Patent Application
20070237863
The present invention relates to containers for storing and cooking microwave popcorn products.
For at least two decades, parties involved in the food industry have been making various types of containers that can be used for storing food items. The same containers can also be used for heating the food items by placing the container with the food items contained therein in a microwave oven and subjecting the container to microwave radiation. One particular sector of the food industry that has been very active in employing such containers is the microwave popcorn industry. In this food industry sector, the containers have taken several different forms.
To ensure a commercially successful microwave popcorn product there are several design considerations for microwave popcorn containers. For example, the containers holding the microwave popcorn should be attractive to consumers in both their delivered/stored configuration and also after the corn has been popped in the container in the microwave oven. The container must also keep the kernels and charge (such as oil) fresh during storage, yet provide adequate, reliable and controlled venting to control pressure buildup when the popcorn is heated in the microwave oven. The container should also have a relatively easy opening mechanism. Yet having regard to the container design criteria, the container should also be capable of being manufactured using a relatively simple and inexpensive manufacturing process and employ relatively inexpensive materials.
There are different approaches to providing microwave popcorn containers. One of the most common forms of container is a flexible, expandable microwave popcorn bag. These bags are usually made from a paper product in combination with other elements. The bags hold popcorn kernels, and usually a popcorn charge or slurry comprising for example, a cooking oil and possibly seasonings/flavorings. The bags having been delivered in a flattened and folded configuration to the consumer are unfolded by the consumer and then placed into a microwave oven where they are subjected to microwave radiation. The kernels are heated, which creates steam inside the kernels as the water evaporates. This creation of steam causes the kernels to pop thereby creating popcorn. The release of steam from the kernels into the interior of the bag by the popping action causes the pressure inside the bag to increase, which in turn causes the bag to expand, allowing room for additional kernels to be popped.
Microwave popcorn bags have several benefits, including being made from relatively inexpensive materials and also being able to be delivered to the consumer in a relatively small, compact container.
However, bags have several drawbacks including that once filled with popcorn, they are somewhat physically unstable, as they do not have a solid base upon which to rest. Although bags are fine for consuming popcorn if held, it is often not desirable to continue holding a bag. Accordingly, consumers often empty the bag into another readily available container such as a glass bowl, creating a container that must thereafter be cleaned.
Moreover there are several design considerations that make the construction of a suitable flexible bag quite difficult. For example, the material from which the bag is made must be stable enough to withstand the heat generated by the susceptor which is typically used for heat generation, but on the other hand it must be flexible enough to permit proper expansion. Additionally, although the increase in internal pressure is required to inflate the bag from its flattened configuration, appropriate venting of the bag during the cooking process is required to limit the internal pressure so as to avoid rupture and accompanying spillage.
A variation of the flexible paper bag is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,950 issued Dec. 15, 1992 to Brauner et al. This patent discloses a self-opening flexible pouch which contains the popcorn and charge. The pouch was intended to be marketed to consumers in a paper bag so that when the kernels in the pouch are heated the pouch will release the popcorn into the outer bag.
In contrast to using flexible, expandable bags, another approach that is known is the use of containers made from more rigid materials such as cardboard. The materials from which these containers are made have generally been such that internal pressure is not used to create the receptacle for holding the popped kernels. Rather these containers are delivered to the consumer in a form that generally provides the cavity for the popcorn. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,976 issued Oct. 3, 2000 to Hasse, Jr. et al discloses a tub shaped container having cone-shaped, tapered side walls. The tubs can be stacked one inside another for shipping purposes. This patent also teaches the use of a sealed pouch to contain the popcorn and kernels and a lid for the tub. However, the container disclosed in Hasse Jr. et al. is relatively difficult and expensive to construct and assemble and provides a relatively bulky container for shipping and delivery to the consumer.
