Deicing and snow melting compositions and methods of use

Abstract

A deicing and snow melting device, for lowering the melting point of ice and snow, comprises of a plurality of pellets including an active ingredient. Each pellet of the plurality of pellets has at least an underside and a topside. The active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of chloride salts, organic compounds, alcohols or mixtures thereof. A base comprising a water-soluble sheet is joined to either one of the underside or topside of each pellet of the plurality of pellets. The base may define at least one hole through a top surface and bottom surface of the base allowing for easy dispersion of the active ingredient.

Claims

1. A device for lowering the melting point of ice and snow, the device comprising: a plurality of pellets including an active ingredient, each pellet of the plurality of pellets having at least an underside and a topside; wherein the active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of chloride salts, organic compounds, alcohols or mixtures thereof; and a base including a water-soluble base sheet where each pellet of the plurality of pellets is embedded within each water-soluble sheet; wherein the base defines at least one hole through a top surface and bottom surface of the base allowing for easy dispersion of the active ingredient.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the base has a border tracing at least one outside edge of the base.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the border is flexible.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the border comprises a water-soluble material.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the border has an abrasive texture.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein the border is configured to be attached to a second border of a second device.

7. A device for lowering the melting point of ice and snow, the device comprising: a plurality of pellets including an active ingredient, each pellet of the plurality of pellets having at least an underside and a topside; wherein the active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of chloride salts, organic compounds, alcohols or mixtures thereof; and a base including a water-soluble base sheet where each pellet of the plurality of pellets is embedded within each water-soluble sheet, wherein the base includes a plurality of interwoven ribbons, and wherein the plurality of interwoven ribbons defines a plurality of holes.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein each pellet of the plurality of pellets is supplemented with pH buffers tailored to keep a runoff between a pH of 5.5 and 8.5.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of pellets is composed of at least one sugar excipient and a member selected from the chemical group with a crystalline structure including chloride salts, acetates, silicates, and formates.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the crystalline structure is a polycrystalline structure that is capable of fragmenting, aiding in dispersion of the solid organic salt.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein the base includes at least one perforation, the at least one perforation enabling the user to select a desired size of the base.

12. A device for lowering the melting point of ice and snow, the device comprising: a plurality of pellets including an active ingredient, each pellet of the plurality of pellets having at least an underside and a topside; wherein the active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of organic compounds, alcohols or mixtures thereof; and a base including a water-soluble base sheet where each pellet of the plurality of pellets is embedded within each water-soluble sheet.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the device further includes a base including a water-soluble sheet attached to one of the underside or topside of each pellet of the plurality of pellets, and wherein each pellet of the plurality of pellets is thermally joined to the base.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein each pellet of the plurality of pellets is alternatively adhered to the base using an organic glue.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein each pellet of the plurality of pellets has a thickness, which increases along the base.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein each pellet of the plurality of pellets contains at least one color additive.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of pellets contain at least one sugar excipient.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein the device has an internal support structure which enables a folded state wherein there are at least two layers of the base.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of pellets is composed of granules, the granules aiding in runoff of the solid organic salt.

20. The device of claim 12, wherein the water-soluble sheet is less soluble than the plurality of pellets.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will be better understood when considered in view of the attached drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts. The drawings, however, are presented merely to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention without limiting the invention in any manner whatsoever.

(2) FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 2 is a view of four different embodiments of a pellet of the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a top view of a base sheet embodiment of the present disclosure.

(7) FIG. 6 is a view of four different embodiments of a pellet of the present disclosure.

(8) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

(9) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the device 1 may include a plurality of pellets 2 connected to base ribbons 4 that are woven together. The base ribbons 4 may be inserted through holes 6 in the pellets 2, or the base ribbons 4 may be attached to the pellets 2 by other means known to those skilled in the art. The base ribbons 4 can also attach to a border 8 which can be the skeleton. A magnified view 10 is also provided. It is preferred that the rigid border 8 be on at least two sides of the device 1, preferably opposing sides; however, the rigid border 8 may also be on two adjacent sides of the device 1. Additionally, the rigid border 8 may also be on the third and/or fourth sides of the device 1. If the device 1 is of a different shape (e.g., round, oval, etc.; not shown), then it is preferred that the border be at least about 25% rigid border, even more preferred is at least about 33% of the border, yet even more preferred is at least about 50% of the border and most preferred is at least about 75% of the border. In some embodiments, the border is about 100% rigid border. In some embodiments, the border is less than about 25% rigid border; in some embodiments the border is about 0% rigid border. In some embodiments (not shown), the device does not include a border; rather, the skeleton may be in a different shape, such as an X. In such an embodiment, the skeleton may comprise two arms, each arm running diagonally from one corner to an opposite corner (thereby forming an X). In another embodiment that does not include a border, the skeleton may be in the form of a cross or a plus-sign. In such an embodiment, the skeleton may comprise two arms, each arm running from the center (or off-center) of a side to the center (or off-center) of the opposite side (thereby forming a cross or a plus-sign). The skeleton may also be in any other shape that provides sufficient rigidity to the device to be easily handled and manipulated.

(11) As also shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the water-soluble base 4 may define at least one hole 6 through a top surface and bottom surface of the base 4 allowing for easy dispersion of the active ingredient. In another embodiment, the water-soluble base 4 may include holes 6 in the form of mesh. The holes 6 may be formed by interwoven base ribbons 4. In another embodiment, there may be no holes 6.

(12) As shown in FIG. 2, the pellets of the invention may be rounded or oval. While any shape is acceptable, it is preferred that corners (which may break off) be minimized or eliminated. Therefore, it is preferred that the pellets be in shapes that are rounded or have rounded corners. Each of the pellets in the device may be the same as, or different from, each other.

(13) As also shown in FIG. 2, the pellets may be of varying thicknesses (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) in order to provide for a device that can melt greater or lesser amounts of snow. While in some embodiments the pellets (2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d) have flat faces (12 a, 12 b, 12 c, 12 d), in other embodiments the pellets may have three dimensional “faces” including convex and concave, as well as various textures. Therefore, the pellets may be spheres, cubes or other three-dimensional shapes.

(14) As shown in FIG. 4, two (or more) devices 1 may be connected together by perforations 14 to enable a user to easily select the desired size of the device. In some embodiments, the perforations 14 are not present, so a user can cut the device to the desired size. However, even in embodiments that include perforations 14, a user can cut the device at other locations in order to obtain a device of a desired size. While FIG. 4 shows perforations 14 on only one border, the perforations may also be on more than one border so that one device 1 is connected directly to two or more (not shown) devices 1. The perforations 14 also allow for the devices 1 to easily be folded on top of each other for placement into, e.g., a shipping box. The perforations 14 may be made in the border, whether rigid or not (not shown).

(15) As shown in FIG. 5, the present disclosure may include a base sheet embodiment 500. Such an embodiment may include a base sheet 506. The base sheet 506 may include a water-soluble substrate. The plurality of pellets may include pellets 502 which do not define a hole completely intersecting each pellet. The base sheet embodiment 500 may define at least one hole 504 to aid in dispersion of an active of the pellets 502. The holes 504 may be placed in a grid like pattern. However, the holes 504 may be placed in any arrangement. The diameter of the holes 504 may be less than the diameter of one of the pellets 502. Alternatively, the diameter of the holes may be any suitable size that allows for the passage of an active ingredient solution and known to those skilled in the art.

(16) Turning to FIG. 6, each pellet may have a completely flat face 602a-d. However, the face of each pellet may have any of the earlier mentioned shapes such as concave or convex. The pellets in FIG. 6 may also have varying thicknesses 2a-d.

(17) FIG. 8 shows more than one base sheet embodiment 500 removably attached by a perforated border 14. The perforated border may allow for individual base sheet embodiments 500 to be easily detached from one another. However, the base sheet 506 may be torn with sufficient force at a location away from the perforation 14.

(18) Variations, modifications and alterations to the above detailed description will be apparent to those skilled in the art. All such variations, modifications and/or alternatives are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention, limited only by the appended claims.

(19) All documents, patents and other literature referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

(20) The term “comprising” as used in the following claims is an open-ended transitional term that is intended to include additional elements not specifically recited in the claims. The term “consisting essentially of” as used in the following claims is a partially closed transitional phrase and is intended to include the recited elements plus any unspecified elements that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the claims. For example, an adhesive laminate (the outermost layer of the applied patch) embossed or printed with indicia would still be included in the meaning of “consisting essentially of”, even if not specifically recited. The term “consisting of” as used in the following claims is intended to indicate that the claims are restricted to the recited elements.

(21) Various measurements, such as amounts of ingredients and sizes, may be presented in a range format. It is to be understood that such range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited.

(22) For example, a size range of 1 to 10 inches should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited size limits of 1 and 10, but also to include individual sizes such as 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, etc. as well as sub-ranges such as 2 to 6 inches, 4 to 7 inches, etc. This interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristic being described.

(23) It should be noted that it is envisioned that any feature or element that is positively identified in this document may also be specifically excluded as a feature or element of an embodiment of the present invention.