Patent Publication Number: US-2022234785-A1

Title: Liner for food receiver of food holding apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/142,127, filed on Jan. 27, 2021, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to liners for food handling equipment and more particularly to a liner for food holding apparatuses. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Food holding apparatuses, such as countertop food holding apparatuses, are commonly used in restaurants and kitchens, such as part of a buffet or serving line, to hold prepared food at a set temperature before the food is served to a consumer. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a liner is for a food tray receiver of a food holding apparatus. The food tray receiver has a plurality of food tray receiver side walls defining a food tray receiver cavity for receiving one or more trays of food. The liner comprises a flexible body sized and shaped to be inserted into the food tray receiver cavity of the food tray receiver. The flexible body has a base and a plurality of body side walls extending generally upward from the base. The flexible body has a food receiving cavity defined by the base and the plurality of body side walls. The food receiving cavity has an open top configured to receive food when the flexible body is disposed in the food tray receiver and food falls toward the flexible body. The body side walls are configured to move into engagement with the food tray receiver side walls to generally prevent food from moving between the food tray receiver side walls and the body side walls when the flexible body is disposed in the food tray receiver cavity of the food tray receiver. 
     In another aspect, a method includes using a liner with a food tray receiver of a food holding apparatus. The food tray receiver has a floor and a plurality of food tray receiver side walls defining a food tray receiver cavity for receiving one or more trays of food. The method comprises placing the liner in the food tray receiver cavity. The liner comprises a flexible body sized and shaped to be inserted into the food tray receiver cavity of the food tray receiver. The flexible body has a base and a plurality of body side walls extending generally upward from the base. The flexible body has a food receiving cavity defined by the base and the plurality of side walls. The food receiving cavity has an open top configured to receive food when the flexible body is disposed in the food tray receiver and food falls toward the flexible body. The method includes forming a seal between the side walls of the flexible body and the food tray receiver side walls to generally prevent food from moving between the food receiver side walls and the body side walls. 
     In another aspect, a liner is for a food tray receiver of a food holding apparatus. The food tray receiver has a plurality of food tray receiver side walls defining a food tray receiver cavity for receiving one or more trays of food. The liner comprises a flexible body sized and shaped to be inserted into the food tray receiver cavity of the food tray receiver. The flexible body has a base and a plurality of body side walls extending generally upward from the base. The flexible body has a food receiving cavity defined by the base and the plurality of body side walls. The food receiving cavity has an open top configured to receive food when the flexible body is disposed in the food tray receiver and food falls toward the flexible body. The body side walls are configured to engage the food tray receiver side walls when received in the food tray receiver cavity to obstruct food from moving between the food tray receiver side walls and the body side walls. The body side walls taper outward as the body side walls extend generally upward away from the base. 
     Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective of a food holding apparatus; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective of a food receiver pan of a food receiver of the food holding apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section of the food receiver pan taken through line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective of a liner according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective of the liner in the food receiver pan; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross section of the liner in the food receiver pan before the liner deforms to form a seal with the food receiver pan; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross section of the liner in the food receiver pan after the liner has deformed to form the seal with the food receiver pan. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates a food holding apparatus  10 . The food holding apparatus  10  is used to hold trays of prepared or ready to serve food at set (e.g., hot or cold) temperatures. The food holding apparatus  10  includes one or more food receivers  12 , sometimes referred to as food holding wells or pans. The food receivers  12  may be referred to as food tray receivers. In the illustrated embodiment, the food holding apparatus  10  includes four food receivers  12 , with each of the food receivers being generally identical. The food receivers  12  receive and hold the trays of food (not shown). For example, a food tray may have an upper flange by which the tray “hangs” down into the food receiver  12 . The food holding apparatus  10  may include a heating system and/or cooling system for heating and/or cooling each food receiver  12  and the one or more trays of food received and held therein. The heating system (not shown) may include a heater, such as an electrical resistance heater, underlying a floor of each food receiver  12 . The cooling system may include a refrigeration system with one or more cooling coils (e.g., cooling conduit extending around the food receiver). Such a heater and cooling coils may each be broadly referred to as a food receiver temperature conditioning element. One or both of the heater or cooling coil may be omitted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Further details on an example food holding apparatus may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/448,899, filed Sep. 27, 2021, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each food receiver  12  includes a food receiver pan  14 . The food receiver pan  14  defines a food receiver cavity  16  in which the one or more trays of food are receivable. The food receiver cavity  16  can be sized and shaped to receive one or more of generally any size of food tray (sometimes also referred to as food pans) such as a full size food tray (about 20.75″×12.75″), a two-thirds size food tray (about 13.75″×12/75″), a half size food tray (about 12.75″×10.375″), a one-third size food tray (about 12.75″×6.875″), etc. The food receiver pan  14  includes a floor  18  and a plurality (e.g., four) food receiver side walls  20  extending upward from the floor. The floor  18  includes a centrally located raised portion or plateau  22  spaced inward from the food receiver side walls  20 . The food receiver pan  14  includes a perimeter or peripheral recess or trough  24  extending around the raised portion  22 , between the raised portion and the food receiver side walls  20 . The side walls  20  intersect or join with each other at the corners of the food receiver cavity  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, the corners of the food receiver pan  14  defined by the intersections of the food receiver side walls  20  are rounded or curved. Other configurations of the food holding apparatus  10  and the food receivers  12  can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a liner according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is generally indicated by reference numeral  100 . The illustrated liner  100  is designed for use with the food tray receivers  12  of the food holding apparatus  10  of  FIGS. 1-3 , however it is understood the liner can be designed for use with other food receivers. The liner  100  is sized and shaped to fit in the food receiver cavity  16  of the food receiver  12  and engage the food receiver side walls  20  of the food receiver. When disposed in the food receiver  12 , the liner  100  rests on the floor  18  of the food receiver and generally forms a seal (e.g., a perimeter seal), such as a liquid tight or food tight seal, with the food receiver side walls  20  and corners of the food receiver. Desirably, the liner  100  seals against all of the food receiver side walls  20  (e.g., the front, rear, left, and right side walls) and the corners defined by the food receiver side walls to form a complete perimeter or peripheral seal around the food receiver cavity  16 . However, it will be understood that sometimes a perfect fit may not be achieved, resulting in peripheral seal segments extending along one or more of the food receiver side walls  20  and/or corners with one or more gaps between the peripheral seal segments. No matter whether a complete peripheral seal is made, desirably the liner helps prevent most/all food (solids and/or liquids) from moving (e.g., flowing, falling) in-between the liner  100  and the food receiver side walls  20  of the food receiver  12 . Food or liquid that falls into the food receiver cavity  16  of the food receiver  12  (e.g., food that spills out of the tray of food when the tray is being inserted into or removed from the food receiver cavity) is collected by the liner. The liner  100  can then be easily removed from the food receiver  12  (e.g., food receiver cavity  16 ) for easy cleaning. When the food receiver  12  is used with the liner  100 , the food receiver will usually be used in a “dry” fashion without holding a bath of water to facilitate the heating and/or cooling of the food receiver. As known in the art, food receivers  12  may sometimes be filled with a bath of water to provide “wet” heat to the trays of food (e.g., heating the water bath which in turn heats the trays of food) or left empty to provide “dry” heat to trays of food (e.g., heating the trays of food without a water bath). 
