GB2598565A

GB2598565A - Disposable curtain

Info

Publication number: GB2598565A
Application number: GB2013602.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Parsons Ryan; Parsons Garth; Parsons Matthew
Original assignee: Yewdale Investments Ltd
Current assignee: Yewdale Investments Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-28
Filing date: 2020-08-28
Publication date: 2022-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-28
Also published as: GB2598565B; GB202013602D0

Abstract

A disposable barrier curtain 10 for a clinical setting comprises a sheet of polymer material 11 having a plurality of concertina creases 12. Each pair of adjacent concertina creases 12 defines a curtain panel 14 therebetween. Some curtain panels 14 have a mounting hole 16 therethrough and other curtain panels 14 do not have a mounting hole 16 therethrough. The absence of mounting holes 16 through some of the curtain panels 14 reduces the amount of punched waste material generated during manufacture. The curtain may be treated with an antibacterial formula. The holes may be punched / cut into the polymer sheet before it is folded / creased. The curtain may be part of a curtain system 20 including a curtain track 21 and slidable mounting hooks 18 which couple with the mounting holes 16. The polymer curtain may be formed of two layers / sheets of polypropylene material that are heat, pressure and/or ultrasonically bonded together.

Description

DISPOSABLE CURTAIN

The present invention relates to a disposable curtain for a clinical setting, a method of making a disposable curtain for a clinical setting, a curtain system and a method of assembling a curtain system.

Disposable curtains for clinical settings (e.g. hospital wards, doctors' surgeries, etc.) are used to temporarily screen off areas in order to maintain patient privacy as and when that is desired. These disposable curtains are typically provided as a sheet of polymer material which is folded in a concertina manner at a plurality of parallel vertical creases, with each pair of adjacent concertina creases effectively defining a curtain panel therebetween. The disposable curtain is typically stored in a fully concertinaed state and is used in a partially or fully unfolded state. The top region of the disposable curtain is typically provided with plural mounting points for suspending the curtain from a curtain track. The mounting points are often in the form of mounting holes reinforced with plastic grommets. The curtain track usually has plural plastic hooks slidably mounted thereto. To suspend the disposable curtain from the curtain track, the free ends of the plastic hooks are respectively inserted through the plastic grommets. During manufacture of conventional disposable curtains, the mounting holes are typically created by folding the disposable curtain into the fully concertinaed state and punching out all of the mounting holes simultaneously with a single punch action. The single punch action is an efficient way in which to create a mounting hole in each and every curtain panel of the disposable curtain. The waste polymer material removed when punching out the mounting holes may be recycled where possible but may instead be -2 -discarded. Regardless of whether the punched waste material of these conventional disposable curtains is recycled or discarded, significant amounts of energy can be consumed in the transportation and processing of that punched waste material. Furthermore, if the punched waste material is simply discarded, that material can be highly damaging to the environment, particularly since the size of the punched waste material means that it can readily be consumed by animals.

It is desired to provide improvements relating to disposable curtains for clinical settings.

/0 Thus, according to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a disposable curtain for a clinical setting, the disposable curtain comprising a sheet of polymer material having a plurality of concertina creases formed therein, wherein each pair of adjacent concertina creases defines a curtain panel therebetween, wherein plural curtain panels of the disposable curtain 15 each have a mounting hole therethrough, and wherein plural other curtain panels of the disposable curtain do not have a mounting hole therethrough. As will be appreciated, the absence of mounting holes through plural of the curtain panels can mean that the amount of punched waste material generated when manufacturing the disposable curtain is significantly reduced.

In this regard, the Applicants have identified that there is no need to provide a mounting hole in each and every curtain panel of a disposable curtain, since a lightweight disposable curtain can be adequately supported by fewer mounting holes and since disposable curtains generally have a short usable life anyway and thus do not need to be overly robust. Furthermore, as will be discussed in -3 -more detail below, the Applicants have devised efficient manufacturing methods that allow mounting holes to be provided in some curtain panels but omitted from other curtain panels.

