AU2009212889B2

AU2009212889B2 - Insect barrier article

Info

Publication number: AU2009212889B2
Application number: AU2009212889A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Chris Hill; Dugald North; Ian Pegg; Jason Wright
Original assignee: FMC Australasia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: FMC Australasia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-09-01
Filing date: 2009-09-01
Publication date: 2016-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2029-09-01
Also published as: AU2009212889A1

Abstract

- 20 An article for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab, the article 5 formed from a plastics material containing an insecticide dispersed through and substantially retained in the plastics material, the article comprising a body and at least one flange extending from the body, the article having a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 10 micron. 1737881_1 (GHMatters) 1/09/09

Description

1 2009212889 19 May 2015 INSECT BARRIER ARTICLE Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates to a termite barrier article, in particular to an article for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab. 10 Background of the Invention

Underlying many houses, as part of the foundations, is a concrete slab. In addition to its structural purpose, one of the functions of the concrete slab is to prevent entry 15 of insects, particularly termites into the house from the ground. However, passageways are required through the concrete slab to allow for pipes and cabling, such as sewerage pipes, water pipes and electric cables to extend therethrough. Such passageways provide a path through 20 which termites may attack a house as they can move through any gap between the slab and the penetrating pipes/cables. Conventionally, protection against this has been provided by the insertion or placement of some kind of physical barrier between the concrete slab and the penetrating 25 pipe. Commonly, articles referred to as "collars" are used to provide such barriers. Collars are available in many different shapes, but typically are formed from a rigid material and have a tubular portion which is shaped to fit around the penetrating pipe and some kind of 30 protrusion from the tubular portion to lock the collar into the concrete slab. 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 2 2009212889 19 May 2015

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article for minimising the 5 penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab, the article formed from a plastics material containing an insecticide dispersed through and substantially retained in the plastics material, the article comprising a body and at least one flange 10 extending from the body, the article having a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 micron.

The insecticide may be a synthetic pyrethroid. 15 The insecticide may be any one or combination of bifenthrin, permethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, alphacypermethrin, tetramethrin and cyfluthrin or any other synthetic pyrethroid. 20 Preferably, the insecticide is bifenthrin. Where the insecticide is bifenthrin, its concentration in the plastics material is preferably 0.05 to 1.0 wt%, preferably 0.1 to 0.5 wt%, more preferably approximately 0.1 wt%. 25

The plastics material may be low density polyethylene, preferably having a density of 0.910-0.940 g/cm3.

The article may have a substantially unitary thickness of 30 400-800 micron, preferably 400-600 micron, more preferably approximately 500 micron.

The article may comprise an external flange, extending from an external surface of the body, preferably 35 perpendicular to the external surface of the body.

The article may comprise at least one indentation in the 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 3 2009212889 19 May 2015 external flange .

The indentation may comprise an indented ring, provided around the body. 5

The article may comprise a plurality of concentric ring indentations in the external flange.

The external flange may have a width of 40-120mm, 10 preferably 60—100mm.

The body may be a tubular body having an aperture extending through the body. The tubular body may be a hollow cylinder in shape or may be a hollow rectangular 15 prism in shape.

The tubular body may have a diameter or width of 30-150mm, preferably 40-120mm. 20 In another arrangement, the body may be substantially planar and formable into a tubular shape. The body, in this embodiment may be rectangular in shape and may have a width of 100-300mm and a length of 100-300mm. 25 The article may comprise an internal flange, extending inwardly from an internal surface of the body.

The internal flange may comprise a plurality of flange portions . 30

Each flange portion may be generally trapezoidal in shape. A gap may be provided between each adjacent flange portion. 35

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum molded article for minimising 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 4 2009212889 19 May 2015 the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab, the article formed from a plastics material containing an insecticide, the insecticide dispersed through and substantially retained in the plastics 5 material, the article comprising a body and at least one flange extending from the body, the article having a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 micron.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, 10 there is provided a method of forming an article according to the first or second aspects of the present invention, the method comprising: forming a portion of plastics material containing an insecticide, the insecticide dispersed through and 15 substantially retained in the plastics material; and vacuum molding the portion of plastics material to form the article. 20 More than one article may be formed from a single portion of plastics material.

Forming the portion of plastics material may comprise cutting the portion from a sheet. 25

The portion may be rectangular and may have a width of 100-1000mm and a length of 100-1000mm. 30 The insecticide may be a synthetic pyrethroid.

The insecticide may be any one or combination of bifenthrin, permethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, alphacypermethrin, tetramethrin and 35 cyfluthrin or any other synthetic pyrethroid.

