Abstract:
A miniature telltale module which combines a plurality of telltale functions into one unit and provides reduced cost per function. The module uses a miniature rotary actuator or driver, an image disc having a series of interconnected images or icons and a single light source. The actuator or driver allows a wide tolerances at the inputs while still precisely selecting the image positions. The module includes a light absorbing shield disposed about a light source and having a light opening positioned and sized to provide illumination of the icon, containment of light not directed through the light opening, and control of the angle of light emitted from the opening.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/056,087 filed on May 3, 1993 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,338 and titled “Miniature Telltale Module”. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is generally that of indicators, and more specifically, to an improved miniature telltale module. 
     Most automotive instrument clusters contain fifteen to twenty-five warning or information indicators (telltales). Packaging these functions as part of an instrument cluster design inhibits the flexibility of the design and creates complexity throughout the assembly. 
     The instrument cluster housing typically provides the support for the telltale bulbs. The housing also incorporates complex structures to eliminate light leakage (or crosstalk) from adjacent telltales or into the instrument graphics areas. 
     Telltale bulbs are commonly powered through a flexible circuit which is placed on the back of the instrument case. The size and complexity of the flexible circuit required in each instrument is highly dependent on the telltale arrangement. Flexible circuits, therefore, add cost to the telltale function and increase the number of electrical connections thus decreasing the system reliability. 
     Current production instrument clusters contain a light bulb and socket for each telltale function. Material and assembly costs to install, test and inspect these bulbs accumulates into a significant portion of the instrument cluster cost because so many are needed. Incandescent bulb life and reliability continues to be an important factor even though bulb and socket design improvements have been made. 
     Prior Art: 
     Several types of devices are known which have attempted to solve the problems stated above. By combining several telltale indications or messages into one unit, Pomerantz (U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,701) and Reck (U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,450) both taught the use of a D.C. Motor to rotate a message carrying drum using gears. Mechanical switches were incorporated to stop the motor at the required locations and a lamp was lighted to display the message or image. Both of these devices are complex electro-mechanical assemblies containing many parts, some of which are required to be precise (i.e. gears). This forces the cost of these devices to be high and thus they have not been used extensively. 
     Fales (U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,814) teaches a simpler method of actuating a message carrying drum but like Pomerantz and Reck the assembly is large and therefore consumes too much space and thus is difficult to package within the instrument cluster. Also, the drum construction creates a large inertial load on the actuator thus requiring the Fales actuator to be heavily damped (with viscous fluid) to eliminate overshoot and ringing. This presents a response problem similar to the D.C. motor actuation and adds the need for the emergency indicator and it&#39;s required control logic. The extended period of time that the actuators are driven also increases the power consumption of the unit. In fact, Fales powers the actuator and the lamp all the time that a fault condition is signaled. 
     The cost and design flexibility problems of current approaches coupled with the fact that the prior art has not provided acceptable solutions calls for a new concept. 
     The present invention provides this new concept by disclosing a miniature telltale module that has the capability of containing a large number of images or messages. Further, this module is designed to be low cost and provides a variety of packaging options to enhance flexibility. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an image display arrangement or apparatus that includes a simple, reliable, multi-positional image indicator. 
     Generally speaking, the present invention comprises a novel miniature rotary actuator or drive, a series of interconnected images or indications and a single light source. The magnetic design of the miniature actuator allows wide tolerances at the inputs while still precisely selecting the image position. 
     The actuator also has a unique locking device (or brake) which automatically engages when power is removed. This feature allows the control circuitry to select an image with a momentary pulse and then remove the power from the actuator. Power consumption is thereby minimized since no power is required by the actuator except when changing the image to be displayed. 
     A series of images or indications are carried on a continuous loop of transparent film and are guided between the light source (LED) and a simple projector lens. 
     The small size of the miniature telltale module allows instrument cluster designers to easily incorporate many telltales into instrument cluster designs while maintaining simple construction. 
     More specifically, the present invention is an image display apparatus having a substrate that acts as a base having an integrated circuit and electrical connections. A driver is mounted on the substrate and electrically connected to the integrated circuit. The driver includes a controllable rotatably positionable drive providing a plurality of drive rotational positions in response to electrical signal inputs. The image display apparatus further includes an image disc having at least one radially disposed indication on the disc. The image disc is driven by the driver for rotational movement to the plurality of drive rotational positions. The image display apparatus also includes a light source electrically connected to the integrated circuit for illuminating the indication upon juxtaposition with the light source via rotational positioning of the image disc and illumination of the light source. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the light source is a directional light source and the image display apparatus includes a light absorbing shield having a light opening. The shield is connected to the substrate about the light source and the light opening is positioned and sized relative to the light source and the image disc to provide illumination of the indication, absorption of light not directed through the light opening, and control of the angle of light emitted from the opening. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the light source is a diffusing light source and the image display apparatus includes a light box positioned about the light source. The light box includes a light opening to allow light to illuminate the indication. The light box contains light within the box and allows light to be reflected within the box. 
     Preferably, the image display apparatus of the present invention further includes an attachment hub for mounting the image disc to the drive. The hub and image disc provide a locking mechanism for attaching or locking the image disc to the hub in a snap-fit arrangement. 
     In one arrangement, the image disc is constructed of a transparent light transmitting material and the indication is formed by a light blocking application on the image disc. 
     In another arrangement, the image disc is constructed of a metallic material and the indication is formed in the image disc by cutting or chemical etching. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel miniature telltale module which optimizes cost, packaging, control, power consumption and reliability. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel telltale module that is low in cost. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a novel small package size to allow design flexibility within the instrument cluster. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide simple control inputs to accurately select the required image which allows the module to be interfaced to sensor outputs with low cost circuitry. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a device having low power consumption which is desirable to minimize heat dissipation within the cluster. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a miniature telltale module which only illuminates the image or indication to be displayed and does not interfere with light used to illuminate the areas surrounding the image disc. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a novel locking mechanism for locking the image disc to the driver or actuator. 
     It is another object of the invention to use chemical etching techniques to etch the indication in a metallic image disc. 
     It is another object of the invention to construct the image disc from a transparent material and deposit an opaque coating thereon to form the indications. 
     Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows hereinafter (which is to be considered as exemplary of, but not specifically limiting, the present invention) and said objects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after a careful study of the detailed description which follows. 
     For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, one exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the hereinbelow-described figures of the accompanying drawings and is described in detail hereinafter. Alternative embodiments are also shown. All are to be taken as representative of the multiple embodiments of the invention which lie within the scope of the invention. 
     These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one exemplary embodiment of one representative form of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the stator coils of the actuator or driver; 
     FIG. 3 is an actuator module truth table; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator or driver showing the actuator brake on when the power is off; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator or driver showing the actuator brake off when the power is on; 
     FIG. 6 is a diagram of the control logic circuitry for the actuator or driver and the light source; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the alternate embodiment that shows a plurality of display windows, light sources and light boxes; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a second alternative embodiment of the image display apparatus of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of the second alternative embodiment that shows the image disc and the attachment hub to which the image disc is connected; 
     FIG. 11 is a sectional schematic diagram of the coils of the driver of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 12 is a top view of the image disc used in the second alternative embodiment of the present invention which also depicts a close-up view of the centrally located aperture of the image disc and a close-up view of one of the indications thereon; 
     FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the second alternative embodiment illustrating the light characteristics of the light sheet, the light source and the light shield; 
     FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the hub and image disc of the second alternative embodiment of the present invention showing the hub and disc disengaged; and 
     FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the hub and image disc of the second alternative embodiment of the present invention showing the snap fit urged engagement of the hub and image disc. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, substrate  1  is used as a base and for electrical connections. An integrated circuit is fabricated into substrate  1 . Alternatively, an integrated circuit is contained on another circuit assembly to which substrate  1  is connected. Actuator  2  is mounted on substrate  1  by using glue. LED lamp  3  is soldered to substrate  1 . Image strip  4  is placed around actuator  2  and LED lamp  3  and is held in place by the spacing of actuator  2  and LED lamp  3 . Right angle optics  5  is fixedly attached to substrate  1 . 
