Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
Th~~''~E: ADUEDUS ODDFt CONTROL CDMPO~I~1~]
FIET~~ 0f THE LION
Tl2e present invention is directed to an aqueous
odor control composition for controlling odor associated
wi~,h deposits on surfaces, particularly spills of organic
material on surfaces, more particularly on carpet.
upholstery or other fibrous material.
1D BACKGROUND bF THE INVEN'fZON
There are many instances where, owing to deposits
of orgtiniC ma'texial ran surfaces, offensive odors can
arise through tkle presence of the organic material or its
decomps~sition. For example, much household waste
15 contains orgar~ie material, which upon decampasi.tion can
give xise to offensive odors. This is partiCu~.arljr true
where the household waste must be stored for a period of
'time prior to its disposal. Similarly, many fibrous
materials utilized in household appliGation.S are a~.so
20 susceptible to soiling bx organic based material, wkx~.ch
can give rise fi.o offensive odors. These fibrous
materials include carpet. upY~,al,stery, battiri.r~ used for
mattresses, pillow aa~i pad. as well as other relatively
porous surfaces encountered in the household or
25 commercial environment.
~lariy fibrous materials, such as acrylic,
polyester, polypropylene and wool, and particularly nylbxx
used in th,e maxzufacture of upholsterx, carpets, batting
34 and hvusehpld fabrics may be susceptihlE to staining
especially from the many food dyes used ~,x~. hever$ges and
other foods as well as fx~an rather chemicals from many
sources. Nylon aa,rpet fibers are often treated with
stain blockers such its a sulfonated phenol foxma~.dehyde
35 cvndensate polymer, a sulfonated naphthol formaldehyde
oondensate polymer, a kaydrrlyzed vinyl aromatic malefic
anhydride polymer, certain iluorochemicals or
combinations thereof. The stain blackers net to prevent
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
or reduce the ability of organic dyed, particularly acid
dye Cdlorants from chemically reacting wzth and bondixsg
to th.e nylon. Z'he fibrQUS material, ~sp,~cia3.ly carpet
fibers are also commonly coatiø. with a fluorachem~.oa1
5 anti-soiling agant to imgrove the anti-staining or anti-
soiling characteristics of the carpet surface. The anti-
soiling fluorochemiCals reduce the t$nca,erlcy of soil to
adhere t4 the fiber making the clean up of any spills ør
soil on the carpet easier. The fluoroch~nicals also
10 reduce fiber wetability, making for easy cl~aar~, up of
licauid.spills through a simple process of blotting the
spill. Examp~,eS of Such fluorochemiCdls and other stain
resistant chemicals are given, fQr example, ~in U.S.
Pater~t rxutnberc ~, 580, 212 and 4, 925, 707, the disclo~~,,res
15 of which e.xe incox~orated herein. by reference. The use
of the stain blackers and fluorocl~.emical~ may not provide
c4xttplete stain resistarxce to the carpet, as some
materials may still pez»strate the nylon. fibers or react
with the fibers, especially if left ire contact with the
20 carpet for extended periods of time. This may be
especially ~tue Where the carpefi is exposed to conditions
such as direct Sunlight or other 17V sources or high
traffic areas, as these conditions may cause the
effectiveness of the flucrochemical and stain Mocker
25 coatings to be diminished.
In addition, espdcially in residentie.l locations,
the possibility of deposits of organic matter such as
feces or urine from babves and pets can result in not
30 only soiling of fibrous and other porous materials such
as carpets and bedding but also a lirlger~,ra,g odor ,and may;
in extreme cases, require the replacement of the soiled
object. rn the past, various ch~mic~al compounds ha,~cre
been prol5osed tb aid in removing odor in a cleaning
35 process. Such chemicals generally act as ado inhibiting
3~er~ts such as U.S. Patent No. 4,996,672 which describes
the use of biguanidine polymer compositions as odor
inhibiting agents. However, even in Chase cases urhexe
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
the d~posit is cleaned up and odor inhibiting agents
utilized. the odor from such deposits may remain in the
sailed objects and may become apparent as tk~e effect df
the odor masking agents wear off.
deposits of various materials on CaYpet 3xid other
fibrous materials may also give riss~ to athcr concerns.
