U.S. patent application number 15/686475 was filed with the patent office on 2018-10-11 for reflective road device.
The applicant listed for this patent is Ching Hsiung CHEN. Invention is credited to Ching Hsiung CHEN.
Application Number | 20180291572 15/686475 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61228820 |
Filed Date | 2018-10-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180291572 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEN; Ching Hsiung |
October 11, 2018 |
REFLECTIVE ROAD DEVICE
Abstract
A reflective road device includes a translucent body and a
reflective layer. The translucent body is made of a tempered
transparent material and includes a base portion and a bump
portion. The bump portion is integrally formed with the base
portion with the bump portion being provided on the upper surface
of the base portion. The area enclosed by the upper edge of the
base portion is larger than the area enclosed by the lower edge of
the bump portion. The bump portion is provided with an oval arc at
the lower edge in an incident direction of light emitted from a
light source. The reflective layer is provided on the outside
surface of the base portion of the translucent body whereby the
light emitted by the light source enters the translucent body
through the bump portion and is reflected by the reflective layer
and emitted by the translucent body toward the light source.
Inventors: |
CHEN; Ching Hsiung; (Hsinchu
County, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHEN; Ching Hsiung |
Hsinchu County |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
61228820 |
Appl. No.: |
15/686475 |
Filed: |
August 25, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01F 9/553 20160201 |
International
Class: |
E01F 9/553 20060101
E01F009/553 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 6, 2017 |
TW |
106204741 |
May 15, 2017 |
TW |
106115921 |
Claims
1. A reflective road device, comprising: a translucent body made of
a tempered transparent material and provided with a base portion
and a bump portion integrally formed with the base portion and
provided on an upper surface of the base portion, wherein an area
enclosed by an upper edge of the base portion is larger than an
area enclosed by a lower edge of the bump portion, a side surface
of the bump portion is non-spherical, and the bump portion has a
major axis and a minor axis with the major axis being positioned in
an incident direction of a light emitted from a light source, and a
ratio of length of the minor axis to length of the major axis
ranging from 0.5 to 0.99, and the lower edge in the direction of
the major axis is formed to be elliptical, and a reflective layer
provided on an outside surface of the base portion of the
translucent body whereby the light emitted from the light source
enters the translucent body through the bump portion and is
reflected by the reflective layer and emitted toward the light
source via the translucent body, wherein the light emitted from the
light source focuses on the reflective layer, and the non-spherical
side surface of the bump portion and the elliptical lower edge
enable concentration of the light reflected by the reflective layer
within a horizontally effective reflection angle span centralized
in the major axis serving as 0.degree. angle such that a reflective
brightness of the light reflected by the reflective layer reaches a
maximum at the major axis, and the horizontally effective
reflection angle span is .+-.20.degree..
2. (canceled)
3. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
ratio of length of the minor axis to length of the major axis
ranges from 0.7 to 0.99.
4. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an
uppermost surface of the bump portion is flat.
5. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
translucent body is made of tempered glass.
6. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
translucent body is made of polymethyl methacrylate.
7. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
bump portion has a contour of a half capsule.
8. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
base portion has a shape of a reversed truncated cone.
9. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
lower surface of the base portion has a recessed portion.
10. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
recessed portion has a plurality of ladder ring structures.
11. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
direction identification mark is provided on the upper surface of
the base portion for indicating the incident direction of the
light.
12. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
plurality of small protrusions are formed on at least one of the
upper surface of the base portion, an upper surface of the bump
portion and the side surface of the bump portion to increase
frictional force.
13. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising a base mount having a groove at an upper surface of the
base mount, wherein the base mount has two guide rails extending
parallelly in the incident direction of the light, and the
translucent body is disposed in the groove.
14. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 13, wherein two
oblique surfaces are respectively provided at two ends of the guide
rails and a stepped portion is provided at a lower surface of each
of the guide rails.
15. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
base mount further includes at least one rib and a plurality of
grooves with the grooves being disposed between the rib and the
guide rails.
16. (canceled)
17. The reflective road device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
horizontally effective reflection angle span ranges from
.+-.2.degree. to .+-.20.degree..
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefits of the TW patent
application serial no. 106204741, filed on Apr. 6, 2017, and the TW
patent application serial no. 106115921, filed on May 15, 2017, all
of which are incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a reflective road device,
especially a reflective road device with advantages of high
strength, abrasion resistance, weatherability as well as higher
reflective brightness.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Reflective devices are necessary safety facilities for road
segmentation and warning and provide reflective effects for
reminding drivers of road condition and traveling route resulted in
a significant impact on traffic safety. Setting of reflective road
devices on the road can reflect light to warn drivers to pay
attention to traffic conditions to avoid accidents.
