text
stringlengths 1.55k
332k
| label
int64 0
8
|
|---|---|
referring now to the drawings , there is depicted a setting fixture according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . turning first to fig1 a pick - up truck 12 is shown . pick - up truck 12 has passenger compartment 14 and bed 16 . bed 16 is bounded by box 17 with side walls 18 , tailgate 20 , bed floor 21 , and front wall 13 . tailgate 20 is pivotally mounted to truck 12 via hinges 23 . this pivoted arrangement allows tailgate 20 to be disposed perpendicular to the surface of bed floor 21 . this arrangement is termed the closed position , as is shown in fig1 . tailgate 20 can be pivoted from the closed position to a position parallel with the bed floor 21 . this arrangement is termed the open position , as shown in fig2 . any intermediate position between the open position and the closed position is termed a partially open position , and one such position is displayed in fig4 . as is shown in fig2 latch assemblies 22 are shown attached to tailgate 20 . since the latching assemblies on each side of the tailgate 20 are identical , only one will be described in detail . both are released by apparatus of handle 15 . tailgate 20 comprises an outer surface 32 and the inner surface 34 . these surfaces are typically attached by welding or riveting . latch assembly 22 comprises generally planar surface 36 and housing 38 projecting from surface 36 . latch assembly 22 carries pivot - able horseshoe 40 for reception and engagement of striker 42 . surface 36 is attached to tailgate 20 by screws 43 or other suitable means . horseshoe 40 is depicted in the unlocked position in fig2 . in operation , striker 42 contacts pivot - able horseshoe 40 via groove 41 formed by arm 47 and pivots horseshoe 40 into the locked position . in the locked position , horseshoe 40 is held with arm 47 parallel to tailgate 20 . horseshoe 40 can also be placed in the locked position by physically pivoting horseshoe 40 . the locked position is maintained by force provided by a spring or other suitable means ( not shown ). the spring is disengaged by activation of the tailgate handle 15 . handle 15 is employed to convert horseshoe 40 from the locked position to the unlocked position . in typical operation , to go from the closed position of tailgate 20 to the open position , handle 15 is activated , thereby pivoting horseshoe 40 into the unlocked position . tailgate 20 can then be pivoted to the open position as depicted in fig2 to go back to the closed position , from the open position of tailgate 20 , tailgate 20 is pivoted into a nearly vertical position where striker 42 contacts horseshoe 40 . striker 42 forces horseshoe 40 into the locked position as tailgate 40 is placed in the closed position . a spring , or other suitable means , acts to hold horseshoe 40 in the locked position until handle 15 is activated again . as can be seen in fig2 striker 42 is mounted to side wall 18 of pick - up truck 12 . side wall 18 comprises outer surface 44 and inner surface 46 . fig2 . displays a view of striker 42 provided by the breaking away of both outer surface 44 and inner surface 46 . striker 42 is generally cylindrical in shape and mounted via nut 23 disposed at the outboard end of striker 42 . striker 42 extends through a hole in inner surface 46 with circular flange 50 abutting inner surface 46 . nut 23 retains striker 42 in place against inner surface 46 . hole 25 is slightly larger than the striker 42 , allowing for movement during assembly of striker 42 for precise locating with respect to outer surface 44 and latch assembly 22 . the setting fixture 52 of the present invention is shown in fig3 . fixture 52 has body member 54 with first end 56 and second end 58 . first end 56 connects to first formation 60 for contacting the outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 . first formation 60 comprises rigid support 59 and a number of pads 61 . pads 61 contain portions of magnetic material 62 embedded therein to hold fixture 52 against outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 . pads 61 create a non - damaging contact with outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 . pad 61a is disposed to horizontally align body member 54 . pad 61b is disposed to vertically align body member 54 ( both directions being relative to tailgate 20 in the closed position ). pad 61a includes flange 61c disposed perpendicular to pad 61a , to laterally align body member 54 . it should be appreciated that other numbers of pads than those shown in the preferred embodiment may be used to produce the desired result and are within the meaning and scope of the claimed invention . it should also be noted that the various elements of fixture 52 can be coupled together by any suitable means . fixture 52 also comprises an element to locate latching mechanism 22 with respect to the outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 , such as in the preferred embodiment shown , where fixture 52 comprises peg 64 which is capable of moving laterally along axis &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; via opening 65 . peg 64 can be best seen in fig3 and has two positions , an install position ( not shown ) in which peg 64 is disposed such that it does not contact latching mechanism 22 , and a contact position , in which peg 64 is disposed in the most laterally inboard position with respect to truck 12 , as shown in fig4 . peg 64 is retained in body member 54 in opening 65 via a key and groove type of arrangement ( not shown ), but it should be appreciated that any arrangement capable of allowing peg 64 to move between the install and contact position is within the scope and meaning of the claimed invention . as shown in fig4 in the contact position peg 64 engages latching mechanism 22 in the same manner as would striker 42 in the closed position , that is , locked between horseshoe 40 and housing 38 . engagement of fixture 52 in this manner eliminates longitudinal , vertical and horizontal variations of latching mechanism positioning with respect to outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 ( directions are relative to the closed position of the tailgate ) during assembly . body member 54 also connects to second end 58 disposed opposite first end 56 . second end 58 connects to second formation 70 , which comprises rigid support 69 and pad 71 . pad 71 is adopted to contact outer surface 44 of side wall 18 when operatively positioned to secure latch assembly 22 and striker 42 , as shown in fig4 . pad 71 has magnetic material 73 embedded within it to secure pad 71 to the outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 . pad 71 is incorporated in order to create a non - abrasive contact with the outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 . second end 58 also provides an element to properly locate striker 42 with respect to the outer surface 44 of the truck side wall 18 . in the present invention , striker 42 is located by v - shaped structure 72 adapted to contact striker 42 . striker 42 is positioned relative to the outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 and to latch assembly 22 by the aid of fixture 52 . by being positioned relative to latch assembly 22 , striker 42 is also positioned relative to the outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 . all of these positioning requirements are made possible by a suitable shape of body member 54 and suitable locations for attaching first formation 60 , second formation 70 , peg 64 and v - shaped structure 72 to body member 54 . projection 74 connects to body member 54 via clamping of the apparatus to the side wall 18 . rotating clamp 76 is adapted to contact a portion of the truck body that is generally parallel with the outer surface 44 of the truck body 18 . rotating clamp 76 connected to projection 74 is capable of rotation about the axis &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; in order to contact the side wall 18 and hold fixture 52 and tailgate 20 in an operable position as shown in fig4 . clamp 76 may be operable in any suitable manner , such as by utilizing aperture 80 ( fig2 ) prior to tail - lamp installation . the clamping means is not necessary to make use of the apparatus and method of the present invention but serves to facilitate such operation . instead , an operator could hold the tailgate 20 in a partially open position such that the second formation 70 contacts the outer surface of the tailgate structure 44 . magnets 62 and 73 disposed in contact with truck body 18 and / or tailgate 20 could also be used as a form of clamping means . it should be noted that many alternative methods exist to hold tailgate 20 and fixture 52 in place while positioning latch assembly 22 and striker 42 that are within the meaning and scope of the claimed invention . the operable attachment arrangement is defined as the position such that the first formation 60 contacts outer surface 32 of the tailgate 20 and second formation 70 contacts the outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 , as depicted in fig4 . in this position , fixture 52 locates latch assembly 22 a specified distance 100 from outer surface 32 of the tailgate 20 ( distance is measured from the center of horseshoe 40 to outer surface 32 ). fixture 52 also locates striker 42 in specific distance 101 from outer surface 44 of side wall 18 ( distance is measured from the center of striker 42 to outer surface 44 ). it can be appreciated that distances 100 and 101 need to be substantively identical from vehicle to vehicle to make outer surface 32 of tailgate 20 and outer surface 44 of side wall coplanar . fixture 52 , via body member 54 , also determines the position of striker 42 with respect to the latch assembly 22 and vice versa . in operation , and according to the method of the present invention , the apparatus of the present invention is used as follows . first , latch assembly 22 and striker 42 are provided on the inner surface 34 of the tailgate 34 and the inner surface 46 of the side wall 18 , respectively . the door is open . latch assembly 22 and striker 42 are installed but screws 43 of latch assembly 22 and nut 23 of striker 42 are not fully tightened . next , fixture 52 is placed over tailgate 32 via first formation 60 . tailgate 20 is then raised to an operable position , as shown in fig4 . this position forces the second formation 71 to contact the outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 . clamp 76 is then positioned to secure tailgate 20 and fixture 52 in position . latch assembly 22 positively located with respect to tailgate 20 by the latch locating element , namely peg 64 , which is in the contact position . attachment of latch assembly 22 is made by tightening screws 43 completely . striker 42 is then positively located by the striker locating element , namely v - shaped structure 72 , to side wall 18 , and nut 23 is fully tightened . clamp 76 is then disengaged , and fixture 53 can be removed from tailgate 20 . the latch assembly 22 and striker 42 are now in proper position alignment , with outer surface 44 of the side wall 18 and the outer surface 32 of the tailgate 20 coplanar . the preferred embodiment has been described for use with a tailgate as the closure panel . this invention is applicable for use with other closure panels , such as a door , liftgate or a hood . such a use is included in the scope of this invention . moreover , the present invention can also be fully applicable to the reverse of the assembly shown , that is , to a vehicle in which striker 42 is disposed on the tailgate and the latch assembly is disposed on the side wall of the pickup truck . while the preferred embodiment has been described in accordance with the present invention , it is understood that the invention is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications from those skilled in the art without deviating from the scope and spirit of the following claims . | 4 |
fig1 a is a perspective view of a filter frame 32 adapted to be secured to a body of a portable fan , such as a standard box fan , using elastic bands 33 . a filter frame 32 is configured to include frame channels in a u - shaped arrangement having first and second side members 42 and a base member 44 . cross - members 37 are coupled between opposite corners of the frame to provide lateral rigidity . the first and second side members 42 include longitudinal channels 46 that are spaced apart and opposed , and that provide a slot or seat for receiving side edges of an inserted filter . the base member 44 extends between the first and second side members 42 and includes a similar longitudinal channel 47 that is aligned with the longitudinal channels 46 of the side members 42 for receiving a bottom edge of an inserted filter . top portions of the side member frame channels 46 are open to provide an insertion and removal location for the filter . the side members 42 , base member 44 , and cross members 37 of the filter frame 32 comprise extruded aluminum , plastic , graphite , or other suitable light - weight and durable material that is molded or otherwise machined or formed . the members may be riveted , bolted , welded , or otherwise coupled together , or may be molded and formed as a complete unit . elastic bands 33 are permanently attached , at first ends , to a top right corner , bottom right corner , top left corner and bottom left corner of the filter frame 32 . the elastic bands 33 are , for example , riveted , bolted , tied , or otherwise attached to the frame 32 . the elastic bands 33 further include hooks 34 , or other clasping mechanisms , at a second end . the elastic bands 33 comprise , for example , bungy cords , elastic ribbons , or straps . in alternative embodiments , the hooks 34 on the elastic bands 33 are tied , coupled to , or integral with , the elastic bands 33 at their second ends . the hooks 34 are preferably coated with a soft plastic or rubber material to avoid scratching the fan chassis . the frame 32 is preferably sized to closely match , and cover , a standard - sized fan grill at an input or output face of the fan , so that a substantial amount of air flow induced by the fan passes through the inserted filter . the side members 42 , base member 44 and cross members 37 of the filter frame are preferably sized to have a narrow profile so as to reduce the restriction of air flow . in one embodiment , the frame channels 46 are spaced apart a suitable distance , and foamed of a depth , so as to accommodate a general purpose forced - air filter , for example ¾ ″ by 20 ″ by 20 ″ in size . the 20 ″ by 20 ″ filter profile matches well with a variety of box fan sizes . therefore , the depth of the channel 46 in this example is made to be slightly larger than ¾ ″ and the side members 42 are spaced apart slightly more than 20 ″ in order to accommodate an inserted filter . other filter sizes and other channel depths can also be applied to accommodate fans and filters of varying dimensions , and are equally applicable to the present invention . fig1 b is a perspective view of the filter frame 32 of fig1 a attached to a box fan 31 . the frame 32 is positioned at a first face 52 of the box fan 31 and the elastic bands 33 are pulled about the sides of the fan chassis to a second face 54 of the fan 31 . the hooks 34 are clasped to an existing feature of the box fan 31 , for example a grate of a grill 71 on the second face 54 of the fan . tension in the stretched elastic bands 33 retains the filter frame 32 against the fan body 31 . although the above described embodiment illustrates multiple bands 33 with hooks 34 at each of the first and second side members 42 , each side member 42 can optionally include a single elastic band / hook , depending on the application . the elastic band configuration is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig2 a - d are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a is a perspective view of an elastic band 38 having a hook 34 at a proximal end and an array of holes 50 at a distal end . in one embodiment , the holes 50 are spaced ¾ ″ apart and are distributed longitudinally along the end of the elastic band 38 . fig2 b is a perspective view of the elastic bands 38 of fig2 a hooked onto a grate of a grill 71 at a second face 54 of the box fan 31 at top right , bottom right , top left , and bottom left positions by the hooks 34 . fig2 c is a perspective view of a filter frame 32 of a construction generally similar to that described above in fig1 a . in this embodiment , however , the elastic bands are not permanently attached . instead , the filter frame 32 includes mounting knobs 41 that extend from the body of the frame 32 at top right , bottom right , top left and bottom left corners of the frame . the mounting knobs 41 have relatively narrow necks with relatively wide heads , such that when the holes 50 at the distal ends of the elastic bands 38 , held in place at their proximal ends by the hooks 34 , are pulled over the knobs 41 , the elastic bands 38 are seated in position by the heads of the knobs 41 . fig2 d is a perspective view of the filter frame of fig2 c attached to the box fan 31 of fig2 b by the elastic bands 38 of fig2 a . the holes 50 of the elastic bands 38 are pulled over the mounting knobs 41 of filter frame 32 to secure the four corners of the filter frame 32 to the box fan 31 . tension in the stretched elastic bands 38 retains the filter frame 32 against the body of the fan 31 . different holes 50 of the elastic bands 38 can be used to accommodate fan bodies 31 of different thicknesses , and to accommodate a range of different positions for hooking the hooks 34 on the grill , or other feature , of the fan . the mounting knob / elastic band configuration can be applied to any of the frame embodiments described herein . in another embodiment , each of the upper and lower pairs of elastic bands 33 , 38 of the fig1 and fig2 embodiments described above can be dimensioned in length so that their hooks 34 , or other clasping features , can be coupled to each other to form one large band that extends about the fan chassis to secure the filter frame 32 in place . fig3 a and 3b are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention . fig3 a is a perspective view of a filter frame 32 attachable to a box fan using elastic bands . in this embodiment , the elastic bands 25 a , 25 b are permanently coupled to the opposed first and second side members 42 of the filter frame 32 . a first elastic band 25 a extends across the filter frame 32 from the top right corner to the top left corner , and a second elastic band 25 b extends from the bottom right corner to the bottom left corner of the filter frame 32 . when mounting the frame 32 to a box fan 31 , as shown in fig3 b , the first elastic band 25 a is pulled over the top of the box fan 31 , and the second elastic band 25 b is pulled over the bottom of the box fan 31 . alternatively , the first and second elastic bands 25 a , 25 b can both be pulled over the top or the bottom of the box fan 31 and positioned into place . the tension in the elastic bands 25 a , 25 b retains the filter frame 32 against the box fan 31 . in alternative embodiments , one end , or both ends , of the elastic bands 25 a , 25 b are removable from the filter frame 32 , for example using the holes and knobs combination described above with reference to fig2 a - 2d . this elastic band configuration is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention including a filter frame attachable to a grill of a box fan 31 using elongated bolts 53 , washers 65 and wing nuts 64 . in this embodiment , the filter frame 32 is secured to the fan chassis 31 by elongated bolts 53 that extend through the fan 31 . for example , the bolts 53 can be configured to be of a length so as to extend through grate openings that exist in both the front and rear grills 71 of the fan 31 . holes 62 are included in the frame 32 at the cross members 37 or side members 42 to receive the bolts 53 . the holes 62 are preferably elongated to allow for play in positioning the frame 32 relative to the fan body 31 , so that the frame 32 is compatible with different fan grill configurations . the elongated bolts 53 are secured to the filter frame 32 and fan 31 with washers 65 and wing nuts 64 , which , when tensioned , retain the filter frame 32 against the body of the fan 31 . the holes 62 and bolts 53 are configured to align with the four corners of the fan grill , so as to avoid interference with fan operation . the bolts 53 are preferably of a length so as to accommodate fan bodies of different depths . tightening the wing nuts 64 creates a tension in the bolts that retains the filter frame 32 against the fan body 31 . the wing nuts 64 and bolts 53 are readily mountable by an individual without the need for tools . the elongated bolt and wing nut mounting configuration can be applied to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention including a filter frame 32 attachable to a grill of a box fan 31 using fasteners 18 . the fasteners 18 are bolted to the frame 32 , for example at cross - members 37 or side members 42 . holes 67 are included in the frame 32 to receive the bolts 66 . the holes 67 are preferably elongated to allow for play in positioning the frame 32 relative to the fan body 31 , so that the frame 32 is compatible with different fan grill configurations . a fastener 18 is inserted into a fan grill 71 in a horizontal position between cross members of the rear or front fan grill 71 of the fan , and is then rotated to a vertical position and tightened in place with bolt 66 to affix the filter frame 32 to the fan 31 . the fastener 18 is sized to accommodate a range of fan grill configurations . the fastener 18 may include a threaded hole 68 to receive the bolt 66 , or , optionally washers and nuts may be employed . tightening the bolt 66 relative to the fastener 68 provides tension which holds the frame 32 against the box fan 31 . the fastener configuration described in fig5 is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig6 a and 6b are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , a plurality of standard cable ties 69 as shown in fig6 a are used to mount the filter frame 32 to the grill of the box fan 31 as shown in fig6 b . holes 67 , for example elongated holes , are formed in the cross members 37 or side members 42 of the frame 32 , and standard cable ties 69 are wrapped around the holes 67 and a grate of the fan grill 71 , and tightened , to secure the filter frame 32 against the fan grill 71 . the excess portion of the cable tie 20 is preferably cut off to avoid vibration during fan operation , and to avoid interference with an inserted filter . the cable ties 69 are tightened so as to create sufficient tension to secure the filter frame 32 to the box fan 31 . the cable tie configuration described in fig6 is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the filter frame 32 includes first and second side members 42 a , 42 b and no base member . in this embodiment , rather than including a base member 44 as shown in the above embodiments of fig1 - 6 , the side members 42 a , 42 b of the present embodiment each include a channel stop 106 at or near a distal end of the channel 46 , in order to limit or stop the insertion of a filter 100 , as shown in fig9 . the channel stop 106 can take the form of a solid face , a mesh surface , a peg , a dimple , or any suitable means for restricting downward movement of the filter 100 in the channel 46 . the channel stop structure can be applied to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . further , in the embodiment of fig7 , a single pair of elastic bands 33 and hooks 34 is included for mounting the filter frame 32 to the fan body . a single pair of elastic bands 33 can be equally as effective as a double pair as shown above in fig1 and 3 for securing the frame 32 to the fan body 31 , depending on the application . in addition , the embodiment of fig7 includes an optional foam pad 108 or gasket that is applied between the filter frame 32 and the fan body 31 . the foam pad 108 includes an opening 109 that allows free passage of air , the opening 109 being about as large as the cross - section of the volume of air that the fan is designed to push , so as not to restrict air flow . the foam pad 108 prevents air from entering the fan at a gap that may be present between the filter frame 32 and the surface of the fan body 31 . in this manner , the foam pad 108 causes more of the air that is pushed by the fan to pass through the filter 100 , thereby improving the air cleaning efficiency of the system . further , if the foam pad 108 is cut to closely match the diameter of the fan blades , back draft in the corners of the box fan can be prevented . by preventing the back draft in the box fan , an air flow can be created that flows in a single direction , thus making the fan more efficient in configurations in which negative air pressure is created . the foam pad configuration can be applied to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the filter frame 32 includes a widened channel 46 . the channel 46 is widened so as to accommodate both a universal pre - filter 100 and a high efficiency particulate air ( hepa ) type filter 102 , in accordance with the present invention . the widened channel 46 , in one embodiment , is a single channel that is of a width so as to accommodate both the universal pre - filter 100 and the hepa filter adjacent each other . in another embodiment , the channel 46 may comprise a double channel that includes a central rail for partitioning first and second slots of the channel . in this manner , either , or both , filters 100 , 102 can be properly seated in designated slots of the channel 46 . this widened channel configuration can be applied to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . further , the embodiment of fig8 includes pegs or bumps 104 that extend in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the filter channels from a face of each side member 42 a , 42 b or optionally from the cross members 37 or other portion of the frame 32 . the pegs 104 are adapted to rest in an opening between adjacent grates of the fan grill 71 . the pegs 104 prevent the frame 32 from shifting or sliding in a downward direction when the frame 32 is mounted to the fan and prevent movement of the frame 32 relative to the fan as a result of vibration . in one embodiment , the pegs 104 are approximately ¼ ″ in length . the peg configuration is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig1 a and 10b are illustrations of another embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a is a front view of another embodiment of a filter frame 74 that is suitable for formation in a mold process . this embodiment of the filter frame 74 includes first and second spaced - apart and opposing side channels 46 that are defined by a plurality of side channel tabs 76 . the channels 46 provide a guide for receiving opposite edges of an inserted filter . the frame 74 further includes cross - members 37 that are coupled between opposite corners of the frame to provide lateral rigidity . the lowest side tabs 76 of the channels 46 are provided with bottom surfaces 78 that operate as a stop to limit the vertical position of the inserted filter . a top portion 89 of the frame 74 is open to provide an insertion and removal location for the filter . the left and right edges of the frame include mounts 80 , each comprising an opening for attaching elastic bands , bolts and nuts , hooks , or other fastening means to secure the filter frame 74 to the fan body , for example in the manner of the other embodiments described herein . fig1 b is a close - up perspective view of a side edge of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a . in this view it can be seen that a void 82 is provided in the channel 46 under each respective side tab 76 . in this manner , the filter frame of the present embodiment can be formed in a straight - pull injection molding process , such that there are no secondary movements required inside the mold during the molding process . an extension formed in the lower mold passes through a region where the voids 82 are to be formed . when the upper and lower molds are in position , material is injected , and the extension formed in the lower mold defines a lower part of the side tabs 76 . when the mold is retracted , the extensions pass through the voids that are formed below the tabs , so as to form the frame in a straight - pull injection molding process . in this embodiment , the side edges , side tabs 76 , bottom surfaces 78 , notches 80 , and cross members 37 of the filter frame 74 comprise aluminum , plastic , composite , graphite , or other suitable light - weight and durable material that can be formed in a molding process . the molded filter frame of fig1 a formed in the straight - pull injection molding process is equally applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig1 a , 11b , 11c and 11d are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a is a perspective view of another embodiment of the molded filter frame of fig1 a and 10b including spring - loaded or spring - biased hooks for attaching the frame directly to a grill of the fan . fig1 b is a close - up perspective view of a top corner of a rear face of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a . fig1 c is a close - up view of a corner of a front face of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a . in this embodiment , springs 92 are attached to the top corners of the filter frame 74 . a first end of each spring 92 is attached to the filter frame 74 at a spring seat 90 , for example in a press - fit relationship , or alternatively by a fastener or adhesive . a second end of each spring 92 extends through a corresponding hole 96 at each top corner of the filter frame . in this embodiment , the second ends of the springs 92 include integral hooks 94 . the hooks 94 are adapted to secure the filter frame 74 to the grate of the fan grill , and are shaped to interlock with features of common fan grills , for example rectangular openings and grates of the fan grill . the hooks 94 extend in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axes 101 of the channels 46 , and fingers 94 a at the ends of the hooks are configured to be inserted through an aperture in the fan grill and to latch a surface of the fan grill , for example an inner surface of a grate of the fan grill . in this manner , a top portion 89 of the filter frame 74 is removably secured to the fan body at the fan grill by a downward force of the springs 92 . the filter frame 74 further includes lower tabs 93 at a bottom region of the filter frame 74 . the lower tabs 93 can be integral with the filter frame 74 and can be molded on or otherwise attached to the filter frame 74 . the lower tabs 93 are adapted to secure the filter frame 74 to the fan grill and are shaped to extend from the filter frame 74 in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axes 101 of the channels 46 of the filter frame 74 so as to interlock with a feature of a common fan grill , for example the openings and grates of the fan grill . lips , or other interlocking features , that extend from the lower tabs 93 are adapted to latch with the inner surfaces of the grates of the fan grill , through openings in the grate . the lower tabs 93 operate to counteract the downward force of the springs 92 . the tension between the springs 92 and the lower tabs 93 operates to retain the filter frame against the fan body 31 . the present spring - loaded hook and tab configuration is applicable to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig1 d is a perspective view of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a mounted to a fan body 31 . hooks 94 are inserted through apertures 75 of the fan grill and interlocked with the cross - members of the grate 73 of the fan grill 71 . lower tabs 93 extend through apertures 75 of the fan grill and are latched with the inner surfaces of the grates 73 of the fan grill 71 . fig1 a , 12b and 12c are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a is a perspective view of another embodiment of the molded filter frame 74 of fig1 a and 10b including spring - loaded or spring - biased hooks . fig1 b is a close - up perspective view of a bottom corner of a rear face of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a . fig1 c is a close - up of a top corner of a rear face of the filter frame 74 of fig1 a . this embodiment is similar in structure and form to the embodiment of fig1 above , except that in this embodiment , the tabs 93 are at an upper portion of the filter frame 74 and the springs 92 are at lower portion of the filter frame 74 . in the present embodiment , the tabs 93 include fingers 99 that are oriented in a downward direction , and therefore , when inserted in a grate of a fan grill , through an opening in the grate , the tabs 93 bear the weight of the filter frame 74 and mounted filter . the springs 92 include upward - oriented hooks which , when engaged with the grate of the fan grill , operate to hold the filter frame 74 in place against the grill . mounts 80 are also included at far left and right edges of the filter frame 74 for further mounting the frame to the fan body using optional elastic bands , as described above . the present embodiment can be applied to any of the filter frame embodiments described herein . fig1 a - 13e are perspective views of another embodiment of the present invention in which a filter frame is integral with a fan grill of the fan body . referring to fig1 a , the grill 111 includes a latticed grate that includes cross members and openings . the grill 111 of the box fan 31 includes multiple side tabs 110 that form first and second side channels 118 and multiple bottom tabs 112 that form a base channel 119 . the side tabs 110 operate as retaining members for an inserted filter , and extend outwardly from the grill 111 surface in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the first and second side channels 118 , and then in an inward direction toward a center of the grill . the bottom tabs 112 operate as stops for an inserted filter and , in the embodiment shown in fig1 a , extend from the surface of the fan grill 111 in a manner similar to the side tabs 110 . the side and bottom tabs 110 , 112 are molded with the grill 111 of the box fan 31 , such that the filter frame and the grill 111 of the box fan are unitary . the side tabs 110 and bottom tabs 112 in combination provide a slot or seat for securing an inserted filter to the grill 111 of the box fan 31 . the side channels 118 are spaced apart , as described above , and are dimensioned to provide a seat for receiving opposite edges of an inserted filter . the bottom tabs 112 operate as a stop at a bottom portion of the slot to provide a location for vertical positioning of the inserted filter . a top portion 89 of the slot provided by the filter frame is open to provide an insertion and removal location for the filter . with reference to fig1 b , in an alternative embodiment , the side tabs 110 can be molded directly to the grill 111 . the side tabs 110 each include a first portion 110 a that extends in an outward direction from the surface of the fan grill and a second portion 110 b that extends from the first portion 110 a in a direction toward a central region of the fan , for example l - shaped , so as to form a channel 118 . the tabs 110 , 112 and underlying voids 111 a are preferably shaped so as to accommodate a straight - pull injection molding process for forming the grill 111 , as described above . fig1 c is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a box fan and fan grill including an integral filter frame . the box fan has fan blades 117 and a motor for operating the fan blades 117 . a fan chassis surrounds the fan blades and motor . the fan grill shields the fan blades 117 and allows for air movement through the fan . the filter frame may be integral with the front grill , the rear grill , or both the front and rear grills of the box fan 31 . with reference to fig1 d , the side tabs 110 are integral with the grill 111 . in this embodiment , the lowest side tabs 110 of the channels 118 are provided with bottom surfaces 114 that operate as a stop to prevent further insertion of the filter . therefore , in this embodiment , additional bottom tabs are not necessary . fig1 e is an assembled view of another embodiment of the grill 111 with an integrated filter frame including single , elongated , left and right side tabs 116 and a single bottom tab 120 , rather than multiple tabs as shown above . in one embodiment of a method of mounting a filter to a fan 31 , the method includes coupling the filter frame 32 , 74 that has opposed first and second side channels 46 , each of the first and second side channels 46 having a longitudinal axis , to a grill 71 of a fan by couplers , for example elongated bolts 53 and wing nuts 64 , fasteners 18 , cable ties 69 , hooks 94 or tabs 93 , extending from the frame body in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axes of the first and second side channels 46 . the couplers engage a grate 73 of the grill 71 through an opening 75 in the grate . the first and second side channels 46 define a slot for insertion of an air filter . the slot has an upper portion 89 that allows for insertion and removal of an air filter , and a lower end that includes a stop 44 , 106 , 78 , for restricting further movement of an inserted air filter . an air filter 100 , 102 is inserted into an upper end of the slot . coupling the frame body to the grill of the fan optionally further includes coupling the frame body to the grate 73 of the grill of the fan using at least one tab 93 extending from the frame body 32 , 74 . further , coupling the frame body 32 , 74 to the grill of the fan optionally further includes coupling the frame body to the grate 73 of the grill of the fan using at least one hook 94 extending from the frame body 32 , 74 . in another embodiment of a method of mounting a filter to a fan 31 , the method includes coupling a frame body 32 , 74 having opposed first and second side channels 46 to a grill of a fan by at least one elastic band 33 , 38 , 25 a , 25 b extending about a portion of a fan chassis so that when installed , tension in the at least one elastic band 33 , 38 , 25 a , 25 b operates to secure the frame body to the fan 31 . the first and second channels 46 define a slot for insertion of an air filter . the slot has an upper portion 89 that allows for insertion and removal of an air filter , and a lower end that includes a stop 44 , 106 , 78 for restricting further movement of an inserted air filter . an air filter 100 , 102 is inserted into an upper end of the slot . in another embodiment , a method for forming a grill 111 for a fan 31 comprises forming a latticed grate including cross members and openings and having an inner surface and an outer surface . the method further includes forming retaining members 110 , 116 extending from the outer surface of the grate in a direction transverse to the outer surface at first and second outer regions of the grill 111 to define opposed first and second side channels 118 . the first and second side channels 118 define a slot for insertion of an air filter . the slot has an upper end that allows for insertion and removal of an air filter , and a lower end that includes a stop 112 , 114 , 120 for restricting further movement of an inserted air filter . the grill 111 is mounted to a fan chassis . in this manner , the present invention provides a filter frame that can be readily mounted to and removed from a chassis of a fan , without causing permanent disfigurement of the fan body . in addition , the present invention provides a filter frame that is integrated into the grill of the frame , to further ease the application of a filter to a fan . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 5 |
the present invention provides a system for converting input analog signals such as audio signals into digital signals and subsequently coded into structured data sets for recording in condensed digital form ; and , for reconstructing a digital data set similar to the original digital signal input prior to reconversion to the analog form of signal . in its broadest sense , therefore , the recording of the audio signals into a digital form for subsequent playback is accomplished by the provision of a microcomputer recording system which comprises electronic components for converting an analog audio signal into at least three digital data streams , wherein the first of the digital data streams is a relatively broad band reference signal representative of the amplitude of a pre - selected range of audio frequencies , and the second of said data streams is produced by filtering the analog audio signal to produce at least one data stream channel indicative of a sampled band width of frequencies narrower than the band width represented by such first data stream , and a third reference data stream representative of the sampling frequency of the audio signal ; sampling means for producing a sequential stream of data samples from each of the digital data streams , selection means for selecting a pre - determined portion of the digital data sample produced by the sampling means in each of the data streams ; means for separately storing each of said selected digital data samples produced by the sampling means ; means for comparing the reference signal data stream containing amplitude data with said second data stream containing frequency data to produce frequency spectrogram data representative of the frequency and amplitude of the original audio signal ; means for transforming data samples of the third data stream channel selected from the narrower band width into data representative of a time versus amplitude histogram for each band width ; means for comparing said histogram data with selected waveform parameters and producing and storing addressable data representative of the waveform of the original audio input and means for sequentially assembling and storing the frequency spectrogram data and the amplitude reference data of the first data stream and the addressable waveform data for subsequent playback use . in the preferred embodiment shown in fig1 the input signal is conditioned and amplified in the first stage of the data acquisition module ( dam ). the dam is a multi - channel programmable microprocessor based device that utilizes standard integrated circuits to perform three functions : 1 . to sample at the rate of 42 khz , hold , digitize , and output the broadband ( 20 hz to 20 khz ) audio signal level ( dc voltage ) of amplitude every 0 . 01 second . thus , 100 times every second a digital &# 34 ; word &# 34 ; composed of from 4 to 14 bits is created for assembly as part of a disk record file . 2 . to sample , hold , digitize and output an audio frequency spectrogram every 0 . 01 second from a 128 segment array of logical bandpass filters which sample 128 channels and are arranged logarithmically over the overall band width used . the data set produced by this function may range from null ( no signals on any channel ) to ( n ) [( 7 bit identifier +( 7 bit scaler )+( 2 bit pointer )] where ( n ) is the number of channels with signal content . 3 . to act as a digital storage oscilloscope loader , assembling strings of digitized amplitude versus time data ( histograms ) corresponding to the array of bandpass filters selected in paragraph 2 , above . this assembled data set is produced every 0 . 01 second and is the largest single data structure and contains time continuous listing for every active bandpass filter . the number of &# 34 ; words &# 34 ; in each string is a function of the filter center frequency and requires as many as 4 , 000 samples for a 20 khz channel , or as few as five samples for a 20 hz channel . this data set is not sent to the file assembler as in paragraphs 1 and 2 , above , but is loaded into a random access memory ( ram ) buffer where it is accessible by the waveform analyzer and coder module . the function of the waveform analyzer and coder module ( wac fig1 ) is to be a digital numeric processor array that is programmed to extract characteristic wavcforms from the data set stored in the ram by the dam described above . the waveform data are reduced to tabular form in which one period of each waveform codified is assigned to one wave table which preferably is a digitized x - y coordinate system consisting of 1 , 024 bytes along the x axis and an 8 bit &# 34 ; word &# 34 ; in each byte location to scale the y axis in 256 increments ; 127 above zero and 127 below . a set of wavetables is therefore generated for all active bandpass filter channels every 0 . 10 second . a range of 0 to 128 p . m . s . tables may be generated per cycle ( 0 . 01 second ). the wac utilizes either one of several p . m . s . reductive analytic methods to find waveforms . the first being the fast fourier transform ( fft ) and the second the fast delta hadamard transform ( fdht ). the two methods may be briefly described as follows : the fft is based on the principal that almost any periodic function f ( x ) of period 2 of vibrations can be represented by a trigonometric series of sines and cosines . the full expression in general terms is : ## equ1 ## the algorithm for executing this equation efficiently was first published by rabiner & amp ; gold , 1974 and oppenheim and schafer , 1975 . the fdht is utilized for the analysis of spectral composition of a data set where the spectrum ψ is in the form : ## equ2 ## where fi is the frequency and ψ i is signal intensity . in the present application of this method the digital output of the logical filters from hereinbefore numbered paragraph 2 , is summed at each filter and added to the next output until all frequencies have been sampled . at the last step the total output is : ## equ3 ## then an estimation of the spectrum ( ψ &# 39 ;) can be found by matrix multiplication : ## equ4 ## the algorithm for implementing the fdht was published in 1983 by e . e . fenimore at los alamos national laboratory . b - splines computational algorithms may also be employed to extract characteristic waveforms . ten times every second the latest produced set of waveform tables are sent to the disk record assembler ( dra fig1 ). the disk record assembler ( dra ) is a program module that receives as input the waveform table references ( addresses ) from the wac every 0 . 10 seconds and paragraph 2 ( above ) frequency spectrogram data sets every 0 . 01 seconds directly from the data acquisition module ( dam ) as well as the digital word representing the total broadband signal strength . the waveform tables are kept in a local memory buffer in the dra so that they may be revised or discarded every 0 . 10 second cycle by a subroutine which for convenience will be called waveform catalog maintenance . disk records ( fig4 ) for storage are variable in length but always follow this format : the first 14 bits are the field length statement , the next 7 bits are the frequency filter or channel identifier followed by a 2 bit pointer ( flag ) and its 7 bit scaler , 7 bit waveform table identifier , 7 bit simultaneous waveform table identifier ( repeat if necessary ), 2 bit flag ( signals next filter identifier ), and so forth to the last 14 bit word which is the broadband signal level . the data stream format is shown graphically in fig4 . once a record is prepared for storage it is held in a local memory buffer in the dra for one cycle so it can be compared to the next sequential record . this allows the dra to utilize &# 34 ; tokens &# 34 ;; specific reserved symbols to identify &# 34 ; repeats &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; same excepts &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; nulls &# 34 ; in the current record being assembled to save storage space . the waveform catalog maintenance subroutine is programmed to evaluate incoming updates of waveform tables against the waveform tables previously stored , and among themselves . since there are only 128 channels available for storage of the amplitude histogram output of the dam , the comparison of the waveform output of the wac with the stored waveform data of the dra determines redundancy and duplicates are discarded . the remaining incoming tables are possibly unique or simply improved versions of forms already stored . waveforms that contain new features on existing tables are saved in place of their previous table resident . unique forms are assigned new tables . when an overload occurs due to a &# 34 ; full house &# 34 ; and a unique waveform arrives it is placed in a local buffer for one cycle to determine its repetitiveness . if indeed it does occur in the next 0 . 10 second cycle , space in the waveform catalog is made for it by discarding the waveform most similar to another in the catalog . the algorithms used for these evaluations are based on standard statistical methods for measuring the fit of two curves to one another . in the preferred embodiment of this invention the storage medium is a 5 . 25 &# 34 ; magnetic disk commonly in use for digital magnetic storage and retrieval . these disks have a storage capacity of about 1 megabyte ( 1 million bytes or 8 million bits ) and are anticipated to reach 10 megabytes in the near future . for purposes of illustration , a 5 megabyte disk will be assumed . assembled disk records from the dra are the input for the disk read / write module . in the &# 34 ; write &# 34 ; mode , records in the form of the data stream format previously described , will be written to disk storage as long as there is space available . considering an average record to be 20 bytes of data the disk will contain about 240 , 000 records , each representing 0 . 01 seconds of real time . in addition the entire waveform catalog is written to disk after all space on the disk has been filled except for the 130 kilobytes required for the waveform catalog itself . in the retrieve mode , or playback , the disk read / write module first reads the waveform catalog from the disk into ram . the waveform tables are then accessed by the player module when called within each disk record . each 0 . 01 second disk record is read from the disk serially to preserve its relationship to the real time of the original audio source material . the player module utilized in the present invention will preferably contain digital oscillators to produce the output signal and &# 34 ; smoothing &# 34 ; filters to eliminate the &# 34 ; steps &# 34 ; inherent in digital representations of continuous analog functions . additive synthesis is the principal upon which the player module &# 39 ; s logic is based . briefly summarized , additive synthesis theory states that complex musical signals can be constructed by summing all of the voltage components of the signal of each frequency subset at each instant in time . thus , if the data reduction process preserves all of the original information about voltage versus time in such a way that it can be recombined precisely and in phase in time the output signal will equal the original input signal in each specified frequency or &# 34 ; pitch &# 34 ;. in the preferred embodiment of the invention these conditions of additive synthesis are preserved at a level of perceptual resolution so that what the human ear will hear is indistinguishable from the original for most source material . the player module then directs the oscillators to output at the frequencies specified by the disk records utilizing the waveform reference data to set the timbre of each oscillator and the broadband amplitude reference data sets the voltage levels . synchronized timing is built into the system by definition of the 0 . 01 second cycle time upon which the system is based . a most preferred embodiment of the system will employ very large scale integrated circuit ( vlsis ) technology to reduce logical groupings of circuit to single semiconductor chips , as opposed to the schematic representation shown in fig5 which utilizes many &# 34 ; off the shelf &# 34 ; integrated circuit components . referring now to fig2 the analytic model is graphically depicted . the model has three reference axis dimensions of measurement ; time , amplitude ( dc voltage ), and frequency . the time axis is divided into 0 . 01 second increments . it is important to the understanding of the system of the present invention to realize that the 0 . 01 second interval corresponds to the rate at which incremental acoustic &# 34 ; snapshots &# 34 ; of the audio signal are recorded . this increment was chosen because it is short enough that the human ear physiologically hears a sequence of 0 . 01 second changes in total signal as a continuous integrated whole . the stream of acoustic &# 34 ; snapshots &# 34 ; is directly analogous to the stream of &# 34 ; frames &# 34 ; in a motion picture film . the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshots &# 34 ; themselves contain , in binary form , the total broadband ( 20 to 20 , 000 hz ) amplitude , a frequency spectrogram and waveform table references obtained from the dam ( fig1 ). the illustration in fig2 amplitude histograms , such as ( ah 6 ) shows the waveforms contained in the so - called &# 34 ; amplitude histograms &# 34 ; which are the raw data sets used to write the waveform tables . this will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter . the total broadband amplitude record is the reading , every 0 . 01 seconds , of a continuous digital stream of 14 bit words &# 34 ; written &# 34 ; by the broadband sample , hold and digitizing circuit at the rate of 42 , 000 &# 34 ; words &# 34 ; per second . viewed another way this is like saying that only one word is saved for every 420 created . this series of amplitude readings is utilized from the ram buffer module in the &# 34 ; playing &# 34 ; of the digital oscillators at the output end of the system . every amplitude reading in every frequency channel is scaled to this reference level . referring again to fig2 ; ( bbr ) &# 34 ; broadband reference record &# 34 ; is a 2 dimensional data array in which the first term is the time value within the 0 . 10 second time frame incremented every 0 . 01 seconds ( i . e . 0 , 0 . 01 , 0 . 02 , seconds ). the second term is the binary representation of the dc voltage level or amplitude at each time increment . the voltage level is recorded to the accuracy of a 14 bit word . this allows 16 , 384 discreet values for representation of the dc voltage range which may typically be from 0 . 05 volts to 5 volts i . e . 100 db . the absolute accuracy is thus 4 . 95 divided by 16 , 384 or ± 0 . 0003 vdc . it would be desirable to have this level of accuracy for the vdc measurement recorded in each bandpass filter channel . however , to achieve economy of storage space it is desirable to use as few bits as possible to represent the amplitude of the signal in each channel . to accomplish these contradictory goals the method of relative representation is adopted . each frequency channel amplitude record is a bit word called a scaler value , that allows 128 values , which records each channel &# 39 ; s signal as a proportion of the broadband value . thus a channel with a vdc that is 0 . 250 vdc when the broadband value is 3 . 250 has a proportional value of 0 . 07692 with respect to the broadband signal . on a 7 bit scale this is a &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; out of 128 . the second benefit of this approach is the increased speed of computation afforded by the comparative nature of modular arithmetic logic as opposed to the more time consuming logic for accumulating and encoding a 14 bit accurate &# 34 ; word &# 34 ; at each channel , thus utilizing a 7 bit word instead of a 14 bit word is a 50 % savings in storage space . referring now to fig3 the frequency spectrogram fs 10 is similar to the broadband amplitude record except that the amplitude of the voltage in each of 128 discreet narrow bandwidths is &# 34 ; saved &# 34 ; every 0 . 01 seconds . the 128 channels are sample , hold and digitizer circuits that are limited to the bandwidths they can &# 34 ; hear &# 34 ; by preselected digital bandpass filters . the distribution of the channels across the 20 to 20 , 000 hz audio range may be controlled by the user with equalizer type slide switches or may be automatically signal seeking . that is , the logic of the 128 channel array responds to the amplitude of the voltage in each of 128 discreet narrow band widths and &# 34 ; self - centers &# 34 ; around &# 34 ; live &# 34 ; bandwidths . this principal is the same as used in signal seeking radio receivers . as representatively shown in fig2 there can be overlaps between channels such as shown by the shaded triangular regions on the frequency spectrogram axis . a signal in the overlap region indicates to the system logic that the channel array is not &# 34 ; in tune &# 34 ; with the incoming digitized signal and can serve to set a flag value for correction that can be used by the automatic ranging circuit to &# 34 ; step over &# 34 ; to the next acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ; to get a centered channel reading . the amplitude histograms , for example ah 6 in fig2 are created whenever a channel is &# 34 ; live &# 34 ;. these histograms are point by point amplitude versus time binary plots that are generated on a real time continuous basis . they are not 0 . 01 second &# 34 ; snapshots &# 34 ;. the actual length in time required for plotting a histogram will vary with the audio frequency of the channel . it is generally conceded that the higher the frequency , the more data points will be required to &# 34 ; feed &# 34 ; the waveform analyzer and coder . of course , the upper limit in time for this process is 0 . 10 seconds or the synchronization of the entire system would be affected . the purpose of the amplitude histograms is to provide the &# 34 ; raw data &# 34 ; for the fft or fdht routines that operate the wac . in order for the fft to characterize a series of x - y coordinates as a periodic curve function at least 2 complete cycles of the periodic function must be collected . in many cases , due to electronic recording logic circuit delays often referred to as &# 34 ; settling time &# 34 ; disturbances , more than 2 cycles worth of data must be collected for analysis . referring now to fig3 the wave table catalog information is graphically represented in its preferred form for the system . as soon as the waveform analyzer and coder ( fig1 ), has &# 34 ; found &# 34 ; a waveform in an amplitude histogram ( fig2 ah 6 ) the waveform data for one period of the waveform is plotted on an x - y coordinate system as shown graphically in wave table wt 1 , of fig3 . the amplitude of the wave is plotted in the y dimension with 1 , 020 8 bit binary words that allow a precision of 127 steps above and below the x axis . the x axis itself is an arbitrary division of the waveform &# 39 ; s period into 1 , 020 increments . the wave table has four bytes reserved for information about the tables status within the catalog of 128 tables . this is necessary since references to wave tables positions are made in each 0 . 01 second acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ; that may be revised as the recording proceeds and more or better information becomes available . preferable all rewrites of wave table references are accomplished at the end of an entire recording session in one pass through the disk records . referring to fig4 the bit pattern for a typical acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ; is graphically depicted . an average diskette will contain 240 , 000 of these acoustic &# 34 ; snapshots &# 34 ;. the first binary word is 14 bits long and is the binary number that is equal to the total number of bytes that follow in the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ;. this field length statement is necessary for control of the system data flow on playback . the &# 34 ; player &# 34 ; module must be told by the controlling software how much data to buffer for 0 . 10 second of real time output . the following seven bit word tells the player the first of the frequency identifiers contained in the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ; followed by its two bit flag for frequency shifting , i . e . whether it is necessary or not , and in which direction . the third seven bit word is a binary number ( from 1 to 128 ) that sets the relative amplitude ( voltage level ) for the previously stated frequency output . the forth seven bit word is a binary number ( from 1 to 128 ) that tells the player where to find the waveform in the waveform table that is to be addressed with the frequency previously stated . the fifth and sixth seven bit words are also waveform table references to be applied to the first frequency statement . in operation , the &# 34 ; player &# 34 ; reads through the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ; ( disk record ) and then proceeds to &# 34 ; load &# 34 ; a digital oscillator circuit with the values it has located by reference and those it has read directly from the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ;. for example , in the case of the record shown in fig4 there are four frequencies called for . each of these has a known number of oscillation frequencies , they are the same as the channel bands . these frequencies are assigned to specific digital oscillators . the amount of energy to be used to drive the oscillator is specified by the relationship of the scaler to the broadband reference signal specified by the 14 bit word at the end of the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ;. the waveform table references are linked to the frequency oscillators in the same order that they appear in the acoustic &# 34 ; snapshot &# 34 ;. each oscillator acquires the characteristic sound represented by the sum of the waveforms applied to it by the player . the number of times a wave table is read per second by the player for an oscillator is a function of the frequency of the oscillator ; i . e . a 440 hz oscillator cycles ( or reads ) a wave table at the rate of 440 times a second . referring to fig5 a typical schematic layout of the components and their interconnections are shown for a preferred embodiment of the present invention . comparing the requirements shown in fig1 for the various functions with the capabilities of various available electronic components , one can practice the present invention by selecting components having the requisite capabilities . for example , the broad band digitizer used in the data acquisition module ( dam ) can be selected from commercially available high speed analog to digital encoders such as are available from hewlett packard , datel , inc ., intel or r . c . electronics . the 128 channel array in the dam can also be obtained from hewlett packard to convert analog to digital with specified pass characteristics for each channel . currently 16 channel components are available so that eight of such components would be required . as indicated in the figures and the description contained herein , components such as the ram should have up to 500k byte capacity ; read only memory ( rom ) 320k bytes and the central processing unit ( cpu ) shown in fig5 should preferably have 16 byte 8 mhz capacity with multiple 80 byte numeric data processor add on capacity . the disk drive unit shown may be replaced by any suitable means of digital read / write storage such as magnetic bubble memory packs , linear magnetic tape drives , laser based disks or fiches . the user control pad may offer tone , gain , range , track select and other additional features or it may be as simple as on / off , record / playback . signal input and output is via conventional rca type jacks . the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described with particular emphasis on the required functional characteristics of the components in the system logic that has been employed . it should be apparent that a wide variety of components may be applicable for use in the general system described to achieve the same or similar results . for example , different sampling rates , or the like may be employed advantageously with other components without departing from the spirit of the invention described . indeed the recording and playback functions can be integrated or separate and indeed it will be possible that the record format disclosed could be used with a computer or computer communications link , such as a modem to transmit the recorded data to a remote playback facility . additionally , digital information can be broadcast by an rf signal to a remote location for loading a local memory unit with the requisite wave table information and then the digital data set information on the record can be transmitted for playback at the remote location . this can be done with relatively narrow bandwidth transmissions . the audio signal could then be reproduced by the playback unit at a remote location from the transmitted rf digital information . again , this system has the advantage of achieving the high signal to noise ratio outputs which are inherent in digital communication systems . the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in terms of the recording of sound and its playback . in addition to using the described system for audio playback , the output may be used for stimulating the auditory nerves in the manner achieved by hearing aids or artificial ears . no software changes would be necessary for achieving this output response . the same concepts of the instant invention can apply equally well to medically related acoustic , eeg , or ekg analog signals . here waveform tables established during a baseline medical exam using these non - invasive diagnostic techniques can be used to digitize and condense the analog signals during stress , post operative or post treatment diagnosis . the medical input could also be via an ultrasound probe and the instant invention could also store ultrasound images and analyze them for density and other sound wave detectable features . the input of the present invention could also be a security listening device . the data streams of the instant invention would thus be indicative of security sound information . the random access memory would provide data for a comparison between potential break - in sound patterns and previously collected sound records . this would eliminate false trips of the alarm system . memory disks could be changed to the use factor of the secured area . for example , a &# 34 ; week - end &# 34 ; disk would have an entirely different reference than a &# 34 ; night - shift &# 34 ; disk . the input device could be vibration detection device acoustically coupled to a piece of machinery such as an electric dynamo , mill , or press in a manufacturing plant , or any other device incorporating bearings which are heavily or cyclically loaded . the analog input contains numerous frequency , amplitude , and waveform information which is indicative of the condition of these bearings . this information can be analyzed by the microcomputer system of the instant invention and used to detect the otherwise subtle changes in these signal parameters to predict impending bearing failure , or the like . fig6 illustrates still another application of the microcomputer system disclosed supra . in this embodiment , an inventory detection and analysis system is disclosed . here , the input to the data acquisition module of fig1 is a hand held rangefinder device 10 . preferably , device 10 further includes a remote bar code reader of the holographic type . device 10 is connected to a microcomputer system 12 ( preferably of the type employing a battery power - pack for complete portability ), incorporating the functional system of fig1 . goods g are arrayed on shelves in the location to be inventoried . shelves also should incorporate bar codes b on at least one end of each shelf space . the goods should be stacked , if more than one deep , from the back of the shelves , leaving partially filled columns exposed for easy detection by device 10 . the bar codes are commodity codes or other item specific designations describing the goods arrayed on the bar coded shelf . alternatively , a key pad could be used to manually enter this information , before scanning each shelf with device 10 . in operation , the portable microcomputer is initialized , and the disc record assembler module and other control codes are entered . the operator would stand in front of the goods g on shelves and if necessary , key in the goods description ( commodity code , stock number , etc .). where a bar code reader is incorporated in device 10 , this step is not necessary . device 10 is aimed at the shelved goods and is scanned along the full width of the shelf . a typical example of the resulting analog signal is shown in fig7 . this signal corresponds to the depth of space along the goods loaded shelf as a function of time as determined by the rangefinder echo . the time period in this case corresponding to the time between detection of the bar codes on the shelf uprights ( where applicable ) or the shelf uprights themselves . this analog contains frequency , amplitude and wave form characteristics which are manipulated , modified , and condensed to form the digital disc record as set forth supra . this digital record can later be sent via conventional modem to a central inventory control location for later display in graphic or tabular form . an example of a non - acoustic output of the data compresser and recorder of the present invention would be its application to seismagraphic data recording , compression , and analysis . the output in this instance would be a &# 34 ; groomed &# 34 ; graph with features over a specified size and minus noise or reverberations beyond a specified order of harmonics . also , any sensor that outputs an analog waveform type of signal can use the instant invention as a data compressor and recorder . examples of these sensors would include pressure transducers , flow meters , photodiodes , microwave receivers ( radar and radio frequency ), photocells , piezo electric devices , charge - coupled devices , and scintillation counters . likewise , digital data that is representative of waveform data can be compressed , according to this invention , by first converting the digital data into analog signals which can then be processed by the system described herein according to the methods disclosed . in the system described the process methodology for sampling , analyzing , coding and recording and then decoding and playback enables the system to achieve up to three hundred times the storage density of previous systems . the scope of the invention is therefore to be limited only by the prior art as applied to the appended claims . | 6 |
with reference to fig1 to 8 , preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below . fig1 is a block diagram showing a multimodal network community system according to the present invention . the multimodal network community system for transmitting a message to and collecting responses from multiple specific persons in a short period of time , includes : wired / wireless terminals 1 used by a message transmitter and one or more message recipients ; a connection means for connecting the wired / wireless terminals 1 and a multimodal communication server 21 to each other so as to perform group message transmission and collection of responses ; a database 30 for storing information about groups to which the transmitter and the recipients subscribed , information about the recipients &# 39 ; priority message reception communication means , message transmission rules , and schedule information ; a multimodal communication server 21 for transmitting a message for group transmission from the transmitter , connected through a wired / wireless terminal 1 , to recipients of a corresponding group via priority communication means set by the recipients , and providing results of reception and responses by the recipients to the transmitter ; a control server 20 for performing control such that the transmitter transmits the message sequentially to one communication means at a time ; simultaneously to all communication means at one time ; and using any message routing method according to the set message rules when the multimodal communication server 21 transmits the message ; and a message conversion means for converting a text message into voice data or a voice message into a text message when a communication means of the transmitter is different from a communication means of a recipient . each of the wired / wireless terminals 1 is any one of a wired phone 2 , capable of transmitting data via a public switched telephone network ( pstn ), a facsimile 3 capable of transmitting and receiving text and graphical images , a mobile phone 4 or a personal digital assistant ( pda ) 5 capable of telephone calls and data transmission and reception via a wireless communication network or a wireless internet , a computer 6 , capable of transmitting and receiving data via wired or wireless communication network and the internet , and some other terminal capable of transmitting and receiving data . an exchange 10 for connecting the wired / wireless terminals 1 , an interactive voice response ( ivr ) 11 and a facsimile server 12 via a pstn ; the ivr 11 for providing a guide message for selection of group message transmission and collection of responses , input of a message and selection of a group or groups when a wired / wireless terminal 1 makes a connection , storing response information in a database 30 via the multimodal communication server 21 , and calling the recipients &# 39 ; telephones and transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s message in a voice form on group message transmission ; the facsimile server 12 for storing the message for group transmission , received via a facsimile 3 , in the database 30 , and transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s transmission message to one or more recipients &# 39 ; facsimiles when the recipients &# 39 ; message reception communication means are facsimiles ; a text message server 13 for transmitting a guide message , guiding the transmitter through selection of a group or groups from a group list and selection of a message transmission time , and inputting a message , to the transmitter &# 39 ; s mobile phone 4 when a request for message transmission is made by the transmitter &# 39 ; s mobile phone 4 , storing response information in the database 30 , and transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s message to one or more recipients &# 39 ; mobile phones in a text message form at a time of group message transmission ; an email server 14 for providing message information to the multimodal communication server 21 and causing the multimodal communication server 21 to interpret the message information when the transmitter makes a request for group transmission via email , storing a message transmission group or groups , storing response information in the database 30 , and transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s transmission message to one or more recipients &# 39 ; email addresses when the one or more recipients &# 39 ; message reception communication means are email ; a web server 15 for providing a guide screen for group message transmission and collection of responses to the transmitter , connected via a wired / wireless terminal 1 , storing a message transmission group , message information , a message transmission time , and transmission rules , input via the guide screen , in the database 30 , and collecting results of reception of the transmitter &# 39 ; s message and responses by the recipients and providing information about the results to the transmitter ; and an instant message server 16 for transmitting prompt data for selection of a message transmission function , input of a message , storing a message transmission group , and selection of a message transmission time when the transmitter makes a connection via an instant message window , storing response information in the database 30 , and transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s transmission message to one or more recipients &# 39 ; instant message windows when the one or more recipients &# 39 ; message reception communication means are instant messages . a multimedia conversion server 22 for converting a multimedia file , which is desired to be transmitted by the transmitter , into a file , which can be viewed , read or heard by one or more recipients ; a text - to - speech ( tts ) server 23 for converting a text transmission message into voice data ; a voice interpretation server 24 for interpreting a voice data transmission message and converting the voice data transmission message into text data ; and a text message reformatting server 25 for removing unnecessary parts from the transmission message received in an email or short message service ( sms ) text message form and extracting important parts therefrom . the recipients assign priorities to communication means for reception of messages and store information about the priorities in the database 30 , recipients of a specific group setting and storing first priority communication means , second priority communication means and third priority communication means for reception of messages . meanwhile , fig3 shows a control method according to the present invention . the method includes : a first step of a transmitter and one or more recipients connecting to a multimodal communication server 21 , subscribing to the multimodal communication server 21 , setting a group to which they pertain , and setting priority communication means for message reception ; a second step of the transmitter connecting to connection means via a wired / wireless terminal 1 and requesting group message transmission ; a third step of the multimodal communication server 21 transmitting a message to recipients of a group or groups selected by the transmitter , the multimodal communication server 21 transmitting the message via respective communication means for respective recipients simultaneously or in order of priority previously set by the recipients ; and a fourth step of providing information about status of the recipients &# 39 ; message reception and responses to the transmitter . at the first step , each of the recipients selects a plurality of communication means , capable of receiving messages , from a telephone call , a facsimile , a text message , an email , a web message and an instant message simultaneously or in order of priority and stores information about the communication means in the database 30 . at the second step , when the transmitter requests group message transmission , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits guide information that guides the transmitter through selection of a group or groups from among groups with which the transmitter has a relationship , guide information that guides the transmitter through input of a message to be transmitted , and guide information that guides the transmitter through setting of transmission rules to the wired / wireless terminals 1 . at the third step , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits simultaneously or first transmits the transmitter &# 39 ; s message via first priority communication means set by the recipients , sequentially transmitting the transmitter &# 39 ; s message via second and third priority communication means if one or more recipients do not receive the message for a predetermined period of time , collects results of the recipients &# 39 ; message reception and responses , and stores the results in the database 30 . at the third step , the multimodal communication server 21 converts and transmits the transmitter &# 39 ; s message via message conversion means if the transmitter &# 39 ; s message form is different from a recipient &# 39 ; s reception message form at a time of transmission of the transmitter &# 39 ; s message via the communication means set by the recipient . the conversion of the message is performed by converting text into voice information via a tts server 23 and then transmitting the voice information via one or more telephones or voice messages if the transmitter &# 39 ; s message is text , and by converting a voice message into a text message via a voice interpretation server 24 and then transmitting the text message via one or more emails , text messages , web messages , and / or instant messages if the transmitter &# 39 ; s message is a voice message . the operation of the present invention , constructed as described above , will be described through various embodiments based on the transmission means of a transmitter . the first embodiment relates to a method in which a transmitter transmits a message via an internet website , as shown in fig4 . first , the transmitter connects to a web server 15 via the internet using a computer 6 , and the web server 15 performs an authentication procedure using an identifiction ( id ) and a password input by the transmitter , and then provides a guide screen for group message transmission to the transmitter &# 39 ; s computer 6 . the guide screen is configured such that the transmitter can select a desired group or groups from among groups with which the transmitter has a relationship , input a message to be transmitted , and select a message transmission time and rules required for the transmission of the message . that is , the transmitter , via the guide screen provided by the web server 15 , selects the group or groups to which a message will be transmitted , and inputs a message transmission time , rules required for the transmission of the message , and the message to be transmitted . with regard to the rules required for the transmission of a message , a message transmitter can set specific conditional routing rules such as a rule that triggers transmission of the message to one or multiple specific recipients if a result of message reception or response of another recipient meets a specific criteria , and a rule that causes a message to be simultaneously or sequentially transmitted , based on meeting of a condition , to a plurality of recipients . the message , the transmission group , the transmission rules , and the transmission time , which are input by the transmitter as described above , are stored in a database 30 . thereafter , the control server 20 commands a multimodal communication server 21 to transmit the transmitter &# 39 ; s message when the transmission time stored in the database 30 has been reached , and the multimodal communication server 21 retrieves a list of recipients , to which the message will be transmitted , from the database 30 , and controls a connection means such that the message can be transmitted via communication means that belong to message reception communication means previously set by the recipients and that have first priority or all communication means simultaneously if so previously set by the recipients . for example , as shown in fig2 , when a message is desired to be transmitted to three recipients a , b , and c , the transmission message is provided to an ivr 11 and an email server 14 because recipients a , b and c set a wired phone , email and a mobile phone , respectively , as first priority communication means . in this case , the message transmitted to the ivr 11 is converted into voice data and supplied by a tts server 23 , and the ivr 11 transmits the transmitter &# 39 ; s message to recipients a and c &# 39 ; s wired phone and mobile phone in the form of a voice signal . meanwhile , the email server 14 transmits the transmitter &# 39 ; s message to recipient b &# 39 ; s email address . in addition , in the case where a recipient has set an instant message as the highest - priority message reception communication means , an instant message is sent to the recipient &# 39 ; s computer , which is connecting to the internet , via an instant message server 16 , and the recipient receives the transmitter &# 39 ; s message via an instant message window that is displayed on the screen of the computer 6 . meanwhile , in the case where a recipient has selected a mobile phone text message as the highest - priority message reception communication means , the transmitter &# 39 ; s message is transmitted to the recipient &# 39 ; s mobile phone via a text message server 13 in the form of an sms text message . meanwhile , in the case where the recipient has not received the transmission message for a predetermined period of time when the message is transmitted via the first communication means , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits the transmitter &# 39 ; s message to the recipient sequentially via the second and the third priority communication means . alternatively , the transmission message may also be transmitted simultaneously to all priority communication means . the results of the recipient &# 39 ; s message reception and responses based on all message transmissions are collected and stored in the database 30 . the results of the recipient &# 39 ; s message reception and responses are stored in the database 30 , and the transmitter can check the results of all recipients &# 39 ; message reception and responses stored in the database 30 at one time while connecting to the web server 15 . the second embodiment illustrates a procedure in which a transmitter transmits a transmission message via the instant messaging functionality ( msn messenger , google messenger , yahoo messenger , aol instant messenger , daum messenger , or the like ) of the computer 6 , as illustrated in fig5 . first , a user connects to an instant message server 16 via the instant message window of the computer 6 , and the instant message server 16 transmits an id number and function selection prompt data , that is , prompt data that allows the user to select group message transmission , as shown in fig6 , to the transmitter &# 39 ; s instant message window . when the transmitter selects group message transmission by entering “ 1 ” in response to the prompt data , the instant message server 16 transmits data , requesting the input of a message to be transmitted , to the instant message window . thereafter , when the transmitter enters the message to be transmitted in the instant message window in response to the request data , the instant message server 16 transmits a list of groups , to which the message will be transmitted , to the transmitter . the group list is a list of groups with which the transmitter has a relationship , such as 1 . ucla ksa group , 2 . bmw group , and 3 . la gamer group . the transmitter selects one or more from among the groups by entering the number ( s ) of the group to which the message is desired to be transmitted . additionally , the instant message server 16 causes the transmitter to enter the time of the transmission of the message by requesting that the transmitter enter the time at which the message will be transmitted . after the transmitter has entered the message to be transmitted , the group or groups to which the message will be transmitted , and the transmission time while the transmitter and the instant message server 16 exchange messages via the instant message window , the corresponding information is stored in the database 30 . thereafter , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits the message to all communication means simultaneously or first priority communication means previously set by respective recipients at the message transmission time , as in the above - described first embodiment , and collects the results of the transmission and notifies the transmitter of the results of the transmission including status of message reception and responses . the third embodiment illustrates a procedure in which a transmitter transmits a transmission message using a mobile phone text message , as illustrated in fig7 . first , the transmitter transmits the text message “ message ” to the telephone number of the text message server 13 using his or her own mobile phone 4 , and the text message server 13 becomes aware that the current transmitter desires to transmit a message in a group transmission fashion based on the received text message . in this case , the text message server 13 authenticates membership by comparing the caller identification number of the text message , sent by the transmitter , with members &# 39 ; mobile phone telephone numbers , stored in the database 30 . thereafter , the text message server 13 transmits a list of groups , with which the transmitter has a relationship , to the transmitter &# 39 ; s mobile phone 4 in the form of a text message such as “ 1 . ucla ksa group , 2 . bmw group , and 3 . la gamer group ,” and the transmitter transmits a text message to the text message server 13 , with the number of a group or the numbers of groups , which is selected from the received group list and to which the message is desired to be transmitted , entered in the text message . in a similar manner , the text message server 13 transmits a text message prompting for message content and the message transmission time to the transmitter &# 39 ; s mobile phone 4 , the transmitter transmits a text message , in which message content and the message transmission time have been entered in response to the prompts from the text message server 13 , to the text message server 13 , and the text message server 13 stores information about the message content that is desired to be transmitted by the transmitter , the recipient group or groups , and the message transmission time in the database 30 based on the text message received from the transmitter . thereafter , when the message transmission time has been reached , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits the message to recipients &# 39 ; all communication means simultaneously or the first priority communication means under the control of the control server 20 in the above - described manner , and transmits the second and the third messages if a recipient does not receive the first message via the first priority communication means , so that the recipient can perfectly receive the message . furthermore , the recipients &# 39 ; reception results and responses are collected , are stored in the database 30 and are reported to the transmitter , so the transmitter can conveniently transmit and track a desired message to a plurality of recipients . the fourth embodiment illustrates a procedure of transmitting a message using a wired / wireless phone , as illustrated in fig8 . first , a transmitter connects to the telephone number of the ivr 11 using a wired / wireless phone ( phone 2 or mobile phone 4 ), and the ivr 11 issues a voice guide message , requesting authentication , to the transmitter &# 39 ; s wired / wireless phone . when the transmitter enters a telephone number or id and a password , which were entered at the time of subscription for membership , in response to the voice guide message , the ivr 11 authenticates the transmitter and then prompts the transmitter to select a function using a voice prompt , giving instructions on how to reply with use of touchtone or voice responses . the prompt is transmitted in the form of the voice instruction “ hello ! mr . or ms . ooo . welcome to docircle ! please enter a number corresponding to one of the following functions and press “#.” 1 . please press ‘ 1 ’ if you want group message transmission , 2 . please press ‘ 2 ’ if you want an event , and 3 . please press ‘ 3 ’ if you want a questionnaire ,” and the transmitter selects message transmission by pressing ‘ 1 ’ in response to the voice prompt . when the message transmission is selected by the transmitter , the ivr 11 requests the recording of a message to be transmitted to the recipient . thereafter , when the transmitter records the message to be transmitted to the recipient in response to the request , the ivr 11 stores the recording data in the database 30 . furthermore , the ivr 11 announces groups with which the transmitter has a relationship via a voice prompt so that the transmitter can select a group or groups , and transmits a voice guide message , guiding the transmitter through the selection of a transmission time , when the transmitter has selected the group or groups to which the message will be transmitted in response to the guidance . when the transmitter enters the message that will be transmitted via a telephone call in the form of voice , the message transmission group , and the transmission time in the above - described procedure , the multimodal communication server 21 transmits the message to the recipients of the group , selected by the transmitter , using a method identical to the above - described method when the message transmission time has been reached . in this case , when the recipients wish to receive the message in the form of a text message , a web message , an instant message and an email message , the audio message information , recorded by the transmitter , is interpreted and converted into a text message by the voice interpretation server 24 , and is transmitted to the recipients via the text message server 13 , the email server 14 , the web server 15 , and the instant message server 16 . meanwhile , in the present invention , the transmitter may transmit a transmission message to a facsimile server 12 using a facsimile 3 , and may transmit a transmission message to the multimodal communication server 21 using the email server 14 in the form of an email , in addition to the means that have been described in the previous embodiments . according to the present invention , operated as described above , the following advantages can be expected . first , since multiple recipients previously register communication means capable of desirably receiving messages and a message is transmitted via the communication means sequentially or simultaneously , preset by the recipients , at the time of transmission of the message , the message reception success rate and timeliness of reception can be increased substantially . second , since messages are transmitted via designated communication means , reception of the messages by recipients can be accurately checked , and can be reported back to the transmitter . third , a message can be transmitted to all members at one time through a request for the transmission of the message even if the contact addresses of the members of a group with which the transmitter has a relationship are not personally known , and recipients can receive messages from the members of a group without disclosing private communication information , such as a telephone number or an email address . fourth , since conditional message routing rules can be set , message reception by a specific recipient or a specific response by a specific recipient such as yes or no can cause to transmit a message to another recipient after reception of the message by the first recipient . for example , an invitation message for a meeting can be conditionally routed to a specific person based on the attendance information of another person or availability of a venue . fifth , since message transmitters and the recipients of each group can check the members &# 39 ; reception of messages and responses thereto in near real - time , reactions thereto can be made . that is , a member of a group , who becomes aware that there is a problem with a place proposed by a transmitter , can issue a warning to all of the members who have received the message , or can propose another place . sixth , since recipients can change the priority of communication means regardless of time and place , message reception success rates can be further increased . seventh , automation of message transmission , response collection , and summarization of all messages saves significant amount of time and energy by all parties involved . | 7 |
[ 0014 ] fig1 and 2 are cross - sectional schematics of a preferred embodiment of the wafer - chuck 20 showing the position of holder 50 during wafer metrology and measurement of the reference sample . fig1 illustrates the configuration of the chuck employed in the metrology of wafer 26 . fig2 illustrates the configuration of the chuck during measurement of reference sample 52 . wafer - chuck 20 includes a platform 22 for supporting and clamping a wafer 26 . platform 22 includes a support surface 24 for locating and supporting the wafer . the locating surface further includes a series of intersecting radial and circular channels 28 which may be connected to a vacuum supply via orifice 30 , check valve assembly 32 , manifold 34 and supply line 36 . when supply line 36 is connected to a vacuum system , surface 22 , channels 28 , orifice 30 , check - valve assembly 32 , manifold 34 and supply line 36 comprise a vacuum wafer - chuck . in the preferred embodiment supply line 36 may be alternately connected to a vacuum system , a pressure relief - valve or a source of high - pressure gas . the chuck further includes holder 50 for supporting and clamping reference sample 52 . holder 50 includes a reference sample 52 , mounted to a spring - loaded piston assembly 54 that is free to move within cylinder 56 between a retracted and an extended position . the cylinder 56 includes upper 58 and lower 60 locating surfaces . piston assembly 54 further includes a seal 64 that divides cylinder 56 into upper 68 and lower 70 hydraulic chambers . the lower hydraulic chamber is connected to manifold 34 . the upper hydraulic chamber is connected to the surface 24 of platform 22 through orifice 66 . a coil spring 62 is also provided to bias the holder into the retracted position . [ 0017 ] fig1 illustrates wafer - chuck 20 with holder 50 in the retracted position , the configuration used in wafer metrology , wherein spring 62 locates piston 54 at lower locating surface 60 . in this position reference sample 52 is below the surface 24 of platform 22 and wafer 26 is clamped to platform 22 . [ 0018 ] fig2 illustrates wafer - chuck 20 with holder 50 in the extended position , the configuration used for measurement of reference sample 52 , wherein spring 62 is compressed and the piston 54 is driven upwards so that the upper locating surface 58 abuts the surface of shelf 72 . in this position reference sample 52 is located at the measurement position , e . g . the upper surface is substantially co - planar with the upper surface of the wafer 26 as illustrated in fig1 . supply 36 , manifold 34 , check valve 32 , piston 54 , seal 64 and spring 62 comprise a hydro - mechanical actuation mechanism for moving holder 50 between the extended and retracted positions . connecting supply 36 to a source of high - pressure gas causes holder 50 to move to the extended position . initial pressurization of manifold 34 produces a differential pressure across ball 40 raising the ball and pressing it against seal 38 sealing check valve 32 . with check - valve 32 sealed , manifold 34 and lower hydraulic chamber 70 fill with high - pressure gas . the pressurization of lower hydraulic chamber 70 , compresses spring 62 raising piston 54 to the point where the piston locates at upper locating surface 58 . in this position reference sample 52 is substantially at the measurement position , e . g . substantially the same position as the wafer illustrated in fig1 . this is the configuration illustrated in fig2 . the holder is moved to the retracted position by connection of supply line 36 to a pressure relief valve which vents lower hydraulic chamber 70 and manifold 34 . in this configuration , spring 62 forces the piston 54 against lower locating surface 60 , and the holder is maintained in the retracted position with reference sample 52 below the surface 24 of platform 22 . in the absence of pressurization of manifold 34 , ball 40 moves downward , away from seal 38 opening check - valve 32 and connecting manifold 34 to channels 28 through orifice 30 . with holder 50 in the retracted position wafer 26 can be located on surface 24 of platform 22 and clamped by connecting supply 36 to a vacuum system . in this configuration channels 28 are evacuated and the differential pressure established across the wafer 26 clamps wafer 26 to surface 24 of platform 22 . this is the configuration illustrated in fig1 . in the preferred embodiment illustrated in fig1 and 2 manifold 34 is connected to supply line 36 through a rotary bearing assembly 74 . assembly 74 consists of a fixed hollow shaft 76 mounted in a housing 78 that connects to supply line 36 , and a rotary bearing 80 mounted within the body of manifold 34 , which is fixed to platform 22 . bearing assembly 74 is arranged such that a hermetic rotary seal 100 is formed between the exterior surface of the hollow shaft and the inner surface of the rotating manifold . in the preferred embodiment , bearing system 74 also serves as a thrust bearing and supports the weight of platform 22 . in this fashion platform 22 may be rotated about hollow shaft 76 while supply line 36 remains fixed and connects , through bearing assembly 74 , manifold 34 to a vacuum system , a pressure - relief valve or a source of high - pressure gas . it should be noted that in the preferred embodiment , a single fluid line 36 is used to supply vacuum to the chuck surface to “ clamp ” down the wafer and to provide the pressure to raise of the reference chip . this dual function is important since access to the rotating stage is limited to the rotation axis of the system . [ 0023 ] fig3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a three - axis wafer - translation system 88 incorporating the wafer - chuck 20 shown in fig1 and 2 and described in the preceding discussion . translation system 88 is comprised of wafer - chuck 20 , rotary stage 86 and linear translation stages 82 and 84 . stages 82 and 84 are configured to provide translation in orthogonal directions within the x - y plane . rotary stage 86 is arranged to provide rotation about the z - axis ( perpendicular to the x - y plane ). in the preferred embodiment , the rotary stage has 360 degrees of rotation . in addition , a mechanism ( not shown ) for raising and lowering the stage system in the vertical , z - axis is provided to permit the wafer to be brought into the focal plane . as illustrated in the fig3 the use of holder 50 permits the reference sample 52 to be located within the footprint of the wafer . this allows a minimum form - factor platform to be employed with dimensions determined by the wafer size . [ 0025 ] fig4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the wafer translation system 88 incorporated in an optical metrology system 90 . optical metrology system 90 is configured to derive the characteristics of sample 26 by measurement and analysis of the changes in the incident illumination produced by reflection from and interaction with the sample 26 . optical metrology system 90 includes an illuminator 92 , wafer translation system 88 , sample 26 , reference sample 52 , detector 94 and processor 96 . optical metrology system 90 may employ a plurality of measurement techniques either alone or in combination and including detection of the change in amplitude and the change in polarization state of the incident illumination upon reflection from and interaction with sample 26 . further these measurements may be made using both bright - field ( e . g . reflectometry ) and dark - field ( e . g . scatterometry ) detection strategies at a single wavelength , or at a plurality of wavelengths . consequently , illuminator 92 and detector 94 may include one or more instruments selected from the group consisting of reflectometers , ellipsometers , spectroscopic reflectometers , spectroscopic ellipsometers , polarized beam reflectometers , polarized beam spectroscopic reflectometers , scatterometers , spectroscopic scatterometers and optical cd measurement tools . consequently , it is advantageous to provide processor 96 to analyze the output signals generated by the various detectors . these outputs correspond to changes in magnitude , changes in polarization state , changes in magnitude of polarized radiation and scatter measured at a plurality of wavelengths . the analysis protocols can treat the signals individually or in combination to evaluate the characteristics of a sample . examples of metrology tools having one or more of these measurement systems are described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 608 , 526 and 6 , 278 , 519 , incorporated herein by reference . systems of this type include at least one broadband light source generating a polychromatic probe beam which is directed to the surface of the sample . the reflected probe beam is measured to provide both reflectometry and ellipsometric information as a function of wavelength . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 278 , 519 also illustrates the use of single wavelength lasers for measuring a sample . it should be noted that reference sample 52 can be used to facilitate calibration of the wafer stage coordinates . in particular , the location of the edges of the reference sample can be accurately measured and compared to stage coordinates to calibrate measurement points with respect to a known coordinate system . in addition , measurement of the reference sample can also be used for focus adjustment in the z - axis . in particular , the probe beam spot can be scanned over an edge of the reference sample while monitoring the reflected intensity . the distance over which the intensity moves from a minimum to a maximum gives a measure of spot size . this measurement is performed at a number of different z - positions , with the smallest measured spot size defining the focal plane . while the preceding discussion of the preferred embodiments has focused on the use of a vacuum - chuck for clamping the wafer , the invention can also employ mechanical or electrostatic means to accomplish both the functions of wafer - clamping and holder actuation . furthermore , mechanical and electrostatic means can be used in place of or in combination with the preferred vacuum - clamping embodiment . in systems employing vacuum - clamping of the wafer the addition of hydro - mechanical actuation may be accomplished cost - effectively . particularly in those cases where the required hardware , e . g . vacuum systems , manifolds , pressure relief valves , sources of high - pressure gas , etc . are already incorporated in the existing wafer - clamping system . the ability to locate the reference sample within the wafer footprint also allows considerable reduction in the cost of the wafer translation systems , and the implementation of new , high - precision translation systems at a cost comparable to existing low - precision systems . these economic benefits accrue from the ability to utilize lower - cost , reduced - travel stages . for example , in the preferred embodiment of fig3 the entire surface of a 300 mm diameter wafer can be measured using at least a 270 ° z - axis rotation stage in combination with two ± 75 mm linear x and y translation stages . | 6 |
in view thereof , we provide in a first aspect by the use of at least one annexin protein , preferably annexin of a3 , for the treatment of cancer , particularly of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract , preferably of prostate cancer . we also provide for the use of at least one annexin protein , preferably of annexin a3 , for the manufacture of a medicament for treatment of cancer , particularly of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract , preferably of prostate cancer . in a preferred aspect , cancer treatment is done by the enhancement of the in vivo abundance of at least one annexin protein , in particular , by the enhancement of the in vivo abundance of at least one extracellular annexin protein . we further provide methods for diagnosing cancer , particularly of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract , and / or for discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue comprising the separate steps of : determining the intracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein and / or determining the extracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein , in particular using urine samples or fractions thereof . determining the intracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein and determining the extracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein , in particular using urine samples or fractions thereof . determining the intracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein and determining the extracellular abundance of at least one said annexin protein , after determination of the intra - and extracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein ratios of the extracellular abundance over the intracellular abundance or the other way around may be determined . preferably , ratios of the extracellular abundance over the intracellular abundance are determined . the obtained ratios are advantageous diagnostic parameters for cancer and / or for discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue . the term “ extracellular ” is understood as the extracellular space including the outer surface of plasma membranes of cells . the term “ non - cancerous tissue ” comprises healthy tissue and pathogenic tissue , in particular benign prostatic hyperplasia , chronic prostatitis , crohn &# 39 ; s disease , colitis ulcerosa , inflammable tissue and fibroses , in particular secondary fibroses . the term “ abundance ” is understood as the intracellular and / or extracellular level and concentration respectively of a protein . the term “ annexin protein ” and “ protein ” in general comprise isoforms , mutants , truncated versions and post - translational modified forms thereof . post - translational modified forms can in particular include proteinaceous forms obtainable by proteolytic processing . the term “ treatment ” is equivalent to “ therapy ,” thus comprising the treatment of troubles associated with cancer . the annexin protein may at least be a member of the group consisting of annexin a1 , annexin a2 , annexin a3 , annexin a4 , annexin a5 , annexin a6 , annexin a7 , annexin a8 and annexin a10 and wherein preferably the abundance of the at least one annexin protein is determined together with the abundance of at least a further protein . with respect to the further protein it is referred to the following description . the abundance of at least one annexin protein may be determined together with the abundance of a small molecule or nucleic acid marker . annexins are calcium - binding proteins thought to influence various intra - and extra - cellular functions , including membrane trafficking , lymphocyte migration , cell motility , calcium flux , and signal transduction . they are highly abundant , and the calcium - dependent bulk masking of negatively charged membrane lipids may be important for annexin function ( 17 ). in a previous proteomics study comparing the differential abundance of proteins between benign and tumorous tissue from 31 prostate cancer patiens , we identified annexin a3 as more being variously differentially abundant in tumors and potentially represented a diagnostic marker for various sub - types of prostate cancer . annexin a3 is a relatively infrequent annexin family member that was upregulated an average of 2 . 4 fold across all 31 patients ( between 1 . 1 and 5 . 4 fold with 95 % confidence ; p = 0 . 045 ). in a tentative sub - cluster of 22 patients that was suggested by cluster analysis , annexin a3 was upregulated an average of 4 . 4 fold ( between 2 . 2 and 9 . 1 fold with 95 % confidence ; p = 0 . 0008 ), suggesting that in certain types of tumor annexin a3 abundance may be involved in the cancerous phenotype . for further details it is referred to pct / ep2005 / 001567 , the subject matter of which is incorporated herein in its entirety . several annexins are reported to be down - regulated in association with prostate cancer , including annexin a1 , annexin a2 , annexin a4 , annexin a7 and annexin a10 ( 6 ). alaiya et al . ( 18 ) also reported “ some differential ( annexin a3 ) value between malignant and benign ” prostate tissue . recently , annexin a3 has been shown to be necessary for dna replication in cultured hepatocytes ( 19 ), and seems to be expressed higher in small hepatocytes which have higher growth potential and proliferation rates than parenchymal hepatocytes ( 20 ). we thus believe that annexin a3 , typically a rare member of this family , may therefore provide a biomarker or target or therapeutic principle for cancer treatment of certain patients . annexins are cytoplasmic , but are also found extracellularly , although they lack secretory leader sequences . for instance , carlsson et al . ( 24 ) identified annexin a3 as an antigen for anti - sperm antibodies involved in male infertility . oh et al . ( 25 ) found that annexin a1 was exposed on epithelial surfaces in the vicinity of solid lung tumors , and that administration of a radiolabelled antibody against the protein caused tumor regression in animal experiments . indeed , annexin a5 translocation to cell surfaces is associated with apoptosis ( 26 ), and annexin a1 , also known as lipocortin 1 , is released to the extracellular space in large abundances from neutrophils and monocytes / macrophages as an anti - inflammatory agent . in fact , annexin a1 may be the primary mediator of the anti - inflammatory effect of glucocorticoids ( 27 , 28 ). there is no mechanism for annexin secretion reported ( 17 ) combining secretion , especially the cellular expulsion of annexin a3 , the exosome pathway , and altered regulation of immune surveillance of the prostate . exosomes are membrane vesicles of 30 to 100 nm in diameter , which are produced and secreted in vitro by living cells of diverse origin , and are thought to be involved in the transfer of tumor antigens to antigen presenting cells , as well as in the stimulation of specific immune responses ( 21 ). annexin family members , including annexin a3 and annexin a8 , are commonly found in exosomes ( 21 - 23 ). hegmann et al . ( 29 ) have postulated that exosomes are involved in the release of heat shock proteins to the extracellular environment in the absence of cellular necrosis . the luminal exosome environment could permit the low ph values necessary for the proposed annexin calcium ion channel function in vivo , that has been controversially discussed because of incompatibility with cell viability ( 17 ). indeed , the reported instances of physiological annexin ion channels occur in the matrix vesicles involved in osteoblast bone formation , and in the terminal differentiation and death of chondrocytes ( 30 ), which are both circumstances atypical of normal cellular viability . we thus believe that annexin ion channels could be involved in the osmotic rupture of exosome vesicles ( either within multivesicular vesicles prior to secretory fusion with the cytoplasmic membrane , or extracellularly ) and thereby modulate extracellular milieu of tumors or other tissues , such as bone in the case of osteoporosis . bondanza et al . ( 31 ) recently reported that irradiated tumor cells are efficiently phagocytized by macrophages , but when cell surface phosphatidylserine is masked by annexin a5 , the macrophage pathway is reduced and a strong cd8 + dendritic cell - dependent immune response is elicited . as referred to above , annexin a1 is an anti - inflammatory modulator that reduces neutrophil recruitment , and thereby reduces tissue inflammation . it binds to specific extracellular alx ( lipoxin a ) receptors on neutrophils and macrophages , and can thereby modulate macrophage phagocytosis ( 27 , 28 ). at the site of action within the tissues , annexin a1 and its n - terminal peptide ( ac2 - 26 ) promotes phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils , thereby reducing the level of inflammation and the immune response through anti - inflammatory cytokines such as tgf ( transforming growth factor )- β1 ( 28 ), and , accordingly , the antigen - induced t cell proliferation of th1 ( t - helper 1 ) and th2 ( t - helper 2 ) t - cells is also inhibited by the peptide act - 26 ( 32 ). changes of annexin a3 in tumors may influence immune surveillance of prostate tissue by altering the properties and / or concentration of the extracellular annexin pool , and by thereby modulating the interplay between a macrophage / granulocyte dominated response , and / or a humoral one . the abundance of at least one annexin protein may be determined together with the abundance of at least another annexin protein , preferably of the group consisting of annexin a1 , annexin a2 , annexin a3 , annexin a4 , annexin a5 , annexin a6 , annexin a7 , annexin a8 and annexin a10 . the abundance of at least one annexin protein may also be determined together with the abundance of at least a further protein of the group consisting of serum amyloid p , isopeptidase t , muscle - type fatty acid binding protein , galectin 1 , heat shock protein 90 , bip ( human protein : p11021 - 78 kda glucose - regulated protein precursor , grp 78 , immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein , endoplasmic reticulum lumenal ca2 + binding protein grp78 ), protein disulfide isomerase , epidermal - type fatty acid binding protein , enoyl coenzyme a hydratase and nucleophosmin . furthermore , the abundance of at least one annexin protein can be determined together with the abundance of at least a further protein of the group consisting of 14 - 3 - 3 family , proteasome , particularly prosome and / or macropain , activator subunit 2 , cytokeratin family , knp - i alpha protein ( ncbi accession baa95554 . 1 gi : 7768772 ) and knp - 1 beta protein ( ncbi accession baa21139 . 1 gi : 2250701 ). in some cases the diagnostic value of conventional tumor markers for diagnosis is limited . for instance , high or extremely low serum prostate antigen ( psa ) values provide a reasonable reliable diagnostic index for prostate cancer . however , preoperative psa values ranging between 2 and 10 ng / ml , especially between 4 and 10 ng / ml , particularly between 2 and 6 ng / ml , are extremely poor regarding diagnostic reliability , in particular with respect to prediction of postoperative cure rates in radical prostatectomies . thus , in a particular preferred aspect the abundance of at least one annexin protein is determined together with the abundance of at least one blood or serum marker , in particular of at least one member of the kallikrein protease family , preferably of prostate specific antigen ( psa ). the abundance of various forms of psa , in particular total psa ( tpsa ) abundances , relative or absolute abundances of free psa ( fpsa ) and relative or absolute abundances of complexed psa ( cpsa ), may be determined together with the abundance of annexin a3 . it is further within the scope of this disclosure that other members of the kallikrein protease family may be used in this respect . the abundances of these proteins to one another may also be used in combination with one or more measured or calculated annexin parameters for diagnostic purposes . the annexin parameters that can be useful are obviously not restricted to those used by way of demonstration in this disclosure . the abundance of at least one annexin protein may also be determined together with the abundance of at least an epithelial cell marker , particularly prostate specific membrane antigen ( psma ). according to an especially preferred aspect , annexin a3 and / or annexin a8 , preferably annexin a3 , are used . the cancer to be treated and / or diagnosed can be derived from the urogenital and / or intestinal tract . preferably , cancer is chosen from the group consisting of prostate cancer , kidney cancer , bladder cancer , urethra cancer , ovarian cancer , uterine cancer or colon cancer . preferably , the cancer to be diagnosed is prostate cancer and / or colon cancer . with respect to prostate cancer , the method preferably allows for discrimination between prostate cancer tissue samples , benign prostatic hyperplasia ( bph ) tissue samples , chronic prostatitis tissue samples , fibrosis afflicted tissue samples and healthy tissue samples . concerning cancer of the intestinal tract , particularly colon cancer , the method preferably allows for discrimination between cancer tissue sample and samples of tissue which are affected by inflammatory bowl diseases , particularly crohns &# 39 ; s disease and / or colitis ulcerosa . it is possible to treat and / or to diagnose subgroups of cancers . furthermore , different cancer stages may be treated and / or diagnosed . it is further possible to monitor the transition of non - cancerous tissue into cancerous tissue . in a further preferred aspect , excrement samples or fractions thereof , especially of urine , in particular of exprimate urine , are subjected to a separation process prior to determining the abundance of at least one annexin protein to yield cell pellets and supernatants . preferably , the separation process is done by centrifugation , especially by low speed centrifugation of cells out of a liquid medium ( e . g ., 200 × g for 5 minutes at 4 ° c .). any suitable centrifugation protocol , including successive centrifugations under different conditions , or combinations of centrifugations with other methods , may be employed to separate soluble or exosome - bound annexin from intracellular annexin for measurement . other means of separation of soluble or exosome - bound annexin from intracellular annexin can also be employed , or combinations thereof ( e . g ., magnetic beads , filtration , chromatography , etc ). the cell pellets may be used for determining the intracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein , preferably of annexin a3 . as already mentioned in the above description , annexins are intricately involved in processes of osteoblastosis and osteolysis . annexins are implicated in the process of bone mineralization . this is noteworthy because prostate cancer metastases are unusual among cancers in exhibiting a high frequency of osteoblastic bone lesions . most cancer metastases are characterized by osteoclast osteolytic ( bone dissolving ) activity , whereas prostate metastases exhibit both osteoclastic and mineral depositing osteoblastic activity . physiological mineralization is a highly complex and regulated process . bone mineralization is initiated by small vesicles , called matrix vesicles , that are released from the plasma membrane of mineralizing skeletal cells . the first mineral phase forms inside the matrix vesicles . since these are membrane - enclosed , channel proteins are required for the mineral ions to enter . annexins form channels into the matrix vesicles by which ca 2 + enters , leading to the initiation of calcium phosphate minera - lization . once the intravesicular crystals reach a certain size they rupture the membrane . this is in turn related to inflammation , a feature common to cancer and annexin biology , and involves an interplay between bone and the immune system . therefore , the method can be used to diagnose and / or treat osteoporosis . the method annexin abundances , preferably the abundance of annexin a3 and / or annexin a8 , may be determined in body fluids , body secretions , tissue samples , groups of cells or cells , especially by methods known to those skilled in the art to diagnose and / or treat osteoporosis . such treatment may involve the application of substances that influence the abundance , subcellular / extracellular localisation , post - translational modification or activity of annexin proteins . activity in this respect especially includes ion - channel activity , which may be appropriately increased or decreased . substances that may be used for the treatment of osteoporosis explicitly include annexin a3 , truncated or mutant versions thereof , or antibodies or other affinity reagents . the substances can further include nucleic acids , or chemically related substances , such as peptide nucleic acids ( pna ), which may be also used a small interfering rnas ( sirnas ) as known in the art . examples of protein analysis of exprimate massaged prostate urine cell pellets from patients diagnosed with cancer , benign prostatic hyperplasia ( bph ) or control patients with conditions diagnosed as unrelated to cancer are shown in fig3 - 5 , respectively . the top panels in each of fig3 to fig5 show annexin a3 enhanced chemiluminescence ( ecl ) signal from western blot , and the bottom panels show the entire loaded protein signal as stained with ponceau s (‘ protein ’). each gel contains a molecular weight ladder ( m ) as well as duplicates of 7 . 5 μg of total cell protein lysate from a prostate tumor containing annexin a3 as a positive control (+ c ). annexin a3 signals from samples on different gels can be compared by normalization to the average value of the replicate respective positive controls . we found in a preliminary study that the pellets of exprimate urine samples of cancer patients have much less annexin a3 than either benign prostatic hyperplasia ( bph ) patients or healthy control patients ( fig6 ). for instance , regarding the reference value of 0 . 2 - fold the amount of annexin a3 signal ( abundance ) as in pr — 26ca , only 5 / 30 ( 5 : 25 ) exprimate urine samples of cancer patients have more than 0 . 2 fold the reference value , while 23 / 30 ( 23 : 7 ) of the exprimate urine samples of bph patients and 18 / 30 ( 18 : 12 ) of the exprimate urine samples of healthy control patients exceeded this reference value . these results show that on average , those cell pellets from samples of exprimate urine of cancer patients contain less annexin a3 than samples of exprimate urine from bph patients or healthy control patients . the supernatants resulting from the separation process of the urine samples , in particular of exprimate urine samples , and fractions thereof may be used to determine the extracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein , preferably of annexin a3 . it is particularly preferred to use the supernatants for diagnosing cancer , in particular , of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract and / or for discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue . a cation chelator , especially a ca 2 + - chelator , particularly edta and / or egta , may be added to the urine sample or fraction thereof prior to determining the abundance of at least one annexin protein , preferably of annexin a3 . the addition of the cation chelator may occur prior to subjection of the samples or fractions thereof to the separating process . preferably , determination of the abundance of at least one extracellular annexin protein , particularly annexin of a3 , is performed in an cation chelator treated , particularly edta and / or egta treated , supernatant and for comparison in a supernatant lacking a cation chelator , particularly edta and / or egta . the supernatant is preferably derived from the same urine sample , in particular exprimate urine sample , or a fraction thereof . based on the reasoning that in particular annexin a3 translocation from the interior to the exterior of cells is differentially affected during the development of prostate cancer , we include the determination of whether there is any difference in the intracellular / extracellular localisation of annexin a3 in assocation with cancer . the extracellular environment as already mentioned is understood as the extracellular space including the outer surface of plasma membranes of cells . exprimate urine obtained subsequent to clinical prostate massage contains cells exuded from the prostate . as well as the possibility of extracellular annexin a3 in exosomes , free annexin a3 could bind to negatively charged groups such as phospholipids on the surface of cells in a calcium - dependent manner . the latter annexin a3 - fraction could be released from the surface of cells into the supernatant by addition of edta / egta to the medium to chelate calcium . a further investigation in a double - blinded , four - center study demonstrated that the ratio of total annexin a3 of pellet over supernatant was able to diagnose cases labelled fibrosis in the group of non - cancer patients . fibrosis is associated with benign processes and indicative of non - cancer . the auroc was 0 . 7072 for ‘ pu . anx . tot . ratio ’ for a total of 103 non - cancer cases . the correlation for the ratio was negative , thus increased total annexin a3 amounts in supernatants were crucial for assorting into this group . this is logic as for cancer cases a decreased annexin a3 value in supernatants was observed ( see below ). the further profiling of non - cancer patients ( bph , chronic prostatitis , fibrosis , pin1 - 3 ) by ratios of annexin a3 in pellets / supernatants is an important aspect for subsequent sequential and / or multiparameter steps of data analysis beyond diagnostic decision cancer vs . non - cancer . additionally , we determined annexin 3 abundances in supernatants and cell pellets of a separate independent series of patients , to compare the relative annexin a3 abundance in both cell pellets and supernatants of exprimate urine samples . again , it was found for this different patient cohort that abundances of annexin a3 in samples of exprimate urine pellets from cancer patients are lower than abundances of annexin a3 in samples of exprimate urine pellets from bph patients or healthy patients . concerning the supernatants , the annexin a3 abundances from these same patients are higher in the edta - treated supernatants of exprimate urine samples of cancer patients than in edta - treated supernatants of exprimate urine samples of bph patients or healthy patients . from individual ratios of extracellular ( edta - treated supernatants ) and intracellular ( 1000 × g pellets ) fractions of exprimate urine an even clearer image emerged , as shown in fig7 . taken together , these data indicate false positive rates around or below 10 % and moreover the ratios of annexin a3 expression in supernatants ( annexin a3 - s ) vs . pellets ( annexin a3 - p ) allows a discrimination of cancer vs . bph vs . controls as shown in table 1 : essentially annexin a3 - s is high in cancer and bph , and low in controls , whereas annexin a3 - p is high in bph and controls and low in cancer ; thus having high s ( or s / p ), low p for cancer ; high s ( or s / p ) and high p for bph ; and low s ( or s / p ) and high p for controls ; individual ratios ( s / p ) give clearest picture as compared to pellets alone ( fig7 ). additional calibration for protein abundances further improves the picture . the abundance of at least one annexin protein , preferably annexin a3 , may be determined by immunohistochemical methods , in particular using tissue samples , such as tissue sections . we also use at least one anti - annexin antibody , in particular of anti - annexin a3 antibody , for diagnosis of cancer , in particular of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract , and / or for discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue . the anti - annexin antibody may be used for pathohistological - diagnostically staining of tissue samples , in particular tissue sections . the samples may be obtained by biopsies or complete tissue excision . in particular , the tissue samples to be stained by the anti - annexin antibody are derived from prostate biopsies or prostate tissue after protectomy . a polyclonal rabbit serum containing antibodies against annexin a3 was obtained and used to localize annexin a3 in prostate tissues by immune histochemistry . because of the large number of annexin family members , we characterized the specificity of the anti - annexin a3 polyclonal antibody by western blot prior to immune histochemistry . the vast majority of the signal obtained by western blot of prostate benign and cancer tissue cell lysates comes from annexin a3 ( fig1 ). a marginal abundance of signal was observed for higher molecular weight protein , which is presumably annexin a6 . this antibody produced a strong clean band using approximately 120 ng recombinant 60 kda gst ( glutathione - s - transferase )- annexin a3 under the same conditions . a thorough quantification , based on radioactive values from 2d gels from biopsies , protein stains of 1d and 2d gels and 1d and 2d western blots from biopsies and exprimate urines , lead to determination of detection limits of protein concentrations in exprimate urine samples ranging from 0 . 02 to & gt ; 15 ng / ml . the limit of detection was somewhere below but near to 0 . 01 ng / ml . in terms of protein content the range is from 0 . 001 to more than 0 . 3 ng / μg total protein . it is therefore probable that this antibody recognizes predominantly annexin a3 in immune histochemistry , as shown in fig2 , where the corresponding annexin a3 signal is restricted to epithelial cells in healthy prostate , and additionally to cancerous cells in tumors . stromal cells exhibited enhanced staining in early cancer . the rationale of mechanism for differences of annexin a3 in prostate cancer and bph tissue tentatively indicates a transition from intracellular , more localized and in total lower expression to extracellular and in total higher expression when compared to controls . the distribution of annexin a3 staining was suggestive of cytoplasmic and membrane localisation ( fig2 ), although the overall level of staining in individual cells seemed lower in cancer than benign tissue ( fig2 ), the overall level of annexin a3 in the same cancer tissue was higher ( e . g ., fig1 ), which may be explained by more annexin a3 - containing cells in cancerous tissue , and / or more extracellular annexin a3 in cancerous tissue . in a comprehensive study ( four centers , double - blinded ) taking into account and measuring for the first time total annexin amounts in supernatants and pellets of exprimate urine of 250 patients and moreover quantifying the potential contribution of neutrophils to the annexin a3 signal ( by parallel quantification of neutrophil marker ngal ), it was observed that annexin a3 levels were reduced in the supernatants of exprimate urine of patients with cancer . in general terms , this result indicates , that higher levels of annexin a3 are observed in exprimate urine of non - cancer patients with fibrosis / bph , than in cancer patients . however , these levels were much reduced to negligible in non - exprimate conventional urine . therefore , it is concluded that the annexin a3 measured in exprimate urine originates predominantly in the prostate , and is released into the urine as a consequence of the prostatic massage process . it has been shown above that annexin a3 is expressed primarily in the ductal epithelial cells of the healthy prostate . for discrimination of cancer vs . non - cancer alone , the data indicate that amount of annexin a3 in supernatants has the biggest diagnostic value ( auroc - values for a combined readout of annexin a3 per μg protein and total annexin a3 in supernatants of exprimate urine of prostate cancer patients with initial psa - values between 4 - 10 were 0 . 78 - 0 . 82 ). it was observed a disturbance of pellet - annexin a3 in case of higher ngal - values ; so corresponding auroc &# 39 ; s for pellet annexin a3 were in the range of 0 . 55 - 0 . 65 ). it is also known that in a prostate with cancer , only a small percentage of the epithelial ductal cells are cancerous . therefore , the measured differences in extra - cellular annexin a3 abundance should be non - significant according to logical reasoning . nevertheless , a considerable and significant reduction of average annexin a3 abundance in the exprimate urine of cancer patients relative to non - cancerous patients was observed . it is not possible to rationalize why this should be the case because the non - cancerous epithelial cells should continue to secrete annexin a3 according to intuitive conventional wisdom . possibly , the presence of cancer causes the secretion of a trans - acting substance , such as cytokine , that affects the annexin a3 secretion from the bulk of epithelial cell in a prostate with a cancerous lesion . it is unclear whether this trans - acting factor originates in the cancerous cells themselves , or in other cells . it is well documented that trans - acting factors influence the relationship between cancerous cell and their mesenchymal / stromal environment , and vice versa . irrespective of the mechanism ( s ) responsible , our empirical observations are unambiguous , and clearly but surprisingly demonstrate that lower levels of annexin a3 in the exprimate urine provide a predictive measure of the probability that the patient has tumorous cells in the prostate . this diagnostic use of annexin a3 levels in exprimate urine can be combined with other diagnostic indexes , such as the level of prostate specific antigen ( psa ), as demonstrated by way of example . these results also suggest that the presence of the annexin a3 protein is associated with the healthy phenotype . therefore , annexin a3 protein can be applied in a therapeutic manner to treat cancer , by enhancing the levels of extracellular annexin a3 . the mechanisms underlying the observed results are under investigation , and they potentially reflect a transition of some kind of completely healthy prostate epithelium proceeding to a non - cancerous stage ( fibrosis / bph ) which is associated with elevated levels of annexin a3 in both pellets and supernatants of exprimate urine , with the above ratio of total annexin a3 ( p / s ) with highest diagnostic value . in cancer , there is a clear and surprising correlation to decreased annexin a3 amounts in supernatants of exprimate urine of cancer patients ; pellet annexin a3 amounts appear to have a contaminating contribution by ngal - positive leukocytes / neutrophils . it is thus highly desirable to measure annexin a3 levels in both pellet and supernatant . this information on the protein level is not accessible by genomic methods e . g ., as superficially insinuated but not substantiated by us2003 / 0108963a1 . in summary , annexin a3 exhibited predominantly intracellular staining in healthy tissue , and extra - epithelial location in early cancerous tissue : with advanced cancer exhibiting markedly reduced annexin a3 staining within cancer cells . the urine samples or fractions thereof may be obtained from urine , in particular from exprimate urine , which is recovered subsequent to prostate massage , particularly by rectal finger insertion . the urine samples or fractions thereof may be purified , particularly are freed from neutrophils , monocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( pmbcs ), especially by means of magneto beads . preferably , samples or fractions thereof of morning urine are used . annexin levels may be measured in faeces or epithelial cells of the intestinal tract . further , annexin levels can be used to treat and / or to diagnose epithelial cancers of gastrointestinal tract in any fraction or preparation of faeces ( any potentially exosome - producing epithelial surface ). annexin levels are used further to treat and / or to diagnose colorectal cancer . the methods can be combined with a determination of neutrophils , in particular of calprotectin and / or neutrophil gelatinase - associated lipocalin ( ngal ), to discriminate inflammatory conditions ( crohn &# 39 ; s disease or colitis ulcerosa from cancer ). at least one annexin protein , preferably annexin a3 and / or annexin a8 , in particular annexin a3 , can be used as diagnostic marker and / or therapeutic target for diseases disclosed in the description , in particular for prostate cancer , colorectal cancer and / or osteoporosis , preferably for subgroups thereof . it is possible to treat cancer , in particular , of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract . this is preferably achieved by the enhancement of the in vivo abundance of at least one annexin protein , for instance of at least one extracellular annexin . furthermore , we can diagnose cancer , in particular of the urogenital and / or intestinal tract , and / or the discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue . this is particularly achieved by the determination of the ratios of intra - versus extracellular abundances and extra - versus intracellular abundances respectively of annexin proteins which may be , if appropriate , combined with the determination of the corresponding ratios for other proteins . preferably , diagnosis of cancer and / or discrimination between cancerous and non - cancerous tissue is based on the extracellular abundance of at least one annexin protein . the determined protein ratios and abundances respectively reveal differences between cancerous and non - cancerous tissues , thus allowing for a patient &# 39 ; s profiling . therefore , annexin proteins , in particular annexin a3 , are reliable diagnostic markers that may even completely substitute tumor markers that are conventionally applied in cancer diagnosis . for a more detailed description , reference will now be made to the accompanying tables and figures : table 1 : summary of diagnostic results , annexin a3 abundances are low in pellets ( annexin a3 - p ) of exprimate urine samples of cancer patients and comparatively high in corresponding pellets of exprimate urine samples of bph patients and healthy patients . for annexin a3 abundances in supernatants ( annexin a3 - s ) of exprimate urine samples , there is a different picture : they are low for healthy patients and high for cancer and bph patients . the combined read - out correctly assorts the three cases with numbers indicated in the lower part of the table . concerning further details it is referred to the above specification . prostatic massage exprimate urine was obtained from patients undergoing clinical examination , after screening for blood prostate specific antigen ( psa ) abundances had indicated elevated risk of cancer . 47 ml of urine obtained following vigorous prostate massage by rectal finger insertion was added to 3 ml 0 . 5 m edta , ph 8 precooled to 0 ° c ., and immediately cooled to 0 ° c . if urine volume was & lt ; 47 ml , the volume was made up with ice cooled phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ) solution . the cooled samples were centrifuged at 3000 rpm at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes to create a cell pellet . 1 ml aliquots of the supernatant were removed , frozen in liquid nitrogen , and stored at − 80 ° c . until use . the cell pellets were gently resuspended in 2 ml ice cold pbs and transferred to eppendorf tubes on ice , followed by centrifugation at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes at 4 ° c . the supernatant was removed , and the pellet frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at − 80 ° c . until use . sds - page gels for western blotting were prepared using a biorad - mini gel apparatus and 12 % t polyacrylamide gels with 1 mm spacers and 15 wells , according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . anti annexin a3 ( annexin a3 ) was the same antibody described below . diluted 1 : 20 , 000 . recombinant gst - annexin a3 protein was purchased from abnova corporation (# abv 0040710002 ; lot : t04g01 - annexina3 , 0 . 05 μg / μl , 61 kda ). antibody binding was visualized with a goat anti - rabbit igg ( sigma a 3937 , lot # 121k9151 ) diluted 1 : 1000 , using the ecl detection method ( pierce ) and a diana iii ccd camera - based chemiluminescence detector ( raytest , straubenhardt , germany ). a rabbit polyclonal serum against recombinant bacterially expressed annexin a3 exhibits primary specificity for annexin a3 and some cross reactivity for annexin a6 . immune histochemistry was performed with 5 μm paraffin tissue sections employing polyclonal anti annexin a3 serum , according to a standard horse radish peroxidase immunohistochemistry protocol using the zymed picture plus kit ( broad spectrum , dab , zymed , south san fransisco , calif .). after immunostaining sections were counterstained with gill &# 39 ; s hematoxylin solution ( sigma ). annexin a3 levels were determined in the exprimate urine of clinical patients , diagnosed as being either positive or negative for the presence of prostate cancer ( pca ). a variety of additional paramters were examined , such as prostate specific antigen ( psa ) levels in the blood , and other variables listed below . sample collection was as per example 1 , but without the addition of edta to urine . following prostate massage the entire exprimate urine volume was collected and recorded . a combur - 10 - test ® ( roche diagnostics cat . no . 11 203 479 ) was performed immediately on an aliquot of the urine to record specific gravity , ph , leukocyte count , and the levels of nitrite , protein , glucose , ketones , urobilinogen , bilirubin , and erythrocytes . urine was then centrifuged at room temperature for 15 min at 1000 × g . the cell pellet and supernatant of this supernatant were handled separately . after removal of the last traces of supernatant , the pellet was resuspended in 1 ml ice cold phosphate buffered saline and frozen in liquid nitrogen or on frozen co 2 . separate aliquots of 2 × 1 . 8 ml and up to 2 × 50 ml of supernatant were similarly frozen . frozen protein samples were thawed , and 1 / 100 volumes of 2 % deoxycholate were added , followed by vortexing then addition of 1 / 10 volume of trichloroacetic acid , vortexing , and 10 minutes incubation at 0 ° c . this was followed by centrifugation at 10000 × g for 15 min at 4 ° c . to precipitate proteins . the supernatant was removed , and the pellet was washed three times with ice - cold 80 % acetone by vigorously vortexing the pellet to remove remaining tca completely , followed by recentrifugation at 10000 × g as before after each wash . after the final centrifugation the supernatant was removed and the pellet was left to air dry for 2 minutes , paying attention not to completely dehydrate the pellet . the pellets were resuspended in boiling xt - sample buffer ( 1 × xt - buffer : 141 mm trisbase ; 106 mm tris - hcl ; 2 % sds ; bpb ; ph about 8 . 5 ; 50 mm dtt ; 35 % glycerol ). the protein concentration of each sample was estimated by loading defined volumes of each sample to a one dimensional sds - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ( sds - page ) gel ( criterion xt - precast gel : biorad , cat # 345 - 0119 , lot # cx070706b2 ), which contained a serial dilution of calibrated amounts of rat proteins from whole liver cell lysates and was electrophoresed in a biorad criterion electrophoresis device according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instruction . the gel was stained using sypro ruby according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . briefly , the gels were fixed 2 × 30 min in aqueous solution containing 50 % methanol , 7 % acetic acid , followed by staining overnight in sypro ruby solution ( molecular probes , # s12001 ). gels were washed for 30 min in 10 % methanol , 7 % acetic acid , and then for 2 × 5 min in water . protein staining with sypro ruby was quantified with a diana iii ccd - based digital imager ( raytest isotopenmessgeräte gmbh , straubenhard germany : sypro filter , 605 nm ). the intensity of protein staining of sypro ruby - stained gel lanes was compared between standard proteins and patient urine samples . for supernatants the whole lane was used for determination . for urine pellet samples only the lane area below the dominating uromodulin band was considered , resulting in a “ uromodulin corrected protein concentration .” annexin a3 and neutrophil gelatinase - associated lipocalin ( ngal , swissprot accession p80188 , a marker for neutrophils ) levels in each sample were quantified by loading normalized protein amounts to sds - page gels as described above , whereby each gel contained three replicate lanes of 2 μg of a standardized protein extract from pc3 human prostate cancer cell line , which contained a convenient reference amount of both annexin a3 and ngal . proteins from these gels were western blotted onto pvdf ( polyvinylidene fluoride ) membranes according to standard methods for 1 . 5 h at 15v constant voltage and a limit of 3 ma / cm 2 . the non - specific protein binding sites on blotted membranes were blocked by 2 h incubation with gentle shaking in tbs ( 175 mm nacl , 3 . 5 mm kcl , 20 mm tris , ph 7 . 4 ) containing 5 % redissolved dried milk powder . primary antibodies were added specific for annexin a3 ( 1 : 20000 dilution , polyclonal rabbit anti - human annexin a3 ) or ngal ( 1 : 500 dilution , anti - human lipocalin , polyclonal , from goat , r & amp ; d systems , nr . af1757 , lot jbh025051 ). after incubation at room temperature for 2 h the buffer was removed , washed three times for 10 min with tbs , and then incubated with the appropriate respective second antibodies against rabbit igg ( goat anti - rabbit - igg pre - absorbed with human igg and mouse igg , couples to horse radish peroxidase . santa cruz , # sc - 2054 , lot # g2005 . 1 : 5000 dilution ) or goat igg ( anti - goat igg , from rabbit , pre - absorbed with human igg and mouse igg , coupled to horse radish peroxidise . santa cruz biotechnology , # sc - 2922 lot # c1405 . 1 : 5000 dilution ). enhanced chemiluminescence ( ecl ) was measured afer addition of super signal west dura , pierce ( 0 . 1 ml / cm 2 ). values of ngal or annexin a3 signals were normalized to the average signal from each of the three reference pc3 lanes on each gel , and the normalized annexin a3 or ngal values were used for the statistical analysis . from these values , the levels of both proteins were calculated relative to the absolute sample volume , and also normalized to protein concentration . these values were calculated separately for pellet and supernatant , as well as for the ratio of pellet : supernatant . parameters that were correlated to cancer and compared to psa values are summarized in table 2 . clinical parameters recorded included blood psa levels , free total psa levels , and complexed psa levels , as well as histological evaluation of prostate tissue biopsies that were obtained following donation of exprimate urine , during the course of a standard digital rectal examination ( dre ). in cases where high levels of serum psa and dre indicated necessity of prostectomy , the histological evaluation was performed on that material without prior biopsy . the above data parameters were included in the statistical analysis , that included also clinical data recorded in the hospital . prostate biopsies or prostectomy were obtained from all patients , and the clinician made a diagnosis of positive or negative for pca based on histological examination of the tissue . blood psa levels were also obtained according to standard clinical practices . the u . s . food and drug administration ( fda ) has approved the psa test for annual screening of prostate cancer in men of age 50 and older . psa levels between 4 and 10 ng / ml ( nanograms per milliliter ) are considered to be suspicious and should be followed by rectal ultrasound imaging and , if indicated , biopsy . psa is false positive - and false negative - prone . biopsy - detected prostate cancer , including high - grade cancers , is not rare among men with psa levels of 4 . 0 ng / ml or less — levels generally thought to be in the normal range . the dataset consists of composite data files from 250 patients . initial psa values were available in 243 of the 250 patients and were missing for 7 patients . furthermore , two of the latter seven patients and five other patients lacked the histological results of the biopsy ( prostate cancer yes / no ). hence , all results presented here only use the data on those 243 patients whose pca status is known : 140 patients with positive and 103 with negative pca diagnosis . in fig8 and 9 , the receiver operating characteristic ( roc ) curves generated using the clinical results are presented using inverse values for all roc curves other than for psa ; i . e ., the areas under the roc curves were observed to correlate with higher psa values in cancer patients , and with a lower average annexin a3 signal measured for cancer patients . the area under the roc curve ( auroc ) for psa was 0 . 684 , which is significantly different from an auroc of 0 . 5 , but somewhat artificially high due to patient recruitment in participating clinics , ( as known to every expert in the field ). however we do note that our patient collective had an unusually high proportion of cancer patients ( 57 %) because some of the patients had been examined by our test clinics after having providing high psa readings at other centres . the auroc values for the individual annexin a3 - based variables measured are in the same range ( the maximum is attained by pu_anx_tot , auroc 0 . 666 ; data not shown ), and also significantly different from 0 . 5 . thus annexin a3 could also be used to replace psa entirely , because in the crucial grey zone of psa ( 2 - 6 ng / ml and 4 - 10 ng / ml ), annexin 3 offers considerable advantages ( see roc curves 0 . 78 and 0 . 791 in tables 4 - 6 ) with high specificities at acceptable sensitivities , and shows a similar overall performance , considering the whole range of psa - values . there was no preselection for annexin a3 in our patient selection , and there was no correlation between annexin a3 values and psa values , indicating that annexin a3 expression / secretion and psa entry to the bloodstream are regulated by separate mechanisms . we observed no correlation between either psa or annexin a3 levels with patient age . presumably the high proportion of cancer - positive patient , some of whom were preselected on the basis of suspiciously high psa values measured at other centers , upset the expected higher abundance of psa levels that would be expected with increasing age . however , as annexin a3 was not preselected it is concluded that its levels are probably not age - related . particular emphasis is placed on the statistical analysis of the subpopulation of patients with initial psa values in the interval 2 ng / ml to 6 ng / ml . again , all seven auroc values for the measured individual parameters are significantly different from 0 . 5 , although only 57 pca patients and 52 non - pca patients meet the psa criterion defining the subpopulation . in contrast to the overall results , the auroc of psa_ini is no longer the largest one , but is superceded by five of the six . auroc values of annexin a3 based variables ( p_anx_ug being the only exception ). the highest auroc value , 0 . 735 , is attained by pu_anx_tot . besides the psa range 2 ng / ml - 6 ng / ml the psa range 2 . 5 ng / ml - 12 ng / ml is of special interest : in this subpopulation psa_ini itself performs poorly ( auroc 0 . 580 ), while u_anx_tot performs best ( auroc 0 . 693 ). thus , this psa range seems appropriate to assess the characteristics of the following two - step procedure , which is presented by way of methodical demonstration : in the first step patients are assigned to one of three classes depending on their initial psa value : psa_ini & lt ; 2 . 5 → low pca risk , psa_ini & gt ; 12 → high pca risk , psa_ini in [ 2 . 5 , 12 ]→ application of a test based on u_anx_tot as a second step deciding whether or not invasive diagnostic procedures are indicated . ( the first two cases are referred to as the “ most obvious decision ” in the caption of fig8 .) this two - step procedure is then incorporated into a single variable , here called twostepvar1 , by defining low values of u_anx_tot indicate an increased risk of prostate cancer and high values a lower risk . the value 100000 is chosen in order to ensure that it should always be greater than the largest u_anx_tot value actually measured . the performance of twostepvar1 can be seen in fig8 . ( the constancy of twostepvar1 for psa_ini values below 2 . 5 and beyond 12 causes the roc curve to start and end with a noticeable straight line segment .) the auroc of 0 . 740 is of course highly significantly different from 0 . 5 . moreover , a comparison with the conventional psa test is enlightening : for example , the criterion “ psa_ini & gt ; 4 ” leads — in this analysis data set — to a sensitivity of 80 . 3 % and a specificity of 49 . 5 %. the same sensitivity , 80 . 3 %, is gained by using the criterion “ twostepvar1 & lt ; 450 ”, but now a specificity of 57 . 4 % is achieved . the example of fig8 demonstrates the principles of stepped auroc values which rely on different measurements ( psa or annexin a3 values ) depending upon the psa level . these principles , as will be obvious to experts , are the same as used in several results presented in tables 4 - 6 , and which provide higher auroc values . the excellent performance of cancer prediction of the annexin a3 variables in patients with intermediate levels of serum psa is further evidenced by considering the annexin a3 - based multiple variables for patients with intermediate psa values . according to the methods and strategies demonstrated above , roc curve analysis was performed for the parameters shown in tables 3 - 6 . additionally to those variables , roc curve analysis was performed using the following parameters generated by logical regression analysis : anx . comb . var is based upon logical regression analysis using the combined u_anx_ug und u_anx_tot as variables according to the following relationship . ≡ 4 . 463 + 2 . 906 log ( 1 + u_anx_ug )− 0 . 790 log ( 1 + u_anx_tot ) comb . var . anx . psa1 is based upon logical regression analysis using the combined psa_ini und u_anx_tot as variables according to the following relationship . ≡ 0 . 254 + 1 . 046 log ( 1 + psa_ini )− 0 . 342 log ( 1 + pu_anx_tot ) comb . var . anx . psa2 is based upon logical regression analysis using the combined psa_ini und pu_anx_tot as variables according to the following relationship . while extremely high or extremely low psa values provide relatively reliable assignment of cancer / non - cancer status , the results of tables 4 - 6 clearly demonstrate that various combinations of annexin a3 - based parameters outperform psa for intermediate values of psa . thus , the measurement of annexin a3 levels in exprimate urine supernatants or pellets , preferably including supernatant to pellet ratios , provides improved diagnostic reliability . to demonstrate the utility of these results , the roc curve for comb . var . anx . psa2 is presented in detail in fig9 , and table 7 . this roc curve is based only on patients with psa values between 2 ng / ml and 6 ng / ml , and gives a highly significant auroc value of 0 . 791 despite the use of only 109 patients in this range for the analysis . furthermore , this roc curve exhibits an extremely steep climb in sensitivity ( true positive fraction ) relative to specificity ( true negative fraction ), which is quite advantageous regarding predictive value . for instance at a sensitivity level of 54 % the specificity is 96 % ( fig9 , table 7 ). the roc curve for anx . comb . var performed similarly , with sensitivity of 38 % having specificity of 91 % ( auroc 0 . 78 ) for the psa range 4 ng / ml to 10 ng / ml . the data disclosed here demonstrate convincingly that annexin a3 is a novel and powerful marker for prostate cancer , that is especially powerful in those patients where psa values are the least reliable . taken together , the third comprehensive study which was double - blinded and multi - center , showed , that the most robust and statistically significant diagnostic read - out was the annexin a3 - amount in supernatants of exprimate urines after prostatic massage which have been obtained during a standard clinical procedure ( dre ) due for potential prostate cancer patients with a standard low speed centrifugation . this is very favorable because it allows direct access to elisa - based or other antibody - based assays without prior solubilization of pelleted samples ( danger of interference by detergents , salts , chemicals etc .). this annexin a3 - amount in supernatants is inversely correlated with cancer , in non - cancers , annexin a3 - amounts are higher , with certain indications that additional and sequential profiling of non - cancer cases cap even improve the overall diagnostic value . the results are completely in line with the first two studies , which were smaller and in some aspects incomplete concerning sample collection and sample control . the first study only included pellets ( fig6 ), yet nevertheless here it was found the inverse correlation for cancer patients . in this study a group of healthy volunteers were included , which was not the case for subsequent studies . during the second study which did take into account supernatant - annexin a3 and pellet - annexin a3 ( albeit with sample numbers which were too small to come to statistically significant solutions ), there was a trend to higher supernatant to pellet ratios in cancer patients as compared to bph and other non - cancers . this is perfectly in line with the first and third study , because obviously the low pellet annexin a3 - amounts combine in cancer patients with a slightly higher annexin a3 - amount to bigger ratios ( fig7 ). in non - cancers ( like , e . g ., bph , fibrosis and others ), obviously in total the considerably larger annexin a3 - amounts in pellets and supernatants combine to lower overall ratios . the robustness of the annexin a3 - signal in supernatants provides an experimental and clinical advantageous and easy diagnostic read - out . 1 . carter , h . b . et al ., “ improved biomarkers for prostate cancer : a definite need ,” journal of the national cancer institute , jun . 2 , 2004 , vol . 96 , no . 11 , pages 813 - 815 . 2 . antenor , j . a . et al ., “ relationship between initial prostate specific antigen level and subsequent prostate cancer detection in a longitudinal screening study ,” the journal of urology , july 2004 , vol . 172 , pages 90 - 93 . 3 . lilja , h ., “ biology of prostate - specific antigen ,” urology 62 ( supplement 5a ), november 2003 , pages 27 - 33 . 4 . watson , r . w . et al ., “ future opportunities for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer ,” prostate cancer prostatic diseases , 2004 , vol . 7 , pages s8 - s13 . 5 . demarzo , a . m . et al ., “ pathological and molecular aspects of prostate cancer ,” the lancet , mar . 15 , 2003 , vol . 361 , pages 955 - 964 . 6 . kumar - sinha , c . et al ., “ molecular markers to identify patients at risk for recurrence after primary treatment for prostate cancer ,” urology 62 ( supplement 6b ), dec . 29 , 2003 , pages 19 - 35 . 7 . moul , j . w . et al ., “ molecular markers in prostate cancer : the role in preoperative staging ,” clinical prostate cancer , june 2002 , pages 42 - 50 . 8 . ahram , m . et al ., “ proteomic analysis of human prostate cancer ,” molecular carcinogenesis , 2002 , vol . 33 , pages 9 - 15 . 9 . petricoin , e . f . et al ., “ proteomic approaches in cancer risk and response assessment ,” trends molecular medicine , february 2004 , vol . 10 , no . 2 , pages 59 - 64 . 10 . diamandis , e . p ., “ mass spectrometry as a diagnostic and a cancer biomarker discovery tool : opportunities and potential limitations ,” molecular & amp ; cellular proteomics , 2004 , vol . 3 , pages 367 - 378 . 11 . jacobs , i . j . et al ., “ progress and challenges in screening for early detection of ovarian cancer ,” molecular & amp ; cellular proteomics , 2004 , vol . 3 , pages 355 - 366 . 12 . lapointe , j . et al ., “ gene expression profiling identifies clinically relevant subtypes of prostate cancer ,” pnas , jan . 20 , 2004 , vol . 101 , no . 3 , pages 811 - 816 . 13 . rossi , s . et al ., “ fatty acid synthase expression defines distinct molecular signatures in prostate cancer ,” molecular cancer research , august 2003 , vol . 1 , pages 707 - 715 . 14 . parnes , h . l . et al ., “ prostate cancer chemoprevention agent development : the national cancer institute , division of cancer prevention portfolio ,” the journal of urology , february 2004 , vol . 171 , pages s68 - s75 . 15 . eastham , j . a ., “ multimodal treatment strategies combining neoadjuvant hormonal therapy and / or chemotherapy with radical prostatectomy in high - risk localised prostate cancer ,” expert opinion investigating drugs , 2004 , vol . 13 , pages 39 - 46 . 16 . nebert , d . w . et al ., “ pharmacogenomics and ‘ individualized drug therapy ’: high expectations and disappointing achievements ,” am . j . pharmacogenomics , 2003 , vol . 3 , pages 361 - 370 . 17 . gerke , v . et al ., “ annexins : from structure to function ,” physiol . rev ., april 2002 . vol . 82 , pages 331 - 371 . 18 . alaiya , a . a . et al , “ identification of proteins in human prostate tumor material by two - dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry ,” cmls cellular and molecular life sciences , 2001 , vol . 58 , pages 307 - 311 . 19 . niimi , s . et al ., “ expression of annexin a3 in primary cultured parenchymal rat hepatocytes and inhibition of dna synthesis by suppression of annexin a3 expression using rna interference ,” biol . pharm . bull ., 2005 , vol . 28 , no . 3 , pages 424 - 428 . 20 . niimi , s . et al ., “ specific expression of annexin iii in rat - small - hepatocytes ,” biochemical and biophysical research communications , 2003 , vol . 300 , pages 770 - 774 . 21 . schartz , n . e . et al ., “ from the antigen - presenting cell to the antigen - presenting vesicle : the exosomes ,” current opinion in molecular therapeutics , 2002 , vol . 4 , no . 4 , pages 372 - 381 . 22 . pisitkun , t . et al ., “ identification and proteomic profiling of exosomes in human urine ,” pnas , sep . 7 , 2004 , vol . 101 , no . 36 , pages 13368 - 13373 . 23 . thery , c . et al ., “ proteomic analysis of dendritic cell - derived exosomes : a secreted subcellular compartment distinct from apoptotic vesicles ,” journal of immunology , 2001 , vol . 166 , pages 7309 - 7318 . 24 . carlsson , l . et al ., “ dominant prostasome immunogens for sperm - agglutinating autoantibodies of infertile men ,” journal of andrology , september / october 2004 , vol . 25 , no . 5 , pages 699 - 705 . 25 . oh , p . et al ., “ subtractive proteomic mapping of the endothelial surface in lung and solid tumours for tissue - specific therapy ,” nature , jun . 10 , 2004 , vol . 429 , pages 629 - 635 . 26 . reutelingsperger , c . p . et al ., “ annexin v , the regulator of phosphatidylserine - catalyzed inflammation and coagulation during apoptosis ,” cmls cellular and molecular life science , 1997 , vol . 53 , pages 527 - 532 . 27 . perretti , m . et al ., “ annexin 1 and the biology of the neutrophil ,” journal of leukocyte biology , july 2004 , vol . 75 , pages 25 - 29 . 28 . maderna , p . et al ., “ modulation of phagocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by supernatant from dexamethasone - treated macrophages and annexin - derived peptide ac ( 2 - 26 ),” the journal of immunology , 2005 , vol . 174 , pages 3727 - 3733 . 29 . hegmans , j . p . et al ., “ proteomic analysis of exosomes secreted by human mesothelioma cells ,” american journal of pathology , may 2004 , vol . 164 , no . 5 , pages 1807 - 1815 . 30 . wang , w . et al ., “ annexin - mediated ca2 + influx regulates growth plate chondrocyte maturation and apoptosis ,” the journal of biological chemistry , feb . 7 , 2003 , vol . 278 , no . 6 , pages 3762 - 3769 . 31 . bondanza , a . et al ., “ inhibition of phosphatidylserine recognition heightens the immunogenicity of irradiated lymphoma cells in vivo ,” j . exp . med ., nov . 1 , 2004 , vol . 200 , no . 9 , pages 1157 - 1165 . 32 . kamal , a . m . et al ., “ an annexin 1 ( anxa1 )- derived peptide inhibits prototype antigen - driven human t cell th1 and th2 responses in vitro ,” clinical and experimental allergy , 2001 , vol . 31 , pages 1116 - 1125 . | 6 |
fig1 shows a cross section through a nozzle element 10 with a channel 11 for supplying molten metal extending over almost the whole width of the element 10 . in fig2 a mouthpiece 15 with a slit - shaped outlet 16 has been mounted on the row of nozzle elements 10 lying side by side . the mouthpiece 15 connects up smoothly on all sides with the row of nozzle elements 10 . fig3 shows a nozzle element 10 which has a channel 11 for the supply of liquid metal extending practically over its whole width . outside this channel there are provided two channels 12 which are symmetrical to the long axis of the element and in each of which there is an electrical conductor 13 . if these elements are laid side by side then a relatively unfavourable arrangement results , as two heating elements lie side by side whilst there are no heating elements across the breadth of the metal feed channels . in the hollow section 10 in fig4 there are two channels 11 for the supply of the melt and two channels 12 for the electrical conductor 13 arranged alternately side by side . on laying these elements 10 side by side care is taken that this alternating arrangement of both kinds of channels is repeated over the whole width of the nozzle . each of the channels 11 for supplying the melt is flanked by two electrically heated conductors . such an arrangement provides a uniform temperature profile over the whole width of the nozzle . the symmetrical arrangement in fig5 of two channels 11 for feeding the melt and three channels 12 for the electrically heated conductor 13 represents an improvement over fig3 as there is a further heating element in the middle of the nozzle element . fig6 represents in principle a version of the nozzle element shown in fig4 . the peripheral channels for the electrical conductor shown in fig4 is however not closed , but open in such a way that by fitting a pair of elements side by side a channel is formed . in this example two electrical conductors are provided in each channel . fig7 shows nozzle elements 10 which feature a channel 11 for the liquid melt extending over the whole width of the element . in the lower and upper wall of the nozzle element there are channels 12 which are not heated by an electrical conductor , but instead by means of hot air . fig8 shows one embodiment of the nozzle of the present invention comprising a feed portion 18 made up of a plurality of individually separable hollow elongated tubular sections 10 and a tip portion 20 . the nozzle protrudes into the mold cavity formed by the mold halves 22 of a caterpillar type strip casting machine as for example shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 570 , 586 . elements which were 480 mm long , 67 . 5 mm broad and 17 mm high were made out of aluminum titanate ( al 2 tio 5 ) by conventional methods used in the technology of ceramic materials . the geometrical form of this part , which has a wall thickness of 4 mm , is shown in fig1 . the individual elements were held together by a metal frame to form a 405 mm wide nozzle . heating elements made of an iron base alloy with high concentrations of chromium , aluminum and cobalt , with a heating capacity of 1 kw and 450 mm in length were introduced into the heating channels . the heating was designed in such a way that both connections could be made on the same side of the nozzle frame . the nozzle was then fitted with thermocouples on the inside walls of the metal feed channels so that it was possible to measure the temperature as a function of the heat supplied . by gradually heating up the electrical heating elements in the heating channels it was possible to follow the change in temperature on the inside of the metal feed channels . these measurements showed that , when the temperature of the heating element was 1200 ° c ., the temperature on the inside of the melt feed channel was between 650 ° c . and 900 ° c . this temperature is adequate for casting aluminum . at the same time it could be shown from this work that the aluminum titanate used was completely resistant to thermal shock . the test cycle was carried out six times in succession without the ceramic showing any cracks or any other kind of damage . it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described and shown herein , which are deemed to be merely illustrative of the best modes of carrying out the invention , and which are susceptible of modification of form , size , arrangement of parts and details of operation . the invention rather is intended to encompass all such modifications which are within its spirit and scope as defined by the claims . | 1 |
fig1 shows a modular furniture system 10 according to the present invention . the system 10 features a grid - like base frame 12 atop which a plurality of support - surface components 14 can be engaged to the frame in a variety of different positions and orientations relative to one another so as give the owner of the system control over the overall shape of the piece of furniture to be formed by the system 10 . the base 12 defines a two - dimensional rectangular array of engagement sites , at each of which one of the plurality of surface components 14 engages the frame 12 . each engagement site is defined by a projection 16 formed at the intersection of frame members defining the grid like base frame 12 . a linear array of slots extend into each of the plurality of surface components 14 from a bottom surface thereof to receive respective ones of the upward extending projections 16 within the rectangular array of engagement sites provided by the base 12 . the slots and projections are shaped to allow one of the plurality of support - surface components to be lowered over any one projection in any one of four possible orientations spaced ninety degrees about a longitudinal axis of the projection . in other words , a component can be engaged to a projection for mounting on the base frame to extend along either a row or a column of the array of engagement sites in which the projection is located and in either direction along this row or column . in the illustrated embodiment , the base frame 12 is made up of two identical sections 12 a , 12 b . as shown in fig2 , each section is made up of three first frame members 18 and three second frame members 20 . the first frame members 18 are spaced apart , parallel and longitudinally aligned with one another . the second frame members 20 are spaced apart , parallel and longitudinally aligned with one another and are perpendicular to the first frame members 18 . shown in fig3 and 4 respectively , the first and second frame members 18 , 20 are nearly identical . each first frame member 18 is a plate having the form of three identical and integral sections 18 a connected end - to - end and each being generally a - shaped . each a - shaped section 18 a comprises a pair of legs 18 b converging upward on opposites sides of any empty space or generally triangular notch 18 c above which the integral legs 18 b meet . a linear vertical slot 18 d projects upward from the notch 18 c toward , but not reaching , the peak 18 e of the a - shaped section where the legs 18 b join . along a partial length of the legs 18 b extending upward from the bottom 18 f of the frame member 18 , feet 18 g project laterally outward from the legs 18 b . each second frame member 20 is similar , having three identical and integral a - shaped sections 20 a , each with legs 20 b converging upward from feet 20 g projecting laterally outward therefrom at the bottom edge 20 f at a distance below the peak of the triangular notch 20 c . the second frame member 20 differs in that the slot 20 d does not extend upward from the peak of the notch 20 c , but rather extends downward from the peak 20 e of the a - shaped section toward , but not reaching , the notch 20 c . as shown in the figures , the corners of the plate structured base frame members 18 , 20 may be rounded to prevent sharp points . as shown in fig2 , the first and second base frame members 18 , 20 intersect at the peaks 18 e , 20 e of their a - shaped sections 18 a , 20 a . with the elongate plate - shaped first and second members perpendicular to one another , the slots 18 d , 20 d of their a - shaped sections are axially aligned and the first member 18 is lowered onto the second member 20 along the slot 20 d thereof until the ends 18 h , 20 h of the two engaging slots 18 d , 20 d contact to prevent further relative sliding between the two base frame members . the lengths of the slots 18 d , 20 d are such that when the first and second frame members 18 , 20 are fully engaged by their cooperation , the peaks 18 e , 20 e of the frame members 18 , 20 are at generally the same height . as the first and second base frame members 18 , 20 are identical except for the slots 18 d , 20 d , the inter - member spacing of the set of first members 18 is the same as that of the set of second members 20 . the intersection of a first frame member 18 with a second frame member 20 at the engaging slotted a - shaped sections 18 a , 20 a thereof defines a respective one of the projections 16 in the two dimensional array . the upward angling of the legs 18 b , 20 b of the a - shaped sections from the feet 18 g , 20 g engaging the ground surface on which the base is assembled at the bottom edges 18 f , 20 f means that these legs project upward from the rest of the base frame 12 to form tapered projections narrowing in the upward direction . the perpendicular intersection of the base frame members 18 , 20 gives these tapered projections 16 a cross - shaped cross section . as shown in fig2 , the base frame section 12 a resulting from the engagement of frame members 18 , 20 of equal length in the grid defining fashion described above is square in plan . however , for use in assembling an elongate piece of furniture as shown in fig1 , the two identical base frame sections 12 a , 12 b are simply coupled together at meeting ends thereof . additional frame sections may be similarly added to the uncoupled ends or sides of the two sections shown to expand the footprint of the furniture . alternatively , one of the two sections may be removed to reduce the base to one section to produce a small piece of furniture . each section rests atop a ground surface at the bottom edges 18 f , 20 f of the feet 18 g , 20 g so that the plate - like frame members project perpendicularly upward from the ground surface . the perpendicular grid forming engagement of the frame members 18 , 20 provides stability despite the relatively narrow bottom edges 18 f , 20 f on which the structure stands . looking at fig5 , in which the plurality of support - surface components are shown grouped together and stacked into a compact storage configuration , three slots 22 extend into each of the plurality of components from a bottom face thereof ( bottom referring to the lowermost face when the component is engaged to the base 12 , not the lowermost face in the storage configuration of fig5 ). each slot 22 has a cross - shaped cross section to receive the cross - shaped cross section of the projections 16 of the base 12 formed by the intersection of the perpendicular base frame members 18 , 20 . the slots 22 are linearly spaced along the bottom face with two of the four branches of each cross - shaped slot lying on a central longitudinal axis of the bottom face . the use of the right - angle cross - shaped cross section for the projections 16 and slots 22 ensures that when one of the plurality of support - surface components 14 is lowered into engagement with the base 14 , it will extend parallel to either a row or a column of the two - dimensional rectangular array of projections 16 in which the projection sliding into the slot lies . this cross section also allows the component to extend in either direction along the row or column from the projection to which it is engaged . as all the projections 16 are identical , as are the slots 22 , the user thus has the ability to select from a number of various positions or orientations for a component relative to the base 12 . this particular cross section also blocks significant relative rotation of a slot and a projection engaged therein . in the illustrated embodiment , relative rotation of a component about a projection axis is prevented anyhow the engagement of each component with multiple projections . the peaks 18 e , 20 e of the frame members 18 , defining the projections 16 are rounded or flattened so that the components do not sit atop a sharp point . the bottom surfaces of the components rest on or just above the top edges of the feet 18 g , 20 g projecting from the legs 18 b , 20 b of the a - shaped sections of the frame members 18 , 20 when the components are slid onto the projections 16 . it should be appreciated that base frames of alternate collapsible structure may be used to provide an array of projections upon which components may be mounted in various positions and orientations and that straight - edged cross sections other than the cross - shape may similarly prevent relative rotation between a projection and the slot engaged thereabout . however , such shapes may not be able to allow selective alignment with a row or column or may not be able to restrict orientation of the component about the projection axis to alignment with a row or column . for example , similar triangular cross sections for the projections and slots would prevent rotation once engaged , but as the sides of a triangle are not perpendicular , a user would be limited to possible alignment with only a row or only a column of the rectangular array . square cross sections would ensure alignment and allow orientation along a row or column . octagonal cross sections would allow orientation along a row or column , but would not automatically ensure alignment therewith by mere sliding of the slot over the projection . also , the cross - shaped cross section can be provided using the easy to manufacture , easy to assemble , easy to disassemble and tightly packing flat plate frame members 18 , 20 . as shown in fig1 , the illustrated embodiment features four l - shaped components 24 , each comprising a cylindrical base portion 26 of rectangular cross section and a projecting cylindrical portion 28 also of rectangular cross section projecting perpendicularly from an end of the base portion 26 . when the slots 22 in the bottom face of the component are lowered into engagement with projections 16 of the base 12 , the base portion 26 of the l - shaped component 24 extends along a base frame member and the projecting portion 28 projects upward away therefrom . a top face 28 a of the projection portion 28 distal to the base portion 26 is thus elevated above a top face 26 a of the base portion opposite the bottom face 24 a of the component from which the slots 22 extend thereinto . the plurality of support - surface components 14 is completed by two cylindrical components of rectangular cross section , a short rectangular component 30 and a tall rectangular component 32 . the short rectangular component 30 has a height equal to that of the base portion 26 of each l - shaped component 24 so that a top face 30 a of the short rectangular component 30 is flush with the top face 26 a of the base portion when the components are engaged to the base 12 . the tall rectangular component 32 has a height equal to that of each l - shaped component 24 so that a top face 32 a of the tall rectangular component 32 is flush with the top face 28 a of the projecting portion 28 when the components are engaged to the base 12 . fig9 shows the same view as fig1 , but with the plurality of components 14 having been lowered into engagement with the base 12 with each component extending along a respective row of the rectangular two - dimensional projection array , or in other words , widthwise across the base along a respective one of the frame members . the piece of furniture defined with the tall rectangular component 32 and short rectangular component 30 at opposite lengthwise ends of the base with the l - shaped components 24 between them may be considered to be a one - armed sofa . the top face 32 a of the tall rectangular component 32 defines the one arm rest at one end and the projecting portions 28 of the l - shaped components 24 define a back of the sofa extending toward the opposite end from the arm rest . the top faces 26 a of the base portions 26 of the l - shaped components 24 and the top face 30 a of the short rectangular component define a seating surface upon which a person may sit , lie or otherwise rest . fig6 and 7 illustrate the structure of the l - shaped components of the illustrated embodiment . each component includes three separable layers . an l - shaped core 34 of rotationally molded plastic defines the main body of the l - shaped component 24 . molded or otherwise shaped foam provides a padding layer 36 immediately surrounding the core 34 on all sides thereof except for being left open over a bottom face 34 a thereof . the padding layer 36 is thicker along the top surfaces 26 a , 28 a of the base and projecting portions 26 of the l - shaped component 24 , 28 to increase a cushioning effect at these thicker areas 36 a , 36 b which are potentially used to define seating surfaces and armrests . outside the padding layer 26 on a side thereof opposite the core 34 , is a covering layer 38 of fabric sewn to be form fitting over the core and padding layer 36 to shroud them , except for likewise being open at the bottom surface 34 a of the core 34 . as shown in fig5 to 7 , a panel or plate 40 may be secured to the bottom surface 34 a of the core 34 to define the bottom surface 24 a of the component , the slots 22 extending through the panel 40 into the core 34 . the panel 40 reinforces the opening of each slot to prevent wear and damage to the core 34 when lowering the component onto a projection 16 of the base 12 and is secured to the core using fasteners 42 , such as screws threaded into the core through the plate 40 . each being open at the bottom face 34 a of the core 34 , the padding layer 36 and the covering layer 38 each have a slip - cover structure which allows easy installation and removal of one or both of the layers , which are not fastened together and thus are completely separable . the padding layer 36 is simply slipped over the core 34 with the covering layer 38 then being slipped over the core and padding combination . this allows easy replacement of the layers , either together or separately , when desired by the owner , for example in response to significant wear of one or both layers or to change the appearance of the components by replacing the covering layer with fabric of another colour or pattern . as the cores and a base made of metal or other strong durable reliable material should last an extremely long time , the life of the modular furniture system may be extended simply by replacing the padding and covering in response to wear . the replacement of these layers also increases the owner &# 39 ; s ability to change the appearance of the furniture defined by the system . the covers for the rectangular components are similar to those for the l - shaped components with a hollow interior and open end , except they have a more simplistic rectangular shape due to the lack of a projecting portion . this lack of a two tier structure with two distinct upper surfaces at different heights also means that only a single thicker portion of padding is provided , along the unitary upper surface of the rectangular component . it should be appreciated that the modular furniture system 10 of the present invention need not be limited to use as a sofa , or even limited to particular use as a seating system . indeed the modular furniture system may be used to provide support surfaces for purposes other than seating , and therefore may define such things as a table , a stand , or an entertainment center and should not be limited to in - home use . where the system is not intended for seating use , the thicker portions 36 a , 36 b of the padding layer , or even the entire padding layer , may not be necessary . even when not used for seating , the use of an outer covering layer however does allow quick and easy changing of pattern or colour . the components used to define support surfaces arrangeable atop the base may be of alternate shapes or structure , and alternate materials that may be suitable for use in the modular furniture system will be appreciated by those of skill in the art . fig5 shows the plurality of support - surface components 14 grouped together in a compact face - to - face configuration including stacking of layers of the components atop one another . the top two layers 44 , 46 of the stack are each formed by a pair of the l - shaped components 24 laid on their sides . the top surface 28 a of the projecting portion 28 of each l - shaped component 24 in one layer mates flush against the top surface 26 a of the base portion 26 of the other l - shaped component at an end of this top surface 26 a opposite the distal to the projecting portion of the same component . this defines a rectangular layer having a rectangular opening or hole in the center thereof . the bottom layer 48 of the stack is a rectangular layer of the same outer dimensions formed by the short and long rectangular components 30 , 32 laid on their sides with a top or bottom face of one resting flush against the top or bottom face of the other . the resulting stack has a cylindrical periphery and a rectangular cross section . using fig1 as a reference , all the components have the same length , and the sum of the height of an l - shaped component and the height of a base portion of another l - shaped component is equal to this common length . all the components also have the same width , which is one third of the common length . comparing this information to the stacked arrangement of the components in fig5 , the outer shape of the stack defines a cube . the height of the stack ( the sum of three component widths from fig1 ), the depth of the stack ( the length of any one component from fig1 ) and the width of the stack ( the sum of the height of one l - shaped component and the height of the base portion of one l - shaped component from fig1 ) are all equal . the cube of fig5 is of significantly less volume than a rectangular box needed to enclose the plurality of components 14 when in the sofa - defining configuration shown in fig9 , due to the empty space shown in fig9 above the seat - defining surfaces 26 a , 30 a but below the armrest and back defining surfaces 28 a , 32 a . having the components groupable into this reduced volume configuration makes the system easer to handle and less costly to transport and reduces fuel consumption by helping reduce empty volume within shipping containers , thereby increasing the number of articles transportable at one time in a single transport vehicle . as shown in fig9 , the flat plate - like frame members used to form the grid - like frame 12 each have a length not exceeding that of the support - surface components , and so a box or container only slightly larger in one dimension than the cube - like stack of the components in the transport configuration can also contain the frame members . fig8 shows a tabletop component 60 of the modular furniture system formed of a square plate having an area generally equal to that of one of the base frame sections 12 a , 12 b . two sets of three spaced apart parallel grooves 62 , 64 are formed in a bottom surface 66 of the plate with the two sets arranged perpendicular to one another to form a grid pattern having the same dimensions as the grid or array defined by the base 12 . in other words , each intersection 68 of two perpendicular grooves 62 , 64 aligns with a projection 16 of the base when the tabletop 60 is lowered onto a three - by - three portion of the array of projections 16 such that the periphery of the tabletop 60 is generally aligned with the periphery of this square portion of the array . the tabletop 60 can be engaged atop the base 12 in place of three adjacent l - shaped or rectangular components to form a table portion of the piece of furniture . the cross - shaped projections 16 extend upward into the cross - shaped recesses formed at the intersection of the grooves 62 , 64 in the bottom surface of the tabletop component 60 , like the slot and projection cooperation of the l - shaped or rectangular components 24 , 30 , 32 with the base 12 , to prevent movement and rotation in the plane in which it rests atop the base 12 . the perpendicular intersecting grooves 62 , 64 provide a cross - shaped slot at each intersection 68 , but it should be appreciated that the full length grooves 62 , 64 extending fully across the tabletop 60 may be replaced with cross shaped recesses at positions thereon corresponding to the groove intersections , thereby creating a three - by - three two dimensional rectangular array of cross - shaped slots or recesses centrally located in the bottom surface 66 of the plate rather than a full grid pattern spanning the entire tabletop surface . the tabletop component 60 may be opaque , transparent or translucent and may be made from a number of suitable materials known to those of skill in the art , including metals , plastics and glass . similar to the removable replaceable covers of the l - shaped and rectangular support surface components , substitution of one tabletop component for another allows a user to easily change the appearance of the piece of furniture , not only be changing relative positioning of the various components on the base , but also by substituting tabletop components of different materials , colours , patterns or slot - forming arrangements ( i . e . a full grid pattern versus unconnected cross - shaped recesses ). the tabletop has generally the same dimensions as a face of the stacked cube in fig5 , and so can be easily incorporated into the same package as the stacked cube of cushioned components and the unassembled frame members 18 , 20 with minimal increase in package volume . fig9 to 14 show support surface components , chosen from among the l - shaped , rectangular and tabletop components 24 , 30 , 32 and 60 , engaged atop the base in different positions and orientations relative to one another , thereby forming different furniture configurations . fig9 shows the modular furniture system 10 used to define a sofa - like piece of furniture having one arm rest and a backless open end opposite the end with the arm rest . this configuration uses both base frame sections 12 a and 12 b and has each of the plurality of components 14 extending cross - wise to the frame to engage a respective row of projections . fig1 shows the modular furniture system 10 used to define a two - seat piece of furniture in which a pair of l - shaped components 24 defines one back - equipped seat on a first side of the tall rectangular component 32 . a second seat is defined on an opposite side of the tall rectangular component 32 by two adjacent l - shaped components 24 adjacent the tall rectangular component and the short rectangular component 30 adjacent the two l - shaped components on a side thereof opposite the tall rectangular component 32 . each component extends cross - wise to the frame to engage a respective row of projections and the l - shaped components are oriented in the same direction so that their projecting portions 26 define backs of the two seats along a common side of the frame 12 . the short rectangular component 30 extends the seating surface of the second seat passed the back - equipped portion define by the l - shaped components to the respective end of the furniture piece . fig1 shows the modular furniture system 10 used to define another two - seat piece of furniture . unlike the configuration described above , here some of the plurality of components 14 extend cross - wise to the frame along a respective row , while others extend lengthwise along columns of the frame . at one end , the tall rectangular component 32 defines an armrest of the first seat , the remainder of which is formed by two adjacent l - shaped components 24 filling the remainder of the first base frame section 12 a having their projecting portions 26 define a seat back along one side of the frame . the second seat has two adjacent l - shaped components 24 projecting laterally from the first seat at the back - defining end thereof . the short rectangular component 30 extends parallel to these laterally projecting l - shaped components from an end of the first seat opposite the back thereof defined by the projecting portions of the first seat &# 39 ; s l - shaped components . a person may sit on the second seat facing the same direction as someone sitting in the first seat , or may face an opposite or lateral direction relative thereto , the projecting portions of the second seat l - shaped components defining either a seat back or arm rest depending on what direction the seated person chooses to face . the projecting portion of the l - shaped component in the middle of the second seat also defines a partial armrest of the first seat . fig1 shows the modular furniture system 10 used to define a seat and table piece of furniture . at one end , a seat is defined on the first base frame section 12 a in the same manner as the first seat of the configuration shown in fig1 and described above . on the second base frame section 12 b , the tabletop component 60 is engaged atop the projections thereof to define a table immediately adjacent the seat . fig1 shows the modular furniture system 10 used to define another seat and table piece of furniture . here a back - equipped armless seat is defined at one end by two adjacent l - shaped components 24 extending cross - wise to the frame along a row of projections . the tabletop component 60 overlies the adjacent three rows , i . e . the remaining row of the second base frame section 12 b and two of the three rows of the first base frame section 12 a . at the other end of the furniture piece along the remaining unused row of the first base frame section 12 a , the short rectangular component 30 is disposed to define a narrow , flat cushioned seat or other support surface . fig1 shows use of only the first base frame section 12 a , with the other section uncoupled therefrom either for use elsewhere to define a second pieces of furniture or disassembled into its flat frame members 18 , 20 for compact storage . three components are used to define a single seat atop the first base frame section 12 a . the three parallel components include two adjacent l - shaped components 24 oriented in the same direction and the short rectangular component 30 parallel and adjacent thereto . the two projecting portions 26 of the l - shaped components 24 define either an arm rest or seat back depending on where the user chooses to sit and what direction he / she chooses to face . fig9 to 14 show the adaptability provided by the modular furniture system to allow for changes in shape in response to a desired change in appearance or function . in the illustrated embodiment , each component is about 30 inches long and 10 inches wide . the l - shaped components and the tall rectangular components are about 20 inches high , with the short rectangular component being 10 inches high . the cube into which the l - shaped and rectangular components are stackable due to their flat , perpendicular outer surfaces that can be mated in flush face - to - face arrangements is thus about 30 inches by 30 inches by 30 inches . the frame members 18 , 20 are about 30 inches long with the projections formed thereby when assembled being about 10 inches apart center - to - center along each row or column in the array formed . as the l - shaped and rectangular components are 10 inches wide and mounted centered on the projections , adjacent components thus fill the space between the projections of the array . the padding layer and cover are about 4 inches thick at the thicker padding areas , and are about 0 . 5 inches thick elsewhere . the cores are thus about 9 inches wide , about 6 inches and 16 inches high at the base portions and projecting portions respectively of the l - shaped components , about 6 inches high in the short rectangular component and about 16 inches high in the tall rectangular component . the tabletop components is about 30 inches by 30 inches . the entire modular furniture system can thus be shipped in a rectangular container not much larger than 30 inches by 30 inches by 30 inches . it should be appreciated that the structure , dimensions and shapes of the components and base may be somewhat altered while still providing the adaptable or collapsible advantageous of the present invention . for example , the number of slots provided in each component does not necessarily need to equal the width of the array of projections , as smaller components of different shapes may be used to increase the number of potential configurations . since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described , and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope , it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense . | 0 |
