Patent Grant
8353127
The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates to flower pot covers and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to flower pot covers having a bottom and an upwardly extending sidewall wherein the sidewall has a thickness less than the thickness of the bottom.
Flower pot covers have traditionally been disposed about the outer surfaces of flower pots to decorate the flower pot and to minimize the amount of water or potting medium which may spill from the flower pot. The materials typically used to form decorative flower pot covers are relatively thin. While such thin materials are attractive in that they provide the flower pot covers with a skirt having a loose, billowy appearance, such materials are susceptible to puncturing or tearing by sharp areas or edges on or near the bottom and sides of the flower pot which allows moisture to leak through the flower pot cover, possibly causing damage to carpet, furniture, tile, and other surfaces upon which the flower pot cover may be disposed.
However, if rigid or semi-rigid materials are used to produce flower pot covers and make the flower pot covers less susceptible to puncturing or tearing, then the skirt of the flower pot cover loses its loose, billowy appearance. Thus, it would be of benefit to the floral industry and to the end purchaser to have a flower pot cover constructed of rigid or semi-rigid material, but which has a skirt having a loose, billowy appearance.
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) in detail, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components or steps or methodologies set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Unless otherwise defined herein, technical terms used in connection with the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular.
All patents, published patent applications, and non-patent publications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) pertains. All patents, published patent applications, and non-patent publications referenced in any portion of this application are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual patent or publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
All of the articles and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the articles and methods of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the articles and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s). All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) as defined by the appended claims.
As utilized in accordance with the present disclosure, the following terms, unless otherwise indicated, shall be understood to have the following meanings:
The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects. The use of the term “at least one” will be understood to include one as well as any quantity more than one, including but not limited to, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, etc. The term “at least one” may extend up to 100 or 1000 or more, depending on the term to which it is attached; in addition, the quantities of 100/1000 are not to be considered limiting, as higher limits may also produce satisfactory results.
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, MB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.
“Flower pot cover” as used herein refers to a decorative covering for floral groupings, flower pots, soil or the like and combinations thereof.
“Flower pot” or “pot”, as used herein, refers to containers used for holding floral groupings or potted plants. Examples of such flower pots are clay pots, plastic pots and the like. The flower pot defines a receiving space adapted to receive floral groupings. The floral grouping may be disposed within the receiving space of the flower pot along with a suitable growing medium, a floral foam or combinations thereof. It will also be understood that in some cases the floral grouping, and any appropriate growing medium or other retaining medium, may be disposed in a flower pot cover without the flower pot if the flower pot cover is adapted to contain the growing medium.
“Floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificial flowers, a single flower, other fresh and/or artificial plants or other floral materials and may include other secondary plants and/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materials which add to the aesthetics of the overall floral arrangement. The floral grouping may comprise a bloom or foliage portion and a stem portion. However, it will be appreciated that the floral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage (not shown). The term “floral grouping” may be used interchangeably herein with the term “floral arrangement”.
“Polymer film”, as used herein, refers to a man-made polymer such as a polypropylene or a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. A polymer film is relatively strong and will not tear as easily as paper or foil.
“Spot” or “spots” as used herein refers to any geometric shape of spot including, but not limited to, what is commonly referred to as strips.
“Bonding material” as used herein refers to any type of material or thing which can be used to effect the bonding or connecting of two adjacent portions of material or sheets of material to effect the connection or bonding described herein. “Bonding material” may also refer to ties, labels, bands, ribbons, strings, tapes, staples, heat sealants or combinations thereof.
Further, “bonding material” may also refer to an adhesive, preferably a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. Where the bonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be disposed on an adjacent surface for bonding contact between the two surfaces. “Bonding material” may also refer to materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable. The term “bonding material” may also refer to a heat sealing lacquer which may be applied to the sheet of material and, in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be applied to effect the sealing. Furthermore, the term “bonding material” may also refer to any heat or chemically shrinkable material, any electrical means, magnetic means, mechanical or barb-type fastening means or clamps, curl-type characteristics of the film or materials incorporated in the sheet of material which can cause the material to take on certain shapes, and any type of welding method which may weld portions of the sheet of material to itself or to the flower pot, or to both the sheet itself and the flower pot.
“Band” when used herein refers to any material which may be secured about an object such as a flower pot, such bands commonly being referred to as elastic bands, rubber bands or non-elastic bands and may also refer to any other type of material such as an elastic or non-elastic string or elastic piece of material, non-elastic piece of material, a round piece of material, a flat piece of material, a ribbon, a piece of paper strip, a piece of plastic strip, a piece of wire, a tie wrap or a twist tie or combinations thereof or any other device capable of gathering the sheet of material to removably or substantially permanently form a crimped portion and secure the crimped portion formed in the sheet of material which may be secured about an object such as the flower pot. “Band” may also refer to a bow if desired in a particular application.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10 has a base or lower portion 16 having an outer peripheral surface 18. The base portion 16 has an upper end 20, a lower end 22 and a continuous sidewall 24 which defines the outer peripheral surface 18 of the base portion 16. The sidewall 24 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10 has a thickness 26 (
The flower pot cover 10 further includes a basal portion 37 having a basal rim portion 38 and a basal base or bottom portion 39. The basal base portion 39 is disposed substantially adjacent the bottom 32 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10 and the basal rim portion 38 of the basal portion 37 extends circumferentially about an interior surface 41 of the lower end 22 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10. The basal rim portion 38 has an upper end 40, a lower end 42 and a height 44 extending generally between the upper and lower ends 40 and 42, respectively, of the basal rim portion 38.
