Patent Application
20250151830
It is known that from 1982-to-2015, ˜240,000 baseball and softball related Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) were recorded (7,270/yr.), with more than 110,000 being U.S. children (3300/yr.) younger than 18 years of age who were treated for baseball head injuries. These statistics have been consistently rising (>12%/yr.) for the past seven years (2015-2022).
The most explored outcome of traumatic brain injury is concussion. Females were on average two-times more likely to sustain a TBI than males. Severity of TBIs varied from mild and returning to the field on the same day, to immediate death. There is poor and misunderstood design, compliance, and use of sport helmets, and time to return-to-play post-concussion guidelines. In addition to new safety sport helmets, there is a need for multifaceted preventive strategies to be implemented to reduce the frequency and burden of these injuries. Such an approach can be more effective than single-component interventions because it tackles the problem from various angles, thereby ensuring a more robust and sustainable solution.
The present invention relates to providing, within the sport helmet, a protective material (Nylon), having less bulkage/mass, an increase in honeycomb recovery percentage, for re-use, and a rate of recapture of the compression materials (all sides) to be within 10-30 seconds and a recovery of the lengths of each side. To contribute to this, the present invention includes combined physical chemistry and engineering means of defining and preparing unique negative stiffness honeycomb structures with recent molecular structure types of Nylon (Nylon 6 [N6], Nylon 6+Glass [N6G], Nylon 12 [N12], and proposed Nylon 12+Glass [N12G]) that are today (vs. 10-years ago, with Nylon 5 and Nylon 11) directly synthesized for consistent honeycomb compositions by the primary molecular species.
Based on these observations, a new honeycomb assembly design was developed with N6 and N12 with or without glass for a goal of a compression value of >6800N (Newtons); the use of a protective baseball helmet with 10°-25° exterior angular structures/curves that can redirect and slow down the moving force of a baseball which typically weighs g +/−2 grams by reducing the contact time within the baseball helmet and, most importantly, the batter's head. The resident time of the baseball at the head/helmet is the most critical mathematical variable in order to reduce the total Newtons to a level a honeycomb (N6 or N12) can manage (>80% recovery) effectively. The present invention achieved honeycomb design recovery of 90-96% within 30 seconds, with 85-90% of the full tested Newton compression force.
The skull is thinnest at the side of the head, with a key artery that can cause direct bleeding from a 95-mph baseball, with a single head impact zone and time of impact of 0.001 sec. The force (F) exerted on the batter's head is from a baseball impact lasting ˜0.001sec, the total time increased ×10 by helmet design of angle inputs, and therefore does not do excessive damage at one point but distributes the force (Newtons) over a broader area on the head.
Baseball concussion formula:
A baseball moving at 95 MPH takes 0.4 seconds to reach (60 feet distance; 15 feet/0.1 second) the batter at home plate. Using Eq. 1, the force (F) of a short hit time of 0.001 seconds, F=m·a=0.145 kg·42500 m/s2=6,163 N (the force of the ball at the head). Added examples of hit times are 0.002 sec=3,080 N, or 0.004 sec=1,540 N. Therefore, the shorter time of the transfer of Newtons is directly related to the batter's head experiencing a full concussion. A direct hit to the head by >1000 N is the initiation of a medical concussion. The actual force time of the baseball to the head of a batter is affected by the angle of the baseball's impact (a curve), or like a spinning baseball pitch (eephus pitch). A concussion can occur at these speeds, but if the ball is forced to turn (or deflect) when it contacts physical items on the sports helmet (i.e., protrusions), the impact force of the baseball on the sports helmet can be further reduced. For example, the use of a sports helmet which includes a plurality of exterior protrusions located along the exterior sides of the sports helmet and above the ear holes (
It is known for a structural component heat shield that during its assembly the foam pins and honeycomb materials are inspected during the preparation of the heat shield layers. The local buckling tendency of composite panels has been experimentally evaluated with respect to various design variables, such as the molecular composition, thickness, cell size, and specimen dimension of its honeycomb structures. From the early experimental results, the awareness of buckling was considered in the present invention. Buckling is the sudden deformation of a structural honeycomb that is loaded in compression, which occurs when the compressive load in the honeycomb reaches a critical value. Buckling often occurs suddenly and can cause the unit to reach a critical value. Buckling often occurs suddenly and can produce large (0.5 to 1.5 cm) displacements. This does not always result in yielding or fracture of the material, but buckling is a failure mode since the buckled can no longer support a load (post compression) in the way it was originally intended to be. As shown in
Honeycombs are structurally designed components/columns and are common examples of structures that fail by buckling. Trusses are beams that create a rigid structure for the honeycomb assembly, that limited partial (˜85%) compression.
