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hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings . it should be noted that substantially the same constituent elements are given the same reference numerals , and the explanations thereof will not be repeated . a 1 × ev - do system as a wireless data communication system will be described with reference to fig3 . here , fig3 is a block diagram of the 1 × ev - do system . in fig3 , a 1 × ev - do system 500 includes terminals 100 - 1 and 100 - 2 , wireless base stations 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 , and ip switches ( ip - sws ) 130 - 1 and 130 - 2 . the terminal 100 - 1 is accommodated in the base station 110 - 1 . in addition , the terminal 100 - 2 is accommodated in the base station 110 - 2 . it should be noted that the ip - sws 130 are connected to the internet 150 . with reference to fig4 , a configuration of the wireless base station will be described . here , fig4 is a functional block diagram of the wireless base station . in fig4 , the wireless base station 110 includes a wireless signal transceiver unit 201 , a modulation / demodulation processing unit 211 , a base station control unit 221 , a line interface unit 231 , a data rate operation / management unit 241 , a threshold value operation / management unit 251 , a delay management unit 261 , and an antenna 271 . the wireless signal transceiver unit 201 includes a received signal processing unit 203 which receives a wireless signal from the terminal with the antenna 271 to be converted into a digital signal , and a transmission signal processing unit 202 which converts a digital signal into a wireless signal to be transmitted from the antenna 271 . the modulation / demodulation processing unit 211 includes a demodulation processing unit 213 which demodulates the digital signal converted by the received signal processing unit 203 , and a modulation processing unit 212 which modulates the digital signal to be transmitted to the terminal in accordance with the wireless environment of the terminal . the line interface unit 231 is an interface with the ip - sw 130 . the base station control unit 221 has monitoring and controlling functions of the wireless base station 110 . the data rate operation / management unit 241 operates a time - averaged data rate for each terminal , and stores and manages the same . the threshold value operation / management unit 251 performs a threshold value operation / determination for each terminal by using the average value stored in the data rate operation / management unit and a current data rate . the threshold value operation / management unit 251 performs the following threshold value operation : where ri_ave represents an average data rate of a terminal i , ri represents a current data rate , and th represents a threshold value . in the case where the current value ri continuously falls below the average value ri_ave ( th & lt ; 1 ), the delay management unit 261 assumes that the wireless environment of the terminal i deteriorates . the delay management unit 261 monitors the threshold value operation / management unit 251 to manage the delay of the accommodated terminal . with reference to fig5 , a configuration of the terminal will be described . here , fig5 is a functional block diagram of the terminal . in fig5 , the terminal 100 includes an antenna 361 , a transceiver unit 301 , a modulation / demodulation processing unit 311 , a control unit 321 which controls the entire terminal 100 , an internal memory 351 , a speaker 341 , and a microphone 331 . further , the transceiver unit 301 includes a transmission processing unit 302 and a reception processing unit 303 . further , the modulation / demodulation processing unit 311 includes a modulation processing unit 312 and a demodulation processing unit 313 . referring to fig3 , there will be described a case in which the terminals 100 - 1 and 100 - 2 perform voip communications using the 1 × ev - do system 500 . the terminals 100 - 1 and 100 - 2 notify the base station 110 of wireless environment information as a data rate control signal , irrespective of presence or absence of data communications when they are located within service areas of the wireless base stations 110 - 1 and 110 - 2 . the terminals 100 - 1 and 100 - 2 start the voip communications from the service area of the wireless base station 110 - 1 and the service area of the wireless base station 110 - 2 , respectively . in the terminal 100 - 2 , a voice signal is converted from voice data into voice packets by digital signal processing of the modulation processing unit 312 , and the voice packets are transmitted to the wireless base station 110 - 2 while being superimposed on a wireless signal by the transmission processing unit 302 . the wireless signal is converted into the voice packets by the received signal processing unit 203 of the wireless base station 110 - 2 , and the voice packets are demodulated into the voice data by the demodulation processing unit 213 . then , the voice data is transmitted to the line interface unit 231 of the wireless base station 110 - 1 through the line interface unit 231 , the ip - sw 130 - 2 , the internet 150 , and the ip - sw 130 - 1 . the data received by the line interface unit 231 of the wireless base station 110 - 1 is modulated into packet data in the modulation processing unit 212 in accordance with the data rate notified from the terminal 100 - 1 , and is divided into slots . the data which is divided into slots is superimposed on a wireless signal by the transmission signal processing unit 202 to be transmitted to the terminal 100 - 1 . the wireless signal received by the terminal 100 - 1 is converted into voice packets by the reception processing unit 303 , and the voice packets are converted into the voice data by the demodulation processing unit 313 , so that the voice signal reaches through the speaker 341 . hereinafter , an explanation will be given focusing on the wireless base station 110 - 1 and the terminal 100 - 1 . the terminal 100 - 1 notifies the wireless base station 110 - 1 of wireless environment information as a data rate control signal , irrespective of presence or absence of data communications when the terminal 100 - 1 is located within the service area of the wireless base station 110 - 1 . the wireless base station 110 - 1 operates the average value r 1 _ave ( here , i = 1 ) using the received data rate value with the data rate operation / management unit 241 , and stores the same . in accordance with the data rate notification from the terminal 100 - 1 , the modulation processing unit 212 in the wireless base station 110 - 1 modulates voice packets y 1 , y 2 , and so on to be transmitted to the terminal 100 - 1 so as to be divided into slots . if a data rate of 76 . 8 kbits / s is required , the voice packets y 1 , y 2 , and so on are transmitted in the order from a slot y 1 - 1 to a slot y 1 - 8 , from a slot y 2 - 1 to a slot y 2 - 8 , and so on . here , a threshold value operation is performed using ( formula 1 ) with the average value r 1 _ave stored in the data rate operation / management unit 241 and the current data rate r 1 . in the case where the current value r 1 during the data communications continuously falls below r 1 _ave ( th & lt ; 1 ) and the wireless environment of the terminal 100 - 1 possibly deteriorates , the delay management unit 261 skips and discards the voice packets to be modulated . when the threshold value th is 1 . 0 or larger , the delay management unit 261 does not perform the skipping process . when the threshold value th is 0 . 5 or larger and smaller than 1 . 0 , the delay management unit 261 performs one skipping process for five packets . when the threshold value th is 0 . 