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Fashion Companies Edun and Diesel Collaborate on Africa-Sourced Collection
November 16, 2012
The fashion companies Diesel and Edun have announced the launch of a new denim collection, Diesel+EDUN, which will be entirely sourced and manufactured in Africa.
The fashion companies Diesel and Edun have announced the launch of a new denim collection, Diesel+EDUN, which will be entirely sourced and manufactured in Africa.
Earlier today, Edun founders Ali Hewson and Bono, Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, and TechnoServe Uganda Country Director Erastus Kibugu discussed the collaboration at the IHT Luxury Conference in Rome. Hweson discussed how farmers in the Gulu region are reestablishing their livelihoods after 25 yearrs of a destructive civil war.
"Along with an organization called TechnoServe, we've been able to provide funding and skills and enterprise techniques so they can build their farms into sustainable businesses themselved," Hewson said.
"It's beginning to rebuild a community that has been decimated."
"It's beginning to rebuild a community that has been decimated," said Kibugu. Bono talked about the need to "completely reboot the way we thing about the continent" and to focus on business, not charity, for Africa.
I can guarantee you a lot more African designers, a lot more African companies breaking through globally because they have such a huge domestic audience that they'll get to scale quicker there and then come out and meet the rest of the world," Bono said. "Our dream would be that Edun would be part of that, and that people will be pleased that we were there early on."
Watch the video below for more.
Related Blog Posts
I Can Now Depend on Myself
When Tarciana Ciokinyua began receiving training from TechnoServe's Coffee Initiative, she was able to invest her increased income in her family.
The Impact Comes From the Coffee Cherry
Garuke coffee cooperative in Ethiopia was the only employer in the area for workers like Seifu Abafita, but in 2009 was on the brink of closure until support from the Coffee Initiative helped to turn things around.
Plowing for Profits
TechnoServe's 2015 Annual Report shared several stories of our impact on our beneficiaries' lives, including the story of Abu Adam, a successful agricultural entrepreneur in Ghana.


text: Discussion Question 1 Due Date: Day 2 [Main forum] Post your response to the following: Summarize the purposes and provisions of HIPAA in one sentence. Also explain how HIPAA relates to medical ethics and etiquette. What are some possible ramifications of a health care industry without HIPAA regulations? Refer to p. 25 of Medical Insurance and provide examplesMore

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Vertical Measures January Webinar
Kaila StrongJanuary 18, 20106 CommentsSearch Engine Optimization free seo webinars, Google, how to capture the other 9 positions on google, internet marketing webinars, webinar, webinars
What are you doing this Thursday, January 21st? Hopefully joining us for our Webinar! This month we examine the important factors required to capture the OTHER 9 positions on Google. This month's presentation, "How to Capture the Other 9 Positions On Google", will discuss methods and techniques some of our attendees might not be familiar with. We'll go over getting your...Read more
Recent Posts
The Weekly Measure: International SEO Myths, Harnessing Unsaturated Marketing Channels & Creating Content People Want to See
Jul 22, 2016
How to Create Awesome Content People Actually Want
Jul 19, 2016
The Weekly Measure: Optimizing Content for SEO, PPC Automation & How to Take Advantage of Pokémon GO's Marketing Potential
Jul 15, 2016
12 Content Optimization Tips to Avoid Common SEO Issues
Jul 12, 2016


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Health Insurance Waiver/Enrollment
Insurance verification information must be done yearly. All full-time (12 or more credits) undergraduate students in the 2016 fall term must enroll or waive the University's annual health insurance. If you do not go online starting June 1, 2016 and verify your insurance plan or enroll in the University plan by the deadline of September 20, 2016, you will be put on registration hold. If you do not respond your account will be charged $1,676 for the annual insurance ($1,822 for Summer Bridge students). This charge is non-refundable.
If you are a full-time (12 or more credits) undergraduate student for the first time this academic year in the 2017 spring term, you must enroll or waive the University's health insurance plan. If you do not go online starting December 9, 2016 and verify your insurance plan or enroll in the University plan by the deadline of February 12, 2017, you will be charged $974 for the spring insurance. This charge is non-refundable.
Students who waived the University health insurance plan are able to enroll in the plan by providing a certificate of coverage to the University. The University must be notified of the loss of coverage within 30 days of the event.
*Rates are subject to change.
Go to FirstStudent.com to Waive or Enroll starting June 1, 2016!
IMPORTANT: You will need to have your student id number and current health insurance card in order to complete the waiver process. Please use your 7 digit student id number, including the leading zero. If your record is not found, try and use your id number without the leading zero. If your record still is not found, please contact the Office of the Bursar for assistance.
Go to FirstStudent.com for 2016-17 Health Insurance Plan Information.


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New football schedule set
Brady to face new opponents.
Brady will face all new opponents on the football field in the next two years, including rival Maxwell the first week of the season.
The Nebraska School Activities Association released the two-year schedules for all classes on Feb. 3.
Coach Darren Tobey said he's glad the Eagles will remain in Class D-2 thanks to the shifting and consolidating of several other small schools.
Brady's D2-9 district will include Eustis-Farnam, Hayes Center, Medicine Valley, Wauneta-Palisade and Wallace.
The non-district draws are Maxwell, Stapleton/McPherson County and Banner County.
Brady will not play the early-week game, opening with Maxwell on Thursday, Sept. 2.
"We're excited to get Maxwell back on the schedule," Tobey said. "And we're going to play on Thursday in conjunction with our volleyball season opener. That gives us a little something extra to work toward all summer."
The final regular-season game against Hayes Center will also be on Thursday with the remaining matchups on Fridays.
Sept. 2—Maxwell
Sept. 10—SMC
Sept. 17—at Banner County
Sept. 24—at Eustis-Farnam
Oct. 1—Medicine Valley
Oct. 8—at Wauneta-Palisade
Oct. 15—at Wallace
Oct. 21—Hayes Center
Sept. 1—at Maxwell
Sept. 9—at SMC
Sept. 16—Banner County
Sept. 23—Eustis-Farnam
Sept. 30—at Medicine Valley
Oct. 7—Wauneta-Palisade
Oct. 14—Wallace
Oct. 20—at Hayes Center
Latest Headlines
- Swim team compete at league championship
- Mentoring said to stay with kids all their lives
- Gothenburg man dies in single-car accident
- History preserved
- Sewer improvements
- Brady Days 'brand wagon' offers something for everyone
- Ag leaders unite to address property taxes, other issues
- Monday morning accident


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Read More →
MBE/WBE Contractor Event
Thursday, March 31, 2016
5:30 to 7 pm
McMaster Center, Main Branch
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
325 N. Michigan Street
The City of Toledo invites Minority Business Ent…Read More →
Downtown Toledo Skyline
& Maumee River
Edward A. Moore, Director420 Madison Avenue, Suite 100 Toledo, Ohio 43604Fax: 419-245-1853
Customers can now see account balances and make utility payments online. Account holders may register for paperless billing, no fee automatic bank plans, and more through "Online Billing!" Even non-account holders can use "QuickPay," which was designed to provide account balances, payments received, and the ability to make "quick payments" on any account. See Online Billing link at right of page for additional information and instructions for how to use these new bill viewing and payment features.
The Senior Water Discount Program now offers additional income-based water volume reductions for qualifying Toledo residents. Please see details in links on the right of this page or by speaking with a Customer Service Representative at 419-245-1800.
The City of Toledo is taking aggressive steps to improve the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant to maintain safe, high-quality drinking water for our region. We are also preparing for all types of emergencies, including source water issues, severe weather, critical power failures, flooding, hazardous spills, etc. For more information on how we are preparing and what you can do to prepare, please click on the "Preparing for Emergencies" link at the right of this page.


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Fri, Apr 29
11:45-1pm, MUB Rm 156
Book discussion with co-editor: Absence, Apostrophe, Fragmentation: Autistic Rhetorics in Bartleby, Copperfield and Frankenstein
Dr. Julia Miele Rodas is an Associate Prof of English at CUNY's Bronx Community College and this volume of critical essays on Jane Eyre explored from a disability perspective provides a unique look on Bronte's classic novel. Event sponsored by Commission on Status of People with Disabilities. More on Dr. Rodas.