[ 0028 ] fig1 shows a plan view of a conveyor c which employs a conveyor belt 2 with bead according to this invention . fig2 is a sectional view taken along the line x - x in fig1 and fig3 is a bottom view of the conveyor c . a basic constitution of this conveyor c is shown in fig1 to 3 . the conveyor c includes a conveyor main body 1 , a conveyor belt 2 with bead ( hereinafter sometimes referred to as “ beaded conveyor belt ”) stretched on the conveyor main body 1 , a shift prevention member 3 for preventing the beaded conveyor belt 2 from shifting inwardly , a driving member 4 for rotationally driving the beaded conveyor belt 2 . the conveyor c also includes a cover member 5 which covers a motor 40 with a decelerator for the driving member 4 , the shift prevention member 3 on the upper side and an inner and an outer peripheral portion of the beaded conveyor belt 2 , and a leg member 6 which keeps the conveyor main body 1 at a suitable height . these main parts of the conveyor c will be described in detail below . the conveyor main body 1 , as shown in fig1 includes a motor support element 1 a , and a belt support element 1 b bolted to the motor support element 1 a . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the motor support element 1 a is composed of a motor mounting plate 10 and a base plate 11 provided on the upper end of the leg member 6 , and formed in an l - shape in a side view . the base plate 11 has bracket portions 12 at both end portions thereof . the motor mounting plate 10 has a unit mounting plate 13 in the side of the belt support element 1 b . as shown in fig1 and 4 , the belt support element 1 b includes a belt mounting plate 14 and two belt guide plates 16 and 16 which are fixed with a lower face of the belt mounting plate 14 through brackets . as clearly seen in fig2 the belt mounting plate 14 is bolted to the bracket portion 12 . the belt mounting plate 14 , as clearly seen in fig1 is formed in a pentagonal shape in a plan view . bent pieces 14 a and 14 a provided at an angle of 90 degrees respectively receive straight end rollers 15 and 15 having a diameter of approximately 15 to 30 mm . as shown in fig1 and 3 , the end roller 15 includes a stainless steel axial piece 15 a bolted to the bent piece 14 a and plural resin rollers 15 b are attached rotatably on the axial piece 15 a . a bearing 15 c ( which has the same diameter as or a little larger diameter than the outer diameter of the roller 15 b ) is interposed between the resin rollers 15 b and 15 b provided near the outer peripheral side of the belt . the conveyor belt 2 with bead is illustrated in fig1 and 7 . it includes a belt body 2 a and a number of bead composing elements 2 b disposed across an entire outer peripheral end of the belt body 2 a . each bead composing element 2 b has a narrow width . the belt body 2 a has a polyester sail cloth as a core body thereof and a thermoplastic polyurethane as a surface material of a conveying face . both ends of a fan - shaped sheet are joined to make a tapered tube shape as shown in fig7 . in general , the belt body 2 a of this type is formed by joining both the ends of the fan - shape by a skiving joint or a step joint . this causes to increase the manufacturing cost , the number of the manufacturing steps and the thickness of the joining part . in order to prevent these drawbacks , here in the present invention , the belt body 2 a is manufactured in the following manners ( 1 ) and ( 2 ): ( 1 ) as shown in fig6 a sheet s which has a polyester sail cloth as a core body and a thermoplastic polyurethane as a surface material of a conveying face is punched out into a fan shape with a thompson blade . the sheet punched as such has radial end portions to be joined together . each of the end portions is formed in a series of finger - like protrusions extending from the inner peripheral end up to near the outer peripheral end , and each of fingers or finger - like protrusions has a narrow angle tip ( an angle α1 between a cut line l 1 of the finger and a contact line l to the belt peripheral direction line is small ). the part from the portion to be caught and held by the driving roller 41 and the pinch roller 42 a and the vicinity thereof up to the outer peripheral end is formed with one cut line l 2 having a large angle α2 with respect to the contact line l to the belt peripheral direction line . furthermore , as shown in fig6 and 8 , a number of through holes h 1 and h 2 for attaching a number of bead composing elements 2 b are provided near the outer peripheral end of the belt body 2 a of the sheet s . the sail cloth and the surface material of the sheet to form the belt body 2 a are not limited to the above . the cut line l 2 may be curved . ( 2 ) the end portions of the sheet s to be joined together are meshed with each other as shown in fig7 . and a urethane sheet is applied on the thermoplastic polyurethane on the finger jointed part and heat and pressure are applied thereon . in consequence , urethane of the urethane sheet is melt to infiltrate into gaps present between the joining edges , so that the ends of the sheet s are joined together . the bead composing element 2 b , illustrated in fig8 includes a rectangular plate portion 20 and a thick portion 21 ( or a projecting portion ) provided on a longitudinal center portion of the plate portion 20 which has a substantially trapezoidal shape in a side view , and the portions 20 and 21 are integrally formed with synthetic resin or sintered metal . the plate portion 20 has an engaging part 20 a at one side and an engaging hole 20 b at the other side . when the bead composing element 2 b is attached on the belt body 2 a , the engaging part 20 a is fit into the through - hole h 2 , while a pin 22 is fit into the through - hole h 1 and the engaging hole 20 b , so that the bead composing element 2 b is fixed with the belt body 2 a . here , in the bead composing element 2 b , for example , the plate portion 20 may have an 8 . 5 mm width in the forwarding direction at the outer peripheral edge side of the belt , an 8 mm width in the inner peripheral edge side thereof , and a length of 30 mm . furthermore , the thick portion 21 may have a height of 4 mm and the side face thereof has a 700 inclination angle . the way of attaching the bead composing element 2 b to the belt main body 2 a is not limitative to the above . as shown in fig9 and 10 , the bead composing element 2 b may be attached thereto with a thread k through a hole 23 formed on the bead composing element 2 b . furthermore , a pressed plate structure as shown in fig1 may be used as the bead composing element 2 b . in this bead composing element 2 b , a steel plate is bent to make a slant surface 25 which is in contact with the guide members 30 , 31 and 31 . this pressed plate structure is attached to the belt main body 2 a with a claw 26 which bites down the belt body 2 a . the bead composing element 2 b may be applicable if the width in the belt forwarding direction is as approximately 20 to 60 % narrow as the diameter of a straight end roller which has a small diameter . the adjacent bead composing elements 2 b and 2 b may be mutually joined together through an elastic bentable thin piece 20 c ( integrally formed ), as shown in fig1 . then , the bead composing element 2 b may be detachable from the belt body 2 a as described above , or may also be fixed thereto . the shift prevention member 3 is clearly illustrated in fig1 and 3 . the shift prevention member 3 includes an upper side guide member 30 , lower side guide members 31 and 31 , a press member 32 and a screw 33 . the press member 32 presses the upper side guide member 30 and the lower side guide members 31 and 31 against the slant surface of the thick portion 21 of the bead composing element 2 b . the screw 33 is manually used for fixing the press member 32 with the upper side of the belt mounting plate 14 and the lower side of the belt guide plates 16 and 16 . the upper side guide member 30 , shown in fig1 and 5 , is provided on the upper side of the belt mounting plate 14 to prevent the inward shift of the belt . the upper side guide member 30 is formed of a round bar having shortly tapered ends at the both ends , and shaped in an arc as a whole with a curvature radius to contact with the inner side slant face of the thick portion 21 . the lower side guide members 31 and 31 , as shown in fig3 is located on the under side of the belt guide plate 16 to prevent the inward shift of the belt . the lower side guide members 31 and 31 are made of round bars with shortly tapered ends and formed in an arc shape with a curvature radius to contact with the inner side slant face of the thick portion 21 . the guide member , here , is divided in two 31 and 31 , different from the upper side guide member . this is because the driving roller 41 and the pinch roller 42 a are located there , as shown in fig3 . the material of the upper and lower guide members 30 , 31 and 31 is determined with respect to the material of the bead composing element 2 b . one of the former and the latter is synthetic resin , then the other of them must be metal . on the other hand , if one of them is sintered metal , the other may be metal . the press member 32 is , as illustrated in fig5 provided with a groove 32 a with an arc section . fig5 shows only the upper side guide member 30 and other parts there around , however , the lower side guide members 31 and 31 and other parts therearound also have the same structure . the upper side of the upper guide member 30 and the lower sides of the lower guide members 31 and 31 are respectively received within the grooves 32 a so that the guide members 30 , 31 and 31 are positioned to stay therein in contact with the inner slant face of the thick portions 21 . the screw 33 is formed with a male screw fixed with a manually rotatable portion of a large diameter on one end . the upper side and the lower side guide members 30 , 31 and 31 may be easily removed from the beaded conveyor belt 2 without using a tool , but only by grabbing and rotating the manually rotatable portion of the screw 33 . the driving member 4 , as shown in fig1 to 3 , includes a motor 40 with a decelerator , the driving roller 41 , the pinch roller unit 42 and a controller ( not shown ). the motor 40 is bolted together to the mounting plate 10 of the motor supporting member 1 a . the driving roller 41 is attached on the output shaft of the motor 40 with the decelerator . the pinch roller unit 42 is attached on the unit mounting plate 13 . the controller is to change the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 40 with the decelerator by changing the frequency . the pinch roller unit 42 , as shown in fig2 and 4 , holds the beaded conveyor belt 2 between the pinch roller 42 a and the driving roller 41 to reliably rotate and drive the beaded conveyor belt 2 by the friction engagement . this pinch roller unit 42 is constituted so as to adjust the force for holding the beaded conveyor belt 2 between the pinch roller 42 a and the driving roller 41 . separation of the pinch roller 42 a from the driving roller 41 allows to release the holding engagement of the beaded conveyor belt 2 . the motor 41 with the decelerator , the driving roller 41 and the controller are already known , and will not be described here in detail . the cover 5 includes , as shown in fig1 and 2 , an inner peripheral side cover 5 a and an outer peripheral side cover 5 b . the inner peripheral side cover 5 a , as shown in fig1 is formed in a fan shape so as to cover the inner peripheral edge area of the beaded conveyor belt 2 and the vicinity thereof . the cover 5 a is screwed together to an upper portion 61 a of the leg member 61 through a manually rotatble cover attaching screw 50 as shown in fig2 . the outer peripheral side cover 5 b , as shown in fig1 is shaped so as to cover the outer periphery edge area of the beaded conveyor belt 2 and the vicinity thereof , i . e ., formed in a shape to cover the bead composing elements 2 b , the upper guide member 30 , the press member 32 , the screw 33 , the motor 40 with the decelerator , the controller and the like . the cover 5 b is attached to the vertical part 14 b of the belt mounting plate 14 through a manually rotatable cover attaching screw 50 . the leg member 6 , as shown in fig2 and 3 , includes a leg portion 60 in an up - side - down t - shape formed by fixing a pillar 60 a to the center of a horizontal beams 60 b , a leg portion 61 of one pillar , a horizontal beam 62 connecting the leg portion 61 and the pillar 60 a , and foot portions 63 , 63 and 63 with height adjustable screws attached on the both ends of the horizontal beam 60 b and the bottom portion of the leg portion 61 . the outer side portion of the belt having the motor 40 with the decelerator and the like is supported by the leg portion 60 , while the inner side portion of the belt on the belt mounting plate 14 is supported by the leg portion 61 . here , when the cover attaching screw 50 is removed , the upper portion 61 a of the leg portion 61 can be rotated down with a hinge t . the conveyor belt 2 with bead is attached to the conveyor body 1 as follows . as shown in fig4 the beaded conveyor belt 2 is stretched between the end rollers 15 and 15 so as to maintain a certain rotation track by the belt mounting plate 14 , the two belt guide plates 16 and 16 , the driving roller 41 and the pinch roller 42 a . furthermore , as described above , the conveyor belt 2 is stretched between the end rollers 15 and 15 , and , in this state shown in fig1 and 5 , the inner slant faces of the thick portions of a number of bead composing elements 2 b ( function as a bead member ) on the belt 2 are in contact with the upper and lower guide members 30 , 31 and 31 . therefore , when the motor 40 with the decelerator is driven , the beaded conveyor belt 2 rotates as being caught and held between the driving roller 41 and the pinch roller 42 a . and the bead composing elements 2 b forward sliding on the upper and lower side guide members 30 , 31 and 31 in the above mentioned contact state therewith . consequently , the conveyor belt 2 is prevented from inward shifting . namely , the bead member composed of a number of bead composing elements 2 b exhibits the same function as a continuously formed bead . the beaded conveyor belt 2 may be removed from the conveyor main body 1 with the following steps ( 1 ) to ( 5 ). ( 1 ) release the manually operable screw 50 for mounting the cover , and remove the inner side cover 5 a and the outer side cover 5 b ( 2 ) rotate down the upper portion 61 a of the leg member 61 with the hinge t from a position shown by continuous line to another position shown by two - dot chain line in fig2 ( 3 ) loose the manually operable ( rotatable ) screw 33 to remove the upper and lower guide members 30 , 31 and 31 received within the groove 32 a from the press member 32 ( 4 ) separate the pinch roller 42 away from the driving roller 41 to release the conveyor belt 2 being held therebetween ( 5 ) after the above steps ( 1 ) to ( 4 ), shift the beaded conveyor belt 2 inwardly ( from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side ) so that the beaded conveyor belt 2 may be removed from the conveyor main body 1 ( 6 ) when attaching the beaded conveyor belt 2 on the conveyor main body 1 , take the above steps reversely as stated above , in the constitution of this beaded conveyor belt 2 ; ( 1 ) the bead member is composed of a number of bead composing elements 2 b disposed on across the entire outer peripheral area of the belt main body 2 a , ( 2 ) the width ( in the belt forwarding direction ) of each bead composing element 2 b is as narrow as about 20 to 60 % of the diameter of the straight end roller 15 having a small diameter , and ( 3 ) the adjacent bead composing elements 2 b and 2 b are separated from each other , or are connected with a thin piece 20 c . therefore , compared with the conveyor belt with bead in the prior art section , in this conveyor belt 2 with bead , extremely less crack and / or breakage may occur in the beat composing elements 2 b , and thereby the belt 2 withstand the long time use . alternatively , for example , in case bead composing elements 2 b are pinned or sewed together with the belt body 2 a , when one or some of the bead composing elements 2 b are damaged , the one or some of them may be easily replaced . that is , even if one or some of the bead composing elements 2 b are damaged , the conveyor belt may be continuously used only by replacing the damaged bead composing elements 2 b . advantageous features of the belt body 2 a are described below . the joint portion ( i . e . a radial end portion of the fan - shaped sheet s ) is formed by one time press cut with a thompson blade , and this allows a small number of manufacturing steps and a low manufacturing cost . furthermore , the belt body 2 a has a finger joint from the inner peripheral end to near the outer peripheral end , and the other area from the portion to be held between the driving roller 41 and the pinch roller 42 a and the vicinity thereof up to the outer peripheral end is a joint of straight cut lines l each of which has a large angle α2 with respect to the contact line l on the peripheral direction line of the belt . therefore , twisting load due to the change in the peripheral speed by the driving roller 41 , the belt body 2 a and the pinch roller 42 a and inwardly shifting force of the belt body 2 a may be prevented by the shift prevention member 3 . and , as a result , even if pull force in a width ( radial ) direction of the belt body 2 a is occurred , detachment and breakage hardly occurs at a portion indicated with the numeral 27 of the belt body 2 a . the end portions of the fan - shaped sheet s are practically joined together with a finger joint , and the joined portion will not become thicker like those in the skiving joint or the step joint . the effects of using the end roller 15 are as follows . the end roller 15 , as shown in fig1 is formed with the axial piece 15 a and a plurality of resin rollers 15 b rotatably provided thereon . and the bearing 15 c ( which has the same diameter as or a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the resin roller 15 b ) is provided between the adjacent resin rollers 15 b and 15 b located on the belt outer peripheral side . therefore , in the outer peripheral area of the belt where the peripheral speed of the belt body 2 a is rather large , the belt body 2 a forwards along with the rotation of the outer lace of the bearings 15 c , while in the inner peripheral area of the belt where the peripheral speed of the belt body 2 a is small , the belt body 2 a forwards along with the rotation of the resin rollers 15 b . therefore , in the outer peripheral area with a larger peripheral speed , harsh friction noises may be extremely suppressed as compared with the case using end rollers having no bearings 15 c , or eliminated . in the above embodiment , the aspect of the present invention is applied to a curved conveyor belt ; however , this is not limitative thereto . another embodiment is shown in fig1 in which an aspect of the present invention is applied to a straight conveyor . a belt body 7 a of the straight conveyor has a plurality of bead composing elements 7 b , which have a similar structure to that of the above mentioned bead composing elements 2 b , at both ends . straight guide members 70 and 70 are disposed on the conveyor body and are in contact with the inside slant faces of thick portions 71 and 71 of the bead composing elements 7 b and 7 b . in this structure , not only meander forwarding of the bolt body 7 a may be prevented , but also , if one or more of the bead composing elements 7 b are damaged , replacement of the damaged bead composing elements and restoration of the system could be easily done . in the foregoing embodiments , the thick portions 21 and 71 of the bead composing elements 2 b and 7 b are shaped in a trapezoid in a side view . the shape is not limitative thereto , but may be rectangular , square , triangle or the like . having the construction stated above , the present invention may provide a conveyor belt with bead which may be used for a long term period even if the belt is stretched between small diameter end rollers . | 1 |
referring to fig1 there is shown a platen 10 consisting of frame 11 and glass carrier 12 . strip - up microfiche 13 is shown attached to pins 14 along the left - hand edge 15 of frame 11 and pins 16 along the right - hand edge 17 thereof . pins 14 are fixed in position in the left - hand edge 15 of frame 11 as shown in fig2 . masks 18 and 19 retain glass carrier 12 upon frame 11 at the left and right edges , respectively . retainer bar 20 is attached to left - hand edge 15 of frame 11 and functions to hold the left - hand edge of microfiche 13 in a position to facilitate engagement of microfiche 13 by pins 14 . glass carrier clamps 21 and 22 hold glass carrier 12 in position upon frame 11 at the lower and upper edges respectively . the right - hand edge 17 of frame 11 contains a cavity 23 enclosed at the top by righ - hand edge 17 of frame 11 and mask 19 , at the bottom by retainer 24 , on the right side by edge 17 and on the left side by the right - hand edge of glass carrier 12 . within cavity 23 are positioned a plurality of latch assemblies 25 adapted to slide transversely within cavity 23 within the limits of holes 26 in edge 17 . also positioned within cavity 23 are a series of spacers 27 which surround screws 28 holding retainer 24 in a position spaced from edge 17 . an elastomeric cord 29 , such as a rubber cord , is positioned within cavity 23 on the underside of latch assemblies 25 and abutting spacers 27 . cord 29 extends generally longitudinally the length of cavity 23 . latch assemblies 25 each consists of pin 16 and pin support base 30 . the top surface of base 30 is generally rectangular shaped with chamfers 31 at one edge thereof . the bottom of base 30 has legs 32 and 33 . leg 32 has a vertical edge 34 and leg 33 terminates in inwardly directed point 35 . the operation of the platen will be illustrated with reference to fig7 and 8 . in its normal position pins 16 are positioned to the right within holes 26 . cord 29 is loosely positioned within the grooves formed between legs 32 and 33 of latch assemblies 25 and abuts vertical edges 34 and points 35 as well as spacers 27 . in order to load platen 10 a loading tool 36 is inserted into an opening 37 leading into cavity 23 . the tapered end of tool 36 contacts chamfers 31 of each of latch assemblies 25 as it is moved longitudinally towards the upper edge of platen 10 within cavity 23 causing each of latch assemblies 25 to move to the left seriatim against the elastic force exerted by cord 29 which is held against a spacer 27 on each side of a latch assembly 25 as point 35 advances to the left against cord 29 . movement of latch assemblies 25 causes pins 16 to move to the left within the limits of holes 26 . as the loading tool is pushed home within cavity 23 each of latch assemblies 25 is caused to move to the left seriatim . to load a microfiche upon the platen of this invention it is necessary merely to place the left - hand edge of the microfilm under retainer bar 20 so that the fixed pins 14 are contained within the holes in the left - hand edge of the microfiche and to inset a suitable loading tool to force movable pins 16 seriatim into their release position . the microfiche is then positioned so that each of the movable pins 16 is contained within a hole in the right - hand edge of the microfiche and the loading tool is withdrawn causing the pins 16 to spring seriatim to their latching position thereby holding the microfiche securely and in a substantially planar configuration . this invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof . however , it is to be understood that other embodiments may be used to achieve the results of this invention . it is therefore intended that this invention is not to be limited except as defined in the following claims . | 6 |
household waste is typically a mixture of organic materials , such as food wastes , paper , and cellulose packaging materials , and inorganic materials , such as plastic packaging materials , fabrics , ferrous and non - ferrous objects , batteries , synthetic materials , etc . members constituting each home or office are entrusted to separate materials that are inappropriate to incineration from the remainder in accordance with the community regulations and deposit in a pit them , as “ incombustible .” the remainder of the materials of the household waste is packed , as “ combustible ,” in garbage bags . the waste materials that have been deposited in a pit as “ incombustible ” and the waste materials that have been packed as “ combustible ” are separately collected . according to the community regulations , for example , the waste materials to be collected as “ combustible ” include food wastes , paper and green wastes . examples of green waste are grass clippings , twigs and branches . the waste materials to be collected as “ incombustible ” include ferrous objects , aluminum , glass and plastics . the waste materials that have been collected as “ combustible ” include mostly combustible materials , but may include materials that are classified as “ incombustible .” the waste that have been collected as “ incombustible ” include mostly incombustible materials , but may contain materials that are classified as “ combustible .” referring to fig1 the process for handling household waste is schematically shown . the process comprises a first or “ combustible ” processing s 1 for processing waste materials that come out of plastic bags that have been collected as “ combustible ” and a second or “ incombustible ” processing s 2 for processing waste materials that come out of plastic bags that have been collected as “ incombustible .” the first processing s 1 has a cutter stage s 1 - a for cutting input waste materials into smaller fragments , a drier stage s 1 - b for drying the cut fragments and a separator stage s 1 - c . the separator stage s 1 - c separates the dried fragments as a usable output product for soil conditioner and / or fertilizer from the remainder . the separator stage s 1 - c outputs the remainder of the fragments as an inappropriate output material to products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil . the separator stage s 1 - c separates the dried fragmented waste materials as the output product appropriate to products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil after removing ferrous objects by an electromagnet and removing the cut fragments inappropriate to the soil fertilizing and / or conditioning products by a filter . the separated output product appropriate to the soil fertilizing and / or conditioning products includes fermentable organic waste materials excluding plastic . the output products that have been removed by the separator stage s 1 - c include non - fermentable inorganic waste materials . the fermentable organic waste materials are subject to the subsequent fermentation process to grow into products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil . the output products that have been removed during the separator stage s 1 - c are subject to the second processing s 2 . the second processing s 2 sorts the waste materials being processed into various kinds of reusable output products such as ferrous objects , aluminum , glass , plastics . among the waste materials collected as “ incombustible ”, plastic beverage containers , aluminum beverage containers , and food and beverage containers made of glass are packed in plastic garbage bags . thus , the second processing s 2 has a bag breaker stage s 2 - a prior to the subsequent multistage separator stage s 2 - b . the plastic garbage bags are broken by the bag breaker stage s 2 - a into plastic fragments . these plastic fragments are handled together with plastics being processed . the waste materials coming out of the broken garbage bags are sorted by the multistage separator stage s 2 - b into usable output products , such as iron , aluminum , glass and plastic . the waste materials held to be inappropriate to products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soils by the first processing s 1 are used as the input to the multistage separator stage s 2 - b . the multistage separator stage s 2 - b sorts the input waste materials from the first processing s 1 into the usable output products . in the multistage separator stage s 2 - b , organic waste materials are separated . the organic materials from the multistage separator stage s 2 - b are sent to the first processing s 1 and used as the input to the cutter stage s 1 - a . the organic materials from the multistage separator stage s 2 - b are subject to cutting in the cutter stage s 1 - a , drying in the drier stage s 1 - b and sorting in the separator stage s 1 - c . from the preceding description , it is now understood that the preferred implementation of the present invention does not rely on incineration in handling waste materials . the waste materials collected as “ combustible ” are grown into products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil , and the waste materials collected as “ incombustible ” are sorted into various usable output products . [ 0037 ] fig2 illustrates the preferred implementation of a system according to the present invention for practicing the process . the system includes a first or “ combustible ” processing sub - system s 1 and a second or “ incombustible ” processing sub - system s 2 . the first processing sub - system s 1 has a cutter 1 , a drier or drying equipment 2 and a separator 3 . the separator 3 is a machine for separating waste materials of different particle sizes . waste materials , which have been collected as “ combustible ,” are used as the input to the cutter 1 of the first processing sub - system s 1 . the cutter 1 cuts the input waste into fragments . the fragmented waste materials , which are the output of the cutter 1 , are sent to the drier 2 . [ 0040 ] fig3 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the drier 2 and the separator 3 . the drier 2 includes a chamber 4 , an output device 5 , a dehumidifier 6 and a deodorizing equipment 7 . the cut fragments of the waste materials are transferred to the drier 2 by a conveyer ( see fig2 ) or by a container 8 on an industrial hand cart 9 . the waste materials are admitted into the chamber 4 by an automatic supply device 10 . the automatic supply device 10 throws in the waste materials into the chamber 4 . the temperature within the chamber 4 is held higher than 100 ° c . by burning of gas ejected from a gas burner 11 . an agitator 12 within the chamber 4 mixes the waste materials within the chamber to facilitate hot air drying . a bucket conveyer 14 conveys the dried output of the chamber 4 to a sieve 15 that constitutes the separator 3 of the system shown in fig2 . the output materials of the sieve 15 are temporarily loaded into and discharged from a hopper 16 . exhaust gas resulting from the hot air drying within the chamber 4 contains moisture . this moisture containing exhaust gas is introduced into the dehumidifier 6 by a moisture discharge duct 17 . temperature of the exhaust gas introduced into the dehumidifier 6 is removed by a water flow from a cooling tower 19 to turn the moisture into water that is discharged as effluent . the moisture free exhaust gas from the dehumidifier 6 is introduced into the deodorizing equipment 7 . odor is removed from the exhaust gas by a deodorizer 18 . the exhaust gas from the deodorizing equipment 7 is discharged into the outside by an exhaust duct 21 . the materials discharged from the hopper 16 are carried into a fermentation - equipment 20 ( see fig2 ), which undergoes fermentation of the input material the output products of the fermentation - equipment 20 are used for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil . the residual materials that have failed to pass through the sieve 15 are transferred to the second sub - system s 2 . the second sub - system s 2 includes a bag breaker 23 and a multistage separator 22 . according to this preferred implementation , the second sub - system s 2 further includes a cutter 30 and an electrostatic separator 32 for refined separation of fragments of different materials . [ 0046 ] fig4 illustrates schematically a process flow of the second sub - system s 2 . according to this illustrated flow , the input waste materials collected as “ incombustible ” in plastic garbage bags 36 are included in the input materials of the second sub - system s 2 . the plastic bags 36 are thrown into a hopper 24 of the bag breaker 23 . if desired , the waste materials may be fed as the input to the multistage separator 22 ( see fig2 ) after being taken out of the plastic bags 36 . referring to fig4 a cutter 25 within the hopper 24 breaks up each of the plastic garbage bags 36 into fragments . the bag fragments 36 are separated from the waste materials and conveyed to the cutter 30 . the waste materials coming out of the bags 36 drop on a sieve 34 . the sieve 34 separates the input waste materials of different sizes . small size waste materials i that have passed through the sieve 34 drop on a vibratory feeder 26 . the vibratory feeder 26 is a vibrating conveyer with a relatively low frequency and large amplitude of motion and sends the small size waste materials i in an inclined downward direction . during this motion , soil and cullet a are removed and a separator 27 for separating and removing cylindrical cells b from the waste materials that have been dropped on the vibratory feeder 26 . this separator 27 removes the cells b by comparing the shape of each cell with a shape pattern . the small size waste materials i without soil and cullet a and cells b are sent to the cutter 30 . the waste materials with large sizes that will not pass through the sieve 34 slides down a slope of the seize 34 . ferrous objects c are removed with a suspended separator 28 over the slope of the sieve 34 . the remainder g of the large size waste materials drop down to a weight separator 29 past an aluminum separator 35 . the aluminum separator 35 removes aluminum objects f . the ferrous objects c and aluminum objects f are reduced in volume by a volume reducing equipment 33 . the weight separator 29 separates , by weight , the input large size waste materials g into beverage and food containers made of glass h and the remainder j . the remainder j of waste materials of large sizes is introduced into the cutter 30 . the cutter 30 cuts the input broken garbage bags 36 , small size waster materials i and the large size waste materials j into fragments and discharge the cut fragments onto a high performance aluminum separator 31 . this separator 31 removes aluminum objects k . an electrostatic separator 32 separates the cut fragments without aluminum objects k into paper d and plastic fragments e . referring also to fig2 the multistage separator 22 of the second sub - system s 2 is connected to the cutter 1 of the first sub - system s 1 by a conveyer line 37 . more particularly , combustible waste materials like paper d that are separated by the electrostatic separator 32 of the multistage separator 22 are collected in a combustible waste collecting portion , and this combustible waste collecting portion is sent to the cutter 1 by the conveyer line 37 . in other words , the cutter 1 of the first sub - system s 1 receives , as an additional input , combustible waste materials that have been sent from the second sub - system s 2 by the conveyer line 37 . subsequently , the cut fragments discharged by the cutter 1 are dried and separated and then introduced into fermentation - equipment 20 . incombustible inorganic waste fragments that have been separated are introduced back into the multistage separator 22 of the second - sub - system s 2 . referring back to fig4 if the plastic fragments e that have been removed by the electrostatic separator 32 contain rubber , leather or fabric , the rubber , leather and fabric are removed and sent to a waste processing center over a number of communities . in the preferred implementation , the multistage separator 22 handles household waste materials collected as “ incombustible ” and the drier 2 handles household waste materials collected as “ combustible .” the first or “ combustible ” processing sub - system s 1 and the second or “ incombustible ” processing sub - system s 2 cooperate with each other to work as a single system . the incombustible inorganic waste materials from the drier 2 are fed to the multistage separator 22 , while the combustible waste materials from the multistage separator 22 are fed to the drier 2 . the combustible components of the household waste are converted into products for fertilizing and / or conditioning soil , and the incombustible components are separated for reusable products . this facilitates recycling of the household wastes . in the previous description , the heating within the chamber 4 relied only on the gas burner 11 . the garbage within the chamber 4 can be dried within a shortened period of time ( 3 to 6 hours ) with multi - heating using far infrared radiation , heat conduction ( 120 ° c .) and agitation with hot air ( about 280 ° c .). using this multi - heating , germs within the garbage are killed , and thus the dried output products may be used as prompt . the use of this prompt will not cause any environmental pollution . using soft ceramics as the deodorant 18 within the deodorizing equipment 7 is effective in eliminating offensive odors of the gas discharged during the drying process . from the preceding description , it will now be appreciated that household waste can be handled without replying on incineration and depositing in landfill . it will also be appreciated that the preferred implementations according to the present invention comply with recommended waste management without any incineration , any deposition in landfill , any dumping , any offensive odors and any unnecessary transportation . the above - described preferred implementations of the present invention are example implementations . moreover various modifications to the present invention may occur to those skilled in the art and will fall within the scope of the present invention as set forth below . | 8 |
the chair 10 can have any general formation and has a frame 11 which is adapted to be permanently or semi - permanently connected to the floor of the auditorium and this has both a seat component 20 and a backrest component 50 connected thereto or partially integral therewith . fig1 and 2 show that the seat can look very similar to conventional theatre seats . the seat component may be adapted to be fixed relative to some part of the frame or may be rotatable thereabout to enable the seat to rise , as it is well known in the art . the components may preferably be of an engineering grade plastics material and be formed by injection moulding or could be formed in any other way . functionally , the seat component and the backrest component may be similar or identical although , in exterior shape they may differ substantially to enable them to operate in the required manner . in this following , we shall refer only to the seat component but it is to be understood that , functionally , the two components can be identical . in a preferred form of the invention , the seat component has two sub - assemblies , a base 21 and a seat member 30 . the base 21 has a floor 22 which lies generally in a horizontal plane when the seat is in its use position and the floor 22 has an upwardly directed peripheral skirt 23 around its sides . formed on the floor 22 there are a number of lugs 25 , 25 ′, 26 , 26 ′ and in a preferred form there are four such lugs , each having an upwardly and an inwardly directed portion , the lugs being at a spacing close to each side both near the front and the rear of the base . the base may also have two pairs of ribs 26 , 26 ′, one pair running along each side between the lugs , the ribs extending somewhat upwardly , but normally not to the height of the peripheral skirt 23 . also , in the base rearwardly of the rear lugs there may be a pair of clip members 27 which may be spaced either side of the central axis of the seat , extend upwardly therefrom and have an inwardly directed shoulder 28 the operation of which will be described hereinafter . the seat member 30 , which is upholstered but which , for clarity is shown in the figures as un - upholstered , has a plate or base 31 , which again may be of a plastics material and which has an external peripheral shape basically corresponding to the floor 22 of the base and is adapted to be received within the skirt of the base . the padding and upholstery 55 as shown in fig1 is placed on top of the plate and may be effected in a conventional manner . however , as will be described , by the use of the present invention , we can use what is effectively a removable cover 56 rather than permanent upholstery . this is done by forming the outer cover with a draw string 57 or the like and the seat member 30 is provided with the padding and a cover fitted thereto ( shown generally at 55 ). the final surface fabric can then be located over the seat member as an envelope 56 and have a skirt which has a peripheral sleeve through which a cord 57 passes . this skirt extends below the seat member and by tightening the cord the fabric can be caused to closely cover the top and side of the seat member . when the seat member is fitted to the base , as described herein , the skirt is between the base and the plate , is not visible , and cannot be readily removed by an occupant of the seat . if , however , the cover is damaged or dirtied , it is only necessary for the operator to remove the seat ( or back ) member , remove the cover and replace it with another cover and replace the member . this , as will be described , is a very simple operation and could readily be done by a cleaner who finds a damaged or dirtied cover . this enables the appearance of the seats to be maintained with little expense . of course , if there is substantial damage , it would be necessary to replace the component concerned . on the plate 31 , and directed downwardly near the forward end thereof , there are a pair of lugs 32 which have both a downwardly and an outwardly directed portion and are adapted to be received under the forwardly directed portions of lugs 24 of the base previously described . towards the rear of the plate there are a pair of downwardly extending members 33 which act to receive pivots for a toggle plate 34 which extends transversely across portion of the plate . the width of the plate is sufficient to effectively extend between the rear lugs 25 on the seat base 21 over at least most of their length . the pivot 35 for the toggle plate 34 is adjacent one side thereof and the plate can be formed to extend generally rearwardly relative to the mounting lugs 33 . rearwardly again of this , there is a clip member 36 which can have a pair of arms 37 each of which have an outwardly directed shoulder 38 , the arrangement being such that the arms are adapted by deformation to pass between the two arms at the rear of seat component so that the shoulders on the lugs of the seat base and on the plate of the seat is member can be fictionally engaged and locked . the two arms 37 are connected by a web 39 of material , the operation of which will be described hereinafter . the plate 31 also has a pair of downwardly directed ribs 40 located between the lugs , the ribs being adapted to enter the spaces between the ribs 26 , 26 ′ on the base to restrain the plate from lateral movement relative to the base . in use , the chair can be located in its required position in the auditorium with the frame in position . the base 21 and the corresponding component of the backrest can also be located at this time . at this stage , there was little that can be readily damaged by , say , other tradesmen still working on the auditorium and , should there be damage , it is relatively inexpensive and easy to replace the component . when it is required to complete the seat by the location of the plate , which is upholstered part of the seat member into general alignment with the base 22 , and to bring the lugs 32 at the forward end of the plate to a position beneath the inwardly direct portions of the lugs 24 , 24 ′ on the base . this is shown in fig4 . at this time , the plate can start to be rotated downwardly about these lugs . as the rotation occurs , the downwardly directed ribs 40 on the plate commence to enter the spaces between the ribs 26 on the base , thus locating the plate laterally relative to the base . as the plate is brought further downwardly , the rearward end of the toggle plate 34 can pass beneath the lugs 25 at the rear of the base . further downward movement causes the toggle plate 34 to commence to rotate about its pivot and , the clip portions 36 of the plate commence to engage , by deformation of the arms thereof , the clips 27 of the base . downward movement is continued and the toggle plate snaps to a position , illustrated in fig5 , where it is rearwardly and upwardly directed and the shoulders 38 on the clip components 37 of the plate engage with the shoulders 28 of the clip components 27 of the base . at this time , the two assemblies are fully interconnected one relative to the other by the interrelationship of the lugs at the forward parts of the members , the inter - engagement of the ribs on the underside of the plate with the upstanding ribs of the base , the locking of the toggle plate beneath the lugs with which it is associated and the clipping together of the clip components . the toggle plate is preferably formed to that it causes the plate to be placed in compression and the base in tension and aids in ensuring that there is no unconstrained relative movement between the components . at the same time , because of the form of the inter - engagement between the two members , it is not simple , prima facie , to remove the plate from the base and thus , destructive vandalism would be minimized or obviated . when , however , it is required to dissemble the seat this is basically a simple operation given a required tool and the knowledge of how to do this . the tool 51 can be a metal rod or such an article as a screw driver and can be placed through a slot in the rear of the assembly so that it lies beneath the web 39 connecting the two clip portions 37 downwardly extending from the underside of the seat member and , can abut the rear of one of the lugs 25 which has received the toggle plate . if this metal member is then moved upwardly , it can abut the underside of the web 39 which connects the two downwardly directed members 37 and this causes them to move inwardly until the shoulders on the lugs in the component and those of the downwardly extending members on the seat member disengage and the seat member can commence to move upwardly . the same movement causes the toggle plate to snap over and become released and ultimately the plate 31 can then be removed simply by moving it rearwardly to disengage the lugs 24 near the front of the base and the plate is then free . to replace the plate or to return the original seat member to the chair , it is only necessary to reverse the initial operation , that is , engage the lugs 32 on the plate with the lugs 24 on the base , and cause the plate to rotate which causes the toggle plate 34 to be actuated and the clip 28 , 37 to engage . it will be seen that this is a very simple action and can be done by any person with a minimum of training . if required , the toggle arrangement may include a resilient member which can be located beneath a relatively flat spring member restrained against movement at one end , the spring being moveable to cause compression of the resilient member and to cause operation of the toggle member the resilient member being adapted to ensure that the spring be normally maintained in the required position . whilst herein we have described a chair which meets the desiderata that it &# 39 ; s upholstery is protected from damage prior to final completion of the auditorium and can be removed and replaced at any time in a matter of seconds , we still provide a chair which is sturdy , the components are held against relative movements so there is no sensation of the seat or backrest being two components , as far as the user is concerned . the toggle plate can engage in a horizontal slot in the lugs on the seat component rather than under a return , if this is required . the seat of the present invention , or indeed other forms of theatre seats may be adapted to be used with seats of different widths . some cinemas are designed to have seats at greater or lesser spacing and in some , it is required to provide different seats having different spacings . this could be the case where seats which are sold at a more expensive price may be at a wider spacing than those at cheaper prices . not unusually , the spacings required vary between 22 and 24 inches . it is most inconvenient for a manufacturer or a theatre operator to have to hold components of different sizes for different parts of a particular theatre . as shown in fig1 and 13 , in the seat of the invention , we provide on the underside of the base 22 an arrangement where the pivot shafts 60 of the seat can be located at various spacings in the seat . we provide , attached to the pivot shaft a flat plate 61 which has an aperture 62 therethrough which has on its underside , a cone - nut . in the side of the base a slot 64 which can receive the shaft 60 and plate 61 . in the base we provide a recess which is adapted to have a tension plate 66 located therein , the slot preferably having undercuts or the like so that the plate 66 is retained once it is fitted . when the base is to be connected to the frame , the shaft members 60 and plates 62 are located in the slot 64 so that the outer end of the pivot shaft extends from the base by an amount sufficient to permit it to be connected to the pivot journal . a stud 70 is then passed through the elongated slot 71 in the plate 66 and the aperture 62 in the plate 61 and threaded onto the cone nut so that the shaft assembly is fixed relative to the base . in this way , it is possible to use the same seat component ( and backrest component ) for is seats on which the arm - rests are at varying distances to give an impression of a more comfortable or economy seat , depending on the type required . it would be possible to provide better upholstery on the seat components which are at greater spacing . whilst the illustrated for shows only a single pivot , which would be used with a weighted seat , more complex arrangements could be provided if required . if the seat is to be moveable , then stop members can be provided to limit the movement of the seat rearwardly , and a member on the frame can be contacted by an extension 68 on the end of the pivot shaft so that it does not rest against the back member , and there may also be buffer means to control the rate of rearward movement . such arrangements are generally well known in the art . also whilst we have described one particular method of construction , it will be understood that any person seeing this particular method could well understand how to make variations in this without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
in fig1 reference numeral 1 indicates a quartz bulb ; 2 designates ligh emitting segments , each composed of a light emitting coil 2a and a roughly - pitched coil - like coupling member 2b ; 3 identifies non - light - emitting segments , each of which is formed with a bar and is composed of a straight short - circuit part 3a , bent portions 3b provided at both ends of the bar and ring - shaped supports 3c respectively extending from the bent portions 3b . as shown in fig2 the light emitting segments 2 and the non - light - emitting segments 3 are assembled together by guiding the coupling member 2b of each light emitting segment 2 across the bent portion 3b of each non - light - emitting segment 3 in the direction indicated by arrows 4 while turning the segment 2 , just like a screw , to entwine around the short - circuit part 3a of the segment 3 . then , the coupling member 2b is fixed , such as by welding , to the short - circuit part 3a at a predetermined position . the light emitting segments 2 and the non - light - emitting segments 3 are thus interconnected alternately with each other to provide a filament disposed in the bulb 1 . since the light emitting segment 2 is guided across the bent portion 3b while being turned , it is preferred that the pitch of the coupling member 2b be large , in particular larger than the diameter of the bar . this permits easy assembling of the segments 2 and 3 and prevents deformation of the light emitting segment by eliminating unnecessary force applied thereto . in view of this and the ease in fabricating the light emitting segments 2 and the non - light - emitting segments 3 in accurate configurations , a filament of accurate configuration can be achieved . the non - light - emitting segment 3 is formed integrally with the supports 3c , and has a bar diameter of about 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 mm to support sufficiently the filament along the axis of the bulb 1 and to enable the short - circuit part 3a to function satisfactorily as a non - light - emitting part . by forming segment 3 with a bar , this segment has the non - light - emitting function and the bulb supporting function and , in addition , is made lightweight by using a minimum member of components and is easy to assemble with the light emitting segment . while the above is the basic arrangement of the tubular incandescent lamp of this invention , the following features further enhance performance . fig3 shows , on an enlarged scale , assembling of the light emitting segment 2 and the non - light - emitting segment 3 . when the diameter of the bar is about 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 mm , the inner side surface p of the bent portion 3b usually has a roundness with a radius of about 0 . 3 to 1 . 0 mm . due to this roundness , that part 2 &# 39 ; a of the coupling member 2b which extends around the bent portion 3b slides up thereon obliquely to the right or left . this results in the center line y -- y of the light emitting coil 2a deviating slightly from the center line x -- x of the straight short - circuit part 3a . where a substantially high performance in a bulb is required , the abovesaid deviation , though slight , may in some cases have an affect on the non - light - emitting segment . accordingly , the short - circuit part 3a is formed to deviate from the center line of the support 3c in a direction reverse to that in which the coupling member 2b slides up . this ensures that when a filament is disposed in the bulb , the light emitting coil 2a lies in alignment with the bulb axis , although the short - circuit part 3a deviates therefrom . to correct this slight deviation it is possible also to press the base of the inner side surface p of the bent portion 3b using a sharp tool so as to remove the roundness ( fig4 ). to eliminate possible production control problems by having to carefully control assembly of a number of parts in the structure of this lamp , certain preferred features are incorporated . for example , the support 3c of the non - light - emitting segment 3 is formed to loop with one turn and , as shown in fig5 the spacing t between the beginning and terminating points q 1 and q 2 of the support 3c is selected to be smaller than the diameter d of the bar . this prevents the light - emitting segments or filaments from being entangled by the non - light - emitting segment 3 ; consequently , the non - light - emitting segments and filaments become easy to handle and are not deformed by an entanglement , so that a tubular incandescent lamp of excellent performance can be obtained . when the support 3c is formed to loop with more than one turn , its bulb supporting ability increases . however , since the diameter of the bar is relatively large , a substantial amount of light is intercepted , exerting a bad influence on the distribution and the intensity of light . if the diameter of the bar is made in the range of about 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 mm and the support 3c is formed to loop with one turn , it sufficiently fulfils the bar supporting function . moreover , to design the entire filament to be lightweight as is the case with the tubular incandescent lamp of this invention , it is rather effective to form the support 3c with one turn and select the aforesaid spacing t in relationship to the diameter d of the bar . referring next to fig6 and 7 , another embodiment of this invention will be described . in fig6 and 7 , parts corresponding to those mentioned above are marked with the same reference numerals , and no description will be repeated . fig6 ( a ) is a longitudinal sectional view showing the principal part of the tubular incandescent lamp of this embodiment ; fig6 ( b ) and 6 ( c ) respectively show light emitting segments and non - light - emitting segments employed in this embodiment ; and fig7 depicts assembling of the light emitting segments and the non - light - emitting segments into a filament . this embodiment differs from the foregoing embodiment in that each coupling member 2b includes , at a predetermined position , a sharply rising portion of about one turn or a closely - pitched coil - like portion , identified in fig7 by reference numeral 2c . in assembling a filament of this type the coupling member 2b does not easily pass across the bent portion 3b of each non - light - emitting segment 3 at the position of the sharply rising portion . once the filament has been assembled , the sharply rising portion positioned immediately before or after the bent portion 3b prevents easy displacement of the light emitting segment 2 and the non - light - emitting 3 relative to each other ; consequently , the permanent connection , such as by the aforementioned welding of segments 2 and 3 , may be omitted in some cases . the sharp rising portion 2c can be used also for indicating the positional relationship between the segments 2 and 3 during assembly to allow ease and accuracy in obtaining the short - circuit distance . with the sharply rising portion of one turn or so , the light emitting segment is hardly deformed ; even if it is deformed , this can be corrected by slightly bending both end portions of the short - circuit part 3a to deviate in a direction opposite to that of extension of the bent portion 3b ( as viewed in fig6 ) in anticipation of a slight deviation of the light emitting coil 2a in the direction of extension of the bent portion 3b ( as viewed in fig6 ). this slight deviation is usually less than 0 . 3 mm and sometimes negligible . referring now to fig8 and 9 , still another embodiment of this invention will be described . fig8 shows , on an enlarged scale , assembling of the light emitting segment 2 and the non - light - emitting segment 3 . when an angle θ between the bent portion 3b and the straight short - circuit part 3a of the non - light - emitting segment 3 is about or larger than 90 ° and the diameter of the bar is approximately 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 mm , the inner side surface p of the bent portion 3b usually has a roundness with a radius of about 0 . 3 to 1 . 0 mm . due to this roundness , that part 2 &# 39 ; a of the coupling member 2b which extends around the bent portion 3b slides up thereon obliquely to the right or left . this results in the center line y -- y of the light emitting coil 2a deviating slightly from the center line x -- x of the straight short - circuit part 3a . where a substantially high performance in a bulb is required , the abovesaid deviation , though slight , may in some cases affect the performance . to avoid this in this embodiment of the invention , in making the non - light - emitting segment , the bend portion 3b is slightly inclined towards the straight short - circuit part 3a so that the angle θ between the bent portion 3b and the straight short - circuit part 3a is decreased , for example , to about 80 °. this reduces or prevents the abovesaid &# 34 ; sliding up &# 34 ; problem . in this case , the roundness of the inner side surface p of the bent portion 3b is also reduced ; therefore , in accordance with this embodiment of the invention , a tubular incandescent lamp of high performance is again achieved . as has been described in the foregoing , the tubular incandescent lamp of this invention is lightweight , excellent in shock resistance and easy and accurate to assemble , and , therefore , substantially free from changes in the distribution and quantity of light . it will be apparent that many modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of this invention . | 7 |
preferable embodiments of an electric power tool according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings . embodiments are shown in fig1 to 3 or fig4 to 6 . an electric power tool according to the present invention includes a tool body h having a rotor 1 , an inner cylindrical body 2 and an outer cylindrical body 3 . the inner cylindrical body 2 houses the rotor 1 with a ventilation space s 1 therearound , and is inserted into the outer cylindrical body 3 which has a plurality of groove - shaped ventilation spaces s 2 on its upper and lower parts of the inner face and a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 1 on its outer circumferential face . the outer cylindrical body 3 has , on its front end , a ventilation space s 3 covered with a front cap 4 , and , on its rear end , a ventilation space s 4 covered with a rear cap 5 . in the electric power tool according to the present invention , the rotation of a fan 6 which is attached to the rotor 1 circulates the air in the tool body h through the ventilation spaces s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , and s 4 so as to cool a body part 1 a , a brush contact part 1 b , a front bearing part 1 c and a rear bearing part 1 d of the rotor 1 . the air in the tool body h may be circulated by the rotation of the fan 6 through the ventilation spaces s 1 and s 2 so as to cool the body part 1 a and the brush contact part 1 b only . if the outer cylindrical body 3 has a plurality of groove - like ventilation spaces s 2 on its upper and lower parts of the inner face , the electric power tool according to the present invention can be carried out without a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 1 on its outer circumferential face . as clearly shown in fig1 , the rotor 1 has a rotor shaft r , the body part 1 a provided on the shaft r , the fan 6 fitted to the part of the rotor shaft r in front of the body part 1 a , the brush contact part 1 b fitted to the part of the rotor shaft r in back of the body part 1 a , the front bearing part 1 c attached to the front part of the rotor shaft r , and the rear bearing part 1 d attached to the rear end of the rotor shaft r , and a tool 7 for cutting and drilling is to be mounted on the front end of the rotor shaft r . as clearly shown in fig3 and 6 , the rotor 1 is assembled into the electric power tool in the manner that the body part 1 a is disposed on a bobbin 8 , the brush contact part 1 b is disposed on a brush table 9 , the front bearing part 1 c is disposed on the front cap 4 , and the rear bearing part 1 d is disposed on the rear cap 5 . the inner cylindrical body 2 may be made of materials with high heat conductance such as an aluminum alloy . however , in order to decrease the heat conductance to the outer cylindrical body 3 , it is rather preferable that the inner cylindrical body 2 is made of materials with low heat conductance such as a synthetic resin . the inner cylindrical body 2 according to the present invention is formed in a cylindrical shape by combining two semi cylindrical bodies as shown in fig1 , which holds the bobbin 8 and the brush table 9 , and communicates with the ventilation spaces s 3 and s 4 at its front and rear ends respectively . the outer cylindrical body 3 may be made of , for example , metal materials or complex materials including a metal and a synthetic resin . however , it is preferable that the outer cylindrical body 3 is made of materials with high heat conductance such as an aluminum alloy . in the cylindrical body 3 of the present invention , the outer circumferential part has an elliptical cylindrical shape , while the inner circumferential part has a cylindrical shape . and , as described above , a plurality of groove - like ventilation spaces s 2 are formed on its upper and lower parts of the inner face and a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 1 are formed on the other circumferential face . alternatively , both of the inner and outer circumferential parts may be formed in an elliptical cylindrical shape , or both in a cylindrical shape . the electric power tool with the outer circumferential part in an elliptical cylindrical shape may be easily held and enhances workability while performing cutting and drilling operations . the groove - like ventilation spaces s 2 , which are formed on the upper and lower parts of the inner faces , may be formed on the right and left parts of the inner face or on the upper , lower , right , and left parts of the entire inner face . the front cap 4 is made of material with high heat conductance such as an aluminum alloy . the front cap 4 includes a support part 4 a for the front bearing part 1 c at its front part and a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 2 therein . the fins receive the air circulating within the tool body h through the ventilation space s 3 . further , if necessary , the front end of this front cap 4 is provided with a guide frame body 10 for cutting and drilling of the tool 7 attached to the front end of the rotor shaft r . the rear cap 5 is made of material with high heat conductance such as an aluminum alloy . the rear cap 5 has a support part 5 a for the rear bearing part 1 d at its front part and a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 3 on the outer circumference of this support part 5 a . the heat dissipation fins 3 receive the air circulating within the tool body h through the ventilation space s 4 . further , a seal cap 11 a is attached behind the rear cap 5 , so as to prevent outside air from being sucked into the tool body h . in the embodiment shown in fig4 to 6 , the electric power tool of the present invention sucks outside air into the tool body h and makes it part of the circulating air and discharges part of the circulating air outside of the tool body h . in other words , in place of the seal cap 11 a of the foregoing embodiment , the electric power tool includes an incomplete seal cap 11 b having a plurality of small ventilating holes and a filter 13 . this incomplete seal cap 11 b enables to suck outside air to be part of the circulating air ( about 5 to 10 % of the circulating air ) through the ventilating holes 13 and the filter 13 . when the incomplete seal cap 11 b is attached , an air intake 5 b is provided at the rear cap 5 so as to take outside air into the tool body h through this air intake 5 b , and an air outlet 4 b is provided at the front cap 4 so as to exhaust part of the circulating air through this air outlet 4 b . further , as shown in the drawings , the electric power tool according to the present invention includes a front engaging part 14 a for a handle at the front end of the upper part of the outer cylindrical body 3 and a rear engaging part 14 b for the handle is provided at the rear end of the upper part of the rear cap 5 . a handle 15 is connected to these engaging parts so as to provide the handle 15 on the tool body h . furthermore , a boundary between the rear cap 5 and the seal cap 11 a or the incomplete seal cap 11 b is provided with a penetration hole 16 through which a power code c is brought into the tool body h . being constructed as stated above , the electric power tool according to the present invention can cool the body part 1 a , the brush contact part 1 b , the front bearing part 1 c and the rear bearing part 1 d of the rotor 1 as follows . first , in the electric power tool according to the present invention , when the rotor 1 is driven to rotate for performing cutting and drilling operations , the fan 6 attached to this rotor 1 rotates . then , in the electric power tool according to the embodiment shown in fig1 to 3 , along with the rotation of the fan 6 , air within the tool body h flows forward and bumps against the fins f 2 provided at the front cap 4 and turns around to the ventilation space s 3 and then to the ventilation spaces s 2 provided in the outer cylindrical body 3 . subsequently the air further moves through the ventilation space s 4 , bumps against the fin 3 provided on the rear cap 5 , turns around to the ventilation space s 1 provided around the rotor 1 , reaches the fan 6 , and here the air has come full circle . on the other hand , in the electric power tool according to the embodiment shown in fig4 to 6 , along with the rotation of the fan 6 , air within the tool body h flows forward and bumps against the fins f 2 provided at the front cap 4 . part of the air discharges from the air outlet 4 b provided at the front cap 4 , and the remaining air turns around to the ventilation space s 3 and then the ventilation spaces s 2 provided the outer cylindrical body 3 . then , the air further moves through the ventilation space s 4 , bumps against the fin 3 provided at the rear cap 5 to turn around . due to a negative pressure generated by the air turning around , outside air is taken in through an air intake 12 of the incomplete seal cap 11 b and further sucked into the tool body h through the air intake 5 b provided at the rear cap 5 . the air newly taken in moves forward together with the air having turned around to the ventilation space s 1 around the rotor 1 and then reaches the fan 6 , where the air has come full circle . in both embodiments , during the air circulation through the ventilating spaces within the electric power tool , circulating air comes into contact with the body part 1 a , the brush contact part 1 b , the front bearing part 1 c and the rear bearing part 1 d of the rotor 1 . heat generated at the body part 1 a and the brush contact part 1 b of the rotor 1 may be dissipated into the circulating air , and thereby the body part 1 a and the brush contact part 1 b are cooled . heat generated at the front bearing part 1 c is conducted to the front cap 4 by which the front bearing part 1 c is supported , and efficiently released to the circulating air which bumps against the fins f 2 provided at this front cap 4 , and thereby the front bearing part 1 c can be sufficiently cooled . on the other hand , the heat generated at the rear bearing part 1 d is conducted to the rear cap 5 by which the rear bearing part 1 d is supported , and efficiently released to the circulating air which bumps against the fins f 3 provided at this rear cap 5 , and thereby the rear bearing part 1 d can be sufficiently cooled . then , the heat in the circulating air the temperature of which is increased while cooling the body part 1 a , the brush contact part 1 b , the front bearing part 1 c and the rear bearing part 1 d of the rotor 1 is efficiently conducted to the outer cylindrical body 3 while the circulating air passes through a plurality of groove - like ventilation spaces s 2 formed on the outer cylindrical body 3 , and efficiently dissipated by a plurality of heat dissipation fins f 1 formed on the outer circumferential face of this outer cylindrical body 3 . thus , the circulating air can be sufficiently cooled . further , even if there is no heat dissipation fin f 1 on the outer circumferential face of the outer cylindrical body 3 , the heat in the circulating air is dissipated from the outer circumferential face of this outer cylindrical body 3 and thereby the circulating air is cooled off . further , according to the embodiment shown in fig4 to 6 , in the electric power tool of the present invention , part of the circulating air is discharged through the air outlet 4 b at the front cap 4 , and outside air is taken in through the air intake 5 b at the rear cap 5 . therefore , rise of the temperature of the circulating air can be suppressed compared to the embodiment shown in fig1 to 3 , and the respective heated parts can be more sufficiently cooled . | 7 |
with reference now to the drawing , the preferred embodiment of the manifold is herein described . it should be noted that the articles “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ”, as used in this specification , include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . the manifold system delivers water , held in holding tank 2 , through conduit system 1 , to pressure washing system 12 . the manifold diverts water on one of two paths . the first path , defined by the presence of ball valve 3 , is a direct line from tank 2 to pressure washing system 12 . water diverted though this path is plain tap water , used in washing . the second path is the deionization path , defined by cation filter 6 and anion filter 8 . pump 4 is activated to provide suction and divert water into the second path . check valve 7 is installed before pump 4 in the path so as to keep pump 4 primed . pump 4 forces water into cation filter 6 , which removes positive ions from the water , and anion filter 8 , removing negative ions . the filters 6 , 8 replace ions with h + and oh − ions respectively , which then fuse into pure , deionized h 2 o . from anion filter 8 , water is directed back into the first path and into the pressure washing system to provide a spot - free rinse . check valves 5 and 9 are supplied to prevent backwash of deionized water into the tank or fresh water into the deionization system , respectively . for the preferred embodiment , which is for a portable commercial system suitable for installation in a trailer , check valves 5 and 7 should be ½ - inch swing check valves while check valve 9 should be a ½ - inch spring check valve . it should be noted , however , that any type of check valve might be used and adapted for these purposes in the manifold . ball valve 3 is likewise ½ - inch and is provided as a safety valve . it may be left open throughout operation though it is preferred to close it after pump activation . the closed ball valve 3 prevents fresh water from mixing with deionized water in the event of a power failure to the pump and also allows notice of the situation when water pressure is decreased . without closing the valve 3 , the pump in the pressure washing system 12 would pull fresh water through the manifold if pump 4 failed in any manner and there could be no discernable difference between the fresh water and deionized water pressure . as such , a power failure , without closing ball valve 3 , could be undetected until after a job had been completed . ball valve 3 may also be closed for to force diversion of water into the deionization system , though the siphon created by the pump in pressure washing system 12 is generally insufficient for proper operation of an on - demand deionization system . pump 4 should provide at least ½ hp and should be attached to a power source 11 with a gfi protected power supply cord 10 . ideally , the power supply should be a us standard 110 volt ac source , though alternate ac power sources or a dc power source and compatible pump may also be used . larger and smaller systems are easily conceived by altering the sizes and capacities of the manifold and system components to correspond with demand . as such , size limitations recited for the preferred embodiment should be in no manner limiting to the claims that follow . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention . no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred . | 2 |
looking first at fig1 there is shown novel apparatus for growing tubular crystalline bodies from a melt . although not shown , it is to be understood that the apparatus of fig1 also includes associated apparatus such as heating coils , inner and outer after heater assemblies , insulation , etc . such as is normally found in a crystal growing furnace of the type disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 440 , 728 . such associated apparatus has now been omitted to facilitate understanding of the present invention . the apparatus of fig1 comprises a growth chamber 100 defined by a side wall 105 , a top cover 110 and a chamber base 115 . top cover 110 has a center hole 120 formed therein , and chamber base 115 has a center hole 125 formed therein . aperture 120 is axially aligned with aperture 125 top aperture 120 preferably has a shape which , when looked at in plan view , is identical to the cross - sectional shape of the hollow crystalline body which is being grown in the apparatus , so that the hollow crystalline body issuing from the melt can pass through aperture 120 and make a reasonably close fit with the inner edges of top cover 110 which define its aperture 120 , as will hereinafter be described in further detail center hole 125 preferably has a shape which , when looked at in plan view , is circular . the growth chamber &# 39 ; s side wall 105 , top cover 110 and chamber base 115 are fastened to one another so as to be as airtight as possible at their points of intersection , whereby center holes 120 and 125 constitute the portals into and out of growth chamber 100 . growth chamber 100 is formed out of those materials well known to those skilled in the art that are compatible with and do not react with the material of the hollow crystalline body that is being grown , e . g . side wall 105 is made of quartz , and top cover 110 and chamber base 115 are made of stainless steel where the growing crystalline body consists of silicon . crucible - die assembly 200 is disposed within growth chamber 100 . looking next at fig1 and 2a , crucible - die assembly 200 is similar to crucible - die assemblies well known in the art , but differs therefrom in specific features that are hereinafter described and illustrated in detail . more specifically , crucible - die assembly 200 comprises a central chamber 205 for receiving a melt 210 of the source material which is to be grown , a growth face 215 formed at the top of the crucible - die assembly , a capillary 216 that intersects growth face 215 , and a plurality of capillary feed slots 220 formed in the walls of the crucible - die assembly for wetting growth face 215 with a liquid film of source material from melt 210 . referring now to fig2 a , it is to be noted that growth face 215 actually comprises a pair of end surfaces or edges 215 &# 39 ; and 215 &# 39 ; separated by a capillary opening 216 . it is to be understood that liquid source material ( i . e ., the &# 34 ; melt &# 34 ;) is transported via feed slots 220 and capillary 216 to growth face 215 by capillary action . crucible - die assembly 200 has its growth face 215 formed as a series of six abutting surfaces 215a , 215b , 215c , etc . ( see fig2 ), whereby a hollow tubular crystal of a hexagonal nature will be grown . crucible - die assembly 200 has a pair of top surfaces disposed on either side of , and slightly below , growth face 215 : an exterior top surface 225 ( actually formed by six co - planar surfaces 225a , 225b , 225c , etc .) resides alongside growth face 215 exterior to the growth face ; and an interior top surface 230 resides alongside growth face 215 interior to the growth face . as best seen in fig1 top surfaces 225 and 230 sit below growth face 215 but sit above the top surface of melt 210 . crucible - die assembly 200 also includes a flat bottom surface 235 . crucible - die assembly 200 is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . the foregoing features of crucible - die assembly 200 are all believed to be well known to those skilled in the art . crucible - die assembly 200 departs from conventional crucible - die assemblies in that it includes a plurality of exterior vertical passages 240 which extend between the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s exterior top surface 225 and its bottom surface 235 , and a plurality of interior vertical passages 245 which extend between the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s interior top surface 230 and its bottom surface 235 . crucible - die assembly 200 sits on an interior gas manifold plate 300 . looking next at fig1 and 4 , interior gas manifold plate 300 comprises a disk or platter which has a flat top surface 305 and a flat bottom surface 310 . interior gas manifold 300 has a plurality of vertical passages 315 which extend between its top surface 305 and its bottom surface 310 . vertical passages 315 are sized and positioned so that they may be aligned with exterior vertical passages 240 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 when interior gas manifold plate 300 is positioned against the bottom surface of the crucible - die assembly , as will hereinafter be described in further detail . interior gas manifold plate 300 also includes a central aperture 320 which extends between the plate &# 39 ; s top surface 305 and its bottom surface 310 . a plurality of surface grooves 325 ( fig3 ) are formed in top surface 305 of plate 300 . surface grooves 325 communicate with the plate &# 39 ; s central aperture 320 and radiate outwardly so as to communicate with a hexagonally - shaped surface groove 330 also formed in the plate &# 39 ; s top surface 305 . hexagonal surface groove 330 is sized and positioned so that it may be aligned with interior vertical passages 245 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 when interior gas manifold plate 300 is positioned against the bottom surface of the crucible - die assembly , as will hereinafter be described in further detail . interior gas manifold plate is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . interior gas manifold plate 300 in turn sits atop an exterior gas manifold plate 400 . looking next at fig1 and 6 , exterior gas manifold plate 400 comprises a disk or platter having a flat top surface 405 and a flat bottom surface 410 . exterior gas manifold plate 400 has a central aperture 420 which extends between its top surface 405 and its bottom surface 410 . a plurality of surface grooves 425 are formed in top surface 405 of plate 400 . surface grooves 425 communicate with the plate &# 39 ; s central aperture 420 and radiate outwardly so as to communicate with a circular surface groove 430 ( fig5 ) also formed in the plate &# 39 ; s top surface 405 . circular surface groove 430 is sized and positioned so that it may be aligned with vertical passages 315 formed in interior gas manifold plate 300 when exterior gas manifold plate 400 is positioned against the bottom surface of interior gas manifold plate 300 , as will hereinafter be described in further detail . exterior gas manifold plate 400 is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . crucible - die assembly 200 , interior gas manifold plate 300 and exterior gas manifold plate 400 are assembled together in the manner shown in fig1 so that top surface 305 of interior gas manifold plate 300 is positioned against bottom surface 235 of crucible - die assembly 200 , with vertical passages 315 of the interior gas manifold plate being aligned with exterior vertical passages 240 of the crucible - die assembly , and with surface grooves 325 of the interior gas manifold plate adjoining bottom surface 235 of the crucible - die assembly whereby bottom surface 235 forms a ceiling for surface grooves 325 , and with surface grooves 325 of the interior gas manifold plate communicating with interior vertical passages 245 formed in the crucible - die assembly in addition to the foregoing , top surface 405 of exterior gas manifold plate 400 is positioned against bottom surface 310 of interior gas manifold plate 300 so that central aperture 420 of the exterior gas manifold plate is axially aligned with central aperture 320 of interior gas manifold plate , and so that surface grooves 425 of the exterior gas manifold plate adjoin bottom surface 310 of the interior gas manifold plate whereby bottom surface 310 forms a ceiling for surface grooves 425 , and so that surface grooves 425 of the exterior gas manifold plate communicate with vertical passages 315 formed in the interior gas manifold plate . as seen in fig1 crucible - die assembly 200 , interior gas manifold plate 300 and exterior gas manifold plate 400 are supported within growth chamber 100 by a plurality of posts 475 which extend between chamber base 115 and exterior gas manifold plate 400 . still looking at fig1 an interior gas feed tube 500 is attached to interior gas manifold plate 300 so that the feed tube &# 39 ; s top end 505 forms an airtight fit with the walls of the manifold which define that manifold &# 39 ; s central aperture 320 . interior gas feed tube 500 is attached to interior gas manifold plate 300 in the manner shown in fig1 so that the feed tube &# 39 ; s interior communicates with radial surface grooves 325 formed in interior manifold plate 300 , whereby gases passed into the feed tube &# 39 ; s lower end 510 will flow first into surface grooves 325 formed in the interior gas manifold plate and thereafter into internal vertical passages 245 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 . interior gas feed tube 500 is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . an exterior gas feed tube 600 is positioned concentrically around interior gas feed tube 500 and attached to exterior gas manifold plate 400 so that the exterior gas feed tube &# 39 ; s top end 605 forms an airtight fit with the walls of the manifold which define that manifold &# 39 ; s central aperture 420 . this arrangement results in the creation of a chamber 607 between the concentric walls of the interior and exterior gas feed tubes . exterior gas feed tube 600 is attached to exterior gas manifold plate 400 in the manner shown in fig1 so that the aforementioned interior chamber 607 communicates with radial surface grooves 425 formed in exterior gas manifold plate 400 , whereby gases passed into the feed tube &# 39 ; s lower end 610 will flow first into surface grooves 425 formed in the exterior gas manifold plate , through vertical passages 315 formed into interior gas manifold plate 300 , and thereafter into exterior vertical passages 240 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 . exterior gas feed tube 600 is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . still looking at fig1 the bottom ends of interior gas feed tube 500 and exterior gas feed tube 600 extend downward through bottom central aperture 125 formed in chamber base 115 and contact a gas fitting 700 . gas fitting 700 is disposed about bottom central aperture 125 and forms an airtight fit with chamber base 115 . gas fitting 700 is equipped with a central aperture 705 , a first interior wall 710 , a second interior wall 715 , a first port 720 , a second port 725 and a third port 730 . interior gas feed tube 500 is attached to gas fitting 700 so that the tube &# 39 ; s second end 510 forms an airtight fit with an o - ring seal 735 disposed in a groove in first wall 710 , whereby gases entering the fitting &# 39 ; s first port 720 will be directed into the interior of interior gas feed tube 500 . exterior gas feed tube 600 is attached to gas fitting 700 so that the tube &# 39 ; s second end 610 forms an airtight fit with an o - ring seal 740 disposed in a groove in second wall 715 , whereby gases entering the fitting &# 39 ; s second port 725 will be directed into the chamber 607 formed between the concentric interior and exterior gas feed tubes . on account of the fact that the outside dimension of exterior gas feed tube 600 is sized to be less than the dimension of bottom central aperture 125 of chamber base 115 and also less than the width of the gas fitting &# 39 ; s central aperture 705 , gases entering the fitting &# 39 ; s third port 730 will be directed into the interior of growth chamber 100 but will be kept exterior to exterior gas feed tube 600 and crucible - die assembly 200 . gas fitting 700 is formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . stainless steel . still looking at fig1 the novel apparatus for growing tubular crystalline bodies from a melt also includes gas directing means 800 disposed about the top end of crucible - die assembly 200 . more specifically , gas directing means 800 comprises an exterior gas deflector 805 which sits atop the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s exterior top surface 225 and which directs gases exiting from the top of exterior vertical passages 240 toward the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s growth face 215 , and an interior gas deflector 810 which sits atop the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s interior top surface 230 and which directs gases exiting from the top of interior vertical passages 245 toward the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s growth face 215 . exterior gas deflector 805 and interior gas deflector 810 are formed out of materials well known to those skilled in the art , e . g . graphite . on account of the foregoing construction , when a hollow crystalline body 900 is being grown from a melt 210 according to the efg process in ways well known in the art , gases directed into first port 720 of gas fitting 700 will make their way along the interior of interior gas feed tube 500 , along surface grooves 325 formed in interior gas manifold plate 300 , into interior vertical passages 245 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 and thereafter be deflected by interior gas deflector 810 against the interior surface of the hollow crystalline body issuing from die growth face 215 . at the same time , gases directed into second port 725 of gas fitting 700 will make their way along chamber 607 formed between the concentric gas feed tubes 500 and 600 , along surface grooves 425 formed in exterior gas manifold plate 400 , into vertical passages 315 formed in interior gas manifold plate 300 , along exterior vertical passages 240 formed in crucible - die assembly 200 and thereafter be deflected by exterior gas deflector 805 against the exterior surface of the hollow crystalline body issuing from die growth face 215 . finally , gases directed into third port 730 of gas fitting 700 will make their way through bottom central aperture 125 formed in chamber base 115 and into growth chamber 100 . it is to be appreciated that since top central aperture 120 of the growth chamber &# 39 ; s top cover 110 is sized so as to be slightly larger than the crystalline body issuing from the melt , gases introduced into growth chamber 100 via the gas fitting &# 39 ; s second port 725 and third port 730 will be able to escape from the growth chamber by passing through the small gap existing between the issuing crystalline body 900 and top cover 110 . it is also to be appreciated that inasmuch as the seed holder 905 set at the top of the issuing hollow crystalline body 900 is not airtight , gases introduced into the interior of the growing crystalline body 900 via first port 720 will be able to escape from the interior of the issuing hollow crystalline body by passing through seed holder 905 . by way of example , suppose a hexagonal silicon tube of 8 inch diameter is to be grown at a rate of 1 inch per minute using the aforementioned apparatus , and the inert gas argon is to be introduced into growth chamber 100 via ports 720 , 725 and 730 so as to purge the growth zone of any harmful reactive gases which might be present . in this case , port 720 might be used to introduce argon into the zone located inside the growing crystalline body ( i . e ., the &# 34 ; interior &# 34 ; zone ), where the argon is introduced at a temperature of approximately 30 degrees c . and is introduced at a rate of approximately 12000 cubic centimeters per minute ; port 725 might be used to introduce argon into the zone located outside the growing crystalline body ( i . e ., the &# 34 ; exterior &# 34 ; zone ), where the argon is introduced at a temperature of approximately 30 degrees c . and is introduced at a rate of approximately 12000 cubic centimeters per minute ; and port 730 might be used to introduce argon into growth chamber 100 , where the gas is introduced at a temperature of approximately 30 degrees c . and is introduced at a rate of approximately 16000 cubic centimeters per minute . the temperature of the growth face of the die is maintained at a temperature of between about 1410 and 1450 degrees c . during the growth procedure . the tubular crystalline product has a wall thickness of about 0 . 4 millimeters and its composition essentially comprises silicon . while in the foregoing example inert argon gas was described as being introduced into ports 720 and 725 for the purpose of purging the growth zone of any harmful reactive gases which might be present , and inert argon gas was described as being introduced into port 730 for the purpose of providing an inert atmosphere within growth chamber 100 , beneficial reactive gases such as oxygen , carbon monoxide , carbon dioxide , methane , etc . might be introduced into one or both of the ports 720 and 725 so as to introduce them into the growth zone , or port 730 so as to introduce them into growth chamber 100 , or beneficial doping gases such as boron fluoride , phosphine , etc . might be introduced into one or both of the ports 720 and 725 so as to introduce them into the growth zone , or port 730 so as to introduce them into growth chamber 100 . it is , of course , possible to modify the apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the present invention . thus , for example , crucible - die assembly 200 could be formed so as to have more or less than the six abutting die surfaces 215a , 215b , 215c , etc . and the six co - planar exterior surfaces 225a , 225b , 225c , etc . described above , whereby a crystalline body of a different cross - sectional shape could be grown , e . g . crucible - die assembly 200 could be formed so as to have nine abutting die surfaces 215a , 215b , 215c , etc . and nine co - planar surfaces 225a , 225b , 225c , etc ., whereby crystalline bodies of a nonagonal cross - section could be grown . in the apparatus describe above , the vertical passages 240 and 245 carrying the gases inlet at ports 720 and 725 , respectively , extend through the full height of the crucible - die assembly 200 before opening on faces 225 and 230 . such an arrangement is generally desirable since it allows the gases moving through passages 240 and 245 to pick up the heat of the melt and facilitates deploying the gases at the growth zone at the same temperature as the melt . however , in certain circumstances one might wish to deploy the gases at a temperature different than that of the melt . in this case one might place a layer of insulation around passages 240 and 245 to insulate the gases flowing through these passages from the temperature of the melt or , alternatively , one might even alter the positioning of passages 240 and 245 so that they extend horizontally through the crucible - die assembly , parallel to surfaces 225 and 230 ; such an arrangement could reduce the exposure of the gases passing through these passages from the heat of the crucible , although it would necessitate replacing the present means used to transport the gases from inlet ports 720 and 725 to passages 240 and 245 with some alternate means . still other changes of this sort will be obvious to those skilled in the art and are considered to be within the scope of the present invention . one of the advantages of using the present invention is that the novel apparatus for growing tubular crystalline bodies includes means for controlling the atmosphere surrounding the growing crystalline body . as a result , harmful reactive gases can be removed from the area surrounding the growing crystalline body and inert gases , beneficial reactive gases and / or beneficial doping gases can be introduced to the area surrounding the growing crystalline body . in addition , by controlling the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the growing crystalline body , proper regulation of the temperature of the growing crystalline body can be facilitated . another advantage of using the present invention is that means are provided for controlling the atmosphere surrounding the growing tubular crystalline body wherein the atmosphere in the zone located outside the growing crystalline body ( i . e ., the &# 34 ; exterior &# 34 ; zone ) can be controlled independently of the atmosphere in the zone located inside the growing crystalline body ( i . e ., the &# 34 ; interior &# 34 ; zone ). as a result , the exterior of the product crystalline body can be subjected to different growth conditions than the interior of the product crystalline body , if desired . another advantage of the present invention is that inasmuch as exterior vertical passages 240 and interior vertical passages 245 pass through the full height of the crucible - die assembly prior to opening adjacent to the crucible - die assembly &# 39 ; s growth face , gases flowing upward through these passages to the growth face are allowed an opportunity to reach temperatures very close to that of the melt . still other advantages of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art . | 2 |
fig1 a is a perspective view of the apparatus 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention . as seen in fig1 a , the apparatus 100 includes a display 101 , a power button 102 , a front fixed member 103 , and a back moveable member 104 . the back movable member 104 can move laterally , longitudinally , vertically , and in a rotational movement . fig1 b is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a , and shows the detail of the mechanics of the back movable member 104 . the front fixed member 103 or back moveable member 104 can be a rubberized surface and configured to minimize point pressure on a user &# 39 ; s hand . as seen in fig1 b , the back movable member 104 is preferably connected to the apparatus 100 by means of flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 , preferably three ( 3 ) flexible members , an upper flexible member 105 , a center flexible member 106 and a lower flexible member 107 . according to a preferred embodiment , the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 may be elastic polymers in the nature of bumpers . however , the flexible member ( s ) 105 , 106 and 107 can be any compressible structure ( e . g ., spring , air bladder , encapsulated fluid ) known to those skilled in the art . the center flexible member 106 is preferably provided with a sleeve 108 as seen in fig1 b , which functions to translate a multiaxial force , as may be applied to the back movable member 104 when a rotated grip is applied to the apparatus 100 , into a uniaxial force . although the sleeve 108 may not translate such force with complete accuracy , the sleeve 108 also helps minimize other possible transfer losses that can occur when the center flexible member 106 expands ( widens ) under load . the sleeve 108 further provides a hard surface for connecting the force applied to the back movable member 104 to the sensor 109 in the apparatus 100 . according to a preferred embodiment , the sleeve 108 is a metal sleeve . fig2 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and shows the detail of the mechanics of the front fixed member 103 . fig3 a is a side view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and fig3 b is a sectional view of the apparatus 100 of fig3 a taken along line 3 b - 3 b . as can be seen from fig3 b , the center flexible member 106 of the apparatus 100 is encased by the sleeve 108 . the back movable member 104 is further comprised of a soft shell 110 and a rigid core 111 , as illustrated in fig3 b . fig4 a is a back view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and fig4 b is a sectional view of the apparatus 100 of fig4 a taken along line 4 b - 4 b . fig4 b also shows the soft shell 110 and rigid core 111 of the back movable member 104 . fig5 a is a side view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and fig5 b is a sectional view of the apparatus 100 of fig5 a taken along line 5 b - 5 b , i . e ., intersecting the lower flexible member 107 . fig5 c is an enlargement of detail 5 e of fig5 b and shows the lower snaps ( both right 112 a and left 112 b ) in the relief position , i . e ., when no squeeze force is applied to the apparatus 100 and the back movable member 104 is in a resting position . fig6 a is a side view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and fig6 b is a sectional view of the apparatus 100 of fig6 a taken along line 6 b - 6 b , i . e ., intersecting the upper flexible member 105 . fig6 c is an enlargement of detail 6 c of fig6 b and shows the upper snaps ( both right 112 a and left 112 b ) in the stop position , i . e ., in a situation where a squeezing force 113 has been applied to the apparatus 100 such that the back movable member 104 has been depressed and the upper flexible member 105 is compressed . when a squeeze force 113 is applied to the apparatus 100 , the back movable member 104 pushes up against the upper flexible member 105 . although not pictured in fig6 c , in the preferred embodiment , the center flexible member 106 comes into contact with the sensor 109 by means of the sleeve 108 when force 113 is applied . fig7 a is a side view of the apparatus 100 of fig1 a and fig7 b is a sectional view of the apparatus 100 of fig7 a taken along line 7 b - 7 b . fig7 c is an enlargement of detail 7 c of fig7 b and shows the upper snaps ( both right 112 a and left 112 b ) in the stop position in the event that a rotating squeeze force 114 has been applied to the apparatus 100 such that the back movable member 104 has rotated slightly . when such a rotating squeeze force 114 is applied to the apparatus 100 , the back movable member 104 pushes up unevenly against the upper flexible member 105 so that , as seen in fig7 c where the rotational force 114 is to the right , the right snap 112 a is in the relief position and the left snap 112 b is in the stop position . in the event that the back movable member 104 is rotated up or down , a vertical rather than horizontal displacement of the back movable member 104 relative to the apparatus 100 would be noted ( not shown ). the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 and / or back movable member 104 may collectively act as force shunt . however , in the preferred embodiment , only the force transfer member ( described as “ center flexible member ” 106 ) directly translates the force to the sensor 109 . referring to fig4 b , during an exercise regimen , the user exerts a grip force on the apparatus 100 . a force proportional to the grip force is transferred via the back movable member 104 , the center flexible member 106 and the sleeve 108 to the sensor 109 and measured by the control system of the apparatus 100 . the sensor 109 is seated in the body of the apparatus 100 . according to a preferred embodiment , for additional grip support , two additional flexible members ( upper 105 and lower 107 ) are seated in the apparatus 100 . for comfort , both the fixed front member 103 and the back movable member 104 are provided with a soft shell 110 , preferably a polymer shell , covering a rigid core 111 , preferably a polymer core , as seen in fig3 b . the rigid core 111 also can consist of a metal or a natural fiber . the soft polymer shell 110 is the surface that interfaces with the hand of the user . the soft polymer shell 110 can also consist of a synthetic ( e . g ., rubber or foam ) or a natural fiber . furthermore , comfort is also ensured by virtue of the flexible members , including the upper 105 , center 106 and lower 107 flexible members , which provide a “ springy ” feel to the apparatus 100 and ensure greater comfort and accordingly , greater compliance with the exercise regimen . compliance is further accomplished by allowing the back movable member 104 to displace ( travel a certain distance ) towards the apparatus 100 when a squeeze force is applied . displacement of the back movable member 104 towards the apparatus 100 is achieved by means of the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 and by allowing a gap to exist between back movable member 104 and the apparatus 100 . friction between the apparatus 100 and the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 can be reduced by housing , wholly or partially , any of the flexible members in a corresponding sleeve ( e . g ., 108 ). use of a sleeve may also serve to limit the range of motion of the flexible member housed therein . as mentioned above , additional comfort is provided during isometric exercise by allowing a certain amount of right / left and / or up / down rotational movement of the back movable member 104 . right / left rotation is accomplished by placing the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 along the centerline of the back movable member 104 . right / left rotational freedom can be further facilitated by providing clearance cuts behind the snaps 112 a and 112 b in the apparatus 100 . up / down rotation is accomplished by the elastic nature of the upper and lower flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 . up / down rotational freedom may be further facilitated by providing clearance cuts behind the snaps 112 a and 112 b in apparatus 100 . housing the center flexible member 106 in a sleeve 108 ensures that the force applied to the back movable member 104 is always centered and perpendicular to the sensor 109 surface in case of rotated grip positions either left / right and / or up / down . the center flexible member 106 is seated in the sleeve 108 and the sleeve 108 is in turn seated in the apparatus 100 and tightly guided by a sleeve guide 115 as seen in fig2 . the arrangement of the center flexible member 106 , sleeve 108 and sleeve guide 115 supports the force transfer to the sensor 109 with minimum possible friction losses that may occur as a result of deformation of the flexible members 105 , 106 and 107 or grip rotation . in use , the grip force applied to the back movable member 104 is transferred through the center 106 , lower 107 and upper 105 flexible members . therefore , only a proportional fraction of the actual grip force is directly transferred to the sensor by the center flexible member 106 . fig1 is a schematic showing the force transfers , including the loads present in the apparatus of the present invention . due to the relative short duration of the applied squeeze force , creep or setting of the force transmitting flexible member , i . e ., the center elastomer bumper 106 , can be considered negligible . therefore , based on fig1 , the force equilibrium can be described as follows : f g = f bi + f s + f bu − 2 f p ( eq . 1 ) f g = f s + c ′ f s − 2 f p = f s ( 1 + c ′)− 2 f p ( eq . 3 ) f g = c t ′ f s − 2 f p ( eq . 4 ), the force f s transmitted to the sensor is then : f s =( f g + 2 f p )/ c t ′ ( eq . 6 ) f s = c t ( f g + 2 f p ) ( eq . 7 ), the force transfer factor c t of the entire system is determined by experimentation , and then implemented in the code that calculates the grip force from the sensor output voltage . f p varies due to manufacturing and material related factors . furthermore , f p can change during initial usage of the device ( break - in period ). in order to ensure force measurements of sufficient accuracy and reproducibility , f p is measured by the electronics of the device prior to each use , and electronically set to zero . fig8 is a block diagram of the hardware employed with the preferred apparatus 100 of fig1 a . as can be seen in fig8 , battery 116 communicates through the control system power button 117 , i . e ., the “ on ” button , which in turn activates the power supply 118 . the power supply 118 powers a timing device 119 , preferably an oscillator such as a clock . the power supply 118 also powers the processor 120 portion of the control system , which in turn controls a user interface driver 121 ( display driver ) that provides an audible notification , i . e ., a buzzer , and / or a visual display 122 , i . e ., a liquid crystal display . the control system also employs an analog to digital converter ( a / d converter ) 123 that converts the force applied to the sensor 109 from analog to digital , i . e ., binary number . the a / d converter 123 communicates with amplifier 124 that amplifies the output signal 125 from the load cell , i . e ., the sensor 109 . thus , as a force is applied to the device , the dynamometer portion of the control system converts the force applied from a mechanical force into a form useable by the processor 120 for user feedback and guidance . fig9 is a flowchart showing a procedure employed by the apparatus 100 of fig1 a . as seen in fig9 , once the user has applied the maximum squeeze force 900 , the apparatus records the maximum squeeze force as a relative number and displays this number on the display 901 . the user is then prompted to apply a fractional force 902 , which is a percentage of the maximum force . according to a preferred embodiment , the fractional force is about 15 % to about 60 %, preferably about 25 % to about 55 %, and more preferably about 30 % if the time period of the exercise is longer , i . e ., 12 minutes , and more preferably about 50 % if the time period of the exercise is shorter , i . e ., 7 or 8 minutes . as seen in fig9 , the constant “ k ” is the fractional force . fig1 is a flowchart showing an exercise regimen carried out by the apparatus 100 of fig1 a , wherein maximum squeeze force is measured on the right hand first 1001 , followed by a rest period 1002 . then the maximum squeeze force is measured on the left hand 1003 , followed by a rest period 1004 . then the right hand and left hand are alternatively used to squeeze to a fractional force 1005 and 1007 , with rest periods 1006 between each fractional squeeze force effort 1005 and 1007 . according to a preferred embodiment , the right and left hand are alternated to a fractional squeeze force for at least about two ( 2 ) repetitions and for at most about five ( 5 ) repetitions . according to the present invention , the higher the number of repetitions , the lower the fractional force exerted should be . likewise , the longer amount of time the fractional squeeze force is held , the lower the fractional squeeze force may be . in a preferred embodiment , the final score 1008 is an average of the right hand and left hand maximum squeeze force 1001 and 1003 . it is understood , however , that the exercise could be started with the left hand instead of the right hand , as long as each hand is alternated during the exercise regimen . fig1 a is a graph displaying the force applied to the apparatus 100 of fig1 a pursuant to an exercise regimen and fig1 b is a graph displaying the force applied to the apparatus 100 of fig1 a pursuant to an exercise regimen wherein the force is variable . as seen in fig1 a and 11 b , in each case , the resting squeeze force ( rsf ) is preferably zero . 12 minute protocol , wherein the fractional squeeze force is about 28 % to about 35 % of the maximum squeeze force , preferably about 30 %. having now described a few embodiments of the invention , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing is merely illustrative and not limiting , having been presented by way of example only . numerous modifications and other embodiments are within the scope of the invention and any equivalent thereto . it can be appreciated that variations to the present invention would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art , and the present invention is intended to include those alternatives . the apparatus of the present invention may be used to carry out an exercise regimen that lowers the resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures of users . a method of the present invention is also provided for lowering the resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures of users as well as providing a protocol for increasing parasympathetic nerve activity and improving peripheral artery function . the protocol also adds to a person &# 39 ; s nitric oxide production . advantages of the present invention include recognition that isometric exercise is an effective means for a patient , i . e . user , to lower both resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure . another advantage of the present invention is that lowering resting blood pressure can be achieved utilizing isometric contractions far short of maximal force . isometric contractions at maximum force could cause blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels , especially in hypertensive patients . yet another advantage is an isometric exercise regimen that takes but a few minutes a day and yet is effective in lowering the user &# 39 ; s resting blood pressure . in addition to lowering the user &# 39 ; s resting blood pressure , it has been found that an inherent aspect of the method of the invention is that the method restricts blood flow when the user squeezes the apparatus at the fractional squeeze force ( fsf ). the restricted blood flow reduces localized necrosis due to obstruction of blood supply , such as which may be experienced by a user during a future event . according to one exemplary embodiment , when the user squeezes the apparatus at the fractional squeeze force ( fsf ) for a time such as t1 , blood flow will be restricted during that time t1 . further , since numerous modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to as falling within the scope of the invention . | 0 |
the following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention . this description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention . the scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims . where the term “ generally ” is associated with an element of the invention , it is intended to describe a feature &# 39 ; s appearance to the human eye , and not a precise measurement . a bicycle 40 including a mid - motor drive system 10 according to the present invention is shown in fig1 . the mid - motor drive system 10 is connected to a bicycle frame 42 and drives a chain ( or belt ) 30 connected to a drive sprocket 32 driving a bicycle wheel 44 . a rider may power the bicycle 40 using pedals 18 , or using the mid - motor drive system 10 , or using the pedals and the mid - motor drive system 10 . a first embodiment of a mid - motor drive system 10 a is shown in fig2 , a side view of a motor 14 and bottom bracket 38 of the mid - motor drive system 10 is shown in fig3 a , and a front view of the motor 14 and bottom bracket 38 is shown in fig3 b . the motor 14 is preferably a doughnut motor . the mid - motor drive system 10 a includes a housing 12 containing the motor 14 preferably coaxial with a pedal shaft 16 a but rotationally decoupled to the pedal shaft 16 a by bearings 17 , and pedals 18 attached to the pedal shaft 16 a . a mid shaft 16 b resides parallel with the pedal shaft 16 a . the mid shaft 16 b is coupled by a chain ( or belt ) 20 a connecting a fixed ( no clutch ) sprocket 15 a attached to the pedal shaft 16 a , to a sprocket 23 a , and the sprocket 23 a is connected to the mid shaft 16 b through uni - directional bearings ( or sprag clutches ) 22 b . the uni - directional bearing 22 a couples the chain 20 a to the mid shaft 16 a when the chain 20 a is driven by the pedals 18 to drive the bicycle forward , and decouples the chain 20 a from the mid shaft 16 b whenever the mid shaft 16 b is rotating faster than a rotation produced by the chain 20 a . the mid shaft 16 b is coupled to the motor 14 by a fixed ( no clutch ) sprocket 15 b attached to the motor and a chain ( or belt ) 20 b through uni - directional bearings ( or sprag clutches ) 22 b . the uni - directional bearing 22 b couples the chain 20 b to the mid shaft 16 b when the chain 20 b is driven by the motor 14 to drive the bicycle forward , and decouple the chain 20 b from the mid shaft 16 b whenever the mid shaft 16 b is rotating faster than a rotation produced by the chain 20 b . those skilled in the art will recognize that the uni - directional bearings 22 a and 22 b may be replaced by uni - directional bearings connecting the sprocket 15 b to the motor 14 and / or connecting the sprocket 15 a to the pedal shaft 16 a , thereby providing the same functionality as the uni - directional bearings 22 a and 22 b . a sleeve 24 resides over the pedal shaft 16 a on bearings to rotate independently of the pedal shaft 16 a . the mid shaft 16 b is further fixedly ( i . e ., fixed to always rotate together , not through a clutch ) coupled to the sleeve 24 by a chain ( or belt ) 20 c to drive the sleeve 24 . the sleeve 24 carries a sprocket 28 coupled to the drive sprocket 32 by a chain ( or belt ) 30 . the sprocket 32 may be a conventional bicycle drive sprocket rotationally fixed to a bicycle wheel , or may be coupled to a transmission 36 , for example a multi - speed derailleur , rotationally connected to a bicycle wheel . a controller 13 resides inside or outside the housing 12 and is electrically connected to batteries 11 which may reside inside or outside the housing 12 , and to the motor 14 . the controller 13 provide power from the batteries 11 to the motor 14 and the controller 13 may receive data signals from the motor 14 , the batteries 11 and / or a pedal torque sensor 27 . the pedal torque sensor 27 cooperated with the chain 20 b to measure the mechanical power generated by the rider to provide a control signal to the controller 13 as an input to the motor control 13 . the pedal torque sensor 27 may measure the torque on the pedal shaft 16 a by the rider by sensing tension on the chain 20 b between the pedal shaft 16 a and mid shaft 16 b , or by other means . the pedal torque measurements may be used as an input by the controller 13 in determining the amount of motor 14 assistance in the drive system 10 . alternately , multiple options exist for measuring pedal torque achieve the same result , and a mid drive system using any form of pedal torque measurement is intended to come within the scope of the present invention . a suitable torque sensor is described in u . s . pat . no . 8 , 965 , 610 issued to one of the present inventors . the rider may rotate the pedals 18 , as on a conventional bicycle , and the bicycle can be powered by the electric motor 14 . gear ratio may be changed between the motor sprocket 15 and the mid shaft 16 b and between the pedal shaft 16 a and the mid shaft 16 b and between the mid shaft 16 a and the sleeve 24 by replacing sprockets 15 a , 15 b , 23 a , 23 b , 23 c , and or 26 depending on the specific vehicle application . the gear ratio between the motor 14 and mid shaft 16 b may be easily adjusted depending on the speed range of the motor and the specific vehicle application . a second embodiment of a mid - motor drive system 10 b is shown in fig4 . the mid - motor drive system 10 b is functionally the same as the mid - motor drive system 10 a , but the third mid shaft sprocket 23 c and the sleeve sprocket 26 , the chain 20 c , and the sleeve 24 are placed by moving the sprocket 28 to the mid shaft 16 b . a third embodiment of a mid - motor drive system 10 c is shown in fig5 . the mid - motor drive system 10 c is similar to the mid - motor drive system 10 a , but the motor 14 a is preferably a conventional low speed motor . the motor 14 a has low rotational resistance when not under power and therefore may be rotationally fixed to the mid shaft 16 b without producing rotational drag . the mid shaft 16 b is coupled by the chain ( or belt ) 20 a connecting the fixed ( no clutch ) sprocket 15 a attached to the pedal shaft 16 a , to the sprocket 23 a , and the sprocket 23 a is connected to the mid shaft 16 b through uni - directional bearings ( or sprag clutches ) 22 a . the mid shaft 16 b is coupled to the sleeve 24 through the uni - directional bearings 22 c so that the mid shaft 16 b can drive the sleeve 24 through the chain 20 c , but the sleeve 24 cannot drive the mid shaft 16 b through the chain 20 c . the conventional bicycle sprocket or multispeed derailleur allows for connection via belt or chain to a variety of conventional bicycle transmissions in the rear wheel including , but not limited to , a derailleur , an internal hub , cvt or a traditional in - wheel motor allowing for additional motor output at a different gear ratio . advantageously , the motor and pedals can operate independently of each other without interfering with each other , which means that the drive can be operated as a throttle driven power source with no rider pedal input , a pedal - assist power source that registers rider pedal input and supplies proportional power assist , or as a conventional pedal bike without adding significant amount of drag on the total system . while the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims . i claim : | 1 |
referring to fig1 a pipe according to the present invention is shown . the pipe includes an inner tubular liner 10 having an inner surface 12 and an outer surface 14 , a first layer 16 of reinforcing fibers helically wrapped about the inner liner and in direct contact with the outer surface thereof , a second layer 18 of reinforcing fibers helically wrapped about the first layer of reinforcing fibers in direct contact therewith and an outer sheath 20 applied over the second layer and in direct contact with the second layer of reinforcing fibers . the first layer of reinforcing fibers are wrapped either clockwise or counterclockwise and the second layer is wrapped in the other of the clockwise or counterclockwise direction , when compared to the first layer . thus , it is said that one layer is wrapped at a positive helical angle and the other layer is wrapped in a negative helical angle . inner tubular liner 10 provides little or no - structural support for the pipe . preferably , the liner is selected to support the loads induced by application of the outer layers about it such as during the winding process and the subsequent extrusion of outer sheath 20 . further , the liner is selected to act as a leak and permeation bladder . the liner should be formed of the most molecularly impervious polymer that meets acceptable material costs , as determined by a cost benefit analysis . generally , the liner should be selected such that the only leakage is diffusion of gaseous components of the fluid being conveyed . obviously , the elimination of gaseous diffusion through the liner is preferred . as will be appreciated , the liner is selected to be substantially resistant to degradation by the fluid to be passed therethrough . the liner is formed of a polymer having bending strains of about 2 to 5 percent such as a thermoplastic or an elastomer . thermoplastics can include , for example , nylons , cross - linked polyethylene ( pex ), polytetrafluroethylene ( ptfe ), higher temperature engineered polymers or high density polyethylene ( hdpe ). elastomers can include , for example , rubbers and nitrites . for petroleum operations , hdpe is particularly useful as it provides good chemical compatibility with many oilfield chemicals at a low cost . in some embodiments , the liner is filled , for example , with amorphous clays , chopped glass or carbon fibers . these materials can enhance liner stability , for example , against low temperature cracking , against polymer creep for long term integrity and may enhance the initial strength of the liner following extrusion . the fibers can be aligned or random . outer sheath 20 surrounds fiber reinforcements 16 , 18 . while the pipe will function to contain pressurized fluids without the outer sheath , it is useful as it acts to protect the fiber reinforcements from damage , as by abrasion , and assists in stabilizing and holding the fibers in place . the outer sheath can be formed of any flexible material that can protect the fiber reinforcements to some degree . the outer sheath can be , for example , a polymer such as a thermoplastic or a thermoelastomer and can be fiber - filled , if desired . some useful polymers are , for example , polyethylene or nylon , which are useful for their abrasion resistance as well as their low cost . as will be appreciated with consideration as to the intended use of the pipe , outer sheath 20 can be selected to be substantially resistant to degradation by environmental effects ( i . e . ultraviolet light , weather , etc .) and by the chemicals that may come in contact with it . as desired , the outer sheath can include or have attached thereto identifiers such as , for example , paint , coloration , bar - coding , chips , etc . or materials facilitating use or installation such as , for example , electrically conductive wire or survey locatable metal parts . where such materials are used however , which can abrade fiber reinforcements , such materials should be spaced or shielded from contact with the fiber reinforcements , as by imbedding or encapsulating within the outer sheath . in a two layer pipe such as is shown in fig1 layers 16 , 18 of fiber reinforcements are configured with one layer wound in a positive or clock - wise helical direction and the other layer wound in a negative or counter - clock - wise helical direction . a layer is one or more substantially continuous reinforcement fiber wound onto the liner or the underlying fiber layer at the same angle and direction . as will be appreciated substantially continuous reinforcements are those of long length , extending along the length of the reinforcement bundle , rather than being formed of chopped or discrete fibers that are matted , woven or otherwise treated to hold them together . the layers 16 , 18 can each be configured in various ways from pipe to pipe and from layer to layer . for example , the layers of fiber reinforcements in any one pipe can vary by the number and arrangement of fibers in a reinforcement bundle ( also termed a tow ), type of fiber , winding tension , helical angle of winding and / or amount of fibers in any one layer and pipe characteristics can be controlled by selection of these factors . the fiber layers in the pipe act to react axial and radial loads resulting from , for example , internal pressure and tensile loading . primary load is in the fiber tensile direction , since generally little side load is induced from operational conditions . thus , preferred fibers for use in the pipe provide low elongation to failure , for example , of less than 2 %. the fibers should also be resistant to degradation by chemicals , such as hydrocarbons and water , intended to be handled , or environmentally present , during use of the pipe . suitable fibers include glass such as e - glass , e - cr glass or s - glass , carbon , nylon , polyester or aramid . for petroleum operations , e - and e - cr - glass is preferred due to its low cost and ability to carry the required loads . elongation to failure of glass is generally less than 0 . 5 %. the use of metal wires which can cause failure , as by abrasion or cutting , of reinforcement fibers should be avoided or should be out of contact with the reinforcement layers . the fibers in the layers are substantially free floating between liner 14 and sheath 18 , being unbonded , as by use of separate adhesives , or curable , cured or uncured polymers , so that the separate fibers , bundles and layers remain independent and can react loads in conjunction with each other , rather than in combination as a rigid body . for example , fibers should be used that are substantially dry such that they will not chemically bond or fuse with other fibers or to the liner or sheath . it is to be noted that the fibers can be untreated , treated or coated and yet considered dry . each fiber bundle can include one or more individual fibers sometimes twisted together ( i . e . in the form of yarn ). in one embodiment , a useful fiber bundle contains thousands of individual fibers and is encapsulated with a polymer coating , which does not penetrate the bundle such that the inner fibers remain dry and not chemically bonded or fused together , but are held together as a bundle by the polymer coating . of course , where fibers are wound onto the liner when it is in the soft or semi - uncured state or the outer sheath 20 is applied by extrusion , as will be described below with respect to a method for producing the pipe , the material of the liner or sheath may mold , and adhere to some degree , to the adjacent fibers . this may reduce the effective free floating characteristics of the inner and outer - most fibers , although the materials of the liner and sheath should preferably be selected to avoid infiltration past the fiber reinforcements which actually come into contact with it . release agents or other means can be used on the sheath , liner or fibers to reduce adhesion between the fibers and the sheath or liner . the fibers should be capable of close fitting , thus the use of larger outer diameter fibers , which do not permit close fitting should be avoided . in one embodiment using e - glass fibers , a packing density of 75 to 80 % has been found to be desirable . winding tension effects packing density . a tension force should be used that permits packing of the fiber tows in a manner useful for carrying the required load for the intended application of the pipe . if the fiber tows are not packed sufficiently tight , there will be tightly wound fibers and loosely wound fibers in the pipe . the loose fibers will react loads differently than the tight fibers , so that not all fibers are being employed to carry loads simultaneously . if not all fibers are loaded substantially uniformly , then some fibers may break sooner , as their respective load limits will be reached earlier than the designed optimal limit . in embodiments using fibers with low elongation to failure , such as glass , it is to be understood that the fibers will tend not to stretch to accommodate slack in adjacent fibers . the effects of differential elongation to failure should also be considered when using more than one fiber type in a particular layer . on the other hand , if the fibers are wound with undesirably high tension , fibers will tend to be broken during processing and handling . the use of tapes is generally not desirable , as close fitting and independent reaction of loads are jeopardized . the angle of winding of each layer 16 , 18 is selected as a compromise on the various loads and conditions to which the product will be exposed during processing and during use with respect to durability and pressure containment , while providing desired flexibility . in the present invention , the prominent condition is internal pressure containment , so the fiber reinforcement needs to be optimized in the radial tensile direction . other factors that should be considered include installation pull force in the field ( axial tensile force ) and loads from spooling and unspooling for transport and installation in the field . key responses of the pipe under load that have to be provided through the winding angles include axial and radial growth of the pipe under the field conditions . winding angles of between about 8 ° and 86 ° can be used . in one embodiment , winding angles of between 40 ° and 70 ° are used , with preferred winding angles being between 50 ° and 60 °. referring to fig3 there is shown another embodiment of a pipe including an inner tubular membrane 110 , a first layer 116 of reinforcing fibers helically wound about the inner liner , an intermediate layer 117 of reinforcing fibers helically wrapped about the first layer of reinforcing fibers , an outer layer 118 of reinforcing fibers helically wrapped about the intermediate layer of reinforcing fibers and a coating 120 applied over outer layer 118 . in the embodiment of fig3 the layers 116 , 117 , 118 are formed from glass or carbon based fibers or a combination thereof and at least two of the layers are wrapped in opposite helical directions . adjacent layers can be wrapped in similar directions , but at different angles . this may be useful to reduce fiber abrasion propensity . with reference to fig1 a pipe in accordance with the present invention can be produced by winding fiber reinforcements about an inner liner 10 to form at least one fiber reinforcement layer 16 wrapped helically in a first direction and at least one fiber reinforcement layer 18 wrapped in an opposite direction . then a coating 20 is applied over the outer most fiber layer . preferably , the pipe is produced using a substantially continuous process , wherein long lengths , for example of 0 . 5 km or more , are produced either just before installing the pipe or for spooling to be used later . the liner can be formed in any desired way , with consideration as to the , above noted description of the liner . in a preferred embodiment , the liner is produced by extrusion , providing continuous production thereof , of course limited by raw material supply , reel handling size considerations , shipping , etc . the liner is then wound with continuous fiber reinforcements . the reinforcements are generally wound about outer surface 14 of the liner once it is in the solid state . however , it is possible to apply the fiber reinforcements while the liner is in a molten , semi - molten , uncured or semi - cured state . if the outer surface of the liner is not yet solidified when the fibers are wrapped about it , the first fibers applied over the liner may sink to some degree into the surface of the liner . this can be tolerated , although it is preferred that the fibers not stick at all to the liner and be completely free floating . one or more reinforcements including fibers of glass , nylon , polyester and / or aramid are wound to form a first layer 16 , which is in contact with and covers entirely the outer surface of the liner . in one embodiment , 32 tows each of multiple fibers are wrapped to form a single layer . however , any number of fibers and tows can be used depending on tow fiber count , layer characteristics which are desired to be achieved and equipment capabilities . winding can be accomplished by use of a winder that winds one or more fibers in a helical fashion about the liner , as it is being advanced . the fibers are preferably wound at continuous tension levels using , for example , 5 to 10 pounds of pull force for glass . winding tension may vary from layer to layer to accommodate differences with respect to the fiber material used in that layer . the level of tension force when winding higher elongation fibers is less important than when winding brittle fibers . in a layer winding process , a few individual terminated fibers in a bundle can be ignored and the free ends will usually be brought back into the bundle as winding continues . a broken fiber which is wound back into the layer recovers its loading capability within a few centimeters . while it is desirable to avoid the use of spliced tows in , or the need to splice tows during production of , a length of pipe , some splices can be accommodated without significant adverse effects on pipe performance . an entire broken tow can be spliced back into the process for continued pipe production by introduction back into the winding process , by use of a stitch or glue . preferably , however , with consideration as to the length and the wind angle of the pipe to be produced , a tow supply is selected that does to ensure that splices need not be present along the length of the pipe . second layer 18 is then wound about , in contact with , the first layer 16 . process considerations as set out above are also applied in the application of the second layer . in one embodiment , the layers are selected to have substantially equal load carrying capability . for example , the first and second layers can have substantially equal but opposite winding angles and fibers applied in substantially equal quantities . further fiber reinforcement layers can be wound about second layer 18 , as desired , such as is shown in fig3 . in addition , other layers can be applied such as coatings , etc . provided that they do not interfering with the ability of the fiber reinforcements to carry load , or otherwise significantly adversely effect the pipe performance . sheath 20 is then applied over the second layer 18 , as by extrusion , spraying , dipping , tape winding , shrink wrapping , braiding , etc . the liner is generally selected to support the loads induced by application of the outer layers about it such as during the winding process and the subsequent extrusion of the outer sheath . it is useful to control winding tension to avoid collapse of the liner during the winding process . sometimes , however it is useful to support the liner to a certain extent during production by , for example , the use of rollers or internal pressure . it is also useful to use rollers or other means to urge the liner into a generally circular cross - section prior to winding to control the cross - sectional shape of the finished pipe . for many hydrocarbon handling operations , a pipe having a 3000 psi burst is considered acceptable , a liner bend strain of about 2 to 5 % and preferably a maximum of about 3 %, and a minimum bend radius of at least 15 × times pipe outer diameter is within desired properties . other performance properties may be desired for other applications . table i production inner liner liner material hdpe liner od in 3 . 500 liner sdr ratio ( od / t ) 17 . 0 liner id in 3 . 088 liner wall thickness ( t ) in 0 . 206 continuous fiber wrap in two layers fiber material e - glass wrap angle inner layer deg . + 55 . 0 wrap angle outer layer deg . − 55 . 0 number of yarns per layer 32 thickness per wrap in 0 . 054 cover cover material hdpe cover thickness in 0 . 100 cover / pipe od in 3 . 916 cover id in 3 . 716 cover sdr 39 . 2 at design stage , it was desired that the pipe be useful for 750 psi operating pressure . experiments showed that the pipe burst at about 3 , 000 psi . table ii performance design operating pressure psi 750 burst pressure psi 3 , 000 fiber stress safety factor 4 . 7 axial strain % 0 . 3 % radial strain % 0 . 3 % it will be apparent that many other changes may be made to the illustrative embodiments , while falling within the scope of the invention and it is intended that all such changes be covered by the claims appended hereto . | 5 |
the space frame structures of the invention can take a number of forms as shown in fig1 a to 1 e . the forms can be simple radial faceted cones as shown in fig1 a or curved roof domes as shown in fig1 b in which the feet of the radial beams are anchored directly into the ground . alternatively , the feet of the radial beams can be supported above ground by legs or feet as shown in fig1 c , which figure also shows the bifurcation of the radial beams outwardly of a node point . instead of the generally circular plan shapes shown in fig1 a to 1 c , the structure can have an oval plan shape as shown in fig1 d or the squared plan shape as shown in fig1 e . as shown in fig2 these structures are assembled from solid or hollow section radial beams 1 and 2 , which intersect and are jointed to one or more rings of circumferential beams 3 at node points 4 . the upper ends of the radial beams 1 are jointed to a hub 5 , which can be a solid disc as shown in fig1 a or can be an annular member with a central aperture as shown in fig1 e and fig2 . the structure is assembled by raising the hub 5 and beam members 1 , 2 , 3 into position using a crane or other lifting means and supporting them in the required position by means of scaffolding or other temporary support towers 6 . the beam members converge at the node points 4 and a permanent rigid node joint ( e . g ., as designated by reference numeral 7 in fig1 ) is formed at the node points . preferably , reinforcing or other rods , plates or other linkage members 8 extend axially from the ends of the beams . these inter - engage or lap at the node points 4 and are incorporated into the ridge node joints 7 as described below to form a rigid structure . once the joints 7 have been cured and the structure becomes self supporting , the temporary support towers 6 are progressively removed . as a result , the weight of the beam members 1 , 2 , 3 develops the beams are preferably cast on site at ground level using normal reinforced concrete casting techniques . a typical hollow beam 10 for present use is shown in fig3 and 4 and has axially extending metal bars or plates 8 at the ends thereof , for example the protruding ends of the reinforcing rods incorporated into the beams during casting . such hollow beams can be cast within a mould 11 using an inner former 12 and vibrators 13 , shown in fig4 to form a box section beam using conventional casting techniques . in some cases , the beam may be shorter than required . two such beams 10 can be jointed in end to end relationship to form a longer unitary beam 14 as shown in fig5 . this is preferably achieved using the equipment shown in fig6 to 8 . for example , the two shorter sections of beam 10 can be placed on ptfe support pads 15 which have been accurately levelled up using shims or screw adjusters to align the sections 10 horizontally . the supports 15 are provided with screw operated sideways adjustment mechanisms 16 which can be adjusted to move each end of the section 10 independently sideways until the longitudinal axes of the beam sections 10 are coincident , the adjustments being monitored by a laser . the opposed ends of the sections 10 are provided with push / pull bolts 17 as shown in fig7 so that the overall axial length of the unitary beam 14 can be adjusted to the desired value as shown in fig8 . the permanent joint between the opposing ends of the sections 10 can then be achieved by pouring concrete between the opposed ends to encase the rods 8 protruding from the opposing ends of the beams 10 . if desired , a jointing spider 18 of axially extending rods or plates can be inserted between the rods 8 to reinforce the joint . the node joints 7 between the beams 1 , 2 and 3 and between the beams 1 and the hub 5 can be formed in a similar manner . typically , as shown in fig9 to 12 , the rods 8 extending axially from the ends of the beams supported on towers 6 are intermeshed , optionally with an additional spider or pre - cast jointing piece as shown in fig1 . shuttering 20 , where this is not already provided by the jointing piece , is formed around the node point as shown in fig1 and concrete poured to encase the node point , the rods and the jointing piece as shown in fig1 . if desired , further reinforcement , for example u bars and the like , can be incorporated into the joint . similarly , the inner ends of beams 2 engage in suitable slots or recesses 16 in the hub 5 and a permanent rigid joint is formed there . if desired , a purpose built open topped shuttering box can be made from glass fibre reinforced polymer to the desired external shape of the node joint 7 and the ends of the beams 1 , 2 and 3 laid into the open top channels in the shuttering box and the concrete poured into the box to form the in situ joint . a form of pre - formed jointing piece 40 is shown in greater detail in fig1 and 14 . the jointing piece comprises a pre - cast concrete node joint core 40 having radiating arms 41 which are to engage the ends of the radial and circumferential beams 1 , 2 , 3 either directly or via intermediate components to accommodate variations in the lengths of the beams and the geometry of the joint . the joint core also comprises a central nodal chamber 42 defined by the diaphragm walls 26 having the requisite duct or walkway 22 openings therein . the exposed ends of the arms 41 have protruding rods 43 or the like , for example the ends of reinforcing bars , which are to be imbedded in the concrete forming the permanent joint between the ends of the beams 10 and the jointing piece 40 . it will usually be preferred that the rods 43 have screw ends which engage socket pieces in the ends of beams 10 to enable the jointing piece 40 to be drawn up firmly upon the beams 10 . if desired , the jointing piece 10 can incorporate external and internal shuttering 44 , 45 to retain the concrete in position around the jointed components whilst it sets and cures . the resultant dome - like structure is a stable structure enclosing an internal open space without the need for internal pillars or other supports . sheets of metal , plastic or other material can then be laid upon the framework and secured to the beams to provide a roofed enclosure . such a structure is simple and cost effective to build . however , the node joints 7 and the joints around the doughnut may be visible and aesthetically unattractive due to the prominence of the joints and the fact that the colour of the concrete cast in situ for the joints may be markedly different from that of the beams . a structure having less obtrusive joints and utilising hollow beams can be fabricated using beams which have an axially extending shroud portion 21 as shown in fig3 and 5 and in detail in fig1 and 16 . the shroud portion 21 extends axially as a thinner wall portion of the end of the wall of beam 10 . preferably , the shroud 21 does not extend for the full circumference of the beam 10 , but forms an open topped portion as shown in fig1 into which the concrete can be poured , a former or shuttering ( not shown ) being inserted into the interior of the beam to act as internal shuttering to retain the concrete in position whilst it sets . if desired , any small space between the opposing end faces of the shrouds 21 on opposed beams 10 can be grouted or filled with mastic . the open top of the joint can subsequently be closed by casting a slab over it using normal concrete casting techniques . the use of hollow beam members 10 enables service ducting and walkways to be incorporated within the beam structure , thus avoiding the need to provide external access routes . for example , as shown in fig1 , the interior of the beam may be provided with a ventilation duct 22 . as shown in fig1 , the wall of the beam can be provided with an access opening 23 whereby an operator can gain access to the exterior of the beam . in the case shown in fig1 , the access opening 23 is in the top wall of the beam 10 and provides access to the outer face of the sheet metal or other cladding 24 used to cover the space frame structure of the dome via an external cabin 25 and door . it will usually be desired to provide the opposed ends of the beams 10 at the node joints 7 with transverse walls or diaphragms 26 , as shown in fig1 . such diaphragms serve to transmit forces from one component of the structure to another . such diaphragms are preferably also provided with openings for service ducts 23 or walkways 27 as shown . such diaphragms may be incorporated into a pre - formed jointing piece 40 as shown in fig1 and 14 rather than at the ends of the beams 10 . since the walls of the beams 10 are under stress , it will usually be desired to provide any openings formed in the walls of the beams with steel or other substantial linings 28 as shown in fig2 and to round any corners in such openings . the linings 28 are secured in place by means of studs 29 set into the concrete of the diaphragm 26 or the wall of the beam 10 and welded to the lining 28 as shown . z purlins or other secondary beams can be attached to the concrete framework formed by the main radial and circumferential beams by the adjustable mounting brackets 50 shown in fig2 to 23 . this is in the form of an l section plate . one arm of the l has an axial slot 53 which engages threaded stud bolts 49 protruding transversely from the main concrete beam . the bracket 50 carries two opposed eye bolts 51 extending axially in register with the slot 53 and whose axial position with respect to the slot 53 can be adjusted by suitable nuts 52 engaging the threads of the eye bolts 51 . the eyes of the eyebolts 51 are secured to the bolts 49 by nuts on the bolts 49 . the other arm of the l of the bracket is to receive the end of a purlin beam and to be secured thereto by bolts or other means . the position of the bracket 50 upon the main beam is adjusted by altering the position of the eyebolts 51 relative to the slot so that the bracket moves axially with respect to the stud bolts 49 to bring other holes in the bracket into register with bolts in the end of the purlin beam without the need to adapt the purlin beam . the bracket 50 is then locked in the desired position by drawing the eyebolts axially outward in opposite directions along slot 53 by means of nuts 52 . | 4 |
a new and novel meter for metering electrical energy is shown in fig1 and generally designated 10 . it is noted at the outset that this meter is constructed so that the future implementation of higher level metering functions can be supported . meter 10 is shown to include three resistive voltage divider networks 12 a , 12 b , 12 c ; a first processor — an adc / dsp ( analog - to - digital converter / digital signal processor ) chip 14 ; a second processor — a microcontroller 16 which in the preferred embodiment is a mitsubishi model 50428 microcontroller ; three current sensors 18 a , 18 b , 18 c ; a 12v switching power supply 20 that is capable of receiving inputs in the range of 96 – 528v ; a 5v linear power supply 22 ; a non - volatile power supply 24 that switches to a battery 26 when 5v supply 22 is inoperative ; a 2 . 5v precision voltage reference 28 ; a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) 30 ; a 32 . 768 khz oscillator 32 ; a 6 . 2208 mhz oscillator 34 that provides timing signals to chip 14 and whose signal is divided by 1 . 5 to provide a 4 . 1472 mhz clock signal to microcontroller 16 ; a 2 kbyte eeprom 35 ; a serial communications line 36 ; an option connector 38 ; and an optical communications port 40 that may be used to read the meter . the inter - relationship and specific details of each of these components is set out more fully below . it will be appreciated that electrical energy has both voltage and current characteristics . in relation to meter 10 voltage signals are provided to resistive dividers 12 a – 12 c and current signals are induced in a current transformer ( ct ) and shunted . the output of ct / shunt combinations 18 a – 18 c is used to determine electrical energy . first processor 14 is connected to receive the voltage and current signals provided by dividers 12 a – 12 c and shunts 18 a – 18 c . as will be explained in greater detail below , processor 14 converts the voltage and current signals to voltage and current digital signals , determines electrical energy from the voltage and current digital signals and generates an energy signal representative of the electrical energy determination . processor 14 will always generate watthour delivered ( whr del ) and watthour received ( whr rec ) signals , and depending on the type of energy being metered , will generate either volt amp reactive hour delivered ( varhr del )/ volt amp reactive hour received ( varhr rec ) signals or volt amp hour delivered ( vahr del )/ volt amp hour received ( vahr rec ) signals . in the preferred embodiment , each transition on conductors 42 – 48 ( each transition from logic low to logic high and vice versa ) is representative of the measurement of a unit of energy . second processor 16 is connected to first processor 14 . as will be explained in greater detail below , processor 16 receives the energy signal ( s ) and generates an indication signal representative of the energy signal ( s ). in relation to the preferred embodiment of meter 10 , currents and voltages are sensed using conventional current transformers ( ct &# 39 ; s ) and resistive voltage dividers , respectively . the appropriate multiplication is accomplished in a new integrated circuit , i . e . processor 14 . although described in greater detail in relation to fig1 , processor 14 is essentially a programmable digital signal processor ( dsp ) with built in analog to digital ( a / d ) converters . the converters are capable of sampling three input channels simultaneously at 2400 hz each with a resolution of 21 bits and then the integral dsp performs various calculations on the results . meter 10 can be operated as either a demand meter or as a so - called time of use ( tou ) meter . it will be recognized that tou meters are becoming increasingly popular due to the greater differentiation by which electrical energy is billed . for example , electrical energy metered during peak hours will be billed differently than electrical energy billed during non - peak hours . as will be explained in greater detail below , first processor 14 determines units of electrical energy while processor 16 , in the tou mode , qualifies such energy units in relation to the time such units were determined , i . e . the season as well as the time of day . all indicators and test features are brought out through the face of meter 10 , either on lcd 30 or through optical communications port 40 . power supply 20 for the electronics is a switching power supply feeding low voltage linear supply 22 . such an approach allows a wide operating voltage range for meter 10 . in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the so - called standard meter components and register electronics are for the first time all located on a single printed circuit board ( not shown ) defined as an electronics assembly . this electronics assembly houses power supplies 20 , 22 , 24 and 28 , resistive dividers 12 a – 12 c for all three phases , the shunt resistor portion of 18 a – 18 c , oscillator 34 , processor 14 , processor 16 , reset circuitry ( not shown ), eeprom 35 , oscillator 32 , optical port components 40 , lcd 30 , and an option board interface 38 . when this assembly is used for demand metering , the billing data is stored in eeprom 35 . this same assembly is used for tou metering applications by merely utilizing battery 26 and reprogramming the configuration data in eeprom 35 . consider now the various components of meter 10 in greater detail . primary current being metered is sensed using conventional current transformers . it is preferred for the current transformer portion of devices 18 a - 18 c to have tight ratio error and phase shift specifications in order to limit the factors affecting the calibration of the meter to the electronics assembly itself . such a limitation tends to enhance the ease with which meter 10 may be programmed . the shunt resistor portion of devices 18 a – 18 c are located on the electronics assembly described above and are preferably metal film resistors with a maximum temperature coefficient of 25 ppm /° c . the phase voltages are brought directly to the electronic assembly where resistive dividers 12 a – 12 c scale these inputs to processor 14 . in the preferred embodiment , the electronic components are referenced to the vector sum of each line voltage for three wire delta systems and to earth ground for all other services . resistive division is used to divide the input voltage so that a very linear voltage with minimal phase shift over a wide dynamic range can be obtained . this in combination with a switching power supply allows the wide voltage operating range to be implemented . it will be appreciated that energy units are calculated primarily from multiplication of voltage and current . the specific formulae utilized in the preferred embodiment , are described in greater detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 555 , 508 , to munday et al ., which is incorporated herein by reference . however , for purposes of fig1 , such formulae are performed in processor 14 . the m37428 microcontroller 16 is a 6502 ( a traditional 8 bit microprocessor ) derivative with an expanded instruction set for bit test and manipulation . this microcontroller includes substantial functionality including internal lcd drivers ( 128 quadraplexed segments ), 8 kbytes of rom , 384 bytes of ram , a full duplex hardware uart , 5 timers , dual clock inputs ( 32 . 768 khz and up to 8 mhz ), and a low power operating mode . during normal operation , processor 16 receives the 4 . 1472 mhz clock from processor 14 as described above . such a clock signal translates to a 1 . 0368 mhz cycle time . upon power fail , processor 16 shifts to the 32 . 768 khz crystal oscillator 32 . this allows low power operation with a cycle time of 16 . 384 khz . during a power failure , processor 16 keeps track of time by counting seconds and rippling the time forward . once processor 16 has rippled the time forward , a wit instruction is executed which places the unit in a mode where only the 32 . 768 khz oscillator and the timers are operational . while in this mode a timer is setup to “ wake up ” processor 16 every 32 , 768 cycles to count a second . while power supply 20 can be any known power supply for providing the required direct current power , a preferred form of power supply 20 is described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 457 , 621 , to munday et al . which is incorporated herein by reference . consider now the main operation of processor 16 in relation to fig2 a – 2e and fig3 . at step 1000 a reset signal is provided to microcontroller 16 . a reset cycle occurs whenever the voltage level v dd rises through approximately 2 . 8 volts . such a condition occurs when the meter is powered up . at step 1002 , microcontroller 16 performs an initialize operation , wherein the stack pointer is initialized , the internal ram is initialized , the type of liquid crystal display is entered into the display driver portion of microcontroller 16 and timers which require initialization at power up are initialized . it will be noted that the operation of step 1002 does not need to be performed for each power failure occurrence . following a power failure , microcontroller 16 at step 1004 returns to the main program at the point indicated when the power returns . upon initial power up or the return of power after a power failure , microcontroller 16 performs a restore function . at step 1006 , microcontroller 16 disables pulses transmitted by processor 14 . these pulses are disabled by providing the appropriate signal restore bit . the presence of this bit indicates that a restore operation is occurring and that pulses generated during that time should be ignored . having set the signal restore bit , microcontroller 16 determines at step 1008 whether the power fail signal is present . if the power fail signal is present , microcontroller 16 jumps to the power fail routine at 1010 . in the power fail routine , the output ports of microcontroller 16 are written low unless the restore bit has not been set . if the restore bit has not been set , data in the microcontroller 16 is written to memory . if the power fail signal is not present , microcontroller 16 displays segments at step 1012 . at this time , the segments of the display are illuminated using the phase a potential . it will be recalled that phase a potential is provided to microcontroller 16 from processor 14 . at 1014 , the uart port and other ports are initialized . at 1016 , the power fail interrupts are enabled such that if a falling edge is sensed from output a of processor 14 , an interrupt will occur indicating power failure . it will be recalled that processor 14 compares the reference voltage vref to a divided voltage generated by the power supply 20 . whenever the power supply voltage falls below the reference voltage a power fail condition is occurring . at step 1018 , the downloading of the metering integrated circuit is performed . it will be appreciated that certain tasks performed by microcontroller 16 are time dependent . such tasks will require a timer interrupt when the time for performing such tasks has arrived . at 1022 , the self - test subroutines are performed . although no particular self - test subroutine is necessary in order to practice the present invention , such subroutines can include a check to determine if proper display data is present . it is noted that data is stored in relation to class designation and that a value is assigned to each class such that the sum of the class values equals a specified number . if any display data is missing , the condition of the class values for data which is present will not equal the specified sum and an error message will be displayed . similarly , microcontroller 16 compares the clock signal generated by processor 14 with the clock signal generated by watch crystal 32 in order to determine whether the appropriate relationship exists . having completed the self - test subroutines , the ram is re - initialized at 1024 . in this re - initialization , certain load constants are cleared from memory . at 1026 , various items are scheduled . for example , the display update is scheduled so that as soon as the restore routine is completed , data is retrieved and the display is updated . similarly , optical communications are scheduled wherein microcontroller 16 determines whether any device present at optical port 40 desires to communicate . finally , at 1028 a signal is given indicating that the restore routine has been completed . such a signal can include disabling the signal restore bit . upon such an occurrence , pulses previously disabled will now be considered valid . microcontroller 16 now moves into the main routine . at 1030 , microcontroller 16 calls the time of day processing routine . in this routine , microcontroller 16 looks at the one second bit of its internal clock and determines whether the clock needs to be changed . for example , at the beginning and end of daylight savings time , the clock is moved forward and back one hour , respectively . in addition , the time of day processing routine sets the minute change flags and date change flags . as will be appreciated hereinafter , such flags are periodically checked and processes occur if such flags are present . it will be noted that there are two real time interrupts scheduled in microcontroller 16 which are not shown in fig2 , namely the roll minute interrupt and the day interrupt . at the beginning of every minute , certain minute tasks occur . similarly , at the beginning of every day , certain day tasks occur . since such tasks are not necessary to the practice of the presently claimed invention , no further details need be provided . at 1032 , microcontroller 16 determines whether a self - reprogram routine is scheduled . if the self - reprogram routine is scheduled , such routine is called at 1034 . the self - reprogram typically programs in new utility rates which are stored in advance . since new rates have been incorporated , it will be necessary to also restart the display . after operation of the self - reprogram routine , microcontroller 16 returns to the main program . if it is determined at 1032 that the self - reprogram routine is not scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1036 whether any day boundary tasks are scheduled . such a determination is made by determining the time and day and searching to see whether any day tasks are scheduled for that day . if day tasks are scheduled , such tasks are called at 1038 . if no day tasks are scheduled , microcontroller 16 next determines at 1040 whether any minute boundary tasks have been scheduled . it will be understood that since time of use switch points occur at minute boundaries , for example , switching from one use period to another , it will be necessary to change data storage locations at such a point . if minute tasks are scheduled , such tasks are called at 1042 . if minute boundary tasks have not been scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1044 whether any self - tests have been scheduled . the self - tests are typically scheduled to occur on the day boundary . as indicated previously , such self - tests can include checking the accumulative display data class value to determine whether the sum is equal to a prescribed value . if self - tests are scheduled , such tests are called at 1046 . if no self - tests are scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1048 whether any season change billing data copy is scheduled . it will be appreciated that as the seasons change , billing data changes . consequently , it will be necessary for microcontroller 16 to store energy metered for one season and begin accumulating energy metered for the following season . if a season change billing data copy is scheduled , such routine is called at 1050 . if no season change routine is scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1052 whether the self - redemand reset has been scheduled . if the self - redemand reset is scheduled , such routine is called at 1054 . this routine requires microcontroller 16 to in effect read itself and store the read value in memory . the self - redemand is then reset . if the self - redemand reset has not been scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1056 whether a season change demand reset has been scheduled . if a season change demand reset is scheduled , such a routine is called at 1058 . in such a routine , microcontroller 16 reads itself and resets the demand . at 1060 , microcontroller 16 determines whether button sampling has been scheduled . button sampling will occur every eight milliseconds . reference is made to fig6 for a more detailed description of an arrangement of buttons to be positioned on the face of meter 10 . consequently , if an eight millisecond period has passed , microcontroller 16 will determine that button sampling is scheduled and the button sampling routine will be called at 1062 . if button sampling is not scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1064 whether a display update has been scheduled . this routine causes a new quantity to be displayed on lcd 30 . as determined by the soft switch settings , display updates are scheduled generally for every three - six seconds . if the display is updated more frequently , it may not be possible to read the display accurately . if the display update has been scheduled , the display update routine is called at 1066 . if a display update has not been scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1068 whether an annunciator flash is scheduled . it will be recalled that certain annunciators on the display are made to flash . such flashing typically occurs every half second . if an annunciator flash is scheduled , such a routine is called at 1070 . it is noted in the preferred embodiment that a directional annunciator will flash at the same rate at which energy determination pulses are transmitted from processor 14 to processor 16 . another novel feature of the invention is that other annunciators ( not indicative of energy direction ) will flash at a rate approximately equal to the rate of disk rotation in an electromechanical meter used in a similar application . if no annunciator flash is scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1072 whether optical communication has been scheduled . it will be recalled that every half second microcontroller 16 determines whether any signal has been generated at optical port 40 . if a signal has been generated indicating that optical communications is desired , the optical communication routine will be scheduled . if the optical communication routine is scheduled , such routine is called at 1074 . this routine causes microcontroller 16 to sample optical port 40 for communications activity . if no optical routine is scheduled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1076 whether processor 14 is signaling an error . if processor 14 is signaling an error , microcontroller 16 at 1078 disables the pulse detection , calls the download routine and after performance of that routine , re - enables the pulse detection . if processor 14 is not signaling any error , microcontroller 16 determines at 1080 whether the download program is scheduled . if the download program is scheduled , the main routine returns to 1078 and thereafter back to the main program . if the download program has not been scheduled or after the pulse detect has been re - enabled , microcontroller 16 determines at 1082 whether a warmstart is in progress . if a warmstart is in progress , the power fail interrupts are disabled at 1084 . the pulse computation routine is called after which the power fail interrupts are re - enabled . it will be noted that in the warmstart , data is zeroed out in order to provide a fresh start for the meter . consequently , the pulse computation routine performs the necessary calculations for energy previously metered and places that computation in the appropriate point in memory . if a warmstart is not in progress , microcontroller 16 at 1084 updates the remote relays . typically , the remote relays are contained on a board other than the electronics assembly board . all data that is considered non - volatile for meter 10 , is stored in a 2 kbytes eeprom 35 . this includes configuration data ( including the data for memory 76 and memory 80 ), total kwh , maximum and cumulative demands ( rate a demands in tou ), historic tou data , cumulative number of demand resets , cumulative number of power outages and the cumulative number of data altering communications . the present billing period tou data is stored in the ram contained within processor 16 . as long as the microcontroller 16 has adequate power , the ram contents and real time are maintained and the microcontroller 16 will not be reset ( even in a demand register ). lcd 30 allows viewing of the billing and other metering data and statuses . temperature compensation for lcd 30 is provided in the electronics . even with this compensation , the meter &# 39 ; s operating temperature range and the lcd &# 39 ; s 5 volt fluid limits lcd 30 to being triplexed . hence , the maximum number of segments supported in this design is 96 . the display response time will also slow noticeably at temperatures below − 30 degrees celsius . for a more complete description of the generation of a display signal for display 30 , reference is made to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 555 , 508 , to munday et al . which is incorporated herein by reference . the 96 available lcd segments , shown in fig3 , are used as follows . six digits ( 0 . 375 high ) are used for data display and three smaller digits ( 0 . 25 high ) for numeric identifiers . in addition to the numeric identifiers , there are seventeen alpha annunciators that are used for identification . these are : prev , seas , rate , a , b , c , d , cont , cum , resets , max , total , kv /, \, −\, r , and h . the last five annunciators can be combined to produce : kw , kwh , kva , kvah , kvar , or kvarh , as shown . three potential indicators are provided on the lcd and appear as light bulbs . these indicators operate individually and are on continuously when the corresponding phase &# 39 ; s potential is greater than 57 . 6 vrms , and flash when the potential falls below 38 . 4 vrms . “ test ” “ alt ”, and “ eoi ” annunciators are provided to give an indication of when the unit is in test mode , alternate scroll mode , or an end of a demand interval has occurred . six ( 6 ) pulse indicators 200 – 210 are also provided on lcd 30 for watt - hours and an alternate quantity ( va - hours or var - hours ). pulse indicators 200 – 210 are configured as two sets of three , one set for indicating watts and another set for indicating varhours . each set has a left arrow , a solid square , and a right arrow . during any test , one of the arrows will be made to blink at the rate microcontroller 16 receives pulses from processor 14 while the square will blink at a lower rate representative of a disk rotation rate and in a fashion which mimics disk rotation . it will be noted that signals necessary to flash indicators 200 – 210 are generated by processor 16 in energy pulse interrupt routines . the left arrow 200 blinks when energy is received from the metered site and the right arrow 204 blinks when energy is delivered to the metered site . the solid square 202 blinks at a kh rate equivalent to an electro - mechanical meter of the same form , test amperes , and test voltage . square 202 blinks regardless of the direction of energy flow . the rate at which square 202 blinks can be generated by dividing the rate at which pulses are provided to processor 16 . consequently , testing can occur at traditional rates ( indicative of disk rotation ) or can occur at faster rates , thereby reducing test time . indicators 206 – 210 operate in a similar fashion , except in relation to apparent reactive energy flow . these pulse indicators can be detected through the meter cover using the reflective assemblies ( such as the skan - a - matic c42100 ) of existing test equipment . as indicated above , the second set of three indicators indicate apparent reactive energy flow and have the tips of arrows 206 and 210 open so that they will not be confused with the watt - hour indicators . referring to fig4 , it will be seen that annunciators 200 – 204 are positioned along a line , wherein annunciator 202 is positioned between annunciators 200 and 204 . as time progresses , processor 16 generates display signals so that , when energy is flowing in the forward direction , annunciator 204 always flashes . however , annunciators 200 and 202 can be made to flash selectively , to create the impression that energy is flowing from left to right . when energy is flowing in the reverse direction , the reverse is true . annunciator 200 flashes continuously , and annunciators 202 and 204 flash selectively to mimic energy flowing from right to left . meter 10 interfaces to the outside world via liquid crystal display 30 , optical port 40 , or option connector 38 . it is envisioned that most utility customers will interface to lcd 30 for testing of the meter , and some utilities will desire an infrared led , such as led 112 , to test the meter calibration . traditionally , electronic meters have provided a single light emitting diode ( led ) in addition to an optical port to output a watthour pulse . such designs add cost , decrease reliability and limit test capabilities . the present invention overcomes these limitations by multiplexing the various metering function output signals and pulse rates over optical port 40 alone . meter 10 echoes the kh value watthour test output on optical port 40 anytime the meter has been manually placed in the test mode ( the test command button in fig5 has been pressed ) or alternate scroll mode ( the alt command button in fig5 has been pressed ). while in these manually initiated modes , communication into processor 16 through optical port 40 is prevented . it is noted that in the preferred embodiment , the alt button is capable of being enabled without removal of the meter cover ( not shown ). to this end a small movable shaft ( not shown ) is provided in the meter cover so that when the shaft is moved the alt component is enabled . consequently , removal of the meter cover is not necessary in order to test the meter . referring now to fig5 , optical port 40 and reset circuitry 108 are shown in greater detail . optical port 40 provides electronic access to metering information . the transmitter and receiver ( transistors 110 and 112 ) are 850 nanometer infrared components and are contained in the electronics assembly ( as opposed to being mounted in the cover ). transistors 110 and led 112 are tied to a uart included within microcontroller 16 and the communications rate ( 9600 baud ) is limited by the response time of the optical components . the optical port can also be disabled from the uart ( as described below ), allowing the uart to be used for other future communications without concern about ambient light . during test mode , optical port 40 will echo the watthour pulses received by the microcontroller over the transmitting led 112 to conform to traditional testing practices without the necessity of an additional led . meter 10 also provides the ability to be placed in the test mode and exit from the test mode via an optical port function , preferably with a data command . when in a test mode initiated via optical port 40 , the meter will echo metering pulses as defined by the command transmitted on the optical port transmitter . this allows the multiplexing of metering functions or pulse rates over a single led . in the preferred embodiment , such a multiplexing scheme is a time based multiplexing operation . the meter will listen for further communications commands . additional commands can change the rate or measured quantity of the test output over optical port 40 . the meter will “ ack ” any command sent while it is in the test mode and it will “ ack ” the exit test mode command . while in an optically initiated test mode , commands other than those mentioned above are processed normally . because there is the possibility of an echoed pulse confusing the programmer - readers receiver , a command to stop the pulse echo may be desired so communications can proceed uninterrupted . if left in test mode , the usual test mode time out of three demand intervals applies . the data command identified above is called “ enter test mode ” and is followed by 1 data byte defined below . the command is acknowledged by processor 16 the same as other communications commands . the command places meter 10 into the standard test mode . while in this mode , communications inter - command timeouts do not apply . hence , the communications session does not end unless a terminate session command is transmitted or test mode is terminated by any of the normal ways of exiting test mode ( pressing the test button , power failure , etc . ), including the no activity timeout . display 30 cycles through the normal test mode display sequence ( see the main program at 1044 , 1060 and 1064 ) and button presses perform their normal test mode functions . transmitting this command multiple times causes the test mode , and its associated timeout counter , to restart after each transmission . the data byte defines what input pulse line ( s ) to processor 16 should be multiplexed and echoed over optical port 40 . multiple lines can be set to perform a totalizing function . the definition of each bit in the data byte is as follows : bit 0 = alternate test pulses , bit 1 = alternate delivered pulses , bit 2 = alternate received pulses , bit 3 = whr test pulses , bit 4 = whr delivered pulses , bit 5 = whr received pulses , bits 6 and 7 are unused . if no bits are set , the meter stops echoing pulses . this can be used to allow other communications commands to be sent without fear of data collision with the output pulses . while in this mode , other communications commands can be accepted . the test data can be read , the meter can be reprogrammed , the billing data can be reset or a warmstart can be initiated . since the total kwh and maximum demand information is stored to eeprom 35 , test data is being processed in memory areas and functions such as demand reset and warmstart will operate on the test mode data and not the actual billing data . any subsequent “ enter test mode command ” resets the test mode data just as a manual demand reset would in the test mode . this command also provides the utility with a way to enter the test mode without having to remove the meter cover . this will be beneficial to some utilities . while the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that modification and variations may be made without departing from the principles of the invention as described herein above and set forth in the following claims . | 8 |
the conventional tuning - fork illustrated in fig1 comprises a base 2 and a pair of parallel arms 4 and 6 projecting from the base 2 off plane 8 shown in broken lines . the arms have a length l , a width w and a thickness t , and have flanks s . when such a tuning - fork is excited in flexion , i . e when its arms vibrate as indicated by arrows f &# 39 ;, the variation in the resonant frequency δf of the resonator as a function of pressure p is given by the following formula : ## equ1 ## in this formula , f is the frequency of vibration of the tuning - fork , v is the mean speed of thermal energy of the gas molecules surrounding the tuning - fork , with the gas being at pressure p , s is the area of one of the flanks s , i . e . of one of the surfaces that are at right - angles to the direction of motion , m is the moving mass of the tuning - fork , i . e . the mass of the arms defined by their outer contour and by the plane 8 , ω is the pulsation at resonance , equal to 2πf , f being the frequency , and k 1 is a constant . in view of the above definitions for s and m , these two magnitudes may be expressed as follows : s = l × t and m = ρl × t × w , ρ being the density of quartz . substituting for s and m in the previous formula , the following expression is obtained : ## equ2 ## it will be observed from this formula that the relative variation in frequency as a function of pressure depends , as regards the dimensional magnitudes , solely on the reciprocal of the width w of the arms . the pulsation ω depends however , as is well known , on the length l and on the width w of the arms . to increase the tuning - fork sensitivity to pressure , the width w of its arms would therefore have to be reduced to decrease the pulsation ω . such a solution ( narrow tuning - fork arms ) would cause the tuning - fork to have a very small dynamic capacitance , rendering such a design unfeasible . the tuning - fork shown in fig2 a has a base 10 and a pair of arms 12 and 14 . the free end portions of both arms are formed with elongated slots 16 extending lengthwise of the arms . here each arm is formed with four slots , each having a length l and a width e . the side surfaces 16a of the slots 16 thus lie parallel to flanks s of the tuning - fork arms that play a part in the measurement of pressure . further , the width e of the slots is such that its value is clearly greater than the mean free path of the gas molecules . the tuning - fork being excited in flexion , the side surfaces 16a of the slots 16 lie orthogonally to the motion of the arms . as shown in fig2 b , the arms 12 and 14 each have a pair of electrodes 18 and 18 &# 39 ; on their top and bottom surfaces , and a pair of side electrodes 20 and 20 &# 39 ; on their flanks s . a common potential is applied to each pair of oppositely facing electrodes , as indicated in fig2 b . the presence of the slots does not hinder the deposition of the metallizations forming the electrodes , since , as is well known , the tips of tuning - fork arms must be kept free of electrodes to avoid being excited in partial modes of flexion . curve i in fig3 illustrates the operation of the tuning - fork shown in fig2 a and 2b . this curve shows the relative variation in frequency δf / f , expressed in ppm , as a function of pressure p , expressed in millibars . the arms of the tuning - fork , which is of a size suitable for use in watches , have a length l of the order of 2 . 7 mm , a width w of 215 μm and a thickness t of 125 μm . each slot 16 has a length l of 1 mm and a width e of 30 μm . curve i shows that , in a range of a few millibars to about 1 bar , a very linear relationship is obtained between the relative variation in the tuning - fork frequency and pressure with a pressure coefficient of variation which is about 631 ppm / bar . this value should be compared with the same coefficient for a conventional quartz tuning - fork having similar characteristics but having no slots , which is then of 250 ppm / bar . curve ii corresponds to such a tuning - fork in which l is 2400 μm , w is 220 μm and t is 125 μm . it will thus be observed that a very significant increase may be achieved in the effect of pressure . moreover , tuning - forks that are thus produced have a resonant frequency of about 77 khz . if the length of the tuning - fork arms is increased to reduce the resonant frequency of the tuning - fork to about 32 khz , the last of the formulae given above shows that the coefficient of dependence with respect to pressure is multiplied by at least two . thus , with a tuning - fork according to fig2 a and 2b , it is possible to produce , within the range of a few millibars to at least one bar , a pressure sensitive element in which the relative variation in frequency as a function of pressure has a coefficient of about 1200 ppm / bar . accurate measurements of pressure can thus be made . the pressure measuring sensor shown in simplified form in fig4 incorporates a sensitive element according to the invention . the sensitive element is enclosed in a casing consisting for instance of a cylindrical sleeve - like brass cover 30 and a support 32 which is at least partially insulating . the cover 30 is provided with an opening 33 to expose the interior of the casing to the pressure having to be measured . through the support 32 extend two conductive strips 34 and 34 &# 39 ; to the inner ends of which is secured the base of the tuning - fork , with each strip being connected to one of two groups of electrodes . the outer ends of the strips 34 and 34 &# 39 ; are connected to conductors 36 and 38 . the frequency signals appearing on the conductors 36 and 38 are fed into a supply and processing circuit 40 which in turn controls means 42 for displaying the pressure measured by the sensor . the purpose of the circuit 40 is first to drive the sensitive element at its resonant frequency with due respect to the surrounding pressure and , second , to process the frequency signal so as to deduce from the variations in frequency the value of the pressure . fig5 illustrates one way of designing the circuit 40 . the two conductors 36 and 38 are connected to a conventional drive circuit 46 which delivers at its output a signal having a frequency f which depends on the pressure having to be measured . the signal f is applied to one of two inputs of an and gate 48 , the other input of gate 48 receiving a signal supplied by a signal generator 50 . the generator 50 delivers for example a signal having a period of 1 second and a duration of 100 milliseconds . the output of gate 48 is connected to the clock input ck of a counter 52 . the output signals of the counter 52 , which represent the states of the counter , are applied to the inputs of a latch 54 . the output signals from the latch 54 are applied to a calculator circuit 56 whose output signals control a coding circuit 58 for the display device 42 . the output of the generator 50 is also connected to the input 60a of a detector circuit 60 which delivers at its output 60b a pulse each time the falling edge of a signal is applied to its input 60a . the output 60b of the detector circuit 60 is connected to a point b via a pair of inverters 62 and 62 &# 39 ; that act as delay circuits . point b is connected firstly to the zero resetting input cl of counter 52 via a pair of inverters 64 and 64 &# 39 ; that also act as delay circuits and secondly to the enable input e of the latch 54 . the operation of the circuit 40 will be clear from the preceding description . as long as the signal issuing from the generator 50 is in its lower logic state , gate 48 is closed and the counter 52 is not incremented . on receiving from the generator 50 the rising edge of a signal , the gate 48 is opened and the counter 52 receives via its clock input ck the pulses of the signal having a frequency f . when the output of the generator 50 passes from the upper logic state to the lower logic state , the gate 48 is closed and the counter 52 is no longer incremented . at the same time the detector 60 issues a pulse which , with a slight delay , transfers the contents of the counter 52 into the latch 54 . thus , these contents are equal to the number of pulses contained in the signal of frequency f for the duration of the signal delivered by the generator 50 , i . e for about 100 ms . the content of the latch 54 accordingly represents in digital form the frequency of the sensitive measuring element . the pulse delivered by the detector 60 then resets the counter 52 to zero for a new measurement on the arrival of the next pulse of the signal delivered by the generator 50 . the contents , in binary digital form , of the latch 54 are processed by the calculator circuit 56 to convert this frequency into a number , e . g . millibars . the circuit 56 therefore merely serves to substract a predetermined value , set for instance by regulating means 66 , from the number of counted pulses to take into account the value of the frequency at reference pressure , and to divide this result by a fixed or controllable coefficient to provide the ratio between the number of millibars and the variation in frequency . the results of this calculation is applied to the driver 58 which controls the pressure displayed by the display means 42 . as is well known , the frequency delivered by a quartz crystal is dependent on temperature . in the case of a tuning - fork of substantially z - cut , i . e . wherein the main surfaces are substantially perpendicular to the optical z - axis of the quartz , the curve which provides the relative frequency variations as a function of temperature is substantially parabolic and its apex corresponds to the inversion temperature on the tuning - fork . it is possible to choose an angle of cut θ such that this inversion temperature may be centered in relation to the usual operative range of the pressure sensor . for instance , if the normal to the main surfaces of the tuning - fork forms an angle of 2 ° with respect to the z - direction of the quartz , the inversion temperature would be 25 ° c . under these conditions the relative variation in frequency as a function of temperature are given by the coefficient β equal to about 34 . 10 - 9 /° c . 2 . a comparison of this temperature coefficient with the pressure coefficient obtained as a result of the invention shows that if the temperature remains within a reasonable range on opposite sides of the inversion temperature the effect of temperature does not adversely affect in significant manner the pressure measurement . the previously given operating range , i . e . from a few millibars to one bar , must not be interpreted in a limiting manner . this corresponds to a satisfactory operation of the tuning - fork such that it does not require very elaborate electronic circuitry . when the pressure p increases , linear sensitivity to pressure remains good but it is the quality factor fo the resonator that deteriorates . it should however be borne mind that the operating range of a sensor using a sensitive element according to the invention may be increased up to 5 bars by adapting the electronic circuitry . it follows from the preceding description that the pressure sensitive element provides a satisfactory answer to the problem set forth . first the manufacture of the resonator involves techniques that are commonly resorted to in the production of horological resonators and the requirement for slots does not significantly complicate the etching of the quartz or the provision of the electrodes . second , the sensitive element will work very satisfactorily in a range of up to one bar , this being a range in which known sensors are unable to carry out remote measurements . thirdly , bearing in mind the very high sensitivity to pressure , of the sensitive element , it is not necessary to provide for thermal compensation , thus simplifying the structure of the sensor and in particular that of the electronic circuitry . | 6 |
turning now to the drawings , wherein like components are designated by like reference numerals throughout the various figures , attention is first directed to fig1 . this figure illustrates an overall pad mount switch gear apparatus 10 which is especially suitable for distribution of , for example , 15 , 000 volts of three - phase electrical power . the apparatus includes an overall enclosure or main housing 12 containing a switch gear assembly 14 in one end section of the enclosure and containing an electrical power protection arrangement 16 in the other end section of the enclosure . the switch gear assembly includes three high - voltage switches respectively connected to the three phases ( φ ) of the high voltage power which is diagrammatically illustrated by the three arrows designated phase ( φ ) a , phase ( φ ) b and phase ( φ ) c . only one of the three switches , switch 14a connected to phase ( φ ) a , is illustrated . the electrical power protection arrangement 16 includes a fuse connected in series between each switch of the switch gear assembly and intended load , as diagrammatically represented by arrows 18 . access to the switch gear assembly is provided through an outer access door 20 on one end of enclosure 12 and access to the electrical power protection arrangement 16 is provided through an outer access door 22 at the other end of the enclosure . as indicated immediately above , each switch making up overall switch gear assembly 14 is connected in series with its own fuse forming part of overall electrical power protection assembly 16 . thus , electrical power protection assembly 16 includes three switches . in fact , the overall electrical power protection assembly may be divided into three arrangements 16a , 16b and 16c , each of which includes one of the fuses . for purposes of clarity , only one of these electrical power protection arrangements , specifically arrangement 16a , will be described below . for the moment it suffices to say that the fuse forming part of this arrangement is designated by the reference numeral 24 and , as will be seen below , it is connected in series with switch 14a of switch gear assembly 14 through a power terminal 26 . turning to fig2 attention is now directed specifically to electrical power protection arrangement 16a which is shown apart from enclosure 12 , except for part of the enclosure &# 39 ; s top side which is generally indicated at 28 in both fig1 and 2 . electrical power protection arrangement 16a includes it own electrically insulated housing 30 which may or may not be opened at its top and bottom ends 32 and 34 , respectively . in an actual working embodiment , while these top and bottom ends are literally opened they are functionally closed by the top and bottom sides of enclosure 12 which are disposed in close proximity to the top and bottom ends of the housing , as exemplified by top side 28 . housing 30 which is constructed of , for example , electrical insulation material contains fuse 24 and includes a front entry door 35 for gaining access to the fuse from outside the housing . the fuse itself is disengagably connected to power terminal 26 located outside housing 30 through a utility opening 36 ( see fig3 ) in the housing by means of cooperating connector 38 extending through the utility opening . in accordance with the present invention , as will be seen hereinafter in conjunction with fig3 and 4 , overall electrical power protection arrangement 16a includes an electrically insulated shielding plate 40 disposed outside housing 30 in confronting relationship with utility opening 36 . this plate and connector 38 are coupled to entry door 35 , as will be seen , so that when the entry door is opened , it disconnects fuse 24 and connector 38 from terminal 26 , causing the connector to move entirely within the housing , and thereafter immediately closes the utility opening 36 using shielding plate 40 to that end . as a result , there is no way that arcing can occur between the power terminal 26 and any components within housing 30 , thereby ensuring the safety of an operator repairing or replacing fuse 24 . once the fuse is repaired or replaced , the door 35 can be closed which automatically opens the utility opening and reconnects fuse 24 with terminal 26 by means of connector 38 , as will also be seen . overall arrangement 16 will now be described in detail in its fuse connected condition illustrated in fig3 . as seen there , connector 38 extends through utility opening 36 so that one end of the connector is physically and electrically connected to terminal 26 outside housing 30 and one end is connected to the bottom side of fuse 24 within the housing . the bottom side of the fuse is also physically connected to entry door 35 by means of an end cap 41 fixedly connected to the bottom side of the fuse and a connector insulator arm 42 fixedly connected at one end to the inside surface of the entry door near its bottom end . the otherwise free end of connecting arm 42 includes a coupling member 44 defining a slot 46 configured to receive a connecting pin 48 fixedly connected to end cap 41 . the way in which end cap 41 and connecting pin 48 cooperate with connecting insulator arm 42 and coupling member 44 will be described hereinafter . still referring to fig3 the top side of fuse 24 is physically connected to the inner side of entry door 35 near its top end by means of connecting insulator arm 50 through contact 51 . the connecting arm also serves to electrically connect the top side of fuse 24 to a load terminal 52 located on the outer side of and carried by entry door 35 near its top end . while not shown in fig3 terminal 52 is adapted for connection to a given load intended for connection in circuit with arrangement 16a . referring to fig4 entry door 35 is shown partially opened . this is carried out by means of an insulated hook rod which may be manually attached to the latch handle 53 fixedly mounted to the front face of the entry door . as the door pivots counterclockwise about its pivotally mounted bottom end 55 from its closed position towards its opened position , the top end of fuse 24 remains connected in the contact 51 while connecting pin 48 remains within slot 46 of coupling member 44 . at the same time , upper connecting insulator arm 50 and bottom connecting insulator arm 42 move counterclockwise about door end 55 with entry door 35 , as shown in fig4 . this causes the entire fuse and connector 38 to move with the entry door about mounting end 55 . this , in turn , causes connector 38 to disconnect from terminal 26 and move entirely within housing 30 through utility opening 36 . as will be seen hereinafter , as this occurs , previously recited shielding plate 40 is automatically caused to close the utility opening . returning to fig3 attention is now directed to a mechanism generally indicated by the reference numeral 57 for interconnecting or coupling shield plate 40 with entry door 35 for causing the shielding plate to open and close utility opening 36 in synchronism with the closing and opening of the entry door . as seen in fig3 mechanism 57 includes an entry door follower arm 54 disposed within housing 30 and mounted for rotation about a horizontally extending shaft 56 disposed within housing 30 . the shaft is mounted close to but spaced slightly from the inner surface of entryway door 35 when the latter is in its closed position . the free end of follower arm 54 carries a roller 58 which rests against the closed entryway door , as shown . as the door opens , as seen in fig4 roller 58 moves with it , rolling down the inner surface of the entryway door as it does so . this can be provided by means of gravity or the follower arm could be spring loaded to pivot counterclockwise . in either case , the entry door follower will pivot about shaft 56 counterclockwise as the door is opened and clockwise as it is closed , causing the shaft 56 to do the same . shaft 56 extends outside housing 30 and supports a secondary arm 59 which is fixedly connected to the shaft for rotation with it and arm 54 . thus , as entry door follower arm 54 rotates about shaft 56 in the counterclockwise direction as the entry door opens , the secondary arm also moves counterclockwise with it and when the arm 54 moves clockwise so does the secondary arm . still referring to mechanism 57 , the latter is shown also including a link 60 pivotally mounted at one end around but not for rotation with shaft 56 outside housing 30 between the latter and secondary arm 59 . the other end of link 60 is connected to one end of a flange 62 which is connected at its other end to the top of shield plate 40 . secondary arm 59 carries with it connecting pin 63 extending inward toward the housing and under link 60 . as the entry door opens from its closed position , follower arm 54 moves counterclockwise , as illustrated in fig4 . this , in turn , causes secondary arm 59 to move counterclockwise so that pin 63 eventually engages the underside of link 60 . as the door continues to open and the secondary arm continues to move counterclockwise it moves the link 60 up with it , as indicated by arrow 65 . in actuality , the righthand end of the link , as viewed in fig3 and 4 , pivots about shaft 56 and at the same time lifts flange 62 upward as indicated by arrow 64 . in this regard , the link is pivotally connected to the flange so that the connected end pivots as it rises . this overall action , in turn , raises the shield plate 40 from its position illustrated in fig3 upward with flange 62 . while not shown in fig2 and 3 , eventually the entryway door 35 can be fully opened to a substantially horizontally extending position , raising shield plate 40 to its uppermost extent . in the foregoing description of mechanism 57 , it has been shown that shield plate 40 moves between its lowermost fig3 position when the entry door 35 is closed to a fully raised position when the entryway door is opened . as illustrated in fig3 shield plate 40 includes an opened section 66 which is disposed directly in front of utility opening 36 when the plate is in its lowermost position . note that the shield plate is located between the utility opening and power terminal 26 . note further that connector 38 extends not only through utility opening 36 but also through opening 66 in order to engage terminal 26 . as entryway door 35 opens , it causes fuse 24 and connector 38 to pivot counterclockwise about bottom end 55 of the door , as described previously . this disconnects connector 38 from terminal 26 and moves it entirely within the housing through openings 36 and 66 . the secondary arm 59 is specifically positioned to engage link 60 in order to start lifting shield plate 40 during opening of the door at the point in time after connector 38 has cleared opening 66 . as the entryway door continues to open and after connector 38 has moved inside housing 30 , the shield plate moves upward . when it reaches its raised position , a solid section 68 of the shield plate is disposed directly in front of opening 36 , thereby closing the utility opening with respect to terminal 26 . the precise timing between movement of the shield plate 40 and entryway door 35 depends upon the angle of secondary arm 59 with respect to link 60 . this angle can be set so that the shield plate moves upward and starts closing utility opening 36 as soon as the connector clears opening 66 , thereby assuring that utility opening closes as soon as possible during the opening movement of entryway door 35 . once the entryway door is opened and the utility opening is closed , an operator can safely repair or replace fuse 24 . moreover , entryway door 35 is manually disengagably connected to the rest of the housing so that it can be easily disconnected and removed from the rest of the arrangement . indeed , an entirely new replacement door with a working fuse can replace a disconnected door . in this regard , note that the connecting mechanism 57 is not physically connected at all with the entryway door . thus , it is only necessary to disengage the door at it pivot connecting end 55 . thus , once the door is reconnected or a new door takes its place , the latter can be closed . this causes the fuse 24 to pivot clockwise about terminal 52 . at the same time mechanism 57 allows the shield plate 40 to move by its own weight downward until opening 66 is again located in front of utility opening 36 for the latter . at that time , the connector 38 moves through both openings and again engages terminal 26 as the entry door closes . it is to be understood that each of the electrical power protection arrangements 16b and 16c be identical to the arrangement 16a . it is also to be understood that arrangement 16a is equally applicable for use with a single fuse utilized in a circuit arrangement requiring the safety it provides . | 7 |