In one aspect of the invention there is provided a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising:
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising:
In still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming a pouch for use in a microwave popcorn container from a longitudinally extending web, said web comprising:
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming a pouch for use in a microwave popcorn container from a longitudinally extending web, said web comprising:
In still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a web for use in forming a pouch to hold popcorn kernels, said web comprising:
In still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a web for use in forming a pouch to hold popcorn kernels, said web comprising:
In another aspect of the invention there is provided a pouch comprising:
In yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming a container for use in creating popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising an outer enclosure made from a blank and enclosing therein a pouch, said container being adapted to be movable with said pouch enclosed therein from a first substantially flattened configuration to a second erected configuration, said method comprising:
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising:
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a container for making popcorn in a microwave open, comprising:
a) an outer enclosure having a first, low volume configuration and a second high volume configuration;
In still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising:
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising:
In yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising an outer enclosure made from a blank and enclosing therein a cavity, said cavity having therein an inner enclosure, said container having a susceptor and said container being adapted to be movable with said susceptor and said inner enclosure enclosed therein from a first configuration to a second erected configuration thereby increasing the volume of said cavity, said method comprising:
In still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for forming a container for use in making popcorn in a microwave oven, said container comprising an outer enclosure made from a blank and enclosing therein a cavity, said cavity having therein a pouch, said container having a susceptor and said container being adapted to be movable with said susceptor and said inner enclosure enclosed therein from a first configuration to a second erected configuration thereby increasing the volume of said cavity, said apparatus comprising:
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container for use in heating food products comprising:
Other features and advantages will be evident from the following description and drawings relating to preferred embodiments of the invention.
In drawings illustrating by way of examples only, embodiments of the invention:
a is a plan view of part of an alternate web that can be used to make a part of the container in accordance with the invention;
b is a plan view of part of another alternate web that can be used to make a part of the container in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
a is a plan view of an alternate part to the part in
b is a plan view of an alternate part to the part used in
a is a perspective view of the part of
a is another perspective view of the alternate part of
FIGS. 13 to 18 are schematic views illustrating a method of forming the container of
FIGS. 19 to 21 comprises a side and perspective views of the container of
FIGS. 24 to 30 are schematic views illustrating a method of forming another container using the part illustrated in
FIGS. 31 to 33 comprises a side and perspective views of a container formed in the method of FIGS. 24 to 30, showing the erection operation;
a is a perspective view of the container of FIGS. 31 to 33, illustrating the inner pouch in an opened configuration.
With reference to
Outer enclosure 14 has a top panel 20 with a removable lid portion 17, a bottom panel 22, a first solid front wall 24 and second solid rear wall 26. Completing the rectangular box are identical side walls 28 and 30, which are comprised of a plurality of individual overlapping panels which have an interlocking feature, which provide for an interference fit connection. The panels form opposed side walls 28 and 30 and complete the box and partially define the internal cavity 16, when the box is in its erect configuration shown in
For example, containers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,536 issued to Henry on Feb. 10, 1970, U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,828 issued Sep. 29, 1981 to Nigro, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,479 issued Dec. 5, 2000 to Wellner et al, could be readily utilized or easily modified to fulfill the requirements of the present invention and the contents of those documents are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 the components of the inner enclosure 18 are illustrated in detail. In
In
The surface 50a of layer 50 is the innermost layer when pouch 18 is formed and is in direct contact with the microwave popcorn kernels and the charge contained in pouch 18 formed from web 34. Laminated or otherwise bonded to the opposite surface 50b of layer 50 by a suitable heat resistant adhesive from HB Fuller Inc. such as model no WC3460ZZ. Layer 52 is a layer of a suitable polyester such as polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET) 56 having deposited on its inner surface a suitable susceptor material 54 which is typically some kind of metallic material such as aluminum. The susceptor material 54 is deposited in known ways such as by vacuum deposition. An example of a suitable combination of a suitable polyester and metal susceptor layer is manufactured by A.D. Tech under designation PC 48G PTC AL—item no. P120 CA 01270 NBKZ. Thus, the susceptor material 54 is sandwiched between paper layer 50 and polyester layer 56.