[0004] Traditional raised pavement markers (plastic reflective
devices with plastic or aluminum alloy shells) have several
disadvantages such as low strength, being easy to be broken, easy
to be scratched, easy to accumulate dirt and dust and easy to fall
off and so on. Also, the life span is very short and it needs a lot
of money for maintenance and repair. Edges and corners of the shell
would even often puncture tires, resulting in car accidents.
Therefore, it results in huge burden in manpower and budget for
road maintenance units and the road quality has been unable to be
upgraded and driving safety cannot be granted in an uncomplicated
way.
[0005] Furthermore, there are conventional 360.degree. glass
reflective devices 4, as shown in FIG. 11, having advantages of
high strength, abrasion resistance, weatherability and aging
resistance. Its curved convex part has a reflective function, and
can achieve 360.degree. reflection in horizontal, but the
conventional 360.degree. glass reflective devices 4 are also known
as having the shortcomings of lacking enough reflective
brightness.
[0006] According to the above, it is an urgent need in the art to
provide a reflective device having high strength, abrasion
resistance, weatherability and higher reflective brightness.
SUMMARY
[0007] One object of the present invention is directed to providing
a reflective road device having high strength, abrasion resistance,
weatherability and higher reflective brightness.
[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, a reflective
road device includes a translucent body and a reflective layer. The
translucent body is made of a tempered transparent material and has
a base portion and a bump portion. The bump portion is integrally
formed with the base portion and the bump portion is provided on
the upper surface of the base portion. The area enclosed by an
upper edge of the base portion is larger than the area enclosed by
the lower edge of the bump portion. The bump portion is provided
with a non-circular, oval arc at the lower edge in an incident
direction of light emitted from a light source. The reflective
layer is provided on an outside surface of the base portion of the
translucent body whereby the light emitted from the light source
enters the translucent body through the bump portion and is
reflected by the reflective layer and emitted toward the light
source via the translucent body.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is directed to
providing a less susceptible reflective road device.
[0010] In another embodiment of the present invention, a reflective
road device further comprises a base mount having a groove at the
upper surface of the base mount, wherein the base mount has two
guide rails extending parallelly in the incident direction of the
light, and the translucent body is disposed in the groove.
[0011] The foregoing aspects and the accompanying advantages of
this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same
becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed
description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an upper
surface of a reflective road device of one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2-1 is a top view of the reflective road device of one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2-2 is a top view of the reflective road device of
another one embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a lower
surface of the reflective road device of one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the reflective road
device of one embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an upper
surface of a reflective road device of another one embodiment of
the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the light reflection
inside the reflective road device of one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing an upper
surface of a reflective road device of still another one embodiment
of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing two
assembled reflective road devices of still another one embodiment
of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a measurement of
reflection intensity of the reflective road device of one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 10 is a graph illustrating the reflection intensity
measurement data of the reflective road device of one embodiment of
the present invention with a conventional 360.degree. reflective
road device; and
[0023] FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing a
conventional 360.degree. reflective road device.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, in one embodiment, a reflective road
device including a translucent body 1 and a reflective layer 13 is
provided. The translucent body 1 is made of tempered transparent
material and includes a base portion 10 and a bump portion 11. The
bump portion 11 is provided on the upper surface of the base
portion 10, and the area enclosed by the upper edge of the base
portion 10 is larger than the area enclosed by the lower edge of
the bump portion 11. The base portion 10 is integrally formed with
the bump portion 11. The bump portion 11 has a major axis aa' and a
minor axis bb', and the major axis aa' is positioned in the
incident direction of light emitted from a light source such as a
car lamp and the bump portion 11 is provided with a non-circular,
oval arc 11e at the lower edge in the direction of the major axis
aa'.
[0025] The bump portion 11 may be formed to be a vault, which is an
arched uplift. The bump portion 11 may also be formed to be a
truncated vault, i.e. the uppermost surface of the bump portion 11
is a flat surface. It should be noted that the above-mentioned
shapes are merely illustrative and are not so limited.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 2-1, the lower edge of the bump portion 11
has an oval shape or an oval-like shape; that is, the bump portion
11 preferably has a major axis aa' and a minor axis bb'. A ratio of
the length of the minor axis bb' to the length of the major axis
aa' may range from 0.5 to 0.99, preferably from 0.7 to 0.99, and
most preferably from 0.9 to 0.99.
