System and apparatus for sanitizing a door opening device or other point of contact
OwnerDean Schumacherinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for sanitizing a point-of-contact surface may include a housing configured to be affixed about at least a portion of said point of contact. The housing may have an interior in or through which the point of contact may be accessed and an anterior opening for access to the interior. The apparatus may further include one or more sources of a sanitizing agent, such as germicidal light, configured to direct the sanitizing agent toward a location where at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may be disposed. One or more of an anterior dome, an inner surface, and a posterior surface may also be configured to reflect the sanitizing agent toward the location where at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may be disposed.
Claims20
An apparatus for sanitizing a point-of-contact surface, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an interior in or through which a point-of-contact surface may be accessed, a posterior opening through which at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may extend into said interior, and an anterior opening for access to said interior;
- one or more sources of germicidal light configured to direct said germicidal light toward a location where at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may be disposed;
- an anterior structure, affixed to or integral with said housing, configured to reflect said germicidal light toward a location where at least a portion of said point-of-contact surface may be disposed, said anterior structure defining said anterior opening through which said interior may be accessed, wherein at least a portion of said anterior structure extends in an anterior direction beyond an anterior-most portion of said point-of-contact surface, such that the apparatus is configured to sanitize the anterior-most portion of said point-of-contact surface;
- and
- a protective screen rigidly coupled to the anterior structure and extending in a posterior direction, the screen configured to separate at least one of said sources of germicidal light from said interior so as to prevent user contact with the at least one of said sources of germicidal light.
An apparatus for sanitizing a point-of-contact surface, the apparatus comprising:
- one or more sources of germicidal light configured to direct said germicidal light toward a location where at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may be disposed;
- and
- a housing in which said one or more sources of germicidal light are disposed, said housing configured to be affixed about at least a portion of said point-of-contact surface, said housing comprising:
- a posterior wall configured to abut an environmental surface on or near which said point-of-contact surface is disposed;
- one or more sidewalls coupled to the posterior wall, wherein the one or more sidewalls extend in an anterior direction away from the environmental surface, further wherein the one or more sidewalls define an interior in or through which said point-of-contact surface may be accessed;
- wherein the posterior wall defines a posterior opening through which at least a portion of said point-of-contact surface may extend into said interior, said posterior wall having an interior surface configured to reflect light from said one or more sources of germicidal light towards a portion of said point-of-contact surface;
- wherein the posterior wall extends inwardly from the one or more sidewalls and separates at least a portion of the interior from the environmental surface;
- and
- an anterior opening for access to said interior;
- wherein a portion of said housing extends in an anterior direction beyond an anterior-most portion of the point-of-contact surface.
An apparatus for sanitizing a point-of-contact surface, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing comprising:
- one or more sidewalls defining an interior in or through which a point-of-contact surface may be accessed;
- and
- a posterior wall defining a posterior opening through which at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may extend into said interior, the posterior wall configured to abut an environmental surface on or near which said point-of-contact surface is disposed, the posterior wall extending inwardly from the one or more sidewalls and arranged on the housing so as to be disposed between the interior and the environmental surface;
- the housing defining an anterior opening for access to said interior;
- and
- one or more sources of germicidal light configured to direct said germicidal light toward a location where at least a portion of the point-of-contact surface may be disposed, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the one or more sources of germicidal light extends in the anterior direction beyond an anterior-most portion of the point-of-contact surface;
- wherein the posterior wall comprises an interior surface configured to reflect light from said one or more sources of germicidal light towards a portion of said point-of-contact surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.