In this embodiment an additional outer layer of paper 60 is bonded to the PET layer 56 with a heat resistant glue layer 58 from [which also may be model no WC3460ZZ from HB Fuller Inc.] to give even greater thermal stability to web 34. Paper layer 60 can, for example, be a clay coated paper. However, it should be noted that it may not, in some embodiments, be necessary to provide an additional layer of paper 60 or other similar material. Indeed, the general criteria for web 34 are that it should provide a base layer that provides grease resistance and a suitable susceptor that may be on or above the base layer. The base layer 50 should have sufficient thermal stability when the susceptor is heated by the microwave radiation, otherwise the pouch material can disintegrate and become mixed with the popcorn. The susceptor may be carried on a separate layer of material, such as a suitable polyester as described above, so the susceptor material is sandwiched between the paper 50 and the polyester 56 layers, however other types of susceptors can be utilized.
The materials described above provide for an inner pouch that is sufficiently microwave transmissible such that an appropriate amount of heat can be developed in the susceptor to cause the corn kernels that are held in pouch 18 to be transformed into popcorn.
In other embodiments, the susceptor could be provided in a separate layer sandwiched between the layer 60 of the inner enclosure 18 and inner surface of base panel 22 of the outer enclosure 14. The susceptor could also be formed with the base panel, such as for example being integrally formed therewith. Various types of known susceptors can be employed. The important factor is that sufficient heat be generated to appropriately heat the popcorn kernels and charge that are held in inner enclosure 18.
With reference now to
Extending from upper edge 62 along each side edge 66 and 68, to medial fold line 44 are strips of heat activated adhesive 40 and 42. Extending longitudinally along lower edge 64 is a longitudinally extending strip of heat activated adhesive 76 having end sections 76a, 76b. Although not clearly depicted as such in
A secondary fold line 67 is provided proximate to, and spaced from upper edge 62. Secondary fold line 67 provides for a tab 65 which is folded downwards during formation of the pouch 18, and folded tab 65 is adhered to pouch portion 36 with adhesive strips 76, 76a, 76b.
The adhesive strips are generally provided on the inner surface 50a of the web and can be any suitable heat activated adhesive such as a hot melt adhesive, like the 1HL 9918x extrudable hot melt manufactured by HB Fuller Inc. (another possible glue is model PWF3000 by HB Fuller Inc.) Hot melt adhesives will soften and become tacky when heated. This allows a bond to be made between two bodies (ie. two parts of the web) with the adhesive when the adhesive is heated and allowed thereafter to cool. However, as the adhesive loses most of its strength when heated, heating the adhesive again, will also allow two bodies (ie. two parts of the web) bonded by the adhesive to be separated when a force is applied to separate the two bodies.
The susceptor material may extend close to the upper edges 62, to assist in activating the heat activated adhesive. However, sufficient heat may otherwise be generated in the pouch 18 such that the heat activated adhesive does not have to be directly above the susceptor material in order to release the popcorn as described below.
In
In
With reference now to
Thereafter each of the filled pockets 36 is fed to a top seal sealing station 108 wherein the heat activated rollers 130 and 132 activate heat activated adhesive strip 76 to seal pocket 36 along the top edge. After leaving top sealing station 108, web 34 has been transformed into a series of completely sealed pockets 36, each pocket having been filled with popcorn kernels and charge. Finally, web 34 is passed to cutting station 110 wherein each of the individual pockets 36 is cut from the web to form a series of individual pouches 18. A fully formed pouch 18 is illustrated in
Alternate pouches 118 and 218 are shown in
It will be appreciated that the process illustrated in
Other configurations and designs of inner pouch 18 are possible. The important features are that it be able to store the popcorn kernels properly before cooking in the microwave oven, as well as possible a charge, like for example cooking oil. Additionally, the inner pouch 18 must be capable of opening up to release the popcorn into the outer container 14 during heating by a heat source. Although the material from which inner enclosure 18 made may be sufficiently flexible in itself, to permit is to provide an opening during the heating process, a similar functionality could be accomplished with a material that is quite rigid. For example, a pouch may be made from a more rigid material with a portion having a hinge mechanism associated with it, so that the hinged portion of the pouch material can pivot from a closed position to an open position during the heating process (ie. like a hinged door mechanism).
In addition to the method of forming pouches 18, 118 and 218, with webs 34, 134 and 234 disclosed herein, other methods of making an inner pouch are also contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.