the following detailed description is provided for the purpose of describing only selected embodiments or examples of the invention and is not intended to describe all possible embodiments and examples of the invention . fig1 and 12 show examples of a collapsible structures 10 of the present invention in their fully constructed configurations . as shown in fig1 , each collapsible structure 10 generally comprises a ) a support frame formed of a plurality of pole members 14 , a plurality of strut members 60 , pivotal connections 18 and upper and lower hub members 38 , 32 and b ) a flexible covering 22 formed of woven nylon , plastic sheet or similar material . as seen in fig6 – 7 and 10 – 11 , the top end of each pole member 14 is connected by a pivotal connection 18 to the top hub member 38 , the inner end of each strut 16 is connected by a pivotal connection 18 to the bottom hub member 32 and the outer end of each strut 16 is connected by a pivotal connection 18 to a slide member on the adjacent pole 14 to form a hinged connection 20 ( see fig4 ). as shown in fig1 , flexible covering 22 has a flap opening 21 , such flap 21 being securable in a closed position by a zipper 23 . optionally , as shown in fig1 , a removable panel 24 may be formed in the flexible cover 20 to and such removable panel 24 may be secured to the flexible cover by a zipper 25 . when the removable panel 24 is removed and opening is formed in the flexible cover 22 of the collapsible structure 10 . as shown in fig1 , and optional tunnel members 60 may be used in conjunction with two of the collapsible structures 10 that have optional removable panels 24 to form a multi - unit collapsible structure . the optional total member 60 preferably comprises a to the formed of flexible material such as woven by a line , plastic sheet or other suitable material . zippers may be formed around the either end of the tunnel member 60 and may be mated or meshed with the portions of the zippers 25 that remainin on the flexible covers 22 of the collapsible structures 10 after their optional removable panels 44 have been removed . in this manner , one end of a tunnel member 60 may be connected to an opening formed in one collapsible structure 10 and the other end of that tunnel member may be connected to an opening formed in another collapsible structure 10 , thereby forming a multi - unit collapsible structure wherein the tunnel member 60 acts as a passageway between two collapsible structures 10 . although the embodiments shown in fig1 utilize only two collapsible structures 10 , it will be appreciated that more than one removable panel 24 may be formed in some collapsible structures 10 and three or more of the collapsible structures 10 may be joined by tunnel members 60 to form multi - unit collapsible structures of this invention that incorporate more than two of the individual collapsible structures 10 of the type shown in fig1 . also , and shown in fig1 , decorative markings 62 may be formed on the flexible covers 22 and / or on the optional tunnel members 60 to impart a desired appearance . these optional decorative markings 62 may be used on single - unit or multi - unit collapsible structures 10 of this invention and may be particularly desirable when the collapsible structures 10 are intended for use as children &# 39 ; s beach cabanas , children &# 39 ; s playhouses , doll houses or otherwise for the entertainment of children . in these types of applications , it may be desirable for the decorative markings 62 to impart the appearance of an insect or animal . in this regard , the decorative markings 62 may be in the nature of facial features such as eyes , nose and mouth and the opened mouth of the creature may appear around the entry flap 21 of a collapsible structure 10 to give the appearance of entering through the mouth of the creature as a child passes through the entry flap 21 . the collapsible structures 10 of the present invention may be easily constructed and easily collapsed and folded to a stowable configuration . when in their fully collapsed states , the collapsible structures may be inserted in two caring cases or bags . a desired carrying case ( not shown ) comprises a light weight , woven nylon case that has carrying handles and a zipper for opening and closing the carrying case . to fully appreciate the manner in which the collapsible structure 10 may be constructed and collapsed , it is helpful to consider and understand the components , design and function of the support structure and the manner in which the flexible cover 22 is disposed upon the support structure . the support structure generally comprises a plurality of pole members 14 , a plurality of strut members 16 , a hub assembly 29 comprising an upper hub member 38 , a lower hub member 32 and an actuator 30 . the pole members 14 extend through elongate receiving channels 15 formed in the corners of the flexible cover 22 and the bottom ends of the pole members 14 are inserted into tabs 19 that are attached to and extend from the bottoms of the corners of the flexible cover 22 . each tab preferably comprises a pocket formed of durable fabric and having an opening in its top edge such that the bottom end of a pole member 14 may be received within the pocket as shown in fig5 . when the structure 10 is collapsed , as shown in fig2 and 3 , the pole members 14 are substantially straight , the upper and lower hub members 38 , 32 are separated and spaced apart , and the flexible cover 22 is loosely disposed . also , hinged joints 20 , as shown in fig4 , are formed in the pole members 14 approximately midway along their length . when the hinged joints 20 are extended as shown in fig3 , they reside within the receiving channels 15 of the cover 22 between notches or cut out areas 66 formed in the fabric that defines the channels 15 . these hinged joints 20 may be folded over in the manner shown in fig2 to further collapse the structure 10 . the presence of the notches or cut away areas 66 facilitates such folding of the pole members 14 at their hinged joints 20 by preventing the fabric of the cover 22 that forms the channels 15 from bunching or binding the hinged joints 20 . the process of converting the collapsible structure 10 from its collapsed configuration shown in fig2 to its constructed configuration shown in fig1 begins with unfolding of the hinged joints 20 to convert the fully collapsed structure shown in fig2 to a partially collapsed states as shown in fig3 . thereafter , with the bottom ends of the pole members 14 inserted into their receiving tabs 19 , the user may grasp the free ends of the two cords 34 , pulling them in opposite , horizontal , outward directions as illustrated in fig6 . the cords 34 are knotted within the lower hub member 32 as shown in fig8 . thus , as the cords 34 are pulled outwardly , the lower hub member 32 will be drawn upwardly toward the upper hub member 38 such that the upper projecting portion 40 of the lower hub member 32 will be received within a bore or concavity 39 formed in the upper hub member 38 , and the upper and lower hub members 38 , 32 will be in abutting contact with one another . also , as shown in fig1 , when the lower hub member 32 reaches its uppermost position in full abutment with the upper hub member 38 , the inner ends ie of strut members 16 may be slightly elevated above the outer ends oe of the strut members 16 and such upward slanting of the strut members will serve to exert a biasing force in the upward direction against the lower hub member holding it in abutting contact with the upper hub member 30 even after the user releases the cords 34 . also , as the hub members 38 , 32 are pulled into abutting contact with each other , the pole members 14 will bow to an arcuate configuration , giving the fully constructed structure 10 the configuration shown in fig1 . when it is desired to return the structure to its collapsed state , the user may simply push downwardly on the actuator knob 30 to flex the upper assembly 12 and poles 14 downwardly to a position where the inner ends ie of the strut members 16 are now lower than the outer ends oe of those strut members 16 . this results in a loss of the upward bias on the lower hub member 32 and allows the lower hub member 32 to separate from the upper hub member 30 , as shown in fig1 . the structure may then be picked up vertically by the actuator knob 30 without constraining or preventing free retraction of the cords 34 and the structure will assume the partially collapsed configuration shown in fig3 . thereafter , the hinged joints 20 may be folded over to place the structure 10 in its fully collapsed state as shown in fig2 . the fully collapsed structure may then be placed in an optional carrying case ( not shown ) or otherwise carried or transported with ease . as shown in fig1 and 11 , when the hub assembly 29 is vertically situated , a hub axis , which in the drawings is shown as a vertical axis va , is projectable through the center of upper and lower hub members 38 , 32 . also , a strut axis sa is projectable through each of the strut members 16 . an internal angle a is definable between the strut axis sa and the vertical axis va . when the structure 10 is locked in the constructed configuration shown in fig1 , angle a is more than 90 degrees and the outer ends oe of the strut members 16 are lower than or below the inner ends ie of the strut members 16 . when the structure 10 is in the unlocked configuration shown in fig1 ( e . g ., as it is being collapsed or constructed ), angle a is less than 90 degrees and the outer ends oe of the strut members 16 are above or higher than the inner ends ie of the strut members . in alternative embodiments , such as those shown in fig1 and 14 , alternative hub assemblies 29 a , 29 b may be utilized to mechanically or frictionally lock the structure 10 in its constructed configuration without requiring angle a to be more than 90 degrees and without requiring the outer ends oe of the strut members 16 to be above or higher than their inner ends ie . fig1 shows one side of an alternative hub assembly 29 a that is useable in embodiments where the internal angle a between the strut axis sa and the vertical axis va is less than or equal to 90 ° when the structure is in its fully opened or fully constructed configuration . in this alternative hub assembly 29 a , one or more downwardly extending legs g are formed on actuator cap 30 a and the actuator cap 30 a is at least partially rotatable , as indicated by the labeled arrows shown on fig1 . receiving slots a are formed in legs g and protruding keys b are slidably received within slots a to stabilize and guide the up and down motion of actuator knob 30 a . the corner surface c of each leg g contacts a protruding key d formed on the lower hub member 32 a . a side slot e is also formed on a lower portion of leg g to receive another key member f that protrudes from the lower hub member 32 a . when it is desired to convert the structure from its open or constructed configuration to its collapsed configuration , the actuator cap 30 is turned in the counter - clockwise direction to the position shown in fig1 , wherein key b resides within slot a adjacent to but not within locking side slot as , and key f resides adjacent to but not within slot e . the actuator cap 30 a is pressed downwardly , causing corner surface c to exert downward force on lower hub 32 a , causing lower hub member 32 a to separate from upper hub member 38 a , and allowing the structure to assume its collapsed configuration . when it is desired to convert the structure from its collapsed configuration to its open or constructed configuration , the various elements of the structure will be manipulated into the general configuration sheon in fig1 with the hub assembly 29 a once again in the configuration shown in fig1 . thereafter , the actuator cap 30 a is turned in the clockwise direction . this causes key b to slide into locking side slot as , and key f to slide into slot e , thereby locking the upper and lower hub members 38 a , 32 a in fixed vertical positions relative to one another and preventing the structure from inadvertently collapsing during use . fig1 shows one side of another alternative hub assembly 29 b that is useable in embodiments where , when the structure is in its fully opened or fully constructed state , the internal angle a between the strut axis sa and the vertical axis va is greater than 90 °. in this alternative hub assembly 29 b , one or more downwardly extending legs g ′ are formed on actuator cap 30 b . when the user presses downwardly on the actuator cap 30 b , the legs g ′ extend downwardly into abutment with flange h of lower hub member 32 b . slots a ′ are formed in the legs g ′ and protruding keys b ′ are slidably received within slots a , thereby guiding the up and down motion of actuator knob 30 b . although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , many changes , modifications and substitutions may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention . specifically , elements or attributes described in connection with one embodiment may also be used in connection with another embodiment provided that the inclusion or use of such element or attribute would not render the embodiment in which it is incorporated unuseable or otherwise undesirable for an intended application . accordingly , all such additions , deletions , modifications and variations to the above - described embodiments are to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 4 |
fig1 a depicts a preferred embodiment of a chemical vapor deposition system 100 . the chemical vapor deposition system 100 preferably includes a reaction or deposition chamber 102 , and a enclosure 104 for the deposition chamber 102 , a computer 106 and other electronic components , an enclosure 108 for the computer 106 and the other electronic components , a power distribution subsystem 110 , an enclosure 112 for the power distribution subsystem 110 , a gas panel 114 , a gas panel enclosure 116 and an intake and exhaust subsystem ( see fig1 b ), including a main exhaust 118 and secondary exhausts 122 , 123 . a door 105 is preferably provided through which a workpiece or start rod can be inserted into and removed from the deposition chamber 102 . removable panels 107 are also provided to facilitate cleaning of the chamber 102 . the door 105 and panels 107 preferably include moldings to seal the chamber 102 from vapor leakage out or air leakage into the chamber 102 . overhead lights ( not shown ) preferably on each side of the chamber 102 may be provided to illuminate the interior of the chamber 102 . generally , the deposition chamber 102 is structured to house a process of deposition of particles ( e . g ., particles of silica soot ) onto a workpiece or start rod . the deposition chamber 102 , and the deposition system 100 generally , may be used to produce an optical fiber preform that , in a subsequent drawing step , may be used to manufacture optical fiber . the deposition system 100 may also be used to manufacture fused silica rods , including pure fused silica rods . for this application , the deposition system 100 generally applies silica soot to an initial start rod of substantially pure fused silica . the product of this deposition process , a pure fused silica preform , is then sintered to form the pure fused silica rod and may be used to manufacture ( e . g ., by drawing , slicing or otherwise reforming the pure fused silica rod ) silica wafers or substrates , multi - mode optical fiber , and other optical components for a variety of applications . the other subsystems and components of the deposition chamber 102 are generally provided to support the deposition process . in one embodiment , deposition material generally comprising a vapor of silicon tetrachloride ( sicl 4 ) and oxygen ( o 2 ) is emitted from a chemical burner in a process of fabricating optical fiber preforms in a deposition region 146 ( see fig1 b ) of the deposition chamber 102 . in the deposition region 146 are the chemical burner , a chemical stream from the burner , and the workpiece , where the stream is directed towards the workpiece from the burner ( see fig2 ). the burner also preferably issues and ignites streams of hydrogen and oxygen . the resulting flame heats the chemical constituents to temperatures generally exceeding about 1000 ° c . a chemical reaction with the hydrogen , oxygen and sicl 4 occurs in the stream , in which the sicl 4 in the stream is oxidized producing particles of silicon dioxide ( that are then deposited on the workpiece ) and a byproduct of hydrogen chloride ( hcl ). fig1 b depicts a preferred embodiment of an air intake and exhaust subsystem 150 such as may be provided in the chemical vapor deposition system 100 illustrated in fig1 a . containment and processing of the constituents of the chemical vapor deposition process preferably is , at least in part , provided by the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 . the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably provides a flux of air through the deposition chamber 102 to keep the deposition chamber environment , and the thereby the workpiece , cool relative to the chemical stream that issues from the burner . as illustrated in fig1 b , the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably is configured to cool the deposition chamber and the workpiece , provide clean air and a negative pressure within the deposition chamber 102 , and provide a laminar air flow in the deposition region 146 . the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably includes a blower 125 , comprising a fan 126 and a motor 128 , a prefilter 124 , a high efficiency particulate air ( hepa ) filter 134 and a hepa filter interface 132 , air diffusers 140 , 142 , 144 , and passive air intakes 136 , 138 . the exhaust elements preferably include an exhaust hood 130 , a main exhaust 118 , and secondary exhausts 122 , 123 . with respect to the air intake elements , air external to the deposition system 100 enters the prefilter 124 under the active power of the blower 125 . the prefilter 124 preferably has an efficiency of at least about 90 % in removing contaminants from the external air . furthermore , the prefilter 124 preferably is mounted into the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 to conveniently enable an operator to periodically replace the prefilter 124 . external air that passes through the prefilter 124 is then preferably forced through the hepa filter 134 , via a connector 132 . the hepa filter 134 preferably has a filtering efficiency of greater than about 95 % and , due to the presence of the prefilter 124 , requires replacement infrequently . the forced clean air exiting the hepa filter 134 is preferably piped to a location beneath the chemical burner where the air is spread laterally by a central diffuser 142 into the deposition region 145 . the forced clean air may be conveyed via stainless steel tubing ( e . g ., six - inch diameter ) or via other convenient means as are known in the art . from the central diffuser 142 , the air is directed upward through the deposition region 146 towards the workpiece and the exhaust hood 130 , and in an upward direction generally parallel to the chemical stream emitted from the burner . due to the preferably negative pressure within the deposition chamber 102 , outside air also passively enters the deposition chamber 102 through the passive air intakes 136 , 138 . the passive air intakes 136 , 138 preferably include filters similar in design and filtering efficiency to the prefilter 124 . from the passive air intakes 136 , 138 , the filtered external air then enters the diffusers 140 , 144 which laterally spread the generally upward movement of air in the deposition chamber 102 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 b , one passive air intake is provided on each side of the deposition region 146 . in alternative embodiments , additional intakes may be provided on each side of the deposition region 146 . alternatively , one passive air intake may be provided which diffuses the air laterally to both sides of the deposition chamber 102 . in any event , passive intake of external air is preferably balanced on each side of the deposition region 146 . a generally vertical flow of air in the deposition chamber 102 is preferably at least in part maintained by the exhaust component of the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 . the main exhaust 118 and the secondary exhausts 122 , 123 encourage a generally upward flow of air into and out of the deposition chamber 102 . although the exhaust hood 130 may perturb the vertical flow somewhat , the exhaust hood 130 minimizes the spread of chemicals to interior walls 104 of the deposition chamber 102 by generally capturing any chemical constituents immediately after they move past the workpiece or otherwise escape the deposition region 146 . like the passive air intakes 136 , 138 , a secondary exhaust 122 , 123 is preferably provided on each side of the main exhaust 118 to encourage the generally upward flow of air in the chamber 102 . in alternative embodiments , additional secondary exhausts may be provided on each side of the main exhaust 118 . in one embodiment , the main exhaust 118 is preferably an eight - inch diameter stainless steel duct and the secondary exhausts 122 , 123 preferably comprise six - inch diameter stainless steel ducts . however , the intakes and exhausts as described herein may be of any convenient shape or diameter for maintaining the desired laminar flow of air through the chamber 102 . preferably , however , the exhaust hood 130 and the main exhaust 118 are comprised of hasteloy to minimize any potential for corrosion due to the exhaust of chemicals from the chamber 102 . furthermore , optionally , the secondary exhausts 122 , 123 also are comprised of hasteloy . the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably provides a power differential between the intake and exhaust of air from the deposition chamber 102 such that a greater flux of air is forced out of the chamber 102 than is forced into the chamber 102 . for example , the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 may be configured to exhaust 2000 cubic feet per minute ( cfm ) of air and deposition chamber constituents from the deposition chamber 102 , while the blower 125 may force 500 cfm of filtered air into the deposition chamber 102 . the resulting pressure differential is preferably addressed by the plurality of passive air intakes 136 , 138 that passively allow filtered external air into the deposition chamber 102 . in this embodiment , the exhaust component of the subsystem 150 inherently is provided an allowance for sub - optimal performance , as long as it exhausts air and chemical constituents at a greater rate than the active air intake component of the subsystem 150 ( i . e ., the blower 125 ) drives air into the chamber 102 . potentially dangerous fumes from the deposition chamber 102 are therefore controlled efficiently and at low cost compared to a subsystem that may be designed to precisely balance between intake and exhaust . furthermore , according to this embodiment , the deposition system 100 may be compatible with a greater variety of exhaust implementations , in that such exhaust implementations only need to meet certain minimum exhaust requirements related to a relatively low active air intake specification . such flexibility in permissible exhaust performance is particularly advantageous because the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 may be only partially design - integrated with the rest of the deposition system 100 , where an exhaust motor for the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 is supplied externally . for example , the deposition system 100 may be connected to the exhaust fixtures , including the exhaust motor , of a building or other structure that houses the deposition system 100 . the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably provides a laminar flow of air in the deposition region 146 . the laminar flow provided by the intake and exhaust subsystem 150 preferably assists in maintaining a focused stream of heat and chemical vapor from the burner towards the workpiece . a narrow and tight stream of flame enhances the thermophoretic effect that attracts the sio 2 particles to the workpiece because the sio 2 particles get hotter while the surface of the workpiece remain relatively cooler . the enclosure 104 for the deposition chamber 102 preferably is comprised of preferably two “ skins ” or sets of walls that enclose the components that perform the deposition process . an inner skin of the two skins encloses the deposition components and is preferably entirely comprised of hasteloy . hasteloy is preferably used for the inner skin because of its chemically resistive properties at high temperatures . in an alternative embodiment , the inner skin of the enclosure 104 is comprised of stainless steel and has its interior walls lined with hasteloy . in yet another alternative embodiment , the inner skin of the enclosure 104 is comprised of stainless steel with an interior lining of teflon . stainless steel , however , has generally been observed to rust due to the presence of hcl in the reaction chamber . furthermore , the lining of teflon generally may begin to peel from the steel surface at temperatures above about 420 ° c . the outer skin of the enclosure 104 preferably is separated from the inner skin by an air gap , and preferably completely encases the inner skin . alternatively , the outer skin encases a portion of the inner skin that is most exposed to the heat inside the deposition chamber . the outer skin is preferably formed of stainless steel , stainless steel lined with hasteloy , stainless steel lined with teflon , or another convenient material or combination of materials . the outer skin is preferably not substantially exposed to corrosive chemicals like the inner skin , so any of the above alternative compositions may be conveniently selected . the outer skin preferably includes numerous vents 120 to cool the inner skin of the enclosure 104 and otherwise prevent the deposition chamber 102 from overheating . in one alternative embodiment , the air gap between the outer skin and the inner skin is actively cooled . fig1 a depicts the vents 120 on a front side of the enclosure 104 , on the door 105 and on the removable panels 107 of the deposition system 100 . preferably , a similarly configured array of vents 120 is provided on the opposing side of the enclosure 104 of the deposition system . large quantities of oxygen ( o 2 ) and fuel gas , typically in the form of hydrogen ( h 2 ) or natural gas , are passed through the deposition chamber 102 to enable the deposition process of converting sicl 4 into sio 2 soot that is deposited in layers onto a workpiece . during the deposition process , even with the continuous flow of air , the inner skin of the enclosure 104 rapidly heats up . due to the preferably advantageous heat transfer properties of the inner skin , heat in the deposition chamber 102 is preferably conducted to the inner skin &# 39 ; s outer surface . the high temperature of the inner skin &# 39 ; s outer surface generally causes the air between the inner skin and the outer skin to heat . the vents 120 on the outer skin preferably enable cooler air outside the deposition system 100 to enter one or more vents 120 , and enable the hotter air in the air gap between the two skins to exit other vents 120 . in a preferred embodiment , the vents 120 are positioned in at least two rows , including an upper and a lower row . external air preferably enters the lower row of vents 120 and hot air exits the upper row of vents 120 . by funneling hot air out of the air gap between the two skins of the enclosure 104 , heat is effectively transferred out of deposition chamber 102 , through the inner skin , and out through the vents 120 on the outer skin of the enclosure 104 . consequently , maintaining the temperature of the workpiece in the deposition chamber 102 is furthered , so that the average temperature of the workpiece is preferably significantly lower than the temperature of the silica soot particles that are expelled from the burner . typically , the temperature of the workpiece is greater than but follows the temperature of the deposition chamber . thus , an increased thermal gradient between the hot silica soot particles and the cooler workpiece is provided than may exist without the vents 120 , enabling an increased thermophoretic force that attracts the silica soot particles to the surface of the cooler workpiece . fig2 is a diagram depicting a functional view of the chemical vapor deposition system 100 generally shown in fig1 . as depicted in fig2 the chemical vapor deposition system 200 preferably includes a sicl 4 source 202 , a nitrogen ( n 2 ) source 204 , an oxygen ( o 2 ) source 206 , and an h 2 source 208 as raw materials for the vapor deposition system 200 . alternatively , the n 2 , o 2 , and h 2 sources 204 , 206 , 208 may be piped in from an external location . the deposition system 200 preferably further includes a computer 106 , 210 , a gas panel 114 , 212 , a preheater 214 , and a vaporizer 216 for controlling the flow of the materials used for the deposition process . the deposition system 200 preferably includes a deposition chamber or cabinet 218 , enclosing one or more , and preferably two chemical burners 220 , a lathe 222 for holding a workpiece 224 and for moving the workpiece 224 rotationally and translationally relative to the one or more burners 220 . the deposition chamber 218 preferably encloses one or more end - torches ( not shown ) positioned near the ends of the workpiece 224 , and which move with the workpiece 224 ( in an embodiment in which the workpiece 224 moves and the chemical burner 220 remains stationary ). the end torches preferably direct heat to the ends of the workpiece 224 to prevent it 224 from breaking and / or cracking . preferably , the workpiece 224 and the end torches move so that the exhaust around the chemical burner 220 is relatively constant . alternatively , the chemical burner 220 is moving and the workpiece 224 and end torches are stationary ( except for the rotation of the workpiece 224 ). the deposition system 200 preferably further includes an air intake and exhaust subsystem 150 , 226 including scrubbers ( not shown ) and other pollution control devices for removing and collecting the gasses and vapors that are expelled by the deposition system 200 . the computer 106 , 210 preferably includes electronic connections to the vaporizer 216 , the gas panel 212 , and the deposition cabinet 218 for automatically controlling functions of each component . the computer 106 , 210 preferably further includes a connection to a user - input device such as a keyboard , touch screen , knobs , buttons , switches , mouse and / or microphone for voice activated command input for providing operational control of the deposition system 200 to a user . moreover , the computer 106 , 210 preferably includes a user output device , such as a display monitor or speaker for presenting a status of the system . the raw deposition materials &# 39 ; sources 202 , 204 , 206 , 208 are preferably reservoirs , which may be commercially available pressurized tanks for containing each constituent material . the sicl 4 preferably is contained in a reservoir in liquid form , preferably at room temperature . the sicl 4 source 202 preferably is connected by a pipe or line to the preheater 214 , such that sicl 4 may be conveyed as a liquid into the preheater 214 . preferably , positioned above the sicl 4 source 202 is an exhaust port 203 to convey sicl 4 to a pollution control system ( not shown ) in event of a leak of sicl 4 from its source 202 . preferably , n 2 is used to maintain a pressure of preferably about 15 psi on the sicl 4 source 202 to enable flow of sicl 4 out of the sicl 4 source 202 and into the preheater 214 . generally , n 2 is used throughout the deposition system 200 during non - operation to purge the components of the corrosive chemicals , such as hcl and sicl 4 , which are used or produced when the deposition system 200 is in operation . the preheater 214 preferably is a commercially available device comprising a container for holding small volumes of sicl 4 and may include a heating element such a heating blanket around the container or a coil in the container for heating the liquid form of sicl 4 . alternatively , the preheater 214 may be a long line wrapped in heating tape that heats the flowing sicl 4 liquid to a desired temperature before it reaches the vaporizer 216 . preferably , the preheater 214 receives the sicl 4 liquid at preferably room temperature and heats the sicl 4 liquid to a temperature of preferably about 50 ° c . preferably , the preheater 214 maintains a substantially constant level of sicl 4 in its container throughout an operation of the deposition process . the preheater 214 is connected to the vaporizer 216 for transferring the heated sicl 4 liquid out of the preheater 214 and into the vaporizer 216 . the vaporizer 216 preferably is a commercially available device that comprises a container for containing a substantial volume of sicl 4 , a heating element to heat the sicl 4 in the container , and numerous valves ( not shown ) to regulate the flow of materials into and out of the vaporizer 216 . the vaporizer 216 preferably heats the sicl 4 to a temperature of between about 70 ° c . and about 80 ° c . preferably , the sicl 4 is heated until it is boiling in the vaporizer 216 . the variation in temperature between about 70 ° c . and about 80 ° c . for the vaporized sicl 4 preferably depends on the mass flow rate of sicl 4 vapor that is required at the burner 220 for the deposition process . higher temperatures generally provide higher mass flow rates . the vaporizer 216 is preferably electronically connected to the computer 210 . through this electronic connection , the volume of sicl 4 in the vaporizer 216 is preferably regulated and maintained between a minimum and maximum level . the computer 210 preferably controls the flow of sicl 4 liquid from the sicl 4 source 202 to the vaporizer 216 from a solenoid valve 217 preferably located at or near the pneumatic input to the vaporizer 216 . the vaporizer 216 is also pneumatically connected by a line to the n 2 source 204 . as a generally inert gas , the n 2 preferably is used in the vaporizer 216 both to purge parts of the vaporizer 216 of sicl 4 when the deposition system 100 , 200 is not in operation and to actuate deposition system &# 39 ; s numerous pneumatic valves . through control from the computer 210 , the sicl 4 source 202 , the preheater 214 and the vaporizer 216 preferably provide a constant , automatic and prolonged flow of vaporized sicl 4 from the vaporizer 216 to the one or more burners 220 in the deposition cabinet 218 . this characteristic of constant flow only ceases when and if the sicl 4 source reservoir 202 is emptied . a constant flow of preferably 100 % sicl 4 vapor out of the vaporizer 216 to the burner 220 is provided because the vaporizer 216 is preferably automatically refilled from the preheater 214 by the computer 210 without disrupting the flow of vaporized sicl 4 from the vaporizer 216 to the burner 220 . the preheater 214 allows the vaporizer 216 to maintain the sicl 4 contained within the vaporizer 216 at a temperature necessary to have vaporized sicl 4 output from the vaporizer 216 at all times during operation of the deposition system 100 , 200 . when the level of sicl 4 in the vaporizer 216 drops below a predetermined minimum level , the computer 210 actuates the valve 217 controlling input of sicl 4 to allow heated sicl 4 into the vaporizer 216 from the preheater 214 . this valve 217 is then preferably closed when a predetermined maximum level of sicl 4 is reached in the vaporizer 216 . to maintain the temperature of the sicl 4 from the vaporizer 216 to the burner 220 , the line between the vaporizer 216 and the burner 220 for transferring the sicl 4 vapor is preferably heated , such as with heating tape , to maintain the sicl 4 as a vapor as the sicl 4 is conveyed to the burner 220 . because the sicl 4 is a vapor , mass flow controllers ( mfcs ) preferably are used to regulate the flow as controlled by the computer 210 . the gas sources 204 , 206 , 208 are preferably pneumatically connected to the gas panel 212 . the gas panel 212 includes valves and mfcs to regulate the flow of gasses from the gas sources 204 , 206 , 208 . control of the valves in the gas panel 212 is provided by the computer 210 , which is electronically connected to the gas panel 212 . lines for o 2 and h 2 are provided to pneumatically connect the gas panel 212 and the burner 220 in the deposition cabinet 218 . further , a separate line is preferably provided to convey o 2 to the line carrying the vaporized sicl 4 to the burner 220 . thus , at a “ t ” fitting 219 , the vaporized sicl 4 and o 2 are mixed , and continue as a mixture in their transport to the burner 220 . preferably , the o 2 line exiting from the gas panel 212 to the “ t ” fitting 219 is similarly heated using any convenient means such as heating tape . thus , the mixture of o 2 and sicl 4 from the “ t ” fitting 219 to the burner 220 is maintained at a temperature such that the sicl 4 at least remains a vapor , and preferably may have a temperature at about or above 100 ° c . as it approaches the burner 220 . thus , four separate lines are input to the burner 220 : a line conveying a mixture of vaporized sicl 4 and o 2 , a line conveying h 2 or another convenient fuel gas , a line conveying o 2 for the combustion of hydrogen , and a line conveying o 2 to shield the sicl 4 and o 2 mixture . preferably , a fixed ratio of h 2 to o 2 is maintained , such as two - to - one h 2 by volume . in one preferred embodiment , the fixed ratio of h 2 to o 2 is three - to - one , due to the higher effective deposition rate that is observed . fig3 a depicts a preferred embodiment of a burner 220 , 300 for use in the deposition system 100 , 200 . the burner 300 preferably receives the four streams , and emits preferably four streams from a burner face 302 , each stream being emitted from one of at least four concentric rings 304 , 306 , 308 , 310 of emission holes . as illustrated in the side view of the burner 300 in fig3 b , the innermost ring 304 of holes is provided to emit the chemical stream 314 of vaporized sicl 4 and o 2 . the second ring 306 preferably streams o 2 alone . as shown in fig3 b , this inner o 2 ring 306 acts as an inner shield 312 to prevent the oxidation reaction of the sicl 4 into sio 2 too close to the burner face 302 , which would eventually cause a build - up of glass soot at the burner face 302 . the third concentric ring 308 of holes emits a stream 316 of the fuel gas , preferably h 2 . the fourth ( outer ) ring 310 of holes preferably emits a stream of o 2 , often referred to as the fuel oxygen 318 , which is used in the combustion process and to control the shape of the flame . as the constituents are emitted from the burner 300 , the fuel gas and the oxygen are ignited . the sicl 4 particles react in the flame at a controlled distance away from the face of the burner 300 . the sicl 4 particles passing through the flame are oxidized to form silica soot that continue in a directed stream toward a workpiece 224 that may initially be in the form or a start rod . as silica soot approaches the workpiece 224 , the silica soot has a temperature on the order of about 1100 ° c . the chlorine is preferably separated from the other materials and combines with hydrogen to ultimately form hydrochloric fumes ( hcl ). these reactions generally apply to the deposition process for a cladding on an optical fiber preform . other constituents may be used for chemical vapor deposition for other applications applying the different embodiments and aspects of the chemical vapor deposition system described herein . referring again to fig2 the silica soot is deposited in layers on a continuously moving workpiece 224 . the workpiece 224 is mounted on the lathe 222 , which preferably rotates and translates the workpiece 224 relative to the burner 220 . as shown in fig4 the lathe 222 , 400 preferably includes end holders 402 into which the ends of the workpiece 224 ( e . g ., the start rod ) are inserted . the lathe 400 , 222 further includes at least one and preferably two motors 404 and 406 for moving the workpiece 224 relative to the burner 220 both rotationally and translationally . the motors 404 , 406 are preferably controlled by a computer 210 , such as that depicted in fig2 for controlling the speed of rotation and translation of the workpiece 224 throughout the course of the deposition process on the workpiece 224 . in one preferred embodiment , a particular translation characteristic is applied to the workpiece to minimize a slow tapering effect on the resulting workpiece 224 . this tapering effect , or “ footballing ,” as illustrated in fig5 may cause a loss of significant portion of the useful length of the preform when the preform is finally ready for drawing . because of the need to maintain the proper diameter ratios for the core and cladding in the final preform , the tapering effect in the deposition of soot on the workpiece 224 causes a significant length at the ends of the final preform to be unusable , or if used , typically results in a degraded quality of optical fiber . generally , the unusable portion may be more than about 20 cm at each end of the preform . the tapering effect may be substantially reduced by translationally moving the workpiece 224 at a maximum speed of greater than about 1 . 4 meters per minute , and preferably greater than about seven ( 7 ) meters per minute during at least a part of the deposition process , and preferably after the first several deposition passes have been completed . in one embodiment , the lathe 222 , 400 translationally moves the workpiece 224 according to a motion profile , an example of which is depicted in fig6 . in fig6 the example shows a motion profile where the maximum velocity is eight ( 8 ) meters per minute . preferably , as the ends of the workpiece approach the burner , the workpiece decelerates at a constant deceleration ( e . g ., − 250 mm / sec 2 ) and then accelerates with an opposite constant acceleration ( e . g ., 250 mm / sec 2 ). preferably , the maximum speed and acceleration is limited only by the stress limitations of the workpiece caused by such motion . applying such a motion profile , the unusable portion at each end of the final preform may be significantly reduced . the positive effect on the workpiece 224 due to the increase in its translational speed may be explained by several factors . first , because of the change in direction of the motion at the ends of the workpiece 224 , the workpiece 224 at the ends tends to be hotter than at other locations . greater heat at one location tends to cause the soot on the workpiece 224 to densify more substantially than at other locations where the temperature is lower . this densification results in a smaller diameter workpiece 224 at these locations . the smaller diameter translates into a smaller target for the streaming silica soot , and because a smaller target results in lower collecting efficiency , the deposition rate at the ends is reduced , thus increasing the tapering affect . second , the additional heat at the ends of the workpiece 224 generally decreases the temperature gradient between the silica soot particles and the workpiece 224 , and thereby , decreases the thermophoretic effect . the reduction in the thermophoretic effect causes a reduction in the deposition efficiency at the ends of the workpiece 224 . the diameter at the ends therefore increases even more slowly than at other locations on the workpiece 224 . by translating the workpiece at speeds above a certain threshold , preferably the workpiece 224 at no location exceeds a predetermined temperature , and therefore the cumulative effect of the above factors is greatly reduced . the result of a reduced “ footballing ” effect translates into a larger useful preform and a substantially increased effective deposition rate . with respect to the rotation of the workpiece , in one embodiment , the workpiece is rotated at a speed of greater than about 60 rotations per minute ( rpm ) to maintain a substantial thermophoretic effect between the soot particles and the workpiece . in a preferred embodiment , the speed of rotation is randomly varied between about 60 rpm and 80 rpm on each translational pass over the burner to reduce a potential for “ a rippling effect ” in the layering of soot on the workpiece . fig7 depicts a preferred embodiment of a process 700 of performing chemical vapor deposition such as may be performed by the chemical vapor deposition system 100 illustrated in fig1 a . optionally , in a first step 702 , a length for a start rod is set . in different runs of the vapor deposition system , start rods of various lengths , preferably between about 0 . 8 meters and about 2 meters , may be used . preferably , a length of a start rod is input at an operator terminal and transmitted to a computer . the computer then communicates with components of the deposition system that have functions dependent on the start rod length . specifically , the lathe may be programmed according the length of the start rod that is used for a particular run of the deposition process 700 . when the lathe receives the length value from the computer , the torch at one end of the lathe is preferably automatically repositioned to apply heat to one end of the rod . the other torch is preferably stationary . furthermore , the motor controlling the translation of the rod executes a traverse motion profile that reflects the entered length of the start rod . in a next step 704 , a first pass of depositing silica soot is performed with a high flow of fuel gas and oxygen from the chemical burner relative to the flow of sicl 4 . as one example , the flow rate of h 2 may be about 300 standard liters per minute , with o 2 at about 100 standard liters per minute , and sicl 4 at about 25 grams per minute . furthermore , on this first pass the traverse speed is relatively low , preferably at about 0 . 5 meters / minute . the resulting high heat of the soot stream and of the workpiece on this first pass hardens the initial interfacial layers between the start rod and the cladding layers that are subsequently deposited , preferably preventing interface defects and slippage of the soot over the start rod . during the first pass and throughout a run of a deposition process 700 , certain parameters are preferably fixed throughout the run . specifically , the end torches at each end of the start rod provide a flame that preferably provides a source of heat . the end torches provide heat at the ends of the workpiece to prevent the soot from cracking and to eliminate the soot slippage over the start rod during sintering , by keeping the ends denser and tightly adhered to the handle glass . the rod should be hot enough to affix the ends of the soot to a particular point on the start rod . however , if the end burners provide too much heat , then generally the start rod bends . furthermore , to enhance the effective deposition rate , a fixed distance between the torch and the workpiece is preferably maintained throughout the run . thus , as the workpiece increases in diameter , the chemical burner preferably retreats from the axial center of the workpiece in conformance with the increase in diameter of the workpiece . in a next step 706 , the traverse speed of the workpiece is ramped up , preferably to a maximum speed exceeding seven meters per minute . furthermore , the flow rates of fuel gas and oxygen from the chemical burner are ramped down and the flow rate of sicl 4 is slowly increased . in a next step 708 , the flow rates of the fuel gas and oxygen are ramped up slowly . consequently , the density of the workpiece is slowly decreased to near a threshold density , below which the workpiece may begin to crack or break . this threshold density is preferably approached to maximize the effective deposition rate . for example , in the deposition of silica soot for optical fiber preforms , the workpiece generally cracks at densities below about 0 . 3 grams / cm 3 . however , to maximize the effective deposition rate , the density is preferably maintained near the about 0 . 3 grams / cm 3 threshold . the approach of the threshold minimum density , however , is preferably approached gradually to minimize the potential for bubbles trapped in the preform . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein , and are further explained in the accompanying materials , many variations are possible which remain within the concept and scope of the invention . such variations would become clear to one of ordinary skill in the art after inspection of the specification and the drawings . the invention therefore is not to be restricted except within the spirit and scope of any appended claims . | 2 |
a modified decision - feedback equalization ( dfe ) technique provided according to the principles of the invention is useful for broadband wireless communications . the modified dfe technique improves outdoor / indoor wireless applications in which symbol rates can far exceed correlation bandwidths . the invention enables minimization of equalizer training complexity to provide fast start - up performance , which is required in applications where there is a desire to transmit short packets . the modified dfe structure for pre - cancelling postcursors does not require training of a feedback filter . instead , the taps in a feedback section are set based on the convolution of the trained feedforward filter tap gains with a channel impulse response signal based on an estimate of the channel impulse response . in an exemplary digital radio receiver , the complex baseband representation of a received signal is given as : r . sub . n ( τ )= σx . sub . n - k h . sub . k ( τ )+ η . sub . n , for k equals - k . sub . 1 to k . sub . 2 . ( 1 ) r n ( τ ) is the received signal sampled at time nt + τ , where t is the symbol period , and τ is the symbol timing phase ; x m is the mth transmitted data symbol ; η n is the nth sample of additive white gaussian noise with single - sided power density of n o ; and h k ( τ )= h ( kt + τ ) is the kth sample of the ( instantaneous ) channel impulse response h ( τ ). the channel has a finite response such that h k ( τ )= 0 for k & lt ;- k 1 and k & gt ; k 2 . the total memory length k of the channel is k = k 1 + k 2 . the exemplary receiver embodiment is configured for qpsk modulation . a square - root nyquist filter with a 30 % roll - off is used at both the transmitter and the receiver front end . the information data of each user are transmitted in either isochronous ( e . g ., tdma ) or asynchronous packets . referring to fig2 the number of information bits in each packet 22 ( referred to as &# 34 ; packet length &# 34 ;) is varied as a parameter from 400 to 4000 bits . in addition to information data 24 , each packet 22 contains overhead symbols 26 . the overhead symbols include ( a ) initial guard symbols for energy detection and adaptive gain control ( agc ) acquisition , and ( b ) a sync word used for burst synchronization as well as channel estimation and / or equalizer training . the length of the sync word depends on the maximum channel dispersion . to be useful in broadband wireless applications , the equalizer used in the receiver should be able to handle channels with severe dispersion lengths , e . g ., up to 100 symbol periods . the conventional decision - feedback equalization ( dfe ) structure 10 ( fig1 ) includes a feedforward transversal filter 12 and a feedback transversal filter 16 . the lengths or spans ( number of taps in a delay line ) of the feedforward filter 12 and the feedback filter 16 are denoted f and b , respectively . the tap gains of both the feedforward filter 12 and the feedback filter 16 are adjusted based on the known minimum mean - square error ( mmse ) criterion . this adjustment requires training with known symbols to solve the tap gain equations through adaptive techniques , such as least mean - square ( lms ) or recursive least squares ( rls ) algorithms . referring to fig3 the modified dfe structure 28 comprises a feedforward filter 30 , a decision means 32 , and a feedback section 34 . the feedback section 34 includes a weighting network 36 and a tapped delay line ( tdl ) 38 . tapped delay line ( tdl ) 38 outputs one or more delayed versions 40 of detected data 42 input to tdl 38 from the decision means 32 . the weighting network 36 convolves the one or more delayed versions 40 of detected data ( or training data based on a received version of a known training signal ) directly with the channel impulse response signal 44 , which is based on the estimated channel impulse response . the weighting network 36 generates one or more feedback section outputs 46 . the one or more feedback section outputs 46 are fed into the feedforward filter 30 . the feedforward filter 30 comprises a tapped delay line ( tdl ) 48 which outputs one or more delayed versions 50 of a received signal 52 input to tdl 48 . the one or more feedback section outputs 46 are subtracted from the one or more delayed versions 50 of the received signal 52 to precancel postcursor ( past symbol ) isi in the received signal 52 . the modified dfe structure 28 ( fig3 ) only requires training of the tap gains { a q }, for q = 0 . . . f - 1 , of the feedforward filter 30 . this arrangement substantially reduces the cost and complexity of training the dfe structure for detecting actual data . the sync word in the overhead symbols ( fig2 ) is used to estimate the channel impulse response . the length of the sync word must be at least equal to 2 ( k + 1 ). channel estimation is performed by correlating the received version of a transmitted sync word with the transmitted sync word . the same sync word can also be used to train the equalizer . in the modified dfe structure 28 ( fig3 ), r n ( τ ) is written as r n , and h k ( τ ) is written as h k . { a q } are the feedforward filter tap gains 54 , where q = 0 to f - 1 . j indicates the burst timing . the feedback section 34 uses the weighting network 36 to convolve detected data ( or training data ) directly with the estimated channel impulse response { h k }. the outputs 46 { v q } of the feedback section 34 , for q = 0 to f - 1 , are passed to the feedforward filter 30 to pre - cancel postcursor isi in the received signal 52 r ( t ). in fig3 : v q = σx n - m h j + q + m for m equals 1 to b ; in which x n - m is the detected data , and h j + q + m is the channel estimate . r n + j + q is the received signal sample , in which n is the symbol number , j is the burst timing , and q is the increment of delay within the span of the feedforward filter . referring to fig1 the output y n of the conventional dfe structure 10 can be expressed : y . sub . n = σa . sub . q r . sub . n + j + q - σx . sub . n - m b . sub . m , for q equals 0 to f - 1 and for m equals 1 to b . ( 2 ) { a q } and { b m } are the feedforward filter tap gains 14 and the feedback filter tap gains 18 , respectively . substituting eq . ( 1 ) into eq . ( 2 ) and assuming that the feedback filter 16 ( fig1 ) cancels all the past - symbol ( postcursor ) isi in the received signal 56 : y . sub . n = σa . sub . q ( σx . sub . n + j + q - k h . sub . k + η . sub . n + j + q )- σx . sub . n - m b . sub . m , for q equals 0 to f - 1 and for k , and for m equals 1 to b , ( 3 ) y . sub . n = σa . sub . q ( σx . sub . n + j + q - k h . sub . k + η . sub . n + j + q ), for q equals 0 to f - 1 and for k equals - k . sub . 1 to j + q . ( 4 ) in the absence of channel estimation errors , the output 58 y n of the modified dfe structure 28 depicted in fig3 is : y . sub . n = σa . sub . q ( r . sub . n + j + q - σx . sub . n - m h . sub . j + q + m ), for q equals 0 to f - 1 and for m equals 1 to b , ( 6 ) y . sub . n = σa . sub . q ( σx . sub . n + j + q - k h . sub . k + η . sub . n + j + q ), for q equals 0 to f - 1 and for k equals - k . sub . 1 to j + q . ( 7 ) equations ( 4 ) and ( 7 ) are identical . hence , the two receiver structure outputs are equivalent . referring to fig4 the modified dfe training technique and data detection system is demonstrated in an exemplary wireless radio receiver 60 . the receiver 60 includes a receiving antenna 62 for receiving a signal from the radio channel . a receiver front end 64 is coupled to the receiving antenna 62 for demodulating the signal and converting it into a baseband signal . a switch 66 for selecting between a training mode t and a detecting mode d is coupled to the receiver front end 64 and receives the signal from the receiver front end 64 . the receiver 60 includes a training section 68 and a data detection section 70 ; each is coupled to a corresponding output of the switch 66 . when the switch 66 is set to the training mode t , the received signal corresponding to the transmitted training sync word ( i . e ., the received version of the training sync word ), is passed from the training mode t output to the training section 68 . the training section 68 comprises a channel estimation means 72 , a feedforward filter 74 with adjustable tap gains , a feedback section 76 , and tap adjustment means 78 . the channel estimation means 72 is coupled to receive the known sync word 80 and the training mode t output of the switch 66 and can use any one of a number of conventional techniques to estimate the channel &# 39 ; s impulse response { h k }. in the preferred embodiment , the estimate of the channel impulse response is determined by correlating the received version of a known training sync word with the known training sync word . in training , the same sync word can be used repeatedly . in that case , the received version of the sync word is stored and used repeatedly as the input to the feedforward filter 74 . the output 82 of the channel estimation means 72 is passed to the feedback section 76 . the channel estimate 82 is used to determine the postcursors within the training signal ( i . e ., the received version of the sync word ) that will be cancelled . the postcursors determined in the feedback section 76 are passed to the feedforward filter 74 to cancel the postcursors in the training signal before convolving ( in the feedforward filter 74 ) the result of that cancellation with the feedforward filter tap gains . the output of the feedforward filter 74 is passed to a first summing component 84 . the known sync word 80 is passed to the first summing component 84 and to the feedback section 76 . the first summing component 84 subtracts the known sync word 80 from the output of the feedforward filter 74 to generate an error signal 86 . the error signal 86 is passed to the tap adjustment means 78 . the tap adjustment means 78 employs any one of a number of conventional tap adjustment algorithms ( e . g ., lms or rls ) to minimize the mean - square error . the output of the tap adjustment means 78 is used to set and update the tap gains of the feedforward filter 74 . when training is culminated , the iteratively adjusted tap gains of the feedforward filter 74 in the training section 68 are used to set the tap gains of a feedforward filter 88 in the data detection section 70 . those same feedforward filter tap gains are convolved 90 with the estimated channel impulse response 82 to determine and set the tap gains of a feedback filter 92 in the data detection section 70 of the receiver 60 . in the data detection section 70 , the feedforward filter 88 is coupled to the detection mode d output of the switch 66 . the output of the feedforward filter 88 in the detection section 70 is passed to a second summing component 94 . the output of the second summing component 94 is passed to a decision means 96 for making a decision on the transmitted data symbols . the output of the decision means 96 is passed to the feedback filter 92 in the data detection stage 70 . the output of the feedback filter 92 is passed to the second summing component 94 . the second summing component 94 subtracts the output of the feedback filter 92 from the output of the feedforward filter 88 . the decision means 96 decides and outputs detected data in operation . in another specific embodiment , the dfe structure in the data detection section 70 undergoes a subsequent optional round of conventional training to make it less susceptible to noisy channel estimates . this accomplishes a form of fine - tuning . after such optional fine - tuning , the receiver can be operated to detect data . the dfe structure used in the data detection section 70 can be either a conventional dfe structure ( as shown in fig4 ) or the modified dfe structure 28 ( fig3 ). while several particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described , it will also be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 shows an apparatus in accordance with the invention for displaying characters in a front view . several openings 2 are provided in a basic body 1 . the openings are arranged as bores . the arrangement is made in the present example in the form of a matrix . any desired character ( even special characters ) can be represented very easily in this way . fig2 shows the apparatus in accordance with the invention in a sectional view . the movable members 3 , which are arranged displaceably along the bores 2 , can be recognized clearly . the movable members 3 are fitted into the openings 2 by means of a sliding seat ( loose fit ), so that any unintentional falling of the movable members 3 out of the openings 2 is not possible . the movable members 3 and the basic body 1 can be provided with different colors . the effect in accordance with the invention also occurs when the movable members 3 and the basic body 1 are of the same color ( with the exception of the color black ), because the movable members 3 which are pushed into the basic body 1 do not remain visible even in the case of identical colors ( with the exception of the color black ) and therefore give the impression of a dark lettering . a viewer who is situated in front of the apparatus in accordance with the invention and looks in the direction of arrow 4 sees the basic part 1 and all movable members 3 since their face sides 5 are flush with the surface of the basic part 1 . assuming that in the present example all face surfaces 5 of the movable members 3 are flush with the surface facing the viewer , the viewer will see a matrix as shown in fig1 . fig3 shows a number of the movable members 3 which are pushed rearwardly in the openings 2 ( away from the viewer ). due to the insertion depth which depends on the diameter of the openings 2 ( which are formed in the present case as bores ), no light falls on these rearwardly pushed movable members . they are therefore not visible to the viewer who looks in the viewing direction 4 . in this way it is possible to display any desired character by the combination of visible and non - visible movable members 3 . as is shown in fig3 , the openings 2 ( bores ) can additionally be tapered in their rear end zone which is averted from the viewer . the constriction is made to such an extent that the movable elements 3 cannot inadvertently be pushed out of the basic part 1 , e . g . during the setting of the characters . fig4 shows a basic part 1 in which all movable members 3 are pushed rearwardly . the viewer can no longer see the movable members 3 in this case . he only sees the basic part 1 or the openings 2 . the sliding seat of the movable members 1 in the basic body 3 prevents the movable members 3 from falling out of the basic body 1 . fig5 and 6 each show alternatively arranged basic parts 1 which produce a slight inclined position of the apparatus and thus helps the viewer who looks at the apparatus from an oblique view from above to read the set characters . the entire matrix - like arrangement of the movable members is again visible to the viewer in fig5 ( fig5 a ), whereas in fig6 certain characters are already set or displayed ( fig6 a ). fig7 shows an apparatus in accordance with the invention , with a groove 44 being arranged on basic part 1 in which a piece of paper 6 is inserted . the paper can contain additional information concerning the merchandise thus labeled or any other desired text . in fig8 , the apparatus in accordance with the invention is provided with at least one additional bore 7 into which a pin 8 is inserted for example . it is used for fastening the apparatus in accordance with the invention to the merchandise such as a garment for example . fig9 shows an alternative form of fastening the apparatus in accordance with the invention by way of a holder 9 which has been inserted in an additional opening 10 in basic part 1 . as a result of the additional bores 7 and openings 10 , a large number of fastening possibilities are possible which can be adjusted to the various materials and shapes of the merchandise to be labeled . the basic parts as described in fig1 through 9 are all provided with cylindrical openings 2 ( bores ), with said openings having a matrix - shaped arrangement . the movable members 3 must in this case also be provided with a cylindrical shape , with a sliding seat ( loose fit ) being again provided between the movable members 3 and the respective openings 2 in the basic body 1 . other forms and arrangements of the openings 2 in the basic part 1 and , obviously , also the movable members 3 are possible . fig1 shows for example the arrangement of segment - like openings 2 in the basic part 1 . this arrangement and configuration of the openings 2 is sufficient for the display of numbers and simple letters . the function is the same as in the matrix - like arrangement of the cylindrical openings 2 with cylindrical movable members 3 . fig1 shows the arrangement of a symbol - shaped opening 2 in a basic part 1 . the arrangement of the entire opening 2 can have the same shape as the symbol . in this case the associated movable member must be provided with the shape of the symbol . the embodiment as shown in fig1 a is simpler to manufacture , however . the surface of the basic part 1 which is situated in the direction of view 4 of the viewer comprises an opening 2 a which corresponds to the symbol to be displayed . the further progress of the opening 2 is as usual cylindrical or cuboid . accordingly , the movable member 3 can also be provided with a cylindrical or cuboid shape and need not necessarily be adjusted to the complex shape of the character ( symbol ) to be displayed . the function is also the same as in all other cases . fig1 shows an apparatus 35 for performing the method for setting characters of the apparatus in accordance with the invention according to claims 1 through 10 . an upper holding part 11 is connected with a lower holding part 12 via a spring 13 and a lever combination 14 consisting of a lever 15 which is rotatably held on the upper holding part 11 and a lever 16 which is rotatably held on the lower holding part 12 . the two levers 15 , 16 are also mutually rotatably connected . at the connection point 17 of the two levers 15 , 16 a spring attacks which is fastened at its lower end in the lower holding part 12 . the lower holding part 12 thus forms with the upper holding part 11 from its middle zone a substantially v - shaped element . the upper holding part 11 further comprises two openings 33 , 33 a . the lever combination 14 is thus arranged in such a way that in the case of a bending stress the same bends out according to a predetermined direction . this is achieved in the present example in such a way that the upper lever 15 is provided with an extension 19 through which an arrangement in true alignment of the two levers 15 , 16 with one another is prevented . in this way the lever combination 14 can merely bend out in the direction under a bending stress in which the extension 19 is disposed . the lower half 12 is further rotatably fastened to pins 20 , 20 a ( pin 20 a is not visible in fig1 ). the pins 20 , 20 a are disposed on two brackets 21 and 21 a ( bracket 21 a is not visible in fig1 ) which are held in a vertically displaceable manner in the upper holding part 11 . the brackets 21 , 21 a are each provided with an opening 32 , 32 a . the upper holding part 11 is further provided in its middle zone with a substantially u - shaped setting chamber 22 which is upwardly open . pin - like calibrating elements 23 are disposed in the floor of said setting chamber , which calibrating elements are upwardly aligned . the dimensions of the setting chamber 22 are dimensioned in such a way that an apparatus in accordance with the invention , as described in claims 1 through 9 , fits into the space . the openings 32 , 32 a of said brackets 21 , 21 a are aligned in the idle position in such a way that jointly with the openings 33 , 33 a a continuous opening is produced in the apparatus for performing the method for setting characters of the apparatus in accordance with the invention according to claims 1 to 10 . the setting chamber is further provided with an ejection mechanism ( fig1 ). several templates 24 are disposed above the setting chamber 22 in a substantially u - shaped guide rail 26 in the upper holding part 11 adjacent to one another . the templates 24 are displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the upper holding part 11 and are provided at their lower side with area separators 28 which divide each template into different , evenly large areas . every area on its part comprises pin - like setting elements 25 which are aligned downwardly . the pin - like setting elements 25 correspond precisely to the negative or positive of the character to be displayed . the number of the templates substantially depends on the number of characters to be displayed or set . thus , an apparatus for displaying a three - digit price with cent values and currency symbol requires six templates ( see fig5 a , 6 a ). the floor plate 29 of the guide rail 26 is provided with tongue - like projections 45 which are provided with a slightly elevated design in a zone 27 , so that during the displacement of the templates 24 they are subjected to a slightly increased displacing resistance and allow a defined latching . the length of the elevation corresponds precisely to the distance of two area separators 28 . in this way a displacement in areas and a latching of the templates is possible . one area each , depending on the setting of the operator , is disposed precisely above the setting chamber 22 in which the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention has been inserted . fig1 and 16 a each show a top view of a setting apparatus in accordance with the invention . one can clearly see the displaceable templates 24 , by means of which the user can choose the characters to be set by displacing the templates . the momentary setting can be checked by the user in an inspection window 39 . in a first step the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention is pushed into the setting chamber 22 of the apparatus 35 ( fig1 ). then the user sets the characters which are to be displayed subsequently by means of the movable members 3 and the basic part 1 . the upper side of the templates 24 is ideally provided with a lettering which shows the character which is disposed in the section of area below . then the handle of the lower holding part 12 is pressed against the handle of the upper holding part 11 until a position as shown in fig1 has been reached . the lower holding part 12 rotates about a point 31 in fig1 , as a result of which the pins 20 , 20 a plus the brackets 21 , 21 a move downwardly . as a result of the forced guidance of the brackets 21 , 21 a , the pivot of the lower holding part 12 displaces in the absolute system . the point 31 in fig1 moves to the right . upon reaching the position from fig1 , the apparatus exerts an increased resistance against the occurring pincer - like movement because on the one hand the spring 13 compresses the two parts with increased force and on the other hand the lever combination 14 , due to the displaced brackets 21 , 21 a and the thus changed geometry , is subjected to buckling and thus blocks any further bringing together of the two holding parts 11 , 12 . the spring 18 acts in this process additionally against the buckling of the lever combination 14 . at the same time with the movement of the upper and lower holding parts 11 , 12 to a position as shown in fig1 , the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention is pressed by means of brackets 21 , 21 a onto the pin - like calibrating elements 23 which are disposed in the setting chamber 22 , as a result of which the movable members 3 of the apparatus in accordance with the invention are all aligned substantially flush with the surface of the basic part 1 of the apparatus in accordance with the invention . if the pressure on the upper and lower holding part 11 , 12 is further increased despite the increased resistance as is shown in a position as illustrated in fig1 , the buckling of the lever combination 14 occurs from a defined action of force . in this way the entire lower holding part 12 displaces upwardly in a substantially parallel manner , because on the one hand the spring force of the spring 13 in its one end zone on the one hand and the force applied by the user in its other end zone acts in the direction towards the upper holding part 11 . as a result of the sudden , substantially translation upward movement of the lower holding part 12 , the two brackets 21 , 21 a also move upwardly and thus also thereby move the basic part 1 upwardly , as a result of which the same is pressed against the pin - like setting elements 25 of the template 24 . as a result , the movable members 3 in the basic part 1 are aligned in such a way that the effect in accordance with the invention occurs and the viewer can read individual characters . after the release of the two holding parts 11 , 12 the apparatus 35 returns to its initial position . the brackets 21 , 21 a also move to their initial position , so that the openings 32 , 32 a again form a continuous opening with the openings 33 , 33 a . the ejection mechanism which was initially tensioned by the insertion of the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention into the apparatus 35 in the direction of arrow 36 now ejects the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention against the direction of insertion ( fig1 a , b , c ) after the holding part 12 has been moved to its initial position . during the insertion of the apparatus 30 into the setting chamber 22 , an ejection bracket 34 which comprises shoulders 37 , 38 and an entrainment element 43 is displaced by the entrainment of the entrainment element 43 in the insertion direction 36 . the lower edge of the ejection bracket 34 moves along the floor of the setting chamber 22 . a hook - like nose 40 is disposed there which is arranged in the floor of the setting chamber 22 . the shoulder 38 is inclined in such a way that during the movement of the ejection bracket 34 along the floor of the setting chamber 22 and particularly over the nose 40 , the ejection bracket 34 is slightly lifted at first and is thus moved with the shoulder 38 over the hook - like nose 40 . the ejection bracket 34 is fastened to a spring 41 below the floor of the setting chamber 22 , so that it will automatically return to the horizontal position again once it has been moved over the nose 40 . once the shoulder 38 has been moved over the nose 40 , the same latches behind said nose 40 by the spring force of spring 41 and the apparatus in accordance with the invention is fixed in its position in the setting chamber . after ending the setting process the ejection bracket 34 is lifted again by the vertical movement of the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention ( which movement is produced by the vertical movement of the brackets 21 , 21 a ) and the thereby occurring entrainment of the entrainment element 42 and the shoulder 38 is moved over the nose 40 , as a result of which the spring 41 brings the ejection bracket 34 back to its initial position again and thus ejects the apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention . fig1 shows a further possible embodiment of the apparatus 35 in accordance with the invention for setting the desired characters . the two levers 15 , 16 of the first variant are replaced by a single lever 46 . it rests with its two end zones on brackets 47 , 48 which are arranged on the upper holding part 11 and on the lower holding part 12 . the lever 46 is fastened via a spring 18 with the upper holding part 11 , and more precisely with a bridge 49 which projects from the lower side of the setting chamber 22 . the bearing of lever 46 is thus provided in an overhung manner , meaning that it is merely held in its position by spring 18 and the clamping between the upper holding part 11 and the lower holding part 12 . the lower holding part 12 is provided for this reason with projections ( not shown ) which are guided in a groove of the side wall of the upper holding part 11 , so that the lower holding part 12 is guided on the upper holding part 11 . an additional bridge 50 is disposed on the lower side of the setting chamber 22 , on which a support 51 rests which is rigidly connected with the lever 46 . during the assembly of the apparatus 35 in accordance with the invention for setting the desired characters , the lever 46 can already be mounted on the upper holding part 11 , even before the lower holding part 12 is mounted on the upper holding part 11 . as has already been described in the preceding embodiment of the setting apparatus 35 , the two holding parts 11 , 12 are compressed at the handle sections ( fig1 , fig2 ), as a result of which the one end zone of lever 46 which rests on the upper holding part 11 slides in the direction towards the handle sections and both the spring 18 as well as spring 13 are tensioned in this way . in the setting chamber 22 , the brackets 21 , 21 a are pushed downwardly by the pins 20 , 20 a as a result of the movement of the lower holding part 12 . the lower holding part 12 performs at first a rotational movement whose center of rotation is situated in the lower end zone of the lever 46 . as a result , the part of the lower holding element which is disposed to the left of the center of rotation moves downwardly at first , which also includes the pins 20 , 20 a as well as the brackets 21 , 21 a , as a result of which the basic part 1 which is tensioned between the brackets 21 , 21 a is pressed against the calibrating elements 23 disposed in the setting chamber floor 22 ( fig1 ). in analogy to the embodiment as described above and for the same reasons , the upper end zone of the lever 46 travels in the subsequent section of the movement in the direction towards the handle sections of the upper and lower holding element 11 , 12 , through which the lower holding element performs an upwardly directed , substantially translational movement ( fig2 ) and the brackets are again moved upwardly by the pins 20 , 20 a , as a result of which subsequently the basic part 1 is pressed against the pin - like setting elements which are disposed on the templates 24 and the movable members 3 are displaced accordingly . the lower holding part 12 rests in this process with an edge 58 on the upper holding part 11 . the last described variant comes with the advantage that the lever combination 14 of the first variant can be replaced by a single lever . fig2 shows an alternative embodiment of an ejection mechanism of the setting chamber 22 in the idle position , i . e . without the inserted basic part 1 . the pin - like calibrating elements 23 which project upwardly from the floor of the setting chamber 22 as well as the spring tongues 45 can be recognized very will in this illustration . in the illustrated idle position the ejection bracket 34 is pressed by the tension spring 41 against the floor of the setting chamber and against a stop 52 in the direction towards the insertion or ejection opening 32 a , 33 a . the ejection bracket 34 is further provided with an entrainment element 43 which can be brought into engagement with the face side of the basic part 1 of the price label 30 . as a result of the insertion movement in the direction of arrow 36 , the ejection bracket 34 is also moved via the entrainment element 43 in the direction 36 ( fig2 ). a hook 53 disposed on the ejection bracket 34 latches into a bridge 54 disposed on the wall of the setting chamber . after completing the setting process as described above , the ejection bracket 34 is lifted by the vertical movement of the basic part 1 of the price label 30 ( produced by the vertical movement of the brackets 21 , 21 a ) which is upwardly in engagement with a second entrainment element 42 which is also disposed on the ejection bracket 34 , as a result of which the hook is released from its engagement with the bridge 54 . after completing the setting process , the basic part 1 of the price label 30 moves downwardly again , with a further bridge 55 which is longer than the bridge 54 preventing a renewed latching of the hook 53 behind the bridge 54 . once the setting apparatus is in the initial position again and the openings 32 , 33 and 32 a , 33 a form a single continuous opening again , the ejection bracket 34 moves by spring 41 against the direction of insertion 36 until the same impinges on stop 52 . as a result of the entrainment element 43 , the basic part 1 of the price label 30 follows this movement and is thus pushed out of the setting chamber . by the bending of the ejection bracket 34 in the direction towards the opposite setting chamber wall , the basic part 1 of the price label 30 is pressed against the opposite setting chamber wall , as a result of which the ejection which occurs up to stop 52 is braked and falling out is prevented . the entrainment element 42 extends in this process over the entire length of the ejection bracket 34 , as a result of which the insertion of the basic part 1 of the price label 30 into the setting chamber 22 always occurs in a straight line . the upper holding part 12 is further provided with a floor 29 with a tongue - like end zone 56 ( fig1 , fig2 ). the latter can be bent downwardly , so that the setting template 24 can be pushed between bracket 57 and the tongue 56 . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings in detail , fig1 - 3 show cross - hatched fields which represent visible warps . the course of warps extends in the downward direction while the course of wefts extends from the right to the left . white fields are weft fibers shown in the front view . as can be seen all three figures of the drawings show floating warp fibers and floating weft wires whereby the weft wire operate as 4 - tie units and the warp wires are uniformly tied - up into four wire units in the region of the pattern . this is only one example of the filter cloth , and it is understandable that other ties and connections between the warps and wefts are possible . a uniform structure of the wefts as shown in the drawings , is not , however interrupted by intermediate or alternating wefts which lie in the middle area between two patterns of each weave design . the tying of the warps is merely changed in this intermediate region . it has been known when the same filter cloth is to be always manufactured the discontimity of the wale or seam must be positioned in the direction of warp wires . since , however in each case during the manufacture of the filter cloths a great variability in a mesh size is desired the discontinuity of the seam is positioned in the direction of the wefts . the warp fibers are designated in the drawings by a reference numeral 1 while the weft fibers are denoted by a reference numeral 2 . intermediate or alternating wefts are identified with reference numerals 20 , 20b , 20 &# 39 ;. an alternating or intermediate weft 20 in fig1 continues a wale course of the upper pattern and also of the lower pattern and forms a protruding tip or apex 20a . the intermediate or alternating weft 20 closing the pattern , as shown in fig2 continues the wale course whereas the second alternating or intermediate weft 20 extends exactly in the opposite direction and forms thereby a tip 20a and starts a new wire direction . the advantageous structure of the filter fabric is illustrated in fig3 . three alternating or intermediate wefts 20 are provided in this embodiment . two accompanying or additional wefts 20b correspond to one specific intermediate weft 20 &# 39 ;. the additional wefts 20b continue the wale course and remain uniform in their connection relative to the pattern weft 2 . the special intermediate weft 20 &# 39 ; operates exactly against the tie in the pattern up to its accompanying wefts 20b and forms thereby a protruding tip 20a . the advantage of this structure resides in that the whole specific alternating or intermediate weft is arranged so that it forms in the alternating region the tip 20a which prevents the formation of a hole at the tip and simultaneously closes the holes between the alternating fibers . all three examples of the structure of the filter fabric show a variety of possibilities . other intermediate or alternating wefts can be respectively introduced into the fabric in other types of tying . as has been mentioned above the change in the fabric can be obtained by introducing of 8 to 20 wefts . the smaller is the distance between the alternating fibers the better is the uniformity of the filter cloth because by interchanging of the fibers and by the arrangement of the particulars intermediate wefts 20 , 20b and 20 &# 39 ; the fixing of the positions of the wefts relative to the warp fibers is ensured . in all three examples the tying or weave of the wefts is not changed . the weave of the warp wires is , however changed in the region of the intermediate wefts . this region is respectively uniform in the pattern of the selected twill and extends respectively in all three examples over two fibers . in the region of intermediate wefts the warp extends occasionally only above or below the weft , and although this weft can be subjected to higher loads it never ruptures . further advantages of the present invention reside in that such filter fabrics provide for a uniform filtration ; they bring reproducible results , they are stable , and the weft wires in the fabrics are better fixed . thereby a uniform weft tightness in the fabric is ensured as well as an accurate mesh size . by maintaining the twill weave of this invention , in comparison with conventional fabrics a storage effect , which the twill has as compared to linen , is fully preserved . in the filter fabric of the present invention as well as in other twill weaves , the triangular formation in the spaces between warps and wefts is eventually preserved , whereby during the filtration of , for example polymeric materials , gel is finely cut off so that the material homogeneously flows as required in the industry . the twill lace or strip has in regard to the cutting and storage capabilities substantial advantages as compared to other fabrics . moreover , the disadvantage of known twill laces is completely eliminated in the proposed fabric by the accurate fixing of the wefts . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together , may also find a useful application in other types of wire filter fabrics differing from the types described above . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a wire filter cloth , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of the invention . | 3 |
the present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing a digital camera module including a boot disposed between the lens unit and the housing , so as to reduce contaminants entering the camera module , which might degrade the quality of images captured . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth ( e . g ., particular examples of focus devices , substrate types , attachment devices , etc .) in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . those skilled in the art will recognize , however , that the invention may be practiced apart from these specific details . in other instances , details of well known camera module manufacturing practices ( e . g ., automated focus processes , materials selection , molding processes , etc .) and components ( e . g ., electronic circuitry , device interfaces , etc .) have been omitted , so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention . fig1 is a perspective view of a camera module 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention . camera module 100 is shown mounted on a portion of a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 102 that represents a pcb of a camera hosting device . camera module 100 communicates electronically with other components of the hosting device via a plurality of conductive traces 104 . device 106 represents an electronic component ( e . g ., passive device , etc .) that may be mounted directly on pcb 102 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the particular design of pcb 102 will depend on the particular application , and is not particularly relevant to the present invention . therefore , pcb 102 , traces 104 , and device 106 are representational in character only . camera module 100 includes an image capture device 108 ( not visible in the view of fig1 ), a circuit substrate 110 , a housing 112 , and a lens unit 114 . circuit substrate 110 is mounted to one end ( e . g ., the bottom ) of housing 112 and lens unit 114 is mounted to the other end ( e . g ., the top ) of housing 112 . image capture device 108 ( fig2 ) is mounted on the top surface of circuit substrate 110 , so as to position image capture device 108 between substrate 110 and housing 112 . fig2 is a partially exploded view of camera module 100 , showing some additional details not visible in the view of fig1 . in this particular embodiment , camera module 100 further includes a boot 200 disposed between housing 112 and lens unit 114 . note that the components of camera module 100 are aligned along an optical axis 202 . in particular , housing 112 , boot 200 , and lens unit 114 are coaxial with respect to optical axis 202 . additionally , image capture device 108 includes an image capture surface 204 that is perpendicularly centered with respect to optical axis 202 . proper optical alignment of lens unit 114 with respect to image capture surface 204 facilitates proper focusing of images onto image capture surface 204 . image capture surface 204 provides a substantially flat planar surface whereon images are focused and converted into electrical data that is processed by the processing circuitry of image capture device 108 and / or the host device . data communication between image capture device 108 and substrate 110 can be achieved by any suitable means known to those skilled in the art . for example , image capture device 108 can include a set of contact pads electrically coupled to a complementary set of contact pads of substrate 110 via wire bonding , soldering , or the like . image capture device 108 can be fixed to substrate 110 by any suitable means known to those skilled in the art ( e . g ., adhesive ). alternatively , camera module 100 can be assembled without substrate 110 by coupling image capture device 108 directly to housing 112 . housing 112 includes a mounting portion 206 and a receiver portion 208 . mounting portion 206 is adapted to mount to substrate 110 so as to enclose image capture device 108 between substrate 110 and housing 112 . receiver portion 208 includes an opening 210 that receives lens unit 114 . opening 210 defines a set of threads 212 formed to engage a complementary set of threads 214 formed on lens unit 114 so as to facilitate the focusing of camera module 100 . in particular , rotating lens unit 114 in a clockwise direction raises lens unit 114 with respect to housing 112 , thereby increasing the distance between lens unit 114 and image capture surface 204 . conversely , rotating lens unit 114 in a counter - clockwise direction lowers lens unit 114 with respect to housing 112 , thereby decreasing the distance between lens unit 114 and image capture surface 204 . thus , an image focused by lens unit 114 can be properly adjusted to lie in the focal plane of image capture surface 204 . after lens unit 114 is positioned correctly , lens unit 114 is fixed with respect to housing 112 by some suitable means ( e . g ., adhesive , thermal weld , etc .). fig3 shows is a bottom perspective view of lens unit 114 , showing additional features not visible in previously described figures . lens unit 114 includes a body 300 , a flange 302 , and a lower end 304 . body 300 extends along optical axis 202 and is functional to carry the optical components ( not shown ) of lens unit 114 . flange 302 provides a surface for a user and / or machine ( e . g ., automatic focusing machines ) to engage during the focusing of camera module 100 . lower end 304 includes a cylindrical portion 306 adapted to engage boot 200 . fig4 shows a cross - sectional side view of boot 200 . boot 200 is a resilient annular - shaped element , which forms a seal for preventing contaminants from reaching image capture device 108 . boot 200 includes an upper end 400 , a lower end 402 , an inner surface 404 , and an outer surface 406 . upper end 400 and inner surface 404 of boot 200 receive cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 ( fig3 ). lower end 402 and outer surface 406 of boot 200 engage the inner surface of housing 112 , which will be described below in greater detail with reference to fig5 . before boot 200 is flexed outward and coupled to lens unit 114 , the perimeter of inner surface 404 of upper end 400 is slightly less than the outer perimeter of cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 . therefore , the elastic retraction force of upper end 400 is sufficient to fix boot 200 to cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 . fig5 shows a cross - sectional view of housing 112 showing some additional features not visible in previous figures . in particular , housing 112 includes a recess 500 , a first inner surface 502 , a second inner surface 504 , and a channel 506 . recess 500 provides a space to receive image capture device 108 . inner surface 502 is contoured to engage outer surface 406 of boot 200 so as to prevent contaminants from entering recess 500 . inner surface 504 forms the outside wall of a contaminant trap 508 ( fig6 ). as shown , the perimeter of first inner surface 502 is smaller than the perimeter of second inner surface 504 , such that surfaces 502 and 504 form a pair of concentric cylindrical walls . channel 506 is formed in a ledge that connects the top edge of inner surface 502 with the bottom edge of surface 504 , and is operative to collect any contaminants that move past thread set 212 . examples of such contaminants include dust and / or other particulate debris caused by frictional contact between thread set 212 and complementary thread set 214 of lens unit 114 . channel 506 can also trap excess adhesive that is used to fix lens unit 114 to housing 112 during focusing processes . fig6 a is a cross - sectional view of assembled lens module 100 in a raised position . in this particular embodiment , boot 200 is disposed between lens unit 114 and housing 112 . in particular , inner surface 404 of upper end 400 of boot 200 engages cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 , and outer surface 406 of lower end 402 slidably contacts inner surface 502 of housing 112 . together , boot 200 , inner surfaces 502 , 504 and channel 506 form contaminant trap 508 which , as described above , collects and isolates any contaminants that advance past threads 212 and threads 214 . note that contaminant trap 508 is an isolated space enclosed by inner surface 504 of housing 112 , outer surface 406 of boot 200 , channel 506 of housing 112 , and lower end 304 of lens unit 114 . fig6 b is a cross - sectional view of assembled lens module 100 in a lowered position . as lens unit 114 is displaced downward towards image capture device 108 , outer surface 406 of boot 200 slides within inner surface 502 , while inner surface 404 of upper end 400 remains fixed to cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 . alternatively , outer surface 406 can remain fixed to inner surface 502 while cylindrical portion 306 of lens unit 114 slides within inner surface 404 of boot 200 . note that contaminant trap 508 remains sealed as lens unit 114 is moved up and down with respect to image capture device 108 . in particular , the lower end 402 of boot 200 extends a sufficient distance past the bottom of lens unit 114 to remain in contact with inner surface 502 as lens unit 114 is moved up and down a predetermined distance required to achieve proper focus . maintaining this contact during both rotational and translational movement of lens unit 114 and boot 200 is facilitated by the physical characteristics of boot 200 . in particular , boot 200 is made from a soft , compressible material and is sized to fit into inner surface 502 under slight compression . boot 200 then exerts a slight outward force and , thereby , maintains contact with inner surface 502 . the inventors have found that forming boot 200 from various materials including , but not limited to , rubber , polyurethane / ppu , silicone , polytetrafluoroethylene , and / or plastic , provides acceptable results . fig7 shows a cross - sectional view of an alternative camera module 700 . camera module 700 includes a circuit substrate 702 , an image capture device 704 , a housing 706 , a boot 708 , and a lens unit 710 . apart from the alternate sealing mechanism described below , the components of camera module 700 are substantially similar to the respective components of camera module 100 . boot 708 includes an upper end 712 , a lower end 714 , an inner surface 716 , and an outer surface 718 . in this particular embodiment , the outer perimeter of upper end 712 is smaller than the outer perimeter of lower end 714 . upper end 712 and lower end 714 are coupled to lens unit 710 and housing 706 , respectively . in particular , inner surface 716 contacts an outer cylindrical surface 720 of lens unit 710 , while outer surface 718 of boot 708 contacts an inner cylindrical surface 722 of housing 706 . in this embodiment , boot 708 is fixed with respect to lens unit 710 and slidably engages housing 706 . alternatively , boot 708 can be fixed with respect to housing 706 and slidably engage lens unit 710 . fig8 shows a cross - sectional view of yet another alternative camera module 800 . camera module 800 includes a circuit substrate 802 , an image capture device 804 , a housing 806 , a boot 808 , and a lens unit 810 . apart from the alternate sealing mechanism described below , the components of camera module 800 are substantially similar to the respective components of camera module 100 . in this particular embodiment , boot 808 is a resilient cylindrical tube having an approximately uniform outer perimeter along its length . boot 808 includes an upper end 812 , a lower end 814 , an inner surface 816 , and an outer surface 818 . as shown , the outer perimeter of boot 808 is uniform from upper end 812 to lower end 814 . upper end 812 of boot 808 is coupled to lens unit 810 and lower end 814 is coupled to housing 806 . in particular , inner surface 816 of boot 808 contacts an outer cylindrical surface 820 of lens unit 810 while outer surface 818 of boot 808 contacts an inner cylindrical surface 822 of housing 806 . as lens unit 810 is displaced vertically with respect to image capture device 804 , outer surface 818 and inner surface 816 of boot 808 remain in contact with inner cylindrical surface 822 and outer cylindrical surface 820 , respectively . as in the previous embodiment , boot 808 can be fixed to either lens unit 810 or housing 806 . however , the inventors expect superior results will be achieved by fixing boot 808 to the lower end of lens unit 810 . the description of particular embodiments of the present invention is now complete . many of the described features may be substituted , altered or omitted without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , alternate focus mechanisms ( e . g ., complementary opposing ramps on lens unit 114 and the top of housing 112 ) may be substituted for those described above . indeed , the inventors believe that the combination of the contamination reduction features described herein with such alternate focus mechanisms will provide a significant improvement over the devices of the prior art . as another example , alternate materials can be used to form the boot , depending on the particular application . these and other deviations from the particular embodiments shown will be apparent to those skilled in the art , particularly in view of the foregoing disclosure . | 8 |
the present invention provides a number of improved mosfet structures having compressively strained silicon channels . fig1 is a sectional view of an exemplary wafer 10 manufactured pursuant to the techniques described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 037 , 944 , filed mar . 1 , 2011 , entitled “ growing compressively strained silicon directly on silicon at low temperatures ,” incorporated by reference herein . the wafer 10 includes a crystalline silicon substrate 12 and a compressively strained , epitaxial silicon layer 14 deposited directly thereon . the layer 14 can optionally include elements in addition to silicon , but does not necessarily require such elements other than hydrogen in an amount sufficient to impart the desired strain . in addition , the substrate 12 does not need to be comprised entirely of crystalline silicon . it is only necessary that the surface upon which the silicon layer is formed be comprised of crystalline silicon . in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 . the strain in the layer 14 is substantially uniform throughout and at least partially attributable to hydrogen atoms incorporated in the layer . fig2 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an exemplary p - channel mosfet ( pfet ) structure 200 after being processed in a known manner to provide recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 . as shown in fig2 , the exemplary pfet structure 200 is formed on a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) wafer comprising one or more silicon substrate layers 230 and a buried oxide ( box ) layer 240 . a gate stack 250 is formed above the top silicon layer 230 . the gate stack 250 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 250 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 260 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 250 . the spacers 260 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 260 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 250 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as discussed hereinafter , a compressively strained silicon layer is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 230 in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 may be obtained by exposing the top silicon substrate layer 230 to a reactive ion etching ( rie ) or another suitable process to form the recesses 210 in the region below the spacers 260 . a reactive ion etching ( rie ) process or another suitable process will remove portions of the top silicon layer 230 . the etchant selectively removes the silicon layer 230 under the spacer regions 260 and may be , for example , hcl , chlorine , fluorine , sf6 and other etchant gases and mixtures of thereof . fig3 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an alternate exemplary p - channel mosfet ( pfet ) structure 300 after being processed in a known manner to provide recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 . as shown in fig3 , the exemplary pfet structure 300 is formed on a bulk substrate comprising at least one more silicon substrate layer 330 . a gate stack 350 is formed above the top silicon layer 330 . the gate stack 350 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 350 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 360 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 350 . the spacers 360 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 360 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 350 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as indicated above , a compressively strained silicon layer formed on a silicon substrate is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig4 illustrates an exemplary wafer 400 manufactured pursuant to the techniques described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 037 , 944 , filed mar . 1 , 2011 , entitled “ growing compressively strained silicon directly on silicon at low temperatures ,” incorporated by reference herein . the exemplary structure 400 of fig4 is employed by the embodiments of fig5 and 6 to fill the recessed source / drain pockets 210 , 310 in order to exert a uniaxial compressive strain to the channel . as shown in fig4 , the wafer 400 comprises a crystalline silicon substrate 412 and a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 414 grown directly thereon . the dopant materials may comprise , for example , an acceptor dopant , such as boron , that can be incorporated in - situ with the epitaxial growth process . it can be shown that the wafer 400 of fig4 exhibits a compressive strain of approximately 0 . 23 %. fig5 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an exemplary pfet structure 500 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig5 , the exemplary pfet structure 500 employs the structure 400 of fig4 to fill the recessed source / drain pockets 210 , in order to exert a uniaxial compressive strain 540 to the channel 535 . the exemplary pfet structure 500 is formed on a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) wafer comprising one or more silicon substrate layers 230 and a buried oxide ( box ) layer 240 , in a similar manner to fig2 . a gate stack 250 is formed above the top silicon layer 230 . the gate stack 250 can he comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 250 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 260 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 250 . the spacers 260 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 260 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 250 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig5 , a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 510 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 230 in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 , using the techniques of fig4 and in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig6 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an alternate exemplary pfet structure 600 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig6 , the exemplary pfet structure 600 employs the structure 400 of fig4 to fill the recessed source / drain pockets 310 , in order to exert a uniaxial compressive strain 640 to the channel 635 . as shown in fig6 , the exemplary pfet structure 600 is formed on a bulk substrate comprising at least one more silicon substrate layer 330 . a gate stack 350 is formed above the top silicon layer 330 . the gate stack 350 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 350 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 360 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 350 . the spacers 360 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 360 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 350 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig6 , a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 610 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 330 in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 , using the techniques of fig4 and in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig7 illustrates an exemplary wafer 700 manufactured pursuant to the techniques described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 037 , 944 , filed mar . 1 , 2011 , entitled “ growing compressively strained silicon directly on silicon at low temperatures ,” incorporated by reference herein . the exemplary structure 700 of fig7 is employed by the embodiments of fig8 and 9 to fill the channel region in order to exert a compressive strain to the channel . the strain can be either uniaxial or biaxial depending on the dimensions and the geometry of the channel . long and narrow channel geometry is preferred to exert a uniaxial strain . as shown in fig7 , the wafer 700 comprises a crystalline silicon substrate 712 and a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 714 grown directly thereon . it can be shown that the wafer 700 of fig7 exhibits a compressive strain of approximately 0 . 8 %. fig8 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an exemplary pfet structure 800 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig8 , the exemplary pfet structure 800 employs the structure 700 of fig7 to fill the channel region 835 and thereby exert a uniaxial compressive strain 840 to the channel 835 . in addition , a layer 810 of embedded silicon germanium ( e - sige ) is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 of fig2 . the exemplary pfet structure 800 is formed on a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) wafer comprising one or more silicon substrate layers 230 and a buried oxide ( box ) layer 240 , in a similar manner to fig2 . a gate stack 250 is formed above the top silicon layer 230 . the gate stack 250 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 250 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 260 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 250 . the spacers 260 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 260 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 250 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig8 , a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 820 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 230 in the channel region 835 , using the techniques of fig7 , and a layer 810 of e - sige is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig9 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an alternate exemplary pfet structure 900 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig9 , the exemplary pfet structure 900 employs the structure 700 of fig7 to fill the channel region 935 and thereby exert a uniaxial compressive strain 940 to the channel 935 . in addition , a layer 910 of embedded silicon germanium ( e - sige ) is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 of fig3 . as shown in fig9 , the exemplary pfet structure 900 is formed on a bulk substrate comprising at least one more silicon substrate layer 330 . a gate stack 350 is formed above the top silicon layer 330 . the gate stack 350 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 350 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 360 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 350 . the spacers 360 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 360 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 350 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig9 , compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 920 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 330 in the channel region 935 , using the techniques of fig7 , and a layer 910 of e - sige is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an exemplary pfet structure 1000 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the exemplary pfet structure 1000 employs aspects of the structures 400 and 800 of fig4 and 8 , respectively . as shown in fig1 , the exemplary pfet structure 1000 employs a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1020 in the channel region 1035 , using the techniques of fig7 , to exert a uniaxial compressive strain 1040 to the channel 1035 . in addition , a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1010 is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 . the exemplary pfet structure 1000 is formed on a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) wafer comprising one or more silicon substrate layers 230 and a buried oxide ( box ) layer 240 , in a similar manner to fig2 . a gate stack 250 is formed above the top silicon layer 230 . the gate stack 250 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 250 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 260 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 250 . the spacers 260 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 260 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 250 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig1 , a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1020 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 230 in the channel region 1035 , using the techniques of fig7 , and a layer 1010 of a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 210 below spacers 260 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . fig1 illustrates a cross - sectional view of an alternate exemplary pfet structure 1100 incorporating aspects of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the exemplary pfet structure 1100 employs a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1120 in the channel region 1135 , using the techniques of fig7 , to exert a uniaxial compressive strain 1140 to the channel 1135 . in addition , a compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1110 is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 . as shown in fig1 , the exemplary pfet structure 1100 is formed on a bulk substrate comprising at least one more silicon substrate layer 330 . a gate stack 350 is formed above the top silicon layer 330 . the gate stack 350 can be comprised of , for example , a gate dielectric layer and a gate conductor layer ( not shown ). as is known in the art , the exact composition of the gate stack 350 may be altered to optimize transistor performance . the spacers 360 are provided on the sidewalls of the gate stacks 350 . the spacers 360 are typically comprised of an oxide , nitride or oxynitride material , including combinations and multilayers thereof . the spacers 360 may serve to protect the sidewalls of the gate stack 350 during subsequent processing , in a known manner . as shown in fig1 , a compressively strained , undoped epitaxial embedded silicon layer 1120 is formed on the top silicon substrate layer 330 in the channel region 1135 , using the techniques of fig7 , and a layer 1110 of compressively strained , highly doped epitaxial embedded silicon is formed in the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the recessed source / drain pockets 310 below spacers 360 may be obtained in a similar manner to fig2 . as shown in fig1 , the alternate exemplary pl - et structure 1100 optionally further comprises raised source / drain regions 1130 grown on the embedded s / d regions . the optional raised source / drain regions 1130 further reduce the series resistance , in a known manner . the raised source / drain regions 1130 can be comprised of , for example , si x ge 1 - x with 0 . 5 & lt ; x & lt ; 1 . the raised source / drain regions 1130 shown in fig1 can optionally be added to all of the pfet structures described herein , as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art . the disclosed techniques can be employed in combination with other methods to further enhance the strain in the channel , such as stress liners and strained channels . the foregoing description discloses only exemplary embodiments of the invention . modifications of the above disclosed structures and method which fall within the scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . accordingly , while the present invention has been disclosed in connection with exemplary embodiments thereof , it should be understood that other embodiments may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention , as defined by the following claims . 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 . it will be further understood that the terms “ comprises ” and / or “ comprising ,” when used in this specification , specify the presence of stated features , integers , 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 corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step 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 . 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 embodiments were 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 . | 7 |
fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ) are schematic side and plan views respectively of a beam ( 1 ) much longer ( at 1 . 2 m ) than it is wide ( 0 . 02 m ) which provides a plurality of resonant bending wave modes along the length of the beam . the thickness of the beam was 0 . 0035 m . the bending rigidity was measured experimentally by determining the bending wave velocity in the beam ( using laser interferometer scanning techniques ). the bending rigidity was 32 . 4n * m and the surface density was 0 . 91 kg / m ^ b 2 . these parameters were used for determining the bending wave velocity at a circular frequency x using a well - known relation : where v = bending wave velocity , b = bending rigidity and μ = surface density . the above properties were obtained by a beam having a sandwich structure and comprising an outer skin of melinex ™, an inner skin of carbon fibre and a core of aluminium honeycomb . since the beam is narrow compared with its length , the bending across the beam will not be important , especially at lower frequencies . accordingly , the specific example described represents a quasi - one - dimensional implementation of the invention . this makes driving the resonant bending wave modes much simpler . as illustrated in fig1 ( b ), beam ( 1 ) sits in a rectangular aperture 11 formed in a baffle 10 and is softly attached to the baffle at either end by clamps 13 . in the example shown , the baffle is made of medium density fibreboard and , with dimensions of 160 cm × 77 cm , extends further to either side of the beam than it does to either end of the beam . as shown figuratively at ( 3 ), a plurality of transducers are provided along one side of the beam . in this particular example , 16 inertial drive units of 25 mm overall diameter were spaced at a pitch of 40 mm along one end of the beam . such units are well known in the art , e . g . from u . s . pat . no . 6 , 192 , 136 , and are capable of bipolar operation to exert a force in opposite directions as indicated by arrows in figure l ( a ). a digital signal processor ( dsp , 5 ) having a signal input ( 7 ) is shown , connected to the transducers by a data bus ( 9 ) . in this particular example , the sampling frequency of the dsp hardware was 40 khz . fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) illustrate the two testing regimes for the arrangement of fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ) . the first , acoustic test ( fig2 ( a )) consisted of recording steady - state sound pressure radiated by the beam when it is pulsed . the microphone ( 20 ) was sensitive for recording distortions in the spectrum down to − 80 db . the files would be stored on a hard drive of a computer ( 21 ) and then later post processed to analyse the measured distortion spectra of the sound pressure . in a second test ( fig2 ( b )), a laser interferometer ( 23 ) was used to record the velocity spectrum of the beam , the data again being stored and post processed on a computer ( 21 ). in order to accommodate a sensing position ( 25 ) for the laser beam ( 24 ) that is both on the beam ( 1 ) and remote ( typically 0 . 3 m away ) from the inertial exciters ( 3 ), exciters ( 3 ) are located only partially along the length of the beam . it should be noted that the spacing between drivers affects the performance of the digital loudspeaker . the choice of the driver locations should be such that it is possible to address the highest frequency in the bandwidth of operation of the digital loudspeaker . as was mentioned before the dsp hardware in the illustration was limited to 40 khz sampling rate giving the highest frequency of 20 khz . furthermore , the spacing of adjacent exciters should not be so great that the bending wave generated by one exciter has substantially died away before it reaches the adjacent exciter : it will be appreciated that this would prevent summing / integration of the impulses within the member per the present invention . operation in accordance with one aspect of the invention also requires time delays between the impulses applied to regions , the time delays being selected so as to excite a bending waveform at the frequency of interest . in the present example where an acoustic output of 1 khz is required , this time delay corresponds to a time interval that is required for a bending wave at 1 khz to travel from one driver to its neighbour . it is possible , given the material properties of the beam , to calculate using standard formulae the wave speed and hence the time delay necessary to excite any particular frequency . alternatively , the time delay can be established experimentally , as follows . in the arrangement of fig1 and 2 , this is achieved by actuating all the exciters ( 3 ) with the 1 khz bipolar signal shown in the amplitude ( d )— time ( t ) plot of fig3 and varying the time delay between the excitement of successive actuators along the beam so as to achieve maximum acoustic output at 1 khz . the maximum acoustic output for the arrangement of fig1 and 2 is illustrated in the plot of beam velocity level ( v ) against frequency ( f ) obtained from the laser interferometer and shown in fig4 . obtained at a time delay of 0 . 225 ms , which corresponds to the time taken by the 1 khz bending wave to travel the 40 mm between adjacent drivers , it will be seen that the 1 khz signal is the main , fundamental harmonic and is some 30 db louder than any of the other , higher order harmonics , giving a total harmonic distortion ( thd ) level of − 20 db . thd ( total harmonic distortion ) is here defined as a difference between the level of fundamental harmonic ( 1 khz in most results ) and a sum of all higher order harmonics : thd = - ( fundamental - 20 · log ( ∑ 10 harmonics 20 ) ] where ‘ fundamental ’ and ‘ harmonics ’ are both in db units . the thd value is stated in db units . alternatively , the thd can be expressed in percents and is related to the thd in the above expression as follows : where thd is a db value as defined in the previous equation and thd % is same expressed in percents . for example , thd =− 40 db would correspond to 1 % distortion , 0 db - to 100 %. [ 0058 ] fig4 can be contrasted with fig5 which shows the corresponding plot for a zero time delay between impulses applied to successive regions of the beam , i . e . all exciters working in unison . it can be seen that the level of the fundamental is around 30 db less , close to the level of the higher - order harmonics . as a result , the total harmonic distortion is significantly worse at 13 db . similar behaviour is evident in the sound pressure output from the beam . [ 0059 ] fig6 shows the variation of thd over a range of time delays , at . for the 40 khz sampling rate we have about 40 samples ( taps ) that constitute a 1 khz period . applying time delays from 0 taps ( unison pulsing ) to 39 taps would shift relative phases of each channel in a circle and the time delay of 40 samples will be the same as the time delay of 0 . fig1 shows thd levels plotted against time delays of the channels that span from 0 to 40 taps . the measurements for each time delay were carried out at a few sensor positions and presented thd levels are plotted as averages of these tests . it can be seen that the minimum thd level occurs at the time delay of 9 taps ( the frequency response for this measurement is plotted in fig8 ) and 31 taps . the first thd minimum corresponds to the 0 . 225 ms time delay discussed above and which in turn corresponds to the travel time of the 1 khz bending wave between transducers , at which delay all transducers reinforce the 1 khz component of the pulse as discussed above . at 31 taps it can be seen that the mirror image of this response lies at the time delay exactly symmetrical to the 9 taps delay . ( whole wavelength at 1 khz is 40 taps , so 31 taps would equal 9 taps as a time interval if it were assumed that the counting is from the 40 th tap ). on average , the minimum thd level is about 30 db lower then the thd levels at other time delay positions . similar advantageous behaviour to that described above is evident in fig7 which shows the variation of thd with time delay when measured in terms of sound pressure using the arrangement of fig2 ( a ). this is very similar to fig6 in shape although the overall level is about 35 db higher . the difference in thd level comes from the radiation properties of structures such as beams . the typical velocity frequency response of a beam has a reasonably flat shape as a function of frequency whereas the pressure frequency response has a rising slope , and its high frequency output is normally higher than that at low frequencies . in this respect the distortion calculated from the pressure measurements will be larger than the distortion calculated from the velocity measurement . a simple shape function can be applied to the pulses to filter out the high frequency components and can be a simple low pass filter of low order . application of such a filter to the pulse data stream can eliminate or significantly reduce high order harmonics and allow us to concentrate on frequencies at which the beam is being pulsed . to adjust the volume of the emitted sound a variable number of transducers can be excited . for a low volume , digital pulses are applied to a small number of transducers along the length of the beam whereas for a higher volume a larger number of pulses are applied to the beam . this is illustrated in fig8 which is a simulation showing effect of the number of actuated drivers n on both the amplitude a ( fig8 ( a )) and the thd level ( fig8 ( b )) of the sound emitted from a device operated in accordance with the first , “ time delay ” aspect of the invention . based on 80 drivers spaced 0 . 97 cm apart , it can be seen that the fundamental rises fast with number of drivers since each driver is in phase with the 1 khz wave produced by the drivers . the higher order harmonics stay low and show some periodicity on their dependence . this periodicity happens when the drivers produce outputs at higher harmonic frequencies that are only a few degrees out of phase with each other . this causes periodic rises and falls in the harmonics levels and allows the determination of a spacing between a given number of drivers so that , when they are pulsed with a correct time delay , most of the distortion harmonics will be at their minimum . this as a result may produce maximum output at the designated frequency while keeping all harmonics low . alternatively , for a given driver spacing , an optimal number of drivers can be established at which the distortion components are all at their minimum level . sound levels are also affected by the width of the excitation pulses applied to the beam , as will be evident from comparison of fig9 ( a ) to 9 ( c ), which show the distortion spectra of a beam with 16 inertial drivers when pulsed at 1 khz with pulses of 0 . 025 ms , 0 . 25 ms and 0 . 5 ms , respectively . it can be seen that as the pulse width is increased we effectively increase the amount of energy fed into the beam and as a result the overall sound levels rise . the thd changes as well since the wider pulse width is similar to application of a low order low - pass filter . a low - pass filter reduces high frequency components , which means there are fewer harmonics in the spectrum . in the three distortion spectra shown the thd levels changed from 8 . 4 db to − 8 . 5db when pulsing the beam with 1 - tap pulses and 20 - tap pulses , respectively . it is noted that the above aspect of the invention benefits from the fact that bending waves in a plate are of a dispersive nature , i . e . the wave speed is a function of wave frequency . as a result , the application of excitation pulses sequentially along a beam at a certain speed ( i . e . with a certain time delay between pulses ) will in turn excite a particular speed of wave having a particular frequency in preference to other waves having other frequencies and will produce an acoustic output at that frequency . it should also be noted that most structures that undergo bending vibrations are dispersive . in theory , there are five classes of various vibrations , and one of them is the kind that is referred to as “ flextural ” or bending . for the case of flexural waves the velocity - wavelength dependence translates into v ˜ f ½ which is the case of bending waves . more information can be found in the book by j . w . s . rayleigh , the theory of sound , volume 1 , second ed ., new york , dover publications inc ., pp . 475 - 480 . dispersion is also discussed in wo97 / 09842 and counterpart u . s . application ser . no . 08 / 707 , 012 , the latter incorporated herein by reference . the invention is not restricted to the excitation of one resonant bending mode or one particular frequency . the acoustic signal provided at input ( 7 ) in fig1 ( a ) may have a frequency characteristic corresponding to a number of frequencies and corresponding amplitudes . if the input signal is a conventional analogue signal , the frequency information can be obtained by a fast fourier transform , or otherwise , that is well known . the correct volume for each individual frequency component can be excited simultaneously to build up an acoustic output , corresponding to the acoustic signal input . it will be appreciated that this may result in certain exciters being actuated simultaneously to generate more than one frequency . [ 0066 ] fig1 is a schematic illustration of a second aspect of the invention whereby selected regions of a member are excited so as to excite a selected bending waveform having the frequency of the desired acoustic output . as in the arrangement of fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ), there are arranged over the surface of a member 1 actuators 3 capable of exciting the member to move in both directions as indicated by arrows 30 . given a desired range of frequencies over which the device is to produce acoustic output , i . e . the frequency range of the loudspeaker , the separation of the actuators may be chosen such that it is less than the minimum bending wavelength of the member ( which occurs when the member is oscillating at the upper end of the desired frequency range ) . this may in turn help ensure that even for modes at the high end of the desired range , it will be possible to excite a corresponding waveform by simultaneous operation of more than one exciter . thus , in the case of the waveform taken up by member 1 in fig1 , it will be seen that this can be excited by simultaneous actuation of exciters 3 ′ and 3 ″′ in one direction and of exciter 3 ′ in the opposite direction . in practice , details of the positions of the actuators required to excite waveforms corresponding to a range of frequencies of interest can be stored in a look - up table and subsequently used to drive the member in response to a frequency demand signal . when a particular frequency is pulsed , an appropriate mode is found that corresponds to this frequency . the data on this mode can be pre - calculated and stored in a bank of data ( look - up table ) that can be accessed by a software program . once the antinodes of the mode are known , appropriate drivers are picked out from those on the beam . these drivers then simultaneously ( that is , without time delay ) output pulses of 1s and − 1s thus driving the beam at this particular mode . depending on the phases of the modeshape , some drivers may be in opposite phase to others . the requirement for the motion to be a mode is not obligatory . as long as the dsp program that controls the pulsing has the information on the shape of the motion in the beam it can arrange a suitable number of drivers to address this motion with appropriate pulsing . as regards similarities between the two aspects of the invention , in the first aspect of the invention the time delays between the drivers are such that the waveform at a selected frequency is generated and creates a modeshape at this frequency whereas in the second aspect of the invention the drivers address the modeshape at a selected frequency directly . in this respect , both methods should give similar results and may be employed together to achieve maximum result . it will also be appreciated that the invention is not limited to a quasi - one - dimensional beam in which the only resonant bending wave modes within the frequency range of interest are those along the length axis of the beam . referring , e . g ., to fig1 , the invention can also be applied to a plate ( 40 ) with bending waves in the plane of the plate and with a plurality of transducers ( 3 ) arranged in a two - dimensional array over the plate . with a knowledge of resonant bending wave modes and the phase differences between each mode the transducers can be driven to preferentially excite modes at predetermined frequencies . the approach to the digital summation according to the present invention is inherently linked to a controlled excitation of the individual plate modes . it therefore affords a good level of control with regard to the bending wave distribution in the plate and its radiation characteristics . in this manner it is possible to control the directivity and diffusivity of the resulting radiation , within certain constraints determined by the material parameters of the plate , by appropriate choice of transducer position , pulse shape , transducer grouping and the like . note that such panel constraints are not present in the prior art 3d acoustic integration model , which in principle is capable of producing a more flexible output . however , the number and density of transducers required for this to be the case makes such an implementation prohibitively complex and expensive . since the transducer activation may be matched to the shape of the plate mode excited , the efficiency of excitation may be very high . furthermore , the digital integration is no longer in the 3d acoustic space , and is therefore not strongly dependent on the position of the listener . this indicates that the listener is not limited to be in the far field , and near field applications in which the ear / loudspeaker separation is a matter of centimeters are readily possible . telephones and headsets are particularly advantageous near - field applications . in a digital arrangement with a small number of exciters , there may occur the problem that the individual pulses are smeared in time . this problem is linked to resonances of the individual transducers . with the correlated excitation of the plate according to the above aspect , each actuator imparts an impulse directly to the integration medium of the plate . these transducers may advantageously be made very small , with associated self - resonances far above the sampling frequency . the digital impulses are then clean and suffer less from time - smearing complications . the principle of integration of digital pulses is facilitated by a linear integration medium : formed in the present example by a two - dimensional plate , the acoustic output from such a medium will be linearly proportional to the number of exciters that are actuated to excite the corresponding bending waveform at the frequency of the acoustic output . many materials meet this criterion — at least over an operating range of interest — and are known and discussed for example in the aforementioned wo97 / 09842 , u . s . application ser . no . 08 / 707 , 012 and also in the technical paper “ distortion mechanisms of distributed mode loudspeakers ” by colloms et al , proceedings of the 104 th acoustic engineering society convention , n . y ., 1997 . it is this feature of a linear integration medium that allows the output volume to be controlled by controlling the number of transducers that are excited , as explained above with regard to fig8 . this is in contrast to speakers actuated by analogue means where an increase in acoustic output is achieved by an increase in exciter input . since the only requirement of the actuator in such circumstances is that it provide a digital pulse of repeatable shape in response to a trigger signal from driver electronics , there is no need for the actuator itself to have a linear input / output characteristic . it will be appreciated that volume variation pursuant to the above regime will be in a number of discrete steps equal to the number of bipolar transducers ( or unipolar transducer pairs ). this is a major influencing factor on the number of transducers employed in any given product application and hence on the spacing between adjacent transducers . this therefore represents a scheme by which a non - linear transducer / actuator may be employed for audio reproduction without the need for pre - processing to correct for its transfer function . this opens up many possibilities for new transducer mechanisms , for example magnetostrictive materials and nematic liquid crystals . one possibility for the non - linear transducers is a uni - polar device , for example using a nematic liquid crystal actuator . in this case it is relatively easy for an applied electric field to polarise the liquid crystal molecules and align them in the direction of the electric field . however , the time constant for the molecules to return to their rest position after the electric field is removed can be very long . this actuator is therefore efficient in producing a digital pulse of one polarity only , which makes the reproduction of bipolar audio signals very complex . a scheme by which an audio signal may be produced would require the delicate cancelling of stimuli on opposite phases of a particular mode . the inevitable mismatch in these stimuli would degrade the quality of low level signals , making this solution a poor one . however , uni - polar devices may be employed in a bi - layer scheme . in this case one transducer layer above the symmetry line of the plate produces one polarity of force impulse , whereas an identical plane below this line produces the other polarity . in this manner , both positive and negative impulses may be produced with uni - polar actuators , which opens up the option of devices such as nematic liquid crystal actuators . active layers of transducer material applied to a plate together with a printed electrode represent a simple and cheap method of manufacture . furthermore , for the case of a transparent transducer layer , such as a nematic liquid crystal , the electrode may also be patterned out of a conducting transparent film , such as indium tin oxide , forming a truly transparent loudspeaker . as an alternative to the point forces generated by the schemes described above and shown by arrows in fig1 , excitation may be achieved by the application of moments . appropriate transducers are known , for example from u . s . pat . no . 6 , 192 , 136 . the use of stimuli applied to closely spaced exciters on a bending wave plate may give rise to good correlation between exciters and a workable digital loudspeaker . the quality of digital integration in this scheme may be greatly superior to existing concepts centred on 3d acoustic integration of the digital signal . furthermore , this scheme may exhibit at least one of the following benefits over analogue : increased efficiency , control over directivity and diffusivity , linearisation of highly non - linear devices , ability to use uni - polar devices . as compared with alternative digital concepts , the invention may allow use in the near field , minimisation of time smearing of the digital pulse and / or ease of manufacture . it should also be understood that the impulse excitation of a bending structure is not limited to a simple rectangular shaped pulsing . the pulses can be shaped by special devices like signal conditioners to address various effects that occur in the bending structure in the process of wave integration . one of the possible shapes of the pulses can be such that they act as a low pass filter to the response of the bending structure and therefore may reduce some of the artefacts of digital pulsing like high frequency harmonic distortions . this invention has been described by way of examples only and it should be understood that a wide variety of modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention . | 7 |
as discussed above , shipboard plastics waste containment and disposal presents various problems , such as storage limitations , environment concerns , etc . to address these problems , the present inventors have endeavored to provide a processor for efficiently compacting and processing plastics waste for storage and later disposal , capable of compacting the plastics waste and heating the plastics waste to a temperature sufficient to melt the low - melting thermoplastic waste , thereby creating an encapsulated plastics waste “ slug ”. in particular , as illustrated in fig1 , a plastics waste processor 1 is provided , having a base 3 and a frame 5 , the frame having a top end 7 and a bottom end 9 . a waste containment chamber 17 is mounted on / attached said base 3 . the waste containment chamber 17 , as illustrated in fig2 , has a chamber entrance port 19 , into which plastics waste is placed for processing . the chamber entrance port 19 has an outer circumference 21 . as illustrated in fig2 - 6 , a hinge arm assembly 11 having a handle portion 15 is movably attached to the top end 7 of the frame 5 via a hinge 13 . a breech lock door assembly 23 , consisting of a waste containment chamber door 57 and two or more pivoting lugs 63 attached to the outer circumference 61 of the waste containment chamber door 57 , is rotatably attached to the hinge arm assembly 11 via rotary bearing 59 , to enable rotatable engagement of the waste containment chamber door with the hinge arm assembly 11 . the outer circumference 61 of the waste containment chamber door 57 is as wide , or wider than , the outer circumference 21 of the chamber entrance port 19 . as illustrated in fig4 - 5 , 7 - 8 and 9 a - 9 c , the waste containment chamber door 57 can be rotated via the linear actuating means 67 , as well as the jam breaker bar 81 , to open and close the door 57 ( i . e ., to seal or unseal the door 57 ). more specifically , the waste containment chamber door 57 can be secured , so as to seal the chamber entrance port 19 , by rotating the door 57 sufficiently to cause engagement of the pivoting lugs 63 with receptor blocks 25 attached to the top end 7 of frame 5 , and unlocked by rotating the door 57 so as to disengage the pivoting lugs 63 from the receptor blocks 25 . in standard operation , a linear actuating means 67 , such as a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder , is used to rotate the waste containment chamber door 57 to an unsealed position . in particular , as shown in fig7 and 8 , a first end 69 of the linear actuating means 67 is fixably attached to the hinge arm assembly 11 , and a second end 71 of the linear actuating means 67 is movably attached to the waste containment chamber door 57 , such that linear force can be exerted upon the door 57 so as to rotate and disengage the pivoting lugs 63 from the receptor blocks 25 . in the event that melted plastic waste causes jamming of the waste containment chamber door 57 , the linear actuating means 67 may be unable to exert sufficient pressure to unseal the door . in such case , a user may utilize the jam breaker bar 81 , having a first end 85 defining a handle , a midsection 89 defining a pivot point adjacent the first end 85 , and a second end 87 defining a release block interaction point adjacent the midsection 89 , as illustrated in fig7 - 9c , to exert additional rotational pressure upon the waste containment chamber door 57 . essentially , torque is applied by the second end 87 of the jam breaker bar 81 through pivoting means 83 to the release block 65 attached to pivoting lug 63 to force the pivoting lugs to disengage from the receptor blocks 25 . occasionally , when unsealing ( opening ) the waste containment chamber door 57 , pressure applied against the door 57 inside of the chamber 17 causes the door 57 to suddenly and forcefully open . this situation can be hazardous to the user , and potentially damaging to the processor . thus , as shown in fig7 and 8 , a waste containment chamber door damper means 73 is provided , consisting of a damper 79 having a first end 75 thereof fixably connected to the 15 hinge arm assembly 11 , and a second end 77 thereof movably connected to the waste containment chamber door 57 . this damper 79 may be , for example , a gas - charged hydraulic cylinder which limits the speed of opening of the door 57 . as shown in fig1 - 6 , a pneumatically driven waste compaction means is provided adjacent to the waste containment chamber 17 , the pneumatically driven waste compaction means consisting of a pneumatic drive means 29 attached to the base 3 , and a pneumatically driven ram 31 movably connected to the pneumatic drive means 29 capable of compressing / compacting plastic waste 2 located within said waste containment means 17 . further , one or more dampers 33 are provided between , and connected to , the pneumatically driven ram 31 and the base 3 , so as to control the movement of the pneumatically driven ram 31 ( i . e ., to prevent sudden , potentially damaging , forceful movement thereof ). in the conventional processors , during the waste compaction and heating process , melted plastic waste frequently wedges between the interior wall of the waste containment chamber 17 and the pneumatically driven ram 31 , thus causing the pneumatically driven ram to become jammed in the waste containment chamber 17 . this situation requires frequent maintenance of the processor , and inefficient operation . to solve this problem , the present invention provides a plastic - shedding pneumatically driven ram 31 , as illustrated in fig1 , comprised of ram compaction face 131 , a circumferential ram body portion 133 having a top edge 135 adjacent the ram compaction face 131 , a midsection 137 adjacent the top edge 135 , and a bottom edge 139 adjacent the midsection 137 . relief portions 141 are formed into the midsection 137 of the circumferential ram body portion 133 , and extend to the bottom edge 139 thereof . during processing , when plastic waste does extrude into the space between the pneumatically driven ram 31 and the interior wall of the waste containment chamber 17 , instead of remaining in said space , the plastic waste falls down out of the space via the relief portions 141 . thus , the pneumatically driven ram 31 shown in fig1 effectively sheds the plastic waste mentioned above , and the plastic waste is allowed to escape ( drop down and out of ) the processor , or into a catchment provided in the base of the processor . in an alternative embodiment , as illustrated in fig1 , a plastic - shedding pneumatically driven ram 31 is provided comprised of a ram compaction head 143 having a face 145 , a circumferential portion 147 adjacent the face 145 , and a base portion 149 adjacent the circumferential portion 147 . three or more guide runners 151 are provided integral with or attached to the base portion 149 of the ram compaction head 143 , so as to maintain stability of the ram 31 within the waste containment chamber 17 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , plastic waste extruded past the circumferential portion 147 of the ram compaction head 143 during compaction and processing of plastic waste is allowed to escape from the waste containment chamber 17 via spaces between the guide runners 151 . therefore , jamming of the ram 31 during processing is avoided . during the compaction process , a waste containment chamber heating means 35 , as shown in fig2 - 6 , is used heat the plastics waste to a temperature at least high enough to melt the low - melting temperature plastics therein . the waste containment chamber heating means 35 may be , for example , electric resistance heaters , steam heating tubes or hot water heating tubes , and is provided integral with or adjacent to the breech lock door assembly 23 and the pneumatically driven ram 31 . as illustrated in fig1 , a heating device controller 93 is provided to control the heating means 35 by monitoring the temperature of the heating means 35 through processor temperature monitoring means 37 . the processor temperature monitoring means 37 may be comprised of one or more thermostats located adjacent to one or more components of the plastics waste processor 1 . at the completion of the compaction and heating of the plastics waste , the processor 1 must be cooled before the plastics waste slug can be removed . a cooling means is thus provided , in conductive connection with the processor temperature monitoring means 37 and adjacent to the waste containment chamber 17 and the pneumatically driven waste compaction means so as to be capable of cooling same . as shown in fig1 , the cooling means is comprised of a fluid circulation means 39 having a first end 43 , a second end 45 and a flow control means 47 , the fluid circulation means 41 being flowably connected to a pressurized fluid source 48 . a fluid entrance port 49 is flowably connected to the first end 43 of the fluid circulation means 41 , and a fluid exit port 51 is flowably connected to the second end 45 of the fluid circulation means 41 . the cooling means 39 may be a direct seawater cooling means or an indirect type cooling means , however , the direct seawater configuration is preferred . further , the present inventors discovered that by using a cooling means 39 comprised of titanium tubing embedded in the waste containment chamber door 57 and the pneumatically driven ram 31 , corrosion due to contact with seawater and oxidation thereof of the cooling means was greatly inhibited . the processor is controlled by a user via a control means 53 . the control means 53 , as illustrated in fig1 , is conductively connected to one or more of the waste containment chamber heating means , the pneumatically driven waste compaction means , the door linear actuating means , the processor temperature monitoring means , and the cooling means . in addition , the control means 53 is conductively connected to the power source 55 , and is capable of controlling power to the processor . the control means 53 may consist of an electromechanical device , but is preferably a computer controller having a user interface . when plastics waste 2 is processed in the processor 1 of the present invention , the pneumatic drive means 29 moves the pneumatically driven ram 31 up and down , so as to compact the waste . additionally , waste containment chamber heating means 35 heat the plastic waste within the waste containment chamber 17 , so as to melt at least a portion thereof . cables and hoses are used to connect the ram 31 and heating means 35 to the pneumatic drive means 29 and heating device controller 93 . these cables and hoses , as illustrated in fig1 , move up and down with the pneumatically driven ram as the waste is processed . this can sometimes lead to tangling and damage to the cables and hoses , and difficulty in servicing and maintenance of the processor 1 . thus , the present invention provides a cable and hose management system 95 , as illustrated in fig1 , comprising one or more cable carriers 97 having a first end 99 and a second end 101 , the first end 99 of the cable carrier 97 being affixed to the frame 5 , and the second end 101 being affixed to the pneumatically driven ram 3 1 . each cable carrier 97 is comprised of a plurality of connected movable links 103 , which have a hollow interior portion 105 for containment of cables and / or hoses , and for encompassing one or more of waste containment chamber heating means cables , pneumatically driven waste compaction means cables and hoses , and processor temperature monitoring means cables . as mentioned above , the second end 101 of cable and hose management system 95 is affixed to the pneumatic drive ram 31 , which during processing reaches a very high temperature . thus , there is the possibility that heat transfer from the ram 31 may damage the cable and hose management system 95 . thus , the cable and hose management system may further be provided with a thermal isolating means 107 , as illustrated in fig1 , having a first end 109 affixed to the pneumatically driven ram 31 , and second end 111 affixed to the second end 101 of the cable carrier 97 , so as to thermally isolate the cable carrier 97 from heat generated by the pnuematically driven ram 31 . the thermal isolator may be made of any thermally - insulating material , such as ceramic , glass , etc . much of the plastic waste processed in the processor is food , and otherwise , contaminated . thus , the waste containment chamber 17 , door 57 and ram 31 , tend to become very dirty during use , which requires constant cleaning , and contributes to unreliability due to fouling of components . conventionally , users were thus required to spend long periods of time cleaning the processor , sometimes needing to disassemble the processor to properly clean same . in order to solve this deficiency , the present inventors discovered that a washdown system 113 , as illustrated in fig1 , could be built into the processor 1 . in particular , as illustrated in fig1 , a washdown system 113 is provided adjacent to the waste containment chamber 17 and pneumatically driven waste compaction means 29 , for washing the processor of contaminants present in the plastic waste . the washdown system 113 has one or more fluid inlet ports 115 , one or more fluid distribution manifolds 117 in flowable connection with one or more of the fluid inlet ports 115 , one or more fluid supply tubes 119 having a first end 121 and a second end 123 , the first end 121 of each fluid supply tube 119 being flowably connected to one or more of the fluid distribution manifolds 117 . further , one or more spray nozzles 125 is provided adjacent to the waste containment chamber 17 and the pneumatically driven ram 31 , the spray nozzles 125 being flowably connected to the second end 123 of a fluid supply tube 119 . generally , heated or unheated pressurized water is sprayed through the spray nozzles 125 to clean the chamber 17 and ram 31 . however , in addition to simply pressurized water , detergent solution may be used to more effectively clean the processor 1 . in such an embodiment , a detergent solution holding tank 127 , as illustrated in fig1 , is provided in flowable connection to one or more of the fluid inlet port 115 , and a detergent solution flow control means 129 is provided in flowable connection with the detergent solution holding tank 127 , such that flow of the detergent solution to one or more of the fluid distribution manifolds 117 from the holding tank 127 may be controlled by the control means 129 . the detergent solution control means 129 may be any conventional means of flow control , but is preferably a programmable logic controller , a relay logic controller , or a mechanical logic controller . the mcgraw , et al . references fail to disclose the claimed jam breaker bar , the waste containment chamber door damper means , the pneumatically driven ram damping means , the washdown system , the plastic shedding ram designs ( claims 12 and 13 ), the titanium tubing of the cooling means , and the rotating breech lock mechanism wherein the door rotates to lock and unlock ( versus mcgraw &# 39 ; s , which slides open and closed to lock and unlock ). 33 — dampers ( positioned between the pneumatically driven ram and the base , and parallel to the pneumatically driven ram ) 35 — waste containment chamber heating means ( integral with or adjacent to the breech lock door assembly and the pneumatically driven waste compaction means ) 37 — processor temperature monitoring means ( comprising one or more thermostats located adjacent to one or more components of the plastics waste processor for monitoring a temperature of the processor during operation ) 39 — cooling means ( in conductive connection with the processor temperature monitoring means and adjacent to the waste containment means and the pneumatically driven waste compaction means ) 49 — fluid entrance port ( flowably connected to the first end of the fluid circulation means ) 51 — fluid exit port ( flowably connected to the second end of the fluid circulation means ) 53 — user control means ( conductively connected to one or more of the the waste containment chamber heating means , the pneumatically driven waste compaction means , and the processor temperature monitoring means ) 55 — power source ( in conductive connection with the waste containment chamber heating means , the pneumatically driven waste compaction means , processor temperature monitoring means , and the cooling means ) 59 — rotary bearing ( disposed on the central axis of the waste containment chamber door , for rotatable engagement with the hinge arm ) 61 — outer circumference of the waste containment chamber door ( equal to or larger than the chamber entrance port outer circumference ) 63 — two or more pivoting lugs attached to the outer circumference of the waste containment chamber door , so as to be capable of rotatable interaction with the receptor blocks 65 — one or more release blocks ( attached to the pivoting lugs ) 69 — first end of the linear actuating means ( fixably attached to the hinge ) 71 — second end of the linear actuating means ( movably attached to the waste containment chamber door , and positioned so as to be able to rotatably move the waste containment chamber door ) 75 — first end of the waste containment chamber door damper means ( fixably connected to the hinge ) 77 — second end of the waste containment door damper means ( movably connected to the waste containment chamber door ) 79 — damper ( between the first end and the second end of the waste containment chamber door damper means positioned so as to oppose rotary motion of the waste containment chamber door ) 81 — jam breaker bar ( rotatably connected to one or more of the receptor blocks via a pivoting means ) 85 — first end of the jam breaker bar ( defining a handle ) 87 — second end of the jam breaker bar ( defining a release block interaction point ) 89 — midsection of the jam breaker bar ( having a pivot point adjacent to the pivoting means ) 101 — second end of cable carrier ( affixed to the pneumatically driven ram ) 107 — thermal isolating means of the cable and hose management system 109 — first end of the thermal isolating means ( affixed to the pneumatically driven ram ) 111 — second end of the thermal isolating means ( affixed to the second end of the cable carrier ) 113 — washdown system ( adjacent to the waste containment chamber and pneumatically driven waste compaction means ) 117 — fluid distribution manifolds of the washdown system ( in flowable connection with one or more of the fluid inlet ports ) 121 — first end of the fluid supply tubes of the washdown system ( connected to one or more of the fluid distribution manifolds ) 125 — spray nozzles of the washdown system ( adjacent to the waste containment chamber and the pneumatically driven ram , and flowably connected to the second end of a fluid supply tube ) 127 — detergent solution holding tank ( flowably connected to one or more of the fluid inlet ports ) 129 — detergent solution flow control means ( in flowable connection with the detergent solution holding tank ) 135 — top edge of circumferential ram body portion 133 ( adjacent the ram compaction face ) 137 — midsection of circumferential ram body portion 133 ( adjacent the top edge ) 139 — bottom edge of circumferential ram body portion 133 ( adjacent the midsection 137 ) 141 — relief portions ( formed into the midsection 137 of the circumferential ram body portion 133 , and extending to the bottom edge 139 ) 147 — circumferential portion of ram compaction head 143 ( adjacent the face 145 ) 149 — base portion of ram compaction head 143 ( adjacent the circumferential portion 147 ) 151 — guide runners ( integral with or attached to the base portion of the ram compaction head 143 ) | 1 |
the inventive process is based on the desalting of milk or whey , whereby nearly 100 % of the serum proteins , such as albumin , are denatured and precipitated by means of heating . it is known that the serum proteins , whether natural or denatured , are more nutritionally and physiologically important than caseins . for example , in comparison with caseins , the serum proteins have a higher nutritional value . the technological significance of the serum proteins is also known , as well as the fact that they denature at temperatures above 70 ° c . and form coprecipitates under such thermal treatment with caseins . minerals , such as sodium chloride , are usually present in milk products , either as bulk or trace elements . if the concentration of salt in milk or whey is increased , the salt ions compete ( in high salt concentrations ) with the proteins for water molecules such that the normal solubility of the proteins is decreased . thus , proteins can be precipitated by the appropriate addition of salt . the addition of salt is used to analytically deproteinize milk samples . my experiments have shown that the desalting of milk or whey apparently affects the stabilization of proteins . the salt content has a much greater significance for the stabilization of proteins than previously assumed . these experiments showed that in the demineralized milk product , serum protein is not stable when heated , as might be expected . in addition , coprecipitates ( i . e ., complex of caseins and serum proteins that form during heating ) can be formed due to demineralization such that nearly 100 % deproteinization is possible . in the inventive process , the following variations are possible : the use of differing milk products including acidic whey , nonacidic whey or milk or mixtures thereof ; various methods of desalting , including electrodialysis and ion exchanges ; ph adjustments ; variations in the degree and maintenance of heating and cooling ; and various methods of separating the precipitated proteins from the deproteinized milk products . during the following experiments , the samples were deproteinized with an centrifuge , filtered , and the whey removed from the thickened milk . similar experiments with a separator manufactured by westfalia , in which the precipitated serum protein was collected in the sediment area of the cylinder , yielded similar results such that the serum protein content in the whey was slightly higher . an acidic whey with an serum protein content of 1 % was heated for 10 minutes at 95 ° c ., separated at 40 ° to 50 ° c . in an centrifuge , so that an serum protein content in the whey of 0 . 43 % resulted . the acidic whey treated in that manner was desalted to various degrees between 0 % and 80 % by electrodialysis . after uniform heating and separation in an ultracentrifuge , the resulting whey yielded the serum protein values shown in table i in dependence on the degree of demineralization . table i______________________________________ ph of serum protein content of the the acidic electrodialyzed , heated , degree of desalting whey and separated whey (%) ______________________________________original whey , not 4 . 35 0 . 43desalted ( 0 %)↓ 4 . 38 0 . 40 ↓ 4 . 40 0 . 36increasing degree 4 . 46 0 . 32of desalting ↓ 4 . 62 0 . 30 ↓ 4 . 98 0 . 29 ↓ 5 . 32 0 . 28whey almost completely 5 . 36 0 . 25desalted ( 80 %) ______________________________________ from table i , it can be seen that there is a correlation between the level of demineralization and the residual serum protein content of the heated and separated whey . the lower the mineral content of the whey , the lower is the serum protein content in the treated whey . it is further apparent from table i that the desalting step has an influence on the ph . with increased desalting , the ph rose from 4 . 35 ( starting salt content of the whey ) to 5 . 36 ( desalting level of about 80 %). electrodialyzed milk , having a ph of 4 . 82 and an serum protein content of 0 . 60 %, was mixed with 38 % skim milk . the resulting mixture had a ph of 6 . 50 and an serum protein content pf 1 . 73 %. this was heated and , by adding citric acid , the ph was adjusted to 4 . 5 at the heating temperature and times stated below in table ii . the resulting serum protein contents are also shown in table ii . table ii______________________________________heating temper - heat maintenance serum protein content of theature (° c .) time ( min .) whey treated (%) ______________________________________90 5 0 . 19390 15 0 . 175______________________________________ electrodialyzed whey was mixed with 20 % skim milk . the ph of the mixture was 5 . 7 and the serum protein content was 1 . 165 %. the mixture was heated , adjusted in a heated condition to a ph of 4 . 5 , and the serum protein was then separated . the thermal treatment conditions and the resulting serum protein contents are shown below in table iii . table iii______________________________________ serum proteinheating temper - heat maintenance ph after content ofature (° c .) time ( min .) heating treated whey______________________________________90 5 5 . 60 0 . 212 % 90 15 5 . 70 0 . 137 % 90 30 5 . 75 0 . 205 % ______________________________________ the treatment of whey or milk can take place in such a manner that the milk is added to the whey before desalting , and the whey is desalted with the milk . electrodialyzed whey was adjusted , before heating , to a ph of 4 . 1 by means of citric acid . the whey was then heated and separated . the ph adjustment could also be carried out before desalting , such that the same ph is obtained after desalting . table iv shows the thermal treatment conditions and the resulting serum protein contents . table iv______________________________________ serum proteinheating temper - heat maintenance ph after content ofature (° c .) time ( min .) heating treated whey______________________________________90 5 4 . 5 0 . 120 % 90 15 4 . 6 0 . 190 % 90 30 4 . 6 0 . 161 % ______________________________________ electrodialyzed whey with a ph of 4 . 82 and an serum protein content of 0 . 67 was heated and separated with the following results . table v______________________________________ serum proteinheating temper - heat maintenance ph after content ofature (° c .) time ( min .) heating treated whey______________________________________90 5 5 . 2 0 . 124 % 90 15 5 . 1 0 . 151 % 90 30 5 . 0 0 . 124 % 95 5 5 . 4 0 . 141 % 95 15 5 . 3 0 . 166 % 95 30 5 . 2 0 . 125 % ______________________________________ the above examples show that the degree of demineralizing , the ph , the heating temperature , and the heating time all have an influence on the degree deproteinization of milk or whey . a further possibility in the desalting of milk consists of the general extraction of serum protein , whereby this extracted albumin can be marketed as a coprecipitate . milk is desalted by means of a suitable process , microbiologically acidified to a ph of between 4 . 0 to 5 . 2 , or is adjusted to this ph level by means of the addition of an acid . the acidified milk is then heated to a temperature of above 80 ° c . in order to denature the serum proteins . the milk is then cooled and , by means of a suitable process , the precipitated serum protein is separated . because of the coprecipitate formation that arises through heating , there occurs during the final separation process a nearly complete deproteinization of the milk or whey to values of approximately 0 . 2 % or less , dependent upon the degree of demineralization . according to the above examples , the deproteinization of milk or whey can take place through a partial or complete desalting in combination with a ph adjustment and / or a heating process . preferably the heating takes place in the approximate isoelectrical ph range of the proteins to be separated . serum protein separated according to the inventive process was added to cream cheese . in comparison with a conventional uf - cream cheese produced fron nonacidic full concentrate , no bitter taste appeared in the cream cheese with the inventively processed serum protein during storage . in connection with the production of cheese , milk is partially or completely desalted , heated to a temperature of between 90 ° to 95 ° c . and microbiologically acidified or thickened by means of acidification . the precipitated serum protein is then separated by a suitable process . the whey which thereby accumulates has , depending on the degree of desalting , an serum protein content of up to 0 . 2 %. it is also possible to increase the dry materials content in the milk or whey in such a manner that either no or only a reduced quantity of whey precipitates . a whey deproteinized and demineralized in accordance with the inventive process can be used for lactose production . furthermore , drying can be carried out with other components without difficulties , since the adjustment of the ph in the absence of a buffer system is facilitated , as compared to a conventional acidic whey . a further advantage of the present invention is that skim milk or nonacidic whey can be acidified in a significantly shorter time because of the absence of a buffer system . in the case of an 80 % demineralization of the original salt content , the acidification time amounted to only about 40 % of the usual time . skim milk was demineralized and mixed , at 23 ° c ., with the usual quantity of acidifying cultures . for acidification of up to a ph of 4 . 6 , 8 hours were needed instead of 20 . it was also shown that the level of demineralization during deproteinization determines the amount by which the acidification time is shortened . in other words , there is a direct relationship between the degree of demineralization and the acidification time . the taste of milk products can also be improved through the use of the inventive process . the portion of the lactic acid formed for ph - reduction is significantly reduced , for example , in cream cheese and acidic milk products . also the number of bacteria is reduced by the product &# 39 ; s partially eliminated buffer system such that a lower product ph can be adjusted . also , extended stability of the product was observed , without the product developing an acidic taste component . thus , for example , acid milk in components and cream cheese , the sugar content of added fruit products can be reduced for obtaining the original sugar / acid ratio for the taste components . demineralization during the inventive process may be accomplished by electrodialysis , ionic exchange , chemical desalting , or through other known processes that are compatible with the milk products being treated . electrodialysis is the preferred demineralization process . the present invention for the deproteinization of milk ( either curdled or noncurdled ) or whey is based on process steps that include at least a partial demineralization of the starting product . by means of these process steps , a destabilization of the proteins is attained , such that the proteins are denatured at an acidic ph value and under thermal treatment . the denatured proteins can then be obtained by means of a separation process , whereby enhanced deproteinization occurs in dependence on the degree of desalting . preferably , the serum protein content in milk or whey can be reduced by this process to approximately 0 . 2 % or less . it is further possible by means of the partial or complete desalting of milk or whey or other milk foods to achieve a low acid content in the product . this low acid content occurs using acidification at the same ph as a conventionally treated milk product that has not been partially or completely desalted . the resulting reduced acidification time due to the present invention , in addition to other advantages indicated above , is of particular interest . it is to be understood that the present invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments and objects . additional embodiments and objects that may fall within the spirit and the scope of the present invention as claimed . | 0 |
the diluent gas which is inactive to the reaction serves to control the reaction temperature and its kind is not critical . preferably , an inert gas such as nitrogen and argon is used . in particular , r - 133a , r - 134a and a mixture of them , which can be condensed and separated , are preferred . in addition , the diluent gas may contain a condensable gas such as hydrogen fluoride or hydrogen chloride . a composition of the diluent gas mixture is not limited . the process of the present invention will be explained in detail . to carry out the first reaction , trichloroethylene and hydrogen are supplied to a first reaction containing the diluent gas . when the diluent gas contains a sufficient amount of hydrogen fluoride , it is not necessary to supply hydrogen fluoride . an amount of hydrogen fluoride is from 3 to 100 moles per one mole of trichloroethylene . when the amount of hydrogen fluoride is smaller than the lower limit , an amount of unreacted trichloroethylene increases though the reaction may proceed . when the amount of hydrogen fluoride is larger than the upper limit , the reactor becomes large and the process becomes uneconomical . an amount of the diluent gas is not critical . while the amount of the diluent gas has some influence on the control of reaction temperature , the reaction temperature can be controlled more or less . however , when a very large amount of the diluent gas is used , the reactor becomes large . then , a volume of the diluent gas is usually from 1 to 40 times the volume of trichloroethylene . the reaction temperature is preferably from 180 ° to 400 ° c . when r - 133a , r - 134a or a mixture of them is contained in the diluent gas , the reaction temperature is from 180 ° to 300 ° c . when the reaction temperature is higher than 300 ° c ., r - 134a reacts with hydrogen chloride which is generated from the reaction between trichloroethylene and hydrogen fluoride and is reconverted to r - 133a . the diluent gas may contain up to abut 25 % by mole of r - 1122 . r - 1122 is converted to r - 133a in the presence of hydrogen fluoride . when an azeotropic mixture of r - 1122 with r - 134a is used as the diluent gas or added to the diluent gas , r - 1122 is converted to r - 133 a whereby the amount of r - 1122 is decreased . in this case , the reaction temperature is from 180 ° to 300 ° c . for the effective decrease of r - 1122 . when the reaction temperature is lower than 180 ° c ., a reaction rate of trichloroethylene with hydrogen fluoride is small , and when the reaction temperature is higher than 300 ° c ., r - 1122 remains unconverted . in the process of the present invention , a catalyst may be used . as the catalyst , any one that has a catalytic activity on the fluorination reaction can be used . in general , chromium oxide base catalysts are used . examples are thermally treated cr ( oh ) 3 , fluorinated chromium oxide which is prepared by fluorinating thermally treated cr ( oh ) 3 with hydrogen fluoride , a catalyst prepared by thermally treating a hydrate of crf 3 in an oxygen - containing atmosphere , and the like . in one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention , a part or a whole of the generated gas from the second reaction is used as the diluent gas in the first reaction . a flow chart of this embodiment is shown in fig2 . in the second reactor , r - 133a and hydrogen fluoride are supplied . the reaction product from the second reactor is a gaseous mixture of desired r - 134a , unreacted r - 133a and hydrogen fluoride , and by - products including r - 1122 . the gaseous mixture is directly supplied to the first reactor together with the raw material , namely trichloroethylene . trichloroethylene reacts with hydrogen fluoride to form r - 133a . simultaneously , r - 1122 reacts with hydrogen fluoride and is reconverted to r - 133a . therefore , the reaction mixture from the first reactor contains r - 133a , r - 134a , hydrogen fluoride , hydrogen chloride , a small amount of trichloroethylene and some by - products . but , the reaction mixture contains substantially no r - 1122 . from the generated gas from the first reactor , hydrogen chloride is removed and then r - 134a is separated . remaining r - 133a and hydrogen fluoride are supplied to the second reactor . to the second reactor , a supplemental amount of hydrogen fluoride is added . in this process , since the heat generated in the first reaction is cooled by the reaction product from the second reaction , the reaction temperature in the first reaction is very easily controlled , and the number of the reactors can be decreased from three to two . according to the volume of the first reactor , the generated gas from the first reactor contains a small amount of r - 1122 . in such case , a third reactor which is operated at a temperature of 180 ° to 300 ° c . is provided after the first reactor . such third reactor may be a small one . to the second reactor , r - 133a and hydrogen fluoride which is preferably anhydrous are supplied . a molar ratio of hf to r - 133a is at least 2 . even when this ratio is smaller than 2 , the reaction may proceed but the selectivity decreases unpreferably . the upper limit of this ratio is not limited . as this ratio increases , an amount of recovered and recycled hydrogen fluoride increases so that the production cost increases . in general , the upper limit of this ratio is about 10 . to the second reactor , the same catalyst as above maybe added . the reaction temperature is preferably from 300 ° to 400 ° c . when the reaction temperature is lower than 300 ° c ., the conversion is very low due to the equilibrium . when it is higher than 400 ° c ., the selectivity is very low . to the first reactor , a gaseous mixture of trichloroethylene , hydrogen fluoride and r - 1122 is supplied . when the exit gas from the second reactor is directly supplied to the first reactor , trichloroethylene is simultaneously supplied in the same mole as that of r - 133a which is consumed in the second reactor . though hydrogen fluoride which reacts with trichloroethylene may be supplied , usually it is not necessary to supply hydrogen fluoride since the gas from the second reactor contains a sufficient amount of hydrogen fluoride . the reaction temperature may vary with the activity of the catalyst . usually , as described above , it is from 180 ° to 300 ° c . each reactor may be any type of a reactor . since the reactions in the present invention are gas - solid contact reactions , usually , a multi - tubular fixed bed reactor or a fluidized bed reactor can be used . in addition , a moving bed reactor and the like may be used . the types of the first and second reactors may be the same or different . by heating chromium hydroxide which was precipitated from an aqueous solution of chromium nitride with an aqueous ammonia , a fluorination catalyst was produced . prior to use , the catalyst was fluorinated with hydrogen fluoride . forty grams of the catalyst was filled in a hastelloy c tube of 20 mm in inner diameter and 700 mm in length and heated to 320 ° c . in a nitrogen stream . then , the supply of nitrogen was stopped and trichloroethylene and hydrogen fluoride were supplied at flow rates of 85 ml / min . and 420 ml / min ., respectively . as soon as trichloroethylene and hydrogen fluoride were supplied , an exothermic reaction started and the maximum temperature reached 345 ° c . after the produced gas was washed with water and dried , it composition was analyzed by gas chromatography . when the reaction was continued under the same conditions , sudden great decrease of the conversion was observed after 400 hours . in the same manner as in comparative example but supplying nitrogen as a diluent gas at a flow rate of 1000 ml / min ., the reaction and analysis were carried out . no heat generation was observed and the reaction temperature of 320 ° c . was maintained . the conversion of trichloroethylene was 98 % and the selectivity was 97 %. when the reaction was continued under the same conditions , no sudden great decrease was observed even after 600 hours . in the same manner as in example 1 but using 10 g of the catalyst , supplying trichloroethylene and hydrogen fluoride at flow rates of 18 ml / min . and 90 ml / min ., respectively , supplying a 1 : 1 mixture of r - 133a and r - 134a as a diluent gas together with the raw materials and keeping the reaction temperature at 250 ° c ., the reaction and analysis were carried out . no heat generation was observed and the reaction temperature of 250 ° c . was maintained . the conversion of trichloroethylene was 98 % and the selectivity was 97 %. ten grams of the same catalyst as in comparative example was filled in a hastelloy c tube of 20 mm in inner diameter and 700 mm in length ( a second reactor tube ) and heated to 360 ° c . in a nitrogen stream . then , the supply of nitrogen was stopped and r - 133a and hydrogen fluoride were supplied at flow rates of 60 ml / min . and 360 ml / min ., respectively . the exit gas was washed with water and dried and its composition was analyzed by gas chromatography . the conversion of r - 133a was 30 %, and the selectivities of r - 134a and r - 1122 were 97 % and 2 %, respectively . ten grams of the same catalyst as above was filled in the same hastelloy c tube ( a first reactor tube ) and heated to 250 ° c . in a nitrogen stream . then , the supply of nitrogen was stopped and trichloroethylene was supplied at a flow rate of 18 ml / min together with the exit gas from the second reactor tube to the first reactor tube . no heat generation was observed . the exit gas from the first reactor tube was analyzed by gas chromatography to find that the conversion of trichloroethylene was 99 % and no r - 1122 was detected . the amount of r - 134a was not substantially changed . | 2 |
the present invention uses zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) for voltage enhancing additives in specific amounts . based on the inventors &# 39 ; experiments , and the compromises which must be made in selecting environmentally friendly fills , the present invention is prescribed to be a na — sc iodide fill with precise amounts of zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) added to replace the mercury . the bulb dimensions can substantially remain the same as the present d 2 size lamp ( inner diameter about 2 . 7 millimeter , body outer diameter about 6 millimeter , and inner length about 7 . 2 millimeter ) with an arc gap between electrode tips of 4 . 2 millimeter nominally . the na : sc molar ratio is in the range of 4 : 1 to 6 : 1 with preferred ratios of 4 : 5 : 1 and 6 : 1 . lowering the molar ratio leads to increase lumens but causes accelerated wall reactions and reduced maintenance . increasing the molar ratio reduces the wall reaction rate , but shifts color and reduces lumens . the amount of salt in the lamp must be kept low to prevent creeping of the molten condensate up the inner surface of the lamp and interfering with the optical line - of - sight to the bright arc within the vessel as discussed by kaneko et al . in ep 1 172 840 a2 . thin films of salt also can absorb light and lead to undesirable color shifts in the lamp . the preferred na — sc iodide salt dose is within the range of 0 . 2 to 0 . 25 mg in a quartz vessel of approximately 25 mm 3 volume . for the d 2 size lamp , zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) is dosed in the amount between 0 . 05 to 0 . 15 mg , with the preferred amount being 0 . 1 mg . in general , the zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) is dosed at 2 to 6 micrograms per cubic millimeter . an inert gas , such as xenon , is dosed into the lamp such that the fill pressure at room temperature is between 0 . 6 to 1 . 22 megapascal . in the present invention , the electrodes are doped typically with between 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 weight percent of tho 2 . the preferred level is about 1 % by weight . pure tungsten electrodes could be used . in a preferred embodiment , shown in fig2 , the discharge lamp 10 is made from fused silica and has the following components : a light transmissive quartz envelope 12 defining an enclosed volume 14 of between 18 to 42 cubic millimeters ; a first tungsten electrode 16 extending through the envelope 12 in a sealed fashion to contact the enclosed volume 14 ; a second tungsten electrode 18 extending through the envelope 12 in a sealed fashion to contact the enclosed volume 14 , where the tungsten electrode 16 , 18 diameters are between 0 . 20 to 0 . 40 millimeter ; and a fill material 20 positioned in the enclosed volume , where the fill material includes zinc iodide ; sodium iodide ; scandium iodide , and an inert fill gas , but does not include mercury or mercury compounds ; where the zinc iodide has a concentration in the enclosed volume ranging from 2 to 6 micrograms per cubic millimeter , with 3 to 4 micrograms per cubic millimeter being preferred ; where the sodium iodide has a concentration in the enclosed volume ranging from 5 . 0 to 5 . 7 micrograms per cubic millimeter ; where the scandium iodide has a concentration in the enclosed volume ranging from 2 . 7 to 3 . 3 micrograms per cubic millimeter ; and where the inert fill gas ( preferably xenon ) has a cold ( ambient ) fill pressure in the enclosed volume ranging from 0 . 6 to 1 . 22 megapascals . it is not apparent that nai — sci 3 — zni 2 chemistries would be the preferred embodiment for mercury free automotive hid lamps . fig3 shows data from sample runs of the current lamp embodiment . surprisingly , the spectral output ( nai — sci 3 — zni 2 ) is nearly identical to mercury containing lamps ( nai — sci 3 — hg ) ( fig4 ) and the color coordinates , while shifted from the nominal positions , still fall within the restrictive requirements of regulation 99 ( fig3 ), where the color coordinates are all seen to be within the polygon defining the regulation 99 requirement . the ability to satisfy the stringent color point requirements is a unique and unanticipated feature of the present invention . for example , rare earth mercury free complexes may have higher cris , but also show variable ccts , and displaced color point relative to nai — sci 3 — zni 2 chemistries . the nai — sci 3 — zni 2 chemistries tend to allow the lamp to run cooler and the voltage rise over life appears to be smaller than with the rare earth complexes and it can be less reactive than the rare earth complex chemistries that have been examined . however , while constricting chemistries tend to increase lumen output , they also tend to be more chemically aggressive , bow more and may be prone to instability . the inventors &# 39 ; experiments show that the voltage in mercury free hid lamps can be adjusted to reach 85 volts , the nominal operating voltage for mercury containing lamps . however , the increase in voltage is achieved with a corresponding decrease in lumen output . this is primarily due to the increased thermal conductivity of the pure zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) vapor compared to mercury . the high thermal conductivity cools the arc core which reduces the radiative efficiency , w . p . lapatovich and j . a . baglio , chemical complexing and effects on metal halide lamp performance , paper 026 : i , 9 th international symposium on the science and technology of light sources , cornell university , ithaca , n . y ., aug . 12 - 16 , 2001 . this heat is transported to the walls of the arc lamp and causes the mercury free lamps to run hotter than the mercury containing counterparts at the same power level . fig5 and 6 show comparisons of the calculated thermal and electrical conductivity of mercury free nai — sci 3 — zni 2 and the standard chemistry with mercury . fig5 shows the thermal conductivity of a series of mercury free sodium iodide scandium iodide ratios with zinc iodide . in fig5 , note the small dip from 3000 to 3500 ° k and that thermal conductivity at the arc core temperatures is significantly higher for the zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) chemistries . fig6 shows the electrical conductivity of a series of mercury free sodium iodide scandium iodide ratios with zinc iodide . fig6 shows an order of magnitude increase in the electrical conductivity at the arc core temperature of the mercury free nai — sci 3 — zni 2 chemistries relative to the standard chemistry with mercury . this manifests itself as a lower operating voltage . the inventors have discovered that the zinc iodide cools the arc , and this generally reduces the number of lumens produced . a controlled amount of zinc iodide is therefore needed to get the correct voltage while still maintaining the number of lumens needed . with no zinc iodide the lamp has an operating voltage of 25 or 30 volts . the d 2 size lamp voltage rapidly rises to about 95 volts with about 0 . 4 micrograms of zinc iodide . since automotive hid lamps are optical sources , the position , shape and stability of the arc are very important . a typical d 2 s arc is well stabilized but not “ fluffy ”. this is the arc presentation automotive lamp makers expect . in a mercury lamp , changing from a nai — sci 3 chemistry to a rare earth complex chemistry causes the arc to be fatter . removing mercury may still provide an acceptable arc presentation but arc luminance , lumens , color and arc stability over the life of the lamp are equally important and it is here that such mercury free lamps fall short of requirements . fig7 shows the effects of additives on the voltage and lumens of naisci 3 . the effect of adding zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) to mercury free nai — sci 3 chemistries is not only to increase the operating voltage , but also to reduce the efficacy of the lamps as shown in fig7 . here one sees the approximately 60 volt reduction in operating voltage by removing mercury . the effect of zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) is to increase voltage but at the expense of light output , and thus the particular range of zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) of the present invention assumes particular importance . this is partially due to radiation from the zn in unwanted spectral regions and partially due to the reduced core temperature as discussed above . the effect of the dose of zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) on the voltage for a d 2 size lamp is shown in fig8 . test lamps operated at 500 hz switched dc confirm the acceptability of the lamp of the present invention . other easily vaporized salts could be used to enhance voltage , for example , tii , cd and sb halides , etc .) but are contrary to an object of the present invention which is to provide an environmentally friendly lamp . one advantage that nai — sci 3 chemistry enjoys over the rare earth complexes is the range of compositions available and the predictable performance of voltage enhancers across those ranges . fig9 shows lumen maintanince for mercury free lamps with standard automotive chemistries . fig1 shows color maintanince for mercury free lamps with standard automotive chemistries . lumen maintenance of nai — sci 3 chemistries shows a favorable trend as seen in fig9 and color maintenance as seen in fig1 . many of the rare earth chemistry complexes exhibited rapid chemical reaction and inferior lumen maintenance . preliminary evaluation in both projector and reflector optics indicates that no major redesign of headlamps will be necessary for nai — sci 3 — zni 2 mercury free chemistries . tests have shown that the “ hockey stick ” cut - off requirement of regulation 98 are met ; while the glare requirements have been satisfied , one of the test points is below specification . similar results have been observed with d 4 r and dot compliant headlamps . based on the beam patterns it is clear that the optic need not be redesigned to accommodate the mercury free lamp , however , because of subtle changes in the arc geometry , headlamp optics can be adjusted to improve the candela at certain test points . better beam patterns would thus be achievable than with a simple substitution into an existing optic . one example of the lamp of the present invention is an arc discharge lamp with a sodium scandium iodide ( nasci 4 ) dopant with a sodium to scandium molar ratio of 6 to 1 , in a cylindrical , pre - formed quartz envelope of pure quartz that has a volume of 25 mm 3 . the fill includes 8 atmosphere ( ambient temperature ) of xenon . this may be a mixture of rare gases such as xenon and argon . the electrodes are tungsten rods , 0 . 01 inches in diameter with a standard electrode gap of 4 . 2 millimeters . no mercury is included in the lamp . about 0 . 1 to 0 . 4 mg of zinc iodide ( zni 2 ) is included . this lamp provides 3000 lumens at 35 watts . the melt temperature is about 800 degrees celsius . the added zinc iodide causes an increased thermal conductivity and hotter walls that may be offset with the inclusion of the argon . a method of controlling the voltage of a mercury free metal halide lamp without substantial changing of the visible spectrum produced , includes the steps of : providing a double ended quartz envelope defining an enclosed volume of 18 to 42 cubic millimeters ; sealing a first electrode through the quartz envelope and contacting the enclosed volume ; sealing a second electrode through the quartz envelope and contacting the enclosed volume ; providing an inert fill gas of xenon in the enclosed volume having a cold pressure of 0 . 6 to 1 . 22 megapascals ; providing a first fill component in the enclosed volume including sodium iodide with a concentration from 5 . 0 to 5 . 7 micrograms per cubic millimeter of the enclosed volume and scandium iodide with a concentration of from 2 . 7 to 3 . 3 micrograms per cubic millimeter of the enclosed volume , but not including mercury or a mercury halide otherwise resulting in a first visible spectrum having a first spectral integral from 350 to 800 nanometers ; and adjusting a concentration of zinc iodide in the enclosed volume between 2 to 6 micrograms per cubic millimeter of the enclosed lamp so that the lamp voltage correspondingly varies between 42 and 85 volts and provides a second visible spectrum having a spectral integral from 350 nanometers to 800 nanometers not different from the first spectral integral by more than five percent of the first spectral integral . the spectra are compared by integrating the square of their absolute difference over the visible range ( approximately 350 to 800 nanometers ). this is divided by the integral of undoped spectra to form a percent difference measurement . if there is zero percent difference , the spectra are the same . if there is a small difference in the spectra , then the percent difference is only a few percent . if the spectra are substantially different , then the percent difference is large . while embodiments of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification and drawings , it is to be understood that the present invention is defined by the following claims when read in light of the specification and drawings . | 7 |