Thursday, March 31
4:00-6:00pm, MUB Theater I
Dan Habib's new film Intelligent Lives explores how our narrow views of intelligence have created unnecessary "ceilings" for people with intellectual disability. The film also features narration and a personal perspective from Academy Award winning actor Chris Cooper. Join us for a preview of the film followed by discussion session with Dan Habib and Micah Fialka-Feldman. Event sponsored by Janet Krumm Lecture Series, Institute on Disability and Commission on Status of People with Disabilities. Learn more about film
The mission of the President's Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities is to promote empowerment and inclusion of students, faculty and staff and guests with disabilities at the University of New Hampshire. The Commission acknowledges that people with disabilities are a diverse group that includes individuals with visible and non-visible disabilities. (Full mission statement)
UNH Facilities has identified two (2) priority snow/ice removal routes. (View Map Here) These routes will be maintained hourly. It includes sidewalks, building entrances, and Access Van pick-up/drop-off points. Students should make note of these routes as they may differ from usual ones used.
Other sidewalks/areas will continue to be cleared as well; however, they will be cleared less regularly than the "priority routes". Please be aware of balance, equipment, and other factors that may be affected by snow and ice.
Disability Services for Students has put together a listing of several apps available to assist students including:
Ace your classes is a free app that has some features similar to iStudiez Pro. It is a good basic app for organizing your terms, courses and daily calendar but it also has the additional benefit of note-taking with the app.
Vlingo Virtual Assistant: Free Voice Activation for Android phones
For a complete list and more information go to Disability Services for Students


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I've been working on an application that has a number of forms that need to be laid out based on configuration data in the database. This enables the application to meet the requirements of many different customers. Laying out the forms based on the configuration data is relatively trivial - it is just a matter of writing the code that normally ends up in the .designer file. However, because there could be any number of controls on the form, binding an object to them is a little more tricky. I approached this problem by creating a class that describes a control that will added to the form together with a boolean, integer and string value field that is used to initialise the control and capture the users input based on the type of control. I had a list of these objects representing all of the controls that needed to be rendered on the form, to bind the controls to these objects, I needed an adapter which I created at runtime.
Effectively, the adapter was pretty straight forward. It required a constructor which would take a list of the control classes described above. Then it would have a series of properties which would get and set values in the list, for example:
public Adapter
private IList<POWPageControl> _controls;
public Adapter(IList<POWPageControl> controls)
_controls = controls;
public Property1
get { return _controls[0].StringValue; }
set { _controls[0].StringValue = value; }
public Property2
get { return _controls[1].BoolValue; }
set { _controls[1].BoolValue = value; }
In order to prevent a memory leak, I added the following code to the views constructor - it checks that I haven't already created the assembly that will contain the dynamic code, before I create it:
private const string ADAPTER_ASSEMBLY_NM = "DynamicPOWAdapterAssembly";
private const string ADAPTER_MODULE_NM = "DynamicPOWAdapterModule";
private AssemblyBuilder _adapterAssemBuild;
public POWEditView()
AppDomain adapterDomain = AppDomain.CurrentDomain;
AssemblyName adapterAssemNm = new AssemblyName(ADAPTER_ASSEMBLY_NM);
foreach (Assembly assembly in adapterDomain.GetAssemblies())
AssemblyName assemNm = assembly.GetName();
// This isn't perfect, but should be good enough
// to determine if we have already created
// the dynamic assembly (this is to prevent a memory leak)
if (assemNm.FullName.StartsWith(adapterAssemNm.FullName)
&& assembly is AssemblyBuilder)
_adapterAssemBuild = assembly as AssemblyBuilder;
if (_adapterAssemBuild == null)
_adapterAssemBuild = adapterDomain.DefineDynamicAssembly
(adapterAssemNm, AssemblyBuilderAccess.Run);
Once you have an assembly for the dynamic class, there are then a series of other steps to go through - create a module, create the type, add the properties to the type and then create the get and set methods for the properties:
/// <span class="code-SummaryComment"><summary>
The one thing that proved invaluable when creating this code was ildasm.exe. For example, I kept on getting a ProgramException when I ran my code and couldn't see what was wrong with my code. Knocking together the example adapter above and running it through ildasm soon showed me that the problem was because I was usingLdind_I4 instead of Ldc_I4.
This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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Overall Rating
Taxi No. 9211 tells the story of two men, both preys to anger, who get involved in an accident that brings out their worst qualities. They both belong to the opposite ends of the social scale.
Language: Hindi
Status: Released
Shankar Sachdev, Smita Jaykar, Ragesh B Asthanaa, Sonali Kulkarni, Sameera Reddy, John Abraham,
Director: Milan Luthria
♦ View complete cast & credits
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text:
or western, started over poles. She is futurity eligible for Sierra and CCPHC SSA futurities this fall. Full$5,000
VERY honest and forgiving of rider errors. He can definitely " take a joke " and carry on without issue. He is the same whether you stable on the show…$1,000
Sensation. Zippos Gold Sensation is a proven money and point producer. His dam is out of ROM winner Texas$8,500
for sale or lease. Standing at 13.1 1 2 hh, Pokey is a nine year old Welsh Cross Pony Mare. Has qualified$5,000
, but she is a race horse at heart and finds the dressage and show jumping very confining. Has upper level$3,500
Outgoing, curious colt with an incredible bloodline His sire Rashka, winner of numerous awards, is the highest scoring Oldenburg in U.S. History Dressage…$12,500
, all Neg Neg . Color tested Ee, AA LP LP. SECRET has been paid into the Appaloosa Horse Club Breeders$6,000
Roman Art is a talented young horse that is suitable for a variety of disciplines. He's been a past winner at dressage shows and has competed in Hunter…$18,000
Brooklyn, NY


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Posted: 9/18/2015
Awesome service!! I got my hair braided and just love how nice they turned out! She is very quick and the braids are very good quality! I will definitely come back!
Today:8:00 am - 6:00 pm
Tomorrow:6:30 am - 6:00 pm
91-1119 Lanakoi St.,
Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 520-4278
in Business
Regular Hours
Phone: (808) 343-1492
Posted: 9/18/2015
Awesome service!! I got my hair braided and just love how nice they turned out! She is very quick and the braids are very good quality! I will definitely come back!
Posted: 8/8/2015
She did a very good job! I called her in the morning and she was able to squeeze me at 1pm. She was very friendly and the braids were awesome. Sometimes some girls are rough pulling your hair to do braids but she was not at all. Definitely will go back again!
Posted: 1/14/2015
Mama flojos does the best braiding in timely manner and very professional!she been braiding me and my families hair for the last 4yrs!thank you
Posted: 8/15/2014
I have been going to FloJo's for years and she has done a great job with my hair. I usually stick with micros, cornrows, various other braids and she is really good about getting the style i want. The wait time is pretty accurate, but like all beauticians, if the person ahead of you shows up late the entire day gets pushed back. Great job Flo!
Posted: 5/30/2014
The only reason she is getting one star is because the site wouldn't let me put 0. I called her just on the off chance she did dreads. AThis woman screwed me over. First off I made the appointment on a Friday, get to her house and she tells me she has me down for Saturday. Somewhat of a minor mistake so I just shook it off and came back the next day. She told me it would take 4-5 hrs. And I got out of there in less than 2 hrs. I wanted a crocheted interlock dreads. All she did was put wax and back combed it. I didn't want to say anything to her because I took her word for it when she said that she knew how to do dreads. My hair now is a matted mess. She told me wait 6weeks and my hair will start to interlock. My wife called her to figure it out and the woman told her that she didn't do the crocheted for some bull reason but the problem was that she didn't tell me that she wasn't going to do that. I'm am currently in the process of getting my money back because I paid for something that I didn't get. DO NOT RECOMEND this woman. I heard her braids are good but honestly if that's the type of work she will put out I can't see how she could make anything look nice and put her best in it.
honolulu, HI
1415 Kalakaua Ave. Ste. 216, Honolulu, HI
850 Kamehameha Hwy Ste 152, Pearl City, HI
1020 Keeaumoku Street Suite 102, Honolulu, HI
379 d mea highway pearl city 96782, Aiea, HI
91-1119 Lanakoi St., Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 520-4278


text:
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Celebrating 30 years of providing fashionable comfort footwear and excellent service— Footwear etc. • Established 1986 —
The UGG® Bailey collection has become the most popular set of UGG® styles! The Bailey is available in the classic height, the taller Triplet, the new mini Bailey, and the limited edition Bailey Bling featuring a Swarovski crystal button. You even have your choice of Bows or Buttons now!