The insecticide may be bifenthrin, which may be at a 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 5 2009212889 19 May 2015 concentration in the plastics material of 0.05—1.0 wt%, preferably 0.1-0.5 wt%, more preferably approximately 0.1 wt% . 5 The plastics material may be low density polyethylene, preferably having a density of 0.910-0.940 g/cm3.

The method may also comprise forming a sheet of the plastics material containing the insecticide, the portion 10 of plastics material comprise the whole or part of the sheet. Forming the sheet may comprise blow molding the sheet from a molten homogenous mixture of plastics material and insecticide, preferably in accordance with the Applicant's own patent application WO06/094339. 15

The step of vacuum molding may comprise applying a negative pressure of -0.8 to -1.Obar to the portion.

The step of vacuum molding may comprise heating the 20 portion to a temperature of 210 to 230aC, preferably approximately 220SC.

The step of vacuum molding may be carried out for 1.5-3minutes. 25

The step of vacuum molding may comprise molding the portion of plastics material onto a mold.

The article may be formed by the vacuum molding step by 30 forming the portion into a tubular body and at least one flange extending from the tubular body.

The article may, in another embodiment, be formed by the vacuum molding step by forming the portion into a 35 substantially planar body having at least one flange extending from the body. 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 6 2009212889 19 May 2015

The method may further comprise trimming the vacuum molded portion of plastics material to remove excess plastics material from the article. 5 The method may further comprise cutting the vacuum molded portion of plastics material to form an aperture through the article.

The step of cutting may also comprise cutting the vacuum 10 molded portion of plastics material to form the inner flange within the aperture through the article, this may include cutting gaps to form the inner flange portions.

The steps of cutting and trimming may be carried out 15 simultaneously, preferably using a cutting press.

The steps of cutting, trimming and vacuum molding may be carried out simultaneously. 20 According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of using an article in accordance with the first or second aspects of the present invention, the method comprising: positioning the article around a member which is 25 to extend through the passageway; fixing the article to the member; and forming the concrete slab about the article.

Positioning the article may comprise wrapping the article 30 around the member.

In another arrangement, positioning the article may comprise sliding the article over the member. 35 Fixing the article to the member may comprise using a fastener such as a cable tie, clamp or clip to fix the article to the member. 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 7 2009212889 19 May 2015

In another arrangement, fixing the article to the member may comprise applying an adhesive to the article and/or member to fix the article to the member. 5

In fixing the article to the member, the tubular body of the article may be reduced in diameter.

Brief Description of the Drawings 10

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 15 Figure 1 is a side view of an article for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab;

Figure 2 is a top view of the article of Figure 1; and 20

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the article of Figure 1 in use.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments 25

With reference firstly to Figures 1 and 2, an article 10 for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab and which may be commonly referred to as a "collar barrier" is shown. In essence the 30 article 10 is used by positioning around a member which is to extend through the passageway in the concrete slab, prior to pouring the concrete to form the slab.

The article 10 is formed from a plastics material 35 containing an insecticide, the insecticide dispersed through and substantially retained in the plastics material. The insecticide is a synthetic pyrethroid, in 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 δ 2009212889 19 May 2015 particular any one or combination of bifenthrin, permethrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, alphacypermethrin, tetramethrin and cyfluthrin or any other synthetic pyrethroid. However, the 5 preferred insecticide is bifenthrin; at a concentration in the plastics material of 0.05 to 1.0 wt%, preferably 0.1 to 0.5 wt%, more preferably approximately 0.1 wt%.

The bifenthrin provides a repellent effect as well as a 10 chemical barrier against insects and in particular termites. The advantage of this is that insects, in particular termites, are repelled away from the passageway even if there remains a small gap between the article 10 and the member extending through the passageway. 15

The bifenthrin does not significantly leach from the barrier, but instead is retained, and its activity is expressed through the plastics material matrix. Because the insecticide's activity is expressed within the 20 plastics material it does not require a substrate such as soil to leach into in order for the article to work effectively. If termites were to attack the collar, then any contact or ingestion of the bifenthrin containing plastics material will kill the insects, in particular 25 termites. This is because although the bifenthrin is tightly bound in the plastics material and is not dislodged by water, there is still enough bifenthrin available to deliver a lethal dose to an insect (termite), which picks bifenthrin up upon contact with the article 30 10. Only a tiny amount of bifenthrin is required to kill the termite .

The plastics material is low density polyethylene, preferably having a density of 0.910-0.940 g/cm3. 35 Furthermore, the article has a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 micron, preferably 400-800 micron, preferably 400-600 micron, more preferably 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 9 2009212889 19 May 2015 approximately 500 micron. Thus, the article 10 is only semi-rigid; having a high degree of flexibility which enables the article 10 to be readily adapted for use with members of different sizes. Because of its thinness, the 5 article 10 is also light and contains less material than conventional "collar barriers" which means that it is less costly to produce and transport.

The article 10 comprises a hollow tubular body 11 having 10 an aperture 30 extending through the body 11 for receiving the member. The article 10 also comprises an external flange 12 extending outwardly and generally perpendicularly from the tubular body 11 and an internal flange 13 extending inwardly from an internal surface of 15 the body within the aperture extending through the body. The external and internal flanges 12, 13 are located at opposing ends of the tubular body 11. The internal flange 13 comprises a plurality of approximately trapezoidal shaped flange portions 14 having small gaps 15 provided 20 between adjacent flange portions 14. The flange portions 14 are able to flex about their connection to the tubular body 11 when the article 10 is engaged with a member which is to reside in the passageway through the concrete slab. Further discussion of this will be provided below with 25 reference to Figure 3.

Where the external flange 12 connects to the tubular body 11, a bevelled edge 16 of material is provided to add strength to the connection of the flange 12 to the body 30 11. The angle (Θ) of the bevelled edge 16 relative to the height of the body 11 is approximately 5°. The inner surface of the body 11 at the bevelled edge 16 is correspondingly shaped so as to provide a "lead in" edge for the member when the article is slid over the member. 35

The external flange 12 is also provided with a plurality of concentric ring indentations or ridges 17 around the 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 10 2009212889 19 May 2015 tubular body 11. The purpose of these indentations 17 is to provide the article 10 with greater rigidity during the handling and installation of the article 10. The indentations 17 increase the contact surface of the 5 external flange 12(and thus the article) with the concrete slab, which improves the integrity of the barrier formed by the article 10 and makes it harder for insects to penetrate through the passageway in the concrete slab. It is to be understood that other shapes or arrangements of 10 indentations, such as circular dimples, could be provided in the external flange.

Various dimensions of the article 10 are indicated on Figure 1, specifically the height A and diameter or width 15 C of the tubular body 11 and the width or diameter B of the external flange 12. Typically, the tubular body has a height A of 30 to 100mm, preferably 40 to 60mm. The diameter C of the tubular body 11 is typically 30 to 150mm and is usually selected to closely correspond to the width 20 or diameter of the member around which the article is positioned. The diameter or width B of the external flange 12 is typically 40 to 120mm, preferably 60 to 100mm. 25 Although the tubular body 11 is shown in the Figures as being a hollow cylinder in shape and for the external flange 12 to have a correspondingly circular shape, the tubular body may in other embodiments be a hollow rectangular prism and the external flange rectangular 30 shaped.

In a further variation, the article may not comprise a tubular body, but rather a body which is substantially planar and is formable into a tubular shape by, for 35 example, wrapping one edge of the planar body around to meet an opposing edge of the planar body. An advantage of this particular embodiment is that it would enable the 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 11 2009212889 19 May 2015 user to form the article 10 into a tube having whatever diameter is specifically required to position the article around the member which is to reside in the passageway in the concrete slab. The body in this embodiment is 5 generally rectangular in shape, having a width of 100 to 300mm and a length of 100 to 300mm. In wrapping the planar body to form the tube, it would be necessary to slip one portion of each of the internal and external flanges under the other at the edges of the body being 10 met. The thin semi-rigid construction of the article allows this to be possible whilst enabling the article to still maintain a barrier against the penetration of insects through the passageway. 15 The article 10 is formed firstly by forming a sheet of plastics material containing an insecticide, the insecticide dispersed through and substantially retained in the plastics material by blow molding the sheet from a molten homogenous mixture of plastics material and 20 insecticide, preferably in accordance with the Applicant's own patent application WO06/094339. The sheet is also 100— 1000 micron thick so that the resultant article 10 has the same thickness. The sheet or a portion cut from the sheet is then vacuum molded into the article 10 using a 25 vacuum/heat press to apply a vacuum and heat to the portion in a mold for 1.5-3 minutes at a negative pressure of -0.8 to -1.Obar and a temperature of 210-2302C, preferably approximately 220aC. 30 More than one article may be formed simultaneously from a single portion of plastics material. The portion may be rectangular and may have a width of 100-1000mm and a length of 100-1000mm. In one embodiment, four articles are vacuum molded from a portion of plastics material which is 35 615 x 615mm.