     The liner  100  includes a flexible body  102  sized and shaped to be inserted into the food receiver cavity  16  of the food receiver  12 . The flexible body  102  has a generally rectangular shape, to correspond to (e.g., match) the generally rectangular cross-sectional shape of the food receiver cavity  16 . It is understood the flexible body  102  can have other shapes to correspond to other shapes of food receiver cavities. The flexible body  102  includes a liner base  104  (e.g., liner lower wall or liner floor) and a plurality of side walls  106  extending generally upward from the base. The base  104  is generally planar (when the entirety of the base is supported by a planar surface). The base  104  is generally rectangular with opposite left and right side edge margins and opposite forward and rear side edge margins. In the illustrated embodiment, the side walls  106  include four side walls, opposite front and rear side walls  106 A,  106 B and opposite left and right side walls  106 C,  106 D. The front side wall  106 A extends from the front side edge margin of the base  104 , the rear side wall  106 B extends from the rear side edge margin of the base, the left side wall  106 C extends from the left side edge margin of the base, and the right side wall  106 D extends from the right side edge margin of the base. The front, rear, left and right side walls  106  are coupled together at corners of the flexible body  102 . In the illustrated embodiment, the corners are rounded to correspond to the rounded corners of the food receiver cavity  16  of the food receiver  12 . Together, the side walls  106  (e.g., upper edge margins thereof) define a continuous, unbroken rim  108  (e.g., upper edge margin) of the flexible body  102 . The size and shape of the rim  108  generally corresponds to the size and shape of the cross-sectional perimeter of the food receiver cavity  16 . In the illustrated embodiment, each side wall  106  includes a lower section that extends from the base  104  and curves generally upward to a planar upper section of the side wall. 
     Each side wall  106  tapers outward, as the side wall extends generally upward from the base  104  toward the open top  112  of the food receiving cavity  110 . That is, as the front and rear side walls  106 A,  106 B extend generally upward away from the base  104 , the front and rear side walls taper outward, away from each other. Likewise, as the left and right side walls  106 C,  106 D extend generally upward away from the base  104 , the left and right side walls taper outward, away from each other. Thus, each side wall  106  extends at a skew angle with respect to vertical. As explained in more detail below, the tapering of the side walls  106  facilitates the movement of the side walls toward the food receiver side walls  20  to form the seal between the liner  100  and the food receiver  12 . 
     The flexible body  102  has a food receiving cavity  110 . The food receiving cavity  110  is defined by the base  104  and the side walls  106 . The food receiving cavity  110  is configured to receive, collect and hold food that may fall into to the food receiver cavity  16  while the food holding apparatus  10  is in use. The food receiving cavity  110  has an open top or mouth  112  at the upper end of the flexible body  102 . The open top  112  is configured to receive food when the liner  100  is disposed in the food receiver  12  and food falls into the food receiver cavity  16 , toward the liner. When the liner  100  is positioned in the food receiver  12 , the open top  112  catches food, or more particularly desirably catches all the food, that falls into the food receiver. The open top  112  is longer, wider, and larger (e.g., length×width, area) than the base  104 . The flexible body  102  includes an interior surface  114  that defines the food receiving cavity  110 . The interior surface  114  is defined by (e.g., extends over) the base  104  and the side walls  106 . Desirably, the interior surface  114  is free of any crevices and/or sharp corners to facilitate cleaning the liner  100 . The lack of crevices and/or sharp corners makes the liner  100  easy to clean. 
     The flexible body  102  comprises (e.g., is partially or entirely formed of) a flexible material, such as silicone or other suitable materials. Desirably, the flexible body  102  is a unitary, one-piece component. For example, the flexible body  102  can be made entirely of silicone or reinforced silicone (e.g., having fiberglass reinforcement therein). Silicone also has the added benefit of being easy to clean, as it has a relatively non-stick surface. In other embodiments, the flexible body may be made of multiple pieces joined together. It will be understood that the flexible body may be a composite structure or otherwise include some relatively rigid portions and other non-rigid or flexible portions. 
