CA2472683A1 - Protective device against biting of arthropods - Google Patents

Protective device against biting of arthropods Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2472683A1
CA2472683A1 CA002472683A CA2472683A CA2472683A1 CA 2472683 A1 CA2472683 A1 CA 2472683A1 CA 002472683 A CA002472683 A CA 002472683A CA 2472683 A CA2472683 A CA 2472683A CA 2472683 A1 CA2472683 A1 CA 2472683A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
clothing
article
arthropods
reticulated
foam
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA002472683A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
George A. Volgyesi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA002472683A priority Critical patent/CA2472683A1/en
Priority to US11/070,671 priority patent/US20060010589A1/en
Publication of CA2472683A1 publication Critical patent/CA2472683A1/en
Priority to US12/457,460 priority patent/US20090282597A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A41WEARING APPAREL
    • A41DOUTERWEAR; PROTECTIVE GARMENTS; ACCESSORIES
    • A41D13/00Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches
    • A41D13/05Professional, industrial or sporting protective garments, e.g. surgeons' gowns or garments protecting against blows or punches protecting only a particular body part
    • A41D13/11Protective face masks, e.g. for surgical use, or for use in foul atmospheres
    • A41D13/1107Protective face masks, e.g. for surgical use, or for use in foul atmospheres characterised by their shape
    • A41D13/1153Protective face masks, e.g. for surgical use, or for use in foul atmospheres characterised by their shape with a hood
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A01AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
    • A01KANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
    • A01K55/00Bee-smokers; Bee-keepers' accessories, e.g. veils

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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Environmental Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Animal Husbandry (AREA)
  • Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
  • Bedding Items (AREA)

Abstract

A new protective device for use against biting of mosquitoes and other arthropods and in particular, a material which can be used in the manufacture of regular clothing or specialty clothing to protect an individual from bites from mosquitoes and other arthropods.