In embodiments, the disposable curtain may have one or more curtain panels that do have mounting holes and then one or more curtain panels that do not have mounting holes, and so on in a repeating pattern, across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain. For example, the disposable curtain may have one, two or three curtain panels that do have mounting holes and then one, two or three curtain panels that do not have mounting holes, and so on in a repeating pattern, across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain. For example, the curtain panels across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain may alternate between having a mounting hole and not having a mounting hole. The number of curtain panels having mounting holes may be between 0.3-0.7 times the total number of curtain panels, for example between 0.4-0.6 times the total number of curtain panels, for example substantially 0.5 times or half the total number of curtain panels. The number of curtain panels not having mounting holes may be between 0.3-0.7 times the total number of curtain panels, for example between 0.4-0.6 times the total number of curtain panels, for example substantially 0.5 times or half the total number of curtain panels. These embodiments can provide a balanced and stable disposable curtain when suspended from a curtain track despite the absence of mounting holes from plural of the curtain panels. -4 -

In embodiments, substantially all or the majority of the disposable curtain (e.g. all of the curtain panels except the first and/or last curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain) may comprise only a single layer of the polymer material. These embodiments can provide a lightweight and cheap disposable curtain. However, although not essential, the first curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain may comprise at least two layers of the polymer material and/or the last curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain may comprise at least two layers of the polymer material. The polymer material may be folded back onto the first curtain panel and/or last curtain panel (e.g. /0 along a fold line substantially parallel to the concertina creases) in order to provide the at least two layers of the polymer material. The at least two layers of the polymer material may be heat, pressure and/or ultrasonically bonded together. These embodiments may help to stabilise the ends of the disposable curtain in use.

/5 In embodiments, a first set of one or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain may each have a mounting hole and a last set of one or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain may each have a mounting hole. These embodiments may again help to stabilise the ends of the disposable curtain in use. In some cases, this may mean that the repeating pattern of mounting holes is broken at the first set of one or more curtain panels and/or last set of one or more curtain panels. In other cases (e.g. where the disposable curtain has an odd number of curtain panels and where the curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain alternate between having a mounting hole and not having a mounting hole), this may not mean -5 -that the repeating pattern of mounting holes needs to be broken at the first set of one or more curtain panels and/or last set of one or more curtain panels.

In some embodiments, a first set of two or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain may each have a mounting hole and/or a last set of two or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain may each have a mounting hole. A single mounting hook may then be provided through all of the mounting holes of a given set of two or more curtain panels to effectively increase the support at that end of the disposable curtain. Alternatively, a respective mounting hook may be provided through each /0 mounting hole of a given set of two or more curtain panels to effectively increase the support at that end of the disposable curtain. Again, these embodiments may help to stabilise the ends of the disposable curtain in use. Again, in some cases, this may mean that the repeating pattern of mounting holes is broken at the first set of two or more curtain panels and/or last set of two or more curtain panels. In other cases (depending on the repeating pattern of mounting holes and number of curtain panels), this may not mean that the repeating pattern of mounting holes needs to be broken at the first set of two or more curtain panels and/or last set of two or more curtain panels.

In embodiments, the sheet of polymer material may be a sheet of polypropylene material. The sheet of polymer material may be a sheet of nonwoven material. The sheet of polymer material may be a sheet of fibrous material. The sheet of polymer material may be formed of and/or from a web of polymer material. Although not essential, the sheet of polymer material may be treated with an antibacterial formulation. The sheet of polymer material may -6 -have a mass per unit area in the range 75-150 g/m2, e.g. 110 g/m2. Exposed edges of the sheet of polymer material (e.g. along the top, bottom and/or ends of the disposable curtain and/or around the mounting holes) may be raw and/or unfinished, and thus may comprise no stitching, hemming and/or edging strips.

These embodiments can provide a simple and cheap disposable curtain which has a lower chance of retaining contaminants thereon.

In embodiments, the height of the disposable curtain (e.g. in the vertical direction from floor to curtain track in use) may be in the range 1600mm2400mm, for example 2000mm. The height of the disposable curtain may be cut /0 down prior to use. The width of the disposable curtain (e.g. in the horizontal direction along the curtain track in use) may be in the range 3000mm-8000mm, for example 7500mm. The width of the disposable curtain may be cut down prior to use. The width of each curtain panel (e.g. in the horizontal direction along the curtain track in use) may be in the range 100mm-200mm, for example 150mm. The width of each curtain panel may be substantially the same. The width of the disposable curtain may be an integer multiple of the width of the curtain panels. These embodiments can facilitate the manufacture of the disposable curtain by providing a consistent distance between concertina creases, and this can also facilitate folding and storage of the disposable curtain when in the fully concertinaed state. The width of the disposable curtain may be an even or odd integer multiple of the width of the curtain panels. Thus, the disposable curtain may have an even or odd number of curtain panels.