The following conclusions are obtained and are consistent with results from the known prior art. In addition, buckling behavior of the honeycomb structure is due to a compressive load stabilized with smaller cells and composite panels with large cell size honeycomb cores that can cause unstable buckling behavior under compression loading, independent of the composition of the local impact sizes. When the cell size of honeycomb core is large, unstable buckling can occur at the yield point (>90%). It was determined that yield loads become proportional to the panel specimen area but are slightly affected by specimen height. However, the yield stress results of such composite panels now show smaller differences due to the unique design variables of the present invention. The changes made in honeycomb design were in part considered by the prior art, but the inconsistent composition of the primary water within the honeycomb material gives hydrogen bonded connections (like that maintaining the DNA double helix structure). Water concentrations (1-7 wt. %) and in some cases unwanted collective honeycomb fibers cause directional collapse or added rejection for consistent compression and/or recovery.
According to the present invention, it was determined that the compression and recovery actions must be consistent to optimize protection of the baseball at the head of the batter with the honeycomb composition, e.g., Nylon 6 or N6+Glass or N12. These actions may contribute to a faster recovery of the batter because the honeycomb mixture reduces the total Newtons that impact the head at the ear. Reduction to 2000-3000 Newtons interfacing with the head from 5000-6000 Newtons (80-95 MPH) from the baseball does not stop all physical damage but makes the injury more recoverable. For composite panels under local compression loads or impacts, honeycomb structures have unique design variables and have been selected due to local size of compression loads or impacts.
The in-depth discussion in the known prior art defines novel engineering and unique chemistry approaches for Nylon 11 on how to generate a negative stiffness honeycomb material; provided new options to the degree and approach to define the physical structure of the honeycomb shells and a protective sports helmet. It is further known that the Guardian Cap, developed by Guardian Innovations, LLC, Johns Creek, GA (US) was prepared for the functional use of the honeycomb cells, as disclosed in the present invention, within a sports helmet with options to add/remove and inspect the degree of compression that has not recovered, hence remove and replace the honeycomb cells. Physics says that an outer “soft” material of the proper density, stiffness, and energy absorbing properties reduces the initial severity of the impact to minimize concussions. The hard shell has lower forces transmitted to it, and, in turn, conveys lower forces to the interior soft helmet padding and thus lowers the forces to the head.
It is to be noted that Nylon 11 was removed from the present invention and replaced by Nylon 12, in a comparable manner that Nylon 6 replaced Nylon 5. The reasons were the inconsistent composition (for C5 and C11 chemical structures) of production feedstock, and the moisture content of the Nylon that is considered in this approach, via drying. Today, honeycomb cores are commercially manufactured via an expansion process and the corrugation process from composite materials such as glass reinforced plastic (known as fiberglass), carbon fiber reinforced plastic, Nomex Aramide paper reinforced plastic, or from a metal (e.g. aluminum).