[0027] It should be noted that the shape of the bump portion 11 of
the present invention is not necessarily limited by the length of
the major and minor axis. The spirit of the present invention is
directed to the shape change of the incident surface into oval arc
at the lower edge of the bump portion to achieve a directional
increase of the reflected light, such that users in the same
direction with the light source may sense more brightness of the
reflective road device. As an example, referring to FIG. 2-2, in
another one embodiment, although the length of the minor axis bb'
is intentionally increased, so that the length of the minor axis
bb' exceeds the length of aa', the embodiment should still fall
within the scope of the invention.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 2-1, preferably, the contour of the bump
portion 11 is shaped to be like a half capsule which has a lower
edge resembling a rectangle in the middle and resembling two half
ellipses at both sides, respectively. It should be noted that the
rectangle or the half ellipse described herein is not limited to be
perfectly rectangular or perfectly ellipse. For example, the lower
edge of the rectangle on the side surface 11f in the minor axis
direction may be straight linear or slightly curved.
[0029] In one embodiment, the directionality of light reflected by
the reflective road device may be determined by adjusting the shape
of the side surface 11f of the bump portion 11. As an example, the
lower edge of the side surface 11f may be straight linear such that
the reflective road device has stronger directionality for the
reflected light, namely the light may be all reflected toward the
direction of the light source; therefore, it can be used for
relatively straight roads such as highways. The lower edge of the
side surface 11f may also be curved such that the reflective road
device has weaker directionality for the reflected light, namely
the light may be partly reflected toward the light source direction
and partly reflected toward the side directions; therefore, it can
be used for relatively curved roads such as mountain roads.
[0030] Adaptation of the major axis of the bump portion 11 being
positioned in the incident direction of the incident light and the
bump portion 11 having oval or oval-like arc 11e at the lower edge
in the direction of the incident axis of the incident light
achieves entrance of the incident light through the bump portion 11
and increases proportion of the light reflected towards the
incident axis of the incident light after the incident light enters
the translucent body 1.
[0031] In one embodiment, as required, a pattern or a small
protrusion may be formed on the upper surface and the side surface
11f of the bump portion 11 to increase frictional force thereby
creating an anti-skidding effect and thus contributing to the
construction. In detail, the inconvenience for gripping the
conventionally dome-shaped road reflective devices increases
difficulties in road construction. As to the present invention,
however, the construction worker can easily control the translucent
body 1 of the reflective road device by holding the side surface
11f of the bump portion 11 due to the increased frictional force
during construction to achieve precise alignment of the direction
identification mark 101, thereby improving quality of mounting the
reflective road device during construction and increasing
reflection intensity of the reflected light.
[0032] The area of upper surface of the base portion 10 is larger
than that of the lower surface of the base portion 10, i.e. the
base portion 10 has a reversed truncated cone (circular truncated
cone) shape. It should be noted that the side surface of the base
portion 10 and the bump portion 11 of the translucent body 1 of the
present invention may be non-spherical based on optically design or
may be shape-modified during manufacturing and construction. It
should be thus understood that the shapes described herein are for
ease of understanding and should not be rigidly limited by their
geometric definition.
[0033] The construction procedure of the reflective road device may
include drilling the road surface, mounting the reflective road
device into the borehole, and then adding the adhesive for fixing.
Before mounting the reflective device, it is easier to construct
using the round hole drilling. As shown in FIG. 5, in another one
embodiment, the upper edge of the base portion 10 may be designed
to be circular for ease of construction. But it is not thus
limited. In one embodiment, an axis in the incident direction of
the incident light may be defined as an optical axis of the base
portion and another axis being opposite to the optical axis may be
defined as a side axis of the base portion. The ratio of the side
axis to the optical axis may range from 0.8 to 1.2, preferably from
0.9 to 1.1. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the
upper edge of the base portion 10 may be designed to have different
shapes in consideration of optical reflection and refraction
requirements of the bump portion 11. In the embodiment where the
base portion 10 has non-circular upper edge, the reflective device
may further include a cylindrical shell (not shown) to cover the
translucent body 1 and facilitate construction. The upper edge of
the base portion 10 and the lower edge of the bump portion 11 are
set along the ground, and it is understood that, after the
construction is completed, the bump portion 11 is generally located
on the ground and the base portion 10 is buried in the ground.
[0034] In one embodiment, a plurality of patterns or small
protrusions may be formed on the upper surface of the base portion
10 for increasing frictional force, thereby creating an
anti-skidding effect.
[0035] In another embodiment, a direction identification mark 101
may be provided on the upper surface of the base portion 10 for
indicating the incident direction of the incident light. The
direction identification mark 101 may commonly include patterns
(such as arrows), texts, digits, symbols and so on.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the lower surface of
the base portion 10 has a recessed portion 12. The recessed portion
12 helps to increase the cooling rate of the translucent body 1 in
manufacturing the translucent body 1 and which enhances the overall
strength of the translucent body 1 and increases the specific
surface area of the translucent body 1. Due to the enhancement of
the overall strength of the translucent body 1, the translucent
body 1 has better shape setting and is not easily deformed.