Free Shipping on all UGG® Bailey Boots!
There are various versions of the UGG® Bailey Button Boot available:
The UGG® Bailey Button boots provide outstanding versatility in terms of style. The standard Bailey Button boot is a mid-calf boot; the Bailey Button Triplet, which is a calf-high boot, can be folded down for a different look; and last but not least, the Bailey Button Mini is the perfect ankle bootie. The Baily Button Collection features elastic bands that connect with the buttons, making this one of the most versatile fitting boots for a variety of calf widths.
The difference is in the fit and feel of the UGG® Bailey Button Collection. The elastic closure around the buttons stretches to fit to different calf widths. The Bailey Button and the Bailey Button Triplet expand and contract as you hop, skip and walk your world.
Sign up to receive new arrival, sale & special event info from us.
Note: we do not share your personal information with anyone. Period.
"I appreciate the wonderful customer service I received from Michelle. It made my day. I love my new Ugg boots too. I will recommend your company to all of my friends and will put you in my favorites section."
©2016 Footwear Etc. All Rights Reserved. For any questions or assistance call 1-800-720-0572.


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- 'American Idiot' at EPAC
- Warwick grad producing 'Million Dollar Quartet' at Dutch Apple
- Hello (again), Dolly!
- 'Hello, Dolly!' opens Thursday at EPAC
- 'Somewhereville Station' revisits the 50s and 60s
- St. Patty's musical at Ephrata Main
- Dance, concert will benefit Jamaica missions
- Happy Anniver5ary, St. Boniface!
- Downtown diversity
Edward Pierce, 78, foreman, coached midget football
Edward C. Pierce, 78, of Ephrata, died Friday, June 8, 2012 at Hospice of Lancaster County.
He was the husband of Charlotte "Betty" (Hare) Pierce to whom he was married on May 2, 1981.
Edward was born on Oct. 25, 1933 in Ephrata, a son of the late Edward D. and Marion Cole Pierce.
He retired after 26 years of employment as an electrical foreman for Edwin L. Heim in Harrisburg. He was a charter member of New Hope "Fissel's" United Church of Christ and their Happy New Hope Seniors Group. He was a member of the I.B.E.W. Union, the Ephrata War Memorial Association, the Carnival Glass Club and the Friendly Circle Senior Group of Akron and was a former member and president of the Ephrata Football Booster Club where he also coached midget football for many years. He also enjoyed traveling.
Besides his wife Betty, he leaves two sons, Jeff E., husband of Kim Pierce, of Lititz; Bruce E., husband of Christine Pierce, of Manheim; two daughters: Bonnie, wife of Ed Ritzman, of New York; Barb, wife of Brian Camp, of Minneola, Fla.; seven grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; and two brothers,: Frank, husband of Joanna Pierce, of Herndon; and Thomas, husband of Dottye Pierce. of Huntsville, Ala.
He was preceded in death by sisters: Betty, Jean, Mary Louise and Teresa.
Funeral services were held on June 12 at New Hope (Fissel's) United Church of Christ, Glen Rock, with Rev. Julian Hall, interim pastor, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Lancaster County, P,O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125.
Geiple Funeral Home Inc., 53 Main Street, Glen Rock, assisted the family with arrangements.
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Haesen says:
Dave Miller says:
Jen Goodman says:


text:
Cahaba Heights News
Local news for Cahaba Heights, AL continually updated from thousands of sources on the web.
Trussville Fire Chief takes on new title with Alabama Fire College
May 17, 2016 | The Trussville Tribune | Comment?
Woman, 22, held on $500,000 bond after caught using fake credit card
May 17, 2016 | Alabama Live | Comment?
Cahaba Heights news is powered by NewsRank™
Updated: Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:20 am
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text:
Definition of invitational in English:
North American
(Especially of a competition) open only to those invited.
Example sentences
- Gymnasts can then participate in invitational competitions with their clubs.
- This year the Cliburn, in its customary effort to include a contemporary work, held an invitational competition for composers.
- We plan to grow this into an invitational competition for hang gliding and paragliding.
An invitational competition.
Example sentences
- According to Gymnastics Canada, she competed in 21 international invitationals alone.
- After the Olympics, Izabela competed at several invitationals, until an ankle injury sidelined for the rest of the year.
- I do not plan to participate in any more tournaments or invitationals.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: in¦vi|ta¦tion¦al
Definition of invitational in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Oct 13, 2009
|Filing date
|Aug 2, 2002
|Priority date
|Aug 2, 2002
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Robert C. Young, Johan Kools
|Original Assignee
|Robert C. Young
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (20), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (7), Classifications (44), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to microwave active susceptors, and particularly such susceptors suitable for use in the packaging and preparation of microwave food products, where the susceptor structure includes a fluid absorbent structure, which absorbs such fluids as water, moisture, oil, fat, grease, and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of microwave energy revolutionized food preparation and has now become common place, both in businesses and in the home. However, the advantages associated with microwave usage are tempered with compromises to food appearance, texture, flavor, and sometimes ease of preparation. In particular, although microwave energy can be used to cook foods, it lacks the ability to provide a crisping effect to the bakery or breaded/fried foods. Accordingly, a majority of uses of the microwave ovens is to reheat precooked (such as frozen) food products, rather than to cook uncooked food products in the first instance.
In the past, difficulties have been experienced in various attempts to brown or crispen food products in a microwave oven. A microwave oven heats foods differently from a conventional oven, which cooks the food entirely by radiant heat. Generally speaking, food substances are heated in proportion to their moisture content and absorption of microwave energy, which may result in considerably different heating patterns from those that exist in a conventional oven. Also, this dielectric heating by microwave radiation penetrates into most foods in a way that results in considerably different heating patterns from those that would otherwise be present in a conventional oven. In most cases, microwave energy will heat foods faster than in a conventional oven. For example, a food substance that might require 30 minutes to properly "cook" or reheat in a conventional oven, may take only 3 or 4 minutes to "cook" or reheat in a microwave oven. In a conventional oven, the oven atmosphere is heated to relatively high temperatures to transfer heat to the food surface resulting in the surface always being the hottest area in the food. In a microwave oven, the oven atmosphere is generally not heated; the food itself heats and transfers heat to the surrounding air and in some cases resulting in the outer surface of the food being cooler than the interior or having a soggy surface as the heated interior moisture and steam travel through the outer pastry layers. These differences significantly affect one's ability to brown or crispen a surface of a food product in a microwave oven as the food surface is not exposed to conventional or radiant heat.
To compensate for the microwave oven's inability to crisp and brown the surface of foods, and to prevent foods that are highly absorptive of microwave energy from being overheated, resulting in toughening and dehydration of the food, two specific "microwave active" packaging components have been developed: microwave susceptors and microwave shields.
Microwave shields are devices that do not heat appreciably in response to microwave energy, but reflect virtually all incident microwaves. Metallic foils are generally employed as microwave shields, which has the effect of shielding the food from microwave energy.
In contrast, microwave susceptors are devices that heat in response to microwave energy, converting microwave energy into thermal energy to produce radiant heat that can provide a browning and/or crisping effect to food surfaces placed in contact with the microwave susceptors. Microwave susceptors thus convert a portion of the incident microwave energy into conventional or radiant heat, which assists in cooking the food product's outer surface. Such cooking occurs by any of conduction, convection and/or radiant heating, in addition to the cooking obtained from the microwave radiation itself that has passed through the susceptor laminate. Susceptors may generally comprise almost any portion of the cooking and/or packaging surfaces, and have suitably been employed in the forms of the cooking surfaces of kitchen utensils, the bottom of packaged food products, such as unpopped popcorn, incorporated into folding cartons or trays, and a food wrap for a food product, such as meat-filled sandwiches, bread, and pastry-type products, which when cooked desirably should have a browned or crisped exterior surface.
