Gas and liquid contact apparatus – Contact devices – Liquid tank
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-26
2004-06-29
Bushey, Scott (Department: 1724)
Gas and liquid contact apparatus
Contact devices
Liquid tank
C261SDIG002
Reexamination Certificate
active
06755400
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to small lightweight portable hand held foam generation equipment, a foamable liquid non-repellant pesticide formulation that includes a non-repellant, nonionic adjuvant (foaming agent), and to a method of controlling pests with the foamable liquid non-repellant pesticide formulation. The foam generation equipment of the present invention is particularly well suited for introducing foamed pesticides into walls and other confined or enclosed building locations infested with pests and for dispensing foamed pesticides over the entrances of and into the passageways used by pests as well as into pest habitats. The light weight portable hand held foam generation equipment of the present invention also may be used for numerous other pest control applications, such as but not limited to, the application of herbicides and pesticides in the turf industry; the application of enzymes to drains in the sanitation industry; and the application of fungicides and pesticides in the tree and shrub industry. In addition to the various forms of pest control mentioned above, the light weight portable hand held foam generation equipment of the present invention may be used for many other applications where complete coverage of the surfaces, especially, though not limited to, the enclosed or relatively inaccessible surfaces of an enclosed space, cavity, or tubular structure with a coating and/or impregnating material is desired.
Conventional methods for controlling pest infestations, such as but not limited to termite infestations, include: the injection of pesticides beneath the slab and into the soil adjacent the perimeter of infested structures to create pesticide barriers; the location of pesticide containing bait stations in the soil adjacent the perimeter of infested structures, the fumigation of infested structures with pesticides; and the introduction of foamed pesticides into the walls and other enclosed spaces of infested structures such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,992, issued Sep. 19, 2001. These methods for controlling pest infestations have been in use since at least the mid to late 1980′s and, in the past, have utilized pest repellant pesticides.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In recent years non-repellant pesticides have been introduced into the pest control industry and utilized to control pests, such as termites, by the various methods discussed above. For these types of non-repellant pesticides to be most effective, the pests must move freely about the treated space, area or habitat and not recognize any repellant conditions. It is not necessary for the pests to feed directly on the pesticides or baits containing the pesticides. These non-repellant pesticides are lethal or injurious to pests through contact as well as through ingestion and/or transferal. When a pest comes in contact with the pesticide at least a few molecules of the pesticide adhere to the pest. These few molecules initiate a chemical and/or biological action within the pest that is injurious or lethal to the pest without any ingestion of the pesticide. In addition, pests contaminated with the pesticide then carry the pesticide back to the colony habitat or nest. Since many pests, such as termites, are social, other pests will groom the contaminated pests, and in turn, be groomed by other pests to spread the pesticide contamination throughout the colony. In addition, typically, pests killed by the pesticide will be eaten by other pests in the colony to further spread the pesticide throughout the colony. In this way, the entire colony, including the reproductive(s) of the colony, are destroyed.
Since the repeated and continued passage of a number pests through the treated spaces or areas for a period of time is desired so that numerous pests quickly convey the non-repellant pesticide back to and/or through a colony nest or habitat to spread the pesticide throughout the colony, for this type of non-repellant pesticide to work most effectively when applied in the form of a foam, not only the pesticide but the foamable liquid pesticide formulation made from the pesticide should be non-repellant. In other words, any adjuvant added to the non-repellant pesticide to form a foamable liquid pesticide formulation should also be non-repellant. Otherwise, if the adjuvant added to the non-repellant pesticide is to a greater or lesser extent repellant, a pesticide that in of itself is non-repellant, applied as a foam becomes repellant to the degree that the adjuvant is repellant thereby making the pesticide less effective or possibly ineffective.
In addition, the adjuvant added to a non-repellant pesticide to form a foamable liquid pesticide formulation should be nonionic so that the pesticide molecules in the coating, film or layer left after the foam breaks down are not held by the adjuvant in the coating, film or layer, but are easily released upon contact to contaminate the pests being controlled. Accordingly, for non-repellant pesticides applied as foams to be most effective, the adjuvant of the foamable liquid pesticide formulations used to form the pesticide foams must be both non-repellant and nonionic. To applicant's knowledge, the adjuvants added to these non-repellant pesticides to form foamable liquid pesticide formulations have not contained adjuvants that are non-repellant and/or nonionic. Accordingly, there has been a need to provide a more effective method of pest control through the use of non-repellant pesticides in foamable formulations that do not include other ingredients that will repel the pests or retain the pesticide molecules in the formulation.
The small lightweight portable hand held foam generation equipment, the foamable liquid pesticide formulation with its non-repellant and nonionic adjuvant, and the method of controlling pests with the foamable liquid pesticide formulation of the present invention provide a solution to the above discussed problems of the prior art. As used herein the term “pesticide” includes but is not limited to termiticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth regulators, particles of bait treated or impregnated with agents that destroy pests, and other agents used to destroy pests.
The small lightweight portable hand held foam generation equipment of the present invention may be easily and readily used by both home handymen/women (do-it-your-selfers) and commercial contractors to foam various foamable liquids at different volumetric expansion ratios between 2 to 1 and 25 to 1 with volumetric expansion ratios between 6 to 1 and 20 to 1 or between 15 to 1 and 20 to 1 being typical of the volumetric increases selected for most applications. In addition to being inexpensive, readily portable, easy to use, and having a high foam discharge rate, with its uniquely simplified construction, the foam generation equipment of the present invention is easy and inexpensive to maintain.
The hand held foam generator of the present invention includes an airtight reservoir for containing a foamable liquid and is pressurized with air through an air pump that is integral with the hand held foam generator or a source of pressurized air connected by air supply lines to the reservoir of the hand held foam generator. In one preferred embodiment, the foam generator includes a foam dispensing assembly, e.g. a conventional foam application gun, mounted directly on the reservoir and a unique discharge tube that extends from the foam dispensing assembly down into the reservoir for discharging the foamable liquid from the reservoir as a fluid foam through the foam dispensing assembly. Preferably, the discharge tube is both flexible and weighted, at or adjacent the bottom of the tube, to cause the discharge tube to move in any direction that the foamable liquid moves when the foam generation equipment is tilted. Thus, when the hand held foam generation equipment of the present invention is moved, turned or tilted in any of numerous directions while in use, the lower end of discharge tube will continue to be immersed in the foamable liquid in
Bushey Scott
Lister John D.
LandOfFree
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