The present invention is directed to pet products such as pet beds and pet toys which are intended to incorporate certain infusion compositions in order to provide enhancements for such products. These include attractants, calming agents, insect repellents, pain relievers, odor controllers and animal repellents. Such active ingredients, which are combined with relatively low volatility carrier oils, are contained within the interstices of a suitable zeolite molecular sieve to provide for the slow release and unwanted dissipation when laundering such products thus extending their usable lifecycle therein.
The marketplace is replete with innumerable pet products. Many of those products being defined by an outer shell material which dictates their shape and function and fill material contained therein. Typical examples of such products include pet beds and chew toys. As to the latter, a stuffed rodent, such as a mouse, would typically include an infusion composition of catnip or silver vine to enhance a cat's interest and provide suitable stimulation. However, it has been found that if the pet owner wishes to launder the product to extend its useful life, the catnip or silver vine active ingredients would rapidly dissipate and, as a result, after a single laundering, the catnip effects would be virtually undetectable.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a pet product containing an infusion composition within a carrier which addresses the limitations of such products of the prior art.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a pet product containing an infusion composition within a carrier which is capable of being laundered without the complete dissipation of the infusion composition and its resulting beneficial properties.
In a pet product comprising an outer shell defining its shape and fill material enclosed within said outer shell, the improvement comprising a pet -related infusion composition within a carrier therefore, said carrier, in the form of a zeolite molecular sieve, providing for the release of said infusion composition within said fill material.
Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration description only and are not intended as definitions of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularity in the claims.
There has been broadly outlined more important features of the invention in the summary above and in order that the detailed description which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important therefore, that claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Certain terminology and the derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similar words such as “inward” and “outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa, unless otherwise noted.
As noted previously, there are a plethora of pet products including beds, chew toys and stuffed animals which would benefit from the inclusion of certain active ingredients such as animal attractants, calming agents, insect repellents, pain relievers, odor controllers and animal repellents. However, the same products, in order to extend their useful lives, should be laundered and once laundered, active ingredients contained therein are basically washed away leaving the pet products devoid of the useful contributions that were made by them. It has surprisingly been determined that these infusion compositions can be maintained within the pet products and diffused in a controlled manner by including them within a suitable zeolite molecular sieve.
Zeolites are generally composed of silicon, aluminum and oxygen in an open three-dimensional framework. Such materials have been used for quite some time as absorbents, and for industrial separations and purifications. The aluminosilicate framework is negatively charged and attracts positive cations that reside in cages to compensate for the negative charge of the framework. Zeolites can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic mainly depending upon their Si/Al ratio, the zeolitic hydrophilic properties increasing as the aluminum content in the zeolite framework increases and vice versa. The localized electrostatic poles between the positively charged cations in the negatively charged zeolitic framework strongly attract highly polar molecules, resulting in a hydrophilic structure.
The choice of the appropriate zeolite for use herein would depend upon the nature of the infusion composition and its carrier. For example, catnip oil and catnip hydrosol, the latter being hydrophilic, not only acts as a feline stimulant but is also 10 times more effective than DEET in repelling mosquitoes. Such materials also act as potential repellents against houseflies, mites and ticks. Thus their use in pet beds provide obvious advantages. However, as noted previously, pet beds which contain catnip oil and catnip hydrosol only exhibit their useful properties for a limited period of time noting further that if a pet owner was to launder the bed containing these infusion compositions, they would basically be washed away during the laundering process and thus no longer available. As some of the non-limiting examples below illustrate, often times, a hydrophobic zeolite molecular sieve would be the appropriate choice because not only are a number of the proposed infusion compositions, such as catnip oil hydrophobic, but active ingredients for use herein are often times used in conjunction with carrier oils which are also hydrophobic.
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Table 1 recites several employed formulations used in such bedding products for flea control, odor control and as calming agents:
Although those skilled in the art would appreciate the appropriate selection of the zeolite molecular sieve for use herein depending, for example, upon whether the pet related infusion composition was hydrophilic or hydrophobic, a suitable such hydrophobic zeolite molecular sieve is commercially available as the ACS Material ZSM-5 absorbent. In preparation, the zeolite molecular sieve is pulverized and then pelletized. Although pelletization can include a binder, binders tend to clog the zeolite open network and thus the selection of zeolite molecular sieves which can be pelletized without a binder are preferred. The ZSM-5 absorbent is such material. Once pelletized, the pellets are immersed in a suitable pet related infusion composition, the latter being both absorbed and adsorbed by the zeolite molecular sieve.
