Patent ID: 12245673

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a wearable insect protection device that can be worn on by a pet and that rely on passive evaporation of the insect repellent out of a carrier impregnated therewith. Repellents may include DEET, geraniol, citronella, coconut oils, limonene, and pyrethroids such as allethrin, as well as other repellents described herein.

Certain advantages of use of the present invention include the ability of a pet owner to apply a collar/strip/band to areas of their pet's body desired to be protected at some time and the later deployment of the insect repellent via the purposeful breakage of at least one of the encapsulated capsules present on a collar/strip so as to achieve the maximum protection with freshly provided repellent. The manner in which the frangible capsule can be broken, e.g. with either a finger compressing the capsule sufficiently hard downwardly or by employment of a non-body part, such as a pencil or other hard object by which to achieve the compressive force necessary to break the capsule and thus release the insect repellent into the absorbent material of the collar/strip, etc., can vary. Importantly, however, it is possible for a pet owner of the collar/strip to avoid any hand contact, and certainly at least any substantial hand contact, with the insect repellent whatsoever, but still achieve advantages of the freshly activated and available insect repellent by breaking one or more frangible encapsulated enclosures of the insect repellent. Thus, the dosage (e.g. via breaking one, two, three or more frangible encapsulations of insect repellent); and the timing of administration/employment of insect repellent, is provided as an available option for a user.

In certain other aspects of the present invention, embodiments include the use of encapsulated substances in addition to insect repellent that one may wish to employ at either the same time or at different times for different purposes. For example, different dosages or concentrations of an insect repellent may be desired at different times of day. A lighter dose of certain repellents may be desired in the morning when certain insects may not be a problem, but a heavier dose or a completely different formulation of repellent, may be desired at a different time of day when certain insects may be more active. The pet owner may also desire to have a certain perfume aspect available to mask the smell and odors, e.g. of certain repellents, and thus, the breaking of one or more encapsulations that contain a perfume or cyclodetrin component to mask or eliminate certain odors is made possible by the present invention. Collars/strips can be made that include different sized encapsulations (e.g. volumetric amounts) such that not only the type of substance can be selected to be released from such frangible enclosures, but the user may select the volume of such substance to release at any time.

To further comply with written description and enablement requirements, incorporated by reference in their entireties are the following US patents and publications: 20130095162 to Quinn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,820 to Bastar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,444 to Howard; 20020160035 to Fotinos; U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,043 to Fischel-Ghodsian; 20060188538 to Emmrich et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,748,477 to Scialdone; 20120264788 to Ecker et al.; and 20020160035 to Kim.

In a particular embodiment, the frangible encapsulated enclosures of repellent material (although there can be other agents so encapsulated) may be present in a volume that exceeds some of the other embodiments described above with respect to the preferably 0.5 ml and 1 ml amounts. Thus, volumes of 2 ml, 4 ml, 10 ml or greater may be achieved to suit the particular application and need.

Various embodiments will also employ a color change agent to display to the pet wearing such collar/strip/band that the frangible capsule has been broken. Still other color change agents may be used to indicate the length of time that the device has been employed, for example, how long the repellent has been broken out of (freed) from its frangible shell, such that a pet owner can decide to either replace the collar/strip/band or to break another of the unbroken frangible encapsulations on the collar/strip/band. A series of frangible encapsulations can thus be provided on any collar/strip/band such that the dose, type or frequency of administration of an agent encapsulated thereby can be released. Certain collars/strips/bands may have different sized and different volume of encapsulations on the same collar/strip/band to permit a selection of dosage; type of repellent employed at a given time, etc. Thus, in one example, a collar/strip/band may have a DEET encapsulated frangible shell as well as a non-DEET insect repellent, such that the pat owner may select which particular agent to employ at any given time.