     The flexible body  102  is sufficiently flexible to permit deformation of the flexible body (e.g., deformation of the base  104  and the side walls  106 ). Desirably, the flexible body  102  is sufficiently flexible to be deformed when the liner  100  is in the food receiver cavity  16 . For example, the base  104  may generally conform to the shape of the floor  18  of the food receiver  12  when the liner  100  is placed in the food receiver cavity  16  and supported by the floor. The flexible body is desirably also sufficiently robust to maintain its shape as shown in  FIG. 4 , when the flexible body is at rest with the entirety of the base  104  supported by a planar support surface (not shown). As illustrated, when the base is entirely supported by the planar support surface, the base is generally planar. The thickness of the material used to form the flexible body  102 , the shape of the flexible body, and/or the traits of the material used to form the flexible body, can be chosen or designed to provide the features of the flexible body described herein. For example, in one embodiment, the flexible body  102  has (e.g., the base  104  and the side walls  106  each have) a thickness of about 3/32 inch. This thickness provides the necessary robustness for a flexible body  102  made of silicone such that the side walls  106  do not wilt, ripple, or ruffle when the side walls  106  form the seal with the food receiver side walls  20 , as explained in more detail below. In other words, this robustness allows the side walls  106  to lay generally flat against the food receiver side walls  20  when the liner  100  is placed in the food receiver  12 . Smaller thicknesses may not provide the necessary robustness, thereby causing the side walls  106  to ripple or ruffle against the food receiver side walls  20 , substantially reducing the quality of the seal formed between the liner  100  and the food receiver  12 . The flexible body  102  is desirably also resilient (e.g., resiliently deformable) such that if the flexible body were deformed, such as by slightly deforming by pushing in one of the side walls  106 , the flexible body would resiliently return to its original shape (see  FIG. 4 ). 
     The flexible body  102  has a length L and a width W. The length L is measured between the upper edges of the front and rear side walls  106 A,  106 B (broadly, two opposing side walls) and the width W is measured between the upper edges of the left and right side walls  106 C,  106 D (broadly, another two opposing side walls). In other words, the length L and the width W of the flexible body  102  is measured at the rim  108 . Desirably, the length L of the flexible body  102  is less than a length L C  of the food receiver cavity  16  and the width W of the flexible body is less than a width W C  of the food receiver cavity (when the flexible body  102  is at rest and the entirely of the base is supported by a planar surface). For example, in one embodiment, the length L and the width W of the flexible body are each about ⅛ inch less than the respective length L C  and width W C  of the food receiver cavity  16 . The base  104  has a base length L B  and a base width W B . The base length L B  is less than the length L of the flexible body  102  and the base width W B  is less than width W of the flexible body. Therefore, the base length L B  is less than the length L C  of the food receiver cavity  16  and the base width W B  is less than width W C  of the food receiver cavity. Desirably, the base length L B  is greater than a raised portion length L R  of the raised portion  22  of the floor  18  of the food receiver  12  and the base width W B  is greater than a raised portion width W R  of the raised portion of the floor of the food receiver. As will become apparent, these dimensions of the flexible body  102  facilitate the formation of the seal between the liner  100  and the food receiver  12 . Flexible bodies having other configurations than described and illustrated herein can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the flexible body  102  is configured to engage and form a seal with the food receiver  12  to collect generally all the food that may fall into the food receiver cavity  16 . The side walls  106  are configured to move into engagement with the food receiver side walls  20  to generally prevent food from moving between the food receiver side walls and the sidewalls of the flexible body  102  when the flexible body is disposed in the food receiver cavity  16  of the food receiver  12 . In particular, the side walls  106  form a seal with the food receiver side walls  10 . Desirably, the rim  108  (e.g., upper edge margins of the side walls  106 ) engages and forms the seal with the food receiver side walls  20 . The seal formed between the side walls  106  and the food receiver side walls  20  ensures the food will fall into the food receiving cavity  110  of the flexible body  102 . Desirably, the side walls  106  (e.g., rim  108 ) form a complete perimeter seal around the food receiving cavity  16  with the food receiver side walls  20 . However, it will be understood that sometimes a perfect fit may not be achieved between the side walls  106  of the liner  100  and the food receiver side walls  20 , resulting in peripheral seal segments between the side walls and food receiver  12  with one or more gaps between the peripheral seal segments. Regardless of whether a complete or partial peripheral seal is made, the engagement between the side walls  106  of the flexible body  102  and the food receiver side walls  20  prevents most/all food from moving in-between the liner  100  and the food receiver  12  and collecting on the floor  18  of the food receiver. 
