U.S. patent application number 12/774714 was filed with the patent office on 2010-11-11 for multi-mode, eco-friendly swimming pool heater system.
Invention is credited to William D. Hare.
Application Number | 20100282240 12/774714 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43061625 |
Filed Date | 2010-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100282240 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hare; William D. |
November 11, 2010 |
MULTI-MODE, ECO-FRIENDLY SWIMMING POOL HEATER SYSTEM
Abstract
The invention relates to a pool heater that includes a buoyant
member configured to float on water; a tubing array positioned on
the buoyant member and having at least one inlet and at least one
outlet; a photovoltaic cell positioned on the buoyant member; a
pump having an inlet, an outlet, and positioned on the buoyant
member to receive power from the photovoltaic cell and circulate
water through the tubing array to be heated in the tubing
array.
Inventors: |
Hare; William D.;
(Princeton, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WILLIAM D. HARE
66 WITHERSPOON STREET, STE. 1, PMB 317
PRINCETON
NJ
08542-9944
US
|
Family ID: |
43061625 |
Appl. No.: |
12/774714 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61175462 |
May 5, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
126/565 ;
126/714 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y02E 10/44 20130101;
F24S 10/504 20180501; H01L 31/02021 20130101; F24S 20/02 20180501;
F24S 10/755 20180501; F24S 80/30 20180501; F24S 2020/17 20180501;
F24S 10/17 20180501 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/565 ;
126/714 |
International
Class: |
F24J 2/42 20060101
F24J002/42; F24J 2/00 20060101 F24J002/00 |
Claims
1. A pool heater comprising: a buoyant member configured to float
on water; a tubing array positioned on the buoyant member and
having at least one inlet and at least one outlet; a photovoltaic
cell positioned on the buoyant member; a pump having an inlet, an
outlet, and positioned on the buoyant member to receive power from
the photovoltaic cell and circulate water through the tubing array
to be heated in the tubing array.
2. The pool heater of claim 1, wherein the inlet to the pump is
positioned to receive water from a pool and the outlet to the pump
is positioned to provide water to the tubing array.
3. The pool heater of claim 1, wherein the tubing array comprises
tubing of a dark color positioned on the buoyant member to receive
sunlight.
4. The pool heater of claim 1, wherein the tubing array comprising
a sheet of tubing passing through the sheet.
5. The pool heater of claim 1, wherein the tubing array is enclosed
in part by a cover.
6. The pool heater of claim 5, wherein the cover is transparent or
translucent.
7. The pool heater of claim 6, wherein the cover comprises a
translucent plastic configured to maximize sunlight passing through
the cover.
8. The pool heater of claim 5, wherein the tubing array comprises
at least two layers of tubing arranged vertically with respect to
the buoyant member.
9. The pool heater of claim 8, wherein the layer positioned closest
to the buoyant member is elevated above the buoyant member to
permit a layer of air beneath the layer of tubing.
10. The pool heater of claim 1, further comprising a skirt
surrounding at least a portion of the buoyant member and including
one or more chambers for holding a fluid, wherein upon placing the
pool heater on a surface of water the chambers include a lower
surface in contact with the water and an upper surface oriented
upward away from the water.
11. The pool heater of claim 10, wherein the one or more chambers
are fluidly interconnected.
12. The pool heater of claim 11, wherein the chambers have at least
one inlet and at least one outlet and are fluidly connected to the
outlet of the tubing array whereby a fluid passing from the tubing
array to the chambers passes through the at least one outlet of the
chambers.
13. The pool heater of claim 12, wherein the skirt includes at
least one set of chambers in fluid connection with the outlet from
the tubing array and at least one set of chambers that are fluidly
connected to a valve for controlling ingress and egress of a
fluid.
14. The pool heater of claim 11, wherein the chambers are fluidly
connected to a valve for controlling ingress and egress of a fluid
into and out of the chambers.
15. The pool heater of claim 11, further comprising an inflatable
outer ring defining a chamber for holding fluid, the ring including
a valve for controlling ingress and egress of fluid within the
chamber.