Another aspect of the present invention is directed to the encapsulation of bioluminescent material in a manner such that the frangible capsule(s) can be active to trigger bioluminescent illumination upon fracturing of the frangible shell, thus releasing the material into preferably the absorbent material. As one will appreciate, however, in other embodiments the bioluminescent material may be simply constrained in another enclosure after the underlying frangible capsule is broken (thus triggering the activation of the bioluminescent material, such that the bioluminescent material will slosh around yet another enclosure on the strip, but without the use of any absorbent material).

One particular use of the collar/strip embodiments that contain a bioluminescent capsule, is that a pet owner can choose to break both a capsule filled with an insect repellent, as well as break a capsule on the same strip that contains bioluminescent material, thus providing the pet with protection from some insects, and at the same time being visible at night for a certain period of time (e.g. until the bioluminescent material expires is illumination abilities.) Certain other embodiments include just the provision of a collar/strip with one or more frangible capsules of bioluminescent material that a pet owner can selectively determine what illumination is desired via the breakage of more than one capsule provided on the collar/strip. Different colored bioluminescent material may be provided on individual collars/strips/bands, or may be provided in individual capsules containing such different materials on a single collar/strip/band, thus permitting some individual selection of what colors of bioluminescent materials to display at any given time. Either bioluminescent, photo luminescent, fluorescent, chemiluninescent or phosphorescent materials, or a combination thereof, can be employed as useful in the present invention, as each of such substances can be encapsulated in a manner that when the frangible encapsulation is broken, the illuminating aspects of the material enclosed in the frangible shell can luminescence. For written description and enablement support for various embodiments, the following are incorporated herein by this reference in their entireties: U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,203 to Rubottom; 20130247841 to Stoffels, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,040 to Axel.

In certain embodiments, the encapsulated, frangible enclosures resemble in some respects so-called blister-packaging, with desired material within such “blisters” that contain, in addition to insect repellents, preferably DEET, other substances and compositions selected from the group of acetone, solvents, chemiluminescent material, glow-in-the-dark material, perfumes, deodorants, masking agents, color change agents, scents that conceal a pet's natural body odor, etc. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that still numerous other compounds, substances, chemicals, etc. of various uses can be included in various embodiments of the present invention, especially those that require desired temporal release of material into an absorbent material so that such material either remains in contact with a desired surface for predetermined amounts of time, or alternatively, is permitted to evaporate or vaporize into the surrounding atmosphere so as to distribute the desired agent for the purpose at hand. For example, with respect to blister-type packages, the blisters can be pressed on to cause a fracture thereof, thus releasing the enclosed material into absorbent material, another less frangible enclosure, etc.

Desired material to encapsulate, such as perfumes, insect repellents, solvents, etc. are often expensive and generally less cost-effective when employed at high levels in personal care compositions, cleaning compositions, and protective chemical agents for pets. As a result, there is a desire to maximize the effectiveness of such desired materials. One method of achieving such an objective is to improve the delivery efficiency and active lifetime of the desired material. This can be achieved by providing the desired material as a component of a small capsule or a microcapsule. Capsules provide several benefits. They have the benefit of protecting the desired material from physical or chemical reactions with incompatible ingredients in the composition, volatilization or evaporation. Capsules have the further advantage in that they can deliver the desired material to the substrate and can be designed to rupture under desired conditions. Capsules are made either by supporting the desired material on a water-insoluble porous carrier or by encapsulating the desired material in a water-insoluble shell. For example, in the latter category microencapsulates are made by precipitation and deposition of polymers at the interface, such as in coacervates, for example as disclosed in US Patent publication 20110152159; GB-A-0 751 600, U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,466 and EP-A-0 385 534, or other polymerisation routes such as interfacial condensation U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,515, US-A-2003/0125222, U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,066, WO2003/101606, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,419. A particularly useful means of encapsulation is using the melamine/urea-formaldehyde condensation reaction as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,516,941, 5,066,419 and 5,154,842, all of the above references which are incorporated herein in their entireties by this reference. Such capsules are made by first emulsifying a desired material in small droplets in a pre-condensate medium obtained by the reaction of melamine/urea and formaldehyde and then allowing the polymerisation reaction to proceed along with precipitation at the oil-water interface. The encapsulates range in size from a few micrometers to several millimeters and can be obtained in a suspension form in an aqueous medium. The microcapsules preferably comprise a nominal shell to core mass ratio lower than 15%, preferably lower than 10% and most preferably lower than 5%. Hence, the microcapsules may have extremely thin and frangible shells. The compositions of the present invention may be encapsulated within a water-soluble film. The water-soluble film may be made from polyvinyl alcohol or other suitable variations, carboxy methyl cellulose, cellulose derivatives, starch, modified starch, sugars, PEG, waxes, or combinations thereof. In another embodiment the water-soluble film may include a co-polymer of vinyl alcohol and a carboxylic acid. The water-soluble film herein may also comprise ingredients other than the polymer or polymer material. For example, it may be beneficial to add plasticisers, for example glycerol, ethylene glycol, diethyleneglycol, propane diol, 2-methyl-1,3-propane diol, sorbitol and mixtures thereof, additional water, disintegrating aids, fillers, anti-foaming agents, emulsifying/dispersing agents, and/or antiblocking agents.