     As mentioned above, the length L and the width W of the flexible body  102  (e.g., the rim  108 ) is desirably less than the length L C  and the width W C  of the food receiver cavity  16 , respectively. Accordingly, as generally shown in  FIG. 6 , at least some of the side walls  106  would be spaced apart from corresponding food receiver side walls  20  of the flexible body  102  stayed in the configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . Thus, to form the seal (e.g., continuous peripheral seal) between the flexible body  102  and the food receiver side walls  20 , the side walls  106  move outward (e.g., sag) to engage the food receiver side walls and form the seal when the liner  100  is disposed (e.g., positioned or placed) in the food receiver cavity  16 . To facilitate the movement of the side walls  106  toward (e.g., into engagement with) the food receiver side walls  20 , the base  104  of the flexible body  102  is configured to be deformed by the raised portion  22  of the floor  18  of the food receiver  12 . When the liner  100  is disposed (e.g., placed) in the food receiver cavity  16 , the base  104  of the flexible body  102  generally conforms to the contours of the floor  18  (e.g., deforms around the raised portion  22 ). Specifically, the base  104  is deformed by the raised portion  22  of the floor  18 . The base  104  (e.g., a center portion thereof) contacts and is supported by the raised portion  22  of the floor  18  of the food receiver  12 . As a result, because the base  104  is larger (e.g., length, width) than the raised portion  22 , an outer peripheral section of the base is unsupported by the raised portion of the floor  18 . Due to the flexibility of the base  104  and the effects of gravity, this unsupported outer peripheral section of the base falls or sags downward into the perimeter recess  24  of the floor  18 . Due to this deformation of the base  104  around the raised portion  22  of the floor  18  of the food receiver  12 , the side walls  106  move outward toward and into engagement with the food receiver side walls  20 , as shown in  FIG. 7 . The deformation of the base  104  increases the skew angle (relative to the vertical) of the side walls  106  thereby moving the side walls outward. The outward movement of the side walls  106  is further facilitated by the outward tapering (e.g., outward skew angle) of the side walls, causing the side walls to fall or sag outward. The outward tapering of the side walls results in the upper edge margins of the side walls naturally tending to move outward, due to the center of gravity of each side wall being disposed laterally outboard of the base  104 . This natural tendency for the side walls  106  to move outward results in the side walls moving outward when the base  104  deforms over the raised portion  22  of the floor  18 . This outward movement biases the rim  108  (e.g., the upper edge margins of each side wall  106 ) toward sealing engagement with the inner surfaces of the food receiver side walls  20 . Accordingly, when the liner  100  is in the food receiver cavity  16 , the side walls  106  move outward into sealing engagement with the food receiver  12 . This sealing configuration is shown in  FIG. 7 . As illustrated, in this embodiment, the seal between the flexible body  102  and the food receiver  12  is generally formed around the rim  108  of the liner  100  (e.g., the upper edge margins of the side walls  106 ). 
     When the liner  100  is in the sealing configuration, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the base  104  of the liner rests on the floor  18  of the food receiver  12 . The base  104  rests on the raised portion  22  and sags into the perimeter recess  24 . In the illustrated embodiment, the base  104  is shown resting on the portion of the floor  18  defining the bottom of the perimeter recess  24 . It will be appreciated that the base  104  of the liner  100 , although deformed and falling into the perimeter recess  24 , may remain spaced above the portion of the floor  18  defining the bottom of the perimeter recess due to the rim  108  of the flexible body  102  engaging the food receiver side walls  20 . The base  104  of the liner  100  may continually seek to sag farther downward into the perimeter recess  24 , such that the rim  108  of the flexible body  102  is continually biased against the food receiver side walls  20  to maintain and form a more robust sealing engagement (e.g., seal) between the liner and the food receiver  12 . 