Outer enclosure 14, is made from a blank 90 (
The enclosure 14 should be sufficiently rigid that it can form a self-erecting enclosure. It is also configured such that it can be deflected or moved from one configuration to another. This can be accomplished, for example, by selecting a material, which is semi-rigid, such that one part can move or pivot relative to another such as by pivoting about fold lines. Cardboard is such a suitable material.
Enclosure 14 should also have some form of venting mechanism, so that when the popcorn is being generated inside the internal cavity, the pressure does not become too high. It has been found that, the in the specific embodiments described herein that utilize a plurality of interconnected panels, gaps inherent in the configuration provide sufficient venting of the internal cavity during cooking of the popcorn kernels.
Enclosure 14 may also have a mechanism for maintaining the enclosure in its erected configuration. Also, enclosure 14 may be configured so that when erected, it can maintain itself in a self-standing or self-supporting position. Enclosure 14 typically has printed marketing, brand information or the like applied to or formed on it. The actual printing itself, as for example silk-screened printing on the cardboard, may provide a significant degree of protection from grease seepage though the walls of outer enclosure 14. If desired, it is also possible to coat an inner and/or outer surface of enclosure 14 with a plastic type coating, paperboard coating or other coating which is relatively impermeable to the charge.
With reference now to
Blank 90 comprises a plurality of panels A-P and a tab W comprising tab portions W1, W2 and W3. It will be appreciated from the description that follows that panel O can be considered a bottom panel, panel M a top panel, and panels N and P form two of the side walls for container 14. The remaining two side walls are created by the interaction of panels A, C, E, G, I and K on one side, and panels B, D, F, H, J and L on the other.
Top panel M has a score line 27 which stretches into tab W to define the tabs W1, W2 and W3. Score line 99 defines a removable lid portion 21 in panel M and tab W.
To form the container 10, first, as shown in
After placement of pouch 18 onto panel O of blank 90, the blank will typically be moved to another station where some folding operations take place. In one embodiment, if blanks are delivered to the folding operation interconnected in series, they will be cut into separate blanks to permit the folding operation to take place, prior to any folding occurring. In this embodiment, the blank 90 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in
Thereafter the blank 90 with pouch 18 affixed thereto, is, in one embodiment, transferred to a second conveyor to move the blank at right angles to the movement indicated in
Next the combination of panels K, P and L is folded about fold line axis x4 and compressed onto panel O. This fold also folds over tab 18a. The adhesive causes panel K to be secured to panel I, and panel L to be secured to panel H. Finally, panels A, C, M, B, D and tab portions W1, W2 and W3 are folded about fold line axis x2 and compressed onto panels E, N and F. The adhesive on panel C will bond panel C to panel E and likewise adhesive on panel D will bond that panel D to panel F. The adhesive on tab portions W1 and W3 will bond tab W to panel P, thus connecting panel M with panel P.
The formation of container 10 is now complete and as shown in
Container 10 may be wrapped in an outer covering 19, which can be applied using conventional equipment. This covering may be a transparent plastic, which will assist in maintaining the freshness of the food products during storage. The outer covering can hold packets of seasoning or other additives, for the popcorn.
In use, the consumer will take the container 10, which may delivered in its covering in the generally flattened configuration illustrated in
With reference to
In the embodiment just described, it is the combination of the increased heat in pouch 18, as well as the increase in pressure within the pouch, that causes the seal to release. In other embodiments, the pouch can be configured so that the material is weakened in an area so that it is only the increase in pressure which causes the pouch to open (e.g. the pouch does not create an opening due to the release of a heat activated adhesive seal). The pouch could be constructed with an area of material that is weakened and is specifically designed to fail when the internal pressure increases.
Another desirable feature of pouches 18 and 18a, is that the trough formed by the folding over of tabs 18a, 18b and 18c is maintained during the release process, thus preventing significant amounts of oil and grease from escaping from the pouch, and thereby preventing significant soiling of the outer enclosure. However, there are alternatives to providing a pouch with a trough. Also, in some embodiments, it is not necessary to provide a grease barrier at all.