16. The pool heater of claim 15, wherein the ring includes a
radially outward side including a magnetic means on the radially
outward side of the ring for magnetic attachment to a similar
floating heater.
17. A method of heating water in a body of water, the method
comprising: providing a pool heater comprising a buoyant member
configured to float on water; a tubing array positioned on the
buoyant member and having at least one inlet and at least one
outlet; a photovoltaic cell positioned on the buoyant member; a
pump having an inlet, an outlet, and positioned on the buoyant
member to receive power from the photovoltaic cell and circulate
water through the tubing array to be heated in the tubing array;
and positioning the pool heater on a surface of water whereby the
photovoltaic cell is positioned to receive sunlight to power the
pump and circulate water from the body of water through the tubing
array and return the water to the body of water, wherein the
sunlight powers the photovoltaic cell and heats the water in the
tubing array.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising a cover enclosing at
least a portion of the tubing array, wherein the cover is
transparent or translucent to pass sunlight through the cover, and
circulating water through the tubing array heats the water through
heat created and trapped within the enclosure.
19. The method of claim 17, further comprising a skirt surrounding
at least a portion of the buoyant member and including one or more
chambers for holding a fluid, wherein upon placing the pool heater
on a surface of water the chambers includes a lower surface in
contact with the water and an upper surface oriented upward away
from the water, wherein placing the pool heater on the surface of
water provides reduction in evaporative heating loss and heating of
the chambers to transfer heat to the water in the body of
water.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more chambers are
fluidly interconnected and the chambers have at least one inlet and
at least one outlet and are fluidly connected to the outlet of the
tubing array wherein a fluid passing from the tubing array to the
chambers passes through the at least one outlet of the chambers.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a non-provisional application claiming
priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/175,462,
filed on May 5, 2009, the contents of which is incorporated herein
in its entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The field of the invention generally relates to systems for
heating swimming pools and retaining heat in swimming pools.
BACKGROUND
[0003] It has been reported that the temperature of pool water in
an outdoor swimming pool can vary significantly over a 24 hour
period. During the day, especially on bright sunny days, sunlight
from the atmosphere enters into and is absorbed by the pool water,
which absorption generates sensible heat in the pool water. The
efficiency of absorption and retention of that heat is not,
however, very great. For example, the walls of a typical pool are
normally light in color and that light color reflects the sunlight
back out of the pool before absorption occurs. The absorption of
the sunlight could be much improved if the pool walls were painted
a dark color, e.g. black, but to some this is not attractive and it
also may pose a safety hazard as the dark color makes it difficult
to identify objects or persons under the pool water.
[0004] In addition to loosing potential heating through reflection,
heat itself is lost from the pool water by re-radiation from the
pool water to the atmosphere as well as conduction to the
atmosphere. In particular, during the dark or night hours when the
atmospheric temperature tends to drop, heat is lost by conduction
from the pool water surface to the surrounding atmosphere. To
reduce conductive loss during the night, many pool owners use a
pool cover that floats on the pool water or smaller, free floating
covers that cover a portion of the pool surface. The pool cover is
intended to cover the entire surface of the pool water and is an
insulator for reducing the amount of heat transferred from the
surface of the pool water to the atmosphere, especially during the
dark or night hours. Since the cover is floatable on the pool
water, the cover can be easily removed during the day when required
for swimming purposes, and replaced on the pool water after
swimming or in the evenings for heat retention purposes. In this
manner, pool covers provide great benefits to pool owners.
Similarly, using one or more of the free floating covers reduce
conductive loss during the night, but only in proportion to the
amount of total surface covered by the free floating covers.