embodiments of semiconductor device of the present invention are described in detail below . referring now to a drawing , an embodiment of a semiconductor device of the present invention is described below . fig1 is a sectional explanatory diagram showing embodiment 1 of a semiconductor device of the present invention . in fig1 same parts as in fig5 ( a ) to 5 ( d ) and fig6 ( a ) to 6 ( c ) are identified with same reference numerals . reference numeral 9 denotes a planar metal layer provided in the plastic substrate . in this embodiment , a metal plain layer is provided in the plastic substrate of multilayer structure of the semiconductor device . in fig1 only one metal plain layer 9 is shown schematically , but actually it is formed on plural insulating substrate surfaces for composing the plastic substrate , while avoiding lines and via holes provided in the insulating substrates . the metal plain layer 9 is made of a metal , and does not absorb moisture as compared with the plastic substrate 1 . therefore , the moisture permeating into the plastic substrate 1 from outside of the semiconductor device ( from the direction indicated by arrow a in the diagram ) can be shut off by the metal plain layer 9 , and hence deterioration of the sealing member 8 can be prevented . as a result , the adhesion between the sealing member and plastic substrate can be reinforced . the metal plain layer 9 may be provided either beneath the semiconductor chip 2 or on the entire plastic substrate 1 . when the metal plain layer 9 is provided beneath the semiconductor chip 2 , reduction of manufacturing cost and simplification of manufacturing process may be realized . the shape of the metal plain layer 9 may be either plate or mesh . when the shape of the metal plain layer 9 is mesh , the porosity of the metal plain layer 9 is , for example , 20 to 30 %. more preferably , the thickness of the metal plain layer 9 should be 0 . 01 to 0 . 03 mm in order to shut off sufficiently the moisture permeating into the plastic substrate 1 . as the material for the metal plain layer 9 , for example , copper is preferred because it is excellent in electric characteristic . referring now to a drawing , other embodiment of a semiconductor device of the present invention is described below . fig2 is a sectional explanatory diagram showing embodiment 2 of a semiconductor device of the present invention . in fig2 same parts as in fig1 are identified with same reference numerals . reference numeral 10 denotes a solder resist film provided on the surface of the plastic substrate 1 . the solder resist film 10 is provided on the plastic substrate surface in order to prevent from excessively wetting up to the lines ( not shown ) in the plastic substrate 1 . in the embodiment , the semiconductor chip side surface of the solder resist film 10 is processed by roughening . by roughening the solder resist film 10 , the surface of the solder resist film 10 is undulated , and the adhesion between the sealing member 8 and solder resist film 10 is reinforced . as a result , the adhesion between the semiconductor chip 2 and plastic substrate 1 is reinforced . referring now to a drawing , a different embodiment of a semiconductor device of the present invention is described below . fig3 is a partially magnified sectional explanatory diagram showing embodiment 3 of a semiconductor device of the present invention . in fig3 same parts as in fig1 are identified with same reference numerals . fig3 shows only the solder bump and its periphery , in particular , of the semiconductor device . in this embodiment , of the solder resist film provided on the surface of the plastic substrate 1 , the portion contacting with the solder bump 5 and its peripheral part are removed in a circular form . in fig3 the lower portion of the solder bump 5 of the line in the plastic substrate 1 is particularly called the land , and indicated by reference numeral 10a . the land 10a is formed in order to connect with a terminal ( an electrode ) of the semiconductor chip . in this embodiment , of the surface of the plastic substrate 1 , the region ( indicated by reference numeral la in the drawing ) exposed by removing the solder resist film in an circular form , and the surface of the solder resist film 10b are processed by roughening . by the roughening process , the adhesion of the sealing member 8 and solder resist film 10b is reinforced . generally , in the peripheral area of the solder bump 5 , breakage is likely to occur , and it is particularly needed to reinforce the adhesion . in the embodiment , by roughening also the exposed region 1a , the adhesion of the peripheral area of the solder bump 5 with the solder resist film 10 can be reinforced . in embodiment 2 and embodiment 3 , as the material for the solder resist film , epoxy resin or acrylic resin may be used . alternatively , the epoxy resin or acrylic resin may be also mixed with a filler . as the roughening process , dry etching may be employed . as an example of dry etching , reactive ion etching or plasma etching may be employed . in the semiconductor device shown in embodiment 2 and embodiment 3 , further , the metal plain layer of the semiconductor device shown in embodiment 1 may be also provided . in the embodiments , as an example of the semiconductor device , the semiconductor device comprises the heat spreader and ring , but same effects are obtained also in the semiconductor device not comprising heat spreader or ring . though several embodiments of the present invention are described above , it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited only to the above - mentioned , various changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , a step assembly according to one embodiment of the invention is generally shown at 10 . the step assembly 10 includes a step 12 for supporting individuals entering or exiting a motor vehicle . the step 12 includes an outboard end 14 , an opposing inboard end 16 , and a stepping surface 18 extending between the outboard 14 and inboard 16 ends . referring to fig1 through 3 , a link , generally indicated at 20 , is fixedly secured to the step 12 by at least one fastener 22 . as shown in fig2 , the link 20 includes a main body portion 24 and a pair of spaced apart leg members 26 , 28 extending out therefrom . the pair of spaced apart leg members 26 , 28 defines an opening 30 therebetween . each of the pair of spaced apart leg members 26 , 28 terminates at a locking end 32 . a cam member 34 is coupled to at least one of the pair of spaced apart leg members 26 , 28 . the cam member 34 defines a slot 36 . referring to fig3 and 4 , an arm 38 includes a first end 40 pivotally secured to the link 20 about pivot pin 42 and an opposing second end 44 pivotally secured to an upper housing 46 about a pivot pin 48 . the arm 38 provides for pivotal movement of the step 12 between a stowed position , in which a substantial portion of the step 12 is tucked below a body panel of a motor vehicle , and a deployed position ( as shown in fig1 ), in which the step 12 is spaced further apart from the body panel and available to receive individuals entering or exiting the motor vehicle . a lower slot 50 is formed at the first end 40 of the arm 38 . a tilt lock pin 52 is disposed within the lower slot 50 . the tilt lock pin 52 is selectively received within the slot 36 of the cam member 34 . a tilt lock spring 54 is connected to the tilt lock pin 52 . an upper slot 56 is formed at the second end 44 of the arm 38 . a deploy lock pin 58 is received within the upper slot 56 . a deploy spring 60 is connected to the deploy lock pin 58 . the deploy lock pin 58 is selectively positioned within a notch 62 in the upper housing 46 . one end 64 of a release cable or rod 66 is coupled to the deploy lock pin 58 and an opposing end 68 of the release cable 66 is coupled to the link 20 . the upper housing 46 is fixedly secured to the body panel of the motor vehicle to position the step assembly 10 therealong . a latch assembly , generally indicated at 70 in fig1 , is coupled to the upper housing 46 for retaining the step 12 in the stowed position . referring to fig5 and 6 , the latch assembly 70 includes a latch cover 72 fixedly secured to the upper housing 46 via a plurality of fasteners 74 . a latch hub , generally indicated at 76 , is operatively coupled to the arm 38 at the second end 44 thereof . more specifically , the latch hub 76 and the arm 38 are each fixedly mounted to the pivot pin 48 . therefore , pivotal movement of the arm 38 results in pivotal movement of the latch hub 76 . the latch hub 76 includes a main body 78 and a latch pin 80 extending out therefrom . in addition , a pair of spaced apart fork members 82 , 84 extends out from the main body 78 . a deploy spring 86 is secured to the latch hub 76 . a mounting plate 88 is fixedly secured to the upper housing 46 by fasteners 90 . a pawl 92 rotates relative to the mounting plate 88 about a pawl rivet 94 . a washer 96 spaces the pawl 92 away from the mounting plate 88 . in operation , a user desiring to move the step 12 out of the stowed position and into the deployed position provides an initial foot action to the step 12 to pivot the arm 38 . the pivotal movement of the arm 38 pivots the latch hub 76 and disengages the fork members 82 , 84 thereof from the pawl 92 . the deploy spring 86 biases the step 12 towards the deployed position . the arm 38 will continue to rotate until the distal locking ends 32 of the link 20 engage the arm 38 , which provides a mechanical stop for the step 12 . at the same time , the deploy lock pin 58 is received within the notch 62 in the upper housing 46 . the step 12 is thus retained in the deployed position to assist individuals entering and exiting the motor vehicle . to move the step 12 from the deployed position back to the stowed position , an individual provides an initial foot action to the step 12 in an upward direction a , shown in fig3 . this initial foot action pulls the distal locking ends 32 of the link 20 downwards . as a result , the release cable 66 pulls the deploy lock pin 58 out of the notch 62 in the upper housing 46 . additional foot action causes pivotal movement of the arm 38 . at the same time , the latch hub 76 pivots until the latch pin 80 and spaced apart fork members 82 , 84 are engaged by the pawl 92 so that the latch assembly 70 retains the step 12 in the stowed position . in the stowed position , the tilt lock pin 52 is received within the slot 36 in the cam member 34 in order to prevent the step 12 from tilting out of the stowed position . referring to fig7 through 11 , wherein like primed reference numerals represent similar elements as those set forth above , the step assembly 10 ′ according to a second embodiment of the invention includes a motor 98 operably connected to a drive shaft 100 via a plurality of gears 102 . the drive shaft 100 fixedly supports two arms 38 ′. rotation of the drive shaft 100 causes each arm 38 ′ to pivot about the pivot pins 42 , 48 to move the step 12 ′ between the stowed and deployed positions . it is appreciated that in the present embodiment , the step 12 ′ may be a platform step or running board . the step assembly 10 ′ includes a ratchet mechanism , generally shown at 104 , having a pawl 106 interengaging a cam 108 for locking and unlocking the step 12 ′. a pawl pin 110 extends out from the pawl 106 . a pawl toggle spring 112 biases the pawl 106 . the cam 108 is mounted on the drive shaft 100 . thus , the drive shaft 100 , cam 108 , and arms 38 ′ rotate as a unit . the step assembly 10 ′ also includes a cable 114 and sector 116 for controlling rotation of the step 12 ′ relative to the arms 38 ′. a pin 118 is fixedly secured to each end of the cable 114 . a ball stud 120 is selectively retained by the sector 116 . in an alternative embodiment , a chain 122 may be utilized in place of the cable 114 and sector 116 , as shown in fig1 a , for controlling the rotation of the step 12 ′ relative to the arms 32 ′. the chain 122 wraps around a pivot control sprocket 124 . a pivot control gear 126 is fixedly secured to the pivot pin 42 ′. the pivot control gear 126 is in meshing engagement with a pivot control pinion 128 . the pivot control pinion 128 is fixedly mounted along a pinion shaft 130 . referring to fig1 through 17 , wherein like double - primed reference numerals represent similar elements as those set forth above , the step assembly 10 ″ according to a third embodiment of the invention includes a rotatable shaft 132 having an upper end 134 and an opposing lower end 136 . the lower end 136 of the shaft 132 is fixedly secured to the second end 44 ″ of the arm 38 ″. as a result , rotation of the shaft 132 in one direction will move the step 12 ″ from the stowed position to the deployed position and rotation of the shaft 132 in an opposite direction will move the step 12 ″ from the deployed position to the stowed position . referring to fig1 and 15 , a release button 138 , which extends out from an interior portion of the step 12 ″, is provided to initiate movement of the step 12 ″ from the deployed position to the stowed position . the release button 138 is coupled to one end 140 of an actuator rod 142 . an opposing end 144 of the actuator rod 142 is fixedly secured to a first segment 146 of a bell crank lever , generally indicated at 148 , housed within the step 12 ″. the bell crank lever 148 pivots about a pivot pin 150 . one end 152 of an actuator release rod 154 is fixedly secured to a second segment 156 of the bell crank lever 148 . an opposing end 158 of the actuator release rod 154 is coupled to the deploy lock pin 58 ″ disposed within the upper slot 56 ″ at the second end 44 ″ of the arm 38 ″. the step assembly 10 ″ also includes the latch assembly 70 ″ as set forth in the first embodiment . more specifically , the latch assembly 70 ″ retains the step 12 ″ in the stowed position . the deploy spring 86 ″ biases the step 12 ″ into the deployed position when the latch assembly 70 ″ releases the step 12 ″ from the stowed position . in operation , to move the step 12 ″ from the stowed position to the deployed position , an individual provides an initial foot action to the step 12 ″ in order to disengage the latch hub 76 ″ from the pawl 92 ″, upon which the deploy spring 86 ″ biases the step 12 ″ towards the deployed position . the rotatable shaft 132 rotates and , with it the arm 38 ″, in order to rotate the step 12 ″ about a vertical axis . the deploy lock pin 58 ″ travels through the upper slot 56 ″ until it is received within the notch 62 ″. at this time , the step 12 ″ is in the deployed position . to move the step 12 ″ from the deployed position to the stowed position , the release button 138 is pushed by a foot action , which causes the bell crank lever 148 to pivot about the pivot pin 150 in the direction of arrow a ( see fig1 ). as a result , the actuator release rod 154 is pulled in the direction of arrow b , also shown in fig1 , and the deploy lock pin 58 ″ is pulled out of the notch 62 ″. the step 12 ″ is now free to move into the stowed position . continued foot action causes engagement between the latch hub 70 ″ and the pawl 84 ″, the step assembly 12 ″, the latch assembly 64 ″ locks the step 12 ″ in the stowed position . referring to fig1 through 20 , wherein like triple - primed reference numerals represent similar elements as those set forth above , in a fourth embodiment of the invention the arm 38 ′″ of the step assembly 10 ′″ includes an extension member 160 . the extension member 160 may extend out from a middle portion of the arm 38 ′″ between the first 40 ′″ and 44 ′″ ends thereof , as shown in fig1 and 19 , or directly from the link 18 ′″, as shown in fig2 . the extension member 160 includes a guide pin 162 at a distal end 164 . referring to fig1 and 19 , the upper housing 40 ′″ of the step assembly 10 ′″ includes a pair of spaced apart plates 166 receiving the arm 38 ′″ and extension member 160 therebetween . each of the spaced apart plates 166 includes an aperture 168 for receiving the pivot pin 48 ′″ at the second end 44 ′″ of the arm 38 ′″ to allow for pivotal movement of the arm 38 ′″ relative to the upper housing 46 ′″. each of the spaced apart plates 166 also includes a guide slot 170 extending between a deploy end 172 and a stow end 174 . the guide slot 170 preferably has an arcuate shape . the guide pin 162 is received within the guide slots 170 to couple the extension member 160 to the upper housing 46 ′″. in operation , when the step 12 ′″ is in the stowed position a , shown in fig1 , the guide pin 162 is located at the stow end 174 of the guide slot 170 . an initial foot action in the downward direction will cause the arm 38 ′″ to pivot about the pivot pin 42 ′″ and the pivot pin 48 ′″. in response to such pivotal movement , the guide pin 162 begins to move from the stow end 174 of the guide slot 170 to the deploy end 172 thereof . when the guide pin 162 reaches the deploy end 172 of the guide slot 170 , the step 12 ′″ has reached the deployed position b , also shown in fig1 , and there is no further pivotal movement of the step 12 ′″. the step 12 ′″ is now available for to support a user thereon . in order to move the step 12 ′″ from the deployed position back to the stowed position , an initial foot action in the upward direction is applied to the step 12 ′″. as a result , the arm 38 ′″ pivots about the pivot pin 42 ′″ and the pivot pin 48 ′″. in response to such pivotal movement , the guide pin 162 begins to move from the deploy end 172 of the guide slot 170 to the stow end 174 thereof . when the guide pin 162 reaches the stow end 174 of the guide slot 170 , the step 12 ′″ has reached the stowed position a . in each of the stowed and deployed positions , the guide pin 162 is maintained in place by gravity such that only a certain amount of force is required to move the step 12 ′″ out of either the stowed or deployed positions . referring to fig2 , the extension member 160 is fixedly secured to an inboard end 175 of the link 18 ′″. the guide pin 162 at the distal end 164 of the extension member 160 is received within the guide slot 170 . the guide pin 162 moves between the deploy 172 and stow 172 ends of the guide slot 170 as the arm 38 ′″ moves the step 12 ′″ between the deployed and stowed positions . the step assembly 12 ′″ as shown in fig2 provides good packaging options when in the stowed position and may be either manually operated or automated . in each of the four above - described embodiments of the step assembly 10 , 10 ′, 10 ″, 10 ′″, a three - bar linkage , i . e ., the link 18 , the arm 38 , and the upper housing 46 , is utilized to move the step 12 between the stowed and deployed positions . the three - bar linkage takes up less space along the body panel of the motor vehicle than a traditional four - bar linkage . as a result , the step assembly 10 , 10 ′, 10 ″, 10 ′″ may be mounted to a wide variety of motor vehicles . the invention has been described in an illustrative manner . it is to be understood that the terminology , which has been used , is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation . many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings . therefore , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described . | 1 |
fig1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a needle assembly replacement device 1 prior to insertion of a medicament delivery device 2 . the needle assembly replacement device 1 removes a used needle assembly 3 from a medicament delivery device 2 and engages a new needle assembly 3 to the medicament delivery device 2 . in an exemplary embodiment , the needle assembly 3 is attached to the medicament delivery device 2 by a threaded interface , e . g ., threads on the needle assembly 3 engage with threads on the delivery device 2 . in an exemplary embodiment , the needle assembly replacement device 1 comprises a chassis 5 with an outer wall 6 and a contact plate 7 having an opening 8 intended to receive a distal end of the medicament delivery device 2 with a needle assembly 3 attached thereto . a portion of the delivery device 2 may contact the contact plate 7 such that axial force applied to the delivery device 2 is transferred to the contact plate 7 . the outer wall 6 may partially or wholly enclose the components of the needle assembly replacement device 1 . a perimeter of the opening 8 may be contoured to guide the medicament delivery device 2 into a desired position ( e . g ., perpendicular to the contact plate 7 with a needle assembly 3 attached thereto in the opening 8 ). for example , a sloped ridge may partially or entirely encircle the opening 8 to guide the medicament delivery device 2 into the opening 8 and ensure that the delivery device 2 remains in the desired position while the needle assembly replacement device 1 is in use . the contact plate 7 is axially moveable relative to the chassis 5 along a number of guiding rails 9 in a longitudinal direction l . a spring 13 is adapted to apply a biasing force on the contact plate 7 relative to the chassis 5 . in an exemplary embodiment , two gripping wheels 10 are coupled to the guiding rails 9 via struts so as to move in the longitudinal direction l with the contact plate 7 . each gripping wheel 10 is coulpled to a lead screw 11 which is fixed to the chassis 5 . the lead screw 11 includes a helical channel adapted to mate with a radial projection on an inner circumference of the gripping wheel 10 . thus , as the gripping wheel 10 moves axially relative to the lead screw 11 , the engagement of the channel and the radial projection causes the gripping wheel 10 to rotate relative to the lead screw 11 . each gripping wheel 10 may include a frictional surface / material on part or all of its outer circumference . in an exemplary embodiment , a needle support 14 is slidably coupled to the chassis 5 and arranged to slide in a transversal direction t relative to the longitudinal direction l . the needle support 14 is adapted to hold a cover 4 ′ for an unused needle assembly 3 . as shown in fig4 , a first cam track 15 is arranged on the needle support 14 and adapted to receive a first follower pin 16 on a leg connecting two guiding rails 9 . the leg is coupled to the contact plate 7 such that axial movement of the contact plate 7 results in axial movement of the leg . the first cam track 15 comprises a longitudinal portion 15 . 1 parallel with the longitudinal direction l and an angled portion 15 . 2 having a slope such that the needle support 14 moves in a first transverse direction i on downward movement of the first follower pin 16 when the first follower pin 16 is engaged in the angled portion 15 . 2 . referring back to fig1 , in an exemplary embodiment , a needle wedge 17 having a ramp 18 is slidably coupled to the chassis 5 and arranged to slide in the transversal direction t relative to the longitudinal direction l . the ramp 18 may be arranged to fit within a through - slot in the needle support 14 when the needle wedge 17 moves in the first transversal direction i , and the needle wedge 17 may have a rail which mates with a slot on the needle support 14 ( or vice - versa ) for aligned translation of the needle wedge 17 relative to the needle support 14 . a second cam track 19 is arranged on the needle wedge 17 and is adapted to receive a second follower pin 20 coupled to the leg . as shown in fig4 , the second cam track 19 comprises a first longitudinal portion 19 . 1 in parallel with the longitudinal direction l , a first angled portion 19 . 2 having a first slope followed by a second angled portion 19 . 3 having a second slope followed by a third angled portion 19 . 4 having a third slope followed by a second longitudinal portion 19 . 5 in parallel with the longitudinal direction l . the slopes of the first angled portion 19 . 2 and the second angled portion 19 . 3 are such that the needle wedge 17 moves in the first transversal direction i inwardly on downward movement of the second follower pin 20 when the second follower pin 20 is engaged in the first or second angled portion 19 . 2 , 19 . 3 . the second slope of the second angled portion 19 . 3 may be steeper then the first slope of the first angled portion 19 . 2 . the third slope of the third angled portion 19 . 4 may be such that the needle wedge 17 continues movement in the first transversal direction i on upward movement of the second follower pin 20 when the second follower pin 20 is engaged in the third angled portion 19 . 4 . referring back to fig1 , the contact plate 7 is in a first axial position p 1 , pressed against the outer wall 6 under the force of the spring 13 . as shown in fig3 , when the contact plate 7 is in the first axial position p 1 , the gripping wheels 10 are in a first angular position r 1 , engaging a cover 4 of the needle assembly 3 . in an exemplary embodiment , the gripping wheels 10 are substantially circular with a groove 12 formed in the periphery . in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the cover 4 from a used needle assembly 3 is retained by the gripping wheels 10 of the needle assembly replacement device 1 , and the used needle assembly 3 is engaged to the delivery device 2 . as shown in fig2 , the distal end of the medicament delivery device 2 with the used needle assembly 3 is inserted in the needle assembly replacement device 1 through the opening 8 . the cover 4 may have one or more elements ( e . g ., ridges , ribs , threads , etc .) which engage corresponding elements on a needle hub 3 . 1 of the needle assembly 3 . the engagement of the elements and corresponding elements ensure that the needle assembly 3 does not rotate relative to the cover 4 . fig4 is a schematic detail view of an exemplary embodiment of the needle support 14 and needle wedge 17 when the contact plate 7 is in the first axial position p 1 . as shown in fig5 , when an axial force is applied to the medicament delivery device 2 , the contact plate 7 is pushed into the chassis 5 to a second axial position p 2 against the biasing force of the spring 13 . as the contact plate 7 moves axially , the gripping wheels 10 rotate in a first rotational direction due to their interface with the lead screws 11 . rotation of the gripping wheels 10 causes rotation of the cover 4 and the needle hub 3 . 1 therein relative to the deliver device 2 , thus unscrewing the needle assembly 3 from the medicament delivery device 2 . when the contact plate 7 is in the second axial position p 2 , the gripping wheels 10 are in second angular position r 2 , as shown in fig6 , maintaining a hold on the cover 4 but having rotated enough to disengage the used needle assembly 3 from the delivery device 2 fig7 shows the positions of the needle support 14 and needle wedge 17 when the contact plate 7 is in the second axial position p 2 . the first follower pin 16 has travelled through the longitudinal portion 15 . 1 of the first cam track 15 , and the second follower pin 20 has travelled through the first longitudinal portion 19 . 1 of the second cam track 19 . because portions 15 . 1 and 19 . 1 are parallel to the axis of translation of the contact plate 7 , the needle support 14 and the needle wedge 17 do not move when the contact plate 7 moves from the first axial position p 1 to the second axial position p 2 . as shown in fig8 , as the contact plate 7 is pushed into the chassis 5 , the cover 4 ( with the used needle assembly 3 therein ) is rotated in conjunction with rotation of the gripping wheels 10 . as shown in fig1 , when the contact plate 7 is in a third axial position p 3 , the gripping wheels 10 are in a third angular position r 3 , such that the grooves 12 are aligned with the cover 4 , which releases the cover 4 from the gripping wheels 10 . as shown in fig9 and 11 , when the contact plate 7 is being pushed from second axial position p 2 to the third axial position p 3 , the first follower pin 16 is travelling through the angled portion 15 . 2 of the first cam track 15 in the needle support 14 such that needle support 14 is moved in the first transversal direction i , and the second follower pin 20 is travelling through the first angled portion 19 . 2 of the second cam track 19 in the needle wedge 17 such that needle wedge 17 is moved in the first transversal direction i . thus , when the cover 4 ( and the used needle assembly 3 therein ) is released from the gripping wheels 10 , a ramp 22 on the needle support 14 abuts the cover 4 and pushes it in the first transversal direction i through an opening 21 in the wall 6 . in an exemplary embodiment , the slope of the angled portion 15 . 2 of the first cam track 15 substantially equals the first slope of the first angled portion 19 . 2 of the second cam track 19 such that the amount of transversal travel of the needle support 14 and the needle wedge 17 is equal once the first follower pin 16 is engaged in the angled portion 15 . 2 and the second follower pin 20 is engaged in the first angled portion 19 . 2 . when the contact plate 7 is in the third axial position p 3 , the first follower pin 16 has exited the first cam track 15 , and a new cover 4 ′ containing an unused needle assembly 3 is aligned with the opening 8 and the distal end of the delivery device 2 . further , because the first follower pin 16 has exited the first cam track 15 , continued translation of the contact plate 7 does not cause any movement of the needle support 14 . as shown in fig1 , when the contact plate 7 is pushed to a fourth axial position p 4 , the needle wedge 17 moves in the first transversal direction i , and the ramp 18 on the needle wedge 17 enters the slot of the needle support 14 and pushes the new cover 4 ′ upwards towards the distal end of the medicament delivery device 2 to a level at which the gripping wheels 10 can interface with the new cover 4 ′. in the fourth axial position p 4 , the second follower pin 20 has reached a lower - most portion of the second cam track 19 , preventing further downward movement of the contact plate 7 and providing a tactile feedback such that force on the delivery device 2 can be released or reduced . when the contact plate 7 is in the fourth axial position p 4 , the gripping wheels 10 do not sufficiently engage the new cover 4 ′. as shown in fig1 , when the force on the delivery device 2 is reduced or released , the biasing force in the spring 13 pushes the contact plate 7 . as the contact plate 7 translates axially , the second follower pin 20 is engaged in the third angled portion 19 . 4 , causing the needle wedge 17 to move further in the first transversal direction i and have the ramp 18 push the new cover 4 ′ ( and unused needle assembly 3 therein ) upward matching the upward travel of the contact plate 7 and medicament delivery device 2 . during this movement , the gripping wheels 10 rotate in a second rotational direction opposed to the first rotational direction and grip ( as shown in fig1 ) the new cover 4 ′ before the axial support by the needle wedge 17 is removed when the second follower pin 20 reaches the second longitudinal portion 19 . 5 of the second cam track 19 in the needle wedge 17 . in an exemplary embodiment , the needle support 14 and the needle wedge 17 are biased in a second transversal direction 0 by one or more springs ( not shown ). as the first follower pin 16 abuts a lateral face 23 of the needle support 14 opposite the ramp 22 and the second follower pin 20 is still engaged in the second longitudinal portion 19 . 5 of the second track 19 in the needle wedge 17 , the needle support 14 and the needle wedge 17 are prevented from moving in the second transversal direction o until the contact plate 7 has travelled upward by a sufficient distance to allow the follower pins 20 , 16 to disengage the needle wedge 17 and needle support 14 . this is to ensure that the new cover 4 ′ is clear of the needle support 14 . as the medicament delivery device 2 and the contact plate 7 move further upward out of the chassis 5 , the thread interface between the gripping wheels 10 and the lead screws 11 cause the gripping wheels 10 to rotate in the second rotational direction . this rotates the new cover 4 ′ ( and hence unused needle assembly 3 therein ) for engaging the unused needle assembly 3 to the medicament delivery device , as shown in fig1 . fig1 is a schematic perspective view of the needle assembly replacement device 1 during removal of the medicament delivery device 2 . an inner needle cover 24 is still attached to the needle assembly 3 . the presence of the cover 24 may provide a visual feedback that an unused needle assembly 3 has been assembled to the medicament delivery device 2 . the new cover 4 ′ remains in the needle assembly replacement device 1 . in alternative exemplary embodiments , the needle support 14 may be arranged to retain more than one new needle assembly 3 in respective new covers 4 ′. those of skill in the art will understand that modifications ( additions and / or removals ) of various components of the apparatuses , methods and / or systems and embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the full scope and spirit of the present invention , which encompass such modifications and any and all equivalents thereof . | 0 |
the present invention relates to organic molecules capable of modulating , regulating and / or inhibiting protein kinase signal transduction , useful for treating diseases related to protein kinase signal transduction , for example , cancer , blood vessel proliferative disorders , fibrotic disorders , and neurodegenerative diseases . in particular , the compounds of the present invention are useful for treatment of mesangial cell proliferative disorders and metabolic diseases , lung carcinomas , breast carcinomas , non hodgkin &# 39 ; s lymphomas , ovarian carcinoma , pancreatic cancer , malignant pleural mesothelioma , melanoma , arthritis , restenosis , hepatic cirrhosis , atherosclerosis , psoriasis , rosacea , diabetic mellitus , wound healing , inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases and preferably ophthalmic diseases , i . e . diabetic retinopathy , retinopathy of prematurity , macular edema , retinal vein occlusion , exudative or neovascular age - related macular degeneration , high - risk eyes ( i . e . fellow eyes have neovascular age - related macular degeneration ) with dry age - related macular degeneration , neovascular disease associated with retinal vein occlusion , neovascular disease ( including choroidal neovascularization ) associated with the following : pathologic myopia , pseudoxanthoma elasticum , optic nerve drusen , traumatic choroidal rupture , atrophic macular degeneration , geographic atrophy , central serous retinopathy , cystoid macular edema , diabetic retinopathy , proliferative diabetic retinopathy , diabetic macular edema , rubeosis iridis , retinopathy of prematurity , central and branch retinal vein occlusions , inflammatory / infectious retinal , neovascularization / edema , corneal neovascularization , hyperemia related to an actively inflamed pterygia , recurrent pterygia following excisional surgery , post - excision , progressive pterygia approaching the visual axis , prophylactic therapy to prevent recurrent pterygia , of post - excision , progressive pterygia approaching the visual axis , chronic low grade hyperemia associated with pterygia , neovascular glaucoma , iris neovascularization , idiopathic etiologies , presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome , retinopathy of prematurity , chronic allergic conjunctivitis , ocular rosacea , blepharoconjunctivitis , recurrent episcleritis , keratoconjunctivitis sicca , ocular graft vs host disease , etc . in another aspect , the invention provides the use of at least one kinase inhibitor for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of a disease or a condition mediated by tyrosine kinases in a mammal . it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention claimed . as used herein , the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise . it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that some of the compounds of the invention may contain one or more asymmetric centers , such that the compounds may exist in enantiomeric as well as in diastereomeric forms . unless it is specifically noted otherwise , the scope of the present invention includes all enantiomers , diastereomers and racemic mixtures . some of the compounds of the invention may form salts with pharmaceutically acceptable acids or bases , and such pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds described herein are also within the scope of the invention . the present invention includes all pharmaceutically acceptable isotopically enriched compounds . any compound of the invention may contain one or more isotopic atoms enriched or different than the natural ratio such as deuterium 2 h ( or d ) in place of hydrogen 1 h ( or h ) or use of 13 c enriched material in place of 12 c and the like . similar substitutions can be employed for n , o and s . the use of isotopes may assist in analytical as well as therapeutic aspects of the invention . for example , use of deuterium may increase the in vivo half - life by altering the metabolism ( rate ) of the compounds of the invention . these compounds can be prepared in accord with the preparations described by use of isotopically enriched reagents . the following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended , nor should they be construed as limiting the invention in any manner . those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications of the following examples can be made without exceeding the spirit or scope of the invention . as will be evident to those skilled in the art , individual isomeric forms can be obtained by separation of mixtures thereof in conventional manner . for example , in the case of diasteroisomeric isomers , chromatographic separation may be employed . compound names were generated with acdlabs version 12 . 5 . some of the intermediate and reagent names used in the examples were generated with software such as chem bio draw ultra version 12 . 0 or auto nom 2000 from mdl isis draw 2 . 5 sp1 . in general , characterization of the compounds is performed according to the following methods ; nmr spectra are recorded on 300 or 600 mhz varian and acquired at room temperature . chemical shifts are given in ppm referenced either to internal tms or to the solvent signal . all the reagents , solvents , catalysts for which the synthesis is not described are purchased from chemical vendors such as sigma aldrich , fluka , bio - blocks , combi - blocks , tci , vwr , lancaster , oakwood , trans world chemical , alfa , fisher , maybridge , frontier , matrix , ukrorgsynth , toronto , ryan scientific , silicycle , anaspec , syn chem , chem - impex , mic - scientific , ltd ; however some known intermediates , were prepared according to published procedures . usually the compounds of the invention were purified by medium pressure liquid chromatography , unless noted otherwise . the reaction mixture of 3 - iodo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine ( 288 mg , 1 . 0 mmol , 1 eq ), 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine ( 330 mg , 1 . 2 eq ), triphenylphosphine ( 53 mg , 0 . 2 eq ), and palladium diacetate ( 22 mg , 0 . 1 eq ) in dioxane ( 3 ml ) and aqueous sodium carbonate ( 2 m , 2 ml , 4 eq ) under nitrogen atmosphere was vigorously stirred and heated at 40 ° c . for 30 minutes . the mixture was then partitioned between aqueous ammonium chloride and thf - etoac ( 1 : 10 ). the organic layer was isolated and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper solution was concentrated down with silica gel . upon a gradient column chromatography ( etoac to meoh - etoac 1 : 10 ) 3 -( 5 - amino - 1 - benzothien - 2 - yl )- 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine was obtained in the amount of 5 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 8 . 57 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 07 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 59 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 43 ( s , 1h ) 6 . 98 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 6 . 73 ( dd , j = 8 . 51 , 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 6 . 06 ( br . s ., 2h ) 5 . 11 ( br . s ., 2h ). to the solution of 5 - bromo - 3 - cyanopyridine ( 3 . 0 g , 15 . 9 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 40 ml ) was added ammonium chloride ( 1 . 45 g , 1 . 7 eq ) and sodium azide ( 1 . 76 g , 1 . 7 eq ). the resulting reaction mixture was heated at 100 ° c . under nitrogen for 20 hours . after the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature , it was poured into ice - water and the ph of the mixture was adjusted to − 3 . 5 using aqueous hydrochloric acid ( 2n ). the aqueous was first extracted with ethyl acetate three times , followed by an extraction with i - proh — chcl 3 ( 1 : 4 ). all organics were combined and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear liquor was decanted , concentrated under reduced pressure , and the resulting oily residue was placed under high vacuum for 20 hours . upon treatment with etoac - hex ( 1 : 1 ) and filtration , 3 - bromo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridine was obtained as a white solid in the amount of 3 . 241 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 19 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 92 ( d , j = 2 . 20 hz , 1h ) 8 . 61 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) the reaction mixture of 3 - bromo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridine ( 226 mg , 1 . 0 mmol , 1 eq ), 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine ( 316 mg , 1 . 15 eq ), triphenylphosphine ( 53 mg , 0 . 2 eq ), and palladium diacetate ( 22 mg , 0 . 1 eq ) in dioxane ( 3 ml ) and aqueous sodium carbonate ( 2 m , 2 ml , 4 eq ) under nitrogen atmosphere was vigorously stirred and heated at 100 ° c . for three hours . it was then cooled to room temperature , filtered through a buchner funnel , and rinsed with small amount of water and ethyl acetate . the filtrate was isolated and concentrated down with silica gel . upon a gradient column chromatography ( etoac to meoh - etoac 1 : 4 ), 2 -( 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine was obtained as an orange colored solid in the amount of 92 mg while the starting material , 3 - bromo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridine was recovered in the amount of 90 mg . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 08 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 87 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 48 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 80 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 62 ( d , j = 8 . 50 hz , 1h ) 7 . 01 ( d , j = 0 . 73 hz , 1h ) 6 . 75 ( dd , j = 7 . 98 , 0 . 95 hz , 1h ) 5 . 16 ( br . s ., 2h ) the reaction mixture of 2 -( 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine ( 44 . 1 mg , 0 . 15 mmol , 1 eq ) and 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 33 . 2 mg , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 1 . 5 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was stirred at room temperature for 45 minutes . the reaction was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed with aqueous ammonium chloride , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated . the soft solid was wrapped with silica gel and chromatographed ( etoac to meoh - etoac 1 : 4 ) to give 1 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 3 -{ 2 -[ 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - opyridin - 3 - yl ]- 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl } urea as a yellow powder in the amount of 26 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 42 ( br . s ., 1h ) 9 . 20 ( br . s ., 1h ) 9 . 12 ( d , j = 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 8 . 93 ( d , j = 2 . 35 hz , 1h ) 8 . 53 ( t , j = 2 . 13 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 49 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 04 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 94 ( d , j = 8 . 66 hz , 1h ) 7 . 68 ( dd , j = 8 . 73 , 2 . 42 hz , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 44 ( dd , j = 8 . 80 , 2 . 05 hz , 1h ). to the stirring mixture of 3 -( 5 - aminobenzo [ b ] thiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 - isocyanopyridin - 2 - amine ( 1 . 064 g , 4 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 25 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 904 mg , 1 eq ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for three hours . the reaction was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure to lesser amount , to which was added a small amount of etoac - hex ( 2 : 1 ). upon a filtration , 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea was obtained as white solid in the amount of 1 . 37 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 23 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 03 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 42 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 89 - 7 . 92 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 60 - 7 . 64 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 40 ( dd , j = 8 . 80 , 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 15 ( br . s ., 2h ). the mixture of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 1 . 3 g , 2 . 67 mmol , 1 eq ), ammonium chloride ( 286 mg , 2 eq ), and sodium azide ( 347 mg , 2 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 8 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was stirred and heated at 120 ° c . for 2 hours . the mixture was then cooled to room temperature and additional ammonium chloride ( 286 mg , 2 eq ) and sodium azide ( 347 mg , 2 eq ) were added . the reaction mixture was heated back to 120 ° c . and stirred at that temperature for another hour . after it was cooled to room temperature , it was transferred into a mixture of ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride ; during the process , the ph of the aqueous layer was adjusted to 3 - 4ish by using aq khso 4 ( 10 %). the organic layer was isolated , washed once with saturated brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper solution was decanted and concentrated down with silica gel . upon gradient column chromatography ( from etoac to meoh - etoac 1 : 2 ), 1 -{ 2 -[ 2 - amino - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ]- 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl }- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea was obtained as a yellow solid in the amount of 452 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 29 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 07 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 61 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( br . s ., 1h ) 8 . 11 ( br . s ., 2h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 65 - 7 . 69 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 22 hz , 1h ) 6 . 28 ( br . s ., 2h ). the mixture of 6 - amino - 5 - bromonicotinonitrile ( 3 . 315 g , 15 . 9 mmol , 1 eq ), sodium iodide ( 4 . 77 g , 2 eq ), copper ( i ) iodide ( 303 mg , 0 . 1 eq ), and trans - n , n ′- dimethylcyclohexane - 1 , 2 - diamine ( 0 . 52 ml , 0 . 2 eq ) in anhydrous dioxane ( 40 ml under nitrogen atmosphere was stirred at 120 ° c . for 20 hours . the mixture was cooled to room temperature then partitioned between ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride . the organic layer was isolated , further washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper solution was decanted , concentrated , and the crude solid residue was subject to a column chromatography started first with etoac - hex ( 1 : 5 to 1 : 1 ) followed by meoh — chcl3 ( 1 : 100 to 1 : 20 ). product containing fractions were all collected and concentrated . the solid residue was triturated with etoac - hex ( 1 : 4 ) yielding 3 - iodo - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 2 - amine as an off - white solid in the amount of 2 . 75 g upon filtration . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 8 . 35 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 30 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 14 ( br . s ., 2h ). to the solution of 3 - iodo - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 2 - amine ( 2 . 74 g , 11 . 2 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 25 ml ) in a 100 ml round bottom flask was added ammonium chloride ( 1 . 02 g , 1 . 7 eq ) and sodium azide ( 1 . 24 g , 1 . 7 eq ). the resulting reaction mixture was heated to 100 ° c . under nitrogen for 20 hours . after the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature , it was poured into ice - chunk filled water and the ph of the mixture was adjusted to ˜ 3 . 5 using aqueous hydrochloric acid ( 2n ). after the mixture was stirred at room temperature for about two hours , it was filtered through a buchner funnel , rinsed with water , giving a brown solid . the solid was treated with meoh — chcl 3 and concentrated down with silica gel . upon gradient column chromatography ( meoh - etoac 1 : 20 to 1 : 5 ), 3 - iodo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine was obtained as off - white solid in the amount of 1 . 15 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 8 . 60 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 45 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 6 . 77 ( br . s ., 2h ). the reaction mixture of 3 - iodo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine ( 0 . 61 g , 2 . 12 mmol , 1 eq ), ( 3 - bromopropoxy )- tert - butyldimethylsilane ( 0 . 66 ml , 1 . 3 eq ), and potassium carbonate ( 0 . 44 g , 1 . 5 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 8 ml ) was stirred and heated at 80 ° c . under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 hours . it was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure with silica gel . a gradient column chromatography [ hexane to etoac - hex ( 1 : 2 )] rendered 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl )- 3 - iodopyridin - 2 - amine as a white solid in the amount of 797 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 8 . 60 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 40 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 6 . 63 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 74 ( t , j = 6 . 75 hz , 2h ) 3 . 63 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 14 ( quin , j = 6 . 24 hz , 2h ) 0 . 85 ( s , 9h ) 0 . 01 ( s , 6h ). to the solution of tert - butyl ( 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl ) carbamate ( 7 . 51 g , 20 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous dichloromethane ( 40 ml under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise trifluoroacetic acid ( 15 . 4 ml , 10 eq ) and the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes followed by at room temperature for about two hours . the reaction was then slowly poured into an ice - cold saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution with stirring and the white solid that appeared during the process was filtered , washed with water , to give a first batch of 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine in the amount of 2 . 792 g . the ph of the filtrate was adjusted to 8 by addition of solid sodium bicarbonate with stirring and then extracted using chloroform ( 3 ×). all organic layers were combined , dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated down to give brown oil . after the oil was placed in vacuo for two hours , it was treated with etoac - hex ( 1 : 9 ) and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . a second batch of 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine was isolated as a pale pink solid in the amount of 1 . 883 g upon filtration . the total amount of 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine is 4 . 675 g with a yield of 85 %. 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 7 . 60 - 7 . 62 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 01 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 6 . 80 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 2 . 20 hz , 1h ) 5 . 18 ( br . s ., 2h ) 1 . 30 ( s , 12h ) to the solution of 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine ( 825 mg , 3 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 15 ml ) was added 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 678 . 3 mg , 1 eq ) and the reaction solution was stirred at room temperature under nitrogen atmosphere overnight . the reaction was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure . 1 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl )- 3 -( 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl ) urea was obtained as slightly brown colored foam in vacuo in the amount of 1 . 5 g which was used directly without further purification . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 18 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 99 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 15 ( dd , j = 10 . 12 , 1 . 91 hz , 2h ) 7 . 92 ( d , j = 8 . 80 hz , 1h ) 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 66 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 63 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 44 ( dd , j = 8 . 80 , 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 1 . 33 ( s , 12 h ). to the mixture of 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl )- 3 - iodopyridin - 2 - amine ( 184 mg , 0 . 4 mmol , 1 eq ) and 1 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl )- 3 -( 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl ) urea ( 218 mg , 1 . 1 eq ) in dioxane ( 3 ml ) and water ( 0 . 75 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added potassium acetate ( 157 mg , 4 eq ) and [ 1 , 1 ′- bis ( diphenylphosphino ) ferocene ] dichloropalladium ( ii ) ( complex with dichloromethane , 65 mg , 0 . 2 eq ). after the mixture was stirred at 40 ° c . for 30 minutes , additional amount of ( 46 mg ) and palladium catalyst ( 50 mg ) were added and the reaction was continued at that temperature for an hour . the mixture was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated and loaded onto silica . gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 1 : 4 to 6 : 1 ) gave a brown solid which was triturated with etoac - hex ( 3 : 2 ) rendering 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea as an off - white solid in the amount of 90 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 20 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 00 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 67 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 09 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 76 ( t , j = 6 . 75 hz , 2h ) 3 . 65 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 16 ( quin , j = 6 . 24 hz , 2h ) 0 . 85 ( s , 9h ) 0 . 02 ( s , 6h ). to the solution of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 100 mg , 0 . 142 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 3 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride ( 1 . 0 m in thf , 0 . 43 ml , 3 eq ). the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours and then partitioned between ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride . the organic layer was isolated , further washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated and loaded onto silica . the mixture was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 4 : 1 to meoh - etoac 1 : 100 ). the product fractions were collected and concentrated . the solid residue was triturated in ethyl acetate yielding 1 -( 2 -{ 2 - amino - 5 -[ 2 -( 3 - hydroxypropyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ] pyridin - 3 - yl } l - 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl )- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea as a white solid in the amount of 50 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 21 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 01 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 68 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 09 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 76 ( t , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 4 . 70 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 3 . 47 ( q , j = 5 . 67 hz , 2h ) 2 . 11 ( quin , j = 6 . 60 hz , 2h ) synthesized using a procedure similar to the one used for the synthesis of compound 3 . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 06 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 95 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 68 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 11 ( d , j = 17 . 61 hz , 2h ) 8 . 05 ( d , j = 4 . 40 hz , 1h ) 7 . 90 ( d , j = 8 . 80 hz , 1h ) 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 63 - 7 . 68 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 45 ( t , j = 9 . 68 hz , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 76 ( t , j = 6 . 90 hz , 2h ) 4 . 70 ( t , j = 4 . 84 hz , 1h ) 3 . 47 ( q , j = 5 . 58 hz , 2h ) 2 . 11 ( quin , j = 6 . 46 hz , 2h ). synthesized using a procedure similar to the one used for the synthesis of compound 3 . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 30 ( br . s ., 1h ) 9 . 09 ( br . s ., 1h ) 8 . 68 ( d , j = 0 . 88 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 09 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 92 ( d , j = 8 . 66 hz , 1h ) 7 . 75 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 70 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 ( d , j = 11 . 15 hz , 1h ) 7 . 42 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 23 ( d , j = 8 . 22 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 76 ( t , j = 6 . 90 hz , 2h ) 4 . 70 ( t , j = 4 . 84 hz , 1h ) 3 . 47 ( q , j = 5 . 53 hz , 2h ) 2 . 11 ( quin , j = 6 . 35 hz , 2h ). synthesized using a procedure similar to the one used for the synthesis of compound 3 . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 46 ( br . s ., 1h ) 9 . 18 ( br . s ., 1h ) 8 . 68 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 8 . 17 ( s , 2h ) 8 . 15 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 10 ( d , j = 1 . 17 hz , 1h ) 7 . 92 ( d , j = 8 . 80 hz , 1h ) 7 . 70 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 65 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 44 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 76 ( t , j = 6 . 90 hz , 2h ) 4 . 70 ( t , j = 4 . 84 hz , 1h ) 3 . 47 ( q , j = 5 . 77 hz , 2h ) 2 . 11 ( quin , j = 6 . 46 hz , 2h ) to the solution of 5 -( 1 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl )- 3 - iodopyridin - 2 - amine ( 184 mg , 0 . 4 mmol , 1 eq ), 2 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - amine ( 165 mg , 1 . 5 eq ), and triphenylphosphine ( 21 mg , 0 . 2 eq ) in dioxane ( 2 ml ) and aqueous sodium carbonate ( 2m , 0 . 8 ml , 4 eq ) under nitrogen atmosphere , was added palladium diacetate ( 9 mg , 0 . 1 eq ) and the reaction mixture was vigorously stirred at 40 ° c . for two hours . it was then partitioned between ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride . the organic layer was isolated , further washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated down with silica gel . the mixture was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 1 : 2 to 5 : 1 ) to yield 3 -( 5 - aminobenzo [ b ] thiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 -( 1 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine as an oil , which solidified in vacuo , in the amount of 127 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 8 . 38 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 87 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 58 ( d , j = 8 . 66 hz , 1h ) 7 . 42 ( s , 1h ) 6 . 98 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 6 . 70 - 6 . 77 ( m , 3 h ) 5 . 13 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 54 ( t , j = 6 . 97 hz , 2h ) 3 . 58 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 07 ( quin , j = 6 . 35 hz , 2h ) 0 . 75 ( s , 9h ) - 0 . 06 ( s , 6h ) to the stirring solution of 3 -( 5 - aminobenzo [ b ] thiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 -( 1 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) poxy ) propyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine ( 123 mg , 0 . 256 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 3 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 58 mg , 1 eq ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for three hours . the reaction was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure and loaded onto silica . the mixture was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 1 : 5 to 2 : 1 ) to give 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 1 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea as a white solid in the amount of 130 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 19 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 99 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 41 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 14 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 7 . 89 - 7 . 92 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 67 ( m , 3h ) 7 . 40 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 6 . 81 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 56 ( t , j = 6 . 90 hz , 2h ) 3 . 58 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 08 ( quin , j = 6 . 31 hz , 2h ) 0 . 76 ( s , 9h ) − 0 . 06 ( s , 6h ) to the solution of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 1 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 120 mg , 0 . 17 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 3 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride ( 1 . 0 m in thf , 0 . 51 ml , 3 eq ). after the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours , it was partitioned between ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride . the organic layer was isolated , further washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated and loaded onto silica . the mixture was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 4 : 1 to meoh - etoac 1 : 25 ) to yield 1 -( 2 -{ 2 - amino - 5 -[ 1 -( 3 - hydroxypropyl )- 1h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ] pyridin - 3 - yl }- 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl )- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea as a white solid in the amount of 63 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 20 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 00 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 44 ( d , j = 2 . 20 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 14 ( d , j = 1 . 61 hz , 1h ) 7 . 96 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 66 hz , 1h ) 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 67 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 40 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 6 . 81 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 69 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 4 . 55 ( t , j = 7 . 26 hz , 2h ) 3 . 44 ( q , j = 5 . 58 hz , 2h ) 2 . 03 ( quin , j = 6 . 53 hz , 2h ) to the stirring mixture of 3 -( 5 - aminobenzo [ b ] thiophen - 2 - yl )- 5 - isocyanopyridin - 2 - amine ( 1 . 064 g , 4 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 25 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 904 mg , 1 eq ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for three hours . the reaction was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure to lesser amount , to which was added a small amount of etoac - hex ( 2 : 1 ). upon a filtration , 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea was obtained as white solid in the amount of 1 . 37 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 23 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 03 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 42 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 89 - 7 . 92 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 60 - 7 . 64 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 40 ( dd , j = 8 . 80 , 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 15 ( br . s ., 2h ) the mixture of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 - isocyanopyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 1 . 3 g , 2 . 67 mmol , 1 eq ), ammonium chloride ( 286 mg , 2 eq ), and sodium azide ( 347 mg , 2 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 8 ml ) was stirred and heated to 120 ° c . under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 hours . the mixture was then cooled to room temperature and additional ammonium chloride ( 286 mg , 2 eq ) and sodium azide ( 347 mg , 2 eq ) were added . the reaction mixture was heated back to 120 ° c . and stirred at that temperature for another hour . after it was cooled to room temperature , it was transferred into ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride ; during the process , the ph of the aqueous layer was adjusted to ˜ 3 . 5 by using aq khso 4 ( 10 %). the organic layer was isolated , washed once with saturated brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper solution was decanted and concentrated and loaded onto silica . upon gradient column chromatography ( from etoac to meoh - etoac 1 : 2 ), 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) was obtained as a yellow solid in the amount of 452 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 29 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 07 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 61 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( br . s ., 1h ) 8 . 11 ( br . s ., 2h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 65 - 7 . 69 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( d , j = 8 . 22 hz , 1h ) 6 . 28 ( br . s ., 2h ) to the mixture of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - opyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 106 mg , 0 . 2 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous dimethylformamide ( 2 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added potassium carbonate ( 41 . 4 mg , 1 . 5 eq ) and ( 2 - bromoethoxy )- tert - butyldimethylsilane ( 0 . 06 ml , 1 . 3 eq ). the resulting mixture was stirred and heated at 80 ° c . for 2 hours . it was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated under reduced pressure with silica gel . gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex from 1 : 100 to 3 : 1 ) gave 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 2 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) ethyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea as a fluffy white solid in the amount of 77 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 21 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 01 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 68 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 17 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 17 hz , 1h ) 8 . 09 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 51 hz , 1h ) 7 . 70 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 51 , 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 6 . 69 ( s , 2h ) 4 . 81 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 2h ) 4 . 13 ( t , j = 4 . 84 hz , 2h ) 0 . 73 ( s , 9h ) − 0 . 10 ( s , 6h ) to the solution of 1 -( 2 -( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 2 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) ethyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) benzo [ b ] thiophen - 5 - yl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 60 mg , 0 . 087 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 2 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride ( 1 . 0 m in thf , 0 . 26 ml , 3 eq ). after the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours , it was partitioned between ethyl acetate and aqueous ammonium chloride . the organic layer was isolated , further washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear solution was decanted and concentrated down with silica gel . the mixture was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 4 : 1 to meoh - etoac 1 : 25 ) to yield 1 -( 2 -{ 2 - amino - 5 -[ 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ] pyridin - 3 - yl }- 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl )- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea as a white solid in the amount of 11 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 26 ( br . s ., 1h ) 9 . 06 ( br . s ., 1h ) 8 . 69 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 17 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 13 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 8 . 10 ( d , j = 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 66 hz , 1h ) 7 . 70 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 64 - 7 . 67 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 64 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 66 , 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 6 . 68 ( s , 2h ) 5 . 07 ( t , j = 5 . 65 hz , 1h ) 4 . 73 ( t , j = 5 . 21 hz , 2h ) 3 . 95 ( q , j = 5 . 43 hz , 2h ) to the reaction mixture of 5 - bromo - 3 - cyanopyridine ( 3 g , 15 . 9 mmol , 1 eq ), sodium iodide ( 4 . 77 g , 2 eq ), copper ( i ) iodide ( 303 mg , 0 . 1 eq ) in anhydrous 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 40 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added trans - n , n ′- dimethylcyclohexane - 1 , 2 - diamine ( 0 . 52 ml , 0 . 2 eq ). after the reaction mixture was heated at 120 ° c . for 16 hours , it was cooled to room temperature and partitioned between aqueous ammonium chloride and ethyl acetate . the organic layer was isolated , washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium chloride . the upper clear solution was decanted , concentrated , and the brown oily residue was subject to a column chromatography ( etoac - hex 1 : 15 to 1 : 4 ) yielding 3 - iodo - 5 - isocyanopyridine as a white solid in the amount of 2 . 41 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 11 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 9 . 01 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 78 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) to a solution of 3 - iodo - 5 - isocyanopyridine ( 2 . 4 g , 10 . 43 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous dmf ( 25 ml ) in a round bottom flask was added ammonium chloride ( 0 . 95 g , 1 . 7 eq ) and sodium azide ( 1 . 15 g , 1 . 7 eq ). after the reaction mixture was heated and stirred at 100 ° c . under anhydrous nitrogen atmosphere for 16 hours , it was cooled to room temperature and poured into ice water . 2n hcl was dropwise added to adjust the ph ˜ 3 followed by a further stirring for about 30 minutes . the aqueous layer was first extracted with ethyl acetate , followed by an extraction with thf - etoac ( 1 : 9 ), and lastly an extraction with i - proh — chcl 3 ( 1 : 6 ). all organic solvents were combined and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear liquor was decanted , concentrated , and the resulting solid residue was treated with etoac - hex ( 1 : 9 ). after the mixture was stirred about 16 hours , it was filtered to yield 3 - iodo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridine as white solid in the amount of 2 . 36 g . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 18 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 9 . 01 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 73 ( t , j = 1 . 91 hz , 1h ) the reaction mixture of 3 - iodo - 5 -( 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridine ( 273 mg , 1 mmol , 1 eq ), ( 3 - bromopropoxy )- tert - butyldimethylsilane ( 0 . 31 ml , 1 . 3 eq ), potassium carbonate ( 207 mg , 1 . 5 eq ) in anhydrous dmf ( 4 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere was stirred and heated at 80 ° c . for 5 hours . the mixture was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , aqueous ammonium chloride , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper liquor was decanted , concentrated under reduced pressure , and the resulting brown oily residue was subject to a gradient column chromatography ( etoac - hex 1 : 50 to 1 : 4 ) giving 3 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl )- 5 - iodopyridine as a soft white solid in the amount of 395 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 18 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 98 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 69 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 4 . 82 ( t , j = 6 . 60 hz , 2h ) 3 . 65 ( t , j = 5 . 87 hz , 2h ) 2 . 18 ( quin , j = 6 . 24 hz , 2h ) 0 . 84 ( s , 9h ) 0 . 00 ( s , 6h ) to the nitrogen bubbled solution of 3 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl )- 5 - iodopyridine ( 89 mg , 0 . 2 mmol , 1 eq ), n -( 3 - ethynylphenyl )- 3 - methylfuran - 2 - carboxamide ( 67 . 5 mg , 1 . 5 eq ), triphenylphosphine ( 1 . 3 mg , 0 . 025 eq ), and triethylamine ( 0 . 09 ml , 3 eq ) in anhydrous dmf ( 2 ml ) was added bis ( triphenylphosphine ) palladium ( ii ) dichloride ( 14 mg , 0 . 1 eq ), and copper ( i ) iodide ( 8 mg , 0 . 2 eq ). after the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 20 minutes , it was diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , aqueous ammonium chloride , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper liquor was decanted , concentrated under reduced pressure , and the resulting brown oily residue was loaded onto silica and columned ( etoac - hex 1 : 20 to 1 : 4 ). the fractions containing the desired product were collected , concentrated to a lesser amount , and the white fluffy solid was filtered giving n -( 3 -(( 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - opyridin - 3 - yl ) ethynyl ) phenyl )- 3 - methylfuran - 2 - carboxamide in an the amount of 78 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 10 . 22 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 21 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 93 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 52 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( t , j = 1 . 61 hz , 1h ) 7 . 82 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 7 . 79 - 7 . 81 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 - 7 . 44 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 36 ( dt , j = 7 . 56 , 1 . 21 hz , 1h ) 6 . 61 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 4 . 84 ( t , j = 6 . 60 hz , 2h ) 3 . 68 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 36 ( s , 3 h ) 2 . 20 ( quin , j = 6 . 31 hz , 2h ) 0 . 85 ( s , 9h ) 0 . 02 ( s , 6h ) to the solution of n -( 3 (( 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) ethynyl ) phenyl )- 3 - methylfuran - 2 - carboxamide ( 71 mg , 0 . 131 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous thf ( 2 . 6 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise a solution of tetrabutylammonium fluoride ( 1 . 0 m in thf , 0 . 393 ml , 3 eq ). the clear reaction solution was stirred at 0 using an ice - bath for 3 hours . the solution was then partitioned between ethyl acetate and saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate . the organic layer was isolated , washed with aqueous ammonium chloride , brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the upper clear liquor was decanted , concentrated , and the oily residue was loaded onto silica and chromatographed ( etoac - hex 1 : 4 to 4 : 1 ) to yield n -[ 3 -({ 5 -[ 2 -( 3 - hydroxypropyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ] pyridin - 3 - yl } ethynyl ) phenyl ]- 3 - methyl - 2 - furamide as a white solid in the amount of 28 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 10 . 22 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 22 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 94 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 53 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 16 ( t , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 82 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 7 . 79 - 7 . 82 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 - 7 . 44 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 37 ( dt , j = 7 . 63 , 1 . 17 hz , 1h ) 6 . 61 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 4 . 84 ( t , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 4 . 72 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 3 . 49 ( q , j = 5 . 87 hz , 2h ) 2 . 36 ( s , 3h ) 2 . 15 ( quin , j = 6 . 60 hz , 2h ) synthesized using a procedure similar to the one used for the synthesis of compound 9 . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 10 . 35 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 22 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 94 ( d , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 8 . 54 ( t , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 14 ( t , j = 1 . 76 hz , 1h ) 7 . 82 - 7 . 84 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 79 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 75 - 7 . 78 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 41 - 7 . 48 ( m , 3h ) 7 . 39 ( dt , j = 7 . 63 , 1 . 17 hz , 1h ) 4 . 84 ( t , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 4 . 72 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 3 . 49 ( q , j = 5 . 87 hz , 2h ) 2 . 41 ( s , 3h ) 2 . 15 ( quin , j = 6 . 53 hz , 2h ) a mixture of 3 -(( 3 - aminophenyl ) ethynyl )- 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 2 - amine ( 135 mg , 0 . 3 mmol , 1 eq ) and 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl isocyanate ( 67 mg , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 3 ml ) was stirred at room temperature and under nitrogen atmosphere for 3 hours . the mixture was then diluted with ethyl acetate , washed sequentially with aqueous ammonium chloride , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and brine , and dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate . the clear solution was decanted , concentrated under reduced pressure , and the resulting clear oil was dried in vacuo for 5 minutes . it was then treated with a small amount of etoac - hex ( 1 : 9 ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 30 minutes . the white solid that appeared during the process was filtered giving 1 -( 3 -(( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) ethynyl ) phenyl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea in the amount of 201 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 25 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 95 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 63 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 14 ( s , 2 h ) 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 60 - 7 . 67 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 44 ( br . s ., 1h ) 7 . 36 ( d , j = 4 . 11 hz , 2h ) 6 . 92 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 75 ( t , j = 6 . 60 hz , 2h ) 3 . 65 ( t , j = 5 . 72 hz , 2h ) 2 . 16 ( quin , j = 6 . 16 hz , 2h ) 0 . 85 ( s , 9h ) 0 . 02 ( s , 6h ) to the solution of 1 -( 3 -(( 2 - amino - 5 -( 2 -( 3 -(( tert - butyldimethylsilyl ) oxy ) propyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ) ethynyl ) phenyl )- 3 -( 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ) urea ( 188 mg , 0 . 28 mmol , 1 eq ) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran ( 5 ml ) under nitrogen atmosphere at 0 ° c . was added dropwise tetrabutylammonium fluoride ( 1 . 0 m in thf , 0 . 84 ml , 3 eq ). the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 3 hours and then concentrated and loaded onto silica . the mixture was subject to a column chromatography ( etoac - hex 4 : 1 to meoh - etoac 1 : 25 ) to yield 1 -[ 3 -({ 2 - amino - 5 -[ 2 -( 3 - hydroxypropyl )- 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ] pyridin - 3 - yl } ethynyl ) phenyl ]- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea as a white solid in the amount of 127 mg . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 26 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 96 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 64 ( s , 1h ) 8 . 14 ( d , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 7 . 82 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 61 - 7 . 67 ( m , 2h ) 7 . 43 - 7 . 46 ( m , 1h ) 7 . 34 - 7 . 37 ( m , 2h ) 6 . 91 ( br . s ., 2h ) 4 . 75 ( t , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 4 . 70 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 3 . 47 ( q , j = 5 . 58 hz , 2h ) 2 . 11 ( quin , j = 6 . 46 hz , 2h ) synthesized using a procedure similar to the one used for the synthesis of compound 11 . 1 h nmr ( 600 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ ppm 9 . 43 ( s , 1h ) 9 . 19 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 8 . 98 ( d , j = 2 . 05 hz , 1h ) 8 . 89 ( d , j = 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 8 . 61 ( dd , j = 7 . 04 , 1 . 47 hz , 1h ) 8 . 49 ( s , 1h ) 7 . 56 - 7 . 61 ( m , 4h ) 7 . 51 ( dd , j = 10 . 12 , 9 . 24 hz , 1h ) 7 . 42 ( dt , j = 7 . 92 , 3 . 67 hz , 1h ) 4 . 84 ( t , j = 7 . 04 hz , 2h ) 4 . 72 ( t , j = 4 . 99 hz , 1h ) 3 . 49 ( q , j = 5 . 87 hz , 2h ) 2 . 15 ( quin , j = 6 . 53 hz , 2h ). 1 -{ 2 -[ 2 - amino - 5 -( 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 , 2 - dioxaborolan - 2 - yl ) pyridin - 3 - yl ]- 1 - benzothien - 5 - yl }- 3 -[ 4 - chloro - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] urea ( 194 mg , 0 . 33 mmoles ) and 2 - chloropyrimidine ( 38 mg , 0 . 3 mmoles ) was added to a mixture of 6 ml of dioxane and 2 ml of 2m aqueous sodium carbonate . next , palladium ( ii ) acetate ( 10 mol %, 7 mg ) and triphenylphosphene ( 20 mol %, 16 mg ) was added , followed by 2 ml of dioxane . dry nitrogen was bubbled through the resulting solution for 15 minutes . following this , the reaction mixture was set up with a reflux condenser , under nitrogen atmosphere , and heated at 95 c overnight . the reaction was then cooled to room temperature and 40 ml of ethyl acetate was added . the mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and extracted with saturated sodium bicarbonate ( 3 × 40 ml ) followed by saturated nacl ( 3 × 40 ml ). the organic layer was dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate , loaded onto silica and columned using ethyl acetate / hexanes , to give 30 mg of the product . 1 h nmr (& lt ; dmso & gt ;) δ : 9 . 19 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 02 ( d , j = 2 . 1 hz , 1h ), 8 . 99 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 83 ( d , j = 4 . 7 hz , 2h ), 8 . 47 ( d , j = 2 . 1 hz , 1h ), 8 . 14 ( dd , j = 13 . 8 , 2 . 1 hz , 2h ), 7 . 90 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 58 - 7 . 66 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 8 , 2 . 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 35 ( t , j = 4 . 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 71 ( s , 2h ). 1 h nmr (& lt ; dmso & gt ;) δ : 9 . 24 ( d , j = 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 9 . 20 - 9 . 23 ( m , 1h ), 9 . 00 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 83 ( d , j = 2 . 3 hz , 1h ), 8 . 64 ( dd , j = 2 . 5 , 1 . 6 hz , 1h ), 8 . 51 ( d , j = 2 . 3 hz , 1h ), 8 . 30 ( d , j = 2 . 3 hz , 1h ), 8 . 16 ( d , j = 2 . 3 hz , 1h ), 8 . 12 ( d , j = 2 . 1 hz , 1h ), 7 . 91 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 72 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 41 ( dd , j = 8 . 6 , 2 . 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 61 ( s , 2h ). biological data for the compounds of the present invention was generated by use of the following assays . biochemical kdr kinase assays were performed in 96 well microtiter plates that were coated overnight with 75 pg / well of poly - glu - tyr ( 4 : 1 ) in 10 mm phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), ph 7 . 4 . the coated plates were washed with 2 mls per well pbs + 0 . 05 % tween - 20 ( pbs - t ), blocked by incubation with pbs containing 1 % bsa , then washed with 2 mls per well pbs - t prior to starting the reaction . reactions were carried out in 100 μl reaction volumes containing 2 . 7 μm atp in kinase buffer ( 50 mm hepes buffer ph 7 . 4 , 20 mm mgcl 2 , 0 . 1 mm mncl 2 and 0 . 2 mm na 3 vo 4 ). test compounds were reconstituted in 100 % dmso and added to the reaction to give a final dmso concentration of 5 %. reactions were initiated by the addition 20 ul per well of kinase buffer containing 200 - 300 ng purified cytoplasmic domain kdr protein ( bps bioscience , san diego , calif .). following a 15 minute incubation at 30 ° c ., the reactions were washed 2 mls per well pbs - t . 100 μl of a monoclonal anti - phosphotyrosine antibody - peroxidase conjugate diluted 1 : 10 , 000 in pbs - t was added to the wells for 30 minutes . following a 2 mls per well wash with pbs - tween - 20 , 100 μl of o - phenylenediamine dihydrochloride in phosphate - citrate buffer , containing urea hydrogen peroxide , was added to the wells for 7 - 10 minutes as a colorimetric substrate for the peroxidase . the reaction was terminated by the addition of 100 μl of 2 . 5 n h 2 so 4 to each well and read using a microplate elisa reader set at 492 nm . ic 50 values for compound inhibition were calculated directly from graphs of optical density ( arbitrary units ) versus compound concentration following subtraction of blank values . biochemical pdgfrβ kinase assays were performed in 96 well microtiter plates that were coated overnight with 75 μg of poly - glu - tyr ( 4 : 1 ) in 10 mm phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), ph 7 . 4 . the coated plates were washed with 2 mls per well pbs + 0 . 05 % tween - 20 ( pbs - t ), blocked by incubation with pbs containing 1 % bsa , then washed with 2 mls per well pbs - t prior to starting the reaction . reactions were carried out in 100 μl reaction volumes containing 36 μm atp in kinase buffer ( 50 mm hepes buffer ph 7 . 4 , 20mm mgcl 2 , 0 . 1 mm mncl 2 and 0 . 2 mm na 3 vo 4 ). test compounds were reconstituted in 100 % dmso and added to the reaction to give a final dmso concentration of 5 %. reactions were initiated by the addition 20 ul per well of kinase buffer containing 200 - 300 ng purified cytoplasmic domain pdgfr - b protein ( millipore ). following a 60 minute incubation at 30 ° c ., the reactions were washed 2 mls per well pbs - t . 100 μl of a monoclonal anti - phosphotyrosine antibody - peroxidase conjugate diluted 1 : 10 , 000 in pbs - t was added to the wells for 30 minutes . following a 2 mls per well wash with pbs - tween - 20 , 100 μl of o - phenylenediamine dihydrochloride in phosphate - citrate buffer , containing urea hydrogen peroxide , was added to the wells for 7 - 10 minutes as a colorimetric substrate for the peroxidase . the reaction was terminated by the addition of 100 μl of 2 . 5n h 2 so 4 to each well and read using a microplate elisa reader set at 492 nm . ic 50 values for compound inhibition were calculated directly from graphs of optical density ( arbitrary units ) versus compound concentration following subtraction of blank values . commercially available recombinant human gst - pkr ( signalchem , canada ; 1 . 5 um - 2 um stock ) is diluted to 500 nm in assay buffer ( 20 mm tris - hcl , ph 7 . 2 , 10 mm kcl , 10 mm mgcl2 , 10 % glycerol ). preactivated pkr is dispensed to 384 / 96 - well black plates at 3 . 125 / 12 . 5 uls / well using the liquid handler janus . appropriate dilutions of inhibitors are added to 384 / 96 - well plate followed by 6 . 6 um atp ( final ) and incubated for 10 minutes at room temperature . the remaining atp / well is determined by adding 6 . 25 / 25 uls / well kinase - glo assay mix ( promega ) and luminescence is measured on envision luminescence plate reader ( integration time , 0 . 2 sec ; perkin - elmer , massachusetts , usa ). the % inhibition for the compounds is calculated using atp only ( 100 % inhibition ) and pkr + atp ( 0 % inhibition ). ic50 values are determined by plotting % activity versus inhibitor concentration . curves are fitted using activity base xlfit ( idbs , uk ) using the formula the biological results for the various compounds are shown in table 1 below . | 2 |
fig1 is a partially cut away side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention , as mounted on the rotatable top of its support tower platform , with turbine rotor and twelve turbine blades , and with its wind intake scoop cross section cut away to show the rotor and turbine blades . other details , being mechanical in nature , would be present state of the art , and do not need to be shown to illustrate the essential principles , details and novelty of the inventive concept . fig2 is a frontal view of the same wind turbine engine embodiment , as mounted on its rotatable tower top , illustrating its wind capture area , wind intake scoop , turbine blades , and airfoil covered support and reinforcement members for the wind intake scoop and internalized axle and drive system . fig3 is a rear view of the same wind turbine engine on top of its tower mounting , as it would look directly from the rear . fig4 is a side view of the wind turbine engine , on top of its tower mounting , as it would look directly from the side , ( similar in appearance to a jet turbine engine ) mostly enshrouded , or encapsulated by the extended airfoil shape of its wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly . fig5 is a simplified drawing of a three row blade system , as might be applied to the turbine rotor , and within the flow through and turbine drive chamber respectively , with one ring of 12 stabilizer blades being firmly mounted to the inside surface of the flow through and turbine drive chamber closely between two wind driven rows of turbine blades , as mounted and affixed to a single turbine rotor . the stabilizer blades serve to dampen or smooth out turbulence , and can enhance efficiency , when properly shaped and engineered . with all of the foregoing in view , and such other and further purposes , advantages or novel features as may become apparent from consideration of this disclosure and specification , the present invention consists of the inventive concept which is comprised , embodied , embraced or included in various specific embodiments of such concept , reference being made to the accompanying figures , in which : fig1 is a partially cut away side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention , as mounted on the rotatable top of its support tower platform , where we have wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly 1 , embodying s - curve velocity increasing surface 1 a , flow through and turbine drive chamber area surface 1 b , rearward expanding exhaust channel surface 1 c , and outer airfoil curved surface 1 d , to provide converging airflow to augment exhaust induction . then we have half sphere wind displacement and velocity head 2 , radially mounted airfoiled front end structural support members 3 , for wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly 1 , and also supporting the front end of encased axle / driveshaft ( not shown ), then we have turbine blades 4 , as mounted on turbine rotor 5 , then we have encasement body 6 , for axle / driveshaft , mechanicals and electrical generator components , followed by rear structural support and reinforcement members 7 , rotatable support table 8 , for the entire wind turbine engine , along with its encasement and structural supports , which is mounted onto , and collared into the top end of support tower 9 . as a functional explanation , with recommendations toward achieving best wind turbine engine performance , we now refer to wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly 1 , where its velocity increasing s - curved frontally projecting inner facing surface 1 a , is designed to provide essentially the same amount of velocity increase to incoming wind , as provided by wind displacement and velocity head 2 . the inner facing surface of wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly 1 , and the outer diameter of wind displacement and velocity head 2 , can be spaced apart , or separated to an ideal level , where a tolerable amount of compression of the incoming wind mass is achieved , without seriously slowing down the said incoming wind mass . this is important , as there will be a balancing point of radial length of that separation distance , between achieving the most compression , limiting throughput wind speed reduction , or ultimately spilling off some of the incoming wind mass . turbine blades 4 , may not be able to handle an over compressed air mass fast enough , to maintain the smoothness of flow essential to greatest energy capture levels by means of the said turbine blades 4 . best available energy gain ratios provided by velocity increase and compression would not be achieved without the above described balancing procedure being carefully applied , with the best ratio assuring highest energy capture levels over a broad range of wind speed . a further comment is also in order , where the wind turbine engine &# 39 ; s turbine blades would be placed , contained and addressed within the outer 50 % of the radius from axle centre to those blade tips . that could change somewhat , related to the foregoing balancing procedure . a properly balanced system of intake volume , velocity increase , and compression , is the most important consideration , and will harness the most energy per square meter . fig2 is a frontal view of the same wind turbine engine embodiment , where we have an unobstructed direct frontal view of wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly features , being s - curved intake scoop surface ( s ) 1 a , and outer airfoil surface 1 d , then speedball wind displacement and velocity head 2 , front end structural support and reinforcement members 3 , turbine blades 4 , encasement body 6 , rotatable support table 8 , and the stationary top end of support tower 9 . what we are seeing here is quite similar to the frontal view of a jet turbine engine as one might observe on large passenger jet aircraft . fig3 is a rear view of the same wind turbine engine embodiment , where we have an unobstructed direct rear view of wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly features , being internalized rearward expanding exhaust channel surface 1 c , and outer airfoil surface 1 d , then we have front end structural support members 3 , turbine blades 4 , encasement body 6 , rear structural support members 7 , rotatable support table 8 , as mounted on the top end of support tower 9 . fig4 is an unobstructed side view of the wind turbine engine , where we have wind intake scoop and flow through encasement assembly outer airfoil surface 1 d , encasement body 6 , rear structural support members 7 , then rotatable support table 8 , as mounted on the top end of support tower 9 . fig5 is a partially cut away side view of a second preferred embodiment of the invention , with two rows of twelve turbine rotor blades 4 , and 11 , mounted on its rearward extended drive rotor 5 , where the said two rows of turbine blades are spaced some distance apart on the said rearward extended drive rotor 5 , to properly position a fixed stationary non - rotating ring assembly of twelve flow stabilizer blades 10 , with adequate clearance between said stabilizer blades assembly 10 , and the two rows of turbine blades 4 , and 11 , and the said non - rotating ring of twelve flow stabilizer blades is affixed or solidly mounted to the inner circumference of extended flow through and turbine drive area surface 1 b . all other elements not essential to the placement of the two rows of turbine blades 4 and 11 , with flow stabilizer blades 10 , placed between the said two rows of turbine blades , on rearward extended rotor 5 , are completely numbered , described and explained in fig1 and 3 respectively . | 5 |
referring first to fig1 a , there is shown a side perspective view of a conventional prior art welding apparatus that is used to weld a weld nut to a panel employed as a plate material . in this figure is shown a prior art upper electrode 23 in which the entire construction of the upper electrode 23 is a conductive metallic element , preferably copper . the construction of fig1 a includes a hole portion 5 drilled in center of the bottom to a depth d 1 to accommodate the pin 9 , and a coolant passage drilled in the center of the top ( not shown ). a panel 33 , which has previously been drilled or otherwise formed to include a bolt - receiving bore 1 about which it is desired to secure a weld nut , is placed on a lower electrode 66 and properly positioned about an optional guide pin 9 that projects upwardly from the bore 1 of the panel 3 , which guide pin may be upwardly biased by means of compressed air supplied from an air inlet 7 provided in the lower electrode 66 . thus , the guide pin 9 may enable the panel 33 to be properly positioned on the lower electrode 66 . a weld nut 11 is placed on the panel 33 over the guide pin 9 , and the weld nut 11 and the panel 33 are pressed between the upper electrode 23 and the lower electrode 66 in such a manner as to be clamped therebetween . thereafter , current is supplied to the weld nut 11 and the panel 33 from a current source v that is connected to the upper electrode 23 and lower electrode 66 , whereby the weld nut 11 is welded to the panel 33 . it is to be noted that the reference numeral 11 a in fig1 denotes a projection on the weld nut , as such projections are common for weld nuts used in such applications . fig1 b shows a phantom view of a weld point electrode according to the invention , including the non - conductive outer sleeve portion 88 which in one embodiment exists in the form of a hollow cylindrical shell within which the outer surface of the core portion 69 ( which is preferably shaped like a cylinder ) is disposed in tight fit within the inner surface of the outer sleeve portion . the core portion 69 includes a base portion 73 and a tower portion 71 , which tower portion is also substantially cylindrically shaped , wherein in a preferred form of the invention the core portion and the tower portion are of a common casting , or may be machined from the same piece of billet stock . there is a hole 15 drilled in the center of the bottom portion of the base portion to a depth similar to d 1 of fig1 a , and there is a hole 18 drilled in the center of the tower portion to a depth of d 2 to assist in cooling by its ability to receive a conventional fluid material recognized as a coolant by those in the art . according to the construction of the article according to the invention shown in fig1 b , it is clear that the outer sleeve portion extends beyond the bottom surface of the core portion so as to not permit the bottom surface 13 of the conductive core to come into contact with a surface upon which said electrode construction is caused to be contacted , such as surface s . the distance c represents the distance which the bottom surface of the conductive core is separated from the surface s , and this distance is dependent upon the distance which the lower portion of the non - conductive outer sleeve extends beyond the lower surface of the conductive core portion . while this distance must at its minimum only equal to at least an effective distance for not permitting contact between the lower surface of the conductive core and the substrate , it is preferable that the distance c be equal to any distance between 50 % of the thickness of the weld nuts being used and the thickness of the weld nuts being used , including every thickness value therebetween . welding nuts generally include projections , such as 11 a in fig1 a . the projections are generally not visible after the welding process and all that is visible is the thickest portion of the weld nut sitting atop a substrate to which it has been welded . such a construction makes the weld nut appear like a donut resting atop the substrate wherein the top surface of the weld nut is located at a certain distance from the substrate . it is most preferred that the distance c be equal to the distance that the top surface of the weld nut in a finished weld is located from the substrate . fig2 a shows the bottom portion of a weld point electrode 23 according to the prior art having a flat bottom surface 3 and a hole 5 drilled in its center to depth d 1 . fig2 b shows the bottom portion of a weld point electrode according to a preferred form of the present invention having a flat bottom surface 13 and a hole 15 drilled in its center to an approximate depth of d 1 . there is a flat portion 6 of the bottom portion of the non - conductive outer sleeve portion , and an annular bevel 24 about the inner diameter of the outer sleeve portion at the bottom of the outer sleeve portion , wherein the flat surface 13 in this figure is at lower relief than surface 6 with respect to the eye of the viewer . fig3 a is a top view of a weld point electrode according to a preferred form of the present invention showing the location of hole 18 , the top surface of the outer sleeve portion 61 , the top surface of the tower portion 12 , and the top surface portion 97 of the core portion . fig3 b is a perspective view of an electrode according to a preferred form of the present invention showing the location of hole 18 , the top surface of the outer sleeve portion 61 , the top surface of the tower portion 12 , and the top surface portion 97 of the core portion , and the base portion 73 of the core portion 69 , which core portion comprises both said base portion 73 and said tower portion , as was shown in a different view in fig1 b . fig4 shows a side perspective view of the bottom portion of an electrode according to one form of the present invention , showing the bottom surface 6 of the nonconductive outer sleeve portion , hole 15 , the flat surface portion 13 of the lower portion of the core portion 73 , and the annular bevel 24 machined on the outer sleeve portion . fig4 b is a cutaway view of the bottom portion of a weld point electrode according to the present invention , showing the bottom surface 6 of the non - conductive outer sleeve portion , hole 15 , the flat surface portion 13 of the lower portion of the core portion , the annular bevel 24 machined on the outer sleeve portion , and the base portion 73 of the core portion 69 . an advantage of the invention is that when a nut is not in its correct position for welding to the substrate , the non - conductive collar is the only portion which comes into contact with the weld nut , and it is thus not possible for current to flow in an automated process which uses an electrode according to this invention . a current sensing means could be used to alter the process through a controller as the use of such are well known in the art . in a preferred form of the invention , the surface 100 of the base portion of the core portion is concave as shown fig1 b . this arrangement provides for the concave shoulder seat to stop spread under force . the outer sleeve portion may be constructed of any material recognized by those in the electrical arts as being non - conductive , including without limitation polymeric materials , wood , cloth , paper , etc . polymeric materials include without limitation polyolefin homopolymers and copolymers , graft copolymers , sbs polymers , or any other material recognized by those skilled in the polymer arts as being a polymeric material that is formed from the polymerization of one or more monomers in a polymerization reaction . the conductive core portion of the invention may be any material which is recognized by those in the electrical arts as conducting electricity such as any metal in the periodic table of the elements . it is preferred that the conductive core portion be comprised of a metal or alloy having a low electrical resistance , and pure copper is especially preferred , while silver and alloys of copper such as brass or bronze are , without limitation , also useful herein . it is most preferable that the diameter of the inner hollow portion of the outer sleeve be equal to only slightly less than the outer diameter dimension of the conductive core , to enable the outer sleeve to be disposed about the core in an interference fit , as interference fits are well known to those skilled in the art . the degree of interference of the interference fit used is preferably enough to withstand the normal clamping pressure applied to the electrode during the welding process without any shifting of the core portion within the sleeve portion . an additional unexpected benefit of an outer sleeve according to the invention is that it prevents against current shunting through the side of the upper electrode ( as may happen in the case of a conventional upper electrode ) by stopping any unintentional contact between the side of the upper electrode and the substrate , which can sometimes occur when the weld nut is properly positioned with respect to the welding apparatus as a whole , but the substrate is not . such may occur , as but one example , in situations such as when it is desired to attach a weld nut to a substrates in a location adjacent to a 90 degree flange protruding upwards from the substrate , wherein the 90 degree flange has a stiffener flange turned toward the upper electrode . although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments , it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification . the present invention includes all such equivalent alterations and modifications , including the use of alternating current ( ac ) in places where direct current ( dc ) was mentioned , and is limited only by the scope of the claims which now follow . | 1 |
an illustrative embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . an image forming apparatus according to aspects described herein applies to a laser printer 1 as shown in fig1 . it will be appreciated that these aspects also apply to other types of image forming apparatuses , such as a copier and a multifunction apparatus as well . for ease of discussion , in the following description , the top or upper side , the bottom or lower side , the left or left side , the right or right side , the front or front side , and the rear or rear side are used to define the various parts when the laser printer 1 is disposed in an orientation in which it is intended to be used . in fig1 , the right side is referred to as the front or front side , the left side is referred to as the rear or the rear side , the up side is referred to as the top or upper side , and the down side is referred to as the bottom or lower side . as shown in fig1 , the laser printer 1 may include , in a main body 2 , a sheet supply section 3 , a light exposure unit 4 , a process cartridge 5 , and a fixing unit 6 . the sheet supply section 3 is configured to supply a recording sheet , e . g ., a sheet p . the process cartridge 5 is configured to transfer an image of developer , e . g ., toner , onto the sheet p . the fixing unit 6 may be configured to fix the toner image onto the sheet by heat . the sheet supply section 3 may include a sheet supply tray 31 , a sheet pressing plate 32 , a pickup roller 33 , a separation pad 34 , dust removing rollers 35 , 36 , and registration rollers 37 . the sheet supply tray 31 may be disposed in a lower portion of the main body 2 and configured to be attached to and removed from the main body 2 . the pickup roller 33 and the separation roller 34 are disposed in a front upper portion of the sheet supply tray 31 . the dust removing rollers 35 , 36 are disposed at a downstream side from the pickup roller 33 in a direction where the sheet p is conveyed ( hereinafter referred to as the sheet conveyance direction ). the registration rollers 37 are disposed at the downstream side from the dust removing rollers 35 , 36 in the sheet conveyance direction . in the sheet supply section 3 , a sheet p in a stack of sheets in the sheet supply tray 31 is moved to the pickup roller 33 by the sheet pressing plate 32 , singly conveyed by the pickup roller 33 and the separation pad 34 , passed through the dust removing rollers 35 , 36 and the registration rollers 37 , and conveyed to the process cartridge 5 . the light exposure unit 4 may be disposed in an upper portion of the main body 2 . the exposure unit 4 may include a light emitting portion ( not shown ), a polygon mirror 41 configured to be driven to rotate , lenses 42 , 43 , and reflecting mirrors 44 , 45 , 46 . in the exposure unit 4 , as shown in a broken line , a laser beam emitted from the light emitting portion , based on image data , may be deflected by the polygon mirror 41 , pass through the lens 42 , be folded by the reflecting mirrors 44 , 45 , pass through the lens 43 , and be bent downward by the reflecting mirror 46 , to be directed to a surface of the photosensitive drum 52 in the process cartridge 5 at high speed scanning . the process cartridge 5 may be disposed under the exposure unit 4 , and configured to be attached to and removed from the main body 2 . the process cartridge 5 includes a cartridge frame 51 that is hollow and serves as an outer frame . the process cartridge 5 further includes a photosensitive member , e . g ., a photosensitive drum 52 , a scorotron charger 53 , a transfer member , e . g ., a transfer roller 54 , and a developer cartridge 55 in the cartridge frame 51 . the developer cartridge 55 may be mounted in the cartridge frame 51 in a detachable manner . the developer cartridge 55 includes a developing roller 56 , a layer - thickness regulating blade 57 , a supply roller 58 , and a toner chamber 59 . developer , e . g ., toner , stored in the toner chamber 59 , is supplied to the developing roller 56 along with the rotation of the supply roller 58 . at this time , toner is electrically charged between the supply roller 58 and the developing roller 56 by friction . the toner supplied to the developing roller 56 goes in between the layer - thickness regulating blade 57 and the developing roller 56 along with the rotation of the developing roller 56 , and is carried on the developing roller 56 as a thin layer having a constant thickness . the photosensitive drum 52 may be rotatably supported by the cartridge frame 51 . the photosensitive drum 52 includes a drum body that is grounded and an outer surface thereof that is formed of a photosensitive layer . the transfer roller 54 may be disposed below the photosensitive drum 52 , contacting the photosensitive drum 52 from below , and rotatably supported by the cartridge frame 51 . during image transfer , a bias is applied to the transfer roller 54 . in the process cartridge 5 , the surface of the photosensitive drum 52 may be uniformly and positively charged by the scorotron charger 53 , and exposed to a laser beam emitted from the exposure unit 4 by high - speed scanning . an electric potential in the exposed area of the surface of the photosensitive drum 52 becomes low , and an electrostatic latent image is formed based on the image data . when the developing roller 56 is rotated , toner carried on the developing roller 56 is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 52 . as toner is selectively carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 52 , the latent image on the photosensitive drum 52 becomes visible , and a toner image is formed by reversal . the photosensitive drum 52 and the transfer roller 54 are rotated to convey the sheet p therebetween . while the sheet p is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 52 and the transfer roller 54 , the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 52 is transferred onto the sheet p . the fixing unit 6 may be disposed at the rear of the process cartridge 5 or at a downstream side of the process cartridge 5 in the sheet conveyance direction . the fixing unit 6 may include a heat roller 61 , a pressure roller 62 configured to be pressed against the heat roller 61 , a belt member 63 disposed around the pressure roller 62 , and a frame member 64 . ejection rollers 71 , 72 , and a sheet ejection path 73 are provided at the downstream side from the fixing unit 6 in the sheet conveyance direction , so as to eject the sheet p conveyed from the fixing unit 6 out of the main body 2 . in the fixing unit 6 , the toner image transferred onto the sheet p is fixed by heat while the sheet p passes between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 disposed around the pressure roller 62 . after passing through the fixing unit 6 , the sheet p is conveyed to the sheet ejection path 73 by the ejection rollers 71 , and ejected to a sheet ejection tray 74 by the ejection rollers 72 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the fixing unit 6 may further include arm members 65 ( only one shown ) and extension springs 66 ( only one shown ), and belt supporting members 67 ( only one shown ). the pressure roller 62 is supported by the arm members 65 and the extension springs 66 . the heat roller 61 may be formed in a generally cylindrical shape , and may have a heat source 61 b , such as a halogen heater , therein . the heat roller 61 may be configured such that a surface thereof becomes heated to a temperature for fixing toner by the heat source 61 b . both ends 61 a of the heat roller 61 protruding axially therefrom may be supported by the frame member 64 , so that the heat roller 61 is rotatable . a transmission gear 61 g may be fixed to one end 61 a , and rotated along with the heat roller 61 . power from a drive source ( not shown ) disposed in the main body 2 may be supplied via gears ( not shown ) to the transmission gear 61 g , which causes the heat roller 61 to rotate . the pressure roller 62 may include a cylindrically - shaped roller portion 62 r made of an elastic layer , e . g ., a silicone rubber , and a rotation shaft 62 a extending through the roller portion 62 r and protruding outward from both ends of the roller portion 62 r . the rotation shaft 62 a may be rotatably supported by the arm members 65 . a transmission gear 62 g may be fixed to an end of the rotation shaft 62 a and configured to rotate along with the pressure roller 62 . the transmission gear 62 g is engaged with the transmission gear 61 g . thus , power from the heat roller 61 may be transmitted to the pressure roller 62 via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g , and the pressure roller 62 may be forced to rotate along with the heat roller 61 . the arm members 65 may be disposed on both ends of the rotation shaft 62 a of the pressure roller 62 . a front side ( right side in fig2 ) of each arm member 65 may rotatably support a support shaft 64 a disposed in the frame member 64 , and an upper rear side of each arm member 65 may be attached to one end of the extension spring 66 . the other end of the extension spring 66 may be attached to the frame member 64 . thus , the pressure roller 62 rotatably supported by the arm members 65 is capable of moving in a direction of an arrow of fig2 . as each arm member 65 is urged toward the heat roller 61 under a force applied from the extension spring 66 , the pressure roller 62 is also urged or pressed toward the heat roller 61 . the belt member 63 may be an endless member ( e . g ., circular , such as a conveyor belt ) having a perimeter greater than a perimeter of the pressure roller 62 ( that is , specifically , a maximum perimeter of the pressure roller 62 thermally expanding ). in other words , the endless member may loosely enclose the pressure roller to accommodate thermal expansion of the roller 62 . the belt member 63 may be disposed around the pressure roller 62 and partially sandwiched between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 . while the toner image is thermally fixed , the sheet p passes between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 . thus , during heat fixing , the belt member 63 is sandwiched between the pressure roller 62 and the sheet p and is slidable on the pressure roller 62 . the coefficient of friction between the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 is smaller than that between the belt member 63 and the sheet p . the belt member 63 is pressed against the heat roller 61 because the pressure roller 62 is pressed against the heat roller 61 . the belt member 63 may be an endless film formed of a heat - resistant resin such as polyimide ( pi ) or an endless electroformed film formed of nickel or stainless steel . when the belt member 63 is formed of a conductive material , e . g ., an electroformed film of nickel or stainless steel , the belt member 63 may be electrically grounded . specifically , as shown in fig4 a , the belt member 63 formed of a conductive material is stretched around the belt supporting member 67 , which is formed of a conductive resin and is electrically grounded , so that the belt member 63 can be electrically grounded . a surface of the belt member 63 that contacts the heat roller 61 ( or sheet p during heat fixing ) may be coated with fluorine resin . further , fluorine resin can be coated on a surface of the belt member 63 that contacts the pressure roller 62 . as shown in fig3 , the belt member 63 has a width w 2 extending in an axial direction of the pressure roller 62 , which is greater than a width wi of the roller portion 62 r of the pressure roller 62 extending in the axial direction . the width w 2 of the belt member 63 is smaller than a width w 3 of the heat roller 61 extending in an axial direction of the heat roller 61 . thus , the relationship w 1 & lt ; w 2 & lt ; w 3 is established . the belt supporting members 67 may be attached to the rotation shaft 62 a of the pressure roller 62 disposed at each end of the roller portion 62 r . as shown in fig4 a and 4b , the belt supporting member 67 includes a bearing 67 a , belt supporting portions 67 b disposed symmetrically with respect to the bearing 67 a , and belt regulating portion 67 c disposed on the belt supporting portions 67 b . the bearing 67 a is fitted around the rotation shaft 67 a . the belt supporting portions 67 b are configured to support the belt member 63 from within . the bearing 67 a may be rotatably fitted around the rotation shaft 62 a , so that the belt supporting member 67 will not rotate along with the rotation shaft 62 a . as shown in fig4 b , when the bearing 67 a is attached to the rotation shaft 62 a , a protrusion 67 d disposed on an inner surface of the bearing 67 a is engaged in a groove 62 b formed in the rotation shaft 62 a . this engagement prevents the belt supporting member 67 from moving in an axial direction of the rotation shaft 62 a . the belt supporting portions 67 b may be generally arc - shaped symmetrically from the bearing 67 a . a peripheral surface of each belt supporting portion 67 b serves as a support surface for supporting the belt member 63 . the peripheral surface of each belt supporting portion 67 b may be arcuately recessed so as to match a peripheral surface of the heat roller 61 . with this shape , the arcuately recessed portion of the peripheral surface of each belt supporting portion 67 b is regulated by the heat roller 61 . thus , the belt supporting member 67 is configured not to rotate even when the belt member 63 is slidingly rotated . as shown in fig4 b , the belt regulating portions 67 c are formed on the support surfaces of the corresponding belt supporting portions 67 b , and protrude outward further than the belt supporting portions 67 b with respect to a radial direction of the bearing 67 a . the belt regulating portions 67 c are configured to be located outward with respect to the axial direction of the rotation shaft 62 a when the belt supporting member 67 is attached to the rotation shaft 62 a . in fig4 a , the belt supporting member 67 at its original state is indicated by dashed lines . when the belt supporting member 67 is attached to the rotation shaft 62 a , and the belt member 63 is disposed around the pressure roller 62 and the belt supporting member 67 , the belt supporting portions 67 b are bent toward the bearing 67 a as shown in a solid line of fig4 a . as the belt supporting portions 67 b have the property of returning to their original state , the bent belt supporting portions 67 b exert force in arrowed directions of fig4 a to apply tension to the belt member 63 . the operation of the fixing unit 6 configured above will be described in the portion appearing below . as shown in fig3 , when the heat roller 61 rotates , its power is transmitted from the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 , which causes the pressure roller 62 to rotate . the belt member 63 is slidingly rotated along the rotation of the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 in such a manner that the belt member 63 is conveyed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 . as shown in fig1 , while the sheet p having an image thereon is conveyed between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 , it is sandwiched between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 via the belt member 63 , so that the toner is fixed by heat onto the sheet p . at this time , the peripheral speeds of the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 become substantially equal to the peripheral speed of the belt member 63 . when heat fixing continues , the outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 changes due to thermal expansion , which causes a difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 . at this time , the peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 and the peripheral speed of the belt member 63 are maintained approximated to each other because friction from the heat roller 61 is transmitted to the belt member 63 via the sheet p . however , a difference in peripheral speed between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 occurs . as described above , the coefficient of friction between the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 is smaller than that between the belt member 63 and the sheet p . thus , the inner surface of the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 slip , and slippage between the outer surface of the belt member 63 and the sheet p is reduced . according to the above description , some or all of the following advantages can be obtained . even if a difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 occurs , friction from the heat roller 61 is transmitted to the belt member 63 via the sheet p , so that the inner surface of the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 slip . when the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 slip , the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 is absorbed , so that occurrence of the peripheral speed difference between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 is reduced . as the occurrence of the peripheral speed difference between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 is reduced , slippage between the heat roller 61 and the sheet p can be reduced , which can offer enhanced image quality . as the slippage between the heat roller 61 and the sheet p can be reduced , an elastic layer having a lower hardness can be applied to the pressure roller 61 to increase a nip width between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 . this enables enhanced speed of fixing . the slippage between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 is relatively small in comparison with a structure using a stationary pressure member instead of the pressure roller 62 . thus , adverse effects , such as the wearing away of the belt member 63 , abrasion of fluorine resin coated on the surface of the belt member 63 , and electrostatic buildup on the belt member 63 due to sliding friction between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be reduced . power of the heat roller 61 may be transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 , and the pressure roller 62 is forced to rotate . thus , places on a surface of the pressure roller 62 where the pressure roller 62 is pressed by the heat roller 61 ( or where a nip width is formed ) can be changed evenly , and thus permanent deformation due to stress imposed in one place by the heat roller 61 can be reduced from the pressure roller 62 . accordingly , fluctuations of the nip pressure due to permanent deformation of the pressure roller 62 can be reduced . power of the heat roller 61 may be transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 . comparing with a structure where power is transmitted from a drive source ( not shown ) disposed in the main body 2 via a plurality of gears ( not shown ) to the transmission gear 62 g , the embodiment of the invention can reduce the number of parts . the width w 2 of the belt member 63 is greater than the width wi of the pressure roller 62 , which is greater than the width of a recording sheet p . thus , the width of the sheet p can fit within the width w 2 of the belt member 63 . as the sheet p can be reliably pressed by the heat roller 61 , the toner image can be fixed onto the sheet p by heat , which can offer enhanced image quality . the belt member 63 may move in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 62 a in response to rotation of the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 . however , as the belt member 63 is disposed around the belt supporting member 67 that has the belt regulating portions 67 c and that does not move in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 62 a , the movement of the belt member 63 in the axial direction can be regulated . thus , the belt member 63 can be prevented from moving extremely to one end of the pressure roller 62 and coming off from the pressure roller 62 or shifting greatly from the pressure roller 62 . as a result , the sheet p can be prevented from shifting in the axial direction . as the sheet p can be prevented from shifting in the axial direction , it can be prevented from rubbing against the heat roller 61 , which can offer enhanced image quality . the belt supporting member 67 applies tension to the belt member 63 , which can keep the belt member 63 from becoming wrinkled . thus , the heat roller 61 , the sheet p , and the belt member 67 can be brought into intimate contact with each other , which can enhance transmission of heat from the heat roller 61 to the sheet p . as the transmission of heat to the sheet p is enhanced , the toner image can be efficiently fixed onto the sheet p by heat , which can offer enhanced speed of fixing . in addition , as the belt member 63 and the sheet p are brought into contact with each other , the slippage between the belt member 63 and the sheet p can be reduced more reliably . thus , the toner image formed on the sheet p can be fixed by heat without being disturbed , so that image quality can be enhanced reliably . as the width w 2 of the belt member 63 is greater than the width w 1 of the pressure roller 62 , the belt supporting members 67 disposed on both ends of the roller portion 62 r of the pressure roller 62 can apply tension to the belt member 63 and regulate the movement of the belt member 63 in the axial direction . in addition , as the width w 3 of the heat roller 61 is greater than the width w 2 of the belt member 63 , the belt member 63 is pressed against the heat roller 61 across the full width of the belt member 63 in the axial direction . thus , friction from the heat roller 61 can be transmitted to the belt member 63 . as friction from the heat roller 61 is transmitted to the belt member 63 , the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 can be absorbed . thus , the slippage between the sheet p and the heat roller 61 can be reduced more reliably , so that image quality can be enhanced reliably . the belt member 63 formed of a heat - resistant resin , nickel , or stainless steel , can be slidingly rotated between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 with stability because it will not soften or deform even by contact with the heat roller 61 whose surface is heated to high temperatures . as the belt member 63 is slidingly rotated between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 with stability , the toner image can be stably fixed onto the sheet p by heat , which can offer enhanced image quality reliably . when the belt member 63 is electrically grounded , electrostatic buildup on the belt member 63 due to sliding friction between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be prevented . as electrostatic buildup on the belt member 63 is prevented , disturbance of electrically charged toner ( image ) that is not fixed by heat on the sheet p can be reduced , so that image quality can be enhanced reliably . when a surface of the belt member 63 that contacts the heat roller 61 ( or sheet p during heat fixing ) is coated with fluorine resin , adhesion of toner onto the belt member 63 can be reduced . thus , adhesion of toner from the belt member 63 to the backside of the sheet p can be reduced , and dirt on the sheet p can be reduced . when a surface of the belt member 63 that contacts the pressure roller 62 is coated with fluorine resin , the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can smoothly slide . thus , the slippage between the heat roller 61 and the sheet p can be reduced , and image quality can be enhanced reliably . this illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g are used as an example of a power transmission member . instead , a toothed belt may be used . alternatively , a combination of two or more different types of power transmission members , such as a transmission gear and a toothed belt , may be used . with reference to fig3 , a rotational speed of the rotation shaft 62 a of the pressure roller 62 per unit time when the pressure roller 62 is forced to rotate will be described . power of the heat roller 61 may be transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 . during heat fixing , the outside diameter of the heat roller 61 does not change , and thus it can be estimated that the peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 does not change ( or is constant ). under this estimation , a rotational speed of the end 61 a of the heat roller 61 and a rotational speed of the transmission gear 61 g do not change , and thus the rotational speed of the transmission gear 62 g of the pressure roller 62 connected to the transmission gear 61 g and the rotational speed of the rotation shaft 62 a do not change . during heat fixing , the outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 changes due to thermal expansion . when the outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 changes but the rotational speed of the rotation shaft 62 a does not change , the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 changes . thus , a difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 occurs , and a difference between the peripheral speed of the belt member 63 to which friction of the heat roller 61 is applied via the sheet p and the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 occurs . as a result , the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 slip . to reduce the slippage between the belt member 63 and the pressure roller 62 , the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 needs to be reduced . to address this , it is possible to determine the rotational speed n of the rotation shaft 62 a per unit time at which , even if the outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 changes , the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 approximates to the peripheral speed v of the heat roller 61 . in other words , the rotational speed of the shaft 62 a may be adjusted to compensate for changes in peripheral speed caused by this thermal expansion . the rotational speed n of the rotation shaft 62 a may be determined in a range between the rotational speed n 1 of the rotation shaft 62 a at high temperature and the rotational speed n 2 of the rotation shaft 62 a at room temperature during heat fixing ( n 1 ≦ n ≦ n 2 ). the rotational speed n 1 of the rotation shaft 62 a is a value that approximates the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 to the peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 when the outside diameter of the pressure roller 61 is maximum d max ( when thermally expanded during heat fixing ). the rotational speed n 2 of the rotation shaft 62 a is a value that approximates the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 to the peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 when the outside diameter of the pressure roller 61 is minimum d min ( at room temperature during heat fixing ). because n 1 = v / πd max , and n 2 = v / πd min , the rotational speed n of the rotation shaft 62 a of the pressure roller 62 per unit time can satisfy the following condition : v is peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 ( conveyance speed of a recording sheet p ), d max is maximum outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 during heat fixing ( outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 at thermal expansion ), and d min is minimum outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 during heat fixing ( outside diameter of the pressure roller 62 at room temperature ). this condition can be achieved by setting a gear ratio of the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to satisfy v / πd max ≦ n ≦ v / πd min . when the rotational speed n of the rotation shaft 62 a satisfies the above condition , the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 can be reduced . thus , the difference between the peripheral speed of the pressure roller 62 and the peripheral speed of the belt member 63 , which approximates to the peripheral speed of the heat roller 61 , can be also reduced . when the difference in peripheral speed between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 is reduced , the slippage between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be reduced . this reduction can reduce a force that may hinder rotation of the belt member 63 ( conveyance of a sheet p ), which is generated when the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 slip . when the force that may hinder sheet conveyance is reduced , the slippage between the heat roller 61 and the sheet p can be reduced , and image quality can be enhanced reliably . in addition , when the slippage between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 is reduced , the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be made less prone to wear . this illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where power of the heat roller 61 is transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 . alternatively , power from a drive source , e . g . a motor , disposed in the main body 2 , may be supplied to the transmission gear 62 g connected to the pressure roller 62 via gears and the power of the pressure roller 62 may be transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the heat roller 61 . alternatively , power from the drive source may be transmitted to the pressure roller 62 via driving power transmission member , e . g ., a gear , but not via the heat roller 61 . this illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where power of the heat roller 61 is transmitted via the transmission gears 61 g , 62 g to the pressure roller 62 and the pressure roller 62 is forced to rotate . for example , as shown in fig5 , the transmission gear 62 g may be omitted and the power of the heat roller 61 may be transmitted via the belt member 63 to the pressure roller 62 , so that the pressure roller 62 may be rotated . in other words , the pressure roller 62 may be rotated upon receipt of friction between the inner surface of the belt member 63 , which is slidingly rotated by the heat roller 61 , and the roller portion 62 r ( or a sheet p during heat fixing ). when the pressure roller 62 is caused to rotate in this manner , the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the pressure roller 62 do not occur , and thus the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 does not occur . because the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 and the belt member 63 does not occur , the slippage between the heat roller 61 and the sheet p can be reduced , so that image quality can be enhanced reliably . because the difference in peripheral speed between the heat roller 61 ( or the belt member 63 ) and the pressure roller 62 does not occur , the slippage between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be reduced . thus , adverse effects , such as the wearing away of the belt member 63 , abrasion of fluorine resin coated on the surface of the belt member 63 , and electrostatic buildup on the belt member 63 due to sliding friction between the pressure roller 62 and the belt member 63 can be reduced . further , as the pressure roller 62 is caused to rotate , torque of the drive source ( not shown ) disposed in the main body 2 can be reduced . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the example where the relationship among the width w 1 of the pressure roller 62 , the width w 2 of the belt member 63 , and the width w 3 of the heat roller 61 is w 1 & lt ; w 2 & lt ; w 3 . the relationship may be w 1 = w 2 = w 3 , w 1 & lt ; w 2 = w 3 , or w 1 = w 2 & lt ; w 3 . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure including the belt supporting member 67 that is configured to apply tension to the belt member 63 and regulate the axial movement of the belt member 63 . the structure may include a tension - applying member that is configured to apply tension to the belt member and a regulating member that is configured to regulate the axial movement of the belt member individually . alternatively , the structure may include one of the tension - applying member and the regulating member . the tension - applying member may be a roller that is configured to slide on the inner surface of the belt member and apply tension to the belt member between the tension - applying member and the pressure roller . the regulating member may be a disk - shaped member having the outside diameter greater than the roller portion of the pressure roller or a cylindrical - shaped member having a belt regulating portion that is rotatably attachable to the rotation shaft of the pressure roller . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where the belt member 63 is electrically grounded , as shown in fig4 a , by electrically grounding the belt supporting member 67 formed of a conductive resin and disposing the belt member 63 around the belt supporting member 67 . the belt member 63 may be electrically grounded by bringing a conductive rod - shaped member that is electrically grounded in contact with the inner surface of the belt member . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where the pressure roller 62 is pressed against the heat roller 61 by a pressing mechanism made up of the arm members 65 and extension springs 66 . a known pressing mechanism may be used for the pressure roller 62 . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure where the pressure roller 61 is pressed against the heat roller 62 . the heat roller may be pressed against the pressure roller . a sheet p may include plain paper , cardboards , postcards , and transparency sheets . the illustrative embodiment shows , but is not limited to , the structure that uses the light exposure unit 4 configured to scan laser light onto the photosensitive drum 52 , the photosensitive drum 52 as a photosensitive member , the developing cartridge 55 as a developing device , and the transfer roller 54 as a transfer member . these parts may be modified in material and structure without departing from the scope of the invention . while the features herein have been described in connection with various example structures and illustrative aspects , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other variations and modifications of the structures and aspects described above may be made without departing from the scope of the inventions described herein . other structures and aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the specification or practice of the features disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and the described examples only are illustrative with the true scope of the inventions being defined by the following claims . | 6 |
fig2 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of an embodiment of this invention . an organic el display panel 10 has the pixel circuits shown in fig1 arranged in a matrix in its internal display area . a perpendicular driver circuit and a horizontal driver circuit are arranged at the periphery of the display area and serve to control the application of a voltage to the data line data and the gate line gate . the organic el elements are divided for rgb ( red , green , blue ) respectively , and the same color pixels are arranged in a vertical direction . specifically , a column of r , a column of g and a column of b are repeatedly arranged sequentially in the perpendicular direction , and the image signals of rgb are respectively applied to the data line data corresponding to the columns . the organic el elements themselves may emit light in respective colors or may emit white light , which is changed into respective colors with respective color filters . the image signals for the respective rgb colors are separately input to the display panel 10 . input terminals for the image signals are indicated by rin , gin and bin . the r signal , g signal and b signal of the input image signals are input to the input terminals rin , gin , bin via black level shift circuits 12 r , 12 g , 12 b . the display panel 10 is applied with the power supply pvdd , which is connected to the sources of the individual drive tfts 1 . meanwhile , the cathode of the organic el element 2 of each pixel is taken from the display panel and connected to a cathode power supply cv . between them a cv current detection circuit 14 is disposed , in which a total current ( cv current icv ) flowing to all the organic el elements 2 of the display panel is detected . the cv current detection circuit 14 outputs 0v until the total current becomes a prescribed value and then outputs a voltage proportional to an amount of current . the value detected by the cv current detection circuit 14 is supplied to an adder 16 , which adds the detected value to a black level adjustment voltage supplied from exterior . thus , the output of the adder 16 becomes a signal ( a - point signal ) which results from the addition of the output voltage value of the cv current detection circuit 14 to the black level adjustment voltage . the a - point signal is supplied to the black level shift circuits 12 r , 12 g , 12 b . the black level shift circuits 12 r , 12 g , 12 b respectively shift the r signal , g signal and b signal according to the supplied a - point signal . the r signal , g signal and b signal , which have an offset amount controlled according to the total current of the organic el display panel 10 , are supplied to the organic el display panel 10 . accordingly , when the cv current ( icv ) exceeds the prescribed value , the black level shift circuit changes the prescribed value of the black level so to make black more black . as a result , current consumption ( cv current ) of the organic el display panel 10 does not exceed the predetermined value , and the prominence of black due to a change in temperature is restricted . the black level adjustment voltage is determined to display black as prescribed black when an image of such a low current that the cv current detection circuit 14 does not operate , namely an image having a low average luminance , is displayed . specifically , its value is determined by a prescribed inspection and stored in a system , and then read and input to the adder 16 . fig3 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between the cv current icv detected by the cv current detection circuit 14 and the a - point signal being output from the adder 16 . thus , the black level adjustment voltage remains constant until the cv current becomes icvl . when the cv current exceeds the icvl , the a - point signal becomes large in accordance with the cv current . as shown in fig4 , a resistor r 7 is disposed between the organic el display panel 10 and the cathode power supply cv . the voltage at the upper side of the resistor r 7 is input to the positive input terminal of an operational amplifier op 2 . a reference voltage v0 is input to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier op 2 via a resistor r 6 . besides , a feedback resistor r 5 is disposed between the output terminal and negative input terminal of the operational amplifier op 2 . output of the operational amplifier op 2 is input to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 via a resistor r 8 , a diode d and a resistor r 4 . the black level adjustment voltage is input to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 via a resistor r 3 . therefore , the output of the operational amplifier op 2 and the black level adjustment voltage are added , and the sum is input to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 . the resistors r 3 , r 4 are resistors for adjustment . a capacitor c 1 which has another end grounded is connected to the resistor r 8 and the diode d . the resistor r 8 and the capacitor c 1 constitute an integrator circuit , and a small time constant can be applied to the output from the op 2 . the image signal ( for example , an r signal ) is input to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 via a resistor r 1 . a feedback resistor r 2 is disposed between the output terminal and the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 . therefore , the r signal is reverse - amplified according to a ratio of the resistors r 1 , r 2 and shifted according to the voltage input to the positive input terminal so as to be output from the operational amplifier op 1 . the output is input to the rin of the organic el display panel 10 . thus , a signal a is obtained at the output of the operational amplifier op 2 . the resistor r 7 is a resistor for detecting the cv current ( icv ), and when the resistors r 5 and r 6 have resistance values satisfying the relationship by r 5 & gt ;& gt ; r 6 , the current detection circuit has a predetermined threshold value ( icvl ) which is expressed as follows : in this case , the drive tft 1 of the organic el panel 10 is a channel type , and the image signal shifted as described above is reversed . therefore , the signals before and after the operational amplifier op 1 have waveforms as shown in fig5 . when icv is low , the black level voltage of a point c has a prescribed value which is adjusted by the black level adjustment voltage , and when icv exceeds icvl , the black level voltage becomes high . thus , because the cv current icv becomes low , icv is stable in the vicinity of the icvl when r 5 & gt ;& gt ; r 6 . as seen in fig4 that only the circuit for the r signal is shown , but the same circuit is also provided for the g signal and the b signal . specifically , the operational amplifier op 1 and the resistors r 1 , r 2 are also disposed for the g signal and the b signal . the g signal is input to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 for the g signal , the b signal is input to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier op 1 for the b signal , the a - point signal is input to the respective positive input terminals , the output of the operational amplifier op 1 for the g signal is input to the gin , and the output of the operational amplifier op 1 for the b signal is input to bin . as described above , this embodiment can control the offset voltage to an appropriate level according to the total current of the organic el panel . thus , damage to the organic el panel due to an excessive amount of current flowing to it can be prevented . also , when vth of the organic el driving tft is lowered due to the temperature characteristics and other causes to make the current flowing to the panel exceed a prescribed value , an increase in current and prominence of black can be prevented . fig6 shows another embodiment . it shows that a low resistor r 10 is disposed between the power supply pvdd of the organic el panel 10 and the power supply vdd of the system . when icv increases , the low resistor r 10 has a large voltage drop ( r 10 * icv ), and the power supply pvdd lowers . because the voltage of the input image signal does not change , the voltage vgs between the gate and source of the drive tft 1 becomes small , and the drain current icv lowers . as a result , the same effect , which is obtained by increasing the input black level voltage , is obtained with the increase of icv . in this embodiment , the increase of icv is not suppressed abruptly as in the above - described embodiment , and when the input signal level changes from total black to total white , the operation characteristics become as shown in fig7 . specifically , a degree of increase in the current icv becomes smaller as total black changes to total white . thus , when an amount of current becomes large in the organic el panel 10 configured as shown in fig6 , the amount of current can be suppressed , and the organic el panel can be prevented from being damaged by an excessive amount of current flowing to it . when the vth of the organic el driving tft lowers due to the temperature characteristics and other causes and the current flowing to the organic el panel exceeds the prescribed value , the increase in current and the prominence of black can be suppressed . as described above , the offset voltage can be controlled on the basis of the total current of the organic el panel according to the present invention , and the organic el panel can be prevented from being damaged by an excessive amount of current flowing to it . also , when vth of the organic el driving tft lowers because of the temperature characteristics and other causes , the increase in current and prominence of black can be suppressed . in general , while there have been described what are at present considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that various modifications may be made thereto , and it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
while the invention has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims , which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures . therefore , the above description and illustration should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . referring to fig5 - 9 , embodiments of the present invention are shown . referring particularly to fig5 , there shown a block diagram of the ethernet device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the ethernet controller 103 does not drive the leds 14 . instead , the cpu or microcontroller 101 controls said leds 14 through pulse - width modulated ( pwm ) lines 130 . said leds 14 serve as status leds of the network - enabled device 100 . that is , they simultaneously play the roles of network leds and device leds . with pulse - width modulation , the brightness of leds can be controlled by varying the duty cycle of the generated square wave signal . it is contemplated that the cpu or microcontroller 101 will set maximum brightness of leds 14 according to the current network state . the data bus 102 connecting the cpu or microcontroller 101 to the ethernet controller 103 is used for data exchange between the two . additionally , the cpu or microcontroller 101 uses the data bus 102 to access the internal registers of the ethernet controller 103 . typical ethernet controllers have dozens of internal registers used for defining precise operating parameters of the ethernet interface , as well as for reading out the current state of the same . among these registers are typically registers that convey information about the current network state . conventionally , one of the registers of the ethernet controller 103 will have a link status bit that is set when a proper link is established between the ethernet device and another device , such as a network hub . the bit is cleared when the link is “ broken ”. in addition , there is typically a group of bits conveying other information pertaining to the mode of the established link : the bit rate at which the link is established ( 10 mb / s , 100 mb / s , or even 1000 mb / s ), full - duplex or half - duplex mode of link operation , and so on . the cpu or microcontroller 101 can periodically read ( poll ) the state of the above bits by accessing related registers of the ethernet controller 103 . the cpu or microcontroller 101 can then control the duty cycles on pwm lines 130 in accordance with the current network state . looking now at fig6 , there shown a waveform diagram of the pulse - width modulated signal on one of the pwm lines 130 . for the purpose of illustrating the operation of pwm lines 130 , it will be assumed that the waveform is for the pwm control line of the green status led . the waveform presented on fig6 shows a “ g - g ----- g - g -----” pattern already discussed earlier . the waveform example also assumes that the led is on ( emits light ) when the pwm line 130 is in high logical state ( positive control polarity , i . e . the higher the average voltage on the pwm line is , the brighter the led is ). presented on the diagram are two consecutive cycles — 200 and 201 — of the pattern . the brightness of said pattern display is made to depend on the current link status of the ethernet controller . the first cycle 200 is shown to be generated while the ethernet controller is in the linked state ; the second cycle 201 is shown to be generated while the ethernet controller is not in the linked state . looking at fig6 , those skilled in the art will immediately recognize pulse - width modulated waveform and the difference between the first and the second cycles of the pattern generation . when the ethernet link is established ( cycle 200 ) and at the moments of pattern generation when the led needs to be on , the duty cycle of the pwm output is set to 100 % or close to 100 %. this causes the led to flash at a maximum , or close to maximum , brightness . when the ethernet link is not established ( cycle 201 ) and at the moments of pattern generation when the led needs to be on , the duty cycle of the pwm output is set to a fraction of the maximum , for example , 30 %. as a result , the user will see the same pattern consisting of two led flashes followed by a gap , but the flashes of the led will not be as bright as during the first cycle 200 . it must be noted that the particular device state pattern (“ g - g ----- g - g -----”), as well as the relationship between the maximum led brightness and a particular aspect of the network state — the status of the link — are used herein only for illustrative purposes . those skilled in the art will immediately recognize that other patterns can be generated , the brightness of the led can be tied to some other aspect of the network state , the way in which the brightness of the led is selected to relate to a certain aspect of the network state may be different , and that the color and control polarity of the led can be changed without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention . referring particularly to fig7 , there shown a block diagram of the ethernet device according to the alternative embodiment of the present invention . in the alternative embodiment of the present invention , the cpu or microcontroller 101 does not control the leds 14 using pwm output lines . in the alternative embodiment of the present invention , the cpu or microcontroller uses digital - to - analog ( d / a ) output lines 140 to control individual brightness of each led 14 . looking now at fig8 , there shown a waveform diagram of the analog signal on one of the d / a output lines 140 . for the purpose of illustrating a wide variety of methods in which the present invention can be practiced , it is assumed that the led circuit has a negative control polarity ( the lower the voltage of the d / a line , the brighter the led is ). those skilled in the art will immediately understand that the brightness of the led during the second cycle of pattern generation will be lower than during the first cycle of pattern generation . referring particularly to fig9 , there shown a block diagram of the finished wireless device according to the third embodiment of the present invention . in the third embodiment of the present invention , the cpu of microcontroller 101 does not query the network state by reading the internal registers of the wireless controller 122 . in the third embodiment of the present invention , the network led control lines 106 of the wireless controller 122 are connected to the cpu or microcontroller 101 , and the latter can infer the current network state by polling the state of said network led control lines 106 , thus eliminating the need for reading the internal registers of the wireless controller 122 . the manner in which the third embodiment of the present invention operates is particularly important for wireless devices because many wireless modules constitute far more closed systems than their ethernet counterparts . for a variety of reasons , the option to query the network state through the data bus 102 may not be available , in which case the only solution is to directly sense the state of the network led control lines 106 . while the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments . on the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures . | 7 |
referring to figs . 1a and 1b , a stabilizing mechanism 10 embodying this invention is shown in radially expanded position relative to a well conduit 1 , which normally is a well casing . stabilizing mechanism 10 comprises a tubular housing 20 which is provided at its upper end with internal threads 20a for engagement with the bottom of a tool string . housing 20 is further provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced , vertically extending slots 20b . each slot receives a radially expandable linkage 22 comprising a pair of pivot arms 22a and 22b which are respectively pivotally mounted in the slots 20b by transverse pivot pins 20c and 20d . the medial portions of the pivot arms 22a and 22b are pivotally interconnected by a longitudinally extending link 22d which is secured to the pivot arms 22a and 22b by pivot pins 22e and 22f . the free ends of the links 22a and 22b respectively mount anti - friction devices , such as rollers 24a and 24b . an expansion link 22g is also secured at one end to the pivot pin 22f and the other end is pivotally secured to an axially shiftable force transmitting assemblage 26 by a pivot pin 22h . accordingly , when the force transmitting assemblage 26 is disposed in a downward position relative to the radially expansible linkages 22 , the linkages 22 are retracted to the position shown in fig2 a wherein all of the components of the linkage lie within the periphery of the housing 20 , and thus offer no opportunity for damaging contact with the conduit or casing wall as the stabilizer unit 10 is run into the well . a notch 22c in each link 22d clears pivot pin 20d in this position . each stabilizer linkage 22 is radially expanded to engage the rollers 24a and 24b with the bore wall of the casing 1 by upward movement of the force transmitting assemblage 26 . such force transmitting assemblage comprises an upper sleeve 26a lower end by one or more shear screws 26b to an intermediate sleeve element 27 . sleeve element 27 is secured by threads 27a to an extension tube 26c which extends downwardly and abuts against an upwardly facing internal shoulder 36c provided on an annular spring anchor 36 . an inner sleeve 28 is threadably secured by external threads 20f to the lower end portion 20e of the housing 20 . such threads are secured by a set screw 20g . the inner sleeve 28 cooperates with the extension sleeve 26c to define an annular chamber 42 within which the lower portion of the lower sleeve element 27 is sealably mounted by seals 27b and 27c . a plurality of peripherally spaced ports 28b are provided in the bottom end of extension sleeve 28 to permit well fluids to freely enter the interior of the extension sleeve 28 and hence the bore of the housing 20 . the bottom end of the extension sleeve 28 is provided with internal threads 28a for the mounting thereto of a lower portion of the particular tool string in which the stabilizer mechanism 10 is to be incorporated or , in this case where the stabilizer mechanism is at the bottom of the tool string , a flow deflector 30 may be inserted and secured to the bottom of the extension sleeve 28 by threads 28a and set screw 28c . a spring anchor ring 32 is secured adjacent to the bottom end of extension sleeve 28 by a snap ring 32a to provide a seat for an actuator spring 34 . the top of actuator spring 34 engages an annular spring seat 36 which has a seal 36b engaging the lower end of the actuating sleeve extension 26c . as mentioned , the bottom end of actuating sleeve extension 26c abuts an upwardly facing shoulder 36c provided on the annular spring seat 36 . spring seat 36 is slidably and sealably mounted within the annulus 42 by an outer seal 36a and an inner seal 36b . thus , when no restraints are imposed upon upward movement of the force transmitting mechanism 26 , the spring 34 moves the force transmitting assemblage 26 upwardly causing the radially expansible stabilizer linkages 22 to move outwardly to the position shown in fig . 1a where the anti - friction rollers 24a and 24b are in engagement with the bore wall of the well conduit . to maintain the radially expansible stabilizer linkages 22 in a contracted position during run - in , fusible bolts 40 ( shown only in dotted lines ) abuts one of the links incorporated in one of the expansible linkages 22 and effectively secures all linkages 22 within the body of the housing 20 . for example , fusible bolts 40 are shown as abutting pivot arm 22a . the melting point of fusible bolts 40 is selected to produce melting within a reasonable time , say ten to thirty minutes , after the fusible bolts are exposed to the ambient well temperatures existing at the location of the stabilizer mechanism 10 in the well . thus , during the entire run - in of the stabilizer mechanism 10 , the linkages 22 are in their retracted positions and do not move into engagement with the bore wall of the casing 1 until the fusible bolts 40 have melted by exposure to the downhole well temperatures . to prevent the expansible linkages 22 from rapidly expanding into engagement with the bore wall of the well conduit and thus possibly damaging the anti - friction roller elements 24a and 24b , the annulus 42 between the sleeve extensions 26c and 28 is utilized to define a dash pot chamber immediately above the spring seat 36 . an internally projecting rib 28e is formed on extension sleeve 28 and lies within the dash pot chamber 42 . the dash pot chamber 42 is filled with an appropriate fluid through a plug fill port ( not shown ) formed in the internally projecting rib 28e . a check valve 44 is provided comprising a ring 44b mounting an o - ring 44a which is urged into sealing engagement between the lower end of the annular rib 28e and the adjacent external surface 26k of the actuating sleeve extension 26c by a light spring 46 . spring 46 abuts an upwardly facing internal shoulder 36d provided on the upper spring seat 36 . it will therefore be apparent that the dash pot chamber 42 in reality comprises two vertically spaced chambers 42a and 42b separated by the annular rib 28e and the check valve 44 . a constricted orifice passage 28f is formed in the annular rib 28e to permit fluid to flow at a controlled rate from the lower chamber 42a into the upper chamber 42b . thus the upward movement of the force transmitting assemblage 26 , and hence the radial expansion of the stabilizer linkage 22 , will be controlled in accordance with the rate of fluid flow through the orifice passage 28f . on the other hand , when the tool string is withdrawn from the well , it is quite common for the anti - friction rollers 24a and 24b to contact internal ribs or other constrictions or obstructions formed on the bore wall of the well conduit . the anti - friction rollers 24a and 24b must be capable of rapid contraction movement in order to pass such obstructions without damage . this accomplished by the check valve 44 . when either anti - friction roller 24a or 24b encounters an obstruction , a downward force is applied to the force transmitting mechanism 26 . such downward force will cause a compression of the trapped fluid contained in the upper chamber 42b and the increased fluid pressure in such chamber will cause the check valve 44 to open to permit rapid fluid flow into lower chamber 42a and permit free downward movement of the force transmitting mechanism 26 , hence permitting free contacting movement of the stabilizer linkages 22 . the rollers 24a and 24b thus function to firmly and accurately hold the stabilizer housing in alignment with the axis of the well conduit , hence providing a centralizing action for the tubing string in which the stabilizer mechanism 10 is incorporated . despite the provisions for permitting the collapse of the stabilizing linkages 22 when encountering an obstruction through the opening of the check valve 44a , it sometimes happens that the check valve 44a will not function and thus the stabilizing linkages 22 become stuck in the well . the stabilizing linkage 22 may also become stuck in the well for a number of other reasons , such as an accumulation of particulars within or between the operating components , deviations in the well bore configuration . regardless of the cause , the stabilizing units may be released from such stuck condition through the application of upward jarring forces to the tubing string in which the stabilizing mechanism 10 is incorporated . such upward forces produce an upwardly directed shearing force on the shear pins 26b and effect the separation of the upper sleeve 26a of the force transmitting assemblage 26 from the lower sleeve 27 . thus , as illustrated in fig2 a , the upper force transmitting sleeve 26a can move downwardly relative to the tubular body 20 and permit the stabilizing linkages 22 to assume a retracted position . this ability to effect the retraction of the stabilizing linkages when an obstruction is encountered and the normal releasing apparatus does not function is obviously a desirable adjunct to this tool . although the invention has been described in terms of specified embodiments which are set forth in detail , it should be understood that this is by illustration only and that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto , since alternative embodiments and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the disclosure . accordingly , modifications are contemplated which can be made without departing from the spirit of the described invention . | 4 |
while the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions , certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed , but , on the contrary , the invention is to cover all modifications , alternative constructions , and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims . some of the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in fig1 through 7 . referring to fig1 there is shown a sterilization cassette 10 . sterilization cassette 10 includes a generally rectangular case 12 which is preferably made of metal such as stainless steel . other materials which are suitable to withstand the ultrasonic cleaning and sterilization process would also be acceptable to use in case 12 , such as other metals , plastics , ceramics , or other materials . case 12 includes a left side 14 , a right side 16 , a back side 18 , a front side 20 , a top side 22 , and a bottom side 24 . in the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 each of these sides have perforations 26 , which allow the passage of hot air , steam , ultrasonic cleaning fluid , and sterilization chemical vapors into and out of the sterilization cassette 10 . the case 12 includes a plier mounting bar 28 which extends from right side 16 to left side 14 . plier mounting bar 28 would typically be a metal bar covered by teflon ® cylinders 30 . the teflon ® cylinders 30 would preferably be color coded to allow fast identification of dental pliers , and accurate replacement in the rack after use . the teflon ® cylinders 30 are separated by metal disks 32 , which form individual positions for dental pliers 34 . dental pliers 34 can include a number of plier - like instruments , and specifically include hard wire cutters , bird &# 39 ; s beak pliers , three - prong pliers , ligature cutters , adjustment pliers , weingart pliers , hemostats , and other plier - like dental hand tools . an instrument tray 36 is also provided , and other small dental instruments 38 are placed in instrument tray 36 . dental instruments 38 can include a number of instruments such as mirrors , picks , scrapers , files , scalpels , and other small hand tools . the teflon ® cylinders 30 and the metal disks 32 , form plier mounting positions . the sterilization cassette 10 also includes a plier locking bar 40 which is attached to front side 20 of case 12 . plier locking bar 40 is a bar which extends from a first bracket 42 to a second bracket 44 , each of which is attached to front side 20 . plier locking bar 40 would typically be a metal bar which is covered by a teflon ® covering . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , case 12 includes a first hinge 46 and a second hinge 48 . in this embodiment of the invention , first hinge 46 and second hinge 48 are piano hinges and divide front side 20 into three portions . these portions are best seen in fig5 . first hinge 46 divides front cover 20 into a top front side 50 and a mid front side 52 . second hinge 48 divides front cover 20 into another side , a bottom front side 54 . referring again to fig1 sterilization cassette 10 further includes plier handle divider 56 . sterilization cassette 10 also includes a tool slot 58 , into which larger tools such as hemostats or forceps may be placed for sterilization . by utilizing the double hinge configuration of sterilization cassette 10 , sterilization cassette 10 may be configured in a number of ways to suit the needs of the user . fig1 shows sterilization cassette 10 arranged in a vertical configuration , so that dental pliers 34 or dental instruments 38 may be removed or replaced in their positions in a horizontal configuration . fig2 shows sterilization cassette 10 in a vertical configuration , with front side 20 folded into a configuration which provides a tray below the tools of the open cassette . fig3 shows the sterilization cassette 10 in horizontal configuration , and in this configuration , tools would be presented to the practitioner in a horizontal rather than a vertical format . in the horizontal configuration , the front side 20 can also be folded to various configurations . one configuration is shown in fig3 and another configuration of front side 20 is shown in fig4 . fig5 shows the sterilization cassette 10 in an almost closed configuration , in which top front side 50 is open only slightly . fig6 shows a transfer rack 60 . this particular transfer rack is configured with four trays , and the number of trays would vary according to the size of the sterilization oven . a typical sterilization oven is shown in fig7 and includes a transfer rack 60 with four sterilization cassettes 10 . in fig7 one of the sterilization cassettes 10 is shown wrapped in a membrane 64 . one option for sterilizing instruments in the sterilization cassettes 10 is to cover the sterilization cassettes 10 with a membrane 64 which allows the passage of gases , which is stable in the heat in the sterilization chamber , and which is impermeable to microbes . a membrane 64 could be folded around a sterilization cassette 10 , much like the wrapping of a gift . the membrane 64 could also be in the form of a bag with a sealable closure . the oven shown in fig4 is similar to a popular type of sterilization oven such as the dentronix 5000 . there are a number of configurations of sterilization cassettes , some of them with polygonal chambers , and transfer rack 60 can be adapted for different sizes and configurations of sterilization ovens 62 . fig7 shows sterilization oven 62 with the oven door 66 open . while there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention , it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims . from the foregoing description , it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . | 0 |
the described and illustrated embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only preferred embodiments have been shown and / or described and that all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the inventions as defined in the claims are desired to be protected . fig1 a shows a substrate 1 with a trench 2 formed thereon bounded by one or more side - walls 3 and a bottom surface 4 . in fig1 b , a self - assemblable a - b block copolymer with hydrophilic a ( hatched ) and hydrophobic b ( unhatched ) blocks has been deposited into the trench to form a layer 5 with alternating stripes of a and b domains which have deposited as a lamellar phase separated into discrete micro - separated periodic domains during deposition of the bcp . in fig1 c , the type a domains have been removed by selective removal , leaving the type b domains as a number of regularly spaced rows of lithography features 6 . selective removal may be achieved , for example , by chemical etching , which may be achieved due the relative susceptibility towards etching , with the a block being relatively prone to etching , while the b block is relatively resistant to etching . selective removal may be achieved , for instance , by selective photo - degradation or photo - cleavage of a linking agent between blocks of the copolymer and subsequent solubilization of one of the blocks . an embodiment allows for formation , onto a substrate , of rows of regularly spaced lithography features , positioned side - by side along a substrate , using a self - assembled bcp to provide features which are hence closely spaced and small in size . in an embodiment ( not illustrated ), the etching ( or other removal process ) may etch into the substrate 1 . following this the type b domain may be removed , leaving behind regularly spaced rows of lithography features formed in the substrate . in a modification to the embodiment shown , one or more side - walls of the trench may have a higher chemical affinity for one of the blocks of the bcp . for example in a trench for aligning a di - block copolymer having a and b blocks , where a is hydrophobic and b is hydrophilic in nature , the trench may comprise hydrophobic resist side - wall features , with a neutral orientation base therebetween . the a domain may preferentially assemble alongside the hydrophobic resist features , with several alternating domains of a and b blocks aligned over the neutral orientation base between the resist features of the trench . fig2 a shows a substrate 1 upon which rows of regularly spaced lithography features 6 have been positioned using a self - assembled bcp . three rows of lithography features have been formed in a trench 2 , each feature having a certain pitch denoted by “ x ”. as mentioned above , pitch is defined as the width of one repeat unit of the lithography feature , as represented on the diagram by the dashed lines down the center of the two leftmost features . in fig2 b , the width of the trench has been increased slightly , such that the number of rows of features formed is the same but such that the pitch of each feature ( denoted by “ y ”) has been increased with respect to the pitch of the features in fig2 a . in fig2 c the width of the trench has been expanded further , here the number of rows of features formed has increased to four , while the pitch of each feature ( denoted by “ z ”) has reduced to a value similar to that of fig2 a ( i . e . z is approximately equal to x ). fig3 shows a substrate 1 upon which rows of regularly spaced lithography features 6 have been positioned using a self - assembled bcp in a similar manner to fig1 . in fig3 cylindrical domains are formed instead of the lamellar domains of fig1 . a self - assemblable a - b block copolymer with a ( hatched ) and b ( unhatched ) blocks is deposited into the trench to form a layer 5 . as shown in fig3 b , the width of the trench has been increased slightly , such that the number of rows of features formed is the same but such that the pitch of each feature has been increased with respect to the pitch of the features in fig3 a ( in the same way as shown with lamellar domains in fig2 ). in fig3 c , the type b domain of fig3 b have been removed by selective etching , leaving the type a domains as a number of regularly spaced rows of lithography features 6 . small portions of b domain located directly beneath the a domains remain after etching . fig4 shows a particular application of the method in which the lithography features produced in the manner demonstrated in fig1 to 3 have been used to construct a finfet 7 . the finfet comprises multiple conducting channels 8 ( referred to as fins ) wrapped by a gate 9 . in this embodiment the lithography features ( represented as 6 in fig1 ) have been used directly as the finfet conducting channels , and a gate 9 has been placed over the channels to complete the construction of the finfet . although fig4 shows a finfet having three fins , embodiments of the invention may be used to create finfets having other numbers of fins ( e . g . two fins , four fins , five fins , six fins , or more ). for any given number of fins , the separation between adjacent fins may be selected via appropriate selection of the width of the trench in which the fins are formed ( in the manner explained above in relation to fig2 and 3 ). the fins may , for example , have a pitch of down to around 20 nm , and may for example have a pitch of down to around 10 nm . the fins may , for example , have a pitch of up to around 40 nm . fig5 is a schematic representation of a device layout , demonstrating that multiple areas of finfets ( as represented by ( a ), ( b ) and ( c )) can be produced on a single device ( e . g . an integrated circuit ) using a method described herein . each area of finfets may comprise finfets having a particular threshold voltage or other property . thus , for example , areas ( a ) and ( b ) may both comprise finfets having three fins , but with different fin separations . the threshold voltage for finfets in area ( a ) may therefore be different from the threshold voltage for finfets in area ( b ). area ( c ) may for example comprise finfets having four fins . the number of fins affects the transistor drive current ( ion ) strength , and this in turn has an effect on transistor switching characteristics such as switching frequency . the separation of the fins of the finfets in area ( c ) may , for example , be the same as the separation of the fins in area ( a ), or the separation of the fins in area ( b ), or may be some other separation . the device layout shown in fig5 is formed using a single process step ( i . e . there is no need to project successive patterns onto the substrate in order to obtain the device layout ). in general , an embodiment of the invention allows fabrication of lithographic features having different separations ( or pitches ) using a single lithographic process of a substrate . an embodiment of the invention allows fine adjustment of the separations ( or pitches ) of the lithographic features ( e . g . as schematically shown in fig2 and 3 ). fig5 and associated description is merely an example . an integrated circuit having a different number of areas of finfets may be made using an embodiment of the invention . finfets in different areas may have fins with different separations and / or may have different numbers of fins . additionally , in each area the threshold voltage can be adjusted by changing the separation between gates ( in the same way that the separation between fins is used to change the threshold voltage ). in order to evaluate the effect of increasing trench width on both row pitch and number of rows , a number of trenches of different widths were experimentally formed . silicon wafers were coated with an antireflective coating ( layer thickness of 93 nm ) and subsequently with resist ( layer thickness of 100 nm ) before exposure . after a post - exposure bake for 60 seconds at 100 ° c ., the resist was developed using negative tone development to create a pattern of trenches on the wafer . the wafer was then subjected to an additional bake for 10 minutes at 190 ° c . negative tone development was used to create resist patterns having good resistance against both annealing temperatures of the bcp and the solvent in which the bcp was dissolved . after the development step a polystyrene - b - methylmethacrylate ( pspmma ) bcp ( p2784 - smma , 37 . 0 - b - 16 . 8 , polydispersity index 1 . 07 ) ( layer thickness outside resist features is 40 nm ) was applied via spin coating from a toluene solution ( bcp concentration between 0 . 5 and 2 . 5 wt %) and the coated layer was dried at 90 ° c . for 2 min . the wafer was annealed in an oven at around 200 ° c . for 30 minutes under a nitrogen atmosphere . after the bcp annealing , the wafer was etched on a reactive ion etch tool for 40 seconds , resulting in complete removal of the pmma phase . rows of regularly spaced cylindrical phase lithography features lying substantially perpendicular to the substrate were formed in the trenches . the row pitch and number of rows were measured in each case using standard automated metrology scanning electron microscope ( sem ), and the results are shown in fig6 . fig6 demonstrates that small increases in trench width can cause the row pitch to increase ( stretch ) up until a point . still further increases in trench width may then be sufficient to cause the number of domains formed to increase , at which point the pitch of each domain returns to approximately an unstretched state , i . e . the pitch decreases to accommodate the additional domain . for example , and reading from fig6 , a trench having a width of approximately 50 to 70 nm will preferentially form an ordered layer having two rows of features ; with the pitch of these features ranging from approximately 22 nm to 27 nm ( greater pitches corresponding to wider trench widths ). a trench having a width of approximately 70 nm to 90 nm , however , will preferentially form an ordered layer having three rows of features ; with the pitch of these features ranging from approximately 23 to 28 nm . it should be noted that , although the lithography features were formed lying substantially perpendicular to the substrate , similar behavior is expected to be observed for features lying substantially perpendicular to the substrate . although in the above example the trenches are formed in resist , the trenches may be formed in any suitable material . for example , the trenches may be formed in the substrate ( having been transferred from resist into the substrate ). alternatively , the trenches may be formed in a film stack deposited on the substrate surface . it will be appreciated that aspects of the invention can be implemented in any convenient form . for example , an embodiment of the invention may be implemented by one or more appropriate computer programs which may be carried on appropriate carrier media which may be tangible carrier media ( e . g . disks ) or intangible carrier media ( e . g . communications signals ). an aspect of the invention may be implemented using a suitable apparatus which may specifically take the form of programmable computer running a computer program arranged to implement an embodiment of the invention . | 6 |
referring to the drawings , wherein like reference numbers refer to like elements , fig1 illustrates a block diagram showing the configuration of this invention . specifically , it illustrates an input data display device 1 which includes an input unit 2 for entering the relative corrections for input parameters ; a display 3 , a central processor 4 which preferably consists of a microcomputer ( although any suitable processor may be employed ); a memory 5 , in which the operating program for the cpu 4 and other various data are stored ; a transmission unit 6 , which acts to transmit the data ; and an operating unit 9 . in the illustrated embodiment , the input device 1 is connected to a temperature controller 11 , in order to control the temperature of the furnace 10 . however , it is contemplated that the input device 1 can be employed to control any suitable device . the input unit 2 can be of any construction . a preferable construction however involves a transparent laminated resistive sheet for the x / y coordinates and a film electrode sheet under the resistive sheet . such construction effectively creates a digitizer . such a digitizer would produce a signal encoding the coordinates of the position when the pressure produced by , for example , an operator &# 39 ; s finger touching that point , is detected . the cathode ray tube ( crt ) 3 is the preferred display device although any conventionally known display can be used . the aforesaid input unit 2 is installed on top of the crt 3 to form a single unit . this combined unit , with its screen capable of receiving input as well as for display , constitutes the device to input the relative corrections . the cpu 4 serves as the device which computes the relative values for correction . the cpu 4 receives the input position data from input unit 2 and computes from these data the relative corrected values to output for each parameter . in addition , it controls display on the crt 3 of the relative corrections of each parameter in a manner which shows how those corrections are correlated . finally , the cpu 4 sends output values to the transmission unit 6 and then causes these values to be transmitted from unit 6 to the temperature controller 11 . with reference to the flowchart in fig2 the operations of input device 1 are shown and the current state displays of the device are shown in fig3 and 4 . in the exemplified application , the current state of control of the temperature of furnace 10 , as mediated by temperature controller 11 , is as follows : ( a ) there is no hunting ; ( b ) there is a considerable overshoot ; and ( c ) the response is slightly defective . as a result , the operator must make ( a ) a large correction in the overshoot and ( b ) a small correction in the response . no correction in hunting is necessary . before any correction data are input , the initial display ( shown in fig3 ) appears on the screen ( step 1 ). this display shows the distribution of correlated degrees of control applied to the various parameters . as shown in fig3 in the center of the screen 30 is a slightly flattened circle e with an origin g . radiating from origin g are overshoot axis a , response axis b and hunting axis c , which roughly divide the circle into three segments . origin g represents zero relative correction for each of the axes a , b and c . the points where the axes meet the periphery of the circle e represent maximum relative corrections . input unit 2 , which as described with reference to fig1 is mounted on the surface of crt 3 , has fixed coordinate positions which match those of circle e , origin g and axes a , b and c . using this input data display device , and the above control conditions , the user desires to make a large correction in the overshoot and a small correction in the response . the operator will then press point p on the surface of input unit 2 ( step 2 ). this point is in the area in circle e between overshoot axis a and response axis b . it is close to overshoot axis a ( thus representing a small correction in the response axis b ) and near the periphery of the circle e for that axis as well . the position to press is chosen intuitively to correspond to the desired correction . pressing the screen 3 causes the input unit 2 to generate a signal which represents the coordinates of the position that was pressed . when this signal is generated , the spot which was touched is displayed on crt 3 ( step 3 ). vector t , which has origin g as its starting point and the coordinate position as its endpoint , is analyzed into its vector components in order to calculate relative correction value p a for overshoot and relative correction value p b for response . these relative correction values are then further refined , and finally output - ready relative correction values are calculated as integer values from 1 through 5 ( step 4 ). in this example , the final relative correction value for the overshoot parameter is 30 &# 34 ; 3 ,&# 34 ; and for the response parameter is &# 34 ; 1 .&# 34 ; based on these output values for relative correction , the crt 3 displays , as shown in fig4 three black triangles m on overshoot axis a and one black triangle on the response axis b to represent the relative correction values ( step 5 ). when the operator views the display , if he believes that the above degree of correction values , are the appropriate ones to rectify the current state of control , he uses the operating unit 9 to initiate a &# 34 ; transmit data &# 34 ; command ( step 6 ). this command causes the relative correction value corresponding to the display to be sent to the data transmission unit ( step 7 ). the correction values are then transmitted to temperature controller 11 . if the operator on viewing the display feels that the values are not correct , he uses the operating unit 9 to initiate a &# 34 ; reset &# 34 ; command ( step 8 ). this will cause the crt screen to resume its initial display , and he can then input different relative corrections . as a consequence with input unit 2 , pressing a single spot makes it possible for a number of properly correlated relative correction values to be output to the temperature controller 11 . furthermore , these values can be confirmed by crt 3 before being output . these relative correction values , then , offer an effective way to rectify the state of control . in the embodiment discussed above , data were input via a digitizer overlaid on the screen of crt 3 . however , it would also be possible to use either a mouse , key input , or move a cursor to enter the correction data . furthermore , the input data display device 1 is usually separate from the devices to which it is connected , such as a temperature controller 11 . however , the present invention can include an input data display device 1 which is built into the controlled equipment . referring now to fig5 the graph display operation performed by crt 3 in the example discussed above , is shown . this display operation can be performed before the relative correction values discussed above have been output . it is initiated by a &# 34 ; display graph &# 34 ; command input via the operating unit 9 . the graph of fig5 is based on temperature variation data associated with the state of control ( for example , control temperature , heating temperature and ambient temperature ), which are received from the temperature controller 11 . specifically , fig5 shows a graphic display with three sets of temperature data , ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ), which were received from the temperature controller 11 . the dotted line l on the screen erases whatever vertical line ( x coordinate n ) is written in and writes in a new vertical line l on the line where the old data are written , one line width to the right ( x coordinate : n + 1 ). the latest data received are written in where the vertical line was erased ( x coordinate : n ). fig6 is a flowchart illustrating the operations for generating the graph of fig5 . if the graph has a grid line v in the location where the vertical line was erased in step 1 , this grid line v is written in as step 2 . line y indicates the reference level . as the operation described in steps 1 to 4 is performed repeatedly , vertical line l moves from left to right on the screen as time elapses . as line l moves , the old data are replaced by the most recent data . this type of display allows the display of data graphically over time with minimum rewriting . as explained , this invention has a graphic display which allows the operator to use his intuition to input correlated relative corrections for a number of parameters . this system makes it easy to obtain properly correlated relative corrections for each of the parameters . it allows relative correction values to be determined in a correlative fashion without requiring a high degree of operator skill . furthermore , displaying the relative values allows the displayed data to be verified , thus enabling the operator to determine the relative corrections more accurately . although only a preferred embodiment is specifically illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention . | 6 |