The skirt portion 30 of the flower pot cover 10 has a first end 46, a second end 48 and an outer peripheral edge 50. The thickness 36 of the skirt portion 30 of the flower pot cover 10 substantially corresponds to the thickness 26 of the sidewall 24 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10.
The flower pot cover 10 may be further provided with a plurality of overlapping folds, only one of which is designated by the reference numeral 52. The overlapping folds 52 extend at various distances and at various angles over the outer peripheral surface 18 of the flower pot cover 10. The overlapping folds 52 may be connected, at least partially connected, or substantially free standing folds independent of adjacent folds. When it is desired that the overlapping folds 52 be either partially connected or connected, the connection of the overlapping folds 52 may be accomplished by using a heat sealable material and heat sealing the overlapping folds 52. Alternatively, the overlapping folds 52 may be adhesively or cohesively connected. When connected, the overlapping folds 52 cooperate to provide the flower pot cover 10 with enhanced mechanical reinforcement and thereby provide the flower pot cover 10 with a shape sustaining configuration.
The overlapping folds 52 and the manner in which the overlapping folds 52 provide the flower pot cover 10 with the enhanced mechanical reinforcement are explained in more detail in co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 08/347,611, entitled “Flower Pot Assembly Formed From A Sheet With An Opening”, filed Nov. 30, 1994, and which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The sheet of material 12 utilized in the construction of the flower pot cover 10 desirably has sufficient memory so that the flower pot cover 10 formed from the sheet of material 12 may be flattened (not shown) for shipping and storage purposes and subsequently unflattened for use. That is, the sheet of material 12 used in the formation of the flower pot cover 10 desirably posses sufficient memory so that the flower pot cover 10 formed from the sheet of material 12 can be easily unflattened to assume the preformed shape of the flower pot cover 10 without any substantial loss of the preformed shape and without having to be remolded thereby providing a flexible, yet shape sustaining flower pot cover 10.
Shown in
The sheet of material 12 may be constructed of a single sheet of material or a plurality of sheets of the same or different types of materials. The sheets of material may be separate sheets or the sheets may be connected together or laminated together.
Although the sheet of material 12 is shown in
The sheet of material 12 is further provided with a basal layer 72 for forming the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10. The basal layer 72 is disposed on a portion of the sheet of material 12 to be formed into the bottom 32 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10. The basal layer 72 may be a separate sheet of material which is affixed to the sheet of material 12 during or after the fabrication of the sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 may be integrally formed with the sheet of material 12 (
Referring now to
The basal layer 72, as shown in
The basal layer 72, which functions to enhance the strength, rigidity and the resistance to tearing, puncturing, abrading and leaking of the bottom 32 and lower end 22 of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10 formed from the sheet of material 12, may be constructed of a single layer of material (
The sheet of material 12 has a thickness 82 (
The basal layer 72 has a thickness 84 that can vary widely and any thickness of the basal layer 72 can be utilized in accordance with the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) as long as the sheet of material 12 having the basal layer 72 disposed thereon can be formed into the flower pot cover 10, as described herein. Typically, the thickness 84 of the basal layer 72 is in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 500 mil, desirably in a range from about 0.3 mil to about 100 mil and more desirably in a range from about 0.3 mil to 30 mil. The basal layer 72 is generally flexible, but may be relatively rigid as compared to the sheet of material 12.
The above stated shapes, thicknesses and construction of the sheet of material 12 and the basal layer 72 will apply to all of the embodiments of the sheet of material 12 and the basal layer 72 which are discussed herein.
The basal layer 72, and the portion of the sheet of material 12 either immediately below the basal layer 72, or integral thereto, cooperate to define the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10 having a thickness 88. That is, the thickness 82 of the sheet of material 12 and the thickness 84 of the basal layer 72 cooperate to define the thickness 88 of the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10.
The sheet of material 12 has a peripheral portion 90 surrounding the basal layer 72 and extending a distance 92 from the periphery 80 of the basal layer 72 to the outer peripheral edge 70 of the sheet of material 12. The peripheral portion 90 of the sheet of material 12 has a thickness which is equal to the thickness 82 of the sheet of material 12 and which is less than the thickness 88 of the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10.
In a preferred embodiment, the sheet of material 12 and the basal layer 72 are constructed from one or more sheets of polypropylene film (a 20″×15″ sheet of Mobil 270 ABW white opaque film laminated to a 20″×15″ sheet of Mobil 220 AB clear film) having a thickness in a range of from less than about 0.5 mil to about 1.0 mil. The layers of material comprising the sheet of material 12 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers.
The sheet of material 12 and the basal layer 72 may be constructed from any suitable material that is capable of being formed into the flower pot cover 10. For example, the sheet of material 12 or the basal layer 72 may be constructed out of paper (untreated or treated in any manner), cellophane, foil, polymer film, fabric (woven, nonwoven, synthetic, natural and combinations thereof) and combinations thereof.
The sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 may vary in color. Further, the sheet of material 12 and/or basal layer 72 may consist of designs or decorative patterns which are printed, etched and/or embossed thereon using inks or other printing materials. An example of an ink which may be applied to the sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On Foil And/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992.
In addition, the sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 may have various colorings, coatings, flocking and/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentation applied separately or simultaneously thereon. Alternatively, the sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 may be characterized totally or partially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent or the like qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occur alone or in combination and each surface of the sheet of material 12 and/or the basal layer 72 may vary in the combination of such characteristics.
As shown in
The flower pot 15 is disposed upon the upper surface 74 of the basal layer 72 of the sheet of material 12 disposed generally on the top of the pad 96. The flower pot 15 is shaped to define a receiving space 96 for receiving an object, such as a floral grouping 98. The floral grouping 98 has a stem portion 100 which is disposed within the receiving space 96 of the flower pot 15 and a bloom portion 102 which extends generally upwardly therefrom. The flower pot 15 has a closed bottom end 104, an open upper end 106 and a continuous sidewall 108 extending generally between the bottom end 104 and the upper end 106 thereof.
One method for forming the sheet of material 12 having the basal layer 72 (
The sheet of material 12 can also be formed into the flower pot cover 10 employing the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,521 entitled “Cover Forming Apparatus” issued to Weder et al., on Mar. 29, 1988, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the sheet of material 12 may be formed into the flower pot cover 10 by positioning the sheet of material 12 between a female die and a male die as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,182 entitled “Article Forming System” issued to Weder et al., on Sep. 27, 1988, which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The bottom end 104 of the flower pot 15 desirably has a circumference less than the circumference of the basal layer 72 so that when the sheet of material 12 having the basal layer 72 thereon is formed about the flower pot 15, an excess portion of the basal layer 72 extends about the bottom end 104 of the sidewall 108 of the flower pot 15 and cooperates with the sheet of material 12 to form the basal rim portion 38 of the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10. It should be understood that the height 44 of the basal rim portion 38 of the basal portion 37 of the flower pot cover 10 can vary and such will be dependent upon the circumference of the bottom end 104 of the flower pot 15 and the circumference of the basal layer 72. Desirably, however, the height 44 of the basal rim portion 38 of the basal portion 37 will be in a range of about one-fourth to one-third the height of the base portion 16 of the flower pot cover 10.
Shown in
The flower pot cover former and band applicator device 112 comprises a band applicator 114 and a flower pot cover former 116. The flower pot cover former 116 has a support platform 118 with an opening 120 formed therein. A band 122 is disposed circumferentially about the opening 120 in the support platform 118.
The sheet of material 12 is positioned on an upper surface 124 on the support platform 118 such that the basal layer 72 on the sheet of material 12 is positioned over the opening 120 in the support platform 118. The flower pot 15 is positioned above the basal layer 72 and is moved in a direction 126 (
Instead of securing the flower pot cover 10 about the flower pot 15 via the band 122, the flower pot cover 10 formed from the sheet of material 12 may be secured to the flower pot 15 by the use of one or more bonding materials. For example, the upper surface 62 of the sheet of material 12 may have a bonding material disposed upon a portion thereof. When the sheet of material 12 is disposed about the flower pot 15, at least a portion of the upper surface 62 of the sheet of material 12 contacts the sidewall 108 of the flower pot 15 and is thereby bonded and held about the flower pot 15 via the bonding material. It should be noted that the bonding material may be disposed either on the upper surface 62 of the sheet of material 12 or on the upper surface 74 of the basal layer 72 or both.
The bonding material may cover a portion of the sheet of material 12 or the bonding material may entirely cover the sheet of material 12. The bonding material may be disposed on the upper surface 62 of the sheet of material 12 in the form of a strip or in the form of spaced apart spots. One method for disposing a bonding material on a sheet of material 12 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping”, issued to Weder et al., on May 12, 1992, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Shown in
A material supply, designated by the reference numeral 132, comprises a roll of material 134 rotatably mounted upon a shaft 136 for permitting material to be rollingly withdrawn from the roll of material 134. The sheet of material 12a is produced from the roll of material 134 and is similar to the sheet of material 12 herein before described. The sheet of material 12a is formed by severing or disconnected a segment from the roll of material 134 using a cutting device 138.
The roll of material 134 has a leading edge 140. In operation, the leading edge 140 is gripped and withdrawn from the roll of material 134 in a direction 142 via rollers 144 and 146. The material is unrolled from the roll of material 134 and fed through rollers 144 and 146 and then through rollers 148 and 150 until a desired length of material to form the sheet of material 12a has been withdrawn from the roll of material 134. The sheet of material 12a is then formed by severing a segment from the roll of material 134 via the cutting device 138. Subsequently, a basal layer 72a is moved in a direction 152 so that the basal layer 72a is disposed upon the upper surface 62a of the sheet of material 12a and affixed thereto via a suitable bonding material, for example.
Once the basal layer 72a has been affixed to the sheet of material 12a, the sheet of material 12a is advanced via rollers 154 and 156 to a flower pot cover forming position of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130 wherein the sheet of material 12a is positioned above a female die 158 and below a male die 160 of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130.
To form the sheet of material 12a into the flower pot cover 10, the male die 160 is moved in a direction 162 so that the male die 160 engages the basal layer 72a affixed to the sheet of material 12a and moves the sheet of material 12a into an opening 164 of the female die 158 thereby forming the sheet of material 12a into the flower pot cover 10 as heretofore described. The male die 168 is then retracted and the flower pot cover 10 removed from the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130.
If desired, two separate rolls of material (not shown) with one of the rolls of material having a first material and the other roll of material having a second material may be utilized in the formation of the flower pot cover 10. When employing two separate rolls of material, the first material is withdrawn from the first roll of material and the second material is simultaneously withdrawn from the second roll of material so that the first and the second materials are overlaid and provided in a manner as generally shown herein for severing by the cutting device 138 from the first and the second rolls of material to provide dual sheets of material.
To form the flower pot cover 10 from the sheet of material 12b, the male die 160b is moved in a direction 162b so that the male die 160b engages the basal layer 72b and moves the basal layer 72b and the sheet of material 12b into an opening 164b of the female die 158b. Thereafter, the male die 160b is retracted and the flower pot cover 10 is removed from the opening 164b of the female die 158b so as to form a flower pot cover as heretofore described.