Because of the above-described problems with browning and crisping foods in microwave ovens, the goal in the art of susceptors had been, and still is, to make the susceptor so that it generates the highest temperatures and most radiant heat possible. This goal was used because generation of the highest temperature possible also tends to mean that the cooking or heating time can be shortened, which is a primary advantage of microwave ovens. Furthermore, when a food load is close to the susceptor surface, heat can be transferred to the food as fast as it is produced by the susceptor.
Susceptors frequently comprise or are included in the packaging for food products as a convenience to the consumer, so that the consumer can simply place the product into a microwave oven without any significant preparation. As a further convenience, such packaging is customarily disposable. Thus, there is a particular need for susceptors that are economical.
However, since susceptors will be brought into contact with foods intended for human consumption, it is necessary to encapsulate the microwave interactive material within films or the like that are approved for contact with food, thus resulting in a multi-layer susceptor product. Such multi-layer products are generally known in the art, and have taken many forms. Customarily, the susceptor product comprises a base sheet such as paper, cellophane, cardboard, box board or the like, a thin layer of microwave interactive material, such as aluminum and/or other selected metals, combinations of metals, alloys and oxides, and a heat resistant barrier film overlying the thin metal layer.
The multi-layer sheet may then be die cut, folded into cartons or pressed into preformed trays or containers and/or decorated with printing to form a package into which food may be inserted by a food processor. Alternatively, the multi-layer sheet may comprise a flexible laminate, which can be formed around a food product as a wrapping material at the food processor's plant. Alternatively, susceptor laminations may be configured as a variety of flexible paper or paper board structures, such as wraps, bags, pouches, sleeves, trays, pads, discs, sleeves, patches, liners, lids, and other designs that would enable the home user and food processor to utilize susceptor materials for their own microwave suitable foods.
The barrier film is typically a polyester (PET) film, due primarily to its heat resistant properties and low cost. However, the barrier film may also be polyimide, cellulose, polyethylene nitrile and other heat resistant films. Its purpose is to provide a functional barrier between the food product and as a carrier for the susceptor metal, and sometimes also to serve as a carrier for a sealable layer to facilitate formation of a package.
The microwave interactive susceptor material is typically a metal, combinations of metals, metal alloy, metal oxide, or derivatives and/or combinations thereof, in single or multi-layer formations, but also may be ceramic or carbon. Any element or compound that absorbs the electromagnetic microwave energy, either electrical and/or magnetic wave forms, and converts it to radiant heat is suitable. The metals are usually applied by using evaporative, sputtering, or electron-beam deposition methods. The metals may also be applied using such suitable methods as printing or gravure processes, and combinations of pre-selected designs of shielding and susceptor patterns and designs can be manufactured by controlled acid etching. Flakes and slurries of susceptor materials, which may be controlled acid etched to provide variations in susceptor radiant heat, are sometimes applied in a rotary printing process. Ceramics and carbon may also be applied in a rotary printing process.
Typically, the susceptor is formed by depositing a film or layer of the microwave interactive material onto the barrier film, e.g., a web of polyester film, followed by laminating the metallized film onto a web of supporting substrate material, usually board, paper or cellulose.
Numerous variations of susceptor materials and manufacturing methods have been proposed and disclosed in the art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,005 to Seiferth discloses a disposable food receptacle for use in microwave cooking, which includes a thin layer of an electrically conductive material, such as an elemental metal such as aluminum, to brown the exterior of the food product. The electrically conductive material is formed as an extremely thin film deposited on a substrate protective layer by a process of a vacuum vapor deposition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,259 to Yang et al. teaches a microwave interactive susceptor in end product condition or form, which are produced by a continuous in-line production method. In the production method, under continuous vacuum, a paper or board substrate is first coated with a thin film of monomer that is cured to a polymer, a metal or other microwave interactive susceptor material is vapor or sputter deposited onto the polymer film, either in an overall layer or preselected pattern, and a thin film monomer is deposited over the susceptor layer and cured or polymerized. The result is described to be an end product ready for use. The process is described to avoid the previously required polyester substrate, and can be made without requiring lamination of a metallized film to a paper or board backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,562 discloses a combined microwave susceptor/microwave shield packaging product. The packaging comprises at least two spaced susceptor layers in overlying relation. The packaging is described as providing a food packaging/cooking product that keeps the inside of the food product moist without drying out, while heating the surface of the product to a high enough temperature to brown the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,991 to Wendt et al. similarly teaches a food package for microwave oven use including a susceptor material in combination with a grid. The combination of the grid and susceptor are described as providing a heating element, which substantially maintains its reflectance, absorbance and transmittance during microwave cooking. The patent describes that this grid and susceptor combination provides substantial uniformity of heating.
However, despite the numerous approaches that have been made to susceptor materials, a common problem with the susceptors is that during use, i.e., during cooking, excess moisture, grease and oil from the food product collect at the surface of the susceptor (polyester film), and thus at the outer surface of the food product. Accordingly, the food product sits in a puddle of food liquids. The result is a soggy food product that has decreased appeal to the end user. The presence of the excess moisture, grease and oil can also deteriorate the food quality, since it results in the food product having a different texture, taste, and appearance from what is expected. The art has recognized this problem that the susceptor materials do not adequately absorb excess grease and oil from food products during cooking.
To overcome this difficulty, the art has proposed the use of nonwoven materials as grease absorbing elements in microwave food packaging. For example, the references "Why the Heat-and-Eat Market is Really Cooking," Business Week, Jun. 27, 1988, and "Microwave Packet Broils Bacon Cleanly," Packaging Technology, July 1988, report the introduction of packaging by Wright Brand Foods Inc. and Geo. A. Hormel & Co. developed by 3M Corp. for browning bacon. The package includes an expandable plastic bag and absorbent MICROINSORB� 3M nonwoven pad. Steam generated during cooking of the bacon is contained in the bag to limit evaporative cooling. A high temperature and crisping is effected by the microwave excitation of bacon grease in the package. It is asserted that the nonwoven MICROINSORB� pad also absorbs grease to provide a quality product.
The Business Week reference reports, however, that the product has limited application in browning food products, because steam is not an appropriate medium for browning food products and most foods do not have the high grease content of bacon. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a packaging material that has application for cooking of packaged and non-prepackaged foods.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,519 discloses a microwave susceptor composite that includes a first layer of polymeric fibrous material, and a second layer of thermoplastic polymer material having microwave susceptive characteristics. The polymeric susceptor and polymeric fibrous material layers are arranged in lamina surface-to-surface contact and bonded into an integral structure by application of heat and pressure. A uniform composite material is obtained by carding the polymeric fibrous materials prior to bonding the first and second layers. In microwave cooking applications, the fibrous layer of the composite absorbs excess effluents from the food product. Browning and crisping of food products is effected by microwave excitation of the metallized second layer of the composite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,248 discloses an insert useful in a microwavable food container comprising a metallized layer of heat susceptor thickness or a plastic layer, having openings that are in a position to be adjacent to food in the container, a layer of absorbent material comprising fibers, and a substrate layer that is stable to microwave heating conditions. The inserts can also comprise fibers that are capable of spontaneously transporting water or n-decane on the surface thereof.
However, despite the many approaches that have been taken in manufacturing microwave susceptor materials, the need continues to exist for improved susceptor materials. In particular, the need continues to exist for improved susceptor materials that provide a browning and crisping effect to the food product, particularly in reheating frozen fried, pastry and bakery type foods including meat, vegetables, and fruit-filled pastry and bakery type products, and in particular high water/oil content fish, meat and vegetable products and breaded and/or battered fillets and frozen products, where the presence of excess moisture, grease and oil may be a concern.
The present invention satisfies these needs, by providing a susceptor material that provides improved cooking properties to a food product by absorbing excess liquid, such as moisture, grease and oil, that is liberated from the food product. The material thus provides a dual purpose of providing an absorptive substrate while also acting as a susceptor, permitting microwave cooking of the food product and providing desirable browning and crisping of the outer surface of the food product.
In particular, the present invention provides:
a susceptor comprising:
These and other advantages and features of this invention will be apparent from the following, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which:
A typical conventional susceptor material is shown in
According to the present invention, however, the susceptor structure is modified to provide an absorbent structure. The absorbent structure is suitable, for example, for absorbing excess moisture, grease and/or oil that is liberated from the food product during microwave cooking/heating of the food.
