Toilet – Methods
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-02
2004-02-17
Manahan, Todd E. (Department: 3732)
Toilet
Methods
C132S132000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06691713
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for mechanically removing pests, such as lice and nits, from the hair and fur.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditional methods of controlling pests, such as head lice, their eggs (also known as nits), and the like, require application of a chemical pesticide or pesticides to the hair or fur to kill the pests. Most products using traditional methods include instructions recommending that such treatment should be followed by removal of the dead or dying pests and pest eggs with a comb, because none of the known pesticides are completely ovicidal. For public health reasons, children are not allowed back in school until their hair is demonstrably pest free, therefore it is necessary to remove all traces of such pests, including their egg cases. Combs used with pesticides or as an adjunct to pesticides are, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,303 (Ruhl) which shows a comb with hollow teeth from which a pesticide can be extruded and U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,303 (Saferstein). The traditional pesticides used, such as lindane, are poisons which can prove hazardous to pregnant women and, especially, to young children. When such pesticides are used on children because parents have little or no alternative method of controlling the pests, physical harm and even death of the child has been known to occur. Additionally, such pesticides are hazardous to the person applying them due to potential absorption through the skin during application or with inhalation. When pesticides are used on an animal, the animal tends to lick its hair or fur, and thus ingest the hazardous chemical(s). Further, the pests which infest hair and fur are becoming resistant to the currently available pesticides, thus reducing or nullifying the efficacy of such methods.
Thus currently, mechanical methods of pest removal, such as combing the hair, are generally used as an ancillary to pesticides or after an individual has been sufficiently exposed to pesticides so that the pests become resistant. Previously, various tools such as short-toothed combs and rake-like combs have been used in an attempt to remove pests and their eggs from the hair on the head of a human. Known combs suffer from several shortcomings, especially when used without pesticides. U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,498 (Saferstein, et. al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,944 (Bachrach, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,303 (Saferstein, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,675 (DeFelice); U.S. Pat. No. 289,567 (O'Connor et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 307,192 (Saferstein et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 332,505 (Ward), the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference; show short-toothed combs which can be used by an individual to remove lice from the hair of another while monitoring efficacy or to remove pests from the individual's hair. Such combs suffer from the inability to remove lice and their eggs from hair of different lengths; the longer the hair, the more inefficient the short-toothed tools are at removal. Further, such combs are difficult for an individual to use without assistance due to the inability of the individual to inspect their own scalp for lice and nits, then pull them out on the comb. Additionally, combs which pull the hair and generate discomfort discourage the user from repeating the combing process until all pests are removed. One example of a comb which tends to cause discomfort is a comb having specialized teeth where one edge is rounded and an opposing edge has an apex for scraping the hair has it passes between juxtaposed teeth, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,498 (Saferstein, et. al.). Combs which cause discomfort generally have the surfaces of the teeth closely coupled either due to the shape of the teeth or due to the positioning of the teeth, one relative to the other, or both. Even when a short-toothed comb is combined with a means to electrify the teeth to kill the lice on contact such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,746, nits and egg cases can remain, and then hatch reinfesting the individual providing visual cues suggesting the individual is still infested.
Longer toothed combs for mechanical pest removal are also known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,303 (Ruhl); U.S. Pat. No. D 206,476 (Cournoyer); U.S. Pat. No. D 353,915 (Lanne); and foreign patents, GB 604,963 (Royston); U.S. Pat. No. DE 339,538 (Muckenhaupt); and Argentine Industrial Model 057,522 (Burchakchi), each disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, show various types of combs having elongated teeth. None of the aforementioned recognize the need to provide for a method for ridding the comb of pests between passages of the comb through the hair or fur. Further, there is a lack of recognition of the need to prevent the harboring of crawling pests or pest eggs in the comb handle or in the space between the teeth so that re-infestation is minimized or eliminated as the comb is repeatedly passed through different sections of the hair.
In use, the aforementioned combs are generally used by one person to comb the hair of a second, seated person. The comb is passed through the hair while the comb handler looks for lice and nits. The comb is again passed through the hair of the seated person until no further pests can be found. Thus, none of the aforementioned prior art which shows long toothed or short-toothed recognizes the need for a tool which can be used effectively without the aid of another person.
It is object of this invention to provide an effective mechanical means to remove pests while minimizing or avoiding the use of a pesticide, both in the case where an individual is assisted and in the case where an individual is unassisted. Additionally, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a means for preventing re-infestation between passages of the comb through the hair. It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide a comb which will not harbor pests so that re-infestation is prevented upon subsequent passages of the comb through the hair or fur. Further, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a comb which can be utilized by a single person for the earliest possible self pest detection, diagnoses and removal, and especially for the removal of the eggs of pests, such as nits. It is a still further object of this invention to provide a tool for pest removal which is easily sanitized and comfortably passed through the hair when self-screening or when performing maintenance after delousing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An apparatus for mechanical early detection and mechanical removal of pests and their eggs from hair and fur and a method for use of such an apparatus are provided. In a first embodiment of the apparatus, a single comb is provided. The single comb is comprised of a plurality of elongated, preferably metallic teeth which are closely spaced, yet easily allow passage of a strand(s) of hair in-between each pair; a handle having a base and a base aperture through which the teeth protrude; a means to seal the handle base at the aperture to impede the entrance of pests into the interior portion of the handle; and a means to facilitate cleaning of the spaces between the teeth. Each tooth is substantially round in cross-section and has a blunted end, thus is pin-like in structure. In this embodiment, the means to seal the aperture and the means to facilitate cleaning of the spaces between the teeth is either a combination of a means to clean the spaces between the teeth and means to permanently close the aperture where apertures are present at the base of the comb handle, or a means to clean the spaces between the teeth which temporarily blocks the base during passage of the comb through the hair. The means used to temporarily block the base is referred to herein as a “device for cleaning the spaces between the teeth” and this means also functions to remove pests and their eggs from between the teeth and as a tooth scraping device to remove pests from the teeth between passages of the comb through the infested hair or fur. The means to block th
Choate Hall & Stewart
Manahan Todd #E.
National Pediculosis Association
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