5 or smaller , the delay management unit 261 performs one skipping process for three packets . such a skipping process of the packets reduces delay . further , although the quality of voice deteriorates , enhanced variable rate codec ( evrc ) is used as voice codec , so that communications are possible without causing continuous interruptions of voice . further , the slots which are supposed to be transmitted become available by the skipping of packets , so that other users can use the slots and the number of terminals to be accommodated in the base stations is increased . the terminal 100 - 1 notifies the base station 110 - 1 of wireless environment information as a data rate control signal , irrespective of presence or absence of data communications when the terminal 100 - 1 is located within the service area of the wireless base station 110 - 1 . the wireless base station 110 - 1 operates the average value r 1 _ave ( i = 1 ) using the received data rate value with the data rate operation / management unit 241 , and stores the same . in accordance with the data rate requirement from the terminal 100 - 1 , the modulation processing unit 212 in the wireless base station 110 - 1 modulates voice packets y 1 , y 2 , and so on to be transmitted to the terminal 100 - 1 so as to be divided into slots . if a data rate of 76 . 8 kbits / s is required , the voice packets y 1 , y 2 , and so on are divided into slots y 1 - 1 to y 1 - 8 , y 2 - 1 to y 2 - 8 , and so on by the modulation processing unit 212 , and are transmitted to the terminal 100 - 1 through the transmission signal processing unit 202 . the terminal 100 - 1 allows the demodulation processing unit 313 therein to demodulate the packet y 1 using the slot y 1 - 1 . if the packet y 1 can be demodulated , ack is transmitted to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . if not , nak is transmitted to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . in the case where ack is returned from the terminal 100 - 1 , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits y 2 - 1 without transmitting y 1 - 2 . in the case where nak is returned , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits the next slot y 1 - 2 . the terminal 100 - 1 demodulates the packet y 1 using the slots y 1 - 1 and y 1 - 2 . if the packet y 1 can be demodulated , ack is returned . if not , nak is returned . in the case of ack , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits a slot y 2 - 1 . in the case of nak , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits the next slot y 1 - 3 . the terminal 100 - 1 demodulates the packet y 1 using the slots y 1 - 1 , y 1 - 2 and y 1 - 3 . if the packet y 1 can be demodulated , ack is returned . if not , nak is returned . in the case of ack , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits the slot y 2 - 1 . in the case of nak , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits the next slot y 1 - 4 . the above - described procedure is performed up to a slot y 1 - 16 until the packet y 1 can be demodulated . here , a threshold value operation is performed using ( formula 1 ) with the average value r 1 _ave stored in the data rate operation / management unit 251 in the wireless base station 110 - 1 and the current data rate r 1 . in the case where the current value r 1 during the data communications continuously falls below r 1 _ave and the wireless environment of the terminal 100 - 1 possibly deteriorates , the wireless base station 110 - 1 does not transmits the next slot even when nak is returned from the terminal 100 - 1 , but transmits the slot y 2 - 1 by terminating at the slot y 1 - 5 . by skipping the slots , the quality of voice at the skipped parts deteriorates . however , delay is reduced . in addition , voice is not continuously interrupted and the connection is not cut , so that communications are possible . further , the slots which are supposed to be transmitted can be assigned to other users by the skipping of slots , so that the number of terminals to be accommodated is increased . with reference to fig6 , a third embodiment will be described . here , fig6 is a diagram for explaining slot assignment . the third embodiment is an embodiment in which slots y 1 - 1 and y 2 - 1 generated from different voice packets are continuously transmitted . in fig6 , the data transmitted from the wireless base station 110 - 1 is demodulated from the slot y 1 - 1 to the packet y 1 at the demodulation processing unit 313 in the terminal 100 - 1 . if the packet y 1 can be demodulated , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits ack to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . if not , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits nak to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . here , it is assumed that the packet y 1 can not be demodulated , so that the terminal 100 - 1 transmits nak . next , the terminal 100 - 1 demodulates the packet y 2 using the slot y 2 - 1 transmitted right after the slot y 1 - 1 . if the packet y 2 can be demodulated , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits ack to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . if not , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits nak to the wireless base station 110 - 1 . here , it is assumed that the packet y 2 can be demodulated , so that the terminal 100 - 1 transmits ack . next , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits y 1 - 2 because the transmission result of the slot y 1 - 1 is nak . the terminal 100 - 1 demodulates the packet y 1 using the slots y 1 - 1 and y 1 - 2 . if the packet y 1 can be demodulated , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits ack . if not , the terminal 100 - 1 transmits nak . further , the wireless base station 110 - 1 transmits y 3 - 1 because the transmission result of the slot y 2 - 1 is ack . here , since the packet y 2 that is a sequence subsequent to the packet y 1 can be demodulated , the wireless base station 110 - 1 terminates the transmission process of the packet y 1 irrespective of ack or nak of the demodulation result after transmission of the slot y 1 - 2 , and assigns and transmits a slot y 4 - 1 that is a slot of another packet . in the case where the packet y 2 can be demodulated prior to the packet y 1 that is not demodulated , the terminal 100 - 1 discards the slots y 1 - 1 and y 1 - 2 . accordingly , although the quality of voice deteriorates , delay is reduced . further , the slots which are supposed to be transmitted can be assigned to other users , so that the number of terminals to be accommodated is increased . according to the present embodiments , delay can be reduced in voip communications , and the number of terminals accommodated in the base station can be increased . | 7 |
fig3 shows a hardware configuration example of the entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention . it should be noted in fig3 that a set of a common main number and an individual sub - character ( for example , 11 a , 11 b ) is applied to the like elements . hereinafter , when distinguishing between the like elements explanation is provided using the main numbers only , and , when distinguishing between the like elements explanation is provided using the set of a main number and a sub - character . the same is applied for the other figures . for example , a client terminal 1 , at least one task server 11 ( two task servers 11 a and 11 b , hereinafter ), and a monitoring server 51 are connected to a first communication network 10 . furthermore , the plurality of task servers 11 a and 11 b , the monitoring server 51 , and at least one storage subsystem 31 ( two storage subsystems 31 a and 31 b , hereinafter ) are connected to a second communication network 20 . the first communication network 10 is a network , such as lan ( local area network ), for performing communication in accordance with , for example , a tcp / ip ( transmission control protocol / internet protocol ). on the other hand , the second communication network 20 is a network , such as san ( storage area network ), for performing communication in accordance with , for example , fc ( fiber channel ) protocol . the first communication network 10 and the second communication network 20 may be a single network . the client terminal 1 is a type of computer and can comprise , for example , a cpu 3 , a storage resource 5 , a port 9 which can be connected to the first communication network 10 , and a display device 7 . the storage resource 5 is , for example , a memory and / or auxiliary storage device ( for example , a hard disk drive (“ hdd ” hereinafter )). the storage resource 5 can store data and a plurality of types of computer programs . the cpu 3 can read and execute computer programs . hereinafter , for clarity of explanation , the main body of the processing performed by reading and executing the computer programs by means of the cpu is sometimes performed by the computer program instead of the cpu . the task server 11 also is a type of computer and can comprise , for example , a cpu 13 , a storage resource 15 , a port 18 which can be connected to the first communication network 10 , and a port 19 which can be connected to the second communication network 20 . the monitoring server 51 also is a type of computer and can comprise , for example , a cpu 54 , a storage resource 55 , a port 52 which can be connected to the first communication network 10 , and a port 53 which can be connected to the second communication network 20 . the storage subsystem 31 comprises a plurality of disk devices ( for example , a hdd , or may be other type of physical storage devices ) 37 , and a control device 34 for controlling access to the disk devices . the control device 34 comprises , for example , a plurality of ports ( only one port is shown in fig3 ) 32 which can be connected to the second communication network 20 , a plurality of ports ( only one port is shown in fig3 ) 36 which can be connected to the disk devices 37 , a cpu 33 , and a memory 35 . in the above configurations , at least one of the client terminal 1 , monitoring server 51 , task server 11 a and 11 b , and storage subsystems 31 a and 31 b may be virtually created ( i . e . as so - called “ virtual computer ”) in a single device . moreover , the configuration of the control device 34 described above is an example , but other configuration can be employed . for example , instead of being configured as above , at least one of the control devices 34 a and 34 b can be configured so as to comprise a plurality of first control portions ( control circuit boards , for example ) for controlling communication with external devices ( for example , servers or storage subsystems other than the first control portions ), a plurality of second control portions ( for example , control circuit boards ) for controlling communication with the disk devices , a cache memory which can store data communicated between the external devices and the disk devices , a control memory which can store data for controlling the storage subsystems ( the cache memory and the control memory do not have to be different memories ), and a connection portion ( for example , a switch such as a crossbar switch ) for connecting each of the first control portions , each of the second control portions , the cache memory , and the control memory . in this case , the processing of the control device 34 can be carried out by either one of the first and second control portions or by collaboration thereof . fig4 shows a software configuration example of the entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention . the client terminal 1 is a host as a terminal for monitoring a copy pair . on the display device 7 of the client terminal 1 , a monitor screen 61 for displaying information collected by a storage monitoring program 63 described hereinafter is displayed . it should be noted in the present embodiment that the monitor screen 61 is provided by a browser ( a web browser , for example ) or may be an application developed by java ® or the like . the task server 11 is a server for executing a task of a user . in the task server 11 , an application program (“ application ” hereinafter ) 73 used in a task of the user and a backup management program 71 which is a computer program for backup management are operated . the application 73 is a computer program for executing a task of the user . the application 73 can read data recorded in logical volumes 78 ( pvol 78 p , for example ) prepared in the storage subsystem 31 , and write data into the logical volumes 78 . it should be noted in the present embodiment that although the applications 73 a , 73 b are operated on the task servers 11 a , 11 b respectively , as long as there is one application , the number of the applications is not limited . the backup management program 71 can control a volume copy pair provided in the storage subsystem 31 , staticize or cancel staticization of the application 73 , and back up and restore data used by the application 73 . the program 71 comprises a schedule function , can execute regular backup , and , at that moment , can successively record information indicating an execution condition of backup or restoration , in a storage region inside the storage subsystem 31 via a control program 75 inside the storage subsystem 31 . in order to perform backup in units of the logical volume , the program 71 further holds the relationship between each application 73 and the logical volume used by the each application 73 ( for example , an id of the application 73 and an id of the logical volume 78 used by the application 73 ), as a volume management table ( not shown ). the monitoring server 51 is a server for monitoring the storage subsystem 31 , and the storage monitoring program 63 is installed on the monitoring server 51 . in the storage resource 55 of the monitoring server 51 , not only the storage monitoring program 63 , but also a copy pair state table 65 , a display copy pair state table 67 , and a pair state priority table 69 are stored . these various tables are described hereinafter . it should be noted in the present embodiment that although the monitoring server 51 and the task server 11 are separate devices , the monitoring server 51 and the task server 11 may be integrated . the storage monitoring program 63 is a program for monitoring a duplication condition of the logical volumes 78 . the storage monitoring program 63 regularly can acquire a pair state for each copy pair from the control program 75 inside the storage subsystem 31 , process the acquired pair state , and display the copy pair state on a gui screen of a client . moreover , in a similar manner , the storage monitoring program 63 can acquire an operation mode of the storage subsystem 31 , a usage condition of a common resource of a copy pair , and an execution state recorded in a backup / restore execution condition table 77 recorded in the memory 35 ( or may be other storage region ) inside the storage subsystem 31 , and can further receive snmp ( simple network management protocol ) trap information issued from the storage subsystem 31 . the storage subsystem 31 comprises the control program 75 , the backup / restore execution condition table 77 , and the plurality of logical volumes 78 . the control program 75 is a program for performing control on the logical volumes 78 according to a request from