Ring-opening polymerization is the preferred chemical process for such commercial production. Nylon 12 exhibits properties between short chain aliphatic nylons and polyolefins. At 178-180° C., the melting point of Nylon 12 is the lowest among polyamides. Its mechanical properties, such as hardness, tensile strength, and resistance to abrasion, are like Nylon 6. Now, low water absorption and density, 1.01 g/mL, results from its relatively long hydrocarbon chain length, which confers its dimensional stability and an almost paraffin-like structure. Nylon 12, at this time, is more chemically resistant and insensitive to such stress cracking.
In a similar manner, caprolactam has 6 carbons which is unique to Nylon 6. When caprolactam is controlled heated to 260° C. with an inert and dry atmosphere of cylinder nitrogen for 4-5 hours, the ring breaks and undergoes polymerization. The molten mass is carefully passed through spinnerets to form fibers of Nylon 6. During polymerization, the amide bond within each caprolactam molecule is broken, with the active groups on each side re-forming two new bonds as the monomer becomes part of the polymer backbone. All Nylon 6 amide bonds lie in the same direction. Note that in this study a Nylon 6 with and without glass composition was used in addition to enhance flexibility of the honeycomb. The term “Glass” in this context of Nylons typically refers to the glass transition temperature (Tg), which is a critical property of polymers. For Nylon 6, the glass transition temperature is 47° C12. This temperature is critical because it marks the point where the polymer transitions from a hard, glassy material to a softer, more rubbery state. For honeycomb structures made of Nylon 6, the glass transition temperature is the key factor to determine the conditions under which the material maintains its rigidity and structural integrity.
The above-mentioned features and steps of the invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters represent like parts throughout the several views and in which:
It is known to construct honeycomb sandwich panels that are composite and constructed by bonding core material of honeycomb structures with thin plate surfaces together. Because honeycomb sandwich panels are lightweight and have high strength performance, they are widely utilized in many fields. However, data on impact resistant properties of such composite panels are not widely publicized (kept private), and the testing methods are therefore not clearly specified.
As a result, in the present invention, the local buckling tendency of composite panels was experimentally evaluated with respect to design variables, such as the thickness, cell size, and specimen dimension of honeycomb structures. It was concluded that under local compressive loading for the honeycomb sandwich panels tested, honeycomb cores are buckled before reaching yielded points and cause the danger of panels being degraded from their original levels. The concerns of consistent composition, design/layout of the honeycomb that in some cases were of inconsistent size/length/thickness, and excess water absorption were considered in the present invention. This is the reason the present invention used a series of Nylons with (WET) and without (DRY) moisture (<3%), prepared from molecular consistent feedstock Nylons, and packaged the testing units in heavy sealed bags when shipped to an analytical lab, and each test was limited in time (<15 min) to pre-measure each Nylon unit installed, set, run compression, stop, run recovery, measure system dimensions for recovery (mm), then replace into the same bag, total time ˜15 minutes.
With respect to
A unique aspect of the present invention is that honeycomb assembly 2 can be removed and replaced especially if the honeycomb assembly 2 has experienced a significant compression such as when a baseball impacts the sporting helmet that is equipped with the honeycomb assembly 2. Another unique aspect of the present invention is that a plurality of honeycomb cells 3 can be constructed together to form a larger honeycomb assembly 2 that is designed to be located within an interior portion of a sports helmet.
With respect to elongated blocks 4, blocks are located along an upper ridge 5 of the honeycomb cell 3. In one embodiment, the blocks 4 assist in providing a stable platform so that several honeycomb cells 3 can be stacked upon each other.
With respect to straight bar 6, in one embodiment, straight bar 6 is used to connect two (2) triangles 7 located on beams 12. In one embodiment, the triangles 7 are used to spread out the force exerted on beams 12. In this manner, the beams 12 should not experience any localized forces which could cause the beams 12 to fail.
With respect to opening (or void) 8, in one embodiment, opening (or void) 8 is located within the honeycomb cell 3. In this manner, the opening 8 allows each honeycomb cell 3 of the honeycomb assembly 2 to provide a greater amount of compression and recovery after the compression has been removed from the honeycomb assembly 2. It is to be understood that opening 8 does not include any bars or other similar structures within opening 8.