An embodiment of the present invention is shown in
An alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A still further embodiment of the present invention is shown in
When a non-absorbent layer 10 is used in embodiments of the present invention, the substrate may be any of the various known or after-developed supporting materials suitable for microwave susceptor materials. Thus, for example, the substrate in embodiments of the present invention can be suitably selected from, but is not limited to, paper, board, paperboard, glassine materials, cellulose, cellophane, plastics, ceramic, and the like. These materials may be either uncoated or coated as generally known in the art. Where the susceptor material is not likely to be re-used, in interest of economics the substrate is preferably formed from coated kraft paper and other conventional kraft paper combinations conventionally used for paperboard cartons and packages. Preferably, the substrate material 10 is formed of a low density material having a relatively high thermal capacitance and heat stability sufficient to withstand cooking temperatures without exhibiting severe scorching or charring in a microwave oven. Furthermore, the substrate is preferably one that is suitable to be passed through the processing apparatus in the form either of discrete sheets or pieces, or as a continuous web.
According to the present invention, however, an absorbent property is provided to the susceptor material by incorporating therein a layer of absorbent material 50, either in combination with the conventional base material 10 or in place of the base material 10. The absorbent base material 50 is thus preferably made of a suitable absorbent material, preferably an absorbent non-woven material. One suitable example includes the materials available from Ahlstrom, such as AHLSTROM type 1278. Other suitable materials, which have been or in the future are approved by appropriate governmental or regulatory agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration, for direct food contact can also be used.
In embodiments, it is preferred that the absorbent layer 50 is of a material that comprises non-woven fibers. Preferably, the non-woven fibers are non-polymeric non-woven fibers.
Preferably, the absorbent material 50 is formed of a low density material having a relatively high thermal capacitance and heat stability sufficient to withstand cooking temperatures without exhibiting severe scorching or charring in a microwave oven. Furthermore, the absorbent material substrate is preferably one that is suitable to be passed through the processing apparatus in the form either of discrete sheets or pieces, or as a continuous web.
As with the conventional base layer 10, the absorbent material 50 may be either uncoated or coated, as generally known in the art for the base layer 10. However, to help facilitate absorption of the moisture, grease/or and oil, the side of the absorbent material closest to the food product is either uncoated, or is preferably perforated or cut in the same manner as the intervening layers 20,30,40.
The thickness of the absorbent layer is not particularly limited, and can be varied based on such factors as the final use of the product, the methods by which the absorbent layer will be processed, and the like. Thus, for example, the absorbent layer can vary from thin paper, to paper board, to thick board layers of 30 points or more. As such, the end uses can vary from, for example, a flexible warp that can be processed in vertical or horizontal flow wrap machinery, to other lamination processes. Where more structural rigidity and/or absorbency is required, the absorbent layer and/or the entire susceptor structure can be fabricated, folded, shaped, die-cut, and the like to form pads, disks, sleeves, trays, tubes, boxes, folding cartons, preformed trays, elevated platforms and other packaging configurations.
Likewise, in embodiments such as shown in
In the following discussion, the term "substrate 10/50" is used to describe the base layer or substrate of the susceptor material, which according to the various embodiments can be the absorbent layer 50 by itself, or a combination of the absorbent layer 50 and the conventional base layer 10, optionally joined by an adhesive layer 70.
Next, an adhesive layer 20 can be applied to the substrate 10/50. Although, in embodiments, it is preferred that the adhesive is applied not to the substrate 10, but instead to the formed structure of the metallized layer 30 and protective layer 40, described below. This adhesive layer provides better bonding between the substrate 10/50 and the metallized film 30, so as to prevent any undesired delamination of the polyester film/metallized layer 30 from the substrate 10/50. Of course, in embodiments of the present invention where the metallized layer 30 can be suitably strongly applied to the substrate 10/50 without an adhesive 20, the omission of the adhesive layer is permissible. Alternatively, the polyester film/metallized layer 30 can be adhered to the substrate 10/50 by any conventional method, such as by co-extrusion adhesion methods, hot-melt, cold-seal, and the like, which are well known in the art.
When incorporated in embodiments of the present invention, the adhesive may be any of the various known or after-developed adhesives suitable for bonding the metallized layer to the desired substrate layer. Suitable adhesive materials that can be used in the present invention include, but are not limited to, film-forming polymers such as polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylbutyral, polyvinylpyrolidone, polyurethane, polycarbonates, polymethylmethacrylate, mixtures thereof, derivatives of any of the foregoing, and the like. Although not limited thereto, the adhesive can be any of the various water- and/or solvent-based adhesives generally used in the lamination arts. Selection of suitable adhesives will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art based on the present disclosure. Although the properties of the susceptor materials, including the adhesive, may vary based on particular applications, the adhesive material used in embodiments of the present invention is preferably high-temperature compatible to withstand the temperatures generated in the susceptor structure during use. The adhesive is also preferably nontoxic, and does not generate odors at elevated temperatures.
Generally the adhesive can be applied to the desired thickness by any of the various coating techniques, including but not limited to, rod coating, gravure coating, spraying, dip coating, roll coating, wire wound rod coating, extrusion, and the like. In embodiments of the present invention, the adhesive may be applied in an amount of from about 0.5 to about 2.5 lbs/1000 ft2, more preferably in an amount of from about 0.9 to about 1.2 lbs/1000 ft2. Of course, it will be readily apparent that the thickness can vary based on such factors as the specific type and formulation of adhesive, the adhesive setup characteristics, and the like. Drying of the deposited adhesive layer, if desired, can be effected by any suitable conventional technique including, but not limited to, oven drying, infra red radiation drying, air drying and the like.
Several factors to consider in selecting the adhesive, however, are the adhesive's high temperature adhesion and thermal conductivity. It has previously been known that the ability of a susceptor to operate is due to the metallized layer being excited by the microwave energy to produce heat. However, the present inventor has discovered that the operational performance of a susceptor can also depend upon the type, formulation and molecular configuration of that formulation and the thickness of the adhesive used in the bonding process. Some adhesive layers can be more or less transparent to the microwave energy and may themselves, in conjunction with the susceptor layer 30, reach very high temperatures, which can in turn adversely affect the adhesive bonding stability. That is, it has now been discovered that the adhesive layer also becomes excited by the microwave energy, and may itself generate and/or absorb and hold heat. However, if the adhesive is too thick, or lacks proper thermal transfer properties, the adhesive can in effect operate as a thermal dam, preventing transfer of heat energy from the metallized layer through the adhesive and into the "heat sink" substrate layer 10/50. While this may be advantageous in certain embodiments, for example where it is desired to maximize the energy—both heat and microwave—being applied to the food product, while retaining the substrate at a cool temperature, this effect of the adhesive can also have a detrimental effect upon the packaging and food product. Where the adhesive layer operates as a thermal dam, most of the heat energy is retained on the metallized layer side of the substrate. As such, a thermal energy buildup can result in the metallic layer side and especially in the protective layer 40. This build up creates excessively high temperatures and may typically exceed 220� C. (428� F.). This can in turn cause cracking and crazing of the susceptor material and protective layer 40. Thus, in embodiments, it is preferred that the adhesive layer be selected so as not to create a thermal dam, but instead to permit transfer of heat from the metallized layer, through the adhesive layer, and into the substrate layer 10/50. Preferably the partial transfer of heat is a balanced transfer of heat from the susceptor layer both into the protective layer 40 and substrate layer 10/50.
A metallized susceptor layer that forms the operational part of the susceptor is applied onto the protective layer 40, then the adhesive can be applied to the metallized layer 30. The material used for the susceptor may be any of the variously known or after-developed materials in the art and that functions as a susceptor in microwave ovens. Such materials include, but are not limited to, metals such as elemental metals, metal alloys, combinations of metals and/or alloys, oxides thereof, derivatives thereof, and the like. In particular, the material used to form the susceptor can be aluminum, copper, tin, silver, nickel, zinc, any of the various types of stainless steel, nickel-chromium alloy, titanium, Inconel, alloys of the foregoing materials, oxides of the foregoing materials, derivatives thereof, mixtures thereof, and the like. An example of Inconel is Inconel alloy 792, which has a composition in terms of weight percent of 13% chromium, 10% cobalt, 4.5% titanium, 4% tantallum, 4% tungsten, 3% aluminum, 2% molybdenum, 0.2% carbon, 0.1% zirconium, 0.02% boron, and a balance of nickel.