[0037] Preferably, the recessed portion 12 has more than one ladder
ring structures 121 to reflect the light refracted by the bump
portion 11 and/or the base portion 10. Although a plurality of
ladder ring structures 121 are illustrated on the recessed portion
12, the number of the ladder ring structures 121 is only
illustrative for the description of the embodiments and may be
increased or decreased based on various applications.
[0038] The translucent body 1 may be made of tempered transparent
material, such as glass, polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl
methacrylate (Acrylic) and so on. Preferably, the translucent body
1 is made of tempered glass. Furthermore, the rate of cooling the
translucent body 1 may be increased in manufacturing the
translucent body 1 to enhance the overall strength of the
translucent body 1 such that the translucent body 1 has a better
shape setting and is not easily deformed. Also, the colorant may be
added as required to obtain colored glass of diverse colors.
[0039] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the translucent body 1 can
be set in the road, and the reflective layer 13 may be provided on
an outside surface of the base portion 10 of the translucent body
1, including the outer wall of the base portion 10, the lower
surface of the base portion 10, and the outer wall of the recessed
portion 12 or the ladder ring structures 121 whereby the light
emitted by the light source enters the translucent body 1 through
the bump portion 11 and is reflected by the reflective layer 13 and
emitted toward the light source via the translucent body 1.
Further, referring to FIG. 6, the recessed portion 12 also has a
reflective function whereby the outside light projected onto the
translucent body 1 may be refracted to the recessed portion 12 and
the ladder ring structures 121 of lower surface and then reflected
by the recessed portion 12 and the ladder ring structures 121 to
increase the light reflection effect of translucent body 1.
[0040] It should be noted that the angle and distance between the
incident surface of the bump portion 11 and the reflective layer 13
may be adjusted based on the characters of the material selected
for the translucent body 1. For example, the shape of the bump
portion 11 and the angle and distance between the translucent body
1 and reflective layer 13 may be adjusted based on the refractive
index of the selected material. It is well known that the
refractive index of the glass is about 1.52, the refractive index
of the polycarbonate is about 1.58, and the refractive index of the
polymethyl methacrylate is about 1.48.
[0041] In one embodiment, the translucent body 1 of the reflective
road device may be colored as desired. As an example, the
translucent body 1 of the reflective road device may be embedded
for indication of a one-way street by reflecting white light in the
direction of permitted passage and reflecting red light in the
reverse direction to indicate the prohibited passage. In one
embodiment, the implementation of the colored reflective road
device can be achieved by setting a thin layer of transparent red
glass (or a transparent dyed film) at one half of the base portion
10 of the translucent body 1 while the other half is not dyed.
After an aluminum reflective layer is sprayed on the base portion
10 of the translucent body 1, the finished product having half-red
and half-white is obtained. The other possible color combinations
of the reflective road device may be half-red and half-yellow, or
half-yellow and half-white, or half-red and half-yellow.
[0042] FIG. 6 simply describes the light reflection path of the
reflective road device in one embodiment of the present invention,
wherein the parallel light beam from the car enters the upper
surface of the base portion 10 and the bump portion 11, focuses on
the reflective layer 13 at the bottom of the reflective road device
including the outer wall of the base portion 10 and the recessed
portion 12 and ladder ring structures 121, and then is reflected to
the top portion of the reflective road device, and finally becomes
a parallel beam back to a driver's eyes. There is a small included
angle between the car lamp and the human eyes when viewed from the
reflective road device. The larger the distance between the car
lamp and the reflective device (100 meters, 200 meters, etc.) is,
the smaller the included angle (about 0.4 degrees in general test
standard) is; the shorter the distance between the car lamp and the
reflective device is, the larger the included angle (about 2
degrees in general test standard) is. These changes of the included
angle are still within the spirit of the present invention without
departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0043] In comparison with the conventional 360.degree. reflective
device having 360.degree. evenly distributed reflective brightness
in the same horizontal level, the disclosed translucent body 1 may
concentrate the reflected light within a horizontally effective
reflection angle span centralized in the direction of the incident
light on the road (the direction pointed by the arrow on the mark),
as the angle 0.degree. axis, to greatly enhance the reflective
brightness. The disclosed reflective road device is such
manufactured that the concentration of the reflected light of the
translucent body 1 may be increased when the horizontally effective
reflection angle span becomes smaller. In other words, the smaller
the effective reflection angle span is, the higher the reflective
brightness is. The horizontally effective reflection angle span
centralized in the light incident direction may be but not limited
to .+-.20.degree., .+-.15.degree., .+-.10.degree., 5.degree.,
.+-.2.degree.. As an example, the horizontally effective reflection
angle span may be.+-.20.degree. to obtain a reflective road device
of generic type, where the reflective brightness within the
horizontally effective reflection angle span can be higher than or
close to that of the conventional 360.degree. reflective road
device. And a wider range of the horizontally effective reflection
angle span is therefore achieved. As another example, the
horizontally effective reflection angle span may be .+-.5.degree.
