Patent Application
20220080073
The present invention relates generally to disinfectant products and more specifically to bags for disinfecting personal items.
Microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses are ever-present in the environment. Microorganisms that are capable of causing infectious diseases are known as pathogens and include influenza (flu) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Pathogens can spread not only through contact between people but also through contact with touched surfaces. Surfaces can become contaminated either by airborne organisms landing on a surface or through direct contact via touch.
Frequently touched objects such as personal items (e.g., cell phones, keys, and the like), come into direct contact with the users' hands and become a source of contamination of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Users may acquire pathogens following direct contact with the contaminated personal belonging followed by subsequent hand-to-mouth, hand-to-nose, and/or hand-to-eye contact. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted widespread shortcomings with respect to the public's adherence to public health recommendations, which adds an urgency to the development of new and innovative ideas for preventing the spread of pathogens and reducing infections.
Therefore, a need exists for improved products and methods to prevent the spread of pathogens and reduce infections, particularly for improved products and methods relating to disinfecting personal items.
To address the foregoing problems, in whole or in part, and/or other problems that may have been observed by persons skilled in the art, the present disclosure provides compositions and methods as described by way of example as set forth below.
A bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items is provided, comprising:
In one embodiment, the personal items comprise a mobile device, wherein the bag is sized to accommodate a desired make and model of mobile device.
In another embodiment, the personal items comprise various articles and the bag is a shopping bag sized to accommodate and the various articles' shapes and sizes. The bag may further comprise a handle configured to enable easy loading on the palm of the user's hand and is sized according to a desired number and size of personal items to be sterilized and disinfected while being transported.
In another embodiment, the personal items comprise bottled beverages or canned beverages, wherein the bag is sized to accommodate the bottled beverages' or canned beverages' shapes and sizes.
In another embodiment, the bag is divided into a first section comprising a wet wipe wetted with disinfecting materials approved by the World Health Organization, and a second section comprising a wet wipe wetted with water and materials extracted from herbs and/or fruits, thereby enabling a user to rinse or purify personal items that have been treated in the first section.
In another embodiment, the bag is divided into multiple sections of varying size, wherein each section comprises the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer. Some of the multiple sections may comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, and some of the multiple sections may comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
A method for sterilizing and disinfecting a personal item is also provided, comprising placing the personal item in the bag of any of the bags described herein and rubbing the bag with one or both hands; thereby sterilizing and disinfecting the personal item without the need for the user to touch the one or more personal items. In some embodiments the personal item is a mobile device and the bag is sized to receive the mobile device. In another embodiment, the personal item comprises various articles and the bag is a shopping bag sized to receive the various articles. In another embodiment, the personal item comprises a bottled beverage or a canned beverage and the bag is sized to receive the various articles the bottled beverage or the canned beverage. In another embodiment, the bag comprises multiple sections of varying size, wherein some of the multiple sections comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization and wherein some of the multiple sections comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
Additional features of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Having thus described the subject matter of the present invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The subject matter of the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention are shown. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The subject matter of the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Indeed, many modifications and other embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the subject matter of the present invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the subject matter of the present invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
The present invention is a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items such as mobile devices, sunglasses, eyeglasses, wallets, beverage containers, and the like. The bag is designed for easy use, even by children, the elderly, and the partially disabled. The bag is also designed for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items in the best, fastest, and safest way possible without the need for additional devices.
The bag of the present invention is designed in different sizes that vary according to the types of personal items to be sterilized and disinfected. The bag comprises layers from the outside to the inside comprising:
The selection of disinfectants should take account of any particular microorganisms to be targeted, as well as the recommended concentration and contact time, the compatibility of the chemical disinfectants and surfaces to be tackled, toxicity, ease of use, and stability of the product. Exemplary disinfectants include, but are not limited to, chlorine-based products (e.g., hypochlorite) at about 0.1% (1000 ppm) for general environmental disinfection), ethanol at about 70%-90%, or hydrogen peroxide ≥0.5%. Contact time of a minimum of 1 minute is recommended for these disinfectants (Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Action Plan Guidance COVID-19 Preparedness and Response, Geneva: World Health Organization (2020); Cleaning and Disinfection of Environmental Surfaces in the Context of COVID-19, Interim Guidance, Geneva: World Health Organization (May 15, 2020)).
Alternatively, in some embodiments where light cleansing of the personal items is desired, the disinfectant wet wipe is wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
In some embodiments, the wet wipe comprises cotton or wood fibers.
Referring now to
Bag 100 may include two parts assembled in such a way that the bag is closed on three sides and open on one side and comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, wherein the first layer comprises an environmentally friendly degradable plastic linoleum; the second layer comprises a plate of flexible glass fiber insulation or any suitable insulator to provide insulation and support for the first layer; and the third layer comprises a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide. Alternatively, where light cleansing of the mobile device is desired, the disinfectant wet wipe is wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
Referring now to
Bag 200 may include two parts assembled in such a way that the bag is closed on three sides and open on one side and comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, wherein the first layer comprises an environmentally friendly degradable plastic linoleum; the second layer comprises a plate of flexible glass fiber insulation or any suitable insulator to provide insulation and support for the first layer; and the third layer comprises a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide.
Handle 240 has a height 242 and a length 244. Handle 240 is used to carry bag 200 and is configured to enable easy loading on the palm of the user's hand. Length 244 is proportional to height 242, which vary according to need such as the number and size of personal items to be sterilized and disinfected while being transported. Various articles 260
Referring now to
Bag 300 may include two parts assembled in such a way that the bag is closed on three sides and open on one side and comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, wherein the first layer comprises an environmentally friendly degradable plastic linoleum; the second layer comprises a plate of flexible glass fiber insulation or any suitable insulator to provide insulation and support for the first layer; and the third layer comprises a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide.
In another embodiment, a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items is provided that is divided into two parts: a first section that contains a wet wipe wetted with disinfecting materials such as alcohol, and a second section that contains a wet wipe wetted with water and materials extracted from herbs and/or fruits to rinse or purify personal items that have been treated in the first section. This rinsing step may also reduce the effects of alcohol-based disinfectants used in the first section on the personal items.
Referring now to
In another embodiment, a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items is provided that is divided into multiple sections of varying size, wherein each section comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, wherein the first layer comprises an environmentally friendly degradable plastic linoleum; the second layer comprises a plate of flexible glass fiber insulation or any suitable insulator to provide insulation and support for the first layer; and the third layer comprises a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide. Alternatively, where light cleansing of the bottled beverages or canned beverages is desired, the disinfectant wet wipe is wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs. In some aspects, some of the multiple sections comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide, while some of the multiple sections comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
Referring now to
In some embodiments, each of the multiple pockets of varying size 520 comprise a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer, wherein the first layer comprises an environmentally friendly degradable plastic linoleum; the second layer comprises a plate of flexible glass fiber insulation or any suitable insulator to provide insulation and support for the first layer; and the third layer comprises a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
In some embodiments, some of the multiple pockets of varying size 520 comprise a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide, and some of the multiple pockets of varying size 520 comprise a disinfectant wet wipe wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
In all embodiments of the bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items of the present invention, the bag and any pockets it contains may comprise locks.
In another embodiment, a method is provided for sterilizing and disinfecting a personal item, comprising: a) placing the personal item in a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items as described herein; and b) rubbing the bag with one or both hands; thereby sterilizing and disinfecting the one or more personal items without the need for the user to touch the one or more personal items. In one aspect, the personal item is a mobile device and the bag is sized to receive the mobile device. In another aspect, the personal item comprises various articles and the bag is a shopping bag sized to receive the various articles. In another aspect, the personal item comprises a bottled beverage or a canned beverage and the bag is sized to receive the various articles the bottled beverage or the canned beverage.
In another embodiment, the method for sterilizing and disinfecting a personal item further comprises use of a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items that is divided into two parts: a first section that contains a wet wipe wetted with disinfecting materials such as alcohol, and a second section that contains a wet wipe wetted with water and materials extracted from herbs and/or fruits to rinse or purify personal items that have been treated in the first section.
In another embodiment, the method for sterilizing and disinfecting a personal item further comprises use of a bag for sterilizing and disinfecting personal items that is divided into multiple sections of varying size, some of which comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with one or more disinfectants approved by the World Health Organization, such as chlorine-based products, ethanol, or hydrogen peroxide, and some of which comprise disinfectant wet wipes wetted with water and one or more extracts from fruits and/or herbs.
Following long-standing patent law convention, the terms “a,” “an,” and “the” refer to “one or more” when used in this application, including the claims. Thus, for example, reference to “a subject” includes a plurality of subjects, unless the context clearly is to the contrary (e.g., a plurality of subjects), and so forth.
Throughout this specification and the claims, the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and “comprising” are used in a non-exclusive sense, except where the context requires otherwise. Likewise, the term “include” and its grammatical variants are intended to be non-limiting, such that recitation of items in a list is not to the exclusion of other like items that can be substituted or added to the listed items.
For the purposes of this specification and appended claims, unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing amounts, sizes, dimensions, proportions, shapes, formulations, parameters, percentages, quantities, characteristics, and other numerical values used in the specification and claims, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about” even though the term “about” may not expressly appear with the value, amount or range. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or larger or smaller as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other factors known to those of skill in the art depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained by the subject matter of the present invention. For example, the term “about,” when referring to a value can be meant to encompass variations of, in some embodiments ±100%, in some embodiments ±50%, in some embodiments ±20%, in some embodiments ±10%, in some embodiments ±5%, in some embodiments ±1%, in some embodiments ±0.5%, and in some embodiments ±0.1% from the specified amount, as such variations are appropriate to perform the disclosed methods or employ the disclosed compositions.
Further, the term “about” when used in connection with one or more numbers or numerical ranges, should be understood to refer to all such numbers, including all numbers in a range and modifies that range by extending the boundaries above and below the numerical values set forth. The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers, e.g., whole integers, including fractions thereof, subsumed within that range (for example, the recitation of 1 to 5 includes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as fractions thereof, e.g., 1.5, 2.25, 3.75, 4.1, and the like) and any range within that range.
Although the foregoing subject matter has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that certain changes and modifications can be practiced within the scope of the appended claims.
The present invention is a U.S. Continuation-in-Part patent application related to International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2020/058639, entitled “Bag Disinfection,” filed on Sep. 16, 2020; the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/IB2020/058639 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 17411162 | US |