[0005] These floatable pool covers, generally, have a plastic upper
layer or film for facing toward the atmosphere, a plastic lower
layer or film for facing toward the pool water, and a sufficient
number of spaced apart air pockets configured into the lower layer
or film such that the cover is floatable on the pool water. Land
areas between the air pockets are sealed, such that the upper and
lower layers or films are sealed to each other and the air pockets
are, therefore, watertight. The air pockets in the cover provide
floatibality to the cover and insulation to reduce the amount of
heat transferred by conduction from the pool water to the
atmosphere, especially during the dark or night hours. These
conventional covers are made of, generally, transparent plastic
film in which an air pocket has been configured into a lower layer
of the film by molding, embossing and the like. The air pockets may
be of any desired shape, e.g. hemispherical, square, rectangular,
triangular, etc. Usually, these conventional covers will have a
very small amount of a tint material in the plastic films forming
the cover for cosmetic purposes. Since a very light blue color is
generally associated with clean pool water, a very low intensity
blue tint is normally placed in the plastic films for that cosmetic
purpose.
[0006] However, the tints, as well as the pool cover itself, do not
essentially affect passage of sunlight through the pool cover into
the pool water during the day or radiation from the pool and pool
water to the atmosphere during the dark or night hours. As a
result, while the cover can allow the pool water to rise in
temperature during the day, by transmission of sunlight into the
pool water, substantial amounts of the heat absorbed by the pool
water are re-radiated to the atmosphere, especially during the
night or dark hours, and the temperature of the pool water
considerably drops, even though some heat retention is provided by
the insulation properties of the pool covers.
[0007] In view of the foregoing, the art has made efforts to
improve these conventional floatable pool covers, such that the
pool water, overall, retains a greater amount of heat. For example,
U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,593 discloses a soft, flexible, solar pool
heater for floating on liquid. The pool heater includes an
inflatable outer ring defining a chamber for holding fluid. The
ring includes a valve for controlling ingress and egress of fluid
within the chamber. The pool heater includes a radially outward
side including a magnetic means on the radially outward side of the
ring for magnetic attachment to a similar floating heater, a
radially inward side, a top, and a bottom, and an inflatable
central portion disposed centrally of the ring including an upper
film and a lower film joined to the upper film to define a cavity
there between for holding gas. The periphery is connected to the
ring and includes a valve for controlling ingress and egress of gas
with the cavity. The cavity when inflated with gas for floating the
heater on liquid such that the heater floats on the liquid. The
chamber and the cavity are independently fillable. The contents of
U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,593 are incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
[0008] Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,155 and U.S. Pat. No.
6,317,902, the contents of both of which are incorporated herein in
their entirety by reference, disclose a floatable pool cover where
an upper layer of the cover has a dark color and a lower layer has
a light reflective material applied to one of the surfaces thereof.
These patent reports that the dark color of the upper layer acts to
draw heat into the pool, presumably by absorption and conduction,
and the lower reflective layer reflects heat radiated from the pool
water back into the pool water. The reflective material of the
lower layer is a silver-colored commercially available master batch
material containing an aluminum concentrate.
[0009] However, with this arrangement the reflective lower layer
not only reflects radiant heat from the pool water back into the
pool water, but also reflects sunlight from the atmosphere back
into the atmosphere. Thus, while absorbed heat in the pool water is
conserved by that lower layer reflectance, that lower layer
reflectance decreases the total heat absorbed by the pool water by
an amount proportional to the amount of atmospheric sunlight
reflected from that lower layer back into the atmosphere. In
addition, the dark color of the upper layer significantly decreases
the transmission of sunlight through that upper layer and into the
pool water. Thus, while the reflective lower layer of those patents
is effective in reflecting heat from the pool water back into the
pool water, hence conserving heat in the pool water, that lower
layer very undesirably also reflects sunlight from the atmosphere
back into the atmosphere, which significantly decreases the amount
of sunlight reaching the pool water for heating purposes. In other
words, something of a compromise is reached in the arrangement of
having a reflective lower layer, and the compromise entails a
decrease in the amount of sunlight passing through the pool cover
into the pool water for heating thereof.
SUMMARY
[0010] In one general aspect, a pool heater includes a buoyant
member configured to float on water; a tubing array positioned on
the buoyant member and having at least one inlet and at least one
outlet; a photovoltaic cell positioned on the buoyant member; a
pump having an inlet, an outlet, and positioned on the buoyant
member to receive power from the photovoltaic cell and circulate
water through the tubing array to be heated in the tubing
array.
