U.S. patent application number 10/033015 was filed with the patent office on 2002-06-27 for inner enclosure with micro shock absorber for a carrying case.
This patent application is currently assigned to Addonics Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Kwong, Bill.
Application Number | 20020079244 10/033015 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26945559 |
Filed Date | 2002-06-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020079244 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kwong, Bill |
June 27, 2002 |
Inner enclosure with micro shock absorber for a carrying case
Abstract
An improved soft inside enclosure for shock protection of a
variety of external electronic and computer peripheral comprises a
set of substantially evenly spaced small columns of Micro Shock
Absorber (MSA) protrusions that are integrated on the inside
surfaces of the soft inside enclosure. Additionally, the base wall
of the MSA structure can include a set of micro venting features
for the improvement of heat dissipation from the enclosed devices
to the ambient. A number of specific candidate materials are also
presented for the construction of the soft inside enclosure with
the MSA structure. A method for the systematic and experimental
determination of a specific design of the MSA structure based on
its durometer, thickness, diameter, column height, and pitch are
disclosed.
Inventors: |
Kwong, Bill; (Saratoga,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
C.P. Chang c/o Pacific Law Group LLP
Suite 290
2 North Second Street
San Jose
CA
95113
US
|
Assignee: |
Addonics Technologies, Inc.
Fremont
CA
|
Family ID: |
26945559 |
Appl. No.: |
10/033015 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10033015 |
Oct 18, 2001 |
|
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|
09956727 |
Sep 19, 2001 |
|
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60256735 |
Dec 18, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
206/305 ;
206/320; 206/521 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 3/00 20130101; B65D
85/30 20130101; A45C 13/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/305 ;
206/320; 206/521 |
International
Class: |
B65D 085/38; B65D
081/02 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A soft inside enclosure of a carrying case for shock protection
of an electronic device in its storage, carrying and operating
modes, comprising: a soft top inner enclosure having a soft top
base wherein said soft top base comprises further a set of small
columns of protrusions made of a first shock absorbing material; a
soft bottom inner enclosure having a soft bottom base and four side
walls with a connector access slot located on one of the side walls
wherein said soft bottom base further comprises a set of small
columns of protrusions made of a second shock absorbing material;
and whereby the soft top inner enclosure and the soft bottom inner
enclosure snug fit the enclosed electronic device all around to
provide for a desirable shock absorption for the enclosed
electronic devices.
2. The soft inside enclosure according to claim 1 wherein said set
of small columns of protrusions further comprises a set of micro
venting features for the improvement of heat dissipation from the
enclosed electronic devices to the ambient.
3. The soft inside enclosure according to claim 2 wherein said set
of micro venting features is selected from the group consisting of
a slot, a circle, an ellipse or any other shape suitable for heat
dissipation.
4. The soft inside enclosure according to claim 1 wherein the first
shock absorbing material is selected from the group consisting
essentially of soft microcellular urethane, metallically coated
soft microcellular urethane and polyurethane.
5. The soft inside enclosure according to claim 1 wherein the
second shock absorbing material is selected from the group
consisting essentially of soft microcellular urethane, metallically
coated soft microcellular urethane and polyurethane.
6. A method of making an soft inside enclosure of a carrying case
for an electronic device for providing a customer-specified amount
of shock protection to said electronic device in its storage,
carrying and operating modes, comprising the steps of: providing a
soft top inner enclosure having a soft top base wherein said soft
top base comprises further a first set of substantially evenly
spaced small columns of Micro Shock Absorber ("MSA") protrusions
made of a shock absorbing material; providing a soft bottom inner
enclosure having a soft bottom base and four side walls with a
connector access slot located on one of the side walls wherein said
soft bottom base further a second set of substantially evenly
spaced small columns of Micro Shock Absorber ("MSA") protrusions
made of a shock absorbing material; snagging fit the enclosed
electronic device by the soft top inner enclosure and the soft
bottom inner enclosure to provide for a shock absorption for the
enclosed electronic devices; determining the customer-specified
amount of maximum shock protection in terms of a maximum allowable
non-damaging drop height of the enclosed device and a hardness of a
drop surface of impact; measuring the size and weight of the
enclosed device; and systematically varying a variety of parameters
including durometer, thickness, diameter, column height and pitch
of the MSA until one or more combination of said parameters
satisfies said maximum allowable non-damaging drop height of the
enclosed device upon said drop surface of impact with said
specified hardness.
7. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
6 wherein the enclosed device is a typical 2.5 inch hard disk
storage device.
8. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
7 wherein the enclosed device is a typical 2.5 inch hard disk
storage device.
9. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
8 wherein the maximum allowable non-damaging drop height is 4 feet
and the drop surface of impact is a hard concrete surface.
10. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
9 wherein the durometer of the MSA is 30.
11. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
10 wherein the thickness of the MSA is 6.4 mm.
12. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
11 wherein the diameter of the MSA is 7 mm with an acceptable range
of 6 mm to 8 mm.
13. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
12 wherein the column height of the MSA is 4 mm with an acceptable
range of 4 mm to 5 mm.
14. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
13 wherein the pitch of the MSA is 17 mm.
15. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
6 wherein the first shock absorbing material is selected from the
group consisting essentially of soft microcellular urethane,
metallically coated soft microcellular urethane and
polyurethane.
16. The method of making a soft inside enclosure according to claim
6 wherein the second shock absorbing material is selected from the
group consisting essentially of soft microcellular urethane,
metallically coated soft microcellular urethane and polyurethane.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This invention is a formal application of a provisional
application, filed on Dec. 18, 2000, Serial No, 60/256,735 and a
continuation application filed Sep. 19, 2001, Ser. No.
09/956,727.
FILED OF INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to a new design of a soft inner
enclosure for the carrying case of an external data storage device
or other electronic devices for shock protection of the external
data storage device or other electronic devices in their storage,
carrying and operating mode.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] The need of an enclosure for the protection of a variety of
devices against shock has been around for a long time. A brief
search and analysis of the prior art revealed the following US
patents:
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,121 (November 1988, by Lyons), titled
computer protective enclosure, teaches the usage of outside panels
with inner linings to acoustically isolate and additionally protect
the stored computer. The outside panels, or covers, are made of
rigid materials such as wood, plastic and metal. The inner linings
are made of foam plastic with a space between the inner linings and
the computer. Furthermore, the enclosure is intended for affixing
to building construction members or other stationary objects for
stability.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,340 (July 1989, by Walther), titled
shock proof carrying enclosure for musical instrument, teaches the
usage of an enclosure for the shock proof storage and carrying of a
musical instrument like cello. However, in this case, the enclosed
musical instrument is already retained within a rigid case to begin
with. Therefore, effectively, the protective structure for the
musical instrument itself consists of an inner rigid case and an
outer flexible enclosure.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,988 (April 1991, by Brown), titled
expandable shock protected carrying case, teaches the usage of a
carrying case for a lap top computer, printers, facsimiles and the
like where the carrying case comprises of functional elements like
handle, shoulder strap, compartments and accessory pockets. The
disclosed wall structure consists of at least three layers, that
is, an outer shell, an inner shell and a three-ply shock protection
structure sandwiched in between. The outer shell is made of a
substantially rigid yet soft material. The disclosed carrying case
looks to be primarily used when the enclosed device is in its
non-operating mode. Thus, for example, thermally insulating
materials and related structural design are employed there to
protect the enclosed device from temperature extremes.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,841 (March 2000, by Albrecht, Khanna,
Kumar and Sri-Jayantha), titled disk drive with composite sheet
metal and encapsulated plastic, describes the usage of a metal base
with integrally molded plastic peripheral flanges plus elastomeric
comer bumpers for shock protection. As described, except for the
elastomeric comer bumpers, all the other enclosure pieces are made
of rigid material.