Description

PROTECTIVE DEVICE AGAINST BITING OF ARTHROPODS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new protective device for use against biting of mosquitoes and other arthropods and in particular, a material which can be used in the manufacture of regular clothing or specialty clothing to protect an individual from bites from mosquitoes and other arthropods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most serious concerns of today's society is the transfer of disease from mosquitoes and other arthropods to humans. For example, every twelve seconds a child dies from malaria. Almost half a billion people contract the disease annually.
One of the most common ways of contracting the disease is when a human is bitten by a mosquito which carries the tiny blood-dwelling parasites that cause :malaria.
Many efforts have been made to reduce the spread of malaria. For example, mosquito larvae thrive in stagnant swamp water so draining of swamps deprives malaria-carrying mosquitoes of their reproductive environment. While drainage schemes have led to the eradication of malaria from most of Western Europe and the United States, the disease remains a serious concern in parts of the Far and Middle East and in South America and Africa where ninety percent of the world's cases are found.
Malaria is such a large concern that it contributes significantly to economic malaise. The disease is transmitted by the bite of hungry i:emale mosquitoes looking for blood to nourish their eggs.
A second disease which is carried by mosquitoes is the "West Nile" virus which inflames the brain. This disease has affected North America to a very large extent in the past few years and efforts have been taken to spray insecticides over large areas to try to reduce the mosquito population.
Lately, various products have been designed and are on sale to protect humans from the bite of arthropods such as mosquitoes to prevent the transmission of disease.
Various articles of clothing have been designed which are manufactured of mesh material which keeps out the small bugs including no-see-ums, black flies, mosquitoes and ticks.
One such product is available from Wisemen Trading and Supply of Athens, Alabama under the trade mark BUG OUT and is manufactured of a one hundred percent polyester chemically resistant material. Other protective clothing is made of tightly woven cloth material which is too dense for mosquitoes to bite through. The major drawback of this method is that it becomes hot and sweaty in hot weather and is therefore uncomfortable.
Various other attempts have been made to protect lhumans. Although vaccines or chemoprophylactic drugs are available against vector-borne diseases such as yellow fever and malaria, suggestions have been made for general protf;ctive measures against biting arthropods. While chemoprophylaxis is available for malwia, there are no similar preventive measures for such other mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue.
Suggestions have been made to modify patterns of activity or behaviou~~r to avoid certain times of the day such as the twilight periods at dawn and dusk or in thf; evening when vector mosquitoes are most active. It is also suggested that long sleeved shirts, long pants and hats be worn to minimize areas of exposed skin.
Various repellents are also available such as perme;thrin-based products which enhance protection. These insecticides may be applied to clothing, shoes, beds, camping gear and the like.
A popular chemical found in many repellents contain N,N-diethylmetatoluamide (DEET) as the active ingredient. It has been found that DIEET repels mosquitoes, ticks and other arthropods when applied to the skin or clothing, Various formulations are presently available on the market.
One concern is the safety of the use of DEET for children. The concentrations must be reduced when applying DEET formulations to children which provide only short term protection. Also, DEET is toxic when ingested and may cause skin irritation in persons.
Other chemical products are being tested and evaluated as adjuvants against several species of malaria causing plasmodium.
Significant disadvantages arise as a result of the us;e of chemical products, including, the fact that the chemicals must be repeatedly applied as a result of "wearing off ' over time and as a result of human activity such as sweating, showering or swimming. Frequent application of chemical repellents is also expensive and may harm the environment.
It has been estimated that at least eighty percent of human infectious diseases are arthropod-borne and are transmitted by insects, mites or ticks. They have caused the death of hundreds of millions of people by infecting them with pathogens that cause typhus, bubonic plague, yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever, sleeping sickness, encephalitis, elephantiasis, Leishmaniasis and yaws. Of these, mosquitoes have been the worst of all the disease earners. More than three thousandl species of mosquitoes have been described in scientific journals and mosquitoes have 'been found in every country of the world.
From the viewpoint of the military, recent studies have shown that arthropods can obstruct movement and field positions, prevent concealment and cover and disrupt manoeuvres and cause panic. There is clearly a lost work time, treatment and hospitalisation costs are increasing substantially.
One of the problems encountered with respect to the netting which is currently available is that the netting all use a mesh which touches 'the skin of the individual. The problem is that when the arthropod lands on the mesh, it can bite through the mesh itself thereby transmitting the disease to the human notwithstanding that netting is applied to the body. Attempts to try to keep a safe distance between the netting and the skin by wide brimmed hats or hoops are impractical and often inei:fective. There is also clearly a problem in retaining visibility through the netting. The alternative to netting is the use of tightly woven material which does not allow the skin to breathe or to dissipate perspiration and is therefore very uncomfortable to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention provides a novel protective device for use to assist in the prevention of the biting of arthropods.

It is another object of the present invention to :provide a material from which articles of clothing may be made to assist in the prevention of biting of arthropods.
To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention prcmides a reticulated foam for use as a component of an article of clothing.
In another of its aspects, the invention provides a reticulated foam for use a component of an article of clothing to prevent an arthropod from biting through the article of clothing.
In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a reticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundred per linear inch for use as a component as an article of clothing.
In a still further aspect of this invention, it provides a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands for use as a component of an article of clothing.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a material for use in the manufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a head covering made of the reticulated foam of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a head covering incorporating the reticulated foam of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a front view of a pattern suitable for use in the manufacture of a head covering of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows the use of a head covering of the present invention on the head of a person.
Figure 5 shows the use of a head covering of the present invention on the head of a person in a second position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The protective device of the present application is made of a reticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundred per linear inch with the preferred range being from about ten per linear inch to thirty per linear inch.

