US4992636A — Sealed container for microwave oven cooking

Claim 1

Independent Claim 119 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, laminated upon said lid means, and having opposed ends for generating an electrical field therebetween in response to said antenna means interacting with microwaves generated within said microwave oven whereby a portion of said lid means, defined between said opposed ends of said antenna means, is heated and partially melted by means of dielectric heating so as to develop a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 119 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, laminated upon said lid means, and having opposed ends for generating an electrical field therebetween in response to said antenna means interacting with microwaves generated within said microwave oven whereby a portion of said lid means, defined between said opposed ends of said antenna means, is heated and partially melted by means of dielectric heating so as to develop a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 24 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein said antenna has a C-shaped configuration.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 33 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein a heat generating substance is disposed adjacent to one of said ends of said antenna.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 43 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 1, wherein said portion of said lid to be heated and partially melted is a pheripheral portion of said lid to be sealed with the container body.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 23 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said antenna means comprises at least two antennas laminated upon said lid means.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 143 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; heat generating means disposed upon said lid means; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, disposed upon said lid means such that one end portion of said antenna means is disposed adjacent to said heat generating means whereby, when an electrical field is developed within said antenna means in response to said antenna means interacting with microwaves generated within said microwave oven, an electrical current will be conducted within said heat generating means so as to generate heat for partially melting a portion of said lid means and thereby form a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 143 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; heat generating means disposed upon said lid means; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, disposed upon said lid means such that one end portion of said antenna means is disposed adjacent to said heat generating means whereby, when an electrical field is developed within said antenna means in response to said antenna means interacting with microwaves generated within said microwave oven, an electrical current will be conducted within said heat generating means so as to generate heat for partially melting a portion of said lid means and thereby form a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 43 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 2, wherein a portion of said lid to be heated and partially melted is a pheripheral portion of said lid to be sealed with the container body.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 119 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, laminated upon said lid means, and having a portion thereof inclined at an angle greater than 3° with respect to a horizontal plane, for concentrating microwave energy toward a specific portion of said lid means when said sealed container is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven whereupon microwave energy is converted into heat energy so as to for a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 119 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and antenna means, fabricated from an electrically conductive material, laminated upon said lid means, and having a portion thereof inclined at an angle greater than 3° with respect to a horizontal plane, for concentrating microwave energy toward a specific portion of said lid means when said sealed container is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven whereupon microwave energy is converted into heat energy so as to for a vent opening within said lid means.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 52 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein a heat generating substance for converting microwave energy into heat energy is laminated on the lid and the microwave energy concentrated by said antenna is converted into heat energy by said heat generating substance.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 38 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 9, wherein said antenna has a belt shape and said heat generating substance is laminated on said lid adjacent to said antenna.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 38 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein the microwave energy concentrated by said antenna is converted into heat energy due to the dielectric loss of said lid.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 42 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein said antenna has a C-shaped configuration as seen in a plan view and the microwave energy is concentrated between opposing ends of said antenna.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 47 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein said antenna is composed of at least two antenna elements and the microwave energy is concentrated at a portion at which said antenna elements are close to each other,

