Abstract: This invention relates to a valve assembly that has a seat for the flow control seal that is contained on a sleeve-like seating assembly that sits upon a shoulder in the housing whereby the extension of the seating assembly beyond the lower end of the housing in a downward and axial direction is fixed. This construction insures that the seat for the flow control valve must be withdrawn from the faucet body with the rest of the valve assembly.

Abstract: A process is described for the doping of semiconductors utilizing laser beam melting of the semiconductor surface in the presence of a dopant source. By selecting the laser wavelength to satisfy one of several criteria relating the semiconductor absorption coefficient and wafer thickness, or the dopant thickness and doping depth, the heating and melting are constrained to occur in a small local region near the surface where the laser beam impinges. Use of this invention to produce Zener diodes having abrupt doping profiles, as well as other device structures, is also discussed.

Abstract: This invention relates to a compression joint of the type used to connect the end of a piece of compressible pipe to a corporation fitting such as a curb stop, a main stop or a ball valve. The pipe is usually soft copper the wall of which is compressible, but it can be plastic and may, in the future, tend to be plastic rather than copper. The joint includes a nut threaded onto a sleeve; the nut and sleeve and an inserted pin forming a chamber which receives a split compression ring, a spacer tube, and a compressible gasket. The compression ring and gasket are urged into engagement with the pipe when the size of the chamber is reduced as the nut is threaded onto the sleeve.

Abstract: A bathtub stopper for closing the drain passage of a strainer cup of a bathtub according to the present invention consists of a main body portion which has first and second components adapted to telescope longitudinally with respect to one another between an extended position and a shortened position. The components are also rotatable with respect to one another about the longitudinal axis of the main body. The first component is manually engageable to be rotatably driven about the longitudinal axis and the second component is adapted to be secured to a strainer to locate the main body in an operative position with respect to the strainer. A closure means is carried by the first component for closing the drain passage when the main body is in the shortened position, the closure means being spaced from the strainer to open the drain passage when in the extended position.