With respect to elongated block 10, in one embodiment, block 10 is located at the bottom of each honeycomb cell 3. In this manner, block 10 can be used to connect each honeycomb cell 3 to another honeycomb cell 3 in order to form a honeycomb assembly 2 assembly by interacting with blocks 4.
With respect to elongated beam 12, in one embodiment, beam 12 is used to connect each honeycomb cell 3 to another honeycomb cell 3. Furthermore, beam 12 is used to absorb the force of the bar 6 when the bar 6 elongates during compression of the honeycomb cell 3.
With respect to area 14, in one embodiment, the less wide shape of area 14 creates the appearance of a “square” honeycomb with smaller rectangular connectors 16 connecting each line 18.
With respect to connector 16, in one embodiment, shorter connectors 16 are used to connect adjacent lines 18 of the honeycomb assembly to each other. In this manner, if the honeycomb assembly experiences a compression load, connectors 16 assist in spreading out the compression load among all the lines 18. Also, connector 16 is connected to elongated blocks 4 and 10.
With respect to
The absorption of water (2-7%) into the newly made honeycomb during synthesis, during the cooling session or during storage of Nylon 5, 6, 11 and 12 presents a concern because the water can confer its dimensional stability. Dimensional stability is a critical property of materials, including honeycomb structures made from Nylon 5, Nylon 6 and Nylon 12. This is related to the ability of the honeycomb to maintain its dimensions, such as high humidity, temperature and mechanical stress. It was determined that rapid storage and container purged with gaseous nitrogen (low humidity) works best with Nylon 12 vs. Nylon 6, because of its composition.
With respect to
It is further known that the yield loads tend to increase as the height of the honeycomb core is decreased, regardless of the compression area of composite panel specimens with ⅛-inch (3.18 mm) cell size as shown in
However, considering the cross-sectional area of the honeycomb core, the stress level becomes larger with a smaller compressive area and lower height of specimen. From the results of specimen numbers 5 and 7, one can see that the yield stresses become smaller with respect to the yield load results. This may be because of the 0.003-inch (0.076 mm) foil thickness which is thicker than others use and more compact than others have tested. These observations infer that structural design is critical to compression control. These observations were used in the multiple (3×) measurements pre-and post-the time of production of the honeycomb assembly. Comparing the test results (
With respect to
Dimensional stability is a critical property of honeycomb structures made from Nylon 6, and Nylon 12. The ability of the honeycomb to maintain its dimensions, such as high humidity, temperature, and mechanical stress is most important.
Furthermore, to determine the level of force required by the honeycomb assembly 2 to control/limit the force transferred to the brain for a concussion, a test was developed to first measure 3 units per honeycomb assembly 2 for full compression. The honeycomb assembly 2 distribution of force was measured as 900N for Nylon 6, 1800N for Nylon 6+glass, and 2400N for Nylon 12. The modified compression force was defined as 750N for Nylon 6, 1500N for Nylon 6+glass, and 2000N for Nylon 12. The results also show that a dry Nylon 6 has a recovery ˜15% greater than the wet Nylon. With Nylon 12, the recovery was identical, while Nylon 6 +Glass recovered 7% more than the dry Nylon. The data has provided an estimated honeycomb assembly 2 control level of just the honeycomb assemblies 2 of 7500N and a residence time of 0.001 sec, while with a helmet angle setup, the resident time of the 95 MPH baseball can be increased to 0.004 sec, decreasing the force to <2000 Newtons, which could be managed by Nylon 12. A final Honeycomb compression of 500-750N may be obtained.