     In the sealing configuration, desirably a continuous perimeter seal around the entire rim  108  of the flexible body  102  is formed with the food receiver  12  to prevent food (e.g., solids and liquids) from passing therebetween. Therefore, any food that falls into the food receiver  12 , falls into and is collected by the liner  100 . This makes it easier to clean the food receiver, by simply removing the liner  100  and any food collected thereby from the food receiver. This also prevents the food from falling into the food receiver  12  and resting on the floor  18  of the food receiver. Any food resting on the floor  18  may burn and/or become stuck to the floor. The liner  100  prevents this from happening. Moreover, the non-stick surface of the liner  100  makes it easier to clean should any food collected by the liner be burned by the heating element of the food receiver  12 . Also, the flexibility of the liner facilitates manual deformation of the liner to break food away from the liner. 
     The movement of the side walls  106  and the formation of the perimeter seal between the liner  100  and the food receiver  12  may be further facilitated by the heating of the food receiver (to heat the food held in the trays), which in turn heats the flexible body  102 , making it easier for the flexible body to deform. For example, when the liner  100  is first installed in the food receiver  12 , there may be one or more gaps between the rim  108  of the flexible body  102  and the food receiver side walls  20 , such as at the corners of the liner and food receiver cavity  16 . But after the liner  100  is heated, the liner may expand and/or further deform and close the gaps. 
     It has been found that configuring the liner  100  to provide the tapering and outward movement of the side walls  106  to form the seal is more desirable compared to a liner having a rim and/or side walls that closely conform to or directly match the size and shape of the food receiver cavity  16  because such a liner may not form a sufficient seal. Instead, what tends to occur with directly matched liners is that their walls tend to ripple or get wavy when engaged with the food receiver side walls  20 , preventing the formation of the continuous perimeter seal. 
     Testing has shown the liner  100  provides an insulative effect to the food receiver cavity  16 . Although heat from a heat source or heater (e.g., a heating element and optional heat distribution, such as an aluminum plate) below the floor  18  of the food receiver  12  may need to pass upward through the liner  100  to heat the air in the food receiver cavity  16  about the liner, the liner does not significantly block transmission of the concentrated heat emanating from the heater into the food receiver cavity. In fact, any insulative effect by the liner  100  is easily overcome due to the continued heating provided by the heater, which heats the liner to generally the same desired temperature of the air in the food receiver cavity  16 . The liner  100  may also serve to insulate the heated air in the food receiver cavity  16  and prevent transmission of heat downward and laterally out of the food receiver cavity (e.g., via passing through the metal walls and floor  18  of the food receiver pan  14  covered by the liner). 
     Other configurations of the liner can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the liner can have taller side walls. In another example, the side walls of the liner may not be coupled together at the corners of the liner. 
     When introducing elements of aspects of the disclosure or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     In view of the above, it will be seen that several advantages of the aspects of the disclosure are achieved and other advantageous results attained. 
     Not all of the depicted components illustrated or described may be required. In addition, some implementations and embodiments may include additional components. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional, different or fewer components may be provided and components may be combined. Alternatively or in addition, a component may be implemented by several components. 
     The above description illustrates the aspects of the disclosure by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description enables one skilled in the art to make and use the aspects of the disclosure, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the aspects of the disclosure, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the aspects of the disclosure. Additionally, it is to be understood that the aspects of the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the description or illustrated in the drawings. The aspects of the disclosure are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it will be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     Having described aspects of the disclosure in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims. It is contemplated that various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the disclosure. In the preceding specification, various embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the aspects of the disclosure as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.