Package making – Methods – With contents treating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-03
2003-03-25
Gerrity, Stephen F. (Department: 3721)
Package making
Methods
With contents treating
C053S449000, C053S472000, C053S474000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536189
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates in part to devices, including packaging and coverings used to produce or maintain desired temperature levels substantially different from the ambient for an extended period of time, and more particularly to a computerized follow-up and tracking system using such devices, as well as others, including particularly temperature and time extent monitoring, in the delivering and temperature protection of perishable goods, such as, for example, temperature sensitive groceries, seafood, medicines, confections, temperature sensitive gifts, plants, flowers or floral arrangements, and the like. The exemplary product and methods solution of the present invention are described below in detail as they apply in the food or grocery delivery industry. However, the present invention also has application in such additional industries as the “safe delivery”
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of seafood, pharmaceuticals, medical shipments (e.g., test specimens in the clinical laboratory segment), confectionery, gift packages, flowers or floral arrangements, etc.
BACKGROUND ART
As a general proposition, it is known in the transportation industry to attempt to achieve some degree of desired temperature control for products being shipped using, for example, gel packs, “dry ice” (frozen carbon dioxide) and the like. As a substantial advance over the foregoing prior art devices, vastly improved, cooling or heating devices using sheets of packet material which include porous cells containing a super-absorbent polymer have much more recently been suggested, which are described in some detail in the above referenced patent and patent applications. Further reference is had to U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,845 issued May 13, 1997 entitled “Process for Forming Hydratable, Flexible Refrigement Media” by Murray and Browne, and to PCT/US 92/06486 (published as WO 93/02861 on Feb. 18, 1993) of George Barrett (now deceased), a predecessor to the work that preceded the present invention.
For general background, informational, purposes, reference is also had to the article entitled “Pharmaceutical shipments chill out from within” from the January 1998 edition of Packaging World (a Summit publication, One IBM Plaza, Suite 3131, 330 N. Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611; note p. 38), which article discusses some of the beneficial effects of early test work which preceded the present invention.
For example, as disclosed in one or more of these patents and/or publication ,the sheets of packet material are initially submerged in water, hydrating them, and the hydrated sheets are then frozen (for cooling effects) or heated (for heating effects) and placed in at least proximity to and more typically in juxtaposition to the goods to be cooled/heated. As the packet sheet(s) begin, for example, to warm up or thaw, the absorbed “water” goes directly from the frozen state into a gaseous state, avoiding wetness problems. The cells are formed in packets, producing longitudinally and laterally extended separation lines, which allow the completed packet sheets to be folded about either or both axes and thus contoured around the goods being cooled (or heated), surrounding them.
With respect to temperature and elapsed time monitoring in connection with the product “VitSab,” see the information provided by Cox Technologies on the product at their web site (www.cx-en.com/cox.htm) and a related web site (www.vitsab.com/) which include the following articles:
“Integrating Time and Temperature for Seafood Quality and Safety” by Dr. Steve Otwell, recently published in Seafood International; and
“Evaluation of Time Temperature Indicator Tags Used to Track Cut Lettuce Quality in the Cold Chain” by Dr. Paul Singh, U.C. Davis, Davis, California (available at www.vitsab.com/VITsaladstudy.htm);
which in turn cite:
Barriga, M. I., G. Trachy, C. Willemot, and R. E. Simard, 1991. “Microbial Changes in Shredded Iceberg Lettuce Stored Under Controlled Atmospheres,”
Journal of Food Science,
56:1586-1588;
Barton, L., L. James-Davies, and D. Clingman, 1996. “Application of time-temperature monitoring devices during the refrigerated distribution of fresh fish,” Departmental Publication No. 2 Visual Indicator Tab Systems, AB, Malmö, Sweden [available at www.vitsab.com/barton.htm];
Bengtsson, N. and K. G. Blixt, 1996. “The Role of Simple Monitoring Devices in the Distribution of Perishable Food Products” Appendix B to USDA Pub.
The Role of Simple Monitoring Devices in the Distribution of Perishable Food Products;
Brackett, R. E., 1994. “Microbiological Spoilage and Pathogens in Minimally Processed Refrigerated Fruits and Vegetables,” Chapman and Hall, New York, pp.269-312;
Cox, J. L., 1997. “Technical Introduction to the Vitsab® TTI System,” COX Recorders Technical Bulletin 17:1-8. (Available from Cox Recorders, 69 McAdenville Road, Belmont, N.C. 28012—1-800-848-9865);
Fu, B. and Labuza, T. P. 1992. “Considerations for the application of time-temperature integrators in food distribution,” J. Food Distr. Res., 23(1):9-17;
Labuza, T. P, and Fu, B. 1992. ““Microbial Growth Kinetics for Shelf Life Prediction: Theory and Practice,” in
Proceedings of the International Conference on the Application of Predictive Microbiology and Computer Modeling Techniques to the Food Industry,
R. L. Buchanan and S. Palumbo, eds., Apr. 12-15, 1992, Tampa, Fla.;
Nyguyen-the, C. and F. Carlin, 1994. “The Microbiology of Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables,”
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition,
34:371-401;
Nyguyen-the, C. and J. P. Prunnier, 1989. “Involvement of Pseumonads in Deterioration of ‘Ready to Use’ Salads,”
Journal of Food Science and Technology,
24:47-58;
Otwell, S., 1997. “Integrating Time and Temperature for Seafood Quality and Safety,”
Seafood International
(in press) [also available at www.vitsab.com/ salmon.htm]; and
Singh, R. P. 1994. “Scientific Principles of Shelf Life Evaluation.,”
Shelf Life Evaluation of Foods.
Ed. Man, C. M. D. and Jones, A. A. Blackie Academic & Professional Press.
In providing the foregoing citations there is no acknowledgment that all of them are part of the prior art pertinent to the field of the present invention.
In a separate art, it is desired to have, for example, groceries delivered from a purveyor to a consumer, a practice which was somewhat commonplace in the first half of the 20
th
Century but generally since then has become relatively rare in comparison to the direct purchase of groceries at the supermarket. However, with the blossoming of the Internet and e-commerce on the Internet, great interest is again being directed to the delivery of groceries in connection with an order placed over the Internet, as well as by telephone.
However, with respect to the e-commerce approach on the Internet, the problem with Internet grocery deliveries is that the seller cannot leave perishable goods, such as, for example, milk, ice cream, etc., unprotected, since typically the seller does not know when the customer will arrive to put the temperature sensitive goods into the refrigerator and/or freezer. Therefore, most Internet grocery purveyors require the customer to be at home to receive the delivered order. The alternative, followed by a few purveyors, is to sell only non-perishable goods via the Internet. Both alternatives have problems.
Requiring the customer to be at home for delivery shrinks the convenience food market that the purveyor should otherwise reasonably expect to win as customers. Having the customer specify, for example, a 30-minute window for delivery requires the customer and purveyor to operate under a logistical deadline that is cumbersome. This causes the customer to question whether Internet grocery shopping is “really” better than going to the comer store or local supermarket. Purveyors choosing this alternative generally deliver groceries from a refrigerated van or deliver them in a hard wall cooler. Both approaches represent a significant capital expense. The latter also requires on-going expense caused by cleaning, damage and lost coolers.
Refusing to sell pe
Gerrity Stephen F.
Pugh C. Emmett
Pugh / Associates
Thermal Products, Inc.
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