a housing including an inner cleaning compartment having an upper side wall portion and a lower side wall portion spaced from the upper side wall portion, the upper and lower side wall portions dividing the inner cleaning compartment into first and second cleaning chambers, the first and second cleaning chambers being in fluid communication with each other in the space between the upper and lower side wall portions;
first and second access openings formed in the housing and communicating with the first and second cleaning chambers, respectively, each access opening being sized to receive a user's hand;
a reservoir for storing a supply of cleaning fluid;
at least one nozzle positioned in each cleaning chamber for directing cleaning fluid toward the user's hand;
a pump fluidly connected between the reservoir and the nozzles;
and
a power supply connected to the pump for operating the pump to thereby transfer cleaning fluid from the reservoir to the nozzles under pressure.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.