Author: claimsbot

Therefore I claim:

1. An automated foot bath system for animals consisting of cows or other animals, said system comprising:
a) a foot bath structure having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls and a floor, said foot bath structure defining a liquid containing region comprising a front containing area and a rear containing area, said foot bath structure being arranged to permit the animals to walk over the floor and through a foot bath liquid in the liquid containing region,
b) a water inlet section arranged to supply water to said liquid containing region water, and to supply at least a portion of said water so as to be directed into said front water containing area and as high velocity jet flow to be able to cause a flow pattern in said liquid containing region of eddy current flow or turbulent flow, or a combination of eddy current flow and turbulent flow, with said high velocity jet flow being capable of moving waste material in said liquid containing region,
c) a discharge section which is at the rear containing region and which has a closed configuration to contain liquid in said liquid containing region and an open configuration to discharge liquid from said liquid containing area,
d) a chemical supply section to provide a quantity of a chemical component as an ingredient of a foot bath liquid for the liquid containing region,
e) a control section arranged to
i) cause said water inlet section to operate in a time frame to supply water to said water to liquid containing region to cause said high velocity jet flow pattern to move waste material in said liquid containing area and to provide water as a constituent for foot bath water in said liquid,
ii) to cause said discharge section to selectively move between the closed and open configuration to contain liquid or permit an outflow of liquid in the liquid containing region, and
iii) to cause said chemical supply section to provide said quantity of said chemical component for said foot bath liquid.
2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said control section is arranged to operate in a cycle of operation through at least an agitation phase where said water inlet section supplies water as said high velocity jet flow to move waste material in said liquid containing region, and for at least part of the time that the high velocity jet flow is taking place, the discharge section is caused to be in its open configuration to enable liquid in the liquid containing region with waste material carried therein to be discharged from the liquid containing region.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein there is in said cycle a draining phase where the flow of high velocity liquid jet flow is at least reduced or stopped by the control section, and a drainage phase takes place where said outlet section is in its open configuration to enable remaining liquid in the liquid containing region to be discharged from the liquid containing region.
4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said control section operates so that said draining phase is followed by a flushing phase where the outlet section is in its open configuration, and the water inlet section is discharging water as said high velocity jet flow to cause further removal of waste material in the liquid containing region.
5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein said cycle is arranged so that with foot bath liquid being already contained in said liquid containing region, and with said contained foot bath liquid being in condition to be removed from said liquid containing region, said agitation phase is initiated by said control section by causing the foot bath structure to discharge the water as said high velocity jet flow, and also to cause said discharge section to be in its open configuration, so that waste material in said liquid containing region is agitated to move waste material in the liquid containing region in a circulating pattern and break down at least some of said waste material in smaller particle size, with there being a net downstream flow from said inlet section to said discharge section.
6. The system as recited in claim 2, wherein the cycle further comprises a draining phase when the outlet section is in the open configuration and a fill and chemical injection phase in which subsequent to the agitation phase, and draining phase, said water inlet section discharges water into said liquid containing region and the quantity of the chemical component is injected as a chemical liquid into the water that is provided for the liquid containing region.
7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the water inlet section discharges at least a portion of the water into the liquid containing area as a high velocity jet flow and quantity of chemical liquid is injected to be mixed with the water in the liquid containing area in the flow pattern of the water.
8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said water inlet section is provided with at least first and second water inlet openings spaced laterally from one another to direct water as said high velocity jet flow into said liquid containing region.
9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein said foot bath structure is arranged with the liquid containing region having a front to rear longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, and said liquid containing region has a length dimension along said longitudinal axis greater than a width along said transverse axis, said two inlet openings of the water section being positioned at the front wall of the foot bath structure, facing generally in a rearward direction toward the rear wall, and being spaced laterally from one another on opposite sides of said longitudinal center axis, so that the two inlet openings cause water streams to travel on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis and have a return flow path in an eddy current flow in a forward direction at a location closer to the longitudinal center axis.
10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said water inlet section has a third liquid inlet which is positioned between said first and second liquid inlets and nearer to said longitudinal center axis, said third inlet opening directs a third flow of water in a generally longitudinally aligned direction.
11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein said third inlet opening has a generally laterally aligned slotlike configuration arranged to discharge water in a laterally expanding pattern toward flow streams generate d by said first and second high velocity jet flows from said first and second inlet openings.
12. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein there are at least two additional inlet openings of said water inlet section which discharge water in a high velocity jet flow mode into the liquid containing region.
13. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein first and second inlet openings are located in, or adjacent to, said front wall of the foot bath structure, and said front wall has a transverse width dimension, said first and second inlet openings each being spaced from the longitudinal center axis, at least a quarter of a distance between the longitudinal center axis of said liquid containing region and an adjacent outer end portion of said front wall.
14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein said first and second inlet openings are spaced from said longitudinal center axis at least approximately half the distance from the longitudinal center axis to the adjacent outer edge of the front wall.
15. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said high velocity jet flow has a velocity of at least two feet per second.
16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said velocity is at least as great about four feet per second.
17. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said control system comprises a clock component having operative connections to at least three components or combination of components that in turn provide timing for activation of the water inlet section, the discharge section and the chemical supply section to cause said water inlet section, said discharge section and said chemical supply section to operate in proper timed sequence.
18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein said component or components control operation of said water inlet section to cause said water inlet section operate to discharge water in said high velocity flow mode during said agitating phase, and to cause said discharge section to be in its open configuration during the agitation phase, to cause the water inlet section to reduce or stop water flow in the high velocity jet flow mode during at least part of a draining phase where the discharge section is in its open configuration, and to return to operating in the high velocity flow mode for a flushing phase with the discharge section being in its open configuration.
19. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said control section comprises a micro-computer to control operation of said water inlet section to cause said water inlet section operate to discharge water in said high velocity flow mode during said agitating phase, and to cause said discharge section to be in its open configuration during the agitation phase, to cause the water inlet section to reduce or stop water flow in the high velocity jet flow mode during at least part of a draining phase where the discharge section is in its open configuration, and to return to operating in the high velocity flow mode for a flushing phase with the discharge section being in its open configuration.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of releasing a microelectromechanical structure comprising a silicon oxide layer sandwiched between two silicon-containing layers, a first, substrate layer and a second, overlying layer to be released from the silicon oxide layer comprising, in sequence,
a) isotropically etching a partial opening in the silicon oxide layer using a gaseous aqueous hydrogen fluoride etchant; and
b) adding a polar drying agent to replace moisture remaining in the partial opening, and dissolve away residues remaining therein.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein steps a) and b) are repeated.
3. A method according to claim 1 wherein steps a) and b) are cycled until complete release of the structure is achieved.
4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the initial isotropic etch is continued for a time period that only partially removes the silicon oxide layer such that the second layer cannot touch the substrate layer and adhere to it.
5. A method according to claim 1 wherein from about 1 to 10% by weight of HF in water is added.
6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the drying agent is methanol.
7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the drying agent is acetic acid.
8. A method of forming a microelectromechanical feature comprising
a) isotropically etching a silicon oxide layer between two silicon-containing layers with gaseous aqueous hydrogen fluoride for a time period that provides an opening in the silicon oxide layer, but that does not allow the overlying silicon layer to collapse onto and adhere to the underlying silicon-containing layer; and
b) adding a quantity of a drying agent so as to substitute the drying agent for water remaining in the opening and to dissolve residues remaining in the opening; and
c) repeating steps a) and b) until complete release of the feature to be made is achieved.

1. A honeycomb structure comprising:
a plurality of honeycomb segments each having a large number of through-holes surrounded by partition walls and extending in an axial direction; and
wherein the segments are bonded at the sides of the honeycomb, the segments parallel to said axial direction and integrated;
wherein a section perpendicular to said axial direction includes a shortest distance (L1) from a gravity center of the section to the bonded areas of honeycomb segments in the section that is 110 to 140 of a largest distance (L2) from the gravity center of the section to a circumference of the section; and
wherein the section perpendicular to said axial direction has an asymmetric conformation.
2. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein the shortest distance (L1) is 110 to 130 of the largest distance (L2).
3. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein a main component of each honeycomb segment comprises at least one kind of ceramic selected from a group consisting of cordierite, mullite, alumina, spinel, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, lithium aluminum silicate, aluminum titanate and combinations thereof, a Fe-Cr-Al type metal, or metallic Si and SiC.
4. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein the honeycomb segments have a catalyst loaded thereon.
5. A honeycomb structure according to claim 4, wherein the catalyst is at least one kind selected from Pt, Pd and Rh.
6. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein the through-holes of the honeycomb segments have a sectional shape of any of a triangle, a tetragon and a hexagon.
7. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein in each honeycomb segment, partition walls surrounding through-holes have a filtration ability, given through-holes are plugged at one end of the honeycomb segment, and residual through-holes are plugged at the other end of the honeycomb segment.
8. A honeycomb structure according to claim 7, wherein the honeycomb structure is a filter capable of capturing and removing a particulate substance present in a particle-containing fluid.
9. A honeycomb structure according to claim 1, wherein areas where the segments are bonded have thicknesses of from 0.5 mm to 6.0 mm.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A composite sandwich, comprising:
first and second fiber reinforced polymer facesheets; and
a reinforced core between the first and second facesheets, the reinforced core including\u2014
(i) a plurality of pins arranged in groups forming a truss, each of the pins including medial portions extending between the first and second facesheets and distal portions respectively extending generally parallel with and bonded to the first and second facesheets, the pins in each group intersecting at a node adjacent one of the first and second facesheets, and
(ii) a carrier surrounding the pins.
2. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein:
each of the pins includes carbon fiber reinforced resin, and
each of the first and second facesheets includes laminated plies of carbon fiber reinforced resin.
3. The composite sandwich of claim 2, wherein distal portions of the pins in each of the groups radiate outwardly from the node formed by the pins in the set.
4. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the nodes are spaced substantially equidistant from each other.
5. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein each of the groups include at least 3 of the pins.
6. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the pins in each of the groups are inclined relative to the planes of the facesheets approximately 30 degrees.
7. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the carrier includes rigid foam.
8. The composite sandwich of claim 7, wherein the rigid foam includes a polymethacrylimide.
9. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the pins in each of the groups are radially spaced substantially equidistant from each other around the node formed by the set.
10. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the carrier is closed cell foam, and the core has a density of between approximately 6.9 and 12 pounds per cubic foot.
11. The composite sandwich of claim 10, wherein the core has a thickness of between approximately \xbd inch and 1 inch.
12. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the nodes are spaced from each other between approximately 0.168 and 0.191 inches.
13. The composite sandwich of claim 1, wherein the core has a coefficient of thermal expansion generally matching the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first and second facesheets.
14. An aircraft structure incorporating the composite sandwich of claim 1.
15. A reinforced polymer composite structure, comprising:
a pair of fiber reinforced polymer facesheets; and,
a reinforced core between the facesheets, the reinforced core including a plurality of structural pins arranged in groups thereof, the pins in each of the groups substantially intersecting with each other and being spaced around a central axis extending generally normal to the facesheets.
16. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein the pins in each of the groups are symmetrically arranged around the central axis.
17. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein each of the pins includes distal portions extending substantially parallel with and bonded to the facesheets.
18. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein each group of the pins includes at least 3 of the pins.
19. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein the pins and the facesheets are formed of graphite fibers held in an epoxy binder.
20. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein the core has a coefficient of thermal expansion generally matching the coefficient of thermal expansion of each of the facesheets.
21. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein each of the pins is inclined relative to the planes of the facesheets at an angle of approximately 30 degrees.
22. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein:
each of the first and second facesheets includes laminated plies of carbon fiber reinforced resin, and
the pins include distal portions extending substantially parallel to the facesheets and bonded between the plies.
23. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein:
each of the pins includes medial portions extending generally transverse to the facesheets, and distal portions extending generally parallel to the facesheets, and
wherein the pins in each of the groups intersect each other at a junction generally between the medial and distal portions of the pins.
24. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein the pins in each of the groups includes distal portions symmetrically arranged around and radiating from the central axis.
25. The composite structure of claim 15, wherein the core has a density generally between 6.9 and 12 pounds per cubic foot.
26. The composite structure of claim 25, wherein the thickness of the core is generally between \xbd and 1 inch.
27. The composite structure of claim 25, wherein each of the pins includes graphite fiber reinforced epoxy and has a diameter between approximately 0.020 and 0.028 inches.
28. The composite structure of claim 25, wherein the central axes of adjacent groups of the pins are spaced from each other between approximately 0.169 and 0.191 inches.
29. The composite structure of claim 25, wherein the core includes a polymethacrylimide foam surrounding the pins.
30. An aircraft subassembly incorporating the composite structure of claim 15.
31. A method of fabricating a reinforced composite sandwich, comprising the steps of:
(A) fabricating a core by\u2014
(i) forming a layer of foam, and
(ii) forming groups of intersecting structural pins in the foam layer;

(B) bending the ends of the pins; and
(C) bonding the core to a pair of fiber reinforced facesheets by bonding the bent ends of the pins to the facesheets.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein step (A) (ii) includes inserting the pins into the foam layer along intersecting trajectories.
33. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:
(D) poltruding a length of graphite epoxy composite material;
(E) partially curing the length of graphite epoxy material; and,
(F) forming the pins by cutting the length of graphite epoxy material.
34. The method of claim 31, wherein step (A)(ii) includes:
inserting the pins into the foam layer,
flaying the ends of the pins.
35. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of:
(D) curing the structural pins after step (A) has been completed.
36. The method of claim 31, further including the step of:
(D) compacting and curing the facesheets and the core after step (C) has been completed.
37. An aircraft subassembly fabricated by the method of claim 31.
38. Performing maintenance and repair of an aircraft using the method of claim 31.
39. Assembling vehicles using the reinforced composite sandwich produced by the method of claim 31.