Many of the deposit materials. are capable of supporting
bacterial growth, especially iri tkie case of feces which
car~.ta~.,ns many bacteria. Some of tk~~ bac'teria that may
grow, as a result of a deposit, may ha~cre the potential of
causing disease in persons exposed to them, such as mold
and mildew. Cax'pet axed ot~7.8x fibrous material are also
known, to Gantain a number of naturally occurring bacteria
and other organisms. Some of th~s~ bacteria. may
~.Izemselves dive rise to odor duo to ~.r'~.c4mplete digestion
of organic material. There have. been attempts to reduce
the prosence and number of bacteraa ~Sresetlt in carpet by
utilizing varis~us anti-microbial s,gex~ts suG~ as described
~,ri U.S- Patent Nos. 4,110,504 and 5,024,840. These
agents are applied to ta.rpet in a manner similar to the
way stain blackers axe applied to carpet. The use of
Finti--mierobials, while reducing the number of bacteria
associated with carpet, may raise other concerns such as
the impact Qx~ k~.umary. and animal health and the potential
that some of the bacteria may become resistant to etfeCtS
of the anti-microbialS.
Many bacterial and fungal genera are known for exec
in odor control due td their capability for producZag
enzymes that dxe capable of breaking down organic
material. Such bacteria are particularly useful where
the orgazxic material, if allowed to remain, will g~.ve
rise to malodors. Several such bacterial and fungal
genera such ass Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterobacter.
Stxe~tococcus, Rt1i2o1~Lt8, Nitrosornonas, Nitrobaetier,
~seudomorias, ~,~caliuens and, K~.ebsi~l.la, ,~mbri.g Dthers, are
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
- 4 -
known for u8e: iri such applications ~nrith Bacillus sp.
being the most prevalent is use in Warious applications.
For e~eamtp7.e. European Patent Application No.
732,395 describes the use of E~acillus sp. for odor
control of feed'stuffs used in farming end JP EatenG
Application No. 7-D31,6fi8 describes their use for odor
control of toilets, shoe l:~oxes and pet litter. Other
uses of the Bacillus far odor control for baby di2tptrs
14 and ~aallpap~x axe described in JP Patent application kilos.
Z-121.665 and 3-059,199 respectivellr. Preparations of
sporulated Bacillus in a form suitable for spxaying or
otherwYise distributirsg an a deposit, egpeaially of pet
urine and feces, on a carpet far controlling odor are
15 presently marketed by '1.'he 8ramton Company of Dallas,
Texas under the trademark Clr3TRZG~iT. The bacterial
preparations are used. to deodorize a deposit by
application directly on the deposit. Once the deposit is
deodoxiaad. t'he bacteria are depleted from the site or
20 disposed of alonc3 with the deodorized material. Ire the
event of a new deposit on the carpet, the treatment must
be repeated.
There thus remains a need for a means for txeating
~5 surfaces, particularly carpet and other ~ibrous material
to counteract the effects of deposits and especially ~ox
controlling odor associated with the deposits,
particularly deposited, organic material.
30 SUN.~ARY OF THE INVENTIaN
The present iaventian provides in one aspect for a
method for controlling odor associated ~rith $.epas:i.ts of
organic odor causar~,g material in contact with a surface.
~fhe methor3 comprises applying tø Gh$ prgs~,ic odor Causing
35 material an aqueous composition oomprising'one or more
strains of dormant baCtaria.. which, when activated, are
effective to cors.trol odors, orre or mare enzymes and a
non-residual surfactant. When the aqueous comgosit3on is
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
.. 5
exposed to organic material that can cause odors, the
bacteria associated with the aqueous camposition are
capable of becoming active and digesting the organic
material.
In another aspect of the invention there is
provided a composition for treating a surface,
particularZ3r a carpet, fabric or fibrous material to
provide control of odor associated with deposits of
organic odor causing material on, tla.e~ surface. The
composition comprises one o~ maze strains of dormant
bacteria, which, when activated are effective to control
odors, one or more enzymes, and a non~residus.l
surfactant.
is
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBQDIL~ENT
The present invention is directed in one aspect to
a method of controlling odor associated with deposits,
~0 particularly spills, of organic material which can cause
odors on surfaces, particularly carpet or other fibrous
materials. The present invention is also directed to the
ac~xeous compositions useful for treating a~xrfaces.
particularly carpet or other fibrous material to make
25 them capabls of Gor~trollirtg odor as well as to the
surfaces. xx~ add~.t~,ori to aorit.rclling odor, the
compositions may also aid in reducing the staining
effects of organic mater~.a~..
