Patent Grant
8534034
The present invention concerns an automated bagged ice system and method which bags ice and distributes the bagged ice made by series production into storage compartments or units, and is particularly concerned with a method of distributing bagged ice into two or more adjacent freezer compartments or units for storage and dispensing purposes.
Articles manufactured by series production, particularly packaged bags of ice such as bagged candy, bagged ice cubes, and the like, are often dispensed into a storage unit. Machines for making ice and delivering bags with loose ice cubes may be deployed in supermarkets. Such machines are designed with a top part with an ice cube machine and a central packing machine packing the ice cubes loosely in bags, and a lower part with a storage compartment or area for bagged ice from which the filled ice cube bags are supplied as the customer opens an access door to the storage compartment, providing himself with a desired number of ice cube bags. Examples of such machines are described in the applicant's patent application WO 2008/089762 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,122,689 issued on Feb. 28, 2012.
One problem with such machines is that the bags fall down into the storage compartment over the same position. Over time, a stack of bags forms a pyramid. This causes the storage compartment to be badly utilized as it can only be partially filled, resulting in low capacity for a storage compartment of a given size. The pyramid of stacked bags rapidly reaches the top of the compartment in times of low ice demand, so now bags cannot be added until some are removed for purchase. However, when demand for ice is high, for example on public holidays or in hot weather, the storage compartment rapidly empties and the ice bagging machine cannot keep up with the demand. This requires manual refill by store personnel, and sometimes bagged ice must be delivered to the store and manually moved into the freezer compartment to provide sufficient ice to meet customer demand.
The manual leveling and manual refilling is a problem due to work safety considerations that limit the time in which the employees are allowed to work with frozen products, and a desire to release the employees' resources for other purposes in the supermarket.
It is the object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus that evenly distributes articles, in particular bagged ice, into two or more storage compartments or units, particularly in bagged ice merchandizers or freezer units in a supermarket, as well as other applications involving distribution of serially produced articles into a main storage unit and one or more satellite storage units.
In one embodiment, a method of distributing serially produced articles such as bags of ice into a main storage unit and one or more satellite storage units stored side-by-side with the main storage unit is provided. The main storage unit and any adjacent storage unit share a dividing wall or walls through which a connecting window is provided. Articles are dispensed one by one from an article dispenser associated with the main storage unit onto a first section of an article carrier and transport assembly in the main storage unit and are either discharged from the first section into a storage area in the main storage unit or transported from the first section onto a second section of the article carrier and transport assembly in an adjacent satellite storage unit via the connecting window, and then discharged from the second section into a storage area in the satellite storage unit. Articles are dispensed into the storage areas of the main and satellite storage compartments or units based on detected space availability and a controlled article discharge sequence. There may be multiple satellite storage units on opposite sides of the main storage unit each communicating with the adjacent storage unit via a connecting window, and each having an additional section of the article carrier and transport assembly on which articles can be supported and transported to a selected discharge position in the respective unit before the article is driven off the platform and into the underlying storage area.
According to another aspect, an apparatus for distributing serially produced articles such as bags of ice is provided, which comprises a main storage unit and one or more satellite storage units stored side-by-side with the main storage unit. The main storage unit and any adjacent storage units have a dividing wall or adjacent side walls through which a connecting window is provided. Each unit has a storage area for holding multiple articles for retrieval by customers. An article transport and distribution assembly has sections in each storage unit and is configured to transport articles to discharge positions in each unit and to transport articles from the section in one unit to the section in an adjacent unit. Each article transport and distribution section has an article discharge device configured to discharge articles from the platform into the storage area of the respective storage unit. The transport and distribution section in the main storage compartment is configured to selectively position an article adjacent to a connecting window to an adjacent storage unit so that an article can be conveyed onto the transport and distribution section in the adjacent compartment and transported to a selected storage location in that compartment. In one embodiment, the articles are bags of ice and the storage units are freezers or refrigerated storage units, and the article dispenser is configured to dispense bags of ice serially onto the carrier section in the main storage unit. A controller is connected to the sections of the transport and distribution assembly in each storage unit and controls the storage unit and storage location into which each dispensed article is discharged.