illustrative embodiments of the invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the drawing . in fig1 a microscope 1 is diagrammatically indicated by a dotted line and comprises a condenser 2 and an objective 3 . this is an inverted microscope . a compound stage 4 is movably mounted in known manner in that microscope . the mounting means are diagrammatically indicated at 47 . the microscope 1 is mounted on a stand 48 . the compound stage 4 is adjustable relative to the line of view between 2 and 3 by two first drive means 5 , 6 ( fig2 ). the mounting means 47 include guides 49 for the compound stage . said guides 49 may consist in known manner of crossing rails . the two first drive means comprise , for instance , spindles 53 , 54 for moving the compound stage 4 along the guides 49 . said first drive means 5 , 6 also comprise two reversible motors and are mounted in fixed positions in the stand of the microscope 1 . the spindles 53 , 54 may also constitute the carrying means . by the adjustment that is effected by the two first drive means 5 , 6 a cell 7 , which in addition to numerous other cells is provided on the compound stage 4 , is moved into the line of view between the condenser 2 and the objective 3 . an actuator 8 is mounted on the compound stage and may be integral with the compound stage or may rigidly be connected to the compound stage 4 by mounting means 9 . a holder 10 which holds a cannula 11 is movably mounted on the actuator . that cannula is inclined to the compound stage , desirably at an angle of 45 °. the cannula 11 has a tip 12 , which serves also as a pointer and by drive means can be adjusted to a position over the core 13 of the selected cell 7 . said drive means for aligning the pointer that is constituted by the tip with the cell may be constituted by the drive means for the compound stage or by the second drive means 14 , 15 , 16 of the actuator 8 which serve to operate the holder 10 . said two drives may be combined with each other . in a basic embodiment the pointer which is constituted by the tip of the cannula is normally in a predetermined position and the compound stage 4 is adjusted during an observation through the microscope to such a position that the pointer is disposed over a cell core 13 . the subsequent movements are imparted to the cannula by the second drive means 14 , 15 , 16 . fig1 shows one of the second drive means 16 , which serves for the adjustment in height , and another second drive means 15 for imparting to the cannula 11 a movement which is parallel to the stage 4 and in the direction of the projection of the cannula 11 on a plane that is parallel to the stage 4 . the actuator 8 , the holder 10 and the cannula 11 are diagrammatically shown in fig2 . two second drive means 14 , 15 are provided for imparting movements at right angles to each other in the x - y plane , which is parallel to the plane of the stage 4 . the first drive means 5 , 6 and the second drive means 14 , 15 can be used to adjust the tip 12 of the cannula 11 relative to a cell which is provided on the compound stage . if only the drive means 5 , 6 are used for that purpose , it will be sufficient in the illustrated embodiment to provide in the actuator 8 as second drive means only one drive means 15 for imparting to the cannula 11 a movement in the direction of the projection of the cannula and second drive means 16 for imparting a movement in the direction z at right angles to the x - y plane which is defined by the drives 14 , 15 . the supplemental matter which is shown in fig2 in addition to fig1 comprises the second drive means 14 , which are included in the actuator 8 and serve to move the cannula 11 in the x - y plane . the second drive means 14 , 15 , 16 suitably consist also of reversible electric motors , which are connected in circuit in conventional manner and provided with reversing switch means . it will be understood that an interposed carriage 50 is provided between the cross - slide that is provided with the drive means 14 , on the one hand , and the part which is adjustable in height . said interposed carriage 50 may be provided on various sides with guide means which extend at right angles to each other . special guide means for guiding the holder 10 relative to the actuator 8 are not shown in fig1 and may consist in the usual manner of undercut tracks , rails or the like , just as the slide tracks for the compound stage and the other slide tracks which will be described with reference to fig4 . besides , the holder 10 is connected to a merely diagrammatically indicated adjusting device 25 for adjusting the angle between the cannula 11 and the compound stage 4 . that adjusting device 25 is shown more clearly in fig4 . in the position shown in fig1 the tip 12 of the cannula 11 has an elevation z 1 over the compund stage 4 . the plane z 1 is disposed above the cell 7 . another variable is defined by a plane z 0 , which is shown in fig1 and is also disposed over the compound stage 4 but intersects the cell core 13 . it is apparent that the tip 12 of the cannula 11 is movable in a plane having the elevation z 1 to a position over the cell core 13 and this can be observed through the microscope . in fig1 a supply line 18 and a supply vessel 19 for supplying the substance to be examined to the cannula are merely formally shown . a function line 18 is indicated , which serves to transmit control signals for the second drive means and possibly also to the adjusting device 25 . as a result of an observation or of experience , a plane which is parallel to the compound stage 4 , i . e ., to the supporting surface of said stage , is adjusted to such an elevation that said plane intersects the core 13 of a cell disposed on that supporting surface . this adjustment is effected to permit the process to be carried out and the apparatus to be operated . when the cannula 11 has been moved to a position in which its tip 12 has arrived at the center of the cell core 13 , i . e ., has reached the plane thus defined , said movement of the cannula is arrested and a setback movement is initiated . this will be explained more in detail hereinafter , particularly with reference to fig3 . each of fig3 a ) to 3c ) shows a portion of the compound stage 4 with the cell 7 having the core 13 . the tip 12 of the cannula 11 is disposed over the cell core in a plane which is spaced a distance z 1 over the supporting surface of the compound stage 4 . that plane will be designated z 1 . fig3 a ) to 3c ) show also a plane z 0 which intersects the cell core 13 . fig3 a ) shows the tip 12 of the cannula 11 in a position over the cell core 13 . the tip 12 of the cannula 11 has been observed in accordance with fig1 as it was adjusted to that position . after that adjustment the holder 10 shown in fig1 and the cannula 11 are moved in a direction which is parallel to the plane of the compound stage 4 by a distance 17 in a given direction , e . g ., in the direction x , to a position in which the tip 12 &# 39 ; will axially puncture the cell core 13 when the cannula 11 is axially moved by a simultaneous operation , e . g ., of the drive means 15 and 16 ( fig3 c ). the setback movement is imparted by one of the drive motors 14 and 15 in dependence on the association . the puncturing movement is imparted to the cannula by a simultaneous operation of the drive means 15 , 16 ( fig5 ). that puncturing movement is limited in that the drive means for imparting an axial forward movement are deenergized as soon as the tip 12 has arrived at the plane z 0 , as has been explained hereinbefore . that limit has been stored in the control unit 35 ( fig4 ), which causes the control device 37 to initiate the movements . it is also possible to effect a reversal and another adjusting movement by which the tip 12 used as a pointer is moved in a plane z 1 relative to the compound stage 4 by the drive means 14 , 15 to a position at the vertical projection of another cell core 13 on the compound stage 4 . fig3 shows a cannula which extends at an angle of 45 ° to the compound stage . in that embodiment the distance between the planes z 1 and z 0 equals the distance 17 , as is particularly distinctly apparent from fig3 ). in that case the cannula 11 will be moved at 45 ° to the table 4 by the simultaneously imparted movements in the vertical and horizontal d rections and will axially puncture the cell core 13 . fig4 shows a stage 4 , e . g ., of a microscope . that stage carries the actuator 8 , which is connected to the stage 4 by a mounting device 9 , which can be clamped to the stage 4 , e . g ., by a setting head 26 . that stage 4 may also consist of an independent unit provided with the actuator 8 and the associated parts . the actuator 8 comprises three second drive means 14 , 15 , 16 for imparting the movements which have been described . a practical embodiment is shown in fig4 . an angular adjustment can be imparted to the holder 10 and the cannula 11 by the adjusting device 25 , which is provided for that purpose with an adjusting knob 27 . a guiding subassembly 28 is secured to the base 51 of the actuator 8 and comprises track rails 29 , which extend parallel to the stage and serve to guide a carriage 30 , which is indicated by dotted lines and can be laterally displaced by the second drive means 14 in parallel to the guiding subassembly . the carriage 30 is provided with vertical track rail arrays 52 for a guiding subassembly 31 , which is associated with the second drive means 16 , which serve to impart a movement in the direction z . a cantilever which extends at right angles to the guiding subassembly 31 is carried by the latter and is provided with a diagrammatically indicated rail track 55 for a third subassembly 33 , which is movable in a direction which is parallel to the plane of the stage but at right angles to the direction of movement that is defined by the guiding subassembly 28 . for that purpose the third guiding subassembly is moved by the second guide means 15 as is shown in fig2 . a simple embodiment of the actuator 8 is shown in fig4 and is connected by the control line 34 to control units 35 , which serve to control a microscope or the movement of a compound stage 4 . said control units comprise also the switch means for controlling the drive means or their motors . a control device 37 is connected by a functional link 36 and is provided with a hand lever 38 , which is movable to different angular positions to initiate a movement in the direction x , y . such joystick controls are known . a movement in the direction z can be initiated by a rotation or depression of an element that is provided on the control handle 39 . a lever 40 may be adjustable to determine whether the drive means associated with the compound stage 4 or those included in the actuator 8 will be operated . as is apparent from the circuit diagram in fig5 the actuator 8 has associated with it a control subassembly 41 , which accommodates the three second drive means 14 , 15 , 16 or , if these are spatially separated , as is shown in fig4 the correspondingly number switching means , which in that case are connected by control lines to the drive means . this is diagrammatically indicated by the combined control line 34 . it is apparent that actuating levers 42 , 43 are associated with the second drive means 14 , 15 for imparting movements in the directions x , y . said levers 42 , 43 permit said second drive means 14 , 15 to be separately energized . in the embodiment shown in fig4 said actuating levers are accommodated in the control device 37 and associated with the control handle 39 . that remark is also applicable to the part 44 . the second drive means 16 for imparting a movement in the direction z is connected to a measuring device 24 , which comprises an adjusting lever 44 for adjusting the distance between the planes z 0 and z 1 . the second drive means 16 is operable in dependence on that adjustment . in that embodiment , the second drive means 15 , 16 are interconnected by a control loop 45 , which is provided with control device 46 , which is manually operable to disconnect all other individual power lines leading to the drive means 15 and 16 and for energizing the second drive means 15 and 16 for an operation at the same speed only when the cannula is arranged at an angle of 45 ° in view of the explanations furnished hereinbefore . particularly the second drive means 15 , 16 are reversible because when the tip 12 of the cannula 11 has arrived at the plane z 0 the measuring device 24 will automatically effect a reversal and a return movement of the tip 12 of the cannula to the plane z 1 . in the embodiment of the actuator 8 shown in fig4 the guiding subassemblies 28 , 31 and 33 can be moved along the associated rails by respective rack - and - pinion drives , the pinion of which is driven by one of the drive means . | 2 |
reference will now be made in detail to embodiments , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the embodiments will be described in conjunction with the drawings , it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the embodiments . on the contrary , the embodiments are intended to cover alternatives , modifications and equivalents . furthermore , in the following detailed description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding . however , it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known methods , procedures , components , and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments . for expository purposes , the terms “ axially ” or “ axial direction ” refer to a direction along a centerline axis length of a shaft , e . g ., along centerline axis 101 of shaft 140 in fig1 , and “ radially ” or “ radial direction ” refer to a direction perpendicular to the centerline axis 101 . the term “ horizontal ” as used herein refers to a plane parallel to the plane or surface of an object , regardless of its orientation . the term “ vertical ” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal as just defined . terms such as “ above ,” “ below ,” “ bottom ,” “ top ,” “ side ,” “ higher ,” “ lower ,” “ upper ,” “ over ,” and “ under ” are referred to with respect to the horizontal plane . embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for reducing relative radial motion between the head and a given data track . embodiments described herein are particularly effective at reducing relative radial motion at certain frequencies , e . g ., 1000 hz or higher , that do not follow a repeating pattern but are not limited thereto . for example , radial motion of the disk and data tracks caused by a phenomenon known as windage is reduced . accordingly , amplitudes of disk modes are reduced , thereby enabling the track density to increase . several disk modes may get excited by windage pressure fluctuations acting on their surfaces . lower order modes occurring at lower frequencies may result in larger motions that adversely impact the servo system &# 39 ; s ability to track . some disk modes may be referred to as 0 , 0 mode ( also known as the umbrella mode ) and 0 , 1 mode ( also known as the tilting mode ). in the umbrella mode , the disks become umbrella - shaped , for example due to windage , and in the tilting mode the disks on the opposite sides of the disk outer edge move in the axial direction out of phase with one another . in other words , in tilting mode the outer edges of the disks on each side move in opposite directions , which is modulated by the rotational speed and manifested in two vibration modes . referring now to fig1 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor is shown , in which embodiments can be implemented . the fluid dynamic motor 100 includes a sleeve 110 , a hub 120 , a base 130 , a shaft 140 , magnets 150 , and a stator 160 . axial direction 101 shows a centerline axis . data storage disks ( not shown ) may be rotated at high speeds during operation using the magnets 150 and the stator 160 . magnets 150 may be mounted on the hub 120 and may interact with the stator 160 to cause rotation of the hub 120 relative to the stator 160 . the magnets 150 may be magnetized to form two or more magnetic poles . the fluid dynamic bearing motor 100 includes stationary component ( s ) as well as rotatable component ( s ) that define a fluid dynamic journal bearing and a thrust bearing therebetween . the rotatable component may include the hub portion 120 and the shaft 140 while the stationary component may include the sleeve 110 . for example , the hub 120 and shaft 140 may be coupled with one another to form a single unitary piece , such that they rotate together about the centerline axis 101 . alternatively , the hub 120 and the shaft 140 may be originally formed from a single piece of material . the interface between the shaft 140 and the sleeve 110 may define the fluid dynamic journal bearing while the interface between the hub 120 and the sleeve 110 may define the thrust bearing . it is appreciated that the rotatable component may be the sleeve 110 while the stationary components may include the hub 120 and the shaft 140 . the sleeve 110 , the hub 120 , the shaft 140 , the magnets 150 , and the stator 160 are coupled to and housed in the base 130 . the disks are supported on a hub and their rotation is supported by the fluid dynamic bearing to dampen axial and tilting motions . in other words , the axial and tilting motions of disk modes may transfer energy to the supporting motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing . the axial and tilting motions may be exacerbated in systems with more than one disk , for example from windage pushing and pulling on the upper and lower surfaces of the disks at the same time . in order for dampening to occur , the axial and tilting motions of the individual disks should cause axial , radial , or tilting of the hub 120 and shaft 140 with respect to the sleeve 110 . accordingly , some of the kinetic energy is dissipated in the bearing and transformed into heat . however , higher order disk vibration modes in multi - disk system may cancel each other out . the cancelation occurs if the vibration modes are substantially identical in frequency and amplitude but of opposite direction . in other words the cancelation causes substantially a net zero relative motion between hub and shaft with respect to sleeve . with substantially net zero relative motion , the bearing may not dampen the disks vibration modes . for example , trapped air between the disks undergoes pressure fluctuations and forces the disks to move in unison but in opposite directions . accordingly , the deflection force couples within the hub and not through the fluid dynamic bearing as intended . thus , the disk vibration resulting from the axial and tilting movements is not dampened . in other words , higher order disk vibration modes couple directly to the spindle hub , bypassing the fluid dynamic bearing , thereby increasing the likelihood of read / write errors . referring now to fig2 , effect of windage on the disks coupled to the fluid dynamic motor with a spacer is shown , in accordance with one embodiment . the fluid dynamic motor 100 may be coupled to an upper disk 210 and a lower disk 220 . the fluid dynamic motor 100 may include a spacer ring 201 that is coupled to the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 and is further coupled to the hub 120 . it is appreciated that showing of only an upper and a lower disk is for illustration purposes only and not intended to limit the scope . for example , three or more disks may be coupled to the fluid dynamic motor . in this example , a tilting mode is illustrated caused by the windage force . as described above , disk rotation at high frequencies , e . g ., between 1000 hz to 5000 hz , may cause the upper disk 210 outer edges to move in opposite directions . similarly , disk rotation at high frequencies may cause the lower disk 220 outer edges to move in opposite directions . it is noteworthy that the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 move in opposite directions of one another . as such , the fluid dynamic bearing is bypassed if unaddressed . it is appreciated that at the umbrella mode , the upper disk 210 outer edges may move in the same direction , e . g ., move up , while the lower disk 220 outer edges may move in the opposite direction of the upper disk 210 outer edges , hence move down in this instance . as such , at the umbrella mode the fluid dynamic bearing is also bypassed if unaddressed and may result in read / write errors . embodiments of the present invention implement a structure by which axial movement of disks in unison is reduced , thereby attenuating the disk resonances and dampening axial and tilting motions . accordingly , disk densities may safely be increased without increasing read / write errors . referring now to fig3 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with tapered ring spacer in accordance with one embodiment is shown . it is appreciated that components that are the same and operate the same as those in the previous figures are numbered with the same element number and their description is not duplicated at each subsequent figure . the fluid dynamic motor 300 according to one embodiment includes a spacer ring 310 . the spacer ring 310 is tapered and couples to the hub 120 . the spacer ring 310 is also connected to the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 . having a tapered ring 310 causes the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 to deflect at different radia resulting in disk vibration modes that are different . therefore , windage excitation may move the upper and the lower disks independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting or axial motions may be dissipated in the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing , resulting in dampening , because the tilting or axial motions by the upper 210 and lower disks 220 do not cancel each other out . in other words , having a tapered spacer ring 310 changes the boundary conditions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby shifting the natural frequencies of the upper 210 and lower disk 220 apart such that they vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , whether due to windage or some other force , do not occur in unison . in other words , shaping the spacer ring 310 such that the outer edge contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 220 effectively changes the diameter of the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby reducing their tendency to move in opposite directions at the same time . referring now to fig4 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with different spacer chamfers in accordance with one embodiment is shown . the fluid dynamic motor 400 includes a spacer ring 410 . the spacer ring 410 is coupled to the hub 120 and further connected to the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 . the spacer ring 410 has an upper chamfer 412 that is sized differently than the lower chamfer 414 . having a spacer ring 410 with its chamfers sized differently causes the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 to deflect independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting or axial motions by the upper 210 and lower disks 220 do not cancel each other . accordingly , having different spacer chamfers for a spacer ring 410 changes the boundary conditions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby shifting the natural frequencies of the upper 210 and lower disk 220 apart such that they vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , whether due to windage or other influence , do not occur in unison . in other words , shaping the spacer ring such that the outer edge contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 220 effectively changes the diameter of the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby reducing their tendency to uniformly move in opposite directions . referring now to fig5 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with a lobed ring spacer in accordance with one embodiment is shown . the fluid dynamic motor 500 includes a spacer ring 510 . the spacer ring 510 is coupled to the hub 120 and further connected to the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 . the spacer ring 510 is lobed . having a lobed spacer ring 510 causes the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 to deflect independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 210 and lower disks 220 do not cancel each other . in other words , the lobed spacer ring 510 changes the boundary conditions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby shifting the natural frequencies of the upper 210 and lower disk 220 apart such that they vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , whether due to windage or not , do not occur in unison . the lobed spacer ring 510 contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 220 and effectively changes the diameter of the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby reducing their tendency to move in opposite directions in unison . it is appreciated that the spacer ring may have any shape as long as the spacer contacts the upper disk at a different location in comparison to the lower disk . for example , referring now to fig6 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with a knee shaped ring spacer in accordance with one embodiment is shown . the fluid dynamic motor 600 may include a spacer ring 610 . the spacer ring 610 is coupled to the hub 120 and is further coupled to the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 . the spacer ring 610 may be knee shaped such that it contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 220 . having a knee shaped spacer ring 610 causes the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 to deflect independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 210 and lower disks 220 do not cancel each other . in other words , the knee shaped spacer ring 610 changes the boundary conditions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby shifting the natural frequencies of the upper 210 and lower disk 220 apart such that they vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , whether due to windage or not , do not occur in unison . the knee shaped spacer ring 610 contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 220 and effectively changes the diameter of the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby reducing their tendency to move in opposite directions in unison . it is appreciated that the spacer ring shapes described herein are exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments . for example , the upper portion of the ring spacer may have a non - uniform diameter and the lower portion of the ring spacer may have a uniform diameter . referring now to fig7 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with two spacer rings in accordance with one embodiment is shown . the fluid dynamic motor 700 according to one embodiment includes an upper spacer ring 710 and a lower spacer ring 720 . the upper spacer ring 710 is coupled to the upper disk 210 and is further coupled to the hub 120 . the lower spacer ring 720 is coupled to the lower disk 220 and is further coupled to the hub 120 . it is appreciated that the upper spacer ring 710 contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the lower spacer ring 720 and that the two spacer rings are separated from one another . having two spacer rings 710 and 720 contacting their respective disks in different locations cause the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 to deflect independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 210 and lower disks 220 do not cancel each other . accordingly , having an upper spacer ring 710 and a lower spacer ring 720 contacting their respective disks in different locations change the boundary conditions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 . as such , the natural frequencies of the upper 210 and lower disk 220 are shifted apart and the disks vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 210 and the lower disk 220 , whether due to windage or not , do not occur in unison . in other words , having two spacer rings shaped such that the outer edge of the upper spacer ring 710 contacts the upper disk 210 at a different location in comparison to the point of contact between the lower spacer ring 720 and lower disk 220 effectively changes the diameter of the upper 210 and the lower disk 220 , thereby reducing their tendency to move in opposite directions in unison . referring now to fig8 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with different disk diameters in accordance with one embodiment . in this embodiment , the fluid dynamic motor 800 includes an upper disk 810 that has a different diameter than the lower disk 820 . furthermore , the fluid dynamic motor 800 may include one or more spacers in accordance with one of the embodiments described above . for example , in this embodiment , the fluid dynamic motor 800 includes a lobed spacer 510 . but it is appreciated that the spacer ring may be according to any of the spacers described above , e . g ., tapered spacer , different spacer chamfers , etc . different diameters for the upper disk 810 and the lower disk 820 cause the upper disk 810 and the lower disk 820 to deflect independently and not in unison . moreover , having a ring spacer that contacts the upper disk 810 and the lower disk 820 at different locations may further help the disks deflect independently and not in unison . accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 810 and lower disks 820 do not cancel each other . in other words , the differently sized disks change the boundary conditions of the upper disk 810 and the lower disk 820 , thereby shifting the natural frequencies of the upper 810 and lower disk 820 apart such that they vibrate out of phase . as such , tilting and / or axial motions of the upper disk 810 and the lower disk 820 , whether due to windage or not , do not occur in unison . further , addition of a spacer ring contacting the upper disk 810 at a different location in comparison to the lower disk 820 further changes the effective diameter of the upper 810 and the lower disk 820 , thereby reducing their tendency to move in opposite directions in unison . referring now to fig9 , a cross sectional view of a fluid dynamic motor with different disk thickness in accordance with one embodiment is shown . the fluid dynamic motor 900 includes an upper disk 910 and a lower disk 920 that have different thicknesses . for example , the upper disk 910 is thinner in comparison to the lower disk 920 . different thickness for the disks causes the natural frequencies of the upper disk 910 to separate from the lower disk 920 , which causes them to deflect independent from one another and not to move in unison . as such , the disks couple through the fluid dynamic bearing that dampens the motion in axial and / or tilting directions . it is appreciated that a spacer ring making contact with the upper disk 910 and the lower disk 920 at different locations may further exacerbate independent movements of the upper and the lower disks . it is appreciated that the spacer ring may be in accordance with any of the embodiments described above ( in this example , the spacer ring is lobed ). accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 910 and lower disks 920 do not cancel each other . it is further appreciated that independent movements of the upper 1010 and the lower disk 1020 may further be exacerbated by having the upper and the lower disks with different diameters , as shown in fig1 . as shown by the fluid dynamic bearing 1000 , the upper disk 1010 has a different diameter in comparison to the lower disk 1020 . in this embodiment , the lower disk 1020 has a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the upper disk 1010 . however , it is appreciated that their respective thicknesses may be the same and having different thicknesses is merely exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention . moreover , it is appreciated that the ring spacer may be in accordance with any of the embodiments described above ( in this example , the spacer ring is lobed ). however , it is appreciated that other embodiments may not require a ring spacer since the diameter of the upper and the lower disks are different . accordingly , energy from tilting and / or axial motions are transferred to the motor &# 39 ; s fluid dynamic bearing because the tilting and / or axial motions by the upper 1010 and lower disks 1020 do not cancel each other . it is appreciated that different materials may be used to vary the density and the elasticity of each disk to ensure that the disks do not move in unison . for example , different types of glass , polycarbonate plastic , aluminum , protective acrylic coating , etc ., may be used for the upper disk than from the lower disk . the embodiments described above may be combined in any fashion , as desired . for example , any combination of the ring spacers ( described above ), with different diameters for the disks , with different thicknesses for different disks , different material for the disks , etc ., may be used to ensure that the disks do not move in unison and to ensure transfer of energy to the fluid dynamic bearing . referring now to fig1 a and 11b , a comparison of the vibration measurement between a system without spacers and an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown . fig1 a illustrates vibration measurement when the top and the bottom disks have the same thickness . as can be seen , high vibrations are measured for the tilting and the umbrella modes illustrated by 0 , 0 and 0 , 1 mode for frequencies over a 1000 hz . however , lower vibration measurements are registered for tilting and the umbrella modes for the top and the bottom disks having different thicknesses , as shown by fig1 b . in other words , a fluid dynamic motor in accordance with embodiments herein transfer the tilting and / or axial motions of the disks to the fluid dynamic bearing , thereby dampening the motions . as such , the disk density may be increased . the foregoing description , for purpose of explanation , has been described with reference to specific embodiments . however , the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings . | 6 |
turning now to the drawings , there is shown in fig1 a partial exploded perspective view of the present invention . loading fixture 11 acts to contain and align a plurality of contact pins 13 for insertion into a master interconnect board 15 . a shim 17 is located between the loading fixture 11 and a master interconnect board 15 during wave soldering of the pins 13 to the board 15 to provide the pins 13 with post - soldering flexibility . the preferred operation of the present invention involves manual operations , making non - corroding materials such as stainless steel an especially desirable material for fabrication of loading fixture 11 . the shim 17 may also be advantageously fabricated of stainless steel to take advantage of that material &# 39 ; s qualities of limited heat conduction and solder non - wetting . it is seen in fig1 and in fig2 that loading fixture 11 is of elongated design . such design is dictated by the narrow spacing of the contact holes 19 of present generation boards 15 . the pins 13 which are to be inserted into such a board 15 are commonly of the z - type . once mounted to board 15 further electrical linkage to such pins 13 may be accomplished by well known methods including conductor to conductor soldering or wire wrapping . fig2 illustrates the pre - mounting arrangement of a plurality of such pins 13 . during manufacture , a plurality of such pins 13 commonly may be ganged onto a common rail 21 which will simplify the loading process . in fig1 it is seen that the pins 13 , when loaded into loading fixture 11 protrude therefrom while secured in fixture 11 at common rail 21 . the pins desirable for typical useful applications are quite delicate . those of the z - type have been successfully loaded for wave soldering by means of the present invention having an a dimension of 0 . 165 inch and a b dimension of 0 . 100 inch with cross section of 0 . 01 inch by 0 . 025 inch . the mechanism of loading fixture 11 is regulated by the action of cylindrical rod 23 against the inclined interiors 25 of side clamps 27 . the rod 23 and clamps 27 run the full length of loading fixture 11 . at its end portions , the rod 23 has a pair of flattened plateaus 29 . it may be seen clearly in fig3 that a thrust washer 31 sits atop each flattened plateau 29 . this washer 31 takes pressure and provides a sliding surface for the bottom portion of the shaft 23 of knob 35 . the knobs 35 are interiorly threaded at their shafts 33 to provide for attachment to stud 37 which is threaded throughout except for a small portion which abuts against the smooth inner walls 39 of clamps 27 . for ease of manufacture with regard to tolerances , an overdrilled gap 41 exists at the top of the interior threading of shaft 39 . stud 37 passes through washer 31 and rod 23 and enters t - shaped spacer 43 , into which its lower portion is anchored . a pair of pivot pins 45 join clamps 27 to spacer 43 . the pins 45 are press fit into spacer 43 and free fit to clamps 27 . this allows rotation of the clamps 27 relative to spacer 43 about pins 45 when rod 23 is moved relative to the wedge formed by interior inclines 25 of clamps 27 . in operation , the loading fixture 11 is prepared to accept pins 13 for insertion into a master interconnect board 15 by the manipulation of knobs 35 in such a way as to cause rod 23 to be raised or loosened within the wedge defined by the interior inclines 25 of clamps 27 . slack is thus created which will allow the clamps 27 to rotate outwardly at their lower halves when pressed together at their upper halves to form a gap at the interior junction 47 of clamps with spacer 43 . the round , flat shape of knobs 35 allows the operator to invert the loading fixture 11 for more convenient operation with the knobs 35 serving as a stable base for the inverted loading fixture 11 . the pins 13 are inserted into the gap created at the lower junction 47 at their common rail 21 . the operator next manually closes the clamps by squeezing the sides of loading fixture 11 together ( as opposed to manipulating the knobs 35 ), thus rotating the clamps 27 inwardly at their lower halves to grip the common rail 21 at the interior junction 47 of the clamps with the spacer 43 . one hand is sufficient to maintain the pins 13 in position by such squeezing , thus freeing the other hand to re - invert loading fixture 11 and turn the knobs 35 in such a direction as to lower or tighten rod 23 within the wedge formed by the the interior inclines 25 of the clamps 27 . the lower portion 49 of t - shaped spacer 43 will abut against the lower portion of the clamps 27 to permit opening only at the lower half of the clamps 27 . the parallel position of clamps 27 illustrated in fig1 and 3 will result from the full turning of knobs 35 described in the aforementioned step . ( throughout this description &# 34 ; lower &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; upper &# 34 ; halves refer , respectively , to the portions of clamps 27 below and above pivot pins 45 when loading fixture 11 is in the knob 35 up position .) the pins 13 , now clamped into loading fixture 11 , are ready for manual insertion into master interconnect board 15 . shim 17 is placed under loading fixture 11 , providing a mutual interface for the board 15 and loading fixture 11 . as previously mentioned , the qualities of non - wettability to solder and minimal heat conduction make stainless steel an appropriate material for shim 17 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other materials may be employed provided they are compatible with the requirements of the invention described herein . the loading fixture 11 , pins 13 clamped within and shim 17 positioned underneath , is next placed into its desired location on master interconnect board 15 . previous to the insertion of the pins 13 into loading fixture 11 , the proper number and spacing of pins necessary to make connection with the proper input holes 19 on master interconnect board 15 is achieved by shortening of the lenght of common rail 21 and removal of individual pins 13 as necessary . thus only one standard size pin supply is necessitated for successful operation of the present invention , allowing substantial economic savings . the loading fixture 11 now commutes with master interconnect board 15 as illustrated in cross section in fig3 . due to the thin width of the loading fixture 11 , a plurality of such fixtures 11 might properly be positioned side - to - side to multiply the number of pins 13 which might be fixed in one wave soldering . the wave soldering process , a technique well known to those skilled in the art , causes a wave of solder to wash along the underside of master interconnect board 15 , fixing electrical connection between the individual pins 13 and the conductor - lined input holes 19 of the master interconnect board 15 . the shim 17 prevents infiltration of solder beneath the b dimension of the pins 13 , allowing the now - soldered pins 13 more degrees of freedom for making future electrical connections to the master interconnect board 15 of which it is now a part . a plurality of notches 51 are provided in the interior of t - shaped spacer 43 to allow for the insertion of a break - off tool ( not shown ). such a tool , which may be of quite simple design such as a flat elongated piece of metal , may now be run along the upper junction of the clamp 27 and spacer 43 to wedge out and remove the common rail 21 from the soldered pins 13 . a tool having a hook - type feature ( not shown ) may next be used to remove the shim 17 by inserting the hook into the hole 53 on the protruding end of shim 17 . the non - wettability of solder to stainless steel allows the shim to be simply and cleanly removed by movement of the hook - type tool . its poor heat conductivity provides some insulation of the non - soldered portions of the pins 13 from the applied solder &# 39 ; s heat , which might otherwise cause the pins 13 to be brittle . the knobs 35 are now turned in such a manner as to cause the rod 23 to rise or be loosened with the wedge between the clamps 27 . the upper outside portions of the clamps 27 may now be squeezed to cause the lower portions to pivot outwardly , releasing the clamped restraint on the pins 13 . the loading fixture 11 may now be lifted off master interconnect board 15 to leave the soldered pins 13 securely fixed in place . the pins 13 and board 15 are now ready for the final step of the wave soldering process , to wit , the fly cutting of the pins 13 , if necessary , to a desired and uniform height . thus it is seen that there is provided a pin loading system especially adapted to allow and aid the efficient and simplified fixation of electrical contacts to a board . | 8 |
reference is made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present application , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts . fig2 a illustrates a cross - sectional view of the tandem solar cell structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present application including a substrate 201 , a buffer layer 202 , a first tunnel junction 203 and a first p - n junction 204 . the first tunnel junction 203 includes a heavily doped n - type layer ( n ++) 2031 and an alloy layer 2032 . in this application , the material of the substrate 201 can be silicon , germanium , si — ge , gaas or inp . the material of the buffer layer 202 , the heavily doped n - type layer ( n ++) 2031 , the alloy layer 2032 and the first p - n junction 204 contains one or more elements selected from the group consisting of gallium , aluminum , indium , arsenic , phosphorous , nitrogen and silicon , such as ( al x gal 1 − x ) y in 1 − y as or ( al x gal 1 − x ) y in 1 − y p . the alloy layer 2032 comprises a heavily doped p - type layer containing an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . a p - type impurity with high doping concentration and an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium are added in the p - type layer in the epitaxial process to form the alloy layer 2032 having a heavily doped p - type layer with an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . the lattice constant of the alloy layer 2032 is increased by the content of the added element with atomic number larger than that of gallium to decrease the lattice mismatch of the alloy layer 2032 and the substrate 201 so the quality of the epitaxial layers improved . besides , the energy gap of the alloy layer 2032 is decreased by adding the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . the jp ( current density ), and the jp / vp ( slope of current density to voltage ) of the alloy layer are increased and the tunneling current of the first tunnel junction 203 is increased . the material of the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium can be selected from indium , thallium , antimony , bismuth , tin , lead , bismuth , polonium , cadmium , and mercury . the concentration of the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium can be 1 ˜ 2 %, which is equal to 3 . 5 × 10 21 ˜ 1 . 7 × 10 22 ( l / cm 3 ). fig2 b illustrates a cross - sectional view of the tandem solar cell structure in accordance with another embodiment of the present application including a substrate 201 , a buffer layer 202 , a first tunnel junction 203 , a first p - n junction 204 , a second tunnel junction 205 and a second p - n junction 206 . the first tunnel junction 203 and the second tunnel junction 205 include heavily doped n - type layers ( n ++) 2031 , 2051 and alloy layers 2032 , 2052 . in this application , the material of the substrate 201 can be silicon , germanium , si — ge , gaas or inp . the material of the buffer layer 202 , the heavily doped n - type layers ( n ++) 2031 , 2051 , the alloy layers 2032 , 2052 , the first p - n junction 204 and the second p - n junction 206 contains one or more elements selected from the group consisting of gallium , aluminum , indium , arsenic , phosphorous , nitrogen and silicon , such as ( al x gal 1 − x ) y in 1 − y as or ( al x gal 1 − x ) y in 1 − y p . the alloy layers 2032 , 2052 comprise a heavily doped p - type layer containing an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . a p - type impurity with high doping concentration and an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium are added in the p - type layer in the epitaxial process to form the alloy layer 2032 , 2052 having a heavily doped p - type layer with an element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . the lattice constant of the alloy layers 2032 , 2052 is increased by the content of the added element with atomic number larger than that of gallium to decrease the lattice mismatch of the alloy layers 2032 , 2052 and the substrate 201 so the quality of the epitaxial layers is improved . besides , the energy gap of the alloy layers 2032 , 2052 is decreased by adding the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium . the jp ( current density ), and the jp / vp ( slope of current density to voltage ) of the alloy layers are increased and the tunneling current of the first tunnel junction 203 is also increased . the material of the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium can be selected from indium , thallium , antimony , bismuth , tin , lead , bismuth , polonium , cadmium , and mercury . the concentration of the element with atomic number larger than that of gallium can be 1 ˜ 2 %, which is equal to 3 . 5 × 10 21 ˜ 1 . 7 × 10 22 ( l / cm 3 ). in one embodiment , the material of the substrate 201 is germanium . the material of the heavily doped n - type layers ( n ++) 2031 , 2051 of the first and the second tunnel junction 203 , 205 is ingap : te . the material of the alloy layer 2032 , 2052 is al x ga ( 1 − x ) as : c + and is doped with in to form the in y al x ga ( 1 − x ) as alloy . the alloy layer can decrease the lattice mismatch and increase the tunneling current of the tunnel junction . fig3 illustrates the i - v curve of the alloy layer with different concentration of indium in the tunnel junction in accordance with one embodiment of the present application . by increasing the adding concentration of indium , the slope of the i - v curve is increased and the tunnel current through the first and the second tunnel junction 203 , 205 is also increased . in other embodiment of this application , a third tunnel junction can be formed on the second p - n junction 206 and a third p - n junction can be formed on the third tunnel junction . the tunnel junctions and the p - n junctions can be stacked repetitively based on the requirement of the product and there is no need to limit the number of the p - n junction in the tandem solar cell . the design of the tunnel junction is substantially the same as the embodiment mentioned above and can be referred thereto . although the drawings and the illustrations above are corresponding to the specific embodiments individually , the element , the practicing method , the designing principle , and the technical theory can be referred , exchanged , incorporated , collocated , coordinated except they are conflicted , incompatible , or hard to be put into practice together . although the present application has been explained above , it is not the limitation of the range , the sequence in practice , the material in practice , or the method in practice . any modification or decoration for present application is not detached from the spirit and the range of such . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 a and 1b , an apparatus according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in which the female section 3 and the male section 5 of magnetic snap fastener 1 are separated from one another . female section 3 and male section 5 are adapted to mate so as to form a complete fastener . the female section 3 includes a first base washer 7 with first side 7a , opposite facing second side 7b and central hole 7c . tubular stem 9 is circular in cross - section and has a central hole 9c . tubular stem 9 also has a wide diameter section 9a and a narrow diameter section 9b and is insertable into the hole 7c in base washer 7 from base washer first side 7a . the distal end of the narrow diameter section 9b is rolled over to affix attachment legs 11 adjacent to the second side 7b of base washer 7 . preferably , the legs 11 are not rigidly secured so as to allow them to rotate with respect to base washer 7 . this allows coating solutions to reach all surfaces thereby giving greater corrosion protection . magnetic ring 13 is held adjacent to first side 7a of first base washer 7 by non - magnetic cover 15 , which has a top 15a and a side wall 15b . flange 15c helps contain magnetic ring 13 in place within the cover 15 and continuous flange 15d holds the cover in place relative to the first base washer 7 . the continuous flange 15d holds the cover 15 in place more securely than if discrete prongs or tabs are used . non - magnetic cover 15 may be made of brass to enhance the appearance of the fastener . preferably , flange 15d is continuous about the periphery of cover 15 so that the cover is not easily removable and lies flat against the piece of material . magnetic ring 13 is toroidal in shape and has a central hole 13a larger than the outside diameter of the wide diameter section 9a of tubular stem 9 . since tubular stem 9 and non - magnetic cover 15 have central holes 9c and 15e , respectively , they are substantially axially aligned with central hole 7c of first base washer 7 . turning now to male section 5 of magnetic snap 1 , it is seen that second tubular stem 19 connects second base washer 21 to attachment legs 23 in a manner similar to that used in connection with the female section 3 . here again , second tubular stem 19 has a central hole 19a that is substantially axially aligned with central hole 21a of second base washer 21 . the attachment legs 23 are preferably not rigidly secured so that they may rotate with respect to the second base washer 21 . this allows coating solutions to reach all surfaces thereby giving greater corrosion protection . as is clear from fig1 a and 1b , second tubular stem 19 is insertable into hole 15e of non - magnetic cover 15 . due to the force of the magnetic ring 13 , the male section 5 and female section 3 snap together . legs 11 and 23 may , of course , be attached to two respective pieces of material 2a and 2b . thus , the two pieces of material 2a and 2b are attached when the female section 3 and the male section 5 are snapped together . moreover , the continuous flange 15d of female section 3 contacts the piece of material 2a around substantially the entire perimeter of the female section 3 , providing a superior cosmetic appearance as compared to the use of discrete prongs or tabs to hold the cover 15 in place , which would raise the bulk of the female section 3 above the piece of material 2a . fig2 a and 2b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of the magnetic ring 13 . fig3 a and 3b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of both the first and second base washers 7 and 21 . fig4 a , 4b , and 4c show side views and a plan view , respectively , of both the legs 11 and 23 . fig5 a and 5b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of the non - magnetic cover 15 . fig6 a and 6b show a top view and side cut - away view , respectively , of both the tubular stems 9 and 19 . it is a particular feature of this embodiment of the invention that the base washers , legs , and tubular stems are identical on both the female and male sections of the fastener . this reduces the number of different parts needed to make a complete assembly . the axially aligned holes in the components are one distinguishing feature of the invention . it is important that each of the openings are in axial alignment . thus , central holes 7c , 9c , 13a , 15e , 19a , and 21a form a straight path . this path should not be too large in diameter . for example , the diameter should be about 0 . 006 to 0 . 125 inch . referring now to fig7 an apparatus according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in which the female section 103 and the male section 105 of magnetic snap 101 are separated from one another . female section 103 and male section 105 are adapted to mate to form a complete snap fastener . magnetic snap fastener 101 is a rolled rivet type of fastener . the female section 103 includes a first base washer 107 with first side 107a , opposite facing second side 107b and central hole 107c . tubular stem 109 is circular in cross - section and has a wide diameter section 109a , a medium diameter section 109b , a narrow diameter section 109c , and a central hole 109d . tubular stem 109 may be inserted into the central hole 107c from base washer first side 107a . the distal end of the narrow diameter section 109c extends outward from the base washer 107 to engage first attachment washer 110 , as shown more clearly in fig8 and as discussed below . there are no legs in this embodiment to attach the fastener to pieces of material . rather , the fasteners are attached by the rolled rivet connectors . magnetic ring 113 is held adjacent to first side 107a of first base washer 107 by non - magnetic cover 115 , which has a top 115a and a side wall 115b . flange 115c helps contain magnetic ring 113 in place within the cover 115 and continuous flange 115d holds the cover in place relative to the first base washer 107 . magnetic ring 113 is toroidal in shape and has a central hole 113a larger than the outside diameter of the wide diameter section 109a of tubular stem 109 . tubular stem 109 and non - magnetic cover 115 have central holes 109d and 115e , respectively , which are substantially axially aligned with hole 107c of first base washer 107 . turning now to male section 105 of magnetic snap 101 it is seen that second tubular stem 119 , including wide section 119a , medium section 119b , and narrow section 119c , is insertable through hole 121a of second base washer 121 in a manner similar to that used in connection with the female section 103 . here again , second tubular stem 119 has a central hole 119d that is substantially axially aligned with central hole 121a of second base washer 121 . moreover , as described in connection with the female section 103 , the distal end of narrow diameter section 119c extends outward from the second base washer 121 to engage second attachment washer 123 , as shown more clearly in fig8 and as discussed below . fig8 shows male section 105 attached to a piece of material 125 held between second base washer 121 and second attachment washer 123 . as seen in fig8 tubular stem 119 has section 119e rolled over to hold base washer 123 in place . female section 103 is attached to a piece of material in a similar manner . thus , the mating of female section 103 and male section 105 results in attachment of the two pieces of material . fig9 a and 9b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of the magnetic ring 113 , fig1 a and 10b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of both the first and second base washers 107 and 121 . fig1 a and 11b show a top view and side cut - away view , respectively , of the non - magnetic cover 115 . fig1 a and 12b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of both the tubular stems 109 and 119 . once again , several of these components are identical so as to provide for easy assembly and to reduce the cost of the finished product . referring now to fig1 , an apparatus according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in which the female section 203 and the male section 205 of magnetic snap 201 are separated from one another . female section 203 and male section 205 are designed to unite to form a magnetic snap fastener of the kwik - rivet style . the female section 201 includes a first base washer 207 with first side 207a , oppositely facing second side 207b , and central hole 207c . tubular stem 209 , which is circular in cross - section and which has a wide diameter section 209a , a medium diameter section 209b , and a narrow diameter section 209c , is insertable into the central hole 207c from base washer first side 207a . the distal end of the narrow diameter section 209c extends outward from the base washer 207 to engage first rivet cap 210 , as shown more clearly in fig1 and as discussed below . there are no legs in this embodiment to attach the fastener to the pieces of material . rather , the fasteners are attached by the kwik - rivet connectors . the rivet cap 210 may have a decorative surface or embossing . magnetic ring 213 is held adjacent to first side 207a of first base washer 207 by non - magnetic cover 215 , which has a top 215a and a side wall 215b . flange 215c helps contain magnetic ring 213 in place within the cover 215 and continuous flange 215d holds the cover in place relative to the first base washer 207 . magnetic ring 213 is toroidal in shape and has a central hole 213a larger than the outside diameter of the wide diameter section 209a of tubular stem 209 . tubular stem 209 and non - magnetic cover 215 have central holes 209c and 215e , respectively , which are substantially axially aligned with hole 207c of first base washer 207 . turning now to male section 205 of magnetic snap 201 , it is seen that second tubular stem 219 , including wide section 219a , medium section 219b , and narrow section 219c , is insertable through hole 221a of second base washer 221 in a manner similar to that used in connection with the female section 203 . here again , second tubular stem 219 has a central hole 219d that is substantially axially aligned with central hole 221a of second base washer 221 . moreover , as described in connection with the female section 203 , the distal end of narrow diameter section 219c extends outward from the base washer 207 to engage second rivet cap 223 , as shown more clearly in fig1 and as discussed below . fig1 shows male section 205 attached to a piece of material 225 held between second base washer 221 and second rivet cap 223 . as seen in fig1 and 14 , tubular stem 219 has a collapsible bump that is deformed by attachment of the second rivet cap 223 to cause the distal end of the tubular stem 219 to lock to the inside of the second rivet cap 223 to hold material 225 . female section 203 is attached to a piece of material in a similar manner . fig1 a and 15b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of the magnetic ring 213 . fig1 a and 16b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of both the first and second base washers 207 and 221 . fig1 a and 17b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of the non - magnetic cover 215 . fig1 a and 18b show a top view and a side cut - away view , respectively , of both the tubular stems 209 and 219 . several of these components are identical for the reasons previously discussed . the invention has practical utility in the fastening of pieces of material such as leather or simulated leather , for example , in the manufacture of handbags , wallets , backpacks , and the like . the improved fasteners of the invention are easily finished such as by coating processes . because there is a hole through each nonsolid male and female section , the closures may be threaded on a wire and rapidly processed . the fasteners , because they have a hole therethrough , may be easily assembled using automatic positioning devices . for example , an infrared light source such as a laser alignment beam may be used to direct light through the holes to align the closures when they are being assembled in the manufacturing process , improving the quality of the parts , speeding assembly , and reducing cost . the axially aligned central holes do not detract from the magnetic attractive force provided by the magnetic ring . although the present invention is described by reference to particular embodiments thereof , many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which is only limited by the appended claims . for example , the tubular stems may be replaced by hollow stems that are open at one end , that is , they are partially hollow but not solid . therefore , the embodiments shown and described are only illustrative , not restrictive . | 8 |
the detailed description of the invention is presented largely in terms of procedures , steps , logic blocks , processing , and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of communication devices coupled to networks . these process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . reference herein to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be 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 , nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments . further , the order of blocks in process flowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations in the invention . service providers are looking for antenna systems that provide high power gain with small physical size . further , it is desirable to deploy an antenna system that is capable of delivering optimal radio frequency ( rf ) power covering a known span of azimuthal angles . one embodiment of the present invention provides a high - gain antenna system covering independently k different sectors , where each sector is defined by 360 / k - degree azimuthal span , where k is an positive integer . in addition , an antenna system designed in accordance with the embodiment is capable of providing service covering multiple adjacent sectors simultaneously . this is made possible by putting multi - channel antennas physically right next to each other , where each of the antennas serves a different sector . the physical arrangement of the antennas is unique and compact , and provides the best performance possible for a desirable angular coverage without creating nulls within the desirable coverage areas . according to one embodiment , the antenna system is designed initially for the 2 × 2 multiple input / multiple output ( mimo ) wi - fi architecture . the same design is also applicable to the 3 × 3 mimo . those skilled in the art shall appreciate that the designs described herein is equally applicable to the n x m mimo architectures . some of the features , advantages and benefits in the present invention include : an antenna unit serving each channel covering one particular angular sector can be any type of antennas ; a horizontally polarized antenna unit and a vertically polarized antenna unit are uniquely structured to form an integrated antenna unit to reduce the overall physical size of the antenna system ; the antenna system may have a number of such integrated antenna units to form a designed antenna pattern , these integrated antenna units are arranged in such a way that the antenna system is able to cover k different sectors independently or multiple sectors simultaneously ; integrated antenna units serving different sectors are physically close to each other , which makes it possible for the antenna system to be placed in an enclosure . referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views . according to one embodiment , fig1 shows an elevation view of an antenna unit 100 serving one sector of an azimuthal span , e . g ., for channel 1 . the unit 100 is structured with four separate antennas 102 ( i . e ., 102 - 1 , 102 - 2 , 102 - 3 and 102 - 4 ) arranged in parallel on a same plane . depending on implementation and specific requirement , more or less individual antennas may be used . to facilitate the description of the embodiment , four individual antennas are presented and described herein . those skilled in the art shall understand home to modify the number of antennas given the detailed description herein . as shown in fig1 , there are four vertically polarized antennas or antenna elements 102 , lined up in the vertical direction with “ a ” unit distance apart to form an antenna unit 100 , covering one sector of an azimuthal span . the height of each antenna element is “ b ” unit in length . according to one embodiment , the size or quantity of “ a ” unit is slightly larger than “ b ” unit so that there is a small gap between each antenna element . the spacing between each adjacent antenna element is therefore a - b unit . this gap of a - b unit in length is then used to install horizontally polarized antenna unit serving as a second channel for the same sector of the azimuthal span . in one embodiment , “ a ” is measured about 3 inches and “ b ” is measured about 2 . 5 inches . the antenna elements 102 may be any form of planar antennas ( e . g ., yagi antenna ). in one embodiment , each of the antenna elements 102 is formed by metal strips fabricated on a pcb board , where the lengths and widths of the strips in parallel are not necessary identical depending on a required azimuthal span or a desired antenna radiation pattern . according to another embodiment , the antenna elements 102 are all formed on a single pcb board , where the pcb board itself is further structured or reshaped to accommodate one or more sets of other antenna sets to meet a requirement of specific antenna radiation pattern . as will be further discussed below , one or more of the elements 102 and / or one or more of the antenna sets can be controlled to form a unique antenna radiation pattern per an application . fig2 shows that there is another set of horizontally polarized antenna elements 104 ( i . e ., 104 - 1 , 104 - 2 , 104 - 3 and 104 - 4 ) inserted into the gaps between the vertically polarized antenna elements 102 to form an integrated antenna unit 106 . fig3 shows that an integrated antenna unit 302 mounted on a substrate , where the main beam directions of both the vertically polarized antenna unit and the horizontally polarized antenna unit in the integrated antenna unit 302 form an angle , y degrees , with respect to the substrate ( e . g ., a metal plate ). the substrate is provided to support the integrated antenna unit or is part of the antenna system . identical antenna units may be used to cover other sectors of a desirable azimuthal span . fig4 shows that there are two sets 402 and 404 of the integrated antenna unit 302 of fig3 and arranged in a way that covers an adjacent sector also forming an angle , y degrees , with respect to the substrate . fig4 shows an antenna system includes two integrated antennas 402 and 404 arranged with an angular angle therebetween . those skilled in the art shall appreciate that an antenna system designed in accordance with the present invention may include more than two integrated antenna units to form a desired antenna pattern . as described above and further described below , one or more of the elements in the antenna units in fig4 and / or one or more of the integrated antenna units can be controlled to further form a unique antenna radiation pattern per an application . fig5 shows an azimuthal radiation pattern covering one 60 - degree sector when the antenna unit 100 of fig1 or the antenna unit 106 of fig2 is fully energized . fig4 shows that there are two integrated antenna sets 402 and 404 . fig6 shows a corresponding azimuthal radiation pattern covering another 60 - degree sector when the antenna structure similar to the antenna unit 100 or 106 in the second integrated antenna set is fully energized . when two sets of the vertically and horizontally polarized antennas ( i . e ., the antenna units 100 and 106 ) are integrated and all are fully energized , fig7 shows the corresponding azimuthal radiation pattern covering the entire 120 - degree sector without developing a null ( e . g ., with all horizontally polarized antenna units or all vertically polarized antenna units energized ). fig8 shows a system block diagram of an antenna system 800 according to one embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig8 , the antenna system 800 is structured with or includes a plurality of integrated antenna units 802 , each of the integrated antennas units 802 includes two antenna units 804 and 806 , one is a horizontally polarized antenna and the other is a vertically polarized antenna . each of the antenna units 804 and 806 includes an array of antennas 808 . the antenna units 804 and 806 are integrated orthogonally with the antennas thereof interlaced as shown in fig2 . in operation , the antenna system 800 is energized by an engine 810 . in transmitting mode , the engine 810 feeds a transmitting signal to the antenna system 800 . in receiving mode , the engine 810 is configured to receive the signal from the antenna system 800 . for better reception , in responding to a signal provided to the engine 810 the engine 810 is configured to dynamically change the antenna pattern by selectively driving one or more of the antennas 808 , one or more of the antenna units 804 and 806 , or one or more of the integrated antennas units 802 . in an exemplary application , an access point ( e . g ., a wi - fi device ) is equipped with the antenna system 100 and is accessed by a mobile device . the default antenna pattern 812 of the antenna system 100 ( when all elements are energized ) is no longer efficient . ideally , the antenna pattern of the antenna system 100 shall be more directional towards the mobile device . based on the rf signals exchanged between the two devices , the engine 810 can be figured to selectively energize one or more of the antenna elements in the antenna system 800 to reshape the default antenna pattern 812 to a newly formed antenna pattern 814 . while the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention . various modifications to the present invention can be made to the preferred embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim . accordingly , the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments . | 7 |
as discussed above , fig1 shows a mesh network mesh connected with an infrastructure network infrastructure network . it can be seen that , in addition to node mp , there are also infrastructure nodes such as a mesh key distributor mkd and an authentication , authorization , accounting authentication server aaa - s . here , the mesh key distributor mkd is a gateway node that couples the mesh network mesh with the infrastructure network infrastructure network and handles key distribution . the mesh key distributor mkd is also a mesh node , which has the additional task of handling the aforementioned key distribution or gateway functionality within the mesh network mesh . it can further be seen that between some of the nodes mp shown , authenticated direct connections , i . e ., links between the nodes mp exist ( indicated by the lightning bolt ). to create such a link between two nodes mp , there must be authentication by the authentication server with the above - described allocation of roles between authenticator and supplicant . so that a node mp can be assigned the authenticator role , at least one of the nodes requires a connection to the aaa server aaa - s . this connection can pass through several links , i . e ., over several of the nodes mp ; mkd . if only one of the mesh nodes has a connection to the authentication server aaa - s , and thus can act as authenticator , the allocation of roles is clear ( if none can act as authenticator , no authentication is possible ). if , however , both mesh nodes are capable of acting as authenticators , the procedure disclosed by the invention applies . in fig2 , a first node mp - a and a second node mp - b of nodes mp are emphasized as nodes establishing a direct connection . here , it can be seen that both the first node mp - a has a first connection to the authentication server aaa - s , indicated as a dotted line in fig2 , and that the second node has a second connection to the authentication server aaa - s , indicated as a dashed line in fig2 , such that both the first node mp - a and the second node mp - b are available for the role of authenticator . the exemplary embodiment also comprises the core element disclosed by the invention , which is that a mesh node , with the aid of an “ information element ”, signals a metric that indicates how “ good ” the first connection and / or second connection to the authentication server aaa - s is , which is used for authentication and connects the mesh network with the mesh key distributor mkd or another node responsible for authentications within the mesh network based on which the role of authenticator is assigned . “ metric ”, as is known , generally refers to a system of indicators or a procedure to measure a quantifiable value . thus , according to the invention , a value correlating with the connection to the authentication server aaa - s is determined . thus , this value is a measurement for how well suited the mesh node is to take on the role of authenticator in authentication ( the authenticator needs a connection to an authentication server ; the supplicant , on the other hand , communicates via the authenticator — not directly — with the authentication server ). according to the invention , the metric may , in particular , be the number of hops mkd - distanz1 ; mkd_distanz2 to the mesh key distribution node mkd . another metric determined based on the data of the mesh routing log can alternatively or additionally be used in accordance with the invention . to this end , additionally , the capacity of the links or the quality of the radio connection on which the links are based can be taken into account . further developments of the invention also provide that additional data of the mesh node are included in the metric , such as the type of power supply ( a / c power or battery ), as well as the state of charge of the battery , or current cpu or network load . as discussed above , the decision of which of nodes mp - a and mp - b is to be the authenticator is made based on the metric that indicates the better connection , i . e ., the values determined , which are taken either independently by measurement or are requested via ( protocol ) messages , are compared , and the better value for the purpose of an optimal connection determines which node — mp - a or mp - b — is to be assigned the role of authenticator . if , however , the values are equal , i . e ., the metric is the same , according to the invention , the decision is made based on a comparison of the mac addresses of the two nodes mp - a ; mp - b . by way of example , the node with the lesser mac address may be assigned the role of authenticator , or vice versa . the same can occur if the metric cannot be determined for one or both nodes . in addition , if the node given the role of supplicant supports several authentication options ( eap methods ), an adjusted eap method for authentication can be selected based on the metric of the authenticator ( and its own information , such as battery charge ): thus , if the metric is poor , an efficient eap method can be selected in which only a few messages between the supplicant and the authentication server aaa - s are exchanged and / or only involves minimal power consumption ( e . g ., because it only uses simple cryptographic operations , such as secret key - based rather than public key - based ). in addition to the selection of the method defined in accordance with the extensible authentication protocol , an option can also be selected within such a method . the cipher suite used ( e . g ., aes or des encryption ) the credential used ( e . g ., short or long key / certificate ( 1024 bit rsa key or 2048 bit rsa key ; key / certificate for rsa or for ecc -& gt ; for elliptical curves ecc , the keys are smaller than with a comparably strong rsa ). these are only some of the eap method options available . according to the invention , generally any of the possible options can be made dependent on the metric evaluation disclosed by the invention for adjustment and optimization . the exemplary embodiment only shows a mesh key distributor mkd and / or an authentication server aaa - s that can be reached thereby , but the invention also offers solutions for networks in which a plurality of authentication severs aaa - s or mesh key distributors mkd are present in one network ( scaling ). in this case , according to the invention , not only is a metric provided for each mesh node for an authentication server aaa - s or mesh key distributor mkd that it is capable of reaching , but for a plurality of nodes responsible for authentication aaa - s ; mkd , generally all of which can be reached by the respective node . the process disclosed by the invention for such a case is such that , first , a comparison is made of the nodes intended for authentication aaa - s ; mkd known to both mesh nodes mp - a ; mp - b . in order to identify the nodes intended for the authentication function mkd , aaa - s and the unique assignment of the respective metrics determined to them , the “ mkd identifiers ” or the mac addresses of the nodes intended for the authentication function can be used . to this end , each of the two mesh nodes mp - a ; mp - b compares the nodes known to it that are intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd with those of the respective other mesh node mp - a ; mp - b . the respective nodes intended for the authentication function can be made known to one another in advance via a message , in particular in the form of an “ announcement ”. an advantage of this procedure disclosed by the invention is that , if there is a match , fast , mesh net - internal authentication is possible . according to the invention , therefore , an intersection is formed from the nodes reported that are intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd , which contains the nodes intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd that were reported by both mesh nodes . from this intersection , in accordance with the core idea disclosed by the invention , the node intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd is selected that shows the best metric , and the role of authenticator is assigned to the node mp - a ; mp - b for which this metric was determined for its connection to the selected node performing the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd . the invention also takes into account the case in which no joint node intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd exists , i . e ., that the intersection is empty . in this case , thus , the node intended for the authentication function aaa - s ; mkd with the best metric of all aaa - s ; mkd reported is selected , with , in turn , the node mp - a ; mp - b becoming the authentication , for the connection of which to the selected node aaa - s ; mkd performing the authentication function this metric was determined an additional advantage arises from the fact that fewer resources are used for authentication in the mesh network compared to the procedure known from prior art , as the authentication messages in accordance with the invention are always transported over a more efficient path within the mesh network . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig2 for the possible variants described above , which were kept relatively simple for better understanding , it is assumed that the first node mp - a and the second node mp - b want to establish a link in the first step . in the second step , both nodes mp - a ; mp - b then signal the respective other in the exemplary embodiment selected , for example , the distance mkd - distanz1 ; mkd_distanz2 as a metric , i . e ., the number of hops to the mesh key distributor mkd . the drawing shows that a first metric mkd - distanz1 is 3 ( hops ) for the first node mp - a and a second metric is 2 hops for the second metric mks - distanz2 . in accordance with the invention , in the exemplary embodiment , the one of the two mesh nodes mp - a ; mp - b that has the better metric ( lesser value ) becomes the authenticator . to this end , the metric values are compared , with the selection criterion being the smaller number of necessary hops in this example , such that , in accordance with the exemplary embodiment , therefore , the second node mp - b is assigned the authenticator role . | 7 |
referring first to fig1 the first set of press rolls 10 of a press section of a conventional paper making machine is shown in phantom . the press section of a conventional paper making machine may have more than one set of press rolls . the bottom press roll 12 is usually mounted on the paper making machine framework for rotation in a counterclockwise direction . the top press roll 14 is mounted for rotation in a clockwise direction . the top press roll is conventionally mounted so that it can be moved up and down , that is , toward and away , from the bottom press roll 12 . a felt 18 forming part of the press carries a mat of cellulose fibers between the nip 16 of the top and bottom press rolls . in this view , the paper mat is omitted for purposes of simplicity . the top press roll 14 normally carries a sleeve ( shown in fig2 as 26 ) that carries a plurality of circumferential grooves that assist in extracting water from the mat of cellulose fibers being run through the nip 16 between the rolls 12 and 14 . a wiper blade 20 constructed in accordance with the present invention is mounted on a blade mounting assembly 22 , in turn mounted on framework 24 of the paper making machine . referring now to fig2 and 3 , the blade 20 is positioned against the grooved sleeve 26 forming part of the top press roll 14 . the blade 20 itself is an elongated member that is at least the length of the sleeve 26 . a cross - sectional profile shows the blade coming to a sharp edge at the instance where it contacts the sleeve 26 . the opposite edge of the blade is fixed to the mounting assembly 22 as described further below . although the blade is shown as a straight edge , in other embodiments the blade edge may be profiled to match the groove profile in the sleeve . for grooved sleeves , the blade edge would then be provided with protrusions to match the profile of the grooves . groove profiles may be trapezoidal , square , u - shaped , or any other profile . it is also to be appreciated that other surface patterns besides grooves may be machined on the sleeve . for example , a drilled pattern sleeve can be used in place of a grooved sleeve . the blade assembly 22 has a first section 30 that is pivotally attached to a second section 32 . opposing flanges 34 and 36 extend from the first and second sections 30 and 32 , respectively , and are coupled together by a pivot pin 38 . the axis of the pivot pin 38 is substantially parallel to the rotational axis of the top press roll 14 . the blade 20 is secured in the first section 30 of the bracket by conventional fasteners , such as bolts 40 . the second section 32 of the blade mounting assembly is affixed to an l - shaped bracket 42 by a conventional fastener 44 such as a bolt . the l - shaped bracket 42 has an upright arm 42 b and a generally horizontal arm 42 a , which rests on a horizontal surface 46 forming part of the main framework 24 of the paper making machine . the l - shaped bracket 42 is mounted for movement toward and away from the press roll 14 in the direction of arrows 48 . a jack screw assembly 50 is employed to adjust the position of the l - shaped bracket relative to the top press roll 14 . the screw 50 a is rotatably mounted in flange 52 attached to framework 24 . a threaded nut 50 b is affixed to bracket 42 . a lock nut 53 is employed to lock the screw 50 a to the nut 52 b . the jack screw mechanism provides a gross positioning of the blade mounting assembly 22 relative to the press roll 14 . the entire blade assembly and captive blade extend the entire length of the top press roll 14 . only one end portion of the blade 20 and mounting assembly 22 is shown in fig3 . several of the jack screw mechanisms 50 are placed at intervals along the length of the blade mounting assembly . in a preferred installation , it is preferred that the blade 20 be mounted less than about 90 degrees from the nip 16 of the top press roll 14 . the blade mounting assembly 22 also has a pair of bladders 54 and 56 mounted between the first and second sections 30 and 32 and above and below the pivot pin 38 . the bladders are coextensive in length with the blade mounting assembly 22 . selective inflation of the bladders 54 and 56 allows the first section 30 to be pivoted to and fro so that the blade 20 can be moved toward and away from contact with the surface of the sleeve 26 and so that variable pressure can be applied by the leading edge blade of the wiper blade 20 against the surface of the sleeve 26 . in other embodiments , the bladders 54 and 56 can be replaced with other equally suitable biasing devices , including leaf or coil springs . in a preferred embodiment , the blade mounting assembly is constructed so as to allow movement of the blade toward and away from the surface of the sleeve 26 of the top press roll 14 from one to two inches . the blade load may be adjusted so that loads on the order of 0 . 2 pounds per linear inch ( pli ) ( 36 grams per cm ) can be applied by the blade against the surface of the press roll sleeve 26 . in a preferred embodiment , the sleeve 26 of the top press roll is preferably comprised of polyethylene . the grooves in the sleeve 26 are conventionally machined into the surface of the polyethylene . it is also preferred that the blade 20 also be made of polyethylene . thus , when the blade is brought into contact with the press roll sleeve 26 , a minimum of frictional wear is created . without the wiper blade of the present invention , the sleeve appears to be free of water . however , when the blade is positioned against the sleeve , substantial amounts of water are removed . measurements have shown that on the order of an additional 66 gallons of water per minute are removed from a sleeve in the press section of a paper making machine running at an overall output of 58 tons per hour of paper . this results in substantial overall energy savings in the paper making process because the amount of water that is removed from the sleeve is not required to be evaporated from the fiber mat at a later stage . referring now to fig4 one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated , whereby a trough 50 is located below the blade 20 . the trough has a lower base 56 surrounded by peripheral walls 58 , thus forming a collection basin for water that may run off from the outboard side of the blade 20 . the water is indicated by arrows 52 . the trough 50 has sufficient width to also collect water that may run off from the inboard side of the blade 20 , said water run off being indicated by arrow 54 . lengthwise , the trough 50 is at least as long as the blade 20 . the trough 50 has sufficient volume to contain the expected water collection from the sleeve surface 26 and the sleeve grooves 26 a . the trough 50 is inclined , meaning that one end of the trough is at a higher relative position than its opposite and lower end . at the lower end , a pipe 60 , or other suitable conduit , may be connected to channel away the collected water from the roll . the trough 50 may be positioned at any location below the blade 20 . however , in one embodiment , the trough is located below the machine framework 24 . in this manner , any water that is collected from the sleeve 26 and the sleeve grooves 26 a may be captured and discarded from the process . the invention may be incorporated into any paper making process that produces paperboard , linerboard , and / or any other sheet products produced from cellulose fibers that are formed into a fiber mat . the process includes depositing an aqueous slurry of cellulose fiber containing various additives from a head box onto a fabric screen to form a cellulose fiber mat . water is extracted from the slurry via vacuum boxes positioned below the fabric screen leaving a fiber mat or fiber sheet of cellulose fibers on the fabric . paper making machines having a press roll system often include more than one pair of nip rolls . after forming , the fiber mat or sheet is then transferred to a continuous press felt . the felt and the mat are run through the press roll system to a first pair of nip rolls . the nip rolls are also referred to as a top press roll and a bottom press roll . as mentioned previously , the press roll system can include a plurality of pairs of nip rolls . water is further extracted from the fiber mat or sheet as it passes between the pairs of top and bottom press rolls . the present invention can be incorporated into any one top or bottom press roll or both and in one or more pairs of press rolls in the press roll system . any roll that is provided with a surface patterned sleeve can be modified to incorporate the wiper blade in accordance with the present invention . the water is removed from the fiber mat or sheet by the wiper blade assembly in accordance with the invention , thus producing a fiber mat of reduced water content before further processing , meaning less water than would ordinarily be expected will need to be evaporated from the fiber mat or sheet . while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described , it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , one of ordinary skill will recognize that , alternatively or in addition , a grooved sleeve can be mounted on the bottom press roll . a wiper blade constructed in accordance with the present invention can be positioned to contact such a sleeve upstream from the nip and remove water from the sleeve so positioned . | 3 |
referring to fig1 through 12 , wherein like reference numerals refer to like components in the various views , there is illustrated therein a new extraction apparatus , generally denominated 100 herein . in accordance with the present invention the extraction apparatus is a frame like structure having a laterally extending base 110 . the base should have at least 3 vertices , but more preferably has 4 to fill the space of a rectangular tank . further , columns 120 extend upward from their point of attachment to the base that is proximal to the 4 corners or vertices thereof 110 a . when the frame is ready for use in a fermenting vessel , it supports a plurality of wooden planks 130 that have holes 131 on opposing ends and are disposed horizontally with the columns extending through the holes . preferably , the planks 130 are interlaced as they are layered on the support columns 120 in stack , such that vertically adjacent planks in the stack extend at about the same angle as that between the vertices . that is , when four columns are used to define four vertices in a square or rectangular shape , vertically adjacent stacks are oriented normal or 90 degrees from each other . the orientation of the planks 130 is preferably with the principle plane parallel to the flat bottom of the vessel 501 . there are various optional means maintain the planks 130 submerged in the liquid , that is grape must , juice or wine and mixtures thereof that fills the intervening space with the fermentation vessel . these means include without limitation nuts , washers , pins and cap that are threaded onto the tops of the columns , or otherwise attached after the stacking is completed . in the preferred embodiments these means are handles 150 which attach to the columns 120 above the last plank 130 , as discussed below . alternatively , when the planks are held in place by other than such handles 150 , the frame 100 can be gripped by the planks themselves . there are various optional means to addition to the planks 130 and columns 120 to grip and remove or insert a frame in a fermentation vessel , such as 501 shown in fig5 , 11 and 12 . in fig1 , handles 150 are a means to hold the planks 130 submerged in a fluid , as well as a gripping means attached to the frame 100 so as to remove the frame when the treatment or the primary stage of fermentation is complete . the handles 150 would typically either have a threaded hole to screw into a mating thread on the end of each column , or simply have an ordinary hole for the column to pass through so the handle 150 can be held in place by a nut or similar end connector to the column member 120 . however , an alternative submerged gripping means may be attached to the base , as illustrated in another embodiment in fig6 and 7 . the columns 120 can be permanently welded to the base 110 , but are preferably connected by threaded fitting for disassembly , cleaning and then storage when not in use , as well as to obtain a more compact state for shipping . it is preferred that the base 110 has an x - shaped that is formed of 2 or 4 u - shaped beams 111 . preferably , pairs of 2 short beams 112 are linearly joined to form the 2 longer beams 111 that cross . in the embodiment of fig1 - 4 a pair of shorter and narrower u - shaped beams 113 are joined to cross in their centers and form centrally disposed members 115 . alternatively , as shown in the embodiment of fig6 , a plate 115 joins the 2 crossing beams 111 . as for the embodiments of fig1 - 4 , the sides of upper narrower beam 113 ′ preferably has 2 or more holes in the opposite sides to optionally provide a lifting means , such as a crossing rod that can be grasped by a hook . in the embodiment of fig6 , the base plate 115 with inverted u shaped handle 116 that is capable of being lifted by a hook . in either case , the crossing beams 111 are preferably mutually connected to central member 115 at several points to provide sufficient stability . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , the base 110 is a perforated plate 510 and the device is inverted in vessel 110 such that the perforated plate will retain a cap that forms in fermentation below the surface of the grape juice / wine mixture during fermentation . it is also preferred in either embodiment to deploy spacers 125 between vertically adjacent planks 130 . the spacers 125 act as thick washers , being generally but not exclusively cylindrical and having an internal diameter greater than the outer diameter of the columns 120 , and an outer diameter greater than that of the holes 131 and 132 in the plank 130 . the proper vertical spacing of the planks 130 minimizes or prevents grape solids from becoming stuck and non - circulating , and hence difficult to clean , and is preferably comparable the thickness of the planks , that is about 5 / 16 ″ ( 8 mm ). further , in addition to providing holes in the base components 111 , 112 and 113 for attachment via nuts and bolts to other base components , as well as the columns 120 , it is also preferred to provide addition hole 114 therein to allow fluid flow and hence decrease resistance to inserting or removing the base 110 to or from a partially filled fermentation or flavoring vessel 501 . the frame assembly of fig1 is deployed in a method of making wine having the following steps : providing a vessel 501 capable of retaining fluid , inserting the plank supporting rack 100 in the vessel 501 , filling the vessel 501 with grape must 10 , and fermenting the grape must in the presence of the rack to extract tannins from the wood and flavor the wine . another aspect of the invention is provide the disable components of the frame assembly 100 as a kit 800 , as illustrated in fig8 and 9 , that is preferably disposed in an optional packing box 801 . such a kit includes general at least 4 columns 120 , a plurality of spacers 125 , components of the frame base 110 , means for attaching frame components , such as nuts 117 , as well as washers and the like , or bayonet style or other insertion style connectors and the like . another aspect of the invention is providing this kit in a compact storage box in the configuration illustrated in fig6 and 7 , in which the components have been inventively configured for a compact arrangement that offers proper protection during shipment with the need for excess packing material . the planks are preferably divided into two stacks , 731 and 732 . the support columns 120 are disposed in the space 710 between the 2 stacks of planks u shaped components are partially nested around at least a sub - portion of the stacked planks . in a more preferred embodiment deploying the u shaped components 112 and 113 shown on fig2 and 3 , the base forming components 112 have a gap between the upward arms of the u that is slightly wider than the planks with to fit over the stacks 731 and 732 , preferably with the lower component 112 ′ facing upward and the upper components 112 ″ facing downward to engage the planks 130 of the stacks 731 and 732 . further , u shaped components 113 are preferably oriented with the bottom face in the middle of the u shape oriented vertically to seat a plurality of the planks 130 with the gap between the arms of the u , which are then oriented horizontally . further , the outer packing box 801 preferably has an internal length l ′ adapted to supporting receive the length of the stacked planks 130 as well as width w ′ adopted to receive the width of the stacked planks and the space or gap 731 between filled with the support columns 120 , including optional spacers 125 and handles 150 , as well as an joining components 117 , and optionally instructions , spare parts and the like therein . it should be appreciated that the columns 120 can be formed of multiple segments that joint together and similarly fit within gap 731 . further , box 801 has a fitted lid 802 that engagingly seals the open upper side above stacks 731 / 731 and gap 731 for storage and / or shipment . another aspect of the invention is the provisional of wood , and particularly toasted oak planks in a format suitable for ready assembly into the frame 100 . this wood can be a part of the kit illustrated and described with respect to fig6 and 7 , or as replacement wood planks 130 after the original planks have lost the flavor components from prior use . in order to fit frame 100 in a substantial portion of a currently favored ¼ , ½ , and 1 ton rectangular fruit bins as vessel 501 , the oak planks preferably have a width of about 3 - 6 inches , and a length of about 38 to 41 inches , and a thickness of about ¼ inch to 1 inch , and preferably about 5 / 16 ″. a pair of circular holes 131 and 132 formed at opposite ends of each plank , wherein the center of the hole is displaced from the end of the plank by a distance about equal to about half the width of the planks this placement of hole 131 and 132 enables the preferred space filling vertical stacking arrangement described above . the planks 130 are preferably solid oak and more preferably solid oak that has been toasted . it should be note that the deployment of spaces 125 between vertically adjacent planks 130 allows extraction of flavor components from both sides of the planks for the entire length , as the grape juice must / wine can readily flow over the entire surface but for a small area at the perimeter of the holes 131 and 132 . it should be appreciated that such a frame 100 is preferably fabricated of food grade stainless steel alloy , but for the wood planks 130 . it should be appreciated that any cap that forms during fermentation can be readily “ punched down ” in the central area between the stacked planks , as well a pumped over . however , due to the stacking arrangement , it is still possible to expose fluid product in ¼ , ½ , and 1 ton fruit bins to the same area of oak as the much smaller 50 - 60 gallon barrels , yet without the expense , rarity , and other issues associated therewith . as shown in fig1 and 12 the frame 100 can be used with a porous plate 510 extending to cover the central area between the stacked planks which then acts as a cap submersion means . the porous plate 510 has large number of gaps , holes or apertures as shown in fig1 b and 12 b to provide for upward fluid flow and the retention of grape solids below . the plate 510 is optionally held at the corners to the columns 120 , just like planks 130 and / or spaces 125 , that is bellow handle 150 or similar means deployed at the top of the columns to retains planks . alternatively , further planks 130 or wood bars , mesh or lattice can be disposed across central area above the stacked planks and function as a cap submersion means . such a layer of a plurality of planks or elongated wood members can be spaced apart to have a plurality gaps to provide for upward fluid flow and solid retention below . plate 510 or such a collection of planks and / or wood bars , mesh or lattice can be disposed just below the last layer of the stacked planks , which provides a means for retention to submerge the cap that is not attached directly to the columns 120 . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a locking tool holder or locking jaw assembly 10 of the present invention generally comprising a top jaw 100 precisely and securely interconnectable to a master jaw 200 by a lock bolt 300 and a key locator 400 . in practice , a plurality of locking tool holders 10 are disposed on a rotating chuck and symmetrically arranged along radials of the rotational axis thereof . the locking jaw assemblies 10 may also be adjustable to clamp and retain a workpiece not shown in the drawing . in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 the master jaw 200 of the locking jaw assembly 10 is fixedly disposed on a diaphragm chuck 20 , shown in part , having a hydraulically actuated diaphragm 22 for adjusting the plurality of locking jaw assemblies 10 , although the master jaw 200 may also be disposed on other types of chucks , including a woodworth ® universal bal - lok ® chuck , wherein the master jaw is disposed on or integrally formed with a pivoting member which adjusts corresponding locking jaw assemblies . fig1 and 2 show the master jaw 200 generally comprising a body having a fiat front surface 212 , an inner end surface 214 with a curvature substantially the same as the curvature of the diaphragm 22 , and an outer end surface 216 . a wedge - shaped lip portion 218 having an inner surface 219 protrudes from and extends across the curved inner end 214 , and a t - shaped slot 220 extends through the master jaw 200 along a radial of the rotational axis of the chuck 20 . a partial circular recess having a bottom surface 226 and a side surface 228 is formed in the outer end surface 216 , and a curved recess having a bottom surface 232 , a side surface 234 , and a top surface 236 is formed in the t - shaped slot 220 . the lock bolt 300 comprises a cylindrical shaft having a threaded screw portion 311 and a non - threaded end portion 312 formed thereon , and a collar with a disk - shaped bottom surface 326 , a circular side surface 328 , and a disk - shaped top surface 330 . a head 320 of the bolt 300 and an axial bore extending into an end 322 opposing the head 320 may include hexagonal shaped or other engageable surfaces that may be engaged by a conventional hex - driver tool for applying a torque to the bolt 300 from either end thereof . the collar of the lock bolt 300 is disposable in the curved recess and in the partial circular recess of the master jaw 200 so that the cylindrical shaft of the lock bolt 300 extends up and into the t - shaped slot 220 . the key locator 400 comprises an elongated body portion having a t - shaped cross - section and a threaded bore 420 extending through the body portion along a major axis thereof . a wedge - shaped foot 430 also having a t - shaped cross - section extends from an end of the body portion as further discussed below . in one embodiment , the t - shaped cross - section of the body portion is slidably disposable in the t - shaped slot 220 extending through the master jaw 200 with the foot 430 positioned toward the collar of the bolt 300 . the non - threaded end portion 312 of the bolt 300 is extendable into the threaded bore 420 of the key locator 400 without rotation of the bolt 300 to generally align and guide the t - shaped body portion of the key locator 400 toward and into the t - shaped slot 220 from the inner end surface 214 of the master jaw 200 . the threaded portion 311 of the bolt 300 is then engageable with the threaded bore 420 of the key locator 400 to reciprocate the key locator 400 in the t - shaped slot 220 of the master jaw 200 upon rotation of the bolt 300 wherein the major axis of the bolt 300 and the key locator 400 are aligned relative to a radial of the rotational axis of the chuck 20 . the disk - shaped bottom surface 326 or the disk - shaped top surface 330 of the collar mate with the bottom surface 232 or the top surface 236 of the curved recess , depending on the orientation of the locking jaw assembly 10 on the chuck 20 , to prevent the bolt 300 and the key locator 400 from disengaging from the master jaw 200 unless the bolt 300 is completely unthreaded from the key locator 400 . fig1 , 3 and 4 show the top jaw 100 generally comprising a body portion 110 having a flat front surface 112 , an inner end surface 116 having a flange 118 with a front surface 119 , and a wedge shaped groove 120 having an inner surface 121 formed in a lower edge 122 thereof . the lower edge 122 and the wedge - shaped groove 120 have a curvature substantially the same as the curvature of the wedge - shaped lip 218 of the master jaw 200 . a channel 130 having a bottom surface 132 and opposing side walls 134 extends through the flange 118 and partially into the body portion 110 substantially perpendicular to the wedge - shaped groove 120 and the lower edge 122 . a wedge - shaped recess having a bottom portion 142 and opposing side walls 144 is formed in a medial portion of the body portion 110 extending from the channel 130 to an outer end surface 117 . opposing wedge - shaped flanges 150 having opposing wedge - shaped side walls 152 extending over a portion of the bottom surface 142 of the wedge - shaped recess , forming a t - shaped slot 160 proximate the outer end surface 117 comprised of the bottom surface 142 , the opposing side walls 144 , upper surfaces 146 , and the opposing wedge - shaped side walls 152 . the top jaw 100 may also comprise a workpiece surface 170 for clamping and securely retaining a workpiece not shown in the drawing . the top jaw 100 may be fastened to the master jaw 200 by first rotating the lock bolt 300 to position the key locator 400 relative to the master jaw 200 so that the wedge - shaped foot 430 of the key locator 400 may be positioned in the wedge - shaped recess of the top jaw 100 . in the embodiment of fig1 if the wedge - shaped foot 430 of the key locator 400 is positioned too close to the collar of the bolt 300 , the front surface 212 of the top jaw 100 will abut the collar of the bolt 300 and the flange 118 of the top jaw 100 will abut the front surface 212 of the master jaw 200 , thereby preventing the wedge - shaped foot 430 from being properly disposed in the wedge - shaped recess of the top jaw 100 . when the wedge - shaped foot 430 of the key locator 400 is properly positioned in the wedge - shaped recess of the top jaw 100 , a wedge surface 432 of the wedge - shaped foot 430 is adjacent to the bottom surface 142 of the top jaw 100 , and opposing side surfaces 434 of the wedge - shaped foot 430 are adjacent to the opposing side walls 144 of the top jaw 100 , so that the front surface 112 of the top jaw 100 is substantially parallel to but separated from the front surface 212 of the master jaw 200 . the top jaw 100 may then be locked to the master jaw 200 by rotating the lock bolt 300 so that the key locator 400 and the wedge - shaped foot 430 are moved along the slot 220 of the master jaw 200 toward the collar of the bolt 300 wherein the wedge - shaped foot 430 is moved from the wedge - shaped recess and into the t - shaped slot 160 of the top jaw 100 . surfaces 436 of the wedge - shaped foot 430 then engage opposing surfaces 146 of the t - shaped slot 160 in the top jaw 100 to draw the top jaw 100 toward the master jaw 200 until front surface 112 of the top jaw 100 comes into contact with the front surface 212 of the master jaw 200 , and the lip portion 218 of the master jaw 200 is disposed in and engages the complementary wedge - shaped groove 120 of the top jaw 100 so that the inner surface 219 of the lip 218 contacts the inner surface 121 of the groove 120 . the top jaw 100 is properly aligned relative to the master jaw 200 along a radial of the rotation axis of the rotating collar 20 by a stem of the key locator 440 of the key locator 400 , having a bottom 442 and opposing side walls 444 positioned adjacent the bottom 132 and the opposing side walls 134 of the top jaw 100 , and also by a wedge - shaped stem 450 of the key locator 400 having opposing wedge - shaped side walls 454 positioned adjacent the opposing wedge - shaped side walls 152 of the top jaw 100 . when a workpiece is clamped and retained by the top jaw , forces exerted by the workpiece on the top jaw 100 set up reaction forces in the locking jaw assembly 10 , including reaction forces between the lip portion 218 of the master jaw 200 and the complementary groove 120 of the top jaw 100 . as discussed above , the top jaw 100 is securely fastened to the master jaw 200 toward the inner end surface 116 of the top jaw 100 by the interaction of the lip portion 118 of the master jaw 200 and the groove 120 of the top jaw 100 , and toward the outer end surface 117 of the top jaw 100 by the interaction of the wedge - shaped foot 430 of the key locator 400 and the t - shaped slot 160 of the top jaw 100 . therefore , any reaction forces between the lip portion 218 of the master jaw 200 and the complementary groove 120 of the top jaw 100 will tend to move the top jaw 100 toward the master jaw 200 thereby increasing the contact between the front surface 112 of the top jaw 100 and the front surface 212 of the master jaw 200 . the tendency of the top jaw 100 to move into closer contact with the master jaw 200 will also relieve tensile stress on the key locator 400 . the top jaw 100 may be readily removed from the master jaw 200 by simply rotating the lock bolt 300 no more than a few turns to move the key locator 400 and the wedge - shaped foot 430 away from the collar 324 of the bolt 300 until the wedge - shaped foot 430 of the key locator 400 is moved from the t - shaped slot 160 and into the wedge shaped recess 140 of the top jaw 100 , and the lip portion 212 of the master jaw 200 is removed from the groove 120 of the top jaw 100 . although the exemplary embodiment is directed toward a plurality of locking jaw assemblies 10 disposed on a chuck 20 for external chucking , wherein a workpiece for example a pipe , is disposed between and securely retained by the plurality of the top jaws 100 , the locking jaw assembly 10 of the present invention may also be configured for internal chucking wherein the workpiece surrounds the plurality of top jaws which securely retain the workpiece from within , for example from within a hollow pipe , by inverting or rotating the locking jaw assemblies 180 degrees relative to the chuck 20 so that the lip portion 218 of each master jaw 200 and the grooved flange 122 of each top jaw 100 are oriented proximate an outer circumference of the chuck 20 . the foregoing description will enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the preferred embodiments of the present invention . it will be understood that there exists variations , modifications and equivalents to the embodiments disclosed herein . the present invention therefore is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
a schematic diagram of the automatic aperture corrector circuit is shown in fig1 . the length of delay line 2 is determined by the television sensor being used and consequently the frequency of the maximum boost . resistor 4 is chosen to be equal to the characteristic impedance of the delay line . the input impedance of transistor 6 and differential video amplifier 8 is made high so that the termination of delay line 2 will appear as an open circuit . video amplifier 8 is a controllable gain video amplifier with an open collector current output e . g ., motorola mc 1590 . capacitors 13 and 15 function to ac couple the high frequency content of the information to video amplifier 8 . the output voltage e o , is generated by the summation of the two video current sources into resistor 10 . the first current source is from the collector of transistor 6 . transistor 6 operates as a straight video amplifier and amplifies the unboosted portion of the video signal by the ratio of the values of resistor 10 to the value of resistor 11 . the portion of the output video signal contributed by the transistor 6 can be represented as follows : ## equ1 ## where t = delay of delay line 2 . the second current source is from the output of video amplifier 8 which amplifies the differences in voltage between e a and e b . this portion of the output voltage may be expressed as e o2 : where a is the voltage gain of video amplifier 8 with terminating resistor 10 . the voltage at the end of the delay line , e b may be expressed as a function of the input voltage , e i , as follows : since delay line 2 is terminated into an open circuit , there will be a one hundred percent in - phase reflection from the end of the delay line . this reflection will be completely terminated into the source impedance represented by resistor 4 which was made equal to the characteristic impedance of the delay line . therefore , e a may be expressed as follows : ## equ2 ## where the first term is the incident wave and the second term is the reflective wave with a round trip delay of 2t . equations 3 and 4 can be substituted into equation 2 so that the output voltage of the second current source can be expressed as : e . sub . o2 = - a 1 - cos ω t ! e . sub . i ε . sup .- ts the total output voltage , e o , can be represented as : e . sub . o = - e . sub . i ε . sup .- ts r . sub . 3 / r . sub . 2 + a ( 1 - cos ω t )! from the foregoing equation it can be seen that at ω = 0 ( i . e ., at d . c .) the relative response of the aperture corrector is simply : ## equ3 ## when ωt = π or the frequency equals 1 / 2t the relative response may be expressed as follows : ## equ4 ## fig2 a represents the transfer function of the television system without the use of the aperture corrector circuit . it can be seen that the uncompensated television systems frequency response is limited to its limiting resolution , fo . the transfer function of the automatic aperture corrector circuit is plotted from equation 7 and is shown in fig2 b . the bandwith of the automatic corrector circuit extends to twice the frequency corresponding to the limiting resolution of the uncompensated system . from equation 9 it can be seen that the high frequency response of the circuit is directly related to the gain of video amplifier 8 and that the phase response is completely independent of the gain a . therefore , adjusting the gain a changes the amount of boost in the circuit . the amount of boost is equal to the ratio of e o to e b . given that the noise is &# 34 ; white &# 34 ;, the rms ( root mean square ) value of the noise contained in the frequency spectrum between 0 hertz and the limiting resoluting , fo , is the same as the noise between fo and 2 fo . furthermore , given that the frequency boosting is symetrical about fo , detecting the rms noise above fo is equivalent to detecting rms noise below fo . for this reason the instant invention utilizes a high pass filter whose transfer function is illustrated in fig2 c in order to extract the noise above the limiting resolution of the television system for further processing . since the noise content can be considered as guassian , knowing the percentage of time that the noise exceeds a fixed threshold is equivalent to knowing the rms value of the noise . for example , as shown in fig2 d the noise threshold can be selected at the 1 sigma point of a guassian distribution so that the noise will exceed that threshold voltage for 15 . 8 % of the time . the purpose of video amplifier 8 is to control the magnitude of the gain a and consequently the percentage of boost . by controlling the percentage of time that the high frequency noise exceeds a fixed threshold the rms noise level is controlled . this is accomplished by controlling the frequency response as shown in fig2 b . as the preamp input signal decreases , the agc video amplifier 12 increases the gain to maintain a fixed output signal , e i . however , the agc video amplifier 12 also increases the noise . the increased noise is sensed and the boost is reduced by the automatic boost control aperture corrector . consequently the low frequency signal to high frequency noise remains constant , since the low frequency noise equals the high frequency noise , the output signal to noise remains constant . the high pass filter is composed of capacitors 14 and 16 and resistors 18 and 20 . the output of the filter is connected to thresholding circuitry composed of transistors 22 and 24 and resistor 30 with the threshold set at a d . c . reference voltage e . g ., 0 . 5 volts . in order to fully explain the operation of the circuit , it is first assumed that there are no high frequency signals ( en = 0 ), the base of transistor 22 will remain at 0 volts and the collector of transistor 22 will rise to + 10 volts . since this voltage is connected to the negative input of operational amplifier 26 , and the positive input of operational amplifier 26 is connected to a + 5 volts reference , the output of operational amplifier 26 will saturate negatively . this will cause the video amplifier 8 to go to the maximum gain point giving the maximum boost . capacitor 25 and operational amplifier 26 are configured as an integrator so that the average value of the current pulses , i 1 , can be determined in the form of a d . c . voltage to control the gain of video amplifier 8 . for operational amplifier 26 , to come out of saturation , the average voltage at its negative input must be + 5 volts . this means that during normal operation the average current i 1 must be equal to + 5 volts divided by the value of resistance 28 ( 5 v / 31 . 6k = 158 . sub . γ a ). the total emitter current of transistor 22 plus transistor 24 represented by i 2 is 10 . 5 volts less the 0 . 7 voltage drop between the emitter and base of transistor 24 divided by the value of resistor 30 ( 10 . 5v - 0 . 7v / 9 . 8k = 1 . 0ma ). during the normal mode of operation , the noise signal en may appear as illustrated by curve 1 shown in fig3 a . at only those intervals of time that the value of en exceeds the threshold voltage v t , ( curve 3 ), will transistor 22 conduct . this operation will cause the current i 1 , and the gain control voltage eg , to appear as shown in fig3 b and 3c respectively . by setting the threshold voltage v t at the rms level of the noise , the noise signal , en , will exceed the threshold voltage 15 . 8 % of the time . when &# 34 ; white &# 34 ; gaussian noise is added to the input with the system at maximum boost , the aperture corrector will boost the high frequency noise which will pass the high pass filter and cause transistor 22 to conduct when the noise pulses exceed 0 . 5 volts . if the noise exceeds the threshold more than 15 . 8 percent of the time operational amplifier 26 will go positive and lower the value of the gain control voltage , eg . with a lower value of eg , video amplifier 8 will have a lower gain and consequently the amount of boost will be decreased . this will reduce the rms value of the noise en , at the base of transistor 22 . therefore , the amount of boost is automatically adjusted until the noise exceeds 0 . 5 volts exactly 15 . 8 percent of the time . since the noise was assumed to be gaussian this means that the high frequency noise was controlled at an rms value of 0 . 5 volts . from a gaussian distribution curve , a noise signal will exceed the rms value 15 . 8 percent of the time . changing the frequency response does not change the statistics of the noise . filtered gaussian noise is still gaussian noise . one set of typical values for the circuit elements shown in fig1 are as follows : delay line 2 -- 50 nsec . delay line , resistor 4 -- 300 ohms , transistor 6 -- 2n918 , amplifier 8 -- motorola mc 1590 , resistor 10 -- 1000 ohms , resistor 11 -- 100 ohms , agc amplifier 12 -- motorola mc 1590 , capacitor 13 -- 10 microfarads , capacitor 14 -- 22 picofarads , capacitor 15 -- 10 microfarads , capacitor 16 -- 22 picofarads , resistor 18 -- 1000 ohms , resistor 20 -- 1000 ohms , transistor 22 -- 2n918 , transsitor 24 -- 2n918 , capacitor 25 -- 5 microfarads , amplifier 26 -- microamp 741 , resistor 28 -- 31 , 600 ohms and resistor 30 -- 9800 ohms . | 7 |
the slow release pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention thus comprise a ligand which is a growth factor or hormone , a receptor for the growth factor or hormone , and a slow release carrier . that is , the active ingredient is a growth factor or hormone , and the adjuvant which provides the slow release characteristics for the composition is a combination of a receptor for the ligand and a biodegradable carrier . the ligand is conjugated to the receptor for the ligand , and the receptor is in turn bound to the carrier . examples of receptors that can be used to prepare the compositions of the present invention are the following : examples of ligands that can be incorporated in compositions according to the present invention to provide slow release of the ligands in vivo are : examples of biodegradable polymers which can be used in the present invention are listed below : the extracellular domain of the gh receptor was isolated using part of gh receptor cdna in an expression vector driven by the mt promoter . purification of this truncated receptor from media of transfected cells was achieved by affinity chromatography on hgh sepharose ( r ), followed by a gel chromatographic separation by size . commercially available hyaluronic acid was linked to the purified receptor by use of a crosslinking agent as defined above . the high molecular weight complex was purified from the remaining gh receptor by repeated centrifugations . around 75 % of crosslinked receptor was functionally intact . the crosslinked gh - hyaluronic acid receptor preparation was then incubated with excess levels of gh for two hours at 37 ° c . and unbound hormone was removed by centrifugation . the preparation , when injected subcutaneously , slowly released gh in a dose dependent way , based upon the amount of gh and also based upon the number of gh - receptors coupled to the gel . the rate of dissociation for a given preparation is determined for each batch by testing the release of immunoreactive gh in vitro or by testing the release of radioactive gh in animal models . an experiment measuring the increased body weight subsequent to different types of gh - treatment in a group of hypophysectomized ( hx ) rats was performed . three hx rats were subcutaneously injected each with a hyaluronic acid - gh - receptor - gh preparation , according to the present invention , containing approximately 1 . 2 mg of gh bound to receptor . three hx rats were subcutaneously injected with the same amount of gh in a water solution , which served as a control . the slow release treated group had significantly increased body weight , lasting more than four days , as compared to the controls . examples of biodegradable polymers which can be used in the present invention are listed below : all of the above polymers are degraded in the body by hydrolysis . the different polymers vary in their structural and chemical aspects , which afford them differences in strength , action , degradation time , and utility . it is understood that hyaluronic acid derivatives used in the present invention are biodegradable derivatives . pds , for example , is used as a resorptive suture material . pga is used in osteosynthetic material such as rods , plates , and screws , as in biofix ( r ). plla ligaments are used in research as replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee , etc . the carriers can be combined as desired , to take advantage of the varying properties of each polymers . for example , the stabilizing osteosynthetic material can be combined with a local slow release of , for example , fracture healing promoting peptides . the biodegradable polymers are structurally porous and having different grades of coating , which facilitates the absorption of the growth factor + receptor complex . in another experiment , pga rods of 1 . 5 × 8 mm were loaded with radiolabelled igf - 1 + igf - 1 binding protein using vacuum . the end parts of the rods were sealed by melting . the rods were implanted in the end of the tail in three rats . three control rats were injected in the same part of the tail using the same amount of radiolabelled igf - 1 in a water solution . the rats injected with the slow release composition of the present invention had a significantly higher radioactivity in the tails compared to the controls . the carriers of the present invention are generally commercially available . for example , hyaluronic acid can be purchased from either kabi pharmacia , sweden , or biomatrix , usa . hyaluronic acid can be prepared by the method shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 141 , 973 . ligands for use in the present invention are commercially available from companies such as sigma chemical co . and genentech , usa ; kabipharmacia sweden ; ucb , belgium ; ubi , usa ; synergen , boulder , colo . alternatively , a skilled molecular biologist can manufacture these proteins by isolating cdna for the protein of interest and expressing this in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells . receptor - binding proteins are commercially available from a variety of sources . for example , egf receptor can be obtained from promega , inc ., usa . receptor cdna can alternatively be obtained , as the sequences of these cdna &# 39 ; s are readily obtained by polymerase chain reaction techniques , after which recombinant proteins can be produced as desired . a number of references are cited as to obtaining essential receptor / binding protein starting materials . expression of cdna is the most effective way to obtain large quantities of receptors . however , conventional purification processes are also convenient ways of obtaining these proteins . tumor necrosis factor receptor has been cloned by gray et al ., &# 34 ; cloning of human tumor necrosis factor ( tnf ) receptor cdna and expression of recombinant soluble tnf - binding protein &# 34 ; ( proc . nat . acad . sci . 1990 ,. 87 : 7384 ), as well as himmler et al ., dna cell biol . dec . 1990 , 9 ( 10 ), p . 705 - 715 . many of the polymers used as carriers in the present invention are commercially available . molecular weight ranges are not critical to the practice of the present invention . the only criteria for use of these polymers is their inertness in the body as well as their slow release properties . the following non - limiting examples illustrate various types of slow release compositions that can be made according to the present invention . radio - labelled igf - i was mixed with hyaluronic acid and release of igf - i was determined in vivo either after a subcutaneous injection or in vitro in a diffusion chamber . the results showed that the release of igf - i dissolved in hyaluronic acid is retarded both in vivo and in vitro compared to a preparation consisting of radioactive igf - i dissolved in physiological saline . ( prisell et al . ; int . journal of pharmaceutics 1992 , 85 , 51 - 56 ). radiolabelled igf - i was mixed with an equimolar concentration of igf - i binding protein ( igf - i - bp ) for subsequent mixing with hyaluronic acid . a comparison was made to a preparation consisting of radiolabelled igf - i mixed with hyaluronic acid ( control ). various concentration of either components were used essentially following the example described by prisell et al . the test system for in vitro release consisted of diffusion chambers described and referred to in example 1 . the results showed that the addition of igf - i binding protein resulted in a significantly retarded release of igf - i compared to control . this was the case over a wide range of igf - i / igf - bp concentrations . ( a ) two groups of rats were injected in the tail by either 6 μg igf - i + igf - i binding protein + hyaluronic acid and another group with 6 μg igf - i in a water solution . the igf - i as used contained trace amounts ( 200 000 cpm ) of radiolabelled igf - i . three rats were analyzed at each occasion . after different points of time the end of the tail was amputated and the radioactivity analyzed . the first group of rats were found to release igf - i significantly more slowly ( more than two days ) than the controls . ( b ) in an additional experiment using the same ingredients as in example ( 3a ) another in vivo test using the hind foot of the rat was carried out as described by prisell et al in int . journal of pharmaceutics 1992 , 85 , 51 - 56 . the preparation containing igf - i binding protein resulted in a retardation of release compared to the preparation without igf - i binding protein . as described above , preparations were made consisting of either igf - i + igf - i binding protein + hyaluronic acid or igf - i and hyaluronic acid . these preparations were tested in a diffusion chamber allowing diffusion of proteins from a donor compartment into a receiver compartment ( described by prisell et al ). the igf - i in the receiving compartment was tested for bioactivity using a bioassay where the mitogenic effect of igf - i is tested . it was found that bioactive igf - i was released from both preparations and that the bioactive igf - i followed a similar time course as predicted from radioactive igf - i release as measured in experiment 2 . five hundred ng of igf - i and equimolar amounts of igf - i binding protein were mixed and slowly allowed to precipitate in a gradient of increasing amounts of acetone . the precipitate was mixed with 0 . 5 ml of a 10 % solution of poly - dl - lactic acid in acetone . the resulting slurry was emulsified with 5 ml of silicone oil and dispersed in a 0 . 9 % solution of sodium chloride in water . the thereby formed micro particles were filtered off and subjected to testing for release of encapsulated material in vitro as well as in vivo . they showed significant slow release properties . fgf ( 1 . 5 μg ) and equimolar amount of a fgf receptor were mixed in 1 ml of a 0 . 9 % solution of sodium chloride in water . the resulting solution was precipitated in a gradient of increasing concentration of acetone . the precipitate was mixed with 0 . 5 ml of a 10 % solution of a 75 / 25 % copolymer of dl lactic / glycolide . approximately 40 μl of the resulting slurry was deposited in each decalcified bone implant . according to the model of urist ( 1965 , science 150 : 893 - 899 ) these implants , and control implants with fgf in saline , were deposited subcutaneously in male sprague - dawley rats . the slow release fgf + receptor composition induced significantly more bone growth compared to the equivalent amount of fgf in saline among the controls . a freeze dried mixture of erythropoietin ( 50 . 000 iu ) and equimolar amounts of its extracellular receptor was dispersed in an ethylacetate solution of 5 % poly - β - hydroxybutyrate . the mixture was sprayed out in streaming water and filtered off and dried . the resulting powder was formulated into a parenteral solution and injected into mice for further analysis . the release of erythropoietin activity lasted for 14 days . a membrane was formed by drying 5 ml of a 5 % solution of poly - β - hydroxybutyrate / hydroxyvalerate copolymer in a glass petri dish . a mixture of 0 . 5 μg of nerve growth factor ( ngf ) and equimolar amount of nerve growth factor receptor was dried onto the surface of the membrane . the membrane was then folded so that the active surfaces faced to each other . the membrane was then rolled onto a glass rod 2 mm thick . by adding a few drops of chloroform the membrane was glued together to form a tube . the tube was used to connect two ends of the cut sciatic nerve in male sprague - dawley rats at a slow rate according to ria for ngf performed on into the tube micro injected and aspirated saline . one hundred mg of medical grade alginate mvm was dissolved in 5 g of a mixture composed of 500 μg of calcitonin ( ct ) receptor and equimolar amounts of radio - labelled calcitonin ( cibacalcin ®) in physiological buffer . about 0 . 5 ml ( i . a . ≈ 400000 cpm ) of this highly viscous mixture was injected in the dorsal part of the hind foot of new zealand rabbits . control rabbits were injected with radio - labelled ct in saline . the decline of radioactivity was evaluated using a gm - tube and was estimated to be significantly decreased in the ct + receptor + alginate mvm group compared to controls . in a similar experiment as in example 9 , 1 ml radio - labelled calcitonin ( ct ) ( cibacalcin ®) and equimolar amount of ct receptor was added to freeze - dried hyaluronan ( equivalent to 1 ml of 0 . 35 % hyaluronan - gel [ biomatrix , usa ]). radiolabelled ct in saline solution was used as a control . in the following experiment approximately 40 μl of either solution was injected in the dorsal part of the hind foot in male sprague - dawley rats according to a model described by prisell et al ., int . journal of pharmaceutics 1992 , 85 , 51 - 56 . the decline of radioactivity could be estimated through the aid of a gm - tube , and showed a striking difference between the two groups . the control group declined its local radioactivity in a significant faster way compared to the slow release group . four μg tgfβ1 and equimolar amounts of a tgfβ1 receptor were mixed in 1 ml of a 0 . 9 % solution of sodium chloride in water . the resulting solution was precipitated in a gradient of increasing concentration of acetone . the precipitate was mixed with 0 . 5 ml of a 10 % solution of a 75 / 25 % copolymer of dl lactic / glycolide . approximately 80 μl of the resulting slurry was injected in close contact with the periosteal layer in male sprague - dawley rats &# 39 ; thigh bones . this slow release composition showed a marked periosteal osteoinductive effect compared to an injected control solution containing equivalent amounts of tgfβ1 in saline . alginate dressings ( kaltostat ®, cv laboratories ltd ., uk ) approximately 0 . 5 × 1 cm large were soaked with radio - labelled egf + egf receptor solution . the solution contained 10 μg egf and an equimolar amount of egf receptor . the egf -+ receptor - saturated dressing was used to cover a newly created superficial wound on the dorsal proximal part of the tail of male sprague - dawley rats . the dressings were kept in place through the aid of a transparent tape ( tegaderm ® 3m , usa ), gently wrapped around the tail covering each dressing and underlying wound . the local radioactivity could be estimated using a gm - tube . the decline by time of local radioactivity was compared to a control group of similarly wounded rats , which wounds also were gently covered by tegaderm and injected through the tegaderm with an equivalent amount of radio - labelled egf in saline . the local radioactivity lasted significantly longer among the rats in the alginate dressing group . a slow release preparation is made by immobilizing on a glycolide / l - lactide copolymer a mixture of insulin - like growth factor - 1 receptor and insulin - like growth factor - 1 . this slow release composition is useful in administering insulin - like growth factor - 1 to a patient in need thereof . a slow release preparation is made by immobilizing by imidocarbonate crosslinking to alginate erythropoietin and erythropoietin - receptor . this preparation is administered to a patient in need thereof to release slowly erythropoietin over an extended period of time . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept , and , therefore , such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . | 0 |
a first embodiment of a tracheal tube 10 , alternatively referred to as an endotracheal tube , incorporating features of the invention is shown in fig1 . tracheal tube 10 , has a hollow tubular body 12 with an inflatable balloon 14 , also referred to as a cuff , mounted on the external surface of tubular body 12 near the distal end 16 thereof . connected to the space between tubular body 12 and cuff 14 , or the inflatable portion of the cuff in a multi - walled balloon , is a conduit 18 which runs from the proximal end 20 of tubular body 12 to the distal end 16 of tubular body 12 . conduit 18 is used to inflate balloon 14 to a desired occluding diameter once tubular body 12 is placed in its desired location in the air passage of a patient . conduit 18 is typically a small diameter tube 22 which runs through a passageway 24 within wall 26 of tubular body 12 , or along the inner or outer surface of wall 26 . alternatively , passageway 24 in wall 26 can constitute conduit 18 with the small diameter tubular body 12 sealed into the proximal end of passageway 24 . on the proximal end of the small diameter tube 22 is a valve 28 , which acts to retain the inflation air in balloon 14 and , typically , a pilot balloon 30 which inflates when cuff 14 meets resistance from the trachea to further inflation . while the drawings show a cuff 14 with a diameter greater than the outer diameter of tubular body 12 , the figures all show cuff 14 and pilot balloon 30 in a deflated configuration , the cuff and balloon being further enlarged when inflated . on proximal end 20 of tubular body 12 is an adapter 32 for connecting tracheal tube 10 to a source of air , oxygen , or gaseous anesthetic mixture , such as a respirator or wall mounted air supply ( not shown ). distal end 16 of tubular body 12 is open to allow gas fed into the tube to flow without obstruction into the patient &# 39 ; s air ways . in fig1 distal end 16 shows an alternative tip design comprising two side openings and a protected tip end so that a smooth leading surface is presented to the tissue of the air passage to minimize trauma to the tissue during placement of the tracheal tube 10 . tracheal tube 10 includes a flexible portion 34 in the wall of tubular body 12 covered by cuff 14 , a cable 36 extending from proximal end 20 to distal end 16 of tubular body 12 , and a control mechanism 38 attached to proximal end of the cable 36 . in a first embodiment , flexible portion 34 is created by removing some or all of wall 26 in the area under cuff 14 . if a portion of the wall is retained , retained portion 40 is along the side of tubular body 12 opposite where cable 36 is located as shown in the embodiment of fig6 - 7 . retained portion 40 bends acting as a hinge . in the first embodiment , to provide support and integrity for flexible portion 34 and to bring the bent tube back to its initial shape once the deforming force is released , a coil spring 42 is located within flexible portion 34 of tubular body 12 . where a portion of tube wall 26 is removed , a self - contained cuff 14 , such as shown in fig1 a , is provided so that the air space within the cuff is completely isolated from the gas stream flowing through the tracheal tube 10 . the self - contained cuff 14 then has an outer membrane 70 which is expanded against the trachea and an inner membrane 72 facing the open area in the tube wall . the end portions 74 are provided to seal cuff 14 to the outside surface of tubular body 12 . conduit 18 is used to inflate balloon 14 . cable 36 is threaded through a hole 44 in wall 26 of tubular body 12 near proximal end 20 of tubular body 12 , as best shown in fig4 . cable 36 may run through the lumen of tubular body 12 or through a second passageway 46 in the wall of tubular body 12 to the vicinity of cuff 14 where it exits through wall 26 into space 48 enclosed by cuff 14 . the distal end 50 of cable 36 is then attached to wall 26 of the tubular body 12 at a point 52 more distal from the exit point , but still within the space 48 . attachment may be by adhesives , clips , rings or other attachment devices or techniques known to those skilled in the art . cable 36 may be formed from various materials . for example , it may be a thin wire , such as piano wire or surgical stainless wire , a plastic filament such as nylon monofilament , multifilament braided structures or sutures , or any other variety of materials typically used as sutures or tensioning cords . mounted on proximal end 20 of tubular body 12 is a handle or trigger 54 movable longitudinally within a slide channel 56 ( fig4 and 5 ). the proximal end of cable 36 is attached to trigger 54 so that when an operator retracts the trigger 54 in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig1 the pulling force is transmitted to distal point 52 of cable attachment , causing tubular body 12 to bend in the area covered by cuff 14 and spring 42 to flex as shown in fig2 and 3 . when the trigger is released , spring 42 causes tubular body 12 to return to the unbent configuration as shown in fig1 . the trigger 54 and slide channel 56 may be so dimensioned that sufficient friction exists between these elements to retain the trigger 54 in its retracted position . fig6 and 7 show a modification of the first embodiment where a stretchable but substantially non - expandable membrane 58 covers flexible portion 34 to separate cable 36 and lumen of tubular body 12 from spring 42 and to prevent gas flowing through tubular body 12 from creating an expanding or pulsatile force on cuff 14 . in this instance , the membrane 58 acts as the inner membrane 72 of cuff 14 in fig1 a and the cable passes through cuff 14 rather than between balloon inner membrane 72 and spring 42 . otherwise , the modification of fig6 and 7 functions in the same manner as the first embodiment . fig8 and 9 show a further embodiment where flexible portion 34 is created by providing one or more notches 60 in wall 26 with bottom 62 of the notch 60 functioning as a hinge . while this embodiment does not show the use of the spring 42 , a spring can be used within that portion of the tube for the same purposes as set forth above . a membrane 58 is shown covering the notch 60 and forming the inner membrane 72 of cuff 14 . fig1 shows a cutaway view and fig1 shows an end view of an alternative embodiment of the endotracheal tube of the present invention having a distal end with an inner membrane 58 covering the spring 42 . fig1 and 13 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention including a mechanism 80 for retaining the handle or trigger 82 in its fully retracted position . the embodiment of fig1 and 13 includes a universal connector 84 received by the proximal end of the endotracheal tube 12 . the handle or trigger is attached to a cable 86 and is movable within a longitudinally extending slide channel 88 to bend or flex the distal end 16 of the endotracheal tube 12 as already explained . mounted on the proximal end 92 of the tube 12 is a pair of longitudinally extending , flexible retention members 94 , 96 having opposed recesses 98 , 100 for receiving and retaining the trigger 82 when the trigger is in its fully retracted position , as shown in fig1 and 13 . this retention mechanism allows one - handed manipulation of the trigger as previously described . fig1 and 15 show a sixth embodiment of the invention which includes an alternative retention mechanism for holding the cable trigger 82 in its fully retracted position . in this embodiment , a hook 110 rotatable about a vertical axis 112 is movable between a latched and unlatched position . in the latched position , shown in fig1 and 15 , the trigger 82 is held by the hook 110 in its fully retracted position . the trigger is released when the hook 110 is rotated clockwise , as seen in fig1 . fig1 - 18 show a seventh embodiment of the invention which includes a curved , relatively rigid , sliding bar or flattened wire 120 to actuate the flexible distal tip 122 . the bar or wire 120 is slidably disposed within a longitudinally extending groove or channel 124 formed in the wall of the tube 12 , as best seen in fig1 and 18 . a hook 126 on the proximal end of the bar or wire 120 is used to actuate the distal tip between its bent and unbent configurations . fig1 and 19a show an eighth embodiment of the invention in which , instead of a single cable for bending the distal tip , a pair of cables 130 , 132 disposed within passageways 134 , 136 within the wall 138 of the endotracheal tube 12 are used to flex or bend the distal tip in either of two directions along a y - axis shown in fig1 . an alternative to this arrangement , providing for even greater versatility , is shown in the ninth embodiment of the invention in fig2 and 20a . in this case , four cables 140 , 142 , 144 and 146 , disposed within passageways 148 , 150 , 152 and 154 spaced at 90 ° intervals within the wall 156 of the endotracheal tube 12 can be used to flex the tip in either direction along an x - axis , a y - axis or anywhere in between , thus providing the greatest degree of options so as to permit more precise control of the direction of the bending of the distal tip . fig2 and 22 show a tenth embodiment of the invention in which flexibility of the distal tip of the endotracheal tube is provided by a bellows section 160 within the cuff 162 . such a flexible bellows section allows movement of the distal tip in any direction while preserving the airtight integrity of the tube without any additional covering . the embodiment of fig2 and 22 includes a small baffle chamber 164 disposed along the underside of the bellows section 160 of the distal tip of the endotracheal tube . air or fluid forced into this chamber by way of a small diameter tube 166 causes expansion of the small baffle chamber 164 against a fixed projection 168 extending from the underside of the bellows section . fig2 shows the distal tip of this embodiment in its flexed or bent configuration upon the introduction of air or other fluid under pressure into the small baffle chamber 164 . fig2 - 28 show an eleventh embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , flexibility of the distal tip is provided by a v notch 170 formed in the underside of the distal end of the endotracheal tube 12 . this v - shaped cutout or notch 170 is covered by a dual membrane , details of which are shown in fig2 and 26 . a first flexible , inner membrane 172 including laterally oriented corrugations 174 is configured to nest within a similar , outer flexible membrane 176 also including laterally disposed corrugations 178 . the corrugations allow expansion of the membranes . the membranes are bonded together along their edges 180 , 182 so as to define an enclosed space 184 therebetween . air or fluid under pressure is supplied to this space by means of a small diameter tube 186 . fig2 and 28 show the distal tip of the endotracheal tube of this embodiment in its unflexed or unbent configuration and in its bent or flexed configuration when air or other fluid is forced into the space 184 between the inner and outer membranes . fig2 and 30 show a twelfth embodiment of the invention comprising an endotracheal tube having a distal end including a cuff , as already described . a v - shaped cutout or notch 190 is formed in the distal end of the endotracheal tube 12 within the confines of the cuff . inserted into the lower end of the v - shaped notch 190 is an expandable balloon 192 having a distal extremity 194 and a proximal extremity 196 . the distal extremity 194 is sealed while the proximal extremity receives the distal end of a small diameter tube 198 . the distal end of the tube 198 is bonded or otherwise secured in fluid - tight fashion within the proximal end 196 of the balloon . air or other fluid forced into the balloon causes expansion thereof and flexing or bending of the distal end of the endotracheal tube , as best seen in fig3 . the embodiments of fig2 - 30 show the small diameter tubes 166 , 186 and 198 for supplying air or other fluid to the baffle chamber 164 , dual membrane 172 , 176 , and balloon 192 . the small diameter tubes are illustrated as co - extruded to the exteriors of the primary tubular bodies . however , the small diameter tubes can also be co - extruded to the interiors of the primary tubular bodies . alternatively , the small diameter tubes can extend within the passageways in the walls of the primary tubular bodies in a similar fashion to the conduit 18 illustrated in fig1 . also , the passageways in the walls themselves can constitute the air - tight or fluid - tight small diameter tubes in which case the small diameter tubes are sealed into the proximal ends of passageways . although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions and uses thereof , other versions and uses are contemplated by the invention . for example , it is not necessary to purposely provide a flexible portion to the wall nor is it necessary that the distal portion of the cable be placed between the cuff and the tube outer wall . the bending action can be obtained using a standard cuffed endotracheal tube with the cable run through the lumen of the tube or in the wall of the tube . the cable then exits through the wall just proximal of the cuff and is attached to the wall just distal of the cuff ( i . e ., external to the cuff ). pulling on the cable in the manner described above causes the tube to bend in the region covered by the cuff . further , it is not necessary to limit the flexible portion 34 to the cuff area . any portion of the tube can be caused to bend by providing a cable exiting through the tube wall before the desired bendable section and attaching the cable proximal thereto . pulling on the cable bends the tube within that portion where the cable is external to the tube . other variations contemplated within the general scope of the device described above include other means of creating a flexible portion such as by providing the tubular body a corrugated tube wall or making the distal end portion of the tubular body of a material that is more flexible than the remainder of the tubular body . in some applications the inflatable cuff is neither needed nor desirable . for example , when used with some children , the endotracheal tube forms a seal with the interior walls of the trachea without use of the inflatable cuff , and elimination of the cuff reduces the thickness of the device for easier insertion and manipulation . also , the cuffless device of the present embodiment can be used for applications other than as an endotracheal tube , for example , as a cannula for insertion into a human or animal body . for applications other than as an endotracheal tube , for example , as a cannula for insertion into a human or animal body . fig3 a , 31 b and 32 show a further embodiment in which one or two membranes are used rather than the inflatable cuff as described above . in this embodiment , a flexible portion 202 of the tube is created by providing one or more notches 204 in a wall 206 with a bottom 208 of the notch functioning as a hinge . an outer membrane 210 covers the notch 204 . an inner membrane 212 may be placed inside the tube in which case a cable 214 of the pulling mechanism is located between the outer membrane 210 and the inner membrane 212 . the outer membrane 210 protects the walls of the body passage into which the tube is inserted from coming into contact with the cable . the outer membrane 210 can be sealed to the outer surface of the tube forming a fluid - tight seal . alternatively or additionally , the inner membrane 212 can be sealed to the inner surface of the tube to form a fluid - tight seal . fig3 shows the cable 214 creating a temporary bend in the flexible portion of the tube covered by the membrane . the cable 214 extends from the proximal end 216 of the tube through a proximal end of the portion of the tube covered by the membrane , extending between the flexible portion 202 and the outer membrane 210 . the distal end of the cable 214 is attached to the wall 206 distal to the notch 204 . the cable 214 can be attached to the wall 206 , for example , at a position distal to ( as illustrated in fig3 a ) or below ( as illustrated in fig3 ) the outer membrane 210 . a pulling force is applied to the proximal end of the cable 214 at the proximal end 216 of the tube . as explained above with respect to other embodiments , the flexible portion 202 of the tube need not include a notch , but can formed in other ways . for example , the tube can be formed from a polymeric material with the portion of the tube forming the flexible portion 202 being a polymer of different chemical properties having a greater flexibility than surrounding portions of the tube . also , the flexible portion 202 can be heat , ultrasound or uv radiation treated to create flexibility greater than surrounding portions of the tube . while this embodiment does not show the use of a spring , a spring can be used within the tube for the same purposes as set forth in other embodiments . as shown in fig3 , an inflatable cuff 228 can be used with the embodiment of fig3 a . thus , the flexible portion of the tube 202 need not be within the inflatable cuff 228 . the inflatable cuff 228 can be positioned proximate to the flexible portion 202 ( as illustrated fig3 ), can be positioned distal to the flexible portion 202 , or can surround the flexible portion 202 ( as illustrated in fig8 ). fig3 shows flexible portions created by a plurality of notches 220 - 226 . fig3 shows the notch 226 oriented 180 degrees from the notches 220 , 222 , 224 relative to the axis of the tube . this allows bending of the tube in directions within a plane . additionally , the notches can be oriented anywhere 360 degrees around the axis of the tube allowing the bending of the tube in directions outside of the plane . the multiple notches can be controlled by multiple cables oriented similarly to those shown in fig1 , 19 a , 20 and 20 a . each notch can have a cable that exits through the wall at the proximal end of the notch which then attaches to the wall just distal of the notch . as explained above with respect to other embodiments , the flexible portion of the tube need not include a notch , but can formed in other ways . in the embodiments of the present invention described above and shown in the figures , some of the mechanisms for bending the primary tubular body , including the cables and the small diameter air / fluid supplying tubes , are shown extending within the walls of the primary tubular body from the proximate end of the body to the flexible region . other of the mechanisms for bending the body are shown co - extruded to the exteriors of the primary tubular bodies . however , it is also intended that in all the described embodiments the mechanisms for bending the tubular body can extend within the walls of the body and / or can be co - extruded to the exterior and / or interior of the primary tubular body . it is believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description and , while the invention shown and described herein has been characterized as particular embodiments , changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 0 |
a perspective view of a tree - felling saw head 10 is illustrated in fig1 and shows the saw head 10 operably extended forwardly of a saw head enclosure 11 . a more detailed description of the saw head 10 is presented in canadian patent application no . 574 , 491 , filed oct . 11 , 1988 , in the name of m . w . kenneth nunweiler . a double - headed arrow 12 indicates the direction along which the saw head is reciprocable . thus the saw head may be fully extended , as shown , when cutting a tree and then completely retracted for safety when not in use and to prevent damage thereto through inadvertent contact with rocks and the like . in this regard , a bumper 13 extends outwardly from an external surface of each side wall of the enclosure 11 to prevent accidental side contact with the saw head 10 when extended . grapple arms ( not shown ) are usually employed with the saw head 10 to assist in tree cutting . thus , while a tree trunk is firmly gripped by the grapple arms ( not shown ) against an upper curvilinear supporting edge 14 of the enclosure 11 and a corresponding lower supporting edge ( not shown ) the saw head 10 is advanced forwardly in the direction of the arrow 12 to sever the tree . when completely cut through , the tree is further supported laterally by a shield plate 15 that substantially conforms to the curvature of the upper edge 14 as shown in fig1 . in addition to such lateral support , the base of the tree is carried upon a top plate 16 which enters the kerf as it is cut by a plurality of saw teeth 17 and 17 &# 39 ;, individual ones of which are removably mounted on each side of a center disk 19 alongside a peripheral edge 18 thereof . fig2 illustrates an end view of a pair of known saw teeth 20 and 20 &# 39 ; which are positioned in a cutting configuration as when mounted on the center disk 19 . although not illustrated in detail , it will be understood that the teeth 20 and 20 &# 39 ; are of the type commonly referred to as chainsaw teeth . a kerf 21 cut by the teeth 20 , 20 &# 39 ; is illustrated in fig2 b which shows a cross - sectional portion of a tree 22 having longitudinal fibers 23 . it will be observed that the saw teeth 20 and 20 &# 39 ; each have a sloping cutting edge 24 as shown which results in a correspondingly shaped end wall 25 of the kerf 21 . it has been discovered that cross cutting the fibers 23 , as in the manner of the prior art , requires an expenditure of additional energy as compared to effecting the same cut using saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; illustrated in fig3 . the saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; are positioned similarly to the teeth of fig2 . however , a significant difference observable in fig3 a is that cutting edges 26 of the saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; are coplanar . a kerf 27 is therefore cut with a square end wall 28 that is substantially parallel to the fibers 23 . in the example of fig3 it has been determined that 90 % of the power available for the cut is used to break the fibers 23 along side walls 29 of the kerf 27 . since the side walls 29 are cut in advance of the remaining portion of the kerf 27 in accordance with the invention , only 10 % of the power available is required to remove the remainder of the kerf 27 . the cutting action of the saw teeth 20 , 20 &# 39 ; cuts or breaks the fibers 23 more than once . this is wasteful of available power which otherwise could be used to increase the speed of the cut . in high production situations , speed is critical to efficiency of performance and therefore there is a perceived need to design improved cutting apparatus for felling trees . as will be described in greater detail in the description herein to follow , the saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; are able to cut the kerf 27 efficiently with a square profile as illustrated in fig3 b . as a result , the saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; are capable of separating the fibers 23 with relative ease and to achieve thereby the desired result of improved cutting efficiency . a perspective view of the saw tooth 17 is shown in fig4 . in the interest of brevity , the following description will apply principally to the saw tooth 17 . it will be understood , however , that the following description may apply equally to the saw tooth 17 &# 39 ; since one saw tooth is merely the mirror image of the other . equal numbers of the saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; are fastened to the center disk 19 using conventional fastening means such as threaded machine screws and corresponding threaded apertures in the center disk 19 . various structural elements of the saw tooth 17 are identified in fig4 where it will be seen that the saw tooth comprises a body portion 30 that is adapted to be fastened alongside the peripheral edge of the center disk 19 . two apertures 31 include a countersunk portion 32 ( fig6 ) that facilitates mounting the saw tooth 17 using flat - head threaded machine screws ( not shown ). rotational direction of the saw tooth 17 is indicated by an arrow 33 . a lead cutter 34 extends i forwardly of the portion 30 and includes a cutting edge 35 that is adapted to cut a narrow kerf which defines the side wall 29 of the larger principal kerf 27 . in addition , a corresponding square corner between the side wall 29 and the end wall 28 is formed . a primary cutter 36 trails the cutter 34 and functions to cut a corresponding remainder of the kerf 27 with a cutting leading edge 37 that is defined by a spiral around the surface of a cylinder having a radius equal to the radius of a tip 38 of the cutter 36 when mounted on the center disk 19 . since the edge 37 is at a constant radius to the rotational axis of the center disk 19 , the edge 37 does not cross wood fibers when cutting the kerf 27 . instead , the end wall 28 is cut square as previously described in fig3 . trailing the edge 37 there is a ruled , radially extending outermost surface 39 that is defined by two spirals around two cylinders ( not shown ) of slightly different radii . as may be best seen in fig6 a trailing portion of the surface 39 terminates along a trailing edge 45 and is lowered 8 . 0 ° ( fig5 ) to provide the cutting action required with clearance . if a line is drawn from the edge 37 to the edge 45 , it is a straight line . a series of such straight lines following the arc indicated by the arrow 33 , provides the required curvature to cut between the fibers 23 and to separate the same without double cutting and using extra power unnecessarily . fig5 shows a second trailing edge 46 , and a surface portion 44 , that are stepped radially inwardly from the radius of the tip 38 to prevent any frictional contact with the wall 28 so as to further improve cutting efficiency . a throat portion 47 separates the cutters 34 and 36 and facilitates removal of wood chips from the kerf 27 . the edge 35 of the cutter 34 breaks the fibers 23 in the corner of the kerf 27 by means of a sharpened tip 48 . cutting the narrow side wall kerf and fracturing the fibers in the corner requires about 90 % of the available power to drive the saw head 10 . this equates to a power consumption of about 45 % for each cutter 34 on a pair of saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; needed to form the kerf 27 . in the event that the cutter 34 is dulled by the action of rocks and other debris at the base of the tree 22 , the cutter 34 will continue to fracture the fibers 23 via compression in the corner of the kerf . it has been found that the fibers 23 damaged in this manner release readily when the cutter 36 advances into the fibers to form the kerf 27 . as well as achieving improved efficiency , the cutter 34 functions to protect the tip 38 of the cutter 36 in order to clear a path for the latter . this feature is achieved by setting the cutter 34 into the path of the arc traced by the cutter 36 in order to clear a path for the latter . reference to fig5 and 6 shows that the cutting edges 35 and 37 of cutters 34 and 36 , respectively , are positioned at an angle of 45 ° relative the cutting direction of the cutters . as previously described , the cutter 34 breaks the fibers 23 and initiates cutting the kerf 27 . the following cutter 36 subsequently separates the wood fibers without double cuttingi the same . each saw tooth 17 , 17 &# 39 ; takes an incremental bite of from 0 . 100 inches to 0 . 200 inches on each cut path . as a result , a tree 22 that is from 20 - 22 inches in diameter will be cut in approximately 4 seconds . since the center disk 19 is advanced forwardly at a rate of approximately 5 . 25 inches per second using hydraulic feed cylinders as described in copending application ser . no . 574 , 491 , and the rim speed of the disk is in the range of from 300 to 400 rpm using 20 saw teeth 17 , 17 &# 39 ;, the aforedescribed cutting results are readily achieved . fig5 and 6 also illustrate the cutters 34 and 36 with side walls 49 and 50 , respectively , each of which is directed inwardly of the center disk 19 at an angle of 5 . 0 ° relative to the cutting direction of the cutters . it will be understood therefrom that an opposite side wall 51 , corresponding to the side wall 50 , is angled convergingly towards the center disk 19 . turning to fig5 it will be observed that a top surface 40 of the cutter 34 trailing the cutting edge 35 is declined radially inwardly from the tip 48 at an angle of 8 . 0 ° relative a line tangent to the cutting circle of the cutters 34 and 36 . the aforedescribed bite is a function of this declination . the tip 38 may be regarded as a point of origin for the edge 37 as well as a cutting leading edge 52 of the side wall 50 . the edge 52 is downwardly directed into the throat 47 at an angle of 35 . 0 ° relative a line tangent to the cutting circle of the cutters as shown . a cutting surface of the cutter 36 intermediate the edges 37 and 52 comprises separate cutting surfaces 53 and 54 that comprise respective ruled surfaces defined by two spirals around two cylinders of different radii . to those individuals skilled in the art to whom this specification is addressed , it will be apparent that the embodiment heretofore described may be varied to meet particular requirements without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention disclosed . for example , the various surface angles disclosed may be varied somewhat to meet particular operating criteria . the foregoing embodiment is therefore not to be taken as indicative of the limits of the invention but rather as an exemplary structure of the invention which is described by the claims appended hereto . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown an array of systematic ecc product - coded data . in this figure , the data is arranged in an array of k 1 ( 208 rows ) _k 2 ( 172 columns ) wherein each of k 1 and k 2 is a positive integer , an error correction code , i . e ., po ( parity - outer code ), is added to the data of each column of a vertical direction , and an error correction code , i . e ., pi ( parity - inner code ), is added to the data in each row of a horizontal direction . in this specification , a crosspoint of one row and one column denotes an array position . each position includes eight bits representing the data or symbol . each row includes 172 positions . these are numbered 1 through 172 and from left to right . each column includes 208 positions numbered 1 through 208 and assigned from top to bottom position . illustratively , the position at the crosspoint of row 2 and column 4 is called position # 4 in the row direction , or called position # 2 when viewed in the column direction . referring again to fig1 the symbol “ x ” denotes erroneous data . row 1 includes erroneous data in positions # 5 and # 7 , while row 2 includes erroneous data in positions # 4 through # 8 , etc . in processing systematic ecc product - coded arrays , the erroneous data in the row direction is initially corrected with the erroneous data in the column direction being subsequently corrected . that is , the error correction of the 208 rows is initially performed , then the error correction of the 172 columns is performed . the data and the pi in the row direction are fetched to perform the error correction of the data in each row , and the data and the po in the column direction are fetched to perform the error correction of the data in each column . the rows 1 through 208 and the error correction codes are serially recorded in the dvd of a disk drive device and read by a read head , not shown and stored in a main memory 1 shown in fig3 . a portion of the coded data shown in fig1 such as rows 1 through 8 , is sent to a buffer memory 2 . each row is sent to an error position / pattern generator 4 of an encoder / decoder 3 shown in fig3 which are well known in the art . referring now to fig3 there is illustrated a prior array logic for correcting the errors in systematic ecc product - coded data . information that is required for the error position / pattern generator 4 performs the error correction in the row direction and the direction . the error position / pattern generator 4 performs a chien search function , well known in the art , which generates an expression for generating positions of the erroneous data and bit patterns for correcting the erroneous data , and calculates the positions of the erroneous data and the bit patterns based upon the expression . it is assumed that three erroneous data maximum can be corrected in the error correction of each row . if the number of erroneous data in one row is equal to or larger than four , as in the case of rows 2 and 4 , this row is called “ erasure ” as well known in the art , and the erroneous data of rows 2 and 4 are not corrected in the error correction in the row direction , and the pointer of the erasure rows , i . e ., rows 2 and 4 , are stored in a register 9 b of the encoder / decoder 3 for the error correction in the column direction . the error position / pattern generator 4 sends a signal indicating that one row being processed is the erasure to a row counter 9 a which sets the pointer of the row in register 9 b . the erroneous data in rows 2 and 4 handled as the erasure are corrected in the error correction in the column direction . the row including the erroneous data less than four , such as rows 1 , 3 , and 5 in fig1 is called “ nonerasure ” herein . referring now to fig2 taken together with fig3 there is shown erasures and miscorrection errors in rows of data subject to correction of random errors . the erroneous data in positions # 1 and # 2 of row 1 and positions # 1 and # 3 of row 3 are newly generated . these errors are newly generated by erroneously correcting data in these positions . the positions of the data or symbols in each column are defined as positions # 1 through # 208 from the top to bottom of the column , as described before . referring now to fig3 the error position / pattern generator 4 is provided in column error correction with the pointers of the erasure rows , i . e ., rows 2 and 4 , found in the error correction in the row direction . the pointers of the erasure , i . e ., rows 2 and 4 , are used as a parameter inputted to an expression of error correction based on a reed - solomon code , for example . since a decoding algorithm of the reed - solomon code is well known , the error correction algorithm is described in the above copending hassner et al . application . a maximum correctable number of erasures n is represented by the following expression : if the erroneous data in the column direction does not include the erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure , the n equals 16 , and if three erroneous data belonging to the nonerasures are included , the n equals 10 . the coded data including the 208 data and the pi of the first column 1 stored in a buffer memory 2 are supplied to the error position / pattern generator 4 . the error position / pattern generator 4 determines the position ( s ) of the erroneous data belonging to the nonerasures and generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . also , the error position / pattern generator 4 determines the position of the erroneous data belonging to the erasure ( s ) based upon the pointers , rows 2 and 4 in the case of column 1 , and generates bit patterns for correcting data belonging to the erasure . referring now to fig4 there is set forth a table or dense map used in the error correction in the column direction of the system of the prior art . more particularly , in the error correction of column 1 , the error position / pattern generator 4 finds the erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in position # 1 , generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data , and generates a second information block including ne 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 1 and ne 1 - 1 , bp ( bit pattern ). this is shown in box 1 of column 1 of the table in fig4 . in this box , ne 1 - 1 indicates that it is the first erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in column 1 , pos =# 1 indicates that the position of the erroneous data is in position # 1 , and bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 4 sends the second information block to a first stage of an error data register 6 through an address pointer 5 . there are two information blocks . the first information block includes data indicating a position at which data belonging to a row classified as the erasure is stored and a pattern for correcting the data at the position . the second information block includes position data indicating a position at which the erroneous data belonging to a row classified as the nonerasure is stored and a pattern for correcting the erroneous data at the position . next , the error position / pattern generator 4 finds the first erroneous data belonging to the erasure in position # 2 based upon the pointer “ row 2 ”. it then generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . likewise , it generates a first information block including e 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 2 and e 1 - 1 , and bp ( bit pattern ). this is shown in box 2 of column 1 in fig4 . in fig4 e 1 - 1 indicates that it is the first erroneous data of the erasure in column 1 . also , pos =# 2 indicates that the position of the erroneous data is in position # 2 , and the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 4 sends the first information block to a second stage of the error data register 6 through the address pointer 5 . next , the error position / pattern generator 4 finds the second erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in position # 3 , generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data , and generates a second information block . the second block includes ne 1 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 3 and ne 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ), as shown in box 3 of a column in fig4 . significantly , ne 1 - 2 indicates that it is the second erroneous data belongs to the nonerasure of column 1 , the to pos =# 3 indicates that the erroneous data occupies position # 3 , and bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 4 sends the second information block to a third stage of the error data register 6 through an address pointer 5 . the error position / pattern generator 4 next finds the second erroneous data belonging to the erasure in position # 4 based upon the pointer “ row 4 ”, and generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the generator 4 provides a first information block including e 1 - 2 , position ( pos ) # 4 and e 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ). this , too , is shown in box 4 of column 1 in fig4 . in this regard , e 1 - 2 indicates that it is the second erroneous data belongs to the erasure in column 1 . pos =# 4 indicates that erroneous data occupies position # 4 , and the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 4 sends the first information block to a second stage of the error data register 6 through the address pointer 5 . in this manner , the error position / pattern generator 4 sequentially finds the erroneous data of column 1 and sends the above information block for each erroneous data to the error data register 6 through the address pointer 5 . when the operation for generating the above information blocks of column 1 is terminated , the contents of the error data register 6 are serially sent to section 7 of the buffer memory 2 . the above information blocks of column 1 are assembled in section 7 as the table shown in fig4 . the above operation is repeated for successive columns 2 , 3 , . . . , and the table shown in fig4 is assembled in section 7 in the buffer memory 2 . referring again to fig1 - 4 , the operation of the error correction in column 1 is now to be considered . in the prior art embodiment , an mpu 8 fetches the second information block of box 1 in column 1 in the dense map or table in fig4 . this is now stored in section 7 and calculates an address on the main memory 1 which stores the original data corresponding to the data of position # 1 in column 1 . next , the mpu 8 fetches the data in position # 1 from the buffer memory 2 , corrects the fetched data by using the bit pattern included in box 1 , and writes the corrected data into the calculated address of the main memory 1 . next , the mpu 8 fetches the first information block of box 2 in column 1 in the dense map or table in fig4 and calculates an address on the main memory 1 which stores the original data corresponding to the data of position # 2 in column 1 . next , the mpu 8 fetches the data in position # 2 from the buffer memory 2 , corrects the fetched data by using the bit pattern included in box 2 , and writes the corrected data into the calculated address of the main memory 1 . referring now to fig5 there is exhibited a dvd system for correcting the errors in the coded data in accordance with the present invention . a disk drive device 11 includes the data recording disk or the dvd serially storing the coded data shown in fig1 a spindle motor for rotating the dvd , and a read head for reading the coded data from the dvd . since the dvd , the spindle motor , and the read head are well known in the art , these are not shown in fig5 . the error correction process of the present invention is described by using the coded data shown in fig1 for simplifying a comparison of the error correction process of the present invention with that of the prior technology . rows 1 through 208 and the error correction codes po and pi of the coded data of fig1 recorded on the dvd are serially read and stored in a main memory 12 , such as dram , through line 21 . a buffer memory 13 , such as sram , includes four memory sections 14 , 14 a , 15 , and 15 a . the memory sections 14 and 15 are used as a cache memory with higher processing speed than the main memory 12 . a part of the coded data , such as a group of 8 rows and a next group of 8 rows are stored in memory sections 14 and 15 in the process of error correction in the row direction , and a part of the coded data , such as a group of 8 columns and a next group of 8 columns are stored in memory sections 14 and 15 in the process of error correction in the column direction . the memory sections 14 a and 15 a are used to store a dense map or table 1 shown in fig7 and a dense map or table 2 shown in fig1 assembled in the error correction in the row or column direction , respectively . referring again to fig5 an encoder / decoder 16 includes an encoder section which generates the pi and po when a new data of 208 rows — 172 columns are stored into the dvd , and a decoder section which includes the error position / pattern generator 26 for generating the first and second information blocks for assembling the dense maps or tables 1 and 2 , first and second address pointers 27 and 28 , an error data register 29 , row counter 31 , register 17 , and register 32 . the operation of these components are described later . mpu 18 controls the operation of the disk drive device 11 , main memory 12 , buffer memory 13 , and encoder / decoder 16 , and includes a memory 33 which contains memory sections 34 , 35 , and 36 . as described before , the error position / pattern generator 26 performs a chien search function , well known in the art , which generates an expression for generating positions of the erroneous data and bit patterns for correcting the erroneous data , and calculates the positions of the erroneous data and the bit patterns based upon the expression . referring now to fig6 there is shown a flowchart for performing the error correction on the product - coded array data of fig1 in the row direction . the operation of the error correction in the row direction is substantially the same as that of the prior technology . the mpu 18 controls the operation of the steps of fig6 . it is noted that the row including the erroneous data equal to or less than a predetermined number is called the nonerasure , the row including the erroneous data larger than the predetermined number is called the erasure , and the information blocks of the dense map or table 1 is used to correct the erroneous data in the nonerasure . in the exemplary embodiment , the number “ 3 ” is selected as the predetermined number . the operation starts at step 41 and a first group of 8 rows is fetched from the main memory 12 and stored in the memory section 14 , and a second group of 8 rows is fetched from the main memory 12 and stored in the memory section 15 . the error correction of the first group of 8 rows is made by the operation through a first loop operation through steps 42 - 50 . when the process of to the first group is completed , a third group of 8 rows is stored in the memory section 14 , and the error correction of the second group of 8 rows stored in the memory section 15 is started . the purpose of the operation of steps 42 - 48 is to classify each of the 8 rows , rows 1 - 8 in this case , into the nonerasure and the erasure , and to assemble the dense map or table 1 shown in fig7 . the operation proceeds to step 42 wherein the coded data including the k 2 data and the pi of row 1 are sent to the error position / pattern generator 26 through line 24 . the error position / pattern generator 26 calculates positions of erroneous data and bit patterns for correcting the erroneous data based upon the error correction code pi . for the first erroneous data in position # 5 of row 1 , the error position / pattern generator 26 generates a bit pattern ( bp ) for correcting the erroneous data . it also generates a second information block including ne 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 5 and ne 1 - 1 , bp ( bit pattern ). this is set out in box 1 of row 1 in fig7 . in this case , ne 1 - 1 indicates that the erroneous data of row 1 is classified as the nonerasure . pos =# 5 indicates that the position of the erroneous data is in position # 5 , and the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 26 sends the second information block to a first stage of the error data register 29 through the first address pointer 27 . it is noted , as described before , that an information block which includes position data indicating a position at which data belonging to a row classified as the erasure is stored and a pattern for correcting data at the position is called the first information block . the second information block includes data indicating a position - at which erroneous data belonging to a row classified as the nonerasure is stored and a pattern for correcting the erroneous data at said position . for second erroneous data in position # 7 of row 1 , the error position / pattern generator 26 generates a bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data , and generates a second information block including ne 1 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 7 and ne 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ), as shown in box 2 of row 1 shown in fig7 wherein the ne 1 - 2 indicates that it is the second erroneous data of row 1 classified as the nonerasure , the pos =# 7 indicates that the position of the erroneous data is position # 7 , and the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 26 sends the second information block to a second stage of the error data register 29 through the first address pointer 27 . the operation proceeds to step 43 wherein the error position / pattern generator 26 determines whether row 1 includes erroneous data . if the answer at step 43 is no , the operation proceeds to step 44 wherein flag 1 for this row is set in the memory section 36 in the mpu 18 . if the answer at step 43 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 45 wherein the error position / pattern generator 26 determines whether a total . number of erroneous data in one row is more than three . that is , the row is classified into the erasure or the nonerasure in step 45 . if the answer at step 45 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 46 , wherein the error position / pattern generator 26 sends a signal indicating that the current row is the erasure to row counter 31 . row counter 31 sets the row number of the erasure as a pointer to register 17 . in this manner , the pointer of the row classified as the erasure is stored in register 17 of the decoder section . in the case of row 1 , row 1 is the nonerasure and hence the answer at step 45 is no , and the operation proceeds to step 47 wherein the second information block including ne 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 5 and ne 1 - 1 , bp ( bit pattern ), and the second information block including ne 1 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 7 and ne 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ) are sent to the memory section 14 a from the error data register 29 to assemble the first row of the dense map or table 1 . it is noted that the dense map or table 1 shown in fig7 is the map or table assembled in the memory section 14 a for the first group of rows 1 - 8 , and that only the first address pointer 27 is used in the error correction in the row direction . the operation proceeds to step 48 . in this step , the decoder section determines whether all 8 rows have been processed . if the answer at step 48 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 49 . in the exemplary case , the answer at step 48 is no and the operation returns to step 42 . also , the coded data of row 2 is sent to the error position / pattern generator 26 . since row 2 includes the erroneous data and the number of errors included in row 2 is larger than three , row 2 is classified as the erasure in step 45 . the operation proceeds to step 46 wherein the pointer “ row 2 ” is stored in register 17 , and the operation returns to step 42 . in this step , the next row 3 is sent to the error position / pattern generator 26 , and the error position / pattern generator 26 generates the second information block including ne 3 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 4 , ne 3 - 1 bp for the first erroneous data , and the second information block , ne 3 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 7 , ne 3 - 2 bp of the second erroneous data , and sends these two second information blocks to the first stage and the second stage of the error data register 29 through the first address pointer 27 . the operation proceeds to step 43 and the answer yes is generated . control then passes to step 45 . the result of this step is to generate a no answer . this devolves from the fact that row 3 includes only two erroneous data , and row 3 is classified as the nonerasure . the operation proceeds to step 47 . in this step , the above two second information blocks in the error data register 29 are sent to row 3 of the dense map or table 1 in the memory section 14 a . the operation proceeds to step 48 and the answer at step 48 is no in this case , and the operation returns to step 42 and the above - described operation is repeated until the answer at step 48 becomes yes . when step 48 is yes , this indicates that all 8 rows of the first group have been processed , the pointers of the erasures i . e ., “ row 2 ” and “ row 4 ”, stored in the register 17 of the decoder section are transferred to the memory section 34 of the mpu 18 , and second information blocks of the nonerasures in the 8 rows have been assembled in the dense map or table 1 in the memory section 14 a of buffer memory 13 . the purpose of the operation of steps 49 and 50 is to correct the erroneous data of the rows classified as the nonerasure in the 8 rows based on the second information blocks of the dense map or table 1 shown in fig7 . in the operation of step 49 , the mpu 18 fetches the second information block of box 1 of row 1 of the dense map or table 1 shown in fig7 to calculate an address of the main memory 12 which stores the erroneous data of position # 5 of row 1 based on - position data # 5 in the second information block . the mpu 18 fetches the erroneous data , for example , 8 - bit data “ 00000001 ” of position # 5 of row 1 from section 14 , and executes an exclusive or operation of the erroneous data “ 00000001 ” and the bit pattern ( bp ) for correcting the erroneous data , for example , “ 00000001 ”, resulting in the corrected 8 - bit data “ 00000000 ”. the mpu 18 stores the corrected data into the address of the main memory 12 . in this manner , the original data of position # 5 of row 1 stored in the main memory 12 is corrected . when all the erroneous data in one row is corrected in step 49 , the operation proceeds to step 50 wherein the mpu 18 determines whether the process of the 8 rows has been completed . if the answer at step 50 is no , the operation returns to step 49 . if the answer at step 50 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 51 wherein the mpu 18 determines whether the process of the 208 rows has been completed . if the answer at step 51 is no , the operation returns to step 42 . in this step , the processing of the next 8 rows , i . e ., rows 9 - 16 , in the memory section 15 is started , and the new dense map or table 1 for the next 8 rows is assembled in the memory section 15 a . if the answer at step 51 is yes , the operation terminates at step 52 . for each group of 8 rows , the operation through steps 42 - 50 is repeated and the erroneous data in the row classified as the nonerasure , which is stored in the main memory 12 , is corrected based on the second information blocks of the dense map or table 1 , and the pointer ( s ) of the row classified as the erasure is accumulated in the memory section 34 of the mpu 18 . when the process of the 208 rows has been completed , the pointers of the row classified as the erasure are stored in the memory section 34 of the mpu 18 . the answer yes at step 51 indicates that the process for correcting one erroneous data is repeated 3 — 208 times in maximum in the case that all the rows are the nonerasure and all the rows include three erroneous data . the exemplary result of the error correction in the row direction is shown in fig2 which was referred to in the description of the prior technology . as stated before , the erroneous data in positions # 1 and # 2 of row 1 and the erroneous data in positions # 1 and # 3 of row 3 are newly generated . these new erroneous data are generated by erroneously correcting the correct data in these positions . a probability of the generation the erroneous correction in one row in the error correction in the row direction depends on the number of correctable erroneous data in one row , as below . in the exemplary embodiment , the number of correctable erroneous data in one row is three so that viewing the data in the column direction , the probability of generating the erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in one column is 10 − 6 , and the remaining erroneous data in one column belong to the erasures . accordingly , in the error correction in the column direction , almost all the erroneous data included in one column belong to the erasure . however , the exemplary case shown in fig2 in which the first column includes the newly - generated two erroneous data in positions # 1 and # 3 is selected for the purpose of the description . referring now to fig8 and 9 , there is shown , respectively , a flowchart for performing the error correction of the erasures on the product - coded data array in the column direction in accordance with the present invention , and a flowchart for performing the error correction of the nonerasures on the product - coded data array in the column direction with respect to the coded data array of fig2 . briefly described , the purpose of the operation of steps 54 - 58 is to assemble the dense map or table 2 shown in fig1 . the operation starts at step 53 and a first group of 8 columns is fetched from the main memory 12 and stored in the memory section 14 , and a second group of 8 columns is fetched from the main memory 12 and stored in the memory section 15 . the error correction of the first group of 8 columns is made by the operation through steps 54 - 65 . when the process of the first group is completed , a third group of 8 rows is stored in the memory section 14 , and the error correction of the second group of 8 rows stored in the memory section 15 is started . the operation proceeds to step 54 wherein the mpu 18 sends the pointer of the erasures , i . e ., row 2 , row 4 , now stored in the memory section 34 of the mpu 18 to register 32 of the decoder section . the operation proceeds to step 55 wherein the mpu calculates addresses of locations of the main memory 12 , each of which includes adjacent two positions of the erasure based on the pointers of the erasure , i . e ., row 2 , row 4 , . . . , stored in the memory section 34 . referring to fig1 , columns 1 - 8 of rows 2 and 4 , which are classified as the erasure , are divided into four locations , each of which includes two data of the adjacent two positions . the first location of row 2 includes the two data of columns 1 and 2 , the second block of row 2 includes the two data of columns 3 and 4 , and so on . the mpu 18 calculates the address , such as ( x 0 , y 0 ), ( x 1 , y 0 ), etc . of the 8 locations on the main memory 12 for rows 2 and 4 , including columns 1 - 8 , as shown in fig1 , and the mpu 18 stores these addresses in the memory section 35 of memory 33 . the flow of control now passes step 56 wherein the coded data of column 1 is sent to the error position / pattern generator 26 through line 24 to generate the first information blocks and second information blocks , as shown in the dense map or table 2 of fig1 . the error position / pattern generator 26 can detect whether the error is of the random or erasure type based on the pointers of the erasure stored in register 32 . more particularly , for random errors ( row 1 ) in position # 1 of column 1 , error position / pattern generator 26 calculates position # 1 and a bit pattern ( bp ) for its correction . it then generates the second information block including ne 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 1 and ne 1 - 1 , bp ( bit pattern ). this is set out in box x of a nonerasure section or a second part of column 1 shown in the dense map or table 2 of fig1 . relatedly , ne 1 - 1 indicates that it is the first erroneous data that is the nonerasure in column 1 . pos =# 1 indicates that the position of the erroneous data is position # 1 . lastly , the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 26 sends the second information block to a first stage of a nonerasure section of the error data register 29 through the second address pointer 28 , as shown in fig1 . it is noted that both the first and second address pointers 27 and 28 of the decoder section are used in the error correction of the column direction . also , the error data register 29 is divided into the erasure section into which the first information blocks belonging to the erroneous data of the erasure are stored through the first address pointer 27 . the nonerasure section into which the second information blocks of the erroneous data are stored is through the second address pointer 28 . for the erasures found in row 2 in position # 2 of column 1 , the error position / pattern generator 26 calculates position # 2 and a bit pattern ( bp ) for correcting the erasure . it also generates a first information block including e 1 - 1 , position ( pos )=# 2 and e 1 - 1 , and bp ( bit pattern ). this is shown in box 1 of the erasure section or a first part of column 1 of the dense map or table 2 . here , e 1 - 1 indicates that it is the first erroneous data belonging to the erasure in column 1 . pos =# 2 indicates that the erroneous data is located in position # 2 . the bp indicates the bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data . the error position / pattern generator 26 sends the first information block to a first stage of the erasure section of the error data register 29 through the first address pointer 27 , as shown in fig1 . in the same manner , the error position / pattern generator 26 generates the second information block including ne 1 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 3 and ne 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ) and stores the second information block in the second stage of the nonerasure section of the error data register 29 through the second address pointer 28 , then generates the first information block including e 1 - 2 , position ( pos )=# 4 and e 1 - 2 , bp ( bit pattern ) and stores the first information block in the second stage of the erasure section of the error data register 29 through the first address pointer 27 . when information blocks of all the erroneous data of column 1 have been stored in the error data register 29 , the operation proceeds to step 57 , wherein the first and second information blocks are sent to the memory section 14 a of buffer memory 13 , whereby column 1 of the dense map or table 2 is assembled . the operation proceeds to step 58 wherein the decoder section determines whether all 8 columns have been processed . if the answer at step 58 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 59 . in the exemplary case , the answer at step 58 is no and the operation returns to step 56 , and the coded data of the next column 2 is sent to the error position / pattern generator 26 . the operation of the loop of steps 56 - 58 is repeated until the answer at step 58 becomes yes . when the answer at step 58 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 59 . it is noted that the first information block e 1 - 1 relates to data at the crosspoint of column 1 and row 2 in fig2 . this block is stored in box 1 of column 1 of the dense map or table 2 of fig1 . also , the first information block e 2 - 1 relates to data at the crosspoint of column 2 and row 2 in fig2 . e 2 - 1 is stored in box 1 of column 2 of the dense map or table 2 of fig1 . similarly , the first information block e 3 - 1 relates to data at the crosspoint of column 3 and row 2 in fig2 . it is stored in box 1 of column 1 of the dense map or table 2 of fig1 , and so on . that is , the first information blocks relating to the first erasure , i . e ., row 2 , are arranged in the 172 boxes 1 in the vertical direction of the dense map or table 2 . the first information blocks relating to the second erasure , i . e ., row 4 , are arranged in the 172 boxes 2 in the vertical direction of the dense map or table 2 , and so on . the npu 18 knows the above relationship of the arrangement . hence , when the mpu 18 corrects the data at the crosspoint of column 1 and row 2 and the data at the crosspoint of column 2 and row 2 , the mpu 18 performs several functions . these include fetching , in parallel , data at the adjacent two positions in the erasure , i . e ., row 2 from the memory section 14 , and fetching the first information blocks e 1 - 1 and e 2 - 1 from the dense map or table 2 . this means that the first information blocks are stored in the erasure section of the dense map or table 2 , while the second information blocks are stored in the nonerasure section of the dense map or table 2 . likewise , the first information blocks for the k 2 positions in the one row classified as the erasure are stored in the successive boxes in the vertical direction of the dense map or table 2 in the order of generation of the first information blocks . the effect of the operation of steps 59 and 61 is to reduce the number of accesses to the main memory 13 for correcting the erroneous data belonging to the erasures to the value of n_ 86 , wherein n is the maximum correctable number of erasures . in step 59 , the mpu 18 fetches the two data at the adjacent two column positions # 1 and # 2 in row 2 classified as the erasure in the coded data shown in fig2 from the memory section 14 . furthermore , mpu 18 fetches two first information blocks from the dense map or table 2 , i . e ., the first information block of box 1 of column 1 and the first information block of box 1 of column 2 in the dense map or table 2 ( fig1 ). the example of the two data is “ 0000000100000000 ”. that is , the two first information blocks relating to the two data ( 16 - bit data ) of the adjacent two column positions of the erasure are fetched from the dense map or table 2 . it is noted that the bit pattern ( bp ) of the first information block e 1 - 1 is “ 00000000 ” and the bit pattern of the first information block e 2 - 1 is “ 00000000 ” since the two data at the adjacent two column positions # 1 and # 2 in row 2 are correct , as shown in fig2 . the mpu 18 executes an exclusive or operation of the fetched data “ 0000000100000000 ” and the bit pattern ( bp ) “ 0000000000000000 ”, resulting in the 16 - bit data “ 0000000100000000 ”. the mpu 18 stores the resulting 16 - bit data “ 0000000100000000 ” into the location of the address ( x 0 , y 0 ) of the main memory 12 as the correct data . the above two data are originally correct and are not corrected by the bit patterns , and hence it can be said that the original two data are reproduced . however , it is customary to say in the field of error correction that the reproduction of the two data is called the correction of the two data , even if they are not actually corrected , and hence it is called the correction of the two data in the specification . the operation proceeds to step 60 wherein the mpu 18 determines whether the process of positions # 1 through # 8 of the one erasure has been completed . in the exemplary case , the answer at step 60 is no . the operation returns to step 59 . of course , the mpu 18 fetches the two data ( 16 - bit data ) at the adjacent two positions # 3 and # 4 in row 2 shown in fig2 from the memory section 14 . the mpu 18 also fetches two first information blocks from the dense map or table 2 . this is implemented by the first information block of box 1 of column 3 and the first information block of box 1 of column 4 in the dense map or table 2 ( fig1 ). the mpu 18 executes the exclusive or operation of the 16 - bit data and the 16 - bit pattern , and stores the resulting 16 - bit data into a location of the address ( x 1 , y 0 ) of the main memory 12 as the corrected data . in this case , the 8 - bit erroneous data of position # 4 of row 2 is “ 00000001 ”. for example , the 8 - bit pattern of the first information block e 4 - 1 stored in box 1 of column 4 of the dense map or table 2 is “ 00000001 ”, resulting in the corrected 8 - bit data “ 00000000 ”. in this manner , the data in four locations of the one erasure including 8 columns shown in fig1 are successively corrected in steps 59 and 60 . if the answer at step 60 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 61 wherein the mpu 18 determines whether the process of the n erasures has been completed . if the answer at step 61 is no , the operation returns to step 59 . if the answer at step 61 is yes , it means that the process of all the n erasures including column 1 - 8 has been completed , wherein n is a maximum correctable number of erasures and the operation proceeds to step 62 in fig9 . it is apparent that the 16 - bit data of the adjacent two positions of the erasure are stored at one access operation to the main memory 12 in the present invention . in the prior process performed based on the dense map or table shown in fig4 only the 8 - bit data of one position of the erasure is stored at one access operation to the main memory . it is also apparent that , in accordance with the present invention , the number of accesses to the main memory for correcting the data of the erasure can be reduced to substantially half of that in the prior process . further , the mpu 18 fetches the 16 - bit data from the buffer memory 13 and the 16 - bit pattern for correcting the erroneous data from the dense map or table 2 stored in the memory section 14 a or 15 a to correct the 16 - bit data of the erasure . in the prior process performed based on the dense map or table shown in fig4 the 8 - bit data is fetched from the main memory 1 and the 8 - bit pattern is fetched from the dense map or table in fig4 . it is apparent that , in accordance with the present invention , the number of accesses to the buffer memory 13 and the dense map or table 2 can be reduced to substantially half of that in the prior process . also , in accordance with the present invention , the mpu calculates all the addresses of all locations , each of which includes two data of adjacent two positions of the erasure , all at once in step 55 , based on the pointers of the erasure , i . e ., row 2 , row 4 , . . . , stored in the memory section 34 . in the prior process , the calculation of the addresses of the main memory 1 is made by the mpu 8 each time the information block of one box is fetched from the dense map or table shown in fig4 . the invention can simplify the flow of the operation so that the processing time of the error correction can be reduced . in this manner , the present invention can reduce the processing time for correcting the erroneous data included in the erasures for the reasons described above . more particularly , the correction of the erroneous data in the erasures occupies the greater part of the error correction in the column direction . for example , the probability of generation of the erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in one column is 10 − 6 , and the remaining erroneous data in one column belong to the erasures in the case that the number of correctable erroneous data in one row is three , as described before . that is , almost all the erroneous data in one column belong to the erasure . the present invention can reduce the processing time for correcting erasures in the column direction and thereby reduce the total processing time in both the row and column directions . the process shown in fig9 corrects the erroneous data remaining in the nonerasures including columns 1 - 8 since the process of all the n erasures including column 1 - 8 has been completed in step 61 in fig8 as described above . the operation starts at step 62 . here , the mpu 18 fetches the second information block ne 1 - 1 of box x of column 1 of the dense map or table 2 shown in fig1 . next , the mpu 18 calculates an address of the main memory 12 which stores the erroneous data of position # 1 of column 1 based on the second information block ne 1 - 1 . the operation proceeds to step 63 . at this point , the mpu 18 fetches the erroneous data , for example , 8 - bit data “ 00000001 ”, of position # 1 of column 1 from section 14 , and executes an exclusive or operation of the erroneous data “ 00000001 ” and the bit pattern ( bp ) for correcting the erroneous data , for example , “ 00000001 ”. this results in the corrected 8 - bit data “ 00000000 ”. lastly , the mpu 18 stores the corrected data in the address of the main memory 12 , the address having been calculated in step 62 . in this manner , the original data of position # 1 of column 1 stored in the main memory 12 is corrected . when one erroneous data is corrected in step 63 , the operation returns to steps 62 - 64 . step 64 determines whether the correction of all erroneous data belonging to the nonerasure in one column has been completed . if the answer at step 64 is no , the operation returns to step 62 . if the answer at step 64 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 65 wherein the mpu 18 determines whether the process of the 8 columns has been completed . if the answer at step 65 is no , the operation returns to step 62 to process the next column . if the answer at step 65 is yes , the operation proceeds to step 66 wherein the mpu determines whether the process of all 172 columns has been completed . if the answer at step 66 is no , the operation returns to step 54 wherein the process of the next 8 columns , i . e ., columns 9 - 16 , in the memory section 15 is started , and the third group of 8 columns is stored in section 14 . for each group of 8 columns , the operation through steps 54 - 65 is repeated . the answer yes at step 66 indicates the completion of the correction of the erroneous data in the 172 columns . if the answer at step 66 is yes , the operation terminates at step 67 . considering the correction of the erroneous data belonging to the erasures , the number of access operations to the main memory 12 required for correcting the data belonging to all the erasures of the coded data shown in fig2 is reduced to n × 86 times in maximum . n is a maximum correctable number of erasures . in the prior process , the n × 172 access operations to the main memory 12 was required , as described before . in the embodiment described , although steps 62 - 65 are executed after step 61 , steps 62 - 65 can be performed before the process of steps 54 - 61 . in the embodiment , one location including two bytes of the main memory 12 is accessed at one time . however , one location including three or four bytes can be accessed at one time if the main memory 12 is constructed to accept the address operation of a 3 - byte or 4 - byte scheme . while the invention has been described with respect to an illustrative embodiment thereof , it will be understood that various changes may be made in the method and means herein described without departing from the scope and teaching of the invention . accordingly , the described embodiment is to be considered merely exemplary and the invention is not to be limited except as specified in the attached claims . | 7 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to the problem of estimating the states of the system 110 on the basis of relatively meagre sensor data ( 105 ) and using this knowledge to infer an optimal decision path . whatever the structure of the mathematical description , the result will simply be a mapping from sequences of observations to possible actions . this might be constructed as a heuristic neural network function fitting problem . the approach taken in preferred embodiments of the present invention is to represent the problem in a complete probability space of underlying dynamical states , measurements , decisions and rewards and impose a causal model structure by means of a bayesian network expressing the joint probability of all these states in terms of a conditional probability factorisation . this structure is shown in fig2 . referring to fig2 , a model structure is shown representing the relationships between separate variables in the form of separate conditional probabilities associated with subsets of those variables . it is just such factorisation that allows more complex models to be constructed from simpler component parts . the diagram in fig2 expresses the joint probabilities of all the states of interest in the respective generic decision problem . all the variables pictured in fig2 are vectors in the relevant phase spaces and specifically : the system states , s t , are determined by a hidden markov process such that the states at time ‘ t ’ are influenced by only the states at the previous time . measurements , m t , are made of these system states and although the system states are the only stochastic variable determining the measurements , there is no assumption that all states are measurable . predetermined decisions , u t , are made that effect the temporal evolution of the system states . in general these are defined in terms of prior probabilities of decisions at each time but in this exposition we consider only ‘ pure strategies ’ without stochastic spread . ( the approach can be readily extended to the case of mixed strategies .) the benefit of the decision action is given by an immediate reward , r t , that depends both on the resulting state and the decision that resulted in the state being achieved . the total performance of the decision system is the net return , q t , and this is accumulated from the immediate local rewards . it is this accumulation of rewards that enables a decision system to provide a decision strategy that gives due weight to future rewards relative to the immediate benefits from actions . from this description it is relatively straightforward to construct a recursive estimate of the states of the system given previous measurements and a corresponding recursive estimate of a net return from future rewards . assuming discrete states , the recursive probability of the state at time t + 1 given all the measurements up to that time is : in the notation where capital letters denote sets of all previous states , e . g . m t ={ m τ : τ ≦ t }. in a similar fashion a recursive equation for the net return , can be used to determine the mean return : to achieve optimal performance the decisions , u t , need to be made which maximise this return . if this is done then the hamilton - bellman equation for the optimal decision making process , which for fully observed states (‘ m ≡ x ’) gives the usual equation for the optimal actions in a markov decision process ( mdp ), is : where v * is the maximum mean reward obtained for optimal future decisions and q * is the corresponding reward for taking a particular decision and subsequently following optimal decisions . maximising q * over these first decisions gives v * and the optimal decision itself . all this is true whether there is a fully observed markov decision process or whether the measurements are insufficient to provide complete knowledge of the system states . however , in the latter case , q *( s t , u t ) in equation ( 3 ) does not provide very useful information since it would not be possible to know the value of s t that should be used in evaluating it . for a partially observed markov decision process ( pomdp ) where the available data does , at best , give only a probability for the state values and the correspondingly observable net return is a function of the probability of the states rather than of the states themselves : where b t + 1 , defined by equation ( 1 ), is an implicit function of the state measurement m t + t . this equation can be obtained from equation ( 2 ) simply by taking the mean of the equation relative to the known probability of the states given by equation ( 1 ). equation ( 4 ) is then obtained by maximising net return over the possible decisions . it should be noted that this is not the probability - weighted mean of equation ( 3 ) since the maximization needs to be performed after the mean is taken . clearly the optimum decision can only be made on the basis of the available information . although , at first sight , this is formally identical to the case for an mdp , even for discrete states , the returns are now functions of a continuous probability . thus despite the formal similarity , solving equation ( 4 ) is very much harder than the problem posed by equation ( 3 ). nonetheless , a variety of known approaches have been used . for discrete states , cassandra et al , in “ acting optimally in partially observable stochastic domains .”, proceedings of the twelfth national conference on artificial intelligence , seattle , wash ., ( 1994 ), have proposed the so - called witness algorithm based on approximating v * as a piecewise linear function . for continuous states , kappen h j , in “ path integrals and symmetry breaking for optimal control theory .”, arxiv : physics / 0505066 4 ( 2005 ) takes a statistical physics approach based on a path integral formulation , obtaining the return as a probability weighted sum of viable decision paths . in the present invention , a somewhat different approach has been taken , addressing the case of discrete states but having an obvious extension to continuous states as well . equation ( 4 ) provides a complete description of optimal decision - making in the context of partially observed markovian systems . the result was obtained on the assumption of discrete system states but it remains formally correct even for continuous states . it also reduces to the mdp case of equation ( 2 ) in the case where all the states are explicitly observed . moreover , the case where some states are fully observed but others are not , presents no particular difficulties . although equation ( 4 ) is conceptually simple , for anything other than simple low - dimensional problems , direct iteration of equation ( 4 ) will converge too slowly to be useful . this can be seen by noting that the equation updates the continuous function v * at a single point in the high dimensional space with as many dimensions as there were discrete states . thus it would generally take an indeterminately large number of iterations of equation ( 4 ), for the iteration to converge . it is immediately clear that equation ( 4 ) is very far from being a recipe for finding a solution for an optimal controller . previous methods have addressed the practical solution problem by representing the mean net value functions q and v in some parametric form . in the witness algorithm , referenced above , these functions are represented by piecewise linear functions . this is clearly an appropriate assumption . the reward function , { circumflex over ( ρ )}( b t , u t ), is the probability weighted mean of the state - dependent rewards of equation ( 2 ) with the obvious consequence that the individual rewards are indeed linear functions of the probability of the state . thus , provided the iteration converges in a finite number of steps , the resulting value functions will necessarily be piece - wise linear functions . this assumption is therefore equivalent to assuming that a good approximate solution can be obtained using a finite horizon . in the conventional control literature , for example in “ multi - valued control problems and mixture density network .”, ifac international conference on intelligent control systems and signal processing , icons 2003 , editor : a . e . ruano , 2 , pp 387 - 392 ( 2003 ), this same approximation is often found to be justified . the witness algorithm has been implemented for simple models where it often provides good performance . for more complex ( higher dimensional ) problems it can produce very slow performance in an unpredictable way . the essence of this difficulty is that fact that although the linear assumption ensures a finite search for a solution the method does not predetermine the number of linear facets needed to provide a solution . these are determined only in the course of iteration and if there are a large number , then convergence will be slow . as noted above , the approach taken in preferred embodiments of the present invention is somewhat different . the essence of the decision problem is the issue of a joint state - estimation and decision - making . it is therefore appropriate to consider an approach to the decision problem that is closely related to the practicable state estimation methods . an essential feature of the problem - space is the potentially very large number of states with solutions that nonetheless occupy only a very small part of that space . that is , the probability functions will be sparse with many possible states having near zero probability . despite this , it is not possible to reduce the dimensionality of the space because as crucial information becomes available the relevant part of the probability space will change radically . for example , in an airport security system , the sensing of explosives on a potential passenger will immediately change the perception of the situation and the actions that need to be taken . for the state estimation part of the problem , an appropriate approach is provided by statistical sampling . this is the analogue of the particle filter used in problems with continuous states as described for example in “ sequential monte carlo methods in practice ”, by a . doucet , n . de freitas and n . gordon , springer - verlag , new york ( 2001 ). in the particle filter , the infinite number of possible states corresponding to the continuous states is represented by a finite set of samples of the states taken in proportion to their probability densities . in the case of discrete states exactly the same approach can be used , taking similar unbiased samples from the discrete probability functions in proportion to the probabilities . in this discrete particle filter approach the state probability is represented by a finite set of n samples : where u t is the set of all actions , u t , at times at least as early as t . given the approximate state probability of equation ( 5 ), the calculation of subsequent probabilities ( at times greater than t ) proceeds by sampling over the possible transition dynamics and importance weighting by the measurement probabilities . the sampling over the dynamical update transition matrix , p ( s t + 1 | s t , u t ), clearly expands the number of samples in the updated state probability . if there were n s samples taken of the dynamics then there are n × n s particles after updating . the final stage of the estimation update process is ‘ resampling ’ whereby n samples are taken ( with replacement ) from this expanded set . this is the standard particle filter approach , without invoking any measures ( such as residual resampling ) to reduce the noise of the sample . the result is an approximation to the updated probability of the states that has the same form as equation ( 5 ) and the update algebra closes . more detail is available with reference to “ sequential monte carlo methods in practice .”, by a . doucet , n . de freitas and n . gordon , springer - verlag , new york ( 2001 ). writing s t ={ s i ( u t − 1 , m t ), ∀ iε { 1 , . . . , n }} as shorthand for the sample at time t , then s t is a sufficient statistic for approximate state probability of equation ( 5 ) in the sense that s t contains all the information to allow the construction of any statistic that could be obtained from the probability given in equation ( 5 ). thus , without invoking any additional approximation , in place of equation ( 4 ) can be written a representation of the optimal decision process that is consistent with the representation of the state probability given by equation ( 5 ): here p is the reward weighted by the approximate probability of equation ( 5 ) and y is the associated best net return . it is a relatively straightforward process to obtain an expression for the immediate reward : the update matrix , π ( m t + 1 | s t + 1 | s t , u t ), can also be constructed with a little thought from the basic state transition matrix and the measurement probability . the essential steps are as follows . note that , using bayes theorem , for a given measurement m t + 1 : it is therefore a simple ( if tedious ) matter to construct the corresponding probability of a sample s t + 1 : the probability of the observation m t + 1 is obtained trivially from the sample : π ( s t + 1 , m t + 1 | s t , u t )= π ( s t + 1 | s t , m t + 1 , u t ) p ( m t + 1 | s t + 1 ) ( 9 ) constructed in this way , equation ( 6 ) is the hamilton - bellman equation for the optimal decision - maker for a conventional ‘ fully observed ’ mdp with observation probability and transition matrix given by equations ( 8 ) and ( 9 ) respectively . as a consequence of this transformation into an approximately equivalent mdp problem , the whole spectrum of conventional solution techniques for the mdp problem is immediately available . in particular , the method described above has been tested using the ‘ value iteration ’ solution method as described for example by r . s . sutton and a . g . barto , referenced above . this approach is the ideal for obtaining a full off - line solution that enables the decisions to be tabulated purely as a function of state sample . however , that although this will provide a good base - line for a decision - maker , it will almost certainly be advantageous to employ an on - line reinforcement learning stage that will update that part of the sample space that is explored in a mission . barto and sutton , as referenced above , provide a wide variety of such reinforcement learning approaches . note that any real mission will explore a very small fraction of a sample space and it is essential to start with base - line decision tables . an overview of a design phase process that may be followed for the set - up of a controller 100 in respect of a particular system and a particular control problem will now be described with reference to fig3 according to preferred embodiments of the present invention . the design phase process is preferably operated as an off - line process prior to on - line operation of the controller 100 and is designed to populate the probabilistic system model 120 and the control rule set 125 in respect of a particular system 110 and control problem . in practice , the design phase process is computationally intensive . referring to fig3 , the design phase process begins at step 300 with an original pomdp probabilistic model of the complete system 110 to be controlled . at step 305 , using the original pomdp model from step 300 , the state subspaces relative to the observation ( measurement ) model are identified and a sufficient number of particles is chosen to represent the state uncertainties in each of these subspaces , resulting ( 310 ) in the generation of a sample - state space for the particular control problem . at step 315 , using the original pomdp from step 300 and the sample - state space from 310 , the objective is to construct the conditional sample - state transition probabilities as ( combinatorial ) products of the original transition probabilities that are renormalized as required . this results at 320 in a dynamical model for the sample - state representation — the probabilistic system model 120 . the next step , step 325 , is to use the original pomdp model ( 300 ), the sample - state space ( 310 ) and the dynamical model ( 320 ) in an evaluation of the mean reward functions for the sample - state representation and incorporate this with the sample - state dynamics to obtain a new mdp problem description ( 330 ). this new mdp problem description ( 330 ) is then used at step 335 to construct the hamilton bellman equation associated with this mdp and to iteratively solve it to obtain the optimal control solution for the particular system 110 and so generate , at 340 , a table of control actions indexed by the possible sample states . this table is the control rule set 125 . the control problems most relevant to preferred embodiments of the present invention arise in a wide variety of applications and for a broad range of operational requirements . these include the supervisory control of complex industrial plants , the flying of a commercial or military aircraft by a human pilot or autonomous controller augmented by subsidiary autopilots and the coordinated control of multiple robotic sensor platforms to track a target or to explore a terrain . the central issue in these distributed control systems is the need for co - ordination of separate control actions that are driven by a multitude of separate requirements . as an example of such a situation , a supervisor in a nuclear power plant is required to maintain power output and to ensure safety . if the automatic controller of the control rods is seen to be inserting more moderating control rods , and reducing the power output , the optimal decision of the supervisory system to countermand the action or accept it will depend on the reason for the action of the automatic controller . if the cause is a belief that the temperature of the core is likely to rise because the coolant flow has failed then the supervisory action needs to be very different to the contrary case when a failure of the temperature sensor is the cause of the automatic action . in the case of a high performance manned aircraft or racing car in which the overall control is the product of control outputs from a pilot or driver and associated outputs from some auto - pilot or traction control system , similar conflicts arise . these conflicts can only be resolved if the ( automated or human ) drivers or pilots can understand the causes for the preferred actions of the automatic system and adjust the their outputs on an understanding of how the automatic system will respond . without such situation awareness , the well - studied phenomenon , ‘ pilot induced oscillation ’ is known to occur these examples are all essentially non - linear , resulting in control problems in which it is not possible to factorise the problem into a set of smaller problems that can be solved independently . thus , in the nuclear power station , it is not possible to provide control that is based on the optimal supervisor and a separately designed optimal automatic controller . this may not be too serious if most of the subsystems are intelligent humans but it is more difficult in the case of multiple ugvs ( unmanned ground vehicles ) attempting to track a potential threat . if the threat may be behind a building and the first of a pair of ugvs circles left - wise round the building then the best action of the second ugv will depend on the reasons for this action and not just on the observation of the action itself . for example the first ugv might have seen the threat seeking cover behind the building or this might just be the shortest route to another possible location of the threat . because of the complexity of these high dimensional problems and the fact that provision of the estimates of the states of the system , that represent the reasons for the control actions , cannot be separated from the control problem itself , current best practice recommends direct solution of the control problem without solving for the rationale ( the states of the system ). the present invention provides a method that provides a state estimation ( rationale ) for the control actions and the control actions themselves , without any wasted effort in the sense that the state estimates are used directly in the selection of control actions . | 6 |