In embodiments, the mounting holes may be circular. The span (e.g. diameter) of the mounting holes may be in the range 5mm-l0mm, for example -7 - 8mm. The centres of the mounting holes may be located at a distance in the range lOmm-30mm, for example 20mm, from the top edge of the disposable curtain in use. The centres of the mounting holes may be located on the curtain panels substantially midway between the adjacent concertina creases. The concertina creases may be substantially parallel to one another. The concertina creases may be substantially vertical in use In embodiments, at least one, plural, the majority, or all of the mounting holes may not be provided with a grommet and/or eyelet for reinforcing the mounting hole. These embodiments can further reduce the amount of material, energy and time required to manufacture the disposable curtain. This can also further reduce the amount of waste, and the amount of energy and time consumed in the transportation and processing of waste, when the disposable curtain reaches the end of its usable life. In this regard, the Applicants have identified that there is no need to provide grommets and/or eyelets in the mounting holes of disposable curtains, since a lightweight disposable curtain can be adequately supported without grommets and/or eyelets and since disposable curtains generally have a short usable life anyway and thus do not need to be overly robust.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a disposable curtain for a clinical setting, for example as described herein in any aspect or embodiment, the method comprising providing a sheet of polymer material, forming a plurality of concertina creases in the sheet of polymer material, with each pair of adjacent concertina creases defining a curtain panel therebetween, unfolding the concertina creases in the -8 -sheet of polymer material, and punching mounting holes through the unfolded sheet of polymer material, wherein plural curtain panels of the disposable curtain each have a mounting hole punched therethrough, and wherein plural other curtain panels of the disposable curtain do not have a mounting hole punched therethrough.

As indicated above, the method of the present invention provides an efficient way for mounting holes to be provided in some curtain panels but omitted from other curtain panels. This is in contrast to conventional methods in which a mounting hole is simultaneously created in each and every curtain panel of the disposable curtain.

In embodiments, the sheet of polymer material may be provided as part of a web of polymer material. Providing the sheet of polymer material may comprise forming the sheet (and, e.g., web) of polymer material. Providing the sheet of polymer material may comprise rolling the sheet (and, e.g., web) of polymer material onto a roll. Providing the sheet of polymer material may comprise unrolling the sheet (and, e.g., web) of polymer material from the roll. During manufacture (e.g. when not performing the steps of forming the concertina creases and/or punching the mounting holes), the sheet (and, e.g., web) of polymer material may be fed (e.g. unrolled) in the width direction (e.g. in the horizontal direction along the curtain track in use).

In embodiments, the method may further comprise cutting the sheet of polymer material to width, e.g. by cutting the sheet from a web of polymer material. The sheet of polymer material may be cut along the height direction (e.g. along the vertical direction from floor to curtain track in use). The mounting -9 -holes may be punched in the unfolded sheet of polymer material before the sheet of polymer material is cut to width. This is in contrast to conventional methods in which the mounting holes are punched in the sheet of polymer material after the sheet of polymer material is cut to width and fully concertinaed.

In embodiments, the method may further comprise folding the sheet of polymer material into a fully concertinaed state. The mounting holes may be punched in the unfolded sheet of polymer material before the sheet of polymer material is ever folded into the fully concertinaed state. This is in contrast to /0 conventional methods in which the mounting holes are punched in the sheet of polymer material when in the fully concertinaed state.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a curtain system comprising a disposable curtain as described herein in any aspect or embodiment, the curtain system further comprising a curtain track having, for each mounting hole of the disposable curtain, a mounting hook slidably mounted thereto.

In embodiments, the number of mounting hooks slidably mounted to the curtain track may be substantially equal to the number of mounting holes in the disposable curtain.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assembling a curtain system as described herein in any aspect or embodiment, the method comprising inserting the mounting hooks respectively through the mounting holes of the disposable curtain.

-10 -In embodiments, the method may further comprise slidably mounting the mounting hooks to the curtain track, e.g. before or after the mounting hooks are inserted respectively through the mounting holes of the disposable curtain. Again, the number of mounting hooks slidably mounted to the curtain track may be substantially equal to the number of mounting holes in the disposable curtain. As indicated above, at least one, plural, the majority, or all of the mounting holes of the disposable curtain, through which the mounting hooks are inserted, may not have grommets and/or eyelets.

