DEICING AND SNOW MELTING COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USE

Abstract

A composition and method for safely and easily melting snow and ice is disclosed. The composition includes a pellet comprising an active ingredient; and a base comprising a water-soluble film-forming material, the pellet being attached to the base.

Claims

1. A device for melting ice and snow comprising: a pellet comprising an active ingredient; and a base comprising a water-soluble film-forming material, the pellet being attached to the base.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of chloride salts, organic compounds, alcohols and mixtures thereof.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the active ingredient is an organic compound.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the organic compound is potassium acetate.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the water-soluble film-forming material is selected from the group consisting of gelatin, papers, polymers and mixtures thereof.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the water-soluble film-forming material is a polymer.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the polymer is polyvinyl alcohol.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the pellet is a compressed pellet.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the pellet is an encapsulated pellet.

10. A device for melting ice and snow comprising: a pellet comprising potassium acetate, and a base comprising polyvinyl alcohol.

11. A device for melting ice and snow comprising: a pellet comprising an active ingredient; and a base comprising a water-soluble film-forming material and shaped as a ribbon, wherein the pellet is attached to the ribbon-shaped base.

12. The device of claim 11, the base further comprising a plurality of pellets and a plurality of ribbons, wherein the ribbons are interwoven and the plurality of pellets is attached to the plurality of interwoven ribbons.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] 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.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a view of four different embodiments of a pellet of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the device (1) is comprised of 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 (which comprises a rigid border in the figures). 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) can 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] As also shown in FIG. 2, the pellets can be of varying thicknesses (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) in order to provide for a device that can melt greater or lesser amounts of snow. While in some embodiments the pellets (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) have flat faces (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), 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.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, two (or more) devices (1) can 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).

[0028] 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.

[0029] All documents, patents and other literature referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] It should be noted that it is envisioned that any feature or element that is positively 15 identified in this document may also be specifically excluded as a feature or element of an embodiment of the present invention.