Method of treating articles with carbon dioxide

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9125392-B2
Application number	US-201414567125-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2014
Priority date	Jun 9, 2011
Publication date	Sep 8, 2015
Grant date	Sep 8, 2015

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to treating articles suspected of being infested with bed bugs using carbon dioxide.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of treating an article comprising:
a. placing an article suspected of being infested with bed bugs in an enclosure comprising an inlet port;
b. closing the enclosure;
c. releasing CO 2 inside the enclosure through the inlet port until the concentration of CO 2 inside the enclosure is between 50% and 100% by volume of air; and
d. leaving the article inside of the enclosure at room temperature with the CO 2 for about 16 to 48 hours.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the article is a personal article selected from the group consisting of furniture, books, DVDs, picture frames, knick knacks, clothes, linen, and electronics.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is a sealable bag that is slightly larger than the article being treated.

4. The method of claim 3 , the bag further comprising an additional feature selected from the group consisting of a vacuum, and a carbon dioxide monitor.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the concentration of CO 2 is from about 1.1 pounds up to 2.2 pounds per cubic meter of air inside of the enclosure.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising leaving the article inside of the sealed enclosure with the CO 2 for up to 20 hours.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CO 2 is released from a cartridge.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the CO 2 is released from a tank.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the CO 2 inside of the cartridge is at least 99.8% CO 2 .

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the enclosure comprises an adaptor that pierces the cartridge to release the CO 2 and regulates the flow of the CO 2 .

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure comprises a collapsible bag.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the article is a mattress and the enclosure is constructed to be slightly larger than the article.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the article is a piece of furniture.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (a) comprises placing a plurality of articles inside the enclosure.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of articles comprises furniture, a mattress, a box spring, bedding, or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising sealing the enclosure.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein gases from the enclosure can be eliminated through the inlet port.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inlet port comprises a vent.

Assignees

• Ecolab Usa Inc

Inventors

• Olson Joelle Francine
• Smith Kim R
• Thomas John E
• Schultz Andrew M

Classifications

• A01M13/003 Primary

  Enclosures for fumigation, e.g. containers, bags or housings · CPC title

• A01M13/00 Primary

  Fumigators; Apparatus for distributing gases {(poisoning or narcotising insects by vaporising an insecticide A01M1/2022)} · CPC title

• A01M1/20

  Poisoning, narcotising, or burning insects {(fumigation apparatus A01M13/00)} · CPC title

• Y02A50/30

  Against vector-borne diseases, e.g. mosquito-borne, fly-borne, tick-borne or waterborne diseases whose impact is exacerbated by climate change · CPC title