Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
This invention relates to the repelling of insects
such as mosquitos from a person in order to avoid the
annoyance, bites and stings resulting from such insects.
Most direct-applied insect repellents are either
wiped onto a person's skin or are sprayed onto a person's
skin and/or clothing. In either case, the skin and/or
clothing becomes coated with a substance which is some-
times greasy and offensive and which may be toxic to the
skin of certain people.
Summary of the Invention
The general aim of the present invention is to pro-
vide a new and improved patch which is adapted to effec-
tively repel insects and which may be worn by a person
without the repellent contacting the persons' skin or
leaving a greasy or toxic residue on the person's
clothing.
A more detailed object of the invention is to
achieve the foregoing by providing a patch having a pad
of absorbent material adapted to be stuck onto a person's
skin, an article of a person's clothing or other object
and impregnated with a non-toxic liquid insect repellent,
the repellent preferably containing citronella oil.
The invention also resides in a novel method of
impregnating a patch with citronella oil and thereafter
sticking the patch to a person or other object of cloth-
ing through the use of pressure-sensitive adhesive.
These and other objects and advantages of the inven-
tion will become more apparent from the following
detailed description when taken in conjunction with the
accompanylng drawlngs.
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Brief Description of the Drawinqs
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a person wearing a
new and improved insect repelling patch incorporating the
unique features of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the patch
as seen from the outer side thereof.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the patch
as seen from the inner side thereof.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section taken substan-
tially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.
While the invention is susceptible of various modi-
fications and alternative constructions, a certain illus-
trated embodiment hereof has been shown in the drawings
and will be described below in detail. It should be
understood, however, that there is no intention to limit
the invention to the specific form disclosed, but on the
contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
alternative constructions and equivalents falling within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The present invention contemplates the provision of
a patch 10 adapted to be stuck onto a person or other
object and highly effective to repel mosquitos and other
insects. In this particular instance, the patch has been
shown as attached to the upper portion of the sleeve 11
of a person's shirt. The patch may, however, be applied
to clothing at any suitable location, may be applied
directly to the person's skin or may be applied to an
adjacent object such as an umbrella or a picnic table.
Herein, the patch 10 is generally rectangular in
shape and comprises a layer or pad 15 of absorbent
material having inner and outer sides 16 and 17 (FIG. 4).
The pad preferably is made of terry cloth but could be
made of non-woven material such as polypropylene and/or
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cotton fibers. The particular pad which has been illus-
trated has a length of about 3", a width of about 1-1/2"
and a thickness of about 1/16".
A layer 20 (FIG. 3) of plastic such as polypropylene
film is suitably fixed to the inner side 16 of the pad 15
and acts as a vapor barrier on the inner side of the pad.
The exposed side of the plastic layer is coated with
pressure-sensitive adhesive 22, which may be similar to
the adhesive used on conventional bandage strips. Two
peel-away strips 25 of conventional release film or paper
initially cover and protect the adhesive until such time
as the patch 10 is used.
In carrying out the invention, the pad 15 is impreg-
nated with a non-toxic liquid insect repellent preferably
containing citronella oil. The preferred repellent is a
mixture containing about 99.9 percent by weight
citronella oil and approximately 0.1 percent by weight of
either lemongrass oil or spearmint oil. The citronella
oil produces a scent which is highly offensive to insects
while the lemongrass or spearmint oils impart a fragrance
making the mixture non-offensive to humans. The plastic
layer 20, acting as a vapor barrier on the inner side 16
of the pad 15 retards seeping of the repellent mixture
through the pad to the adhesive 22 and ultimately to the
person's skin or clothing.
The pad 15 may be pre-impregnated with repellent,
after which the patch 10 is packaged in an appropriate
outer pouch (not shown). With such an arrangement, the
patch is used simply by opening the outer pouch, removing
the patch, peeling away the protective backing strips 25
and sticking the patch in place with the outer side 17 of
the pad 15 facing away from the person or other object.
It has been found that, if the patch 10 is stored in
a sealed outer pouch for a relatively long period of
time, the fumes of the citronella oil react with the
pressure-sensitive adhesive 22 and destroy the efficacy
of the adhesive. To avoid that problem, a supply of
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repellent may be provided in a separate sealed pouch
which is packaged in the outer pouch with the patch.
Upon removal of the patch and the inner pouch from the
outer pouch, the inner pouch may be opened and its con-
tents poured onto the outer side 17 of the pad 15 toimpregnate the pad with repellent. The strips 25 then
may be removed and the patch 10 may be applied with the
adhesive.
From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the
present invention brings to the art a new and improved
patch 10 adapted to repel insects and adapted to be
applied with the repellent itself contacting the skin.
As a result, the patch is safer and less offensive to use
than prior insect repellents.