By way of example only, embodiments of the invention will now be 10 described in detail with reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a disposable curtain according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a detailed view of part of the disposable curtain of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows the disposable curtain of Figure 1 in use; Figure 4 is a detailed view of part of the disposable curtain of Figure 1 in use; Figure 5 shows a method of manufacturing the disposable curtain of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows features of a disposable curtain 10 for a clinical setting according to an embodiment of the present invention. The disposable curtain 10 comprises a rectangular sheet of polymer material 11. In this embodiment, the sheet of polymer material 11 is formed from a 110 g/m2 non-woven web of fibrous polypropylene. Although not essential, the sheet of polymer material 11 -11 -may also be treated with an antibacterial formulation. The disposable curtain 10 has a plurality of concertina creases 12 formed therein. Figure 2 shows with arrows how the disposable curtain 10 may be folded in a first direction about a first concertina crease 12.1 and folded in a second opposite direction about a second concertina crease 12.2.

Referring again to Figure 1, each pair of adjacent concertina creases 12 defines a curtain panel 14 therebetween. The disposable curtain 10 also has plural mounting holes 16 for suspending the disposable curtain from a curtain track. In this embodiment, the mounting holes 16 are circular and have a diameter of 8mm. The mounting holes 16 are located 200mm down from the top edge of the disposable curtain 10 and midway between adjacent concertina creases 12. The mounting holes 16 do not have grommets or eyelets for reinforcement and have raw/unfinished edges. As is shown, the disposable curtain 10 has plural curtain panels 14 that do have mounting holes 16 and plural curtain panels 14 that do not have mounting holes 16. In this embodiment, the curtain panels 14 across the width of the disposable curtain alternate between having a mounting hole 16 and not having a mounting hole 16. Figure 2 shows a first curtain panel 14.1 which does have a mounting hole 16.1, a second curtain panel 14.2 which does not have a mounting hole, and a third curtain panel 14.3 which again does have a mounting hole 16.2.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, all of the curtain panels 14 comprise only a single layer of the polymer material. In other embodiments, although not essential, all of the curtain panels 14 except the first and last curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain 10 may comprise only a single layer of the polymer material. In these other embodiments, the first and last curtain panels 14 may instead comprise two layers of the polymer material, with the polymer material being folded back onto the first and last curtain panels along a fold line parallel to the concertina creases 12 and then heat bonded in place, to stabilise the ends of the disposable curtain 10 in use.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, the first and last curtain panels 14 both comprise mounting holes 16 to stabilise the ends of the disposable curtain 10 in use. In other embodiments, a first pair of curtain panels 14 and a last pair of curtain panels 14 may all comprise mounting holes. In these other embodiments, a single mounting hook may be provided through both mounting holes 16 of a given pair of curtain panels 14 to effectively increase the support at that end of the disposable curtain 10. Alternatively, a respective mounting hook may be provided through each mounting hole 16 of a given pair of curtain panels 14 to effectively increase the support at that end of the disposable curtain 10.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, the height H of the disposable curtain 10 is 2000mm, the width W of the disposable curtain 10 is 3450mm (in another embodiment, the width W is 7500mm), and the width w of each curtain panel 14, is 150mm. Thus, in this embodiment, the disposable curtain 10 has 23 curtain panels 14.

Figures 3 and 4 show the disposable curtain 10 in use as part of a curtain system 20. The curtain system 20 further comprises a curtain track 21 having, for each mounting hole 16 of the disposable curtain 10, a mounting hook 18 slidably mounted thereto. The curtain system 20 is assembled by slidably mounting the hooks 18 to the curtain track 21 and then inserting the mounting hooks 18 respectively through the mounting holes 16 of the disposable curtain 10.

