Patent Application
20240318945
The present disclosure generally relates to toy blaster ammunition, and more particularly to toy blaster ammunition formulated with a bittering agent.
Water beads, hydrogel balls, polymer balls, or other items may be used as expandable ammunition in toy blasters. These items may contain superabsorbent polymers that can expand many times their original size after exposure to water. It has been reported in the media that such expandable balls have been ingested by children, causing health problems, such as intestinal damage.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide ammunition for a toy blaster that may be infused with or otherwise contain a bittering agent, such as denatonium benzoate. Addition of denatonium benzoate to ammunition formulations in embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce the likelihood that the ammunition may be ingested by children. Ammunition according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be formed of a superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel. By introducing a non-toxic bittering agent into the superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel that may form the ammunition, it may be more likely that children may spit out the ammunition upon tasting the bittering agent, as opposed to swallowing the ammunition. It should be appreciated that denatonium benzoate may comprise approximately 50 parts per billion of the superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel in an embodiment of the present disclosure. However, denatonium benzoate may comprise approximately 1 to 100 ppm, and more optimally, 30 to 100 ppm, in some embodiments of the present disclosure. When used in these low concentrations, the ammunition may be safe for a child to put in his/her mouth, but given the taste of denatonium benzoate, its inclusion as part of the ammunition formulation may act as an aversive agent. Therefore, the child may be deterred from putting the ammunition in his/her mouth after the child's mouth comes in contact with the ammunition, and this may reduce the likelihood that the ammunition may be swallowed by a child.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide ammunition for a toy blaster that may be infused with or otherwise contain a bittering agent, such as denatonium benzoate. When ingested at 10 ppm by a human, denatonium benzoate may have an extremely bitter, unpleasant taste. Thus, addition of denatonium benzoate to ammunition formulations in embodiments of the present disclosure may reduce the likelihood that the ammunition may be ingested by children.
Ammunition may be in the form of absorptive gel balls having a bad flavor through inclusion of a bittering agent. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the absorptive gel balls may be formed of sodium polyacrylate, water, and denatonium benzoate. Sodium polyacrylate may form approximately 90% of the composition in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and water may form approximately 10% of the composition. Denatonium benzoate may be introduced into a slurry of water and sodium polyacrylate at approximately 50 parts per billion. However, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, denatonium benzoate may be in the range of 1 to 100 ppm, and in other embodiments of the present disclosure the range may be 30 to 100 ppm.
Ammunition according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be formed of a superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel. The resultant ammunition may be Gellets® in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Gellets are small, colorful, hydrating water beads or balls that are formed of an all-natural, non-toxic, non-irritating, starch-based material. Gellets may be introduced into water and will expand when in contact with water. They generally do not expand beyond 7-8 mm (which may still be 10 times the size of the Gellets before introduced into water), meaning that it may be possible for them to pass through the digestive system if ingested by a child. By introducing a non-toxic bittering agent into the hydrogel that may form the Gellets or other water-absorbent ammunition, such as those ammunitions comprised of Super Absorbent Polymers (SAPs), it may be more likely that children may spit out the ammunition upon tasting the bittering agent, as opposed to swallowing the ammunition.
When formulating the superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel to create ammunition according to embodiments of the present disclosure, a bittering agent, such as denatonium benzoate, may be introduced to the formulation. It should be appreciated that denatonium benzoate may comprise approximately 50 parts per billion of the superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel in an embodiment of the present disclosure. However, denatonium benzoate may comprise approximately 1 to 100 ppb, and more optimally, 30 to 100 ppb, in some embodiments of the present disclosure. When used in these low concentrations, the ammunition may be safe for a child to put in his/her mouth, but given the taste of denatonium benzoate, its inclusion as part of the ammunition formulation may act as an aversive agent. Therefore, the child may be deterred from putting the ammunition in his/her mouth after the child's mouth comes in contact with the ammunition, and this may reduce the likelihood that the ammunition may be swallowed by a child. While the bittering agent is identified as denatonium benzoate, it should be appreciated that other bittering agents may be introduced as part of the superabsorbent polymer or hydrogel to form ammunition without departing from the present disclosure. Regardless what bittering agent may be employed, it should be non-toxic and have a bad taste to deter children from ingesting the ammunition containing the bittering agent.
It should be appreciated that superabsorbent polymers or hydrogels described herein can be synthetic and made from petroleum products, polyacrylate, and other acrylics. Polymers are formed that may be able to absorb and retain large amounts of water (sometimes hundreds of times their weight) within their chemical structures, without dissolving in the water. Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
This application is a non-provisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. Patent Application No. 63/453,459 filed Mar. 20, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63453459 | Mar 2023 | US |