the task server 11 and providing various information recorded in the storage region of the storage subsystem 31 . specifically , for example , the program 75 can create a snapshot of data on a svol and record an execution condition in backup or restoration on the backup / restore execution condition table 77 by splitting and resynchronizing a copy pair in accordance with a request from the backup management program 71 . moreover , for example , the program 75 , complying with to a request from the storage monitoring program 63 , can notify the monitoring server 51 of the latest copy pair state , an operation mode of the storage subsystem 31 , a usage condition of the common storage resource of the copy pair , and a backup / restore execution condition . the logical volumes 78 are logical storage devices created using the storage regions provided by the plurality of grouped disk devices 37 in accordance with , for example , the principle of raid ( redundant array of independent ( or inexpensive ) disks ). in the present embodiment , as the types of the logical volumes 78 , there are pvol 78 p , svol 78 s , and jnlvol 78 j . there is also a volume pool 78 g in which the plurality of logical volumes are grouped together . the pvol 78 p stores data used by the application 73 . if there is a data write request from the application 73 , data is written to the volume 78 p via the control program 75 . reading of data is performed in the same route . the svol 78 s can store data inside the pvol 78 p . for example , the svol 78 s holds , as backup data , a snapshot image which is obtained at the time when a copy pair is split due to a request from the backup management program 71 . it should be noted in the present embodiment that the volume 78 s is a virtual volume created by the control program 75 , and the actual data may be stored in the logical volumes 78 configuring the volume pool 78 g . furthermore , as shown in fig4 , the data inside the pvol 78 p may be stored in the svol 78 s via , for example , a plurality of the jnlvol 78 j . the volume pool 78 g is a volume group as an entity of virtual volume storing a snapshot image . since the volume group 78 g is virtualized as a duplicate volume by the control program 75 , the volume group 78 g is not recognized in the processing performed in the task server 11 . however , actually the differential data for holding a snapshot is stored in the volume group 78 g . the user can efficiently utilize the volumes by acquiring a snapshot of data using the virtual volume , as compared to the case of acquiring a duplicate using an actual volume . without using this method , for example , a snapshot may be acquired using the actual volume instead of the virtualized volume . the jnlvol 78 j is a volume in which is recorded information representing a write history in the pvol 78 p (“ journal ” hereinafter ). each journal has , for example , data after update and an updated sequential order . the jnlvol 78 j is a temporal cache region which is sued for ensuring a sequential order for writing data into copy pairs inside the same copy group when performing asynchronous remote copy . at the point of time when the application 73 writes data into the pvol 78 p , a corresponding journal is created by the control program 75 a and written into a jnlvol 78 j 1 . thereafter , the journal is acquired by a jnlvol 78 j 2 by a remote control program 75 b ( or may be a local control program 75 a ) in chronological order , and reflected in the svol 78 s inside the acquired journal . the journal is deleted from the jnlvol 78 j when data transfer is completed ( or when data reflection in the svol 78 s is completed ). it should be noted in the present embodiment that although the jnlvol is used as a primary cache region , a predetermined storage area (“ side file ” hereinafter ) provided in the memory 35 a may be used as the primary cache region , and asynchronous remote copy may be performed from the side file . in this case , transfer of the data accumulated in the side file may be performed by the local control program 75 a . moreover , not only the asynchronous remote copy but also synchronous remote copy ( for example , copy which is performed such that data written into the pvol 78 p is transferred from the storage subsystem 31 a to 31 b and written into the svol 78 s , without using the jnlvol or side file ) may be performed . the above explanation is the software configuration example of the system related to the present embodiment . although several types of the logical volumes 78 are described above , not only to these types but also other types may be employed , or the number of the types may be less than the number of above types . specifically , the characteristic of the present embodiment is in a technology for displaying a pair state of a copy pair , and this technology can be applied to a copy pair having any type of logical volume . it should be noted that a pair state of a copy pair is classified broadly into a pair state intended by the user and an involuntary pair state . the involuntary state can be classified into an error state which is a pair state requiring to be processed in any way and an involuntary state which does not require any processing . the error state is typically a pair state created when a failure is detected at the hardware level or computer program level . there are illustrative embodiments ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of the error state as follows . a state of a copy pair of remote copies , in which a failure is generated in the communication medium ( a switch or cable , for example ) between the both subsystems , whereby the data can no longer be transferred from the pvol 78 p to the svol 78 s , thus the identity between the data of the svol 78 s and the data of the pvol 78 p can no longer be ensured . a state of a copy pair of local copies , in which the control program 75 a can no longer manage the abovementioned differential data , thus validity of the snapshot data acquired by the svol 78 s can no longer be ensured . in the above illustrative embodiments , a failure is detected at the hardware level or computer program level , thus the failure can be detected as an error by the control program 75 . on the other hand , as the involuntary state which is not the error state , there is an involuntary state created by an erroneous operation of the user . there are illustrative embodiments ( i ) and ( ii ) of such an involuntary state as follows . a state of a copy pair of remote copies , in which the copy pair is split by the user , thus the identity between the data of the svol 78 s and the data of the pvol 78 p can no longer be ensured . a state of a copy pair of local copies , in which the user splits the copy pair without staticizing the application 73 ( without causing the application 73 to stop updating the data of the pvol 78 p ), thus validity of the snapshot data acquired by the svol 78 s can no longer be ensured . in the above two illustrative embodiments , the fact that the pair state has changed can be detected by the control program 75 , but the operation itself is ended normally , thus the change of the pair state cannot be determined as an error by the control program 75 . the present embodiment provides ( 1 ) a mechanism for enabling to distinguish between change of a pair state performed intentionally by the user and change of pair state performed involuntarily by the user , ( 2 ) a mechanism for enabling to easily comprehend the scope of the occurrence of an error state when a number of copy pairs are brought into the error state , and ( 3 ) a mechanism for enabling to easily comprehend detailed information required for determination when it is