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fig1 illustrates an sms distribution path according to the invention . in the prior art , the short messages have usually been directed to a single subscriber or a specified group of subscribers such as a sales team . however , gsm also supports a feature known as cell broadcast in which messages can be sent to all the subscribers in a particular area . in the embodiment of the invention illustrated , a message consists of the telephone number of an advertiser and an alphanumeric tag to identify the advertiser . an operator enters the message into a terminal 1 . the message is then coded into a secure format known to applicants as an embedded command stream ( ecs ) and sent via a modem 2 and a fixed line 3 to a local gsm switch 4 . according to its delivery address , the message is delivered to any or all of the other switches within that network , or even across networks . the switch 4 , which in this example is in the geographical area to which the message is to be transmitted , delivers the message to a number of cellsites 5 . the cellsites 5 are the base transceiver stations of the gsm network . each cellsite 5 then broadcasts the message to a group of transceivers or mobile telephones , hereinafter referred to as “ mobiles ”. if cell broadcast is used , the group consists of all mobiles within the geographical area at the time of the broadcast . a selected mobile 6 receiving the message transmits a confirmation of receipt back to its respective cellsite 5 . from now on , until an update situation , the system will not contact this mobile 6 again . the mobile 6 recognizes the message as sms data and passes it to a sim card 7 , which is a small self - contained microprocessor , held in a slot in the mobile 6 . the sim card 7 in turn recognizes the ecs using special hardware and software and stores the message in memory in such a way that it may not be overwritten by the subscriber . known sim cards contain a large number of fixed memory locations in which the subscriber can store frequently dialed numbers and corresponding alphanumeric tags . the sim card 7 of the invention stores the message in one of these locations , and then carries out a write protect operation . the locations dedicated to storing write protected messages may be designated by code numbers relating to a particular category of advertiser . thus , for example , car hire company telephone numbers can be stored in location 01 , hotel reservations in location 02 and so on . fig2 shows a call placing process in which a subscriber communicates with an advertiser . the subscriber , remembering that the car hire company &# 39 ; s number is in location 01 as shown at 8 , keys in a short code corresponding to the location , such as 01 #. the mobile 6 then interrogates the sim card 7 to retrieve the telephone number from the location . the sim card 7 provides both the number and the alphanumeric tag giving the company &# 39 ; s name and displays it to the subscriber . the user confirms that he wishes to proceed by pressing send . next , the mobile obtains a voice channel through which the call proceeds to the dialed number . the gsm system automatically handles intra - network and inter - network hops . at this point the subscriber can hold a voice conversation with the company . providing the correct equipment has been installed at the company , as soon as the call is answered , subscriber identity information read from the sim card 7 gives the company immediate customer billing details such as a name and address . the sim card 7 also contains information detailing the subscriber &# 39 ; s credit account . this information is held in a separate , secure memory location , accessible only when the subscriber enters a mandatory pin number , known only to himself , thus confirming that the mobile has not been stolen or lost . when the subscriber has confirmed his car hire deal , he enters the pin number into the mobile 6 , requesting the credit information from the sim card 7 . the sim card 7 supplies the information and the mobile uses existing voice / data techniques to transmit the information to the company , in a format secure against detection by fraudsters . the sale is confirmed by the company or its equipment and the call is terminated . in this example , it is also possible to obtain a telephone or fax number from the operator - assisted directory enquiries system without the subscriber having to manually enter the number into the communications terminal which he desires to use . to use this feature , the subscriber calls network directory enquiries and gives the name of the person , company or service of which he wishes to ascertain the telephone number , as well as any additional information requested by the operator answering the call . the operator then locates the number , confirms it and enquires as to whether the number is to be transmitted verbally , transferred over sms into a given memory location of the subscriber &# 39 ; s sim card or both . if the subscriber chooses a sim update , the voice call is terminated and the operator initiates the sms process by entering a sequence into a computer or pressing a dedicated button . the telephone number is then encoded into an ecs message at the despatch center and is posted across the network to the subscriber &# 39 ; s communications terminal , which transmits a confirmation to the despatch center . thus , the retry mechanism , which operates until such a confirmation is received , is suspended . the communications terminal recognizes the message as sms data , passes it to the sim card , and if capable , displays a “ message received ” banner . the sim card in turn recognizes the ecs using special hardware and software , and decodes it accordingly . the number , and any associated alphanumeric tag , which would normally consist of the name of the person or company , are recovered together with the memory location in which they are intended to be stored . the number and name - tag are then written to that location and are write - protected if requested by the subscriber , the overwrite protection being encoded into the message at source . subsequently , the subscriber attempts to place a call to the number in the known memory location by keying in the memory location number . the sim card passes the telephone or fax number to the communications terminal on demand , and upon receipt of the subscriber &# 39 ; s confirmation , the communications terminal sets up the call to the desired number . fig3 shows the electronic structure of the sim card 7 . the card communicates with the mobile to which it is connected via an input / output ( i / o ) manager 15 , preferably using the protocol iso 7816 t = 0 . a filter 16 receives incoming data from the i / o manager and detects any ecs messages from among the short messages received . the ecs messages are sent directly to an extended erasable read only memory ( e 2 rom ) 17 , which is preferably a “ flash ” e 2 rom . data can also be output from the e 2 rom directly to the i / o manager 15 . the remaining blocks shown in fig3 are standard components of a sim card . fig4 shows how the e 2 rom is organized . a root directory 18 contains a sim administration and identifier 19 , a gsm directory and network data 20 , and a telecom directory 21 . the telecom directory in turn contains memory locations as follows : “ abbreviated dial numbers ” 22 , “ capability configuration ” 23 , “ short messages ” 24 , “ fixed dial numbers ” 25 , and “ charging counter ” 26 . each block represents a plurality of memory locations . the frequently dialed numbers and corresponding alphanumeric tags are stored at locations 22 . the “ abbreviated dial numbers ” locations 22 and the “ short messages ” locations 24 each have an associated locking control file 27 , 28 , respectively . the locking control files constitute means for read / write protecting and removing read / write protection from their associated memory locations . the locking control files 27 , 28 will typically be in the telecom directory 21 as shown , however they can be located elsewhere such as in an administration directory . fig5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the sim card 7 , which uses the specially fabricated hardware and software which has been described above to implement the operations illustrated . at lozenge 9 , messages , requests , and instructions having ecs are distinguished from those without . each of these ecs types consists of a data stream headed by a command which is one of at least four types : write commands for the messages , read commands for the requests for information , attribute commands for lock or unlock instructions and run commands for instructions to run a program . the command and data types are decoded at box 10 and acted on in one of the four paths 11 - 14 . path 11 handles the write commands to store messages starting at a location specified therein . path 12 handles the read commands ; again , the requests for information contain a location to be accessed first . successive locations are read and the data stored in a buffer until the required amount of data has been read . the data in the buffer is then encoded into the ecs format and despatched from the mobile using sms to the calling party . in path 13 , attribute commands are used to lock or unlock specified memory locations and render them accessible or inaccessible , either to calling parties or to the subscriber . in path 14 , run commands cause a program stored in the sim card to be run . the basic ecs system is expandable to up to 255 internal shell commands of which write , read , lock / unlock and run are four examples . the specific protocol used for the transfer of information is not fixed and could be iso7816 t = 0 or any other suitable protocol . the internal shell commands are a supplement to the ability of the system to create external file objects within the sim card 7 . the file objects are of two types : application data file programs ( adfp &# 39 ; s ) containing functional data which can be executed by the sim card processor and can self modify if required and application data files ( adf &# 39 ; s ) containing non - functional data which does not have these capabilities . existing adf ( p )&# 39 ; s can be modified over - the - air enabling advanced facilities such as personalization , re - personalization or downloadable phone book . the sim card 7 has a directory structure , similar to that of a computer disk , and new adf ( p )&# 39 ; s can be downloaded into any directory over the air . also over the air , directories can be created , deleted and modified , multiple tree directory operations can be carried out and adf ( p )&# 39 ; s that are no longer required can be deleted . the amount of adf ( p ) data which can be downloaded is limited only by the size of the e 2 rom memory of the card . the invention , as described , greatly extends the applications of sim cards . for example , using the value added services directory , subscribers can book hotels and airline seats over their mobiles quickly and easily . an additional advantage of this feature of the invention is that the geographical distribution of messages to cards in a specific area such as the south of france is facilitated . thus advertisers can direct their messages to all mobile subscribers in the specific area . this , is particularly useful when subscribers “ roam ” from one area to another and have no knowledge of local services . the directory enquiries download enables contact telephone or fax numbers to be delivered to a subscriber &# 39 ; s communications terminal without any intervention by the subscriber . the process of manually entering a number whilst engaged in a call to the operator is often dangerous , especially when the subscriber is driving . the ability of the system to download adf ( p )&# 39 ; s means that additional services can be added to the sim card over the air while maintaining total compatibility with the existing cellular system . thus the sim card could acquire the functions of a credit card , passport , driving license , car park pass , membership card and so on , becoming a multi - service card . also , dynamically updatable services can be added which require a different process to be run each time a service is accessed . once the card has extra services on it , it can be used outside of the mobile phone environment if desired as a standalone item . this can be read from or written to by a dedicated piece of hardware , such as a point of sale machine . if desired , the new services can be deleted , however the card will never lose its mobile phone sim capability . in addition , if the card has extra services , they will continue to function even if the subscriber has been disconnected from the mobile phone network , unless otherwise desired . modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , the sim card can be trained only to receive messages detailing services relevant to the subscriber &# 39 ; s needs .	7
a novel trace routing design for integrated circuit i / o pads is described in detail below that seeks to introduce current flow delivered by a trace into an integrated circuit pad by routing current flow from the trace delivering the current to the pad through a plurality of traces to the pad or through an intermediate trace channel and multiple conductive leads to the pad . current is therefore introduced to the pad from a number of different paths rather than the single path that results from a direct connection between the trace and pad . a relatively uniform current distribution may be achieved at the pad opening to the bump ( i . e ., at the conductive junction between the pad and the ubm ), and hence at the bump , through selection of the number , pattern , and relative impedances of the conductive leads connecting the outer channel to the pad , resulting in reduced current crowding and reduced electromigration damage in the joint ( e . g ., flip - chip bump ) connected to the pad . for purposes of comparison , the configuration of a traditional prior art solder bump in a flip - chip assembly is shown in fig3 a , 3 b , 3 c , 3 d , 3 e , and 3 f . more particularly , fig3 a is a cross - sectional side view , fig3 b is a cross - sectional front view , fig3 c is an isometric view , and fig3 d is a top plan view of the components included in a single bump junction of the flip - chip assembly 10 of fig1 . fig3 e is a perspective view of the trace 20 and pad 22 of fig3 a - 3d . as illustrated in fig3 a , 3 b , 3 c , and 3 d , the trace 20 is conductively connected to the pad 22 on the outermost trace layer of the integrated circuit 14 ( of fig1 ). the pad 22 is capped with a passivation layer 24 , typically comprising either a nitride or a polymer . an opening 25 is etched into the passivation layer 24 and the ubm 26 is plated over both the opening 25 and a portion of the passivation layer 24 . solder attaches to the ubm 26 during the bumping process to form bump 16 , which conductively connects the ubm 26 and the substrate pad 28 when the die is flipped and attached to the substrate 12 . the substrate pad 28 is connected to substrate via 30 for routing to circuitry implemented on or otherwise connected to the substrate 12 . the metal layers m 1 , . . . , mn , vias , and ubm are implemented using highly conductive material , typically copper , gold , or other elements or compounds of high conductivity . the dielectric layers d 1 , . . . , dn - 1 and 48 are typically implemented using a polymer such as benzoclyclobutene ( bcb ). the bump 16 material is typically copper or a lead solder compound such as pbsn , aupb , pbag , etc . in the traditional configuration , as shown in fig3 d , current enters the pad 22 from the trace 20 along the path 18 , and , as illustrated in fig2 , causes the greatest current densities in the solder bump 16 in the area indicated at 15 near the opening 25 closest to the trace 22 . in a design implemented according to the present invention , as shown in fig4 a , 4 b , and 4 c , rather than connecting directly to the pad 22 , the trace 20 is instead connected to an outer trace channel 102 , which is connected to multiple conductive trace leads 106 that connect the outer trace channel 102 and the pad 104 . the impedance of the multiple conductive leads 106 may be respectively customized to achieve a relatively uniform current distribution seen on the pad 22 . impedance tailoring of the various conductive leads is reflected in the various widths of the conductive trace leads . a methodology for determining the widths of the leads is described hereinafter . in the inventive configuration , current delivered by the trace 20 flows into the outer trace channel 102 , as indicated by the dotted arrows 108 illustrated in fig4 b , and is routed through the outer trace channel 102 to and through the plurality of conductive trace leads 106 , and into the pad 104 . as described above , the respective resistances of the plurality of conductive conductive trace leads 106 are preferably implemented by design to distribute equal current flow ( within a reasonable margin of error ) through each lead 106 , thereby producing a more uniform current density on the pad 104 and in a bump 16 connected to the pad 104 . fig5 presents graphs showing for comparison the current density for a bump 16 coupled to the traditional integrated circuit pad 22 of fig3 a - 3e , and the current density for a bump 16 coupled to a pad coupled to a current delivering trace using the trace routing design of the invention of fig4 a - 4c . as illustrated , the embodiment of the trace routing design of the invention shown in fig4 a - 4c results in a 40 % reduction in overall maximum current density . as also illustrated , in the traditional trace - to - pad configuration , current crowding occurs in the area of the bump 16 closest to connection of the trace 20 to the pad 22 and directly below the portion of the ubm within the opening 25 . in the configuration of the invention , however , the current is distributed substantially equally around the area near the outer circumference of the opening 25 between the pad 104 and the ubm 26 on the bump 16 , resulting in a lower maximum current density across the bump , and therefore eliminating or significantly reducing any current crowding . while the methodology of the invention does not address the intensification of current due to turning effects , a lower value of current density is obtained in the bump 16 due to the use of a plurality of conductive leads 106 to introduce the current to the bump 16 at multiple locations . for the example shown , the invention based design has a current density which is 40 % that of the traditional design . for a given current and considering that the exponent , n , may have values between 1 and 2 , the invention - based design will have predicted electromigration lives that are 2 . 5 to 6 . 25 times greater than that of the traditional configuration . fig6 a through 6d respectively illustrate alternative illustrative embodiments of trace routing designs implemented according to the principles of the invention . fig6 a illustrates a trace routing design 110 that includes an outer channel 112 that routes current around half of the inner pad 114 to introduce current flow through two conductive leads 116 a and 116 b on opposite sides of the pad . fig6 b illustrates a trace routing design 120 that includes an outer channel 122 that routes current five - eighths of the way around the pad 124 in one direction and an eighth of the way around the pad 124 in the other direction , and includes four conductive leads 126 a , 126 b , 126 c , 126 d for introducing current to the pad 124 . fig6 c illustrates a trace routing design 130 that includes an outer channel 132 that routes current a quarter of the distance around the pad 134 in two different directions , and includes three conductive leads 136 a , 136 b , 136 c for introducing current to the pad 134 . fig6 d illustrates a trace routing design 140 that includes an outer channel 142 that routes current five - eighths of the way around the pad 144 in one direction and an eighth of the way around the pad 144 in the other direction , and includes four conductive leads 146 a , 146 b , 146 c , 146 d for introducing current to the pad 144 . as illustrated by these embodiments , the trace routing design is not dependent on the orientation of the inner pad , the junction point of the main current delivering trace connection to the outer channel , the number of conductive leads connecting the outer channel to the inner pad , or the path of the outer channel . different improvements may be obtained for configurations other than those illustrated . it should be emphasized that symmetry is not a required attribute of the invention , nor is any particular number of conductive leads . rather , the invention is to introduce the current into the pad from multiple locations such that a reasonably uniform current density is achieved at the bump . in some configurations this will translate to equalizing the current flowing through each of the conductive leads to the pad . in other configurations the currents flow needs to be set up to allow flow in proportions other than equal proportion . through calculation , the respective impedances of the conductive leads ( e . g ., through adjusting the widths of the conductive trace leads assuming a constant trace thickness ) can be designed and implemented to achieve the desired current density on the pad and therefore at the interface to the bump . it should also be emphasized that the same invention - based design philosophy may be applied , for example , within the pad / via / trace design in the substrate or in integrated circuit components other than the illustrated flip - chip embodiment . fig7 is an operational flowchart illustrating a methodology for determining trace widths of conductive leads connecting the outer channel 102 to the inner pad 104 . for simplicity of illustration , the method illustrated is limited to application of non - branching outer channels ( e . g ., the trace routing design of fig6 a ) of constant width and thickness . as shown , the method includes the step of obtaining the trace thickness , for each conductive lead to be implemented , obtaining the length and width of the outer channel from the trace junction of the pad 100 to the junction of the conductive lead ( step 201 ). the width of one of the conductive leads is selected or obtained ( step 202 ). for each remaining conductive lead ( determined in step 203 ), one of the remaining conductive leads is selected ( step 204 ), and the width of the selected remaining conductive lead is calculated such that the ratio of the width of the selected remaining conductive lead to the length of the selected remaining conductive lead ( obtained in step 201 ) is substantially equal to the ratio of the known width of the first conductive lead to the known length of the first conductive lead ( 205 ). the calculation for branching traces ( e . g ., the trace routing designs of fig4 a through 4c and 6 b through 6 d ) or those with non - constant geometry follows basic circuit theory where the resistances for each path are tailored such that the current flowing into the pad is the same for all branches . this calculation will be obvious to those skilled in simple resistive circuit theory . for example , consider the two - conductive lead trace design 110 of fig6 a . the goal is to construct equal resistance paths from the trace 20 to the pad 114 through the outer channel 112 and each of the conductive leads 116 a and 116 b . by definition , the resistance r of a conductor is defined as r = ρ * l / w * t , where ρ is resistivity , l is trace length , w is the trace width , and t is the trace thickness . fig8 illustrates the two - conductive lead trace design 110 where the outer channel 112 is partitioned into trace segments . suppose that the width w , thickness t , and resistivity ρ of the channel 112 are all constant . then , suppose the width of conductive lead 116 b is selected to be 10 um . the calculation may thus be stated as : given w 116b = 10 , find w 116a . so , w 116b / l 116b = w 116a / l 116a , or w 116a = l 116a * ( w 116b / l 112a + l 112b + l 112c + l 116b )= 10 * 10 /( 60 + 130 + 65 + 10 )= 0 . 377 um . analysis and comparison of traditional and invention - based trace routing designs in determining the current density distribution within the pad and bump and , in particular , at the interface with the ubm 26 shows that a design implemented according to the principles of the invention has significantly lower current densities at the critical ubm location than those in the traditional design . the maximum current densities are taken to be metrics for the electromigration life of the bumps in each configuration . while the illustrative embodiments of the invention as presented herein address the metal traces within the die , the invention is also applicable to other electrical designs , for example , the substrate traces , where the combination of current levels , changes in current direction and material sensitivity lead to electromigration problems . although this preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications , additions and substitutions are possible , without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims . it is also possible that other benefits or uses of the currently disclosed invention will become apparent over time .	7
the invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements . references to embodiments in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment , and such references mean at least one . while specific implementations are discussed , it is understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only . a person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough description of the invention . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention . an application can depend on multiple components within different projects and each of those components may also have dependencies on other components within other projects . each component &# 39 ; s project may in turn have dependencies on other components &# 39 ; projects . this chain might end with the runtime library for the target computing system . in various embodiments , a dependency graph provides a way to determine how projects are interrelated . a simplified diagram is shown in fig1 . in this figure , the main project depends on a data access library and a business logic component . these , in turn , depend upon a system runtime library . systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure overcome the problems described above by efficiently tracking the relationships between a project and changes to source code for components upon which the project &# 39 ; s application depends . it will be appreciated by those of skill in the relevant art that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not dependent on or limited by the particular programming language ( s ) found in the source code . in various embodiments , a project dependency data structure can represent the dependencies of projects on components . in aspects of these embodiments , this data structure is a directed acyclic graph ( dag ) formed by references between class path level nodes ( cpls ). cpls model the ordered dependencies of a set of projects and the individual components and files within the projects . cpls are coupled with a dependency resolution mechanism that ensures dependent projects reflect the latest versions of components . fig2 provides an exemplary illustration of a project dependency data structure in accordance to various embodiments . in various embodiments and by way of illustration , each project has a cpl 200 . a cpl can hold a list of source files associated with a project and one or more binary paths . a binary - path is an ordered list that can include references to jar files 202 , locations of binary ( e . g ., “. class ”) files 204 , and references to other cpls 206 . the order of elements in the binary path has significance , since it establishes a search priority . a reference to a cpl in a binary path indicates that a project depends on the code in another project ( source code or binary code ). the project dependency data structure provides optimizations for commonly used components . many applications and components may depend upon one or more commonly used components and in the absence of the present invention copies of commonly used components are often stored inefficiently with every project that uses the component . for example , most or all components depend on the runtime library of the target computing system and a copy of this library may be included with every component project . however , the software analysis system can utilize the project dependency data structure to maintain a single copy of each common component used across all the projects . this saves space and reduces the time required to build the projects . as described in the previous paragraph , different projects might refer to the same resource . in conventional software development environments , when several projects are loaded simultaneously , it is common for a development environment to create duplicate in - memory representations for each resource that was referred to by multiple projects . this increased the memory and cpu utilization of the compilation system . the project dependency data structure also allows a compilation or other system to understand the common dependencies across projects and load a single version of each shared resource . the project dependency data structure also serves as a hierarchy for specifying the resources a project depends on . in conventional software development environments , projects specified the resources they depended on with a flat list . in cases where project a depended on project b , which depended on project c , project a was required to specify all resources required by projects a , b and c in a single list . project b was required to specify all resources required by projects b and c in a single list . therefore , any resource required by project c had to be duplicated in the flat lists associated with projects a , b and c . as changes occur to these separate projects , keeping these lists synchronized could be a challenge . a common problem was for projects a , b and c to end up referring to different , incompatible versions of the same resource . in various embodiments , the software analysis system can locate resources available to the project ( e . g ., files , directories , data types , etc .). in aspects of these embodiments , this is easily accomplished by searching a project dependency data structure . by way of illustration , suppose a process wants to find information about a type given its type name . type information is stored in a source file or an object file ( e . g ., a class ). if it exists , a source file is considered the most up - to - date version of type information and will be used instead of the class file . otherwise , the class file can be used . fig3 is an illustration of an exemplary recursive algorithm for searching a project dependency data structure for type information in accordance to various embodiments . although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration , the process is not necessarily limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure can be omitted , rearranged , performed in parallel , combined and / or adapted in various ways . the benefit of this process is immediate visibility of source file changes in an external project , like that available for source files internal to the project . similar benefits can be derived by from the effect of a configuration change to the cpl hierarchy itself . that is , the cpl / project hierarchy can be altered ( e . g ., by the user or a process ) and the resulting impact determined on any cpls lower in the hierarchy from the point of change with performance similar to changes in their own source files . the first time this algorithm is invoked , the cpl searched is the project &# 39 ; s . subsequent recursive calls to the algorithm refer to the cpls of other projects . in step 300 , the source files of the cpl are searched for a matching type . if found , the information associated with the type is returned in step 304 . otherwise , a binary - path from the cpl selected in step 306 . in one embodiment , binary - paths are selected in order of dependency . next , an entry from the chosen binary - path is selected in step 308 . if the selected entry is not a directory or a java ® archive ( jar ) file , it is determined in step 312 whether the entry is for a cpl . if so , the algorithm is invoked recursively with the cpl for the entry . if not , the algorithm resumes at step 320 where it is determined if there are any remaining entries to be searched in the chosen binary - path . if the chosen entry is a directory or a jar file , the corresponding directory or file is searched for a matching type in step 314 . if found , the information associated with the type is returned in step 318 . if not , it is determined in step 320 if there are any remaining entries ( i . e ., yet to be searched ) in the chosen binary - path . if so , the process continues at step 308 with the selection of another entry . if not , it is determined in step 322 whether or not there are any remaining binary - paths to search in the current cpl . if so , the algorithm continues at step 306 by choosing another binary - path from the current cpl . if not , the process completes . fig4 is an exemplary illustration of a process for responding to changes in source code . although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration , the process is not necessarily limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure can be omitted , rearranged , performed in parallel , combined and / or adapted in various ways . in various embodiments , the software analysis system monitors changes to the code registered for each project . in aspects of these embodiments , changes can be detected in step 400 when modified code is processed by the software analysis system . in one embodiment , processing code includes parsing and analyzing the code according to the syntax and semantics of a programming language and comparing the parsed representation to a previous parsed representation . in step 402 , the software analysis system traverses a project dependency data structure to determine which dependent source code is affected by the change . once the dependent code is identified , the software analysis system can reevaluate the dependent code in step 404 within the context of the modifications and provide notification ( s ) to the associated project in step 406 . a smart editor can then provide relevant information to the software developer , for example by highlighting a syntax error due to the modification of a method signature on a component . fig5 is an exemplary illustration of a system in accordance to various embodiments . although this diagram depicts components as logically separate , such depiction is merely for illustrative purposes . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the components portrayed in this figure can be combined or divided into separate software , firmware and / or hardware components . furthermore , it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that such components , regardless of how they are combined or divided , can execute on the same computing device or can be distributed among different computing devices connected by one or more networks or other suitable communication means . in various embodiments , a compiler framework 506 provides communication between language modules ( 508 - 512 ) for compiling source code and clients of information about the source code , such as ides with “ smart ” editors 504 used by the software developer . the ide allows a software developer to create projects and specify dependencies between projects . the software analysis system 502 utilizes project dependency data structure 500 and causes code to be parsed and analyzed within a project , collects information about that code and presents that information to the ide so the ide can assist the software developer ( e . g ., in editor 504 by adding syntax coloring to the source code , statement completion , etc .). in aspects of these embodiments , the software analysis system maintains a list of locations where internal components may be found for each project . the system allows clients to specify dependencies between projects by inserting references to other software projects within this list . in one embodiment , software developers can specify this information via an ide . the ide can in turn utilize an api to communicate the list to the software analysis system . in one embodiment , a setbinarypaths api method allows the ide ( or other process ) to specify the list of locations where internal components and external projects this project depends on can be found . the ide may call this method passing a list of objects representing locations , which may include directory paths within the project , software libraries within the project or other objects implementing a cpl interface representing external projects . the objects representing external projects may contain similar lists of locations including additional objects representing the projects they depend upon . in one embodiment , the order of the objects provided to the setbinarypaths method is significant — the order defines the order in which the software analysis system searches internal components and external projects to find definitions of components used in the project . in one embodiment , the first definition of a component found in the locations on this list is used by the software analysis system and definitions from subsequent locations are ignored . one embodiment may be implemented using a conventional general purpose or a specialized digital computer or microprocessor ( s ) programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure , as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art . appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure , as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art . the invention may also be implemented by the preparation of integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits , as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . one embodiment includes a computer program product which is a storage medium ( media ) having instructions stored thereon / in which can be used to program a computer to perform any of the features presented herein . the storage medium can include , but is not limited to , any type of disk including floppy disks , optical discs , dvd , cd - roms , microdrive , and magneto - optical disks , roms , rams , eproms , eeproms , drams , vrams , flash memory devices , magnetic or optical cards , nanosystems ( including molecular memory ics ), or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and / or data . stored on any one of the computer readable medium ( media ), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose / specialized computer or microprocessor , and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention . such software may include , but is not limited to , device drivers , operating systems , execution environments / containers , and applications . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art . embodiments were chosen and described in order to best describe the principles of the invention and its practical application , thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention , the various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents .	6
referring now to the drawings , and firstly to fig1 to 4 , the preferred embodiment of the invention is there shown generally at numeral 10 and is formed of only two mating substantially identical panels 12 and 14 which are seemed together along an upper seam 16 having the arcuate configuration of the mating upper margins of each of the panels 12 and 14 . the straight lower margins of each of these panels 12 and 14 are formed having casings 18 and 20 which slidably support an elongated drawstring 26 , the ends of which are shown at 26 a and 26 b , extending through substantially all of the casings 18 and 20 . the preferred material utilized for each of the flexible panels 12 and 14 is multi - layered as best seen in fig4 . the outer layer 30 is formed of a weather and water resistant vinyl material , while the inner layer 32 is formed of felt - like material to prevent abrasion to the painted or fiberglass surfaces of the pmv when the cover is put in place or removed , and during tow vehicle movement causing wind to blow and buffet against the exterior surface of the cover 10 . the preferred multilayer panel material is available from reliatex , inc . of tampa , fla . under the trade designation felt - backed vinyl . in fig1 , the overall finished length of the cover 10 is shown generally at cl while the overall finished height of the cover 10 is generally shown at ch . the standard arcuate configuration of the upper margins of each of the mating sewn together flexible panels 12 and 14 is in the form of a uniform radius also shown at ch . however , to accommodate the side elevation profiles of unique pmvs as will be described herebelow , the arcuate configuration may be laterally expanded at 16 ′ or at 16 ″ or both into an oval - like profile to accommodate those unique pmv side elevation profiles . as best seen in fig1 and 2 , the lower straight unconnected margins of each of the side panels 12 and 14 includes a casing 18 and 20 , respectively , stitched together along stitching lines 22 and 24 , respectively , housing an elongated drawstring 26 to tighten the lower margins of the cover 10 around the lower margins of the pmv or , as will be described herebelow , around the edges of a support platform p of a lift platform attached to the rear of a vehicle . the unobvious expandability nature of the invention 10 which is formed of only two substantially identical panels 12 and 14 as previously described , is shown in fig1 and 2 . from the flattened position shown in solid lines in fig2 , the flexible panels 12 and 14 are expanded laterally into the general configuration shown in phantom in fig2 and in the direction of the arrows in fig1 . by adjusting the overall length ( cl ) and height ( ch ) of each of the panels 12 and 14 , as will be described herebelow , the complete protective enclosure of virtually any pmv is accommodated and without excess material despite the fact that there is no expandable rectangular center panel to this invention . referring particularly to fig3 and 4 , another important aspect of the invention is there shown . typically , conventional stitch seaming between panels does not render the seam water resistant . therefore , leakage may occur which can stain or damage the article beneath such a protective covering . to accomplish a substantially watertight seam along 16 , a total of four separate closely spaced stitching lines 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 are utilized for this purpose and will now be described with respect to the process of their implementation . initially , the flexible panels 12 and 14 are laid back to back atop a flat surface with the outer vinyl surfaces 30 facing one another , and then the first seam 22 is stitched into place in inside - out pillowcase fashion . this initial stitching along 22 forms a seam allowance formed of arcuate edge portions 12 a and 14 a which typically measure about 1 ″ in width . thereafter , a second stitching seam at 24 is installed along the entire arcuate seam 16 for added strength . then , the now sewn together panels are reversed from the inside out orientation , one of the panels ( 12 or 14 ) is folded over against itself along fold line 14 b and two additional closely spaced stitching lines are sewn at 26 and 28 through the three layers , the seam allowances 12 a , 14 a and 14 so that , when the cover 10 is expanded in the in - use configuration as shown typically in fig4 , the visible seam 16 is secured from water intrusion by no less than four stitching lines 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 along the interface surface 16 a to insure weather tightness of this junction . note that it is preferred to use a double needle machine to install stitches 24 and 26 simultaneously . as seen in fig5 and 6 , after the pmv ( shown in phantom ) has been positioned atop the platform p of the lift l which is attached at the back of the tow vehicle by conventional trailer hitch t , the cover 10 is then deployed over the pmv and the drawstrings within casings 18 and 20 are tightened and tied together at 40 to secure this arrangement in place around the lower margins of platform p . as seen in fig6 , the seat back sb will typically be tipped inwardly to reduce the necessary overall size of the cover 10 as previously described . as seen in fig7 and 8 , the cover 10 may also be utilized to cover the pmv when it rests atop the ground or on a garage surface when not in use . again , the drawstrings 26 a and 26 b may be tied together within casings 18 and 20 to secure this arrangement from weather and wind and to substantially protect the pmv therewithin . referring now to fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c , the important dimensional aspects of the cover 10 are there described . in fig9 a and 9b , a four - wheeled pmv is shown in top plan view in fig9 a and a three - wheeled pmv is shown in top plan view in fig9 b . the minimum actual length al 1 required of the cover 10 of each of the panels 12 and 14 is shown in phantom . in relation to the length l 1 and the width w 1 of the pmv , a formula utilizing these overall dimensions may be developed . with respect to fig9 a , the cover length cl may be defined as being equal to l plus w . when actually comparing the dimension l 1 plus w 1 , the ratio of ( l 1 plus w 1 ) to the actual length al 1 is equal to 1 . 09 . that is to say that , if the cover length cl is established at ( l 1 plus w 1 ), there will be a 9 % looseness factor ( lf ) of the cover length cl , the cl being 9 % larger than the actual length al 1 of the pmv top plan view profile of fig9 a . however , it is typically desired that the looseness factor lf be somewhat larger for easier deployment and removal and , therefore , in this instance , a looseness factor of an additional 10 % added to the overall length to establish the preferred cover length cl is utilized . this renders the net looseness factor lf to be about 20 % so that the cover length cl will be approximately 120 % of the actual length al 1 . in fig9 b , the three - wheeled pmv has the cover length calculated to be again the length plus width ( l plus w ). this calculated cover length ( l plus w ) is larger than the actual length al 2 by a factor of approximately 16 % as determined by actual measurement so that , if the cover length cl is established at ( l 2 plus w 2 ), the cover length cl will be 16 % longer than the actual length al 2 . again , by applying a preferred looseness factor of an additional 10 %, the overall cover length cl with the looseness factor of approximately 26 % produces a cover length with a looseness factor of 126 % of al 2 , making the cover 10 itself very easy to deploy protectively over the pmv of fig9 b and then depending upon the drawstrings previously described to secure the lower straight margins of the cover 10 over the lower margins of the pmb or the platform p atop which it is supported . in fig9 c , the height h plus the width w 3 of a typical three - wheeled pmv of fig9 b is there described . the actual height ah is shown in phantom and extends from the top center of the pmv to the hem 18 which typically will be tightened beneath the lower wheels or edges of the pmv . by applying the formula of ( h plus ½ w 3 ) to establish the cover height ch as shown in fig1 , an actual looseness factor of only approximately 2 % as compared to the actual height ah is established . should an additional 10 % looseness factor lf be desired , the overall looseness factor of 12 % may be incorporated into the cover height ch for installation ease and certainty of full protective coverage of the pmv shown in fig9 c . while the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention , which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein , but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles .	1
in the case of different embodiments , the same components will also be labeled with the same reference numerals below . fig1 to 7 each show a view from the rear onto a twin screw vessel , wherein provision is made in each figure for a different embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention on the twin screw vessel . for the sake of clarity , the vessel &# 39 ; s propellers as well as the rudders arranged downstream from the vessel &# 39 ; s propellers , have been omitted in fig1 to 7 . fig1 shows a twin screw vessel with a hull 50 , wherein the twin screw vessel is provided with an arrangement 100 according to the invention . the arrangement 100 comprises two shaft brackets 10 , in which propeller shafts 12 are mounted . the propeller shafts 12 are at least partially located outside of the hull 50 . accordingly , the shaft brackets 10 are also located outside of the hull 50 . the shaft brackets 10 sheath the propeller shaft 12 and support the latter . the hull 50 has a central web 51 , which protrudes downwards . provision is made on each side of this central web 51 for a shaft bracket 10 , which supports a propeller shaft 12 . each of the two shaft brackets 10 is fixedly connected to the hull 50 via two shaft bracket arms 11 a and 11 b . accordingly , the shaft bracket arms 11 a and 11 b are each fixedly connected to the hull 50 with one end and to the shaft bracket 10 with their other , opposite end . as a whole , fig1 thus illustrates four shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b . a device 20 for reducing the drive power requirement of the twin screw vessel is assigned to each shaft bracket 10 . each of the devices 20 thereby comprises a fore - nozzle 30 as well as four fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d . the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d each comprise an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 . the inner part 401 of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d thereby runs from the shaft bracket 10 to the fore - nozzle 30 , and the outer part 402 of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d runs from the fore - nozzle 30 to a free end 403 of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d . the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d are fixedly connected to the shaft bracket 10 with their respective inner part 401 . likewise , the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d are fixedly connected to the fore - nozzle 30 . the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d can thereby be guided through the nozzle jacket through a recess ( not illustrated here ) in the fore - nozzle 30 and can be fixedly connected to the fore - nozzle 30 , e . g . by means of welding , in the region of the recess . in the case of this embodiment , the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d consist of a single , continuous guide fin . in an alternative embodiment , the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d can be formed in two parts , wherein one part is formed as inner part 401 between the fore - nozzle 30 , in particular the inside of the nozzle jacket , and the shaft bracket 10 , and the other part is arranged as outer part 402 of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d on the fore - nozzle 30 , in particular on the outer jacket of the fore - nozzle 30 , with one end . all of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d have a hydrofoil profile . the length of the individual fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d can be identical to one another or different from one another . the angular distances α of the individual fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d can also be identical or different among one another . the fore - nozzles 30 from the arrangement according to fig1 have a circular cross section and are thus formed rotationally symmetrically . the fore - nozzle 30 has individual sections 30 a , 30 b , 30 c , 30 d , 30 e , 30 f , which are each arranged between two fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d , two shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b or one fin 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d and one shaft bracket arm 11 a , 11 b . the individual fore - nozzle sections 30 a , 30 b , 30 c , 30 d , 30 e , 30 f can be separate components or can also be formed in one piece , either partially or completely . in particular , the section 30 a , which is arranged between the two shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , can be formed as a detached , separate section , and thus as an independent nozzle segment , and the remaining fore - nozzle sections 30 b to 30 f can be formed as an individual , cohesive component . the section 30 b is arranged between the shaft bracket arm 11 b and the fin 40 d , the fore - nozzle section 30 c is arranged between the fin 40 d and the fin 40 c , the fore - nozzle section 30 d is arranged between the fin 40 c and the fin 40 b , the fore - nozzle section 30 e is arranged between the fin 40 b and the fin 40 a , and the fore - nozzle section 30 f is arranged between the fin 40 a and the shaft bracket arm 11 a and is fastened to each of hem . the shaft bracket arms 11 a and 11 b are also provided with a hydrofoil profile . in particular the inner part 111 of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b is thereby provided with a hydrofoil profile . the inner part 111 is that part of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , which is arranged inside , that is , in the interior of the fore - nozzle 30 . on principle , however , the outer parts 112 of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , that is , the parts of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , which are arranged outside of the fore - nozzle 30 , can be equipped with a hydrofoil profile , at least in part , but also completely without a hydrofoil profile . all of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b as well as all of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d extend radially from the shaft bracket 10 to the outside . the fore - nozzle 30 is arranged concentrically with the shaft bracket 10 or with the propeller shaft 12 , that is , the axis of rotation of the fore - nozzle 30 is located on the axis of the shaft bracket 10 or on the axis of the propeller shaft 12 , respectively . the two devices 20 , which are each located on the starboard side and on the portside of the central web 51 , are symmetrical to one another with respect to a vertical axis 511 , which is preferably arranged in the center of the vessel with respect to the transverse direction of the vessel , which , in the example at hand , is formed by the central axis of the central web 51 . in particular , the fins and shaft bracket arms are arranged symmetrically to one another with respect to the vertical axis 511 . the device 20 is held on the hull 50 by means of the two shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b . forces acting on the devices 20 are thus also transferred to the hull 50 via the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b . fig2 shows a similar embodiment as compared to the embodiment from fig1 . in contrast , fig2 has only two fins 40 a , 40 b , for each device 20 , instead of four fins . apart from that , the arrangement 100 from fig2 is formed so as to be identical to the arrangement from fig1 . to get to the embodiment of fig2 , the fins 40 b and 40 d would need to be omitted in each device 20 in fig1 . accordingly , the fins 40 a and 40 b of fig2 are fins , which have an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 . as compared to the embodiment from fig1 , the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b are unchanged , as well . in particular , the angular distance β between the shaft bracket arms is also identical as compared to the embodiment from fig1 . in this embodiment , as in the embodiment from fig1 , all of the fins 40 a , 40 b each also have a hydrofoil profile across their entire length . the embodiment according to fig3 is similar to the embodiment according to fig1 , wherein , in contrast to the embodiment from fig1 , the fins 40 c and 40 d in fig3 each only have an inner part 401 . that is , the fins 40 c , 40 d run from the shaft bracket 10 to the fore - nozzle 30 , whereas the fins 40 a , 40 b run from the shaft bracket 10 to the fore - nozzle 30 and protrude outwards beyond the latter . in particular , the fins 40 a , 40 b have an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 , whereas the fins 40 c and 40 d only have an inner part 401 . the angular distances α of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d among one another and to the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b are identical to those from fig1 . likewise , the angular distance β between the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b is identical as compared to fig1 . fig4 shows an embodiment , which is similar to the illustration from fig1 . in contrast to the embodiment alternative from fig1 , in the embodiment alternative according to fig4 only an outer part 402 is provided in the case of fin 40 a . all other fins 40 b , 40 c , 40 d have an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 . the fin 40 a thus starts at the fore - nozzle 30 and runs all the way to its free end 403 . apart from that , the positioning of the fins as well as of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b is identical with the embodiment from fig1 . the embodiment according to fig5 is also similar to that from fig1 . in contrast to the embodiment alternative from fig1 , the embodiment alternative according to fig5 only has three fins , namely the fins 40 a , 40 b and 40 c . as compared to the embodiment from fig1 , the fin 40 c would need to be omitted in fig1 , so as to get to the fin arrangement from fig5 . accordingly , the fins 40 a , 40 b and 40 c from fig5 each have an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 . in the case of the embodiment alternative of fig5 , a further difference to the embodiment alternative of fig1 is that the fore - nozzle 30 is not formed so as to be closed across its circumference . in the case of the other above - mentioned alternatives of fig1 to fig4 , the fore - nozzle 30 is formed so as to be completely closed across the circumference . according to fig5 , no fore - nozzle segment or no nozzle jacket , respectively , runs between the fin 40 c and the fin 40 b . a lower region of the fore - nozzle 30 , which is smaller than half of the ( imaginary ) total nozzle circumference , is thus formed so as to be open . this open embodiment of the fore - nozzle can also be combined with other embodiment alternatives of the fins and / or of the shaft bracket arms . the fore - nozzle 30 thus consists only of the fore - nozzle sections 30 a located between the shaft bracket arms 11 a and 11 b , the fore - nozzle section 30 b located between the shaft bracket arm 11 b and the fin 40 c , the fore - nozzle section 30 c located between the fin 40 b and the fin 40 a , and the fore - nozzle section 30 d located between the fin 40 a and the shaft bracket arm 11 a . all other embodiment features , in particular the arrangement of the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c provided in fig5 and of the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , are identical as compared to the embodiment from fig1 . just like in fig1 , the device 20 in the case of the embodiment alternative of fig6 comprises two shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b . in the case of fig6 , the difference to the embodiment alternative of the arrangement 100 according to fig1 is that only a single fin 40 a is provided and that a fore - nozzle 30 in the form of the nozzle section 30 a , which forms a single nozzle segment , is provided only between the fin 40 a and the shaft bracket arm 11 a . apart from that , no further fore - nozzle segments or fore - nozzle sections are provided . the fin 40 a has an inner part 401 , which runs from the shaft bracket 10 to the fore - nozzle 30 , and an outer part 402 , which runs from the fore - nozzle 30 to a free end 403 . the above - mentioned exemplary embodiments fall under the second embodiment alternative of the arrangement according to the invention , which is described in the description above , in the case of which the device comprises a fore - nozzle and at least one fin each , which is formed as a hydrofoil . in contrast , the embodiment alternative described below , which is illustrated in fig7 , falls under the first embodiment alternative of the arrangement according to the invention , which is described in the description above , in the case of which at least one shaft bracket arm is formed as a hydrofoil of the device , and wherein no further hydrofoils are provided , in particular no further hydrofoils , which are formed as fins , in addition to the shaft bracket arm . just as is shown in fig1 to 6 , fig7 shows a rear view onto a hull 50 with a central web 51 , on both sides of which a shaft bracket 10 each with a propeller shaft 12 mounted therein is provided . the shaft brackets 10 as well as three shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , 11 c each form a device 20 for reducing the drive power requirement of a twin screw vessel . the shaft brackets 10 are fixedly connected to the hull 50 via the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , 11 c . the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , 11 c stick out radially from the shaft bracket 10 and are fastened to the shaft bracket 10 with one end and to the hull 50 with the other end . in the embodiment at hand , all three shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , 11 c are provided with a hydrofoil profile , that is , all of them represent a hydrofoil of the device 20 . beyond that , no further hydrofoils are provided , in particular no fins . in this embodiment , no fore - nozzle is provided , either . the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , 11 c as well as the shaft brackets 10 can be formed according to the embodiments from fig1 to 6 . in the case of an embodiment according to fig7 , a symmetry of the two devices 20 with respect to the vertical axis 511 is at hand . fundamentally , a symmetrical , in particular an axially symmetrical embodiment ( viewed with respect to a vertical axis ) of the two devices is preferred , regardless of a certain embodiment , because , viewed in longitudinal direction , the two vessel hull halves are on principle formed symmetrically in the case of most of the twin screw vessels . fig8 a and 8b show a device 20 in a side view ( fig8 a ) as well as in a perspective view ( fig8 b ) at an incline from the front . the device 20 is formed similarly to the device from fig3 , that is , with two shaft bracket arms , a nozzle ring 30 , which is closed completely across the circumference , two fins 40 a , 40 b , which have an inner part 401 as well as an outer part 402 , as well as two further fins 40 c , 40 d , which only have an inner part 401 . the device 20 furthermore has a shaft bracket 10 , in which a propeller shaft 12 is mounted . the shaft bracket has a rear end 101 as well as a front end 102 . as can be seen in fig8 a , the device 20 or in particular the fore - nozzle 30 , respectively , is arranged significantly closer to the rear end 101 than to the front end 102 . viewed in their transverse expansion in travel direction of the vessel , the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d are slightly shorter than the fore - nozzle 30 , so that a piece of the fore - nozzle protrudes beyond each fin in the contact region between fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d and the fore - nozzle 30 in the front and in the rear direction . in contrast , viewed in travel direction of the vessel , the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b are longer than the fore - nozzle , so that the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b stick out forwards and backwards beyond the fore - nozzle ( see in particular fig8 a ). the fore - nozzle 30 from the illustration of fig8 a and 8b consists of three separate nozzle segments 301 , 302 , 303 , which are combined to form a circumferentially closed nozzle ring 30 . the nozzle segment 301 is arranged between the shaft bracket arms 11 a and 11 b and is fastened thereto . with its one side , the nozzle segment 302 is connected to the shaft bracket arm 11 b and with its other end it is connected to the further nozzle segment 303 on the joint 304 . on the joint 304 , the nozzle segment 303 is connected to the nozzle segment 302 and to the shaft bracket arm 11 a with its other end . viewed in travel direction of the vessel , downstream from the device 20 , a propeller 13 is provided , which is driven by the propeller shaft 12 . the propeller 13 directly adjoins the rear end 101 of the shaft bracket 10 . the fore - nozzle 30 has a smaller diameter than the propeller 13 . for example , the diameter of the fore - nozzle can be less than 90 %, preferably less than 75 %, more preferably less than 60 % of the propeller diameter . the fins , in particular the fins 40 a , 40 b ( with inner and outer part 401 , 402 ), have a smaller length than half of the propeller diameter . viewed further downstream from the propeller 13 in travel direction of the vessel , a rudder 60 is provided . a skeg 52 , which is fixedly connected to the hull 50 , follows above the rudder 60 . as can in particular be seen in fig8 a , the propeller 13 or the propeller hub thereof , respectively , is arranged at a certain distance d 1 to the rudder 60 . the embodiment according to fig9 a and 9b is configured similarly to the embodiment from fig8 a and 8b . in particular , the device 20 and the corresponding components , shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b , shaft bracket 10 , fore - nozzle 30 as well as fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d are formed identically . the only difference between the embodiments according to fig9 a and 9b on the one side and between fig8 a and 8b on the other side is that in the case of the embodiment according to fig9 a and 9b , the rudder 60 has a propulsion bulb 61 . the distance d 2 between the leading edge 611 of the propulsion bulb 61 and the propeller hub 131 is significantly smaller than the distance d 1 in the embodiment according to fig8 a and 8b without a propulsion bulb . fig1 a and 10b show an enlarged , perspective view of a shaft bracket 10 . in the case of the illustration in fig1 a , two shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b as well as four fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c and 40 d are illustrated , which are each fastened to the shaft bracket 10 with one of their ends . for the sake of clarity , further component parts or components , respectively , of the device have been omitted . in particular , a fore - nozzle has been omitted in the present illustration . the illustrations of fig1 a and fig1 b are perspective illustrations , wherein regions of the individual components , which are not visible , are illustrated with dashed lines . fig1 b shows the same view as fig1 a , wherein fig1 b only shows the shaft bracket 10 a as well as the shaft bracket arm 11 a , and wherein , for the sake of clarity , the further shaft bracket arm 11 b as well as the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d have been omitted . it can be seen from the view of fig1 a that the fins each have a hydrofoil profile with a rounded suction side 404 as well as a flat or flatter pressure side 405 . it can also be seen that the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b have a rounder or more curved suction side 113 as well as a flatter or flat pressure side 114 . it can further be seen that the fins 40 a , 40 b , 40 c , 40 d as well as the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b are formed so as to be entwined or twisted , respectively . it can further be seen that the shaft bracket arms 11 a , 11 b as well as the fins 40 a , 40 b 40 c , 40 d have an angle of attack as compared to the flow direction of the water 14 . the angle of attack γ is thereby formed by the angle between the chord 115 of the shaft bracket arm profile or of the chord 406 of the fin profile , respectively , on the one side and the water flow direction 14 on the other side .	1
basically , wavelet techniques relie on a space / frequency decomposition of images . a wavelet transform allows an input signal to be described by a set of subband signals each of which represents the input signal at a given resolution and in a particular frequency range . fig1 and 2 show filter banks for wavelet analysis and synthesis , illustrating respectively the analysis process before transmission and the synthesis process after transmission , in the conventional case of a monodimensional input signal ms processed by a wavelet transform . during the analysis step , carried out at the transmitting ( or storing ) side , the approximation ap ( m , ms ) of the signal ms at a resolution 2 - m and the corresponding residual details rd ( m , ms ) can be obtained by filtering the previous approximation ap ( m - 1 , ms ) of this signal ( at the resolution 2 - ( m - 1 )) respectively with a low - pass filter 11 and a high - pass filter 12 , and by keeping , thanks to subsampling circuits 13 and 14 respectively associated , one sample over two . the same filtering process is applied to ap ( m , ms ), thanks to a low - pass filter 15 , a high - pass filter 16 , and associated subsampling circuits 17 and 18 , in order to obtain the following approximation ap ( m + 1 , ms ) and the corresponding signal rd ( m + 1 , ms ), and so on . all the obtained signals are then sent for transmission to a transmission channel 100 . during the synthesis step , carried out at the receiving side , the approximation ap ( m , ms ) at the resolution 2 - m can be reconstructed by interpolating by a factor of two ( in upsampling circuits 21 and 22 ) the signals ap ( m + 1 , ms ) and rd ( m + 1 , ms ), filtering these signals respectively by low and high - pass filters 23 and 24 , and finally adding the resulting signals in an adder 25 . similarly , ap ( m - 1 , ms ) is obtained thanks to upsampling circuits 26 and 27 , a low - pass filter 28 , a high - pass filter 29 , and an adder 30 , and so on . when dealing with images as input signals , it has been proposed to extend the above - described monodimensional wavelet transform for images . such an approach , called dyadic bidimensional wavelet transform , uses separable monodimensional filters applied on the rows and the lines of the images . as shown in fig3 that illustrates an image decomposition with the help of said dyadic transform , a first low - pass filtering step ( flpf ) and a first high - pass filtering step ( fhpf ) of the image i 1 ( for example , a square image ) and a subsequent subsampling on the rows of said image provide two rectangular images i 2l and i 2h with half lines . a second low - pass filtering ( slpf ( l ) and slpf ( h )) of these images i 2l an i 2h and a subsequent subsampling on the lines provide four square images i 3ll , i 3lh , i 3hl and i 3hh with half lines and half rows , and which are respectively a low - pass image , an image with vertical details , an image with horizontal details , and an image with diagonal details . considering that this approach does not allow to process the image in an isotropic way since the filters are selective to the horizontal and vertical orientations , it is proposed to use bidimensional non - separable low and high - pass filters . this approach , called quincunx bidimensional wavelet transform , uses a scale factor of √ 2 ( whereas it is 2 in the dyadic method ) and allows to improve the accuracy of the analysis , since the number of resolution levels is double . as shown in fig4 in which sampling grids at different decomposition levels can be seen , the subband images are defined on quincunx sampling grids . the low - pass filter l and the high - pass filter h are convolved with the image , shifting its center on the pixels depicted by crosses ( respectively circles ). from a rectangular grid ( corresponding for instance to the level j , i . e . to the approximation ap ( j , bs ) of the signal now called bidimensional signal , or bs ) to a quincunx grid , the low - pass filter l and the high - pass filter h are applied on a shifted sampling grid and , from a quincunx grid to a rectangular grid , the same filters ( after a rotation over π / 4 ) are then applied on a rectangular sampling lattice . filtering and subsampling are in fact done simultaneously in order to save computational time . according to the invention , this improved approach is applied to region - based schemes , and fig5 and 6 illustrate schematically the operations then performed at the analysis ( or transmitting , or storing ) side and at the synthesis or receiving side respectively . before describing the analysis and synthesis process , it must be recalled that a region - based coding method will involve three main steps . first a segmentation step splits each original image into a set of adjacent objects which are homogeneous in terms of texture and / on motion . then the contours of the regions are coded , using for example techniques such as a chain code method , described in the communication &# 34 ; spiral image compression by on unrestricted chain coding method &# 34 ;, vth international conference on image processing and its applications , 4 - 6 july 1995 , p . j . nicholl and r . j . millar , pp . 564 - 568 . finally the color of the regions is coded ( texture coding ). this texture coding step then includes a decomposition of the segmented image , according to three successive operations ( fig5 ) which are performed at the analysis side , at each level of decomposition ( l n in said figures ). first , since the wavelet transform relies on a multiresolution analysis , two segmentation masks are built at each level of resolution , corresponding to the low - pass and high - pass subbands . for this operation of building of downsampled segmentation masks ( or bdsm ), two low - pass and high - pass segmentation masks are built from the previous low - pass band segmentation mask ( at the first iteration of the decomposition , this low - pass band segmentation mask is the original segmentation mask itself , and the low - pass band image is the original image to be coded ). the regions having to be processed independently , the filtering and downsampling of the image will then be performed independently on each region , which involves that the boundaries of each region have to be extended in an efficient way in order to minimize the reconstruction errors along the image borders . for this second operation ( extension of the regions along their boundaries , or erab ), the low - pass band image is extended along the boundaries of each region . according to the third operation , from the extended signals and masks , the regions are filtered and downsampled ( fads ) in order to get two new low and high - pass subbands . concerning the whole process at the synthesis side ( fig6 ), three successive operations bdsm , erab , usaf are similarly performed at each level , only the third one ( upsampling and filtering , or usaf ) being different since it relies on upsampling and filtering operations done from the coarsest resolution to the initial one . the way of performing the operation bdsm of building of the high - pass and low - pass segmentation masks is the following . in order to build these masks at each decomposition level , it is necessary to split each segmentation mask ( included the original segmentation mask of the original image ), or parent mask , into two segmentation masks ( or children masks ) corresponding to the low - pass and high - pass subbands . fig7 shows respectively : at the decomposition level n - 1 / 2 , the segmentation masks ( quincunx grids qg ) of the low - pass and high - pass bands ; at the decomposition level n = 1 , the segmentation masks ( square grids sg ) of the low - pass and high - pass bands ( from the decomposition level n - 1 / 2 to the decomposition level n , the performed transform is equivalent to a rotation over π / 4 plus a dilation of √ 2 ). the way of performing the operation erab of extension of the regions along their boundaries is the following . once the splitting of the segmentation mask is achieved , the filtering and downsampling of the image are performed independently on each region . in order to minimize the reconstruction errors on the region borders , the extension of the boundaries is implemented , as illustrated in fig8 that shows a region r and such an extension with n added layers around the region ( where n is the half size of the filter ). the same process is iterated to build each layer : at each iteration , the magnitude of the pixels of the extra layer are computed as the mean values of their neighboring pixels belonging to the region . as shown in fig9 the connectivity is 4 - neighbors whatever the grid is ( quincunx grid qg or rectangular grid rg ). fig1 illustrates the computation of an extra layer in the case of a rectangular grid : in the left picture , the letters represent the pixel values of the initial region and the circles correspond to the pixels of the extra layer , while in the right picture the values of the pixels of the additional layer have been computed . the present invention is not limited to this coding method from which modifications or improvements can be deduced without departing from the scope of the invention . for instance , it is clear that this coding method can be implemented in several manners , such as with the aid of wired electronic modules or , preferably , in the form of a coding system including a processor or a microprocessor that ensures the performance of series of instructions corresponding to the operations previously described in relation with the coding method and carried out within said electronic modules . it is clear , also , that the invention similarly relates to a method of decoding signals corresponding to images of a sequence that have been coded by carrying out the above - described coding method . this decoding method comprises , in correspondance with the segmentation and coding steps , two decoding steps for decoding the coded signals corresponding respectively to the contours and to the textures of the regions of said images , and a reconstruction step for the restitution of images corresponding to the original ones . this decoding method , as the coding one , may be implemented in several manners , and especially by way of a decoding system including a processor or a microprocessor performing the instructions corresponding to the above - described steps .	7
referring first to fig1 there is depicted a receptacle 10 which embodies the present invention . as shown , it is substantially cylindrical in cross - section , but as will be apparent , it may be of elliptical , or other geometry which is of curved cross - section , or of any of a number of polylaterals , such as square , rectangular , trapezoidal , hexagonal , etc . desirably , embodiments of this invention may be made from plastic , paper , or other material which is chemically inert to the materials to which it is to be exposed , and preferably is transparent or at least transluscent for improved observation . the embodiment shown in fig1 includes a side wall 12 , a false bottom 14 , and a true bottom 16 . the false bottom 14 includes an aperture 18 therethrough . two things in particular should be noted about the aperture 18 : it is positioned at one side of the false bottom 14 , and the interior of the aperture forms at least a part of the edge of the false bottom . thus , as is shown in fig1 the aperture 18 is substantially circular in shape , but the edge of the false bottom if it were present in the region where the aperture is located , would pass through the aperture . however , because of the presence of the aperture at this location , there is a break in the continuity of the false bottom edge and , in effect , the interior of the aperture forms a part , at least , of the edge of the false bottom 14 . this means that where otherwise there would be a rim of some width between the aperture and the edge of the false bottom , there is none , at least for some distance , and this ensures that when the receptacle is used as hereinafter described , none of the material initially introduced into the receptacle will be retained by such a ledge , and the sample therefore will be less varied by virtue of the admixture therewith of initial material . fig . 1a illustrates the embodiment shown in fig1 as it may be used , for example , to collect a urine sample . as shown , a stream of urine 20 is directed into the receptacle so that it hits the false bottom 14 and , by virtue of the receptacle being held so that the false bottom 14 is at least horizontal or preferably sloped to the horizontal so that the aperture 18 is at the bottom of the slope , the urine will pass through the aperture 18 into the space 22 between the false bottom 14 and the true bottom 16 , until the space 22 is filled , following which the space 24 above the false bottom 14 will begin to fill up . thus , in effect , the initial portion of the flow is effectively segregated from the remainder of the flow . fig2 illustrates another embodiment of this invention , designed to better ensure that all of the initial flow will pass into the space 22 beneath the false bottom 14 by assuring that the false bottom 14 is sloped downward toward the aperture even though the receptacle 10 is held upright ; i . e ., not tipped . this is achieved , as shown , by sloping the false bottom downward toward its aperture side with respect to the true bottom 16 . it should be noted that this might cause some air 26 to be trapped between the top surface 28 of the liquid occupying the space 22 and the underside of the false bottom 14 , but that when the receptacle is tipped , as is shown in fig3 to pour liquid into another vessel , such as a centrifuge tube 30 , the entrapped air 26 will bubble up through the aperture 18 and the liquid 32 positioned above the false bottom 14 and will immediately be replaced by such liquid 32 without any significant amount of admixture therewith by liquid 22 . it will also be apparent from fig3 that during such a pouring operation , the false floor 14 acts as a barrier to the passage of liquid 22 , thus assuring that the sample so taken contains no significant portion from the liquid 22 initially placed in the receptacle . thus , the test sample so taken , if of urine , for example , will be substantially free from any concentration of material peculiar to the initial portion of the total specimen , and will be more nearly representative without the pressure of heavier constituents which might have become concentrated gravitationally . fig4 illustrates another embodiment of this invention , in this instance a polylateral , with a square or rectangular cross - section , and with the false floor 14 sloped so that the aperture 18 positioned at one of its corners will be at the bottom of the slope where the false floor 14 is closest to the true floor 16 . in this embodiment , the corner 34 at the juncture of the two sides 36 , 38 may advantageously be used as a pouring spout . fig5 a through 5f inclusive illustrates various false floor - aperture configurations useful in carrying out the present invention . as illustrated , they range from arcuate apertures 18 positioned at varying degrees of depth with respect to the edge 40 of the associated arcuate false floor 14 ( fig5 a - 5c ), to apertures so shaped so positioned with respect to the edges of a polylateral false floor ( fig5 d and 5e ), to polylateral apertures so positioned with respect to a polylateral false floor ( fig . f ). of course , these are merely to demonstrate the wide variety of configurations which may be utilized pursuant to this invention , and we by no means intended to imply that the invention is limited to the exact configurations illustrated . thus , it is to be understood that the embodiments shown and described are by way of illustration and not of limitation , and that a wide variety of other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention .	0
initial flaking of the squash seeds is done to rupture oil cells and to prepare a thin flake with a large surface area for pre - pressing by passing seeds through a set of smooth rollers using a lab scale flaking mill . conditioning is done to further rupture oil cells , increase pliability of the flakes and increase the efficiency of the expeller by lowering the viscosity of the oil contained . the conditioning of the flaked seeds was undertaken in a microwave for from about 1 minute to about 2 minutes to achieve a temperature between 40 - 45 ° c . the heated seeds are then pressed using a mechanical press ( gusta laboratory press set to 4 . 5 amps ) to remove approximately ⅔ oil with 22 % by weight residual oil content in the press cake . with pure protein or peptides , amino acid determination is relatively easily made with high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ). hplc requires the hydrolysis of protein into the constituent amino acids that are then run in a column under pressure . the column causes the various amino acids to run at different speeds dependent on the size and charge . the determination of a tryptophan within a food source is , however , more complicated because of its ability , especially in the peptide form , in the presence of light , heat , hydrogen and hydroxyl ions ( concon , 1975 ). this difficulty may explain , in part , the problems in quantifying tryptophan within food in a reliable fashion utilizing hplc with possible tryptophan losses of 10 - 30 % ( landry and delhaye , 1996 ). relying on the presence of an aromatic ring within the tryptophan molecule , a spectrophotometric method was utilized at the guelph food technology centre that allowed for the reliable quantification of tryptophan ( balestrierl et al ., 1978 ). the quantitative determination of aromatic amino acids in proteins is possible with second derivative spectroscopy , an analysis of the ultraviolet absorption spectra within a certain wavelength . derivative spectroscopy is superior to direct spectroscopy through the elimination of spectral interference . in the case of tryptophan , direct spectroscopy produces a sloping background absorbence . second derivative spectroscopy eliminates any background absorbence allowing the tryptophan absorbence to be quantified at a wavelength of approximately 280 nm . pumpkin seeds , butternut squash seeds and peppercorn squash seeds were flaked , conditioned and pressed according to the procedure set forth in example 1 . using second derivative spectroscopy , the tryptophan content of the seed meal was determined and the results set forth in the table below . screening of butternut squash , peppercorn squash and pumpkin seeds revealed that all have high tryptophan contents but that butternut squash seeds are highest in tryptophan . it also revealed that 100 gm of defatted butternut squash seed meat contains in excess of 1000 mg of tryptophan . for butternut squash , the ratio of seeds to the fmal seed meal is approximately one third . hplc analysis on partially dehulled and partially defatted butternut squash seeds are as follows : tryptophan content of food is typically determined with high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ) in which the protein undergoes base hydrolysis into its constituent amino acids over several hours . in the context of food analysis this methodology can lead to a 10 - 30 % loss of tryptophan ( landry and delhaye 1996 ). to avoid this potential problem second derivative - spectroscopy , a method to screen various seeds without the need for protein hydrolysis at high temperatures over prolonged periods ( balestrierl et al 1978 ) was used . the results of these tests revealed that seed of the butternut squash contains more tryptophan than any other reported food source . in fact , the protein portion of the seed contains 25 mg of tryptophan per 1 g of protein . since hplc is the industry standard , a sample of defatted butternut squash seeds was analyzed with hplc after naoh hydrolysis in an argon environment . the high content of tryptophan in these seeds was determined , although the predicted loss of some tryptophan with hydrolysis was also confirmed . the concentration of tryptophan was sufficient to provide a plant - based functional food that acts as a natural source of central nervous system ( cns ) tryptophan . a three arm study was run in parallel with subjects randomly assigned to one of three groups , namely ( a ) a food rich in defatted squash meal in combination with a carbohydrate ; ( b ) a food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan and a carbohydrate ; and ( c ) a placebo food rich in a carbohydrate with minimal protein . both the subject and the research nurse who conducted the study were blind to the assignment of each subject . the subjects met the nurse on a weekly basis in order to turn in their sleep scores and review any side effects from that week and to receive the sleep diary for the next week . food1 was prepared in a 7 day lot according to the following amounts : food2 was prepared in a 7 day lot according to the following amounts : food3 was prepared in a 7 day lot according to the following amounts : week 1 allowed for a baseline measurement of sleep parameters as determined by a structured sleep diary ( morin 1993a ). sleep parameters measured included total time awake each night , total sleep time each night , total time in bed each night , sleep efficiency ( total sleep time / total time in bed × 100 ). subjects completed a sleep quality assessment as determined by the sleep impairment index ( morin 1993b ) at the beginning and end of the first week . they also recorded their previous nights sleep patterns every morning in the structured sleep diary . in week 2 , defined as the treatment week , each subject ingested food1 , food2 or food3 depending on their assignment , one hour prior to bed . subjects continued to report their sleep in the structured sleep diary each morning and again completed the sleep impairment index at the conclusion of the week . week 3 , each subject continued to record their sleep each morning in the structured sleep dairy but in the absence of the assigned food . at the conclusion of week 3 and the study , they again completed the sleep impairment index . criteria for selection included men and women over the age of 18 experiencing trouble falling asleep or staying asleep three or more nights / week for a duration of three months . exclusion criteria included heart disease , pregnancy , food allergies , diabetes , sleep apnea , and shift workers . a sample of volunteers was selected from perth county region , ontario , canada . one hundred and fifty eight ( 158 ) subjects were recruited through letters to family doctors , newspaper and radio advertisement . fifty - one subjects were rejected after a short ( approximately 10 minute ) structured telephone interview indicating evidence of health issues , medication or lack of desire to commit to the three week protocol . a further 50 subjects were rejected after a detailed structured personal interview with a research nurse for the following reasons : health ( 20 ); failure to appear for the interview ( 3 ); medication contraindicated with tryptophan ( 12 ), unwillingness to stop sleep medications ( 3 ), food allergies ( 5 ), unwillingness to commit to three week protocol ( 3 ), shift workers ( 3 ), inability to meet criteria for insomnia ( 1 ). after initiation into the study , seven subjects failed to complete the protocol for the following reasons : time commitment ( 1 ), failure to attend weekly interviews ( 1 ), death of close family member ( 1 ), relationship stress ( 1 ), nausea ( 1 food1 , 2 placebo ). all subjects were assessed by the following : brief symptom inventory ( bsi ), a medical and psychiatric interview , and laboratory tests as deemed necessary by the principal investigator ( i . e . blood tests , urinalysis , ekg etc ). all subjects were informed about the purpose , risks and benefits associated with the study . written , signed consent was obtained and a copy given to the participant . subjects were asked to abstain from the use of alcohol , during the entire three week study . they were instructed to limit their caffeine intake and to maintain a regular sleep wake schedule during this period . ethical approval was given from the ethics committee of the stratford general hospital . coincidentally two identical twin brothers enrolled in the study apparently unaware that each other had also enrolled . these twin subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment conditions of food1 and food2 . their data is included in the grouped data but was also analyzed separately . the twin brothers were 56 years old , of similar weight ( 68 . 2 vs . 70 . 5 kg ) and in good physical health . both identified significant difficulties with initiating and maintaining sleep of a long - standing duration . for a preliminary study a total of 29 subjects ( 22 females , 7 males ) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions : food1 , defatted butternut squash seed meal in combination with glucose , vitamin b3 and b6 ; food2 , 220 mg of pharmaceutical grade tryptophan in a food rich in carbohydrate ( including an equivalent amount of glucose contained in food1 ), vitamins b3 and b6 with ; food3 ( placebo ), carbohydrate with a trace amount of protein . the average ages ( 52 . 1 , 49 . 5 and 54 . 4 years , respectively ) did not differ significantly between groups . the average weight ( 72 . 3 , 67 . 1 and 72 . 9 kg .) did not significantly differ between groups . in a second study ( which incorporated data from the preliminary analysis ) a total of 50 subjects ( 38 females , 12 males ) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions described above : food1 , food2 and placebo , carbohydrate with a trace amount of protein . the average ages ( 53 . 3 , 52 . 1 , 50 . 1 years ) did not differ significantly between groups . the average weight ( 71 . 0 , 71 . 6 , 71 . 8 kg .) did not significantly differ between groups . a multivariate analysis of variance ( manova ) with 3 between factors ( food 1 , food2 and placebo ) and 3 within factors ( week1 - baseline , week2 - treatment , and week3 - post - treatment ) did not result in any significant interactions in the preliminary analysis of 29 subjects . significant differences , however , were noted between baseline and treatment weeks in the following sleep parameters : sleep efficiency , total wake time and total sleep time . these differences are summarized in the tables 3 , 4 and 5 below . the same 3 × 3 manova when performed on data from the 50 subjects resulted in a week ( baseline , treatment , post - treatment ) by condition ( food1 , food2 , placebo ) interaction ( p = 0 . 03 ). post hoc analyses revealed that this interaction resulted from a significant reduction in total time in bed in week2 ( treatment week ) for those treated with food1 in contrast to an increase in time in bed during the treatment week for food2 and placebo . total time in bed measures the time from bedtime to rising time and includes time to fall asleep , time asleep , time awake during the night and time waiting in bed after awaking but before rising . as described above subjects treated with food1 had a significant reduction in total time in bed in contrast to an increase for food2 and placebo . the differences in total time in bed their significance are recorded in table 1 . further analyses suggest that this difference may result from the fact that those subjects treated with food1 had a more continuous block of sleep . therefore , sleep interruption time , a sleep parameter specific to the determination of a continuous block of sleep , was analyzed in addition to other sleep variables which were included in the preliminary study : sleep efficiency , total wake time and total sleep time . sleep interruption time measures the amount of time awake during the night as the result of an interrupted sleep pattern . the results indicate that there is a significant reduction ( average reduction of 23 minutes / night ) in time lost due to sleep interruptions for those treated with food1 which was significantly different from baseline ( p = 0 . 006 ) as well as the placebo ( p = 0 . 04 ). those subjects treated with food2 also had a reduction of 15 minutes which was different from baseline ( p = 0 . 003 ) but not placebo . the results are summarized in table 2 . in a preliminary study ( n = 29 ), during the treatment week , the squash ( food1 ) decreased the total wake time by 41 minutes / night on average ( p = 0 . 011 ) which was greater than the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan ( food2 ) which decreased the total wake time by 30 minutes ( p = 0 . 040 ). the carbohydrate placebo ( food3 ) decreased the wake time by 5 minutes which was not statistically significant ( p = 0 . 760 ). in the post - treatrnent there was only a modest further reduction in each group which was not significantly significant . table 3 summarizes the change in total wake time . in the complete study , during the treatment week , the squash ( food1 ) decreased the total wake time by 30 minutes / night on average ( p = 0 . 008 ) whereas the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan ( food2 ) also decreased the total wake time from baseline by 35 minutes ( p = 0 . 003 ). the carbohydrate placebo ( food3 ) decreased the wake time by only a marginal amount ( 7 . 5 minutes ) which was not statistically significant ( p = 0 . 523 ). the advantage of the food1 and food2 treatment is lost in the post - treatment week . table 3a summarizes the change in total wake time . in a preliminary study , during the treatment week both the squash ( food1 ) and the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan ( food2 ) improved sleep efficiency . squash ( food1 ) increased sleep efficiency by 8 %/ night ( p = 0 . 013 ) whereas the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan increased by 5 %/ night ( p = 0 . 047 ). the carbohydrate placebo ( food3 ) also increased sleep efficiency by only 1 % ( p = 0 . 749 ). in the post - treatment when all three groups were no longer eating an experimental food , advantage of both squash and pharmaceutical grade tryptophan was lost . table 4 summarizes the comparisons of sleep efficiencies . in a complete study , during the treatment week both the squash ( food1 ) and the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan ( food2 ) improved sleep efficiency . squash ( food1 ) increased sleep efficiency by 5 %/ night ( p = 0 . 019 ) whereas the food enriched with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan increased by 8 %/ night ( p = 0 . 002 ). the carbohydrate placebo also increased sleep efficiency by only 2 % ( p = 0 . 369 ). table 4a summarizes the comparisons of sleep efficiencies . in the preliminary study the total sleep time was increased across all three conditions but especially so in those subjects treated with food1 and food2 . only those treated with food2 actually had a statistically significant increase in sleep time ( p = 0 . 04 ) although the increase in sleep time in those treated with food1 approached statistical significance ( p = 0 . 066 ). the increase in sleep time in those treated with placebo did not approach statistical significance ( p = 0 . 520 ). these results are summarized in table 5 . in a complete study the results paralleled those of the preliminary study . those subjects treated with food2 had a statistically significant increase in sleep time during the treatment week and those treated with food1 had an increase that approached statistical significance . these results are summarized in table 5a . subjects recorded their subjective response based on a weekly report of the sleep impairment index . a seven - point questionnaire self - rating scale analyzed various aspects of insomnia and its impact on daily function . eleven of 18 subjects ( 61 %) treated with food1 reported less concern about their sleep after one week of treatment in comparison to 6 of 17 subjects treated with food2 ( 35 %) and 5 of 15 subjects treated with placebo ( 33 %). the overall perception of one &# 39 ; s state upon waking each morning was also measured on a daily basis . this question assessed their overall perception of their waking state on a three - point scale , with 1 as ‘ exhausted ’ and 3 as ‘ refreshed ’. those subjects treated with the squash - based food ( food1 ) reported a highly significant improvement . these differences and their significance are summarized in table 6 . the identical twin in the squash ( food1 ) treatment outperformed his sibling treated with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan ( food2 ) on both a reduction of total wake time as well as increased sleep efficiency throughout the study . a sample size of two does not allow statistical analysis so graphs of outcome are included instead with trend lines included . the most apparent differences occurred in total sleep time wherein the twin on squash food more than doubled his sleep efficiency over the course of the study . the twin treated with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan per se increased his sleep efficiency by less than 30 %. increases in sleep efficiency paralleled the increases in total sleep time . the twin treated with the squash based food more than doubled his total nightly sleep whereas as his twin treated with pharmaceutical grade tryptophan increased his total nightly sleep by less than 35 %. further studies were carried out which measured not only the actual parameters of sleep disturbance but also the impact of insomnia on daily lives . the subjective and objective measures that resulted in significant results are described below . a subset of subjects was drawn to ingest defatted squash seed meal without any other additive . after the conclusion of their 21 - day original trial , each if these subjects underwent a 4 - week washout period . at the conclusion of the washout period each subject was given 22 gm of defatted squash seed meal / night with instructions to follow the original protocol ( eat experimental food 1 hour prior to bedtime , following the sleep pattern described above , avoidance of protein in the evening meal etc .). one subject was excluded after she reported adding a carbohydrate to the defatted meal despite instructions to the contrary . the remaining number was too small to allow for valid statistical analysis but there was an overall reduction in average total wake time ( 114 . 7 mins , baseline vs . 59 . 7 mins with defatted meal ), an increase in total sleep time ( 385 . 4 mins , baseline vs . 411 . 7 with defatted meal ) and an increase in sleep efficiency ( 76 . 5 % baseline vs . 87 % with defatted meal ). the apparent superior performance of food1 based on squash seed defatted meal is , indeed , surprising . in fact , previous experiments would suggest that the plant protein should have resulted in an inferior performance to the combination of pharmaceutical grade tryptophan and carbohydrate . in a seminal study of diet and brain tryptophan levels , fernstrom and wurtman ( 1972 ) fed six groups of rats one of six meals prior to their sacrifice : ( i ) diet 1 , carbohydrate meal ( ii ) diet 2 , diet 1 supplemented with 18 percent casein , dry weight ( iii ) diet 3 , diet 1 supplemented with an artificial amino acid similar to casein in amino acid content , 18 percent dry weight ( iv ) diet 3 , minus tyrosine , phenylalanine , leucine , isoleucine , and valine . groups of rats were killed 1 or 2 hour postprandial to determine plasma tryptophan , brain tryptophan and brain serotonin levels . subsequent analysis demonstrated that although protein meals result in a significant rise ( 60 - 70 %) in plasma tryptophan there was no significant increase in brain tryptophan or serotonin . further study of an additional two groups of rats ( one fed diet 3 with the complete amino acid mixture versus another fed diet 3 with a complete amino acid mixture minus tyrosine , phenylalanine , leucine , isoleucine and valine ) found a significant increase in brain tryptophan occurred only in the diet minus the competing neutral amino acids . although the time course to sacrifice was relatively short in the fernstrom and wurtman &# 39 ; s experiment , a later experiment ( fernstrom et al . 1985 ) sacrificed rats every 4 hours postprandial over a 24 hour period and also failed to find any significant increase in brain tryptophan at any point in a 24 cycle after the ingestion . in this later experiment some rats were fed significant quantities in protein ( maximum of 40 % protein diet ) which lead to significant increases in serum tryptophan but no change in brain tryptophan levels . investigations in non - human primates parallel those findings from rat studies in that conditions that favour increased ratio of serum tryptophan / competing amino acids results in increased brain tryptophan . leathwood and fernstrom ( 1990 ) demonstrated a dose - dependent increase in tryptophan in subcortical regions of the brain , in concert with a dose - dependent reduction in competing amino acids , when groups of adult cynomolgus monkeys were fed various combinations of carbohydrate ( maltodextrin ) and one of three amounts of synthetic tryptophan ( 20 mg / kg , 90 mg / kg and 400 mg / kg ). thus , a fair and thorough review of the literature would predict the superiority of pharmaceutical grade tryptophan per se combined with carbohydrate over placebo and squash meal . the present squash seed food formulation contains defatted meal which is rich in protein and therefore should not result in equivalent or superior sleep based upon previous animal studies . similarly , the defatted meal alone appears beneficial which again is not obvious based upon the previous literature since defatted meal is approximately 47 % protein by weight and less than 15 % carbohydrate . the previous literature would predict the clear advantage pharmaceutical grade tryptophan in combination carbohydrate in the improvement of sleep . the fact that defatted seed meal is superiour to pharmaceutical grade tryptophan is surprising and may reflect differences in human brain function in comparison to other mammalian brains ( both primate and non - primate ), some beneficial effect in the ingestion of a protein rich in the tryptophan precursor , or some other metabolic advantage . it may also be concluded that either other amino acids in the protein actually assist in sleep enhancement or some other aspect of protein ingestion in humans affects the transmission of tryptophan across the blood - brain - barrier in a way not predicted by ratio of serum tryptophan to other competing amino acids . betz a . l . and goldstein , g . w ., science , 202 : 225 - 227 ( 1978 ). balestriel , c ., et al ., european journal of biochemistry , 90 : 433 - 440 ( 1978 ). fears , r ., and murrell , f . a ., british journal of nutrition , 43 : 349 - 356 ( 1980 ). fernstrom , j . d . and wurtman , r . j , science , 174 : 1023 - 1025 ( 1971 ). kotake , y . and murakami , e ., american journal of nutrition american journal of clinical nutrition , 24 : 826 - 829 ( 1971 ). lajtha , a ., in aromatic amino acids in the brain ( ciba foundation symposium 22 ) new york : american elsevier pp . 25 - 49 ( 1974 ). saunders , n . r ., et al ., clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology , 26 : 11 - 19 ( 1999 ). thomas , j . m . and rubin , e . h ., american journal of psychiatry , 141 : 281 - 283 ( 1977 ). balestrierl c , colonna g , giovans a , irace g , servillo l l ( 1978 ) second - derivative spectroscopy of proteins : a method for the quantitative determination of aromatic acids in proteins european journal of biochemistry 90 : 433 - 440 fernstrom j d wurtman r j ( 1972 ) brain serotonin content : physiological regulation by plasma neutral amino acids . science 178 : 414 - 6 fernstrom j d fernstrom m h grubb p e volk e a ( 1985 ) absence of chronic effects of dietary protein content on brain tryptophan concentrations in rats . journal of nutrition 115 : 1337 - 44 griffiths w j , lester b k , coulter j d , williams h l ( 1972 ) tryptophan and sleep in young adults . psychophysiology 9 : 345 - 356 hartmann e ( 1982 ) effects of l - tryptophan on sleepiness and on sleep . journal of psychiatric research . 17 : 107 - 13 hartmann e , spinweber c l ( 1979 ) sleep induced by 1 - tryptophan . effect of dosages within the normal dietary intake . journal of nervous and mental disease 167 : 497 - 9 landry j , delhaye s ( 1996 ) tryptophan content of foods and feeds . advances in experimental medicine and biology 398 : 703 - 9 leathwood p d fernstrom j d ( 1990 ) effect of an oral tryptophan / carbohydrate load on tryptophan , large neutral amino acid and serotonin and 5 - hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels in monkey brain . journal of neural transmission — general section 79 : 25 - 34 morin , c . m . ( 1993a ) appendix f : sleep diary . in : insomnia , psychological assessment and management . guilford press , new york , pp 209 - 211 morin , c . m . ( 1993b ) appendix b : sleep impairment index . in : insomnia , psychological assessment and management . guilford press , new york , pp 199 - 200 schneider - helmet d , spinweber c l ( 1986 ) evaluation of 1 - tryptophan for treatment of insomnia : a review . psychopharmacology 89 : 1 - 7 although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to those particular embodiments . rather , the invention includes all embodiments which are functional or mechanical equivalence of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated .	0
the present invention includes a programmable light controller , a power booster device , and application software required to program a light controller . the various components of this invention are illustrated in fig1 , and 16 . fig1 illustrates an enclosure 40 for the present light controller , generally identified by the numeral 42 . enclosure 40 is configured for both outdoor and indoor use . integrated configuration packages are also possible , where the main elements of the controller 42 are combined with other devices into a single package for a specific application . referring to fig1 and fig2 which is a block diagram of the standalone controller configuration of the present invention . the controller 42 contains an ac power plug 50 which is connected to an ac cord 52 and obtains ac prover via a common household receptacle 54 . circuit breaker 56 provides the main overcurrent protection for the controller 42 and is connected in series with the controller power switch 70 . power switch 70 is connected in series with ac power circuit 72 , connected to the ac output receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 and the ac power circuit 74 , connected to the controller electronics 62 . a circuit breaker 58 is connected to receptacle 64 . 1 whose operation will be subsequently described . the preferred embodiment of the controller 42 contains eight individual and independent ac output circuits via common household ac receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 , and is designed to operate either single light bulbs 68 or strings of lights 68 . 1 through 68 . 8 , which are either series or parallel connected and plugged into the controller 42 via ac plugs 66 . 1 thru 66 . 8 it is understood that fewer than eight or more that eight output circuits and light strings 68 may be used with the present invention , eight circuits being used for illustrative purposes only . power is supplied to receptacles 64 via a switch 70 . referring to fig1 and 3 , fig3 is a detail electrical block diagram of the light controller 42 , which is housed in enclosure 40 of fig1 . the microprocessor 94 , with crystal oscillator 108 , provides all the timing and control functions of the controller electronics 62 , which are contained on a printed circuit board . the microprocessor 94 communicates with the host computer 76 via the serial cable 116 and the controller serial interface 82 , in order to load user generated lighting sequences into the non volatile memory 100 . the memory 100 is powered by a rechargeable battery 104 in the absence of power from the low voltage power supply 88 , when ac power is removed by unplugging the ac power plug 50 or turning the controller power switch 70 off . the microprocessor low order address bus 112 is separated from the multiplexed address / data bus 114 by the address latch 96 and is combined with the high order address bus 110 to control the rom 98 , which stores the firmware executed by the microprocessor 94 and the preprogrammed lighting sequences , and to control the ram 100 , which stores the user generated lighting sequences . the address signals on address bus 110 are decoded by address decoder 102 to provide various chip select signals 118 for the ram memory 100 and input signal control of the sequence select switch 106 . the power on led 90 ( fig1 and 3 ) provides a visible indication that power is applied to the controller 42 . the low voltage power supply 88 provides dc power , vcc , for all the logic functions of the controller electronics 62 and also provides a low voltage version of the ac line signal 120 to the zero crossing detector circuit 92 , which outputs a pulse 122 to the microprocessor in synchronism with each zero crossing of the ac power line . the microprocessor 94 provides independent timing control and intensity control to lights 68 . 1 thru 68 . 8 , connected to ac receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 via the opto isolated trigger circuits 80 . 1 thru 80 . 8 , which trigger the ac power switches 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 . an important aspect of the present controller 42 is the capability of independent control of both the time duration and the intensity of the lighting state of lights 68 to allow the creation of unique lighting effects . when any one of the ac prover switches 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 is on , the neutral connection to the corresponding ac receptacle 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 is complete and the corresponding lighting load 68 . 1 thru 68 . 8 will turn on . referring to fig1 and 3 , in addition to the serial interface 82 , the microprocessor 94 also supports the other control panel functions , which consist of the run / halt switch 86 , the active / error led 84 and the twelve position rotary sequence select switch 106 . the user may not know or be able to easily calculate the power requirement of an individual lighting load that the user wishes to use with the light controller 42 . the light controller 42 contains a special test mode for the user to check that the power requirement of the light loads 68 . 1 thru 68 . 8 does not exceed the prover that the controller 42 can reliably deliver to the individual ac output receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 . the test mode is activated , when the run / halt switch 86 is in the halt mode , and the sequence select switch 106 is in a test position . in response to these settings , the controller firmware will turn on ac switch 78 . 1 and power will be supplied through a circuit breaker 58 to ac receptacle 64 . 1 . by plugging any one of the light loads 68 . 1 thru 68 . 8 into ac receptacle , when the special test mode is active , the user can determine the compatibility of that light load using a visual indicator contained on the circuit breaker 58 . fig4 illustrates the parameters of a lighting state and fig5 thru 7 are examples of various lighting sequences , which will be used to describe the operation of the lighting controller 42 . the notations i1 thru i8 used in fig4 represent the lighting intensity , as a percentage of full on , of the eight ac circuits available at the ac receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 . the individual values of i1 thru i8 range from 100 , 90 , . . . 10 , 0 percent of full on intensity . 100 percent indicates the intensity of lights 68 is full on , while 0 percent indicates the intensity of lights 68 is full off . the notation tm , shown in fig4 represents the time duration of the lighting state in seconds . for the preferred embodiment the tm values ranges from 0 . 008 seconds to 9 . 0 minutes . the present controller 42 is capable of controlling a single lighting sequence 128 as illustrated in fig5 which is made up of a series of multiple independent lighting states 130 thru 132 , of intensity and time . sequence 128 may contain multiple internal sequence loops 136 , in addition to the main sequence repeat loop 134 . for a given single sequence 128 , the number of ac receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 used is constant and could range from one to all eight of the available circuits . referring to fig5 the controller 42 can be programmed to repeat an internal loop 136 a variable n number of times , where n can range from 1 to 65 , 500 . in fig5 the number of lighting states within a sequence 132 is variable and limited by the size of the controller ram memory 100 . the present invention allows the user the capability of creating two independent lighting sequences 128 or lighting scenes separately , which the controller 42 executes simultaneously . this feature of a dual parallel lighting sequence 140 , is illustrated in fig6 . the time duration and the intensity parameters of the states 146 of a first sequence 142 can differ from those of the states 148 of a second sequence 144 . the number of states 146 of sequence 142 can differ from the number of states 148 of sequence 144 . the light circuits included in sequence 142 will in general be different from the light circuits included in sequence 144 . the possible combinations of the two independent circuit groups for a dual parallel sequence with eight circuits using the notation : # of circuits in first sequence /# of circuits in second sequence , would be : 7 / 1 , 6 / 2 , 5 / 3 , or 4 / 4 . the present invention allows the user the capability of creating three independent lighting sequences 128 or lighting scenes separately , which the controller executes simultaneously . this feature of controlling a triple parallel lighting sequence 150 is illustrated in fig7 . the time duration and intensity parameters of the states of first sequence 152 , second sequence 154 , and third sequence 156 can all be different . the number of states , 158 , 160 and 162 of sequences 152 , 154 , and 156 , respectively , can all be different . the possible combinations of the three independent circuit groups for a triple parallel sequence with eight circuits using the notation : # of circuits in first sequence /# of circuits in second sequence /# of circuits in third sequence , would be : 4 / 2 / 2 , 3 / 3 / 2 , 4 / 3 / 1 or 6 / 1 / 1 . referring to fig3 the controller 42 contains a twelve position rotary selection switch 106 to allow the user to select either pre - programmed lighting sequences , which are stored in rom 98 , or user created custom lighting sequences , which are stored in non volatile ram 100 . the preferred embodiment utilizes five positions ( positions 1 thru 5 ) of the sequence selection switch 106 to select preprogrammed rom sequences and seven positions ( positions 6 thru 12 ) of the sequence selection switch 106 to select user created custom ram sequences . the preferred embodiment contains seventeen memory areas in the non volatile ram 100 , in which the user can store up to seventeen independent custom generated lighting sequences . the mode of operation for the controller 42 refers to the execution mode of either a single 128 , dual parallel 140 , or triple parallel 150 sequence . the assignment of the seven sequence select switch positions 6 thru 12 to the seventeen ram sequences locations and the mode of operation of the controller , is programmable by the user . table 1 is an illustration of the programmable map feature of the sequence select switch 106 . referring to table 1 , the first five switch positions of switch 106 can activate seven ( 1 thru 7 ) different rom 98 sequences , where switch positions 1 thru 3 are devoted to three preprogrammed single sequences , while switch position 4 and switch position 5 are each devoted to dual parallel sequences . table 1 shows that the seven switch positions of switch 106 numbered 6 thru 12 are programmable by the user to active one , two , or three sequences simultaneously , of the seventeen ( 8 thru 24 ) user generated ram 100 sequences , corresponding to a single , dual parallel , or triple parallel sequence the sequences shown in table 1 are for illustrative purposes only , it being understood that numerous other map features may be used with the present controller 42 . the use of a twelve position selection switch is also for illustrative purposes , it being understood that fewer or more than twelve positions may be utilized with the present controller 42 , depending on the size of memory 98 and memory 100 and the number features desired . table 1__________________________________________________________________________illustration of selection switch map featureswitch memory # sequence # mode type__________________________________________________________________________1 1 single sequence2 2 single sequence ↑ 3 3 single sequence 7 rom4 4 , 5 dual sequence seq . 5 6 , 7 dual sequence ↓ 6 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . 7 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . ↑ 8 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . 17 ram9 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . seq . 10 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single . dual , or triple seq . ↓ 11 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . 12 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 , 8 → 24 single , dual , or triple seq . __________________________________________________________________________ the illustrated controller 42 has eight independent ac circuits and controls the intensity of each individual light circuit 68 by varying the conduction angle of the applied ac line voltage to the light circuit . referring to fig3 the microprocessor 94 receives a zero crossing pulse 122 , which marks the zero crossing of the ac line voltage . table 2 will be used to describe the method by which the microprocessor firmware implements the individual light circuit 68 intensity control function . the zero crossing pulse 122 , is used by the microprocessor 94 to start an intensity timer and an intensity counter , which are used to divide the half cycle time , 8 . 33 ms , of the input power ac waveform into 16 time slots of 0 . 5 m each . each of the time slots , 1 thru 17 , is assigned an active power level , as shown in table 2 . the power level number is also used by the application software program to indicate the desired individual circuit intensity level for each lighting state of the sequence . the power level number has a range from 15 to 0 , where 15 indicates full on intensity , and 0 indicates full off intensity . the microprocessor firmware compares the active power level at each time slot with the lighting state power level requested by the application program and when equal turns on the appropriate ac power switch 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 . table 2______________________________________intensity control implementation time power power . sup . t delay ( msec ) slot # level (%) ______________________________________ 0 . 0 → 0 . 5 1 15 100 . 0 & gt ; 0 . 5 → 1 . 0 2 15 100 . 0 & gt ; 1 . 0 → 1 . 5 3 14 98 . 9 & gt ; 1 . 5 → 2 . 0 4 13 96 . 4 & gt ; 2 . 0 → 2 . 5 5 12 91 . 9 & gt ; 2 . 5 → 3 . 0 6 11 85 . 1 & gt ; 3 . 0 → 3 . 5 7 10 76 . 2 & gt ; 3 . 5 → 4 . 0 8 9 65 . 6 & gt ; 4 . 0 → 4 . 5 9 8 54 . 0 & gt ; 4 . 5 → 5 . 0 10 7 42 . 0 & gt ; 5 . 0 → 5 . 5 11 6 30 . 6 & gt ; 5 . 5 → 6 . 0 12 5 20 . 5 & gt ; 6 . 0 → 6 . 5 13 4 12 . 3 & gt ; 6 . 5 → 7 . 0 14 3 6 . 3 & gt ; 7 . 0 → 7 . 5 15 3 6 . 3 & gt ; 7 . 5 → 8 . 0 16 3 6 . 3 & gt ; 8 . 0 → 8 . 33 17 0 0 . 0______________________________________ the detail functional flow diagram of the controller 42 firmware is contained in fig8 , and 10 . referring to fig8 the firmware program starts at step 164 upon application of power . at step 166 the firmware initializes the internal output ports , internal timers , various program parameters and performs a test of the internal ram . at step 168 the run / halt switch 86 is checked to see if it is active . if active , control passes to step 180 . if not active , control goes to step 170 . at step 170 the serial interface 82 is enabled . at step 172 the firmware checks to see if the serial interface 82 is active . if active , control passes to step 174 , where the active led 84 is flashed . at step 176 the data received from the host computer 76 via the serial interface 82 is transferred to the non volatile memory 100 , and control passes to step 173 . at step 172 if the serial interface 82 is not active , control passes to step 178 , where the active led is turned off and control passes to step 173 . the sequence select switch 106 is decoded at step 173 , to see if the ac load test mode is requested . at step 175 a check is made to see if the sequence select switch 106 is at test position . if test position is selected , control passes to step 177 . if test position is not selected , control passes to step 179 . at step 177 ac receptacle 64 . 1 is turned on and control passes back to step 168 . at step 179 , ac receptacle 64 . 1 is turned off and control passes back to step 168 . at step 168 with the run / halt switch 86 active , control passes to step 180 , where the active led 84 is turned on . at step 182 the serial interface 82 is disabled . the sequence select switch 106 is decoded at step 184 . the firmware checks the sequence select switch position at step 186 and determines if a rom or ram sequence has been selected . if a rom 98 sequence is selected the control passes to step 190 , along with the sequence starting addresses . if a ram 100 sequence has been selected , control passes to step 188 . at step 188 the firmware accesses the switch map location in non volatile memory 100 and determines the operation mode , which has been programmed for the selected switch position , along with the starting addresses of the corresponding sequences . the operation mode refers to either one , two , or three sequences operating simultaneously . at step 190 the firmware loads a pointer to the starting address of the first lighting sequence , cues the lighting state parameters , intensity and time duration , for the first state of the first sequence , and enables the first firmware sequencer ( m1 ). at step 192 a check is made to see if a dual sequence was selected . if a dual sequence was selected , control is passed to step 194 . if a dual sequence was not selected , control is passed to step 200 of fig9 . at step 194 the firmware loads a pointer to the starting address of the second lighting sequence , cues the lighting state parameters for the first state of the second sequence , and enables the second firmware sequencer ( m2 ). at step 196 a check is made to see if a triple sequence was selected . if a triple sequence was selected , control is passed to step 198 . if a triple sequence was not selected , control is passed to step 200 of fig9 . at step 198 the firmware loads a pointer to the starting address of the third sequence , cues the lighting state parameters for the first state of the third sequence , and enables the third firmware sequencer ( m3 ), control is then passed to step 200 in fig9 . referring to fig9 the firmware waits for the microprocessor 94 to receive a zero crossing pulse 122 at step 200 . once a zero crossing pulse occurs control passes to step 202 . at step 202 the run \ halt switch 86 is checked to see if it is active . if active , control passes to step 208 . if not active , control goes to step 204 . at step 204 the firmware sequencers m1 , m2 , and m3 are stopped . at step 206 the ac switches 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 are turned off , and control is returned to step 168 in fig8 . at step 208 the intensity counter is cleared . at step 210 the 0 . 5 ms intensity timer is started . at step 212 the m1 duration timer , which contains the time of the active state of the first sequencer ( m1 ) is checked for zero . if the m1 duration timer is zero , control goes to step 220 . if the m1 duration timer is not zero , control passes to step 214 . at step 220 the m1 duration timer is reloaded with the duration time of the next state of the first sequence , denoted as next m1 state time . at step 222 the memory register locations , which contain the m1 active intensity values , denoted as m1 -- cktx -- pl , are reloaded with the intensity values of the next state of the first sequence , denoted as nxt m1 -- cktx -- pl . at step 224 the next m1 light state parameters are re - cued , the next m1 state time value and the m1 -- cktx -- pl values are reloaded , in order to maintain the cue registers one state ahead of the m1 active sequence state . control is then passed to step 216 . at step 214 the m1 duration timer is decremented . at step 216 the firmware checks to see if any of the active m1 state intensity values , denoted as m1 -- cktx -- pl , are equal to 100 percent , which is a full on condition . if any of the members of m1 -- cktx -- pl are equal to 100 percent , control goes to step 218 . if m1 -- cktx -- pl are not equal to 100 percent , control goes to step 226 . at step 218 the firmware turns on the ac switches 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 , which had corresponding values in m1 -- cktx -- pl equal to 100 percent at step 216 . the steps 212 thru 224 together represent the m1 sequence service routine 225 , denoted m1 -- svc . at step 226 the firmware checks to see if the m2 firmware sequencer is active . if m2 is active , control goes to step 228 . if m2 is not active , control goes to step 234 . step 228 is similar to routine 225 , with m1 replaced by m2 . at step 230 the firmware checks to see if the m3 firmware sequencer is active . if m3 is active , control goes to step 232 . if m3 is not active , control goes to step 234 . step 232 is similar to routine 225 , with m1 replaced by m3 . at step 234 the firmware preforms a debounce function on the input signal from the run / halt switch 86 to eliminate contact bounce . control passes to step 236 in fig1 . referring to fig1 step 236 , the firmware checks to see if the microprocessor 94 has received a zero crossing pulse 122 . if a zero crossing pulse occurred , control passes to step 202 in fig9 . if a zero crossing pulse has not occurred , control passes to step 238 . at step 238 the firmware checks the intensity timer for zero . if zero , control passes to step 240 . if not zero , control passes to step 236 . at step 240 the intensity counter is incremented . at step 242 the firmware checks to see if the intensity counter is at the maximum count equal to seventeen . if the counter is at the maximum , control goes to step 244 . if not at the maximum , control goes to step 246 , where the 0 . 5 ms intensity timer is started . at step 244 the intensity timer is stopped and control passes to step 248 . at step 248 the value of the intensity counter is utilized to access a firmware lookup table to determine the active power level . at step 250 the firmware checks the active m1 state intensity levels , denoted m1 -- cktx -- pl , to see if any are equal to the active power level obtained from the lookup table . if equal , control passes to step 252 . if not equal , control passes to step 254 . at step 252 the firmware turns on the ac switches 78 . 1 thru 78 . 8 , which had corresponding values in m1 -- cktx -- pl equal to the active power level at step 250 . the steps 250 thru 252 together represent the m1 phase service routine 253 , denoted m1 -- phase -- svc . at step 254 the firmware checks to see if the m2 firmware sequencer is active . if m2 is active , control goes to step 256 . if m2 is not active , control goes to step 236 . step 256 is similar to routine 253 , with m1 replaced by m2 . at step 258 the firmware checks to see if the m3 firmware sequencer is active . if m3 is active , control goes to step 260 . if m3 is not active , control goes to step 236 . step 260 is similar to routine 253 , with m1 replaced by m3 . referring to fig1 , the controller 42 application software is contained on a floppy disk 262 and can be installed on a host computer 76 , such as , for example , a personal computer containing a floppy disk drive 264 , a keyboard 270 , a serial interface 274 , and a crt display 268 . with the application software active , the personal computer 76 becomes a tool by which the user can create unique custom lighting sequences . table 3 contains an overview of the main features of the present application software . the details of the application software are contained in the flow diagrams contained in fig1 thru 15 . the application program enables the user to create custom lighting sequences on the pc . table 3______________________________________summary of application software features______________________________________1 ) file operations : open , save , print , quit2 ) screen based sequence editorline operationsblock operations : move , copy , delete3 ) library operationspreprogrammed macro sequences ( user defined parameters ) user created sequences4 ) optionsoperator preference items5 ) simulation modevisual simulation of sequencecontrols : run / stop , pause , single stepsequence tracking6 ) controller interfacedownload fileread switch map7 ) programming formfield sensitivememorized items______________________________________ table 4 contains an overview of the lighting controller 42 program language which contains both operation codes and command codes for lighting controller 42 . the operation codes are utilized to program the desired custom lighting sequence . examples of the operation codes are shown in table 4 , where the numbers shown () are user specified parameters . the notation shown in table 4 is as follows : i1 , i2 , . . . represents the intensity of circuit # 1 , circuit # 2 , etc . ; tm represents the time duration of the lighting state , specified by the user ; label represents the user specified label name for a program line ; loopname is the label name for the start of a subroutine ; cnt represents the number of counts the loop will execute and seq # is the number of the sequence . the allotted memory size for an individual sequence , within the non - volatile ram 100 , can be effectively increased by utilizing the long jump and the long call operation codes . the command codes shown are utilized to define the memory storage location in non volatile memory 100 and to define the sequence switch map . examples of the command codes are shown in table 4 , where the numbers shown in () are user specified parameters . the notation shown in table 4 is as follows : sw # is the position of the sequence select switch 106 ( 6 thru 12 ); seq1 # is the number of the first sequence , seq2 # is the number of the second sequence , seq # 3 is the number of the third sequence ( 8 thru 24 ). table 4__________________________________________________________________________example of user programming commands__________________________________________________________________________example of operation codes : cmap ( i1 , i2 , i3 , i4 , i5 , i6 , i7 , i8 , tm ) circuit mapcon ( tm ) all circuits oncoff ( tm ) all circuits offjmp ( label ) jump to label in present sequenceljmp ( seq #, label ) jump to label in different sequencecall ( loopname , cnt ) call subroutine in same sequence with loop countlcall ( seq #, loopname , cnt ) call subroutine in different sequence with loop countret subroutine endexample of command codes : bgns ( seq #) begin sequence numberends ( seq #) end sequence numbersmap ( sw #, seq #) map sw # to single sequencedmap ( sw #, seq1 #, seq2 #) map sw # to dual sequencetmap ( sw #, seq1 #, seq2 #, seq3 #) map sw # to triple sequence__________________________________________________________________________ table 5 illustrates the programming form , which appears on the display 268 of the personal computer 76 , during the creation or editing process of a user generated sequence . the programming form is field sensitive , where labels , and opcodes etc . must appear in certain columns . certain columns such as the opcode column , feature a memorized item format , generally require only the first two letters of the text to be entered by the user before the program recognizes the entry . table 6__________________________________________________________________________example of user created sequencelabelopcode parameters comments__________________________________________________________________________bgns 10 begin sequence # 10top call flash1 , 4 call subroutine flash1 , 4 timescall loop1 , 10 call subroutine loop1 , 10 timescall flash1 , 8 call subroutine flash1 , 8 timescall loop2 , 20 call subroutine loop2 , 20 timesjmp top jump to topflash1cmap 100 , 100 , 100 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 circuit map commandcoff 0 , 4 all circuits off commandret subroutine end commandloop1cmap 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 circuit map commandcmap 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2cmap 0 , 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2cmap 0 , 0 , 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2retloop2cmap 0 , 0 , 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 circuit map commandcmap 0 , 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2cmap 0 , 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2cmap 100 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2retends 10 end sequence # 10__________________________________________________________________________ the application program contains a preprogrammed library , which contains macro sequences . the user can create custom sequences more efficiently by utilizing macro sequences , which are common sequences the user can customize by specifying specific generic parameters , instead of entering each line of the program code . table 7 contains two examples of macro sequences , and also shows the general format structure . the notation used in table 7 is as follows : sc represents the starting circuit number ; ec represents the ending circuit number ; int represents the on intensity ; ton represents the circuit on time ; toff represents the circuit off time ; bg represents the background intensity ; d represents the sequence direction ( fwd or rev ); and lc represents the loop count . table 7______________________________________examples of macro sequencesin the preprogrammed library______________________________________format : name ( parameter list ) examples : 1 ) single chase : schase ( sc , ec , int , ton , bg , d , lc ) 2 ) flash : flash ( sc , ec , int , ton , toff , bg , lc ) ______________________________________ the user could utilize the single chase sequence defined in table 7 , in the macro form schase ( 1 , 4 , 100 , 0 . 2 , 0 , f , 10 ) to produce the same lines of program code i . e . [ call loop1 , 10 ], and subroutine [ loop1 ] shown in table 6 . referring to fig1 , for the light controller 42 to be in the download configuration , ac power will be applied to the controller 42 via ac line cord 50 & amp ; 52 ( fig2 ), the controller power switch 70 will be on , the run / halt switch 86 will be in the halt position , the pc serial interface port 274 will be connected to the controller serial interface 82 via serial cable 272 and the application program will be active on the personal computer 76 . the detail functional flow diagram of the application software is contained in fig1 , 13 , 14 , and 15 . referring to fig1 , upon program initiation 300 the program proceeds at step 302 , to load the last active data file into the memory of the personal computer 76 . at step 304 a check is made to see if an edit sequence operation is requested by the user . if an edit operation is requested control passes to step 340 of fig1 . if an edit operation is not requested , control passes to step 306 . at step 306 a check is made to see if a sequence simulation operation is requested by the user . if a sequence simulation mode is requested , control passes to step 390 of fig1 . if a sequence simulation operation is not requested , control passes to step 308 . at step 308 a check is made to see if a controller interface operation is requested by the user . if an interface operation is requested , control is passed to step 422 of fig1 . if an interface operation is not requested , control is passed to step 310 . at step 310 a check is made to see if a change options operation is requested by the user . if a change options operation is requested , control is passed to step 314 . if a change options operation is not requested , control is passed to step 312 . at step 314 the user can select certain user preference options of the application program such as display 268 colors and the frequency of automatic file backup . control passes to step 304 . at step 312 a check is made to see if a file operation is requested by the user . if a file operation is requested , control is passed to step 316 . if a file operation is not requested , control is passed to step 304 . at step 316 a check is made to see if an open file command is requested by the user . if an open file command is requested by the user , control is passed to step 318 . if an open file command is not requested by the user , control is passed to step 320 . at step 318 the user specifies the filename , the application program clears the present data file and loads the specified file into memory . control passes to step 304 . at step 320 a check is made to see if a save file command is requested by the user . if a save file command is requested by the user , control is passed to step 322 . if a save file command is not requested by the user , control is passed to step 324 . at step 322 the user specifies the filename , the application program saves the present data file to disk memory . control passes to step 304 . at step 324 a check is made to see if a print operation is requested by the user . if a print operation is requested by the user , control is passed to step 326 . if a print operation is not requested by the user , control is passed to step 334 . at step 326 a check is made to see if only the switch map portion of the data file is to be printed . if only the switch map portion is to be printed , control passes to step 330 . if the switch map portion is not selected , control passes to step 328 . at step 328 a check is made to see if only user specified sequences are to be printed . if only user specified sequences are to be printed , control is passed to step 330 . if individual sequences are not specified , control passes to step 332 . at step 332 the total file is copied to the printer and control passes to step 304 . at step 330 the specified portion of the file is copied to the printer and control passes to step 304 . at step 334 a check is made to see if a quit operation is requested by the user . if a quit operation is requested by the user , control is passed to step 336 . if a quit operation is not requested , control passes to step 304 . at step 336 the application program terminates , and returns control to the operating system of the pc . the details of the edit portion of the application program are illustrated in fig1 . referring to fig1 , at step 340 , the edit process begins when the user specifies either a sequence number or the name of a sequence in the user library . at step 342 a check is made to see if a library sequence is specified by the user . if a library sequence is specified , control passes to step 344 . if a library sequence is not specified , control passes to step 346 . at step 344 the display 268 contains the programming form table 5 format , with the contents equal to the specified user library sequence . at step 346 the display 268 contains the programming form table 5 format , with the contents equal to the specified sequence from the data file . at step 348 the user positions the cursor of display 268 to select the active line on the programming form . at step 350 a check is made to see if a line operation is requested by the user . if a line operation is requested , control passes to step 352 . if a line operation is not requested , control passes to step 354 . at step 352 the user enters the program code via the keyboard 270 and control passes to step 358 . at step 354 a check is made to see if a block operation is requested by the user . if a block operation is requested , control passes to step 364 . if a block operation is not requested , control passes to step 356 . at step 356 a check is made to see if a library , operation is requested by the user . if a library , operation is requested , control passes to step 380 . if a library operation is not requested , control passes to step 358 . at step 380 a check is made to see if a macro library operation is requested by the user . if a macro library operation is requested , control passes to step 386 . if a macro library operation is not requested , control passes to step 382 . at step 386 the user selects a preprogrammed macro sequence and specifies values for the macro sequence . at step 388 the completed macro is transferred onto the program form ( table 5 ) as lines of program code and control passes to step 358 . at step 382 the user selects a sequence from the user library . at step 384 the specified sequence is transferred onto the program form ( table 5 ) as lines of program code and control passes to step 358 . at step 358 a check is made to see if the edit operation is complete . if the edit operation is complete , control passes to step 360 . if the edit operation is not complete , control passes to step 348 . at step 360 a check is made to see if a user library sequence was edited . if a user library sequence was edited , the sequence is saved in the user library at step 362 and control passes to step 304 of fig1 . if a user library sequence was not edited , control passes to step 304 . at step 364 a check is made to see if a previous block has been saved to clipboard memory of the program . clipboard memory is a section of ram 100 used to temporally store lines of text . if a previous block is on the clipboard , control passes to step 365 . if a previous block is not on the clipboard , control passes to step 368 . at step 365 a check is made to see if an insert command is requested by the user . if an insert command is requested , control passes to 366 . if an insert command is not requested , control passes to 368 . at step 366 the block stored on the clipboard is transferred to the programming form ( table 5 ) and control passes to step 358 . at step 368 the user via the cursor of display 268 highlights a block of program code on the programming form ( table 5 ). at step 370 a check is made to see if a copy block operation is requested by the user . if a copy block operation is requested , control passes to step 378 . if a copy block operation is not requested , control passes to step 372 . at step 378 the designated block is copied to the clipboard memory and control passes to step 358 . at step 372 a check is made to see if a delete block operation is requested by the user . if a delete block operation is requested , control passes to step 374 . if a delete block operation is not requested , control passes to step 358 . at step 374 the specified block is copied to the clipboard memory . at step 376 the contents of the specified block is cleared from the programming form and control passes to step 358 . a block move operation consists of a delete block operation 372 , followed by an insert block operation 365 . the details of the sequence simulation portion of the application program are illustrated in fig1 . referring to fig1 , at step 390 , the user specifies either a controller sequence select switch 106 position or a sequence number . at step 392 a check is made to see if a switch position is specified . if a switch position is specified , control passes to step 394 . if a switch position is not specified , control passes to step 396 . at step 394 the switch map is accessed by the application program to determine the operation mode , single , dual or triple parallel sequence , and the associated programmed sequences ( 8 thru 24 ). at step 396 a check is made to see if a single sequence is specified . if a single sequence is specified , control passes to step 398 . if a single sequence is not specified , control passes to step 400 . at step 400 the user has the option of specifying either the first , second , or third sequence as the tracking sequence , where the tracking sequence is the sequence displayed on the programming form ( table 5 ) when the simulation is stopped . at step 398 the first sequence becomes the tracking sequence . at step 402 the display 268 displays the format for the lighting simulation mode . at step 404 the application program waits for the user to request a simulation run condition . if a run request has occurred , control passes to step 406 . at step 406 a check is made to see if the user has requested a simulation pause condition . if a pause request has occurred , control passes to step 408 . if a pause request has not occurred , control passes to step 412 . at step 412 the selected sequence becomes operational and the display 268 displays an active visual simulation of the sequence . at step 408 a check is made to see if the user has requested a simulation step condition . if the step request has occurred , control passes to step 410 . if the step request has not occurred , control passes to step 414 . at step 410 the tracking sequence is advanced to the next lighting state . at step 414 a check is made to see if the run simulation condition is still true . if a run condition still exists , control passes to step 406 . if the run condition does not exist , a stop condition exists , and control passes to step 416 . at step 416 the sequence is stopped . at step 418 the display 268 displays the programming form ( table 5 ), with the display 268 cursor at the active line of the tracking sequence , when the stop occurred 420 . control passes to step 304 of fig1 . the details of the sequence simulation portion of the application program are illustrated in fig1 . referring to fig1 , at step 422 , a check is made to see if the light controller 42 is connected to the pc serial interface port 274 . if the controller is connected , control passes to step 424 . if the controller is not connected , control passes to step 304 in fig1 . at step 424 a check is made to see if the user has selected a download command . if a download command is selected , control passes to step 426 . if a download command is not selected , control passes to step 434 . at step 426 a check is made to see if the user has specified a partial list of sequence numbers . if a partial list of sequence numbers has been specified , control passes to step 432 . if a partial list of sequences has not been specified , control passes to step 428 . at step 428 a check is made to see if the user has specified the switch map portion of the data file . if the switch map portion has been selected , control passes to step 432 . if the switch map portion has not been selected , control passes to step 430 . at step 432 the specified portions of the data file are transferred to the light controller 42 . at step 430 the total data file is transferred to the light controller 42 and control passes to step 438 . at step 434 a check is made to see if the user has specified the switch map command . if a switch map command is specified , control passes to step 436 . if a switch map command is not specified , control passes to step 438 . at step 436 the application program requests the controller for the current switch map data , stored in the non volatile memory 100 , and displays the map information on the display 268 . at step 438 a check is made to see if the controller interface operation is complete . if the controller interface operation is complete , control passes to step 304 of fig1 . if the controller interface operation in not complete , control passes to step 424 . fig1 shows the light controller 42 , with the add - on prover booster device 450 . the purpose of the power booster device 450 is to increase the individual circuit power capability of the light controller 42 . the total output power capability of the light controller 42 is limited either by the rating of the internal circuit breaker 56 or the power capability of the ac power circuit 64 , which supplies power to the ac receptacle 54 via the controller power plug 50 and cord 52 . the power capability of each of the individual ac receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 of the light controller 42 is designed to not exceed the rating of the internal circuit breaker 58 . referring to fig1 , the power booster device 450 contains an ac plug 452 , and cord 454 which can be connected to any of the ac output receptacles 64 . 1 thru 64 . 8 of the light controller 42 . the power booster device 450 also contains a second ac plug 458 and cord 456 , which can be connected to a second ac receptacle 54 , which receives power from a separate ac power circuit 466 , and serves as the power source for the power booster 450 and the associated lighting load 68 . 1 . the ac power circuits 464 , 466 , and 468 could be one circuit , dependent on the current rating of the user ac power circuits . the power booster 450 can be installed on a single or multiple output circuits of the light controller 42 , which allows the light controller individual circuit power capability to be increased beyond that determined by the circuit breaker 56 . with the power booster installed , the power capability of an individual circuit is limited either by the power booster internal circuit breaker 460 or by the power capability of the ac power circuit 466 . fig1 contains a detailed block diagram of the power booster device 450 . the power booster device contains an ac plug 452 and ac power cord 454 , which can be connected to any of the light controller ac output receptacles 64 . this connection serves as the trigger signal from the light controller 42 to the power booster device 450 , and signals the power booster device 450 when to turn on . the power booster device 450 also contains a second ac plug 458 and ac power cord 456 , which can be connected to a ac receptacle 54 , and serves as the power source for the power booster device 450 and the associated lighting load 68 . circuit breaker 460 provides the main overcurrent protection means for the power booster device 450 and is connected in series with the power switch 470 , which is in series with the ac power circuit , which is connected to the ac output receptacle 462 . the power on indicator 484 provides a visual indication that power is applied to the power booster device 450 . the power on / off switch 470 interrupts both the main power source and also the trigger source . the power booster device 450 contains an ac full wave rectifier bridge 478 , which rectifies the ac trigger source signal and applies it to an opto isolated trigger circuit 474 and led indicator 476 , which provides a visible indication of the presence of a trigger signal . inside the power booster enclosure 482 , the trigger signal from the light controller 42 , passes through the ac rectifier 478 , and triggers the opto isolated trigger circuit 474 , which causes the ac switch 472 to turn on . the power booster electronics , consisting of switch 472 , circuit 474 , and rectifier 478 are contained on a printed circuit board 480 . when the ac switch 472 is turned on , power is applied to the ac lighting load 68 via the output ac receptacle 462 . the present light controller 42 is not limited by a particular type of microprocessor and other components , the number of ac output circuits , the number of parallel sequences operating simultaneously , the number or size of the programmable sequences , the size of the non volatile memory , the number of positions on the sequence select switch , the power capability of the individual output circuits , the type or method of ac output connection , or the type and style of the enclosure . the power booster device 450 of the present invention is not limited by the type of components , the type or method of the trigger connection , the number of ac output circuits contained within a single device , the power capability of the device , the type or method of ac output connection , or the type and style of the enclosure . whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	7
theoretical considerations and underlying principles of operation of the invention may be found by reference to m . j . noble et al , “ calculation of threshold gain for oxide - apertured vcsels via the weighted index method with parasitic mode loss ,” ieee journal of quantum electronics ( to be submitted in september 1999 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ overview of air force in - house vcsel modeling work ,” ieee summer topical meetings : vertical - cavity lasers , san diego , calif . ( jul . 28 - 30 , 1999 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ microcavity surface - emitting laser simulation using vector finite elements ,” dod hpcmp users group conference proceedings , monterey , calif . ( jun . 7 - 10 , 1999 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ comparison of optical analysis methods for oxide - apertured vcsels ,” proceedings of the spie , 3625 - 41 , in physics and simulation of optoelectronic devices vii , san jose , calif . ( jan . 25 - 29 , 1999 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ semi - analytic calculation of diffraction losses and threshold currents in microcavity vcsels ,” ieee lasers and electro - optics society 1998 annual meeting in leos &# 39 ; 98 conference proceedings , orlando , fla . ( dec . 1 - 4 1998 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ quasi - exact optical analysis of oxide - apertured microcavity vcsels using vector finite elements ,” ieee journal of quantum electronics , vol 34 , no 12 , ( december 1998 ) 2327 - 2339 ; to m . j . noble et al , “ analysis of microcavity vcsel lasing modes using a full - vector weighted index method ,” ieee journal of quantum electronics , vol 34 , no 10 , ( october 1998 ) 1890 - 1903 ; to j . a . lott et al , “ measurement of resonant - mode blueshifts in quantum dot vertical cavity surface emitting lasers ,” proceedings of the spie , 3419 - 32 , in optoelectronic materials and devices , taipei , taiwan ( jul . 9 - 11 , 1998 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ calculation and measurement of resonant - mode blueshifts in oxide - apertured vcsels ,” ieee photonics technology letters , vol 10 , no 4 , ( april 1998 ) 475 - 477 ; to j . p . loehr et al , “ effects of native oxides and optical confinement on microcavity vcsel spontaneous emission ,” proceedings of the spie , 3283 - 91 , in physics and simulation of optoelectronics devices vi , san jose , calif . ( jan . 26 - 30 , 1998 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ calculation of microcavity vcsel field modes using a doubly iterative weighted index method ,” proceedings of the spie , 2994 - 25 , in physics and simulation of optoelectronics devices v , san jose , calif . ( feb . 8 - 14 , 1997 ); to m . j . noble et al , “ design of low - threshold , single - transverse mode vcslls using the transverse confinement optical mode separation ,” osa trends in optics and photonics , vol 15 advances in vertical cavity surface emitting lasers , c . chang - hasnain , ed . ( 1997 ) the entire teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein . referring now to the drawings , fig1 is a schematic diagram in axial section of an example vcsel 10 , and fig2 is a schematic diagram in axial section of an example microlaser 20 . the vcsel 10 may be prepared by conventional vapor deposition processes , including semiconductor epitaxial growth techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy , metal - organic vapor - phase epitaxy , or other conventional processes as would occur to the skilled artisan . on substrate 11 , preferably comprising gaas or other suitable substrate material , quarter - wave thick layers 12 of al x ga 1 − x as and al y ga 1 − y as ( x not equal to y ) are deposited in order to form a lower distributed bragg reflector ( dbr ) mirror 13 . an optical cavity 14 , roughly an integral number of half - emission - wavelengths long , with the active / gain region of in 0 . 2 ga 0 . 8 as is deposited next . the second ( upper ) dbr mirror 15 is then applied as suggested in fig1 . this dbr may be made of semiconductor material , in which case the growth is similar to the lower dbr , or of dielectrics such as znse , mgf , or caf . if a dielectric top dbr is employed , the dielectrics are deposited , following the epitaxial growth of the optical cavity 14 , using standard thin - film deposition techniques . these layers form the resonant cavity ( or z - axis waveguide ) of the vcsel 10 . the microlaser is prepared similar to the vcsel with a few significant exceptions . using standard semiconductor epitaxial growth techniques , a lower dbr 22 of ( intrinsic ) gaas / alas is deposited on a gaas substrate 21 . the alas layers are designed such that , when fully oxidized such that the layer becomes a native aluminum oxide ( alo ), the layer is a quarter - wave thick . on top of the bottom dbr is grown an n +- type gaas contact layer 23 , followed by a half - emission - wavelength long optical cavity with in 0 . 2 ga 0 . 8 as active / gain region 24 , and a p +- type gaas contact layer 25 . within the half - wave cavity are included two al 0 . 97 ga 0 . 03 as layers , one above and one below the gain region , which , when oxidized , will form circular current and optical waveguiding apertures . following the p +- type gaas contact layer , an intrinsic upper gaas / alas dbr 26 is deposited analogous to the lower dbr . alternately , post - growth deposited dielectric dbrs may be substituted for one or both of the gaas / alo dbrs . these dielectric dbrs are similar to the one described in the previous paragraph . in either case , the important requirement is that both the bottom and top dbrs be formed from high - index - contrast material pairs with at least a two - to - one difference in index of refraction . the example structures discussed so far are designed for a peak emission wavelength of 0 . 98 micrometers . similar structures designed for emission at wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared are also possible by judicious selection of semiconductor and other materials . the next step in both the vcsel and microlaser fabrication is to define the device &# 39 ; s lateral ( x and y ) extent by means of conventional microelectronic processing techniques and native oxidation . fabrication of vcsels currently involves wet or plasma etching of mesas and use of native aluminum oxide layers to define a current aperture . the current aperture is generally 4 microns or larger in diameter , corresponding to roughly 12 times the emission wavelength . the microlaser is formed by using reactive ion etching to etch through the top dbr , the cavity , and the bottom dbr , down to the substrate , to form a large diameter (& gt ; 6 microns in diameter ) mesa . the exact mesa diameter is determined by the oxidation rates of the alas and al 0 . 97 ga 0 . 03 as layers . the mesa is then exposed to steam to oxidize the alas and al 0 . 97 ga 0 . 03 as layers . since the two materials oxidize at different rates , the alas layers are completely oxidized , while the al 0 . 97 ga 0 . 03 as layers are incompletely oxidized to form a circular current aperture of roughly one micron in radius , corresponding to a rectangular aperture with side length roughly five times the emission wavelength . referring now to fig3 shown therein is a schematic diagram of a representative microlaser structure 30 of the invention . the structure is grown on a gaas substrate 31 and consists of a 6 . 5 - pair gaas / alo bottom dbr 32 and a 5 - pair gaas / alo top dbr 33 surrounding a nominally half - wave cavity 34 . between cavity 34 and top dbr 33 is a quarter - wave thick p +- type gaas contact layer 35 , and between bottom dbr 32 and cavity 34 is a quarter - wave thick n +- type gaas contact layer 36 . the half - wave cavity 34 consists of a 108 angstrom layer of al 0 . 9 ga 0 . 1 as followed by a 396 angstrom layer of al 0 . 97 ga 0 . 03 as , a 100 angstrom layer of al 0 . 67 ga 0 . 33 as , a 100 angstrom gaas layer , and culminating in an 80 angstrom layer of quantum dots ( gain region 37 ). cavity 34 is symmetric about the quantum dot layer region 37 . the dots are designed to emit at the blueshifted resonance , which for a 1 . 0 - micron radius oxide aperture is 973 nanometers . fig4 is a plot of calculated emission wavelength versus oxide aperture radius for the fundamental lasing mode ( lp 01 ) and the first higher - order mode ( lp 11 ) of the microcavity surface - emitting laser structure of the invention , and fig5 is a plot of calculated threshold material gain versus oxide aperture radius for lp 01 and lp 11 . the peak emission wavelength blueshifts as the radius of the oxide aperture is decreased . furthermore , the fundamental and higher - order modes blueshift at a different rate — the higher the mode order , the larger the blueshift . this effect may be exploited to promote single - mode lasing , by employing a gain material with a narrow gain spectrum centered on the fundamental mode resonance . such a gain spectrum can be achieved using uniform layers of quantum dots . this approach is in contrast to the more traditional technique of introducing mode selective losses such that the fundamental lasing mode threshold is much smaller than the higher order modes . this traditional technique is not possible within a microlaser because the fundamental and higher - order mode thresholds are nearly equal . fig6 is a plot of calculated light output versus current input for the microcavity surface - emitting laser structure of the invention with a one micron radius oxide aperture above and below the gain region , built in demonstration of the invention . the threshold current is approximately 1 microamp and the spontaneous emission coupling factor — the percentage of spontaneously emitted photons coupling into the lasing mode — is approximately 0 . 119 . the gain region is tuned to peak at 973 nanometers . the closest higher - order mode is resonant at 943 . 6 nanometers , which is over 29 nanometers away from the fundamental mode resonance . a gain profile peaked at 973 and negligible at 944 may be obtained using uniform quantum dots . note that this spectral separation is the only way to achieve single mode lasing since the threshold gains ( fig5 ) of the fundamental and higher - order modes are nearly equal . the entire teachings of all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference herein . the invention therefore provides an improved microcavity surface emitting laser structure . it is understood that modifications to the invention may be made as might occur to one with skill in the field of the invention within the scope of the appended claims . all embodiments contemplated hereunder which achieve the objects of the invention have therefore not been shown in complete detail . other embodiments may be developed without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims .	7
an embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows a high - frequency relay according to this embodiment . the high - frequency relay is mainly arranged as follows . that is , a ground plate 2 , movable blocks 3 and an electromagnetic block 4 are mounted on a base block 1 , and covered with a casing 5 . the base block 1 has a substantially rectangular plate - like shape as shown in fig2 a - 2b and fig3 a - 3c , which is obtained by insert - molding of fixed terminals 6 a , 6 b and 6 c . each of the fixed terminals 6 a , 6 b and 6 c is obtained by bending a conductive plate - like piece substantially at a right angle , and constituted by a fixed contact portion 7 and a foot portion 8 . two fixed contacts 7 c are provided in the fixed contact portion 7 of the fixed terminal 6 c ( common terminal ) disposed in the central portion of the base block 1 . one fixed contact 7 a , 7 b is provided in the fixed contact portion 7 of the fixed terminal 6 a , 6 b ( terminal a , b ) disposed on either end portion of the base block 1 . guide walls 9 are provided erectly on the top surfaces of the opposite end portions of the base block 1 . in each of the guide walls 9 ( end surface side ), a substantially u - shaped retention portion 10 is formed so that an iron core 39 which will be described later can be fixed thereto by caulking narrow portions 11 on the top of the retention portion 10 . engagement recess portions 12 are formed on the opposite sides of the retention portion 10 . each engagement recess portion 12 has a retention recess portion 13 in its central portion . in addition , the inner and outer surfaces of each guide wall 9 ( side surface side ) are formed stepwise . recess portions 15 each surrounded by a protruding strip portion 14 are formed in the upper surface of the base block 1 . the ground plate 2 is mounted on the protruding strip portion 14 . the height of the protruding strip portion 14 is limited in a plurality of places so that air layers 16 ( see fig3 b ) can be formed between the protruding strip portion 14 and the ground plate 2 to be mounted thereon . in addition , projections 17 are formed at four places in the protruding strip portion 14 so as to serve to fix the ground plate 2 . in addition , a seal groove 18 is formed in the protruding strip portion 14 so as to prevent seal agent from invading the inside at the time of sealing work which will be described later . in addition , bridging portions 19 are formed in the protruding strip portion 14 so as to prevent the thin fixed terminals 6 a , 6 b and 6 c ( the plate thickness used here is about 0 . 18 mm ) from being deformed when the contacts are switched on / off . each of the bridging portions 19 is made as narrow as possible but wide enough to allow resin to flow at the time of insert - molding . thus , the bridging portions 19 are designed so that the fixed terminals 6 a , 6 b and 6 c are prevented from floating when the contacts are switched on / off while the exposed area of each fixed terminal 6 a , 6 b , 6 c is made maximal . the opposite end portions and the central portion of the recess portions 15 project upward so as to form seat portions 20 . the fixed contact portions 7 of the fixed terminals 6 are exposed over the seat portions 20 respectively . in each seat portion 20 , not only the top surface of the fixed contact portion 7 but also its edge portion 7 d are exposed . in addition , lock guard portions 21 for positioning a return spring 100 are formed in each recess portion 15 . in each return spring 100 , an elastic tongue portion 23 is formed in a rectangular frame portion 22 by press working out of a plate - like spring material as shown in fig4 . lock portions 24 are provided to extend from the opposite sides at one end of the rectangular frame portion 22 . the base portion of the elastic tongue portion 23 is supported on the rectangular frame portion 22 through a bent portion 25 , while the elastic tongue portion 23 is made easy to deform elastically due to the function of a depressed portion 26 formed in the rectangular frame portion 22 . in addition , a displacement prevention stopper portion 27 is formed in the forward end of the elastic tongue piece 23 . each return spring 100 is disposed in the recess portion 15 of the base block 1 with the lock portions 24 being locked in the lock guard portions 21 of the base block 1 . thus , when the forward end of the elastic tongue piece 23 is pressed , the return spring 100 is elastically deformed not only in the elastic tongue piece 23 but also over a wide range from the base portion of the elastic tongue piece 23 to the lock portions 24 of the rectangular frame portion 22 . accordingly , a desired weak elastic force can be obtained in accordance with a predetermined displacement of the return spring 100 even in a narrow space limited within the recess portion 15 of the base block 1 . a part of each guide wall 9 extends to each side surface of the base block 1 as described above . at one side edge , the guide wall 9 sinks in all the area but the central portion and the opposite end portions thereof . at the other side edge , the guide wall 9 sinks at four places between the central portion and the opposite end portions . then , a shield piece 33 of the ground plate 2 which will be described later is disposed in each sinking position . in the bottom surface of the base block 1 , as shown in fig3 c , the central portion and the outer edge portion thereof is cut off to reach a predetermined depth , and through holes 1 a , 1 b and 1 c are formed to penetrate the centers of the seat portions 20 where the fixed contact portions 7 of the fixed terminals 6 should be placed , respectively . thus , the fixed terminals 6 can be supported directly by a mold at the time of insert - molding , so that the fixed terminals 6 can be prevented from being displaced . incidentally , a recess portion 1 d is provided for a gate used for injection - molding of the base block 1 so that the mark of the gate is prevented from projecting over the bottom surface . as shown in fig5 , the ground plate 2 is obtained by pressing working out of a conductive plate - like product and rectangular holes 28 are formed respectively on the opposite sides of the ground plate 2 . contact portions 29 are formed on the opposite sides of each rectangular hole 28 so as to project from the lower surface of the ground plate 2 , respectively . reinforcing ribs 30 are formed on the opposite side portions of the ground plate 2 so as to bulge upward respectively . mounting holes 31 are formed near the opposite ends of each reinforcing rib 30 . in addition , foot portions 32 are provided to extend from four places at one side edge of the ground plate 2 and from two places at the other side edge of the ground plate 2 . a wide shield piece 33 is formed in the base portion of each foot portion 32 . in each movable block 3 , as shown in fig6 a - 6c , a support portion 35 made of synthetic resin is integrated with a central portion of a movable contact piece 34 made of a conductive plate material . an escape groove 36 is formed in the central portion of the upper surface of the support portion 35 in the direction in which the movable contact piece 34 extends . a protruding strip 37 is formed in the central portion on each of opposite sides of the escape groove 36 . the escape groove 36 is provided to prevent the mark of a not - shown gate from projecting over the upper surface of the support portion 35 . a pair of protrusion portions 38 are formed in the lower surface of the support portion 35 so that the displacement prevention stopper portion 27 of the return spring 100 is locked . the movable block 3 moves up and down with the support portion 35 being disposed in the rectangular hole 28 of the ground plate 2 . the opposite end portions of the movable contact piece 34 are brought into contact with the contact portions 29 of the ground plate 2 in the upper motion position where the movable block 3 is urged by the return spring 100 . on the other hand , the opposite end portions of the movable contact piece 34 are closed on the fixed contacts 7 a and 7 c or 7 b and 7 c in the lower motion position . in the electromagnetic block 4 , as shown in fig7 a and 7b , a coil 41 is wound around an iron core 39 through a spool 40 . the iron core 39 is made from a magnetic plate material bent . the opposite end portions of the iron core 39 are positioned in the retention portions 10 of the base block 1 , and the narrow portions 11 of the retention portions 10 are thermally caulked . thus , the electromagnetic block 4 is fixed to the base block 1 . the spool 40 is constituted by a chassis portion 42 ( see fig1 ) covering the intermediate portion of the iron core 39 , and guide portions 43 a , 43 b and 43 c formed in the opposite ends and the center of the chassis portion 42 respectively . each of the guide portions 43 a and 43 b in the opposite ends is constituted by a collar portion 44 and a thick portion 45 provided to extend from the collar portion 44 . a groove portion 44 a is formed in the collar portion 44 so as to serve to guide the coil 41 when the coil 41 is wound by an automatic winding machine . a recess portion 45 a is formed along the collar portion 44 in the thick portion 45 , and an insulating wall 46 is formed in the vicinity of the recess portion 45 a . a coil terminal 47 is pressed into the thick portion 45 . the recess portion 45 a serves to reduce the usage of resin and prevent the resin from being deformed after molding , and to chuck the coil 41 when the coil 41 is wound around the chassis portion 42 . the insulating wall 46 insulates adjacent coil terminals 47 from each other ( although one coil terminal 47 is pressed into each thick portion 45 in this embodiment , two coil terminals may be pressed into the thick portion 45 in another form , and on such an occasion , insulation of those coil terminals 47 from each other can be secured by the insulating wall 46 ). an escape portion 48 is formed in the end surface of each thick portion 45 so as to secure a space where resin can extend when the narrow portions 11 of the base block 1 are thermally caulked . in addition , one end portion of the iron core 39 is exposed between the opposite inner surfaces of each thick portion 45 , and slopes 45 b are formed in the upper portions of the opposite inner surfaces of the thick portion 45 so as to be estranged from each other gradually as they go upward . the slopes 45 b are provided to increase the strength of a molding mold . further , engagement protrusion portions 49 for engaging with the engagement recess portions 12 of the base block 1 are formed in the lower surfaces of the thick portions 45 respectively . guide grooves 50 ( 0 . 3 mm wide here ) extend vertically in the opposite side surfaces of the central guide portion 43 c . an escape recess portion 51 is formed on the upper side of each guide groove 50 , while an adjusting recess portion 52 is formed on the lower side of each guide groove 50 . the recess portions 51 and 52 are provided for making it possible to work a mold for molding the narrow guide grooves 50 . particularly , the adjusting recess portion 52 also has a function for elastically deforming and adjusting a foot portion 60 of a push - in spring 57 which will be described later . in addition , guide protrusion portions 53 for laying the coil 41 between the pieces of the chassis portion 42 separated by the central guide portion 43 c are formed at four places in the upper surface of the central guide portion 43 c . further , a recess portion 43 d ( see fig1 ) is formed in the lower surface of the central guide portion 43 c , and a permanent magnet 101 is disposed in the recess portion 43 d . the permanent magnet 101 has different polarities in its upper and lower surfaces , and the upper surface thereof is in contact with the iron core 39 . the coil 41 is wound on the coil terminal 47 whose one end portion is pressed into the guide portion 43 a . the coil 41 is inserted into the groove portions 44 a formed in the collar portions 44 so as to be oriented . after the coil 41 is wound around the chassis portion 42 , the coil 41 is wound around the coil terminal 47 pressed into the guide portion 43 b . a movable iron piece 54 is disposed rotatably under the electromagnetic block 4 . as shown in fig9 a , the movable iron piece 54 is made from a magnetic plate material , and a protruding strip 55 is formed in the central portion of the movable iron piece 54 so as to extend widthwise . the protruding strip 55 is attracted to the lower surface of the permanent magnet 101 so as to allow the movable iron piece 54 to rotate around the protruding strip 55 . in addition , a magnetic shield plate 56 made from a non - magnetic material such as stainless steel is pasted onto the upper surface on one end side of the movable iron piece 54 . thus , the movable iron piece 54 is off magnetic balance between its opposite end portions as the movable iron piece 54 is rotatably supported on the permanent magnet 101 of the electromagnetic block 4 . thus , the one end side ( opposite to the magnetic shield plate 56 ) of the movable iron piece 54 is attracted to the iron core 39 . the push - in spring 57 is fixed to the central portion of the lower surface of the movable iron piece 54 . as shown in fig9 b , the push - in spring 57 is obtained by press working out of a magnetic plate material . the push - in spring 57 is constituted by a fixed portion 58 fixed to the movable iron piece 54 , a drive portion 59 for driving the movable block 3 , and foot portions 60 supported in the guide grooves 50 of the electromagnetic block 4 . the fixed portion 58 has a rectangular shape to be fixed to the lower surface of the central portion of the movable iron piece 54 by spot welding or the like . the drive portion 59 has a frame - like shape extending from the central portion on each of opposite sides of the fixed portion 58 , formed around the fixed portion 58 and bent downward stepwise . adjustment portions 61 partially protruding from the movable iron piece 54 are formed on the opposite side portions of the drive portion 59 . a pressure portion 62 for pressing the protruding strip 37 formed in the support portion 35 of the movable block 3 is provided in the central portion at the forward end of each adjustment portion 61 . each of the foot portions 60 is bent upward from the central portion on either side of the drive portion 59 , so as to be located in the middle between the pressure portions 62 . an arcuate bent portion 63 is formed at the tip of each foot portion 60 . in addition , the foot portions 60 are guided by the guide grooves 50 formed in the central guide portion 43 c of the electromagnetic block 4 . incidentally , the push - in spring 57 to be fixed to the movable iron piece 54 may be of a type having no foot portion 60 , as shown in fig8 b . even such a push - in spring 57 having no foot portion 60 can be also supported easily ( see fig8 d ) if a support recess portion 102 is formed as shown in fig8 a in the adjusting recess portion 52 in the electromagnetic block 4 having the aforementioned configuration . as shown in fig1 , the casing 5 has a box - like shape whose lower surface is open , and a recess portion 64 for preventing the mark of the gate from projecting is formed in the central portion of the upper surface of the casing 5 . a vent hole 65 is formed in a corner portion of the upper surface of the casing 5 . in addition , in the edge portion of the opening in the lower surface of the casing 5 , standoffs 66 are provided in the central portions of the opposite ends so as to form a predetermined gap between the bottom surface of the base block 1 and a not - shown printed board when the high - frequency relay is mounted on the printed board after the high - frequency relay has been assembled . next , description will be made on the method for assembling the high - frequency relay . the return springs 100 are disposed in the recess portions 15 of the base block 1 in which the fixed terminals 6 have been insert - molded . each return spring 100 is disposed to be biased to one side with respect to the fixed contacts 7 a and 7 c or 7 b and 7 c located in the opposite ends of the return spring 100 in the state where the lock portions 24 are locked in the lock guard portions 21 . that is , an enough distance from the fixed contact portion 7 in the central portion is secured to guarantee the insulation performance . next , the movable blocks 3 and the ground plate 2 are mounted on the base block 1 sequentially . the projections 17 of the base block 1 inserted into the mounting holes 31 of the ground plate 2 are thermally caulked so that the ground plate 2 is fixed to the base block 1 . in this state , as shown in fig1 a and 10b , the displacement prevention stopper portion 27 formed in the elastic tongue piece 23 of each return spring 100 is engaged with the protrusion portions 38 of the support portion 35 while the side surfaces of the support portion 35 are guided by the rectangular holes 28 of the ground plate 2 . thus , each movable block 3 is urged upward in the state where the movable block 3 can be pushed in . as a result , the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of the movable contact piece 34 abut against the contact portions 29 of the ground plate 2 . on the other hand , the coil 41 is wound around the iron core 39 through the spool 40 , and the permanent magnet 101 is disposed in the recess portion 43 d . thus , the electromagnetic block 4 is formed . then , the push - in spring 57 is integrated with the central portion of the lower surface of the movable iron piece 54 and the foot portions 60 of the push - in spring 57 are inserted into the guide grooves 50 of the electromagnetic block 4 while the protruding strip 55 of the movable iron piece 54 is attracted to the lower surface of the permanent magnet 101 . thus , the movable iron piece 54 is disposed rotatably under the electromagnetic block 4 . in this state , the movable iron piece 54 is off magnetic balance due to the magnetic shield plate 56 pasted to one end portion of the movable iron piece 54 . accordingly , the movable iron piece 54 rotates clockwise in fig1 in accordance with the attraction of the permanent magnet 101 . next , the electromagnetic block 4 provided with the movable iron piece 54 and the push - in spring 57 is mounted on the base block 1 mounted with the return springs 100 , the movable blocks 3 and the ground plate 2 . the engagement protrusion portions 49 formed in the guide portions 43 a and 43 b of the electromagnetic block 4 respectively are engaged with the engagement recess portions 12 of the base block 1 respectively , and the narrow portions 11 are thermally caulked to retain the iron core 39 . thus , the electromagnetic block 4 is integrated with the base block 1 . as a result , the switching between the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of the movable contact piece 34 and the fixed contacts 7 a and 7 c or 7 b and 7 c of the fixed terminals 6 is located within the recess portion 15 surrounded by the ground plate 2 . the shield pieces 33 extending downward are formed at the side edges of the ground plate 2 . in addition , the air layer 16 is formed partially between the ground plate 2 and the protruding strip portion 14 forming the recess portions 15 . accordingly , the insulation performance in the contact on / off portion is so high that a high - frequency signal can be transmitted suitably . in addition , the sides of the area where the movable block 3 is pressed by the push - in spring 57 due to rotation of the movable iron piece 54 are opened . in this state , a current is once applied to the coil 41 through the coil terminals 47 so as to excite and demagnetize the electromagnetic block 4 . then , the condition of a signal conducted between the fixed terminals 6 a and 6 c or 6 b and 6 c , that is , the operating characteristic such as the on - off timing of the contacts or the contact pressure is examined . thus , it can be judged whether the movable iron piece 54 rotates suitably or not . when the operating condition is not suitable , the push - in spring 57 is deformed for adjustment . here , first , the adjustment portion 61 protruding widthwise relatively to the movable iron piece 54 is grasped directly from its sides , and deformed . when a desired operating condition cannot be obtained by the adjusting work using the adjustment portion 61 , another adjusting work is performed by grasping and deforming the foot portions 60 through the adjusting recess portions 52 formed in the side surfaces of the electromagnetic block 4 to thereby change an angle of the foot portion 60 with respect to the movable block 34 . thus , desired operating properties can be obtained surely . when the adjusting work is completed thus , the base block 1 is covered with the casing 5 , and the mating face in the bottom surface of the casing 5 is sealed . in the sealing work , seal agent may invade the inside . however , since the seal groove 18 is formed in the base block 1 , there is no fear that the seal agent reaches the drive parts of the movable blocks 3 , the fixed contact portions 7 , or the like . next , description will be made on the operation of the high - frequency relay . the high - frequency relay formed as described above is in use mounted on a printed board ( not - shown ) having a ground pattern formed therein . as a result , the contact on - off mechanism can be placed within an area enclosed by the ground plate 2 and the ground pattern of the printed board . thus , the insulation performance can be enhanced further . the movable iron piece 54 is off magnetic balance due to the magnetic shield plate 56 before a voltage is applied between the coil terminals 47 . thus , the movable iron piece 54 rotates clockwise around the protruding strip 55 in fig1 in accordance with the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 101 . accordingly , one of the movable blocks 3 is pushed down by the pressure portion 62 of the push - in spring 57 so that the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of its movable contact piece 34 are closed on the fixed contacts 7 a and 7 c respectively . thus , continuity is secured between the fixed terminals 6 a and 6 c . the other movable block 3 is pushed up by the return spring 100 so that the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of its movable contact piece 34 are brought into contact with the contact portions 29 of the ground plate 2 ( initial position ). here , when a voltage is applied between the coil terminals 47 so as to excite the electromagnetic block 4 , the movable iron piece 54 is attracted thereto in its end portion distant from the iron core 39 . thus , the movable iron piece 54 rotates counterclockwise around the protruding strip 55 in fig1 . when the movable iron piece 54 is rotating , the movable iron piece 54 receives only a weak elastic force caused by elastic deformation in the foot portions 60 of the push - in spring 57 fixed to the lower surface of the movable iron piece 54 , particularly in a wide range reaching the bent portions 63 at the tips of the foot portions 60 in contact with the side surfaces forming the guide grooves 50 . thus , the movable iron piece 54 rotates smoothly . with this rotation , the push - in spring 57 pushes down the movable block 3 against the urging force of the return spring 100 . the push - in spring 57 and the return spring 100 are disposed in substantially symmetrical positions with respect to the contact on - off position so as to cancel components other than vertical components , that is , horizontal components . thus , most of force acting on the movable block 3 works only vertically . in addition , the return spring 100 elastically deforms not only the elastic tongue piece 23 but also a part of the rectangular frame . therefore , the return spring 100 is displaced even by push - in force not so strong . thus , the movable block 3 moves down smoothly so as to close the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of the movable contact piece 34 with the fixed contacts 7 b and 7 c respectively , and thereby make continuity between the fixed terminals 6 b and 6 c . not only is the upper surface of each fixed contact portion 7 exposed , but the edge portion thereof is also exposed due to the existence of the seat portion 20 . thus , the contact area with the air increases . as a result , the insulation performance is so high that it is difficult to leak any signal . on the other hand , the movable block 3 released from the push - in force by the rotation of the movable iron piece 54 moves up due to the elastic force of the return spring 100 so as to separate the opposite end portions ( movable contacts ) of the movable contact piece from the fixed contacts 7 a and 7 c respectively , and thereby break the continuity between the fixed terminals 6 a and 6 c . then , the opposite end portions of the movable contact piece 34 of the movable block 3 moving up are brought into contact with the contact portions 29 of the ground plate 2 so as to be grounded . thus , any high - frequency signal is surely prevented from leaking . when the voltage applied between the coil terminals 47 is eliminated , the movable iron piece 54 rotates clockwise in fig1 in accordance with the elastic force of the push - in spring 57 , the elastic force of the return spring 100 , the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 101 weakened on only one end side of the movable iron piece 54 due to the magnetic shield plate 56 , and the like . thus , the movable iron piece 54 returns to the initial position . incidentally , description in this embodiment has been made on a so - called self - reset type relay in which the magnetic shield plate 56 is provided in the movable iron piece 54 so as to change over the contact on - off position between the case where a current is applied to the coil 41 and the case where no current is applied thereto . however , the invention may be configured as follows . that is , the invention may be applied to a so - called self - holding type relay in which the magnetic shield plate 56 is not provided , but the direction in which a current is applied to the coil 41 is changed to thereby change the polarities in the end portions of the iron core 39 so as to change over the contact on - off position . alternatively , coil terminals 47 may be provided at three places . in this case , one of the coil terminals 47 is used as a common coil terminal , and two coils different in winding direction are provided . the winding direction of a coil connecting the common coil terminal with one of the rest two coil terminals is made different from the winding direction of a coil connecting the common coil terminal with the other . thus , a current is applied between the common coil terminal and a selected one of the coil terminals so that the movable iron piece 54 can rotate . as is apparent from the above description , according to the invention , a push - in spring provided in a movable iron piece is designed to include foot portions each extending substantially perpendicularly to a movable block wherein an extending direction of the foot portion can be adjusted . thus , only by deforming each foot portion to thereby change the angle of the foot portion with respect to the movable block , the elastic force acting on the movable iron piece can be adjusted easily so that the rate of occurrence of defective products can be reduced while desired operation properties can be obtained easily .	7
referring to fig1 to 4 , an optoelectronic transmission device 200 , according to a first embodiment , includes a base 20 , an optical fiber carrier 30 , a fastener 40 , a reflector 50 , four optical fibers 60 , two optical signal sources 70 , two light detectors 80 , a processing unit 90 , a solar cell unit 100 , and a power storage unit 102 . the base 20 may be a printed circuit board . the optical signal sources 70 , the light detectors 80 , the processing unit 90 , the solar cell unit 100 , and the power storage unit 102 are positioned on the base 20 and electrically connected to the base 20 . the optical fiber carrier 30 includes a body 31 , and two supports 32 . the body 31 is substantially a cuboid and includes a first surface 310 , a second surface 312 and a top surface 313 . the top surface 313 connects the first surface 310 and the second surface 312 . the first surface 310 and the second surface 312 are at opposite sides of the body 31 . two fastening recesses 314 and four fiber receiving grooves 315 are defined in the top surface 313 and extend from the first surface 310 to the second surface 312 . four through holes 316 are defined from the first surface 310 to the second surface 312 and are in communication with the four fiber receiving grooves 315 respectively . the fiber receiving grooves 315 are arranged between the two fastening recesses 314 and support the four optical fibers 60 respectively . the two supports 32 extend from the second surface 312 along a direction away from the first surface 310 . the four through holes 316 are positioned between the two supports 32 . each support 32 is substantially l - shaped . two positioning holes 317 are defined in the second surface 312 . each of the positioning holes 317 is between a corresponding support 32 and the through holes 316 on the second surface 312 . the fastener 40 includes a bottom plate 41 , a first side plate 42 and a second side plate 43 . the first side plate 42 and the second side plate 43 extend from the bottom plate 41 and are substantially parallel to each other . the bottom plate 41 , the first side plate 42 and the second side plate 43 cooperatively form a receiving space 44 for receiving the optical fiber carrier 30 . a first tab 45 extends from one end of the first side plate 42 towards the second side plate 43 . a first hook 47 extends from another end of the first side plate 42 towards the second side plate 43 . a second tab 46 extends from one end of the second side plate 43 towards the first side plate 42 . a second hook 48 extends from another end of the second side plate 43 towards the first side plate 42 . a first guiding arm 49 extends from the first side plate 42 towards the second side plate 43 between the first tab 45 and the first hook 47 . a second guiding arm 49 a extends from the second side plate 43 towards the first side plate 42 between the second tab 46 and the second hook 48 . the first tab 45 corresponds to the second tab 46 . the first hook 47 corresponds to the second hook 48 . the first guiding arm 49 corresponds to the second guiding arm 49 a . the first guiding arm 49 and the seconding guiding arm 49 a are received in the respective fastening recesses 314 . the first tab 45 and the second tab 46 abut against the body 31 of the carrier 30 . the reflector 50 includes a third surface 51 , a reflector top surface 52 , a fourth surface 53 , a reflector bottom surface 54 , a first side surface 55 and a second side surface 56 . the third surface 51 , the first side surface 55 , the fourth surface 53 and the second side surface 56 are connected end - to - end to each other . the reflector top surface 52 and the reflector bottom surface 54 are connected to the third surface 51 , the first side surface 55 , the fourth surface 53 and the second side surface 56 . the third surface 51 is substantially parallel to the fourth surface 53 . two positioning posts 57 extend from the third surface 51 towards the second surface 312 . each positioning post 57 is securely received in the corresponding positioning hole 317 . two wings 58 extend from the first side surface 55 and the second side surface 56 respectively . each wing 58 includes a front portion 581 and a rear portion 582 . a thickness of the front portion 581 , measured from the reflector bottom surface 54 to the reflector top surface 52 , is smaller than that of the rear portion 582 , measured from the reflector bottom surface 54 to the reflector top surface 52 . the front portion 581 is supported on the corresponding support 32 . the rear portion 582 includes a protrusion 583 at one end of the rear portion 582 adjacent to the fourth surface 53 . the protrusion 583 is engaged in the corresponding hook 47 ( 48 ). therefore , the fastener 40 can secure the carrier 30 and the reflector 50 in place together . a first recess 520 and a second recess 522 are defined in the reflector top surface 52 in that order from the third surface 51 and the fourth surface 53 . the reflector 50 includes a first reflective surface 524 in the first recess 520 and a second reflective surface 526 in the second recess 522 . the first reflective surface 524 is substantially parallel to the reflective surface 526 . the first recess 520 and the second recess 522 are substantially elongated . the first reflective surface 524 includes a transflective portion 541 ( see fig3 ) and a internally - totally reflective portion 542 ( see fig4 ). the transflective portion 541 is capable of reflecting a first part of light and allowing a second part of the light to pass therethrough . the transflective portion 541 can be achieved by forming an optical film using physical vapor deposition or electron - beam gun evaporation on a corresponding portion of the first reflective surface 524 in the first recess 520 . the internally - totally reflective portion 542 is capable of internally totally reflecting light impacting on the totally reflective portion 542 . the internally - totally reflective portion 542 can be achieved by forming another optical film using physical vapor deposition or electron - beam gun evaporation on another corresponding portion of the first reflective surface 524 in the first recess 520 . the second reflective surface 526 is capable of internally - totally reflecting light impacting on the second reflective surface 526 . the optical signal sources 70 and the light detectors 80 are arranged along a longitudinal direction of the first recess 520 on the base 20 and correspond to the first reflective surface 524 . specifically , the optical signal sources 70 correspond to the internally - totally reflective portion 542 . the light detectors 80 correspond to the transflective portion 541 . the light detectors 80 and the solar cell unit 100 are positioned on the base 20 in that order from the third surface 51 to the fourth surface 53 . a third recess 527 is defined in the reflector bottom surface 54 and corresponds to the first recess 520 and the second recess 522 . the optical signal sources 70 , the light detectors 80 , the processing unit 90 , and the solar cell unit 100 are received in the third recess 527 . four lenses 701 are formed on the reflector bottom surface 54 in the third recess 527 . the four lenses 701 are corresponding to the two optical signal sources 70 and the light detectors 80 . the first reflective surface 524 , the lens 701 and the optical signal source 70 / the light detector 80 are arranged along a light path associated with the optical signal source 70 / the light detector 80 . the four optical fibers 60 are received in the receiving grooves 315 , respectively . inclined angles of the first reflective surface 524 and the second reflective surface 526 are about 45 degrees with respective to the optical fiber 60 in the receiving groove 315 . two of the optical fibers 60 are configured to output first light ( optical signals ) emitted from the optical signal sources 70 and another two of the optical fibers 60 are configured to transmit second light ( optical signals ) to the light detectors 80 . two of the lenses 701 are configured to direct the first light into the two of the optical fibers 60 from the optical signal sources 70 . another two of the lenses 701 are configured to direct a first part of the second light into the light detectors 80 from the another two of the optical fibers 60 . the light detectors 80 are configured to convert the first part of the second light into electrical signals . the second light may have a wavelength of about 850 nm . the processing unit 90 is electrically connected to the optical signal sources 70 and the light detectors 80 . the processing unit 90 is configured to control the optical signal sources 70 to emit the first light and receive the electrical signals from the light detectors 80 . the electrical signals can be used for data / instructions transmission . the solar cell unit 100 is positioned correspondingly to the second reflective surface 526 and is electrically connected to the power storage unit 102 . in this embodiment , the solar cell unit 100 is comprised of gaas . the solar cell unit 100 is configured to receive light reflected by the second reflective surface 526 and covert the light into electrical energy . the power storage unit 102 stores the electrical energy . the processing unit 90 , the light detectors 80 and the optical signal sources 70 are electrically connected to the power storage unit 102 . the power storage unit 102 can power the processing unit 90 , the light detectors 80 and the optical signal sources 70 , if needed . when in use , the processing unit 90 controls the optical signal sources 70 to emit the first light . the first light is directed by the two of the lenses 701 into the internally - totally reflective portion 542 . the internally - totally reflective portion 542 totally reflects the first light into the two of the optical fibers 60 . the two of the optical fibers 60 transmit the first light to other devices . therefore , optical signals can be transmitted to other devices in light form . the another two of the optical fibers 60 transmit the second light from the other devices . the second light then impacts on the transflective portion 541 . the transflective portion 541 reflects a first part of the second light to the another two of the lenses 701 and allows a second part of the second light to pass therethrough toward the second reflective surface 526 . the another two of the lenses 701 directs the first part of the second light the light detectors 80 . the light detectors 80 convert the first part of the second light into electrical signals . the second reflective surface 526 internally totally reflects the second part of the second light to the solar cell unit 100 . the solar cell unit 100 convert the second part of the second light into electrical energy . the power storage unit 102 stores the electrical energy . referring to fig5 , an optoelectronic transmission device 400 , according to a second embodiment , is shown . the differences between the optoelectronic transmission device 400 and the optoelectronic transmission device 200 are that positions of light detectors 180 , a solar cell unit 110 and two of four lenses 702 differs . in this embodiment , the light detectors 180 correspond to a second reflective surface 726 of a reflector 150 . the second reflective surface 726 , the two of the lenses 702 and the light detectors 180 are arranged along a light path associated with the light detector 180 . the solar cell unit 110 is positioned correspondingly to a transflective portion 741 of the reflector 150 . the solar cell unit 110 and the light detectors 80 are positioned on a base 120 in that order from a third surface 71 to a fourth surface 73 of the reflector 150 . usages of the optoelectronic transmission device 400 of this embodiment are substantially the same as those of the optoelectronic transmission device 200 of the first embodiment . it is to be understood , however , that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed .	6
the gc / saw electronic nose system utilizes gas chromatography apparatus in conjunction with a saw detector , as described in my prior u . s . pat . no . 5 , 289 , 715 . operation consists of a vapor collection cycle followed by an injection and analysis cycle , corresponding to the two positions of a six - port valve . during the vapor collection cycle , fig1 the system collects condensable vapors from the air using an internal pump to pull ambient inlet air along path a , b , c through the sample trap . inlet air passes through the absorbent surfaces within the trap and condensable vapors are adsorbed in the trap . by varying the collection time the electronic nose is able to process and analyze vapor concentrations over a wide range . five to 10 seconds of collection time typically produces parts per billion ( ppb ) sensitivity for most volatile organic compounds , while only one or two seconds is required for concentrations in the high parts per million range , such as automobile exhaust . the injection and analysis cycle is initiated by moving the valve to the fig2 position so that high purity helium gas flows from helium supply he through the absorbent trap section and then as indicated by arrow d into a capillary tube called a gas chromatography or gc column . actual injection occurs when the absorbent trap is heated quickly by a short burst of electrical current , flowing for perhaps one or two milliseconds , which releases the adsorbed vapor materials that are then carried away by the helium carrier gas flow . the adsorbed material is swept into the capillary column in a single quick burst of a few milliseconds by the helium carrier gas to start an inject - and - analysis period . the analysis period is preferably about ten seconds , but the actual input into the gc column occurs within a very small portion of the 10 - second analysis period . the he gas then transports the desorbed vapor pulse to and through the downstream chromatography column . fig3 indicates in a general fashion the various time periods involved in the overall process . the main purpose of fig3 is to show that the time intervals between the adjacent data samples of the output signal are a very small portion of the analysis time period . the chromatography column consists of a short section of glass or metal capillary tubing approximately 0 . 25 millimeters in diameter . the internal surfaces of the capillary are coated with a bonded liquid phase compound with specific chemical properties which enable the short burst of desorbed vapors to spatially separate as they pass through the column . the column temperature is closely controlled to optimize separation of the individual analytes within the vapor burst . the solubility of a compound in this liquid phase determines the time required for an analyte to travel down the column . this characteristic time is called the retention time . typical retention time for a typical gc / saw electronic nose is 10 seconds , however , improved resolution and peak separation can be achieved by using lower column temperatures and longer retention times . as each analyte or compound exits the gc column it is detected by a surface acoustic wave ( saw ) vapor condensation sensor . analysis consists of monitoring the sensor signal as the materials sequentially exit the column . the saw sensor consists of a temperature controlled quartz crystal oscillator which produces a very stable and constant frequency . as material from the column condenses on the crystal the frequency is changed in direct proportion to the amount of material received . by comparing the retention time and frequency shift with that of known vapor standards , the gc is able to quantify the composition of the original vapor sample . the saw detector produces a variable frequency in response to analytes condensing upon and evaporating from the surface of a quartz crystal . the trace in fig4 displays the frequency histogram while the trace in fig5 displays the derivative of frequency ( column flux ) and produces the familiar peaks of chromatography . because the saw detector measures the integral of the chromatogram peaks , it is called an integrating detector . fig6 is a table showing how the data for the frequency histogram may be obtained using a microsoft - excel ® program . the frequency values in the third column of fig6 are plotted as a polar display in accordance with the present invention . an image is formed by transforming the time variable to a radial angle with the beginning and end of the analysis occurring at 0 ° or vertical . in addition to plotting each data point at a corresponding circumferential position , line are drawn between data points to produce a closed image of the detector frequency . although the example of fig6 shows the use of a microsoft - excel ® program , my currently preferred implementation is a microsoft visual basic ® program running on a pentium ® computer , with the mathematical conversion and display routines integrated with the hardware control program . a similar closed - image polar display is shown in fig8 for the derivative of frequency , which corresponds to the fourth column of the table of fig6 . according to the present invention a polar plot of a chromatogram shows time as an angular position , with the magnitude or value in the radial direction representing the sensor signal or the derivative of the sensor signal . this method of displaying the measurement results provides an important graphical feature that is well suited to being recognized by electronic nose pattern recognition algorithms . it also provides unique images that are easily recognizable by humans . thus the present invention provides a method of visibly displaying information that is initially available as a time - varying parameter occurring throughout a predetermined time period . the objective of the method is to create a closed - figure image for purpose of pattern recognition . the steps are as follows . first , the time - varying parameter ( in this example , the chromatography output of fig4 ) is measured at spaced time intervals to produce a time sequence of spaced samples . i prefer to interrogate the saw device at intervals of twenty milliseconds to determine its frequency . for an analysis time period fixed at ten second this provides a total of 500 interrogation points . the measurement information from each interrogation point is sent to the display device . secondly , the display device that is selected or established has a substantially circular display area with a defined center . each sample of measurement information is then assigned to a different circumferential position within the display area , such that the sample positions are angularly separated in accordance with their original time spacings . since i prefer to interrogate the saw device periodically at twenty millisecond intervals , in the preferred practice of the invention this means that the measurement samples occupy 500 positions that are equally angularly spaced about the center of the display device . the 500 sample positions correspond to both the analysis time period of 10 seconds and the 360 degree circumference about the center of the display device . third , at each circumferential position in the display area i create a data point whose radial distance from the defined center of the display area is proportional to the value of the corresponding sample of the saw output . further , as a fourth and very important step , in addition to displaying the data points themselves i also draw a line between each two adjacent data points , including the first and last data points . this interconnection of the data points creates a closed - figure image as shown in fig7 . the display shown in fig8 is constructed in the same manner , but using the frequency difference values of the fourth column of fig6 . while a tabular method of data analysis and display has been described using the well - known microsoft excel ® program to create the example , it will be evident to those persons skilled in the art that appropriate computer programs can be constructed to control the periodic interrogation of the saw output and the placement of the resulting data points on the display device . the saw sensor detects the amount of analyte condensing upon ( and evaporating from ) a quartz surface , and the saw frequency corresponds to the total ( integral ) amount of analyte condensed . the saw crystal is believed to be the only integrating gc detector ; all others detect the flux of column effluent flow . the derivative of the detector output is only used to determine retention time . the amount of analyte detected is determined by sensor frequency . several electronic nose pattern recognition algorithms based upon sliding sets of correlations using known compound patterns associated with complex fragrances were evaluated . the objective was to find the best “ pattern recognition algorithm ”. thus far nothing approaching the performance of a human operator has been found . the situation is demonstrated in the pictures of plant leafs shown in fig9 . for a human , identification of the marijuana leaf is simple and immediate , while for computation algorithms the task can be daunting , long , and tedious . for a similar reason screeners at airport security checkpoints remain as trained humans . humans must be trained to recognize image patterns ; however , they excel when properly trained with visual olfactory images . some example images from infectious bacteria , drugs of abuse , and flammable fuels created in accordance with the present invention are shown in fig1 . from experience in conducting numerous tests utilizing the method of the present invention is has been shown that human operators are able to recognize certain images or food smells because they looked like common shapes . thus the electronic nose operating in accordance with the novel method of the present invention provides a recognizable visual image of specific vapor mixtures ( fragrances ) containing possibly hundreds of different chemical species . this electronic nose has the ability to recognize as well as quantify many different and sometimes complex fragrances . that result is achieved using pattern recognition and a visual fragrance pattern , derived from an integrating solid - state detector ., the saw device . a graphic image allows a complex ambient environment to be viewed and recognized as part of a previously learned image set . using the ability of a law enforcement officer , for example , to recognize visual patterns will allow quick assessment of smells or vapor that could not otherwise be detected within permissible time limits .	6
referring to fig1 , one embodiment of a communication system can be configured as a conferencing system 10 . the conferencing system 10 can include a consensus recognition unit 30 containing a control unit 32 as the central instance , plus a ( conference ) organizer &# 39 ; s terminal 20 and multiple participant terminals 22 - 26 connected to a media recording unit 12 , which records media data coming from the terminals 20 and 22 - 26 , in particular audio and video data , and sends those data to the consensus recognition unit 30 . referring to fig2 , which provides a detailed schematic view of the consensus recognition unit 30 together with the media recording unit 12 of the conferencing system . the data from the individual conference participants ( including , of course , the organizer with the organizer &# 39 ; s terminal 20 assigned to him ) recorded by the media recording unit 12 can be transmitted to a participant recognition unit 34 that identifies the corresponding participants from the transmitted audio and video signals . the identification can be made based on a number of different features , such as voice recognition , identification indicia included in the data on which the audio and / or video signals are included , or other data . the audio and video signals are then sent to a transcription unit 36 , which transcribes at least the audio signals into text data . the results of this transcription are stored in a data store 31 ( e . g . a database or a data bank ) so that they can be called up immediately when needed . the transcription unit 36 can be connected to a control unit 32 ( e . g . a central control unit ) that controls the entire consensus recognition unit 30 as well as the complete conferencing system 10 as needed . it should be appreciated that the control unit 32 may be configured as a hardware element such as a processor or other type of hardware processing device . multiple units can be connected to the transcription unit 36 and use the transcribed audio and / or video signals such as , for example : ( i ) a dialog capturing unit 38 that acquires the dialogs between conference participants , as well as individual statements from conference participants and their number and length by analyzing the transcribed audio and video signals , ( ii ) a text analysis unit 40 ( also called a keyword spotter ) that searches through the texts for agreeing , dissenting , and neutral expressed views , even if they are part of complex statements , and ( iii ) a sentiment detection unit 42 that searches through the transcribed audio and video signals to see whether any agreeing or dissenting views expressed therein may have been stated sarcastically or jokingly and are supposed to mean exactly the opposite , for example , or should be considered as indicating only limited agreement or dissent . in some embodiments , the transcription unit 36 , the dialog capturing unit 38 , the text analysis unit 40 and / or the sentiment detection unit 42 may be separate hardware elements in some embodiments of the communication system . in other embodiments , these units may be software modules that are called up or part of a program that is stored on non - transitory computer readable medium and are utilized when that program is executed by a processor . the control unit 32 can compute a current decision situation for a point in time using the transcribed audio and video signals . the computed decision situation may be computed in such a way that it can illustrate the decision position for each conference participant concerning the issue being decided . a display unit 46 can be connected to this control unit 32 and can generate a visual representation of the decision situation at that point in time to have that visual shown on the organizer &# 39 ; s terminal 20 based on the computation made by the control unit 32 . an iteration unit 48 can also be connected to the control unit 32 and can initiate or request for additional iterations while assessing the current or present decision situation . fig3 is a flow chart that illustrates a method of running a conference . the conference can be started in a step s 10 when the organizer logs in on his organizer &# 39 ; s terminal 20 and at least two other participants log in on their terminals 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 . . . in a step s 12 , the iteration unit 48 begins a first round of assessing the consensus . the callout “ form .” in step s 12 means that , for a new conference or a change of topic , a new form is opened for recording the measured metadata , metrics , and statistics . in a step s 14 , the media ( audio and / or video signals ) coming from the terminals 20 , 22 - 26 are recorded , after which they are submitted in a step s 16 for participant / speaker recognition . in a subsequent step s 18 , the lengths of any dialogs are determined . next , in a step s 22 , transcription is enriched with metadata regarding speakers , lengths , agreeing / dissenting and , if applicable , sarcastic statements related to a previous speaker or a named participant . in a step s 30 , the transcribed audio and video signals undergo text analysis to filter out agreeing , dissenting , and neutral expressed views . in a subsequent step s 32 , the system checks to see if the participants have already moved to the next topic . if this is not the case , in step s 34 it is decided that sentiment detection will be run in step s 36 , in order to differentiate between serious expressed views and statements made sarcastically or jokingly and weight them accordingly . next , in a step s 40 , a weighted position value is calculated that represents the decision situation at that point in time , and it is sent to the conference organizer and / or moderator . if the organizer wishes to end the conference ( which is queried in a step s 41 ) because he considers the topic to be ready for a decision based on the information sent to him regarding the weighted position value or current decision situation , he makes or announces this decision and ends the conference in a step s 42 . if the organizer wishes to continue the conference , he can initiate the next iteration in a step s 50 and update the display on his terminal 20 in a step s 52 . the method then proceeds as described in step s 12 . if it is determined in step s 34 that the conference has already moved on to the next topic , the method goes to step s 12 and initiates a new iteration in order to discuss the new topic . obviously , media recording ( step s 14 ) can continue for as long as necessary in either case . at the beginning of the audio / video conference , first the participants are recognized , and usually no coalitions or decision situations are recognizable yet . typically , after the introductory formalities and a statement of positions , a first discussion begins . recording the arriving audio and video signals ( media ) with simultaneous or immediately following transcription allows for analysis of the texts resulting from the transcription for the expression of supporting views ( e . g . “ i agree [ with the person who spoke before me ], . . . ,” “ exactly ,” . . . ) or dissenting views ( e . g . “ i can &# 39 ; t understand that ,” “ i see that differently ,” “ can you explain that again . . . ”) or idiomatic expressions in the text analysis unit 40 ( also called a keyword spotter ). here it is also advantageous to use the sentiment detection unit 42 in order to be able to realistically assess the seriousness or relevance of the changes occurring . if the position does not relate to the preceding speaker but instead to another person in the conference , then usually that person is addressed by name ( e . g . “ i rather agree with what dick said . . . ”), and that allows these positions to be added to the assessment of the present or current decision situation . after a while , if a significant number of participants have expressed their views , a first coalition or consensus representation can be displayed based on their positions , as shown in fig5 , for example . after a pause in the discussion and additional statements , the display can be updated if necessary . in fig5 , the moderator john is known to the conference or moderating organization , as is the organizer dick ( who is typically the person that requested and organized the conference ). the display unit 46 receives this information from the conferencing system 10 at the beginning . obviously , the moderator and organizer can also be one and the same person . according to the example shown in fig5 , only mary and dick hold to one position , while john , evelyn , and thomas hold the opposing opinion . mike &# 39 ; s position is unclear , as he has not yet participated . this situation is shown on the left side of fig5 . during the discussion , mary switches to john &# 39 ; s unchanged position , while thomas and evelyn are convinced to side with dick . mike &# 39 ; s position on this issue remains unclear . this situation is shown on the right side of fig5 . people whose opinion or position has changed are indicated by a double arrow . the invented system can ignore mike &# 39 ; s display , for example , or as another option it can display his undecided position specifically only to the moderator and / or organizer . this would allow john , as moderator , to ask mike for his opinion , in order to get an appropriate expression of his views . embodiments of the invented method , in conjunction with embodiments of the invented system , can therefore contribute to efficient discussions or teleconferences , for example , if it quickly indicates a consensus or majority among the participants regarding the organizer &# 39 ; s subject of interest . the moderator can use it to establish the final result and can then end the conference much earlier when there is no longer any inconsistency in the overall viewpoint . this allows the invention to save on the resources required to conduct a teleconference . the dialog acquisition unit 38 can record the number of statements and , if applicable , also each participant &# 39 ; s speaking time , changes in position , participation share , etc . these statistics can be displayed continuously and / or at the end , and it is possible for this display to be made available only to the moderator and / or organizer if desired . a statistical report for the last period of dialogs is shown as an example in fig4 . bar charts are displayed for each participant with respect to the other participants , wherein positive numbers represent predominantly agreeing positions and negative numbers represent predominantly dissenting positions . in the overview , it is easy to see that , within the latest dialog , there is consensus between the organizer dick and the moderator john and also with the participants evelyn and thomas , while the participants harry and mary hold opinions opposite to those of the other participants . the participant mike has not joined in to this dialog . according to one advantageous embodiment of the invention , the method is configured such that positions are consolidated or converge during the course of the conference . for this purpose , more recent statements are weighted successively more heavily than older statements for the weighted position value . this makes it possible to use these metrics for assessing discussion efficiency . it can be seen that the present invention has a variety of method and equipment features that are interconnected with each other . from this it is clear that the method steps or features correspond to the various devices or units in the conferencing system and also , inversely , even the most widely differing equipment features correspond to various method steps or method features , even when this is not specifically described . it should be noted that the features of embodiments of the invention described herein by referencing the presented embodiments , for example the type and configuration of individual method steps and analysis methods , such as individual analysis parameters and units in particular , can also be present in other embodiments , unless stated otherwise or prohibited for technical reasons . not all features of individual embodiments described in combination must necessarily always be implemented in any one particular embodiment . therefore , while certain exemplary embodiments of a communication system and communication apparatus and methods of making and using the same have been discussed and illustrated herein , it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims .	6
fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a first embodiment of the invention , having geysers or fountains erupting from the fairway of the miniature golf course hole . in a preferred embodiment and best mode now contemplated for carrying out the invention water feature 11 is a set of geysers or fountains . these fountains are shown to span the fairway area 12 of the miniature golf course , however , they may in fact be located upon green area 18 , tee - off area 14 or the like . the geysers or fountains may be constant , requiring players to get their ball through them or suffer having the motion of the ball altered by the motion of the water , or the water features 11 may be spasmodic in operation . they may erupt randomly , or may be triggered by the presence of the ball or player in a first area of the course , and so on . they may also erupt in a pattern , such as a ripple pattern from one side of the fair way 12 to the other , forcing the players to successfully time their shots through the water . another aspect of the present invention is that it has features of a water park : the players may be required to bring swim wear or the like to gain admission , and to secure all electronics before playing , as the water features 11 may be arranged to douse the players as well as the ball . alternatively , the players may have to pass the ball through but may have a dry path past the hazard , or the ball may stay dry but the players may get soaked , misted , sprayed , rained upon or the like . fig2 is a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a second embodiment of the invention , having a vertical feature which can be traversed by using hydraulic water pressure to advance the ball . ball 20 is pictured in flight after being launched by the water feature , in this case , a skewed fountain which makes a “ ball jet ” 21 . while the ball is depicted above the water it may simply flow with water which is being forced by hydraulic pressure to flow upward , from lower fairway area 22 a to upper fairway area 22 b . vertical feature ( bump ) 23 c may be seen in profile , and it will be understood that for safety reasons this vertical feature may have alternative dry path which is a set of steps , so as to minimize the risk of accidents to people attempting to step on a wet sloped surface . customers will not normally be allowed to walk on obstacles presenting tricky footing . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a third embodiment of the invention , having a slanted fairway , a river type water feature which advances the ball to a grate upon which the ball automatically is retrieved . river water feature 31 may be used with a ball which is able to float , that is which is lighter than water . while a standard pga competition ball sinks , floating balls allow a stream to meander along carrying the ball easily visible to the player , who may not even have the end of the stream in view and thus may find themselves wondering where they are going to end up . alternatively , with clean water of shallow depth a player may see a ball which is heavier then water being rolled along the ( clean , smooth ) stream bed to its final destination . arrow 35 depicts the flow direction , which in this embodiment is toward the hole 36 , not away from it . thus , the water feature of the present invention is not necessarily classed as a water obstacle or water hazard , which renders it completely opposite in effect from passive water hazards . slope 33 adds an exciting element of skill to this process . if a player manages to hit the ball hard enough to avoid the problem of having the slope 33 roll it sideways into the stream 31 , they may keep their ball on an advantageous track toward the hole 36 . water tunnel 37 further increases the interest of the course as the ball may disappear from view for a moment passing under a decoration or in this case , under the fairway area . in addition , water tunnel 37 allows for a broader arrangement of courses with more interesting and varied terrain . outlet ( grating ) 39 is one example of a mechanism which may remove water ( a water outlet ) but which leaves the ball back in play , even on dry land . in addition to a grating , outlet 39 may be a netting , an artificial turf with no backing which allows water to pass between the blades of greed grass , a water permeable carpet , etc . fig4 is a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a fourth embodiment of the invention , having a tunnel or cave with a waterfall and for which the ball is shot either into or out of , or both , during the play of the hole . waterfall water features in / out 41 , 43 , allow the ball to pass through a land tunnel 45 . the player may also be allowed , or required , to pass through the tunnel in alternative embodiments . hole 46 may be inside of the tunnel or outside of the tunnel . there may be a waterfall “ in ” or a waterfall “ out ” or both as shown . fig5 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a fifth embodiment of the invention , having a tricky shot which must be made in order to send the ball straight to the area of the hole and avoid having the ball enter the water feature . stream 51 has angled wall 53 , by hitting the bank shot off the angled wall the player avoids having their ball land in the water and the ball as a result stays on a fairly straight path toward the hole 56 . if the ball falls into the water feature , it will end up at areas 59 a , 59 b of the green area , which are depicted to be gratings or other water outlets . these areas 59 a , 59 b may not be as advantageous for the next putt as if the player had hit the angled wall 53 . fig6 a is a side view of a sixth embodiment of the invention , having a cascade ( non - vertical waterfall ) in turn having obstacles or rocks which simulate action of a pinball as the ball bounces down the cascade , carried along by the gravitationally supplied pressure of the water . water flow 61 down the cascade 63 may be seen to carry the ball from upper fairway area 62 to the lower fairway area , passing about and / or over obstacle 64 for amusing effect as players attempt to shoot so as to have the ball land in an advantageous location on the lower fairway area . outlet 69 , such as a mesh or screen , allows the ball to remain in play . plumbing arrangements for the golf holes of the invention may be carried out by a wide variety of means , such as gravity fed plumbing , pump pressurized conduits and the like . such pumps may recirculate the water in areas having little water . water of the course of the invention may be chlorinated and otherwise treated as swimming pool water is treated , so as to render the invention a combination of golf course hole and water attraction . this of course may be an optional embodiment of the invention and may not necessary unless it is required by regulation or ordinance . fig6 b is front view of the cascade of the sixth embodiment of the invention , showing more of the pinball like nature of the invention . fig7 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a seventh embodiment of the invention , in which balls pass down a series of terraces or water covered plateaus . water flow 71 carries the ball from the upper fairway area 72 down a series of terraces such as terrace 73 to green 76 to come to rest at grating 79 . fig8 a , 8 b is a planform and side view of a miniature golf hole according to an eighth embodiment of the invention , in which the balls enter a bowl and exit by one of multiple different exits leading to different parts of the green . water flow 81 may swirl , or may be smooth , or turbulent , but it allows the balls entrained with the flowing water to pass into an exit hole 83 by means of a skillful shot by the player or random luck due to hydrodynamics . hole 86 may be more advantageously approached after the water tunnel of exit hole 83 deposits the ball on the green , or less advantageously approached if the ball entered a different one of the plurality of exit holes / tunnels . fig9 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a ninth embodiment of the invention , in which fountains operate continuously . water feature 91 is across fairway 92 to from tee 94 to hole 96 on green 98 , but a putt which is not straight will hit the fountains . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a tenth embodiment of the invention , featuring a plurality of water cannons which act to shoot the ball from the fairway area to the green area . water cannon 1001 may be automatically programmed to shoot a golf ball , entrained in water , over an intervening obstacle and onto the green area 1008 . note that the proximity to hole 1006 may be determined by which water cannon of the plurality of water cannons the ball first enters . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to an eleventh embodiment of the invention , having multiple water features which leave the fairway area to the green area . water course 1101 is one of a plurality of water courses into which the player may direct the ball . separator ( island ) 1103 may entirely prevent the waters of the plurality of streams or cascades from mixing , or it may allow them to mix to a limited or unlimited degree . at the end of the water courses , the position of the ball will be partially or wholly determined by the skill of the player in choosing the water course into which to putt their ball and the success of that effort to do so . fig1 is a side view of a twelfth embodiment of the invention , having multiple water features of different types : one type , a jet 1206 , if hit by a ball will loft the ball over a ridge or curb 1207 into a favorable position near the hole while the other type , a water flow 1201 , will carry the ball to a less favorable position below a lower slope 1203 . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirteenth embodiment of the invention , possibly suitable for use as a final hole which removes the balls from play . water feature ( a shallow pond ) 1301 may have a platform ( floating / solid ) 1303 which may in turn have a wall 1305 about the entire rim , part of the rim , or the wall 1305 may be absent . hole 1306 is in the platform . in use , players will have to hit their balls onto the platform with great care in order to not lose their balls into the water . if the wall 1305 is employed , the balls may instead remain on the platform . a wave maker may be employed to cause waves to break upon the platform or to even cause the platform to rock , as will be discussed below in regard to a barrel bridge embodiment . fig1 a is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a fourteenth embodiment of the invention having a fancy , multi - level , decorative fountain feature which is able to take the ball to different parts of the green area . this is also a preferred embodiment of the invention . the shape of the fountain feature may be much different from that depicted . the main principle of the invention is in fact the use of pressurized water in fountains , ramp 1401 may loft a putted ball toward the fountain , which has fountain ( upper level ) 1403 as well as other levels , partitions , areas , divisions or flows . the chute 1405 from upper level 1403 will direct the ball by means of water flow c into one area of the green , either closer or further away from the hole than other parts of the fountain would deliver the ball . fig1 b is a side view of a decorative fountain feature according to fig1 a , showing the multi - level nature of the fountain feature . water flow a and b may be seen as may chute / trough from mid - level 1409 , which leads to a less desirable part of the green . fig1 is a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a fifteenth embodiment of the invention , having a “ rain forest ” area in a lower elevation part of the hole &# 39 ; s fairways / greens . the tree features of the invention embodiment may rain , spray or mist players who must enter below the trees . rain trees 1501 may be located so as to wet those entering low area 1503 . since the golf ball tends to obey gravity and roll to low area 1503 , the player is likely to find themselves being forced to endure the rain to make their shot . the bump may be provided to add to the merriment and difficulty level of the hole . note that “ trees ” 1501 may be a roof , or decorations , an arbor , etc . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a sixteenth embodiment of the invention , in which the water flow continues while the ball is caught on a grate . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a seventeenth embodiment of the invention , in which the green area having the hole therein is subject to adverse water flow . adverse flow 1701 will quickly slow a ball after it leaves fairway area 1702 , water from adverse flow 1701 may exit by way of grating / outlet 1709 . fig1 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to an eighteenth embodiment of the invention in which the players may all hit their balls into an extended water feature of the river type , then walk beside their balls , even past other holes of the miniature golf course , to reach the green area . long water feature about park 1801 has a path built into or near it , so that after player &# 39 ; s balls enter stream 1801 from tee area 1802 , they may follow or walk beside their balls . obviously players may be warned to shoot all of their first shots from the tee area 1802 so that they may stay closer together as they pursue the balls . the length of the water feature 1801 is quite long compared to most miniature golf course holes . it may even pass about normal length golf holes , or even circumnavigate the entire water park , before coming to green area 1808 . fig1 a thru 19 d are a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a nineteenth embodiment of the invention , in which jumping jets , roman arches or “ water snakes ”, i . e . timed , brief , angled spurts of water pass over the fairway / green area . water snake style jet 1901 is of the type which shoots a very precisely aimed and controlled spurt of water 1905 , which looks much like a snake ( made of water ) jumping from a first hole ( the jet 1901 ) into a second hole , water acceptor 1903 as shown in fig1 b and fig1 c and fig1 d . these can be arranged in sequence , so that single water snake 1905 appears to be leaping about the course from hole to hole , always passing over the course but posing a threat to players who stand in its way . the spurts may be multiple or individual , may be random or timed or even actuated by another player , etc . fig2 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a twentieth embodiment of the invention , similar to the second embodiment , in which a vertical feature is matched with a water feature which can carry the ball over the vertical feature ( obstacle ), however , a second vertical feature can be traversed in a single stroke if the players are accurate enough . fig2 is a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - sixth embodiment of the invention , in particular , a side view of a the twentieth embodiment of fig2 . first vertical water feature , middle feature 2001 , propels a ball all the way upward from fairway area 2002 / 2602 to the green area ( 2008 , 2608 ). for example , if the second vertical feature , middle 2003 / 2603 , is a second hump , the first feature 2001 might propel the ball directly into the flow of a second feature , or might itself be strong enough or arranged so as to propel the ball all the way up . however , first vertical water feature , side , 2005 / 2605 does not extend all the way to the upper level of the course . it extends only to intermediate grating outlet 2020 / 2620 , and does not propel the ball into the second vertical water feature , side , 2007 / 2607 . thus here it functions as the first step in a two stage water - elevator , forcing the player to putt the ball again from intermediate grating , side , 2020 / 2620 , into the second side water feature , 2007 / 2607 , to finally reach grating 2009 / 2609 . fig2 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - first embodiment of the invention , in which the player may use an angled wall to select which of a plurality of watercourse type water features to use to reach the green . double angled obstacle 2101 allows a player to ricochet their ball , banking it in a selected direction , into either first water feature 2103 or second water feature 2105 . these then deliver the ball to different parts of green area 2108 , due to arriving at different water outlets . fig2 is a side view of a miniature golf course hole according to a twenty - second embodiment of the invention in which the player putts the ball over a waterfall and down to the green area . waterfall 2201 allows a straight shot or may be provided with angles , curves etc , but in any case the player is offered the opportunity to literally have their ball receive extra velocity from the motion of the water at the lip of the waterfall . the ball may even be carried by the water and end up on the outlet at the base of the waterfall . players of course will have the opportunity to walk down a set of steps beside the waterfall . fig2 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - third embodiment of the invention , in which the players must wade in shallow water if their ball does not very accurately hit the green . water feature ( wading pool ) 2301 surrounds the green area . the green area in turn is partially or wholly made up of sloped section of green 2305 with hole 2306 disposed therein . a ramp may be provided from the fairway area toward the hole or not . fig2 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - fourth embodiment of the invention in which the ball passes through one of multiple underground tunnels in the water feature . water feature 2401 has multiple underwater tunnels such as underwater tunnel 2403 which arrive at different parts of the green area . fig2 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - fifth embodiment of the invention in which a low area of the fairway has water passing across it periodically . trough 2501 allows water to flow across or over the fairway area , the tee area or the green area . intermittent water feature 2503 may flow within the low area . the intermittent nature of the water flow may be timed , random , spasmodic , controlled by other players or otherwise arranged . fig2 is a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - seventh embodiment of the invention in which a water - wheel arrangement lifts balls out of a water feature and deposits them at a higher level on a green or a trough leading to a green . water feature 2701 accepts balls from the fairway area 2702 , which is actually lower than the green area . waterwheel 2703 may rotate and carry along with it bucket 2705 , which fills with water at a low position , and with it brings the ball into the bucket . at a higher level the bucket may tilt and empty , allowing the ball to approach or enter hole 2706 . fig2 is a front view of a miniature golf hole according to a twenty - eighth embodiment of the invention , in which a new style of wind - mill has blades which enter the water feature . new style windmill 2801 may be situated by or over water feature 2803 with blade entering water 2805 , which in turn may be used to alter the motions of the ball as it is carried along by the water flow depicted by the arrow . fig2 a is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to twenty - ninth embodiment of the invention in which one or more buckets are supported in an off - set manner so that as they fill they eventually empty onto the green . fig2 b is a side view of the off - set bucket of fig2 a . water feature 2901 has bucket 2903 with a tilt mechanism such as an offset support , or an offset water receptacle 2905 allowing it to tip and empty when it becomes full enough . the bucket may empty water and balls into green area 2908 . with several buckets available , the ball may be delivered to several different parts of the green area 2908 depending on which bucket it entered . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirtieth embodiment of the invention in which the ball passes through one of multiple underground tunnels in the water feature in a manner similar to the twenty - fourth embodiment , of fig2 , but with dry caves 3003 on the later side of the water feature 3001 . fig3 is a frontal view , from a player &# 39 ; s perspective , showing a series of intermittent fountains which operate to produce a “ wave ” or other synchronized water effect as the player putts the ball . “ wave ” of water jets 3101 thus may block fairway 3102 , unless the player works out the pattern and / or timing of the synchronized wave or other pattern and putts properly in response . fig3 a and 32 b are a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirty - second embodiment of the invention in which one player has a control which they may use to activate water features which spray onto the fairway when another player is attempting to shoot . this may have a main purpose to deflect the ball . water feature , geyser / fountain 3201 may wet fairway area 3202 and players thereon . manuel control of water 3203 ( fig3 b ) is provided at a location convenient for a player other than the one in the wet zone , so players may wet one other during the course of play . fig3 a and 33 b are a side view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirty - third embodiment of the invention in which the fairway is mounted upon a floating , pontoon - style , bridge which is free to move somewhat under the weight of the players and the action of an optional wave making machine . water feature 3301 may support fairway area 3302 on a floating pontoon bridge 3303 . pontoon / float 3305 may provide the support for the for the bridge . as the bridge will bob in response to players of various weights stepping upon it and moving about , and as the balls on the fairway on the bridge may roll about as a result . wave maker 3307 as shown in fig3 b may also be used to cause additional motions of the floating bridge . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to thirty - fourth embodiment of the invention in which an offset supported bucket fills and empties itself onto the fairway , thus periodically flooding the fairway area . water bucket 3401 is located so as to douse fairway area 3402 and thus alter the course of a ball in motion , thus encouraging players to attempt to time their putts during the time the water feature fills the bucket . offset support or mechanism 3403 may be provided to allow the bucket to empty . fig3 is a planform view of a waver - type sprinkler of an alternative embodiment of the invention having obstacles 3502 impeding the advance of the ball while the intermittent sweep of the sprinkler 3501 wets the green . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirty - sixth embodiment of the invention , in which players pass between walls , or through a framework , arbor , gazebo or the like which jets , sprays or mists the players from the side , and in which such action may be controlled for example by light sensors and lasers or similar light sources , and yet further in which players may be given an alternative route to the hole which allows them to avoid getting wet but which may not be advantageous otherwise . for added amusement effect , the nozzles or misters may be concealed inside of foliage , decorations , etc . water feature , sideways jet / mister / geyser / nozzle 3601 may obviously be any of a variety of mechanisms . fairway area 3602 thus becomes a zone in which a person is highly likely to become wet during the course of play . wall / framework / arbor / gazebo / decoration 3603 may support both the water mechanism , as well as light sensor / light source 3605 . sensor 3605 may detect the ball and cause the jets to begin firing either intermittently , in a pattern , or otherwise . an alternative ( dry ) path may optionally be provide a dry route to the hole , for those who do not wish to get wet . this alternative embodiment may be applied to any hole of the invention . however , it is anticipated that players and golf course designers will desire holes which do engage the players with the pressurized water features as actively as possible , so this is merely an alternative embodiment . fig3 is a planform view of an alternative embodiment of the invention as seen in side view in fig2 , showing the twenty - eighth embodiment of the invention . water feature 3701 has therein a number of windmills 3703 which as discussed in relation to the earlier fig2 may dip their blades into the water and thus create obstacles to the ball . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to an alternative embodiment of the invention in which any missed putt by the player results in the ball entering water features 3801 which move the ball to an earlier part of the green . fig3 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the ball must be putted from fairway 3902 across water 3903 which is “ boiling ” and bubbling to reach green 3908 . ( the term “ boiling ” as used herein does not refer to high temperature of the water but to the specific type of vertical motion associated with the same word in water sports . water boiling due to high temperature would be extremely undesirable and is not part of the invention as claimed .) kayakers and other water sports fans know that a “ boil ” of water in a river , also called a “ haystack ” or other names , may cause extremely unpredictable motions of objects passing through . fig4 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a thirty - fifth embodiment of the invention , in which extremely turbulent shallow water is present around the hole of the green area or in other parts of the hole . water feature 4001 on fairway 4002 may make play across the fairway area 4002 while water feature 4003 on green 4008 . this feature may use swirling or turbulent water to make a ball hit into the water move in extremely unpredictable ways . fig4 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to an alternative embodiment of the invention , in which players are not restrained by walls but which leaves the players little choice but to enter a fairway 4102 crossed by horizontal water jets 4101 which may be ( but are not necessarily ) activated by sensors 4105 , or by a timer or randomly , etc . the jets may be at ground level as seen in fig3 , previously , or at ball level / ground level , as seen in fig4 below . fig4 is a planform view of an alternative embodiment of the invention in which a ball may be impacted by water jets from the side of the course , rather than vertical jets . ball 4200 is seen to be deflected by contact with a horizontal , ground level jet such as jet 4201 across fairway 4202 . optional wall 4203 ( not seen in the embodiment previously , fig4 ) may constrain player &# 39 ; s ability to avoid having the ball deflected . an alternative dry path may be provided ( 4222 ) either in this embodiment or the in embodiment of fig3 . fig4 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a forty - third embodiment of the invention in which a ridge down the middle of a fairway area may divert balls into a water feature , and including backing walls . water feature 4301 cooperates with mid - fairway slope 4303 which may cause balls to enter the water feature 4301 if balls are hit slowly , however , by making use of banking wall 4305 . outlet 4309 may be positioned so that allowing the water feature 4301 to carry the ball will leave the ball in a less desirable position then if the player makes the shot . fig4 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a forty - fourth embodiment of the invention in which a gate may be present in a water feature , the gate opening when players successfully pass their balls across a light sensor / laser arrangement , such as in a tunnel , thus opening the gates for a more direct route toward the hole . in alternative embodiments there may be no sensor , just a timed gate , a randomly timed gate , a gate which opens or closes depending some action or input by players and so on and so forth . tunnel 4401 may have light sensor / source 4403 such as a laser and a light sensitive cell , which when actuated may change gates ( in closed position ) 4405 to gates ( in open position ) 4407 . fig4 a and 45 b are a planform view of a miniature golf hole according to a forty - fifth embodiment of the invention in which the players shoot their balls off a ramp and into a water feature having nets instead of holes therein . ramp 4501 ( fig4 a ) leads players to shot into a pond 4505 ( fig4 b ). instead of holes , the pond may have nets 4503 . this feature is also useful as a final hole which retrieves balls from the players for re - use by the course . fig4 is a planform view of a miniature golf hole according a forty - sixth embodiment of the invention in which the players stand on a platform 4609 and actually shot their balls away from the hole . the ball enters a water feature 4601 which then carries the ball back toward the green 4602 , for example , under the platform 4609 or around the player . stairs 4607 may be provided for player convenience and safety in platform embodiments . fig4 is a front view of a miniature golf hole according to a forty - seventh embodiment of the invention in which the players actually pass sideways under a flowing waterfall provided by an extended overhang , with a side water feature should balls leave the dry area . water feature ( sideways waterfall ) 4701 has a walkable tunnel 4701 ( number not correct ) passing underneath overhang 4703 from which water feature ( side river ) 4705 flows toward the green area . the disclosure is provided to allow practice of the invention by those skilled in the art without undue experimentation , including the best mode presently contemplated and the presently preferred embodiment . nothing in this disclosure is to be taken to limit the scope of the invention , which is susceptible to numerous alterations , equivalents and substitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the scope of the invention is to be understood from the appended claims .	0
the overall operation of the present invention is illustrated in simplified schematic form in fig1 . briefly , the method of the invention , when implemented by the apparatus described below , enables cryptographic communication between a computer 10 and a remote terminal 12 . the computer 10 is connected to a master encryption / decryption unit 14 , which is in turn connected to a conventional modem 16 . the terminal 12 is similarly connected to a remote encryption / decryption unit 18 , which is connected to a modem 20 . communication between the modems 16 and 20 may be over ordinary non - secure commercial communications lines 22 . as will be discussed further below , the master and remote encryption / decryption units 14 and 18 may be substantially identical , with their function under program control as either a master unit or a remote unit being selectable by means of a switch . fig2 illustrates in greater detail the encryption / decryption unit , which may be either the remote unit 18 or the master unit 14 of fig1 . the unit includes a central controller 24 , which in the preferred embodiment is an intel 80c31 central processing unit ( cpu ), which is commercially available from intel corp . operation of the controller 24 is under control of a computer program which is stored in a programmable read - only memory ( prom ) 26 , which in the preferred embodiment is an intel 27c64 8 - kilobyte erasable prom ( eprom ). the program is written in the computer language known as pl / m - 51 , which is a high level language particularly adapted for use with the intel 80c31 cpu . a complete listing of the program is set forth in the above - referenced microfiche appendix . the unit further includes a 16 - kilobyte system random access memory ( ram ) 28 and a separate 2 - kilobyte ram 30 which is employed for the storage of approximately 200 key encryption keys ( kek &# 39 ; s ). as discussed below , key encryption keys are 64 - bit binary words which are used in the apparatus and method of the invention . the kek &# 39 ; s must be secured at the level of security with which the data to be transmitted must be protected . the kek &# 39 ; s are normally stored in an erasable prom 32 that is in the form of an insertable cartridge which may be inserted in the unit to load the kek &# 39 ; s into the kek ram 30 . the kek prom 32 is ordinarily kept secured , and is only used to load the kek &# 39 ; s when the unit is to be activated for data transmission . when the unit is intentionally disabled or otherwise deactivated , for example , as a consequence of anti - tamper security switches which are included in the apparatus , the kek &# 39 ; s are erased from the kek ram 30 . however , the apparatus includes a battery backup 34 which enables the apparatus to retain the kek &# 39 ; s stored in the volatile memory 30 in the event of a power failure . a kek pointer 36 connected to the controller 24 allows for manual designation of any particular kek stored in the kek ram 30 . the pointer is used in the encryption process discussed further below . the apparatus further includes two des encryption chips 38 and 40 . in the preferred embodiment these are each commercially available amz8068 des integrated circuits . one chip ( 38 ) is used for encryption of data to be transmitted by the unit , and the other chip ( 40 ) is used for decryption of encrypted data received by the unit . the controller 24 is connected to the computer 10 ( or the terminal 12 as the case may be ) by means of a serial communications interface 42 , which in the preferred embodiment is an intel 82c51 serial interface . the controller 24 is connected to the modem associated with the unit by means of a second serial interface 44 . the apparatus further includes a circular 8 - bit counter 46 which operates continuously and which is read by the controller 24 whenever the system is called on to generate a new data encryption key , as discussed further below . in ordinary operation , all data transmitted between the computer 10 ( or terminal 12 ) and the controller 24 is transmitted as clear ( unencrypted ) text , and all data transmitted between the controller 24 and the modem 16 ( or 20 ) is transmitted in encrypted form , or as cipher text . the method of the present invention uses two keys ; a data encryption key ( dek ) and a key encryption key ( kek ). a dek is generated , in the manner described below , for each data transmission session . the kek eprom 32 ordinarily contains approximately 200 kek &# 39 ; s . the kek &# 39 ; s are generated by any suitable pseudorandom method , and must be stored and distributed in accordance with the appropriate key management system . since the key prom card is essentially a permanent record of the kek &# 39 ; s which will be used over a period of time , it must be secured and protected at the level of sensitivity of the data . when the key prom card is inserted into the unit , the kek &# 39 ; s are loaded into the ram 30 of the unit . a particular kek is selected by means of the kek pointer 36 , which consists of a three - digit thumbwheel which selectively identifies an address in the ram . the kek at an address identified by the thumbwheel will be referred to herein as the master kek . as discussed below , at the beginning of each data transmission session the master kek is used to generate a dek , which is used for subsequent data transmission during the same session . the kek &# 39 ; s are not used to encrypt data during ordinary communication . communication is ordinarily initiated at the remote unit . at the beginning of a data transmission session , a command is transmitted from the remote unit to the master unit . as described further below , this command essentially triggers the master unit to generate a dek and download it to the remote unit for use in subsequent transmission of data . in the preferred embodiment , this command , called a crypto - sync command , consists of a break character followed by an arbitrary preselected 8 - bit synchronization character . the synchronization character activates the master unit to generate a dek , encrypt the dek so generated , and download the encrypted dek to the remote unit so that both units are provided with the dek . the manner in which this is done is described below . in the following discussions , the following variables and cryptographic operations will be referred to : in the foregoing equations , t and x are integers . for example , in one preferred embodiment the value of t is from 0 to 199 ; and x is thus from 3 to 202 . e through e &# 34 ;&# 39 ; represent the des encryption operation , using the various designated kek &# 39 ; s as the encryption keys . for example , the operator e &# 34 ;&# 39 ; represents the des encryption operation using the kek located at the address in the ram which is pointed to when the value of the thumbwheel pointer is x - 3 , or t . similarly , e &# 34 ; represents des encryption using the kek located at the address pointed to by the value t of the thumbwheel pointer incremented by one , or t + 1 . in each of these encryption operations , simple code book encryption is conducted ; that is , without any cipher feedback . upon receipt of the crypto - sync command , the master unit generates an initialization vector ( iv ) and a data encryption key ( dek ), each of which are 64 - bit binary words . the purpose and function of these parameters are discussed further below in the discussion of the subsequent encryption and transmission of data . the manner in which the iv and dek are generated depends on whether or not the crypto - sync command is the first crypto - sync command the master unit has received since the master unit was last powered up . if the crypto - sync command is the first such command to be received since the power - up of the master unit , the master unit first generates an initialization vector ( iv ) and then generates a data encryption key ( dek ). in the generation of the initialization vector , the master unit first reads the value of a circular 8 - bit counter eight times to generate a pseudorandom 64 - bit word . the eight bit counter is ordinarily actuated and initialized each time the master unit is powered up . the 64 - bit word so generated is encrypted , using the des , and using as the encryption key for this purpose the kek located at the ram memory location pointed to by the thumbwheel , i . e ., using the encryption operation e &# 34 ;&# 39 ;. the encrypted value of the pseudorandom 64 - bit word is the initialization vector ( iv ). the generation of the iv is represented by the following equation : where e &# 34 ;&# 39 ; represents des encryption of the counter value , as described above . the dek is then generated by an operation represented by the following equation : where counter ( 2 ) is a 64 - bit word obtained by reading the 8 - bit counter eight times ; and where e &# 39 ; and e &# 34 ; represent the encryption operations defined above . in the above equation , it will be noted that the plus (+) operation means the exclusive or operation by which binary words may be combined . in this regard , the iv generated in the previous step and the 64 - bit word generated from the counter are combined by means of the exclusive or operation to generate a 64 - bit word which is encrypted first by means of the e &# 34 ; operation and subsequently by means of the e &# 39 ; operation . if the master unit receives a crypto - sync command which is not the first such command to be received since the master unit was last powered up , the dek is generated in a slightly different manner from that described above . in such case , the initialization vector ( iv ) is generated by the operation defined by the equation : where cipher is the 64 - bit word created by stringing together the eight most recently generated 8 - bit cipher text bytes . the dek is then generated by the operation defined by the equation : where counter ( 3 ) represents the 64 - bit word obtained by reading the 8 - bit counter eight times , and where iv is defined above . once the iv and dek have been generated , by either one of the two procedures described above , the dek is encrypted with the kek indexed by x , i . e ., the encrypted dek is produced by the operation e ( dek ). the master unit then transmits to the remote unit the encrypted dek ; the initialization vector ( iv ); and the value of x . in this regard , the values of iv and x are transmitted in plain text , or in non - encrypted form . the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto .	7
a preferred polymer employed in the present invention should contain at least 20 mol % of the above - described repeating units of the general formula ( i ) therein , and they may be a homopolymer or a copolymer . suitable copolymers may contain α , β - ethylenically unsaturated monomer units , other than the above - described repeating unit , copolymerizable therewith . examples of suitable copolymerizable monomers include ethylene , propylene , isobutene , diisobutylene , styrene , α - methylstyrene , vinyltoluene , vinyl acetate , acrylonitrile , acrylamide , n - vinyl pyrrolidone , vinyl chloride , vinylidene chloride , methacrylic acid esters or acrylic acid esters ( e . g ., methylmethacrylate , methylacrylate , ethylacrylate , butylmethacrylate , butylacrylate , 2 - ethylhexylmethacrylate , hydroxyethylacrylate , benzylmethacrylate , cyclohexylmethacrylate , allylmethacrylate , etc . ), divinylbenzene , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , methylenebisacrylamide and so on , preferably , styrene , vinyltoluene , methylmethacrylate , butylacrylate , benzylmethacrylate , particularly preferably styrene and vinyltoluene . polymers employed in the present invention can be prepared through homopolymerization of chloromethylstyrene or copolymerization together with other vinyl monomers by subjecting the monomers to a homo - or co - polymerizing reaction , respectively , to produce polymers , and then reacting the resulting polymer with n - alkylpolymethyleneimines . in another process , chloromethylstyrene and n - alkylpolymethyleneimines are first reacted with each other to produce quaternary salts of vinyl monomers and then , the resulting quaternary salt monomers are polymerized independently or copolymerized together with other vinyl monomers to prepare mordant polymers . suitable n - alkylpolymethylene imines which can be employed for the preparation of the mordants of the present invention are represented by the following general formula ( ii ): ## str3 ## wherein r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and n each has the same meaning as in the above - described general formula ( i ) of the repeating unit present in the polymers used in this invention ; r 1 is preferably an alkyl group or an aralkyl group . since mordanting capability towards dyes is reduced when the n - alkylpolymethyleneimines used have too low a molecular weight and when the n - alkylpolymethyleneimines have too a high molecular weight , the preparation of thereof becomes difficult ; most preferable n - alkylpolymethylenemines are those where n = 5 - 16 . preferred examples of n - alkylpolymethylenemines which can be used include n - benzylpiperidine , n - 2 - ethylhexylpiperidine , n - tert - amyl - hexamethyleneimine , 2 , 6 - dimethyl - n - hexylpiperidine , diphenyl - n - methylethyleneimine , n - benzyloctamethyleneimine , n - phenethyloctamethyleneimine , n - methyldodecamethyleneimine , n - benzyldodecamethyleneimine , n - hexyldodecamethyleneimine , 4 - ethyl - n - 2 , 6 - dimethyl - 4 - heptylpiperidine , n - isopropylbenzylhexamethyleneimine and the like . the mordant polymers employed in the present invention can be prepared using any conventional radical polymerization technique such as solution polymerization , bulk polymerization and emulsion polymerization . a preferred temperature for polymerization ranges from about 20 ° c . to about 150 ° c . and , particularly , from 35 ° c . to 90 ° c . the time required for the polymerization generally ranges from about 6 to about 120 hours and preferably , from 8 to 24 hours . when a chloromethylstyrene homopolymer or copolymer is reacted with the n - alkylpolymethyleneimine to prepare the corresponding quaternary salt polymer , preferred solvents used therein include dimethylformamide , acetonitrile , methanol , ethanol , ethyl cellosolve , methyl cellosolve , water and the like . the above - described repeating unit must be present in the thus - obtained quaternary salt polymers in a proportion of at least 20 mol % and preferably , more than 35 mol %. the above - described reaction is carried out at temperatures ranging from about 50 ° c . to about 100 ° c . at reaction times ranging from about 2 to about 120 hours and particularly , from 6 to 12 hours . preferred molecular weights of the mordant polymers of the present invention range from about 5 , 000 to about 1 , 000 , 000 and particularly , from 10 , 000 to 200 , 000 . specifically , suitable polymers which can be used as a mordant in the present invention include those which contain the following repeating units , wherein the above - described repeating units are present in the polymer in proportions of at least about 20 mol %: ## str4 ## wherein x , y and z represents respectively the molar ratios of the units indicated and x + y + z = 100 . various kinds of additives can be added to the layer of the mordant polymer employed in the present invention . examples of such additives include ultraviolet light absorbing agents such as substituted - 2 - hydroxy - phenylbenzotriazoles ( commercially available as &# 34 ; tinuvin &# 34 ;, tradename produced by ciba - geigy corporation ), hydroxybenzophenone and the like , and antioxidants such as tert - butylhydroxyanisole , substituted chromanols and so on . dye mordant compositions are useful for the preparation of photographic elements comprising a support , at least one layer thereon containing the dye mordant and at least one layer containing an acidic dye or a precursor thereof . examples of suitable supports which can be employed herein include any conventional photographic support materials such as paper , baryta paper , resin coated paper , pigment coated polymer films , a polyethylene terephthalate film , a cellulose acetate film , glass , grained aluminum , polycarbonate film and so on . examples of these support materials are described in product licensing index , vol . 92 publication 9232 , page 107 - 110 ( dec . 1971 ). also , supports may comprise any one of the above - described support materials , sometimes with a timing layer , an overcoat layer , an acidic layer and so on thereon . these supports are coated with substantially aqueous dispersions of the polymers employed in the present invention and then , covered with layers containing acidic dyes or the precursors thereof ( whereon multiple layers may be coated ). in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention , image transfer film units are provided which comprise the following elements : ( 1 ) a photographic element comprising a support with at least one layer containing a dye image - providing material and a silver halide emulsion provided on the support , ( 2 ) an image receiving element comprising an image receiving layer containing the above - described mordant , and ( 3 ) means containing an alkaline composition adapted to discharge its contents thereof within the film unit . the term &# 34 ; substantially aqueous &# 34 ; as used above means that at least about 90 % by weight , and preferably at least 95 % by weight , of water is contained in the carrier portion of a dispersion . the remainder of the carrier of a dispersion comprises water - miscible organic solvents such as methanol , ethanol , isopropanol , 2 - methoxyethanol and / or other alcohols . acidic dyes ( anionic dyes ) and precursors thereof which are received by the dye mordants employable in the present invention are well - known compounds in this art . dyes of this kind have acidic groups such as carboxylic acid , sulfonic acid , ionizable sulfonamide , or aromatic or heterocyclic groups substituted with hydroxy groups . precursors of acidic dyes are described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 880 , 658 . typical examples of dyes which can be received by the dye mordants of the present invention are preformed dyes such as those disclosed in belgian pat . nos . 788 , 268 ; 796 , 040 ; 796 , 041 and 796 , 042 ; and u . s . pat . no . 3 , 443 , 939 ; for example , anthracene yellow gr ( 400 % pure schultz no . 177 ), fast fed s . conc . ( color index 176 ), pontacyl green sn ex . ( color index 737 ), acid blue black ( color index 246 ), acid magenta o ( color index 692 ), naphthol green b conc . ( color index 5 ), brilliant paper yellow ex . conc . 125 % ( color index 364 ), tartrazine ( color index 640 ), metanil yellow conc . ( color index 138 ), pontacyl carmine 6b ex . conc . ( color index 57 ), pontacyl scarlet r conc . ( color index 487 ) and pontacyl rubine r ex . conc . ( color index 179 ): and shifted dyes as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 854 , 945 . the amount of the polymer of the present invention necessary for mordanting may be dispersed into a substantially aqueous medium , or added to a hydrophilic organic colloidal binder which is compatible with water . the resulting dispersion or mixture can be used in the preparation of dye imbibition printing blank receiving layers in a color transfer process , which are described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 362 , 819 ; 2 , 983 , 606 ; 3 , 227 , 552 and 3 , 227 , 550 ; and further , in an antihalation layer as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 282 , 699 . a suitable amount of the polymer of the present invention can range from about 0 . 5 g / m 2 to about 10 g / m 2 , preferably 1 . 5 g / m 2 to 5 g / m 2 . the polymer of the present invention is generally used in an amount of about 10 to about 100 % by weight , preferably 20 to 50 % by weight of the colloidal binder present . colloids which can provide a satisfactory result when they are employed for the above - described purposes include any hydrophilic colloids generally employed in the photographic art . specific examples thereof include colloidal albumin , polysaccharides , cellulose derivatives , polyvinyl compounds ( including polyvinyl alcohol derivatives ), acrylamide polymers and other synthetic polymers . in general , a dye image receiving element contains a mordant in a mordanting amount and , for example , in other words , a dye mordant layer . the amount of dye mordant to be used is selected depending upon the amount of dyes to be mordanted , the mordanting function inherent in the mordant polymer used and the chemistry of image formation , which can easily be determined by one skilled in the art . the dye image receiving element comprises the mordant polymer of the present invention provided on a support . this element may contain other layers ; for example , an acid polymer layer , a timing layer as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 584 , 030 and 3 , 362 , 819 ; and an interlayer capable of reflecting light which is composed of a white pigment capable of reflecting light such as ti0 2 and a binder polymer , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 445 , 228 . the mordant polymers employed in the present invention are also particularly effective when used as a light filtering layer ; e . g ., anti - halation layers of the type as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 282 , 699 . this light filtering layer preferably comprises a hydrophilic colloid and the polymer used in the present invention . this layer is suitable for the dyes held or fixed by the mordant . in one embodiment , the mordants of the present invention are employed in an image transfer film unit with the intention of mordanting image dyes . these mordants can be employed in any of the image transfer film unit formats wherein compounds of the kind which can be originally mobile ( e . g ., developer dyes ) or other compounds of the kind of which are not originally mobile ( e . g ., diffusible dye - releasing compounds upon oxidation ) are incorporated . typical and useful image transfer formats are described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 543 , 181 ; 2 , 983 , 606 ; 3 , 227 , 550 ; 3 , 227 , 552 ; 3 , 415 , 645 ; 3 , 415 , 644 ; 3 , 415 , 646 and 3 , 635 , 707 ; canadian pat . no . 674 , 082 ; and belgian pat . nos . 757 , 959 and 757 , 960 . in a very advantageous embodiment , the mordants of the present invention are employed in a photographic element of an image transfer film unit wherein a positive image obtained by a processing with a single processing solution is observed through a transparent support with an opaque background . in another more preferred embodiment , the mordants of the present invention are employed in a color image transfer film unit containing the following elements ; ( 1 ) a photographic element wherein at least one layer containing a silver halide emulsion associated with a dye image - providing material ( and preferably , three layers which contain a blue - sensitive silver halide emulsion , a green - sensitive silver halide emulsion and a red - sensitive silver halide emulsion , respectively ) is coated on a support ; ( 2 ) an image receiving layer containing the above - described mordant polymers , which may be coated on another support different from the support used for the photographic element ( 1 ), or may be coated in a multi - layer form on the support used for the photographic element ( 1 ) having thereon silver halide emulsion layers ( which may be single or multiple layers ), wherein the layer is preferably positioned adjacent the light sensitive silver halide emulsion layer provided on the same support , and ( 3 ) a means capable of releasing an alkaline processing solution into this film unit from a container therefor . when the image receiving layer is coated on the same support as that which has thereon light sensitive silver halide emulsion layers , the support is preferably transparent . a reflecting layer and an opaque layer may be preferably positioned therein between the image receiving layer and the light sensitive silver halide layer . the alkaline processing composition contains materials which provide opacity such as carbon or the combination of a ph indicator dye with a pigment such as ti0 2 , and is preferably released into a film unit between a dimensionally stable support or cover sheet and a photographic element . in one preferred embodiment , this cover sheet is superposed upon the photographic element or designed so as to be superposed thereon . a mordant - containing layer may be positioned upon this cover sheet . in one preferred embodiment wherein a photographic element contains an image receiving layer , a neutralizing layer is provided on this cover sheet . means which can be employed for the introduction of an alkaline processing solution into a film unit are known in this art . examples of such means , include a rupturable container retaining the processing composition which can be ruptured to release the contents at a desired position in the film unit when it is pressed by being passed through a pair of rollers positioned so that the contents of the container may be discharged on the photographic element , frangible containers positioned over or within the photographic element , a hypodermic syringe , and the like . the term &# 34 ; dye image - providing materials &# 34 ; as used in the present specification means compounds having the following characteristics : ( 1 ) compounds for which certain chemical reactions are not necessary in order to produce dye images , or ( 2 ) compounds which undergo reactions encountered in photographic imaging systems to produce an image dye , such as with color couplers , oxichromic compounds and the like . compounds classified into the first category are generally called preformed image dyes ( including shifted dyes ), while the other compounds classified into the second category are generally called dye precursors . the terms &# 34 ; originally mobile &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; originally non - mobile &# 34 ; as used in the present specification mean whether the compounds are substantially mobile or non - mobile when added to a photographic element upon contact with an alkaline processing solution . in one preferred embodiment wherein a negative silver halide emulsion is employed , originally mobile dye image - providing materials ; for example , those materials which have been used in image transfer photographic elements , may be employed . typical examples of dye image - providing materials effectively used as originally mobile dye - image - providing materials include dye developers as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 983 , 606 and 3 , 255 , 001 ; oxichromic developers capable of producing dye images when subjected to a color forming oxidation , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 880 , 658 ; dye developers the dye moieties of which are shifted indophenol dyes , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 854 , 945 ; and dye developers the dye moieties of which are metallized dyes , as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 482 , 972 ; 3 , 544 , 545 ; 3 , 551 , 406 and 3 , 563 , 739 . in another preferred embodiment wherein negative silver halide emulsions are used , the dye image - providing materials employed are originally non - mobile dye image - providing materials . preferred examples of these originally non - mobile dye image - providing materials include non - mobile type compounds employed for photography which can act so as to form a positive distribution , as disclosed in , for example , belgian patent 810 , 195 . in still another embodiment , non - mobile type dye image - providing materials having associated therewith silver halide emulsions are employed , which compounds undergo oxidation followed by hydrolysis as the result of which mobile image dyes with an image - wise distribution are provided . when compounds of this type are employed together with negative type emulsions , a positive image can be formed on the exposed side of a photographic element . moreover , these compounds having associated therewith direct positive type emulsions or reversal emulsions can be used to produce , for example , positive transferred images in an image transfer film unit . typical examples of useful compounds of this type include those which are disclosed in , canadian pat . no . 602 , 607 ; belgian pat . no . 788 , 268 ; and u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 698 , 897 ; 3 , 728 , 113 ; 3 , 725 , 062 ; 3 , 227 , 552 ; 3 , 443 , 939 ; 3 , 443 , 940 and 3 , 443 , 941 . in one preferred embodiment , mordants having the above - described formula are employed in an image transfer film unit . in this unit , non - mobile type , image dye - providing materials capable of releasing sulfonamido dyes when oxidized are present . typical examples of useful materials which are oxidized and undergo a hydrophilic cleavage thereof to release sulfonamido dyes are described in belgian pat . no . 788 , 268 . in a further embodiment , the above - described mordants can be employed in an image transfer film unit containing negative type silver halide emulsion - containing layers and further , adjacent layers which contain physical developing nuclei and dye image - providing materials . typical examples of photographic elements of this type are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 227 , 551 column 6 and 7 and british pat . no . 904 , 364 . where a water permeable colloid is used an appropriate amount of the mordant to be added depends upon not only the dyes to be fixed in the mordant layer but also chemical properties of the mordant used . these mordants must be , in general , present in amounts of at least about 10 % by weight based the weight of the hydrophilic colloid used . much larger quantities of mordants may be employed if desired . for example , about 50 % by weight or so of mordant ( which is represented by taking the weight of the hydrophilic colloid used as a standard ) gives rise to a very desirable result . in addition , these mordants can be employed for not only fixing dyes and particularly , acidic dyes , but also for making a photographic filter layer , an anti - halation layer and a gelatin silver halide emulsion layer . these layers may be applied to a conventionally used photographic support such as a support sheet ( e . g ., of cellulose acetate , polyesters , polyvinyl resins or like films ), paper or glass . the mordanting polymers of the present invention can be employed as a combination thereof incorporation by into one layer , two layers or a plurality of layers simultaneously . also , the mordanting polymer of the present invention can be used in admixture with other mordants in the same layer or in separate layers of the same element . the present invention will now be illustrated in greater detail by reference to the following examples . however , the invention is not to be construed as being limited to these examples . unless otherwise indicated herein , all parts , percents , ratios and the like are by weight . the x , y and z ratios shown in the examples below are all molar ratios . 104 g ( 1 . 0 mol ) of styrene , 152 . 5 g ( 1 . 0 mol ) of chloromethylstyrene , 50 ml of ethyl acetate and 3 . 0 g of benzoyl peroxide , as a polymerization initiator , were placed in a reaction vessel . the air of the reaction vessel was displaced with nitrogen gas . then , the components were reacted with each other at a temperature of 70 ° c . for 8 hours . the reaction product was reprecipitated with methanol and dried in vacuo . the yield was 223 g ( 87 . 0 %), and the viscosity number was 0 . 15 ( measured at 30 ° c . in a 1 % acetone solution ). the structural formula of the product is represented by the following general formula : ## str5 ## samples having x : y ratios of 80 : 20 ( example 2 ), 70 : 30 ( example 3 ), 60 : 40 ( example 4 ), 40 : 60 ( example 5 ), 30 : 70 ( example 6 ) and 0 : 100 ( example 7 ), respectively , were prepared , using the same procedures as described on example 1 . 25 . 6 g of the polymer prepared in example 1 , 39 . 4 g ( 0 . 2 mol ) of n - 2 - ethylhexylpiperidine and 100 ml of dimethylformamide were placed in a reaction vessel , and stirred for 12 hours at 80 ° c . the reaction product was reprecipitated from water , and dried in vacuo at 60 ° c . until a constant weight was obtained . the yield was 32 . 6 g and the viscosity number was 0 . 60 ( at 30 ° c . as a 0 . 1 % ethanol solution ). as the result of elemental analysis , the nitrogen content was 2 . 81 %. the repeating unit of the product is represented by the following structural formula : ## str6 ## samples examples 9 to 14 were prepared using the same procedures as described in example 8 using various polymers prepared in examples 1 , 2 , 6 and 7 . a copolymer was prepared from benzylmethacrylate and chloromethylstyrene ( molar ratio of monomer units : 50 : 50 ), and then , the following compound was synthesized : ## str13 ## the compounds as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 898 , 088 and japanese patent application ( opi ) no . 71332 / 75 ( corresponding to u . s . patent application ser . no . 517 , 561 , filed oct . 24 , 1974 ) were prepared as reference samples using the copolymer prepared in example 1 . ## str14 ## on a polyethylene terephthalate transparent support , a mordant layer of 2 . 5 g / m 2 of one of the mordants listed in table 1 below and 2 . 5 g / m 2 of gelatin , and a white , light reflecting layer of 20 g / m 2 of ti0 2 and 2 . 0 g / m 2 of gelatin were provided in sequence thereon . 10 cm 2 portions of these samples were immersed in 100 ml of a 0 . 1 n sodium hydroxide solution containing 1 × 10 - 3 mol / l of a magenta dye having the following structural formula ## str15 ## for 5 minutes at room temperature ( about 25 ° c .) and then , the magenta reflection densities were measured from both the support side and the side of the white , light reflecting layer : table 1______________________________________ magenta reflecting magenta reflectingmordant density through support density from tio . sub . 2polymer side side______________________________________example 8 1 . 64 0 . 18example 9 1 . 58 0 . 18example 10 1 . 59 0 . 17example 11 1 . 70 0 . 16example 12 1 . 57 0 . 17example 13 1 . 73 0 . 15example 14 1 . 61 0 . 16example 15 1 . 64 0 . 15referenceexample 2 1 . 25 0 . 38 ( hydrophilicpolymer ) ______________________________________ when the mordant polymer described in japanese patent application ( opi ) no . 71332 / 75 was used , the magenta density in the tio 2 layer was high . the hydrophilic property of the sample of reference example 2 seems to be the reason for the high magenta density observed in the tio 2 layer , because the mordant can diffuse from the support side into the tio 2 side due to its hydrophilic property . therefore , the density of the support side is also low . on the other hand , the mordants of the present invention diffuse into the tio 2 layer to a much lesser extent and that , could contribute to the high density of the support side . each of the above - described mordant polymers and gelatin were coated on a polyethylene terephthalate transparent support at a coverage of 2 g / m 2 of both components to prepare an image receiving element . the image receiving elements thus obtained were dyed with a yellow dye having the structural formula described below ## str16 ## so that the yellow transmitting density became about 1 and then , these dyed films were immersed in a briton - robinson buffer solution [ kagaku binran kiso - hen ii p 1319 , maruzen shuppan , sept . 25 ( 1966 )] in a cell 2 mm deep . after 3 minutes , the transmission absorbing spectra were measured using a hitach 323 type spectrophotometer . the acid dissociation constants ( pka ) of the hydroxy group disposed at the 5 - position of the pyrazole ring of the yellow dye present in each of image receiving elements were determined from the dependence of absorption curves upon the hydrogen ion concentrations [ using the procedures described in lecture of experimental chemistry , vol . 5 , chap . &# 34 ; thermal measurement and equilibrium &# 34 ;, page 470 - 471 , maruzen co ., ltd ., tokyo ( 1958 )]. the results obtained are shown in table 2 below . in the ph range below the pka , the yellow dye used becomes difficult to mordant because the electric charge of the dye was lost due to the depression of dissociation in that ph range . therefore , mordants of the kind which can render the pka lower exhibit excellent mordanting ability in the ph range corresponding to neutral or weakly acid . table 2______________________________________mordant polymer pka of yellow dye______________________________________example 8 4 . 3example 9 4 . 5example 10 3 . 9example 11 3 . 8example 12 3 . 2example 13 3 . 2example 14 3 . 6example 15 3 . 7referenceexample 2 5 . 6______________________________________ in order to render the binding of mordant polymers sufficiently strong to dyes , a pka lower than 4 . 5 was required . demordanting phenomena tends to occur in the sample of reference example 2 due to a pka value of 5 . 6 . it can be seen from the results in table 2 that the mordant polymers of the present invention have markedly improved mordanting ability even in the case of the sample of example 9 ( which has a pka of 4 . 5 ), compared with the sample of reference example 2 . on a polyethylene terephthalate transparent support , the following 12 layers were coated in sequence to prepare a light sensitive element . a mordant layer comprising 3 . 0 g / m 2 of the mordant polymer of the present invention and 3 . 0 g / m 2 of gelatin . a white , light - reflecting layer comprising 20 g / m 2 of titanium oxide and 2 . 0 g / m 2 of gelatin . a light intercepting layer comprising 2 . 3 g / m 2 of carbon black and 3 . 1 g / m 2 of gelatin . a cyan dye - providing layer comprising 0 . 96 g / m 2 of a cyan dye image - providing material having the following structural formula ## str17 ## 1 . 6 g / m 2 of n , n - diethyllaurylamide in which 0 . 03 g / m 2 of 5 - di - t - butylhydroquinone was dissolved , and 1 . 5 g / m 2 of gelatin . a red - sensitive silver halide emulsion layer comprising a silver iodobromide direct reversal emulsion having high internal sensitivity , but low surface sensitivity , which contained 1 . 9 g / m 2 of silver and was spectrally sensitized in the wavelength region of red light [ which corresponds to the emulsion prepared in example 1 of japanese patent application no . 79893 / 75 ( corresponding to u . s . patent application ser . no . 700 , 365 , filed june 6 , 1974 ) and now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 094 , 683 ], 0 . 040 g / m 2 of 3 -( 2 - formylethyl )- 2 - methylbenzothiazolium bromide and 1 . 4 g / m 2 of gelatin . an interlayer comprising 3 . 3 g / m 2 of gelatin , 0 . 03 g / m 2 of sodium hydrogen sulfite and 1 . 2 g / m 2 of 2 , 5 - di - t - octyl - hydroquinone dissolved in both 1 . 9 g / m 2 of tricresyl phosphate and 0 . 77 g / m 2 of dibutyl phthalate . a magenta dye - providing layer comprising 1 . 5 g / m 2 of gelatin , 1 . 5 g / m 2 of n , n - diethyllaurylamide in which 0 . 89 g / m 2 of a magenta dye image - providing material having the following structural formula ## str18 ## and 0 . 030 g / m 2 of 2 , 5 - di - t - butylhydroquinone were dissolved . layer ( 8 ) a green - sensitive emulsion layer comprising a silver iodobromide direct reversal emulsion having high internal sensitivity , but low surface sensitivity , which contained 1 . 4 g / m 2 of silver and was spectrally sensitized in the wavelength region of green light ( which corresponded to the emulsion prepared in example 1 of japanese patent application no . 79893 / 75 ), 0 . 010 g / m 2 of 3 -( 2 - formylethyl )- 2 - methylbenzothiazolium bromide and 1 . 0 g / m 2 of gelatin . an interlayer comprising 3 . 7 g / m 2 of gelatin , 0 . 023 g / m 2 of sodium hydrogen sulfite , and 0 . 94 g / m 2 of 2 , 5 - di - t - octylhydroquinone dissolved in a mixed solvent of 1 . 5 g / m 2 of tricresyl phosphate and 0 . 61 g / m 2 of dibutyl phthalate . an yellow dye - providing layer comprising 2 . 1 g / m 2 of gelatin , and 2 . 5 g / m 2 of n , n - diethyllaurylamide in which both 1 . 5 g / m 2 of a yellow dye image - providing material having the following formula ## str19 ## and 0 . 042 g / m 2 of 2 , 5 - di - t - butylhydroquinone were dissolved . layer ( 11 ) a blue - sensitive emulsion layer comprising a silver iodobromide direct reversal emulsion having high internal sensitivity , but low surface sensitivity , which contained 2 . 2 g / m 2 of silver and was spectrally sensitized in the wavelength region of blue light ( which corresponded to the emulsion prepared in example 1 of japanese patent application no . 79893 / 75 ), 0 . 014 g / m 2 of 3 -( 2 - formylethyl )- 2 - methylbenzothiazolium bromide and 1 . 7 g / m 2 of gelatin . a processing solution of the following composition was spread in a layer form between the cover element prepared in the following manner and the above - described light sensitive element to obtain the results set forth below . on a polyethylene terephthalate support , a neutralizing acid polymer layer comprising 15 g / m 2 of polyacrylic acid [ wherein a 10 % by weight aqueous solution possessing a viscosity of about 1000 cp ( 25 ° c .) was employed ], a neutralization timing layer comprising 3 . 8 g / m 2 of cellulose acetate ( capable of producing acetic acid by hydrolysis , wherein 100 g of the cellulose acetate would produce 39 . 4 g of acetic acid ) and 0 . 2 g / m 2 of a styrene - maleic anhydride copolymer ( molar ratio of styrene to maleic anhydride = about 60 : 40 ; and molecular weight = about 50 , 000 ) were coated in sequence . ______________________________________processing solution______________________________________5 - methylbenzotriazole 1 gn - methyl - p - aminophenol sulfate 0 . 5 gn , n - diethyl - p - aminophenol hydrochloride 2 gsodium hydrogen sulfite 1 gbenzyl alcohol 10 mlxylidene diol 25 ghydroxyethyl cellulose 50 gcarbon black 30 gsodium hydroxide 20 gwater to make 1 l______________________________________ table 3______________________________________ reflection density reflection densitymordant after one hour after one weekpolymer maximum minimum maximum minimum______________________________________example 9yellow density 1 . 74 0 . 33 1 . 71 0 . 32magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 45 0 . 29 1 . 46 0 . 28cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 00 0 . 35 1 . 99 0 . 32example 10yellow density 1 . 78 0 . 31 1 . 76 0 . 30magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 50 0 . 30 1 . 50 0 . 29cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 03 0 . 34 2 . 01 0 . 31example 12yellow density 1 . 85 0 . 29 1 . 77 0 . 30magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 53 0 . 27 1 . 51 0 . 28cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 05 0 . 33 2 . 03 0 . 30example 13yellow density 1 . 82 0 . 31 1 . 79 0 . 32magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 54 0 . 29 1 . 50 0 . 30cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 03 0 . 32 2 . 01 0 . 31example 15yellow density 1 . 80 0 . 33 1 . 79 0 . 29magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 51 0 . 31 1 . 52 0 . 32cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 01 0 . 29 2 . 00 0 . 29referenceexample 1yellow density 1 . 85 0 . 33 1 . 80 0 . 34magenta &# 34 ; 1 . 54 0 . 34 1 . 74 0 . 31cyan &# 34 ; 2 . 04 0 . 35 2 . 33 0 . 36______________________________________ it can be seen from the results of table 3 that the mordant polymers of the present invention exhibit excellent mordanting ability to provide high reflection densities , do not cause a reduction in the maximum densities ( i . e ., a demordanting phenomena does not occur even after one week ) and also do not cause the after transfer phenomena to occur , while although the reflection density of the sample of reference example 1 after one hour is high enough to exhibit an excellent mordanting effect , the increase in the maximum reflection densities after one week by 0 . 20 and 0 . 29 with respect to the cyan density and the magenta density , respectively , took place to result in the loss of color balance . thus , the mordant polymers of the present invention have superior mordanting ability and do not cause the after transfer phenomena to occur , while the sample of reference example 1 causes the after transfer phenomena to occur to a serious extent . while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof .	6
referring to fig1 and 2 , a hydraulically driven rotary vibrator assembly is generally identified as 10 . this vibrator assembly 10 includes a pair of opposed vibrator housings 12 that are held in a predetermined spaced relationship by a motor body 14 . it is preferred that each of the housings 12 be substantially the same . the purpose of this feature will become evident in the description below . each of the housings 12 includes a first end 16 , a cavity portion 18 and a second end 20 . the first end 16 which may also be described as a closed end . this means that selected penetrations through this first end 16 include a seal means , such as a shaft seal 22 . the seal means is selected and positioned to resist leakage where exposure to anticipated hydraulic pressures exists . the cavity portion 18 is adapted for allowing an eccentric weight 24 to rotate about its orbit center . the orbit center is coincident with an axis of a support shaft 26 . the support shaft 26 is rotatably carried or journaled in the housing 12 by a pair of anti - friction bearings . it is preferred that a first or inner bearing 28 be of the type that retains the support shaft 26 in a precise alignment with the housing 12 . one preferred type of anti - friction bearing is a pre - lubricated and sealed ball bearing . other anti - friction bearings may be used that have a combined radial and thrust loading capability . the inner bearing 28 is securely held in a precision bore 30 by a suitable first retaining means 32 such as a retaining ring or the like . the support shaft 26 is precisely sized for a selected fit with the inner bearing 28 . the support shaft 26 is located with respect to the inner bearing 28 by a pair of second retaining means 34 such as retaining rings or the like . this first retaining means 32 and second retaining means 34 must be configured so that movement of the inner bearing 28 and shaft 26 is minimized with respect to the first end 16 . the end of the support shaft 26 distal the inner bearing 28 is journaled in the second end 20 of the housing 12 by a second bearing 36 of the pair of bearings . this second bearing 36 is mounted in a precise bore 38 . this type of mounting provides a precise location for the support shaft 26 in all of the directions that are transverse to the orbital axis . this second bearing 36 is also secured to the housing 12 and support shaft 26 by a retaining means similar to the first retaining means 32 and second retaining means 34 . it is important that the support shaft 26 , the inner bearing 28 and the outer bearing 36 be sized to withstand the forces developed during the orbital rotation of the eccentric 24 . preferably the second bearing 36 is a pre - lubricated and sealed roller bearing . this type of anti - friction bearing has been found to accurately located the support shaft in a direction that is transverse to the orbital axis . the use of a roller bearing also allows small increments of expansion in a direction that is parallel to the orbital axis . the small increments of expansion may develop as a result of the eccentrics being rotated about the orbital axis . it is best to minimize the distance between the center of the first bearing 28 and the center of the gear 44 for limiting the overall expansion . it is preferred that the first end 16 and the walls 40 of the cavity 18 be integrally formed as a unitary part . this arrangement minimizes the manufacturing tolerances associated with a multiple part construction . the second end 20 may be removably attached to the walls 40 . it is recommended that the removable attachment include a pilot arrangement . one end of the support shaft 26 extends a selected distance beyond an outer face 42 of the first end 16 . a gear 44 is securely attached to that one end of the support shaft 26 . the one end of the support shaft 26 is shown as being shouldered in several steps for accommodating the size of the shaft seal 22 and gear 44 . the gear 44 is positioned on the shaft so that it will be aligned and meshed with a gear 44 of an opposing housing 12 when the motor body 14 is placed therebetween . it is to be noted that if the size of the gears permit , one or more of the shoulders may be eliminated . a pair of sealing means 46 such as o - rings , quad rings or the like are used to seal a mating surface of the motor body 14 with its associated outer face 42 of the housing 12 . this sealing means 46 may be more clearly seen in fig2 . still referring to fig2 the alignment of one housing with the other is provided by a pair of locating means 48 such as a dowel , spring pin or the like . the outer face 42 of the housing 12 includes a pair of threaded apertures 50 and a pair of non threaded apertures 52 as a fastening arrangement . an inlet port 54 connects a source of hydraulic power with a high pressure side of a motor chamber 56 that is formed in the motor body 14 . an outlet port 58 is configured for connecting a low pressure side of the motor chamber 56 with a hydraulic reservoir . the inlet port 54 and the outlet port 58 may be formed in only one of the housings 12 or alternatively - in both . when the ports are duplicated in each housing , it is necessary to block off any unused port with a threaded plug . it can be seen that the meshed gears 33 will be rotated by the introduction of a hydraulic fluid under pressure . the rotation of the gears 44 will rotate the support shaft 26 and eccentrics 24 . it can also be seen that the arrangement disclosed in the present invention will provide a relatively economical construction by producing parts such as the housing 12 in quantity . the similarity of the housings lends itself to economies in inventory and assembly time . the apparatus of the present invention is also energy efficient due to the use of a minimal number of components . the vibratory output of the assembly 10 may be adjusted between a minimum to a maximum by changing the relative position or phasing of the eccentric 24 of the first housing with the eccentric 24 of the other housing . the position of the eccentric 24 may be adjusted at assembly by meshing the gears 44 in a predetermined array . the position of one eccentric 24 with the other may be made after assembly . this second type of adjustment may require a covered access opening in the wall 40 of the housing 12 . in this second type of adjustment one or both eccentrics 24 may be adjustably secured to the shaft , by a securing means , such as clamp type hub , set screws or the like . the securing means must be able to withstand the vibratory forces that will be generated by the assembly . the housings 12 are fitted with a pair of integral mounting feet 60 with mounting apertures 62 therethrough . these mounting feet 60 provide a convenient means for attaching the assembly 10 to a host apparatus that is to be vibrated . directional terms such as &# 34 ; front &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; back &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; in &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; out &# 34 ;, downward , upper , lower and the like are applicable to the embodiments shown and described in conjunction with the drawings . these terms are merely used for the purpose of description in connection with the drawings and do not necessarily apply to the position in which the present invention may be used . while these particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and protection is sought to the broadest extent 1hat the prior art allows .	1
embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for post - issuance presentation instrument account management . many credit card accounts are administered by credit card processing companies . herein , such processing companies are referred to as credit card processing organizations or simply processing organizations . processing organizations administer credit card accounts on behalf of banks , retailers , financial institutions , and other business that wish to issue credit cards according to guidelines established by such businesses . herein , such businesses are referred to as clients , as in clients of the processing organization . credit card account owners are referred to herein as account owners or customers , as in customers of the clients of the processing organizations . finally , herein “ merchants ” refers to a business that accepts credit cards as payment for merchandise or services . processing organizations desire to reduce the human involvement needed to manage active accounts . these entities also desire to provide their clients greater control over the management of such accounts . according to embodiments of the present invention , clients and / or processing organizations may establish rules by which accounts are to be managed . embodiments also provide tool for designing and implementing these rules in a processing environment such that the rules may be used to manage the accounts without requiring intervention by a customer service representative or other individual . such systems and methods also may be used to design and implement credit card programs as will be described with respect to fig1 . fig1 illustrates a first screen display 100 in a system for managing rules in a credit card processing environment . the system architecture will be explained in more detail hereinafter ; however , the screen display 100 illustrates a number of important aspects of the present invention . a client of a credit card processing organization might encounter the display screen 100 while designing a credit card program for its customers . as will be explained , the client may interface with the system using a computer connected to a network , such as the internet . a software application resident on the client &# 39 ; s computer may generate the user interface through which the client interacts with the rules management system . the application may be a standard web browser . alternatively , the application may be a custom application that generates a user interface having windows such as the screen display 100 . many other examples are possible and apparent to those having skill in the art . through the user interface , the client may select or design “ rules ” that define the credit card program the client wishes to offer its customers . a rule is a conditional statement based on variables within the credit card processing environment . in one embodiment , the conditional statements are “ if - then ” statements that produce an “ action ” when the conditional statement is satisfied . in a navigation pane 102 , the screen display 100 includes a list of available rules in the late fee calculation area . a first list 104 includes the conditional portion of the rule , and a second list 106 includes the actions that may be taken when the condition is satisfied . actions may include set a fee value , send a letter , calculate a finance charge , calculate average daily balance , waive fees , increase or decrease fees , reinstate an item , allocate and distribute payments across monetary fields , satisfy minimum payment due , process pay ahead , accumulate monetary information , update a masterfile field , call another rule , assign or remove an identifier , set account limits or thresholds , insert information into a statement , print a message , generate a plastic , change a credit line , and the like . a work area 108 provides additional definition of the rule . the variables upon which the rules operate are “ account attributes ” and “ elements .” for example , an account attribute may include the state in which a customer resides . this is an important account attribute because the laws in the customer &# 39 ; s state may dictate certain bounds within which the client &# 39 ; s program operates , such as the maximum interest rate the client may apply to its customers &# 39 ; account balances . other account attributes may include state of residence , base interest rate , current , previous , and last balance , delinquency , client - defined fields , payment history , promotional information , and the like . rules may also operate on elements , which are combinations of account attributes . for example , “ minimum payment due ” may be an element that is a combination of a “ minimum payment due percentage ” and the customer &# 39 ; s account balance . many other elements are used in the rules management system . rules also may include “ formulas ” based on account attributes , elements , and other variables . in the example illustrated in fig1 , as shown in the work area 108 , the selected rule “$ 10 . 00 fee no waiver ” relates to billing a late fee . in this rule , the conditional statement is based on the attribute “ number of cycles delinquent ,” the element “ accumulated credit amount ,” and the formula “ late fee formula .” the conditional statement is satisfied , or true , when “ accumulated credit amount ” is greater than “ late fee formula ” and “ number of cycles delinquent ” is greater than 2 . the conditional operators in the formula , shown in the column 110 , may include & gt ;( greater than ), & lt ;( less than ), =( equal to ), & gt ;=( greater than or equal to ), & lt ;=( less than or equal to ), & lt ;& gt ;( not equal to ), /( not ), and the like . other conditional operators are possible . the conditional conjugates in the formula , shown in the column 112 , may include and , or , not , and the like . the action “ bill $ 10 . 00 ” appears in the action field 114 . in this example , when the conditional statement is true , $ 10 is added to the customer &# 39 ; s account balance . thus , a rule may result in a change to an account attribute or element , as in this example , wherein the rule changes the account balance attribute . rules are designed to be evaluated upon the occurrence of “ events .” in the present example , the event , “ statement processing ” triggers evaluation of the “$ 10 . 00 fee no waiver ” rule . other events might include , new processing day , monetary posting , non - monetary posting , monetary adjustment , specified day , account transfer , account creation , account anniversary , and the like . thus , upon the occurrence of an event , rules triggered by the event are evaluated , and , if satisfied , result in the action associated with the rule . this combination of event - rule - action may be referred to herein as a “ business rule .” as will be explained further below , prior to processing rules , the account and transaction data upon which the rules operate may be “ segmented .” segmentation may occur based on particular account attributes , elements , and the like . a collection of rules that define a credit card program constitute a “ policy .” thus , according to the present invention , a credit card processing organizations may provide its clients with a user interface through which the client may select or design rules that form a policy detailing the credit card program the client will offer its customers . account and transaction data relating to customers of the client are then processed by the credit processing organization according to the policy . the process will be explained in more detail hereinafter . referring now to fig2 , one example of a system 200 for managing rules in a credit card processing environment will be described . the system 200 is merely one of many possible embodiments of a system according to the present invention . those skilled in the art will recognize many different equivalent configurations within the scope of the present invention . thus , this example of the present invention is not to be considered limiting . the system 200 includes a rules database 202 , an account attribute database 203 , an application server 204 , and a web server 206 . the rules database 202 , the account attribute database 203 , the application server 204 , and the web server 206 may be separate elements of the system 200 , as shown , or the components may reside together within a single computing device . in some embodiments , the rules database 202 , the account attribute database 203 , the application server 204 , and the web server 206 are collocated within a single facility , while in other embodiments the components are distributed geographically and in communication either directly , as shown , or through a network 208 , also shown . the rules database 202 and the account attribute database 203 each may be any suitable computing device that includes an electronic storage arrangement . suitable computing devices include personal computers , work stations , mainframes , servers , and the like . suitable electronic storage arrangements include magnetic storage media , such as tape or disk drive systems , optical storage media , such as cd rom and dvd , and solid state storage systems , such as ram . the rules database 202 and the account attribute database 203 each may be configured with software that provides for the storage and retrieval of electronic information . the software may be well - known , commercially available software , such as microsoft access , sql , database ii , oracle , and the like , or the software may be custom - designed software . the application server 204 also may be any suitable computing device , such as a mainframe computer , a workstation , a server , a personal computer , and the like . the application server 204 may include a large capacity storage system , such as those described above with reference to the rules database 202 and the account attribute database 203 . alternatively or additionally , the application server 204 may rely on the rules database 202 , the account attribute database 203 , and / or other storage environment for large capacity storage requirements . other examples are possible . the web server 206 also may be any suitable computing device , such as a mainframe computer , a workstation , a server , a personal computer , and the like . the web server 206 also may include suitable electronic storage , such as described above with reference to the rules database 202 . the web server 206 may be configured with software that provides an electronic interface , via the network 208 , for external clients or internal users of the rules management system 200 . in some embodiments , the web server 206 includes software that provides a security / authentication function that ensures clients attempting to access the rules management system 200 are valid clients . some embodiments of the web server 206 also include software that monitors client software being used to access the rules management system 200 and provides the opportunity to update the software as necessary . the network 208 may be any suitable electronic network . for example , the network may be the internet , a local area network , a wide area network , an ethernet , a virtual private network , and the like . through the network 208 , clients may access the system 200 via a client computer 210 . the client computer 210 may be any suitable computing device such as a mainframe computer , a workstation , a server , a personal computer , and the like . the client computer 210 may be configured with software , such as web browser software , that allows the client computer 210 to access the web server 206 , and other parts of the rules management system 200 . alternatively , the client computer 210 may be configured with custom application software designed specifically for operation with the rules management system 200 . as mentioned above with respect to the web server 206 , the web server 206 may include software that monitors the custom application software on the client computer 210 and provides updates as necessary . other examples are possible . the system 200 also includes a transaction database 212 that may be any of the suitable computing and / or storage arrangements discussed previously . the transaction database 212 collects and stores transaction records that originate with merchants . for example , when a merchant accepts a credit card as payment for goods or services , the merchant generates a transaction record and transmits the transaction record to the merchant &# 39 ; s bank . the merchant may use devices such as the telephone transaction arrangement 214 , the terminal transaction arrangement 216 , and the like , to transmit transaction records . although shown as merely a database connected to the network 208 , the transaction database 212 may be a collection of databases and systems that collect and distribute transaction records . for example , as mentioned above , the merchant may transmit the transaction record to the merchant &# 39 ; s bank , which in turn transmits it to the appropriate credit card organization , such as visa or mastercard . the credit card organization may then transmit the transaction record to the processing organization that processes transactions on behalf of the client that issued the credit card used in the transaction that resulted in the transaction record . according to this embodiment of the present invention , the transaction database 212 represents a storage medium that stores transaction records to be processed according to the rules within the rules management system 200 . attention is now directed to fig3 , which illustrates a second screen display 300 in a system for managing rules in a credit card processing environment . a client may encounter such a screen display when designing a credit card program according to the present invention . a rules tree window 302 logically groups the business rules that constitute a credit card program using known symbology . in brief , the higher branches of the tree are represented by the least - indented lines . the more indented the line , the further down the tree hierarchy the item . a plus (+) or minus (−) sign preceding an item indicates whether the branch is collapsed or expanded , respectively . selecting a line in the tree causes detailed information relating to the line to be displayed in the work area 304 . under a “ policies ” branch 308 of the rules tree , rules are organized first by events , then by segments , then by business rules . thus , in this example , two events are listed : statement cycle and transaction posting ( although in this example , no rules are listed under transaction posting , the header “ transaction posting ” is available ). under the branch heading “ event : cycle ” 310 of the tree , a number of segment rules appear . the two higher level segment rules are “ premier ” and “ default .” thus , upon processing data for a statement cycle ( the event that triggers execution of rules in the “ cycle ” branch of the tree ), data is first segmented according to the “ premier ” and “ default ” rules . processing will be explained in more detail hereinafter . the logic behind this grouping of rules will be clearer in light of the following example with reference to fig4 . fig4 illustrates a hypothetical credit card program 400 to be offered by bank abc , a client of a processing organization using the present invention . in this hypothetical example , bank abc currently offers a “ standard market ” credit card program having the attributes listed in the standard market window 402 . the attributes include an annual fee of $ 25 , a late fee of $ 15 , and an interest rate of “ prime + 9 %.” bank abc wishes to design a new credit card program within its existing program . the new program will have several “ levels ” for different of abc &# 39 ; s customers . the “ premier program ,” having the attributes listed in the premier program window 404 , will form the basis of the plan . within the premier program , three subprograms will be offered : vandemark , elite , and distinction . the subprograms will have the additional or alternative attributes listed in the subprogram windows v , e , d , respectively . the attributes of the premier , vandemark , elite , and distinction programs determine how credit card data will be processed for customers in each of the programs . thus , when designing the program using the present invention , abc bank will organize the business rules according to the program levels . attention is now directed to fig3 in combination with fig4 . as stated previously , business rules listed under the event “ cycle ” perform segmentation of customer data according to the program within which the customer falls . one of the attributes in each customer &# 39 ; s data file will relate to the customer &# 39 ; s credit card program . thus , the first segment rule “ premier ” causes the business rules that fall under it in the tree hierarchy to operate on data relating to customers in the premier program . other data may be processed according to the rules under the “ default ” segmentation rule branch of the tree . within the premier branch of the tree , customer data may be further segmented for processing according to the elite , vandemark , and distinction segmentation rules . the plus sign (+) in front of each of these segmentation rules indicates that the associated branch is displayed in collapsed view , while the minus sign (−) in front of the premier segmentation rule , and more particularly in front of the “ general premier pricing ” group , indicates that the business rules associated with the premier program are displayed in the expanded view . a group allows a user to define sets of processing area rules that the user would like associated with an event or a segmentation action . this simplifies set up for new marketing programs and ensures consistency across portfolio processing . under the general premier pricing group branch of the tree , several business rules are listed that would be used to generate actions during statement processing ( the event ) if the conditions in the rule are satisfied . one of these business rules “$ 10 fee no waiver ” will be explained further below . fig3 also illustrates several branches outside the policy branch in the tree hierarchy . these include : segmentation rules , processing area rules , action sets , and formulas . each is shown in the collapsed view . these branches may be considered libraries of rules , actions , and formulas from which clients can select the building block of their policies . thus , clients may select predesigned business rules , modify rules in the library , or create their own rules . for example , the “$ 10 fee no waiver ” rule may be a predesigned rule in the library , which the client can include in a policy as is , or modify , as will be explained . an icon , such as the rule builder icon 310 may be used to initiate the construction of a rule from scratch , in which case the client has the flexibility to complete all the data fields in the work area 108 discussed in more detail below . attention is redirected to fig1 for a discussion of the rule building process . as discussed previously , fig1 illustrates a screen display 100 a client might encounter while creating or selecting rules that define a policy , or credit card program . the rules listed in the navigation pane 102 are a portion of the processing area rules branch of the tree hierarchy discussed above with reference to fig3 . this is indicated by the navigation line 116 of the navigation pane 102 . continuing with the hypothetical example discussed above , the screen display 100 depicts what a client might see while designing a rule relating to late fee calculations in the premier program . by entering information into the various fields in the work area 108 , the client is able to customize a rule that determines the method by which a customer &# 39 ; s late fee is calculated . the building blocks of the rule may be selected from various branches in the tree hierarchy . once the rule is constructed , it can be incorporated into the tree by selecting the “ apply ” icon 118 . then , as discussed above with reference to fig3 , the rule may be referenced under a policy , as was the case with the “$ 10 fee no waiver ” rule under the policy designed by abc bank . the policy may be stored at the rules database 202 of fig2 for later use in the processing environment . in addition to the hierarchy of rules discussed thus far , some embodiments provide for the selection and creation of policy - wide rules that are not necessarily event - triggered . these rules may , for example , evaluate all actions prior to execution and alter the action under certain circumstances . for example , suppose a particular processing event results in two , seemingly contradictory actions . in the first action , a business rule has determined that a customer has been actively using a credit card account for more than one year , which , according to the rule , entitles the customer to a reduction in interest rate of 1 % for his loyalty . however , in the second action , a different business rule has determined that the same customer has been late in paying his bill for each of the last two months . a “ global ” rule may be created by the client or selected from the library that compares all actions being taken with respect to a particular account and corrects any actions that contradict other actions . in this case , the global rule may prevent the late - paying customer from receiving the interest rate reduction . many other examples of global rules are possible , and this example is not to be considered limiting . the foregoing discussion represents but one example of a process for creating , selecting , displaying , and organizing rules according to the present invention . many other examples are possible and apparent to those having skill in the art . for example , some embodiments of the present invention may use a series of nested folders to display and represent the hierarchical relationship of rules within a policy . other embodiments may represent the rules as tables in a relational database , macros in a spread sheet , or any combination of the foregoing . thus , this example of the present invention is not to be considered limiting . having described the process for creating rules according to the present invention , attention is now directed to fig5 for a discussion of the process by which the rules are used to process customer account and transaction data according to the present invention . fig5 illustrates a processing environment 500 , which includes a more detailed view of a portion of the system 200 described with respect to fig2 . as can be seen , the processing environment 500 includes a user interface 502 ( which is analogous to the client computer 210 of fig2 ), the web server 206 , the application server 204 , the rules database 202 , and the account attribute database 203 . additionally , the processing environment 500 includes a processing area 504 within which the rules operate on customer account and transaction data . the processing environment 500 may reside within the application server 204 , or any other suitable computing environment . the processing environment 500 represents a batch process . the batch process depicted in fig5 may be executed upon the occurrence of a particular event . for example , on the day for generating statements , a batch process may be executed to produce statements for each customer . in another example , at the end of a period of time , such as a day , accumulated transactions may be processed for posting to customers &# 39 ; accounts . in some embodiments , the batch process is not related to any particular event but is executed periodically to process data relating to any event that has occurred in the preceding period . the processing environment 500 includes an etl process 506 ( extract , transform , and load ) wherein rules are removed ( extracted ) from the rules database 202 and converted ( transformed ) from the format in which the rules are stored on the rules database 202 into the format in which the rules are used for processing data . the rules are then placed ( loaded ) into the processing area 504 of the processing environment 500 . the rules may be stored , for example in db2 ( database ii ) code , and converted into vsam ( virtual storage access method ) code for processing . other processing techniques also may be used . the processing area 504 includes a number of processing engines : an inference engine 510 , a segmentation engine 511 , an action engine 512 , a get element engine 514 , a put engine 516 , an allocation engine 517 , and a formula engine 518 . each engine is designed for a particular function relating to the processing of customer account and transaction data according to the rules . the inference engine 510 resolves the conditional portion of rules relating to customer account and transaction data . the segmentation engine matches customer account and transaction data to the appropriate client policy and the appropriate segment within the policy . for example , the data being processed by the processing organization in a given batch is not necessarily limited to a single client . thus , the data must be matched to the appropriate client and then to the appropriate credit card program of the client . the action engine 512 manages the process of resolving the action portion of the business rules . it cooperates with the put engine 516 which actually accomplishes the updating of any account attributes affected by the process . the get element engine 514 extracts elements and attributes used in the processing of customer account and transaction data . the allocation engine 517 resolves issues relating to the allocation of payments received from customers . for example , if a customer has balances in different categories ( e . g ., subject to different interest rates ), then the allocation engine 517 may be used to determine to which balance categories a payment should be posted . the formula engine 518 resolves any formulas used in the conditional portion of the rules . the processing engines each include a data access layer 519 that provides an interface to each engine and the data being processed . for example , the data access layer 519 of the interface engine 510 may pull transaction data from the transaction database 212 ( fig2 ), customer account data from the account attribute database 203 , and the like . other examples are possible . the processing environment 500 also includes an audit function 520 . the audit function 520 monitors extractions , updates , and other functions relating to the rules database 202 and generates an audit report 522 . for example , in some embodiments , the audit function 520 produces a report of all rules added to the database , and all rules rolled into and out of production during a period of time and associates them with particular batch processes and / or job numbers . the processing environment 500 also includes a performance measurement function 524 . the performance measurement function 504 receives data relating to various metrics from the processing area 508 and generates a performance measurement report 526 that may be used to monitor the efficiency and operability of the system . for example , in some embodiments , the performance measurement function 524 reports on all account attributes changed during a particular batch process . attention is directed to fig6 which illustrates a “ point - in - time ” processing environment 600 . in addition to operating in batch mode , the rules management system may operate upon demand in a point - in - time processing mode . the “ point - in - time ” processing environment 600 includes the rules database 202 , a point - in - time processing area 602 , and several subsystems . these include a letters subsystem 604 , an embossing subsystem 606 , and a statement subsystem 608 . other embodiments include other subsystems . the letters subsystem 604 may generate correspondence to card holders , merchants , clients , and other entities . the embossing subsystem 606 prepares credit cards for customers . the statement subsystem 608 distributes credit card statements to customers . the point - in - time processing area 602 and the subsystems 604 , 606 , 608 may reside on the application server 204 or other suitable computing device . the point - in - time processing area 602 accesses the rules database directly , without the need for an etl process 506 ( fig5 ). in some embodiments , the point - in - time processing area 602 does not affect account attributes and operates only on data , such as account statement data files , that resulted from a prior batch process . as an example of a point - in - time process , consider a customer initiating a new account with the client . the customer may have received a notice in the mail inviting the customer to apply by phone for a credit card account , such as the premier account in the previous examples . the letters subsystem 604 may have participated in the generation of the notice . the customer may call a customer service representative who initiates a point - in - time process utilizing the embossing subsystem 606 to prepare a credit card with the customer &# 39 ; s name and account number . the point - in - time processing area 602 extracts the data needed for account initiation , receives data from the customer service representative , and transmits information identifying the resulting actions to the embossing subsystem 606 . { check these before filing } other examples of point - in - time processes are more fully explained in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 109 , 459 , entitled , “ system for card processing , embossing & amp ; fulfillment ” ( attorney docket no . 020375 - 003700 ) by sharon k . hogan , et al . filed on mar . 26 , 2002 , and in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 108 , 806 , entitled , “ method and systems for processing card reissue transactions ,”( attorney docket no . 020375 - 005000 ) by rebecca goodman , et al ., filed on mar . 26 , 2002 , and in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 108 , 217 , entitled , “ system for ranking card reissue transactions ,”( attorney docket no . 020375 - 005100 ) by jim k . prendergast , et al ., filed on mar . 26 , 2002 , which applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety . these examples should not be considered limiting . other examples might include a credit application process , wherein a customer may be requesting a higher credit limit . having described the processes for creating and using rules to process customer account and transaction data , attention is directed to fig7 for a discussion of a process for simulating one or more rules during the rule creation process . fig7 illustrates a simulation environment 700 having many of the same elements as the processing environment 500 of fig5 . as with the processing environment 500 of fig5 , the simulation environment 700 may reside on the application server 204 or other suitable computing environment . the simulation environment 700 includes a simulation area 704 having many of the engines discussed previously with respect to the processing area 504 . additionally , the simulation area 704 includes a simulation manager 706 that controls the simulation process and provides useful information relating to the sequence of activities in the simulation process , as will be explained in more detail hereinafter . the simulation environment also includes an interface 708 that provides information relating to the simulation process to a user , such as a client . using the simulation environment 700 , clients may observe the effect of a particular rule on actual customer account and transaction data . a business rule to be simulated is loaded from the rules database 202 into the simulation area 704 . the simulation manager 706 controls a step - by - step processing sequence based on the rule being simulated . as will be explained further below with reference to fig8 a and 8b , the calculations , data calls , attribute updates , logical results , and the like , are presented to the user . thus , the user is able to debug , modify , and optimize rules being incorporated into a policy . in order to provide a high degree of realism , the simulation environment 700 may use real customer account and transaction data to perform the simulations . in some embodiments , users may request specific data sets . in other embodiments , the simulation environment 700 uses particular default data , such as “ yesterday &# 39 ; s data .” data is accessed by the engines through each engine &# 39 ; s data access layer 519 . some embodiments of the present invention allow users to select either multiple customer accounts for simulation purposes or a single , specified customer account . in some embodiments of the present invention , such as the simulation environment 700 shown in fig7 , the simulation area 704 does not include a put engine 516 . that is because the put engine 516 updates account attributes in response to business rules . however , during simulation , it is desirable to not update account attributes . rather , information is provided to the user via the interface 708 that tells the user what is happening or what has happened during the simulation . attention is directed to fig8 a , which illustrates a first simulation screen display 800 in one non - limiting example of the present invention . the screen display 800 includes a rules window 802 that displays the rule hierarchy as previously discussed . in the rules window , a user may select a particular rule for simulation . the screen display 800 also includes a simulation window 804 that displays information relating to the rule being simulated . a user may specify a particular customer &# 39 ; s account upon which to base the simulation by entering the account in the account field 806 . a decision elements table 808 lists the elements , account attributes , and formula results relating to the rule being simulated . attention is directed to fig8 b , which illustrates a second screen display 810 in a simulation process . in a results window 812 , a user is able to observe the results of the logical statements relating to the rule . thus , in this example , the user is able to observe the results of the logical statements for the “$ 10 fee no waiver ” rule discussed previously with respect to fig1 . the first logical statement 814 results in a false condition , while the second logical statement 816 results in a true condition based on the data for the account upon which the simulation is based . because the first and second logical statements 814 , 816 are joined by an “ and ” conjunction , the result of the rule is false , meaning that the action is not taken , as can be seen from the action statement 818 . this is but one example of the simulation process of the present invention , and many other examples are possible and evident , in light of the disclosure herein , to those having skill in the art . therefore , this example is not to be considered limiting . embodiments of the present invention are particularly useful in post - issuance account management environments . a number of customer service matters in a post - issuance environment are extremely labor intensive . for example , when a customer initiates a transaction that exceeds his credit limit , the customer typically contacts a customer service representative to request a credit limit increase . the customer service representative might review the customer &# 39 ; s account history , check his credit score , evaluate other credit card programs that might be more appropriate for the customer given his spending habits , and the like , all of which typically requires human labor . embodiments of the present invention may eliminate some or all of this human labor . in one example , embodiments of the present invention may include customer - defined rules that evaluate a pool of accounts for those approaching or that have exceeded their respective credit limits . the range below and / or above the credit limit may be specifically defined by the customer . once identified , the associated account history of each account may be evaluated against a number of criteria . for example , those accounts for which no late payments have been received may be candidates for credit limit increases . rules may define a threshold number of late payments and a specific timeframe . additional rules may trigger requests for credit scores . those having scores within an acceptable range also may be candidates for credit limit increases . based on the evaluations , a variety of actions may be taken . continuing with the example , accounts that qualify for credit limit increases may have the credit limit increased automatically . a letter , email , phone call , or the like , may be directed to the customer , all without human intervention , informing the customer of the credit limit increase . for those accounts that do not qualify for a credit limit increase , a communication to the customer may offer the customer a different credit card program , a bill consolidation program , a home equity line of credit , and / or the like . thus , this simple example may substantially reduce the labor requirements for managing an existing presentation instrument account . many other example are possible . other embodiments may review accounts for collection issues , security matters , fraud issues , reward programs , fee matters , offers , and the like . in some embodiments , rules are crafted such that all accounts in a pool of accounts are continuously monitored . in some embodiments , accounts are added to a target file for evaluation at predetermined dates / times or according to a predetermined schedule . rules may operate on data from sources internal to the processor or external to the processor . for example , data for rule evaluation may come from merchants , clients , external databases , such as credit reporting databases , and the like . many other examples are possible and apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure . having described embodiments of the invention generally , attention is directed to fig9 , which illustrates a exemplary method 900 of managing accounts in a post - issuance environment according to embodiments of the invention . the method 900 may be embodied in the system 200 of fig2 or other appropriate system . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method 900 is merely exemplary of a number of possible methods according to embodiments of the invention . for example , other exemplary embodiments may include more , fewer , or different steps than those illustrates and described here . further , the steps illustrated and described here may be traversed in different orders than shown here . the exemplary method 900 begins at block 902 , at which point one or more accounts are established . the accounts may be established according to the teachings herein , although this is not a requirement . as is apparent to those skilled in the art , new accounts may be continually added to and / or removed from a pool of monitored accounts . at block 904 , rules are received for managing accounts . the rules may be selected from a menu of pre - defined rules , may be uniquely defined , or the like , according to the teachings herein . the rules may define events and / or triggers , conditions , and actions to be taken , as described above . at block 906 , accounts are monitored according to the rules . in some embodiments , this includes adding accounts to a trigger file , as is shown by block 908 . in some embodiments , this includes segmenting accounts by grouping accounts that satisfy a condition 910 . accounts that have been added to a trigger file at block 908 also may be segmented at block 910 , according to conditions upon occurrence of the trigger event . segmented accounts for which a condition has been satisfied may , at block 912 , have an action taken relating to the account . the action may be to send correspondence , annotate the account , change an operating parameter of the account , request additional data relating to the account , or the like . thereafter , accounts may continue to be monitored at block 906 . those skilled in the art will appreciate a variety of interactions among the blocks other than those illustrated and described here . having generally described a method of managing accounts according to embodiments of the invention , a specific example follows relating to a number of rules for managing a credit card account having a rewards program associated therewith . in this specific example , the following terms and conditions relate to the account and the program : new credit card accounts qualify for the program and receive 5000 bonus points ; if a new card is not used within the first thirty days following creation of the account , the card holder forfeits the 5000 points ; if the new card is not used in the first thirty days following creation of the account , then the cardholder is billed an annual fee of $ 50 for the card . the following rules are established for monitoring new accounts relating to the program . the first identifies the account as one that qualifies for the reward program . the second monitors all cards for compliance with the terms and conditions relating to the reward program : thus , when a card is created for the customer , 5000 points is added to the customer &# 39 ; s account , and the account is added to a rewards program trigger file for ongoing monitoring . for example , purchases using the card result in reward points . if the card is not used in the first thirty days , the bonus is subtracted from the account , a letter is sent to the customer , and the annual fee is posted to the account . those skilled in the art will appreciate the foregoing specific example is merely exemplary of basic rules that may be created with respect to managing accounts . others also may be created and , like those in this specific example , result in labor savings for managing existing accounts . having described several embodiments , it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention . additionally , a number of well known processes and elements have not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . for example , those skilled in the art know how to arrange computers into a network and enable communication among the computers . additionally , those skilled in the art will realize that the present invention is not limited to post - issuance management of presentation instrument accounts . for example , the present invention may be used to manage accounts relating to utility bills , phone bills , mortgages , brokerage accounts , and the like . accordingly , the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention , which is defined in the following claims .	6
fig1 is a partial isometric view of a pair of eyeglasses having the novel full sideshields removably attached to each side thereof . as can be seen in fig1 the eyeglass frame front portion 10 has temples 12 and 14 pivotally attached to each side thereof for holding the eyeglass frame front 10 on the face of a user . the novel full sideshields 16 and 18 are removably attached on each side of the frame front 10 and form a semicircle around the eyeglass lens 20 and 22 in front of the eye cavity of the user to provide eye protection on the top , bottom and side of the eye . each sideshield 16 and 18 is a generally arcuate - shaped sideshield having a periphery for generally conforming to the shape of the individual eyeglass lens holders 24 and 26 . each of the novel sideshields 16 and 18 has a top portion 28 integrally formed to a side portion 30 , along a first edge 32 , and a bottom portion 34 integrally formed with side portion 30 at a second edge 36 . it can be further seen from fig1 that the sideshields fitting each side of the eyeglass frame are mirror images of each other . as shown , a first flange portion 38 extends from at least one of the top portion 28 , side portion 30 , and bottom portion 34 at least partially in front of and substantially parallel to the eyeglass lens holder 26 . also , according to one embodiment , a second flange portion 40 also extends inwardly from at least one of the top and bottom portions behind and substantially parallel to the eyeglass lens holder 26 to secure the eyeglass lens holder 26 between the first and second flange portions 38 and 40 . it will be noted that in the illustrative embodiment , the first flange portion 38 extends inwardly along the front portion 42 of the lens holder 26 while the second flange portion 40 extends behind and substantially parallel to the rear portion 44 of the individual eyeglass lens holder 26 , thus retaining the eyeglass lens holder 26 between the first and second flange portions 38 and 40 . this is shown clearly in fig2 and 3 . continuing with fig2 it can be seen that with most eyeglass frames 10 , temple 14 is attached by a hinge 46 to a portion 47 of each side of the individual eyeglass lens holders 24 and 26 for holding the eyeglass frame 10 on the head of the user . the portion 47 of the eyeglass frame to which the hinge is attached is typically referred to by those skilled in the art as the “ end piece .” the temple 14 is pivotally attached to the frame 10 by hinge 46 at pivot point 48 , as is well known in the art . further , as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , each hinge 46 will include a first portion secured or mounted to the end piece 47 of the eyeglass frame 10 located between the side of the lens holder and the hinge 46 . this first portion of the hinge is referred to herein as the frame front hinge portion 51 or simply the “ frame front hinge .” hinge 46 will also include a second portion 53 secured or mounted to the temple 14 and is hereinafter referred to as the temple hinge portion or simply “ temple hinge .” note also in the illustrated embodiment of fig4 that the first flange portion 38 of the shield 10 , according to the embodiment of fig2 extends partially in front of the eyeglass lens holder 26 at 42 along substantially the entire periphery of the sideshield except for the enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b of slots 52 and 54 . also note in fig4 that the second flange portion 40 extends only from the top and bottom portions of the sideshield 18 behind the eyeglass lens holder at 44 to secure the eyeglass frame between the first and second flange portions 38 and 40 . referring now to fig3 a , there is shown a typical plastic frame having an end piece 47 with a very short or no rearward projection 49 . fig3 b shows a typical metal frame ( also some plastic frames ) having an extending rearward projection 49 . this type frame often uses a three - leaf hinge with two leaves attached to the frame 26 and a single leaf attached to the temple 14 . fig3 c shows a rugged seven - leaf hinge ( four leaves attached , for example , to the end piece 47 of the frame and three leaves attached to the temple 14 ). the side view of fig4 facing the inside of the sideshield shows the sideshield before being installed on a pair of eyeglasses and without the elastomeric member 50 being installed . as shown , the first and second slots 52 and 54 extend from first enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b in the front of the sideshield to enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b , respectively . fig5 a and 5b illustrate how the use of the enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b ( shown in fig5 a ) facilitate passing the elastomeric member 50 through the spaced slot 52 to the enlarged area 60 a . in fig5 a , the diameter 63 of the elastomeric member 50 is seen to be approximately the same or slightly smaller than the width 65 of enlarged slot 58 a . however , as shown in fig5 b , the diameter 63 of elastomeric member 50 is substantially greater than the width of slot 52 as shown at 67 . enlarged slot or area 58 a provides an effective way for easily passing the elastomeric member 50 into enlarged area 60 a while allowing the use of simple and inexpensive injection molding dies . it should also be noted that , according to one embodiment , there is a sloping or tapered area 62 a and 62 b from the first enlarged areas 58 a and 58 b to their respective slots 52 and 54 . however , the transition from the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b to the respective slots 52 and 54 is abrupt . although the actual dimension of the slots 52 and 54 and the enlarged areas 58 a and 58 b and 60 a and 60 b are not critical , the width of the slots 52 and 54 are selected to be somewhat less than the relaxed diameter of the elastomeric member 50 . on the other hand , according to one embodiment , the dimension of the enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b and the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b are selected to be approximately the same size as the elastomeric member 50 . these enlarged openings may be slightly smaller than the relaxed diameter of the elastomeric member 50 , but are preferably slightly larger . the arrangement of the enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b sloping to the spaced slots 52 and 54 , as discussed above , allows for easily attaching the elastic or elastomeric member 50 to the sideshield thereby protecting it from being broken or abraded during the assembly process . this helps to prevent premature failures . however , the abrupt transition from enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b to narrow slots 52 and 54 provides a barrier against accidental removal of the elastomeric member 50 . again , it should be understood that the dimensions of the enlarged areas , the slots and the elastomeric member may vary for different applications or uses . however , if the elastomeric member 50 is selected to have a relaxed diameter of about 0 . 070 inches , it has been determined that selecting the enlarged slots 58 a and 58 b to be about 0 . 080 inches , the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b to be 0 . 10 inches , and the spaced slots 52 and 54 to have a width of about 0 . 030 inches results in an exemplary sideshield . fig6 a and 6b illustrate the cross - sectional views taken along the lines indicated in fig3 and show the top portion 28 , the side portion 30 , the bottom portion 34 , the slots 52 and 54 , and the grooves 64 and 66 . as can also be seen in fig4 and the cross - sectional view of fig6 b , the present invention can further incorporate “ living hinges ” to permit the sideshield to be easily adjusted to accommodate eyeglass frames of various sizes . the perspective view of fig7 a , 7 b and 7 c illustrate the sideshield of the present invention being adjusted for a normal eyeglass frame , a larger eyeglass frame and a smaller eyeglass frame , respectively . the living hinge maintains its shape or position until intentionally readjusted , such as for example , to fit another eyeglass frame of a different size , and is formed by defining a pair of grooves 64 and 66 along or proximate the edges 36 and 34 which join the side portion 30 of the sideshield to the top portion 28 and the bottom portion 34 , respectively . the exact dimension of the grooves 64 and 66 defined in the sideshield may vary depending upon the composition of the sideshield material and the nominal thickness of the sideshield . according to one embodiment using a plastic material such as polycarbonate having a nominal thickness of about 0 . 050 inches , groove 64 was selected to be about 0 . 70 inches long . the thickness of the sideshield material at groove 64 was about 0 . 03 + 0 . 005 − 0 . 002 inches , and the thickness of the material for groove 66 was about 0 . 020 + 0 . 005 − 0 . 002 inches . fig2 , 9 , 10 and 11 show embodiments of the present invention to hold the sideshield to the front portion of the eyeglass frame 10 . according to this embodiment , the elastomeric member 50 is a continuous elastic band 56 , such as , for example only , a rubber o - ring . the o - ring or continuous elastic band 56 engages end piece or portion 47 of the eyeglass frame 10 as shown in fig2 and 10 , or at the frame front hinge portion 51 itself of hinge 46 as shown in fig8 and 9 and extends into the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b of first and second spaced slots 52 and 54 . the o - ring is stretched along corresponding ones of the first and second edges 32 and 36 into the third and fourth slots 70 and 72 and under the tab or flange 68 . thus , by stretching the continuous elastic band 56 to engage the third and fourth slots 70 and 72 under the sideshield tab 68 , tension is applied to the eyeglass lens holder 26 and the sideshield 18 to fixedly hold the sideshield 18 to the eyeglass lens holder 26 . as was discussed , fig4 is a side view of one of the sideshields 16 or 18 illustrating cross - sectional lines a — a and b — b associated with the shield . the cross sections are shown in fig6 a and 6b . note also that the sideshields 16 and 18 include a top portion 28 , a side portion 30 , and a bottom portion 34 . as discussed above , slots 70 and 72 are formed at the rear of the sideshields 16 and 18 and define the tab or flange 68 . the first groove 64 extends at least part way between enlarged area 60 a and slot 72 , and the second grove 66 extends at least part way between enlarged area 60 b and 70 . fig1 is a bottom view of the sideshield 18 attached to an eyeglass frame having an extended portion 49 of end piece 47 located between the lens holder and the hinge 46 . because of the flexibility of the sideshield 18 , the temple 14 as illustrated in fig8 can be a spring - loaded temple at hinge 46 , as is well known in the art . thus , according to one embodiment , the temples can move outwardly in a direction away from each other as shown by arrow 74 a predetermined distance such as , for example only , approximately five degrees . thus , eyeglasses with spring - loaded temples can be accommodated with the present device . as discussed above , it can be seen in fig1 that sideshields 16 and 18 are mirror images of each other , and thus only one sideshield has been disclosed and discussed in detail in the figs . fig1 shows an embodiment similar to that of fig2 and 8 , but instead of using an elastic band or “ o ”- ring , the elastomeric member 50 is an elongated elastic member 76 having first and second ends 78 and 80 such as shown in fig1 . each of the first and second ends 78 and 80 include an enlarged portion or bosses 82 and 84 . bosses 82 and 84 maintain or hold the ends of the elastic member in the second enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b of slots 52 and 54 , respectively . the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b may preferably be elongated as shown in fig1 for this embodiment since both ends of the elongated elastic member 76 are received by each of the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b . fig1 illustrates the different pantoscopic angles that can be found for various eyeglasses . assuming that the eyeglass front portion 10 is vertically positioned in front of the eye , the temple could extend through either of the points 86 , 88 or 90 , thus varying the angle between the temple and the eyeglass lens in front of the eye . with the present invention , the pantoscopic angle can change as needed and the temple can extend through any of the points 86 , 88 or 90 without affecting the attachment of the sideshield to the eyeglass front portion 10 . fig1 also illustrates in phantom lines the area 92 which is desired to be protected by the sideshields . fig1 is a front view of the representation of a face illustrating in phantom lines the area 74 about the eye that is protected by the novel sideshields of the present invention . thus , there has been disclosed a full sideshield for removable attachment to an eyeglass frame having a front and a rear and a pair of pivotally - mounted temples attached to corresponding mounting bracket projections or hinges extending from each side of the eyeglass frame for holding the eyeglass frame on the head of a user . the sideshield forms a semicircle around the eyeglass in front of the eye cavity of the user to provide at least partial protection on the top , bottom and side of the eye . the sideshield is generally arcuate - shaped and has a periphery for generally conforming to the shape of the eyeglass frame . the sideshield has a side portion 30 integrally framed along a first edge 32 with a top portion 28 , and also integrally framed along a second edge 36 to a bottom portion 34 . first and second flange portions 38 and 40 extend at least partially in front of and behind the eyeglass frame front portion to hold the eyeglass frame lens holder portions between the first and second flange portions 38 and 40 . an elastomeric member 50 attaches the sideshield to the end piece or portion 47 of the eyeglass frame 10 between the side of lens holder and the hinge without interfering with movement of the temple . the elastomeric member 50 may be a continuous elastic band 56 engaging the mounting bracket projection hinge or frame front 46 on the eyeglass frame front portion and extending into the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b of first and second spaced slots 52 and 54 in the forward end of the sideshield and extending along the edges 32 and 36 joining the top portion 28 and bottom portion 34 to the side portion 30 into third and fourth spaced slots 72 and 74 at the opposite end or rear of the sideshield , and then under a substantially u - shaped tab or flange 68 such that , by stretching the continuous elastic band to engage the third and fourth slots and pass under the sideshield tab or flange 68 , a tension is applied to the eyeglass frame and the sideshield to fixedly hold the sideshield to the eyeglass frame . alternately , the elastomeric member 50 may be an elongated elastic member 76 with bosses 82 and 84 on each end to retain the member in the enlarged areas 60 a and 60 b of front slots 52 and 54 . clearly , either the elongated elastic member 76 or the continuous elastic band 56 could be used to hold the sideshield to the eyeglass frame front portion . the corresponding structures , materials , acts and equivalents of all means plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed .	6
in one aspect of our invention , we directly measure [ hco 3 − ] for fast and high volume blood testing typicaily utilizing ion sensing electrodes ( ise ) in electro - chemical sensor based analytical measurements and include the directly measured [ hco 3 − ] into the calculation for strong ion difference utilizing equation 4 , 9 or 10 or side calculation utilizing equation 11 . in another aspect of our invention , we utilize s co2 and pk ′ values for bodily fluids which are dependent on ionic strength , protein concentration , etc . in computing strong ion difference by substituting for [ hco 3 − ] from equation 2 into equations 4 and utilizing pk ′ values from equation 6b at 37 ° c . or by interpolation or extrapolation from equation 6b . similarly sco2 from equation 6a may also be utilized . heisler developed complex equations for s co2 ( mmol 1 - 1 mmhg − 1 ) ( 1 mmhg = 133 . 22 pa ) and pk ′ that are purported to be generally applicable to aqueous solutions including body fluids between 0 ° and 40 ° c . and incorporate the molarity of dissolved species ( md ), solution ph , temperature ( t , ° c . ), sodium concentration ([ na + ], mol 1 - 1 ), ionic strength of non - protein ions ( i , mol 1 - 1 ) and protein concentration ([ pr ], g 1 - 1 ) and are also referenced by stabenau and heming but not utilized for sid calculation : pk ′= 6 . 583 − 1 . 341 × 10 − 2t + 2 . 282 × 10 − 4t2 − 1 . 516 × 10 − 6t3 − 0 . 341i0 . 323 − log { 1 + 3 . 9 × 10 − 4 [ pr ]+ 10a ( 1 + 10b )}, ( 4 ) where a = ph − 10 . 64 + 0 . 011t + 0 . 737i0 . 323 and b = 1 . 92 − 0 . 01t − 0 . 737i0 . 323 + log [ na + ]+( 0 . 651 − 0 . 4941 )( 1 + 0 . 0065 [ pr ]) ( eq . 6b ) equation 6a or 6b may also be expressed in the form of table , graph , curve , algorithm , nomogram or curve nomogram and may also be programmed into a computer or microprocessor . in yet another aspect of our invention we utilize the variation of k 1 ′ as k 1 ′ versus sid ( equation 7 ), corrected for na + , ionic strength , etc . to obtain corrected sid via equation 9 or 10 . while both sco 2 and pk ′ in equation 2 are not constants and vary with ionic strength , temperature , ph and protein concentration , the variation of pk ′ is much more significant in non - logarithmic form of equation 1 when temperature is fixed at 37 ° c . we find that k 1 ′ = 0 . 03 * 10 − pk ′ where sco2 is taken to be reasonably constant 0 . 03 mmol / l * hg at 37 ° c . once the temperature is fixed , at 37 ° c ., pk ′ varies strongly with ionic strength . abnormal plasma na - levels fluctuations over hours and days in a given patient are not uncommon . the variation in pk ′ with ionic strength is particularly evident if logarithmic scale is not used . hyponatraemia or hypematraemia i . e . variation in plasma na levels ( and thus strong ion difference in general ) contributes significantly to variations in k 1 ′ . such large corrections are very obvious when applied to strong ion difference model which does not utilize logarithmic scale . we converted the data in the literature from pk ′ versus ionic strength to k 1 ′ versus sid when only bicarbonate and strong ions are present ( as contributions to sid by weak acids are accounted for separately by utilizing equations 5 and 6 ) utilizing equations 1 and 4 and find it to be : where k 3 is the apparent equilibrium dissociation constant for bicarbonate . combining the above equations and k 3 = 6 * 10 − 11 equiv / l , kw ′= 4 . 4 * 10 − 14 ( equiv / l ) 2 , we obtain the “ corrected stewart equation ”: [ sid ]+[ h + ]−[ 2 . 3 * 10 − 11 + 0 . 0355778 * 10 − 11 * sid ]* pco 2 /[ h + ]− k a [ a tot ]/( k a +[ h + ])− k 3 ( 2 . 3 * 10 − 11 + 0 . 0355778 * 10 − 11 * sid ) pco 2 /[ h + ] 2 − k w ′ /[ h + ]= 0 ( eq . 9 ) figge et . al further refined a tot to albumin , [ alb ] in g / dl and phosphates , [ phos ] in nmol / l and with equation 9 results in corrected sid : sid =( 2 . 3 * 10 − 11 * pco 2 /[ h + ] 10 [ alb ]( 0 . 12 * ph − 0 . 631 )+[ phos ]( 0 ; 309 * ph − 0 . 469 )+ 2 . 3 * 10 − 22 * 6 * pco 2 /[ h + ] 2 + k w ′ /[ h + ]−[ h + ])/( 1 − 0 . 0355778 * 10 − 11 * pco 2 /[ h + ]− 0 . 0355778 * 6 * 10 − 22 * pco 2 /[ h + ] 2 ) ( eq . 10 ) it may be also be noted that a tot / albumin do provide a fair share to the value of corrected sid and there is no doubt about the contributions due to variations in pco 2 . in yet another aspect of our present invention , we further introduce “ strong ion difference excess ” ( side ) as the change in corrected sid from the reference value of 23 . 2 milli - equiv / l at ph = 7 . 4 , pco 2 = 5 . 33 kpa ( or 40 torr or 40 mm hg ) and independent of hemoglobin and weak proteins and unidentified components . the side is particularly a quick useful measure when one can rule out the effects of hemoglobin and weak proteins and unidentified components . thus , ignoring weak proteins , albumin and smaller terms from equation 10 , we obtain : side =((( 2 . 3 * 10 − 11 * pco 2 /[ h + ])/( 1 −( 0 . 0355778 * 10 − 11 * pco 2 /[ h + ]− 0 . 0355778 * 6 * 10 − 22 * pco 2 /[ h + ] 2 ))− 0 . 0232 ) ( eq . 11 ) according to our definition side is zero for values of pco 2 = 40 torr and for ph = 7 . 4 . fig1 shows the result of our improvements for sid for fixed pk ′= 6 . 1 , sid for exact measured pk ′ values and improved sid for the data points of hastings and sendroy data . fig1 shows the fixed - sid for pk ′= 6 . 1 ( or k 1 ′ = 2 . 46 * 10 − 11 ( equiv / l ) 2 / mmhg , assumed constant ), exact - sid for the measured data points by utilizing the exact pk ′ values hastings and sendroy data and corrected - sid , corrected for pk ′ variability by absorbing pk ′ ( or k 1 ′ ) versus exact - sid ( equation 7 ) into the corrected - sid calculations ( equation 10 ). note the improvement in the corrected - sid being closer to exact - sid values than the fixed - sid values without having resort to costly and error prone measurements of the ionic strength , etc . there by reducing health care costs . the x - axis reflects various data points shown as pk ′ values of hastings and sendroy data . in another aspect of our invention directly measured values of sid may be utilized by an array of ion sensing electrodes for strong ions . to measure sid requires , depending upon the precision to which one aspires , the measurement of strong ion concentrations including na + , k + , cl − , ca ++ , mg ++ , sulfate , urate , keto metbolites and lactate with their attendant costs . the measurement of [ na + ] or total ionic strength would also be susceptible to inaccuracies and added cost . in yet another aspect of our invention , the computation of corrected sid as in equation 10 incorporating the variability of k 1 ′ ( along with [ h + ]/ ph , pco 2 ) and a tot / albumin contribution and additional testing of keto acids in diabetics and other species where warranted is an integrated and a more accurate and complete measure of respiratory / non - respiratory equilibria of blood plasma . thus computation of corrected sid , rather than its experimental measurement is also a pragmatic approach with a sound biological , chemical and mathematical basis . it should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention . various alternatives and modifications can be devised , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	6
the present disclosure relates to a platform for allowing users to identify and control the advertisements appearing on their internet web browsers . the platform enables greater transparency with respect to advertisements by allowing users to learn what elements of their internet browsing led to the display of the advertisement in question . the platform also allows users to suppress advertisements of a particular category , rather than an all - or - nothing approach , thereby giving users fine - grained control over the advertisements they see while browsing the internet . it should be understood that the elements shown in the figures may be implemented in various forms of hardware , software or combinations thereof . preferably , these elements are implemented in a combination of hardware and software on one or more appropriately programmed general - purpose devices , which may include a processor , memory and input / output interfaces . other elements can be implemented through the use of specifically - purposed devices , such as electronic display screens and audio - visual devices . fig1 illustrates a platform 100 constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the platform includes two logical components : a client side 102 that monitors web transactions conducted by a user 104 and filters outgoing http connections , and a backend 106 for analyzing web pages visited by the user and performing detailed characterizations of the web pages and the advertisements thereon . the client side 102 includes an advertisement control interface 108 to allow the user to execute the methods disclosed further below . the backend 106 includes a memory 110 for storing a user &# 39 ; s browsing history and control preferences , which are associated with the user &# 39 ; s profile , and a universal resource locator ( url ) classification engine 112 for investigating and classifying advertisements according to subject matter , such as , for example , “ loans → mortgage ” or “ recreation → children &# 39 ; s toys .” the backend 106 also includes an advertisement classifier 114 , which is configured to execute a number of processes for classifying an advertisement &# 39 ; s type , such as , for example , contextual , retargeting , and behavioral . these processes are discussed in detail further below . fig2 illustrates a method 200 of classifying web advertisements in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the method begins when a user visits a web page ( step 202 ) and is presented with an advertisement that the user 104 would like to investigate . the user initiates an identification procedure ( step 204 ) on the advertisement . in one embodiment , the identification procedure 204 is deliberately activated by the user 104 through the use of a plugin . in another embodiment , the identification procedure ( step 204 ) activates upon view of an advertisement without direction from the user 104 . upon activation of the identification procedure , the advertisement classifier 114 tests whether the advertisement is a contextual advertisement , a re - targeting advertisement , or a behavioral advertisement . the advertisement classifier 114 begins by attempting to find the same advertisement that the user sees while browsing the web page without any identifying profile ( step 206 ). in one embodiment , this test is performed k times consecutively . if the same advertisement is found at least once out of the k attempts , the advertisement classifier 114 determines that the advertisement is contextual and labels it as such ( step 208 ). if the advertisement classifier 114 determines that the advertisement is not contextual , it compares the domain of the web page embedding the advertisement with the domains of previously - visited web pages associated with the advertisement &# 39 ; s ad - network or tracker ( step 210 ). if a match exists between the domain of the embedded advertisement and one of the domains of the previously - visited web pages , the advertisement classifier 114 determines that the advertisement is re - targeted and labels it as such ( step 212 ). if no match is found , the advertisement is assumed to result from behavioral targeting , and is thus labeled as behavioral ( step 214 ). in one embodiment , the advertisement classifier 114 indicates a category or associated subject matter , such as , for example , “ loans → mortgage ” or “ recreation → children &# 39 ; s toys ,” for an advertisement classified as behavioral . in one embodiment , the advertisement classifier 114 also provides to the user a link for “ more information ,” which leads the user to a page displaying the web pages in the user &# 39 ; s history that are categorized with the same category associated with the advertisement in question . fig3 a and 3 b illustrate various methods 300 a , 300 b of suppressing advertisements from their particular category in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . with reference to fig3 a , in one embodiment with respect to suppressing behaviorally targeted advertisements , the advertisement classifier 114 identifies all web pages visited by the user up until the time the behaviorally targeted advertisement in question is encountered ( step 302 ). the advertisement classifier 114 then visits these web pages in chronological order until it reaches a web page whose category matches the category of the behaviorally targeted advertisement ( step 304 ). any such web page is then skipped over ( step 306 ), thereby avoiding the behavior associated with the behaviorally targeted advertisement . this process continues until the advertisement classifier 114 reaches the web page currently viewed by the user ( step 308 ). the resultant click stream is then stored in a cookie for future use ( step 310 ). a “ click stream ” is a term of art relating to data that represents selections or “ clicks ” by a user . with reference to fig3 b , in one embodiment with respect to re - targeted advertisements , the advertisement classifier 114 identifies web pages visited by the user up until the time the retargeted advertisement in question is encountered ( step 312 ). the advertisement classifier 114 then visits these web pages in chronological order until it reaches a web page whose domain matches the domain of the retargeted advertisement ( step 314 ). any such web page is then skipped over ( step 316 ), thereby avoiding the original visit to the domain in question that resulted in the retargeted advertisement . this process continues until the advertisement classifier 114 reaches the web page currently viewed by the user ( step 318 ). the resultant click stream is then stored in a cookie for future use ( step 320 ). to ensure that these user preferences are maintained , one embodiment of the present invention includes employing an online page classifier to block cookies from pages associated with the category that the user wishes to block . in one embodiment , the advertisement classifier 114 first allows only http requests from the main body of the page to pass through to the user while blocking advertisement - related http requests . the advertisement classifier 114 then scans the page category of advertisement - related http requests and allows those which the user has not specifically chosen to avoid to pass through to the user . in this embodiment , http requests whose categories match those categories associated with the saved cookies generated from the processes illustrated in fig3 a and 3 b are blocked until the user chooses to unblock them . the various embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as hardware , firmware , software , or any combination thereof . moreover , the software is preferably implemented as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage unit or computer readable medium . the application program may be uploaded to , and executed by , a machine comprising any suitable architecture . preferably , the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units (“ cpus ”), a memory , and input / output interfaces . the computer platform may also include an operating system and microinstruction code . the various processes and functions described herein may be either part of the microinstruction code or part of the application program , or any combination thereof , which may be executed by a cpu , whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown . all examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art , and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions . moreover , all statements herein reciting principles , aspects , and embodiments of the invention , as well as specific examples thereof , are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof . additionally , it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future , i . e ., any elements developed that perform the same function , regardless of structure . it will be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . all such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	7
fig1 shows diagrammatically a step - type rotary drill bit for use in drilling deep holes in subsurface formations . the drill bit comprises a bit body 10 having a leading face 11 and a gauge region 12 . the bit body is machined from steel and has a tapered threaded shank 13 for connection to a drill string . the leading face 11 of the drill bit is formed with a generally conical recess around which are arranged arrays of pdc cutters arranged in a stepped configuration , in known manner . similarly the outer peripheral surface of the leading face of the bit body is generally conical in shape and has part - circular pdc cutters mounted on it in a stepped configuration . in known manner , each pdc cutter comprises a cutting table of polycrystalline diamond bonded to a substrate of cemented tungsten carbide . the substrate is either mounted directly in a socket in the body or is brazed to a post or stud which is , in turn , received in a socket in the bit body . as may be seen from fig1 each cutter is pan - circular and has a generally vertical straight cutting edge 14 which bears laterally on the surface of the formation 15 and a horizontal cutting edge 16 which bears downwardly on the formation . the cutting elements bearing laterally outwardly against the formation are indicated at 17 and the cutting elements beating inwardly on a central conical formation 18 on the bottom of the borehole are indicated at 19 . fig2 is a horizontal section through one of the cutting elements 19 which bears against the formation in the central conical projection 18 on the bottom of the borehole . as may be seen from fig2 the cutter 19 is so orientated on the bit body as to exhibit negative side rake . that is to say , the cutting face 20 of the cutter , as viewed along the longitudinal axis of the bit , is inclined forwardly in the normal direction of rotation of the bit ( indicated by the arrow 21 ) as it extends away from the formation 18 . the negative side rake angle α is the angle between the cutting face 20 and a radial plane 22 at fight angles to the formation 18 . fig3 is a vertical section through the cutter 19 and it will be seen that the cutter is so orientated on the bit body as to exhibit negative top rake , i . e . the cutting face 20 of the cutter , as viewed along a radius of the bit , is inclined forwardly in the normal direction of rotation of the bit ( indicated by the arrow 21 ) as it extends away from the formation 18 . the negative top rake angle β is the angle between the cutting face 20 and the radial plane 22 at fight angles to the formation . the negative side rake angle is preferably greater than 20 ° and , as will be described below , may be as great as 90 °. the negative top rake angle is preferably at least 20 °. the provision of negative side rake on the cutters tends to inhibit the lateral cutting effect of the cutters on the formation . consequently , the cutters have an increased &# 34 ; bearing &# 34 ; effect on the formation which they engage , and less &# 34 ; cutting &# 34 ; effect , which tends to stabilise the drill bit in the borehole and to inhibit the initiation of the bit whirl . the effect is likely to be most efficient when applied to the inwardly directed cutters 19 in a drill bit of the kind shown in fig1 where the cutting profile has a central substantially conical depression since the provision of such conical profile tends , in any case , to stabilise the drill bit in the borehole . however , as shown , the negative side rake and top rake may also be applied to outwardly directed cutters and this may be done , not only in a drill bit of the configuration shown in fig1 but also in drill bits where the cutting profile is not formed with a central conical depression . fig4 is a similar view to fig2 of an alternative construction . in this case the cutter 23 is formed with two cutting faces 24 , 25 arranged at an angle to one another . both curing faces comprise parts of a cutting table of polycrystalline diamond bonded to a tungsten carbide substrate 26 . as shown in fig4 the cutter 23 is so orientated on the bit body that the leading cutting face 24 has a negative side rake angle of approximately 20 ° or more , whereas the trailing cutting face 25 has a negative side rake angle of substantially 90 °. that is to say , the cutting face 25 is arranged substantially tangentially to the curved surface of the formation 27 . in this case , therefore , the cutter has very little lateral cutting effect on the formation 27 and performs largely a &# 34 ; bearing &# 34 ; function whereby the engagement of the cutter with the formation tends to stabilise the bit in the borehole . the cutter 23 is shown in perspective in fig5 . in the arrangement of fig4 the cutter 23 is an inwardly facing cutter and fig6 shows the alternative arrangement where a similar cutter 28 faces outwardly and bears against the formation 29 forming the side walls of the borehole . fig4 - 6 show only one form of cutter having two angled cutting faces and it will be appreciated that other configurations may be employed . also , the two cutting faces at different side rake angles may be provided on entirely separate cutters located at different places around the leading face of the drill bit . the combined effect of the separate cutters will however be substantially the same as the cutter shown in fig4 - 6 . in any of the arrangements according to the invention , the stability of the drill bit in the borehole will be substantially enhanced , and the enhancement may be sufficient to enable the conventional gauge region of the drill bit to be dispensed with . a drill bit without such a gauge section is shown diagrammatically in fig7 . in this case the cutters 30 , 30a mounted on the bit body 31 around the outer periphery of the drill bit are so orientated as to exhibit negative side rake and negative top rake , as previously described . this applies to the cutters 30 mounted on a generally conical lower part of the bit body as well as to other cutters 30a mounted on a generally cylindrical part of the bit body 31 above the cutters 30 . fig8 illustrates diagrammatically another aspect of the present invention and is a conventional diagrammatic representation showing the relative disposition of cutters on a drill bit in a manner to illustrate the cutting profile . in other words the cutters shown diagrammatically in fig8 are actually distributed in different locations over the bit body but fig8 shows their relative radial and vertical positions to form the cutting profile . as will be seen from fig8 the cutting profile is partly defined by five inner part - circular cutters 32 arranged in a generally conical pattern over the bit body so as to form an inner frusto - conical upstanding core or projection from the bottom of the borehole being drilled . outwardly of the cutters 32 is a series of circular cutters 33 which form the lowermost part of the borehole bottom . radially outwardly of the cutters 33 is another series of part - circular cutters 34 . as previously explained , cutters nearer the outer periphery of the drill bit tend to wear more rapidly than cutters nearer the axis of rotation 35 , and these outer cutters are indicated at 36 . in accordance with this aspect of the invention the outer cutters 36 comprise four primary cutters 37 which perform the initial cutting of the formation . however , associated with each primary cutter 37 are one or more back - up cutters 38 which are positioned at substantially the same radial distance from the axis 35 of the bit but are displaced vertically with respect to the primary cutter . the number of back - up cutters increases from one with the two innermost primary cutters to three with the outermost primary cutter 37 , the multiple back - up cutters being arranged at different vertical spacings from the primary cutter . in the arrangement of fig8 the radial spacing of the outer cutters 36 is somewhat greater than is normally the case with prior art drill bits and this allows these outer cutters to achieve greater and hence more efficient depth of cut . although this leads to more rapid wear of the primary cutters , the associated back - up cutters 38 come into play as each primary cutter fails so as to continue cutting the formation at a large and hence efficient depth of cut . the arrangement of fig8 is particularly suitable for use with the stabilising arrangements previously described , however the back - up cutter arrangement may also be provided with prior art drill bits where the stability of the drill bit in a borehole is effected by other means . fig9 to 11 illustrate a modified version of the cutter of fig4 to 6 , the cutter being of a type to provide increased resistance to impact damage . the cutter comprises a generally cylindrical circular cross - section substrate 41 formed , for example , from cemented tungsten carbide . one end of the substrate is formed with two oppositely inclined surfaces 42 , 43 arranged at an angle of 120 ° to one another . bonded across the surfaces 42 , 43 is a facing table 44 of polycrystalline diamond which extends over the ridge 45 between the surfaces 42 and 43 . the facing table 44 provides two inclined facing surfaces 46 and 47 . in use , the cutter of fig9 to 11 is mounted on the drill bit in similar manner to that shown in fig4 or fig6 so that one of the faces 46 , 47 bears substantially tangentially against the formation while the other face is disposed at a back rake angle of approximately 30 °. one or both of the from faces 46 , 47 is cylindrically curved about an axis parallel to the forwardly facing ridge 45 of the cutter . in the case where the cutter is for mounting in the gauge region of the drill bit , the radius of curvature of the curved surface is approximately equal to the distance of the surface from the central axis of rotation of the drill bit so that the surface is of substantially corresponding curvature to the surface of the gauge pad on which it is mounted . this tends to reduce the abrasive effect of the surface on the formation which it engages and also reduces the susceptibility of the cutter to damage by impact . in order to further reduce the risk of damage by impact on the cutter , the lower end of the ridge 45 of the cutter is radiused as indicated at 48 in fig1 and 11 . as previously mentioned , the stability of a drill bit according to the present invention may be further enhanced by also using on the drill bit plough cutters located in the region of the nose of the bit . such an arrangement is shown in fig1 to 14 . in fig1 , plough cutters 49 are mounted on the bit body 50 around the lowermost annular nose portion of a crown bit . as indicated diagrammatically in fig1 , the plough cutters create v - section annular grooves 51 in the formation 52 at the bottom of the borehole and , due to their shape , the grooves tend to keep the plough cutters in an annular path thus enhancing the lateral stability of the bit . if plough cutters are used on the flanks of the bit body they have the effect of cutting a &# 34 ; screw thread &# 34 ; in the formation , which may also enhance the axial stability of the bit . fig1 and 14 show a typical plough cutter in greater detail . the cutter comprises a tapered tungsten carbide substrate 53 to which is bonded a polycrystalline diamond facing table 54 , the substrate being so shaped that the facing table 54 , which is of constant thickness , provides a cutting face which comprises two cutting surfaces 55 , 56 which are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of a central forwardly facing ridge 57 . the cutter is bonded , for example by brazing , to a post 58 which is secured within a socket in the bit body .	4
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . it should be understood that throughout the drawings , corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features . it should also be understood that various cross - hatching patterns used in the drawings are not intended to limit the specific materials that may be employed with the present disclosure . the cross - hatching patterns are merely exemplary of preferable materials or are used to distinguish between adjacent or mating components illustrated within the drawings for purposes of clarity . a spaghetti element 1 shown in fig1 is of ceramic . it surrounds a longitudinal conduit 1 . 1 . the spaghetti bundle shown in fig2 includes three pieces of spaghetti 1 , each with a longitudinal conduit 1 . 1 . the three pieces of spaghetti enclose a hollow space 1 . 2 between them . fig3 shows a bundle of spaghetti 1 surrounded by a sleeve 2 . the sleeve 2 has a plurality of openings 2 . 1 , so that there is a conductive connection between the hollow spaces 1 . 2 , each located between pieces of spaghetti 1 adjacent one another , and the external environment . fig4 schematically illustrates the application of a mounting ring 3 — see also fig5 . for that purpose , the subject of fig3 is dipped by one of its ends into a potting material 4 , which is located in a tub 5 . the potting material 4 comprises plastic , such as a thermoplastic material , or synthetic resin . after the subject of fig3 has been dipped , the potting material penetrates through the openings 2 . 1 into the hollow spaces 1 . 2 in the spaghetti 1 and fills them up . after the potting material has hardened , the result is the subject shown in fig5 , that is , the spaghetti bundle , surrounded by the sleeve 2 , with the mounting ring 3 . for the filtration process , it is necessary that the longitudinal conduits 1 . 1 remain open . this can be achieved in various ways . if the lower end face of the bundle is absolutely flat and flush with the bottom of the tub 5 , then the penetration of potting material into the longitudinal conduits 1 . 1 can be prevented . the ends of the longitudinal conduits 1 . 1 could also be provided with plugs , but this is tedious and expensive . finally , after the state shown in fig5 is reached , the bundle can be shortened , by cutting off a desired piece at its lower end , since because the diameter of the longitudinal conduits is so slight , the potting material does not penetrate them overly much . fig6 shows the end region of a multi - conduit element 6 having a plurality of longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 . the element 6 is of ceramic . it is hexagonal in cross section . still other cross sections are also possible here , such as round or oval ones . the application of mounting rings is done for the multi - conduit element in precisely the same way as for the spaghetti element . see fig4 and 5 . however , what is crucial here is solely the application of the mounting ring 3 . conversely , it is no longer crucial to fill up hollow spaces analogously to the hollow spaces 1 . 2 in the bundle shown in fig2 . in each case , the mounting rings 3 are seated solidly on the spaghetti bundle , or on the multi - conduit element . now a union with a housing must be established . the finished filter apparatus is seen in fig8 . in it , a plurality of multi - conduit elements 6 are surrounded by a housing 7 . instead of the multi - conduit elements 6 , spaghetti elements could also be provided . the housing 7 in the embodiment shown comprises a thermoplastic material . this is the same material that comprises the mounting ring 3 . the housing 7 and mounting ring 3 are produced in a single potting operation and are thus in one piece . this is true in any case for the lower mounting ring 3 . 1 , which in a sense forms the bottom of the housing 7 . it does not apply to the upper mounting ring 3 . 2 , however . there is a seam between it and the upper end of the housing , so that an axial relative motion between the upper mounting ring 3 . 2 and the housing 7 is possible . it is thus also ensured that during the operation of the filter apparatus , the housing 7 can expand to different extents compared to the structural parts surrounded by the housing , namely the multi - conduit elements 6 . at this point , however , a seal is required . see the o - ring 8 . this ring is let into the outer circumference of the upper mounting ring 3 . 2 . it can already be potted integrally with the mounting ring 3 . 2 in the operation of potting the mounting ring . the individual multi - conduit elements 6 are surrounded by a collection chamber 9 . the housing 7 includes a lower cap 7 . 1 and an upper cap 7 . 2 . two connection stubs , namely a lower connection stub 7 . 3 and an upper connection stub 7 . 4 , are also formed integrally with the cylindrical part of the housing . through the lower cap 7 . 1 , medium to be filtered ( unfiltrate ) flows to the lower face ends of the multi - conduit elements 6 . there , it enters the longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 and flows through them . it then emerges from the upper ends of the longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 and reaches the upper cap 7 . 2 . over this course , filtrate passes crosswise to the flow direction into the longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 through the porous ceramic material of the individual multi - conduit element 6 and reaches the collection chamber 9 . from there , it reaches the lower outlet 7 . 3 and the upper outlet 7 . 4 . in a known manner , the unfiltrate entering the upper cap 7 . 2 can be carried in circulatory fashion and delivered to a further filter apparatus , or the same one , where it passes through further filtration operations . the filtration apparatus shown in fig9 and 10 again has a housing of a thermoplastic material . the filter elements 1 are of the spaghetti type . an alternative embodiment of a filtration apparatus , shown in fig1 , has a housing , not shown in this drawing , similar to that of fig9 and 10 . however , the multi - conduit elements are not round (“ tubular membrane ”) but instead are embodied in the form of five elements 6 a - 6 e , all of them flat (“ flat membranes ”) between which shallow , wide interstices 10 are present . the flat membranes 6 a and 6 e and the flat membranes 6 b and 6 d are embodied identically , but are disposed mirror - symmetrically to one another . overall , the outer contours of the flat membranes 6 a - 6 e are adapted to insertion into the tubular housing . it is understood that in other embodiments , not shown , a different number of flat membranes can also be used . the cross sections of the two outer flat membranes 6 a and 6 e are in the form of classical circular segments , which are bounded on one side by a circular arc and on the other by a chord . the inner flat membranes 6 b , 6 c and 6 d are each bounded by two circular arcs and two chords . the height h of all five flat membranes 6 a - 6 e is identical . for the sake of simplicity , the height is shown in fig1 only for the upper flat membrane 6 b in fig1 . here again , it is understood that in an embodiment that is not shown , still other cross sections , such as oval or even free - form cross sections , can also occur . in each flat membrane 6 a - 6 e , there are many longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 , of which for the sake of simplicity only one is provided with a reference numeral in fig1 . in the present instance , the longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 have an approximately square cross section , but they can have a different cross section instead . the production and material of the embodiment of fig1 are identical to the foregoing embodiments . first , the flat membranes 6 a - 6 e are disposed in the desired manner and at the desired spacing from one another . then the axial ends of the flat membranes 6 a - 6 e are potted with a plastic material , as shown as an example in conjunction with a different exemplary embodiment in fig4 and 5 and described above with reference to them . the result on the axial ends is equivalent mounting rings , of which only one mounting ring 3 . 1 on the end is visible in fig1 . the plastic material on the axial ends of the flat membranes 6 a - 6 e is also present in the interstices 10 , and as a result , they are produced reliably and durably . the function is also essentially equivalent to the function that has already been described above in conjunction with the tubular membranes 6 : while the medium to be filtered is being conducted through the longitudinal conduits 6 . 1 , the filtrate is conducted away via the interstices 10 and the interstice , between the housing and the flat membranes 6 a - 6 e , that is formed by the mounting ring 3 . 1 . the description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and , thus , variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure .	1
fig1 shows a guide member ( 1 ), for example a refractory ceramic immersion casting tube for the introduction of metal melt into a chill mold or a refractory ceramic feed channel for placing metal melt onto a conveyor belt . in region ( 3 ) the guide member ( 1 ) is encompassed by an inductor device ( 2 ) which generates a main electromagnetic field ( a ). a collateral electromagnetic field ( b ) is generated in two regions ( 4 and 5 ) of the guide member ( 1 ), which is essentially built of an electrically conductive layer , by providing a continuous electrically insulating longitudinal slot ( 7 ) in a longitudinal direction and by providing slots ( 10 , 11 ) in the intermediate region ( 4 ). the electrically insulating transverse slots ( 11 ) extend in the intermediate region ( 4 ), nearly around the entire circumference of the guide member ( 1 ), and are connected to each other by another electrically insulating longitudinal slot ( 10 ). through this implementation of the guide member ( 1 ), a collateral electromagnetic field ( b ) is generated by the inductor device ( 2 ) in regions ( 4 , 5 ) thus inductively heating the guide member in a region spaced apart from the inductor ( 1 ). in order to avoid the coupling of the metal melt , which is undesirable in this case , the guide member ( 1 ), which is essentially composed of an electrically conductive layer ( 6 ), is provided with electrically insulating layers ( 8 , 9 ) on surfaces in contact with metal melt . these electrically insulating layers enclose the front faces of the guide member ( 1 ) in all areas which may come in contact with the metal melt . the electrically insulating inner layer ( 8 ) extends over all inside surfaces of the guide member ( 1 ). the electrically insulating outer layer ( 9 ) extends at least over the surface of the metal sump shown schematically . the slots ( 7 , 10 , 11 ) are filled with an electrically insulating ceramic material . in addition , guide member ( 1 ) may be divided in the longitudinal direction by an electrically insulated dividing wall ( 14 ). fig2 shows a guide member ( 1 ) used as an immersion casting tube ( 16 ). from a distributor vessel ( 18 ), metal melt is introduced into a chill mold ( 12 ) by a guide member ( 1 ) implemented as immersion casting tube ( 16 ). the guide member ( 1 ) is heated inductively via an inductor device ( 2 ) shown schematically . according to the invention , the guide member ( 1 ) can be heated in a region located in the melt sump . apart from the lesser thermal shock sensitivity brought about during the casting , the danger of bridge formations which exist in particular during thin slab plate casting is also reduced . in addition , the guide member ( 1 ) in the region located in the metal sump during the casting process is inductively heated . fig3 shows an arrangement somewhat similar to fig2 where the metal melt is not fed into a chill mold but rather is placed onto a conveyor device ( 13 ). in this case , the guide member ( 1 ), implemented as feed channel ( 17 ), is not or is only to a very small degree , immersed in the metal melt . accordingly , the electrically insulating outer layer ( 9 ), can be narrower . in fig4 a and 4b a twin - roll caster , with a limiter plate ( 15 ) acting as a lateral boundary for the metal melt , is shown schematically . by means of an inductor device ( 2 ) and electrically insulating slots ( 7 , 11 ), the limiter plate ( 15 ) can also be heated inductively in a lower region . with this arrangement , the undesirable solidification of the metal melt in the wedge - like area located between the casting rollers and the limiter plates , which leads to the destruction of the casting rollers or a poor band quality , is avoided . fig5 shows a limiter plate ( 15 ) according to the invention which comprises essentially an electrically conductive slot layer ( 6 ) as well as an electrically insulating inner layer ( 8 ). the entire plate is preferably enveloped by an electrically insulating layer ( 9 ). fig6 shows the development of the eddy current lines of the guide member ( 1 ) depicted in fig1 . as shown , the electrically conductive layer ( 6 ) is interrupted by the electrically insulating longitudinal and transverse slots ( 10 and 11 ). the inductor device ( 2 ) generates a main filed in the region ( 3 ). additionally , through the arrangement of the slots in the intermediate region ( 4 ), eddy currents are deflected from the main field into region ( 5 ) thus creating a collateral electromagnetic field which inductively heats a region spaced apart from the inductor .	7
as in fig1 and 3 , the labels &# 34 ; in &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; out &# 34 ; are merely expressions of convenience not meant to be limiting . for example , for brake action , either the remote master cylinder ( not shown ) or a remote wheel cylinder ( also not shown ) may transmit or receive . it all depends on such things as brake pedal pressure and last prior set or reset . if fuller understanding is needed , it can be obtained by reference to the prior patent . for fig1 in port 10 and out port 11 are provided in a rectangular block 12 , and for authorized operation these ports commmunicate through a main passage 14 . alternatively , for locking , which is the fig1 condition , the only communication is by way of a by - pass channel 15 having a one - way check valve 15cv permitting flow to port 11 and thus , for example , to wheel cylinders . the check valve , intended to prevent flow in opposite direction ( e . g ., from wheel cylinders to master cylinder ) until such time as a valve or piston 16 is raised as by a rod 17 actuable by a lock mechanism 18 , has certain disadvantages , one being internal ( wrong way ) leakage through the check valve over a matter of hours . in fig2 as in fig1 and in the patent also , a key 19 is shown , but it need be used only to raise the plunger or valve ( 16a in fig2 ) for unlocking , due to wedge and / or spring means more fully described in the patent . preferably , no key is needed to push lock or push - button 18 down and thus bring valve 16a down for locking . this means that owner is not likely to unintentionally cause locking . in fig2 valve 16a is provided with a pencil tip type taper which mates with a tapered valve seat 12v in the bore 14a of an annular cylinder block 12a to selectively provide either two - way or just one - way communication between 10a and 11a . it all depends on vehicle owner &# 39 ; s intent plus design parameters easily understood by those in the art . however , the arrangement of fig2 and that of fig1 also , has a disadvantage of leakage both internal and external . fig3 is , as contrasted with the best prior art of fig2 an enlarged view of a piston cylinder having six - way sealing improvements preventing unauthorized vehicle movement even hours after a first theft , and having corresponding advantages for other fields of use . in fig3 rod or tube 17b carries an enlarged part or portion 30 which has a further enlarged portion 31 which can be thought of as a wedge because of a corresponding enlargement of central bore of cylinder 12b at a certain point along bore taper . cylinder 12b may be supported by an outer shell 23 which can extend upward through a vehicle floor and thereabove support a push - button lock located for convenience of human driver operation . the lower end of the part providing rod enlargements 30 and 31 engages a spring 18b whose lower end in turn engages a valve 16b . as shown in fig3 it is assumed that the valve is provided with an 0 - ring , 16 - 0 . lower diameters of 16b taper downwardly inward , as at 16t , but , unlike the pencil tip type lower taper of the valve in fig2 in fig3 the lower portion of the valve outside is frustro conical . a valve seat member 33 has a vertical bore hole , 33bh , communicating with a pipe fitting 11b . various modifications are possible , even &# 34 ; up &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; down &# 34 ; can be meaningless except as used only as an aid in understanding the drawings , and , of course , the fitting 11b and the valve seat 33 could be made integral instead of separate . as shown , valve seat 33 carries a resilient material washer , 33w , at its top . washer 33w is for mating with a ring - like lower end , of the valve 16b , and within the ring of such lower end and thus within the valve an inner bore terminates upwardly as a cone &# 34 ; dead - end &# 34 ;. thus pressure from &# 34 ; in &# 34 ; or pressure from &# 34 ; out &# 34 ; can , to a different extend dependent on design paramters such as tapers , either one of them lift the valve but only at proper times which , insofar as pressure from &# 34 ; out &# 34 ; is concerned , occur only when the valve 16b is not restrained in its downward position . however , sealing against leakage is of critical importance . to aid in this a copper ( or other soft metal ) liner 32 , originally of uniform o . d . ( and i . d .) is inserted in the central bore of cylinder 12b . near the liner &# 39 ; s lower end , the valve seat 33 has a downwardly outer flare 33f . nearby , the central bore of the cylinder 12b has a corresponding flare , but , during assembly , an accurate ( because in - the - factory ) wrench pressure on 11b distorts lower portion of copper liner 32 between the two ( flares ). for clarity , liberties have been taken in the fig3 drawing , and clearances may be shown where , in practice , none should exist . assume , for example , that a seal or seals is ( or are ) desired near top of ( originally uniform o . d . and i . d .) copper liner 32 . really only the cylinder bore need be flared . liner 32 will still follow the flare when the liner is forced upward . however , the right angle cross - section of a wedge formed as a top of the enlargement 31 can , as the parts are manipulated during assembly , be just as useful as if it were a taper , as could be true at 33f also . moreover , the shape functions are reversible . that is , a taper might be inside the soft metal liner , while a right angle or other sort of wedge or anvil might be outside the liner . as in fig1 or fig2 there is in fig3 an &# 34 ; out &# 34 ;, but in fig3 this includes outlet fitting 11b , which factory ( and thus easily predetermined ) wrench pressue causes about six , or seven , or eight seals , as hereinafter defined . and , as before , there is an &# 34 ; in &# 34 ;, but in fig3 this includes the fitting 10b which is configured and arranged so that with a factory applied wrench pressure a substantially perfect seal is additionally achieved by contact with a resilient sealing washer embedded in side opening of the main valve body 12b . in fig4 which is a top view , and in fig5 which is an elevational view , the valve seat 33 may be thought of as shown without its top and side sealing washers or 0 - rings . there is thus provided apparatus of the class described capable of meeting objects set forth . because of modern transmission interlocks ( associated with automatic tr . &# 34 ; park &# 34 ; or manual tr . &# 34 ; reverse &# 34 ;) a prevalent method of professional car thieves is to not disturb any interlock or alarm system but , instead , to raise the car from the rear and then tow it to a spot believed safe for partial or total dismantling . but such cars ( having key - lock ignition to transmission interlock ) having front wheels locked by apparatus according to the present invention not only can not be driven , they can be neither pushed nor towed . by way of contrast with closest known prior art , the present invention does more than just replace a hard metal valve seat ( 12v of fig2 ) with softer , non - ferrous , material for seals . instead , the present invention , as illustrated in fig3 provides a combination of many seals caused by only a few variables , as follows : 1 . o - ring seals such as 16 - 0 ( but also in the patent ), 4 . cylinder bore taper or flare to liner 32 toward its bottom , 7 . bottom ring of valve 16b with the valve seat washer 33w , 8 . fitting 10b to washer 35 which the fitting pressure can expand . with the best prior art , as represented in fig2 of the present application , test vehicles could be started and moved in 3 or 4 hours ( an average of 3 . 5 hrs .) after lock - up . by contrast , test vehicles having identical apparatus except with piston - cylinder arrangements as in fig3 could not be started and moved after a lock - up of 14 hours ( a target time ), and sometimes not until after 72 hours , for a conservative average of 43 hours , although even the 14 hours provides ample time for owner to follow provided instructions and , if home for a holiday or weekend , go out and reset his brake lock . there is thus provided not only a good deterrent to a first thief but also a more permanent deterrent such as auto part stores and other volume buyers demand . while i have illustrated and described a particular embodiment , various modifications may obviously be made .	8
this invention provides a dielectric - free triode field emission display device based on double - gate / single - cathode type electron emission units comprising parallelly positioned anode and cathode / gate plates . the cathodes and gate electrodes are separately positioned on the cathode / gate plate with the repeat unit of gate / cathode / gate . a series of gate / cathode / gate electron emission units are arranged side by side on the cathode / gate plate and the spacing between cathode and gate electrodes is vacuum circumstance . each anode on the anode faceplate faces correspondingly a cathode . the number of electron emission units is ⅓ of the sum of electrodes on the cathode / gate plate . the mentioned cathodes are fabricated with electron emission materials . based on the structure mentioned above , this invention provides a drive method . when the gate electrodes are disconnected , a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of tripotential fixed voltage is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . for a given electron emission unit , a negative voltage is applied on the central cathode and a positive voltage is applied on two adjacent gate electrodes on both sides of the cathode , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage . electrons are emitted from the central cathode of the electron emission unit mentioned above under the control of two adjacent gate electrodes and bombard the phosphor powder on the corresponding anode to emit light . according to this method , drive voltages are applied to the cathode and gate electrodes of each emission unit in turn to drive the cathode / gate plate repeatedly . based on this structure , this invention provides another drive method . when the gate electrodes are interconnected , a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of two - potential fixed voltage is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . for a given electron emission unit , a low voltage is applied on the central cathode and a high voltage is applied on all the rest cathode and gate electrodes . electrons are emitted from the central cathode of the electron emission unit mentioned above under the control of two adjacent gate electrodes . according to this method , drive voltages are applied to the cathode and gate electrodes of each emission unit in turn to drive the cathode / gate plate repeatedly . this invention provides a second program of dielectric - free triode field emission display device based on double - gate / single - cathode type electron emission units comprising parallelly positioned anode and cathode / gate plates . the cathodes and gate electrodes are separately positioned on the cathode / gate plate with the repeat unit of cathode / gate configuration , ending the distribution with gate electrode . a series of gate / cathode / gate electron emission units are arranged side by side on the cathode / gate plate and the adjacent electron emission unites share a gate electrode . the spacing between cathode and gate electrodes is vacuum circumstance . each anode on the anode faceplate faces correspondingly a cathode . the number of electron emission units is ½ of the sum of electrodes on the cathode / gate plate . the mentioned cathodes are fabricated with electron emission materials . based on the second structure , this invention provides a drive method . when the gate electrodes are disconnected , a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of tripotential fixed voltage is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . for a given electron emission unit , a negative voltage is applied on the central cathode and a positive voltage is applied on two adjacent gate electrodes on both sides of the cathode , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage . electrons are emitted from the central cathode of the electron emission unit mentioned above under the control of two adjacent gate electrodes and bombard the phosphor powder on the corresponding anode to emit light . according to this method , drive voltages are applied to the cathode and gate electrodes of each emission unit in turn to drive the cathode / gate plate repeatedly . based on the second structure , this invention also provides another drive method . when the gate electrodes are interconnected , a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of two - potential fixed voltage is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . for a given electron emission unit , a low voltage is applied on the central cathode and high voltage are applied on all the rest cathode and gate electrodes . electrons are emitted from the central cathode of the electron emission unit mentioned above under the control of two adjacent gate electrodes . according to this method , drive voltages are applied to the cathode and gate electrodes of each emission unit in turn to drive the cathode / gate plate repeatedly . this invention also provides a third dielectric - free triode field emission display device based on double - gate / single - cathode type electron emission units comprising parallelly positioned anode and cathode / gate plates . the cathode / gate plate consists of uniformly spaced electrodes that can be used interchangeably as the cathode and gate electrodes . all the electrodes are fabricated with or without electron emission materials and the electrode spacing is vacuum circumstance . each anode on the anode faceplate faces correspondingly a cathode . based on the third structure , this invention provides a drive method . a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of tripotential pulse scanning is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . a negative voltage is applied on the electrode at position n as cathode , and two adjacent electrodes on both sides of the n electrode are with positive voltage as gate electrodes . these three electrodes compose an electron emission unit while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage . the cathode mentioned above emits electrons under the control of gate electrodes . according to this method , a negative voltage is applied on the electrode at position n + 1 , and two adjacent electrodes on both sides of the electrode n + 1 are with positive voltage as gate electrodes . thus another electron emission unit is formed when all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage . this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate . so the number of electron emission units is two less than the sum of electrodes on the cathode / gate plate . this invention also provides another drive method based on the third structure . a high addressing voltage is applied on the anode and a drive method of two - potential pulse scanning is used to drive the cathode / gate plate . a low voltage is applied on the electrode at position n as cathode , and two adjacent electrodes on both sides of the electrode n are with high voltage as gate electrodes . these three electrodes compose an electron emission unit while all the rest electrodes are with low voltage . the cathode mentioned above emits electrons under the control of gate electrodes . according to this method , a low voltage is applied on the electrode at position n + 1 , and two adjacent electrodes on both sides of the electrode n + 1 are with high voltage as gate electrodes . thus another electron emission unit is formed when all the rest electrodes are with high voltage . this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate . so the number of electron emission units is two less than the sum of electrodes on the cathode / gate plate . details of this invention are further described considering the figures and embodiments . this invention provides a dielectric - free triode field emission display device based on double - gate / single - cathode type electron emission units comprising an anode faceplate 1 and a cathode / gate plate 2 , as shown in fig1 ( a )-( m ). anode electrodes 12 are arranged separately on the anode faceplate 1 , and electrodes 21 are parallelly distributed with a given spacing on the cathode / gate plate 2 . shown in fig1 ( a )-( j ) are the schematic configurations of device with designated cathodes and gates , where the cathodes are fabricated with electron emission materials 22 and the gate electrodes are fabricated without electron emission materials 22 . fig1 ( a ) and ( b ) are the schematic configuration of disconnected electrode device with gate / cathode / gate repeat units . fig1 ( c ) and ( d ) are schematic configurations of interconnected electrode device with gate / cathode / gate repeat units . fig1 ( e ), ( f ) and ( g ) are schematic configurations of disconnected electrode device with cathode / gate repeat units . fig1 ( h ), ( i ) and ( j ) are schematic configurations of interconnected gate device with cathode / gate repeat units . fig1 ( k ), ( l ) and ( m ) are schematic configurations of device with interchangeable cathode and gate electrodes , in which all the electrodes are fabricated with or without electron emission materials . based on the structures mentioned above , this invention provides corresponding drive methods . on the anode faceplate , a high addressing voltage is applied on the anodes . this voltage is higher than those applied on the cathode and gate electrodes , making the anodes collect electrons . provided that the high low voltage is applied on the electron emission unit selected on the cathode / gate plate , a voltage difference exists between the selected and non - selected electrodes , leading to semi - bright . this problem is revealed out in this invention by using tripotential and two - potential drive method . the tripotential drive method means that the cathode of the electron emission unit selected is with negative voltage − v k , gate electrode with positive voltage + v g and all the rest electrodes with zero - voltage . there is a threshold voltage for electron emission between electrodes , i . e . electrons are emitted at a voltage difference between electrodes lower than the threshold voltage while electrons are not emitted at a voltage difference between electrodes higher than the threshold voltage . according to the above characteristics , the difference between the applied positive and negative voltages is larger than the threshold voltage , and the difference between positive voltage and zero - voltage , as well as the difference between negative voltage and zero - voltage , is lower than the threshold voltage . therefore , it avoids the semi - bright problem . the two - potential drive method merely uses high voltage hv and low voltage lv . the voltage applied on all the electrodes located on the left side of an electron emission unit selected is the same as that on its left electrode . similarly , the voltage applied on all the electrodes located on the right side of the electron emission unit selected is the same as that on its right electrode . since the voltage applied on the selected electrode is the same as those on the adjacent non - selected electrodes , it eliminates the problem of semi - bright caused by voltage difference . when the cathode / gate plate has a configuration like those in fig1 ( a ) and ( b ), the tripotential drive method is used , as shown in fig1 ( n ). at time t 1 , the gate electrode 1 a is with positive voltage + v g , cathode 1 with negative voltage − v k , and gate electrode 1 b is with positive voltage + v g , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage , as shown in fig1 ( a ). these three electrodes compose a gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit , and electrons are emitted from cathode 1 under the control of gate electrodes 1 a and 1 b to bombard the phosphor on the anode faceplate . at time t 2 , the same positive and negative voltages are applied on another electron emission unit , as shown in fig1 ( b ). the cathode 2 emits electrons under the control of gate electrode 2 a and 2 b . this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate . when the cathode / gate plate has a configuration like those in fig1 ( c ) and ( d ), the two - potential drive method is used , as shown in fig1 ( o ). the gate electrodes are with high voltage lv all the time . the cathode is with low voltage hv when it is selected and otherwise it is with high voltage lv . the structures at time t 1 and t 2 are shown in fig1 ( c ) and ( d ), respectively . electrons are emitted from the cathode under the control of two adjacent gate electrodes . when the cathode / gate plate has a configuration like those in fig1 ( e ), ( f ) and ( g ), the tripotential drive method is used , as shown in fig1 ( p ). at time t 1 , the gate electrode 1 is with positive voltage + v g , the cathode 1 with negative voltage − v k , the gate electrode 12 with positive voltage + v g , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage , as shown in fig1 ( e ). these three electrodes compose a gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit , and electrons are emitted from cathode 1 under the control of gate electrodes 1 and 12 to bombard the phosphor on the anode faceplate . at time t 2 , the gate electrode 12 is with positive voltage + v g , the cathode 2 with negative voltage − v k , the gate electrode 23 with positive voltage + v g , as shown in fig1 ( f ). these three electrodes compose a gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit , and electrons are emitted from cathode 2 under the control of gate electrodes 12 and 23 to bombard the phosphor on the anode faceplate . at time t 3 , the voltages are likewise applied on gate electrode 23 , cathode 3 and gate electrode 34 , as shown in fig1 ( g ). this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate . when the cathode / gate plate has a configuration like those in fig1 ( h ), ( i ) and ( j ), the two - potential drive method is used , as shown in fig1 ( o ). the gate electrodes are with high voltage hv all the time . the cathode is with low voltage lv when it is selected and otherwise it is with high voltage hv . the structures at time t 1 , t 2 and t 3 are shown in fig1 ( h ), ( i ) and ( j ), respectively . electrons are emitted from the cathode under the control of two gate electrodes . when the cathode / gate plate has a configuration like those in fig1 ( k ), ( l ) and ( m ), the drive method is described as below . fig1 ( q ) is the sequence diagram of tripotential drive method . five adjacent electrodes are labeled from electrode 1 to electrode 5 . at time t 1 , the electrode 1 is with positive voltage + v g , the electrode 2 with negative voltage − v k , the electrode 3 with positive voltage + v g , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage , as shown in fig1 ( k ). the electrode 2 is used as cathode and electrodes 1 and 3 as gate electrodes . these three electrodes compose a gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit , and electrons are emitted from the electrode 2 under the control of electrodes 1 and 3 . at time t 2 , the electrode 2 is with positive voltage + v g , the electrode 3 with negative voltage − v k , the electrode 4 with positive voltage + v k , while all the rest electrodes are with zero - voltage , as shown in fig1 ( l ). the electrode 3 is used as cathode and electrode 2 and 4 as gate electrodes , forming another gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit . at time t 3 , the electrode 3 is with positive voltage + v g , the electrode 4 with negative voltage − v k , the electrode 5 with positive voltage + v g , as shown in fig1 ( m ). this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate without reducing the resolution . fig1 ( r ) is the sequence diagram of two - potential drive method . five adjacent electrodes are labeled from electrode 1 to electrode 5 . at time t 1 , the electrode 1 is with high voltage hv , the electrode 2 with low voltage lv , the electrode 3 with high voltage hv , while all the rest electrodes are with high voltage hv , as shown in fig1 ( k ). the electrode 2 is used as cathode and electrode 1 and 3 as gate electrodes . these three electrodes compose a gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit , and electrons are emitted from electrodes 2 under the control of electrode 1 and 3 . at time t 2 , the electrode 2 is with high voltage hv , the electrode 3 with low voltage lv , the electrode 4 with high voltage hv , while all the rest electrodes are with high voltage hv , as shown in fig1 ( l ). the electrode 3 is used as cathode and electrode 2 and 4 as gate electrodes . these three electrodes compose another gate / cathode / gate electron emission unit . at time t 3 , the electrode 3 is with high voltage hv , the electrode 4 with low voltage lv , the electrode 5 with high voltage hv , as shown in fig1 ( m ). this cycle repeats to drive the cathode / gate plate without reducing the resolution . although the present invention has been described with respect to the foregoing preferred embodiments , it should be understood that various other changes , omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the scope of this invention .	6
the following is a detailed description of the best presently known modes of carrying out the inventions . this description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the inventions . the detailed description of the preferred embodiments is organized as follows : i . introduction ii . exemplary catheter and expandable lesion formation device structures iii . exemplary loop formation devices iv . methods of use the section titles and overall organization of the present detailed description are for the purpose of convenience only and are not intended to limit the present inventions . the present inventions may be used within body lumens , chambers or cavities for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes in those instance where access to interior bodily regions is obtained through , for example , the vascular system or alimentary canal and without complex invasive surgical procedures . for example , the inventions herein have application in the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmia conditions within the heart . the inventions herein also have application in the diagnosis or treatment of ailments of the gastrointestinal tract , prostrate , brain , gall bladder , uterus , and other regions of the body . with regard to the treatment of conditions within the heart , the present inventions are designed to produce intimate tissue contact with target substrates associated with various arrhythmias , namely atrial fibrillation , atrial flutter , and ventricular tachycardia . for example , the distal portion of a catheter in accordance with a present invention , which may include diagnostic and / or soft tissue coagulation electrodes , can be used to create lesions within or around the pulmonary vein to treat ectopic atrial fibrillation . the structures are also adaptable for use with probes other than catheter - based probes . for example , the structures disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with hand held surgical devices ( or “ surgical probes ”). the distal end of a surgical probe may be placed directly in contact with the targeted tissue area by a physician during a surgical procedure , such as open heart surgery . here , access may be obtained by way of a thoracotomy , median sternotomy , or thoracostomy . exemplary surgical probes are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 071 , 281 , which is incorporated herein by reference . surgical probe devices in accordance with the present inventions preferably include a handle , a relatively short shaft , and one of the distal assemblies described hereafter in the catheter context . preferably , the length of the shaft is about 4 inches to about 18 inches . this is relatively short in comparison to the portion of a catheter body that is inserted into the patient ( typically from 23 to 55 inches in length ) and the additional body portion that remains outside the patient . the shaft is also relatively stiff . in other words , the shaft is either rigid , malleable , or somewhat flexible . a rigid shaft cannot be bent . a malleable shaft is a shaft that can be readily bent by the physician to a desired shape , without springing back when released , so that it will remain in that shape during the surgical procedure . thus , the stiffness of a malleable shaft must be low enough to allow the shaft to be bent , but high enough to resist bending when the forces associated with a surgical procedure are applied to the shaft . a somewhat flexible shaft will bend and spring back when released . however , the force required to bend the shaft must be substantial . as illustrated for example in fig1 - 6 , a catheter 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention includes a flexible catheter body 12 that may be formed from a biocompatible thermoplastic material such as braided or unbraided pebax ® ( polyether block emide ), polyethylene , or polyurethane , and is preferably about 5 french to about 9 french in diameter . preferably , the catheter body 12 will have a two part construction consisting of a relatively long less flexible proximal member 14 ( formed from braided pebax ®) and a relatively short flexible distal member 16 ( formed from unbraided pebax ®). the proximal and distal members 14 and 16 may be bonded together with an overlapping thermal bond or adhesive bonded together end to end over a sleeve in what is referred to as a “ butt bond .” the proximal end of the catheter body 12 is secured to a handle 18 . an expandable ( and collapsible ) coagulation body is mounted on the proximal member 14 . as described below , the expandable coagulation body may be either an expandable porous electrode structure 20 ( as shown in fig1 - 5 ) or an expandable structure 58 that can be heated to a predetermined temperature ( as shown in fig8 ). the exemplary expandable porous electrode 20 , which is formed from an electrically non - conductive thermoplastic or elastomeric material , includes a porous region 22 having micropores 24 and a non - porous region 26 . liquid pressure is used to inflate the expandable porous electrode 20 and maintain it in its expanded state . the liquid used to fill the expandable porous electrode 20 is an electrically conductive liquid that establishes an electrically conductive path to convey rf energy from the electrode 20 to tissue . referring more specifically to fig5 and 6 , the conductive liquid is supplied under pressure to the expandable porous electrode 20 by way of an infusion / ventilation port 28 in the handle 18 , an inlet lumen 30 that is connected to the port , and an aperture 32 formed in the catheter body 12 . the inlet lumen extends 30 from the port 28 to the aperture 32 . the pressure should be relatively low ( less than 5 psi ) and will vary in accordance with the desired level of inflation , strength of materials used and the desired degree of body flexibility . the expandable porous electrode 20 will then expand from its collapsed , low profile state ( between about 2 mm and about 4 mm in diameter ) to its expanded state ( between about 5 mm and about 15 mm in diameter ). [ use of the term “ diameter ” is not intended to imply that the electrode 20 is necessarily circular in crosssection .] the liquid is removed by way of the aperture 34 , which is connected to an outlet lumen 36 that is also connected to the infusion / ventilation port 28 . preferably , a vacuum force is applied to the outlet lumen 36 at the infusion / ventilation port 28 to remove the liquid . alternatively , as illustrated for example in fig7 , the proximal member 14 may replaced by a proximal member 38 that is a multi - lumen extrusion with lumens 40 , 42 and 44 . lumen 40 , which is connected to the infusion / ventilation port 28 in the handle 18 , functions as both an inlet lumen and an outlet . the aperture 32 ( fig5 ) is connected to the lumen 40 and aperture 34 may be eliminated . the distal end of the lumen 40 is sealed with an appropriate plug ( not shown ). liquid may be supplied to the lumen 40 under pressure and withdrawn by applying a vacuum force at the infusion / ventilation port 28 . it is preferable , although not required , that the expandable porous electrode 20 be placed proximally of the loop apex 76 ( discussed below ) regardless of the type of fluid lumen employed because the lumens could be pinched , and flow disrupted , at the apex . although the shape may be varied to suit particular applications , the preferred geometry of the expandable porous electrode 20 is essentially that of an elongate half - balloon . in other words , when expanded , the electrode 20 extends radially outwardly away from the loop 62 ( discussed below ) in the manner illustrated for example in fig1 - 3 . the length of the exemplary electrode 20 is about 1 . 0 cm , but may range from 0 . 5 cm to 2 . 0 cm , while the width is about 5 mm , but may range from 3 mm to 15 mm . the length of the exemplary porous region 22 is about 3 mm , but may range from 2 mm to 5 mm , while the width is about 1 . 5 mm , but may range from 0 . 5 mm to 3 mm . this porous electrode configuration is especially useful for forming relatively deep lesions in the entrance to the pulmonary vein . as illustrated for example in fig5 , an electrode 46 formed from material with both relatively high electrical conductivity and relatively high thermal conductivity is carried within the expandable porous electrode 20 . suitable materials include gold , platinum , and platinum / iridium . noble metals are preferred . the pores 24 establish ionic transport of the tissue coagulating energy from the electrode 46 through the electrically conductive fluid to tissue outside the porous electrode 20 . the liquid preferably possesses a low resistivity to decrease ohmic loses , and thus ohmic heating effects , within the porous electrode 20 . the composition of the electrically conductive liquid can vary . a hypertonic saline solution , having a sodium chloride concentration at or near saturation , which is about 20 % weight by volume is preferred . hypertonic saline solution has a low resistivity of only about 5 ohm · cm , compared to blood resistivity of about 150 ohm · cm and myocardial tissue resistivity of about 500 ohm · cm . alternatively , the fluid can be a hypertonic potassium chloride solution . this medium , while promoting the desired ionic transfer , requires closer monitoring of the rate at which ionic transport occurs through the pores 24 , to prevent potassium overload . when hypertonic potassium chloride solution is used , it is preferred keep the ionic transport rate below about 1 meq / min . ionic contrast solution , which has an inherently low resistivity , can be mixed with the hypertonic sodium or potassium chloride solution . the mixture enables radiographic identification of the porous electrode 20 without diminishing the ionic transfer through the pores 24 . due largely to mass concentration differentials across the pores 24 , ions in the conductive fluid will pass into the pores because of concentration differential - driven diffusion . ion diffusion through the pores 24 will continue as long as a concentration gradient is maintained across the porous electrode 20 . the ions contained in the pores 24 provide the means to conduct current across the porous electrode 20 . when rf energy is conveyed from a rf power supply and control apparatus to the electrode 46 , electric current is carried by the ions within the pores 24 . the rf currents provided by the ions result in no net diffusion of ions , as would occur if a dc voltage were applied , although the ions do move slightly back and forth during the rf frequency application . this ionic movement ( and current flow ) in response to the applied rf field does not require perfusion of liquid through the pores 24 . the ions convey rf energy through the pores 24 into tissue to a return electrode , which is typically an external patch electrode ( forming a unipolar arrangement ). alternatively , the transmitted energy can pass through tissue to an adjacent electrode ( forming a bipolar arrangement ). the rf energy heats tissue ( mostly ohmically ) to coagulate the tissue and form a lesion . the temperature of the fluid is preferably monitored for power control purposes . to that end , a temperature sensing element , such as the illustrated thermocouple 48 , may mounted on the catheter body 12 within the expandable porous electrode 20 . a reference thermocouple 50 ( fig2 ) may be positioned on the distal member 16 . alternatively , a thermistor or other temperature sensing element within the electrode 20 may be used in place of the thermocouple and reference thermocouple arrangement . referring to fig1 and 6 , the electrode 46 , thermocouple 48 and reference thermocouple 50 are respectively connected to an electrical connector 52 by electrical conductors 54 which extend through the catheter body . the catheter 10 may be connected to a suitable rf power supply and control apparatus by a connector 56 . additional information concerning controllers which control power to electrodes based on a sensed temperature is disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 456 , 682 , 5 , 582 , 609 and 5 , 755 , 715 . with respect to materials , the porous region 22 of the expandable porous electrode 20 is preferably formed from regenerated cellulose or a microporous elastic polymer . materials such as nylons ( with a softening temperature above 100 ° c . ), ptfe , pei and peek that have micropores created through the use of lasers , electrostatic discharge , ion beam bombardment or other processes may also be used . such materials would preferably include a hydrophilic coating . the micropores should be about 1 to 5 μm in diameter and occupy about 1 % of the surface area of the porous region 22 . a slightly larger pore diameter may be employed . because the larger pore diameter would result in significant fluid transfer through the porous region , a saline solution having a sodium chloride concentration of about 0 . 9 % weight by volume is preferred . the non - porous regions are preferably formed from relatively elastic materials such as silicone and polyisoprene . however , other less elastic materials , such as nylon ®, pebax ®, polyethylene , polyesterurethane and polyester , may also be used . here , the expandable porous electrode 20 may be provided with creased regions that facilitate the collapse of the porous electrode . a hydrophilic coating may be applied to the non - porous regions to facilitate movement of the porous electrode 20 in to and out of a sheath . additional information and examples of expandable and collapsible bodies are disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 984 , 414 , entitled “ devices and methods for creating lesions in endocardial and surrounding tissue to isolate arrhythmia substrates ,” u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 368 , 591 , and 5 , 961 , 513 , each of which is incorporated herein by reference . turning to fig8 , catheters in accordance with other embodiments of the present inventions may include a heated expandable ( and collapsible ) coagulation body 58 in place of the porous electrode 20 . the exemplary coagulation body 58 , which is bonded to and disposed around the proximal member 14 , can be inflated with water , hypertonic saline solution , or other biocompatible fluids . the fluid may be supplied under pressure to the coagulation body 58 , and withdrawn therefrom , through the infusion / ventilation port 28 in either of the manner described above with reference to fig6 and 7 . here too , the pressure should be relatively low ( less than 5 psi ) and will vary in accordance with the desired level of inflation , strength of materials used and the desired degree of body flexibility . a fluid heating element is located within the expandable coagulation body 58 . the fluid heating element is preferably an electrode ( not shown ) that may be formed from metals such as platinum , gold and stainless steel and mounted on the catheter body within the coagulation body 58 . a bi - polar pair of electrodes may , alternatively , be used to transmit power through a conductive fluid , such as isotonic saline solution , to generate heat . the temperature of the fluid may be heated to about 90 ° c ., thereby raising the temperature of the exterior of the expandable coagulation body 58 to approximately the same temperature for tissue coagulation . it should be noted , however , that the expandable coagulation body 58 tends to produce relatively superficial lesions . suitable materials for the exemplary expandable coagulation body 58 include relatively elastic thermally conductive biocompatible materials such as silicone and polyisoprene . other less elastic materials , such as nylon ®, pebax ®, polyethylene and polyester , may also be used . here , the expandable coagulation body will have to be formed with fold lines . temperature sensing elements , such as the exemplary thermocouple 48 and reference thermocouple 50 illustrated in fig2 and 5 , may also be provided . the heating electrode , thermocouple and reference thermocouple will be connected to the electrical connector 52 by 30 electrical conductors which extend through the catheter body 12 in the manner described above . another exemplary embodiment , which is generally represented by reference numeral 59 , is illustrated in fig9 and 10 . the catheter 59 includes a pair of expandable porous electrode structures 20 that are either substantially identical to , or slight variations of , one another . the electrode structures 20 may be inflated together or separately . the expandable coagulation body 58 ( fig8 ) may be used in place of one or more of the electrode structures 20 . with respect to infusion and ventilation , catheter 59 includes respective pairs of inlet lumens 30 and outlet lumens 36 that operate in the manner described above with reference to fig5 and 6 . infusion and ventilation may , alternatively , be accomplished through the use of the proximal member 38 ′ illustrated for example in fig1 . the proximal member 38 ′ includes a pair of fluid lumens 40 ′ that each function as an inlet and an outlet for a respective electrode structure 20 . one of the lumens 40 ′ is plugged to prevent fluid from flowing beyond the distal end of the proximal member 38 ′. a similarly configured distal member ( not shown ), with a single fluid lumen that is connected to the other lumen 40 ′, is connected to the proximal member 38 ′. the distal end of this fluid lumen is also plugged . liquid will be supplied to and withdrawn from each of the electrode structures 20 by way of the lumens in the manner described above with reference to fig7 . in another exemplary embodiment , the catheter 59 may be configured such that the proximal electrode structure 20 is infused and ventilated in one of the manners described above with reference to fig6 and 7 . the distal electrode structure 20 , on the other hand , will be infused and ventilated through the use of the infusion / ventilation pull device 67 that is described below with reference to fig1 . as illustrated for example in fig1 and 2 , the exemplary catheter 10 may be used in conjunction with a sheath 60 and configured such that the distal region of the catheter may be deployed in a loop 62 . the sheath 60 , which preferably has a greater inherent stiffness than the portion of the catheter body 12 that forms the loop 62 , should be lubricious to reduce friction during movement of the catheter body . a handle 64 , which is a toughy borst connector in the illustrated embodiment that can be used to fix the relative positions of the catheter body 12 and sheath 60 , is mounted on the proximal end of the sheath . with respect to materials , the exemplary sheath 60 is a pebax ® and stainless steel braid composite . other materials , such as polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), can also be used . the wall thickness of the sheath 60 is preferably about 0 . 013 inch , which will not add significantly to the overall thickness of the catheter body 12 . also , although the distal end of the sheath 60 is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sheath in the exemplary embodiment , the distal end may also be cut at an angle and tapered in a transverse direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the sheath to effect the shape of the loop 62 . a pull wire 66 extends from the distal end of the catheter body 12 and through the sheath 60 . the proximal end of the pull wire 66 includes an adjustable stop / handle 68 . the pull wire 66 is preferably a flexible , inert cable constructed from strands of metal wire material , such as nickel titanium ( commercially available under the trade name nitinol ®) or 17 - 7 stainless steel , that is about 0 . 012 to 0 . 018 inch in diameter . alternatively , the pull wire 66 may be formed from a flexible , inert stranded or molded plastic material . the pull wire 66 is also preferably round in cross - section , although other cross - sectional configurations can be used . holding the pull wire 66 and handle 68 stationary , the physician deploys the loop 62 by advancing the catheter body 12 through the sheath 60 . once the loop 62 has been formed , the physician can pull on the pull wire 66 to decrease the exposed length of the pull wire beyond the distal end of the sheath 60 . further adjustments to the loop 62 may be made by advancing or retracting the catheter body 12 within the sheath 60 or by putting tension on the pull wire 66 . the loop structure 60 may also be rotated by rotating the catheter body 12 with the handle 18 . as illustrated in fig1 and 13 , the exemplary catheter body 12 includes a flexible spline ( or “ core wire ”) 70 . the flexible spline 70 is preferably a wire having a diameter of approximately 0 . 023 inch that is positioned inside of and passes within the length of the catheter body 12 . the flexible spline 70 is fixedly secured to the handle 18 at the proximal end of the catheter body 12 and to a tip member 72 in the manner described below . the tip member 72 is in turn secured to the distal end of the catheter body 12 with adhesive . in the preferred embodiment , the flexible spline 70 is made from resilient , inert wire , such as nitinol ® material or 17 - 7 stainless steel . resilient injection molded plastic can also be used . the exemplary spline 70 is round in cross section , although other cross sectional configurations can be used . the flexible spline 70 may , if desired , also have a preset curvature accomplished by thermally presetting the spline at 500 ° c . for 8 minutes . the super - elastic properties of the material should , however , be maintained . the flexible spline 70 includes a flattened portion 74 that is located within the portion of the distal member 16 that forms the apex 76 of the loop 62 . the flattened portion 74 acts as a hinge and allows the portion of the catheter body 12 distal to the flattened portion to be bent back into a loop with less force than would otherwise be required . in other words , the flattened portion 74 has a flexibility in the bending direction that is greater than the adjacent portions of the flexible spline 70 . the flattened portion 74 also causes the distal member 16 to bend , and the loop 62 to be formed , in a flat loop plane . the placement of the flattened portion 74 in the area that will form the apex 76 of the loop 62 also results in a much sharper bend at the apex , and a more compact loop , than would be obtained otherwise . specifically , conventional loops often have a flattened portion near the proximal end of the loop and tend to assume a generally circular shape when deployed , while the present loop 62 in the exemplary embodiment has a generally flat , elliptical shape resulting from the location of the flattened portion 74 . the flattened portion 74 should also be thinner than the flattened portion in a conventional loop catheter . in an embodiment where the flexible spline 70 has a diameter of approximately 0 . 023 inch , the thickness of the flattened portion 74 would be about 0 . 008 inch , as compared to about 0 . 018 inch in a conventional catheter . it should be noted , however , the flattened portion should be heat treated at least three times during the flattening process in order to insure the requisite strength . the length of the exemplary flattened portion 74 is about 1 . 0 inch , but may range from 0 . 5 inch to 2 . 0 inches . preferably , the materials and configurations selected for the catheter body proximal member 14 and distal member 16 , as well as the and the spline 70 and flattened portion 74 , will produce a relatively flat elliptical loop 62 that can be inserted into a pulmonary vein in the manner illustrated in fig1 a and 16 b . in a preferred embodiment , the length ( measured along the longitudinal axis of the catheter 10 ) will be about 3 . 0 cm , but may range from 2 . 0 cm to 4 cm , while the height ( measured transverse to the longitudinal axis ) will be about 20 mm , but may range from 15 mm to 30 mm . it should also be noted that , in the exemplary embodiment , the intersection of the proximal and distal members 14 and 16 is located proximal of the flattened portion 74 . this configuration provides at least two advantages . for example , locating the porous electrode 20 on the less flexible proximal member 14 ( which also has better torque transmission properties ) makes it easier to position the electrode during lesion formation procedures . additionally , locating the flattened portion 74 within the relatively flexible distal member 16 improves bending at the apex 76 and makes it easier to pull the loop 62 into a compact orientation . the flexible spline 70 may also be used to anchor the pull wire 66 . as illustrated for example in fig1 , the distal end 78 of the flexible spline 70 is fixedly engaged in an in - line manner to the end 80 of the pull wire 66 with a stainless steel crimp tube 82 . the in - line connection of the flexible spline 70 and pull wire 66 allows for a reduction in the overall diameter of distal portion of the catheter body 12 . this provides a significant clinical advantage over devices having side by side pull wire connections which create a larger diameter device . the pull wire 66 passes through a pull wire bore 84 in the catheter tip member 72 and through a bore 86 in the distal end of the crimp tube 82 . the tip member 72 is preferably formed from platinum and is fixedly engaged with , for example , silver solder , adhesive or spot welding , to the distal end of crimp tube 82 . the flexible spline 70 is preferably electrically insulated with a thin walled polyester heat shrink tube 88 that extends beyond the proximal end of the crimp tube 82 . other pull wire configurations , other methods of attaching the pull wire to the catheter body , and methods of reducing stress on the pull wire are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 048 , 329 , which is incorporated herein by reference . it should be noted that the present inventions are also applicable to loop catheters in which the distal portion of catheter body is connected to the distal portion of the sheath . as illustrated for example in fig1 , the exemplary catheter 90 , which is otherwise identical to catheter 10 , does not include a pull wire and instead is used in combination with a sheath 92 which has a distal member 94 that is connected to the distal end of the catheter 90 . a slot is formed in the distal portion of the sheath 92 and the remnant 96 forms a flexible joint . the loop 98 is formed when the catheter 90 is urged distally relative to the sheath 92 , thereby causing the distal portion of the catheter to bulge outwardly in the manner illustrated in fig1 . other loop catheters where the distal portion of catheter body is connected to the distal portion of the sheath may also be used . one example is a catheter wherein the distal end of the catheter body is connected to the distal end of a sheath by a short wire . this and other examples of such loop catheters are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 071 , 274 , which is incorporated herein by reference . as illustrated for example in fig1 , an infusion / ventilation pull device 67 may be used in place of the pull wire 66 . the infusion / ventilation pull device 67 is especially useful in those instanced where a porous electrode 20 or coagulation body 58 is located distal of the apex 76 ( such as in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig9 ). nevertheless , the infusion / ventilation pull device 67 may be used in conjunction with any of the embodiments described herein . the infusion / ventilation pull device 67 is preferably formed from a dual lumen braid tube with the outer portion 69 removed in the vicinity of the tip member 72 ′ to expose the braids 71 . one lumen is used for infusion and the other is used for ventilation . alternatively , a braid tube with the braids on the exterior may be used . in either case , the braids 71 are separated from the remainder of the tube and connected to the core wire 70 with a crimp tube 73 . the inner portion 75 of the braid tube extends through an aperture 77 in the tip member 72 ′ to the porous electrode 20 or coagulation body 58 , where the ends of the dual fluid lumens are plugged . apertures are formed through the wall of the inner portion 75 to each of the two lumens at positions within the porous electrode 20 or coagulation body 58 . so configured , the infusion / ventilation pull device 67 may be used to perform the pull wire function in a loop catheter ( or probe ) in addition to the infusion / ventilation function . the exemplary catheter 10 may be used to , for example , form a lesion around a pulmonary vein ostium in the following manner . with the expandable porous electrode 20 in a collapsed state , the sheath 60 and catheter 10 are directed into the left atrium and the loop 62 is then deployed in the manner described above . the loop 62 is compact enough to allow the apex 76 to be wedged into the pulmonary vein in the manner illustrated in fig1 a . this places core wire 70 in a compressed state and , accordingly , the upper and lower portions of the loop 62 ( as oriented in fig1 a ) push against the corresponding portions of the pulmonary vein ostium . next , conductive fluid is supplied to the expandable porous electrode 20 to expand the electrode into the state illustrated in fig1 b . the porous electrode 20 will press against , and conform to , the pulmonary vein ostium . the underlying loop 62 will also be acting as a brace to press the now expanded porous electrode 20 against the ostium . as a result , the porous electrode 20 will achieve the level of contact necessary to form an effective lesion . with the porous electrode 20 urged against the pulmonary vein ostium , power is supplied to the electrode 46 to create a lesion . once a lesion is created , the liquid will be removed from the porous electrode 20 to return it to its collapsed state . this allows the loop 62 to be rotated by the physician by , for example , rotating the handle 18 . the loop 62 may have to also be withdrawn slightly prior to rotation . the porous electrode 20 will be re - expanded , and a lesion created , when the porous electrode is aligned with the next intended lesion location . this process will continue until a continuous lesion has been formed all the way around the pulmonary vein ostium . after the formation of a lesion around the pulmonary vein is complete , a series of electrodes 100 positioned on the side of the loop 62 opposite the porous electrode structure 20 may be used for pacing and recording purposes to determine whether or not a continuous line of electrical block has been formed through conventional mapping techniques . the electrodes 100 , which are connected to the connector 52 ( fig1 ) by conductors 102 ( fig6 , 7 , 10 and 11 ), are preferably in the form of solid rings of conductive material , like platinum , or can comprise a conductive material , like platinum - iridium or gold , coated upon the device using conventional coating techniques or an ion beam assisted deposition ( ibad ) process . for better adherence , an undercoating of nickel or titanium can be applied . the electrodes are also about 4 mm in length . other types of electrodes , such as wound spiral coils , helical ribbons , and conductive ink compounds that are pad printed onto a non - conductive tubular body , may also be used . although the present inventions have been described in terms of the preferred embodiments above , numerous modifications and / or additions to the above - described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art . by way of example , but not limitation , although the inflatable lesion formation is positioned on the proximal side of the flattened portion prior to formation of the loop , it may be positioned on the distal side if so desired . it is intended that the scope of the present inventions extend to all such modifications and / or additions and that the scope of the present inventions is limited solely by the claims set forth below .	0
referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail , fig1 and 3 disclose the breath guard , or shield , device or canopy , according to the present invention . in these views , it will be seen that a pair of upstanding pylons 10 and 12 are provided which , at the lower ends are fixedly supported on the upper side of a unit at the ends . unit 14 may be any of the several types which are employed for serving food stuffs . the unit 14 may have wells therein which are heated for holding hot food stuffs , or the food stuffs contained in unit 14 may be refrigerated , or at room temperature . the pylons 10 and 12 may be permanently attached at the lower ends thereof to unit 14 , or may be detachably secured thereto . the pylons 10 and 12 are formed of stainless steel and each has a closure panel 16 mounted on the inner side thereof , only one of which will be seen in fig1 and details of which will be described in connection with fig4 and 5 . near the upper ends , the pylons are connected by rail members 18 and 20 in the form of angles which extend horizontally between the pylons and which may be connected to the respective pylons as by threaded means such as are indicated at 22 in fig2 . adjacent the upper end of each pylon on the inside there is mounted a box - like member 24 on pylon 10 and a box - like member 26 on pylon 12 . each of these box - like members projects toward the other thereof and on the sides facing each other , the members 24 and 26 have socket means for receiving fluorescent lighting means such as is indicated by tube 28 in fig2 and 3 . members 24 and 26 may , for example , include the fluorescent lighting means ballast . projecting from the panels 16 on the inner sides thereof , and immediately therebeneath the respective box - like members 24 and 26 , are laterally spaced studs 30 which are provided with knurled finger nuts 32 . the studs are provided for being received in holes 33 near the top edges of the generally triangularly shaped end support members 34 which may be formed of a suitably strong material , such as plexiglass , or the like . a support member 34 is provided on the inner side of each of the pylons and provides means for supporting the transparent guard , or shield , elements 36 which may also be formed of plexiglass . each guard element 36 is inclined outwardly and downwardly at an angle of about 60 ° from vertical . the upper edge of each guard element 36 is notched as at 42 to permit the respective element to fit about the box - like members 24 and 26 . adjacent the upper edge of each of the elements 36 there are formed apertures 44 and which apertures , as will be seen in fig2 and 4 , are adapted for being engaged by the free ends of angular spring clips 46 which may be welded , or otherwise suitably affixed to the respective rail 18 and 20 . it will be noted that the extreme upper edges of the elements 36 are held captive between the lower inner corners of the angles 18 and 20 and the spring clips 46 , while the shield elements are detachable from the spring clips by lifting the element 36 upwardly to a substantially horizontal position and applying a small force outwardly . the guard elements 36 , can , thus , easily be put in place or removed for cleaning . a canopy according to the present invention is also provided with a cover member 48 extending longitudinally of the canopy assembly and at the opposite ends resting on top of the box - like members 24 and 26 and having side legs 50 and 52 extending downwardly and having inturned lower edges 54 and 56 which snap beneath the outer ends of the lower legs of angles 18 and 29 . one of the angles , such as angle 18 , has an angular element 58 thereon forming a channel through which wires 60 can be led . these wires are employed for energizing the fluorescent light means , or for other purposes , and may be brought up through either one or both of the pylons and run between the box - like members 24 and 26 along the channel described above . as will be seen in fig4 and 5 , each of the pylons comprises a generally u - shaped strip of stainless steel having the ends of the legs bent inwardly as at 62 in fig4 which is a plan sectional view taken through pylon 10 . the extreme inner ends of the turned in legs 62 and 64 are offset inwardly of the respective pylons to form a seat for receiving the respective closure panel 16 . the inwardly offset portions of the legs may be apertured , or notched , as at 66 in fig5 and the panel 16 may have clips 68 fixed to the inside thereof , as by spot welding , for example , which are engageable with the apertures , or notches 66 , formed in the inset portion of the turned in legs of the respective pylons . notches 66 and clips 68 are advantageously near the lower ends of the pylons and each panel 16 may be held in place at the upper end by a screw extending into , for example , a flange formed on the bottom of the respective one of the box - like members 24 and 26 . it will be apparent that the box - like members 24 and 26 are set downwardly from the extreme upper edges of the pylons 10 and 12 , as will be seen in fig3 so that the ends of cover member 48 abut the inner sides of the pylons and are located thereby . as will be seen in fig2 the cover member 48 may have upstanding laterally spaced longitudinal ribs formed thereon at 70 which are parallel to the side edges of the cover member and which terminate a short distance inwardly from the ends of the cover member . the upstanding ribs can provide means for slidably supporting the tray or , more likely , for confining dishes or the like which may be set on top of the cover member . the cover member is provided along each side with indented portions 72 and apertures 74 are provided in the upper regions of the indented regions so that light from lighting means 28 will be reflected outwardly through the apertures and illuminate the members 36 and the sides of cover member and thereby improve the appearance of the canopy arrangement . illumination from lighting means 28 also falls on the upper inner edges of the guard elements 36 and , depending on the particular material employed for the shield members , may provide a region of illumination along the lower outer edges of the guard elements to make the guard elements more readily discernable . with an elongated serving arrangement , there may be provided an additional one of the support members 34 midway of the length of the unit and such an additional support member can advantageously be connected to brackets secured to the angles 18 and 20 and having studs to engage the holes in the support members near the upper edge thereof . it will be appreciated that a breath guard canopy according to the present invention is strong but relatively inexpensive , can easily be disassembled for cleaning purposes without special tools , and is highly effective for the intended purpose .	0
the present invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non - limiting embodiments described in detail in the following description . in its most basic form , the invention is an attachment to a device that provides power , such as a hand - held drill or a weed trimmer . the auger portion contains 1 to 4 discs which are rotated . they are connected to a shaft with a hex head which prevents it from slipping when power is applied . the attachment can be extended to about 26 inches long so the user can stand up while using it , and does not have to stoop over . a pin mechanism holds the first shaft to a second or extension shaft . the device is preferably zinc - coated steel so it is somewhat rust free . however , it may also be made of stainless steel . the power source can be a typical 12 volt or better electric drill , either portable , battery - operated type , or electrical or can be an electric or gas - powered weed trimmer . fig1 shows a device 5 of the present invention which can be used for gardening , weeding , or the mixing of various liquids and particulate solids such as dirt , cement , and paint . the device 5 has an auger 10 including a first shaft 15 . preferably , the first shaft 15 is approximately 15 inches long , or less , and has a first end 20 and a second end 25 . the auger 10 also has at least one disc 27 which is preferably spiraled as shown to permit a better digging and mixing capacity . the disc 27 is preferably located toward the second end 25 approximately 2 or 3 inches from a tip 28 . with the extension attached , it can also be used , for example , to dig a fencepost hole . a three - inch diameter disc is for cultivating soil and weeding , and a four - inch disc is for planting and post hole digging . other disc sizes will be discussed below . as shown in one preferred embodiment shown in fig2 , the tip 28 has an offset shaved flat side 29 which is angled approximately 15 - 20 degrees from center . more preferably , in another embodiment the tip has an offset shaved flat side which is angled 20 degrees from the center . in other embodiments , the tip may be triangle or diamond shaped , or screw - like to enhance boring . the tip 28 is approximately 1 inch long . at the other or first end 20 of the first shaft 15 , is a hexagonal shaped portion 50 . in the preferred embodiment shown at fig1 , the first shaft 15 is connected to a second shaft 30 . the second shaft 65 is in turn connected to a power source 35 . the power source 35 is preferably an electric drill which has a battery pack 38 and ⅜ ″ or ½ ″ chuck jaws 40 . in one preferred embodiment , a stabilizer handle 42 is also present . the power source 35 may have a forward and reverse control 45 as well as an on / off control 48 . as best shown in fig2 , the disc 27 has a leading edge 90 and a trailing edge 95 and is flexed in a spiral configuration to form the angle β . the angle β is preferably approximately 35 degrees . in an alternative embodiment , this angle is preferably approximately between 50 and 60 degrees . the outermost portion of the edges 90 and 95 are preferably sharper for enhanced digging capabilities . the disc 27 is preferably welded to the shaft 15 . in the top down angled view shown in fig2 , the spiral disc portion forms angle α . preferably , α is less 5 degrees . more preferably , α is approximately 0 . 5 degrees . the disc 27 may be 2 inches , 3 inches , or 4 inches in diameter , depending on the use for the auger . the disc 27 is preferably welded to the shaft 15 . in one embodiment , the disc 27 is approximately 1¼ to 13 / 4 inches in diameter . this smaller diameter disc 27 is particularly advantageous when a user wishes to remove weeds from the soil . when this embodiment is placed in the soil it will grab the entire weed , including the roots and remove it without the user ever having to touch the weed itself . furthermore , the relatively small diameter of the disc 27 will leave a smaller portion of the soil disturbed by the weed removal as opposed to any larger disc . a disc diameter less than 1¼ inch is best for punching holes in the soil to plant seeds . the second shaft 30 is preferably approximately 22 - 26 inches long and , as mentioned previously , has a first end 55 and a second end 65 . at the first end 55 of the second shaft , is a hexagonal portion 60 . the hexagonal portion 60 of the second shaft 30 is approximately 1 . 5 inches long as is the hexagonal portion 50 of the first shaft 15 . the second end 65 of the second shaft 30 includes a receiving portion 70 . the receiving portion 70 has a bore 78 ( best shown in fig6 ). preferably , the length of the receiving portion 70 is 2 . 75 inches and the depth of the bore 78 is approximately 2 inches while the diameter of the bore is approximately 0 . 5 inches . the receiving portion 70 receives the portion 50 of the first shaft 15 . in one alternative embodiment , the bore is hex shaped for receiving the hex shaped portion . in another embodiment , the shaft has a threaded portion in place of the hex portion and the bore has threads for receiving the threaded portion which is screwed therein . as best shown in fig3 and 4 , the hex portions 50 , 60 have preferably diameters of less than 0 . 5 inches . a hole 75 is preferably located on the first shaft 15 approximately 2 inches from its outermost end . fig4 shows a top down view best illustrating the outermost end of the hexagonal shaped portion 50 or 60 which are located at the first ends 20 , 55 of the rounded shafts 15 , 30 . fig5 shows second shaft 30 which acts as an extension bar for the device 5 ( not shown ) adding additional length to the auger tool 10 ( not shown ) to allow for use of the device 5 while standing instead of stooping or bending . this extension shaft is particularly useful for older people and those with back or limb problems . fig6 shows a close - up view of how the first shaft 15 is connected to the second shaft 30 . in fig6 , the tip 28 is shown at the second end 25 of the first shaft 15 as is the shaved flat side 29 of the tip . again the flat side is offset from center and is shaved at an angle θ . angle θ is preferably approximately 20 degrees . in fig6 , the first end 20 of the first shaft 15 is shown engaged in the receiving portion 70 at the second end 65 of the second shaft 30 as shown . the hexagonal portion 50 of the first end 20 of the first shaft 15 fits into the bore 78 at the shaft - receiving portion 70 . the first shaft 15 has hole 75 which is aligned with hole 80 in the second shaft 30 . the shafts preferably are connected by a shaft - locking device . in one embodiment , the locking device is a pin is inserted through the aligned holes 75 and 80 . the pin is preferably a u - shaped pin 82 that has a finger loop 85 and a bend 89 . the finger loop 85 is configured to receive a finger 87 of a user for quick detachment of the pin and thus the first shaft 15 from the second shaft 30 . the bend 89 is configured to fit snugly around the receiving portion 70 of the second shaft 30 to hold the pin 82 in place during use . the diameter of the bend 89 is preferably slightly larger than the diameter of the portion 70 . the u - shaped pin 82 is preferably steel or stainless steel and is formed from a thicker and stronger gauge of wire . these materials and this thickness help to prevent the pin 82 from easily shearing during operation . fig7 shows an alternative embodiment of the device 5 . this embodiment is much smaller in dimension than the one previously described . however , it has many of the same features . the reason why this embodiment is smaller is because it is configured to fit on the end of a powered weed trimming tool . the features that remain the same are the device 205 including an auger 210 having a first end 220 and a second end 225 . the first end has a hex portion 250 . there is also a shaft 215 . one slight modification in this embodiment is that at the second end 225 a tip 228 has a shallow cavity 235 instead of a shaved flat portion . this shallow cavity and the outside edges of the shaft help form a cutting surface or portion 229 which can better bore into hard soil . what is also different about this embodiment is that there are two discs 227 and 226 . each of these discs 226 , 227 contains a leading edge and a trailing edge , 290 and 291 and 294 and 295 , respectively . the cavity on the tip 225 can be made with a boring tool . as shown in fig8 , this embodiment can fit in a threaded chuck 105 of the weed trimmer 100 , which is also designated 135 as an alterative power source . the threaded chuck is attached to a threaded shaft 109 which is connected to the weed trimming alternative power source 135 . on one end of the threaded chuck is a hexagonal - shaped hole 108 . pin 110 is inserted through a bore 111 in the threaded chuck 105 then through the hole in the auger 210 and out the other side of the chuck 105 to connect the shaft 215 to the power source 135 . the pin 110 may be held in place by a cotter key 115 . fig9 shows an alternative embodiment of the auger 300 . this embodiment is extremely similar to the embodiment shown in fig2 , however this embodiment preferably has a cutting portion 305 on the disc 310 . the cutting portion 305 may be a serrated portion along the edge of the disc 310 , specifically a serrated edge . this cutting portion 305 is preferably formed from a plurality of spikes 315 placed along the outside edge of the disc 310 . each spike is identical and therefore it is only necessary to describe one spike 320 in order to understand all of the spikes forming the serrated edge . the spike 320 has a proximal end connected to the disc and distal end forming a tip 325 . in the present embodiment , the tip 325 points radially outward , but in alternative embodiments may also be angled downward from the plane of the disc . two angled surfaces 330 , 335 preferably form the spike 320 as each extends from the disc 310 at the proximal end of the spike 320 and terminate at their intersection , which is the tip 325 . these angled surfaces 330 , 325 are depicted as planar , but may also contain multiple angles or be curved . furthermore , a spike need only be formed by at least one angular surface . finally , in another alternative embodiment , the spikes may be angled upward or down ward from the plane and each successive spike may also alternate in its angle . an alternative embodiment of the second shaft 340 is shown in fig1 . the second shaft 340 ( not drawn to scale ) shown is nearly identical to the second shaft of fig5 , but this second shaft 340 has a longer receiving portion 345 in the second end 350 and four equally spaced holes 355 , 360 , 365 , 370 in the receiving portion . the spacing between the holes 355 , 360 , 365 , 370 is preferably approximately 2 inches . the receiving portion 345 may have lesser or more holes , e . g . two or six holes total . the receiving portion has a bore 375 . the overall length of the shaft is still preferably 26 inches . the length of the receiving portion 345 is preferably 10 inches and the depth of the bore 375 is approximately 9 . 25 inches while the diameter of the bore 375 is approximately 0 . 5 inches . a first end 20 of a first shaft 15 may be inserted into the receiving portion 345 of the second shaft 340 . the first hole 355 is preferably placed approximately 2 inches from the terminal end 380 of the second end 350 . the user may then select a desired overall height by aligning the hole 75 of the first shaft 15 with one of the four holes 355 , 360 , 365 , 375 in the receiving portion 345 and then inserting a u - shaped pin 82 to securely connect the two shafts . for example , this adjustable shaft 340 allows the same tool to be used by people of different heights or by a person in a wheel chair and a position using a walker ( i . e ., someone in a seated position and someone in a stooping or standing position ). an alternative embodiment of a cutting portion 390 of a disc 395 can best be seen in fig1 . in this embodiment a plurality of spikes 400 are angled downward on a disc 395 . these spikes 400 allow for a more direct engagement with the soil or material to be mixed . these spikes 400 generally extend out of the bottom surface of the disc 395 and are formed from a plurality of curved surfaces 405 . these surfaces may come in a plethora of forms including single angle linear forms , multiple angle linear forms , or the curved surfaces shown . furthermore , ridges 410 are added to the distal end of the spikes 400 to provide additional cutting surfaces for the disc . although a disc with a leading edge and trailing edge is not shown , this disc in one embodiment may be formed with such edges . fig1 through 14 each shows a device 5 having an auger 10 . each device 5 has a different type of tip 28 . for example , fig1 shows an auger having a screw type tip 428 . fig1 shows a device 10 having a frusto - conical shaped tip 528 with the hole 530 therethrough . one function of the hole is to prevent dirt and other matter from reducing the effectiveness of the frusto - conical shape . fig1 shows a tip 628 having a traditional arrow shape , that is , a triangular shape having a thin outer edge and with a thicker inner portion . all of these tips provide for improved digging into the soil or into plant or vegetative matter . fig1 and 16 show a modification to the auger 10 design of device 5 . in these embodiments , a member 177 , 277 preferably having a quartered circular shape is connected to disc 27 and shaft 30 . the quartered circular shaped member 177 , 277 is preferably perpendicular to shaft 15 . this added member helps the auger 10 better pull weeds . for example , the weed material is captured by this quartered circular shape 177 , 277 as the auger removes the weed from the ground . therefore , it is easier to remove the weed from the auger once the weed has been pulled from the ground and it is ready to be discarded . member 177 has a serrated edge while member 277 has holes 279 therein and an inner cavity portion 281 . fig1 shows a device 5 with at least one square - shaped disc 329 . a diamond - shaped tip 728 is also possible for this embodiment . fig1 shows a disc arrangement 427 having small vertical sidewalls 430 that are similar to winglets on an aircraft . these winglets 430 reduce drag and increase the speed of the auger 10 . holes 431 can be added through the sides of the winglets 430 to increase soil aeration . such winglets may also be added to auger embodiments having a single disc . fig1 shows another embodiment of the auger 10 . here , the auger disc 527 has a series of weldments 530 that form a serrated edge and shaft 15 has a squared portion 550 instead of a hex portion at one end of the shaft . fig2 shows an alternative embodiment of the device 5 of the present invention . in this embodiment , auger 10 has a disc 27 and is connected to an extension bar 30 . the auger 10 is secured to the extension bar with pin 85 . the extension bar 30 is then attached to a handle 610 which may be v - shaped . the handle 610 has a receiving end for receiving the extension bar and a cotter pin 185 , which secures the extension bar 30 to the handle 610 in the same way that the extension bar secured to the auger . the handle 610 allows the user to provide rotational force to the auger . in one embodiment , the handle is used remove an auger that has been trapped for example by roots . the handle preferably has foam handle grips 620 to provide cushioning . in another possible embodiment , the manual power - providing handle is similar to that of an auger used for making holes in ice for ice fishing . see , for example , us patent number . fig2 shows another embodiment of an auger 10 . the auger 10 here preferably has a first disc 710 attached to shaft 715 . a second disc 720 is larger than first disc 710 . this auger is preferably used for weed pulling the disc 710 , 720 . diameters may be 1¼ to 1¾ inches and 2 to 4 inches , respectively . note the discs here are not drawn to scale . when the device 5 is in use , the auger 10 must first be attached to the power source 35 . to do this , the preferred embodiment auger 10 is inserted into an electric drill 35 by first ensuring the chuck jaws 40 of the drill 35 are open to receive the auger 10 . the hexagonal portion or head 50 of the auger 10 is placed into the chuck jaws 40 of the drill 35 . preferably , the chuck jaws are tightened around the augers hexagonal head 50 . in one preferred embodiment , the pointed , sharpened end 29 of the auger 10 is inserted into soil for mixing or boring . finally , power is applied to the drill 35 through preferably an on / off control switch or trigger 48 . in devices 5 that have power sources with a forward and reverse switch 45 , the power source 35 control lever is first switched to a forward position . in devices 5 that have multiple speeds , the low speed control 49 is selected . next , the trigger or on / off control switch 48 is then depressed by preferably a finger of the user to apply power to the auger 10 . the auger sharpened tip 27 which has been resting on the dirt is kept in preferably a perpendicular position while a downward pressure is applied to the drill . this pressure and the forward drilling action of the spiral disc 27 of the auger tip 29 push the auger into the soil , thus drilling a hole . in one preferred embodiment after the hole is drilled , the reverse position is selected on the forward / reverse control 45 . when the on / off control 48 is depressed the auger 10 reverses its original downward drilling motion to raise the auger 10 back out of the soil along with loosened dirt . in one preferred embodiment , an extension shaft 30 can be added to the auger shaft 15 in order to allow the user to use the auger 10 in an upright position . this is preferably done by inserting a hexagonal head 50 of the auger shaft 15 into a receiving portion 70 of the second shaft 30 . next holes 75 , and 80 of the shafts 15 , and 30 are aligned . a locking pin 82 is inserted through the holes 75 , and 80 to attach the shafts 15 , and 30 together and thus provide an extension to the auger 10 . preferably this is done while the drill 35 and the auger 10 are in a horizontal position . when the soil boring or mixing project is complete , the auger 10 is preferably laid in a horizontal position and the chuck jaws 40 are loosened to release the auger &# 39 ; s hexagonal head 50 . the auger 10 is then lifted from the power source 35 . the open chuck jaws 40 thus release the auger 10 so that the user can remove it and store it for use on another occasion . in addition to weeding , mixing , and boring , there are virtually innumerable uses for the present invention , all of which need not be detailed here . moreover , all the disclosed embodiments can be practiced without undue experimentation . although the best mode contemplated by the inventors of carrying out the present invention is disclosed above , practice of the present invention is not limited thereto . it will be manifest that various additions , modifications and rearrangements of the features of the present invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept . the individual components mentioned herein need not be fabricated from the disclosed materials , but could be fabricated from virtually any suitable durable and strong materials . moreover , the individual components need not be formed in the disclosed shapes , or assembled in the disclosed configuration , but could be provided in virtually any shape , and assembled in virtually any suitable configuration . for example , the entire shaft may have a hex shape and the disc itself can also have a hex or some other shape to enhance the disc &# 39 ; s ability to bore into the soil . further , although the discs described herein are physically separate modules , it will be manifest that the discs may be integrated into the shaft . furthermore , all the disclosed features of each disclosed embodiment can be combined with , or substituted for , the disclosed features of every other disclosed embodiment except where such features are mutually exclusive . it is intended that the appended claims cover all such additions , modifications and rearrangements . expedient embodiments of the present invention are differentiated by the appended claims .	1
the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of a system for separating liquid and solid wastes , and is not intended to represent the only form in which it can be developed or utilized . the description sets forth the functions for developing and operating the system in connection with the illustrated embodiments . it is to be understood , however , that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure . it is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first , second , distal , proximal , and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities . referring to fig1 , an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure is shown . this embodiment includes a system 10 of two components . the first component is a shell 12 . the shell includes a body 14 defined by a cylindrical wall 16 , a shell open end 18 , and a shell closed end 20 . as shown , the shell is made of a semi rigid material . the material of the cylindrical wall may be , for example , a plastic , a composite , such as fiberglass , or a metal , such as aluminum . in other embodiments , the shell may be made of a non - rigid material , such as materials typically used to make garbage can s for household or commercial use . in still other embodiments , the shell may be of a rigid material , such as steel or other alloys . in this embodiment , the semi - rigid cylindrical wall holds a cylindrical shape . in other embodiments , as seen along a longitudinal axis , the cross section of the shell may be of another shape , for example , the shell may have a square or rectangular cross section , or a triangular cross section , or any other polygonal or irregular shape desired for functional or aesthetic reasons . the second component is an insert 22 , which includes a body 24 defined by a cylindrical wall 42 , an open end 26 , and a partially closed end 28 , the partially closed end including a portion permeable to liquid 30 . as shown in fig1 , the portion permeable to liquid 30 is defined by a plurality of holes 32 in the partially closed end of the insert . in other embodiments , the portion permeable to liquid may be a different material from the remainder of the insert , such as a gauze material , or a sponge , or a filter material , which prevents the passage of solids , but is permeable to liquids . moreover , the portion permeable to liquid may be located on the partially closed end , as in this embodiment , or may be on a portion of the body , which is defined by a cylindrical wall in the embodiment of fig1 , adjoining the partially closed end , or both a portion of the body and the partially closed end . with reference to both fig1 and 2 , the portion permeable to liquid 30 allows liquid placed in the insert 22 to pass through into a liquid capture reservoir 34 . the liquid capture reservoir is defined by the space between the partially closed end 28 of the insert and the closed end 20 of the insert 12 . the insert is shorter along a longitudinal axis 36 than the shell . the difference in length between the insert and the shell coupled with the substantial alignment of the open end 18 of the insert and the open end 26 of the shell , which occurs due to the engagement between a flange 38 of the insert and a face 40 of the cylindrical wall 16 defining the open end 18 of the shell , assures that there is a gap between the partially closed end of the insert and closed end of the shell , the gap defining the liquid capture reservoir , may vary . the difference in length may be adjusted based on differences in anticipated or observed loads of solid and liquid waste . a shorter insert may be chosen for greater liquid loads , and a longer insert for greater solid loads . the insert 22 is sized such that an outer diameter of the insert is less than an inner diameter of the shell 12 . the insert is designed to interface with the shell . as described above , the interface may be as simple as forming a flange 38 on an open end 26 of the insert . the flange has a greater outside diameter than an inside diameter of the shell 12 , and thus rests on the face 40 of the open end 18 of the shell . in other embodiments , the interface between the insert and the shell may have additional elements which serve to connect the insert to the shell . the insert may be made of the same material as the shell , or a different material . the material of the insert is unaffected by the presence of liquid , and a semi - rigid plastic is most preferred , but other materials that do not rust or corrode with prolonged exposure to liquid are contemplated . materials that are coated or plated so that they are unaffected by liquid are also contemplated . shown in fig3 a is a second embodiment of the insert 322 . in this embodiment , the insert includes a body 324 defined by a cylindrical wall 342 . the insert further includes an open end 326 , and a partially closed end 328 . similar to the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , the insert includes a flange 338 which suspends the insert within the shell ( not shown ). in the embodiment of fig3 a , the cylindrical wall 342 of the insert 322 is shaped to include a longitudinal groove 344 . on one end 346 , the longitudinal groove opens to the inside of the flange , and on an opposite end 348 the longitudinal groove opens to a liquid capture reservoir ( not shown ) similar to that of fig1 , defining a liquid pathway . as shown in fig3 b , the flange 338 does not impinge on the end of the longitudinal groove 344 corresponding to the open end of the insert . in another embodiment of the insert , the flange does not have to create a bridge across the top end of the grove as depicted in fig3 a . turning to both fig3 a and 3b , the insert 322 further includes a portion permeable to liquid 350 formed on the partially closed end 328 . the partially closed end is at a taper “ t .” in the embodiments where the insert body is cylindrical , as is shown in fig3 c , the partially closed end tapers from a first point 352 opposite the portion permeable to liquid 350 , the first point defining the shortest portion of the cylindrical wall 342 to a second point 354 corresponding to an outside 356 of the portion permeable to liquid , which defines the longest portion of the cylindrical wall . in alternative embodiments , the location of the shortest portion of the cylindrical wall is independent of the location of the groove in the cylindrical wall . therefore , the portion of the partially closed end of the insert permeable to liquids may be located at any position on the partially open end of the insert , which includes the location of the groove . as shown in fig3 d , in alternative embodiments , the insert 322 may have a concave partially closed end 388 , which causes liquid to move to a perimeter 390 of the partially closed end , and flow out a portion permeable to liquid 395 on the perimeter of the partially closed end . in other embodiments where the insert includes a partially closed end with a multi - sided polygonal cross section with an even number of sides , the partially closed end tapers from one side of the polygonal cross section to an opposing side . in still other embodiments where the insert includes a partially closed end with a multi - sided polygonal cross section with an odd number of sides , the partially closed end may taper from a point where two sides meet to an opposing side of the polygon , or from a side of the polygon to a point where two of the sides of the polygon meet . in still other embodiments , the taper may be from outside edges of the polygon toward a center of the polygon . in still other embodiments , the partially closed end may taper to an offset point where the portion permeable to liquid is placed on the partially closed end . in the embodiment shown in fig3 a and 3b , the low portion includes a plurality of vertical slots 358 arranged around the perimeter of a raised panel 360 extending in to an interior 362 of the insert 322 defined by the cylindrical wall 342 . at least one of the plurality of vertical slots extends through an outer surface 364 of the cylindrical wall , as well as opening to the interior of the insert . in the embodiment shown in fig3 a and 3b , approximately half of the vertical slots extend through the outer surface of the cylindrical wall . in other embodiments , the vertical slots may be apportioned differently to achieve a desired flow pattern . fig4 a , 4b and 4c show another exemplary embodiment of the system 410 , including a bin 412 , a shell 413 , including a body 414 defined by a cylindrical wall 416 . the shell further includes a closed end 420 . the system further includes an insert 422 including a longitudinal groove 444 similar to the insert 322 of fig3 a and 3b , a partially closed end 428 , and a portion permeable to liquid 450 in the partially closed end . in fig4 a , the bin and the cylindrical wall of the shell and the closed end of the shell are cut away to reveal the insert . due to the cutaway portions of the bin and shell , the longitudinal groove of the insert and the portion permeable to liquid , which , in this embodiment , includes a raised panel 460 and vertical slits 458 allowing liquid to pass through to a liquid capture reservoir 434 , are visible . in operation , liquid may enter the system in one of two locations , and from either of those locations , take separate paths to the liquid capture reservoir 434 . as can best be seen in fig4 a , 4b , and 4c , liquid may enter the system 410 through any one of a plurality of openings 462 defined by an open space between a top 464 , legs 466 which support the top , and the body 414 of the bin 412 . liquid may also enter the system via a funnel 468 . for example , a user may throw a partially filled cup ( not shown ) in to the system through one of the plurality of openings . if there is any solid waste 80 ( fig1 ) already present in the insert 422 , the liquid will flow around the solid waste , and , under the force of gravity move down to the partially closed end 428 . once the liquid reaches the partially closed end , a taper of the partially closed end causes liquid to flow toward the portion permeable to liquid 450 . once liquid arrives at the portion permeable to liquid , the liquid then moves through the vertical slots 458 of the portion permeable to liquid and enters a liquid capture reservoir 434 similar to that of the embodiment of fig1 . alternately , liquid may also be placed in a funnel 468 , which is shown in fig4 a , 4b , 4c , and in detail in fig4 d . the funnel includes an elliptical paraboloid bottom portion 470 , the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion including a drain opening 472 at a lowest point of the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion , the drain opening directing fluids in to a first end 446 of the longitudinal groove 444 which opens to an open end 462 of the insert 422 . the funnel further includes a wall 474 distal of a user , which is laterally arcuate . that is , the wall curves in correspondence to a perimeter of the elliptical paraboloid shape of the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion . the funnel further includes a vertical flange 476 proximal to a user ( not shown ). interior to the flange , the funnel may further include at least one tiered portion 478 located between the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion and the vertical flange . in the embodiment of fig4 b , there are two tiered portions . each tiered portion includes two arcuate surfaces , a first arcuate surface 480 sloping toward the drain opening at greater than 45 degrees , and a second arcuate surface 482 sloping toward the opening at less than 30 but more than zero degrees . in other embodiments , the funnel may have a single sloping surface from the lip to the drain . in still other embodiments , there may be only one tiered surface . still other embodiments may only include the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion , and a rear laterally arcuate wall , and a corresponding front arcuate wall . the drain opening in the funnel aligns with an opening 484 of the longitudinal groove 444 corresponding to the open end of the insert . in this way , liquid passing through the drain opening enters the longitudinal groove . the liquid flows through the longitudinal groove and out an end 448 of the longitudinal groove corresponding to the partially closed end 428 of the insert , and in to the liquid capture reservoir 434 , the longitudinal groove thus defining a liquid pathway . as is shown in fig4 a , in some embodiments , the funnel 468 may interface with the insert 422 simply by resting on the opening defined by the longitudinal groove and an inside edge of the flange of the insert . in another embodiment the funnel may rest on top of the insert or the shell . as shown in fig4 a , the funnel is aligned with the longitudinal groove of the insert , but is supported by the bin , and held in place by arms formed in two of the opening legs of the bin . the laterally arcuate wall of the funnel is engaged on either end by the arms , preventing rotation and lateral movement of the funnel . the top of the laterally arcuate wall abuts the top of the bin , which helps prevent rotation and vertical movement . at least at a perimeter around the drain opening , the funnel abuts the longitudinal groove and an inside edge of the flange of the insert . the abutting of the funnel and the insert also helps prevent vertical movement and rotation of the funnel . in other embodiments , the insert may have a wall corresponding to the opening of the longitudinal groove , but set back from an edge defining the groove opening . when the funnel is placed on the insert , the funnel abuts this wall , aligning the drain opening with the longitudinal groove . the arcuate wall of the insert helps properly align the funnel to the insert when the two are assembled . in still other embodiments , a structure more closely forming to the underside of the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion may be formed in the insert . the funnel is placed in this structure from above , and the structure cradles the funnel . again , much like the arcuate wall of the insert , the structure which conforms to the underside of the elliptical paraboloid bottom portion helps properly align the funnel to the insert when the two are assembled . in still other embodiments , the funnel and the insert may mechanically engage one another . for example , the distal portion of the funnel may have one or more of downward facing “ l ” structures which overlap the arcuate wall of the insert . as the insert or the funnel is placed in the system , the “ l ” structures are bent inward toward the funnel until an end of the “ l ” clears the top of the arcuate wall of the insert . once the “ l ” shaped structure is clear , it swings outwardly from the funnel , and comes to rest in its original configuration , such that it overlaps the arcuate wall of the insert , providing some resistance to separation of the two parts . when the insert and funnel are pulled apart , the “ l ” structure bends outwardly until the end clears the arcuate wall of the insert . the “ l ” shape structure clears the wall , and returns to its original configuration . fig5 a and 5b shows an alternate embodiment of the funnel 568 . this embodiment is most useful in combination with a bin , a shell , and an insert with a multi - sided polygonal cross section along the longitudinal axis . specifically , the embodiment of fig5 would work particularly well with a square or rectangular cross section bin ( not shown ) and insert ( not shown ). however , one of ordinary skill in the art will surely appreciate that an angle between the two halves 585 of the funnel can be changed to accommodate other multi - sided polygonal cross sections . the embodiment of fig5 a and 5b has two halves 585 . each half has a clamshell upper portion 574 , with a proximal open end 586 . a lower portion 588 includes a planar surface 590 which slopes to a common drain opening 572 in the middle of the planar surface . the drain opening corresponds to the opening of one end of a longitudinal groove , such as that of fig4 a . with this structure , liquid placed in either side of the funnel will enter the longitudinal groove . the liquid flows through the longitudinal groove , exiting an opposite end of the groove and entering a liquid capture reservoir between the insert and the shell , the longitudinal groove thus defining a liquid pathway . the proximal open end of the clamshell may have various flanges attached in order to interface with the bin , in order to provide the desired design appearance , and to prevent any liquid spillage in to a portion of the system where the liquid cannot be directed to the liquid capture reservoir . the lower portion of the funnel can be used independently of the upper portion of the funnel and may protrude proximal to the user in order to improve accessibility . flanges 592 on either end are designed to interface with the shell ( not shown ) in order to prevent gaps between the funnel and the bin through which liquid may pass . fig6 a and 6b show another alternative embodiment of the system 610 . a bin 612 has openings 662 on at least two sides of the multi - sided polygonal cross section bin , both of the openings allowing space for solid and liquid waste to enter the system , but also to act as a mounting frame for a plurality of funnels 668 . as shown , similar to the embodiment of fig1 and 2 , the insert 622 includes a portion permeable to liquid 650 defined by holes 632 in the partially closed end 628 of the insert for allowing liquid to drain in to a liquid capture reservoir 634 . in other embodiments , the portion permeable to liquid may be a different material from the remainder of the insert , such as a gauze material , or a sponge , or a filter material , which prevents the passage of solids , but is permeable to liquids . moreover , the portion permeable to liquid may be located on the partially closed end , as in this embodiment , or may be on a portion of a wall 642 in the embodiment of fig6 , adjoining the partially closed end , or both a portion of the cylindrical wall and the partially closed end . the insert 622 in the embodiment of fig6 a and 6b has an insert longitudinal cross section in the shape of a multi - sided polygon , specifically , in this case , a square . in other embodiments , the longitudinal cross section may be any multi - sided polygon , including an irregular polygon . two corners 644 of the square , opposing across a diagonal of the longitudinal cross section , have been truncated to form a space 645 between the insert and the shell 613 for liquid passing through a drain opening 672 of the funnel 668 , the space thus defining a liquid pathway . in other embodiments , all four corners may be truncated regardless of the presence of a corresponding funnel . the shapes of the truncated corners be any polygonal or arcuate shape . in this embodiment , a plurality of funnels 668 are placed , one in each opening 662 of the bin 613 . the bin may have two or more openings , up to a number of openings corresponding to the number of sides of the bin . in other embodiments , the funnels may be placed directly across from one another on sides of the longitudinal cross section . the funnel 668 includes a funnel opening 686 proximal to a user ( not shown ), a flange 692 surrounds the funnel opening to interface with a corresponding opening 662 on the bin 612 , and an arcuate wall 674 which connects a top edge 673 of the funnel opening to a back edge 675 of a drain surface 690 . the flange attaches or abuts the opening of the bin , and the flange has a greater outside dimension than an inside dimension of the opening of the bin . this prevents the funnel from falling in to the insert 622 , or the bin 613 . as can best be seen in fig6 c , the drain surface 690 slopes along and to a diagonal 694 from two different directions . that is , the drain surface slopes down from corners 695 opposing across the diagonal to the diagonal , and from a distal end 696 of the diagonal to a proximal end 698 of the diagonal . this configuration directs liquid to a corner proximal of a user ( not shown ). a drain opening 672 is formed across the diagonal in the corner proximal of the user . in this embodiment the drain opening is circular . in other embodiments , the drain opening may be of any shape that drains fluid quickly and directs the fluid into the space created by the truncated corner 644 and the shell 613 . as can best be seen in the detail view of fig6 a and 6d , the drain opening 672 aligns with the truncated corner 644 described above , and liquid passing through the drain opening passes through the space between the truncated corner of the insert and the shell 612 , and in to a liquid capture reservoir 634 . two side walls 676 , 677 connect side edges 699 of the arcuate wall to the side edges 621 of the drain surface 690 . the side walls and the arcuate wall have outside dimensions less than an inside dimension of the corresponding opening of the bin . with this structure , the funnel may be removed from the shell for cleaning , maintenance , or any reason without requiring disassembly of the bin or insert . fig7 a , 7b , and 7c show a similar embodiment to that of fig6 a - 6d , but a funnel 768 has a second opening 786 proximal to a user ( not shown ). to create the openings , the side walls 776 , 777 are placed on the sides of the drain surface 790 with an apex 749 opposite the drain opening 772 . two arcuate cover surfaces 774 have an opening edge 773 corresponding to two exterior edges 721 of the drain surface . from these edges , the arcuate cover surfaces curve downward toward an edge 775 of the drain surface opposite that of the exterior edge 721 of the drain surface 790 . because the two arcuate cover surfaces have their opening edges on adjoining sides , the two arcuate cover surfaces meet along a diagonal 787 . the diagonal where the two arcuate cover surfaces meet corresponds to a diagonal of the drain surface 794 . similar to the embodiment of fig6 a - 6d , the embodiment of fig7 a - 7c has a flange 792 around one of the two openings . also similar to the embodiment of fig6 a - 6d , the outside dimensions of the side walls and two arcuate cover surfaces are smaller than an inside dimension of an opening on a bin . with this structure , the funnel can be removed without disassembly of the bin or insert . fig8 a , 8b , 8c , and 8d show yet another alternative embodiment of the disclosure . in this embodiment , the insert 822 is similar to that of previous embodiments , but a liquid capture reservoir 834 is integrated with the insert , creating a two piece sub - assembly 810 . the first insert piece , also simply called the insert has a flange 838 at least partly surrounding a circumference of an open top end 826 of the insert , which in this embodiment performs a spacing and alignment function only . as is best seen in fig8 a and 8b , the insert has a chute 844 formed on an interior 862 of the insert . in this embodiment the chute is formed from a single arcuate wall 845 extending from and returning to an interior surface 877 of a cylindrical wall 842 of the insert , and the corresponding portion 899 of the cylindrical wall of the insert . the arcuate wall flares slightly from a first end 846 corresponding to a top end of the insert to a second end 848 , which corresponds to an open bottom end 828 of the insert . at the second end , the arcuate wall has a portion permeable to liquid 850 defined by a plurality of vertical slits 858 . fluid entering an interior of the insert and passing to the open bottom end of the insert is directed to the portion permeable to liquid defined by the vertical slits to the second end of the chute . the fluid may be directed , for example , by one of the tapers described above which is formed in a top of the second piece of the insert . in other embodiments , the chute wall may comprise three walls , each perpendicular to the next , or may be two walls meeting at an apex , or may take any shape which directs fluid from the first end to the second end in the desired manner . in operation , the chute 844 is similar to the longitudinal groove of other embodiments in that the chute directs the flow of liquid poured in to a funnel ( not shown ) at a first end 346 of the chute to a second end 348 of the chute , where the liquid enters a second piece of the insert , also called a liquid capture reservoir 834 , the chute thus defining a liquid pathway . as can best be seen in fig8 b , 8c , and 8d , liquid passing through the opening corresponding to the second end 848 of the chute 844 passes through a corresponding opening 898 in the liquid capture reservoir 834 . the liquid capture reservoir includes a closed end 820 with a circumference larger than the circumference of the bottom end 828 of the insert 822 . the circumference of the closed end of the liquid capture reservoir is larger than the circumference of the bottom end of the insert by the thickness of a wall 816 . the wall extends above a top 830 of the liquid capture reservoir by an amount corresponding to a taper “ t ” of the top plus some additional constant amount . the wall extends below to connect to the closed end 820 of the liquid capture reservoir . in other embodiments , the closed end circumference may be the same as that of the insert , and the liquid capture reservoir has no wall . as can best be seen in fig8 c and 8d , the configuration of the top 830 and the wall 816 allows the liquid capture reservoir 834 to interface with the first piece 822 , which has an open bottom end 828 . in this embodiment , the wall 816 acts only to align the insert 822 , which rests on top of the liquid capture reservoir 834 . in other embodiments , the first and second pieces 822 , 834 may be connected . the connected first and second pieces of the insert may be placed inside a shell collectively . they may be removed collectively as well , and separated to dispose of the liquid and solid waste . in some embodiments the first and second insert pieces are held together by a friction fit between the pieces , and in other embodiments , they are held together by a detent engagement . fig9 a , 9b , 9c , and 9d show yet another alternative embodiment of the system 910 . similar to other embodiments , the embodiment of fig9 a , 9b , 9c , and 9d has an outer bin 912 , an inner shell 913 , an insert 922 , and a funnel 968 . the insert shown includes a body 914 defined by a cylindrical wall 916 , a flange 938 on an open end 926 , and a partially closed end 928 which includes a portion permeable to liquid 950 . in other embodiments , the insert 922 may be of any shape in order to conform to differently shaped shells and bins . in this embodiment , the partially closed end 928 is flat . in other embodiments , the partially closed end 928 may be convex , concave , or tapered . in this embodiment , the portion permeable to liquid 950 is defined by holes 932 , similar to the embodiment of fig1 and 2 or fig6 . in other embodiments , the portion permeable to liquid 950 may have a different shape or arrangement , such as one or a plurality of vertical slits , or one or a plurality of horizontal slits , or be a different material from the remainder of the insert , such as any shape of a gauze material , or a sponge , or a filter material , which prevents the passage of solids , but is permeable to liquids . similar to other embodiments , the bin 912 includes openings 962 which are separated by legs 966 . the legs define a vertical height of the openings . top edges 967 of the openings are defined by a bin top 964 , and a bottom edge 969 of the openings is defined by an open end 917 of the bin body 914 . this embodiment further includes an opening 999 in the top , an interior circumference of which supports a funnel 968 . in this embodiment , the funnel has a circular cross section along a longitudinal axis . a drain surface 990 tapers from a collar 975 at an outer circumference of the funnel to a drain opening 972 in the center of the funnel . the drain opening includes a cover 973 , convex in shape , which includes a plurality of openings 977 which allow any liquid to enter the drain opening . in other embodiments , the cover 973 may be flat , or concave , or any other shape which allows liquid to enter the drain opening with a sufficient flow rate . the drain opening directs liquid in to a funnel drain column 645 , which extends longitudinally past the openings 962 in the bin 912 to a center of the insert 922 . near an open end 926 of the insert , the funnel drain column connects to a corresponding insert drain column 944 . in this embodiment , an open end 971 of the funnel drain column abuts a first end 946 of the insert drain column . in other embodiments , an outside circumference of the funnel drain column is smaller than an inner circumference of the insert drain column , and the funnel drain column extends , at least partly in to the insert drain column . in other embodiments , the ends of the drain columns may have corresponding tapered concave and convex edges , which serve to create a better seal , and better align the drain columns . in still other embodiments , the open end of the funnel drain column and the first end of the insert drain column may feature a twist and lock connection , where at least one slot with two different portions , one with a wider dimension , and a second with a narrower dimension interfaces with a “ t ” shaped element . the horizontal portion of the “ t ” shaped element enters the wider dimension portion of the slot , and then is rotated to the narrower dimension portion , an inner dimension of which is less than an outer dimension of the horizontal portion of the “ t ” shaped element . the narrow dimension portion also includes a detent element which interacts with the “ t ” shaped element to prevent accidental rotation of the “ t ” shaped portion and the slot relative to one another . the insert drain column 944 defines a fluid pathway and includes a second end 948 which opens to a liquid capture reservoir 934 . in this embodiment the drain columns 944 , 945 have a circular cross section along the longitudinal axis . in other embodiments , the drain columns may have a square , rectangle , triangle , or other cross section , either for aesthetic reasons , for example , to match the longitudinal cross section of the bin , shell , or insert , or for functional reasons , for example , to allow faster drainage of liquid . thus , liquid poured on to the funnel drain surface 990 moves down and across the surface to the drain opening 972 and through the drain opening to the funnel drain column 945 , down through the funnel drain column and past the open end 971 of the funnel drain column and in to the insert drain column 944 and out the second end 948 of the insert drain column and in to the liquid capture reservoir 934 . in this way , the funnel and the insert drain column combine to form a liquid pathway which is coaxial with a longitudinal axis of the system . any of the above embodiments which have a funnel and an insert may have an indicator , one exemplary embodiment of which is shown in fig1 , which provides a user indication of the alignment of the funnel and the insert during assembly . the indicator may comprise a marking 1010 such as a word funnel and an arrow , or the word may be superimposed over the arrow , or could be any graphic which would indicate to a user proper alignment between the two . in other embodiments , the indicator may also be a structure , such as a raised boss or rail which indicates alignment to a corresponding structure on the shell , or the funnel itself , to make sure that the inert is properly aligned after the insert has been removed by the user to clear solid waste , for cleaning , or for any other purpose . the above description is given by way of example , and not limitation . given the above disclosure , one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein , including various ways of forming the drain surface . further , the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone , or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein . thus , the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments .	1
there is shown in fig1 the present approach to secured transactions on the internet . an electronic system 10 links a plurality of customers or users 11 via the internet 12 to a plurality of vendors 13 . the customers 11 can use any of a number of interface devices such as a personal computer ( pc ) 14 , an x - box cable unit 15 , a personal digital assistant ( pda ) 16 , a regular telephone 17 or a wireless telephone 18 . each of the devices 14 through 18 has a connection to the internet 12 typically through an internet service provider ( isp ). each of the customers 11 desires to conclude electronic transactions with two or more of the vendors 13 each having a web based sales site . for example , well known retailers maintain web sites such as a sears , roebuck & amp ; co . web site 19 at “ sears . com ”, a kohls department store web site 20 at “ kohls . com ”, a jcpenny ( jcp ) web site 21 at “ jcpenny . com ” and a wal - mart web site 22 at “ walmart . com ” are shown . each of the web sales sites 19 through 22 has associated therewith a separate security system to protect both the customer and the vendor . thus , the web sales sites 19 through 22 are connected to the internet 12 by security systems 23 through 26 respectively . at present , the end customer / consumer 11 , using the internet 12 , connects to a security system of one of the vendors for a “ shopping trip ”. this site need not be a sales site as it could be any web site where the end customer / consumer 11 is requesting entrance into for acquiring a product , a service and / or information . the point is that the end customer / consumer 11 is out to “ acquire something ” from the web site in question whether or not payment is required in exchange . the use of the term “ sales site ” in fig1 is an all encompassing term used to define a web site that will “ supply something ” to the end customer / consumer 11 . in regards to this , sometime during the period that the end customer / consumer is “ at ” the site , especially if an actual purchase of “ something ” is carried out from the web site in question , the end customer / consumer will be required to supply to the web site in question a security identification . this security identification will be in the form of a “ user i . d .” and a “ password ” that will identify the specific end customer / consumer to the web site in question . each of the web sites 19 through 22 carries with it its own security identification for these purposes . the end customer / consumer must keep track of each and every security i . d . and associated password that he / she has accessed and wish to continue to access . each web site must keep and store this security i . d . and password for identification purposes later and each web site must construct and maintain its own security software system 23 through 26 for identification and verification purposes . this software is designed in fig1 as the “ signon ” security systems 23 through 26 required for access to the web sales sites 19 through 22 respectively . this is an extremely inefficient process and not cost effective at all , especially for the web sales sites in question . duplication of cost expenditure and effort by each and every web sales site to carry out this security process is extremely large . on the end customer / consumer side , the confusion that results from having to keep and maintain separate security i . d .&# 39 ; s and passwords for each and every web sales site is quite large . this confusion also adds much complexity to what should be an easy and straightforward electronic transaction process to carry out from the end customer / consumer &# 39 ; s perspective . there is shown in fig2 a single account electronic transaction system 30 that provides a solution to the internet security issue as posed and outlined above with reference to fig1 . this solution is to have a “ central repository ” or controlling software system located on the internet where all security identifications for all users can be added , maintained , verified , and updated . in the fig2 there is shown a security application service provider ( asp ) system 31 and associated security system 32 connected between the customers 11 and a plurality of vendors 33 such as the vendor web sites 19 through 22 . the systems 31 and 32 could be any known concept or approach that allows for the security i . d .&# 39 ; s to be added , maintained , verified and updated in one location only . with this approach , the end customer / consumer 11 enters the asp location once through his / her device 14 through 18 and identifies himself / herself by use of the associated security i . d . once identified , the customers 11 then “ pass through ” to any and all of the web sales sites 19 through 22 to pursue their attainment of products , services and / or information as they require . the security i . d . is passed to the particular web site in question by the common security system 32 when the site calls for it or on first entry into the site by the end customer / consumer 11 . this security i . d . is supplied to each and every internet web site that the end customer / consumer 11 enters and utilizes for his / her own purposes . this approach and method is efficient and extremely cost effective . it is efficient for the end customer / consumer in that he / she has only one sign on ( i . e . user i . d . and password ) to remember and maintain instead of the myriad of user i . d .&# 39 ; s and passwords under the “ old ” concept of security . this approach is extremely efficient and very cost effective for the internet web sales sites in that they no longer each have to construct and maintain extremely complex security software programs and systems to be utilized to examine and verify the security of each and every person that accesses their internet web sales site . this is an extremely large cost saving to each and every internet web sales site and vendor . in addition , efficiencies of scale can be achieved as the end customer / consumer 11 can be passed directly into the internet web sales site after his / her security has been passed from the central security repository 31 , 32 to the particular internet web sales site of the vendor 33 in question . this allows the internet web sales site computer hardware equipment and software programs to be strictly devoted to the act of servicing the end customer / consumer &# 39 ; s needs and requirements , and not in trying to satisfy heavy security verification and operating procedures as implemented by the internet web sales site . the system and method according to the present invention are referred to as the “ inter - net - id ” and comprise the following : 1 . both users 11 and merchants / administrations / institutions must first set up an account with the inter - net - id provider . during this process , the account holder provides the necessary authentication information as well as banking and identity information . the information provided is kept confidential and can vary depending on the type of account ( i . e . user , merchant , institution , etc .). 2 . merchant / administration / institution accounts are then provided with account specific “ software code ” that they integrate into their web site . the result of the code is a push button that appears on the account web page . each push button looks the same and is consistent on all “ inter - net - id ” enabled account web pages . however , when the user “ pushes ” the button , the software executed is specific to the merchant / administration / institution account . for example , there is shown in fig3 a command button 40 labeled “ authorize this transaction with your inter - net - id ”. 3 . when the push button 40 is pushed , the user is transferred to the inter - net - id “ log - in ” web page where he / she is asked to provide authentication information . for example , there is shown in fig4 a text box 41 labeled “ user id ” and a text box 42 labeled “ password ” for entering such information . once entered , the information can be submitted via a command button 43 labeled “ submit ” or erased via a command button 44 labeled “ reset ”. 4 . the software code that executes when the push button is pushed also transfers transaction data to the inter - net - id provider &# 39 ; s database . this process takes place using state - of - the - art data encryption and security so the data is protected . when the user provides the proper credentials ( user id and password , again encrypted ), the transaction is completed , funds ( if a financial transaction ) are transferred between vendor and user accounts . financial account numbers , etc . were previously provided when the account ( s ) were set up , so the transaction happens instantaneously . note that neither party is aware of the other party &# 39 ; s confidential information . 5 . upon completion , the user is transferred back to the merchant / administration / institution web site / page . at the same time the user &# 39 ; s ship - to address , name etc . are recorded in the vendor &# 39 ; s database for transaction processing . if the transaction was non - financial ( i . e . purely “ authentication ”) he / she is returned to “ privates areas of the merchant / administration / institution web site . 6 . an added feature of this system is the possibility that the “ inter - net - id ” provider can act as an escrow agent in the transaction . in this case , funds are not transferred until the user approves ( or delivery is verified ) the transaction . the vendor can specify this “ customization ” when the account is initially setup . 7 . merchandise returns : if funds have been transferred and the purchaser ( user ) has been approved to return merchandise , the process is reversed . in this case it is “ like ” an escrow transaction in that the merchant must “ approve ” the refund when the merchandise is received . the “ inter - net - id ” service provider then transfers the reverse transaction funds . again , a custom push button ( i . e . software code ) can be supplied to the merchant for this purpose . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment . however , it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope .	6
as already stated , a main objective of both aspects of the invention is to reduce the square meter weight of crosslaminates while still obtaining good stiffness with respect to bonding and especially a feel of substance . accordingly , a crosslaminate comprising at least two bonded - together films ( a ) and ( b ), each comprising an orientable , crystalline thermoplastic polymer material and each being uniaxially oriented or being biaxially oriented with one direction dominating , the directions in ( a ) and ( b ) crossing each other , the bonding being an intermittent bonding which leaves more than 50 % of the film area unbonded and which forms pockets to encapsulate gas , whereby the gas within each pocket has a volume which referring to the relaxed state of the laminate and 1 atmosphere ambient pressure is at least double the volume of the polymer material , where a ) the gauge of each of the films ( a ) and ( b ) is at the highest 30 g m − 2 in the form it has in the crosslaminate , b ) the bonding consists in a combination of a pattern of rectilinear or curved bonding lines ( 4 ), which are combined to form the gas encapsulating pockets , and within each pocket at least 5 spot bonds ( 3 ), and c ) the longest extension of each pocket in any direction is at the highest 50 mm . set the limit of 30 g m − 2 for the gauge of each of the films ( a ) and ( b ) in the form which the film has in the crosslaminate and a crosslaminate comprising at least two bonded - together films ( a ) and ( b ), each comprising an orientable , crystalline thermoplastic polymer material and each being uniaxially oriented or being biaxially oriented with one direction dominating , said directions in ( a ) and ( b ) crossing each other , the bonding comprising a spot bonding , where a ) the gauge of each of the films ( a ) and ( b ) is at the highest 30 g m − 2 in the form it has in the crosslaminate , b ) film ( a ) is supplied with cup shaped or trough shaped bosses , the spot - bonding being localized to crown portions or to base portions of such bosses on one side of film ( a ), c ) film ( b ) is an unembossed film , d ) the bonding between the film ( a ) and the film ( b ) is a spot bonding established on crown portions or base portions of bosses on ( a ) while at least 25 % and preferably at least 50 % is kept free of bonding , and e ) the dominating direction of orientation in ( a ) forms an angle higher than zero and preferably higher than 10 ° to the longitudinal direction . however , this gauge can with advantage be at the highest 20 g m − 2 or even no more than 15 g m − 2 . process steps for manufacture of the crosslaminate which exhibited fluted shape , as these crosslaminates wherein the film ( a ) has a fluted shape , the pitch of the flutes ( 103 ) measured from middle to middle of adjacent flutes on the same side of film ( a ) is at the highest 3 mm , the bonding spots ( 2 ) are arranged on the crests of the flutes of ( a ) on the side facing ( b ), the distance ( 104 ) from middle to middle of adjacent spots ( 2 ) measured along the flutes , is at the highest 3 mm , and each encapsulated pocket comprises at least 2 flutes and wherein the film ( b ) also has a fluted shape the pitch of said flutes ( 105 ) measured from middle to middle of adjacent flutes on the same side of film ( b ) is at the highest 3 mm , and the bonding spots ( 2 ) are arranged on the crests of the flutes on the side of ( b ) facing ( a ), appear from the above mentioned publications wo02 / 102592 rasmussen and wo04 / 54793 rasmussen , but in the first aspect of the present invention , to these well known steps there must be added the step of further sealing the films together in a pattern of rectilinear or curved lines ( 1 ), which are combined to form the gas encapsulating pockets , each surrounding at least 5 of the spot bonds , which were formed by the known steps . the longest extension of each pocket in any direction is at the highest 50 mm , preferably at the highest 30 mm and preferably at least 6 mm . an embossed film , which for the reason stated above is particularly suitable for manufacture of the product described herein , is disclosed in wo2009090208 . this was not published when the priority forming patent application for the present application was filed . such film is formed of thermoplastic polymer material and comprises an array of parallel band - shaped , linearly extending regions ( a ) and distinct therefrom linearly extending webs ( b ) which integrally connect said regions . each web ( b ) is at each location of its linear extension thinner than the adjacent portions of regions ( a ). in this film both ( a ) and ( b ) are oriented having at each location a dominating direction of orientation . the film is characterized in that the dominating direction of orientation in the regions ( a ) forms angles ( v ) higher than zero but no higher than 80 ° with the direction in which ( a ) extends , and the webs ( b ) comprise arrays of linear furrows ( c ) which are necking - down zones , said furrows forming angles ( u ) higher than ( v ) to the directions in which ( a ) extends . the film for use in the present invention is further characterised in that the regions are waved , each wave extending over the width of such region and the webs being shorter than the adjacent parts of the regions ( a ) so as to force ( a ) to wave . it is this waving which forms the cup or trough shaped bosses . the method of producing such film starts with a film having a predominant direction of orientation . the film is stretched by means of a pair of mutually intermeshing first grooved rollers in a direction which is different , but at the highest 80 ° different , from the predominant original direction of orientation in the film . the method is characterized in that at least one of the grooved rollers in the pair has crests with edges which are sufficiently sharp to form a distinct division between parallel , linearly extending webs ( b ) of film material , which have been coldstretched between the crests of the two first grooved rollers and intervening linearly extending band - shapes regions ( a ), which have laid on the sharp edged crests and have not been stretched or have been stretched to a smaller extend between the said grooved rollers . the contraction which produces the waving of ( a ) and thereby the bosses , arises inherently if not counteracted . in the first aspect of the invention , the pattern bonding lines to encase air consists in its simplest form , two arrays each of parallel straight lines , which arrays crisscross each other . this can be done by means of two pairs of sealing rollers , one pair working in succession to the other , and each pair consisting of a hot steel roller working against a hot , silicone rubber coated roller . one of the steel rollers may be supplied with a pattern of circular crests , e . g . 0 . 5 mm wide , and the other with axial cogs , e . g . also 0 . 5 mm wide . alternatively they may both be supplied with a pattern of helical crests one right turned and the other left turned . in a more advanced form this pattern is a honeycomb pattern . this provides better stiffness , but requires more expensive sealing rollers . one roller can be a hot patterned steel roller , working against a hot silicone rubber coated roller . these two patterns are only examples of the shapes of the pockets . it is noted that the pattern of bonding lines ( 4 ) which form the pocket for encapsulation of air , additionally has the function that it increases the tear propagation resistance and the peel strength of the laminate . during the sealing process to form pockets and encapsulate gas ( normally air ) the ambient pressure may be kept somewhat higher than the normal atmospheric pressure to achieve a suitable internal tension in the final laminate . each bonding between the films ( a ), ( b ) and optionally ( c ) is preferably established through one or more coextruded lamination layers . most conveniently , more than 50 % of each film ( a ) and ( b ) consists of hdpe , lldpe , crystalline pp or blends or copolymers based on polyethylene or polypropylene . while the first and second aspect of the present invention primarily have been conceived with a view to water impermeable packaging film , they can also be applied to breathable film , e . g . for sanitary purposes . to this end there may be perforations collected in distinct areas , which areas are interspersed with the air encapsulating pockets . in conventional extrusion lamination of two solid films or in extrusion coating , which consists in laminating a directly extruded film to a preformed solid film , the lamination takes place between rollers , and there is applied a relatively high lamination pressure , since otherwise air may be entrapped . however , in the present invention an aim is to entrap a big volume of air , forming a cellular kind of product . to achieve this , a method of laminating a solid film with a molten directly extruded flat film while introducing spaces of gas between the two films , where the lamination pressure is established on one side of the film assembly in the form of a pressurized air film , and on the other side either by a roller surface or by a pressurized air film and an apparatus for extrusion coating a solid film or extrusion laminating two solid films , comprising a flat die for mono - or coextrusion of a film , and means to bring the solid and the extruded film in face - to - face relationship as an assembly and apply a laminating pressure while at least each surface of the extruded film is in molten or semi molten state , where the means to apply a lamination pressure comprise on one side of the assembly first means to form a first pressurized air film , and on the other side either a roller surface or a second means to form a second pressurized air film , further comprising means to adjust the air pressure exercised on the assembly with subclaims are highly preferable . the formulation of a pressurized air film , normally under use of a microporous wall in a die through which an air flow is pressed , is commonly used as “ air lubrication ” for many different purposes . in the present invention it is also used as means to set up an easily adjustable and low lamination pressure which at least on one side is contactless , and which enhances the entrapment of air . in this connection it is advantageous but not in all cases necessary that the solid film has been embossed before the lamination . a pressurized air film is normally , as explained above , produced by pressing the air through a die wall consisting of microporous material . this is normally formed by sintering . alternatively the die wall may be supplied with a great multitude of fine holes , e . g . formed by laser treatment . in the present invention the pressurized air film may also be formed by a single slot which traverses the entire width of the film assembly e . g . of 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 mm gap , formed by laser treatment or spark erosion . the laminating pressure can be adjusted by adjustment of the spacing of the air film or air films and / or by adjusting the air flows . in fig1 lines ( 1 ) show the middle of the longitudinally extending outside crests of the flutes on film ( a ). similarly , lines ( 2 ) show the middle of the transversely extending outside crests of the flutes on film ( b ). the dots ( 3 ) show the spot - bonding , which has been established between portions of the two arrays of inside crests . this structure can be made by the procedure described in the example of wo04 / 54796 rasmussen , except for the gauge of the films ( a ) and ( b ), which must be lower . a perspective view of this structure is shown in fig1 in the same patent specification . the new feature is the two arrays of sealing lines ( 4 ), which cross each other . preferably this sealing is made absolutely tight to encase the air . as in the above mentioned example , the bonding between the films is established through coextruded lamination layers . in addition to the primary function to encase air , such pattern of sealing lines also serves to improve the tear propagation resistance . for that purpose the sealing needs not be tight , and a “ semi - encasing ” pattern of rectilinear or curved lines will be satisfactory . fig1 shows the wavelength in both films ( a ) and ( b ) being 1 mm , the encasement being square formed with edge 10 mm , and the width of the linear seals being 0 . 5 mm . these measures are generally convenient , but big variations are possible . in fig2 the dots ( 3 ) here shown elongated in the machine direction , again illustrate the spot - bonding between the films ( a ) and ( b ). the bonding is established between protruding cup shaped or trough shaped bosses by an extrusion coating process , which in principle is shown in fig3 . the embossed film ( a ), which is molecularly oriented on bias , preferably has a structure disclosed in wo2009090208 , briefly explained above in the general description , and may conveniently consist of hdpe . the coating may e . g . consist of lldpe , ldpe , or a lower melting ethylene copolymer . as a matter of simplification of the sketch , fig2 shows the spot - bonding in a very regular pattern , but in actual fact it will be more ramdomized . in fig3 the embossed film ( a ) with orientation on bias is fed into the coating device as shown by the arrow ( 5 ). it may be taken from a reel or may come directly from the embossment station . the molten film ( b ) comes from a flat extrusion die ( 6 ) and becomes melt oriented in the machine direction by the draw - down , e . g . from exit slot gap 0 . 25 - 0 . 5 mm to a final thickness between 5 - 20 micrometer . the coating takes place between the two very schematically shown air film forming dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ). the edge ( 9 ) of die ( 7 ), over which film ( a ) bends , is rounded , e . g . with radius about 1 cm . the surfaces of the two dies , which face the two films , are produced from microporous material to form pressurized air films , and so is the rounded edge ( 9 ). the pressurized air film formed by die ( 7 ) and blowing on film ( a ) has ambient temperature , while the pressurized air film formed by die ( 8 ) and blowing towards film ( b ) has a temperature essentially lower than the exit temperature of the extrusion die ( 7 ) but high enough to cause bonding . the coated film is a crosslaminate of the embossed film ( a ), which is oriented on bias , and the coat , which is melt oriented in the machine direction . it is hauled off by the cooling roller ( 11 ) and the rubber roller ( 12 ). the two rollers are driven by the same circumferential velocity . they are very close to each other , but to avoid ruining of the embossed structure they don &# 39 ; t press against each other . the cross laminate ( 10 ) proceeds to winding ( not shown ). all the way through the shown process the tension is kept sufficiently low to avoid ruining of the embossment . the devices for this are not shown . a suitable bonding , leaving more than 25 % of the film area unbonded , is produced by adjustments of 1 ) the temperature at which film ( b ) leaves the extrusion die , 2 ) the positions of dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ), 3 ) the temperature of the air film produced by die ( 8 ), and 4 ) the air velocities of the two air streams . the adjustment is such that the two films only “ kiss ” each other . between roller ( 12 ) and the spooling up there may be sealing rollers to form the lines ( 4 ) shown in fig2 . these may consist of a hot patterned steel roller working against a hot silicone rubber coated roller . in this and the following two examples the process and apparatus are basically as described in connection with fig3 . the flat extrusion die ( 6 ) is constructed for coextrusion of two components . the gap of the exit orifice is 0 . 5 mm . in the present example 8 - 0 % of the extruded film consists of hmwhdpe of d = 0 . 95 density 0 . 95 g / ml and 20 % of an ethylene copolymer (“ attane ”) melting at about 90 ° c . and of m . f . i .= 1 . 0 . the lower melting layer is supplied on the side which will face the solid film . the extrusion temperature is 270 ° c . the extrusion throughput and the velocity of rollers ( 11 ) and ( 12 ) are adjusted to produce a film thickness calculated of to become 10 micrometers . by the longitudinal draw down in the ratio 50 to 1 the extruded film gets a strong melt orientation . the solid film ( a ) is the single film produced according to example 3 in wo2009 / 090208 . it is deeply embossed with crests of bosses protruding from each side . it is biaxially oriented , differently within different narrow regions , but with a direction near 45 ° dominating . while it advances towards the die ( 7 ) which supplies a pressurized air film of ambient temperature , all tendencies to wrinkling are removed by means of a driven “ banana roller ”. the tension in film ( a ) when it meets the air die ( 7 ) is adjusted to be near zero so as to maintain maximum degree of embossment . it is turned so that its low melting side will face the extruded film ( b ). throughout the air die ( 8 ), which is heat insulated , hot air is blown . the temperature of the air as it exits this die is adjusted to 100 ° c . the space between dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) is about 5 mm , and the length of the zone in which the two films are under air pressure is above 20 mm . the distance from the exit orifice of the extrusion die ( 6 ) to the two air - dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) is also about 20 mm . the air for the two dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) are taken from the same air reservoir , the pressure of which is adjustable , and the resistance to air flow through the microporous walls in the two dies is practically equal , thus the air filing of both sides have practically the same pressure . the air for die ( 8 ) is heated before it meets the die ( 8 ). between the dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ) and the first haul off roller ( 17 ) air of ambient temperature is blown onto the laminated film assembly ( 10 ). this is not shown in the drawing . by trial and error the pressure in the air reservoir is adjusted to a value which produces the desired degree of lamination , i . e . the desired percentage of bonded areas . this may conveniently be above 25 - 30 %. it is determined by microscopy of samples . this deviates from example 1 in that the extruded film is a one layer film consisting of the copolymer ( attane ) which formed the lamination layer on the extruded film of example 1 . in all other respects example 1 is followed . in this procedure the extrusion die could have been a monoextrusion die , and this would be a simplification . when using such monoextrusion it is expected that plain lldpe or hdpe would be applicable in spite of the higher melting points , but this would make the adjustment of cooling conditions more complicated . in this example the invention is used for extrusion lamination of two solid films with mutually crossing directions of orientation . these two films are the same as the solid film ( b ) used in examples 1 and 2 . as in example 2 the extruded film ( b ) is the copolymer of ( attane ) having melting point around 90 ° c ., and its thickness in the laminate is about 10 micrometers . the extruded film ( b ) is applied between the two solid films , thus the line shown in fig3 is supplemented by apparatus for feeding the additional solid film over the air die ( 8 ), and the latter has a rounded edge like edge ( 9 ) on die ( 7 ). in this case air of ambient temperature is used for both pressurized air films formed by dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ), and there is applied an adjusted flow of cooling air to the extruded film between the exit orifice of the extrusion die ( 6 ) and the two air dies ( 7 ) and ( 8 ).	1
for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . referring to fig1 - 4 , one embodiment of a liquid - activated lighted artificial ice cube 10 of the present invention includes a hollow body 12 that is generally in the shape of a cube , but can be made in other shapes that are suggestive of a piece of ice used to cool beverages . preferably , hollow body 12 is constructed of a transparent or translucent thermosetting plastic material that can be molded to the desired shape , and includes a first portion 14 mating with a second portion 16 . first and second portions 14 and 16 are preferably welded or cemented together to form an hermetically sealed enclosed space 18 which contains a light circuit 20 to be described below . for convenience and to provide a consistent frame of reference for description purposes , various directional terms , e . g ., horizontal , vertical , bottom , top , side , upward , downward and the like , will be used to describe the orientation of various components of ice cube 10 relative to each other . the invention is not restricted to the described orientation . unless described otherwise , the ice cube 10 can be used in any orientation in the same manner as a real ice cube . first portion 14 of hollow body 12 includes a bottom wall 22 and four side walls 24 that are substantially perpendicular to bottom wall 22 and extend upward therefrom . the four side walls 24 are integrally joined together at four vertical corners and are integrally joined to the bottom wall 22 about the periphery thereof to form an open - topped box or cubic container having walls that surround the substantially cubic hollow space 18 on five sides . extending upward from bottom wall 22 within hollow space 18 is a battery holder 26 comprising four posts or standoffs 28 sized to hold three stacked button cells 30 and having a height approximately one half the vertical height of enclosed space 18 . each post includes an arcuate inner surface 36 and an arcuate outer surface 38 as best shown in fig2 . the ice cube also includes a pair of spaced , upwardly tapered standoffs 42 which are integral with bottom wall 22 and extend therefrom in cantilever fashion . standoffs 42 each have a height approximately equal to that of battery holder 26 . they are spaced from side walls 24 and from battery holder 26 as shown in fig2 and are approximately centered in adjacent quadrants of bottom wall 22 . second portion 16 of hollow body 12 includes a top wall 44 having a thickness substantially equal to that of side walls 24 and sized to mate with and close the open - topped cubic container formed by bottom wall 22 and side walls 24 , thereby fully enclosing space 18 . in one embodiment , the bottom surface 46 of top wall 44 is substantially planar to mate flatly against planar top surface 48 of side walls 24 , and a perimetrical lip 50 extends downwardly from bottom surface 46 and fits inside of side walls 24 to assure alignment of portions 14 and 16 of ice cube body 12 . the interface between portions 14 and 16 defined by surfaces 46 and 48 is sealed by thermal or chemical welding of the plastic material , or by use of cement , to hermetically seal enclosed space 18 . in another embodiment , the top wall is ultrasonically welded to the side walls . top wall 44 has no lip 50 in this embodiment , and the interface defined by surfaces 46 and 48 is provided with a weld bead to facilitate ultrasonic welding . for example , one of the surfaces may be grooved and the other surface provided with a mating ridge . a pair of spaced standoffs 52 is integral with and extends downward from top wall 44 in cantilever fashion , in vertical alignment with the pair of standoffs 42 on bottom wall 22 as illustrated in fig4 . the length of standoffs 52 is selected to leave a small gap between the lower ends thereof and the top ends of standoffs 42 when ice cube 10 is assembled . the gap is just wide enough to accommodate the thickness of a printed circuit board 54 sandwiched between standoffs 52 and standoffs 42 . printed circuit board 54 is sized and shaped to fit within enclosed space 18 while disposed substantially parallel to bottom wall 22 of first portion 14 . printed circuit board 54 is substantially constrained against vertical downward movement by battery holder 26 and standoffs 42 upon which printed circuit board 54 rests . standoffs 52 substantially constrain circuit board 54 against vertical upward movement , and side walls 24 provide substantial constraint against horizontal movement . referring to fig5 , one embodiment of a light circuit 20 suitable for use within the ice cube includes an integrated circuit ic 1 , resistors r 1 and r 2 , transistor q 1 , led 1 and battery power source b 1 interconnected as shown in the schematic and as further described herein . also included is a pair of spaced electrodes 56 imbedded in bottom wall 22 and exposed to the exterior of hollow body 12 as switch contacts . a suitable led is commercially available from chi ban electronics company limited , shenzhen , china , as part number 5x3vc , where the letter “ x ” designates the color , e . g ., “ r ” for red , “ g ” for green , and “ w ” for white . the ic is preferably in die form and may be an ap3761 - 03 ic commercially available from advanced microelectronic products , inc ., taiwan . it is mounted on the circuit board along with transistor q 1 and resistors r 1 and r 2 , and its power supply input is connected to the emitter of q 1 which thereby controls the supply of power to the ic . the ic has an output connected to the cathode of the led as shown . resistor r 1 controls the clock frequency of the ic and resistor r 2 is a pull - down resistor provided to hold the transistor off when the base thereof is open . electrodes 56 are preferably constructed of a corrosion - resistant metal alloy such as brass or stainless steel , as they are intended to contact water , ethyl alcohol and other liquids and substances commonly found in beverages . nickel - plated copper is particularly suitable . a pair of wires 58 connects electrodes 56 to the battery positive terminal and to the base of transistor q 1 . thus , when a conductive liquid path is provided between the electrodes such as from immersion of the ice cube in a drink , it completes a circuit between the battery and the base of the transistor and thereby causes the transistor to turn on and supply power to the ic . the ic may be wire bonded to operate in a “ lever hold ” mode whereby the led output is held low , and the led is thereby held on , whenever the switch defined by electrodes 56 is closed . when the switch is opened , power is immediately removed from the ic and the led is thus turned off , whereby the circuit is completely deenergized . the ic is immediately retriggered and the led turned on when the switch is closed again . the ap3761 - 03 ic may alternatively be wire bonded to operate in astable mode , thereby causing continuous flashing of the led , whenever the switch is closed . in a less preferred alternative embodiment , the ic is continually supplied with power and a transistor is provided between the switch and a trigger input of the ic , which is configured to operate in a retriggerable one - shot mode such that it is triggered when the switch first closes upon contact with liquid and is retriggered as long as the ice cube remains wet . the one - shot times out , and thus the led turns off , a set period of time after the switch is opened , that is , a set period of time after the drink is finished or the ice cube is removed from the glass . in another embodiment , the led is a uv led and the plastic body of the ice cube is made fluorescent , either by means of a fluorescent pigment mixed into the plastic resin prior to formation of the cube or by means of a fluorescent coating applied to the inner surface and / or outer surface thereof . the led preferably has a peak wavelength of 400 nm ± 10 nm . a suitable led with such a wavelength is the dl50pldw503 uv led from shue kwong optic electronic company , shenzhen , china . the fluorescent pigment may be one of the following pigments commercially available from wen lee plastic pigment company , tungguong , china : p / n 61113 ( green ), p / n 31461 ( blue ), p / n 238 ( red ), and p / n 2600 ( yellow ). the pigment may be mixed into the plastic with a mix ratio of about 1 - 2 grams pigment per one kilogram of plastic . the plastic body of the cube may be formed of polycarbonate mixed with such a pigment and injection molded . alternatively , the cube may be formed of polystyrene , pvc , abs or acrylic . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the weight of the batteries in the lower half of the ice cube tends to keep the led side up and also tends to keep the electrodes wet , and thereby keep the led on , when the ice cube is floating in a glass . referring to fig6 and 7 , an alternative embodiment is shown that is substantially the same as the embodiment of fig1 - 5 , except for the addition of a weight 70 . for a description of the other components of the embodiment of fig6 and 7 , indicated by like primed reference numerals , reference should be made to the description above of the embodiment of fig1 - 5 . weight 70 can be made of iron or steel or other suitably dense material , and is shaped generally as a square flat plate , or stack of plates , having a generally square opening 72 in the center . posts 28 ′ protrude through opening 72 . two corners of the opening 72 include cutouts 74 to provide clearance for standoffs 42 ′. the mass of weight 70 is selected such that , in combination with the weight of the batteries , the artificial ice cube tends to float substantially submerged , with the top of the ice cube approximately level with the surface of the liquid in which it is immersed , much like the floating characteristics of a real ice cube while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only preferred embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected .	5
fig1 was discussed in conjunction with the description of the prior art . fig2 a illustrates an example of a measurement apparatus 20 according to the invention . the measurement apparatus 20 can be utilized in a measurement system which can be utilized to find out a rogue base station 101 . the measurement apparatus 20 comprises advantageously a processing unit which can be for example a pc 203 . the measurement apparatus 20 further comprises a mobile terminal 202 and optionally also a gps locating device 201 . the gps locating device 201 can be utilized in location measurements of the measurement apparatus . the measurement apparatus can also comprise a directional antenna system 204 which can be utilized when taking a bearing of the rogue base station 101 . the mobile terminal 202 included in the measurement apparatus 20 advantageously comprises a processor unit , a memory , a transmitter and a receiver whereby it is capable for transmitting and receiving messages in a serving cell . the mobile terminal 202 can receive signaling transmissions of serving and neighbor cells . the received transmission can be for example a bcch transmission , paging message with imsi ( international mobile subscriber identity ) or location update reject message . the direction to the rogue base station can be found out without camping in the rogue base station by using available neighbor cell measurements . in one advantageous embodiment measurement software according to the invention is running in the pc 203 of the measurement apparatus 20 . the software searches anomalies from the received transmissions of the serving and neighbor cells . the searched anomalies can comprise for example anomalies in bcch transmissions like a lac code of one cell which differs substantially from the lac code of other cells , high transmission power , unknown cell id , different periodic location update frequency , different c1 or c2 value and anomalies in communication sequences like wrong network time , different cause code in location update termination , incorrect paging message , paging message with imsi or some combination of the previous . the pc 203 comprises advantageously also a display and a speaker for giving an alert when a rogue base station 101 has been detected . the alert can be given for example by playing an alert sound , vibrating , flashing lights or displaying alert on a screen of the measurement apparatus 20 . the directional antenna 204 can advantageously be connected to the mobile station 202 of the measurement apparatus 20 . when a rogue base station 101 is detected , a bearing of the transmission 210 can be taken by turning the directional antenna 204 . the rogue base station 101 is in a direction wherefrom the mobile station 202 of the measurement apparatus 20 receives maximum reception level . when the bearing of the rogue base station 101 has been taken , an estimate of its distance from the measurement apparatus 20 can be calculated by using the timing advance that the rogue base station 101 uses in its transmission . if the pc 203 is in a position to retrieve an electronic map application it can show an estimated place of the rogue base station 101 on the map . in another advantageous embodiment the measurement software according to the invention is running in a conventional mobile terminal of a cellular network . the mobile terminal can also optionally comprise a gps unit for location finding . an auxiliary directional antenna system can be connected to the mobile terminal for taking a bearing to a rogue base station . when the rogue base station is suspected , the software according to the invention gives an alert for example by playing an alert sound , vibrating , flashing lights or displaying alert on screen of the mobile terminal . after the detection of the rogue base station the mobile terminal can send an alert via sms message ( short message service ) or other communication means to an in advance defined information system . the information system can advantageously send back a map of the surroundings to the mobile station . the mobile terminal can then show on its display its current position and an estimated location of the detected rogue base station . location measurements of the mobile terminal in the serving cellular network can be based also on triangular measurements known in the art . in gsm networks timing advances of base stations can be utilized in the triangular measurement . the triangular measurement can therefore replace use of a gps unit when finding a location of the mobile terminal . fig2 b illustrates as an example main functional blocks of measurement software 22 according to the invention . a network measurement block 221 of the software is utilized for receiving signaling transmissions from the serving base station and base stations in the neighborhood . the received transmissions can comprise for example bcch transmissions , paging messages or location update rejection messages . an optional positioning block 225 of the software uses gps receiver data or equivalent satellite positioning receiver data to find out current location of the mobile terminal . the location can be alternatively be calculated by using triangular measurements in the serving cellular network . a database block 223 of the software contains a database whereto reference base station parameters can be stored beforehand . for example lac codes of cells , cell identifiers , c2 values and cause codes used in location update rejection messages and the same received from the actual base stations can be stored thereto . also current position of the measurement apparatus can be stored to database . a map block 224 of the software is utilized for displaying reference base station parameters and actual measurement results on a map display . the detection block 222 implements detection of the rogue base station . in the first detection step all cells heard by the measurement apparatus are scanned through . during the scanning also parameters used by a rogue base station are recorded . during the scanning the measurement terminal may do a location update on cells to find out parameters exchanged during location update procedure . in the next detection step possible anomalies in the recorded parameters or in other messages concerning mobility are detected by comparing parameters and messages recorded from a rogue base station to parameters recorded from other authentic base stations . the possible anomalies to be searched can be for example lac code of one cell differing substantially from the lac code of other cells , high transmission power , unknown cell id , different periodic location update frequency , wrong network time , different cause code in location update termination , different c1 or c2 value , incorrect paging message , paging message with imsi or some combination of the previous . in one advantageous embodiment of the invention the detection block 222 uses results of the positioning block 225 to find out its current location . after that it can retrieve location - dependent network parameters from the database block 223 and compare actual measurement data from the network measurement block 221 against the retrieved reference data . in a case where a change of the network parameters can be found out the detection block 222 advantageously generates an alert . an optional map block 224 of the software can retrieve and display on a map the current location of the mobile terminal . it can connect reference network information to the measured location . the map block 224 can also retrieve bcch measurement results from the database 223 and visualize those results on the map . fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c depict main steps of advantageous embodiments of the detection method according to the invention . fig3 a depicts an example where signaling transmission of the serving and neighbor cells are utilized . the transmission can comprise for example bcch messages , paging messages and location update rejection messages . the received messages can be used either each alone or as a combination to detect a rogue base station . there may not be a need to save the network parameters in advance . in step 300 the measurement apparatus or a mobile terminal capable of detecting a rogue base station starts a measurement according to the invention . in step 310 the measurement apparatus receives signaling transmissions of the serving cell and all neighbor cells . during the step the measurement apparatus can do a location update on a cell to find out parameters exchanged during location update procedure . the measurement apparatus can interpret the received signaling messages . in step 311 the detection block of the software searches for anomalies between transmissions of different cells . searched anomalies can be for example a lac code substantially different from the lac code of other cells , high transmission power , unknown cell id , different periodic location update frequency , wrong network time , different cause code in location update termination , different c1 or c2 value , incorrect paging message , paging message with imsi or a combination of the previous . in step 312 it is decided if an anomaly is detected or not . if anomalies are not found , then in step 313 it is decided whether the search for anomalies should continue or not . if it is decided that the search will continue , the process returns to step 310 where new transmission from the cells is received . if it is decided that the search for rogue base stations does not need to continue , the process ends in step 317 . at that stage the detection software according to the invention sets in a non - active state . if in step 312 one or more anomalies are found then in step 314 the detection software raises an alert about a rogue base station . the alert can be for example giving an alert sound , vibrating , flashing lights or displaying alert on a screen of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . in step 315 it is decided if there is a need to locate precisely where the rogue base station is . if the precise location is not needed the detection process ends in step 317 . if in step 315 it is decided to locate the rogue base station , then in step 316 the detection apparatus or mobile terminal takes a bearing to the rogue base station . that can be accomplished by using a directional antenna which can be connected to the mobile terminal . after finding the transmission direction , by using for example a timing advance used by the rogue base station an estimate of a distance to the rogue base station can be calculated . another method for estimating the distance is to use transmission power of the rogue base station . after the location operation the process ends in step 317 where the mobile terminal advantageously continues camping in the rogue base station in order not to give any hint that the rogue base station has been detected . alternatively , the mobile station makes a new reselection in an actual base station of the cellular network . fig3 b depicts another advantageous example where actually received signaling transmission , for example bcch messages of base stations and known network parameters , are utilized to detect a rogue base station . the actual network parameters have been saved in advance into the memory of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . in step 300 the measurement apparatus or a mobile terminal capable of detecting a rogue base station starts a measurement according to the invention . in step 302 network parameters saved in advance are retrieved from the memory of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . after that in step 320 the measurement apparatus receives signaling transmissions from the cells , for example bcch broadcasts of the serving cell and all neighbor cells . during the step the measurement apparatus can do a location update on the cell to find out parameters exchanged during location update procedure . the measurement apparatus can interpret the received signaling messages . in step 321 the detection block of the software searches anomalies for example between bcch broadcast of different cells and network parameters saved in advance . searched anomalies can be for example a lac code substantially different from the lac code than beforehand defined , higher transmission power than defined for other cells , unknown cell id , different periodic location update frequency , different cause code in location update termination , wrong network time , different c1 or c2 value , incorrect paging message , paging message with imsi or a combination of the previous . in step 322 it is decided if an anomaly has been detected or not . if no anomalies are found then in step 323 it is decided whether the search of a rogue base station should continue or not . if it is decided that the search will continue the process returns to step 320 where new bcch broadcasts are received . if it is decided that the search for rogue base stations does not need to continue , the process ends in step 327 . at that stage the detection software according to the invention is set in a non - active state . if in step 322 one or more anomalies are detected then in step 324 the detection software raises an alert about a rogue base station . the alert can be for example giving an alert sound , vibrating , flashing lights or displaying alert on a screen of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . in step 325 is decided if there is a need to locate precisely where the rogue base station is . if the precise location is not needed the detection process ends in step 327 . if in step 325 it is decided to locate the rogue base station , then in step 326 the detection apparatus or mobile terminal takes a bearing to the rogue base station . that can be accomplished by using a directional antenna which can be connected to the mobile terminal . after finding the transmission direction , by using for example a timing advance used by the rogue base station an estimate of a distance to the rogue base station can be calculated . another method for estimating the distance is to use transmission power of the rogue base station . after the location operation the process ends in step 327 where the mobile terminal advantageously continues camping in the rogue base station in order not to give any hint that the rogue base station has been detected . alternatively , the mobile station makes a new reselection in an actual base station of the cellular network . fig3 c depicts a third advantageous example where signaling transmissions received from the serving base station , for example bcch messages , network parameters saved in advance and position information of the base stations , are utilized to detect a rogue base station . the network parameters and position information of the base stations belonging to the network have been saved in advance into the memory of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . in step 300 the measurement apparatus or a mobile terminal capable of detecting a rogue base station starts a measurement according to the invention . in step 303 network parameters saved in advance and position information are retrieved from the memory of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . after that , in step 330 the measurement apparatus receives for example bcch broadcasts of the serving cell and all neighbor cells . during the step the measurement phone can do a location update on a cell to find out parameters exchanged during location update procedure . the measurement apparatus can interpret the received signaling messages . in step 331 the detection block of the software searches anomalies between bcch broadcasts of the cells ; network parameters saved in advance and position information . searched anomalies can be for example a lac code substantially different from the lac code than defined in advance , higher transmission power than the defined , unknown cell id , different periodic location update frequency , different cause code in location update termination , wrong network time , different c1 or c2 value , incorrect paging message , paging message with imsi or a combination of the previous . by using its own gps location measurement the mobile terminal can decide by using transmission power or timing advance of the serving cell and its own location information if the serving cell is located in a predetermined geographical place , i . e . if it is one of the cells defined in advance . in step 332 it is decided if an anomaly has been detected or not . if anomalies are not found then in step 333 it is decided whether the search for rogue base station should continue or not . if it is decided for some reason that the search will continue , the process returns to step 330 where new bcch broadcast is received . if it is decided that the search for rogue base stations does not need to continue , the process ends in step 337 . at that stage the detection software according to the invention is set in a non - active state . in step 332 it is decided if an anomaly has been detected or not . if in step 332 an anomaly is detected then in step 334 the detection software raises an alert about a rogue base station . the alert can be for example giving an alert sound , vibrating , flashing lights or displaying alert on a screen of the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . after that a map can be displayed where locations of the mobile terminal and actual base stations are positioned . in step 335 it is decided if there is a need to locate more precisely the rogue base station . if the precise location is not needed the detection process ends in step 337 . if in step 335 it is decided to locate precisely the rogue base station then in step 336 the detection apparatus or mobile terminal takes a bearing to the rogue base station . that can be accomplished by using a directional antenna which can be connected to the mobile terminal . after finding the transmission direction , by using for example a timing advance used by the rogue base station an estimate of a distance to the rogue base station can be calculated . another method for estimating the distance is to use transmission power of the rogue base station . after that an estimated place of the rogue base station can be displayed on a map display . after the location operation the process ends in step 337 where the mobile terminal advantageously continues camping in the rogue base station in order not to give any hint that the rogue base station has been detected . alternatively , the mobile station makes a new reselection in an actual base station of the cellular network . the functional blocks of detection software depicted in fig2 a and method steps depicted in fig3 a - 3 c can be implemented by utilizing a proper programming language known in the art . the detection software is advantageously saved in a memory of the mobile terminal , measurement apparatus or personal computer . instructions comprised in the detection software are advantageously executed in a proper processor included in a mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . detection results can be displayed using a display unit included in the mobile terminal or measurement apparatus . some advantageous embodiments according to the invention were described above . however , the invention is not limited to the advantageous gsm embodiments described . various embodiments of the invention can be used in a number of different cellular systems . the inventive idea can be applied in numerous ways within the scope defined by the claims attached hereto .	7
fig1 a and 1b are side and sectional top views , respectively , of a control unit 10 containing a plurality of control surfaces suitable for embodying the broad principles of the present invention . the control unit 10 may be disposed in a guided air vehicle ( gav ) in such a manner that the plurality of control surfaces protrude through the outer shell of the gav when deployed in order to guide the gav during flight as will be better understood from the description found herein below . in the exemplary embodiment depicted in fig1 a and 1b , there are four control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 which are shown in their deployed positions . in this embodiment , the four control surfaces are disposed about the circumference of a cylindrically shaped metal housing 20 , approximately 90 ° apart . each of the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 which may be made of titanium or steel , for example , are beveled width wise at an angle away from a center line along the span thereof to render knifed leading and trailing span edges . thus , each control surface appears sideways in the shape of an elongated diamond as shown by the side view of surface 14 in fig1 a . note that the material and shape of the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are described herein by way of example and that other materials and shapes may be used just as well without deviating from the broad principles of the present invention . the metallic housing 20 includes vertical slotted openings 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 through which the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 , respectively , may be folded into cavities of the housing 20 and stowed away as will become more evident from the description found herein below . in the present embodiment , the housing 20 may be made of titanium , steel , aluminum or high performance plastics and may be partitioned into two stages — a bottom stage 30 and a top stage 32 , for ease in the assembly of parts . for example , electrical actuating motors for each of the control surfaces may be seated in cavities on the top surface of the bottom stage 30 and protrude upward beyond the top surface . in addition , the bottom stage 30 contains in cut out cavities thereof drive gear trains and shafts mechanically coupling the actuator motors to their respective control surfaces . exemplary shafts 34 and 36 are shown coupled to control surfaces 12 and 16 , respectively , in fig1 a . an assembly of motor controller electronics and one or more power sources , such as batteries , for example , may be also disposed in cut out cavities of the bottom stage 30 and connected through wiring to power and control the actuator motors . once the motors , gear trains , shafts , batteries and electronic assembly are secured in place in and on the bottom stage 30 , then the top stage 32 may be placed on top of the bottom stage 30 in a position which aligns the respective slotted openings of the two stages 30 and 32 . the top stage 32 has cavities cut from the bottom surface thereof which match the configurations of the control surface actuator motors which protrude up from the bottom stage 30 so as to fit over and cover them . the top stage 32 sits on and around a circumferential edge seal 40 of the bottom stage 30 . a long screw 42 may be disposed up through stage 30 , screwed into a threaded metal hole in stage 32 and tightened to secure the two stages 30 and 32 together around the edge seal 40 . an electrical connector 44 may be secured to an aperture at the bottom of the bottom stage 30 to permit electrical connections of command signals from a command processor of the gav to couple to the motor controller electronics of the unit 10 . disposed on top of the top stage 32 is a circular retaining cap or disk 50 which may be made of a plastic material , for example . the disk 50 includes slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 around the circumference of its side surface , approximately 90 ° apart . in a zero degrees ( 0 °) position state , the disk 50 is positioned with respect to the top stage 32 so that the slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 align respectively with the slotted openings 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 . a screw 60 secures the disk 50 to the top stage 32 and acts as a pivot point for a rotation of the disk 50 . grooves corresponding to the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are cut into the bottom of the retaining disk 50 . these groves extend radially from around the pivot point out to the slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 to accommodate the tips of the control surfaces when folded into the housing 20 . clearance is retained between the retaining disk 50 and top stage 32 circumferentially along a circular edge 62 to permit a substantially free rotation of disk 50 with respect to the top stage 32 , the effects of such rotation being explained in greater detail in the description below . in the present embodiment , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 , and 18 may be folded manually through their respective slotted openings 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 into the housing 20 . generally , when deployed , each of the control surfaces are locked into their deployed positions by a latch mechanism , for example . so , when it is time to rotate each control surface into the housing 20 , the latch mechanism is unlatched and each control surface is rotated about an axis 70 into the housing 20 to the 0 ° position or ready to deploy state ( see fig3 a and 3b ). alternatively , the motor controller of the electronics assembly in the bottom stage 30 may be pre - programmed to operate the control surface actuator motors through a sequence of operations to fold the control surfaces into the housing 20 . in either case , the motor controller is pre - programmed to operate the actuator motors through a sequence of operations to simultaneously stow them in place from the 0 ° position . the motor controller is also pre - programmed to operate the actuator motors through a sequence of operations , as directed by commands from the command processor of the gav , for example , to move the control surfaces from the stowed state to the ready to deploy state , and then , to deploy the control surfaces from the housing 20 . in the present embodiment , the operations of the plurality of motor actuators are synchronized substantially . however , it is understood that this need not be the case . generally , during testing of the unit 10 , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are controlled through various operations . once successful testing is completed , the control surfaces are folded up into the housing 20 and stowed away therein for storage , transportation and launch . generally , thereafter , the control surfaces will not be deployed again until commanded to do so after launch and during flight of the gav . once the control surfaces are stowed away in the housing 20 , the unit 10 may be disposed within a guided air vehicle ( gav ) at a position along the length thereof dependent on whether the control surfaces are to be applied as fins , wings or canards . for example , if the control surfaces are to act as fins , then the unit 10 is disposed at the rear end of the gav in such a manner to align the slots 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 with corresponding slots in the skin or shell of the gav so that when deployed the control surfaces will protrude through the skin at the rear end of the gav and act as guiding fins thereof . accordingly , if the control surfaces are to act as canards , then the unit 10 is disposed at the front end of the gav in such a manner to align the slots 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 with corresponding slots in the skin or shell of the gav so that when deployed the control surfaces will protrude through the skin at the front end of the gav and act as guiding canards thereof . a block diagram functional schematic of the motor controller , control surface actuator motors and corresponding gear trains suitable for use in the embodiment of fig1 a and 1b is shown in fig2 . referring to fig2 , a common motor controller 80 is electrically coupled to actuator motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 which respectively correspond to control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 . each of the motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 are mechanically coupled to its respective control surface shaft through a corresponding gear train 92 , 94 , 96 and 98 . in the present embodiment , the motors and associated gear trains may be made intentionally inefficient to reduce movement of the control surfaces when in a static position . one or more batteries 100 may be coupled to the electrical motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 and electronic controller 80 to provide operational electric power thereto . as noted above , when the controller 80 receives a command via connector 44 , it responds by controlling the motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 through the proper sequence of operations . the motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 , in turn , move the corresponding control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 to their desired positions simultaneously via the respectively corresponding gear train and shaft mechanically linked thereto . for example , if the motor controller 80 is commanded to fold the control surfaces into the housing 20 , it controls the motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 to rotate the control surfaces about their respective axes 70 until each control surface 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 passes through its corresponding slotted opening 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 and is contained within their respective cavities of the housing 20 as shown in the fig3 a and 3b which are side and sectional top views of unit 10 . referring to fig3 a and 3b , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are folded respectively through slotted openings 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 into cavities 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 cut into the housing 20 . during folding of the control surfaces , the retaining disk 50 is in the 0 ° position and the tips of the control surfaces pass through retainer slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 and into the corresponding grooves thereof . once the step of folding the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 into their respective housing cavities 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 is complete , the motor controller 80 may be commanded to execute a sequence of pre - programmed operations to control the motors 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 to simultaneously rotate and cant the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 into a stowed position as shown in fig4 a and 4b which are side and sectional top views of unit 10 . referring to fig4 a and 4b , the cavities 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 are cut out from the housing 20 to each include an angled ledge 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 , respectively , and an angled side wall support surface 122 , 124 , 126 and 128 , respectively , to accommodate stowage of the respectively corresponding control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 . fig5 is a cut - away illustration of the housing 20 showing the stowed control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 in their cavities 102 , 104 , 106 and 108 resting behind their respective angled ledges 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 and along their angled side wall support surfaces 122 , 124 , 126 and 128 . in the present embodiment , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are controlled simultaneously to their stowed positions by rotating their respective shafts counterclockwise approximately 2 . 5 °, for example , from the 0 ° position around an axis 130 perpendicular to the page as shown in fig4 a . the rotational motion of a control surface about axis 130 to and from a stowed position is achieved in the present embodiment by a pinion gear , which is part of the corresponding actuator motor , driving a spur gear that is part of a ball screw or lead screw . a nut of the ball screw or lead screw has a link attached to it via a pin configuration . an opposite end of the link is attached to an arm using the pin configuration . the arm is integral to an output shaft to which the control surface is assembled using a pin that permits the control surface to pivot about axis 70 from the ready to deploy position ( see fig3 a and 3b ) to the deployed position ( see fig1 a and 1b ). note that as the control surfaces are simultaneously rotated about their respective axes 130 to their canted or stowed positions behind their respective angled ledges and against their respective angled sidewall supports , the tips of the control surfaces which are disposed into grooves of the retaining disk 50 cause the retaining disk 50 along with the slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 to rotate along with them . accordingly , when in the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are in their stowed positions , the corresponding slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 are offset from their 0 ° position and no longer aligned with their corresponding slotted openings 22 , 24 , 26 and 28 as shown in fig4 a and 4b . the combination of the offset slots 52 , 54 , 56 and 58 , the angled ledges 112 , 114 , 116 and 118 and the angled supporting sidewalls 122 , 124 , 126 and 128 prevent the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 from being unintentionally forced out from the housing 20 as will become better understood from the following description . during the control surface stowage and launch , the control surfaces are folded within the structure 10 and are canted or stowed over to their respective control surface side - wall supports . in this stowed position , the control surfaces are located behind their respective angled ledges . upon launch of the gav , forces act on the control surfaces to force them against their respective control - surface side - wall supports . if the launch produces a gav spin , the spin acts to force the control surfaces against their respective control - surface side - wall supports , and in addition , acts to force the trailing edge of the control surface against their respective angled ledges caused by a radial centripetal force . the angled ledges prevent the control surfaces from backdriving or rotating toward their respective control surface slotted opening . in high - g applications of a gav such as a cannon or gun launch , special considerations have to be given to the balloting ( side - slap ) and set - back ( primary launch thrust ) forces exerted on the control surfaces of unit 10 . the forces developed during high - g acceleration are such that prior anti - backdrive features may be overcome , possibly resulting in a premature deployment . as shown in the illustration of the present embodiment in fig6 a and 6b , when a balloting force or load is present , a force shown by the arrowed line 142 acting on the control surface 14 , for example , is reacted by an equal force shown by the arrowed line 144 acting on the diametrically opposed control surface 18 resulting in a zero rotational force . the same action occurs for control surfaces 12 and 16 as shown by force arrowed lines 146 and 148 , respectively . under such conditions in the present embodiment , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 will not backdrive and will not cause premature deployment . also , during set - back force conditions , the control surfaces ( which are canted over to the control surface side - wall support ) are forced onto their respective side - wall supports . thus , the side - wall supports absorb some of the set - back load into the housing structure 20 . in addition , the control surface retainer disk 50 is forced downwards onto the control surfaces which aids to prevent control surface rotation toward the slot . during set - forward or muzzle exit conditions , a force is exerted on the control surfaces which tries to move the control surfaces off the side - wall support toward the zero degrees or deployment position . in the present embodiment , control surface rotation is limited by a balanced actuation output , inefficiency in the drive mechanism , gear ratio ( higher is better ), anti - backdrive features of the cavity and slot wall , some resolved force into the control surface retainer disk and short set - forward time duration in which the control surface has too much inertia to move significantly . once the gav is launched and in flight , the motor controller of the unit 10 is operative to receive a deployment command via connector 44 . upon receipt of the control surface deployment command , the control surface motor actuators are controlled by the motor controller 80 to move their respective control surfaces from their stowed positions ( see fig4 a and 4b ) to the zero degrees or ready for deployment positions ( see fig3 a and 3b ). during the movement from the stowed to zero degree positions , the control surfaces are forced against their respective angled ledges due to the radial centripetal forces exerted thereon . thus , the control surfaces tend to resist movement while in their stowed positions due to friction imposed by their respective ledges . in the present embodiment , the respective motor actuators are designed to be capable of overcoming control surface frictional forces caused by the control surface rubbing against its respective angled ledge . the actuator motors are also designed to be capable of overcoming the force exerted by the sloping feature of the angled ledge . as each control surface moves towards its zero degree position in the same rotational sense as described herein above , the control surface retainer disk 50 rotates about its pivot point 60 in the direction of the control surface movement . accordingly , once the control surfaces are at their respective zero degree positions , they are aligned in their respective slotted openings and are free to be deployed . when the control surfaces are in the ready to be deployed position ( see fig3 a and 3b ), the motor controller 80 is operational to control the actuator motors to cause a simultaneous rotation of the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 about their respective axis 70 until the control surfaces are in their deployed positions ( see fig1 a and 1b ). as noted above , during deployment , the control surfaces 12 , 14 , 16 and 18 are aligned with and pass through openings in the outer shell of the gav so that when deployed , the control surfaces protrude out from the shell in the air stream of the gav to guide the flight thereof . it is understood that for standard ground , ship , underwater or air launched applications of a gav , the slotted control surface retainer disk 50 may not be needed . however , for certain environment conditions , such as extreme vibration , high shock or very high acceleration such as in a gun launch application of a gav , the slotted control surface retainer disk 50 is desirable to prevent the control surface backdriving of the actuator motor during set - back and balloting conditions . in spin applications of the gav , the centrifugal force exerted radially on the control surfaces by the spin of the gav will cause the control surfaces to be forced away from the housing 20 as they become aligned with their respective slotted openings . thus , the deployment movement may be initiated by these radial centrifugal forces . however , in those gav applications in which no spin of the gav is anticipated , some additional apparatus may be desirable to momentarily force the control surfaces away from their static ready for deployment positions ( see fig3 a and 3b ) to start the deployment movement thereof . in these instances , a spring like member , like a torsional spring , for example , may be disposed at the pivot pin of each control surface or in each control surface cavity to momentarily apply a force radially outward on the corresponding control surface as it is aligned with its slotted opening of the housing 20 . it is understood that in this embodiment , each actuator motor and associated gear train will have to be designed to be capable of compressing the corresponding spring like member when folding the corresponding control surface into its cavity . while the present invention has been described herein above in connection with one or more embodiments , it is understood that this was done by way of example with no intention of limiting the present invention in any way . accordingly , the present invention should not be limited by the foregoing described embodiments , but rather , construed in breadth and broad scope in accordance with the recitation of the claims appended hereto .	5
referring to fig2 , a bathtub b is shown provided with an air massage system s . the bathtub b includes a shell 10 that defines an inner cavity within which water can be received in a well known manner . the air massage system s includes a blower 12 ( which may enclose a heating element ), a flexible or rigid main piping 14 connecting the blower 12 to a manifold 16 , and a series of rigid or flexible branch pipes 18 that connect the manifold 16 to downstream air jets 20 that are concealingly mounted behind the shell 10 . a number of holes 22 ( fig1 ) are defined through the shell 10 of the bathtub b with an air jet 20 being sealingly mounted to a hidden surface of the shell 10 of the bathtub b opposite each hole 22 . the air massage system s may also include a sequencer and an electronic controller ( not shown ). as seen in fig1 , a channel 24 can be provided on the sides of the bathtub b with air from the blower 12 being directed into the channel 24 and through further holes 26 defined in the shell 10 opposite the channel 24 . each hidden air jet 20 is illustrated mounted against the hidden outer surface of the shell 10 of the bathtub b and to a fitting 28 , such as an elbow ( herein shown ), a nipple or a tee . the air jet 20 includes a jet body 30 that comprises an exteriorly threaded hollow tube 32 and an end flange 34 . a unidirectional flow mechanism is provided within the hollow tube and can take the form of any water non - return device . the elbow fitting 28 comprises an interiorly tapped hollow tube 36 . a flange 38 is provided at a distal outlet of the tapped hollow tube 36 . the flange 38 defines an annular groove 40 upon which rests an annular seal 42 . a proximal inlet 44 of the fitting 28 extends laterally from the tapped hollow tube 36 , and comprises a number of successive and parallel exterior annular wedges 46 for a sealed connection to a branch pipe 18 . air is blown through the flexible branch pipe 18 and enters the hidden air jet 20 by the inlet 44 . it fills the tapped hollow tube 36 and builds sufficient pressure to open and flow through the unidirectional flow mechanism . then , it exits in the bathtub b through the holes 22 and creates a turbulence in the water filling the bathtub b . air blown into the channel 24 is conveyed through holes 26 defined along the channel 24 which extends peripherally around a bottom corner of the bathtub b . a variation of the channel - type bathtub replaces the channel 24 by a cavity substantially extending along the hidden outer surface of the shell of the bathtub , thereby defining a plenum which in fact extends across the complete bottom of the bathtub and also possibly behind the side wall thereof . similarly , the plenum conveys air through holes such as holes 26 . it is possible for air jets 20 to be mounted in the channel 24 or the plenum of the bathtub , in a bonded manner to the hidden outer surface of the shell 10 of the bathtub b , whereby it is possible to remove the flexible pipes 18 and the elbow fittings 28 , with the hidden air jets 20 being simply fed with pressurised air contained in the channel 24 or plenum while still preventing the infiltration of bathtub water in the channel 24 . in all of the above embodiments , the air massaging system s is completely hidden by way of the use of the air jets 20 ( and channel 24 ), which only leaves the holes 22 ( and 26 ) of this air massaging system s to be visible . the unidirectional flow mechanism provided in the air jet 20 allows for the free release of air in the bathtub b . once the air pressure in the flexible pipes 18 is reduced , upon the end of operation of the system s for example , the unidirectional flow mechanism closes , thereby preventing the bathtub water from entering in the flexible pipes 18 and so causing , e . g . by its stagnation , a contamination of the flexible pipes 18 and of the remaining piping network of the air massage system s . as air is the sole fluid in contact with the flexible pipes and with the piping network of the air massage system , the hidden air jet ensures a high hygiene level . the unidirectional flow mechanism may have different configurations . it can be a check valve with a spring - loaded piston and / or one ( or more ) spring - loaded plastic , stainless steel , glass or rubber ball , with a rubber flap or flaps from another material , a magnetic valve , a flexible diaphragm , a combination of the above enumeration and / or any other unidirectional flow mechanism to ensure the water - tightness of the air jet j . also , the elbow fitting 28 can be replaced by a tee fitting , or other . this configuration increases the flow of incoming air through the inlet of the hidden air jet 20 , and consequently , the turbulence in the bathtub b . it is noted that the shell 10 of the bathtub b , as seen in fig1 , comprises two composite layers , i . e . an inner visible layer 48 ( for instance made of acrylic ) and an underlying outer hidden layer 50 ( for instance made of fibre glass ). in accordance with the present invention , there is provided a hollow decorative fastener f ( see fig1 ), generally in the form of a rivet . the fastener f is engaged in each of the holes 22 and 26 and accomplishes the following functions . first , it retains both the shell layers 48 and 50 together . second , it conceals any sharp edge defined at the outlet of any of the holes 22 and 26 , that is where the holes 22 and 26 open up into the inside cavity formed by the shell . this prevents a user located in the bathtub b from being possibly scratched , or other , by the visible edges of the holes 22 and 26 . finally , the fastener f provides an aesthetic finish around the holes 22 and 26 within the bathing cavity of the bathtub b . more particularly , the fastener f , when installed as in fig1 , includes a tubular member 52 , a decorative hollow head 54 at the downstream visible end thereof , and an enlarged upstream hidden end 56 , wherein the head 54 and the enlarged end 56 ( best seen in fig3 d ) retain the shell layers 48 and 50 in a contacting laminate relation thereby eliminating the possibility that a space is formed between the shell layers 48 and 50 adjacent the holes 22 and 26 . to achieve this final position , the fastener f is deformed in a rivet - like way , as explained in more detail hereinafter . the fastener f can be made of corrosion - proof metals , that can be polished , sanded , painted , plated or chemically treated to increase its finish , its mechanical properties , its resistance to corrosion , etc . the fastener f can also be made of composite or plastic materials that can be deformed to compress the composite shell layers 48 and 50 in the same manner as the metallic fastener . such a non - metallic fastener can be installed by heating , adhesion , welding , ultrasound , pressure fit , etc . the non - metallic fastener can also be polished , sanded , painted , plated or chemically treated to increase its finish , its mechanical properties , its resistance to corrosion , etc . the fastener f is used on bathtubs such as the bathtub b illustrated in fig2 , which is provided with a bottom or side air injection system . the fastener f is used to solidify and / or beautify the holes 22 and 26 defined through the various juxtaposed composite layers 48 and 50 that form the shell 10 of the bathtub b . the fastener f provides a superior finish that prevents sharp edges defined on the upper layer 48 and around the holes 22 and 26 from injuring the user , and also improves the look in the bathtub b at these holes 22 and 26 by offering various finishes and colors . as seen sequentially in fig3 a to 3 d , the fastener f is installed in the holes 22 and 26 as follows . the fastener f in its initial shape seen in fig3 a is mounted around a cylindrical carrier 58 of a tool t that includes an enlarged flared end 60 distally of the carrier 58 and that is larger than the distal end 56 of the fastener f to prevent the fastener f from falling off the tool t . the tool t and the fastener f carried thereby are then inserted through the hole 22 / 26 , along arrows 62 in fig3 a , until they reach the position shown in fig3 b . the tool t is then withdrawn from the hole 22 / 26 , i . e . along arrows 64 in fig3 c , whereby the enlarged end 60 of the tool t causes via its flare 66 the enlarged end 56 of the fastener f to deform ( i . e . flatten while further enlarging ) while then also causing the tubular member 52 of the fastener f to radially expand generally into contact with the shell walls defining the hole 22 / 26 . as seen in fig3 d , the tool t is completely removed from the hole 22 / 26 and from the fastener f , with the latter being in its final installed position where it compresses the layers 48 and 50 of the shell 10 to thus avoid a possible delamination thereof and to avoid water infiltration in the shell 10 that could cause water leaks . as an alternative to the sequence illustrated in fig3 a to 3 d , another sequence in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig4 a to 4 d . more specifically , a variation to the fastener f is illustrated at f ′. the fastener f ′ is similar to the fastener f in that it has a decorative hollow head 54 and an enlarged upstream hidden end 56 . the fastener f ′ has a tubular member 52 ′ defining a pair of legs by a longitudinal slot . a tool t ′ is to be used for the installation of the fastener f ′ to the shell 10 of the bathtub . the tool t ′ has a carrier 58 ′ that can translate longitudinally with respect to a remainder of the tool t ′. the tool t ′ also has a cavity 60 ′, shaped so as to receive the head 54 of the fastener f ′. the fastener f ′ in its initial shape seen in fig4 a is mounted around the cylindrical carrier 58 ′ of the tool t ′. as seen in fig4 b , the hollow head 54 of the fastener f ′ is received in the cavity 60 ′ of the tool t ′, whereas the carrier 58 ′ is partially inserted into the tubular member 52 ′, as illustrated in fig4 b . prior to the insertion of the faster f ′ into the holes 22 , 26 of the shell 10 , an adhesive 70 is optionally provided on an outer surface of the tubular member 52 ′. thereafter , the fastener f ′ may be inserted into the holes 22 , 26 of the shell 10 in a first direction shown by arrows 62 of fig4 a and 4 c . the tool t ′ exerts a pressure on the fastener f ′ so as to insert the fastener f ′ into holes 22 , 26 of the shell 10 through the mating engagement of the hollow head 54 in the cavity 60 ′. the legs of the tubular member 52 ′ are inwardly deflected so as to enable the enlarged head 56 to pass through the holes 22 , 26 . once the enlarged head emerges out of the holes 22 , 26 , the legs of the tubular member 52 ′ resiliently return to their initial position illustrated in fig4 a and 4 b . therefore , at this position , the enlarged head overlaps the periphery of the holes 22 , 26 , and prevents the fastener f ′ from being removed from the shell 10 . still referring to fig4 c , the carrier 58 ′ is further reciprocated as shown by arrow 62 ( and arrow 64 in fig4 d ), with respect to a remainder of the tool t ′, whereby it will exert a radial pressure on the legs of the tubular member 52 ′. this movement is optional , but ensures that the adhesive 70 is well spread and maintains the tubular member 52 ′ against the surface of the holes 22 , 26 . referring to fig4 d , the carrier 58 ′ is then translated in the direction illustrated by arrows 64 , whereby the tool t ′ can be removed and the fastener f ′ is installed in the shell 10 of the bathtub . the tools t and t ′ can be manually operated , pneumatic , electric , or actuated using any other form of energy .	8
a sample seed filling program listing ( seedfill . cpp ), written in c , is provided in appendix a . the following description will refer to procedure and function names used in seedfill . cpp . referring to fig1 and 3a through 3c , once a region 12 has been selected , for example by a mouse click at pixel location 14 , the particular color of the pixel ( i . e ., the seed pixel at location 14 ) is retrieved ( step 110 ). in the bji -- calcfillmask procedure of seedfill . cpp , this step is : next , a mask is generated by using this fetched color attribute ( step 120 ). to accomplish this , the procedure first calls the gdi ( more particularly , the device driver ) to convert ( in a simple single step ) the current bitmap into a monochrome image ( step 122 ). to perform this conversion , the value of the current background color is fetched and saved . then , the background color is set equal to the color of the current pixel : finally , the color bitmap is converted to a monochrome mask , where every pixel with the same color as the seed color is converted to white ( the standard background color ) and every other pixel converts to black : the resulting monochrome preliminary mask 30 ( maskdc ) is shown in fig4 a , where both regions 12 and 18 , sharing the same colors , have been converted to the background color white ( in windows ™ represented by a pixel word having all ones ), while all other colors have been converted to the foreground color black . next , the pixels of region 12 of preliminary mask 30 are interrogated to produce a mask having only region 12 as black and the rest of the mask area white . referring to fig4 b and 4c , starting at the selected pixel 14 , linear pixel runs 32a and 32b are made in both directions until black pixels are found , defining boundaries of that line ( step 124 ). since the inner pixels , being white , have very simple expressions ( here , all ones ), the pixel runs can be scanned very quickly : bytes or words at a time . these pixel runs significantly reduce the number of memory accesses required to generate the mask . for example , if white is represented by a single bit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, a byte - long word of white pixels ---- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ---- can be quickly compared to a word taken from a given row , e . g ., ---- 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 ----. when the existence of a non - white pixel is then discovered within the word , the word can then be broken into smaller units ( for example , 0 1 1 1 ) for closer inspection until the exact location of the non - white boundary is found . the next pixel row up or down ( 34a and 34b ) can be inspected thereafter , and so on . as each row is inspected , the addresses of all found white pixels are used to construct mask 40 , fig5 a . region 42 of mask 40 , corresponding to selected region 12 of target image 10 , is methodically &# 34 ; filled &# 34 ; with black pixels ( represented by all zeroes ) as each pixel run is scanned , as in fig5 a through 5c . once all pixel runs have been scanned , fig5 c , mask 40 is completed ( step 126 ). this mask 40 can then be used to block transfer fill image 16 into selected region 12 of target image 10 ( step 130 ). the boundaries of region 42 can be also provided , to optimize the filling of the selected region , as described below . referring to fig6 through 11 , a block transfer procedure begins with target image 10 ( having selected region 12 ), and fill image 16 . first , fill image 16 is block transferred across the entire target image 10 , tiling if necessary , providing first combined image 60 of fig7 . this can be accomplished by exclusive oring all of the bits of fill image 16 with the bits of target image 10 ( step 132 ). to optimize this process , if the boundaries of region 42 of mask 40 are provided , fill image 16 can be efficiently tiled only over the rough extent of selected region 12 , rather than the entire area of target image 10 . next , mask 40 , with mask region 42 is anded with first combined image 60 , as in fig8 to produce the second combined image 80 of fig9 ( step 134 ). second combined image 80 ( temporarily ) has fill image 16 superimposed everywhere except in region 12 , now made black by mask region 42 . the target image is corrected by once again exclusive oring fill image 16 with second combined image 90 ( again , tiling when necessary ), as in fig1 ( step 136 ). the resulting image 100 , fig1 , has selected region 12 properly filled with fill image 16 , while region 18 remains as it was , even if region 18 had the same color attributes as selected region 12 . referring to fig1 , apparatus 200 for filling graphical regions includes a target image storage area 202 ( formed , for example , of dram memory ), a fill image storage area 204 , a preliminary mask storage area 206 , and a mask storage area 208 . target image 10 , fill image 16 , preliminary mask 30 and mask 40 are stored in respective storage areas 202 through 208 . fill processor 210 ( that can be a computer program such as seedfill . cpp stored in ram , a firmware program , or a hardware implementation ) controls cpu 212 to perform the filling operations discussed above . selected region 12 is selected at pixel 14 by use of region selection device 214 ( for example , a &# 34 ; mouse &# 34 ;). once selected region 12 has been filled , the entire updated target image 10 can be transferred from target image storage 202 to video buffer 216 ( or equivalent output memory buffer ) for output on display 218 ( for example , a computer video monitor ). other embodiments are within the claims . for example , the attribute of the seed pixel used to define the selected region can be generalized to be any value assigned to a pixel , including values indicating blinking and other time - variant characteristics of the pixel , the chroma , hue , luminance of a pixel , and background values for grouping collections of pixels together , but having no immediate visible effect . attributes can be represented by a settable bit or bits . the target image 10 can comprise bitmaps , vector images , and any combination of such images . the fill image 16 can also comprise combinations of these . mask interrogation ( steps 124 and 126 ), where mask 40 is generated , can be performed , for example , by investigating only rows of pixels , only columns , in four - connected pixel fashion , or in any combination of these . both the preliminary mask 30 and mask 40 can be comprised of pixels belonging to a set of colors , where a set is defined to include a single member such as black or white . other mathematical operations and other color schemes can be employed to combine the mask and the fill image with the target image ( for example , in operating systems that assign the color white to be assigned the value 0 , mask 40 could have a white mask area 42 against a black background ). all images , including preliminary mask image 30 , mask image 40 , first and second combined images 60 and 80 , etc ., can be constructed and employed in the background and never displayed . &# 34 ; pixel &# 34 ; is understood to mean a picture element in any sense , whether displayed or not , and whether coarse or fine , &# 34 ; image &# 34 ; is meant to encompass any one or more dimensioned collection of such pixels , and &# 34 ; color &# 34 ; can represent any value or values associated with a pixel . the selected region 12 can be piece - wise continuous or discontinuous . for example , filling a window having four distinct panes with a landscape bitmap would require masking four discontinuous regions , but no others . a generalized selection method , whereby at least one pixel is selected in each grouped region , could then be used . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	6
referring to the drawing figures , fig1 illustrates an exemplary system 9 in which the present methods 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 70 are employed . the system 9 comprises a satellite 10 , payload test earth stations 18 , and telemetry and command earth station 19 . the satellite 10 comprises transponders 11 , receive antennas 12 , and transmit antennas 13 that are to be tested . the payload test earth stations 18 and telemetry and command earth station 19 are at geographically separate and distinct locations . the exemplary system 9 is used in conjunction with various methods 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 70 in accordance with the principles of the present invention to provide for testing of the transponders 11 and antennas 12 , 13 . the present systems 9 and methods 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 70 provide for an improvements over the technique used with regard to nstara and nstarb satellites deployed by the assignee of the present invention . the present systems 9 and methods 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 70 also provide improvements over the teachings of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 157 , 817 . the contents of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 157 , 817 are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . fig2 is a flow diagram that illustrates a first exemplary procedure or method 20 in accordance with the present invention that is employed in conjunction with the system 9 shown in fig1 . the method 20 generates receive antenna pattern measurements that verify operation of the receive antenna 12 on the satellite 10 . the steps of the exemplary receive antenna pattern measurement method 20 are as follows . a receive antenna pattern is positioned 21 over a payload test earth station 18 . this position is the start point for the subsequent slew and typically is the edge of the pattern . an rf test signal is uplinked 22 from a payload test earth station 18 , to a receive antenna 12 on the satellite 10 . commands 16 are uplinked 23 to the satellite 10 from a telemetry and command earth station 19 that cause a slow constant attitude translation ( slewing ) over predetermined orientation angles . the power level of the uplink test signal is sensed 24 in a transponder 11 on - board the satellite 10 while the satellite is slewed . downlink telemetry 17 corresponding to the sensed power level and orientation angles is generated 25 on - board the satellite 10 and downlinked . the downlink telemetry 17 is received 26 at a telemetry and command earth station 19 that is located at a geographically separate location from the payload test earth station 18 . the sensed power level and orientation angles contained in the downlinked telemetry 17 are recorded and processed 27 to verify the operation of the receive antenna 12 on the satellite 10 . fig3 is a flow diagram that illustrates a second exemplary method 30 that generates transmit antenna pattern measurements to verify operation of the transmit antenna 13 . the purpose of the transmit antenna pattern measurement method 30 is to allow one earth station 18 to accurately map any of the transmit spot beams generated by the satellite 10 without using multiple payload test earth stations . the second method 30 requires no uplink carrier , but the satellite transponder 11 must be able to generate enough noise to be received at the payload test earth station 18 . this may be achieved by placing the transponder in automatic level control mode . an exemplary transmit antenna pattern measurement method 30 is as follows . the gain of the transponder 11 is configured 31 to establish a suitable noise pedestal at the payload test earth station 18 . the transmit antenna 13 pattern is positioned 32 over the payload test earth station 18 . this position is the start point for the subsequent slew and typically is the edge of the pattern . commands 16 are uplinked 33 to the satellite 10 from a telemetry and command earth station 19 that cause a slow constant attitude translation ( slewing ) or discrete steps in attitude over predetermined orientation angles . downlink noise 15 of the transponder 11 is transmitted 34 to the payload test earth station 18 , where it is measured and recorded . downlink telemetry 17 corresponding to the orientation angles is generated 35 on - board the satellite 10 and transmitted 36 to a command and telemetry earth station 19 . the noise power measurements and satellite attitude are recorded and processed 37 to verify the operation of the transmit antenna 13 . fig4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a third exemplary method 40 that generates an input chain frequency response curve . the objective of this method is to verify the health of the input chain using signal strength telemetry . the input chain typically includes receive antenna feeds , input multiplexer , receiver , and channel amplifier . this method will verify all equipment up through the signal strength telemetry monitoring point , which is typically , but not necessarily , in the channel amplifier . the method 40 comprises the following steps . an uplink beam 12 is positioned 41 over a payload test earth station 18 and the attitude of the satellite 10 is held stationary . an rf test signal at one of several selected frequencies of interest at a specified power level is uplinked 42 from the payload test earth station 18 to the satellite 10 . the signal strength of the uplink test signal is sensed 43 in the transponder 11 on - board the satellite 10 . downlink telemetry 17 corresponding to the signal strength is generated 44 on - board the satellite 10 and downlinked . the downlinked signal strength telemetry 17 is received 45 at a telemetry and command earth station 19 . the signal strength telemetry 17 and rf test carrier frequency is recorded 46 . the above steps ( 42 - 43 ) are repeated 47 until all frequencies of interest are uplinked and signal strength telemetry is recorded 46 . the recorded signal strength telemetry and rf test carrier frequency are processed 48 to produce the input chain frequency response curve . fig5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a fourth exemplary method 50 that generates an input chain transfer curve . the objective of this method 50 is to verify the health of the input chain using signal strength telemetry . the input chain typically includes receive antenna feeds , input multiplexer , receiver , and channel amplifier . this method 50 verifies all equipment up through the signal strength telemetry monitoring point , which is typically , but not necessarily , in the channel amplifier . the method 50 comprises the following steps . an uplink beam 12 is positioned 51 over an earth station 18 and the attitude of the satellite 10 is held stationary . an rf test signal at one of several power levels of interest at a specified frequency is uplinked 52 from the payload test earth station 18 to the satellite 10 . the signal strength of the uplink test signal is sensed 53 in the transponder 11 on - board the satellite 10 . downlink telemetry 17 corresponding to the signal strength is generated 54 on - board the satellite 10 and downlinked . the downlinked signal strength telemetry 17 is received 55 at a telemetry and command earth station 19 . the signal strength telemetry 17 and rf test carrier power level are recorded 56 . this is repeated until all power levels of interest are uplinked and signal strength is recorded . the recorded signal strength telemetry and rf test carrier power level are processed 57 to produce the input power transfer curve . fig6 is a flow diagram that illustrates a fifth exemplary method 60 that generates an output chain frequency response curve . the objective of this method is to verify the health of the output chain using downlink noise power . no uplink is required . the output chain includes typically includes high power amplifier ( traveling wave tube ( twt ) or solid state power amplifier ( sspa ), filter , output multiplexer , transmit antenna feeds . the method 60 comprises the following steps . a downlink beam 13 is positioned 61 over an earth station 18 and the attitude of the satellite 10 is held stationary . the downlink noise power 15 within a small bandwidth centered around a selected frequency of interest is measured 62 at the earth station 18 . the noise power measurements are continued 63 until the noise power at all frequencies of interest are measured . the recorded noise power measurements are processed 64 at the earth station 18 to generate an output chain frequency response curve . fig7 is a flow diagram that illustrates a sixth exemplary method 70 that generates a power level measurement of the transponder . the objective of this method is to verify the health of the output chain using downlink noise power . no uplink is required . the output chain includes typically includes high power amplifier ( traveling wave tube ( twt ) or solid state power amplifier ( sspa ), filter , output multiplexer , transmit antenna feeds . the method 70 comprises the following steps . a downlink beam 13 is positioned 71 over an earth station 18 and the attitude of the satellite 10 is held stationary . the downlink noise power 15 within a small bandwidth at the center frequency is measured 72 at the earth station 18 . these steps are repeated 73 for a variety of gain steps , if the satellite is equipped with commandable gain steps . thus , various methods for testing in - orbit multibeam satellite communication systems using input power telemetry and output noise power been disclosed . it is to be understood that the above - described embodiments are merely illustrative of some of the many specific embodiments that represent applications of the principles of the present invention . clearly , numerous and other arrangements can be readily devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention .	7
referring to fig1 , a radio access network ( ran ) 100 uses an ev - do protocol to transmit data packets between an access terminal , e . g ., access terminal 114 and 116 , and a radio network access point , e . g ., access points 108 , 110 , 112 . the access points are connected over a backhaul connection 118 to radio network control / packet data serving nodes ( rnc / pdsn ) 120 , which may be one or more physical devices at different locations . in some examples , as shown in fig2 , a radio network access point 202 may be deployed in a user &# 39 ; s home 200 in a similar manner as a wifi ® access point . such a radio network access point is referred to as a private access point . the private access point 202 may use an available high - speed internet connection , such as dsl or cable modem 204 , as the backhaul with the rnc / pdsn functionality implemented in the private access point 202 . such a private access point may be installed anywhere that it is advantageous to do so , for example , in an office , a public space , or a restaurant . when this description refers to a private access point being in a “ home ” that encompasses any such location . a private access point is different from a picocell access point in that it may be intended to only provide access for the user that installs it in his home or those he authorizes , as opposed to a picocell which may serve a similar venue but provides access to any subscriber of the network . in some examples , a private access point may be integrated into a cable modem or other network hardware , such as a router or wifi access point . when an authorized access terminal 206 is present inside the home ( or anywhere within range of the private access point 202 ), it uses the private access point 202 rather than a regular cellular radio network access point such as access point 108 to place or receive voice calls and data connections , even if it is otherwise within the cell 102 for that access point 108 . we sometimes refer to the standard access point 108 as a macro access point or macro bts to distinguish it from a private access point , as it provides direct access to the wider ran . a neighboring home 210 may have its own private access point 212 connected to its cable modem 214 for use by its owner &# 39 ; s access terminal 216 . a private access point deployment is different than traditional radio network deployment because neighboring private access points are intended to operate independently , in part because real - time communications is difficult between neighboring private access points . the intended private access point deployment is also different than wifi deployment in that it is intended to operate in licensed spectrum . some details and examples are discussed in co - pending application ser . no . 11 / 640 , 415 , titled controlling reverse link interference in private access points for wireless networking , filed dec . 15 , 2006 , and ser . no . 11 / 640 , 503 , titled configuring preferred user zone lists for private access points for wireless networking , filed dec . 15 , 2006 , which are incorporated here by reference . access lists of authorized access terminals for each private access point can be configured on a central server and distributed to the private access points . information to locate and access the private access points can be distributed to access terminals using an over - the - air parameter administration ( otapa ) system . access terminals may also retrieve access information from the configuration server themselves . a mobile internet protocol ( mobile ip ) can be used along with voice call continuity ( vcc ) for handoffs between private access points . although this description uses terminology from ev - do standards , the same concepts are applicable to other communication methods , including gsm , umts , hsdpa , wimax , wibro , wifi , and the like . for example , when we refer to a reverse power control ( rpc ) signal , this should be taken to refer to any signal used by a base station to control power levels of an access terminal . provisioning refers to defining sets of access terminals that should use a particular access point and related configuration activities . personal access points can benefit from a user - friendly provisioning system that can allow the end - user to direct which other users should be allowed to have access to a particular private access point . this is advantageous because it allows owners to control who accesses their hardware , but at the same time , the network operator is able to maintain some amount of control over how its network is accessed . in existing systems , web - based configuration interfaces are sometimes hosted by the device under configuration , for example , home routers manufactured by the linksys ® division of cisco systems , inc ., of san jose , calif ., allow end - users to restrict access to their home ethernet or wifi routers by providing a web - based user interface hosted on those same routers . an end user can connect his personal computer , equipped with web - browser software , to his home router and configure its access list and other settings through a locally - generated web page . such home routers are not operator - managed ; they are managed by the end - users themselves . many home - networking access products operate in this fashion . in other systems , configuration is done using custom client applications , for example , the airport ® wireless access point from apple computer , inc ., of cupertino , calif ., is configured using software that is built and provided by apple for the specific purpose of managing such access points . such home networking devices are also managed by the end - users themselves , not the operator of the wide - area network to which they may be attached . many other home - networking products operate in this fashion as well . in the description below , a system enables end - users to provision a home networking device such as a personal access point in a user - friendly manner , yet allows the network operator to manage and retain final control over the device . two primary methods are described : one through an operator - hosted web - based interface , the other using sms text messaging terminated by the operator &# 39 ; s text messaging application server . these methods may be implemented independently or in combination . such user - based provisioning has several advantages . because the end - user does not configure the home networking device directly , one fewer networking port needs to be opened ( i . e ., a port for accessing the device directly through a web browser ) and the home networking device will be more secure , more “ hack - proof ” for it . web - browsing and text - messaging are common and familiar interfaces for many end users providing user friendliness and ease of use . to provide access to a radio access network , a personal base station needs to be provisioned and configured in a way that is compatible with the services provided by the network operator . using this system , because configuration is done through an operator - managed interface and the device is ultimately left operator - managed , the operator can ensure that only a provisioning configuration that is fully compatible with its network service is used on the personal base station . fig3 shows two user - driven service provisioning scenarios for setting provisioning configurations on a private access point 300 . in some examples , a user ( not shown ) uses a cell phone 302 to send a text message 304 to a text messaging application server 306 over a wireless network 320 . the text message 304 contains a command to change the provisioning configuration of the private access point 300 . the user may compose the command manually using his phone &# 39 ; s usual text - messaging features , or he may use a list of pre - defined commands or a custom application to generate the message . the address to which the message is sent could be stored as a regular contact in the phone &# 39 ; s address book feature . any device capable of generating a text message could be used , including a cell phone , a pda , a two - way pager , or a personal computer . the text messaging application server 306 can verify 312 the text message 304 &# 39 ; s sender &# 39 ; s identity using an authorization and accounting ( aaa ) server 308 . in some examples , the text messaging application server 308 and the aaa server 308 are both operated by the network operator ( box 310 ), but either or both could be operated by third parties with communications 312 between them handled by any standard or customized communications method . after authenticating the sender , the text messaging application server 308 forwards a message 316 including the provisioning configuration command to a provisioning configuration server 314 . the provisioning configuration server 314 can perform additional checks 318 and verification with the aaa server if necessary . it alters the provisioning configuration information , as appropriate for the network operator &# 39 ; s needs , and transmits the provisioning configuration change 322 to the private access point 300 over a wide - area network 330 a , which may , for example , be the internet or a private network . in some examples , the network operator may also provide broadband services to the user , and a single network connection may provide both the configuration change 322 and internet access , with or without the change 322 actually being transmitted through the internet component of the service . this process is further described below with reference to fig4 . note that for user - friendliness considerations , the user can deal with phone numbers rather than with hardware ids . for example , the number to which the text message 304 is sent appears , to the user , to be a standard telephone number or a short telephone number as is commonly used for text - messaging - based applications . the user does not need to know or store in his phone a different type of identification for the text messaging application server 306 . furthermore , the text messaging application server 306 can infer the sender &# 39 ; s identity by the source of the text message 304 ( e . g ., using caller id ) and infer which home networking device 300 to associate with the sender . in some examples , this association is established when the user first registers or activates his private access point 300 with the network operator . in some examples , a user may have more than one private access point , and the text message or custom application used to create it may include an identification of which one the user wishes to modify . for example , the user may specify an id of the targeted access point , or may specify “ all ” if he wants to change the configuration of all the access points he controls . in some examples , the system may automatically determine which access points to configure . if the user provides a phone number of an access terminal that should be granted access , the system may determine that access terminal &# 39 ; s current geographic location and provision the access terminal on all the private access points owned by that user that are within 100 miles of the access terminal . in some examples , the user uses a personal computer 324 running web - browser software to connect to a web server 326 ( arc 328 ) through a wide - area network 330 b . the two wide - area networks 330 a and 330 b may both be the internet , and may be the same or different routes through the internet . web traffic 328 from the computer 324 to the web server 326 may pass through the private access point 300 if the private access point 300 is also serving as an internet gateway for the computer 324 . this web server 326 may be operated by the network operator or a third party . the web server 326 can ask for username & amp ; password information to verify 332 the user &# 39 ; s identity . other authentication systems , such as certificates or public key encryption can also be used . through the web server 326 , the user enters provisioning configuration information . the web server 326 then forwards a message 334 including the new provisioning configuration to the provisioning configuration server 314 . the provisioning configuration server 314 can perform additional checks and verification 336 with the aaa server 308 , if necessary . as in the first scenario , the provisioning configuration server 314 alters the provisioning configuration information , as appropriate for the network operator &# 39 ; s needs , and transmits the provisioning configuration change 322 to the private access point 300 over a wide - area network 330 a . in some examples , a centralized provisioning configuration server 314 is used . unlike in some other systems , this server 314 does not gather provisioning information from the home networking equipment 300 , but rather , it gets provisioning information from the network operator or from the end user using the web - based or text - messaging - based methods described above and then downloads the configuration information to the home networking equipment . fig4 shows the sequences of messages passed in the first scenario discussed above , using text messages to configure the provisioning information . as shown , the user sends a text message 304 to the sms application server 306 . the sms server 306 communicates with the aaa server 308 to authenticate 312 the cell phone 302 used to send the message 304 . one part of the provisioning command in the text message 304 may be a list of telephone numbers that the users wishes to allow to access the network through his private access point 300 . the sms server 306 sends a translation request 402 including this list of numbers to the aaa server 308 . the aaa server 308 translates the phone numbers into access terminal ids and transmits these back to the sms server 306 in a translation response 404 . the sms server 306 then sends the provisioning command 316 , including the translated access terminal ids , to the provisioning configuration server 314 . the provisioning configuration server 314 makes any changes that are required by the network operator and communicates the updated provisioning configuration 322 to the private access point 300 . this process includes sending a connection request 406 to the private access point 300 , sending the list 408 of authorized access terminal ids to the private access point 300 , and receiving a confirmation . if the private access point does not respond after some time - out period , a failure notice 410 is sent to the sms server , which in turn sends an instruction 412 to the user to reset the private access point . the user performs ( 414 ) the requested reset 416 . after the private access point 300 resets , it connects to the server 314 and receives its full configuration information 418 , including the list 408 of authorized access terminals that failed to update earlier . a similar process could be used for the web - based provisioning shown in fig3 . other types of configuration messages may be sent , and other types of modifications may be made to them . in some examples , a user may send a message to indicate that a particular access terminal should have priority over others in accessing the radio access network through his private access point . in some examples , a user may specify a phone number of an access terminal that is not compatible with his private access point for technical or business reasons . it may be an access terminal that uses gsm , while the user &# 39 ; s access point is part of a cdma network , or it may be an access terminal that subscribes to a service other than the one the user subscribes to , even if they use the same technology . in either case , the system will reject the request and not provision the specified access terminal on the user &# 39 ; s private access point . this could be communicated to the user in the form of a text message . in some examples , the operator may be willing to provide access to an access terminal from a competing network operator , assuming it is compatible , but will provision it to take a lower priority than those of its own subscribers . other commands may be less network - focused , such as configuring the private access point to initiate a wake - up call , or simply instructing it to reset itself . although the techniques described above employ the 1xev - do air interface standard , the techniques are also applicable to other cdma and non - cdma air interface technologies in which access points are installed in small - scale deployments or can otherwise be configured by their users . the techniques described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer hardware , firmware , software , or in combinations of them . the techniques can be implemented as a computer program product , i . e ., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier , e . g ., in a machine - readable storage device , for execution by , or to control the operation of , data processing apparatus , e . g ., a programmable processor , a computer , or multiple computers . a computer program can be written in any form of programming language , including compiled or interpreted languages , and it can be deployed in any form , including as a stand - alone program or as a module , component , subroutine , or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment . a computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network . method steps of the techniques described herein can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output . method steps can also be performed by , and apparatus of the invention can be implemented as , special purpose logic circuitry , e . g ., an fpga ( field programmable gate array ) or an asic ( application - specific integrated circuit ). modules can refer to portions of the computer program and / or the processor / special circuitry that implements that functionality . processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors , and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory or a random access memory or both . the essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data . generally , a computer will also include , or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to , or both , one or more mass storage devices for storing data , e . g ., magnetic , magneto - optical disks , or optical disks . information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , e . g ., eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks , e . g ., internal hard disks or removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom and dvd - rom disks . the processor and the memory can be supplemented by , or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry . to provide for interaction with a user , the techniques described herein can be implemented on a computer having a display device , e . g ., a crt ( cathode ray tube ) or lcd ( liquid crystal display ) monitor , for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device , e . g ., a mouse or a trackball , by which the user can provide input to the computer ( e . g ., interact with a user interface element , for example , by clicking a button on such a pointing device ). other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well ; for example , feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback , e . g ., visual feedback , auditory feedback , or tactile feedback ; and input from the user can be received in any form , including acoustic , speech , or tactile input . the techniques described herein can be implemented in a distributed computing system that includes a back - end component , e . g ., as a data server , and / or a middleware component , e . g ., an application server , and / or a front - end component , e . g ., a client computer having a graphical user interface and / or a web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the invention , or any combination of such back - end , middleware , or front - end components . the components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication , e . g ., a communication network . examples of communication networks include a local area network (“ lan ”) and a wide area network (“ wan ”), e . g ., the internet , and include both wired and wireless networks . the computing system can include clients and servers . a client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact over a communication network . the relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client - server relationship to each other . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . the techniques described herein can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results .	7
in the following , the invention will be described in detail by referring to the accompanying drawings which show exemplary embodiments of the invention . fig1 shows a general arrangement of an information or data processing system for carrying out the method according to the invention . referring to the figure , a central processing unit 1 ( hereinafter referred to as cpu in abbreviation ) incorporates a main memory 14 ( also referred to as mm in abbreviation ) and has connected thereto an input terminal or key board 2 , an output terminal or display 3 , a secondary memory 4 and a communication controller 5 . connected to the communication controller 5 through a communication line 6 are other input / output units 7 and 8 and other cpu 9 . referring to fig2 which illustrates an arrangement of the information processing system inclusive of software , commands inputted through the key board 2 ( also referred to simply as kb ) is analyzed or interpreted through execution of a command analyzing program 11 ( also referred simply as ca ) to activate a command processing program 12 ( or cp in abbreviation ) by way of an operation system or os 10 . the cp 12 is inputted with data through the kb 2 ( key boad ) or displays data through the display unit 3 ( hereinafter also referred to as disp in abbreviation ). further , the cp 12 reads out or write data from or in the secondary memory 4 ( or sm in abbreviation ) and performs transmission and reception of data with the communication controller 5 ( also referred to as com ) as well as the other input / output units 7 and 8 and the other cpu 9 through the communication line 6 . the command analyzing program or ca 11 activates a compiler 13 ( referred to simply as cmpl ) in response to a command . the compiler 13 is inputted with a source program from the secondary memory or sm 4 by way of the os 10 to thereby make an executable program which is then stored in the mm 14 or sm 4 . the executable program is activated as the command processing program or cp 12 by the ca 11 through the os 10 . more specifically , referring to fig3 the cmpl 13 records the source program 20 and reads the record line by line ( block 21 ) and decompose it into words through lexical analysis ( block 22 ), which words are transformed into symbols . the compiler checkes as to the grammatical correctness through a syntax analysis ( block 23 ) on the basis of the symbols as read to prepare a syntax tree which is then scanned to make an intermediate language ( block 24 ). after optimization ( block 25 ), an executable program is prepared ( block 26 ) and supplied to a file 27 . in the course of these processes ( blocks 22 to 26 ), tables 28 of various information such as name table , constant table or the like are prepared and referred to . ( for further particulars , reference may be made , for example , to i . tanaka &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; compiler &# 34 ; published by sangyo tosho company in japan , 1981 ). fig4 illustrates an example of the source program written by c - language . reference numerals 31 to 33 designate declaration statements about character type variables . more specifically , 31 denotes the declaration statement of the character type variable having an area of size corresponding to a single character of the name &# 34 ; c1 &# 34 ;, 32 denotes the declaration statement of the character type variable for five characters of &# 34 ; ca &# 34 ;, and 33 similarly denotes the declaration statement of the character type variable for eight characters of &# 34 ; cn &# 34 ;. in the declaration statement 32 , the data enclosed by double quotes represents a string of characters which are assumed to be character codes including a stop code of value &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; at the end . a bracket () represents an array whose magnitude is determined by the initial value on the right side to the equality sign in the case of the illustrated example . a reference numeral 34 denotes an assignment statement having the variable c1 substituted for by a character type constant &# 34 ; x &# 34 ;. the data enclosed by the single guotes represents a single character . the stop code is assumed to be represented by &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; in the character type data . a reference numeral 35 denotes a statement for calling a function named &# 34 ; append &# 34 ; and including three arguments . although the character type data illustrated in fig4 are for english characters , it should be understood that such characters as illustated in fig5 can be processed . in other words , any of the standardized or coordinated 16 - bit codes can be dealt with . the kanji ( chinese characters ), alphanumeric characters and symbols are stored in the form of 16 - bit codes ( 36 , 37 ). the alphanumeric chracter or a symbol which may be of an 8 - bit code is attached ahead thereof with the exclamation mark &# 34 ;!&# 34 ; represented by a code of eight bits all of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;, so as to be transformed to a 16 - bit code including the added eight bits all of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; and stored ( 38 ). in especial cases , the exclamation mark &# 34 ;!&# 34 ; itself is represented by a 16 - bit coded 8 - bit code ( 39 ) or a normal 16 - bit , code ( 40 ). the stop code is represented by a code of 16 - bits all of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; as indicated at 41 . further , the symbol &# 34 ; &# 34 ; is represented by a code as shown in 42 or 43 . the character type data and the character string data such as those illustrated in fig5 are analyzed through the process represented by the block 22 in fig3 . fig6 is a view illustrating a procedure for analyzing the character data succeeding to the first double quote &# 34 ; &# 34 ; &# 34 ; in a character string data . referring to fig6 at a step or block 51 , a variable f r for memorizing the appearance of &# 34 ; &# 34 ; and a variable f e for memorizing the appearance of the exclamation mark &# 34 ;!&# 34 ; are set to &# 34 ; os &# 34 ;, respectively , which is followed by a block 52 where the succeeding one character of the character string is inputted . at blocks 53 , 56 , 59 and 63 , the inputted character is identified . if the inputted character is &# 34 ; &# 34 ;, the variable f r is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at a block 54 if it is still &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; and the block 52 is regained . if f r is already &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the procedure proceeds to a block 66 . on the other hand , when the inputted character is the double guote &# 34 ; &# 34 ; &# 34 ;, this means the end or stop of the character string , if the variable f r is &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;. then , the processing comes to an end . otherwise , the procedure proceeds to the block 66 . when the inputted character is the mark &# 34 ;!&# 34 ;, the variable f e is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; if both the variables f r and f e are &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; and the procedure proceeds to the block 66 , while the block 52 is regained when either the variable f r or f e is already &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. when the variable f r is found to be &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at the block 66 , the character inputted is transformed to a 16 - bit - coded 8 - bit code at a block 67 . on the other hand , when f r is found to be &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;, the inputted character is transformed to a 16 - bit code at a block 68 , the 16 - bit code thus derived being transferred to a character string storing area at a block 69 . fig7 illustrates a syntax tree resulting from the execution of the syntax analysis ( block 23 ) together with tables of various information or data . in fig7 a numeral 70 denotes a table for holding indices of syntax trees each for a statement to be excecuted , and 71 , 72 and 73 denote syntax tables containing data of nodes of the syntax trees . more specifically , 71 denotes the type or sort of the node , while 72 and 73 denote the numbers representative of points of branches from the nodes , respectively , which are listed in the tables differing one another in dependence on the node types . when an assignment statement is held at 71 , then , 72 and 73 denote other nodes of the same syntax tree table . in case the types or sorts of the nodes are variables , constants and functions to be called , the table 72 holds the indices of the variable table 74 to 78 , constant tables 79 to 82 and function tables 83 to 85 . the variable table includes items of variable name 74 , data type 75 , data 76 concerning presence or absence of initial value , data length 17 and allocated address 78 . when the initial value is present , the index of the constant table is stored in the table 76 with the address being still undetermined . the function table contains function name 83 , the number of argument ( 84 ), function address 85 which is still undetermined . the constant table contains constant data type 79 , data length 80 , allocated address 81 and index 82 of literal table 86 , wherein the address 81 is not yet determined . the literal table 86 contains the existing character type data or the character string data . turning to fig3 at a block 26 , the character type variables 74 are allocated with areas of a size corresponding to the number of bits equal to the product of the data length 77 multiplied by 16 ( sixteen ) by referring to the aforementioned variable tables 74 to 78 , the constant tables 79 to 82 and the literal table 86 ( fig8 blocks 90 , 91 and 92 ), wherein the addresses of the allocated areas are set sequentially at the allocated address column 78 ( fig7 ), which is followed by the transcription of the initial values for the relevant variables 91 from the literal table 86 . as to the constant data , those which constitute no initial values for the variables are each allocated with an area corresponding to the number of bits equivalent to that resulting from multiplication of the data length 80 by 16 ( fig8 blocks 93 , 94 ), which is followed by the transcription of the values of the constants from the literal table 86 with the addresses being set at the address column 81 ( fig7 ). the precedure described above is same as the character data allocating procedure conventionally carried out by the compiler except that one character is constituted by 16 - bits and it is thus obvious tht the above mentioned procedure can be realized . fig9 is a schematic diagram for illustrating general operation of the os 10 incorporated in the cpu 1 in response to the input / output request of the command processing program or cp 12 . when the cp 12 requests the os 10 to execute a macro instruction 119 shown in fig1 the address of the area for a first argument is set at a first area of an argument address list 103 , while the addresses of the areas 105 of the second and other succeeding arguments are set at the second and other succeeding areas of the argument address list 103 , wherein the leading address 103 of the argument address list is placed in a first register 101 , to thereby call the program corresponding to the macro instruction from the os 10 ( as indicated by 110 in fig9 ). the os 10 can find a parameter address list 103 on the basis of the contents in the first register 101 and subsequently find individual parameters 104 to 106 . thus , the os 10 can examine the content of the request commanded by the macro instruction to thereby search a directory 108 for determining predetermined information or data to thereby create a control table 107 or a system buffer 109 or alternatively consult with a control table 107 to issue a control command to a terminal input unit 100 ( as indicated by 112 in fig9 ) to allow the data transfer to be performed with the system buffer 109 ( as indicated by 115 in fig9 ), to thereby cause a completion code to be issued back to the control table 107 ( as indicated by 113 in fig9 ). if desired , the os 12 may set the completion or end code in a record register 102 after the data have been set at the parameter areas 104 , 105 and 106 to allow the control to be regained by the cp 12 ( as indicated by 111 in fig9 ). at the end of the macro instruction , the content of the second register 102 is set at the variable ( completion code ) on the left side to the equality sign . as the macro instructions for the input / output , there can be mentioned instructions 120 to 124 illustrated in fig1 . now , description will be made of the case where data are inputted from the terminal input console 2 in fig2 ( denoted by 100 in fig9 ). referring to fig1 , it is assumed that declaration 131 of completion code area &# 34 ; cc &# 34 ;, declaration 132 of buffer area &# 34 ; buf &# 34 ; and declaration 133 of pointer area &# 34 ; fd &# 34 ; for the control table are made and that a request &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; for the open processing in initialization is subsequently issued with the name of console input unit , &# 34 ; buf &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; fd &# 34 ; being used as the arguments ( as shown at 134 in fig1 ). the os 10 searches the directory 108 on the basis of the first argument , as shown in fig1 ( block 170 ) to determine the relevant item . referring to fig1 , one item of the directory 108 is composed of a name 141 , a used code kind 142 , a unit ( device ) type 143 , and a unit address 144 . in the case of the input terminal console , &# 34 ; console &# 34 ; is located at 141 , the used code for the terminal is at 142 , the symbol indicative of the terminal is at 13 , and the address of the terminal input unit is located at 144 . when the relevant item is found in the directory 108 as searched ( block 171 in fig1 ), the os 10 determines the terminal unit address 144 , the used code kind 142 and the address &# 34 ; buf &# 34 ; from the relevant directory 108 and the argument address list 103 to set them in a control table shown in fig1 at locations 152 , 153 , 154 and 156 , respectively ( block 173 in fig1 ). additionally , the type of the code used by the request issuing program 12 is determined and set in the table shown in fig1 at a location 155 ( block 173 in fig1 ) for securing a buffer area for the system ( block 174 in fig1 ). if the buffer area can be secured ( block 175 ) the address of that buffer area is set at 157 in the table in fig1 , while the size of the system buffer is set at 158 of the same table ( block 176 in fig1 ). further , an end pointer 159 and a fetch pointer 160 are set to &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; with the address of the control table being set to &# 34 ; fd &# 34 ;, and finally a completed &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; flag 151 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; ( block 177 in fig1 ). the code type used in the execution of a program is determined by searching the relevant item of the cp 12 registrated in the directory by the os 10 upon issuing of the request for activation of the cp 12 by the os 10 , whereby the program is loaded to start execution thereof . at that time , by setting the code type used in execution of the program in a program execution management table ( not shown ), the os 10 is always in the position to know the code type used in a program which is being currently executed . when all the succeeding &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; processings have been normally completed , the os 10 sets &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; in the second register 102 ( block 178 in fig1 ), the cp 12 regains the control and sets the variable &# 34 ; cc &# 34 ; in the second register 102 . in response to a test instruction or command , the completion code &# 34 ; cc &# 34 ; is checked . when the latter is found &# 34 ; o &# 34 ;, procedure procedes to the instruction 136 for executing the data fetching macro instruction . in executing the data fetching macro instruction 136 , the &# 34 ; fd &# 34 ; determined through execution of the &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; macro instruction 134 designates the first argument while the number of characters to be fetched is designated by the second argument . the processing performed by the os 10 in that case will be described by referring to fig1 . at first , it is checked whether the control table given by &# 34 ; fd &# 34 ; has been correctly opened or not by checking the &# 34 ; open &# 34 ; completion flag 151 ( at block 181 ). when the flag is found to be &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the unit or device type 152 is checked ( block 182 ). when the unit or device has been found to be a terminal , it is checked whether the data is still present in the system buffer by comparing a fetching pointer 160 with the last pointer 159 ( block 183 ). if the data is absent , an input control command is sent to the key board ( input terminal ) address 153 to thereby cause the data to be loaded in the system buffer starting from the leading location thereof on the character - by - character basis ( block 184 ). when a character for a new line is inputted , the number of all the characters inputted until then is set at the last pointer 159 while &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; is set at the fetching pointer ( block 185 ), whereupon the block 183 is regained . on the other hand , when the data is present in the system buffer and found to correspond to a number m of characters ( block 186 ), it is decided whether m is smaller than the number of characters designated or required by the second argument of the &# 34 ; read &# 34 ; macro instruction ( block 187 ). when the result of decision is affirmative , the number m is changed to the number required ( block 188 ). subsequently , m characters in the system buffer are transferred to the buffer area &# 34 ; buf &# 34 ; while executing a code transformation processing described hereinafter ( block 189 ). then , the fetching pointer is added with m , while the number of the characters to be fetched is subtracted by m . if the chracters to be fetched are still present , the block 183 is regained ( block 191 ). otherwise , the second register 102 is placed with &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ( block 192 ), whereupon the &# 34 ; read &# 34 ; procedure comes to an end . it should however be mentioned that in conjunction with the blocks 185 , 186 , 187 , 188 , 189 and 190 , the code type used in the device or unit and the code type 155 used in the program have to be discriminated from each other . more specifically , the character belonging to the new line should be understood in terms of the code 154 used in the unit or terminal . the same hold true for the number of characters in the block 186 and the number m mentioned in conjunction with the blocks 186 to 190 . on the other hand , the number of the characters mentioned above in conjunction with the blocks 187 , 188 and 190 should be understood in terms of the code 155 used in the program . it is further to be noted that the pointer placed in the system buffer becomes different with respect to the amount to be updated for each character in dependence on the types of the code used in the unit or terminal . the foregoing description concerns an embodiment of the invention applied to the inputting from an input terminal unit ( key board ). however , the basic concept of the output operation through the output terminal unit or display is similar to that of the input operation through the input terminal unit or key board described above except that a &# 34 ; write &# 34 ; macro instruction 122 is used in place of the &# 34 ; read &# 34 ; macro instruction and that the direction of data flow as well as code transformation is reversed . further , the input / output operation relative to the files stored in the sm 4 is similar to the input / output operation to the terminal in the basic concept except that amount of information or data contained in the directory 108 and the control table 107 is increased in the former case . the relevant technique has heretofore been established . further , data reception and transmission with the other input / output units 7 and 8 and the other cpu 9 connected to the communication line 6 through the com 5 is basically similar to those for the input and output terminals ( key board and display ) except that processings for logically establishing the communication paths are required . the relevant techniques has heretofore been established also in this respect . a &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; macro instruction 123 series to output the contents of the system buffer in the output phase of operation to thereby make free the system buffer and clear the control table . these functions can also be realized by resorting to known techniques . the &# 34 ; create &# 34 ; macro instruction 124 is to create new files . more specifically , the directory 108 for the new files having a name designated by the first argument is created , wherein the code type given by the second argument is employed as the code 142 to be used in the file . the &# 34 ; inquire &# 34 ; macro instruction 125 is to give the code kind used in the input / output unit , file or cpu designated by the name to the variable code . to this end , the os 10 searches the directory 108 in respect to the name . if the name in concern is found , the used code type 142 specified in the directory is fetched to be given to the variable code . otherwise , it is decided that an error occurs , whereby an error code is set at the second register 102 to complete this processing . the &# 34 ; change &# 34 ; macro instruction 126 serves to change the code type used in the input / output unit , file or cpu as designated by the name to a code type given by the variable code . more specifically , the os 10 search the directory 108 in respect to the name . if the name is found , the relevant used code type 142 listed at the item found in the directory is set with the used code type designated by the code . otherwise , it is decided that an error occur , whereby the error code is set at the second register 102 to terminate this procedure . in the following , code transformation upon the inputting from the key board will be described . for describing the usage of the &# 34 ; inquire &# 34 ; macro instruction and the &# 34 ; change &# 34 ; macro instruction , it is assumed , by way of example , that data inputted through the input unit ( key board ) in which a code a is used is to be copied to a file where a code b is used . on the assumption , if the code used in the copying program belongs neither to the code a nor to the code b , than either of the codes a or b is checked by the &# 34 ; inquire &# 34 ; macro instruction , which is followed by alteration of the code used in the copying program itself with the and of the &# 34 ; change &# 34 ; macro instruction , to thereby suppress duplicate code transformations which would otherwise take place . turning back to fig1 it is assumed that a coordinated or uniformized 16 - bit code which results from coordination of a jis 8 - bit code and jis kanji ( chinese character ) code is used in the key board unit 2 and the display unit 3 , the jis 8 - bit code is used in the secondary memory of sm 4 , and that admixed codes of ebcdik code and keis kanji code are employed together with a shift code in the input / output units 7 and 8 and the second cpu 9 which are connected through the communication controller 5 . in connection with the coordinated 16 - bit code , it is further assumed that the jis 8 - bit code is added with a preceding code of eight bits all of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; to be thereby transformed to the 16 - bit code . additionally , it is assumed that in any of the admixed codes , only the ebcdik code or alternatively the shift code is allowed to occupy the leading part . description will now be made in connection with an application in which a non - character code , the jis 8 - bit code , the admixed codes and the coordinated 16 - bit code are to be handled . here , with the phrase &# 34 ; non - character code &# 34 ;, it is intended to mean that the code includes the data except for those of the character code , as the case of a binary data file . further , the programs are dealt with as the non - chracter code program independent of the codes actually used in the programs fig1 is a view for illustrating input vis - a - vis output relationships for determining a gross classification of the code transformation processings . in the figure , there are listed the various code types of input data rowwise at the left most column while they are enumerated columnwise on the topmost row , wherein transformation classifying numbers are entered at intersections of the rows and the columns . the combinations represented by the classification numbers 1 require no code transformation . combination represented by the classification number 2 requires code transformation between the 8 - bit codes . for carrying out this transformation , an intra - memory transformation table ( i . e . table stored in a memory ) of an 8 - bit width including 2 8 elements is prepared as illustrated in fig1 , and a value of the ebcdik code representing a same character that the value i of the jis 8 - bit code represents is entered at the i - th element ( where i = 0 , . . . , 2 8 - 1 ) of the transformation table . on the conditions , transformation of the jis 8 - bit code to the ebcdik code can be readily accomplished merely by referring to the intramemory transformation table . the combination represented by the classification number 3 requires transformation of the admixed codes to the jis 8 - bit code . in case the admixed codes consist only of the kbcdik codes , this transformation can be realized by using a reverse transformation table as in the case of the processing required for the combination identified by the number 2 , wherein appearance of the keis kanji code is processed as an error to terminate the macro instruction processing by setting an error code in the second register 102 . combination represented by the classification number 4 requires only the processing for adding eight bits all of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; in precedence to the inputted jis 8 - bit code to thereby create the 16 - bit code . processing for the combination represented by the classification number 5 is reverse to the processing for the combination represented by the classification number 4 . namely , when the preceding ( more significant ) eight bits of the inputted 16 - bit code are all &# 34 ; os &# 34 ;, only the remaining eight bits are allowed to be outputted . otherwise , it is decided that an error occurs , and the error code is set in the second register 102 to thereby teminate the processing for the instant macro - instruction . in the processing of combination represented by the classification number 6 , it is first checked whether or not the shift code is involved , as illustrated in fig1 at a block 201 . if the result is negative , this means that the code is the ebcdik code . accordingly , this ebcdik code is transformed to a corresponding jis 8 - bit code as in the case of the processing for the combination identified by the classification number 3 , wherein the resultant code is added with the eight preceding bits each of &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; as in the case of the processing for the combination identified by 4 , to thereby prepare a 16 - bit code ( block 202 ). when the checking at the block 201 results in the shift code , a succeeding code is fetched ( block 206 ). when the succeeding code is not the shift code , it is then necessarily a keis code . accordingly , through subtraction of ( 8080 ) 16 from the keis code , the latter can be transformed to a jis kanji code ( block 205 ). when the code fetched at the checking block 204 is again the shift code , a next code is again fetched ( block 203 ) to repeat the check as to the shift code ( block 201 ). in any case , when a succeeding character is no more found , this processing comes to an end . the processing for the combination represented by the classification number 7 is reverse transformation relative to the processing for the combination identified by the number 6 . in this processing , the eight more significant bits are checked as to whether they are &# 34 ; os &# 34 ; or not , as illustrated in fig2 at a block 212 . if so , the eight less significant bit represent a jis 8 - bit code , which consequently undergoes the processing described above in conjunction with the combination 2 , to be transformed to a corresponding ebcdik code ( block 216 ). unless the eight more significant bits are &# 34 ; os &# 34 ;, this means a jis kanji code , which is thus added with ( 8080 ) 16 to be transformed to a keis code ( block 221 ). in the case of the processing now being considered , the shift code must be inserted when the output mode is changed over to the ebcdik code outputting mode and the keis code outputting mode , respectively . as the consequence , this processing additionally requires initialization of mode ( block 211 ), decisions ( blocks 213 , 218 ), outputting of the shift code ( blocks 214 , 219 ) and the updating of modes ( blocks 215 , 220 ). the code transformation methods described above is not restricted to the code types mentioned above but can be applied to code transformations of other code types . the foregoing description has been made with emphasis put on the os function . it should however be understood that the concept of the invention can be equally applied to combinations of the os and channels , programs operative in cooperation with other oss or virtual oss of virtual computer systems . as will be appreciated from the foregoing description , the codes including those representing alphanumeric character , kana ( the japanese alphabet ) and symbol and the code representing kanji ( chinese character ) can be processed with the data of a same length according to the teachings of the invention , whereby the processing program for handling the data in which these codes are admixedly present can get rid of the necessity to discriminatively determine the length of every individual data . this in turn means that the productivity as well as maintenance immunity of the program can be significantly improved . further , by virtue of the capability of transformation among different types of codes at the level of the os , the user can be relieved from the necessity of processing data for the code transformation and modifying program to deal with difference among the code systems . further , in case the information processing system according to the invention is connected to a host computer in which code types differing from those adopted in the inventive processing system are used , programs can be developed without taking into consideration the difference among the code systems . besides , since the code transformation and the like processings need not be carried out separately , the necessity for development of a program in duplicate can be evaded .	6
