News
Walnut inventor gets nosy
By Sang Lee
STAFF WRITER
WALNUT - Take a product that hasn't been updated in centuries; add a feature that could help stop the spread of contagious diseases.
What you have is an invention that Warren Wilkins hopes will wipe away all possibilities of accidental nasal discharge, let alone embarrassing moments.
It's called a NosePouch™ . Visualize an everyday handkerchief and place an inverted, triangular patch on the center of it. Add an opening at the top and one has a concealed area to sneeze at will.
Having invented the add-on product four years ago, NosePouch™ was finally patented in March of this year by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The idea came about after Wilkins, a 58-year-old Walnut resident who works as an accountant and financial analyst, went through an entire business meeting with top brass at his firm without noticing mucus on his dapper attire. 
"Afterwards, I went to the men's room. I couldn't believe I was in a two-hour meeting with the president and vice president of the company and didn't notice it."
What ensued from there was a plan Wilkins made to never let that uncompromising situation happen again. For one week, he laid out various designs accommodating to the folds of a standard handkerchief. As a side-project, inventing became a hobby for Wilkins.
"I just thought there should be something invented for this kind of situation. I don't really think of myself as an inventor," Wilkins said.
Investing more than $25,000 of his own money into the project, Wilkins is hoping to see returns in the form of paper - tissue paper.
"It's a billion-dollar industry," Wilkins said. "I think this product will be a plus for everybody."
Wilkins even spoke with a professor of paper science from the University of Wisconsin, who gave him encouraging words to pursue his idea. The concept has already found its way into the doors of Kimberly-Clark, Kleenex and Proctor and Gamble.
"It might have a humorous twist because of its subject matter, but in my opinion, it's an extremely valuable product that has a practical use."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune ( West Covina , CA ) - June 14, 2006
(c) 2006 San Gabriel Valley Tribune. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Record Number: 3936396
Walnut, CA Inventor Gets Patent That May Help Stop the Spread of Germs
Inventor received US Patent for an invention which can be used effectively to impede one of the major causes of the spread of the Flu, (liquid droplets, propelled by coughing or sneezing). It is a very simple invention which is more effective than the traditional handkerchief or tissue.
(PRWEB) March 27, 2006 -- Warren R. Wilkins, a resident of Walnut California has just been granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a new product which was designed to help stop the spread germs of disease. This invention is a handkerchief with a pouch, called a “NosePouch™” (See the site at www.nosepouch.com). Because a traditional handkerchief is only two dimensional, solid particles and liquid droplets can escape from the handkerchief or tissue during use. The NosePouch™ actually does an excellent job at helping stop the spread of discharge during a sneeze, cough or during the blowing of the nose.
The Bird Flu has currently killed more than 100 people. Although humans now contact the virus through contact with birds, the health community fears that the virus will mutate making it easy to spread from person to person. We know that there is much to be done on many fronts to help slow the spread of any flu virus. But we also know now that a major cause of spreading the flu is through liquid droplets, propelled by coughing or sneezing. The NosePouch™ will be quite effective in combating this spread. But, if the NosePouch™ can help, even in the slightest way, it will prove to be of significant value to society. This is why the NosePouch™ is important.
The NosePouch™ is actually the first functional innovation in the cloth handkerchief in thousands of years. It is currently available only in the cloth form; however, this product will be most exciting in its tissue form. The Facial Tissue Market is highly competitive and the NosePouch™ will present some interesting opportunities in that market in the near future.
