1-5. (canceled)
6. A packaging system for producing a foam-in-bag cushion upon demand comprising:
a bag formed of flexible plastic film material and defining therein an enclosed space of a volume corresponding to the size of the foam cushion to be produced, said enclosed space being vented to the outside of said bag to permit the escape of gases generated during the formation of the foam cushion while preventing the escape of foam therefrom;
a foam precursor packet positioned at a predetermined location within said enclosed space in said bag and being formed of a barrier material capable of maintaining foam precursor components in a relatively stable and unreacted state, said packet including a first compartment and a second compartment with a first frangible seal separating said first and second compartments and adapted to be raptured when it is desired to form the foam cushion, said packet also including a second frangible seal between one of said compartments and said enclosed space in said bag;
a first foam precursor component contained in said first compartment of said packet;
a second foam precursor component contained in said second compartment of said packet;
said first and second foam precursor components being adapted to be mixed upon rupture of said first frangible seal and to react to form foam which will rupture said second frangible seal and expand from said packet into said enclosed space in said bag until said enclosed space is substantially filled with foam and said foam cushion is formed; and
said frangible seals having a peel strength of at least about one-half pound per inch and less than about twelve pounds per inch, wherein said frangible seals are each formed by a band of printing extending along one of the contiguous surfaces of said packet, said band of printing comprising a pattern of spaced apart printed areas separated by a grid of spaced apart seal lines in orthogonal or non-orthogonal fashion throughout the length of said frangible seals.
7. (canceled)
8. A packaging system according to claim 6 wherein said grid of spaced seal lines are arranged in a regular matrix having a density of at least about 6 matrix lines per inch.
9. A packaging system according to claim 8 wherein said matrix has at least about 50 matrix lines per inch.
10-14. (canceled)
15. A packaging system according to claim 6 wherein said grid of spaced apart seal lines includes seal lines intersecting at substantially right angles.
16-19. (canceled)
20. A packaging system according to claim 6 wherein said band of printing comprises a pattern of printed areas with unprinted areas and wherein said printed areas cover at least about 60 percent of the surface area of said band of printing.
21. A packaging system according to claim 20 wherein said printed areas cover at least about 80 percent of said band of printing.
22. (canceled)
23. A packaging system for producing a foam-in-bag cushion upon demand comprising:
a bag formed of flexible plastic film material and defining therein an enclosed space of a volume corresponding to the size of the foam cushion to be produced, said enclosed space being vented to the outside of said bag to pen-nit the escape of gases generated during the formation of the foam cushion while preventing the escape of foam therefrom,
a foam precursor packet positioned at a predetermined location within said enclosed space in said bag and being formed of a barrier material capable of maintaining foam precursor components in a relatively stable and unreacted state, said packet including a first compartment and a second compartment with a first frangible seal separating said first and second compartments and adapted to be raptured when it is desired to form the foam cushion, said packet also including a second frangible seal between one of said compartments and said enclosed space in said bag,
a first foam precursor component contained in said first compartment of said packet,
a second foam-precursor component contained in said second compartment of said packet,
said first and second foam precursor components being adapted to be mixed upon rupture of said first frangible seal and to react to form foam which will rupture said second frangible seal and expand from said packet into said enclosed space in said bag until said enclosed space is substantially filled with foam and said foam cushion is formed, and
said frangible seals having a peel strength of at least about one-half pound per inch and less than about twelve pounds per inch, wherein said first frangible seal comprises a pair of spaced apart seals separated by an unsealed region.
24. A packaging system according to claim 23 wherein said second frangible seal comprises a pair of spaced apart seals separated by an unsealed region.
25-26. (canceled)
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An educational apparatus, comprising:
a container including a set of defined locations into which a corresponding set of magnets is removably mounted, the mounted set of magnets being arranged side by side in an array underneath a covering surface of the container, each individual mounted magnet representing an individual bit of a binary representation of a number the respresented bits being visually indiscernible through the container covering surface,
each individual magnet being removably into the array in one of two distinct orientations, a binary \u201c0\u201d orientation, in which a first magnetic pole faces towards the container covering surface and a second, opposite magnetic pole faces towards the container covering surface, and a binary \u201c1\u201d orientation, in which the second magnetic pole faces towards the container covering surface and the first magnetic pole face towards the container covering surface,
the mounted set of magnets being positioned with respect to the container covering surface such that the orientation of each individual magnet in the array of magnets is tactilely detectable through the container covering surface as attraction or repulsion between each individual magnet and a handheld magnet traveling over the container covering surface, thereby allowing a holder of the external magnet to ascertain, through tactile sensation alone, the number represented in binary by the arrangement of the set of magnets in the array.
2. The educational apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnet locations within the container are defined by a set of compartments, each compartment receiving a magnet.
3. The educational apparatus of claim 1, wherein for each magnet in the set of magnets, the first magnetic pole is labeled with the number \u201c0,\u201d and wherein the second magnetic pole is labeled with the number \u201c1.\u201d
4. The educational apparatus of claim 1, wherein the handheld external magnet is mounted onto an end of a wand.
5. The educational apparatus of claim 1, wherein the container has a rectangular profile with flat outer surfaces.