30 Many 7,~acterial genera are. known to produce enzymes
fat aWe. c8p2~1~1A of bro8,kixeg ~3owrs c,5rgariio mc~lt~rz.al. Such
baatsria arc partiauxs,r~.y useful where this orgaaic
material, if allowed to remain, will give rise to
malodors. several such bacterial genera such as
35 Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterobacter, Strentococcus,
Nitrosomana~, Nierobacter, Pseudc~mor~.as, A~.cal~aems axed
Klebsiella amongst others are Jmown for use in such
applications, with Hacillus and Lactobacillus sp. being
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
the mast prevalent in use in various application .
Strains of bacteria from any of the above noted gen$ra
are useful in practicing the present invention.
Preferably, the bacterial preparation fQx use in the
present invention is one or more strains of Bacillus pr
Lactobacillus, pre preferably, the strains of bacteria
far use in the present invention are selected, from
,~cillus licheniformis, Bacillus pasteurii, Bacillus
laavolacticus, Haci~~us meaaterium and Bacillus
amvlolicruefaciens. Each of these species has
characteristics that make them most effective against
particular types of organic materials. All of these
species are capable of enhanced anaerobic and aerobic
growth. Bacillus ~$steurii is known for superiar lipase
production, while Hacillus laevolacticus has a very fast
germination cycle. Bacillus amvloliauefaeiena is high in
production of protease enzymes.
The selection of the strains of baGberia for use
~0 is the present invention may depend upon many factors.
One rush factor is the nature of the organic material
most commanly expected for the particular applieatipn,
For exan~.pl~, in a commercial application, the mast
commonly expected deposits would be soil tracked in from
out-of-doors, beverages such as coffee, tea, Qther food
and the like, especially in a restaurant environment, and
pQSSibly, inks~or Goners for printers sad otrier office
equipment. Many of these materials are high in fatty
components so the bacterial preparation may be QnhanCed
for strains having high activity against such materials.
Qne example of such a bacteria is Hs~~llus pasteurii
known for superior lipase production. zn a residential
environment, the nature of the $eposits may differ with
out-of-doors soils. Beverages, food anc3 urine and feces
from pets and children being most commonly enoauntered.
Depending upon the nature of the deposited material, the
preparation may be selected t4 Gbrit~i~ strains having
enhanced activity against rush materials, ~yQthex factor
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
_ 7
that may affect the nature of the deposit is the
geogxaph~.ca~, location o~ the suxface being treated. This
factor would especially relate to the nature of deposits
of out-of-doors sail and to the nature of food deposits.
5 Different regiana are known to have different soil types
and different regions may also have differences in the
foods commonly consuz~ed due to cultural and environmental
factors_ In addition, the temperature of the carpet to
be treated will ix~,fluextoe the activity o~ the bacteria.
10 Depending on the strain selected the bacteria will tend
to exhibit enhancec'i activity at higher temperatures. At
lower ambient temperatures, more active strains xna.y be
desired.
15 ~~,e bacterial preparation will typically comprise
one or more strains selected from the genera and Species
described above: ~nlhen utilizing a mixture of more than
one strain, each of the individual strains may comprise
between 3~ and 97~ of the total of the bacteria present
2Q in the preparation. Depending upon the bacteria, these
percentages are based ost the total cell aumk~er or CrJlol'~y
farming units or the total mass of tk~~ bacterial
preparation. For the Bacillus sp. the percer.~tages are
based on total Cell txu~nber. Hxe~~xably, each of the
25 strains is preset7,t ire sufficient numbers t.o make up 1p$
to 70~ of the total bacteria in the preparation. When
mixtures of more tha.~x two strairm are employed. eech of
the strains is most pr~afera?~ly praserxt irA az~ tamourat a~
from 20~ to 40~ of the total bacteria in the preparat~.or~.