uncertain whether the pair state is the error state or not . hereinafter , each of the mechanisms are described in detail . it should be noted in the description hereinafter copy groups are connected in the form of a cascade ( specifically , each svol in a copy group and each pvol in other copy group are the same volume ). furthermore , suppose that a backup schedule ( for example , one or more time of day at which backup should be executed ) is set in the backup management program 71 . moreover , suppose that the backup management program 71 holds , as a volume management table , a volume used by the application program 73 operating on the task server 11 operated by the program 71 . in addition , suppose that a table to which a port id for a volume of each copy pair and an id of each of the volumes constituting the copy pairs is stored in each of the storage subsystems 31 . ( 1 ) a mechanism for enabling to distinguish between change of a pair state performed intentionally by the user and change of pair state performed involuntarily by the user . one of the characteristics of this mechanism focuses on that intentional change of a pair state which is performed by the user is carried out by a backup or restore operation and a maintenance operation performed when changing the system configuration . in this embodiment , the storage monitoring program 63 discriminates whether an operation performed by the user is the backup or restore operation or the maintenance operation performed when changing the system configuration , whereby a distinction can be made between change of a pair state which is performed intentionally by the user and change of a pair state performed involuntarily by the user . in the case of the backup or restore operation , specifically , for example , the storage monitoring program 63 can specify a copy pair , which is subjected to the backup or restore operation , from the execution condition information which is recorded in the backup / restore execution condition table 77 when the backup management program 71 performs the backup / restore operation , determine whether the pair state of the specified copy pair is a pair state associated with the backup or restore operation , and display the pair state of the copy pair so that the user can determine whether it is the change performed intentionally by the user ( for example , whether it is the change associated with the backup or restore operation ) on the basis of a result of the above determination . in the case of the maintenance operation , specifically , for example , when a request according to the maintenance operation performed when changing the system configuration is received from the task server 11 , the storage subsystem 31 writes information indicating that the operation mode is “ maintenance ” into the memory 35 ( or other storage region ), and the storage monitoring program 63 can acquire the information indicating the operation mode of the storage subsystem 31 from the control program 75 , determine , on the basis of the information , whether or not the storage subsystem 31 as a target of monitoring is under maintenance , and display the pair state of the copy pair so that the user can determine whether it is the change performed intentionally by the user ( for example , whether it is the change associated with the maintenance operation performed when changing the system configuration ) on the basis of a result of the above determination . in the above manner , the user can distinguish between the change of a pair state which is performed intentionally by the user and the change of a pair state which is performed involuntarily by the user . when the backup operation or restore operation is performed , the control program 75 can change the pair state of the copy pair , which is a target of operation , to a split mode . further , when the maintenance operation is performed , the control program 75 can record “ under maintenance ” of the operation mode on the memory 35 , and reset all of the pair states of the copy pairs that belong to the subsystem which is under maintenance ( bring the pair states into , for example , a state in which the split mode and difference are not reflected ). ( 2 ) a mechanism for enabling to easily comprehend the scope of the occurrence of an error state when a number of copy pairs are brought into the error state . in the present embodiment , the case in which an error occurs in a number of copy pairs is classified into three patterns below ( case a ) through ( case c ), and the error state of a copy pair which is abstracted to the same degree as the scope of the occurrence a failure is displayed on a screen , whereby the user can have a panoramic comprehension of the error occurred in a number of copy pairs . ( case a : an error state occurs in units of the communication port of remote copies ) a situation in which a failure occurs on a communication path of remote copies when configuring copy pairs of remote copies between the subsystems corresponds to the present case . the storage monitoring program 63 determines whether such a situation corresponds to the present case or not by using the information on change of state performed on the copy pairs , the snmp trap information issued from the storage subsystem 31 , and the data transfer amount in a remote port , which is acquired from the control program 75 of the storage subsystem 31 . as a result of the determination , if the situation corresponds to the present case , the storage monitoring program 63 displays a screen displaying the pair states of the copy pairs of remote copies in units of the communication port , and , on this display screen , displays a screen showing that all copy pairs , which are related to the communication ports where the error has occurred , are in the error state . it should be noted that the communication ports are the ports connected to the second communication network 20 , but may be ports connected to the disk device 37 . further , the snmp trap information includes information elements corresponding to the condition , such as ids of the communication ports where the error has occurred and id of the storage subsystems where the error has occurred . ( case b : an error state occurs in units of the common storage resource of copy pairs ) a situation in which the common storage resource , which is prepared in the storage subsystem 31 in order to maintain a copy pair of local copies and a copy pair of remote copies , becomes inadequate corresponds to the present case . here , specific examples of the common storage resource include jnlvol , which is a cache region for storing transfer data of the remote copy , and a volume pool for storing the differential data ( for example , a bitmap representing the difference , or the differential data between the vols ) for holding a snapshot image of the local copy . the storage monitoring program 63 determines whether such a situation corresponds to the present case or not by using the information on change of state performed on copy pairs , the snmp trap information issued from the storage subsystem 31 , and the used amount of the common storage resource , which is acquired from the control program 75 of the storage subsystem 31 . as a result of the determination , if the situation corresponds to the present case , the storage monitoring program 63 displays a screen displaying the pair states in units of the storage subsystem , and , on this screen , shows that all copy pairs , which are related to the storage subsystem 31 having the common storage resource where the error has occurred , are in the error state . if the common storage resource of the storage subsystem 31 , which is the target of display , is