In one embodiment, the article dispenser may be an ice making and bagging machine mounted on top of the main storage unit or combined with the main storage unit into a single unit. In an alternative embodiment, the article dispenser may be an ice bagging machine which is designed to place measured amounts of pre-made ice cubes or pieces into bags which are then dispensed serially onto the first section of the article transport and distribution assembly. In one embodiment, the article transport and distribution assembly comprises a series of conveyor drive sections in each storage unit, each carrying an article carrier or platform and configured to move the platform back and forth above the storage area in that unit and up to the connecting window or windows to transfer bags of ice from the article carrier or platform in one unit onto the article carrier in an adjacent unit. Additional conveyor sections may be provided in each connecting window to convey bags of ice from one article carrier to the article carrier in the adjacent unit.
In one embodiment, articles are received on the platform in the main storage unit in a first orientation in which one side of the article faces upwards, and the article distributor or discharge device is actuated to convey the article off an end of the platform so that the article turns over as it rotates off the end of the platform with an opposite side of the article facing upward when the article falls into the storage area. This helps to position all articles in a stack in the same orientation, for example with a label facing upwards. The article distributor or discharge device may be a conveyor belt associated with the platform which is actuated to drive articles off the platform.
In one embodiment, each storage unit has a storage area of predetermined dimensions sufficient for storage of two adjacent rows of stacking positions for receiving adjacent stacks or piles of articles, and the article transport and distribution section in the respective unit is configured to distribute articles into any selected stacking position in either row in the unit or through a connecting window into an adjacent storage unit. The control system or controller is configured to control operation of the article transport and distribution assembly to dispense articles into at least two adjacent article rows in each storage unit, so that the heights of stacks of articles in each row are relatively uniform and space in the storage compartments or units is efficiently utilized. One or more detectors may be positioned for detecting the height of the article stacks at each stacking position in the two side-by-side article rows and a drive control module associated with the drive devices determines the sequence for selection of the stacking position and storage unit for dispensing or discharging of each article according to the following steps:
One of the satellite units adjacent the main storage unit in one embodiment is a cart storage unit designed to hold one or more wheeled carts positioned below the transport and distribution section in that unit. Articles such as bags of ice are transported onto the section in the cart storage unit and then distributed from the transport and distribution section into a cart. Once the cart is full, a door on the front of the cart storage compartment is opened and the cart can be wheeled out and transported to a refrigerator or freezer unit in the back of the store, and replaced with a new, empty cart. This allows large quantities of bagged ice to be stored easily and used to re-stock storage units at times of high demand, without needing to have extra bagged ice delivered in trucks or to have store personnel unload bags of ice one by one into carts to transport the ice from the truck to the bagged ice merchandizer or storage units in the store. This reduces re-stocking expense and store personnel time in handling bagged ice.
The apparatus and method may be used in adjacent, upright bagged ice storage cabinets installed in supermarkets where the ice cubes are made in situ according to need, and are packed immediately into bags, before being distributed into a temperature controlled main storage unit associated with the ice cube machine or into an adjacent satellite unit. This arrangement considerably increases storage capacity for bagged ice into one or more adjacent satellite storage compartments or units in addition to the main storage compartment or unit.
The apparatus and method can be applied to other types of machines than bagged ice distribution machines, where a large number of bags of ice are produced centrally above a first or main storage unit in which the bags of ice are to be evenly distributed in order to utilize the capacity of the storage unit. This apparatus and method allows for distribution of such articles into adjacent, satellite storage units or into wheeled carts in an adjacent storage unit, considerably increasing storage capacity and making it easier for store personnel to re-distribute articles to other locations in a store. Examples of such applications could be in connection with a plastic injection molding machine where a large number of articles are produced centrally, or in connection with packing and supplying other types of foods, e.g. vegetables or confectionery.