Figure 5 shows a method of manufacturing the disposable curtain 10 of Figure 1. In step 22, the sheet of polymer material 11 is unrolled from a rolled web of polymer material by an amount equivalent to the width of two curtain panels 14. Then, in step 24, a pair of opposing concertina creases 12 are formed in the sheet of polymer material 11 by folding and applying pressure to the sheet. Then, in step 26, the pair of opposing concertina creases 12 are /0 unfolded. Then, in step 28, a mounting hole 16 is punched through an unfolded portion of the sheet of polymer material 11. Typically, the mounting hole 16 which is being punched out will be some way downstream of the newly formed concertina creases 12. This process of unrolling the sheet of polymer material 11, forming a pair of opposing concertina creases 12, unfolding the pair of opposing concertina creases 12, and then punching a mounting hole 16, is repeated until the rolled web of polymer material is exhausted. Once an adequate amount of the sheet of polymer material 11 has been processed through iteration of steps 22-28, in step 30, the unfolded and punched sheet of polymer material is cut to a suitable width for the disposable curtain 10 in question. Then, in step 32, the sheet of polymer material 11 is folded so as to be fully concertinaed. In other embodiments, although not essential, step 32 may further comprise folding the sheet of polymer material 11 at either end of the disposable curtain 10 back onto the first and last curtain panels 14 and then bonding that material in place to double the thickness of those panels 14.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A disposable curtain for a clinical setting, the disposable curtain comprising a sheet of polymer material having a plurality of concertina creases formed therein, wherein each pair of adjacent concertina creases defines a curtain panel therebetween, wherein plural curtain panels of the disposable curtain each have a mounting hole therethrough, and wherein plural other curtain panels of the disposable curtain do not have a mounting hole therethrough.
2. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 1, wherein the disposable /0 curtain has one or more curtain panels that do have mounting holes and then one or more curtain panels that do not have mounting holes, and so on in a repeating pattern, across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain.
3. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the disposable curtain has one, two or three curtain panels that do have mounting holes and then one, two or three curtain panels that do not have mounting holes, and so on in a repeating pattern, across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain.
4. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the curtain panels across at least some or substantially all of the width of the disposable curtain alternate between having a mounting hole and not having a mounting hole. 5.
A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein substantially all or the majority of the disposable curtain comprises only a single layer of the polymer material.
6. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain comprises at least two layers of the polymer material and/or the last curtain panel across the width of the disposable curtain comprises at least two layers of the polymer material.
7. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 6, wherein the polymer material /0 is folded back onto the first curtain panel and/or last curtain panel in order to provide the at least two layers of the polymer material.
8. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the at least two layers of the polymer material are heat, pressure and/or ultrasonically bonded together.
/5 9. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a first set of one or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain each have a mounting hole and a last set of one or more curtain panels across the width of the disposable curtain each have a mounting hole.
10. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material is a sheet of polypropylene material.
11. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material is a sheet of non-woven material.
12. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material is a sheet of fibrous material.
13. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material is formed of and/or from a web of polymer material.
14. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material is treated with an antibacterial formulation.
15. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet of polymer material has a mass per unit area in the range 75150 g/m2.
16. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein exposed edges of the sheet of polymer material are raw and/or unfinished.
17. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the width of each curtain panel is in the range 100mm-200mm.
18. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the width of each curtain panel is substantially the same.
19. A disposable curtain as claimed in claim 18, wherein the width of the disposable curtain is an integer multiple of the width of the curtain panels.
20. A disposable curtain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one, plural, the majority, or all of the mounting holes are not provided with a grommet and/or eyelet.
21. A method of manufacturing a disposable curtain for a clinical setting, the method comprising providing a sheet of polymer material, forming a plurality of concertina creases in the sheet of polymer material, with each pair of adjacent concertina creases defining a curtain panel therebetween, unfolding the concertina creases in the sheet of polymer material, and punching mounting holes through the unfolded sheet of polymer material, wherein plural curtain panels of the disposable curtain each have a mounting hole punched therethrough, and wherein plural other curtain panels of the disposable curtain do not have a mounting hole punched therethrough.
/0 22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the method further comprises cutting the sheet of polymer material to width, wherein the mounting holes are punched in the unfolded sheet of polymer material before the sheet of polymer material is cut to width.
23. A method as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein the method further comprises folding the sheet of polymer material into a fully concertinaed state, wherein the mounting holes are punched in the unfolded sheet of polymer material before the sheet of polymer material is ever folded into the fully concertinaed state.
24. A curtain system comprising a disposable curtain as claimed in any one of claims 1-20, the curtain system further comprising a curtain track having, for each mounting hole of the disposable curtain, a mounting hook slidably mounted thereto.
25. A method of assembling a curtain system as claimed in claim 24, the method comprising inserting the mounting hooks of the curtain track respectively through the mounting holes of the disposable curtain.