[0011] Embodiments of the pool heater may include one or more of
the following features. For example, the inlet to the pump may be
positioned to receive water from a pool and the outlet to the pump
may be positioned to provide water to the tubing array. The tubing
array may include tubing of a dark color positioned on the buoyant
member to receive sunlight. The tubing array may include a sheet of
tubing passing through the sheet.
[0012] The tubing array may be enclosed in part by a cover. The
cover may be transparent or translucent. The cover may be a
translucent plastic configured to maximize sunlight passing through
the cover. The tubing array may include at least two layers of
tubing arranged vertically with respect to the buoyant member. The
layer positioned closest to the buoyant member may be elevated
above the buoyant member to permit a layer of air beneath the layer
of tubing.
[0013] The pool heater may further include a skirt surrounding at
least a portion of the buoyant member and include one or more
chambers for holding a fluid, wherein upon placing the pool heater
on a surface of water the chambers include a lower surface in
contact with the water and an upper surface oriented upward away
from the water. The one or more chambers may be fluidly
interconnected. The chambers may have at least one inlet and at
least one outlet and be fluidly connected to the outlet of the
tubing array whereby a fluid passing from the tubing array to the
chambers passes through the at least one outlet of the chambers.
The skirt may include at least one set of chambers in fluid
connection with the outlet from the tubing array and at least one
set of chambers that are fluidly connected to a valve for
controlling ingress and egress of a fluid.
[0014] The chambers may be fluidly connected to a valve for
controlling ingress and egress of a fluid into and out of the
chambers.
[0015] The pool heater may further include an inflatable outer ring
defining a chamber for holding fluid, the ring including a valve
for controlling ingress and egress of fluid within the chamber. The
ring may include a radially outward side including a magnetic means
on the radially outward side of the ring for magnetic attachment to
a similar floating heater.
[0016] In another general aspect there is provided a method of
heating water in a body of water. The method includes: providing a
pool heater comprising a buoyant member configured to float on
water; a tubing array positioned on the buoyant member and having
at least one inlet and at least one outlet; a photovoltaic cell
positioned on the buoyant member; a pump having an inlet, an
outlet, and positioned on the buoyant member to receive power from
the photovoltaic cell and circulate water through the tubing array
to be heated in the tubing array; and
[0017] positioning the pool heater on a surface of water whereby
the photovoltaic cell is positioned to receive sunlight to power
the pump and circulate water from the body of water through the
tubing array and return the water to the body of water, wherein the
sunlight powers the photovoltaic cell and heats the water in the
tubing array.
[0018] Embodiments of the method may include one or more of the
following features and the pool heater may include one or more of
those features described above. For example, the pool heater may
further comprising a cover enclosing at least a portion of the
tubing array, wherein the cover is transparent or translucent to
pass sunlight through the cover, and circulating water through the
tubing array heats the water through heat created and trapped
within the enclosure.
[0019] The pool heater may further include a skirt surrounding at
least a portion of the buoyant member and including one or more
chambers for holding a fluid, wherein upon placing the pool heater
on a surface of water the chambers includes a lower surface in
contact with the water and an upper surface oriented upward away
from the water. Placing the pool heater on the surface of water
provides reduction in evaporative heating loss and heating of the
chambers to transfer heat to the water in the body of water.
[0020] The one or more chambers may be fluidly interconnected and
the chambers and have at least one inlet and at least one outlet
and be fluidly connected to the outlet of the tubing array wherein
a fluid passing from the tubing array to the chambers passes
through the at least one outlet of the chambers.
[0021] Other features and advantages of the invention will be
apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of a pool heater
configured to float on the surface of a swimming pool.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a side view of the pool heater of FIG. 1.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the pool heater of
FIG. 1 taken at section line 3-3.
[0025] FIGS. 4-7 illustrate a variety of configurations of tubing
arrays used in the pool heaters.