[0008] As described in a pending application filed earlier by the
inventor, a soft enclosure design for an external data storage
device or other electronic devices in their storage, carrying and
operating mode is disclosed. The inside shock absorbing layer of
the soft enclosure design, now called inner enclosure for
simplicity, provides many functions. Some examples of the functions
are shock protection, heat dissipation, fire retardation, shielding
against radio frequency interference, prevention of build up of
static electricity and prevention of dirt penetration into the
interior of the enclosure. This invention deals with a more
specific design of the inner enclosure with additional merits. For
clarity, it is remarked that the inner enclosure is also commonly
referred to as the inner lining for a carrying case.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0009] The current invention is conceived to realize a more
specific design of the inner enclosure, or the inner lining for a
carrying case, of an external data storage device with additional
merits. Specifically, it is an objective of this invention to
provide an inner enclosure for an external data storage device
whereby the function of shock protection for the data storage
device is achieved by using a minimum amount of materials thus
saving manufacturing cost and reducing the associated product
weight.
[0010] It is another objective of this invention to provide an
inner enclosure for an external data storage device whereby
improved heat dissipation for the data storage device is achieved
by using a minimum amount of materials thus saving manufacturing
cost and reducing the associated product weight.
[0011] A third objective of this invention is to provide an inner
enclosure for an external data storage device whereby the functions
of fire retardation, shielding against radio frequency interference
and prevention of build up of static electricity are achieved with
a selection of specific materials for the inner enclosure.
[0012] Accordingly, the invention disclose a new design of the
inner enclosure for the carrying case of, but without limitation
to, an external data storage device as mentioned in the said prior
application. The inner enclosure is made of a soft shock absorbing
material and provides for a snug fit and an all around shock
protection for the enclosed data storage device in both
non-operating and operating modes. The inner enclosure consists of
a device compartment and a removable cover. Once the inner
enclosure is completely closed within an outer enclosure, the inner
enclosure will provide a snug fit to the enclosed device all
around. For good shock absorption while using a minimum amount of
material, the inner surface of the inner enclosure is constructed
with an array of substantially evenly spaced miniature columns
called Micro Shock Absorber (MSA). In addition to shock protection,
the MSA also provides air circulation to the enclosed storage
device by creating a thin air space between the device and the
inner enclosure. As needed, the material of the inner enclosure can
be selected to be fire retardant, shielding against radio frequency
interference, preventing build up of static electricity, allowing
better heat dissipation from the data storage device while
preventing dirt penetration into the interior of the enclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention is explained in full detail with the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference
made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is one perspective illustration of a commonly
practiced prior art wherein two rigid covers with mounting means
are employed to enclose a storage device;
[0015] FIG. 2 is one more perspective illustration of a commonly
practiced prior art wherein two rigid covers with mounting means
are employed to enclose a storage device;
[0016] FIGS. 3A-C are perspective illustrations of the current
invention wherein two soft inner enclosures, or alternatively
called inner linings, are employed to enclose a storage device;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of the current
invention wherein the details of the MSA structure and its
associated design parameters are shown;
[0018] FIGS. 5A-B are comparison of the wall structure between a
traditional and the current design of the inner enclosure with
design parameters illustrating the benefit of materials saving with
the current invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates an additional embodiment of the current
invention wherein a set of micro venting slots are added to the
wall structure of the current invention with MSA for further
improved heat dissipation;
[0020] FIGS. 7A-B are additional perspective illustrations of the
current invention wherein a fully enclosed storage device, within
two soft inner enclosures with MSA, similar to that illustrated in
FIG. 3C is progressively shown to be loaded into a soft outside
enclosure; and
[0021] FIGS. 8A-B are the final perspective illustrations of the
current invention wherein the fully enclosed storage device from
FIG. 7B is progressively shown to be fully enclosed with the
closure of a soft device cover and a soft connector cover.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective illustrations of a
commonly practiced prior art wherein two rigid covers with mounting
means are employed to enclose a storage device. FIG. 1 illustrates,
with two arrows, the progressive enclosure of a storage device 1
with a storage device interface connector 2 and an associated rigid
connector interchanger 70. The wall material of the storage device
1 is usually made of metal to house the precision mechanism inside.