In connection with systems where one or more users take articles from the storage units, the degree of filling at the stacking positions may be different due to the fact that the articles are taken from the stacking positions at different rates. By actively detecting the degree of filling in the individual stacking positions and adapting the sequence of selecting stacking positions in plural storage compartments on the basis of a comparison of the degrees of filling in each stacking position, a leveling that takes account of user interaction may be achieved. The capability of stacking articles in two side-by-side rows in each storage compartment further increases the storage capacity.
In a particularly simple way there is hereby achieved the ability of dispensing articles into selected stacking positions in a main storage unit and one or more adjacent satellite units.
The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:
In the explanation of the Figures, identical or corresponding elements will be provided with the same designations in different Figures. Therefore, no explanation of all details will be given in connection with each single FIGURE/embodiment.
Certain embodiments as disclosed herein provide a method and apparatus for distributing and storing articles from an article production machine into predetermined article stacking positions in article storage areas in a main storage unit and one or more satellite storage units from which consumers can retrieve one or more articles. In the illustrated embodiment, the article production machine is ice making and bagging machine and the apparatus is bagged ice distribution and storage apparatus, with each storage unit comprising a freezer compartment, and includes a bagged ice transport and distribution system designed to discharge or distribute the bags at selected locations in the main and satellite units so as to achieve a relatively even distribution of stacked bags of ice throughout all the freezer compartments.
After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the invention in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention will be described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention.
In the illustrated embodiment described below, the article distribution and storage apparatus is used to transport ice in bags to selected positions above storage areas in main and satellite storage units having a freezer or temperature controlled compartment, and to discharge or distribute the bags into stacks in the storage area. However, it will be understood that the same apparatus may be used in other applications, for example in any serial production application where a large number of articles are produced centrally above a main storage compartment and the articles are evenly distributed through the main storage compartment and one or more satellite compartments in order to utilize the capacity of multiple storage compartments. Examples of such applications could be in connection with a plastic injection molding machine where a large number of articles are produced centrally, or in connection with packing and supplying other types of foods in bags or other containers, e.g. vegetables or confectionery.
The ice collecting and bagging unit or dispenser 14 may be similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,122,689 issued on Feb. 28, 2012, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. Ice making machines or units, which are conventional and are not described in detail, are located in the ice making unit or housing 12, and dispense ice in cubes or pieces into ice collectors 13 which direct the ice in a transport path towards a bag making station 17, where the ice is collected into partially formed bags which are then sealed (see
Second section 26 is substantially identical to section 25 and is mounted in an upper part of the temperature controlled storage area 28 of satellite storage unit 16 in alignment with section 25, as best illustrated in
As illustrated in
As best illustrated in
In one embodiment, the transport and distribution system or assembly is configured to transport and distribute bags of ice into stacks arranged at predetermined stacking positions in two or more rows in each storage area. In the illustrated embodiment, each storage unit is designed for storage of bags 20 of ice in orderly stacks at selected positions in two rows extending between the side walls, as seen in
The transport and distribution section in each storage unit is more or less identical to the other sections, although the sections may be of different lengths if the storage units are of different widths, and like reference numbers are used for like parts of each section 25, 26, and 30. In this case, transport and distribution section 30 is longer than sections 25 and 26 to allow for the additional stacking position in each row in unit 18, but operates in exactly the same manner as the other two sections to transport and distribute bags of ice. In one embodiment, each transport and distribution section 25, 26, 30 is a conveyor section as illustrated in
The horizontal conveyor 50 comprises a back plate or mounting plate 56 having a rail or track 58 on which the carriage 54 is slidably mounted, and an endless conveyor belt or chain extending around rollers at opposite ends of the track 58, with the carriage 54 suitably linked to the chain in a known manner (not visible in the drawings but described in detail in US Pat. App. Pub. 20120070264 referenced above). Motor 52 drives one of the rollers which acts as a drive roller for the conveyor belt. Article or bag support platform 55 is rotatably mounted on a horizontal extension or support arm 57 of carriage 54 via a pivot connection, as described in US Pat. App. Pub. 20120070264 referenced above. Platform 55 is rotated by platform drive or gear motor 59 (not visible in
An article conveyor or discharge device is associated with platform 55 and comprises conveyor belt or belts 58 driven by conveyor drive or motor 62 to convey bags or other bags of ice selectively off opposite ends of the platform and into the inner or outer row A, B of stacked bags in the storage unit, depending on the orientation of the platform when the conveyor belts 58 are activated. Article conveyor 58, 62 also acts to convey bags off the platform and onto the conveyor section 44 in one of the connecting windows 42 between storage units when a bag is to be distributed into one of the other storage units. Conveyor belts 58 extends around guide rollers or wheels (not visible) at opposite ends of platform 55 and one of the rollers is selectively driven in opposite directions by the bag or discharge conveyor drive or gear motor 62. In alternative embodiments, the article conveyor may be a pusher device or the like rather than a conveyor belt on which the article is carried. The opposite ends of the bag conveyor 58 are rounded, as illustrated in
Each conveyor section 44 mounted in a respective connecting window or opening 42 is driven by a respective conveyor drive motor 64 to drive bags through the window and onto the platform 55 in one of the satellite storage units, as illustrated in
As described in Pat. App. Pub. 20120070264, various fill level detectors 105 may be located in each of the storage units to detect the height of stacked bags in the two storage rows, as described in more detail below. The detectors may be associated with each of the conveyors and the drive devices to provide input to a controller so that the carriage and platform can be moved to the desired positions based on programming of the controller and input from the various detectors, as discussed in more detail below. Additional fill level detectors may be positioned on the walls of the storage compartments to detect bag height in each of the bag receiving positions in each row. The doors 43, 47 of each storage compartment may be provided with door open detectors 104 to detect when a door is opened.
At the start of a bag distribution procedure, the platform 55 of main storage unit 15 is located in a start position beneath opening 22 to receive a bag of ice 20 (see
The storage compartments or units 15, 16 and 18 in the illustrated embodiment each have two side-by-side rows A, B of bag storage positions A1, A2, A3 . . . , etc. and B1, B2, B3 . . . , etc, in the base of the compartments, as illustrated in
Controller 100 of
Door opening detectors 104 as illustrated in
In one embodiment, each detector 105 may be a proximity or distance detector such as an infra red (IR) sensor, a photoelectric sensor, or the like which detects the height of successive stacks of bags in each of the rows and provides the height or fill level information to the controller 100, which stores the information and also determines a current bag drop sequence based on the fill level information. The detector may simply detect whether or not a stack of bags is at the maximum desired height, or may determine distance to the top of a stack, so that the controller or processor 100 can determine if a storage position is completely empty, as well as the approximate bag stack height or amount of fill of the stack. In the latter case, the controller may be programmed to control the bag distribution to maintain the stacks as level as possible, i.e. dropping bags at selected locations to keep the stack heights relatively even. The sensors may be provided on the platform support arm 57 and may be positioned so that stack heights at aligned positions in both rows in each unit may be determined simultaneously.
The sensing sequence for detectors 105 with the arrangement of bag drop positions in
As noted above, the degree of filling of the individual bag storage or stacking positions is detected by one or more detectors when a bag is being carried to a drop position or when a scan is made with the platforms 55 empty, or both, as described above. If there are any low stacking positions, the re-fill sequence may follow the same basic preference or order as described above. For example, say positions A3, A6, B1 and B4 are detected to be empty or partially empty, or lower than other stacking positions and if they are all at the same fill capacity, the fill sequence may be A3, A6, B1, B4, A3, A6, B1, B4, and so on until each position is at the desired fill level, unless other positions are detected to be completely or partially emptied in the meantime, in which case the other positions are simply added to the sequence. The lowest detected position receives bags before any other position.