30 partiCUlarly preferred preparations far general use in
almost all applications are as follaras:
% o~ total Hacter;.a
Prc~f~:~rar3
3 5 es, Railae a~g,
Bacillus ~e<r~te~ . 5-6D 2D-SD
;F~,acillus gasraurii 14-40 10-30
Bacillus laevolacticus 10-40 3.0-30
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
_ $ -
Ba~~.llus anly~l~lrcyuaiaciena 1Q-40 1Q~30 '
Bacillus. li~'hg,,n.ifermia 10-d0 10-30
5 In a preferred embodiment of the preserst invention
an effective amount of a bacterial composition comprising
one or more strains selected from the group consisting of
Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus mecraterium. Bacillus
nasteurii, sacillus laevol~cticus and Bacillus
10 amYloliQUefaciens and combinations thereof are provided
in a state in which the compasitiarf may be applied to d
surface, such as carpet fiber or other fibrous material.
The effective amount is a sufficient number of bacteria
to provide a relativa7.y uniform coverage of the syxrfe.ce
15 exposed to a deposit of as odor ca~.siz~g oxganic ms.teri~l.
The bacteria will then undergo rapid growth and consume
the odor causirsg matex~~.a~.. The factors that Geri affect
the number of bacteria to $e used relate in most part to
the nature of the surface to be protested. For carpet,
20 such factors 3xaolude the nature or the fiber in terms of
the material, a.g. zxylOn or pplypropylene and the like,
the characteristics of the yarn in the terms of the
denier and number of filaments and the Gharacteristic~5 c~f
the fiber in terms of the number of yarns and the twist.
25 These factors relate to the nature of the carpet in terms
of the weight (oz) or (g) and height of the pile. All s~f
these factors will affect the ambunt of e.5cpas~d surfaoe
of the fibers that m~,gY~t be covered by the bacterial
p~el7~x'd:~a.8ri.. lPor mamt applications on carpet, between
30 about 106 and 10$ cells per ml of the compositior~. is
preferred.
The compositions are provided as a preparation of
a suspensions of the kl~acillus species. oxie or maze enzymes
35- and a non-residual surfactant in a suitable aqueous
carrier, such as distilled water, tap water, a saline
solution or other such aqueous solutions.
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
The bacteria and particularly Bac,~llus species are
provided as dormant cells. The term "dormant cells" is
intended to encompass cells which are in a state which
are reqv.ired to be activated before they can undergo
5 growth. One example flf a dormant Cell is a sporulated
farm of the bactexia where the spores must undergo
activation and ger~tination before growth of the bacteria
can occur.
10 $y providing the bacteria iri a dormant or
sporulated form, the bacteria are protected from
environmental factors which may prove detrimental to
active bacterial oells. These envirox~mental factors may
iriGlude exposure to heat, chemical agents, axxd UV
15 radiation from sunlight &s well as the exposure to air
for those strains that may be predominantly anaerobic.
The sporulated or dormant strains of bacteria
become activated and undergo germination in response to
20 being exposed to organic material including organic
material that can cause odors. The factors that promote
the activation of the dormant Qx sparulated bacteria
include the moisture and various organic compounds
present in the deposit o~ organic material. Once
25 activated, the bacteria undergo growth and replication,
consuming the organic material in the deppsit until the
material is depleted.
The bacterial preparation tttay be provided as a
30 concentrate to be diluted with the other ingredients.
The concentrate may include other agents far improving
viability of the bacterial preparation. The cpncCntrate
preferably contains between x0 arid 20 times the number of
cells or spores per ml of the final compQSitian.
35 Typically, the concentrate contains about 109 cells per
ml. The concentrate ie diluted with water or other
agueous carrier and the other ingredients to produce the
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
_ 1~ _
composition which is directly applied to installed
surfaces, for example, installed carpet.
The composition also includes other agents namely
one or mare enzymes, and a non-residual surfactant in
addition to the ~aacteria spore bland. The enzymes
typically employad in the composition are one or more
3ipase or protease enzymes, particularly amylase. The
non-residual surfactant is one which does not leave an
10 appreciable residue upon drying. The nature of the
surfactaxxt will be selected based upon the non-residual
property. Particularly preferred surfactants are the
sulfosuccinate anionic surfactants, more particularly the
sodium dialkyl sulfosuccinates and most particularly
15 sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinates such as COLALJET MA-80
available from The T~i,orn~.ey Company, Wilmington, DE.