to obtain a reflective road device of brightness enhancement type,
where the reflective brightness can be greatly improved. This type
has smaller horizontally effective reflection angle span and would
be suitable for straight roads such as highways.
[0044] In the abovementioned embodiments, the reflective brightness
of the reflective road device is measured according to the CNS
(Chinese National Standard) 13762. As shown in FIG. 9, a light
source A with a projecting aperture smaller than 26 mm in diameter
and a photoreceptor B with effective detection area smaller than 26
mm in diameter shall be used. The distance d from the window of the
photoreceptor B to the specimen center C shall be adjusted to be
more than 15.0 m. The light source shall be equivalent to the CIE
standard illuminant A (Color temperature 2856 K) to comply with
comparative visual sensitivity of standard observer. In addition,
the incident light on the specimen center C shall be as uniform as
possible. During measurement, the entrance angle shall be set at
0.5.degree., and the corresponding observation angle shall be
0.4.degree.. The photoreceptor B is firstly placed at the position
of the specimen center C as shown in FIG. 9 with its detecting
window facing the light source A.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 5, the reflective road device in one
embodiment is made of an acrylic having a refractive index of 1.48
while the conventional 360.degree. reflective device is made of
tempered glass having refractive index of 1.52. To facilitate
comparison of the measurement of the reflective brightness of the
disclosed reflective road device with that of the conventional
360.degree. reflective device, a sample of the conventional
360.degree. reflective device to be measured is redesigned to be
made of an acrylic having a refractive index of 1.48. FIG. 10 shows
the measured brightness data of the comparison. While the
conventional 360.degree. reflective device has evenly distributed
level of reflection (102 to 120 MCD/LX) at various horizontally
reflection angles, the disclosed reflective road device has the
effect of concentrating the reflected light within the horizontally
effective reflection angle span by reaching 315 MCD/LX at 0.degree.
angle axis, which is much higher than the brightness (105 MCD/LX)
of the conventional 360.degree. reflective device at 0.degree.
angle axis, and has similar brightness (80 to 86 MCD/LX) as the
conventional 360.degree. reflective device at .+-.10.degree..
[0046] Another object of the present invention is to provide a less
susceptible reflective device. Referring to FIG. 7, in one
embodiment, the reflective road device may further comprise a base
mount 2 having a groove 22 formed at the upper surface of the base
mount 2. The base mount 2 has two guide rails 21a and 21b extending
parallelly in the light incident direction. The translucent body 1
may be disposed in the groove 22. The groove 22 may be disposed in
the concave arc 26 at the upper surface of the base mount 2 such
that the tip of the bump portion 11 of the translucent body 1 is
slightly lower than the top of the upper surface of the base mount
2 and that the reflective device is less susceptible to damage and
has long life span, resulting in better reflective effect.
[0047] In one embodiment, the base mount 2 may be installed in the
snowfield so that the guide rails 21a and 21b are slightly
protruding from the snowfield surface. Both ends of each of the
guide rails 21a and 21b are fornied with an oblique surface 24, and
each of guide rails 21a and 21b is provided with a stepped portion
25. When a snow removal machine passes through the base mount 2 for
snow shoveling, the snow removal machine would conveniently slide
on the guide rails 21a and 21b via the oblique surface 24 without
causing direct damage to the bump portion 11 of the translucent
body 1, so that the reflective device would be less susceptible to
damage.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 8, the number of the grooves 22 and/or the
translucent body 1 is not limited herein. Preferably, the base
mount 2 may further includes at least one rib 23, the base mount 2
may have a plurality of grooves 22 disposed between the rib 23 and
the guide rails 21a and 21b, and the translucent bodies 1 are
disposed correspondingly in the grooves 22. The number of the rib
23 or the groove 22 may be even increased to accommodate more
translucent bodies 1 and thus increase the reflective
brightness.
[0049] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
and alternative forms, a specific example thereof has been shown in
the drawings and is herein described in detail. It should be
understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the
particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to
cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *