The present invention relates to a pesticidal blanket for human protection against pests.
In order to prevent human being from the nuisance of insects, it is well-known to impregnate fabrics and nettings with insecticides, as for example disclosed in International patent application WO 01/37662. In this patent application, a method is described to prevent the insecticide from being removed from the fabric or net by washing.
Having a fabric impregnated with pesticides such that the pesticide is situated on both surfaces of the fabric, makes such fabrics unsuited for direct covering of the skin of the human body, because many pesticides, for example insecticides, may cause allergic reactions on the skin or other kind of irritation. The same type of argument applies for fabrics, where the impregnation is on that side of the fabric which covers the human body.
Especially for transport to emergency areas, for example tropical refugee camps, where transport is performed by aircrafts, blankets should be of little weight in order to be able to transport many blankets with one aircraft. Also, for this type of application, it is desirable that that blankets are cheap, because the budget for relief aid in most situations is very limited.
In the situation, where blankets are used in emergency areas, United Nations (UN) requires a number of material properties according to well defined minimum criteria. Apart from being of low weight and cheap to produce, a number of other requirements have to be fulfilled. Thus, such blankets need to have a high tensile strength and wear resistance.
It is the purpose of the invention to provide an insecticidal blanket of an improved type where during use the direct skin contact with the insecticide is avoidable. Especially, the blanket should have a low weight and be cheap to produce. Furthermore, the blanket should have sufficient tensile strength.
This purpose is achieved by a pesticidal blanket comprising a fibrous, voluminous sheet without insecticide forming a first side of said blanket and a sheet structure attached to the second side of said blanket and forming at least part of the surface of the second side of said blanket, wherein said sheet structure contains an insecticide.
The term blanket has to be understood as a sheet member, which is used for example for covering beds or directly for covering human. As pests are considered insects, as Coleoptera, Lepitopera, Diptera, Homoptera, Isoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera, for example, mosquitos biting flies, fleas, bed bugs and other nuisance or vector insects and acaracides.
The sheet structure is a attached to the fibrous sheet in a way such that the insecticide extends only to one side of the blanket, because the skin of the person using the blanket should not be exposed to the insecticide. The insecticide containing sheet structure may be a net structure attached to the blanket, for example the net structure may be attached to the fibrous sheet. The net structure may be single fibres, bunches of fibres, a net, or a fleece that is attached to the sheet by gluing, heat sealing/bonding, sewing, weaving, knitting, needle punching or stitch bonding. The net structure may also be constituted by the fibres that are sewed into the fibrous sheet or the final blanket, for example by stitch bonding, where the fibres extend to the surface of the second side.
One of the possibilities for the construction of the pesticidal blanket, or insecticidal, is a sheet of a non-woven material, which preferably is stabilised by fibres through stitch bonding or needle punching. Sheets of non woven material can be produced very cheaply. Usually, however, the tensile strength and wear resistance is not sufficient but with an attached net on one side, for example the net being of the form as known mosquito nets, the strength is increased such that it complies with the minimum requirements for blankets according to the United Nations.
When stitch bonding is used for non-woven sheets, the fibre for the bonding itself may be impregnated with an insecticide, so that the aforementioned net may even be avoided, leaving a very cheaply produced material, which nevertheless has a tensile strength due to the bonding fibres.
Alternatively, the insecticide containing sheet structure may be a film attached to the second side of the blanket, for example a thin foil glued to one side of the blanket or partly melted into the second side of the blanket. Also such a blanket may be produced as a light weight structure, which is mechanically stabilised by the film.
The sheet for the pesticical blanket may contain extensively carded, fibrous material. In this case, a high volume of the sheet is achieved which results in a high thermal insulating property of the blamket. The overall consequence of using this extensive carding of the fibrous material is a blanket which has a high thermal insulation and, at the same time, a low weight. The combination of the non-woven material with a stabilising film, a net, or fibres results in a blanket with high thermal insulation properties, low weight, inexpensive production, and a high tensile strength fulfilling the requirements of the UN.
The insecticide may be impregnated in the stabilising structure, as explained above. However, the insecticidal effect and the stabilising effect may be achieved by different means. For example the sheets structure may comprise a non-insecticidal net structure that is glued onto the second side of the blanket, where the glue contains an insecticide. Insects that touch the blanket on the insecticidal side would inevitably also touch the glue and be exposed to the insecticide. The glue may also be used in connection with insecticidal fibres in order to increase the insecticidal efficiency of the blanket.
The glue used in connection with the invention should be understood broadly and may be a resin or any polymer glue including polyurethane or polyacryl based substances. The glue may also be of a type to be heated in order to glue. An alternative way of attachment is by heat sealing/bonding, which may equally well be applied in connection with the invention.
The material for the blanket may be wool or any other suitable natural fibrous material. Also suitable is polypropylene as a fibre material or other polymer fibres. Preferred is in many cases a blend of fibres of different materials, where a content of 10%-20% wool is advantageous for such a blanket.
Although a non-woven sheet may be preferred due to reduced production costs, easy production and more pronounced light weight potential, also woven material may be used in connection with the invention. In this case, a net may be bonded to the woven sheet material in an analogue way as to the non-woven sheet. Weaving may also be performed by having the fibres impregnated with an insecticide or the fibres containing insecticides for migration from the inner part of the fibres to the surface of the fibres.
As possible agents may be used Alphacypermethrin or Lambdacyhalothrin or other agents as given in the following.
The present invention relates to but is not limited to the following active insecticides selected from the group comprising pyrethroid compounds such as
other active insecticides that may be used alone or in combination, but preferably not mixed with pyrethroids, are e.g. carbamate compounds such as
additionally, active insecticides such as organophosphorous compounds may be applied in accordance with the invention including compounds such as
in addition, especially for ticks and mites, the following insecticides may be applied:
furthermore active insecticides with a sterilising effect on adult mosquitoes and/or with a growth regulating effect may applied such as:
Especially interesting among the possible insecticides or pesticides are Etofenprox, which is regarded as resulting in allergic reaction only to very little degree, Permethrin, which is the most used pesticide in fabrics that are used against insects. However, the dose to be applied on the fibres of the fabric is rather high for the former two. This may be a problem for net structures, where the thickness of the fibre is small. Therefore, for thin fibres, insecticides with high insecticidal acitivy per a.i. and low mammalian toxicity are preferred such as Bifenthrin.
Though the skin is not supposed to be in direct contact with a fibre that is impregnated with insecticides, it is preferred that the insecticides that are used for impregnation have low risk of allergic reactions.
As can be understood from the foregoing, the blanket according to the invention can be produced with low weight and inexpensively. Still, it can have very high thermal insulation properties. The blanket according to the invention may be constructed that it has a high tensile strength and contains an insecticide for preventing human being from being subjected to nuisance from insects without the human being subjected to the insecticide himself.
In order to enhance the isolating properties of the blanket according to the invention, a pesticidal blanket according to the invention in a further embodiment comprises a layer with a metallic surface, preferably an aluminium foil. This can be accomplished if the blanket comprises a further fibrous, voluminous sheet and wherein an aluminium foil is located between the fibrous sheet and the further fibrous sheet.
In order to provide a blanket for emergency use, it may be of advantage if the blanket is provided with substances that may promote healing of injury. For example, the non-insecticidal sheet may on its surface—the first surface of the blanket, which is intended directed towards the human body—be provided with a disinfecting, antibacterial, and/or wound healing substance that evaporates or is disposed when touched. Also, the blanket may be provided with evaporating substances that cause certain other effects on the human being using the blanket. For example, the blanket may contain evaporable substances that have a relaxing effect on the user or a stimulating effect. Further, substances which may have a pain relieving effect may be considered, or nicotine, HRT hormones, antibiotics or even certain cancer drugs.