logically divided , the units in which the pair states are displayed can be taken as units of the logically divided units . ( case c : an error state occurs in units of the hardware of the storage subsystem 31 ) a situation in which some sort of failure occurs in a physical component configuring the storage subsystem 31 corresponds to the present case . the storage monitoring program 63 determines whether such a situation corresponds to the present case or not by using the information on change of state performed on the copy pair , and the snmp trap information issued from the storage subsystem . as a result of the determination , if the situation corresponds to the present case , the storage monitoring program 63 displays a screen displaying the pair states in units of the storage subsystem 31 , and , on this display screen , shows that all copy pairs , which are related to the storage subsystem 31 where the failure has occurred , are in the error state . in the above manner , when an error such as a hardware failure or a communication failure occurs simultaneously on a number of copy pairs , the user can promptly comprehend the scope of the occurrence of the error . ( 3 ) a mechanism for enabling to easily comprehend detailed information required for determination when it is uncertain whether the pair state is the error state or not . this is the case in which it is uncertain whether the changed pair state is the error state or not when the change of pair state does not correspond to any of ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) above . therefore , in the present embodiment , instead of displaying information representing a result of determination on whether the pair state is a normal state or error state , the storage monitoring program 63 displays a target copy pair whose pair state is changed , the state of the copy pair , and the detailed information associated to the copy pair . accordingly , the user can determine whether the copy pair is the error state or not . however , if all of the information items are displayed forcedly on a single screen , the size of each character to be displayed becomes small due to the excessive amount of information . thus , an icon indicating a warning is displayed so that a copy pair whose pair state is changed can be viewed easily . when the icon is clicked , a pop - up is displayed , and the target copy pair whose pair state is changed , the pair state of the copy pair , and the detailed information associated with the copy pair and required for determination of the user are displayed on the pop - up . in the above manner , the user can promptly confirm the target copy , the pair state of thereof , and the detailed information thereof , regarding the change of pair state for which it is uncertain whether it is the error state or not . fig5 shows an example of a flow of processing performed by the backup management program 71 . hereinafter , the program is designated as 71 a . further , at least the pvol of a copy pair exists in the storage subsystem 31 . hereinafter , an example of backup operation is taken to provide the following explanation , but the same processing is performed for restore operation as well . the backup management program 71 a staticizes a target application 73 a ( instructs the application 73 a not to issue , for example , at least a write command of data ) when performing backup and restoration of data of the application 73 a ( step s 10 ). next , the backup management program 71 a specifies a volume used by the application 73 a from the volume management table that the backup management program 71 a holds ( s 20 ). next , the backup management program 71 a requests the control program 75 a inside the storage subsystem 31 a to change or restore the pair state of the copy pair , and thereby acquires a backup of the pvol used by the application 73 a ( s 30 ). specifically , for example , the backup management program 71 a changes the pair state of the copy pair having the pvol used by the application 73 a , from “ sync ” to “ split ”, and thereby acquires a snapshot of the pvol . next , the backup management program 71 a requests the control program 75 a to record , on the backup / restore execution condition table 77 a , a list of all copy pairs in which a backup is acquired ( s 40 ). in accordance with such a request , the control program 75 a records , on the backup / restore execution condition 77 a , the list of all copy pairs in which a backup is acquired , as shown in , for example , fig1 a . in this table 77 a , the execution condition information representing an execution condition of backup or restoration is recorded . the execution condition information includes , for example , a type of operation ( either a backup operation or a restore operation ), a target application ( an id of an application in which backup data or restored data is used ), start time ( time at which backup or restoration is started in response to the backup or restore operation ), and a target copy pair ( an id of a copy pair which is the target of operation ). for example , the request issued in s 30 includes the id of the pvol or the id of the target application 73 a . the control program 75 a specifies a copy pair having the id from the copy pair management table of fig1 which is used for managing the copy pair , and can record , as the execution condition information , the id of the specified copy pair , time at which backup operation is started , id of the target application , and backup as the operation type , on the backup / restore execution condition table 77 a ( on the copy pair management table , an information element of the configuration information on the copy pair state table , a detailed pair state , or an id of a volume configuring each copy pair is recorded ). when a certain time period elapses after carrying out s 40 , the backup management program 71 a inquires of the control program 75 a for the pair state of the target volume ( pvol as the target of backup ), and confirms whether the changed pair state received in response to the inquiry is a desired pair state or not ( in other words , whether the pair state is changed to a normal state or not ) ( s 50 ). as a result , if the pair state is not the desired pair state ( no in s 60 ), s 50 is performed again , and , if the pair state is the desired pair state ( yes in s 60 ), the backup management program 71 a requests the control program 75 a to delete the list recorded in s 40 from the backup / restore execution condition table 77 a ( s 70 ). if the list is deleted by the control program 75 a in response to the request , the backup management program 71 a cancels staticization of the application 73 a ( s 80 ). it should be noted that , when the execution condition information is deleted , the control program 75 a may bring the pair state of the copy pair corresponding to the copy pair id contained in the deleted execution condition information back to the original state ( may bring the pair state to the pair state immediately executing the backup or restore operation , for example ). through the above processing , when the backup or restore operation is carried out by an intentional operation of the user from the task server 11 a , the execution condition information on backup or restore operation is recorded on the backup / restore execution condition table 77 a , and , when backup or restoration is finished , the execution condition information is deleted . specifically , whether backup or restoration is being executed or not can be determined on the basis of the presence of the execution condition information . fig6 shows a schematic example of a flow of processing performed by the storage monitoring program 