The metallized layer may be applied by any of the various known or after-developed methods in the art. Suitable methods include, but are not limited to, sputtering deposition, evaporative deposition, vacuum vaporization, rotary printing, electroless or electrolytic deposition, electron beam sputtering, and the like. In embodiments of the present invention, vacuum vaporization is particularly preferred because it permits the high throughput permitted by the process.
The susceptor material may be applied in any pattern to the supporting structure. Thus, for example, the susceptor material may be applied in a manner of full coverage, where a solid layer is formed, or it may be applied in a patterned manner, where there exists both areas with susceptor material and areas without susceptor material. Where a pattern of the susceptor material is used, any suitable or desired pattern can be employed, including but not limited to stripes, checker-board, concentric rings, and the like. Such patterns can be formed, for example, by such methods as dematallization processes, including selective demetallizing which combines shielding some areas and also providing susceptor heat in other areas of the packaging surface layout, in-chamber masking, pre-printing prior to metallization, and the like. For example, acid etching may be used to provide variations in susceptor radiant heat in the final product layout. In these manners, the susceptor layer can be full thickness in some areas, partial thickness in some areas, and/or completely removed in some areas to provide the desired radiant heating profile.
As is well known in the art, the susceptor material may be applied in any suitable thickness or pattern to provide the desired heating characteristics. Preferably, however, the susceptors of the present invention are formed such that the metallized layers have a thickness whereby the temperature of the surface layer of the susceptor material can reach and remain at, but preferably does not exceed, about 210� C. (about 410� F.), and preferably within the range of from about 182 to about 205� F. Thus, for example, in embodiments of the present invention where aluminum is used as the metallized layer, it is preferred that in producing the susceptor of the present invention, the metallized layer thickness be controlled so as to have an optical density (O.D.) within the range of from about 0.14 to about 0.3, preferably from about 0.19 to about 0.25, and most preferably about 0.22. Such aluminum layers provide a susceptor material that limits the dielectric heating of the susceptor surface to within the temperature range of from about 182 to about 204� C. (about 360 to about 400� F.). Where other materials (other than aluminum) are used for the metallized layer, these thicknesses will of course vary in accordance with the particular material being used.
Because of the very thin nature of the metallized layer, the thickness of the metallized layer according to the present invention is preferably measured in terms of its optical density. This measurement is used, rather than the more widely used measurement of ohms/square (Ω/□) because it has been found that the optical density measurements are more precise for such thin layers when measured in a vacuum chamber during the metallizing process, and are less affected by the actual metal deposition method. In contrast, it has been discovered that for the thin layers of the present invention, two otherwise similar metallized layers having the same optical density and dielectric heating properties, can in fact have different ohms/square measurements based on differences in the metallizing process.
As is generally well known in the art, the thickness of the metallized layer is too thin for standard length measurement techniques, so the most widely used measurements for describing the thickness of the metallized layer are surface resistivity, optical density, and visible light transmissivity. Thus, for example, the above-described optical density range of about 0.3 to about 0.1 or about 0.14 is roughly equivalent to a surface resistivity range of 440 to 470 Ω/□ and a light transmissivity of about 60 to about 80%; the above-described optical density range of about 0.25 to about 0.19 is roughly equivalent to a surface resistivity range of 450 to 460 Ω/□ and a light transmissivity of about 62 to about 75%; and the above-described optical density of about 0.22 is roughly equivalent to a surface resistivity of 455 Ω/□ and a light transmissivity of about 63%. Of course, as described above, the surface resistivity measurements are less accurate for the very thin metallized layers used in susceptors of the present invention.
Furthermore, although the above discussion focuses on the use of a single susceptor layer, as in
A protective or overcoating layer 40 is typically included as a surface layer of the susceptor structure protective or overcoating layer 40 can be any material that protects the surface of the susceptor material from damage, while still allowing sufficient thermal transfer from the metallized layer to the surface of the food product. Furthermore, such materials should be materials that are generally regarded as safe (gras) or are approved by the relevant governmental entities, if appropriate, for contact with food surfaces. In embodiments of the present invention, the protective or overcoating layer 40 is preferably a polymer. According to embodiments of the present invention, suitable materials for use in constructing the protective or overcoating layer 40 generally include any relatively stable plastic substances. Examples of suitable substances for the protective or overcoating layer 40 include, but are not limited to, polyesters, polyethylene, Kapton� polymers, polyimide, polyethylene nitrile, nylon, cellophane, cellulose, polysulphone, mixtures thereof, and the like. It is important that the material of the protective or overcoating layer 40 be of sufficient stability at high temperatures that it will not degrade during the operation of the microwave oven at the temperature selected for cooking the desired food product. According to particular embodiments of the present invention, it is preferred that the protective or overcoating layer 40 be formed from polyester, which has been found to be a particularly well suited material in view of its cost, stability and its surface characteristics for metallization.
Furthermore, in embodiments of the present invention where the susceptor material is forming an entire or part of a package, the top layer of the material, such as the protective or overcoating layer 40, can be a polyester film. Alternatively, in embodiments, the top layer of the material can be a heat sealable polymer or be further coated with a sealable material, for example a heat-sealable or cold-sealable material. These embodiments facilitate easier fabrication of the packages. For example, the susceptor materials of the present invention can be conveniently used in conventional "flow wrap" processes, where the susceptor material can be easily formed and sealed on vertical or horizontal flow wrap machines.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments where the material includes a heat-sealable layer, where the protective or overcoating layer comprises two polyester layers, one of which forms the heat-sealable layer, for sealing a part of layer 40 to another part of layer 40 as in flow wrap or form fill and seal machines other adhesive mediums can be applied to achieve sealing action between protective layer 40 and the sealable material and also between the protective layer 40 and the substrate 10/50. Examples of suitable films include, but are not limited to Dupont OL, ICI 850 and Mylar film. Typically, such flow wrap or form fill and seal machines utilize a coextruded, two-layer (typically PET) with the outer layer being heat-sealable. These adhesives are subject to the design, form, and shape of the food container and surround. These adhesives can be either "hot-melt" adhesive or "cold" adhesives, both of which are well-known in the art.
As described above with reference to the Figures, the susceptor material of the present invention preferably includes perforations or cut-outs, to help facilitate wicking or draining of the excess moisture, grease and oil through the outer layers of the susceptor material to the absorbent layer. Although such perforations or cut-outs are not required in all embodiments, particularly where the outer layers of the susceptor are thin enough or otherwise permit wicking or draining of the moisture, grease and oil therethrough, such perforations or cut-outs increase the wicking/draining ability of such layers.
As used herein, "perforations or cut-outs" is used to refer to the formation of apertures through the outer-most layers of the susceptor material. Such apertures can be in the form of perforations, pin-holes, cut-outs, or any other suitable form. Preferably, such apertures are small enough that they do not adversely affect the ability of the susceptor layer to cook and brown the food product, while they are large enough to permit the desired wicking or draining of excess moisture, grease and oil through the susceptor structure to the absorbent layer. Thus, for example, the perforations, voids or cut-outs can be made in the form of pinholes, perforations, voids, cuts, slits, cut-outs, circles, slots or larger apertures or various designs or shapes, and the like, as desired. These various shapes are generally referred to herein as "perforations" or "cut-outs" for convenience. Two or more differently shaped and/or sized openings can also be used, as desired. It will be understood that the size, number, and design can be adjusted based, for example, on the particular food load and the volume of fluid that is to be drained away from the food load.
Preferably, in embodiments of the present invention, the susceptor structure is formed in two separate stages. First, as described above, a protective or overcoating film, such as a polyester film, is passed through a vacuum metallizing chamber, in which the susceptor (metallized) layer is applied to the protective film. Second, an adhesive layer is optionally applied to a supporting substrate material. The combined metal/film structure can be bonded to the adhesive layer of the supporting substrate (or the adhesive/metal/film structure can be bonded to the supporting substrate). Alternatively, these production steps can be combined into a single in-line process, where adhesive is applied to the metallized film, after which the adhesive structure is bonded to a supporting substrate layer. Other modifications of the production process will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure.