In one embodiment where two materials are to be released (such as an insect repellent and a color change agent or a bioluminescent material), a divider may be employed that may comprise a membrane having one or more zones of weakness, such as a declivity or score line, such that when the hollow body is bent, pressed, crushed, flexed, or compressed along the zone of weakness, an opening is created in the divider, permitting the contents of the first compartment and the second compartment to mix. In other embodiments, one or more puncture tips may be provided along an inner surface of the hollow body retaining the solvent, color change agent, etc. When a compressive, bending or flexing force is applied against the puncture tips, the tips puncturely engage the divider and form an opening therein, permitting the contents to saturate the absorbent material. The hollow body that holds the solvent, insect repellent, color change agent, etc. is preferably manufactured from a gas and liquid impermeable, heat sealable material that is suitable for thermal bonding or sonic welding. This material is preferably flexible—or at least crushable via manual compression, so that the user will be able to manually manipulate the contents of the compartments. An exemplary material is commercially available Mylar-polyethylene barrier layer material. Other suitable materials include high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, and the like. Suitable materials for making liquid impermeable film include polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene; polyvinyl acetate; and the like. The absorbent material and the solvent containing reservoir may be joined to the by such means as adhesives, ultrasonic welding, heat bonding, and the like.

The hollow body preferably has an opening at a first end, and a frangible seal that closes the opening to retain the contents housed in the hollow body. In one embodiment, the frangible seal comprises a thin membrane, for example, thin films of plastic or aluminum foil can be heat sealed to the hollow body to cover the opening in the first end. Upon bending the walls of the hollow body at or near the frangible seal, the seal is broken. In another embodiment, the frangible seal comprises a cover having a zone of weakness, such as one or more score lines so that when a compression force is applied near the cover, the score lines are broken, permitting fluid to pass therethrough. Other exemplary frangible seals are disclosed in Truhan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,259 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20120148636 to Berrido et al.—which are incorporated herein by this reference.

An absorbent material preferably is of a known type, including but not limited to cotton fibers or synthetic fibers, such as plastic fibers, or a semi-porous material, such as a sponge, preferably ones that are acetone resistant. When the frangible seal is broken, the contents of the hollow body are released into the absorbent material. Suitable substrate materials for the nail contacting portion of the strip have been described herein, but may include woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, gauze, foams, sponges and the like.