The storage device interface connector 2, when hooked up, through
the associated rigid connector interchanger 70, with the
corresponding mating connector of a computer not shown here, would
provide all the necessary electrical power and interface signals to
insure proper operation of the storage device 1. As shown, the
storage device 1 will generally be housed between a rigid top cover
30 and a rigid bottom cover 40 with a set of mounting screws 50.
The finished product is illustrated in FIG. 2. Usually these rigid
covers are made of plastics or metal. Thus, the enclosed storage
device 1 is still very susceptible to shock damage as the rigid
covers do not provide any damping protection against shock.
[0023] FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C are perspective illustrations
of the current invention wherein two soft inner enclosures, or
alternatively called inner linings, are employed to enclose a
storage device. The two soft inner enclosures are, as shown in FIG.
3A, a soft top inner enclosure 3 and a soft bottom inner enclosure
4. The storage device to be enclosed by the soft top inner
enclosure 3 and the soft bottom inner enclosure 4 is the storage
device 1 with a storage device interface connector 2. The storage
device interface connector 2, when hooked up with the corresponding
mating connector from a computer not shown here, would provide all
the necessary electrical power and interface signals to insure
proper operation of the storage device 1. Many storage device 1,
such as external or portable hard drives, optical storage devices
or computers with built in magnetic and optical storage devices,
can be easily damaged when it is dropped accidentally. Thus, the
soft top inner enclosure 3 and the soft bottom inner enclosure 4
are used together to provide protection for the storage device 1 in
both operating and non-operating modes. The soft top inner
enclosure 3 consists of a soft top inner enclosure base 9c whose
inside surface has a set of soft top enclosure MSA 17 which will be
described in more detail later. The soft bottom inner enclosure 4
consists of a soft bottom inner enclosure base 9a, four soft bottom
inner enclosure side walls 9d with a connector access slot 9b
located on one of the soft bottom inner enclosure side walls 9d.
Like the soft top inner enclosure 3, the soft bottom inner
enclosure base 9a also has a set of soft bottom enclosure MSA 16
located on its inside surface which will also be described in more
detail later. Thus, following the direction of the arrows, the soft
top inner enclosure 3 and the soft bottom inner enclosure 4 will
provide a snug fit to the enclosed storage device 1 all around
except for the mechanical accessibility to the storage device
interface connector 2 through the connector access slot 9b of the
soft bottom inner enclosure 4. This is illustrated in FIG. 3B and
FIG. 3C.
[0024] FIG. 4 shows more details of the soft top inner enclosure 3
and the soft bottom inner enclosure 4. To provide for sufficient
shock protection with the proper range of softness, or durometer,
the selected material for the inner enclosure is soft Microcellular
Urethane (trade name: PORON), Polyurethane or other material with
similar properties. For further enhancement of shock protection,
the inside surfaces of both inner enclosures 3 and 4 are
constructed with a set of substantially evenly spaced small columns
of MSA protrusions. These are soft top enclosure MSA 17 for the
soft top inner enclosure 3 and the soft bottom enclosure MSA 16 for
the soft bottom inner enclosure 4. As the MSA and the inner
enclosure body are made of the same material, the MSA can be easily
casted or molded as part of the enclosure in volume production.
Furthermore, as neither the MSA nor the inner enclosure body
requires high dimensional accuracy, the need of expensive tooling
for the cast or mold is eliminated.
[0025] The amount of shock protection provided by the MSA depends
primarily on the following parameters: the durometer of the
Microcellular Urethane, the MSA base thickness T, the MSA diameter
D, the MSA height H, the MSA pitch P as well as the density of the
enclosed storage device 1. In general, the following qualitative
design guidelines were discovered: (1) lower durometer of the inner
enclosure base material yields higher shock protection; (2) higher
MSA base thickness T yields higher shock protection; (3) larger MSA
diameter D yields higher shock protection; (4) larger MSA height H
yields higher shock protection; (5) lower MSA pitch P yields higher
shock protection and (6) lower density of the enclosed storage
device 1 allows higher shock protection.
[0026] However, in practice, the complexity of the involved
quantitative functional relationship amongst the above design
parameters is found to be too complicated to warrant a mathematical
treatment. Instead, an empirical design must be reached through a
set of parametric experiments following the above qualitative
design guidelines. As a quantitative example of this invention, we
have made the following findings.
[0027] A typical 2.5 inch hard disk storage device can be
adequately shock protected from a drop height of up to 4 feet onto
a hard surface with an MSA structure of the following parametric
design: (1) inner enclosure base material is Microcellular
Urethane; (2) durometer of the inner enclosure base material is 30
durometer; (3) MSA base thickness T=6.4 mm; (4) MSA diameter D=7
mm; (5) MSA height H=4 mm height; (6) MSA pitch P=17 mm.
[0028] Another point to be made here is that, given the
aforementioned complexity of the functional relationship among the
design parameters, multiple combinations within a range of
parameters exist for the same desired shock protection. For
example, in the above case, an MSA diameter D from 6 mm to 8 mm and
an MSA height H from 4 mm to 5 mm would all produce similar shock
protection.
[0029] A subtle but important benefit of the current invention is
illustrated in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. FIG. 5A represents a prior art
inner enclosure wall structure 20 which is plain while FIG. 5B
represents the current invention with the MSA wall structure 21
optimized for a minimum overall thickness of the MSA structure T+H,
for a specified amount of shock protection. While the prior art
inner enclosure wall structure 20 has the same overall wall
thickness S=T+H as the current invention, it was found that the
prior art design can not provide the specified amount of shock
protection as does the current invention. The reason is that, upon
impact of the enclosed storage device with an external object, the
numerous soft bottom enclosure MSA 16 of the current invention act
as an initial spacer during the first stage of the shock absorption
process where most of the associated kinetic energy is dissipated.
That is, only the soft bottom enclosure MSA 16 go through related
geometric deformation to dissipate the kinetic energy while the
enclosed storage device stays free of contact with the soft bottom
inner enclosure base 9a. While the storage device still contacts
the soft bottom inner enclosure base 9a during the second, or last,
stage of the shock absorption process, by this time the remaining
kinetic energy to be dissipated is significantly lower than its
value during the first stage. In summary, given the same specified
amount of shock protection and the same overall wall thickness, the
net kinetic energy to be dissipated upon impact by the enclosed
storage device with the current invention would be significantly
less than that with a traditional prior art design. Or
equivalently, given the same specified amount of shock protection,
the current invention will provide a design which has a
significantly less overall wall thickness than the traditional
design. This translates into an advantage of size and weight
reduction with the current invention. Furthermore, given the MSA
structure, the net volume occupied by the shock absorbing material
is significantly less than that enclosed in the overall wall
thickness T+H, this translates into another advantage of weight
reduction with the current invention. A third advantage of the
current invention is that, upon closure of the soft top inner
enclosure 3 and the soft bottom inner enclosure 4, a thin air space
is formed between the enclosed storage device 1 and the inner
enclosure with MSA wall structure 21. The thin air space thus
provides the function of air circulation resulting in a more
uniform distribution of heat from the storage device 1 for a more
efficient heat dissipation to the outside ambient.
[0030] FIG. 6 illustrates an additional embodiment of the current
invention wherein the inner enclosure with MSA wall structure 21
has a set of substantially evenly spaced micro venting slots 22 cut
through its wall to further improve heat dissipation to the outside
ambient. Of course, the cross section of these venting features
does not have to be a slot. For example, it can be a circle, an
ellipse or any other shape as long as easy manufacturability is
maintained.
[0031] Finally, Microcellular Urethane, one of the selected
material for the inner enclosure with MSA, possesses additional
physical properties which are important or beneficial to the
enclosed storage device. Microcellular Urethane has low memory
effect, which is important for the preservation of the MSA geometry
after long termed usage or storage of the storage device.
Microcellular Urethane is reasonably heat conductive which helps
the dissipation of heat from the storage device. It does not
accumulate static electricity thus provides good ESD protection for
the storage device. It is fire retardant with UL-approval for a
safe product. It can be metallically coated to shield against
EMI/RFI for reliable data transfer.
[0032] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are additional perspective illustrations
of the current invention wherein a storage device is fully enclosed
with a set of soft inner enclosures, similar to that shown in FIG.
3C, the storage device is progressively shown to be loaded into a
soft outside enclosure 8. Following the direction of the arrows in
FIG. 7A, the now enclosed storage device 1 is first loaded into the
soft outside enclosure 8. Afterwards, the storage device 1, now
enclosed in both inner and outer soft enclosures with shock
protection, is shown in FIG. 7B. Notice that the mechanical
accessibility to the interface pins of the storage device 1 is
maintained through the corresponding connector access slot 9b of
the soft bottom inner enclosure 4 and the connector access slot 15
of the soft outside enclosure 8.
[0033] FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are the final perspective illustrations
of the current invention wherein the enclosed storage device 1 from
FIG. 7B is progressively shown to be fully enclosed like a carrying
bag in the non-operating state of the storage device 1 with the
closure of a soft device cover and a soft connector cover.
Following the right hand arrow of FIG. 8A, the soft outside
enclosure device cover 12 will be closed with the movement of the
zipper mechanism consisting of two soft outside enclosure zippers
10 and an outside enclosure zipper handle 11. Finally, following
the left hand arrow of FIG. 8A, the soft outside enclosure
connector cover 13 will be closed with the mating of a velcro hook
pad 14a to a velcro loop pad 14b. The final enclosure in the form
of a carrying bag is illustrated in FIG. 8B.
[0034] In summary, as illustrated above, a first advantage of the
current invention is that, given the same specified amount of shock
protection, the current invention provides an inner enclosure for a
storage device whose overall wall thickness is significantly less
than that of a traditional design. The net result is a size and
weight reduction of the product.
[0035] The second advantage of the current invention is that, with
the MSA geometry, the net volume occupied by the shock absorbing
material is significantly less than that enclosed within the
overall wall thickness. This means additional cost and weight
reduction of the product.
[0036] A third advantage of the current invention is that a thin
air space is formed between the enclosed storage device and the
inner enclosure with the MSA wall structure. The thin air space
thus provides the function of air circulation resulting in a more
uniform distribution of heat from the storage device for a
correspondingly more efficient heat dissipation to the outside
ambient.
[0037] A fourth advantage of the current invention is that a set of
micro venting slots are provided on the MSA wall structure to
further improve heat dissipation from the storage device to the
outside ambient.
[0038] A fifth advantage of the current invention is that the
selected base material for the inner enclosure has a set of
physical properties which result in the following benefits such as
preservation of the MSA geometry after long termed usage or storage
of the storage device; improved heat dissipation from the storage
device; good ESD protection for the storage device; fire
retardation with UL-approval and shielding against EMIRFI for
reliable data transfer.
[0039] In conclusion, an improved inner enclosure, or alternatively
called inner lining, with MSA has been described for an external
storage device providing shock protection, improved heat
dissipation plus a set of additional functions while reducing the
cost, size and weight of the product. The invention has been
described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, for those
skilled in this field the preferred embodiments can be easily
adapted and modified to suit additional applications without
departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Thus, it is
to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover
various modifications and similar arrangements based upon the same
operating principle. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be
accorded the broadest interpretations so as to encompass all such
modifications and similar arrangements.
* * * * *