With respect to
It is also known that despite advancements in sports helmet technology, traumatic brain injury is still a grave threat to health and safety. However, the use of 2-4 exterior protrusions 104 located on an exterior of the helmet 102, wherein a centerline 106 of each protrusion 104 is located at an angle A of 15° to 25° from a center area 50 of an adjacent honeycomb assembly 2 (
Another unique aspect of the present invention is sports helmet assembly 100. As shown in
Also, as shown in
A unique aspect of the present invention is the attachment of each honeycomb assembly 2 within the interior of the helmet 2. As shown in
Based on the above observations review, a new protective baseball helmet design with interior structures is proposed to control >85% of a moving force (e.g., from a 147+/−2 grams baseball), leaving ˜21.8-foot pounds (28.5Nm) to directly hit the player's head, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is known in the 1990's, 59 Ft LBS (˜80 Nm) can be considered lethal. This injury, 21.8 Ft LBS, could still cause a minor concussion. The most dangerous place to be hit is on either side of our head, just above the ears. The skull is thinnest at this location, and there is a key artery that can burst and cause direct bleeding in the brain. The speed of a 95-mph fastball is approximately 42.5 m/s. With an estimated head impact time of 0.001 seconds, it has been determined that the deceleration (a) as:
Conversely, in the present invention, the full compression recovery for N6, N6+G, and N12 ranged from 66 to 80%, and recovery >95% (all Nylons) with an 85-95% compression, as discussed above. Honeycomb structures have the desired properties for an effective helmet liner material. See
With respect to
As also shown in
Nylon 11 was the best available material for recovery post a controlled compression. In particular, the data infers a compression recovery of 65%, losing 35% to the structure design. No reuse of the filled batting helmet is allowed. However, the current goal of >90% compression recovery is required for the next level of minimal injury observed and is the goal of the present invention. A baseball moving at 95 mph has about 87-foot pounds of kinetic energy. The goal of preparing a new safety baseball helmet is to stop ˜90% of the moving force of a baseball that impacts the helmet at the 2nd use, thereby allowing ˜9-foot pounds to hit the player's head to cause less of a major injury, if possible. Hence a honeycomb concussion guard should be >95% efficient/recovery, the compressed honeycomb units should be replaced to minimize health issues.
It is also known that negative stiffness honeycombs are architected metamaterials that utilize elastic buckling to absorb mechanical energy. Relative to conventional honeycomb materials, they offer the ability to recover their initial configuration and offer repeatable mechanical energy absorption. In particular, fully recoverable negative stiffness honeycombs are fabricated from thermoplastic and metallic parent materials. The honeycombs are subjected to a quasi-equilibrium process and impact loading to demonstrate both predictability and repeatability of their energy absorption characteristics across a variety of loading conditions. Results indicate that their honeycomb design offers ideal shock isolation by thresholding the acceleration of an isolated mass at a predetermined level and that this thresholding behavior is highly repeatable if the magnitude of the mechanical energy imparted to the system does not exceed the energy absorption capacity of the honeycomb. The process occurs at a pace that allows the system to adjust and maintain a uniform condition throughout, thereby avoiding sudden changes or gradients in properties like pressure or temperature.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the process of the present invention was tested by using N6, N6+glass and N12 with a modified honeycomb (
Samples of the honeycomb assembly were singularly kept in heavy duty plastic bins with a latched hinge lid and stored with four desiccant packets per lid to control transfer of moisture (atmospheric to the honeycomb assembly) with room humidity of 35-40%. Nylons 6 and 12 are sensitive to humidity because humidity can affect the physical and chemical properties of the Nylon. In particular, the impact of materials like Nylon 6 or 12 on honeycomb structures is a complex topic, particularly when considering the presence of water. Honeycomb structures are widely used in various engineering applications due to their lightweight and high strength-to-weight ratio. When it comes to the influence of water, the performance of these structures can be significantly affected. Nylon, being a type of polyamide, has a degree of water absorption which can lead to changes in its mechanical properties. For instance, the presence of water can cause swelling, which might affect the dimensional stability of the honeycomb structure. Additionally, water can act as a plasticizer for Nylon, potentially reducing its stiffness and strength. In the present invention, the Nylon was “heated” in the 3D Printer—then enclosed it for shipping. In the present invention, to what degree of impact the humidity had on the design's utility was tested for compression, recovery, and storage, identifying the units as WET vs. DRY, based on their labeled packaging.