Simultaneously with or subsequent to the vacuum molding 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 12 2009212889 19 May 2015 step, the vacuum molded portion of plastics material is trimmed to remove excess plastics material from the article 10. The vacuum molded portion of plastics material is also cut during or after the vacuum molding step to 5 form the aperture 30 through the body and to form the inner flange 13, including cutting the gaps 15 to form the inner flange portions 14. The steps of cutting and trimming are carried out simultaneously using a cutting press . 10

It is noted that whilst vacuum molding has been described as a preferred method of forming the article 10, other means may be utilised to form the article 10 with the appropriate thickness . 15

Figure 3 shows how the article 10 may be installed in relation to a member 20 which penetrates through a passageway 21 formed in a concrete slab 22. Prior to pouring concrete to form the slab 22, the article 10 is 20 positioned around the member 20 by sliding the article over the member. Although not shown in Figure 3, the internal flange portions 14 will flex upwardly or downwardly with respect to the body 11 as the article 10 is slid over the member 20. It is noted also that in the 25 embodiment discussed above where the article comprises of a substantially planar body, positioning of the article may involve wrapping the article around the member. As shown in Figure 3, the article 10 is positioned with the external flange 11 laying on top of a full underslab sheet 30 barrier 23, which itself lays on the underlying sand layer 24 and over which the concrete slab is poured. However, before the slab is poured, the article 10 is fixed in its position using a fastener such as a cable tie, clamp or clip or by applying an adhesive to the article 10 and/or 35 member 20. In Figure 3, the fastener is shown as a pair of cable ties 25. The flexible nature of the article 10 allows for a reduction in the diameter of the tubular body 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15 13 2009212889 19 May 2015 11 of the article 10 when the article is being fixed into position to press the body 11 against the external surface of the member 20, thus increasing the integrity of the barrier created by the article 10. The concrete slab 22 is 5 then poured over and around the article 10.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the 10 common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context 15 requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further 20 features in various embodiments of the invention. 6511126_1 (GHMatters) P81788.AU PRIYANKA 19/05/15

Claims

1. An article for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab, the article formed from a mixture of a plastics material and bifenthrin dispersed through and retained in the plastics material, wherein the mixture does not have a binder to retain the bifenthrin, the article comprising a tubular body and at least one flange extending from the body, the article having a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 micron.

2. An article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the concentration of bifenthrin in the plastics material is 0.05 to 1.0 wt%.

3. An article as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the plastics material is low density polyethylene, having a density of 0.910-0.940 g/cm3.

4. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the article has a substantially unitary thickness of 400-600 micron.

5. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the article comprises an external flange, extending from an external surface of the body.

6. An article as claimed in claim 5, wherein the article comprises at least one indentation in the external flange .

7. An article as claimed in claim 5, wherein the article comprises a plurality of concentric ring indentations in the external flange.

8. An article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the article comprises an internal flange, extending inwardly from an internal surface of the body.

9. An article as claimed in claim 8, wherein the internal flange comprises a plurality of flange portions with a gap provided between each adjacent flange portion.

10. A vacuum molded article for minimising the penetration of insects through a passageway in a concrete slab, the article formed from a mixture of a plastics material and bifenthrin dispersed through and retained in the plastics material without a binder, wherein the mixture does not have a binder to retain the bifenthrin, the article comprising a tubular body and at least one flange extending from the body, the article having a substantially unitary thickness of 100 to 1000 micron.

11. A method of forming an article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, the method comprising: forming the mixture of the plastics material and the bifenthrin; forming a portion of plastics material containing bifenthrin from the mixture;; and vacuum molding the portion of plastics material to form the article.

12. A method as claimed in claims 11, wherein the method also comprises forming a sheet of from the mixture, the portion of plastics material comprising the whole or part of the sheet, wherein forming the sheet comprises from the mixture as a molten homogeonous mixture of plastics material and bifenthrin and blow molding the sheet from the molten homogenous mixture.

13. A method as claimed in any one of claims 11 or 12, wherein the step of vacuum molding comprises applying a negative pressure of -0.8 to -1.Obar to the portion.

14. A method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the step of vacuum molding comprises heating the portion to a temperature of 210 to 230aC.

15. A method of using the article as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, the method comprising: positioning the article around a member which is to extend through the passageway; fixing the article to the member; and forming the concrete slab about the article.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein positioning the article comprises wrapping the article around the member or sliding the article over the member.

17. A method as claimed in any one of claims 15 or 16, wherein fixing the article to the member comprises using a fastener to fix the article to the member or applying an adhesive to the article and/or member to fix the article to the member.