A segment of material is severed from a roll of material 134c via a cutting assembly 138c so as to form a sheet of material 12c as herein before described. The basal layer 72c is removed from a stack of basal layers (not shown) and deposited on an upper surface 62c of the sheet of material 12c via the vacuum apparatus 168 prior to the sheet of material 12c being positioned in the flower pot cover forming position of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130c wherein the sheet of material 12c is positioned above a female die 158c and below a male die 160c. Once the basal layer 72c is deposited upon the upper surface 62c of the sheet of material 12c, the vacuum apparatus 168 releases the vacuum and is positioned to receive another basal layer 72c from the stack of basal layers (not shown).
The sheet of material 12c having the basal layer 72c disposed thereon is then advanced to the flower pot cover forming position of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130c as described above. The basal layer 72c may or may not be bondingly connected to the sheet of material 12c prior to the formation of a flower pot cover 10.
To form a flower pot cover from the sheet of material 12c, the male die 160c is moved in a direction 162c so that the male die 160c engages the basal layer 72c and moves the basal layer 72c and the sheet of material 12c into an opening 164c of the female die 158c so as to form the sheet of material 12c into a flower pot cover having a basal portion similar to the flower pot cover 10 described with reference to
Once an effective amount of a material 172 has been sprayed onto the sheet of material 12d to form the basal layer 72d and the material 172 has cured, the sheet of material 12d with the basal layer 72d formed thereon is positioned in a flower pot cover forming position wherein the sheet of material 12d is positioned generally above a female die 158d and generally below a male die 160d of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130d. To form a flower pot cover from the sheet of material 12d, the male die 160d is moved in a direction 162d so that the male die 160d engages the basal layer 72d and thus moves the basal layer 72d and the sheet of material 12d into an opening 164d of the female die 158d to form a flower pot cover. Thereafter, the male die 160d is retracted and the flower pot cover so formed is removed from the opening 164d of the female die 158d.
The sheet of material 12e is formed by severing a segment of material from a roll of material 134e via a cutting assembly 138e. The sheet of material 12e is then advanced via rollers 154e and 156e so as to be positioned between a female die 158e and a male die 160e of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130e.
The male die 168e picks up the basal layer 72e from a stack of basal layers (not shown) and deposits the basal layer 72e upon an upper surface 62e of the sheet of material 12e while the sheet of material 12e is in the flower pot cover forming position of the flower pot cover forming apparatus 130e.
The basal layer 72e may have a preformed “saucer” shape similar to that shown in
To form a flower pot cover from the sheet of material 12e, the male die 160e having the basal layer 72 supported on the lower end 174 thereof, is moved in the direction 162e so that the basal layer engages the sheet of material 12e. Continued movement of the male die 160e in the direction 162e moves the basal layer 72e and the sheet of material 12e into an opening 164e of the female die 158e to form a flower pot cover. Thereafter, the male die 160e is retracted and the flower pot cover so formed is removed from the opening 164e of the female die 158e.
Although the methods for forming the flower pot cover 10 illustrated in
The preformed flower pot cover 176 may be constructed in a similar manner as the decorative flower pot cover disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,182, entitled “Article Forming System”, issued to Weder on Sep. 27, 1988, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
To form the flower pot cover 10 from the preformed flower pot cover 176, the preformed flower pot cover 176 is disposed on a conveyor assembly 184 and moved in a direction 186 to position the preformed flower pot cover 176 below a basal applicator assembly 188. The basal applicator assembly 188 comprises a vacuum cup 190 which applies a vacuum to hold a saucer shaped basal layer insert 192 thereto. The vacuum cup 190 and the basal layer insert 192 are moved in a direction 194 into and through the receiving space 178 formed in the preformed flower pot cover 176 to a position wherein the basal layer insert 192 is disposed within the receiving space 178 substantially adjacent the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176.
Thereafter, vacuum is removed from the vacuum cup 190 of the basal applicator assembly 188 so that the vacuum cup 190 releases the basal layer insert 192. The vacuum cup 190 of the basal applicator assembly 188 is then returned to a position wherein the vacuum cup 190 of the basal applicator assembly 188 receives another basal layer insert 192 for inserting into another preformed flower pot cover 176.
To facilitate the positioning of the basal layer insert 192 within the receiving space 178 of the flower pot cover 176 so that the basal layer insert 192 is disposed substantially adjacent the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176, the basal layer insert 192 has a circumference equal to or less than the interior circumference of the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176. The basal layer insert 192 may be secured to the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 by coating a lower end 196 of the basal layer insert 192 and/or the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 with a bonding material prior to positioning the basal layer insert 192 substantially adjacent the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176.
To form the flower pot cover 10f, the saucer shaped basal layer insert 192a is disposed on the conveyor assembly 184 and moved in the direction 186 to position the basal layer insert 192a below a preformed flower pot cover applicator assembly 188a. A vacuum cup 190a of the preformed flower pot cover applicator assembly 188a, which applies a vacuum to hold the preformed flower pot cover 176 thereto, and the preformed flower pot cover 176 are moved in a direction 194a whereby the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 is positioned with the basal layer insert 192a substantially as shown.
When the basal layer insert 192a is positioned about the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176, the vacuum from the vacuum cup 190a of the preformed flower pot cover applicator assembly 188a is released and the vacuum cup 190a is retracted to a loading position (not shown) for obtaining another preformed flower pot cover 176.