the regulation system for the supercharging air as illustrated in fig1 comprises a turbocharger 1 , a first air / liquid heat exchanger 2 , a bypass 3 , a first radiator 4 for cooling the supercharging air and a second radiator 5 for the coolant for engine 6 . as shown in fig1 the turbocharger supplies supercharging air that first passes into air / liquid heat exchanger 2 before going through bypass 3 . the air / liquid heat exchanger is fed via an inlet 2a with liquid coolant from the engine . an outlet 2b drains the liquid coolant that has passed through heat exchanger 2 . depending on the temperature of the supercharging air and that of the coolant liquid , the cooling liquid either cools or reheats the supercharging air passing through heat exchanger 2 . in exiting heat exchanger 2 , the supercharging air passes through bypass 3 via its inlet 3a and exits either via main outlet 3b or by secondary bypass outlet 3c . the selective blocking of outlets 3b and 3c is performed by a pivoting flap 7 in bypass 3 . a temperature sensor is located in the intake manifold 8 for the supercharging air , immediately upstream from engine 6 , and supplies a control signal to a solenoid valve 9 ( fig2 ) when the measured temperature of the supercharging air exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold t2 , to actuate a controller of pivoting flap 7 so as to open main outlet 3b and close bypass outlet 3c . therefore , by operation of the flap 7 , hot supercharging air is discharged through main outlet 3b to be cooled a second time by radiator 4 before being sent into the air intake manifold of engine 6 . when the temperature measured by sensor 8 is less than predetermined threshold t2 , blocking flap 7 closes main outlet 3b and opens bypass outlet 3c , so that the relatively cool supercharging air exits via the bypass outlet 3c to be sent directly into the supercharging air intake manifold of engine 6 . the exiting combustion gases of engine 6 are removed by a duct 10 to the exhaust system , not shown . the engine coolant pump 11 pumps engine coolant in a closed system . the engine coolant is cooled by a radiator 5 and optionally by heat exchanger 2 when the supercharging air has a temperature lower than that of the coolant . inlet 2a of the heat exchanger is connected to the downstream side of hydraulic pump 11 by a bypass duct 12 , main duct 13 connecting hydraulic pump 11 to engine 6 . outlet 2b of heat exchanger 2 is connected to the coolant outlet of engine 6 so that the liquid coolant exiting heat exchanger 2 is not directly recycled to the engine , and so the cooling of the engine is not hindered . thus , hydraulic optimization and a better energy balance are achieved for the cooling system of the engine . fig2 schematically shows the assembly formed by air / liquid heat exchanger 2 , bypass 3 and control means 14 for the blocking flap 7 of bypass 3 . heat exchanger 2 has an inlet 2c for the supercharging air . bypass 3 has an exterior casing or wall 3d that delimits bypass inlet 3a , main outlet 3b and secondary bypass outlet 3c , and an interior chamber for the supercharging air . blocking flap 7 pivots in the interior chamber of the bypass around an axis 7a located at one of its edges , the axis being horizontal in the figure . pivoting axis 7a extends through the bypass and crosses exterior wall 3d of the bypass , and connects to an end of a lever arm 15 such that the two pivot together . the other end of lever arm 15 has a pivot axis 16 , to which is pivotally connected the free end of a rod 17 of a piston of a control actuator 14 . the movement of rod 17 of the piston of the actuator drives the pivoting of arm 15 around axis 7a , which in turn pivots the blocking flap 7 . control actuator 14 is pneumatically controlled by two separate pneumatic sources , one consisting of compressed air of a constant pressure from the operating system of the vehicle , via duct 18 , and the other consisting of the supercharging air from the interior chamber of bypass 3 , via duct 19 . as mentioned above , solenoid valve 9 installed on connection duct 18 is controlled by an electric signal 20 from a temperature sensor 8 &# 39 ; in manifold 8 ( fig1 ). when the temperature measured by sensor in manifold 8 exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold t2 , for example on the order of 50 ° c ., solenoid valve 9 is opened so the compressed air actuates pneumatic actuator 14 to close secondary bypass outlet 3c via the blocking flap 7 . but when the temperature measured by sensor 8 is less than predetermined threshold t2 , solenoid valve 9 stays in the closed state , which eliminates the pneumatic actuation by the operating system via connection duct 18 . the spring of pneumatic actuator 14 then returns it to its standby state while returning blocking flap 7 to its open position , i . e ., blocking main outlet 3b of bypass 3 . pneumatic actuator 14 is also automatically controlled pneumatically and directly by the supercharging air located in bypass 3 via duct 19 which passes through exterior wall 3d of the bypass . the pressure prevailing in bypass 3 constitutes a means of automatic pneumatic actuation of actuator 14 , independent of the temperature regulation . when the internal pressure in bypass 3 exceeds a predetermined pressure threshold po , which is a pressure predetermined by the inherent characteristics of pneumatic actuator 14 , the supercharging air actuates the pneumatic actuator to return bypass 3 to the closed state , i . e ., it closes bypass outlet 3c via blocking flap 7 . when the pressure of the supercharging air in the bypass has again become less than predetermined threshold po , pneumatic actuator 14 returns , under the effect of its spring , to its standby state , thereby reopening bypass 3c . fig3 a , 3b and 3c illustrate an embodiment of the pneumatic actuator 14 . the pneumatic actuator 14 there comprises a housing 14a in which two pistons 21 and 22 slide . first piston 21 is integral with the end of rod 17 , and second piston 22 slides with respect to rod 17 . cylindrical part 17a of rod 17 has a section that is larger than that of the rest of rod 17 , to form an axial stop for second piston 22 . a compression spring 23 held within the cylindrical housing of the actuator 14 , on a side of the piston 21 opposite the rod 17 , presses axially against first piston 21 to push the rod 17 out of housing 14a , which translates into a return force exerted on blocking flap 7 to open the bypass . fig3 a shows the pneumatic actuator 14 in the standby state in which the return force of axial compression spring 23 has moved the flap 7 . this corresponds to the state where the temperature of the supercharging air at the inlet to engine 6 , measured by the sensor in the manifold 8 , is less than predetermined threshold t2 and the pressure of the supercharging air in bypass system 3 is less than predetermined threshold po . this is the case , for example , on starting of engine 6 . fig3 b illustrates a state of pneumatic actuation of the actuator 14 shown in fig3 a , by the operating system of the vehicle via connection duct 18 . the pressure of the compressed air introduced into the housing 14a acts in an opposite direction to compression spring 23 and compresses it , and simultaneously drives rod 17 into the housing 14a . this translates into a closing of bypass 3 by pivoting blocking flap 7 . second piston 22 is pressed by the pneumatic pressure in the housing toward the other end of the housing . this state of operation of pneumatic actuator 14 corresponds to a state where the temperature of the supercharging air entering engine 6 , measured by the sensor , has become higher than predetermined threshold t2 and the pressure of the supercharging air in bypass 3 is less than predetermined threshold po . fig3 c illustrates a state of actuation of pneumatic actuator 14 by second piston 22 , which is pushed pneumatically by the pressure of the supercharging air located in the bypass and applied via duct 19 . second piston 22 there rests axially on enlarged cylindrical part 17a of rod 17 , thereby moving first piston 21 against compression spring 23 . bypass 3 is then in the closed state due to the pivoting of the blocking flap 7 , driven by the movement of rod 17 . the pneumatic actuation of second piston 22 is thus achieved directly by the supercharging air located in the bypass and is done automatically and independently of other conditions since it is only necessary that the pressure of the supercharging air in the bypass be higher than predetermined pressure threshold po . the value of predetermined pressure threshold po is determined mainly by the return force of compression spring 23 . this value can be set , for example , at 1 . 4 bars . fig5 illustrates another embodiment of pneumatic actuator 14 , whose operation is equivalent to that which was just described . in this embodiment , second sliding piston 22 is eliminated and a nonreturn valve 19a is added to connection duct 19 linking housing 14a and bypass 3 . the pneumatic actuation of actuator 14 triggered by the temperature sensor remains identical . the function of nonreturn valve 19a is to prevent communication between housing 14a , under pneumatic pressure fed by duct 18 , and bypass 3 , while making communication possible when housing 14a is not fed pneumatically via connection duct 18 . enlarged cylindrical part 17a constitutes a stop with respect to radial wall 14b at the end of housing 14a . compression spring 23 can be a cylindrical ( fig5 ) or tapered ( fig3 ) helical spring . fig4 a and 4b show another significant characteristic of the invention . beyond the operation described above , it is possible to achieve thermal regulation by partial opening of the blocking flap . in this operating case , there is a variable portion of the supercharging air that is directed directly toward the engine via the bypass outlet 3c . blocking flap 7 consists of two parts : a central part 7b and a part forming framework 7c that is lateral to central part 7b . air can pass through the flap 7 between the central part and the framework when the central part and the framework are angularly separated as shown in fig4 a , but not when they are angularly aligned . a bimetallic spring 24 is wound around pivoting axis 7a of flap 7 and has its two ends supported respectively on central part 7b and the part forming framework 7c of the flap . the twisting force of bimetallic spring 24 tends to angularly separate parts 7b and 7c of flap 7 , as shown in fig4 a . bimetallic spring 24 is preferably made from a material whose thermal expansion coefficient is high . the twisting force of bimetallic spring 24 decreases when the temperature to which the spring is subjected increases . the characteristics of bimetallic spring 24 can be selected as a function of a predetermined temperature threshold t1 , below which bimetallic spring 24 partially opens central part 7b of the flap with respect to framework 7c of the flap , which translates into a partial opening of blocking flap 7 . in use ( fig4 ), when bypass 3 is in the closed state , i . e ., when flap 7 blocks bypass outlet 3c , and if the temperature of the supercharging air in the interior of bypass 3 becomes less than predetermined temperature threshold t1 , the thermal deformation of bimetallic spring 24 partially opens flap 7 , letting a fraction of the supercharging air pass directly toward the intake manifold of engine 6 , to achieve thermal regulation of the supercharging air at the engine intake . predetermined temperature threshold t1 can be identical or different from predetermined temperature threshold t2 for the supercharging air arriving in the intake manifold of engine 6 . the force of bimetallic spring 24 is overcome when flap 7 closes main outlet 3b . it is possible to replace bimetallic spring 24 with a stop for flap 7 in the closed state . the stop can have a part made of a memory alloy able to be deformed thermally and acting on central part 7b of flap 7 to open the same when the temperature of the supercharging air in the interior of bypass 3 becomes less than predetermined temperature threshold t1 . the partial opening of flap 7 is thus provided for . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 5 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . fig1 depicts a typical automotive vehicle 10 . the vehicle 10 includes an underhood or engine compartment 12 for packaging vehicular componentry . while fig1 depicts an automotive vehicle , the present teachings may also be applied to other configurations such as , test stands , boats , aircraft and other industrial applications where a mounting bracket assembly can be utilized to isolate and / or absorb vibrations between two structures . the engine compartment 12 typically includes an array of parts such as an engine 14 , an air induction system ( not shown ) and a cooling system 18 to name but a few . the cooling system 18 of the vehicle 10 may be used to remove heat from the engine 14 by means of various devices including coolant , a radiator , a cooling fan , etc . the coolant moves through pipes and passageways ( not shown ) in the engine 14 , the radiator 20 uses fins to disperse heat , and a cooling fan 22 removes stagnant heat from the system . each of these devices may be used singly or may be combined to obtain optimal system performance . referring now to fig2 , a tunable hybrid bracket assembly 24 , which resists torque and isolates vibration , may be utilized to mount the cooling fan 22 to the engine 14 . the tunable hybrid bracket assembly 24 includes a bracket member 26 , a key - slotted washer 28 and a bushing 30 , as shown in fig3 . the bracket member 26 is generally molded from a thermoplastic or thermoset material such as phenolic , polyester or vinylester . alternatively , the bracket member 26 may be made of a metal such as steel , aluminum or magnesium , or a combination of metal and plastic material . the bracket member material may be chosen for characteristics including damping , stiffness and geometry , and is tunable from the resonant frequencies of engines or other sources . with reference to fig3 and 4 , the bracket member 26 is discussed in further detail . the bracket member 26 may be an elongated body having a first end 34 for attachment to the engine 14 , a second end 36 for attachment to the cooling fan 22 and an intermediate portion 38 therebetween . the first end 34 may be bent at an angle , α 2 , from the intermediate portion 38 . the angle , α 2 , may be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees , and as shown approximately 120 degrees . the second end 36 may be bent at an angle , α 1 , from the intermediate portion 38 . the angle , α 1 , may be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees , and as shown approximately 140 degrees . the first end 34 of the bracket member 26 may include a flange portion 40 and the second end 36 of the bracket member 26 may include a tubular portion 42 . the tubular portion 42 may have an axis , a , through the bushing 30 . the axis , a , and the second end 36 may have an inclusive angle , α 4 , between 0 degrees and 90 degrees and , as shown approximately 30 degrees . the intermediate portion 38 of the bracket member 26 may include a first thru hole 44 for receivably attaching a wiring harness 46 ( as shown in fig2 ). after attachment , the wiring harness 46 may behave as a mass to provide an additional element of mass damping for the system . the flange portion 40 of the first end 34 may contain a key - slotted hole 48 for receiving the key - slotted washer 28 as shown in fig4 a . the key - slotted washer 28 may be insert molded in the bracket member 26 or may be incorporated post - molding . alternatively as depicted in fig4 b , a circular washer 52 may be molded within the bracket member 26 during forming or incorporated post - molding . the bracket member 26 and circular washer 52 may then be machined to remove a portion of material which forms a key slot 54 for receivably attaching the engine 14 ( depicted by dotted lines in the figure ). the washer 28 , 52 may be made of a metal such as steel , aluminum or magnesium ; a plastic such as an elastomer , thermoplastic or thermoset ; or a combination of metal and plastic material . the washer material may be chosen for characteristics including damping , stiffness and geometry , and is tunable for the resonant frequencies of engines or other sources . referring again to fig3 and 4 , the bracket member 26 may form a second flange portion 56 , adjacent to the first end 34 at an inclusive angle , α 3 . angle , α 3 , may be between 90 degrees and 180 degrees , and as shown approximately 115 degrees . this second flange portion 56 may contain a second thru hole 58 for receivably attaching the wiring harness 46 as shown in fig2 . as previously noted , the wiring harness 46 may behave as a mass to provide an additional element of mass damping for the system . the tubular portion 42 may receive the bushing 30 . the bushing 30 is inserted into the tubular portion 42 until the bottom portion 30 a extends axially above the top surface 60 of the tubular portion 42 . in order to provide for ease in assembly , a highly compliant material , such as a foamed elastomeric material or natural rubber may be used for the bushing 30 . enhanced acoustical properties , such as those found in microcellular polyurethane ( mcu ) may also be desired . while the exemplary embodiment may utilize an mcu material because of its special tuning range for low dynamic stiffness , the foamed elastomeric material may also be a fluorocarbon , highly saturated nitrile ( hnbr ), methyl acrylate acid polymer , silicone , epdm , neoprene ®, thermoset elastomer , thermoplastic elastomer , santoprene ®, geolast ®, sarlink ®, hytrel ®, or any other elastomeric foamed material suitable for the application . referring now to fig5 , a cross - sectional view of the bushing 30 after insertion is depicted . the bushing 30 is depicted as having a stepped cylindrical cross - section , however , the bushing 30 may also have any other suitable shape , including , for example , a full cylindrical shape . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and , thus , variations that do no depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 5 |
the present invention will be described in detail , referring to examples , but will not be restricted thereto . 20 g of γ - alumina ( made by mizusawa kagaku k . k ., japan ) dried in air at 120 ° c . for 2 hours was admixed with 50 ml of a commercially available aqueous hydrochloric acid - acidified titanium tetrachloride solution , tightly sealed , and left stnading for 24 hours , thereby sufficiently impregnating the carrier with the titanium tetrachloride solution even to its inside . then , the impregnated carrier was transferred into a beaker , brought in contact with 100 ml of water adjusted to ph 3 . 5 by hydrochloric acid , and then left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing the titanium tetrachloride in the carrier . after completion of the reaction , the carrier was sufficiently washed with distilled water , and air dried . the γ - alumina impregnated with titanium tetrachloride in the same amounts and the same manner as in comparative example 1 was brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 7 with aqua ammonia , left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride in the carrier , washed with distilled water , and airdried . the γ - alumina impregnated with titanium tetrachloride in the same manner as in comparative example 1 was brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 10 with aqua ammonia , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride in the carrier , washed with distilled water , and air - dried . 20 g of silica gel ( made by fuji davison k . k ., japan ) dried in air at 120 ° c . for two hours in advance as a carrier was admixed with 50 ml of a commercialy available aqueous titanium tetrachloride solution , tightly sealed and left standing for 24 hours , thereby sufficiently impregnating the carrier with titanium tetrachloride even to its inside . then , the carrier was transferred into a beaker , brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 3 . 5 with hydrochloric acid , and left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride . after the completion of hydrolysis , the carrier was sufficiently washed with distilled water , and air - dried . the silica gel pretreated in the same manner as in example 2 was impregnated with titanium tetrachloride in the same manner as in example 2 , brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 7 with aqua ammonia , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride , and washed with distilled water , and air - dried . 20 g of the γ - alumina pretreated in the same manner as in comparative example 1 as a carrier was brought in contact with 100 ml of a hydrochloric acid solution containing 4 . 6 g of zirconium tetrachloride , and left standing for 24 hours , thereby sufficiently impregnating the carrier with zirconium tetrachloride . then , the carrier was brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 5 . 5 with hydrochloric acid , left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing zirconium tetrachloride , washed with distilled water , and air - dried . 20 g of the silica gel pretreated in the same manner as in example 2 as a carrier was brought in contact with 100 ml of a hydrochloric acid solution containing 4 . 6 g of zirconium tetrachloride , and left standing for 24 hours , thereby sufficiently impregnating the carrier with zirconium tetrachloride . then , the carrier was brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 5 . 5 with hydrochloric acid , left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing zirconium tetrachloride , washed with distilled water , and then air - dried . 20 g of activated carbon not pretreated ( dried ) as a carrier was brought in contact with 50 ml of a commercial available aqueous titanium tetrachloride solution , tightly sealed , and left standing for 24 hours , thereby sufficiently impregnating the carrier with the titanium tetrachloride solution . then , the carrier was transferred into a beaker , brought in contact with 100 ml of water adjusted to ph 9 with aqua ammonia , and left standing for 24 hours , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride . then , the carrier was sufficiently washed with distilled water , and air - dried . the activated carbon as the carrier was impregnated with titanium tetrachloride in the same manner as in comparative example 5 , and the impregnated carrier was brought in contact with water adjusted to ph 4 with hydrochloric acid , thereby hydrolyzing titanium tetrachloride , washed with distilled water , and air - dried . the amounts of the hydrous metal oxides supported on the carriers and bled out of the carriers , and the residual amount of the hydrous metal oxides on the carriers as given in the foregoing examples and comparative examples are given in the following table 1 . as in evident from table 1 , the hydrous metal oxides are effectively supported on the carriers with less bleeding by electrical attraction when both the hydrous metal oxides and the carriers have zeta potentials of opposite polarities to each other . though the zeta potentials of these two have the same polarity , a large amount of the hydrous metal oxide can be deposited but finally the amount of the hydrous metal oxide supported on the carrier is lowered due to its bleeding out of the carrier . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ residual amount hydrous zeta amount amount after metal ph at potential supported bled bleeding carrier ( a ) oxide ( b ) hydro - lysis polarity ( a ) - ( b ) ## str3 ## ## str4 ## ## str5 ## __________________________________________________________________________comp . ex . 1 γ - alumina titanium 3 . 5 + + 44 32 12example 1 γ - alumina titanium 7 + - 127 10 117comp . ex . 2 γ - alumina titanium 10 - - 94 75 19example 2 silica gel titanium 3 . 5 - + 94 13 81comp . ex . 3 silica gel titanium 7 - - 22 14 8comp . ex . 4 γ - alumina zirconium 5 . 5 + + 21 13 8example 3 silica gel zirconium 5 . 5 - + 95 20 75 activatedcomp . ex . 5 carbon titanium 9 - - 90 64 26 activatedexample 4 carbon titanium 4 - + 110 23 87__________________________________________________________________________ 20 g of activated carbon as a carrier was impregnated with an aqueous 4 . 6 % zirconium tetrachloride solution , and then dipped in water adjusted to ph 3 to 10 with sulfuric acid or caustic soda , thereby hydrolyzing zirconium tetrachloride . then , the carrier was washed with distilled water , left standing in a room for one week , then subjected to shaking test in the solutions of the same ph as at the hydrolysis to measure amounts of hydrous zirconium oxide supported on the carrier after the shaking test . results are shown in fig3 . the activated carbon had a negative zeta potential in a ph range of 3 to 10 , whereas the hydrous zirconium oxide had a negative zeta potential at a ph above 8 , and a positive zeta potential at a ph below 8 . thus , the polarities of zeta potentials of the carrier and the hydrous zirconium oxide supported thereon were opposite to each other at a ph below 8 , and an increased amount of the hydrous zirconium oxide could be supported on the carrier . when the ph was below 5 , the hydrolysis rate of zirconium tetrachloride was made lower or the hydrolyzed compound was again dissolved in the acid , whereby the amount of the hydrous zirconium oxide was lowered . at a ph below 3 . 5 , the hydrous zirconium oxide was not supported substantially at all . the γ - alumina as a carrier was impregnated with titanium tetrachloride and subjected to hydrolysis at ph 7 in the same manner as in example 1 , and then dipped in water adjusted to ph 10 . 6 with aqua ammonia and subjected to shaking test therein for 5 hours . after the completion of the test , the carrier was sufficiently washed with distilled water , and air - dried . the amount of the hydrous titanium oxide after the hydrolysis at ph 7 was 118 mg / g . γ - alumina and the amount of the oxide bled and the residual amount of the oxide after the shaking test for 5 hours were 20 . 6 mg / g . γ - alumina and 97 . 4 mg / g . γ - alumina , respectively . the γ - alumina as a carrier was impregnated with titanium tetrachloride and subjected to hydrolysis at ph 7 in the same manner as in example 1 , and then dipped in water adjusted to ph 3 . 6 with hydrochloric acid and subjected to shaking test therein for 5 hours . after the completion of the shaking test , the carrier was sufficiently washed with distilled water , and airdried . the amount of the oxide bled after the shaking test for 5 hours was 32 mg / g . γ - alumina . as is evident from the results of examples 6 and 7 , the hydrous metal oxide once supported is hardly bleedable from the carrier , even if the hydrous metal oxide is supported on the carrier in the ph range where the zeta potentials of these two have opposite polarities to each other , and then the carrier is transferred to the ph range where the polarities of the zeta potentials are changed . this seems to be due to a chemical bondage existing between the groups on the surface of γ - alumina and the hydrous metal oxide . 0 . 5 g each of the titanium - alumina inorganic ion - exchanger prepared in example 1 and the zirconiumalumina inorganic ion - exchanger prepared in example 3 were added to 500 ml each of individual solutions containing 30 ppm cobalt and ph 5 . 75 , and left standing at various temperatures , for 8 hours , and then cobalt concentrations of the individual solutions were measured by atomic absorption analysis to determine adsorption capacities for cobalt . the results are shown in table 2 . the former ion - exchanger had a hydrous titanium oxide ( supported ) content of 117 mg / g - carrier , and the latter had a hydrous zirconium oxide ( supported ) content of 75 mg / g - carrier . table 2______________________________________tempera - ture titanium - alumina zirconium - alumina______________________________________30 ° c . 0 . 25 m mol / g - exchanger 0 . 14 m mol / g - exchanger50 ° c . 0 . 32 &# 34 ; 0 . 20 &# 34 ; 75 ° c . 0 . 39 &# 34 ; 0 . 28 &# 34 ; 92 ° c . 0 . 49 &# 34 ; 0 . 38 &# 34 ; ______________________________________ it is seen from table 2 that the adsorption capacities for cobalt of the hydrous titanium and zirconium oxides are increased with increasing temperature . inorganic ion - exchangers of hydrous titanium oxide supported on alumina carriers prepared under the same conditions as in example 1 were calcined individually at 600 °, 740 °, 840 ° and 1050 ° c . in air for 5 hours to obtain calcined inorganic ion - exchangers . one gram each of the calcined inorganic ion - exchangers were placed individually in cylindrical columns , and pressurized water at 150 ° c . was passed through the cylindrical columns . bleeding of titanium was not detected at all in the effluent water from the ion - exchangers calcined at 600 °- 1050 ° c . then , sample water being adjusted to ph 4 . 1 with hydrochloric acid and containing 3 ppm cobalt was passed through the cylindrical columns at a column inlet temperature of 150 ° c . for 7 hours . after the passage , the inorganic ion - exchangers were melted with potassium pyrosulfate and cobalt ( caught ) contents were measured by atomic absorption analysis after dissolution of the melt in dilute sulfuric acid . results are given in table 3 . table 3______________________________________calcination percent cotemperature co ( caught ) content catching ° c . ( m mol / g - exchanger ) (%) ______________________________________600 0 . 10 61740 0 . 15 92840 0 . 13 801050 0 . 11 67______________________________________ alumina carrier supporting no hydrous titanium oxide was calcined at 740 ° c ., and said sample water containing cobalt was passed through the carrier layer , where 0 . 02 m mol of cobalt was caught per g - exchanger . it is seen from the foregoing that titanium takes part in catching the cobalt . the titanium oxide calcined at the elevated temperature can have a co ions - catching capacity , because it seems that rehydration of titanium oxide takes place in water at the elevated temperature and the cobalt ions are caught by ion exchange with hydroxy group on the surface thereof . uranium recovery test was carried out by dissolving 10 ppb uranium in sea water . inorganic ion - exchanger no . 1 was prepared according to example 1 , no . 2 according to example 2 , no . 3 according to example 3 , no . 4 according to example 4 , and no . 5 according to comparative example 1 . one gram each of the inorganic ion - exchangers were placed into 1 l of sea water individually , and stirred for 8 hours . after removal of the inorganic ion - exchangers , uranium concentration of the sea water was measured by colorimetry using arsenazo ( iii ) as a color - developing reagent to determine the amount of uranium caught by one gram of the individual inorganic ion - exchangers . results are shown in table 4 . table 4______________________________________ residual hy - amount of drous metal uraniumion - oxide after caughtexchan - hydrous bleeding μ g . sup . u / ger carrier metal oxide mg / g - carrier g / exchanger______________________________________aluminaγ titanium 105 452 silica gel titanium 83 423 silica gel zirconium 74 404 activated titanium 89 42 carbon5 γ - alumina titanium 18 6______________________________________ | 8 |
in a battery according to the invention , a fixed reference voltage from a battery is applied to an inversion input terminal (-) through a zener diode d8 , a diode d9 and resistors r21 , r25 , r26 , which are linked with a capacitor c1 in parallel ; output voltages of the battery are applied , through resistance r22 , r23 and r24 and a variable resistance vr2 , to a non - inversion input terminal (+) of a comparator l3 ; output of the comparator l3 , which is fed back through resistors r27 , r28 and r26 is connected to a gate g1 of field - effect - transistor ( fet ) f1 through a resistor r32 and also to a collector of a transistor q7 ; output of the battery is applied through r29 to a base of a transistor q7 whose emitter is , through a resistor r31 and a capacitor c2 , fed back to a collector of the transistor q7 and also connected to a source of the fet f1 and the resistor r32 ; the base of transistor q7 is connected through a resistor r30 to a collector of transistor q8 , and a base of transistor q8 whose emitter is grounded and is connected to a collector of transistor q9 through resistors r33 , r38 ; a base of the transistor q9 which receives feed - back through r35 is connected through resistor r37 to a drain of the fet f1 and at the same time to the load ; and finally through a resistor r39 and a diode d10 coupled in series , the battery is charged . hereinafter , the present invention is described in detail with reference to the fig2 . the battery is designed to be charged by the main power up to 48 v through the resistor r39 and the diode d10 ; at the level above 47 v , the charged voltage is transmitted to the load while at the level below 41 v , battery &# 39 ; s link with the load is cut off and the battery is recharged . due to the characteristics of comparator l3 , the charged voltage of the battery flows through the zener diode d8 , the diode d9 and resistor r21 , r26 and feeds an input power of 36 volts to the inversion input terminal (-) of comparator l3 , so that the battery is protected from being damaged . meanwhile , in the comparator l3 whose non - inversion input port (+) receives the output voltage of the battery through the variable resistor vr2 , the capacitor c1 and the resistors r22 , r23 , r24 , r25 , the input voltage levels from both terminals are compared and only when the two voltage levels are identical , a signal of &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; is sent out through its output port into a gate of the fet f1 . then the fet f1 is activated and through the drain d and the source s of said fet f1 , the battery is connected with the load , so that appropriate charged voltage is supplied to the load . and now , as the input value of the non - inversion port (+) of the comparator l3 becomes lower than when it ( i . e ., that is , when fet f1 ) is not activated , resistance values of the resistors r27 , r24 are adequately adjusted in such a way that the output signal of the comparator l3 becomes &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; at the level of 41 volts where recharging of the battery is activated so that when the voltage decreases to a level lower than 41 volts , the link between the battery and the load is disconnected in order for the battery recharging to be performed through r39 and diode d10 . on the other hand , if there exists excess current while a charged voltage of the battery is transferred to the load through fet f1 , the voltages loaded on both ends of the resistor r37 are increased due to the excess current , and when a sum of the voltages loaded on the resistor r37 and the resistor r35 reaches to a level high enough between the base and the emitter of the transistor q9 , the transistor q9 is turned on and activated . accordingly , voltages are created on both ends of the resistor r38 and the voltages turn on the transistor q8 , so that voltages are loaded on both ends of the resistor r29 as well , and transistor q7 also is turned on . then , a voltage between the gate and the source of the fet f1 is changed to a voltage between the collector and the emitter of the transistor q7 according to operation of the transistor q7 , resulting in the fet f1 being disconnected and the link between the battery and the load being cut off . consequently , the present invention is designed in such a way that the hysteresis characteristics of fig3 is satisfied and , thereby , a discharging is carried out when a voltage of the battery reaches a level equal to or more than 47 volts and stops at a level equal to or lower than 41 volts for the battery to be recharged , whereas it is cut off when an excess current flows into the battery . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates the two - stage translator found in the prior art . an input signal in enters a first inverter 10 and the output is connected to three separate paths . first , the inverted signal passes through a second inverter 12 . the output of this second inverter 12 is coupled to the first input of a first nand gate 14 . the output of the second inverter 12 also couples to a delaying element 16 , which outputs to a third inverter 18 . the third inverter 18 , in turn , has an output coupled to a second input of the first nand gate 14 . the output of the first nand gate 14 serves as the input for a first circuit portion 20 . the first circuit portion 20 is comprised of a p - channel transistor q 101 with a source coupled to v ccp and a drain coupled to the drain of an n - channel transistor q 102 . the source of transistor q 102 , in turn , couples to ground . the two coupled drains serve as an output for the first circuit portion 20 and are also connected to the gate of another p - channel transistor q 103 , which also has a source connected to v ccp . further , the transistor q 103 has a drain attached to the drain of another n - channel transistor q 104 having a grounded source . the coupled drains of q 103 and q 104 attach to the gate of q 101 . the output of the first nand gate 14 drives the gate of transistor q 102 . the first circuit portion 20 is further comprised of a fourth inverter 22 , which also receives the output of the first nand gate 14 and inverts that signal before it reaches the gate of transistor q 104 . the output of the first circuit portion 20 drives the gate of an n - channel transistor q 105 , which has a drain coupled to v cc and a source coupled to the main output node 24 . the output of first inverter 10 also couples to a first input of a nor gate 26 . the nor gate 26 receives a second input from the third inverter 18 . the output of the nor gate 26 enters a second circuit portion 28 . this second circuit portion is comprised of an n - channel transistor q 106 that is driven by the output of nor gate 26 . transistor q 106 also has a source coupled to ground and a drain coupled to a node a . the output of nor gate 26 also couples to the source of an n - channel transistor q 107 , which is driven by v cc and has a drain coupled to the source of another n - channel transistor q 108 at node b . transistor q 108 is driven by v ccp and has a drain that couples at node c to the drain of a p - channel transistor q 109 . the source of transistor q 109 is attached to v ccp . the coupled drains of q 109 and q 108 are connected to the gate of another p - channel transistor q 110 , which also has a source attached to v ccp . by way of node d , the drain of transistor q 110 is coupled to the gate of transistor q 109 , as well as to node a . node a represents the output of the second circuit portion 28 , and connects to the gate of a p - channel transistor q 111 . the source of transistor q 111 connects to v ccp and the drain of q 111 connects to the main output node 24 . node a also connects to a first input of a second nand gate 30 . finally , the output of first inverter 10 acts as a second input for the second nand gate 30 . the output of this second nand gate 30 passes through a fifth inverter 32 and drives an n - channel transistor q 112 . transistor q 112 has a source coupled to ground and a drain coupled to the main output node 24 . output node 24 is also coupled to a path configured to carry an output signal out . a final matter of coupling this prior art translator is illustrated in fig2 . for every p - channel transistor , an n - well 34 within a p - region 36 is coupled to v ccp at node 38 to provide the proper back bias . the discrete two - step operation of this translator is best illustrated by examining its functions as in changes from a low to high signal . the initial low signal from in results in a high signal output from the first inverter 10 . this high signal is again changed at the second inverter 12 to a low signal , which is input to the first nand gate 14 and the delaying element 16 . at this point , the signal in has remained low long enough for the delay element 16 to transmit the low signal to the third inverter 18 , which outputs a high signal . this high signal combines with the low signal from the second inverter 12 in the nand gate 14 . the resulting high signal enters the first circuit portion 20 and turns on transistor q 102 . further , the high signal is inverted by the fourth inverter 22 , and the low signal output turns off transistor q 104 . with transistor q 102 on , the gate of transistor q 103 is grounded , thereby turning on q 103 . because q 104 &# 39 ; s off state prevents q 103 &# 39 ; s signal from grounding , q 103 instead transmits a high signal to q 101 &# 39 ; s gate , turning q 101 off . in addition , q 101 &# 39 ; s off state and q 102 &# 39 ; s on state result in a low signal output from the first circuit portion 20 . this low signal turns off transistor q 105 , isolating v cc from the main output node 24 . meanwhile , the high signal from the third inverter 18 combines with the high signal from the first inverter 10 at the nor gate 26 , which outputs a low signal to the second circuit portion 28 . this low signal turns off transistor q 106 . in doing so , node a is isolated from ground . moreover , the low signal induces a corresponding low voltage at node c , which consequently turns on transistor q 110 . as a result , transistor q 110 transmits a high signal to transistor q 109 , turning q 109 off . this high signal also reaches node a and is output from the second circuit portion 28 . the high signal turns off transistor q 111 , isolating v ccp from the main output node 24 . the high signal from node a combines with the high signal from the first inverter 10 at the second nand gate 30 . the low signal from the nand gate 30 is changed by the fifth inverter 32 , and the high signal from the fifth inverter 32 turns on q 112 , grounding any signals that reach the main output node 24 . thus , the low signal in causes a low signal out . as the in signal changes from a low to a high signal , the first inverter 10 outputs a low signal and , hence , the second inverter 12 outputs a high signal . the first nand gate 14 receives this high signal as a first input . however , the new high signal is held up by the delaying element 16 and , as a result , the third inverter 18 temporarily continues to output a high signal to the second input of the first nand gate 14 . receiving two high signals , the first nand gate 14 transmits a low signal to the first circuit portion 20 . this low signal turns off transistor q 102 . further , the low signal passes through the fourth inverter 22 and the resulting high signal turns on transistor q 104 , which provides a path to ground . this grounding turns on transistor q 101 , which provides a path from v ccp . with transistor q 102 off , the v ccp signal from q 101 has no path to ground and is therefore diverted to the gate of transistor q 103 , turning off q 103 . the v ccp signal is also transmitted to the gate of q 105 , thereby turning on q 105 . with transistor q 105 on , the v cc signal coupled to the drain of transistor q 105 is able to reach the main output node 24 . it should be noted that this configuration allows a full v cc signal to be transmitted . if transistor q 105 were driven by a mere v cc signal , only a signal of magnitude v cc − v t could pass through transistor q 105 , where v t is the voltage threshold of transistor q 105 . because of the high signal that is temporarily transmitted from the third inverter 18 , the nor gate 26 , receiving this high signal as well as the low signal from the first inverter 10 , continues to send out a low signal to the second circuit portion 28 . as a result , the state of the second circuit portion 28 does not change : a high signal at node a ( 1 ) turns off transistor q 111 , thereby isolating v ccp from the main output node ; and ( 2 ) acts as one input for the second nand gate 30 . the other input for the second nand gate 30 is the low signal from the first inverter 10 . the resulting high signal is inverted by the fifth inverter 32 so that the final low signal turns off transistor q 112 , preventing any output signals from grounding at that point . therefore , during this transition phase , while the delaying element 16 is postponing the change of signals , the translator &# 39 ; s output signal out increases to v cc . after a time determined by the configuration of the delay element 16 , the high signal output from the second inverter 12 reaches the third inverter 18 , thereby triggering the second stage of translation . the first nand gate 14 accepts the low signal from the third inverter 18 and the high signal from the second inverter 12 . the resulting high signal from the first nand gate 14 returns the first circuit portion 20 to the state originally described , with transistors q 102 and q 103 on , transistors q 101 and q 104 off , and a low signal output from the first circuit portion 20 that turns off transistor q 105 . with transistor q 105 off , v cc can no longer reach the main output node 24 . at the same time , however , the newly generated low signal from the third inverter 18 , in combination with the low signal from the first inverter 10 , results in a high signal output from the nor gate 26 . this allows transistor q 107 to push node b to v cc − v t . node c is also pushed to this level , which partially turns off transistor q 110 . because a full v cc signal is not applied to transistor q 110 , q 110 continues to pass some current . however , the high signal from the nor gate 26 also turns on transistor q 106 , which is configured to be large enough to overdrive q 110 . with transistor q 106 on , a path to ground is provided for nodes a and d . node d &# 39 ; s connection to ground turns on q 109 , which in turn allows a v ccp signal to reach the gate of transistor q 110 through node c , turning off transistor q 110 completely . node a &# 39 ; s connection to ground turns on q 111 , allowing a v ccp signal to reach the main output node 24 . grounded node a further provides a low signal for the second nand gate 30 , which also accepts the low signal from the first inverter 10 . the high signal output from the second nand gate 30 is inverted by the fifth inverter 32 so that a low signal maintains transistor q 112 &# 39 ; s off - state . thus , the v ccp signal originating at transistor q 111 is transmitted as the translator &# 39 ; s output signal out . in this way , a high input signal is translated into a signal of magnitude v ccp . in translating an in signal changing from high to low , the translator circuit is initially at the state described immediately above : the v cc signal is isolated because transistor q 105 is off ; a direct path to ground is not available because transistor q 112 is off ; and with transistor q 111 on , v ccp is output as the translator &# 39 ; s out signal . as in transmits a low signal , the first inverter 10 sends a high signal to the second inverter 12 . the second inverter 12 transmits a low signal to the first nand gate 14 . however , because the low signal from the second inverter 12 has not yet cleared the delaying element 16 , the third inverter 18 still outputs a low signal for the first nand gate 14 . given these two low signals , the first nand gate 14 continues to send a high signal to the first circuit portion 20 . it follows that the first circuit portion 20 continues to send a low signal to q 105 and isolate v cc from the main output node 24 . nevertheless , the high signal from the first inverter 10 does change the output from the nor gate 26 . the high signal from the first inverter 10 plus the remaining low output from the third inverter 18 causes the nor gate 26 to send a low signal to the second circuit portion 28 . this turns off transistor q 106 , isolating the drain of q 110 and the gate of q 109 from ground . further , a low signal is then transmitted through node c to transistor q 110 , turning on that transistor . a v ccp signal then passes through transistor q 110 and node d to transistor q 109 , turning it off . further , this v ccp signal transmits to node a , turning off transistor q 111 and isolating v ccp from the main output node 24 . the high signal from node a also enters the second nand gate 30 , which also receives the high signal from the second inverter 12 . the result from the second nand gate 30 is a low signal , which is inverted by the fifth inverter 32 . the output high signal turns on transistor q 112 , which grounds the main output node 24 and , thus , the signal out . moreover , the transition of out to a low signal is not affected by the function of the delaying element 16 . even after the third inverter 18 receives the low signal from the second inverter 12 , the resulting high signal does not change the input to the first circuit portion 20 . having received a low signal from the second inverter 12 in addition to the new high signal from the third inverter 18 , the first nand gate 14 continues to send a high signal to the first circuit portion 20 . similarly , the nor gate continues to send a low signal to the second circuit portion 28 . thus the v cc and v ccp signals continue to be isolated and the signal out continues to be pulled to ground through transistor q 112 . in fig5 line p graphically demonstrates the operation of this prior art translator . the right portion of line p represents the translation of an in signal going from high to low voltage . the relatively smooth transition indicates that out is not affected by the delaying element in a high to low operation . the left side of the graph , however , clearly illustrates the two stage process required to translate a signal in going from a low to high voltage . line p demonstrates one transition from ground to v cc . the leveling slope of line p occurs as out approaches v cc but the delaying element 16 has not yet allowed v ccp to couple to the main output node 24 . once the delay is over , the signal out then once again begins to increase in voltage until v ccp is reached . fig3 illustrates the smaller , faster circuit that translates a low - to - high signal directly to v ccp , without the use of a transitory v cc source . this translator is essentially a paired - down version of the first translator , with only the second circuit portion 28 and the first inverter 10 remaining . as a result , this translator operates in a manner similar to that second circuit portion 28 . given a low signal in , the first inverter 10 sends out a high signal . this high signal allows transistor q 107 to push node b to v cc − v t . node c is also pushed to that level , thereby partially turning off transistor q 110 . the high signal from the first inverter 10 also turns on transistor q 106 . having been configured to be able to overdrive transistor q 110 , transistor q 106 grounds any signal passing through transistor q 110 . this creates a low voltage at node d , which turns on transistor q 109 . the resulting v ccp signal completely turns off transistor q 110 . with node a also coupled to ground via transistor q 106 , this translator &# 39 ; s output signal out is a low signal . as the signal in increases to a high signal , the first inverter 10 transmits a low signal that turns off transistor q 106 . at this stage , node c carries a low signal to transistor q 110 , which turns on accordingly . with no path to ground through transistor q 106 , a v ccp signal travels through transistor q 110 and node d to the gate of transistor q 109 . this v ccp signal turns off q 109 . further , this v ccp signal travels to node a and ultimately serves as the output signal out . thus , as a high signal is input , the translator drives its load directly to v ccp , with no transition stage involving v cc . should signal in make the transition from a high signal back to a low signal , the translator would return to the state originally described above . fig4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the current invention . an input signal in leads to a primary inverter 40 . the output of the primary inverter couples to the gate of a p - channel transistor q 201 and the gate of an n - channel transistor q 202 . in addition to having coupled gates , the drains of transistors q 201 and q 202 are coupled to each other . the coupled drains are in turn connected to a node e . the source of transistor q 202 is coupled to ground and the source of transistor q 201 is coupled at a node f to the drain of another p - channel transistor q 203 . transistor q 203 has a source coupled to a source voltage v cc . further , as described earlier and illustrated in fig2 transistor q 203 , as well as every other p - channel transistor in this exemplary embodiment , has an n - well 34 within a p - region 36 is coupled to v ccp , at node 38 to provide the proper back bias . it should also be noted that the values of v cc and v ccp in this exemplary embodiment may not necessarily have the same values as discussed in the prior art translators . further , it should be noted that , while this invention can be coupled to various voltage sources , no voltage source is claimed as part of the invention . returning to the primary inverter 40 , its output drives the coupled gates of another pair of transistors : p - channel transistor q 204 and n - channel transistor q 205 . the drains of transistors q 204 and 205 join at a node g . the source of transistor q 205 is coupled to ground and the source of transistor q 204 is coupled to node e . in addition , node g is coupled to the gate of transistor q 203 . the output of primary inverter 40 also serves as input for a secondary inverter 42 . this exemplary embodiment also contains three transistors , q 206 , q 207 , and q 208 , coupled in series . transistor q 206 is a p - channel transistor with a source coupled to v ccp and a drain coupled to the drain of n - channel transistor q 207 . the source of transistor q 207 is coupled to the drain of n - channel transistor q 208 , whose source couples to ground . the gate of transistor q 206 is connected to node g ; the gate of transistor q 207 is connected to the output of the secondary inverter 42 ; and the gate of transistor q 208 is connected to node e . finally , the coupled drains of transistors q 206 and q 207 drive a p - channel transistor q 209 . the source of transistor q 209 is coupled to v ccp and the drain of q 209 is coupled to an output node h . output node h is also connected to node e and carries the translator &# 39 ; s output signal out . once again , the operation of this exemplary circuit is best demonstrated by examining its function as in changes from a low to a high signal . the initial low signal in is inverted by the by the primary inverter 40 . the resulting high signal turns on transistor q 202 but turns off transistor q 201 . further , with q 202 providing a path to ground for output node h , out is a low signal . additionally , q 202 &# 39 ; s activation results in a low voltage signal passing through node e to transistor q 208 , turning that transistor off as well . the high signal output from the primary inverter 40 also turns off transistor q 204 even as it turns on transistor q 205 . as q 205 provides a path to ground , the resulting low voltage at node g turns on q 203 . as a result , node f is pushed to v cc . with q 201 in an off state , however , the v cc charge is isolated from the rest of the circuit . the low voltage at node g also turns on transistor q 206 . the high signal from the primary inverter 40 is inverted by the secondary inverter 42 , thereby turning off transistor q 207 . thus , with transistor q 206 on and transistors q 207 and q 208 off , a v ccp signal drives transistor q 209 , turning off q 209 as well . therefore , with in transmitting a low signal , out also transmits a low signal , as it is coupled to ground through output node h and transistor q 202 . moreover , v ccp is isolated from the circuit , but a v cc charge is stored within the circuit in anticipation of future changes in the in signal . as the signal in increases to high , the v cc signal from node f reaches output node h . the manner in which this takes place begins as the high in signal is inverted to a low signal by the primary inverter 40 . this low signal turns off transistor q 202 and turns on transistor q 201 . thus , the v cc signal at node f is diverted through nodes e and h as the out signal . however , even as out approaches a potential of v cc , the translator is operating to isolate the v cc source . the low signal from the primary inverter 40 turns on transistor q 204 and turns off transistor q 205 . thus , the high signal from node e is transmitted by way of the source of transistor q 204 and through node g to the gate of transistor q 203 , turning off transistor q 203 . as a result , v cc is eventually no longer able to transmit through transistor q 203 . nevertheless , the same operations that isolate v cc simultaneously function to couple v ccp to output node h . the high signal at node g turns off transistor q 206 . the low signal from the primary inverter 40 is inverted by the secondary inverter 42 and the resulting high signal turns on transistor q 207 . subsequently , the high signal from node e turns on transistor q 208 . the states of these three transistors cause the coupled drains of transistors q 206 and q 207 to send a low signal to transistor q 209 . this turns on q 209 and allow v ccp to charge output node h . thus , while the input signal in is low , the translator prepares to transmit a v cc signal . as in increases , the ability of v cc to reach output node h increases . as the potential of out approaches the v cc level , the translator automatically operates to gradually shut off v cc while coupling v ccp to output node h . the result is a smooth transition of out from a low signal of 0 volts to a v cc signal and , finally , to a high signal of magnitude v ccp . the smooth transition allowed by this invention can be seen in line i of fig5 . the advantage of this embodiment over the first prior art example is particularly evident on the left part of the graph , denoting the output signal out in the event of a low to high in signal . specifically , line i demonstrates that the speed of this invention is not limited by the presence of a delaying element . rather , this exemplary embodiment is configured to automatically provide additional charging when the output approaches the desired intermediate voltage . further , because this embodiment allows for an intermediate boost to v cc , there is no need for the inefficiently large charge pump that must be used in the second prior art translator . as a result , this embodiment uses less operating current that does the second prior art translator . if the signal in transitions from high to low , then the circuit for this embodiment returns to the state first described : transistor q 202 turns on , grounding the output signal ; transistor q 209 turns off , isolating v ccp ; transistor q 201 turns off , isolating v cc at node f ; and transistor q 203 turns on to charge node f to v cc in anticipation of the next low - to - high signal . as shown by the right side of the graph in fig5 although the first prior art translator is not encumbered by the delaying element in the high - to - low transition , this embodiment of the current invention operates faster because it is a smaller circuit . finally , one of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that , although a specific embodiment of this invention has been described above for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . as demonstrated in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 136 , 190 , by chern et al ., for example , the proper number of inverters would allow the translator to output a v ccp signal in response to a high - to - low input signal change rather than a low - to - high change . as another example , an additional n - channel transistor could be interposed between transistor q 203 and v cc . driving this additional transistor at v ccp would ensure that a signal of magnitude v cc would not be transmitted through transistor q 203 until v ccp exceeded v cc . moreover , a circuit similar to the embodiments disclosed above could be configured to translate an input signal having a low voltage into an output signal having even a lower voltage accordingly , the invention is not limited except as stated in the claims . | 7 |
the detailed embodiment of the present invention is disclosed herein . it should be understood , however , that the disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention , which may be embodied in various forms . therefore , the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and / or use the invention . in accordance with the present invention , and with reference to fig1 to 3 , an inhaler assist device 10 is disclosed . the inhaler assist device 10 includes a housing assembly 16 pivotally connected to a lever actuator 18 . the housing assembly 16 provides support for a metered dose inhaler 12 and anti - static chamber 14 as will be discussed below in greater detail . the lever actuator 18 includes a pivot first end 20 and a free second end 22 . the housing assembly 16 is substantially l - shaped and includes a first housing leg 24 and a second housing leg 26 . the first housing leg 24 includes a first end 30 and a second end 32 . the second housing leg 26 includes a first end 34 and a second end 36 which is common with second end 32 of first housing leg 24 . the respective second ends 32 , 36 of the first housing leg 24 and the second housing leg 26 are fixedly connected , and the pivot first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 is pivotally secured to the first end 30 of the first housing leg 24 by a pivot pin 21 to form a hinge 23 . the hinge 23 pivotally connects the first housing leg 24 with the lever actuator 18 . a concave recess 38 is formed at the meeting point of the first housing leg 24 and the lever actuator 18 . as will be discussed below in greater detail , the concave recess 38 is shaped and dimensioned for receiving the base or second end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 in a friction fit relationship . the concave recess 38 may be thought of as the combination and mating of the first end 30 of the first housing leg 24 and the first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 . more particularly , the housing assembly 16 , in particular , the first housing leg 24 and the second housing leg 26 , includes a base wall 54 with an inwardly facing surface 56 and an externally facing surface 58 . the housing assembly 16 also includes lateral side walls 70 extending inwardly from base wall 54 . as will be appreciated based upon the following disclosure , the combination of the base wall 54 and the lateral side walls 70 creates a cavity shaped and dimensioned for receipt of the metered dose inhaler 12 in the first housing leg 24 . the lateral side walls 70 include a slot 120 which functions to allow the lateral side walls 70 to flex outward when an anti - static chamber 14 is press fit into the inhaler assist device 10 . similarly , the lever actuator 18 includes a base wall 44 with an inwardly facing surface 46 and an externally facing top surface 48 . the lever actuator 18 also includes lateral side walls 72 extending from base wall 44 . as will be appreciated based upon the following disclosure , the combination of the base wall 44 and the lateral side walls 72 defines a generally u - shaped cavity . the lever actuator 18 also includes support cross members 74 , 76 , 78 extending downwardly from the base wall 44 and between the lateral side walls 72 . the first cross member 74 is formed at the tip of the first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 . a second cross member 76 is formed for engagement with the second end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 and a third cross member 78 is formed on the side of the second cross member 76 opposite the first cross member 74 . the third cross member 78 extends inwardly further than the first or second cross members 74 , 76 and functions to retain the second end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 in position within the lever actuator 18 by preventing lateral movement of the second end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 toward the free second end 22 of the lever actuator 18 . with the foregoing in mind , the concave recess 38 in which the second end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 is positioned is defined by the first and third cross members 74 , 78 of the lever actuator 18 , the base wall 44 of the lever actuator 18 between the first and third cross members 74 , 78 , and the lateral side walls 72 of the lever actuator 18 between the first and third cross members 74 , 78 . in addition , the concave recess 38 is further defined by the base wall 54 and lateral side walls 70 of the first housing leg 24 adjacent the first end 30 thereof . the metered dose inhaler 12 is positioned , and frictionally fit , within the cavity defined by the base wall 54 and the lateral side walls 70 of the housing assembly 16 along the first housing leg 24 , and extends between the concave recess 38 and the second housing leg 26 such that the application of pressure forcing the lever actuator 18 toward the second housing leg 26 will cause compression of the metered dose inhaler 12 to thereby dispense a dosage therefrom . proper positioning of the metered dose inhaler 12 between the concave recess 38 and the housing assembly 16 is achieved by the provision of a shelf 80 at the junction of the first housing leg 24 and the second housing leg 26 . the shelf 80 includes an upper support surface 82 shaped and dimensioned for engaging the dispensing , or first , end 62 of the metered dose inhaler 12 . in addition to housing the metered dose inhaler 12 , the housing assembly 16 is particularly shaped and dimensioned to engage and retain an anti - static chamber 14 required to be used with a metered dose inhaler 12 by many users , with the metered dose inhaler 12 secured thereto . anti - static chambers come in different shapes and sizes as such the inhaler assist device 10 is design to hold at least two different brands of anti - static chambers . as shown in the figures , and as those skilled in the art will certainly appreciate , the anti - static chamber 14 is frictionally secured to the dispensing end 62 of the metered dose inhaler 12 . the anti - static chamber 14 is secured thereto at a transverse orientation relative to the longitudinal axis of the metered dose inhaler 12 . attachment of the anti - static chamber 14 , and ultimately the metered dose inhaler 12 , to the housing assembly 16 is achieved by providing the housing assembly 16 with an anti - static chamber clip 50 . the anti - static chamber clip 50 includes a clip recess 100 . the anti - static chamber clip 50 is generally composed of four connection points comprised of 51 a , 53 a , and 51 b , 53 b ( opposite 51 a and 53 a , respectively ) shaped and dimensioned for frictionally engaging the coupled end 15 of the anti - static chamber 14 . the four connection points 51 a , 51 b , 53 a , 53 b include first and second connection points 51 a , 51 b formed in lateral side walls 70 in the second housing leg 26 below the slot 120 . in particular , the lateral side walls 70 include upper edges 90 which are parallel to each other and extend along a path substantially parallel to the a longitudinal axis of the second housing leg 26 . consequently , the upper edges 90 define support surfaces , that is , connection points 51 a , 51 b , upon which the outer wall of the anti - static chamber 14 may rest . the anti - static chamber clip 50 is further provided with third and fourth connection points 53 a , 53 b defined by protrusions 57 a and 57 b on an upper portion of lateral side walls 70 formed extending along the first housing leg 24 above the slot 120 . the third and fourth connection points 53 a , 53 b formed by protrusions 57 a , 57 b define substantially linear contact surfaces 95 substantially parallel to and facing the first and second connection points 51 a , 51 b . as such , the upper edges 90 and contact surfaces 95 of protrusions 57 a , 57 b define the clip recess 100 in which the anti - static chamber 14 is positioned for coupling with the inhaler assist device 10 . the spacing between the first , second , third and fourth connection points 51 a , 51 b , 53 a , 53 b is such that the first end of the anti - static chamber 14 may be positioned therein with the connection points frictionally engaging the outer wall of the coupled end 15 of the anti - static chamber 14 . as briefly mentioned above , the lateral side walls 70 include a slot 120 which permits the anti - static chamber clip 50 to flex outward such that the four connection points 51 a , 51 b , 53 a and 53 b can grip a larger diameter anti - static chamber 14 . as shown , the lateral side walls 70 are not flexed , but due to the slots 120 the lateral side walls 70 can flex outward , that is , with the second housing leg 26 moving away from the lever actuator 18 , to accommodate a larger diameter anti - static chamber 14 which are still retained by the four connection points 51 a , 51 b , 53 a and 53 b . turning now to the lever actuator 18 , the first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 is pivotally connected to the first end 30 of the first housing leg 24 . as mentioned above , the junction of the first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 with the first end 30 of the first housing leg 24 defines the concave recess 38 shaped and dimensioned for placement of the base , or second , end 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 while the dispensing , or first , end 62 of the metered dose inhaler 12 extends downward substantially in parallel alignment with the first housing leg 24 which ultimately joins the second end 36 of the second housing leg 26 . while the concave recess 38 supports the base 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 , the lever actuator 18 is provided with an inwardly extending second cross member 76 for engaging the base 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 . in practice , the first end of the anti - static chamber 14 ( with the metered dose inhaler 12 secured thereto ) is secured to the anti - static chamber clip 50 such that the longitudinal axis of the anti - static chamber 14 is in substantially parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis of the second housing leg 26 as it extends from its first end 34 to its second end 36 . the metered dose inhaler 12 is thereby positioned within the recess defined by the base wall 54 and lateral side walls 70 along the second housing leg 26 . with the anti - static chamber 14 securely coupled to the housing assembly 16 , the lever actuator 18 is rotated toward the second housing leg 26 until such a time that the base 60 of the metered dose inhaler 12 seats within the concave recess 38 . the distance from the upper support surface 82 of the shelf 80 formed at the second end 36 of the second housing leg 26 to the base wall 44 of the lever actuator 18 adjacent the concave recess 38 is substantially the same as the length of the metered dose inhaler 12 . as such the metered dose inhaler 12 fits snuggly between the second end 36 of the second housing leg 26 and the concave recess 38 , in particular , the second cross member 76 of the lever actuator 18 , when the lever actuator 18 is in its starting position ( that is , the positioned of the lever actuator 18 when the metered dose inhaler 12 is loaded but the metered dose inhaler 12 has not been actuated for dispensing of a dose ). with the lever actuator 18 in its start position and the metered dose inhaler 12 positioned between the second end 36 of the second housing leg 26 and the concave recess 38 adjacent the first end 20 of the lever actuator 18 , the user places his or her mouth over the discharge opening 68 of the anti - static chamber 14 and squeezes the second end 22 of lever actuator 18 toward the second housing leg 26 . this will cause the application of pressure to along the length of the metered dose inhaler 12 causing the discharge of medicine therefrom . while the preferred embodiments have been shown and described , it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure , but rather , is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
referring now to fig2 the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes four sets of electrophotographic laser beam printer mechanisms as the plural image forming mechanisms . the image forming apparatus has a casing 1 in which there are provided first , second , third and fourth laser beam printer mechanisms ( hereinafter also called printer mechanisms ) i , ii , iii and iv arranged in the order named , as seen on fig2 from the righthand side to the lefthand side . the image forming apparatus further includes a sprocket 3 disposed at the lower right side of the first printer mechanison nison i , and a sprocket 4 disposed at the lower left side of the fourth printer mechanism iv . at the rear side of the sprocket 3 , an additional sprocket is provided , although not seen in this figure . similarly , an additional sprocket is provided at the rear side of the sprocket 4 . around the front sprockets 3 and 4 , a chain 2 is entrained , and similarly another chain is entrained around the rear sprocket . bridging the front and rear chains , a gripper g for gripping an image transfer sheet is fixed to the chains . at the other portions of the chains , electrically insulating wires are stretched between both chains to carry the image transfer sheet . the chains are driven by the sprockets rotating in the directions shown by the respective arrows . together with the movement of the chains driven by the sprockets , the gripper g moved . the image forming apparatus further includes a sheet feed mechanism 5 at the righthand side of the chain 2 , image fixing means 6 at the lefthand side of the chain 2 and a discharge opening 7 for discharging the transfer sheet having an image thereon out of the image forming apparatus . the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are essentially and substantially the same in structure thereof . each of the printer mechanisms includes a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member 9 ( hereinafter called also as &# 34 ; photosensitive drum &# 34 ; or simply &# 34 ; drum &# 34 ;), as a recording medium , which is driven to rotate about a shaft 8 ; a corona charger 10 , developing means 11 , a transfer corona discharger 12 and a cleaner 13 located around the photosensitive drum 9 in the order named ; and a laser beam scanner 14 above the photosensitive drum 9 . the laser beam scanner 14 includes a semiconductor laser , polygonal mirror , f - θ lens and light blocking plate . it receives serial electric digital signals , i . e ., picture element signals generated by an image reader or computer which processes image signals and produces a laser beam l modulated in accordance with the signals . the beam scans the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 in the direction of the length of the drum at a position between the corona charger 10 and the developing means 11 , thus exposing image - wisely the drum 9 surface to the light carrying the image information . it should be noted , however , that each of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv contains the developing means 11 for yellow toner y , magenta toner m , cyan toner c and black toner bk , respectively . correspondingly , the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv receive the picture element signals s ( y ) for the yellow component image , the picture element signals s ( m ) for the magenta component image , the picture element signals s ( c ) for the cyan component image and the picture element signals s ( bk ) for the black component image . upon turning on the main switch , the laser beam scanners and the other process means and mechanisms of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are energized or driven , and also , the heater in the image fixing device 6 is turned on the start the warming - up operation of the image forming apparatus . when the laser beam generator assumes the on state , the rotational speed of the scanner reaches a predetermined value , and the fixing roller of the image fixing device is heated to a predetermined temperature , then the printer is ready for operation . the transfer sheet p as a medium to be recorded is fed to the guide 51 of the sheet feeding mechanism 5 , then the leading edge thereof is detected by the first photointerruptor 52 so that a start signal ( a start signal for printing sequence ) is generated . upon the start signal , the drums 9 of all of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv start their rotation . at this time , a couple of first register rollers 53 are not yet driven . then , the sprockets 3 and 4 start to run the gripper g . upon the gripper g passing through a second photointerruptor 54 , the first sheet register roller couple 53 starts rotation at a constant speed to feed the transfer sheet p along the guide 55 to a second couple of register rollers 56 . at this time , the second register roller couple 56 is not driven as yet , so that a loop of the transfer sheet p is formed between the first couple 53 and the second couple 56 . the second couple 56 of the register rollers starts the rotation at a constant speed with a predetermined delay from the signal outputted from the second photointerruptor 54 to advance the transfer sheet p along the guide 57 . when the gripper g passes by the gripper opening cam 58 , the gripper opens , while actuating a third photointerruptor 59 , upon which the photointerruptor 59 generates a signal to rotate the second couple 56 of the register rollers at twice the speed for a predetermined period of time , so that the leading edge of the transfer sheet p enters the gripper g which is kept open . the gripper g closes when it passes out the opening cam 58 , so that the leading edge of the transfer sheet p is gripped by the gripper g . the speed of the second couple 56 of the register rollers returns to the usual speed , so that there is no loop formation of the transfer sheet p between the second couple 56 and the gripper g . when the gripper g further moves to actuate a fourth photointerruptor 60 , a signal generates to start the image forming processes for the respective photosensitive drums 9 of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv . as a result , the drums 9 of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv now have a yellow image , magenta image , cyan image and black image , respectively , as color - component images of a multi - color original . the process of the image formation in each of the printer mechanism may be the one which is well known . therefore , the detailed explanation thereof has been omitted for the sake of simplicity . the transfer sheet p with its leading edge gripped by the gripper , is moved by the chain 2 under the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv toward the fixing means 6 . during this movement , the transfer sheet p receives from the respective photosensitive drum 9 yellow toner image , magenta toner image , cyan toner image and black toner image sequentially and superposedly , so that the color - component images are synthesized to be one multi - color image . the gripper g is then opened by a cam 61 , so that the transfer sheet p is released after it passes the fourth printer mechanism iv . the released transfer sheet p then rides on a separation pawl 61a away from the chain conveyor 2 to enter the fixing device 6 , where the multi - color toner image is fixed . finally , the transfer sheet p is discharged out of the image forming apparatus as a multi - color print . the chain 2 continues rotating until the gripper g returns to its home position , and then stops . this is the end of the one cycle of the printing sequence . between adjacent printer mechanisms , fifth , sixth and seventh photointerruptors 15a , 15b and 15c are provided along the moving passage of the gripper g to detect the gripper g and determine the timing of the start of image formation at each of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv . the transfer sheet driving mechanism includes a tension sprocket 62 for preventing the possible slack of the chain 2 . the sprockets or rollers 3 and 4 , the chain 2 and tension sprockets 62 are mounted on a frame 63 as a unit , which is supported for up and down movement by pantagraph supporters 64 and 64 . the transfer corona dischargers 12 for the respective printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are retractably supported along respective guide rails 66 extending in the direction perpendicular to the drawing of fig2 . the rails 66 are supported on a common frame 65 , which is supported by pantagraph supporters 67 and 67 for up and down movement . because of those arrangements , the transfer sheet feeding mechanism unit and / or the common frame 65 for the transfer corona dischargers can be moved downwardly to open wide the transfer sheet passage to allow the access thereto , for example , when a jam of the transfer sheet p occurs . the fixing device 6 shown in the figure is of the heating roller type , and contained in a thermal insulating housing . it has an upper roller 6a including a core metal coated with teflon ( trademark ), an intermediate roller 6b including a core metal coated with a silicon rubber and a lower roller 6c including a core metal coated with teflon ( trademark ). in the embodiment shown , each of the laser beam printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv is loaded with a process unit which contains , among the various process executing means of the printer mechanisms , the photosensitive drum 9 , corona discharger 10 , developing means 11 and cleaner 13 , as a unit . the process units for the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are depicted by reference numerals 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ). the units are detachable from the image forming apparatus independently from each other . as shown in fig3 the photosensitive drum 9 , charger 10 , developing means 11 and cleaner 13 are mounted as a unit between front and rear wall plates 17 and 18 . those elements , i . e ., the photosensitive drum 8 , charger 10 , developing means 11 and cleaner 13 are so designed that they have substantially the same service lines . the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are provided with respective openings 22i , 22ii , 22iii and 22iv in its front wall 21 , which openings are so shaped as to receive the respective units . the printer mechanism is provided with a couple of channel members 23 and 24 , at the upper portion of the opening 22 , which extend between the front wall 21 and the unshown rear wall . the channel members 23 and 24 are adapted to receive the reinforcing stays 19 and 20 of the process unit . when the process unit is to be mounted into the image forming apparatus , the rear side wall 18 is inserted into the opening 22 with the stays 19 and 20 guided by the channel members 23 and 24 , until it stops . then , the pins 25 and 26 are engaged into holes 27 and 28 formed in the front wall 21 of the printer mechanism . when , on the other hand , the process unit is to be taken out of the image forming apparatus , it is simply pulled out through the opening 22 . when the process unit is to be mounted into or demounted from the image forming apparatus , an unshown front door thereof is opened beforehand , to expose the front wall 21 . in fig2 the transportation of the transfer material is shown as being carried out by a gripper which grips a sheet , but other types of the transfer paper and the transporting mechanisms are usable , such as fan - folded paper having performations , or electrostatic attraction force in place of the mechanical gripping . the laser beam scanner 14 of the printer mechanism may have the structure as shown in fig4 wherein a single polygonal mirror 141 is used for the four laser beam generators which put together as a laser beam generating unit 142 . the laser beam generating unit 142 produces four laser beams l ( y ), l ( m ), l ( c ) and l ( bk ) which correspond , respectively , to yellow component image of the desired multi - color image to be printed , magenta component image theroef , cyan component image thereof and black component image thereof . the laser beams are directed through an f - θ lenses 143 ( y ) for yellow component , 143 ( m ) for magenta component , 143 ( c ) for cyan component and 143 ( bk ) for black component , reflecting mirrors 144 ( y ) for yellow component , 144 ( m ) for magenta component , 144 ( c ) for cyan component and 144 ( bk ) for black component , to the photosensitive drums 9 ( y ) for yellow component , 9 ( m ) for magenta component , 9 ( c ) for cyan component and 9 ( bk ) for black component . because of the structures provided by the present invention , the following advantages are brought about : ( i ) the transfer sheet as the material to be recorded is not wound around a transfer drum , and therefore , the sheets can be fed out continuously . for this reason , the throughput of the multi - color image forming apparatus is nearly equal to that of a monochromatic image forming apparatus , assuming that the process speeds are the same . ( ii ) if the number of colors to be transferred is to be increased , units having the same constructions are simply added , while the throughputs of the one - color printer , two - color printer , three - color printer and four - color printer are substantially the same . ( iii ) in the electrophotographic process of the individual printer mechanisms , the distances between the image exposure positions and the developing positions are the same , so that the dark decay and the bright part attenuation are uniform among the printer mechanisms . the so - called &# 34 ; γ &# 34 ; properties are the same , with the result that the tone of the color can be made even for the different colors . ( iv ) the positioning and the inclination of the developing device does not differ among the printer mechanisms , so that research and development of the developing device require shorter time , and also the manufacturing cost can be decreased by the increase of the scale merit . ( v ) major parts for the image formation of each of the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are put together as a unit ( kit ), 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) or 16 ( bk ), which is detachably mountable into the printer mechanisms , so that , when the unit is used up to its service life or when some part of the means within the unit fails , the unit may be replaced by a fresh one . thus , the electrophotographic recording mechanism can reset to a correct state without expert knowledge or skill . the cost of the unit may be reduced by mass - production . of course , the replacement of the process unit can be carried out by users . therefore , the users can enjoy the advantage of shorter downtime , while the maker can reduce the cost for the serving organization . thus , the drawbacks of the conventional machines enumerated hereinbefore can be eliminated . fig5 shows another embodiment of the present invention , wherein the photosensitive drum is provided in the main assembly of the printer mechanism , that is , it is not contained in the process unit . in this embodiment , the process unit includes , among the image forming process executing elements , the charger 10 , developing means 11 and cleaner 13 . this applies to all of the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ). the process units are detachably mountable into the respective printer mechanisms . the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv are provided with respective openings 22i , 22ii , 22iii and 22iv in its front wall 21 , which openings are so shaped as to receive the respective units . the printer mechanism is provided with a couple of channel members 23 and 24 , at the upper portion of the opening 22 , which extends between the front wall 21 and the unshown rear wall . the channel members are adapted to receive the reinforcing stays 19 and 20 of the process unit . when the process unit is to be mounted into the image forming apparatus , the rear side wall 18 is inserted into the opening 22 with the stays 19 and 20 guided by the channel members 23 and 24 , until it stops . then , the pins 25 and 26 provided on the back side of the front wall 17 and projecting toward the rear wall 18 , are received by the corresponding holes 27 and 28 formed in the front wall 21 of the printer mechanism . the process unit stops by the back side of the unit front wall 17 abutting to the front side of the front wall 21 of the printer mechanism . the pins 25 and 26 are effective to correctly position the process unit with sufficient precision . each of the process units may be provided with a mechanism which displaces or pivots a little the developing means 11 and cleaner 13 away from the photosensitive drum 9 , which the process unit is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus to prevent a possible damage to the photosensitive drum 9 , by the developing roller or cleaning blade which are contacted to the photosensitive drum 9 when the process unit is set in the printer mechanism . detailed structure therefor has been omitted for the sake of simplicity of explanation . next , there will be described a mechanism for preventing erroneous operation which might occur when the process unit is replaced , for maintenance , for example . from the foregoing explanation , it will be understood that , after any of the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) are taken out of the printer mechanisms for maintenance , inspection , repairing or the like , the removed units or a fresh units to replace them must be set into the right printer mechanisms , respectively . this applies to both of fig3 embodiment and fig5 embodiment . however , as described above , the appearance of the process units are substantially the same , so that an erroneous setting can occur , or so that the operator becomes not aware of which unit is to be set in which printer mechanism . the embodiment of the present invention includes the structure for preventing this . according to the embodiment , upon the insertion of the process unit 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) into the printer mechanisms i , ii , iii and iv , an interference takes place between the process unit and the printer mechanism when the unit is not to the right one of the printer mechanisms , so that the unit cannot be inserted up . in fig6 the openings 22i , 22ii , 22iii and 22iv are provided with fixed pins 29i , 29ii , 29iii and 29iv , respectively , at the upper peripheries thereof . the horizontal positions of the pins 29i , 29ii , 29iii and 29iv are different as shown . correspondingly , the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) have respective notches 30i , 30ii , 30iii and 30iv on their rear walls 28 at their upper parts . the horizontal positions of the notches are such that the notches correspond to the pins or projections of the right ones of the openings , respectively , so that the pins and openings function interrelatedly to prevent the process units from being placed in a wrong position . therefore , when the first process unit 16 ( y ) is going to be set to the opening 22i ; when the second process unit 16 ( m ) is going to be set to the opening 22ii ; when the third unit 16 ( c ) to the opening 22iii ; or when the fourth unit 16 ( bk ) to the opening 22iv , no interference between the notches and the pins occurs , so that the units are allowed to enter . however , the insertion in any other combinations than stated above is going to interfere with the rear walls 18 of the process unit to prevent the insertion thereof of the wrong unit . the operator can recognize the error without difficulty , and the wrong process unit is prevented from setting in , without fail . another embodiment for this prevention is illustrated in fig7 and 8 , wherein the positions of the stays 19 and 20 are made different for individual units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ). for example , as shown in fig8 the unit 16 ( y ) has the stays at positions a and c ; the unit 16 ( m ), at positions a and d ; the unit 16 ( c ), at positions b and c ; and the unit 16 ( bk ), at positions b and c . correspondingly , the guiding channels 23 and 24 of the printer mechanisms so positioned that they can receive only the couple of stays of right ones of the process units . because of these arrangements , the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) can enter the openings 22 only when they are inserted to the openings 22i , 22ii , 22iii and 22iv , respectively . the insertion of the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) in any other combinations is not possible because of the wrong combination between the channel members 23 and 24 and the stays 19 and 20 . a further embodiment is disclosed in fig9 and 10 , wherein the positions of the pins 25 and 26 of the process units , provided on the back side of the front wall 17 , are made different for individual units . as an example , fig8 shows the positions for all of the process units . the first process unit 16 ( y ) has the pins at positions e and g ; the second unit 16 ( m ) has them at positions e and h ; the third unit 16 ( c ), at positions f and g ; and the fourth unit 16 ( bk ) at f and h . correspondingly the front walls 21 of the printer mechanisms have the holes for receiving the correct ones of the pins of the process unit . because of these arrangements , the process units 16 ( y ), 16 ( m ), 16 ( c ) and 16 ( bk ) can enter the openings 22 only when they are inserted to the openings 22i , 22ii , 22iii and 22iv , respectively . when they are inserted in any other combination , they can be inserted to some extent but not to the extreme extent , since both or one of the pins 25 and 26 abut the front side of the front wall 21 . so , only incomplete insertion is possible , not complete insertion . thus , according to the present invention , any of the process units cannot be set in wrong printer mechanisms so that the insertion thereof into right ones is ensured . it is possible for the user to effect maintenance or inspecting operations without the possibility of wrong placement of the process units . although the preventing structures are explained in conjunction with fig6 embodiment , the same can apply to the embodiment of fig3 . the content of the process unit shown in the figures is not limiting , but the process unit can contain the photosensitive drum 9 and the developing means only , or the photosensitive drum 9 , the developing means and cleaner only . in the foregoing explanations of the embodiments , the same reference numerals are assigned to the elements which has essentially the same functions , despite some minor differences in detailed structure , for the sake of the simplicity of the explanation . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes are modifications in form and details may be made therein without department from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
acids or esters which are solid at low temperature , preferably below 60 ° c . or , better , 80 ° c ., the melting point generally not exceeding 110 ° c ., melting sharply without passing through a softening phase , are customarily used . the esters customarily used are triesters of glycerol or mixtures thereof , especially the saturated triesters obtained by hydrogenation of castor oil , which lead essentially to glyceryl trihydroxystearate . hydrogenated sunflower oil , glyceryl tristearate and sometimes stearic acid are also useable . these products have a high molecular weight , with a number of c atoms generally not less than 16 for the acids or 51 for their triesters . it is seen that the solid coating products of the invention make it possible , on the one hand to produce a coating of mg which is stable at high temperature without the need in engage in chemical conversions of starting materials in order to obtain it . it may be recalled , on the other hand that , with this stable coating , an mg powder can withstand harsh temperature conditions of storage ( proximity to furnaces , sunlight , etc .) without undergoing a deterioration in its flowability . the esters of the invention generally constitute the majority , or preferably the whole , of the organic product used for coating the magnesium . thus , the said organic product can contain organic products other than the esters of the invention , especially unconverted residues of the products which have been used for obtaining the said esters . they are especially suitable for coating magnesium , to which they adhere to an exceptional extent as a result of their acidity , which is not zero but low , permitting a very superficial reaction with the mg particles . for example , hydrogenated castor oil has an acid value of 4 ( which represents the weight of koh in mg for neutralizing 1 g of product ) and melts at 86 ° c . as a refractory coating product , it is possible to use all infusible metal oxides or other refractories in powder form known in the prior art , but also desulphurizing agents such as cac 2 , caco 3 , cao , etc ., or other minerals such as carbons , etc ., or mixtures thereof . in the case where the refractory product is moisture - sensitive , such as , for example , cac 2 , it is advantageous to coat it before hand with an organic product , preferably those already mentioned , before coating mg with it according to the invention . however , the applicant has found that it is advantageous to employ as a refractory product , hence used for coating the grains of magnesium agents employing the esters according to the invention , a slag in the form of grains having the following composition ( in weight %): ______________________________________ cao 54 to 60 % mgo 3 to 7 % sio . sub . 2 24 to 30 % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 9 to 13 % ______________________________________ at the temperature of baths of molten pig iron or steel , it is more or less in thermodynamic equilibrium with the magnesium and hence barely reacts with the latter ; a spurious consumption of magnesium is thereby avoided ; if it is manufactured by fusion , it gives rise , after casting , to an allotropic conversion , which , during the cooling , converts it naturally to a fine powder consisting of grains of mean diameter approximately 40 μm . it has a thermal conductivity of approximately 0 . 5 wm - 1 k - 1 , significantly lower than that of the usual oxides under the same conditions , and hence promotes a delay effect in the action of the magnesium , the reactions of which are considered to be too rapid and too violent . the magnesium particles are usually less than 2 mm and preferably between 300 and 800 μm approximately in size , and the powder of refractory product is between 0 and 80 μm approximately in size . in general , 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 parts by weight of ester according to the invention ( for example hydrogenated castor oil ) are used per 5 parts by weight of protective refractory product , and most often 1 part of ester per 5 parts of protective slag . the proportion of coating product relative to the desulphurizing agent can range from 2 % to 25 % ( weight ). the desulphurizing product based on coated magnesium according to the invention may be mixed with other desulphurizing agents , especially with calcium carbide , or with other mixtures based on calcium carbide ( for example a mixture of the calcium carbonate + calcium carbide + carbon type ), with or without lime . it may also be mixed with inert products . to obtain the desulphurizing product according to the invention , it is possible to proceed in the following manner : the magnesium particles and the ester according to the invention are introduced simultaneously in the solid state into a heated mixer so as to produce initially particles uniformly covered with ester ; the powder of refractory product is then introduced and particles covered with slag are then obtained , these particles being removed from the mixer and thereafter cooled . thus , the invention makes it possible to obtain desulphurizing product which are inert to water and to moisture , do not give rise to an evolution of hydrogen and do not agglomerate even under harsh conditions of storage or use . these products afford an improved safety in use . various products for desulphurization , based on magnesium , hydrogenated castor oil and slag powder between 0 and 80 μm in size , described above , were prepared according to the process also described above . these products were injected as a dose of 0 . 1 % into a molten pig iron to be desulphurized at 1350 ° c . containing 0 . 05 % of sulphur . the characteristics and the results are given in the following table : ______________________________________ sulphur mag - hydro - content nesium genated of thepro - particle castor slag treatedduct size oil powder pig ironno . μm % % % % ______________________________________1 300 - 800 97 0 . 5 2 . 5 0 . 012 250 - 800 80 3 17 0 . 0063 250 - 630 71 4 25 0 . 007______________________________________ all these products are inert to water , that is to say , when they are immersed in water at ph7 , no evolution of hydrogen is observed , the result being confirmed after 2 hours &# 39 ; immersion . it is noted that the delay effect increases with the amount of refractory product and tends to improve the quality of the pig iron obtained , up to a certain limit . in comparison , the same test of immersion for 2 h was performed with magnesium particles coated according to the prior art . thus , coated magnesium was prepared according to example 1 of application ep 292 205 ; 25 g of this were immersed in water at ph7 and 19 ° c ., and a steady evolution of 50 cm 3 of hydrogen per hour was observed . a similar evolution of hydrogen was observed under the same conditions with magnesium coated with a phenolic resin and magnesium oxide according to the teaching of patent fr 2 , 331 , 618 . a desulphurizing product containing 20 % of the product no . 1 and 80 % of a pulverulent mixture of the following composition ( weight %) was prepared : ______________________________________ca carbide powder ( less than 100 μm ) 80 % ca carbonate powder ( less than 100 μm ) 17 % lampblack 3 % ______________________________________ this product was injected into the same molten pig iron as in example 1 , at a dose of 0 . 25 %. the final sulphur content obtained was 0 . 012 %. a mixture based on magnesium , hydrogenated castor oil and micronized calcium carbide was prepared according to the process described above , its composition being as follows : ______________________________________mg ( 300 - 800 μm ) 80 % hydrogenated caster oil 3 % cac . sub . 2 ( less than 100 μm ) 17 % ______________________________________ such a product according to the invention is especially suitable for use in the form of a mixture with a powder also of calcium carbide . it affords great safety for storage in a hot environment ; on the other hand , it is sensitive to water as a result of the presence of calcium carbide at the surface . this product was injected into the same molten pig iron as in example 1 , in the same proportion of 0 . 1 %. the final sulphur content obtained is 0 . 005 %. the above drawback was avoided , in a supplementary test , without adversely affecting the safety for storage in a hot environment , by coating cac 2 using 1 % ( relative to cac 2 ) of hydrogenated castor oil before introducing it into the mixture containing coated mg . | 2 |
the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the following examples , which are for illustrative purposes and which should not be used to unduly limit the invention . balb / c mice were immunized by intravenous and intraperitoneal injection of either oxldl or mda - modified ldl . oxldl was obtained by in vitro incubation of ldl ( final apo b - 100 concentration 700 μg / ml ) with copper chloride ( final concentration 640 μm ) for 16 h at 37 ° c . mda - modified ldl was prepared by incubation of ldl ( final apo b - 100 concentration 700 μg / ml ) with a 0 . 25 m mda - solution for 3 h at 37 ° c . the numbers of substituted lysines , measured in the tbars assay , was typically 210 per apo b - 100 molecule for oxldl and 240 for mda - modified ldl . hybridomas were obtained by peg induced fusion of spleen lymphocytes derived from immunized mice with p3 - x63 / ag - 6 . 5 . 3 myeloma cells according to standard techniques ( 4 ). the screening for hybridomas producing specific antibodies was performed with elisa using microtiter plates coated with malondialdehyde - modified ldl or copper - oxidized ldl . 308 hybridomas were obtained after immunization of mice with either oxldl ( 211 ) or mda - modified ldl ( 97 ). hyb4e6 produced antibodies specific for both malondialdehyde - modified and copper - oxidized ldl ( mab - 4e6 ), and hyb1h11 produced antibodies specific for malondialdehyde - modified ldl ( mab - 1h11 ) alone . the igg fraction of the antibodies was purified by affinity chromatography on protein a - sepharose and the affinity of the purified iggs was determined in a solid phase radioimmunoassay and / or in elisa . the k a values of the monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 were & lt ; 10 6 m − 1 for native ldl and & gt ; 10 9 m − 1 for malondialdehyde - modified ldl and copper - oxidized ldl . the k a values for the monoclonal antibody mab - 1h11 were & lt ; 10 6 m − 1 for both ldl and oxldl and & gt ; 10 9 m − 1 for malondialdehyde - modified ldl . the k a values for the monoclonal antibody mab - 8a2 , obtained after immunization of mice with ldl , were & gt ; 10 9 m − 1 for all ldl forms . delipidation of mda - modified ldl and oxldl resulted in a loss of the immunoreactivity of mab - 4e6 , suggesting that it is directed against a conformational epitope in the protein moiety of oxidatively modified ldl . use of mab - 4e6 for the quantitation of oxldl and mda - modified ldl in coronary lesions of watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits and miniature pigs on a cholesterol rich diet coronary arteries were obtained from 2 and 5 month old watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits ( n = 30 ) on normal chow or from miniature pigs ( n = 26 ) which were fed a diet enriched in cholesterol ( 4 %), saturated fat ( 14 % beef tallow ) and bile extract ( 1 %) for 6 to 24 weeks . arterial specimens were submerged within 30 min after removal in pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ) containing 4 % sucrose , 20 μm vitamin e and 10 μm butylated hydroxytoluene as antioxidants , and 1 mm edta , snap - frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at − 80 ° c . frozen 7 μm sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and with oil red 0 or immunostained as described below . morphometric parameters of atherosclerotic lesions were measured by planimetry using the leica 2 quantimet color image analyzer ( cambridge , uk ). the area within the external elastic lamina , the internal clastic lamina and the lumen were measured . media was defined as the area between the internal and external clastic lamina . intima was defined as the area within the internal elastic lamina not occupied by vessel lumen . oxidized apo b - 100 containing lipoproteins were detected with the specific monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 , alkaline - phosphatase conjugated rabbit - anti - mouse igg antibodies and the fuchsin alkaline phosphate substrate system ( dako , carpinteria , calif . ), and the absorbance was measured in the color image analyzer . specificity of immunostaining was confirmed by inhibition of staining with excess of copper - oxidized ldl but not with native ldl or with malondialdehyde - modified albumin . the staining co - localized with that monoclonal antibody mab - 13f6 , specific for apo b - 100 . absorbance ( approximately 10 %) measured with excess copper - oxidized ldl was presumed to represent background staining . fig1 illustrates the correlation between the levels of oxidized apo b - 100 containing lipoproteins , i . e . oxldl and mda - modified ldl , in the lesions and the mean intimal area of coronary lesions in watanabe hyperlipidemic rabbits ( a ) and in miniature pigs ( b ). those data thus demonstrate a correlation between the accumulation of oxldl and mda - modified ldl and the progression of coronary atherosclerotic lesions in 2 different animal models . in watanabe rabbits the progression of the lesions is due to the increase of ldl cholesterol associated with the heritable ldl receptor deficiency , whereas the progression in miniature pigs is due to a diet - induced increase in ldl cholesterol . this example is a typical example of the use of the highly specific antibody mab - 4e6 in immunohistochemistry applied to human atherosclerotic lesions . in a similar manner corresponding experiments may be performed , for which certain conditions can be adapted by the skilled person using his common knowledge in the field . coronary artery specimens , obtained at the time of transplantation from patients with ischemic heart disease ( n = 7 ) or dilated cardiomyopathy ( n = 7 ), were treated as described earlier ( document 7 ). the specimens were collected within 30 min after removal of the heart in pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ) containing 4 % sucrose , 20 μm vitamin e and 10 μm butylated hydroxytoluene as antioxidants , and 1 mm edta , and were stored at − 80 ° c . frozen 7 μm thick sections were cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin . six to 8 sections at a distance of 84 μm were analyzed for each specimen to insure representative results . duplicate slides were developed with monoclonal antibodies mab - 4e6 , specific for oxidized ldl , pg - m1 , specific for human macrophages , or 1a4 , specific for human smooth muscle α - actin ( both from dako sa , glostrup , denmark ). specificity of binding of mab - 4e6 was confirmed by its inhibition with oxldl but not with native ldl . coronary artery segments of 7 individuals with pretransplant dilated cardiomyopathy did not contain atherosclerotic lesions and the monoclonal antibody did not detect oxldl and / or aldehyde - modified ldl in these segments . coronary artery segments of 7 patients with pretransplant ischemic heart disease all contained atherosclerotic lesions which contained oxldl and / or aldehyde - modified ldl ( fig2 ). this information is sufficient to state that the antibody detects oxldl in atherosclerotic lesions in a highly specific manner . oxldl was associated with macrophage foam cells ( preferentially in lesions with & lt ; 50 % stenosis ), with smooth muscle foam cells and with the necrotic lipid core ( preferentially in lesions with & gt ; 50 % stenosis ). macrophages and smooth muscle cells were identified by immunostaining with specific monoclonal antibodies ( 5 ). these data supported the hypothesis that oxidation of ldl may be associated with the development of ischemic coronary artery disease . the monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 of the present invention that detected the immunoreactive material in the tissue sections was then further used in elisa ( cf . example 4 ). light micrographs ( a , c , e ; × 40 ) and phase contrast micrographs ( b , d , f ; × 400 ) of representative left anterior descending coronary artery specimens of a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy ( male ; 40 years of age ) ( a , b ) and of a patient with ischemic heart disease ( male ; 57 years of age ) ( c - f ). tissue sections were immunostained with the monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 . oxidized ldl was undetectable in the neointima of the first patient ( a , b ), but demonstrable in plaques of the second patient . the oxidized ldl was associated with macrophage foam cells that infiltrated at the shoulder areas of fibrous plaques ( c , d ) and with smooth muscle foam cells in fibrous caps ( e , f ). according to the invention an elisa was established for the quantitation of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in plasma . it was based on the inhibition of the binding of mab - 4e6 to the wells of microtiter plates coated with copper - oxidized ldl . this antibody was obtained as described in example 1 . standard oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and plasma samples were diluted in pbs containing 1 mm edta , 20 μm vitamin e , 10 μm butylated hydroxytoluene , 20 μm dipyridamole and 15 mm theophylline to prevent in vitro ldl oxidation and platelet activation . equal volumes of diluted purified mab - 4e6 solution ( final concentration 7 . 5 ng / ml ) and of diluted standard solution ( copper - oxidized ldl added as competing ligand at a final concentration ranging from 50 to 500 ng / ml ) were mixed and incubated for 30 min at room temperature . then 200 μl aliquots of the mixtures were added to wells coated with mda - modified ldl or oxldl . samples were incubated for 2 h at room temperature . after washing , the wells were incubated for 1 h with horse - radish peroxidase conjugated rabbit igg raised against mouse immunoglobulins and washed again . the peroxidase reaction was performed as described earlier ( 5 ) and the absorbance ( a ) was read at 492 nm . controls without competing ligand and blanks without antibody were included routinely . the percent inhibition of binding of mab - 4e6 to the immobilized ligand was calculated as : and standard curves were obtained by plotting the percentage of inhibition vs the concentration of competing ligand . the lower limit of detection was 0 . 020 mg / dl in undiluted human plasma . intra - and interassay coefficients of variation were 10 and 12 %, respectively . standard oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and plasma samples were diluted in pbs containing antioxidants and antiplatelet agents as described above . the specificity of mab - 4e6 for oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl is illustrated in fig3 . 50 % inhibition of binding of mab - 4e6 to immobilized oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl was obtained with 0 . 025 mg / dl copper - oxidized ldl and 25 mg / dl native ldl , respectively . the c 50 value , i . e ., the concentration that is required to obtain 50 % inhibition of antibody binding , increased from 2 . 5 mg / dl for mda - modified ldl with 60 substituted lysine residues per apo b - 100 molecule to 0 . 025 mg / dl for mda - modified ldl with 240 substituted lysine residues per apo b - 100 molecule ( fig3 ). copper - oxidation resulted in fragmentation of the apo b - 100 moiety but did not abolish the binding of mab - 4e6 ( fig3 ). 50 - fold higher molar concentrations of mda - modified albumin were required to obtain 50 % inhibition ( not shown ), whereas up to 1 , 000 - fold higher molar concentrations of mda - modified lysine did not affect mab - 4e6 binding . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from patient plasma had the same reactivity as mda - modified ldl with 120 substituted lysines and as copper - oxidized ldl with 210 substituted lysines . intra - and interassay coefficients of variation were 10 and 12 %, respectively . when copper - oxidized ldl were added to human plasma at a final concentration of 0 . 25 and 2 mg / dl , respectively , recoveries were 95 and 105 %, respectively . interaction of mab - 4e6 with competing ligands in solution . copper - oxidized ldl ( 1 μg / ml ) was the plated antigen . mab - 4e6 was added in the absence and in the presence of competing ligands : copper - oxidized ldl (∇), mda - modified ldl with 240 (▪), 120 (⋄), 90 (∘) and 60 () blocked or substituted or modified lysines per apo b - 100 , respectively , native ldl (▾), and oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl (♦) isolated from the plasma of severe chronic renal failure patients . results are expressed as b / b 0 where b 0 is the amount of mab - 4e6 bound in the absence and b that amount bound in the presence of competing ligand . according to the invention a sandwich - type elisa was established for the quantitation of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in plasma . it was based on the binding of immunoreactive material to the wells of microtiter plates coated with the monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 and the detection of bound immunoreactive material with the use of the monoclonal antibody mab - 8a2 labeled with peroxidase . this version of the elisa is more suited for use in the clinical laboratory because it overcomes the need to prepare standard solutions of in vitro oxidized and / or aldehyde - modified ldl which can only be kept at − 4 ° c . for a limited period of time , typically 2 weeks . mda - modified ldl may be added to reference plasma and those standard preparations may be stored at − 80 ° c . for up to 1 year ( see above ). standard preparations and plasma samples were diluted in pbs containing antioxidants and antiplatelet agents as described above , 180 μl aliquots of 80 - fold diluted plasma and of standard solutions containing between 10 and 0 . 01 nm of nialondialdehyde - modified ldl were applied to the wells of microtiter plates coated with mab - 4e6 ( 200 μl of a 4 μg / ml igg solution ) and incubated for 2 h at room temperature . after washing , the wells were incubated for 1 h with horseradish peroxidase conjugated mab - 8a2 , igg ( final igg concentration 65 ng / ml ) and washed again . the peroxidase reaction was performed as described above . the absorbance measured at 492 nm correlates with the log - value of the aldehyde - modified ldl concentration in the range between 1 . 5 nm and 0 . 3 nm . standard curves for the sandwich elisa mab - 4e6 was the plated antibody . mda - modified ldl was the ligand . bound mda - modified ldl was detected with mab - 8a2 conjugated to horse radish peroxidase . mda - modified ldl was added to 8 different plasma samples to a final concentration of 100 nm and further diluted in buffer to final concentrations ranging from 2 to 0 . 2 nm . the elisa of the present invention was used to study the association between plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and posttransplant coronary artery disease . the posttransplant study group contained 47 patients transplanted for dilated cardiomyopathy and 60 patients treated for ischemic heart disease . the clinical characteristics of these patients are summarized in table 1 . at the time of blood sampling , between 12 and 84 months after surgery , all patients were in a stable cardiac condition without evidence of acute rejection . from 14 patients ( 7 dilated cardiomyopathy and 7 ischemic heart disease patients ) coronary arteries of cardiac explants were isolated and studied by immunohistochemistry ( as demonstrated in example 3 ). adequate information about smoking habits was available for 92 of the 107 patients ( 16 smokers and 76 non - smokers ). there was no adequate information about smoking habits of donors . blood samples of 53 non - smoking controls ( 25 males / 28 females ; age : 52 ± 1 . 3 years ) without a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease were obtained . the controls were matched for age , gender and levels of ldl cholesterol . they were selected from the laboratory and clinical staff . routine annual coronary angiograms were available for all posttransplant patients at the time of blood sampling . coronary artery disease was independently assessed by two angiographers who where unaware of the oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels and was visually graded as follows : grade i : minor abnormalities with & lt ; 50 % stenosis of primary or secondary branches and normal left ventricular function grade ii : ≧ 50 % stenosis of primary or secondary branches , or distal involvement with impaired left ventricular function . it is well known that angiography systematically underestimates the extent of coronary intimal thickening in cardiac transplant recipients . this study therefore does not attempt to accurately quantify the coronary artery disease in our patients . rather the subdivision in groups defined above relies on angiographic data that are easily distinguishable and that have been shown to correlate with histopathologic findings . out of 107 patients , 46 patients had a normal coronary angiogram 3 years before and development of angiographic , coronary artery disease within a 3 year follow - up period was assessed in all these patients . the reference normal coronary angiogram was the first post - operative angiogram in 18 patients , the second in 14 patients and the third in 14 patients . the study was approved by the institutional review board and the study subjects provided informed consent . venous blood samples from patients and controls were collected on 0 . 1 vol of 0 . 1 m citrate , containing 1 mm edta , 20 μm vitamin e , 10 μm butylated hydroxytoluene , 20 μm dipyridamole and 15 mm theophylline to prevent in vitro ldl oxidation and platelet activation . blood samples were centrifuged at 3 , 000 g for 15 min at room temperature within 1 h of collection and stored at − 20 ° c . until the assays were performed . ldl were isolated from pooled sera of fasting normolipidemic donors by density gradient ultra - centrifugation ( document 6 ). standard preparations of mda - modified and copper - oxidized ldl were prepared as described elsewhere ( 7 , 8 ) and were used as assay controls . apo b - 100 molecules of in vitro mda - modified ldl ( 7 ) and of copper - oxidized ldl ( 8 ) contained on average 244 , and 210 substituted lysines ( out of a total of 356 ), respectively ( 5 , 9 ). whereas the extent of lysine - substitution in in vitro mda - modified ldl and copper - oxidized ldl is very similar , the lipid moiety of the former is not oxidized . specificity of the monoclonal antibody mab - 4e6 for both mda - modified ldl and copper - oxidized ldl suggests that it depends on the extent of protein ( lysine ) modification only . all lipoprotein concentrations were therefore expressed in terms of protein . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of patients were characterized as described previously ( 5 , 9 ). cholesterol and triglycerides were measured by enzymatic methods ( boehringer mannheim , meylon , france ). typing of major histocompatibility complex class i ( hla - b ) and class ii ( hla - dr ) antigen was performed by the microlymphocytotoxicity technique . the elisa of the invention was used to detect oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl . controls and patients were compared by anova test followed by nonparameteric mann - whitney or dunnett &# 39 ; s multiple comparison test on logarithmically transformed values , in the instat v2 . 05a statistical program ( graph pad software , san diego , calif .). non - quantitative parameters were compared by chi - square analysis . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels measured in 3 aliquots of the same plasma samples were compared in friedman nonparametric repeated measures test . logistic regression analysis , using the sas software ( sas institute inc ., usa ), was performed to evaluate the correlation between angiographically assessed coronary artery stenosis ( as dependent variable ) and plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl , age and sex of recipients , age and sex of donors , pretransplant history of ischemic heart disease or dilated cardiomyopathy , duration of ischemia , length of follow up , number of rejections , number of hla - mismatches , cytomegalovirus infection , hypertension ( antihypertensive treatment ), diabetes , treatment with lipid lowering drugs ( statins or fibrates ) and serum levels of ldl cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and triglycerides as independent variables . p - values of less than 0 . 05 were considered to indicate statistical significance . logistic regression analysis was also performed to evaluate the correlation between plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and development of coronary artery stenosis during a 3 - year follow - up period . the correlation between oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and coronary artery stenosis was evaluated in 47 patients transplanted for dilated cardiomyopathy and in 60 patients treated for ischemic heart disease . analysis of clinical data for the two groups of heart transplant patients ( table 1 ) revealed no significant differences in age and gender of the recipients , age and gender of donors , duration of ischemia of the donor heart , number of rejection episodes , number of hla - mismatches , frequency of cytomegalovirus infections , hypertension or diabetes , and grade of coronary artery stenosis . patients transplanted for ischemic heart disease were followed longer and received more frequently lipid lowering drugs ( table 1 ). analysis of the laboratory data ( table 2 ) revealed no significant differences in serum levels of triglycerides , hdl cholesterol and ldl cholesterol between groups of patients or between patients and controls . however , significant differences in levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were observed . mean plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were 1 . 3 ± 0 . 14 mg / dl in dilated cardiomyopathy patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 vs controls ) and 1 . 7 ± 0 . 13 mg / dl in ischemic heart disease patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 vs controls and & lt ; 0 . 01 vs dilated cardiomyopathy patients ) ( table 2 ). plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in control subjects matched for age , gender and serum levels of triglycerides , hdl cholesterol and ldl cholesterol were 0 . 60 ± 0 . 034 mg / dl ( n = 53 ; p & lt ; 0 . 001 vs both transplanted dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease patients ). levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were not different in samples that were stored for 24 h to 4 months after collection , and up to four thawing and freezing cycles did not cause an increase of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels . these findings indicated that the addition of edta , antioxidants and anti - platelet agents adequately prevented the in vitro oxidation of ldl . in a subset of 87 consecutive plasma samples levels of oxldl and / or aldehyde - modified ldl were measured in 3 separate aliquots on 3 different days . the levels were 1 . 30 ± 0 . 074 mg / dl , 1 . 48 ± 0 . 101 mg / dl and 1 . 46 ± 0 . 090 mg / dl , respectively . friedman nonparametric repeated measures test revealed no significant differences . mean oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels were 1 . 2 ± 0 . 053 mg / dl ( n = 79 ) in posttransplant samples of patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries ( grade 0 ), 2 . 1 ± 0 . 30 mg / dl in patients with grade i coronary artery stenosis ( n = 18 ; p & lt ; 0 . 001 vs grade 0 ) and 3 . 2 ± 0 . 45 mg / dl in patients with grade ii coronary artery stenosis ( n = 10 ; p & lt ; 0 . 001 vs grade 0 and p & lt ; 0 . 05 vs grade i ) ( fig5 ). serum levels of ldl cholesterol , triglycerides and hdl cholesterol were very similar in patients with higher grade of coronary artery stenosis . levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in plasma samples of patients transplanted for dilated cardiomyopathy or ischemic heart disease , with the same grade of coronary artery stenosis , were similar : 1 . 1 ± 0 . 072 and 1 . 4 ± 0 . 079 mg / dl for grade 0 patients and 2 . 6 ± 0 . 60 and 2 . 4 ± 0 . 29 mg / dl for patients with higher grade of coronary artery stenosis . the number of patients with elevated levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl (& gt ; 1 mg / dl , i . e . mean levels of controls + 2 sd ) were 43 ( out of 60 ) in the subpopulation of patients with pretransplant ischemic heart disease and 21 ( out of 47 ) in the subpopulation of patients with pretransplant dilated cardiomyopathy . forty - two out of 79 patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries had elevated levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl . elevated levels were detected in 12 ( out of 18 ) patients with grade i and in all patients with grade ii stenosis ( p = 0 . 0046 for trend ). to allow further characterization of the immunoreactive material detected in the elisa , ldl fractions were isolated from the plasma of all of 10 patients with grade ii coronary artery stenosis ( 18 ). these fractions retained 85 ± 10 % ( mean ± sd ) of the immunoreactive material , whereas no immunoreactive material migrated in the serum albumin position . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were isolated from isolated ldl fractions by ion - exchange chromatography on a mono q - sepharose column with a recovery of 75 %. the number of substituted lysines per apo b - 100 molecule was 130 ± 10 for oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl compared to 5 ± 1 ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) for native ldl . the respective cholesterol / protein ratios were 3 . 3 ± 0 . 54 and 1 . 8 ± 0 . 36 ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ). the levels of arachidonate and linoleate in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of these patients were 75 and 80 % lower than these in native ldl isolated from the same plasma samples . the inhibition curves obtained with oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of heart transplant patients were superimposable with these obtained with in vitro oxidized ldl with the same extent of protein modification ( 120 substituted lysines per apo b - 100 molecule ) ( fig3 ). the protein / antigen ratio and the relative reactivity in the elisa of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of these patients were similar to these of copper - oxidized or mda - modified standard ldl preparations . logistic regression analysis ( table 3 ) identified 3 parameters that were significantly and independently correlated with posttransplant coronary artery stenosis including levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl , length of follow up and donor age . in contrast , pretransplant history of dilated ardiomyopathy or of ischemic heart disease , age and ender of recipients , gender of donors , duration of ischemia of the donor heart , extent of hla - mismatch , umber of rejections , hypertension , diabetes , and serum levels of ldl cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and triglycerides in recipients did not significantly contribute to the individual variations in extent of coronary artery stenosis ( table 3 ). serum levels of ldl cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and triglycerides in patients were similar to these in controls ( table 2 ), so that higher grade of coronary artery stenosis was unlikely to depend on these variables in this study group . fifty - six of the 107 transplant patients received lipid lowering drugs ( 46 with statins and 10 with fibrates ) ( table 1 ), but the treatment with these drugs was not correlated with the incidence of angiographic graft vasculopathy ( table 3 ). seventy - five ( out of 107 ) patients were treated with calcium channel blockers . the plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in these patients ( 1 . 53 ± 0 . 11 mg / dl ) were very similar to these in non - treated patients ( 1 . 74 ± mg / dl ) and treatment with these drugs was not correlated with the extent of coronary artery stenosis . development of coronary artery disease was observed in 12 out of 46 heart transplantation patients during a 3 - year follow - up period . there were no differences in age and gender of recipients , age and gender of donors , duration of ischemia , extent of hla mismatch , frequency of cytomegalovirus infections , hypertension and diabetes ( table 4 ) nor in serum levels of triglycerides , hdl cholesterol and ldl cholesterol ( table 5 ) between patients without and with development of coronary artery disease . however , levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were significantly elevated in patients with development of coronary artery disease ( table 5 ). logistic regression analysis revealed that plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ( chi - square value = 7 . 1 ; p = 0 . 0076 ) and age of donor ( chi - square value = 4 . 4 ; p = 0 . 035 ) predicted the development of coronary artery disease in these patients . three of these patients developed coronary artery disease in the first year , 3 in the second and 6 in the third year . the plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were 3 . 9 ± 0 . 6 mg / dl , 2 . 0 f 0 . 37 mg / dl and 1 . 2 ± 0 . 33 mg / dl , respectively . although statistical analysis showed no correlation with gender , hypertension and cytomegalovirus infection , 8 out of 12 of these patients were male , hypertensive and had cytomegalovirus infection . 1 ) that cardiac explants of patients with ischemic heart disease , but not with dilated cardiomyopathy , contain oxidized ldl in macrophages and in smooth muscle cells in atheromatous plaques ; 2 ) that posttransplant coronary artery disease is associated with increased plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl both in patients transplanted for dilated cardiomyopathy or for ischemic heart disease , and 3 ) that increased plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl correlate with the development of coronary artery stenosis . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels in plasma samples of heart transplant patients without angiographically detectable coronary artery lesions were 2 - fold higher than in plasma samples of control subjects without a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease , who were matched for age , gender , and plasma levels of ldl cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and triglycerides . a further 2 . 7 - fold increase was observed in posttransplant plasma samples of patients with pronounced coronary artery stenosis . these data suggest that elevated plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may be an indicator of posttransplant coronary artery stenosis . increased plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl correlated with the extent of coronary artery stenosis and also with its progression , suggesting that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may play a pathogenic role in the accelerated progression of coronary artery disease in heart transplant patients . it has been suggested that posttransplant atherosclerosis results from a “ response to injury ” of the endothelium ( 10 ). the extent of ischemic injury in endomyocardial biopsies was indeed found to be a strong predictor of the development of accelerated atherosclerosis ( 11 - 13 ). endothelial injury may be induced by cellular delayed - type hypersensitivity immune responses elicited by class ii histocompatibility ( hla ) antigens on coronary artery endothelium ( 14 ), by cytomegalovirus infection ( 15 , 16 ), by cyclosporin ( 17 ) and by oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ( 18 ) that may act synergistically with cyclosporin ( 19 ). in the present study , the extent of histoincompatibility between pairs of donors and recipients , the number of episodes of rejection or cytomegalovirus infection did not correlate with the grade of coronary artery stenosis , whereas oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were significantly and independently correlated with posttransplant coronary artery disease . the observed association between the age of the donor and the occurrence of coronary artery disease is in agreement with previous findings that coronary atherosclerosis in the donor heart predisposes to accelerated posttransplant coronary artery stenosis ( 20 ). oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were demonstrated in coronary arteries in cardiac explants of ischemic heart disease patients suggesting that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl that accumulate in the arterial wall may contribute to the progression of coronary artery stenosis . the cholesterol / protein ratio in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl was very similar to that in ldl extracted from atherosclerotic lesions as described previously ( 21 , 22 ). a possible explanation is that at least part of the oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl is released from the arterial wall . previously , we have demonstrated that plaque rupture in acute myocardial infarction patients is associated with the release of oxidatively modified ldl ( 5 ). in vitro data suggest that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may be linked to atherogenesis by a sequence of events ( reviewed in 2 , 23 ). endothelial cells exposed to oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl secrete adhesion molecules , chemoattractant proteins and colony - stimulating factors that enhance the infiltration , proliferation and accumulation of monocytes / macrophages in the arterial wall . uptake of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl by infiltrated macrophages may result in the generation of foam cells that produce oxygen radicals and thus further contribute to the oxidation of ldl . it has been demonstrated that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl inhibit the migration of aortic endothelial cells in vitro , suggesting that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may limit the healing response of the endothelium after injury , and that basic fibroblast growth factor reverses the atherosclerosis associated impairment of human coronary angiogenesis - like responses in vitro ( 24 , 25 ). oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may also contribute to rapidly progressing coronary atherosclerosis by inducing platelet adhesion , by decreasing the anticoagulant and fibrinolytic capacities of activated endothelium and by impairing vasodilation and inducing shear stress ( 2 , 23 ). increased intracellular levels of ferritin ( 26 ) or of alpha - tocopherol analogs ( 27 ) decreased the extent of endothelial injury elicited by oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in vitro , whereas antioxidants protect against progression of atherosclerosis in experimental animals ( reviewed in document 28 ). in summary , the present example demonstrates that posttransplant atherosclerosis correlates with plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl . plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and angiographically assessed grade of coronary artery stenosis . grade 0 : normal coronary arteries ; grade i : minor abnormalities with & lt ; 50 % stenosis of primary or secondary branches and normal left ventricular function ; and grade ii : ≧ 50 % stenosis of primary or secondary branches , or distal occlusions with impaired left ventricular function . the patient population consisted of 20 mild chronic renal failure ( mcrf ) and 77 severe chronic renal failure patients : 21 on conservative treatment including dietary and antihypertensive treatment ( scrf ), and 56 on a four - hour , three times a week hemodialysis schedule ( hemo ) for 66 months ( 95 % ci , 50 - 82 months ). all hemodialysis patients were given an oral polyvitamin preparation ( ol - amine , la meuse , belgium ) after hemodialysis , which contained only minute amounts of antioxidant compounds ( i . e . 5 mg of vitamin e and 100 mg of vitamin c ). controls and non - dialyzed patients did not receive routine prescriptions of vitamin supplements . the high frequency of atherosclerotic disease in these patients ( table 6 ) is in agreement with previously published data ( 29 , 30 ). the diagnosis of atherosclerotic heart disease , cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease was made after reviewing the patient files for a history of myocardial infarction , unstable angina or antianginal treatment , cerebrovascular accidents , transient ischemic attack or events related to peripheral vascular disease such as ischemic ulcera , amputation or bypass surgery . angiograms were available for only a few patients . no patients had evidence of unstable atherosclerotic disease at the time of blood sampling nor in the following days . a group of 27 healthy volunteers ( table 6 ) without a history of renal disease or atherosclerotic vascular disease served as controls . patients receiving lipid lowering drugs were excluded . the study was approved by the institutional review board and the study subjects provided informed consent . venous blood samples from patients and controls were collected on 0 . 1 vol of 0 . 1 m citrate , containing 1 mm edta , 20 μm vitamin e , 10 μm butylated hydroxytoluene , 20 μm dipyridamole and 15 mm theophylline to prevent in vitro ldl oxidation and in vitro platelet activation , respectively . blood samples were centrifuged at 3 , 000 g for 15 min at room temperature within 1 h of collection and stored at − 20 ° c . until the assays were performed . titers of autoantibodies against oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and native ldl were measured according to salonen et al . ( 3 ) as described in detail elsewhere ( 5 ). vwf antigen levels were measured in a sandwich - type elisa based on a polyclonal rabbit anti - human vwf antiserum ( dako , glostrup , denmark ), horseradish peroxidase - conjugated rabbit anti - human vwf igg ( dako ) and o - phenylenediamine . plasma levels of total cholesterol , hdl cholesterol and triglycerides were determined using standard enzymatic assays ( boehringer mannheim , meylon , france ). the ldl cholesterol levels were calculated using the friedewald formula . for the patients not in hemodialysis , creatinine clearance rates were calculated from plasma creatinine levels using the cockcroft and gault formula ( 31 ). controls and patients were compared by anova test followed by dunnett &# 39 ; s multiple comparison test , in the instat v2 . 05a statistical program ( graph pad software , san diego , calif .). correlation coefficients were calculated according to spearman . multiple regression analysis , using the sas software ( sas institute inc ., usa ), was performed to study the relationship between oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl as dependent variable , and age , sex , hypertension ( antihypertensive treatment ), levels of triglycerides , hdl cholesterol , ldl cholesterol and creatinine clearance rates ( marker of extent of renal failure ) and levels of vwf ( marker of endothelial injury ) as independent variables . mean plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in controls were 0 . 59 mg / dl ( 95 % ci , 0 . 52 - 0 . 66 mg / dl ; n = 27 ), and were 2 . 7 - fold higher in mcrf patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 as determined by dunnett &# 39 ; s multiple comparison test ), 3 . 1 - fold higher in scrf patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ), and 5 . 4 - fold higher in hemo patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) ( table 7 ). oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels were inversely correlated with creatinine clearance rates ( r =− 0 . 65 ; p & lt ; 0 . 001 ; n = 73 ). hemo patients were not included in this analysis because their plasma creatinine clearance cannot be determined adequately . in a series of 14 hemodialyzed patients , levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were found to be very similar in fresh and in fresh frozen plasma samples . three freezing and thawing cycles did not cause an increase of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl , indicating that addition of antioxidants and antiplatelet agents prevented in vitro oxidation . plasma samples were obtained from 14 hemodialyzed patients on 3 consecutive days before the start of the dialysis procedure . the levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in these samples were similar : 3 . 4 ± 0 . 25 mg / dl , 3 . 2 ± 0 . 21 mg / dl and 3 . 5 ± 0 . 28 mg / dl , respectively . furthermore , plasma samples were obtained during ( after 2 h ) and at the end ( after 4 h ) of hemodialysis . plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were 4 . 0 ± 0 . 60 mg / dl and 4 . 7 ± 0 . 70 mg / dl ( p = ns vs before ) as compared to 3 . 4 ± 0 . 25 mg / dl before the start of the dialysis procedure . thus the hemodialysis procedure did not induce a significant increase in the oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels . adequate information about smoking habits was only available for controls ( 27 non - smokers ) and for hemo patients ( 12 smokers and 45 non - smokers ). levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were somewhat higher in smoking hemo patients ( 3 . 6 mg / dl ; 95 % ci , 2 . 1 - 5 . 6 mg / dl ) than in non - smoking hemo patients ( 3 . 0 mg / dl ; 95 % ci , 2 . 5 - 3 . 6 mg / dl ; p = ns ). the plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in hemodialyzed patients with a history of unstable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease were 3 . 5 ± 0 . 40 mg / dl ( n = 30 ) as compared to 2 . 8 ± 0 . 60 mg / dl ( n = 26 , p = ns ) in hemodialyzed patients without a history of unstable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease . ldl fractions were isolated from the plasma of 10 controls , of 10 mcrf patients , of 10 scrf patients and of 10 hemo patients by gel filtration on a superose 6hr 10 / 30 column , as described previously ( 5 ). 75 ± 6 % ( mean ± sd ), 80 ± 4 %, 83 ± 6 % and 79 ± 5 % of the immunoreactive material was recovered in the ldl fractions . no immunoreactive material migrated in the serum albumin position . the inhibition curves obtained with the respective ldl fractions were parallel to those obtained with in vitro copper - oxidized or mda - modified standard ldl preparations . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were isolated from isolated ldl fractions of 10 scrf patients by ion - exchange chromatography on a mono q - sepharose column with a recovery of 75 %. their physicochemical properties are summarized in table 8 . the levels of arachidonate of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from these patients were reduced with 75 %, whereas its linoleate levels were reduced with 80 %. thirty - seven % of the lysine residues of oxldl were substituted with aldehydes . the inhibition curves obtained with oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of chronic renal failure patients were parallel to these obtained with oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl that was obtained by in vitro oxidation of ldl that had been isolated from the plasma of control subjects ( fig3 ). the protein / antigen ratio and the relative reactivity in the elisa of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl isolated from the plasma of these patients were similar to these of copper - oxidized or mda - modified standard ldl preparations ( table 8 ). titers of autoantibodies against oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were 4 . 2 ( 95 % ci , 4 . 0 - 4 . 4 ) in controls , were similar in mcrf and scrf patients , but significantly increased in hemo patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) ( table 7 ). autoantibody titers correlated with levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in scrf patients ( r = 0 . 44 ; p = 0 . 047 ) and in hemo patients ( r = 0 . 37 ; p = 0 . 0055 ) ( fig6 ). no circulating autoantibodies against native ldl could be detected . levels of vwf were 100 percent in controls ( 95 % ci , 90 - 110 percent ), and were 1 . 5 - fold higher in mcrf patients ( p = ns vs controls ), 1 . 6 - fold higher in scrf patients ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) and 2 . 1 - fold higher ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) in hemo patients ( table 7 ). levels of vwf were not significantly higher in smoking hemo patients ( 250 percent ; 95 %, 150 - 340 percent ; n = 12 ) than in non - smoking hemo patients ( 220 percent ; 95 % ci , 190 - 260 percent ; n = 45 ). levels of vwf correlated with levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl in mcrf patients ( r = 0 . 59 ; p & lt ; 0 . 0057 ), in scrf patients ( r = 0 . 69 ; p = 0 . 0006 ) and in hemo patients ( r = 0 . 62 ; p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ) ( fig7 ). in contrast , levels of vwf did not correlate with ldl cholesterol levels or with body weight . multiple regression analysis revealed that the extent of renal failure ( f = 14 ; p = 0 . 0004 ) and the extent of endothelial injury ( f = 26 ; p = 0 . 0001 ), but not age , sex , hypertension , triglyceride levels , hdl cholesterol or ldl cholesterol levels , accounted for a significant fraction of the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels ( table 9 ). even when only subjects without evidence of ischemic atherosclerotic disease ( n = 53 ) were included in the model ( r 2 - value = 0 . 68 ) only the extent of renal failure ( f = 21 ; p = 0 . 0001 ) and the extent of endothelial injury ( f = 14 ; p = 0 . 0006 ) contributed significantly to the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels . no other variables contributed significantly to these variations after exclusion of subjects without evidence of ischemic atherosclerotic disease . when only subjects with evidence of ischemic atherosclerotic disease ( n = 15 ) were included only the extent of endothelial injury ( f = 6 . 2 ; p = 0 . 047 ; r 2 - value = 0 . 65 ) contributed to the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels . exclusion of diabetic patients did not significantly change the data either . after exclusion of the extent of renal failure as an independent variable , multiple regression analysis revealed that hemodialysis ( f = 5 . 6 ; p = 0 . 021 ; n = 77 ), ldl cholesterol levels ( f = 7 . 1 ; p = 0 . 0095 ) and endothelial injury ( f = 35 ; p = 0 . 0001 ) accounted for a significant fraction of the variation in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels in severe chronic renal failure patients ( table 10 ). in vitro work and experimental animal data suggest that oxidized ldl ( oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ) may contribute to the progression of atherosclerosis ( reviewed in document 2 ), and oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl have been demonstrated in human atherosclerotic plaques ( 5 ). the immuno - assay of this invention identifies oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ( mda - modified ldl ) with 260 substituted lysines per apo b - 100 molecule , which represents the threshold of substitution required for scavenger receptor mediated uptake ( 1 ). increased levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl have been measured by elisa in the plasma of chronic renal failure patients . overall , 80 percent of the immunoreactive material isolated from the plasma of patients was recovered in the ldl fractions that were separated by gel filtration . no immunoreactive material migrated in the albumin position . inhibition curves obtained with the isolated oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were parallel to these of in vitro copper - oxidized or mda - modified ldl standard preparations and the protein / antigen ratio and the c 50 value of the isolated oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were identical to these of standard oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl preparations . these data suggested that increased immunoreactivity of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl fractions in plasma of these patients with the antibodies of this invention depended indeed on the higher extent of protein modification and not on changes in lipid composition as was previously observed with other antibodies ( 32 ). the increased electrophoretic mobility , the increased lysine modification , the increased cholesterol / protein ratio , the decreased arachidonic acid and linoleate levels were very similar to these of modified ldl extracted from atherosclerotic lesions ( 21 , 22 ). oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl induced foam cell generation , suggesting that oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl were not “ minimally modified ” ldl . multiple regression analysis revealed that chronic renal failure and endothelial injury contributed significantly to the variation in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels even when patients with evidence of ischemic atherosclerotic disease were excluded . indeed , 79 . 6 % and 82 . 4 % of the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels could be explained in these models . no patients had evidence of unstable atherosclerotic disease at the time of blood sampling nor in the following days and exclusion of patients with a history of ischemic atherosclerotic disease did not affect the contribution of the extent of renal failure and of endothelial injury to the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl . ldl cholesterol levels in controls and patients were very similar and ldl cholesterol levels did not contribute to the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels . sutherland et al . ( 33 ) demonstrated that the lag time of conjugated diene formation , which is a measure for the sensitivity of ldl to in vitro oxidation , was similar in patients with chronic renal failure and in matched controls . the maximum rate and the extent of ldl oxidation were even lower in patients with renal disease than in controls , due to lower levels of linoleic acid and higher levels of oleic acid . furthermore , schulz et al . ( 34 ) demonstrated that despite the fact that hemodialysis causes leukocyte activation , the in vitro ldl oxidation lag time was similar in renal patients and in healthy controls . it was concluded that the antioxidative defense of lipoproteins was preserved in renal failure and during dialysis . in experimental models , antioxidants such as probucol and vitamin e were found to protect against glomeral injury ( 35 , 36 ) and to slow atherogenic processes ( 28 ). renal vasoconstriction caused by cholesterol feeding was corrected by probucol or by a thromboxane antagonist ( 35 ). galle et al . ( 38 ) demonstrated that the inhibition of endothelium - dependent dilation induced by oxidized lipoprotein could be prevented by high density lipoproteins that are significantly decreased in hemodialyzed patients . in addition , minerals like selenium and nutrients such as coenzyme q10 may minimize free radical generation and thus oxidative stress . folic acid , vitamin b12 and vitamin b6 may be essential in the prevention of hyperhomocysteinemia that may contribute to the endothelial injury ( 39 ) and to oxidation of ldl ( 40 ) in these patients . a diet rich in mono - unsaturated fatty acids ( oleic acid , resistant to oxidation ) reduced the extent of endothelial injury in diabetes patients ( 41 ). thus it is possible that dietary or pharmacological means may reduce oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl and von willebrand factor in chronic renal failure and alleviate the enhanced generalized atherosclerosis in such patients . after adjustment for the extent of renal failure , multiple regression analysis revealed that both ldl cholesterol levels and endothelial injury strongly contributed to the variations in oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl levels in severe chronic renal failure patients . hemodialysis results in platelet and leukocyte activation ( 42 , 43 ), which generates oxygen radicals and aldehydes that may also contribute to oxidation of ldl . oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl may then contribute to thrombogenesis and atherogenesis by stimulating platelets ( 44 ). because of the rather limited number of patients , subgroup analysis to further study the interaction between hemodialysis , oxidation of ldl and ischemic atherosclerotic disease could not be per formed ( 45 ). fig6 . correlation between plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ( log values ) and titers of autoantibodies ( log values ): regression line for severe chronic renal failure patients , either on conservative treatment ( a ; - - - ) ( r = 0 . 44 ; p = 0 . 047 ) or on hemodialysis (▪; ———) ( r = 0 . 37 ; p = 0 . 0055 ). no significant correlation was observed in controls and in mild chronic renal failure patients . fig7 . correlation between plasma levels of oxldl and aldehyde - modified ldl ( log values ) and of von willebrand factor antigen ( log values ): regression line for mild chronic renal failure patients (; -. -, -) ( r = 0 . 59 ; p = 0 . 0057 ) or for severe chronic renal failure patients either on conservative treatment (▾; - - - ) ( r = 0 . 69 ; p = 0 . 0006 ) or on hemodialysis (▪; ———) ( r = 0 . 62 ; p & lt ; 0 . 00001 ). no significant correlation was observed in controls . according to the invention it has been found that ldl that is modified by treatment with malondialdehyde ( mda ) is highly stable . furthermore , the extent of modification is highly reproducible . ldl modified with mda in a particular ratio has an identical number of substituted lysines and can therefore be used as a reference sample in immunological assays . this example shows the preparation of the standard . mda - modified ldl was added to control plasma ( containing anti - oxidants and anti - platelet compounds and anti - coagulants ) to a final concentration of 100 nm mda modified apo b - 100 . aliquots were frozen at − 80 ° c . in 6 days were aliquots were thawed , diluted to final concentrations ranging from 10 to 0 . 1 nm mda - modified apo b - 100 and analyzed in elisa ( 4 dilution curves per day ). the inter - assay variation coefficients of 10 subsequent sandwich elisa &# 39 ; s of this invention using 10 subsequent , independent mda - modified ldl standard preparations of this invention are summarized in table 11 . these data show that for concentrations of mda - modified ldl ranging from 10 and 0 . 01 nm the inter - assay variation ranged from 7 . 6 to 16 . 9 %. c 50 : concentration required to obtain 50 % inhibition of antibody binding data represent mean ± sem . p - values determined by dunnett &# 39 ; s multiple comparison test . ns : not significant . † to convert values for serum triglycerides to millimoles per liter , multiply by 0 . 011 . ‡ to convert values for serum cholesterol to millimoles per liter , muliply by 0 . 026 . the data set contained 107 patients . original cardiac disease was dilated cardiomyopathy in 47 and ischemic heart disease in 60 patients . coronary artery stenosis was assessed angiographically . all quantitative parameters were transformed logarithmically to obtain a normal distribution for linear regression . chi - square values were obtained after adjustment for all other variables . the data set contained 27 controls , 20 mcrf patients and 21 scrf patients . f - values were obtained after adjustment for the other variables . cockcroft creatinine clearance rates were used as a quantitative parameter for the extent of renal failure . all linear variables were logarithmically transformed to obtain normality for linear regression analysis . the multiple r 2 value of the multiple regression model was 0 . 634 . the data set contained 21 scrf and 56 hemo patients . all linear variables were transformed logarithmically to obtain normality for linear regression analysis . the multiple r 2 value of the multiple regression model was 0 . 56 . 4 . holvoet p , perez g , bernar h , brouwers e , vanloo b , rosseneu m , collen d : stimulation with a monoclonal antibody ( mab4e4 ) of scavenger receptor - mediated uptake of chemically modified low density lipoproteins by thp - 1 derived macrophages enhances foam cell generation . j clin invest 93 : 89 - 98 , 1994 . 5 . holvoet p , perez g , zhao z , brouwers e , bernar h , collen d : malondialdehyde - modified low density lipoproteins in patients with atherosclerotic disease . j clin invest 1995 ; 95 : 2611 - 2619 . 6 . havel r j , eder h a , bragdon j h : the distribution and chemical composition of ultracentrifugally separated lipoproteins in human sera . j clin invest 1955 ; 34 : 1345 - 1353 . 7 . steinbrecher u p : oxidation of low density lipoprotein results in derivatization of lysine residues of apolipoprotein b by lipid peroxide decomposition products . j biol chem 1987 ; 262 : 3603 - 3608 . 8 . sparrow c p , partharasathy s , leake d s , witztum j l , steinberg d : enzymatic modification of low density lipoprotein by purified lipoxygenase plus phospholipase - a 2 mimic cell - mediated oxidative modification . j lipid res 1988 ; 29 : 745 - 753 . 9 . holvoet p , donck j , landeloos m , brouwers e , luijtens k , arnout j , lesaffre e , vanrenterghem y , collen d : correlation between oxidized low density lipoproteins and von willebrand factor in chronic renal failure . thromb haemostas 1996 ; 76 : 663 - 669 . 10 . libby p , salomon r n , payne d d , schoen f j , pober j s : functions of vascular wall cells related to development of transplantation - associated coronary arteriosclerosis . transplant proc 1989 ; 21 : 3677 - 3684 . 11 . hruban r h , beschorner w e , baumgartner w a , augustine s m , ren h , reitz b a , hutchins g m : accelerated arteriosclerosis in heart transplant recipients is associated with a t - lymphocyte - mediated endothelialitis . am j pathol 1990 ; 137 : 871 - 882 . 12 . rose e a , smith c r , petrossian g a , barr m l , reemtsma k : humoral immune responses after cardiac transplantation : correlation with fatal rejection and graft atherosclerosis . surgery 1989 ; 106 : 203 - 208 . 13 . tanaka h , sukhova g k , swanson s j , cybulsky m i , schoen f j , libby p : endothelial and smooth muscle cells express leukocyte adhesion molecules heterogeneously during acute rejection of rabbit cardiac allografts . am j pathol 1994 ; 144 : 938 - 951 . 14 . crisp s j , dunn m j , rose m l , - barbir m , yacoub m h : antiendothelial antibodies after heart transplantation : the accelerating factor in transplant - associated coronary artery disease ? j heart lung transplant 1994 ; 13 : 81 - 92 . 15 . grattan m t , moreno - cabral c e , starnes v a , oyer p e , stinson e b , shumway n e : cytomegalovirus infection is associated with cardiac allograft rejection and atherosclerosis . jama 1989 ; 261 : 3561 - 3566 . 16 . koskinen p , lemstrom k , bruggeman c , lautenschlager i , hayry p : acute cytomegalovirus infection induces a subendothelial inflammation ( endothelialitis ) in the allograft vascular wall . a possible linkage with enhanced allograft arteriosclerosis . am j pathol 1994 ; 144 : 41 - 50 . 17 . cartier r , dagenais f , hollmann c , cambron h , buluran j : chronic exposure to cyclosporin affects endothelial and smooth muscle reactivity in the rat aorta . ann thorac surg 1994 ; 58 : 789 - 794 . 18 . chin j h , azhar s , hoffman b b : inactivation of endothelial derived relaxing factor by oxidized lipoproteins . j . clin . invest . 1992 ; 89 : 10 - 18 . 19 . galle j , schollmeyer p , wanner c : cyclosporin and oxidized low density lipoproteins synergistically potentiate vasoconstriction : influence of the endothelium . eur heart j 1993 ; 14 ( suppl ): 111 - 117 . 20 . tuzcu e m , hobbs r e , rincon g , bott - silverman c , de franco a c , robinson k , mccarthy p m , stewart r w , guyer s , nissen s e : occult and frequent transmission of atherosclerotic coronary disease with cardiac transplantation . insights from intravascular ultrasound . circulation 1995 ; 91 : 1706 - 1713 . 21 . hoff h f , o &# 39 ; neill : lesion - derived low density lipoprotein and oxidized low density lipoprotein share a lability for aggregation , leading to enhanced macrophage degradation . arterioscler thromb 1991 ; 11 : 1209 - 1222 . 22 . steinbrecher u p , lougheed m : scavenger receptor - independent stimulation of cholesterol esterification in macrophages by low density lipoprotein extracted from human aortic intima . arterioscler thromb 1992 ; 12 : 608 - 625 33 . steinberg d , witztum j l : lipoproteins and atherogenesis : current concepts . j am med assoc 1990 ; 264 : 3047 - 3052 . 23 . ross r : the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis : a perspective for the 1990s . nature 1993 ; 362 : 801 - 809 . 24 . murugesan g , chisolm g m , fox p l : oxidized low density lipoprotein inhibits the migration of aortic endothelial cells in vitro . j cell biol 1993 ; 120 : 1011 - 1019 . 25 . chen c h , nguyen h h , weilbaecher d , luo s , gotto a m jr , henry p d : basic growth factor reverses atherosclerotic impairment of human coronary angiogenesis - like responses in vitro . atherosclerosis 1995 ; 116 : 261 - 268 . 26 . juckett m b , balla j , balla g , jessurun j , jacob h s , vercellotti g m : ferritin protects endothelial cells from oxidized low density lipoprotein in vitro . am j pathol 1995 ; 147 : 782 - 789 . 27 . mabile l , fitoussi g , periquet b , schmitt a , salvayre r , negre - salvayre a : alpha - tocopherol and trolox block the early intracellular events ( tbars and calcium rises ) elicited by oxidized low density lipoproteins in cultured endothelial cells . free radic biol med 1995 ; 19 : 177 - 187 . 28 . steinberg d : clinical trials of antioxidants in atherosclerosis : are we doing the right thing ? lancet 1995 ; 346 : 36 - 38 . 29 . degoulet p , legrain m , reach i , aime f , devries c , rojas p , jacobs c : mortality risk factors in patients treated by chronic hemodialysis . nephron 31 : 103 - 110 , 1982 . 30 . neff m s , eiser a r , slifkin r f , baum m , baez a , gupta s , amarga e : patients surviving 10 years of hemodialysis . am j med 74 : 996 - 1004 , 1983 . 31 . cockcroft d w , gault m h : prediction of creatinine clearance from serum creatinine . nephron 16 : 31 - 41 , 1976 . 32 . reade v , tailleux a , reade r , harduin p , cachera c , tacquet a , fruchart j c , fievet c : expression of apolipoprotein b epitopes in low density lipoproteins of hemodialyzed patients . kidney int 44 : 1360 - 1365 , 1993 . 33 . sutherland w h , walker r j , ball m j , stapley s a , robertson m c : oxidation of low density lipoproteins from patients with renal failure or renal transplants . kidney int 48 : 227 - 236 , 1995 . 34 . schulz t , schiffl h , scheithe r , hrboticky n , lorenz r : preserved antioxidative defense of lipoproteins in renal failure and during hemodialysis . am j kidney dis 25 : 564 - 571 , 1995 . 35 . keane w f , mulcahy w s , kasiske b l , kim y , o &# 39 ; donnell m p : hyperlipidemia and progressive renal disease . kidney int suppl 39 : s41 - s48 , 1991 . 36 . trachtman h , schwob n , maesaka j , valderrama e : dietary supplementation ameliorates renal injury in chronic puromycin aminonucleoside nephropathy . j am soc nephrol 5 : 1811 - 1819 , 1995 . 37 . kaplan r , aynedjian h s , schlondorff d , bank n : renal vasoconstriction caused by short - term cholesterol feeding is corrected by thromboxane antagonist or probucol . j clin invest 86 : 1707 - 1714 , 1990 . 38 . galle j , bengen j , schollmeyer p , wanner c : oxidized lipoprotein ( a ) inhibits endothelium - dependent dilation : prevention by high density lipoprotein . eur j pharmacol 265 : 111 - 115 , 1994 . 39 . friedman j a , dwyer j t : hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in patients undergoing hemodialysis . nutr rev 53 : 197 - 201 , 1995 . 40 . mccully k s : chemical pathology of homocysteine . i . atherogenesis . ann clin lab sci 23 : 477 - 493 , 1993 . 41 . rasmussen o , thomsen c , ingerslev j , hermansen k : decrease of von willebrand factor levels after a high - monounsaturated fat diet in non - insulin - dependent diabetic subjects . metabolism 43 : 1406 - 1409 , 1994 . 42 . reverter j c , escolar g , sanz c , cases a , villamor n , nieuwenhuis h k , lopez j , ordinas a : platelet activation during hemodialysis measured through exposure of p - selectin : analysis by flow cytometric and ultrastructural techniques . j lab clin med 124 : 79 - 85 , 1994 . 43 . zwaginga j j , koomans h a , sixma j j , rabelink t j : thrombus formation and platelet - vessel wall interaction in the nephrotic syndrome under flow conditions . j clin invest 93 : 204 - 211 , 1994 . 44 . zhao b , dierichs r , harrachruprecht b , winterhorff h : oxidized ldl induces serotonin release from blood platelets . am j hematol 48 : 285 - 287 , 1995 . 45 . pocock s j : subgroup analysis , in pocock s j ( ed ): clinical trial . a practical approach . wiley j & amp ; sons , chichester , 1993 , p 211 - 218 . | 2 |