In modifications of the invention where a susceptor layer is placed on both sides of the substrate, as shown for example in
In a separate step of the process, the layers of the susceptor are perforated, as described above. Such perforation treatment can be conducted at any suitable stage of the process. For example, the perforations can be formed in the individual layers prior to assembly, can be formed in the combined adhesive/metal/film structure prior to bonding to the substrate, or can be formed in the final resultant product subsequent to assembly of all of the layers. In embodiments, it is preferred that the perforation treatment is conducted after all of the layers are assembled, as this method ensures clear paths from the outside of the susceptor material to the absorbent layer.
When forming the perforations or cut-outs, the perforations can be suitable made through some or all of the layers of the susceptor structure. Thus, for example, the perforations can penetrate completely through the adhesive/metal/film structure without penetrating the absorbent substrate 50. Alternatively, the perforations can partially penetrate the absorbent substrate 50 to permit increased wicking or draining of excess moisture, grease and oil into the absorbent substrate 50. This is particularly preferred where the absorbent substrate 50 is a coated material, where the coating may interfere with wicking or draining into the substrate. Alternatively, the perforations, cut-outs or the like can penetrate completely through the film structure/metal/adhesive/absorbent substrate to permit drainage through the entire structure, in particular if the food and susceptor package are resting on an elevated cooking rack in keeping with optimized reflected microwave energy from the oven base. As described above, the perforations or cut-outs referred to herein can be in the shape, size, form or the like of pinholes, perforations, voids, cuts, slits, cut-outs, circles, slots or larger apertures or various designs or shapes, and the like.
Although the invention has heretofore been described with reference to the particular embodiments of the Figures, the invention is by no way limited to this particular structure. For example, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, additional layers may be included in the susceptor material for their known purposes. For example, if desired, a polymer coating can be applied to the substrate, either prior to or in place of the above-described adhesive layer, for the purpose of sealing and smoothing the substrate surface. Such a layer is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,259, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the susceptor structure may also include one or more layers for elevating the food load. Such layers can be, for example, in the form of corrugated materials. For example,
In a still further modification of the present invention, the corrugated layer can instead be formed of the susceptor material itself, or a portion thereof. For example,
In the above discussion, the various layers of the susceptor structure have been described as being in a particular general order. However, the construction is not limited to those layer orders described above. For example alternative susceptor structure constructions include embodiments where the susceptor layer is located toward the inside of the structure. When so located, the susceptor layer continues to provide the effect of microwave absorption and heat generation.
For example,
A modification of this embodiment is shown in
As described above, the susceptor material of the present invention may be used in various forms to provide a wide range of cooking substrates. Thus, the material may be used as is to form a cooking and/or packaging material, or may be used in combination with other conventional material to form a combined or separable packaging/cooking structure. The susceptor structure may then be die cut, folded, pressed, shaped, or the like into cartons, preformed trays containers, or the like, and may be optionally decorated with printing, to form a package into which food may be inserted by a food processor. Final constructions can be in the form of, for example, pads, disks, sleeves, trays, tubes, boxes, folding cartons, pre-formed trays, elevated platforms and other packaging configurations.
One example of a final product according to the present invention is shown in
The protective layer 90 can be formed of the same materials described above for the protective layer 40, or other suitable material commonly used for packaging materials including polyester, polypropylene, or other acceptable flexible films suitable for this application. The thus-formed structure can be formed into any suitable shape, such as a bag as shown in
Of course, the structure of a final product is in no way limited to a bag as shown in
Numerous other constructions will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and can be readily prepared based on the present specification.
According to the present invention, a susceptor material is provided that provides unexpectedly improved results over the materials of the prior art. The present invention achieves these results by providing a susceptor material that includes an absorbent substrate for absorbing excess moisture, grease and oil that is liberated from the food product during the cooking process. The result is a susceptor material that provides improved cooking and browning to a food product, without a moisture build-up that otherwise would result in a soggy, unappealing product.
By removing and absorbing the moisture, grease and oil into the absorbing layer as it is released from the food during the cooking process, the outer food coating of the food load no longer sits in a "puddle" of moisture, grease and/or oil while cooking. This drainage of the moisture, grease and/or oil from the surface of the susceptor layer reduces and in some cases eliminates the "puddling" effect and significantly reduces moisture build-up, especially in the case of bread or batter coatings that otherwise would result in a soggy and unappealing final product.
The following examples are illustrative of embodiments of the present invention, but are not limiting of the invention. It will be apparent, however, that the invention can be practiced with many types of materials and can be formed into different structures for a variety of different uses in accordance with the disclosure above and as pointed out hereinafter.
A susceptor according to the present invention is produced as follows. First, AHLSTROM type 1278, a non-woven fiber board available from Ahlstrom, is used as a substrate layer. Next, a layer of aluminum is vacuum deposited onto a thin polyester protective film to a thickness having an optical density of about 0.22. To the metallized polyester film is applied a layer of adhesive. The adhesive layer is then applied to the non-woven fiber board to form the final product. The susceptor structure is perforated from the polyester protective film through the adhesive layer and may pierce completely through the substrate layer.
A frozen fish fillet with a layer of breading/batter is placed on the susceptor material surface. The susceptor and fish fillet is cooked for a period of 5� minutes.
After the cooking time, it is observed that the water and oil released from the fish fillet during the cooking process is absorbed into the absorbent layer of the susceptor material. A crisp, cooked fish fillet is provided.
Following the same steps as in Example I, a comparative susceptor specimen is produced using the same materials and processes, except that instead of the absorbent non-woven fiber board, a 14-point kraft paper board is used as the substrate.
The susceptor material is tested according to the same procedures as Example I, and at the same time and in the same microwave oven as that described in Example I. Visual inspection of the cooked susceptor evidences that the moisture and oil fluids have not been absorbed into the susceptor material, and the cooked fish fillet is soggy. Moisture and oil was absorbed only absorbed only on the exposed outer edge of the 14 point craft paper board. The volume of moisture, grease and oil released from the same food load as used in Example 1 formed a significant puddle of fluid where the under surface of the fish fillet was laying, causing the batter to be soggy and unappealing.
As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, numerous changes, alterations and adjustments can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention is in no way limited to the specific exemplary embodiments described above. One skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects of the invention discussed above may be selected and adjusted as necessary to achieve specific results for a particular application. Thus, the foregoing embodiments are intended to illustrate and not limit the present invention. It will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Apr 30, 1975
|Mar 29, 1977
|Larry Lakey
|Container for the microwave heating of frozen sandwiches
|May 7, 1984
|May 20, 1986
|James River-Dixie/Northern, Inc.
|Microwave cooking carton for browning and crisping food on two sides
|Jan 21, 1986
|Feb 3, 1987
|James River Corporation
|Food receptacle for microwave cooking
|Dec 11, 1987
|Jan 16, 1990
|E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
|Fibrous microwave susceptor package
|Nov 10, 1987
|May 22, 1990
|The Pillsbury Company
|Susceptor in combination with grid for microwave oven package
|Dec 11, 1987
|Jun 12, 1990
|E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
|Microwave cooking package
|Feb 17, 1989
|Aug 21, 1990
|Hacker Robert L
|Bacon pad
|Aug 28, 1989
|Jun 4, 1991
|E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
|Composite material containing microwave susceptor material
|Apr 20, 1990
|Mar 17, 1992
|Snyder Robert H
|Anisotropic laminate of belted portions of a scrap tire
|Jan 23, 1990
|Jun 23, 1992
|International Paper Company
|Absorbent microwave susceptor composite and related method of manufacture
|Aug 2, 1989
|Nov 17, 1992
|Westvaco Corporation
|Composite susceptor packaging material
|Jun 19, 1990
|Jan 19, 1993
|International Paper Company
|Tube from microwave susceptor package
|Sep 27, 1991
|Mar 16, 1993
|General Mills, Inc.
|Sintered ceramic microwave heating susceptor
|Aug 3, 1993
|Sep 20, 1994
|Zeneca Inc.
|Microwaveable packaging composition
|Dec 7, 1993
|Mar 21, 1995
|Toyo Metallizing Co., Ltd.
|Composite material for microwave heating
|Nov 25, 1992
|May 9, 1995
|Eastman Chemical Company
|Grease and moisture absorbing inserts for microwave cooking
|Jun 10, 1994
|Dec 17, 1996
|Young; Robert C.
