US3677233A

US3677233A - Livestock insecticide applicator

Info

Publication number: US3677233A
Application number: US126107A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pierce H White Jr
Original assignee: PIERCE H WHITE JR
Current assignee: PIERCE H WHITE JR
Priority date: 1971-03-19
Filing date: 1971-03-19
Publication date: 1972-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-07-18

Abstract

Livestock insecticide applicator in the form of an elongated member, circular in cross-section, adapted to be suspended by its ends for rubbing contact by animals. It is composed of a core of shearings, or clippings, from napped acrylic fabric, and a cover of knitted, preferably rib-knitted, tubular Orlon, or similar material. The ends of the knitted tube are tied, and rings are secured to the tied ends for mounting the applicator.

Description

United States Patent [151 3,677,233 51 'July 18, 1972 White, Jr.

[54] LIVESTOCK INSECTICIDE APPLICATOR [72] Inventor: Pierce H. White, Jr., Dyersburg, Tenn.

38024 [22] Filed: March 19, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 126,107

[52] US. Cl. ..119/l57, 128/290, 128/296 [51] Int. Cl. ..A01k 29/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..1 19/157, 159; 128/290 X, 296 X,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,859 2/1954 Murrayetal. ..'..ll9/l57 2,688,950 McKinley ..l 19/ 157 3,336,923 8/1967 Devaud ..128/290 R 3,371,667 3/1968 Morse ..128/290 R 3,630,200 12/ 1971 Hlguclu ..l28/260 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney-Mason, Fenwick & Lawrence ABSTRACT l0 Clairm, 3 Drawing figures I Patented July 18, 1972 3,677,233

i i (Q) muggy lug-5 INVENTOR I ATTORNEYS LIVESTOCK INSECTICIDE APPLICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improvements in livestock insecticide applicators, and particularly to that type of applicator which is mounted so that when it is contacted, or rubbed, by livestock, insecticide is transferred to the body of the animal.

Insecticide applicators of this general type have been in use for many years, and have taken many forms. Few of them have been commercial products, but most have been made on the spot by those who are caring for the animals.

The most widely used type is made by wrapping a chain, cable, or wire, with burlap, or other highly absorbent material. Such applicators will only hold a quantity of insecticide mixture, whether fluid or powder, for a few days, and rot quickly in use. Rain is absorbed by the covering, and washes the insecticide from the applicator.

Other forms have included cotton, burlap, felt, absorbent waste, wool fibers and a cellulosic product as core materials, and the core has been covered with cloth, wire mesh and link chain, and in one instance by perforated nylon. All of these combinations have one, or more, of the above listed disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present invention is to provide an insecticide applicator that can be made and sold commercially, and which will not be subject to the disadvantages of prior known devices.

A more specific object is to provide an applicator which will be capable of holding a considerable quantity of insecticide, sufi'icient'for approximately a full month of normal use, which will also have a long life and will shed water during rain, rather than absorb it.

Another object is the provision of such an applicator having a core of pieces of acrylic fiber such as shearings, or clippings, which have an absorption of only about 3 per cent, but which, in a mass, is capable of holding enormous quantities of fluid, or powder, insecticide.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an applicator which has a cover of transversely stretchable, porous material to maintain close contact with the filler to assure a constant supply of insecticide available for transfer to livestock upon contact.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an applicator having a cover of seamless knit material, preferably rib knit to provide transverse stretch with good return characteristics, to achieve the snug contact with the filler mentioned above, and to allow good conformation of the applicator cover to livestock body contours.

Yet a further object is to provide an applicator with a cover of knit Orlon, or nylon, for free feeding of insecticide through its porous surface with relatively little absorption.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a livestock insecticide applicator embodying the principles of the present invention, with the applicator being shown mounted and ready for use;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the applicator, illustrated on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section taken along the line 33 of FIG.- 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in detail, an insecticide applicator l is shown mounted upon poles 2. The applicator has rings 3 at its ends for ease in connection of the applicator to the poles,

- the insecticide to the underpart of the body, the applicator is located low enough so that animals can step over it and the applicator will rub along the underside of the body. Although one specific manner of mounting has been shown, this is simply illustrative of the many different ways in which this particular type of applicator has been mounted in the past. Any of the usual means for mounting can be used.

The applicator consists of a core 4 and a cover 5. The cover is tubular, so that an elongated member of substantially circular cross section is formed. The ends of the tubular cover are pulled together and tied to close the unit and retain and core material. The ends may be closed by tying with a length of wire 6, and rings 3 may be secured to the applicator ends by the end-closing wires.

The core 4 is preferably composed of pieces of a very short staple material which has little, or no, absorption property. An acrylic fiber has been found to be excellent for the purpose. The pieces of staple material may be obtained by shearing, or clipping, a synthetic, preferably acrylic, fabric which has been napped to obtain the fuzz on the surface. This extremely short staple material can be stuffed into a casing without becoming overly compacted, leaving ample interstices for the reception and retention of insecticide, whether liquid or powder, yet the nature of the material permits free flow of the insecticide from the filler as required. As the specific material has an absorption characteristic of about three per cent, substantially all of the insecticide will be released from the filler in use.

The cover 5 is a seamless knit tube. It can be manufactured on a circular knitting machine, preferably a rib-knit machine, in any desired diameter and length, or it can be knit as a continuous tube and cut to desired length.

The material from which the cover is made is a synthetic one, such as Orlon, nylon, or similar non-porous, non-absorptive, extruded, synthetic, filament material, whether knit in filament form or from a yarn spun from staple lengths cut from filament. The seamless, rib knit sleeve of this material will be resistant to abrasion, will shed water, will not cause foreign matter to cling to its surface, and the smoothness of the fibers will present little friction to the free feeding of insecticide upon contact with animals, and its non-porous characteristic will prevent absorption of material being fed.

The use of a knit fabric, and particularly a rib-knit fabric, provides many advantages. The fabric, composed of interlocking loops, has built-in openings for the passage of insecticide. A knit fabric, and especially rib-knit fabric, has considerable stretch transversely, or circumferentially, of the tube, and when the fabric is stretched, the loops are spread so that they are more open to the passage of insecticide. When released, the loops contract and tend to close, with the result that they present much smaller openings for the passage of contained material. Thus, as the fabric tends to stretch, or spread, upon rubbing contact and retract when pressure is released, the fabric functions much in the nature of a plurality of self-operating valves to release and retain the insecticide. In the same manner, it acts to keep. out moisture, and the smooth, non-absorbing, surface of the cover causes water to run off freely. This not only retards rotting of the material, it enables the applicator to be left in the open during periods of rain without fear of the insecticide being washed from the applicator. Further, the retractive nature of the material, that is its tendency to return to its original condition, causes the cover to maintain close contact with the core and insures good feeding of the insecticide. As the ribs of the knit fabric extend longitudinally of the sleeve, elongated channels are formed about the cover to contain insecticide for release upon contact with an animal. Because of the rib construction, there is tight closure of the loop formations, but the loops will open and the material will be freed as soon as contact is made. The inner channels of the cover will not contact the animal at the. outset, but only after the knit material becomes transversely stretched. This allows the inner rib material to freely pass insecticide before actual contact, as the agitation of the fabric caused by contact of the outer rib formation will serve to shake the insecticide through the loops of the inner channels. The knit material will hug the core closely to prevent any sagging of the cover and to maintain a substantially round cross-section throughout the applicator at all times, to enable all of the cover surface to serve as an applicating surface.

Due to the construction of the applicator, manufacture of the complete device is quite simple and inexpensive. By the use of a simple auger within a pipe, core material can be fed into a knitted cover sleeve which is drawn over the pipe. if one end of the sleeve is closed, the material of the core will fill the closed end and pull the cover sleeve off of the pipe as the sleeve is filled. All that is necessary in order to complete the applicator is to tie the opposite end and attach the rings 3 for mounting. Usually, the applicator is stretched to settle the core material and cause the completed device to have a uniformly round shape.

The applicator may be filled with an insecticide at the time of manufacture, or it can be filled at the time it is to be used and subsequently refilled as required. in most cases, the insecticide is mixed with a vehicle of some nature, Deisel fuel, for example. This can be done by pouring the mixture onto the applicator, by soaking the applicator in the mixture, orby pumping the material into the applicator. In some instances, the applicator will be mounted beneath some type of container for insecticide solution, and the solution will be allowed to drip onto the applicator to maintain the applicator in use. Many variations of these methods of applying the insecticide can be used, including mixing a dry or powdered insecticide with the core material before inserting it into the cover.

The many advantages set out above for the present applicator appear to result from two features. The first is the use of shearings, or clippings, of an acrylic, or similar, material as the core, or filler, of the device, which results in superior insecticide holding qualities together with free feeding of the insectimaterials to open and close the knit loops. When the knit fabric is rib-knit, this feature is present to a much greater degree, and when the knit tube is of Orion, or similar material, the strength and long life characteristics of the applicator are greatly increased.

While in the above one specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that the details of construction shown and described are merely by way of illustration, and the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. A livestock insecticide applicator comprising, an elongated member having a core and a cover, the core being pieces of short staple synthetic fiber of low absorption characteristics, the cover being an elongated knit seamless tube, and means closing the ends of the knit tube.

2. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the cover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and being non-absorptive.

3. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 2 wherein, the cover is knit of Orion.

4. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylic fiber.

5. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 4 wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.

6. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the seamless knit cover tube is rib-knit.

7. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 6 wherein, the cover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and being being non-absorptive.

8. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 7 wherein, the cover is knit of Orion.

9. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 8 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylic fiber.

10. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 9 wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.

Claims

2. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the cover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and being non-absorptive.
3. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 2 wherein, the cover is knit of Orlon.
4. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylic fiber.
5. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 4 wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.
6. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, the seamless knit cover tube is rib-knit.
7. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 6 wherein, the cover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and being being non-absorptive.
8. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 7 wherein, the cover is knit of Orlon.
9. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 8 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylic fiber.
10. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 9 wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.