the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 - 5 . fig1 shows the fragrance sheet dispenser system 10 of the present invention . fragrance dispenser system 10 includes an enclosure 20 , a plurality of sheets 40 and a fragrance solution 60 . a portion 42 of one of the plurality of sheets 40 is shown protruding from sheet outlet 30 . arrows 62 illustrate the dispersion of fragrance into the air . enclosure 20 has a main body 22 , a bottom 24 and a top 26 . top 26 may be a separate removable cover or it may be permanently fixed to main body 22 . whether removable or not , top 26 includes a sheet dispensing outlet 30 through which each subsequent sheet is pulled by the user . enclosure 20 can be any size or shape but is preferably at least three inches tall but less than twelve inches in height and twelve inches in diameter . enclosure 20 may be made of any waterproof material , either natural or manmade , such as glass , ceramic , plastic , metal , composites , and the like . it should be understood that top 26 or bottom 24 may be made of a different material than body 22 . top 26 or a portion of body 22 adjacent top 26 may optionally include decoratively - shaped openings to increase the dissipation of the fragrance solution into the air . optional external finishes may be applied to the outside surface of enclosure 20 . examples of such external finishes include frosted , painted , jeweled , or labeled finishes . top 26 includes sheet dispenser outlet 30 . turning now to fig2 a and 2b , there is shown two embodiments of sheet dispenser outlet 30 . fig2 a includes a central , circular opening with four , equally - spaced elongated openings 30 a through which a single sheet is withdrawn . fig2 b includes a central circular opening 30 b through which a single sheet is withdrawn . although the shape of the outlet 30 is not critical , the cross - sectional area of the opening is critical . for the present invention to function as a fragrance delivery system , it is important to have a cross - sectional area of about 0 . 19 square inches or larger . fig3 shows a cross - sectional view of the embodiment in fig1 . within enclosure 20 , there is a plurality of disposable fragrance sheets 40 configured into a roll . each sheet is partially separated from adjacent sheets with perforations ( not shown ) and the plurality of sheets is preferably of equal size . each sheet is pulled from the center of the roll of sheets as indicated by sheet 41 . the substrate used as the plurality of sheets 40 is an airlaid , nonwoven material that may be made from materials such as wood pulp , rayon , and / or polyester fibers . the fibers may be oriented in one direction or in a random manner . the plurality of sheets 40 may be optionally dyed with a color to correspond to the scent of the fragrance solution . turning now to fig4 , there is illustrated a cross - sectional view of the present invention along its length . in this embodiment , the plurality of fragrance sheets 40 is in a roll where each sheet is withdrawn from enclosure 20 from the center of the roll . sheet 41 is a representation of a fragrance sheet with perforations 45 that has a portion 42 extending from sheet dispensing outlet 30 . the plurality of sheets 40 are immersed in a fragrance solution 60 . arrows 70 illustrate the capillary action of fragrance solution 60 up along fragrance sheet 41 to portion 42 where fragrance solution 60 then diffuses into the air as represented by arrows 62 . fragrance solution 60 is composed of is a water - based formulation containing fragrance dispersion agents and a fragrance . in the present invention , the fragrance solution contains water , a stabilizer , a quantity of fragrance , a solvent , a light stabilizer , a buffer , a preservative , and an antioxidant . the water used in making fragrance solution 60 is tap water , and preferably deionized water . typically , water makes up about 15 - 70 % of the solution , and preferably from about 20 - 60 %. various surfactants may be used in fragrance solution 60 . examples of acceptable surfactants are hydrotrope , sodium xylenesulphonate , dimethlbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt , conco sxs , cyclophil sxs30 , eltesol sx30 , naxonate , surco sxs , ultrawet 40 sx , calsoft sxs96 , alkatrope sx40 , carsoslf sxs , eltesol sx93 , reworil nxs40 , richonate sxs , polyethylene glycol p - tert - octylphenyl ether , triton x114 , witconate sxs , sodium sulfate , disodium sulfate , triton 102 , alpha -[( 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethylbutyl ) phenyl ]- omega - hydroxypoly ( oxy - 1 , 2 - ethanediyl ), bio - terge , amphosol , betaine , trimethylammonioacetate , methnaminuim , stepanol , steols , bio - soft , marprosyl , sulfosuccinates , and sodium xylenesulfonate . the preferred surfactant is sodium xylenesulfonate and is available under the trademark stepanate sxs from the stepan company of northfield , ill . typically , the surfactant is present in the range of about 25 % to about 75 %, but preferably in the range of about 35 % to about 65 %. the fragrance is typically obtained from a fragrance supplier . for use in the present invention , the fragrance must be water - soluble . when the fragrance obtained is not water soluble , surfactants may be used to solubilize the oil - based fragrance into an aqueous solution . all as is well known by those of ordinary skill in the art . there are various fragrance suppliers known to those skilled in the art such as , for example , aromatech of sommerville , n . j ., noville of south hackensack , n . j ., belmay , inc . of yonkers , n . y ., wessel fragrances of elmwood , n . j ., etc . the fragrance oil is typically present in the range of about 3 % to about 22 %, preferably in the range of about 4 % to about 18 % but most preferably in the range of about 5 % to about 10 %. the solvent is typically in the range of about 1 % to about 20 %. preferably , the solvent is in the range of about 2 % to about 10 %. examples of acceptable solvents are dipropylene glycol , butylene glycol , hexylene glycol , propylene glycol , isopropanol , dipentene , 3 - methoxy - 3 - methyl - 1 - butanol , limonene , and benzyl benzoate . the preferred solvent is dipropylene glycol , which is available from various suppliers such as , for example , basf corporation , dow chemical , kic chemicals , inc ., to name a few . the light stabilizer concentration is in the range of about 0 . 0001 % to about 0 . 05 %, but preferably in the range of about 0 . 005 % to about 0 . 01 %. examples of acceptable light stabilizers are octyl methoxycinnamate , benzophenone and benzotriazole derivatives . the preferred light stabilizer is a benzotriazole derivative available under the trademark tinogard ™ apa from ciba specialty chemicals . a buffer is added to the solution in the range of about 0 . 0 % to about 1 . 2 %. the preferred range is about 0 . 0 % to about 0 . 05 %. buffers such as , for example , lactic acid , hydrochloric acid , phosphoric acid , stearic acid , sulfuric acid , and citric acid may be used . the preferred buffer for the present invention is citric acid . citric acid may be obtained from a variety of suppliers including , but not limited to , alfa chem , ameresco , inc . asiamerica international , inc ., dastech international , inc ., evergreen corporation , roche vitamins , inc ., etc . the preservative in fragrance solution 60 is typically in the range of about 0 . 001 % to about 1 . 1 %, and preferably in the range of about 0 . 005 % to about 1 %. examples of acceptable preservatives are benzoic acid , methylparaben , ethylparaben , propylparaben , alcohol sd40 , alcohol sda39 - c - 190 , ethyl alcohol , triclosan , triclocarbon , phenoxyethanol , sodium hydroxymethylglycinate , and germaben . sodium hydroxymethylglycinate available under the tradename suttocide ™ a from isp technologies , inc . of wayne , n . j ., is the preferred preservative . an antioxidant is also included in fragrance solution 60 in the range of about 0 . 0 % to about 0 . 1 %, and preferably in the range of about 0 . 0 % to about 0 . 05 %. butylated hydroxyanisol , tocopheryl acetate , vitamin e , and butylated hydroxytoluene are examples of acceptable antioxidants for use in the present invention . the preferred antioxidant is butylated hydroxytoluene . butylated hydroxytoluene is readily available from suppliers such as , for example , alfa chem , eastman chemical company , shell chemical company , spectrum chemical mfg . co ., etc . in another embodiment of the fragrance solution 60 of the present invention , the fragrance solution 60 may be formulated to serve double - duty as a cleaning sheet / wipe in addition to a room fragrance sheet . in this other embodiment , fragrance solution 60 may include in addition to the above - described components , a chelating agent and a foaming agent . both the chelating agent and the foaming agent are typically present in the range of about 0 % to about 15 %, but preferably in the range of about 0 % to about 10 %. depending on the fragrance oil used and the concentration of the other ingredients , a chelating agent and / or a foaming agent may not be required . further , a disinfecting agent in the range of about 0 . 01 % to about 15 %, preferably in the range of about 1 % to about 10 %, may also be added to the fragrance solution . examples of acceptable chelating agents include tetrasodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , ( ethylenedinitrilo ) tetraacetic acid tetrasodium salt , disodium ethylenediaminediacetate , trisodium ethylenediaminetriacetate , trisodium nitrilotriacetate , sodium hydroxide , sodium glycolate , and versene . the preferred chelating agent is versene . examples of acceptable foaming agents include diolamine , alkanolamide , diethanolamine , iminodiethanol , diethylolamine , bis -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amine , ninol , cocoamide , and ammonyx . the preferred foaming agent is diethanolamine . dyes may be added to fragrance solution 60 to match the color implied by the scent of the fragrance oil used . for example , adding an orange dye to fragrance solution 60 when orange - scented fragrance oil is used . turning now to fig5 , there is illustrated an example of another embodiment of the enclosure 20 . in this embodiment , enclosure 20 is a decoratively shaped container that may also included an external finish such as frosted , painted , jeweled , or labeled finish . enclosure 20 may also have any shape to match the home décor . in addition to forming enclosure 20 into an aesthetically decorated container , enclosure 20 may also be configured as a replaceable insert that can be added to a decorative holder . in such a case , a disposable sheet fragrance kit can be provided that includes a decorative container with one or more replacement disposable sheet fragrance inserts . this allows the user to refill a decorative container or holder that the user does not wish to throw away . although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein , the above description is merely illustrative . further modification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 0 |
in fig1 there is shown a representative configuration for the practice of this invention . the starting reactants for production of alkylene carbonate , alkylene oxide and carbon dioxide , are introduced into the carbonate reactor 10 via line 12 . it should be appreciated that while lines and conduits are depicted in fig1 such lines and conduits need not be present and the effluents may be conveyed between apparatuses and method . in accordance with this invention , alkylene oxides may be reacted in the reactor 10 with carbon dioxide in the presence of ammonium halides having the formula where x is any halide ion , and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 may each be hydrogen , alkyl , aryl , alkenyl , alkaryl , or aralkyl in any combination or in which any two of the radicals r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 may be interconnected to form with the basic nitrogen atom a ring of the pyridine , piperidine , pyrollidine , pyrroline , morpholine , or thiomorpholine series . in certain embodiments , the alkyl group may contain from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , the aryl group may be phenyl or naphthyl , the alkenyl group may contain from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , the alkaryl group may be an alkyl substituted phenyl or naphthyl in which the alkyl group may contain from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and the aralkyl group may be an alkyl group that may contain from 1 to 4 carbon atoms substituted by a phenyl or naphthyl radical . the alkylene oxides which may be employed in the reaction are those of the oxirane system . preferably , the alkylene oxides employed have a structural formula in which w , y , and z may be hydrogen , or the groups alkyl containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , aryl containing from 6 to 12 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl containing from 5 to 20 carbon atoms , alkenyl containing from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , or in which any two of the groups w , y , and z may be interconnected to form with the two carbon atoms shown in the formula a carbocyclic ring . ethylene oxide , propylene oxide and butylene oxide are representative examples of such alkylene oxides . the reaction may be carried out at a temperature of from about 100 degrees centigrade to about 225 degrees centigrade , preferably from about 175 degrees centigrade to about 215 degrees centigrade , and under a pressure of more than about 300 pounds per square inch gauge , preferably from about 1 , 000 to about 3 , 000 pounds per square inch gauge . the reaction may be conducted either batchwise or continuously . for example , the catalyst may be continuously introduced in solution form along with the alkylene oxide and the carbon dioxide under desired pressure into one end of a reaction vessel and the products of reaction continuously withdrawn from the other end . a preferred solvent for the catalyst is the alkylene carbonate reaction product or a tertiary alcohol , e . g ., tertiary butyl or amyl alcohol . alternatively , batches of the alkylene oxide and the catalyst may be introduced into an autoclave or bomb type of reactor , the desired pressure built up by introducing carbon dioxide and the reaction mixture agitated while being heated to the reaction temperature and maintained under a superatomospheric pressure of carbon dioxide . irrespective of whether a batch or continuous procedure is followed , each unit weight of reactants and reaction products resulting therefrom is maintained at reaction temperature and pressure for from about 1 to about 90 minutes , preferably from about 30 to about 60 minutes . this time interval is referred to herein as the reaction time . the alkylene oxide and carbon dioxide are mixed in proportions to provide an excess of carbon dioxide over and above the stoichiometric amount required for reaction . this excess may be of the order of from 1 % to 500 % by weight . the ammonium halide may be obtained as such from any available source or produced in any desired manner . while ammonium iodides , bromides , chlorides , and fluorides are all of them effective in catalyzing the synthesis of alkylene carbonates from alkylene oxides and co 2 , the iodides and bromides are generally considered to be more effective than the chlorides and fluorides . it is preferred to use the bromides since they are highly effective and in addition are much more stable under conditions of use than are the iodides , which tend to decompose on heating with evolution of elemental iodine which poses an additional purification problem . the ammonium radical may be unsubstituted ( nh 4 ) + or mono -, di -, tri -, or tetrasubstituted . preferably , a tetrasubstituted ammonium halide is employed . representative examples of preferred catalysts include but are not limited to tetraethyl ammonium bromide , tetramethyl ammonium bromide , benzyltriethyl ammonium bromide and tetrabutyl ammonium bromide . these catalysts may easily be produced by heating a tertiary amine with an alkyl bromide . thus , from triethyl amine and benzyl bromide , benzyltriethyl ammonium bromide is obtained . the ammonium halide catalysts may be purified by crystallization from a suitable solvent : in most cases an alcohol may be used for this purification . methyl and ethyl alcohols are satisfactory for this purification in the case of most ammonium halides ; however , a preferred solvent for tetraethylammonium bromide is tertiary butyl alcohol in which the catalyst is almost completely insoluble at room temperature , but in which it is quite soluble near the boiling point . tertiary amyl alcohol is similarly well suited for this use . the amount of catalyst used in general should be from 0 . 1 % to 10 %, preferably from about 1 to about 5 % based on the weight of the reaction mixture . in general , the greater the catalyst concentration , within these limits , the more rapid and complete the reaction . the carbonate reactor may be operated as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 773 , 070 and w . j . peppel , “ preparation and properties of the alkylene carbonates ,” industrial and engineering chemistry , volume 50 , number 5 , may , 1958 . the reactor 10 may be of conventional design as is currently being used in industry for this reaction . the crude reactor effluent from reactor 10 may be conveyed via line 14 to an evaporation apparatus 20 . the evaporation apparatus 20 may be of conventional design and is operated such that a low residence time is maintained to minimize degradation of the catalyst at high temperatures . the bottoms from the evaporator 20 contain inter alia , the catalyst . the overhead contains alkylene product and lights . the evaporator may be , for example , a wiped film evaporator or falling film tower . typically , the evaporator is operated at a temperature from about 50 to about 150 degrees centigrade , and at a pressure of form about 0 . 1 to about 100 mm hg . if the catalyst is not sensitive to high temperatures , it may not be necessary to employ an evaporator having low residence time . the bottoms may be recycled to the reactor 10 via conduit 22 . typically , the evaporator splits the material such that about 5 to about 20 percent exit as bottoms , with about 80 to about 95 percent being overhead . the alkylene product stream exiting the evaporator usually has a purity in the range of about 98 to about 99 . 5 percent . optionally , a second evaporator may be employed in series , again with the less pure fractions being returned to the reactor . optionally , the effluent from reactor 10 may be sent to a finishing drum , not shown . after removing lights from the evaporator overhead ( using for instance a low pressure separator and / or a gas - liquid separator ), the overhead is sent , directly or indirectly , to a first distillation tower 30 via line 24 . the product may for example be sent to a storage unit prior to distillation . the first distillation tower , and all distillation towers used herein , serve to further purify the alkylene carbonate . the first distillation tower may be operated at any temperature and pressure which will afford a first distillation bottoms that is a higher purity than the alkylene carbonate received from the evaporator . in general , the first distillation tower is operated at a temperature of from about 50 degrees centigrade to about 150 degrees centigrade and a pressure of from about 0 . 1 to about 100 mm hg . the overhead from the first distillation tower may be recycled to reactor 10 via line 32 . the first distillation bottoms , which constitutes about 90 to about 99 percent of the material fed to the first distillation tower , exits the first tower 30 via conduit 34 , and is transferred to the second distillation tower 40 . in second distillation tower 40 , the first distillation bottoms is subjected to additional purification . the second distillation bottoms may be recycled to the reactor 10 via conduit 42 . the purified alkylene carbonate exits the second tower 40 via line 44 . the purity of the alkylene carbonate stream exiting the second distillation column is usually in the range from about 99 . 5 to about 99 . 95 percent . to achieve even further purification , the second distillation overhead is then subjected to two additional distillations . the additional distillations may be accomplished in a variety of ways . for example , the second distillation overhead may be stored and reintroduced into first distillation tower 30 via line 28 . this would be done when the reactor 10 and evaporator 20 were not running . the overhead from the first distillation tower 30 and bottoms from the second distillation tower 40 would again be recycled to reactor 10 . this recycling provides many advantages . the most important advantages are conservation of mass , which provides a high overall yield , and a cost advantage as contrasted against processes where such overhead and bottoms are destroyed or not used to make additional high purity alkylene carbonate . in another alternative , the second distillation overhead is sent to another tower or towers different from the towers 30 and 40 shown in fig1 . for example , the overhead may be sent to a single , very large tower instead of two smaller towers in series . the larger tower may have 50 to 150 theoretical plates containing for instance 100 trays and packing , as opposed to smaller towers having 40 to 60 trays . in this case , the middle fraction from the large tower is the high purity alkylene carbonate , with the overhead and bottoms being recycled to the reactor 10 . hence , recycling of fractions to the reactor 10 would still be performed even if a single tower were used or if the effluent was sent to other towers , off - site or otherwise , for further purification . it should be appreciated that an important aspect of this invention is the return of the less pure fractions to the reactor , which leads to higher yields , less waste and a more economical high purity alkylene carbonate process . still another alternative is depicted in fig2 . in this generalized scheme , four towers are used in series . fig2 is identical to fig1 except additional columns 50 and 60 are included . instead of sending product effluent from second distillation tower 40 to first distillation tower 30 or to a separate distillation tower or towers , the effluent flows into the third distillation tower 50 via line 44 . the overhead from the third distillation tower 50 is recycled to reactor 10 . the third distillation bottoms is introduced into fourth distillation tower 60 via line 54 . the fourth distillation bottoms is recycled to line 12 and reactor 10 via conduit 62 . the final alkylene carbonate product exits the fourth distillation tower via line 64 . in general , the distillation towers ( also referred to as columns ) may be of conventional design . the towers may be packed with conventional packing . the temperature and pressure in the tower may be adjusted depending on the type of alkylene carbonate being produced . in general , particularly for ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate , the tower is maintained at a temperature in the range from about 50 degrees centigrade to about 150 degrees centigrade centigrade , and the pressure is in the range from about 0 . 1 to about 100 mm hg . prior to carbon treatment , the alkylene product produced by the process of this invention has a purity of at least 99 . 99 percent . typically the final alkylene carbonate has a purity up to 100 percent and more typically more than about 99 . 999 percent . the final product typically has a water content less than about 20 parts per million (“ ppm ”) and impurity levels less than 20 ppm . it should also be appreciated that the alkylene carbonate may be made in the reactor from a variety of methods , such as from ethylene glycol and phosgene such as described in neminowsky , j . prakt . chem ., [ 2 ] 28 , 3789 ( 1955 ); from diethyl carbonate and ethylene glycol by transesterification as described in morgan et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 75 , 1263 ( 1053 ); from ethylene chlorohydrin and sodium bicarbonate as described in u . s . pat . no . 1 , 907 , 891 ; or from 1 , 2 - epoxides and carbon dioxide as described in german patent 740 , 366 ( 1943 ). the process of this invention , including each sub - step of the overall process , may be operated continuously , intermittently , or as a batch process . typically , the alkylene carbonate to be treated is colorless to the eye . the alkylene carbonate may , however , contain impurities that creates uv absorbance that is too high for some applications . to facilitate additional purification of the alkylene carbonate to thereby reduce its uv absorbance , the alkylene carbonate may be treated with carbon . for example , the effluent from line 44 from fig1 or from line 64 in fig2 may be pumped downwardly through a column packed with a fixed bed of carbon maintained at about 25 degrees centigrade and at a space velocity ( flow rate ) of about 5 - 10 ml of alkylene carbonate / 250 ml of carbon / hour . in one embodiment , this may be achieved through use of a one inch diameter ( e . g ., a stainless steel pipe ) that has been packed with 250 ml of carbon . then , alkylene carbonate may be added to the column and optionally heated to 50 degrees centigrade and held overnight , with the alkylene carbonate then being drained and alkylene carbonate to be treated thereafter added to the column . typically , the alkylene carbonate to be treated is of high purity and contains less than 20 parts per million ( ppm ) of water and less than 20 ppm of alkylene glycol impurities ( such as propylene glycol in the case of propylene carbonate ). the carbon and the carbon treatment will now be described . the carbon useful in this process can be any conventional carbon or charcoal used as an absorbent . carbon , activated carbon and charcoal are widely available commercially . carbon can be rendered active using conventional procedures such as treatment with dilute aqueous hydrogen chloride . suitable carbon can be used from a wide variety of sources . for example , carbon known as bituminous coal type and coconut shell type are well known in the art . the shape of the carbon is not critical and can be in the form of any conventional shape such as powder , granular , pellet , or the like . in one embodiment , charcoal is employed and is generally preferred in the amorphous form of carbon for use in accordance hereto , and charcoal derived from coconut shells is especially preferred . the surface area of the carbon can vary widely from about 500 to 1500 m 2 / g . the average size of carbon used in this invention can vary widely , but finely powdered carbons are less desirable since they are difficult to separate from the alkylene carbonate and tend to cause plugging in a conventional continuous flow system . any size carbon can be used which is capable of being supported in a bed without plugging , as is apparent to a skilled artisan . a representative example of a suitable carbon is 12 × 30 mesh calgon ™ 300 gly which is commercially available from calgon carbon corporation , and which is believed by the inventors to have been washed with an inorganic acid . the carbon may be pre - treated by contacting it with an inorganic acid prior to being the alkylene carbonate . for this purpose , any inorganic acid , or its solutions in water or organic solvents may be used . suitable organic solvents include solvents in which the acid is miscible , such as alcohols and ethers which are readily removed by drying . subsequent to being contacted with an inorganic acid , the carbon employed may be rinsed with either deionized water , then organic solvent , such as methanol . following rinsing , the carbon is preferably dried ( typically by heating the carbon ), then rinsed with alkylene carbonate prior to using the carbon in the treatment process . the treatment process using carbon can be run either batch - wise or in a continuous manner . in a batch mode , the alkylene carbonate is contacted with the carbon in a closed vessel for a time sufficient to remove at least a portion of the color therein . the process of this invention can be conducted in any batch system suitably designed for such purpose as is apparent to a skilled artisan . contact time will vary depending on factors such as temperature , pressure , volume of alkylene to be treated , and the amount of alkylene carbonate relative to carbon . typically , contact time is greater than 0 . 1 hour . preferably , time is greater than 0 . 5 hour . typically , time is less than 24 hours . preferably , time is less than 18 hours , more preferably less than 8 hours . in batch mode , the amount of carbon is at least one percent by weight relative to alkylene carbonate . the amount of carbon is preferably greater than about 5 percent . the batch can be stirred . pressure can be atmospheric , sub - atmospheric , or super - atmospheric . a pad of an inert gas such as dry nitrogen can be maintained over the batch . after treatment , the alkylene carbonate can be separated from carbon using conventional techniques such as filtration . in a continuous treatment process , the alkylene carbonate to be treated is contacted with one or more fixed beds of carbon . conventional treatment apparatus are useful for this purpose . the contact time varies depending on conditions and may be expressed in terms of flow rate over carbon . typically , the flow rate is greater than about 0 . 1 ml of alkylene carbonate ml per 250 ml of carbon per hour , and in one embodiment greater than about 1 ml of alkylene carbonate per 250 ml carbon per hour . typically , the flow rate is usually no more than about 50 ml of alkylene carbonate per 250 ml of carbon per hour , in one embodiment the flow rate is usually no more than about 50 ml of alkylene carbonate per 250 ml of carbon per hour , and in another embodiment is about 5 ml of alkylene carbonate per 250 ml carbon per hour . pressures are preferably sufficient to maintain liquid conditions . in continuous operation , the apparatus is usually equipped in a conventional manner so that effluent is free of carbon particles . in any mode by which the process of this carbon treatment is conducted , temperature is typically greater than or equal to about 0 degree centigrade , and more frequently greater than or equal to about 10 degrees centigrade . preferably , temperature is typically less than or equal to about 200 degrees centigrade , more typically less than or equal to about 100 degrees centigrade , more typically less than or equal to about 50 degrees centigrade . in one embodiment , the temperature is in the range from about 10 to about 50 degrees centigrade . in another embodiment , the temperature is in the range from about 20 to about 30 degrees centigrade . this is advantageous because the treatment can occur under ambient temperatures . in the case of ethylene carbonate , depending on pressure , the temperature should typically be 40 degrees centigrade or higher to ensure that the ethylene carbonate does not solidify . in any mode by which the process of this carbon treatment is conducted , the process is conducted under conditions effective such that the uv absorbance of the resulting alkylene carbonate is typically less than about 0 . 350 at 220 nanometers ( nm ), with less than about 0 . 310 nm being preferred , and typically less than about 0 . 930 at 215 nm , with less than about 0 . 910 being preferred . the alkylene carbonate made according to this invention is also advantageously low in water content ( for example , less than about 20 ppm ) and low in alkylene glycol by - product ( less than about 20 ppm ), particularly for the propylene carbonate . the activity of the carbon may decline over time . therefore , the carbon may require regeneration as necessary as determined by routine experimentation and observation . conventional procedures can be employed for this purpose . a polar solvent may be used to flush the carbon and thereby remove adsorbed color bodies . likewise , the carbon can be heated to burn off deposits . the following examples are illustrative of this invention are not to be construed to limit the scope of the instant invention or claims hereto . unless otherwise denoted , all percentages are by weight . propylene carbonate obtained from a process as depicted in fig2 was employed in this example . the propylene carbonate had a purity of greater than 99 . 99 % and a uv absorbance of 0 . 355 at 220 nm and 0 . 940 at 215 . a column containing a carbon bed ( 133 . 5 grams of calgon ™ 300 gly , 12 × 30 mesh , which corresponded to 250 ml of carbon ) was flushed with propylene carbonate at a rate of 5 ml of alkylene carbonate / 250 ml of carbon / hour until the column was full . then , the filled column was heated to 50 degrees centigrade and held at that temperature while standing overnight . the propylene carbonate was then drained from the column . propylene carbonate was then pumped with a downwardly flow rate of 5 or 10 ml / 250 ml of carbon / hour . several runs were made . the results are shown in tables 1 and 2 . the propylene carbonate temperature is shown for each run . in the examples , the temperature was not increased because as temperature increases , the driving force for impurity absorption is decreased . in each run , one quart of purified propylene carbonate was collected and tested for uv absorbance . [ 0055 ] table 2 flow rate of 5 ml carbonate / ml carbon / hour uv cut - off time temperature feed rate absorbance at run number cut number for a cut (° c .) ( ml / ml / hr ) 220 nm 6 16 7 : 26 am 25 . 2 5 0 . 305 / 0 . 898 6 17 9 : 31 am 24 . 7 5 0 . 279 / 0 . 858 6 18 11 : 30 am 24 . 9 5 0 . 294 / 0 . 885 6 19 2 : 30 pm 25 . 1 5 0 . 299 / 0 . 688 7 20 7 : 35 am 28 . 2 5 0 . 308 / 0 . 901 7 21 9 : 35 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 277 / 0 . 834 7 22 11 : 35 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 273 / 0 . 832 7 23 2 : 33 pm 25 . 2 5 0 . 280 / 0 . 844 8 24 7 : 45 am 25 . 5 5 0 . 286 / 0 . 851 8 25 9 : 45 am 25 . 1 5 0 . 292 / 0 . 860 9 26 8 : 21 am 25 . 2 5 0 . 322 / 0 . 945 9 27 10 : 22 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 318 / 0 . 912 9 28 12 : 30 pm 25 . 1 5 0 . 302 / 0 . 895 10 29 7 : 53 am 25 . 5 5 0 . 289 / 0 . 885 10 30 9 : 52 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 296 / 0 . 867 10 31 12 : 15 pm 25 . 0 5 0 . 315 / 0 . 904 10 32 2 : 03 pm 25 . 0 5 0 . 325 / 0 . 904 11 33 8 : 30 am 25 . 3 5 0 . 307 / 0 . 887 11 34 10 : 30 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 322 / 0 . 902 11 35 12 : 30 pm 25 . 2 5 0 . 304 / 0 . 885 12 36 8 : 20 am 25 . 6 5 0 . 307 / 0 . 888 12 37 10 : 23 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 298 / 0 . 874 12 38 12 : 25 pm 25 . 0 5 0 . 295 / 0 . 862 13 39 7 : 00 am 25 . 3 5 0 . 317 / 0 . 902 13 40 9 : 03 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 318 / 0 . 903 13 41 11 : 08 am 25 . 1 5 0 . 336 / 0 . 922 13 42 1 : 15 pm 25 . 1 5 0 . 319 / 0 . 902 14 43 8 : 07 am 25 . 6 5 0 . 315 / 0 . 897 14 44 10 : 12 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 303 / 0 . 883 15 45 7 : 15 am 25 . 7 5 0 . 318 / 0 . 905 15 46 9 : 00 am 25 . 1 5 0 . 305 / 0 . 891 15 47 11 : 05 am 25 . 0 5 0 . 314 / 0 . 897 15 48 2 : 15 pm 24 . 9 5 0 . 316 / 0 . 889 these examples illustrate that carbon provides a surprisingly low uv absorbance of alkylene carbonates such as propylene carbonate . while final uv absorbances varied from run to run , in all runs the uv absorbance was reduced from the starting point of 0 . 35 at 220 nm , thereby producing alkylene carbonate having a uv absorbance typically suitable for electrochromic or photochromic applications . similarly , with respect to 215 nm light , in all runs the uv absorbance was reduced from the starting point of 0 . 94 , thereby producing alkylene carbonate having a uv absorbance typically suitable for electrochromic or photochromic applications . while it has been known to remove color bodies from organic liquids such as alkylene carbonates , it has been heretofore unknown to decrease the uv absorbance of such materials , particularly alkylene carbonate such as propylene carbonate . further modifications and alternative embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of carrying out the invention . it is to be understood that the forms of the invention herein shown and described are to be taken as illustrative embodiments . equivalent elements or materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein , and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features , all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention . | 2 |
the binary - to - ternary converter represented in the figure comprises a parallel circuit of a first series circuit 1 and a second series circuit 2 . the first series circuit 1 is formed by the main current path of a first npn - transistor 3 and a second npnh - transistor 4 , respectively . the collector of transistor 3 is connected to the positive supply terminal 5 . the emitter of transistor 3 is connected to the collector of transistor 4 , whose emitter is connected to the negative supply terminal 6 . the second series circuit 2 is formed by a diode 7 , a first resistor 8 , a second resistor 9 and the main current path of a third npn - transistor 10 , respectively . the anode of diode 7 , as is the collector of transistor 3 , is connected to the positive supply terminal 5 . the cathode of diode 7 is connected to one side of the resistor 8 . the other side of resistor 8 is connected to one side of resistor 9 . the other side of resistor 9 is connected to the collector of transistor 10 , whose emitter is connected to the negative supply terminal 6 . the cathode of diode 7 is further connected to one side of a capacitor 11 , whose other side is connected to the emitter of transistor 3 . the cathode of diode 7 is also connected to one side of a third resistor 12 , whose other side is connected to the base of transistor 3 . this base is further connected on one side to a parallel circuit of a further capacitor 13 and a further diode 14 . the other side of this parallel circuit forms the first input port 15 of the binary - to - ternary converter , whose second input port 16 is formed by one side of a parallel circuit comprising a resistor 24 and a capacitor 25 . the other side is connected to the base of transistor 4 and via a resistor 26 to the negative supply terminal 6 . input port 16 is also connected to the parallel circuit of a resistor 27 and a capacitor 28 . the other side of this parallel circuit is connected to the base of the transistor 10 and via a resistor 29 to the negative supply terminal 6 . the output port 17 of the binary - to - ternary converter is formed by the junction of the resistors 8 and 9 . the load having a resistance value of 75 ohms , represented by a resistor 19 , is connected on one side via a coupling capacitor 20 to the output port 17 . the other side of resistor 19 is connected to the negative supply terminal 6 . the anodes of two further diodes 21 and 22 are connected to the emitters of the respective transistors 3 and 10 and the cathodes are connected to the collectors of these respective two transistors 3 and 10 . it should be observed that the resistors 12 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 29 , the capacitors 13 , 25 , 28 and the diodes 14 , 21 and 22 are not of essential importance for the functioning of the invention . the function of these components will be further explained hereinafter . the input ports 15 and 16 are excited by signal sources ( not shown ) having an internal resistance of approximately 100 ohms . the negative sides of the signal sources are connected to the negative supply terminal 6 . the two logic values ( zero and one ) correspond with nominal voltage levels of 0 and 5 v . the signal current during a pulse causes a voltage drop of approximately 0 . 3 v across an internal resistance of approximately 100 ohms . consequently , the logic value &# 34 ; one &# 34 ; at an input port corresponds with approximately 4 . 7 v . the signal sources on average produce in time as many pulses at input port 15 as at input port 16 whilst , in addition , it is impossible that a pulse at input port 15 coincides with a pulse at input port 16 . furthermore , it is assumed that no more than two pulses consecutively occur at one input port without an intermediate pulse at the other input port . for a proper functioning of the binary - to - ternary converter it is essential that first a number of pulses be applied to the input ports to bring the binary - to - ternary converter into the stationary condition . during this operation , capacitor 11 is charged to its mean value in the following way . a pulse at input port 16 appears at the base of transistor 4 and at the base of transistor 10 because the respective capacitors 25 and 28 completely conduct the voltage jump . the two transistors 4 and 10 reach saturation , because the resistors 24 , 26 , 27 , 29 connected thereto have suitably chosen values . owing to the two transistors 4 and 10 being saturated , the collector - emitter voltage is approximately 0 . 35 v . a current path develops from the positive supply terminal 5 through diode 7 , capacitor 11 and the saturated transistor 4 to the negative supply terminal 6 . because approximately 0 . 5 v appears across diode 7 and approximately 0 . 35 v across the collector - emitter path of transistor 4 , capacitor 11 is thus charged up to the available supply voltage of approximately 5 v minus 0 . 85 v ( that is to say , 0 . 5 v ± 0 . 35 v ). as long as pulses appear at input port 16 at regular intervals ( alternated by pulses at input port 15 ), capacitor 11 remains charged up to this mean voltage . if no pulses are presented to the input ports 15 and 16 , all three transistors 3 , 4 and 10 will be turned off , because the base voltage of each transistor will be too low with respect to the emitter voltage . if no pulse is presented to either input port 15 or input port 16 there will be a current path from the positive supply terminal 5 through diode 7 , resistor 12 , diode 14 and the signal source connected to input port 15 towards the negative supply terminal 6 . because the value of the internal resistance of the signal source is much smaller than the value of resistor 12 , there is approximately 0 . 5 v on the base of transistor 3 . the voltage on the emitter of transistor 3 is approximately 0 . 35 v , because capacitor 11 is charged to its mean voltage . the base - emitter voltage is thus approximately 0 . 15 v and transistor 3 will be non - conductive . the base - emitter voltage of transistors 4 and 10 is 0 v . all three transistors 3 , 4 and 10 are non - conductive now . there is 0 v across the resistor 19 connected to the output port 17 through the coupling capacitor 20 , because coupling capacitor 20 is charged to its mean voltage , so that no current passes through this capacitor any longer . a pulse on input port 15 ( thus on the base of transistor 3 ) causes this transistor 3 to be conductive ( because capacitor 13 completely conducts the voltage jump ): the base voltage becomes approximately 5 . 2 v , because capacitor 13 completely conducts the 4 . 7 v voltage jump and because the base voltage of transistor 3 was approximately 0 . 5 v at the instant prior to the occurrence of the pulse . now , transistor 3 is in the conductive state and , consequently , the base - emitter voltage is approximately 0 . 7 v ; this causes the emitter voltage to rise to approximately 4 . 5 v during the pulse . the emitter voltage prior to the pulse was approximately 0 . 35 v and is thus increased by approximately 4 . 15 v . capacitor 11 completely conducts this voltage jump . consequently , diode 7 is cut off and because transistor 10 is cut off ( no pulse on input port 16 ) and coupling capacitor 20 completely conducts the presented voltage jump , there is a 4 . 15 voltage jump through the resistors 8 and 19 which are serially connected for this pulse voltage . if the resistors 8 and 19 have the respective values of 56 and 75ohms , a pulse on input port 15 will cause an output pulse through resistor 19 of 2 . 37 v , obtained as a result of a voltage division between the resistors 8 and 19 . consequently , the amplitude requirement of the ccitt recommendation g703 ( output pulse 2 . 37 v ± 10 %) is satisfied . a pulse on input port 16 appears on the bases of the transistors 4 and 10 because the capacitors 25 and 28 completely conduct the voltage jump . the two transistors 4 and 10 reach saturation because the resistors 24 , 26 , 27 and 29 have suitably chosen values . since transistor 10 reaches saturation , its collector - emitter voltage drops to approximately 0 . 35 v . consequently , also the voltage on output 17 will drop . coupling capacitor 20 completely conducts this voltage drop and a negative output pulse develops through resistor 19 . if the resistors 8 , 9 and 19 have the respective values of 56 , 22 and 75 , ohms it can be calculated that the voltage on output port 17 will drop by approximately 2 . 46 v . subsequently , a - 2 . 46 v negative output pulse will develop across resistor 19 . hence the amplitude requirement of the ccitt recommendation g703 is satisfied . hereinbefore it was observed that the resistor 12 , capacitor 13 and diode 14 are not essentially important to the functioning of the invention . owing to the combination of transistor 3 with diode 14 the circuit is less temperature dependent . if this reduction of the temperature dependence is of little importance , diode 14 and the associated resistor 12 and capacitor 13 can be omitted from the circuit . without these components , the base of the transistor 3 forms the input port 15 . if no pulse is presented to this input port 15 , the base voltage will be 0 v because the aforementioned current path will no longer be available because of the omission of the three components , so that the 0 . 5 v voltage drop across diode 14 is absent . a 4 . 7 v pulse on input port 15 causes the base voltage of transistor 3 to rise to 4 . 7 v . transistor 3 starts being conductive and because the base - emitter voltage cannot rise any further than approximately 0 . 7 v , the emitter voltage will rise to approximately 4 . 0 v . because the emitter voltage was approximately 0 . 35 v prior to the occurrence of the pulse , the voltage drop is thus approximately 3 . 65 v . this voltage drop causes a positive pulse of approximately 2 . 34 v across resistor 19 , if the value of resistor 8 is reduced to 42 ohms . owing to this reduction of the value of resistor 8 , it is possible to satisfy the amplitude requirement of the ccitt recommendation g703 , if the resistor 12 , capacitor 13 and diode 14 are omitted . the diodes 21 and 22 form the aforementioned voltage - limiting components for overvoltage protection . such a component in combination with a protective resistance should be able to handle a high overvoltage pulse . a high positive overvoltage pulse on output port 17 through resistor 8 and the capacitor 11 completely conducting this pulse , causes diode 22 to be conductive ; consequently , the overvoltage completely drops across resistor 8 , safeguarding the rest of the circuit against overvoltage . a high negative overvoltage pulse on output port 17 causes diode 21 to be conductive through resistor 9 , causing the overvoltage to drop across resistor 9 . thus , the binary - to - ternary converter is protected against high overvoltage pulses from outside . the resistors 24 , 26 and 27 , 29 are used for protecting the respective transistors 4 and 10 by voltage division of the pulses present on input port 16 . a pulse of approximately 5 v which is applied to a base of a transistor via an internal resistance of 100 ohms would otherwise cause a current that could damage this transistor . the capacitors 25 and 28 completely conduct the voltage drops of the pulses present on input port 16 . in addition , the two capacitors 25 and 28 make the respective ( saturated ) transistors 4 and 10 switch off at an earlier instant . thus , these capacitors 25 and 28 improve the high - frequency behaviour of the circuit . in the binary - to - ternary converter according to the figure the following components have the following values : ______________________________________type of component ˜ number of component value______________________________________resistor 8 56 ohmsresistor 9 22 ohmsresistor 12 3 kohmsresistor 19 75 ohmsresistor 24 1 . 5 kohmsresistor 26 1 . 5 kohmsresistor 27 1 . 5 kohmsresistor 29 10 kohmscapacitor 11 270 nfcapacitor 13 47 nfcapacitor 20 270 nfcapacitor 25 22 nfcapacitor 28 22 nf______________________________________ | 7 |
fig1 is a cross - sectional side view of a conventional gas turbine engine 10 taken along a longitudinal axis 12 , i . e ., the axis of rotation of the turbine rotor . with reference also to the enlarged detail in fig2 , it will be appreciated that air enters the gas turbine engine 10 through the air intake section 14 of a compressor 16 . the compressed air exiting the compressor 16 is directed to the combustors 18 ( one shown ) to mix with fuel which combusts to generate hot combustion gases . multiple combustors 18 may be annularly disposed within the turbine combustor section 20 , and each combustor 18 may include a transition piece 22 that directs the hot combustion gases from the combustor 18 to the gas turbine section 24 . in other words , each transition piece 22 defines a hot gas path from its respective combustor 18 to the turbine section 24 . the illustrated , exemplary gas turbine section 24 includes three separate stages 26 . each stage 26 includes a set or row of buckets 28 coupled to a respective rotor wheel 30 that is rotatably attached to the turbine rotor or shaft represented by the axis of rotation 12 . between each wheel 30 is a set of nozzles 40 incorporating a circumferential row of stationary vanes or blades 42 . the nozzle vanes 42 are supported between segmented , inner and outer stator shrouds or side walls 44 , 46 , each segment incorporating one or more vanes , while the buckets 28 are surrounded by stationary , stator shroud segments 48 . the nozzle and bucket shrouds serve to contain the hot combustion gases and allow a motive force to be efficiently applied to the buckets 28 . the hot combustion gases exit the gas turbine section 24 through the exhaust section 34 . applications for the present invention relate to seals extending across radially - oriented gaps between circumferentially - adjacent nozzle vane and / or bucket shroud segments ; between circumferentially - adjacent buckets ; and between axially - adjacent shrouds ( nozzle and bucket ) in the same or adjacent stage . it will be understood , of course , that although the turbine section 24 is illustrated as a three - stage turbine , the cooling and sealing arrangements described herein may be employed in turbines with any number of stages and shafts , e . g ., a single stage turbine , a dual turbine that includes a low - pressure turbine section and a high - pressure turbine section , or in a multi - stage turbine section with three or more stages . furthermore , the cooling and sealing arrangements described herein may be utilized in gas turbines , steam turbines , hydroturbines , etc . typically , discharge air from the compressor 16 ( also known as compressor extraction flow ) ( fig1 ), which may act as a cooling fluid , may be directed through the stationary vanes 42 , the inner and outer band segments 44 and 46 , and / or the shroud segments 48 to provide the required cooling of these components . in the exemplary but nonlimiting embodiment described herein , the discharge air from the compressor 16 is also used as a cooling fluid to mitigate or control the buildup of thermal energy on the hot side of the shroud segments 48 facing the buckets 28 . in some embodiments , other cooling fluids may be used in addition to or in lieu of the compressor discharge air , such as steam , recirculated exhaust gas , or fuel . fig3 and 4 are partial end views of a stator shroud segment 50 ( i . e ., one arcuate segment of the annular shroud 48 ) in accordance with a first exemplary but nonlimiting embodiment . it will be understood that the shroud segment 50 as viewed in fig3 includes a radially - inner surface 52 that faces or lies radially adjacent a row of buckets 28 on a turbine wheel as described in connection with fig2 . a circumferential interface surface 54 ( or end face ) lies opposite an adjacent shroud segment 56 ( shown in phantom ), with a radially - extending gap 58 therebetween . a seal slot 60 formed in the interface surface or end face 54 is aligned with a similar slot 62 in the adjacent interface surface 64 , the pair of slots adapted to receive a seal 66 that inhibits radially - inward leakage of higher - pressure compressor extraction flows into the hot combustion gases flowing along the hot gas path 67 ( fig4 ). it will be understood that a similar seal / seal slot arrangement is provided on the opposite interface surface such that the seals extend between adjacent slots of adjacent segments about the entire annular shroud . in the illustrated embodiment , surface 52 ( or hot - gas - facing side ) may be coated with a known thermal barrier coating ( tbc ) 68 to provide some protection for the surface 54 which is directly exposed to the hot combustion gases . a channel 70 is formed in the surface 52 , extending in an axial direction ( parallel to the hot gas path ) in the exemplary embodiment . the channel 70 could also extend in a circumferential direction and could also have a wavy , zig - zag or other suitable shape . the channel 70 , which may be of any desired length , is supplied with cooling air , e . g ., compressor extraction air , by means of a passage 72 extending angularly from a radially - outer surface 74 of the shroud segment 50 and opening into the channel 70 at one end thereof . thus , the passage 72 maybe regarded as an inlet passage . in an exemplary embodiment shown in fig3 , an outlet passage 76 is formed in the shroud segment , extending radially outward from an opposite end of the channel 70 , and into the seal slot 60 . in this way , cooling air passing through the channel 70 absorbs heat , and thus cools the surface 52 ( and tbc 68 ), and the heated cooling air is then exhausted to the seal slot 60 where it cools the underside or low - pressure side of the seal , and then enters and purges the part of the gap 58 which lies radially inward of the seal 66 , i . e ., the spent cooling air mixes with and dilutes the hot gas in the segment gap that would otherwise make the seal and segment end faces too hot . the flow of air into that part of the gap radial inward of the seal 66 also inhibits leakage of higher - pressure compressor air into the hot gas path . it will be understood that different seal configurations will dictate the exact flow of the heated cooling air upon reaching the seal slot 60 . it will also be understood that a similar cooling arrangement is provided in the adjacent shroud segment 56 . in another exemplary shown in fig5 and 6 , the shroud segment 150 includes a radially inner surface 152 , a circumferential interface surface 154 that faces an adjacent shroud segment ( similar to shroud segment 56 ) with a radially - extending gap 158 therebetween . seal slot 160 is similar to seal slot 60 and cooperates with an adjacent seal slot ( similar to slot 62 ). the radially - inner surface 152 may also be coated with a tbc 168 . as in the previously - described embodiment , an inlet passage 172 extends from a radially - outer surface 174 of the shroud segment and opens into a channel 170 . in this embodiment , however , the outlet passage 176 from the channel 170 opens on the end face or surface 154 radially inwardly of the seal slot 160 , so as to purge that portion of the gap 158 radially inward of the seal . by having the outlet from passage 176 sufficiently distanced ( in the radially outward direction ) from the hot gas path , the purge air will be more effective in diluting hot gas in the gap . if the outlet from passage 176 is too close to the hot gas path , the purge air would be immediately sucked into the hot gas path , and additional flow would be required to purge the gap . in both embodiments , the air otherwise needed to purge the gaps between shroud segments is reduced by the configurations disclosed herein where spent cooling air is exhausted into the gaps radially inward of the seals . it will also be understood that the tbc coating 68 or 168 may be applied over a plate or other substrate covering the radially - inward side of the channel 70 , 170 , or the coating itself may close the open side of the microchannel . with respect to channels 70 , 170 , various dimensional relationships and geometries are possible . for example , in accordance with certain embodiments , the channels 70 and 170 may be provided as microchannels having widths and depths between approximately 50 microns and 4 mm in any suitable combination . while illustrated as square or rectangular in cross - section , the microchannels may be any suitable shape that may be formed using grooving , etching , or similar forming techniques . for example , the microchannels may have circular , semi - circular , curved , triangular or rhomboidal cross - sections in addition to or in lieu of the square or rectangular cross - sections illustrated . in addition , width and depth of the channel ( s ) may also vary uniformly or differentially throughout its length . therefore , the disclosed microchannels may have straight or curved geometries consistent with such cross - sections . it will be understood that the cooling / sealing arrangement as described above in connection with the bucket shroud 48 is applicable as well to the segments of the inner and outer nozzle shrouds 44 , 46 . in addition , the cooling / sealing arrangemnts are also applicable to seals located axially between the nozzle shrouds and the bucket shrouds , for example , between nozzle shroud 46 and bucket shroud 48 . in the case of axially - adjacent shrouds , seal 66 ( configured as a circumferential seal ) could be considered as sealing an axial gap 58 between a nozzle shroud 50 and an axially - adjacent bucket shroud 56 , recognizing that the opposed edge faces 54 , 64 may not be as shown in fig3 . it will also be appreciated that the invention is applicable to any turbine stage although it is believed that stages 1 and 2 would likely benefit from the described arrangements . while various embodiments are described herein , it will be appreciated from the specification that various combinations of elements , variations or improvements therein may be made by those skilled in the art , and are within the scope of the invention . | 5 |
although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purpose of illustration , a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details can be made and are considered included herein . accordingly , the following embodiments are set forth without any loss of generality to , and without imposing limitations upon , any claims set forth . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments only , and is not intended to be limiting . 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 disclosure belongs . also , the same reference numerals in appearing in different drawings represent the same element . numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarity in illustrating steps and operations and do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence . furthermore , the described features , structures , or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments . in the following description , numerous specific details are provided , such as examples of layouts , distances , network examples , etc ., to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments . one skilled in the relevant art will recognize , however , that such detailed embodiments do not limit the overall concepts articulated herein , but are merely representative thereof . one skilled in the relevant art will also recognize that the technology can be practiced without one or more of the specific details , or with other methods , components , layouts , etc . in other instances , well - known structures , materials , or operations may not be shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the disclosure . in this application , “ comprises ,” “ comprising ,” “ containing ” and “ having ” and the like can have the meaning ascribed to them in u . s . patent law and can mean “ includes ,” “ including ,” and the like , and are generally interpreted to be open ended terms . the terms “ consisting of ” or “ consists of ” are closed terms , and include only the components , structures , steps , or the like specifically listed in conjunction with such terms , as well as that which is in accordance with u . s . patent law . “ consisting essentially of ” or “ consists essentially of ” have the meaning generally ascribed to them by u . s . patent law . in particular , such terms are generally closed terms , with the exception of allowing inclusion of additional items , materials , components , steps , or elements , that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics or function of the item ( s ) used in connection therewith . for example , trace elements present in a composition , but not affecting the compositions nature or characteristics would be permissible if present under the “ consisting essentially of ” language , even though not expressly recited in a list of items following such terminology . when using an open - ended term in this written description , like “ comprising ” or “ including ,” it is understood that direct support should be afforded also to “ consisting essentially of ” language as well as “ consisting of ” language as if stated explicitly and vice versa . as used herein , the term “ substantially ” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action , characteristic , property , state , structure , item , or result . for example , an object that is “ substantially ” enclosed would mean that the object is either completely enclosed or nearly completely enclosed . the exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context . however , generally speaking the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained . the use of “ substantially ” is equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action , characteristic , property , state , structure , item , or result . for example , a composition that is “ substantially free of ” particles would either completely lack particles , or so nearly completely lack particles that the effect would be the same as if it completely lacked particles . in other words , a composition that is “ substantially free of ” an ingredient or element may still actually contain such item as long as there is no measurable effect thereof . as used herein , the term “ about ” is used to provide flexibility to a numerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be “ a little above ” or “ a little below ” the endpoint . however , it is to be understood that even when the term “ about ” is used in the present specification in connection with a specific numerical value , that support for the exact numerical value recited apart from the “ about ” terminology is also provided . as used herein , a plurality of items , structural elements , compositional elements , and / or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience . however , these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member . thus , no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary . concentrations , amounts , and other numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format . it is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range , but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub - ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub - range is explicitly recited . as an illustration , a numerical range of “ about 1 to about 5 ” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5 , but also include individual values and sub - ranges within the indicated range . thus , included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2 , 3 , and 4 and sub - ranges such as from 1 - 3 , from 2 - 4 , and from 3 - 5 , etc ., as well as 1 , 1 . 5 , 2 , 2 . 3 , 3 , 3 . 8 , 4 , 4 . 6 , 5 , and 5 . 1 individually . this same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value as a minimum or a maximum . furthermore , such an interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described . reference throughout this specification to “ an example ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment . thus , appearances of phrases including “ an example ” or “ an embodiment ” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same example or embodiment . the terms “ first ,” “ second ,” “ third ,” “ fourth ,” and the like in the description and in the claims , if any , are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order . it is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are , for example , capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein . similarly , if a method is described herein as comprising a series of steps , the order of such steps as presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may be performed , and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omitted and / or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added to the method . the terms “ left ,” “ right ,” “ front ,” “ back ,” “ top ,” “ bottom ,” “ over ,” “ under ,” and the like in the description and in the claims , if any , are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions . it is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are , for example , capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein . as used herein , comparative terms such as “ increased ,” “ decreased ,” “ better ,” “ worse ,” “ higher ,” “ lower ,” “ enhanced ,” and the like refer to a property of a device , component , or activity that is measurably different from other devices , components , or activities in a surrounding or adjacent area , in a single device or in multiple comparable devices , in a group or class , in multiple groups or classes , or as compared to the known state of the art . for example , a data region that has an “ increased ” risk of corruption can refer to a region of a memory device which is more likely to have write errors to it than other regions in the same memory device . a number of factors can cause such increased risk , including location , fabrication process , number of program pulses applied to the region , etc . there are many common customs that involve hanging decorative items on decorative structures such as trees , bushes , poles , posts , and the like . decorative items can vary depending on the preferences of a user , a holiday or holiday season , and the like . it is often tradition to place a decorative item on the top of a real or artificial tree , such as a holiday tree , or a christmas tree . it can sometimes be challenging , however , to place such decorative items , or “ tree toppers ,” both in terms of stability during the positioning process and stability over time . the decorative item generally includes a hollow bottom portion that is designed to fit over the an upper portion of the tree or structure on which it is being displayed . in many cases , particularly for trees , stability problems can arise . holiday trees , for example , are usually shaped as an inverted cone , with an upward extending portion at the top . due to the nature of tree growth , particularly for evergreen - type trees , the trunk of the tree is thicker at the bottom , and generally tapers to its thinnest point near the top of the tree . this portion of the tree , including the “ evergreen ” upwardly extending portion , is the least stable part of the tree . in many cases , this upwardly extending portion may need to be cut away to improve the stability of the decorative item resting there on , which can decrease the aesthetics of the tree . furthermore , in addition to the stability related to the tree being capable of supporting the decorative item , positional stability of the decorative item may be problematic . positional stability can include , for example , situations where the tree is relatively stable , but he hollow portion in the bottom of the decorative item has a shape that allows the decorative item to shift in position when positioned on the tree . the present disclosure overcomes these issues , and provides a device for stably positioning a decorative item on the top of a natural or artificial decorative structure , where the decorative item is maintained in a stable position that does not require frequent readjustment . furthermore , in some examples , the “ topper ” device can be fixed to the top of a decorative structure , and can be repositioned to approximate a vertical orientation . in one example , an adjustable topper is disclosed herein for use with decorative or other ornamental objects . fig1 a shows one example of a topper 100 comprising a spiral body 102 shaped to spiral around a top region of a decorative support 104 , such as a natural or artificial tree body , branch , or trunk , and the like . the topper 100 additionally includes a support body 106 extending from the spiral body 102 for supporting a decorative item during use . the shape of the spiral body 102 provides stiffening support to the upper portion of the decorative support 104 , and distributes force applied by the decorative item along a portion of the length of the decorative support 104 to reduce lateral bending . in some examples , the topper 100 can be adjustable in order to vary the orientation of the support body 106 relative to the spiral body 102 . for example , at least a portion of the support body 104 , the spiral body 102 , or both , can be made of a flexible material that deforms plastically . the spiral body 102 can be shaped to fit different sizes or configurations of decorative supports , adjusted lengthwise to accommodate heavier loads applied to the support body 104 , and the like . similarly , the length , thickness , and other physical characteristics of the support body 104 can be adjusted to accommodate variations across design supports , decorative items , and the like , including variations such as size , shape , weight , physical dimensions , etc . fig1 b shows a top down view of the topper 100 with the support body 106 and the spiral body 102 spiraling downward therefrom . fig2 a shows another example of a topper 200 comprising a spiral body 202 shaped to spiral around a top region of a decorative support ( not shown ), such as a natural or artificial tree body , branch , or trunk , and the like . the topper 100 additionally includes a support body 206 extending from the spiral body 202 for supporting a decorative item during use . the support body 206 and the spiral body 202 are adjustably coupled together , in this case by a ball joint 204 , which allows the orientation of the support body 206 to be varied relative to the spiral body 202 . fig2 b shows an example of an opened ball joint 204 , which can include a ball 208 coupled to the support body 206 and a ball cup 210 coupled to the spiral body 202 . the ball joint 204 is assembled by resting the ball 208 in the ball cup 210 and coupling a ball joint cover 212 to the ball cup 210 . this configuration allows the ball 208 to turn relative to the ball cup 210 , thus facilitating the adjustment in orientation of the support body 206 . the ball joint 204 ( or any other type of adjustable coupling ) can include a locking mechanism to adjustably secure the support body at a desired orientation . the locking mechanism can be a set screw , a locking pin , a clamp , or any other securing means . for a ball joint as shown in fig2 b , for example , a locking mechanism can be a set screw or any other locking mechanism capable of limiting the movement of the ball within the ball socket . in another example of a ball joint , a cover or other portion of the coupling can be configured to stop and release the ball movement between free and fixed states . a cover can also provide protection to the adjustable coupling to minimize the entry of debris . the adjustable coupling thus allows for the orientation of the support body to be adjusted , which can be performed before , during , or after placing the topper on the decorative support . non - limiting examples can include hinges , hinge joints , pivot joints , ball joints , ball and socket joints , flexible extension rods , and the like , including a combination thereof . in one example . the support body , or a portion of the support body , can be detachable from the spiral body . in some cases , the support body can be , or can include a portion that is , interchangeable . in one example , as shown in fig3 , a spiral body 302 can be coupled to a ball socket block 304 into which a ball 306 is inserted to form a ball and socket joint , where the ball 306 includes a linear extension 308 for attaching to an extension socket block 310 . the extension socket block 310 includes a second extension socket 312 in addition to the first socket coupled to the linear extension 308 . as is shown in fig4 a , for example , the extension socket block 310 includes a second extension socket 312 into which a matching support extension 402 is inserted . fig4 b shows a view of the support extension 402 partially inserted into the second extension socket 312 of the extension socket block 310 . also shown is the linear extension 308 from the ball 306 inserted into the extension socket block 310 . the support extension 402 can be a further extension , an attachment portion of a decorative item , an attachment portion configured to attach to a decorative item , and the like . fig5 , for example , illustrates an embodiment having an extension socket block 310 having a support extension 402 coupled thereto , where the support extension 402 is coupled to a decorative item support 502 . the decorative item support 502 can be configured to support a decorative item securely and stably . in another example , as shown in fig6 a , b , a decorative item support 602 can be attached directly to the linear extension 308 of the ball 306 . the decorative item support 602 can attach to a decorative item 604 by a variety of techniques , which is not considered to be limiting . in some cases , the decorative item support 502 shown in fig5 can be coupled directly to the linear extension 308 , and thus can support the decorative item in the same manner . fig6 c shows another example whereby a decorative item 606 can be coupled to the decorative item support 602 . the various structures described herein can include a variety of materials and / or material combinations , and such materials can be rigid , semirigid , flexible , etc . nonlimiting examples of such materials can include metals , polymers , ceramics , wood materials , natural rubbers , and the like , including alloys , mixtures , and composites thereof . non - limiting examples of metals include iron , nickel , copper , chromium , silver , platinum , gold , aluminum , tin , titanium , tungsten , tungsten carbide , steel , stainless steel , carbon steel , and the like , including alloys and combinations thereof ( e . g . brass , bronze , etc .). non - limiting examples of polymers include polyvinyl chloride , polyvinylidene chloride , polyethylene terephthalate , polyethylene , polypropylene , polystyrene , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene , polycarbonate , polyurethane , polyetheretherketone , polyimide , polymethyl methacrylate , silicon , polymer clay , copolymers , and the like , including combinations thereof . non - limiting examples of ceramics can comprise aluminum oxides , magnesium oxide , zinc oxide , cobalt ii oxides , and the like , including combinations thereof . in some embodiments , the structure comprises a combination of at least two of metal , a polymer , a ceramic , or a wood product . in some embodiments , all of the structures are composed of the same materials . in other embodiments , the individual components can be comprised of different materials with respect to one another . as has been described , the length of the support and spiral bodies can vary depending on a variety of factors , such as the size and shape of the decorative structure , the size , shape , and weight of the decorative item , the design of the device , and the like . in some nonlimiting examples , however , the support and spiral bodies can each have a length of from 5 inches to 24 inches or more . in other nonlimiting examples , the support and spiral bodies can each have a length of from 12 inches to 36 inches or more . in yet other nonlimiting examples , the support and spiral bodies can each have a length of from 8 inches to 16 inches or more . further presented herein , is a method of using a topper to support a decorative item on a holiday tree . the method can comprise screwing the spiral body from the top of a tree part way down the tree center , attaching a decorative item to the support body , and orienting the support body into a desired position . in another example , a method of using a topper to support a decorative item on a holiday tree can include screwing the spiral body from the top of a tree part way down the tree center , orienting the support body into a desired position , and attaching a decorative item to the support body . | 5 |
the detailed description will illustrate and describe what is considered as a preferred embodiment of the invention . it should of course be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . it is therefore intended that the invention may not be limited to the exact form of a detail shown and described herein , nor to anything less than the whole of the invention disclosed herein and as claimed as herein after . further , the features described in the description , the drawings and the claims disclosing the invention may be essential for the invention considered alone or in combination . in particular , any reference sign in the claims shall not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention . the wording “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps . the wording “ a ” or “ an ” does not exclude a plurality . the wording , “ a number of ” items , comprises also the number of one , i . e . a single item , and further numbers like two , three , four and so forth . according to fig1 , an led strip of an led strip lighting device ( see fig4 - 5b ) according to the present invention is shown . the led strip 1 comprises a longitudinal length l which is substantially larger than the width w . therefore , the led strip 1 has a strip form . the led strip 1 can be mounted in a cabin interior of an aircraft , in particular at a wall portion , ceiling portion , and / or floor portion of the cabin ( see also fig4 - 5b ). according to this embodiment of fig1 , the shown led strip comprises four segments s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 . all segments s 1 to s 4 each comprise a single rgbw led element , being connected to a respective driver unit , which is not shown in fig1 ( see fig3 ). according to the embodiment of fig1 , a rainbow scheme illumination pattern is shown , in which segment s 1 is controlled to view a red color , segment s 2 is controlled to emit a green color , segment s 3 is controlled to emit a royal blue color and segment s 4 is controlled to emit a light blue color . in fig2 , a second embodiment is shown in which the led strip 1 comprises three segments s 1 , s 2 , s 3 . each segment s 1 , s 2 , s 3 according to this embodiment comprises four led elements 2 , 4 which are arranged in a row , in the direction of the longitudinal length l ( see fig1 ). each segment s 1 comprises two white led elements 2 and two rgb elements 4 . they are each arranged alternatingly to each other . each segment s 1 , s 2 , s 3 is connected to a respective driver unit which will be described with reference to fig3 . fig3 shows a schematic circuit diagram of an led strip 1 . five drive units 6 a , 6 b , 6 c , 6 d , 6 e are shown ( in summary named with “ 6 ”). the drive units are formed as tcl driver ic units , each controlling a segment s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 . for example , drive unit 6 a could be connected to segment s 1 of fig2 , drive unit 6 b could be connected to segment s 2 of fig2 and drive unit 6 c could be connected to segment s 3 of fig2 . further drive units 6 d , 6 e could be connected to further segments of the led strip of fig2 , which are not shown in fig2 . it is to be understood that other configurations might be preferable in other applications wherein less or more drive units are provided and / or where a drive unit controls less or more than four segments , e . g . a total of two drive units could be provided to control four segments , each drive unit controlling two segments . each drive unit 6 a to 6 e provides a pulse width modulated signal ( pwm ) which is indicated by the lower arrow connected to each drive unit 6 a to 6 e . all drive units are connected to each other via an spi bus 8 , indicated by means of the two parallel lines . furthermore , a micro controller 10 is provided which is also connected to the bus 8 . micro controller 10 stores or receives an illumination pattern and provides in accordance with this illumination pattern signals to each drive unit 6 a to 6 e which accordingly provide pwm signals to the led segments s 1 to s 4 . the micro controller 10 is connected via a serial connection line 12 with a board electronic or a higher level controller 14 which itself also is connected to micro controllers of additional led strips of the same led strip lighting device . with further reference to fig3 , the led strip 1 comprises a status monitoring bus 16 connecting all drive units 6 a to 6 c to the micro controller 10 . this status monitoring bus 16 is preferably formed as an spi bus and used for internal monitoring of the driver units 6 a to 6 e , in particular for failure detection and reporting . this enhances failure detection capabilities of the system . according to fig4 a schematic cut through an aircraft 20 is shown , the aircraft 20 having a cabin 22 . in the cabin 22 there are shown eight seat rows 24 a , 24 b , 24 c , 24 d , 24 e , 24 f , 24 g , 24 h ( in general named with “ 24 ”). the seat rows 24 are arranged on a cabin floor 26 . behind the seat rows 24 there is shown a side wall 28 having windows 30 . in the center of fig4 there is shown an exit 32 , which also functions as an emergency exit . the aircraft 20 comprises according to the invention an led strip lighting device 40 which is only partially shown in fig4 . the led strip lighting device 40 according to this embodiment comprises two led strips 1 , 3 which are arranged at a surface portion of an overhead luggage compartment 42 , 44 . the led strips 1 , 3 are arranged along a longitudinal axis of the aircraft 20 . further led strips are arranged at the opposite side of the corridor , facing the led strips 1 and 3 . in this embodiment , the used illumination pattern is a guidance pattern , wherein light spots 46 ( only two depicted with reference sign in fig4 ) are moving in a direction . this is not physically done but only due to the illusion that the light spots 46 are moving , in that alternating the adjacent segments s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 of the led strip 1 , 3 are switched on and off . according to fig4 , the moving direction of led strip 1 is from left to the right as indicated by means of the arrow 48 , towards the exit 32 . accordingly , the moving direction of light spot 46 of the led strip 3 is from right hand side to the left side , as indicated by arrow 50 and again towards the exit 32 . thus , both led strips 1 , 3 indicate the moving direction towards the exit 32 , for enhancing safety of the aircraft 20 . in fig5 a , 5 b a second embodiment of the aircraft 20 is shown . the aircraft 20 again comprises a cabin 22 in which a plurality of seat rows 24 a , 24 b , 24 c , 24 d , 24 e , 24 f , 24 g are arranged on a cabin floor 26 . at an overhead luggage compartment 42 an led strip 1 of an led strip lighting device 40 is arranged . the illumination pattern according to this embodiment is a cabin attendant call illumination pattern in which the micro processor 10 is provided with seat row information . in fig5 a the led strip lighting device 40 is shown in idle state and no segment emits light . in fig5 b , on the other hand , a person sitting in row 24 c has pushed the respective cabin attendant button and this information is provided to the micro controller 10 , via connection 12 and the micro controller 10 sends respective control signals to led segments s 1 , s 2 which may be connected to , for example , drive units 6 b , 6 c , so that segments s 1 , s 2 according to fig5 b emit a light of a predetermined color and intensity . in this embodiment , this color is white . the neighboring led segments s 3 , s 4 ( only two shown in fig5 b ; it should be understood that there is a plurality of additional led segments , which are not depicted with separate reference signs ) do not emit light . according to such embodiment , a cabin attendant may easily find the seat row in which the person requiring attendance is seated . of course it is also possible that the led strip lighting device 40 is formed according to both , embodiments of fig4 and fig5 a , 5 b , in that the micro controller has stored both illumination patterns or receives both illumination patterns , dependent on flight status and the current requirements . for example the illumination pattern shown in fig5 a , 5 b may be used during normal flight , wherein the illumination pattern shown in fig4 is only used during boarding and de - boarding of the aircraft 20 . the respective illumination pattern may be chosen by the cabin crew via a control terminal , or may be chosen on predetermined parameters , e . g . flight time , status of aircraft , airline requirements or the like . | 5 |
experiments were conducted on rats to demonstrate that the method of injecting testosterone - laden microspheres into the testes is workable . testosterone - laden , biodegradable , polylactone microspheres ( tlm ) incorporating 50 % testosterone ( w / w ) ( stoelle research & amp ; development , lebanon , ohio ) were used in these experiments . this microsphere formulation has been shown to release testosterone for 90 days after a single intramuscular injection . no previous work had been done with testicular injection and so it was not known whether the different fluid dynamics in the testis would alter the steroid release rate or duration of release from these microspheres . crude calculations based on data from primate studies using intramuscular injection of hormone containing microspheres , data from our lab concerning normal intratesticular testosterone concentrations and daily testosterone release by the normal rat testis , and the knowledge of the testosterone / polylactone ratio in the microspheres , allowed us to estimate that each rat testis would require a dose of between 2 . 0 mg to 20 . 0 mg tlm in order to maintain normal intratesticular testosterone concentrations . this experiment was performed with four control animals and two animals each receiving 0 . 5 mg estradiol / day , subcutaneously , in 0 . 1 ml corn oil plus 0 , 1 , 2 , 10 or 20 mg tlm . tlm were suspended in 40 ul 10 % ethanol in saline immediately prior to intratesticular injection . control animals received corn oil subcutaneously and vehicle intratesticularly . both testes of one animal each received either 1 , 2 , 10 , or 20 mg testosterone in the slow - release microspheres . the tlm injection was performed with a 100 μ1 glass syringe and a 20 gauge needle . mineral oil was first drawn into the needle to fill the needle barrel and hub to the bottom of the syringe plunger . forty μ1 of stirred tlm solution was drawn into the syringe . the testes of anesthetized rats were exposed through a mid - ventral laparotomy and tlm were injected under the tunica albuginea into the testicular intratubular space in the lower third of each testis of each animal . the needle was withdrawn with little tlm loss through the tunica , and the testis was returned to the scrotum . the animal was recovered and 5 days allowed to pass to allow equilibration of testosterone release . all animals injected with the testosterone - laden microspheres , plus one additional uninjected animal , began receiving either corn oil or 500 ng estradiol / day in corn oil by subcutaneous injection . after 15 days , testes were obtained and weighed and the serum and testicular interstitial fluid ( tif ) were obtained for testosterone analysis by ria . similar values were obtained from two control animals . tif testosterone concentrations in control animals were approximately 100 ng / ml . these values are consistent with literature values , and were completely replaced in testes receiving single injections of 20 mg testosterone in microspheres . estradiol treatment resulted in tif testosterone concentrations being below detectable limits and this was not altered by the 1 mg tlm / testis dose ( fig1 ). doses of 2 mg , 10 mg , and 20 mg tlm / testis raised tif testosterone concentrations in a dose - response manner . serum testosterone concentrations were approximately 1 . 0 ng / ml in control animals , a value consistent with literature values . the serum testosterone concentrations in the animal receiving 20 mg testosterone / testis were normal . testis weights were approximately 2 . 0 g / testis in control animals , reduced by half by the estradiol treatment , and not appreciably altered from that by the androgen replacement therapy in this first trial . injection of 20 mg testosterone / testis by mid - ventral laparotomy ( mvl ) and percutaneous injection ( pci ) this experiment had four groups : control ( n = 4 ), estradiol treatment ( n = 2 ), tlm administered by direct visualization through mid - ventral laparotomy ( mvl ; n = 9 ), and tlm administered by nonsurgical , percutaneous injection of tlm ( pci ; n = 4 ). pci administration of tlm was performed on anesthetized adult rats . the tlm solution ( 20 mg tlm / 40 μ1 10 % ethanol : saline ) was prepared in a syringe as previously described . the tip of the 20 gauge needle was positioned in the lower third of the testis , as best as could be estimated externally , with the injection site being near the distal pole of the testis . the injection site was off center of the bottom of each hemi - scrotum in order to avoid the testicular artery which circumnavigates the pole at a central longitude . as above , the animals began receiving estradiol 5 days after receiving their microsphere injection , and the experiment was terminated 15 days later . the data from control animals and those receiving estradiol alone in the previous experiment were used for comparison . fifteen - day estradiol treatment reduced tif and peripheral serum testosterone concentrations to below detectable limits ( fig2 ) and caused a significant reduction ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) in testis weights as well ( fig2 ). testes receiving daily estradiol plus testosterone microspheres by mvl had normal intratesticular testosterone concentrations , serum testosterone concentrations , qualitative epididymal appearance , testis weights significantly higher than those with estradiol alone , and normal cauda sperm motility . testicles receiving microspheres by direct pci had normal tif testosterone concentrations , testis weights , cauda sperm motility , and serum testosterone concentrations , along with a normal qualitative appearance of the epididymides . 20 mg tlm administration by direct intra - testicular injection in hypogonadotropic rats adult , male , sprague - dawley rats ( 450 - 550 g ) were used . osmotic minipumps ( model 2001 , alza corp ., palo alto , calif .) with a constant secretion of 12 μ1 / day for 17 days were pre - loaded with either boyd &# 39 ; s buffer alone or boyd &# 39 ; s buffer + gnrh - a at a concentration of 21 μg / μ1 to achieve a total dose of 25 μg gnrh - a / day / animal . the experimental period was 90 days . all animals received intraperitoneal minipumps on day 0 and replacement pumps on days 15 , 30 , 45 , 60 , and 75 . control animals received minipumps containing boyd &# 39 ; s buffer alone and a single intratesticular injection of 40 μ1 vehicle alone . the gnrh - a group received minipumps containing boyd &# 39 ; s buffer + gnrh - a and the tlm group received minipumps containing gnrh - a + 20 mg tlm / testis . tlm were delivered intratesticularly by percutaneous injection as described previously . different groups of control and treatment animals were terminated on day 45 and day 90 after initiation of the study . cardiac blood serum and tif were obtained and analyzed for testosterone as described above . animal weights ( g ), testicular weights ( g ), daily sperm production ( sperm / g of testis / day ) 9 and cauda sperm motility score ( 0 - 4 ) 10 were determined on all animals . fertility rates were also determined for animals in the 90 - day groups . fertility trials consisted of placing one male with three females for 8 days prior to the termination date , then removing the male on that date . the females were sacrificed 10 days later and examined to determine the number of females impregnated / male , the number of concepti / females , and the number of concepti / corpus luteum . data were similar for the 45 - day groups and the 90 - day groups , so only the 90 day data will be presented ( fig3 ). average body weights in the various groups averaged from 480 - 520 g , but no groups were significantly different from any other group ( data not shown ). average testis weights in gnrh - a treated animals ( 0 . 3 ± 0 . 01 g ) were significantly less than controls ( 1 . 90 ± 0 . 04 g ) and tlm treatment returned testis weights toward normal ( 1 . 20 ± 0 . 02 g ). epididymal weights followed a similar pattern ( control , 0 . 70 ± 0 . 04 g ; gnrh - a , 0 . 10 ± 0 . 01 g ; tlm , 0 . 50 ± 0 . 01 g ). tif testosterone concentrations in control animals ( 105 ± 25 ng / ml ) were significantly reduced by gnrh - a to 3 ± 2 ng / ml ( fig3 a ). gnrh - a + tlm treatment significantly increased ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 )- tif tif testosterone concentrations to 54 ± 24 ng / ml ( fig3 a ). gnrh - a treatment for 90 days significantly reduced daily sperm production ( fig3 b ), cauda sperm motility scores ( fig3 c ), and fertility as expressed by concepti per corpus luteum ( fig3 d ) to 0 gnrh - a + tlm returned all three parameters to values not significantly different ( p 0 . 05 ) from controls ( fig3 b , c , d ). fertility rates were similar between control and gnrh - a + tlm whether expressed as concepti / corpus luteum ( fig3 d ) or females impregnated / male or concepti / female ( data not shown ). gnrh - a treatment of male rats for 90 days effectively inhibited gonadotropin secretion which halted testosterone production , and eliminated sperm production and fertility . a single injection of 20 mg tlm maintained intratesticular testosterone concentrations at a level sufficient to maintain normal spermatogenesis and male fertility . further preliminary data ( not shown ) indicate that 90 days is near the end of the effective life of the present tlm formulation with regard to testosterone release . this is consistent with information from the manufacturer . these experiments demonstrate that the method of injecting testosterone - laden microspheres into the testis is workable in rats with regard to ( 1 ) maintaining normal intratesticular testosterone concentrations in the absence of testosterone secretion by leydig cells , ( 2 ) maintains normal testis weights , ( 3 ) maintains normal serum testosterone concentrations , ( 4 ) maintains normal cauda sperm motility , and ( 5 ) maintains normal sperm output so far as it can be judged qualitatively by the apparent filling of the epididymal tubules . furthermore , the microspheres can be delivered by direct percutaneous injection , a procedure that can be done on a low cost , outpatient basis . while the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , modification and variations of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims . | 0 |
the following abbreviations are used herein : alexa - mif : alexa 488 - mif conjugate , erk : extracellular - signal - regulated kinase , mhc class ii - associated invariant chain ( cd74 ), infγ : interferon - γ , mab : monoclonal antibody , mif : macrophage migration inhibitory factor . utilizing expression cloning and functional analyses , we have identified as a cellular receptor for mif the class ii - associated invariant chain , ii ( cd74 ) 10 . mif binds to the extracellular domain of ii , a type ii membrane protein , and ii is required for mif - induced cellular effects , including for instance , activation of the erk - 1 / 2 map kinase cascade and cell proliferation . these data provide a mechanism for mif &# 39 ; s activity as cytokine and identify it as a natural ligand for ii , which has been previously implicated in signaling and accessory functions for immune cell activation 11 - 13 . we linked the fluorescent dye alexa 488 14 to recombinant mif by standard techniques , verified the retention of biological activity of the conjugate ( fig1 a , b ), and conducted binding experiments with a panel of cell types known to respond to mif . by way of illustration , using flow cytometry , we observed high - affinity binding of alexa - mif to the surface of the human monocytic cell line , thp - 1 . this binding activity was induced by activation of monocytes with interferon - γ ( ifnγ ), and was competed by the addition of excess , unlabeled mif ( fig1 c ). confocal microscopy and direct visualization of ifnγ - treated monocytes at 4 ° c . showed surface binding of alexa - mif , and cell - bound alexa - mif was internalized upon shifting temperature to 37 ° c . ( fig1 d ). quantitative binding studies performed with increasing concentrations of alexa - mif revealed two apparent classes of cell surface receptors ( fig1 e ). the higher affinity binding activity showed a k d of 3 . 7 × 10 − 8 m and 3 . 1 × 10 4 binding sites per cell , and the lower affinity binding showed a k d of 3 . 5 × 10 − 7 m and 4 . 9 × 10 4 sites per cell . to identify the mif receptor , we prepared cdna from ifnγ - activated thp - 1 monocytes and constructed a mammalian expression library in the lambdazap - cmv vector 15 . library aliquots representing a total of 1 . 5 × 10 7 recombinants were transfected into cos - 7 cells , which we had established previously to exhibit little detectable binding activity for mif , and the transfectants were analyzed by flow cytometry for alexa - mif binding . positively - staining cells were isolated by cell sorting , and the cdna clones collected , amplified , and re - transfected into cos - 7 cells for additional rounds of cell sorting ( fig2 a ). after four rounds of selection , single colonies were prepared in e . coli and 250 colonies were randomly picked for analysis . we sequenced 50 clones bearing cdna inserts of ≧ 1 . 6 kb and observed that 10 encoded the class ii - associated invariant chain , ii ( cd74 ), a 31 - 41 kd type ii transmembrane protein 16 . while the isolated clones differed with respect to their total length , each was in the sense orientation and encoded a complete extracellular and transmembrane domain ( fig2 b ). to confirm that ii is a cell surface binding protein for mif , we analyzed the binding of alexa - mif to cos - 7 cells transfected with an ii expression plasmid ( fig2 c ). binding was inhibited by excess , unlabeled mif ( data not shown ), and by an anti - ii mab directed against the extracellular portion of the protein . anti - ii mab also inhibited the binding of alexa - mif to ifn - γ stimulated thp - 1 monocytes . the inhibition by anti - ii mab of alexa - mif binding to thp - 1 monocytes was significant , but partial , consistent with the interpretation that ii represents one of the two classes of cell surface receptors for mif revealed by scatchard analysis ( fig1 e ). [ 35 s ]- ii protein prepared by a coupled transcription and translation reticulocyte lysate system bound to mif in vitro , and the principal binding epitope was localized to a 40 amino acid region contained within the ii extracellular domain ( fig2 d ). to verify the functional significance of mif binding to ii in an exemplary system , we examined the activity of mif to stimulate erk - 1 / 2 activation and cellular proliferation in different ii - expressing cells . we observed an mif - mediated increase , and a dose - dependent , anti - ii mab - mediated decrease , in erk - 1 / 2 phosphorylation in ii - transfected cos - 7 cells ( fig3 ). irrespective of ii gene transfection however , we could not detect any proliferative effect of mif on this monkey epithelial cell line ( data not shown ). we then examined the activity of mif to induce erk - 1 / 2 activation and downstream proliferative responses in the human raji b cell line , which expresses a high level of ii 19 . mif stimulated the phosphorylation of erk - 1 / 2 in quiescent raji cells , and each of two anti - ii mabs blocked this stimulatory effect of mif ( fig4 a , b ). of note , the inhibitory effect of anti - ii on erk - 1 / 2 phosphorylation was associated with a significant decrease in the mif - stimulated proliferation of these cells ( fig4 c ). additionally , we confirmed the role of the mif - ii stimulation pathway in cells outside the immune system . mif extends the lifespan of primary murine fibroblasts 8 , and both mif &# 39 ; s mitogenic effects and its induction of the erk - 1 / 2 signal transduction cascade have been best characterized in this cell type 7 . fibroblasts express low levels of ii 20 , and we observed that anti - ii significantly inhibited both erk - 1 / 2 phosphorylation and the mitogenic effect of mif on cultured fibroblasts ( fig4 d and data not shown ). in prior experiments , we have experienced considerable difficulty in preparing a bioactive , 125 i - radiolabelled mif , and have observed the protein to be unstable to the ph conditions employed for biotin conjugation . by contrast , modification of mif by alexa 488 at a low molar density produced a fully bioactive protein which enabled identification of mif receptors on human monocytes , and the expression cloning of ii as a cell surface mif receptor . these data significantly expand our understanding of ii outside of its role in the transport of class ii proteins , and support recent studies which have described an accessory signaling function for ii in b and t cell physiology 10 - 13 . these findings provide a first insight into the long sought - after mif receptor , although additional proteins are likely involved in some mif - mediated activities . for instance , like mif , ii is a homotrimer 23 , and the ii intracellular domain consists of 30 - 46 amino acids , depending on which of two in - phase initiation codons are utilized 16 . monocyte - encoded ii has been shown to enhance t cell proliferative responses , and this accessory function of ii has been linked to a specific , chondroitin - sulphate - dependent interaction between ii and cd44 11 . we have observed an inhibitory effect of anti - cd44 on erk - 1 / 2 phosphorylation , but not mif binding , in ii - expressing cells . this is consistent with the inference that mif - bound ii is a stimulating ligand for cd44 - mediated map kinase activation . cd44 is a highly polymorphic type i transmembrane glycoprotein 24 , and cd44 likely mediates some of the downstream consequences of mif binding to ii . interference in the signal transduction pathways induced by mif - ii interaction , for instance by providing antagonists or inhibitors of mif - ii interaction , offers new approaches to the modulation of cellular immune and activation responses to mif . agents active in this regard ( agonists and antagonists and other inhibitors ) have predicted therapeutic utility in diseases and conditions typified by local or systemic changes in mif levels . the specific binding interaction between mif and the class ii invariant chain polypeptide , ii , also makes convenient the use of labeled mif reagents as “ trojan horse - type ” vehicles by which to concentrate a desired label or toxin in cells displaying cell surface ii . briefly , a desired label or toxic entity is associated with an mif ligand ( for instance , by covalent attachment ), and the modified mif ligand then is presented to cells displaying cell surface - localized ii , which class ii invariant chain polypeptide binds to and causes the internalization of the modified mif ligand , thus causing the operative cell to become specifically labeled or toxicated . the ii - displaying cells may be exposed to the modified mif ligand in vitro or in vivo , in which latter case ii - displaying cells may be specifically identified or toxicated in a patient . a wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic reagents can be advantageously conjugated to an mif ligand ( which may be biologically active , full length mif or an ii - binding fragment thereof , or a mutein of either of the preceding and particularly such a mutein adapted to be biologically inactive and / or to be more conveniently coupled to a labeling or toxicating entity ), providing a modified mif ligand of the invention . typically desirable reagents coupled to an mif ligand include : chemotherapeutic drugs such as doxorubicin , methotrexate , taxol , and the like ; chelators , such as dtpa , to which detectable labels such as fluorescent molecules or cytotoxic agents such as heavy metals or radionuclides can be complexed ; and toxins such as pseudomonas exotoxin , and the like . human recombinant mif was purified from an e . coli expression system as described previously 22 and conjugated to alexa 488 14 by the manufacturer &# 39 ; s protocol ( molecular probes , eugene oreg .). the average ratio of dye ligand to mif homotrimer was 1 : 3 , as determined by matrix - assisted laser - desorption ionization mass spectrometry ( kompact probe / seq , kratos analytical ltd , manchester , uk ). anti - human ii monoclonal antibodies ( clones ln2 and m - b741 ) were obtained from pharmingen ( san jose calif .). flow cytometry , scatchard analysis , and confocal microscopy . thp - 1 cells ( 2 . 5 × 10 5 cells / ml ) were cultured in dmem / 10 % fbs with or without ifnγ ( 1 ng / ml , r & amp ; d systems , minneapolis , minn .) for 72 hrs . after washing , 5 × 10 5 cells were resuspended in 0 . 1 ml of medium and incubated with 200 ng of alexa - mif at 4 ° c . for 45 mins . the cells then were washed with ice - cold pbs ( ph 7 . 4 ) and subjected to flow cytometry analysis ( facscalibur , becton dickinson , san jose , calif .). in selected experiments , thp - 1 monocytes or cos - 7 transfectants were incubated with alexa - mif together with 50 μg / ml of an anti - ii mab or an isotypic control mab . for scatchard analysis , triplicate samples of ifnγ - treated , thp - 1 cells ( 1 × 10 6 ) were incubated for 45 mins at 4 ° c . in pbs / 1 % fbs together with alexa - mif ( 0 - 1 . 5 μm , calculated as mif trimer ), washed 3 × with cold pbs / 1 % fbs , and analyzed by flow cytometry using cellquest software ( becton dickinson , san jose , calif .) 29 . the specific binding curve was calculated by subtracting non - specific binding ( measured in the presence of excess unlabeled mif ) from total binding . confocal fluorescence microscopy of alexa - mif binding to cells was performed with an lsm 510 laser scanning instrument ( carl zeiss , jena germany ). thp - 1 cells were incubated with infγ for 72 hrs and washed 3 × with pbs / 1 % fbs prior to staining for 30 mins ( 4 ° c .) with 2 ng / μl of alexa - mif , or alexa - mif plus 50 ng / μl unlabeled , rmif . cdna was prepared from the poly ( a ) + rna of ifnγ - activated , thp - 1 monocytes , cloned into the lambdazap - cmv vector ( stratagene , la jolla , calif . ), and dna aliquots ( 2 . 5 μg / ml ) transfected into 15 × 10 6 cos - 7 cells by the deae - dextran method 30 . the transfected cells were incubated with alexa - mif for 45 min at 4 ° c ., washed , and the positively - staining cells isolated 31 with a moflo cell sorter ( cytomation , fort collins , colo .). in a typical run , 1 . 5 × 10 7 cells / ml were injected and analyzed at a flow rate of 1 × 10 4 cells / sec . recovery was generally ≧ 90 %. plasmid dna was extracted from sorted cells using the easy dna kit ( invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .) and transformed into e . coli xl - 10 gold ( stratagene , la jolla , calif .) for further amplification . purified plasmid dna then was re - transfected into cos - 7 cells for further rounds of sorting . after 4 rounds of cell sorting , 250 single colonies were picked at random and the insert size analyzed by pcr . clones with inserts & gt ; 1 . 6 kb were individually transfected into cos - 7 cells and the mif binding activity re - analyzed by flow cytometry . using a full - length ii cdna clone as template , three truncated ( 1 - 72aa , 1 - 109aa , 1 - 149aa ) and one full - length ( 1 - 232 aa ) ii product were generated by pcr and subcloned into the pcdna 3 . 1 / v5 - histopo expression vector ( invitrogen ). the complete nucleotide sequence of an exemplary ii cdna clone and the putative ii polypeptide forms that it encodes are presented in fig5 . the fidelity of vector construction was confirmed by automated dna sequencing and the constructs then used as template for coupled transcription and translation using the tnt reticulocyte lysate system ( promega , madison wis .). the binding of [ 35 s ]- labeled ii to immobilized mif was assessed by a 3 hr incubation at room temperature , as recommended by the nt protocol . the dose - dependent phosphorylation of erk - 1 / 2 was measured by western blotting of cell lysates using specific antibodies directed against phospho - p44 / p42 or total p44 / p42 following methods described previously &# 39 ;. mif - mediated suppression of apoptosis was assessed in serum - deprived , murine embryonic fibroblasts by immunoassay of cytoplasmic histone - associated dna fragments ( roche biochemicals , indianapolis , ind .) 8 . proliferation studies were performed by a modification of previously published procedures 7 , 8 . human raji b cells ( american type tissue culture , rockville , md .) were cultured in rpmi / 10 % fbs , plated into 96 well plates ( 500 - 1000 cells / well ), and rendered quiescent by overnight incubation in rpmi / 0 . 5 % serum . the cells were washed , the rpmi / 0 . 5 % serum replaced , and the mif and antibodies added as indicated . after an additional overnight incubation , 1 μci of [ 3 h ]- thymidine was added and the cells harvested 12 hrs later . fibroblast mitogenesis was examined in normal human lung fibroblasts ( ccl210 , american type tissue culture ) cultured in dmem / 10 % fbs , resuspended in dmem / 2 % serum , and seeded into 96 well plates ( 150 cells / well ) together with rmif and antibodies as shown . isotype control or anti - ii mabs were added at a final concentration of 50 μg / ml . proliferation was assessed on day 5 after overnight incorporation of [ 3 h ]- thymidine into dna . as will be apparent to a skilled worker in the field of the invention , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . 1 . weiser , et al ., “ molecular cloning of a cdna encoding a human macrophage migration inhibitory factor ”, proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 86 , 7522 - 7526 ( 1989 ). 2 . metz , et al ., cytokine reference vol . i . ligands review : mif , eds . oppenheim , et al ., academic press , san diego , 703 - 716 ( 2000 ). 3 . bozza , et al ., “ targeted disruption of migration inhibitory factor gene reveals its critical role in sepsis ”, j . exp . med ., 189 , 341 - 346 ( 1999 ). 4 . swope , et al ., “ macrophage migration inhibitory factor : cytokine , hormone , or enzyme ?”, rev . physiol . biochem . pharmacol ., 139 , 1 - 32 ( 1999 ). 5 . calandra , et al ., “ mif as a glucocorticoid - induced counter - regulator of cytokine production ”, nature , 377 , 68 - 71 ( 1995 ). 6 . bacher , et al ., “ an essential regulatory role for macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif ) in t cell activation ”, proc . natl . acad . sci . usa , 93 , 7849 - 7854 ( 1996 ). 7 . mitchell , et al ., “ sustained mitogen - activated protein kinase ( mapk ) and cytoplasmic phospholipase a2 activation by macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif )”, j . biol . chem ., 274 , 18100 - 18106 ( 1999 ). 8 . hudson , et al ., “ a proinflammatory cytokine inhibits p53 tumor suppressor activity ”, j . exp . med ., 190 , 1375 - 1382 ( 1999 ). 9 . kleemann , et al ., “ intracellular action of the cytokine mif to modulate ap - 1 activity and the cell cycle through jab1 ”, nature , 408 , 211 - 216 ( 2000 ). 10 . cresswell , et al ., “ assembly , transport , and function of mhc class ii molecule ”, annu . rev . immunol ., 12 , 259 - 293 ( 1994 ). 11 . naujokas , et al ., “ the chondroitin sulfate form of invariant chain can enhance stimulation of t cell responses through interaction with cd44 ”, cell , 74 , 257 - 268 ( 1993 ). 12 . naujokas , et al ., “ potent effects of low levels of mhc class ii - associated invariant chain on cd4 + t cell development ”, immunity , 3 , 359 - 372 ( 1995 ). 13 . shachar , et al ., “ requirement for invariant chain in b cell maturation and function ”, science , 274 , 106 - 108 ( 1996 ). 14 . panchuk - voloshina , et al ., “ alexa dyes , a series of new fluorescent dyes that yield exceptionally bright , photostable conjugates ”, j . histochem . cytochem ., 9 , 1179 - 1188 ( 1999 ). 15 . wang , et al ., “ expression cloning and characterization of the tgf - β type iii receptor ”, cell , 67 , 797 - 805 ( 1991 ). 16 . strubin , et al ., “ two forms of the ia antigen - associated invariant chain result from alternative initiations at two in - phase augs ”, cell , 47 , 619 - 625 ( 1986 ). 17 . sant , et al ., “ biosynthetic relationships of the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with ia and invariant chain glycoproteins ” j . immunol ., 135 , 416 - 422 . ( 1985 ). 18 . calandra , et al ., “ the macrophage is an important and previously unrecognized source of macrophage migration inhibitory factor ”, j . exp . med ., 179 , 1895 - 1902 ( 1994 ). 19 . hansen , et al ., “ internalization and catabolism of radiolabelled antibodies to mhc class - ii invariant chain by b - cell lymphomas ”, biochem . j ., 320 , 293 - 300 ( 1996 ). 20 . koch , et al ., “ differential expression of the invariant chain in mouse tumor cells : relationship to b lymphoid development ”, j . immunol ., 132 , 12 - 15 ( 1984 ). 21 . bendrat , et al ., “ biochemical and mutational investigations of the enzymatic activity of macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif )”, biochemistry , 36 , 15356 - 15362 ( 1997 ). 22 . thurman , et al ., “ mif - like activity of natural and recombinant human interferon - gamma and their neutralization by monoclonal antibody ”, j . immunol ., 134 , 305 - 309 ( 1985 ). 23 . ashman , et al ., “ a role for the transmembrane domain in the trimerization of the mhc class ii - associated invariant chain ”, j . immunol . 163 , 2704 - 2712 ( 1999 ). 24 . lesley , et al ., “ cd44 and its interaction with extracellular matrix ”, adv . immunol ., 54 , 271 - 335 ( 1993 ). 25 . calandra , et al ., “ protection from septic shock by neutralization of macrophage migration inhibitory factor ”, nature med ., 6 , 164 - 170 , ( 2000 ). 26 . bernhagen , et al , “ an essential role for macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif ) in the tuberculin delayed - type hypersensitivity reaction ”, j . exp . med ., 183 , 277 - 282 ( 1996 ). 27 . mikulowska , et al ., “ macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif ) is involved in the pathogenesis of collagen type ii - induced arthritis in mice ”, j . immunol ., 158 , 5514 - 5517 ( 1997 ). 28 . lan , et al ., “ the pathogenic role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif ) in immunologically induced kidney disease in the rat ”, j . exp . med ., 185 , 1455 - 1465 ( 1997 ). 29 . palupi , et al ., “ bovine β - lactoglobulin receptors on transformed mammalian cells ( hybridomas mark - 3 ): characterization by flow cytometry ”, j . biotech ., 78 , 171 - 184 ( 2000 ). 30 . d &# 39 ; andrea , et al ., expression cloning of the murine erythropoietin receptor , cell , 57 , 277 - 285 . 31 . yamasaki , et al ., “ cloning and expression of the human interleukin - 6 ( bsf - 2 / ifn beta 2 ) receptor ”, science , 241 , 825 - 828 ( 1988 ). 32 . chesney , et al ., “ an essential role for macrophage migration inhibitory factor ( mif ) in angiogenesis and the growth of murine lymphoma ”, mol . med ., 5 , 181 - 191 ( 1999 ). all publications and patent applications mentioned in the specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application had been specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . the discussion of the background to the invention herein is included to explain the context of the invention . such explanation is not an admission that any of the material referred to was published , known , or part of the prior art or common general knowledge anywhere in the world as of the priority date of any of the aspects listed above . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications and that this application is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth . | 6 |
exemplary apparatus employed in carrying out a preferred method of the present invention is illustrated in fig4 a . the transmitter produces a signal x 1 ( t ). assuming that the receiver , or the transmitter , or both , move with respect to each other , the signal will appear to the receiver as having a different frequency content compared to the signal emitted by the transmitter . thus , the signal that arrives at the receiver , x 2 ( t ), suffers from degradation due in part to the doppler effect . the physical medium in which the signal is transmitted can be any type of medium . the received signal x 2 ( t ) is first converted to a digital signal x 2 ( n ). we are looking for a way to process x 2 ( n ) to a obtain a digital signal x 1 ( n ), representing as close as possible the transmitted signal x 1 ( t ). turning to fig4 b , with the preferred method of the present invention , the received signal x 2 ( t ) is sampled at a system sampling rate to produce x 2 ( n ). doppler corrected samples are computed from values of x 2 ( n ) by computing values of x 2 at doppler shifted indices m . each doppler shifted index m is located in time between a pair of received signal samples x 2 ( n p ) and x 2 ( n a ). its location ( i . e ., where m is placed relative to n p and n a in the graph of fig4 b ) is determined in accordance with the sampling rate change factor of equation ( 1 ). the sample indices m and n each correspond to different sampling rates , n corresponding to the system sampling rate . the ratio of the respective sampling rates of the sample indices m and n is the sampling rate change factor of equation ( 1 ). the value of x 2 at sample index m is interpolated using samples x 2 ( n p ) and x 2 ( n a ) to provide a doppler shift corrected sample x 2 ( m ). all the doppler corrected samples x 2 ( m ) thus obtained are processed ( or “ played back ”) at the system sampling rate to produce a doppler corrected signal { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ( n ). the invention employs an interpolating function φ ( t ) governed by the following equation : f ( t ) = ∑ l f ( l ) φ ( t - l ) ( 4 ) it is known that there are infinitely many interpolating functions . not all of them , of course , have convenient properties . some of them are of infinite length , and are avoided in practice . one interpolating function is the rectangular function , the fourier transform of which is the sinc function . the properties of this function are well known . it has poor interpolation properties , as it leads to a piece - wise linear interpolation . usually a low - pass filter is added to smooth the result . t . cooklev et al ., in “ wavelets and differential - dilation equations ,” int . conf . signal and image processing , manchester , england , 1996 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , found that the function which ids a solution to the differential - dilation equation : φ t t = 2 [ φ ( 2 t + 1 ) - φ ( 2 t - 1 ) ] ( 5 ) is an interpolating function with some desirable and unique properties : ( 1 ) it has excellent time - domain and frequency - domain localization properties and ( 2 ) it can approximate polynomials much better than any other function with similar localization properties . there is no analytic expression for the solution φ ( t ). its fourier transform is given by : φ ( ω ) = ∏ i = 1 ∞ sin c ( ω / 2 i ) - ∏ i = 1 ∞ ∏ k = 1 ∞ cos ω 2 i + k . ( 6 ) fig5 a and 5b illustrate graphs of the function φ ( t ) and its fourier transform respectively . some splines are also interpolating functions , but the function represented by equation ( 5 ) is fundamentally superior to spline functions in this usage . for example , the time - domain localization of splines gets poorer with the increase of their order . their frequency domain localization is also worse than φ ( ω ). furthermore , in “ wavelets and differential - dilation equations ,” it was shown that the function φ ( t ) has a very interesting property : by dilations and translations of the function φ ( t ), polynomials of any order can be represented . in other words , if p n ( x ) is a polynomial of order n , then there are constants c k , such that : p n ( x ) = ∑ k c k φ ( x - k 2 n ) . ( 7 ) the above summation is finite , due to the finite support of the function φ ( x ). this is very important , because most signals can be considered to be polynomials or combination of polynomials of some order . note that the wavelets disclosed by i . daubechies in ten lectures on wavelets , cbms - nsf regional conf . in appl . math ., vol . 61 , siam , philadelphia , pa ., 1992 , herein incorporated by reference , have a similar property : by dilations and translations they can represent polynomials up to a certain order . splines also have a similar property , known as the strang - fix property in spline theory , and later found to be closely related to the above property of wavelets . an advantage of the preferred method of the present invention is that the interpolation function φ ( t ) can represent polynomials of any order by translations and dilations . there is no upper limit on the order of polynomials that can be represented , and this is precisely what is desirable in practice . indeed , most signals can be modeled as polynomials of some order , or a combination of them , although the order of these polynomials is not known in advance . in addition , compared to orthogonal wavelets , the interpolation function φ ( t ) has the advantage of being symmetric and smooth . in fact , the function φ ( t ) is infinitely differentiable . another advantageous property of the preferred method of the present invention is that : ∑ k = - ∞ ∞ φ ( t - k ) = 1 , ( 8 ) which is actually a special case of equation ( 7 ), since the constant 1 is a polynomial of zeroth order . fig6 shows a block diagram of the preferred method of the present invention . in this method , values representing the function φ ( t ) are generated , and then stored in memory as illustrated in block 100 of fig6 . the argument , t , of the function φ ( t ) is a continuous variable , but we do not need an infinite amount of memory to store the function values . in practice using one hundred or two hundred values of the function φ ( t ) is sufficient . this is equivalent to discretizing the function φ ( t ) on a very fine grid . to describe the algorithm for the computation of the function φ ( t ), it is useful to define a continuous - time dilator as illustrated in fig7 a . note that the block in fig7 a is purely a mathematical tool that is only conceptually similar to the discrete - time decimator . note also that , by definition , the continuous - time dilator performs amplification in addition to dilation . suppose now that the blocks of continuous - time filtering and dilation are cascaded and iterated as shown in fig7 b . the properties of this iteration are known in the prior art in the discrete - time domain . note that such continuous - time iterations without dilating blocks , however , have trivial properties and have been used numerous times ( in particular in the construction of continuous - time spline functions ). on the other hand , the presence of dilating blocks yields interesting non - trivial properties . if we start with a continuous - time system with an impulse response of : h ( t ) = { 1 / 2 1 ≤ t & lt ; 1 0 otherwise ( 9 ) and continue the iteration of this continuous - time system followed by a continuous - time dilator to infinity , the impulse response of the resulting system will be equal to φ ( t ): φ ( t ) = lim i → ∞ φ i ( t ) = lim i → ∞ 2 i + ( i - 1 ) + … + l [ h ( 2 i t ) * h ( 2 i - 1 t ) * … * h ( 2 t ) ] ( 10 ) as such , φ ( t ) may be generated by successive dilations and convolutions of h ( t ). in other words , h ( t ) is dilated and the result convolved with h ( t ). the result of the convolution is dilated and convolved with the result of the prior convolution , and so on . fig7 a , discussed further below , is a simplified functional representation of a single dilation by a factor of 2 . fig7 b is a simplified functional representation of successive dilations and convolutions of h ( t ). in a computer implementation , of course , the function h ( t ) will be represented by a set of discrete values . the implementation of the so - called continuous - time dilator is straight - forward . it is neither necessary nor possible to perform the iteration in fig7 b an infinite number of times . in the preferred method , we have found six iterations to be sufficient , although it is possible to use more . an advantage of the preferred method is that it is possible to compute the set of samples representing the function φ ( t ) once and not in real - time , although other implementations are possible . thus , a set of discrete values representing φ ( t ) may be stored in a non - volatile memory device of the target system if desired . a further advantage of the preferred method is that φ ( t ) is symmetric with respect to 0 . in addition , φ ( t ) is also symmetric with respect to 0 . 5 : φ ( t )+ φ ( 1 - t )= 1 when the variable t is between 0 and 1 . as a result , we need to store only one quarter of the function values , as the other three - quarters are easily determined . so , ultimately storing the function φ ( t ) takes 50 memory locations . in block 200 of fig6 a new sample of the signal is received . the frequency of the received signal includes a doppler shift component derived from the relative movement of the transmitter with respect to the receiver . in the preferred embodiment the signal is a radio wave . in other embodiments of this invention , this may be an acoustic signal . more generally there may be more than one receiver . the doppler shift component detected by each of the receivers will be different depending not only on the relative speed between the transmitter and each of the receivers , but also on the position of the transmitter with respect to the receivers , as shown illustrated in fig1 b . a receiver situated along the direction of movement will detect a large doppler shift component . a receiver situated perpendicular to the direction of movement detects a smaller doppler shift component . among those receivers which detect a large doppler shift component , the receivers which the transmitter is approaching will notice an increase of the frequency , whereas those receivers , from which the transmitter is moving away will detect decrease of the frequency . in block 300 of fig6 a doppler shift factor l / m is computed as follows : l m = v v + v t cos φ t - v r cos φ r ( 11 ) this corresponds to the sampling rate change factor of equation ( 1 ). here , φ t and φ r are the directions of travel of the transmitter and receiver , respectively . v t and v r are the velocities of the transmitter and receiver , respectively , while v is the propagation velocity of the signal . the step of block 400 of fig6 is the computation of one sample of the corrected signal x ^ ( t ) = x ^ 1 ( m ) = ∑ n = 1 n x 2 ( n ) φ ( t - n ) ( 12 ) at the time instant t = l m n = v v + v t cos φ t - v r cos φ r = m ( 13 ) clearly this can be any time instant . due to the finite support of the function φ ( t ), the number of terms in this summation is finite . remarkably , in the preferred embodiment , the number of terms in the summation is only two , as illustrated in block 400 of fig6 . to establish this , we compute or interpolate a sample at the time instant m for which n p is the index of the actual sample immediately preceding the time instant m , and n a is the index of the actual sample immediately following the time instant m . in this case , n a = n p − 1 . then equation ( 12 ) becomes : { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ( m )= . . . + x 2 ( n p ) φ ( m − n p )+ + x 2 ( n p − 1 ) φ ( m −( n p − 1 ))+ x 2 ( n p − 2 ) φ ( m −( n p − 2 ))+ ( 14 ) now , the function φ ( t ) not only has finite support , but the support is equal to two . ( the support is the closed interval [− 1 , 1 ]). in the above summation of products all but two products will be equal to zero . suppose that φ ( m − n p )≠ 0 . then at most one of φ ( m −( n p − 1 ) ) or φ ( m −( n p + 1 ) will be different from zero . all the other values in equation ( 14 ) such as φ ( m −( n p − 2 )), φ ( m −( n p + 2 )), etc . will be equal to zero . as a result , in the preferred embodiment , the computation requires only two multiplications and one addition : { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ( m )= x 2 ( n p ) φ ( m − n p )+ x 2 ( n a ) φ ( m − n a ). ( 15 ) the above equation may be implemented by computing the arguments m − n a and m − n p and using values for φ , computed as discussed above , closest to m − n a and m − n p . in a preferred embodiment , previously stored values of φ which are the closest in time to m − n a and m − n p among all the stored samples may be retrieved from memory and used to evaluate equation ( 15 ). this is simple to implement on a digital signal processor . thus , the computational complexity of the preferred embodiment is just two multiplications and one addition per output sample . this is considerably more efficient compared with the cost of doing one forward and one inverse fft per block of samples , and even compared with the cost of doing time - domain filtering . the doppler corrected signal may then be stored for further processing , as illustrated in block 500 . then system is ready to accept a new input sample and calculate a new doppler shift component , which may be different from the one in the previous computation . because of the properties of the interpolation function φ ( t ), not only can we accept any values for the doppler shift , but any real - time changes in the doppler shift can be done without border distortions . the absence of border distortions is due to the small support of the function φ ( t ). in prior art approaches , border distortions are present whenever the doppler parameters change . this is because several calculated samples will be far from the precise values . as such , they require several samples to pass before the method adapts to the change and calculates more precise samples . such a transitional period is absent in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , because the summation is reduced to only two summations . furthermore , because of the reduced amount of processing steps required in the preferred embodiment , processing time delays may be reduced to provide a high quality real time doppler corrected signal . it should be noted that although in the preferred embodiment the function φ ( t ) was obtained starting from h ( t ) = { 1 / 2 - 1 ≤ t & lt ; 1 0 otherwise , ( 16 ) there are other functions which have similar properties . for example , starting from h a ( t ) = { 1 2 ( a - 1 ) if - ( a - 1 ) ≤ t ≤ a - 1 0 otherwise ( 17 ) we can obtain a family of functions with fourier transforms φ a ( ω ) = ∏ l = 1 ∞ h ( ω a i ) . ( 18 ) in general , a may take any value . these functions can be used as interpolating functions , however , only if a is an integer strictly greater than 1 . thus , a can be 2 , 3 , 4 , and so on . in the preferred embodiment , φ ( t ) corresponds to a = 2 . in other embodiments the interpolating function will have support equal to 2 ( a − 1 ). in those other embodiments , the support will be wider than the support of the preferred embodiment , thus requiring more computations . in a preferred embodiment , compensating the doppler effect may be implemented entirely using digital signal processing . with a preferred method , the doppler shift compensator uses as input the relative speed between the transmitter and receiver and the position of the transmitter . after the signal is processed according to the preferred method , the resulting signal is free of the distortion introduced by the doppler effect . in another embodiment , the doppler shift compensator may be used to insert a selected doppler shift into the resulting signal to produce simulated transmitter / receiver motion . this is equivalent to the process of compensating for a doppler shift in that in both types of processes the frequency content of the input signal is shifted . in this case , selecting the doppler shift merely requires specifying the parameters of equation ( 11 ) and ( 13 ), and the frequency content shift is carried out as described above . in preferred embodiments of the present invention , the method of the present invention allows for simultaneously much more precise , flexible , and computationally simple doppler compensation than the previously developed approaches . the preferred method is simple to implement using a digital signal processor , such as the 16 - bit fixed point processors tms320c54x , manufactured by texas instruments , inc . of dallas , tex . because of its lower computational cost , the preferred method advanced here also is less prone to errors due to the finite precision of the computations . suppose that δf = 250 hz , which is the doppler frequency shift experienced by a signal sent at 3 ghz if the relative motion between the transmitter and receiver is 25 m / s ( 55 . 9 miles per hour ) and the signal bandwidth is 4000 hz . without loss of generality it is assumed that the receiver is stationary and the transmitter is approaching the receiver ( θ = 0 ). the receiver will notice a frequency shift up by δf . the same doppler shift would be the result of moving at a speed of approximately 88 miles per hour at 1900 mhz . in other embodiments of the present invention , corresponding to sound signals and perhaps different propagation environments , the same doppler shift frequency would be obtained for different speeds of the transmitter relative to the receiver . to perform a comparison using the above parameters we designed a filter with 25 coefficients and implemented the time - domain approach described in the above - mentioned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 719 , 944 , assigned to lucent technologies , inc . the filter was designed using the widely used parks - mcclellan algorithm for optimal in the minimax sense fir filters . fig8 illustrates the results of the conventional time - domain method . the light dotted line is the true signal , without distortion due to the doppler effect . the dark solid line is the signal computed according to the time - domain method . while different filters will lead to slightly different results , fig8 is a good illustration of the outcome . while in theory it is possible to further optimize the filter taking into account the doppler effect and the signal being processed , this is not possible in real - time . we have compared the error between the true signal , x 1 ( n ), free of the doppler effect , and the computed signal { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ( n ) for both approaches . the example of fig8 is a carefully chosen example , in which the doppler effect corresponds to precise integer values of m and l . this is not the case in practice and consequently the method will be much less precise in real - time practical operation . note also that this method normally requires 13 multiplications and 25 additions per output sample , assuming the most efficient implementation of multirate filters . fig9 illustrates a result obtained using the present invention , and it is clearly a much more precise representation of the transmitted signal . the light dotted line is the true signal , without distortion due to the doppler effect . the dark solid line is the signal computed in accordance with a preferred method of the present invention . thus , the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an improved approach to change the sampling instances of digital signals . the preferred method is ideally suited to compensating the doppler effect in mobile communications . the present invention can also be directly used in other applications like radar , sonar , vehicle identification systems , the global positioning system ( gps ), and even teleconferencing applications in which the person speaking is moving . in all of these cases the received signal will be impaired by a doppler effect , the canceling of which will improve the quality of communications . in addition , it can also be used in situations where it is desirable to create a doppler effect . in one such embodiment , the doppler effect may be inserted in accordance with the present invention to simulate movement in a three dimensional sound system , using the same method . the preferred approach has the advantages , among others , of high - quality and simplicity . while the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above , many changes to these embodiments may be made without departing from the true scope and teachings of the present invention . the present invention , therefore , is limited only as claimed below and the equivalents thereof . | 7 |
referring more specifically to the drawings . fig1 and 2 are respectively a plan view and an elevation view of a spinning body in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . fig4 is a simplified block diagram of a control loop in accordance with the teaching of the present invention . fig1 fig2 and fig4 taken together , contain sufficient detail to set forth one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 fig2 and fig4 spinning body 2 has mounted thereon a despun antenna 4 . said antenna 4 remains in a fixed angular position relative to some point external to the spinning body 2 and radiates electromagnetic energy generated by communications channel transponder 8 . said signal is received by antenna 14 located at ground terminal 12 . the received signal amplitude is detected by narrow band receiver 16 located at terminal 12 . the output of receiver 16 is applied to an input of a dual trace strip chart recorder 18 . said recorder 18 is calibrated in decibels . furthermore , spinning body 2 contains a master index pulse generator 6 . said index pulse generator 6 produces a pulse once each spin period of body 2 . said index pulse is transmitted to ground terminal 12 by the telemetry and command subsystem 10 . the transmitted index pulse is received and detected by the telemetry and command subsystem 20 located at terminal 12 . the output master index pulse is then applied to the other input of strip chart recorder 18 . in practice , the telemetry and command subsystem 10 contains a standard telemetry transmitter and modulator . said subsystem 10 further contains a standard command receiver and command demodulator . also , the master index pulse generator 6 can be a magnet mounted on despun antenna 4 and a coil mounted on spinning body 2 . the telemetry and command subsystem 20 contains a standard telemetry receiver and demodulator and a command modulator and transmitter . to facilitate understanding of the present invention , a stationary three - dimensional coordinate system on the spinning body is established . the z axis is colinear with the central axis or spin axis of spinning body 2 . the x axis passes through the center of gravity of spinning body 2 and dynamic balancing means 32a in fig1 and 2 and is perpendicular to the z axis . the y axis passes through the center of gravity of spinning body 2 and is perpendicular to both the x axis and z axis . this axis notation is conventional ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 442 , 468 to iorillo ) in which the z axis is the spin axis . to further facilitate the understanding of the present invention , certain assumptions must be made . the master index pulse generator 6 initiates a pulse once each spin period and at an angular location of φ c degrees from the x axis . the antenna 4 has a known , gain slope characteristic expressed in units of decibels per degree . the spinning body 2 is initially dynamically unbalanced with an apparent principal axis 22 at an unknown angle magnitude of σ 1 degrees to the z axis and at an unknown phase angle of ψ 1 degrees relative to the x axis . to measure the magnitude σ 1 and the phase ψ 1 of the dynamic imbalance , the attitude of the body 2 is slightly altered by commands from terminal 12 such that the bore sight of antenna 4 is either north or south of antenna 14 of terminal 12 . the received amplitude variation in the signal is plotted on strip chart recorder 18 as a function of time . waveform 24 shown in fig5 is a graphical representation of such a plot . the master index pulses received by telemetry and command subsystem 20 are also plotted on recorder 18 as a function of time . waveform 26 shown in fig5 is a graphical representation of such a plot . to calculate the magnitude σ 1 , the peak - to - peak variation in waveform 24 is measured . the result is divided by twice the gain slope characteristic of that portion of the beam of antenna 4 illuminating ground terminal 12 . to calculate the phase ψ 1 , waveform 26 is superimposed onto waveform 24 to form waveform 28 as shown in fig5 . the time interval δt between master index pulses is then measured . this interval δt corresponds to the spin period of body 2 . then , if terminal 12 is illuminated by the northern part of the beam from antenna 4 , the time interval δt n from a master index pulse to the next maximum in waveform 28 is measured . if terminal 12 is looking at the southern part of the beam from antenna 4 , the time interval δt s from a master index pulse to the next minimum in waveform 28 is measured . the phase ψ 1 is equal to δt s or δt n divided by δt the quantity times three hundred sixty degrees ( 360 °) plus ψ c . it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that either an earth pulse from the earth sensor or a sun pulse from a sun sensor could be used in lieu of the master index pulse without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it should also be apparent that the method for determining the magnitude σ 1 could be applied to nonspinning bodies which are subject to a rocking or wobbling motion . to complete the dynamic balancing of the spinning body , balancing commands are developed from the magnitude σ 1 and phase ψ 1 . these commands are applied to the command subsystem 20 and are transmitted to spinning body 2 . these commands are received by the command subsystem 10 and are demodulated into signals which are applied to the dynamic balancing means 30 thereby dynamically balancing the spinning body . since the communications channel is used to measure the imbalance , it should be apparent that this method optimizes the communication channel performance . in a second embodiment of the present invention , the spin rate is changed by utilizing the dynamic balancing means 30 and axial thruster 34 . the axial thruster 34 is radially displaced from the z axis , fig1 and is pointed in the same direction as the z axis ( axially of the z axis ), fig2 . dynamic balancing means 30 comprises a plurality of axially movable masses 32 equidistant from each other . in practice , each of the axially movable masses 32 can be as shown in fig3 . the movable mass 32 comprises a frame 38 having a reversible electric motor 40 mounted therein . the reversible motor 40 drives a threaded shaft 42 having a threaded mass 44 thereon . therefore , as motor 40 rotates , mass 44 moves either up or down threaded shaft 42 . in operation , to change spin rate of spinning body 2 , a dynamic imbalance of known magnitude σ 2 and phase ψ 2 is created in spinning body 2 by the dynamic balancing means by shifting mass in a direction axially of and parallel to said central axis of said body . this imbalance is created by transmitting the appropriate commands from terminal 12 to spinning body 2 . once the known dynamic imbalance is introduced , the spinning body 2 spins about an apparent principal axis 22 which is at an angle σ 2 relative to the z axis . since thruster 34 is parallel to the z axis , there is an angle σ 2 between the thruster and the apparent principal axis 22 . therefore , if thruster 34 is fired , a component ft of the thrust force f is tangential to body 2 spinning about apparent principal axis 22 and is perpendicular to the projection of the apparent principal axis into the plane of the drawing as seen in fig2 . the magnitude of the tangential force is proportional to the sine of the angle σ 2 . by setting the phase angle ψ 2 appropriately , the tangential force can be in the direction either of the spin of body 2 thereby increasing the spin rate or against the spin of body 2 thereby decreasing the spin rate . in a third embodiment of the present invention , the axially movable masses 32 are utilized to shift the center of gravity of spinning body 2 so as to reduce the adverse effects of differential solar pressure . to minimize the effects of solar pressure , the position of the center of solar pressure relative to the center of gravity of the spinning body 2 must be determined . to determine the position of the center of solar pressure , the attitude of the spinning body must be determined at two different times . the attitude at each time is developed from the earth sensor 46 and sun sensor 48 information transmitted by the telemetry and command subsystem 10 to terminal 12 . once the two spin axis attitudes are known ( e . g ., in an inertial coordinate system ), it can be determined if the antenna 4 end of the spinning body 2 is tipping counterclockwise or clockwise as viewed from the sun by comparing the two attitudes . if tipping counterclockwise , the center of solar pressure is axially closer to the antenna 4 end of body 2 than the center of gravity . if tipping clockwise , the center of solar pressure is axially farther from the antenna 4 end of body 2 than the center of gravity . therefore , once the axial direction is known , all of the movable masses 32 can be axially moved in unison in that axial direction thereby shifting the center of gravity closer to the center of solar pressure . if the center of gravity is moved closer to the center of solar pressure , the effects of solar pressure can be reduced . in all cases it is understood that the abovedescribed embodiments are merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the present invention . numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
the wing lock 3 including the tongue 17 of the present invention is demonstrated in context , from afar in fig1 - 3 . fig1 - 3 illustrate a common truck 1 used for plowing . this plow vehicle has a snow plow wing 2 mounted on its side , meaning it has a side - mounted snow plow wing . referring to fig1 , when the snow plow wing 2 is not in plowing use , the plow wing 2 is raised into a stowage position wherein the blade is folded , much like a wing , along the side of the truck 1 . the snow plow wing 2 must be deployed , or lowered for plowing use . see fig2 - 3 . portions of the drawing in fig1 are torn away to show the attachment points for the snow plow wing 2 to the truck 1 ( or vehicle ). in fig1 - 3 , the location of the wing lock 3 embodiment and its tongue 17 are shown in relation to the truck 1 , the cabin 24 , the raised or lowered plow wing 2 , and the wing support arm 23 . the front plan views of fig4 - 5 further demonstrate the location of the wing lock 3 and tongue 17 relative to the plow wing 2 , the plow wing frame 22 , and the truck frame 21 . referring to fig4 , the plow wing 2 is ready for plowing use because the wing lock 3 is unlocked and the pin is retracted into its sealed sleeve . in fig5 , the plow wing 2 is locked in its upright , safety position because the pin is released from its sleeve 13 and cleaves the holes of the tongue 17 and the base 14 and clevis 15 of the wing lock 3 . the tongue 17 is attached to the wing support arm 23 . the base is attached to the wing frame 22 that is affixed to the truck frame 21 . the plow wing 2 may again be prepared for deployment and plowing use by the driver of the truck who triggers the retraction of the pin 12 by the flip of a two - way switch in the truck cabin 24 . the movement of the pin 12 retraction is shown by an illustrated arrow in fig6 . with the retraction of the pin 12 into the sleeve 13 , the tongue 17 is again free from the pin 12 and the base 14 and may pivot with the wing support arm 23 and the plow wing 2 into a plowing position . the components first shown in fig3 - 5 , are set out , according to one embodiment of the wing lock 3 , in fig6 and 7 . the clevis 15 and base 14 are substantially integrated and mounted on the wing frame 22 which is affixed to the truck frame 21 , or on the truck 1 directly . this demonstrates one embodiment , but the frame structures of the wing lock including the base configuration must be customized to the existing structures of various plow vehicles . according to the illustrated embodiment of the invention , the clevis 15 portion of the base support may be simply a plating of metal with a hole 153 therein to receive the elongated shaft , or pin 12 . see additional detail of the clevis hole in fig8 . the clevis 15 , which is part of the lock assembly will be raised up away from the base of the frame a few inches in order to align with the tongue 17 on the plow wing 2 . the lock assembly , particularly the tongue 17 and clevis 15 must be manufactured on a bench in order to align them and their respective , first and second pin receiving holes or openings shown from the front in fig6 - 7 and in perspective in fig8 - 9 . during the manufacturing process the base 14 and the tongue 17 are properly tacked or welded to the truck frame 21 or wing frame 22 and the support arm 23 . in one embodiment such as that shown in fig5 , the support tower 19 , welded to the base 14 , is additionally supported by a gusset 141 . a series of gaps and corresponding spacers must be formed into the base 14 to allow clevis 15 and tongue 17 coordination . in one embodiment , the spacers may be 1 inch by 4 inches and then differ in heights . these gaps and spacers 151 and 152 are indicated in fig6 - 9 . the following materials and sizing are known to be preferred for a particularly common truck model . the clevis 15 will be fabricated from ½ inch plate metal having a hole 153 therein . the clevis 15 will be welded to the base 14 , but in the preferred embodiment may have a small gap with a first spacer 152 ( around 1 . 5 inches ) and a larger gap with a second spacer 151 ( about 3 inches ). see fig6 - 9 . in the preferred embodiment , the support tower 19 is a 3 inch channel . the support tower 19 will be welded to the base 14 , but it may alternatively or additionally be bolted with our without a gusset . fig1 . 1 demonstrates one option for a bolt plate 811 and related bolt pattern of holes 812 for affixing the support tower 19 to the base 14 of the wing lock 3 . in this optional bolt plate pattern , the bottom of the plate is 4 inches by 9 inches and the bolt holes are ½ inch wide and 1 inch from the edge of the plate and 1 inch apart on all sides . a gusset 141 , if used , may be 3 inches by 3 . 5 inches thick . the tongue 17 is ½ inch by 4 inches by 9 inches with a 2 inch by 1 . 5 inch elongated hole 171 shown in fig8 and 9 . the clevis 15 may be plating 9 inches by 4 inches by ½ inch and the upper two plates have a 1 . 25 inch hole 153 below and centered below the sleeve which houses the elongated shaft of the pin in a partially or wholly sealed manner . referring to fig6 and 7 , the pin assembly is joined with the top of the support tower 19 by a tower arm plate 191 , fastening means 192 , a tower arm 193 , and a tower arm pin 194 . the tower arm plate 191 may be 5 inches in height . the fastening means 192 holding the tower arm 193 and tower arm pin 194 in place comprise bolts such as bracket bolts ⅜ inch by 1½ inches . also , in the preferred embodiment , the tower arm pin 194 is measured and cut in conjunction with the throw of the cylinder , but is formed to be minimally longer so it will not reach the end of the throw of the cylinder and prevent any up and down play . the tower pin arm 194 should have its hole center half way between the widest dimension of the tower plate 191 . regardless of the details of attachment for the vehicle &# 39 ; s needs , the pin assembly is attached to the frame mounting components by an attachment means formed to hold the cylinder actuator 10 above or in a vertical position from the sleeve 13 and locking pin 12 . a more compact cylinder may result in a more compact pin assembly . in such case , the support tower 19 , pin and sleeve may also be shorter . one manner in which to join the air actuating means with the locking pin 12 is by drilling a hole in the side of the air cylinder 10 . in another embodiment , the pin is drilled and tapped 36 ( see fig1 and 15 ) to ⅝ inch national fine ( nf ) thread ( female ) to receive the air cylinder 10 shaft and then a jam nut or lock nut 34 is used to keep the pin and cylinder in place . the pin 12 may be 1⅛ inch by 11 inches of cold roll tapered at one end 121 and drilled and tapped to ⅝ of at the upper end . the top end of the pin 12 receives the bottom of the cylinder &# 39 ; s shaft . the collar 131 is installed on to the cylinder with a coupling means such as 5 / 16 inch coupling nuts 33 or any other bolting system that will coordinate with the four inch by four inch plate 103 of the cylinder &# 39 ; s structure in order to hold the necessary configuration . the collar 131 over the sleeve 13 helps prevent corrosion because no moisture can penetrate the sleeve 13 itself . in the preferred embodiment , the sleeve 13 is split under the collar 131 . the split or seam 32 in the collar 131 allows the grease to fill the collar 131 and the grease further prevents corrosion . cross - referencing fig1 with schematic views of fig1 and 16 , one will appreciate the location of the 360 degree sealing weld 123 which is made around the point of joinder between the clevis 15 and the sleeve 13 . in the preferred embodiment , the sleeve 13 is approximately 11 inches long and 1 . 5 inch inside diameter ( id ) by 2½ inches outside diameter ( od ). in this embodiment , the other end of the sleeve 13 is welded to a 4 inch by 4 inch plate 103 which is then bolted through the bolt sleeve 35 to the cylinder 10 with bolts such as 5 / 16 inch by 1 inch bolts . moisture and corrosion are non - factors because of the sealing effects of the combination of the collar 131 and grease with the sleeve 13 . three grease zerts 132 ( 5 / 16 inch in the preferred case ) are demonstrated in fig1 , 15 , and 6 - 7 . any number or combination of grease zerts 132 may be used in order to accomplish the objectives of the invention . any variation in specific hardware components may be used so long as the objectives of the invention are met . as demonstrated in fig6 , 10 , 12 , and 16 , the cylinder 10 and pin 12 have enough clearance so that the assembly can float or hang suspended in the sleeve 13 . the shaft of the locking pin 12 should be 1⅛ inches or lathed or machined or otherwise formed to reduce its circumference to allow sufficient welding and grease cavity clearance . the clearance of the pin 12 in the sleeve 13 coupled with the use of grease should prevent any issue with the pin 12 locking in the sleeve 13 . also , the pin 12 will travel through the tongue 17 and clevis 15 holes more freely . the holes in the clevis 15 and the tongue 17 are drilled with clearance over the pin . in the preferred embodiment , ⅛ inch is sufficient overage . the tongue hole 171 is elongated for easier alignment and this feature is best appreciated from the partially exploded top perspective view of the pin locking mechanism in fig8 and 9 . the default , locked , pin - released position of the wing lock as actuated by the air cylinder is shown in fig7 . with the plow driver &# 39 ; s trigger , the control valve 111 begins the release of air from the air supply 117 which activates the air cylinder 10 . see additional discussion of the air actuation schematic in fig1 below . in this embodiment , the air cylinder 10 is the actuating means to retract the pin 12 into the sleeve 13 and hold in it second , unlocked position , away from the tongue 17 as shown in fig6 . the tongue 17 , which is welded to the existing snow plow wing support arm 23 , is then free to pivot with the plow wing as the driver operator moves the wing 2 into plowing position . air is supplied by any available means , but in one embodiment , an air supply 117 is tied to the air supply for the vehicle tailgate latch ( not shown ). from the control valve 111 , pressurized air travels to the cylinder 10 by the air lines 62 . after use in the air cylinder 10 , air is released out of the air exhaust 118 and through the exhaust filter 119 . the exhaust system is supported by and may be mounted to the support tower 19 . in this embodiment , one protection valve services two cylinders . fig1 presents a schematic representation of the supply of electricity to the air actuator of the present invention . electricity must be supplied to the switch 31 . one embodiment uses an auxiliary switch already installed in the truck dashboard . the preferred lighted control switch 31 will have an amber light incorporated into the switch , but any known switch with light or other visual indicator and in any combination will suffice . it is preferred that any employed trigger or switch be remotely located away from the plow wing . he visual indication should be on the dashboard of the truck or in another location immediately around the driver . in the preferred embodiment , when the lock is disengaged the light of the lighted control switch 31 illuminates indicating to the driver that the wing is unlocked . when there is loss of power , such as when the switch is turned off or when the key is turned off , the cylinder 10 returns the pin 12 to the locked position . electric over air control valve 111 is powered by a power source such as dc voltage 54 . the surrounding components may have a weather pack connection 51 and have an in - cabin ground 52 . in one embodiment , 25 feet of 14 gauge 2 strand wire is implemented . a fuse holder and fuse ( not shown ) are provided to meet the needs of the provided actuator . the rating of the fuse will depend on the demands of the actuator . one known selection for the switch will be a lighted rocker switch or toggle 31 . the switch may have its own switch ground 53 also in the vehicle cabin 24 . again , wiring should desirably be coordinated so that when the light is ‘ on ’, the wing lock is in the unlocked or useable position . this is one selection for the indicator light illumination . of course , the opposite principle could be implemented and convey the same information . when the key to the vehicle is in the ‘ off ’ position , the wing lock will automatically return to the locked position for safety reasons . in the locked position , the wing may not be employed . fig1 demonstrates , in schematic , one known air actuation system as may be used in the present invention . the air supply line 117 receives an air supply . as stated in one embodiment , this will be from the tailgate supply line , but it may be taken from any other supply that has a tractor protection valve 61 . in one embodiment , the tractor protection valve is designed to shut off around 70 psi so that the truck will not lose all of its air pressure in the event of a catastrophe to the air to the wing lock . the supply imposes pressure on the air actuator . through the air supply components , the electric over air control valve 111 applies pressure through air lines 62 and activates the air actuator or cylinder 10 . the exhaust filter 119 may be of a style like the napa 3031 fuel filter . the exhaust line 118 may be a conduit such as a ⅜ inch fuel line hose ( ⅜ inch brass tee npt ⅜ barbed ) for the exhaust side of the air supply components . in approximation , the air supply line 117 may be about ten inches of line while the exhaust line 118 may be about five feet of line . as shown in the schematic , cross section in fig1 , the air supply and exhaust lines may be replaced with hydraulic lines 71 in the case that a hydraulic 72 is being used as the cylinder actuator ( part 10 in earlier drawings ) moving the pin 12 . a comparison of fig1 with fig1 and then fig1 with fig1 illustrates that the remaining components of the wing lock will remain substantially as they were regardless of the mechanism driving the actuator . fig1 demonstrates a schematic representation of how a hydraulic actuator 72 may be coupled with the pin assembly . the hydraulic valve 91 may vary from truck to truck depending on the hydraulic system used by the truck . hydraulic lines 71 will connect the hydraulic valve control 91 to the hydraulic actuator cylinder 72 . the hydraulic cylinder 72 will be similar to that demonstrated at part 10 in fig6 and 7 , but more similar to the cylinders shown in fig1 and 15 . fig1 is a schematic representation of the supply of electricity to the hydraulic actuation of the present invention . while hydraulics have been used on snow plows to assist with application of resistance to the forces of snow and friction experienced during plowing , the use of hydraulics has not been contemplated for uses such as that presented by the wing lock 3 for the side - mounted snow plow . again , the hydraulic valve 91 is initiated by the electrical switch 31 and is powered by a power source such as dc voltage 54 . again , the switch may have its own switch ground 53 also in the vehicle cabin 24 . depending on the truck , an auxiliary circuit in the hydraulic system may be available for use . the controls and valve may vary depending on the available circuitry . a fuse must be provided to a rating suited to the coil . the surrounding components may have a weather pack connection 51 . the electrical for the hydraulic actuator will be grounded by an in - cabin ground 52 . in one embodiment , 25 feet of 14 gauge 2 strand wire is implemented to connect with the valve control 91 . all switch options and lighting options will be available for the hydraulic actuator as well as the air actuator . see discussion above . among the preferred hydraulic cylinders which may be implemented to meet the objectives of the present invention is the prince ™ royal plate 2 - inch bore cylinder 6 stroke cylinder . during non - use , the wing 2 will be upright and the wing lock switch indicator light is off . the pin 12 returns to the down position through the clevis hole 153 and tongue 17 welded to the wing support arm 23 ( existing ). the wing 2 is securely locked until the operator drive activates the switch to the ‘ on ’ position . the light will then be illuminated . operated from a remote location such as the dashboard in the cabin 24 of the truck ( see fig1 ) with a two - way , lighted control switch 31 . a switched wire ( demonstrated in schematic of fig1 ) or other means communicates between the control valve 111 and the light control switch 31 on the dash . the mechanical use of the pin mounted to an actuator allows safe and predictable implementation or storage of a snow plow wing 2 . in order to remove the preferred embodiment of the present invention from the truck , the tower arm pin 194 and 2 bracket bolts are removed . once removed , the cylinder 10 and pin assembly may be pulled up and out of the sleeve 13 . mud flaps should be provided on the box and wing to protect against damage by the wheels . the preferred use of the present invention will be for a side - mounted snow plow , but the novel and useful aspects of the present invention will easily be applied to dump trucks , or any other piece of equipment or machinery requiring a locking point between one or more transitions in use . while an air , electric , or hydraulic actuator may be employed without a significant change in operation , the hydraulic actuator is preferred . the alternative air actuator may be offered as a replacement or an option and may function better or worse depending on the desired applications and climate and conditions of operation . snow plows are frequently used in extreme weather conditions and extreme cold is known to adversely effect the reliability of some actuators . advancements in hydraulics make them preferred in implementing the use and objectives of the present invention . it is further intended that any other embodiments of the present invention which result from any changes in application or method of use or operation , method of manufacture , shape , size , or material which are not specified within the detailed written description or illustrations contained herein yet are considered apparent or obvious to one skilled in the art are within the scope of the present invention . | 4 |
fig1 shows a hydraulic control circuit of the present invention . the basic hydraulic circuit 40 is universal so that it can be used with both open or closed center type hydraulic systems . for open center applications , hydraulic flow is routed from pressure port p to the unloading valve 2 , which remains closed until a preset system pressure is reached . when this occurs , the valve 2 opens and allows hydraulic oil to continue to flow on downstream of the circuit . while the unloading valve 2 is closed , the accumulator ( not shown ) at port p2 is charged , which in turn provides pressurized hydraulic flow to the balance of the circuit . this is a dynamic process which involves the charging and unloading of the accumulator as oil is consumed in the circuit . for closed center applications , the hydraulic fluid under pressure is applied directly to port p , while the unloading valve 2 is removed and replaced with a plug . this provides pressurized flow to the balance of the circuit . as shown in fig2 the activation of a solenoid valve 7 connects line 50 to line 54 . this allows oil to flow through the pressure - reducing relieving valve 9 and to the check valve 11 , which pressurizes port c4 attached to the barrel chamber of the cylinder 31 , as well as providing back pressure to the differential pressure valve dp9 . the differential pressure valve dp9 works as follows . when the pressure from the line 58 , which is connected to the barrel end of cylinder 31 , combined with the spring force is greater than the pressure from the line 60 , which is connected to the rod end of cylinder 31 , the differential pressure valve dp9 will be positioned as shown in fig2 connecting line 54 to line 60 . this causes the pressure on line 60 to increase , since as described below the pressure on line 54 is set to be greater than the pressure on line 58 by the use of the valve 9 . as the pressure on line 60 increases , eventually the pressure at line 60 becomes greater than the pressure on line 58 plus the spring constant . this causes the switch dp9 to switch and connect line 60 with line 58 , thus hydraulically connecting the barrel chamber and rod chamber with the cylinder 31 . this causes the pressures in the chambers to begin to equalize and thus reduces the differential pressure . in this fashion , differential pressure valve dp9 dynamically switches so as to maintain a differential pressure between the barrel chamber 31a and rod chamber 31b of cylinder 31 . the differential pressure is determined by setting the variable spring on the differential pressure valve dp9 . since the line 56 is drained through the solenoid valve 7 to line 52 and out to the port t , the valve 9 will dynamically maintain the pressure in line 58 according to the setting of the variable spring in the valve 9 . that is , if the pressure at line 64 is greater than the spring pressure of valve 9 , oil from line 58 will bleed out line 56 . when the pressure at line 64 is less than the spring force of the valve 9 , lines 54 and 64 are connected as shown in fig2 . thus , the setting of the spring on valve 9 controls the pressure in chamber 31a . as described above , the value set on the spring of valve dp9 controls the differential pressure between chamber 31a and 31b . cylinder 30 is acted on in a similar manner through pressure - reducing / relieving valve 8 and differential pressure valve dp8 . thus , cylinder 30 is also acted upon by two different pressures that allow the cylinder to float back and forth while maintaining a predetermined force on the rod due to the differential pressures exerted on the cylinder from chamber 30a and chamber 30b . a typical range for the differential pressure between c1 and c2 and between c3 and c4 is about 80 - 200 psi . in order to maintain an equivalent force from piston 30c as from piston 31c , the settings for the springs on dp8 and valve 8 are preferably slightly different from the settings of valve 9 and dp 9 , since cylinder 30 is smaller than cylinder 31 in order to have the coordinated motion described below . in a preferred embodiment cylinder 30 has a 21 / 2φ bore with 11 / 8φ rod × 4 &# 34 ; stroke ; and cylinder 31 has a 23 / 4φ bore with 11 / 8φ rod × 4 &# 34 ; stroke . in a preferred embodiment , nitrogen in the accumulators c1 - c4 are precharged to 100 - 300 psi and the nitrogen in accumulator p is precharged to 600 - 1200 psi . between 1000 - 1800 psi of pressure is supplied in port p2 . the pressure at gauges g c1 and g c3 range from 100 - 600 psi ; pressure at gauge g c4 ranges from 80 - 300 psi ; pressure at gauge g c2 ranges from 80 - 400 psi . in a preferred embodiment , accumulators c1 , c2 , c3 and c4 are greer # 847110 ; accumulator p is a oilair # fc60 - 100 - 3 , sequence unloading valve 2 is a hydraforce # ps10 - 32a - 0 - n - 21 ; four way valve 7 is a hydraforce # sv10 - 40 - 0 - n - 00 w / 6351012 coil ; three - way valve 3 and 4 are hydraforce # sv08 - 33 - 0 - n - 00 w / 6351012 coil ; pilot operated check valves 10 , 11 , 12 and 13 are hydraforce # pc10 - 30 - 0 - n ; pilot operated check valves 5 and 6 are hydraforce # pc08 - 30 - 0 - n ; check valve 1 is a hydraforce # cv10 - 20 ; differential pressure reducing valve 8 and 9 are hydraforce # pr08 - 32a ; and , pressure reducing relieving valve 8 and 9 are hydraforce # pr10 - 32a - 0 - n - 08 . note that the pressure in chambers 30a produces a force proportional to the area of the barrel end of the piston 30c , and the pressure at 30b produces a force proportional to the rod end of piston 30c . since the rod end of piston 30c is smaller than the barrel end of piston 30c , this will affect the pressures required to put into the chambers 30a and 30b in order to provide the desired constant force on rod 30c . at this point , cylinders 30 and 31 are activated in a parallel manner , since the pilot activated check valves 12 and 13 are closed , cutting off the series link discussed below . valves 12 and 13 are closed because line 56 is bled out through the line 52 to tank t . accumulators 70 and 72 are used to pick up any surges in the circuit due to the rapid fluctuations in the forces exerted on the cylinders 30 and 31 . these accumulators are preferably positioned at the rod chamber ends of the cylinders . these rapid fluctuations in pressure may be caused by the grabbers contacting a rigid object . the accumulators 70 and 72 smooth down the pressure surge by compressing a pressurized gas portion of the accumulators . accumulators 74 and 76 can also be added to aid in the reduction of surges , but are not necessary in the preferred design . accumulators include pressure tanks precharged with gas , such as nitrogen , separated by a bladder from the hydraulic fluid section . the accumulators smooth down pressure spikes . the differential pressure valve dp9 may take up to a second to respond to a rapid increase in the differential pressure between the pressure in the chambers 31a and 31b . the reduction in the pressure spike buildup as a result of accumulators 70 and 72 can prevent or reduce damage to the work object or crop contacted by the grabber attached to pistons 30c and 31c . one potential problem with prior art systems is that small leaks between the two chambers of each cylinder can cause the piston to slip out of position . this would occur if a fixed pressure is applied to chambers 31a and 31b . dynamically switching valves dp9 and dp8 in order to maintain the differential pressure between chambers 31a and 31b , and chambers 30a and 30b , allows for the automatic compensation of leaks in the cylinders . looking again fig1 oil enters in port p charging the circuit until the unloading valve 2 shifts to let the flow continue downstream . at this point , oil under pressure charges line 56 . line 54 is vented at low pressure back to the tank t along line 52 . in this mode , pilot check valves 13 and 12 are opened by the pressurized oil on line 56 . this results in cylinders 30 and 31 being connected in series . since in the preferred embodiment , the cylinders are sized so that the area of the barrel end of piston 30c is approximately equal to the area of the rod end of piston 31c , any subsequent flow in the cylinder circuit will cause each of them to move , or displace an equal amount . thus , the coordination of two cylinders is accomplished without a mechanical link . activating solenoid valve 4 causes pressurized fluid to flow from line 50 to line 78 opening valves 5 and 6 . this puts pressurized oil to port c4 , which causes cylinder 31 to extend . the extension of cylinder 31 causes oil to flow out of the rod port c3 . since line 56 is pressurized opening valves 12 and 13 , the oil from line 60 will flow to line 80 and port c2 , which causes the cylinder 30 to extend . oil from the rod end of cylinder 30 flows out port c1 along line 82 through valve 5 and out to tank t . again , this illustrates the coordination of the two cylinders without the use of a mechanical link . as discussed above , coordination is assured since the amount of fluid exiting chamber 31b is the same amount of fluid entering chamber 30a , and the surface area of the barrel end of piston 30c is the same as the surface area of the rod end of piston 31c . activating the solenoid valve 3 allows pressurized fluid from line 50 to go to line 84 opening valves 5 and 6 . this causes pressurized fluid to be pushed onto line 82 at port c1 , which causes cylinder 30 to retract . the retraction of cylinder 30 causes oil to flow out of the barrel port along line 80 . the oil travels through the pilot check valve 12 and 13 , which are held open by the pressurized oil on line 56 . the oil continues along line 60 to port c3 which causes cylinder 31 to retract . oil from the barrel end of cylinder 31 flows through line 58 and valve 6 to line 78 and through solenoid 4 out line 52 to tank t . again , the two cylinders move in coordination without the use of a mechanical link . the above - described tensioning system can be applied to a single tensioning , clamping , or gripper device , or to a pair or more of such devices which must be opened and closed in a coordinating manner without the use of a mechanical connection to provide the coordination . this system can also be applied to rotary - type tensioning devices . for example , it may be used for driving a roll or spindle that contacts a fragile material . various details of the implementation and method are merely illustrative of the invention . it will be understood that various changes of such details may be within the scope of the invention , which is to be limited only by the appended claims . | 5 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown generally at 10 a schematic block diagram for the video signal formatting circuit of this invention which may be utilized in an electronic imaging camera . a two - dimensional photosensitive area array 12 preferably comprising a high resolution charge - coupled device ( ccd ) receives image scene light in a well - known manner by way of an objective lens and shutter both of which are not shown . the image sensing array 12 comprises a plurality of image sensing elements or pixels arranged in a two - dimensional area array as best shown in fig2 wherein each image sensing pixel converts the incident image defining scene light rays into a corresponding analog voltage value . referring to fig2 it can be seen that the image sensing pixels are arranged in columns denoted by the letters and numerals a1 , b1 , c1 , d1 , e1 , f1 through a189 , b189 , c189 , d189 , e189 and f189 . thus , in total there are 1 , 134 columns or image sensing elements per row . the row of the image sensing array 12 are denoted , respectively , by the subscripts 1 - 488 thereby showing an image sensing array comprising 1 , 134 columns by 488 rows of image sensing elements or pixels . the analog voltage values of the image sensing elements or pixels of the array 12 are serially transferred out of the image sensing array 12 in a conventional manner at standard video frame and field rates by timing clock pulses provided from a timing control 16 . the image defining electronic information signals output from the sensing array 12 are subsequently transferred by way of an amplifier 14 to a video signal processing circuit 18 wherein the image defining electronic information signals are amplified and filtered in a well - known manner . the image defining electronic information signals are thereafter transferred by way of a field select control circuit 20 which operates in the manner of this invention to be subsequently described to a luminance / chrominance encoder circuit 22 wherein the image defining electronic information signals are encoded in a standard luminance and chrominance format . the luminance / chrominance encoded electronic information signals are thereafter directed by way of a multiplexing circuit 34 for recording on any conventional media such as video tape , magnetic disk , optical disk , etc . the field select circuit 20 also operates to transfer each frame of the image defining electronic information signals by way of an analog - to - digital converter 24 for storage in a buffer memory 26 . thus , in this manner each succeeding frame of image defining electronic information signals is stored in the buffer memory 26 for reasons which will become apparent from the following discussion . the video signal formatting circuit 10 of this invention is intended for use in electronic imaging cameras of the type which as previously discussed record both moving and still images . the still images preferably are recorded at a substantially higher resolution than the moving images . normal operation commences by continuously sensing incident scene light with the image sensing array 12 and serially transferring the image defining electronic information signals from the image sensor 12 in the aforementioned well - known manner at standard video frame and field rates . since the image defining incident scene light is continuously sensed , the image sensor 12 provides so - called moving image defining electronic information signals which are subsequently amplified by the amplifier 14 and processed by the signal processor 18 . the field select control 20 operates to transmit therethrough to the luminance / chrominance encoder 22 each succeeding field of the moving image defining electronic information signals received from the video processor 18 . the moving image defining electronic information signals are subsequently encoded to the standard luminance / chrominance format and thereafter transmitted by way of the multiplexer 34 for recording in the conventional manner as previously described . as will be readily understood , the camera user composes the scene that he is recording by way of a conventional viewfinder ( not shown ). when the camera user sees a scene that he might like to record as a still image , he can do so by actuating the timing control 16 through a manual actuator 27 . actuation of the timing control in this manner operates to change the field select control circuit 20 to transmit through only alternate fields of the moving image defining electronic information signals to the luminance chrominance encoder 22 . at the same time no further frames of electronic information signals are transmitted for storage in the buffer memory 26 . the buffer memory 26 retains that frame of electronic information signals stored at the moment immediately following the camera user &# 39 ; s actuation of the actuator 28 . thus , the frame of electronic information signals stored at that moment by the buffer memory 26 defines the still image that the camera user desires to record . the frame of still image defining electronic information signals is stored in its full resolution of 1 , 134 image sensing elements or pixels by 488 image sensing elements or pixels . the still image defining electronic information signals for such a large number of image sensing elements cannot be transferred at standard field and frame rates without losing a substantial portion of the information due to the limitation in the frequency capabilities of conventional recording devices . thus , in order to transfer substantially all of the still image defining electronic information signals stored by the buffer memory 26 there is provided a decimator 28 which operates to transfer portions of the still image defining electronic information signals stored by the buffer memory 26 at standard field or frame rates of 1 / 60th and 1 / 30th of a second , respectively . the still image defining electronic information signals retrieved from the buffer memory 26 by the decimator 28 for the first three alternate succeeding fields are shown in fig3 a - 3c , respectively . thus , the first field of still image defining electronic information signals retrieved from the buffer memory 26 comprises electronic information signals corresponding to the pixels as shown in fig3 a . the field of fig3 a comprises electronic information signals corresponding to the image sensing elements from every sixth column and every other row of the full resolution frame of still image defining electronic information signals stored by the buffer memory 26 . fig3 b shows the image sensing elements for which electronic information signals comprising the next succeeding field are transferred by the decimator 28 from the full resolution buffer memory 26 . in like manner , fig3 c shows the image sensing elements for which electronic information signals for the third succeeding field are transferred by the decimator 28 from the full resolution buffer memory 26 . since the original full resolution image comprising 1 , 134 columns of picture sensing elements by 488 rows of picture sensing elements is decimated into fields comprising 1 / 12th the number of picture sensing elements , the still image defining electronic information signals are transferred at standard video frame and field rates within the frequency limitations of standard recording devices . the still image defining electronic information signals from the decimator 28 are subsequently converted from their digital format to an analog format by a digital - to - analog converter 32 and thereafter transmitted to the multiplexer 34 to be multiplexed with the moving image defining electronic information signals output from the luminance / chrominance encoder 22 . the multiplexer 34 operates to multiplex alternate fields of the moving image defining electronic information signals with the succeeding frames of still image defining electronic information signals from the digital - to - analog converter 32 to provide an output electronic information signal having a field sequence as shown in fig4 a . the first frame 0 comprising the two succeeding fields f1 v and f2 v corresponds to the moving image defining electronic information signals output by the formatting circuit 10 of this invention prior to the manual actuation of the timing control 16 by the camera user to record a still image . subsequent to the actuation by the camera user to record a still image , the next twelve succeeding frames each comprise a first field corresponding to the moving image defining electronic information signals detected by the image sensor 12 and a second field corresponding to one of the decimated portions of the full resolution still image defining electronic information signals stored in the buffer memory 26 at the instant of actuation . more specifically , the still image defining electronic information signals output in field f2 1sp of frame 1 correspond to the image sensing pixels as shown in fig3 a . in like manner , the still image defining electronic information signals output in the second field f2 2sp of frame 2 correspond to the image sensing elements as shown in fig3 b and so on . thus , each of the second fields f2 1sp through f2 12sp define a select portion of the full resolution 1 , 134 pixel by 488 pixel still image . in this manner , the formatting circuit 10 of this invention provides upon selective actuation both moving image defining electronic information signals and high resolution still image defining electronic information signals interspersed in alternate fields wherein the plurality of succeeding alternate still image defining fields collectively define the high resolution still image . referring now to fig5 there is shown a schematic block diagram for a deformatting circuit 36 for deformatting the above - described electronic information signals to provide both continuous moving image defining electronic information signals during the interval at which the high resolution still image defining electronic information signals are recorded while also providing the still image defining electronic information signals . the electronic information signals recorded in the aforementioned manner are sensed in any conventional manner by a sensing head ( not shown ) and thereafter input by way of terminal 38 to a video processing circuit 40 which processes the electronic information signals in the aforementioned manner . the processed electronic information signals are thereafter converted from an analog format to a digital format by an analog - to - digital converter 42 . the digitally formatted electronic information signals are thereafter directed to a frame separator 44 which operates to separate the alternate fields corresponding to the moving image defining electronic information signals and the still image defining electronic information signals . as will be readily understood , a distinctive marker is preferably imposed on the first field of still image defining electronic information signals as shown at field f2 1sp of frame 1 in fig4 a for subsequent recognition by the frame separator 44 . the distinctive marker may comprise a distinctive set of pixel signals typically generated as the first set of scan lines of the first field of still image defining electronic information signals . in this manner , the frame separator 44 recognizes the interspersion of the still image defining electronic information signals with the moving image defining electronic information signals in the aforementioned format . the frame separator 44 in response to recognition of the distinctive marker operates to transmit to a low resolution buffer 46 only the first field of each succeeding frame containing the moving image defining electronic information signals . interpolator 48 thereafter operates to interpolate the moving image defining electronic information signals for the first field of each succeeding frame to derive values for a second field for each succeeding frame . the interpolated values for the second field of each succeeding frame are thereafter multiplexed by a multiplex circuit 50 with the originally sensed image defining electronic information signals to provide a conventional moving image defining electronic information signal as shown in fig4 b that may be played on a conventional video monitor 58 . as is now readily apparent , the moving image defining electronic information signals may be played back continuously without interruption despite the selective interspersion of still image defining electronic information signals in the aforementioned manner . since the second field of each succeeding frame of moving image defining electronic information signals must be interpolated , there is provided a slight decrease in the resolution of the moving image which should generally go unnoticed by the viewer in view of the short period of time during which the still image is recorded . upon recognition of the aforementioned distinctive marker , the frame separator 44 also operates to direct the second fields f2 1sp - f2 12sp of fig4 a for combination by an undecimator circuit 54 . thus , in this manner all the electronic information signals of the fields which define the high resolution still image are collectively undecimated and thereafter stored in buffer memory 56 . the still image defining electronic information signals are undecimated as shown in fig4 c by the undecimator 54 and subsequently stored by the buffer memory 56 to provide a high resolution still image defining electronic image information signal which can be displayed on a high resolution monitor 60 or used to control any conventional high resolution still image hard copier ( not shown ). thus , in this manner the deformatting circuit 36 can decode the aforementioned moving image defining electronic information signals interspersed with still image defining electronic information signals to provide a continuous uninterrupted moving image defining electronic information signal together with a separate high resolution still image defining electronic information signal . both the moving and still image electronic information signals may be displayed simultaneously and individually at different monitors . referring now to fig6 where like numerals reference previously described components there is shown an alternate preferred embodiment for the encoding circuit of fig1 . the ccd 12 preferably comprises various colored filter elements disposed over respective photosensitive elements of the array . the filter elements may be arranged in any well - known geometric pattern over the face of a photosensitive array 12 and may include red , green and blue filters as is well - known in the art . thus , the ccd 12 provides image defining electronic information signals in three channels corresponding to the red , green and blue color components , respectively . each of the channels comprises its own respective amplifier 14r , 14g and 14b and its own respective video processor circuit 18r , 18g and 18b . each color component channel also , in turn , comprises its own analog - to - digital converter 24r , 24g , and 24b ; its own respective buffer memory 26r , 26g , and 26b , and its own respective decimator 28r , 28g , and 28b . the decimated color components of the high resolution still image electronic information signals are ultimately converted to an analog format by common digital - to - analog converter 32 . the decimated still image defining electronic information signals are subsequently multiplexed by the multiplexer 50 with the luminance portion of the moving image defining electronic information signals to provide a composite luminance signal which in combination with the chrominance moving image electronic information signal is suitable for recording and playback on a super vhs formatted recorder . the moving image defining luminance and chrominance electronic information signals may also be subsequently encoded into an ntsc format by an encoder circuit 70 and multiplexed by a multiplexer 72 with the decimated still image defining electronic information signals to provide an output signal in ntsc format that is suitable for recording and playback in any conventional vhs formatted recorder . referring now to fig7 where like numerals designate previously - described elements , there is shown a schematic block diagram for an alternate preferred embodiment for the deformatting circuit of fig5 for deformatting the multicolor component signal encoded by the circuit of fig6 . the frame separator circuit 44 outputs the still image defining electronic information signals in their respective red , green and blue color components to each of three red , green and blue color component channels . the color component channels , in turn , comprise red , green and blue undecimator circuits 54r , 54g , and 54b , which connect , respectively , to buffer memory circuits 56r , 56g , and 56b . the deformatting circuit of fig7 operates in the aforementioned manner with each of the color component channels processing its own respective color . by way of example , the a and d columns of the image sensing array 12 of fig2 may be overlayed with red filters , the b and e columns may be overlayed with green filters and the c and f columns may be overlayed with blue filters . it will be readily understood that other color filter stripe patterns may alternatively be used . other embodiments of the invention , including additions , subtractions , deletions and other modifications of the preferred disclosed embodiments of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and are within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
referring now in greater detail to the drawings , a conventional belt installation is shown in fig1 comprising a conveyor belt 10 , head pulley 14 and tail pulley ( 12 ) at the loading end 13 and discharge end 15 , respectively , snub pulleys 16 and 18 , troughing rollers 22 under the load carrying portion 10a of the belt 10 , and return idler rollers 20 under the return portion 10b of the conveyor belt 10 . the direction of rotation of pulleys 12 and 14 is shown in fig1 diagrammatically by arrows on the pulleys . the load carrying portion 10a of the conveyor belt 10 is supported on its clean side or inside 10c by the troughing rollers 22 . the return portion 10b of the conveyor belt 10 is supported on its dirty side or outside 10d by the return idler rollers 20 . the debris which remains on the belt 10 after the ballast or other particulate material 11 has been discharged at the discharge end 15 comes into contact with and causes severe wear on the return idler rollers 20 . a return idler roller sleeve 30 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig2 . a series of roller sleeves 30 is mounted along the length of a straight , cylindrical roller 50 . each roller sleeve 30 is split so that it may be assembled around and laterally on the rollers and securely held together by clamps , as seen in fig7 and 8 , which also prevent longitudinal movement of the sleeve along the roller . the idler roller is journaled at its ends for rotation by anti - friction means such as bearings ( not shown ). as seen in fig2 et seg ., the idler roller shaft need not be removed from its journal mountings or mounting brackets to install or replace the roller sleeve in accordance with the present invention . the cylindrical split sleeve 30 has two radial slits 32 and 34 and a straight central bore 36 , each running along the entire axial length of the sleeve , as shown in fig2 . the slits 32 and 34 are aligned diametrically of the cylindrical sleeve to form opposed sleeve halves . two circumferential grooves 38 are provided for receiving fastening circlets 40 such as hose clamps to secure the sleeve 30 to the roller 50 . the first slit 32 extends radially entirely through the walls of the sleeve . since the replacement sleeve is not a closed cylinder , the sleeve may be installed on the roller 50 by separating the sleeve halves at the slit 32 and fitting the sleeve halves around the roller 50 , as seen in fig5 . thus , it is unnecessary to remove the roller from its journal mountings to slide the sleeve over the roller ends . the first slit 32 is very narrow , for example , approximately 0 . 125 &# 34 ; in width which allows for a small degree of dimensional variance in the roller shaft . for example , a sleeve designed for 3 . 25 &# 34 ; outer diameter rollers would preferably have a 3 . 125 &# 34 ; inner sleeve diameter and a 0 . 125 &# 34 ; slot . in the preferred embodiment , the slot is not completely closed upon tightening of the fastening circlets 40 if the roller shaft is truly 3 . 25 &# 34 ;. if , however , the shaft is slightly undersized , the sleeve may still be tightly fastened to the shaft as seen in fig7 and 8 , but the first slit 32 approaches a completely closed configuration . conversely , a small degree of oversizing in the roller shaft would widen slightly the first slit 32 after installation . the radial length of the first slit 32 is equal to the thickness of the sleeve , for example , 3 &# 34 ; to 4 &# 34 ;. the radial length of the second slit 34 depends on the hardness of the sleeve material . to facilitate easy separation of the sleeve at the first slit 32 during installation , sleeves made of a harder , less flexible material require a longer second slit than sleeves made of a softer material . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the sleeves are made of an 82 durometer shore a elastomeric material which provides long wear in abrasive environments and sufficient resiliency and flexibility during installation such that the sleeve returns to its preformed shape without permanent deformation after installation . 60 to 95 durometer shore a elastomeric materials are also acceptable with corresponding second slit lengths ranging from , for example , 1 . 25 &# 34 ; to 1 . 75 &# 34 ;, respectively , on a sleeve with a 3 . 375 &# 34 ; wall thickness . as seen in fig2 the second slit 34 partially divides the replacement sleeve into two semi - cylindrical sections 30a and 30b . the second slit 34 is located preferably 180 degrees opposite the first slit 32 so that the sections 30a and 30b comprise sleeve halves . each section 30a and 30b is effectively hinged about the slit and connected to each other by the sleeve wall connecting section 35 located radially beyond the outer end of the second slit 34 . the sections 30a and 30b can rotate about the slit 34 independent of and relative to each other . as set forth below , this design contrasts and improves on the sleeve assembly of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 657 , 779 which defines two semi - cylindrical sleeve halves which are not integrally connected as in the present invention . the sleeve has an inner radius , ir , and outer radius , or , defined by the distance from the central axis of the sleeve to the inner surface and outer surface of the sleeve walls , respectively . the two lateral , circumferential grooves 38 have equal groove radii , gr , less than the outer radius , or , and greater than the inner radius , ir , as seen in fig4 . the first slit 32 originates at the inner surface of the sleeve and terminates at the outer surface of the sleeve . thus , the first slit end radius , fsr , is equal to the outer radius , or . the second slit 34 originates at the inner surface of the sleeve and terminates at a point within the walls of the sleeve . the second slit end radius , ssr , has a length less than the outer radius , or , but greater than the inner radius , ir , and greater than the groove radius , gr . to summarize , the relationship among the sleeve radii upon installation is as follows : or = fsr & gt ; ssr & gt ; gr & gt ; ir . as described hereinafter , the outer radius and first slit end radius decrease , absolutely and relative to the other defined radii , as the roller sleeve wears down . to install a roller sleeve in accordance with the present invention , the sleeve halves are separated at the slit 32 at least as wide as the outer diameter of the roller 50 as seen in fig5 and 6 . as mentioned above , the second slit 34 allows the sleeve to be opened easily to fit over the idler roller 50 . the second slit 34 is formed with a rounded terminus at its end 34a as seen in fig3 to prevent the slit from migrating further into the sleeve wall as the sleeve halves are separated . fastening circlets 40 such as stainless steel hose clamps are next placed in the lateral grooves 38 and tightened to securely hold the sleeve together on the shaft 50 as seen in fig7 and 8 . the frictional force developed between the roller 50 and the inner surface of the sleeve prevents the sleeve from moving longitudinally along the roller . after installation of the sleeve , the outer diameter and first slit end diameter of the sleeve begin to decrease as the outside surface of the sleeve wears away . eventually the sleeve connecting wall section 35 located radially beyond the radius of the end of the second slit 34 , wears down into the second slit end diameter . the sleeve wall section 35 , having been completely worn away , no longer connects the semi - cylindrical sections . the sleeve sections are now physically separated and are held together only by the fastening circlets 40 in the circumferential grooves 38 . the point where the sleeves become physically separated defines the wear life of the sleeve . it is preferred that the second slit radius not only be at least as great as the groove radius but also as great as the radial distance from the central axis to the farthest point on the fastening circlets 40 . in this manner , the wear life of the sleeve is reached before the conveyor belt comes into contact with and begins to wear on the fastening circlets 40 themselves . the sleeve halves may then be removed by cutting or unclamping the fastening circlets 40 . the sleeve halves 30a and 30b conveniently fall off of , or are knocked from , the roller . thus , there is no need to remove the roller from its journal mountings during installation or removal of the replacement sleeves 30 . preferably the sleeves are formed as short segments which are positioned in endwise confronting relation along the length of the roller 50 , either endwise abutting to form a continuous support , or in endwise spaced relation to provide a disc - like support . the axial length of the segments is selected to facilitate their mounting by a single worker . the present invention uniquely combines the beneficial qualities of a one - piece circular , flat replacement disc and a two - piece replacement sleeve . during its wear life , a sleeve according to the present invention , is a one - piece unit . as such , the sleeve does not present the problem of eccentric wear . since the sleeve is molded from one piece of material , the sleeve wears uniformly and concentrically . this increases the wear life of the sleeve and also greatly reduces vibrations created by the rollers . when the sleeve &# 39 ; s wear life has been reached , the sleeve separates into two pieces which can be easily removed simply by cutting or unfastening the fastening circlets 40 without the need to remove the roller 50 from its journal mountings . the first slit 32 in the replacement sleeve also allows the sleeve to be installed initially without the need to remove the roller form its journal mountings . the sleeves are provided in standard widths and may be combined in a sequence on a single roller to accommodate conveyor belts of various widths . in another embodiment of the present invention , the replacement sleeve 130 has more than one second slit 134 or supplemental slits as seen in fig9 . in this embodiment , the supplemental slits 134a , 134b , and 134c cooperate to perform the same functions as the second slit 34 in the first preferred embodiment . a sleeve according to this embodiment could have special application , for example , to an impact roller 60 as seen in fig1 . at the point where ballast 11 or other heavy particulate material is loaded on the belt 10 , re - enforcing rollers i . e . impact rollers , are provided to help absorb the high impact load of falling ballast . the supplemental slits 134a , 134b , and 134c in this embodiment help the roller sleeve 130 to absorb impact energy of the falling ballast 11 without becoming deformed . in another alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in fig1 , a stepped sleeve 230 is provided for guiding a conveyor belt . a roller sleeve 230 according to this embodiment would preferably be the first and last sleeves in a sequence of roller sleeves according to the first embodiment of the present invention to prevent the belt from drifting off the straight roller sleeves . in this embodiment the sleeve 230 comprises two sections discretely defined by two different outer surfaces 230a and 230b , each surface having different outer surface radii and first slit radii . the radius of each outer surface is stepped , having a first constant value from one end of the sleeve to a medial point on the sleeve . the radius of the outer surface has a second constant value less than the first constant value from the medial point to the other end of the sleeve . the conveyor belt travels over and is supported by the first outer surface 230a of the sleeve defined by the smaller outer sleeve surface radius . the second outer surface of the sleeve 230b guides and prevents lateral movement of the conveyor belt from the normal path of travel . the second outer surface of the sleeve is defined by the larger outer sleeve surface radius . the circumferential groove radii , second slit end radius , and inner radius are constant along the length of the sleeve . this embodiment is installed and replaced in essentially the same manner as the aforementioned embodiments . since the outer edges of the conveyor belt do not cause as much wear on the underlying sleeve segments as the central part , replacement of the sleeves 230 is required only infrequently . in another embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig1 , the outer radius , first slit end radius and second slit end radius of the roller sleeve 330 are proportionally tapered and diverge outwardly from the center of a roller along the length of the sleeve as seen in fig1 . the inner radius and groove radius remain constant along the length of the sleeve . while the relationships between these three diverging sleeve radii remain unchanged relative to each other , each is tapered along the length of the sleeve to provide the additional function of troughing the belt using a single straight roller shaft 350 . in this manner , several segmented and tilted roller shafts with sleeves of uniform cross - sections can be replaced with one straight roller shaft with several endwise abutting or endwise spaced tapered roller sleeves 330 for troughing the load carrying portion of the belt . an assembly of tapered roller sleeves according to this embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 and could also be used on the return portion of the conveyor belt to trough the return portion of the belt to prevent the belt from drifting to either side of the conveyor . the sleeves in the assembly have decreasing outer sleeve surface radii from one end of the roller to an intermediate point on the roller . the sleeves have increasing outer sleeve surface radii from the intermediate point to the other end of the roller . as shown in fig1 , when assembled in a spaced sequence , the sleeves 330 according to this embodiment have a straight uniform central bore and inner radius adapted to receive a single straight roller 350 . the outer radii of the sleeves diverge along the length of the sleeve . the inner and outer radii define the thicknesses of the sleeve walls which also diverge along the length of the sleeve to form a troughed surface for intermittently supporting and troughing the conveyor belt . a series of sleeves according to this embodiment may also be arranged in an abutting sequence along the roller shaft to trough and continuously support the belt . in this embodiment , the circumferential grooves 338 disposed laterally on the sleeve have uniform groove radii to accommodate fasteners of the same size throughout the series of sleeves and perform the same function as the grooves in the two aforementioned embodiments . the first slit has a diverging length equal to the thickness of the sleeve . the second slit also has a diverging length less than the first slit and a diverging second slit end radius . while particular embodiments of the present invention have been herein illustrated and described , it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosures but changes and modifications may be made therein and thereto within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
fig2 shows a current detection circuit dtc , according to one embodiment . the circuit dtc comprises a reference stage rfs , a feedback stage fbs , a measurement stage mss , and an output stage ost . the reference stage rfs comprises a p - channel mos transistor , referred to as p 1 , and a bias current source csr . transistor p 1 comprises a source terminal receiving a supply voltage vdd of the circuit , and gate and drain terminals connected to the ground through current source csr . the current source csr is configured to generate a substantially constant bias current ib independent of possible variations of the supply voltage vdd . however , the current ib may vary as a function of the circuit operating temperature and the circuit manufacture conditions . the feedback stage fbs comprises a p - channel mos transistor , referred to as p 2 , and an n - channel mos transistor , referred to as n 1 , these two transistors forming an amplifier . transistor p 2 comprises a source terminal receiving the supply voltage vdd , a gate terminal at a voltage v 1 , connected to the gate and drain terminals of transistor p 1 and a drain terminal connected to a drain terminal of transistor n 1 . transistor n 1 comprises a source terminal connected to the ground . the measurement stage mss comprises two p - channel mos transistors , referred to as p 3 , p 5 , and an n - channel mos transistor , referred to as n 2 . transistor p 3 comprises a source terminal receiving the supply voltage vdd , and a gate terminal connected to the gate terminals of transistors p 1 , p 2 . transistor p 3 also comprises a drain terminal at a voltage v 2 , connected to the gate terminal of transistor n 1 , to a source terminal of transistor p 5 and a measurement node mn receiving a current to be measured ic symbolized in the figure by a current source csm . transistor p 5 comprises a gate terminal at a voltage v 3 , connected to the drain terminals of transistors p 2 and n 1 , and a drain terminal at a voltage v 4 , connected to drain and gate terminals of transistor n 2 . transistor n 2 comprises a source terminal connected to the ground . the output stage ost comprises a p - channel mos transistor , referred to as p 4 , and an n - channel mos transistor , referred to as n 3 , these two transistors forming an amplifier . the stage ost may also comprise a buffer circuit bf . transistor p 4 comprises a source terminal receiving the supply voltage vdd , a gate terminal connected to the gate terminals of transistors p 1 , p 2 , p 3 , and a drain terminal at a voltage v 5 , connected to a drain terminal of transistor n 3 and to the input of the buffer circuit bf . transistor n 3 comprises a gate terminal connected to the gate and drain terminals of transistors n 2 , and a source terminal connected to the ground . the circuit bf supplies an output voltage vout depending on the voltage v 5 , which depends on the current to be measured ic . transistors p 2 , p 3 , p 4 form current mirrors with transistor p 1 . the width / length ratios of the channels of transistors p 1 , p 2 , p 3 are chosen equal so that copies of the current ib present on the drain terminal of transistor p 1 are integrally transmitted to the drain terminals of transistors p 2 , p 3 . the current on the drain terminal of transistor p 5 is therefore equal to ib − ic . if transistor p 5 is conductive , it integrally transmits the current ib − ic to transistor n 2 . transistors n 2 , n 3 also form a current mirror . the width / length ratios of the channels of transistors n 2 , n 3 , are chosen equal so that a copy of the current ib − ic present on the drain terminal of transistor n 2 is integrally transmitted to the drain terminal of transistor n 3 . the width / length ratio of the channel of transistor p 4 is chosen equal to a 1 / n fraction of the width / length ratio of the channel of transistor p 1 , so that the current transmitted by the drain terminal of transistor p 4 is equal to a same fraction of the current ib present on the drain of transistor p 1 , i . e ., ib / n . the result is that the current ib - ic transmitted by the current mirror formed by transistors n 4 and n 3 is compared to the current equal to ib / n transmitted by the current mirror formed by transistors p 1 and p 4 . in the example of fig2 , the width / length ratio of the channel of transistor p 4 is chosen equal to half that of the channel of transistor p 1 , so that the current transmitted by the current mirror formed by transistors p 1 and p 4 is equal to half the current ib . this current comparison makes a threshold current appear , equal to ic = ib − ib / n (= ib / 2 if n = 2 ). when the current ic is lower than this threshold current , the current at the drain terminals of transistors p 4 and n 3 establishes at ib / n , and voltage v 5 establishes at the voltage between the drain and the source of transistor n 3 ( v 5 = vdsn 3 ), this last voltage may be around one hundred millivolts . on the contrary , when the current ic is higher than this threshold current , the current at the drain terminals of transistors p 4 and n 3 establishes at ib − ic , and the voltage v 5 establishes at the supply voltage vdd minus the voltage between the source and drain terminals of transistor p 4 ( v 5 = vdd − vdsp 4 ). consequently , the output stage performs a current - voltage conversion . in particular , the function of the circuit bf is to add gain to the current - voltage conversion . circuit bf may be formed by two inverters in series . circuit bf is configured to supply an output voltage vout equal to zero when voltage v 5 is lower than a threshold voltage of circuit bf which may be equal to vdd / 2 , and a voltage vout equal to voltage vdd when voltage v 5 is higher than vdd / 2 . if voltage v 2 of the current measurement node mn decreases due to an increase of the current to be measured ic , transistor n 1 tends to become less conductive . the result is that voltage v 3 on the drain terminal of transistor n 1 increases with a significant gain as a function of the gain of the stage fbs . the increase of voltage v 3 causes a decrease of the current going through transistor p 5 . consequently , voltage v 2 tends to increase . similarly , a decrease of the current ic and therefore of voltage v 2 of the measurement node mn is compensated by an increase of voltage v 3 on the gate of transistor p 5 . the result is that voltage v 2 of the measurement node mn is maintained fixed by the slaving loop formed between transistors n 1 , p 2 and p 5 , even if the current ic varies . the measurement node mn therefore has very low impedance and voltage v 2 corresponds to the voltage between the gate and source terminals of transistor n 1 . in addition , it is to be noted that voltage v 2 is not sensitive to the variations of the supply voltage vdd thanks to the current mirror formed by transistors p 1 and p 3 . during operation of the detection circuit dtc , a current circulates in the various branches of the circuit and in particular in the measurement stage mss which comprises more transistors than the other stages rfs , fbs , ost . to that end , in one embodiment , the supply voltage vdd is higher than a minimum voltage of 0 . 9 v corresponding to the sum of a minimum gate - source voltage of transistor n2 ( around 0 . 5 v ), a minimum drain - source voltage of transistor p 5 ( around 0 . 2 v ) and a minimum saturation voltage of transistor p 3 ( around 0 . 2 v ). the circuit dtc may also operate with a relatively high supply voltage vdd , only limited by the breakdown voltage of transistors p 1 to p 4 . the rejection ratio of the supply voltage of circuit dtc is only linked to the corresponding ratio of current source csr . current source csr may be of the type proportional to the absolute temperature ptat , complementary to the absolute temperature ctat , or zero - dependence to the absolute temperature ztat . the output circuit of the measurement circuit dtc may be modified in several ways . thus , according to one embodiment , the gate terminal of transistor p 4 may simply be grounded instead of being connected to the gate terminal of transistor p 1 . in this case , a voltage different from zero appears at the output vout of circuit bf when the current ic is higher than the current ib . according to another embodiment , the current ib − ic on the drain terminal of transistor n 3 or p 5 may be used by another circuit configured to supply a voltage whose value depends on the value of the current ib − ic . fig3 shows a current detection circuit dtcd , according to another embodiment . the circuit dtcd comprises two identical current detection circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 . each circuit dtc 1 , dtc 2 comprises a bias node bn connected to a common bias current source csb , supplying the bias current ib . each circuit dtc 1 , dtc 2 comprises a measurement node mn . the node mn of circuit dtc 2 is connected to a reference current source csr supplying a measurement reference current icr . in the case of a memory , the current icr may be that obtained with a reference memory cell in a known programmed or erased state . the node mn of circuit dtc 2 is connected to the current source csm supplying the current to be detected or measured ic . each circuit dtc 1 , dtc 2 supplies an output voltage vo representative of the current ic , icr received on their measurement node mn . the circuit dtcd comprises a comparator cp receiving in input the output voltages vo of circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 and supplying an output voltage vout representative of the difference between the output voltages of circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 , and therefore the difference between the currents ic and icr . according to one embodiment , circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 are identical to the circuit dtc shown in fig2 . the current source ib is not necessarily fixed or stable or independent of the supply voltage vdd of circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 . indeed , the comparator cp compares the voltages representative of the currents ib − icr and ib − ic , i . e ., supplies a signal representative of the current ( ib − icr )−( ib − ic ) which is equal to ic − icr , this value being independent of the current ib . according to another embodiment , circuits dtc 1 , dtc 2 are identical to the circuit dtc 3 shown in fig4 . circuit dtc 3 differs from the circuit dtc shown in fig2 in that it does not comprise the output stage ost comprising transistors p 4 and n 3 . thus , the output voltage vo of circuit dtc 3 corresponds to the voltage v 4 taken from the gate and drain of transistor n 2 . a schematic diagram of a memory 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in fig5 . the memory 10 includes a memory array 12 and a current detector 14 that acts as a sense amplifier to determine memory states of memory cells of the memory array . the current detector 14 may be implemented using any of the current detectors dtc , dtcd , dtc 3 discussed above and shown in fig2 - 4 . in particular , the current ic to be detected using the current detectors dtc , dtcd , dtc 3 may be the current through an accessed memory cell of the memory array 12 and the current icr may be a reference current that is compared to the memory cell current ic in order to determine the value stored in the memory cell . of course , the depiction in fig5 is highly schematic , and the memory 10 may include numerous other parts that are not shown , such as column and row decoders , bias circuits , etc . and may include multiple current detectors 14 acting as sense amplifiers . the memory 10 may be a non - volatile memory , such as an eeprom or flash memory , or any other type of memory that can be read using a current detector such as the current detector 14 . the memory 10 can be included in numerous different devices , such as various battery - powered devices or in contactless integrated circuit cards , which are powered from electric signals picked up by their antennas . it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is susceptible of various embodiments and applications . in particular , the disclosure is not limited to the circuits previously described . indeed , these circuits may be easily modified by those skilled in the art . in addition , the disclosure does not necessarily apply to current sense amplifiers present in eeprom and flash memories , but may apply to any circuit in which a current is to be detected or measured . thus , the disclosure may for example apply to circuits comprising a sensor such as a photodetector , supplying a current as a function of an electromagnetic radiation received by the photodetector . the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments . these and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above - detailed description . in general , in the following claims , the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims , but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled . accordingly , the claims are not limited by the disclosure . | 6 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . an approach employed herein utilizes an ion trap in which one or more regions of low potential , lower than that of other elements of the ion trap , can be formed . in various embodiments in which the ion trap is a quadrupole - based ion trap , a method hereof can utilize a “ well - modulator quadrupole ”. thus , as used herein to describe elements of some embodiments of a linear ion trap hereof , the term “ well - modulator quadrupole ” refers to a quadrupole assemblage having , or supplemented to have , at least two different zones of potentiation . these different zones are capable of exhibiting different degrees of potentiation either because they are or comprise independently potentiated elements , such as independently potentiated electrode segments or independently potentiated auxiliary electrodes , or because they comprise different materials , such as a bare electrode surface versus a resistively - coated electrode surface , or segments of different materials in a segmented quadrupole , e . g ., an alternating electrode / insulator where the insulator is not highly “ visible ” to the ions , such as a ceramic rod set that is coated in gold , except for thin bands without gold ( e . g ., which bare bands can be formed through laser ablation of the gold coating ). thus , a well - modulator quadrupole hereof can comprise an auxiliary - electrode - supplemented quadrupole , a segmented quadrupole , a quadrupole having resistively - coated rods , or any other configuration that provides the different zones of potentiation . a potential well formed within a well - modulator quadrupole hereof is formed by maintaining a zone of potentiation within the lit at a potential lower than the potential ( s ) of the regions of the lit adjacent to that zone ; in some embodiments , a potential well can be formed by maintaining a zone of potentiation within the lit at a potential lower than the potential ( s ) of the remainder of the lit . fig7 illustrates two different formats in which a potential well can be obtained within a linear ion trap . such wells can be formed by decreasing the potential of a differently potentiated zone of the lit , or by raising the potential ( s ) of the adjacent zone ( s ), or both . each well is defined by its having a lower potential than the potential ( s ) of the adjacent regions of the lit . each such region of higher potential can be referred to herein as a “ potential wall .” each well can have one such “ upstream ” wall , distal from the lit exit lens , and one such “ downstream ” wall , proximal to the exit lens . similarly , each well and each lit zone capable of being manipulated to form a well therein ( e . g ., subtended thereby ), can be said to have an upstream end and a downstream end . as suggested above , in various embodiments hereof , a well - modulator quadrupole is used in a linear ion trap , e . g ., the linear ion trap of a mass spectrometer , such as a triple - quadrupole ( qqq ) mass spectrometer . in such an embodiment , the rods of a linear ion trap quadrupole can have a cross section that is circular , elliptical , oval , hyperbolic , or any other geometry useful in the art of linear ion traps . the rods are regularly disposed radially about the central axis of the linear ion trap ( lit ). where the rods have a cross - section having a tapered end , that tapered end is typically oriented toward the central axis of the linear ion trap , although other orientations can be used . an electrode can also or alternatively have a tapered profile along its length , such that when a potential is applied thereto , it produces an axial gradient along the length of the electrode , e . g ., along the length of the quadrupole . where used , sets of two or four of the tapered electrode ( s ) are typically placed between the rods of the quadrupole to permit an axial gradient to be produced along the quadrupole . in various embodiments , a combination of two tapered , e . g ., linac , electrodes and two non - tapered t bars in the same zone of the lit can be employed . in such an embodiment , the non - tapered t bars provide the shallow well , while the tapered profile electrodes move the ions from the well to the exit end of the lit , in different steps of a method hereof . in some embodiments , a lit comprising a well - modulator quadrupole hereof can be located between the first and second , or between the second and third , quadrupoles in a qqq mass spectrometer , or as or after the third quadrupole thereof . typically , the well - modulator quadrupole - based lit can be located between the final mass analyzing quadrupole ( q 3 ) of a qqq mass spectrometer and the exit lens thereof . a well - modulator quadrupole can be constructed in various formats , such as a lit quadrupole assemblage having one or more of : auxiliary electrodes , a segmented quadrupole rod - set , resistive coating ( s ), and combinations thereof . in some embodiments hereof , the well - modulator quadrupole can comprise one or more sets of independently potentiated auxiliary electrodes . the auxiliary electrodes can have the form of auxiliary bars , auxiliary collars , or other formats . in various embodiments of an auxiliary electrode - supplemented linear ion trap , the auxiliary electrodes used in a given set of bars can have a cross section that is circular , elliptical , oval , hyperbolic , t - shaped , y - shaped , wedge - shaped , teardrop - shaped , or any other geometry useful in the art of auxiliary electrodes . where the auxiliary electrodes have a cross - section having a tapered end , such as the main leg of a t - shaped , or y - shaped electrode , or the narrower - width portion of a ellipse , oval , wedge , or teardrop electrode , in various embodiments , that tapered end can be oriented toward the central axis of the linear ion trap , e . g ., the central axis of a lit quadrupole . where used , auxiliary electrodes are disposed in a regular distribution about the lit , e . g ., two or four to a set . sets of four are typically used . in some embodiments , the auxiliary electrodes used in a given set can take the form of collars , each collar surrounding a segment of an lit quadrupole rod and being potentiated independently thereof . typically , when ceramic collars are used they have four conductive stripes along the length of the collar to which a potential can be applied . in embodiments in which a solid metal collar is used , then there is only one electrode ; yet , the effect is the same as having four separate electrodes maintained at the same potential because the rods of the lit shield the interior of the lit ( where the ions are stored ) from the portions of the collar behind the rods . the bars or collars can be made of the same materials as , or a different material from , that of the lit quadrupole rods . in some embodiments , two or more sets of auxiliary electrodes can be present in the well - modulator quadrupole . these can be disposed along separate or overlapping zones of the lit quadrupole . where more than one set of auxiliary electrodes is present , such sets can comprise electrodes of that have the same or different shape , size , or material composition between sets . thus , in some embodiments , a well - modulator quadrupole can be an assemblage comprising : ( 1 ) one quadrupole rod set and at least one set of four shorter auxiliary electrodes , shorter than the quadrupole rods , each shorter electrode being disposed substantially parallel to the other shorter electrodes in its set and each shorter electrode being located in a space between a different pair of rods of the quadrupole to form a short , linear region within the linear ion trap quadrupole ; or ( 2 ) a segmented quadrupole of at least two segments ; wherein each set of auxiliary electrodes of ( 1 ) or each segment of ( 2 ) is electrically potentiated independently of the remaining element ( s ) thereof , such that the quadrupole assemblage contains at least two independently potentiated zones . the different zones of the quadrupole assemblage are capable of being operated to form two or more potential wells within the linear ion trap of which it is a part . the potential wells can be formed alternately or simultaneously with one another , in at least two different sectors of the linear ion trap , with these sectors including a proximal sector ( ps ) nearer an ion source ( a ) for the linear ion trap , and a distal sector ( ds ) nearer an ion exit port ( b ) for the linear ion trap . the ps can be operated to form a ps well , and the ds can be operated to form a ds well . in various embodiments , the ion source ( a ) can be the quadrupole series of a mass spectrometer ; and the ion exit port ( b ) can be a lens of a mass spectrometer . in operation in a mass spectrometer equipped with a well - modulator quadrupole linear ion trap , an ion population can be loaded from quadrupole series ( a ) into a well formed in the distal sector ( ds ) of the ion trap , and those distal sector - well - resident ions can then be transferred back to series ( a ) by passage through a well formed in the proximal sector ( ps ), with the proximal sector well retaining a fraction of those ions . this can be accomplished , e . g ., by first forming a ds well , loading an ion population from the series ( a ) into the ds well , forming a ps well and increasing the potential of the ds to a level greater than that of the ps well and less than that of the exit lens ; the ions can then be transferred back across the ps well into the appropriately potentiated series ( a ). where the potential of the ps well has a “ shallow ” profile relative to its immediately surrounding potentials , it can retain a fraction of the ion population that is being passed across it from the ds well to series ( a ). then the ds and ps potentials can be manipulated to transfer that fraction of ions from the ps well to a ds well prior to delivery to the exit lens ( b ). alternatively , that fraction of the ion population can be further treated in the ion trap , e . g ., by fragmentation , prior to delivery to the exit lens . in some embodiments , a well - modulator quadrupole hereof can comprise a segmented lit quadrupole that is separated into two or three or more segments . at least one such segment exhibits a different potential than that of other elements in the well - modulator quadrupole , e . g ., is potentiated independently from other elements thereof . in some embodiments , elements of the well modulator quadrupole , such as different sets of segments of a segmented lit quadrupole or different sets of auxiliary electrodes can , while being potentiated independently of other elements of the lit well - modulatory quadrupole , be co - potentiated with each other , whether through application of a common voltage from a single source or through otherwise being operated to exhibit the same potential . in some embodiments hereof , the well - modulator quadrupole can comprise lit quadrupole rod set in which rods thereof have a resistive coating applied to the surface of at least one segment thereof . for examples such a coating can be located on a lateral face of a rod , such as on part of the rod face that is oriented toward the central axis of the lit , or can form a band around the radial surface of a segment of the rod . other arrangements of resistive coatings can also be used , with the placement of the coating , for each coating in a set of coatings , being the same in terms of a regular , radial arrangement about the lit . in some embodiments , a resistive coating can comprise a glass , or other vitreous material , that is bonded to the rod surface . in some such embodiments , the resistive coating can be formed by annealing a coating material to the rod surface . in some embodiments , the coating material can be or comprise : a silicate glass ; a leaded glass , e . g ., pbo — b 2 o 3 — al 2 o 3 — sio 2 ; silicone carbide ; or silicon nitride . in some embodiments , the coating can be formed from a mixture of metal oxide or carbon particles dispersed in a vitreous frit material . for example , this can be formed from a mixture of about 50 % or less by weight of particulate metal oxide ( s ) and / or carbon , dispersed in a pre - glass particulate , such as of a silicate pre - glass . the metal oxide can be , e . g ., any one of aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ), iron oxide ( fe 2 o 3 ), titanium dioxide ( tio 2 ), cadmium oxide ( cdo ), chromium oxide ( cr 2 o 3 ), copper oxide ( cu 2 o , cuo ), indium oxide ( in 2 o 3 ), or vanadium oxide ( v 3 o 5 ), mixed - metal oxides , e . g ., titanium - chromium oxide ( ticr 2 o 4 ), or a combination thereof ; the carbon can be , e . g ., graphite ; and combinations thereof can be used . useful resistive coatings also include those described , e . g ., in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 124 , 540 foreman et al . and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 746 , 635 to spindt et al ., herein incorporated by reference . in some embodiments , a coating can be formed from graphite , or from a mixture of metal oxide and graphite , e . g ., a coating such as described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 791 , 546 to maley et al ., incorporate by reference herein . in some embodiments , a combination of lit quadrupole rod segmentation , auxiliary electrode supplementation , resistive coating , and / or other differently - potentiating format ( s ) can be used in a well - modulator quadrupole hereof . in any give zone , the electrodes of a given set of auxiliary electrodes , or the segments or resistively - coated elements of a given set of such segments or coated elements , are capable of being operated in a coordinated manner , and in a method hereof , are operated in such a manner , so as to form a higher - potential or lower - potential region within the lit , relative to the potential of other elements of the lit . a lower - potential region within such a zone can be referred to , in various embodiments hereof , as a well or a “ potential well .” any such embodiments can be used to provide differently potentiated zones in a lit that define lit sectors in which potential wells can be formed . when a well is formed according to various embodiments hereof , its potential is lower than that of the adjacent zones of the lit . the difference is determined by the user to be large enough to retain a desired fraction of ions , yet small enough to allow excess ions to be returned to the upstream quadrupole series of a mass spectrometer , i . e . where the lit is located downstream of a mass spectrometer quadrupole series . the difference in potential between the well and its adjacent zones will depend on the total charge to be retained in the well , which is dependent upon the number of ions and the charge of each ion . in various embodiments , the potential difference can typically be , e . g ., about 500 mv to about 50 v ; in some embodiments , this can be at least or about 1 , 2 , 5 , or 10 v and up to or about 25 , 20 , or 15 v . 20v is a useful potential difference in some embodiments . the depth of the well that is created when 20 v ( the potential applied to the linac electrodes in the experiments providing the data ) is applied is about 0 . 06 v ( delta v 2 in fig3 b ) at its deepest point . this is the on - axis dc potential created by the linac electrodes . the linac electrode is 10 mm from the central axis of the lit at its closest point . ( if the electrodes were closer thereto , then the on - axis dc potential would have been greater for the same 20 v applied to the linac electrodes .) the depth of the well should be sufficient to retain ions that are thermalised , which means the well should be at least 0 . 026 v deep . ( 0 . 026 ev corresponds to thermal energies ). when the linac electrodes have a potential of 200 v applied , the on - axis potential is about 0 . 6 v ( delta v 1 in fig3 a ), which is enough of a barrier to cause ions to be retained in the lit under space charge conditions . in embodiments employing a segmented lit , the dc potentials applied to the segments would reflect a convolution of the dc potentials applied to the segments in the immediate vicinity , i . e . if the segment were relatively long , then the dc offset applied would be the height of the barrier ( or depth of the well ). if the segment were short , then the dc potential would be affected somewhat by its neighboring segments . auxiliary electrodes employ more applied potential to produce the same on - axis potential that is found when a smaller potential is applied to a segmented lit . applying potentials to a segmented rod also preempts the issue of shielding of the potentials by the lit rods when auxiliary electrodes are used . ( however , the shielding becomes an issue only when the ions are at radial amplitudes of more than 50 % of the field radius . as one of ordinary skill in the art understands , the choice of absolute voltages will depend upon the electrode set - up chosen to form the well . in various embodiments , the potential difference is also small enough to avoid causing fragmentation of ions during the transfer of excess ions out of the lit . for purposes of achieving transfer of lit - loaded ions back to the upstream ( adjacent ) part of a quadrupole series , in embodiments in which the well - modulator lit is located following a mass spectrometer quadrupole series , the potential of that upstream , adjacent part can be lower than that of the linear ion trap by a potential difference that can be as discussed above for formation of potential wells in the lit . the depth of the trapping potential is controlled by the potential differences along the axis of the trap . a larger potential difference leads to a deeper potential well which holds more ions . the ability to adjust these potentials allows one to adjust the number of ions that a proximal well can hold . in operation , a user can perform a preliminary test to determine whether or not the effect of space charge were presenting a problem in a given analysis , i . e . whether or not the potential well were so deep that it retained too many ions for the desired analysis . if it were found to be a problem , then the user could , e . g ., reduce the depth of a proximal well so that it holds a reduced number of ions that is appropriate for the analysis . in various embodiments , a potential well can be formed whose depth , relative to the potentials of the adjacent regions of the ion trap , is about or greater than 0 . 025 v or 0 . 026 v . in various embodiments , this depth can be about or greater than 0 . 03 , 0 . 04 , 0 . 05 , 0 . 1 , 0 . 2 , 0 . 3 , 0 . 4 , or 0 . 5 v . in some embodiments , the well depth can be about or greater than 1 v . in various embodiments , the well depth can be about or less than 10 , 5 , 2 , 1 , 0 . 9 , 0 . 8 , 0 . 7 , 0 . 6 , or 0 . 5 v . such a well is formed by maintaining its potential at a value that is lower than the potential ( s ) of the adjacent lit regions . in various embodiments , a lit comprising a well - modulator quadrupole hereof can be located adjacent to the exit lens of a mass spectrometer . the exit lens is maintained at a potential that is greater than that of the elements of the lit . the difference in potential between the exit lens and the adjacent lit element is selected by the user as a value large enough to inhibit ions from exiting the lens until such exit is desired . typically , the exit lens is from about 1 v to about 500 v greater than the elements of the lit , or at least from the adjacent ( upstream ) lit element . the potential on the exit lens , relative to the lit potential offset , is greater than the axial kinetic energy of the ion when it enters the lit . typically , when the ion leaves the q 2 collision cell , it has been thermalised and leaves the collision cell with a very low kinetic energy ( 0 . 025 ev ). the potential difference in the downstream optics then determine the ion &# 39 ; s kinetic energy , with the potential offset of the lit being the optic that matters most . thus , the potential difference between the lit and the q 2 collision cell is what determines the axial kinetic energy of the ion in the lit . the exit lens has a potential applied to it to that is greater than this energy . in various embodiments , an exit lens potential of 200 v is useful simply because it is greater than the potential applied to the exit lens for any ions that are typically scanned out of the lit , in many embodiments . thus , the exit lens can be maintained at a potential that is , e . g ., at least or about 5 , 10 , 20 , 50 , or 100 v and up to or about 500 , 400 , 300 , or 250v greater than that of all , or at least the adjacent , lit element ( s ); in various embodiments , this can be a difference of 200v . in general , the potential difference of the exit lens is set relatively higher , e . g ., on the order of about 100 v or more . mass spectrometry methods hereof can , in various embodiments , involve : ( a ) providing a short linear ion trap between a q 3 rodset and an exit lens of a mass spectrometer ; ( b ) providing ions into the short linear ion trap ; ( c ) providing a first trapping region ( small trapping potential ) in the short linear ion trap ; ( d ) accumulating ions in the first trapping region ( small trapping potential ); and ( e ) generating a second trapping region ( q 3 region ) as excess ions from the first trapping region ( small trapping potential ) move into the second trapping region ( q 3 region ). such methods can further include a step of scanning out and detecting the ions in the first trapping region , i . e . which has a small trapping potential . such methods can involve , in step ( c ), forming a first trapping region ( small trapping potential ) having a potential that is optimized to produce a potential well to contain a desired number of ions to produce a mass spectrum without space charge effects . the lit is filled for a period of time . fig3 a illustrates an embodiment at the point in time after the lit has been filled for a period of time . after the filling step is completed , ions are no longer entering the quadrupole , e . g ., until scanning is performed and further filling of the lit is desired . in various embodiments hereof , the excess ions that are returned to a quadrupole upstream from the lit can be retained therein . in some embodiments , these can be re - loaded into the well - modulator quadrupole - based lit for a subsequent round of treatment according to a method hereof , in order to remove excess ions . the fraction of re - loaded ions remaining in the lit in the second round can then be scanned out for detection . such rounds can be repeated as often as desired , using retained ions ; this can be repeated until all of the excess ions of have been scanned out of the trap . this can permit mulitplicate , e . g ., duplicate or triplicate , measurements of a sample , without requiring an additional step of loading a new population of ions into the mass spectrometer . in various embodiments , a proximal well can be formed by decreasing the potential on a set of linac electrodes around the linear ion trap at the proximal end , while increasing the linear ion trap offset potential . the sum of the increased linear ion trap potential and the decreased linac electrodes &# 39 ; potential creates a well that is at a potential higher than that of the quadrupole . the same effect can alternatively be accomplished by lowering the quadrupole offset potential and the linac electrode potential . although the above embodiments are described with reference to the use of two different trapping regions , defined by different material constitutions of different lit sections , alternative embodiments are also contemplated in which two different zones can be created simply by manipulating the axial potential in two different sections of the trapping quadrupole . thus , in some alternative embodiments , the ions could first fill the lit , e . g ., as illustrated in fig3 a . then a next step could be implemented to lower the barrier created by the t bars , linac electrodes , or other potentiated element ( s ) that is closest to the quadrupole , in order to form a small barrier instead of the well that is formed in fig3 b . this would leave a fraction of the ions trapped in the potential zone near the exit lens , while excess ions move to the upstream quadrupole ( e . g ., q 3 ), which is at a lower potential than the barrier or lit potentials . a programmable controller , as described above , could readily be modified to be programmed for operation of such a simplified alternative method hereof . in some alternative embodiments , the lit can comprise a lens , e . g ., an “ entrance ” lens , positioned proximal to the first quadrupole . such a lens can serve as one of the two potential - manipulable zones of the well - modulator quadrupole hereof . in operation , the lens potential can be lowered to allow excess ions to transit back into the first quadrupole , thereby reducing the space charge . the remainder of the lit can , in some such embodiments , serve as the other , differently potentiated zone . in an embodiment including an entrance lens , after the ions have filled the linear ion trap , the potential on the lens could be raised to confine the ions in the linear ion trap section . the potential on the first quadrupole could then be lowered . next the potential on the lens could be lowered to a potential just above the potential on the linear ion trap , thus forming a shallow well in the linear ion trap region . excess ions can then flow out of the linear ion trap and back into the first quadrupole . the potential on the lens could then be raised in order to prevent ions from leaving or entering the linear ion trap . the ions in the linear ion trap are then mass - analyzed . in such an embodiment , one of the elements of the lit , other than a physical section of the quadrupole , serves as one of the two potential - manipulable zones of the well - modulator quadrupole . in some embodiments , instead of manipulating the potential of a lens , the potential of a set of auxiliary electrodes can be lowered , while desired ions are retained in the distal sector of the lit , and the auxiliary electrode potential is lowered until the barrier is low enough to allow excess ions to transit back into the first quadrupole . the trapping potential remains in the distal sector in such an embodiment . similarly , in some alternative embodiments , the lit exit lens can serve as one of the two potential - manipulable zones of the lit ; in operation in some embodiments , the exit lens can be manipulated to permit excess ions that have been loaded into the lit to simply passed through the exit lens to decrease the space charge , and then ions remaining in the lit can be scanned out . the remainder of the lit can , in some such embodiments , serve as the other , differently potentiated zone . in some embodiments hereof , such alternative feature ( s ), e . g ., axial potential manipulation , “ entrance lens ” manipulation , and / or exit lens manipulation , can be used in conjunction with a well - modulator quadrupole lit as described above . experimental . all experiments are carried out on a modified 4000 q trap ( mass spectrometry system , from applied biosystems , foster city , calif ., usa ), using a short linear ion trap ( slit ) situated between the q 3 rod - set and the exit lens . this is illustrated in fig1 , along with the potentials applied to each optic during the fill step . the potential applied to the auxiliary electrode is 200 v during this step and produces an additional potential of δv 1 along the axis of the slit . the ions are denoted by the +&# 39 ; s . during the filling of the slit , the potentials along the length of the ion path are adjusted to admit as many ions as possible into the slit . after the slit has been filled , the rod offset on the slit is raised to 0 v while the potential on q 3 is left low ; see fig2 . this prevents energetic ions that are remaining in q 3 from transferring into the slit during the scanning out step . the ions are scanned out of the slit using the technique of mass selective axial ejection ( msae ), which is available on all of the q trap products . the ions are scanned out of the slit at q = 0 . 85 using an ejection frequency of 312 khz and a drive frequency of 816 khz . a standard tuning mixture ( from agilent technologies , santa clara , calif ., usa ) is used to supply ions for these experiments . dilutions of 1 : 10 , 1 : 100 and 1 : 1000 are used , as well as the undiluted sampled referred to as 1 : 1 in the figures . samples are infused at 7 . 0 μl / min . fill times are varied from 0 . 3 ms to 1000 ms . results are presented in fig4 - 6 , with fig6 demonstrating that various embodiments of the present method offer the ability to use survey scans under a wider range of sample concentrations and conditions . embodiments of the present technology are adaptable for use with many different mass spectrometers and with other systems equipped with an ion trap . the experimental set - up and the data shown are just one example of how the technique can be implemented . a weak trapping potential , within the main trapping potential , can be provided in a variety of ways , such as by use of a set of external ( auxiliary ) electrodes , a segmented rod set , and so forth . in one method , an attractive potential could be applied to the conductive stripes on the quadrupole support collar when ions are confined within the quadrupole . the next step is to provide an exit from the main trap for the excess ions to leave . the only ions remaining in the trap will be those contained in the weak trapping potential . after the excess ions have been removed , the potentials can then be re - established to bring the remaining ions to the conditions traditionally used during scanning of the ions out of the trap . the depth of the weak trapping potential can be optimized to produce a well that contains only a desired number of ions that is sufficient to produce a mass spectrum without the distorting effects of space charge . | 7 |
with the above - defined objects in mind , the present invention involves a novel method for preparing poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomers which find particular utility as a reaction component in the synthesis of s - triazine based hydraulic fluids . the s - triazines which have perfluorinated polyether substituents have been found to be particularly adaptable in the synthesis of thermally and oxidatively stable fluids with a wide variation in fluid properties . these materials have the following general structure ## str2 ## where r f = cfxcf 2 o ( cfxcf 2 o ) n cfx -- and x = cf 3 or f . perfluoroalkylene oxide s - triazines , for example , have been used successfully as hydraulic fluids . these triazines are essentially of two types -- those having substituents derived from hexafluoropropene oxide ( hfpo ) where x = cf 3 and those with substituents derived from tetrafluoroethylene oxide ( tfeo ) where x = f . in general , hfpo - derived mono - triazines have good viscosity characteristics but relatively high pour points . the opposite is true with tfeo - derived triazines , which have adequately low pour points but too low viscosities . an important finding of the experimental work associated with these materials is that the low temperature properties of perfluoroalkylene oxide s - triazines are directly related to the carbon - oxide ratio of the triazine molecule . for a given molecular weight , the lower the c / o ratio the lower is the pour point of the fluid . it becomes obvious , therefore , that any further improvement in the rheological properties of the triazines requires a lower c / o ratio . this has been accomplished heretofore by the preparation of carbonyl fluoride oligomers of the type illustrated by structure ii in the following equations ; and the resulting synthesis of the corresponding triazines . ## str3 ## the accumulated data on hfpo - terminated carbonyl fluoride triazines derived from oligomers of structure ii indicates that the incorporation of a relatively small amount of the carbonyl fluoride oligomer greatly improves the low temperature properties of the triazine fluid . the major drawbacks in the preparation of a triazine of this nature , however , are the low yields obtained in the preparation of the polycarbonyl fluoride oligomer acid fluorides and the experimental difficulties in adding more than one hfpo capping group . as a result , a major research effort has evolved in an attempt at finding more economical ways of preparing polycarbonyl fluoride oligomer acid fluorides used in the preparation of triazine fluids and in finding more economical preparative routes to the synthesis of polycarbonyl fluoride acid fluorides . as a result of this research effort , it was found that poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomers could be prepared through the photooxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 using oxygen and ultraviolet radiation . a low pressure mercury vapor lamp was utilized to provide the oxidation for the gas phase reaction . the mechanism postulated for the oxidation of the f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 is given below ## str4 ## one molecule of f - isobutyryl fluoride is formed for each cf 2 o unit incorporated in the growing chain . one molecule of f - acetyl fluoride is formed when a radical chain is terminated . the static gas phase photooxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 provides a series of higher molecular weight poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomer acid fluorides without any evidence of fluoroformate formation . attack of the -- cf 2 o has occurred exclusively on the cf 2 carbon of the olefin . the fluoroformate problem , which occurred with previously known methods of synthesis , has been solved . yields of hydraulic fluids are now much higher because all of the oligomer material can be used . under static conditions , the prior art hexafluoropropene method ( hfp ) gave 7 . 2 % yield of poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomer acid fluorides while the butene oxidation method of this invention provides a 46 % yield . the introduction of tetrafluoroethylene ( tfe ) does not increase the yield of higher molecular weight acid fluorides produced through the oxidation of hfp , but the addition of tfe to the present method did increase the yield of product . a fog was observed within the reaction flask as the oxidation proceeded when the reaction progressed to give the desired acid fluorides . when this phenomenon was not observed no oxidation took place and starting materials were recovered . ultra violet radiation was required in the oxidation since no oxidation was observed during a 24 - hour period when the reaction was attempted using a sun lamp as the light source . a 1 - liter resin kettle was employed to carry out the large scale gas phase photooxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 . several small runs using in each ca . 15 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 were carried out varying the oxygen ratio , addition rate of olefin , and reaction temperature to establish the most favorable conditions for the preparation of poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomeric acid fluorides . the light source for all of the photooxidations was a low pressure mercury arc lamp having an output of 2 . 5 watts at 2537 a . 1200 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 , which had been prepared , was oxidized over a three - week period to give 130 g of usable acid fluoride product . the gas phase photooxidation was found to be an order of magnitude slower than hfp oxidation and similar to the rate of oxidation of tfe . the desired higher molecular weight poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomers were obtained from the oxidation . the following examples are presented to show the photooxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 and to further illustrate the nature of the invention and how it may be carried into effect . although the examples depict specific embodiments of the invention , they are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way . a one - liter , one necked flask was equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a stopcock adapter for introducing the starting materials . after the flask had been evacuated to full vacuum , the f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 ( 300 mm pressure ; 97 % pure ) and oxygen ( 300 mm pressure ) were added and a commercial 275 - watt sunlamp was used to irradiate the stirred mixture . after irradiation for 24 hours , a pink vapor in the flask and small iodine crystals growing from the side of the reaction vessel were observed . an infrared spectrum showed unreacted f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 and several small unidentified impurities . this reaction was repeated using 99 +% pure f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 with no reaction occurring during a 24 hour period . using the same one - liter flask as in example i , and an adaptor to include a low pressure mercury uv lamp for internal irradiation , the reaction was repeated . the flask was evacuated and 300 mm each of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 and oxygen were admitted . as soon as the lamp was turned on , a mist was observed in the neck of the flask and the pressure decreased at an average rate of 5 mm / min for 30 min and then ceased to decrease . the lamp was turned off and the flask was immersed in liquid oxygen . the total pressure of non - condensable material was 30 mm . the flask was warmed to ambient temperature and the volatile material was transferred to a fisher - porter ampoule . infrared spectra were taken of the gaseous product and of the liquid residue which did not transfer . no carbonyl fluoride was observed in the overgas ( ir ) and a glc analysis indicated the gaseous product to be 80 % one component [ expected ( cf 3 ) 2 cfcof ]. the glc analysis was carried out on a 5710a hewlett packard model glc , using a 3 % wf - 1 column 6 &# 39 ;× 1 / 8 &# 34 ;, packed with 100 / 120 mesh acid washed chromosorb q . the injection port was at 150 ° c . with the detector at 250 ° c . and a carrier gas flow rate of 20 cc / min . the infrared spectrum showed no unreacted starting material and showed that an acid fluoride was the major constituent . the liquid sample also contained acid fluorides ( ir ). glc showed it to be an oligomeric series . a 1 - liter , one - necked flask was equipped with a magnetic stirring bar , a low pressure mercury uv lamp and a stopcock adapter for introducing starting materials . the system was evacuated and 500 mm of oxygen was admitted to the flask . with the uv lamp on , f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 was added in 150 mm increments until 450 mm had been added . following each addition the pressure decreased as the monomer was consumed . then 300 mm of o 2 was again introduced and the remaining 150 mm of olefin was added . after the decrease in pressure had become negligible , an infrared spectrum of the gas phase was taken . it showed some unreacted starting material . a glc of the gaseous product indicated 80 % completion of the oxidation with the predominant product being ( cf 3 ) 2 cfcof . the reaction of example iii was repeated using 800 mm of each reagent . the gaseous products showed ( ir ) no unreacted starting material . using static vacuum transfer to a - 183 ° c . trap , the volatile material was collected . a pressure of 100 mm hg remained in the system following this transfer . methanol ( 10 cc ) was added to the reaction vessel and the product was collected . the excess methanol was removed by extraction with water . the organic layer was collected and dried over molecular sieves . an infrared spectrum of the product showed a methyl ester carbonyl absorption as well as c - f stretch absorptions . a glc of this ester fraction showed what was believed to be ( cf 3 ) 2 cfco 2 ch 3 as the predominant product with the remainder being an oligomeric series . to obtain a larger amount of oxidation products from f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 , a large scale reaction was run in a 3 - liter flask . there was 12 g of olefin used and the oxidation was carried out with a low pressure uv lamp . the reaction was monitored by infrared and worked up by adding 100 cc of methanol to the reaction flask followed by a water wash of the methanol solution with 600 cc of deionized water . the lower organic layer was separated , and dried over molecular sieves . glc showed a low boiling component ( ca . 10 %), a major fraction ( 67 %) and an oligomeric mixture . the product was distilled to give 1 . 1 g of fraction 1 identified as methyl trifluoroacetate and 5 . 5 g of fraction 3 identified as methyl perfluoroisobutyrate . this confirms the original proposed mechanism for this reaction . a control reaction was carried out on a new batch of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 in which 300 mm was oxidized in a one - liter , one - necked flask as in previous reactions . the products were isolated by adding 10 cc of methanol followed by a water wash with 100 cc . the products were separated , dried over molecular sieves and a glc indicated the same ratio of products as in previous oxidations . a large scale oxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 was carried out in a one - liter reactor equipped with a low pressure u . v . lamp and gas inlets for the gases . a total of 127 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 was oxidized over a 26 hour period . the products were collected as the methyl esters and 11 g of higher molecular weight poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomer esters were collected . 700 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 were oxidized after drying the starting olefin over molecular seives . the oxidation was accomplished over a 200 hour period . the higher molecular weight products were combined and found to be the acids of poly ( carbonyl fluoride ) oligomers . the yield was 130 g or 18 . 6 % weight yield . a theory of 26 . 4 % weight yield represents 100 % yield , therefore a 70 % yield was realized . two reactions were carried out oxidizing f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 with tetrafluoroethylene in the vapor phase . a 100 - ml reactor was equipped with a low pressure u . v . lamp and gas inlets for oxygen , f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 and tetrafluoroethylene . after 11 hours , 37 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 had been oxidized along with 11 g of tetrafluoroethylene . the products were collected as the methyl esters ( 3 . 6 g of material bp 100 ° c .). the oxidation of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 and tetrafluoroethylene was also carried out in a three - liter resin kettle equipped with a low pressure uv lamp , gas inlet tubes for the introduction of the monomers , and a gas outlet to the ice water and dry ice / acetone cooled traps . the reactor was cooled to 0 ° c . as the lamp was turned on and the oxygen was admitted . the f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 addition was started at 0 . 005 moles / hour and the oxygen flow at a rate of 0 . 1 moles / hour . after 30 minutes , the tetrafluoroethylene addition was begun at 0 . 003 moles / hour was run and the reaction was on for 192 hours to oxidize 495 g of f - 3 - methylbutene - 1 . the products were collected and found to be the acids derived from the poly ( carbonylfluoride ) oligomers . while the invention has been described with particularity in reference to specific embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that the disclosure of the present invention is for the purposes of illustration only and is not intended to limit the invention in any way , the scope of which is defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
the following describes an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows a flowchart of a simulation model creating method according to an embodiment of the invention . ( step s 1 ) resist patterns ( exposure samples ) are manufactured by transferring mask patterns to resist films on wafers while varying an exposure amount and focus settings of an exposure apparatus . using mask patterns with various difference line widths and the like , a plurality of different resist patterns are manufactured . ( step s 2 ) the line width cds ( critical dimensions ) of the resist patterns formed on the wafers are measured using an sem . an example of the sem measurement results from one resist pattern formed while varying the exposure amount and focus is shown in fig2 . the vertical axis corresponds to pattern line width ( measurement results ), and the horizontal axis corresponds to focus values . the focus value reduces as the focal plane is lowered into the resist . the different marker types for the points in the graph of fig2 correspond to different exposure amounts . generally speaking , line width w can be expressed as a function of exposure amount e , focus d and mask line width m using a formula of the type shown below . ( step s 3 ) a variance “ σ w 2 ” of the distribution of the pattern line width w measured at the wafer surface is computed . when a variance of the distribution of the exposure amount is denoted “ σ e 2 ”, a variance of the distribution of the focus is denoted “ σ d 2 ” and the mask line width m is fixed , the variance σ w 2 can be expressed using the following formula . a permissible fluctuation range r 1 of the width with respect to exposure amount / focus is then computed using the variance σ w 2 . for instance , the permissible fluctuation range r 1 may be given by r 1 = 3 × σ w . note that although the permissible fluctuation range r 1 is set to be three times σ w here , the permissible fluctuation range is not limited by this definition and can be increased or reduced according to a desired level of accuracy . ( step s 4 ) a polynomial function of the exposure amount e and the focus d is fitted to the measured pattern line widths w . the polynomial function ( fitting function ) used in the fitting can , for instance , be expressed using formulas w 1 and w 2 below . w 1 =( a · d 2 + b · d + c )· e +( a ′· d 2 + b ′· d + c ′) w 2 =( a · d 2 + b · d + c )· log e +( a ′· d 2 + b ′· d + c ′) here , a ′, a , b , b ′, c , and c ′ are coefficients determined in the fitting . for instance , when fitting for the exposure amount is performed using the fitting function w 2 with the focus value held constant , the result is as shown in fig3 a . the differences r ′ between the measured values and the approximation values on the curve of the fitting function w 2 are then computed . in a similar way , fitting is performed with respect to the focus while holding the exposure amount constant , and the differences r ′ is computed . ( step s 5 ) the existence of a point ( measurement results ) for which the difference r ′ is larger than the permissible fluctuation range r 1 is detected . when such a point exists , the processing proceeds to step s 6 . when no such point exists , the processing proceeds to step s 7 . ( step s 6 ) the point for which the difference r ′ is larger than the permissible fluctuation range r 1 is determined to be an abnormal point , and deleted . for instance , when the abnormal points are deleted from fig3 a , the result is shown in fig3 b . after the deletion , the processing returns to step s 4 . ( step s 7 ) a standard exposure amount and standard focus are obtained from a desired pattern line width using the measurement results from after deletion of the abnormal points and the fitting function . for instance , when fitting is performed after deleting the abnormal points in fig2 , the result is as shown in the graph of fig4 . as shown in fig4 , of the exposure amounts , the exposure amount with the fitting function whose maximum value is the desired pattern line width cd 1 becomes a “ standard exposure amount ” and the focus value at which the maximum value occurs becomes a “ standard focus value ”. the maximum value of the fitting function is used because the effect of exposure amount fluctuation on the pattern line width is small at this point . ( step s 8 ) a permissible fluctuation range r 2 for the pattern line width w , which is dependent on the mask line width m , is computed . when the average value of the fluctuation of the mask line width is denoted m mean , and the variance of the distribution is denoted σ m 2 , r 2 can be expressed using the following formula . the effects of the distribution of exposure amount and the distribution of the focus are removed and only the fluctuation in mask line width needs to be considered . ( step s 9 ) next , the simulation model is created based on the measured results ( modeling ), and lithography simulation is performed which takes into account the illumination conditions of exposure apparatus , the mask pattern , the conditions of the projecting optical system and the like . ( step s 10 ) a difference r ″ between a predicted pattern line widths obtained using the lithographic simulation and the line widths w measured in step s 2 is computed . note that the measurement values deleted in step s 6 are not considered . ( step s 11 ) the existence of points for which the difference r ″ is larger than the permissible fluctuation range r 2 is detected . when such a point exists , the processing proceeds to step s 12 . when no such points exist , the processing ends . ( step s 12 ) the point for which the difference r ″ is larger than the permissible fluctuation range r 2 is determined to be an abnormal point and deleted . the processing then returns to step s 9 . when the processing returns to step s 9 , a simulation model is created based on the measured points after removal of the abnormal point , and the lithography simulation is performed again . note that the steps s 9 to s 12 can be repeated until all the abnormal points are removed . deleting the abnormal points of steps s 4 to s 6 removes the effects of exposure amount distribution within the wafer surface and focus distribution . further , deleting the abnormal points in steps s 9 to s 12 removes the effects of mask line width distribution . thus , in the present embodiment , since the measurement values which exceed the line width fluctuation ( permissible fluctuation range ) expected in the mask - including process fluctuation are deleted as abnormal points to create the model , it is possible to improve the accuracy of the modeling ( model - based opc ). further , since the process from the acquisition of line width measurement data to the deletion of abnormal points can be performed automatically by executing programs and the like and thus without human input , the data processing efficiency is high . with regard to deletion of the abnormal points , the mahalanobis distance d of each measured point may be computed using the following approximation formula w 3 for the line width w with an exposure amount e and a focus value d as parameters , and measured values for which the mahalanobis distance d is at or over a predetermined threshold value may be deleted . where a 0 to a 8 are coefficients determined in the fitting and e 0 is a standard focus amount the approximation formula w 3 expresses physically the relationship between line width and exposure amount / focus , and is described in , for example , c . a . mack , j . d . byers , “ improved model for focus - exposure data analysis ”, proc . spie vol 5038 pp . 396 ( 2003 ). the mahalanobis distance d can be expressed using the following formula . here , wf is an approximation value ( computed using the approximation formula w 3 ) based on exposure amount / focus settings , and σ is the standard deviation of w − wf for all the measured points . an example of an approximation value wf for focus is shown in fig5 . the mahalanobis distance d for each measured point is shown in fig6 . some of the peak values are considered to be abnormal values caused by auto focus errors or the like . for instance , a threshold value dth of the mahalanobis distance d may be set to 3 × σ , and the peak values which exceed the threshold value dth may be determined to be abnormal values and be deleted . since it is possible to delete abnormal values included in the resist pattern measurement results in the same way as in the above - described embodiment , subsequent modeling accuracy can be improved . further , mahalanobis distances d ′ between the measurement results after deletion of the abnormal values using the mahalanobis distance d and the predicted line widths obtained using the lithography simulation may be obtained , and measured values for which the mahalanobis distance is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold value may be determined to be abnormal values and deleted . the above - described simulation model creating method can be applied in a semiconductor device manufacturing method . after the processing using the above - described simulation model creating method has been completed , a model for simulating exposure properties and focus properties for differing resist pattern dimensions is created . mask data is then generated from design data using the created simulation model . moreover , a photomask is manufactured based on the generated mask data . the pattern formed in the manufactured photomask in this way is transferred to a photoresist on the semiconductor wafer , and then the photoresist is developed to form a resist pattern . etching is then performed with the resist pattern as a mask to form the pattern on the semiconductor wafer . the above - described simulation model creating method is executed by a simulation model creating apparatus 10 and a pattern line width measuring apparatus 20 of the type shown in fig7 . the simulation model creating apparatus 10 includes a cpu 11 , a rom 12 , a ram 13 , a display unit 14 , an input unit 15 , and input / output interface 16 , a controller 17 , and a network connecting unit 18 . the various units are connected to one another via a bus line 19 . the simulation model creating program ( not shown ), which is a computer program for performing the simulation model creation , is stored in an external storage medium 17 a , such as magnetic disk or optical disk , of the simulation model creating apparatus 10 , in an computer ( not shown ), such as a server or workstation , located externally to the simulation model creating apparatus 10 , or in an internal memory , such as the rom 12 , of the simulation model creating apparatus 10 . the computer program , if stored in the storage medium 17 a , is loaded into the ram 13 via the controller 17 and the bus line 19 . if stored in an external server or the like , the computer program is loaded into the ram 13 via the network connecting unit 18 and the bus line 19 . if stored in the rom 12 , the computer program is loaded into the ram 13 via the bus line 19 . the cpu 11 executes the simulation model creating program loaded in the ram 13 . the pattern line width measuring apparatus 20 measures the line width of the plurality differing resist patterns formed on the wafer ( step s 2 ). the pattern line width measuring apparatus 20 is connected via a network to the simulation model creating apparatus 10 , and outputs the measurement results to the simulation model creating apparatus 10 via the network connecting unit 18 . alternatively , the pattern line width measuring apparatus 20 may store the measurement results in the storage medium 17 a without connecting to the network , and the simulation model creating apparatus 10 may acquire the measurement results using the controller 17 . the processing of steps s 3 to s 12 is executed by the cpu 11 executing the simulation model creating program and processing the measurement results . | 6 |
referring to the drawing , fig1 shows a component 10 for particular use in high temperature environments such as a gas turbine engine , although other applications are contemplated within the scope of the invention . component 10 includes a substrate 12 and a thermal oxidative barrier coating ( tobc ) 14 on at least a first surface 16 . first surface 16 is situated on the “ hot side ” 18 of component 10 . the service temperature on the hot side 18 of component 10 may be up to about 725 ° f . ( 385 ° c .). an exemplary embodiment contemplates the use of a thermal oxidative barrier coating for high temperature omcs in turbine engine applications . the thermal oxidative barrier coating can be applied to at least the hot side of a composite part to reduce the maximum temperature exposure of the underlying substrate and form a barrier to oxidation of the structural composite resin . an exemplary application of a thermal oxidative barrier coating is for ducts for defining various flow paths in the engine . thermal protection systems in the form of thermal barrier coatings ( tbcs ) have been used with metals for many years . in such cases , low thermal conductivity materials are coated on the surface of the part to create a thermal gradient between the service environment and the part such that the subsurface material is not exposed to a temperature above its maximum use temperature . however , omcs present features and challenges that are separate and unique from metallic substrates . thus , the coatings disclosed herein are termed “ thermal oxidative barrier coatings ( tobc )” to distinguish them from thermal barrier coatings used for metallic substrates . in an exemplary embodiment , the omc matrix material is a high temperature polyimide system such as afr - 700b , peti - 375 , pmr - ii - 50 , hfpe , afr - pe - 4 , and pmr - 15 . however , the disclosed tobcs may be utilized with lower temperature resin systems such as bismaleimide - based polyimide systems ( bmi ) ( e . g ., cycom ® 5250 - 4 ), which typically offer lower cost and greater ease of processing as compared to the higher temperature polyimide systems . application of the tobc could allow the use of lower temperature systems in higher temperature environments than previously attainable . the thermal oxidative barrier coating 14 may include an outer thermal barrier layer 22 and a bond coat 24 . in addition to bonding the outer thermal barrier layer 22 , the bond coat 24 may additionally function as an oxidation barrier . in an exemplary embodiment , because the bond coat 24 is protected by the thermal barrier layer 22 , the polymer matrix of the bond coat 24 may be the same as , or similar to , the polymer matrix of the substrate 12 . in an exemplary embodiment , the materials contemplated for use as the thermal barrier layer 22 are evaluated for thermal conductivity , coefficient of thermal expansion ( cte ), thermal stability measured as a function of weight loss , specific gravity , and flexural strength and modulus . in an exemplary embodiment , it is desired to minimize the difference between the cte of substrate 12 and the cte of the thermal barrier layer 22 . for example , the cte of the omc substrate may be in the range of about 1 ppm /° f . ( 1 . 8 ppm /° c . ), while the cte of exemplary thermal barrier layers may be in the range of about 3 . 5 to 6 ppm /° f . ( 6 . 3 to 10 . 8 ppm /° c .). in exemplary embodiments , the desired density of the thermal barrier layer 22 is equal to or less than the density of the omc substrate 12 . however , the maximum allowable density is generally dependent on the thermal conductivity of the material . the thermal conductivity of the thermal barrier layer influences the thickness necessary to realize the required thermal benefit . in an exemplary embodiment , the coating thickness is sufficient to provide a reduced temperature at the substrate / coating interface 26 of at least 100 ° f . ( 56 ° c .). thus , in an exemplary embodiment , if the service temperature is approximately 725 ° f . ( 385 ° c . ), the temperature exposure at the substrate / coating interface 26 is approximately 625 ° f . ( 329 ° c . ), or less . in an exemplary embodiment , the coating 14 comprises a thickness of about 0 . 030 inches ( 0 . 76 mm ) to about 0 . 060 inches ( 1 . 5 mm ) an exemplary thermal barrier layer 22 comprises one or more variations of a commercially available system known as thermablock ™ coating . thermablock coating is a two - part silsesquioxane / titanate material developed as a high temperature coating by microphase coatings , inc . silsesquioxanes are represented by the generic formula ( rso 1 . 5 ) n wherein each silicon atom is bound to an average of one and a half ( sesqui ) oxygen atoms and to one hydrocarbon group ( ane ). silsesquioxanes can exist in the form of polycyclic oligomers , ladder , and linear polymers . the thermablock coating reportedly strongly adheres to various substrates including thermoset omcs . the two - part coating system cures at 50 ° f . to 100 ° f . ( 10 - 38 ° c .). the material is resistant to acids and bases , and has a maximum continuous use temperature of 2000 ° f . ( 1093 ° c .). the cte of the thermalock coating variations range from about 3 . 5 to 5 ppm /° f . ( 6 . 3 to 9 ppm /° c .) and a thermal conductivity of as low as 0 . 15 w / m · k at 560 ° f . ( 293 ° c .). in other embodiments , an exemplary thermal barrier layer may comprise a developmental material known as sialyte ™ poly ( sialate ) material which is currently under development at cornerstone research group , inc . poly ( sialates ) are one general class of inorganic polymers with the base structure of (— si — o — al — o —. the actual structure and properties of the poly ( sialate ) depend on the atomic ratio of si to al . the cte is typically around 5 ppm /° f . ( 9 pm /° c .) for the neat resin and is tailored by the addition of fillers . a fully cured and dried cast sample is able to withstand 1650 ° f . ( 899 ° c .) before significant loss of strength due to phase transformation . published data for an unfilled sialyte poly ( sialate ) shows a thermal conductivity ranging from 0 . 2 to 0 . 4 w / m · k . in an exemplary embodiment , the bond coat 24 may comprise a polyimide matrix containing nano - particles . exemplary nano - particles include polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane , graphite flake , and clay platelets . the respective amounts of polyimide and nano - particles are determined by factors such as processability , cte , oxygen barrier capability , and bond strength . two exemplary polyimide resins are uncrosslinked mvk - 19 , a fluorinated high thermal stability resin , and kapton ® polyimide , a high t g thermoplastic polyimide . a first mvk - 19 system includes an exfoliated nano - clay filler . a second mvk - 19 system includes exfoliated graphite flake . the polyimide system includes a polyhegral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanofiller . the polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane is available from a premixed 15 wt % solution of poly ( amic acid ) and the polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane in n - methylpyrrolidone ( nmp ) which is commercially available from hybrid plastics ™. each of the three systems is optimized as a solution , then tested as a film , and finally tested with a selected thermal barrier layer material . processability is measured as a function of the system &# 39 ; s viscosity and uniformity of particle distribution . viscosity verses temperature profiles are evaluated for coating processability . filler dispersion is measured by various diffractometry and microscopy methods . cte is measured via dilatometry over the temperature range of − 65 ° f . to 800 ° f . (− 53 ° c . to 426 ° c .). resistance to oxygen penetration is measured via oxygen diffusivity measurements on films formed from the selected formulation . coated omc substrate samples are exposed to thermal oxidative environments for evaluation of thermal protection . for example , a thermal oxidative stability ( tos ) test includes placing samples in a chamber through which a constant flow of air travels at a rate sufficient to refresh the chamber volume at a rate of 5 times / hour . the test temperature , pressure , and time is chosen to result in a measurable degradation of unprotected omc substrate samples . oxygen barrier capability of the coating is determined by the weight loss of protected omc substrates relative to unprotected substrates . although the primary role of the bond coat 24 is to adhere the thermal barrier outer layer 22 , oxygen barrier capability is a secondary benefit . bond strength is tested at room temperature and at elevated temperature . due to the similarities in chemistry between the polyimides of the bond coat and the omc substrate , and the dissimilar chemistry between the polyimides of the bond coat and the thermal barrier layer , initial bond strength evaluation focuses on the adhesion at the bond coat layer / thermal barrier layer interface . bond strength is measured via flatwise tensile tests . two candidate materials for the thermal barrier layer 22 are selected to be bonded to two omc substrates 12 with three candidate bond coat materials 24 . the omc substrates 12 include cured panels of afr - pe - 4 prepreg and bmi ( cycom ® 5250 - 4 ) prepreg . these twelve combinations are subjected to thermal cycling to evaluate the bond coat / thermal barrier layer interface . cracking or spalling of the thermal barrier layer is also evaluated during the thermal cycling . the thermal cycling is accomplished by rapidly heating to an isothermal maximum temperature ( about 750 ° f . ( 398 ° c .)) and then rapidly cooling to room temperature . flatwise tensile testing at room temperature of comparable samples as formed , and after thermal testing , is performed to measure the effect on bond strength . the selected bond coats are evaluated for thermal cycling performance , oxygen diffusion to the omc , and protection of the omc from thermal oxidative degradation . panels of the twelve combinations are evaluated for isothermal oxidative aging effects on select mechanical properties . mechanical properties of flexural strength and modulus are measured per astm c1161 . thermodynamic calculations , measured material properties , and oxidative aging analysis are used to determine the required thickness of bond coat 24 and the thermal barrier layer 22 so that the coating 14 achieves the desired performance level for specific service conditions . in exemplary embodiments , a nano - modified bond coat precursor is applied to the selected substrate as a liquid , followed by the application of an inorganic thermal barrier layer precursor as a liquid , molding compound , prepreg , or spray , with the method determined by the specific part to be protected . the prepreg may be supported , for example , with a non - woven veil or woven material such as quartz fabric . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims . | 2 |
the present invention provides a nutrient containing palatable shelf stable feed in a gel matrix whose major component is water . the gel feed provides livestock with both a feed component and a water component to an extent that no additional water external of the feed is needed for the livestock &# 39 ; s sustenance . by livestock is meant agricultural or farm animals such as swine , horses , cattle , sheep or goats raised in a farm , ranch or agricultural setting or animals kept in zoos or zoological settings . alternatively , the gel may be used along without any nutrients solely as a water source . providing water to swine that are confined such as being transported individually in pens or in a truck trailer without pens is difficult at best . providing water in solid form eliminates spillage due to vehicle movement or animal collisions . in addition , the gel feed of the present invention may be used as a delivery system for medication such as antibiotics and chemotherapeutics or for microbial supplements such as probiotics and nutraceuticals . when used as a delivery system for medication , the medication may be the sole constituent in the gel . examples of antibiotics approved for swine include apramycin , bacitracin methylene disacylate , bacitracic zinc , bambermycins , chlortetracycline , lincomycin , neomycin , oxytetracycline , penicillin , tiamulin , tylosin , and virginiamycin . chemotherapeutics approved for swine include arsanilic acid , carbodox , roxarsone , sulfamethazine and sulfathiazole . other medication for swine are well known and are within the scope of the present invention . the consistency of the gel - type feed of the present invention may range from a soft gel having the consistency of pudding to a harder gel having the consistency of a gel candy such as gummy bears ®. the gel can be described as a hydrogel that is a colloidal gel in which water is a dispersion medium . one consideration in the consistency of the gel is that the gel not stick to the feeding animal . gel that sticks to the swine poses two problems . the first problem relates to the cleanliness of the animal and to the pen in which the animal is contained . the other problem is waste of feed , since the animal cannot consume the feed that sticks to its face and other parts of the body that are not reachable by the animal &# 39 ; s mouth . it is not very important as to how hard the gel is and in most situations , preferably the major component will be water . by major component is meant that the weight percent of water is higher than any other component in the gel feed . the composition of the gel feed of the present invention is as follows : suitable sources for protein useful in the composition of the present invention include both animal and plant based protein . a non - exhaustive list of animal based protein includes meat meal , meat and bone meal , blood meal , red blood cells , dried porcine solubles , hydrolyzed feather meal , fish meal , dried milk , plasma and serum protein , poultry by - product meal , dried whey , whey protein concentrate and eggs . suitable concentration of plasma and / or a serum protein in gel feed is about 0 - 25 wt . % and a suitable concentration of egg is about 0 - 15 %. a non - exhaustive list of plant based protein includes alfalfa meal , canola seed meal , rice protein , coconut meal ( copra ), wheat gluten , potato protein , cotton seed meal , linseed meal ( flax ), peanut meal , safflower meal , sesame meal , soybean meal , soybean proteins and sunflower meal and other oil seed meals . sources for carbohydrates useful in the present invention include sorgum flour , ground rice , rice flour , ground corn , oat products , wheat , ground sorgum , or starch from any suitable grain such as wheat , oats , barley , and triticale , or tubers such as tapioca , and potato . lactose , dextrin , sucrose , fructose and other simple sugars are also suitable carbohydrates . fat useful in the present invention may come from both plant or animal sources . some fat may be the result of inclusion in the protein or carbohydrate source . however , additional fat may be added and is typically a rendered product such as a blended fat ( animal and vegetable blends ), or may be a poultry fat or tallow or a vegetable source such as soybean oil , corn oil , canola oil , coconut oil , olive oil and the like . fat is necessary as a source of energy and also in the assimilation of certain vitamins that may be added to the feed of the present invention . fiber useful in the present invention is dietary fiber . principal sources of dietary fiber are the same plant sources that provide protein and / or carbohydrates . if additional dietary fiber is needed , it may be obtained from such typical sources as soybean hulls or psyllium . in addition to the nutrients discussed above , it may be desirable to provide additional supplementation of vitamins and minerals depending on the needs of the particular animal . one gelling agent used in the present invention is a gum which binds with water and is capable of forming a matrix in which the feed components ( nutrients discussed previously ) are retained . examples of suitable gums include agar , alginate , carrageenan , gum arabic , ghatti , tragacanth , pectin , guar , gelan , carboxy methylcellulose and locus bean . in the case of alginate , about 0 . 25 to 1 . 5 weight percent alginate of the feed components ( excluding water ) is necessary to form the gel . other types of gels are also includable within the present invention , including those based on carbohydrates other than gums such as the starches including sorghum flour , ground rice , rice flour , ground extruded corn , ground sorghum , wheat and sugars including dextrin and sucrose . other gelling agents that may be useful in the present invention include pectin , chitin , and gelatin based on animal protein . the gel of the present invention is preferably a cold set gel , however , a gel made by heating the gum in water such as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 217 , 740 which is hereby incorporated by reference is included within the present invention . in the specific embodiment discussed herein , the gel feed is not made through the use of an external heat source . initially , the protein , carbohydrate , fat and fiber components and any other nutrients , vitamins , minerals or other supplements along with the gum and a source of calcium are mixed in water according to selected portions within the ranges of table 1 . the portions chosen are engineered for the particular animal and the particular period in the lifecycle of the animal . for example , piglets during and after weaning would require different portions of the components listed in table 1 as compared to a sow during gestation . preferably , the source of calcium is insoluble with water or includes a sequestrant that inhibits the calcium from reacting with the alginate so that an immediate gel does not form . gels formed through the reaction between calcium and alginate are well known . the propensity for alginate to form a gel and the difficulty of forming an appropriate gel are also well known . the method of the present invention in forming the gel provides for a controlled formation of alginate gel . the use of sequestrants or the use of acids to control alginate gel formation in the presence of calcium for use in human food is known . preferably , the source of calcium is a calcium salt which is initially insoluble but may be made soluble . one calcium salt suitable in the present invention is dicalcium phosphate . dicalcium phosphate is virtually insoluble in water at a ph of 6 or above . other calcium salts suitable for use include calcium carbonate , calcium gluconate , calcium iodate , calcium oxide , calcium sulfate . once the mixture is mixed , the ph is lowered . preferably citric , fumaric , or propionic acid are used alone or in combination with other organic acids . other organic or mineral acids or acidulents suitable in lowering the ph are included within the present invention . once the ph is lowered below about ph 4 . 5 , the gel of the present invention forms . the strength of an alginate based gel depends on a number of factors including calcium levels , ph and the type of alginate used . varying the calcium content , or varying the type of alginate used or adjusting the ph can create gels of different gel strength . low calcium availability , either due to ph or low calcium concentration , may form a soft gel . a low ph may result in a harder gel . water hardness may also have an effect on the formation of the alginate gel depending on the calcium carbonate content of the water . the alginate based gel of the present invention may be made in either a batch or continuous manner . if made in a batch , the nutrients , alginate , dicalcium phosphate and water are mixed together . an organic acid is then added to lower ph to a selected level upon which the gel forms . however , mineral acids are also suitable for addition . for production in a continuous fashion , again a batch of nutrients with alginate , dicalcium phosphate and water are mixed initially in a tank . in a second tank , water and the acids are mixed . these two mixtures are then pumped through an outlet line and mixed via an in line static mixer to continuously form the gel . one particularly useful situation for the present invention includes providing nutrients to piglets during weaning . weaning presents many challenges to the young pig . these challenges include an abrupt change from a liquid to a solid diet that contains ingredients that may not initially be easily digestible to the young pig . in addition , the young pig is presented with a new social structure . combined , these effects disrupt nutrient intake that is necessary to maintain gut integrity . such disruptions affect growth performance and are further exacerbated by an immature immune system which creates susceptibility to digestive upsets or diarrhea or both . research has shown that only 50 % of the piglets drink water during the first 24 hours postweaning ( varley and stockill , 2001 ). during the first five days after weaning , water intake by the young pig fluctuates independently of apparent physiological need and water intake does not seem to be related to growth , feed intake or severity of diarrhea . ( mcleese et al . 1992 ). after the fifth day , however , it seems that water intake follows a more consistent pattern that parallels growth and feed intake . it has been speculated that during the first few days after weaning , water consumption may be high as a consequence of a need for gut fill to obtain a sense of satiety in the absence of feed intake . voluntary feed of early - weaned pigs fed dry diets during the first few days after weaning is often limited . evidence suggests that growth rate of early - weaned pigs is largely limited by feed intake rather than growth potential . pluske ( 1993 ) reported that the weanling pig does not meet the maintenance requirements until the 5 th day after weaning at 21 days of age . the gel product of the present invention provides the young piglet not only with the required nutrient intake but also with the appropriate water requirement . utilizing the gel feed of the present invention , piglets surprisingly started eating the gel feed of the present invention almost immediately after weaning . preferably , a gel - type feed for young piglets includes a high quality protein source such as spray dried plasma protein . it has been shown that spray dried plasma protein helps to improve performance during the first 7 to 14 days after weaning and during periods of stress for young pigs . it appears that plasma protein has biological functions beyond its nutritional qualities . the present invention is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrations only since numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . a total of 57 weaning pigs averaging 13 . 3 lb body weight were used in a 35 - day growth trial . some of the piglets were fed a gel based feed in which the gel matrix was a starch ( soft set ™ starch obtained from staley mfg . co ., of decatur , ill .). a control ( no gel ) feed along with two gel feeds , each gel feed containing a different protein source ( solutein ™ or appetein ™ obtained from american protein corp of ames , iowa ) were used in the trial . appetein ™ is a plasma based protein while solutein ™ is a serum based protein . the formulation for the gel containing solutein ™ is listed in table 2 below while the gel containing appetein ™ is listed in table 3 below . the dry ingredients in the formulations listed in tables 2 and 3 were blended in a 5 - quart kitchenaid mixer . propionic acid and water ( 3 parts water to 1 part of the listed ingredients in tables 2 and 3 ) were blended in five gallon buckets utilizing a myers mixer mixing the liquid contents for 30 seconds . after 30 seconds , the dry mix was added and the dry and liquid ingredient mixture were blended for an additional three minutes . five batches of each formulation ( solutein ™ and appetein ™) were made . at weaning , pigs were sorted by weight , and divided into six weight groups ( blocks ). dietary treatments were randomly assigned to pens ( 3 - 4 pigs per pen ) within each of the weight groups ( blocks , 6 replication / treatment ). pens within a block had the same number of pigs . three dietary treatments were evaluated and consisted of the following : team lean 10 - 15 pellets were fed for 7 days , team lean 14 - 20 pellets and team lean 25 - 50 pellets were fed for 14 days each . all pellets were fed in metal feeders attached to pen gates . gel feeds were fed from days 0 to 4 postweaning in creep feeders , and a mix ( 50 : 50 ) of gel and dry feed ( team lean 10 - 15 pellets ) was fed from days 4 to 7 postweaning in creep feeders . pigs were housed in a conventional nursery facility in pens with a nipple waterer , four - hole feeder , and plastic grate flooring . pigs had ad libitum access to feed and water . pig body weight and feed intake ( both gel feed and pellet ) were determined at days 0 , 4 , 7 , 14 , 21 , and 35 postweaning to evaluate average daily gain ( adg ), average daily feed intake ( adfi ), and feed : gain ratio . gel feed intake was measured during the first week postweaning . in addition , fecal color and consistency scores were taken twice a week . data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design with pen as the experimental unit and blocks based on initial body weight . mean separation for significant treatment effects was accomplished by least significant difference ( lsd ) procedures . values in treatment columns are simple arithmetic mean values and mean values in the same row not followed by a common letter differ ( p & lt ; . 05 ) using lsd procedure . no significant differences ( p ≧ 0 . 1 ) were observed in adg among treatment groups during days 0 to 7 and 7 to 14 postweaning ( table 5 ). pigs fed gel feeds , however , had numerically greater adg than pigs not fed gel feed . during days 14 to 21 and 21 to 35 postweaning , pigs fed the gel feeds continued to have greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 1 ) adg than pigs receiving no gel feed . similarly , during the overall 35 day trial period , pigs fed the gel feed tended to have greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 11 ) adg than those not receiving the gel feeds . by day 35 postweaning , pigs fed the solutein ™ and appetein ™ containing gel were 2 . 6 and 3 . 3 lb heavier , respectively than those not receiving the gel feed . gel feed also containing solutein ™ intake was similar to gel feed containing appetein ™ intake during days 0 to 4 , 4 to 7 , and 0 to 7 postweaning . during days 0 to 7 , adfi of pellets was greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 03 ) in pigs fed the gel feed than in those not receiving the gel feed . this is probably an indication of some dry feed wastage when the pellets were mixed with the gel feed . during days 7 to 14 , pigs fed the gel feed had numerically greater adfi than those receiving no gel feed . during days 14 to 21 , 21 to 35 and 0 to 35 , pigs receiving the gel feed continued to have greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 1 ) adfi . during days 0 to 7 postweaning , pigs fed the gel feeds had lower ( p & lt ; 0 . 06 ) gain : feed ratio than those not receiving the gel feed . this is probably an indication of some dry feed wastage when the pellets were mixed with the gel feed . no significant differences were observed in gain : feed ratio among treatment groups during days 7 to 14 , 14 to 21 and 21 to 35 postweaning . no significant differences in fecal color score and consistency were observed among treatment groups . the results of this trial indicate that feeding a gel feed containing solutein ™ or appetein ™ ( plasma protein ) during the first week after weaning improved performance of nursery pigs . improvements in gain were more evident in later phases which may suggest that gel feed intake during the first week after weaning may have a carry - over effect through the rest of the nursery period . by the end of the trial , pigs fed the gel feed containing solutein ™ and plasma protein were 2 . 6 and 3 . 3 lb heavier , respectively , than those not receiving the gel feed . a total of 270 weaning pigs averaging 10 . 5 lb body weight were used in a 35 - day growth trial . at weaning , pigs were sorted by weight , and divided into eleven weight groups ( blocks ). each weight block had 20 or 25 piglets of as equal weight as possible . five different dietary treatments were randomly assigned to each of the pens in each weight block . each pen contained four or five piglets . the schedule of the dietary treatments is shown in table 6 below : 1 dry feed pellets were produced at local feed mill and composition of pellets was according to lean metrics starter program of purina mills llc . of st . louis , mo . the gel feeds for the four treatments in table 6 above were mixed using a batch process . the composition of each of the treatments is indicated in table 7 below . initially , water , tetrasodium pyrophosphate , xanthan gum , alginate dicalcium phosphate and potassium sorbate were mixed together for about 2½ minutes in the proportions listed in table 7 below . treatment 5 ( table 6 ) utilized two alginate - types to form the gel . then fat , vitamins and minerals , luctarom ®, and sucrose were mixed along with either dried animal plasma , solutein ™, or dried animal plasma and dried whole egg . the mixture was then mixed for one minute . each treatment was poured into five gallon buckets . while stirring the mixture in each of the five gallon buckets using a lab myers mixer , fumaric acid , propionic acid and citric acid in the proportions listed in table 7 were added until the mixture started to gel ( about 15 seconds ). gel formation occurred in about five minutes . pigs had ad libitum access to pelleted diets in metal feeders which were located on pen gates in each pen . gel feeds for treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 were fed in round pan type creep feeders added to each pen in which the piglets were to be subjected to a gel - type feed . the gel feed was fed ad libitum and gel feed was added later each day if all the gel feed in that pen was consumed . the piglets also had unlimited access to water . in treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 , dry feed ( pellets ) was added to the gel feed on days 3 - 7 . on day 3 , 0 . 1 pounds of dry feed was added per pound of gel feed . on day 4 , 0 . 5 pounds of dry feed was added per pound of gel feed . on days 5 , 6 and 7 , 1 pound of dry feed was added per 1 pound of gel feed . gel feed intake ended in all treatments after day 7 . pig body weight and feed intake ( gel feed and pellet ) were determined at initiation and days 7 , 14 , 21 , and 35 postweaning to evaluate average daily gain ( adg ), average daily feed intake ( adfi ), and feed : gain ratio . in addition , fecal color and consistency scores were taken twice a week . data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design with pen as the experimental unit and blocks based on initial body weight . ( see table 8 ) the effects of initial weight ( less than 10 lb and greater than 10 lb ), gel type , and initial weight × gel type were evaluated . during the first week postweaning , numeric improvements in adg were observed in pigs weighing initially less than 10 lb and fed a gel feed during the first week . no improvements in adg , however , were observed in pigs weighing greater than 10 lb . during week 2 , no significant differences were observed in adg among treatment groups . during week 3 , weeks 3 - 5 , and during the overall 5 - week trial period , a gel feed improved adg of nursery pigs initially weighing less than 10 lb , but had little effect on pigs initially weighing greater than 10 lb at ( initial wt × gel interaction , p = 0 . 07 , p = 0 . 13 , and p = 0 . 01 , respectively ). gel intake during the first week after weaning had a carry - over effect through the rest of the nursery period . by the end of the trial , pigs weighing less than 10 lb and receiving the gel feed of treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 were 3 . 44 , 1 . 64 , 3 . 83 , and 4 . 17 lb , respectively heavier than pigs receiving no gel . during the first week postweaning , pigs given gel feed consumed less ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) dry feed ( pellets ) than those not receiving the gel feed . pigs receiving the gel feed with plasma consumed more gel feed but consumed less dry feed ( pellets ). pigs receiving the 2 alginate - type gel feed with solutein ™ consumed less gel feed . no significant differences ( p & gt ; 0 . 1 ) were observed in adfi among treatment groups during week 2 . a significant initial weight × gel type interaction ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) was observed in adfi during week 3 , weeks 3 - 5 , and weeks 0 - 5 . during week 3 , pigs weighing & lt ; 10 lb at weaning and receiving the gel containing solutein ™, plasma and egg , or the solutein ™ plus 2 alginates consumed more ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) dry feed ( pellets ) than those not receiving the gel feed . during weeks 3 - 5 , pigs weighing & lt ; 10 lb at weaning and receiving the solutein ™ or the solutein ™ plus 2 alginates gel consumed greater amounts ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) of dry feed than those receiving no gel . pigs weighing & gt ; 10 lb at weaning and receiving the solutein ™ plus 2 alginates gel consumed less ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) dry feed than those not receiving the gel . similarly , during weeks 0 - 5 , pigs weighing & lt ; 10 lb at weaning and consuming the solutein ™, plasma plus egg or the solutein ™ plus 2 alginates gel consumed more dry feed ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than those not receiving the gel . pigs weighing & gt ; 10 lb at weaning and fed the solutein ™ plus 2 alginates gel consumed less dry feed ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than those fed the other treatments . no significant differences were observed in feed : gain ratio among treatments during week 2 , week 3 , week 3 - 5 , or weeks 0 - 5 . during week 3 , however , pigs fed gel feed during week 1 ( treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 ) had improved feed : gain compared to those receiving no gel feed ( p & lt ; 0 . 1 ). the results of this trial indicate that feeding any of the gel feeds ( treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 ) during the first week after weaning improved performance of nursery pigs weighing less than 10 lb at weaning , but had little effect on performance of nursery pigs weighing greater than 10 lb at weaning . by the end of the trial ( week 5 ), pigs weighing less than 10 lb at weaning and receiving gel feeds ( treatments 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 ) were heavier than pigs receiving no gel feed . pigs receiving the gel feed with plasma and egg had numerically greater gains than those fed treatments 2 and 3 . one hundred - ninety weanling barrows ( mcg gpk 35 maternal ) averaging 12 . 2 lb body weight were used in a 35 - day growth trial to evaluate the effect on performance of nursery pigs receiving a standard nursery program by feeding a gel feed during the first week after weaning . at weaning , pigs were sorted by weight , and divided into eight weight groups ( blocks ) of twenty or twenty five pigs per weight group . four weight groups averaged 10 . 6 lb ( small reps ) and four weight groups averaged 13 . 8 lb ( large reps ). pigs within each weight block were allotted into five equal subgroups ( pens ) of five or four pigs per pen ( 8 pens / treatment ; 4 small reps and 4 large reps / treatment ). the number of pigs per pen within each block was kept constant . dietary treatments were randomly assigned to pens ( subgroups ) within each of the weight groups ( blocks ). five dietary treatments were evaluated during phase 1 ( day 1 to day 7 postweaning ). gels evaluated are described in the following table : the gel feeds described in table 9 were mixed using the batch process as described in example 2 . the dry pelleted feeds , lean metrics infant , lean metrics junior , and lean metrics senior are commercially available pelleted feed formulated for feeding to pigs according to their ages ( days of treatment ) described in table 10 . pigs had ad libitum access to pelleted diets in metal feeders which were located on pen gates on treatments 1 to 4 . gel diets were fed in round creep feeders ( added to each pen ) to pigs on treatments 2 , 3 and 4 on days 1 to 3 post weaning . on days 4 - 7 , a combination of gel plus dry feed was offered in creep feeders to pigs in treatments 2 - 4 . 0 . 1 , 0 . 5 , 1 and 1 lb of dry feed per lb of gel was added to the creep feeders on days 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 , respectively . pigs on treatment 5 were fed gel only in the metal feeders on the pen gates on days 1 to 2 . on day 3 , 1 lb of dry feed per lb of gel was added and offered in the metal feeder on the pen gate . on day 4 through the remainder of the study only dry feed was offered in the metal feeder on the pen gate . pig body weight and feed intake ( pellet ) were determined at initiation , days 7 , 14 , 21 , and 35 post weaning to evaluate average daily gain ( adg ), average daily feed intake ( adfi ), and feed : gain ratio . gel intake was measured during the first week post weaning . in addition , fecal color and consistency scores were taken twice a week . data was analyzed as a randomized complete block design with the pen as the experimental unit and block based on initial body weight . the effects of initial weight ( small and large ), rep ( size ), gel type , and initial weight × gel type were evaluated . during the first week postweaning , no significant differences ( p & gt ; 0 . 10 ) were observed in adg among treatment groups . numeric improvements , however , were observed in adg by supplementing the gel to weanling pigs . the greatest effect was observed with the smallest pigs . pigs weighing less than 10 . 6 lb on average ( 9 to 12 lb ) and fed the gel containing 75 % water and 0 . 5 % alginate ( treatment 3 ) had numerically greater adg than pigs fed the gel containing 62 % water and 0 . 5 % algin ( treatment 4 ). the biggest pigs ( weighing 13 . 8 lb on average , 12 to 17 lb ), however , grew better when fed the gel containing 62 % water than when fed the gel containing 75 % water . in addition , pigs offered the gel in the regular feeders for the first three days after weaning had numerically greater adg than those offered the gel in the creep feeders . this was probably due to greater consumption of dry feed by pigs offered the gel in the regular feeder for only three days and then followed by just dry feed in the regular feeders . during week 2 , week 3 , and overall , the smallest pigs supplemented with the gel continued to have numerically greater adg than those not supplemented with the gel . by day 35 postweaning , the smallest pigs on treatment 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 were 0 . 86 , 1 . 53 , 2 . 01 , and 3 . 43 lb heavier , respectively than those no receiving the gel ( treatment 1 ). as expected , during week 1 , pigs on treatment 5 ( received gel for only 3 days ) consumed less gel ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) but consumed more dry feed from the regular feeder ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than pigs on treatment 2 , 3 , and 4 . pigs on treatment 5 consumed similar amounts of dry feed as those on treatment 1 ( control ). pigs on treatment 2 , 3 , and 4 had greater pellet intake per day than those in treatment 1 or treatment 5 . this may be a reflection of some feed wastage when pellets were mixed with the gel since pellet intake per day from the regular feeder was lower ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) in pigs fed treatment 2 , 3 , and 4 compared with pellet intake of pigs on treatment 1 and 5 . during week 2 , the smallest pigs receiving the gel had numerically greater ( no statistically significant ) pellet intake than those not receiving the gel . during the first week postweaning , pigs on treatment 2 , 3 , and 4 had greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) feed : gain ratio than pigs on treatment 1 or treatment 5 . this is probably an indication of feed wastage when the pellets were mixed with gel . during week 2 , pigs in treatment 5 utilized feed more efficiently than those in treatment 2 . no significant differences ( p & gt ; 0 . 1 ) were observed in feed : gain ratio during week 3 or week 3 to 5 among treatment groups . the results of this study indicate that feeding a gel containing plasma and egg during the first week after weaning improved performance of nursery pigs weighing between 9 to 12 lb at weaning , but had little effect on performance of nursery pigs weighing between 12 to 17 lb at weaning . similar to previous experiments , gel supplementation during the first week after weaning had a carry - over effect through the rest of the nursery period and had the greatest effect in the smallest reps of pigs . by day 35 postweaning , the smallest reps of pigs on treatment 2 ( plasma : egg gel with 75 % water and 1 % alginate ), treatment 3 ( plasma : egg gel with 75 % water and 0 . 5 % algin ), treatment 4 ( plasma : egg gel with 62 % water and 0 . 5 % alginate ), and treatment 5 ( as treatment 2 , but gel was offered in regular feeder for only 3 day ) were 0 . 86 , 1 . 53 , 2 . 01 , and 3 . 43 lb heavier , respectively than those no receiving the gel ( treatment 1 ). fifty four weanling pigs ( mcg ) averaging 7 . 5 lb bodyweight were used in a 40 - day growth trial to evaluate the effect of feeding a gel with or without flavor on performance of nursery pigs receiving a standard nursery feeding program . at weaning , pigs were sorted by weight , and divided into six weight groups ( blocks ) of nine pigs per weight group . dietary treatments were randomly assigned to pens ( subgroups ) within each of the weight groups ( blocks ). three dietary treatments were evaluated during phase 1 ( day 1 to day 7 postweaning ): 1 ) control ( no gel ), 2 ) a gel containing flavor , and 3 ) a gel without flavor . the gel feeds ( plasma and egg ) were mixed using the batch process as described in example 2 . the dry pelleted feeds , lean metrics premier , lean metrics infant , lean metrics junior , and lean metrics senior are commercially available pelleted feed formulated for feeding to pigs according to their ages ( days of treatment ) described in table 11 . pigs had ad libitum access to pelleted diets in metal feeders which were located on pen gates . gel diets were fed in round creep feeders ( added to each pen ) to pigs on treatments 2 and 3 on days 1 to 3 post weaning . on days 4 - 7 , a combination of gel plus dry feed was offered in creep feeders to pigs in treatments 2 and 3 . 0 . 1 , 0 . 5 , 1 and 1 lb of dry feed per lb of gel was added to the creep feeders on days 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 respectively . pig body weight and feed intake ( pellet ) were determined at initiation , days 7 , 14 , 28 , and 40 post weaning to evaluate average daily gain ( adg ), average daily feed intake ( adfi ), and feed : gain ratio . gel intake was measured during the first week post weaning . data was analyzed as a randomized complete block design with the pen as the experimental unit and block based on initial body weight . during the first week postweaning , pigs fed the gel with or without flavor had greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) adg than pigs not receiving gel , and pigs fed the gel with flavor had greater adg than those fed the gel without flavor . pigs fed the gel with flavor consumed greater amounts of gel than those fed the gel without flavor . similarly , pigs fed the gels had numerically greater pellet intake than those not receiving the gel . by day 40 postweaning , pigs on treatment 2 ( gel with flavor ) and treatment 3 ( gel without flavor ) were 2 . 1 and 1 . 8 lb heavier , respectively than those not receiving the gel ( treatment 1 ; table 12 ). a trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding a gel ( plasma and egg ) three days prior to weaning and seven days postweaning on performance of nursery pigs . ten litters received the gel in the farrowing crate on creep feeders or in a matt for 3 days prior to weaning . at weaning , ⅓ of each litter received the feeding program described in table 13 for treatment 1 , ⅓ received the feeding program described for treatment 2 , and ⅓ received the feeding program described for treatment 3 . a total of 90 weanling pigs averaging 10 . 9 lb were used . only pigs in treatment 3 received gel in the nursery and were fed in round pan type creep feeders added to each pen . on day 4 , 0 . 5 pounds of dry feed per pound of gel was added . on days 5 , 6 , and 7 , 1 pound of dry feed per pound of gel was added . the gel feeds ( plasma and egg ) were mixed using the batch process as described in example 2 . the dry pellet feeds are commercially available pellet feed formulated for feeding to pigs according to their ages ( days of treatment ) as described in table 13 . a ultra wean plus ( uwp ), litter wean transition ( lwt ), top wean phase 2 ( twph2 ), top wean phase 3 ( twph3 ), ultra care 200 ( uc200 ), ultra care 240 ( uc240 ), ultra care 400 ( uc400 ), and ultra care 500 ( uc500 ) are dry pelleted feed formulations from land o &# 39 ; lakes farmland feed , llc . data was analyzed as a randomized complete block design with the pen as the experimental unit and block based on initial body weight . during the first week postweaning , pigs fed the gel three days prior to weaning ( farrowing crates ) and in the nursery ( treatment 3 ) had greater ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) adg than pigs receiving the gel only in the farrowing crate ( no gel in the nursery , treatment 1 and treatment 2 ). during day 0 to 28 postweaning , pigs receiving treatment 3 continued to have greater adg ( p & lt ; 0 . 10 ) and adfi ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than pigs receiving dietary treatment 2 ( table 14 ). during the overall 39 - day trial , pigs receiving treatment 3 had greater adfi ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ) than those receiving treatment 2 . | 0 |
referring now to fig1 the analog - to - digital converter alignment circuit of the present invention is shown connected to an analog - to - digital converter under test 10 which is connected to an input signal source 15 . the alignment circuit includes an input latch circuit 20 connected to the analog - to - digital converter under test 10 and to a master decoder 30 which is connected to a display decoder 40 , to a positive digital - to - analog converter 50 and to a negative digital - to - analog converter 60 . display decoder 40 is also connected to a display digital - to - analog converter 45 which is connected to an oscilloscope . positive digital - to - analog converter 50 is also connected to low pass filter 55 which is connected to subtractor 70 and adder 80 . negative digital - to - analog converter 60 is also connected to low pass filter 65 which is also connected to subtractor 70 and adder 80 , both of which are connected to voltmeters . in order to test and align an analog - to - digital converter it is first connected between input signal source 15 and the analog - to - digital converter alignment circuit . the converter under test 10 responds to analog signals from signal source 15 by generating digital data on leads 11 representative of an instantaneous amplitude of the analog input signal . converter 10 also generates a strobe signal on lead 12 when the digital data is applied to leads 11 . this digital data consists of 8 bits of data including a sign bit which are coded in inverted sign plus magnitude code . input latch 20 operates in response to the strobe signal to &# 34 ; capture &# 34 ; and store the digital data signals on leads 11 . input latch 20 stores this data until a new strobe signal is generated at which time input latch 20 &# 34 ; captures &# 34 ; and stores the new digital data signals . master decoder 30 operates in response to these stored digital data signals by inverting the sign and magnitude bits and then applying the sign bit to lead 33 , and the inverted sign bit to lead 31 . master decoder 30 also decodes the three high order data bits and if one or more of them is at logic level 1 , it forces the four low order bits to a logic level 1 . if none of these bits are at logic level 1 master decoder 30 gates the low order data bits b0 , b1 , b2 and b3 to data leads 32 . thus , the master decoder 30 forces the output bits to the maximum positive value for magnitudes above the highest value to be used and it forces the output bits to the maximum negative value for magnitudes more negative than the most negative value to be used . this is done because only the low order bits are required to indicate offset errors . the detailed logic diagram of the master decoder is shown in fig2 . this circuit includes and gates 301 , 302 , 303 and 304 , nand gate 305 and inverter 306 connected to leads 21 . nand gate 305 is also connected to inverter 307 which is connected to gates 301 , 302 , 303 and 304 . these gates are further connected to inverters 311 , 312 , 313 and 314 respectively and their outputs are connected to leads 32 . also , the output of inverter 306 is connected to lead 31 and its input is connected to lead 33 . nand gate 305 performs an &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; function by generating a logic level 1 on lead 308 in response to either b4 , b5 or b6 being at a logic level 0 . inverter 307 operates in response to a logic level 1 on lead 308 to generate a logic level 0 on lead 309 . this causes gates 301 , 302 , 303 and 304 to generate logic level 0 &# 39 ; s and consequently inverters 311 , 312 , 313 and 314 generate logic level is on leads 32 . therefore the master decoder shown in fig2 forces signals b0 , b1 , b2 and b3 to all 1s to represent the maximum value for these signals whenever b4 , b5 or b6 is true . if none of these bits is at a logic level 1 , inverter 307 generates a logic level 1 on lead 309 causing gates 301 , 302 , 303 and 304 to gate the logic level of bits b0 , b1 , b2 and b3 to leads 32 after inversion by inverters 311 , 312 , 313 and 314 . inverter 306 operates to generate a positive sign bit on lead 33 . referring again to fig1 a display decoder 40 responds to the sign bit and low order data bits generated by master decoder 30 by converting the sign plug magnitude data format into a one &# 39 ; s complement code with inverted sign bit as per the data shown in the following table . table 1______________________________________master decoder display decoderoutput bits output bits______________________________________s b1 b2 b0 b1 b20 1 1 1 1 10 1 0 1 1 00 0 1 1 0 10 0 0 1 0 01 0 0 0 1 11 0 1 0 1 01 1 0 0 0 11 1 1 0 0 0______________________________________ the detailed logic diagram of display decoder 45 is shown in fig3 . this circuit includes exclusive - or gates 401 , 402 , 403 and 404 connected to data leads 32 inverter 405 connected to lead 33 , and nand gate 406 also connected to lead 33 . nand gate 406 is also connected to exclusive - or gates 401 , 402 , 403 and 404 which are connected to inverters 411 , 412 , 413 and 414 respectively . the output leads of these inverters 415 are then connected to a display digital - to - analog converter 45 . referring to the second entry of table 1 , for example , it can be seen that the sign bit must be converted from a logic level 0 to a logic level 1 . as can be seen from fig3 inverter 405 will do this . fig3 also shows that each bit is exclusive - or &# 39 ; d with the sign bit as required in table 1 . referring again to fig1 display digital - to - analog converter 45 is shown connected to display decoder 40 . display converter 45 operates in response to the one &# 39 ; s complement data bits and the inverted sign bit generated by display decoder 40 to generate an analog representation of the value of those data bits . since display converter 45 is connected to an oscilloscope , this analog signal is displayed by said oscilloscope to give a visual indication of the output signals 11 from the analog - to - digital converter 10 . positive digital - to - analog converter 50 operates in response to a logic level 0 sign bit to connect the low order data bits b0 , b1 , b2 and b3 into a first analog representation of the value of those data bits . negative digital - to - analog converter 60 operates similarly except it responds to a logic level 1 sign bit to convert the low order data bits b0 , b1 , b2 and b3 into a second analog representation of the value of those data bits . thus the positive digital - to - analog converter generates the first analog signal in response to positive half cycles of the input signals and it generates a zero otherwise . similarly the negative digital - to - analog converter generates the second analog signal in response to negative half cycles of the input signals and it also generates a zero otherwise . low pass filters 55 and 65 respond to the first and second analog signals respectively by filtering those signals such that they generate first and second dc output signals representative of the average value of said first and said second analog signals . subtractor 70 operates in response to said first and second dc output signals to generate a signal representative of the difference between these two signals . this difference signal is then indicated as a voltage level on a voltmeter . similarly adder 80 operates in response to said first and second dc output signals to generate a signal representative of the sum of these two signals . this sum signal is also indicated as a voltage level on a voltmeter . subtractor 70 and adder 80 comprise well known operational amplifiers . similarly the digital - to - analog converters 45 , 50 and 60 are implemented following well known techniques , as are low pass filters 55 and 65 . alternatively this invention could be made using digital techniques with digital filters replacing the low pass filters and arithmetic logic units or digital adders and subtractors replacing the analog adders and subtractors . the output signals could be either digital displays or they could be connected to an analog signal to drive a meter . since this invention uses long term average rather than instantaneous waveform behavior the method of adjustment of the input offset and inverting offset of the analog - to - digital converter under test is faster and more accurate because the operator need only adjust the converter to a zero voltmeter reading rather than a fuzzy and jittery oscilloscope trace . however , this invention still provides an oscilloscope trace and a voltmeter indication of the sum of the two cycles for reference . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention which shall be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 7 |
the present invention can be implemented by software within the mobile phone that can automatically answer the phone and establish a connection when certain originating phone numbers place a call to the mobile phone . this feature can be particularly useful to check up on mobile phone users such as the elderly or children . caregivers may wish to check up on an elderly relative when they are not with them . this feature enables the mobile phone to establish a call even if the mobile phone user has not answered . the caller can then listen for activity to try to determine if there is a situation that needs specific attention . in addition , if the mobile phone is equipped as a speakerphone , the caller can project their voice into the room to try to establish contact with the mobile phone user . if the mobile phone user answers back , the caller can assess whether everything is alright or if the mobile phone user requires further assistance . fig1 is a flowchart detailing the logic flow for the present invention . the first step in the process is for the mobile phone to detect an incoming call 105 . the originating phone number is then determined 110 using a “ caller id ” function before the mobile begins alerting of the call . caller id provides the mobile phone user a visual indicator of who is calling in the form of an originating phone number in the mobile &# 39 ; s display . typically , if the mobile phone user wishes to screen her calls , she can simply not answer the call based on the incoming phone number . while caller id merely provides the incoming phone number , other features of the mobile phone can utilize that information to enhance the user experience . for instance , caller id data can be matched against the mobile phone &# 39 ; s contact data . if there is a match , the mobile phone can display the name of the incoming caller as it is entered in the contact database as opposed to the incoming phone number . seeing the name “ jane ” on your display is often more informative and intuitive than seeing “ 555 - 1234 ” and trying to figure out whose number it is . in addition , many mobile phones can display images . the images can also be linked to contacts in the database . thus , if “ jane ” calls and there is a picture linked to her contact data , her picture will appear in the display instead of a name or number . the present invention uses the caller id number data as the basis for another added value feature associated with the mobile phone . the incoming phone number is then checked 115 to see if it has been classified as an override number . if it is an override number , then the mobile phone determines if the override feature is enabled or disabled 118 . if disabled , the call will be re - directed to a voice mail service . if enabled , the mobile phone will answer itself 120 after a certain number of rings rather than be directed to voice mail . once answered , a full duplex call connection is established 125 . moreover , if the mobile phone has a speakerphone capability , the caller can speak and his voice will be projected into the area surrounding the mobile phone . if the incoming number is not an override number the call is processed normally 130 . if the call is not answered after a certain number of rings it will likely be directed to a voice mail service 135 . there is an additional opportunity to implement the override feature . the mobile phone user can set an override code in voice mail such that entering the code will send control of the call back to the mobile phone . when voice mail is entered a background override process is initiated that monitors 140 the initial keypad entries of the caller . the code can be given to other individuals at the user &# 39 ; s discretion . when a caller reaches voice mail she can enter the pre - set code and control of the call will be returned to the mobile phone 145 to be processed as an override call . if no override code is entered , the voice mail feature functions normally 150 . the override code allows the override feature to be activated even if an override number is not the originating number . this is important because a caregiver may not be able to call from a phone associated with an override number . the caller could be away from home or their mobile may have a dead battery . in such cases they must use another phone that is not associated with an override number to check in with the mobile user . there can be multiple implementations to determine whether the originating number is an override number . the mobile phone can store a table or list of override numbers that can be edited by the mobile phone user . this table or list may be accessed when an incoming call is detected to determine whether to activate the override feature . another implementation would be to include an override flag in the mobile phone &# 39 ; s contact / phonebook feature . the mobile phone user could enable or disable an override flag for each contact in the phonebook . thus , when a call comes in and the number is matched to one in the contact database , the override flag is checked and the override feature can be activated . a table / list of phone numbers would also include all permutations of the phone number including a 7 digit local call as well as a 10 or 11 digit out of area call . thus , if the caller id function displays the 7 digit number or a 10 or 11 digit number with area code attached , the override feature would still recognize the number . the same principle applies to phone numbers stored in the contact / phonebook database of the mobile phone . while this disclosure refers to standard u . s . telephone nomenclature , it can readily be adapted for use in other countries that utilize different telephone number nomenclatures . there are times when the mobile user may wish to purposely deactivate the override feature . for instance , the user may wish to deactivate the feature during meetings or while at a theater , in a restaurant , or the like . if the user deactivates the override feature , then the mobile phone will not answer itself regardless of the originating phone number . conversely , there may be times when the override feature will not be permitted to be deactivated . caregivers may always want to be able to monitor those in their care . similarly , parents may always want to be able to reach their teenage children . thus , access to the override feature may be controlled by a code or personal identification number ( pin ). that way , the person most interested in having access to the mobile user can control the override feature . computer program elements of the invention may be embodied in hardware and / or in software ( including firmware , resident software , micro - code , etc .). the invention may take the form of a computer program product , which can be embodied by a computer - usable or computer - readable storage medium having computer - usable or computer - readable program instructions , “ code ” or a “ computer program ” embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system . in the context of this document , a computer - usable or computer - readable medium may be any medium that can contain , store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the computer - usable or computer - readable medium may be , for example but not limited to , an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system , apparatus , device , or propagation medium such as the internet . note that the computer - usable or computer - readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed , as the program can be electronically captured , via , for instance , optical scanning of the paper or other medium , then compiled , interpreted , or otherwise processed in a suitable manner . the computer program product and any software and hardware described herein form the various means for carrying out the functions of the invention in the example embodiments . specific embodiments of an invention are disclosed herein . one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the invention may have other applications in other environments . in fact , many embodiments and implementations are possible . the following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the specific embodiments described above . in addition , any recitation of “ means for ” is intended to evoke a means - plus - function reading of an element and a claim , whereas , any elements that do not specifically use the recitation “ means for ”, are not intended to be read as means - plus - function elements , even if the claim otherwise includes the word “ means ”. | 7 |
referring to the block diagram of the system of fig3 accordingly to one embodiment of the present invention the host 11 provides an address ain to a multiplexer 13 . the multiplexer 13 output a 1 is applied to a counter 15 that increments the address . the output of the counter 15 is the other input to the multiplexer 13 such that the address output a 1 from the multiplexer is provided either from the counter 15 or address ain directly from the host 11 . the control input advz ( address valid ) and baaz ( burst address advance ) from the host is applied to logic 17 that controls the multiplexer 13 . the address a 1 from the multiplexer 13 is applied to a current address latch 19 for the flash memory bank 21 . the row address bits output of the current address latch 19 are applied to a comparator 23 . the previous row address bits from the previous address is stored in previous address latch 25 . the output from the previous row address latch 25 is also applied to comparator 23 . the row address bits of the current address is compared to the row address bits of the previous address in the comparator 23 to determine if there is a match . a multiplexer gate 27 is controlled by the output of the comparator 23 . the input to the multiplexer 27 is a signal indicating the need for either the normal or page number of wait states . if there is a match at comparator 23 a logic ‘ 1 ’ corresponding to page wait state count signal condition is provided to wait state generator 29 to provide the appropriate wait time for the special bust access for the ready and pready signal generation . if there is not a match a logic ‘ 0 ’ is provided to the generator 29 and appropriate wait time is provided for the full normal address for the ready and pready signals . this circuit provides the logic to determine if there is a row match or not , and hence , to produce ready and pready signals at the appropriate time . in special burst access read the read port interface synchronously generates addresses while baaz , burst address advance , is active low , unless advz is also active low during a rising edge of the system clock . if advz is also low then the address present on the input address bus supersedes the address which would have been generated by the read port interface . the automatic address generation can only occur after an initial address has been latched into the read port interface read port interface . this is accomplished with the first advz pulse , regardless of the state of baaz . special burst access mode has an advantage over standard read in that if the sequential or input address is on the same physical row in the flash bank as the previous access then the wait states are based on the page mode , wtpage , number of wait states . which may be less than the wait states for a standard read . if the next access is from the subsequent row then the wait states are based on the standard read , wtread , number of wait states . dividing the number of bits per wordline by the width of a word determines the number of words which may be read in a page with the page number of wait states . the first access to the bank may be either a standard read access or a special burst read access . in fact , baaz can be active 100 % of the time . if a burst access , the read port interface determines whether it is the first or a subsequent access , to correctly set the number of wait states . if baaz is modulated during read operation then any transitions it makes must occur before the rising edge of clock which follows the rising edge in which the address is latched in . this is regardless of the number of wait states in either standard or page read modes . otherwise , baaz may be kept high or low at all times . fig4 is an example of special burst read and shows a burst access crossing a wordline boundary . this example has one wait state in random access mode and no wait states in burst mode . another example of special burst access read timing is shown in fig5 . in this mode the addresses while burst mode is active , baaz is low , are generated , but , in addition , it shows a rising edge of clock occurring while both baaz and advz are active low . in this case the address counter is superseded by the address on the input address bus . the appropriate number of wait states for the access is inserted by the read port interface depending on whether new address is on the same page or not . this allows a host to achieve page mode data rates while randomly addressing data if it is on the same wordline as the previous access . the example in fig5 shows a standard access ( two wait states ) followed by a sequential burst access from the same wordline ( one wait state ). this if followed by another standard access which happens to be on the same wordline ( one wait state ) which is , in turn , followed by a sequential burst access , still on the same wordline ( one wait state ). referring to fig6 there is illustrated the control logic according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the read port also supports pre - emptive data access . pre - emptive data access means that a new address is put on the input to begin a new access before the previous access has completed . for example , the host may request data at address 10 two wait states into a four wait state address cycle in which data for address 5 was being accessed . the system includes and address input ain 61 and latch 63 adapted to receive address signals from the interface bus . the direct address at input 61 is applied to logic 65 for accessing the memory bank 66 . advz and baaz control signals are applied to logic 65 to gate the address to the memory bank 66 . the current address is compared to the next address at comparator 71 . the comparator 71 determines if the next address and the current address are in the same row to generate the same row access signal . if not , gate 67 gates the normal count to the wait state logic 75 that provides the correct wait count to wait generator 77 . if there is a same row access then the page count is gated from gate 67 to the logic 75 and the appropriate count is provided from the wait state generator 77 . a second comparator 73 is responsive to the current address and the address from latch 63 to determines if the pre - empt access is from the same row . if not , the normal count is provided to logic 75 and with the presence of the correct advz to deliver the correct wait count to wait count generator 77 when the prior read is no longer in progress as determined by the input to logic 75 . likewise , a page count is provided when the read is from the same row . while ready is low during a standard or page access , a new address may be issued by taking advz low . this causes a new access to be initiated before the previous access completed . if in burst mode and at least one access has completed on the current row and the pre - empting address is on the same row then the page mode number of wait states will be inserted . if an access has not been completed on a row since the last row change and the pre - empting address is on the same row then the standard read number of wait states is inserted . if the pre - empting address is on a different row than the current row then the standard read number of wait states will be inserted . if pre - empting is utilized note that the generation of ready and pready signals will be affected and the host must comprehend their behavior . the behavior of ready and pready can be determined from the previous examples . fig7 illustrates access pre - empting . pre - empting may also be used in standard read mode , but the wtread number of wait states will always be used for the access . | 6 |
referring to the drawings and particularly to fig1 through 3 , there are shown three prior art hose clamps . as previously described , these fig1 - 3 illustrate examples of existing hose clamps , the disadvantages of which are overcome by the present invention . referring to fig4 there is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of a heat shrinkable polymer hose and tubing clamp 10 in its non - oriented , pre - expanded state . the clamp 10 is formed by first extruding a tube of the clamp material with a bore 12 , and cut to length , as shown . the tube is then mechanically expanded , taking on the end appearance depicted in fig5 by solid lines . this mechanical expansion is performing polymer orientation , which is the process of mechanically deforming the polymer material so as to generate stress within the polymer structure that can be later released . the stress release is manifest by the polymer material reshaping toward the shape it occupied prior to polymer orientation . the mechanical expansion is preferably by a factor in the range of about 20 percent to about 600 percent . mechanical expansion is more preferably by a factor in the range of about 100 percent to about 550 percent , and most preferably by a factor in the range of about 300 percent to about 500 percent . at this juncture , the clamp 10 has an inside diameter that exists during an interim period after polymer orientation yet before shrinkage , defined as the third inside diameter a . at this point , the hose clamp 10 is prepared for placement about the connection end of an elastomeric hose or tubing , for clamping the hose or tubing to a stem or other hose insert 16 , as depicted in fig5 and 6 . the stem or other insert 16 can be associated with any fluid transport system . however , such stems and inserts are more preferably associated with systems carrying liquids at temperatures in the range of about - 40 ° c . through about 175 ° c . in a preferred embodiment , the stems and inserts are associated with automotive engine coolant systems . the application of the clamp 10 generally involves placing the clamp 10 loosely about the hose 14 , can be a reinforced hose or tubing , at the connection end 18 , placing the connection end 18 about the stem or insert 16 , then heating the clamp 10 to a temperature where shrinkage will occur , referred to as the diameter reducing release temperature . the temperature is maintained at or about the release temperature , at least , until the clamp 10 shrinks down to fit very snugly about the connection end 18 , as depicted in fig6 and as dotted lines in fig5 . the diameter the clamp 10 has assumed at this point is defined as the second inside diameter b . as the material of the clamp 10 is fairly flexible and the shape of the clamp is without significant discontinuities , it can be seen that the constrictive force applied by the clamp 10 is substantially uniform . another preferred embodiment is depicted in fig7 and 8 . here the material of the clamp 10 is formed into a strip 10a . the strip is then stretched , by the same preferred factors as the previously described embodiment , for polymer orientation , as in fig7 . the oriented strip 10b is then folded back on itself to form a band and the overlap is chemically welded , as depicted in solid lines for clamp 10c of fig8 . the application of the clamp 10c in this embodiment is the same as that of the previous embodiment . however , this embodiment introduces a significant discontinuity in the clamp 10 at the position where the strip overlaps , giving rise to less uniform constrictive force . whether this reduction in uniformity provides an opportunity for leakage depends upon the clamp application . the characteristics of the material used in both previously described embodiments are essentially the same . the diameter reducing release temperature is preferably within the range of about - 40 ° c . through 175 ° c ., or more preferably within the range of 0 ° c . through 105 ° c ., or most preferably within the range of 35 ° c . through 75 ° c . further , the release temperature can preferably be preselected for an intended application , within the given range , by the choice of temperature at which the material is maintained during polymer orientation . the temperature chosen is the setting temperature . this provides the clamp designer flexibility to design for a variety of applications , as well as a variety of conditions to which the clamp will be subjected during transport and storage . the material of the clamp preferably tends to shrink every time it is subjected to temperature at or above its release temperature , while restrained from substantial shrinkage by the item being clamped , so long as the material has not reached a shrinkage point that corresponds to the shrinkage that would occur if the clamp was subjected to a temperature above its release temperature for a prolonged period with the clamp standing unrestrained in free space , defined as the first inside diameter ( not illustrated ). this is referred to as tenacious shrinkage . this is in contrast to those heat shrinkable materials that will shrink only a few times or even just once to a limit defined by its environment then take a set , such that even if unrestrained , the material refuses to ever again shrink appreciably . the material also has a combination of elasticity and a coefficient of thermal expansion such that the clamp retracts under cooling conditions at least as rapidly as the materials on which the clamp acts . specific to applications involving automotive coolant systems , the coefficient for the material is greater than 0 . 2 millimeter per meter per degree celsius . the combination of tenacious shrinkage , a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion and substantial elasticity , gives the clamp the characteristic of self - adjustment , in those applications where the clamp is subjected to temperatures above the selected release temperature , either continuously or periodically . assuming that the dynamic and static hoop stresses are adequate , self - adjustment coupled with substantial uniformity of constrictive force and conformability to irregularity in stem and insert shapes , gives the clamp the ability to compensate for the effects of temperature and age upon the hose and stem , to eliminate hot leaks as well as cold leaks over the life of the clamp and the associated fluid transport system . the effects of temperature include repeated thermal contraction and expansion . the more significant effects of age include flowing or compression of the hose or tubing material , whereby the hose or tubing walls thin in the proximity of the clamp . the adequacy of the dynamic and static hoop stresses is dependant upon the hoop stresses the clamp can produce in relation to the application to which it is put . for automotive coolant system application with stems and inserts of common design ; the dynamic hoop stress is preferably at least 0 . 1 × 10 6 pascals per centimeter of the second inside diameter , or more preferably 0 . 5 × 10 6 ; or most preferably 1 . 1 × 10 6 the static hoop stress is preferably at least 10 × 10 6 pascals per centimeter of the second inside diameter , or more preferably 25 × 10 6 , or most preferably 50 × 10 6 ; all over the temperature range of - 40 ° c . through 175 ° c . to ensure longevity of the efficacy of the clamp , it is necessary that the material exhibit no more than a maximum creep tendency of preferably 7 percent , more preferably 5 percent , or most preferably 3 percent . in the preferred application to the automotive coolant system the material has a preferred tensile impact strength of at least 1 . 0 kj / m 2 , or a more preferred tensile impact strength of at least 5 . 0 kj / m 2 , or a most preferred 10 kj / m 2 ; and a preferred minimum impact to break of preferably 0 . 04 j / m , or more preferably 0 . 09 j / m , or most preferably 0 . 4 j / m . the methods used to determine tensile impact strength and minimum impact to break are those described in astm 256 - 88 as izod test methods a , c and d . astm 256 - 88 is specifically incorporated herein by reference . also for the preferred application , the material is resistent to the common underhood chemicals ethylene glycol , gasoline , motor oil , and automatic transmission fluids types a and f . gasoline is defined as astm reference fuel c as described in astm d471 - 79 . motor oil is defined as astm oil no . 3 as described in astm d471 - 79 . astm d471 - 79 is specifically incorporated herein by reference . the preferred material &# 39 ; s resistance to these fluids is such that when the material is immersed in ethylene glycol and held at a temperature of 22 ° c . for seven days , it retains 101 percent of its original tensile strength , 94 percent of its original elongation before breakage , 86 percent of its original modulus , and swells by less than 1 percent ; when immersed in gasoline held at a temperature of 22 ° c . for seven days , it retains 93 percent of its original tensile strength , 94 percent of its original elongation before breakage , 91 percent of its original modulus , and swells by 24 percent ; when immersed in gasoline held at a temperature of 70 ° c . for seven days , it retains 105 percent of its original tensile strength , 102 percent of its original elongation before breakage , 92 percent of its original modulus , and swells by 31 percent ; when immersed in motor oil held at a temperature of 100 ° c . for seven days , it retains 104 percent of its original tensile strength , 107 percent of its original elongation before breakage , 101 percent of its original modulus , and swells by 11 percent ; when immersed in automatic transmission fluid type a held at a temperature of 100 ° c . for seven days , it retains 109 percent of its original tensile strength , 130 percent of its original elongation before breakage , and swells by 5 percent ; and when immersed in automatic transmission fluid type f held at a temperature of 100 ° c . for seven days , it retains 104 percent of its original tensile strength , 100 percent of its original elongation before breakage , and swells by 5 percent . the preferred embodiment of the present invention also has the additional benefit of capturing the material of the clamped hose so as to mitigate or prevent flow of the material from in between the clamp and the stem or insert . the preferred material that meets the preferred characteristics outlined above is marketed by dupont under the trademark of hytrel . other materials having similar characteristics and which meet the criteria set forth above are also envisioned . the heat shrinkable polymer hose and tubing clamp of the present invention and according to the preferred embodiments is self - adjusting so as to accommodate the effects of temperature and age upon hoses or tubing and stems or inserts . the clamp is of a relatively flexible material which allows it to both exert a uniform constrictive force and to conform to irregularities in the shape of either the hose or stem . moreover , the clamp tends to capture the hose material which reduces the tendency of the hose material to flow from in between the clamp and the stem . the net result of these characteristics is to provide an improved resistance to hot and cold leaks by the connections clamped by the preferred embodiments of the present invention . the clamp of the present invention also provides adequate hoop stresses to prevent blow - off and pull - off of hoses associated with automotive coolant systems utilizing stems and inserts of common design . it is adequately resistent to the chemicals of the automotive coolant system environment and adequately resistent to corrosion so as to provide service over a substantial lifetime . it is lightweight and devoid of projections that waste space and can be a source for collection of debris . moreover , the clamp is fast to install and susceptible to modern assembly line installation . this combination of characteristics and benefits has heretofore been unavailable in hose clamps , particularly hose clamps applied to automotive coolant systems . the foregoing description and illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and described in detail in varying modifications and alternate embodiments . it should be understood , however , that the foregoing description of the invention is exemplary only , and that the scope of the invention is to be limited only to the claims as interpreted in view of prior art . moreover , the invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein . | 1 |
embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures . example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to a configuration in that information processors such as pcs ( personal computers ) and network devices are connected over a network . fig1 is a block diagram showing an example of the whole construction of a network device service system 1 . as shown in fig1 , the network device service system 1 is configured with plural information processors 2 and plural network devices 3 connected over a network 4 . the information processors 2 and the network devices 3 are not always required to be plural . the network device 3 provides the information processors 2 connected to the network 4 with network services . in the embodiments of the present invention , types of network services are arbitrary ( e . g ., a storage service , a print service , etc .). the information processor 2 is an all - purpose electronic computer such as a pc and can use the network services of the network devices 3 . then , the functional configurations of the network devices 3 and the information processors 2 will be described in detail . fig2 is a block diagram showing the functional configurations of the network devices 3 and the information processors 2 . the functional configurations of the network devices 3 will be described in detail . as shown in fig2 , the network device 3 is comprised of a network i / f 51 , a control section 6 , a service component 7 , a parameter information storage section 8 , a parameter information file creation section 9 , an installer program storage section 10 , a storage medium i / f 111 , and a storage medium write section 12 . the network i / f ( interface ) 51 is physically connected to the network 4 and provides the information processor 2 with network services over the connected network 4 . the control section 6 executes control processing of the network services and also executes manual setting of a network address ( ip address in a tcp / ip network ) for specifying the network device 3 on the network 4 or setting by using an automatic network address setting mechanism ( e . g ., a dhcp [ dynamic host configuration protocol ] etc . in the tcp / ip network ) to execute processing to connect logically to the network 4 and to update parameter information including the network address and the like . connection to the network ( e . g ., a net beui [ netbios extended user interface ] using a mac [ media access control address ] address unique to the network device etc .) 4 using a unique address of the network device 3 is made by merely connecting physically . the parameter information storage section 8 stores parameter information 13 including the network address determined by the control section 6 and the set value unique to the network device set in the network device 3 . the parameter information file creation section 9 processes to create a parameter information file reflecting the parameter information 13 stored in the parameter information storage section 8 . the installer program storage section 10 stores an installer program 14 which is a setup program for making the network device 3 , which can be executed by a given information processor 2 , usable by registering it in an operating system ( hereinafter referred to as the os ) stored in the given information processor 2 . the installer program 14 has as a resource a unique driver file necessary to use the network device 3 by the information processor 2 other than the function of registering on the os and also has a function to deploy the pertinent driver file in the storage device within the information processor 2 , and a function to read a file system in a medium ( any type ) where the installer program 14 itself is stored , to read a parameter information file from it and to reflect the content on the setup process . the configuration is not limited to have the installer program storage section 10 built in the network device 3 but it may be configured such that the installer program 14 is stored in a server or the like on the network 4 and taken out from the server as appropriate . the storage medium i / f 111 is an interface for physical connection to a storage medium 15 . the storage medium write section 12 writes a parameter information file created by the parameter information file creation section 9 and the installer program 14 stored in the installer program storage section 10 into the storage medium 15 connected to the storage medium i / f 111 . the type of the storage medium 15 is arbitrary ( e . g ., when the storage medium 15 is a usb memory , the storage medium write section 12 has a usb host function ). the functional configuration of the information processor 2 will be described in detail . as shown in fig2 , the information processor 2 is physically connected to the network 4 and comprises a network i / f 52 for receiving the network services from the network device 3 through the connected network 4 , and a storage medium i / f 112 which is an interface for physical connection to the storage medium 15 . the information processor 2 uses an unshown cpu ( central processing unit ), rom ( read only memory ), ram ( random access memory ) and hd ( hard disk ) to process data and obtain the network services . then , the functional operation executed by the network device 3 when the network device 3 is connected to the network 4 will be described in detail with reference to fig2 . when the network i / f 51 of the network device 3 is connected to the network 4 , the control section 6 executes manual setting of a network address or setting by using the automatic network address setting mechanism to connect logically the network device 3 to the network 4 , and stores the parameter information 13 containing the network address and the like in the parameter information storage section 8 . then , the functional operation effected by the network device 3 when the installer program 14 and the parameter information file are written into the storage medium 15 will be described in detail with reference to fig2 . when a user connects the storage medium 15 of a conforming type to the storage medium i / f 111 of the network device 3 , the storage medium i / f 111 notifies the connection of the storage medium to the control section 6 . the control section 6 having received the notification of the connection of the storage medium gives a parameter information file creation instruction to the parameter information file creation section 9 and also provides the storage medium write section 12 with an instruction for writing of the installer program 14 and the parameter information file into the storage medium 15 . the method of notifying about the connection of the storage medium may be any method . for example , the user can push a button to notify the control section 6 about the connection of the storage medium . the parameter information file creation section 9 , when receiving an instruction for creation of the parameter information file , reads the parameter information 13 , which is currently set in the network device itself , from the parameter information storage section 8 , creates a parameter information file which reflects the read parameter information 13 , and gives the created parameter information file to the storage medium write section 12 . upon receiving the instruction of writing the installer program 14 and the parameter information file into the storage medium 15 , the storage medium write section 12 reads the installer program 14 from the installer program storage section 10 and writes the read installer program 14 and the parameter information file received from the parameter information file creation section 9 into the storage medium 15 via the storage medium i / f 11 . and , the network device 3 notifies the user of the completion of writing of the installer program 14 and the parameter information file into the storage medium 15 by any method ( e . g ., indication on a panel ). the user takes the storage medium 15 from the storage medium i / f 111 and connects the taken storage medium 15 to the storage medium i / f 112 of the information processor 2 intended to use the network device 3 . the user activates the installer program 14 stored in the storage medium 15 or the installer program 14 is automatically activated by an automatic play function or the like possessed by the os stored in the information processor 2 . the activated installer program 14 reads the parameter information file from the storage medium 15 and executes setup of the network device 3 according to the network address or the like contained in the read parameter information file . therefore , the information processor 2 having completed the setup of the network device 3 can receive the network services provided by the network device 3 via the network i / f 52 . then , the procedure of the parameter information setting processing executed by the network device 3 when the network device 3 is connected to the network 4 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in fig3 . the network device is connected to the network ( step s 301 ), the network address is set ( step s 302 ), parameter information containing the set network address is stored ( step s 303 ), and the parameter information setting processing is terminated . then , the write processing executed by the network device 3 at the time of writing the installer program 14 and the parameter information file into the storage medium 15 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in fig4 . the storage medium is connected to the network device ( step s 401 ), the parameter information file is created according to the parameter information ( step s 402 ), the installer program is read ( step s 403 ), the parameter information file and the installer program are written into the storage medium ( step s 404 ), and the writing processing is terminated . the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above - described example in that the parameter information file is created when the installer program 14 is written into the storage medium 15 but can also be applied to a configuration in that a parameter information file is previously created and stored . in such a case , as timing of creating the parameter information file , there may be applied a configuration in that a default file is stored at the time of shipping of the network device 3 , a configuration in that a parameter information file is created and stored after turning on the network device 3 , a configuration in that the parameter information file once created at the time of writing into the storage medium 15 is stored , or the like . in addition , as parameter information file update timing , there may be applied a configuration in that update is made as required at the time of change in the parameter setting of the network device 3 , a configuration in that , at the time of writing in the storage medium , the parameter setting of that time is updated , or the like . fig5 is a diagram showing a functional structure of the network device of example 2 and a configuration example of a network including the network device . as shown in fig5 , the network device 3 is connected to plural information processors 2 ( 2 - 1 to 2 - n ) through the network 4 . the network device 3 is a network device such as a printer , a facsimile , a scanner or the like and commonly used by the individual information processors 2 . the information processors 2 are computers such as pcs ( personal computers ) and can execute a variety of processing by running a variety of application software . and , the information processor 2 has a web browser 23 installed as one of the application software . the computer configuring the information processor 2 and the web browser 23 are for general - purpose use . the information processors 2 - 2 to 2 - n have the web browser 23 omitted in fig5 but actually have the web browser 23 installed in the same manner as the information processor 2 - 1 . here , the configuration of the network device 3 will be described . as shown in fig5 , the network device 3 has a web server function section 16 , a configuration monitoring section 17 , a configuration information creation section 18 , and a storage section 19 . the web server function section 16 operates as a web server and provides the web browser 23 and the like with various types of web pages including a device driver download page . the configuration monitoring section 17 monitors the configuration of options and the like mounted on the network device 3 . various options are mounted on the network device 3 . for example , when the network device 3 is a printer , the options are an expanded memory , a tray , a double - sided unit and the like , and when the network device 3 is a scanner , the options are an expanded memory , an adf ( automatic document feeder ) and the like . according to the instruction from the web server function section 16 , the configuration information creation section 18 creates configuration information indicating the configuration of the network device 3 being monitored by the configuration monitoring section 17 . the storage section 19 stores page information ( not shown ) on individual web pages displayed by the web server function section 16 and an installer 20 for installing a device driver of the network device 3 . the installer 20 includes a configuration information file 21 recording the configuration information created by the configuration information creation section 18 and a device driver 22 corresponding to the network device 3 . the installer 20 is an executable file , so that the device driver 22 is installed in the information processor 2 by executing the installer 20 by the information processor 2 , and setting is made according to the configuration information recorded in the configuration information file 21 . then , a flow of device driver provision processing in the configuration shown in fig5 will be described . fig6 is a flow chart showing the flow of device driver provision processing in example 2 . in the device driver provision processing , a user operates to designate a url of the network device 3 on the web browser 23 of the information processor 2 ( step s 601 ), and the web browser 23 accesses the web server function section 16 of the network device 3 . subsequently , the web server function section 16 responds and sends information for displaying a top page to the web browser 23 ( step s 602 ), and the web browser 23 displays the top page ( step s 603 ). the top page shows information on the network device 3 and a link to a page for instruction of processing . then , the user operates the web browser 23 and selects a link to the download page of the device driver ( step s 604 ), the web server function section 16 responds and sends information for displaying the device driver download page to the web browser 23 ( step s 605 ), and the web browser 23 displays the device driver download page ( step s 606 ). when the user demands to download a device driver from the device driver download page ( step s 607 ), the web server function section 16 having received the demand operates the configuration information creation section 18 . the configuration information creation section 18 creates configuration information according to the configuration of the network device 3 monitored by the configuration monitoring section 17 and records in the configuration information file 21 ( step s 608 ) and creates the installer 20 including the configuration information file 21 ( step s 609 ). the processing by the configuration information creation section 18 is actually a processing to rewrite the configuration information file 21 as necessary . when the installer 20 is created by the configuration information creation section 18 , the web server function section 16 sends the installer 20 to the web browser 23 ( step s 610 ), the web browser 23 obtains the installer 20 to store it into the information processor 2 ( step s 611 ), and the device driver provision processing is terminated . when the installer stored in the information processor 2 is later activated by the user , the installer installs the device driver 22 in the information processor 2 , and makes setting to the device driver 22 according to the configuration information recorded in the configuration information file 21 . fig7 is a diagram showing a functional structure of the network device in example 3 and a configuration example of a network including the network device . as shown in fig7 , the network device 3 is connected to plural information processors 2 ( 2 - 1 to 2 - n ) over the network 4 . the network device 3 is a network device such as a printer , a facsimile , a scanner or the like and commonly used by the individual information processors 2 . the information processors 2 are computers such as pcs ( personal computers ) or the like and can execute a variety of processing by operating a variety of application software . the information processor 2 has the web browser 23 installed as one of the application software . the computer configuring the information processor 2 and the web browser 23 are for general - purpose use . the information processors 2 - 2 to 2 - n have the web browser 23 omitted in fig7 but actually have the web browser 23 installed in the same manner as the information processor 2 - 1 . here , the configuration of the network device 3 will be described . as shown in fig7 , the network device 3 has a web server function section 16 , a configuration monitoring section 17 , a configuration information creation section 18 , and a storage section 19 . the web server function section 16 operates as a web server and provides the web browser 23 and the like with various types of web pages including a device driver download page . the configuration monitoring section 17 monitors the configuration of options and the like mounted on the network device 3 . various options are mounted on the network device 3 . for example , when the network device 3 is a printer , the options are an expanded memory , a tray , a double - sided unit and the like , and when the network device 3 is a scanner , the options are an expanded memory , an adf ( automatic document feeder ) and the like . when the configuration monitoring section 17 detects that the configuration of the network device 3 is changed , the configuration information creation section 18 creates configuration information indicating the configuration of the network device 3 according to the detected result . the storage section 19 stores page information ( not shown ) of individual web pages indicated by the web server function section 16 and an installer 20 for installing a device driver of the network device 3 . the installer 20 includes a configuration information file 21 recording the configuration information created by the configuration information creation section 18 and a device driver 22 corresponding to the network device 3 . the installer 20 is an executable file , so that the device driver 22 is installed in the information processor 2 by executing the installer 20 by the information processor 2 , and setting is made according to the configuration information recorded in the configuration information file 21 . then , a flow of device driver provision processing in the configuration shown in fig7 will be described . fig8 and fig9 are flow charts showing the flows of device driver provision processing in example 3 . in the device driver provision processing of example 3 , the network device 3 always monitors the configuration and executes the installer creation processing according to the monitored result . in this processing , the configuration monitoring section 17 of the network device 3 monitors the configuration of the network device 3 ( step s 801 ) and , when it detects that the configuration is changed ( yes in step s 802 ), the configuration information creation section 18 is operated . according to the change in the configuration detected by the configuration monitoring section 17 , the configuration information creation section 18 creates configuration information , records it in the configuration information file 21 ( step s 803 ) and creates the installer 20 containing the configuration information file 21 ( step s 804 ). the processing by the configuration information creation section 18 is actually a processing to rewrite the configuration information file 21 as necessary . in the actual processing of providing a device driver , a user operates to designate a url of the network device 3 on the web browser 23 of the information processor 2 ( step s 901 ), and the web browser 23 accesses the web server function section 16 of the network device 3 . subsequently , the web server function section 16 responds and sends information for displaying a top page to the web browser 23 ( step s 902 ), and the web browser 23 displays the top page ( step s 903 ). the top page shows information about the network device 3 and a link to a page for instruction of processing . then , the user operates the web browser 23 to select a link to the download page of the device driver ( step s 904 ), the web server function section 16 responds and sends information for displaying the device driver download page to the web browser 23 ( step s 905 ), and the web browser 23 displays the device driver download page ( step s 906 ). when the user demands to download the device driver from the device driver download page ( step s 907 ), the web server function section 16 having received the demand sends the installer 20 stored in the storage section 19 to the web browser 23 ( step s 908 ). the web browser 23 obtains the installer 20 and stores in the information processor 2 ( step s 909 ), and the device driver provision processing is terminated . because the installer stored in the information processor 2 is created by the configuration information creation section 18 when the configuration of the network device 3 is changed , it installs the device driver 22 in the information processor 2 when activated later by the user and performs setting to the device driver 22 according to the configuration information recorded in the configuration information file 21 . when the configuration of the network device in example 1 and the configuration of the network device in example 2 or example 3 are combined to setup a network device to the information processor , it is also possible to apply a configuration in that an installer is installed via the storage medium to setup the network device and , when a device driver is later installed due to a change in the configuration of the network device , the installer sent by the web server function section is installed over the network , so that the device driver , which is set in accordance with the change in the configuration of the network device , is installed . | 6 |
the basic structure of the diagnostic procedure according to the invention is shown in fig3 . in the procedure of the invention , initial states of the field bus system are initially recorded , wherein , in a potential initial state , the entire field bus system is shut down , the connected field devices are neither known nor configured and no connection is set up . however , the diagnostic procedure according to the invention can also be used during running operation of the field bus system , wherein it can then actively query missing information about the states of the bus users , if necessary . examples of states of field devices and device - specific information which can be determined and updated by the diagnostic system according to the invention are : device address ; device type ; device starting up ; device running in steady - state mode ; device shutting down ; device failing ; device is wrongly parameterized or configured ; device transmitting operating state ; device transmitting alarm or error message ; input / output data of the device . examples of state information which relates to the field bus and its connection to the bus users are : state of connection ( set - up , cleared down ); connection characteristics , e . g . cyclic , acyclic , logical channel number . bus parameters such as transmission rate , line length , transmission methods , topology , priorities ; timing parameters such as cycle times , pause times ; error statistics such as message repetitions , faulty messages . in the embodiment shown in fig3 , the diagnostic procedure according to the invention is used as a bus analyzer . it is implemented as a program which , for example , runs on a portable pc and can be connected to the field bus when necessary . for example , it is used by commissioning and service personnel for checking field bus systems and for fault finding in field bus systems . as mentioned above , the initial states of the bus users are initially determined in the procedure . then the data packets are successively detected and analyzed for all bus users . having knowledge of the preceding state for the respective bus user and of the associated data packet , the state can be updated for the respective bus user . the updated states are recorded . as a result , a simple classification of the states into categories such as “ faultless operation ”, “ irregularities in operation ” and “ error occurred ” is initially possible . these states can be represented , for example , in color in the form of a traffic light function , allocating the colors green , yellow and red to the respective bus users . as a result , a user obtains a simple and illustrative overview of the operation of his field bus system without having to analyze any data packets . using the procedure according to the invention , a nominal - actual comparison is also possible in which the expected ideal state of the field bus system is compared with the real system state and deviations are indicated . typical state information for this application is : list of the field devices active on the field bus ; operating states of the field devices such as start - up , shut - down , in operation , fault occurred , not configured or wrongly configured ; input / output data of the field devices , edited device - specifically if possible ; information relating to the field devices such as manufacturer , type ; statistical information such as number of disturbed data packets , number of restarts , number of the alarm message . not all of this information can be decoded from the data packets ( messages ) alone . for example , the input / output data of the field devices are transmitted as an unformatted byte sequence , the semantics of the byte sequence being device specific . a semantically correct representation is possible only if a description of the device structure is available . such descriptions are defined for virtually all field buses as “ electronic device description ”. for the evaluation of the input / output data of the field devices , the invention , in one embodiment , provides to issue for each device type an unambiguous type identification via which the associated electronic device description can be referenced . the diagnostic facility can then obtain from this file the necessary knowledge for semantically correct representation , e . g . of the input / output data or the alarm message . this type of analysis of the data packets is illustrated in the example of a motor controller : particular bits of the input / output data signify , e . g . “ on ” or “ off ”, “ clockwise ” or “ anticlockwise ”; other bits indicate that an alarm message is present . within an alarm message , in turn , particular bits can signify “ current limiting active ” or “ maximum operating temperature exceeded ”. the diagnostic facility can thus represent the state of a motor control device , instead of the binary representation “ 01100010 ”, in plain text “ motor on , counterclockwise ”. fig4 shows a screen print - out for representing the state information in the diagnostic facility according to the invention . the tree of the left - hand side of the figure shows a profibus segment , that is to say the field bus system , in which there is a master ( controller ) which , in turn , has a number of associated slaves ( field devices ). each component , i . e . the actual field bus , the controller and the field devices , has an associated “ traffic light ”, wherein the system state can be seen at a glance due to the representation with traffic light colors . on the right - hand side of the representation , the state data of in each case one component can be displayed in detail . in a further embodiment of the invention , the diagnostic facility is mainly used for statistical long - term observation of the field bus system . for this purpose , the diagnostic procedure according to the invention is used in a diagnostic device permanently installed in the field bus system and the changes of particular elements of the state vector are predominantly considered which can point to malfunctions . these elements are , for example : changes in the number of active field devices which can point to the failure of individual devices ; the occurrence , increase or decrease in message repetitions which can point to a deterioration or improvement in the line or signal quality ; a repeated occurrence of restart and / or reparameterization of the field devices which can point to a sporadic device failure ; the occurrence and particularly the accumulation of alarm messages . in this embodiment of the diagnostic procedure according to the invention , the state vector which reproduces the states of the bus users is thus filtered for particular elements and statistically evaluated . by monitoring this state information , deterioration can be detected early and a system stoppage can be avoided by preventative maintenance . as a result , production failures , in particular , can be avoided . in a further embodiment of the invention , the diagnostic facility is predominantly used for visualizing the process sequences and for evaluating the field bus system overall . as shown in fig1 , the field bus systems , as a rule , connect a central controller to field devices such as input / output assemblies , sensors , controllers and the like for process linkage . communication occurs , for example , cyclically between the controller and the other bus users . without a diagnostic device , the transmitted data could be accessed , for the purpose of visualization or logging , only via the controller to which , however , it is not possible to link arbitrary external systems . therefore , the diagnostic procedure according to the invention can also be used for detecting data by passive monitoring in order to represent them visually or to log them . the diagnostic procedure according to the invention can also be used for “ asset management ” or “ asset monitoring ” in order to detect , evaluate and store system data and operating parameters at a central point . in this context , complete inventories of the bus users and an evaluation of their operability can be generated . this can be implemented by the procedure according to the invention by merely “ monitoring ” the data traffic on the field bus without the existing communication structure having to be changed . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates a system 100 for adapting application features in realtime based on dynamically gathered usability information 105 , according to some embodiments of the present invention . it is to be understood that although various components are illustrated in fig1 as separate entities , each illustrated component represents a collection of functionalities which can be implemented as software , hardware , firmware or any combination of these . where a component is implemented as software , it can be implemented as a standalone program , but can also be implemented in other ways , for example as part of a larger program , as a plurality of separate programs , as a kernel loadable module , as one or more device drivers or as one or more statically or dynamically linked libraries . as illustrated in fig1 , a feature analysis manager 101 includes a gathering module 103 for gathering usage data 105 concerning specific features 107 of applications 109 , and a modification module 111 for modifying the applications 109 , for example by adjusting the availability of features 107 being monitored . gathered usage data 105 is transmitted to an analysis module 113 for processing . the analysis module 113 is also a component of feature analysis manager 101 . the analysis module 113 makes determinations 115 as to modifications to be made to applications 109 from which usage data 105 has been gathered . the analysis module 113 transmits these modification determinations 115 to the modification module 111 , which modifies the applications 109 accordingly . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the gathering module 103 and the modification module 111 are instantiated in the form of software instrumentation within applications 109 being modified , and the analysis module 113 is instantiated as software running on a backend server 117 . it is to be understood that in other embodiments , some or all of this functionality can be distributed in other ways , and reside on a single computing device or on more and / or different computing devices as desired . it is to be understood that although fig1 illustrates two applications 109 being monitored and updated , the present invention can be used in conjunction with any number of applications 109 and / or entire systems as desired . the gathering module 103 can glean usage data 105 such as how frequently certain features 107 ( e . g ., user interface components or available functionalities ) are accessed by users , which menu options are and are not selected by users and how long users spend performing various operations ( e . g ., the lengths of time users spend on a given dialog before selecting an option ). as noted above , the gathering module 103 transmits this data 105 to the analysis module 113 . the analysis module 113 analyzes the received data 105 and determines features 107 and options that can be eliminated , simplified , or otherwise improved . for example , if two options are presented on a menu and one of those options is selected 100 % of the time by all users , then the second option can be eliminated altogether . more generally , if a dialog contains , e . g ., ten options but only , e . g ., three of them are ever used with a desired level of regularity , then the unused ( or infrequently used ) options can be eliminated . if users are found to spend a lot of time determining which option to choose on a given dialog ( or on another type of user interface element presenting choices ), then that dialog can be reworked , for example by splitting it into multiple dialogs . it is to be understood that these are only examples of the types of analysis that can be performed , and the types of determinations 115 that can be reached . the specific analysis logic to apply and the specific criteria on which to make specific modification determinations 115 are variable design parameters . once the modification determinations 115 have been made , the analysis module 113 transmits the determinations 115 to the modification module 111 ( e . g ., running as instrumentation at an application 109 level , as illustrated ). the modification module 111 then makes the corresponding modifications 115 to the application 109 , for example by suppressing eliminated features 107 . as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art , the instrumentation to allow for significant dynamic changes can be flexibly implemented with data driven user interface specifications such as hypertext markup language (“ html ”), or within the context of more static user interface models , such as traditional microsoft windows ® programming , which also supports dynamic instrumentation . the implementation mechanics of implementing such dynamic instrumentation is known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art , and its use within the context of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of such a skill level in light of this specification . fig2 is a flowchart illustrating steps for adapting application features in realtime , based on dynamically gathered usability information , according to some embodiments of the present invention . the gathering module dynamically gathers 201 information 105 concerning usage of application 109 features 107 . as noted above , in some embodiments the gathering module 103 comprises instrumentation associated with the application 109 in question , whereas in other embodiments the gathering module 103 can comprise other instantiations of application monitoring functionality , for example software running as an integral part of the feature analysis manager 101 running on a backend server 117 . therefore , in some embodiments , the analysis module 113 receives the usability information 105 from an external source running on another computing device . in other embodiments the information 105 is gathered 201 by a process running on the same computing device ( e . g ., a backend server 117 ) as the analysis module 113 , wherein this process monitors execution of the application 109 as it is being used . the gathering module 103 can gather 201 application usability data 105 such as information 105 concerning which user interface components are accessed by users , information 105 concerning frequencies with which user interface components are accessed by users , information 105 concerning which options associated with user interface components are selected by users , information 105 concerning frequencies with such options are selected by users and information 105 concerning lengths of time users spend performing various operations while using the application 109 . of course , these are only examples of the type of data 105 that can be gathered 201 . the analysis module 109 analyzes 203 the gathered information 105 . responsive to results of the analysis , the analysis module 109 determines 205 modifications 115 to make to the application 109 . this can comprise , for example , determining 205 components ( e . g ., user interface components , user interface selectable options and / or program functionalities ) to eliminate from the application 109 , add to the application 109 , or simplify . responsive to the determinations 115 made by the analysis module 113 , the modification module 111 modifies 207 the application 109 in realtime . as noted above , in some embodiments , the modification module 111 comprises instrumentation associated with the application 109 in question , whereas in other embodiments the modification module 111 can comprise other instantiations of application modifying functionality , for example software running as an integral part of the feature analysis manager 101 running on a backend server 117 . therefore , in some embodiments , the analysis module 113 sends the usability information 105 to an external source running on another computing device , and in other embodiments the modifications are made 207 by a process running on the same computing device as the analysis module 113 . as will be understood by those familiar with the art , the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . likewise , the particular naming and division of the portions , modules , agents , managers , components , functions , procedures , actions , layers , features , attributes , methodologies and other aspects are not mandatory or significant , and the mechanisms that implement the invention or its features may have different names , divisions and / or formats . furthermore , as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art , the portions , modules , agents , managers , components , functions , procedures , actions , layers , features , attributes , methodologies and other aspects of the invention can be implemented as software , hardware , firmware or any combination of the three . of course , wherever a component of the present invention is implemented as software , the component can be implemented as a script , as a standalone program , as part of a larger program , as a plurality of separate scripts and / or programs , as a statically or dynamically linked library , as a kernel loadable module , as a device driver , and / or in every and any other way known now or in the future to those of skill in the art of computer programming . additionally , the present invention is in no way limited to implementation in any specific programming language , or for any specific operating system or environment . furthermore , it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art that where the present invention is implemented in whole or in part in software , the software components thereof can be stored on computer readable media as computer program products . any form of computer readable medium can be used in this context , such as magnetic or optical storage media . additionally , software portions of the present invention can be instantiated ( for example as object code or executable images ) within the memory of any programmable computing device . accordingly , the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , but not limiting , of the scope of the invention , which is set forth in the following claims . | 6 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.