The foam is preferably a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam which is characterized by a three-dimensional skeletal structure of strands which provide a ninety-seven percent void space. As indicated before, the controlled pore sizes run from a density of about ten per linear inch to about one hundred per linear inch which therefore guarantees uniformity and predictability. This material can be shaped and coloured to meet a broad range of requirements and generally flexible, resilient and lightweight.
These materials exhibit controlled permeability .and predictable surface area of the skeletal structure which is a direct function of the totally open pore cell size.
Confirmation to contact surface and shape retention is due to the resilient nature of the polyurethane foam which exhibits excellent holding capacity and low flow resistance as a result of the foam's high void volume.
The material is quite breathable and wicks perspiration away very quickly.
There is no odour and the material exhibits low resistance to airflow. It is totally washable and susceptible to additional materials such as carbon to improve heat conductability of the material itself.
The particular advantage of using the reticulated foam is that it provides a spacing between the arthropod which many land on the device and the skin of the human.
The arthropod when landing on the device cannot penetrate to the skin of the wearer of the device and thus the wearer is protected from bites from the arthropod.

,.,~x.,.<,_., >" ~ a.<.. < :...nz~:r w.;a~~z2~-~~s....~..~;~,.~..aa... .e .._..,.--...._ ..........,........,.~ _,.,."o,.",~,.,""".~~....__.
______._..__..__. __.r _.

The reticulated foam may be incorporated into .any type of article of clothing.
These may include head coverings, jackets, pants, socks, ~~nitts, overalls and the like. The present invention relates to the use of the reticulated foamy as a component of an article of clothing which can be used to cover all or a part of the body.
Referring to figure 1, there is representation of a lhead covering incorporating the invention of the present application. The head covering generally indicated as 2 is made of reticulated foam material and is shaped to fit over the head of the user.
The head covering is placed over the head and the head is pushedl through opening 4 so that the eyes of the user fit within the opening 6. A transparent shield 8 covers the eyes of the user.
An alternative version is shown in figure 2 wherein a flap 10 is moveable to close the opening 6 if desired.
Clothing may be manufactured of the reticulated foam itself. Alternatively, the reticulated foam can be worn on top of the clothing or under the clothing if desired.
The foam has good flexibility and can therefore 1>e compressed into a pouch for easy carrying. Accordingly, it finds particular application for the armed forces and also for sports events, cyclists, hikers, cottagers and the like. The material is breathable thus preventing heat buildup. It also wicks perspiration away very quickly. The material has little or no odour and has a low resistance to airflow and is totally washable.
If desired, additional material may be incorporated into the reticulated foam.
For example, carbon may be incorporated into the reticulated foam to improve the heat conductability. Colouring may also be used for aesthetic 1?urposes.

Refernng to figure 3, a pattern 22 was first made ~of a simple sheet of one-quarter inch thick reticulated foam having thirty holes per inch. A clear view visor 24 made of thin Lexan (trade mark) was attached to the foam using a silicone glue to cover the opening 26. The helmet was then sewn along a single seam 28 to produce the helmet as shown in figures 4 and 5.
Figure 4 shows the helmet 30 with flaps 32, 34 outside of the shirt of the wearer 36. Figure 5 shows the helmet 30 with flaps 32, 34 tucked inside the shirt of the wearer 36. The wearer 36 then places the helmet 30 over his head and tucks the flaps 32, 34 inside of his shirt as shown in figure 5. After a recent: rainstorm, the wearer walked through a mosquito infested forest for two hours. Following the two hour walk, the wearer removed the helmet 30 for inspection and then inspected his body for mosquito bites.

