The collector and container may be used to collect and contain a small object or a small amount of material without direct manual contact. For example, it could be used in law enforcement to collect and contain evidentiary material. It may be used in the collection and handling of sterilized equipment and materials, food items such as bakery goods and the like. The collector and container may provide a safe, practical, inexpensive means to pick up and contain undesirable waste material. For example, it may be used in the removal and containment of automotive oil filters, paint rollers and the like. It may be used to collect and contain small dead animals such as mice, birds, etc. An important application of the collector and container is the collection and containment of infectious and hazardous waste in medical, autopsy, and mortuary applications. The device may similarly be used for the collection and containment of organs, tissue, and the like to be tested.
A frequently encountered application for a device to pick up undesirable waste is in the collection and containment of pet feces. Many municipalities have ordinances requiring pet owners to be responsible for their pet's waste. Although clearly not intended to be so limited, the collector and container may be used for the collection and containment of pet waste.
Typically, mechanical devices forming an extension of the user's hand were used for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,540 teaches a disposable pick-up container for animal litter utilizing two opposed cardboard scoops located at the open end of a bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,093 teaches a ramp like element having a bag in association therewith. The animal waste is shifted onto the ramp by a disposable scoop or manually by inserting a hand in a pocket-like structure formed in the side of the bag. Thereafter, the bag is pulled over the ramp and sealed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,565 teaches a shovel-like structure having a handle for the operator's hand. The structure is provided with a bag which is pulled over the operator's hand during use. Once the shovel has been filled, the bag is pulled over the shovel, itself, and sealed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,418 teaches a flexible paper or plastic bag having a pair of opposed scoop panels secured adjacent its open end. Upon engaging the litter with the scoop panels, the bag is inverted to cause the litter to enter the bag. Thereafter, the panel scoop members are turned inwardly to seal the bag and form a carrying handle therefor.
The above-noted patents are exemplary of those relating to disposable waste collectors. The disposable waste collectors have certain common features. For example, they normally require two hands, or one hand and another object in order to operate. They lose flexibility and dexterity by using mechanical devices constituting extensions of the human hand. They incorporate supplemental devices for putting the waste into the container. They generally rely on the waste being of consistent size and texture and that the waste is to be picked up from a smooth surface. Finally, they employ a horizontal movement to pick up the waste.
As is well known, if an object is to be picked up by a mechanical device, opposing forces must be applied to that object. Opposing forces can be in the form of two pieces of cardboard working against one another; a scoop moving the waste object onto another object; or a shovel-like device pushing the waste object against a restraining object.
A disposable collector and container described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,159 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety) provided a better alternative to picking up objects than by mechanical devices. The disposable collector provides a hygienic, inexpensive, glove-like bag to protect the thumb and fingers of the user as they apply the opposing forces to pick up the object. The collecting operation is controlled by the sense of touch and unequalled dexterity of the human hand so that objects of varying size and consistency can be collected, even from entangling surfaces such as grass or the like. The material to be collected can be approached from any direction and at any angle including vertically, and is not restricted to a horizontal scooping action.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,159 outlines two ply construction which permits controlled movement between the films to resist abrasion and puncture. Compared to gloves, the two ply construction offers enhanced protection to the user and prevent cross-contamination.
Despite the many advantages of its two ply construction, there is always the need to improve the puncture and abrasion resistance of the film and improve the protection of the user. Concurrent with the need for a stronger, safer collector and container is the environmental need for the collector and container to decompose. The ability of the collector and container to decompose in an unknown set of environmental conditions will, in turn, permit its contents to decompose.
Typically printing on LDPE requires an electrolytic treatment, which prevents the welding of the film on the side that had been treated. Consequently, printing on a collector and container may only be only on the outside. There is a need for a collector and container than can have printing on both the inside and outside. This allows for example, the outside of a collector and container to have instructions for the collection and containment of a used oil filter. The inside of the collector and container can have printed recycling instructions. Prior to collecting and containing the used oil filter, the user can view the pertinent instructions on the outside. After collection and containment, which involves inversion of the collector and container, the user will be presented with recycling instructions on the outside.
The above-noted and other deficiencies may be overcome by providing a collector and container, comprising a first film formed into an elongated bag-like structure having an open end, a closed end, and closed side edges, the bag being sized to comfortably receive a user's hand, the closed end being gusseted to form a “W”-shape in cross section; the gussets in the closed end forming two interior pockets for receipt of the user's fingers and thumb, respectively, and an intermediate exterior pocket therebetween for receipt of the material being collected and for engagement thereof by and between the fingers and thumb, the collector and container when turned inside-out to remove it from the user's hand comprising a container for the collected material; wherein the first film comprises linear low density polyethylene, not more than about 25% aggregate, and at least one degradation additive.