The odor controlling bacterial composition of the
present invention may be provided with other ingredients
20 depending upon tb,e apgl~.c~,tiQx~ or suxface to be treated,
such as masking agents, anti-Foaming agents, or foaming
agents. The masking agents are gansrally fragrances such
as vanilla or trash scent t.v zs~~.ti.al3.y mask t'~ odox
associated with the material on the aaxpet. The az~ti-
25 foaming agent far reducing surface terssion for reduced-
absorbent surfaces may be arry commonly utilized anti-
foaming agent which would be suitable for the surface to
be treated. One exampla of suckr an ar~.ti-foaming agexxt is
a sil.iGQnc bas~od anti-foaming ag~rit, Which m$y $e
30 utilized in compositions utilized. for txeating reduced
absorbent surfaces, such a,s hard surfaces. Mme ar~ti-
foaming agent may also be used in compQSi~ipns Wl~~,ch are
utilized in a spray bottle for direct application by the
consumer, particularly fQr carpet ox oth~rr fibrous
35 material.
Another additional ingredient which may be
utili2ed iri the cOmpbSition depending upon the
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
~~ 11 -
alapliaa~tian is a foaming agent far producing a foam
,aampasition for treating relatively absorbent surfaces,
S~xCb as ad.xptt. . This foaming agent is preferably a
lauryl sulphate, rrtpre preferably an ammonium lauryl
5 sulphate or sodium lauryl sulphate, most preferably
sadstlm ldLtryl Sulphate. the foaming agent is utilized to
produce a composition which can be applied to the
surfaces of higher absorbency to allow the eompositian to
he worked into the surface. This may be of particular
10 use for treating carpet. The additional ingredients
would be utilized in the comgosxtions at the usually
employed Cancentrations~ generally 5 percent by weight or
less based upon the total weight of the compQsit,ian.
15 For treatmerxt of most surfaces by sprayir~g, the
a~xu~aov.s odor controlling laacterial cQn~posit~,an Qf the
present invention are preferably formulated to have the
following cozapo~it~.or~:
Rsago (% aP total vc~feht) ,
bacteria sDose blend 3.0 to 10
yu~y~u~g 0.1 to 5
2 $ isopropyl alcohol O.DD1 La 9. ODD
mssking agcnC 4.401 to 5.400
surfactant 0.441 to 5.440
acetic acid O.D01 G6 S.D00 ~dyu~L p$ as ritec~sdry
balanac water
34
More preferably, the aamposi.tiar~s of the present
irxvexxtitrr~ w~il1 be as fallotas : .
~s (96 of total xeS.Qht)
3~
~ nacteria mpore blend 3.b6b ro I.DDO
enzymes D.1 to 2.00D
inopropyi alcohol 0.01 to 4.000
~~,~~j,ng pg~nt ~ 0 _ D1 to 1 _ 000
surfaetaat 0_0l td 1.000
acetic acid 0_01 to 5.044 adjust ph as necessary
ba2aace water
45 A i~articularly prefexr$d co~osition accordin~~d to
the present invention is as follows:
t% of ootsi ae3ghC)
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
- 12 -
bacteria spare blend 5
enzymes i.5
isopropyl alcohol 1.0
5 mn::kinr~ agtnt 0.5
gur~actant 0.5
dcetiC acid 0_Q1 to 5_000 adjuHt oh as nece35aYy
~anae water
Zo
The composition is applied to a surface such as an
installed carpet either by way of directly spraying a
sailed area with the composition or diluting the
cdxapositit~n further with water and applying it to the
15 carpet with a carpet cleaning machine. When applying the
composition to wn insta3.led carpet, it is not essential,
but preferred t#aac t'h~s cQmpQSition be applied c~.c~rQUghly
and evenly throughout the length of the pzle, especially
reaching doom to the base of the ,pile til3er. Tfais is
20 generally achieved by applying an aqueous foaming
bacterial preparation to the carpet and then working the
fibers to improve the contact, distribution and
penetrativ~i of the bacterial preparation. This is moat
coxmnonly achieved by use of a.pile brush operated either
25 icy hand or automatically for example, utilizing a
cleaning device such as is commonly available
commercially. To enhance the penetration of the
bacterial preparation, the fibers c~f the oax~ptt may
initially be wetted through an agplitation of a detergent
3d solution. M'his is mast commonly applied where the
installed carpet. is cleaned u~in~ a cleaning machine
prior to t~.c application of the bacterial preparation.