The hollow interior of the solvent containing member defines a reservoir for containing a liquid composition, such as the solvent, insect repellent, color change material, etc. and at least its proximal and distal ends are sealed to provide a liquid tight seal. Preferably, a frangible seal is provided at distal end that is liquid-tight prior to use of the strip. The frangible seal is designed to preferably be weaker than the seal at its proximal end, thus when the solvent containing capsule is manipulated, for example by squeezing with the fingers causing the frangible seal to be broken, permitting the solvent or other liquid material in the reservoir can flow out. The plastic at the distal end of the stick may be first thinned out and then sealed to provide frangible seal. Suitable designs for material employing a hollow reservoir for use in the present invention are known in the art and are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,028, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, albeit that the reservoirs are preferably smaller to enclose them in the absorbent material of the strip. The reservoir material be made of any suitable material including, but not limited to, plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, foil, and the like. The size of the liquid reservoir is sufficient to retain enough liquid for accomplishing the desired function of nail polish removal, gel removal, shellac remover, etc. Still other patents that are incorporated herein by this reference are U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,392 to Beaudry; U.S. Pat. No. 8,696,227 to Carter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,194 to Barabino; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,521 to Tsaur, showing how various embodiments can be made.

In one particular embodiment, the use of a capsule is employed that can contain more than one substance separated by frangible structures such that a combination of substances can be delivered in a desired sequence and in a particular position on a surface, such as a person's skin, so that the purposeful combination of such substances can be achieved in an easy fashion. The collars/strips of the present invention, by virtue of their encapsulated frangible structures associated with absorbent materials and barriers (either to retain solvent material from vaporizing into the air freely, or conversely, a barrier on the opposite side of the absorbent material such that the material in the encapsulated structure is precluded from contacting an underlying surface and is instead, free to vaporize) find various uses that are accomplished in an easy, cost effective manner.

In preferred embodiments, DEET or other insect repellants are not contained in any paper or woven substrate, but rather are encapsulated in a fashion that they are held separate and above absorbent material that are only soaked with the contents of broken capsules upon the rupture thereof. Moreover, in preferred embodiments, DEET is not contained in microcapsules, but rather in far more macro capsules such that a person can rupture enclosures of repellant by simply pressing on discreet “bubbles” (similar to bubble wrap structures) to release desired amounts of repellents.

In other embodiments, various other insect repellents may be employed, either alone or in combination with others. For example, in certain embodiments, insect repellents contain coconut compositions that have been found to be very effective insect repellents. Coconut derived fatty acids have been shown to repel biting flies, bed bugs, ticks and mosquitoes, having residual activities comparable to that of DEET. It is well-known that insect bites can cause local or systemic effects that lead to infectious or inflammatory responses in human and animals. Moreover, many blood-sucking insects (primarily in mosquitoes) transmit many pathogens primarily plasmodium (malaria), viruses causing West Nile, Zika, yellow fever, and dengue in humans, in addition to equine infectious anemia, and African swine fever in animals. Biting flies, such as stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) and horn flies (Haematobia irritans), have been reported to not only reduce the productivity of livestock, and also to transmit Lumpy Skin Disease and Rift Valley viruses mechanically. Furthermore, another two blood-sucking arthropods often found in urban environments, ticks and bed bugs, have recently experienced resurgences for which ticks are vectors of many human and animal pathogens.

Coconut oil is a highly saturated triglyceride oil known for its rich lauric (C12:0) and myristic acid (C14:0) content. This oil, extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts (Cocos nucifera), exhibits high repellency against stable flies that cause over 2 billion dollars in losses to the US livestock industry. Higher repellent efficacy is possible using mixtures of medium chain length acids rather than individual fatty acids due to a synergistic effect in repellency.

Various compositions can be employed as insect repellents and thus, encapsulated together or separately (e.g. to provide choices for individuals as to type of substance they wish to employ via breaking frangible encapsulations; dosage and timing of administration of an insect repellent). Thus, one aspect of the invention involves the provision of an insect repellent collar/strip (which should be understood in various embodiments to comprise a patch—rather than any rectangular-limited shaped product) having one or more encapsulated insect repellent containing formulations that when released onto an absorbent material—(i.e. after the encapsulated structure is broken)—a pet is provided with an amount of insect repellent in a selectively desirable time period and in a desired amount. Thus, certain embodiments include more than one frangible encapsulated portion of an insect repellent, such as DEET, so that if a pet owner desires a higher concentration and/or increased volume of material, or on a more frequent administration regime, to be made available to the absorbent material of a collar/strip as described herein, they can selectively compress and break such enclosed capsules to release desired and pre-determined amounts of the insect repellent for the particular occasion. For example, if someone is trekking with a pet through a mosquito infested area for several hours and requires reapplication of a DEET containing formulation to achieve desired protection, but also desires to avoid skin contact with DEET products, then the ability to simply break one of several DEET containing capsules at a desired time period, thus permitting the DEET material to soak the adjacent absorbent material, and then provide the protection due to the vapors evolving from the now soaked absorbent material, is an effective way to achieve insect repellent results without undue pet skin exposure to DEET. The insect repellent collars/strips of the present invention are suitable to dispense at least 0.01 mg of insect repellent per hour at 25.degree. C. in still air conditions. In certain embodiments, the insect repellent encapsulated within the one or more capsules (which preferably each contain at least about 0.25 ml of an insect repellent composition), includes a pyrethroid insect repellent selected from the group consisting of transfluthrin, metofluthrin, and profluthrin. The total amount of said insect repellent so applied is an amount effective to provide practical mosquitoe personal area repellency. Preferably, an insect repellent is provided in at least 0.5 ml encapsulated enclosures that are designed to be frangible upon a pet owner compressing such structures to cause the release of the contents thereof, preferably being then absorbed onto the adjacent absorbent material. To comply with written description and enablement requirements, incorporated by reference in their entireties are the following: U.S. patent Publications and patents: 20130095162 to Quinn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,820 to Bastar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,444 to Howard; 2002-0160035 to Fotinos; U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,043 to Fischel-Ghodsian; 20060188538 to Emmrich et. al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,748,477 to Scialdone; and 2002 0160035 to Kim; and US Patent publication No. 20060226249 to Ketcha, et al.

The FIGURE is a schematic drawing showing the head portion of a dog wearing a collar10having a strip according to the present invention, with frangible encapsulated insect repellent beads11, and an absorbent pad12. The insect repellent collars/strips and bands of the present invention are advantageous over topical compositions for several reasons, including that they are more convenient than prior art devices. The wearable collars, strips and bands offer similar advantages to those of topical compositions without the drawbacks, as they provide protection wherever the subject goes. For ease of complying with written description and enablement requirements, the following references are incorporated herein in their entireties, especially as it relates the use of various compounds and solutions and formulations that can be employed in various embodiments of the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,203 to Carroll et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,485 to Dutton-Davis et al.; 20030127104 to Tyre; 20060283470 to Keogh; 20070107745 to Kiyomoto; 20070287647 to Hadry; 20080142405 to Knapp; 20100204076 to CHENG; 20100305491 to Baschnagel; 20080060550 to MacDonald; U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,877 to Kang et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,904 to Kinseley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,253 to Anhauser et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,428 to Song; U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,985 to Allen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,073 to Keller; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,415,903 and 5,525,389 to Hoffman et al. Also incorporated by reference herein in their entireties are the following issued patents and published applications: 20040142830 to Tavares; 20080039812 to Kang; U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,393 to Laipply.

One of skill in the art of life must strike a balance of caution and of exercising a free spirit in all aspects of making the journey to the end. Many inventions arise from a later appreciation that what was seen at the time to be a mistake, was actually a solution to a problem that may not yet have even been pondered. But in other situations, what may appear to be accidents may instead be purposeful acts. One should carefully consider how competitors may have spun their stories to arrive at the truth. And remember, a dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Protecting Sasha; Insect repellent collar; Dog days happiness.

As designed, a device and method embodying the teachings of the present invention is easily applied. The foregoing description is included to illustrate the operation of the preferred embodiment and is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. As one can envision, an individual skilled in the relevant art, in conjunction with the present teachings, would be capable of incorporating many minor modifications that are anticipated within this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be broadly limited only by the following claims.