As previously noted, a sought after benefit of practicing the present invention is to create a pet product which can be laundered repeatedly without an immediate loss of the beneficial properties of the pet related infusion composition. Without the present invention, it was found that a single washing of a pet product such as the pet bed of
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Additional testing has been carried out to further characterize present invention and to confirm those benefits derived therefrom. The results of such testing are provided in the following examples.
Wash-Ability Testing of Zeolites with Flea and Tick Infusion Blend
Dosing
Washing
Extraction
GC/MS Analysis
Using grapheme molecular sieve zeolite as a carrier, testing was conducted to determine the potential retention of the flea and tick infusion oil in zeolites over three wash cycles.
The loss of both neem oil and cedar wood oil from wash 0 to wash 3 shows an inconsistent loss. The catnip hydrosol may not be present due to the hydrophobic nature of the zeolite being used resisting interaction with the aqueous hydrosol or the other two oils being used, masking the available hydrosol concentration.
Wash-Ability Test Results for Catnip Hydrosol Only—Zeolite Carrier
Using grapheme molecular sieve zeolite as a carrier, the previous tests concluded with the absence of hydrosol in the flea, tick, and mosquito infusion oil. This testing was done to determine if the hydrosol alone would interact with the zeolites and allow for the available active ingredient to be absorbed and retained over three washes.
The ability of the catnip hydrosol alone to remain in the zeolites after three washes indicates that one of the other ingredients in the flea, tick, and mosquito infusion formulation may be causing the absence of the hydrosol in previous tests. Testing concludes that the catnip hydrosol alone can remain in the zeolite after three wash cycles.
Wash-ability Testing of Zeolites with Calming Infusion Blend Testing Procedure
Dosing
Washing
Extraction
GC/MS Analysis
Wash-Ability Test Results for Calming Infusion Blend—Zeolite Carrier
Using grapheme molecular sieve zeolite as a carrier, testing was performed on the calming infusion blend (CIB) without a carrier oil to determine the potential retention of the ingredients after three washes.
At an even mixture of 50% of each essential oil, the retention shown are characteristic of the oil without the aid of a carrier oil. A carrier oil is expected to lower the volatility of the essential oils diluted mixed within it to increase their overall retention. Testing shows that the geranium and lavender oils can remain in the zeolites though three wash cycles.
Wash-Ability Test Results for Calming Infusion Blend with Carrier Oil—Zeolite Carrier
Using grapheme molecular sieve zeolite molecular sieve as a carrier, testing was performed on the (CIB) with carrier oil, 0.6 ml of geranium, 0.6 ml lavender and 28.8 ml of almond oil, to determine the effects the carrier oil may have on the retention of the ingredients in the blend.
Retention of the ingredients dropped in comparison to the testing done on the same infusion oil without carrier oil. Both formulations had no issue remaining in the zeolite throughout the three wash cycles, further showing the resilience of the lavender and geranium oils to being washed out. Testing has concluded that the calming infusion oil has a greater retention at a 1:1 mixture than with the addition of carrier oil.
Wash-Ability Testing of Zeolites with Flea and Tick Infusion Blend
Dosing
Washing
Extraction
GC/MS Analysis
Wash-Ability Test Results for Flea, Tick, and Mosquito Infusion made with Catnip Oil—Zeolite Carrier
Using grapheme molecular sieve zeolite as a carrier, testing was performed on a flea, tick, and mosquito infusion oil made with catnip essential oil in place of catnip hydrosol to determine if the hydrophobic nature of the zeolites and the aqueous ingredient in previous FTM infusion formulations were influencing the results.
Although this test mixture demonstrates some level of depletion from wash 0 to 3, usable levels are retained after all cycles. Tests illustrated that an oil based flea and tick repellent formulation may be effectively infused in a graphene molecular sieve zeolite carrier, resisting depletion despite enduring 3 household wash and dry cycles.
Although the introduction of a suitable zeolite molecular sieve -containing pet infusion composition to the interior of a pet product can be carried out in numerous ways, a convenient way of doing so, in the fabrication of a pet bed, is taught in Applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/239,393 filed on Aug, 17, 2016, the disclosure which is incorporated by reference herein. Specifically, in reference to
The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations as described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed as suitable without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. Therefore, the above description and illustration should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.