Once the heating process is completed the container can be taken out of the microwave oven. Middle tab portion W2 provides a handle for gripping the container when removed from the microwave oven, and helps to minimize the risk of scalding from steam continuing to be released from the container, or burning from the heated panels, which have been heated by the hot popcorn.
As shown in
Finally, the lid 21 can be reopened to permit removal of the popcorn. If desired, lid 21 can be completely removed by tearing along the rear, transverse portion of score line 27.
Referring now to
It will be observed that gaps 194a, 194b, 194c, and 194d exist between panels D/J, C/I, I/Q and J/R respectively. At the innermost part of the gaps 194a-d, there will be an unsealed join between base O at its corners where it meets the side walls, when the container is in the erected configuration. This provides a possible location for a leakage of grease or the like, if the inner pouch 18 is not configured to provide a trough to contain such materials. Therefore, a barrier can be provided at the corners of base panel O, to inhibit leakage through gaps 194a-194d. In the embodiment shown in
It will however, be appreciated that the panel-folding operation may be made more difficult by this taping. In an alternate embodiment to provide a complete barrier, the blank 290 may be employed.
Referring now to FIGS. 23 to 29, blank 290 when formed in to a container, provides a similar trough in the base of the erected container. This trough is created by the blank 290 itself, and not by the pouch inside the outer enclosure. The trough in blank 290 is created by using interconnecting webbing S1, S2, T1 and T2 between the panels of blank 290. This webbing consists of integrally formed continuations of the cardboard material forming the rest of the blank 290, between adjacent panels.
The forming sequence using blank 290 will now be described. Pouch 218 (which is constructed like pouch 118 in
Interconnecting webbing T1 and T2, will rip apart during the presently described folding process. However, during the ripping of webbing T1, T2 that occurs in this folding operation, a plurality of fibers are formed at the cut seam 99, 99a and extend outward from one panel toward the adjacent panel. In this way, even though a rip is formed between the adjacent panels at T1, T2, the fibers tend to provide a barrier that can absorb small amounts of liquids/grease that might migrate to those corners of the base panel. It will be appreciated, however, that since pouch 218 is spaced from folding line X4, and since the pouch fold line 244 (
Next, panels A and Q/K are folded about axis y1 onto center panels M and P respectively, and panels B and R/L are folded about axis y2 onto center panels M and P respectively, as shown in
Next, heat resistant adhesive 296 is applied on the upward facing surfaces of panels Q, R, E and F. Heat resistant adhesive 295 is also applied to the upward facing surface of the outer lid tab portions W1 and W3, but not to lid tab portion W2. The application of the adhesive is not shown, but can be carried out using conventional equipment set up in line on the conveyor.
Next the combination of panels Q, K, P, L and R is folded about axis x4 and compressed onto the combination of panels I, O and J. The adhesive causes panel Q to be secured to panel I, and panel R to be secured to panel J. This step is illustrated in
Since the heat resistant adhesives make take some time to set, the package in the form shown in
The formation of container 110 is now complete and as show in
In an alternate folding process, the folding of the panels is such that none of the interlocking webbing S1, S2, T1 and T2 tears. In this alternate embodiment (not shown in the drawing), panels C/E/G, I and Q/K are folded about axis y1 onto center panels N, O and P respectively, and panels D/F/H, J and R/L are folded about axis y2 onto center panels N, O and P respectively. Next, panel A is folded about axis y1 onto the center panel M, and panel B is folded about axis y2 onto the center panel M. After these folding operations, the process to create the container is the same as described above in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment the interlocking webbing S1, S2, T1 and T2 will not tear. This creates a liquid impermeable trough in the base of the erected container. Also, in this embodiment, a portion of panels K and L closest to the container edge is provided with notches 92 as shown in
It should be noted that blank 290 also has score lines 227 in panel M, extending into tab W, that will provide for a removable lid portion, as in the embodiment described above.
As in the previous embodiment, the container 110 formed with blank 290 and pouch 218, can be wrapped in an outer wrapper, which can be applied using conventional equipment. This covering is preferably a transparent plastic, which will assist in maintaining the freshness of the food products during storage, and serve as extra protection against leakage during shipping and storage, prior to use. However, it has generally been found that the inner pouch will provide an adequate degree of freshness protection in many circumstances.