A bonding material may be disposed upon the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 for bonding the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 to the basal layer insert 192a. Alternatively, a bonding material may be disposed upon a lower end 196a of the basal layer insert 192a for bonding the basal layer insert 192a about the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176. Alternatively, a cohesive bonding material may be disposed upon both the lower end 196a of the basal layer insert 192a and on the bottom end 182 of the preformed flower pot cover 176 for bonding the basal layer insert 192a to the preformed flower pot cover 176.
Illustrated in
Illustrated in
The flower pot cover 10h has a base or lower portion 16h having an outer peripheral surface 18h. The base portion 16h has an upper end 20h, a lower end 22h and a continuous sidewall 24h which defines the outer peripheral surface 18h of the base portion 16h. A skirt or upper portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h is positioned circumferentially about the upper end 20h of the base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h and extends generally outwardly and upwardly therefrom substantially as shown in
The flower pot cover 10h further includes a basal portion 37h having a basal rim portion 38h and a basal base or bottom portion 39h. The basal base portion 39h is disposed substantially adjacent the bottom 32h of the base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h and the rim portion 38h of the basal portion 37h extends circumferentially about an interior surface (not shown) of the lower end 22h of the base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h. The basal rim portion 38h has an upper end 40h, a lower end 42h and a height (not shown) extending generally between the upper and lower ends 40h and 42h, respectively, of the basal rim portion 38h.
The skirt portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h has a first end 46h, a second end 48h and an outer peripheral edge 50h. An upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h extends about the floral grouping 98 disposed within the receiving space 14h of the flower pot cover 10h so as to provide the floral grouping with a protective covering. Typically, the upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h is removably connected to the outer peripheral edge 50h of the skirt portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h.
To facilitate the removal of the upper sleeve portion 206 from the skirt portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h, the flower pot cover 10h is provided with perforations 208 extending generally between the skirt portion 30h and the upper sleeve portion 206 substantially as shown. The upper sleeve portion 206 remains formed in a position extending about and above the floral grouping 98 until it is desired to remove the upper sleeve portion 206 from the flower pot cover 10h. The upper sleeve portion 206 may be removed from the flower pot cover 10h by tearing along the perforations 208 extending between the skirt portion 30h and the upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h. Once the perforations are torn, the upper sleeve portion 206 may be lifted from the flower pot cover 10h and removed therefrom.
Illustrated in
The sheet of material 12h is further provided with a basal layer 72h for forming the basal portion 37h of the flower pot cover 10h. The basal layer 72h is disposed on the portion of the sheet of material 12h to be formed into a bottom 32h of a base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h, which will be discussed in more detail hereinafter. The basal layer 72h may be a separate sheet of material which is affixed to the sheet of material 12h and/or the basal layer 72h may be formed integrally with the sheet of material 12h.
The basal layer 72h has an upper surface 74h and may be provided with a lower surface (not shown) when the basal layer 72h is formed from a separate sheet of material which is affixed to the sheet of material 12h; and the basal layer 72 may be affixed to the sheet of material 12h via a suitable bonding material.
The basal layer 72h, which has a diameter 78h and a basal periphery 80h, and the portion of the sheet of material 12h either immediately below the basal layer 72h, or integral thereto, cooperate to define the basal portion 37h of the flower pot cover 10h. Thus, the basal portion 37h of the flower pot cover 10h has a thickness greater than the thickness of the continuous sidewall 24h of the base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h.
The sheet of material 12h is further provided with a peripheral portion 90h which forms the continuous sidewall 24h of the base portion 16h of the flower pot cover 10h and the skirt portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h when the sheet of material 12h is formed into the flower pot cover 10h. The peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h surrounds the basal layer 72h of the sheet of material 12h and extends a distance 210 outwardly from the basal periphery 80h of the basal layer 72h to a periphery 212 of the peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h.
The sheet of material 12h is further provided with a sheet extension portion 216 which forms the upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h when the sheet of material 12h is formed into the flower pot cover 10h. The sheet extension portion 216 of the sheet of material 12h generally surrounds the periphery 212 of the peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h and extends a distance 218 outwardly therefrom to the outer peripheral edge 70h of the sheet of material 12h. The sheet of material 12h is further provided with perforations 208 extending about the periphery 212 of the peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h. As previously stated, the upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h can be removed from the skirt portion 30h of the flower pot cover 10h by tearing along the perforations 208 extending between the skirt portion 30h and the upper sleeve portion 206.
Typically, the sheet extension portion 216 is integrally formed with the peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h. However, it is to be understood that the sheet extension portion 216 may be formed from a separate sheet of material which is positioned and attached circumferentially about the periphery 212 of the peripheral portion 90h of the sheet of material 12h.
A bonding material 220, such as an adhesive (
The flower pot cover 10h may be formed from the sheet of material 12h by any method which has been described above or which is known in the art. For example, the sheet of material 12h can be formed into the flower pot cover 10h by the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,161, entitled “Apparatus for Making a Flower Pot or Flower Pot Cover With Controlled Pleats”, issued to Weder et al., Dec. 17, 1991, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
Illustrated in
As shown in
The open upper end 222 may be closed by bondingly connecting adjacent portions of the open upper end 222 via the bonding material 220 located near the open upper end 222 of the upper sleeve portion 206 of the flower pot cover 10h, substantially as shown in
In addition to the perforations 208, the upper sleeve portion 206 may also include perforations (not shown) extending between the perforations 208 and the open upper end 222 of the upper sleeve portion 206 so as to further assist in the removal of the upper sleeve portion 206 from the flower pot cover 10h.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10i is formed from a sheet of material 12i shown in
The crimped portion 224, which holds the flower pot cover 10i about the flower pot 15, may be formed by bringing together portions of the flower pot cover 10i near and about the bonding material 228 so that these portions of the flower pot cover 10i are disposed adjacent each other. The adjacent portions of the flower pot cover 10i are then bondingly connected via the bonding material 228 disposed thereon so as to form the crimped portion 224.
