Systems and processes for treating textiles with an antimicrobial agent

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method of treating a textile with an antimicrobial agent includes receiving a textile in a washer system. The textile includes an identification tag, which uniquely identifies the textile among a plurality of textiles. The method also includes detecting, in the washer system, the identification tag. The method further includes determining, based on the detected identification tag, one or more parameters for treating the textile with an antimicrobial agent. The antimicrobial agent includes a metallic ion. The method also includes washing the textile with a detergent, and, after washing the textile with the detergent, treating the textile with the antimicrobial agent based on the one or more parameters.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of treating a textile with a metallic antimicrobial agent, the method comprising:
 detecting, in a washer system, identification information from the textile, wherein the identification information uniquely identifies at least one of: (i) the textile; or (ii) a batch of textiles, wherein the textile is associated with the batch of textiles;   determining, based on the detected identification information, one or more parameters for treating the textile with a metallic antimicrobial agent, and wherein determining the one or more parameters comprises:
 determining tracking data corresponding to the identification information, wherein the tracking data comprises antimicrobial treatment information, and wherein antimicrobial information is used to determine one or more antimicrobial treatment procedures previously performed on the textile; and 
 processing the tracking data to determine the one or more parameters; and 
   treating the textile with the metallic antimicrobial agent based on the one or more parameters.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver chloride. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver nitrate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver acetate. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver carbonate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver oxide. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises silver sulfate. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metallic antimicrobial agent comprises a metallic ion. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the metallic ion is a silver ion. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the metallic ion is a copper ion. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the metallic ion is a zinc ion. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters provide a concentration of the metallic antimicrobial agent for a treatment solution. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein treating the textile comprises dosing the textile with the treatment solution having the concentration of the metallic antimicrobial agent provided by the one or more parameters. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters provide a dosing rate for treating the textile with the metallic antimicrobial agent. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein treating the textile comprises transferring a treatment solution of the metallic antimicrobial agent to a module of the washer system at the dosing rate provided by the one or more parameters. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tracking data further indicates at least one of a group of data items consisting of: (i) a number of times that the textile has been washed in the washer system, (ii) an amount of the metallic antimicrobial agent that has been applied to the textile in prior treatments, (iii) a duration of one or more prior washing cycles, (iv) a duration of one or more treatment cycles, and (v) a type of textile. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein determining the one or more parameters further comprises:
 determining product data corresponding to the identification information, wherein the product data indicates at least one of the group of data items consisting of: (i) a type of textile, (ii) a material of the textile, and (iii) a manufacture date of the textile; and   processing the product data and the tracking data to determine the one or more parameters.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification information is determined based on at least one identification tag coupled to the textile. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identification tag comprises one or more of: (i) a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag; and (ii) a barcode. 
     
     
         20 . A method, comprising:
 detecting identification information for a textile at a first location in a system, wherein the identification information uniquely identifies at least one of: (i) the textile; or (ii) a batch of textiles, wherein the textile is associated with the batch of textiles;   responsive to detecting the identification information at the first location, determining tracking data corresponding to the identification information, wherein the tracking data comprises antimicrobial treatment information, and wherein antimicrobial information is used to determine one or more antimicrobial treatment procedures previously performed on the textile;   after detecting the identification information at the first location, detecting the textile at a second location in the system;   responsive to detecting the identification information at the second location, updating the tracking data associated with the textile; and   treating, based on the tracking data, one or more items in the system with a metallic antimicrobial agent.   
     
     
         21 . A washing system for treating a textile with an antimicrobial agent, the washing system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the washing system to perform functions comprising:
 detecting identification information, wherein the identification information uniquely identifies at least one of: (i) the textile; or (ii) a batch of textiles, wherein the textile is associated with the batch of textiles; 
 determining, based on the detected identification information, one or more parameters for treating the textile with a metallic antimicrobial agent, wherein determining the one or more parameters comprises:
 determining tracking data corresponding to the identification information, wherein the tracking data comprises antimicrobial treatment information, and wherein antimicrobial information is used to determine one or more antimicrobial treatment procedures previously performed on the textile; and 
 processing the tracking data to determine the one or more parameters; and 
 
 treating the textile with the metallic antimicrobial agent based on the one or more parameters.