one or more aspects of the present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals are generally utilized to refer to like elements throughout , and wherein the various structures are not necessarily drawn to scale . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects of the disclosure herein . it may be evident , however , that one or more aspects of the disclosure herein may be practiced with a lesser degree of these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate describing one or more aspects of the disclosure herein . generally speaking , liquid electro - photography ink is a dispersion of electrically chargeable particles in a dielectric liquid media . upon applying an electrical field , the particles become electrically charged and drift along the electrical field . observation shows that the electrical conductivity of such an ink is strongly dependent on the strength of the applied electrical field — being low at low intensity field ( typically below 50v / mm ) and substantially higher at high intensity field ( typically above 500v / mm ). accordingly , distinction is made between conductivities measured at low electrical field and high electrical field . observation also shows that when the ink particles are deprived from being replenished , as the particles drift to one of the electrodes , the measured current falls off reaching a constant value where substantially no particles are left ( depleted ) in the liquid between the electrodes . the term “ a ” or “ an ” entity refers to one or more of that entity . as such , the terms “ a ” or “ an ”, “ one or more of ” and “ at least one ” can be used interchangeably herein . “ high field conductivity ” is defined as the conductivity measured at the moment of applying the high intensity electrical field before particle depletion can take place . “ low field conductivity ” is defined as conductivity measured at low intensity field . “ dc conductivity ” is defined as the conductivity measured after the current has leveled off because the measured current has achieved a substantially constant value . “ particle conductivity ” is defined as the difference between the high field conductivity of the ink and the low field conductivity as this difference is attributed to the particles and is referred to as “ particle conductivity ” as observation shows that after removing the particles from the ink ( e . g ., by separation in centrifuge ) the remaining particle - less fluid essentially exhibits the same high field conductivity as the low field conductivity measured in the ink before removal of the particles . particle conductivity is calculated as the product of the particle concentration ( e . g ., the number of particles per unit volume ) multiplied by the charge carried by a single particle and by the mobility of the particles . “ mobility ” is defined as the ratio of the drift velocity of the particle to the applied electrical field strength . the time integral of the current induced by high electrical field and corrected for the currents due to low field conductivity and dc conductivity represents the electrical charge carried by the particles . thus , the measurement of the different types of conductivity provides not only direct electrical properties but also valuable ink characteristics , such as charge concentration and particle concentration . referring to fig1 , for example , a laboratory type ink cell system 10 is illustrated that may be used to measure the conductivity of a static pool of ink . the ink comprises a dispersion 20 of ink particles 22 within a dielectric liquid media . the ink dispersion 20 that is to be measured is placed within an ink cell 24 between a pair of conductive electrodes 25 comprising a positive (+) electrode 26 and a negative (−) electrode 28 connected to a respective positive (+) terminal 32 and a negative (−) terminal 34 of a high voltage supply and low level current meter 30 of the ink cell system 10 . in operation , a relatively high voltage from the voltage supply 30 is applied to the electrode pair 25 of the ink cell 24 . the ink particles 22 within the ink dispersion 20 are charged and briefly permit a current to conduct as the particles drift along the electric field between the electrodes 26 and 28 , as discussed above in regard to the “ high field conductivity ”. the current which conducts between the electrode pair 25 is measured by the low level current meter 30 and may be used to determine several characteristics associated with the conductivity of the ink dispersion 20 within the ink cell 24 . as was also discussed above in regard to the “ low field conductivity ”, observation shows that when the ink particles 22 are deprived from being replenished ( such as in the static ink cell 24 ), as the particles 22 drift to one of the electrodes , the measured current falls off reaching a constant value ( e . g ., “ dc conductivity ”) when few to no particles remain dispersed ( depleted ) within the liquid ink dispersion 20 between the electrodes 26 / 28 . fig2 further illustrates the basic operation of an electro - ink 50 such as may be used in liquid electro - photography . liquid electro - photography ink 50 comprises a dispersion of electrically chargeable ink particles 22 in a dielectric liquid media or carrier liquid ( e . g ., imaging oil ) 51 . the ink particles 22 of the electro - ink 50 further comprise a toner particle 52 having a pigment 54 , wherein the ink particles 22 may receive a negative charge 55 as a result of an electric field induced between a positive (+) electrode 56 and a negative (−) electrode 58 . if the fluid can be ionized , it may also contain positive ions 60 and / or negative ions 62 as a result of the induced electric field between the electrode pair . the electro - ink 50 may further contain a specific type of surface active agent known as charge directors 64 , which may be added to the ink to promote the ability of the ink particles 22 to acquire electrical charge . as previously discussed , when the ink and the ink particles 22 are stationary or are otherwise deprived from being replenished ( such as in the static ink cell 24 of fig1 ), the charged particles 22 ( e . g ., receiving negative charge 55 ) drift to one of the electrodes ( e . g ., negatively charged particles 22 are attracted to the positive electrode 56 ). when substantially all of the particles have drifted to the electrodes , the measured current falls off reaching a constant value ( e . g ., “ dc conductivity ”). in one embodiment for the electro (- photo -) graphic process , one of the electrodes such as electrode 56 may be used as an “ electro - photographic ” plate or photo imaging plate ( pip ) 56 , carrying a latent image in the form of a corresponding spatial distribution of electrical charges or potentials . in this embodiment , the other electrode 58 may then be used as the developer 58 that provides the ink 22 and pigment 54 in the toner particles 52 , which is then attracted to the spatial distribution of electrical charges representing the latent image . fig3 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a conductivity and charge meter system 100 configured to monitor and facilitate the determination of one or more characteristics of a flowing fluid , such as the conductivity of a flowing ink 102 in accordance with one or more aspects and / or embodiments of the disclosure herein . one embodiment of the conductivity and charge meter system 100 comprises three ( or more ) electrode pairs that are placed in a fluid ( e . g ., ink ) containing charged particles . the fluid 101 is forced or otherwise caused to flow in a direction 102 between respective first and second plates ( e . g ., 110 a / 110 b , 120 a / 120 b , and 130 a / 130 b ) of the electrode pairs ( e . g . 110 , 120 , and 130 ). the electrode pairs ( e . g . 110 , 120 , and 130 ) are biased by a dc voltage v ( e . g ., applied by a positive (+) terminal 142 and a negative (−) terminal 144 of a voltage supply 140 ) such that by the time the fluid flows by the third ( last ) electrode pair 130 substantially all of the charged particles are removed from the fluid 101 ( e . g ., by being attracted to the second pair of plates 120 a / 120 b of the second ( middle / intermediate ) electrode pair 120 ). while the fluid flows between the respective first and second plates ( e . g ., 110 a / 110 b , 120 a / 120 b , and 130 a / 130 b ) of the electrode pairs ( e . g . 110 , 120 , and 130 ), a corresponding dc current is monitored and measured between the plates of each of the electrode pairs , yielding a first current i 1 measured at current meter 1 ( 112 ), a second current i 2 measured at current meter 2 ( 122 ), and a third current i 3 measured at current meter 3 ( 132 ) based upon the applied dc voltage v from the voltage supply 140 . the dc current measurements i 1 , i 2 , and i 3 are then used to determine one or more conductivity characteristics or another such characteristic of the fluid based on a variety of factors and / or conditions associated with the measurement . such factors and / or conditions may include , among others , the distance ( d ) between the plates , the cross - sectional area of the plates ( a ), and the applied voltage v , for example , as will be discussed further infra . in this manner , and as the fluid 101 enters the conductivity and charge meter embodiment 100 of fig3 in flow direction 102 , an initial fluid conductivity measurement taken between the first and second plates 110 a / 110 b of the first electrode pair 110 reflects a high concentration of charged particles in the fluid ( e . g ., for the “ high field conductivity ” measurement ), while a fluid conductivity measurement taken between the first and second plates 130 a / 130 b of the third ( last ) electrode pair 130 reflects a substantially low concentration of charged particles in the fluid ( e . g ., for the “ dc conductivity ” measurement ). these conductivity measurements , as well as a “ low field conductivity ” measurement between the first and second plates 120 a / 120 b of the second electrode pair 120 can then be used to determine additional characteristics of the fluid , which can affect the quality of the printing process . thus , in this example , a fluid such as ink is pumped or otherwise directed to flow between three ( or more ) electrode pairs , wherein the first electrode pair 110 has a short length in the direction 102 of the fluid flow , the second electrode pair 120 has a long length along the flow direction 102 , and the third electrode pair 130 has an arbitrary length along the flow direction 102 . for example , it will be appreciated that a peristaltic pump or another such pumping means may be used to pump the fluid between the plates of the three electrode pairs . by applying both a high and low value dc voltage ( e . g ., alternately ) across the electrode pairs , two corresponding dc current values may be measured between the plates of the respective electrode pairs . further , the length of the first short electrode pair 110 is such that no significant particle depletion takes place during the time that the particles pass this electrode pair 110 , yet during such time , adequate charge collection occurs to enable current measurements therefrom . the length of electrode pair 120 is long enough to assure substantially total removal of the particles ( referred to as polarization ) from the fluid ( e . g ., ink ) during passage of the fluid therebetween . finally , the third electrode pair 130 need only be long enough to provide an adequate minimum charge collection for current measurement therefrom . based on the dc current measurements from each of the electrode pairs , one or more conductivity or other such characteristics of the fluid may be determined , including specific charge , mobility , and concentration of the charged particles , for example . the charged particles may or may not be native to the fluid , but such particles are generally an integral part of the fluid when manufactured for use in the electro (- photo -) graphic process , wherein the particles may also carry colorants and / or binders . fig4 illustrates a measuring system 200 that may be used to measure one or more characteristics such as the conductivity of a static fluid specimen and an equation that may be used for such measurement . similar to the ink cell 10 of fig1 , the measuring system 200 of fig4 comprises a measuring cell 202 having a pair of electrodes 210 comprising a first electrode or plate 210 a and a second electrode or plate 210 b which are spaced apart by a distance d 216 on either side of the specimen 214 having a cross - sectional area a as seen by the plates 210 a / 210 b . voltage supply 240 is electrically connected to the plates 210 a / 210 b of the measuring cell 202 , and supplies a voltage v 242 to the electrode pair 210 . as a result of the applied voltage 242 , a current i 212 can be measured between the first plate 210 a and the second plate 210 b . based upon the measured current i 212 , a conductivity a may be determined according to the equation : fig5 a and 5b illustrate exemplary plots 300 and 350 , respectively , of several fluid characteristics which may , for example , be measured and determined using the system embodiments of fig1 , 3 , and 4 in accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure herein . for example , fig5 a illustrates an exemplary plot 300 of the conductivity ( in pmho / cm ) of a 2 % fluid ( the particles comprise 2 % of the fluid ) as a function of an applied voltage v per unit distance d , the voltage v applied to a sample cell such as sample cell 202 of fig4 . when the applied voltage v is applied at a lower voltage level , a “ low field conductivity ” 310 results , and when a higher voltage level is applied to the sample , a “ high field conductivity ” 320 is provided . the difference between the “ high field conductivity ” 320 and the “ low field conductivity ” 310 is known as the “ particle conductivity ” 330 . fig5 b , illustrates another exemplary plot 350 of the conductivity ( in pmho / cm ) of a fluid or carrier fluid without particles in the fluid sample ( e . g ., depleted of particles ), the conductivity 360 measured as a function of an applied voltage v per unit distance d , the voltage v applied to a sample cell such as sample cell 202 of fig4 . fig6 a and 6b illustrate exemplary plots 400 and 450 , respectively , of an applied high field voltage and a corresponding conductivity response that may be obtained during a measurement and determination of one or more fluid characteristics , for example , using the system embodiments of fig1 , 3 , and 4 in accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure herein . for example , fig6 a illustrates a high field voltage waveform 400 , wherein a high voltage is applied to a measurement cell such as sample cell 202 of fig4 . prior to time t 0 , the voltage waveform 400 is at about 0 volts as shown at 410 . in response to this applied low voltage , and as shown in the plot 450 of fig6 b , the conductivity ( corresponding to the measured current ) is also at about 0 pmho / cm at 460 . between times t 0 and t 1 , the voltage 400 is stepped up to a “ high field voltage ” level of about 1500 volts , for example , at 420 across the plates of the cell having spacing distance d ( e . g ., 216 of fig4 ) of about 1 mm , for example . thus , in the embodiment , the electric field strength equals : in response to this step function of the high field voltage 420 applied at t 0 , the conductivity spikes to a “ high field conductivity ” level as shown at 470 in fig6 b . as the high field voltage level is maintained at the 420 level , the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ) within the fluid ( e . g ., 51 of fig2 ) are substantially all attracted toward the oppositely charged electrode ( e . g ., positive electrode 56 of fig2 ) between times t 0 and t 1 . by time t 1 ( e . g ., after about 8 seconds ), substantially all of the charged particles 22 have been depleted from the fluid and the conductivity of the fluid attains a substantially steady - state or “ dc conductivity ” level 480 . in this manner , numerous other fluid and particle characteristics may be measured and / or determined . accordingly , fig7 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a conductivity and charge meter system 500 configured to monitor and determine one or more characteristics of a flowing fluid , such as ink , that is caused to flow between several electrode pairs by using a rotating drum 501 . in fig7 , a drum 501 rotates within a fluid 502 ( e . g ., electo - ink 50 of fig2 ) containing charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ). as the drum 501 rotates in a direction 503 about a center point 504 which is connected to a positive terminal 542 of a voltage supply 540 , the fluid 502 is carried along the surface of the drum in a circular flow direction 506 between first and second plates 510 a / 510 b , 520 a / 520 b , and 530 a / 530 b of three respective electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 . in this example 500 , the first plates 510 a , 520 a , and 530 a of the respective electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 are combined together into a single or common plate comprised of the surface of the drum 501 . in particular , the fluid 502 is made to initially flow between a relatively short ( e . g ., having a length l 1 ) first pair of electrodes 510 comprising first and second plates 510 a and 510 b monitored by current meter 1 ( 512 ). thereafter , the fluid 502 flows between a relatively long ( e . g ., having a length l 2 ) second pair of electrodes 520 comprising first and second plates 520 a and 520 b monitored by current meter 2 ( 522 ). finally , the fluid 502 flows between a relatively arbitrary length ( e . g ., having a length l 3 ) third pair of electrodes 530 comprising first and second plates 530 a and 530 b monitored by current meter 3 ( 532 ). accordingly , the three current meters 512 , 522 , and 532 are connected to the negative terminal 544 of the voltage supply 540 in order to provide current measurements i 1 , i 2 , and i 3 which flow between the first and second plates of the respective electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 based upon an applied voltage v provided by voltage supply 540 . it will be appreciated that while three ( 3 ) electrode pairs are illustrated in fig7 ( and fig3 ), that any suitable number of electrode pairs may be used . in operation , the fluid 502 flowing between the first and second plates 510 a / 510 b of the first electrode pair 1 ( 510 ) provides the first current measurement i 1 while the fluid 502 contains a maximum or full concentration of charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ). accordingly , the length l 1 of the first electrode pair 510 is such that few to no charged particles polarize onto the drum 501 configured as the positive plate ( e . g ., first plate 510 a , 520 a , and 530 a ) of the first , second , and third electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 , respectively . the length l 1 of the first electrode pair 510 is , however , sufficient to allow adequate charge collection to enable the i 1 current measurement . accordingly , if a high field voltage v ( e . g ., 420 of fig6 a ) is applied by voltage supply 540 to the first electrode pair 1 ( 510 ), a “ high field conductivity ” ( e . g ., 470 of fig6 b ) may be determined based on the first current measurement i 1 of the first electrode pair 1 ( 510 ). as the fluid 502 flows between the first and second plates 520 a / 520 b of the substantially longer second electrode pair 2 ( 520 ), the fluid 502 loses substantially all of the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ), during which time the second current measurement i 2 of the fluid is provided . accordingly , the length l 2 of the second electrode pair 520 is sufficient to allow substantially all of the charged particles to be polarized or plated out of the fluid 502 onto the drum 501 configured as the positive plate 520 a of the second electrode pair 520 . accordingly , if a high field voltage v is applied by voltage supply 540 , to the second electrode pair 2 ( 520 ), a current flow and corresponding conductivity resembling the waveform 450 of fig6 b could ( potentially ) be viewed in a given sample of the fluid 502 moving along the length of the second electrode pair ( 520 ). thus , by the time the fluid 502 flows between the first and second plates 530 a / 530 b of the third electrode pair 530 , substantially all of the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ) have been removed from the fluid , and the third current measurement i 3 of the fluid is provided . accordingly , if a high field voltage v is applied by voltage supply 540 to the third electrode pair 530 , a “ dc conductivity ” ( e . g ., 480 of fig6 ) may be determined based on the third current measurement i 3 of the third electrode pair 3 ( 530 ). because substantially all of the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig2 ) have been removed from the fluid 502 and plated onto the drum 501 as the fluid flowed between the polarized plates of the respective first , second , and third electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 , a wiper 550 is utilized in the illustrated example to remove the charged particles from the drum 501 and to reintroduce them back into the fluid 502 . thus , the wiper 550 and the rotation of the drum 501 serve to mix the charged particles back into the fluid 502 , such that the particle concentration of the fluid 502 at the first electrode pair 510 is substantially back to the original full concentration level . again , as in fig3 , by applying both a high and a low value dc voltage ( e . g ., vhi and vlo ), for example , alternately across the electrode pairs of fig7 , two corresponding dc current values ( e . g ., i 1hi and i 1lo , i 2hi and i 2lo , and i 3hi and i 3lo ) may be measured between the first and second plates 510 a / 510 b , 520 a / 520 b , and 530 a / 530 b of the respective electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 . it will be appreciated that other such configurations and pumping means , such as a peristaltic pump , may be utilized to move the fluid between the plates of the electrode pairs 510 , 520 , and 530 . in addition , the wiper 550 may be replaced by another particle removal means such as a turbulence inducing surface and / or a jet of fluid that blasts the charged particles from the drum 501 , for example . further , the surface of the drum 501 or the second plates 510 b , 520 b , and 530 b may have various grooves or surface features that enhance or otherwise accommodate the movement of the fluid flow 506 , enhance current measurements , and / or improve characteristic determinations , for example . although the distance between the first and second plates of the three electrode pairs are illustrated as being the same , it will also be appreciated that the distances between the first and second plates of the three electrode pairs could be different . also , additional electrode pairs and current meters may be added to those illustrated . in one implementation of the example of fig7 , the following parameters may be utilized : the length l 1 of the first electrode pair 1 ( e . g ., 510 ) is about 5 mm ; the length l 2 of the second electrode pair 2 ( e . g ., 520 ) is about 50 mm ; the length l 3 of the third electrode pair 3 ( e . g ., 530 ) is about 55 mm ; a width of all the electrodes ( e . g ., 510 , 520 , and 530 ), measured perpendicular to the flow direction ( e . g ., 506 ) is about 50 mm . the drum ( e . g ., 501 ) or cylindrical common electrode has a diameter of about 100 mm and width of about 60 mm . a gap between the second plates ( e . g ., 510 b , 520 b , and 530 b ) of the electrode pairs and the cylinder ( e . g ., drum 501 ) is about 1 mm . a gap between the first electrode pair 1 ( e . g ., 510 ) and the second electrode pair 2 ( e . g ., 520 ), or between the second electrode pair 2 ( e . g ., 520 ) and third electrode pair 3 ( e . g ., 530 ) is about 1 mm . a rotation rate of the cylinder ( e . g ., drum 501 ) is about 20 revolutions per minute . a low voltage v lo applied on the first electrode pair 1 ( e . g ., 510 ) is about 30 v . a duration of the low voltage v lo pulse is about 2 sec . a pause with zero voltage after the application of the low voltage v lo pulse is about 1 sec . a high voltage v hi applied on any of the first , second , or third electrode pairs ( e . g ., 510 , 520 , and 530 ) is about 1 , 500v . a duration of the high voltage v hi pulse is about 2 sec . a pause with zero voltage after the application of the high voltage v hi pulse is about 1 sec . grounded guard electrodes ( e . g ., that are connected to ground potential through the current measuring devices ) may be provided around the second plates of the electrode pairs , so that uncontrolled electrical current flow will have little to no effect on current measurements . accordingly , regardless of the measurement mechanism used , such as embodiment 100 of fig3 or embodiment 500 of fig7 , the current measurement data is analyzed , for example , by a computer or another such analyzer to determine one or more characteristics or parameters of the fluid . fig8 - 11 illustrate an exemplary methodology 600 that facilitates monitoring and determining a conductivity of a flowing fluid based on current measurement data in accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosure herein , such as may be used in the conductivity and charge meter system 500 of fig7 , for example . although the methodology 600 is illustrated and described hereinafter as a series of acts or events , it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events is not to be interpreted in a limiting sense . for example , some acts may occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and / or described herein . in addition , not all illustrated acts may be required to implement one or more aspects and / or embodiments of the description herein . further , one or more of the acts may be carried out in one or more separate acts and / or phases . with reference to fig8 , the method 600 begins at 602 where a fluid ( e . g ., 502 of fig7 ) containing charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig1 and 2 ) is made to flow between first and second plates ( e . g ., 510 a / 510 b ) of a first electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 ). then , at 610 , the fluid ( e . g ., 502 ) flows between first and second plates ( e . g ., 520 a / 520 b ) of a second electrode pair ( e . g ., 520 ) located downstream of the first electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 ), the fluid losing substantially all charged particles when flowing between the first and second plates ( e . g ., 520 a / 520 b ) of the second electrode pair ( e . g ., 520 ). at 620 , a first current ( e . g ., i 1 ) of the first electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 ) is measured . a second current ( e . g ., i 2 ) of the second electrode pair ( e . g ., 520 ) is measured at 630 . at 650 , the fluid characteristic ( e . g ., a conductivity of fluid 502 ) is determined based upon one or more of the currents ( e . g ., i 1 , and / or i 2 ) measured between the first and second plates ( e . g ., 510 a / 510 b , and 520 a / 520 b ) of the respective first and second electrode pairs ( e . g ., 510 and 520 ). thus , a high field conductivity σ hi ( e . g ., 470 of fig6 b ) may be determined from a measured first current ( e . g ., i 1 ) measured between the first and second plates ( e . g ., 510 a / 510 b ) of the first electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 ), for example , according to : σ hi = i 1 / v hi * d / ( l 1 * d ) i 1 denotes the current measured between the first and second plates of the first electrode pair , v hi denotes a high voltage applied to the first electrode pair , l 1 denotes a length of the first electrode pair in the direction of the fluid flow , d denotes the gap between the first and second plates of the first electrode pair . alternately , with reference to fig9 , after the fluid flows between the plates of the second electrode pair at 610 of the method 600 , 615 comprises flowing the fluid ( e . g ., 502 ) between first and second plates ( e . g ., 530 a / 530 b ) of a third electrode pair ( e . g ., 530 ) with the second electrode pair located between the first and third electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 and 530 ), wherein substantially all of the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig1 and 2 ) have been removed from the fluid ( e . g ., at 480 of fig6 b ) when the fluid flows between the first and second plates ( e . g ., 530 a / 530 b ) of the third electrode pair ( e . g ., 530 ). further , with reference to fig1 , after substantially all of the charged particles have been removed from the fluid while flowing between the plates of the second electrode pair at 610 of the method 600 , 616 comprises adding or reintroducing substantially all of the charged particles ( e . g ., 22 of fig1 and 2 ) back into the fluid ( e . g ., at 480 of fig6 b ) upstream of the first electrode pair ( e . g ., 510 ). for example , this may be accomplished with the aid of the wiper 550 illustrated in fig7 . finally , with reference to fig1 , 601 of the method 600 comprises utilizing a rotating cylindrical drum ( e . g ., 501 ) to facilitate the flowing of the fluid ( e . g ., 502 ) and to implement the first plates ( e . g ., 510 a , 520 a , 530 a ) of the respective electrode pairs ( e . g ., 510 , and / or 520 , and / or 530 ). for example , as discussed above with respect to drum 501 of fig7 , the rotation of the drum 501 can provide a pumping action to force the fluid 502 between the electrode pairs to enable the current measurements , and can also be used to mix the particles back into the fluid 502 after removal from the drum 501 by the wiper 550 . for example , a low field conductivity may be determined from the current measured from the first electrode pair according to : σ lo = i 1 / v lo * d /( l 1 * d ) i 1 denotes the current measured between the first and second plates of the first electrode pair ; v lo denotes a low voltage applied to first electrode pair ; l 1 denotes a length of first electrode pair in the direction of the fluid flow ; d denotes a gap between the first and second plates of the first electrode pair . in another example , a dc conductivity may be determined from a current measured from the third electrode pair according to : σ dc = i 3 / v hi * d / ( l 3 * d ) i 3 denotes the current measured between the first and second plates of the third electrode pair ; v hi denotes a high voltage applied to third electrode pair ; l 3 denotes a length of third electrode pair in the direction of the flow ; d denotes a gap between the first and second plates of the third electrode pair . in yet another example , a total charge of the fluid per unit volume may be determined from a current measured from respective first , second and third electrode pairs according to : q v =( i 1 + i 2 −[ l 1 + l 2 ]/ l 3 * i 3 )/( v * d * d ) i 1 denotes the current between the first and second plates of the first electrode pair ; i 2 denotes the current between the first and second plates of the second electrode pair ; i 3 denotes the current between the first and second plates of the third electrode pair ; l 1 denotes a length of the first electrode pair in the direction of the flow ; l 2 denotes a length of the second electrode pair in the direction of the flow ; l 3 denotes a length of third electrode pair in the direction of the flow ; d denotes a width of the respective first , second and third electrode pairs ; d denotes a gap between the first and second plates of the first , second and third electrode pairs ; and in still another example , a particle conductivity may be determined from the current measured from the first electrode pair according to : in another example , a mobility of the charged particles may be determined according to : q v denotes total charge of the fluid ( e . g ., 502 ) per unit volume . in yet another example , a volume concentration of the charged particles may be determined according to : q v denotes total charge of the fluid per unit volume , being determined from a current measured from the respective first , second and third electrode pairs ; k is a proportionality factor that in the theoretical limits of uniform spherical particles can be calculated as : η denotes a viscosity of the fluid ; r denotes a radius of the charged particles . although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations , equivalent alterations and / or modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings . the disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims . in particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components ( assemblies , devices , circuits , etc . ), the terms ( including a reference to a “ means ”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond , unless otherwise indicated , to any component which performs the specified function of the described component ( e . g ., that is functionally equivalent ), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure . in addition , while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations , such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and / or advantageous for any given or particular application . furthermore , to the extent that the terms “ includes ”, “ having ”, “ has ”, “ with ”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims , such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “ comprising .” also , the term “ exemplary ” as utilized herein simply means an example , rather than the best .	1
this invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of leukemia which comprises as an active ingredient a 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester represented by the formula ( i ) ## str1 ## and a pharmaceutical carrier thereof . moreover , this invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of leukemia which comprises as an active ingredient a combination of a 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester represented by the above formula ( i ) with vd 3 . furthermore , this invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of leukemia which comprises as an active ingredient a combination of a 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester represented by the above formula ( i ) with 9 - cis - ra . this invention also relates to a method for the treatment of leukemia which comprises administering to a patient suffering from leukemia a therapeutically effective amount of a 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester represented by the above formula ( i ). further , the invention relates to a method for the treatment of leukemia which comprises administering to a patient suffering from leukemia a therapeutically effective amount of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester together with vd 3 at a sufficiently low dose not to produce side effects . furthermore , the invention relates to a method for the treatment of leukemia which comprises administering to a patient suffering from leukemia a therapeutically effective amount of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester together with 9 - cis - ra at a sufficiently low dose not to produce side effects . japanese patent publication 60 - 56156 discloses that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester can be obtained by light - isomerisation of all - trans α - tocopherol vitamin a acid . commercially it may be prepared by an esterification of 9 - cis - ra with α - tocopherol . the esterification of 9 - cis - ra with α - tocopherol may be carried out according to any well - known esterification processes , for example , the process as disclosed in our japanese patent kokai 5 - 202020 . the term &# 34 ; α - tocopherol &# 34 ; as used herein refers to dl - α - tocopherol , d - α - tocopherol and 1 - α - tocopherol . also , the term &# 34 ; a 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester represented by the formula ( i )&# 34 ; as used herein refers to all possible optical isomers , racemates and racemic mixtures thereof . these possible , optically active substances may be prepared , for example , according to chiral synthesis using optically active starting materials . as stated above , the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester of this invention itself may exert biological activities to inhibit the proliferation of leukemia cells and induce the differentiation of the said cells . moreover , a synergistic effect can be achieved by using the present 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester together with vd 3 or 9 - cis - ra , while a dose of vd 3 or 9 - cis - ra can be reduced to prevent vd 3 or 9 - cis - ra from developing inherent side effects thereto . the leukemia to which the present therapeutic agent is to be clinically applied includes hematological tumors , that is , leukemia , especially acute promyelocytic leukemia , and lymphoma . for the treatment of leukemia , therapeutically effective serum concentration of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester in an adult patient weighing 60 kg usually ranges from 1 × 10 - 9 m to 5 × 10 - 5 m in order that the present ester may sufficiently exert its effect . thus , a specific daily dose for adults to meet the requirement for the serum concentration as stated above may be preferably in the range of from 10 mg to 1200 mg , more preferably from 60 mg to 600 mg , in terms of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester . the present therapeutic agent which comprises as an active ingredient a combination of the present 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester with vd 3 should be administered at such a dose that can sufficiently exert a synergistic effect of both the ingredients , while the vd 3 should be administered at a sufficiently low dose not to produce its side effects , that is to say , at such a dose that its serum concentration in a patient should be 10 - 9 m or less . a serum concentration of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - atocopherol ester in an adult patient weighing 60 kg usually ranges from 1 × 10 - 9 m to 5 × 10 - 5 m in order that the synergistic effect may sufficiently be exerted . thus , a specific daily dose for adults to meet the requirements for both the serum concentrations as stated above may be preferably in the range of from 10 mg to 1200 mg , more preferably from 60 mg to 600 mg in terms of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and in the range of is from 0 . 005 μg to 5 μg , more preferably from 0 . 01 μg to 0 . 50 μg in terms of vd 3 . it is essential to administer both the ingredients concomitantly . the present therapeutic agent which comprises as an active ingredient a combination of the present 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester with 9 - cis - ra should be administered at such a dose that can sufficiently exert a synergistic effect of both the ingredients , while the 9 - cis - ra should be administered at a sufficiently low dose not to produce its side effects , that is to say , at such a dose that its serum concentration in a patient should be 10 - 7 m or less . a serum concentration of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester in an adult patient weighing 60 kg usually ranges from 1 × 10 - 9 m to 5 × 10 - 5 m in order that the synergistic effect may sufficiently be exerted . then , a specific daily dose for adults to meet the requirements for both the serum concentrations as stated above may be preferably in the range of from 10 mg to 1200 mg , more preferably from 60 mg to 600 mg , in terms of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and in the range of from 1 . 0 mg to 80 mg , more preferably from 5 . 0 mg to 20 mg in terms of 9 - cis - ra . it is essential to administer both the ingredients concomitantly . the therapeutic agent for leukemia according to the present invention may typically be administered via oral , intravenous , subcutaneous , intramuscular or rectal route , and intravenous or oral administration is preferable . a pharmaceutical composition for treating leukemia according to this invention may be prepared according to any conventional preparation methods . a pharmaceutical preparation for oral administration may include various dosage forms , for example , tablets , granules , powders , hard capsules , soft capsules , liquid preparations for oral administration , etc . a pharmaceutical preparation for parenteral administration may include various dosage forms , for example , injections , suppositories , etc . these dosage forms can be prepared by any conventional methods using additives commonly used for pharmaceutical preparations , if desired , such as excipients , stabilizers , antiseptics , solubilizers , wetting agents , emulsifying agents , lubricants , sweetening agents , coloring agents , flavors , antioxidants and the like . specific examples of these additives may include starch , sucrose , fructose , lactose , glucose , mannitol , sorbitol , precipitated calcium carbonate , crystalline cellulose , carboxymethylcellulose , dextrin , gelatin , acacia , magnesium stearate , talc , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose and the like . for injections or liquid preparations , the active ingredient may be used in the form of a solution or suspension thereof in a conventional diluent . typical examples of the diluent may include physiological saline solution , ringer solution , aqueous glucose solution , alcohols , fatty acid esters , glycols , glycerol , fatty acid glycerides , fats derived from animal and plant sources , paraffins and the like . injections may be prepared according to any conventional methods using additives , if required , such as ph adjusters , buffers , stabilizers , preservatives , solubilizing agents and the like . this invention will be more fully illustrated by way of the following preparation example , examples and formulation examples . however , these examples are not to be considered as limiting the present invention . the medicines and reagents used in the following examples were available as stated below : dimethyl sulfoxide ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; dmso &# 34 ;) and vd 3 were available from wako pure chemical industries , ltd . atra was available from sigma chemical co . 9 - cis - ra was available from biomol research laboratories or basf ( via nisshin badische ). nitro blue tetrazolium ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; nbt &# 34 ;) and phorbol - 12 - myristate - 13 - acetate ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; tpa &# 34 ;) were available from sigma chemical co . to a solution of 50 mg ( 0 . 1664 mmol ) of 9 - cis - retinoic acid ( 9 - cis - ra ) in diisopropyl ether ( 5 ml ) was added 26 μl ( 0 . 1831 mmol ) of trifluoroacetic acid anhydride and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 15 minutes . then , a solution of 79 mg ( 0 . 1831 mmol ) of dl - α - tocopherol in diisopropyl ether ( 5 ml ) was added dropwise and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for one hour . to the reaction mixture was added 28 %( w / v ) aqueous ammonia ( 10 ml ) and the resulting mixture was extracted with diisopropyl ether ( 20 ml × 3 ). the combined organic layers were washed successively with water and saturated aqueous sodium chloride . the diisopropyl ether layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and the solvent was then distilled off under reduced pressure . the residue was purified by a silica gel chromatography and the fractions from hexane containing 2 %( v / v ) diisopropyl ether gave 36 mg ( 30 %) of the title compound as a yellow oily substance . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 , 400 mhz ) d 0 . 82 - 0 . 90 ( m , 12h ), 1 . 00 - 2 . 20 ( m , 29h ), 1 . 05 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 55 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 66 ( s , 3h ), 1 . 98 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 03 ( s , 6h ), 2 . 09 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 40 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 59 ( t , j = 6 . 8 hz , 2h ), 6 . 08 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 09 ( d , j = 10 . 7 hz , 1h ), 6 . 29 ( d , j = 13 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 33 ( d , j = 14 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 67 ( d , j = 15 . 6 hz , 1h ), 7 . 15 ( dd , j = 11 . 7 hz , 15 . 0 hz , 1h ) the cultured cell used for the following determination and examples was the nb4 cell , i . e ., the cultured cell of human myelomonocytic leukemia , which was given from professor h . phillip koeffler of cedars - sinai medical center / ucla school of medicine , los angels , u . s . a . ( blood , vol . 77 , 1080 , 1991 ) and used here after suspending and incubating in rpmi 1640 medium ( manufactured by gibco brl ) containing 10 % fetal bovine serum ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; fbs &# 34 ;) and 80 μg / ml gentamicin at 37 ° c . in a moist air containing 5 % co 2 . proliferation of cultured cells and determination for differentiation of cultured cells : the above cultured cells were incubated in a culture plate under the same conditions as described above with the addition of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester alone or in combination with vd 3 , atra or 9 - cis - ra . the number of cultured cells was measured by means of coulter counter type zm ( manufactured by coulter electronics co ., ltd ., u . k .). nbt reducing activity values were measured as a standard for the differentiation induction of the cultured cells of myelomonocytic leukemia according to the following method : 1 ) preparation of nbt test solution : to 100 ml of rpmi 1640 medium containing 10 % fbs was added a solution of 100 mg of nbt in 1 ml of dmso and then 100 μl of a dmso solution of tpa at 100 μg / ml , and the resulting mixture was stirred well to prepare a nbt test solution . 2 ) the cultured cells were placed into a 10 ml - test tube and the number of the cultured cells was measured . thereafter , the test tube was centrifuged , a supernatant was discarded and then 1 ml aliquot of the said nbt test solution was added to each test tube . the resulting mixture was shaken at 37 ° c . for 30 minutes . the reaction was discontinued by adding 0 . 3 ml of 5n hydrochloric acid and then the mixture was allowed to stand at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours . the cultured cell suspension thus obtained was centrifuged to remove a supernatant , 0 . 7 ml of dmso was added and then absorbance was measured at 560 nm by means of a spectrophotometer ( type u - 2000 , manufactured by hitachi , ltd .). the measured data was converted to the absorbance per 10 7 cultured cells , which was designated as a nbt reducing activity value . an increased nbt reducing activity value means a promoted differentiation induction of leukemia cells . combined effect of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and vd 3 on the differentiation induction of nb4 cells to nb4 cells ( 2 × 10 5 cells / ml ) used as the cultured cell was added vd 3 so as to provide concentrations of 3 × 10 - 9 m , 3 × 10 - 8 m and 3 × 10 - 7 m , respectively , and then 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester was further added so as to provide a concentration of 3 × 10 - 6 m . incubation was carried out for 4 days to investigate the combined effect on the differentiation induction of the cells . for comparison , the cultured cells not containing any 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - atocopherol ester and those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) instead of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester were similarly incubated . the effect on the differentiation induction of the cells was investigated by measuring nbt reducing activity values . the results are shown in fig1 . in fig1 the abscissa and ordinate indicate concentrations of vd 3 and absorbances ( i . e ., nbt reducing activity values ) per 10 . sup . cultured cells , respectively . the line represented by (----) shows a relationship between concentrations of vd 3 and nbt reducing activity values when vd 3 was used alone , the line represented by (--▪--) shows a relationship between concentrations of vd 3 and nbt reducing activity values when 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was used together with vd 3 , and the line represented by (--▴--) shows a relationship between concentrations of vd 3 and nbt reducing activity values when tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was used together with vd 3 . fig1 shows that a nbt reducing ability was not increased in a concentration range of up to 3 . 0 × 10 - 6 m when vd 3 was used alone , while tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), when used together , potentiated a nbt reducing ability by vd 3 , but its potentiating ability was limited to approximately three - fold level at 3 × 10 - 9 m of vd 3 . on the other hand , 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), when used together , potentiated a nbt reducing ability by vd 3 and its potentiating ability was raised to approximately 7 . 5 - fold level at 3 × 10 - 9 m of vd 3 . accordingly , it is clearly demonstrated that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester could noticeably potentiate the differentiation of nb4 cells by vd 3 and its potentiating effect was far more strong as compared with tretinoin tocoferil . combined effect of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 9 - cis - ra on the inhibition of nb4 cell proliferation to nb4 cells ( 5 × 10 5 cells / ml ) used as the cultured cell was added 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and then 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester was further added so as to provide a concentration of 3 × 10 - 6 m . incubation was carried out for 4 days to investigate the inhibitory effect on the cell proliferation . for comparison , the cultured cells not containing both 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 9 - cis - ra ( control ), those not containing any 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) instead of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester were similarly incubated . after 4 days , the number of the cells was counted and expressed in terms of a relative percent calculated from the cell number of the control defined as 100 . the results are shown in fig2 . in fig2 the symbols of none and 9cra shown beneath the abscissa represent the group not given 9 - cis - ra and the group given 9 - cis - ra , respectively . the columns from the left to the right in order represent the control ( not given any active agents ), the group given tretinoin tocoferil alone ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester alone ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), the group given 9 - cis - ra alone ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), the group given concomitantly 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) and the group given concomitantly 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), respectively . fig2 shows that the proliferation of nb4 cells could not be inhibited with 9 - cis - ra alone ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), while tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) could inhibit the proliferation of nb4 cells when used together with 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), but its inhibition rate ( i . e ., a relative percent of the number of survival cells to that of the control ) was approximately 86 %. in contrast thereto , when 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was used together , the proliferation of nb4 cells was inhibited and its inhibition rate was approximately 72 %, which means the proliferation of nb4 cells was noticeably inhibited . accordingly , it is clearly demonstrated that the differentiation of nb4 cells can be effectively inhibited by a combined use of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester with 9 - cis - ra and the inhibitory effect was far more potent as compared with that of tretinoin tocoferil . combined effect of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 9 - cis - ra on the differentiation induction of nb4 cells to nb4 cells ( 5 × 10 5 cells / ml ) used as the cultured cell was added 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and then 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester at a concentration of 3 × 10 - 6 m . incubation was carried out for 4 days . the cells were washed with a phosphate buffer and then reacted with a mouse monoclonal antibody cd11b ( obtained from nichirei corporation ) diluted with ifa buffer ( 10 mm hepes , ph 7 . 4 , 150 mm nacl , 4 % fbs , 0 . 1 % sodium azide ! at 4 ° c . for one hour . the cells were washed twice with ifa buffer and then reacted with a fitc - labeled rabbit anti - mouse antibody ( diluted with ifa buffer ) at 4 ° c . for one hour . the cells were washed twice with ifa buffer and fluorescence - positive cells were analyzed by means of a flow cytometry ( epics xl , manufactured by coulter electronics co ., ltd .). for comparison , the cultured cells not containing both 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 9 - cis - ra , those containing 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), those containing 9 - cis - retinoic acid alone ( 3 × 10 - 8 m ) and those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) instead of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester were similarly incubated and reacted with the antibodies . appearance of a differentiation marker for cd11b indicates the differentiation of the cells into a granulocyte system . the results are shown in fig3 . in fig3 the symbols of none and 9cra represent the group not given 9 - cis - ra and the group given 9 - cis - ra , respectively , while the symbols of 9cra + tt and 9cra + 9ctt represent the group given 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) and the group given 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ), respectively . fig3 shows that differentiation could be far more induced when tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was further added as compared when 9 - cis - ra ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) was used alone . further , differentiation could be much more noticeably induced when 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was further added as compared when tretinoin tocoferil ( 3 × 10 - 6 m ) was further added and the differentiation inducing ability was equivalent to that when 9 - cis - retinoic acid ( 3 × 10 - 8 m ) was used alone . accordingly , it is clearly demonstrated that an equivalent effect can be achieved by a combination of 9 - cis - retinoic acid with 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester even if an amount of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid to be used may be reduced to 1 / 10 . inhibitory effects on proliferation of nb4 cells by 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester alone and by combined use of the ester with vd 3 to nb4 cells ( 5 × 10 5 cells / ml ) used as the cultured cell was added 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester was added ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ). incubation was carried out for 4 days . for comparison , the cultured cells not containing any active compounds and those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) instead of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester were similarly incubated . in order to investigate the effect obtained by a combined use with vd 3 , the cultured cells containing 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and for comparison those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) were similarly incubated . the results are shown in fig4 . in fig4 the symbols of none , 9ctt and tt shown beneath the abscissa represent the group not given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester or tretinoin tocoferil , the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and the group given tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), respectively . the columns from the left to the right in order represent the control ( not given any active agents ), the group given vd3 alone ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester alone ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), the group given vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) together with 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), the group given tretinoin tocoferil alone ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and the group given vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) together with tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), respectively . fig4 shows that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester even when used alone could highly inhibit the proliferation of nb4 cells and its inhibitory effect was far more potent than that of tretinoin tocoferil when used alone . fig4 further shows that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) could noticeably potentiate an inhibitory effect on the proliferation by vd 3 and this inhibitory effect was much more effective than that when tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) were used together . to nb4 cells ( 5 × 10 5 cells / ml ) used as the cultured cell was added 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and incubation was carried out for 4 days to investigate the effect on the differentiation induction of the cells . for comparison , the cultured cells not containing 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) were similarly incubated . on the other hand , for investigating the effect by a combined use with vd 3 , the cultured cells containing 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) and for comparison those containing tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) instead of the 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) were also similarly incubated . the effect on the differentiation induction of the cells was investigated by measuring nbt reducing activity values . the results are shown in fig5 . in fig5 the ordinate indicates absorbances ( nbt reducing activity values ) per 10 7 cultured cells , while the symbols of none , 9ctt and tt shown beneath the abscissa represent the group not given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester or tretinoin tocoferil , the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and the group given tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), respectively . the columns from the left to the right in order represent the control ( not given any active agents ), the group given vd 3 alone ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester alone ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), the group given 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) together with vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), the group given tretinoin tocoferil alone ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ), and the group given tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) together with vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ), respectively . fig5 shows that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 6 m ) even when used alone could noticeably raise a nbt reducing ability and this effect was far more potent than that of tretinoin tocoferil when used alone ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ). fig5 further shows that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) could noticeably potentiate an inhibitory effect on the proliferation by vd 3 and this inhibitory effect was much more effective than that when tretinoin tocoferil ( 1 . 5 × 10 - 5 m ) and vd 3 ( 3 × 10 - 9 m ) were used together . accordingly , it is clearly demonstrated that 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester can highly induce the differentiation of nb4 cells and potentiate the differentiation of nb4 cells by vd 3 . in summary , the three types of the present pharmaceutical preparations for treating leukemia may far more effectively inhibit the proliferation of leukemia cells and noticeably promote the differentiation induction of the cells . moreover , they are still effective for the treatment of leukemia even at a serum vd 3 concentration of 10 - 9 m or less which dose not cause any side effects . in addition to this , a dose of 9 - cis - ra may be reduced to such a level not developing any side effects , which is highly useful in the treatment of leukemia . 50 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester was mixed with 130 g of coconut oil to form a homogeneous solution . separately , a gelatin solution for capsule coating was prepared from 93 g of gelatin , 19 g of glycerol , 10 g of d - sorbitol ( 70 w / v %), 0 . 4 g of ethyl p - hydroxybenzoate , 0 . 2 g of propyl p - hydroxybenzoate and 0 . 4 g of titanium oxide . soft capsules were prepared from the two solutions prepared as above according to a manual plate stamping method , each capsule containing 180 mg of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester . 5 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester , a proper volume of soybean oil and 1 g of benzyl alcohol were mixed and then made up to a total volume of 100 cc with soybean oil . the resulting solution was aseptically injected portionwise into ampoules in each portion of 2 cc and then the ampoules were sealed . 50 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 5 μg of vd 3 were mixed with 130 g of coconut oil to form a homogeneous solution . separately , a gelatin solution for capsule coating was prepared from 93 g of gelatin , 19 g of glycerol , 10 g of d - sorbitol ( 70 w / v %), 0 . 4 g of ethyl p - hydroxybenzoate , 0 . 2 g of propyl p - hydroxybenzoate and 0 . 4 g of titanium oxide . soft capsules were prepared from the two solutions prepared as above according to a manual plate stamping method , each capsule containing 180 mg of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 0 . 018 μg of vd 3 . 5 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester , 0 . 5 μg of vd 3 , a proper volume of soybean oil and 1 g of benzyl alcohol were mixed and then made up to a total volume of 100 cc with soybean oil . the resulting solution was aseptically injected portionwise into ampoules in each portion of 2 cc and then the ampoules were sealed . 50 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 2 . 8 g of 9 - cis - ra were mixed with 130 g of coconut oil to form a homogeneous solution . separately , a gelatin solution for capsule coating was prepared from 93 g of gelatin , 19 g of glycerol , 10 g of d - sorbitol ( 70 w / v %), 0 . 4 g of ethyl p - hydroxybenzoate , 0 . 2 g of propyl p - hydroxybenzoate and 0 . 4 g of titanium oxide . soft capsules were prepared from the two solutions prepared as above according to a manual plate stamping method , each capsule containing 180 mg of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester and 10 mg of 9 - cis - ra . 5 g of 9 - cis - retinoic acid - α - tocopherol ester , 280 mg of 9 - cis - ra , a proper volume of soybean oil and 1 g of benzyl alcohol were mixed and then made up to a total volume of 100 cc with soybean oil . the resulting solution was aseptically injected portionwise into ampoules in each portion of 2 cc and then the ampoules were sealed .	0
fig1 shows a typical prior art fire hydrant 10 . fixed above ground fire hydrants , or plugs , take a variety of configurations that are similar to the shape shown in this figure . the basic prior art fire hydrant 10 is bolted onto the connection from the water main 20 . typically , the mounting bolts are integrated into the water main connection flange 20 and the fire hydrant 10 is placed on the flange 20 and nuts 21 secure the hydrant onto the connection flange 20 . fire hydrants are typically placed on the street curb 30 for easy locating and to allow fire hoses to be easily connected . some fire hydrants have the water pressurized with water , and when hoses are connected 11 to the hydrant the flow control valves 12 are opened to permit flow into the hoses . in other prior art hydrant designs the flow control is placed on the top of the hydrant and permits flow to all open hose connections 11 . fig2 shows the cover on the fire hydrant connection to the water main . this figure shows the same curb 30 and connection from the main as was shown and described in fig1 . the connection for the hydrant is protected under the dome cover 40 . embedded within the dome the hydracomm communications device is located that provides gps and status information on the fire hydrant connection . the dome cover 40 and support plate 41 connect to the water main 20 using the same bolt pattern . the use of the existing bolt pattern and connection to the water main flange 20 allows the system to be retrofit onto existing hydrants without modification . the lower profile of the dome cover 40 makes the replacement cosmetically pleasing , protects the connection from vehicular harm , and reduces potential vandalism to the hydrant . when connection of a fire hydrant is needed the fire personnel use a custom key 43 , that is custom configured to reduce the potential for vandalism , on the security bolt 42 to open the dome cover 40 to gain access to connect fire equipment . while it is shown that a bolt is used to secure the dome cover 40 , other methods of securing the dome cover are contemplated that include but are not limited to a threaded hardware , a latch or a locking tab . in the preferred embodiment the hardware that secures the support plate 41 are countersunk into the support plate 41 . the countersunk bolts eliminate the potential to harm a fire hose or cause injury to a person . fig3 shows the cover to the connection port opened . the inside of the dome cover has recesses 22 for nut and bolt clearance . the clearance is sufficiently designed to allow the bolts and nuts to be protected from the elements and prevent tampering of the nuts . the dome cover is hinged 45 with the support plate 41 . the security bolt 42 is threaded into the cover retaining hole . a simple locking mechanism is with a threaded bolt 42 that requires a specially designed key , but it is also contemplated that a key with custom lock can be used to secure the dome cover 40 . embedded within the top of the dome the hydracomm communications device is located that provides gps and status information on the fire hydrant connection . the threaded hole for the locking bolt is shown as item 44 in this figure . the support plate 41 is secured to the water main flange with nuts 21 to fix the location and orientation of the support plate 41 on the water main connection . the eight elongated slots 51 exist on the inner ring 80 for retaining the ears of the portable fire hydrant . a raising sealing lip 49 extends around the inner ring . fig5 shows and describes the sealing lip 49 in greater detail . the ears are shown and described in more detail with fig4 and 5 . the closed butterfly valve 60 is operable to provide flow from the water main . fig4 shows a portable fire hydrant with the connection for the replaced base . the portable fire hydrant 50 shown can be fabricated in a variety of heights and with a variety of water discharge ports 71 based upon the hoses being used . the sets of ears located on the bottom of the hydrant 50 are positioned over the slots 51 shown and described in fig3 . once the ears 53 are placed into the slots the operator grasps the handles 70 and rotates 90 the fire hydrant 50 to engage the ears 53 in the slots located in the inner ring . a gasket 52 seals the hydrant with the inner ring . while four ears 53 are shown , it is contemplated that as few as two , three or more than four locking ears can be used to improve the stability and security of the fire hydrant in the inner ring 80 ). the fire hydrant can be located in one of six positions on the inner ring to give the fireperson a variety of directions they can place the hydrant based upon the desired hose direction . additional rotation 91 of the hydrant opens the valve to allow water to flow out of the hydrant . the additional motion is shown and described in more detail with fig6 . fig5 shows a cross sectional view of the portable fire hydrant 50 being connected to the opening valve 60 . the portable fire hydrant 50 is shown with the discharge port 71 . each city can specify the size of the discharge port 71 to mate with the hoses and hose connections they are using . some cities require connection for 2 . 5 ″ hoses , 3 . 5 ″ hoses , 4 ″ hoses or other size hose connections . while the connection end to the water main is standard with this hydrant or barrel the discharge port 71 is manufactured per specifications per county based upon the hoses from the city . the portable fire hydrants 50 are interchangeable to accommodate different diameter discharge ports . it is also contemplated that the portable fire hydrant can be configured with multiple discharge ports to allow for multiple hoses to be connected at the same time . the ears 53 are shown on the bottom of the portable fire hydrant . because there are only two locking ears in this hydrant 50 , the elongated hole is not visible in this cross section . the inner ring 80 has a raised sealing lip 49 that allows for easier alignment of the portable fire hydrant as well and a surface for the gasket 52 . the gasket 52 encircles the bottom of the hydrant to create a seal of the hydrant 50 with the inner ring 80 . the domed cover 40 is shown in its open configuration where it is pivoted on hinge 45 . the dome cover 40 is not shown in cross section in this view . embedded within the dome the hydracomm communications device is located that provides gps and status information on the fire hydrant connection . the securing bolt 42 is shown going through the dome cover . when the dome cover 40 is closed the securing bolt 42 is threaded ( or locked ) into the cover retaining hole 44 . the inside of the dome cover is configured with recesses to provide clearance for the mounting nuts and bolts 21 . the supporting plate 41 is securely mounted onto the connection to the water main 20 . a gasket 47 seals the supporting plate 41 and the connection to the water main 20 . the connection from the water main typically extends above the ground 14 , curb or street . in some cases the threaded studs are integrated into the flange connection from the water main , and in other cases the threaded studs are bolts that pass through the flange connection from the water main . this figure shows that the preferred embodiment of the design fits onto a flat water main flange 20 with no modifications to the water main mounting flange 20 . the butterfly valve that seals the water main is shown as item 60 . it is shown in this figure in the closed orientation , but rotates around the central axis to open . the operation of the valve is shown and described in more detail in fig6 . the support or flanged base 41 has a connection interface for securing a removable fire hydrant 50 . built into the flanged base , the water supply piping 64 or into the removable hydrant 50 is an electronic communication apparatus that includes information regarding an identifier for said flanged base . this information includes the unique characteristics of the water connection for an ideal flow where water is flowing only through the single hydrant supply 36 and how the flow is effected by flow though other local fire hydrants in a real - time basis . the flow information is provided from a flow meter 62 , and a pressure sensor 64 . while a simple paddlewheel flow meter 62 and a hole for a pressure sensor 64 is shown it is understood that these components can be a variety of types that provide real - time information . a communications interface 63 or link transmits the information to a network through a wired or wireless interface . the operation of the interface and how the information is used is shown and described in more detail with fig7 - 10 . fig6 shows an exploded view of the opening valve . the support plate 41 is shown without the dome cover attached to the hinge 45 . the clearance holes 48 are for mounting the support plate 41 to the existing water main flange . the connection secures the support plate and provides a seal to water main . a gasket 47 provides a seal to accommodate surface imperfections . the threaded hole 44 for securing the dome cover is visible in this view . a gear 46 is visible going around the inside of the supporting plate . the gear 46 engages with pinions 81 that turn when the inner ring 80 is being rotated . the inner ring is rotated by rotating the body of the fire hydrant with the handles 70 ( shown and described in fig4 ). the ears from the bottom of the hydrant engage in the elongated slots 51 to secure the hydrant onto the inner ring 80 . the inner ring 80 has a raised sealing lip 49 that allows for easier alignment of the portable fire hydrant as well and a surface for the gasket 52 . the butterfly valve 60 has shafts 84 extending out the ends of the disk portion of the butterfly valve . at the ends of the shafts , worm gears 83 are located . the worm gears 83 engage on worms 82 located on the opposite ends of the pinion in operation , a fire fighter will open the dome cover 40 to expose the internal structure . they will place the ears 53 on hydrant 50 into the elongated slots 51 and rotate the hydrant slightly 90 to retain the hydrant onto the inner ring 80 . the fire fighter will then prep the hose . once the fire fighter is ready to deliver water to the fire the hydrant will be rotated 91 . this rotation is from ⅛ to ¼ of a turn . the rotation 91 turns the inner ring 92 . when the inner ring 91 is turned , the meshing pinion 81 will turn 93 and rotate the worm 82 . the worm will rotate 94 the worm gear 83 turning the shaft 84 and opening 95 the butterfly valve 60 . to close the valve the hydrant is rotated in the opposite direction and the gear train closes the valve . when the hydrant is returned to its home position , the ears are disengaged and the hydrant is removed for use in another location . the dome cover is secured back onto the support plate to protect and secure the connection . fig7 shows a block diagram of the communications from the hydrant connection to fire fighting personnel . each fire hydrant or connection for a fire hydrant as shown and described in fig5 has an electronic identifier having a communications link 63 that collects and transmits information regarding each fire hydrant or fire hydrant connection . there is connection to the fire fighting water supply 69 as previously shown and described . a flow control valve 60 is either integrated into the base 41 , as shown in fig1 - 6 , in the hydrant itself or in a hose connection . the electronic identifier is coupled with the water supply , hydrant 50 or a hose . each electronic identifier has a unique id that distinguished the fire fighting connection from other fire fighting connections . the communications link 63 provides information including but not limited to the location , unique id , maximum flow rate , water connection size , pressure , current flow rate and status or condition of any connection to the fire fighting water port . the unique id allows the electronic identifier to provide characteristics of the fire hydrant flow including but not limited to geographic location , supply connection , pressure and flow rate . the controller 66 uses information from global positioning satellites ( gps ) from a gps device 67 to identify where the hydracomm is located . the communications link 63 can be directly through satellites , cell phone network , local area network ( lan ), wide area network ( wan ), fm signal , or directly to a vehicle such as a fire truck 73 . within the hydracomm device is a power supply 65 , controller 66 , gps device 67 and transmitter 68 . the controller 66 can get flow and pressure information from a flow meter 62 and or a pressure sensor 64 through the hydrant supply 69 . in the preferred embodiment the hydracomm device is integrated or embedded within the domed cover 40 . the characteristics of the hydracomm can be communicated in real - time over the network that provides actual real - time usage of said characteristics and present usage of an attached hydrant 50 . it is contemplated that the cover has solar cells that maintain a charge in the power supply 65 . the communications signal or link 63 can be sent through a variety of wireless methods . in this figure hydracomm can identify its installed location using gps satellite ( s ) 72 and communicate over cell towers 78 or other means where a fire truck 73 can receive real - time information 75 on a mobile device such as a gps receiver , computer , pda or cell phone to a display 74 . in fig8 the connections and information is shown in a block type diagram . in fig9 and 10 the information is shown in an active mapping diagram . fig8 shows a pictorial representation of connection locations to the water supply . from this figure the size of the supply lines are visible with different width of supply pipes showing a 4 ″ line 32 , 3 . 5 ″ line 34 and a 2 . 5 ″ line 34 . this information can be useful when many fires or a large fire is being fought , such as a building or wildfire . this figure also shows locations where the hydracomm is located 40 and where older hydrants 50 have not yet been upgraded . fig9 shows a street map as it might appear on a gps display 74 device showing the location of a fire within zoom area 76 . zooming into this area is shown with fig1 where fig1 shows a detailed street map with information on a specific fire hydrant on the display 74 . from this figure the building fire 77 is visible along with the locations where portable fire hydrants 50 have been installed to fight the fire . available hydracomm hydrant locations 40 are shown . a specific hydracomm location is selected and specific information related to the available flow connection 35 is shown . this specific connection shows the location having an identification of 1234 at a physical address of 713 central park south . the available flow is 1 , 592 gallons per minute with a pressure of 2 , 977 psi at 20 % flow . the color of the hydrant is also shown with the size of the supply pipe . this information can allow the fire fighters to use one set of hydrants for fighting lower story fires and higher pressure hydrants to fight fires in upper floors . this also allows fire fighters to have a strategy for containment and fighting the fire if it expands . thus , specific embodiments of a fire hydrant cover and a portable fire hydrant have been disclosed . it should be apparent , however , to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the inventive subject matter , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims .	8
referring now to the accompanying drawings , a description will be given in detail of preferred embodiments of the invention . fig1 is a schematic block diagram of a dvd apparatus which is an example of the information recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention . a dvd apparatus according to the embodiment is an information recording / reproducing device which records the digital signals related to image and sound on a dvd 5 , reproduces the recorded digital signals and outputs them to a tv monitor device 20 externally connected to device . the dvd apparatus 1 includes a tuner 2 for receiving digital broadcasting signals through an antenna 2 a ; a signal processing circuit 3 for subjecting various kinds of signal processing relative to the invention ( described later ) to the digital signals received by the tuner 2 ; a recording circuit 4 having an mpeg encoding section 4 a for encoding video and audio digital signals outputted from the signal processing circuit 3 and a digital signal of data information , in a correlated manner in a mpeg format ; a dvd ( digital versatile disc ) 5 for recording the video / audio signals compressed by the mpeg encoding section 4 a of the recording circuit 4 and the data signal correlated therewith ; a reproducing circuit 6 having an mpeg decoding section 6 a for reading and extending the video / audio signals as well as the data signal recorded on the dvd 5 to decode them into the original digital signals ; and a video decoder 7 for converting the digital video / audio signals decoded into analog video / audio signals and converting the digital data signal into an analog signal , which are outputted onto a tv monitor device 20 . the dvd apparatus 1 includes a microcomputer 11 for executing the control for the respective parts of the device , a non - volatile memory 12 for storing an operation program for the microcomputer 11 , and a light receiving circuit 14 for receiving infrared ray signals corresponding to various commands transmitted from a remote controller 18 and converting them into electric signals to be transferred to the microcomputer 11 . the signal processing circuit 3 includes a data information extracting section 3 a , a data processing section 3 b and a video / audio processing section 3 c . the data information extracting section 3 a separates or discriminately extracts a digital data signal ( hereinafter referred to as data information ) from the digital broadcasting signals received through the tuner 2 and supplies the data information thus extracted to the data processing section 3 b . the data processing section 3 b processes the received digital data information as the occasion demands and supplies the data information thus processed to the recording circuit 4 . the video / audio processing section 3 c once converts the video / audio signals of the digital broadcasting signals received through the data information extracting section 3 a into analog video and audio signals , converts the converted analog video and audio signals into the corresponding digital signals again and supplies these digital signals to the recording circuit 4 . incidentally , the data information recorded on the dvd 5 is recorded on an area separate from the area where the video / audio signals ( hereinafter referred to as video / audio information ) are recorded . the data information is ready for being extracted from the dvd 5 separately from the audio / video information as the occasion demands . thus , even while the video / audio information is being reproduced , if necessary , the viewer can reproduce the related data information from the dvd 5 and display the reproduced data information on the tv monitor device 20 the digital data information discriminately extracted by the data information extracting section 3 a contains the epg ( electronic program guide ) transmitted at regular time intervals , text or letter information displayed on the tv monitor device 20 in the case of teletext broadcasting , information indicative of program contents , etc . the program information contains the title of a program , broadcasting data and time , performers , plot of a story , etc . in the way , in the dvd apparatus according to the embodiment , the data information except the image and speech which have been conventionally discarded during recording is also recorded on the dvd 5 . thus , while the information ( program ) recorded on the dvd 5 is reproduced , the data information inclusive of the title of the program , performers , contents ( plot ) can be also reproduced and referred to . the is very convenient for a viewer . all of these items of data information having been transmitted may be recorded on the dvd 5 as they are , or otherwise only the item of data information selected through the selecting operation by the viewer may be recorded on the dvd 5 . an explanation will be given of an embodiment of the operation of selecting the information the viewer want to record from the data information having been transmitted . in the embodiment , the selecting operation will be carried out using the remote controller 18 . specifically , when a selecting button ( not shown ) of the remote controller 18 is pressed , a setting screen as shown in fig2 is displayed on the screen of the tv monitor device 20 . in the example , four items of “ all ”, “ teletext broadcasting ”, “ program contents ” and “ cancel ” are displayed . the viewer checks the item ( s ) he want to record from among these four items and presses a “ register ” button on the lower portion of the screen . thus , the kind ( s ) of the data information the viewer want to record ( i . e . information of the item ( s ) checked by the viewer ) is registered in e . g . a memory 12 . when the viewer records the program and others , the microcomputer 11 discriminates the kind of the registered data information to control the signal processing circuit 3 so that only the data information consistent with the registered kind of information is recorded on the dvd 5 and that not consistent therewith discarded like before . for example , if only the item of “ program contents ” is checked , only the information of the program contents in various kinds of information having been transmitted will be recorded on the dvd 5 . incidentally , in the embodiment , although only four items are displayed as items to be selected , these items are exemplary so that the items to be selected should not be limited to these items . the number of items to be selected can be increased as long as the kind of the transmitted data information can be discriminated . in the above described embodiment , the information of the digital data signal contains the information such as epg ( electric program guide ) information , text or letter information by teletext broadcasting and information indicative of program contents . the program information contains the title of a program , broadcasting data and time , performers , plot of a story , etc . according to the embodiment , when the digital information recorded on the recording medium is reproduced , the data containing the title of the program , performers , plot of a story , etc . can be taken out from the same recording medium . for this reason , the user can refer to the information relative to the contents and others of the program he is watching at present . further , in the case where the information recorded on the recording medium is a program by teletext broadcasting , since the information of the teletext broadcasting has been recorded on the same recording medium , even when the deaf watches the program reproduced from the recording medium , the text or letter information linked with the program can be displayed on a monitoring screen . fig3 shows a dvd apparatus 100 according to a second embodiment . in fig3 , parts the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment , so that detailed description of the parts will be omitted here . in the second embodiment , as shown in fig3 , the digital data signal processed by the data processing section 3 b is recorded onto the dvd 5 without being encoded in mpeg format by the mpeg encoding section 4 a . although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to a specific preferred embodiment , various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein . such changes and modifications as are obvious are deemed to come within the spirit , scope and contemplation of the invention as defined in the appended claims .	7
as required , detailed embodiments are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and that the systems and methods described below can be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present subject matter in virtually any appropriately detailed structure and function . further , the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting , but rather , to provide an understandable description of the concepts . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . the term “ application state ” refers to information , such as variables and contents of memory in the client device that are captured at a given instant in time to enable an application to return to a previous state . the application state along with the application and data is transferred to another machine . for example , if a user is editing a word - processing document on a client device , the user may not only want the word - processing file copied to a server , but also the user may want information copied on the state of the application i . e ., where is the user scrolled to in a document so that editing from the exact spot can be continued when the document is transferred to the server . the term “ client device ” is any device , such as a computer , laptop , smartphone , tablet , television , or other information processing device in which software and data can be processed . the terms “ comprises ” and / or “ comprising ,” specify the presence of stated features , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , elements , components , and / or groups thereof . the term “ emulator ” is a program along with underlying hardware that substantially duplicates the functions of a client device processing data on a server or host machine . the goal in emulators is to have the host machine simulate the behavior when processing data of the client system . the term “ local data ” is a set of values that are typically represented in structures , known as data structures or files stored at a client device . the local data stored includes files , applications , states of applications , or a combination thereof . the term “ local power requirement ” is an estimate of an amount of battery power or local power source needed to complete a task on the client device , such as copying data to a server computer . the term “ message ” means communication passed from one client computer to another client computer , whether machine readable message such as a keep alive message or a heartbeat message , a human readable such as a text message and an email . the term “ relative importance value ” means a value associated a specific set of local data used to prioritize which set of local data is copied to a server computer first . this is especially important when the client device is in critical battery state , with not enough time remaining for copying all the different sets of data . the term “ topic extraction ” means using tools and algorithms to extract topics from text documents . topic extraction is used to set the relative importance value of a set of local data . for example , a topic such as “ important sales document ” would take precedence over “ grocery shopping list . the term “ user profile ” means a customizable configuration value used to set the relative importance value of a set of local data . for example , one user may deem word - processing tasks have higher priority than sms tasks . another user may deem an application executing is more important than an email . referring to fig1 , there is a distributed computer system 100 that may be used to carry out the management of data . a server computer 112 is connected to network 114 , e . g ., the internet or a local area network . examples of server computer 112 may include , but are not limited to : a personal computer , a server computer , a series of server computers , a mini computer , and a mainframe computer . server computer 112 is capable of running emulators to emulate different operating environment on different client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 . the operating environments on the client devices may be microsoft windows , apple ios , google android , linux , or other operating systems . the server 112 may be a single server or a series of servers running a network operating system , examples of which may include but are not limited to microsoft windows server or linux . the instruction sets and subroutines of the process to manage messages between client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 may come through the server 112 or via a separate network . storage device 116 may include but is not limited to : a hard disk drive ; a tape drive ; an optical drive ; a raid array ; a random access memory ( ram ); and a read - only memory ( rom ). users 146 , 148 , 150 , 152 may access messages 120 directly through network 114 or through secondary network 118 . further , server computer 112 ( i . e ., the computer that executes email server application 120 ) may be connected to network 114 through secondary network 118 , as illustrated with phantom link line 154 . server computer 112 may execute a web server application , examples of which may include but are not limited to ibm websphere or apache webserver ™, that allows for http ( i . e ., hypertext transfer protocol ) access to server computer 112 via network 114 . network 114 may be connected to one or more secondary networks e . g ., network 118 , examples of which may include but are not limited to : a local area network ; a wide area network ; or an intranet , for example . server computer 112 may execute a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor application ( vmma ) 120 , examples of which may include but are not limited to citrix xenapp , citrix xendesktop , remote desktop services , vmware view , and others . vmma 120 may provide full desktop virtualization or partial desktop virtualization to one or more client applications 122 , 124 , 126 , 128 . the computer code for the emulators 110 and 120 may be a standalone application or an applet / application that is executed within a server application . the instruction sets and subroutines of server emulators 110 , 120 , which may be stored on storage device 116 coupled to server computer 112 may be executed by one or more processors ( not shown ) and one or more memory architectures ( not shown ) incorporated into server computer 112 . in addition / as an alternative to being a server - based emulators 110 , 120 residing on server computer 112 , the emulators may be a client - side application residing on one or more client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 , e . g ., stored on storage devices 130 , 132 , 134 , 136 , respectively and then uploaded to the server 112 . moreover , the messages received at client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 as a client - side application may , e . g ., be a standalone application , interface with an email client application , or may be an applet / application that is executed within email client application or messaging application . accordingly , message propagation process may be a server - based process , a client - side process and / or may be a hybrid client - side / server - based process , which may be executed , in whole or in part , by client application and by email server application . the instruction sets and subroutines of applications 122 , 124 , 126 , 128 , which may be stored on storage devices 130 , 132 , 134 , 136 ( respectively ) coupled to client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 ( respectively ), may be executed by one or more processors ( not shown ) and one or more memory architectures ( not shown ) incorporated into client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 ( respectively ). storage devices 130 , 132 , 134 , 136 may include but are not limited to : hard disk drives ; tape drives ; optical drives ; raid arrays ; random access memories ( ram ); read - only memories ( rom ), compact flash ( cf ) storage devices , secure digital ( sd ) storage devices , and a memory stick storage devices . examples of client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 may include , but are not limited to , personal computer 138 , laptop computer 140 , cellular telephone 142 , notebook or table computer 144 , and a dedicated network device ( not shown ). users 146 , 148 , 150 , 152 may place client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 in a low power state by selecting a dedicated button . in another example , the client device is placed in a low power state by receiving a notification from a local inactivity timer or battery power monitor . the client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 when placed in a low power state may send a message to server 112 . the various client devices may be directly or indirectly coupled to network 114 ( or network 118 ). for example , personal computer 138 is shown directly coupled to network 114 via a hardwired network connection . further , notebook computer 144 is shown directly coupled to network 118 via a hardwired network connection . laptop computer 140 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 114 via wireless communication channel 156 established between laptop computer 140 and wireless access point ( i . e ., wap ) 158 , which is shown directly coupled to network 114 . wap 158 may be , for example , an ieee 802 . 11a , 802 . 11b , 802 . 11g , wi - fi , and / or bluetooth device that is capable of establishing wireless communication channel 156 between laptop computer 140 and wap 158 . personal digital assistant 142 is shown wirelessly coupled to network 114 via wireless communication channel 160 established between personal digital assistant 142 and cellular network / bridge 162 , which is shown directly coupled to network 114 . as is known in the art , all of the ieee 802 . 11x specifications may use ethernet protocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance ( i . e ., csma / ca ) for path sharing . the various 802 . 11x specifications may use phase - shift keying ( i . e ., psk ) modulation or complementary code keying ( i . e ., cck ) modulation , for example . as is known in the art , bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allows e . g ., mobile phones , computers , and personal digital assistants to be interconnected using a short - range wireless connection . client devices 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 may each execute an operating system , examples of which may include but are not limited to microsoft windows , apple ios , google android , linux , blackberry os or a custom operating system . fig2 is a table 200 of values stored locally at a client device when prioritizing what data is to be sent to the cloud to enable continue access by other client devices . beginning with a first column 202 , various users ( user 1 , user 2 , . . . ) may be logged in on a same client device , such as a laptop . a type of data 204 is indicated . the data can be an application , an application state , a file , such as data for an application . column 206 is the local remaining power required to upload a given type of data 204 for a user 202 . additionally , a power - level “ p ” may be determined . the term “ power - level ” is used broadly in this context . for example , “ p ” may depend on actual or forecast battery charge . it may also be based on a real - time trigger by the user of an intention of desiring to enter a sleep state , a hibernate state , a suspend state , or a shut - down state . note that the percentages can vary widely based on factors that include the size of the data and the bandwidth available 208 . for example , if the network is currently very speedy and reliable , more of the user &# 39 ; s state may be transmitted , on - the - fly , to the cloud . however , if the network is currently slow or unreliable , or is forecast to be slow or unreliable within time period “ t ”, then less of the user &# 39 ; s state may be transferred . the system may also consider the requirement of resources “ c ,” like cpu and memory , so that if prior to entering a suspended state a process ( which is determined to take significant amounts of cpu ) may be transferred . an importance factor 210 is shown . this importance factor “ i ” can be set based on the number of messages received by other client devices and a historical data , such as how often this data is uploaded to the cloud for a particular user . a last accessed time in column 212 is shown . data sets that are accessed more recently may indicate higher importance . a topic extraction 214 for local data may be shown . the topic is meta data used to describe the data . keyword searching may be used to determine the difference between topics . one example of a topic extraction tool is ibm ® spss ® text analytics for surveys . this tool extracts key concepts from files . other terminology mining or extraction tools may also be used . a combination of the values in a given row 220 , 222 , 224 , 226 , 228 is used to prioritize or “ triage ” which of the data is to be sent first , and if the remaining power permits second , then third , etc . the importance “ i ” may be computed both for user applications ( e . g . web browser state , word - processing state , email state , instant - message state , etc .) as well as for certain lower - level states , such as operating - system states . in one example , a function “ f ” is computed based on importance of tasks , applications , subtasks , etc ., along with an assessment of current bandwidth , forecast bandwidth , current cpu and memory needs , future cpu and memory needs , current power level , forecast power level — along with the keep - alive signals “ k ” from others . based on the value of “ f ”, the amount and nature of information transfer is controlled . for example , if the bandwidth is high and a user is engaged in a word - processing task , the word - processing tasks may be transferred and remain “ open ” and “ active ” on the cloud . for each of the set ( s ) of data being processed on the first client device : i . determine required bandwidth to storage for computation to proceed ( bws ); ii . determine required bandwidth to the user interface i . e . to memory for display and input devices to proceed ( bwui ); iii . determine required power to compute on local device ( pcl ); iv . determine required power to maintain storage on local device ( psl ); if ( bwui & gt ; bwc ), maintain task on local system ; there is no way to maintain appropriate ui given bandwidth to cloud else if ( bws & gt ; bwc ). if ( bwui == 0 ), upload task function to cloud , including memory state and required store , the process is running in the background and local store is not maintainable & gt ; else if ( bwui & lt ; bwc ), add to list of possible task uploads to cloud ( ptus ), including memory state and required store & gt ; else if ( bws & lt ; bwc ), add to list of ptus , including memory state , and possibly , but not necessarily , required store . determine ptus to upload to the cloud , and whether to upload their required stores : i . rank ptus by power for computation ( highest to lowest ) ii . loop over list , applying the following logic until bwc is exhausted : if ( ptu not yet migrated ), allocate bwc to its bwui , migrate task computation to cloud & gt ; if ( bwc & gt ; 0 ) & gt ; if ( bws & gt ; bwc ) or the power savings of migrating task &# 39 ; s computation but not store to cloud exceeds the power savings of migrating the next ptu on the list , then allocate bwc to its bws and migrate required store to cloud after determining ptus to upload , if rlp is less than power to compute local task and provide for local stores . in one example , a full machine state transfer to the cloud is performed . in this example , a first client device is suspended . transfer set ( s ) of data to host server , meaning the contents of both the ram and storage . in one embodiment , this may transfer to the host server as two files : a copy of active ram and a vmdk or ovf . from this point , the cloud has complete access independent of the suspended first client device . in another example , a partial machine state transfer to the cloud is performed . in this example , the first client device is suspended . transfer machine state to the cloud , but only transfer the contents of ram . leave the storage in place on the first client device , but make a remote connection to the storage device from the cloud . the host server now has a diskless vm running with the machines ( i . e . laptop ) system state and the storage is mapped back to the host server . from this point , all changes a user makes to the cloud virtual machine system actually get written in real - time to the laptops storage drive . only enough power would need to be maintained to write and read elements from the storage drive . this has the advantages of near instantaneous transfer of control from the cloud back to the laptop ( transfer of session state can be continuous ). little network bandwidth is required and the initial transfer of session state would be much faster . fig3 and fig4 is a flow chart 300 of managing access to data on a client device during a low power state . the process begins in step 302 and immediately proceeds to step 304 in which one or more sets of data are being processed by a first client device . a test is made in step 306 to see if a message is received from a second client device to maintain access to sets of data on the first client device . for example , collaborators , or instant - message partners , etc ., may decide that they find it important to keep - alive a remote client state and signal this intent ). in one embodiment , both the user and collaborators may receive notification that the client platform is transitioning to the low - power state . when a request is received the process continues to step 308 . otherwise , the process loops back to step 304 . in step 308 a second test is entered to determine if a request or indication for the first client to enter a low power state . for example , the user is placing first client device in sleep mode . using the table 200 in fig2 local power requirement on the first client device is estimated in step 310 to transfer each of the requested local sets of data from the first client device to the server . in step 314 , the relative importance of each set of data is assigned using the factors such as those shown in table 200 of fig2 . based on a combination of one or more factors in table 200 of fig2 the priority is assigned . continuing , in the priority order , to the next set of data in step 316 , a determination is made to ensure the remaining power exceeds a threshold in table 200 . this prevents partial transfers of sets of data from the first client device to the server . in the event the remaining power is below the threshold , the process continues to step 322 . otherwise the process continues to step 318 . in step 318 , the next set of data in the priority assigned is sent from the first client device to the server . a test in step 320 is made to determine if any more set ( s ) of data are to be transferred according to the priority order previously assigned and the process loops back to step 316 . otherwise , the first device enters a low power state and the process ends in step 324 . in some examples , the user &# 39 ; s state may be periodically transferred ( or “ mirrored ”) so that when it is necessary or useful to enter a low - power state , only a small incremental amount of state needs to be transferred . in another example , a payload may be received by the server from the client platform . the payload being configured to maintain connectivity with a remote resource while the client platform is in the low - power state , transmitting a packet including the payload and receiving a packet including an acknowledgement . the general keep - alive messages and a list of security tokens may then be transferred to the nic ( network interface circuitry ) before the client platform transitions in the low - power state . additionally , information about each keep - alive message ( such as the minimum required periodicity to maintain presence / connectivity , the destination address for the keep - alive message , etc .) may also be transferred to the nic . fig5 is a flow chart 500 of restoring data from a server to a client device after the client resumes from a low power state is a flow chart 300 of managing access to data on a client device during a low power state . the process begins in step 502 and immediately proceeds to step 504 in which the first client device resumes from a low power state . this change from a low power state to an operating state may any of resuming , turning - on , restoring , or rebooting the client device . next a test is made to determine if there are previously copied one or more sets of data to a server . this test in one example is a flag that is set in the flow chart in fig3 . if no previously data from the first client device was copied the process ends in step 514 . otherwise , in response to one of the sets of data were previous copied , another test is made in step 508 in which the user is prompted for each of the sets of data to be restored . in response to receiving user input to restore current sets of data from the server , the process continues in step 510 in which a copy of set ( s ) of data are copied from server to first client device . a test is made in step 512 to determine if any more set ( s ) of data need to be copied . the process loops back to step 508 if other sets of data are to be processed . otherwise , the process ends in step 514 . referring now to fig6 , this figure is a block diagram illustrating an information processing system that can be utilized in embodiments of the present invention . the information processing system 602 is based upon a suitably configured processing system configured to implement one or more embodiments of the presently claimed invention . any suitably configured processing system can be used as the information processing system 602 in embodiments of the present invention . the components of the information processing system 602 can include , but are not limited to , one or more processors or processing units 604 , a system memory 606 , and a bus 608 that couples various system components including the system memory 606 to the processor 604 . the bus 608 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures , including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , an accelerated graphics port , and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . by way of example , and not limitation , such architectures include industry standard architecture ( isa ) bus , micro channel architecture ( mca ) bus , enhanced isa ( eisa ) bus , video electronics standards association ( vesa ) local bus , and peripheral component interconnects ( pci ) bus . although not shown in fig6 , the main memory 606 includes the emulator 644 and priority table / prioritization factor 646 . the system memory 606 can also include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory , such as random access memory ( ram ) 610 and / or cache memory 612 . ram 610 includes emulator ( s ) 110 and sorting factor 200 , such as those shown in fig2 . the information processing system 602 can further include other removable / non - removable , volatile / non - volatile computer system storage media . by way of example only , a storage system 614 can be provided for reading from and writing to a non - remov 6 able or removable , non - volatile media such as one or more solid state disks and / or magnetic media ( typically called a “ hard drive ”). a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable , non - volatile magnetic disk ( e . g ., a “ floppy disk ”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable , non - volatile optical disk such as a cd - rom , dvd - rom or other optical media can be provided . in such instances , each can be connected to the bus 608 by one or more data media interfaces . the memory 406 can include at least one program product having a set of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of an embodiment of the present invention . program / utility 616 , having a set of program modules 618 , may be stored in memory 606 by way of example , and not limitation , as well as an operating system , one or more application programs , other program modules , and program data . each of the operating system , one or more application programs , other program modules , and program data or some combination thereof , may include an implementation of a networking environment . program modules 618 generally carry out the functions and / or methodologies of embodiments of the present invention . the information processing system 602 can also communicate with one or more external devices 620 such as a keyboard , a pointing device , a display 622 , etc . ; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the information processing system 602 ; and / or any devices ( e . g ., network card , modem , etc .) that enable computer system / server 602 to communicate with one or more other computing devices . such communication can occur via i / o interfaces 624 . still yet , the information processing system 602 can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network ( lan ), a general wide area network ( wan ), and / or a public network ( e . g ., the internet ) via network adapter 626 . as depicted , the network adapter 626 communicates with the other components of information processing system 602 via the bus 608 . other hardware and / or software components can also be used in conjunction with the information processing system 602 . examples include , but are not limited to : microcode , device drivers , redundant processing units , external disk drive arrays , raid systems , tape drives , and data archival storage systems . as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art , aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system , method , or computer program product . accordingly , aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment ( including firmware , resident software , micro - code , etc .) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “ circuit ,” “ module ” or “ system .” furthermore , aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium ( s ) having computer readable program code embodied thereon . any combination of one or more computer readable medium ( s ) may be utilized . the computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium . a computer readable storage medium may be , for example , but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , or device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . more specific examples ( a non - exhaustive list ) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following : an electrical connection having one or more wires , a portable computer diskette , a hard disk , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom or flash memory ), an optical fiber , a portable compact disc read - only memory ( cd - rom ), an optical storage device , a magnetic storage device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . in the context of this document , a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain , or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . a computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein , for example , in baseband or as part of a carrier wave . such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms , including , but not limited to , electro - magnetic , optical , or any suitable combination thereof . a computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate , propagate , or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium , including but not limited to wireless , wireline , optical fiber cable , rf , etc ., or any suitable combination of the foregoing . computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages , including an object oriented programming language such as java , smalltalk , c ++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages , such as the “ c ” programming language or similar programming languages . the program code may execute entirely on the user &# 39 ; s computer , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer , as a stand - alone software package , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server . in the latter scenario , the remote computer may be connected to the user &# 39 ; s computer through any type of network , including a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or the connection may be made to an external computer ( for example , through the internet using an internet service provider ). aspects of the present invention have been discussed above with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods , apparatus ( systems ) and computer program products according to various embodiments of the invention . it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , can be implemented by computer program instructions . these computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine , such that the instructions , which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus , create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . these computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to function in a particular manner , such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer , other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the description of the present application has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated .	8
referring to fig1 - 3 , switch includes a molded plastic unitary slide member 10 having an actuator button 11 extending from its top surface . the upper portion 13 of slide member 10 is substantially solid except for a hollow recess 14 , fig2 and 3 , into which is fitted a double wipe sliding contact 16 . as best seen in fig2 sliding contact 16 has a somewhat u - shaped cross section with the mid region of the two sides bowed outwardly to contact the side walls of hollow recess 14 . as seen in fig3 sliding contact 16 has fore and aft wiper portions 18 and 19 which are joined by a bridging portion therebetween . sliding contact 16 is made of a resilient conductive material and its u - shaped fore and aft portions are adapted to make sliding contact with blade - like stationary contacts 20 , 21 and 22 . stationary contacts 20 , 21 and 22 extend upwardly from the top surface of an insulator base member 25 . corresponding connector terminals 20a , 21a , and 22a extend downwardly from the opposite surface of base member 25 . as best seen in the bottom view of fig4 insulator base member 25 is comprised of two wide end portions 26 and 27 and an intermediate portion 28 of reduced width . right angle shoulders or stops s are formed at the four corners where the intermediate portion 28 joins the wider end portion 26 and 27 . mounting holes 29 are included in each of the end portions . midway along the intermediate portion 28 small triangular - shaped bosses b 1 and b 2 extend outwardly from the respective edges . base member 25 is retained within the unitary plastic slide member 10 by means now to be described . as seen in fig1 and 4 , each side of slide member 10 is comprised of three spaced apart and yieldable side skirts 30 , 31 , 32 and 33 , 34 , 35 , respectively , which continue downwardly from the upper portion 13 of slide member 10 . all of the side skirts 30 - 35 extend down beyond insulator base member 25 . the end ones of the side skirts 30 , 32 , 33 and 35 have triangular shaped barbs or latch elements 40 , 41 , 42 and 43 which have horizontal top surfaces that extend inwardly for slidingly engaging the under side of base member 25 . on the underside of the upper portion 13 of slide member 10 , at the opposite end regions that are located between opposite side skirts 30 , 33 and 32 , 35 , respectively , pairs of spaced ridges 47 and 48 extend downwardly toward insulator base member 25 . also , at the ooposite ends of each pair of the downwardly extending pairs of ridges 47 and 48 , web - like sections 51 - 58 , see fig1 and 3 , are molded as part of slide member 10 to add some stiffening to the end side skirts 30 , 32 , 33 and 35 . the reason for including the stiffening web - like sections 51 - 58 will be explained below . as seen in fig4 adjacent edges of adjacent side skirts are inclined away from each other so as to form v - shaped notches or voids therebetween . to assemble the switch , slide member 10 is placed upside down and resilient sliding contact 16 is placed within hollow recess 14 . one edge of the intermediate portion 28 of insulator base member 25 then is placed under the inwardly extending barbs or latch elements 30 and 32 , for example , and the other edge of base member 25 is pushed down until it snaps under the other pair of barbs 33 and 35 . base member 25 is now slidingly retained between the four barbs or latch elements 30 , 32 , 33 , 35 and the two pairs of ridges 47 and 48 that extend downwardly from the underside of the upper portion 13 of slide member 10 . the shoulders s constitute stops that limit the sliding motion of slide member 10 . when slide member 10 is at its extreme positions at opposite ends of intermediate portion 28 it is in its respective two switching positions . in one of those positions , double wipe sliding contact 16 , fig3 connects the stationary contacts 20 and 21 , and at the other switching position stationary contacts 20 and 22 are connected together . in slide switches constructed in miniature and subminiature sizes , the component parts are extremely small and the sliding contacts are quite thin and resilient . consequently , there is very little &# 34 ; feel &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; snap &# 34 ; in the switching action . additionally , because of necessary clearances and tolerances , there may be some tendency for the sliding member 10 and sliding contact 16 to creep or drift away from their extreme switching positions . in accordance with this invention , a positive &# 34 ; feel &# 34 ; and a retention feature is built into the slide action of the switch . these features are provided by the cooperative action of bosses b 1 and b 2 , fig4 that extend outwardly from the edges of intermediate portion 28 of base member 25 . as illustrated in fig4 when slide member 10 is in its extreme right switching position , bosses b 1 and b 2 are positioned in the v - shaped notches between adjacent side skirts 30 , 31 and 33 , 34 , respectively . when slide member 10 is moved toward its left switching position bosses b 1 and b 2 urge against the inclined sides of the middle side skirts 31 and 34 and urge them outwardly . when slide member 10 reaches its extreme left switching position at the extreme left end of intermediate portion 28 , bosses b 1 and b 2 will be positioned in the v - shaped notches between side skirts 31 , 32 and 34 , 35 . in this position the middle side skirts 31 and 34 will have returned to their normal positions to hold slide member 10 in its desired switching position . middle side skirts 31 and 34 are flexible and yieldable to allow them to be urged outwardly by bosses b 1 and b 2 . side skirts 30 , 32 , 33 and 35 also are yieldable to allow insulator base member 25 to be snapped therebetween , but because of the stiffening web - like sections 51 - 58 , fig3 they are not as yieldable as the center skirts 31 and 34 . this assures that base member 25 will be retaned by the barbs or latch elements 40 - 43 during switching action . it is to be understood that base member 25 could include only two stationary contacts , or it could include more than three contacts . correspondingly , the switching action could be single throw or multiple throw . for multiple throw switching , base member 25 could have a plurality of bosses b 1 and b 2 spaced along its intermediate portion . it will be appreciated that only one boss on one edge of base member 25 actually is required for each switching position . also in keeping with the teachings of this invention , although not presently preferred , it is possible to have just two spaced apart side skirts on each side of slide member 10 and one or more longitudinally spaced bosses on base member 10 . in such an embodiment , the detent means should be short so as not to cause the barbs 40 - 43 to become disengaged from the bottom surface of base member 10 . also in keeping with this invention , the bosses could be molded into the side skirts and indentations or notches could be provided in the edges of base member 10 . a presently preferred embodiment of this type is illustrated in fig5 - 7 . as seen in fig5 insulator base member 25 &# 39 ; is comprised of two wide end portions 26 &# 39 ; and 27 &# 39 ; and a more narrow intermediate portion 28 &# 39 ;. the central region of intermediate portion 28 &# 39 ; includes dome shaped stationary contacts 61 - 64 on one face thereof . respective connector terminals 61a - 64a extend through insulator base member 25 &# 39 ; and project outwardly from the opposite face . the opposite edges of the central region of intermediate portion 28 &# 39 ; includes respective indentations or notches 67 and 68 . the edges at the central region also include the ramps 71 and 72 which are inclined inwardly as they extend away from notch 67 and the ramps 73 and 74 slope inwardly as they extend away from notch 68 . intermediate stops s2 are formed in the regions at the bases of ramps 71 - 74 and the edges of intermediate region 28 &# 39 ;. the upper portion of plastic unitary slide member 10 &# 39 ; may be substantially identical to that illustrated in fig1 . slide member 10 &# 39 ; will include within it a cavity for receiving a spring contact member which makes selective sliding contact with the stationary contacts as the slide member 10 &# 39 ; is moved between its switching positions . sliding contacts of this type are well known and are shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 674 , 953 issued to a . brevick , for example . as seen in fig6 and 7 , each side of slide member 10 &# 39 ; includes three spaced apart yieldable side skirts 80 , 81 , 82 and 83 , 84 , 85 , respectively , which extend downwardly beyond insulator base member 25 &# 39 ;. the end ones of the side skirts 80 , 82 , 83 and 85 have triangular shaped barb or latch elements 86 , 87 , 88 and 89 , respectively , which slidingly engage the under side of base member 25 &# 39 ; in the same manner as described in connection with fig1 - 4 . the center ones of the side skirts 81 and 84 have respective bosses 91 , 92 projecting from their inner surfaces for releasably seating in the notches 67 and 68 in base member 25 &# 39 ;. fig6 illustrates sliding member 10 &# 39 ; in the center one of its three switching positions . in this position , sliding contact 90 , which is held in a cavity in plastic slide member 10 &# 39 ; in a conventional manner , establishes electrical connection between stationary contacts 62 and 63 on base member 25 &# 39 ;. it may be seen in fig6 that the outermost side edges of flexible skirts 80 , 82 , 83 and 84 are substantially butting the intermediate stops s2 . this relationship helps to maintain plastic slide member 10 &# 39 ; in its center switching position . fig7 illustrates the plastic slide member 10 &# 39 ; in its far right switching position wherein the sliding contact 90 establishes electrical connection between stationary contact 63 and 64 . it is seen that the right edges of opposite side skirts 82 and 85 are against stops s which are located where intermediate portion 28 &# 39 ; meets the right end portion 26 &# 39 ;. the bosses 91 and 92 on the center ones of the side skirts 81 and 84 are positioned proximate the bases of the ramps 72 and 74 . because ramps 72 and 74 are inclined inwardly from the edges of base member 25 &# 39 ; the center ones of the side skirts 81 and 84 are not stressed outwardly but are in a substantially unstressed condition . this feature minimizes the possibility that the middle ones of the side skirts having the bosses thereon will take on a permanent set in an outwardly extended position . when member 10 &# 39 ; is switched to its extreme left position its arrangement on base member 25 &# 39 ; will be just opposite from that illustrated in fig7 . it is believed that various other embodiments of this invention now will be suggested to those skilled in the art . for example , single pole or multiple pole , and single throw or multiple throw features may be combined in various combinations by employing the teachings of this invention . additionally it is possible to provide a long array of many single or multiple pole stationary contacts on an insulator base member having thereon bosses or detents of the types described above . cooperating with this long array of stationary contacts may be one or more slide members of the types described above , each having the desired sliding contacts to establish electrical connection between respective adjacent stationary contacts . an arrangement of this general type showing but a single slide member is illustrated in fig7 and 8 of the above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 3 , 674 , 953 . in its broader aspects , this invention is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described . various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the inventive principles herein disclosed .	7
fig1 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a performance indicator according to the present invention . a local network chip 10 is operably coupled through a computer network 30 to a remote network device 20 resulting in a high speed communication system 22 . the local network chip and the remote network device communicate with each other over the network using the known ieee 802 . 3 networking standard creating a network channel 32 through the network . a single performance indicator signal , herein termed a link quality indicator signal , 40 is generated by the local network chip to indicate the quality of the network channel . in operation , the local network chip monitors the quality of the network channel and changes the level of the link quality indicator signal based on the quality of the network channel . the local network chip includes a local transceiver 50 operably coupled via a plurality of network channel status signals 53 to a quality indicator logic module 60 . the quality indicator logic module includes an encoded process 62 for receiving the plurality of network channel status signals transmitted by the local transceiver and processing the plurality of received network channel status signals to generate a single link quality indicator signal . the quality indicator logic module 60 generates a link quality indicator signal including a plurality of possible timing sequences 70 . each of the timing sequences encodes a different aspect of the quality of the network channel . in one embodiment of a link quality indicator according to the present invention , aperiodic link quality indicator signals are generated to indicate either that the network link is fully operational or that the network link has completely failed . in another embodiment of a link quality indicator according to the present invention , a plurality of periodic link quality indicator signals are generated with the period of the generated link quality indicator signal indicating a different problem within the local network chip &# 39 ; s communication modules . the local transceiver includes a plurality of operably coupled communication modules 52 that generate and control signals used to establish the network channel . the communication modules generate status signals including the plurality of network channel status signals transmitted by the local transceiver to the quality indicator logic module . these network channel status signals are generated according to the known ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the network channel status signals may or may not share the same format . for example , some of the signals may be binary in nature , indicating either total failure or normal operation , while other signals may encode quantitative information , such as number of errors per unit of time . in an embodiment of a local network chip according to the present invention , the local transceiver includes communication modules 52 . the communication modules include higher level logic for controlling the transceiver operations as well as signal processing circuitry and signal processing logic responsive to the higher level logic ( for example , the phy module ) for controlling the operations of the signal processing circuitry . the communication modules further include logic for auto - negotiation of a master / slave relationship according to the ieee 802 . 3 standard . the communication modules generate an auto - negotiation complete signal 76 ( for example , the flp_link_good signal as defined in the ieee 802 . 3 standard ) indicating that the communication modules have completed an attempted auto - negotiation with the remote network device according to the ieee 802 . 3 standard . even though the auto - negotiation sequence is completed , the link may not have been established . the communication modules include logic for generating a link status signal 76 according to the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard at the end of the auto - negotiation sequence indicating whether or not a network link has been properly established . the communication modules further include logic for generating a signal to noise ratio ( snr ) threshold value signal 78 that correlates with the a maximum bit error rate ( ber ) as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the snr threshold is programmable by an external control program ( not shown ) thus facilitating the integration of the local network chip in a larger network device . in an embodiment of a quality indicator according to the present invention , the snr threshold is set slightly higher than the snr threshold called for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the communication modules generate a local receiver status signal 80 as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the local receiver status signal depends on a snr as determined by the signal processing circuitry and on the state of a descrambler circuit included in the signal processing circuitry . if the snr is low and the descrambler circuit can no longer decode the received signals , the signal processing logic sets the local receiver status signal to indicate that data can no longer be sent reliably over the network channel . the communication modules further include control logic for generating a mse signal 82 proportional to the mean square error ( mse ) produced by the signal processing circuitry . the mse signal correlates with the snr of the signal processing circuitry . the s communication modules further include control logic for generating a receive error signal 84 . the receive error signal is a combination of a false carrier sense signal as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard and a receive coding error as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the false carrier sense signal indicates if the local transceiver receives a frame that does not conform to the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the receive coding error signal indicates if a frame contains a packet with an error such as a premature packet end as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . the quality indicator logic receives a clocking signal 72 from the local network chip &# 39 ; s timing circuit . the clocking signal is used to provide timing information for the quality indicator logic module to generate a plurality of link quality indicator signals with various timing characteristics . the quality indicator logic module receives the previously described network channel status signals and generates a single link quality indicator signal including a plurality of possible timing sequences 70 . each of the timing sequences encodes a different aspect of the quality of the network channel . if the quality indicator logic module determines that the network link is functioning normally , the link quality indicator signal is driven low and remains low as long as the network link is functioning normally 86 . this creates a first aperiodic link quality indicator signal indicating that the network link is fully operational . if the local network chip is unable to establish and maintain a network channel with the remote network device , then the link quality indicator signal is driven high 88 and it remains in that state until the local network chip can reestablish the network channel . this creates a second aperiodic link quality indicator signal indicating that the network link is not operational at all . if the local network chip detects a false carrier sense signal or a receive coding error signal , the link quality indicator signal is driven high then low at a low frequency 92 . this creates a first periodic link quality indicator signal indicating that the network link is marginally operational because there are framing or receive coding errors . if the local network chip detects that the mse is greater than the snr threshold value , then the link quality indicator signal is driven high then low at a high frequency 92 . this creates a second periodic link quality indicator signal indicating that the network link is marginally operational because the mse is higher than the snr threshold value . fig2 is a block diagram depicting a embodiment of a quality indicator employing a light emitting diode ( led ) to generate a visual quality indicator according to the present invention . a quality indicator led 200 is operably coupled to a previously described link quality indicator signal 40 and a voltage source 202 . the link quality indicator signal is driven low and the led is energized as soon as auto - negotiation is complete and the local network chip 10 is attempting to establish a network channel 32 ( fig1 ). after a network channel is established , the quality indicator led will remain energized while the network channel is operating reliably with a good snr . the link quality indicator signal will be driven high and the quality indicator led will no longer be energized when the local network chip receive error signal indicates a problem with the communication channel and the local network chip is unable to receive packet data . the quality indicator led will blink with a varying frequency to indicate intermediate levels of reliability of the network channel . fig3 is a process flow diagram of quality indicator process of an embodiment of a performance indicator according to the present invention . a quality indicator logic module 60 ( fig1 ) includes an encoded quality indicator process 62 for receiving a plurality of network channel status signals 53 ( fig1 ) transmitted by a local transceiver 50 ( fig1 ) and processing the plurality of received network channel status signals to produce a single link quality indicator signal 40 ( fig2 ) used to drive a link quality indicator led 200 ( fig2 ). at reset 300 , the quality indicator process turns a link quality indicator led 200 ( fig2 ) off 302 . the quality indicator process checks a auto - negotiation complete status signal 74 ( fig1 ) and loops back to reset the link quality indicator led to off if the auto - negotiation complete signal indicates that the auto - negotiation process has not been completed . if the auto - negotiation complete status signal indicates that the auto - negotiation process is complete , then the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led on 308 . the quality indicator process checks 310 a link status signal 76 ( fig1 ) and returns to check the auto - negotiation complete status signal 304 if the link status signal indicates that the communication channel is no longer established . if the auto - negotiation complete status signal indicates that the auto - negotiation process is not complete , the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led off 302 and continues monitoring the auto - negotiation complete status signal as previously described waiting for the auto - negotiation complete status signal to indicate that the auto - negotiation process is complete . if the quality indicator process confirms that the communication channel is open 310 , the quality indicator process checks to see of a local receiver status 80 ( fig1 ) indicates that data can no longer be sent reliably over the network channel . if data can no longer be sent reliably over the network channel , the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led off 314 and returns to monitoring the link status signal 310 as previously described . if local receive status signal indicates that data is being reliably sent over the network channel , the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led on 316 and checks a receive error status signal 84 ( fig1 ) to confirm that there are no framing or receive coding errors as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard . if the receive error status signal indicates that there are no framing or receive coding errors , the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led off for a first period of time 320 and then back on 322 for the first period of time . the quality indicator process continues processing by returning to checking the link status signal 310 . in one embodiment of a quality indicator process according to the present invention , the link quality indicator led is turned off for a period of 80 msec and back on for a period of 80 msec in order to cause the link quality indicator led to blink at a low frequency if the auto - negotiation is complete and the network link is established but there are framing or receive coding errors . in another embodiment of a quality indicator process according to the present invention , the on and off periods of the led are different creating a periodic signal with asymmetric on and off periods . if the receive error signal indicates that there are no framing or receive coding errors as provided for in the ieee 802 . 3 networking standard , the quality indicator process checks a previously described mse signal 82 ( fig1 ) by comparing 324 the mse signal to a previously described snr threshold signal 78 ( fig1 ). if the mse signal is less than or equal to the snr threshold signal , the quality indicator process continues processing by checking 310 the link status signal as previously described . if the mse signal is greater than the snr threshold signal , the quality indicator process turns the link quality indicator led off for a second period of time 326 and then back on 327 for the same period of time . the quality indicator process continues processing by returning to checking the link status signal 310 . in one embodiment of a quality indicator process according to the present invention , the link quality indicator led is turned off for a period of 3 msec and back on for a period of 3 msec in order to cause the link quality indicator led to blink at a high frequency . in another embodiment of a quality indicator process according to the present invention , the on and off periods of the led are different creating a periodic signal with asymmetric on and off periods . although this invention has been described in certain specific embodiments , many additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is therefore to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . thus , the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention to be determined by claims supported by this application and the claim &# 39 ; s equivalents rather than the foregoing description .	7
as used herein , a “ first member ” refers to a first substrate and any peripheral layers deposited on the first substrate , and a “ second member ” refers to a second substrate and any peripheral layers deposited thereon . specifically , a “ second member 1000 ” includes a second substrate 100 . a “ spacer ,” as used herein , is any structure or mechanism used to form or maintain a cell gap between the first and the second members , and is not limited to a particular material , shape , or size . [ 0024 ] fig1 is a plan view showing a member ( second member ) of an lcd apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a cross - sectional view showing a transmissive type lcd apparatus having the second member of fig1 referring to fig1 and 2 , a transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 includes a second member 1000 , a first member 200 and a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the first and second members 1000 and 200 . the second member 1000 includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix configuration . in this exemplary embodiment , a pixel positioned at a position of m column by n row , where n is a natural number greater than 2 and n is a natural number greater than 1 , will be described . the pixel includes a ( m − 1 )- th gate line 145 , mth gate line 131 , nth data line 230 a , a tft 300 and a pixel electrode 420 . a gate pattern is formed on a second substrate 100 . the gate pattern includes the ( m − 1 )- th gate line 145 extending in a first direction d 1 , the mth gate line 131 extending in the first direction d 1 and a gate electrode 110 branching from the mth gate line 131 . in this exemplary embodiment , the ( m − 1 )- th gate line 145 is operated as a first auxiliary electrode 150 of an auxiliary capacitor cst described below . the gate pattern includes a conductive material such as aluminum ( al ), aluminum alloy , molybdenum ( mo ), molybdenum - tungsten alloy ( mow ), chromium ( cr ), or tantalum ( ta ). the gate pattern may consist of a single layer , a double layer or a triple layer . in an exemplary case where the gate pattern is provided with double or triple layers , one layer includes the chromium ( cr ) or the aluminum ( al ) and another layer includes the aluminum ( al ) or the molybdenum ( mo ). a gate insulating layer 170 is formed over the second substrate 100 comprising a silicon nitride ( sinx ) on which the gate pattern is formed . a semiconductor layer 320 and an ohmic contact layer 330 are formed on the gate insulating layer 170 near the gate electrode 110 . a data pattern is formed on the gate insulating layer 170 on which the ohmic contact layer 330 is formed . the data pattern includes the nth data line 230 a extending in a second direction d 2 substantially perpendicular to the first direction d 1 , a source electrode 210 branching from the nth data line 230 a and a drain electrode 310 spaced apart from the source electrode 210 in a predetermined distance . the data pattern further includes a second auxiliary electrode 230 b formed on the second substrate 100 and the gate insulating layer 170 and overlying the first auxiliary electrode 150 . accordingly , the tft 300 having the gate electrode 110 , gate insulating layer 170 , semiconductor layer 132 , ohmic contact layer 133 , source electrode 210 and drain electrode 310 is formed on the second substrate 100 . also , the auxiliary capacitor cst having the first and second auxiliary electrodes 150 and 230 b is formed on the second substrate 100 . an organic layer 370 including a poly - benzocyclobutene and an acrylic resin is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the data pattern is formed . the organic layer 370 is patterned through a photolithography process , so that first and second contact holes 710 and 810 are formed at the organic layer 370 , exposing the drain electrode 310 and the second auxiliary electrode 230 b , respectively . the pixel electrode 420 is electrically connected to the drain electrode 310 through the first contact hole 710 and electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 230 b through the second contact hole 810 . the pixel electrode 420 includes a transparent conductive material , such as indium tin oxide ( hereinafter , referred to as ito ), so as to transmit light provided from a direction of the second member 1000 . the pixel electrode 420 is overlaps a part of the ( m − 1 )- th gate line 145 but does not overlap the nth data line 230 a and the mth gate line 131 , as illustrated in fig1 . the first member 200 includes a common electrode 240 positioned on the surface that is closest to the liquid crystal layer 400 . the common electrode 240 includes ito . the common electrode 240 operates as a liquid crystal capacitor clc with the liquid crystal layer 400 and pixel electrode 420 . the auxiliary capacitor cst is electrically connected to the liquid crystal capacitor clc by connecting the second auxiliary electrode 230 b to the pixel electrode 420 . due to a parasitic capacitance that appears between the gate and source electrodes 110 and 210 of the tft 300 , in general , a voltage signal applied to the pixel electrode 420 may be distorted . the distorted voltage signal is herein referred to as “ kickback voltage .” the kickback voltage sometimes causes a flicker in the transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 . in this exemplary embodiment , since the transsmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 includes the auxiliary capacitor cst electrically connected to the liquid crystal capacitor clc , the transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 may reduce the kickback voltage and increase a voltage holding ratio of the liquid crystal capacitor clc , thereby improving a display quality thereof . in order to uniformly maintain a cell gap between the first and the second members 200 and 1000 , the transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 includes a column spacer 440 a disposed between the first and second members 200 and 1000 . the column spacer 440 a is formed by depositing an organic layer on the common electrode 240 of the first member 200 and patterning the organic layer . the column spacer 440 a is formed on a non - effective display area . as used herein , an area on which the auxiliary capacitor cst is formed is referred to as the “ non - effective display area .” the reason this area is referred to as the “ non - effective display area ” is that light from a light source ( not shown ), such as a backlight assembly disposed under the second member 1000 , is intercepted by the first and second auxiliary electrodes 150 and 230 b . the second auxiliary electrode 230 b and a lower portion of the column spacer 440 a is received in the second contact hole 810 , so that the column spacer 440 a makes contact with the pixel electrode 420 disposed on the second auxiliary electrode 230 b . by forming the column spacer 440 a on the non - effective display area , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 due the presence of the column spacer 440 a can be avoided . also , the column spacer 440 a prevents the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the second member 1000 , for example while being used as a touch screen panel . [ 0040 ] fig3 is a cross - sectional view showing a transmissive type lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig3 the same reference numerals denote the same elements in fig2 and thus the detailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted . referring to fig1 and 3 , a transmissive type lcd apparatus 3000 includes a column spacer 440 a disposed between a first member 200 and a second member 1000 so as to uniformly maintain a constant cell gap between the members . the column spacer 440 a is formed by depositing an organic layer ( not shown ) on a common electrode 240 of the first member 200 and patterning the organic layer . the column spacer 440 a is formed in the non - effective display area on which an auxiliary capacitor cst makes contact with a pixel electrode 420 disposed on an organic layer 370 . as described above , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transmissive type lcd apparatus 2000 due the presence of the column spacer 440 a can be avoided by forming the column spacer 440 a in the non - effective display area . also , the column spacer 440 a prevents the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the second member 1000 , for example while being used as a touch screen panel . [ 0044 ] fig4 is a plan view showing a second substrate of an lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig5 is a cross - sectional view showing a transmissive type lcd apparatus having the second member shown in fig4 . referring to fig4 and 5 , a transmissive type lcd apparatus 6000 includes an alternative second member 5000 , a first member 200 and a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between first and second members 200 and 5000 . the alternative second member 5000 includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix configuration . each of the pixels includes a gate line 130 a , a data line 230 , an auxiliary electrode line 130 b , a tft 300 and a pixel electrode 420 . a gate pattern is formed on an second substrate 100 . the gate pattern includes the gate line 130 a , the auxiliary electrode line 130 b , and a gate electrode 110 of the tft 330 branching from the gate line 130 a . in this exemplary embodiment , the auxiliary electrode line 130 b is operated as a first auxiliary electrode 140 of an auxiliary capacitor cst described below . the auxiliary electrode line 130 b is extended in a same direction as that of the gate line 130 a . a gate insulating layer 170 is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the gate pattern is formed . a semiconductor layer 320 and an ohmic contact layer 330 are successively formed on the gate insulating layer 170 corresponding to the gate electrode 110 . a data pattern is formed on the gate insulating layer 170 on which the semiconductor layer 320 and ohmic contact layer 330 are formed . the data pattern includes the data line 230 a , a source electrode 210 branched from the data line 230 a , and a drain electrode 310 spaced apart from the source electrode 210 in a predetermined distance . the drain electrode 315 is formed on the gate insulating layer 170 , and extends so as to overlap the auxiliary electrode line 130 b and operate as a second auxiliary electrode 313 of the auxiliary capacitor cst . thus , the auxiliary capacitor cst having the first auxiliary electrode 140 of the auxiliary electrode line 130 b and the second auxiliary electrode 313 extending from the drain electrode 315 is completely formed on the second substrate 100 . the alternative second member 5000 includes an organic layer 370 through which a contact hole 800 is formed so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 . a pixel electrode 410 is formed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 exposed through the contact hole 800 and the organic layer 370 . the pixel electrode 410 is electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 and also electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 since the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 . the first member 200 includes a common electrode 240 positioned on the surface that is closest to the liquid crystal layer 400 . the common electrode 240 operates as a liquid crystal capacitor clc with the liquid crystal layer 400 and pixel electrode 420 . the auxiliary capacitor cst is electrically connected to the liquid crystal capacitor clc by connecting the second auxiliary electrode 313 to the pixel electrode 420 . in this exemplary embodiment , since the transsmissive type lcd apparatus 6000 includes the auxiliary capacitor cst electrically connected to the liquid crystal capacitor clc , the transmissive type lcd apparatus 6000 reduces the kickback voltage and increases a voltage holding ratio of the liquid crystal capacitor clc , thereby improving the display quality . in order to uniformly maintain a cell gap between the first and second members 200 and 5000 , the transmissive type lcd apparatus 6000 includes a column spacer 430 a disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 . the column spacer 430 a is formed on a non - effective display area on which the second auxiliary electrode 313 is received in the contact hole 800 , so that the column spacer 430 a makes contact with the pixel electrode 420 disposed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 . that is , the light provided from a light source ( not shown ), such as a backlight assembly disposed under the alternative second member 5000 , is intercepted by the first and second auxiliary electrodes 140 and 313 . thus , an area on which the auxiliary capacitor cst is formed is a non - effective display area . as described above , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transmissive type lcd apparatus 6000 due to the presence of the column spacer 430 a can be avoided by forming the column spacer 430 a in the non - effective display area . also , the column spacer 430 a prevents the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 . [ 0057 ] fig6 is a cross - sectional view showing a transmissive type lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig6 the same reference numerals denote the same elements in fig5 and thus the detailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted . referring to fig6 a transmissive type lcd apparatus 7000 includes a first member 200 , a alternative second member 5000 , a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 and a column spacer 430 b disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 so as to uniformly maintain a cell gap therebetween . the alternative second member 5000 includes a gate electrode 110 , a first auxiliary electrode 140 , a gate insulating layer 170 , a semiconductor layer 320 , an ohmic contact layer 330 , a source electrode 210 , a drain electrode 310 operated as a second auxiliary electrode 313 , an organic layer 370 through which a contact hole 800 is formed so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 , and a pixel electrode 410 formed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 exposed through the contact hole 800 and the organic layer 370 . the pixel electrode 410 is electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 and also electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 since the second auxiliary electrode 313 extends from the drain electrode 315 . the column spacer 430 b is formed by depositing an organic layer ( not shown ) on a common electrode 240 formed on the first member 200 and patterning the organic layer . the column spacer 430 b is formed in a non - effective display area where an auxiliary capacitor cst makes contact with the pixel electrode 410 disposed on the organic layer 370 . particularly , the column spacer 430 b makes contact with the pixel electrode 410 at an upper portion of the contact hole 800 formed on the organic layer 370 . the space in the contact hole 800 that is dosed by the column spacer 430 b usually contains liquid crystals or air . as described above , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transmissive type lcd apparatus 7000 due to the presence of the column spacer 430 b is avoided by forming the column spacer 430 b in the non - effective display area . also , the column spacer 430 b prevents the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 , for example when the transmissive type lcd apparatus 7000 is used as a touch screen device . [ 0064 ] fig7 is a cross - sectional view showing a transflective type lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig7 a transflective type lcd apparatus 8000 includes a alternative second member 5000 , a first member 200 and a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the lower and upper substrates 5000 and 200 . the alternative second member 5000 includes a plurality of pixels arranged on an second substrate 100 in a matrix configuration . each of the pixels includes a tft 300 , a transmissive electrode 411 , a reflective electrode 412 , a first auxiliary electrode 140 , a second auxiliary electrode 313 and an organic layer 371 . the tft 300 having a gate electrode 110 , a source electrode 210 and a drain electrode 315 is formed on the second substrate 100 . also , an auxiliary capacitor cst having the first auxiliary electrode 140 , a gate insulating layer 170 and the second auxiliary electrode 313 is formed while the tft 300 is formed . the organic layer 371 is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the tft 300 and auxiliary capacitor cst are formed . the organic layer 371 has a contact hole 800 so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 . also , the organic layer 371 has an upper surface formed with concave and convex portions , thereby improving a reflectance of the reflective electrode 412 formed on the organic layer 371 . the transmissive and reflective electrodes 411 and 412 are successively formed on the organic layer 371 . the transmissive and reflective electrodes 411 and 412 are electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 . also , the transmissive and reflective electrodes 411 and 412 may be electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 because the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 . the first member 200 includes a black matrix layer 500 and a common electrode 240 . in the lcd device 10000 , the common electrode 240 is positioned on the surface of the first member 200 that is closest to the liquid crystal layer 400 . the liquid layer 400 is interposed between the common electrode 240 and the reflective or transmissive electrodes 412 and 411 . a first liquid crystal capacitor clct is provided between the common electrode 240 and the transmissive electrode 411 and a second liquid crystal capacitor clcr is provided between the common electrode 240 and the reflective electrode 412 . a column spacer 430 a is disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 . a lower portion of the column spacer 430 a is received in the contact hole 800 , so that the column spacer 430 a makes contact with the reflective electrode 412 disposed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 . as described above , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transmissive type lcd apparatus 8000 due to the formation of the column spacer 430 a is avoided by forming the column spacer 430 a in the non - effective display area where the auxiliary capacitor cst is formed . also , the column spacer 430 a prevents the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 when the transmissive type lcd apparatus 8000 is used as a touch screen device . in addition , the black matrix 500 formed on first member 200 is disposed on the non - effective display area corresponding to the column spacer 430 a . the black matrix prevents the column spacer 430 a from being projected onto a screen of the transflective type lcd apparatus 8000 , thereby improving the display quality of the transflective type lcd apparatus 8000 . [ 0074 ] fig8 is a cross - sectional view showing a transflective type lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig8 the same reference numerals denote the same elements in fig7 and thus the detailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted . referring to fig8 a transflective type lcd apparatus 9000 includes a first member 200 , a alternative second member 5000 , a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 , and a column spacer 430 b disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 so as to uniformly maintain a cell gap between the substrates . the alternative second member 5000 includes a gate electrode 110 , a first auxiliary electrode 140 , a gate insulating layer 170 , a semiconductor layer 320 , an ohmic contact layer 330 , a source electrode 210 , a drain electrode 310 operating as a second auxiliary electrode 313 , an organic layer 370 through which a contact hole 800 is formed so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 , and a pixel electrode 410 formed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 exposed through the contact hole 800 and the organic layer 371 . the pixel electrode 410 includes a transmissive electrode 411 and a reflective electrode 412 formed on the transmissive electrode 411 . the pixel electrode 410 is electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 and also electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 because the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 . the column spacer 430 b is formed by depositing an organic layer ( not shown ) on a common electrode 240 formed on the first member 200 and patterning the organic layer . the column spacer 430 b is formed on a non - effective display area where an auxiliary capacitor cst contacts the pixel electrode 410 disposed on the organic layer 370 . particularly , the column spacer 430 b makes contact with the reflective electrode 412 at an upper portion of the contact hole 800 formed on the organic layer 371 . as described above , any reduction in the opening ratio of the transflective type lcd apparatus 9000 due to the presence of the column spacer 430 b is avoided by forming the column spacer 430 b in the non - effective area . the first member 200 includes a black matrix layer 500 disposed on the non - effective display area near the column spacer 430 b . due to the presence of the black matrix layer 500 , the column spacer 430 b is not projected onto a screen of the transflective type lcd apparatus 9000 , thereby improving the display quality of the transflective type lcd apparatus 9000 . also , the transflective type lcd apparatus 9000 may prevent the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 because the column spacer 430 b is formed on the pixel electrode 410 . [ 0083 ] fig9 is a cross - sectional view showing a reflective lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig9 a reflective type lcd apparatus 10000 includes a alternative second member 5000 , a first member 200 and a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the lower and upper substrates 5000 and 200 . the alternative second member 5000 includes a plurality of pixels arranged on an second substrate 100 in a matrix configuration . each of the pixels includes a tft 300 , a reflective electrode 416 , a first auxiliary electrode 140 , a second auxiliary electrode 313 and an organic layer 371 . the tft 300 having a gate electrode 110 , a source electrode 210 and a drain electrode 315 are formed on the second substrate 100 . also , an auxiliary capacitor cst having the first auxiliary electrode 140 , a gate insulating layer 170 and the second auxiliary electrode 313 are formed , e . g . when the tft 300 is formed . the organic layer 371 is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the tft 300 and auxiliary capacitor cst are formed . the organic layer 371 has a contact hole 800 so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 . also , the organic layer 371 has an upper surface formed with concave and convex portions , thereby improving a reflectance of the reflective electrode 416 formed on the organic layer 371 . the reflective electrode 416 is formed on the organic layer 371 and electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 . also , the reflective electrode 416 may be electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 because the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 . the first member 200 includes a black matrix layer 500 and a common electrode 240 . a column spacer 430 a is disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 . a lower portion of the column spacer 430 a is received in the contact hole 800 , so that the column spacer 430 a makes contact with the reflective electrode 416 disposed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 . thus , the reflective type lcd apparatus 10000 may prevent an opening ratio from being lowered due to the column spacer 430 a . also , the reflective type lcd apparatus 10000 may prevent the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 because the column spacer 430 a is formed on the reflective electrode 416 . in addition , the black matrix 500 formed on the first member 200 is positioned to overlie the column spacer 430 a . thus , the column spacer 430 a is not projected onto a screen of the reflective type lcd apparatus 10000 , thereby improving a display quality of the reflective type lcd apparatus 10000 . [ 0092 ] fig1 is a cross - sectional view showing a reflective type lcd apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , the same reference numerals denote the same elements in fig9 and thus the detailed descriptions of the same elements will be omitted . referring to fig1 , a reflective type lcd apparatus 11000 includes a first member 200 , a alternative second member 5000 , a liquid crystal layer 400 interposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 and a column spacer 430 b disposed between the first and second members 200 and 5000 so as to uniformly maintain a cell gap therebetween . the alternative second member 5000 includes a gate electrode 110 , a first auxiliary electrode 140 , a gate insulating layer 170 , a semiconductor layer 320 , an ohmic contact layer 330 , a source electrode 210 , a drain electrode 310 operated as a second auxiliary electrode 313 , an organic layer 371 through which a contact hole 800 is formed so as to expose the second auxiliary electrode 313 and a pixel electrode 416 formed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 exposed through the contact hole 800 and the organic layer 370 . the pixel electrode 416 is electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 and also electrically connected to the drain electrode 315 because the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 . the column spacer 430 b is formed by depositing an organic layer ( not shown ) on a common electrode 240 formed on the first member 200 and patterning the organic layer . the column spacer 430 b is formed on a non - effective display area where an auxiliary capacitor cst having the first and second auxiliary electrodes 140 and 313 makes contact with the pixel electrode 416 disposed on the organic layer 371 . as described above , the column spacer 430 b is formed on the non - effective display area to prevent any reduction of the opening ratio in the reflective type lcd apparatus 11000 . the first member 200 includes a black matrix layer 500 disposed on the non - effective display area overlying the column spacer 430 b . the black matrix layer 500 prevents the column spacer 430 b from being projected onto a screen of the reflective type lcd apparatus 11000 , thereby improving a display quality of the reflective type lcd apparatus 11000 . also , the reflective type lcd apparatus 11000 may prevent the first member 200 from being pushed down toward the alternative second member 5000 because the column spacer 430 b is formed on the pixel electrode 416 . [ 0101 ] fig1 is a cross - sectional view showing an lcd apparatus having a plurality of column spacers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , an lcd apparatus 600 includes a first member 200 , a second member 1000 combined with the first member 200 , a sealant 700 disposed between the upper and lower substrate 200 and 1000 to hold the first and second members 200 and 1000 together , and a plurality of column spacer 430 disposed between the first and second members 200 and 1000 to uniformly maintain a cell gap between the substrates . the lcd apparatus 600 is divided into a display area da where a plurality of pixels are formed and a peripheral area pa surrounding the display area da . the sealant 700 is formed between the first and second members 200 and 1000 in the peripheral area pa . the column spacers 430 are disposed between the first and second members 200 and 1000 in the display area da . a plurality of layers other than the spacers , such as an insulating layer , an electrode layer or the like , are formed in the display area da . the column spacers 430 are also formed on the layers . since the plurality of layers are formed in the display area but not in the peripheral area , each of the column spacers 430 has a length smaller than a length of the sealant 700 . as shown in fig1 , the distance between the column spacers 430 is not constant . in the example shown , the distance between two immediately neighboring spacers 430 decreases as the center of the second member 1000 is approached . thus , generally , the spacers 430 are positioned doser together farther away from the peripheral area pa . the reason for this arrangement is that the column spacers 430 disposed in an area of the display area da near the peripheral area pa receive “ help ” from the sealant 700 in absorbing an impact applied to an outer portion of the display area da . when the contribution from the sealant 700 is taken into account , fewer column spacers 430 are needed to absorb the same strength of force . thus , the column spacers 430 near the peripheral area pa can be sparsely arranged . in contrast , the column spacers 430 near the center portion of the display area da do not receive much “ help ” from the sealant 700 , and have to absorb the impact by themselves . thus , more column spacers 430 are needed to absorb the same strength of force near the center portion of the substrate , calling for a denser arrangement of the spacers 430 . [ 0106 ] fig1 a to 12 f illustrate a method of manufacturing an lcd apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 a , a metal layer , such as aluminum or aluminum alloy , is deposited on an second substrate 100 and patterned through a first mask process to form a first auxiliary electrode 140 . the first auxiliary electrode 140 is formed separately from a gate line or a data line described below . referring to fig1 b , a metal layer containing chromium ( cr ), molybdenum ( mo ), tantalum ( ta ) or antimony ( sb ) is deposited on the second substrate 100 and patterned through a second mask process to form a gate electrode 110 and a gate line ( not shown ). referring to fig1 c , a gate insulating layer 170 containing an inorganic material is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the gate electrode 110 and first auxiliary electrode 140 are formed . then , an intrinsic semiconductor , such as amorphous silicon , and an extrinsic semiconductor doped with impurities are successively deposited on the gate insulating layer 170 . the extrinsic and intrinsic semiconductors are sequentially patterned through a third mask process to form an ohmic contact layer 330 and a semiconductor layer 320 . referring to fig1 d , a metal layer containing chromium is formed over the second substrate 100 and patterned through a fourth mask process to form a source electrode 210 , a drain electrode 315 , a second auxiliary electrode 313 and a data line ( not shown ). the source electrode 210 is overlapped with an end of the gate electrode 110 and the drain electrode 315 is overlapped with another end of the gate electrode 110 , thereby forming a tft 3000 on the second substrate 100 . the second auxiliary electrode 313 is an extension of the drain electrode 315 so as to be overlapped with the first auxiliary electrode 140 . the first auxiliary electrode 140 , second auxiliary electrode 313 and gate insulating layer formed between the first and second auxiliary electrodes 140 and 313 are operated as an auxiliary capacitor cst . referring to fig1 e , an organic layer 370 containing an organic insulating material , such as poly - benzocyclobutene , is formed over the second substrate 100 on which the tft 300 and auxiliary capacitor cst are formed . the organic layer 370 is patterned through a fifth mask process to form a contact hole 800 , which partially exposes the second auxiliary electrode 313 . referring to fig1 f , an ito is deposited on the organic layer 370 and patterned through a sixth mask process to form a pixel electrode 410 . the pixel electrode 410 is electrically connected to the second auxiliary electrode 313 through the contact hole 800 . as shown in fig5 a column spacer 430 a is formed overlying the auxiliary capacitor cst . that is , a lower portion of the column spacer 430 a is received in the contact hole 800 so that the column spacer 430 a makes contact with the pixel electrode 410 disposed on the second auxiliary electrode 313 . the column spacer 430 b may make contact with the pixel electrode 410 at an upper portion of the contact hole 800 so as to be supported by the pixel electrode 410 as shown in fig6 . as described above , when the column spacers 430 a and 430 b are formed on a non - effective display area on which the auxiliary capacitor cst is formed , the lcd apparatus shown in fig1 a to 12 f may prevent an opening ratio from being lowered due to the column spacers 430 a and 430 b . also , the lcd apparatus shown in fig1 a to 12 f may prevent the first member 200 ( see fig5 or 6 ) from being pushed down or bending toward the lower substrate 100 because the column spacers 430 a and 430 b are formed on the pixel electrode 410 . although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described , it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to these exemplary embodiments but various changes and modifications can be made by one ordinary skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed .	6
a server generally receives a stream of random subrequests for data from clients over a network . the task of the server is to fetch the data from its storage and return it to the clients . a large amount of time is expended to complete this task due to the small size and shuffled nature of the subrequests , which require numerous mechanical disk accesses to different regions of the physical storage to retrieve , without returning much of the original client request . server performance would significantly improve if the number of mechanical disk accesses needed to retrieve data requested by clients could be reduced . the present invention , referred to as dataflood , boosts the server performance in this manner . dataflood effectively unshuffles the small subrequests received over the network to reconstruct an approximation of the larger original client requests , thereby reducing the number of mechanical disk accesses . for example , a process in a remote windows client may be issuing 1 mbyte requests to read a 1 gbyte remote file sequentially from a server and each 1 mbyte request gets chopped by the network protocols into 17 60 kbyte subrequests and one 4 kbyte subrequest . dataflood effectively finds the 18 subrequests for this particular process in the mixture consisting of all the subrequests arriving from all of the remote clients , puts the subrequests back together into the original 1 mbyte client request , and sends the larger recombined request to the storage . fig1 shows an example of unshuffling , or recombining , the subrequests . client processes x , y , and z issue requests for data over the network 150 . the requests are chopped into subrequests and the subrequests are mixed together on the network 150 . each small rectangular block in fig1 represents a subrequest and the pattern on each of the blocks correspond to the client process x , y , or z making the request . dataflood receives the shuffled subrequests . inside dataflood , a component 110 effectively recombines the small subrequests into the longer original request before fetching the data from the physical storage 190 . by fetching larger requests , mechanical accesses , such as positioning of the read / write head 195 , are reduced . though fig1 only shows three client processes , dataflood is capable of managing hundreds of concurrent request streams . the client processes x , y , and z may originate from any number of clients , e . g . a single client can create all three processes or three separate clients can each create a single process . pulling the individual client subrequests out of the mixture of subrequests that arrives at the server and recombining them into the original client requests is a daunting task . however , an excellent approximation of this operation can be achieved by extending one or more of the client subrequests along the logical path of the target file , that is , along the file path . this approximation works because the subrequests were created by chopping the original client request into many smaller but contiguous pieces , so extrapolating one subrequest approximates the original file request to a large degree . this approximate reconstruction of the original client request is performed by a component 110 of dataflood . it is important to note that the extension of the subrequest is accomplished at the file level . dataflood is located in the operating system on top of the file system , therefore it operates on file data rather than physical disk blocks . because dataflood extends subrequests along the file path it is not thwarted by segmenting that may occur lower at the physical disk level . for example , if a file is broken into physical chunks a , b , and c on the storage disks , where these chunks are non - contiguous on the physical disk and perhaps even spread across multiple physical disks , the single extended file request will automatically fetch these three separate physical chunks , while if the disk controller extends the first chunk along the physical surface , the result will not include the other two chunks . fig2 shows the location of dataflood at the top of the file system in an example computer file server system . to increase the probability that the data being read ahead into the next dataflood buffer is relevant to the client , dataflood contains intelligence that senses the direction a client process is moving through a file and extends the request in that direction . in other words , an analysis of the direction that past subrequests are making through the file enables dataflood to wisely choose the forward or the backward direction for the file request extension . in combination with the file - level request extension , dataflood also builds a double - buffered path for each file being requested through dataflood . the combination of the file read ahead and the double - buffered path that defines dataflood is represented in fig1 by the dashed lines 100 . a double - buffered path for client process x is represented by the pair of buffers ax and bx . pairs of buffers ay - by and az - bz are also shown for client processes y and z , respectively . in one embodiment of dataflood the two buffers used to double - buffer each file are dynamically assigned from a pool of free buffers as needed . in this embodiment , when a buffer has been exhausted it is released back to the pool of free buffers . as one of ordinary skill in the art could appreciate , other buffer schemes would still effectively operate the present invention , e . g . a fixed pair of buffers can be assigned to a file and the buffers alternated , or more than two buffers can be used for each file . dataflood buffers are significantly larger than the typical request sent to the file system . in one embodiment , the buffers are two mbytes or approximately thirty four times larger than the typical 60 kbyte subrequest , though any large - sized buffers could be used . a double - buffered path boosts throughput of a server because the emptying of one buffer and the filling of the other buffer overlap in time . in other words , while dataflood is satisfying a series of network subrequests immediately out of one dataflood buffer , with no wait for any disk access , it is also filling a second dataflood buffer from the storage system with the next data in the file . for example , in fig1 , buffers bz , ay , and bx are satisfying network subrequests 130 immediately without any disk wait while the disk is filling buffer az 120 . at the moment in time that fig1 represents , buffers by and ax have already been filled from the disk and are waiting to be used as soon as soon as the alternate buffers , bx and ay , have been emptied by network subrequests . because the emptying of one buffer by a client process and the filling of the alternate buffer by the storage system overlap in time , the client process waits only for the longer of the two transfers rather than for the sum of the amounts of time for the completion of the two transfers . it normally takes longer to fill a dataflood buffer than to empty one so server throughput with dataflood is normally limited by the speed at which a server storage system can fill the large dataflood buffers . with or without dataflood , remote clients normally see the storage system on the server as the bottleneck . with dataflood in the server , this limit is the rate at which the large dataflood buffers can be filled rather than the rate at which the random shorter requests arriving off the network can be filled and then delivered through a single - buffered path to the client . this difference can be as much as six fold . the dataflood method includes intelligence to prune the population of processes currently being serviced by dataflood by dropping a subset of the processes that would not benefit from dataflood . this intelligence analyzes past subrequests of a process to obtain a measure of randomness to determine whether or not future activity by this process is likely to be helped by dataflood . the primary criteria for making this decision is the length of the original requests the client process is making and how contiguous these requests are . processes making primarily short random requests are locked out of the dataflood process population and their requests are thereafter passed around dataflood to the file system for service . processes that get locked out are periodically sampled again and may be let back into the dataflood population if their activity profile changes . the pruning steps and the operation of passing unqualified subrequests through to the file system have virtually no overhead , therefore dataflood has no noticeable effect on loads which may not benefit from its operations . the dataflood method , including directional file extensions , process pruning , and double - buffered paths with large buffers , applies to local application data requests as well as to remote client requests . as shown in fig2 , file requests may arrive at dataflood from local applications within the server as well as from the network . server applications that make relatively small requests to the file system can , therefore , be served well by dataflood . these local applications may receive their requests from remote clients through sockets or other network protocols that do not directly access the server file system . the location of dataflood on top of the file system in the operating system makes dataflood independent of the source of the file request . the request may come in over an ethernet , fibre channel or any other network hardware and be using any network file system protocol , such as cifs or nfs . the network stack 220 adapts all of these possibilities to file system requests that dataflood can work with . requests could also come from internal applications running in the server . this location of dataflood also allows it to operate regardless of the eventual physical storage target of the request ( local scsi , san , or iscsi ). the file server code below dataflood converts the file request from dataflood to a disk request that works with any physical disk system attached to the server . fig2 also shows that dataflood is not restricted to a particular operating system . the dataflood method will work in any operating system , including windows , linux , solaris , or the proprietary code of a nas box . it is important to note that just as dataflood works with local applications in a server , the dataflood method can be loaded into and used to benefit any computer that is running applications that depend on the computer &# 39 ; s local storage for data . though dataflood works best for processes that are reading large files sequentially , surprisingly , dataflood boosts throughput of a server even when a mixture of sequential and random activity exists . when only sequential data is being accessed on a disk , seeks do not normally occur because the spinning disk continues to bring the next data under the disk head as long as the sequential data is laid out sequentially on the disks . random requests upset this situation by intermittently pulling the disk arm away from the sequential data so that consecutive requests for the sequential data now do require a seek to get back to the location of the sequential data . with dataflood the sequential data on the disk quickly migrates to the dataflood buffers , where it is again accessed without seeks . dataflood typically boosts the server throughput by a factor of six when there is a mixture of random and sequential client read requests . requiring that clients or applications exhibit some sequential activity for dataflood to be able to deliver its performance does not seriously limit the applicability of dataflood because sequential activity is so common today . today , file servers store a large amount media types of information , including medical images , satellite images , consumer digital camera images , video files , etc ., which are sequential by nature . note that the emerging 10 gigabit ethernet market also depends on this sequential nature for data accesses since servers pelted by short random requests will not benefit from a faster network , client time being dominated then by seek times . a preferred embodiment of the present method includes the following steps , which are also shown by fig3 as a flow chart . step 1 : read request arrives at dataflood . the request is either a subrequest from the network or a request directly from an application in the server step 2 : if the requested data is not in any of the dataflood buffers , fill a free buffer with the requested data plus the data following this data in the file . this read is called an “ initial ” read . step 3 : the requested data is now in a buffer ; it was either there originally or it was brought into a free buffer in step 2 . return the requested data . step 4 : if the request history indicates that this is the third consecutive hit ( request for data ) to this buffer , launch a read request for the “ next ” buffer &# 39 ; s worth of file data to a free buffer and assign this buffer to the file , where “ next ” may be forward or backward depending on the observed motion of the process through the file . this read from the storage is called a “ continuation read .” while a “ third consecutive hit ” is used in step 4 and in fig3 , dataflood can be tuned for certain loads to work better if the continuation read is triggered by two , four , or any number of consecutive hits to the current buffer . a good choice of the number of consecutive hits would correctly indicate that the requesting process is accessing data in the current buffer and will probably make use of a next buffer if it is filled . note that the continuation read in step 4 that fills a buffer normally occurs at the same time that other subrequests from the client process are being serviced immediately from an already - filled buffer without making any disk access . below is a description of an exemplary windows 2003 server implemented with an embodiment of dataflood . dataflood is loaded into windows as a “ filter ” using the standard , microsoft documented installable file system ( ifs ) interface . this load procedure runs during bootup and leaves dataflood in the driver stack just above the file systems , as shown in fig2 . this position allows dataflood to operate at the file level rather than at the disk level and insulates dataflood from the type of network used to deliver the request and the type of storage attached to the server . at this location dataflood receives all requests sent to the file system before the file system sees them and may either satisfy the request from its own buffers or make its own request to the file system for the requested data plus enough data to fill a dataflood buffer . during bootup dataflood makes system calls to mmallocatepagesformdl ( ) to allocate the memory from the system that it will use for the buffers . the installation process for dataflood creates an area in the windows registry for dataflood that holds the amount of memory dataflood may take from the system for its buffers . during bootup this value is read from the registry and used to determine the amount of memory to request from the system . typically , 800 mbytes is requested for use by dataflood . note that while fig3 shows only 12 buffers in the buffers block 330 , if dataflood were using 800 mbytes and the dataflood buffers were 2 mbytes each , buffer block 330 would contain 400 buffers . read requests that are sent to the windows file system may be of three types , therefore three separate read service routines exist in the windows version of dataflood . the difference between these read service routines is not material to the dataflood implementation . each style of windows read presents its request parameters differently and expects data and status to be returned in a different way . each of the dataflood read service routines works within the format of the read it services , but they all call a common findrequest routine within dataflood , which contains the important dataflood search and fill operations . fig4 is a flow chart of the findrequest routine . findrequest is a dataflood process called by all read service routines that searches the dataflood buffers for the requested data and makes the necessary calls to the file system to bring new data into the dataflood buffers . findrequest normally returns with pointers to the requested data . if the requested data could not be obtained , a message is returned and the request is sent around dataflood directly to the file system . the buffers themselves contain only data . each buffer , however , has a bufhdr structure associated with it that describes the source of the data residing in the buffer and contains statistics about usage of the buffer that help dataflood prune the list of used buffers , whereby it returns buffers no longer judged useful to a free list of buffers . dataflood does not implement a cache ; once data in a buffer has been read , dataflood tries to free the buffer as quickly as possible . caches , on the other hand , hold onto data in anticipation of repeated hits . filecontrolblock — a structure containing various parameters related to the file being accessed , including a buflist head , which points to a linked list of buffers holding data for this file . bufhdrsarray — an array with empty slots for bufhdrs . filling this array is the way findrequest returns pointers to the requested data . length — a parameter indicating the number of bytes being requested . offset — a parameter indicating the offset from the beginning of the file to the beginning of the requested data . ptr — a pointer that works down through the file &# 39 ; s buflist workinglength — a variable , initialized at the beginning of the call with length , passed in and reduced by the amount of data found in the buffers as findrequest locates the requested data . as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate , various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made or otherwise implemented without departing from the principles of the present invention , e . g . the windows server could be replaced with another computer file server and read requests could be replaced by write requests . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents .	6
in the various figures like parts are referred to by like numbers . referring to the drawings and more particularly to fig1 the rod end bearing for use on aircraft includes a rotatable inner ring 10 having rolling element raceways 12 and 14 around its outside surface . a stationary outer ring 16 surrounds the rotatable inner ring 10 . the inside surface of the stationary outer ring has a larger diameter than the diameter of the outside surface of the rotatable inner ring , thus providing an annular space separating the inner and outer rings . a first set of rolling elements 18 is located in the annular space separating the inner and outer rings and are in rolling contact with the inner ring rolling element raceway 12 and the inside surface of the outer ring 16 . a second set of rolling elements 20 is located in the annular space separating the inner and outer rings and in rolling contact with the inner ring ball raceway 14 and the inside surface of the outer ring 16 . although the illustrated embodiment includes two rows of rolling elements within two raceways , other configurations with one or more rows of rolling elements may be used . the rolling elements may be balls , as illustrated , or rollers of cylindrical or other configurations . the integral shank may be solid or internally drilled and threaded as illustrated . as seen in fig1 and fig2 the outer ring has an integral shank 22 . the outer ring 16 with its integral shank 22 is made of a low carbon martensitic stainless steel . preferably the low carbon martensitic stainless steel has from 0 . 1 weight percent to 0 . 3 weight percent carbon and from 10 weight percent to 12 weight percent chromium . other alloys with up to 18 weight percent chromium may also be used . the inside surface 24 ( see fig3 ) and the sub - surface zone 26 have been hardened by a nitriding process . the from 10 weight percent to 18 weight percent chromium makes the shank and the non - hardened portion of the outer ring resistive to corrosion . normally , alloys with less than about 10 weight percent chromium lack sufficient corrosion resistance . it has been found that the use of the low carbon stainless steel base material and the use of nitrogen to achieve high hardness in the rolling contact zone provide a better corrosion resistance than the conventional process of making rod end bearings using a higher carbon content such as 1 weight percent carbon . also , the conventionally used carburizing , hardening , and tempering are eliminated . also , the nitriding is performed at a relatively low temperature ( 850 degrees f .- 1200 degrees f .) so distortion due to this process is minimal allowing less grinding stock on the outer ring . in carrying out the process of hardening the desired portion of the outer ring , the areas of the outer ring and shank which you do not want to harden can be masked by many conventional ways known in the art for masking materials such as by putting a copper plate on the areas which you do not want to harden . thus , the nitriding process will only harden the unmasked area ; this area , of course , being the appropriate portions of the outer ring inside surface to provide hardened ball raceways .	5
fig1 shows a preferred embodiment of a device according to the present invention for controlling a fuel - metering device controlled by a solenoid valve . one end of a load 100 , for example an electromagnetic load , is connected to a voltage supply device ( ubat ). the second end of the load 100 is connected to ground via a switch 110 and a sensor 145 . the sensor 145 is connected to an analysis circuit 140 . the switch 110 is preferably implemented with a field - effect transistor . voltage - current converters 421 and 422 tap off the voltage values present at the ends of the load 100 . the voltage - current converters 421 and 422 provide currents i h and i l , respectively , to a block 400 . the block 400 is connected to a source of current 450 with a reference voltage v cc . an output of the block 400 is connected via a gate resistor 423 to the gate of the field - effect transistor 110 . the block 400 compares the currents i h and i l with the desired current i set and provides a control current i g for action on the switch 110 , preferably in accordance with the following formula : fig2 shows the circuit for block 400 in detail . parts which have already been described in fig1 are provided with corresponding reference numerals in fig2 . ohmic resistors 421 and 422 are used as voltage - current converters in the preferred embodiment shown in fig2 . the voltage - current converters 421 and 422 act on the block 400 , which includes a first current balancing circuit 410 and a second current balancing circuit 420 . the voltage - current converters 421 and 422 feed currents to the first current balancing circuit 410 . the first current balancing circuit 410 is , in turn , connected to the second current balancing circuit 420 . the second current balancing circuit 420 is connected via a gate resistor 423 to the gate of the field - effect transistor 110 . by a current balancing circuit there is ordinarily understood the connecting together of two semiconductor elements in such a manner that a current through the one semiconductor element results in a corresponding or proportional current through the other semiconductor element . if two transistors are used for a current balancing circuit , the two contact gaps of the transistor form two current paths . in the case of the first current balancing circuit 410 , a transistor 440 serves as a second current path and a transistor 445 serves as a first current path . the potentials at the two ends of the load 100 are tapped off via the two resistors 421 and 422 . the first resistor 421 is connected via a junction point 449 with the collector of the transistor 440 of the second current path of the first current balancing circuit 410 . the second resistor 422 is connected via a junction point 448 with the collector of the transistor 445 of the first current path of the first current balancing circuit 410 . the base of the transistor 440 and the base of the transistor 445 are connected via the junction point 446 . the point 446 is also connected to the junction point 448 . in the case of the second current balancing circuit 420 , a transistor 430 forms the first current path . the collector of the transistor 430 is connected to the junction point 449 via the junction point 438 . a transistor 435 forms the second current path . the base of the transistor 430 is connected to the base of the transistor 435 and to the junction point 436 . this junction point 436 is also connected to the junction point 438 . the collector - emitter current of the transistor 430 is impressed upon the transistor 435 . the second current path of the second current balancing circuit 420 is connected via a source of current 450 to a reference voltage v cc . the collector of the transistor 435 is connected , via the junction point 439 , to the source of current 450 , to the gate resistor 423 and thus to the gate of the field - effect transistor 110 . the device according to the present invention operates as a voltage regulator in the following manner . the voltage values at the load 100 are transformed into currents by the resistors 421 and 422 . the first current balancing circuit 410 forms the difference between the two currents . this actual current represents a measure of the voltage drop across the load . this actual current acts on the first current path of the second current balancing circuit 420 . the actual current is balanced and compared with the desired current which is supplied by the source of current 450 . the desired current , supplied by the source of current 450 , serves as a setpoint . the difference current between the desired current and the actual current acts on the gate of the field - effect transistor . the desired current is selected so that a current which corresponds to the desired value supplied by the source of current 450 flows through the second path of the current balancing circuit 420 in steady state . if these two currents are equal , i . e . if the voltage drop across the load 100 corresponds to the desired voltage , then no gate current flows and the switch remains in its position . if the voltage drop across the load 100 is too high , then a correspondingly higher current flows through the current balancing circuit , which , in its turn , causes the gate to be unloaded and the switch blocked . this causes the voltage over the load 100 to drop . the same is true if the voltage at the load assumes too small a value . in such case , too small a current flows through the current balancing circuit and the gate is loaded via the gate current . in corresponding fashion , the field - effect transistor becomes conductive and permits a stronger flow of current through the load . the following procedure according to the present invention is employed . the voltage which is to be regulated at the load 100 is converted into a current by the voltage - current converters 421 and 422 and the current balancing circuit 410 . the current balancing circuit 420 adjusts the voltage drop across the load to the desired current . this takes place in the manner that the current supplied by the first current balancing circuit 410 is balanced and subtracted at the junction point 439 from the desired current . this difference current is used to control the field - effect transistor . in other words , the current changes the gate loading and thus the condition of the field - effect transistor . the voltage regulation is in steady state when the current established in the second current path is equal to the current supplied by the source of current 450 . in order to influence the condition of the gate loading and thus the condition of the field - effect transistor , only very small currents are required . the second current balancing circuit serves to adapt the actual current to this current level . as an alternative , it is possible to compare the actual current directly with the desired current . in such case , the difference current would be fed as input variable to the second current balancing circuit . the current provided by the source of current 450 corresponds to the voltage dropping off across the load . by changing the value of the current , the voltage on the load can be directly controlled . there is a fixed , preferably proportional relationship between the current supplied by the source of current 450 and the voltage drop across the load . therefore , a variable preset setpoint is possible for the voltage drop across the load . the second current balancing circuit 420 operates substantially as a controller with proportional behavior . due to the capacitances between gate and source and / or between gate and drain of the field - effect transistor 110 , there is furthermore obtained an integral behavior of the current control . the dynamic response of the controller is determined essentially by the source of current 450 and the capacitances of the field - effect transistor 110 . the dynamic response can therefore be controlled very easily . since no operational amplifier is used , there are no problems as to stability , i . e . the regulator does not tend to oscillate . by the use of the current balancing circuits 410 and 420 , the expense for parts is considerably reduced as compared with an embodiment employing operational amplifiers . furthermore , the expense for the application of the regulator is reduced , since the control parameters need not be set . the circuit shown in fig1 and 2 , and particularly the current balancing circuits 410 and 420 , can be easily integrated . all measurement values are converted directly into currents . this affords the advantage that there are no high voltages at the input of the integrated circuit . a high common - mode rejection is made possible by the voltage - current converter . based on the current flowing through the solenoid valve 100 , the analysis circuit 140 determines the time when the armature of the solenoid valve through which current is flowing has reached its end position . the temporal characteristic of the current is evaluated at a constant voltage as to whether this temporal characteristic has a bend or a substantial change in the differential coefficient of the current . during the evaluation of the current and / or during the determination of the switching instant , the voltage on the solenoid valve can be regulated to a constant value by means of the device according to the present invention .	5
the posterior stabilized knee replacement 100 consists of a femoral component 200 , a bearing 300 , a control arm assembly 400 and a tibial platform 500 as shown in fig1 . the femoral component 200 , as shown in fig2 and 3 , contains a cam box 201 with box sidewalls 202 and femoral cam 203 . the femoral cam 203 includes a cam surface 204 that faces inferiorly at full extension , as shown in fig1 . in the embodiment of fig1 - 19 , the femoral cam surface 204 is a single concave surface . in other embodiments , the cam surface could be a compound curve with convex surfaces separated by a concave surface . the cam box 201 also includes an anterior wall 211 . the femoral component 200 is similar to that described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 702 , 466 except for the addition of the cam box 201 detail and a modular post for accepting an extensions to provide enhanced fixation . more particularly , the femoral component 200 includes a pair of convex condyles 206 that face inferiorly for articular bearing engagement with the bearing 300 , as explained below . the bearing 300 , as shown in fig4 - 6 , contains a posterior notch 301 , a dovetail guide slot 302 and a stop recess 303 with a bearing stop surface 304 . the control arm assembly 400 , as shown in fig7 - 9 , comprises a control arm 410 , a post 420 and a conical bearing 430 . the post 420 has medial and lateral side surfaces 421 , an inferior recess 422 , a post cam surface 423 and an anterior stop surface 424 . the control arm 410 comprises a post support pin 412 , a dovetail guide 413 , a conical bearing support 414 , a control arm boss 415 with control arm stop surfaces 416 and a stop pin 417 . the post 420 and conical bearing 403 preferably are formed from plastic and are assembled to the control arm 410 by pressing them on the post support pin 412 and conical bearing support 414 respectively . during assembly the inferior recess 422 of the post 420 engages the boss sidewalls 417 of the control arm 410 to prevent rotation of the post 420 on the post support pin 412 . the tibial platform 500 has a superior bearing surface 501 and contains a conical hole 502 into which the conical bearing 403 of the control arm assembly 400 is placed on implantation . the tibial platform 500 can be the same as that described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 702 , 466 . the embodiment shown here is a version used where an extension is added to the distal end of the platform to enhance fixation where needed . the femoral component 200 , the control arm 410 and tibial platform 500 preferably are made of titanium alloy coated with ultracoat ® tin coating as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 702 , 448 . however , these components can also be made of co — cr alloy . the bearing 300 , post 420 and conical bearing 403 preferably are made of uhmwpe . implantation is illustrated in fig1 - 14 . the tibial platform 500 is implanted into the tibia 600 and the femoral component assembly 900 consisting of the femoral component 200 with an attached extension 800 is inserted onto the femur 1000 in the usual fashion . the dovetail guide slot 302 of bearing 300 is engaged with the dovetail guide 413 of the control arm assembly 400 to produce a subassembly 350 as shown in fig1 . the subassembly 350 then is assembled onto the tibial platform 500 as shown in fig1 and 13 with the knee 700 flexed to about 100 °. the bearing 300 then is pressed digitally in a posterior direction until the bearing 300 is seated under the femoral component as shown in fig1 and 14 . there are two means of valgus - varus stability . under load bearing conditions the normal compressive load will press the femoral condyles 206 against the matching articular bearing surfaces 310 . the match is such that under compression any rotation of the femoral component 200 , in the plane of fig1 must occur around an axis 207 through the center of curvature 208 of the femoral condyle 206 . rotation about axis 207 produces impingement between the medial and lateral surfaces 421 and box sidewalls 202 . this contact produces a reaction force that resists any valgus - varus moment applied to the joint . thus , bending of the post 420 and post support pin 412 need not occur to resist the applied moment . the outer medial and lateral side surfaces 421 may be made to slope outward distal so as to increase contact area with cam box 201 . during non - load bearing phases where any valgus - varus moment is quite small , the post may be subject to small bending loads since joint compression may not occur . the post support pin 412 must be strong enough in bending to resist such moments . the cooperative action of the cam box 201 and post cam surface 423 are illustrated in fig1 - 21 . these figures show the outer posterior condyle 206 of the femoral component 200 broken away and the bearing in cross - section so as to show the action of the cam surfaces and the posterior bearing stop means . in full extension , as shown in fig1 , the cam box surface 204 and post cam surface 423 need not be in contact . at such flexion angles they do not act to prevent anterior - posterior dislocation in the absence of load bearing . under load bearing the shape of the femoral articular surface 210 pressing against the tibial articular surface 310 provides stability and position . as flexion progresses , as shown in fig1 - 21 , the anterior wall 211 of the box cam 201 of the femoral component 200 moves away from the post 420 of the control arm assembly 400 . this allows play or translation , as limited by various surfaces of the cam box 201 and post 420 , the stop pin 417 and stop recess 303 or the stop surfaces 304 and 416 . the femoral cam surface 204 will engage the post cam surface 423 at about 45 °. at flexion below 45 ° the post cam surface 423 plays no role in providing roll back . roll back up to about 7 . 5 mm nevertheless can occur at such low flexion with the subject invention . this roll back can be generated by the action of tension in the patella tendon , which tends to pull the tibia anteriorly . the 7 . 5 mm play allowed is relatively normal and certainly less than the play that is present in most current prosthetic knee designs . translation motion of the bearing 300 is limited to about 7 . 5 mm and roll back after about 120 ° of flexion produces some acceptable amount of climb so as to limit excess posterior motion of the bearing 300 , which might otherwise produce impingement with posterior structures of the knee , thereby inhibiting flexion . fig1 - 21 show that at the full illustrated range of flexion angles , the contact between the femoral cam 203 and the post cam surface 423 is always concave - to - convex , thus allowing for moderate contact stress . this differs from convex - to - convex or convex - to - planar contact which would produce substantially higher contact stresses . fig2 shows that the illustrated embodiment enables 155 ° of flexion . this value is significantly greater then needed for most western peoples , and is sufficient for deflection preferred by asian people where sitting style may require high degrees of flexion . the cooperative action of the box cam 201 and post cam surface 423 for an alternate embodiment are illustrated in fig2 - 31 . in full extension , as shown in fig2 , the box cam surface 204 and post cam surface 423 need not be in contact . at such flexion angles they do not act to prevent anterior - posterior dislocation in the absence of load bearing , as is the case in the first embodiment . under load bearing the shape of the femoral articular surface 210 pressing against the tibial articular surface 310 provides stability and position as shown in fig2 . full extension in the normal knee also produces anterior - posterior stability due to the tightening action of the cruciate ligaments at full extension . thus this design produces normal full extension stability against translation . as shown in fig2 there is no anterior - posterior slop in full extension since the femoral component and bearing are trapped between the contact of post face 424 and wall 211 and the contact of stop pin 417 and bearing stop surface 304 . as flexion progresses , as shown in fig2 , wall 211 moves away from the post 420 . this allows “ slop ” or translation as limited by various surfaces of the cam box 201 and post 420 , or stop pin 417 and bearing stop surface 304 or stop surfaces 415 and 306 . at flexion below 35 ° the post cam surface 423 plays no role in providing rollback . rollback up to about 7 . 5 mm can still , however , occur at such low flexion with the disclosed embodiment as is shown in fig2 . ( all distances given are for the size 3 ( standard ) size knee . other size distances are proportional .) this rollback can be generated by the action of the tension in the patella tendon , which tends to pull the tibia anteriorly when it is acting . the 7 . 5 mm of play allowed is only moderately in excess of normal ( 0 - 5 mm ) and certainly less than that present in most current knee designs . translation motion of the bearing is limited to about 7 . 5 mm and rollback after about 75 ° of flexion produces some small , admissible amount of climb so as to limit excess posterior motion of the bearing . this excess posterior motion could increase impingement with posterior structures of the knee inhibiting flexion . as flexion progresses further , as shown in fig2 - 31 , the box cam surface 204 will engage the post cam surface 423 at about 35 ° if the femur has not moved posteriorly as the result of muscle , or other , forces . flexion beyond 35 ° will then force the femoral component 200 posteriorly as shown in fig2 . the compressive force on the bearing and its concave shape of its articulating surface will cause the bearing 300 to move posteriorly with the contact point between femoral component 200 and the bearing 300 . this posterior movement , or femoral rollback , improves quadriceps effectiveness as is well known . this rollback is present for normal load bearing activity likely to be performed by a knee replacement patient requiring a posterior stabilizer device . at 45 ° to 60 ° rollback is about 6 . 5 mm , at 90 ° rollback is about 9 . 5 mm and at 120 ° about 10 . 5 mm . at the maximum flexion of 162 ° rollback is also maximum and is about 13 mm . slightly beyond 75 ° of flexion it may be desirable to prevent additional posterior motion of the bearing to prevent this motion from being excessive . avoiding this excessive motion avoids the slop associated with it and also reduces impingement between the posterior aspect 305 of the bearing and posterior tissues , which may inhibit flexion . this is accomplished in this embodiment by having stop surface 415 engage posterior stop surface 306 as shown in fig2 . additional rollback would then be accompanied by some “ climb ” of the femoral component over the articular surface of the bearing . in the embodiment here this effect is small . at 90 ° of flexion there is about 2 mm posterior translation of the femur on the bearing surface . this produces an additional shearing force of about 16 % of body weight ignoring the effects of friction that tends to reduce this added force . at 120 ° of flexion , rollback on the bearing is about 3 mm and produces an additional shearing force of about 24 %. this latter rollback represents a lift of only about 0 . 12 mm . such flexion is infrequently encountered and the force increase is moderate . at the maximum of 162 ° of flexion climb on the bearing is about 5 mm with a small lift of 0 . 4 mm . such flexion is , however , passive and thus there is no significant loading associated with it . the embodiment of fig2 - 31 has several other advantageous features . in particular , as flexion progresses a gradual clearance develops which allows about 7 . 5 mm of rollback . thus rollback approaching normal is available at 30 ° of flexion . at 35 ° the femoral cam 203 engages the post cam surface 423 and begins the development of forced rollback . thus significant rollback starts much earlier than the 70 ° typical of the earlier designs . additionally , for all load bearing flexion angles the contact between femoral cam 203 and post cam surface 423 is always concave to convex thus allowing for moderate contact stresses in a contact where contact stresses in earlier designs are always excessive . the height of the post is significantly greater improving posterior dislocation resistance . although conventional posterior stabilizer devices reduce such dislocation they do not eliminate it . the embodiment disclosed herein is superior in its posterior dislocation resistance due to this increased height as well as the action of the femoral box wall 211 . this wall also resists anterior dislocation at low and moderate flexion angles . this embodiment allows 162 ° of flexion a value significantly greater than needed for use by western peoples and sufficient for asiatic peoples . additionally rollback at moderate flexion angles , where the most frequent activities occur , does not produce any significant “ climb ” in the disclosed prosthetic device . at such flexion angles , rollback approaching normal is available without any significant increase in shearing forces associated with such climb . rollback is significantly greater at very deep flexion than in moderate flexion . here climb does occur to some degree , but the increase in shear loading is moderate for active flexion . rollback is greatest at angles associated with passive flexion where the knee is not load bearing . this additional rollback is important in obtaining greater flexion by increasing anterior movement of the tibia relative to the femur reducing posterior tissue impingement restricting flexion .	0
turning now to the drawings , and first to fig1 an antenna according to the present invention includes a metal cone 10 , or conic monopole , mounted above a ground plane provided by an aluminum baseplate 11 . as will be apparent subsequently , the baseplate can be directly affixed to the skin of the airplane . in this case , the upper exposed part of the antenna , including the cone 10 , preferably is potted as indicated by dashed lines 12 with a suitable foam for excluding water and other foreign materials and for adding structural support . polyurethane foam of tiny , thin - walled bubbles has been found suitable . the antenna structure includes four vertical modulator fins 16 through 19 ( note also fig3 , 6 , 8 and 9 ) disposed on 90 ° arc radials . similarly , shorting posts or suppressor posts 21 through 24 are disposed on 90 ° radials between the modulator fins . the antenna structure also includes a lower cover shield 26 which houses electronic circuit boards 27 and 28 mounted below the baseplate 11 . an rf coax assembly 29 ( note fig4 ) is included in the assembly and includes a metal rod 30 coupled to the lower end of the cone 10 for supplying rf energy to the cone . further details of the antenna structure will be described subsequently . however , at this point it should be noted that each of the modulator fins 16 - 19 includes a pair of serially connected pin diodes 34 through 37 , respectively , connected across metal plates or segments of the modulator fins ( note particularly the right - hand side of fig4 and fig8 and 9 ). before continuing with the detailed discussion of the antenna structure , and turning for the moment to fig2 a and 2b , the former diagrammatically illustrates a top view of the antenna at 40 and includes a representation of the modulator fins 16 - 19 . this figure shows the omni rf field strength pattern 41 as being substantially in the form of a circle with the antenna at the center thereof . this is the pattern generated when the diodes 34 - 37 of the fins 16 - 19 have an equal bias current ( such as , approximately 0 . 1ma ) and no modulation applied thereto . on the other hand , the rf field strength pattern 42 is generated when the current to the diodes of fin 16 is increased , the current to the diodes of fin 18 is equally reduced , and the currents to the diodes of fins 17 and 19 are equal to the bias current . fig2 b illustrates the phase relationship between these modulating currents about a fixed bias level for the four diodes . the numbers 1 through 4 of fig2 b correspond with the numbers 1 through 4 of fig2 a which , in turn , correspond with respective diodes of fins 16 through 19 . the vertical line 43 in fig2 b illustrates the magnitude of the modulating currents 44 - 47 applied to the diodes at the instant the pattern 42 of fig2 a is generated . the currents 44 through 47 are applied to the diodes of respective fins 16 through 19 , and it will be noted that at the instant designated by the vertical line 43 the curent to the diode of fin 16 is a maximum positive value , and the current applied to the diode of fin 18 is an equal but opposite value . also , at this time , the modulating currents 45 and 47 applied to the diodes of respective fins 17 and 19 are zero and , thus , only the bias current is applied to these two diodes . inasmuch as only one diode is fully on at one time , the rf radiated power loss is low . through measurements of the amplitude wave - shape demodulated by a receiver , responding to the rotating field from the present antenna , it was determined that a peaking type of distortion occurated at the 45 ° point between the plane of each modulating fin , and this resulted from too much signal component addition at those planes . the suppressor posts 21 through 24 , installed between the upper edge of the cone 10 and ground plane 11 , result in the antenna providing a very linear rotation of the pattern of the rf field . these post also serve to provide a good dc return path for the diode currents from the cone 10 to ground . turning again to the antenna structure , the principally to fig1 and 5 , the baseplate 11 which forms the ground plane may be circular and formed of aluminum . an exemplary size is a diameter of approximately 81 / 2 inches . the baseplate provides the ground plane , and also the means of attachment ( via holes 48 ) of the antenna to the skin of the aircraft or other structure to which the antenna is attached . an exemplary cone 10 is formed of copper with an angle of approximately thirty degrees with respect to the baseplate 11 and a diameter of approximately 6 inches . the antenna structure includes four uppr capacitor plates 50 through 53 provided above the baseplate 11 , and four rf bypass capacitor plates 56 through 59 ( note fig5 ) disposed below the baseplate 11 . these plates form , with baseplate 11 and a dielectric , capacitors and will be referred to as capacitors or capacitor plates in the following discussion . considering the construction of capacitors 50 and 56 further , and referring to fig4 the upper capacitor plates 50 - 53 are secured to a dielectric 61 , such as fiberglass , which in turn is secured onto the upper surface of the baseplate 11 by a suitable adhesive 62 , such as epoxy . the lower capacitors 56 through 59 are similarly formed , with the metal plates secured to a dielectric layer 64 , such as fiberglass , which in turn is secured to the lower surface of the baseplate 11 by a suitable adhesive 65 , such as epoxy . each of the upper capacitor plates 50 through 53 , the upper dielectric layer 61 and the baseplate 11 are provided with openings through which tabs 16a through 19a of the modulator fins 16 through 19 extend . thus , for example , and considering fig4 capacitor plates 50 includes an opening 50a for the tab 16a of the modulator fin 16 . similarly , the dielectric layer 61 includes an opening 61a , and the baseplate 11 includes an opening 11a for the tab 16a . like openings are provided for the tabs 17a - 19a of the fins 17 - 19 . these tabs enable electrical connections to be made ( through resistors ) to the lower capacitor plates 56 through 59 as will be discussed subsequently . turning now to the details of the modulator fins 16 through 19 , all four are identical and only the fins 18 and 16 will be discussed in detail with reference to fig4 and 9 . considering the fin 18 , it includes a substrate 70 of insulating material , such as fiberglass , with metal layers thereon . one side ( note fig4 and 9 ) includes metal layers 71 and 72 , and the other side includes a metal layer 73 . the layer 71 includes a plate section 71a and leg sections 71b and 71c . it should be noted that there is a gap 74 between the lower surface 75 of the cone 10 and the upper edge of the plate section 71a of layer 71 ( that is , 10 and 71a are not electrically connected at this point ). on the other hand , the upper edge of the layer 73 on the opposite side is soldered at 77 to the lower surface 75 of cone 10 . thus , the layers 73 and 71a form a capacitor . the upper edge of the leg sections 71c of layer 71 is soldered at 78 to the lower surface 75 of the cone 10 . the leg sections 71b - 71c form inductances at the rf frequencies involved . the pin diode 36 preferably comprises a pair of diodes 36a and 36b connected between metal layer 72 and leg section 71c of metal layer 71 of the modulator fin 18 . the metal layer 72 is soldered at its bottom edge 79 to the upper surface of the capacitor plate 52 and thereby provides an electrical connection between the modulator fin 18 and the plate 52 . the layer 72 also extends onto the tab 18a , and a resistor 84 ( note fig4 ) is connected between the tab 18a and the lower capacitor plate 58 . an electrical lead 89 is connected to the lower plate 58 to enable bias and modulating current ( note fig2 b ) to be applied through the resistor 84 and metal layer 72 to the pin diodes 36a - 36b . like resistors 82 , 83 and 85 are respectively connected between tabs 16a , 17a and 19a and lower capacitor plates 56 , 57 and 59 . similarly , the modulator fins 16 , 17 and 19 are constructed identical to the modulator fin 18 , and like reference numberals for the metal layers are used for the modulator fins 16 and 17 as seen in fig4 and 6 . the equivalent electrical circuit of a modulator fin is shown on the right - hand side of fig1 b , and will be discussed subsequently . the pin diodes function as variable resistances at rf frequencies , the resistance of each being a function of the modulating current ( note fig2 b ) applied thereto to create the rotating field strength pattern 42 of fig2 a which rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed from the top of the antenna as in fig2 a as the modulating currents to the pin diodes vary . turning again to the suppressor posts 21 through 24 , each is identical and , thus , only post 21 will be described in detail . the post 21 includes a length of wire 94 and a screw pin 95 ( note fig1 and 6 ). the lower end of the wire is soldered to the upper end of the screw pin 95 , and the upper end of the wire is soldered at 96 to a dimple in the cone 10 . the screw pin 95 rests on the outer edge of the fiberglass dielectric layer 61 and extends through and is electrically connected to the baseplate 11 . a standoff 98 is threaded onto the lower end of the screw pin 95 , and secures a centering ring 99 to the underside of the baseplate 11 which serves to center the lower cover shield 26 . similar standoffs are threaded onto the screw pins of the remaining suppressor posts 22 through 24 . the standoffs , along with a central standoff 100 ( note fig6 and 7 ), have the upper pc board 27 ( note fig1 ) secured thereto . similar standoffs or spacers ( only spacers 101 and 102 being seen in fig1 ) are used to support the lower pc board 28 , and further spacers ( only spacers 103 and 104 being seen in fig1 ) are used for spacing and securing the lower cover shield 26 to the antenna assembly . a connector 106 ( note fig4 ) is secured to the lower side of the cover shield 26 for enabling electrical connections to be made to the electronic system contained on the pc boards 27 and 28 . the rf coax assembly 29 supplies rf energy to the cone 10 and is shown in greater detail in fig7 . the rf coax assembly is mounted to the baseplate 11 with a brass mounting flange 110 which is secured to the baseplate 11 by rivets 111 - 113 and screw fastener 114 . the assembly includes a silver - plated brass tube 115 soldered to the mounting flange 110 , and a standard rf connector including a brass ferrule 117 soldered to the lower end of the tube 115 . the connector 116 includes a metal center pin 118 coupled with an insulating member 119 . the upper end of the center pin 118 is soldered to a coaxial rf rod 120 . the upper rf rod 30 connected to the lower end of the cone 10 is disposed in an opening in the upper end of the rod 120 , and insulated therefrom by a capacitor dielectric 121 . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , the lower end of the rf connector 116 receives a mating connector for supplying rf energy to the overall coax assembly shown in fig7 and , thus , to the cone 10 . turning now to the electronic system of fig1 a - 10b , the same performs two basic functions ; namely , it provides the modulation signals for the pin diodes of the modulator fins 16 through 19 ( this portion of the system is principally shown in fig1 b ), and provides electrical translation between the radiated pattern and magnetic north ( this portion of the system is principally shown in fig1 a ). this system is physically contained on the circuit boards 27 - 28 shown in fig1 . first considering the former function , and referring to fig1 b , a crystal oscillator 130 generates a signal having a frequency of 4 . 9152mhz which is digitally divided down by divider 131 , divider 132 and divider 133 to produce two 90 ° out - of - phase 15hz square waves . a phase generator 134 coupled with the output of the third divider 133 provides the 15hz reference signal ( φ 1 ) on line 135 and a 15hz 90 ° lagging signal ( φ 2 ) on line 136 . these two signals are filtered by respective low - pass filters 138 and 139 . the outputs of the filters 138 and 139 are applied to respective amplifiers 143 and 144 having outputs 147 and 148 . the outputs of amplifiers 143 and 144 are connected to inputs of respective amplifiers 141 and 142 which have outputs 145 and 146 . the outputs of these four amplifiers 141 - 144 drive the pin diodes of the antenna structure . resistors 150 - 153 connected with the voltage source and the amplifier output lines 145 - 148 provide the bias current ( note fig2 b ) to the pin diodes 34 - 37 . the amplifier 141 provides the output signal 44 of fig2 b which , in turn , is connected ( not shown ) to the pin diodes 34a - 34b of modulator fin 16 . the 180 ° out - of - phase signal 46 from the amplifier 143 is applied through lead 89 and resistor 84 to the pin diodes 36a - 36b of the modulator fin 18 as schematically shown in fig1 b . a capacitor 156 of the modulator fin 18 is formed by the metal layer section 71a and the metal layer 73 ( note fig4 and 9 ) of the modulator fin 18 . inductors 157 and 158 are formed by the leg segments 71b and 71c of the metal layer 71 of the modulator fin 18 . the capacitor 156 and inductor 157 function to move the center of the modulation rf current with respect to the cone 10 as the rf frequency increases . this causes the center of the effective polarizing element to move in and provide a substantially constant modulation ( e . g ., 30 %) over a range of rf frequencies . stated differently , this provides a constant peak magnitude of the reflection or rejection of the launched wave over the frequency band of interest . a scan detector 160 is connected with the output of the amplifier 142 and supplies a signal to a transistor switch 161 which provides an output on terminal 162 to indicate the status of antenna operation ; that is , the antenna is in the &# 34 ; omni mode &# 34 ; ( switch 161 open ) or is in the &# 34 ; scanning mode &# 34 ; ( switch 161 is closed ). this indication on the terminal 162 may be used to operate a cockpit panel light , and is used in conjunction with a scan control circuit 163 of fig1 a to apply a power supply voltage to various of the electronic components in the scanning mode . turning now to the portion of the electronic system shown in fig1 a , a typical compass synchro transmitter 166 of an aircraft is shown . it should be noted that the 15hz rotation of the radiation pattern generated by the present antenna is relative only to the antenna / aircraft mounting , with alignment of the antenna along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and oriented with respect to forward or the nose of the aircraft . since the compass read - out is between magnetic north and the forward orientation , there exists a knowledge of the relationship between the 15hz pattern rotation and the instantaneous magnetic north crossing . the read - out of the magnetic compass 166 is in the form of a four - wire synchro input . three of the wires are codes x , y and z , where z is grounded and is also the return for the remaining reference power , which reference power nominally is 400hz , 26 volts rms ac . as the synchro transmitter is rotated at the compass through 360 °, the voltage between xz , xy , and yz varies in magnitude , but is either in - phase , zero magnitude , or 180 ° out - of - phase with the reference power . as is known to those skilled in the art , a synchro receiver solves the magnitude and phase terms by rotating in step with the shaft of the synchro transmitter . in order to solve the translational problem , two synchro shafts could be coupled together in an electro - mechanical configuration , but this involves complex mechanics and electronics , as well as the attendent bulk and weight , in order to generate a two - phase signal at 15hz corresponding to the compass output . accordingly , in the present system a resistor network 170 and two operational amplifiers 171 and 172 are used to perform the coordinate translation from the space equivalent three - phase voltages of the synchro system of a two - phase equivalent , still at the normal 400hz frequency . the resistive network 170 includes resistors 174 through 178 connected as shown between x , y and z synchro signal terminals and the amplifiers 171 - 172 . resistors 180 - 181 are connected with the amplifier 171 to set the gain thereof to cause the xy signal at peak magnitude through amplifier 171 to be equal to the peak magnitude derived from amplifier 172 . this is the quadrature component . the gain of the amplifier 171 is 1 / 5 . the gain of the amplifier 172 is unity , and its out - put is the in - phase component . the outputs of the amplifiers 171 and 172 are applied through respective switches to capacitors 186 and 187 . by establishing a pulse at the instant of the positive peak of the 400hz reference , the switches 184 - 185 are enabled to store dc in the capacitors 186 - 187 for each phase of the two - phase 400hz signal . this control pulse 190 for the switches 184 and 185 is generated by a 400hz signal peak sample detector 191 . thus , signals are stored on the capacitors 186 and 187 proportional to the outputs of the respective amplifiers 171 and 172 when the switches 184 and 185 are enabled by the pulse 190 ( at the time of each positive peak of the 400hz reference ). the signals stored on these capacitors have a relative polarity and magnitude equal to the relationship of magnetic north to the nose of the airplane and , thus , the dc relative magnitudes and polarity of these signals is a function of the phase angle resulting from the compass heading data . the signals on the capacitors 186 and 187 are applied through unity gain amplifiers 194 and 195 to respective switches 196 and 197 . the control signals for the switchs 196 and 197 are the 90 ° out - of - phase 15hz square waves generated by the phase generator 134 of fig1 b which was discussed earlier . the dc values of the input signals to the switches 196 and 197 from respective amplfiers 194 and 195 vary only at the nose of the aircraft varies with respect to magnetic north . the switches 196 and 197 , and associated output amplifiers 198 and 199 , function to remodulate the stored ( by capacitors 186 - 187 ) values into 15hz square waves of two phase 90 ° relationship , and which also are synchronously time related to where the antenna is pointed at any given instant of rotation . this is accomplished by employing the 90 ° out - of - phase 15hz square waves on lines 135 and 136 to control the switches 196 and 197 and , thus , they function to chop the stored dc values as a function of antenna pattern rotation . the outputs of the amplifiers 198 and 199 are 15hz square waves and have a polarity and magnitude proportional to the dc value of the signals stored in respective capacitors 186 and 187 . these signals are applied through respective low - pass filters 204 and 205 , and are amplified by respective amplifiers 206 and 207 to yield a pair of equal amplitude 15hz sine waves which now bear the compass heading angle phase relationship , but are also synchronous with antenna rotation ( that is , the pointing direction of the antenna at any instant ). the outputs of these amplifiers 206 - 207 are summed in a summing circuit comprising resistors 210 - 211 and a capacitor 212 , and the result is applied to the input of a high - gain amplifier 214 of a cross - over detector 215 . the output of the amplifier 214 is connected through a capacitor 216 , which eliminates dc gain and drift , to the input of an amplifier 217 . the capacitor 216 and a resistor 218 provides a leading phase angle of 45 °, and the summing network 210 - 212 provides a lagging phase angle of 45 °. a variable resistor 219 enables the circuit to be compensated at the time of manufacture for the phase angles resulting from these circuits . the outputs of the amplifiers 206 and 207 thus are summed and then further amplified with high gain to determine the positive (+) going zero axis cross - over inflation point of the sum . the output of the amplifier 217 is applied by a line 224 to a delay counter 224 as a reset signal . counter 225 receives clock pulses on an input line 226 , which pulses are derived from a divider 227 ( fig1 b ) connected at the output of the crystal oscillator 130 . the output of the counter 225 is connected through an inverting amplifier 230 to the base of a transistor switch 231 , the collector of which provides a north burst trigger control signal on output terminal 232 . the signal on the output terminal 232 is applied to the tacan set to generate the north reference burst when the transistor switch 231 closes ( goes to ground ). the output of the amplifier 217 is a 15hz square wave pulse , the positive (+) going edge of which initiates a digital delay ( 77 . 76us ) in the delay counter circuit 225 which in turn generates the north burst trigger control signal as indicated in fig1 a above transistor 231 . the north burst trigger is generated at the moment of the north bearing line crossing by the proper segment of the rotating antenna pattern only when the nose of the aircraft is on a magnetic north heading . for all other aircraft headings , the change of the rotated position of the antenna pattern is compensated for by the corresponding time ( phase ) change of the north burst trigger . a receiving aircraft does not perceive any change in heading of the beacon from the source aircraft ( the one with the present antenna system ) because both the demodulated 15hz amplitude wave and the regenerated 15hz reference wave are simultaneously and equally phase advanced or retarded as the beacon - source - aircraft turns , or changes , heading . the foregoing system provides a relatively simple and inexpensive solution to the translation problem . the antenna structure and system of the present invention provides a suitable and compact antenna for providing a rotating pattern without repairing moving parts or moving elements , and the system also provides a coordinate transformation when the antenna is used on a moving object such as an airplane . in a tacan application , the antenna normally is mounted on the bottom or the top ( or both ) of the airplane , and typically projects approximately 2 inches . it is relatively simple to manufacture and is easy to assemble and disassemble . the antenna structure and system likewise can be used for other applications where a rotating pattern is desired , such as for automobile location , short - range navigation for ships , and so forth . the antenna structure and system can also be used as a receiving antenna , referred to as the &# 34 ; inverse mode &# 34 ; in the tacan art , and can be used to determine bearing from two other antennas . while embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein described .	7
the zoom lens system according to the present invention includes a positive first lens group 10 , a negative second lens group 20 , a diaphragm s , a positive third lens group 30 , and a positive fourth lens group 40 , in this order from the object , as shown in the lens - group moving paths of fig1 . furthermore , the third lens group 30 includes a positive 3 - 1 st lens element , a positive 3 - 2 nd lens element having a large - curvature convex surface facing toward the object , a negative 3 - 3 rd lens element having a large - curvature concave surface facing toward the object , in this order from the object . the fourth lens group 40 includes a positive 4 - 1 st lens element having a large - curvature convex surface facing toward the image , a positive 4 - 2 nd lens element , and a negative 4 - 3 rd lens element having a large - curvature concave surface facing toward the object , in this order from the object . in this zoom lens system of four - lens - group arrangement , upon zooming from the short focal length extremity to the long focal length extremity , the first through fourth lens groups move toward the object so that the distance between the first lens group 10 and the second lens group 20 becomes longer , the distance between the second lens group 20 and the third lens group 30 becomes shorter , and the distance between the third lens group 30 and the fourth lens group 40 becomes shorter . the diaphragm s moves integrally with the third lens group 30 . a zoom lens system of four - lens - group arrangement , such as the one explained , is advantageous for obtaining a miniaturized zoom lens system with a high zoom ratio . however , it is known that if a zoom lens system with a high zoom ratio is miniaturized , the power of each lens group becomes stronger , as a result , aberrations occur therein . particularly , in the third lens group 30 and the fourth lens group 40 , spherical aberration is largely occurred . condition ( 1 ) is for correcting spherical aberration . in order to correct negative spherical aberration which is largely occurred in the positive 3 - 1 st lens element and the positive 3 - 2 nd element , the object - side surface of the negative 3 - 3 rd lens element is formed to have a strong negative power . if the negative power becomes weaker to the extent that ør 3 - 3 - 1 / øw exceeds the upper limit of condition ( 1 ), positive spherical aberration occurred on the object - side surface of the negative 3 - 3 rd lens element becomes smaller , so that spherical aberration in the entire zoom lens system cannot be corrected . if the negative power becomes stronger to the extent that ør 3 - 3 - 1 / øw exceeds the lower limit of condition ( 1 ), positive spherical aberration largely occurs , so that spherical aberration is overcorrected , or spherical aberration of higher - order occurs . condition ( 2 ) specifies the power of the so - called air lens element between the positive 4 - 2 nd lens element and the negative 4 - 3 rd lens element . if the negative power of the air lens element becomes weaker to the extent that ø 4 air / øw exceeds the upper limit of condition ( 2 ), positive spherical aberration occurred on the object - side surface of the negative 4 - 3 rd lens element becomes smaller , and negative spherical aberration occurred on the image - side surface of the positive 4 - 2 nd lens element becomes larger . as a result , spherical aberration is undercorrected , since negative spherical aberration occurs in the entire zoom lens system . if the negative power of the air lens element becomes stronger to the extent that ø 4 air / øw exceeds the lower limit of condition ( 2 ), negative spherical aberration occurred on the image - side surface of the positive 4 - 2 nd lens element becomes smaller , and positive spherical aberration occurred on the object - side surface of the negative 4 - 3 rd lens element becomes larger . as a result , spherical aberration is overcorrected , or spherical aberration of higher - order occurs , since positive spherical aberration occurs in the entire zoom lens system . condition ( 3 ) specifies the configuration of the air lens between the positive 4 - 2 nd lens element and the negative 4 - 3 rd lens element . the air lens is defined as the shape of the space formed between two lens elements . in other words , condition ( 3 ) indicates that the air lens element is in the form of a meniscus lens element having a concave surface facing toward the object . further , condition ( 3 ) is for correcting spherical aberration , and both condition ( 2 ) and condition ( 3 ) are preferably satisfied at the same time . by satisfying condition ( 3 ), the radius of curvature of the negative powered image - side surface of air lens element is smaller than that of the positive powered object - side surface thereof . as a result , the air lens element as a whole has a negative power , and positive spherical aberration occurs thereon , and thereby spherical aberration in the entire zoom lens system can be corrected . since the air lens element is positioned in the vicinity of the image plane , and away from the diaphragm s provided between the second lens group 20 and the third lens group 30 , off - axis rays run above on - axis rays when these rays pass through the air lens element . in other words , the off - axis rays pass through the periphery of the air lens element . according to condition ( 3 ), an angle of incidence of an off - axis ray becomes smaller , and thereby coma and astigmatism caused by off - axis rays can be maintained relatively smaller . if sf 4 air exceeds the upper limit of condition ( 3 ), an angle of incidence of an off - axis ray on the image - side surface of the positive 4 - 2 nd lens element becomes larger , so that coma and astigmatism caused by off - axis rays cannot be maintained smaller . furthermore , in the zoom lens system according to the present invention , by arranging the second lens group 20 to be a focusing lens group , optical performance for closer photographing distances can suitably be improved . in other words , against a large magnification change due to zooming , the second lens group 20 is originally designed to reduce fluctuations of aberrations over the entire zooming range defined by the short and long focal length extremities , and to maintain aberrations adequately in the entire zoom lens system . when the second lens group 20 having the above functions is further arranged to perform focusing , a small magnification change due to focusing does not substantially fluctuate aberrations , and optical performance for closer photographing distances can therefore be improved . if the first lens group 10 is arranged to perform focusing , the size thereof has to be made larger for maintaining peripheral illumination . unlike the first lens group 10 , the second lens group 20 is more suitable for a focusing lens group , since the second lens group 20 with a large magnification has high sensitivity on focusing , a traveling distance thereof can be reduced , and thereby the first lens group 10 does not have to be moved toward the object . as a result , the size of the first lens group 10 can be miniaturized . specific numerical examples will herein be discussed . in the diagrams of spherical aberration , sa designates spherical aberration , sc designates the sine condition . in the diagrams of chromatic aberration ( axial chromatic aberration ) represented by spherical aberration , the solid line and the two types of dotted lines respectively indicate spherical aberration with respect to the d , g and c lines . also , in the diagrams of lateral chromatic aberration , the solid line and the two types of dotted lines respectively indicate magnification with respect to the d , g and c lines . s designates the sagittal image , and m designates the meridional image . in the tables , f no designates the f - number , f designates the focal length of the entire lens system , w designates the half angle - of - view (°), f b designates the back focal distance , r designates the radius of curvature , d designates the lens thickness or space between lens surfaces , n d designates the refractive index of the d line , and ν designates the abbe number . fig1 through 4 show the first embodiment of the zoom lens system according to the present invention . fig1 is a lens arrangement of the first embodiment . the first lens group 10 includes a cemented sub lens group having a negative lens element and a positive lens element , and a positive lens element , in this order from the object . the second lens group 20 includes a negative lens element , a negative lens element , a positive lens element , and a negative lens element , in this order from the object . the third lens group 30 includes a positive 3 - 1 st lens element , a positive 3 - 2 nd lens element having a large - curvature convex surface facing toward the object , and a negative 3 - 3 rd lens element having a large - curvature concave surface facing toward the object , in this order from the object . the fourth lens group 40 includes a positive 4 - 1 st lens element having a large - curvature convex surface facing toward the image , a positive 4 - 2 nd lens element , and a negative 4 - 3 rd lens element having a large - curvature concave surface facing toward the object , in this order from the object . fig2 a through 2e , fig3 a through 3e , and fig4 a through 4e show aberration diagrams of the lens arrangement of fig1 respectively at the short focal length extremity , at an intermediate focal length , and at focal length extremity . table 1 shows the numerical data thereof . fig5 through 8 show the second embodiment of the zoom lens system according to the present invention . fig5 is a lens arrangement of the second embodiment . fig6 a through 6e , fig7 a through 7e , and fig8 a through 8e show aberration diagrams of the lens arrangement of fig5 respectively at the short focal length extremity , at an intermediate focal length , and at the long focal length extremity . table 2 shows the numerical data thereof . the basic lens arrangement is the same as the first embodiment . fig9 through 12 show the third embodiment of the zoom lens system according to the present invention . fig9 is a lens arrangement of the third embodiment . figures 10 a through 10 e , fig1 a through 11e , and figures 12 a through 12 e show aberration diagrams of the lens arrangement of fig9 respectively at the short focal length extremity , at an intermediate focal length , and at the long focal length extremity . table 3 shows the numerical data thereof . the basic lens arrangement is the same as the first embodiment . as can be understood from table 4 , each embodiment satisfies each condition . furthermore , as can be understood from the aberration diagrams , the various aberrations are adequately corrected even though an aspherical lens surface is not utilized . according to the present invention , a four - lens - group zoom lens system , with a small number of lens elements , which has high optical performance and is inexpensive , can be obtained .	6
referring to fig1 a tubular seat post 1 has at its lower end a forward protrusion 2 comprising two plates welded to the seat post . the plates are welded to a crank axle housing 3 , and at their foremost end a pivot assembly 4 captures a lower front strut 5 . preferably this strut is an alloy tube the ends of which have inserts 6 and 7 which are described in more detail later . the front end of the lower strut is pivotally captured by a head bracket 8 comprised of two plates welded to opposing sides of a steering tube 9 . an upper part of the head bracket includes an upper pivot 10 from which pivots an upper front tube 11 . the lower end of the upper tube is pivotally captured at the front end 12 of a pair of mid - plates 13 which are welded to opposing sides of the seat tube 1 . the rear of the mid - plates has a pivot 14 from which an upper rear arm 15 pivots . a pair of rear extending lower arms 16 pivot about the crank housing 3 . these arms can be fashioned from flat plate . at the rear end of the arm , a rear wheel hub 17 is secured in a manner common with most bicycles . near the rear wheel fixing point , a vertical yolk 18 pivotally connects thereto , being pivotal attached to the upper rear arm 15 . to control the angles of the upper front strut and upper rear arm , linkages 19 and 20 are pivotally attached to the mid - region of the strut and arm . the linkages are connected to a collar 21 which is slidable along the seat post 1 . the collar includes a fastening means 22 for securing the position of the collar and thus the position of all the above mentioned struts and arms which indirectly depend from the collar via the linkages 19 and 20 . the seat post includes a telescoping inner tube 23 that is adjustable in height and secured by a fastening clamp 24 . by releasing the collar clamp 22 and sliding the collar up the seat post , which can be achieved by pressing the seat post downwards , the frame assumes a partially folded state which is illustrated in fig2 . referring to the figure , collar 21 is positioned half way up the seat post and has raised the forward and rear struts and arms . all the relevant numbered structural members can be identified by referring to the description for fig1 . similarly fig3 shows the bicycle frame in a fully folded state with the identified components corresponding to those described for fig1 . it will be clear from the folded geometry that dimensions of all components and their configuration is critical in order to achieve a compact arrangement . the figures provide a reasonable example of a geometry that functions , but obviously there are variations from the dispositions shown that will also provide for a compact folding bicycle . preferably the geometry of the axle pivots is configured so as to produce over centers . with such configuration , the frame is relaxed in both the fully folded and fully unfolded position , whereas resistance is experienced during the transition stages . the struts and arms mentioned can be fashioned from alloy tube having a diameter of about 30 - 40 mm . alternatively u sections may be found advantageous , which with appropriate choice of width can allow nesting of the struts and arms when the frame is in the collapsed state . another variation , would be to have one or more of the struts represented by open frames with interconnecting members . yet another variation would be to have plastic injection moulded struts made from polypropylene , for example . for lightweight , carbon fibre resins can be employed to advantage . strength can be added to weak regions by adding ribs or increasing thicknesses of the components at the weak spot . for example if it was found that the upper struts tended to suffer from fatigue in the region where the connecting linkages 19 and 20 meet the struts , then the side flanges which capture the linkages can be broadened to extend along the struts and welded thereto . fig4 illustrates the slidable collar , the strut and pivot arrangements in more detail . referring to the figure , collar 21 surrounds the seat post 1 . flange plates 25 extend from the collar and an axle bolt 26 passes through the flanges and the strut head insert 27 . the head insert is made from a plastics or other material such as cast aluminium , and is glued , pinned or brazed to the strut body 28 . preferably a sleeve 24 is freely located into the strut head , this sleeve bearing against the inner faces of the flanges thereby preventing over tightening of the axle bolt . in order to reduce the friction of the joint , a ball - bearing assembly on either side of the sleeve can be incorporated . the upper end of the collar includes a split and a lever operated cam 30 serves to constrict or expand the collar . such tighteners are commonly found on quick - release components of bicycles . in order for the frame to be rigid when it is fully deployed , it is important that all the pivot joints are snug fits that do not allow any lateral movement . broad contact surfaces are desirable to reduce any lateral movement . the seat post preferably has an extension which can be released or tightened by another lever operated cam , allowing adjustment of the seat height . some of the components that are not part of the invention have been omitted from the figures and description . these include brake and gear assemblies , and accessories such as a bag carrier which can be integrated with the upper rear arm . some components that do not form part of the invention have been omitted from the description . these components include ; pedals , handlebars , seats , chains and wheels . it will be clear from the above description and accompanying drawings that by merely sliding the seat - post collar up and down it is possible to fold and unfold the bicycle frame in a similar action to an umbrella . this embodiment enjoys numerous advantages and benefits over the prior art . particularly , as no components are disconnected , the time taken to fold or unfold the bicycle is less than 10 seconds .	1
with reference to fig1 , an exploded view shows a top plate 1 and a top window 2 . top plate 1 is hinged or fixed to a frame ( not shown ) such that it is movable by the operator to allow access to reaction vessels 17 . during operation top plate 1 is bolted or clamped onto a lower plate 6 forming a leak proof seal between top plate 1 and lower plate 6 at o - ring seal 26 . top plate 1 and lower plate 6 are contained within a housing ( not shown ). rotor 4 in lower plate 6 is shaped to define a sealable upper chamber 3 . the reaction vessels 17 are held in the sealable upper chamber 3 . the rotor 4 is housed on bowl 5 . as shown in fig2 , top plate 1 is bolted onto to lower plate 6 . mounted on top window 2 are reagent dispense nozzles 7 , as seen in fig5 . rotor 4 may be rotated to position reagent dispense nozzles 7 above reaction vessels 17 . dispense nozzles are stationary , held on top cover 2 . with reference to fig3 and 4 , bowl 5 holds drain stations 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 and 15 . as explained below , drain stations have components that make up the high flow waste system and the variable flow waste system . also mounted centrally on plate 6 is motor system 16 . this system includes a motor , a gear box , an encoder , a home sensor , a motor drive controller , and a power supply . the rotor is coupled to motor system 16 through hub 23 and collet 24 ( as shown in fig9 ), allowing rotation and positioning of the rotor . this allows selective placement of the reaction vessels 17 below a selected dispense nozzle 7 . this is controlled by an automated control system utilizing a programmed computer and software ( not shown ). with reference to fig6 , 7 and 7 a , the rotor is shown divided into banks 48 for holding groups of reaction vessels 17 . these are enclosed to form upper chamber 3 . shown in fig1 . as shown , 12 reaction vessels 17 are grouped in each bank 48 . in alternative embodiments , more or fewer reaction vessels or banks could be used , depending on need and available space ( rotor size ). a vent port 18 selectively sealed to hollow shaft 27 by a seal 25 is used with each bank . vent port 18 extends from a sealable lower chamber 19 to a passage connecting to sealable upper chamber 3 . a priming port 50 is also used to dispense reagents to waste while bypassing all reaction columns . a single priming port is used for the rotor . a partial cutaway view shows the high flow waste system check valve 20 which allows draining of the sealable lower chamber 19 . the open bottom ends of the reaction vessels 17 extend into this lower chamber 19 . each of bank 48 has its own high flow waste system check valve 20 that drains one lower chamber 19 . each of the lower chambers 19 are isolated from each other . when reaction vessels 17 are installed in the rotor 4 , the lower chambers 19 and the upper chamber 3 ( shown in fig1 ) are separated by the reaction vessels 17 . the vent ports 18 are also associated with each bank 48 of reaction vessels 17 . these vents serve two purposes . first , they provide an alternative means by which the upper chamber 3 and the lower chamber 19 can be connected during gas flow . this allows regulation of pressure between the upper chamber and the lower chamber , which stops the flow in both directions through the reaction vessels which would result from pressure equalization between the upper chamber and the lower chambers . second , vent port 18 may be connected to a variable flow waste system . this allows liquid to flow through the reaction vessels at selectable different flow rates . as described , pressure the described embodiments allow the pressure source that pressurizes the upper chamber to also pressurize the lower chamber . it should be realized that this can work in the opposite way : the passageway between the upper and lower chamber can be used to relieve pressure from the lower chamber . it is equally beneficial to have a mechanism to release the pressure in the lower chamber . it is not optimal for gas pressure in the lower chamber to flow up through the reaction vessels . in the disclosed embodiments , the same vent hole allows both vent the lower chamber and pressurizing it . if gas flows up through the reaction vessels , reagent expelled into the lower chamber from multiple reaction vessels , all of which may have different reagents in them , may also flow into the reaction vessels . these reagents can be drawn back up through the reaction vessels causing cross contamination between reaction vessels . in the disclosed embodiments , the system allows venting the lower chamber through the port on the side of the rotor ( one for each bank ). this substantially eliminates cross contamination due to reverse flow through the reaction vessels . with reference to fig8 and 8a , lower chamber 19 is shown in this cutaway having a port 18 covered by a seal 25 . an o - ring seal 51 between the rotor top half 21 and the rotor bottom half 22 form a pressure tight seal for each bank 48 in the rotor 4 . also shown is high flow waste system drain check valve 20 . each high flow waste system drain check valve 20 illustrated in these embodiments utilizes a ball valve in which a ball 53 is biased by a spring 54 and retained against an o - ring 52 . tubing inside diameter ( id ) and length of the high flow waste system and the variable flow waste system is selected to achieve the flow rate difference between the high flow waste systems and the low flow waste systems . in one example , one quarter inch od × 3 / 16 inch id tubing was used on drain of the high flow waste system , where the ball is biased against the drain opening . the cross section of fig9 shows a number of the major systems including : the rotor 4 is driven by the motor 16 , allowing circumferential positioning of the reaction vessels 17 . the rotor consists of the top spacer 49 , a reaction vessel holder 21 and a rotor bottom 22 . reaction vessel holder 21 and rotor bottom 22 are bolted together , and top spacer 49 is placed into position and is located using a locating pin ( not shown ) or other means . the top spacer minimizes the space required for the sealable upper chamber . it extends proximate to window 2 with the exception of the area above the reaction vessels 17 . the reaction vessel holder 21 includes a number of grouped holes that the reaction vessels 17 extend through . the area surrounding the rotor assembly is the sealable upper chamber 3 and the area between rotor part 21 and rotor part 22 is the sealable lower chamber 19 . upper chamber 3 includes the area above and around the open top end of the reaction vessel 17 . it also include the rest of the space connecting this chamber to the gas source . as indicated , this includes the passageway on the side of the rotor , the space on the top of the rotor between the cover 2 and the spacer 49 , and other space around the rotor . the rotor 4 includes one or more banks of the sealable lower chambers 19 for each bank of reaction vessels 17 . the sides of rotor reaction vessel holder 21 include one port 18 and seal 25 for each bank of reaction vessels . as noted , motor 16 turns rotor . part of motor 16 is an encoder , allowing rotational positioned to be determined . this allows the rotor to position the reaction vessels below a nozzle for reagent dispensing . the rotor can also be selectively positioned such that the port 18 having seal 25 is brought into a position to allow sealed connection with the center passage of shaft 27 . rotor hub 23 is an interconnection mechanism to connect rotor 4 to the transmission shaft . collet 24 is also part of the connection mechanism between the transmission shaft and rotor 4 . in one embodiment , the rotor is bolted onto the connection mechanism . reactions occur on a solid support located within reaction vessels 17 . as explained with regard to fig1 , the dispense nozzles 7 are aligned with open top ends of reaction vessels 17 held on rotor 4 . reagents may then be dispensed into the reaction vessels 17 . a mechanism that includes pneumatic cylinders , hollow shafts , solenoid valves , calibrated tubing and manifolds is used to selectively engage the rotor to connect the desired calibrated tube from the reaction vessel outlet chambers to waste . this system is referred to as the “ variable flow waste system ”. control of flow rate during the reaction is controlled by a variable flow waste system . in this system pneumatic cylinders 29 are engaged to move hollow shafts 27 horizontally to connect or disconnect the center passage of hollow shaft 27 with port 18 on the rotor 4 . this is indicated by arrow 28 . tube 30 connects the center passage of the horizontal hollow shaft 27 to a manifold 31 . each port on the manifold is connected to a calibration tube 32 which in turn connects to a two way solenoid valve 36 . two way solenoid valves connect to tubes 37 which connect to waste 38 . each variable drain station has one set each of these components . the system as illustrated thus would have four variable drain systems , one for each bank of reaction vessels . this mechanism would allow the passage of gas from the lower sealed chamber to the upper sealed chamber . each of the valves and pneumatic cylinder are able to operate separately under automated control . in one embodiment the calibration tubes 32 include a first tube of 1 / 16inch od × 0 . 020 inch id and a second tube of 1 / 16 inch od × 0 . 0155 inch id . these can be used as alternative pathways for this drain , or could both be used together . this provides three different drain rates . in one embodiment the system uses a fixed pressure . the pressure may be in a range from 2 psi to 7 psi . in one embodiment , the pressure using currently available commercial solid supports was 3 to 4 psi ( for example 3 . 5 psi ). a mechanism that includes pneumatic cylinders , hollow shafts , tubing , solenoid valves and pneumatic valves is used to selectively engage the rotor and quickly remove all waste reagents from the reaction vessels and the reaction vessel outlet chamber and send waste reagent to a vented waste container . this system is referred to as the “ high flow waste system ”. when the reaction is complete and it is desired to drain the reaction vessels and the lower chamber , hollow shaft 34 is moved in the direction of arrow 33 . a tip on the end of shaft 34 displaces the ball of the rapid flow check valve 20 . the components of this valve where discussed in respect to fig8 . the liquid and gas in the lower chamber 19 flow into hollow shaft 34 and into tube 39 when valve 40 is opened . the liquid then flows into tube 41 and to waste . for a given pressure the high flow waste system is designed to flow at a rate that is at least several times to about 100 times that of the variable flow waste systems . in one embodiment , a pressure value is chosen that will allow the high flow waste system to empty all reaction vessels and reaction vessel outlet chambers within 2 seconds . the initial positioning of elements is shown in fig1 . the following description occurs for each of the lower chambers in the rotor . if each lower chamber is provided with a high flow rate waste system and a variable flow rate waste system , the process described occur simultaneously for each of the lower chambers in the rotor . horizontal shaft 27 is moved to the disengaged position indicated by arrow 56 . shaft 27 is thus positioned so that it does not engage rotor 4 . the vertical drain shaft 34 is moved to the down position indicated by arrow 57 . in this position drain shaft 34 does not engage with rotor 4 . solenoid valves 36 and 41 are closed , so there is no flow in the connected pipes . rotor 4 may then be rotated by motor 16 such that a selected dispense nozzle 7 is positioned above the open tops of reaction vessel 17 . a separate system for dispensing reagents using pressurized reagent containers , valves , and tubing connected to the dispense nozzles 7 is conventional and known in this art . after the reagent has been dispensed , rotor 4 is rotated to align the sealed lower chamber with the drains of the variable flow waste system . as noted , each of the banks of reaction vessels is separately sealable and have a high flow rate drain and a variable flow rate drain . upper chamber 3 is pressurized with inert gas through delivery port 55 . the lower chamber 19 is also pressurized via port 18 . the reagent dispensed into the top of reaction vessel 17 will not flow out of the bottom of reaction vessel 17 because the pressure on the reaction vessel 17 inlets and the reaction vessel 17 outlets is equal . flow will result only from the liquid pressure head exerted by the liquid dispensed into the open tops of the reaction vessels which is negligent given flow restrictions found within common use reaction vessels . with reference to fig1 , the hollow drain shaft 27 is moved in the direction of arrow 28 . the flow channel in the center of the horizontal shafts 27 is connected to port 18 and sealed by seal 25 . one of the two way valves 36 is opened by the system controller , allowing gas to pass into tube 30 , through manifold 31 , into one of calibration tubes 32 and into one of tubes 37 and to waste 38 . this creates a pressure differential between upper chamber 3 and lower chamber 19 for that bank of reaction vessels 17 . the system controller will select the appropriate two way valve 36 to open based on the flow rate that is desired for the particular reaction vessel being used in a given bank of reaction vessels . fluid will flow through the reaction vessel for a set time required for the reaction protocol . in the illustrated embodiment , either one of the two valves could open , or both valves could open . this provides three flow rates . more flow passages could be added to allow a greater number of flow rates . alternatively , a different type of valve could be used to regulate flow rate . with reference to fig1 , flow to the variable flow waste system is stopped by closing valves 36 and activating pneumatic cylinder 29 to retract the shaft 27 such that port 18 does not connect to the hollow interior of shaft 27 . this will prevent gas from flowing out through the variable flow waste system . at the time in the process when it is desired to quickly empty the reaction vessels 17 in a given bank hollow shaft 34 is moved in the direction of arrow 33 . this opens the ball check valve as discussed with respect to fig8 . the gas and liquid contents of the lower chamber 19 are drained into hollow shaft 34 , into tube 39 when valve 41 is opened . the gas and liquid will then flow into tube 40 and go to waste . with reference to fig1 and 15 , the bowl 5 includes means to capture and divert waste that escapes to normal waste disposal system . this includes a gearbox / motor mount 35 that includes an annular trough 43 machined into the surface . any spilled waste from the rotor will flow into annular trough 43 . four drain holes 44 are machined into motor mount 35 . the drain holes 44 are connected to a waste container 47 through tubes 46 as shown in fig1 .	1
referring to fig2 a block diagram of a circuit loo is shown in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the circuit 100 may be implemented as a block move engine ( bme ) that may allow reading and writing operations of video or graphics images that are stored in either a raster format or a macrocell format . specifically , the bme 100 may be capable of allowing , performing , or supporting operations of raster format , macroblock format , or both through a unique addressing scheme . the addressing scheme may support ( or allow ) operation of raster format data when in one predetermined state and support ( or allow ) operation of macroblock format data when in another predetermined state . in one example , the bme 100 may be implemented in place of the bme 56 of fig1 to provide increased performance and avoid problems such as those described in the background section . the bme 100 may allow the display driver 58 to read and display any of the video , graphics or bme output objects from the system memory 60 . the bme 100 may read graphics or video objects from the memory 60 , manipulate and combine ( composite ) the objects , and write the result back to the memory 60 . the system 100 may allow read and write operations for data stored in raster or macroblock formats . the circuit 100 generally comprises a block ( or circuit ) 102 , a block ( or circuit ) 104 , a block ( or circuit ) 106 and a block ( or circuit ) 108 . the circuit 102 may be implemented as an address generator block . the circuit 104 may be implemented as a data processing block . the circuit 106 may be implemented as an address generator block . in one example , the circuits 102 and 106 may be implemented as programmable read and write address generators , respectively . the circuit 108 may be implemented as a memory interface . the address generator 102 may present a signal ( e . g ., address 1 ) to the memory interface 108 . the address generator 106 may present a signal ( e . g ., address 2 ) to the memory interface 108 . additionally , the data processor 104 may interface with the memory interface 108 . the memory interface 108 may interface the system bus 62 and the various other components of fig1 connected to the system bus 62 . while the circuit is described as a single input device , more than one input may be accommodated with more than one input . additional address generators 102 and 106 may be implemented . one input may be raster format while another input may be in macroblock format . additionally , all inputs could be either raster format or macroblock format , or any combination of the two . the bme 100 may implement a particular data ordering scheme based on addressing . the bme 100 may operate on rectangular regions of data . the bme 100 may process data in a raster scan order . however , the order of pixel storage in the memory may be raster or macroblock format . the address generator 102 may be required for an input data stream and for the address generator 106 may be required for the output data stream . the programmable read and write address generators 102 and 106 may allow raster or macroblock format video or graphics data stored in the system memory 60 to be scanned horizontally or vertically in a raster pattern ( e . g ., moving from left or right and top or bottom ). additionally , the programmable read and write generators 102 and 106 may allow video still data to be stored in various macroblock or raster formats to be read and written in raster scan order . referring to fig3 a diagram of the address generator circuit 102 ( or 106 ) is shown . the address generator 102 may be similar to the address generator 106 . the address generator circuit 102 generally comprises a block ( or circuit ) 150 , a block ( or circuit ) 152 , a block ( or circuit ) 154 and a block ( or circuit ) 156 . the circuits 150 , 152 and 154 may be combined as a single block as shown by the dotted box 158 . the circuit 150 may be a ramp controller circuit . the circuit 152 may be implemented as a ramp generator circuit . the circuit 154 may be implemented as a ramp generator circuit . the circuit 156 may be implemented as an address summation circuit . the circuit 156 may provide shifts , multiplication , etc ., as needed . the circuit 102 may have a number of inputs 160 a - 160 n that may receive a number of control signals . the circuit 102 may have an output 170 that may present the signal address 1 . the circuit 154 may present a signal ( e . g ., ylast ) and a signal ( e . g ., yramp ) in response to one of the control signals ( e . g ., ycntdown and ymax ). the circuit 152 may present a signal ( e . g ., xlast ) and a signal ( e . g ., xramp ) in response to the control signals ( e . g ., xcntdown and xmax ) and a signal ( e . g ., ctr ) from the ramp controller 150 . the signal ctr may be implemented , in one example , as a 4 - bit signal or as four individual signals . two of the signals may be presented to the ramp generator 152 and two may be presented to the ramp generator 154 . the signals ctr may initiate a reload and allow counters internal to the ramp generators 152 and 154 to count . the ramp controller 150 may generate the signal ctr in response to the signals format , scanvert , xlast , ylast , xcntdown and ycntdown . the summation circuit 156 may generate the signal address in response to one or more of the signals xpitch , base , xnacoffs , xmacoffs , format , xramp , and yramp . the address generator 102 may be suitable for raster and macroblock format data addressing . the address generator 102 generally comprises the ramp generator 152 and the ramp generator 154 that may count in increments of +/− 1 to produce a basic display raster scan pattern of the required number of horizontal and vertical steps in the desired orientation , via the signals xramp and yramp . the address arithmetic circuit 156 may then convert the values xramp and yramp to produce the memory address address . the various control signals of the present invention may be constant throughout an operation of the bme 100 . additionally , the various control signals may be set by a cpu writing to control registers ( not shown ). the ramp generators 152 and 154 may be similar . additionally , the ramp generators 152 and 154 may be similar within each address generator 102 and 106 ( e . g ., one for the x direction and another for the y direction ). the x ramp generator 152 and the y address generator 154 may behave similarly . therefore , only the x address generator 152 will be described . the operation of the ramp generator 152 may depend on the x scan direction , set by cpu control xcntdown . if xcntdown is 0 , the ramp generator 152 may be loaded with 0 and count up to xmax , whereas if the signal xcntdown is 1 , the ramp generator 152 may be loaded with xmax and count down to 0 . the output signal xlast may become active when the ramp generator 152 reaches the last value of the count ( e . g ., xmax if xcntdown is 0 , 0 if xcntdown is 1 ) the ramp controller 150 may ensure that the ramp generators 152 and 154 operate to produce a raster scan in the correct orientation . if the signal scanvert is 0 , the x ramp generator 152 may produce a complete ramp for each step in yramp , providing a horizontal raster scan . if scanvert is 1 , a vertical raster scan may be desired , so xramp only steps on after the y ramp generator 154 has produced each complete ramp . referring to fig4 a more detailed diagram of the circuit 156 is shown . the circuit 156 generally comprises a circuit 180 , a circuit 182 , a block 184 , a block 186 and a block 188 . the circuit 180 may be implemented , as an x transform circuit . the circuit 182 may be implemented as a y transform circuit . the block 184 may be a summation circuit . the block 186 may be a summation circuit . the block 188 may be a summation circuit . the block 184 may present a signal ( e . g ., xadd ) in response to the signal xramp and the signal xmacoffs . the block 186 may present a signal ( e . g ., yadd ) in response to the signal yramp and the signal ymacoffs . a circuit 188 may present a signal ( e . g ., xpart ) in response to the signal xadd , the least significant bits ( lsbs ) of the signal yadd and the signal format . the circuit 182 may generate a signal ( e . g ., ypart ) in response to the signal yadd , the signal format and the signal ypitch . the circuit 188 may generate a signal address in response to a signal base , the signal xpart and the signal ypart . the circuit 156 may be implemented as an address arithmetic circuit . the address arithmetic block 156 may calculate the linear address address for each memory access from the x and y ramp values xramp and yramp . for raster format data , the signal base may be the address of the top left pixel in the region being scanned . for macroblock format data , the signal base may be the address of the first data point for the macroblock in the top left of the region being scanned , where the data point is not generally part of the region being scanned . the signals xmacoffs and ymacoffs may be the x and y offset of the top left pixel to be scanned by the bme 100 from the first data point in the macroblock which contains the pixel . the signals xmacoffs and ymacoffs may be necessary , since the bme 100 scan may not include the first data point for the top left macroblock ( the point normally used as the base for address calculations ). the offset values xmacoffs and ymacoffs are normally set to 0 for raster format data . the signal format may be a control signal to indicate in what format ( raster , macroblock , a particular pixel depth , etc .) the data to be operated on by the bme 100 is stored . the signal ypitch may , be the number of memory words between the start of adjacent horizontal lines of data in raster format . if the data is in macroblock format then the value ypitch may be the same as if the data were stored in raster format . examples of address calculations shown below assume each memory location contains data for one pixel , and that a macroblock may be 8 × 8 pixels . calculations for other situations ( e . g ., number of pixels , size of pixels , etc .) may implement different scalings and / or bit orderings . however , the calculations may be based on similar principles . the signal xadd may be considered to be an n - bit quantity and the signal yadd may be considered to be an m - bit quantity . the x transform circuit 180 may calculate the xpart of the address using bit shifts and adders . xpart = xadd [ n - 1 : 3 ]* 2 6 + yadd [ 2 : 0 ]* 2 3 + xadd [ 2 : 0 ] the multiply operations may be achieved by bit shifting . the y transform 182 circuit may calculate the ypart of the address using bit shifts and a multiplier . the address arithmetic block 156 may require different . scale factors and / or bit shuffling operations for other sizes of macroblock , and for pixel data depths which differ from the memory data width . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference numerals have been used in the figures to designate like elements , there is shown in fig1 a diagram of a programmable attenuator circuit designated generally as 10 . the circuit 10 is comprised essentially of a plurality of series connected attenuator bits or cells such as shown on 12a and 12b ; the output 14 of cell 12a being connected to the input 16 of cell 12b . each cell 12a and 12b includes a fixed attenuator such as shown at 18a and 18b , a gallium arsenide ( gaas ) field effect transistor ( fet ) switch such as shown at 20a and 20b and a bias resistor such as shown at r3a and r3b . each switch such as 20a or 20b is arranged so that the rf or microwave signal flowing through the attenuator cell flows either through the fixed attenuator 18a or 18b or through the direct connection such as shown at 22a and 22b . switch 20a , for example , shows the switch in the position wherein the signal flows through the direct connection 22a whereas switch 20b shows the same in the position wherein the signal flows through the fixed attenuator 18b . the path that the signal takes i . e . the position of the switch depends on the voltage at the control ports 24a , 26a , 24b or 26b which is controlled by the user in the known manner . while only two attenuator cells 12a and 12b are shown in fig1 it will be understood that any number of such cells may be utilized . in the preferred embodiment , six such cells are utilized and these are arranged in a binary sequence . that is , each successive attenuator 12a , 12b etc . is twice the value of the previous one . thus , for example , fixed attenuator 12a may have a value of 0 . 5 db , fixed attenuator 12b would have a value of 1 db , the next attenuator would have a value of 2 db , and next 4 db etc . this particular sequence allows any value of attenuation between 0 . 5 db and 31 . 5 db in 0 . 5 db steps depending on the various combinations of the fixed attenuators which , of course , are determined by the positions of the various gaas switches . the foregoing arrangement is generally known in the art . what is further known is the fact that the gaas fet switches are not perfect switches and they , therefore , display some internal resistance which is the source of the loss described above . resistances r1a and r2b shown within switch 20a and r1b and r2b shown within the switch 20b represent these internal resistances which can measure between 2 and 3 ohms . as is also known in the art , the function of the bias resistors r3a and r3b is to ensure that the ports connected to the &# 34 ; thru path &# 34 ; have the correct voltage on them at all times . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , when the gaas fet switch is switched to the &# 34 ; thru path &# 34 ; such as illustrated in switch 20a , the combination of r1a , r2a and r3a form a conventional &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; type attenuator with r3a forming the shunt arm of the attenuator . for this reason , the value of this resistor in conventional variable attenuator circuits is normally made as high as possible to minimize losses while maintaining the electrical requirements of the circuit . in such prior circuits , however , the value of r3a or r3b has been fixed . the present invention utilizes this portion of the attenuator circuit to provide a method to trim the net attenuation of each cell to the exact value desired . fig2 illustrates in more detail the improved attenuator circuit of the present invention . shown in this figure is a single attenuator cell 12a which will now be described . it will be understood , however , that each of the attenuator cells of the , for example , six cells utilized in the conventional programmable attenuator circuit will be constructed in substantially the same manner . as shown in fig2 the fixed bias or shunt resistor r3a of fig1 has been replaced by a tapped resistor r3a . tapped resistor r3a of fig2 is comprised of a plurality of individual resistors , the values of which are preferably arranged in a binary sequence so that many different values can be selected by shorting out various sections . that is , the lower most section of resistor r3a may have a value of r , the second section a value of 2r , the third a value of 4r and the forth , a value of 8r . this is , of course , by way of example only and other values and numbers of individual resistors can be utilized . wire bonds or shunts such as shown at 28 and 30 can be connected to the terminals 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 or 40 between to the ends of each individual resistors to short out selected ones thereof . since the combination of resistors r1a , r2a and r3a form a &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; type attenuator , one can adjust the attenuation of the &# 34 ; thru path &# 34 ; by varying only one resistor i . e . r3a . a significant value of this method is that relatively large variations in r3a ( i . e 50 ohms ) cause vary small variations in the attenuation ( i . e . 0 . 01 db ). therefore , the arrangement forms an &# 34 ; accuracy multiplication &# 34 ; circuit wherein one resistor with low accuracy is able to calibrate a circuit to very high accuracy . as may be apparent to those skilled in the art , there are a number of very significant inherent advantages to adjusting the attenuation accuracy with the use of the present invention as opposed to more conventional methods . first , the frequency response of the attenuated state is unaffected which is not the case when the resistors on the fixed attenuator are varied . second , thermal variations in the value of the adjusting resistor r3a have practically no effect on the circuit attenuation accuracy . third , the inventive method lends itself conveniently to hybrid type construction where unpackaged parts , commonly refereed to as &# 34 ; die &# 34 ;, are used to save space . fourth , the circuit can be calibrated by only adding or removing wire bonds , which , per se , is a well known and widely used process . fifth , the calibration is stable over temperature and time and is permanent once the unit is sealed . and sixth , the invention does not add any parts to the circuit but merely substitutes one part for another . therefore , there is a minimal effect on cost and time . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention .	7
fig1 a - e illustrate a modular patient monitor embodiment 100 having a two - piece modular configuration , a handheld 200 unit and a configurable docking station 101 . the handheld 200 docks into a handheld port 110 of the docking station 101 , providing the modular patient monitor 100 with two - in - one functionality . in particular , the handheld 200 provides a specific set of clinically relevant parameters . the docking station 101 supports various parameters that are configured to specific hospital environments and / or patient populations including general floor , or , icu , er , nicu , to name a few . further , the docking station 101 has module ports 120 that accept plug - in expansion modules 500 for additional parameters and technologies . the handheld 200 docked into the docking station 101 allows access to all available parameters providing maximum connectivity , functionality and a larger color display 300 . the modular patient monitor 100 provides standalone multi - parameter applications , and the handheld 200 is detachable to provide portability for patient ambulation and in - house transport . as shown in fig1 a - e , the docking station 101 has a dashboard 130 , with a trim knob 140 and buttons 150 so as to support system navigation and data entry . the trim knob 140 is a primary means for system navigation and data entry with an option of a keyboard and mouse as a secondary means . the docking station 101 also has a power supply module 160 and connectivity ports 170 . the handheld 200 mechanically attaches to and electrically connects to the docking station 101 when docked , such that the two devices function as one unit and both the handheld display 210 and the docking station display 300 provide user information . in an embodiment , the handheld 200 docks on a docking station side such that the handheld display 200 is visible from that side of the docking station 101 ( fig1 d ). in addition , the docking station 101 has one or more module slots 120 that accommodate external modules 400 , as described with respect to fig4 a - c , below . also shown in fig1 a - e , controls of the docking station 101 take precedence over those of the handheld 200 when docked . however , the handheld buttons 220 also work for back up purposes . in an embodiment , buttons 150 , 220 on the docking station dashboard 130 and on the handheld 200 provide for alarm suspend / silence and mode / enter . the trim knob 140 is the primary method to toggle thru screen menus on the dashboard 130 . the procedure includes next , up , down or across page navigation , parameter selection and entry , data entry , alarm limit selection and selection of probe - off detection sensitivity . as a secondary control method , the modular patient monitor 100 has a port for an external keyboard for patient context entry and to navigate the menu . in an embodiment , the docking station 150 has a touch screen . in an embodiment , the modular patient monitor 100 has a bar code scanner module adapted to automatically enter patient context data . the modular patient monitor 100 includes an integral handle for ease of carrying and dead space for storage for items such as sensors , reusable cables , ici cable and cuff , etco 2 hardware and tubing , temperature disposables , acoustic respiratory sensors , power cords and other accessories such as ecg leads , bp cuffs , temperature probes and respiration tapes to name a few . the monitor 100 can operate on ac power or battery power . the modular patient monitor 100 stands upright on a flat surface and allows for flexible mounting such as to an anesthesia machine , bedside table and computer on wheels . fig2 a - b illustrate a handheld monitor 200 , which provides pulse oximetry parameters including oxygen saturation ( spo 2 ), pulse rate ( pr ), perfusion index ( pi ), signal quality ( siq ) and a pulse waveform ( pleth ), among others . in an embodiment , the handheld 200 also provides measurements of other blood constituent parameters that can be derived from a multiple wavelength optical sensor , such as carboxyhemoglobin ( hbco ) and methemoglobin ( hbmet ). the handheld 200 has a color display 210 , user interface buttons 220 , an optical sensor port 230 and speaker 240 . the handheld 200 also has external i / o such as a bar code reader and bedside printer connectivity . the handheld 200 also has a flexible architecture , power and memory headroom to display additional parameters , such as sp v o 2 , blood glucose , lactate to name a few , derived from other noninvasive sensors such as acoustic , fetal oximetry , blood pressure and ecg sensors to name a few . in an embodiment , the handheld unit 200 has an active matrix ( tft ) color display 210 , an optional wireless module , an optional interactive touch - screen with on - screen keyboard and a high quality audio system . in another embodiment , the handheld 200 is a radical or radical - 7 ™ available from masimo corporation , irvine calif ., which provides masimo set ® and masimo rainbow ™ parameters . a color lcd screen handheld user interface is described in u . s . provisional patent application no . 60 / 846 , 472 titled patient monitor user interface , filed sep . 22 , 2006 and u . s . pat . no . — — — — — _ titled patient monitor user interface , filed sep . 24 , 2007 , both applications incorporated by reference herein . fig3 illustrates a modular patient monitor color display 300 . the modular patient monitor display 300 auto - scales its presentation of parameter information based upon the parameters that are active . fewer parameters result in the display 300 of larger digits and more waveform cycles . in an embodiment , the display 300 has a main menu screen showing date and time 302 , patient data 304 , battery life and alarm indicators 306 and all enabled parameters 308 . date and time 302 can be enabled or disabled . the display 300 may also have dynamic bar graphs or indicators to show perfusion index and signal quality . waveforms are displayed for spo 2 , nibp ( non - invasive blood pressure ), etco 2 ( end - tidal carbon dioxide ) and ecg ( electrocardiogram ) if enabled . trend waveforms are displayed for parameters that are less dynamic , such as hbco and hbmet . further , the display 300 has individual text displays for alarms , alarm suspend , sensor off or no sensor , battery condition , sensitivity , trauma mode , ac power , printer function , recording function , connectivity messages and menus to name a few . pulse search is indicated by blinking dashes in the pulse and parameter displays . in an embodiment , the color display 300 is an 11 . 1 ″ lcd with allowance for the use of a 10 . 4 ″ lcd within the standard mechanical design for the 11 . 1 ″ display . the docking station 101 also supports any external vga display . an exemplar color print illustration of the color display 300 is disclosed in u . s . provisional application no . 60 / 846 , 471 entitled modular patient monitor , cited above . in particular , each of the displayed parameters are variously presented in one of a off - white to white shade , lime green to green shade , crimson to red shade , generally turquoise shade , generally chartreuse shade , yellow to gold shade , generally blue and generally purple shade , to name a few . fig4 illustrates a modular patient monitor 100 having a vertical orientation 401 and a horizontal orientation 403 . in the vertical orientation 401 , the display 300 presents data in a vertical format , such as shown in fig3 , above . in the horizontal orientation 403 , the display 300 presents data in a horizontal format , so that the data appears upright with respect to the viewer . that is , the display 300 automatically switches format according to the patient monitor 100 orientation . a patient monitor having a rotatable display format is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 770 , 028 entitled dual mode pulse oximeter and incorporated by reference herein . fig5 a - c illustrate an expansion module 500 , which the docking station 101 ( fig1 a - e ) accepts for additional parameters and technologies , such as ici - nibp , glucose monitoring , ecg , etco 2 , conscious sedation monitoring , cerebral oximetry , anesthetic agent monitoring , lactate , patient body temperature and assay cartridges , to name a few . the expansion module 500 has an indicator 510 indicating parameters to be provided . in one embodiment , the expansion module 500 provides two parameters to the docking station , which is adapted to accept two modules 500 for four additional parameters . in an embodiment , an ecg module is used to provide an r - wave trigger for ici - nibp . as shown in fig1 a - e , the modular patient monitor 100 includes various connectivity ports 170 such as ethernet , usb , rs - 232 , rs - 423 , nurse call , external vga and i / o ports for a keyboard and a bar code reader to name a few . as an option , the modular patient monitor 100 has on - board and bedside recorder capability . the modular patient monitor 100 also supports multiple wireless and hardwired communication platforms , web server technology that allows remote viewing of data as well as limited bi - directional control of module functionality and an optional wireless connectivity standards base technology , such as ieee 802 . 11x . the wireless option is provided in the handheld 200 and the docking station 101 . a wireless module supports the downloading and temporary storage of upgrade software from a remote central server to a destination docking station or a specific module . in an embodiment , the modular patient monitor 100 supports patient context management , specifically the ability to upload or alternatively enter patient unique identification . the modular patient monitor 100 also connects both wired and wirelessly to other patient monitors . the modular patient monitor 100 may be logged onto via the internet so as to download raw waveforms and stored trending data for both customer service purposes and for data mining to enhance algorithms and so as to be uploaded with firmware updates . the modular patient monitor 100 may also incorporate removable storage media for the same purpose . in an embodiment , removable storage media functions as a black box , which is a diagnostic tool to retrieve device use information . in particular , the black box can record values displayed , raw waveforms including sounds , and buttons touched by the end user . a patient monitor with removable storage media is described in u . s . patent ser . no . 10 / 983 , 048 entitled pulse oximetry data capture system filed nov . 5 , 2004 and incorporated by reference herein . the modular patient monitor 100 may also have an audio module slot ( not shown ) accommodating an external audio system and wireless headphone module . in an embodiment , the docking station 101 audio system is configured to reproduce respiratory sounds from an arr ( acoustic respiratory rate ) sensor . in an embodiment , the modular patient monitor 100 has a redundant speaker system for alarms . the modular patient monitor 100 may also include alarms for all parameters and a parameter fusion alarm that involves analysis of multiple parameters in parallel . a user can select custom default alarm parameters for adult , pediatric and neonatal patients . a patient monitor having redundant alarm speakers is described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 546 , 927 entitled robust alarm system , filed oct . 12 , 2006 and incorporated by reference herein . an alarm condition exists for low battery , sensor - off patient , defective sensor , ambient light , parameter limit exceeded and defective speakers , as examples . audible alarm volume is adjustable and when muted , a visual indicator is illuminated . in an embodiment , the volume is adjustable in at least of four discrete steps . the parameter display flashes to indicate which values are exceeding alarm limits , the parameter is enlarged automatically , and numerics are displayed in either red or with a red background . the audible alarm is silence - able with a default alarm silence period for up to two minutes . this delay can be user configurable . separate from sleep mode , the audible alarms are permanently mutable via a password - protected sub - menu . the visual alarm indicator still flashes to indicate an alarm condition . a visual indicator on the dashboard indicates an alarm silence condition , such as blinking for temporary silence and solid for muted . an alarm speaker is mounted so as not to be susceptible to muffling from a bed surface , attached external monitor surface or other type of flat resting surface . redundant and smart alarm annunciation is also provided . the user accesses the setup menu via a front dashboard knob 140 and mode / enter button 150 . table 1 shows user settable parameters . the user can override default settings on a patient - by - patient basis via setup menus . default settings are stored in non - volatile memory ( nvm ). there is a factory , hospital and user default setting which may be automatically based on patient recognition . the user can choose any of the three at any time . the user may over - write hospital and user default settings with their own preferences via a password protected “ save as default ” setup menu function . all parameters return to hospital default settings after a power cycle . in one embodiment , the default settings are as shown in table 2 , stored in nvm . these settings are also over - written into nvm as a result of a factory reset or return to factory defaults function from within the setup menus . fig6 a - e illustrate another modular patient monitor 600 embodiment having a docking station 601 , a handheld monitor 602 and parameter cartridges 700 . each cartridge 700 provides one parameter to the docking station 601 , which accepts four cartridges 700 for a total of four additional parameters . further , the patient monitor 600 also has a cord management channel 630 , an oral temperature probe 660 and probe covers 670 located on the docking station 601 . the docking station 601 has a trim knob 652 and control buttons 654 on a front stand 653 so as to support system navigation and data entry . the docking station 601 also has a color display 605 , a thermal printer 620 , an alarm indicator light bar 651 , a thermal printer paper door 657 and a handle 659 , a sensor holder 655 , connectivity ports 680 and a power supply module 690 . fig7 a - c illustrate a parameter cartridge 700 having an indicator 710 indicating the parameter or technology provided . fig8 a - d illustrate a three - piece modular patient monitor 800 including a handheld monitor 810 , a shuttle station 830 and a docking station 850 . the docking station 850 has a shuttle port 855 that allows the shuttle station 830 to dock . the shuttle station 830 has a handheld port 835 that allows the handheld monitor 810 to dock . accordingly , the modular patient monitor 800 has three - in - one functionality including a handheld 810 , a handheld 810 docked into a shuttle station 830 as a handheld / shuttle 840 and a handheld / shuttle 840 docked into a docking station 850 . when docked , the three modules of handheld 810 , shuttle 830 and docking station 850 function as one unit . as shown in fig8 a - d , the handheld module 810 functions independently from the shuttle 830 and docking station 850 and is used as an ultra - light weight transport device with its own battery power . the handheld 810 docked into the shuttle module 830 functions independently of the docking station 850 and expands the handheld parameter capability to the ability to measure all parameters available . the docking station 850 , in turn , provides the shuttle 830 or handheld / shuttle 840 with connectivity ports 852 , a power supply module 854 , a large color display 856 , wireless and hardwired communications platforms , a web server and an optional printer . as such , the docking station 850 charges the handheld 810 and shuttle 830 , provides a larger screen and controls , such as a trim knob , allows wireless , hardwired and internet communications and provides connectivity to various external devices . fig8 e illustrates another modular patient monitor embodiment 805 having a shuttle 870 with plug - in modules 860 for expanded parameter functionality . in an embodiment , the handheld monitor 810 incorporates blood parameter measurement technologies including hbco , hbmet , spo 2 and hbt , and the shuttle station 830 incorporates non - blood parameters , such as intelligent cuff inflation ( ici ), end - tidal co 2 ( etco 2 ), acoustic respiration rate ( arr ), patient body temperature ( temp ) and ecg , to name a few . in an alternative embodiment , parameters such as spo 2 , arr and ecg that clinicians need during in - house transports or patient ambulation are loaded into the handheld 810 . fig9 illustrates a two - piece modular patient monitor 900 having a shuttle 930 and a docking station 950 without a corresponding handheld . in an embodiment , the shuttle 930 has plug - in modules 960 for added parameter functions . fig1 a - c illustrate yet another modular patient monitor 1000 embodiment having dual removable handhelds 1010 and a docking station 1050 without a corresponding shuttle . for example , the handhelds 1010 may include one blood parameter monitor and one non - blood parameter monitor . fig1 a - c illustrate a handheld tablet monitor 1100 having a display 1110 , a trim knob 1120 and control buttons 1130 . an electroluminescent lamp 1140 on the front panel provides a thin uniform lighting with low power consumption . a temperature probe 1150 is attached to the monitor 1100 . the tablet monitor 1100 connects to a multiple parameter sensor through a patient cable 1160 . fig1 - 13 illustrate a handheld monitor 1200 configured to plug into a compact holder / battery charger 1300 . the handheld monitor 1200 is adapted to plug into the compact charger 1300 . fig1 illustrates a modular patient monitor 1400 embodiment having various handheld monitors 1410 , a docking station adapter 1430 and a legacy docking station 1450 . the handheld monitors 1410 can include legacy handhelds 1411 and upgrade handhelds 1412 . the docking station adapter 1430 is configured for the legacy docking station 1450 so that both legacy handhelds 1411 and upgrade handhelds 1412 can dock into the legacy docking station 1450 directly or via the docking station adapter 1430 . fig1 a - b illustrate a “ notebook ” modular patient monitor 1500 embodiment having a foldable lid 1510 , a fixed body 1530 and a foldable docking station 1550 . the fixed body 1530 houses patient monitor electronics and provides external device connectivity at a back end ( not visible ). the lid 1510 has a notebook display 1551 , such as a color lcd . the docking station 1550 has a port 1551 that removably connects , both mechanically and electrically , a corresponding handheld monitor 1590 , such as the handheld embodiments described above . in a closed position ( fig1 a ), the notebook monitor 1500 can be carried via an optional handle or simply in hand or under an arm . in an open position ( fig1 b ), the notebook monitor is operational , connecting to patient sensors via the handheld 1590 or a sensor connector ( not shown ) on the back end of the notebook . in the open position , the docking station 1550 can stay in a stowed or folded position ( not shown ) so that the handheld screen 1591 faces upward . alternatively , in the open position , the docking station 1550 is unfolded as shown ( fig1 b ) so that the handheld display 1591 can be easily viewed from the front of the notebook in conjunction with the notebook display 1511 in the lid 1510 . in an embodiment , the notebook 1500 can have a conventional keyboard and touch pad , have conventional monitor controls , incorporate a conventional computer and peripherals or a combination of the above . as shown , the notebook display 1511 faces inward , so that the display 1511 is protected in the folded position . in another embodiment , the display 1511 faces outward ( not shown ). fig1 illustrates a flat panel modular patient monitor embodiment 1600 having a flat panel body 1610 housing a flat panel display 1611 and a handheld port 1620 . the handheld port 1620 removably accepts a handheld monitor 1690 having a handheld display 1691 , such as the handheld monitors described above . the flat panel monitor 1600 can be free - standing on a table top , wall - mounted or mounted on or integrated within a patient bed , as a few examples . the flat panel monitor 1600 can be simply a docking and display device or can provide built - in patient monitoring functions and parameters not available to the handheld 1690 . a modular patient monitor has been disclosed in detail in connection with various embodiments . these embodiments are disclosed by way of examples only and are not to limit the scope of the claims that follow . one of ordinary skill in art will appreciate many variations and modifications .	0
although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention . referring specifically to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , a parallel stage pressure regulator 100 comprising regulator stages 101 and 102 and configured to reduce droop is disclosed . it should be understood that the pressure regulator could be a single stage device having only one regulator stage 101 or 102 . a parallel stage pressure regulator of the type disclosed herein facilitates the controlled delivery of gas from either of two high pressure sources ( e . g . compressed gas tanks , cylinder banks , etc .) to a device operating at a lower pressure ( e . g . gas analyzer , laser , fuel cell , welding system , etc .). a single stage device , of course , controls the delivery of gas from a single high pressure source . the pressure regulator 100 comprises a valve body including central body member 105 and a pair of bonnets 111 , 111 each of which is connected to the valve body by a threaded collar 119 . one bonnet 111 is located on one end of the body member 105 and the other bonnet is located on an opposite end of the body member . thus , one bonnet 111 is part of one regulator stage 101 and the other bonnet is part of the other regulator stage 102 . inasmuch as the regulator stages 101 and 102 are generally the same , only stage 101 will be described with the understanding that like reference numerals will be used for like structure in each stage and that any differences between the stages will be specifically pointed out hereinafter . the body member 105 is generally cylindrical and includes a pair of inlet ports 151 formed in its cylindrical wall and an outlet port 150 also formed in its cylindrical wall . each inlet port 151 communicates with one of the inlet passages 145 , 145 so gas can be fed from either of two high pressure sources to one of the inlet passage 145 . the outlet port 150 communicates with a pair of outlet passages 155 , 155 each of which communicates with one of the inlet passages 145 , 145 so that gas can flow from either high pressure source through one of the flow passages 145 , 155 to the outlet port 150 and , thus , to a user device . between each of the passages 145 and 155 , there is provided a valving assembly 130 each of which includes a valve plug 160 moveably carried in its associated inlet passage 145 , a plug spring 162 , and a valve seat 164 carried on the generally circular end face of the body member 105 . one end of the plug spring 162 is grounded against a base surface of inlet passage 145 and the other end of the plug spring contacts a shoulder formed on the valve plug 160 . a tapered surface 168 is formed intermediate the ends of valve plug 160 and the plug spring 162 biases the valve plug so that surface 168 is urged toward a conical surface 167 formed on the valve seat 164 . in a closed position of valving assembly 130 , surface 168 seats on surface 167 . in an open position of valving assembly 130 mating surfaces 167 and 168 are separated by a circumferential gap . for reasons to be made clear hereinafter , the valve plug 160 is formed with a stem that extends beyond the valve seat 164 where it terminates in a bearing surface 161 . the bonnet 111 is formed with a stepped bore 111 ′ having its smaller diameter adjacent its free end and its largest diameter adjacent the body member 105 . in the exemplary embodiment disclosed herein the bore 111 ′ is formed with four different diameters and these diameters increase in size from the free end to the end adjacent the body member 105 . the smallest diameter is threaded and accommodates an adjusting screw 118 which bears against a spring retainer 112 that is slideably carried in one of the bore sections . one end of a spring 114 bears on the spring retainer 112 and the other end bears on a piston 113 . the piston 113 is slidably carried in another section of the bore 111 ′. a diaphragm 120 is clamped between the outer edge of piston 113 and the radially outer edge of bypass plate 125 so that the plate is clamped on the generally circular end face of the body member 105 and which , in turn , clamps the valve seat 164 in place . the piston 113 bears on and urges the diaphragm 120 against the bearing surface 161 of the valve plug stem and , thus , biases the valving assembly 130 to an open position . as shown in fig1 a and 1b and as more clearly seen in fig2 a and 2b , the bypass plate 125 is a generally circular disc member having a central opening through which the valve plug stem extends to its abutting relationship with the diaphragm 120 . extending from one surface of the disc member is a generally cylindrical hub 126 which bears on the valve seat 164 to clamp the valve seat in place on the body member 105 . extending radially through the hub 126 is a flow restricting passage 173 that communicates with the discharge side of the valve seat 164 . the circular disc portion of the bypass plate 125 divides the space between the diaphragm 120 and the end face of the body member 105 into a discharge chamber 142 and a sensing chamber 144 . as best seen in fig1 b , the discharge chamber 142 is formed between the bypass plate 125 and the valving assembly 130 and it receives gas flow from the inlet passage 145 , through the valving assembly , and the flow restricting passage 173 . the discharge chamber 142 also communicates with the outlet passage 155 . the flow bypass plate 125 includes aspirators 172 and 172 ′ in the form of passages formed in its disc like portion . aspirator 172 communicates between the flow passage 173 and the sensing chamber 144 . aspirator 172 ′ communicates between the discharge chamber 142 and the sensing chamber 144 . when the valving assembly 130 is open , gas travels through the restrictive flow passage 173 where its pressure decreases . after the gas exits passage 173 , it expands into the discharge chamber 142 and its pressure increases . thus , the pressure of the gas within flow passage 173 is lower than the pressure of the gas within the discharge chamber 142 . initially , the gas pressure within the sensing chamber 144 and discharge chamber 142 are substantially equal and the gas pressure within flow aperture 173 is lower than the gas pressure within both chamber 142 and 144 . since gas seeks to travel from a higher to a lower pressure region , the gas within sensing chamber 144 travels through the aspirators 172 and 172 ′ towards flow aperture 173 and into discharge chamber 144 . it should be understood that the aspirators 172 and 172 ′ may be positioned at any location at or near the low pressure region of flow aperture 173 . as the gas flows from the sensing chamber 142 to the discharge chamber 144 , the sensing chamber pressure drops . by virtue of the pressure drop , the regulator spring 114 expands and forces piston 113 to further separate valve plug 160 from valve seat 164 . the increased separation of valve plug 160 from valve seat 164 induces greater fluid flow through the valving assembly , thereby increasing the outlet pressure and reducing fluid flow droop . in addition to the aspirators 172 , 172 ′, spring 114 of the exemplary embodiment also counteracts fluid flow droop caused by the spring effect . in this embodiment spring 114 comprises a vertical stack of non - linear disc springs , e . g ., belleville washers or any other type of non - linear disc spring . by virtue of the geometry and the material properties of the non - linear spring washers , the washers effect a higher outlet pressure at a given valve opening , thereby reducing droop . more particularly , the collective stack of washers of this embodiment has a lower spring rate than a standard helical range spring and applies less force to the topside of diaphragm 120 for a given amount of washer travel , as compared to a standard helical spring . thus , less change in internal gas pressure is required to overcome the force exerted on the topside of diaphragm 120 , and the valving assembly 130 is permitted to open further with less of a drop in pressure . the diaphragm 120 of the exemplary embodiment is configured to reduce droop caused by the diaphragm effect . as seen in fig1 b , the diaphragm is formed with corrugations 121 . as the diaphragm is extended toward the valving assembly 130 , by the piston 113 , the diaphragm flexes and the effective area of the diaphragm decreases , thus , maintaining a more constant outlet pressure . the diaphragm may have any number of corrugations 121 . the radii of the corrugations may be , for example , 0 . 1 inches or any dimension sufficient to produce a non - linear response of the diaphragm . the diaphragm is optionally composed of stainless steel . the valving assembly 130 is also configured to reduce droop . more particularly , the geometry of the mating surface 168 of valve plug 160 is tailored to facilitate a quick opening flow characteristic . the flow characteristic of a valving assembly is the relationship which exists between the flow through the valving assembly and the travel of the valve plug relative to the valve seat . a “ quick opening ” flow characteristic is defined by an increasing change in flow rate for a particular translation of the valve plug relative to the valve seat , as compared to a constant change exhibited by a “ linear flow characteristic ”. in this embodiment , the radius of the revolved mating surface 168 of valve plug 160 may be about 0 . 1 inches to generate a quick opening flow characteristic . the free end face of the seat hub 126 of flow bypass plate 125 clamps valve seat 164 on the body member 105 because of the clamping action between the bonnet 111 and collar 119 . in contrast , conventional valve seat retainers are typically threadedly coupled to the regulator housing to retain the valve seat in a substantially fixed position . it has been recognized that threads can be a source of virtual leaks or accumulated metallic particles thereby affecting the purity of the gas . moreover , the use of elastomers in this type of regulator may not be preferred as the elastomers can contain and release harmful impurities into the regulator system . thus , the valve seat 164 may be composed of a non - outgassing polymeric material such as ptfe , pctfe , or vespel ® currently sold and distributed by dupont . although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments , the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention .	6
the proposed redundancy technique is shown schematically in fig4 and comprises deployment of two power and data cables 20 , 22 , each connected to a power and data channel 24 , 26 at the surface ( which may be the sea bed in an offshore installation ) with an or - wired condition . this ensures redundancy for the top channel . only one cable is used at a time and ensures links to all downhole equipment 28 , 28 ′, 28 ″, etc . in case of fault condition of this primary cable 20 , switching on the secondary cable 22 allows reconnection of all equipment 28 . this ensures redundancy for the downhole equipment . the structure comprises two interface cards 24 , 26 at surface / subsea level , one for each cable 20 , 22 , and two cable penetrators at the tubing head 30 to allow connection to the two cables 20 , 22 installed in the well . all the downhole tools 28 are connected to the two cables 20 , 22 for power and communication and can be accessed via either cable . should a tool 28 or a cable 20 , fail , switching on the alternate cable 22 will give access to the tool chain . each downhole tool 28 is equipped with a separate sub that allows enabling the power supply and the communication link on the proper cable . in case of cable default , the sub automatically recovers the power supply and ensures the communication link via the secondary cable . fig5 shows one example of a redundancy sub falling within the scope of the invention . the sub 30 is positioned between the downhole tool 32 and the cables 20 , 22 . each cable 20 , 22 is provided with a separate connection box 34 , 36 at the level of the sub 30 . the connection boxes 34 , 36 are separated and separately insulated , such that failure caused by entrance of fluid into one box has no effect on the other . connection wires 38 , 40 pass from each connection box 34 , 36 into the sub 30 via bulkhead connectors 42 , 44 having pressure integrity at the pressures encountered in the borehole . the connection wires 38 , 40 from each cable 20 , 22 are connected to the primary winding 46 , 48 of a respective transformer 50 , 52 located in the sub 30 . a centre tap 54 , 56 is taken from each primary winding 46 , 48 to corresponding dc power supply circuitry 58 , 60 which provides power at the appropriate level for the tool in question via a common power connection 62 which passes to the tool 32 from the sub 30 via a suitable bulkhead connector 64 . the secondary winding 66 , 68 of each transformer 50 , 52 is connected to a respective modem 70 , 72 which outputs data signals which pass to the tool 32 via another bulkhead connector 74 . in use , power and data signals are typically provided on one cable ( e . g . cable 20 ), the other cable 22 carrying no signals whatsoever . in the sub 30 , the power signals pass through the power supply circuitry 58 to the tool 32 . since the output of both sets of power supply circuitry 58 and 60 are combined before the power signal passes through the bulkhead connector 62 to the tool 32 , suitable protection ( diodes 76 , 78 ) is provided to prevent the live power channel powering up the dormant one . the data signals are demodulated in modem 70 and passed to the tool 32 . since cable 22 is dormant , no data passes via modem 72 . each tool in the installation will operate in this manner . in the event of a failure on cable 20 , power and data signals on that cable are halted and the signals are passed on cable 22 . consequently , power is passed to the tool via power supply circuit 60 and data via modem 72 . again , all of the tools in the installation behave in this manner . the selection of which modem and power supply circuit is used is effected by the selection of the live cable , there being no active switching in the sub 30 . also , the change in power and data supply is invisible to the tool since the power and signal arrive at the tool along common paths 62 , 74 irrespective of which cable is used . fig6 shown an alternative form of sub to that shown in fig5 . in this case , the modems 70 , 72 are replaced by amplifiers 80 , 82 which also receive power signals 84 , 86 from the power supply circuits 58 , 60 . the output 88 , 90 from an amplifier 80 , 82 passes through a first bulkhead 92 to the primary winding 94 of an intermediate transformer 96 . the power signals 98 , 100 pass through the first bulkhead 92 to a tap 102 on the secondary winding 104 and the output 106 from the intermediate transformer 96 , comprising both power and data signals , passes through a second bulkhead 108 to the tool 32 . the combined signal passed to the tool is separated into its respective data and power components in the normal manner for downhole tools . in this case , the tool 32 sees a power and data signal that is essentially the same as that as might appear from a single cable connection in a normal installation . again , the selection of power and data channels associated with a particular cable is achieved by switching the supplies to the cable at the surface and it is irrelevant to the tool which channel is active . fig7 shows an embodiment of the invention that uses only passive components ( fig8 shown only the electric circuit of fig7 with the structural component omitted for clarity ). in this case , the circuit is similar to that of fig5 . the power supply feed is taken as a tap 110 , 112 from the primary winding 46 , 48 of the input transformer 50 , 52 , through the first bulkhead 92 , to the secondary winding 104 of the intermediate transformer 96 ( with diode protection 76 , 78 on each channel ) as before . the secondary windings 66 , 68 of the input transformers 50 , 52 are connected to each other 114 , 116 and a feed 118 taken to the primary winding 94 of the intermediate transformer 96 . resistors 120 , 122 are provided on either side of the feed take - off 118 so as to provide an impedance barrier . in the event of a change in the transformer characteristics for one channel , e . g . a cable failure , short circuit or the like , the impedance barrier means that the behaviour of the other input transformer is not substantially changed . as with the embodiments discussed above , only one cable is active at any given time . if a short circuit , or other failure , is detected in the active cable , the other cable is selected as before . fig9 shows the effective configuration when a short circuit occurs in cable 22 . in this case , cable 20 is active and power and data arrive at the tool via input transformer 50 . the diode protection 78 on power channel 112 stops the channel 110 power supply charging that side of the circuit , and the resistors 122 on the side of input transformer 52 provide an impedance barrier so that the behaviour of the input transformer 50 is not modified . it is to be noted that the configuration of fig7 , 8 and 9 comprises entirely passive components . fig1 shows a schematic view of further embodiment of the present invention , configured for use with a downhole electric control valve for managing the flow in the well . the figure shows the structure of a redundancy sub a and part of the tool electronics cartridge b . as before , the redundancy sub a essentially comprises two substantially identical power and data channels , one for each cable , the outputs of which are mixed prior to passing through the bulkhead to the tool electronics cartridge . each channel comprises an input transformer 124 , 126 as before . again , the power take off 128 , 130 is from the primary winding of the input transformer 124 , 126 , but in this case , since more than one power supply is needed by the tool for proper functioning , the power channel comprises a dc / ac converter 132 , 134 and a step - down transformer 136 , 138 which gives three output power supply channels ps 0 , ps 1 , ps 2 which pass to the tool electronics cartridge b via the bulkhead 140 after the two channels are joined , with diode protection , as before . the number of power supply channels can be less or more than three . the data channel is capable of handling both transmit and receive data streams . the secondary winding of the input transformer 124 , 126 is connected to a tx / rx circuit including an electronics module ( e . g . a wellnet module ) 142 , 144 . the data channels from each cable are mixed at a tx / rx amplifier 146 and passed as a single feed to the tool electronics cartridge b , via the bulkhead 140 , as before . in the tool electronics cartridge b , each power channel ps 0 , ps 1 , ps 2 is fed to a respective power regulator 148 , 150 , 152 and from there to an electronics module ( e . g . wellnet module ) 154 and motor controller 156 and thence on to the sensor and actuator parts of the tool ( not shown ). the data channel passes via the electronics module 154 to the motor controller 156 and sensors . while the tool described here takes power and data via the redundancy sub a , the tool electronics cartridge b may also contain a conventional , single cable , power supply circuit as shown in fig1 . this comprises an input transformer 158 , dc / ac converter 160 and step - down transformer 162 . the data feed 164 is taken from the secondary winding of the input transformer 158 to the electronics module 154 of the cartridge , i . e . essentially the same structure as one channel of the redundancy sub a . this approach makes it unnecessary to have different tools for dual or single cable operation ; in single cable operation , the tool is connected to the cable directly via the cartridge , in dual cable operation via the redundancy sub . the present invention can be implemented as part of a flow control installation utilising , for example , a variable flow control valve system such as the trfc - e ( tubing retrievable flow control - electrical ) of schlumberger . fig1 shows such an installation with two cables 20 , 22 , the redundancy sub 30 , and the tool electronics cartridge 32 mounted on the valve assembly 160 . a typical installation will comprise several of these valves in a well , possibly in conjunction with pressure gauges , flow meters or other measurement devices . while fig1 shows the redundancy sub integrated with the flow control valve , it is also possible to implement the redundancy sub as a totally separate tool in its own right , which can be connected to any one of a number of permanently installed tools ( e . g . wellnet tools ). fig1 shows schematically the electronic elements of the installation , comprising the cables 20 , 22 , cable connectors ( one for each cable / channel ) 34 , 36 the redundancy sub 30 , a connection box 168 incorporating the bulkhead described above and electronics sections for dc power regulation 170 , interface and motor control 172 , and the motor and actuator itself 174 . the connection box architecture is described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 499 , 541 . two further embodiments of the invention are shown in fig1 and 15 . these comprise full redundancy subs under active control downhole . by sending appropriate signals to the sub using the wellnet protocol , each can be configured to connect to one or other of the cables according to requirements . consequently , it is possible to power both cables and have some tools connected to one cable and other tools to the other cable . thus it is possible to isolate faults in both cable while retaining full functionality of the installation . in the embodiment of fig1 , the redundancy sub contains two control modules ( wellnet modules ) 176 , 178 , one for each cable 20 , 22 . by sending an appropriate signal on a given cable , the relevant module operates switches 180 , 182 to connect that cable to the tool 32 , and instructs the other module to operate switches to disconnect its cable from the tool . the module can also operate other switches 184 , 186 and 188 , 190 to cross - connect the cables 20 , 22 such that the power and data signals are transferred from one cable to the other below that sub . for example , if a fault is detected in cable 20 above the sub , the signal is sent on cable 22 for the module 178 to close the switch 182 to connect the tool 32 to cable 22 , and to instruct the other module 176 to open the switch 180 to disconnect the tool 32 from cable 20 . if it is also desired to continue operation on cable 20 below this tool , module 178 closes the switch 188 connecting cable 22 to cable 20 and opens the switch 190 for continued connection to the lower part of cable 22 . module 176 operates to open the switches 184 , 186 to stop signals passing up cable 20 or to module 176 . the embodiment of fig1 has one controller module 192 , 194 , 196 , 198 for each switch function as well as a module 200 for the tool in question . each module 192 - 200 has a network address and can be controlled from the surface via either cable using the appropriate protocol ( wellnet ). by providing redundancy in the power and data channels for each tool in a manner that is easily controlled from the surface , the present invention allows improved reliability of the installation as a whole , with less susceptibility to total failure from cable problems or the like .	4
the present invention relates to methods of protecting against the deleterious effects of oxidants , particularly , superoxide radicals , hydrogen peroxide and peroxynitrite , and to methods of preventing and treating diseases and disorders that involve or result from oxidant stress . the invention also relates methods of modulating biological processes involving oxidants , including superoxide radicals , hydrogen peroxide , nitric oxide and peroxynitrite . the invention further relates to compounds and compositions , including low molecular weight antioxidants ( e . g ., mimetics of scavengers of reactive oxygen species , including mimetics of sods , catalases and peroxidases ) and formulations thereof , suitable for use in such methods . mimetics of scavengers of reactive oxygen species appropriate for use in the present methods include methine ( i . e ., meso ) substituted porphines , or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof ( e . g ., chloride or bromide salts ). the invention includes both metal - free and metal - bound porphines . in the case of metal - bound porphines , manganic derivatives of methine ( meso ) substituted porphines are preferred , however , metals other than manganese such as iron ( ii or iii ), copper ( i or ii ), cobalt ( ii or iii ), or nickel ( i or ii ), can also be used . it will be appreciated that the metal selected can have various valence states , for example , manganese ii , iii or v can be used . zinc ( ii ) can also be used even though it does not undergo a valence change and therefore will not directly scavenge superoxide . the choice of the metal can affect selectivity of the oxygen species that is scavenged . iron - bound porphines , for example , can be used to scavenge no • while manganese - bound porphines scavenge no • less well . each x is the same or different and is an alkyl and each r 5 is the same or different ( preferably the same ) and is h or alkyl . each x is the same or different and is an alkyl ( preferably , c 1 - 4 alkyl , e . g ., methyl or ethyl ) and each r 5 is the same or different ( preferably the same ) and is h or alkyl ( preferably , c 1 - 4 alkyl , e . g ., — ch 3 or — ch 2 ch 3 ). most preferably , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 are the same and are x or and each x is the same or different and is c 1 - 4 alkyl , advantageously , methyl or ethyl , particularly , methyl . specific examples of mimetics of the invention are shown in fig1 , together with activity data . in addition to the methine ( meso ) substituents described above , one or more of the pyrrole rings of the porphyrin of formula i can be substituted at any or all beta carbons , ie : 2 , 3 , 7 , 8 , 12 , 13 , 17 or 18 . such substituents , designated p , can be hydrogen or an electron withdrawing group , for example , each p can , independently , be a no 2 group , a halogen ( e . g ., cl , br or f ), a nitrile group , a vinyl group , or a formyl group . such substituents alter the redox potential of the porphyrin and thus enhance its ability to scavenge oxygen radicals . for example , there can be 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , or 8 halogen ( e . g ., br ) substituents ( preferably , 1 - 4 ), the remaining p &# 39 ; s advantageously being hydrogen . when p is formyl , it is preferred that there not be more than 2 ( on non - adjacent carbons ), more preferably , 1 , the remaining p &# 39 ; s preferably being hydrogen . when p is no 2 , it is preferred that there not be more than 4 ( on non - adjacent carbons ), more preferably , 1 or 2 , the remaining p &# 39 ; s being hydrogen . where isomers are possible , all such isomers of the herein described mimetics are within the scope of the invention . mimetics preferred for use in the present methods can be selected by assaying for sod , catalase and / or peroxidase activity . mimetics can also be screened for their ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation or scavenge onoo - ( as determined by the method of szabo et al ., febs lett . 381 : 82 ( 1996 )). sod activity can be monitored in the presence and absence of edta using the method of mccord and fridovich ( j . biol . chem . 244 : 6049 ( 1969 )). the efficacy of a mimetic can also be determined by measuring the effect of the mimetic on the aerobic growth of a sod null e . coli strain versus a parent strain . specifically , parental e . coli ( ab1157 ) and sod null e . coli . ( ji132 ) can be grown in m9 medium containing 0 . 2 % casamino acids and 0 . 2 % glucose at ph 7 . 0 and 37 ° c . ; growth can be monitored in terms of turbidity followed at 700 nm . this assay can be made more selective for sod mimetics by omitting the branched chain , aromatic and sulphur - containing amino acids from the medium ( glucose minimal medium ( m9 ), plus 5 essential amino acids ). efficacy of active mimetics can also be assessed by determining their ability to protect mammalian cells against methylviologen ( paraquat )- induced toxicity . specifically , rat l2 cells grown as described below and seeded into 24 well dishes can be pre - incubated with various concentrations of the sod mimetic and then incubated with a concentration of methylviologen previously shown to produce an lc 75 in control l2 cells . efficacy of the mimetic can be correlated with a decrease in the methylviologen - induced ldh release ( st . clair et al ., febs lett . 293 : 199 ( 1991 )). the efficacy of sod mimetics can be tested in vivo with mouse and / or rat models using both aerosol administration and parenteral injection . for example , male balb / c mice can be randomized into 4 groups of 8 mice each to form a standard 2x2 contingency statistical model . animals can be treated with either paraquat ( 40 mg / kg , ip ) or saline and treated with sod mimetic or vehicle control . lung injury can be assessed 48 hours after paraquat treatment by analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( balf ) damage parameters ( ldh , protein and % pmn ) as previously described ( hampson et al ., tox . appl . pharm . 98 : 206 ( 1989 ); day et al ., j . pharm . methods 24 : 1 ( 1990 )). lungs from 2 mice of each group can be instillation - fixed with 4 % paraformaldehyde and processed for histopathology at the light microscopic level . catalase activity can be monitored by measuring absorbance at 240 nm in the presence of hydrogen peroxide ( see beers and sizer , j . biol . chem . 195 : 133 ( 1952 )) or by measuring oxygen evolution with a clark oxygen electrode ( del rio et al ., anal . biochem . 80 : 409 ( 1977 )). peroxidase activity can be measured spectrophotometrically as previously described by putter and becker : peroxidases . in : methods of enzymatic analysis , h . u . bergmeyer ( ed . ), verlag chemie , weinheim , pp . 286 - 292 ( 1983 ). aconitase activity can be measured as described by gardner and fridovich ( j . biol . chem . 266 : 19328 ( 1991 )). the selective , reversible and sod - sensitive inactivation of aconitase by known o 2 - generators can be used as a marker of intracellular o 2 - generation . thus , suitable mimetics can be selected by assaying for the ability to protect aconitase activity . the ability of mimetics to inhibit lipid peroxidation can be assessed as described by ohkawa et al . ( anal . biochem . 95 : 351 ( 1979 )) and yue et al . ( j . pharmacol . exp . ther . 263 : 92 ( 1992 )). iron and ascorbate can be used to initiate lipid peroxidation in tissue homogenates and the formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive species ( tbars ) measured . active mimetics can be tested for toxicity in mammalian cell culture by measuring lactate dehydrogenase ( ldh ) release . specifically , rat l2 cells ( a lung type ii like cell ( kaighn and douglas , j . cell biol . 59 : 160a ( 1973 )) can be grown in ham &# 39 ; s f - 12 medium with 10 % fetal calf serum supplement at ph 7 . 4 and 37 ° c . ; cells can be seeded at equal densities in 24 well culture dishes and grown to approximately 90 % confluence ; sod mimetics can be added to the cells at log doses ( e . g ., micromolar doses in minimal essential medium ( mem )) and incubated for 24 hours . toxicity can be assessed by morphology and by measuring the release of the cytosolic injury marker , ldh ( e . g ., on a thermokinetic plate reader ), as described by vassault ( in : methods of enzymatic analysis , bergmeyer ( ed ) pp . 118 - 26 ( 1983 ); oxidation of nadh is measured at 340 nm ). the mimetics of the present invention are suitable for use in a variety of methods . the compounds of formula i , particularly the metal bound forms ( advantageously , the manganese bound forms ), are characterized by the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation . accordingly , these compounds are preferred for use in the treatment of diseases or disorders associated with elevated levels of lipid peroxidation . the compounds are further preferred for use in the treatment of diseases or disorders mediated by oxidative stress . inflammatory diseases are examples , including asthma , inflammatory bowel disease , arthritis and vasculitis . the compounds of the invention ( advantageously , metal bound forms thereof ) can also be used in methods designed to regulate no • levels by targeting the above - described porphines to strategic locations . no • is an intercellular signal and , as such , no • must traverse the extracellular matrix to exert its effects . no • however , is highly sensitive to inactivation mediated by o 2 - present in the extracellular spaces . the methine ( meso ) substituted porphyrins of the invention can increase bioavalability of no • by preventing its degradation by o 2 - . the present invention relates , in a further specific embodiment , to a method of inhibiting production of superoxide radicals . in this embodiment , the mimetics of the invention ( particularly , metal bound forms thereof ) are used to inhibit oxidases , such as xanthine oxidase , that are responsible for production of superoxide radicals . the ability of a mimetic to protect mammalian cells from xanthine / xanthine oxidase - induced injury can be assessed , for example , by growing rat l2 cells in 24 - well dishes . cells can be pre - incubated with various concentrations of a mimetic and then xanthine oxidase ( xo ) can be added to the culture along with xanthine ( x ). the appropriate amount of xo / x used in the study can be pre - determined for each cell line by performing a dose - response curve for injury . x / xo can be used in an amount that produces approximately an lc 75 in the culture . efficacy of the mimetic can be correlated with a decrease in xo / x - induced ldh release . the mimetics of the invention ( particularly , metal bound forms thereof ) can also be used as catalytic scavengers of reactive oxygen species to protect against ischemia reperfusion injuries associated with myocardial infarction , coronary bypass surgery , stroke , acute head trauma , organ reperfusion following transplantation , bowel ischemia , hemorrhagic shock , pulmonary infarction , surgical occlusion of blood flow , and soft tissue injury . the mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) can further be used to protect against skeletal muscle reperfusion injuries . the mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) can also be used to protect against damage to the eye due to sunlight ( and to the skin ) as well as glaucoma , cataract and macular degeneration of the eye . the mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) can also be used to treat bums and skin diseases , such as dermatitis , psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases . diseases of the bone are also amenable to treatment with the mimetics . further , connective tissue disorders associated with defects in collagen synthesis or degradation can be expected to be susceptible to treatment with the present mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ), as should the generalized deficits of aging . liver cirrhosis and renal diseases ( including glomerula nephritis , acute tabular necrosis , nephroderosis and dialysis induced complications ) are also amenable to treatment with the present mimetics ( particularly , metal bond forms thereof ). the mimetics of the invention ( particularly , metal bound forms ) can also be used as catalytic scavengers of reactive oxygen species to increase the very limited storage viability of transplanted hearts , livers , lungs , kidneys , skin and other organs and tissues . the invention also provides methods of inhibiting damage due to autoxidation of substances resulting in the formation of o 2 - including food products , pharmaceuticals , stored blood , etc . to effect this end , the mimetics of the invention are added to food products , pharmaceuticals , stored blood and the like , in an amount sufficient to inhibit or prevent oxidation damage and thereby to inhibit or prevent the degradation associated with the autoxidation reactions . ( for other uses of the mimetics of the invention , see u . s . pat . 5 , 227 , 405 ). the amount of mimetic to be used in a particular treatment or to be associated with a particular substance can be determined by one skilled in the art . the mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) of the invention can further be used to scavenge hydrogen peroxide and thus protect against formation of the highly reactive hydroxyl radical by interfering with fenton chemistry ( aruoma and halliwell , biochem . j . 241 : 273 ( 1987 ); mello filho et al ., biochem . j . 218 : 273 ( 1984 ); rush and bielski , j . phys . chem . 89 : 5062 ( 1985 )). the mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) of the invention can also be used to scavenge peroxynitrite , as demonstrated indirectly by inhibition of the oxidation of dihydrorhodamine 123 to rhodamine 123 and directly by accelerating peroxynitrite degradation by stop flow analysis . further examples of specific diseases / disorders appropriate for treatment using the mimetics of the present invention , advantageously , metal bound forms , include diseases of the cardiovascular system ( including cardiomyopathy , ischemia and atherosclerotic coronary vascular disease ), central nervous system ( including aids dementia , stroke , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( als ), parkinson &# 39 ; s disease and huntington &# 39 ; s disease ) and diseases of the musculature ( including diaphramic diseases ( e . g ., respiratory fatigue in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , cardiac fatigue of congestive heart failure , muscle weakness syndromes associated with myopathies , als and multiple sclerosis ). many neurologic disorders ( including epilepsy , stroke , huntington &# 39 ; s disease , parkinson &# 39 ; s disease , als , alzheimer &# 39 ; s and aids dementia ) are associated with an over stimulation of the major subtype of glutamate receptor , the nmda ( or n - methyl - d - aspartate ) subtype . on stimulation of the nmda receptor , excessive neuronal calcium concentrations contribute to a series of membrane and cytoplasmic events leading to production of oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide ( no •). interactions between oxygen free radicals and no • have been shown to contribute to neuronal cell death . well - established neuronal cortical culture models of nmda - toxicity have been developed and used as the basis for drug development . in these same systems , the mimetics of the present invention inhibit nmda induced injury . the formation of o 2 - radicals is an obligate step in the intracellular events culminating in excitotoxic death of cortical neurons and further demonstrate that the mimetics of the invention can be used to scavenge o 2 - radicals and thereby serve as protectants against excitotoxic injury . the present invention also relates to methods of treating aids . the nf kappa b promoter is used by the hiv virus for replication . this promoter is redox sensitive , therefore , an oxidant can regulate this process . this has been shown previously for two metalloporphyrins distinct from those of the present invention ( song et al ., antiviral chem . and chemother . 8 : 85 ( 1997 )). the invention also relates to methods of treating systemic hypertension , atherosclerosis , edema , septic shock , pulmonary hypertension , including primary pulmonary hypertension , impotence , infertility , endometriosis , premature uterine contractions , microbial infections , gout and in the treatment of type i or type ii diabetes mellitus . the mimetics of the invention ( particularly , metal bound forms ) can be used to ameliorate the toxic effects associated with endotoxin , for example , by preserving vascular tone and preventing multi - organ system damage . as indicated above , inflammations , particularly inflammations of the lung , are amenable to treatment using the present mimetics ( particularly , metal bound forms ) ( particularly the inflammatory based disorders of emphysema , asthma , ards including oxygen toxicity , pneumonia ( especially aids - related pneumonia ), cystic fibrosis , chronic sinusitis , arthritis and autoimmune diseases ( such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis )). pulmonary fibrosis and inflammatory reactions of muscles , tendons and ligaments can be treated using the present mimetics ( particularly metal bound forms thereof ). ec — sod is localized in the interstitial spaces surrounding airways and vasculature smooth muscle cells . ec — sod and o 2 - mediate the antiinflammatory - proinflammatory balance in the alveolar septum . no • released by alveolar septal cells acts to suppress inflammation unless it reacts with o 2 - to form onoo —. by scavenging o 2 - , ec — sod tips the balance in the alveolar septum against inflammation . significant amounts of onoo — will form only when ec — sod is deficient or when there is greatly increased o 2 - release . mimetics described herein can be used to protect against destruction caused by hyperoxia . the invention further relates to methods of treating memory disorders . it is believed that nitric oxide is a neurotransmitter involved in long - term memory potentiation . using an ec — sod knocked - out mouse model ( carlsson et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 92 : 6264 ( 1995 )), it can be shown that learning impairment correlates with reduced superoxide scavenging in extracellular spaces of the brain . reduced scavenging results in higher extracellular o 2 - levels . o 2 - is believed to react with nitric oxide thereby preventing or inhibiting nitric oxide - mediated neurotransmission and thus long - term memory potentiation . the mimetics of the invention , particularly , metal bound forms , can be used to treat dementias and memory / learning disorders . the availability of the mimetics of the invention also makes possible studies of processes mediated by o 2 - , hydrogen peroxide , nitric oxide and peroxynitrite . the mimetics described above , metal bound and metal free forms , can be formulated into pharmaceutical compositions suitable for use in the present methods . such compositions include the active agent ( mimetic ) together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier , excipient or diluent . the composition can be present in dosage unit form for example , tablets , capsules or suppositories . the composition can also be in the form of a sterile solution suitable for injection or nebulization . compositions can also be in a form suitable for opthalmic use . the invention also includes compositions formulated for topical administration , such compositions taking the form , for example , of a lotion , cream , gel or ointment . the concentration of active agent to be included in the composition can be selected based on the nature of the agent , the dosage regimen and the result sought . the dosage of the composition of the invention to be administered can be determined without undue experimentation and will be dependent upon various factors including the nature of the active agent ( including whether metal bound or metal free ), the route of administration , the patient , and the result sought to be achieved . a suitable dosage of mimetic to be administered iv or topically can be expected to be in the range of about 0 . 01 to 50 mg / kg / day , preferably , 0 . 1 to 10 mg / kg / day . for aerosol administration , it is expected that doses will be in the range of 0 . 001 to 5 . 0 mg / kg / day , preferably , 0 . 01 to 1 mg / kg / day . suitable doses of mimetics will vary , for example , with the mimetic and with the result sought . certain aspects of the present invention will be described in greater detail in the non - limiting examples that follow . ( the numbering of the compounds in example i is for purposes of that example only .) in a foil - covered 250 - ml three - necked flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and n 2 inlet , was placed 5 - thiazolecarboxaldehyde ( 1 , 0 . 88 g , 7 . 81 mmol ) ( dondoni , a . ; fantin , g . ; fogagnolo , m . ; medici , a . ; pedrini , p . synthesis 1987 , 998 - 1001 ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml ), and pyrrole ( 6 ml , 87 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 0 . 25 ml , 3 . 2 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 2 h at room temperature , the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and washed with saturated aqueous nahco 3 ( 50 ml ), h 2 o ( 50 ml ) and brine ( 50 ml ). the organic layer was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered , and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ) and adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution 33 - 67 % etoac / hexanes ) provided dipyrromethane 2 ( 0 . 95 g , 52 %) as a gray solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 5 . 74 ( s , 1 h ), 6 . 02 ( m , 2 h ), 6 . 17 ( m , 2 h ), 6 . 70 ( m , 2 h ), 7 . 58 ( s , 1 h ), 8 . 19 ( br s , 2 h ), 8 . 68 ( s , 1 h ). in a foil - covered 250 - ml three - necked round bottom flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a n 2 outlet , was added methyl 4 - formylbenzoate ( 3 , 180 mg , 1 . 09 mmol ), dipyrromethane 2 ( 249 mg , 1 . 09 mmol ), and ch 2 cl 2 ( 110 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 15 min , then tfa ( 0 . 25 ml , 3 . 25 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 2 . 5 h at room temperature , ddq ( 372 mg , 1 . 64 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the crude residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ) then purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution 0 - 1 . 5 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) to provide porphyrin 4 ( 80 mg , 10 % yield ) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 75 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 11 ( s , 6 h ), 8 . 28 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 47 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 65 ( s , 2 h ), 8 . 82 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 99 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 33 ( s , 2 h ). a solution of porphyrin 4 ( 75 mg , 0 . 101 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 129 mg , 1 . 03 mmol ) in dmf ( 15 ml ) was heated at 125 ° c . for 14 . 5 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated in vacuo . repeated chromatographic purification of the product ( gradient elution 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphryin 5 ( 7 mg , 8 %) as a dark green solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 466 . 0 nm , ε = 1 . 34 × 10 5 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 797 [ c 42 h 26 mnn 6 o 4 s 2 ] + . a 250 - ml three - necked flask equipped with a condenser and charged with propionic acid ( 60 ml ) was heated to reflux . 5 - thiazolecarboxaldehyde ( 1 , 373 mg , 3 . 30 mmol ), pyrrole ( 230 μl , 3 . 32 mmol ), and an additional 5 ml of propionic acid were added . after 3 . 5 h at reflux , the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air . the solvent was removed in vacuo , the residue was redissolved in chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh ( 6 : 3 : 1 ; 100 ml ), and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ) and purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 1 - 2 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) to provide porphyrin 6 ( 123 mg , 14 %) as a solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 70 ( s , 2 h ), 8 . 67 ( s , 4 h ), 9 . 02 ( s , 8 h ), 9 . 38 ( s , 4 h ). a solution of porphyrin 6 ( 61 mg , 0 . 115 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 144 mg , 1 . 14 mmol ) in dmf ( 15 ml ) was heated at 125 ° c . for 7 . 5 h . a stream of air was introduced and the reaction mixture was warmed to 130 ° c . after a stirring period of 1 . 5 h , the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature . the solvent was evaporated in vacuo , and the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 2 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 10 - 20 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 7 ( 36 mg , 43 %) as a dark green solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 466 . 5 nm , ε = 3 . 55 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; fab ms m / z = 695 [ c 32 h 16 mnn 8 s 4 ] + . a solution of 6 ( 123 mg , 0 . 19 mmol ), ch 3 i ( 5 ml ), and dmf ( 5 ml ) in a sealed tube was heated at 100 ° c . for 24 h . the crude porphyrin iodide salt that precipitated out of the reaction mixture was filtered , washed alternately with ch 2 cl 2 and ether , and dried under vacuum at room temperature . the iodide was dissolved in water , precipitated out as the hexafluorophosphate salt ( by dropwise addition of aqueous nh 4 + pf 6 − solution ; 1 g / 10 ml ), filtered , washed with water and isopropanol , and vacuum dried at room temperature . the hexafluorophosphate salt was dissolved in acetone then filtered ( to remove insoluble solids ). the product was precipitated out as the chloride salt from the filtrate by dropwise addition of a solution of bu 4 nh 4 + cl − in acetone ( 1 g / 10 ml ), filtered , washed with copious quantities of acetone , and dried under vacuum at room temperature , to provide porphyrin 8 ( 66 mg , 41 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) − 3 . 1 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 6 ( s , 12 h ), 9 . 49 ( s , 4 h ), 9 . 58 ( s , 8 h ), 10 . 85 ( s , 4 h ). porphyrin 8 ( 60 mg , mmol ) was dissolved in water ( 15 ml ) and the solution ph was adjusted to ph = 12 by dropwise addition of 6n naoh . solid mncl 2 ( 147 mg ) was added into the reaction mixture ( the resulting ph = 8 . 7 ). after a stirring period of 30 - 60 min , the reaction mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel lined with a filter paper . the ph of the filtrate was adjusted to ph = 4 - 5 ( 1n hcl ) then the solution was filtered . purification by the double precipitation method ( as described for the preparation of 8 ) provided porphyrin 9 ( 6 mg , 8 . 2 %) as a dark brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 460 . 0 nm , ε = 1 . 25 × 10 5 l / cm - mol . in a foil - covered 500 - ml three - necked round bottom flask , equipped with magnetic stirrer and a n 2 inlet , was added dipyrromethane 10 ( 288 mg , 1 . 97 mmol ) ( chong , r . ; clezy , p . s . ; liepa , a . j . ; nichol , a . w . aust . j . chem . 1969 , 22 , 229 ), 5 - thiazolecarboxaldehyde ( 1 , 223 mg , 1 . 97 mmol ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 198 ml ) and sodium chloride ( 13 mg , 0 . 2 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred vigorously for 10 min , then tfa ( 0 . 46 ml , 5 . 97 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 40 min , ddq ( 671 mg , 2 . 96 mmol ) was added , and the reaction mixture was stirred for an additional 4 h . the solvent was evaporated in vacuo , and the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). repeated chromatographic purification ( gradient elution 0 . 5 - 2 % meoh / ch 2 c 2 ) provided porphyrin 11 ( 28 mg , 6 %) as a solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 3 . 07 ( s , 2 h ), 8 . 69 ( s , 2 h ), 9 . 21 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 39 ( s , 2 h ), 9 . 43 ( d , 4 h ), 10 . 35 ( s , 2 h ). a solution of porphyrin 11 ( 28 mg , 0 . 0587 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 85 mg , 0 . 675 mmol ) in dmf ( 8 ml ) was heated at 125 ° c . for 15 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , and the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation . the residue was dissolved in 10 % meoh / ch 2 ci 2 ( 50 ml ) and adsorbed onto silica gel ( 500 mg ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient of 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 12 ( 29 mg , 86 %) as a dark brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 457 . 5 nm , ε = 3 . 75 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 529 [ c 26 h 14 mnn 6 s 2 ] + . in a foil - covered 250 - ml three - necked flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a n 2 inlet , was placed 2 - thiazolecarboxaldehyde ( 13 , 0 . 97 g , 8 . 6 mmol ) ( dondoni , a . ; fantin , g . ; fogagnolo , m . ; medici , a . ; pedrini , p . synthesis 1987 , 998 - 1001 ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 35 ml ), and pyrrole ( 7 . 2 ml , 104 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 0 . 26 ml , 3 . 4 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 1 h at room temperature , the reaction mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and washed with saturated aqueous nahco 3 ( 50 ml ), h 2 o ( 50 ml ), and brine ( 50 ml ). the organic layer was dried ( na 2 so 4 ), filtered , and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ), and adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). purification by column chromatography ( 1 : 1 ether / hexanes ) provided dipyrromethane 14 ( 1 . 22 g , 62 %) as a solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 5 . 78 ( s , 1 h ), 6 . 04 ( s , 2 h ), 6 . 15 ( m , 2 h ), 6 . 71 ( m , 2 h ), 7 . 20 ( d , 1 h ), 7 . 74 ( d , 1 h ), 8 . 81 ( br s , 1 h ). in a foil - covered 500 - ml three - necked round bottom flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a n 2 outlet , was added dipyrromethane 14 ( 771 mg , 3 . 39 mmol ), methyl 4 - formylbenzoate ( 3 , 0 . 557 g , 3 . 36 mmol ) and ch 2 cl 2 ( 350 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 15 min , then tfa ( 0 . 8 ml , 10 . 4 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 3 h at room temperature , ddq ( 1 . 16 g , 1 . 64 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 d , then the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 4 g ) and purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution 0 . 5 - 1 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) to provide porphyrin 15 ( 140 mg , 11 %) as a purple solid : ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 29 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 12 ( s , 6 h ), 8 . 02 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 30 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 44 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 47 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 84 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 05 ( d , 4 h ). a solution of porphyrin 15 ( 26 mg , 0 . 054 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 40 mg , 0 . 40 mmol ) in dmf ( 20 ml ) was heated at 135 ° c . overnight . the mixture was cooled to 45 ° c . and ch 3 i ( 0 . 8 ml , 11 . 2 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred for 36 h at 45 ° c . and dmf was evaporated in vacuo . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution etoac , chcl 3 , meoh , concentrated nh 4 oh ) to provide the product contaminated with impurities . following a second purification by column chromatography ( 6 : 3 : 1 chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh ) non - polar fractions were collected leaving the bulk of product at the top of the column . the top silica gel containing the product was collected and washed with chcl 3 / meoh / 1n hcl ( 6 : 4 : 1 ). evaporation of the acidic solution provided the product that contained excess inorganic salts . purification by the double precipitation method and vacuum drying at 35 ° c . for 2 d provided porphyrin 16 ( 9 mg , 28 %) as a black solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 459 . 0 nm ; ε = 1 . 36 × 10 5 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 886 [ c 44 h 32 mnn 6 o 4 s 2 + ch 3 co 2 − ] + 2 . in a foil - covered 500 - ml three - necked round bottom flask , equipped with magnetic stirrer and a n 2 inlet , was added dipyrromethane ( 10 , 677 mg , 4 . 6 mmol ), 2 - thiazol - carboxaldehyde ( 13 , 524 mg , 4 . 6 mmol ), and ch 2 cl 2 ( 450 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 1 ml , 16 . 9 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 1 h , ddq ( 1 . 58 g , 7 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight . the solvent was evaporated in vacuo , and the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). repeated purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution 1 - 2 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 17 ( 51 mg , 4 . 62 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 3 . 05 ( s , 2 h ), 8 . 06 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 51 ( d , 2 h ), 9 . 35 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 45 ( d , 4 h ), 10 . 40 ( s , 2 h ). a solution of porphyrin 17 ( 140 mg , 0 . 29 mmol ), ch 3 i ( 4 ml ), and dmf ( 20 ml ) in a sealed tube was heated at 100 ° c . for 48 h . the precipitate that formed during the reaction was filtered and washed with ether . purification of the solid precipitate by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 18 ( 120 mg , 71 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 4 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 09 , 4 . 06 ( 2 s , 6 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 9 . 07 ( d , 2 h ), 9 . 2 ( d , 2 h ), 9 . 4 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 9 ( d , 4 h ), 10 . 96 ( s , 2 h ). porphyrin 18 ( 120 mg , 0 . 21 mmol ) was dissolved in water ( 25 ml ) and the solution ph was adjusted to ph = 12 by dropwise addition of 6n naoh . solid mncl 2 ( 147 mg ) was added ( the resulting ph = 8 . 7 ) and the reaction mixture was stirred for 30 - 60 min . the reaction mixture was filtered through a fritted funnel lined with a filter paper . the ph of the filtrate was adjusted to ph = 4 - 5 ( 1n hcl ) and the solution was filtered . the filtrate was subjected to the double precipitation method to provide a mixture of porphyrins 18 and 19 . the resulting mixture was separated by column chromatography ( 9 : 0 . 5 : 0 . 5 ch 3 cn / water / saturated kno 3 ) to provide porphyrin 19 ( 25 mg , 18 %) as a dark solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 450 . 5 nm , ε = 5 . 99 × 10 4 l / cm - mol . in a foil - covered 1 - l three - neck flask equipped with magnetic stirrer , thermometer , and condenser was placed aldehyde 20 ( 2 . 0 g , 18 . 2 mmol ) and propionic acid ( 400 ml ). the reaction mixture was heated to 120 ° c . at which time pyrrole ( 1 . 26 ml , 18 . 2 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was heated under reflux for an additional 4 . 5 h and was stirred at room temperature for 3 d . the propionic acid was removed in vacuo , the dark residue was dissolved in a solution of 5 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 and adsorbed onto silica gel ( 18 g ). repeated column chromatographic purification provided porphyrin 21 ( 280 mg , 10 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 94 , − 2 . 90 , − 2 . 84 ( 3 s , 2 h , atropisomer nh ), 3 . 39 - 3 . 58 ( multiple s , 12 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 7 . 50 ( d , 4 h ), 7 . 71 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 92 ( m , 8 h ). a solution of porphyrin 21 ( 29 . 9 mg , 0 . 047 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 61 mg , 0 . 48 mmol ) in dmf ( 12 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 14 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , and concentrated by rotary evaporation . purification by column chromatography ( chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh / etoac ) provided porphyrin 22 ( 12 . 5 mg , 37 %) as a black solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 463 . 0 nm ; ε = 9 . 35 × 104 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 683 [ c 36 h 28 mnn 12 ] + . a solution of porphyrin 21 ( 589 mg , 0 . 934 mmol ) and ch 3 i ( 3 ml , 48 mmol ) in dmf ( 10 ml ) was heated in a sealed tube at 100 ° c . for 14 h . the reaction mixture was poured into ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ) causing porphyrin 23 to precipitate as the iodide salt . the solution was filtered and the brown solid was washed with etoac and ether . the product was purified by column chromatography ( ch 3 cn / water / saturated kno 3 ) and subjected to the double precipitation method to provide porphyrin 23 ( 540 mg , 69 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 22 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 78 ( s , 24 h ), 8 . 60 ( s , 8 h ), 9 . 44 ( s , 8 h ). porphyrin 23 ( 1 . 0 g , 0 . 83 mmol ) was dissolved in meoh ( 550 ml ) then mncl 2 ( 1 . 57 g , 12 . 5 mmol ) was added . the solution ph was adjusted to ph = 7 . 3 with 6n naoh while bubbling a stream of air into the reaction mixture . the ph of the solution was maintained ph & gt ; 7 . 3 for 1 h then adjusted to ph = 4 . 5 with 1n hci . the solution was filtered and the precipitate subjected to the double precipitation method and dried to provide porphyrin 24 ( 0 . 570 g , 74 %) as a solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 460 . 5 nm ; ε = 8 . 38 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; fab ms m / z = 778 [ c 40 h 40 mnn 12 ] + 4 . in a foil - covered 500 - ml three - necked flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and n 2 inlet , was placed dipyrromethane 25 ( 0 . 71 g , 3 . 09 mmol ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 310 ml ), aldehyde 4 ( 50 mg , 3 . 09 mmol ), and nacl ( 22 . 4 mg , 0 . 35 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 1 . 48 ml , 19 . 2 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 4 h at room temperature , ddq ( 1 . 05 g , 4 . 65 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 10 g ) then purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution 2 - 4 % etoac / hexanes ) to provide porphyrin 26 ( 220 g , 24 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 85 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 43 , 3 . 49 ( 2 s , 6 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 4 . 14 ( s , 6 h ), 7 . 49 ( d , 2 h ), 7 . 68 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 30 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 48 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 87 ( m , 8 h ). a solution of porphyrin 26 ( 50 . 7 mg , 0 . 071 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 88 . 6 mg , 0 . 70 mmol ) in dmf ( 20 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 14 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated by rotary evaporation . purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 27 ( 25 mg , 42 %) as a black solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 463 . 0 nm ; ε = 6 . 70 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; fab ms m / z = 791 [ c 44 h 32 mnn 8 o 4 ] + . a solution of porphyrin 26 ( 80 mg , 0 . 11 mmol ), dmf ( 7 ml ) and ch 3 i ( 0 . 150 ml ) was stirred at room temperature for 4 h . the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation to give a dark colored residue . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh / etoac ) to provide porphyrin 28 ( 21 mg , 18 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 02 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 73 ( s , 12 h ), 4 . 08 ( s , 6 h ), 8 . 45 ( q , 8 h ), 8 . 56 ( s , 4 h ), 9 . 13 ( s , 8 h ); api ms m / z = 384 [ c 46 h 40 mnn 8 o 4 ] + 2 . a solution of porphyrin 28 ( 19 . 5 mg , 0 . 022 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 22 . 4 mg , 0 . 18 mmol ) in dmf ( 5 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 14 h . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated by rotary evaporation . purification by column chromatography ( chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh / etoac ) provided crude porphyrin 28 . purification by the double precipitation method and drying provided porphyrin 29 ( 6 . 5 mg , 37 %) as a solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 447 . 5 nm ; ε = 1 . 27 × 10 5 l / cm - mol ; fab ms m / z = 856 [ c 46 h 38 mnn 8 o 4 ] + 2 . in a foil - covered 500 - ml three - necked flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and n 2 inlet , was placed dipyrromethane 25 ( 0 . 5 g , 2 . 2 mmol ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 220 ml ), and aldehyde 30 ( 225 mg , 2 . 2 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 1 . 0 ml , 12 . 9 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 2 h at room temperature , ddq ( 750 mg , 3 . 3 mmol ) was added , and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight . triethylamine ( 2 . 0 ml ) was added , the solvent was evaporated in vacuo , and the residue adsorbed onto silica gel ( 10 g ). purification by column chromatography ( 5 % etoh / chcl 3 ) provided porphyrin 31 ( 86 mg , 13 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 3 . 08 , − 3 . 06 ( 2 s , 2 h , atropisomer nh ), 1 . 82 ( t , 6 h ), 3 . 40 , 3 . 49 ( 2 s , 6 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 5 . 11 ( q , 4 h ), 7 . 53 ( d , 2 h ), 7 . 72 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 94 ( m , 4 h ), 9 . 50 ( d , 4 h ). a solution of porphyrin 31 ( 27 . 7 mg , 0 . 045 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 59 . 1 mg , 0 . 47 mmol ) in dmf ( 12 . 5 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 14 h . additional mncl 2 ( 29 mg , 0 . 23 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was heated for another 2 h . the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated by rotary evaporation . air was bubbled into a solution of the product dissolved in ethanol with two drops of 1n hcl . the solvent was evaporated in vacuo to give a dark colored residue . purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution 10 - 30 % etoh / chcl 3 ) provided porphyrin 32 ( 6 . 5 mg , 35 %) as a black solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 458 . 5 nm ; ε = 6 . 01 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 667 [ c 34 h 28 mnn 8 o 4 ] + . in a foil - covered 1 - l three - necked flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and n 2 inlet , was placed dipyrromethane 10 ( 1 . 0 g , 6 . 84 mmol ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 680 ml ), and aldehyde 20 ( 753 mg , 6 . 84 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 3 . 1 ml , 40 . 2 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 2 h at room temperature , ddq ( 2 . 3 g , 10 . 1 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred overnight . triethylamine ( 5 . 75 ml ) was added into the reaction mixture , the solvent was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 15 g ). purification by column chromatography ( 6 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 33 ( 0 . 120 g , 7 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 3 . 28 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 45 , 3 . 52 ( 2 s , 6 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 7 . 53 ( d , 2 h ), 7 . 74 ( d , 2 h ), 9 . 07 ( m , 4 h ), 9 . 46 ( d , 4 h ), 10 . 37 ( s , 2 h ). a solution of porphyrin 33 ( 50 mg , 0 . 106 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 180 mg , 1 . 4 mmol ) in dmf ( 20 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 14 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated by rotary evaporation . purification by column chromatography ( 33 % meoh / chcl 3 ) provided porphyrin 34 ( 32 mg , 53 %) as a black solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 454 . 5 nm ; ε = 4 . 98 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 523 [ c 28 h 20 mnn 8 ] + . porphyrin 33 ( 95 mg , 0 . 20 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 15 ml ), ch 3 i ( 0 . 5 ml , 8 . 03 mmol ) was added , and the reaction mixture stirred for 48 h . the dmf was evaporated in vacuo and the dark colored residue was purified by column chromatography ( gradient elution 30 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 to 6 : 4 : 1 chcl 3 / meoh / 1n hcl ) to provide porphyrin 35 ( 150 mg , 99 %) as a purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 54 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 79 ( s , 12 h ), 8 . 55 ( s 4 h ), 9 . 28 ( d , 4 h ), 11 . 00 ( s , 2 h ). porphyrin 35 ( 150 mg , 0 . 198 mmol ) was dissolved in water ( 50 ml ) and the solution ph was adjusted to ph = 12 with 6n naoh . manganese chloride ( 375 mg , 2 . 98 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred for 30 min . the solution was filtered on a fine fritted filter funnel , the ph of the filtrate was adjusted to ph = 4 ( 1n hcl ) and the solution was filtered . purification of the solid filter cake by the double precipitation method and drying provided porphyrin 36 ( 25 . 5 mg , 20 %) as a solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 447 . 5 nm ; ε = 8 . 66 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 554 [ c 30 h 26 mnn 8 + h ] + 2 . 1 , 4 , 5 - trimethylimidazole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 37 , 750 mg , 5 . 42 mmol ), prepared according to literature procedure ( alcalde , e . et al ., tetrahedron 52 : 15171 - 15188 ( 1996 )), was dissolved in propionic acid ( 120 ml ) in a 250 ml three neck round - bottom flask equipped with a thermometer and a condenser . the solution was heated to reflux then pyrrole ( 0 . 38 ml , 5 . 42 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was heated at reflux for an additional 5 h , then cooled to room temperature while exposed to air overnight . the propionic acid was removed by vacuum distillation yielding a dark solid residue which was adsorbed onto silica gel . purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 38 as a mixture of atropisomers ( 108 mg , 10 . 7 %). 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 )− 2 . 90 , − 2 . 85 , − 2 . 78 ( 3 s , 2h , atropisomer nh ), 2 . 50 ( s , 12 h ), 2 . 57 ( s , 12 h ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 42 ( multiple s , 12 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 8 . 91 ( multiple s , 8 h , atropisomer ). porphyrin 38 ( 40 mg , 0 . 05 mmol ) was dissolved in meoh ( 7 ml ) in a 25 ml round - bottom flask equipped with a condenser . manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 101 mg , 0 . 81 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was heated under reflux for 2 h . air was bubbled into the reaction mixture for 20 min then methanol was evaporated in vacuo . purification of the residue by column chromatography provided porphyrin 39 as a black solid ( 12 mg , 27 %): mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis 8 max = 474 . 5 nm , ,= 9 . 74 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 795 [ c 44 h 44 mnn 12 ] + . porphyrin 38 ( 40 mg , 0 . 05 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 5 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . methyl iodide ( 1 ml , 16 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube heated at 60 ° c . overnight . dilution of the reaction mixture with etoac ( 100 ml ) resulted in the precipitation of crude product 40 which was collected by vacuum filtration then purified by column chromatography to provide porphyrin 40 as a dark purple solid ( 25 mg , 35 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 )− 3 . 20 ( s , 2 h ), 2 . 72 ( s , 24 h ), 3 . 58 ( s , 24 h ), 9 . 40 ( s , 8 h ). porphyrin 40 ( 25 mg , 0 . 02 mmol ) was dissolved in methanol ( 7 ml ) in a round - bottomed flask ( 25 ml ). manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 50 mg , 0 . 4 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was heated at 60 ° c . for 6 h . naoh ( 2n , 2 drops ) was added and the reaction mixture stirred for an additional hour . the reaction mixture was filtered through celite and washed through with meoh . analysis of the filtrate by uv - vis spectroscopy indicated that the reaction was incomplete . the solvent was evaporated off and the residue redissolved in meoh ( 7 ml ), then mncl 2 ( 50 mg , 0 . 4 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was heated at 60 ° c . for 3 h . air was bubbled into the reaction mixture for 20 min . the reaction mixture was filtered over celite and washed with meoh . evaporation of the solvents in vacuo provided a brown residue . purification of the product by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 41 ( 10 mg , 51 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis 8 max = 451 . 5 nm , ,= 9 . 29 × 10 4 l / cm - mol . 4 - methyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 42 , 1 . 06 g , 9 . 5 mmol ), prepared according to literature procedure ( moderhack , d . ; hoppe - tichy , t . j . prakt . chem / chem - ztg . 1996 , 338 ( 2 ), 169 - 171 ), was dissolved in propionic acid ( 180 ml ) in a 250 - ml three - neck round bottom flask covered with foil and equipped with a condenser . the solution was heated to reflux , and then pyrrole ( 0 . 66 ml , 9 . 5 mmol ) was added . the reaction mixture was stirred at reflux for an additional 2 . 5 h . the reaction was then cooled to room temperature while exposed to air over 2 days . evaporation of the propionic acid under reduced pressure provided a dark residue which was adsorbed onto silica gel . repeated purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , chcl 3 , meoh , concentrated nh 4 oh , etoac ) provided porphyrin 43 ( 219 mg , 14 . 6 %) as a solid mixture of atropiosomers : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 36 , − 3 . 13 , − 3 . 09 ( 3 s , 2 h , atropisomer nh ), 3 . 43 - 3 . 64 ( multiple s , 12 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 9 . 03 ( broad s , 8 h ), 9 . 20 ( s , 4 h ). porphyrin 43 ( 77 mg , 0 . 12 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 30 ml ) in a 100 - ml round bottom flask equipped with a condenser . manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 156 mg , 1 . 24 mmol ) was added and the reaction was heated at 130 ° c . overnight . the reaction mixture was exposed to a stream of air as it cooled to room temperature . the porphyrin precipitated out upon the addition of ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 - 10 ml ). the solids were filtered and washed with etoh and ch 2 cl 2 to provide porphyrin 44 ( 45 mg , 51 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 452 . 5 nm ; ε = 8 . 10 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; fab - ms m / z = 787 [ c 32 h 24 mnn 18 ] + . in a foil - covered 1 - l three - neck round bottom flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a n 2 outlet , was added dipyrromethane 45 ( 1 . 13 g , 5 . 28 mmol ), 1 - methylimidazole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 20 , 582 mg , 5 . 28 mmol ), sodium chloride ( 32 mg , 0 . 54 mmol ) and ch 2 cl 2 ( 530 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 2 . 40 ml , 31 . 1 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 105 min , ddq ( 1 . 81 g , 7 . 97 mmol ) was added , and the mixture was stirred overnight . the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation , and the crude residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 46 ( 455 mg , 34 %) as a black solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 87 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 56 ( m , 6 h ), 7 . 85 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 05 ( d , 2 h ), 8 . 99 ( m , 4 h ), 9 . 81 ( m , 4 h ); api - ms m / z = 607 [ c 30 h 20 f 6 n 8 + h ] + . a solution of free porphyrin 46 ( 113 mg , 0 . 186 mmol ) and mncl 2 ( 360 mg , 2 . 86 mmol ) in dmf ( 15 ml ) was warmed to 120 ° c . for 6 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature while exposed to a stream of air , then concentrated by rotary evaporation . the crude residue was dissolved in 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ), then adsorbed onto silica gel ( 1 g ). purification by column chromatography ( 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 47 ( 45 mg , 35 %) as a dark green solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 456 . 5 nm ; ε = 1 . 98 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api - ms m / z = 659 [ c 30 h 18 f 6 mnn 8 ] + . to a refluxing solution of propionic acid ( 200 ml ) and 1 - methylpyrazole - 4 - carboxaldehyde ( 48 , 0 . 92 g , 8 . 32 mmol ), prepared according to literature procedure ( finar , i . l . ; lord , g . h . j . chem . soc . 1957 , 3314 - 3315 ), was added pyrrole ( 0 . 63 ml , 8 . 32 mmol ). the reaction was covered with foil and was heated under reflux for 3 . 5 h . upon cooling the reaction mixture was exposed to air overnight . the propionic acid was then removed by vacuum distillation . the crude residue was dissolved in 5 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 , then adsorbed onto silica gel ( 5 . 3 g ). purification by column chromatography ( 5 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 49 as a purple solid ( 231 mg , 17 . 5 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 2 . 74 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 28 ( s , 12 h ), 8 . 31 ( s , 4 h ), 8 . 67 ( s , 4 h ), 9 . 16 ( s , 8 h ). porphyrin 49 ( 50 mg , 7 . 93 × 10 − 2 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 10 ml ) in a 25 - ml round bottom flask equipped with a condenser . manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 150 mg , 1 . 19 mmol ) was added and the reaction was heated at 125 ° c . for 4 h . a stream of air was introduced and the reaction heated for an additional 2 h . the reaction was diluted with etoac ( 100 ml ) and the crude product was collected by vacuum filtration . purification of the residue by column chromatography ( 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) followed by counterion exchange provided porphryin 50 as a green solid ( 15 mg , 25 %): mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 471 . 0 nm , ε = 9 . 55 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 683 [ c 36 h 28 mnn 12 ] + . 3 . 5 , 10 , 15 , 20 - tetrakis ( 1 , 2 - dimethylpyrazolium - 4 - yl ) porphyrin tetrachloride ( 51 ). porphyrin 49 ( 200 mg , 0 . 32 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 15 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . methyl iodide ( 2 ml , 32 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube heated at 125 ° c . for 6 h . dilution of the reaction mixture with etoac resulted in the precipitation of crude product which was collected by vacuum filtration and initially purified by column chromatography ( 8 : 1 : 1 ch 3 cn / water / saturated kno 3 ). further purification by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 51 as a dark purple solid ( 45 mg , 17 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 16 ( s , 2 h ), 4 . 55 ( s , 24 h ), 9 . 45 ( s , 8 h ), 9 . 50 ( s , 8 h ). porphyrin 51 ( 40 mg , 4 . 80 × 10 − 2 mmol ) was dissolved in water ( 10 ml ). manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 90 mg , 0 . 72 mmol ) was added and the reaction was heated at 50 ° c . analysis of the reaction mixture by uv - vis spectroscopy showed incomplete reaction . additional mncl 2 ( 210 mg , 1 . 67 mmol ) was added and heating of the reaction mixture was continued until completion of reaction was indicated by uv - vis analysis . filtration followed by purification of the product by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 52 ( 25 mg , 57 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 461 . 0 nm , ε = 7 . 82 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 683 [ c 40 h 40 mnn 12 − 4ch 3 ] + . to a refluxing solution of propionic acid ( 400 ml ) and 1 - methylimidazole - 5 - carboxaldehyde ( 53 , 2 . 0 g , 18 . 16 mmol ), prepared according to literature procedure ( dener , j . m . ; zhang , l - h . ; rapoport , h . j . org . chem . 1993 , 58 , 1159 - 1166 ), was added pyrrole ( 1 . 26 ml , 18 . 16 mmol ). the reaction was covered with foil then heated under reflux for 5 h . upon cooling , the reaction mixture was exposed to air for 60 h . the propionic acid was then removed by vacuum distillation . the residue was dissolved in 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 , then adsorbed onto silica gel ( 6 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 54 as a purple solid ( 600 mg , 21 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 80 , − 2 . 75 ( 2 s , 2 h , atropisomer nh ), 3 . 42 - 3 . 58 ( multiple s , 12 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 7 . 87 - 7 . 98 ( multiple s , 4 h , atropisomer ), 8 . 06 ( s , 4 h ), 8 . 95 - 8 . 99 ( multiple s , 8 h , atropisomer ). porphyrin 54 ( 395 mg , 0 . 63 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 15 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . methyl iodide ( 2 ml , 32 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube was heated at 100 ° c . overnight . dilution of the reaction mixture with etoac ( 200 ml ) resulted in the precipitation of the crude product which was collected by vacuum filtration . purification by column chromatography ( 8 : 1 : 1 ch 3 cn / water / saturated kno 3 ) provided porphyrin 55 ( 250 mg , 33 %) as a dark purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 25 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 46 - 3 . 64 ( multiple s , 12 h , atropisomer ), 4 . 30 ( s , 12 h ), 8 . 68 ( s , 4 h ), 9 . 48 ( s , 8 h ), 9 . 78 ( s , 4 h ). porphyrin 55 ( 200 mg , 0 . 17 mmol ) was dissolved in methanol ( 100 ml ). manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 315 mg , 2 . 50 mmol ) was added and an air stream introduced into the reaction mixture . the ph of the solution was maintained at 8 by the dropwise addition of 6n naoh over the period of the reaction , after which time the ph was adjusted to 5 with 6n hcl . the reaction was filtered on a fritted funnel . purification of the product by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 56 ( 63 mg , 41 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 454 . 0 nm , ε = 1 . 23 × 10 5 l / cm - mol . in a foil - covered 1 - l three - neck round bottom flask , equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a n 2 outlet , was added dipyrromethane 25 ( 1 . 00 g , 4 . 43 mmol ), 4 - fluoro - benzaldehyde ( 57 , 550 mg , 4 . 43 mmol ), sodium chloride ( 30 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) and ch 2 cl 2 ( 450 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min , then tfa ( 2 . 0 ml , 26 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 105 min , ddq ( 1 . 51 g , 6 . 65 mmol ) was added , and the mixture was stirred overnight . the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation , and the crude residue was adsorbed onto silica gel ( 3 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 5 - 10 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphyrin 58 ( 229 mg , 16 %) as a black solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 05 ( s , 2 h ), 3 . 70 , 3 . 72 ( 2 s , 6 h , atropisomer n — ch 3 ), 7 . 73 ( m , 8 h ), 8 . 19 ( s , 2 h ), 8 . 30 ( m , 4 h ), 9 . 02 ( m , 6 h ); api - ms m / z = 659 [ c 40 h 28 f 2 n 8 + h ] + . porphyrin 58 ( 85 mg , 0 . 13 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 7 ml ) in a 50 - ml round bottom flask equipped with a condenser . manganese ( ii ) chloride ( 215 mg , 1 . 71 mmol ) was added and the reaction was heated at 120 ° c . for 3 . 5 h . the reaction was cooled to room temperature then concentrated by rotary evaporation . the crude residue was dissolved in 20 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and adsorbed onto silica gel ( 2 g ). purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , 3 - 8 % meoh / ch 2 cl 2 ) provided porphryin 59 as a green solid ( 15 mg , 16 %): mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 463 . 0 nm , ε = 4 . 05 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; api ms m / z = 711 [ c 40 h 26 f 2 mnn 8 ] + . porphyrin 58 ( 170 mg , 0 . 26 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 7 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . methyl iodide ( 6 ml , 96 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube was heated at 100 ° c . overnight . the mixture was cooled to room temperature and concentrated by rotary evaporation . the residue was precipitated as the chloride salt from acetone by the addition of bu 4 ncl solution in acetone ( 0 . 3 g / ml ). the solid was collected on a fritted funnel , washed with copious quantities of acetone , and dried under vacuum at room temperature to provide porphyrin 60 as a dark purple solid ( 196 mg ). the product was used without further purification . porphyrin 60 ( 196 mg , est . 0 . 26 mmol ) dissolved in meoh ( 30 ml ) was slowly warmed to 55 ° c . then mn ( oac ) 3 • 2 h 2 o ( 694 mg , 2 . 59 mmol ) was added . after a stirring period of 3 h , the mixture was cooled to room temperature , filtered through celite and concentrated by rotary evaporation . the residue was purified by the double precipitation method to provide porphyrin 61 ( 102 mg , 46 % over two steps ) as a dark green solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c ., uv - vis λ max = 458 . 0 nm ; ε = 1 . 30 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; es - ms m / z = 967 [( c 42 h 32 f 2 mnn 8 ) + 3 + 2 ( cf 3 co 2 − )] + . to a refluxing solution of propionic acid ( 450 ml ) and 1 - ethylimidazole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 62 , 2 . 5 g , 20 . 0 mmol , prepared in a similar manner as the methyl imidazole derivative 20 ) was added pyrrole ( 1 . 40 ml , 20 . 0 mmol ). the reaction was covered in foil then heated under reflux for 5 h . upon cooling , the reaction mixture was exposed to air overnight . the propionic acid was then removed by vacuum distillation . repeated purification by column chromatography ( gradient elution , chcl 3 / meoh / concentrated nh 4 oh / etoac ) provided porphyrin 63 as a purple solid ( 281 mg , 8 . 1 %): 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ − 2 . 95 , − 2 . 90 , − 2 . 87 ( 3 s , 2 h , atropisomer nh ), 0 . 85 - 1 . 25 ( multiple t , 12 h , atropisomer ch 3 ), 3 . 61 - 3 . 88 ( multiple q , 8 h , atropisomer ch 2 ), 7 . 55 ( d , 4 h ), 7 . 70 ( d , 4 h ), 8 . 98 ( multiple s , 8 h , atropisomer ). porphyrin 63 ( 106 mg , 0 . 15 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 5 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . ethyl iodide ( 2 . 0 ml , 25 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube was heated at 65 ° c . for 6 h . dilution of the reaction mixture with etoac ( 100 ml ) resulted in the precipitation of the crude product which was collected by vacuum filtration , washed with chloroform and then purified by column chromatography ( 8 : 1 : 1 ch 3 cn / water / saturated kno 3 ) to provide porphyrin 63 ( 140 mg , 69 %) as a dark purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 22 ( s , 2 h ), 1 . 17 ( t , 24 h ), 4 . 01 ( s , 16 h ), 8 . 70 ( s , 8 h ), 9 . 43 ( s , 8 h ). porphyrin 64 ( 106 mg , 8 . 09 × 10 − 2 mmol ) was dissolved in methanol ( 15 ml ) then mn ( oac ) 3 • 2 h 2 o ( 216 mg , 0 . 81 mmol ) was added and the reaction heated at 55 ° c . for 2 . 5 h . the reaction was filtered through celite and then evaporated in vacuo . purification of the product by the double precipitation method provided porphyrin 65 ( 65 mg , 78 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c ., uv - vis λ max = 446 . 5 nm , ε = 1 . 35 × 10 5 l / cm - mol ; es - ms m / z = 1307 [( c 48 h 56 mnn 12 ) + 5 + 4 ( cf 3 co 2 − )] + . porphyrin 21 ( 371 mg , 0 . 588 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 8 ml ) in a sealed tube reactor . ethyl iodide ( 7 ml , 88 mmol ) was added and the sealed tube was heated at 60 ° c . overnight . the mixture was cooled to room temperature and concentrated by rotary evaporation . the residue was dissolved in water ( 20 ml ) and purified by the double precipitation method to provide porphyrin 66 ( 349 mg , 67 %) as a dark purple solid : 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ − 3 . 23 ( s , 2 h ), 1 . 17 ( m , 12 h ), 3 . 77 ( m , 12 h ), 4 . 03 ( m , 8 h ), 7 . 01 , 7 . 18 , 7 . 35 ( multiple s , 8 h ), 8 . 63 ( d , 4 h ), 9 . 36 ( s , 4 h ). porphyrin 66 ( 340 mg , 0 . 39 mmol ) was dissolved in methanol ( 45 ml ) then mn ( oac ) 3 • 2 h 2 o ( 680 mg , 2 . 53 mmol ) was added , and the mixture was stirred at 55 ° c . for 3 . 5 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature , filtered through celite ( to remove insoluble solids ), and concentrated by rotary evaporation . the residue was purified by the double precipitation method to provide porphyrin 67 ( 324 mg , 85 %) as a brown solid : mp & gt ; 300 ° c . ; uv - vis λ max = 446 . 5 nm ; ε = 5 . 11 × 10 4 l / cm - mol ; es - ms m / z = 1251 [( c 44 h 48 mnn 12 ) + 5 + 4 ( cf 3 co 2 − )] + . neonatal baboons were delivered prematurely by caesarian section and then treated either with 100 % oxygen or only sufficient prn fio 2 to maintain adequate arterial oxygenation . to establish the model , thirteen 100 % oxygen treated animals and seven prn control animals were studied . treatment with 100 % oxygen results in extensive lung injury manifested by days 9 or 10 of exposure and characterized by delayed alveolarization , lung parenchymal inflammation , and poor oxygenation . this is characteristic of the human disease , bronchopulmonary dysplasia , and is thought to be mediated , at least in part , by oxidative stress on the developing neonatal lung . in a first trial of aeol - v , a neonatal baboon was delivered at 140 days gestation and placed in 100 % oxygen . the animal received 0 . 25 mg / kg / 24 hr given i . v . in a continuous infusion over the entire 10 day study period ( see fig2 ). this animal showed marked improvement of the oxygenation index . there was no evidence of clinical decompensation of the lungs at days 9 and 10 . this suggests that aeol - v can be used to treat oxidant stress in the premature newborn . all documents cited above are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference . one skilled in the art will appreciate from a reading of this disclosure that various changes in form and detail can be made without departing from the true scope of the invention .	2
as will become more clear from a reading of the following description , a primary feature of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a ballast resistor device for use in a gas laser system , which comprises a ballast resistor element provided in a housing as embedded in a filler , which is high in electrical insulation as well as thermal conductivity , with the ballast resistor device fixedly attached to the gas laser tube in surface contact therewith . referring now to fig2 and 3 , there is shown a ballast resistor device for use in a gas laser system constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . as shown , the ballast resistor device includes a ballast resistor element 11 provided as embedded in a filler 12 having predetermined properties . for example , the resistor element 11 may be fabricated from a cermet resistor by having it printed on a ceramic substrate and , after baking , providing a helical groove thereon . the preferred material for the filler 12 includes silicon rubber , which is typically used as a high - voltage resistant filler for use in electronic components , and insulating varnish . for example , 2 - fluid rtv rubber ( silicon rubber ) of ke 1204 ltv , available from shinetsu chemical industries , inc ., has the properties of dielectric breakdown strength of 27 kv / mm and thermal conductivity of 7 . 2 × 10 - 4 cal / cm . sec .° c . and thus it is appropriate as a filler to be used in the present invention . that is , a candidate for the filler material for use in the present invention requires to be high in dielectric breakdown and excellent in thermal conductivity . from each end of the ballast resistor element 11 extends a high - voltage cable 13 as connected from a corresponding lead of the element 11 . the ballast resistor device also includes a pair of high - voltage resistant and thermally shrinkable tubes 14 , 14 as extending from the ends of the element 11 over a predetermined length thereby having the leads and the end portions of the cables 13 , 13 enclosed therein , respectively . in the illustrated embodiment , the tubes 14 , 14 are provided as partly embedded in the filler 12 and partly projected from both ends of the filler 12 . it is to be noted that the tubes 14 , 14 are used to increase the creeping distance from the connectiong portion between the resistor element 11 and each of the high - voltage cables 13 , 13 to a metal portion of a gas laser tube on which the present device is fixedly mounted . described more in detail with reference to fig4 and 5 in this respect , fig4 shows the case in which the high voltage cables 13 , 13 are removed and the tubes 14 , 14 are not provided , so that the creeping distance from the connecting portion between the ballast resistor element and the high voltage cable to the metal portion 15 under the condition becomes a + b + c . on the other hand , in the case where the tubes 14 , 14 are provided as shown in fig5 the corresponding creeping distance becomes a + b + c added with a distance d determined by the amount of projection of the tube 14 beyond the filler 12 , so that a sufficient creeping distance may be secured even if the high voltage cable 13 is pulled off for some reason thereby increasing reliability in electrical insulation . it is to be noted , however , that provision of tubes 14 , 14 is not necessary if the creeping distance defined by a + b + c is sufficient in the structure of fig4 . the ballast resistor device further includes a housing or case 16 for generally enclosing the filler 12 . the housing 16 may , for example , be comprised of a thermally shrinkable tube of a material , such as polyphenylene oxide . the silicon rubber to be used as the filler 12 is susceptible to scratch , and once scratched , cracks are produced easily thereby reducing the effective creeping distance and deteriorating the dielectric breakdown . on the other hand , with the provision of the housing 16 in accordance with the present invention , even if cracks are produced in the filler 12 , there will be brought about no disadvantages , such as a reduction in creeping distance and a deterioration in dielectric breakdown , and thus reliability is enhanced . in the preferred embodiment as shown in fig3 the filler 12 and thus the housing 16 also is so formed to have a flat surface extending along the longitudinal direction of the device . provision of such a flat surface is advantageous because the device may be stably held on the gas laser tube with its flat surface in contact with a metal portion of the tube . in addition to stability in mounting , such a structure is also advantageous in increasing heat dissipation for causing heat produced by the ballast resistor element 11 to be dissipated to the metal portion of the gas laser tube through the surface contact therebetween . it is to be noted that such a mating surface portion does not need to be flat and it may be curved as long as such a mating surface is in compliance with the configuration of the mounting portion defining a heat sink . fig6 and 7 illustrate one way of mounting the present ballast resistor device 18 on a gas laser tube , in particular , on a metal portion 15 thereof . in the illustrated embodiment , the ballast resistor device 18 including the ballast resistor element 11 embedded in the filler 12 which in turn is enclosed in the housing 16 is placed on the metal plate 15 of the gas laser tube with its flat mating surface in contact with the plate 15 . a clamp member 17 has a shape generally in compliance with the outer configuration of the ballast resistor device 18 and a bent section which may be fixedly attached to the metal plate 15 by means of screws . thus , with the clamp member 17 fixedly attached to the metal plate 15 , the ballast resistor device 18 is fixedly mounted on the metal plate 15 . as described briefly , with such a structure , the ballast resistor device 18 may be easily mounted on the metal plate 15 , which also serves as a heat sink , and a surface contact between the device 18 and the metal plate 15 may be established thereby allowing to enhance dissipation of heat from the device 18 through conduction . by constructing the clamp member 17 from a material having resiliency in a shape generally in compliance with the outer configuration of the device 18 and slightly smaller in size , when the clamp member 17 holding the device 18 therein is fixedly attached to the metal plate 15 by means of screws , the device 18 comes to be pressed against the plate 15 with its flat mating surface in contact therewith , which also allows to further enhance conduction or drainage of heat from the device 18 to the metal plate 15 . fig8 and 9 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention , in which the ballast resistor device includes a housing 20 formed in the shape of an inverted omega in cross section from a heat - resistance resin material as mentioned earlier . the housing 20 is generally in the form of a tunnel and it partly encloses a filler 22 of silicon rubber or the like , which , in turn , encloses a ballast resistor element 21 therein . the ballast resistor element 21 has a pair of leads as extending from both ends thereof , each of which pair of leads is connected to a high - voltage cable 23 . an end tube 24 is provided at each end of the filler section 22 to have the corresponding lead and the end portion of the corresponding high - voltage cable 23 enclosed . the housing 20 has a pair of bent sections which may be used to have the housing 20 and thus the device as a whole fixedly attached to the metal plate 15 . in this embodiment also , the filler section 22 is so shaped to have a flat mating surface which may be brought into contact with the supporting plate 15 when mounted . fig1 through 13 show another embodiment of the present invention . also in this embodiment , the ballast resistor device includes a housing 30 , made from a heat - resistant resin material generally in the form of a longitudinal box , a ballast resistor element 31 placed inside of the box - shaped housing 30 and a filler 32 filled in the space between the housing 30 and the resistor element 31 to have the resistor element 31 fixed in position . as different from the previous embodiments , the box - shaped housing 30 is provided with a pair of support ribs 35 , 35 spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the device . such a structure is particularly advantageous from the viewpoint of manufacture because the resistor element 31 may be properly placed in position before and during filling of the filler 32 . the housing 30 is provided with a bent section 37 which may be used for having the present device fixedly mounted on the mounting plate 15 . similarly with the previous embodiments , the ballast resistor element 31 is provided with a pair of leads on both ends , each of which is connected to a corresponding one of high - voltage cables 33 , 33 . furthermore , the ballast resistor device of this embodiment also includes a pair of end tubes , one at each end of the element 31 , each of which is provided as partly embedded in the filler section 32 to have the corresponding lead and the end portion of the corresponding high - voltage cable 33 enclosed . as shown in fig1 , the box - shaped housing 30 is also provided with a pair of notches 36 , 36 , one at each end of the box 30 and the high - voltage cables 33 , 33 may be fitted into the respective notches 36 , 36 when the resistor element 31 is placed in position . it should be understood that the notches 36 , 36 with the cables 33 fitted therein are plugged by a suitable cover during filling of a filler material into the box - shaped housing 30 . in either of the embodiments illustrated in fig8 and 9 and fig1 - 13 , since the device may be fabricated by preparing a preformed housing having a desired shape from a heat - resistant resin material , placing a ballast resistor element in position inside of the housing and pouring a filler material into the housing , it may be manufactured with ease and adapted for mass production . besides , the opening of the housing 20 , 30 may be defined to be relatively large to ease pouring of a filler material into the housing , which also allows to define a relatively large flat mating surface which is to be brought into contact with the mounting plate 15 thereby permitting to increase the rate of heat dissipation . fig1 shows a still further embodiment of the present invention , in which a plurality of ballast resistor elements 41 are provided as connected in series and placed inside of a housing 40 as embedded in a filler 42 filled in the housing 40 . such a structure is advantaged in that the voltage sustained by a single ballast resistor element 41 may be made smaller , so that the scope of selection of a material for the resistor element 41 may be broadened . besides , since the voltage sustained by each of the resistor elements 41 is smaller , the total amount of heat generation may be reduced . while the above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention , various modifications , alternate constructions and equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , the above description and illustration should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention , which is defined by the appended claims .	7
the invention is amply illustrated in the 16 figures of the description using numerical references . like all electrical hair processing devices , the hair roller winder 1 according to the present invention comprises a power cable 6 and an on / off switch 5 that may optionally be associated with increasing heating and / or blowing levels . the motorized hair roller winder 1 according to the present invention combines the functions of heating the hair roller and motorized winding . to that end , it comprises heating means 19 well known by those skilled in the art , such as hot air generated using a fan or turbine and a heating resistor , conduction heating through a heating core 26 within the rotary drum 2 , or an element allowing induction heating using a coil 14 . the latter two types of heating require the presence of an electronic management unit 15 , 25 in the handle 4 of the winder 1 . the hair rollers 9 used must be adapted to the heating means used . thus , for hot - air heating means 19 , hair rollers will be used comprising hot air exhaust openings , whereas for conduction heating means 19 using a heating core 26 or an induction coil 14 , “ closed ” hair rollers 9 will rather be used , like those illustrated in fig8 , to ensure maximal contact between the winding drum 2 and the hair roller 9 . the main difficulty in combining these two functions within a same device is the bulk of the various elements , which must be reduced as much as possible so that the device maintains a manageable size . the advantage of positioning means 19 for heating the hair rollers directly within the winder is that there is no interruption in the heating of the roller 9 . during winding of the hair lock around the hair roller 9 , the latter continues to be heated by the heating means ( hot air , conduction or induction ) coming from the rotary drum 2 and only ceases to be heated once released ( unlocked ) from the rotary drum 2 . the method for winding a hair lock around a hair roller 9 using the winder 1 according to the invention begins by adapting or locking a hair roller on the winding drum 2 . the lock 12 of the hair roller 9 is located on the rotary drum 2 . this gesture is illustrated in fig1 . next , the hair roller - winder assembly is placed on the hair lock to be wound ( fig1 ) and the winder is activated using the rotation switch 7 . the hair lock ( fig1 and 13 ) is then wound to the end . the rotation switch 7 is bidirectional , and it therefore allows to rotate the winding drum 2 in both rotation directions . the winder 1 according to the invention is equipped with a torsion limiter ( not shown ) that is activated beyond a certain force torque threshold developed by the rotary drum 2 so that it automatically stops when the hair lock is wound . the hair roller 9 is then unlocked ( fig1 ) using the unlocking button 8 . the threshold for activating the torsion limiter is adjustable so as to account for the different diameters of the hair rollers 9 . when a new hair roller 9 is fitted on the rotary drum 2 , it is also possible to automatically activate the heating means 19 of the hair roller 9 using an activating microswitch 11 located on the rotary drum 2 . the activating microswitch 11 may also be combined with a temperature probe ( not shown ) allowing to give the signal to turn off the heating means 19 beyond a defined temperature threshold . this allows to control the risk of subjecting hair to an excessively high temperature . depending on the equipment chosen for the device , and therefore on the space available in the handle 4 , the motor rotating the driving drum may be located in the handle 4 or in the rotary drum 2 itself . the configuration where the driving motor 16 is located within the rotary drum 2 is outlined in fig5 and 6 . here , means for generating a flow of air 18 are driven by a motor 20 and send the air heated by the resistor 19 into the winding drum 2 , which also comprises the driving motor 16 for the drum . the fastening of the motor comprises a transmission with a bearing 24 and insulation for the motor 21 . the air flow depicted by the black arrows in fig6 is directly oriented on the hair roller 9 , which allows to heat it up and to maintain its temperature throughout the entire winding operation , and even further . different diameters of hair rollers 9 may be applied on the rotary drum 2 , the inner diameter of the hair roller 9 nevertheless being invariable so as to be able to be adapted on the rotary drum 2 , the diameter of which is invariable . fig1 shows hair rollers with different diameters , optionally with air outlet openings and a sealing disc 28 that allows a favored outlet for the hot air toward the hair lock and a relatively uniform heat distribution , and therefore a relatively uniform temperature of the hair roller 9 . the hair rollers 9 comprise a driving rib 27 allowing to fasten the hair roller 2 on the winding drum 9 . as mentioned above , the shape and material used for the hair rollers must be adapted to the heating means . for induction heating , ferromagnetic hair rollers will preferably be used , and for conduction in general good conductive metals . hot - air heating allows the use of a wider range of materials . different means 10 also exist for fastening the hair lock on the hair roller 9 . non - limiting examples of these fastening means 10 are shown in fig1 . the hair roller winder according to the present invention may also comprise an ion generator 17 . such an ion generator may be particularly advantageous for placing hair rollers on dry hair . this alternative will be preferred with a hot air flow heating means , as it allows to blow the ions directly on the hair roller .	0
curtain - forming apparatus 50 for forming free - falling liquid curtains are well known in the art . dies or weirs may be used for example . a curtain that is a composite of several layers of distinct coating compositions can be formed by a slide die with multiple elements for distributing coating compositions . in all cases , the coating composition falls from a horizontal lip 51 of curtain - forming apparatus 50 to the coating receiving surface 52 over a vertical distance between about 2 cm and about 30 cm . the coating composition in curtain 54 is freely falling and accelerates by gravity . the coating receiving surface 52 can be any surface that can be passed through the curtain 54 such as discrete three - dimensional objects or continuous webs . as depicted in fig5 a web or substrate 55 including coating receiving surface 52 is preferably supported at the point 57 ( or more accurately , a line ) of curtain impingement by a precision backing roller 56 . the moving substrate is moving downward at an angle between about 20 ° and about 60 ° from horizontal at a point where the free - falling curtain impinges thereon . the lateral edges of the free - falling curtain 54 are usually supported by two edge guides 58 ( see fig8 ) which are vertically arranged and act to maintain the horizontal width of the free - falling curtain 54 between the curtain - forming apparatus 50 and the coating receiving surface 52 . although many edge guides are known in the art , wire edge guides with suction removal means as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 328 , 726 to reiter , and in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 725 , 910 , 5 , 763 , 013 , and 5 , 976 , 251 to devine et al . are particularly advantageous for use with the catch pan 60 of the present invention . most often , edge guides 58 are flushed with a solvent for the coating composition to prevent the buildup of dried or congealed coating composition and to reduce the drag of the edge guides 58 on the free - falling curtain 54 . an example of a flushing solvent suitable for water - based coating compositions is water . the curtain 54 is intercepted by intercepting pan segment 62 of the catch pan 60 when coating is stopped . the intercepting pan segment 62 does not have to be in very close proximity to the coating receiving surface 52 and can be spaced away by a centimeter or more . the intercepting pan segment 62 may be connected to a drain ( not shown ) through a flexible conduit ( not shown ), but it can preferably be configured to direct the coating composition into sink or drain 63 , as shown in fig6 . the term “ drain ” as used herein is , however , intended to include any disposal or recycle system such as , for example , sinks , drain conduits , sewer lines , and piping to holding tanks . the intercepting pan segment 62 may be made of sheet material that has been formed or molded and its surfaces may be coated to facilitate cleaning . the sheet material may be contoured for improved rigidity as by stamping , but any such contouring should encourage drainage and not produce pooling and splattering . the sheet material can also be structured for rigidity by bending and by configuring large cross sections that are hollow or filled with low density material . it is preferred that the weight of the intercepting pan segment 62 be minimized to facilitate handling and positioning . attached to intercepting pan segment 62 is a substantially horizontal intercepting surface 64 that intercepts the curtain 54 when the catch pan 60 is moving . the horizontal intercepting surface 64 has a release edge 66 that is parallel to the curtain 54 and preferably resides in a horizontal plane . the curtain 54 is released onto the coating receiving surface 52 when pan 60 is moved out of an intercepting position . a lip 68 of about 2 millimeters in height may be included to project vertically from intercepting surface 64 at or near release edge 66 . the horizontal intercepting surface 64 moves so rapidly that the coating composition does not pool thereon . optional lip 68 can prevent any small excess of coating composition from spilling onto the coating receiving surface 52 . the tendency for pooling on the horizontal intercepting surface 64 diminishes as the speed of the catch pan 60 increases . so , it is advantageous to retract the catch pan 60 at the highest possible controlled speed . horizontal intercepting surface 64 extends over a portion of intercepting pan segment 62 to form a capturing chamber or volume 70 above intercepting pan segment 62 and below intercepting surface 64 . the capturing chamber or volume 70 should be at least 1 cubic centimeter per centimeter of curtain width . when the intercepting pan 60 is stationary , coating composition forms a pool 72 on intercepting pan segment 62 proximate to where the curtain 54 impinges on the intercepting pan segment 62 . this pool 72 of liquid is captured by capturing chamber or volume 70 as the catch pan 60 retracts toward a non - intercepting position . the pool 72 of liquid is thereby prevented from spilling onto the coating receiving surface 52 . it should be noted that intercepting pan segment 62 is angled to continuously drain to sink 63 and therefore , capturing chamber or volume 70 continuously drains to sink 63 as well . the curtain - release edge 66 of horizontal intercepting surface 64 is close to coating receiving surface 52 at the point of curtain release to minimize the transfer of excess coating composition . mechanical contact between the catch pan 60 and the receiving surface 52 is , however , undesirable . with the catch pan 60 positioned such that release edge 66 is in the plane of the curtain 54 , the distance between the release edge 66 and the coating receiving surface 52 is less than about 2 centimeters and a distance of 1 millimeter is achievable with well constructed pans . video recordings of starts at 1000 frames per second show that the curtain is not severed as it passes the release edge . rather , it clings to the receding release edge by surface tension and the curtain is bent . when the curtain contacts the web , it still extends to the release edge of the catch pan . there is an accumulation of liquid between the release edge and the web in this extension of the curtain . particularly at low coating speeds , this excess liquid may ultimately be released and drawn onto the web at the start line by surface tension . particularly at high coating speeds , this extension of the curtain may disintegrate into droplets that fall to the sink as the release edge and start line separate . the deposition of any of this excess liquid on the web is not desirable . the problem becomes more severe as the gap between the release edge of the pan and the web is increased because the curtain takes more time to fall to the receiving surface and so more liquid accumulates . it has been found that a shielding surface 73 over the web ( see fig5 - 7 ) and below the catch pan can capture much of this excess liquid and improve coating starts , thereby mitigating the effect of a larger gap . curtain coating starts were made in accord with the invention under the following conditions : curtain height , 27 cm , inclination of the web at the point of curtain impingement , 20 degrees downward from horizontal , web , polyethylene terepthalate with a thin subbing of gelatin . the coating composition was 12 . 3 % aqueous gelatin containing surfactant and a dispersion of black pigment to provide optical density . the viscosity of the coating composition was about 40 centipoise . the start pan was observed using high speed video at 1000 frames per second . the horizontal intercepting surface defined a capturing volume of 1 . 4 cc per cm of width . high speed video verified that this capturing volume was adequate to capture all excess liquid in the intercepting pan . the release edge of the horizontal intercepting surface was gapped from the web at 1 . 5 mm at the position of the curtain . the region of the start line was imaged to obtain optical density which is directly proportional to coating thickness . in this way , the excess liquid at the start of coating was measured . excess liquid is defined as that above the value that is intended and is obtained by integration from the optical density measurements . the measurement of excess liquid quantifies the performance of the catch pan . however , the practical consequences of this excess liquid usually depends on whether it is spatially concentrated or diffuse . the ultimate distribution of the excess liquid depends upon many specifics of the coating operation because the excess liquid flows by surface tension and gravity until immobilized in the dryer . the factors affecting flow include the viscosity of the coating composition , the absorbency of the receiving surface , the distance between the coating station and the dryers , the volatility of the solvents , and the settings of the dryer . starts were made at a flow rate of 3 cc / sec per cm of width and a coating speed of 250 cm / sec . in one case , the horizontal intercepting surface was flat and in a second case , a vertical lip 3 mm in height was present at the release edge . at a catch pan speed of 200 cm / sec , the flat geometry produced an excess at the start line of 0 . 00046 cc per cm of width and the lipped geometry 0 . 0012 cc per cm of width . under these conditions , there is no excess liquid on the horizontal intercepting surface for the lipped geometry to retain and the increased vertical drop is detrimental to the start . at a catch pan speed of 100 cm / sec , however , the flat geometry produced an excess of 0 . 0042 cc per cm of width and the lipped geometry 0 . 0025 cc per cm of width . at this lower catch pan speed , there is an excess of liquid on the horizontal intercepting surface at the point of curtain release and the lipped horizontal intercepting surface has a net benefit . nevertheless , the best result is obtained with the flat geometry at a sufficiently high pan speed . for the case of a pan speed of 200 cm / sec and the lipped geometry , the gap of the release edge to the web was increased from 1 . 5 to 10 mm . the excess coating composition at the start of coating increased from 0 . 0012 to 0 . 0041 cc per cm of width . the smallest possible gap without mechanical contact is preferred . starts were also made at a higher flow rate of 5 cc / sec per cm of width and a speed of 500 cm / sec . at a catch pan speed of 200 cm / sec , the flat geometry produced an excess of 0 . 0016 cc per cm of width . a vertical lip 2 . 3 mm in height at the release edge reduced the excess to 0 . 00045 cc per cm of width . the lipped geometry is beneficial at high flow rates when pan speed cannot be increased to compensate , as when the limits of the motor have been reached . in many applications , it is desirable that a web receiving surface 52 be narrower than the backing roller 56 and that the coating generated by curtain 54 be narrower than the web receiving surface 52 . in simultaneous multilayer coatings where the curtain 54 is a composite layer of a plurality of distinct coating compositions , reducing the edge portions of the curtain 54 that are not coated to a minimum is desirable because the collection and recycling of edge portions of the curtain 54 is not practical . in this situation , the catch pan 60 must fit between the edge guides 58 . to accomplish this , intercepting pan segment 62 includes a pair of sidewalls 74 , respectively positioned proximate to each side of intercepting pan segment 62 . each side wall 74 includes a vertical wall member 76 projecting in a generally vertical plane from intercepting pan segment 62 and an inclined wall member 78 extending outward and upward from the top of each vertical wall member 76 toward a respective edge guide 58 . each inclined wall member 78 terminates in a substantially horizontal severing edge 80 gapped closely to a respective edge guide 58 . the angle of inclination from horizontal of inclined wall members 78 at the severing edge is preferably in the range of from about 20 ° to about 45 ° and is most preferably about 30 °. the thickness of the inclined wall member 78 at the severing edge 80 should be about 1 mm or less . each severing edge is substantially perpendicular to the free - falling curtain and resides at or below the elevation of the horizontal intercepting member . it is undesirable for coating composition to flow on the underside of the inclined wall member 78 . the severing edge and the inclination of the surface near that edge is of more importance than the exact shape of the side wall . severing edge 80 is spaced within about 1 centimeter of edge guides 58 . the edge portion of the curtain 54 within that gap is drawn to the edge guide 58 by surface tension . the severing edge 80 is also positioned as close to the bottom of the edge guide 58 as possible to minimize the vertical distance along the edge guide 58 over which the curtain 54 is intercepted . with the catch pan 60 positioned in the intercepting position for stopped coating , a vertical distance of 8 centimeters or less is achievable between the severing edges 80 vertically and the bottom of the respective edge guides . a small distance is favorable because during the retraction of the pan the curtain 54 must reform along the entire edge guide 58 by its release onto the coating receiving surface 52 . preferably , each edge guide 58 comprises parallel dual wires , flushing means ( not shown ) near the lip 51 of the curtain formation means 50 , and suction means ( not shown ) near the coating receiving surface 52 as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 328 , 726 to reiter and in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 725 , 910 , 5 , 763 , 013 , and 5 , 976 , 251 to devine et al . the liquids on the edge guides 58 are removed by the suction means and do not spill onto the coating receiving surface 52 . in this manner , all the liquids of the curtain 54 are intercepted without contact between the catch pan 60 and the edge guides 58 . to start coating , the pan 60 is retracted at high speed by linear positioning means 90 . at the point of curtain release from the horizontal intercepting surface 64 , the speed of the catch pan 60 is preferably at least about 100 cm / s . also , preferably , the releasing edge of the catch pan 60 passes to within a distance of about 2 cm of said coating receiving surface at the point that the free - falling curtain is released to impinge upon the surface of the substrate being coated . high speed prevents the pooling of coating composition on the horizontal intercepting surface 64 . preferably , both the acceleration and deceleration of the pan are controlled . controlled deceleration is desirable to prevent the mechanical shock caused by a collision with mechanical stops . servo motors are particularly suited to providing the required motion in a controlled manner . while a single motor may be adequate , catch pans 60 that are a meter or more in width are preferably driven by two synchronized servo motors , one positioned proximate to each side of the pan 60 . it should be recognized that more that two servo motors can also be used . preferably , when using two servo motors , one of the two servo motors is slaved to the other . these motors can be inside the side frames of the coating machine and thereby removed and protected . because the motors move in step , the catch pan 60 does not skew and contact with the edge guides 58 is obviated . the motors fault if they are out of step , and a collision is thereby prevented . the edge guides 58 may be protected from all sources of mechanical damage by providing protective means 92 . the protective means 92 may comprise one or more bumpers running parallel to the edge guide that form cages around the edge guides 58 as shown in fig9 . the use of servo motors to drive motion of the catch pan allows for both smooth acceleration from a complete stop and deceleration to a complete stop . by using linear servo motors , no mechanical components are required to translate rotary motion to linear motion . this minimizes the weight and therefore the inertia of the system . in addition , there is no lost motion or backlash . in tests using linear servo motors in the operation of the system of the present invention , catch pan velocities of 200 cm per second have been achieved . further , side - to - side alignment of the catch pan has been maintained to within about 1 mm as the catch pan is moved into and out of the intercepting position . acceleration rates of 4 times gravitational acceleration have been easily attained with controlled stop at the ends of travel thereby preventing equipment damage . an exemplary linear servo motor that can be used in the practice of the present invention is the kollmorgen linear motor model il - 24 - 100a3 tr p1 , as manufactured by kollmorgen motion technologies group of commack , n . y . using the system of the present invention with linear servo motors to drive a 10 kg catch pan , the catch pan was indexed a distance of 20 cm on an inclination of 30 degrees up from horizontal . the index took 0 . 140 seconds to complete as follows : the acceleration took place over a distance of 5 cm . the constant velocity motion took place over a distance of 10 cm . the deceleration took place over a distance of 5 cm . those skilled in the art should understand that the use of servo motors allows for non - symmetrical acceleration and velocity profiles in order to optimize performance . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to obtain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are apparent and which are inherent to the apparatus . it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed with reference to other features and subcombinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims . as many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	6
two embodiments of the dispenser track assembly are illustrated herein , the first shown in fig1 - 11 and second shown in fig1 - 17 . fig1 - 24 illustrate other features of the dispenser track assembly . for convenience and clarity , the same or similar elements in the embodiments will be given the same reference numbers . in the drawings and in the descriptions which follow , the term “ proximal ,” as is traditional , will refer to the end of the dispenser track assembly which is closer to the user , while the term “ distal ” will refer to the end which is farther from the user . the first embodiment has been designed to accommodate a product of a particular shape as described below ; however , the principles of this product dispenser are applicable for dispensing articles of many other shapes . the products shown in the drawings of the first embodiment are inverted bell - shaped containers corresponding to the containers of a very popular yogurt . when sold in supermarkets and other stores , these containers are commonly stocked in rows extending front - to - rear with only the lead container being clearly visible to customers . typically , there are additional rows above and below and left and right on multi - level shelves . fig1 and 2 show perspective and side elevation views respectively of the first embodiment of the dispenser track assembly generally referred to by reference number 1 . this assembly as shown has upper , middle and lower tracks 2 , 3 and 4 , respectively , with side edges of the tracks 2 , 3 and 4 secured to side walls 5 and 6 . the number and dimensions of the tracks will vary depending on the size and shape of the articles being dispensed . each side wall 5 and 6 is a contiguous panel for supporting all the tracks attached thereto . the dispenser track assembly 1 also includes a front discharge portion 2 a ( for track 2 ), an exit ramp 9 and a rear end 2 b . the dispenser track assembly 1 can be supported and secured on a shelf or can be supported as shown with a cantilever bracket 7 removably attached to a wall or other support 7 a . in a particularly useful embodiment , the dispenser track assembly 1 , when mounted , will be oriented with the front discharge portion 2 a inclined downwardly at an angle in the range of about 5 degrees to about 15 degrees to produce a gravity feed for the articles on the tracks 2 , 3 and 4 . an alternative arrangement for use with horizontally oriented tracks without gravity feed , uses a mechanical or electrical pusher for urging the articles toward front discharge portions of the tracks ( not shown ). for the gravity feed arrangement shown in fig1 and 2 , the principal description herein will be of the upper track 2 and articles thereon , the other tracks 3 and 4 being substantially the same . as noted above , the articles illustrated on track 2 of fig1 and 2 represent containers of a popular brand of yogurt frequently sold in product dispensers of this type . each of these containers 11 a - 11 f has an inverted bell shape that is generally flat on the top and the bottom and has a larger diameter top with a downward inclined front surface . as discussed later herein , the dispenser track assembly 1 has significant improvements over conventional dispenser tracks for articles of this inverted bell shape . as seen in fig1 - 3 , due to the downward incline , containers 11 a - 11 h ( containers generally referred to as numeral 11 ) aligned on track 2 tend to slide downward toward front discharge portion 2 a of track 2 , with lid 8 of each container 11 contacting lid 8 of the next adjacent container 11 . lead container 11 a at the front discharge portion 2 a of track 2 is situated on an upwardly inclined exit ramp 9 . in fig3 and 10 the middle track 3 is more fully depicted than upper track 2 , and therefore reference will be made to “ middle ” track 3 when describing a typical track for which earlier reference has been to “ upper ” track 2 . as seen in fig1 - 3 , for these inverted bell - shaped containers 11 a - 11 h , front wall surface of each container 11 , except for lead container 11 a on exit ramp 9 , is inclined downwardly , which renders the label thereon difficult for a customer to easily notice and read . the exit ramp 9 at the front discharge portion 2 a of track 2 overcomes the label visibility problem because lead container 11 a on exit ramp 9 becomes tilted so that its front surface is tilted upwardly and rearwardly into a generally vertical state . this tilting by the exit ramp 9 compensates for the natural downward incline of the inverted - bell shape and the forward incline of the track 2 , thus rendering the label more easily readable by a customer . quick recognition of the product by customers in supermarkets is important whether the seller hopes to capitalize on impulse purchases or to merely assist the customer in finding what he or she seeks . additionally , this tilting via exit ramp 9 enables a customer to easily read nutritional information , usually located opposite the label , by turning container 11 . the front discharge portion 2 a of track 2 includes a fence 15 ( also called front stop hoops ) formed of a pair of curved fingers 16 , each attached to one of side walls 5 , 6 and extending forward in a curved manner . as seen in fig7 , between tips 17 of fingers 16 is gap 18 providing more visibility for the label and providing access for a customer to more easily grasp and remove lead container 11 a . these fingers 16 restrain lead container 11 a from falling off the exit ramp 9 , but allow the lead container 11 a to be tilted forward and lifted off track 2 by a customer ( fig1 ). following removal of lead container 11 a , the next adjacent container 11 b will slide forward into the position previously occupied by lead container 11 a . as seen in fig2 , 11 and 16 the fence 15 is removably coupled to the track by tabs 12 and 13 which engage corresponding slots in side walls 5 and 6 and do not protrude through these slots beyond outer surface of walls 5 and 6 . as seen in fig2 , 3 and 10 , the front discharge portion 2 a of the exit ramp 9 of the upper track 2 is displaced slightly rearward of the front edge 3 a of the middle track 3 . this provides sufficient clearance space 14 above lead container 19 on middle track 3 for container 19 to be lifted upward over its fence 15 without being blocked by the front edge 2 a of top track 2 . the front edge 3 a of the middle track 3 is similarly displaced slightly rearward of the front edge 4 a of lower track 4 , the result being a cascade appearance of the three front edges 2 a , 3 a and 4 a of the three tracks 2 , 3 and 4 respectively . since the three tracks are substantially the same length to contain a uniform number of containers , their rear ends 2 b , 3 b and 4 b will have an inverted cascade appearance adjacent the vertical wall support 7 a . an automatic container barrier is illustrated in fig2 , 4 - 6 and 6 a at the rear end of each track . this feature comprises back strap 20 formed in a u - shape with arms 21 pivotally connected to side walls 5 and 6 . between arms 21 is a cross bar or retainer bar 22 which is a generally flat strap lying closely adjacent and generally parallel to top surface of track 2 in fig4 and elevated above track 2 in fig5 , 6 and 6 a . it is also envisioned for the back strap 20 to be in an l - shape and having only a single arm . the first stage of operation for the automatic container barrier is seen in fig4 where a container 11 h moving rearward is about to engage the retainer bar 22 of back strap 20 . further rearward movement of container 11 h is seen in fig5 , where the rear wall surface of container 11 h has engaged and is pushing the retainer bar 22 , which has begun to swing rearward and upward . finally , as seen in fig6 and 6a , container 11 h has pushed or been pushed further rearward , retainer bar 22 has swung as far as it can go in the available arc of the arms 21 , and blocks farther rearward movement of container 11 h . since the back strap 20 is freely pivotable , it will swing forward and return to its original position when any or all containers have moved forward and out of contact with retainer bar 22 . in its original forward and down position seen in fig4 , the back strap 20 will always be ready to engage and restrain a container 11 h being pushed rearwardly . it should be noted that back strap 20 , in its initial down position in fig4 , has retainer bar 22 generally flat and close to the track &# 39 ; s top surface , and arms 21 are spaced - apart and close to side walls 5 , 6 . consequently , containers can be loaded from the rear , where each container is pushed between the arms 21 , over the retainer bar 22 and onto the track &# 39 ; s top surface . this allows optional loading of containers from the front or the rear of the track . in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 , each track 2 , 3 and 4 has laterally extending tabs 30 which are inserted into mating slots 31 in the side walls 5 and 6 , where the tabs may be permanently or releasably coupled to slots 31 . these tabs 30 do not extend beyond the outer surface of side walls 5 , 6 . such a configuration allows multiple dispenser track assemblies to be slid into place in a side - by - side relationship or freely removed without disturbing other multi - tiered dispenser track assemblies . thus , the side walls are coupled to the opposite side edges of each track , and each combination of track plus walls produces an elongated channel in which articles can slide . as seen in fig1 and 2 , at the front discharge portion of the lower track 4 is a bracket or ticket channel 33 with an internal slot 34 to removably receive a product identification and / or a price label . this bracket 33 is removably mounted in a set of tracks 35 ( fig1 ) in front barrier 15 . this bracket 33 also functions as a handle which facilitates pulling the entire assembly in a frontward manner off the supporting shelf to be rear loaded and / or repositioned on the shelf . as further seen in fig1 and 2 , side walls 5 , 6 have a plurality of window - like openings 37 which allow finger access by a clerk to reach into the pathway above a track to align and / or release a container jammed on track 2 , 3 , 4 . these openings 37 also lighten the weight of and reduce the amount of plastic required for side walls 5 , 6 . the multi - tiered dispenser track assembly 1 is shown in solid line in fig1 , with an identical track assembly shown in phantom line immediately adjacent to the right of the solid line dispenser track assembly 1 . this demonstrates that one dispenser track assembly can be positioned directly adjacent and against another identical dispenser track assembly and can be easily removed without interference between their outer side surfaces . smooth and unobstructed outside surfaces are achieved because of the previously described tab - in - slot construction shown ( a ) in fig8 for coupling of the tracks 2 , 3 , and 4 to the side walls 5 , 6 ; ( b ) in fig9 for coupling of the back strap 20 to side walls 5 , 6 ; and ( c ) in fig1 for coupling fence 15 to side walls 5 , 6 . in each case a tab enters but does not protrude through the outside surface of any sidewall . the number of side - by - side multi - tier dispenser track assemblies that are used together is variable , and the number of tiers in each multi - tier track assembly is further variable , within space , weight , economical and aesthetic constraints . fig1 - 17 illustrate a second embodiment 40 of the dispenser track assembly of this disclosure which is similar in part to the first embodiment . as stated earlier , for convenience and clarity , certain elements that are the same in both embodiments will be given the same reference numbers . as shown , dispenser track assembly 40 has upper , middle and lower tracks 42 , 43 and 44 respectively coupled to side walls 5 and 6 via tabs 30 of the tracks extending into slots 31 of the side walls . as seen in fig1 , at the front discharge portions of tracks 42 , 43 , 44 are exit ramps 45 , 46 , 47 respectively . the dispenser track assembly 40 is removably mounted via bracket 7 to rear wall support element 7 a . further , as seen in fig1 - 17 , the products being dispensed are containers 41 a - 41 j corresponding to containers used for a very popular yogurt product , which are recognized by their bell shape , having a larger bottom surface than top surface . fig1 and 13 show containers 41 a - 41 j in a line extending from front to rear on track 42 with container 41 a being the lead container situated on exit ramp 45 . fig1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the front discharge portion of track 43 and its exit ramp 46 , including central longitudinal axis x - x of track 43 . the front discharge portion 46 a of exit ramp 46 has a central area “ a ” defining a crescent recess or notch 50 extending rearwardly between points 50 a and 50 b . this notch 50 provides easier access for a customer &# 39 ; s fingers to grasp the container 51 and better visibility of any label on the front surface of the lead container 51 a . the front edge 46 a of exit ramp 46 has opposite side areas , extending from points 50 a and 50 b rearwardly to points 50 c and 50 d on the side edges of track 43 . circle 53 represents the top edge of container 51 . concentric circles 54 and 54 a represent the bottom lip and outer diameter of this lip of container 51 . the intersection at point 0 , 0 indicates the center of container 41 a . a line y - y through this center and perpendicular to the central longitudinal axis x - x indicates the location of the center of gravity of container 51 . a line y ′- y ′, parallel to line y - y connects points 50 c and 50 d , which becomes the line over which container 51 tips forward due to the forces from all the containers behind the lead container 51 a trying to slide forward , and because the lead container 51 a is poised to tip about a line y - y near its own center of gravity . as seen in fig1 and 16 , the exit ramp 9 will tilt the lead container 51 a forward slightly until stopped by fingers 16 ( also called hoop 16 ) of fence 15 . in this orientation the front surface of the lead container 51 a and label thereon will be clearly visible , and the lead container 51 a is easily removable by a customer who can grasp and lift the lead container 51 a over fence 15 , as further seen in fig1 . fig1 and 18 illustrate high and low versions 15 , 15 a respectively of the fence . the same reference numbers are used for the fingers 16 , bracket 35 and mounting tabs 12 and 13 . the differently shaped fingers on the two fences 15 , 15 a provide different areas of support for the lead container on the exit ramp . fig1 illustrates the same back strap 20 seen in fig4 - 6 , but here employed with the dispenser track assembly of fig1 and containers of the type that are bell - shaped . a further feature of the first embodiment , seen in fig3 , is a wave configuration 55 near the front discharge portion 2 a , 3 a of each of tracks 2 , 3 . these tracks have widths slightly greater than the diameter of the container 11 being dispensed . wave configuration 55 extends for a distance equal to about three container diameters . more specifically , the top surface of track 2 is flat from its rear end forward until wave configuration 55 begins with a downward dip 56 , which is followed by a rise or hill 57 , which is followed by a dip 58 , which is followed by the exit ramp 9 . dip , rise and dip each extend lengthwise a distance about equal to one diameter of container 11 . each of the containers 11 sliding on wave configuration 55 will alternately tilt forward when descending dips 56 , 58 , tilt backward when ascending rise 57 , and tilt further backward ( for an inverted bell - shaped container ) upon ascending exit ramp 9 . the wave configuration 55 can also be used on a track with bell - shaped containers 41 . in this embodiment , exit ramp 9 will tilt the container 41 forward . the purpose of the wave configuration 55 is to induce the container 11 nearing exit ramp 9 to tilt in a manner that will reduce the possibility of the edges of lids of adjacent containers from becoming partially jammed together . such engagement of lid edges could create difficulty for a customer to remove the lead container or could cause a “ traffic jam ” of containers . such jamming is not uncommon , as these containers slide downward on this gravity feed track and their cumulative weight bears on the forwardmost containers . the above - described tracks and side walls are made of opaque molded polyethylene , and the front barrier fence or hoop is made of clear polycarbonate to avoid any obstacles to visibility of the front surface and label on the lead container . many other common industrial plastics may be used . fig1 - 24 illustrate features of another embodiment of the dispenser track assembly 1 . as shown therein , pull through fingers 100 are provided to facilitate dispensing containers 11 . fingers 100 are dimensioned and configured to flexibly hold first container 11 a in place and to flex open to dispense the container 11 a without the need to lift the container 11 a relative to track 110 . in addition , a metering mechanism 120 is shown in fig2 and 22 which precludes the dispensing of more than one container 11 at a time . the metering mechanism 120 in this embodiment is a set of flippers or pivoting fingers which allows only one container 11 at a time to reach the pull through front fingers 100 . this configuration allows for a constant extraction force and further permits long rows of articles to be gravity fed , one at a time , into the shopping area . as shown in fig2 and 24 , a novel one - way rear gate 130 is incorporated to prevent rear - most articles from falling out of the back of the dispenser track assembly 1 as the dispenser track assembly 1 is picked up or moved . in this embodiment , one - way rear gate 130 is a living hinge mechanism which , when engaged by an article 11 sliding rearwardly , will fold rearwardly over onto the wall and prevent the article 11 from falling off of the rear end of the track . the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the disclosure being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . for example , in the embodiment having multiple tracks , it is envisioned for the exit ramps to tilt the articles at differing angles from one another . each of the exit ramps can be angled to position its lead article such that the front surface of the lead article is angled toward a customer &# 39 ; s eye level , thus enabling a customer ( of average height ) to view the front surface of the lead articles on all of the tracks . further , it is envisioned for the angles of tilt on each exit ramp to be adjustable . it is also envisioned that fence is defined by a single finger extending from either side wall of track .	0
this disclosure relates generally to radio - controlled mobile toys and , more specifically , to selecting an operating frequency in such toys . it is understood , however , that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples . specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure . these are , of course , merely examples and are not intended to be limiting . in addition , the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and / or letters in the various examples . this repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and / or configurations discussed . referring to fig1 - 3 , in one embodiment , a transmitter 10 may be used to control a radio - controlled toy 12 . for purposes of example , the radio - controlled toy 12 is a radio - controlled car that includes a body 14 and a chassis 16 . the body 14 may connect to the chassis 16 in a variety of ways , including a conventional pressure fit or a snap connection . accordingly , various configurations of the body 14 may be used with the chassis 16 . the radio - controlled car 12 further includes a set of wheels 22 associated with the chassis 16 . a plurality of electronic circuits ( fig5 a - 6d ) are housed within the transmitter 10 and the radio - controlled car 12 . as will be described later in greater detail , the circuits enable interaction between the transmitter 10 and the radio - controlled car 12 so that the radio - controlled car 12 may be controlled via the transmitter 10 . an antenna 18 may be provided on the radio - controlled car 12 to receive radio signals from an antenna 20 of the transmitter 10 . the transmitter 10 includes a housing 24 for enclosing the circuits . a user may interact with the circuits using a plurality of control devices disposed on the transmitter 10 . these control devices may include a power switch 26 , a channel selection switch 28 , an indicator 30 , a steering member 32 , a steering adjuster 34 , a left hand / right hand selection switch 36 , a release button 38 , and a motion control member 40 . it is understood that the number , type , and arrangement of control devices on the transmitter 10 illustrated in fig1 - 3 are for purposes of example , and that alternate numbers and / or types of control devices may be provided . for example , the channel selection switch 28 may be any user input means , including but not limited to a rotatable knob , or a voice - recognition circuit . an indicator housing 42 may be used to protect the indicator 30 . as illustrated , in the present example , the power switch 26 , the channel selection switch 28 , the indicator 30 , the steering member 32 , and the release button 38 are provided on a front surface 44 of the transmitter 10 , while the steering adjuster 34 is provided on a side 46 of the transmitter 10 , and the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 is provided on a top surface 86 of the transmitter . furthermore , the motion control member 40 extends from the transmitter 10 into a cutout 48 formed through the transmitter 10 . the steering member 32 and the motion control member 40 enable the movement of the radio - controlled car 12 to be controlled . the steering member 32 may include an annular portion 50 , which is radially spaced from a central portion 52 . the central portion 52 is the portion of the steering member 32 that extends into the housing 24 to operatively connect with a left / right steering circuit as will be described later with respect to fig5 c . the steering member 32 may further include a plurality of radially - extending legs 54 for connecting the annular portion 50 with the central portion 52 . the steering member 32 may be removably connected to the transmitter 10 in any conventional manner , such as a snap - fit . the steering adjuster 34 on the transmitter 10 may be used to ensure proper wheel alignment ( e . g ., to correct “ drift ”) in the steering of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , if the transmitter 10 is directing the radio - controlled car 12 to drive in a straight line , but the radio - controlled car 12 is veering to the right , the steering alignment may be adjusted via the steering adjuster 34 so that the radio - controlled car 12 proceeds in a straight line as directed . in the present example , the steering adjuster 34 is a wheel , which is initially in a neutral position . rotating the steering adjuster 34 adjusts the signal that is transmitted by the transmitter 10 to the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , if the transmitter 10 transmits instructions to the radio - controlled car 12 using a series of pulses ( e . g ., pulse modulation ), then the steering adjuster 34 may be rotated to a non - neutral position to alter the transmitted pulses so that they represent a neutral state . for example , a potentiometer responsive to the rotation of the steering adjuster 34 may be used to alter a pulse width of the transmitted pulses . the motion control member 40 may include an extension portion 68 and an inverted u - shaped portion 70 . the inverted u - shaped portion 70 provides a groove 72 through which the user may insert a finger to control movement of the motion control member 40 in a substantially right or left direction . movement of the motion control member 40 from a neutral position instructs the transmitter 10 to signal the radio - controlled car 12 to move either forward or backward . the direction of movement may be dependent on the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 , as will be described further with respect to the operation of the radio - controlled car 12 and a left hand / right hand selection circuit of fig5 a . the transmitter 10 may also include a motion control trimmer 74 ( fig3 ), which may be adjustable via a tool 66 ( fig2 ), such as a screwdriver . in one example , the tool 66 may be housed in the transmitter 10 during nonuse as illustrated by the exploded view of the tool in fig2 . the motion control trimmer 74 may be used to compensate for undesired forward or backward motion of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , if the radio - controlled car 12 moves in a forward or backward direction when the motion control member 40 is in a neutral position , the motion control trimmer 74 may be adjusted so that the radio - controlled car 12 remains stationary unless the motion control member 40 is moved from its neutral position . as described previously with respect to the steering adjuster 34 , the motion control trimmer 74 may operate via a potentiometer that adjusts a characteristic of the signal transmitted to the radio - controlled car 12 . referring now to the front surface 44 of the transmitter 10 , the cutout 48 generally defines a left portion 76 , a right portion 78 , and a middle portion 80 of the front surface . a gripping means 82 may be formed in the left portion of the front surface for providing a left - hand gripping surface for the user . the gripping means 82 may be any non - uniform surface that aids the user in gripping the transmitter 10 . for example , the gripping means 82 may be a plurality of channels formed in the transmitter . the right portion 78 of the front surface 44 protrudes relative to the left portion 76 and is generally curved to provide a right - hand gripping surface for the user . a gripping means 84 may be formed in the right portion 78 of the front surface 44 to further aid in providing the right - hand gripping surface . referring now to the top surface 86 of the transmitter 10 , an interface pad 90 is adapted to couple the radio - controlled car 12 to the transmitter 10 during selection of an operating frequency and charging of a battery ( not shown ) housed within the radio - controlled car 12 . it is understood that selection of the operating frequency and charging of the battery may be accomplished independently of one another . for example , the operating frequency of the car 12 may be changed even if the car is fully charged . it is further understood that changing of the frequency may be accomplished using alternate interfaces such as via an infrared port or wirelessly using a radio frequency . for example , if the frequency is changed wirelessly using a radio frequency , the transmitter 10 and the car 12 may each include a memory or timer for monitoring a defined amount of time . at the end of the defined amount of time , the transmitter 10 and the car 12 will simultaneously switch over to the new frequency . in the present example , a pair of catches 92 and 94 extend through the interface pad 90 to couple the chassis 16 of the radio - controlled car 12 to the interface pad 90 during charging . the catches 92 and 94 may also aid in aligning the radio - controlled car 12 on the interface pad 90 . the release button 38 is operatively connected to the catches 92 and 94 , such that depression of the release button 38 releases the radio - controlled car 12 from the interface pad 90 . a portion of the top surface 86 of the transmitter 10 may be formed as a removable cover 96 for providing access to a battery housing ( not shown ) disposed within the transmitter . a plurality of slots 100 , 102 , and 104 are formed in the interface pad 90 to provide external access to a pair of electrical charging contacts 106 and 108 and an electrical programming contact 110 , respectively . it is understood that the orientation of contacts extending from the transmitter 10 is variable , and that additional contacts may be used . a charging button 112 may be further provided through the interface pad 90 for contacting the chassis 16 , as will be described later with respect to the operation of the radio - controlled car 12 and a charging circuit of fig5 e . a cover 114 may be used to enclose and protect the interface pad 90 and the antenna 20 during nonuse . the housing 24 includes a step - down portion 116 for accommodating movement of the cover 114 from an open position to a closed position . a protrusion 118 extends from the step - down portion 116 for receiving a corresponding bore 120 formed through a flange 122 of the cover 114 for connecting the cover to the housing 24 . referring now to fig4 , a bottom surface 62 of the chassis 16 may include a steering trimmer 64 . like the steering adjuster 34 of the transmitter 10 , the steering trimmer 64 may be used to ensure proper wheel alignment in the steering of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , if the transmitter 10 is directing the radio - controlled car 12 to drive in a straight line , but the radio - controlled car 12 is veering to the right , then the steering alignment may be adjusted via the steering trimmer 64 so that the radio - controlled car 12 proceeds in a straight line as directed . although the steering adjuster 34 and steering trimmer 64 may be used separately , it is understood that they may enable a larger adjustment to be made to the steering alignment when used together . in the present example , the steering trimmer 64 is initially in a neutral position . rotating the steering trimmer 64 adjusts the way in which the radio - controlled car 12 responds to the signal that is received from the transmitter 10 . for example , if the transmitter 10 transmits instructions to the radio - controlled car 12 using a series of pulses ( e . g ., pulse modulation ), then the steering trimmer 64 may be rotated to a non - neutral position ( either by hand or using a tool such as the screwdriver 66 ) to alter the received pulses so that they represent a neutral state . for example , a potentiometer responsive to the rotation of the steering trimmer 64 may be used to alter a pulse width of the transmitted pulses . a plurality of slots 126 , 128 , and 130 are formed through the bottom surface 62 of the chassis 16 for allowing access to a pair of electrical charging contacts 132 and 134 and an electrical programming contact 136 . the charging contacts 132 and 134 and the programming contact 136 of the car 12 correspond to the charging contacts 106 and 108 and the programming contact 110 , respectively , of the transmitter 10 . it is understood that the transmitter 10 and the car 12 may be connected for purposes of charging and programming by other means such as cables that connect into jacks associated with the transmitter and the car . a power switch 138 may further be provided on the bottom surface 62 of the chassis 16 . accordingly , when the radio - controlled car 12 is placed onto the interface pad 90 of the transmitter 10 , circuits within the radio - controlled car 12 may electrically connect with corresponding circuits within the transmitter 10 . additionally , although not shown , the car 12 may include an indicator for indicating various operating states of the car , such as the operating frequency . the indicator on the car 12 may be provided in addition to , or in place of , the indicator 30 of fig1 . referring now to fig5 a - 5f , a plurality of circuits that may be housed within the transmitter 10 are illustrated . it is understood that relationships may exist between various circuits and / or circuit components of fig5 a - 5f . for example , the circuit of fig5 a includes a microcontroller unit ( mcu ) denoted by the reference number u 203 . the mcu u 203 includes various input and output ports , including a power_led output and a cha_led output . the power_led and cha_led outputs serve as inputs to the led circuit of fig5 f . referring now to fig5 a , a circuit 200 includes the mcu u 203 , a channel selection circuit 202 , a left hand / right hand selection circuit 204 , and a mcu control circuit 206 . for purposes of example , the mcu u 203 is an em78458 , made by elan microelectronics , with 4k of read only memory ( rom ). the memory of the mcu u 203 includes a plurality of instructions for controlling various aspects of the transmitter 10 . for example , in conjunction with various circuits , the mcu u 203 may program a selected frequency of the radio - controlled car 12 , handle charging , control steering and left / right and front / back motion , and perform other tasks . the channel selection circuit 202 is associated with the channel selection switch 28 of fig1 through switches sw 203 - sw 205 and sw 207 - sw 209 , each of which corresponds to a channel 1 - 6 of the channel selection switch 28 . it is understood that any number of channels are contemplated . in the present example , only one of the switches sw 203 - sw 205 and sw 207 - sw 209 can be in a closed state ( e . g ., if channel 1 is selected , sw 203 may be closed , while sw 204 , sw 205 , sw 207 - sw 209 may be open ). the state of the switches ( e . g ., open or closed ) may be read by the mcu u 203 as a voltage through an analog to digital converter that is contained within the mcu u 203 . this state informs the mcu u 203 of the user - selected channel that is to be used by the transmitter 10 and the radio - controlled car 12 . after the selected channel is confirmed by comparison of the read voltage to a predefined value within the mcu u 203 , the mcu u 203 may program an integrated circuit ( e . g ., ic u 201 of fig5 d ) through a chclk signal pin . this sets the transmitter 10 to transmit signals using the selected channel . the mcu u 203 may then transfer information regarding the user - defined channel to an mcu u 2 ( fig6 a ) within the radio - controlled car 12 via the programming contact 110 . in the present example , channel programming of the radio - controlled car 12 may be accomplished when the radio - controlled car 12 is placed onto the interface pad 90 . in some embodiments , the programming may occur in a predefined period of time , such as during the first eight seconds of a charging cycle . for example , if a user desires to change the channel from 3 to 4 , he may push the channel selection switch 28 one step upwards . this changes the input voltage at pins 6 and 7 of the mcu u 203 , and the mcu u 203 detects the selection of channel 4 by comparing the detected voltage level with an internal threshold level . the mcu u 203 then sets the transmitter 10 to transmit using the selected channel and transfers the selected channel to the radio - controlled car 12 . the left hand / right hand selection circuit 204 is associated with the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 of fig1 through a switch sw 206 . in the present example , moving the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 on the transmitter 10 from right hand to left hand ( or vice versa ) reverses the operation of the motion control member 40 by reversing an fb + contact and a fb − contact ( fig5 b ). this enables the transmitter 10 to be adjusted for use with both right and left - handed users . with additional reference to fig5 g and 5h , one embodiment of the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 ( and the corresponding switch sw 206 of fig5 a ) is associated with six contact points a - f . the contact a is of positive polarity and the contact b is of negative polarity . contact a is connected to contact f , and contact b is connected to contact e . for purposes of illustration , contact c is connected to the fb + contact ( fig5 b ) and contact d is connected to the fb − contact ( fig5 b ). when the switch sw 206 is set for right - handed use ( fig5 g ), the contacts a and c are connected , and the contacts b and d are connected . this gives the contact c ( and the associated contact fb +) a positive polarity , and gives the contact d ( and the associated contact fb −) a negative polarity . when the switch sw 206 is set for left - handed use ( fig5 h ), the contacts c and e are connected , and the contacts d and f are connected . this reverses the polarity of the contacts c and d , giving the contact c ( and the associated contact fb +) a negative polarity , and giving the contact d ( and the associated contact fb −) a positive polarity . accordingly , by manipulating the polarity of the fb + and fb − contacts via the contacts a - f , the transmitter 10 may be set for right - handed or left - handed use . referring now to fig5 b , a forward / backward motion control circuit 210 housed within the transmitter 10 is associated with the motion control member 40 ( fig1 ) through an input fbc . movement of the motion control member 40 affects variable resistor vr 201 , which may be a potentiometer , as described previously . the output voltage f / b of the forward / backward motion control circuit 210 is read by the mcu u 203 ( fig5 a ) on pin 3 , and the mcu u 203 determines what digital signals to send to the radio - controlled car 12 based on the read voltage . as described previously , the transmitter 10 may include a motion control trimmer 74 ( fig3 ) that can be used to offset undesired forward or backward motion when the radio - controlled car 12 is supposed to remain stationary . in the present example , the motion control trimmer 74 is associated with a variable resistor vr 204 . referring now to fig5 c , a left / right steering control circuit 212 housed within the transmitter 10 is associated with the steering member 32 ( fig1 ) through an input lrc . movement of the steering member 32 affects variable resistor vr 202 , which may be a potentiometer , as described previously . the output voltage l / r of the left / right steering circuit 212 is read by the mcu u 203 ( fig5 a ) on pin 4 , and the mcu u 203 determines what digital signals to send to the radio - controlled car 12 based on the read voltage . as described previously , the transmitter 10 may include a steering adjuster 34 ( fig1 ) that can be used to offset undesired drift in the wheel alignment of the radio - controlled car 12 . in the present example , the steering adjuster 34 is associated with variable resistor vr 203 . referring now to fig5 d , a signal transmission circuit 214 housed within the transmitter 10 is used to transmit control signals from the transmitter 10 to the radio - controlled car 12 . the signal transmission circuit 214 includes a transistor q 206 , a varactor diode d 201 , an antenna anti ( which may be the antenna 20 of fig1 ), a crystal x 201 , and an integrated circuit ( ic ) u 201 , which may be an et13x221 , made by etoms electronics . although not shown in fig5 d , the ic u 201 includes a phase lock loop circuit , a voltage controlled oscillator , and a crystal oscillator . in the present example , the voltage controlled oscillator within the ic u 201 is operated at 27 mhz by programming a frequency counter within the ic u 201 via an input port chclk ( pin 1 of the ic u 201 ). the ic u 201 has sixteen available channels . data is sent from the mcu u 203 to the radio - controlled 12 via an output port data_out ( pin 19 , fig5 a ) as follows . when a square - wave is generated by the mcu u 203 on the data_out port and applied through the resistor r 211 , the carrier signal is frequency shift key ( fsk ) modulated ( e . g ., it enables sub - carrier modulated signaling that can be used for data transmission , where binary ones and zeroes are represented by two different frequencies that are offset from the carrier frequency ). the data is then sent to the radio - controlled car 12 via the antenna ant 1 . referring now specifically to fig5 e , a charging circuit 216 housed within the transmitter 10 may be used in charging the radio - controlled car 12 . in the present example , the charging circuit 216 includes a power switch sw 201 , a charging switch sw 202 and associated contact pads ch + and ch −, each of which correspond to an element of fig1 . for example , the power switch sw 201 may be connected to the power switch 26 , the charging switch sw 202 may be connected to the charging button 112 , and the contact pads ch + and ch − may correspond to the electrical charging contacts 106 , 108 , respectively . in operation , the power switch 26 of the transmitter 10 is turned to “ on ,” which actuates the power switch sw 201 of the charging circuit 216 , providing an electrical connection to a battery batt . ( in the present example , the power switch 138 of the radio - controlled car 12 is also turned to “ on ” prior to placement of the radio - controlled car 12 on the transmitter 10 .) when the radio - controlled car 12 is placed onto the interface pad 90 of the transmitter 10 , the charging button 112 is depressed , actuating the charging switch sw 202 . when the charging switch sw 202 is actuated , the mcu u 203 ( fig5 a ) alters the state of pin 13 and turns on transistor q 203 ( which then turns on transistors q 202 , q 207 , and q 208 ). this provides power from the battery batt to the contact pads ch + and ch −. a timer is started within the mcu u 203 to limit the amount of time that the battery of the radio - controlled car 12 is allowed to charge , thereby preventing an overcharge from occurring and damaging the battery . in the present example , the charging duration is approximately one minute and the charging rate is approximately 10 c ( where c is the one hour discharge current ). an ic u 202 provides a regulated voltage output to the mcu control circuit 206 ( fig5 a ) and the signal transmission circuit 214 ( fig5 d ). referring now to fig5 f , a light emitting diode ( led ) circuit 218 housed within the transmitter 10 powers the indicator 30 to indicate an operating state of the transmitter 10 . in the present example , the indicator 30 comprises one or more leds that are used to represent a variety of states using one of three colors that may be blinking or steady . for example , green and steady may indicate that the transmitter 10 is powered on or in trickle charge mode ; red and blinking may indicate that channel programming ( of the radio - controlled car 12 ) is in progress ; red and steady may indicate that the radio - controlled car 12 is being charged ; and amber and steady may indicate that channel programming has failed . it is understood that these states are exemplary , and that other states and / or combinations may be used . these states are controlled by the mcu u 203 ( fig5 a ) via a power_led output ( pin 14 ) and a cha_led output ( pin 11 ). referring now to fig6 a - 6d , a plurality of circuits that may be housed within the radio - controlled car 12 are illustrated . it is understood that relationships may exist between various circuits and / or circuit components of fig6 a - 6d . for example , the circuit of fig6 a includes a mcu denoted by the reference number u 2 . the mcu u 2 includes various input and output ports , including a w 2 r output and a w 2 l output . the w 2 r and w 2 l outputs serve as inputs to the motor control circuit of fig6 b . referring now to fig6 a , a circuit 220 includes the mcu u 2 , an ic u 1 , a low noise amplifier circuit 222 , a receiver circuit 224 , and a mcu control circuit 226 . for purposes of example , the mcu u 2 may be an em78458 , made by elan microelectronics , and the ic u 1 may be an et13x210 , made by etoms electronics . the mcu u 2 may include a plurality of instructions for controlling various aspects of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , in conjunction with various circuits , the mcu u 2 may control steering and forward / backward motion . the channel information transferred from the mcu u 203 ( fig5 a ) is received by the mcu u 2 . the user selected channel may be stored in memory associated with the mcu u 2 , which may then set the radio - controlled car 12 to receive signals using the selected channel by setting the ic u 1 via pins d 0 - d 3 . in the present example , as the channel data is stored in volatile memory , it will be lost when power is lost or reset occurs , but will be reprogrammed again when the battery is charged . the fsk modulated signal transmitted by the transmitter 10 via the antenna 20 is received by an antenna ant 2 ( which may be the antenna 18 of fig1 ) associated with the low noise amplifier circuit 222 . the received signal is amplified by the low noise amplifier circuit 222 and passed to the ic u 1 , which mixes the signal down to an intermediate frequency . the intermediate frequency signal is then demodulated and waveform shaped to recover the original control data stream . the data stream is then decoded by the mcu u 2 and used to control a first motor control circuit 228 ( fig6 b ) and a second motor control circuit 230 ( fig6 c ), which control steering of the front wheels and forward / backward motion , respectively . more specifically , the mcu u 2 controls the front wheels via two output ports w 2 r ( pin 8 ) and w 2 l ( pin 9 ), which correspond to circuit inputs of the same name in fig6 b . the steering trimmer 64 may be associated with the circuit of fig6 b to enable a user to manipulate the circuit in order to align the front wheels of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , the steering trimmer 64 may be associated with a variable resistor ( not shown ) as described previously with respect to the circuit elements vr 204 and vr 203 of fig5 b and 5c , respectively . similarly , the mcu u 2 controls forward / backward motion via two output ports wif ( pin 6 ) and wib ( pin 7 ), which correspond to circuit inputs of the same name in fig6 c . although not shown in the present example , a user - adjustable component may be associated with the circuit of fig6 c to enable a user to manipulate the circuit in order to adjust the forward / backward motion of the radio - controlled car 12 . for example , such component may be associated with a variable resistor ( not shown ) as described previously . referring now to fig6 d , a dc - dc converter circuit 232 includes a switch swi , contact pads ch + and ch −, and a dc - dc converter u 3 . the switch sw 1 corresponds to the power switch 138 , and the contact pads ch + and ch − may correspond to the electrical charging contacts 132 , 134 ( fig4 ), respectively . when the switch swi is closed , power is provided to the circuit 232 . the dc - dc converter u 3 steps the battery voltage up from 2 . 4v to 3v . to operate the radio - controlled car 12 , a user turns both the power switch 26 of the transmitter 10 and the power switch 138 of the radio - controlled car 12 to “ on .” the indicator 30 may emit a green color to indicate that the transmitter 10 is on . if the battery of the radio - controlled car 12 is to be charged or the car is to be programmed with a different frequency , the radio - controlled car 12 is placed on the interface pad 90 of the transmitter 10 to engage the catches 92 and 94 . by placing the radio - controlled car 12 on the interface pad 90 , the charging button 112 of the transmitter 10 is activated , which begins the charging process of the radio - controlled car 12 via the electrical connection between the charging contacts 132 and 134 of the radio - controlled car 12 and the charging contacts 106 and 108 of the transmitter 10 . during charging , the operating frequency of the radio - controlled car 12 and the transmitter 10 may be modified by moving the channel selection switch 28 to a desired operating channel . the indicator 30 may emit a blinking red color to indicate channel frequency programming . upon frequency selection , the indicator 30 may emit a steady red color to indicate charging . when the charging process is completed , the indicator 30 may emit a green color . if channel programming fails , the indicator 30 may emit an amber color to indicate such failure . the user may then remove the radio - controlled car 12 from the transmitter 10 to clear the programming failure , and then reposition the radio - controlled car 12 on the transmitter 10 to restart the charging and programming operations . when the selected operating frequency is programmed and the radio - controlled car 12 has been charged , the radio - controlled car 12 may be removed from the transmitter 10 by pressing the release button 38 . prior to controlling the radio - controlled car 12 , the user may configure the transmitter 10 for right or left - handed use . for example , a right - handed user may move the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 to the “ right ” position , which configures the motion control member 40 to impart forward motion to the radio - controlled car 12 when the motion control member is moved in a left direction and to impart backward motion to the car when the motion control member is moved in a right direction . generally , a right - handed user may control the steering member 32 using the left hand while manipulating the motion control member 40 with the right hand . if the alternative configuration is desired , the user may move the left hand / right hand selection switch 36 to the “ left ” position . the radio - controlled car 12 may then be controlled by gripping the transmitter 10 and moving the steering member 32 and the motion control member 40 . if the wheel alignment of the radio - controlled car 12 drifts during neutral steering , then the steering trimmer 64 and / or the steering adjuster 34 may be adjusted . additionally , if the radio - controlled car 12 moves when the motion control member 40 is in a neutral position , the motion control trimmer 74 may be adjusted accordingly . the present invention has been described relative to a preferred embodiment . improvements or modifications that become apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art after reading this disclosure are deemed within the spirit and scope of the application . for example , a variety of alternate circuit configurations and components may be used to achieve the functionality of the circuits described above . furthermore , alternate controls may be provided that accomplish similar functions to those described herein . still further , functionality such as adjustments to the steering and / or to the forward / backward motion may be automatically achieved via one of the microcontrollers housed within the transmitter 10 or the car 12 . accordingly , it is understood that several modifications , changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and , in some instances , some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features . it is also understood that all spatial references , such as “ right ”, “ left ,” “ longitudinal ,” “ radial ,” top , side ,” “ back ,” and “ front ” are for illustrative purposes only and can be varied within the scope of the disclosure . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention .	0
the exemplary embodiments described in the fig1 through 5 are shown as chamfer - edge - controlled , single cylinder fuel injection pumps , but the invention also encompasses , of course , multiple cylinder fuel injection pumps , usually called series injection pumps . turning now to fig1 and the first exemplary embodiment of the invention , there is shown a partial housing 10 of a fuel injection pump 11 which includes a pump cylinder 12 whose bore 13 guides a pump piston 14 which is arranged to move axially and rotationally . an annular shoulder 15 of the pump cylinder 12 is supported on a surface 16 within the housing 10 and is clamped against it by a clamping flange 18 with the use of screws 17 , all of which is clear from the figure in the drawing . a tubular connector 19 and a valve 20 are interposed between the flange 18 and the upper portion of cylinder 12 . the valve 20 comprises a movable valve member 22 with a suction ring 21 and constitutes an equal volume relief pressure valve 23 . the pump piston 14 , which is driven in a known manner with a constant stroke by a cam shaft ( not shown ), has two diametrically opposite recesses 27 and 28 machined into its outer surface 26 . the first recess 27 is provided with a control edge 29 which cooperates with a control bore 31 which is arranged in the wall of the cylindrical bore 13 and serves simultaneously as a suction and return flow bore . the second recess 28 forms a control edge 32 which cooperates with a second control bore 33 which lies diametrically opposite the first control bore 31 and has the same diameter . as may clearly be seen from the configuration of the outer surface 26 of the pump piston 14 shown in fig2 the two recesses 27 and 28 are machined into the outer surface 26 so as to be separated from each other , and the two control edges 29 and 32 , which in the present example run parallel to each other , are arranged next to the control bores 31 and 33 , which lie opposite each other , and are displaced relative to one another in the axial direction of the pump piston 14 by a spacing distance a . as seen in fig1 during the delivery stroke of the pump piston 14 , directed toward the pressure valve 23 , first the control edge 29 opens the control bore 31 , and only after a further partial stroke a does the control edge 32 then open a connection from the pump operating chamber 34 to the control bore 33 . the pump operating chamber 34 is part of the cylindrical bore 13 and is defined on one side by a frontal surface 35 of the pump piston 14 and on the other side by the pressure valve 23 . the outer surface 26 of the frontal surface 35 of the pump piston 14 forms a horizontal , so - called overhead control edge which achieves a constant delivery beginning . the pump piston 14 contains a blind longitudinal bore 36 that begins at its frontal surface 35 . this bore 36 communicates with the recesses 27 and 28 by means of two cross bores 37 and 28 . the cross bore 37 , which connects the first recess 27 with the longitudinal bore 36 has a substantially smaller cross section than the cross bore 38 , and thus serves as a throttle bore or throttle point in the connecting line between the pump operating chamber and a low pressure chamber 39 . this low pressure chamber 39 is subject to the preliminary delivery pressure of the inflowing fuel and serves simultaneously as a suction and return flow chamber . the cross bore 38 is provided with approximately the same diameter as the longitudinal bore 36 or the control bore 33 , and thus represents an unthrottled connection between the pump operating chamber 34 and the suction chamber 39 . both cross bores 37 and 38 are on the same axis and are machined into the pump piston 14 at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the piston . these measures simplify both the calibration of the throttle bore 37 and its burr removal . both recesses 27 and 28 have a stop groove 41 on the face closest to the frontal surface 35 . these stop grooves 41 are produced with equal width and length to simplify production , and in contrast to known stop grooves , these penetrate into the pump piston 14 , although not completely through to the frontal surface 35 of the piston , ending at such a distance from this frontal surface 35 that no pressure delivery is possible in the rotation position of the pump piston where the control bores 31 and 33 cooperate with these top grooves 41 , because this distance is shorter than the diameter of the control bores 31 and 33 ( see the control bores 31 and 33 illustrated by the broken lines in fig2 ). the fuel injection pump 11 &# 39 ; illustrated in fig3 and 4 is primarily distinguished from the first exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 in that the pump piston 14 &# 39 ; has two recesses 51 and 52 in its outer surface 26 &# 39 ;, whose first control edge 53 runs exactly parallel to the second control edge 54 formed on the second recess 52 . both control edges 53 and 54 also have an identical distance from the frontal surface 35 of the pump piston 14 &# 39 ;. instead of the control edges 29 and 32 of the first exemplary embodiment , which are displaced relative to each other by the spacing distance a , in the exemplary embodiment according to fig3 and 4 , the two control bores 31 &# 39 ; and 33 &# 39 ; are displaced by the spacing distance a relative to each other , so that the edge of the control bore 31 &# 39 ; which determines the end of delivery and which cooperates with the first recess 51 is arranged farther away from the end 55 of the pump cylinder 12 &# 39 ; than the corresponding edge of the other control bore 33 &# 39 ; being displaced toward the pump operating chamber by the spacing distance a , which effectuates a throttled preliminary shut - off . like the recess 27 of the first exemplary embodiment , the first recess 51 of the second embodiment is connected with the pump operating chamber 34 by means of a throttle bore 37 &# 39 ; which opens into a longitudinal bore 36 &# 39 ; of the pump piston 14 &# 39 ;. in order to keep the dead space associated with the pump operating chamber as small as possible , this throttle bore 37 &# 39 ; is bored as close as possible to the frontal surface 35 from the stop groove 41 into the longitudinal bore 36 &# 39 ;. the longitudinal bore 36 &# 39 ; can be formed much smaller than the longitudinal bore 36 in fig1 because it must only allow passage for a certain preliminary shut - off quantity determined by the throttle 37 &# 39 ;. this is made possible by the fact that in place of the cross bore 38 shown in fig1 and 2 , the second recess 52 has a stop groove 56 which penetrates through to the frontal surface 35 , and which thus produces a direct unthrottled connection to the pump operating chamber 34 . the third exemplary embodiment which is illustrated only by the embodiment in fig5 is distinguished from the first exemplary embodiment in fig1 and 2 in that the angles of inclination α 1 and α 2 of the control edges 29 &# 34 ; and 32 &# 34 ; are slightly dissimilar . the angle of inclination α 2 of the control edge 32 &# 34 ; is somewhat smaller than the angle of inclination α 1 of the control edge 29 &# 34 ; and the position of both control edges 29 &# 34 ; and 32 &# 34 ; of the recesses 27 &# 34 ; and 28 &# 34 ; of the pump piston 14 &# 34 ; are arranged in the embodiment shown in fig5 in such a manner that they begin at about the same distance from the frontal surface 35 at the stop grooves 41 and then move away from each other in the direction where a larger delivery quantity is allowed . this results in both control edges being opened at almost the same time by the control bores 31 and 33 under smaller loads . but under larger loads the preliminary shut - off according to the invention , throttled by means of the throttle bore 31 , takes place through the control bore 31 by means of the control edge 29 &# 34 ;. this different angle of inclination of the two control edges can , of course , also be employed in principle with the second exemplary embodiment , in order to obtain a load - dependent preliminary shut - off there , too . the method of operation of the preliminary shut - off , which can be achieved with the invention , is explained below with the aid of fig1 and 2 . in fig1 the pump piston 14 is shown in the position it assumes shortly before the end of the pump delivery . the valve member 22 of the pressure valve 23 is open , thus not hindering the flow of fuel . as the pump piston 14 moves farther upward the control edge 29 of the recess 27 opens a connection which is throttled by a throttle bore 37 . this connection leads from the pump operating chamber 34 through the longitudinal bore 36 , the recess 27 in the pump piston 14 and the control bore 31 to the suction chamber 39 . thus there takes place a return flow of the fuel found in the pump operating chamber 34 , which is damped by the throttle bore 37 . the delivery also stops and the valve member 22 closes the connection to the pressure line 25 and thereby to the injection nozzle with the aid of the force of the spring 24 and the fuel in the pressure line 25 . according to the invention this closing takes place in a damped manner caused by the throttle bore 37 . after completion of the partial stroke determined by the spacing distance a , the second control edge 32 opens the associated control bore 33 and the further return flow of fuel takes place undamped into the suction chamber 39 , because the cross bore 38 has approximately the same diameter as the longitudinal bore 36 and the control bore 33 . this prevents the pressure valve 23 from being reopened , especially when the pump piston continues upward under a small load . favorable results are also obtained with a pump embodiment in which the diameter d 1 ( see fig2 ) of the throttle bore 37 is no more than one fourth of the diameter d 2 of the associated control bore 31 . one experimental embodiment having a pump piston diameter of 15 millimeters had a spacing distance a of 2 millimeters , a diameter d 1 of 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 millimeters and a diameter d 2 of the control bore of 6 millimeters . the second exemplary embodiment shown in fig3 and 4 has the same method of operation as the previously described first exemplary embodiment , except that the pressure valve ( 23 &# 39 ; in these figs .) has no return suction collar and is therefore represented as a simple return flow valve . in this pump the discharge of the pressure line 25 is determined exclusively by the throttle bore 37 &# 39 ; in the pump piston 14 &# 39 ;, and the discharge can be especially advantageously adapted to the requirements of the internal combustion engine when the two control edges 53 and 54 have different angles of inclination α 1 or α 2 ( not shown ) as in the third exemplary embodiment . the foregoing relates to preferred embodiments of the invention , it being understood that other embodiments and variants thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention , the latter being defined by the appended claims .	5
it has been found , surprisingly , that cloricromene is able to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood , and it can therefore be used to advantage in the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions with cholesterol - lowering activity . this activity has proved to be particularly marked in patients suffering from vascular disorders and / or cholesterol levels of over 190 mg / dl . test to compare the tolerability and cholesterol - lowering effect of cloricromene and scoparone in experimental models in rabbit a preliminary experiment was performed to assess the ability of cloricromene to reduce plasma levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in rabbits fed on a high - fat diet , treated chronically for 4 - 5 weeks . as reference product we used scoparone , as it is the only coumarin derivative of vegetable origin with a documented effect on these parameters . the experimental model induces high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the plasma by a 1 % cholesterol - enriched diet , simultaneously inducing diabetes by injection of alloxan , a highly toxic product for the β cells of the pancreas . in this way , it is possible to reach very high values of cholesterol and triglycerides in the system rapidly . the body weight of the animals and the plasma levels of the test parameters were assessed weekly throughout the experiment . the results of this preliminary experiment indicate that the group of rabbits treated with cloricromene present a body weight increase curve which is superimposable on that of the control group of animals , which had diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia but were not receiving any pharmacological treatment . conversely , in the group of animals treated with scoparone , a marked and progressive reduction in body weight was observed in the animals , which indicated beyond doubt poor tolerability of the pharmacological treatment . the plasma levels of cholesterol and triglycerides too tended to be lower in the group treated with cloricromene than in the group treated with scoparone . these data highlight , in comparison to scoparone , cloricromene &# 39 ; s absolute lack of toxic activity even when administered repeatedly over long periods of time . in the same experimental model , in which a diabetic pathology is induced by treating the animals with alloxan , and hypercholesterolaemia is induced by administering a 1 % cholesterol diet , we monitored at weekly intervals the cholesterol levels of the rabbits , which had been divided into the following treatment groups : 1 . control , treated with saline solution 2 . scoparone 3 . cloricromene the results reported in fig2 show that cholesterol levels in the group of animals treated with cloricromene are markedly lower than those of both the control group and that treated with scoparone . the difference is evident as early as the third week of treatment . in this experiment , as in the previous one , the product proved to be practically free from any toxic effects : indeed , at the end of the experiment , the number of animals that completed the treatment with scoparone was considerably lower than the number of those treated with cloricromene . as further confirmation of this interesting result , we prepared another experimental model . in this case , hypercholesterolaemia was induced in rabbit by administration of a 0 . 1 % cholesterol diet , without simultaneously inducing diabetes . in these experimental conditions , cholesterol levels of around 250 mg / dl were obtained , that is to say , values that are compatible with the pathological situation normally observed in humans affected by hypercholesterol . the rabbits were divided into three treatment groups : controls treated with saline , a second group receiving scoparone and a third receiving cloricromene . the results in this case too showed that cholesterol levels were markedly lower in the group treated with cloricromene than in the control group that received no treatment and in the group of animals which received scoparone ( fig3 ). we conducted a multicentre , double - blind , randomised study , controlled versus placebo , on 159 patients with peripheral vascular disease ( pvd ) at fontaine stage ii , the classic symptom of which is intermittent claudication ( ic ). pvd is a pathology involving thrombotic risk , and ic patients run a two - to fivefold greater risk of cardiovascular ischemic diseases than other subjects , with a particularly high mortality rate from myocardial infarct , stroke and thrombosis . hypercholesterolaemia is beyond doubt one of the risk factors in the genesis of the atherosclerotic processes that lead to the formation of atheromatous plaques . it has also been demonstrated that vessel walls altered by atheromatous plaques may give rise to interactions of the endothelium with the circulating cells ( mainly platelets and leukocytes ) that trigger the thrombotic process . in our study , besides assessing the effect of cloricromene on ic , we also studied the cholesterol - lowering effects of the drug and the incidence of major cardiovascular events ( myocardial infarction , stroke , vascular death , progression to fontaine stages iii - iv ) after a treatment period of six months . in analysing the cholesterol - lowering effect , 117 patients were considered who presented cholesterol values at baseline of over 190 mg / di . the critical value of 190 mg / dl was selected on the basis of data from the international literature that report this value as the risk threshold in pathologies such as cardiac ischaemia and atherosclerosis in general , in which excessive cholesterol represents a real risk factor . therefore , the patients who presented cholesterol values equal to or over 190 mg / dl were considered to be at risk from said pathologies . for the purposes of this analysis , 58 patients were treated for 6 months with 200 mg of cloricromene per day ( one capsule of 100 mg twice a day ), while the remaining 59 patients were treated with placebo ( table ). all the patients also took aspirin at a dose of 160 mg / day throughout the trial . from analysis of the covariance , the estimation of the difference between the treatment groups proves statistically significant in favour of the group treated with cloricromene ( p = 0 . 04 , with a value of α = 0 . 05 ). as regards the onset of severe events , no major cardiovascular events or deaths were observed in either group . the results suggest that cloricromene may be useful in controlling thrombotic risk , by lowering cholesterol levels and inhibiting cellular interactions ( endothelial cells , platelets , leukocytes ) which might otherwise contribute towards the formation of thrombi , with the subsequent risk of major cardiovascular events . the formulations being thus described in detail , it is obvious that they can be modified in various ways . such modifications are not to be considered as variations from the spirit and purpose of the invention , and any such modification which may appear obvious to an expert in the specific sector are to be considered as coming within the scope of the following claims .	0
the present embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which exemplary embodiments are shown . fig1 through 7 are cross - sectional views illustrating the sequence of a method of manufacturing a substrate having a thin film transistor according to an embodiment , and fig8 is a cross - sectional view illustrating a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display device using the substrate manufactured according to the method illustrated in fig1 through 7 . referring to fig1 , a film 30 is lamination bonded using a lamination roller r on a substrate 10 . the film 30 is made such that a conductive pattern 32 is included in a base 31 formed of a resin . referring to fig2 , the conductive pattern 32 is formed in a regular pattern . the conductive pattern 32 will become a pixel electrode and can be formed in a single layer or multiple layers of a conductive material , which will be described later . the conductive pattern 32 can be formed of , for example , ito , izo , or zno when the pixel electrode is used as a transparent electrode , and can be formed of , for example , ag , mg , al , pt , pd , au , ni , nd , ir , cr , or a compound of these metals when the pixel electrode is used as a reflective electrode . when the pixel electrode is used as a transparent electrode , the pixel electrode is an anode electrode , and when the pixel electrode is used as a reflective electrode , the pixel electrode is a cathode electrode . however , the present embodiments are not limited thereto , and even if the pixel electrode is used as a reflective electrode , after forming a reflection film formed of , for example , ag , mg , al , pt , pd , au , ni , nd , ir , cr , or an alloy of these metals , an ito film , an izo film , a zno film , or an in 2 o 3 film , etc . can be formed on the reflective film , and the pixel electrode can be an anode . in at least one surface of the film 30 , the conductive pattern 32 is not exposed to the outside . as depicted in fig1 , when the film 30 is laminated on the substrate 10 , the lamination is performed so that the surface of the conductive pattern 32 which is not exposed faces the outside . in fig1 through 8 , the conductive pattern 32 of the film 30 is shown with the side facing the substrate 10 exposed , but the present embodiments are not limited thereto , and the conductive pattern 32 might not be exposed on either side of the film 30 . the film 30 can be bonded in various ways . as depicted in fig1 , the film 30 can be laminated , or can be attached to the substrate 10 using an adhesive . in one embodiment , the substrate 10 can be a plastic substrate . in this embodiment , a barrier layer 20 may be coated on the opposite surface to that which the film 30 is attached . the barrier layer 20 blocks the penetration of moisture and / or oxygen through the substrate 10 . the barrier layer may be coated on the surface on which the film 30 is attached . the barrier layer 20 can be , for example , a composite layer of an inorganic material layer and a polymer layer . the inorganic material layer can be formed of , for example , metal oxides , metal nitrides , metal carbides , metal oxynitrides , or a compound of these metals . the metal oxides can be , for example , silica , alumina , titania , indium oxide , tin oxide , indium tin oxide , or a compound of these oxides . the metal nitride can be , for example , aluminum nitride , silicon nitride , or a compound of these nitrides . the metal carbide can be , for example , silicon carbide , and the metal oxynitride can be , for example , silicon oxynitride . the inorganic material layer can be formed of any inorganic material that can block the penetration of moisture or oxygen , such as silicon . the inorganic material layer can be formed by deposition or other methods . when the inorganic material layer is formed by evaporation , pores can form in the inorganic material layer . in some embodiments , in order to prevent the pores from continuously growing on the same spot , a polymer layer can be further included in addition to the inorganic material layer . the polymer layer can be formed of , for example , organic polymer , inorganic polymer , organometallic polymer , or hybrid organic / inorganic polymer . the barrier layer 20 is not necessarily included , and may be omitted . the substrate 10 is not limited to plastic , but can also be formed of glass or metal . referring to fig3 , a first opening 31 a and a second opening 31 b are formed by patterning the film 30 after the film 30 is attached to the substrate 10 . the first opening 31 a , as will be described later , allows the drain electrode to contact the conductive pattern 32 , and the second opening 31 b , as will be described later , is to form a light emitting device . referring to fig4 , a source electrode 41 and a drain electrode 42 are formed on the base 31 after patterning the film 30 . at this time , as described above , the drain electrode 42 is connected to the conductive pattern 32 through the first opening 31 a . after the source and drain electrodes 41 and 42 are formed , as depicted in fig5 , a semiconductor layer 43 is formed covering the source and drain electrodes 41 and 42 . the semiconductor layer 43 can be , for example an organic semiconductor . an organic semiconductor can be formed of a semiconductive organic material , such as a polymer or a low molecular weight organic compound . the semiconductive organic material includes at least one from the group consisting of pentacene , tetracene , naphthalene , alpha - 4 - thiophene , alpha - 6 - thiophene , perylene and its derivatives , rubrene and its derivatives , coronene and its derivatives , perylene tetracarboxylic diimide and its derivatives , perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride and its derivatives , oligonaphthalene and its derivatives , alpha - 5 - thiophene oligothiophene and its derivatives , phthalocyanine that does or does not include a metal and its derivatives , pyromelitic dianhydride and its derivatives , and pyromelitic diimide and its derivatives . at this time , referring to fig5 , after forming the organic semiconductor layer 43 covering the source and drain electrodes 41 and 42 , the semiconductor layer 43 is patterned to have regions as depicted in fig5 , using a laser etching method , such as a laser ablation method . besides this method , other patterning methods which are used for patterning organic semiconductors can also be applied , and the regions are not necessarily patterned as shown in fig5 . the semiconductor layer 43 can be an inorganic semiconductor layer formed of , for example , cds , gas , zns , cdse , case , znse , cdte , sic , or si . referring to fig6 , after forming the semiconductor layer 43 , a gate insulating film 44 is formed on the semiconductor layer 43 , and a gate electrode 45 is formed on the gate insulating film 44 . the gate insulating film 44 can be formed of organic or inorganic materials . examples of suitable inorganic material include sio 2 , sinx , al 2 o 3 , tio 2 , ta 2 o 5 , hfo 2 , zro 2 , bst , and pzt , and examples of suitable organic material include general polymer , polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ), polystyrene ( ps ), polymer derivatives having a phenol group , acrylic polymer , imide polymer , aryl ether polymer , amide polymer , fluoride polymer , p - xylylene polymer , vinyl alcohol polymer , and a blend of these materials . also , inorganic - organic stack layer films can be used . the gate insulating film 44 can be patterned to an island type as depicted in fig6 so that it receives less stress when the substrate 10 is bent . the gate insulating film 44 can be patterned at least to cover a region corresponding to the semiconductor layer 43 . however , the present embodiments are not limited thereto , and the gate insulating film 44 can be formed to cover any part of the entire region but the region on which the light emitting device is formed . the gate electrode 45 is formed to correspond to the channel region of the semiconductor layer 43 . referring to fig7 , after forming the gate electrode 45 , an insulating film 46 can be further formed to cover the tft . the insulating film 46 protects the tft and , as will be described later , has openings which allow it to act as a pixel defining layer . the insulating film 46 can be a single layer or multiple layers of inorganic or organic materials . examples of suitable inorganic material includes sio 2 , sin x , al2o 3 , tio 2 , ta2o 5 , hfo 2 , zro 2 , bst , and pzt , and examples of the organic material includes general polymer , polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ), polystyrene ( ps ), polymer derivatives having phenol group , acrylic polymer , imide polymer , arylether polymer , amide polymer , fluoride polymer , p - xylylene polymer , vinyl alcohol polymer , and a blend of these materials . however , the present embodiments are not limited thereto , and various insulating materials can be used . after forming the substrate 10 having the tft formed by the method described above , referring to fig8 , a third opening 46 a is formed to expose a portion of the conductive pattern 32 by etching the insulating film 46 . in the present embodiments , the second opening 31 b described above can be formed at the same time as the third opening 46 a . an organic light emitting diode ( oled ) is formed by forming an organic layer 33 that includes an emission layer ( not shown ) and a facing electrode 34 covering the organic layer 33 in the third opening 46 a . the organic layer 33 can be , for example , a low molecular weight organic layer or a polymer organic layer . if the organic layer 33 is a low molecular weight organic layer , the organic layer 33 can be formed in a single or a composite structure by stacking a hole injection layer ( hil ), a hole transport layer ( htl ), an emission layer ( eml ), an electron transport layer ( etl ), and an electron injection layer ( eil ). examples of organic materials that can be used for forming the organic layer 33 include copper phthalocyanine ( cupc ), n , n ′- di ( naphthalene - 1 - yl )- n , n ′- diphenyl - benzidine ( npb ), and tris - 8 - hydroxyquinoline aluminum ( alq3 ). the low molecular weight organic layer can be formed by an evaporation method . if the organic layer 33 is a polymer organic layer , the organic layer 33 can have a structure having a htl and an eml . at this time , the polymer htl is formed of poly -( 2 , 4 )- ethylene - dihydroxy thiophene ( pedot ) and the eml is formed of a polyphenylenevinylene ( ppv ) or polyfluorene group polymer organic material using an inkjet printing or spin coating method . the facing electrode 34 can be used as a transparent electrode or a reflective electrode . when the facing electrode 34 is used as a transparent electrode , the facing electrode 34 can be formed of , for example , ito , izo , zno or in 2 o 3 , and when the facing electrode 34 is used as a reflection electrode , the facing electrode 34 can be formed of , for example , li , ca , lif / ca , lif / al , al , mg , or a compound of these metals . ito , izo , zno or in 2 o 3 form on the reflection film after forming the reflection film using , for example , ag , mg , al , pt , pd , au , ni , nd , ir , cr , or a compound of these metals . however , the present embodiments are not limited thereto , and even if the facing electrode 34 is used as a transparent electrode , after depositing a material layer formed of a metal having a low work function , such as for example , li , ca , lif / ca , lif / al , al , ag , mg , or a compound of these metals facing the organic layer 33 , an auxiliary electrode layer or a bus electrode line formed of a material for forming the transparent electrode , such as for example , ito , izo , zno or in 2 o 3 , can be included on the material layer . according to the present embodiments , a flat display device can be manufactured by bonding the film 30 on which the conductive pattern 32 is formed , allowing the conductive pattern 32 to serve as the pixel electrode , particularly if the substrate is formed of plastic . also , since the conductive pattern 32 acts as a barrier against moisture or oxygen , the air tightness of the device can further be improved . fig9 is a cross - sectional view illustrating a flat display device according to another embodiment . referring to fig9 , after forming a semiconductor layer 43 on a film 30 , a source electrode 41 and a drain electrode 42 are formed to contact the semiconductor layer 43 . at this time , a first opening 31 a is formed on the outside of the semiconductor layer 43 to put the drain electrode 42 in contact with the conductive pattern 32 , but the present embodiments are not limited thereto . that is , the drain electrode 42 can be formed after forming the first opening passing through a base 31 and the semiconductor layer 43 on which a film 30 is formed . the rest of the flat display device in fig9 is identical to that described with reference to fig8 . the descriptions thereof will not be repeated . the structure of the tft and the light emitting device according to the present embodiments are not limited , and can be varied as needed . in the aforementioned present embodiments , an active matrix type light emitting display device has been described . however , as described above , the present embodiments can also be applied to any display device having a tft , such as tft lcd device . also , the tft formed on a plastic substrate according to the present embodiments can be applied to any device having a flexible tft , such as an electronic sheet or a smart card , besides the above mentioned display device . while the present embodiments have been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present embodiments as defined by the following claims .	7
a nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate of a liquid effluent in a nebulizing gas , according to the subject of the present invention , will now be described in connection with fig1 a to 1 c . represented in cross section along a symmetrical longitudinal cutting plane in fig1 a is a nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate of a liquid effluent in a nebulizing gas according to the subject of the present invention . with reference to the aforementioned figure , it is pointed out that the assembly of the constituent components of the nebulizer , which is the subject of the invention , is composed of components arranged substantially concentrically . with reference to the aforementioned fig1 a , the nebulizer which is the subject of the invention comprises a male part 1 which is intended to be engaged in a female part 2 , the male part 1 and the female part being assembled in a leaktight manner by o - rings 3 . the female part 2 comprises a line for intake of a nebulizing gas which may , for example , be composed of an inert gas such as argon or another gas . the line 4 for intake of the nebulizing gas opens into a chamber for intake of the nebulizing gas , denoted by 4 a , the chamber for intake of the nebulizing gas comprises a nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas . the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas bearing the reference 4 b is equipped with an orifice 4 c of which a detail is represented in fig1 c . moreover , it can be seen in fig1 a that the external side wall of the female part 2 in the vicinity of the end of the latter and in particular on the side of the orifice 4 c for expelling the nebulizing gas is equipped with seals 5 , the function of which will be explained subsequently in the description . thus , as can additionally be seen in fig1 a , the male part 1 is equipped with a capillary tube 6 held , for example , in position in a bore of the male part 1 via a flexible sleeve 7 , such as a polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), like teflon ™ sleeve for example . the flexible sleeve 7 and ultimately the capillary tube 6 may then be held in the manner represented by way of illustration in fig1 a via a hollow screw 8 for example . moreover , the male part 1 comprises , in the manner represented in the aforementioned fig1 a , a nebulizing needle 9 comprising a central channel 9 b illustrated in detail in fig1 b and 1 c , this central channel being fed with liquid effluent by the capillary tube 6 . with reference to fig1 a , it is pointed out that the chamber 4 a for intake of the nebulizing gas feeds the nozzle 4 b for expelling the nebulizing gas . the nebulizing needle 9 passes through the intake chamber 4 a and the nozzle 4 b for expelling the nebulizing gas . as has moreover been represented in fig1 c , the nebulizing needle comprises an outlet orifice 9 a for the liquid effluent of which the opening diameter is less than 20 μm , this diameter being denoted by φ a in fig1 c . moreover , for an outlet opening diameter of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas , a diameter denoted by φ o as represented in fig1 c , it is pointed out that according to one particularly remarkable aspect of the nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate of a liquid effluent , which is the subject of the invention , the ratio of the diameter φ o of the outlet opening of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas to the diameter φ a of the outlet orifice of the nebulizing needle is advantageously greater than 10 , namely 10 & lt ; φ o / φ a . by choosing the ratios of the aforementioned dimensions , the diameters of the outlet opening of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas and the outlet orifice of the nebulizing needle , and by supplying the chamber 4 a for intake of the nebulizing gas , fig1 a , at a suitable pressure and the nozzle 4 b for expelling the nebulizing gas , fig1 a , the specific arrangement of the nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate of a liquid effluent in a nebulizing gas , which is the subject of the present invention , makes it possible to create optimum flow conditions of the nebulizing gas beyond the outlet orifice 4 c of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas and to create optimum contact between the liquid effluent delivered by the orifice φ a of the nebulizing needle 9 as will be described hereinafter in connection with fig1 c . with reference to the aforementioned fig1 c , it is pointed out that the outlet orifice 4 c of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas and the end of said nebulizing needle 9 form a tuyère having a venturi profile that operates substantially in a subsonic flow regime . this objective is achieved by the fact that the end of the nebulizing needle 9 comprising the liquid effluent outlet orifice of diameter φ a passes through the nozzle 4 b for expelling the nebulizing gas and is placed beyond the zone of maximum expulsion rate of the gas , in the flow direction of the nebulizing gas . moreover , the channel 9 b of the needle 9 may advantageously have a diameter that decreases towards the end bearing the outlet orifice , in order to accelerate the ejection rate of the effluent , without however unacceptably increasing the pressure and the pressure drops upstream . with reference to fig1 c , it is pointed out that the zone of maximum expulsion rate of the gas is located substantially at the level of the maximum constriction of the nozzle 4 b for expelling the gas and in particular at the level of the opening zone corresponding to the opening diameter φ o previously described and represented in fig1 c . the relative arrangement of the nebulizing needle 9 and in particular of the opening orifice of the channel 9 b of the latter beyond the zone of maximum expulsion rate of the nebulizing gas , as represented in fig1 c , makes it possible to deliver the liquid effluent into the central zone of the flow of nebulizing gas substantially in the absence of turbulence and into a zone of substantially laminar flow . due to this fact , the interaction between the liquid effluent delivered in the aforementioned laminar flow of the stream of nebulizing gas expelled , enables a physical interaction between the liquid effluent and the nebulizing gas causing the creation of a spray , that is to say a dispersion of the liquid effluent in very fine droplets . preferably , as represented , in particular , in fig1 a and 1 b , the capillary tube 6 and the nebulizing needle 9 are aligned and centered about the longitudinal axis of symmetry of the nebulizer symbolized in fig1 a by the capillary tube 6 and the nebulizing needle 9 . the central channel 6 a of the capillary tube 6 as represented in fig1 b and the central channel 9 b of the nebulizing needle 9 are moreover aligned and have one and the same diameter at least equal to two times the opening diameter of the outlet orifice 9 a of the nebulizing needle 9 . with reference to fig1 b , it is pointed out that , in addition , the capillary tube 6 and the nebulizing needle 9 are mounted in the male part 1 substantially symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis of the nebulizer . the male part comprises for this purpose a longitudinal bore 1 a equipped with a radial seat 1 b for supporting and holding the capillary tube 6 and the nebulizing needle 9 . the radial seat 1 b comprises a central orifice 1 c allowing the engagement of the capillary tube 6 and the nebulizing needle 9 and the abutment of the central channel of the latter . the capillary tube 6 may advantageously be a silica glass capillary tube , the capillary tube 6 then being held in the male part 1 of the nebulizer and in particular in the bore 1 a of the latter via the flexible sleeve 7 such as a polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), like teflon ™ sleeve for example and the hollow screw 8 , which may advantageously be made of a plastic such as polyetheretherketone ( also called peek ) fiber . the nebulizing needle 9 is preferably composed of one and the same material as the capillary tube 6 and in particular of silica glass . the aforementioned needle may then be of the same type as that used within the context of “ nanoelectrospray ” technology in esi - ms . the nebulizing needle 9 may advantageously also be held in position in the bore 1 a of the male part 1 by means of a sleeve 10 made of a flexible material such as polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), like teflon ™ and via a hollow screw made of peek , not represented in the drawing . with reference to fig1 b , it is pointed out that the joining and connection of the central channel of the capillary tube 6 and of the nebulizing needle 9 is then carried out in the absence of any dead volume due to the orifice 1 c provided in the radial seat , this orifice possibly consisting of a hole that is 600 μm long and 300 μm in diameter for example , drilled into the aforementioned radial seat . with reference to fig1 b , it is possible to observe that the sleeves 7 and 10 made of a flexible material , in particular of polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), like teflon ™, come to rest respectively against the opposite faces of the radial seat 1 b . finally , with reference to fig1 c , it is pointed out that the outlet orifice 4 c of the nozzle 4 b for expelling the nebulizing gas is formed and comprises a rim made of a material having a high machining tolerance , this rim bearing the reference 11 . the outlet orifice of the nebulizing gas may , by way of nonlimiting example , then be formed by a rim made of industrial sapphire through which the nebulizing needle is introduced . the use of a rim made of a material having a high machining tolerance thus makes it possible to obtain an outlet orifice for the nebulizing gas having very accurate dimensions and a very low degree of roughness , which makes it possible to minimize the formation of turbulence in the zone of contact between the nebulizing gas expelled and the liquid effluent delivered via the outlet orifice of the nebulizing needle . for an outlet orifice of the nebulizing needle having a diameter φ a of 10 μm , the diameter of the outlet orifice of the nozzle for expelling the nebulizing gas , diameter φ o , may thus be made equal , in a ratio of 26 , to 260 μm . preferably , as represented in fig1 a and 1 b , the nebulizing needle is positioned in the center of the flow in particular as regards the outlet orifice of the latter . this position may advantageously be controlled via a microscale thread equipping on the one hand the male part 1 and respectively the female part 2 , the microscale thread bearing the reference 12 in fig1 a . finally , the distal end of the nebulizing needle and in particular the outer wall of this has a beveled profile to form with the flared wall of the orifice for expelling the nebulizing gas the venturi tuyère mentioned previously in the description . the angle of inclination of the beveled wall in the plane from fig1 c relative to the longitudinal axis of the nebulizing needle 9 and of the central channel 9 b of the latter may then be made equal to a value between 10 and 30 degrees . in fig2 , an assembly of a nebulizer and an inductive plasma torch is represented that makes it possible to carry out analysis of nebulized samples by mass spectrometry . in the aforementioned figure , a denotes a nebulizer according to the subject of the present invention such as described previously in connection with fig1 a to 1 c and b advantageously denotes a removable nebulizing chamber , which may be detached from the nebulizer a itself but constitute an integrative part of the latter , under the conditions hereinbelow . the nebulizing chamber b is reduced in order to minimize dead volumes which have a considerable influence on the reaction time of the set of devices in the case of transient signals . thus , the nebulizing chamber may be removable and is thus able to be plugged into the female part 2 of the nebulizer represented in fig1 a in a leaktight manner , the sealing during the assembly being ensured by o - rings s represented in the aforementioned fig1 a . the nebulizing chamber comprises a nebulizing space formed , for example , by a borosilicate glass , like pyrex ™ glass tube comprising , in addition , a tapered tube enabling the connection of the nebulizing space and a plasma torch within which the plasma is created to carry out the analysis by mass spectrometry . the plasma torch bears the reference c in fig2 . various guidelines and accounts of tests will now be given in connection with fig3 for a nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate according to the subject of the present invention previously described in connection with fig1 a , 1 b and 1 c , installed in an assembly such as represented in fig2 . the results and account of tests are given in connection with fig3 under the conditions hereinbelow . the nebulizer , subject of the invention , was tested for a range of flow rates between 50 nl / min and 450 nl / min with a nebulizing gas flow rate composed of argon at a flow rate of 1 . 1 l / min . fig3 , in its four constituent graphs , represents the intensity of the signal detected by the plasma torch c , the intensity i measured in counts per second c / s on the left - hand y - axis , and the stability of the detection signal obtained in % rsd on the right - hand y - axis , as a function of the flow rate of spray injected into the plasma torch , the flow rates being expressed in nanoliters per minute , for 4 elements such as lithium ( z = 7 ), yttrium ( z = 89 ), cerium ( z = 140 ) and thallium ( z = 205 ) at a concentration of 200 ng / g ( nanogram / gram ) covering the weight range of the elements commonly detected using a plasma torch . with reference to the four graphs from the aforementioned fig3 , it is pointed out that the stability of the signal detected is better than 7 % for spray effluent flow rates between 150 and 450 nl / min . moreover , for the four aforementioned graphs , it is pointed out that the linearity represented by the linear regression of the intensity of the signal in counts per second as a function of the flow rate in nanoliters per minute is better than 4 / 1000 , perfect linearity being obtained for r 2 = 1 . the aforementioned tests have shown that , for the previously mentioned test flow rate range , the amount of doubly charged ions and also the amount of oxide obtained after nebulization at nanoscale flow rate remains very low . the aforementioned tests have shown that the degree of formation of these oxides and of these ions , as a function of the flow rate for cerium ( z = 140 ), are better than 0 . 4 % for the degree of formation of oxide ceo + and better than 2 . 0 % for the degree of formation of doubly charged ions ce 2 + . it is recalled that the aforementioned amounts of doubly charged ions and oxides obtained after nebulization are of prime importance for characterizing a nebulizer , as the oxides and the doubly charged ions are typical interference elements which it is important to minimize in order to increase the intensity of the signal detected . a more detailed description of an installation for nebulizing liquid effluents by successive volume elements , according to the subject of the present invention , will now be given in connection with fig4 . with reference to the aforementioned figure , it is pointed out that the installation for nebulizing liquid effluents , which is a subject of the invention , is remarkable in that it comprises at least , in series , a generator g of a calibrated flow of at least one liquid effluent at a substantially continuous flow rate of less than 1 μl / min and a controlled valve v that receives the calibrated flow of liquid effluent and that makes it possible to deliver , by temporal sampling control of this calibrated flow , at least one volume element of this liquid effluent . a nebulizer a with nanoscale flow rate , according to the subject of the present invention , is connected to the controlled valve v and receives at least one volume element of at least one liquid effluent via a line for connection to the controlled valve and delivers at least one volume element of nebulized liquid effluent . each liquid effluent volume element is integrated with a concentration gradient in the continuous flow of eluent . it is understood , in particular with reference to fig4 , that the generator g of a calibrated flow of at least one liquid effluent comprises at least a high - pressure pump p selectively fed by a plurality of different liquid effluents , the high - pressure pump delivering a substantially continuous flow at high pressure and at a set flow rate of one of the liquid effluents . for this purpose , the pump p may be connected to a plurality of effluent tanks denoted t 1 and t 2 , each effluent possibly being chosen selectively . moreover , as represented in fig4 , the generator g may comprise a liquid effluent flow restrictor r that makes it possible to deliver from the substantially continuous flow delivered by the pump p , a reduced flow at a set flow rate ratio of the liquid effluent . in one nonlimiting embodiment , for a pump p that delivers a flow rate of effluent at 100 μl / min , the liquid effluent flow restrictor is a flow restrictor that makes it possible to bring the afore - mentioned flow rate of 100 μl / min to the value of 0 . 3 μl / min . a flow calibrator c thus makes it possible to deliver from the reduced flow of the liquid effluent , a calibrated flow of liquid effluent of which the flow rate does not exceed 0 . 5 μl / min . the flow calibrator c is not essential for lower flow rates . preferably , and taking into account a judicious choice of the controllable valve v , each liquid effluent volume element may advantageously represent a volume of 10 nl . thus , the use of the aforementioned controlled valve and of a liquid chromatography column having an inner diameter of 75 μm , the aforementioned column making it possible to connect the controlled valve v to the nebulizer a , thus makes it possible to use and to characterize the nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate that is the subject of the invention in the case of a transient signal and regime . this transient signal may result from the detection of a volume element transmitted by the controlled valve v . fig5 a to 5 d make it possible , in particular , to display the signals detected in the form of peaks represented in fig5 a especially . fig5 a represents the signal detected in the form of a peak profile corresponding to 600 femtograms of selenium in the form of selenomethionine eluted by 30 % of acetonitrile in water in isocratic mode with a spray flow rate of 300 nl / min and the reproduction of injections of 1 picogram of such a liquid effluent , due to a nebulizing installation such as represented in fig4 . the peaks obtained represented in fig5 a are substantially symmetrical , these peaks being represented as intensity of counts per second cls on the y - axis , and respectively as time in seconds on the x - axis , and have a typical gaussian profile . the importance of the sharpness of the peaks comes from the direct connection of the latter with the resolution of the analytical device formed by the nebulizing installation represented in fig4 connected of course to an inductive plasma torch . the resolution takes into account the ability of the installation to separate two compounds in a given time . in order to characterize the width of the peaks at mid - height , namely a width of 1 . 3 seconds represented in fig4 , this value appears most relevant . for comparison and in order to take into account the gain in the separating power of the nebulizing installation , such as described in fig4 , it is simply recalled that in conventional liquid chromatography , that is to say for columns having an inner diameter of 4 . 6 mm , the typical width of peaks at mid - height is 15 seconds . a factor of 10 may thus easily be gained in the analysis time due to the use of an installation according to the subject of the present invention , such as represented in fig4 . the reproducibility of the analysis may be characterized by the relative deviation over the areas of the peaks for a series of successive injections of one and the same sample as represented in the same fig5 a . with reference to the aforementioned figure , this deviation does not exceed 5 % despite a baseline noise of the signal having a relative standard deviation of 3 . 5 %. fig5 b makes it possible to evaluate the sensitivity limit for selenium of a nebulizing installation such as represented in fig4 . the sensitivity limit of detection corresponds , by definition , to the concentration equivalent to a detected peak of which the height will be three times , for example , the standard deviation of the baseline noise , as represented in fig5 b . the relative detection limit for the nebulizing installation such as represented in fig4 is 2 . 4 ng / g ( nanograms per grams ). this in fact corresponds to an absolute detection limit of 25 femtograms , i . e . the lowest sensitivity limit of detection ever achieved in liquid chromatography / icp - ms coupling for selenium . it is recalled that one femtogram = 10 − 15 g . finally , the linearity of the response is represented by the linear regression from fig5 c of the area of the peaks obtained as a function of the nano - nebulized concentration . in the aforementioned figure , the y - axis is graduated as intensity i of the signal detected in counts per second c / s and the x - axis in concentration of selenium in nanograms per gram . the curve represented in fig5 c was obtained for an isocratic flow rate h 2 o ( 70 %)/ ch 3 cn ( 30 %) set at 300 nl / min , by injecting 10 nl of a selenomethionine standard at various concentrations . it is pointed out that the aforementioned volume of 10 nl corresponds to a liquid effluent volume element injected thanks to the installation used according to the installation that is the subject of the invention represented in fig4 . with reference to fig5 c , it can be seen that the regression coefficient r 2 = 0 . 9994 having a lack of linearity as low as 6 × 10 − 4 demonstrates the particularly remarkable linearity of the response of the nebulizing installation according to the subject of the present invention , such as represented in fig4 and the accuracy which results therefrom . fig5 d represents a chromatogram that makes it possible to test the actual results on a real sample of 10 nl of a tryptic digest of selenium - containing protein , analyzed thanks to a nebulizing installation , such as represented in fig4 , coupled to an inductive plasma torch for mass spectrometry . to carry out the aforementioned test , the gradient of acetonitrile in water used was the following : flow rate : 365 nl / min ; 0 - 1 min 5 % b isocratic ; 1 - 9 min 10 - 22 % b linear ; 9 - 16 min 22 - 45 % b linear ; 16 - 18 min 45 - 90 % b linear ; 18 - 20 min 90 % b isocratic ; and 20 - 21 min 90 - 95 % b linear . with reference to fig5 d , it is pointed out that the separation obtained is better than in conventional chromatography due to the sharpness of the peaks , and that the total analysis time is no longer than 30 min , whereas 80 min were previously required during the use of a conventional hplc / icp - ms . it is understood , in particular , that the procedure for carrying out the analysis of the digest of selenium - containing protein represented in fig5 d is obtained by the use of a process for analyzing elements present as traces in an analysis sample of liquid effluents by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , particularly remarkable in that it consists in generating , from a continuous flow of liquid effluent , a spray of liquid effluent to be analyzed at a flow rate between 10 nl / min and 600 nl / min , and then in introducing the spray forming the analysis sample into an inductively coupled plasma torch to carry out the analysis of the aforementioned analysis sample by mass spectrometry . of course , as described previously in relation to the procedure of the nebulizing installation in connection with fig4 , the process consists in sampling the continuous flow of liquid effluents by volume elements of liquid effluent having a volume substantially equal to 10 nl . the nebulizer with nanoscale flow rate of the nebulizing installation comprising such a nebulizer and the analysis process according to the subject of the present invention make it possible to obtain a better resolution , a saving in the samples and eluent due to the reduction in the sizes of the assembly of the nebulizing installation and also a very large reduction in the analysis time due to the introduction of a spray flow rate less than one microliter per minute into the inductive plasma torch .	1
referring initially to fig1 , an auto - injector 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown being used by a patient ( user ) 12 for a self - administration of a fluid medicament . as can be seen in fig1 , the auto - injector 10 includes a push - button 14 that extends from the external housing 16 of the auto - injector 10 to be depressed by the user 12 to initiate an injection . as envisioned for the present invention , all of the operational components of the auto - injector 10 are maintained out - of - sight , inside the housing 16 . referring now to fig2 it will be seen that the internal components located in the interior 17 of the housing 16 of the auto - injector 10 include a controller 18 that is connected with the push - button 14 . in turn , the controller 18 is connected to a drive mechanism 20 , to a fluid reservoir ( e . g . a fluid medicament cartridge ) 22 and , optionally , to a vacuum system 24 . as envisioned by the present invention , the controller 18 may be an electronic micro - computer of a type well known in the pertinent art . in any event , the purpose of the controller 18 is to coordinate the respective operations of the drive mechanism 20 , the fluid reservoir 22 , the vacuum system 24 and the needle holder 28 . fig2 also shows that the drive mechanism 20 is directly involved with the operations of a connector 26 and a needle holder 28 . to understand the structure and inter - cooperation of these components , however , it is necessary to structurally understand the needle unit ( i . e . needle ) 30 that is to be manipulated by these components . for this purpose , refer to fig3 . there it will be seen that a needle unit 30 includes an elongated , hollow hypodermic tube 32 that has a sharp proximal end 34 and a sharp distal end 36 . further , the needle unit 30 also includes a collar 38 that is positioned and affixed on the tube 32 intermediate the ends 34 and 36 . more specifically , the collar 38 is generally disk - shaped , and it extends in a radial direction from the axis that is defined by the hypodermic tube 32 . fig3 also shows that the distal end 36 of the tube 32 is located at a distance “ l ” from the collar 38 . in fig4 an embodiment of the needle holder 28 is shown , and is generally designated 40 . this particular embodiment 40 of the needle holder 28 is provided to move a needle unit 30 from a magazine 42 , and to then subsequently move it to a storage location 44 . to do this , the embodiment 40 includes an arm 46 that rotates about a point 47 . a grip 48 is located at one end of the arm 46 . thus , as the arm 46 is rotated back and forth in the direction of the arrows 50 , the grip 48 can , in sequence , retrieve a needle unit 30 from the magazine 42 and then move it along a path 52 to a location ( shown as needle unit 30 ′). at this location , the needle unit 30 ′ is positioned to cooperate with the connector 26 . after its cooperation with the connector 26 , needle unit 30 ′ is then moved by the grip 48 along a path 54 to the storage location 44 ( i . e . needle unit 30 ″) where it will be stored for subsequent disposal . fig5 shows another embodiment of the needle holder 28 that is generally designated 56 . for the embodiment 56 of the needle holder 28 , a carousel 58 is employed to move the needle unit 30 into location for cooperation with the connector 26 . more specifically , for the embodiment 56 a needle unit 30 is retrieved from the magazine 42 and moved along path 52 onto the carousel 58 . the carousel 58 then rotates in the direction of the arrow 60 to the location of needle unit 30 ′ where it cooperates with the connector 26 ( see fig7 ). after its cooperation with the connector 267 the needle unit 30 ′ is then moved by the carousel 58 for further movement along a path 54 to the storage location 44 ( shown as needle unit 30 ″). there it will be stored for subsequent disposal . in fig6 , a cassette 61 is shown as yet another embodiment of the needle holder 28 . specifically , the cassette 61 is generally cylindrical shaped , as shown , and it is formed with a plurality of receptacles 63 . as intended for the present invention , individual needle units 30 can be pre - loaded into respective receptacles 63 of the cassette 61 , prior to engaging the cassette 61 with the housing 16 . when used , the cassette 61 is rotated about the axis 65 to present an individual needle unit 30 at the location for cooperation with the connector 26 . thus , the cassette 61 effectively combines the functionality of the needle holder 28 , the magazine 42 and the storage 44 into a single structure . it is to be appreciated that all of the embodiments of the needle holder 28 ( i . e . embodiments 40 and 56 , as well as cassette 61 ) are unitary components of the auto - injector 10 . as such , they can be selectively engaged with the auto - injector 10 and , along with the spent needle units 30 , individually disposed of after they have been used . respective structures for the fluid reservoir 22 , for the drive mechanism 20 , and for the connector 26 will be best appreciated with reference to both fig7 and fig8 a . considering the fluid reservoir 22 first , it will be seen that the reservoir 22 includes a vial 62 for holding a fluid medicament 64 therein . a septum 66 , at one end of the vial 62 , is provided to establish fluid communication with the reservoir 22 whenever it ( i . e . the septum 66 ) is penetrated . it will be appreciated , however , that any other mechanism well known in the pertinent art for establishing a fluid connection can be used for this purpose , such as a luer fitting . the fluid reservoir 22 also includes a bung 67 that can be advanced by a plunger 68 into the vial 62 for purposes of expelling fluid medicament 64 from the reservoir 22 through a penetrated septum 66 . as envisioned for the present invention , the fluid reservoir 22 can be a pre - filled cartridge that can hold either one , or multiple doses of the fluid medicament 64 . further , the plunger 68 can be calibrated to establish a specific dosage of fluid medicament 64 , each time it advances the bung 67 . the drive mechanism 20 for the auto - injector 10 is shown in fig8 a to include a drive rod 70 that is selectively propelled by a compressed spring 72 in a linear direction indicated by the arrow 74 . it will be appreciated by the skilled artisan that the actual mechanism for propelling the drive rod 70 can vary . in this context , the spring 72 is only exemplary . it is important for the present invention , however , that the propulsion of the drive rod 70 by the drive mechanism 20 develops a predetermined momentum for the drive rod 70 ( see operation below ). referring specifically to fig7 , it will be seen that the connector 26 includes a fluid transfer section 76 that is formed with a fluid chamber 78 . further , the fluid transfer section 76 has an input port 80 to the fluid chamber 78 , and it has an output port 82 that is covered by a septum 84 . fig7 also shows that the connector 26 includes a flex hose 86 that has one end connected for fluid communication with the input port 80 of the fluid transfer section 76 . as also shown , the other end of the flex hose 86 is fitted with a spike 88 that can be used to penetrate the septum 66 of the fluid reservoir 22 . for another aspect of the present invention , fig8 a shows that the housing 16 of auto - injector 10 can be formed with a vacuum depression 90 that is placed in fluid communication with the vacuum system 24 ( see fig2 ) via a vacuum hose 92 . in the operation of the auto - injector 10 of the present invention , after setting a desired dose of the fluid medicament 64 to be delivered , the user ( patient ) 12 will position the housing 16 against an injection site 94 . the user 12 then depresses the push - button 14 . after a predetermined time interval , the user 12 removes the auto - injector 10 from the injection site 94 , and the injection of fluid medicament 64 into the user ( patient ) 12 has been completed . at no time , either before , during or after an injection , is any part of a needle unit 30 ever visible to the user 12 . furthermore , other than an earlier loading of the fluid reservoir 22 , engaging the reservoir 22 with connector 26 , and loading a magazine 42 of needle units 30 , only a dose setting may be required before the auto - injector 10 is used . there is nothing for the user 12 to do after the injection has been completed except , perhaps , to put a cover ( not shown ) over the housing 16 . referring back to fig2 , it will be appreciated that as the user 12 depresses the push - button 14 , several mechanisms inside the housing 16 are sequentially activated by the controller 18 . for one , the needle holder 28 ( with either embodiment 40 or , alternatively , embodiment 56 ) retrieves a needle unit 30 from the magazine 42 . the needle holder 28 then moves the needle unit 30 into the position indicated in the drawings as needle unit 30 ′ ( see fig8 a in particular ). prior to this , the connector 26 has been connected in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir 22 . specifically , this connection is made by inserting the spike 88 on flex hose 86 through the septum 66 . at this point , with the needle unit 30 ′ in position , the drive mechanism 20 comes into play . it is an important aspect of the operation of the auto - injector 10 of the present invention , that the drive mechanism 20 propels the drive rod 70 toward the connector 26 ( e . g . fluid transfer section 76 ) with a predetermined momentum . specifically , in accordance with well known impulse and momentum considerations , this predetermined momentum will be determined by the mass of the drive rod 70 and its velocity ( predetermined momentum = m rod v rod ). as intended for the present invention , when the drive rod 70 impacts with the connector 26 , its momentum ( m rod v rod ) is then transferred to the fluid transfer section 76 of the connector 26 . note : the flex hose 86 mechanically isolates the transfer of momentum to only the fluid transfer section 76 . this transfer of momentum will then immediately accomplish several functions . for one , part of the momentum is used to establish fluid communication between the fluid transfer section 76 of the connector 26 and the needle unit 30 . this is accomplished as the proximal end 34 of the hypodermic tube 32 penetrates through the septum 84 . the remaining momentum that is now determined by the velocity ( v f ) of the combined mass ( m combined ) of the fluid transfer section 76 and the needle unit 30 . importantly , the velocity term ( v f ) of this remaining momentum must be sufficient to cause the distal end 36 of the needle unit 30 to penetrate into the user ( patient ) 12 at the injection site 94 ( see fig8 b ). as appreciated by the present invention , the velocity that is necessary for generating the necessary predetermined momentum of the drive rod 70 need not result in an excessively high velocity for the needle unit 30 . to the contrary , the intent here is to generate a so - called “ light touch ” that will guarantee only that an effective penetration of the needle unit 30 is achieved . a benefit here is that the possibility of creating pain or bruising at the injection site 94 is minimized . additional benefits are that by minimizing the final momentum there is less shock to the user 12 , due to reduced recoil , and there is a reduced need for energy input . once the needle unit 30 has penetrated the user ( patient ) 12 at the injection site 94 , the controller 18 will then activate the fluid reservoir 22 . specifically , with this activation , the bung 67 is advanced into the vial 62 to expel fluid medicament 64 into the injection site 94 . when doing this , the fluid medicament 64 traverses the flex hose 86 , and enters the hypodermic tube 32 of needle unit 30 through the fluid transfer section 76 . once the injection has been completed , the needle unit 30 is withdrawn from the injection site 94 . the needle holder 28 then moves the needle unit 30 to storage 44 . at this point , the auto - injector 10 is rearmed and another cycle can then be performed . once the magazine 42 is empty of needle units 30 , it can be disposed of . likewise , when the fluid reservoir 22 has been emptied of fluid medicament 64 , it is ready for disposal . in some instances it may also be desirable to dispose of the connector 26 . further to the above disclosure , it will be appreciated that the vacuum system 24 can be activated during a use of the auto - injector 10 to help stabilize the auto - injector 10 at the injection site 94 and avoid tissue compression . specifically , when a partial vacuum is created in the vacuum depression 90 that is established as housing 16 is positioned against the injection site 94 , skin from the user ( patient ) 12 will be drawn into the depression 90 ( see fig8 b ). this will help stabilize the auto - injector 10 during an injection without the need to push the auto - injector 10 against the skin and , thereby , compress tissue . further , the depth to which the distal end 36 of needle unit 30 will penetrate into the user ( patient ) 12 can be controlled , and varied as desired . in general , penetration depths of up to around one and a half inches are considered typical . in each case , a precise penetration depth is achieved by establishing the distance “ l ” between the collar 38 and distal end 36 of the needle unit 30 ( see fig3 ). more specifically , this distance “ l ” of needle unit 30 , and the location of an adjustable abutment 96 on the housing 16 will establish a travel limit for the collar 38 and needle unit 30 . consequently , a precise penetration depth can be established for the hypodermic tube 32 of the needle unit 30 . referring again to fig8 a , it will be seen that the auto - injector 10 includes a recoil mechanism 98 , such as a spring , that is positioned on the abutment 96 substantially as shown . fig8 a also shows that the auto - injector 10 includes a cocking mechanism 100 that responds to instructions from the controller 18 and is used to rearm the auto - injector 10 in preparation for a subsequent injection cycle . in operation , the recoil mechanism 98 and the cocking mechanism 100 interact with the needle unit 30 in different ways . these different operations are , perhaps , best appreciated by first considering fig8 b . with reference to fig8 b it will be seen that during an injection ( i . e . after an injection cycle has been started ) the spring 98 is depressed between the abutment 96 and the collar 38 of needle unit 30 ( 30 ′). while it is depressed , the spring 98 reacts against the force that is being applied by the drive spring 72 and by the drive rod 70 . the depressed spring 98 , however , does not overcome the combined forces that are applied by spring 72 and drive rod 70 . therefore , during an injection , the distal end 36 of needle unit 30 remains inserted at the injection site 94 . indeed , it may be desirable for the distal end 36 to remain inserted at the injection site 94 , even after the injection of fluid medicament 64 is completed . if so , the controller 18 can be programmed to delay the activation of cocking mechanism 100 for the withdrawal of the distal end 36 of needle unit 30 from the injection site 94 . this delay can be for any predetermined period of time ( e . g . five seconds ). as indicated above , the cocking mechanism 100 is used to return the drive rod 70 and its drive spring 72 from their respective positions shown in fig8 b ( i . e . during an injection ) to those shown in fig8 a ( i . e . preparatory to an injection ). it also happens that this action returns the fluid transfer section 76 and the needle unit 30 to their positions shown in fig8 a . to help insure that this withdrawal is accomplished without complication , the depressed spring 98 assists in lifting the distal end 36 of needle unit 30 from the injection site 94 . the needle unit 30 can then be separated from the fluid transfer section 76 . importantly , the now - used needle unit 30 can be removed from its location between the fluid transfer section 76 and the abutment 96 , and replaced with a new sterile needle unit 30 . the sequence of operation can then be repeated , until the supply of needle units 30 that has been loaded into the auto - injector 10 is exhausted . while the particular injection system with hidden needles as herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages herein before stated , it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims .	0
the embodiments of the present invention provides a data communication method , a communication system , and related devices , which can establish a ti in a ue and an sgsn when a bearer established in an lte is mapped to a pdp context of a geran / utran . in the embodiments of the present invention , after it is determined that the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the obtained ability information of the ue , the ti is generated according to a pre - assigned bearer identifier and according to a preset generation rule , and the ue is notified of the ti ; alternatively , the ue is notified of the bearer identifier , and the ue directly generates the ti according to the bearer identifier , so that the ti is established in the ue . the embodiments of the present invention may be categorized as follows based on the modes for generating the ti . in this embodiment , if a ue has the ability to access a utran or geran ( 3 g / 2 g ), when the ue establishes a bearer through an eutran access network , the mme assigns each ti for each bearer context of the ue , and notifies the ue of the ti through a nas message . the ue records the ti information , so as to use the ti information when accessing the 2 g / 3 g , and the mme also needs to transfer the context to the sgsn when performing handover to the 2 g / 3 g or during a routing area updating process ( rau ). alternatively , the mme sends the value of the ti to the ue by carrying the value of the ti in a session management configuration ie , or sends the value of the ti to the ue as an independent ie . a first embodiment , a second embodiment , a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment are ti establishing processes under four scenarios . in a first embodiment , as shown in fig2 , an attaching process of a ue in an eutran is described . in step 201 , the ue sends an attach request message to an mme . the attach request message sent by the ue carries ability information of the ue , in which the ability information is configured to identify whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran . in step 202 , after receiving the attach request , the mme triggers a series of processing , for example , authentication , location updating , and subscription data acquisition . in step 203 , the mme creates a default bearer request , and initiates a default bearer establishing procedure to a pgw after selecting a packet data network gateway ( pgw ) and a serving gateway ( sgw ). in step 204 , the sgw forwards the default bearer request created by the mme to the pgw . in step 205 , after receiving the default bearer request , the pgw creates a default bearer response . in step 206 , the sgw forwards the default bearer response created by the pgw to the mme . steps 203 to step 206 may be summarized as follows : after selecting the pgw and the sgw , the mme initiates the default bearer establishing procedure to the pgw , and the pgw responds and creates a default bearer response message and sends it to the mme . after receiving the response message , the mme sends an attach accept message to the ue . the attach request message received by the mme carries the ability information of the ue , so the mme may determine whether the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran . if the mme finds out that the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , the mme assigns a value of a ti to each bearer established by the ue , and the information is sent to the ue as an independent ie or as a part of a session management configuration ie . the ue receives and stores the value of the ti , and uses the value of the ti when accessing the utran and the geran . it should be noted that , before determining the ability information of the ue , the mme may obtain a bearer identifier according to the received attaching request message . as the ue initiates the attaching process , in this step , the bearer identifier may be assigned by mme , and the assigned bearer identifier is obtained . the mme generates the ti according to the obtained bearer identifier and a preset generation rule . here , the specific generation rule is not limited , but each ti needs to be corresponding to each bearer identifier . it should be noted that the generation rule in this embodiment and subsequent embodiments is configured to describe the process for generating the ti according to the bearer identifier , and the generation rule is a corresponding relation between the bearer identifier and the ti . the generation rule is a preset rule , and is not limited in this embodiment and the subsequent embodiments . in step 210 , the bearer is updated . steps 208 to 210 may be summarized as follows : the radio bearer is established between an ran node and the ue , the ue sends an attach complete message to the mme , and the mme updates the bearer between the mme and the sgw . in this embodiment , during the attaching procedure of the ue , the mme may assign the ti for the ue , so that the ue can obtain the ti . thus , after moving to the geran / utran , the ue can still perform normal processing . in a second embodiment , as shown in fig3 , the dedicated bearer establishing process initiated by the pgw is described . in step 301 , the pgw creates a dedicated bearer request , and sends the dedicated bearer request to an sgw . when the network needs to initiate establishing a dedicated bearer to the ue for data transmission , the pgw sends a dedicated bearer establishing request message , in which the dedicated bearer establishing request message carries an identifier of the ue that needs to create the dedicated bearer . in step 302 , the sgw forwards the dedicated bearer request created by the pgw to an mme . steps 301 and 302 may be summarized as follows : the pgw initiates dedicated bearer establishment to the mme . in step 303 , after receiving the created dedicated bearer request message , the mme sends a bearer setup request to an ran node . after receiving the dedicated bearer establishing request message , the mme extracts the related identifier of the corresponding ue from the dedicated bearer establishing request message , and obtains ability information in mobility management information of the corresponding ue according to the identifier . the mme determines whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue ; if the mme finds out that the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , the mme assigns a value of a ti to each bearer established by the ue in the bearer setup request message , in which the ti information may be carried as an independent ie or a part of a session management configuration ie . it should be noted that , before determining the ability information of the ue , the mme may firstly assign a bearer identifier according to the dedicated bearer establishing request message sent by the pgw , and may also obtain the bearer identifier related to the ue . when the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , the mme generates the ti according to all the determined bearer identifiers and a preset generation rule . here , the specific generation rule is not limited , but each ti needs to be corresponding to each bearer identifier . in step 304 , a radio bearer is established . in this step , the ran node transparently transmits the ti information to the ue through the establishment of the radio bearer . the ue receives and stores the value of the ti , and uses the value of the ti when accessing the utran and the geran . in step 305 , the ran creates a bearer setup response . in step 306 , the mme creates a dedicated bearer response . in step 307 , the sgw forwards the dedicated bearer response created by the mme . steps 305 to 307 may be summarized as follows : the ran node returns the bearer setup response to the mme , and the mme creates a dedicated bearer response message to the pow . in this embodiment , during the dedicated bearer establishing process , the mme may assign the ti to the ue , enabling the ue to obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . in a third embodiment , as shown in fig4 , the resource requesting process initiated by the ue is described . in step 401 , the ue sends a resource allocating request to an ran , and the ran forwards the resource allocating request message sent by the ue to an mme . in step 402 , the mme forwards the resource allocating request message sent by the ue to the sgw . in step 403 , the sgw forwards the resource allocating request message sent by the ue to a pgw . in step 404 , the pgw creates a dedicated bearer request , and sends the dedicated bearer request to the sow ; in this step , the pgw determines whether to initiate bearer modification or to establish a new bearer according to information in the resource allocating request message ; if the pgw determines to establish a new bearer , step 405 is performed . in step 405 , the sgw forwards the dedicated bearer request created by the pgw to the mme . in step 406 , after receiving the dedicated bearer request message , the mme sends a bearer setup request to the ran node . after receiving the dedicated bearer request message , the mme extracts the related identifier of the corresponding ue from the dedicated bearer request message , and obtains the ability information in the mobility management information of the corresponding ue according to the identifier . the mme determines whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue ; if the mme finds out that the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , in the bearer setup request message , the mme assigns a value of a ti to each bearer established by the ue , in which the ti information may be carried as an independent ie or a part of a session management configuration ie . it should be noted that , before determining the ability information of the ue , the mme may firstly assign a bearer identifier according to the created dedicated bearer request message sent by the pgw , and may also obtain the bearer identifier related to the ue at the same time . when the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , the mme generates the ti according to all the determined bearer identifiers and a preset generation rule . here , the specific generation rule is not limited , but each ti needs to be corresponding to each bearer identifier . in step 407 , a radio bearer is established ; in this step , the ran node transparently transmits the ti information to the ue through the establishment of the radio bearer . the ue receives and stores the value of the ti , and uses the value of the ti when accessing the utran and the geran . in step 408 , the ran creates bearer setup response . in step 409 , the mme creates create bearer response . in step 410 , the sgw forwards the create bearer response created by the mme . steps 408 to 410 may be summarized as follows : the ran node returns a bearer setup response to the mme , and the mme creates a create bearer response message to the pgw . in this embodiment , during the resource requesting process , the mme may assign the ti to the ue , enabling the ue to obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . in a fourth embodiment , as shown in fig5 , a flow chart of requesting the pdn connection by the ue is described . in step 501 , the ue establishes a pdn connectivity request , and sends the pdn connectivity request to an ran . in step 502 , the ran forwards the pdn connectivity request established by the ue to an mme . in step 503 , the mme creates a default bearer request and sends the default bearer request to an sgw . in step 504 , the sgw forwards the default bearer request created by the mme to a pgw . in step 505 , the pgw creates a default bearer response to the sgw . steps 501 to 505 may be summarized as follows : the ue sends a pdn connectivity request message to the mme , the mme initiates a default bearer establishing procedure to the pgw after selecting the pgw and the sgw , and the pgw responds and creates a default bearer response message and sends it to the mme . in step 506 , the sgw forwards the default bearer response created by the pgw to the mme . in the step , after receiving the created default bearer request message , the mme sends a bearer setup request to an ran node . after receiving the pdn connectivity request message , the mme obtains ability information of the ue from mobility management information of the corresponding ue , and determines whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue . if the mme finds out that the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , in the bearer setup request message , the mme assigns a value of a ti to each bearer established by the ue , in which the ti information may be carried as an independent ie or a part of a session management configuration ie . it should be noted that , before determining the ability information of the ue , the mme may firstly assign a bearer identifier according to the created default bearer request message sent by the pgw , and may also obtain the bearer identifier related to the ue . when the ue has the ability to access the utran or geran , the mme generates the ti according to all the determined bearer identifiers and a preset generation rule . here , the specific generation rule is not limited , but each ti needs to be corresponding to each bearer identifier . in step 507 , a radio bearer is established ; in the step , the ran node transparently transmits the ti information to the ue through the establishment of the radio bearer . the ue receives and stores the value of the ti , and uses the value of the ti when accessing the utran and the geran . in step 508 , the ran creates a bearer setup response . in step 509 , the mme updates the bearer to the sgw . steps 508 to 509 may be summarized as follows : the ran node returns a bearer setup response to the mme , and the mme updates the bearer to the sgw . in this embodiment , during the pdn connection requesting process , the mme may assign the ti to the ue , enabling the ue to obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . b . ti generated by a core network element and a ue together it is described in the above four embodiments that the mme generates the ti , and sends the generated ti to the ue for storage . it should be understood that in actual applications , after generating the ti , the core network element ( including an mme or an sgsn , the specific mode for generating the ti by the sgsn is described in subsequent embodiments ) may not directly send the generated ti to the ue , but send a bearer identifier obtained by the core network element to the ue , and instruct the ue to generate the ti according to the bearer identifier or enable the ue to make determination and generate the ti . the specific procedure is described in the following . in a fifth embodiment , the process for generating the ti by the ue and the core network element includes the following steps . in step b1 , the core network element receives a request message , and obtains ability information of the ue . in step b2 , a bearer identifier is obtained according to the request message . in step b3 , it is determined whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue ; if the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran , the ti is generated according to the bearer identifier and a preset generation rule . in step b4 , the bearer identifier is sent to the ue , and the ue is instructed to generate the ti according to the bearer identifier and the preset generation rule , or the ue generates the ti according to the bearer identifier and the preset generation rule . it should be noted that , the sequence of executing step b3 and step b4 is not limited , and the two steps may be executed at the same time . in addition , the core network element may also send the generation rule to the ue . if the core network element does not send the generation rule , after obtaining the bearer identifier , the ue may generate the ti according to the preset generation rule thereof ( here the generation rule needs to be consistent with the generation rule in the core network element , and may be determined through negotiation in advance ), and the specific mode is not limited here . if the core network element sends the generation rule , after obtaining the bearer identifier and the generation rule , the ue may generate the ti according to the bearer identifier and the generation rule , and the specific mode is not limited here . in this embodiment , the ue and the core network element ( e . g . an mme or an sgsn ) may generate the ti , enabling the ue to obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . in the embodiment , the ue and the sgsn / mme may generate the ti when necessary . for example , when the ue moves to the utran / geran or needs to initiate a session management process in the utran / geran , the ue generates the ti , and during handover to the utran / geran or an rau process , the mme generates the ti when transferring the context , and transfers the ti to the sgsn as a part of the context . in this embodiment , during the rau process from an eutran to a utran or geran , after an sgsn obtains the context of a ue from an mme , if the sgsn finds out that a corresponding pdp context does not include ti information , the sgsn assigns a ti to each pdp context , and notifies the ue through an rau accept message . the specific mode for establishing the ti under the scenario is described in the following . in a sixth embodiment , as shown in fig6 , an rau process from an eutran to a geran / utran is described . in step 601 , when moving from the eutran to the geran / utran to execute an rau , a ue send an rau request message to an sgsn . in step 602 , context request , context response , and acknowledgement are performed between an sgsn and an mme . specifically , the sgsn sends a context request message to the mme , so as to request the mme to return context information related to the ue to the sgsn . after receiving the context request message , the mme returns the corresponding context information to the sgsn . in step 603 , after obtaining the bearer context information from the mme , the sgsn initiates updating the bearer to an sgw and a pgw . it should be noted that if the sgsn does not find the ti information from the context information returned by the mme , the sgsn assigns a ti to each pdp context . in step 604 , the sgsn initiates location update to a home subscriber server ( hss ). in step 605 , the sgsn returns an rau accept message to the ue , in which the assigned ti is carried . the situation that the sgsn assigns the ti is described in the sixth embodiment . in actual applications , the context information of the ue needs to be transmitted between the sgsn and the mme . therefore , it is understood that in a seventh embodiment of the data communication method of the present invention , the ti may also be assigned by the mme . after receiving the context request message sent by the sgsn , the mme queries the context corresponding to the ue , and determines whether the context includes the ti ; if the context does not include the ti , the mme assigns the ti to each bearer context , and returns the bearer context including the assigned ti to the sgsn . then , the sgsn sends the bearer context to the ue . it should be noted that in the seventh embodiment of the present invention , the mme obtains the bearer context , and the sgsn obtains the pdp context , but the contexts are essentially the same . in the first embodiment to the seventh embodiment of the present invention , the corresponding ti is generated in the ue and the sgsn through the same mechanism ; or during the handover or the rau process , the sgsn notifies the ue of the ti corresponding to each pdp context through explicit messages ; or the mme generates the ti and notifies the ue through the nas message , so that the ue uses the ti when accessing the 2 g / 3 g . therefore , when the bearer established in the lte is mapped to the pdp context of the 2 g / 3 g , the ti exists in the ue and the sgsn , thereby preventing the problem in the prior art . it should be noted that in the prior art , when the ue accesses an sae through the eutran , the default bearer exists , and the default bearer cannot be deleted , and if the default bearer is deleted , the dedicated bearer corresponding to the default bearer will be deleted as well ; when the ue accesses the sae through the geran / utran , the default bearer also exists , after being attached to the geran / utran , the ue having an eutran ability activates an interactive or background pdp context . however , when a ue of legacy ( pre - r8 , the network before the 3gpp r8 version ) accesses an r8 ( the 3gpp r8 version ) network , the ue of pre - r8 does not know the concept of the default bearer , thereby problems for the subsequent operations are caused . for example , after accessing the network , the ue of pre - r8 firstly activates the dedicated bearer ( a gbr bearer ), thereby causing problems for the operation of the sgsn / sgw / pgw . the ue of pre - r8 initiates deactivation of the main pdp context , and as the main pdp context ( default bearer ) cannot be deleted , problems for the operation of the sgsn / sgw / pgw will be generated as well . therefore , embodiment of the present invention provides a data communication method to solve the problems . in this embodiment , the pdp context establishment and the pdp context deactivation are respectively described . a . pdp context establishment in this embodiment , the process may be divided into the following types according to different processing modes . a1 . an sgsn performs the processing ; specifically , in an eighth embodiment , as shown in fig7 , a pdp context establishing process initiated by a ue is described . in step 701 , the ue sends an activate pdp context request message to the sgsn . in this embodiment , the activate pdp context request message carries a qos parameter for activating a pdp context . in step 702 , if the sgsn determines that the ue is a ue of pre - r8 according to ability information in mobility management information of the ue , the sgsn converts the qos parameter . the specific conversion mode may be as follows : if the qos parameter is gbr information , the sgsn may change the qos parameter to non - gbr information for creating a default bearer . in step 703 , the sgw forwards the default bearer request created by the sgsn to the pgw . in step 704 , the pgw creates a default bearer response and sends the default bearer response to the sgw . in step 705 , the sgw forwards the default bearer response created by the pgw to the sgsn . steps 703 to 705 may be summarized as follows : the default bearer is established from the sgsn to the sgw and from the sgw to the pgw , and the qos parameter is modified default bearer information . in step 706 , after receiving the created default bearer response message , the sgsn performs rab assignment . in step 708 , an rab assignment response is created . in , step 709 , the sgsn returns an activate pdp context response message to the ue , in which the activate pdp context response message includes the qos parameter of the modified default bearer . difference between a ninth embodiment and the eighth embodiment lie in that : an sgsn does not need to change a qos parameter of gbr to a qos parameter of a default bearer , that is , the sgsn needs not to convert the qos parameter , but carries a special instruction in a default bearer creating message sent to an sgw , so as to instruct the sgw that the ue is an ue of pre - r8 , and the sgw initiates default bearer establishment to the pgw instead of rejection according to the special instruction . similarly , the default bearer creating request message from the sgw to the pgw also carries the special instruction , the pgw accepts the qos provided by the ue according to the instruction , or the pgw modifies the qos parameter to the qos parameter of the default bearer , that is , the pgw converts the qos parameter , and then the pgw establishes the default bearer according to the qos parameter . the special instruction may be an instruction indicating that the ue is the ue of pre - r8 or other similar instructions . in the ninth embodiment of the present invention , the pgw converts the qos parameter , and establishes the default bearer according to the converted parameter , or does not convert the qos parameter , but directly establishes the default bearer according to the received parameter . in the eighth embodiment and the ninth embodiment of the present invention , during the pdp context activation initiated by the ue , the sgsn may convert the qos information of the non - default bearer reported by the ue to the information of the default bearer for creating the default bearer , and at this time , the sgsn does not need to give the special instruction to the sgw and the pgw . during the pdp context activation initiated by the ue , the sgsn gives the special instruction to the sgw / pgw . the pgw accepts the qos provided by the ue according to the instruction , or the pgw modifies the qos information to the qos information of the default bearer , and gives a response to the sgsn and ue . therefore , when the ue of pre - r8 accesses the r8 network , the problems in the subsequent operations of the sgsn / sgw / pgw caused by the ue of pre - r8 not knowing some characteristics of the r8 network ( for example the default bearer ) are solved . specifically , for example , the ue of pre - r8 does not know the concept of the “ default bearer ” in the r8 network , so that when the ue requests to establish the bearer , the ue does not instruct to request to establish the default bearer . therefore , the ue of pre - r8 in the prior art cannot establish the default bearer in the r8 network , so that the sgsn / sgw / pgw cannot perform the processing about the default bearer subsequently . in this embodiment , when the sgsn determines that the ue is a ue of pre - r8 , the sgsn converts the qos parameter , so as to instruct the pgw to establish the default bearer , or the sgsn adds an attribute instruction for instructing the pgw to establish the default bearer . therefore , in this embodiment , the ue of pre - r8 may normally establish the default bearer in the r8 network , so that the sgsn / sgw / pgw may perform the corresponding processing according to the default bearer . in this embodiment , the process may be divided into the following types according to different processing modes . in a tenth embodiment , a pdp context deactivation process initiated by a ue is described . firstly , the ue initiates a deactivate pdp context request message to the sgsn . in this embodiment , the deactivate pdp context request message carries a pdp context identifier requested to be deleted . next , the sgsn determines whether the ue is a ue of pre - r8 according to ability information of the ue ; if the ue is a ue of pre - r8 , the sgsn determines whether the pdp context is a default bearer according to the pdp context identifier requested to be deleted , and if the pdp context is a default bearer , the sgsn returns a deactivate pdp context reject message to the ue to reject a deleting operation of the ue . it should be understood that , in actual applications , the sgsn may not directly reject the deleting operation . in an eleventh embodiment , as shown in fig8 , the process includes the following steps . in step 801 , a ue initiates a deactivate pdp context request to an sgsn . in this embodiment , the deactivate pdp context request message carries a pdp context identifier requested to be deleted . in step 802 , the sgsn sends a delete bearer request message . if the sgsn determines that the ue is a ue of pre - r8 according to ability information of the ue , the sgsn initiates a delete bearer request , and carries the pdp context identifier requested to be deleted and a special instruction which may be an instruction indicating that the ue is a ue of pre - r8 or other similar instructions . in step 803 , the sgw sends a delete bearer request message to the pgw in which the pdp context identifier requested to be deleted and the special instruction are carried as well according to the trigger of the sgsn . in step 804 , according to the special instruction , if it is requested to delete the default bearer , the pgw accepts the delete bearer request and reserves dedicated bearers , and creates a delete bearer response . in step 805 , the sgw forwards the delete bearer response . in step 806 , the sgsn sends a deactivate pdp context response to the ue . it should be noted that , in this embodiment , after receiving the delete bearer request message sent by the sgw , if the pgw knows that the ue is the ue of pre - r8 according to the special instruction , the pgw determines whether the bearer context is the default bearer according to the bearer context identifier requested to be deleted , and if the bearer context is the default bearer , the pgw deletes the default bearer , and reserves other dedicated bearers related to the default bearer . in the above embodiment , during the bearer deleting process , the sgsn may also initiate the bearer deleting request and carry the bearer context identifier requested to be deleted and the special instruction . according to the trigger of the sgsn , the sgw sends the delete bearer request message to the pgw , in which the pdp context identifier requested to be deleted and the special instruction are carried . according to the special instruction , if it is requested to delete the default bearer , the pgw accepts the deletion request and reserves the dedicated bearer related to the default bearer . therefore , when the ue of pre - r8 accesses the r8 network , the problems in the subsequent operations of the sgsn / sgw / pgw caused by the ue of pre - r8 not knowing some characteristics of the r8 network ( for example , the default bearer ) are solved . specifically , for example , in the r8 network , if the ue of r8 requests to delete the default bearer , that is , the ue of r8 requests to delete all the other dedicated bearers related to the default bearer at the same time , after the deletion , the ue may be separated from the r8 network . therefore , normally , the ue of r8 does not request to delete the default bearer , but requests to delete the dedicated bearer , but the ue of pre - r8 does not know the concept of the “ default bearer ” in the r8 network . therefore , when requesting to delete the bearer , the ue may request to delete the default bearer by mistake , and in the prior art , and the default bearer and other related bearers may be directly deleted , so that the ue may be separated from the r8 network , which may be not the true intention of the ue . in this embodiment , when the bearer requested by the ue of pre - r8 to be deleted is the default bearer , the sgsn directly rejects the deleting request , so that the default bearer is not deleted , or the sgsn adds an attribute instruction , so as to instruct the pgw to delete only the default bearer and reserve other dedicated bearers related to the default bearer when the ue requests to delete the default bearer . thus , the problem that the ue of pre - r8 is separated from the r8 network after the default bearer is deleted is prevented . embodiments of a communication system according to the present invention are described in the following . according to different application scenarios , the communication system according to the embodiments of the present invention may be approximately categorized as follows . ( 1 ) a first embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention is corresponding to the third embodiment of the method , and specifically includes a pgw and an mme . the pgw is configured to receive a resource allocation request message sent by the mme , determine whether to initiate bearer modification or establish a new bearer according to the resource allocation request message , and send a dedicated bearer request message to the mme if determining to establish the new bearer . the mme is configured to receive the resource allocation request message sent by a ue , forward the resource allocation request message to the pgw , receive the dedicated bearer request message sent by the pgw , obtain a bearer identifier according to the dedicated bearer request message , obtain ability information of the ue , determine whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue , generate a ti according to the bearer identifier and according to a preset generation rule if the ue has the ability , and send the ti to the ue . in this embodiment , the mme may assign the ti to the ue , enabling the ue may obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . ( 2 ) a second embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention is corresponding to the fifth embodiment of the method , and specifically includes a core network element and a ue . the core network element is configured to receive a request message , obtain ability information of the ue , obtain a bearer identifier according to the request message , determine whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue , generate a ti according to the bearer identifier and a preset generation rule if the ue has the ability , and send the bearer identifier to the ue . the ue is configured to receive the bearer identifier sent by the core network element , and generate the ti according to the preset generation rule . in this embodiment , the core network element and the ue generate the corresponding ti together , enabling the ue to obtain the ti , so that the ue can still perform normal processing after moving to the geran / utran . ( 3 ) a third embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention is corresponding to the eighth embodiment of the method , and specifically includes an sgsn and a pgw . the sgsn is configured to receive an activate pdp bearer context request message sent by a ue , determine whether the ue is a ue having pre - r8 attribute according to ability information of the ue in the activate pdp bearer context request message , and if the ue is a ue having pre - r8 attribute , convert a qos parameter in the activate pdp bearer context request message and send the converted qos parameter to the pgw . the pgw is configured to receive the converted qos parameter sent by the sgsn , and create a default bearer according to the converted qos parameter . in this embodiment , the pgw may create the default bearer according to the converted qos parameter , so that the ue of pre - r8 may normally create the default bearer . ( 4 ) a fourth embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention is corresponding to the ninth embodiment of the method , and specifically includes an sgsn and a pgw . the sgsn is configured to receive an activate pdp bearer context request message sent by a ue , determine whether the ue is a ue having pre - r8 attribute according to ability information of the ue in the activate pdp bearer context request message , and send a default bearer request message including attribute instruction information and a qos parameter to the pgw if the ue is a ue having pre - r8 attribute . the pgw is configured to receive the default bearer request message sent by the sgsn , convert the qos parameter according to the attribute instruction information , create a default bearer according to the converted qos parameter , or directly create the default bearer according to the qos parameter sent by the sgsn . in this embodiment , the pgw may convert the qos parameter , and create the default bearer according to the converted qos parameter , so that the ue of pre - r8 may normally create the default bearer . it should be noted that , the pgw may also not convert the qos parameter , but directly create the default bearer according to the qos parameter sent by the sgsn . ( 5 ) a fifth embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention is corresponding to the eleventh embodiment of the method , and specifically includes an sgsn and a pgw . the sgsn is configured to receive a deactivate bearer context request message sent by a ue , determine whether the ue is a ue having a pre - r8 attribute according to ability information of the ue in the deactivate bearer context request message , and send a deactivate bearer context request message including attribute instruction information and a pdp context identifier to the pgw if the ue is a ue having a pre - r8 attribute . the pgw is configured to receive the deactivate bearer context request message sent by the sgsn , determine whether the pdp context identifier is a default bearer according to the attribute instruction information , and delete the default bearer and reserve a dedicated bearer related to the default bearer if the pdp context identifier is a default bearer . in this embodiment , the pgw may delete the default bearer according to an instruction of the sgsn , and reserve the dedicated bearer related to the default bearer , so that the ue of pre - r8 may normally create the default bearer . related devices according to the embodiments of the present invention are described in the following . referring to fig9 , an mme according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an obtaining unit 901 , a receiving unit 902 , an assigning unit 903 , an ability determining unit 904 , and a generating unit 905 . the obtaining unit 901 is configured to obtain ability information of a ue . the receiving unit 902 is configured to receive a request message . the assigning unit 903 is configured to obtain a bearer identifier according to the request message . the ability determining unit 904 is configured to determine whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue , and send a determination result to the generating unit . the generating unit 905 is configured to generate a ti according to the bearer identifier and a preset generation rule when the determination result is that the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran . in this embodiment , the mme may further include a ti delivering unit 906 . the ti delivering unit 906 is configured to send the ti to the ue . in this embodiment , the mme may further include an identifier delivering unit 907 . the identifier delivering unit 907 is configured to send the bearer identifier to the ue to instruct the ue to generate the ti according to the bearer identifier and the preset generation rule . referring to fig1 , a ue according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an identifier receiving unit 1001 , a ue side ti generating unit 1002 , and a storage unit 1003 . the identifier receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive a bearer identifier delivered by a core network element . the ue side ti generating unit 1002 is configured to generate a ti according to the bearer identifier and a preset generation rule . the storage unit 1003 is configured to store the preset generation rule and the generated ti . referring to fig1 , a core network element according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an rau request message receiving unit 1101 , a pdp context obtaining unit 1102 , a ti checking unit 1103 , a ti assigning unit 1104 , and a ti sending unit 1105 . the rau request message receiving unit 1101 is configured to receive an rau request message sent by a ue . the pdp context obtaining unit 1102 is configured to obtain a corresponding pdp context according to the rau request message . the ti checking unit 1103 is configured to determine whether the pdp context includes a ti , and send a determination result to the ti assigning unit 1104 . the ti assigning unit 1104 is configured to assign the ti to the pdp context according to the rau request message when the ti checking unit 1103 determines that the pdp context does not include a ti . the ti sending unit 1105 is configured to send the ti to the ue . referring to fig1 , a first embodiment of an sgsn according to the present invention includes an activation request message receiving unit 1201 , an attribute determining unit 1202 , a converting unit 1203 , and a parameter sending unit 1204 . the activation request message receiving unit 1201 is configured to receive an activate pdp context request message sent by a ue . the attribute determining unit 1202 is configured to determine whether the ue is a ue having a pre - r8 attribute according to ability information of the ue in the activate pdp context request message . the converting unit 1203 is configured to convert a qos parameter in the activate pdp context request message when the ue is the ue having the pre - r8 attribute . the parameter sending unit 1204 is configured to send the converted qos parameter to a pgw . referring to fig1 , a first embodiment of a pgw according to the present invention includes a bearer creating request message receiving unit 1301 , a second attribute determining unit 1302 , a second converting unit 1303 , and a bearer creating unit 1304 . the bearer creating request message receiving unit 1301 is configured to receive a default bearer request message sent by an sgsn . the second attribute determining unit 1302 is configured to determine whether the default bearer request message includes attribute instruction information . the second converting unit 1303 is configured to convert a qos parameter in the default bearer request message when the default bearer request message includes the attribute instruction information . the bearer creating unit 1304 is configured to create a default bearer according to the converted qos parameter . it should be noted that the second converting unit 1303 in this embodiment is optional , that is , the qos parameter may not be converted , and at this time , the bearer creating unit 1304 may directly create the default bearer according to the qos parameter sent by the sgsn . referring to fig1 , a second embodiment of the sgsn according to the present invention includes a deleting request message receiving unit 1401 , a bearer determining unit 1402 , a third attribute determining unit 1403 , and a feedback unit 1404 . the deleting request message receiving unit 1401 is configured to receive a deactivate pdp context request message sent by a ue . the bearer determining unit 1402 is configured to determine whether a pdp context identifier in the deactivate pdp context request message is a default bearer . the third attribute determining unit 1403 is configured to determine whether the ue is a ue having a pre - r8 attribute according to ability information of the ue in the deactivate pdp context request message when the pdp context identifier is the default bearer . the feedback unit 1404 is configured to return a deactivate pdp context reject message to the ue when the ue is the ue having the pre - r8 attribute . referring to fig1 , a second embodiment of the pgw according to the present invention includes a bearer deleting request message receiving unit 1501 , a second bearer determining unit 1502 , a fourth attribute determining unit 1503 , and a bearer deleting control unit 1504 . the bearer deleting request message receiving unit 1501 is configured to receive a delete bearer request message sent by an sgsn . the second bearer determining unit 1502 is configured to determine whether a pdp context identifier in the delete bearer request message is a default bearer . the fourth attribute determining unit 1503 is configured to determine whether the delete bearer request message includes attribute instruction information when the pdp context identifier is the default bearer . the bearer deleting control unit 1504 is configured to delete the default bearer and reserve a dedicated bearer related to the default bearer when the delete bearer request message includes the attribute instruction information . skilled person in the art should understand that all or a part of the steps in the method according to the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware , and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage media . when the program is run , the following steps are performed . a request message is received , and ability information of a ue is obtained . it is determined whether the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran according to the ability information of the ue , and if the ue has an ability to access a utran or geran , a ti is generated according to the bearer identifier and a preset generation rule . the storage media may be a rom , a magnetic disk , or an optical disk . the data communication method , the communication system , and the related devices of the present invention are described in detail above . the principle and implementation of the present invention are described herein through specific examples . the description about the embodiments of the present invention is merely provided for ease of understanding of the method and core ideas of the present invention . persons of ordinary skill in the art can make variations and modifications to the present invention in terms of the specific implementations and application scopes according to the ideas of the present invention . therefore , the specification shall not be construed as limitations to the present invention .	7
fig7 shows a discharge mechanism for a paper handling machine such as a laser printer 11 . a pair of discharge rollers , 15 , 16 drive a sheet of paper 19 upward from the printer 11 . the sheet 19 when discharged will drop onto a stack 21 which rests on a paper tray or output bin 23 . the output bin 23 is angled , so that sheets 19 rest in the bin 23 against an end stop 27 . while this invention is primarily focused on use with paper , other types of sheet media may be used . also , other types of paper handling equipment other than the laser printer 11 represented here may be used . upon discharge to the stack 21 , the sheet 19 becomes part of the stack 21a , as shown in fig8 . referring back again to fig7 a pair of sensors 31 , 32 are present . sensor 31 is positioned to detect a presence of paper in the bin 23 . this sensor may be fixed to the bin 23 or may be fixed in its vertical position . sensor 32 detects a &# 34 ; bin full &# 34 ; condition and , in the case of moveable bins , remains at a fixed vertical position . the bin 23 is able to travel vertically . therefore , the height 41 of the bin 23 is variable , but the height 43 of the discharge rollers &# 39 ; discharge path is fixed . the height 41 is shown at a midpoint along the output bin 23 . the position of measurement is unimportant , and it is understood that the height 41 is just a relative term and can be taken at any point along the output bin 23 . what is important , is that the bin 23 be able to clear the stack 21 ( or 21a ) from the discharge rollers 15 , 16 . as can be seen in fig7 the stack 21 is exhibiting a positive curl adjacent the sensors 31 , 32 . referring to fig8 this positive curl results in the stack 21a extending upward in a direction toward the eject rollers 15 , 16 . this simulates a &# 34 ; bin full &# 34 ; condition , as sensed by sensor 32 because the stack is obstructing ir light which the sensor 32 uses to indicate the bin is full . based on the paper thickness and the number of pages delivered to bin 23 and the bin full sensor 32 , it is possible to determine whether the stack 21 is curled . this can also be used to start the decurling process even before the job is completed . with sheet 19 extending toward sensor 32 , the condition is similar to that which would have occurred had the stack 21a not curled , but instead had sufficient sheets to fill the bin 23 . in this case , the numbering of sheets is less than required to fill the bin 23 , but the positive curl results in the stack 21a being at a predetermined maximum height . it is possible to reduce this height by reducing the curl in the sheets , thereby resulting in the top sheet 19 being below the height necessary to be sensed by the &# 34 ; bin full &# 34 ; sensor 32 . it is possible to predict the stack height of sheets in the bin 23 based on the number of sheets printed . while the precise thickness of paper is not always known by the printer , the range of permissible sheet media thickness is generally established . if a maximum permissible curl is assumed , that stack height should not exceed a certain value based on the number of sheets and the thickness of the paper or other sheet media being processed . if the stack height of the stack 21 in the bin 23 exceeds that value , then excessive curl is considered to have been detected . in fig9 the bin 23 is lowered . this results in the sheets in the stack 21a rubbing against the end stop 27 , which for simplicity is depicted as a side wall of the printer 11 . in production , it is anticipated that a separate panel would function as the end stop 27 . in fig1 , the bin 23 is raised , so that friction of the sheets in the stack 21a causes the sheets to uncurl . as can be seen in fig1 and 11 , the stack 21a is no longer exhibiting a positive curl . the combination of the friction of the end stop and gravity causes the curl to be reduced at that location . after the stack 21a is decurled , it may be weighted down by the top sheets , thereby reducing a tendency to curl . referring to fig1 , the sequence is such that the output bin 23 is moved in accordance with the sensing of the stack 21a by the sensors 31 , 32 . various conditions can be used to start the sequence depicted in fig1 . these include the end of a print job , a certain amount of pages delivered to the bin 23 , and detecting a curled stack . in this case the output bin 23 is moved vertically in response to the sensed presence of paper at the paper present sensor 31 and at the bin full sensor 32 . as shown on the top line , if , after a predetermined time period t 0 , the bin full sensor 32 indicates positive , the output bin 23 is moved down , as represented by line 63 . this causes the paper to clear the output bin full sensor 32 and continue to clear the paper present sensor 31 . when the paper present sensor 31 is clear of paper , as represented by leading edge 65 , the bin 23 moves up , as indicated by edge 66 . this movement continues until the paper present sensor 31 again reads positive , as indicated at leading edge 67 . there are various ways that the cycle terminates , as will be described . in one embodiment , the cycle terminates some time after the leading edge 67 is detected , but before edge 73 . this generally assures that the top of the stack 21 is below a predetermined height . in this embodiment , the cycle terminates when movement of the bin results in the bin full sensor reading positive , as indicated at leading edge 73 . this downward movement may be for a short time period , or by counting a predetermined number of motor pulses . at this time , the output bin moves downward again , as indicated at edge 75 . at this point , the top of the stack 21 is at a desired level , so that the height of the top of the stack after different print jobs is uniform . in this operation , when the output bin is activated for more than t 0 seconds , or a predetermined number of sheets are delivered to the stack , the output bin will move downward . thus , if the top sheet is at the output bin full sensor 32 , or a predetermined number of sheets have been discharged , the output bin will move down . this downward movement continues until the paper present sensor 31 is deactivated . at this time , the output bin 23 ceases to move downward and is then caused to move upward . at this point , the technique to position the output bin 23 at the same height is optional . in one embodiment , once the bin full sensor 32 is again activated , the bin 23 will move down for a small or fixed amount of time so as to always position the output bin 23 so that the stack is at the same height . thus , when the output bin full sensor 32 is activated for more than t 0 seconds or a predefined number of pages are delivered to the stack 21 , the output bin 23 will move down . preferably the output bin 23 is cycled at the end of each print job . it is also possible to cycle the output bin 23 after a predetermined number of sheets have been discharged from the printer 11 or when determining that the stack 21 is curled . the bin is preferably also cycled if the bin full sensor 32 indicates positive for longer than the time for an individual sheet of paper to drop past the sensor 32 . this enables the bin full condition to start the sequence . the detection of the bin full sensor indicating positive provides an ability to sense that a paper curl problem exists . when this is detected , the printer is halted for sufficient time for the cycling of the output bin 23 to clear the stack 21 from the output path of the printer 11 during the decurling operation . thus , it is possible to use the bin full sensor 32 to detect if the paper has an unusually high curl . as can be seen , there are a number of ways to accomplish the paper movements according to the present invention . the above embodiments are given only by way of example . accordingly , the invention should be read as limited only by the appended claims .	1
in describing the invention in greater detail than provided in the summary above , the subject drying system and methods for its use are described first in greater detail , followed by a review of reagent test strip precursors that can be fabricated with using the subject system and methods , as well as the test strips produced from the subject test strip precursors and methods for using these test strips in analyte detection applications . before the present invention is described in such detail , however , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular variations set forth and may , of course , vary . various changes may be made to the invention described and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation , material , composition of matter , process , process step or steps , to the objective , spirit and scope of the present invention . all such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims made herein . furthermore , where a range of values is provided , it is understood that every intervening value , between the upper and lower limit of that range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed within the invention . the upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the invention , subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range . where the stated range includes one or both of the limits , ranges excluding either both of those included limits are also included in the invention . also , it is contemplated that any optional feature of the inventive variations described herein may be set forth and claimed independently , or in combination with any one or more of the features described herein . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs . although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used in the practice or testing of the present invention , the preferred methods and materials are now described . all existing subject matter mentioned herein ( e . g ., publications , patents , patent applications and hardware ) is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . the referenced items are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application . nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the present invention is not entitled to antedate such material by virtue of prior invention . it is noted that as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ and ”, “ said ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . conversely , it is contemplated that the claims may be so - drafted to exclude any optional element . this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as “ solely ,” “ only ” and the like in connection with the recitation of claim elements or by use of a “ negative ” limitation turning now to fig1 elements of the present invention are shown in manufacturing system ( 2 ). the system shown is a model tm - mc3 system produced by hirano tecseed co . ltd ( nara , japan ) adapted for use in the present invention . preferably , it includes such solution coating features in a coating section ( 4 ) as described in u . s . patent application , titled “ solution striping system ,” to the inventors of the present system , filed on even date herewith . fig2 shows a top view of features of the coating system preferably used in connection with the radiant energy drying system or section ( 6 ). in fig2 a substrate or webbing material ( 8 ) is being coated which solution ( 10 ) fed to a die ( 12 ) by one or more pumps ( 14 ) to be deposited in the form of stripes or bands . a backing roller ( 16 ) is used to locate the webbing as it advances past the die in the direction indicated by the bold arrows . as shown in fig1 substrate ( 8 ) is provided in the form of a web by way of supply reel ( 18 ) and substrate with a reagent coating thereon is accumulated on a take - up real ( 20 ) after passing various guide rollers and passing through dryer section ( 6 ). one or more auxiliary dryer sections ( 22 ) may be provided in - line with dryer section ( 6 ) as well . these may include features like those in dryer section ( 6 ) or employ air - impingement drying techniques . preferably , the various dryer sections are provided behind a cover or within a housing as shown . door ( s ) may be included for access . when employed in a radiant drier section , the structure will provide a shield from unnecessary exposure to radiant energy and act like the walls of an oven , re - radiating absorbed energy and speeding drying within . when employed in auxiliary dryer sections utilizing forced air for drying ( especially , heated forced air ), the structure provides a containment environment . substrate or webbing ( 8 ) preferably comprises a semi - rigid material that is capable of providing structural support to a test strip in which it may be incorporated . the substrate may comprise an inert material like a plastic ( e . g ., pet , petg , polyimide , polycarbonate , polystyrene or silicon ), ceramic , glass , paper , or plastic - paper laminate . for use in an electrochemical test strip , at least the surface of the substrate that faces a reaction area in the strip will comprise a metal , where metals of interest include palladium , gold , platinum , silver , iridium , carbon , doped indium tin oxide , stainless steel and various alloys of these metals . in many embodiments , a noble metal such as gold , platinum or palladium is used . in some instances , the substrate itself may be made of metal , especially one of those noted above . it is generally preferred , however , that the substrate comprise a composite of a support coated with a metallic and / or conductive coating ( such as palladium , gold , platinum , silver , iridium , carbon conductive carbon ink doped tin oxide or stainless steel ). for further discussion of substrate or support materials that find use in certain embodiments of the subject invention , see u . s . pat . no . 4 , 935 , 346 titled “ minimum procedure system for the determination of analytes ” issued jun . 19 , 1990 to roger phillips et al . and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 304 , 468 titled “ reagent test strip and apparatus for determination of blood glucose ” issued apr . 19 , 1994 to roger phillips et al . when a metal - coated support is to be employed as the substrate or webbing material ( 8 ), its thickness will typically range from about 0 . 002 to 0 . 014 in ( 51 to 356 μm ), usually from about 0 . 004 to 0 . 007 in ( 102 to 178 μm ), while the thickness of the metal layer will typically range from about 10 to 300 nm and usually from about 20 to 40 nm . a gold or palladium coating may be preferred for this purpose . for ease of manufacture , it may be preferred that the entire surface of substrate ( 8 ) is coated with metal . whatever the type substrate used , the subject systems and methods may be employed to dry a variety of different types of coating compositions applied to the surface of a substrate . in many embodiments , coating ( 10 ) comprises one or more reagent members of a signal producing system . a “ signal producing system ” is one in which one or more reagents work in combination to provide a detectable signal in the presence of an analyte that can be used to determine the presence and / or concentration of analyte . the signal producing system may be a signal producing system that produces a color that can be related to the presence or concentration of an analyte or it may be a signal producing system that produces an electrical current that can be related to the presence or concentration of an analyte . other types of systems may be used as well . a variety of different color signal producing systems are known . representative color signal producing systems of interest include analyte oxidation signal producing systems . an “ analyte oxidation signal producing system ” is one that generates a detectable colorimetric signal from which the analyte concentration in the sample is derived , the analyte being oxidized by a suitable enzyme to produce an oxidized form of the analyte and a corresponding or proportional amount of hydrogen peroxide . the hydrogen peroxide is then employed , in turn , to generate the detectable product from one or more indicator compounds , where the amount of detectable product produced by the signal producing system , ( i . e . the signal ) is then related to the amount of analyte in the initial sample . as such , the analyte oxidation signal producing systems useable in the subject test strips may also be correctly characterized as hydrogen peroxide based signal producing systems . as indicated above , the hydrogen peroxide based signal producing systems include an enzyme that oxidizes the analyte and produces a corresponding amount of hydrogen peroxide , where by corresponding amount is meant that the amount of hydrogen peroxide that is produced is proportional to the amount of analyte present in the sample . the specific nature of this first enzyme necessarily depends on the nature of the analyte being assayed but is generally an oxidase . as such , the first enzyme may be : glucose oxidase ( where the analyte is glucose ); cholesterol oxidase ( where the analyte is cholesterol ); alcohol oxidase ( where the analyte is alcohol ); lactate oxidase ( where the analyte is lactate ) and the like . other oxidizing enzymes for use with these and other analytes of interest are known to those of skill in the art and may be employed . in those embodiments where the reagent test strip is designed for the detection of glucose concentration , the first enzyme is glucose oxidase . the glucose oxidase may be obtained from any convenient source ( e . g ., a naturally occurring source such as aspergillus niger or penicillum ), or be recombinantly produced . the second enzyme of the signal producing system is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of one or more indicator compounds into a detectable product in the presence of hydrogen peroxide , where the amount of detectable product that is produced by this reaction is proportional to the amount of hydrogen peroxide that is present . this second enzyme is generally a peroxidase , where suitable peroxidases include : horseradish peroxidase ( hrp ), soy peroxidase , recombinantly produced peroxidase and synthetic analogs having peroxidative activity and the like . see e . g ., y . ci , f . wang ; analytica chimica acta , 233 ( 1990 ), 299 - 302 . the indicator compound or compounds are ones that are either formed or decomposed by the hydrogen peroxide in the presence of the peroxidase to produce an indicator dye that absorbs light in a predetermined wavelength range . preferably , the indicator dye absorbs strongly at a wavelength different from that at which the sample or the testing reagent absorbs strongly . the oxidized form of the indicator may be the colored , faintly - colored , or colorless final product that evidences a change in color . that is to say , the testing reagent can indicate the presence of analyte ( e . g ., glucose ) in a sample by a colored area being bleached or , alternatively , by a colorless area developing color . indicator compounds that are useful in the present invention include both one - and two - component colorimetric substrates . one - component systems include aromatic amines , aromatic alcohols , azines , and benzidines , such as tetramethyl benzidine - hcl . suitable two - component systems include those in which one component is mbth , an mbth derivative ( see for example those disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 302 , 575 , titled “ incorporated herein by reference ), or 4 - aminoantipyrine and the other component is an aromatic amine , aromatic alcohol , conjugated amine , conjugated alcohol or aromatic or aliphatic aldehyde . exemplary two - component systems are 3 - methyl - 2 - benzothiazolinone hydrazone hydrochloride ( mbth ) combined with 3 - dimethylaminobenzoic acid ( dmab ); mbth combined with 3 , 5 - dichloro - 2 - hydroxybenzene - sulfonic acid ( dchbs ); and 3 - methyl - 2 - benzothiazolinone hydrazone n - sulfonyl benzenesulfonate monosodium ( mbthsb ) combined with 8 - anilino - 1 naphthalene sulfonic acid ammonium ( ans ). in certain embodiments , the dye couple mbthsb - ans is preferred . signal producing systems that produce a fluorescent detectable product ( or detectable non - fluorescent substance , e . g . in a fluorescent background ) may also be employed in the invention , such as those described in : kiyoshi zaitsu , yosuke ohkura , new fluorogenic substrates for horseradish peroxidase : rapid and sensitive assay for hydrogen peroxide and the peroxidase . analytical biochemistry ( 1980 ) 109 , 109 - 113 . signal producing systems that produce an electric current ( e . g ., as are employed in electrochemical test strips ) are of particular interest to the present invention . such reagent systems include redox reagent systems , which reagent systems provide for the species that is measured by the electrode and therefore is used to derive the concentration of analyte in a physiological sample . the redox reagent system present in the reaction area typically includes at least enzyme ( s ) and a mediator . in many embodiments , the enzyme member ( s ) of the redox reagent system is an enzyme or plurality of enzymes that work in concert to oxidize the analyte of interest . in other words , the enzyme component of the redox reagent system is made up of a single analyte oxidizing enzyme or a collection of two or more enzymes that work in concert to oxidize the analyte of interest . enzymes of interest include oxidases , dehydrogenases , lipases , kinases , diphorases , quinoproteins , and the like . the specific enzyme present in the reaction area depends on the particular analyte for which the electrochemical test strip is designed to detect , where representative enzymes include : glucose oxidase , glucose dehydrogenase , cholesterol esterase , cholesterol oxidase , lipoprotein lipase , glycerol kinase , glycerol - 3 - phosphate oxidase , lactate oxidase , lactate dehydrogenase , pyruvate oxidase , alcohol oxidase , bilirubin oxidase , uricase , and the like . in many preferred embodiments where the analyte of interest is glucose , the enzyme component of the redox reagent system is a glucose oxidizing enzyme , e . g . a glucose oxidase or glucose dehydrogenase . the second component of the redox reagent system is a mediator component , which is made up of one or more mediator agents . a variety of different mediator agents are known in the art and include : ferricyanide , phenazine ethosulphate , phenazine methosulfate , phenylenediamine , 1 - methoxy - phenazine methosulfate , 2 , 6 - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - benzoquinone , 2 , 5 - dichloro - 1 , 4 - benzoquinone , ferrocene derivatives , osmium bipyridyl complexes , ruthenium complexes , and the like . in those embodiments where glucose in the analyte of interest and glucose oxidase or glucose dehydrogenase are the enzyme components , mediators of particular interest are ferricyanide , and the like . other reagents that may be present in the reaction area include buffering agents , citraconate , citrate , malic , maleic , phosphate , “ good ” buffers and the like . yet other agents that may be present include : divalent cations such as calcium chloride , and magnesium chloride ; pyrroloquinoline quinone ; types of surfactants such as triton , macol , tetronic , silwet , zonyl , and pluronic ; stabilizing agents such as albumin , sucrose , trehalose , mannitol , and lactose . for use in producing electrochemical test strips , a redox system including at least an enzyme and a mediator as described above is preferably used for coating ( 10 ). in solution , the system preferably comprises a mixture of about 6 % protein , about 30 % salts and about 64 % water . the fluid most preferably has a viscosity of roughly 1 . 5 cp . still , it is to be understood that numerous kinds of solution may be dried with the inventive system . most preferably , the solution comprises reagent - type solution . indeed , the advantages of the present system are most apparent in connection with drying solution in which chemical activity must be maintained and with less viscous solutions , particularly solutions with a viscosity below 100 cp . as for hardware to be used in the inventive system , fig3 a and 3b show a preferred heating element used to deliver radiant energy within dryer section ( 6 ). the apparatus depicted is a panel or heater board ( 24 ) produced by radiant energy systems ( wayne , n . y .). for each board ( 24 ), 8 resistive heaters ( 26 ) are provided in connection with a ceramic thermowell ( 28 ) and associated electrical connections ( 30 ). the heaters are set to emit medium wavelength infrared energy . instead of using one or more heater panels ( 24 ), a number of discrete heaters may be provided in succession . a suitable industrial - type infrared drying unit is also produced by radiant energy systems as model number sfa - 24 . alternately , one or more quartz tube heaters may be used to provide radiant ( especially ir ) energy for drying solution on webbing according to the present invention . a sun - mite ™ heater model number ffh - 912b by fostoria ( comstock , mich .) has proved effective in this regard . fig4 shows a most preferred arrangement for heater elements . three heater boards ( 24 ) are shown in series . screens ( 32 ) are provided in front of the heater elements . when employing medium - wavelength infrared energy as preferred , the screens will have serve to rays , randomizing and making the energy application more even . fig5 shows the apparatus in fig4 in place within drying section ( 6 ). while six heater boards ( 24 ) are shown , energy is preferably only applied by elements above webbing ( 8 ) moving as indicated by the in - line arrows . heater elements ( 26 ) are preferably positioned at a height between about 1 and 5 inches ( 25 . 4 and 127 mm ) above the substrate upon which a coating has been deposited . more preferably , the spacing is between about 2 and 4 inches ( 50 . 8 and 101 . 6 mm ). the amount of energy applied along webbing or substrate ( 8 ) is preferably between about 3 . 5 and 8 watts per square inch . it is especially feasible to apply such high amounts of energy along the webbing when the webbing includes a surface that reflects much of the impinging . using a reflective coating having a low emissivity such as platinum or palladium ( about 0 . 1 ), high energy levels do not destroy the substrate . in some instances , it may be possible to use a substrate that transmits or is transparent to the energy and achieve the same effect . in either event , solution ( 10 ) will typically easily absorb energy , i . e ., have a high emissiviy ( about 0 . 9 ). accordingly , the ir energy applied has an effect where needed for drying , but not elsewhere . even under high - intensity drying conditions according to the present invention , it is possible to dry reagent coating without significantly affecting reagent activity . for instance , where protein - based reagents are included in the coating , the drying conditions employed are set so as not to denature the protein reagents beyond utility . more particularly , when the solution applied to the surface of the substrate includes an enzyme , activity of the enzymatic coating composition following drying by the present does not exhibit significant loss of activity as determined by dcip / pms methodology . the low absorptivity of the water in the coating and the effect of evaporative cooling on the solution upon water volatilization protect the proteins from denaturing . while the latter effect would have some utility in drying with heated air alone , the other advantages applicable to drying with radiant energy are not present . attempting rapid drying by air impingement techniques in effort to obtain the performance available with the present system would simply destroy the reagent coating activity or melt the webbing . in the present invention , one or more temperature sensors ( 34 ) may be provided within dryer ( 6 ). thermocouples and / or ir sensors may be employed . they may be used to monitor the ambient or air temperature within drying section or the temperature of the webbing . even with reflective coating on the webbing having a high reflectance or low emissivity , the plastic upon which the coating is often applied ( preferably polyester web ) may be affected by temperatures above about 300 ° f . ( 150 ° c .). feedback from the temperature sensors may be used to set or adjust dryer temperature to avoid damaging the webbing or reagent material coated thereon . with the present invention , webbing processing speeds ( i . e ., the rate at which solution may be dried upon substrate ) as high as 100 ft per minute may be achieved . more typically , processing speeds between 5 and 25 - 50 feet of substrate per minute are realized . the highest production speeds are available in connection with a setup in which the heater element ( s ) are used in connection one or more fans ( 36 ) that provide a non - disturbing airflow to break the vapor barrier of the solution being dried within radiant dryer section ( 6 ). as noted above , one or more optional auxiliary dryer sections ( 22 ) may be used in the present invention . typically , each comprises an air impingement dryer utilizing heated , forced air . auxiliary dryers ( 22 ) are useful in speeding - up web processing by completing drying once the shape of the bead of solution laid - down on the substrate is substantially set by radiant - energy drying . normally , air impingement drying introduces a host of problems , especially in drying low viscosity solution . simple air - impingement drying introduces both cross - web and down - web reagent stripe inconsistency as compared to the processes of the present invention . at the most basic level , it is easily understood how high - velocity air impinging upon solution produces ripples , resulting in an uneven dried product along the length of a stripe of solution . the effect on the cross - section of dried reagent produced using air - impingement drying alone is , however , less obvious . solution coating dried merely by air - impingement techniques exhibits an exaggerated u - shaped cross - section . such a profile develops due to migration by osmosis of reagent over time toward edges that dry more rapidly . as evidenced by improved consistency in reagent test strips made with reagent coating dried according to the present invention , a more uniform cross section results utilizing radiant energy . it is believed that the rapid drying potential offered by the present invention alleviates edge build - up by decreasing the available time for migration by osmosis to occur . also , down - web consistency is improved since solution is not disturbed when it is prone to movement . even when auxiliary air - impingement dryers ( 22 ) are used in system ( 2 ), ripples or disturbances are not evident in dried reagent coating since the radiant section ( 6 ) applies sufficient energy to effectively set the shape of the coating . rapid shape setting with radiant energy also helps produce consistent product in another regard . when employing low viscosity or low surface tension solution with substrate that is hydrophilic or includes a hydrophilic coating ( as may often be preferred in an electrochemical test strip , see u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 497 , 269 titled , “ electrochemical test strip for use in analyte determination ” and u . s . patent application , titled “ solution striping system ”), the solution has a tendency to “ wet - out ” the substrate rapidly . solution will tend to flow across and coat more area than desired , rather than maintaining a stripe or a bead upon application . the immediate drying effect achieved by the present invention by applying radiant energy at sufficient levels halts this , setting the boundaries of the reagent . accordingly , costly reagent is not lost by migration . this approach offers significant improvement in dried stripe width accuracy and placement precision . furthermore , thicker coating regions of reagent may be achieved without requiring multiple coats of solution . in instances where it is not feasible to alter the surface tension of reagent or the surface energy of substrate to be coated , there are few alternatives to control stripe width and thickness . the ability to rapidly set the shape of thick coatings makes their application feasible . in an electrochemical test strip , the dried reagent coating serves as an active layer in the electrochemical cell . sufficient concentrations of the reagent components are required to achieve satisfactory results . it has been appreciated by the inventors hereof that low concentrations of reagent produce poor test results . the ability to apply relatively thicker reagent coating on substrate for inclusion in test strips thus offers potential for improved test strip accuracy . various forms of product may be produced in utilizing features of the invention . fig6 shows a test strip precursor ( 54 ) in card for making electrochemical test strips . it comprises substrate or webbing material ( 8 ) as shown in fig4 cut in two between the reagent stripes to form two 2⅛ in ( 5 . 4 cm ) wide cards further modified with notches ( 56 ) as shown . the precursor may further comprise an opposing webbing ( 58 ) and a spacer ( 60 ) therebetween . each are shown as cut , punched , or stamped to define test strip ends ( 62 ). a continuous process ( e . g ., one in which various rolls of material are brought together to produce the precursor ) such as in a continuous web process , or a discontinuous process ( e . g ., one in which the strip portions are first cut and then joined to each other ) may be employed working with the precursor pieces . other modes of multiple - component strip fabrication may also be employed . the spacer preferably comprises a double - stick adhesive product . it may be fabricated from any convenient material , where representative materials include pet , petg , polyimide , polycarbonate and the like . webbing ( 8 ) is preferably plastic with sputtered - on palladium and functions as a “ working ” electrode , while webbing ( 58 ) is preferably gold coated plastic and functions as a “ reference ” electrode . each webbing portion may have a thickness ranging from about 0 . 005 to 0 . 010 in ( 127 μm to 254 μm ). the test strip precursor may be in the form of a continuous tape or be in the form of a basic card ( e . g ., a parallelogram or analogous shape of shorter length ) prior to the production stage shown in fig6 . as such , the length of the test strip precursor may vary considerably , depending on whether it is in the form of a tape or has a shorter shape ( i . e ., in the form of a card ). the width of the test strip precursor may also vary depending on the nature of the particular test strip to be manufactured . in general , the width of the test strip precursor ( or coated substrate alone ) may range from about 0 . 5 to 4 . 5 in ( 13 to 114 mm ). it may , of course , be wider , especially to accommodate additional stripes of solution . as alluded to above , the width and depth of solution coating applied to substrate or webbing ( 8 ) may also vary depending on the nature of the product to be manufactured . for test strip production , the striping width will typically range from about 0 . 05 to 0 . 5 in ( 1 . 3 to 13 mm ) and its thickness range from about 5 to 50 microns . especially for use in electrochemical test strips , stripes or bands of aqueous reagent material are most preferably laid down in widths about 0 . 065 to 0 . 200 in ( 1 . 7 to 5 . 1 mm ) wide and between about 15 and 25 microns deep when wet . after being cut into a card , like that shown in fig6 precursor ( 54 ) is singulated to produce individual test strips ( 62 ). like the precursor , test strips may be cut manually or by automated means ( e . g ., with a laser singulation means , a rotary die cutting means , etc .). the precursor may be cut in stages as shown and described , or in a single operation . patterns used for cutting may be set by a program , guide , map , image , or other direction means that directs or indicates how the test strip precursor should be cut into the reagent test strips . the pattern may or may not be visual on the test strip blank prior to cutting / singulation . where the pattern is visible , the image may be apparent from a complete outline , a partial outline , designated points or markings of a strip . for further details as to how test strips may be manufactured , see u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 737 , 179 titled “ method of manufacturing reagent test strips .” fig7 shows an exploded view of a single representative electrochemical test ( 62 ). the subject test trip comprising a reference electrode ( 64 ) and working electrode ( 66 ) separated by spacer member ( 60 ) which is cut away to define a reaction zone or area ( 68 ) in communication with side ports ( 70 ) defined by a break in the spacer &# 39 ; s coverage adjacent reagent patch ( 72 ) formed from a dried solution stripe . to use such an electrochemical test strip , an aqueous liquid sample ( e . g ., blood ) is placed into the reaction zone . the amount of physiological sample that is introduced into the reaction area of the test strip may vary , but generally ranges from about 0 . 1 to 10 μl usually from about 0 . 3 to 0 . 6 μl . the sample may be introduced into the reaction area using any convenient protocol , where the sample may be injected into the reaction area , allowed to wick into the reaction area , or be otherwise introduced through the ports . the component to be analyzed is allowed to react with the redox reagent coating to form an oxidizable ( or reducible ) substance in an amount corresponding to the concentration of the component to be analysed ( i . e ., analyte ). the quantity of the oxidizable ( or reducible ) substance present is then estimated by an electrochemical measurement . the measurement that is made may vary depending on the particular nature of the assay and the device with which the electrochemical test strip is employed ( e . g ., depending on whether the assay is coulometric , amperometric or potentiometric ). measurement with the strip ( 62 ) is preferably accomplished by way of a meter probe element inserted between the electrode members to contact their respective interior surfaces . usually , measurement is taken over a given period of time following sample introduction into the reaction area . methods for making electrochemical measurements are further described in u . s . pat . nos . : 4 , 224 , 125 ; 4 , 545 , 382 ; and 5 , 266 , 179 ; as well as wo 97 / 18465 and wo 99 / 49307 publications . following detection of the electrochemical signal generated in the reaction zone , the amount of the analyte present in the sample is typically determined by relating the electrochemical signal generated from a series of previously obtained control or standard values . in many embodiments , the electrochemical signal measurement steps and analyte concentration derivation steps , are performed automatically by a device designed to work with the test strip to produce a value of analyte concentration in a sample applied to the test strip . a representative reading device for automatically practicing these steps , such that user need only apply sample to the reaction zone and then read the final analyte concentration result from the device , is further described in copending u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 333 , 793 filed jun . 15 , 1999 . the reaction zone in which activity occurs preferably has a volume of at least about 0 . 1 μl , usually at least about 0 . 3 μl and more usually at least about 0 . 6 μl , where the volume may be as large as 10 μl or larger . the size of the zone is largely determined by the characteristics of spacer ( 60 ). while the spacer layer is shown to define a rectangular reaction area in which the aforementioned activity occurs , other configurations are possible , ( e . g ., square , triangular , circular , irregular - shaped reaction areas , etc .). the thickness of the spacer layer generally ranges from about 0 . 001 to 0 . 020 in ( 25 to 500 μm ), usually from about 0 . 003 to 0 . 005 in ( 76 to 127 μm ). the manner in which the spacer is cut also determines the characteristics of ports ( 70 ). the cross - sectional area of the inlet and outlet ports may vary as long as it is sufficiently large to provide an effective entrance or exit of fluid from the reaction area . as depicted , the working and reference electrodes are generally configured in the form of elongate strips . typically , the length of the electrodes ranges from about 0 . 75 to 2 in ( 1 . 9 to 5 . 1 cm ), usually from about 0 . 79 to 1 . 1 in ( 2 . 0 to 2 . 8 cm ). the width of the electrodes ranges from about 0 . 15 to 0 . 30 in ( 0 . 38 to 0 . 76 cm ), usually from about 0 . 20 to 0 . 27 in ( 0 . 51 to 0 . 67 cm ). in certain embodiments , the length of one of the electrodes is shorter than the other , wherein in certain embodiments it is about 0 . 135 in ( 3 . 5 mm ) shorter . preferably , electrode and spacer width is matched where the elements overlap . in a most preferred embodiment , electrode ( 64 ) is 1 . 365 in ( 35 cm ) long , electrode ( 66 ) is 1 . 5 in ( 3 . 8 cm ) long , and each are 0 . 25 in ( 6 . 4 mm ) wide at their maximum and 0 . 103 in ( 2 . 6 mm ) wide at their minimum , reaction zone ( 68 ) and ports ( 70 ) are 0 . 065 in ( 1 . 65 mm ) wide and the reaction zone has an area of about 0 . 0064 in 2 ( 0 . 041 cm 2 ). the electrodes typically have a thickness ranging from about 10 to 100 nm , preferably between about 18 to 22 nm . the spacer incorporated in the strip is set back 0 . 3 in ( 7 . 6 mm ) from the end electrode ( 66 ), leaving an opening between the electrodes that is 0 . 165 in ( 4 . 2 mm ) deep . test strips according to the present invention may be provided in packaged combination with means for obtaining a physiological sample and / or a meter or reading instrument such as noted above . where the physiological sample to be tested by a strip is blood , the subject kits may include a tool such as a lance for sticking a finger , a lance actuation means , and the like . further , test strip kits may include a control solution or standard ( e . g ., a glucose control solution that contains a standardized concentration of glucose ). finally , a kit may include instructions for using test strips according to the invention in the determination of an analyte concentration in a physiological sample . these instruction may be present on one or more of container ( s ), packaging , a label insert or the associated with the subject test strips . though the invention has been described in reference to a single example , optionally incorporating various features , the invention is not to be limited to the set - up described . the invention is not limited to the uses noted or by way of the exemplary description provide herein . it is to be understood that the breadth of the present invention is to limited only by the literal or equitable scope of the following claims .	6
hereinafter , the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . in the accompanying drawings , the same components will be assigned with the same reference numerals . in a description of the embodiment , if the function or the structure related to the disclosure and generally known to those skilled in the art make the subject matter of the disclosure unclear , the details of the function or the structure will be omitted . in the description of the embodiments , it will be understood that , when each element is referred to as being “ on ” or “ under ” another element , it can be “ directly ” or “ indirectly ” on or under another element or the other constituent elements may also be present . such a position of the elements has been described with reference to the drawings . fig1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a lighting apparatus according to the embodiment , fig2 is a perspective view illustrating a coupling structure of the lighting apparatus according to the embodiment , fig3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a communication module shown in fig1 , and fig4 is a sectional view taken along line a - a ′ of fig1 . referring to fig1 to 4 , the lighting apparatus 100 according to the embodiment includes a light source 110 , a light source coupling part 120 , a light distribution cover 130 , a control module 140 , a housing 150 , a shield cover 160 , a feeding cover 170 , a heat sink 180 , and a communication module 190 . the light source 110 generates light . in this case , the light source 110 may include an led . the light source 110 includes a feeding device 111 , a plurality of feeding wires 113 , a plurality of base substrates 115 , and a plurality of leds 117 . the feeding device 111 supplies power to the light source 110 . the feeding device 111 may include a printed circuit board ( pcb ). the feeding wires 113 connect the feeding device 111 to the base substrates 115 . in this case , the feeding wires 113 may directly connect the feeding device 111 to the base substrates 115 , respectively . the feeding wires 113 may connect the feeding device 111 to some of the base substrates 115 , and may connect the base substrates 115 to each other . further , the feeding wires 113 transfer the power from the feeding device 111 to the base substrates 115 . the base substrates 115 control driving of the light source 110 . in this case , the base substrates 115 apply the power from the feeding device 111 to the leds . the base substrates 115 may include a pcb . the leds 117 are mounted on the base substrates 115 . in this case , the leds 117 may be mounted on each of the base substrates 115 . further , the leds 117 emit the light according to the power from the base substrates 115 . that is , the leds 117 output the light . the light source coupling unit 120 is coupled with the light source 110 to fix the light source 110 . in this case , at least one first coupling hole 121 and at least one second coupling hole 123 are formed in the light source coupling unit 120 . the first coupling holes 121 receive the base substrates 115 , respectively . the light source coupling part 120 fixes the base substrates 115 and the leds 117 at positions of the first coupling holes 121 , respectively . further , the light coupling part 120 exposes the leds 117 through the first coupling holes 121 , respectively . in addition , the second coupling hole 123 receives the feeding device 111 and the communication module 190 . moreover , the light source coupling part 120 exposes the feeding device 111 and the communication module 190 through the second coupling hole 123 . the communication module 190 extends through the second coupling hole 123 . that is , the communication module 190 protrudes in both directions about the light source coupling part 120 through the second coupling hole 123 . the light source coupling part 120 may include an insulator . the light distribution cover 130 surrounds the light source 110 from the top of the light source coupling part 120 . the light distribution cover 130 may have an open bulb shape . further , the light distribution cover 130 protects the light source 110 , and discharges the light emitted from the light source 110 . in this case , the light distribution cover 130 distributes the light to a front surface or a rear surface of the lighting apparatus . the light distribution cover 130 may include at least one of glass , plastic , polypropylene ( pp ), and polyethylene ( pe ). the light distribution cover 130 may include polycarbonate ( pc ) having good lightfast , heat resistant and impact characteristics . the light distribution cover 130 may include an inner surface on which pigment is coated facing the light source 110 . the pigment may include a diffusing agent to diffuse the light . the control module 140 controls an overall operation of the lighting apparatus 100 . in this case , although not shown , the control module 140 may include a main substrate and a plurality of components . the main substrate may include a pcb . the components are mounted on the main substrate and are electrically connected to the main substrate . the components include a converter and a driver . the converter is connected to an external power source through the main substrate . further , the converter converts ac power of the external power source into dc power . the driver controls driving of the light source 110 . in addition , the control module 140 supplies power to the light source 110 . the control module may include a power supply unit ( psu ). in this case , the control module 140 may control the light source 110 according to a received wireless control signal . the control module 140 includes a feeding terminal 141 and a coupling terminal 143 . the feeding terminal 141 is connected to the light source 110 . the feeding terminal 141 makes contact with the feeding device 111 of the light source 110 . in this case , the feeding terminal 141 protrudes from the control module 140 . the feeding terminal 141 is coupled with the main substrate , and protrudes from the main substrate . further , the feeding terminal 141 faces the feeding device 111 . in addition , the feeding terminal 141 supplies power to the light source 110 . that is , the control module 140 supplies the power to the light source 110 through the feeding device 111 . further , the feeding terminal 141 transmits a light source control signal for controlling the light source 110 to the light source 110 . that is , the control module 140 transfers the light source control signal to the light source 110 through the feeding device 111 . the coupling terminal 143 is connected to the communication module 190 . the coupling terminal 143 is coupled with the communication module 190 . in this case , the coupling terminal 143 may protrude from the control module 140 . the coupling terminal 143 is coupled with the main substrate and protrudes from the main substrate . further , the coupling terminal 143 may receive the communication module 190 . a coupling groove 145 may be formed in the coupling terminal 143 . the coupling groove 145 may face the communication module 190 . moreover , the coupling groove 145 may receive the communication module 190 . in addition , the coupling terminal 143 supplies the power to the communication module 190 . that is , the control module 140 supplies the power to the communication module 190 through the coupling terminal 143 . further , the coupling terminal 143 receives a wireless control signal for controlling the control module 140 from the communication module 190 . that is , the control module 140 receives the wireless control signal from the communication module 190 through the coupling terminal 143 . the housing 150 receives the control module 140 . a receiving hole 151 is formed in the housing 150 . that is , the housing 150 receives the control module 140 through the receiving hole 151 . in this case , the housing 150 may have a cylindrical shape . further , the housing 150 may prevent an electrical short between the control module 140 and the heat sink 180 . the housing 150 may include a material having superior insulation and durability . further , the housing 150 may include a resin material . in addition , the housing 150 includes a connection terminal 153 . in this case , the housing 150 is locked with the external power source through the connection terminal 153 . the connection terminal 153 may be locked with the external power source through a socket scheme . further , the connection terminal 153 may be connected to the external power source . that is , the connection terminal 153 may be electrically connected to the external power source . further , the connection terminal 153 may electrically connect the control module 140 to the external power source . the connection terminal 153 may include a conductive material . the shield cover 160 seals the housing 150 . the shield cover 160 covers the receiving hole 151 of the housing 150 from the top of the housing 150 . in this case , the shield cover 160 may prevent an electrical short between the control module 140 and the heat sink 180 . the shield cover 160 may include a material having superior insulation and durability . further , the shield cover 160 may include a resin material . at least one through hole 161 is formed in the shield cover 160 . the through hole 161 is aligned on the same axis with the second coupling hole 123 . further , the through hole 161 receives the feeding terminal 141 and the communication module 190 . in this case , the feeding terminal 141 and the communication module 190 extend through the through hole 161 . the shield cover 160 exposes the feeding terminal 141 and the coupling terminal 143 through the through hole 161 . that is , the through hole 161 protrudes the feeding terminal 141 toward the feeding device 111 . further , the through hole 161 protrudes the communication module 190 toward the coupling terminal 143 . the feeding cover 170 seals the housing 150 . the feeding cover 170 covers a receiving hole of the housing 150 from the bottom of the housing 150 . further , the feeding cover 170 makes contact with the external power source . in this case , the feeding cover 170 electrically connects the control module 140 to the external power source . the feeding cover 170 may include a conductive material . the heat sink 180 receives the control module 140 , the housing 150 , and the shield cover 160 . a receiving groove ( not shown ) is formed in the heat sink 180 . that is , the heat sink 180 receives the control module 140 , the housing 150 , and the shield cover 160 through the receiving groove . further , the light source 110 is mounted on the heat sink 180 . in addition , the heat sink 180 releases heat generated from the light source 110 , and protects the control module 140 from the heat generated from the light source 110 . in this case , the heat sink 180 includes a first heat sink 181 and a second heat sink 185 . the first heat sink 181 is disposed above the shield cover 160 . the first heat sink 181 is coupled with the light distribution cover 130 . in this case , an outer peripheral portion of the first heat sink 181 is coupled with the light distribution cover 130 . further , the light source 110 and the light source coupling part 120 are mounted above the first heat sink 181 . the first heat sink 181 makes contact with the light source 110 . in this case , the first heat sink 181 moves the heat generated from the light source 110 to the second heat sink 185 . the first heat sink 181 may have a circular shape or a plane shape . at least one insertion hole 183 is formed in the first heat sink 181 . the insertion hole 183 is aligned on the same axis with the second coupling hole 123 and the through hole 161 . further , the insertion hole 183 receives the feeding terminal 141 and the communication module 190 . in this case , the feeding terminal 141 and the communication module 190 extend through the insertion hole 183 . the first heat sink 181 exposes the feeding terminal 141 and the coupling terminal 143 through the insertion hole 183 . that is , the insertion hole 183 protrudes the feeding terminal 141 toward the feeding device 111 . further , the insertion hole 183 protrudes the communication module 190 toward the coupling terminal 143 . the second heat sink 185 surrounds the housing 150 . in this case , the second heat sink 185 exposes the connection terminal 153 . that is , the second heat sink 185 surrounds the housing 150 except for a region of the connection terminal 153 . the second heat sink 185 may have a cylindrical shape . the second heat sink 185 extends downward from the first heat sink 181 . in this case , the second heat sink 185 releases the heat generated from the light source 110 . a diameter of the second heat sink 185 may be gradually reduced downward along a central axis of the first heat sink 181 . further , the second heat sink 185 includes a plurality of heat sink fins . in this case , the second heat sink 185 includes the heat sink fins 186 so that a surface area is increased . the heat sink fins 187 extend downward from the first heat sink 181 . in this case , the heat sink fins 187 may be radially aligned about the central axis of the first heat sink 181 . the heat sink fins 187 may protrude perpendicular to the central axis of the first heat sink 181 . the communication module 190 receives a wireless control signal for controlling the lighting apparatus 100 . in this case , the communication module 190 is connected to the control module 140 . the communication module 190 is spaced apart from the light source 110 across the light source coupling part 120 , the heat sink 180 , and the shield cover 160 . in addition , the communication module 190 is coupled with the control module 140 . the communication module 190 includes a substrate 210 , a connection terminal 220 , a ground part 230 , an antenna device 240 , and a protective cover 250 . the substrate 210 is provided in the communication module 190 for the purpose of support . in this case , the substrate 210 has a flat plate structure . the substrate 210 may include a pcb . further , the substrate 210 may include a dielectric substance . the substrate 210 includes a connection region 211 , a driving region 213 , and an antenna region 215 . the connection region 211 is placed at one end of the substrate 210 . the connection region 211 is opposed to the control module 140 . in this case , the connection region 211 is opposed to the coupling terminal 143 . the connection region 211 may be opposed to the coupling groove 145 . in addition , the connection region 211 is inserted into the heat sink 180 . in this case , the connection region is received in a receiving groove of the heat sink 180 . further , the connection region 211 is coupled with the control module 140 . in this case , the connection region 211 is locked with the coupling terminal 143 . the connection region 211 may be inserted into the coupling groove 145 . the driving region 213 extends from the connection region 211 . in this case , the driving region 213 is placed at a center of the substrate 210 . the driving region 213 extends across the light source coupling part 120 , the heat sink 180 , and the shield cover 160 . the driving region 213 is inserted into the heat sink 180 . in this case , the driving region 213 is received in the second coupling hole 123 , the insertion hole 183 , the through hole 161 , and a receiving groove of the heat sink 180 which are aligned on the same axis . further , the driving region 213 includes a driving device ( not shown ). in this case , the driving device is embedded in the substrate 210 , and is disposed in the driving region 213 . the driving device extends from the driving region 213 . in addition , one end of the driving device extends to the connection region 211 , and another end of the driving device extends to the antenna region 215 . the antenna region 215 is placed at the other end of the substrate 210 . the antenna region 215 is placed in opposition to the connection region 211 about the driving region 213 . further , the antenna region 215 is connected to the connection region 211 through the driving region 213 . the antenna region 215 protrudes from the heat sink 180 . the antenna region 215 is exposed from the heat sink 180 . in this case , the antenna region 215 is placed above the light coupling part 120 . the antenna region 215 may be spaced apart from the light source 110 . the connection terminal 220 serves as an interface for the control module 140 in the communication module 190 . the connection terminal 200 is disposed at the connection region 211 of the substrate 210 . in this case , the connection terminal 220 is connected to one end of the driving device . further , the connection terminal 220 is connected to the control module 140 . in this case , the connection terminal 220 is coupled with the coupling terminal 143 together with the connection region 211 and is connected to the coupling terminal 143 . the connection terminal 220 may be inserted into a coupling groove 145 . power is supplied to the communication module 190 through the connection terminal 220 . that is , the power is supplied from the coupling terminal 143 to the connection terminal 220 . the ground part 230 is provided in the communication module 190 for the purpose of grounding . the ground part 230 is disposed at the connection region 211 of the substrate 210 . in this case , the ground part 230 may be spaced apart from the connection terminal 220 . that is , the ground part 230 may not make contact with the connection terminal 220 . moreover , the ground part 230 may be connected to one end of the driving device . the antenna device 240 of the communication module 190 performs a wireless communication function . in this case , the antenna device 240 resonates at a preset frequency band to transmit / receive an electromagnetic wave . the antenna device 240 resonates at preset impedance . in this case , the antenna device 240 is disposed at the antenna region 215 of the substrate 210 . in this case , the antenna device 240 is connected to another end of the driving device . that is , the antenna device 240 is connected to the connection terminal 220 through the driving device . the antenna device 240 may be connected to the ground part 230 through the driving device . one end of the antenna device 240 is connected to the driving device and another end of the antenna device 240 is open . in addition , the antenna device 240 protrudes from the heat sink 180 . the antenna device 240 is disposed outside the heat sink 180 . that is , the antenna device 240 is exposed from the heat sink 180 together with the antenna region 215 . further , the antenna device 240 is spaced apart from the heat sink 180 . a spacing distance d between the antenna device 240 and the heat sink 180 may be approximately 1 mm or more . in this case , the antenna device 240 is placed above the light source coupling part 120 . the antenna device 240 may be spaced apart from the tight source 110 . further , the antenna device 240 is driven using power supplied from the connection terminal 220 . in this case , the antenna device 240 receives a wireless control signal for controlling the control module 140 . in addition , the antenna device 240 transmits the wireless control signal to the control module 140 . in this case , the antenna device 240 transmits the wireless control signal to the control module 140 through the connection terminal 220 . in this case , an antenna device 240 may be formed in a patch type and then be attached to the antenna region 215 . the antenna device 240 may be drawn with a conductive ink so as to be disposed at the antenna region 215 . the antenna device 240 may be patterned at the antenna region 215 . the antenna device 240 may include at least one of a bar type antenna element , a meander type antenna element , a spiral type antenna element , a step type antenna element , and a loop type antenna element . in this case , the antenna device 240 may include a conductive material . the antenna device 240 may include at least one of silver ( ag ), palladium ( pd ), platinum ( pt ), copper ( cu ), gold ( au ), and nickel ( ni ). the protective cover 250 receives the substrate 210 . in this case , the protective cover 250 covers the substrate 210 . the protective cover 250 covers the driving region 213 and the antenna region 215 , and exposes the connection region 211 . the protective cover 250 receives the antenna device 240 , and exposes the connection terminal 220 . that is , the connection terminal 220 protrudes from the protective cover 250 . the protective cover 250 may include at least one of plastic , polypropylene ( pp ), polyethylene ( pe ), and polycarbonate ( pc ). the protective cover 250 includes a first protective cover 251 and a second protective cover 253 . the first protective cover 251 surrounds the driving region 213 . the first protective cover 251 , together with the driving region 213 , extends across the light source coupling part 120 , the heat sink 180 , and the shield cover 160 . the protective cover 251 is inserted into the heat sink 180 . in this case , the first protective cover 251 is received in the second coupling hole 123 , the insertion hole 183 , the through hole 161 , and a receiving groove of the heat sink 180 which are aligned on the same axis . the second protective cover 253 receives the antenna region 215 . further , the second protective cover 253 receives the antenna device 240 . the second protective cover 253 extends from the first protective cover 251 . in this case , an insertion groove is formed in the second protective cover 253 . that is , the second protective cover 253 receives the antenna device 240 together with the antenna region 215 through the insertion groove . in addition , the second protective cover 253 protrudes from the heat sink 180 . the second protective cover 253 is exposed from the heat sink 180 . in this case , the antenna device 240 is spaced apart from the heat sink 180 by the second protective cover 253 . the second protective cover 253 is placed above the light source coupling part 120 . in addition , the second protective cover 253 is locked with the heat sink 180 . in this case , the second protective cover 253 has a size larger than a size of the insertion hole 183 so that the second protective cover 153 is not inserted into the heat sink 180 . according to the embodiment , the lighting apparatus 100 has a wireless communication function . in this case , the lighting apparatus 100 may receive a wireless control signal through the communication module 190 . further , the lighting apparatus 100 may control the light source 110 according to the wireless control signal . accordingly , the lighting apparatus 100 can be controlled in a wireless scheme . that is , a user of the lighting apparatus 100 may easily control the lighting apparatus 100 . accordingly , the convenience for a user of the lighting apparatus 100 can be improved . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	5
turning now to fig1 a chip 10 rests on an enclosure 12 . the term &# 34 ; chip &# 34 ; is used broadly herein , and includes a plurality of chips or other electronic devices . the enclosure 12 is in the form of an open package , and includes feed throughs 14 through which leads 16 may penetrate . this is typical for metal enclosure with an insulating ceramic layer , as is shown in fig1 but the nature of the enclosure 12 is immaterial to , and forms no part of , the present invention . a ceramic enclosure could be used just as well , in which case integral leads would be substituted for the feed throughs 14 . likewise , different side - by - side insulating layers , or one or more multi - layers , could be used . the leads 16 are attached by traces 18 on the surface of the enclosure 12 to chip leads 20 which , in turn , take signals to and from the chip 10 . this is seen in both the perspective view of fig1 and a cross sectional view of fig2 . the traces 18 may be thin film , thick film , or any other conductive structure . an inner layer 22 of material may be poured on top of the chip 10 , partially filling the enclosure 12 . the thickness of the layer 22 is sufficient to completely cover the chip 10 , traces 18 , leads 16 , chip leads 20 , and feed throughs 14 . the layer 22 is made of a material which does not interact significantly with the chip 10 , leads 16 , traces 18 , or chip leads 20 . this is preferably achieved by a flexible material which has a low ion impurity content . the material of the inner layer 22 is also relatively more resistant to chemical attack than is the chip 10 . the purpose and function of this difference in resistance to chemical attack is that , when the entire structure is subjected to a chemical attack , and when the chemical first reaches any part of the chip 10 , the chemical dissolves the adhesive bond to , or damages , etches , or destroys , the chip 10 before dissolving or destroying the inner layer 22 . the inner layer 22 itself is finally dissolved only under severe conditions , and it is only then that the chip 10 is thereby exposed to inspection , by which time the chip 10 will have been so damaged as to make any inspection useless , and reverse engineering will be difficult or impossible . an outer layer 24 , preferably a plastic polymer , is poured over the inner layer 22 . the outer layer 24 includes fillers to absorb x - rays and n - rays , such as barium sulfate ( bas0 4 ) and gadolinium oxide ( gdo ) respectively . the outer layer 24 is made more resistant to chemical attach than is the inner layer 22 . thus , a chemical attack upon the entire assembly , when it finally penetrates the outer layer 24 , will dissolve the inner layer 22 and damage the chip 10 beyond the capability of reverse engineering before finishing its dissolution of the outer layer 24 . thus , the topology of the chip 10 cannot be determined by an x - ray or n - ray inspection , because there will be sufficient of the outer layer 24 , with its x - ray and n - ray blocking fillers , to prevent such an inspection . to accentuate this distinction in resistance to chemical attack , a groove 26 may be formed in the upper surface of the outer layer 24 , near its periphery 28 . this is shown in cross section in fig3 and in perspective view in fig4 . the periphery 28 of the outer layer 24 will thus be the first to succumb to a chemical attack , and the chemical attack will continue radially inward through the inner layer 22 until it reaches the periphery 30 of the chip 10 . it will then damage the chip 10 , radially inward , beyond reconstruction before the inner layer 22 may be removed ( for direct visual inspection ), and before the outer layer 24 may be removed ( for x - ray or n - ray inspection ). fig5 is similar to fig3 and shows an alternative way of thinning the outer layer 24 at its periphery 28 . instead of forming a groove 26 on the upper surface of the outer layer 24 , as is shown in fig3 the periphery of the outer layer 24 may be thinned by forming a ridge 32 at the upper surface periphery of the inner layer 22 . if the upper surface of the outer layer 24 remains flat , the thickness of the outer layer 24 at its periphery 28 will nonetheless be sufficiently reduced as to encourage radially inward attack , as before . as is shown in fig6 neither a groove 26 nor ridge 32 is strictly necessary . if a chip 10 is encapsulated in an inner layer 22 , without ever resting upon an enclosure 12 , and if an outer layer of material 24 encapsulates the inner layer 22 , with the periphery 28 of the outer layer 24 being thinner than the remainder of the outer layer 24 , then chemical attack will proceed from the periphery , radially inward , as before , while retaining the protection against visual , x - ray , or n - ray inspection described above . applicants prefer to use , for the material of the inner layer 22 , a polymer , preferably an epoxy , although a silicone is also suitable . most preferably , the material 22 comprises an epoxy comprising of a resin blend including cycloaliphatic epoxies and a mixture of aromatic anhydride curing agents . this forms a lower stress material with low levels of ionic impurities . these materials are prefrozen and degassed single component epoxies of which the third generation &# 34 ; glob - top &# 34 ; encapsulant hysol es4323 is the preferred embodiment . the molecular chains of this material are somewhat cross - linked . as with the inner layer 22 , applicants prefer to use , for the material of the outer layer 24 , a polymer , again preferably an epoxy , although silicones or other highly cross - linked polymers are also suitable . most preferably , the outer layer 24 comprises a two component mixture , comprising a novolac - epoxy prepolymer ( the preferred embodiment being the dow epoxy novolac ( den ) 438 series ) and an epoxy - aromatic amine adduct curing agent ( the preferred embodiment being an epoxy - methylene dianiline material ). this mixture is then blended with barium sulfate and gadolinium oxide . the cross - linked molecules of this material are more strongly chemically resistant than are the cross - linked molecules of the material of the inner layer 22 . the preferred application technique is to apply the inner layer epoxy to the active components ( chip 10 , chip leads 20 , etc . ), and then cure it . the mixture of the outer layer is then compounded by mixing 100 parts of resin with between 10 and 20 parts of gadolinium oxide ( preferably about 15 parts ), and with between 10 and 20 parts of barium sulfate ( preferably about 15 parts ). between 45 and 55 parts of hardener may then be blended in , preferably about 50 parts of hardener . all part ratios are stated on a weight to weight basis . mild heating of the mixture is preferred for uniformity . the mixture is then applied to the cured inner layer , and is , itself separately cured after application . while a particular embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail , the full spirit and scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims .	7
fig1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention , for use in applying a continuous force to mobilize the ankle joint . the principal elements of the apparatus 10 are a heel cup 12 , a lower ball 36 and lower socket 34 , an expandable cylinder portion 50 , an upper ball 137 and upper socket 135 , and a lower leg cuff 140 . these and the other components are described in detail below . the heel cup 12 has a suitable surface 14 to receive a patient &# 39 ; s heel such as the cup - shaped interior shown in fig1 . the heel cup 12 may be fabricated from plastic or any other relatively rigid material that will attach securely to the heel . the heel cup 12 is attached to the heel by means of adjustable velcro straps 16 which extend around the front of the ankle from one heel cup lip 18 to the other heel cup lip 20 . attached to the posterior 30 of the heel cup 12 is a heel cup bracket 32 which holds a lower socket 34 . the lower socket 34 receives a lower ball 36 which is attached to and integral with a lower shaft 38 as best seen in the partial sectional view of fig2 . as shown in fig5 the lower leg cuff 140 may be a lower leg plate 151 with a slot 153 to receive a strap 155 releaseably attached to itself with velcro , buckling or other suitable attachment means . adjustably attached to the posterior 131 of the lower leg cuff 140 is a lower leg cuff bracket 133 which holds an upper socket 135 which receives an upper ball 137 which is attached to and integral with an upper shaft 139 . the adjustment is achieved by means of a plurality of mounting holes 157 for attachment of the bracket 133 . the upper ball 137 and lower ball 36 and upper socket 135 and lower socket 34 allow pivoting of the lower leg cuff 140 and heel cup 12 about any axis . moreover , it can be seen that the pivoting axis can change in any direction as the range of movement is effectuated , as described in more detail below . the lower shaft 38 extends from the lower ball 36 to the bottom of the expandable cylinder portion 50 as shown in fig2 . the expandable cylinder portion 50 includes an outer hollow cylinder 52 which has a bottom hole 53 which slidably receives a hollow sleeve 56 which extends axially through the bottom hole and part way through the interior of the hollow cylinder 52 . the hollow sleeve is closed with a bottom plug 54 to which the lower shaft 38 is attached . therefore , it can be seen that the lower ball 36 , the bottom plug 54 and the hollow sleeve 56 are all attached to one another and move in unison when the hollow sleeve slides in and out of the bottom hole 53 of the hollow cylinder 52 . a scale 90 is attached to the exterior surface of the hollow sleeve 56 . the scale 90 has an spring stop portion 92 , the function of which is described below , extending radially from the hollow sleeve 56 . the scale 90 also has a read - out portion 94 extending axially from the spring stop portion 92 to a terminal end 96 . the read - out portion 94 nests in a window 102 of the hollow cylinder 52 as shown in fig4 so that the readout portion is visible through the window when the expandable cylinder portion 50 is assembled . at the top of the hollow cylinder 52 , is a top end hole 60 . the top end hole 60 receives a threaded sleeve 62 which extends from the top end hole 60 through the length of the hollow cylinder 52 . the lower portion of the threaded sleeve 62 slides inside the hollow sleeve 56 and is contained therein . the upper end of the threaded sleeve 62 is attached to an adjusting wheel 64 which is external to and rests on the top end of the hollow cylinder 52 . manual rotation of the adjusting wheel 64 causes corresponding rotation of the threaded sleeve 62 . the adjusting wheel 64 may include a knurled periphery 66 to facilitate such manual rotation . the adjusting wheel and attached threaded sleeve 62 are prevented from sliding out of the hollow cylinder 52 by a clamping collar 110 on top of the adjusting wheel 64 , which also clamps the upper shaft 112 in the manner described below . a threaded ring 70 is threaded onto the threaded sleeve 62 on the portion of the threaded sleeve that is not contained in the hollow sleeve 56 and is between the top end of the hollow sleeve 56 and the interior top end surface of the hollow cylinder 56 . as shown in fig4 the threaded ring 70 has a tab 72 extending from top to bottom . the tab 72 engages a longitudinal slot 74 in the interior surface of the hollow cylinder read - out portion 94 of the scale 90 to prevent any rotation of the threaded ring . a coil spring 80 is positioned over the hollow sleeve 56 and threaded sleeve 62 in the space between those sleeves and the interior surface of the hollow cylinder 52 . one end of the coil spring 80 bears against the lower surface of the threaded ring 70 , and the other end of the coil spring 80 bears against the spring stop 92 of the scale 90 . it can be seen from the above description that the adjusting wheel 64 and attached threaded sleeve 62 can be rotated relative to the rest of the cylinder apparatus 50 . this rotation causes the threaded ring 70 , which is prevented from rotating by the threaded ring tab 72 engaged in the read - out portion 94 of the scale 90 , to thread along the threaded sleeve 62 . the threaded ring moves down if the rotation is in one direction , and the threaded ring moves up if the rotation is in the other direction . downward movement of the threaded ring compresses the coil spring 80 between the threaded ring and the spring stop 92 of the scale 90 , thereby urging the hollow sleeve 56 out of the hollow cylinder 52 to lengthen the cylinder apparatus 50 and to lower the heel . the extent of the downward movement controls the amount of force applied to the heel . this force is quantified by the position of the threaded ring relative to the scale 90 as determined through the window 102 . when the invention is positioned on the patient and a spring force is selected by use of the adjusting wheel 64 , it can bee seen that the selected force will gradually decrease as the coil spring 80 extends to push the hollow sleeve 56 out of the hollow cylinder 52 to lower the heel . as the force decreases as the hollow sleeve is pushed out of the hollow cylinder , the scale 90 will be carried with the hollow sleeve , thereby causing the scale to slide relative to the threaded ring 70 . this sliding will cause the threaded ring to indicate a changed scale reading , corresponding to the changed force level . of course , the initial design of the device may require calibrating the scale so that the force indications are accurate . the overall length between the lower ball 36 and upper ball 137 is adjustable to accommodate patients of different sizes and application of the device in a variety of ways . the upper shaft 112 which terminates in the upper ball 137 fits inside the threaded sleeve 62 through a central hole in the adjusting wheel 64 and is slidable in relation thereto . one end of a bracket 126 is attached to and extends from the outer surface of the hollow cylinder 52 and around the adjusting wheel 64 . the other end of the bracket 126 is attached to a split ring clamp 110 which extends around the upper shaft 122 . a thumb screw or other screw 130 extends through the split ring clamp 110 to clamp or unclamp the split ring clamp from the upper shaft . a thumb wheel 132 is attached to the head of the screw to allow quick manual clamping and unclamping . the length adjustment is accomplished by operating the thumb wheel 132 to unclamp the upper shaft 112 from the split ring clamp 110 . the upper shaft can then slide in or out of the hollow cylinder 52 as desired for the chosen length . the thumb wheel 132 is then operated to re - clamp the upper shaft 112 to fix its position relative to the hollow cylinder 52 . an alternative embodiment of the invention 10 is shown in fig6 - 8 . as in the preferred embodiment , the alternative embodiment includes a heel cup 12 which attaches through a lower ball and socket ( not shown ) to a lower shaft 38 . it also includes an upper shaft 139 which terminates in an upper ball 137 which engages an upper socket ( not shown ). the upper socket is attached to a lower leg cuff bracket ( not shown ) which is attached to the lower leg cuff 140 . the lower shaft 38 extends from the ball to the bottom of the spring - filled cylinder and piston arrangement 150 . the spring - filled cylinder and piston arrangement 150 includes a cylinder 152 which is open at the bottom 154 and at the top 156 . the open cylinder bottom 154 receives a cylinder bottom plug 158 which is slidably mounted on the lower shaft 38 . the cylinder bottom plug 158 is fixed inside the open cylinder bottom 154 with a set screw 159 or other appropriate attachment means . the open cylinder top 156 threadably receives a cylinder top plug 160 . the cylinder top plug 160 may be knurled on the exterior 162 to allow manual threading and unthreading from the cylinder open top 156 . inside the cylinder 152 is a slidable piston 170 fixed at the end of the lower shaft 138 . a cylindrical stopper 171 is slidably positioned between the piston 170 and the cylinder top plug 160 . a stopper pin 172 is inserted through two slots 174 and 176 in opposite walls of the cylinder 152 so that the stopper pin 172 extends through the cylinder 152 and through the cylindrical stopper 171 . a stopper adjustment 178 is threaded onto the outer surface of the cylinder 152 above the stopper pin 172 to limit the upward slidable movement of the stopper 171 and the stopper pin 172 through the slots 174 and 176 . a spring 180 is compressed between the upper surface of the piston 170 and the stopper 171 . in operation , the compressed spring 180 urges the heel cup 12 away from the lower leg 17 by applying a force to the upper surface of the piston 170 and the lower surface of the stopper 171 . as this force causes the gradual withdrawal of the piston 170 from the cylinder 152 , the distance increases from the lower leg to the back of the heel . the resulting drop in the heel is accompanied by a pivoting of the foot through the ankle joint and a consequent lifting of the front of the foot . the balls and sockets allow this pivoting to occur about any combination of axes in any plane whatsoever that runs through the balls , thereby accommodating joint component motion . the force exerted to urge the heel down from the lower leg is adjustable by threading the stopper adjustment 178 up or down the threaded exterior surface of the cylinder 152 . as the stopper adjustment 178 is threaded downward , it slides the stopper 171 and the stopper pin 172 downward through the slots 174 and 176 . this decreases the distance between the stopper 171 and the upper surface of the piston 170 , thereby further compressing the spring 180 and increasing the force on the piston 170 . conversely , the stopper adjustment 178 may be threaded upward on the threaded exterior surface of the cylinder 152 , thereby allowing the stopper 171 and the stopper pin 172 to slide upward in the slots 174 and 176 to lengthen the distance between the stopper 171 and the surface of the piston 170 to decrease the force on the piston 170 . this varying force can be quantified by suitable alpha or numeric characters ( not shown ) on the exterior surface of the cylinder 152 to indicate the positioning of the stopper adjustment 178 . the force applied between the lower leg and heel can be changed from compression to tension or from tension to compression by changing the position of the spring 180 relative to the piston 170 . if the spring 180 is positioned between the stopper 171 and the piston 170 , then the spring 180 will urge the piston 170 out of the cylinder 152 , thereby increasing the distance between the lower leg and the heel . if the spring 180 is positioned between the piston 170 and the cylinder bottom plug 158 , then the spring 180 will urge the piston 170 into the cylinder , thereby shortening the distance between the lower leg and the heel . this second configuration , shown in fig8 is achieved by removing the cylinder top plug 160 from the cylinder 152 , removing the spring 80 from the cylinder 152 , removing the cylinder bottom plug 158 from the cylinder 152 , placing the spring 180 into the bottom of the cylinder 152 so that it is positioned below and bear upon the lower surface of the piston 170 , replacing the cylinder bottom plug 158 into the cylinder 152 , and replacing the cylinder top plug 160 into the cylinder 152 . this second configuration causes compression of the spring between the lower surface of the piston 170 and the upper surface of the cylinder bottom plug 158 , to urge the piston into the cylinder , thereby decreasing the distance between the lower leg and heel . the invention may also be configured to cyclically mobilize the joint by combining with a suitable drive mechanism in the manner shown in application no . 495 , 044 of which this is continuation - in - part . the drive mechanism of the apparatus includes a programmable stepper motor positioned on the lower leg cuff 140 . the drive shaft of the stepper motor has end threads which threadably engage the upper shaft of the apparatus . the turning of the stepper motor drive shaft clockwise or counterclockwise by operating the stepper motor in forward and reverse , causes the end threads to thread in or out of the engagement in the upper shaft thread . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , other variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention . for example , rather than using a spring - biased force - applying means , a pneumatic or hydraulic force - applying means could be used . rather than using a ball and socket to attach the heel cup and lower leg cuff to the force - applying means , universal type joints could be used with the same effect .	0
referring to fig1 there is schematically illustrated a first embodiment of a stroke simulator 1 for use in a brake control apparatus according to the present invention . the stroke simulator 1 includes a cylinder 5 , a piston 6 slidably received therein , a first elastic member 4 , a second elastic member 8 , a solenoid valve 10 , a reservoir 9 for storing brake fluid , a controller 38 for controlling the solenoid valve 10 , and a sensor 20 which is electrically connected to the controller 38 . the sensor 20 represents various sensors such as a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a vehicle , a depressing force sensor for detecting depressing force applied to a brake pedal 2 , a stroke sensor for detecting depressed amount of the brake pedal or depressing speed thereof calculated on the basis of the depressed amount , pressure sensors for detecting pressures in wheel brake cylinders operatively mounted on the wheels , wheel speed sensors for detecting wheel speeds of the wheels , and etc . the first elastic member 4 and the second elastic member 8 of springs are aligned with a rod 3 , which is connected to the brake pedal 2 . the second elastic member 8 is disposed in a pressure chamber 7 which is defined in the cylinder 5 , and the volume of which is varied in response to sliding movement of the piston 6 . the second elastic member 8 is adapted to bias the piston 6 to its initial position . the reservoir 9 under atmospheric pressure is provided for receiving the brake fluid drained from the pressure chamber 7 through an outlet port in the cylinder 5 . the solenoid valve 10 of a normally open type is disposed between the reservoir 9 and the pressure chamber 7 of the cylinder 5 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . according to this embodiment , therefore , the depressing force characteristic can be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke , as shown in fig2 . the brake control apparatus having the stroke simulator 1 as constituted above will be explained hereinafter with reference to fig3 . a braking force control device 42 is provided for controlling the braking force applied to the wheels . the braking force control device 42 is disposed independently from the stroke simulator 1 according to the present embodiment , but it may be associated with the simulator 1 . in order to detect the vehicle condition or the braking condition accurately , various sensors are installed . for example , a steering angle sensor 21 is installed on a steering wheel 17 . a depressing force sensor 22 and a stroke sensor 23 are installed on the brake pedal 2 . a pressure sensor 24 is disposed to detect the pressure in the wheel brake cylinder 31 . furthermore , a mode switch 26 is provided for changing the brake feeling in accordance with the driver &# 39 ; s selection . the output signals of the sensors are fed to the controller 38 , which is adapted to energize the solenoid valve 10 to provide the stroke of the brake pedal 2 only by means of the biasing force of the first elastic member 4 , when the output signals from the controller 38 satisfy the predetermined conditions as described later in detail . the braking force control device 42 is adapted to supply the brake fluid to the wheel brake cylinders including a wheel brake cylinder 31 as shown in fig3 thereby to apply the braking force to the wheels . the brake fluid is supplied to the wheel brake cylinder 31 from an accumulator 37 which accumulates the brake fluid discharged from a pump 34 driven by a motor 35 . the motor 35 is controlled in dependence upon the pressure of the brake fluid supplied to the wheel brake cylinder 31 , which is detected by a pressure sensor 39 . when the pressure of the brake fluid is decreased to be lower than a certain level , the pump 34 is driven by the motor 35 to introduce the brake fluid stored in a reservoir 36 and discharge the pressurized brake fluid to the accumulator 37 . in the case where the pressure of the brake fluid is to be increased , the pressurized brake fluid accumulated in the accumulator 37 is supplied to the wheel brake cylinder 31 by energizing a normally closed solenoid valve 32 . when the pressure in the wheel brake cylinder 31 is to be reduced , the brake fluid therein is drained into the reservoir 36 by energizing a normally closed solenoid valve 33 . the solenoid valves 32 , 33 and the motor 35 for driving the pump 34 are controlled by the controller 38 in response to the signals input thereto from the mode switch 26 and sensors 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 39 which detect the vehicle conditions and the braking condition . according to the present embodiment as constituted above , a program routine for performing the brake control according to the stroke simulator 1 and the braking force control device 42 is executed in accordance with a flowchart as shown in fig4 . its program routine starts when an ignition switch ( not shown ) is turned on , and electric power is fed to the controller 38 from a battery ( not shown ). at the outset , initialization of the apparatus is made at step 101 to clear various data stored in the controller 38 and input initial data into a random access memory , or ram . then , the program is set at step 102 to repeat this main routine with a predetermined period . according to the present embodiment , the main routine is repeated in a 6 - millisecond cycle , while the period is not limited to 6 milliseconds . at step 103 , the signals output from the mode switch 26 , sensors 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 and etc . are input into the controller 38 through its input ports , and various data are read by a microcomputer ( not shown ) in the controller 38 . then , the program proceeds to step 104 where stroke simulations are performed in accordance with one of the flowcharts as shown in fig5 - 13 , as will be described later in detail . at step 105 , a desired wheel cylinder pressure it set in accordance with a map which is provided in advance . the program further proceeds to step 106 where it is determined whether a signal output from the pressure sensor 24 , i . e ., an actual wheel cylinder pressure is equal to the desired wheel cylinder pressure obtained from the map at step 105 , or not . if the result is affirmative , the program returns to step 102 . if the result is negative , the program proceeds to step 107 , where it is determined whether the actual wheel cylinder pressure is greater than the desired wheel cylinder pressure . if the actual wheel cylinder pressure is greater than the desired wheel cylinder pressure , the program proceeds to step 108 , where the control valve for decreasing the pressure , i . e ., pressure decrease solenoid valve 33 , is energized to be on . if the actual wheel cylinder pressure is equal to or smaller than the desired wheel cylinder pressure , the program proceeds to step 109 , where the control valve for increasing the pressure , i . e ., pressure increase solenoid valve 32 , is energized to be on . the solenoid valves 32 , 33 are controlled to optimize their “ on ” period in accordance with a difference between the actual wheel cylinder pressure and the desired wheel cylinder pressure . thus , steps 102 - 109 are repeated to perform the braking force control . next , the stroke simulation executed at step 104 in fig4 will be explained with reference to five examples as follows . fig5 shows a first example of the stroke simulation , where the simulation is determined on the basis of depression of the brake pedal 2 . that is , the stroke simulation is determined on the basis of a condition of a brake switch ( not shown ), which is turned on when the brake pedal 2 is depressed , and turned off when the brake pedal 2 is not depressed . the brake switch is disposed in the vicinity of the brake pedal 2 to output the on / off signal to the input port of the controller 38 . unless the brake pedal 2 is depressed at step 201 , the simulation is not performed . if the brake pedal 2 is depressed , the brake switch is turned on , so that the program proceeds to step 202 . if the brake pedal 2 continues to be depressed , the program proceeds to step 203 . at step 202 , a depressing force to be controlled by the stroke simulator is calculated in accordance with a map as shown in fig6 which is provided in advance for obtaining the depressing force to be controlled by the stroke simulator in response to the vehicle speeds calculated from the wheel speeds obtained by the signals output from the wheel speed sensor 25 . that is , a depressing force ( fp ) to be controlled is obtained in response to the vehicle speed . then , at step 203 , the actual depressing force detected by the depressing force sensor 22 is compared with the depressing force ( fp ) to be controlled . if the actual depressing force is greater than the depressing force ( fp ) obtained from the map , the program proceeds to step 204 , where the solenoid valve 10 is energized to be on . otherwise , the program proceeds to step 205 , where the solenoid valve 10 is not energized to be off . according to this routine , if the actual depressing force has become greater than the depressing force to be controlled , which is provided in response to the vehicle speed , the characteristic of the depressing force may be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke as shown in fig2 so that an appropriate brake feeling can be provided in response to the vehicle speed . fig7 shows a second example of the stroke simulation , where it is determined at step 301 whether the brake pedal 2 is depressed , or not . if it is determined at step 301 that the brake pedal 2 is not depressed , the program proceeds to step 309 , where an initial value ( sp0 ) is set for a stroke to be controlled ( sp ), and returns to the main routine . on the contrary , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed , and the brake switch is turned on , the program proceeds to step 302 , where a signal indicative of a pedal stroke output from the stroke sensor 23 is determined . at step 302 , it is determined whether the pedal stroke detected by the actual sensor is greater than a predetermined value ( th1 ), or not . if the result is affirmative , the program proceeds to step 303 . otherwise , the program returns to the main routine . then , at step 303 , a stroke to be controlled by the stroke simulator is calculated for the present cycle , to provide the presently obtained value sp ( n ) of the stroke to be controlled ( sp ). this value is calculated in accordance with a map as shown in fig8 which is provided in advance for obtaining the stroke to be controlled by the stroke simulator in response to a brake pedal speed which is calculated by dividing the variation of the signals fed from the stroke sensor 23 by the calculating period . then , at step 304 , it is determined whether the present value sp ( n ) obtained at step 303 is smaller than the previously obtained value sp ( n − 1 ). if the result is affirmative , the present value sp ( n ) is provided for the stroke to be controlled ( sp ) at step 305 , then the program proceeds to step 306 . therefore , the value of the stroke to be controlled ( sp ) is used for the value sp ( n ) in the next cycle . on the contrary , if the present value sp ( n ) is equal to or greater than the previous value sp ( n − 1 ), the program proceeds to step 306 , where an actual stroke detected by the stroke sensor 23 is compared with the stroke to be controlled ( sp ). if the actual stroke is greater than the stroke to be controlled ( sp ), the program proceeds to step 307 , where the solenoid valve 10 is energized to be on . otherwise , the program proceeds to step 308 , where the solenoid valve 10 is not energized to be off . according to this routine , if the actual pedal stroke has become greater than the stroke obtained from the brake pedal speed , the characteristic of the depressing force may be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke as shown in fig2 so that an appropriate brake feeling can be provided in response to the brake pedal speed . fig9 shows a third example of the stroke simulation , where a coefficient of friction of the road ( abbreviated as road μ ) is determined at step 401 . that is , the coefficient of friction of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is selected from one of a low - μ , mid - μ and high - μ , by estimating a vehicle speed on the basis of the output of the wheel speed sensor 25 provided for each wheel , and determining a level of drop of each wheel speed on the basis of the estimated vehicle speed . at step 402 , the depressing force to be controlled by the stroke - simulator is calculated in accordance with a map as shown in fig1 , which is provided in advance for obtaining the depressing force to be controlled by the stroke simulator in accordance with the road μ selected at step 401 . then , at step 403 , the actual depressing force detected by the depressing force sensor 22 is compared with the depressing force to be controlled ( fp ) which is obtained from the map . if the actual depressing force is greater than the depressing force to be controlled ( fp ), the program proceeds to step 404 , where the solenoid valve 10 is energized to be on . otherwise , the program proceeds to step 405 , where the solenoid valve 10 is not energized to be off . according to this routine , if the actual depressing force has become greater than the stroke to be controlled , which is obtained from the road μ , the depressing force characteristic may be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke , as shown in fig2 therefore , an appropriate brake feeling can be provided in accordance with the road μ . fig1 shows a fourth example of the stroke simulation , wherein it is determined at step 501 whether the brake pedal 2 is depressed , or not . if the brake pedal 2 is depressed , and the brake switch is turned on , then the program proceeds to step 503 . if the brake pedal 2 is not depressed , the program proceeds to step 502 , where the depressing force to be controlled by the stroke simulator is calculated in accordance with a map as shown in fig1 , which is provided in advance for setting the depressing force to be controlled by the stroke simulator in accordance with a position of the mode switch 26 for changing the braking characteristic . the mode switch 26 is a multistage changeover switch , e . g ., 4 stages in this example , to change the brake feeling . then , at step 503 , the actual depressing force detected by the depressing force sensor 22 is compared with the depressing force to be controlled ( fp ) which is obtained from the map . if the actual depressing force is greater than the depressing force to be controlled ( fp ), the program proceeds to step 504 , where the solenoid valve 10 is energized to be on . otherwise , the program proceeds to step 505 , where the solenoid valve 10 is not energized to be off . according to this routine , if the actual depressing force has become greater than the stroke obtained in accordance with the selected position of the mode switch 26 , the depressing force characteristic may be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke as shown in fig2 . therefore , an appropriate brake feeling can be provided in accordance with the vehicle driver &# 39 ; s taste . fig1 shows a fifth example of the stroke simulation , wherein it is determined at step 601 whether a brake pressure control , such as an anti - skid control , a stability control , or the like is being performed , or not . if the brake pressure control is being performed , the program proceeds to step 602 , where the solenoid valve 10 is energized to be on . otherwise , the program proceeds to step 603 , where the solenoid valve 10 is not energized to be off . according to this routine , if the brake pressure control is being performed , the depressing force characteristic may be changed from a given position of the brake pedal stroke , as shown in fig2 . therefore , an appropriate brake feeling can be provided in the brake pressure control . next , other embodiments of the stroke simulator 1 will be explained with reference to fig1 - 18 . fig1 illustrates a second embodiment of the simulator 1 . the brake pedal 2 is connected to the rod 3 , which is connected to one end of the first elastic member 4 . a piston 61 formed with a recess 62 for receiving the other end of the first elastic member 4 is slidably fitted into a cylinder 51 . a pressure chamber 71 is defined between the piston 61 and the cylinder 51 . the second elastic member 8 is disposed in the pressure chamber 71 to be placed in series with the first elastic member 4 , and adapted to bias the piston 61 to its initial position where the brake pedal 2 is not depressed . the pressure chamber 71 is communicated with the reservoir 9 through an output port , from which the brake fluid is discharged in response to forward movement of the piston 61 . the solenoid valve 10 of a normally open type is disposed between the reservoir 9 and the output port of the cylinder 51 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . according to this embodiment with the first elastic member 4 accommodated in the recess 62 of the piston 61 , therefore , the stroke simulator 1 can be made small in its axial direction . in operation , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed when the solenoid valve 10 is off , the brake pedal 2 is moved against the biasing force of the first elastic member 4 and second elastic member 8 . when the solenoid valve 10 is turned on , the communication between the pressure chamber 71 and the reservoir 9 is shut off , so that the volume of the pressure chamber 71 is not varied . that is , the sliding movement of the piston 61 is stopped , and the brake pedal 2 is moved only against the biasing force of the first elastic member 4 . therefore , the braking characteristic can be changed by energizing the solenoid valve 10 at a proper time when a predetermined condition is satisfied . fig1 illustrates a third embodiment of the simulator 1 , wherein the brake pedal 2 is connected to one end of the rod 3 , which is connected to one end of the first elastic member 4 . the other end of the rod 3 is connected to a master piston 13 a of a master cylinder 13 . a pressure chamber 14 is defined in the master cylinder 13 , and its volume is varied in response to sliding movement of the master piston 13 a . a first absorbing device 11 is connected to the pressure chamber 14 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the pressure chamber 14 , and return the brake fluid thereto by means of biasing force of a second elastic member 81 . that is , the first absorbing device 11 includes the second elastic member 81 which is accommodated in a housing of the device 11 , and which is adapted to bias the brake fluid to be discharged into the pressure chamber 14 of the master cylinder 13 . the normally open solenoid valve 10 is disposed between the master cylinder 13 and the first absorbing device 11 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . in operation , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed when the solenoid valve 10 is off , the brake pedal 2 is moved against substantially the total of biasing forces of the first elastic member 4 and second elastic member 81 , because a spring accommodated in the master cylinder 13 has a relatively small biasing force . when the solenoid valve 10 is turned on , the communication between the pressure chamber 14 and the first absorbing device 11 is shut off , so that the volume of the pressure chamber 14 of the master cylinder 13 is not varied . in this case , only the biasing force of the first elastic member 4 acts against depression of the brake pedal 2 . therefore , the braking characteristic can be changed by energizing the solenoid valve 10 at a proper time when a predetermined condition is satisfied . fig1 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the simulator 1 , wherein the brake pedal 2 is connected to one end of the rod 3 , which is connected to a cylinder 51 and a master cylinder 13 , in series . one end of the rod 3 is connected to the piston 6 which is slidably received in the cylinder 51 , in which a first elastic member 41 is provided for biasing the brake pedal 2 to the initial position thereof . the other end of the rod 3 is connected to the master piston 13 a in the master cylinder 13 . a pressure chamber 71 is defined in the cylinder 51 , and connected to the reservoir 9 to drain the brake fluid in the pressure chamber 71 . then , the normally open solenoid valve 10 is disposed between the pressure chamber 71 and the reservoir 9 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . the first absorbing device 11 is connected to the pressure chamber 14 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the pressure chamber 14 , and return the brake fluid thereto . the second elastic member 81 is disposed in the first absorbing device 11 to return the brake fluid therein to the master cylinder 13 . in operation , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed when the solenoid valve 10 is off , the brake pedal 2 is moved against substantially the total of biasing forces of the first elastic member 41 and second elastic member 81 , because the spring accommodated in the master cylinder 13 has a relatively small biasing force . when the solenoid valve 10 is turned on , the communication between the pressure chamber 71 and the reservoir 9 is shut off , so that the volume of the pressure chamber 71 of the cylinder 51 is not varied . in this case , only the biasing force of the second elastic member 81 acts against depression of the brake pedal 2 . therefore , the braking characteristic can be changed by energizing the solenoid valve 10 at a proper time when a predetermined condition is satisfied . fig1 illustrates a fifth embodiment of the simulator 1 , wherein the brake pedal 2 is connected to one end of the rod 3 , the other end of which is connected to the master piston 13 a in the master cylinder 13 . the first absorbing device 11 is connected to the pressure chamber 14 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the pressure chamber 14 , and return the brake fluid thereto by means of the biasing force of the first elastic member 42 . in addition , a second absorbing device 16 is connected to the pressure chamber 14 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the pressure chamber 14 . the second absorbing device 16 has a second elastic member 82 therein to return the brake fluid to the master cylinder 13 . the normally open solenoid valve 10 is disposed between the master cylinder 13 and the first absorbing device 11 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . in operation , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed when the solenoid valve 10 is off , the brake pedal 2 is moved against substantially the total of biasing forces of the first elastic member 42 and second elastic member 82 , because the spring accommodated in the master cylinder 13 has a relatively small biasing force . when the solenoid valve 10 is turned on , the communication between the pressure chamber 14 and the first absorbing device 11 is shut off , so that only the biasing force of the second elastic member 82 acts against depression of the brake pedal 2 . therefore , the braking characteristic can be changed by energizing the solenoid valve 10 at a proper time when a predetermined condition is satisfied . fig1 illustrates a sixth embodiment of the simulator 1 , wherein a master cylinder 15 having a first pressure chamber 18 and a second pressure chamber 19 defined therein , and a first piston 15 a and a second piston 15 b slidably received in the first and second pressure chambers 18 , 19 , respectively . the brake pedal 2 is connected to one end of the rod 3 , the other end of which is connected to the first piston 15 a . the first absorbing device 11 is connected to the first pressure chamber 18 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the first pressure chamber 18 , and return the brake fluid thereto . a first elastic member 42 is disposed in the first absorbing device 11 to return the brake fluid therein to the master cylinder 13 . also , the second absorbing device 16 is connected to the second pressure chamber 19 to absorb the brake fluid discharged from the second pressure chamber 19 , and return the brake fluid thereto . a second elastic member 82 is disposed in the second absorbing device 11 to return the brake fluid therein to the master cylinder 13 . then , the normally open solenoid valve 10 is disposed between the first pressure chamber 18 of the master cylinder 15 and the first absorbing device 11 , and controlled by the controller 38 on the basis of the signals output from the sensor 20 . in operation , if the brake pedal 2 is depressed when the solenoid valve 10 is off , the brake pedal 2 is moved against substantially the total of biasing forces of the first elastic member 42 and second elastic member 82 , because both of the springs accommodated in the master cylinder 15 have a relatively small biasing force . when the solenoid valve 10 is turned on , the communication between the first pressure chamber 18 and the first absorbing device 11 is shut off , so that only the biasing force of the second elastic member 82 acts against depression of the brake pedal 2 . therefore , the braking characteristic can be changed by energizing the solenoid valve 10 at a proper time when a predetermined condition is satisfied . in the embodiments as shown in fig1 - 18 , a check valve ( not shown ) may be provided for bypassing the solenoid valve 10 . the check valve 10 is adapted to prevent the brake pedal 2 from being delayed in its returning motion when the brake pedal 2 is released rapidly while the solenoid valve 10 is on , due to delayed response of the valve 10 when it ifs turned off . it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that the above - described embodiments are merely illustrative of but a few of the many possible specific embodiments of the present invention . numerous and various other arrangements can be readily devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	1
hereinafter , exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . the embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms , and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments . the embodiments of the present invention are provided in order that the ordinarily skilled in the art can have the better understanding of the present invention . in the accompanying drawings , elements having similar functions and operations are denoted by the same reference numerals . for better understanding of the present invention , a data output method of a conventional voip ( voice over internet protocol ) phone is firstly described . fig1 is a view illustrating a configuration of an iptv service system according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the iptv service system 100 includes an iptv transmission network 110 , an iptv service controller 120 , and an iptv application server 130 . an iptv terminal 200 is connected to the iptv service system 100 . the iptv transmission network 110 includes an access router 111 for processing switching of broadcasting channels , an edge router 112 and a core router 113 for configuring multicast trees for channels between the iptv application server 130 and the iptv terminal 200 . particularly , according to the present invention , the access router 111 process channel branching based on information ( for example , multicast forwarding information including multicast ips , port numbers , user ip addresses , and the like ) provided by the iptv channel controller 125 of the iptv service controller 120 instead of a conventional group managing message ( generated according to a internet group management protocol ( igmp )). the iptv service controller 120 includes an iptv session controller ( iptvscf ) 121 , a user profile 122 , a favorite program management unit ( pcmf ) 123 , a favorite program profile 124 , an iptv channel controller ( chncf ) 125 , a access right certificating unit ( nacf ) 126 , and a resources controller ( racf ) 127 . the iptvscf 121 checks user &# 39 ; s requests and service environment by using interaction with iptv terminal 220 and the user profile 122 and monitors a session state of broadcasting channel access of the user to collect and manage viewing history information . the user profile 122 stores information on the users used for viewing the broadcasting channel . the pcmf 123 checks viewing preference for programs according to time from the viewing history information of the iptvsf 121 to configure the favorite program profile 124 and searches and notifies the favorite program in response to the request of the iptvsf 121 . the favorite program profile 124 stores information on the favorite programs according to days of the week and time periods . the chncf 125 controls multicast channel branching according to the channels . nacf 126 sets network access environment of the users so as to securely transmit iptv broadcasting contents with a quality of contents maintained . racf 127 allocates a bandwidth for transmission of streams according to the channel . the iptv application server 130 includes a contents profile 131 which stores information on broadcasting starting time and broadcasting ending time for contents according to the channel and a broadcasting schedule management unit 132 which selects and transmits to - be - broadcasted contents according to time periods based on the broadcasting schedule . the iptv terminal 200 includes a channel control apparatus 210 which changes the channels in a increment - decrement manner or in an order of program - viewing preferences of a user , an iptv settop box 220 which performs access to the iptv service controller 120 and the iptv transmission network 110 , and a reproduction apparatus 230 . the channel control apparatus 210 includes a basic channel controller 212 and a favorite channel controller 211 . the basic channel controller 212 requests for channel change in a conventional increment - decrement manner . the favorite channel controller 211 request for channel change according to viewing preferences corresponding to broadcasting time periods ( time - based viewing preference ). the favorite channel controller 211 includes a reservation button as well as channel increment and decrement buttons to request for reservation of a viewing program in a broadcasting time of the program . at the time on the days of the week of the reserved program , the program is viewed with priority . fig2 a to 2e are views illustrating structures of profiles and information according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a illustrates a user profile . fig2 b illustrates multicast session information . fig2 c illustrates multicast routing information . fig2 d illustrates multicast forwarding information . fig2 e illustrates a favorite program profile . referring to fig2 a , the user profile stores user information used for user authentication , service contract information used for notifying a contracted service , qos contract information used for notifying a contracted quality of service ( qos ), access configuration information used for notifying an ip address , ip configuration information used for notifying a user &# 39 ; s ip address , and service mode information used for notifying a default channel mode , a minimum viewing time , and a set available period . the user profile is maintained and managed by iptvscf 121 . when the iptv terminal 200 logs in , the user profile is loaded on the iptvscf 121 . referring to fig2 b , the multicast session information includes user lists of users accessing the currently - serviced iptv channels . the multicast session information is managed by iptvscf 121 . referring to fig2 c , the multicast routing information includes multicast ip address information corresponding to currently - serviced iptv channels . the multicast routing information is managed by the chncf 125 . referring to fig2 d , the multicast forwarding information includes port information on the ports allocated to the multicast ip addresses and the ip addresses of the user accessing the ports . namely , the multicast forwarding information includes information on branching of the multicast streams to the users accessing the ports . the multicast forwarding information is managed by the chncf 125 . the multicast forwarding information is provided to the access router 111 . the access router 111 performs channel branching based on the multicast forwarding information . referring to fig2 e , a plurality of the favorite program profiles 310 to 370 corresponding to the users and the days of the week are provided . each of the favorite program profiles 310 to 370 stores a program name 311 , a channel number 312 , a latest broadcasting time 313 , a next broadcasting time 314 , a latest viewing time 315 , a number of viewing times 316 , and a reservation flag 317 in a mapping manner . the program name 311 stores identification information of the favorite programs . the channel number 312 stores identification information for the channel of broadcasting each of the programs . the latest broadcasting time 313 stores starting time and ending time of the most recent broadcasting of each of the programs . the next broadcasting time 314 stores starting and ending time of the next broadcasting of each of reservation - activated programs . the information 311 to 314 is provided by the iptv application server 130 . the latest viewing time 315 stores the latest viewing date and a total viewing time corresponding to the iptv terminal 200 . the number of viewing times 316 stores the number of viewing times for the program within the set available period . the reservation flag 317 stores reservation status of the program . the information 315 to 317 is provided from the iptvscf 121 . in the present invention , the preference for the programs is determined in an order of reserved programs , a most frequently viewed program , an earliest starting program among the reserved programs , and an earliest starting program among non - reserved programs . the pcmf 123 searches and selects a favorite program from the favorite program profile according to the preference and provides information on the selected favorite program to the iptvscf 121 . the iptvscf 121 does not register a program of which a total viewing time is shorter than a minimum viewing time ( for example , five minutes ) as the favorite program , so that it is possible to prevent a temporarily - viewed program at the time of channel zapping from being registered as the favorite program . in addition , the iptvscf 121 clears a program of which latest viewing data is beyond a set available period ( for example , one month ) from the favorite program profile . fig3 a to 3e are flowcharts illustrating a channel control method for an iptv service according to an embodiment of the present invention . firstly , an iptv service access initializing method is described with reference to fig3 a . when the iptv terminal 200 is powered on ( s 101 ), subscriber authentication is performed based on the user id and the user password ( s 102 ). when the authenticated succeeds , the user profile 132 of the authenticated user is loaded on the iptvscf 121 ( s 103 ). the service access configuration for the iptv service is set and initialized based on the user profile 132 ( s 104 ). the favorite program profile 124 is loaded on the pcmf 123 ( s 105 ). next , a channel mode of the iptv terminal 200 is set to a default channel mode determined at the time of service contract ( s 106 ). if the default channel mode is a basic channel mode ( s 107 ), an electronic program guide ( epg ) screen is accessed ( s 107 ), and the method proceeds to a step a for channel change in the increment - decrement manner . if the default channel mode is a favorite program mode ( s 107 ), the method proceeds to a step b for channel change according to channel preference . now , a channel control method in the step a for searching and selection channels in the increment - decrement manner is described with reference to fig3 b . in the a step , if a channel selection signal is input from the iptv terminal 200 , the channel selection signal is analyzed to determine whether the channel of the basic channel controller 212 or the channel of the favorite channel controller 211 is selected . if the channel of the favorite channel controller 211 is selected , the method proceeds to the step b for channel change in the favorite channel mode . if the channel of the basic channel controller 212 is selected , the channel mode is set to the basic channel mode ( s 123 ), an access right to the selected channel is verified ( s 124 ). if the access right to the selected access right is verified to be valid , required resources are checked by analyzing terminal performances , contents features , service contracts , and the like based on the user profile 122 ( s 125 ), and a bandwidth is required to the racf 127 ( s 126 ). next , the chncf 135 requests the access router 111 to perform a channel switching process so as for the access router 111 to provide the selected channel to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 127 and s 128 ). the access router 111 receives the stream of the selected channel and provides the stream to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 129 ), and the method proceeds to a step c . now , a channel control method in the step b for searching and selection channels according to channel preference is described with reference to fig3 c . in the step b , the channel mode is set favorite channel mode ( s 141 ), channel - change - requested days of the week and time periods are checked ( s 142 ). the favorite program profile 124 corresponding to the days of the week is searched ( s 143 ), and after that , a program of which preference is highest within the time period is selected as the favorite program ( s 144 ). when the favorite program is selected , the broadcasting time of the program is compared with a broadcasting schedule of the iptv application server 130 to check whether or not the broadcasting time is changed ( s 145 ). if the broadcasting time of the program is not changed , a message of notifying the starting of the program is transmitted to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 146 ), and bandwidth acquisition is requested ( s 147 ). next , channel switching is processed ( s 148 and s 149 ). when the providing of the channel stream to the iptv terminal 200 starts ( s 150 ), the method proceeds to a step c . if the broadcasting time of the program is changed or cancelled , a message of notifying program broadcasting change is transmitted to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 152 ). subsequently , the next broadcasting time of the program is modified , or the program is cleared from the favorite program profile ( s 153 ). next , the method proceeds to the step s 144 to search for a program having the next preference . if a favorite program corresponding to the day of the week or the time period is not searched from the favorite program profile 124 , an epg is connected , and the channel mode is switched to the basic channel mode ( s 154 ). now , a channel control method in the step c after the providing of the stream of the channel , that is , the channel branching is described with reference to fig3 d . in the step c , during the providing of the channel stream ( s 161 ), if a new event occurs ( s 162 ), the event is analyzed ( s 163 ). as a result of the analysis of the step s 163 , if the event is an event of notifying starting or ending of the program or reservation of the program , the method proceeds to a step d . in the step d , the event of notifying the starting or ending of the program or the reservation of the program is processed . as a result of the analysis of the step s 163 , if the iptv terminal 200 is powered off , charge information according to a viewing time after log - in for the programs and the channels is collected , and if needed , the charge information is transferred to an application server ( not shown ) ( s 164 ) next , viewing history information such as a program name , a channel number , and a viewing time for the latest viewing program is updated ( s 165 ). next , the favorite program profile 124 is updated based on the updated viewing history information by adding and registering or modifying the program viewed just before the power - off ( s 166 ). for example , if the program viewed just before the power - off is registered as the favorite program , the program name , the channel number , the latest broadcasting time , the next broadcasting time , the latest viewing time , the number of viewing times (= 1 ), and the reservation flag ( no ) of the program are stored in the favorite program profile 124 . next , the resources for transmitting the channel stream allocated by the racf 127 are returned to the racf 127 ( s 167 ). next , the favorite program profile clearing is performed to clear programs beyond the set available period from the favorite program profile 124 ( s 168 ), and the iptv service is ended . as a result of the analysis of the step s 163 , if the iptv terminal 200 requests for the channel change , the viewing history information such as a program name , a channel number , and a viewing time of the latest viewing program is updated ( s 169 ). next , the favorite program profile 124 is updated based on the viewing history information ( s 170 ). if the channel requested by the iptv terminal 200 is not suitable for a currently - set channel mode ( s 171 ), the channel mode is changed ( for example , the favorite program mode is changed to the basic channel mode , or vise versa ) ( s 172 ), and after that , the method proceeds to a step e to perform the step 307 of fig3 a . as a result of the analysis of the step s 163 , if the iptv terminal 200 requests for reservation of the currently - viewed program , the program is registered in the favorite program profile 124 , of the next broadcasting time information is modified , and after that , the reservation flag is set to “ yes ” ( s 173 ) next , the method proceeds to the step c to continue to provide the stream for the currently - viewed channel . now , a channel control method in the step d after the occurrence of the event of notifying the starting or ending of the program or the starting of the reserved program is described with reference to fig3 e . in the step d , the event is firstly analyzed ( s 181 ). if the event is an event of starting the favorite program , a message of notifying starting of the program is transmitted to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 182 ), and the providing of the channel stream starts . next , the method proceeds to the step c . if the event is an event of ending the favorite program , the viewing history information is updated based on a program name , a channel number , and a viewing time of the favorite program ( s 183 ), and the favorite program profile 124 is also updated based on the aforementioned information ( s 184 ). next , the method proceeds to the step e to perform the step s 107 of fig3 a . if the event is an event of starting a reserved program , the broadcasting time of the reserved program is compared with the broadcasting schedule to check whether or not the broadcasting time is changed ( s 185 ). if the broadcasting time is not changed , a message of notifying the starting of the program is transmitted to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 186 ), and a band width is acquired ( s 187 ). next , channel switching is processed ( s 188 and s 189 ). when the providing of the channel stream starts ( s 190 ), the method proceeds to the step c to continue to receive the channel stream . if the broadcasting time of the reserved program is changed or cancelled , a message of notifying program broadcasting change is transmitted to the iptv terminal 200 ( s 192 ). subsequently , the next broadcasting time of the program is modified , or the program is cleared from the favorite program profile ( s 193 ). next , the method proceeds to the step b to search for a program having the next preference . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating a favorite program profile managing method according to an embodiment of the present invention . the favorite program profile managing method is performed every time when the pcmf 123 receives a favorite program registration request , a favorite program searching request , a favorite program reservation request , or profile clearing request from the iptvscf 121 . if the iptvscf 121 requests for managing and searching for the favorite program ( s 201 ), the request of the iptvscf 121 is analyzed ( s 202 ). as a result of the analysis of the step s 202 , if the iptvscf 121 requests for registration of the favorite program and provides an user id , a registration - requested date , and viewing history information , a total viewing time of the registration - requested program is extracted from the viewing history information to check whether or not the total viewing time is longer than a minimum viewing time ( for example , five minutes ) ( s 211 ). if the total viewing time is shorter than the minimum viewing time , the registration - requested program is treated as a temporarily - viewed program at the time of the channel change , and the registration operation is not performed . if the total viewing time is longer than the minimum viewing time , the favorite program profile 124 corresponding to the day of the week is searched to check whether or not the program is a previously - registered program ( s 212 ). if the program is not registered previously , the program is registered as the favorite program ( s 213 ). as a result , the program name , the channel number , the latest broadcasting time , the next broadcasting time , the latest viewing time , the number of viewing times (= 1 ), and the reservation flag ( no ) of the program are stored in the favorite program profile 124 . if the program is a previously - registered program , the information of the program such as the latest broadcasting time , the next broadcasting time , the latest viewing time , and the number of viewing times is updated ( s 214 ). as a result of the analysis of the step s 202 , if the iptvscf 121 requests for searching for the favorite program and provides a user id and a searching - requested date and time , a program having the highest preference is searched and selected within the days and time period provided from the iptvscf 121 by using an searching algorithm according to the present invention ( s 221 ). the operation will be described in detail with reference to fig5 . as a result of the analysis of the step s 202 , if the iptvscf 121 requests for reservation of the favorite program , it is checked based on the favorite program file 124 corresponding to the reservation - requested day of the week provided from the iptvscf 121 whether or the program is a previously - registered program ( s 231 ). if the program is not a previously - registered program , the program is registered as the favorite program , and the reservation flag is set to “ yes ” ( s 232 ). if the program is a previously - registered program , and the next broadcasting time is set , and the reservation flag is set to “ yes ” ( s 233 ). as a result of the analysis of the step s 202 , if the iptvscf 121 requests for clearing the favorite program profile , it is checked based on the favorite program file 124 corresponding to the reservation - requested day of the week whether or not the latest viewing time of the program is before an set available period ( for example , one month ) ( s 241 ). if the latest viewing time is before the set available period , the program is cleared from the favorite program profile 124 ( s 242 ), so that the favorite program profile can be optimized . the aforementioned favorite program profile clearing operation is performed every time when the reproduction apparatus 230 is powered off . fig5 is a flowchart illustrating a favorite program searching method according to an embodiment of the present invention . the favorite program searching method is performed every time when the pcmf 123 receives a favorite program searching request . if the favorite program searching request including the searching - request date and time and the user id of the user requesting for the favorite program searching is input ( s 301 ), the favorite program profile 124 corresponding to the search - requesting date , that is , the search - requested day of the week is searched ( s 302 ). next , a program that is to start in the time period closest to the search - requested time period for the reserved program is searched ( s 303 ). the searched program is set to a favorite program having the highest preference ( s 304 ). next , a program that is not reserved but is searched among the programs broadcasted in the searching - requested time period ( s 305 ), and the searched program is set to a favorite program having the next highest preference ( s 304 ). next , the earliest starting program among the programs to be stared after the searching - requested time is searched from the reserved programs ( s 306 ) the searched program is set to the favorite program having the next preference ( s 304 ). finally , the earliest starting program among the programs to be started after the time period of the log - in of the user is searched from the non - reserved programs ( s 307 ) the searched program is set to the favorite program having the lowest preference ( s 304 ). during the aforementioned operations , if the favorite program is not searched , any favorite program is determined not to be set within the searching - requested day and time period , the basic channel mode is performed ( s 308 ). fig6 is a flowchart illustrating a multicast channel branching method according to an embodiment of the present invention . the iptv terminal 200 logs in , and an initialization operation for server is performed ( s 401 ). next , the iptvscf 121 notifies information on the user id , the date , and the time to the pcmf 123 based on the user profile 122 and requests for the favorite program searching ( s 402 ). the pcmf 123 searches for the favorite program based on the received information as shown in fig5 ( s 403 ). the pcmf 123 transmits information on the searched favorite program such as the user id and the channel number to the iptvscf 121 ( s 404 ). the iptvscf 121 registers the information to the multicast session information configured as shown in fig2 b ( s 405 ) namely , the iptvscf 121 adds the iptv terminal 200 to the user list of the users accessing the searched channel . the iptvscf 121 transmits the user id , the user ip address , the port number , and the channel number to the chncf 125 and requests for the multicast channel branching ( s 406 ). the chncf 125 registers the received information to the multicast forwarding information configured as shown in fig2 d ( s 407 ). next , the chncf 125 provides the information to the access router 111 ( s 408 ). the information includes the multicast ip , the port number , and the user ip address . the access router 111 registers the information received from the chncf 125 ( s 409 ). next , the access router 111 performs the channel stream branching based on the information ( s 410 ). although the multicast channel branching method for the providing of only the favorite program in the favorite channel mode is shown in fig6 , the same multicast channel branching method may be applied to the basic channel mode . namely , when the channels in the basic channel mode is selected by the iptvscf 121 , the multicast channel branching for the providing of the channel is performed through the steps s 405 to s 410 . while the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	7
wavelength converting leds are becoming increasingly popular in a variety of lighting applications . one common issue with wavelength converting leds using semiconductor color converters , however , is the non - radiative recombination of charge carriers at the free surfaces of light converting layers . the present description provides a solution to certain surface recombination issues by illustrating a light emitting system with reduced surface recombination . the description therefore provides for a wavelength converting led with greater reliability , efficiency , and improved performance . one embodiment of the currently description is illustrated in fig1 . specifically , fig1 provides a light emitting system 100 . the light emitting system is made up in part of an electroluminescent device 102 . the electroluminescent device 102 serves as the source of light for the light emitting system . more specifically , the electroluminescent device emits a pump light at a first wavelength λ 1 . any number of pump light wavelengths are contemplated . in one embodiment , the pump light will be blue light , or described otherwise , λ 1 will be between about 425 nm and 475 nm . herein , reference to light at a wavelength λ is meant to indicate that the centroid of the spectrum of the light is at the wavelength λ . light of the first wavelength λ 1 may generally exit the electroluminescent device 102 and enter one of two separate types of regions . part of the pump light enters a first semiconductor light converting construction 104 . this semiconductor light converting construction 104 may be attached to the electroluminescent device 102 by an optical adhesive 103 . the first semiconductor light converting construction 104 absorbs pump light of wavelength λ 1 . the first semiconductor light converting construction then emits light of a second wavelength λ 2 that is longer than wavelength λ 1 . in some cases for example , the semiconductor light converting construction may absorb blue pump light , or light having a wavelength of between about 425 nm and 475 nm , in what may be understood as a blue region of the visible spectrum . the construction 104 may then emit some light that is red in color , or light having a wavelength ( λ 2 ) of between about 600 nm and 650 nm , in what may be understood as a red region of the visible spectrum . a portion of the pump light at the first wavelength λ 1 also may travel through the semiconductor light converting construction . in some embodiments , light may exit the first semiconductor light converting construction 104 directly into an overcoat region 118 . as illustrated in fig1 , the overcoat region 118 spans across the entire light emitting system . the overcoat 118 enhances extraction of light from the semiconductor light converting construction . in some cases , the overcoat can include glassy materials or metal oxides , such as al 2 o 3 , tio 2 , zro 2 , la 2 o 3 , ta 2 o 5 , hfo 2 , silicate , silicon nitride , silicon oxynitride , or indium - tin oxide . in some cases , the overcoat can be a semiconductor overcoat , such as an overcoat containing zns , znse , zno or a semiconductor alloy such as zns x se 1 - x . in some cases , the overcoat can be a sol - gel , such as a densified sol - gel . in some cases , the index of refraction of the overcoat is greater than the index of refraction of the outermost layer in the semiconductor light converting construction . in some cases , the overcoat can include at least one of si 3 n 4 , silicon oxynitride , silicate , zns , znse , znte , znsse , znsete , znste , cds , cdse , cdsse , ito , tio 2 , zro 2 , ta 2 o 5 , and hfo 2 . in some cases , overcoat 118 can be a discontinuous layer by , for example , including one or more islands . in some cases , as illustrated in fig1 , overcoat 118 can be a continuous layer . in other embodiments , however , rather than enter directly into the overcoat region 118 , the light that exits the first semiconductor light converting construction 104 of both the first wavelength λ 1 , and the second wavelength λ 2 , enters a second semiconductor light converting construction 108 . the second semiconductor light converting construction 108 , like the first semiconductor light converting construction 104 absorbs the pump light of wavelength λ 1 . the second semiconductor light converting construction then emits light of a third wavelength λ 3 that is different from λ 1 and λ 2 . in some cases for example , the second semiconductor light converting construction may absorb blue pump light , or light having a wavelength of between about 425 nm and 475 nm . the construction 108 may then emit some light that is green in color , or light having a wavelength ( λ 3 ) of between about 525 nm and 555 nm , in what may be understood as the green region of the visible spectrum . a portion of light at the first wavelength λ 1 also may travel through the second semiconductor light converting construction unconverted . in addition , light of the second wavelength λ 2 , which may , for example , be red light , may travel through the second semiconductor light converting construction unconverted . therefore light of the second wavelength λ 2 , the third wavelength λ 3 and even a small amount of unconverted pump light of the first wavelength λ 1 may exit the second semiconductor light converting construction . besides the overcoat region 118 , other measures are contemplated to further aid in enhancing light extraction from the semiconductor light converting constructions . one such measure is illustrated by extraction features 112 formed into the second semiconductor light converting construction 108 . such features may also be etched into first semiconductor light converting construction whether a second semiconductor light converting construction is present or not in the system . in general , light can be extracted by any means suitable in an application . for example , light can be extracted by encapsulation where the encapsulating element can , for example , have a hemispherical profile . light can also be extracted by patterning or texturing , for example roughening , the top and / or lower surfaces of one or more layers in the semiconductor light converting construction . the part of the pump light that exits the electroluminescent device 102 and impinges on a first semiconductor light converting construction is largely converted to light of a second wavelength λ 2 and potentially to light of a third wavelength λ 3 in some embodiments , while the remainder of the pump light travels through non - light converting areas 106 . the non - light converting areas are placed in between each of the first semiconductor light converting constructions ( and potentially second semiconductor light converting constructions ) periodically . at least a portion of each non - light converting area will border on a portion of an edge of a light converting area 120 . the non - light converting area may be made up of any number of materials , provided that the materials do not serve to convert the pump light of the first wavelength λ 1 to a different wavelength light . in one embodiment , the non - light converting area may be made of the same material as the overcoat region 118 . such a construction is illustrated in fig1 . however , the non - light converting area may also be a material that is different from the overcoat region . according to this construction , light 130 may be emitted from the first semiconductor light converting construction primarily at second wavelength λ 2 and partially at pump light wavelength λ 1 , and light 140 of pump wavelength λ 1 is emitted through the non - light converting area without being converted . where a second semiconductor light converting construction is present , again light 140 of pump wavelength λ 1 is emitted through the non - light converting area , while light 130 may be emitted from first and second semiconductor light converting constructions primarily at second wavelength λ 2 and third wavelength λ 3 , and partially at pump light wavelength λ 1 . light 130 and 140 of generally different colors may then mix to a fair degree before being emitted from the surface of the overcoat region 122 . in the case where blue , red and green light correspond to λ 1 , λ 2 , and λ 3 respectively , light may exit surface 122 as white or near - white light . the electroluminescent device may be located on top of a substrate 110 . substrate 110 can include any material that may be suitable in an application . for example , substrate 110 may include or be made of si , ge , gaas , gan , inp , sapphire , sic and znse . in some cases , substrate 110 may be n - doped , p - doped , insulating , or semi - insulating , where the doping may be achieved by any suitable method and / or by inclusion of any suitable dopant . in some cases , light emitting system 100 does not include a substrate 110 . for example , various elements of light emitting system 100 may be formed on substrate 110 and then separated from the substrate by , for example , etching or ablation . while the semiconductor light converting constructions and non - light converting areas along the electroluminescent device serve to provide a mix of color for the light source , concerns may arise with respect to the edge 120 of the semiconductor light converting constructions . the primary concern is that charge carriers that are photogenerated near the edge of the construction may diffuse to the edge 120 and recombine non - radiatively . this leads to degradation of the semiconductor near the edge 120 and lowers reliability and efficiency . it has been discovered , however , that positioning a light blocking structure 114 in specific positions aids in substantially limiting the number of photogenerated carriers near the edge 120 , thus greatly reducing the amount of surface recombination , and increasing performance . as shown in fig1 , the light emitting system may be made up in part of a plurality of light blocking structures . each light blocking structure may be located beneath an edge 120 of a light converting construction 104 . it should be noted that although the light blocking structure may still be covered by adhesive layer 103 , the structure 114 may be understood as partially exposed , if at least a portion of the structure 114 is not beneath the light converting construction 104 . of course , the adhesive layer 103 may be stripped away as well on the exposed portion of the light blocking structure . light blocking structure 114 may be placed between the emission surface 124 of the electroluminescent device 102 and the edge 120 of the first ( or first and second ) semiconductor light converting construction 104 . in other words , the edge 120 of the first ( or first and second ) semiconductor light converting structure is placed over the light blocking structure . in general , the light blocking structure 114 may be located in a range of positions . fig2 a - 2 c illustrate exemplary positions of the structure with respect to an edge of the semiconductor light converting construction . for example , fig2 a illustrates an embodiment in which the light blocking structure 114 is located with half of its area covered by the semiconductor light converting construction 104 and half beneath the non - light converting area , surrounded by optical adhesive 103 . light blocking structure inhibits light from the emission surface 124 of the electroluminescent device 102 from reaching the edge 120 of the semiconductor light converting construction 104 , thereby reducing photogenerated carriers near the edge , and surface recombination at the edge . in at least some embodiment , the light blocking structure 114 should be understood as shadowing at least a portion of the edge 120 of first semiconductor light converting construction from the pump light emitted from led 102 . in certain embodiments , the light blocking structure 114 may shadow the entire edge 120 of the construction 104 , in order to prevent degradation . shadowing may be understood as blocking pump light from reaching the surface . in fig2 b , the light blocking structure 114 is located such that only a minority of its surface is located beneath the light converting area 104 ( surrounded by optical adhesive 103 ). the structure serves to block pump light leaving emission surface 124 of electroluminescent device 102 from reaching the edge 120 . fig2 c illustrates a light blocking structure 114 with a majority of its area covered by the semiconductor light converting construction 104 . only a small portion of the structure 114 is beneath the non - light converting area ( surrounded by optical adhesive 103 ), but it is still capable of blocking light emitted from surface 124 of electroluminescent device 102 from reaching edge 120 . both of the constructions in fig2 b and 2 c are contemplated embodiments according to this description . however , it should be noted , especially with regard to fig2 b that the lateral surface amount of the face of electrode 160 that is under the light converting area should be at least of a certain length . specifically , the face of the structure 114 should extend under the converting area by a lateral distance of at least one minority carrier diffusion length in the semiconductor material from which the converting layer is made , for example a ii - vi material . this distance is required to minimize the number of free carriers reaching the edge of the semiconductor light converting construction . as noted , the light blocking structure may be placed between the emission surface of the electroluminescent device and the edge of a semiconductor light converting construction . the light blocking structure may be in close proximity to the electroluminescent device . in some embodiments , the light blocking structure may be in direct contact with the electroluminescent device . in some embodiments , the light blocking structure may be mechanically coupled to the electroluminescent device . in at least one embodiment the light blocking structures 114 are electrodes . such electrodes may be positioned on the surface of the electroluminescent device and serve to draw current through the electroluminescent device to generate light . in other words , the electrodes may not only function to block light but also function to bias the electroluminescent device or provide some electrical function . in the case where light blocking structures 114 are electrodes , a variety of suitable materials may be used . the electrodes may be made of any suitable material known in the art , including but not limited to metals , or metal alloys including : gold , silver , aluminum , nickel , titanium , chromium , platinum , palladium , rhodium , rhenium , ruthenium , tungsten , indium and mixtures and alloys of such . electrodes may typically be driven by an external controller that is connected by wiring . electrodes may also be understood as being in electrical contact with the electroluminescent device . for instance , the electrodes may be in a closed electrical circuit with the electroluminescent device . in the case where light blocking structure 114 is an electrode , semiconductor light converting construction ( s ) 104 ( and 108 ) may be selectively etched away to allow for bonding to the appropriate portion of the electrode . where adhesive layer 103 is present , this may also be etched away to allow for bonding . other light blocking structures 114 are also contemplated . so long as the structure is opaque to light traveling through the construction and therefore blocks light at the surface of the semiconductor light converting construction , it will provide the desired effect . however , the structure may also be chosen based upon further desirable mechanical , optical , or electrical properties . in general , first and / or second semiconductor light converting constructions can include any element or material capable of converting at least a portion of the light at one wavelength to light at a different wavelength . for example , the construction 104 or 108 can include a semiconductor potential well , a quantum well , or multiple of each . as used herein , potential well means semiconductor layer ( s ) in a multilayer semiconductor structure ( or semiconductor light converting construction ) designed to confine a carrier in one dimension only , where the semiconductor layer ( s ) has a lower conduction band energy than the surrounding layers and / or a higher valence band energy than the surrounding layers . quantum well generally means a potential well which is sufficiently thin that quantization effects increase the energy for electron - hole pair recombination in the well . a quantum well typically has a thickness of about 100 nm or less , or about 10 nm or less . in some cases , a potential or quantum well includes a ii - vi semiconductor potential or quantum well that has a transition energy e pw that that is smaller than the energy hν 1 of a photon emitted by electroluminescent device . in general , the transition energy of a potential or quantum well is substantially equal to the energy hν 2 of a photon that is re - emitted by the potential or quantum well . as noted , in certain embodiments , the first and / or second semiconductor light converting constructions may include one or more potential wells made up of semiconductor materials in the ii - vi family of materials . in some cases , the potential well can include cdmgznse alloys having compounds znse , cdse , and mgse as the three constituents of the alloy . in some cases , one or more of cd , mg , and zn , especially mg , may be absent from the alloy . for example , the potential well can include a cd 0 . 70 zn 0 . 30 se quantum well capable of re - emitting in the red , or a cd 0 . 33 zn 0 . 67 se quantum well capable of re - emitting in the green . as another example , a potential well can include an alloy of cd , zn , se , and optionally mg , in which case , the alloy system can be represented by cd ( mg ) znse . as another example , a potential well can include an alloy of cd , mg , se , and optionally zn . in some cases , the potential well can include znsete . in some cases , a quantum well has a thickness in a range from about 1 nm to about 100 nm , or from about 2 nm to about 35 nm . other embodiments of the semiconductor light converting constructions may include iii - v semiconductors such at algainp , algaas or algainn . in general , potential wells can have a variety of conduction and / or valence band profiles . exemplary profiles are described in , for example , u . s . patent application no . 60 / 893804 . in some cases , potential wells can be n - doped or p - doped where the doping can be accomplished by any suitable method and by inclusion of any suitable dopant . in some cases , the electroluminescent device and a potential well can be from two different semiconductor groups . for example , in such cases , the electroluminescent device 102 can be a iii - v semiconductor device and the potential well can be a ii - vi potential well . in some cases , electroluminescent device 102 can include algainn semiconductor alloys and the potential well can include cd ( mg ) znse semiconductor alloys where a material enclosed in parentheses is an optional material . in general , semiconductor light converting construction 104 and / or 108 can have one or more potential wells . in some cases , constructions 104 and / or 108 can have multiple potential wells . for example , in such cases , construction 104 and / or 108 can have at least 2 potential wells , or at least 5 potential wells , or at least 10 potential wells . in some cases , construction 104 and / or 108 can have at least two potential wells , or at least three potential wells , or at least four potential wells , with different transition energies . in order to understand better the semiconductor light converting construction , one may reference fig3 . here potential wells 210 are located throughout the construction . in this case , potential wells 210 a may be understood as converting light from a first wavelength λ 1 to a second wavelength λ 2 and potential wells 210 b may be understood as converting light from a first wavelength λ 1 to a third wavelength λ 3 . in general , however , semiconductor light converting constructions may also have one or more layers that are non - potential well layers . one particularly useful type of non - potential well layers is an absorbing layer 220 . in fact , in one exemplary semiconductor light converting construction , the construction may be made of alternating layers of potential well layers 210 a or 210 b and absorbing layers 220 . the absorbing layers 220 aid in absorbing light of the pump wavelength , or first wavelength λ 1 that is not converted to a second or third wavelength , λ 2 or λ 3 by the potential well layers . the amount , and thickness of absorbing layers 220 used may depend upon the desired color balance to be achieved from light emitted out of the semiconductor light converting construction . absorbing layers 220 at different positions in the stack also may be tuned to absorb light of different wavelengths . therefore , layers 220 in fig3 may have different absorptive properties depending upon whether they are placed proximate the red light converting region 210 a or green light converting region 210 b . in addition , although such layers are not themselves light converting , they may also aid in light conversion by creating photo - generated electron - hole pairs that diffuse from the absorbing layers into the potential wells . this is why it is beneficial to have light absorbing layers 220 placed proximate the potential wells 210 a and 210 b . the stack may also be understood as including a window layer 230 . the window layer may be present at an entrance to the stack abutting , in the illustrated figure , absorbing layer 220 . window layers may also be placed on the opposite side of the stack . window layers are provided to provide high energy band barriers so that free carriers that are photo - generated in an absorbing layer and / or potential well have no , or very little , chance to diffuse to a free or an external end surface of the stack . in some situations , it may be desirable to control the diffusion of photogenerated carriers between absorber layers by including internal barrier layers . for example , a barrier layer 240 may be placed between a red converting potential well and green converting potential well ( as illustrated in fig3 ). in such a case free carriers from absorber layers adjacent the green potential well 210 b are not allowed to diffuse through the construction towards the red potential well 210 a , but rather are forced to recombine in the green potential well 210 b or move towards the surface . barrier layer 240 achieves this because its band gap energy is greater than that of the absorption layer and greater than the potential well in the blocked region , 210 b . electroluminescent device 102 can be any device capable of emitting light in response to an electrical signal . for example , an electroluminescent device can be a light emitting diode ( led ) or a laser diode capable of emitting photons in response to an electrical current . an led electroluminescent device 102 can emit light at any wavelength that may be desirable in an application . for example , the led can emit light at a uv wavelength , a visible wavelength , or an ir wavelength . in general , the led can be composed of any suitable materials , such as organic semiconductors or inorganic semiconductors , including group iv elements such as si or ge ; iii - v compounds such as inas , alas , gaas , inp , alp , gap , insb , alsb , gasb , gan , aln , inn and alloys of iii - v compounds such as algainp and algainn ; ii - vi compounds such as znse , cdse , bese , mgse , znte , cdte , bete , mgte , zns , cds , bes , mgs and alloys of ii - vi compounds , or alloys of any of the compounds listed above . in some cases , electroluminescent device 102 can include one or more p - type and / or n - type semiconductor layers , one or more active layers that may include one or more potential and / or quantum wells , buffer layers , substrate layers , and superstate layers . in some cases , electroluminescent device 102 can be a iii - v semiconductor light source , such as a iii - v led , and may include algainn semiconductor alloys . for example , electroluminescent device 102 can be a gan based led . as another example , electroluminescent device 102 can be a ii - vi led , such as a zno based led . in another aspect , the present description relates to a method of making a light emitting system . fig4 provides a step - by - step illustration of the method for making light emitting systems according to the current description . referencing fig4 , the first step in the process is to provide an led 302 with an emission surface 324 . in at least some embodiments , the led 302 and subsequent layers are grown on a growth substrate 310 at interface 350 as illustrated in fig4 . the led includes a plurality of electrodes 344 on the emission surface 324 . note that in the articles of fig1 and 2 a - c , an opaque light blocking structure 114 is disclosed that may in fact be an electrode . in the method described herein , an electrode is specifically disclosed , and is labeled as element 344 . in the next step , a wavelength converter layer 304 is disposed onto the emission surface 324 of the led . the step of disposing may include , for example , bonding the converter layer to the led using , for example , an optical adhesive layer 303 . in the third step a portion of the wavelength converter layer 304 is removed to create an edge of the converter layer and expose at least a portion directly above an electrode 344 in the plurality of electrodes . this may result in part of the electrode being covered by converter layer 304 and part of the electrode being exposed ( except for the adhesive layer 303 ). this removal may be accomplished by etching away part of the wavelength converter layer 304 . one particularly useful method of etching for this step may be photolithography followed by wet etching . in some cases , appropriate dry etching techniques may also be used . this removal results in an aperture ( or non - light converting area ) 306 in the wavelength converter 304 , where the aperture may also be understood as a non - light converting area . the electrode 344 serves to inhibit light from reaching an edge of the wavelength converter layer from the emission surface 324 of the led . the electrode 344 may shadow oa portion of the edge 320 of light converting construction 304 . in some embodiments the electrode 344 may shadow the entire edge 320 of the construction 304 . it is to be understood that the steps associated with this method may be performed sequentially as explained above , or in a different sequence . in another step , not illustrated in fig4 , a growth substrate 310 may be removed from the converter layer 304 . this removal can be achieved by etching , and in particular , in some cases , by selective wet etching until reaching surface 350 . in some cases , appropriate dry etching techniques may be used for all or a portion of the removal step as well . another potential step in some embodiments of the current method may involve etching light extraction features into the wavelength converter layer . such extraction features may correspond to the features 112 discussed with respect to fig1 . another potential step that may be included in the method is etching through the wavelength converter edge surface 320 at a position above a portion of the electrode 344 . this step may allow for wire bonding to be achieved with the electrode , if such wire bonding is not already possible with the current exposure of the electrode . a further possible step may involve applying an overcoat region over the wavelength converter layer 304 and apertures ( non - light converting areas ) 306 on the side opposite from the electroluminescent device 302 . the application may result in an article such as that pictured in fig1 , for example . in addition , as also illustrated by the finished article in fig1 , the method may also include stacking a second wavelength converter layer ( see 108 in fig1 ) on top of the first wavelength converter layer . the second wavelength converter layer will convert light to a different wavelength than the first wavelength converter layer . the second layer may be stacked on the first layer before etching , as one continuous layer , or after etching , as discrete portions corresponding to each portion of the first converting layer remaining after creating the apertures or non - light converting areas 106 . the first and second wavelength converter layers may , as noted above , be made up of ii - vi material , such as cd , zn , se and optionally mg . the electroluminescent device 102 may be made of any suitable semiconductor material for use in leds , for example , a iii - iv semiconductor material the lateral surface amount of electrode 160 that remains covered by the wavelength converting layer after etching away the wavelength converting layer to create an aperture ( or non - light converting area ) should be at least of a certain length . specifically , the covered upper face of the structure 144 should have a lateral distance of at least one minority carrier diffusion length in the ii - vi material from which the converting layer is made . this distance is effective to ensure a very small number of photogenerated carriers diffuse to the etched edge , and therefore minimal surface recombination occurs at the edge .	7
the present invention will be illustrated by the embodiment described below . toners constituting developers with carriers for developing a latent image produced by conventional known method may be used according to the present invention . specifically , after a mixture consisting of binder resin , a coloring agent , a polarity controlling agent and any other additives according to need is melted and kneaded by a thermal roll mill , the product is cooled and solidified , and the toners are obtained by pulverizing and classifying the product . in this case , as for a binder resin , all well - known materials can be used . for example , a homopolymer of styrene or a substituted one thereof such as polystyrene , poly - p - styrene , polyvinyl toluene , a styrene - based copolymer such as copoly ( styrene / chlorostyrene ), copoly ( styrene / propylene ), copoly ( styrene / vinyltoluene ), copoly ( styrene / methyl acrylate ), copoly ( styrene / ethyl acrylate ), copoly ( styrene / butyl acrylate ), copoly ( styrene / methyl methacrylate ), copoly ( styrene / ethyl methacrylate ), copoly ( styrene / butyl methacrylate ), copoly ( styrene / α - methyl chloromethacrylate ), copoly ( styrene / acrylonitrile ), copoly ( styrene / methyl vinyl ether ), copoly ( styrene / methyl vinyl ketone ), copoly ( styrene / butadiene ), copoly ( styrene / isoprene ), copoly ( styrene / maleic acid ), and copoly ( styrene / maleate ), poly ( methacrylate ), polybutyl methacrylate , polyvinyl chloride , polyvinyl acetate , polyethylene , polypropylene , polyester , polyurethane , polyamide , epoxy resin , polyvinyl butyral , polyacrylate resin , rosin , modified rosin , terpene resin , phenol resin , aliphatic hydrocarbon resin , aromatic petroleum resin , chlorinated paraffin , and paraffin wax , etc . may be used independently or as a mixture thereof . as for a polarity controlling agent , a conventionally known material can be used . for example , a metallic complex salt of azo dye , nitrohumic acid and a salt thereof , an amino compound of a metal complex of salicylic acid , naphthoic acid , and dicarboxylic acid with co , cr , and fe etc ., a quaternary ammonium compound , organic dye , etc . may be used . consumed quantity of the polarity controlling material used for the toner is determined by the kind of binder resin , presence or absence of additives used according to need , and a method of producing the toner including dispersion method , and will vary accordingly . however , from 0 . 1 to 20 parts by weight of the polarity controlling agent to 100 parts by weight of a binder material is prefered . if the above mentioned polarity controlling agent proportion is less than 0 . 1 parts by weight , charge quantity of the toners is deficient so that such a polarity controlling agent proportion is not practical . also , if the proportion of polarity controlling agent is larger than 20 parts by weight , the charge quantity of the toners is too large and the electrostatic attractive force between the toner and the carrier will increase , so that decrease of the fluidity of the developer and decrease of the image density will result . as for a black coloring agent included in the toners , for example , carbon black , aniline black , furnace black , and lamp black may be used . as for a cyan coloring agent , for example , phthalocyanine blue , methylene blue , victoria blue , methyl violet , aniline blue , and ultramarine blue may be used . as for a magenta coloring agent , for example , rhodamine 6 g lake , dimethylquinacridone , watching red , rose bengal , rhodamine b , and alizarin lake may be used . as for a yellow coloring agent , for example , chrome yellow , benzidine yellow , hansa yellow , naphthol yellow , molybdenum orange , quinoline yellow , and tartrazine may be used . furthermore , a toner including a magnetic material can be used as a magnetic toner . as a magnetic material included in a magnetic toner , an iron oxide such as magnetite , hematite , and ferrite , a metal such as iron , cobalt , nickel or an alloy among these metals and metals such as aluminum , cobalt , copper , lead , magnesium , tin , zinc , antimony , beryllium , bismuth , cadmium , calcium , manganese , selenium , titanium , tungsten , vanadium , and a mixture thereof may be used . the ferromagnetic material will preferably have an averaged particle diameter of about from 0 . 1 to 2 μm , and the quantity included in the toners is about 20 to 200 parts by weight , and more preferably 40 to 150 parts by weight combined with 100 parts by weight of resin component . also , as an additive added to the toner , an inorganic powder of cerium oxide , silicon dioxide , titanium oxide , silicon carbide , etc can be used . colloidal silica is particularly preferable as a toner additive . a carrier capable of being used in the present invention , is for example , a powder having magnetic properties such as iron powder , ferrite powder , and nickel powder and a powder of which a surface thereof is treated by resin , etc . in order to develop a latent image faithfully by stabilizing frictional electrification of the toners used in the present invention , the toners are preferably coated by a resin and / or a silicone compound . thereby , control of toner charging can be also performed . as for a resin to form a coating layer of a carrier , for example , a silicone - based compound and a fluorocarbon resin can be preferably used . as for a fluorocarbon resin to form a coating layer of a carrier , for example , a perfluoropolymer such as polyvinyl fluoride , polyvinylidene fluoride , polytrifluoro ethylene , polychloro trifluoro ethylene , polytetrafluoro ethylene , polyperfluoro propylene , copolymer of vinylidene flioride and acrylic monomer , copoly ( vinylidene fluoride / chlorotrifluoroethylene ), copoly ( tetrafluoroethylene / hexafluoropropylene ), copoly ( vinyl fluoride / vinylidene fluoride ), copoly ( vinylidene fluoride / tetrafluoroethylene ), copoly ( vinylidene fluoride / hexafluoropropylene ), and fluoroterpolymer such as terpolymer of tetrafluoroethylene , vinylidene fluoride , and a non - fluoridated monomer are preferably used . in formation of a coating layer of a carrier , the fluorocarbon resin described above may be used independently or as a mixture thereof . a mixture of the resin and other polymers may be used . as for a silicon - based compound to form a coating layer of a carrier , for example , a polysiloxane such as methylpolysiloxane and methylphenylpolysiloxane is used ; and a modified resin such as alkyd modified silicon , epoxy modified silicon , polyester modified silicon , urethane modified silicon , and acryl modified silicon can be also used . as for a modified form of the resin , block copolymer , graft copolymer , and wedge garft - polysiloxane can be used . with respect to application to surfaces of actual magnetic particles , a method in which the resin is sprayed on the magnetic particles by immersing or fluid bed can be carried out . as for a material of a substrate of the carrier used in the present invention , for example , a metal such as surface - oxidized or unoxidized iron , nickel , cobalt , manganese , chromium , and rare earth elements , and an alloy or oxides thereof can be used . however , preferably a metal oxide , and more preferably ferrite particles , will be used . the production method is not limited . as to the proportion of the carriers and the toners according to the present invention , both particles are preferably mixed such that toner particles adhere to the surface of the carrier particles and occupy about from 30 to 90 % of the surface area of the carrier particles . next , an electro - photographic photo conductor used in the present invention will be illustrated with attached drawings . fig2 shows a cross - section of an electro - photographic photo conductor used in the present invention . the single photosensitive layer 43 including mainly a charge generating material and a charge transfer material is laid on the conductive supporter 41 , and the protective layer 49 is laid on the photosensitive layer . fig3 shows a cross - section of an electro - photographic photo conductor having another structure used in the present invention . in fig3 , the photosensitive layer has a structure such that the charge generating layer 45 including mainly a charge generating material and the charge transfer layer 47 including mainly a charge transfer material are laminated , and the protective layer 49 is laid on the charge transfer layer 47 . fig4 shows a cross - section of an electro - photographic photo conductor having another structure used in the present invention . in fig4 , the photosensitive layer has structure such that the charge transfer layer 47 including mainly a charge transfer material and the charge generating layer 45 including mainly a charge generating material are laminated , and the protective layer 49 is laid on the charge generating layer 45 . as for the conductive supporter 41 , a product of a plastic in the form of film or a cylinder or a paper coated with a material having conductivity specified with volume resistivity equal to or less than 10 10 ω - cm , which is for example , a metal such as aluminum , nickel , chromium , nichrome , copper , gold , silver , and platinum or a metal oxide such as tin oxide and indium oxide , formed by vapor deposition or sputtering can be used . also , a plate made from aluminum , aluminum alloy , nickel , or stainless etc . and a pipe which is roughly formed by extrusion and drawing process from the plate followed by surface treatment such as cutting , super finishing , and polishing . can be used . an endless nickel belt and an endless stainless belt can be used as the conductive supporter 41 , which is disclosed on japanese laid - open patent application no . 52 - 36016 . also , a cylindrical supporter made from aluminum , to which anodizing can be easily applied , can be best used . the referred term “ aluminum ” includes both pure aluminum and an aluminum alloy . specifically , aluminum selected from jis no . 1000 , 3000 , and 6000 groups or an aluminum alloy is most appropriate . an oxide film on an anode is formed by anodizing each kind of metal or each kind of metal alloy in electrolyte solution . however , the coating called alumite in which aluminum or an aluminum alloy is anodized in electrolyte solution is most appropriate for a photo conductor used in the present invention . especially , the above preferred conductive supporter excels in respect to preventing point defects ( black points and stains on image background ) from being generated when it is used in reverse development ( negative or positive development ). anodizing is carried out in acid solution of chromic acid , sulfuric acid , oxalic acid , phosphoric acid , boric acid and sulfamic acid , etc . anodizing in a sulfuric acid bath is most appropriate . for example , anodizing is carried out under the conditions in which the concentration of sulfuric acid is 10 - 20 %, bath temperature is 5 - 25 ° c ., current density is 1 - 4 a / dm 2 , bath voltage is 5 - 30v , and time period for anodizing is about 5 - 60 minutes , but anodizing is not limited to these conditions . the oxidation film on an anode formed like above is porous and has high insulating property so that a surface of the film is in unstable condition . therefore , time variation of the anodized film may occur , and a physical value for the film is likely to be varied . in order to prevent the variation , it is preferable to further apply a sealing treatment to the anodized film . as sealing treatment , several methods can be used , that is , a method to immerse the anodized film in a solution including nickel fluoride or nickel acetate , a method to immerse the anodized film in boiling water , and a method to treat the film by pressure steam . among the methods , the method of immersion in a solution including nickel acetate is most preferable . a washing treatment is applied to anodized film following the sealing treatment . a main object of the washing treatment is to remove excess metal salt , etc ., adhering as a result of the sealing treatment . if the excessive salt remains on a surface of the supporter ( the anodized film ), since low resistance components in the salt generally remain , the components cause generation of stains on image background as well as adverse effects on the quality of coating film formed on the surface . although the washing treatment may be accomplished with purified water , multi - step washing is commonly performed . in this case , it is preferable for cleaning liquid to be used at final washing to be as clean ( deionized ) as possible . also , it is desirable to physically rub the conductive supporter during washing by using a contact member in a process within a multi - step washing process . it is preferable that film thickness of the anodized film formed like above be about from 5 to 15 μm . if the thickness is thinner than 5 μm , the effect of barrier property of the anodized film is not enough . if the thickness is thicker than 15 μm , the time constant of the film as an electrode become too large , and generation of residual potential and deterioration of response of a photo conductor may occur . as for the conductive supporter ( 41 ) according to the present invention , a product formed by applying a suitable binding resin in which conductive powders are dispersed on the supporter , can be used . the conductive powder may be carbon black , acetylene black , metal powder made from a metal such as aluminum , nickel , iron , nichrome , copper , zinc , and silver , or metal oxide powder made from a metal oxide such as conductive tin oxide and ito . as for the binding resin used at the same time , thermoplastic , thermosetting , and photo - curing resin such as polystyrene , copoly ( styrene / acryronitrile ), copoly ( styrene / butadiene ), copoly ( styrene / maleic anhydride ), polyester , polyvinyl chloride , copoly ( vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate ), polyvinyl acetate , polyvinylidene chkoride , polyarylate resin , phenoxy resin , polycarbonate , acetylcellulose resin , ethylcellulose resin , polyvinylbutyral resin , polyvinyl formal resin , polyvinyl toluene , poly - n - vinyl carbazole , acrylic resin , silicone resin , epoxy resin , melamine formaldehyde resin , urethane resin , phenol resin , and alkyd resin , are given . such a conductive layer can be formed by applying a product in which the conductive powder and the binding resin are dispersed in an appropriate solvent , for example , tetrahydrofuran , dichloromethane , ethyl methyl ketone , and toluene , on the supporter . further , a product formed by laying a conductive layer which is a heat contraction tube produced by adding the conductive powder to a material such as polyvinyl chloride , polypropylene , polyester , polystyrene , polyvinylidene chloride , ployethylene , chlorinated rubber , and teflon , on an appropriate cylindrical substrate , can be used as for the conductive supporter 41 according to the present invention . next the photosensitive layer will be illustrated . the photosensitive layer may be a single layer or a laminated layer . a photosensitive layer consisting of the charge generation layer 45 and the charge transfer layer 47 is illustrated at first . the charge generation layer 45 is a layer including a charge generation material as a main component and may be made from a binder resin according to need . an inorganic material and an organic material can be used as a charge generation material . the inorganic material may be crystal selenium , amorphous selenium , selenium - tellurium system , selenium - tellurium - halogen system , selenium - arsenic system , and amorphous silicon , etc . with respect to amorphous silicon , amorphous silicon in which dangling bond is terminated by hydrogen atom and / or halogen atoms or in which boron atom and / or phosphorus atom are doped , is used well . as for the organic material , a well - known material can be used . for example , phthalocyanine - based pigment such as phthalocyanine containing a metal ion , phthalocyanine not containing a metal ion , azulenium salt pigment , methyl squarate pigment , azo pigment having carbazole skelton , azo pigment having triphenylamine skelton , azo pigment having diphenylamine skelton , azo pigment having dibenzothiophene skeleton , azo pigment having fluorenone skelton , azo pigment having oxadiazole skelton , azo pigment having bis - stilbene skelton , azo pigment having distyryloxadiazole skelton , azo pigment having distyrylcarbazole skelton , perylene - based pigment , anthraquinone - based or polycyclic quinone - based pigment , quinoneimine - based pigment , diphenylmethane and triphenylmethane - based pigment , benzoquinone and naphthoquinone - based pigment , cyanine and azomethyne - based pigment , indigoid - based pigment , bis - benzimidazole - based pigment are given . the charge generating materials may be utilized independently or as a mixture of more than one kind thereof . azo pigments and / or phthalocyanine pigments are effectively utilized . especially , azo pigments represented by the following structural formula ( a ): and titanylphthalocyanine ( escpecially , having at least a maximum diffraction peak at 27 . 2 ° as diffraction peak at bragg angle 2θ (± 0 . 2 °) for characteristic x - ray of cukα ) can be effectively utilized . cp 1 and cp 2 in the formula ( a ) are coupler residues , which are identical or different from each other . r 201 , and r 202 are respecively selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom , halogen atoms , alkyl groups , alkoxy groups , and cyano group , which are identical or different from each other . also , cp 1 and cp 2 are represented by the following structural formula ( b ). r 203 in the formula ( b ) is selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom , alkyl groups such as methyl group and ethyl group , and aryl groups such as phenyl group . r 204 , r 205 , r 206 , r 207 , and r 208 are independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom , nitro group , cyano group , halogen atoms such as fluorine , chlorine , bromine , and iodine , trifluoromethyl group , alkyl groups such as methyl group and ethyl group , alkoxy groups such as methoxy group and ethoxy group , dialkylamino group , and hydroxyl group , and z represents an atom group required for forming a substituted or non - substituted aromatic carbon ring or a substituted or non - substituted aromatic heterocyclic ring . especially , an asymmetric azo pigment in which said cp 1 and cp 2 have different structures from each other has better photosensitivity than a symmetric azo pigment in which said cp 1 and cp 2 have structures identical to each other . the asymmetric azo pigment can respond to downsizing a diameter of a photo conductor and to speed up used process , to be effectively utilized . also , in titanylphthalocyanine having a maximum diffraction peak at 27 . 2 ° as diffraction peak at bragg angle 2θ (± 0 . 2 °), particularly , titanylphthalocyanine having a peak at 7 . 3 ° as a minimum angle can be effectively utilized . the charge generating materials may be utilized independently or as a mixture of more than ne kind thereof . as for a binding resin used in the charge enerating layer , according to need , polyamide , polyurethane , epoxy resin , polyketone , polycarbonate , silicon resin , acrylic resin , polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl formal , polyvinyl ketone , polystyrene , polysulfone , poly - n - vinyl carbazole , polyacrylamide , polyvinyl benzal , polyester , phenoxy resin , copoly ( vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate ), polyphenylene oxide , polyamide , polyvinyl pyridine , cellulose based resin , casein , polyvinyl alcohol , and polyvinyl pyrrolidone etc . are given . appropriate quantity of the binding resin is from 0 to 500 parts by weight , and preferably from 10 to 300 parts by weight , to 100 parts by weight of the charge generating material . as for a method for forming the charge generating layer 45 , vacuum thin film process and casting process from solution and dispersion systems are mainly given . with respect to the former method , vacuum vapor deposition , glow discharge decomposition , ion plating , sputtering , reactive sputtering , and cvd method , etc ., are used to form the charge generating layer 45 made from an inorganic material or an organic material described above . in order to form the charge generating layer by the latter casting method , the layer can be formed by applying an appropriately diluted dispersion liquid in which the inorganic or organic charge generating material described above is dispersed , with a binder resin if necessary , in a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran , cyclohexane , dioxane , dichloroethane , and butanone by means of ball mill , atriter , sand mill etc . as for the application , a method such as immersion coating , spray coating , bead coating , nozzle coating , spinner coating , and ring coating can be used . the film thickness of the charge generating layer 45 is appropriately about from 0 . 01 to 5 μm and more preferably from 0 . 1 to 2 μm . the charge transfer layer 47 is formed by applying and drying the solution or dispersion liquid in which a charge transfer material and a binder resin are dissolved or dispersed into an appropriate solvent . if necessary , a plasticizer , a leveling agent , and an antioxidant may be added to the solution and the dispersion liquid . the charge transfer materials are classified as hole transfer materials and electron transfer materials . as for the charge transfer material , for example , an electron - accepting material such as chloranyl , bromanyl , tetracyanoethylene , tetracyanoquinodimethane , 2 , 4 , 7 - trinitro - 9 - fluorenone , 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 - tetranitro - 9 - fluorenone , 2 , 4 , 5 - tetranitroxanthone , 2 , 4 , 8 - trinitrothioxanthone , 2 , 6 , 8 - trinitro - 4h - indeno [ 1 , 2 - b ] thiophene - 4 - one , 1 , 3 , 7 - trinitrodibenzothiophene - 5 , 5 - dioxide ; and benzoquinone derivatives are given . as for a hole transfer material , poly - n - vinyl carbazole and derivatives thereof , poly - γ - carbazolyl ethyl glutamate and derivatives thereof , a condensate of pyrene and formaldehyde and derivatives thereof , polyvinyl pyrene , polyvinyl phenanthrene , polysilane , oxazole derivatives , oxadiazole derivatives , imidazole derivatives , monoarylamine derivatives , diarylamine derivatives , triarylamine derivatives , stilbene derivatives , α - phenylstilbene derivatives , benzidine derivatives , diarylmethane derivatives , triarylmethane derivatives , 9 - styrylanthracene derivatives , pyrazoline derivatives , divinylbenzene derivatives , hydrazone derivatives , indene derivatives , butadiene derivatives , pyrene derivatives , bis - stilbene derivatives , enamine derivatives , and other well - known materials are given . the charge transfer materials are utilized independently or as a mixture of more than one kind thereof . as for a binding resin , thermoplastic or thermosetting resin such as polystyrene , copoly ( styrene / acryronitrile ), copoly ( styrene / butadiene ), copoly ( styrene / maleic anhydride ), polyester , polyvinyl chloride , copoly ( vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate ), polyvinyl acetate , polyvinylidene chkoride , polyarylate resin , phenoxy resin , polycarbonate , acetylcellulose resin , ethylcellulose resin , polyvinyl butyral resin , polyvinyl formal resin , polyvinyl toluene , poly - n - vinyl carbazole , acrylic resin , silicone resin , epoxy resin , melamine formaldehyde resin , urethane resin , phenol resin , and alkyd resin etc . are given . appropriate quantity of the charge transfer material is from 20 to 300 parts by weight , and preferably from 40 to 150 parts by weight , to 100 parts by weight of a binder resin . it is preferable that the film thickness of the charge transfer layer be about from 5 to 100 μm . as for solvent used here , tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , toluene , dichloromethane , monochlorobenzene , dichloroethane , cyclohexane , ethyl methyl ketone and acetone etc . are given . also , a polymer having electron - donating groups can be included in the charge transfer layer . a polymer having electron - donating groups includes a polymeric charge transfer material having a function as a charge transfer material and a function as a binder resin , or a polymer of which monomers or oligomers have electron - donating groups at time of film formation of the charge transfer layer and a two or three dimensional crosslinking structure is formed at last by setting reaction or crosslinking reaction after film formation . a charge transfer layer consisting of the polymeric charge transfer material or a polymer having closslinking structure excels in respect to wear resistance . generally , in a electro - photographic process , since electric potential at the charged areas ( electric potential at the unexposed areas ) is constant , if a surface layer of a photo conductor is worn by repeated use , electric field strength applied to a photo conductor becomes stronger depending on the wear . since generation frequency of stains on the background become higher with elevation of the electric field strength , high wear resistance of a photo conductor is advantageous for preventing the stains on the background . a charge transfer layer consisting of the polymeric charge transfer materials excels in film formation property and in charge transfer efficieny since the charge transfer layer is formed to be at a high density compared to the charge transfer layer consisting of low molecular weight dispersion type polymer . thereby , a photo conductor having a charge transfer layer formed by the polymeric charge transfer material is expected to have high speed response . as for the polymeric charge transfer material , although well - known materials can be used , a polycarbonate containing triarylamine structure in its main chain and / or its side chain is well utilized . especially , a polymeric charge transfer material represented by the general formula ( i ) to ( x ), which will be shown below , is well used , and the embodiments of the material will also be shown below . in the formula ( i ), r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 are independently selected from a group consisting of substituted or not substituted alkyl groups containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or halogen groups . r 4 is hydrogen atom or substituted or not substituted alkyl groups containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms . r 5 and r 6 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups . o , p , and q are independently selected from integers from 0 to 4 . k and j mean composition of the compound and satisfy relations 0 . 1 ≦ k ≦ 1 and 0 ≦ j ≦ 0 . 9 . n means repeating units and is an integer from 0 to 5000 . x is an aliphatic divalent group , alicyclic divalent group , or a divalent group represented by the following general formula . in the above formula , r 101 and r 102 are independently selected from a group consisting of substituted or not substituted alkyl groups containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms , substituted or not substituted aryl groups and halogen atom , respectively . l and m are integers from 0 to 4 . y is selected a group consisting of from a single bond , alkylene groups being straight or branched chain or ring having 1 to 12 carbon atoms , — o —, — s —, — so —, — co —, — co — o — z — o — co — in which z is aliphatic divalent group , or in the above formula , a is 1 or 2 . b is an integer from 1 to 2000 . r 103 , and r 104 are substituted or not substituted alkyl groups containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or substituted or not substituted aryl groups . herein , r 101 and r 102 , and r 103 and r 104 are identical or different from each other . in the above formula , r 7 and r 8 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 1 , ar 2 , and ar 3 are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 9 and r 10 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 4 , ar 5 , and ar 6 are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 11 and r 12 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 7 , ar 8 , and ar 9 are identical or different arylene groups . p is an integer from 1 to 5 . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 13 and r 14 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 10 , ar 11 , and ar 12 are identical or different arylene groups . x 1 and x 2 are substituted or not substituted ethylene groups or substituted or not substituted vinylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 15 , r 16 , r 17 , and r 18 are substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 13 , ar 14 , ar 15 and ar 16 are identical or different arylene groups . y 1 , y 2 and y 3 are selected from a group consisting of a single bond , substituted or not substituted alkylene groups , substituted or not substituted cycloalkylene groups , substituted or not substituted oxyalkylene groups , oxygen atom , sulfur atom , and vinylene group , and may be identical or different from each other . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 19 and r 20 are selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom and substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and r 19 and r 20 have ring structures respectively . ar 17 , ar 18 and ar 19 are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 21 is selected from substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 20 , ar 21 , ar 22 and ar 23 , are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 22 , r 23 , r 24 and r 25 , are selected from substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 24 , ar 25 , ar 26 , ar 27 , and ar 28 , are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). in the above formula , r 26 and r 27 are selected from substituted or not substituted aryl groups , and ar 29 , ar 30 , and ar 31 are identical or different arylene groups . x , k , j , and n are same as the case of formula ( i ). the polymeric charge transfer materials may be used independently or as a mixture with more than one kind of the other polymeric charge transfer materials . also , a low molecule weight charge transfer material can be combined with the above mentioned materials . as for other polymers having electron - donating groups , copolymers of well - known monomers , block copolymers , graft copolymers , star polymers , and crosslinking polymers having electron - donataing groups , for example disclosed in japanese laid - open patent application no . 3 - 34001 , 2000 - 206723 , and 2001 - 34001 are included in the materials and can be well utilized . in a photo conductor according to the invention , a plasticizer and a leveling agent may be added to the charge transfer layer 47 . as for a plasticizer , dibutylphthalate and dioctylphthalate etc ., which are used as a general plasticizer , can be used , and the consumed quantity of the plasticizer is about from 0 to 30 % by weight to a binding resin . as for a leveling agent , silicone oils such as dimethylsilicone oil and phenylmethylsilicone oil and a polymer or oligomer having perfluoroalkyl groups to side chains thereof are used , and the consumed quantity of the polymer or oligomer is about from 0 to 1 % by weight to a binding resin . next , the case of a photo conductor having a single layer structure will be illustrated . a photosensitive layer in which at least the above mentioned charge generating material is dispersed in a binding resin can be used . a single photosensitive layer can be formed by applying and drying a liquid in which a charge generating material and a binding resin are dissolved or dispersed in an appropriate solvent . further , the photosensitive layer may be a function separating type , to which the above mentioned charge transfer material is added , and can be used well . also , if necessary , a plasticizer , a leveling agent , and an antioxidant can be added . as for a binding resin , other than the binding resin used in the charge transfer layer 47 given above which may be also used itself , the binding resin used in the charge generating layer 45 given above may be mixed with the former binding resin . of course , the polymeric charge transfer materials given above can be used well . to 100 parts by weight of a binding resin , the amount of the charge generating material is preferably from 5 to 40 parts by weight , and the amount of the charge transfer material is preferably from 0 to 190 parts by weight and more preferably from 50 to 150 parts by weight . a single photosensitive layer can be formed by applying liquid for coating in which a charge generating material and a binding resin , if necessary with the charge transfer material , are dispersed by a dispersing machine into a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , dichloroethane , and cyclohexane , using methods such as immersion coating , spray coating , bead coating , nozzle coating , spinner coating , and ring coating . it is appropriate for the thickness of the single photosensitive layer to be about from 5 to 100 μm . in a photo conductor according to the present invention , an under coating layer , not shown in figures , can be inserted between the conductive supporter 41 and the photosensitive layer . although an under coating layer generally includes resin as a main component , it is desirable for the resin to have high dissolution resistance to general organic solvents since a photosensitive layer is applied on the resin with a solvent . as for such a resin , a water soluble resin such as poly ( vinyl alcohol ), casein , and poly ( sodium acrylate ), an alcohol soluble resin such as copolyammide , and methoxymethyl nylon , a curing type resin forming three dimensional network structures such as polyurethane , melamine formaldehyde resin , phenol resin , alkyd - melamine resin , and epoxy resin are given . also , fine powder pigment of metal oxides such as titanium oxide , silica , alumina , zirconium oxide , tin oxide , indium oxide shown as examples may be added to an under coating layer to prevent generation of moire and to decrease residual potential . the under coating layer can be formed by using appropriate solvents and coating methods as similar to the case of the above mentioned photosensitive layer . further , as for the under coating layer according to the present invention , a silane coupling agent , a titanium coupling agent , and a chromium coupling agent etc . may be used . al 2 o 3 produced by anodizing , an organic material such as poly ( paraxylylene ) ( parylene ) etc . and an inorganic material such as sio 2 , sno 2 , tio 2 , ito , and ceo 2 , formed by vacuum thin film production method , can be used well for an under coating layer according to the present invention . well - known materials other than above mentioned materials can be used . the film thickness of the under coating layer is appropriately from 0 to 5 μm . in the photo conductor according to the present invention , the protecting layer 49 as an outermost layer is formed on the photosensitive layer for protecting the photosensitive layer . as for a material employed in the protecting layer , resins such as ab resin , acs resin , copoly ( olefin / vinyl monomer ), chlorinated polyether , allyl resin , phenol resin , polyacetal , polyamide , polyamideimide , polyacrylate , polyallylsulfone , polybutylene , polybutylene terephthalate , polycarbonate , polyether sulfone , polyethylene , polyethylene terephthalate , polyimide , acrylic resin , polymethyl benten , polypropylene , polyphenylene oxide , polysulfone , polysulfone , polystyrene , as resin , copoly ( butadienei / styrene ), polyurethane , polyvinyl chloride , polyvinylidene chloride , and epoxy resin are given . as for a protecting layer , fluorocarbon resins such as polytetrafluoro ethylene , silicone resin , a material in which dispersion of an inorganic filler such as titanium oxide , tin oxide , potassium titanate , and silica or an organic filler is added to the resins can be added for improving wear resistance . a metal oxide is used well , and alumina , titanium oxide , and silica are particularly used well . also , it is preferable to add a charge transfer material to the protecting layer 49 for decreasing residual potential and improving sensitivity to light and response speed . as an added charge transfer material , a low molecular weight charge transfer material described with respect to the above mentioned polymeric charge transfer materials 45 is used . furthermore , the above mentioned polymeric charge transfer material is also used well in respect to improving wear resistance and response speed . as for a method for forming a protecting layer , a normal application method is employed . it is appropriate for the thickness of a protecting layer to be about from 0 . 1 to 10 μm . furthermore , suppression for elevation of residual potential is realized by adding an organic compound having acid value from 10 to 400 ( mgkoh / g ). the referred term “ acid value ” is defined as the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide required for neutralizing free fatty acids included in 1 g of a remarked material . as an organic compound in which acid value is from 10 to 400 ( mgkoh / g ), all of the generally known organic fatty acids and high acid value resins etc . can be used if the materials have acid values from 10 to 400 ( mgkoh / g ). however , since an organic acid and an acceptor having very low molecular weight have the capability to decrease the dispersion property of a filler , the effect of decreasing residual potential may not be exerted by using the compounds . therefore , it is preferable to use a low molecular weight polymer and resin , copolymer , etc ., and a mixture thereof in order to decrease residual potential of a photo conductor and to improve dispersion property of a filler . it is preferable for the organic compounds to have linear molecular structures and less steric hindrance . it is necessary to make both a filler and a binder resin having affinity in order to improve the dispersion property . a material having high steric hindrance decreases the affinity to degrade the dispersion property and causes many problems described above . as for an organic compound having acid value from 10 to 400 ( mgkoh / g ), it is particularly preferable to use polycarboxylic acid . the polycarboxylic acid is a compound having the structure that carboxylic acids are included in a polymer or a copolymer . all of the organic compounds containing carboxylic acid and their derivatives such as polyester resin , acrylic resin , copolymers produced by using acrylic acid and methacrylic acid , and styreneacrylcopolymer can be used . it is possible to use a mixture of more than one of the compounds , and the mixture is useful . depending on the situation , by mixing the compound and an organic fatty acid , the dispersion property of the filler and the associated effect of decreasing residual potential may be improved . the amount of the added organic compounds having acid value from 10 to 400 ( mgkoh / g ) is from 0 . 01 wt % to 50 wt %, preferably from 0 wt % to 20 wt % to the amount of the contained filler . however it is more preferable to add the required minimum quantity . if the addition quantity is more than a minimum requirement , image blur may result . if the addition quantity is too small , the effect of decreasing residual potential is not enough sufficiently realized . acid value of the organic compound is preferably from 10 to 400 mgkoh / g , and more preferable from 30 to 200 mgkoh / g . if the acid value is higher than a requirement , the resistance is reduced too much and the image blur becomes large . if the acid value is too small , the addition quantity has to be increased and the effect of decreasing residual potential is not sufficiently realized . herein , it is necessary for the acid value of the organic compound to be determined depending on the addition quantity . however , the acid value of the organic compound does not directly cause the effect of decreasing residual potential , which more significantly depends on structure or molecular weight of the organic compound used and the dispersion property of a filler etc . in the photo conductor according to the present invention , an intermediate layer , not shown in the figures , can be laid between a photosensitive layer and a protecting layer . for the intermediate layer , a binder resin is generally used as the main component . as for the resin , polyamide , alcohol soluble nylon , water soluble polyvinyl butyral , polyvinyl alcohol , etc ., are given . as a formation method of the intermediate layer , normal application methods are employed as described before . it is preferable for the thickness of the intermediate layer to be from 0 . 05 to 2 μm . in the present invention , an antioxidant , a plasticizer , a lubricant , an ultraviolet absorbent , a low molecular weight charge transfer material , and a leveling agent can be added to each layer for improving adaptation to the environment and particularly for preventing decrease of sensitivity and elevation of residual potential . the representative materials of the compounds are described below . as an antioxidant capable of being added to each layer , for example , the following materials are given , but an antioxidant is not limited to these . ( a ) phenols 2 , 6 - di - t - butyl - p - cresol , butyklhydroxyanisole , 2 , 6 - di - t - butyl - 4 - ethylphenol , n - octadecyl - 3 -( 4 ′- hydroxy - 3 ′, 5 ′- di - t - butylphenol ), 2 , 2 ′- methylene - bis -( 4 - methyl - 6 - t - butylphenol ), 2 , 2 ′- methylene - bis -( 4 - ethyl - 6 - t - butylphenol ), 4 , 4 ′- thiobis -( 3 - methyl - 6 - t - butylphenol ), 4 , 4 ′- butylidenebis -( 3 - methyl - 6 - t - butylphenol ), 1 , 1 , 3 - tris -( 2 - methyl - 4 - hydroxy - 5 - t - butylphenyl ) butane , 1 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tris ( 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzyl ) benzene , tetrakis -[ metylene - 3 -( 3 ′, 5 ′- di - t - butyl - 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) propionate ] methane , bis [ 3 , 3 ′- bis ( 4 ′- hydroxy - 3 ′- t - butylphenyl ) butyric acid ] glycol ester , tocopherol , etc . ( b ) paraphenylenediamines n - phenyl - n ′- isopropyl - p - phenylenediamine , n , n ′- di - sec - butyl - p - phenylenediamine , n - phenyl - n - sec - butyl - p - phenylenediamine , n , n ′- di - isopropyl - p - phenylenediamine , and n , n - dimethyl - n , n - di - t - butyl - p - phenylenediamine , etc . ( c ) hydroquinones 2 , 5 - di - t - octylhydroquinone , 2 , 6 - didodecyl hydroquinone , 2 - dodecylhydroquinone , 2 - dodecyl - 5 - chlorohydroquinone , 2 - t - octyl - 5 - methylhydroquinone , and 2 -( 2 - octadecenyl )- 5 - methylhydroquinone , etc . ( d ) organic sulfur compounds dilauryl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate , distearyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate , and ditetradecyl - 3 , 3 ′- thiodipropionate , etc . ( e ) organic phosphorus compounds triphenylphosphine , tri ( nonyl phenyl ) phosphine , tri ( dinonyl phenyl ) phosphine , trikrezylphophine , and tri ( 2 , 4 - dibutyl pkenoxy ) phosphine , etc . as for a plasticizer capable of being added to each layer , for example , the following materials are given , but a plasticizer is not limited to these . ( a ) phosphate - based plasticizers triphenyl phosphate , trikrezyl phosphate , trioctyl phosphate , octyl diphenyl phosphate , trichloroethyl phosphate , krezyl diphenyl phosphate , tributyl phosphate , tri - 2 - ethylhexyl phosphate , and triphenyl phosphate , etc . ( b ) phthalate - based plasticizers dimethyl phthalate , diethyl phthalate , diisobutyl phthalate , dibutyl phthalate , diheptyl phthalate , di - 2 - ethyl hexyl phthalate , diisooctyl phthalate , di - n - octyl phthalate , dinonyl phthalate , diisononyl phthalate , diisodecyl phthalate , diundecyl phthalate , ditridecyl phthalate , dicyclohexyl phthalate , butyl benzyl phthalate , butyl lauryl phthalate , methyl oleyl phthalate , decyl octyl phthalate , dibutyl fumarate , and dioctyl fumarate , etc . ( c ) aromatic carboxylate - based plasticizers trioctyl trimellitate , tri - n - octyl trimellitate , and octyl oxybenzoate , etc . ( d ) ester of aliphatic dibasic acid - based plasticizers dibutyl adipate , di - n - hexyl adipate , di - 2 - ethylhexyl adipate , di - n - octyl adipate , n - octyl - n - decyl adipate , diisiodecyl adipate ; dicapryl adipate , di - 2 - ethylhexyl azelate , dimethyl sebacate , diethyl sebacate , dibutyl sebacate , di - n - octyl sebacate , di - 2 - ethylhexyl sebacate , di - 2 - ethoxyethyl sebacate , dioctyl succinate , diisodecyl sebacate , dioctyl tetrahydrophthalate , and n - octyl tetrahydrophthalate , etc . ( e ) fatty acid ester derivatives butyl oleate , grycerine monooleic acid ester , pentaerisritol ester , dipentaerisritol hexaester , triacetin , and tribuyne , etc . ( f ) oxycarboxylate - based plasticizers methyl acetylricinoleate , butyl acetylricinoleate , butylphthalylbutyl glycolate , and tributyl acetylcitrate , etc . ( g ) epoxy plasticizers epoxidated soya bean oil , epoxidated linseed oil , butyl epoxystearate , decyl epoxystearate , octyl epoxystearate , benzyl epoxy stearate , dioctyl epoxyhexahydrophthalate , and didecyl epoxyhexahydrophthalate , etc . ( h ) divalent alcohol ester - based plasticizers diethylene glycol dibenzoate , and triethylene glycol di - 2 - ethyl butyrate , etc . ( i )- plasticizers including chlorine chlorinated paraffin , chlorinated diphenyl , chlorinated fatty acid methyl ester , and methoxy chlorinated fatty acid methyl ester , etc . ( j ) polyester - based plasticizers polypropyrene adipate , polypropyrene sebacate , polyester , and acetylized polyester , etc . ( k ) sulfonic acid derivatives p - toluene sulfonamide , o - toluene sulfonamide , p - toluene sulfonethylamide , o - toluene sulfonethylamide , toluene sulfone - n - ethylamide , p - toluene sulfone - n - and cyclohexylamide , etc . ( l ) citric acid derivatives triethyl citrate , triethyl acetylcitrate , tributyl citrate , tributyl acetylcitrate , tri - 2 - ethylhexyl acetylcitrate , and n - octyldecyl acetylcitrate , etc . ( m ) others terphenyl , partially hydrated terphenyl , camphor , 2 - nitrodiphenyl , dinonylnaphthalene , and methyl abietate , etc . as for a lubricant capable of being added to each layer , for example , the following materials are given , but a luburicant is not limited to these . ( a ) hydrocarbons liquid paraffin , paraffin wax , microwax , and low grade polymerized polyethylene , etc . ( b ) fatty acids lauric acid , n - tetradecanoic acid , palmitin acid , stearic acid , arachic acid , and behenic acid , etc . ( c ) fatty acid amides stearylamide , palmitylamide , oleinamide , methylenebisstearoamide , and ethylenebisstearoamide , etc . ( d ) esters fatty acid lower alcohol ester , ester of fatty acid polyalcohol ester , and fatty acid polyglycol ester , etc . ( e ) alcohols cetyl alcohol , stearyl alcohol , ethylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , and polyglycerol , etc . ( f ) metal soap lead stearate , cadmium stearate , barium stearate , calcium stearate , zinc stearate , and magnesium stearate , etc . ( g ) natural wax carnauba wax , candelilla wax , bees wax , whale wax , ibota wax and montan wax , etc . ( h ) others silicone compounds and fluorine compounds , etc . as for an ultraviolet absorbent capable of being added to each layer , for example , the following materials are given , but an ultraviolet absorbant is not limited to these . ( a ) benzophenone derivatives 2 - hydroxybenzophenone , 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzophenone , 2 , 2 , ′, 4 ′- trihydroxybenzophenone , 2 , 2 ′, 4 , 4 ′- tetrahydroxybenzophenone , and 2 , 2 ′- dihydroxy - 4 - methoxybenzophenone , etc . ( b ) salicylates phenyl salicylate , and 2 , 4 - di - t - butyl - 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 4 - hydroxybenzoate , etc . ( c ) benzotriazole derivatives ( 2 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) benzotriazole , ( 2 ′- hydroxy - 51 ′- methylphenyl ) benzotriazole , and ( 2 ′- hydroxy - 3 ′- tert - butyl - 5 ′- methylphenyl )- 5 - chlorobenzotriazole , etc . ( d ) cyanoacrylates ethyl - 2 - cyano - 3 , 3 ′- diphenylaccrylate and methyl - 2 - carbomethoxy - 3 -( paramethoxy ) acrylate , etc . ( e ) quenchers ( metallic complex salts ) nickel ( 2 , 2 ′- thiobis ( 4 - t - octyl ) phenolate )- n - butylamine , nickel dibutyldithiocarbamate , and cobalt dicyclohexyldithiophosphate , etc . ( f ) hals ( hindered amines ) bis ( 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate , bis ( 1 , 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - pentamethyl - 4 - piperidyl ) sebacate , 1 -[ 2 -[ 3 -( 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propionyloxy ] ethyl ]- 4 -[ 3 -( 3 , 5 - di - t - butyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propionyloxy ]- 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpyridine , 8 - benzyl - 7 , 7 , 9 , 9 - tetramethyl - 3 - octyl - 1 , 3 , 8 - triazaspiro [ 4 , 5 ] undecane - 2 , 4 - dione , and 4 - benzoyloxy - 2 , 2 , 6 , 6 - tetramethylpyridine , etc . fig5 is a schematic for illustrating an electro - photographic apparatus according to the present invention involving the variations described below . in fig5 , the photo conductor 11 is formed by laying a photosensitive layer and an outermost layer including a filler . the photo conductor 11 is shown in the form of a drum , but it may be in the form of a sheet or an endless belt . the charger 18 contacts or is closely arranged to the photo conductor 11 . the charger is used well , because the charger generates less ozone and nitrogen oxide , which become a source generating low resistance materials , than the case of a coronal charger represented by corotron and scorotron . particularly , the charger arranged in close proximity to a non - contact charged roller , in which a distance between the charger and a surface of the photo conductor is equal to or less than 200 μm ( preferably , equal to or less than 100 μm ), is used well , since very little pollution is produced by the charger even with repeated use . according to need , the pre - transcription charger 22 , a transcription charger , a separation charger , and the pre - cleaning charger 27 are arranged , and well - known means such as a corotron , a scorotron , a solid state charger , and a charged roller are used . when the photo conductor is charged by the charger , unevenness of charging can be effectively reduced by charging the photo conductor with an electric field formed by superposing an alternating current component on a direct current component in the charger . as for a transcription means , although the above charger can be generally used , the charger using transcription belt 25 shown in fig5 can be preferably used . as for a light source such as an image exposing unit 20 and charge removing lamp 17 , all light emitters such as a fluorescent lamp , a tungsten lamp , a halogen lamp , a mercury lamp , a sodium lamp , light emitting diodes ( led ), semiconductor lasers , and electro luminescence can be used . for providing light only at the desired spectral region , filters such as a sharply cutting filter , a bandpass filter , a near - infrared cutting filter , dichroicfilter , an interference filter , and a conversion filter for color temperature may be used . such a light source illuminates the photo conductor and thereby can be used to add a process such as a transcription process , a charge removing process , a cleaning process , or pre - exposure combined with light illumination , etc . other than the process shown in fig5 . toners developed by the development unit 21 on the photo conductor 11 are transferred to the transcription paper 24 . however , not all of the toner is transferred , and some of the toner remains on the photo conductor 11 . such toner is removed from the photo conductor by a fur brush 28 and a cleaning brush 29 . cleaning may be performed by only a cleaning brush or by a combination such as a fur brush and a magfur brush used as a cleaning brush . a positive ( negative ) electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface of the photo conductor by providing a positive ( negative ) charge to the electro - photographic photo conductor followed by exposing the image . a positive image is obtained if a latent image is developed by negative ( positive ) polar toners ( charge detecting particles ), and a negative image is obtained if a latent image is developed by positive ( negative ) polar toners . a well - known means is applied to such a development means and also to such a charge removing means . furthermore , not shown in the figure , a member providing zinc stearate on the surface of the photo conductor may be placed . by the member providing zinc stearate on the surface of the photo conductor , it is possible to control filming which provides good wear resistance . zinc stearate is effective for suppression of image distortion as well as for providing good wear resistance during repeated toner adhesion to the photo conductor and toner recovery by a cleaning means when the image is not formed , in the electro - photographic process using the photo conductor . as the means of providing said zinc stearate , it is very effective for zinc stearate to be included in the developer ( toners ) presented on the development means . if the amount of zinc stearate provided on the photo conductor is too much , the amount of output also increases , and a fixation defect results which is not preferable . if a friction coefficient of a surface of the photo conductor is reduced to about 0 . 1 by providing too much zinc stearate , decrease of image density results which is not preferable . on the other hand , if the amount of zinc stearate is small , filming of toner component on the photo conductor is generated to cause image distortion or unevenness of contrast in the middle density which is not preferable . for example , when zinc stearate is included in toners to be provided on the surface of the photo conductor , it is preferable for the amount of included zinc stearate in the toners to be from 0 . 1 to 0 . 2 % by weight . in an image formation process according to the present invention , when an image is not formed , suppression of filming on a surface of the photo conductor in order to keep wear resistance high pertaining to toners adhering to the photo conductor and recovering toner at the cleaning means , and , in addition , suppression of adhesion and deposition of products due to charging , can be achieved . achieving these preferred conditions depends on cleaning effect in removing each kind of adhesive from the toner . removing adhesives and recovering toner is effective in the condition of the amount of adhesives in toners being in the middle density areas and the operating time being about 30 minutes ( in the case that the diameter of the photo conductor is 30 mm and line speed is 125 mm / s ). an amount of adhesives and an operating time more than those described above are not preferable , since burden on the cleaning means and the consumed quantity of toner - are increased . if a diameter of a photo conductor and / or line speed are different from those described above , the parameters can be appropriately adjusted to achieve operation conditions similar to those described above . the present invention will be illustrated in detail by embodiments according to the present invention and comparisons below . styrene acrylic resin ( haimar 75 produced by sanyo chemical ): 85 parts carbon black (# 44 produced by mitsubishi chemical ): 8 parts azo dye including metal ( bontron s - 34 produced by orient chemical ): 2 parts carnauba wax ( wa - 03 produced by serarika noda ): 5 parts after the mixture having the above described composition was melted and kneaded by using heating roll at 140 ° c ., the mixture was cooled and solidified . subsequently , the mixture was milled by jet mill and classified to obtain toners having average diameter about 8 . 0 μm . the toners used in the following embodiments were obtained by mixing 0 . 7 % hydrophobic silica r - 972 ( produced by japan aerosil ) with 100 parts by weight of the toners obtained above by henshell mixer . coating liquid was prepared by mixing 100 g of toluene with 100 ng of the silicone resin ( sr - 2411 produced by toray dow corning silicone ). the solution was applied to 1 kg of carrier heartwood ( averaged particle diameter 60 μm cu - zn ferrite ) by fluid bed method . subsequently , they were dried for about 5 minutes , heated for 1 hour at 200 ° c ., cooled , and sieved to produce the carriers according to the present invention . when the average diameter of particles is modified and next coated , it is necessary to adjust the amount of silicone resin converting the surface area to make the film thickness uniform . coating liquid for under coating layer , coating liquid for charge generating layer , and coating liquid for - charge transfer layer , which have the following compositions , in order , were applied on the aluminum cylinder ( material : jis1050 ) having 30 mm of the diameter and 340 mm of the length and dried to form an electro - photographic photo conductor consisting of 3 . 5 μm of under coating layer , 0 . 2 μm of charge generating layer , 22 μm of charge transfer layer and 2 μm of protecting layer . titanium dioxide powder : 400 parts melamine formaldehyde resin : 65 parts alkyd resin : 120 parts 2 - butanone : 400 parts a - type polycarbonate : 10 parts the charge transfer material represented by the following structural formula : 7 parts a - type polycarbonate : 10 parts the charge transfer material represented by the following structural formula : 8 parts the photo conductor b was obtained by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that alumina paricles were not used in the coating liquid for the protecting layer of the photo conductor a . the photo conductor c was produced by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that tetrafluoroethylene particles as an alternative to alumina particles were used in the coating liquid for the protecting layer of photo conductor a . the photo conductor d was produced by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that charge transfer material was not employed in the coating liquid for the protecting layer of photo conductor a . the photo conductor e was produced by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that the coating liquid for the protecting layer of photo conductor a was modified to one having the following composition . polymeric charge transfer material having the following structural formula : 18 parts the photo conductor f was produced by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that the coating liquid for the protecting layer of photo conductor a was modified to one having the following composition . a - type polycarbonate : 10 parts charge transfer material having the following structural formula : 8 parts alumina particles : 4 parts unsaturated polycarboxylic acid polymer solution : 0 . 1 pats ( acid value : 180 mgkoh / g , produced by byk chem ) tetrahydrofuran : 400 parts cyclohexanone : 150 parts the photo conductor was produced by a method similar to the case of the photo conductor a except that the coating liquid for the charge generating layer of photo conductor a was modified to one having the following composition . phthalocyanine in which the xd spectrum as shown in fig6 was obtained : 3 parts polyvinyl butyral : 2 parts 2 - butanone : 120 parts in the production example for the photo conductor g , the photo conductor h was formed by anodizing the conductive supporter , followed by laying a charge generating layer , a charge transfer layer , and a protecting layer , similar to the production example for photo conductor g , but without a laying under coating layer . after mirror polishing , degreasing , and washing were applied to the surface of the supporter , the supporter was immersed into the electrolytic bath being 15 % by volume of sulfuric acid at 20 ° c . of solution temperature and anodizing was applied to the supporter for 30 minutes at 15v of bath voltage . furthermore , after the supporter was washed by water , a sealing treatment was applied in 7 % nickel acetate solution ( at 50 ° c .). after that , the supporter on which oxidation film on the anode of 6 μm was produced was obtained via washing by purified water . carrying performance of developer was evaluated by using the developer and the photo conductors produced as described above in the copying machine ( imagio mf250 produced by ricoh ) in the condition shown in table 1 . the surface roughness ( rz ) of the sleeve was adjusted by changing the processing condition . the development gap ( gp ) and the doctor gap ( gd ) between the controller and the developer supporter were adjusted by settings of the machine . next , after 30000 copies were continuously produced by using a4 , 6 % chart , the abrasion loss of the photo conductor was measured . the surface condition of carriers was observed by sem , and peeling of the film and pollution with the toners were evaluated . carrying performance : five a3 black images were continuously produced and the uniformity of the black color in the fifth image was evaluated . if the developer was not carried well , the black color was diluted or the image having some lines was generated . the charger of the copying machine used in example 2 was modified and adapted to a scorotron charger as an alternative to the charged roller and 30000 copies were continuously produced similar to example 2 . herein , the electric potential at an unexposed area of the photo conductor was adjusted to be the same (− 800v ) as example 2 . the charger of the copying machine used in example 2 was modified and adapted to the charged roller described below as an alternative to the contact charged roller and 30000 copies were continuously produced similar to example 2 . additive voltage was only a dc component similar to example 2 . a closely arranged charged roller was formed by wrapping teflon tape having a thickness of 100 μm around areas ( which are not image formation areas ) of 0 to 5 mm measured from both edges of the charged roller used in example 2 . continuous copying was carried out similar to example 19 , except that the charging condition of example 19 was changed as follows . the electric potential at an unexposed area : − 800v − 1 . 5v measured as peak to peak was applied as an ac component . as described above , after 30000 copies were continuously produced in example 2 , 18 - 20 half tone images were outputted under high temperature and high humidity ( 30 ° c ., 90 % rh ) and the images were evaluated . the result of the evaluation is shown in table 2 . although all of the trouble points in examples 2 , 18 , and 19 were not a troublesome level for actual use , the condition in example 20 was best . 50000 copies were continuously produced in the condition of example 2 . the copying machine used in example 21 was adapted to set the zinc stearate providing unit between the cleaning unit and the charging unit , wherein the structure of the zinc stearate providing unit was such that zinc stearate in the form of a bar was applied for 10 minutes every 100 copies . in terms of conditions , the endurance test was performed similar to example 21 . the endurance test was performed similar to example 21 except that 0 . 15 % zinc stearate powder was added to the toner provided to the development area . the endurance test was performed similar to example 23 except that in example 24 , every time after producing 1000 papers , exposure to the electric potential of bright areas , the image not being formed process , toner development on the development area formed by the above exposure , and repetition of only recovering toner from the surface of the photo conductor by the cleaning unit were carried out for 20 minutes . after executing examples from 21 to 24 , the output of the images was performed under the conditions of high temperature and high humidity . after the experiment was finished , the surfaces of the photo conductors were observed and the results are shown in table . 3 . under the conditions of example 21 , as an endurance test was performed to 50000 copies , filming occurred on the surface of the photo conductor a little , and the lack of image occurred in association with the filming , however , the lack of image was not a troublesome level . on the other hand , filming could be prevented by providing zinc stearate on the surface of the photo conductor as in examples 22 and 23 . further , the image blur could be completely eliminated even at high temperature and high humidity ( 30 ° c . 90 % rh ) by cleaning the surface of the photo conductor as in example 24 . as it is clear that the present invention has excellent effects from the above detailed and concrete illustrations , according to the present invention , abrasion loss of a photo conductor could be suppressed by satisfying a relation gp / gd = 0 . 7 to 1 . 0 and using a photo conductor having a protecting layer including a filler , a good balance with the carrying performance of a developer could be struck , the effects were enhanced by using a sand blasting process , and carrying performance could be improved by satisfying a relation 2 ≦ d / rz ≦ 3 . elevation of electric potential at exposed areas originating from repeated use of a photo conductor can be suppressed and nice images can be obtained , by combining a charge transfer material or an organic compound having particular acid value with a protecting layer including a filler . adhesion of low resistant material to a surface of a photo conductor can be reduced by selecting an appropriate charging condition of a photo conductor in an image formation apparatus , and the effect of the present invention can be more significant . the effect of the present invention can be more significant by including the means providing zinc stearate on a surface of a photo conductor . the present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments , and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the present application is based on japanese priority applications no . 2000 - 387939 filed on dec . 20 , 2000 and no . 2001 - 380525 filed on dec . 13 , 2001 , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference .	6
[ 0022 ] fig1 shows a motor vehicle 1 having a peripheral plastic layer 2 . the illustrated motor vehicle 1 is completely or partially encompassed by plastic 2 in the impact regions . the plastic 2 encompassing the motor vehicle 1 in the lower region in the application example serves as a scratch guard and , in a minor rear - end collision or in the entrance or exit of a parking space , as impact protection for preventing damage to the paint or the body . this plastic 2 , which is the first part to be damaged in most accidents , is or contains at least one part of the accident sensor . the plastic covering 2 can be disposed around the entire vehicle 1 or only part of it . in any event , however , the plastic covering 2 serves numerous purposes . the nature of the plastic 2 is such that it generates a structure - borne - sound signal during the deformation , or its radiation transparency changes , or it generates an electrical signal by means of an integrated piezo - layer . an advantage here is that plastic typically possesses far better structure - borne - sound properties than metal . thus , the plastic protective covering 2 on the motor vehicle 1 can be used simultaneously as a deformation - measuring element that acoustically transmits a material crackling that is typical for a specific degree of deformation , or optically or electrically transmits a different signal . the deformation site can be determined based on the transit times required by the signal from the deformation site to the signal receiver . if the plastic is provided with profiles , for example , the structure - borne - sound signal generated during the deformation is more intensive and its measurement is less ambiguous , more exact and therefore more useful . the plastic covering 2 can also comprise numerous layers possessing different properties , such as transparency or those of a piezo - layer . [ 0025 ] fig2 a illustrates the principle of the measurement of the radiation or the beam path 5 in the plastic 2 . this figure shows a radiation - transparent plastic 2 disposed around a motor vehicle , as described in connection with fig1 . it is not crucial whether the entire plastic part 2 is radiation - transparent , or at least one radiation - transparent layer is disposed on or in the plastic . the structure further includes a radiation source 3 and a radiation detector 4 . the radiation detector 4 measures the quantity of radiation or light that is transported from the radiation or light source via the light guide . the light guide should be shielded such that no radiation that is incident from the outside can reach the radiation detector 4 . as long as the plastic part 2 is not damaged , the same quantity of light will reach the radiation detector 4 . [ 0026 ] fig2 b shows the optical accident detection based on the change in beam path in the event that the plastic 2 and , particularly , the light guide are damaged . during the deformation 10 of the plastic 2 , the beam path 5 changes , and the quantity of radiation that reaches the radiation receiver 4 is reduced . the radiation transmitted by the radiation or light source 3 takes a different path from the one shown in fig2 a . thus , both the distribution and the quantity of the radiation detected by the radiation detector 4 change . during the deformation 10 of the plastic 2 , these parameters change constantly until the deformation process has ended . the change in the quantity of radiation over time , and the change in the radiation distribution over time , allow conclusions to be reached regarding the origin of the damage to the plastic . evaluation electronics 13 , as disclosed in de 37 29 019 for example , determine the severity and source of the accident and the deformation site on the motor vehicle . [ 0027 ] fig3 a shows the acoustical sound measurement on the plastic . a microphone 6 , particularly a structure - borne - sound sensor , a directional microphone or another acoustical receiver , is disposed in the motor vehicle . the receiver is oriented toward the plastic 2 . the sensitivity of the acoustical receiver lies in the range of the frequency spectrum of the structure - borne sound , particularly the material crackling of the plastic 2 . the acoustical receiver 6 detects the acoustical signals generated through the deformation of the plastic 2 . one or more receivers can be used for this purpose . the receivers can project in different spatial directions for using the transit time to determine the exact accident site . the signal is then conducted further via evaluation electronics 13 . de 37 29 019 describes an example of this type of electronics . [ 0028 ] fig3 b shows the acoustical accident detection through the measurement of the structure - borne sound , particularly the material crackling . structure - borne sound is generated during the deformation 10 of the plastic 2 . this initiates a material crackling 7 in the ultrasonic range , which can be measured in the frequency range of 60 hz to 100 hz . a microphone 6 detects the intensity , phase position , damping and transit time in the material crackling specific for this plastic 2 . evaluation electronics disclosed in de 37 29 019 , for example , can use this data to determine the severity and origin of the accident , and the deformation site on the motor vehicle . [ 0029 ] fig4 a shows the plastic 2 coated with a piezofilm 8 . in this embodiment , a piezofilm 8 is applied to the plastic 2 or integrated with the plastic 2 . the piezofilm 8 generates an electrical or optical signal under pressure or the effect of a mechanical force . further included in this arrangement is a receiver for detecting the electrical or optical signal . this receiver is not shown in the figure because it is disposed directly on the plastic in an optical detection arrangement , as shown in fig2 a , or , in an electrical detection arrangement , at an arbitrary location that is electrically connected to the piezofilm . [ 0030 ] fig4 b shows the electromagnetic accident detection based on the destruction of the piezofilm . during the deformation 10 or destruction , this piezofilm generates voltage signals or discharge flashes 11 , which can be picked up by a detector . these signals are then conducted further to an evaluation unit , not shown , and evaluated there . an example of such an evaluation circuit is disclosed in de 37 29 019 . [ 0031 ] fig5 shows different profiles 9 . these profiles can be worked into the plastic and / or the light guide for generating a better structure - borne - sound signal . if the piezofilm is applied to the plastic provided with profiles , more voltage signals or discharge flashes are generated due to mechanical stresses than in an application to a smooth base structure . [ 0032 ] fig6 illustrates the graphic representation of an accident . the diagram shows the so - called material crackling . the amplitude , or intensity , indicates the degree of the deformation . different accident characteristics can be derived from the phase position and damping . furthermore , the deformation site can be calculated through the determination of the transit time required by the sound signal for traveling from the deformed plastic to the microphone . [ 0033 ] fig2 a , 2b , 3 a , 3 b , 4 a and 4 b each show a deformable part that constitutes a signal transmitting medium . after the signal is created during impact , the deformable part transmits the acoustical , optical , or electrical signal to the receiver . in each of the embodiments discussed above , the deformable part can either be distinct from or integral with the medium . for example , the deformable part can be the plastic part which serves as the continuous medium for transmitting a signal . alternatively , the deformable part can be a distinct member attached to the plastic part . in each of the embodiments discussed above , the impact site can be determined based on the signal course over the medium . any suitable evaluation unit , for example , a microprocessor , can be provided for this function .	1
before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . as such , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception , upon which this disclosure is based , may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures , methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention . it is important , therefore , that the invention be regarded as including equivalent constructions to those described herein insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the specific sequence of the described process may be altered so that certain processes are conducted in parallel or independent , with other processes , to the extent that the processes are not dependent upon each other . thus , the specific order of steps described herein is not to be considered implying a specific sequence of steps to perform the process . in alternative embodiments , one or more process steps may be implemented by a user assisted process and / or manually . other alterations or modifications of the above processes are also contemplated . for example , further insubstantial approximations of the process and / or algorithms are also considered within the scope of the processes described herein . in addition , features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on other embodiments to yield a still further embodiment . additionally , certain features may be interchanged with similar devices or features not mentioned yet which perform the same or similar functions . it is therefore intended that such modifications and variations are included within the totality of the present invention . it should also be noted that a plurality of hardware and software based devices , as well as a plurality of different structural components , may be utilized to implement the invention . furthermore , and as described in subsequent paragraphs , the specific configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and that other alternative configurations are possible . a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by way of example in fig1 - 4 . with specific reference to fig1 and 2 , hook and bobbin locator 10 includes a mounting plate 12 . in one embodiment , mounting plate 12 is circular in shape with a top 14 and a bottom 16 . a shaft 18 is connected with the mounting plate 12 , as at the bottom 16 for example , and a timing gear 20 is connected with shaft 18 , for use in movement of the mounting plate as will be described more fully hereafter . hook and bobbin combination 22 includes a hook 24 and a bobbin 26 ( not shown but see fig4 ) in a bobbin case 28 . preferably , bobbin 26 and bobbin case 18 are located within hook 24 as is shown in the figures . multiple numbers of hook and bobbin combinations 22 are connected in equally spaced apart relation to each other to the mounting plate 12 , as on the top 14 of mounting plate 12 as shown . when ready for use , hook and bobbin combination 22 includes thread 30 on bobbin 26 located within bobbin case 28 within hook 24 as more clearly shown in fig4 . hook and bobbin combination 22 forms a first section 32 with a top 34 and a bottom 36 ( see fig4 ). stepper motor 38 is connected with the hook and bobbin combination 22 as at the bottom 36 of first section 32 and stepper motor 38 creates a second section 40 of hook and bobbin combination 22 . preferably an encoder 42 is connected with stepper motor 38 , all again as more clearly shown in fig4 . referring to fig1 , stepper motor 44 includes a shaft 46 and , preferably , shaft 46 includes timing gear 48 . a timing belt 50 connects timing gear 48 on stepper motor 44 shaft 46 with the timing gear 20 on the shaft 18 of mounting plate 12 . encoder 52 is connected with stepper motor 44 . still referring to fig1 and 2 , controller 54 is illustrated and is connected with stepper motor 38 and encoder 42 as well as stepper motor 44 and encoder 52 for the control and operation of each of those devices . the controller 54 may be connected by hard wire or remotely or in some combination thereof . these figures also illustrate sewing machine 56 with an arm 58 that extends over mounting plate 12 and includes a needle 60 bringing thread 62 from thread spool 64 to interact with one of the hook and bobbin combinations 22 as is known in the art . drive motor 66 is shown connected with sewing machine 56 for operation of the sewing machine 56 , again as is known in the art and not described more fully hereafter . encoder 68 is connected with drive motor 66 and both encoder 68 and drive motor 66 are connected with controller 54 . controller 54 operates as described above to control the operation of drive motor 66 and encoder 68 . also illustrated is thread break detector 70 . thread break detector 70 may be located in arm 58 of sewing machine 56 such that when a bobbin 26 runs out of thread 30 , needle 60 stops advancing thread 62 and this lack of motion of thread 62 indicates and absence of thread in bobbin 26 . thread break detector 70 may also be positioned at the hook bobbin combination 22 that is actively providing thread 30 from its position underneath needle 60 so as to detect the absence of thread 30 directly . wherever it is located , thread break detector 70 is connected with controller 54 such that upon notice from the thread break detector 70 , controller 54 operates to stop the empty hook and bobbin combination 22 . then controller 54 activates stepper motor 44 to turn shaft 46 that moves timing belt 50 that engages timing gear 20 that turns mounting plate 12 so as to position a hook and bobbin combination 22 in the position vacated by the empty hook and bobbin combination 22 beneath needle 60 . encoders 42 and 52 on hook and bobbin combinations 22 and stepper motor 44 provide the exact location of where thread 30 stopped such that thread 30 can be started at that precise location . when sewing machine 56 including drive motor 66 and encoder 68 are connected with controller 54 this same process is accomplished in conjunction with the use of thread 62 from thread spool 64 , for example . the description of the present embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration , but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . as such , while the present invention has been disclosed in connection with an embodiment thereof , it should be understood that other embodiments may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims .	3
a preferred embodiment of the invention is described below by referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a card connector in an embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig1 , a card connector 100 of the embodiment comprises a slot 101 disposed in a lower stage and a slot 102 disposed above the slot 101 , and is installed in a cellular phone not shown in fig1 . a detachable slot card 120 is always inserted in the slot 101 , and a sim card 130 storing information such as telephone number of user of cellular phone or the like is inserted in the slot 102 . in the slot 101 and slot 102 , the card inserting ( or ejecting ) directions are mutually in vertical relation . in the card connector 100 , the cards inserted in the slot 101 and slot 102 are taken out by slide levers 101 a , 102 a . the slot 101 is electrically connected to the specified wiring of the mounting board not shown in the drawing by means of leads 101 b , and the slot 102 is electrically connected to the specified wiring of the mounting board by means of leads 102 b . in the slot 101 , terminals ( not shown ) for connecting to the leads 101 b are disposed at specified positions , when the memory card 120 is inserted into the slot 101 , the terminals of the memory card 120 are in contact with and connected to the terminals in the slot 101 . as a result , the terminals of the memory card 120 are connected to the specified wiring of the mounting board through the leads 101 b from the terminals in the slot 101 . similarly , in the slot 102 , terminals ( not shown ) for connecting to the leads 102 b are disposed at specified positions . when the sim card 130 is inserted into the slot 102 , the terminals of the sim card 130 are in contact with and connected to the terminals in the slot 102 . as a result , the terminals of the sim card are connected to the specified wiring of the mounting board through the leads 102 b from the terminals in the slot 102 . fig2 is a perspective view of the cellular phone in which the card connector of the embodiment is incorporated . fig2 shows an example where the direction that the memory card as inserted into / ejected from the slot is 180 degrees different from that in fig1 . in fig2 , a cellular phone 200 has an opening 212 on the side 211 of a battery fitting portion 210 for holding a battery pack for driving . the cellular phone 200 also has an opening 202 on the side 201 of the cellular phone 200 . the card connector 100 is installed in the side surface of the cellular phone 200 in the opposite direction of a memory card inlet , with a sim card inlet disposed in the side surface of the battery fitting portion 210 of the cellular phone 200 . therefore , the sim card 130 is inserted in the slot 102 from the opening 212 , and the memory card 120 is inserted in the slot 101 from the opening 202 . the opening 202 for the memory card may be disposed at either side of the cellular phone 200 . on the top of the side surface 211 of the battery fitting portion 210 , there is a lock button 220 for fixing the battery pack to be fitted into the battery fitting portion 210 . the lock button 220 is interlocked with the slide levers 101 a , 102 a shown in fig1 . when the lock button 220 slides in direction a , the fixed state of the battery pack is released in the battery fitting portion 210 , and the slide lever 102 a shown in fig1 is interlocked at the same time to eject the sim card 130 . when the lock button 220 slides in direction b , the slide lever 101 a is interlocked to eject , the memory card 120 . as described herein , according to the embodiment , fixing and releasing of battery pack , removal of sim card , and removal of memory card can be done all by the lock button 220 alone . fig3 is a sectional view schematically showing a section of the cellular phone 200 in fig2 . as shown in fig3 , the cellular phone 200 is used by installing the battery pack 230 , and therefore the end face of the sim card 130 inserted in the slot 102 is fixed by the installed battery pack 230 . as a result , the cellular phone of the embodiment prevents the sim card from popping out due to an impact shock during use . on the other hand , the memory card 120 inserted in the slot 101 can be ejected freely even when the battery pack 230 is installed . this memory card 120 is removed by sliding the lock button 220 shown in fig2 in direction b , and the lock button 220 does not slide in direction a . therefore , without removing the battery pack 230 or sim card 130 , only the memory card 120 can be ejected . fig4 is a perspective view showing a detailed structure of the lock button 220 . as shown in fig4 , the lock button 220 comprises a slide unit 221 , a slide unit 222 , and a base 223 provided in the cellular phone main body . the slide unit 221 slides in direction a in fig2 as a holding portion 221 a and a holding portion 221 b are held by a slip guide on the slide unit 222 . the slide unit 221 has a slip bar 221 c wound with a spring 224 , and the slip bar 221 c penetrates through a guide hole 222 a provided in the end face of the slide unit 222 . by this mechanism , the slide unit 221 slides back on the slide unit 222 . the slide unit 221 is interlocked with the slide lever 102 a shown in fig1 , and as the slide unit 221 slides on the slide unit 222 , the slide lever 102 a is put in operation . the slide unit 222 has a slip bar 222 b extending in direction b in fig2 provided in its lower part , and is engaged with a guide groove 223 a of the base 223 , and slides in direction b . the slide unit 222 is fixed to the base 223 ( guide groove 223 a ) by means of a claw 222 c , and is limited in the move in the normal direction on the plane of the base 223 . the slide unit 222 is interlocked with the slide lever 101 a in fig1 , and as the slide unit 222 slides on the base 223 , the slide lever 101 a is put in operation . as described herein , in the embodiment , two slots differing in the inserting direction of two ic cards are overlaid in two stages , and the occupied area in the mounting board of the cellular phone is reduced . since two slots are different in the inserting direction , the inlet of one slot may be disposed on the side of the battery pack fitting portion of the cellular phone , and the inlet of other slot may be disposed on the side surface of the cellular phone . as a result , the ic card inserted in one slot can be fixed to the cellular phone by fitting the battery pack . according to the invention as described herein , the first and second slots for inserting ic cards are overlaid in two stages , and the card connector for inserting ic cards in different directions are used , and therefore two ic cards can be used without requiring the mounting area for two ic cards on the mounting board of the cellular phone , and excellent effects are obtained . although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiment for complete and clear disclosure , the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modification and alternative constructions that may be occurred to one skilled in the art which fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth .	6
because internal combustion engines are well known , the present description will be directed , in particular , to elements forming part of , or cooperating with , the novel structure of a failure detection device for an air - fuel ratio feedback control system in accordance with the present invention . it is to be understood that elements not specifically shown or described can take various forms well known to those skilled in the art . referring to the drawings in detail and , more particularly , to fig1 an engine system provided with a failure detection device for an air - fuel ratio feedback control system in accordance with a preferred embodiment is schematically shown . an engine 1 has an intake system 2 and an exhaust system 6 . the intake system 2 includes a plurality of individual intake pipes 2a , independently connected to combustion chambers ( not shown ) of the engine 1 , and a common intake pipe 2c to which the individual intake pipes 2a are connected all together through a surge tank 2b . the common intake pipe 2c is provided with an air cleaner 3 , an air flow meter 4 , immediately downstream of the air cleaner 3 , and an &# 34 ; idle - switch installed &# 34 ; throttle valve 5 , i . e ., a throttle value provided with an idle switch , disposed upstream of that close to the surge tank 2b . in each of the individual intake pipes 2a , a fuel injector 8 is disposed . the exhaust system 6 includes a plurality of individual exhaust pipes 6a , independently connected to the combustion chambers of the engine 1 , and a common exhaust pipe 6b to which the individual exhaust pipes 6a are connected all together . the common exhaust pipe 6b is provided with a catalytic converter 7 . upstream and downstream of the catalytic converter 7 , respectively , a primary or upstream air - to - fuel sensor 12 and a secondary or downstream air - to - fuel sensor 13 in the common exhaust pipe 6b are disposed . each of the air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 includes an oxygen ( o 2 ) sensor . the engine 1 is provided with an angle sensor 10 , cooperating with a crankshaft 1a , to detect an angular velocity of the crankshaft 1a as an engine speed , and a temperature sensor 11 for detecting the temperature of engine coolant . all of these sensors themselves are well known in the automobile art and may be of any well known type . the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 has a heater 13a . the heater 13a is activated to turn &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; to heat the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 only while failure of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is detected . the fuel injectors 8 are controlled by a control unit 9 including a microcomputer and deliver a correct quantity of fuel depending upon a pulse width . in order to adjust the pulse width , the control unit 9 receives various electric signals , as fuel injection control parameters , from the air - flow meter 4 , the idle - switch installed throttle valve 5 , the crankshaft angle sensor 10 , the coolant temperature sensor 11 , and the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 . fig2 shows , in block form , the failure detection system for the air - to - fuel ratio feedback control system . as is known in the art , if the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 becomes poor in responsiveness due to functional degradation , it outputs a signal , representative of an air - to - fuel ratio , which changes greatly . consequently , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs signals having long waves or long frequencies . such changes in frequency are particularly significant when the engine operates in off - idling conditions or under loads . however , when the engine operates in , for instance , an on - idling condition , in which only a small quantity of intake air is introduced into the engine and in which an air - to - fuel ratio changes inherently on a long cycle , the output of the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is less affected from degradation in responsiveness of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 . on the other hand , if the catalytic converter 7 , disposed between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 , suffers functional degradation , it loses its oxygen ( o 2 ) storage effect regardless of engine operating conditions . for this reason , the tendency of the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 to output signals of long waves or long frequencies exists even in an on - idling condition when the catalytic converter 7 has been functionally degraded . based on this fact , in order to avoid incorrect failure detections of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor due to functional degradation in the catalytic converter , a novel failure detection can be executed by the use of the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor in an on - idling condition . for accomplishing the novel failure detection , the control unit 9 performs , in addition to the air - to - fuel ratio control , a failure detection operation when receiving a signal from the idle - switch installed throttle valve 5 indicative of an intake air quantity smaller than a predetermined threshold value of intake air quantity during engine idling . the failure detection of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is made based on a ratio of , for instance , frequencies of signal waves from the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 . as noted above , fig2 shows , in block diagram , a conceptualized structure of the failure detection device . the failure detection device includes a failure detection means a which is operable only when a threshold value set means b detects an intake air ( a / i ) flow rate smaller than the predetermined threshold rate represented by signals from an intake air ( a / i ) flow rate detection means c , such as the idle - switch installed throttle valve 5 . fig3 ( a ) is a time chart representing an engine operation mode . fig3 ( b ) is a time chart representing a signal wave from a normal primary sensor . fig3 ( c ) is a time chart representing a signal wave from a degraded primary sensor . fig3 ( d ) is a time chart representing a signal wave from a secondary sensor when a degraded primary sensor is present . fig3 ( e ) is a time chart representing a signal wave from a secondary sensor when a normal primary sensor is present . finally , fig3 ( f ) is a time chart representing a signal wave from a secondary sensor when a degraded catalyst is present . as can be understood from time charts shown in fig3 ( a )- 3 ( f ), when the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 functions normally , it outputs a signal wave pwa in accordance with engine operating conditions , namely , on - idling and off - idling . if the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 suffers functional degradation , it outputs a signal wave pwb , for off - idling conditions , having a frequency smaller than that of the signal wave pwa when the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally normal . on the other hand , when the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally degraded , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal wave swc , for off - idling conditions , having a frequency becoming substantially equal to that of the signal wave pwb when the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is degraded , so that a frequency ratio of the signal waves pwb and swc from the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 reaches 1 : 1 . however , signal waves pwa and pwb from the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 are almost the same in frequency for on - idling conditions in spite of functional degradation . the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal wave swe having a frequency becoming larger for both off - idling conditions and for on - idling conditions if the catalytic converter 7 is functionally degraded . as long as the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally normal , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal wave swd which does not change in frequency . consequently , executing a failure detection in only on - idling conditions avoids confusion of a failure of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 with a failure of the catalytic converter 7 . the control unit 9 performs a calculation of a basic value of the quantity of fuel to ( which is hereafter referred to as a basic fuel injection value ). practically , the basic value is calculated from the following equation : where k is a coefficient , qa is the quantity of intake air detected by the air - flow meter 4 , and ne is the engine speed detected by the crankshaft angle sensor 10 . after correcting the basic fuel injection value ta in accordance with a coolant temperature detected by the coolant temperature sensor 11 , an actual value of fuel injection quantity t ( which is hereafter referred to as an actual fuel injection value ), with which fuel is actually injected through the injector 8 , is established by adding a feedback control value cfb to the corrected value of the basic fuel injection value ta . the feedback control value cfb is obtained according to a difference between the air - to - fuel ratio detected by the primary or upstream air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 . then , the control unit 9 adjusts pulse width so as to deliver a theoretically ideal combustible air - to - fuel ratio of , for example , 14 . 7 for any given engine demand . in fig4 pw is a signal wave from a primary sensor , sw is a signal wave from a secondary sensor , cgpfrl is a rich side skip value , cgpflr is a lean side skip value and cfb is a feedback correction value . referring to fig4 the feedback control value cfb is corrected by a feedback control of a skip value p , for the feedback control value cfb , which changes depending upon an air - to - fuel ratio detected by the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 . if the skip value feedback control is not conducted , a signal wave sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 remains either on a rich side or on a lean side . on the other hand , when conducting the skip value feedback control , an air - to - fuel ratio tends to change greatly beyond a range of the catalytic converter 7 for effective exhaust gas purification , so that a signal wave sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 changes . specifically , a signal wave sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 has a low frequency if the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally normal , and has a high frequency if the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally degraded . the skip value p is defined by cgpfrl for an air - to - fuel ratio changed from a rich side to a lean side ( which is hereafter referred to as a lean side skip value ) and cgpflr for an air - to - fuel ratio changed from a lean side to a rich side ( which is hereafter referred to as a rich side skip value ). the skip value feedback control is performed so as to correct a skip value p for a feedback control value ( cfb ) according to degradation of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 . that is , while the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal remaining on a rich side , the lean side skip value cgpfrl is changed by a predetermined decremental correction value , for instance 0 . 2 % of the skip value , every specific time period of , for instance , 8 . 2 milliseconds so as to increase the rich side skip value cgpflr . conversely , while the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal remaining on a lean side , the lean side skip value cgpfrl is changed by a predetermined incremental correction value , for instance 0 . 2 % of the skip value , every specific time period of , for instance , 8 . 2 milliseconds so as to decrease the rich side skip value cgpflr . as a result of changing the skip value as described above , a center value or mean value of the rich side skip value cgpflr and the lean side skip value cgpfrl converges in accordance with degradation of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 , so that any influence of degradation is canceled . the control unit 9 monitors a change in frequency of a signal wave pw from the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 to detect a predetermined critical degradation of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 . as was previously described , if the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is functionally degraded , it outputs a signal wave pw at a low frequency during off - idling conditions . on the other hand , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 outputs a signal wave sw at a frequency which becomes high during off - idling , so that a frequency ratio of the signal waves pw and sw gradually reaches 1 : 1 . the frequency of an output from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 also becomes high when the catalytic converter has been degraded . the frequency of an output from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is less adversely affected by degradation of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 during on - idling . based on these facts , in the failure detection device for the air - to - fuel ratio feedback control system , outputs from the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 are monitored to detect a ratio of frequency of the outputs of 1 : 1 during off - idling . when the off - idling frequency ratio is almost 1 : 1 , outputs from the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 are monitored to detect if a frequency ratio of the outputs rises above a predetermined threshold frequency ratio k during on - idling . if an on - idling frequency ratio beyond the threshold frequency ratio k is detected , it is determined that the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 has degraded . it is to be understood that the conditions of on - idling and off - idling are detected according to a signal provided from the idle - switch installed throttle valve 5 . the threshold value set means b may be construed so as to set a variable threshold value tv of intake air amount and a correction value d - skip by which a skip value is changed every specific time period . both of these values are variably set according to functional degradation of the catalytic converter 7 . fig5 shows the generalized correlation between skip value and threshold ( tmd ) value with respect to degradation , or exhaust gas purifying efficiency , of the catalytic converter . a correction value d - skp of the skip value is larger for a low exhaust gas purifying efficiency than for a high exhaust gas purifying efficiency . the higher a gas purifying efficiency becomes , the smaller it becomes likely in a second - order curve . on the other hand , a threshold value tv of the intake air amount is smaller for a low exhaust gas purifying efficiency than for a high exhaust gas purifying efficiency . the higher a gas purifying efficiency becomes , the larger it becomes likely in a second - order curve . consequently , while the catalytic converter 17 is still highly active or fresh , the correction value d - skp of the skip value remains large and the threshold value tv of the intake air amount remains small , so that a skip value p is prevented from overshooting . on the other hand , if the catalytic converter 17 is progressively degraded to make its gas purifying efficiency low , a skip value p is large , and a threshold value tv of the intake air amount is small , so that an average skip value rapidly converges . as a result , the detection of degradation is reliably monitored . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating the p - value feedback control sequential routine . when the p - value feedback control starts , a decision is made at step s1 as to whether or not the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is active . if the answer to this decision is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; an air - to - fuel ( a / f ) ratio feedback ( f / b ) control is carried out at step s2 . then , a decision is made at step s3 as to whether or not the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is active . when the answer to the decision made at step s3 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; this indicates that both the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 are active . then , at step s4 , a p - value feedback control flag pff for the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, indicating that the p - value feedback control is allowed . thereafter , a decision is made at step s5 as to whether or not an output sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is above a preset slice level psl . if an above - the - slice level output is detected , after setting a rich fuel flag rff for the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, which indicates that an air - to - fuel ratio is on a rich side , at step s6 , the rich side skip value cgpflr is incremented by a correction value d - skip and , at step s7 , the lean side skip value cgpfrl is decremented by the correction value d - skip . if the answer to the decision made at step s5 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the output sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is below the preset slice level psl . then , a lean fuel flag lff for the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, which indicates that an air - to - fuel ratio is on a lean side , at step s8 . thereafter , at step s9 , the rich side skip value cgpflr is decremented by the correction value d - skip , and the lean side skip value cgpfrl is incremented by the correction value d - skip . when the answer to the decision made at step s3 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; although the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is active , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is inactive . then , at step s10 , the p - value feedback control flag pff is reset to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, indicating that the p - value feedback control is prohibited . thereafter , the rich side skip value cgpflr and the lean side skip value cgpfrl are replaced with previous skip values cgpflr ( i - 1 ) and the lean side skip value cgpfrl ( i - 1 ), respectively , at step s11 . after having set the rich side skip value cgpflr and the lean side skip value cgpfrl at either one of steps at step s7 , s9 and s11 , a calculation is performed for a feedback control value ( cfb ) at step s12 . if the answer to the decision made at step s1 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the primary a - s sensor 12 is inactive . a previous feedback control value ( cfb ) is then fixed at step s13 . fig7 is a flow chart illustrating the sequence routine of degradation detection of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor . immediately after monitoring the purifying efficiency of the catalytic converter 7 at step s101 , a decision is made at step s102 as to whether or not an air - to - fuel ratio is within a region of p - value feedback control . if the answer to the decision made at step s102 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the air - to - fuel ratio is out of the p - value feedback control region . then , the control sequence orders return . on the other hand , if the answer to the decision made at step s102 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the air - to - fuel ratio is within the p - value feedback control region . then , at step s103 , a correction value d - skip for the skip value and a threshold value tv are read and set from a map shown in fig5 according to the purifying efficiency of the catalytic converter 7 monitored at step s101 . based on the correction value d - skip , the p - value feedback control is carried out at step s104 . at step s105 , a decision is made as to whether or not an average corrected skip value skip is beyond the threshold value tv . if the average corrected skip value skip is below the threshold value tv , i . e ., the answer to the decision made at step s105 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is judged to be normally active at step s106 . however , if the average corrected skip value skip is beyond the threshold ( thd ) value , i . e ., the answer to the decision made at step s105 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is judged to have failed in function and a lamp is turned on to warn a failure of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 at step s107 . it is to be understood that in place of changing both a skip correction value d - skip and a threshold ( thd ) value , either one of them may be changed in accordance with a monitored purifying efficiency of the catalytic converter 7a . referring to fig8 which is a flow chart illustrating a frequency degradation detection sequential routine , the first step s201 is to conduct a decision as to whether or not an off - idling frequency ratio ( oifr ) between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 is 1 ( one ). if the answer to the decision made at step s201 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; then another decision is made at step s202 as to whether or not an on - idling frequency ratio ( ifr ) between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 and 13 is above a predetermined threshold ratio k . if the answer to the decision made at step s202 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is judged to have caused frequency degradation at step s203 . if the off - idling frequency ratio ( oifr ) between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 and 13 is not 1 ( one ), and , although the off - idling frequency ratio ( oifr ) between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 and 13 is 1 ( one ), if the on - idling frequency ratio ( ifr ) between the primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 and 13 is below the predetermined threshold ratio k , then , the catalytic converter 7 is judged to be functionally degraded at step s204 . fig9 shows diagrammatically the failure detection device for the air - to - fuel ratio feedback control system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in this failure detection device , the detection of degradation of the catalytic converter is carried out after a center value of skip values has converged as a result of absorption of lean shift degradation and rich shift degradation of the air - to - fuel ratio sensor . for accomplishing the failure detection , a control unit 9 includes a degradation detection means d for detecting functional degradation of a catalytic converter based on outputs from primary and secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensors 12 and 13 and a prohibiting means e for prohibiting operation of or disabling the catalyst deterioration detection means d until a failure detection means a completes failure detection and skip value correction . fig1 is a flow chart which illustrates the failure detection sequential routine in which both air - to - fuel ratio feedback control and p - value feedback control are conducted . the routine is characterized in conducting the detection of degradation of the catalytic converter after the detection of lean shift degradation or rich shift degradation of the air - to - fuel ratio sensor and the correction of a skip value used for air - to - fuel ratio feedback control . the first step s301 is to conduct a decision as to whether or not the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is active . if in fact the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is active , i . e ., the answer to the decision made at step s301 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, then the air - to - fuel ratio feedback control is conducted at step s302 . thereafter , a decision is made at step s303 as to whether or not the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is active . if the answer to the decision made at step s303 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, then , after setting , at step s304 , a p - value feedback control flag to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, indicating that the p - value feedback control is allowed , a decision is made at step s305 as to whether or not an output sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is above a preset slice level psl . if an above - the - slice level output is detected at step s305 , after setting a rich fuel flag rff for the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at step s306 , indicating that an air - to - fuel ratio is on a rich side , the rich side skip value cgpflr is incremented by a correction value d - skip and the lean side skip value cgpfrl is decremented by the correction value d - skip at step s307 . if the answer to the decision made at step s305 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the output sw from the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is below the preset slice level psl . then , a lean fuel flag lff for the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is set to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at step s308 , indicating that an air - to - fuel ratio is on a lean side . thereafter , at step s309 , the rich side skip value cgpflr is decremented by the correction value d - skip , and the lean side skip value cgpfrl is incremented by the correction value d - skip . when the rich side and lean side skip values cgpflr and cgpfrl are incremented or decremented at step s307 or s309 , a decision is made at step s312 as to whether or not a mean value cgp of the rich side and lean side skip values cgpflr and cgpfrl is beyond a failure judging threshold value fjthd . if the answer to the decision made at step s312 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; the mean value cgp is below the threshold value tcgp . another decision is then made at step s313 as to whether or not a threshold value difference da is beyond a conversion judging threshold value cjthd for judging a conversion of the p - value feedback control . here , the threshold value difference da is defined by a difference db ( i )- db ( i - 1 ) between a current difference db ( i ) of a current mean value cgp ( i ) from a current failure judging threshold value fjcgp ( i ) and a previous difference db ( i - 1 ) of a previous mean value cgp ( i - 1 ) from a previous current failure judging threshold value fjcgp ( i - 1 ). if the answer to the decision made at step s313 is &# 34 ; yes ,&# 34 ; this indicates that the threshold value difference da has become below the conversion judging threshold value cjcgp . then , after setting a skip value conversion flag svcf to &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at step s314 , the system is judged to be functionally normal at step s315 . after carrying out a calculation of a feedback control value cfb by which a fuel injection value is controlled at step s316 , the detection of degradation of the catalytic converter is carried out at step s317 . however , if the answer to the decision made at step s313 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, this indicates that the threshold value difference da is still above the conversion judging threshold value cjthd . then , a skip value conversion flag svcf is reset to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at step s318 . after carrying out a calculation of a feedback control value cfb at step s319 , the sequence orders return . on the other hand , if the answer to the decision concerning the mean value cgp of the rich side and lean side skip values cgpflr and cgpfrl relative to the failure judging threshold value fjthd made at step s312 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, i . e ., the mean value cgp of the rich side and lean side skip values cgpflr and cgpfrl has become greater than the failure judging threshold value fjthd , then , after judging the system to have functionally failed at step s320 , a warning lamp is turned on to provide a failure warning at step s321 . if the answer to the decision concerning the activity of the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 made at step s303 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; i . e ., the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is inactive , then , after resetting , at step s310 , the p - value feedback control flag pff to &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; state , the rich side skip value cgpflr and the lean side skip value cgpfrl are set to previous rich and lean side skip values cgpflr ( i - 1 ) and cgpfrl ( i - 1 ), respectively , at step s311 . after carrying out a calculation of a feedback control value cfb at step s319 , the sequence orders return . if the answer to the decision concerning the activity of the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 made at step s301 is &# 34 ; no ,&# 34 ; i . e ., the primary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 12 is inactive , then a feedback control value cfb is fixed as it is . as was previously mentioned , it has been known that when the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is positioned downstream of the catalytic converter 7 , it is hard to raise to the active temperature of the sensor at the beginning of operation . moreover , heating the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 for early activation accelerates its thermal degradation while an engine operates at high speeds and under high loads . this results in changes in detection characteristics of the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 , and erroneous failure detection can be induced . however , since the heater 13a is activated only while the failure detection sequence is conducted , the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 is quickly heated up to its active temperature and , accordingly , suffers less thermal degradation . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the heater activation control sequential routine . the first step s401 of this routine is to make a decision as to whether or not the engine operates in a failure detection mode , i . e ., in on - idling conditions ( see fig2 ). only when the engine operates in an on - idling condition is the heater 13a activated to heat the secondary air - to - fuel ratio sensor 13 at step s402 . otherwise , the heater 13a remains inactive at step s403 . it is to be understood that although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof , various other embodiments and variants may occur to those skilled in the art by following the teachings herein . such other embodiments and variants falling within the scope and spirit of the invention and are intended to be covered by the following claims .	5
in the following detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings , which form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the inventions may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims and equivalents thereof . embodiments of the present invention provide an electromagnetic radiation system that eliminates or minimizes blood splash , achieves stunning in a very short time ( less than one second ), with capital costs and operating costs being much more in line with the cost of electrical stunning . in embodiments , electromagnetic radiation ( in the radio frequency ( rf ) or microwave spectrum ) is split into two paths with a power splitter . the paths direct the electromagnetic radiation to come together forming constructive interference ( electric and magnetic waves in same phase ) at a focal point within the animal &# 39 ; s brain . the animal &# 39 ; s brain is heated at the focal point by the constructive interference of the electromagnetic radiation stunning the animal . the process is further beneficial because the heating area of the brain is localized so that the surrounding tissue is not harmed therein providing less waist of the product . referring to fig1 , an illustration of an electromagnetic stunning system 100 of one embodiment is illustrated . as illustrated , the system 100 includes a radiation generator 102 . the radiation generator in one embodiment generates electromagnetic radiation in the rf frequency range and in another embodiment generates electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range . the generated electromagnetic radiation 200 is directed to a power splitter 104 . the power splitter 104 splits electromagnetic radiation into two paths . in particular , a first portion 200 a of the electromagnetic radiation is split into a first waveguide 106 a and a second portion 200 b of the electromagnetic radiation is split into a second waveguide 106 b . the first portion 200 a and the second portion 200 b will be “ in phase .” the respective first and second waveguides 106 a and 106 b direct their respective first and second electromagnetic radiation portions 202 a and 202 b to paths that converge . since the first portion 200 a and the second portion 200 b of the electromagnetic radiation are in phase , constructive interference will occur at their convergence point ( focal point 108 ). hence , at the focal point 108 , the magnitude of the first and second portions of the electromagnetic radiation 200 a and 200 b is the sum of the individual magnitudes of the first and second portions of electromagnetic radiation 200 a and 200 b . the animal to be stunned is positioned so the focal point 108 is within the animal &# 39 ; s brain at a select location . at the focal point 108 , the animal &# 39 ; s brain will heat up therein stunning the animal . the desired temperature increase for stunning would be approximately 10 - 15 ° f . hence , a pigs temperature prior to stunning is about 101 - 103 ° f ., an increase of 15 ° f . would raise the temperature to 116 - 118 ° f . at the select location to accomplish stunning . fig2 provides an illustration of an animal head 250 that is positioned between the waveguides 106 a and 106 b . illustration includes ears 255 a and 255 b . as discussed above the waveguides 106 a and 106 b direct their respective first and second portions of the electromagnetic radiation 202 a and 202 b to converge at a focal point 260 . at this focal point 260 , constructive interference of the radiation 202 a and 202 b signals takes place heating up the tissue . in one embodiment , the waveguides 106 and 106 direct their respective first and second portions of electromagnetic radiation 202 and 202 to the focal point 260 which is located at the brain stem of the animal . fig3 illustrates the total power to the brain as a function of axial position around ear represented xy graph 300 . this graph 300 illustrates that by adjusting the axial location of the animal head relative to waveguides 106 a and 106 b , the total power to the brain can be maximized . fig4 illustrates a power to the hypothalamus part of the brain as a function of axial position around ear xy graph 400 . the graph 400 illustrates the optimum location of the head relative to waveguides 106 a and 106 b to maximize power absorbed by the hypothalamus . referring to fig5 a stunning station 500 of one embodiment is illustrated . as illustrated , the stunning station includes a holding compartment 502 in which an animal would be restrained . the stunning station 500 includes a positioning portion 504 that is designed to position the animal head in a location in relation to the waveguides 106 a and 106 b . the positioning portion in one embodiment , also acts as a shield to localize the electromagnetic radiation . as discussed above , the waveguides 106 a and 106 b deliver electromagnetic radiation that creates constructive interference at a focal point that is within the positioning portion 504 . the waveguides 106 a and 106 b would be coupled to receive electromagnetic radiation 200 a and 200 b from a power slitter 104 that splits electromagnetic radiation 200 from an electromagnetic generator 102 . although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement , which is calculated to achieve the same purpose , may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown . this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention . therefore , it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof .	0
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments , it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments . on the contrary , the invention is intended to cover alternatives , modifications and equivalents , which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . [ 0057 ] fig1 illustrates a data collection and analysis system 100 for automatic analysis and documentation of work and time expended by a user of a computer according to the invention . the system is called dragnet . the dragnet system operates with a computer such as a personal computer using , for example , a dos operating system running dos application programs or a dos operating system with a microsoft windows graphical user interface for running microsoft windows applications . other operating system platforms can be used , as desired . the system 100 includes a main program that gives a user a database type of interface for building up project information and task information . the main program is , for example , a visual basic application that provides a database for keeping the data that the work analyzer needs and that provides a simple interface for selection of work analysis criteria and for printing of reports . an important part of the system 100 is a data collector that collects the data and a work analyzer that analyzes that data that interfaces to the main program . the system 100 uses a software module which is a hardware abstraction layer 101 , which is located between the system 100 and external devices . the system 100 has a number of input paths 101 a , 101 b , 101 c for receiving input information from the hardware abstraction layer 101 . the system 100 also has an input / output path 101 d for receiving / sending information between the hardware abstraction layer 101 and the system 100 . the system 101 is designed to usually interface with a user keyboard 102 for both dos and for windows applications . for windows applications , the system 100 also interfaces with a mouse 104 . a hard disk 106 is provided for storage of a user &# 39 ; s applications as well as for storage of the various data files provided by the system according to the invention . the data collection part of the system works with either dos or windows applications , while the actual data analysis part of the system works only with windows . the hardware abstraction layer 101 allows a wide variety of storage devices and user input devices to operate with the system 100 . the hardware abstraction layer 101 translates the activities of storage devices , typically shown as 107 , so that they can use the storage path 101 d . the hardware abstraction layer 101 translates selected activities of external selection devices , typically shown as 108 , such as remote controls or devices connected by phone lines , so that they can use the dos or windows keyboard input paths 101 c , 101 b . the hardware abstraction layer 101 d translates pointer device activities of pointer devices , typically shown as 109 , such as a mouse or a drawing tablet , so that they can use the windows mouse input path 101 a . the hardware abstraction layer 101 is equivalent to the bios in a pc computer . the system 100 monitors keyboard and mouse functions . the addition of the hardware abstraction layer 101 provides the capability of monitoring , i . e ., detecting , activities of multiple types of input devices , such as remote controls for tv set top boxes , drawing , tablets , touch - tone keyboards , etc . the hardware abstraction layer 101 allows these and other devices to be detected directly by the system 100 . this enhances the ability of the system 100 to categorize a number of additional activities , making the activities finer - grained and providing better accumulation of various different activities . additionally , the hardware abstraction layer 101 makes it possible to add capability to the system 100 by providing “ in the field ” additions to the hardware abstraction layer 101 by downloading information for new external devices to the rom of the system 100 . the hardware abstraction layer 101 can be thought of as being similar to a plug - in module that allows one or more new activity detectors to be inserted without affecting the remainder of the system 100 , as described herein below . in this manner , detection of activity of a new input device is provided without replacing or modification of the system 100 , that is , without having to rewrite the core programs of the system 100 . the system 100 includes two unique software modules . the first module is resident module 110 or operating system extension such as a terminate - stay - resident ( tsr ) dragnet module 110 , which includes data collection and analysis functions , which are described herein below . while described in connection with a windows or dos environment , the resident module or operating system extension is intended to include implementations of the invention for systems other than ibm compatible systems . the second module is a dragnet keyboard / mouse filter module 112 . the system 100 operates in conjunction with operation of a dos application program 114 or a windows application program 116 . a dos file system 118 is used . for a windows application program 116 , a windows graphic user interface 120 is provided . as part of the startup for the dos operating system , the tsr program 110 is started . the tsr program 110 hooks itself up between the dos file system 118 and either a dos application 114 or a windows application program 116 . a tsr ( terminate - and - stay ) resident program enables a program to embed itself into the computer &# 39 ; s memory and to remain there while dos continues to run other programs . in the dos mode of operation for a dos application program , when the dos application program makes a request to open a file or to run a program , the request first goes through the tsr program 110 before it goes to the dos file system 118 . when a dos application makes a request for an operation to be performed such as , for example , a request to open a file , close a file , read data , write data , or change directories , the tsr program 110 passes that request onto the dos system and lets the dos system process the request . before going back to the dos application to give the dos application the results , if the operation was successful , then that information is recorded by the tsr program 110 . for example , if a file is tried to be open and the file does in fact open , that event is recorded . the information is recorded into a buffer memory . a separate asynchronous routine operates at one second intervals to take the buffer information into memory and to write that information out to a file on the hard disk . because the tsr program 110 is hooked into the dos system at a low memory address level , the tsr program cannot open files or do read / write operations with a file while data is being collected . those other operations are done separately when the dos system is not doing anything else . in a similar manner , the tsr program 110 watches every key stroke that comes in from the keyboard 102 . a keystroke comes into the tsr program 110 application so that it is possible to detect that a user is pressing keys . the only information that is necessary to know is that keyboard activity is happening . it is not necessary to know what particular keys are being operated . the actual keys are not recorded . what is recorded is the fact that , during a one - second interval , a user typed something into the keyboard . the tsr program 110 is placed between the dos application and the dos file system to monitor the occurrence of key strokes and to send keystroke occurrence information out to the hard disk every second . in the windows mode of operation for a windows application program , the windows system installs its own windows keyboard driver and its own mouse driver . as a result , the hook routine that is installed to catch keystrokes at the dos level doesn &# 39 ; t get called when windows is running . the windows keyboard driver and mouse driver replace other service routines with their own service routines . in order to monitor key strokes in the windows mode of operation , the keyboard / mouse filter 112 is used . in general , a filter takes information from one program , examines it , possibly changes the information , and then passes the ( modified ) information along to another program . the keyboard / mouse filter 112 watches each keystroke and mouse click that happens while windows is running . similar to dos monitoring keystrokes , the keyboard / mouse filter 112 also keeps track of the fact that a keyboard or mouse activity is happening . the keyboard / mouse filter 112 under windows also keeps track of which file is actually being used . for example , programs like microsoft word or excel can have multiple documents open . it is necessary to know which files inside microsoft word are actually being manipulated . using this keyboard / mouse filter 112 , each time that there is a keystroke or a mouse click , the system 100 actually looks at which window in the top window on the screen and records that information . using windows requires a two - step process because of the architecture of windows . if a macintosh platform is used , only one step is required . in windows , the user types his keys and the keystrokes first go into windows and then windows decides which applications should get those key strokes . for windows , the invention catches the keystrokes half way between windows graphic environment module 120 and the windows application 116 . the windows graphic environment module 120 looks to see which data file the windows application is working with before passing the keystrokes onto the windows application . the windows graphic environment module 120 includes the windows keyboard and mouse drivers , the windowing system , and everything else that makes up windows as the operating system . the windows application 116 sits on top of the windows operating system and puts data into a screen window in response to user operations , such as menu selections . the windows graphic environment module 120 functions to display screen windows and takes keystrokes and sends them to the windows application 116 . it &# 39 ; s actually up to the application to decide that when you type “ a ,” it should put a character on the screen . the invention catches the input keystroke information after the windows graphic environment module 120 gets a character and decides which screen window the character goes to . the actual windows application then gets the character . the windows application 116 sends file activity information over to the tsr module 110 . windows applications do not replace the dos file system when they are running . windows is actually built on top of the dos application . when a windows application opens a file , it still goes through the tsr module 110 . when a windows user types a key , the keystroke information first goes through the windows graphic environment module 120 . the remaining operations with windows are similar to the dos operations . the keystrokes also still have to go through the tsr program to the dos file system 118 . under a dos application , the information ( both the keystrokes and the file information ) come directly to the tsr module 110 . under windows , the file information goes to the tsr module 110 directly from the windows application 116 , but the keyboard and mouse information to the tsr module 110 come from the windows graphic environment module 120 , and not directly from the keyboard . [ 0071 ] fig2 is a flow chart illustrating initialization of the tsr module 110 , where the tsr module 110 performs data collection by logging file activity or by logging keyboard and mouse activity for a computer system . block 202 indicates initialization of a third party product called coderunner which provides a very compact run - time library for the c programming language . the library sub - routines from the compiler writers for a c program are used to open and close files and to print text on the screen , etc . block 204 indicates that parameters are loaded into a file from a parameter file 206 . the parameters basically indicate if there are any files or directories that are not to be tracked . for example , a user might not want to keep track of an activity in a temporary directory or every time someone wants to open a font on a windows directory . to avoid collection of voluminous and meaningless activities , a user can exclude such activities . block 208 indicates that the old dos interrupt vectors are saved . block 210 indicates that new interrupt vectors are stored in low memory . when a dos application program wants to invoke a dos routine , the intel processor has a software interrupt feature so when the dos application wants to invoke the dos routine , dos loads up some registers and generates an int 21 command , which goes down to low memory and finds the address where the dos routine is located and then jumps off to the dos routine . the contents of that low memory location are saved . hooking the interrupt means replacing the address of where the function is with the interrupt routine address and then calling the function . in fig2 the initialization proceeds from top to bottom without stopping and without going to any of the interrupt vectors . when it says store new interrupt vectors , it just means you &# 39 ; re storing the addresses of these flow charts discussed in connection with fig3 and 5 discussed herein below . fig2 . only shows initialization of the system . block 212 initializes a time - based scheduler routine , which is part of the coderunner library . the time - based scheduler routine calls however often you want . it is initialized and block 214 indicates that it is set for a one - second interrupt . [ 0077 ] fig3 is a flow chart 300 illustrating a tsr interrupt 9 routine for dos keyboard interrupt operation for keyboard activity . block 302 indicates that , when the low - level keyboard driver has a character , it generates an interrupt 9 which is intended to go to dos to eventually transmit that key onto the application . so we get the interrupt from the keyboard driver and set a flag saying we see a keystroke and then we call the dos sub - routines which were supposed to get it in the first place . block 304 test flags to determine whether the dragnet system is ready and whether the dragnet system is on in order to make sure that we don &# 39 ; t start trying to collect data through the file system interrupt before we actually have all the buffers and other items ready . when the actual work is analyzed , no data is collected and the dragnet is off . dragnet is turned off so we are not trying to collect data about analyzing the work because that doesn &# 39 ; t make any sense ; there &# 39 ; s nothing there to be collected . the ready flag says that everything is set up . if dragnet &# 39 ; s ready and on , the block 308 determines whether a keystroke was stored since the last interrupt . if a keystroke was stored , the routine exits . each keystroke is not stored because users can type a number of characters per second . block 310 indicates that , if a keystroke has not been recorded since the last interrupt , the keystroke record in a collection buffer is stored . there is an end memory collection buffer where , when different kinds of activity happen , we put data records in this collection buffer . every second we get a different kind of interrupt that comes in and takes however many records are in the buffer and writes them out to the disk . the interrupt routine for the keyboard of fig3 only gets called when a user actually types a key . that &# 39 ; s where it will go after we &# 39 ; ve done the boxes marked store new interrupt vectors . [ 0081 ] fig4 is a flow chart 400 illustrating a special , arbitrarily - named tsr interrupt 60 routine for a windows interface interrupt operation . this routine is unique to a system according to the invention and is not something that the dos operating system already provides . the tsr interrupt 60 routine provides a 110 mechanism so that the dragnet keyboard / mouse filter module 112 can communicate with the tsr module 110 in order to put data into that same buffer that gets written out to the disk once every second . blocks 402 and 404 indicate whether dragnet is ready and on . when the window keyboard / mouse filter 122 wants to store some information , it puts a code value in the register and does an interrupt 60 . the code values are 1 , 2 , or 3 , which indicates three different operations : code 1 asks the tsr where the buffer is ; code 2 tells the tsr to change the address of the pointer within the buffer ; and code 3 provides a windows busy mechanism to make sure that the dos tsr operation and the windows collection do not happen simultaneously . block 406 tests whether a code 1 is present . if so , block 408 shows that the address of the buffer pointer is returned . if not , block 410 tests whether a code 2 is present . if so , block 412 updates the buffer pointer for the register . if not , block 414 tests whether code 3 is present . if so , block 416 sets or clears the windows busy flag . this ensures that , while the buffer is being filled up , a protection mechanism is provided to make sure that , while a user is putting data in the mouse keyboard filter , the one - second interrupt handler isn &# 39 ; t trying to write the buffer contents out to the disk . this routine is called once to ‘ set the flag ’ and then it is called again to flag when the user is done . in that way , if a one - second interrupt comes in when the system is in the middle of processing a mouse click from windows , the system will wait for the next second . [ 0084 ] fig5 is a flow chart 500 illustrating a special tsr interrupt 21 ( int 21 ) routine for a file system hooking interrupt operation . an interrupt 21 is a dos function which controls how dos applications open files , close files . interrupt 21 is written in assembler code and is a true interrupt handler . the block 502 saves the values in the registers of the processor . the blocks 504 , 506 determine whether dragnet is ready and on . if so , the block 508 determines whether a type is interesting . when you do an int 21 you pass into a register one of about 60 different codes that says what you want to do . do you want to open a file , close a file , rename a file , etc . those are the codes or types . we don &# 39 ; t monitor every single type ; actually we monitor about 7 or 8 different types . we look to see if a type is something that we want ; mainly if is it something that has a file name associated with it . and if it is , then we save what kind of type it is and we save the string in block 510 ( normally the file name that was associated with it ). then we go call the old int 21 in block 512 because we have to go to dos and actually have dos do the work , try to open the file , for example . then we come back and look at the processor &# 39 ; s carry flag in block 514 , which is one of the processor &# 39 ; s internal registers . if it is set that means that is the way dos indicates that there was an error . if there was an error , we back up this pointer in block 516 where we save the record type and string because it didn &# 39 ; t actually work . in other words , a typical way with a dos system is that you have this path statement that specifies where the files are and it goes down through the path and tries to open each file and each directory on the path until it finds it . it is not interesting to us if it had to go through 5 different directories before it found the file . we only care when it actually found it . so if you wrote an application that just simply tried over and over and over in a loop to open files that didn &# 39 ; t exist , we wouldn &# 39 ; t consider that work . you are not accomplishing anything ; therefore , it is not recorded as work . [ 0088 ] fig6 is a flow chart illustrating a routine for a timer - based interrupt operation in the data collection routine . block 602 asks if dos is busy and if dos is busy , then block 604 causes another one second delay . we set up the timer to interrupt us in another second and then we leave . if dos isn &# 39 ; t busy , block 608 indicates that the data that was collected by the tsr is written to a disk , which is the purge event buffer file . block 610 indicates that the pointers are checked for initialization . if not , block 612 sets up pointers with the values of the current data segment registers in the intel processor . the first time that this flow chart is executed it is necessary to initialize some things because one of the segment registers inside the intel processor changes between initialization time and actual execution time of the sub - routine . that process is done once and in block 614 flags are reset that say we have seen a keystroke . in block 618 a flag is set that says the pointers are ready so that the next time we come through we will take that yes path out of block 610 . block 620 indicates that in a second later we go back to start . [ 0090 ] fig7 a , 7b , and 7 c illustrate a flow chart 700 for purging an event the windows busy flag is tested . if windows is not busy , block 704 decrements the windows busy flag . if the windows mouse filter is doing something , then windows is busy and we have to wait until the next second . windows is busy means that our portion of our system that runs on windows is busy , not the windows operating system . if we can , then we decrement this flag which tells buffer to a log file in the timer based interrupt operation of fig6 . in block 702 windows that we &# 39 ; re busy so it doesn &# 39 ; t try to do anything while we &# 39 ; re doing this . block 706 test if anything is in the buffer . if not , block 708 increments the windows busy flag and we leave . if there is something in the buffer , block 710 indicates that the dragnet_on flag is set to 0 , or turned off in order to prevent our int 21 &# 39 ; s from being recorded . as we are trying to write this data to the file , we are going to be issuing int 21 &# 39 ; s and we don &# 39 ; t want our int 21 &# 39 ; s to be recorded . block 712 indicates that we open the activity log file 714 on the hard disk 106 . the activity log file 714 is structured for convenience as one file for each month . the current date and time are determined and the appropriate monthly activity log file 714 is opened . the routine continues as indicated by the purge 2 continuation symbol 716 to fig7 b . in fig7 b , block 720 tests whether the activity log file 714 opened . if not the routine continues , as indicated by the purge 3 continuation symbol 722 to fig7 c . the file not being open means that some error is happening , but the system is not going to crash and the routine continues on . block 724 indicates that we go to the end of the activity log file 714 because we are appending data to the end of the activity log file 714 . block 726 is the start of a loop which fetches and writes activity records to a data collector . block 726 fetches a new activity by rectype and data . rectype indicates the type of activity such as a file opening or closing , a keystroke , etc . data is typically the name of the file or a path when a change directory operation happens . the loop proceeds to block 728 which tests whether a file name which consists , for example , of 8 tildes and 3 back quotes is open . the file name is not a normal file name . if an attempt has been made to open that file , block 730 indicates that the parameter file 206 of fig2 is to be re - read . this allows changes to be made and to be read from the parameter file without having to re - boot the computer . after the parameter file is re - read , the data not actually recorded to the disk . if block 728 does not detect the file name which causes the parameter file to be re - read , block 732 tests whether another special file name , which is called dragnet ˜. off is active . this file is activated as a way of turning dragnet off . code for a subsequently described work analyzer code can try to turn the dragnet system off . and if in fact that is the case , then the dragnet system is turned off by means of block 734 which sets a turnoff variable to a one state . if block 728 or block 732 indicate that neither one of the two special file names has been opened or attempted to be opened , then block 736 indicates that the activity data is to be written to a dynamic data collection ( ddc ), or dragnet data collection . the ddc is the same as the activity log file 714 with a different name . block 738 tests whether more data is in the buffer . if so , the routine loops back to block 726 to fetch more data . data is collected for one second . in one second , the computer could have opened and closed a number of files , received three keystrokes , and done a number of other functions so there will be a number of different records in the buffer . the loop starting with block 726 and ending with block 738 keeps operating until the buffer is empty . if block 738 finds that the buffer is empty , the routine goes through the purge 4 continuation symbol to block 740 of fig7 c , which closes the activity file . block 742 indicates that the buffer pointers are then reset and all of the data collected is lost . with reference to fig6 block 608 is implemented in fig7 a , 7b , and 7 c to purge the event buffer once a second to the activity log file . blocks 610 , 614 , 618 , and 620 check if the pointers are initialized , reset the flags , and wait for another one second . the tsr module gets interrupted every one second according to the routine of fig6 . the tsr module is also asynchronously interrupted using the interrupt routine of fig3 , and 5 for int 9 , int 21 , and the special int 60 . these synchronous and asynchronous interrupt routines get information to the tsr module . [ 0097 ] fig8 is a flow chart illustrating the main windows interface program 800 which implements the system of fig1 . the dragnet keyboard / mouse filter 112 has two parts . it has the main windows interface program 800 and something called dynamic link library ( dll ) programs which are methods of implementing programs under windows . the main windows interface program 800 initializes everything . the dynamic link library ( dll ) programs actually gets called in a similar kind of way when each keystroke gets hit inside windows . the dragnet keyboard / mouse filter 112 works as follows : when the system , or program , according to the invention is installed for windows , an icon for this program is put into the windows start - up folder . when windows starts , it automatically runs the program . this is the drag hook indicated as element 802 in fig8 . this is similar to the tsr 110 of fig1 for dos , which is started when dos is booted . the windows interface of fig8 is started when windows is started . block 804 initializes the program . block 806 installs the keyboard filter , block 808 installs the mouse filter , and block 810 displays a message . block 812 indicates that the program then loops forever . the forever loop of block 812 means that the program just sits there and loops forever because in the process of installing the keyboard and mouse filters the extra separate subroutine library called a dll is loaded . if the program quits , the dll would not . if the dll would get removed from memory , the whole system would crash . the program is a windows program with no screen window in which the user never sees it as a window on the screen . [ 0100 ] fig9 is a flow chart illustrating a dynamic link library ( dll ) routine 900 for a windows interface for a dll keyboard filter operation . the dll is a dynamic link library which is a way of having sub - routine libraries that get loaded when they &# 39 ; re needed and can be shared between different applications . a dll also is a way inside windows that allows certain things to be done because of certain intel addressing conventions . every time a user presses a key , we get called before the application that &# 39 ; s looking for the key gets called in the same way as a dos interrupt but not as an interrupt . when the keyboard filter 900 is invoked at point 902 , block 904 saves the title of the last window that was looked at . this is similar to what was done with the dos version of the present invention . if a user types a hundred keys on the same screen window , a hundred messages are not written to the activity log file . an activity log file is written under windows only every ten seconds . the conditions for writing something to the log file from a windows application has to be a key in a new window , or it &# 39 ; s been ten seconds since the last key . block 904 saves the last window title , we get window text as a windows call . block 906 gets the title of the current window and block 908 tests whether the current window contains a valid file name to determine activity by a user . if the file name is not valid , then block 910 calls enumchildwindow , which is a window call which sorts through a number of screen windows on top of each other window until it finds the screen window that has the file name that is actually being used . this is done because in windows again , when you have a multiple document application , you can either have a frame window and smaller windows inside , or you can actually blow up the inside windows so that you still only see one document at a time but you still have multiple documents open . when you do that , it puts the name of the file in the outside window . the active file name is looked for in the outside window . if it is found , we are in the particular case where the inside windows are maximized . if the name is not found , then we have to go down and search down through the “ children ” windows until we find which particular window we are currently working with . after the window is found with a valid file name in it , block 912 determines if conditions are right . the conditions are : a key down , more than ten seconds since the last key , or a different window since the last interval . if all the conditions are true , block 914 stores a string using the int 60 routine , as described herein below . block 918 calls the next hook which means that we call the next person in the chain here to effectively process the keystroke . in windows there could be multiples of these keyboard filters and we can get called after some have been processed and before all of them have been processed so we come in and do our work and pass it on to the next guy which may be the application , or it may not be ; we don &# 39 ; t care . [ 0104 ] fig1 is a flow chart illustrating a dll windows interface to a mouse filter operation which works exactly like the keyboard filter . we get the mouse click , we go find the title of the current window in block 1008 , and decide whether it has a file number in it or whether we have to go searching for it and then we look for the conditions and the conditions are similar . it has to be a mouse down and either more than ten seconds , or in a different window . and if it meets those conditions , then we write the information off to the tsr buffer saying something happened . and then we call the next animal in the food chain in block 1016 to do whatever with this mouse click that needs to be done . [ 0105 ] fig1 is a flow chart illustrating a dll windows interface to the tsr data collection routine for the keyboard filter operation of fig9 and the mouse filter operation of fig1 . this is the way in which we use the interrupt 60 to communicate . block 1102 is called by block 914 of fig9 . block 1104 calls the tsr to tell it to do the get / set windows busy flag routine . block 1106 looks to see if the tsr is present in memory . if it isn &# 39 ; t present in memory , the program exits . if the tsr routine is not started , we don &# 39 ; t want windows to crash simply because it &# 39 ; s not there . so there is some error protection to make sure that windows isn &# 39 ; t crashing . if the tsr is present , then block 108 looks to see whether we got the windows busy flag . block 110 provides a one second delay because if we were in that routine that we went through before where we were doing the purge event buffer routine , then we can &# 39 ; t get it so we have to wait for a second and try again . this provides a synchronization mechanism between these two parts of the program to make sure that both people aren &# 39 ; t trying to write into the buffer at the same time . so assuming that when we finally get done with this , and we get the flag ( the windows busy flag ), then block 1112 indicates that we go call the tsr to get the address of where does the next record go into memory buffer . because we &# 39 ; re running in windows , block 1114 converts that real memory address to a virtual memory address because that is what windows applications are expecting , virtual memory addresses . then just like in int 21 , for example , block 1116 indicates that we do a store rectype and string routine which means that we store whether it &# 39 ; s a keystroke or a mouse click and we store whether it &# 39 ; s a name of the file on top of that window . block 1118 indicates a tsr update which is a third call inside the tsr that says move the pointer in the buffer just past the end of the record just entered . this is done so that the next piece of information to go into the buffer will be stored at the proper place because what was done was to get the buffer point and put the data in and how much data was put in . block 1120 indicates that the windows busy flag is cleared and that the tsr can use the buffer again . [ 0106 ] fig1 is a flow chart illustrating an activity data analyzer routine 1200 for a system according to the invention . once we get everything loaded serially into the activity log file , analysis can be done either locally or remotely . with regard to time and this system , one way to think about this is to divide your work up into various tasks and for each task have a stop watch . but for this type of stop watch , unlike a regular stop watch , you have to keep pressing the button to keep it going and if you don &# 39 ; t press the button after a while , it will stop . these are the active times used for this invention . all the stop watches are initialized to zero . cumulative time file are used to store the amount of time already spent . these files are updated to cumulatively track work . block 1202 initializes the times to zero . block 1204 loads current cumulative times from a cumulative time file 1206 . block 1208 gets the next activity and determines which tasks belong to that particular activity . block 1210 determines the owner of a particular activity . this means that if you set up so that everything inside the jones folder belongs to jones and everything inside the smith folder belongs to smith , we go read something from the activity file that says i opened up the a . b file inside the jones folder , then the owner logic will use that information which says that everything inside the jones folder belongs to the jones task to determine that the owner of that particular activity is jones . block 1212 checks if a job or activity is not to be counted . not every activity that the system might do belongs to a particular task . there are activities that don &# 39 ; t belong anywhere , for example , when the operating system reads and writes its own file . the act of opening that font file does not necessarily belong to an activity because the act of opening the font file belongs to the operating system . in an operating system such as windows , for example , the font file will get opened once for an application like microsoft word , even if multiple documents are using the font . the activity of opening the font in this particular example does not belong to a particular owner , it belongs to word . in this case , for example , this result equals nojob ?. if there is nojob , block 1214 checks the active time . the stop watches do not automatically shut off . the system has to periodically look to see if they have been running too long without any activity and shut them off if the result wasn &# 39 ; t equal to nojob . if the result was equal to a particular job , then block 1216 accumulates the time for that particular job . this is analogous to actors who spin plates on top of sticks . if you get some activity for user jones , the system gives the jones stick a little spin to keep the plate going . but if there is no continuing activity on jones , eventually the plate will fall off the stick . each activity is looked at to see who it belongs to and if it belongs to a certain person , then we simply give their plate another spin . for the concept of the determined owner , what the visual basic application does is to provide an interface with a database where a user specifies what the names of his tasks are , like jones and smith . then , what is specified is how you determine whether an activity belongs to jones or belongs to smith . this is implemented using string matching based upon the file names . in other words , every activity inside the jones directory on a certain disk drive belongs to jones . every activity that has the word “ smith ” in it , belongs to smith no matter where it is . a variety of different criteria can be specified , using or logic . an activity is classified if it matches a criterion that belongs to that particular task . particular things can be excluded . temporary files , backup files , or other things not to be tracked can be excluded in this way . for example , tracking of certain kinds of program applications like microsoft word and excel but not solitaire can be done . two owners can both get credited for the same activity . if smith is a graphic design project , you might watch for use of fractal design painter application and credit that use to smith . two tasks can share the same activity . [ 0112 ] fig1 . is a flow chart illustrating a routine 1300 for checking active times in block 1214 in the analyzer routine of fig1 , which is the logic for keeping the “ plates spinning ”. block 1302 starts a timing loop for each job . block 1304 calculates the difference in time between activities . block 1306 tests if the allowable idle time is exceeded to stop that stop watch . if not , the routine loops back to block 1302 for another job . if the idle time is exceeded , block 1308 accumulates the job time . if it &# 39 ; s time to stop that stop watch , then we accumulate the total time in block 1310 and go back to do the next job . if it &# 39 ; s not time to stop the stop watch , we go on to the next task . all tasks are looked at to determine if there &# 39 ; s any activity . if any files are updated , block 1312 writes the data out to the file . an event analyzer module reads the activity log file over a particular range of days . another module called a reports module provides an external interface to the system according to the invention . data can be imported from other programs and project manager . exports can be made to database project managers , etc . to provide printed reports , invoices and summary information . the event analyzer for the time tracking system is described in the following pseudo code to function as follows : total and current time are 0 relative ( i . e . they represent total hours / minutes / seconds ). active time is real - time and is used to compare with event times to determine if a job has exceeded it &# 39 ; s idle time limit . [ 0146 ] fig1 is an illustrative timing diagram illustrating starting , restarting , and ending of an analyzer timer for a task , according to the invention . an explanation of how a work computation data analyzer is as follows : for each task we keep what in electronic terms is called a “ re - triggerable one - shot ” monostable timer . this means that the timer can be reset from its current position to the maximum position at any time . it only expires if nothing has retriggered before the timeout value . a waveform for such a timer is shown in fig1 : [ 0154 ] fig1 a and 15b are illustrative timing diagrams for two tasks illustrating operation of respective analyzer timers . if one imagines each “ start ” as the detection of activity for a certain task then each re - start is another detection of activity for that same task . only when the timer “ expires ” does the work analyzer decide that work has been performed . that is when the time between the last event for this task and the current event for this task is greater than the idle time . in the work analyzer one of these “ timers ” is created for each task in the user &# 39 ; s database . when an activity is seen , the activity starts and restarts the timer . at the end of the analyzed time all the timers are assumed to have expired . a waveform form is shown in fig1 a - b with a user working on two tasks : the print module will contain an analyzer that attempts to correlate all information in the totaltime file , the job worked file and the cumulative job file before printing . if any of the totals don &# 39 ; t match the report will not be printed . in the event that the totaltime file or the cumulative job file is missing , the report can be printed but will contain a caption indicating that it is not a validated report . also the size and checksum for the first and last blocks of the job worked file will be calculated each time the file is opened or closed and if they don &# 39 ; t match an entry will be written to the file indicating tampering has occurred . a system and method according to the invention includes , but is not limited to , the following application areas : remote telecommuting employment ; determination of activity costs ; estimation of time and amount billable for future projects / work ; measurement of cost / benefit of new software or hardware ; project management linking ; accounting systems linking ; tracking of activities and time used on a distributed basis ; nano - business costing ; resource management tool ; assistance in social accounting ; manufacturing systems ; remote education to document study / activity time ; objective tool for screening new hires ; means for distributors to get into duplication , publication services and have authors trust activity count ; and video conferencing consultations with automatic billing calculations . for remote telecommuting employment applications , managers and clients can know when the employees or consultants are working and can measure productivity resulting in energy savings and improved air quality caused by reductions in miles driven in polluting vehicles . for determining activity costs such as , for example , the cost of financial reporting , accounting reconciliation , computer file maintenance , etc ., linkups to accounting software provide financial statements showing monthly / ytd costs by activity . for estimating time and amounts billable for future projects / work , a system according to the invention provides data to be exported and used in an estimating algorithm or used in statistical analysis to estimate at , for example , an 80 % probability using statistical functions found with spreadsheet programs . for measuring cost / benefit of new software or hardware , the system provides data for activity - based costing of activities and for determining benefits of new processes or products . for project management linking , the system can automatically feed recorded actuals into project software . for accounting systems linking , data entry of timecards information can be eliminated . for tracking of activities and time used on a distributed basis , instead of a centralized timer of services provided by mainframes , cable tv , etc ., activities and time used are tracked on a distributed basis . a user knows what he is going to be charged for services when the user is hooked up to a computer . current mainframe time tracking software tracks cpu time at one rate and does not accumulate charges based on directory / file criteria . the invention can be used in smart houses or in allocating mainframe charges to departments . for nano - business costing applications with a multi - tasking operating system on a desktop computer and the system &# 39 ; s ability to accumulate activities and costs in separate budgets , a computer user can simultaneously perform various types of business functions on a desktop computer and automatically have the activities documented and costs accumulated in the chosen business function , such as marketing , production , accounting , etc . as a resource management tool , the invention helps measure time and costs of various methods of getting a job done . the system helps to objectively determine the time , cost , and resources needed to perform a task , using a computer . given the information , a manager has useful information to determine how to allocate resources to accomplish multiple simultaneous tasks among a department or company . to assist in social accounting , the system helps to determine what it costs to implement a government program . a system helps to determine not just the funds that are distributed to the beneficiaries , but also the staff and material costs for managing the program . for manufacturing systems , this system with remote sensors , such as rf id devices , is used to document production and to assign costs . for remote education , the system is used to document study or activity time . a tutor or teacher can review a student &# 39 ; s approach and logic in solving a problem and can address any errors . the system facilitates multimedia programming training on demand with feedback on students approach to solving assigned programming exercises . the system is useful as an objective tool for screening new hires and for performance - based assessment testing . managers can screen candidates for a computer oriented job by assigning a task . the system will document time and activities but does not measure quality . the system provide valuable information for a manager to make an objective hiring decision in filling the job vacancy . installation of the system on disk duplicating machines would allow distributors to get into duplication or publication services and have the authors trust the counts of the distributors to verify that royalty payments have included all of the distributors sales . the system facilitates video conferencing consultations with automatic billing calculation . clients or patients can reach their professional or doctor , regardless of their geographical location and without having to go to their office and without having to manually start and stop a clock . the invention covers browser activity where browser programs are just application programs and are treated by the present invention like any other program . browsers interact with files on a local machine and they also interact with files that are accessed via networks such as the internet / intranet . to extend the processes of the present invention to browsers , it is necessary to enhance the data collector to monitor traffic between a particular application and the internet / intranet in addition to the normal traffic between the application and the dos file system . as illustrated in fig1 interaction between an application and the internet is performed by a software component known as a network operating system , nos , 130 , which is similar in function and features to a disk operating system , dos , 118 , as previously described in connection with the system 100 . a network 132 is illustrated . the technical methods involved in intercepting interactions or traffic between an application and the nos are slightly different than those between an application and dos but from a high level they appear the same ( i . e ., the data collector for nos watches for file open and close , file read and file write operations just as the data collector for dos does . [ 0189 ] fig1 illustrates a internet / intranet initialization process which is to the dos initialization which does not actually hook an interrupt but inserts a hook of similar design . the actual running process uses the same identical code to write the collected data to the data collector or disk file . this provides a process for hooking internet / intranet traffic and is similar to the concept of hooking disk traffic . the routing of the data thus collected to a data collector file writer uses exactly the same method used to write keyboard and mouse activity to the file . [ 0190 ] fig1 is similar to fig2 and further includes block 216 which indicates the step of finding a network interface . the network connects non - file system services providers which provide interface such as , for example , telephony interfaces and email provider interfaces . block 218 indicates that old code is saved . block 220 inserts system calls to a data collector for network activities . [ 0191 ] fig1 is analogous and similar to fig5 and illustrates a network call routine 1700 for an external network provider . block 1702 extracts information regarding the user and the provider . block 1704 analyzes information regarding who are active current uses of the provider . block 1706 constructs a data collection for activities . block 1708 writes and saves the user activity data collection records . block 1710 calls the network interface . [ 0193 ] fig1 follows block 1710 and illustrates an additional routine 1800 which saves additional information . decision block 1802 determines if there is additional information to be stored . if yes , that information is stored as illustrated by block 1804 in the ddc file and returns to the end of the routine . network applications of the invention include monitoring of actual activity at a particular worldwide web site . activity can also be monitors between the computer running the data collector and other computers on its network that does not go through the dos . this activity includes video streams , audio streams , game playing , internet telephony , etc . in general , any kind of conversation ( either two - way or one - way ) can be monitored and tracked , such as , for example , pay - per - play or pay - per - view . additional combinations of work done on the local computer and work performed over the network can also be monitored including file access on remote systems and remote data collectors , in which , for example , a data collector is installed on a machine in the field which sends its information over a network to another data collector for concentration at a common site . as described above , in addition to operating system environments such as dos , windows , macintosh , etc ., the invention is useful with a remote server which has application accessed by a user through a network the server itself can collect user activity information . the functionality of the tsr 110 is extended to include a nos , which is treated as another data store . a browser accesses a data file in a remote computer and uses the nos as a two - way connection . for server and browser application the monitoring system determines which users are active and which files or functions are being used by the user . the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents .	6
referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views , fig1 shows five types of fasteners 1 for embodying the process according to the invention . these fasteners include two strips 2 , 4 . as shown in the figure , the strips 2 , 4 respectively include webs 6 , 8 and fastener profiles 10 , 12 . profiles 10 , 12 extend on the strips 2 , 4 in the longitudinal direction thereof . profiles 10 , 12 have forms capable of interlocking in a complementary manner . for example , one of the profiles 10 , known as the male profile , has the shape of an arrowhead in cross - section . profile 10 can be introduced and kept engaged in profile 12 , known as the female profile , which is in the form of a groove . each strip 2 , 4 can have a number of profiles 10 , 12 similar , for example , to those described above . these profiles 10 , 12 are then parallel to each other . strips 2 , 4 respectively include a first web 6 and a second web 8 , which extend substantially laterally on one side of the profiles 10 , 12 . according to certain variants of the invention , the first web 6 and the second web 8 can be replaced by a first part 6 and a second part 8 of a single web that makes it possible to join the two strips 2 , 4 . the fasteners shown in fig1 a and 1b include two complementary profiles 10 , 12 . each profile 10 , 12 is supported by one of the two parts 6 , 8 of a single web which has a u - shaped cross - section with respect to the longitudinal direction of profiles 10 , 12 . profiles 10 , 12 of the fastener 1 shown in fig1 a are close to the bottom of the u - shaped cross - section . profiles 10 , 12 of the fastener 1 shown in fig1 b - 1 e are close to the free ends of the u - shaped cross - section , thereby allowing placement of an opening slider , as will be discussed below . webs 6 , 8 of the fastener 1 shown in fig1 c - 1 e are independent of each other . these fasteners 1 are particularly adapted to be attached to the film 50 by the process according to the invention , since the surface of the webs 6 , 8 permits welding onto the film 50 on an area of the webs not under profiles 10 , 12 . this facilitates placement of the fastener 1 and welding the same to the film 50 . preferably , at least one web 6 , 8 extends sideways onto an area at least equal in surface area to the area located under profiles 10 , 12 . preferably , the process according to the invention is used to form reclosable bags 30 on an ffs machine 100 , shown in fig3 . in this case , during the process according to the invention , the step of attaching the first web to a film 50 is executed upstream of a filling tube 130 of the ffs machine 100 . the film 50 moves toward the tube 130 in the direction indicated by arrow d . the film 50 has two free longitudinal edges 52 , 54 parallel to its direction of movement . a fastener 1 is brought crosswise with respect to the direction d of the movement of the film 50 . as shown in fig2 the fastener 1 is oriented toward the film 50 so that the longitudinal direction of profiles 10 , 12 is perpendicular to the longitudinal edges 52 , 54 of the film 50 . fastener 1 can be any one of the five fasteners 1 shown in fig1 or may be any other fastener 1 , including those shown hereinbelow , adapted for implementation of the process according to the invention . preferably , the length of the fastener 1 is approximately equal to half the size of the film 50 with respect to the direction of movement d thereof . the fastener 1 may be placed near one of the longitudinal edges 52 , 54 of the film 50 . preferably , the fastener 1 is attached approximately centered with respect to the two longitudinal edges 52 , 54 . the fastener 1 is guided , pulled or pushed by roller - equipped means and / or by a two - way mechanism so that it is properly positioned on the surface of the film 50 . the fastener 1 is positioned on a portion of the film 50 suitable for forming a first bag wall so that one of the two strips 2 , 4 is placed flat on one face of the film 50 . the strip 2 with the first web 6 rests on the surface of the film 50 . prior to being positioned on the film 50 , fastener 1 is advantageously provided with two spot welds 42 , 44 . each spot weld 42 , 44 is situated at one longitudinal end 3 , 5 of the strips 2 , 4 and , more particularly , at the location of profiles 10 , 12 , and thus helps ensure that the fastener 1 is watertight at the longitudinal ends of the profiles 10 , 12 . fastener 1 is placed on the film 50 under first transversal welding means 110 . these first transversal welding means 110 , for example , include a welding bar 112 that is crosswise with respect to the direction of movement d of the film 50 , and two welding bars 114 that are longitudinal with respect to the direction of movement d of the film 50 . the length of the welding bar 112 is approximately equal to that of fastener 1 . the two welding bars 114 are located at the ends of the welding bar 112 , at right angles thereto , and the welding bars 114 are approximately equal in length to the width of fastener 1 . the welding bars 112 , 114 are lowered and pressed onto the edge of webs 6 , 8 , either together or independently of each other . thus , according to one variant of the process , the step of attaching the first web 6 to the film 50 is performed only at the longitudinal ends 3 , 5 of the strips 2 , 4 by the longitudinal welding bars 114 . according to another variant of the process , the first web 6 is attached to the film 50 through the welding bar 112 only on the edge of the web 6 which will be toward the outside of the reclosable bag 30 with respect to profiles 10 , 12 when the reclosable bag 30 is formed . according to still another variant of the process , the first web 6 is attached upstream of the tube 130 by combining the two preceding variants . according to still another variant of the process , the second web 8 of the fastener , shown in fig1 d , is attached to the film 50 through the welding bar 112 . the second web is preferably attached by a peel seal 11 on the edge of the web 6 which will be toward the inside of the reclosable bag 30 with respect to profiles 10 , 12 when the reclosable bag 30 is formed . ( see fig2 ) according to still another variant of the process , the second web 8 is attached upstream of the tube 130 by combining the two preceding variants for the first web 6 at an earlier sealing point when the film is moved in direction d . alternatively , for certain fasteners 1 the first web 6 is attached at no less than two points 47 , 49 situated on either side of the profile 10 supported by the first web 6 with respect to the longitudinal direction . the first web 6 is thus attached as part of the film 50 at a given point toward the front and at a point located to the rear with respect to the direction of movement d . this makes it possible to prevent fastener 1 from being turned around during the formation of the reclosable bag 30 on the tube 130 ( fig2 and 21 ). a machine according to the invention can also allow implementation of this variant of the process . alternatively , the fastener 1 can be attached to the film 50 prior to forming the reclosable bag 30 at the same time the spot welds 42 , 44 are being made . in this case , the fastener 1 is moved on the film 50 even if the spot welds 42 , 44 have not been made . then , once the fastener 1 is in place , appropriate longitudinal welding bars 114 weld the longitudinal ends 3 , 5 of strips 2 , 4 in the same operation that makes the weld points 42 , 44 . [ 0064 ] fig3 shows the formation of the reclosable bag 30 from the film 50 around the tube 130 . the film 50 with the fastener 1 is conveyed toward the tube 130 . the film 50 is then wrapped around tube 130 . the free longitudinal edges 52 , 54 are positioned one over the other parallel to the axis of the tube 130 to be welded to one another by longitudinal welding means 120 , which is capable of forming a longitudinal weld seam 40 . by folding the film 50 longitudinally with respect to its direction of movement , a second wall 34 of the reclosable bag 30 is formed . the reclosable bag 30 has two longitudinal folds 31 , 33 and an opening that is closed by fastener 1 . the reclosable bag 30 is hermetically sealed by the longitudinal weld 40 and one transversal weld 46 . the transversal weld 46 extends between the longitudinal folds 31 , 33 and is located on the edge of the walls 32 , 34 longitudinally opposed to the fastener 1 . [ 0066 ] fig4 shows second transversal welding means 116 . the second transversal welding means 116 is adapted to attach the second web 8 of the fastener 1 to the second wall 34 of the reclosable bag 30 below the tube 130 . as shown in fig5 the second transversal welding means 116 simultaneously makes it possible to weld the fastener 1 to the walls 32 , 34 and to form the transversal weld 46 . preferably , cutting means 140 are solidly joined to second transversal welding means 116 in order to cut successive bags 30 . the cutting means 140 can form a cut that is crosswise to the direction of movement of the film 50 . preferably , the second transversal welding means 116 also includes grooves 117 , which extend over the entire length of the second transversal welding means 116 . the grooves 117 of each of the second welding means 116 are facing one another and are turned toward each another to form a cavity . these grooves 117 make it possible to avoid welding the walls 32 , 34 in a small transversal area downstream of the fastener 1 . this transversal area makes it possible to form tongues 36 , 38 that allow the walls 32 , 34 to be grasped to spread the walls apart and to open the reclosable bag 30 . alternatively , the formed tongues 36 , 38 may be sealed at a peel seal 57 to provide a protective film around the fastener 1 and the attached slider 9 , as shown in fig2 - 27 d and described below . a number of additional variants of the fastener 1 for implementing the process according to the invention will be described hereinbelow . according to one of these variants , the fastener 1 includes the slider 9 . the slider 9 can be of any known type capable of engaging the profiles 10 , 12 when moved in a first direction and disengaging the profiles 10 , 12 when moved in a second direction opposite the first direction . the process of making film 50 must be adapted to attach fasteners 1 with the slider 9 . in one variant , as shown in fig3 a , the process includes a step of positioning film 50 , which include a first cutout 51 , before the tube 130 . the first cutout 51 permits access to the slider 9 over the entire length of the profiles 10 , 12 . for example , the form and dimensions of the first cutout 51 are slightly smaller than those of the fastener 1 . the first cutout 51 is spaced apart on the film 50 by a distance equal to the dimension of the reclosable bag 30 in the direction parallel to movement d of the film 50 . the process then includes a step of positioning fastener 1 on the first cutout 51 before the filling tube 130 . another variant of access to the slider 9 is to seal the tongues 36 , 38 at a peel seal 57 to form film extensions to protect the fastener 1 and the attached slider 9 , as shown in fig2 - 27 d . alternatively , a line of weakness 55 may be formed in the film extensions or the tongues 36 , 38 by a cutting means 142 . the perforations 55 or the peel seal 57 allow the user to tear either the perforations or the peel seal in order to access the fastener 1 and the slider 9 . the fastener 1 is already provided with the slider 9 , and the longitudinal ends 3 , 5 are possibly already welded together at spot welds 42 , 44 which can act as end stops . the fastener 1 is therefore positioned and attached by the welding means 110 so that the slider 9 is on the longitudinal edge of the fastener 1 , located toward the front with respect to the direction of movement d of the film 50 . when using a cutout to access the slider , at least one of the webs 6 , 8 is welded to the film 50 on at least one edge of the first cutout 51 by the first transversal welding means 110 . the film 50 , thus provided with the fastener 1 , is shaped in the form of a cylinder around the tube 130 . a longitudinal weld 40 is formed by the longitudinal welding means 120 . a second cutout 53 may be made downstream of the longitudinal welding means 120 . the second cutout 53 would be made in the film 50 opposite to the first cutout 51 , with the shape and dimension of this second cutout 53 being the same as those of the first cutout 51 . a second cutout is made by a blade 135 . if the blade 135 is located at the location of the tube 130 , the blade 135 is curved . the fastener 1 is then welded by the second transversal welding means 116 . the shape of second transversal welding means 116 is adapted to weld fasteners 1 that include the slider 9 by allowing passage of the slider by a groove 118 to the area of the weld . examples of transversal welding means are illustrated in fig4 a , 5a , 26 and 27 - 27 d . as shown in fig4 a and 26 , the second transversal welding means 116 includes an opening 119 . this opening 119 is parallel to profiles 10 , 12 and is approximately equal in length to the profiles 10 , 12 . this opening is wide enough so that the welding bars of the second welding means 116 are not applied to the slider 9 during welding of the fastener 1 onto the film 50 . the second welding means 116 therefore weld only webs 6 , 8 of the fastener 1 to the film 50 , along with the longitudinal ends 3 , 5 of strips 2 , 4 . the second welding means 116 thus form transversal welds 46 , 48 of the reclosable bag 30 . as shown in fig5 a and 27 - 27 d , according to another variant of the second transversal welding means 116 , these means have a u - shaped cross - section . this shape creates grooves 117 that form a cavity capable of receiving profiles 10 , 12 and the slider 9 without deforming them when the welding bars of the second welding means 116 are pressed against each other to form the transversal welds 46 , 48 and / or the peel seal 57 . other methods can be envisaged for attaching a fastener 1 with the slider 9 to a film 50 . in particular , it is possible to clear access to the slider 9 when making the cutouts 51 , 53 in ways other than those described above . as shown in fig3 a , the filling tube 130 may also be provided with a longitudinal groove or guiding ribs 132 capable of guiding the slider 9 toward the groove 118 of the second welding means 116 when the fastener 1 moves over filling tube . additionally , a forming collar 134 may be provided with a trough leading to a groove 136 that guides the slider 9 into precise alignment with the longitudinal groove or the guiding ribs 132 of tube 130 . [ 0077 ] fig6 shows a fastener 1 which , in addition to webs 6 , 8 and profiles 10 , 12 , has two strips 18 , 20 that can form a peel seal . peel seal strips 18 , 20 extend over the entire length of the fastener 1 at the edges of the free ends of the webs 6 , 8 . peel seal strips 18 , 20 thus join the webs 6 , 8 or parts of the webs on the side that will be located toward the outside of the reclosable bag 30 with respect to profiles 10 , 12 after the reclosable bag 30 is fully formed . with regard to the second transversal welding means 116 , fig7 a illustrates the positioning and welding of the fastener 1 to the walls 32 , 34 . the fastener 1 shown in fig6 is shown in fig7 a in a closed configuration . the peel seal strips 18 , 20 are prewelded to each other . the free end of web 6 of fastener 1 is attached to the wall 34 by the first welding means 110 . it is possible , according to one variant of the process , that the peel seal strips 18 , 20 are not prewelded and are then welded together and to the wall 34 during the step of attaching the web 6 to this wall by the first welding means 110 . according to still another variant of the process , the entire set of walls 32 , 34 , webs 6 , 8 and peel seal strips 18 , 20 are welded by the second transversal welding means 116 . after the wall 32 has been brought close to the free edge of web 8 , the process of attaching fastener 1 to the walls 32 , 34 is completed at the same time the weld 46 is formed and at the same time the walls 32 , 34 between the weld 46 of the reclosable bag 30 and the fastener 1 of the following reclosable bag ( fig7 b ) are cut . as described above , the groove 117 of the second transversal welding means 116 makes it possible to keep two areas of the walls 32 , 34 unwelded in order to create tongues 36 , 38 on the side of the profiles 10 , 12 situated toward the outside of the reclosable bag 30 . [ 0079 ] fig8 shows a fastener 1 with two protective bands 14 , 16 . these protective bands 14 , 16 extend over the entire length of the free longitudinal edges of the webs 6 , 8 . these protective bands 14 , 16 are equipped with a barrier layer on the faces that are to be placed opposite each other , which prevents the protective bands 14 , 16 from being welded together . as shown in fig9 a , the fastener 1 is welded to the walls 32 , 34 by second transversal welding means 116 which do not have grooves 117 . fig9 b shows that the walls 32 , 34 are welded to the fastener 1 , both at the location of the peel seal strips 18 , 20 and at the location of the protective bands 14 , 16 . the protective bands 14 , 16 are not welded together . thus tongues 36 , 38 are formed , which are capable of grasping the walls 32 , 34 of the reclosable bag 30 in order to open the reclosable bag . [ 0080 ] fig1 is a cross - sectional view of a fastener 1 , which is provided with a perforated line 22 . when the fastener 1 is in an open position , the perforated line 22 is located between profiles 10 and 12 at approximately equal distances therefrom . this perforated line 22 extends over the entire length of the fastener 1 at the bottom of the u - shaped groove formed by the fastener 1 when it is in a closed position . after the reclosable bag 30 is opened , the fastener 1 is torn at the perforated line 22 by separating the peel seal strips 18 , 20 and the profiles 10 , 12 . [ 0081 ] fig1 shows a variant of the fastener 1 shown in fig1 . according to this variant , a thin web 7 forms the u - shaped groove between the profiles 10 , 12 . webs 6 , 8 are shown extending on a side of the profiles 10 , 12 . however , if the webs 6 , 8 do not extend in a manner similar to the u - shape shown in fig1 b , the profiles may be provided with a slider 9 similar to the arrangement shown in fig2 c . this thin web 7 can easily be torn to open the reclosable bag 30 , but it ensures that the fastener 1 is substantially watertight . if thin web 7 extends sufficiently , it can be turned inside out toward and between the webs 6 , 8 when the contents of the reclosable bag 30 are emptied to protect profiles 10 , 12 from the contents of the reclosable bag 30 . profiles 10 , 12 , thus protected , remain clean and able to work together effectively when reclosing the reclosable bag 30 . thin web 7 can also form a funnel or a pouring spout when it is pulled out from the reclosable bag 30 as shown , for example , in fig1 . for instance , to form a pouring spout , the thin web 7 comprises two substantially trapezoidal - shaped elements placed one above the other and joined together at the two nonparallel edges of the trapezoids and on the shorter of the two parallel edges . the length of the longer of the two parallel edges of the trapezoid is equal to the dimension of the reclosable bag 30 transversely with respect to the direction of movement d of the film 50 . these two non - parallel edges are welded between and with the longitudinal ends 3 , 5 facing strips 2 , 4 . [ 0084 ] fig1 shows a fastener 1 that , in addition to the peel seal strips 18 , 20 , includes a gasket membrane 26 , the complementary profiles 10 , 12 and the webs 6 , 8 . the gasket membrane 26 is welded over the entire length of the fastener 1 , for example , close to the peel seal strip 18 between the peel seal strip 18 and the profile 10 . the gasket membrane 26 extends sideways toward the other profile 12 and covers the profile 10 . [ 0085 ] fig1 shows the fastener 1 shown in fig1 in the closed position . it is clearly shown that the sealing membrane 26 is engaged between profiles 10 and 12 . [ 0086 ] fig1 shows a fastener 1 similar to that illustrated in fig1 and 14 , except that fastener 1 shown in fig1 includes two gasket membranes 26 each welded to one of the webs 6 , 8 . it will be appreciated that the gasket membranes 26 of the foregoing embodiments may include a perforation located in close proximity to the point of attachment of the gasket membrane 26 to the webs 6 , 8 . such a perforation facilitates removal of gasket membrane 26 from webs 6 , 8 . [ 0087 ] fig1 through 20 show variants of fastener 1 that include at least one peel seal strip 18 , 20 , 21 and a perforated line 19 . [ 0088 ] fig1 shows a fastener 1 which has a single peel seal strip 21 attached between webs 6 , 8 . the perforated line 19 is located on the edge of peel seal strip 21 located toward the outside of the reclosable bag 30 and between webs 6 , 8 . this perforated line 19 extends over the entire length of the fastener 1 and permits the peel seal strip 21 to be more easily pulled apart when the walls 32 , 34 are separated to open the reclosable bag 30 . [ 0089 ] fig1 shows a fastener 1 in an open configuration . the perforated line 19 is located between the profiles 10 , 12 at approximately the same distance from each of the profiles 10 , 12 at the junction point of webs 6 , 8 . the peel seal strips 18 , 20 run along this perforated line 19 over the entire length of the fastener 1 . [ 0090 ] fig1 and 20 show a fastener 1 , such as that shown in fig1 and 18 , which also includes gasket membrane 26 . this gasket membrane 26 is welded to the web 8 close to the peel seal strip 20 and extends sideways above profile 12 . [ 0091 ] fig2 shows the fastener 1 attached to the film 50 ( for example , before passing over the filling tube 130 of an ffs machine ). this fastener 1 comprises two webs 6 , 8 connected together to form a u - shaped cross - section . the web 6 is attached to the film 50 by two weld points 47 , 49 located on the web 6 on either side of the longitudinal direction of profile 10 . these weld points 47 , 49 can be made before the fastener 1 is folded back onto itself to engage profiles 10 , 12 . the weld points 47 , 49 can extend more or less in the longitudinal direction of the strips 2 , 4 or may extend over the entire length of the fastener 1 . according to another variant , the fastener 1 can be held onto the film 50 by only one weld point 47 . preferably , in this case , weld point 47 is located downstream in relation to the movement d of the film 50 to prevent fastener 1 from turning upside down when passing over the filling tube 130 . advantageously , one of these weld points 47 , 49 is located on the side of the profiles 10 , 12 which will be inside the reclosable bag 30 once it is formed . in this case , no equivalent facing weld point will be made on the second web 8 . thus , a hinged configuration is created that gives the reclosable bag 30 greater resistance to internal pressure as seen , for example , in fig2 . using the method described in fig2 and 22 for the fastener 1 of fig1 b , the hinged configuration with attached slider 9 is shown in fig2 d . [ 0093 ] fig2 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the fastener 1 shown in fig1 . fastener 1 includes a single gasket membrane 26 , which is welded on each end thereof to a respective one of webs 6 , 8 on the interior side of the profiles 10 , 12 . alternatively , gasket membrane 26 may be attached to the walls 32 , 34 of the reclosable bag 30 . the gasket membrane 26 is interposed between the profiles 10 , 12 to form a fluid - tight seal between the interior and exterior of the reclosable bag 30 . the profiles 10 , 12 may be engaged or disengaged , and the gasket membrane 26 may be perforated near the point of attachment to either one or both of the webs 6 , 8 . such a perforation facilitates removal of the gasket membrane 26 when the reclosable bag 30 is opened for the first time , thereby providing a tamper - evident barrier . alternatively , the portion of the gasket membrane 26 located on the exterior side of the profiles 10 , 12 may be perforated . [ 0094 ] fig2 is a top plan view of another alternative for providing a tamper - evident slider - operated fastener , which requires replacing the cutouts 51 , 53 with only side cuts 122 which extend above the longitudinal weld made by weld bars 110 for a short distance beyond profiles 10 , 12 . accordingly , a film extension 126 beyond the profiles 10 , 12 and a slider 9 are formed by sealing the tongues 36 , 38 . the film extension 126 comprising the tongues 36 , 38 is formed by the cross - weld bars of the second welding means 116 as described above . perforations 124 may also be made parallel and above the profiles . the resulting open - ended loop thus formed above the slider - operated fastener must be torn off along the perforations before the slider can be used to open the bag 30 . alternatively , the film extension 126 may extend the length of the slider - operated fastener 1 , as shown in fig2 . the film extension 126 of fig2 may be torn open at the perforations 55 or at the peel seal 57 shown in fig2 - 27 d . it will be appreciated that the gasket membrane 26 of the several embodiments described above may , if of sufficient thickness , be provided for maintaining the profiles 10 , 12 out of engagement when attaching the fastener 1 to walls 32 , 34 . it will be further appreciated that if the gasket membrane 26 is interposed between engaged or interlocked profiles 10 , 12 , and a pulling action is enacted on the walls 32 , 34 of a formed reclosable bag 30 , the gasket membrane 26 will act to separate the engaged or interlocked profiles 10 , 12 . [ 0096 ] fig2 illustrates a section of a tape 56 comprised of a series of fasteners 1 , which are provided with gasket membranes 26 according to any of the embodiments described above . the tape 56 includes cross - seals 58 , which define the extent of each fastener 1 and are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of the reclosable bag 30 to be formed . the gasket membrane 26 includes a cutout portion 60 located in closed proximity to the cross - seals so that profiles 10 , 12 may be positively engaged in the area of the cutout portion 60 . profiles 10 , 12 may be engaged or disengaged over the remaining length of gasket membrane 26 . the positive engagement area 62 of profiles 10 , 12 , which substantially corresponds to the cutout portion 60 of gasket membrane 26 , ensures alignment of the profiles 10 , 12 over the remaining length of the fastener 1 and the gasket membrane 26 . it is clear that the invention also extends to a machine for producing a film 50 to be used to form reclosable bags 30 , including first welding means 110 , which are transverse to the direction of movement of the film 50 and are capable of attaching a fastener 1 with webs 6 , 8 to this film 50 . thus , one obtains a film 50 for forming reclosable bags 30 with fasteners 1 . these fasteners 1 may be attached to the film 50 by only a first web 6 . reclosable bags 30 may then be formed and completed from this film 50 provided with fasteners 1 , either on a bag forming machine to be used and filled later or on an ffs machine . the invention therefore also covers a forming , filling and sealing machine which includes first transversal welding means 110 upstream of a filling tube 130 and second transversal welding means 116 below the tube 130 . the term “ transversal ” is to be understood herein to refer to the direction of movement of the film 50 . it will be appreciated that , although the gasket membrane 26 has been described hereinabove as being welded or attached to one or both of the webs 6 , 8 , the gasket membrane 26 may alternatively be welded or otherwise attached to one or both of the walls 32 , 34 of the reclosable bag 30 . thus , the several aforementioned objects and advantages of the invention are most effectively attained . although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein , it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims .	1
the present invention provides a method of determining the length of a polynucleotide target using a branch migration assay , an example of which is shown in fig1 . in this example , an array of single - stranded polynucleotide first probes 110 , 112 , 114 , 116 , 118 , having one , two , three , four , and five repeats , respectively , are attached to the surface of microarray 120 through attachment domain 122 ( fig1 a ). in a first step , a single - stranded target polynucleotide 124 labeled with label 126 and having three repeats is hybridized to the first probes ( fig1 b ). target polynucleotide 124 hybridizes with first probes 110 and 112 to form a duplex with a single - stranded region of target polynucleotide 124 . the duplex formed by target polynucleotide 124 and first probe 114 has no single - stranded regions . the duplex formed by target polynucleotide 124 and first probes 116 and 118 has single - stranded regions of first probe . next , an unlabeled single - stranded polynucleotide second probe 128 , which is complimentary to target polynucleotide 124 , is hybridized with the duplexes ( fig1 c ). branch migration is more thermodynamically favorable in the presence of single - stranded polynucleotide . thus , second probe 128 displaces target polynucleotide 124 only from the duplexes in which there is a single stranded region of target polynucleotide 124 present , i . e . the duplexes containing probes 110 and 112 ( fig1 d ). displacement of target polynucleotide 124 from probes 110 and 112 can be detected by a loss of signal due to displacement of label 126 from these duplexes . by identifying which duplexes have had target polynucleotide 124 displaced , the length , and hence the number of repeats , in target polynucleotide 124 can be determined . in this case , since signal is lost from duplexes containing first probes 110 and 112 , having one and two repeats , respectively , target polynucleotide 124 is determined to have three repeats . a key requirement for this assay is that the target polynucleotide hybridizes to the first probes in the proper register . that is , it must hybridize without misaligned repeats or “ slippage ”. for example , in fig1 b , it must be ensured that polynucleotide target 124 binds probes 116 and 118 starting at the repeat on the first probe that is closest to the microarray surface . otherwise , the polynucleotide target could hybridize to first probes 116 and 118 such that there is a single stranded region of polynucleotide target in addition to a single - stranded region of probe in the duplex . this would result in displacement of the polynucleotide target from probes 116 and 118 by second probe 128 , loss of signal 126 from probes 116 and 118 , and misidentification of the number of repeats in polynucleotide target 124 . therefore , in a preferred embodiment , the first and second probes contain a non - repeated nucleotide sequence that is complementary to a non - repeated sequence on the polynucleotide target . for example , if the first probe is attached to the surface of the microarray at the 5 ′ end , there would be a non - repeated sequence 5 ′ to the repeated sequences in the first probe , which is complimentary to the target polynucleotide . the same sequence would be present in the 5 ′ end of the second probe . the branch migration assay may be carried out with any detection system , for instance , a standard fluorescence technology . in addition to conventional fluorescence microarrays , the assay could also be carried out using high - sensitivity magnetic detector arrays such as spiin - valve arrays and magnetic tunneling junction arrays . the first probes were prepared by oligonucleotide synthesis . probes were synthesized for detection of 7 str loci ( tpox , csf1po , d5s818 , d7s820 , d13s317 , d16s539 , d18s51 ) each having from 1 to 16 repeats . these str loci are the simplest ones , with just 4 nucleotides repeated and no variation in sequence . the first probes were synthesized with an amino - modification at the 5 ′ end that allows the oligo to bind to the chip surface , followed by a common sequence , a unique sequence ( a genomic sequence located 3 ′ of the repeats , which is specific for each str locus ) and nucleotide repeats ( from 1 to 16 ), so that for each str locus there were 16 probes . the unique sequence and the repeats were both complementary to the genomic sequence of the target . table 1 shows the sequences of the first probes ( seq id no : 1 - 7 ), with the amino modification shown between slashes , the common sequence shown in plain text , the unique sequence underlined , and the repeat sequence in bold . only one repeat is shown for each str probe in table 1 . the chips used for the printing were codelink activated slides ( amersham biosciences ) that covalently immobilize amine - modified dna . the printing mix was : 20 μm amine - modified first probe dna , 60 μm dna spacer ( polyt ), and 1 × printing buffer ( 50 mm sodium phosphate , ph 8 . 5 ). the printing was performed with an omnigrid ™ printer ( genemachines ™). each probe sample was printed 4 times per array and 2 arrays were present in each chip . the slides were left overnight in a humid chamber and the day after were blocked with 0 . 1m tris , 50 mm ethanolamine at ph 9 . the first hybridization was performed first with target oligonucleotides ( oligos ) having a known sequence ; different str loci and different numbers of repeats were tested . the target oligos had the unique sequence described above at the 3 ′ end , repeats and a universal sequence ( non - genomic sequence , the same for all the str loci ) at the 5 ′ end . to obtain these target oligos two pcr reactions were conducted on plasmids containing repeat regions , a unique sequence for each str locus and a universal region . the first pcr reaction used unique and universal primers . the second pcr reaction used only biotinylated universal primer in order to obtain labeled single stranded dna . after pcr purification with qiaquick pcr purification kit ( qiagen ), hybridization was performed overnight at 50 ° c . in the presence of 30 μl pcr product , 2 × hybridization buffer ( 100 mm mes , 1m [ na +], 20 mm edta , 0 . 01 % tween20 ), 1 . 25 × denhardt &# 39 ; s solution and 1 μl of a fluorescently labeled universal oligo with phycoerythrin ( which was complementary to the common sequence present in all of the printed oligos ). after washing the chip twice in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at 50 ° c . for 1 min and once in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at room temperature for 1 min , a second hybridization ( branch migration ) was conducted with one of the amino - oligos used for the printing that had a higher number of repeats than the target oligo . this hybridization was conducted with 7 . 5 pmol / μl of oligo ( 250 times more concentrated than what was used in the printing mix ), 10 mm mgcl 2 and 4 × ssc for 4 hours at 50 ° c . the chips were then washed twice in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at 50 ° c . for 1 min and once in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at room temperature for 1 min . next , the chip was labeled with 0 . 0017 μg / μl streptavidin - allophycocyanin conjugate , 6 × sspe , 1 × denhardt &# 39 ; s solution and 0 . 01 % tween 20 for 10 min at 50 ° c . the chip was then washed twice in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at 50 ° c . for 1 min and once in sspe 6 × and tween 0 . 1 % at room temperature for 1 min . in another experiment ( not shown ) human genomic dna was used as the target . in this case , the target polynucleotides were prepared by conducting a first pcr reaction with a forward primer having a unique sequence complimentary to a genomic sequence at the 3 ′ end of the repeats and a reverse primer having a unique sequence complimentary to a genomic sequence at the 5 ′ end of the repeats . a second pcr reaction was conducted using only biotinylated forward primer in order to obtain labeled single - stranded dna . for the second hybridization ( branch migration ), both the protocol described above under second hybridization , and a protocol using 100 mm mgcl 2 and hybridization overnight at 50 ° c . were tested . results from this experiment enabled determination of repeat number . fig2 shows images of a chip before hybridization ( fig2 a ), after the first hybridization ( fig2 b and c ) and after the second hybridization , i . e . branch migration ( fig2 d ). in fig2 a , the green spots show where the first probes were printed , in this case probes that detect str ds18s51 with from 1 to 16 repeats ( labeled as d 18 - 1 to d 18 - 16 ). there were four first probes printed for each str repeat number , shown by the four green spots corresponding to each labeled first probe . in fig2 b , the red spots demonstrate binding of biotinylated target ( red ) to an unlabeled probe . in fig2 c , the yellow spots show where there are both first labeled probes printed ( green ) and biotinylated target ( red ) hybridized to the first probes . as can be seen from fig2 c , the first hybridization conditions successfully allow target to hybridize to all the first probes . fig2 d shows an image of a chip that was first hybridized with a biotinylated target oligo containing 3 repeats , and was then hybridized with a second probe containing 5 repeats . the image shows that the target oligo was displaced from the eight spots corresponding to first probes having 1 and 2 repeats ( i . e . there is only green label on these spots , corresponding to the presence of first probes ). in contrast , the target oligo remained hybridized to the spots corresponding to first probes having from 3 to 16 repeats ( i . e . there is yellow label on these spots , corresponding to the presence of both first probe and biotinylated target ). thus , the number of repeats in the target oligo can be determined to be 3 . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that the present invention is not limited by what is shown or described herein . as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate , the dna fingerprinting methods disclosed herein could vary or be otherwise modified without departing from the principles of the present invention . accordingly , the scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents .	2
the utility poles described herein are designed to crush and absorb energy or to break away in a controlled manner when struck by a vehicle . the intended result is to extend the distance over which the impacting vehicle comes to a stop so as to significantly reduce the forces on the vehicle experienced by the occupants . as a consequence this reduces the likelihood of injury resulting from a crash involving the utility pole . fig1 shows a portion of a utility pole 1 that is manufactured using a composite material . the material provides a pole that is light compared with traditional materials such as wood or metal . the composite material is typically a combination of fibres and a matrix such as a resin , where most of the tensile strength of the composite material is provided by the reinforcing fibres and most of the compressive strength is provided by the solidified matrix . the fibres can be carbon , graphite , kevlar ™, fibreglass or some other suitable fibre that provides the necessary tensile strength for the finished product . surrounding each fibre strand is a matrix which holds the structure together and allows the product to be formed into various shapes before the matrix material sets . the matrix can be a polymer such as polyester or the like but it could be any other material with suitable properties . additives may be included in the composite material to provide additional properties . for example , fire - retardant additives may be included . one example of a suitable composite material for the utility pole of the present invention is fibre reinforced plastic ( frp ). using composite material such as frp results in a relatively light utility pole , with a weight between 200 and 300 kg for a length of around 10 m . production of the utility pole according to the present invention can be done by known manufacturing methods such as the filament winding method , pultrusion method , moulding and bonding , or any other suitable manufacturing method . the filament winding method consists of winding continuous rovings of fibre onto a rotating mandrel in predetermined patterns . this method of manufacturing provides control over fibre placement and uniformity of the structure . by adjusting the relative speed or rotation of the mandrel , fibre distribution , and head movement , a helical reinforced pipe is formed . the pultrusion method is a continuous manufacturing process which creates fibre reinforced polymer profiles of considerable strength and resilience . a reinforcement material is drawn through a liquid thermosetting resin bath . the wet , fibrous laminate is pulled through a heated steel die , where precise temperature control cures the material into the required profile . necessary strength , colour and other characteristics can be designed into the profile by changes in the resin mixture and reinforcement materials . the fibre reinforcement may , for example , consist of innegra . the resin or matrix may be a two - component polyurethane - based thermoset resin , for example , baydur pul 2500 which bonds the layers of fibreglass reinforcement into a laminate . the utility pole 1 has a cylindrical outer wall that is formed to have weakened regions , for example a series of continuous or spaced slots . in the arrangement of fig1 the pole has one or more slots 4 through the side wall of the pole , commencing at a distance of about 0 . 2 m above ground level when the pole 1 is mounted in the ground . the slot 4 is about 0 . 6 m long and is vertically oriented . in this description “ vertical ” indicates a direction along the main axis of the utility pole , which is vertical when the pole is installed in the ground . in region 8 above the slot 4 , a series of smaller slots is formed through the side wall . alternatively , a thinner section of wall may be used instead of the slots 2 . in one arrangement the slots 2 are co - linear with slot 4 . the slots 2 may be around 6 - 8 mm wide and 100 mm long with a spacing of 50 mm between slots . other slot widths , lengths and spacing may be used to fine - tune the control of the delamination process of the pole and the intended energy - absorption capabilities of the pole . for example , a pole located alongside a railway line may require different energy - absorption and yield properties compared to a pole mounted alongside a roadway . the extent of region 8 may be varied depending on the anticipated masses of impacting vehicles , their probable impact velocity and the distance over which it is intended to absorb the energy of the impact . one design criterion has been to stop a heavy motor car travelling at 100 km / hr over a distance of less than 6 m . for this application slots have been used over a distance of about 6 m above ground level . the pattern of slots 2 , 4 may be repeated at two or more locations around the pole 1 . the slots may be located on opposite sides of the pole . the pole may be installed such that an imaginary line joining the two sets of slots is at right angles to the likely direction of approach of an impacting vehicle . the weakened sections provide an energy absorption system by assisting in initiating delamination between the fibres and matrix of the composite pole walls in the event of a collision . the longer slot 4 is thought to assist the start of the delamination and the smaller slots 2 allow for progressive delamination of the utility pole 1 . the fibres in the composite material may keep the out - of - ground portion of the pole connected to the base or in - ground portion . the mid - section of the pole is delaminated , crushed and becomes flatter as the impacting vehicle overrides the pole . portions of the pole may be pushed from a vertical position to a horizontal orientation during impact ( see for example fig1 ). depending on the intended application , the cylindrical pole 1 may be filled with a closed - cell or open - cell foam . the foam may be provided with a range of compressibility chosen to assist in the controlled energy absorption during impact . the foam may add stiffness to the pole to counter some weakening associated with the vertical slots or notches . crushing of the foam during an impact may absorb energy from the collision and thus assist in slowing the vehicle . filling the centre of the pole with foam also helps limit infiltration of the interior by water , earth , contaminants or animals . fig2 shows a further arrangement of a utility pole 10 in which vertical notches 12 provide weakened lines in the walls of the pole . fig2 a shows a side view and fig2 b shows a top sectional view of an arrangement with two vertical notches 12 formed diametrically opposite one another on interior surfaces of the cylindrical pole 10 . as before , the interior may be filled with a foam . there may be a central cable 14 that is part of a further energy - absorbing system described below with reference to fig3 . the notches 12 provide a weak point that causes controlled delamination of the composite material upon impact . in some arrangements the notches 12 may be provided in combination with the slots 2 , 4 . other ways of providing weak zones in the pole include varying the relative proportions and configuration of the reinforcing fibres and the matrix in the composite material . fig3 illustrates an arrangement having a further energy - absorbing system positioned in the interior of a utility pole 20 . the pole 20 may have slots or notches formed in the composite wall 25 to provide controlled delamination in the event of an impact . a cable 14 is provided in the interior of the pole 20 . at an upper end the cable end is swaged or otherwise mechanically attached to a dye or plunger 18 that has a diameter which decreases in the direction of the base of the pole . as illustrated , the largest diameter of the frusto - conical plunger 18 is less than the diameter of the interior of the pole 20 . the pole 20 has a strong rigid base plate 28 . swaged cable end 23 fixes the cable 14 to the base plate 28 . other attachment mechanisms may also be used to attach the cable to the base plate . in a region adjacent to the base plate 28 , which in use is positioned below ground level , the interior of the pole 20 is filled with a substantially incompressible material 26 , which may for example be a foam or concrete . between the incompressible material 26 and the plunger 18 , the interior of the pole 20 is filled with a compressible or crushable foam 16 . the height of the plunger 18 generally coincides with the top of the weakened sidewall sections of the pole 20 . examples of such foams which have been used in testing the poles include ecofoam gp330 , which is a general - purpose rigid polyurethane foam product having a density of around 40 kg / m 3 and a compressive strength at 10 % of more than 200 kpa ; ecofoam gp450 , which is a general - purpose rigid polyurethane foam product having a density of around 50 kg / m 3 and a compressive strength at 10 % of more than 266 kpa ; erathane gp160 , which is a high density rigid polyurethane foam product having a density of around 186 kg / m 3 and a compressive stress at 10 % of around 2700 kpa ; greenlink hdr400 , which is a two - component polyurethane product including polyol and isocyanate mixed to produce a fine - celled foam with a free rise density of 400 kg / m 3 ; erapol cc60d which is a premium - grade cold - castable polyurethane elastomer . these foams are available from era polymers pty ltd in australia . in some situations , either by design or through an unusual impact , the pole walls of the above - ground part of the pole may separate completely from the below - ground base of the pole . that is , the damage to the walls may extend beyond controlled delamination to a point where all the fibres are severed . in these circumstances a secondary energy - absorbing mechanism comes into play . an impact to the pole 20 may cause displacement of the lower parts of the pole , in turn pulling the plunger 18 down through the foam 16 . in region 24 between the plunger and the pole wall 25 the foam is forced into a decreasing annular volume as the plunger descends . the crushing and compression of the foam 16 absorbs energy . the difference between the largest lateral dimensions of the plunger 18 and the inner cross - sectional area of the pole 20 affects the rate of energy absorption versus the vertical distance travelled by the plunger 18 . energy absorption may also occur through delamination of the wall 25 caused or accelerated by the outward forces directed from the plunger 18 towards the wall 25 . another arrangement is illustrated in fig4 , which shows a cross - section of a utility . pole 30 having a cylindrical wall 34 formed from composite materials . two vertical notches 12 are formed in the inner surface of the wall 34 to provide controlled delamination in the event of a collision . in addition there is a stronger tensile reinforcement 32 integrated into the composite wall 34 . in the depicted arrangement there are two reinforced regions 32 diametrically opposite one another . the reinforcement may include carbon fibres , steel webbing or other cable or rope material integrated into the wall 34 to provide additional tensile strength . these are typically integrated into the wall during manufacture . the regions 32 maintain a tensile attachment of upper portions of the pole 30 to the base regions of the pole embedded in the ground . the top of the pole 30 may include a top cap or plate . the reinforcement material 32 may extend over the plate to hold the plate in place . in some arrangements the reinforced regions 32 are used in conjunction with the secondary energy - absorbing system of the die 18 and the compressible foam 16 . the reinforcement 32 may also be used in poles without the secondary energy - absorbing system . fig5 illustrates another arrangement in which a utility pole is provided with a shear region 116 that can cause the pole to break away in the event of a collision . the utility pole 100 includes an upper portion 102 with a cross arm 104 for attaching cables such as electricity cables ( not shown ), and a base section 106 that in use is embedded in the ground 112 or a similar support medium . the utility pole 100 is made of a lightweight composite material . the cross arm 104 may be formed from the same composite material as or a different material to the pole 100 . in some applications the utility pole may not carry cables and may carry signs , lights , solar panels or other equipment . a shear region 116 is formed at the interface between the upper portion 102 and the base section 106 . the shear region 116 provides a weakened connection interface between the upper portion 102 and the base section 106 that is likely to be the line at which the pole 100 breaks away upon collision of a vehicle with the pole 100 . the shear region 116 is positioned relatively low in relation to the vehicle , for example below the height of the bumper of a car . the shear region should provide sufficient structural strength for the pole to perform its day - to day functions such as carrying cables or streetlights . the shear region 116 may be implemented in a number of ways . for example , if the material forming the pole is a composite material , it may include a weakened area implemented through an increase in porosity of the material , or through a perforation through the material . other methods known in the art may be used , such as attaching the upper portion 102 to the base section 106 using an adhesive material or other material that is adapted to fail when the utility pole 100 is subject to an impact , or any other attachment mechanism adapted to fail upon impact . other ways of providing a shear region in the pole include varying the relative proportions and configuration of the reinforcing fibres and the matrix in the composite material . inside the upper portion 102 is a pole cavity 122 . inside the pole cavity 122 is a crushing or compression mechanism , shown in this embodiment as a sphere 108 although other shapes including the frusto - conical plunger of fig3 may be used . the plunger 108 is connected to the base section 106 using a link 110 such as a metal cable , for example a stainless steel cable . the link 110 can be connected to the plunger 108 and to the base section 106 in any suitable manner , and in the embodiment shown the link 110 is attached to the foot 120 of the base section 106 . the area 114 between the plunger and the bottom of the base section is filled with a compressible or crushable material 118 . the material 118 can be a foam , such as those listed above with reference to fig3 . referring to fig6 a , the foot 120 of the pole 100 includes a base plug 214 that assists in anchoring the cable 110 in the base section 106 and / or anchoring the base in the ground . the base plug 214 and top cap 206 may be made of any suitable rigid material , for example steel . referring to fig6 b , the pole 100 may have any outer cross sectional shape suitable for a utility pole , such as a circle for a cylindrical pole , or the octagonal shape 210 as shown . the shape of the cross section of the pole cavity 122 is adapted to the shape of the plunger , and is shown to be substantially circular in this embodiment . the dimensions of the pole 100 can vary , depending on the type of utility pole that is used . in the embodiment shown , referring to fig6 b the dimensions are as follows : a = 260 mm , b = 245 mm , c = 7 mm , d = 38 mm , e = 107 mm . referring to fig7 , impact with the utility pole 100 ( the direction of impact shown by arrow 306 ) may result in break away of the upper portion 102 resulting in a severed pole 300 . the severed pole 300 remains connected to the severed base 308 via the link 110 . as the lower end of the severed pole 300 moves away from the severed base 308 after break away , the link 110 draws the plunger 108 downwards , thereby compressing or crushing the material 118 , which acts as a retarding means 302 . arrow 304 indicates the direction of movement of the plunger 108 . the severed base 308 may be sufficiently low to not obstruct or further damage the moving vehicle after impact . furthermore , because the shear region 116 is low down on the pole 100 , the action of the link 110 on the vehicle will also be relatively low down and this may minimise the damage on the vehicle caused by the link 110 . for example , if a cable is used as a link 100 , and a vehicle collides with the pole 100 , the low shear region 116 will be below the height of the front bumper or buffer of the vehicle so that the action of the cable will be sufficiently low so that the cable will not cut through the vehicle , but rather will slow the vehicle down . the link 110 together with the compressed or crushed material 302 acts to absorb the energy of the moving vehicle after impact so that the vehicle can slow down further after the impact . apart from contributing to energy absorption by crushing the foam , the functions of the link 110 also include restricting the movement of the severed pole 300 ( for example , limiting a pendulum action ). as the vehicle is slowed down by the link 110 and the vehicle therefore exerts force on the link 110 , this contributes to a further force being applied to the plunger 108 in order to increase the crushing or compression of the material 302 . this in turn may further contribute to the energy absorption effects of the utility pole 100 . if the utility pole is used to suspend electrical cables from the cross arm 104 , the load on the cables that would result in pulling the cables down and damaging or breaking them after break away may typically be in the order of 300 to 500 kg . with the light - weight composite material used for this utility pole , however , the weight of the severed pole 300 may be less than this load ( for example , between 100 and 200 kg ). the relatively low loading on the cables after break away together with the link cable 110 limiting the movement of the severed pole , limit the damage done to overhead cables due to a collision of a vehicle with the utility pole . in further arrangements the cross arms supporting electric wires may be attached to a utility pole using a sleeve or similar breakaway structure . the purpose of the sleeve , or similar structure , is that as the base of the pole is distorted following impact by a vehicle , the top section of the pole structure including the cross arm and the electric cables disengages from the lower portion of the pole . this arrangement reduces the likelihood of damage to the electric cables and hence disruption of the power supply . the arrangement also makes it possible to easily replace the lower part of the utility pole , in an operation that does not require much labour and is less likely to disrupt the power supply . fig8 a illustrates a configuration in which the upper portion 64 is an inner sleeve that may be inserted into the main columnar portion of the utility pole 1 . the upper portion 64 is attached to a cross arm 104 that may support electric cables 60 . the upper portion 64 has a tapering lower end 66 that is configured to be received into the interior of the pole 1 . the upper portion 64 may have a loop 62 that may be used to lift the upper portion when fitting a pole 1 and upper portion 64 . fig8 b shows another configuration in which the upper portion 74 is an outer sleeve that has a sliding fit over the top end of the pole 1 . the pole 1 may have a tapered upper end 76 to make it easier to fit the upper portion 74 over the pole 1 . the upper portion may be attached to the cross arm 104 , and may have a loop 72 that may be used , for example by a crane , to manipulate the upper portion 74 . the length of the sleeve 64 , 74 may assist in controlling the post - impact motion of the pole 1 . an objective is to have the pole 1 acquire sufficient forward rotation so that the pole is less likely to rotate backwards after the pole 1 slips out of the sleeve 64 , 74 and reach the roof of the vehicle . the sleeve 64 , 74 may be manufactured of a lighter material than the lower portion of the pole , since the sleeve may not require the same resistance to bending moments as the cantilevered in - ground base section of the pole . as shown in fig1 a and b , “ c ”- shaped channels or extrusions of other convenient shape may be provided on the sleeve 74 for use in mounting cross - arms , spars , light fittings etc , or supplementary cables such as fibre optic cables . a typical timber utility pole has high - voltage electricity cables attached to its cross arms or spars . when the base of a timber pole is struck by a vehicle this can cause the pole to break either at the base , or sometimes at a higher weakened section of the pole . the weight of the timber pole is taken by the high voltage electricity cables . often this larger weight causes the electricity cables to break and fall to the ground , where they create a potentially serious hazard for the vehicle occupants , other adjacent road users , or rescuers . the unrestrained timber pole is also a significant hazard . the sleeve arrangements described herein reduce the loads on the electricity cables and the likelihood of the cables breaking and falling to the ground for a number of reasons , including : the hollow section of the composite pole has a considerably lower mass per lineal metre compared to a traditional timber , steel or concrete pole ; only the top section of the composite pole assembly remains connected to the cross arms which support the electricity cables , thus reducing the potential load on the cables ; the overlapping sleeve between the top section of the pole and the main middle section of the pole controls the rate of rotation of the middle section of the pole , hence potentially reducing the tensile loads on the electricity cables ; the sleeve of the top section of the pole means that the top section may remain in contact with the mid - section of the pole after a collision and may hence prop up the electricity cables above ground level like a clothes prop ( see fig1 ); alternatively , if the overlapping sleeve of the top portion separates from the mid - section of the pole , then a sleeve length of 3 or more metres should be sufficient to generally support the electricity cables above ground level , by an old - fashioned clothes prop style mechanism , so that the live electricity wires are above the level of the crashed vehicle or adjacent road users . an overall effect is a lower likelihood of disruption to the power supply . the intention of the arrangement is to maintain the electricity and communication cables etc . in relatively undamaged condition . a new mid - section of the pole may then slipped into the in - ground plug , and then the upper sleeve section 64 , 74 of the pole may lifted up and slipped over the new mid section of the pole . timber power poles are typically secured in the ground by drilling a hole , inserting the timber pole and then packing earth firmly around the base of the pole . this is sometimes supplemented by concrete . the solid base is needed to support the pole and provide strength in the cantilevered mode in which fittings are attached to the top of the pole . the solid base also helps resist some of the transverse loads that arise from the attachment of electricity and other cables , and also wind forces . the poles described herein could also be mounted in this manner . however , an alternative is to use the arrangements of fig9 or 13 . in the arrangement of fig9 , a hole is drilled in the ground . a sleeve 80 , which may be formed of composite material or concrete , is inserted into the hole . the sleeve is configured to provide a clearance fit with the utility pole 1 . the sleeve 80 may be formed with the same diameter as the upper sleeve 74 . the external sleeve 80 may be secured in the ground using conventional techniques such as packing earth or concreting . in one arrangement the sleeve 80 is about 2 m long . to restrict the pole 1 from being pulled out of the ground , about 2 m of the interior of the pole above the base plate 28 may be filled with a high - density foam 26 or other low - compressibility material such as concrete . the dense material 26 helps to maintain the shape of the lower region of the pole 1 and helps retain the pole 1 like a peg in the sleeve 80 . locking pins , dowels , wedges or the like may also be used to secure the base of the pole in the ground sleeve . permanently fixed in - ground sleeves 80 assist in the easy and economical replacement of the mid - section pole after permanent damage caused by impact . the damaged mid - section of the pole may be pulled out of the in - ground sleeve 80 , and a new mid - section lowered into the sleeve 80 . the top section of the pole may then be lifted , for example using a crane , and lowered over the newly - mounted mid - section . this may be done with minimal interruption to local power supplies . fig1 shows an example of dimensions of a utility pole assembly that includes pole 1 , upper sleeve 74 and cross arm 104 attached to the upper sleeve 74 . the pole 1 and sleeve 74 may be manufactured with pultruded fibre - reinforced polymers ( frps ). here , a total length of the pole assembly is around 12 m . the length of pole 1 is about 9 m . in use , about 2 m of pole 1 is embedded in the ground 112 . the length of the upper sleeve 74 is about 6 . 5 m and in use the lowest end of the sleeve 74 is positioned about 3 . 5 m above the ground 112 . other dimensions may be used in different applications . fig1 a shows a further view of the pole and sleeve 74 . a sleeve stop 78 is provided on the pole 1 to position the sleeve 74 when assembled . fig1 b shows a cross section of the assembly , illustrating the slip joint 79 between the pole 1 and the sleeve 74 . an embodiment of the pole 1 is shown in fig1 a to 12c . the top plate of the pole 1 is a plunger 18 which is linked to the base plate 28 of the pole 1 by the central cable 14 . a separation plate 82 may be provided about 2 m from the base plate 28 . above the separation plate the pole 1 may be filled with compressible foam 16 . below the separation plate , the pole may be filled with a relatively incompressible foam 26 . slots 2 , 4 provide a region of controlled delamination in the event of impact . fig1 shows the assembly 1 , 74 mounted in an in - ground sleeve 80 made of concrete . the sleeve 80 has an inner cross - sectional area 90 configured to accommodate the pole 1 , as seen in fig1 b . a hole 92 may be provided that runs through the sleeve 80 to accommodate a tie rod 84 . a corresponding hole is formed in the base of the pole 1 . the pole is mounted in the sleeve 80 such that the hole 92 lines up with the hole in the pole 1 , enabling the tie rod to be installed . this arrangement helps ensure that the base of the pole 1 is not pulled out of the ground 112 if the pole is struck . this assists in bringing the colliding vehicle to a halt . upon impact on the base of the pole from the leading side of the vehicle , the weakened sections of the walls of the struck area of the pole commence to delaminate and the adjacent foam crushes . the deliberate weakening of the section of the pole likely to be directly impacted by a impacting vehicle is designed to facilitate the process of delamination of the composite materials of the wall of the pole . as the walls delaminate , they lose their vertical stiffness and strength . the walls deform away from the impacting face of the vehicle , while the fibre / cloth part of the composite material is intended to keep the base of the pole connected to the in - ground part of the pole by the tensile strength of its fibres / cloth . once the process of delamination has been initiated by the weaker section of the base of the pole , the ongoing process of delamination is assisted by vertically extended weakening of the wall of the pole ( by intermittent slots or other wall weakening mechanisms in manufacture ). this weakening of the pole wall extends up to a height of the desired ‘ ride down ’ distance of the pole . a ‘ ride down ’ distance of up to 6 metres , or possibly more , means that the impacting vehicle can be brought to a stop at a distance up to 6 metres , or possibly more , with the energy absorption of the deceleration distributed over that distance . the weakening of the lower few metres of the base of the pole by the reduced wall thickness , changes in the bonding resin material and cloth mixture , or slots , will lead to some reduced stiffness / strength of the pole in cantilever mode . this is partly compensated for by filling this base section of the pole with foam , or other materials , which resists buckling and restores stiffness to the cylindrical pole section . fig1 schematically illustrates a pole assembly after a collision , indicated by arrow 306 . the base section remains in the in - ground sleeve 80 . a portion 404 of the mid - section pole 1 has delaminated as a result of the energy imparted by the impact . the extent of the delaminated regions is largely determined by the length weakening slots or notches provided in the pole 1 . the pole 1 has been pulled down the sleeve 74 , but has not been pulled entirely out of the sleeve 74 . before the collision the sleeve rested on sleeve step 78 . the top plate of pole 1 has moved from an original location 400 to a final location 402 near the base of sleeve 74 . the cables 60 supported on cross arm 104 have been pulled downward , but are still essentially in position , supported by sleeve 74 and the upper part of pole 1 that has not delaminated . even if the pole 1 is pulled entirely out of the sleeve 74 , the sleeve 74 may still provide a support to hold the cables 60 off the ground 112 . in tests conducted on prototype poles the composite material started to yield when struck by a light car travelling at a controlled speed of 50 km / hr . the prototype poles were able to bring a light car to a stop from 80 km / hr within approximately 3 m , with complete preservation of the occupant space . the tested poles have been found to bring a light car to a stop from 100 km / hr in approximately 4 to 5 m with good preservation of the occupant space . fig1 is a photograph showing a pole after a collision with a vehicle travelling at 80 km / hr . the base of the pole remained in the ground during the collision , but has been removed for the photographs to be taken . the region of controlled delamination is clearly visible . in some arrangements a sensor may be mounted on the utility pole to detect when a major impact has occurred . the sensor may be any suitable mechanical , electrical or other displacement or movement sensor . an output of the sensor may trigger an electronic signal generator which may , for example , send a data signal superimposed on the signal transmitted on the power or communication cables 60 . the content of the data signal includes an alert indicating that a collision has occurred and an identifier to specify which pole has been affected . such an arrangement enables a rapid assessment of damage to the pole , and this may reduce or eliminate disruptions to power transmission or communications via cables 60 . early notification of an impact increases the chances of identifying the colliding vehicle . this may assist in recovering the cost of pole repair . early notification may also be beneficial in alerting emergency services such as ambulances to a collision . it will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined in this specification extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings . all of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention .	4
the present disclosure may be utilized to choose , set up , open , and / or manage ( individually or collectively , “ account interfacing ”) an online account at a financial institution . “ online ” may mean connecting to or accessing account information from a location remote from the financial institution or a branch of the financial institution . alternatively , “ online ” may refer to connecting to or accessing an electronic network ( wired or wireless ) via a computer over a network such as a local area network , wide area network , internet , or other similar network system . the connection may be to a website ( which may contain one of more webpages , as is known in the art ) provided on the network by the financial institution . a financial institution may be , but is not limited to , a bank or other similar entity . “ website ” and “ webpage ” may be used interchangeably herein . the present disclosure may be used to provide a potential online customer with access to a webpage which may include a matrix of information about products from which the customer can choose one or more . the information thus provided to the customer may allow the customer to differentiate between the products offered thereby allowing the customer to make an informed choice as to which product ( s ) is best for them . the initial information presented may be tailored to only include essential information for the selection process , such as , but not limited to , fees , eligibility requirements , features , and interest rates , where appropriate . additionally , the customer may choose to view further , more detailed , information about the offered products and can do so by requesting such information ( e . g ., following an online link from the financial institution &# 39 ; s webpage ). furthermore , the website may include tools and information to assist the customer to compare two or more of the products offered ; the webpage may also include an e - mail address , network link , live “ chat ” connection ( as is known in the art ), or telephone number to customer service ; and the webpage may further include a list of frequently asked questions with appropriate answers . in order to assist the customer further during the online account interface session , the financial institution &# 39 ; s website may include one or more of the following features : estimated time for completion of the online application ; an alert indicating materials that the customer may need to complete the online application ; a secure connection to protect the customer &# 39 ; s personal information ; a progress indicator showing , for example , the customer &# 39 ; s progress through the account opening process ; an explanation as to why certain information is needed from the customer ; information regarding the handling of the account information once it is electronically submitted by the customer to the financial institution ; and an indication of when and how the customer will be notified of approval or disapproval for the selected product . additionally , the following features may also be utilized : pre - filling information in fields that can be pre - filled ( e . g ., the website may automatically enter the customer &# 39 ; s address once the customer has been properly identified , etc . ); presentation of clear error messages on the online form being filled in by the customer along with possible causes for the error message ; pre - submittal and post - submittal verification screens for the customer to review and edit ; provision for links to other accounts / products the customer had previously set up with the financial institution ; prompts for account add - ons ; prompts for cross - sell products ; and allowance for partially completing an application for later retrieval and completion by the customer . with attention now drawn to fig1 a and 1b , a flow diagram , 100 a and 100 b , respectively , for a method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . in fig1 a , at block 101 a customer or potential customer may enter the financial institution &# 39 ; s electronic system for opening an account online . as described above , this may be a website provided by the financial institution that the customer can access via a public or private network . the customer may enter the website a number of ways ( i . e ., the customer &# 39 ; s entrance into the financial institution &# 39 ; s website may be “ path sensitive ”, which may have implications as discussed further below ) such as via a public network , via a link from another account the customer may have with the financial institution , via an e - mail advertisement sent to the customer by the financial institution , in response to receipt of a promotional advertisement , etc . this may sometimes be referred to herein as an interface request . at block 102 screen content may be presented to the customer by the financial institution . this may sometimes be referred to herein as first content . this screen content may be dynamically presented based on the path the customer used to get to the financial institution &# 39 ; s website . the screen content may include a list of products offered by the financial institution to the customer . the list of products may be different depending on the path the customer used to get to the financial institution &# 39 ; s website . for example , if the customer is an existing online customer of the financial institution and already has product a , then the list of products presented at block 102 may not include product a since the customer already has product a . at block 103 the customer may choose one ( or more ) of the products presented in block 102 . this may sometimes be referred to herein as first input . the products presented at block 102 may include , but are not necessarily limited to the following : credit card , checking account , savings account , loan , insurance , investment , cash management , check card , etc . as are known in the art . at block 104 , a determination may be made as to whether the customer is an existing online client of the financial institution . this determination may be based on information from block 101 or other information provided by the customer or from another source , including records possessed by the financial institution . if the customer is an existing online client of the financial institution , then at block 105 the customer enters information ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as first information ) such as , for example , a username and password . this information may typically be entered using a computer . alternatively , as would be understood by those of skill in the art , other information may be used in place of a username and password . in a particular preferred embodiment , since the customer is an existing online client of the financial institution only a limited amount of information need be entered by the customer . at block 107 , the information provided by the customer at block 105 may be authenticated by any appropriate method known in the art . if the information entered by the customer at block 105 is authenticated , then the financial institution may , at block 109 , present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second content ) as will be discussed in further detail below . returning attention back to block 104 , if the customer is determined to not be an existing online client of the financial institution , then at block 106 the customer enters information ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second information ), for example , using a computer . alternatively , if at block 107 the customer &# 39 ; s information is not or cannot be authenticated , then at block 106 the customer enters information ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second information ), for example , using a computer as discussed above . the information entered at block 106 typically is more extensive and / or detailed than the information which is typically entered at block 105 ( since at block 106 the determination has been made that the customer is not an online client of the financial institution or the customer &# 39 ; s information entered at block 105 cannot be authenticated ). the information entered at block 106 may be a “ full application ” including , but not necessarily limited to , information such as the customer &# 39 ; s name , address , telephone number , e - mail address , etc . at block 108 , a determination may be made as to whether the customer is an offline client of the financial institution . an offline client may include the situation where the customer currently does business with the financial institution but not through the financial institution &# 39 ; s online system . this determination may be made based at least partially on the information entered by the customer at block 106 and / or block 101 . if the determination is made that the customer is an offline client of the financial institution , then the financial institution may , at block 109 , present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second content ) as will be discussed in further detail below . if the determination made at block 108 is that the customer is not an offline client of the financial institution , then the financial institution may , at block 110 , present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second content ) as will be discussed in further detail below . the terms and conditions presented to the customer at block 109 or block 110 may be dynamically presented based at least partially on the choice of product made by the customer at block 103 . in another embodiment , the specific terms and conditions presented to the customer may also be based on whether or not the customer is an online client of the financial institution and / or whether or not the customer is an offline client of the financial institution . in a further embodiment , for a particular product chosen at block 103 by the customer , the terms and conditions that may be presented at block 109 may be different than the terms and conditions that may be presented at block 110 based on , for example , the customer &# 39 ; s status with respect to the financial institution ( e . g ., online client , offline client , both , neither ). the terms and conditions , as is known in the art , typically includes information appropriate for the product chosen by the customer at block 103 and may include information , such as , but not limited to , minimum balance requirements , payment rules , interest rates charged , late fee applicability , etc . continuing now from block 109 as it carries over from fig1 a to fig1 b via connecting block a , at block 111 a determination may be made as to whether an identification of the customer has been verified and / or authenticated , such as at blocks 105 and 107 as discussed above . if the customer &# 39 ; s identification has been verified and / or authenticated , then a suitability check may be performed at block 115 , as discussed in further detail below . if at block 111 an identification of the customer has not been previously verified and / or authenticated , then at block 112 an identification of the customer is confirmed ( i . e ., verified and / or authenticated ). the procedure for confirmation of the customer at block 112 may be similar to the procedure for authentication of the customer at block 107 . proceeding now to block 113 , if the customer &# 39 ; s identification is confirmed at block 113 , then at block 115 a suitability check may be performed as discussed in further detail below . if at block 113 the customer &# 39 ; s identification cannot be confirmed , then at block 114 the customer may be flagged as a pending customer and proceed with a pending customer status . in this way , the customer is not kicked out of the system for what may be nothing more than a minor error thereby affording the customer a more pleasant online experience with the financial institution . after the customer is flagged as a pending customer at block 114 , then a suitability check may be performed at block 115 , as discussed in further detail below . the pending application may be reviewed offline by authorized personnel ( e . g ., an employee and / or agent of the financial institution ) who may then correct and thereafter release the application from pending status . this will preferably happen without further intervention by the customer / pending customer . in the event that the pending application cannot be cleared by the authorized personnel , the financial institution may initiate direct contact with the customer / pending customer in order to be able to release the application from pending status . at block 115 , a suitability check may be performed on the customer or pending customer . the suitability check may be based on information obtained from sources either internal or external to the financial institution and may also be based on information provided by the customer / pending customer ( e . g ., at block 101 and / or at blocks 105 or 106 ) and the product chosen by the customer / pending customer in block 103 . the information for the suitability check may include one or more of the following types of information , as is known in the art : credit check information , debit check information , fraud database information , identity verification information , account abuse information , financial history information , or combinations of one or , more of the foregoing . at block 116 , a determination may be made regarding whether to approve the customer / pending customer for the chosen product based at least in part on the suitability check at block 115 . if the customer / pending customer is not approved for the chosen product , then the customer / pending customer may continue with the process in a pending status at block 117 and continue to block 124 . if the customer / pending customer is approved for the chosen product , then the customer / pending customer may be presented with cross - sell products at block 124 as discussed in further detail below . with reference now directed to fig1 a and continuing from block 110 as it carries over from fig1 a to fig1 b via connecting block b , at block 118 at block 118 an identification of the customer is confirmed ( i . e ., verified and / or authenticated ). the procedure for confirmation of the customer at block 118 may be similar to the procedure for authentication of the customer at block 112 . proceeding now to block 119 , if the customer &# 39 ; s identification is confirmed at block 119 , then at block 121 a suitability check may be performed as discussed above with reference to block 115 . if at block 119 the customer &# 39 ; s identification cannot be confirmed , then the procedure is ended at block 120 . at block 122 , a determination may be made regarding whether to approve the customer for the chosen product based at least in part on the suitability check at block 121 . if the customer is not approved for the chosen product , then the procedure is ended at block 123 . if the customer is approved for the chosen product , then the customer may be presented with cross - sell products at block 124 as discussed in further detail below . at block 124 , the financial institution may present the customer / pending customer with a list of cross - sell products ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as third content ) from which the customer / pending may choose one or more . the list of cross - sell products provided to the customer / pending customer may be based on a number of factors including , but not limited to , information provided by the customer / pending customer ( e . g ., at block 101 and / or at block 105 / 106 ), whether the customer / pending customer is approved by the financial institution ( e . g ., at block 107 and / or block 112 / 118 as appropriate ), the product chosen by the customer / pending customer ( e . g ., at block 103 ), other products that the client may have ( e . g ., from the financial institution &# 39 ; s records if the customer / pending customer is an existing online or offline client of the financial institution ), a credit check , and the financial institution &# 39 ; s qualification criteria . the qualification criteria may include , but is not necessarily limited to , the following : the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of one or more products , the suitability check , a predetermined set of risk rules , a predetermined set of business rules , a predetermined promotional code , information received from the customer / pending customer , existing customer / pending customer accounts at said financial institution , and existing customer / pending customer products at said financial institution . the predetermined set of risk rules may include a factor based on a current line of credit request from the customer / pending customer . the predetermined set of business rules may include a factor based on an estimate of potential revenue for the financial institution for the customer &# 39 ; s choice of a product . the predetermined set of business rules may further include a factor based on an analysis of a financial behavior , as is known in the art , of the customer or pending customer . at block 125 , the customer / pending customer may choose one or more of the cross - sell products presented by the financial institution at block 124 ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as second input ). if the customer / pending customer chooses a cross - sell product , then at block 126 the financial institution may present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as fourth content ) as discussed above with respect to block 109 and / or block 110 . in an embodiment , the terms and conditions presented at block 126 may be dynamically presented , as discussed above , and may be based at least on one or more of the following : information provided by the customer / pending customer ( e . g ., information provided at one or more of blocks 101 , 105 , and 106 ), the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of product at block 103 , and the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of cross - sell product at block 125 . at block 127 the financial institution may present to the customer / pending customer additional information and / or selections ( which may sometimes be referred to herein as fifth content ) such as , but not limited to , funding requirements , check card information , online banking information , etc . in an embodiment , the presentation of this additional information and / or selections at block 127 may be dynamically presented and may be based at least on one or more of the following : information provided by the customer / pending customer ( e . g ., information provided at one or more of blocks 101 , 105 , and 106 ), the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of product at block 103 , the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of cross - sell product at block 125 , and information from the financial institution &# 39 ; s records if the customer / pending customer is an existing online or offline client of the financial institution . at block 128 , the financial institution may initiate account set - up , as is known in the art , for the products and / or cross - sell products chosen by the customer / pending customer . at block 129 , the financial institution may mail a fulfillment , as is known in the art , to the customer / pending customer . the fulfillment may reach the customer / pending customer by postal service , e - mail , mobile phone message ( voice or text ), via a web page , or other methods known in the art . typically , the fulfillment , which may include a confirmation of the overall transaction represented by 100 a and 100 b , will be delivered to the customer via the postal service , but the application is not so limited . as would be obvious to those of skill in the art , any method of delivery of the fulfillment to the customer / pending customer is contemplated by the present disclosure . in an embodiment , the fulfillment is dynamic and may be based on at least one or more of the following : the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of product at block 103 , and the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of cross - sell product at block 125 . in certain embodiments , physical things such as credit cards may be sent to the customer / pending customer . regarding the fulfillment , the purpose of contacting the customer may include confirming to the customer that the customer &# 39 ; s chosen products are ready for use and to provide to the customer information and means to begin using the account , such as checks , a check card , account numbers , credit cards , etc ., where applicable to the product chosen . additionally , the fulfillment provides the customer with information concerning how to begin using any special features of the product chosen , such as , but not limited to , how to get started with online tools to manage the product account , using online tools to pay bills , signing - up for and using mobile banding and electronic statements , and information on how to use multiple channels ( phone , branch , online ) for future banking needs or questions . furthermore , the fulfillment may include copies of terms and conditions for use of the product chosen , a privacy notice . at block 130 , the procedure ends . with reference now directed towards fig2 , a flow diagram 200 for a method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . at block 201 a customer or potential customer may enter the financial institution &# 39 ; s electronic system for opening an account online , as described above with respect to block 101 in fig1 a . at block 202 screen content ( first content ) may be presented to the customer by the financial institution as discussed above with respect to block 102 in fig1 a . at block 203 the customer may choose one ( or more ) of the products presented in block 202 ( first input ), as discussed above with respect to block 103 in fig1 a . at block 204 , a determination may be made as to whether the customer is an existing online client of the financial institution as discussed above with respect to block 104 in fig1 a . at block 210 , if the customer is an existing online client of the financial institution , then the customer enters information ( first information or first set of information ) such as , for example , a username and password as discussed above with respect to block 105 in fig1 a . at block 211 , the information provided by the customer at block 210 may be verified / authenticated by any appropriate method known in the art ( as discussed above with respect to block 107 of fig1 a ) and the financial institution may present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( second content ) as discussed above with respect to block 109 of fig1 a . at block 220 , if the customer is determined to not be an existing online client of the financial institution or if the customer &# 39 ; s information as discussed above at block 210 is not or cannot be authenticated / verified , then a second set of information ( second information ) from the customer may be requested by the financial institution , as discussed above with respect to block 106 in fig1 a . additionally at block 220 an identification of the customer may be determined . at block 221 , the second set of information may be received from the customer . at block 222 a determination may be made as to whether the customer is an offline client of the financial institution ( as discussed above with respect to block 108 in fig1 a ) and if the customer is determined to be an offline client of the financial institution , then terms and conditions may be sent to the customer as discussed above with respect to block 109 in fig1 a . at block 223 an identification of the customer may be determined as discussed above with respect to blocks 111 , 112 and 113 in fig1 b . if the customer &# 39 ; s identity cannot be determined , then the customer may be flagged as a pending customer as discussed above with respect to block 114 in fig1 b . with reference now to block 230 , a suitability check may be performed as discussed above with respect to block 115 in fig1 b . at block 231 , the customer / pending customer may be approved for the product chosen in block 203 above or if the customer / pending customer is not approved for the chosen product , then the customer / pending customer may continue with the process in a pending status . at block 232 , the financial institution may present to the customer / pending customer a list of cross - sell products as discussed above with respect to block 124 in fig1 b . with reference now directed to fig3 , a flow diagram 300 for a further method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . as between fig2 and 3 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blacks 301 , 302 , 303 , 304 , 310 , 311 , 320 , 321 , 322 , 323 , 330 , 331 , and 332 are similar to blocks 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 , 210 , 211 , 220 , 221 , 222 , 223 , 230 , 231 , and 232 in fig2 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . at block 340 , the customer may choose one or more of the cross - sell products presented by the financial institution at block 332 and inform the financial institution of that choice ( second input ). if the customer / pending customer chooses a cross - sell product , then at block 341 the financial institution may present to the customer ( e . g ., by displaying information on a webpage presented to the customer ) terms and conditions ( fourth content ) as discussed above with respect to block 126 in fig1 b . at block 342 the financial institution may present to the customer / pending customer additional information and / or selections ( fifth content ) as discussed with respect to block 127 in fig1 b . with reference now directed to fig4 , a flow diagram 400 for a further method of online account opening including informing the customer of the account set up according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . as between fig4 and 3 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blocks 401 , 402 , 403 , 404 , 410 , 411 , 420 , 421 , 422 , 423 , 430 , 431 , 432 , 440 , 441 , and 442 are similar to blocks 301 , 302 , 303 , 304 , 310 , 311 , 320 , 321 , 322 , 323 , 330 , 331 , 332 , 340 , 341 , and 342 in fig3 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . at block 443 , the financial institution may initiate account set - up , as is known in the art , for the products and / or cross - sell products chosen by the customer / pending customer as discussed above with respect to block 128 in fig1 b . at block 444 , the financial institution may mail a fulfillment , as is known in the art , to the customer / pending customer as discussed above with respect to block 129 in fig1 b . with reference now directed to fig5 , a flow diagram 500 for a further method of online account opening including contingency where customer is not an off - line client according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . as between fig5 and 2 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blocks 501 , 502 , 503 , 504 , 510 , 511 , 520 , 521 , 522 , 523 , 530 , 531 , and 532 are similar to blocks 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 , 210 , 211 , 220 , 221 , 222 , 223 , 230 , 231 , and 232 in fig2 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . at block 524 , if the second set of information is received from the customer and a determination is made that the customer is not an offline client of the financial institution ( as discussed above with respect to block 108 in fig1 a ) terms and conditions may be sent to the customer as discussed above with respect to block 110 in fig1 a and an identity of the customer may be determined as discussed above with respect to block 118 in fig1 b . at block 525 , if an identity of the customer cannot be determined , then the process may end . if the identity of the customer is determined , then the process may proceed with the suitability check at block 530 as discussed above with respect to block 115 in fig1 b . with reference now directed to fig6 , a flow diagram 600 for a further method of online account opening including further contingency where customer is not an off - line client according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . as between fig6 and 5 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blocks 601 , 602 , 603 , 604 , 610 , 611 , 620 , 621 , 622 , 623 , 624 , 625 , 630 , 631 , and 632 are similar to blocks 501 , 502 , 503 , 504 , 510 , 511 , 520 , 521 , 522 , 523 , 524 , 525 , 530 , 531 , and 532 in fig5 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . at block 650 , a suitability check may be performed on the customer as discussed above with respect to block 121 in fig1 b . at block 651 , the customer may be approved as discussed above with respect to block 122 in fig1 b . if the customer is approved , then the process may continue with presentation of cross - sell products at block 632 as discussed at block 116 in fig1 b . at block 652 , if the customer is not approved , the process may end as discussed above at block 123 in fig1 b . with reference now directed to fig7 , a flow diagram 700 for a detailed method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure is presented . as between fig7 and 6 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blocks 701 , 702 , 703 , 704 , 710 , 711 , 720 , 721 , 722 , 723 , 724 , 725 , 730 , 731 , 732 , 750 , 751 , and 752 are similar to blocks 601 , 602 , 603 , 604 , 610 , 611 , 620 , 621 , 622 , 623 , 624 , 625 , 630 , 631 , 632 , 650 , 651 , and 652 in fig6 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . additionally , as between fig7 and 4 , like reference numbers relate to like components and / or procedural steps . accordingly , blocks 740 , 741 , 742 , 743 , and 744 are similar to blocks 440 , 441 , 442 , 443 , and 444 in fig4 and the descriptions of those blocks will not be repeated . with attention to fig8 , blocks 801 and 802 list some of the qualification criteria and priority criteria , respectively , that may be used for a method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure as discussed above with respect to block 124 in fig1 b . at block 801 the qualification criteria may include , but is not necessarily limited to , the following : the customer / pending customer &# 39 ; s choice of one or more products , credit information for the customer / pending customer , whether the customer / pending customer is a new or existing offline client of the financial institution , a predetermined set of risk rules , a predetermined set of business rules , and a predetermined promotional code . at block 802 the priority criteria may include , but is not necessarily limited to , the following : goals of the financial institution , a factor based on an estimate of potential revenue for the financial institution for the customer &# 39 ; s choice of a product , and a factor based on an analysis of a financial behavior , as is known in the art , of the customer or pending customer . with reference now to fig9 a through 9k , these figures represent a detailed flow diagram for a method of online account opening according to an embodiment of the disclosure . fig9 a through 9k are each divided into actions which may be performed wholly or predominantly at the financial institution ( e . g ., on a server associated with the financial institution which cause , a different webpage to be displayed on the customer &# 39 ; s computer terminal ) and actions which may be performed wholly or predominantly at the customer &# 39 ; s location ( e . g ., on a computer associated with the customer which displays the financial institution &# 39 ; s webpage ( s ) and may submit information to the financial institution &# 39 ; s server ) as is known in the art . in fig9 a , at block 901 a a customer may begin an online application transaction by , for example , clicking on an “ apply here ” button for a particular product on the website of a financial institution . at block 902 a the financial institution may determine if the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is known . if the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is unknown , then at block 903 a a query may be sent to the customer asking the customer to supply his / her state of residence . at block 904 a , the customer may select his / her state of residence from a list presented to the customer ( or by other methods known to those of skill in the art ) and at block 905 a the customer may submit his / her state of residence information to the financial institution . at block 906 a the financial institution may receive the state of residence information from the customer and may determine if the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is in a state that the financial institution does , or is licensed to do , business ( i . e ., the financial institution &# 39 ; s “ footprint ”). if the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is outside the financial institution &# 39 ; s footprint then at block 907 a the financial institution may advise the customer that the financial institution may not accept an application submitted by the customer and at block 908 a the financial institution may recommend to the customer that he / she contact ( e . g ., by telephone , mail , etc .) or visit a branch of the financial institution for additional assistance . at block 909 a the process ends . if , from block 906 a , the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is within the financial institution &# 39 ; s footprint , or if , from block 902 a , the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence is known , then at block 910 a the financial institution may send to the customer a webpage containing an overview of the financial institution &# 39 ; s online application process . alternatively , in another embodiment , an alternate route ( as shown in fig9 a ) may be taken from the starting block 901 a . this alternate route bypasses the determination of the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence . in this embodiment , the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence information may be obtained , for example , later in the process such as at block 907 e in fig9 e . furthermore , the list of products that may be presented to the customer for the customer to choose from , for example at block 906 d in fig9 d , may be “ generic ” to every state , i . e ., not “ state specific ”. once the customer &# 39 ; s personal data , including state of residence , is obtained then the customer &# 39 ; s state of residence may be used to determine product “ terms ”, rates , pricing , etc ., as well as for determining a list of cross - sell products to be presented to the customer . at block 916 a the financial institution may make a determination as to whether the customer initiated the online application process by responding to a marketing promotion . if the customer is responding to a marketing promotion , the financial institution may query the customer for a promotion code at block 911 a . at block 912 a the customer may receive the query and submit a response to the financial institution . the customer &# 39 ; s response may include , but is not necessarily limited to , a promotion code and an identification code for the customer . at block 913 a the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s submission and may determine if the customer &# 39 ; s promotion code and / or the customer &# 39 ; s identification code are valid . if the promotion code and / or the customer identification code are invalid , the financial institution may send an error message to the customer at block 914 a and may then loop back to block 916 a . if the promotion code is valid , the financial institution may at block 915 a identify the customer as “ marketing special ” for marketing , accounting , or other purposes . if , from block 915 a the promotion code as valid , or if , from block 916 a the customer is not responding to a marketing promotion then the process may continue in fig9 b via connecting block a . with attention now drawn to fig9 b , from fig9 a via connecting block a the financial institution may at block 902 b display disclosure and fee schedules to the customer . the disclosures and fee schedules may be “ universal ” for all products offered by the financial institution on the financial institution &# 39 ; s website or , in an embodiment , the disclosures and fee schedules may be tailored to the specific product chosen by the customer at block 901 a . at block 903 b the customer may review the “ universal ” disclosures and fee schedules and at block 904 b submit to the financial institution an acceptance or rejection of the “ universal ” disclosures and fee schedules . at block 905 b the financial institution may determine if the customer accepted or rejected the “ universal ” disclosures and fee schedules . if the disclosures / fee schedules were rejected , then at block 906 b the financial institution may advise the customer that the customer &# 39 ; s application cannot be accepted and at block 907 b the financial institution may recommend to the customer that he / she contact ( e . g ., by telephone , mail , etc .) or visit a branch of the financial institution for additional assistance . at block 908 b the process ends . if at block 905 b the disclosures / fee schedules were accepted , then at block 909 b a determination may be made by the financial institution as to whether the customer is an existing client of the financial institution . if the customer is an existing client of the financial institution , then at block 910 b the financial institution may determine if the customer is signed in to the financial institution &# 39 ; s system . if the customer is not signed in , then at block 911 b the financial institution may send a login screen to the customer . upon receipt of the login screen , the customer ( who is an existing client ), at block 912 b , may provide his / her login credentials to the financial institution . at block 913 b the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s login credentials and may verify / validate that the customer is an existing client of the financial institution . at block 914 b the financial institution may determine if the customer / existing client was verified . if , from block 910 b the customer is determined to not be signed in , or if from block 914 b it was determined that the customer / existing client was verified , then the process may continue at block 901 c in fig9 c via connecting blocks c and d , respectively . at block 901 c the financial institution may retrieve existing client data for the customer from appropriate an data source and the process may continue at block 902 c . if , from block 909 b the customer is determined to not be an existing client of the financial institution , or if , from block 914 b it was determined that the customer / existing client was not verified , then the process may continue at block 902 c in fig9 c via connecting blocks b and e , respectively . with attention now directed to fig9 c , specifically to block 902 c , a determination may be made at the financial institution as to whether a current application for the customer exists . the financial institution may query the customer at block 903 c for a customer identification code and / or an online application identification code . at block 904 c the customer may submit to the financial institution a customer identification code and / or an online application identification code . at block 905 c the financial institution may receive the information codes from the customer and may search for a partially - completed online application form . at block 906 c the financial institution may determine if a partially - completed online application form was found . if a partially - completed online application form was not found , then the financial institution may display to the customer an error message at block 907 c and the process may loop back to block 902 c . if a partially - complete online application form was found , then at block 908 c the financial institution may retrieve the data for the partially - completed online application form and use that data to pre - populate a current online application form . alternatively , the financial institution may retrieve the partially - completed online application form and display that form to the customer . if , from block 902 c the customer is determined to not have an existing application , or if , from block 908 c the partially - completed online application and / or data has been retrieved , then the process may continue at block 901 d in fig9 d via connecting block f . with attention now to fig9 d , at block 901 d the financial institution may determine ( from appropriate customer input ) if the customer wishes to apply for multiple accounts . if so , the financial institution may display , at block 902 d , on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen a list of applicable products from which the customer may choose . the products listed in the list of applicable products may be selected by the financial institution based on at least the initial product chosen by the customer in block 901 a and / or the state of residence of the customer as selected in block 904 a . additionally , the list of applicable products may be based on a promotion code or a determination that the customer is responding to an advertisement . the list of applicable products may be displayed , for example , on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen in a matrix form for easy comparison by the customer . the information displayed in the matrix may include the name of the product ( s ) and a brief description of the product ( s ). at block 903 d the customer may review the product matrix and , at block 904 d , the customer may select an additional product or products . at block 905 d the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s additional selections and record those selections . if , at block 901 d , the customer decides to continue with the process for a single account / product , or if , from block 905 d the financial institution has recorded the customer &# 39 ; s additional account selection ( s ), then at block 906 d the financial institution may display on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen a product ( s ) specification questionnaire . in an embodiment , this questionnaire may be dynamically presented based on the product ( s ) selected by the customer . at block 907 d the customer may review the questionnaire and provide responses to the questionnaire . at block 908 d the customer may submit his / her responses to the questionnaire to the financial institution . at block 909 d the financial institution may perform edits on the questionnaire responses submitted by the customer . at block 910 d the financial institution may store details regarding the product specifications . at block 911 d the financial institution may determine if complementary product ( s ) are available for the product ( s ) selected by the customer . if there are complementary products available , then at block 912 d the financial institution may display on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen the complementary products and account options . at block 913 d the customer may review the complementary products and account options . the process may continue at block 901 e in fig9 e via connecting block h . with attention now drawn to fig9 e , from fig9 d via connecting block h the customer may at block 901 e select complementary product ( s ) and account options and transmit those selections to the financial institution . at block 902 e the financial institution may determine if the customer &# 39 ; s selected complementary product ( s ) and account options require additional information from the customer . if additional information is required , at block 903 e the financial institution may determine what additional information needs to be captured . if , from block 911 d the financial institution determines that there are no complementary products then the process may continue in fig9 e via connecting block g . at block 904 e , if there are no complementary products from block 911 d , or if there is no additional information required from block 902 e , or after there has been a determination as to what additional information needs to be captured at block 903 e , then the financial institution may display on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen an online application form . at block 905 e the financial institution may determine if the application is for a joint account ( based on input from the customer ). if the application is for a joint account , at block 906 e the financial institution may request customer and co - customer personal information . if the application is for a single account , at block 907 e the financial institution may request customer personal information . at block 908 e the customer ( s ) may enter his / her / their personal information and at block 909 e the personal information may be submitted to the financial institution . at block 910 e the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s personal information and perform edits as necessary . at block 911 e the financial institution may store the customer &# 39 ; s personal information . the process may continue at block 901 f in fig9 f via connecting block i . with reference now at fig9 f , at block 901 f the financial institution may determine if the type of product ( s ) selected by the customer requires the collection of supplementary information . if supplementary information is determined to be required , at block 902 f the financial institution may request customer and co - customer supplementary information . at block 903 f the customer and / or co - customer may enter supplementary information in the online application and at block 904 f the customer and / or co - customer may determine if the online application form is complete . also block 903 f may be a loop - back via connecting block m as discussed below with respect to block 912 g in fig9 g . if the customer determines that the online application form is incomplete , the customer may , at block 906 f select to save the incomplete online application form . at block 908 f the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s selection and assign a customer identification code and / or an online application code , at block 909 f the financial institution may store the customer &# 39 ; s partial application , and at block 910 f the financial institution may notify the customer of the customer identification code and / or the online application identification code . the process may then stop at block 911 f . if , at block 904 f , the customer and / or co - customer determines that the online application form is complete , then at block 905 f the customer may submit the online application form to the financial institution . at block 907 f the financial institution may receive the online application form from the customer and store the entire application or just the supplementary information . at block 912 f , if at block 901 f the financial institution determines that the type of product ( s ) selected by the customer do not require the collection of supplementary information , or from block 907 f the financial institution stores the customer &# 39 ; s application or supplementary information , the financial institution may determine if the customer &# 39 ; s selected product type ( s ) require the collection of financial information . if the financial institution determines that financial information is required , at block 913 f the financial institution may request customer and / or co - customer financial information from the customer and / or co - customer . at block 194 f the customer and / or co - customer may enter financial information . the process may continue at block 901 g in fig9 g via connecting block k . if , at block 912 f , the financial institution determines that financial information is not required , the process may continue at block 909 g in fig9 g via connecting block j . with attention now directed towards fig9 g , at block 901 g the customer may determine if the online application form is complete . if the customer and / or co - customer determines that the online application form is incomplete , the customer and / or co - customer may , at block 903 g select to save the incomplete online application form . at block 905 g the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s and / or co - customer &# 39 ; s selection and assign a customer identification code and / or an online application code , at block 906 g the financial institution may store the customer &# 39 ; s and / or co - customer &# 39 ; s partial application , and at block 907 g the financial institution may notify the customer and / or co - customer of the customer identification code and / or the online application identification code . the process may then stop at block 908 g . if , at block 901 g , the customer and / or co - customer determines that the online application form is complete , then at block 902 g the customer and / or co - customer may submit the online application form to the financial institution . at block 904 g the financial institution may receive the online application form from the customer and store the entire application or just the financial information . at block 909 g , either continuing from block 912 f via connecting block j , or after block 904 g , the financial institution may perform edits on the online application . at block 910 g a determination may be made as to whether the online application has passed the edits . if it is determined by the financial institution that the online application has failed the edits , at block 911 g the financial institution may display an error message on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen , at block 912 g the financial institution may display an error correction form on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen and the process may loop back via connecting block m to block 903 f in fig9 f . if at block 910 g the financial institution determines that the online application has passed the edits , the process may continue at block 901 h in fig9 via connecting block l . with attention now at fig9 h , at block 901 h the financial institution may determine if the new account ( s ) selected by the customer requires funding . if the financial institution determines that funding is required , at block 902 h the financial institution may present funding options to the customer . at block 903 h the customer may review the account funding options and at block 904 h the customer may select account funding option ( s ). at block 905 h the financial institution may receive the customer &# 39 ; s account funding option selection ( s ) and may determine if the selected online account funding option is acceptable . if the financial institution rejects the customer &# 39 ; s selected funding option , at block 906 h the financial institution displays an error message on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen and loops the process back to block 902 h . if the financial institution accepts the customer &# 39 ; s selected funding option , at block 907 h the financial institution determines the account funding method selected by the customer and at block 908 h the financial institution requests account funding details from the customer . at block 909 h the customer receives the account funding details request from the financial institution and provides account funding details . at block 910 h the customer submits the account funding details to the financial institution . at block 911 h the financial institution receives the account funding details from the customer and performs edits on the account funding data . at block 912 h the financial institution stores the customer &# 39 ; s account funding data . at block 913 h , if the financial institution determines in block 901 h that new account funding is not required , or the financial institution stored account funding data at block 912 h , the financial institution displays on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen the online application form data for final review . at block 914 h the customer receives and reviews the online application form data . the process continues at block 901 i in fig9 i via connecting block n . with reference now to fig9 i , at block 901 i the customer determines the accuracy of the data on the submitted online application form . if the customer determines that edits are required , at block 902 i the customer edits the online application form data . after the customer edits the online application form data or if no edits are required , at block 903 i the customer submits the verified / edited online application form data to the financial institution . at block 904 i , the financial institution receives the verified / edited online application faun data and determines if updates were made to the data . if updates were made to the data , at block 905 i the financial institution may determine if the updated online application form passed the financial institution edit checks . if the updated online application form failed the edit check , at block 906 i the financial institution may display an error message on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen , at block 907 i the financial institution may display an error correction form on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen , and the process loops back to block 902 i . at block 908 i , if the financial institution determines that no updates were made , or if at block 905 i the financial institution determines that the updated online application faun passed the edit checks , the financial institution may determine if additional disclosures are required for the product ( s ) selected by the customer . if additional disclosures are required , at block 909 i the financial institution displays the product ( s ) specific disclosures on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen . at block 910 i the customer receives and reviews the product ( s ) specific disclosures . the process continues at block 901 j in fig9 j via connecting block p . if the financial institution determines at block 908 i that additional disclosures are not required , then the process continues at block 901 k in fig9 k via connecting blocks o and q . now considering fig9 j , at block 901 j , after receiving and reviewing the product ( s ) specific disclosures at block 910 i in fig9 i , the customer may submit an acceptance or rejection of the product ( s ) specific disclosures . at block 902 j the financial institution receives the acceptance or rejection of the product ( s ) specific disclosures from the customer and may determine if the customer accepted or rejected the “ universal ” disclosure and fee schedules described above with respect to blocks 902 b , 903 b , 904 b , and 905 b in fig9 b . if the financial institution determines that the customer rejected the product ( s ) specific disclosures , at block 903 j the financial institution may advise the customer that the customer &# 39 ; s application cannot be accepted and at block 904 j the financial institution may recommend to that the customer that he / she contact ( e . g ., by telephone , mail , etc .) or visit a branch of the financial institution for additional assistance . at block 905 j the process ends . if , at block 902 j the financial institution determines that the customer accepted the “ universal ” disclosure and fee schedules and the product ( s ) specific disclosures , the process continues at block 901 k in fig9 k via connecting block q . with attention now directed to fig9 k , at block 901 k if the financial institution determined at block 908 i in fig9 i that no additional disclosures for the selected product ( s ) are required , or at block 902 j if the financial institution determined that the customer accepted the “ universal ” disclosure and fee schedules and the product ( s ) specific disclosures , the financial institution may determine if application fees are due from the customer . if application fees are due from the customer , at block 902 k the financial institution may display on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen an application fee collection form . at block 903 k the customer may receive and complete the application fee collection form and at block 904 k the customer may submit the application fee collection form to the financial institution . at block 905 k the financial institution may receive the completed application fee collection form and perform edits on the form . at block 906 k the financial institution may store application fee data . at block 907 k , if the financial institution at block 901 k determined that no application fees are required , or if the financial institution at block 906 k stores the customer &# 39 ; s application fee data , the financial institution may display on the customer &# 39 ; s computer screen a verification of receipt of the completed online application form . at block 908 k the process ends . while preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described , it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalents , many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof .	6
a key difficulty of designing a kalman filter is that the white plant noise covariance w ( also called process noise covariance ), which is selected to cope with the reduced state , must be optimized empirically . empirical optimization is a difficult task in multisensor applications , as indicated by mookerjee and reifler , supra . it should be recognized that white noise cannot be used to “ model exactly target maneuvers , which are neither zero - mean nor white — they are not even random ,” y . bar - shalom and x - r . li , multitarget - multisensor tracking : principles and techniques , storrs , conn . : ybs publishing , 1995 , p . 26 . for example , in tracking applications , the white plant noise covariance w that gives optimal performance depends not only on the parameter matrix λ , but also on other variables such as the measurement noise covariance and the data rate . the ratio of w to λ can be more than two orders of magnitude ( a ratio of 100 : 1 ). thus in a kalman filter w has to be empirically adjusted for optimal performance . optimizing performance by choice of w in an example given by p . s . maybeck and m . r . schore , “ reduced - order multiple model adaptive controller for flexible spacestructure ,” ieee transactions on aerospace and electronic systems , pp . 756 – 767 , vol . 28 , no . 3 , july 1992 , with 6 states in each of the multiple filter models reduced from 24 states in the truth model , would be a daunting empirical task , which is automatically achieved through λ using the invention . for motion along a one - dimensional axis , bar - shalom , blackman , blair , li , and kirubarajan have suggested as guidelines that √{ square root over ( w )} be selected as a constant equal to 33 %, 50 %, or 100 % of the maximum acceleration bar - shalom and li ; bar - shalom , li , and kirubarajan ; and s . blackman , multiple - target tracking with radar applications norwood , mass . : artech house , inc ., 1986 . however , simple examples by mookerjee and reifler show that the optimal √{ square root over ( w )} can be more than an order of magnitude times the maximum acceleration , which is quite different from 33 %, 50 %, or 100 %. in tracking applications , the white plant noise covariance w that gives optimal performance depends not only on the maximum acceleration , but also on other variables such as the measurement noise covariance and the data rate . in multisensor tracking the geometry of the sensors is equally important as the maneuvers . the task of finding an optimal w is especially difficult when measurements come from multiple sensors with different measurement characteristics , and according to moore and blair usually requires a great deal of empirical simulation . the optimal reduced estimator according to an aspect of the invention avoids the need for simulation by analytical modeling of the parameter bounds . using the physical bounds on the parameters ω ( turn rate ) and α ( tangential acceleration ) in the airplane example above , the optimal reduced state estimator is consistent for a maneuver . li and jilkov stated “ tracking a maneuvering target assuming it is not maneuvering may have a serious consequence ( e . g ., track loss ), while tracking a non - maneuvering target assuming it is maneuvering usually only suffers minor performance degradation ”. by explicitly modeling the maximum excursions of ω and α , an optimal reduced state estimator according to an aspect of the invention satisfies this principle enunciated by li and jilkov . in the airplane - tracking example , maximum accelerations produced by the bounds of the parameters ω and α , along the instantaneous normal and tangential airplane axes , bound all physically possible maneuvers . in the filter model of the invention , these maximum accelerations are represented in an equivalent statistical model by a multivariate gaussian distribution of constant accelerations , whose one - sigma ellipsoid best approximates the maximum accelerations . among all estimators ( including reduced state kalman filters ) with the same reduced states , the optimal reduced state estimator according to an aspect of the invention is defined to have minimal covariance using this filter model . this covariance is the minimal covariance achievable by linearly weighting the predicted states with a new measurement at each successive update of the filter . the optimal reduced state estimator minimizes the mean - square and thereby , the root - mean - square ( rms ) estimation errors for the maximum excursions of the parameters in the truth model . furthermore , since the bounds on the parameters ω and α are included in the covariance that is minimized , the optimal reduced state estimator does not need white plant noise , as is required by kalman filters , to cope with the reduced state . the solution of the problem requires a completely different method , which is incorporated in an aspect of the invention . the simplified logic flow chart or diagram 300 of fig3 illustrates a method according to an aspect of the invention . in fig3 , the logic flow of the invention begins with initialization of the state estimate { circumflex over ( x )}( k 0 \| k 0 ) and the matrices m ( k 0 \| k 0 ), d ( k 0 \| k 0 ). matrix m ( j \| k ) is defined as the covariance of the state estimation errors at time t j due only to the errors in the measurements z ( i ) for 1 ≦ i ≦ k and a priori initial information that is independent of the parameter uncertainty . matrix d ( j \| k ) is defined as the matrix of bias coefficients , which linearly relates state estimation errors to the parameter errors , at time t j ( after processing k = 0 , 1 , 2 , . . . measurements ). thus , the initial information , which is obtained in order to begin processing , is different from that of the prior art , in that matrices m ( j \| k ) and d ( j \| k ) are used instead of state covariance s ( j \| k ). from block 310 , the logic of the invention of fig3 flows to a block 312 , which represents the incrementing of a time index k to k + 1 as in the prior art method . the logic of the invention then flows to a further block 314 , which represents the accessing or inputting of the system matrices φ , γ , f , and g , where f = φ + γ ⁢ ∂ u ∂ x  x = x ^ ⁡ ( k ❘ k ) , λ = λ _ ( 25 ) g = γ ⁢ ∂ u ∂ λ  x = x ^ ⁡ ( k ❘ k ) , λ = λ _ ( 26 ) from block 314 , the logic of the invention of fig3 flows to a block 316 , which accesses or inputs a parameter matrix λ . the parameter matrix λ represents the physical bounds on the unknown parameters , such as turn rate and tangential acceleration , and is preferably selected based on a precise description of the physical system , and depends upon well - known physical phenomena and characteristics of real systems . types of physical parameters , which might be considered for determination of λ in the case of maneuvers , are the turn rate ω and the tangential acceleration α . this is a departure from the prior art , which uses a white process noise covariance w that does not correctly model the class of systems addressed by the invention herein . from block 316 of fig3 , the logic flow of the invention proceeds to a block 318 , which represents the extrapolation of state estimates { circumflex over ( x )}( k \| k ), and matrices m ( k \| k ), d ( k \| k ) according to { circumflex over ( x )} ( k + 1 \| k )= φ { circumflex over ( x )}( k \| k )+ γ u ({ circumflex over ( x )}( k \| k ), λ ) ( 27 ) m ( k + 1 \| k )= fm ( k \| k ) f ′ ( 28 ) d ( k + 1 \| k )= fd ( k \| k )+ g ( 29 ) s ( k + 1 \| k )= m ( k + 1 \| k )+ d ( k + 1 \| k ) λ d ( k + 1 \| k )′ ( 30 ) thus , another difference between the invention herein and the prior art exemplified in fig2 is that the prior art kalman filter extrapolates state estimate { circumflex over ( x )}( k \| k ) and state covariance s ( k \| k ) to { circumflex over ( x )}( k + 1 \| k ) and s ( k + 1 \| k ), while the current invention extrapolates state estimate { circumflex over ( x )}( k \| k ) and matrices m ( k \| k ), d ( k \| k ) to { circumflex over ( x )}( k + 1 \| k ) and m ( k + 1 \| k ), d ( k + 1 \| k ) respectively . from block 318 of fig3 , the logic of the invention flows to a block 320 , which represents the accessing or inputting of the measurement noise covariance n , as in block 220 of fig2 . block 322 of fig3 corresponds to block 222 of fig2 , in that it represents the computation as in the prior art of the filter gain matrix k , and filter matrices q , and l . while generically similar to the prior art , the filter gain matrix k obtained in block 322 of the arrangement of fig3 are different from the filter gain matrix k obtained in prior art because of the use of m ( k + 1 \| k ), d ( k + 1 \| k ) and λ to formula s ( k + 1 \| k ) in equation ( 30 ). the covariance of the residual q is calculated as from block 322 of fig3 , the logic flows to a further block 324 , which represents the measurement z ( k + 1 ) of aspects of the state of the system . this step is same as the corresponding step of the prior art . the logic flows from block 324 of fig3 to a block 326 , which represents the updating of the state estimate and the associated matrices . more particularly , the state estimate { circumflex over ( x )}( k + 1 \| k + 1 ) is calculated as { circumflex over ( x )} ( k + 1 \| k + 1 )={ circumflex over ( x )}( k + 1 \| k )+ k [ z ( k + 1 )− h { circumflex over ( x )} ( k + 1 \| k )] ( 34 ) m ( k + 1 \| k + 1 )= lm ( k + 1 \| k ) l ′+ knk ′ ( 35 ) s ( k + 1 \| k + 1 )= m ( k + 1 \| k + 1 )+ d ( k + 1 \| k + 1 ) λ d ( k + 1 \| k + 1 )′ ( 37 ) and equation ( 37 ) represents a mean - square criterion which may be used for a root - mean - square determination . the above equations ( 25 )–( 37 ) are set forth in fig3 and in p . mookerjee and f . reifler , “ reduced state estimator for systems with parametric inputs ,” ieee transactions on aerospace and electronic systems , pp . 446 – 461 , vol . aes - 40 , no . 2 , april 2004 . the calculations associated with block 326 of fig3 separates the state estimation error covariance s ( j \| k ) into components , m ( j \| k ) and d ( j \| k ) λd ( j \| k ), attributable to measurement error and parameter uncertainty , and separately propagates these covariances from one time index k to next time index k + 1 . in addition , the gain matrix k are computed based on these propagated covariances . the gains weight the measurements to form the state estimates . the values of these gains so computed are , of course , different from those computed by the prior art method of fig2 . a salient difference between the prior - art method and that of the invention is the introduction into the equations defining a multidimensional state estimation error covariance denoted above as m ( j \| k ), attributable to measurement error and d ( j \| k ) λd ( j \| k ), representing the physical bounds of the parameters , and propagating certain coefficients ( denoted as d ( k \| k ) and d ( k + 1 \| k )) rather than the parameter itself , as described in the article by portmann , moore , and bath 1990 . as mentioned , that parameter cannot be propagated in more than one dimension . the matrix m ( j \| k ) is defined as the covariance of the state estimation errors at time t j due only to the errors in the measurements z ( i ) for 1 ≦ i ≦ k and a priori initial information that is independent of the parameter uncertainty . d ( j \| k ) is defined as the matrix of bias coefficients , which linearly relates state estimation errors to the parameter errors , at time t j ( after processing k = 0 , 1 , 2 , . . . measurements ). thus , the invention uses a novel mean - square optimization criterion ( equation ( 37 )) which explicitly addresses the known physical bounds of the multidimensional parameters , and incorporates analytical modeling of the parameter bounds , whose modeling may be as precise as knowledge of the boundary values permits . the invention provides an exact implementable recursive solution that optimizes the mean - square criterion . the solution according to this aspect of the invention is both consistent and optimal for the criterion . as mentioned above , consistency and optimality were lacking in the prior art , leading to the paradox in which more data gave worse performance ( w . d . blair and y . bar - shalom , “ tracking maneuvering targets with multiple sensors : does more data always mean better estimates ?” ieee transactions on aerospace and electronic systems , pp . 450 – 456 , vol . aes - 32 , no . 1 , january 1996 and j . r . moore and w . d . blair , “ practical aspects of multisensor tracking ,” in multitarget - multisensor tracking : applications and advances , volume iii , y . bar - shalom and william dale blair , ( ed .) boston , mass . : artech house , 2000 , pp . 43 – 44 ). the solution described above applies to very general linear and nonlinear systems . in general , there are five broad classes of systems to which kalman filters apply : ( a ) linear systems with unknown constant parameters as inputs ; ( b ) linear systems with white noise as inputs ; ( c ) linear systems with time - varying parameters with known bounds as inputs ; ( d ) linear systems whose system matrices depend on unknown constant parameters ; and ( e ) nonlinear systems that depend on time - varying parameters with known bounds . among these , systems ( a ), ( b ), and ( d ) are capable of being correctly handled by the prior - art filter estimation methods . general systems of types ( c ) and ( e ), however , cannot be handled by the prior - art methods . more specifically , the prior art does not address any system of type ( e ) and the paper by portmann , moore , and bath 1990 addresses only one special case of type ( c ) for a single parameter . thus , the invention provides a general solution for types ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), ( d ), and ( e ), although it may find greatest use in general systems of types ( c ) and ( e ). most systems with uncontrollable ( independently variable ) but bounded parameters fall into types ( c ) and ( e ), such as encountered in tracking maneuvering aircraft , controlling nuclear , chemical , or manufacturing factories , attitude control of a space station , traction control of an automobile subject to weather conditions , etc . the current invention is different from the prior art in at least that it uses the matrix λ to explicitly include the physical bounds on the uncertain parameters , it separates the state estimation error covariance s ( j \| k ) into components , m ( j \| k ) and d ( j \| k ) λd ( j \| k ), attributable to measurement error and parameter uncertainty , respectively , and separately propagates these covariances from one time index k to next time index k + 1 ; and , based on these propagated covariances , the gain matrix k are computed that weight the measurements to form the state estimates . the values of these gains so computed are different from the prior art and provide solutions where none could be found before .	6
the illustrative embodiments provide for extracting heat from a laptop computer using venturi bernoulli heat extraction . a laptop computer may also be known as a notebook computer or a mobile computer . with reference now to the figures , and in particular with reference to fig1 , a pictorial representation of a data processing system in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented is depicted . mobile computer 100 is depicted which includes system unit 102 , video display terminal 104 , keyboard 106 , storage devices 108 , which may include floppy drives and other types of permanent and removable storage media , and pointer device 110 . additional input devices may be included with mobile computer 100 , such as , for example , a mouse , joystick , touch screen , trackball , microphone , and the like . mobile computer 100 may be implemented using any suitable computer , such as an ibm thinkpad computer , which is a product of international business machines corporation , located in armonk , n . y . mobile computer 100 also preferably includes a graphical user interface ( gui ) that may be implemented by means of systems software residing in computer readable media in operation within mobile computer 100 . with reference now to fig2 , a block diagram of a data processing system is shown in which the illustrative embodiments may be implemented . data processing system 200 is an example of a mobile computer , such as mobile computer 100 in fig1 , in which code or instructions implementing the processes for different embodiments may be located . in the depicted example , data processing system 200 employs a hub architecture including a north bridge and memory controller hub ( mch ) 208 and a south bridge and input / output ( i / o ) controller hub ( ich ) 210 . processor 202 , main memory 204 , and graphics processor 218 are connected to mch 208 . graphics processor 218 may be connected to the mch through an accelerated graphics port ( agp ), for example . in the depicted example , local area network ( lan ) adapter 212 , audio adapter 216 , keyboard and mouse adapter 220 , modem 222 , read only memory ( rom ) 224 , hard disk drive ( hdd ) 226 , cd - rom drive 230 , universal serial bus ( usb ) ports and other communications ports 232 , and pci / pcie devices 234 may be connected to input / output ( i / o ) controller hub 210 . pci / pcie devices may include , for example , ethernet adapters , add - in cards , pc cards for notebook computers , etc . pci uses a cardbus controller , while pcie does not . rom 224 may be , for example , a flash binary input / output system ( bios ). hard disk drive 226 and cd - rom drive 230 may use , for example , an integrated drive electronics ( ide ) or serial advanced technology attachment ( sata ) interface . a super i / o ( sio ) device 236 may be connected to input / output ( i / o ) controller hub 210 . docking interface 240 may also be connected to input / output ( i / o ) controller hub 210 . data processing system 200 may be a mobile computing device , such as a laptop computer or handheld computer . docking interface 240 provides port replication to allow the data processing system to easily connect to a keyboard , pointing device , monitor , printer , speakers , etc . the docking interface allows the mobile computing device to operate as a desktop computer with the more immobile peripheral devices . an operating system runs on processor 202 and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system 200 in fig2 . the operating system may be a commercially available operating system , such as windows ® xp , which is available from microsoft corporation . instructions for the operating system , the object - oriented programming system , and applications or programs are located on storage devices , such as hard disk drive 226 and may be loaded into main memory 204 for execution by processor 202 . those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in fig2 may vary depending on the implementation . other internal hardware or peripheral devices , such as flash memory , equivalent nonvolatile memory , or optical disk drives and the like , may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in fig2 . also , the processes of the depicted embodiments may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system . for example , data processing system 200 may be a personal digital assistant ( pda ), which is configured with flash memory to provide non - volatile memory for storing operating system files and / or user - generated data . the depicted example in fig2 and above - described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations . the illustrative embodiments use the bernoulli principle to provide a chimney - like heat extractor with venturis extending up the back of the lcd screen . using venturi bernoulli heat extraction may augment or replace the fan drawing air over the heat sink that sits on top of the central processing unit . fig3 depicts a chimney - like heat extractor using the venturi effect in accordance with an illustrative embodiment . the venturi effect is a special case of bernoulli &# 39 ; s principle , in the case of air 302 flowing through tube 304 with constriction 306 in tube 304 . air 302 must speed up in constriction 306 , reducing air &# 39 ; s 306 pressure and producing a partial vacuum via the bernoulli effect . the illustrative embodiments may use a set of tubes which may be one or more tubes . air 302 passing through constriction 306 is subject to changes in velocity and pressure in order to satisfy the conservation of mass - flux or flow rate . the reduction in pressure in constriction 306 can be understood by conservation of energy : air 302 gains kinetic energy as it enters constriction 306 , and that energy is supplied by a pressure gradient force from behind . the pressure gradient reduces the pressure in constriction 306 in reaction to the acceleration . likewise , as air 302 leaves constriction 306 , air 302 is slowed by a pressure gradient force that raises the pressure back to the ambient level . the limiting case of the venturi effect is choked flow in which constriction 306 in tube 304 limits the total flow rate through tube 304 because the pressure cannot drop below zero in constriction 306 . as an example of dimensions for tube 304 , the outer ends may be 1 centimeter while the constricted portion of tube 304 may be 0 . 25 centimeters , although any dimension may be used as long as the tube fits adequately behind the video display terminal of the laptop computer and provides air flow . tube 304 may be manufactured out of a number of different materials , such as high temperature rubber , a material similar to the housing of the display , or aluminum , which may provide strength as well as additional heat dissipation . fig4 depicts a side view of a laptop computer using a venturi bernoulli heat extraction system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment . laptop computer 400 may be a laptop , notebook , or mobile computer , such as mobile computer 100 of fig1 . laptop computer 400 is comprised of system unit 402 and video display terminal 404 . system unit 402 comprises central processing unit ( cpu ) 406 and fan 408 used to draw air over a heat sink that sits on top of central processing unit 406 as well as other internal components of system unit 402 forming heated air . while the illustrative embodiments use fan 408 , one or more fans may be used to comprise a set of fans . while the illustrative embodiments show one of central processing unit 406 , system unit 402 may contain one or more central processing units . the illustrative embodiments provide a venturi bernoulli heat extraction system that is comprised of chimney 410 and hinge duct 412 . chimney 410 may be one or more chimneys or tubes using the venturi effect as described in fig3 and are located behind video display terminal 404 . system unit 402 may comprise a set of air inlets that may be one or more air inlets 414 where air 416 is drawn in over the internal components inside of system unit 402 to cool the internal components . fan 408 may draw air 416 over the internal components of system unit 402 , such as central processing unit 406 and exhaust air 416 through air outlet 418 . the illustrative embodiments use a set of air outlets that may be one or more air outlets . the illustrative embodiments draw air 416 through hinge duct 412 and then through chimney 410 . while the illustrative embodiments show hinge duct 412 that provides a connection from air outlet 418 to chimney 410 , any type of connection may be used , such as an expandable / collapsible tube as long as the connection is able to conduct air from air outlet 418 to chimney 410 such that a pressure gradient is present . air 416 passing through constriction 420 is subject to changes in velocity and pressure in order to satisfy the conservation of mass - flux or flow rate . the reduction in pressure in constriction 420 can be understood by conservation of energy : air 416 gains kinetic energy as it enters constriction 420 , and that energy is supplied by a pressure gradient force from behind . the pressure gradient reduces the pressure in constriction 420 in reaction to the acceleration . likewise , as air 416 leaves constriction 420 , air 416 is slowed by a pressure gradient force that raises the pressure back to the ambient level . fig5 depicts a three - dimensional view of a laptop computer using a venturi bernoulli heat extraction system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment . laptop computer 500 may be a laptop , notebook , or mobile computer , such as mobile computer 100 of fig1 . as with laptop computer 400 of fig4 , laptop computer 500 is comprised of system unit 502 and video display terminal 504 . system unit 502 comprises central processing unit ( cpu ) 506 and fan 508 used to draw air over a heat sink that sits on top of central processing unit 506 as well as other internal components of system unit 502 forming heated air . while the illustrative embodiments use fan 508 , one or more fans may be used to comprise a set of fans . while the illustrative embodiments show one of central processing unit 506 , system unit 502 may contain one or more central processing units . the illustrative embodiments provide a venturi bernoulli heat extraction system that is comprised of chimney 510 and hinge duct 512 . chimney 510 may be one or more chimneys or tubes using the venturi effect as described in fig3 and are located behind video display terminal 504 . system unit 502 may comprise one or more air inlets 514 where air 516 is drawn in over the internal components inside of system unit 502 to cool the internal components . fan 508 may draw air 516 over the internal components of system unit 502 , such as central processing unit 506 and exhaust air 516 through air outlet 518 . the illustrative embodiments draw air 516 through hinge duct 512 and then through chimney 510 . while the illustrative embodiments show hinge duct 512 that provides a connection from air outlet 518 to chimney 510 , any type of connection may be used , such as an expandable / collapsible tube as long as the connection is able to conduct air from air outlet 518 to chimney 510 such that a pressure gradient is present . air 516 passing through constriction 520 is subject to changes in velocity and pressure in order to satisfy the conservation of mass - flux or flow rate . the reduction in pressure in constriction 520 can be understood by conservation of energy : air 516 gains kinetic energy as it enters constriction 520 , and that energy is supplied by a pressure gradient force from behind . the pressure gradient reduces the pressure in constriction 520 in reaction to the acceleration . likewise , as air 516 leaves constriction 520 , air 516 is slowed by a pressure gradient force that raises the pressure back to the ambient level . thus , the illustrative embodiments provide a venturi bernoulli heat extraction system that uses a chimney - like heat extractor with venturis extending up the back of the lcd screen . using venturi bernoulli heat extraction may augment or replace the fan drawing air over the heat sink that sits on top of the central processing unit . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention , the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated .	6
a computing system , whether a general - purpose computer system or optimized , specialized computer system , such as a network switching device , has an operating system that provides basic and essential services for the computer system such as starting and stopping processes , both operating system and application processes , handling input and output functions , maintaining files and file systems or directories , and controlling devices such as peripheral devices and disk drives . with reference to fig1 , a block diagram of an example operating system ( os ) 100 is illustrated . a kernel 105 contains the core functionality of an operating system , and generally is loaded into system memory when the computing system is powered up as part of the booting procedure for the system . other parts , or modules , of the operating system , such as software modules 120 - 140 , may be loaded at start up or as needed . in a specialized computer system such as a network switching device , each of modules 120 - 140 may perform a function such as forwarding and filtering data packets , or implement various internetworking protocols such as the well - known internet protocol ( ip ) or hypertext transfer protocol ( http ). libraries 180 typically are smaller programs shared by other modules or application programs that run on the computing system . for example , a device driver might be maintained in a libraries 180 , and dynamically linked to from a module when the module , such as module 120 , communicates with the device controlled by the device driver . upgrading the os 100 , or one or modules thereof , may be necessary to improve or add functionality to the os 100 , or to fix “ bugs ” in the os 100 . in one embodiment of the invention , an upgrade package 160 is installed to do just that . the upgrade package may include a single file , e . g ., a binary image , of the whole os 100 , or one or more binary images of separate modules . for example , upgrade package 160 may include a module 140 ′ that is a new version or revision of already installed module 140 . alternatively , or additionally , upgrade package may include a new module 145 that provides new functionality for os 100 . furthermore , upgrade package may include one or more shared libraries to be installed in libraries 180 . in any case , the one or more modules to be installed are referred to in fig1 as the upgrade package &# 39 ; s payload 150 . in addition to payload 150 , upgrade package 160 includes an installation file 170 . as will be explained in more detail below , installation file 170 provides , among other things , instructions for installing one or more of the modules comprising payload 150 into the operating system 100 of a computing system . in one embodiment of the invention , the upgrade package is a single compressed archive file ( e . g ., a . tar , or . tgz format with envelope information ), consisting of all the files needed for installation of the upgrade package . for example , if the upgrade package is to replace the entire operating system 100 with a new version , the compressed archive file includes a single binary image of the new version of the operating system 100 . alternatively , the upgrade package may include those modules required to update one or more particular os modules . in addition , the compressed archive file includes an installation file 170 that includes instructions for installing at least some portion of the payload 150 in the upgrade package . the installation file itself contains a specification file 174 that identifies the content of the upgrade package . the specification file 174 can contain information regarding the modules present in the upgrade package . a module may comprise one or more binary images . the specification file can list the binary images , and corresponding directories , as well , to be installed . this list may contain all the files that make up os 100 , or some portion thereof . in this manner , the list provides a flexible approach for a patching strategy , software maintenance releases , etc ., in which only some of the files , libraries , or directories that make up the os are upgraded or added . additionally the specification file can contain instructions for installing some or all of the binary images , libraries , and directories . in this manner , the same payload can be reused for installation on different computer systems , and only the appropriate binary images in the payload are installed in accordance with the instructions set forth in the specification file . these list of files , directory information , and instructions are prepared and included in the specification file at the time the upgrade package is created . in one embodiment , the specification file is platform - dependent , that is , a separate specification file , with perhaps a different list of files and / or instructions , is built for each computing system and / or operating system on which the upgrade package is to be installed . for example , if the upgrade package is to be installed on one or more of a family of computer system products , such as a product line of network switch devices manufactured by a particular vendor , a separate specification file can be created for each of the vendor &# 39 ; s network switch devices in the product line . installation file 170 optionally includes scripts 176 that can be executed without user interaction to perform operations on files and directories in the upgrade package . alternatively , macros or batch files could also be used to effect the same operations . the use of scripts allows for different upgrade scenarios on different computing platforms and operating systems without requiring source code modification . in one embodiment of the invention , an upgrade manager 110 is part of the computer operating system 100 , and is responsible for receiving and installing an upgrade package in accordance with the instructions set forth the upgrade package &# 39 ; s installation file . it is , therefore , problematic to upgrade the upgrade manager itself , either by itself or as part of an upgrade of the operating system . if the upgrade manager cannot be upgraded along with the rest of the operating system by virtue of the fact that it is handling installation of the upgrade , then the version of the upgrade manager lags behind the upgraded version of operating system . to address this issue , upgrade manager 110 is first updated when installing a new version of the operating system . in particular , an installer 172 is loaded at the outset of the installation of the upgrade package . in one embodiment of the invention , the installer 172 is loaded as a dynamically linked library ( dll ) to the operating system , and drives the installation procedures for the upgrade package . the upgrade manager parses the specification file 174 to locate and identify information about installing the installer dll . the installer dll is computer system platform - and operating system - independent — all platform dependencies are provided by the specification file and any upgrade scripts , as described above . the goal of upgrade manager is to upgrade operating system 100 , or a portion thereof , to a new version of software , or add new functionality to the operating system without interrupting operation of the computer system on which the operating system is running . this is particularly advantageous when the computer system is handling critical computing functions , such as a network switch device that is forwarding and filtering data packets for an internetwork of nodes communicating with each other . with reference to fig2 , a process 200 for upgrading software , for example , operating system software or a module thereof , is described . at 210 , the upgrade manager 110 installs upgrade package 160 . the upgrade package may exist , for example , on a remote server , and is downloaded from the server using a transport protocol such as the trivial file transfer protocol ( tftp ). alternatively , the upgrade package may exist in and be downloaded from a memory card , e . g ., compact flash . a user can invoke a command line interface ( cli ) command , or the like , requesting the download of a specific upgrade package from a specified origin , whether compact flash or a remote server . in one computing environment in which an embodiment of the invention may be practiced , two or more computer systems may be in operation , wherein one of the systems is a primary system and the other system is a backup or secondary system , both systems able to provide the same services . for example , two systems , such as redundant network switch devices , could be co - located in a communications network , to provide redundant network switching services for an internetwork of nodes . if the primary network switch device fails to operate properly , the secondary network switch device can take over providing network switching services . each network switch device has its own management switch module ( msm ) that provides for core functionality of the network switch device . if the msm in the primary network switch device ( primary msm ) fails , the msm in the secondary network switch device ( secondary msm ) detects such , becomes the primary msm , and causes the secondary network switch device to operate as the primary network switch device to provide network switching services . this process of the secondary msm taking over for the primary msm in the event of failure of the primary msm is referred to herein as failover . alternatively , both msms may exist in the same modular switch device , wherein one of the msms is the primary msm and the other is the second msm , each running their own operating system . failover between the msms would occur in the same manner as described above . the same failover technique can be employed in a stackable network switch architecture as well , wherein each network switch device in the stack maintains its own msm . on the example computing environment described above , that is , in a computing environment wherein a primary and a second computing system exist , a user can invoke a command line interface ( cli ) command , or the like , requesting the download of a specific upgrade package from a specified origin , whether compact flash or a remote server , not only for the primary computing system , but the secondary computing system as well . alternatively , the user can request downloading a specific upgrade package from a specified origin to either the primary or the secondary computing system , and such system can automatically invoke such request on behalf of the other computing system as well . in any case , whether the upgrade package exists on a remote server or compact flash he upgrade package is downloaded to both computing systems . alternatively , in response to a request from the user to download an upgrade package , the computing system receiving the request can download the upgrade package and provide a copy of the same to the other computing system . the upgrade package in one embodiment of the invention is a compressed archive file . thus , once the download of the upgrade package is complete , upgrade manager 110 uncompresses the upgrade package to extract the one or more modules to be installed , and the installation file 170 . the installation file includes a dynamic link library ( dll ) file that provides the latest version of an installer routine 172 . the dll file is loaded into the operating system , in one embodiment , replacing the existing upgrade manager 110 , to perform the installation of one or more of the modules in the payload portion 150 of upgrade package 160 in accordance with the instructions set forth in specification file 174 and scripts 176 , if any , as described above . in another embodiment , the new installer routine 172 is simply invoked by upgrade manager 110 . the installer then reads the specification file to obtain installation instructions , and executes any scripts present as well , as part of the installation process . the appropriate modules are then loaded onto the computing system , per the installation instructions , for example , in a permanent storage medium accessible to the computing system . at 220 , instances of one or more modules executing in the computing system that correspond to the newly installed modules are notified , for example , that an upgrade is to occur . the installer , or , for example , a process manager in the operating system provides this notification . these instances are then able to coordinate notification and / or termination of interprocess communications with other processes , operating system processes , instances of executing software modules , dynamic link libraries , static link libraries , remote procedures , remote objects , device drivers and other network devices . the operating system , or more particularly , an element of the operating system such as a process manager , then shuts down at 230 the instances of the modules that have been upgraded . instances of the upgraded modules are then started at 240 . in this manner , certain modules can be upgraded and restarted , without interrupting operation of the computing system as a whole . for example , in a network switching device , an instance of an internetworking protocol in a multiprotocol stack executing in the network switching device can be notified of an upgrade , and terminate communication with a peer instance of the internetworking protocol executing on a remote device . the instance of the protocol can then be shut down and a new instance of the protocol , based on an upgraded version of the protocol newly installed from an upgrade package , started . as a result , a new version of the protocol is executing while the rest of the operating system remains unchanged . fig3 illustrates a software upgrade process 300 in an environment where two computing systems or at least two operating systems are in operation , one operating as the primary -, the other operating as the secondary - system , as in , for example , the dual msm scenario described earlier . the upgrade process is the same for each system , and is as described above with respect to fig2 . at 310 , a user invokes on the primary system a cli command requesting installation of a specified binary image . if a backup or secondary system is detected as present , then the primary system sends the installation request to it . the upgrade manager on the secondary system first installs the upgrade package on the secondary system . during this installation , the primary system operates without interruption , and without any indication that software on the secondary system is being upgraded . at 320 , the instances of modules executing in the secondary system that correspond to the newly installed modules are notified by the installer that an upgrade is to occur . these instances are then able to coordinate notification and / or termination of interprocess communications with other processes , whether executing on the secondary system or elsewhere . the secondary system , or more particularly , a component of its operating system , such as a process manager , then shuts down at 330 the instances of the modules that have been upgraded . instances of the upgraded modules are then started at 240 . once the installation process is complete on the secondary system , the secondary system sends a notification of such to the primary system , and , optionally , the status of the installation , which can be provided to the user that invoked the cli command requesting the installation . a user or the upgrade installer on the secondary system then performs a failover from the primary system to the secondary system at 350 . the primary system is now the new secondary system , and the secondary system is now the new primary system . at 360 , elements 320 - 340 of the process are repeated on the new secondary system . once the upgrade package is installed and up and running , optionally , at 370 , a failover from the new primary system to the new secondary system is performed . it should be noted that reference in the specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention . the appearances of the phrase “ in one embodiment ” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . some portions of the detailed description are presented , for example , in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data within a computer memory . these algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . an algorithm is here , and generally , conceived to be a sequence of steps leading to a desired result . the steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities . usually , though not necessarily , these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored , transferred , combined , compared , and otherwise manipulated . it has proven convenient at times , principally for reasons of common usage , to refer to these signals as binary digits , values , elements , symbols , characters , terms , numbers , or the like . it should be borne in mind , however , that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities . unless specifically stated or otherwise apparent from the discussion throughout the description , discussions using terms such as “ processing ” or “ computing ” or “ calculating ” or “ determining ” or “ displaying ” or the like , refer to the action and processes of a computer system , or similar electronic computing device , that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical ( electronic ) quantities within the computer system &# 39 ; s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage , transmission or display devices . the invention also relates to apparatuses for performing the operations herein . these apparatuses may be specially constructed for the required purposes , or may comprise a general - purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer . such a computer program may be stored in a machine - readable storage medium , such as , but not limited to , any type of magnetic or other disk storage media including floppy disks , optical storage media , cd - roms , and magnetic - optical disks , read - only memories ( roms ), random access memories ( rams ), eproms , eeproms , magnetic or optical cards , flash memory devices ; or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions , and each coupled to a computer system bus . the algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus . various general - purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein , or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps . in addition , the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language . it will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein .	6
the magnetic pick ring according to the present invention is described in reference to fig1 and 2 . the magnetic pick ring 10 includes a flexible ring or band 11 connected to or having a bezel housing 12 at the base of the ring 11 . the bezel housing 12 comprises an opening to receive a magnet 13 of equal or lesser size . the magnet 13 is secured to the bezel housing 12 and ring 11 by soldering , gluing , or fitting the magnet 13 inside the bezel housing 12 . a catch 16 is soldered to a side edge of the bezel housing 12 so that a clasp 14 can be secured to the ring 11 . in a preferred embodiment , the clasp 14 is a lobster claw clasp , however , other suitable clasping means can be utilized . a chain 15 is attached to the clasp 14 on one end of the chain 15 . the opposing end of the chain 15 comprises a clasp 17 a and collar 17 b . in a preferred embodiment , the chain 15 has a length of approximately 1¼ ″ to 1½ ″. on the end of the chain 15 opposing the ring 11 , the chain 15 is secured to a guitar pick 18 . if the guitar pick 18 is made from a magnetic material , the chain 15 may secure to the pick 18 by a riveted stud . alternatively , the chain 15 can be attached to the guitar pick 18 by a spring ring clasp 17 a with a stainless steel collar 17 b , or by either of these components alone , which may be preferred if the pick 18 is made of a non - magnetic material . however , the present invention is not limited to these means for attaching the chain 15 to the pick 18 . another alternative would be to create two holes on each side of the pick 18 and have studs anchored to a small base plate and clamped with hinges to another small base plate with receivers clamped or clipped together . alternatively , the pick 18 can be slid into a spring with teeth , like a vise grip or battery cables . to use the magnetic pick ring 10 , the ring 11 can be placed on the thumb or any finger except the pinky finger . the ring 11 is worn on the inside of the hand , so the magnet 13 , bezel housing 12 , and pick 18 are oriented on the inside palm of the strumming hand . as a result , when the pick 18 is stationary or trapped magnetically to the ring 11 , the thumb or other digits are free to slide the pick 18 off of the ring 11 and bring the pick 18 to a comfortable playing position without creating too much tension on the chain 15 . the chain 15 , which in a preferred embodiment has a length of approximately 1¼ ″ to 1½ ″, can be created in varying sizes to accommodate varying hand sizes . the clasps 14 and 17 a allow easy removal of the chain 15 from the ring 11 and pick 18 to replace the chain 15 with alternate chains having different lengths . the chain 15 may also be substituted for another suitable means for attaching the ring 11 to the pick 18 , such as a cord , string or rope , for example . preferably , the ring 11 is not soldered together , but is open so as to be flexible to fit all sizes and thicknesses of the player &# 39 ; s fingers . however , where preferred by the player , a pre - fitted or sized ring can be provided . as a guitar player vigorously strums the instrument , he or she will not have to hold on to the pick 18 very tightly ; thus allowing the wrist to be more limber , ultimately offering a more rhythmic approach to a given song . the pick 18 cannot be pulled out of the fingers due to added friction , however , should the player drop the pick 18 or the pick 18 falls from the player &# 39 ; s fingers , a simple cupping of the wrist will bring the pick 18 back to the fingertips . if a guitar player chooses to free his fingers of the pick 18 , the pick 18 can slide along the finger and the magnet 13 will secure the pick 18 . the ring 11 , the clasp 14 and the chain 15 can be made of any relatively durable material . preferably , the material does not have magnetic properties , so that the magnet 13 is free to pull either the magnetized pick 18 or the magnetized collar 17 b back towards the ring 11 . one material that can be used in creating the pick 18 and / or collar 17 b is stainless steel because stainless steel has magnetic properties and is durable for use , allowing the pick 18 and / or collar 17 b to be riveted to the chain 15 permanently . in addition , stainless steel will not rust and will retain its original aesthetics and luster . alternatively , a magnetic plastic , as described below , can be used instead of stainless steel . the ring 11 and the bezel housing 12 can be made from gold , silver , plastic or any other suitable material . the clasp 14 and chain 15 can be made of aluminum , silver , or any other suitable material , preferably a material being durable enough for repeated use . it is also envisioned that the composition of the pick can be a magnetic plastic material . this material includes magnetic particles inside of a plastic , thereby making the pick 18 magnetic with an opposite polarity to the ring 11 . although stainless steel is suitable for use as the pick 18 as described above , certain guitar players may prefer the touch and feel of a standard plastic pick to which they are accustomed . to accommodate this , a self - hardening polymer plastic epoxy mixed with metal filings can be used as the material for the pick 18 . the metallic particles are evenly dispersed and mixed inside the polymer material , which can be magnetized with a magnetic resonance imaging earth magnet machine or using any suitable means or apparatus now known or developed in the future . in creating the magnetic plastic material , it is preferable to use smaller sized particles . this provides for more evenly dispersed and hidden particles within the plastic , so as to not be noticed by the naked eye . for example , the particles can be categorized into four grades of decreasing size : “ shavings ”, “ filings ”, “ particles ”, and “ dust ”. in one embodiment , the magnetic plastic composition has a preferred ratio of metallic particle ( such as iron or steel ) to plastic material ranging from 10 % metal and 90 % plastic up to 33 % metal and 67 % plastic , by weight . other ratios may be possible as determined by the properties of the metallic particles and plastic . according to a second embodiment , another magnetic plastic composition and method for creating the composition are provided . a custom made tumbled barium ferrite dust that is in the shape of microscopic spheres , so as to not clog the injectors , is mixed with a plastic . the plastic to metallic particle ratio in the composition is sufficient to allow a gravity defying pull . next , a device attaching two electrodes is embedded into the bottom of the steel die cast so when the plastic mixture is injected into the mold , a machine attached to the electrodes with the specific amperage needed is briefly turned on while the plastic is cooling but still in a semi - viscous state , thus allows the aligning of all the poles of all the individual particles in the plastic into a non - contradictory arc . alternatively , a tumbled neodymium ( ndfeb ) powder no bigger than 3 microns could be used as the metallic particle . according to an alternative method for creating the composition , a two piece die cast machine tool made of steel is provided and then both pieces are permanently magnetized , north to north and south to south . the two pieces are clamped together , as they would naturally repel each other . the plastic is then injected with the particles and into the mold creating all the poles to line up , yet not forcing the particles inside to be compressed into the center but brought and dispersed evenly to the very edges while simultaneously lowering the temperature and freezing the tool itself with liquid nitrogen , so the particles inside would lock themselves quicker into the hardening plastic and not be pulled all the way to one side too fast . the magnetic plastic material according to this invention can be used in other products beyond the pick 18 according to this invention . for example , the magnetic plastic can be used in everyday household products , such as bottles , and even be used in mechanical engineering of lightweight magnetically charged components or tools and in any other technological fields . while there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices and methods described may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention . for example , it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and / or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention . moreover , it should be recognized that structures and / or elements and / or method steps shown and / or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice . it is the intention , therefore , to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto . furthermore , in the claims means - plus - function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents , but also equivalent structures . thus although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together , whereas a screw employs a helical surface , in the environment of fastening wooden parts , a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures .	6
the ensuing description is directed to an arming method and apparatus developed for use with side impact sensing , but it is not limited to that application ; it will be evident that the invention applies as well to frontal impact sensing , for example . referring to fig1 a sir controller 10 ( or sensing and diagnostic module ) includes a microprocessor 12 having inputs connected to a frontal impact sensor 24 , a frontal arming circuit 14 ( including a longitudinal accelerometer , not shown ) a lateral accelerometer 16 and a lateral arming circuit 18 , all within the controller 10 . external inputs to the sir controller 10 are a left side impact sensor 20 and a right side impact sensor 22 which are coupled via signal processing hardware , not shown , to the microprocessor 12 . the microprocessor 12 has an output directed to the lateral accelerometer 16 and a deploy output coupled to firing circuits 26 which in turn are connected to the left side air bag 28 , the right side air bag 30 and the frontal air bags 32 which are selectively deployed according to the deployment command issued to the firing circuit . in operation , acceleration signals from the frontal impact sensor 24 are evaluated by an algorithm in the microprocessor 12 to recognize a crash event and to determine whether and when to deploy the frontal air bag 32 . if there is a frontal crash in progress , the frontal arming circuit will issue an arming signal to the microprocessor which allows a deploy command to be issued to the firing circuits 32 . if the arming sensor does not sense crash activity , the lack of an arming signal will inhibit a deploy command , thereby providing a check against a false deployment . the left and right side impact sensors 20 , 22 differ from the frontal sensor 24 in that they each contain a processor to evaluate whether to deploy a side air bag , and send a deploy message to the microprocessor 12 in the sir controller . then the microprocessor 12 has only to verify that the lateral arming circuit 18 permits deployment of a left or right air bag . in the event of a side impact the lateral accelerometer 16 will yield an acceleration signal which is processed by the arming circuit to yield an arming signal which is sent to an accumulator port of the microprocessor 12 . an accumulator circuit in the microprocessor can then monitor the arming signal without affecting the algorithm throughput of the microprocessor . details of the arming circuit 18 are shown in fig2 . a nominal 12 v source 40 ( battery ) supplies voltage to each operational amplifier in the circuit . a 5 v regulated source 42 supplies reference voltages to the circuit . a buffer amplifier 44 having its output coupled to its negative input is connected by its positive input to line 46 which carries a raw acceleration signal from the lateral accelerometer 16 . the buffer output is coupled through a capacitor 48 and a resistor 49 to the negative input of an inverting amplifier 50 . the capacitor blocks the dc component of the input signal and passes the ac component . a voltage divider 52 comprising equal value resistors is coupled between the 5 v source and ground to produce a constant 2 . 5 v at the resistor junction . the junction is coupled through a resistor 54 to the positive input of the amplifier 50 so that the amplifier output will be a refined acceleration signal comprising the ac component superimposed on an offset voltage of 2 . 5 v . the amplifier output is coupled through a feedback resistor 56 to its negative input . the amplifier 50 output is directly connected to the negative input of a comparator 56 and to the positive input of a comparator 58 . the negative input of comparator 56 is connected to the junction point of a voltage divider 60 set to provide a threshold voltage slightly higher than the 2 . 5 v offset , and the positive input of comparator 58 is connected to the junction point of a voltage divider 62 set to provide a threshold voltage slightly lower than the 2 . 5 v offset . the comparator outputs are joined to provide the arming circuit output on line 64 . a diode 66 coupled between the output line 64 and the 5 v source clamps the maximum output voltage to 5 v . the threshold values are selectable by choice of suitable resistors in the voltage dividers 60 and 62 . in operation , the voltage offset from the accelerometer 16 , which is subject to drifting , is stripped from the signal by the capacitor 48 and a fixed offset of 2 . 5 v is added to the resulting ac signal by the amplifier 50 . the resulting refined acceleration signal is fed to the two comparators 56 , 58 which yield a ground level signal as long as the acceleration signal remains between the two threshold values and a high level signal ( 5 v ) when a threshold is breached . this result could not reliably be attained using the raw acceleration signal because the drift in the signal offset would make the comparator function erratic or even void since the offset value itself may change enough to cross a threshold at zero acceleration . thus the substitution of the fixed offset for the drifting offset is essential to the operation of the arming circuit . the software for accommodating the side arming sensor 16 and circuit 18 is shown in the flow charts of fig3 - 6 wherein the functional description of each block in the charts is accompanied by a number in angle brackets & lt ; nn & gt ; which corresponds to the reference number of the block . fig3 is a lateral accelerometer diagnostic routine which is executed upon power up of the circuitry , when vehicle ignition is turned on . as shown in fig1 a line 68 from the microprocessor 12 extends to the accelerometer 16 . this line is used to assert an accelerometer output shift & lt ; 70 & gt ;. the accelerometer circuit is normally able to respond to the assertion by shifting the output voltage up . the voltage is sensed on output line 46 which connects to an a / d port of the microprocessor . if the shift does not occur & lt ; 72 & gt ; a lateral accelerometer fault is set and latched for the duration of the ignition cycle & lt ; 74 & gt ;. then the line 68 is de - asserted & lt ; 76 & gt ;. if however , the shift up does occur & lt ; 72 & gt ; the line is de - asserted & lt ; 78 & gt ; and if the accelerometer signal shifts back & lt ; 80 & gt ; the test is completed , but if it does not shift back the lateral accelerometer fault is set and latched for the duration of the ignition cycle & lt ; 82 & gt ;. thus the initial operability of the accelerometer circuit is assured or the fault is set . another function occurring during power - up is that the pulse accumulator circuit in the microprocessor is configured to accumulate pulses when the arming signal 64 is high & lt ; 83 & gt ;. fig4 shows a method of testing the accelerometer output line 46 for shorts . this occurs every 5 ms triggered by a microprocessor interrupt . if a short to battery & lt ; 84 & gt ; or a short to ground & lt ; 86 & gt ; is detected , an error counter is incremented & lt ; 88 & gt ; and if the count reaches four & lt ; 90 & gt ;, a lateral accelerometer fault is set & lt ; 92 & gt ;. this result requires four consecutive short detections over 15ms . if however , no short was detected the error counter is cleared & lt ; 94 & gt ; and if the last four samples revealed no short & lt ; 96 & gt ;, and the fault has not been latched & lt ; 98 & gt ; the fault is cleared & lt ; 100 & gt ;. thus if the fault has been latched in the fig3 power up routine it cannot be cleared within the ignition cycle , but if it is not latched , four consecutive - good tests is sufficient to clear a fault . since the pulse accumulator is configured at power up to accumulate pulses when the arming signal 64 is high , there is no microprocessor activity due to monitoring the arming circuit until the arming signal occurs , except for occasional accumulator updates . as shown in fig5 every 100 ms the microprocessor sets a value &# 34 ; previous &# 34 ; to the current count ( which reflects the recent history of the accumulator ) and sets the accumulator count p . a . to zero & lt ; 104 & gt ;. when either side impact sensor determines that the air bag for that side should be deployed , it sends repeated deploy messages to the microprocessor 12 . this causes an interrupt in the microprocessor program . as shown in fig6 when two deploy messages are received & lt ; 106 & gt ;, the state of the lateral accelerometer fault is checked & lt ; 108 & gt ;. if a fault is recorded , the deploy circuitry is turned on & lt ; 110 & gt ;. if a fault is not recorded , the current count of the pulse accumulator is checked & lt ; 112 & gt ; and the previous count is checked & lt ; 114 & gt ;. if either value is non - zero the deploy circuitry is turned on & lt ; 110 & gt ;; if both values are zero a fault is set to indicate that there is no signal at the arming circuit & lt ; 116 & gt ; and the deploy circuitry is not activated . in this manner the arming circuit inhibits deployment of either side air bag when the lateral accelerometer does not sense lateral crash activity . when the lateral accelerometer is in a failure mode the inhibiting function is disabled . since the accumulator circuit performs the continuous monitoring of the arming signal along with the 100 ms update , the monitoring requires minimal software burden , and the 5 ms interrupt for checking shorts also adds only minimal burden . the failure check at power up has no - impact on the algorithm throughput . thus the arming function is accomplished without significantly affecting the main algorithm throughput of the microprocessor . the same arming technique can be applied to the frontal arming sensor which usually has been wholly managed by the software . thus the software burden can be lightened by adding the simple arming circuit and using an accumulator function of the microprocessor to monitor that arming signal .	1
referring now to the drawings , and initially to fig1 and 2 , there are shown two examples of a multiple antenna element antenna array 10 , 10 a in accordance with the invention . the antenna array 10 , 10 a of fig1 and 2 differ in the configuration of the feed structure utilized , fig1 illustrating a parallel corporate feed structure and fig2 illustrating a series corporate feed structure . in other respects , the two antenna arrays 10 , 10 a are substantially identical . each of the arrays 10 , 10 a includes a plurality of antenna elements 12 , which may comprise monopole , dipole or microstrip / patch antenna elements . other types of antenna elements may be utilized to form the arrays 10 , 10 a without departing from the invention . in accordance with one aspect of the invention , a multi - carrier , linear amplifier 14 is operatively coupled to the feed of each antenna element 12 and is mounted in close proximity to the associated antenna element 12 . in one embodiment , the amplifiers 14 are mounted sufficiently close to each antenna element so that no appreciable losses will occur between the amplifier output and the input of the antenna element , as might be the case if the amplifiers were coupled to the antenna elements by a length of cable or the like . for example , the power amplifiers 14 may be located at or near the feed point of each antenna element . in the antenna arrays of fig1 and 2 , array phasing may be adjusted by varying the line length in the corporate feed or by electronic circuitry within the power amplifiers 14 . the array amplitude coefficient adjustment may be accomplished through the use of attenuators before or within the power amplifiers 14 , as shown in fig3 . referring now to fig3 an antenna system in accordance with the invention and utilizing an antenna array of the type shown in either fig1 or fig2 is designated generally by the reference numeral 20 . the antenna system 20 includes a plurality of antenna elements 12 and associated multi - carrier linear power amplifiers 14 as described above in connection with fig1 and 2 . also operatively coupled in series circuit with the power amplifiers 14 are suitable attenuator circuits 22 . the attenuator circuits 22 may be interposed either before or within the power amplifier 14 ; however , fig3 illustrates them at the input to each power amplifier 14 . a power splitter and phasing network 24 feeds all of the power amplifiers 14 and their associated series connected attenuator circuits 22 . an rf input 26 feeds into this power splitter and phasing network 24 . referring to fig4 an antenna system installation utilizing the antenna system 20 of fig3 is designated generally by the reference numeral 40 . fig4 illustrates a base station or infrastructure configuration for a communications system such as a cellular system , a personal communications system pcs or a multi - channel multipoint distribution system ( mmds ). the antenna structure or assembly 20 of fig3 is mounted at the top of a tower or other support structure 42 . a dc bias tee 44 separates signals received via a coaxial cable 46 into dc power and rf components , and conversely receives incoming rf signals from the antenna system 20 and delivers the same to the coaxial line or cable 46 which couples the tower - mounted components to ground based components . the ground - based components may include a dc power supply 48 and an rf input / output 50 from a transmitter / receiver ( not shown ), which may be located at a remote equipment location , and hence is not shown in fig4 . a similar dc bias 52 receives the dc supply and rf input and couples them to the coaxial line 46 , and conversely delivers signals from the antenna structure 20 to the rf input / output 50 . fig5 illustrates a communications system base station employing the antenna structure or system 20 as described above . in similar fashion to the installation of fig4 the installation of fig5 mounts the antenna system 20 atop a tower / support structure 42 . also , a coaxial cable 46 , for example , an rf coaxial cable for carrying rf transmissions , runs between the top of the tower / support structure and ground based equipment . the ground based equipment may include an rf transceiver 60 which has an rf input from a transmitter . another similar rf transceiver 62 is located at the top of the tower and exchanges rf signals with an antenna structure or system 20 . a power supply such as a dc supply 48 is also provided for the antenna system 20 , and is located at the top of the tower 42 in the embodiment shown in fig5 . alternatively , the two transceivers 60 , 62 may be rf - to - fiber optic transceivers ( as shown for example , in fig8 ), and the cable 46 may be a fiber optic or “ optical fiber ” cable , e . g ., as shown in fig8 . fig6 illustrates a communications system base station which also mounts an antenna structure or system 20 of the type described above at the top of a tower / support structure 42 . in similar fashion to the installation of fig5 an rf transceiver and power supply such as a dc supply 48 are also located at the top of the tower / support and are operatively coupled with the antenna system 20 . a second or remote rf transceiver 60 may be located adjacent the base of the tower or otherwise within a range of a wireless link which links the transceivers 60 and 62 , by use of respective transceiver antenna elements 64 and 66 as illustrated in fig6 . fig7 and 8 illustrate examples of use of the antenna structure or system 20 of the invention in connection with communications system base stations , such as in - building communication applications by way of example . in fig7 respective dc bias tees 70 and 72 are linked by an rf coaxial cable 74 . the dc bias tee 70 is located adjacent the antenna system 20 and has respective rf and dc lines operatively coupled therewith . the second dc bias tee 72 is coupled to an rf input / output from a transmitter / receiver and to a suitable dc supply 48 . the dc bias tees and dc supply operate in conjunction with the antenna system 20 and a remote transmitter / receiver ( not shown ) in much the same fashion as described hereinabove with reference to the system of fig4 . in fig8 the antenna system 20 receives an rf line from a fiber - rf transceiver 80 , which is coupled through an optical fiber cable 82 to a second rf - fiber transceiver 84 which may be located remotely from the antenna and first transceiver 80 . a dc supply or other power supply for the antenna may be located either remotely , as illustrated in fig8 or adjacent the antenna system 20 , if desired . the dc supply 48 is provided with a separate line operatively coupled to the antenna system 20 , in much the same fashion as illustrated , for example , in the installation of fig6 . fig9 shows an example of a linear ( multi - carrier ) amplifier , which may be used as the amplifier 14 . the amplifier in fig9 is a feed forward design ; however , other forms of linear ( multi - carrier ) amplifiers may be used without departing from the invention . in one embodiment of the present invention , each of the amplifiers 14 has an input 86 operatively coupled to an rf transmitter / receiver ( not shown ) and an output 88 operatively coupled to the feed of each antenna element 12 . the multi - carrier linear power amplifier 14 is designed to reduce or eliminate the distortion created by amplification of the feed signal in the feed forward amplifier 14 . to this end , the amplifier 14 has a power splitter 90 that directs the feed signal transmitted by the rf transmitter / receiver ( not shown ) to a main amplifier 92 and to an input 94 of a carrier cancellation node 96 through a delay 98 . the main amplifier 92 receives the feed signal at an input 100 and generates a signal at its output 102 that comprises the feed signal amplified by a predetermined gain and distortion caused by amplification of the feed signal . the output signal generated by the main amplifier 92 is applied to a coupler 104 that directs the output signal of the main amplifier 92 to an attenuator 106 and to an input 108 of a distortion cancellation node 110 through a delay 112 . the attenuator 106 attenuates the output signal generated by the main amplifier 92 and applies the attenuated signal to a second input 114 of the carrier cancellation node 96 . the carrier cancellation node 96 utilizes the signals received at inputs 94 and 114 to remove the carrier signal from the attenuated signal applied by the attenuator 106 and generate a distortion signal at its output 116 that is applied to input 118 of an error amplifier 120 . the error amplifier 120 amplifies the distortion signal generated by the carrier cancellation node 96 and applies the amplified distortion signal to a second input 122 of the distortion cancellation node 110 . the distortion cancellation node 110 utilizes the signals received at inputs 108 and 122 to remove the distortion in the amplified feed signal applied by the main amplifier 92 and generate an essentially distortion - free amplified feed signal at its output 88 that is applied to the feed of an antenna element 12 . what has been shown and described herein is a novel antenna array employing power amplifiers or modules at or near the feeds of individual array antenna elements , and a number of novel installations utilizing such an antenna system . while the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail , it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art . the invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details , representative apparatus and method , and illustrative example shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants &# 39 ; general inventive concept .	7
other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings , which is set forth hereinafter . fig7 is a block diagram of an internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig7 , the internal voltage generating circuit includes a pumping control signal generator 100 , a charge pump 200 , and a supply driving controller 300 . the charge pump 200 negatively pumps an external voltage vdd to generate an internal voltage vbb lower than the vdd level . the pumping control signal generator 100 generates a plurality of pumping control signals cnt_a 1 , cnt_a 2 and bt_a 0 for controlling a driving of the charge pump 200 when an active command act is applied . the supply driving controller 300 receives the active command act and controls a supply of the internal voltage vbb of the charge pump 200 . the supply driving controller 300 includes an output control signal generator 320 for receiving the active command act to generate an output control signal bb , and a level shifter 340 for shifting a level of the output control signal bb . in this embodiment , the internal voltage generating circuit negatively pumps the external voltage vdd when the active command act is applied , and generates the internal voltage vbb . that is , the internal voltage generating circuit supplies the internal voltage vbb much more in response to the active command act , before a large amount of a current is rapidly dissipated in a memory region when the active command act is applied . therefore , the level of the internal voltage vbb can be maintained stably . fig8 is a block diagram of an internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig8 , the internal voltage generating circuit includes an oscillator 400 , a pumping control signal generator 500 , a charge pump 600 , and a supply driving controller 700 . the charge pump 600 negatively pumps an external voltage vdd to generate an internal voltage vbb lower than the vdd level . the oscillator 400 generates a periodic signal osc in response to an active command act . the pumping control signal generator 500 generates a plurality of pumping control signals cnt_a 1 , cnt_a 2 and bt_a 0 for controlling a driving of the charge pump 600 in response to the periodic signal osc . the supply driving controller 700 controls a supply of the internal voltage vbb of the charge pump 600 in response to the periodic signal osc . compared with the first embodiment , the internal voltage generating circuit shown in fig8 further includes the oscillator 400 . when the active command act is applied , the oscillator 400 generates the periodic signal osc for a predetermined time . then pumping control signal generator 500 and the supply driving controller 700 are driven in response to the periodic signal osc . by controlling the period of the periodic signal osc and the generating time of the period , the driving time of the charge pump 600 can be controlled . in the case of the first embodiment , because the charge pump is driven only when the active command act is applied , the internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention can be used when the drivability is large enough to compensate for the internal current consumption . also , the internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention can be used by controlling the period of the periodic signal osc according to an amount of the consumed internal voltage vbb and a driving amount of the charge pump 600 . at this point , the active command act means a command that causes the elements to consume a large amount of the internal voltage vbb . when the internal voltage generating circuit is used in the semiconductor memory device , the precharge command is also applied . therefore , the internal voltage generating circuit can also be driven when the precharge command pcg is applied . in the second embodiment , the only difference from the first embodiment is that the oscillator 400 is further provided . therefore , the configuration and operation of the internal voltage generating circuit shown in fig7 will be described below . fig9 is a circuit diagram of the pumping control signal generator 100 shown in fig7 . referring to fig9 , the pumping control signal generator 100 includes a pulse width extending unit 120 for extending a pulse width of the active command act , a first buffer 140 for buffering an output signal of the pulse width extending unit 120 to generate the pumping control signal cnt_a 2 , a second buffer 160 for buffing an output signal of the pulse width extending unit 120 to generate the pumping control signal cnt_a 1 , and an inverter i 4 for inverting an output signal of the second inverter i 60 to generate the pumping control signal bt_a 0 . also , the pulse width extending unit 120 includes an inverter i 5 for inverting the active command act , a delay unit 122 for delaying an output signal of the inverter i 5 , and a nand gate nd 2 receiving the output signals of the inverter i 5 and the delay unit 122 . when the active command act has a logic high level , the pumping control signal generator 100 outputs the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 of a logic high level and the pumping control signal bt_a 0 of a logic low level . meanwhile , when the active command act has a logic low level , the pumping control signal generator 100 outputs the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 of a logic low level and the pumping control signal bt_a 0 of a logic high level . fig1 is a circuit diagram of the output control signal generator 320 . referring to fig1 , the output control signal generator 320 includes an inverter i 6 for inverting the active command act , a delay unit 322 for delaying an output signal of the inverter i 6 , and a nor gate nr 1 for receiving the output signals of the inverter i 6 and the delay unit 322 to output the output control signal bb . when the active command act is applied , the output control signal generator 320 generates the output control signal bb of a pulse form , which has an activation period of a logic high level after a delay time of the delay unit 322 . fig1 is a circuit diagram of the level shifter 340 shown in fig7 . referring to fig1 , the level shifter 340 includes an inverter i 7 for inverting the output control signal bb , a differential amplifier 342 receiving the output control signal and an output signal of the inverter i 7 , an inverter i 7 , connected between the external voltage vdd and the internal voltage vbb as the driving voltages , for inverting an output signal of the differential amplifier 342 , and an inverter i 8 for inverting an output signal of the inverter i 7 to output the output driving control signal tr . the level shifter 340 outputs the output control signal bb swing between the external voltage vdd and the internal voltage vbb . fig1 is a circuit diagram of the charge pump 200 shown in fig7 . referring to fig1 , the charge pump 200 includes a first charging unit 220 , a first pumping unit c 5 , a second charging unit 240 , a second pumping unit c 6 , and an nmos transistor nm 7 . the first charging unit 220 charges a node bt_a 1 and a node bt_a 2 to different levels in response to an activation of the pumping control signal cnt_a 1 . the first pumping unit c 5 pumps the node bt_a 1 in response to the pumping control signal bt_a 0 activated when the pumping control signal cnt_a 1 is deactivated . the second charging unit 240 charges a node tr_a 0 and a node bt_a 3 to different levels in response to an activation of the pumping control signal cnt_a 2 . the second pumping unit c 6 pumps a node bt_a 3 in response to a voltage of the node bt_a 2 . the nmos transistor nm 7 outputs a voltage of the node bt_a 3 as the internal voltage vbb in response to the supply driving control signal tr . in the first charging unit 220 , a pmos transistor pm 8 has a gate receiving the pumping control signal cnt_a 1 and a source - drain path between the vdd supply and the node bt_a 2 . an nmos transistor nm 3 has a gate receiving the pumping control signal cnt_a 1 and a drain - source path between the node bt_a 2 and the node bt_a 1 . an nmos transistor nm 4 has a gate receiving the voltage of the node bt_a 2 and a drain - source path between the node bt_a 1 and the vss supply . in the second charging unit 240 , a pmos transistor pm 7 has a gate receiving the pumping control signal cnt_a 2 and a source - drain path between the vdd supply and the node tr_a 0 . an nmos transistor nm 5 has a gate receiving the pumping control signal cnt_a 2 and a drain - source path between the node tr_a 0 and the node tr_a 3 . an nmos transistor nm 6 has a gate receiving the voltage of the node tr_a 0 and a drain - source path between the node bt_a 3 and the vss supply . the first pumping unit c 5 includes a capacitor having one terminal receiving the pumping control signal bt_a 0 and the other terminal connected to the node bt_a 1 . the second pumping unit c 6 includes a capacitor connected between the node bt_a 2 and the node bt_a 3 . an operation of the internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig9 to 12 . first , when the active command act is not activated , the pumping control signal generator 100 outputs the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 of a logic low level and the pumping control signal bt_a 0 of a logic high level . accordingly , the pmos transistors pm 8 and pm 7 of the charge pump 200 receive the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 and precharge the nodes bt_a 2 and tr_a 0 to the vdd level and the nodes bt_a 1 and bt_a 3 to the vss level . also , since the supply driving controller 300 outputs the supply driving control signal tr of the low vbb level in response to the deactivation of the active command act , the nmos transistor nm 7 of the charge pump 200 is turned off . consequently , the internal voltage vbb is not supplied . meanwhile , when the active command act is applied , the pumping control signal generator 100 changes the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 to a logic high level . thus , the pmos transistors pm 8 and pm 7 are turned off and the nmos transistors nm 3 and nm 5 are turned on in response to the pumping control signals cnt_a 1 and cnt_a 2 , so that the nodes bt_a 2 and tr_a 0 are opened from the vdd supply . then , the nmos transistors nm 4 and nm 6 are turned off in response to the voltages of the nodes bt_a 2 and tr_a 0 , so that the nodes bt_a 1 and bt_a 3 are opened from the vss supply . also , since the pumping control signal bt_a 0 changes to a logic low level , the node bt_a 1 is set to − vdd level and the node bt_a 2 is set to − vdd level through the turned - on nmos transistor nm 3 . accordingly , the capacitor c 6 receiving the voltage of the node bt_a 2 negatively pumps the node bt_a 3 , so that the node bt_a 3 decreases to − 2vdd level . since the supply driving controller 300 activates the supply driving control signal tr to a logic high level in response to the active command act , the nmos transistor nm 7 of the charge pump 200 is turned on , so that − 2vdd voltage applied to the node bt_a 3 is supplied as the internal voltage vbb . in the case of the internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention , if the active command act is not applied , the oscillator 400 deactivates the periodic signal osc to a logic low level . thus , the pumping control signal generator 500 , the supply driving controller 700 , and the charge pump 600 are deactivated . when the active command act is applied , the oscillator 400 activates the periodic signal osc to a logic high level . therefore , the charge pump 600 outputs the internal voltage vbb by negatively pumping the external voltage vdd in response to the control signals cnt_a 1 , cnt_a 2 and bt_a 0 outputted from the activated pumping control signal generator 500 and the activated supply driving controller 700 . in the above operation , it is assumed that a threshold voltage of the mos transistors is vt . fig1 is an operational waveform of the internal voltage generating circuit shown in fig7 . referring to fig1 , a large of a current is dissipated in a memory region at a time point when a word line ( wl ) is activated by the active command act , and a time point when a word line ( wl ) is deactivated by a precharge command pcg . as described above , since the internal voltage vbb is supplied at the large drivability , the level of the internal voltage vbb can be stably maintained . therefore , the internal voltage generating circuit supplies in advance the internal voltage at the large drivability when applying the command causing a large current consumption inside the device . thus , even when the current is substantially consumed by the command , the level of the internal voltage can be stably maintained . unlike the prior art in which the internal voltage is supplied after the detection of the level decrease , an amount of a current supply is previously increased before the current is consumed , thus reducing the response time . in addition , compared with the prior art , the internal voltage generating circuit in accordance with the present invention occupies a smaller area . in the above embodiments , the active command is exemplarily described because the semiconductor memory device using the internal voltage generating circuit consumes a large amount of a current when the active command is applied . that is , other driving signals expected to consume a large amount of a current can be applied instead of the active command . therefore , the present invention is not limited by the driving signal for driving the internal voltage generating circuit . as described above , before a large amount of a current is consumed by the command , an amount of a current supply is increased . therefore , the response time is reduced to thereby maintain a high voltage level stably . in addition , the occupied area can be reduced . the present application contains subject matter related to korean patent application no . 2005 - 36549 , filed in the korean intellectual property office on apr . 30 , 2005 , the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference . while the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims .	6

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