Honeycomb assembly samples were handled with nitrile gloves. Each sample was physically measured along 15 uniform reference points using a digital caliper which measured two hundredths of a millimeter. The mathematical average was calculated for each measurement point; in each material, to define the average. The irregularities between samples were, +/−0.3 millimeter, therefore this defined the four similar samples with identical size and weight.
The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes and to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to furthering the art and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the figures of the accompanying drawing, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
All patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, and other documents and materials referenced or mentioned herein are indicative of the levels of skill of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and each such referenced document and material is hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if it had been incorporated by reference in its entirety individually or set forth herein in its entirety.
The applicant reserves the right to physically incorporate into this specification any and all materials and information from any such patents, publications, scientific articles, web sites, electronically available information, and other referenced materials or documents to the extent such incorporated materials and information are not inconsistent with the description herein.
The written description portion of this patent includes all claims. Furthermore, all claims, including all original claims as well as all claims from any and all priority documents, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the written description portion of the specification, and Applicant(s) reserve the right to physically incorporate into the written description or any other portion of the application, any and all such claims. Thus, for example, under no circumstances may the patent be interpreted as allegedly not providing a written description for a claim on the assertion that the precise wording of the claim is not set forth in haec verba in written description portion of the patent.
The claims will be interpreted according to law. However, and notwithstanding the alleged or perceived ease or difficulty of interpreting any claim or portion thereof, under no circumstances may any adjustment or amendment of a claim or any portion thereof during prosecution of the application or applications leading to this patent be interpreted as having forfeited any right to any and all equivalents thereof that do not form a part of the prior art.
All of the features disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is only an example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
It is to be understood that while the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Thus, from the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for the purpose of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims and the present invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
The specific methods and compositions described herein are representative of preferred embodiments and are exemplary and not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Other objects, aspects, and embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of this specification, and are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims. It will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that varying substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element or elements, or limitation or limitations, which is not specifically disclosed herein as essential. Thus, for example, in each instance herein, in embodiments or examples of the present invention, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “containing”, etc. are to be read expansively and without limitation. The methods and processes illustratively described herein suitably may be practiced in differing orders of steps, and that they are not necessarily restricted to the orders of steps indicated herein or in the claims.
The terms and expressions that have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intent in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalent of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention as claimed. Thus, it will be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by various embodiments and/or preferred embodiments and optional features, any and all modifications and variations of the concepts herein disclosed that may be resorted to by those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.
The invention has been described broadly and generically herein. Each of the narrower species and sub-generic groupings falling within the generic disclosure also form part of the invention. This includes the generic description of the invention with a proviso or negative limitation removing any subject matter from the genus, regardless of whether or not the excised material is specifically recited herein.
It is also to be understood that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the term “X and/or Y” means “X” or “Y” or both “X” and “Y”, and the letter “s” following a noun designates both the plural and singular forms of that noun.
Other embodiments are within the following claims. Therefore, the patent may not be interpreted to be limited to the specific examples or embodiments or methods specifically and/or expressly disclosed herein. Under no circumstances may the patent be interpreted to be limited by any statement made by any Examiner or any other official or employee of the Patent and Trademark Office unless such statement is specifically and without qualification or reservation expressly adopted in a responsive writing by Applicants.
Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/790,704, filed on Jul. 31, 2024, which claims benefit of U.S. Patent Application 63/531,386, filed on Aug. 8, 2023, 2023, the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety to provide continuity of disclosure to the extent such a disclosure is not inconsistent with the disclosure herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63531386 | Aug 2023 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18790704 | Jul 2024 | US |
| Child | 19020401 | US |