In one embodiment the collector and container has better puncture resistance, stronger tensile strength, and stronger heat-welded seams.
In another embodiment, the collector and container exhibits a more consistent rate of decomposition.
In another embodiment, the collector and container exhibits reduced permeability of the odor of contents, including petroleum based products.
These and other objects and advantages shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments, and together with the general description given above, and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
The glove-like collector and container may be made of a continuous strip of thin, flexible, moisture proof, vapor proof, and odor impervious material (also known as a film). The continuous strip, or the first film 1 is folded back upon itself, as is diagrammatically indicated in
In one embodiment of the structure, the closed gusseted end is provided with a second film 7 of thin, flexible, moisture proof material. It will be noted that the second film 7 is folded along transverse fold lines 8, 9 and 10 to achieve the same “W”-shaped, gusseted configuration. The second film 7 is of the same width as the first film 1, but it extends only a short way along the collector and container sides 5 and 6. The end edges of second film 7 are shown at 7a and 7b.
As is evident from the diagrammatic representation of
Once the films 1 and 7 have been laid up as shown in
In
As indicated above, in one embodiment the closed end of the collector and container is provided with second film 7. In one embodiment, the second film 7 may be embossed. This not only increases the structural strength of the outside pocket 13, it also minimizes the thermal and texture distastefulness associated with picking up undesirable waste.
Second film 7 may be joined with first film 1 only along the longitudinal edges of the bag-like collector and container, at weld lines 14 and 15. There is no joinder of the two films along the end edges 7a and 7b of second film 7. Therefore, a thin layer of air exists between first play 1 and second film 7. The embossing of strip 7 further assures the existence of this thin air layer between the films. If a surface abrasion is encountered during collection of the material of interest, lateral movement between the films will result, rather than a rupturing of either of the films. The existence of the air layer further reduces friction between the films. The air layer further reduces the thermal and texture distastefulness mentioned above. The embossing of the strip 7 provides a textured surface enhancing the gripping of the material to be collected.
When the material has been picked up, as shown in
At this stage, the only remaining step to complete the collecting and containing procedure is the closing of the open end of the bag-like collector and container. The manner in which the open end of the bag-like collector and container is closed does not constitute a limitation of the present invention. For example, the collector and container may come with a plastic or wire reinforced tie 23 affixed thereto by a small piece of tape 24 (see
The material from which films 1 and 7 are made can vary, depending upon the application to which the collector and container is directed. Films 1 and 7 may be made of thin, flexible, moisture proof plastic material. While not necessarily so limited, the films 1 and 7 can be made of the various forms of polyethylene (PE), which are well known in the art and are readily available. In one embodiment, the first film 1 has a thickness falling in the range of from about 0.07 mils to about 1.25 mils. In another embodiment, the first film 1 has a thickness of from about 0.8 mils to about 1.1 mils, 0.9 mils to about 1.1 mils, or about 1 mil. In another embodiment, second film 7 has a thickness of from about 0.8 mils to about 1.1 mils, 0.9 mils to about 1.1 mils, or about 1 mil.
In one embodiment, the films may be made from linear low density polyethylene (LDPE). The LDPE may be biodegradable, or degrade upon exposure to UV light, heat, ozone, or other environmental factor. Degradation additives may be added to the LDPE to allow it to degrade. Examples of degradation additives are SCM, PDQ, PDQ-H, BDA, or UV-H (sold by Willow Ridge Plastics and others). Degradation additives may be used in various amounts. In one embodiment, the degradation additive may be about 5% or less of the film. The degradation additive may be from about 1% to about 3%, about 3%, about 2%, or about 1%. In one embodiment the film comprises more than one degradation additive.
A degradable plastic allows the collector and container to be disposed without producing environmental damage. The collector and container may degrade allowing the contents to come into contact with the environment and also degrade. The time it takes for a collector and container to decompose depends upon the conditions it is exposed to. Generally, at conditions with higher temperature, moisture, and oxygen, the collector and container will decompose over a shorter period of time. A plastic is considered to degrade when it has an elongation of 5% or less before it fails. Typically a freshly extruded LDPE will have an elongation of about 600% before failure.