[0026] FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional side and partially exposed
top views of a modification of the pool heater of FIG. 1.
[0027] FIG. 10 is a top view of a modification of the pool heater
of FIGS. 1 and 8.
[0028] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the
skirt of FIG. 10.
[0029] FIG. 12 is a top view and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional side
view of a modification of the pool heater of FIG. 10.
[0030] FIG. 14 is a top view of a pool heater of FIG. 12 with the
skirt folded over the buoyant member illustrating a storage
configuration of the pool heater.
[0031] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a pool heater having
vertical members to prevent overlapping of pool heaters in a
pool.
[0032] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the
skirt of the pool heater of FIG. 15 showing the arrangement of the
vertical members.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 1-3 a pool heater 100 includes a buoyant
base 105, pump 110, a photovoltaic cell 115 to power the pump and
an array of tubing 120. The pool heater is designed to float on top
of a pool, use the pump to circulate water through the tubing array
to heat the water, and return the heated water to the pool. During
the day, sunlight powers the pump and heats water in the tubing
array to heat the pool. During the night, the pool heater covers a
portion of the surface of the pool and thereby prevents loss of
heat in that manner, e.g., due to reducing one or more of
evaporation and conductive loss.
[0034] The tubing array 120 includes an inlet 125 and an outlet
130. The inlet 125 can be positioned at a short distance from the
pump 110 such that the pump intakes water from the inlet and feeds
the water into the tubing array 120 at a tubing array inlet 135.
FIG. 1 shows the tubing array being mounted to the buoyant base 105
using a clip 140 that retains the tubing array. The pump is powered
by the photovoltaic cell and circulates the water through the
tubing array. Because the pump is powered by the photovoltaic cell,
while the solar power energizes the pump, it also heats the tubing
and therefore the water within the array of tubing.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 4-7, the tubing array 120 can be
configured in a number of manners to increase the heat transfer
through the tubing array. Such configurations are known in the art.
For example, FIG. 4 illustrates the tubing array 120 having a
sinusoidal arrangement between the pump 110 and the outlet 130.
FIG. 5 illustrates the tubing array 120 having a coiled
arrangement. FIG. 6 illustrates multiple tubing arrays 120 being
formed and interconnected at connectors 145 such that one array
120a receives water from the pump 110 and another array 120b feeds
the water back into the pool through the outlet 130. FIG. 7
illustrates the tubing array configured as a mat of internal
channels 150 in which the water flows as indicated by the arrows
within the channels. Although FIG. 6 illustrates the multiple
tubing arrays 120 being arranged to form, for example, a circular
array on a buoyant member, the tubing arrays can be of any
arrangement or arrangements to form a pool heater that heats the
water in the tubing array. It is expected that if maximum
efficiency is desired, the surface of the buoyant member will be
covered to a maximum degree to provide more surface for the sun to
heat. Similarly, the pool heater can be configured with multiple
tubing arrays 120 using the configurations of FIGS. 4, 5 and 7. One
of the tubing arrays would include the pump 120 and the outlet 130
would be connected to an inlet 135 of an adjacent array to
circulate the water through the multiple arrays and provide the
water greater exposure time to the heat of the sun.
[0036] FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a pool heater 200 that is a
modification of the pool heater 100. First, rather than being of a
rectangular shape, the pool heater 200 is round. Second, the pool
heater 200 includes a transparent cover 205 that covers the tubing
array 120. The transparent cover traps air heated by the sunlight
within a chamber created on by the top 210 and sides 215 of the
cover 205 and on the base by the buoyant member and/or tubing
array. The heated air is retained in the chamber such that there is
little or no heat transferred to the outside by air convection. The
transparent cover allows only a little heat loss due to conduction
of heat through its material. The heated air will provide
additional heat to the tubing array 120 in an attempt to maximize
the heating efficiency of the pool heater. In addition, the cover
prevents infrared radiation from escaping the pool heater. Although
the transparent cover used for a greenhouse allows visible light
and short wavelength infrared radiation to pass through it, it does
not transmit the longer infrared wavelengths. This means that at
least some of the radiation received within the cover is prevented
from escaping, thereby reducing that source of heat loss. The cover
205 can be configured to be a variety of shapes, sizes and
materials, such as plastic and glass.