|Microwave susceptive reheating support with perforations enabling change of size and/or shape of the substrate
|Oct 14, 1994
|Mar 25, 1997
|Deposition Technologies, Inc.
|Microwave interactive susceptors and methods of producing the same
|Jul 3, 1989
|Jan 10, 1990
|Beckett Industries Inc.
|Laminate structure and method of heating
|Oct 26, 2000
|May 3, 2001
|M.S.O. Limited
|Package for cooking food in a microwave oven
|Science & Technology, "Why the Heat-and-Eat Market is Really Cooking", Business Week, Jun. 27, 1988, pp. 90-91.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Oct 13, 2010
|Jul 1, 2014
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Multi-write endurance and error control coding of non-volatile memories
|Mar 14, 2013
|Mar 15, 2016
|Graphic Packaging International, Inc.
|Plasma treated susceptor films
|Feb 22, 2010
|Aug 26, 2010
|Middleton Scott W
|Low Crystallinity Susceptor Films
|Feb 22, 2010
|Aug 26, 2010
|Middleton Scott W
|Plasma Treated Susceptor Films
|Jul 29, 2010
|Jan 20, 2011
|Middleton Scott W
|Low crystallinity susceptor films
|Dec 29, 2011
|Xymid, Llc
|Three Dimensional Cooking Pad
|Apr 19, 2012
|Fitzwater Kelly R
|Microwave Heating Apparatus for Food Item with Curved Surface
|U.S. Classification
|428/35.2, 428/463, 428/457, 428/458, 428/35.9, 428/34.1, 428/461, 428/36.1, 428/35.7, 428/411.1, 428/34.2
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Oct 24, 2002
Owner name: YOUNG, ROBERT C., NEW YORK
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KOOLS, JOHAN;REEL/FRAME:013423/0797
Effective date: 20020804
|Feb 27, 2013
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|May 4, 2015
Owner name: JIFFYCRISP MARKETING LLC, NEW YORK
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:YOUNG, ROBERT C.;REEL/FRAME:035558/0610
Effective date: 20150504


text:
ASRock Z77 Extreme11 (Intel Z77) Motherboard Review
Looking above you can see screenshots of the BIOS on the ASRock Z77 Extreme11 and if you've read any of our recent ASRock board reviews, you wouldn't see anything too out of the ordinary here. We're a huge fan of the ASRock UEFI BIOS thanks to its ease of use and just general quickness that is offered.
If you're in the BIOS the chances are you're going to be looking at the overclocking side of things and that's all done in the OC Tweaker section. You've got everything you would want and need here and you can see that above. As for the rest of the BIOS, moving through it, you can see a fairly standard setup and all the options you'd expect.
PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.
United States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon's website.
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text:
Daily Dish For 5.9.16Captain America, Taylor's Squad and a new Bieber tattoo on today's Daily Dish.
Voodoo Music + Arts Experience 2015: Florence + the Machine, Ozzy Osbourne, Zac Brown Band & MoreDeadmau5, Jack U and more will also be in attendance.
Taylor Swift Wins a New, Unlikely Fan: Ozzy Osbourne"He was so blown away with her beauty and the aura that she projects," says Sharon Osbourne. "He said to me, 'I have finally met somebody that I could say is a true superstar.'"


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State and local police in Upper, Dennis and Middle townships have reported several thefts of commercial air conditioning units and copper piping and wiring since May 12.
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The Press Newspaper
The Press Newspaper
Ohio's Best Journalism contest, sponsored by the Ohio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, recently announced that The Press news staff won two first place awards and a second place award for "Saving Lake Erie," a three-part series that appeared in The Press last year.
Staff writers Kelly J. Kaczala, Larry Limpf, Tammy Walro, J. Patrick Eaken, and photojournalist Ken Grosjean won first place in the categories of "Best Environment Reporting," and "Best Consumer Reporting," and second place for "Best Explanatory Reporting," for newspapers with circulations of 75,000 or less.
The Ohio House Republican Caucus has scheduled a vote for Aug. 2 on the recommendation of a screening panel for the soon-to-be vacant seat for the 3rd district.
Speaker of the House Clifford A. Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) announced last week the screening panel has unanimously recommended Theresa Charters Gavarone for the appointment.
Rep. Tim Brown, (R – Bowling Green) has said he's leaving the legislature for the president's post at the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol estimates the street value of marijuana seized last week during a traffic stop on the Ohio Turnpike in Wood County at about $458,540.
A California man is facing felony drug charges after troopers seized 101 pounds of hydroponic marijuana Monday near milepost 67 in Perrysburg Township
Envirosafe Services of Ohio Inc., a hazardous waste landfill at 876 Otter Creek Rd. in Oregon, has requested a renewal of its operating permit.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public information session and hearing at 6 p.m. July 14 at the Lake Erie Center, Room 155, 6200 Bayshore Rd., to accept public comments about a draft permit for continuing daily operations at the facility.
During the session, Ohio EPA representatives will present information about the draft permit and answer questions. During the hearing, which will follow, the public can submit comments for the record regarding the permit.
A proposed curfew for minors, which was defeated by Oregon City Council earlier this year, will go before council for reconsideration. If council rejects it again, voters will decide the matter in the November General Election.
"Our charter now requires that it be referred to a committee," City Administrator Mike Beazley said at a recent council meeting. "At that point, we would have a committee hearing. In terms of a timeline, it would come up at our Committee of the Whole meeting on July18, with the expectation for final action on July 25."
Before city council voted 5-2 against the curfew on March 21, members of block watch groups had presented reasons why they believed it was needed at two Safety Committee meetings.
What do you think of the Pokémon GO craze?
It's harmless fun (12 Votes)
It puts players in dangerous situations (17 Votes)
It's zombie mind control (24 Votes)
I love it! (3 Votes)
1322093484 [{"id":"129","title":"It's harmless fun","votes":"12","pct":21.43,"type":"x","order":"1","resources":[]},{"id":"130","title":"It puts players in dangerous situations","votes":"17","pct":30.36,"type":"x","order":"2","resources":[]},{"id":"131","title":"It's zombie mind control","votes":"24","pct":42.86,"type":"x","order":"3","resources":[]},{"id":"132","title":"I love it!","votes":"3","pct":5.36,"type":"x","order":"4","resources":[]}] ["#194e84","#3b6b9c","#1f242a","#37414a","#60bb22","#f2babb"] sbar 160 160 /component/communitypolls/vote/51-pokemon No answer selected. Please try again. Thank you for your vote. Answers Votes


text: 2013 Grammy Awards: Fashion The Wall Street Journal's Elizabeth Holmes picks the best and the worst looks of the night. Plus, more red carpet fashion Updated Feb. 10, 2013 10:02 p.m. ET fullscreen BEST: Kelly Rowland was proof that it was a night of black dresses with perfectly-placed cutouts AFP/Getty Images … BEST: Alicia Keys was a little more conservative than Ms. Rowland, Holmes loved the alligator detail on her dress. European Pressphoto Agency … BEST: Rihanna was, by far, the best dressed in this red Alia gown, with the halter neckline, the sheer bodice and the full skirt. She finished it off with ombre waves and a perfect matching red lip. Reuters … WORST: This all black Anthony Vaccarello works, except for the fact that it's a body suit on the bottom. Angelina did the leg thing before, so no need to follow in her footsteps European Pressphoto Agency … WORST: Adele in red floral Valentino. The fabric is more suited for curtains than a red carpet gown. We get it, you are quirky and British – but enough already! Reuters … WORST: English musician Florence Welch in an emerald Givenchy gown covered in giant sequin studs. Reuters … WORST: New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra in what looks like an Ice Capades costume gone wrong, with blue tulle sticking out in all the wrong places Reuters … From left, Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Country Winston and Ted Dwane, of musical group Mumford & Sons. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP … Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP … Justin Timberlake AFP/Getty Images … SWV AFP/Getty Images … LL Cool J greets members of the pop group Fun. REUTERS … Kaya Jones REUTERS … Replay Best and Worst in Grammy Fashion More Slideshows Photos: Democrats Gather for Third Day Photos of the Day: Asia of SHOW CAPTION HIDE CAPTION fullscreen Show More Archives