Aggregates may be added to the films to improve the strength, puncture resistance, tear resistance, seal strength, printability, decrease odor permeability, and provide a better petrochemical barrier. An example of an aggregate is CaCO3. Typically printing on LDPE requires an electrolytic treatment, which prevents the welding of the film on the side that had been treated. Use of an aggregate in the LDPE allows printing on both sides of the films because they no longer require an electrolytic treatment and may be welded. An aggregate is typically used with a carrier resin, such as LDPE. When the amount of aggregate is expressed as a percentage, it will be a weight percentage of the aggregate in a compatible carrier resin.
In one embodiment the film may comprise about 25% or less aggregate. The film may comprise from about 20% to about 25% aggregate, about 15% to about 20% aggregate, about 10% to about 15% aggregate, or about 5% to about 10% aggregate. The aggregate may be about 10%, about 11%, about 12, or about 13%.
While the present disclosure has illustrated by description several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art.
Percentages are weight percents.
Linear low density polyethylene (LDPE) (81%), PDQ (1%, from Willow Ridge Plastics), CaCO3 (10%, as 7:1 of CaCO3:LDPE, total CaCO3 was 8.75%), and pigments (8%) were mixed together. The plastic was extruded under extreme pressure, blown through air to form a tube, the tube was collapsed then slit to form a film of about 1 mil. The film was formed into the collector and container shown in the figures and the seams were welded, at a temperature of about 300° F. to 320° F.
The collector and container has a 1-2 year shelf life at room temperature. The time it takes for a collector and container to degrade depends upon a variety of environmental conditions. The collector and container will degrade over a period of about 10 days in an oven at 150° F. The collector and container will degrade over a period of about 7-10 weeks in an active compost with high temperature, moisture, and oxygen content. The collector and container will degrade over a period of about 18-24 months in a landfill.
Unused plastic from the manufacturing process can be recycled to make more film for collectors and containers by blending it with new raw materials.
Without prior electrolytic treatment, the collector and container could be printed on by using standard inline printing techniques.
Linear low density polyethylene (LDPE) (80%), cornstarch (12%, in LDPE vehicle, from Willow Ridge Plastics), and pigments (8%) were mixed together. The plastic was extruded under extreme pressure, blowing through air to form a tube, the tube was collapsed then slit to form a film with a thickness of about 1.25 mil. A second film was formed with a thickness of about 1.25 mil. The two films were formed into the collector and container and the seams were welded at a temperature of about 370° F. The weld seams were not as strong as those in Example 1 and has an accelerated non-uniform rate of degradation The collector and container had a similar degradation profile as Example 1, except that it did not degrade completely in a landfill. Unused plastic from the manufacturing process could not be melted and recycled to make more film for collectors and containers.
The collector and container required electrolytic treatment prior to any printing by using standard inline printing techniques. Consequently only one side could be printed because electrolytic treatment would interfere with side welding.
The collector and container of Example 1 was made except the amount of CaCO3 used was increased to 30% (as 7:1 of CaCO3:LDPE, total CaCO3 was 26%), the LDPE was decreased to 61%. The collector and container had unpredictable degradation and would degrade between 3 weeks to 10 weeks in a test oven at 150° F.
The present application hereby claims the benefit of the provisional patent application of the same title, Ser. No. 61/244,575, filed on Sep. 22, 2009, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1713065 | Williams | May 1929 | A |
2736052 | Tufarolo | Feb 1956 | A |
3608708 | Storandt | Sep 1971 | A |
3739418 | Yonaites et al. | Jun 1973 | A |
3978540 | Peck et al. | Sep 1976 | A |
4214321 | Nuwayser | Jul 1980 | A |
4515841 | Dyke | May 1985 | A |
4741565 | Bagg | May 1988 | A |
4752093 | Haber et al. | Jun 1988 | A |
4768818 | Kolic | Sep 1988 | A |
4788733 | Lerner | Dec 1988 | A |
4845781 | Strickland et al. | Jul 1989 | A |
4902283 | Rojko et al. | Feb 1990 | A |
5149159 | Bardes | Sep 1992 | A |
5565503 | Garcia et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
6096831 | Nagaoka et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
6203080 | Surplus | Mar 2001 | B1 |
20110210571 | Dan | Sep 2011 | A1 |
Entry |
---|
Ruiz, F.A., “Mineral Reinforcement of Metallocene-Catalyzed LLDPE Film and Bags,” TAPPI Polymers, Laminations, & Coatings Conference (2000) pp. 559-562. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110068038 A1 | Mar 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61244575 | Sep 2009 | US |