While the carpet fibers are still moist, the bacterial
preparation may be applied and worked into the carpet,
35 utilizing the pile brush. Once the carpet has been so
treated, it is dried, either by allowing it to dry in the
air at ambient tex~erature or through the use of hat air
blown through the pile of the carpet to increase the
speed of drying of the carpet. Depending upon the state
~0 of the surface materzaJ., the composition may be applied
in manor different ways. 2~1~t compcsitic~r~ tnay be apgl~.ed
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
by dipping the material in the CCmpasition or by Spraying
tha composition onto the material_ In any of these
cases, once the surface material is treated with the
composition, the treated material is allowed to dfy by
way t~f applied heazt or simply by ambient drying.
The eompoSitipxa.S cad method of the preser~.t
invention provide for effective odor control for
Surfaces, such as carpet. Thc~ use of the bacterial
preparations, particularly the Sp4x~ulated forms of
8aci11us, provide for control of odor caused by depps~.~S
of organic odor causing material on surfaces such as
carpets and other fibrous material_ Ozsce the deposit
comes isYto coritact with the bacteria, the bacteria
germ~.nete, s,nd cor~ttmence growing by feedx~Cig on, the organic
material as a food source. This baote~'ial growth
commer~Ces wit'izin 20 minutes providing t~aticeable odor
reduction xesults within 2~ and 4~ hot~r~ after the
bacteria encounter the deposit. It is desirable to
2Q ir~~.tf2illy mask the odor using odox masking agents or
neutralize the odor using odt~r neutra3.iaing agents such
as sodium bicarbonate or molecular Sieves until the
sporul3t.ed bacteria can germinate, grow and effectively
decompo:~e the odor causing ag~nt9. The composition also
includes suitable protease ar~.d~pr ~.ipase enzymes to
commence the digestion of the odor causirxg material until
the bacteria commence ~h~!ir growth stage and c~ take
over the digestion of the adcsr causing rnat.ex~.al,
It is suggestød that for optimum odor control the
carpet be treated with the odor cantrøl.l~,ng bacterial
preparation an a rout~xxrr~ basis such as after each wet
clearing. This carp be easily accomplished after cleaning
with the praparatior~, app~.3.ed. tc~ the carpet either when
still wet from the clearyrsg or after the carpet has
dried. Fxeferably, the preparation is applied to the
carpet wl7.ile 5tiI1 wet, worxeed into the carpet with a
pile brush and the carpet is allowed to dry naturally.
CA 02369469 2002-O1-29
fit, additiori to providing for removal of
potentia3.ly odor aausirig Qrg~anio m~~.er~;~t~, associated with
deposits on surfaces such as carpet and other fibrous
material, the use of tht l~aCteris.l pregarations of the
present invention provides other benefits. It has been
found that the bacterial preparation associated with the
aarget fiber or other fibrous material ex~hazloes the anti-
stain characterzst~.cs 4~~ t~.e carpet. N~axiy of th9 stern.
1.0 causing materials are organic in nature and it has been
found that the bacteria can utilize such organic
r~,~,texxals as a food s4~.r~e. As the bacteria. oon~~me the
stain causing material, the staining properties of the
compounds are zeduced. '
The method and compositions of the present
invc~ritic~n are especiaxly sui.tab~.e for use w~.tla carpet as
described in the specific examples set out above. These
methods and compositions are also suitable for use with
other fibrous material that may bs susceptible to the
effeots of deposits of organic material. Examples of
such other fibrous materials include rugs, upholstery
fabriG~, a~.tomotive fa3~rics, bedding, clothing, etc.
A3~though various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail,
it will be appreciated by those s3cilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the irtv~rr.ti4n or the scope of the agpendect
claims.