63 before displaying a copy pair . it should be noted in this flow that the user can set a copy pair as the target of monitoring in advance . specifically , the user can select a copy pair that the user wishes to monitor , from a list of copy pairs displayed on the monitor screen 61 on the client terminal 1 . in this case , the storage monitoring program 63 can display all copy pairs ( for example , all copy pairs recorded on the copy pair state table which is updated by performing s 100 described hereinafter , in the previous step ) that the storage monitoring program 63 recognizes , on the monitor screen 61 . the storage monitoring program 63 regularly ( or irregularly ) collects a configuration and state of a copy pair set to the configuration and state , from the storage subsystem 31 ( s 100 ). specifically , for example , the storage monitoring program 63 acquires the latest state and related configuration information for a copy pair which is the target of monitoring ( a copy pair which is set as the target of monitoring by the user ) from the control program 75 inside the storage subsystem 31 , and stores the acquired information on the copy pair state table 65 . thereafter , for the processing for initialization , the storage monitoring program 63 sets “ uncertain ” for the pair states for display of all items registered in the copy pair state table 65 , and sets , as the scope of aggregation , the name of a copy group to which the copy pair belongs ( s 150 and s 200 ). an example of the copy pair state table 65 at that moment is shown in fig1 a . the copy pair state table 65 is a table for managing copy pair states , wherein , for example , a pair state , configuration information , and aggregation scope are recorded for each copy pair . the pair state is not only a detailed pair state ( a pair state recognized in the storage subsystem 31 ) but also a pair state for display ( a pair state displayed on the monitor screen 61 ). what is received from the control program 75 is not the pair state for display but the detailed pair state . the configuration information includes , for example , a copy group ( an id of a copy group to which the copy pair belongs ), a port ( an id of a port in a path to pvol or svol in the copy pair ), a storage subsystem ( an id of a subsystem having pvol or svol of the copy pair ), a common resource ( and id of the common storage resource of the copy pair ), and a copy type ( remote copy or local copy ). the configuration information is information that can be received from the control program 75 , and the control program 75 can acquire the configuration information from the abovementioned copy pair management table ( see fig1 . recorded in , for example , the memory 35 ) and transmit the configuration information in response to a request from the storage monitoring program 63 . the port id may be recorded for each subsystem id . the configurations of the port ids of the respective storage subsystems may be the same or different from one another . the aggregation scope indicates in which scope the pair state of the copy pair is to be collected and displayed when displaying the copy state of the copy pair . for example , if the aggregation scope is a copy group , pair states are displayed in the units of copy group . next , the storage monitoring program 63 performs processing for eliminating changing of pair state performed intentionally by the user from the targets of monitoring ( s 250 ), processing for determining the pair state as any of normal , warning , and error states ( s 300 ), processing for setting the aggregation scope in accordance with the conditions of the occurrence of various errors ( s 350 ), and processing for computing an aggregated pair states based on the set aggregation scope ( s 400 ), and causes the monitor screen 61 to perform display on the basis of a result of these processing . fig7 shows an example of a flow of concrete processing in s 250 of fig6 . the processing shown in fig7 is processing for eliminating changing of pair state performed intentionally by the user from the targets of monitoring . in the present embodiment , elimination from the targets of monitoring means processing performed so that the pair state for display of a copy pair , whose pair state is changed intentionally by the user , does not remain “ uncertain ”. accordingly , when determining the pair state in processing of fig8 , the records of the copy pair whose pair state is changed intentionally by the user are not referred to . hereinafter , the processing is described in detail . the storage monitoring program 63 acquires an operation mode of a target storage subsystem ( a subsystem corresponding to each subsystem id in the configuration information in the copy pair state table 65 ) from the control program 75 ( s 251 ). when the maintenance operation is received from the task server 11 , the control program 75 writes an operation mode , “ under maintenance ”, into the memory 35 so that the operation mode write in the memory 35 can be replied in response to a request made in s 251 by the storage monitoring program 63 . if the replied operation mode is “ under maintenance ” ( yes in s 252 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets , in the copy pair state table 65 , “ maintenance ” as the pair states for display of all copy pairs belonging to the storage subsystem 31 where “ under maintenance ” is replied , and sets , as the aggregation scope , the id of the storage subsystem to which the copy pair belongs ( s 253 and s 254 ). fig1 b shows an example of the copy pair state table 65 at the point of time when s 254 is completed . fig1 b shows an example of the case in which the storage subsystem having a subsystem id of “ array - a ” is under maintenance . it should be noted that the storage monitoring program 63 may check whether the pair state of all copy pairs belonging to the subsystem under maintenance are pair states which are changed in association with the maintenance operation , and , if a positive check result is obtained , s 253 and s 254 may be executed . thereafter ( or when a result in s 252 is no ), the storage monitoring program 63 acquires from the control program 75 a list of copy pairs which are the targets of backup / restore processing ( specifically , all of the execution condition information items written in the backup / restore execution condition table 77 ) ( s 255 ), and , for all of the copy pairs included in this list , sets “ backup / restoration being executed ” as the pair states for display on the copy pair state table ( yes in s 256 , and s 257 ). fig1 a shows an example of the copy pair state table 65 at the point of time when s 257 is completed . fig1 a is a result based on the execution condition table 77 shown in fig1 a , and shows an example of the case in which the copy group id is “ cg - c ” and backup is being executed . it should be noted that the storage monitoring program 63 may check whether the pair state of the copy pairs in the execution condition information are pair states which are changed in association with the backup or restore operation , and , if a positive check result is obtained , s 257 may be executed . fig8 shows an example of a flow of concrete processing in s 300 of fig6 . the storage monitoring program 63 acquires a pair state for display of a first record on the copy pair state table 65 ( s 301 ), and , if the pair state for display is “ uncertain ” ( yes in s 302 ), performs the following processing for the record . specifically , if the detailed pair state is “ error ” from the record in which the pair state for display is “ uncertain ” ( yes in s 304 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets “ error ” for