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 69 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein said lid is horizontally disposed and said antenna is laminated on a flexible sheet having an insulative property, said flexible sheet having a first portion bonded to said lid while a second remaining portion extends in a direction away from said lid as a result the self-elasticity of said flexible sheet.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 97 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein said lid is horizontally disposed, at least two kinds of flexible sheets having insulative properties and having different coefficients of thermal contraction are laminated upon opposite sides of said antenna, a portion of a first laminating layer is bonded to said lid, and the remaining portion of said first laminating not bonded to said lid is displaced so as to extend away from said lid due to the thermal deformation of the remaining portion of the first lamination layer.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 72 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein when the container body is disposed so that the bottom surface thereof is disposed within a horizontal plane, at least a portion of said lid is inclined at an angle greater than 3° with respect to the horizontal plane and said antenna is laminated on a portion of said lid in the inclined direction.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 33 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 8, wherein said antenna is bonded to said lid and a side surface of said container body.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 153 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and label means disposed upon said lid for providing said lid means with a vent opening when said sealed container is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven, said label comprising a laminate of an adhesive layer; a heat generating layer for converting microwave energy into heat energy; and an electrically conductive layer, in the form of a linear belt having a longitudinal length of at least 20 mm and a surface resistivity of less than 1Ω per square, for concentrating said microwave energy toward said heat generating layer, said electrically conductive layer being disposed adjacent to said heat generating layer with a distance of 0-3.5 mm defined therebetween.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 153 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body having an opening defined within an upper portion thereof; lid means, fabricated from a flexible sheet having insulative properties, for sealing said opening of said container body; and label means disposed upon said lid for providing said lid means with a vent opening when said sealed container is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven, said label comprising a laminate of an adhesive layer; a heat generating layer for converting microwave energy into heat energy; and an electrically conductive layer, in the form of a linear belt having a longitudinal length of at least 20 mm and a surface resistivity of less than 1Ω per square, for concentrating said microwave energy toward said heat generating layer, said electrically conductive layer being disposed adjacent to said heat generating layer with a distance of 0-3.5 mm defined therebetween.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 73 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 18, wherein said label further comprises a base layer, the conductive layer and the heat generating layer both being laminated on the base layer, a protection layer arranged so as to enclose said conductive layer and said heat generating layer, and a releasing layer releasably applied to the adhesive layer which is laminated below said base layer.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 64 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 18, wherein said label includes a base layer, the conductive layer and the heat generating layer both laminated below the base layer, the adhesive layer arranged so as to enclose said conductive layer and said heat generating layer, and a releasing layer releasably applied to the adhesive layer.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 77 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked in a microwave oven according to claim 18, wherein said label includes a base layer, a releasing layer releasably applied to the lower side of the base layer, the conductive layer and the heat generating layer both laminated below the releasing layer, and a hot melt adhesive layer laminated so as to enclose said conductive layer and said heat generating layer while being bonded to said releasing layer.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 142 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body in the form of a sealed pouch fabricated from a flexible material having insulative properties; and label means disposed upon said sealed pouch for providing said sealed pouch with a vent opening when said sealed pouch is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven, said label comprising a laminate of an adhesive layer; a heat generating layer for converting microwave energy into heat energy; and an electrically conductive layer, in the form of a linear belt having a longitudinal extent of at least 20 mm and a surface resistivity of less than 1Ω per square, for concentrating said microwave energy toward said heat generating layer, said electrically conductive layer being disposed adjacent to said heat generating layer with a distance of 0-3.5 mm defined therebetween.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 142 words

A sealed container for containing food to be cooked within a microwave oven, comprising: a container body in the form of a sealed pouch fabricated from a flexible material having insulative properties; and label means disposed upon said sealed pouch for providing said sealed pouch with a vent opening when said sealed pouch is exposed to microwaves within said microwave oven, said label comprising a laminate of an adhesive layer; a heat generating layer for converting microwave energy into heat energy; and an electrically conductive layer, in the form of a linear belt having a longitudinal extent of at least 20 mm and a surface resistivity of less than 1Ω per square, for concentrating said microwave energy toward said heat generating layer, said electrically conductive layer being disposed adjacent to said heat generating layer with a distance of 0-3.5 mm defined therebetween.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 64 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 22, wherein said label comprises: a base layer; said conductive layer and said heat generating layer are both laminated upon said base layer; a protection layer is disposed so as to enclose said conductive layer and said heat generating layer; and a releasing layer releasably applied to said adhesive layer and laminated beneath said base layer.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 54 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 22, wherein said label comprises: a base layer; said conductive layer and said heat generating layer are both laminated beneath said base layer; said adhesive layer encloses said conductive layer and said heat generating layer; and a releasing layer is releasably applied to said adhesive layer.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 71 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 22, wherein said label comprises: a base layer; a releasing layer releasably applied to the lower side of said base layer; said conductive layer and said heat generating layer are both laminated beneath said releasing layer; and a hot melt adhesive layer is laminated so as to enclose said conductive layer and said heat generating layer while being bonded to said releasing layer.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 26 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 6, wherein: said antenna means comprises a pair of antennas; and said heat generating means is interposed therebetween.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 23 words

A sealed container as set forth in claim 26, wherein: said pair of antennas and said heat generating means have substantially arcuate configurations.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1994-02-11	1994-08-13	1995-02-12	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1998-02-11	1998-08-13	1999-02-12	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2002-02-11	2002-08-13	2003-02-12	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Sealed container for microwave oven cooking

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag