Treatment of frequently touched surfaces to improve hygiene

• Main Authors: KARSHMER DAVID, CORBITT THOMAS S, CALL CHARLES J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 11.11.2015
• Subjects: ADHESIVE PROCESSES NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; ADHESIVES; APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL; CHEMICAL PAINT OR INK REMOVERS; CHEMISTRY; COATING COMPOSITIONS, e.g. PAINTS, VARNISHES ORLACQUERS; CORRECTING FLUIDS; DYES; FILLING PASTES; INKS; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; NON-MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF ADHESIVE PROCESSES IN GENERAL; PAINTS; PASTES OR SOLIDS FOR COLOURING OR PRINTING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; POLISHES; PROCESSES FOR APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TOSURFACES, IN GENERAL; SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; TRANSPORTING; USE OF MATERIALS AS ADHESIVES; USE OF MATERIALS THEREFOR; WOODSTAINS

Method and apparatus for treating surfaces frequently contaminated with microbes using thin films or stickers (10) that can be applied to surfaces and objects to reduce the rate at which microbes are transferred from one person to the next. Some such stickers include an adhesive layer (14) enabling the sticker to be attached to a surface, and an ablation layer (12) that includes an antimicrobial agent dispersed throughout. The upper ablation layer (12) is exposed to the ambient environment. As the ablation layer (12) is handled, the layer (12) wears, exposing fresh antimicrobial agent dispersed throughout the ablation layer (12). A second broad embodiment is a spray or wipe on conformal ablative coating (42) that may or may not include an antimicrobial agent. Even without an antimicrobial agent, the ablative conformal coating can be designed to ablate with relatively little contact, so as to continually expose a fresh surface, reducing the likelihood of microbial colonies saturating the surface.