Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Hand and finger attachments
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-05
2003-08-19
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Hand and finger attachments
C294S001300, C002S159000, C002S167000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06607226
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Responsible pet ownership has come to constitute more than just feeding and walking one's dog. Pet excrement deposited in public places is not only aesthetically unappealing, but poses numerous health risks and can adversely effect the environment. Exposure to pet excrement can result in
E. coli
(
Escherichia coli
) bacteria or roundworm infestation; and
E. coli
bacteria and roundworms can survive in tainted soil long after the excrement has degraded. Further, improperly disposed of pet excrement can be transferred into our waterways by storm water, potentially leading to water pollution that can reach hazardous levels and threaten aquatic life.
What was once considered to be exclusively an urban concern is no longer isolated to that context, as greater public awareness of the health concerns created by publicly deposited pet excrement, and laws and ordinances created in response thereto, have resulted in increased numbers of pet owners who responsibly “clean up” after their pets. Unfortunately, “cleaning up” after one's pet is inconvenient and requires special considerations. Specifically, the actual process of collecting pet excrement can be discomforting and unsanitary; the excrement itself cannot be discarded in just any trash receptacle, due to the obvious differences between excrement and typical garbage items; and the materials used to collect pet excrement, such as slow or non-degrading plastic bags, often introduce other environmental issues. The present invention resolves the aforementioned issues by minimizing the personal discomfort and unsanitary circumstances associated with collecting pet excrement, while allowing for convenient and environmentally conscious disposal of the excrement in an ordinary toilet.
The present invention relates to: Biodegradable bags that will degrade when immersed in an aqueous environment but will resist degradation when only the exterior surface of the bag comes in contact with liquid; A process for manufacturing biodegradable bags that will degrade when immersed in an aqueous environment but will resist degradation when only the exterior surface of the bag comes in contact with liquid; and A method for using biodegradable bags that will degrade when immersed in an aqueous environment but will resist degradation when only the exterior surface of the bag comes in contact with liquid to pick up pet excrement and dispose of such excrement in an ordinary toilet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,421 describes a biodegradable bag of two ply construction, comprising an inner layer of specific thermoplastic materials and an outer paper layer. The materials are all biodegradable and the thermoplastic materials selected are purportedly resistant to the passage of liquid there through. Of the thermoplastic materials described, those that successfully resist the passage of water there through do not degrade in an aqueous environment and those that are degradable in an aqueous environment do not resist the passage of water there through and are hence inappropriate for using to pick up pet excrement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,283 describes an absorbable cleaning mitt for wiping babies that allows the user to clean a baby with the absorbing cotton exterior, while completely protecting the user's hand from that which is being cleaned off of the baby. However, the described mitt is not biodegradable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a multiple layered bag of such materials that one surface of the bag degrades when it comes in contact with water, while the other surface is water resistant, such that the bag can be used to collect moist materials, for example pet excrement, without exposing the bag handler to those moist materials, yet when the everted bag is subjected to an aqueous environment, with the liquid degradable surface exposed to the aqueous environment, all the components of the bag degrade. The bag degrades such that the remaining components of the bag and the contents thereof are easily flushed down the toilet.
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Aitken Richard L.
Chin Paul T.
Lillis Eileen D.
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