A first bag is deposited at a first bag stacking position in the selected sequence, then a second bag at the second position, and so on until bags are removed by customers or each position is stacked with bags to the desired height or fill level, i.e. the compartments or storage units are stocked to a desired capacity. When all storage units are stocked to the desired capacity, carts 45 in unit 18 may be removed for storage in a rear freezer unit at the back of a store, and replaced with empty carts, and the process may continue as long as desired to stock additional carts with ice, returning to re-stock the main and satellite storage units when the levels drop in those units due to purchase of bags of ice by customers. At times of low demand, the ice making and bagging unit 14 and bag transport and distribution system may be turned off once sufficient bags of ice are stored in the store freezer unit, and turned on again when bags have been removed for purchase and re-filling is required. The bag delivery sequence is adjusted to avoid distribution into any storage compartment or unit having a detected open door until the door is closed, so that bags are not dropped into the freezer compartment when a customer is attempting to remove one or more bags of ice for purchase.
A sequence for conveying a bag 20 from main storage unit 15 to satellite storage unit 16 is illustrated in
Bag 20 is driven to the left off the window conveyor section 44 and onto the bag support platform 55 in unit 16, as illustrated in
If a bag is to be dropped into one of the carts 45 in the other satellite storage unit or cart storage unit 18, the platform 55 in the main compartment is driven from the start position of
The purpose of the cart storage unit 18 of the apparatus 10 is to allow wheeled carts 45 to be filled with stacks of bags of ice 20 which can then be easily rolled out of the unit and moved into a large storage freezer at the back of the store, for example, so that they are ready for re-stocking the ice merchandizing or storage units at times of high demand. This avoids the need for stores to have more ice delivered to the store in refrigerated trucks, which is expensive and inconvenient since it requires store personnel to remove the bagged ice from the trucks and move it into the refrigerated ice dispensing units in the store. The system and method using the storage unit 18 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
At times of high demand when the ice making and bagging units cannot match the rate of removal of bagged ice from the storage units 15, 16 and 18, store personnel can remove empty carts from unit 18 and replace them with previously stored full carts 45 from the back freezer unit of the store. There is no need for the personnel to handle bags of ice directly or for additional bagged ice to be delivered by truck. Instead, stored carts of ice are readily available at the back of the store for re-stocking purposes.
The flow diagram of
If all stacking positions in rows A and B are detected to be full at step 125, and no additional carts for re-stocking purposes are needed (step 126), the ice making, collecting, and bag filling units and the bagged ice transport and distributing assembly are turned off at step 128. After expiry of a predetermined time period or detection of repeated openings of the compartment doors indicating that bags of ice are being removed for purchase, the platform conveyor is activated to drive the platform back and forth to locate any partially filled or low storage positions (step 130). If storage positions with fill capacity are detected at step 132, bagged ice supply and delivery re-starts and the controller operates the transport and distributing assembly to continue to fill the lowest detected storage positions which have capacity to receive more bags according to a predetermined sequence (step 134), and monitoring continues at step 124. If stacking positions in cart storage unit 18 are not at the desired fill level at step 135, the controller continues to operate the ice supply and delivery via control unit 102 to deliver bags of stacked ice to any positions in unit 18 or the other units which are not at the desired fill level (step 136). If stacking positions in units 15 and 16 are at the desired fill level at this point, bags of ice are delivered only to unit 18. Whenever all stacking positions in cart storage unit 18 are detected to be at the desired fill level at step 135 or step 125, and more carts of bagged ice for subsequent re-stocking purposes are needed, the current cart or carts at the desired fill level are removed from unit 18 and replaced with empty carts (step 138), and delivery to unit 18 (and any other units still having fill capacity) continues at step 136.
At times of extremely high demand, such as public holidays or hot weather, it may not be possible for the system to keep up with demand, and one or more units 15, 16, 18 may be completely emptied. The controller may also be programmed to monitor for high demand conditions (multiple door openings, detection of low or empty levels in one or more units), and provide an operator with a signal notifying them to retrieve one or more carts 45 from the freezer storage unit at the back of the store. These may be placed in unit 18 to allow customers to retrieve bags of ice directly from the previously stocked carts, or may be used to re-stock units 15 and 16 until the ice making and bagging unit is again able to keep up with demand.