Other embodiments of the flower pot cover 12i are possible in which the sheet of material 12i or sheet extension portion 216i may be crimped and the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is not limited only to those described herein. For example, a band or a drawstring may be placed about a portion of the flower pot cover extending above the upper end of the flower pot with the band or drawstring engaging the portion of the flower pot cover extending above the flower pot so that the band forms the crimped portion 224 in the flower pot cover 10i. When the drawstring is utilized in the formation of the crimped portion, the drawstring must be drawn so as to form a plurality of overlapping folds in the flower pot cover. Once drawn, the drawstring may be secured by tying the drawstring into a bow, a knot or the like. Other versions of crimping are illustrated and described in the co-pending patent application entitled “Covering for Flower Pot and Floral Grouping”, Ser. No. 08/037,067, filed by the Applicant on Mar. 25, 1993.
After the sheet extension portion 212i is formed into the upper sleeve portion 220i, the drawstring 226 may be drawn to close the upper end 222i of the upper sleeve portion 206i; and the upper end 222 may be securely closed by tying the drawstring 226 into a bow, a knot, or the like. Although it is preferred to close the upper end 222 by way of the first bonding material 217 or the drawstring 226, it should be understood that the upper end 222 may be closed by any means known in the art.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10j is provided with a rigid base or lower portion 16j having an upper end 20j, a lower end 22j and a continuous sidewall 24j. The sidewall 24j of the base portion 16j of the flower pot cover 10i has a thickness 26j (
As shown in
The skirt portion 30j of the flower pot cover 10j is formed integrally with the base portion 16j and has a first end 46j, a second end 48j and an outer peripheral edge 50j. The skirt portion 30j of the flower pot cover 10j has a diminishing thickness extending from the first end 46j towards the second end 48j of the skirt portion 30j so that the flower pot cover 10j has a first skirt portion thickness 234 substantially equal to the thickness 26j of the sidewall 24j of the base portion 16j and a second skirt portion thickness 236 which is less than the first skirt portion thickness 234.
The flower pot cover 10j is preferably constructed from a sheet of thermoplastic material 12j (
The sheet of material 12j is further provided with a basal layer 72j positioned on a portion of the sheet of material 12j to be formed into the base portion 16j of the flower pot cover 10j. The basal layer 72j has an upper surface 74j and a lower surface 76j (
The basal layer 72j has a diameter 78j and a periphery 80i. The portion of the sheet of material 12j immediately below the basal layer 72j cooperates with the basal layer 72j to define a basal portion 37j of the flower pot cover 10j having a thickness 88j. When the sheet of material 12j is formed into the flower pot cover 10j, the basal portion 37j of the sheet of material 12j forms the bottom 32j and at least a portion of the sidewall 24j of the flower pot cover 10j.
The sheet of material 12j is further provided with a tapered peripheral portion 90j which forms the flexible, tapered skirt portion 30j of the flower pot cover 10j when the sheet of material 12j is formed into the flower pot cover 10j. The tapered peripheral portion 90j surrounds the basal portion 37j and tapers outwardly from the basal periphery 80j of the basal portion 37j to the outer peripheral edge 70j of the sheet of material 12j. In other words, the peripheral portion 90j of the sheet of material 12j has a first thickness 234 extending along the basal periphery 80j greater than a second thickness 236 extending along the outer peripheral edge 70j of the sheets of material 12j.
The sheet of material 12j may be constructed of a single layer of material, as substantially shown in
It is to be understood that the flower pot cover 10j may be formed from any process formerly disclosed herein and from any process which is known in the art. For example, the flower pot cover 10j may be formed from an injection molding process, a blow molding process, a thermal forming process, an extrusion process, a vacuum process or combinations thereof. All of these processes are well known in the art. Therefore, no additional comments on molding the sheet of thermoplastic material 12j and forming the sheet of material 12j into the flower pot cover 10j are deemed necessary in order to teach a person skilled in the art how to manufacture the flower pot cover 10j.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10k has a base or lower portion 16k desirably constructed of a rigid material. The base portion 16k has an upper end 20k, a lower end 22k and a continuous sidewall 24k. The sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k of the flower pot cover 10k has a thickness 26k.
The flower pot cover 10k is further provided with a flexible skirt or upper portion 30k having a thickness 36k which is less than the thickness 26k of the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k of the flower pot cover 10k and which is desirably tapered so as to provide the skirt portion 30k with a billowy appearance. The skirt portion 30k extends from the upper end 20k of the base portion 16k of the flower pot cover 10k in a generally outwardly and upwardly direction substantially as shown. The base portion 16k of the flower pot cover 10k is further provided with a bottom 32k having a thickness 34k which is greater than the thickness 26k of the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k.
The skirt portion 30k has a first end 46k, a second end 48k and an inner surface 252 defining a generally circularly shaped skirt portion opening 254 formed through a central portion thereof. The opening 254 of the skirt portion 30k, near the first end 46k thereof, has a diameter substantially equal to an outside diameter of the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k, near the upper end 20k thereof, so that the inner surface 252 of the skirt portion 30k, near the first end 46k thereof, matingly engages the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k, near the upper end 20k thereof substantially as shown.
