Electrically heated alignment pad

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICALLY HEATED ALIGNMENT PAD WHICH COMPRISES AT LEAST ONE FLAT PLATE MEMBER OF THERMOPLASTIC RESIN, AND AT LEAST ONE THIN FLAT ELECTRIC HEATER HAVING ONE SURFACE LAYING AGAINST SUBSTANTIALLY THE WHOLE FLAT SURFACE OF SAID PLATE MEMBER FOR HEATING SAID PLATE MEMBER TO SOFTEN SAID PLATE MEMBER, THE OTHER SURFACE OF SAID HEATER ADAPTED TO BE HELD IN ELECTRICALLY INSULATED RELATIONSHIP TO THE SURFACE SUPPORTING IT, AND TO AN ARTICLE TO BE ALIGNED, SAID PLATE MEMBER AND HEATER HAVING A STRUCTURE THICKNESS OF WHICH REDUCED WHEN AN EXTERNAL COMPRESSIVE FORCE IS APPLIED THERETO WHEN SAID PLATE MEMBER IS IN THE HEAT SOFTENED CONDITION, WHEREBY AN OBJECT THROUGH WHICH THE COMPRESSIVE FORCE IS APPLIED CAN BE MOVED BY THE REDUCTION OF THICKNESS OF THE ALIGNMENT PAD FOR ADJUSTING THE POSITION THEREOF IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FORCE BEING APPLIED TO THE ALIGNMENT PAD; SAID PLATE MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES THEREIN INTO WHICH PORTIONS OF SAID PLATE MEMBER AROUND SAID APERTURES FLOW LATERALLY UPON THE SOFTENING OF SAID PLATE MEMBER WHEN SAID COMPRESSIVE FORCE IS APPLIED THERETO; SAID THERMOPLASTIC RESIN BEING A BLOCK COPOLYMER WHICH COMPRISES A CRYSTALLINE POLYESTER SEGMENT IN AN AMOUNT OF 99 TO 15 WT% RELATIVE TO THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF SAID BLOCK COPOLYMER AND A NON-CRYSTALLINE POLYMER SEGMENT IN AN AMOUNT OF 1 TO 85 WT% RELATIVE TO THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF SAID BLOCK COPOLYMER, SAID CRYSTALLINE POLYESTER SEGMENT BEING A POLYESTER HAVING A MELTING POINT NOT LESS THAN 150*C., AND BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF A POLYESTER, PO;YLACTONE AND AROMATIC POLYESTERETHER, SAID POLYESTER HAVING AN ACIDIC COMPONENT IN THE FORM AN AROMATIC DICARBOXYLIC RESIDUE AND A GLYCOL COMPONENT IN THE FORM OF AT LEAST ONE COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF AN ALIPHATIC DIOL RESIDUE HAVING 3 TO 10 CARBON ATOMS, AN AROMATIC DIOL RESIDUE AND AN ALICYCLIC DIOL RESIDUE, SAID NON-CRYSTALLINE POLYMER SEGMENT HAVING A MELTING OR SOFTENING POINT NOT MORE THAN 80*C. IN ITSELF AND A MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF NOT LESS THAN 400, SAID BLOCK COPOLYMER HAVING A MINIMUM FLUIDIZING TEMPERATURE OF FROM 130* TO 220*C., A BRITTLE POINT TEMPERATURE OF BELOW -40*C., A COMPRESSIVE STRESS OF FROM 5 TO 350 KG/CM2 AT 5% DEFORMATION THEREOF, A COMPRESSIVE MODULUS OF FROM 300 TO 7,000 KG/CM2, AN IMPACT STRENGTH OF NOT LESS THAN 10 KG. CM/CM AND A D-TYPE SHORE HARDNESS OF NOT LESS THAN 20.