It was found that the wearer suffered numerous mosquito bites to all areas of his body which were covered with normal clothing but not a single bite was located on the head or on the face of the wearer.
The wearer also reported no problem with respect to ease of breathing, comfort, hearing or visibility. The experiment was repeated with the wearer wearing eyeglasses and there was no discomfort felt by the wearer when the wearer wore eyeglasses.
Although it is acknowledged that this field test was arbitrary, it was clear that the results showed that the mosquitoes could not bite through the helmet made of the reticulated foam of the present invention and this helmet allowed the wearer to walk through mosquito-infested areas without being bitten.
While the invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiments, many modifications and variations will novv occur to persons skilled in the art. F'or a definition of the invention, reference is made to the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. A reticulated foam for use as a component of an article of clothing.
2. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 1 for use a component of an article of clothing to prevent an arthropod from biting through the article of clothing.
3. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 2 having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundred per linear inch for use as a component as an article of clothing.
4. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 3 having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to thirty per linear inch as a component of an article of clothing.
5. A reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands for use as a component of an article of clothing.
6. A reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam as claimed in claim 5 characterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands which provide a ninety-seven percent void space for use as a component of an article of clothing.
7. A reticulated foam as claimed in claim 1 comprising a flexible, polyurethane foam and carbon incorporated therein.
8. A head covering comprising a reticulated foam as claimed in claim 3.
9. A jacket comprising a reticulated foam as claimed in claim 3.
10. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam.
11. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to about one hundred per linear inch for use as a component as an article of clothing.
12. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam having a density of holes from about ten per linear inch to thirty per linear inch as a component of an article of clothing.
13. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention of bites from arthropods comprising a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands for use as a component of an article of clothing.
14. A material for use in the manufacture of clothing as claimed in claim 10 for the prevention of bites from arthropods comprising a reticulated, flexible polyurethane foam characterized by a three dimensional skeletal structure of strands which provide a ninety-seven percent void space for use as a component of an article of clothing.
15. A lightweight, flexible and resilient material for use in the manufacture of clothing for the prevention of bites from arthropods which comprises a reticulated foam.
CA002472683A 2004-06-29 2004-06-29 Protective device against biting of arthropods Abandoned CA2472683A1 (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002472683A CA2472683A1 (en) 2004-06-29 2004-06-29 Protective device against biting of arthropods
US11/070,671 US20060010589A1 (en) 2004-06-29 2005-03-03 Protective device against biting of arthropods
US12/457,460 US20090282597A1 (en) 2004-06-29 2009-06-11 Protective device against biting of arthropods

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA002472683A CA2472683A1 (en) 2004-06-29 2004-06-29 Protective device against biting of arthropods

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2472683A1 true CA2472683A1 (en) 2005-12-29

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002472683A Abandoned CA2472683A1 (en) 2004-06-29 2004-06-29 Protective device against biting of arthropods

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US20060010589A1 (en)
CA (1) CA2472683A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20210093024A1 (en) * 2019-09-30 2021-04-01 Christian P. Christensen Surgical garment and methods of use

Family Cites Families (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2028060A (en) * 1935-09-07 1936-01-14 Gilbert Eskell Protector
US3424151A (en) * 1966-01-03 1969-01-28 Kendall & Co Inflatable splint
US3820179A (en) * 1972-05-19 1974-06-28 K Maertin Flotation sleeves
US4157713A (en) * 1977-05-11 1979-06-12 Clarey Michael T Air-pressure splint
US4263363A (en) * 1979-12-20 1981-04-21 Colgate-Palmolive Company Emulsion-containing absorbent article having improved water holding capacity
US4619948A (en) * 1985-01-07 1986-10-28 Twin Rivers Engineering Composite active filter material
US4705085A (en) * 1985-12-09 1987-11-10 Brown Dwight C Inflatable beverage insulator
US5034422A (en) * 1990-12-19 1991-07-23 Foamex Lp Low density, high temperature resistant polymeric bodies
US5570544A (en) * 1994-11-10 1996-11-05 Hale; Gary A. Inflatable structure
FR2761707B1 (en) * 1997-04-02 1999-06-04 Scebep Spironef INFLATABLE, DEPLOYABLE AND RETRACTABLE
US6263617B1 (en) * 1998-05-15 2001-07-24 Jean-Marc Daniel Turcot Inflatable self-erecting tent
US6260306B1 (en) * 1999-05-07 2001-07-17 Johnson Outdoors Inc. Inflatable shelter
US6617014B1 (en) * 1999-09-01 2003-09-09 Hydrophilix, Llc Foam composite
US6318390B1 (en) * 2000-06-16 2001-11-20 Erik V. Innis Inflatable umbrella
US6681765B2 (en) * 2001-12-18 2004-01-27 Sheree H. Wen Antiviral and antibacterial respirator mask

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US20060010589A1 (en) 2006-01-19

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