Animal husbandry – Material for absorbing moisture from waste product
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-24
2001-07-03
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Animal husbandry
Material for absorbing moisture from waste product
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253710
ABSTRACT:
Animal litter odors have been dealt with by the use of deodorizers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,388 to Cortigene et al. teaches the use of a deodorant such as sodium bicarbonate, in amounts of between about 1% and about 10% of the dry weight of the litter. Such large amounts of deodorizer are necessitated since the litter itself is also used as an absorbent for urine, requiring the deodorizer to be homogeneously dispersed throughout the particles of the litter.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,625 to Miller et al, teaches a litter which is “activated” by heating and then contacted with an odor control agent, such as pine oil, citrus oil, camphor or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,190 to Ratcliff et al teaches an odor control animal litter to which a boron-containing liquid material has been applied. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,655 teaches an odor control animal litter that has applied to it an effective amount of pine oil in combination with an effective amount of boric acid. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,799, odor control agents selected from the group consisting of guanidine salts, alkali metal fluorides, alkali metal bisulfites, and mixtures thereof, are applied to the litter using an aqueous dispersion to produce an odor control animal litter.
The prior art also discloses attempts to prevent the formation of certain unpleasant odors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,354 to Thomas et al. discloses the use of buffering agents to prevent gaseous ammonia from escaping into the air. However, such buffering agents serve only to prevent the formation of gaseous ammonia, doing nothing against other unpleasant odors. Further, the amounts of such agents range from about 0.5% to about 25% by weight, since all of the absorbent litter must be treated with the agent to provide sufficient contact with the urine.
Fungicides and bacteriostats have also been disclosed in the prior art as means to prevent the formation of odors in animal litters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,919 to Benjamin et al. discloses the use of undecylenic acid in amounts from about 1000 to about 10,000 ppm and a bacteriostat in amounts from about 25 to 500 ppm.
Still other prior art methods for preventing odor development from bacterial action have included heating to destroy bacteria, and desiccation of the litter by heat or evaporation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,862 to Neary discloses a sanitizing device for the litter box which applies heat to the litter to destroy bacteria.
Another known prior art odor abatement system employs a litter box liner which acts in conjunction with the litter. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,518 to Yananton teaches the use of a sorptive-desiccant pad structure to prevent significant odor formation. The patent teaches that the pad disperses and evaporates the urine, causing bacteria to die or become dormant, and thereby preventing odor formation. Non-absorbent litter is employed to aid liquid transfer to the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,482 to Arnold also discloses the use of an absorbent pad to prevent odor formation. This patent further teaches the use of about 5000 to about 30,000 pm of a bacteriostat in the absorbent pad to control odor. Because these pads are used in conjunction with absorbent litter, e.g., clay, the suggested amounts of bacteriostat in the pad are extremely high to account for the large amount of untreated litter in the litter box. According the patent's teachings, a pad weighing 50 grams used in conjunction with 2000 grams of untreated clay must contain 4100 pm of bacteriostat in order to maintain an overall level of 100 pm of bacteriostat in the combined material in the litter box.
None of the prior art references teach or suggest the use of a liquid or aerosolized odor control composition that may be sprayed onto animal litter and animal litter containers, to reduce odor and extend the useful life of litter. Furthermore, none of the prior art has taught the combination of an odor control agent in combination with an antibacterial agent in a non-aqueous volatile carrier, to provide long-term odor control for animal litters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an odor control liquid and aerosolized composition for deodorizing and controlling odor of animal wastes by contact therewith, comprising a non-aqueous volatile carrier and an odor control agent.
It is another object of this invention to provide an odor control liquid and aerosolized composition for deodorizing and controlling odor of animal wastes by contact therewith, comprising a non-aqueous volatile carrier, an odor control agent, and an antibacterial agent.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an odor control liquid and aerosolized composition for deodorizing and controlling odor of animal wastes by contact therewith, comprising a non-aqueous volatile carrier, an odor control agent, an antibacterial agent, and a powdered release agent.
Still, another object of this invention is to provide an odor control animal litter comprising particles of an absorbent or adsorbent litter substrate, said particles being contacted with a liquid composition comprising an effective amount of an odor control composition comprising an odor control agent in a non-aqueous volatile carrier.
Yet still, another object of this invention is to provide a method for deodorizing and controlling odor of animal wastes in animal litter and animal litter containers, comprising applying directly to said litter or litter container a nonaqueous liquid composition comprising an odor control agent.
A related object of this invention is to provide a method for preventing sticking and contamination on the surfaces of a litter container, comprising applying to the container an effective amount of a powdered release agent or powdered odor control agent in a non-aqueous volatile carrier.
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Bohn Jamie
Ward Kevin A.
Abbott Yvonne R.
Jordan Charles T.
Katterle Paul R.
McDonald Robert E.
The Sherwin-Williams Company
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