In use, the consumer will take the container 110, made from blank 290, which is delivered in its outer covering, in the flattened configuration illustrated in
In
A blank 1090 is taken from the bottom of a stack of blanks in magazine 1100 and is carried by the first part 1120a of conveyor system 1120, which comprises a conventional belt conveyor system, in the direction of the arrow indicated in
Blank 1090 first passes from continuous conveyor 1120a to rest temporarily on a dead plate 1125 under brushes 1043. Brushes 1043 maintain blank 1090 in a generally flat orientation. Continuous conveyor 1120 has a belt carrying one or more timing lugs 1127 that rotate and lugs 1127 pass through a slot in plate 1125 to engage blank 1090 and push it onto conventional belt conveyor 1120c. In this way the position of each blank if properly timed in relation to the rest of the apparatus downstream.
As blank 1090 is moved by continuous conveyor 1120c, it passes a station where heat resistant glue is applied to panels of the blank 1090 in locations described above, at the glue station 1104. It will be appreciated that some aspects of the glue application can take place further along the manufacturing line.
Pouches 1018 are continually being fed into a pouch magazine 1033. Rotary pouch feeder 1033 takes pouches 1018 serially from the magazine 1033 and then transfers a pouch 1018, onto a medial panel of the blank, in the position described above. In this embodiment, this process is done continuously without stopping, with continuous movement. The conveyor system using rollers 1050 and 1051 drives the blank 1090 and pouch 1018 forward to the folding and compression stations. The rollers 1050 and 1051 can be arranged so as not to interfere with the folding operation.
The panels are folded in a process described above using conventional types of equipment. Additionally a known type of compression apparatus can be provided to ensure that the heat resistant glue properly bonds together the respective parts of the container. It should be noted that the order of the processes described above is only one embodiment and variations and modifications can be made without deviating from the scope of the claims.
With reference to FIGS. 35 to 39, an example of a rotary pouch feeder 1031 is illustrated. Feeder 1031 comprises a rotatable disc mounted on a drive shaft 1072, driven by conventional drive motor and belt. Mounted to disc 1070 are a plurality (in this embodiment four) arm members 1078 which serve to support at their ends pick up heads 1074. Each pick up head 1074 has an outwardly facing pair of suction cups 1076 adapted to retrieve pouches from magazine 1033 and transfer them to a position where they are deposited onto a blank 1090. Arms 1078 are mounted to disc 1070 for pivoting, cam actuated vertical movement at the 12 o'clock position to assist in the retrieval of pouches out of magazine 1033. This is achieved as follows. Each arm 1078 has a cam follower 1079 which is received in a cam track 1081. At the 12 o'clock position cam track 1081 deviates from a circular track at a cam surface 1085, causing arm 1078 to pivot about a pivot location 1083. This causes a deviation in the path of the pick up head from a circular path, as shown in
Air suction is generated at suction cups by the supply of compressed air through hollow shaft 1072, through a series of air tubes connected with pivot connectors to vacuum generators 1073. Vacuum generators 1073 convert the pressurized air to suction at the ends of the suction cups 1076.
The application of suction can be controlled by valves, which can be electronically controlled.
As described above, the container as described above, can be supplied directly to a consumer of the product (e.g. an individual who wishes to consume the product at home). In such a situation, the consumer would purchase the container in the flattened container and then typically use their own or some other personal microwave to create the microwave popcorn.
However, the containers described above enable other new methods of carrying on business to be conducted. As illustrated in
When a consumer visits the retailer, the retailer can then take out the flattened box from storage, take off the protective covering if any an erect the box. The retailer can then use their own microwave or other heating device to create the popcorn and then deliver the ready to eat popcorn in its container.
It is contemplated that various modifications could be provided without deviating from the scope of the invention, as defined by the claims that follow hereafter.
This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/317,618 filed Dec. 12, 2002, which is related to U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 60/339,631 filed Dec. 12, 2001, the entire contents of both applications being hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60339631 | Dec 2001 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10317618 | Dec 2002 | US |
| Child | 11727721 | Mar 2007 | US |
