The Glovenator We don't think putting on gloves should take 30 seconds or more. We don't think it should be near impossible to do without touching the outside of the glove. We know there must be a better way.
That is why we came up with the Glovenator-a novel gloving system that dispenses a single glove in a sanitary manner at the touch of a button. The glove can be put on in a matter of seconds without assistance from another person, and can remain completely sanitary throughout. The Problem This project began in a sandwich shop, where team member Rodrigo Guajardo was having lunch, and witnessed a server putting on his sanitary gloves by the fingers. This largely defeated the purpose. The project really took off, however, when we began to consider alternative applications for sanitary or sterile gloves, and found that surgical gloving procedures could be very lengthy and complex due to the need to maintain absolute sterility (Sterile Gloving Procedure-Brookside Press). Our own tests also showed that putting on gloves was a non-trivial task. Even without observing strict surgical scrubbing procedures, it rarely took less than 15 seconds per hand. For larger hands or tighter gloves, the time was even higher as air pockets formed and hands got stuck on the sticky glove latex (or alternative) material. Research showed that there is no product on the market that currently assists in this process, although it would be indispensable in many situations. The Glovenator is centered around a novel way of packaging gloves, not packed into a box or wrapped up flat in a sanitary package, but pulled over a specially-shaped cuff. These cuffs can be stacked in such a way that, when mounted on the Glovenator base, they fall easily into a moving tray. A paper liner on the bottom of the cuff keeps the gloves clean and keeps them from snagging on each other. The tray rotates in and out of the device at the touch of a button--when it moves out, it brings out a glove, when it moves in, it covers and protects the remaining gloves from dust and dirt. The gloves are positioned such that either hand can be inserted easily, by virtue of the thumb facing forward when a user stands before the Glovenator. Once the gloves are on the hands, the sanitary cuffs can be removed and disposed in the conveniently integrated receptacle, to be picked up by friendly Glovenator staff, sanitized, and reused. The smooth lines and elegant design of the Glovenator will fit into any medical office or hospital setting. |
Top Row: Alexander Rial, Gregory Herbert Middle Row: Philip Siu, Brian Robbins, David Fairbanks Bottom Row: Galina Shpuntova, Rodrigo Guajardo, Sara Claxton
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