Possible agents for treating the first side of the blanket, which is intended for being directed towards the human body are fungicides for treatment of, for example, dermophytes appearing on skin, hair and nails. Other fungis to be treated may be Trichophyton, Epidermphyton spp. or Microsporium spp. The used fungicides may be of different kinds, for example, lamisil, terbinafine, novartis or griseofulvin types.
Furthermore, the intended substance on the first side of the blanket may be used for treatment of
Also, the medical substance for treatment of the first side of the blanket may relate to fungicidal treatment for counteracting AIDS. The most serious fungal infection in Aids patients is Cryptococcus neoformans. Infections associated with Aids include Apergillus spp., Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., Rhizopus spp., Absidia spp., Rhizomucon spp., which may be treated with respective substances. Possible treatment of the first side of the blanket may include antibiotics, for example of family nystatins.
The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the drawings, where
a shows one embodiment of a blanket 100 according to the invention. The blanket 100 comprises a fibrous, voluminous sheet 101 without insecticide forming a first side 105 of the blanket 100. On the second side 104 of the blanket 100, an insecticide containing sheet structure in the form of a net structure 102 is attached. The net structure 102 may be a conventional net 102′, as indicated in
An alternative way to attach the net structure 102 to the sheet 101 is by needle punching, where the needle is pushed through the sheet 101 and fibres inside the sheet 101 are dragged out of the sheet 101 and around the fibres of the net structure 102.
In
As illustrated in
A thin fleece may be used for substitution of the net. Such a fleece may be glued to the fibrous sheet 101 as well. IF the glue extends to both sides of the fleece, the glue may advantageously contain an insecticide.
Due to the advantageous properties of a blanket 100 according to the invention, the pesticidal blanket 100 is highly suited for emergency areas like refugee camps or areas, where natural catastrophes have occurred, or in war areas. The pesticidal blanket 100 according to the invention satisfies the criteria from the UN concerning emergency equipment. However, the blanket 100 according to the invention is cheaper to manufacture than traditional blankets used for this kind of activity. The blanket 100 according to the invention has a sufficient tensile strength and in addition, it has got active pesticides without implying a high risk for allergic reactions on the human being that uses the blanket.
In
In order to enhance the isolating properties of the blanket 100 according to the invention, the blanket 100 may comprise a metallic sheet 103, as shown in
In order to obtain a blanket 100, which is water proof, an aluminium foil 113 may be glued by a layer of glue to the fibrous sheet 101, which is illustrated on
In analogy to the embodiment as shown in
How a net structure 102 is fabricated or impregnated is described in the aforementioned International patent application WO 01/37662, the content of which is hereby included by reference. However, impregnation is not the only way for incorporating insecticides into the fibres of the sheet structure 102. For example, it is also possible to include insecticides in polymer fibres during the production process of such fibres, where the insecticide forms part of the fibre material and migrates from the inside of the fibres to the surface of the fibres. This has the effect that the insecticide may not be removed by washing, as already after a short while after washing, the insecticide will occur on the surface again.
The fibrous, voluminous sheet 101 according to the invention may comprise an antibacterial, disinfecting substance, for example a bactericide or bacteriostat, or other substances which by surface release, for example evaporation, affects the user of the blanket.
For blankets to be used for relieve aid in connection with UN operations, the blanket according to the invention preferably has a thickness of between 3 mm and 8 mm, a width of between 100 cm and 200 cm, more preferably around 150 cm, and a weight of between 250 g/m2 and 500 g/m2.
Other preferred parameters are 16-36 mesh per cm2 in the netting constituting the preferred sheet structure where the netting has a yarn of 75-180 denier. The insecticidal treatment may be in the order of 40-120 mg/m2, however dependent on the purpose and the kind of insecticide.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PA 2001 01956 | Dec 2001 | DK | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/DK02/00903 | 12/23/2002 | WO |