Although the support platform in the foregoing embodiment is rotated between first and second orientations to deliver bags or bags of ice into first and second side-by-side rows of storage positions, alternative embodiments may comprise non-rotational movement of the platform between first and second spaced horizontal delivery positions relative to the carriage, where the platform may be in the same orientation in both delivery positions. For example, the platform may be driven linearly in a direction transverse to the back plate 56 to an outwardly spaced position over the second row B, with the support arm 57 extended and acting as a track for the linear movement between the two platform positions. A further extension of arm 57 may allow for more than two rows of stacked bags or bags of ice in other embodiments where increased storage compartment size and storage capacity is desired. In other embodiments, the bag transport and distribution assembly of the illustrated embodiment may be replaced with other mechanisms for carrying bags and delivering them to the desired stacking positions in each unit.
The method and apparatus described above allows bags filled with ice or other serially produced articles to be successively delivered to stacking positions in two side-by-side rows of stacking positions in two, three or more storage units or merchandizing units positioned side-by-side in a store with connecting windows between the units. Rather than being randomly and inefficiently stacked in a single pile forming a pyramid in a single refrigerated unit, the bags are relatively evenly distributed in separate stacks across the entire storage area of a main storage unit and one or more satellite storage units, substantially increasing storage capacity and avoiding the need for stores to arrange for truck delivery of more bagged ice in times of high demand. In alternative embodiments, storage units may be provided with different arrangements or numbers of stacking positions. The article transport and distribution apparatus and method described above organizes products in substantially uniform stacks so that it is relatively easy for customers to pick up a product such as a bag of ice. The even distribution of bags of ice in stacks and the additional satellite storage units significantly increases storage capacity, and reduces labor costs previously incurred when personnel had to manually level uneven stacks of bagged ice or hand fill storage units with bags of ice. The provision of the cart storage unit allows any desired number of wheeled carts to be stocked with bagged ice and then moved for storage in a store rear freezer unit, where they can subsequently be used for re-stocking purposes at times of high demand, reducing re-stocking expense and labor time and costs since store personnel no longer need to re-stock by hand. The degree of filling of the compartment can be remotely monitored with the monitoring used to control both ice making and bag distribution. This allows quicker start up and more efficient utilization of the ice making and bagged ice storage units.
The article distribution method and system is described above in connection with an ice machine in which ice chunks or cubes are made, collected, directed into partially formed bags at a bag making and filling station, and the bagged ice is then dropped onto the distribution apparatus for distribution into storage units to form substantially uniform and even stacks of bagged ice in each unit. However, the apparatus and method may also be used in other applications where a large number of articles are produced centrally above a main storage unit and distributed to the main storage unit and satellite units from which they can be retrieved by customers for purchase. Examples of such applications are plastic injection molding machines where a large number of articles are produced centrally, or in connection with packing and supplying other types of articles or foods in bags or other containers, e.g. vegetables, snack foods, confectionary, office supplies, electronic components, or the like. For non-food articles, the storage compartment may not need to be temperature controlled. In each case, the articles may be dispensed into the storage units disposed side-by-side at a store to act as merchandisers for the articles, or in a storage facility where the articles may be later packaged and shipped.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and method steps described in connection with the above described figures and the embodiments disclosed herein can often be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled persons can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the invention. In addition, the grouping of functions within a module, block, circuit or step is for ease of description. Specific functions or steps can be moved from one module, block or circuit to another without departing from the invention.
Moreover, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and methods described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine and the processing can be performed on a single piece of hardware or distributed across multiple servers or running on multiple computers that are housed in a local area or dispersed across different geographic locations. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
Additionally, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium including a network storage medium. An exemplary storage medium can be coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can also reside in an ASIC.
The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.
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| Entry |
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| International Search Report mailed on Apr. 4, 2008 for PCT/DK2008/000027 (5 pages). |
