The invention relates to a motion element for producing motion in small quantities of liquid comprising a plate-shaped member having two principal surfaces, wherein at least one motion device, which is electrically controllable, is arranged on a first active principal surface to set in motion a liquid which is in contact with the active principal surface, and electrical contact elements for the motion device. The invention furthermore relates to a motion device which can be used with the motion element according to the invention, a cartridge to receive a motion element according to the invention, a reaction device to receive a cartridge according to the invention and a method for producing motion in small quantities of liquid.

The invention relates to a method for coating a substrate with a layer of a material, such as a metal, in which a quantity of electrically conductive material is vaporized in a space with a low background pressure and energy is supplied to the material which is to be vaporized in order to vaporize this material. According to the invention, the material which is to be vaporized, while it is being vaporized, is kept floating, without support, in the space and is enclosed in an alternating electromagnetic field, the alternating electromagnetic field being generated with the aid of a high-frequency alternating current. The invention also relates to a device for coating a substrate and to a substrate.

The invention relates to a method for preparing a polymer conjugate, in which a water-soluble polymer employed, the polymer having a linear or branched water-soluble polymer backbone and, at one end of the backbone, a branched moiety linked with two free reactive groups capable of covalent bonding to another molecule. Most specificly, it relates to an activated, substantially water soluble poly(ethylene glycol) having a linear or branched poly(ethylene glycol) backbone and at least one terminus linked to the backbone through a hydrolytically stable linkage, wherein the terminus is branched and has proximal reactive groups is reacted with active moieties in a biologically active agent such as a protein or peptide thus forming conjugates between the activated poly(ethylene glycol) and the biologically active agent.

The invention relates to a storage machine (1) for articles which comprises a plurality of compartments which are open to one side and which are configured on a rotatably mounted rotary magazine (10) that is at least partially surrounded by a housing (21) or any other delimitation. The storage machine further comprises at least one closing element (13), adjustable relative to a predefined center access opening (22) in the housing (21) and controlling, especially releasing or preventing, access to defined or individual compartments. The closing element (13) comprises at least one closing shutter that is mounted in such a manner as to be adjustable relative to the access opening (22) or the housing (21), and openings that are predefined in terms of size and/or height position and that are at least approximately adapted to the respective compartment openings and/or compartment height positions, and at least one door (15) that is mounted upstream of the compartments with respect to the direction of access or depth. Said door optionally releases or prevents access to the closing shutter or to a compartment positioned behind an opening.

The present invention relates to a packaging machine (500) for packaging pourable food products and producing sealed packages, comprising means for longitudinally sealing a web of continuous packaging material to form a tube, and sealing means for clamping and sealing the product-filled tube at spaced intervals. Said sealing means comprises a first two sets of mutually cooperating first heat sealing jaws (10) and first counter sealing jaws (20) respectively, and a second two sets of mutually cooperating second heat sealing jaws (10) and second counter sealing jaws (20) respectively. The sealing jaws (10,20) of at least one of said first and second two sets are carried by chain conveyors which are manageable between a first and a second state to make the packaging machine operable in a first state and in a second state, allowing manufacturing of different types of packages.

The invention refers to a method and apparatus for joining the edges of a tubular knitted article, such as a stocking, upon the completion of the latter on a circular machine; the apparatus comprises a movable carrier able to be associated with a knitting head of a circular machine, and the said carrier supports means for the removal of stitches of the last knitted rank, in which the means operate the removal of one semi-rank, that is, of half the stitches of said last knitted rank, and the means operate the removal of the other semi-rank; the movable carrier being provided with driving means and transfer means able to move the stitches of one semi-rank onto the means which remove the other semi-rank.

The invention relates to optical fibers incorporating cavities in their structure. This is an optical fiber comprising: a central core (1); a first annular region (ra) surrounding the central core (1); a second annular region (rb) surrounding the first annular region (ra) and comprising medium-size cavities (3) the cross section whereof remains strictly between a given first threshold and a given second threshold strictly higher than the first threshold; a third annular region (rc) surrounding the second annular region (rb) and comprising large cavities (4) the cross section whereof remains strictly above the second threshold; in a cross section of the optical fiber, any radius that goes from the center of the core towards the exterior of the optical fiber encounters at least either a medium-size cavity (3) in the second annular region (rb) or a large cavity (4) in the third annular region (rc); and the average distance between the outer perimeter (Ca) of the second annular region (rb) and the inner perimeter (Cb) of the third annular region (rc) is less than half the average dimension of a large cavity (4).

The invention relates to a device and a method for cooling strip substrates in vacuo, whereby a substrate (1) is run such as to wrap around a convex cooling surface, at least partly in a contact region (3) and a gap (10) is formed between the substrate (1) and the cooling surface in the contact region (3), whereby, in at least one first region (11) of the gap (10), a fluid is introduced through the cooling surface and said fluid is at least partly drained through the cooling surface from at least one second region (12; 13) of the gap (10).

A fitting for connecting two structural components. The fitting includes a locking device mounted on the first structural component and a support device mounted on the second structural component. A rotary member in the support device defines circumferentially extending conical surface against which the front end of the locking device is pressed when the two fitting devices are connected. The force exerted by the front end of the locking device causes the rotary member to be turned. The rotary member has a helical end face which is initially outside of the range of travel of the locking device. Upon turning of the rotary member, the helical end face comes into engagement with a countersurface of the locking device. The resulting connection can only be released by means of a tool. The structural components are pressed tightly together by a further turning of the rotary member. A piece of furniture composed of several structural components can be initially connected without the aid of a tool and can subsequently be tightened after the piece of furniture has been assembled. The fitting makes possible the connection of structural components where the tolerances in assembling the fitting devices are inaccurate or have been exceeded.

A power transmitting apparatus comprises a housing (3) having an opening at its end surface in the longitudinal direction thereof to be closed by a cover member (33), which supports an end of a brake support shaft (60) rotatably supporting a brake shoe (61). A hydraulic cylinder (63) for operation the brake shoe (61) is detachably attached to a side wall of the housing (3). A piston (64) of the hydraulic cylinder (63) contacts with a free end of the brake shoe (61). The cover member (33) also supports ends of a clutch shaft (26) and a PTO shaft (29), while a clutch housing (38) of a PTO clutch (27) is provided on the clutch shaft (26) so as to be braked by the brake shoe (61) in the state of the PTO clutch disengaged, thereby constituting a subassembly. By attaching the cover member (33) to the end surface of the housing (3) so as to close the opening, all the brake support shaft (60), the clutch shaft (26) and the PTO shaft (29) supported by the cover member (33) are installed in the housing (3).