To form the flower pot cover 10k, the skirt portion 30k is disposed generally above the base portion 16k and positioned on the upper end 20k of the base portion 16k so that the upper end 20k of the base portion 16k extends upwardly into the opening 254 defined by inner surface 252 of the skirt portion 30k. In this position, the inner surface 252 of the skirt portion 30k, near the first end 46k thereof, extends circumferentially about and over a portion of the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k, generally near the upper end 20k thereof. The skirt portion 30k may be secured to the base portion 16k by any means known in the art, such as by gluing or fusing the inner surface 252 of the skirt portion 30k to the outer peripheral surface 18k of the sidewall 24k of the base portion 16k. Furthermore, the skirt portion 30k may be secured to the base portion 16k via a wrapping material (not shown), as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,933, issued to Weder, Aug. 13, 1991, and which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The skirt portion 30k may be constructed from any material which may be secured to the sidewall 24k of the flower pot cover 10k. For example, the skirt portion 30k may be constructed of films, papers, cloths, organic polymers, cellophanes, metal foils, thermoplastics and/or other flexible materials.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10m has a base or lower portion 16m desirably constructed of a rigid material. The base portion 16m has an upper end 20m, a lower end 22m and a continuous sidewall 24m having an inner surface 256. The sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m has a thickness 26m.
The flower pot cover 10m is further provided with a flexible skirt or upper portion 30m having a thickness 36m which is less than the thickness 26m of the sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m and which is desirably tapered so as to provide the skirt portion 30m with a billowy appearance. The skirt portion 30m extends circumferentially about the upper end 20m of the base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m in a generally outwardly and upwardly direction substantially as shown. The base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m is further provided with a bottom 32m having a thickness 34m which is greater than the thickness 26m of the sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m.
The skirt portion has a first end 46m, a second end 48m, an outer surface 258 and an inner surface 260 defining a generally circularly shaped skirt portion opening 254m formed through a central portion thereof. The outer peripheral surface 18m of the skirt portion 30m, near the first end 46m thereof, has a diameter substantially equal to a diameter of the inner surface 256 of sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m, near the upper end 20m thereof, so that the outer surface 258 of the skirt portion 30m, near the first end 46m thereof, matingly engages the inner surface 256 of the sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m, near the upper end 20m thereof.
To form the flower pot cover 10m, the skirt portion 30m is disposed generally above the base portion 16m and positioned on the upper end 20m of the base portion 16m so that the first end 46m of the skirt portion 30m of the flower pot cover 10m extends downwardly into the receiving space 14m of the base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m. In this position, the skirt portion 30m, near the first end 46m thereof, matingly engages a portion of the inner surface 256 of the sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m, generally near the upper end 20m thereof. The skirt portion 30m may be secured to the base portion 16m by any means known in the art, such as by gluing or fusing the skirt portion 30m to the inner surface 256 of the sidewall 24m of the base portion 16m of the flower pot cover 10m. Furthermore, the skirt portion 30m may be secured to the base portion 16m via a wrapping material (not shown), as substantially disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,933, issued to Weder, Aug. 13, 1991, and which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The skirt portion 30m may be constructed from any material which may be secured to the sidewall 24m of the flower pot cover 10m. For example, the skirt portion 30m may be constructed of films, papers, cloths, organic polymers, cellophanes, metal foils, thermoplastics and/or other flexible materials.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10n has a base or lower portion 16n which is desirably constructed of a rigid material. The base portion 16n has an upper end 20n, a lower end 22n and a continuous sidewall 24n having an inner surface 256n and an outer surface 247n. The sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n has a thickness 26n.
The flower pot cover 10n is further provided with a flexible skirt or upper portion 30n having a thickness 36n which is less than the thickness 26n of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n and which is desirably tapered so as to provide the skirt portion 30n with a billowy appearance. The skirt portion 30n extends from the upper end 20n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n in a generally outwardly and upwardly direction substantially as shown. The base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n is further provided with a bottom 32n having a thickness 34n which is greater than the thickness 26n of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n.
The skirt portion 30n has a first end 46n, a second end 48n, an outer layer 264, an inner layer 266 and a cavity 268 disposed between the outer layer 264 and the inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n adapted to receive the upper end 20n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n. The inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n of the flower pot cover 10n defines a generally circularly shaped skirt portion opening 270 formed through a central portion thereof.
The inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n, near the first end 46n thereof, has a diameter substantially equal to or less than an inner diameter of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n, near the upper end 20n thereof, so that the inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n matingly engages the inner surface 256n of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n when the skirt portion 16n is positioned on the upper end 20n of the base portion 16n.
Likewise, the outer layer 264 of the skirt portion 30n, near the first end 46n thereof, has a diameter substantially equal to or greater than an outside diameter of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n, near the upper end thereof, so that the outer layer 264 of the skirt portion 30n is matingly engaged with the outer peripheral surface 18n of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n when the skirt portion 16n is positioned on the upper end 20n of the base portion 16n.
To form the flower pot cover 10n, the skirt portion 30n is disposed generally above the base portion 16n and positioned on the upper end 20n of the base portion 16n so that the upper end 20n of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n is disposed within the cavity 268 formed between the inner and the outer layers 264 and 266, respectively, of the skirt portion 30n. In this position, the outer layer 264 of the skirt portion 30n, near the first end 46n thereof, matingly engages the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n, generally near the upper end 20n thereof; and, the inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n, near the first end 46n thereof, matingly engages a portion of the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n, generally near the upper end 20n thereof. The skirt portion 30n is then secured to the base portion 16n by any means known in the art, such as by gluing or fusing the outer layer 264 and the inner layer 266 of the skirt portion 30n to the sidewall 24n of the base portion 16n of the flower pot cover 10n.
Shown in
The flower pot cover 10p has a rigid base or lower portion 16p having an upper end 20p, a lower end 22p and a continuous sidewall 24p. A thin, flexible skirt portion 30p of the flower pot cover 10p extends circumferentially about the upper end 20p of the base portion 16p of the flower pot cover 10p in a generally upwardly and outwardly direction substantially as shown. The base portion 16p of the flower pot cover 10p is further provided with a bottom 32p shown in phantom in
The skirt portion 30p of the flower pot cover 10p is formed integrally with the base portion 16p and has a first end 46p, a second end 48p and an outer peripheral edge 50p. The skirt portion 18p of the flower pot cover 10p has a thickness (not shown) less than the thickness of the sidewall 24p of the base portion 16p. The skirt portion 30p of the flower pot cover 10p is constructed of a plurality of contiguously disposed flexible skirt segments 274 with each of the skirt segments 274 circumferentially disposed about the upper end 20p of the sidewall 24p of the base portion 16p of the flower pot cover 10p and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom substantially as shown.
Each of the skirt segments 274 forming the skirt portion 30p of the flower pot cover 10p has a first side 276 and a second side 278. The skirt segments 274 may be spatially disposed about the sidewall 24p of the base portion 16p so that each skirt segment 274 is spaced a distance from the adjacent skirt segment 274 as substantially shown in
It should be understood that the flower pot cover 10p is desirably constructed from a thermoplastic sheet of material which has been thermal formed or molded into the flower pot cover 10p. However, it also should be understood that the flower pot cover 10p may be constructed from any process formerly disclosed herein, such as a vacuum forming or injection molding process. Processes for forming plastics, resins or the like into objects, such as the flower pot cover 10p, are well known in the art. Therefore, no further comments concerning these processes are deemed necessary to teach a person skilled in the art how to build or use the flower pot cover 10p.
Preferably, the base portion 16p and the skirt portion 18p of the flower pot cover 10p are integrally formed. However, it should be understood that the base portion 16p and the skirt portion 30p of the flower pot cover 10p may not be integrally formed and in this instance, the base portion 16p and the skirt portion 30p may be bonded together via a suitable bonding material.
The skirt portions of the flower pot covers described above can have any suitable geometric appearance and the skirt portions appearance will depend on the configuration of the sheet of material from which the flower pot cover is formed. For example, the skirt portion 30 of the flower pot cover 10 is provided with a four-cornered appearance and the skirt portion 30k of the flower pot cover 10k is provided with a generally scalloped shaped appearance.
A scent may be applied to the flower pot covers disclosed herein so that the flower pot covers exude a fragrance. For example, the flower pot covers may be scented with a floral scent, (flower blossoms, or any portion of a plant), food scent (chocolate, sugar, fruits), herb or spice scent (cinnamon), or the like. Such scents are well known in the art and are commercially available.
The scent may be disposed upon the sheet of material 12 by spraying the scent thereupon, painting the scent thereupon, brushing the scent thereupon, lacquering the scent thereupon, immersing the sheet of material in a scent-containing liquid, exposing the sheet of material to scent-containing gas, or any combinations thereof.
The scent may be contained within a lacquer, or other liquid, before it is disposed upon the sheet of material 12. The scent may also be contained within a dye, ink, and/or pigment (not shown). Such dyes, inks and pigments are known in the art, and are commercially available, and may be disposed upon or incorporated in the sheet of material 12 or other sheets described herein by any method described herein or known in the art.
Changes may be made in the various elements, components, parts and assemblies described herein or in the steps or sequences of steps in the methods described herein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) as defined in the following claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/238,901, filed Sep. 21, 2011 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,191,309; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/113,682, filed May 23, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,091,278; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 12/500,218, filed Jul. 9, 2009, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/977,805, filed Oct. 26, 2007, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/880,543, filed Jul. 23, 2007, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/135,952, filed May 24, 2005, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/635,297, filed Aug. 6, 2003, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/247,257, filed on Sep. 16, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,990; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/969,053, filed on Oct. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,020; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/732,375, filed Dec. 7, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,786; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/559,449, filed Apr. 27, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,675; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/787,182, filed Jan. 21, 1997, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/482,351, filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,605. The entire contents of each of the above-referenced patents and patent applications are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120210641 A1 | Aug 2012 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13238901 | Sep 2011 | US |
| Child | 13463931 | US | |
| Parent | 13113682 | May 2011 | US |
| Child | 13238901 | US | |
| Parent | 12500218 | Jul 2009 | US |
| Child | 13113682 | US | |
| Parent | 11977805 | Oct 2007 | US |
| Child | 12500218 | US | |
| Parent | 11880543 | Jul 2007 | US |
| Child | 11977805 | US | |
| Parent | 11135952 | May 2005 | US |
| Child | 11880543 | US | |
| Parent | 10635297 | Aug 2003 | US |
| Child | 11135952 | US | |
| Parent | 10247257 | Sep 2002 | US |
| Child | 10635297 | US | |
| Parent | 09969053 | Oct 2001 | US |
| Child | 10247257 | US | |
| Parent | 09732375 | Dec 2000 | US |
| Child | 09969053 | US | |
| Parent | 09559449 | Apr 2000 | US |
| Child | 09732375 | US | |
| Parent | 08787182 | Jan 1997 | US |
| Child | 09559449 | US | |
| Parent | 08482351 | Jun 1995 | US |
| Child | 08787182 | US |
