Layered sheet for testing urine

Abstract: A specified ink discolored when in contact with a specified substance such as urine is impregnated in, applied to or printed on an article of daily use such as a sheet or a seat, to thereby detect contamination by a specified substance such as urine.

Description: Conventional sheets for animals such as pet animals consist of mesh sheets and the like. However such conventional sheets have a problem in that the components of urine and so on excreted from the animals can not be detected qualitatively or quantitatively and the condition of the animals can not be detected. An object of the present invention is to provide sheets for the animals which can detect the components of the excretions excreted from the animals in order to detect the condition of the animals. GB-A-1 440 464 discloses a product comprising a first sheet having fluid permeability, a second sheet having no fluid permeability and a third sheet sandwiched between the first and second sheets. The third sheet may be gelatin impregnated with an indicator which changes colour upon contact with a liquid such as urine containing urinary glucose. Thus, the present invention provides a composite sheet for animals for checking urine of said animals comprising a first sheet having fluid-permeability, a second sheet having no fluid-permeability and further comprising a third sheet composed of one or more layers of paper sandwhiched between the first and second sheets and printed with patterns or letters with an ink containing bromothymol blue and sterilizer dispersed in an organic solvent. According to the present invention, urinary PH, protein, glucose and blood may be detected qualitatively or quantitatively upon contact between the excreta from animals and so on and the required component of the sheet, and sterilizer, perfume and deodorant effects are optionally provided. A daily product comprising a composite sheet of the present invention changes in color upon contact between the moisture of excreta from the animal and the ink whereby detecting urinary PH, protein, glucose and blood qualitatively or quantitatively, indicating the condition of the animal and being helpful to conduct various treatments appropriately. The present invention is further described based on the examples with referring to the appended figure. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention including a partial sectional view. The composite sheet for animals of this embodiment consists of the first sheet which has permeability of the excreta, for example, urine of the animals and is a polymer-containing sheet 1 made from rayon and the like, the second sheet which is a synthetic resin film 4 having no fluid permeabitity, and the third sheet which is sandwiched between the first sheet, namely polymer-containing sheet 1 and the second sheet, namely synthetic resin film 4 and which consists of one or more layers comprising paper 2 and polymer-containing sheets 3. Furthermore, at least the third sheet comprising the paper 2 and polymer containing sheet 3 is printed with patterns or letters with an ink containing bromothymol blue and sterilizer dispersed in an organic solvent. The third sheet may consist of one or more layers of paper or non-woven fabric, and thus the number of layers is not particularly specified. The first to third sheets are not limited to the paper polymer-containing sheet and film mentioned above. The ink may further include any reagent which can be used to detect qualitativey or quantitatively urinary PH, protein, glucose and blood as well as other reagents such as perfume, deodorant agents, and the like. However, the ink may contain components additional to the above. The reagents for urine tests include for example methylred for detecting urinay PH, tetrabromophenol blue for detecting urinary protein, glucose oxidase, peroxidase and potassium iodide for dedecting glucose, and 3,3', 5,5'-tetramethylbenzene for detecting urinary blood. Furthermore in detail, the ink is used for the detecting layer and the ink consists of bromothymol blue and cellulose or derivatives of the cellulose or derivatives of the cellulose which are dispersed or dissolved in organic solvent and change the color of the detecting layer. The required ink can be composed by dispersing or dissolving additional indicators for detecting urinary PH, protein, glucose, blood, urobilinogen or ketone body together with cellulose and derivatives thereof in organic solvent. In the embodiment mentioned above, indicators for urinary PH may be, for example, phenolphthalein, bromocresol purple, tetraiodophenolsulfone phthalein, brilliantyellow, phenol red, cresol red, ethyl orange and the like. In some conventional indicators, the color may fade within several minutes after the change of the color by detecting the required water. Bromocresol purple as the indicator preventing from fading can be effectively used together with other indicators mentioned above. The time point for judgment of the change of the color is not limited to the time right after change. The indicator for detecting urinary protein includes tetrabromophenol blue and so on. The indicator for detecting urinary glucose includes glucose oxidase, peroxidase, 2.7-diaminofluorene dihydrochloride, sodium N-(3-sulfopropyl)-3,3', 5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine and so on. The indicator for detecting urinary blood includes cumene hydroperoxide, tetramethylbenzene and so on. The indicator for detecting urinary urobilinogen includes methanoic acid, 3,4-methylenedioxybenzene diazonium tetrafluoroborate and so on. The indicator for detecting urinary keton body includes glycine, sodium nitrobromide and so on. For example, the combination of tetrabromophenol blue and citric acid buffer solution of PH 3 can be used to detect protein by means of protein differenciation. In the presence of peroxidase in urinary hemoglobin, cumene hydroperoxide is oxidized and indicator 3,3', 5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine changes into oxidized form of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine, whereby developing blue color. The glucose is reacted with oxygen in air by catalyst of the glucose oxidase to form hydrogen peroxide, which oxidize chromogen by catalyst of peroxidase, resulting in oxidized iodine complex. In order to make the indicators into ink, the indicators mentioned above are dispersed or dissolved together with cellulose and derivatives thereof in organic solvent and the mixture forms a detecting layer which changes the color. The resins useful in the present embodiment include cellulose and derivatives thereof, urethanes and polyamides. The cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methylcellulose, ethyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and carboxy-methyl cellulose in the cellulose and derivatives thereof have high ability of sensitivity. The solvent depends on the method of printing. For example, although aromatic hydrocarbons cannot be used in flexography in view of the characteristics of the plate, the solvent should preferably be selected because of the solubility of the resin and stability of the solubility and dispersion of the indicator. The indicators are dispersed or dissolved in an organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol, toluene and sodium hydroxide.

Claims: A composite sheet for use in a way wherein a pet animal excretes on the sheet for checking urine of said pet animal for indicating the condition of said pet animal comprising: a first fluid permeable sheet (1); and a second fluid impermeable sheet (4); a third sheet sandwiched between said first sheet and second sheet; characterized in that: the third sheet is composed of paper sheets (2; 121), printed with patterns or letters with an ink containing bromothymol blue and sterilizer dispersed in an organic solvent. The sheet of claim 1 wherein said third sheet (2) further comprises patterns or letters printed with an ink containing 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine dispersed in an organic solvent.

Inventors: ITO HIROSHI, KIRITANI YASUHARU, SHINPO KAORU, ITO, HIROSHI, KIRITANI, YASUHARU, SHINPO, KAORU
Applicants: DAIKI KK, DAIKI CO., LTD
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A01K1
IPC codes: A01K1, G01N33