     A series of images are carried on image strip  4  and are guided between LED lamp  3  and right angle optics  5 . Cover  6  is placed over substrate  1  and fixedly attached. Cover  6  has screen  7  which mounts adjacent to right angle optics  5  so that the images are projected (in focus) onto screen  7 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, actuator  2  has three inputs which are labeled A, B, and C. These inputs are the Delta connection points of the three stator coils  10 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a truth table describes the relationship between actuator  2  inputs (A, B, and C) and the rotational position (or output) of magnet  8 . The inputs have either a high (H), a low (L) or a floating input (−). By using three inputs for A, three inputs for B, and three inputs for C; six output positions for actuator  2  are obtained. Note that additional output positions may be obtained by using other binary or tri-state combinations for A, B, and C; Thus providing more than six output selections. The example of six positions is used here for clarity of description and should not be taken to limit the scope of the invention. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, actuator  2  is shown with power off and the brake on. When no current is flowing in stator coils  10 , brake disc  9  attracts magnet  8  and causes magnet  8  to move axially until contact occurs between magnet  8  and brake disc pad  11 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5, actuator  2  is shown with power on and the brake off. When power is applied, the brake is released because the magnetic field of the stator coils  10  overcomes the magnetic brake force and causes magnet  8  to center itself (axially) on the stator coils  10 . Magnet  8  is then free to rotate to the requested position (according to the truth table in FIG. 3) and the brake reapplies when the input power is removed. 
     FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary logic circuit used to control the actuator  2  and the LED lamp  3 . The inputs levels are monitored for indication of a fault or warning at block  13 . Optionally, block  12  provides serial data input through communications with other monitoring devices. Block  14  processes and stores the input change according to a user defined priority. The combination logic  15  and timers  16  then apply the appropriate signals to actuator  2  for a sufficient period of time to ensure the image is in place. The timers  16  then remove power from actuator  2  and power is applied to LED lamp  3 . Total elapsed time from input changes to the light source being powered is generally in the order of 0.3 to 0.5 seconds. The preferred embodiment would contain the logic circuitry of FIG. 6 in a single integrated circuit package to reduce assembly costs and space. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, substrate  1  is the base for the assembly and contains electrical connections. The stator coils  10  and LED lamp  3  are soldered to substrate  1 . The integrated circuit may also be soldered to substrate  1  or may be part of another circuit assembly to which substrate  1  is connected. Magnet  8  is placed around the stator coils  10  and is attached to the image strip  4  such that both are free to rotate about the stator coils  10 . Into light box  17  which is fixedly attached to substrate  1 . Housing  18  and cover  19  are used to enclose the rotating members (magnet  8  and image strip  4 ) and to provide window opening  20  through which the selected image is viewed. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize that substrate  1 , housing  18  and cover  19  may individually be incorporated into larger multifunction components within an instrument cluster. 
     Referring now to FIG. 8, the embodiment of FIG. 7 is shown with a plurality LED lamps  3  and  3 ′, a plurality of light boxes  17  and  17 ′ cooperating with a plurality of window openings  20  and  20 ′. This configuration allows multiple warnings to be displayed or the use of LED lamps  3  and  3 ′ that are different colors. Alternately, different color LED lamps  3  and  3 ′ could be mounted for use with just one light box  17 . 
     A second alternative embodiment of the tell-tale module, image display arrangement or apparatus is shown in FIGS. 9-15 and is generally indicated by the numeral  100 . Because many of the details of the second alternative embodiment are similar to those other embodiments of the present invention already described herein, similar or like numerals or similarly ending numerals are used for like parts and further description is deemed unnecessary except as included below to clarify and describe any modifications. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9-10, the image display arrangement or apparatus  100  includes a substrate  101 . The substrate  101  acts a base having an integrated circuit and electrical connections. The image display apparatus  100  further includes a driver  102  mounted on the substrate  101  and electrically connected to the integrated circuit contained thereon. The driver  102  includes a controllable rotatably positionable drive  120  and drive shaft  121  extending from the drive  120 . The driver  102  and drive shaft  121  provides a plurality of drive rotational positions in response to electrical signal inputs. The electrical signal inputs may be transferred from the integrated circuit contained on the substrate  101  to the driver  102 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the driver  102  is an air core gauge having at least two coils  10  (shown in FIG. 11) electrically connected to the substrate  101  and having inputs of plus (“+” or a positively biased voltage), minus (“−” or a negatively biased voltage) and no voltage (“0”). The gauge may also include a magnet  8  mounted on the drive shaft  121  as previously described and shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     Referring to the table below, the relationship between the coil  10  inputs A and B in FIG.  11  and the rotational position of the drive  120  wherein the rotational movement of the drive  120  or drive shaft  121  is measured in degrees of rotation from a default or home position is shown. The default or home position of the drive  120  or drive shaft  121  is identified as zero degrees. By using the three inputs a plus (+), minus (−) and no voltage (0) for each of the two coil inputs A and B, eight rotational positions for the drive  120  or drive shaft  121  can be obtained. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Rotary Position 
               
