United States Patent and Trademark Office OG Notices: 09 May 2006

                      Notice of Maintenance Fees Payable

   Title 37 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 1.362(d) provides
that maintenance fees may be paid without surcharge for the six-month
period beginning 3, 7, and 11 years after the date of issue of patents
based on applications filed on or after Dec. 12, 1980. An additional
six-month grace period is provided by 35 U.S.C. 41(b) and 37 CFR 1.362(e)
for payment of the maintenance fee with the surcharge set forth in 37 CFR
1.20(h), as amended effective Dec. 16, 1991. If the maintenance fee is
not paid in the patent requiring such payment the patent will expire on
the 4th, 8th, or 12th anniversary of the grant.

   Attention is drawn to the patents that were issued on April 29,
2003 for which maintenance fees due at 3 years and six months my now
be paid. The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:

        Utility Patents 6,553,569 through 6,557,173
        Reissue Patents based on the above identified patents.

   Attention is drawn to the patents that were issued on April 27,
1999 for which maintenance fees due at 7 years and six months may now
be paid. The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:

        Utility Patents 5,896,577 through 5,898,933
        Reissue Patents based on the above identified patents.

   Attention is drawn to the patents that were issued on April 25,
1995 for which maintenance fees due at 11 years and six months may now
be paid. The patents have patent numbers within the following ranges:

        Utility Patents 5,408,700 through 5,410,754
        Reissue Patents based on the above identified patents.

   No maintenance fees are required for design or plant patents.

   Payments of maintenance fees in patents may be submitted electronically
over the Internet at www.uspto.gov. Click on the "Site Index" link at the
top of the homepage (www.uspto.gov), and then scroll down and click on the
"Maintenance Fees" link for more information.

   Payments of maintenance fees in patents not submitted electronically
over the Internet should be mailed to "United States Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 371611, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611".

   Correspondence related to maintenance fees other than payments of
maintenance fees in patents is not to be mailed to P.O. Box 371611,
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-1611, but must be mailed to "Mail Stop M
Correspondence, Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450".

   Patent owners must establish small entity status according to 37 CFR
1.27 if they have not done so and if they wish to pay the small entity
amount.

   The current amounts of the maintenance fees due at 3 years and six
months, 7 years and six months, and 11 years and six months are set
forth in the most recently amended provisions in 37 CFR 1.20(e)-(g).
To obtain the current maintenance fee amounts, please call the USPTO
Contact Center at (800)-786-9199 or see the current USPTO fee schedule
posted on the USPTO Internet web site. At the top of the USPTO homepage
at www.uspto.gov, click on the "Site Index" link and then scroll down
and click on the "Fees, USPTO" link to find the current USPTO fee
schedule.