[0037] FIG. 10 is a top view of a pool heater 300 that is based on
modifying the pool heaters 100 and 200 to include an outer skirt
305. The outer skirt 305 is a soft, flexible, solar pool heater for
floating on the pool surface. The skirt includes an inflatable
outer ring 310 that encircles a donut-shaped, inflatable central
portion 315. The ring defines a chamber 317 for holding fluid, such
as air or water. The donut-shaped, central portion 315 is disposed
centrally of the ring 310 and includes a periphery 320 connected to
the ring. As also illustrated in FIG. 11, which shows a
cross-sectional side view of a portion of the skirt, the central
portion 315 also includes an upper film 325 and a lower film 330
joined to the upper film at various points to define one or more
cavities 335 for inflation with air or a fluid. The one or more
cavities 335 may be fluidly connected by channels 340 extending
between adjacent cavities. The cavities may be formed by
radiofrequency welding of two layers of plastic, such as two layers
of vinyl.
[0038] When the chamber and cavities are inflated, the cavities are
within the top and bottom planes of the ring. The chamber and the
cavity are independently inflatable such that the ring can be
inflated with water for holding the heater in a pool in windy
conditions. Optional channels (not shown) that open in the upper
film 325 at one end and in the lower film 330 at the other end pass
through the width of the central portion and permit egress of air
from under the central portion when the skirt is placed on water
such that the lower film rests substantially on the water. Like the
cavities, the chambers and channels can be formed by radiofrequency
welding. Valves 345 for the chamber and cavities may be located
near one edge such that the heater may be easily deflated by
rolling or compressing from edges opposite the valves. The skirt
may have multiple cavities 335 divided into regions, for example,
that may be separately inflated using different valves 345. Within
the center of the skirt 305 the pool heater 100 or 200 is
positioned. In this manner, the pool heater 300 heats the pool
water in a number of manners, including by absorbing heat through
the tubing array and through the cavities
[0039] FIGS. 12 and 13 are top and cross-sectional side views of a
pool heater 400 that is a modification of the pool heater 300. The
pool heater 300 is modified to include one or more channels 405
positioned within an upper film 410 and a lower film 415. The
channel 405 may allow water to flow between a first opening 420 and
a second opening 425. The first opening 420 is connected to the
outlet 130 from the tubing array 120 on the pool heater 100 or 200.
In this manner, the water flowing from, and heated within, the
tubing array 120 is passed into the channel 405 and circulated over
the skirt 305 so as to be subject to more exposure to the sun and
thereby provide additional heating of the water before returning
heated water to the pool. As illustrated in FIG. 14, for
convenience the skirt 305 can be folded over the buoyant member to
more easily store one or more pool heaters outside of the pool.
[0040] Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, in another modification a pool
heater 450 includes the pool heater 100 or 200 and the skirt 305.
Channels 405 pass from the tubing array and water from the skirt
enters the pool at outlet 425. The pool heater 450 also includes
one or more vertically oriented members 420 that project upwardly
from the skirt 305. In FIGS. 15 and 16, the vertical members 420
are formed from the ring 310 and are inflated upon inflation of the
ring. These vertical members 420 serve to prevent pool heaters from
overlapping in the pool due to wind and general drifting in the
pool.
[0041] While several particular forms of the invention have been
illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various
modifications and combinations of the invention detailed in the
text and drawings can be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. For example, multiple pool heaters can be
connected and powered by a single pump and panel with one pool
heater having the solar panel and pump and being connected to one
or more pool heaters that do not include the solar panel and pump.
The pool heaters can be connected in series or in parallel.
Further, references to materials of construction, methods of
construction, specific dimensions, shapes, utilities or
applications are also not intended to be limiting in any manner and
other materials and dimensions could be substituted and remain
within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is
not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the
appended claims.
* * * * *