               
                 Coil Input A 
                 Coil Input B 
                 (In degrees) 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 + 
                 0 
                 0 
               
               
                 + 
                 + 
                 45 
               
               
                 0 
                 + 
                 90 
               
               
                 − 
                 + 
                 135 
               
               
                 − 
                 0 
                 180 
               
               
                 − 
                 − 
                 225 
               
               
                 0 
                 − 
                 270 
               
               
                 + 
                 − 
                 315 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The drive  120  or drive shaft  121  is positioned into the default or home position (0 degrees) by applying a positively biased voltage or plus (+) to the coil input A while not supplying voltage (0) to coil input B. To position the drive  120  or drive shaft  121  forty five degrees from the home or default position, the plus (+) would be applied to both coil inputs A and B. In a similar manner, the six remaining rotational positions may be obtained. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9,  10 , and  12 , the image display apparatus  100  further includes a generally planar image disc  104  having at least one radially disposed indication  122  on a generally planar portion thereof. The image disc  104  is rotatably driven by the drive  120 . The image disc  104  is illustrated as being mounted on the drive shaft  121  for rotational movement with the drive shaft, however alternative drive arrangements become apparent to one skilled in the art. In other words, the image disc  104  moves in a rotational fashion relative to the substrate  101 . 
     The disc  104  may be constructed from a metal material, i.e. the disc  104  may be made of full, hard  316  stainless steel material. However, it will be appreciated that any metal material with similar properties may be used. Alternatively, the disc  104  may be made of a transparent material which allows light to pass through the disc  104 . For example, disc  104  may be made of a clear plastic material. In the embodiment illustrated, the thickness of the disc  104  is generally 0.002 inches. 
     The disc  104  includes a centrally located aperture  124 . The aperture  124  has a non-circular cross section. The disc  104  includes one or more tabs  126  adjoining the centrally located aperture. If the disc  104  is made of metal, commercially available and known chemical etching techniques may be used to etch the indications or translucent icons  122  into the disc  104 . Referring to FIG. 12, a close-up enlarged view of an indication  122  is shown formed by the process of chemical etching. Connectors  128  are used to hold the centers  130  of the indications or icons  122  in place and connected to the remaining portions of the disc  104 . Typically, the connectors  128  about 0.002 inches wide making them virtually invisible to the naked eye. The metal image disc  104  may include a non-reflective coating on its surface. The non-reflective coating may be paint, ink or a chemically deposited oxide. 
     A disc  104  made of a transparent material, may be coated with an opaque coating or have an applique applied to form the indication  122  to prevent light from passing through the image disc  104  in selected areas. Whereas the indications  122  of a chemically-etched metal disc  104  is formed by etching holes in the disc  104 , the indications  122  of the clear plastic disc  104  are formed by those areas of the disc  104  which are covered. 
     Again referring to FIG. 10, the image display apparatus  100  further includes a light source or illuminator  103  electrically connected to the integrated circuit of the substrate  101  for illuminating the indication  122  upon juxtaposition with the light source  103  via rotational positioning of the image disc  104  and illuminating of the light source  103 . Although a light emitting diode is preferred, any light source may be used for the present invention, i.e. a directional light source such as a light emitting diode or laser or a diffusing light source such as a conventional incandescent lamp. 
     The image display apparatus  100  further includes a light absorbing shield or cover  132 . The light absorbing shield  132  includes a light opening  134  for allowing the illumination cast by the light source  103  to pass therethrough. The shield  132  is connected to the substrate  101  and is disposed around or about the light source  103 . The light opening  134  is positioned and sized relative to the light source  103  and the image disc  104  to provide illumination of the indication  122 . The light shield  132  is internally constructed to absorb light not directed through the light opening  134  and also to control of the angle of light emitted from the opening  134 . In other words, the shield  132  prevents light cast by the light source  103  from being cast on any other area of the disc  104  other than the area defined by the indication  122  to be illuminated. 
     The image display apparatus  100  further includes a light sheet  136  extending in spaced relationship relative to the image disc  104  for viewing the indication  122  through the light sheet  136 . The light opening  134  is positioned and sized to direct light from the light source  103  to strike the light sheet  136  at an angle generally less than forty five degrees, and hereinafter more fully described, to allow the light to pass through the sheet  136  without being reflected and captured within the sheet  136 . The light opening  134  of the light shield  132  is positioned as close as possible to the image disc  104  without contacting the disc  104  so that the gap between the light shield opening  134  and the image disc  104  is as small as practical. This positioning of the light opening  134  relative to the disc  104  ensures that the light exiting the opening  134  comes into direct contact with the indication  122  disposed on the image disc  104 . By placing the shield  132  as close as practical to disc  104 , “glowing” or diffusing light from the shield  132  is prevented. Such close placement also prevents stray light from illuminating the indication  122 . Additionally, the non-reflective coating on the image surface of the image disc  104  prevents the image disc  104  from reflecting and thereby interfering with light waves from the light source  103  or the light sheet  136 . 
     Referring to FIG. 13, light sheet  136  is shown positioned just above the light opening  134  of the light shield  132 . The light sheet  136  includes an upper surface  135  and a lower surface  137 . The light sheet  136  is constructed from a material capable of transmitting light between its outer upper and lower surfaces  135 ,  137 , respectively. For example, light sheet  136  may be constructed from conventional optical materials including, but not limited to glass, polycarbinate or acrylic. The light emitted by light source  103  may be cast at many different angles and travel different paths through the light sheet  136 . For example, the light cast by light source  103  may follow the angles and paths designated by light rays B or C in FIG.  13 . Any light which strikes the upper surface  135  at an angle less than the critical angle (depicted by Angle A) will pass through the upper surface  135  and exit the light sheet  136  as represented by rays TT 1  and TT 2 . Any light ray which strikes the upper surface  135  at an angle greater than or equal to Angle A will be reflected by the upper surface  135  back toward the lower surface  137 . In other words, the light rays will be internally reflected within the sheet  136  as depicted by light rays B and C. In the present invention, the critical angle, A, is calculated by the following formula: 
     
       
         I c =arc sine N′/N 
       
     
     where: I c =critical angle 
     N′=index of refraction of surrounding media (usually air) 
     N=index of refraction of light sheet (glass 1.5, acrylic 1.45, air 1.0) 
     For example, in an air environment the critical angle is 41.8% for a light sheet made from glass and 43.6% for a light sheet made from an acrylic material. 
     With continued reference to FIG. 13, light from a second light source (not shown) is transmitted within the light sheet  136  such that the light is internally reflected within the light sheet  136 . Typically, the light from light source  103  is of one color, such as red and the light from the second light source used to illuminate the light sheet  136  is of another color, such as white. Other graphic images  139  may be displayed on the light sheet upper surface  135  and may be located near the image formed by the indications  122 . The graphic images  139  may use a third color, such as green. Light from the second light source strikes a diffusive surface or extractor pass  141  and causes a portion of the diffused light having an angle less than the critical angle, A, to exit through the graphic image  139 . If light rays B and C are not contained by light shield  132 , then rays B and C will cause the graphic image  139  to change color to a greenish-red color when the light source  103  is lit. To prevent this from occurring, light shield  132  may be designed to have a light opening  134  which directs the light cast by the light source  103  to strike the light sheet upper surface  135  at an angle less than angle A so that light rays from the light source  103  are not internally reflected within the light sheet  136 . In other words, the light shield  132  absorbs or traps and thereby prevents those light rays cast by the light source  103  which may interfere with or mix with the light source of the surrounding graphic images  139 . That is, the only light that exits the light shield  132  is the light passing through the light opening  134 . 
     Referring again to FIGS. 9-10, the image display apparatus  100  further includes an attachment hub  138  secured to the drive shaft  121  for mounting the image disc  104  thereto. The attachment hub  138  includes an axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140  and a generally radially extending image disc engaging flange portion  142 . The drive shaft engaging portion  140  has a non-circular cross section corresponding to the non-circular cross section of aperture  124  in the image disc  104  for cooperable engagement of the image disc  104  on the axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140 . The axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140  further includes one or more notches  144  for receiving the tabs  126  of the image disc  104  in a locking, snap-fit arrangement upon assembly of the image disc  104  onto the hub  138 . 
     FIG. 14 depicts the hub  138  and notch  144  of the axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140  prior to snap-fit engagement with the tab  126  of the image disc  104 . 
     FIG. 15 depicts the hub  138  and notch  144  of the axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140  in snap-fit engagement with the tabs  126  of the image disc  104 . As seen in FIGS. 14 and 15, the tabs  126  are bent back into spring tension as the image disc  104  is slipped onto the axially extending drive shaft engaging portion  140  via the aperture  124  of the image disc  104 . Thus, the tabs  126  exert a spring force on the drive shaft engaging portion  140  and cause the disc  104  to lie flat against the flange portion  142  of the hub  138 . In this manner, the image disc  104  is secured to the hub  138  in a flush manner. The tabs  126  of the image disc  104  and the notches  144  of the hub  138  act as a locking mechanism to lock or fixedly mount the image disc  104  to the flange portion  142  of the hub  138  so that the image disc  104  rotates with the hub  138  as the drive shaft  121  rotates. 
     One skilled in the art will recognize that the device embodiments disclosed above may be used with or without optical elements to form virtual image displays and so called Head-Up-Displays 
     The preferred actuator design has an input impedance of approximately 20 ohms. This equates to a peak current of 250 ma at +5 VDC. Input power pulses should be from 200 ms to 500 ms in duration. LED Lamp  3  requires typically 20 ma to 70 ma to provide the required intensities. The air core gage gauge generally uses 220 ohms per coil. 
     Although the invention has been described by reference to a specific embodiment, it should be understood that numerous changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the described embodiment, but that it have the full scope defined by the language of the following claims.