Container for supplying medical products and disposal of medical waste material

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls;
• a cover for said container body, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body and having a ramp underlying said opening and extending into said container body for receiving waste material;
• a lid attached to said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying at least a major portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said ramp and through which said waste material is received for movement along said ramp into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said container body for securing said lid in said second position closing the container;
• said lid including a first hinge for pivoting said lid between said first and second positions, a second hinge spaced from said first hinge and said edge of said lid, a first lid portion extending between said first and second hinges and a second lid portion extending between said second hinge and said edge, said first lid portion forming an included acute angle with said cover and said second lid portion forming an included obtuse angle with said first lid portion in said first position of said lid, said first and second lid portions lying generally in a common plane with one another and with said cover when said lid lies in said second position thereof.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls;
• a cover for said container body, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body and having a ramp underlying said opening and extending into said container body for receiving waste material;
• a lid attached to said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying at least a major portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said ramp and through which said waste material is received for movement along said ramp into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said container body for securing said lid in said second position closing the container;
• said container body being formed of fiberboard, said fiberboard having a material applied thereto which changes color responsive to contact with liquid within said container.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls;
• a cover for said container body, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body and having a ramp underlying said opening and extending into said container body for receiving waste material;
• a lid attached to said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying at least a major portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said ramp and through which said waste material is received for movement along said ramp into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said container body for securing said lid in said second position closing the container;
• said cover for said container body having dependent margins for disposition about said container body, and adhesive securing said cover and said container body to one another.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls;
• a cover for said container body, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body and having a ramp underlying said opening and extending into said container body for receiving waste material;
• a lid attached to said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying at least a major portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said ramp and through which said waste material is received for movement along said ramp into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said container body for securing said lid in said second position closing the container;
• said ramp being pivotally connected to said cover adjacent one end of said ramp, said lid being coupled to said ramp to pivot said ramp toward a position closing said opening in response to pivotal movement of said lid in a direction tending to enlarge the size of said entry slot.

A container for supplying medical products and disposing of medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls for confining a supply of the medical products;
• a cover for closing said container body when said container body contains the medical products;
• an adhesive on one of said container body and said cover ineffective to secure the container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for supplying the medical products and effective to secure said container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for disposing medical waste;
• said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material when said container is used as a waste material container, said cover including an inclined surface underlying said opening and extending into said container body for receiving waste material;
• a lid carried by said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying at least a major portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said inclined surface through which said waste material is received for sliding movement along said surface into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said cover for securing said lid in said second position closing the opening through said cover whereby the medical waste material within the container body is sealed by said cover.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls and a cover, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body;
• a door attached to said cover for movement between open and closed positions;
• a hood carried by said cover for movement relative to said cover between a first position out of registration with said opening and a second position in registration with and overlying said opening, said hood and said door being coupled to one another such that said door is movable from said open position to said closed position in response to movement of said hood from said second position to said first position;
• said hood defining an entry slot of predetermined size through which waste material is received for disposal in said container body.

A method of converting a medical products supply container to a medical waste materials container comprising the steps of:

• providing a container body having a plurality of walls and a bottom wall and a cover having an opening and a closure member movable between closed and open positions;
• supplying medical products in said container body;
• closing said container body with said cover and with said closure member in a closed position;
• transporting the medical products in said container to a user;
• removing the medical products from said container body;
• and
• converting the supply container to a medical waste container including by moving said closure member to an open position and in response thereto providing a restricted entry slot into said container body whereby a user's hand cannot pass through said slot to said opening into the container body and among medical waste materials disposed in said container.

A container for supplying medical products and disposing of medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls for confining a supply of the medical products;
• a cover for closing said container body when said container body contains the medical products;
• engageable members on said container body and said cover ineffective to secure the container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for supplying the medical products and engageable with one another to secure said container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for disposing medical waste;
• said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material when said container is used as a waste material container, said cover including a surface underlying said opening and extending into said container body for directing waste material into the container body;
• a lid carried by said cover for movement between first and second positions, said lid in said first position overlying a portion of said opening and having an edge defining with said cover an entry slot of predetermined size adjacent said surface through which said waste material is received for slidable movement along said surface into said container body;
• said lid being movable from said first position into said second position closing said opening and having at least one element engageable with said cover for securing said lid in said second position closing the opening through said cover whereby the medical waste material within the container body is sealed by said cover.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls and a cover, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body;
• a door attached to said cover for movement between open and closed positions;
• a hood carried by said cover for movement relative to said cover between a first position out of registration with said opening and a second position in registration with and overlying said opening, said hood and said door being coupled to one another such that said door is movable from said closed position to said open position in response to movement of said hood from said first position to said second position;
• said hood defining an entry slot of predetermined size through which waste material is receivable for disposal in said container body.

A container for hazardous medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls and a cover, said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material for disposition within the container body;
• a door attached to said cover for movement between open and closed positions;
• a hood removably carried by said cover between a first position separable from said cover and a second position on said cover in registration with and overlying said opening, a handle carried by said door for manually moving the door from said closed position to said open position when said hood lies in said first position;
• said hood in said second position defining an entry slot of predetermined size through which waste material is receivable through said opening for disposal in said container body.

A container for supplying medical products and disposing of medical waste material comprising:

• a container body including a plurality of walls for confining a supply of the medical products;
• a cover for closing said container body when said container body contains the medical products;
• engageable members on said container body and said cover ineffective to secure the container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for supplying the medical products and engageable with one another to secure said container body and said cover to one another when said container is used for disposing medical waste;
• said cover defining an opening for receiving the waste material when said container is used as a waste material container;
• a door carried by said cover for movement between open and closed positions;
• a hood removably carried by said cover between a first position separable from said cover and a second position on said cover in registration with and overlying said opening, a handle carried by said door for manually moving the door from said closed position to said open position when said hood lies in said first position;
• said hood in said second position defining an entry slot of predetermined size through which waste material is receivable through said opening for disposal in said container body.