the pair state for display in the record ( s 308 ). if the copy type is “ local copy ” and the detailed pair state is “ split ” ( yes in s 305 ), or the copy type is “ remote copy ” and the detailed pair state is “ sync ” ( synchronized state ) ( no in s 305 and yes in s 306 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets “ normal ” for the pair state for display of the record ( s 309 ). in other case ( no in s 306 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets “ warning ” for the pair state for display ( s 307 ). it should be noted that the reason that “ normal ” is set when the copy type is “ local copy ” and the detailed pair state is “ split ” is because it means that the snapshot of pvol is ensured ( in the split state , when pvol is updated the difference generated by the update is acquired by svol ). further , the reason that “ normal ” is set when the copy type is “ remote copy ” and the detailed pair state is “ sync ” ( synchronized state ) is because remote copy in this embodiment is copy performed for the purpose of disaster recovery , and that data updated to pvol is remote - copied to svol ( even if the pair state is the synchronized state , remote copy may be synchronous remote copy in which updated data is transferred in synchronization with update of pvol , or may be asynchronous remote copy in which updated data asynchronously with update of pvol ). moreover , the reason that “ warning ” is set when the result in s 306 is no is because the pair state is not an expected state . in other words , “ normal ” is not set only when the result in s 305 is yes or the result in s 306 is yes , and thus can be set as long as the pair state is the expected state . the storage monitoring program 63 performs the above processing for all records on the copy pair state table 65 ( yes in s 310 ). fig1 b shows an example of the copy pair state table 65 at the point of time when the processing of fig8 is completed . fig9 shows an example of a flow of concrete processing in s 350 of fig6 . the storage monitoring program 63 holds a history representing whether the snmp trap information is received or not and acquires information written in the history ( s 351 ). the snmp trap information can be received when , for example , an error is detected in the storage subsystem 31 . if it is determined from the information written in the history that the snmp trap information is received ( yes in s 352 ), the storage monitoring program 63 acquires the data transfer amount of the remote port ( the port of the subsystem having svol ), the usage amount of jnlvol , and the usage amount of the volume pool ( and other type of common storage resource , if there is any ) from the control program 75 ( s 353 ), and performs the following processing ( the control program 75 can update the data transfer amount of the remote port , the usage amount of jnlvol , and the usage amount of the volume pool on the memory 35 , and reply with information thereof recorded on the memory 35 , in response to an inquiry from the storage monitoring program 63 ). if the data transfer amount of the remote port is lower than a certain thresholds ( yes in s 354 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets , for the copy pair belonging to a corresponding port , an id ( name , for example ) of the remote port which corresponds to the aggregation scope of the copy pair state table ( s 355 ). if the usage amount of jnlvol or volume pool is higher than a certain threshold ( yes in s 356 ), the storage monitoring program 63 sets , for a copy pair using a corresponding common storage resource ( a copy pair specified from the copy pair state table 65 ), an id ( name , for example ) of the common storage resource which corresponds to the aggregation scope of the copy pair state table 65 ( s 357 ). fig1 a shows an example of the case where the capacity of the volume pool with an id “ pool - a ” becomes inadequate . it should be noted that yes in s 356 and a step s 357 may not be performed for a snapshot in which the actual volume is used , asynchronous remote copy in which side file is used , or synchronous remote copy . in the case other than the above case ( no in s 356 ), for a copy pair stored in a corresponding storage subsystem , the storage monitoring program 63 sets an id of the corresponding storage subsystem on the aggregation scope of the copy pair state table 65 ( s 358 ). fig1 shows an example of a flow of concrete processing in s 400 of fig6 . the storage monitoring program 63 secures the display copy pair state table 67 for recording an aggregation state of a copy pair ( s 401 ). a configuration example of the display copy pair state table 67 is shown in fig1 b . in this table 67 , a target of display , a pair state , and detailed information ( information displayed as detailed information ) are recorded . the detailed information is , for example , a copy pair ( a copy pair id ), storage subsystem ( subsystem id ), and state update time . at the time of s 401 , no information is recorded on the table 67 ( that is , each cell on the table is blank ). next , the storage monitoring program 63 confirms the information set in the aggregation scope , for the first record on the copy pair state table 65 ( s 402 ). the storage monitoring program 63 searches for an item registered in the display copy pair state table 67 , and confirms whether the items is already registered in a confirmed aggregation scope or not ( s 403 ). in this case , set information is not registered ( no in s 403 ), thus the information set as the aggregation scope is set as the target of display and the pair state for display is set as the pair state respectively in the display copy pair state table 67 ( s 407 ). the above processing is successively repeated for all copy pairs registered in the copy pair state table 65 , to complete the display copy pair state table 67 . it should be noted at this moment that , if the aggregation scope is already registered in the display copy pair state table 67 in s 403 , the storage monitoring program 63 compares the pair state registered in the display copy pair state table 67 with the pair state for display ( the pair state for display on the copy pair state table 65 ) for a corresponding copy pair ( a copy pair having the same id as the copy pair in the detailed information ), and registers the one with higher priority as a copy pair state for display , in accordance with the pair state priority table 69 ( see fig1 c ) ( s 404 , yes in s 405 , s 406 ). according to the pair state priority table 69 , the pair state which is changed by an intentional operation of the user is high on priority ( the aggregation scope is wider for “ maintenance ” than “ backup / restoration being execute ”, thus the priority for “ maintenance ” is higher , but the priorities of the both may be reversed ). the pair state , which is brought into the error state due to an error detected at the hardware level or computer program level , has the next higher priority . the involuntary state other than the error state has the next higher priority . the priority is lowest when the state is normal . therefore , for example , if explained using the copy pair state table 65 in fig1 a as an example , for the aggregation scope of “ cg - c ”, the copy pair state for display of a copy pair “ pair - d ” is acquired as “ normal ”, where “ normal ” is written on the display copy pair state table 67 , and then although the pair state for display of a copy pair “ pair - e ” is acquired as “ warning ”, the priority of “ warning ” is higher than that of “ normal ” according to the pair state priority table 69 , thus “ normal ” is updated to “ warning ” on the display copy pair state table 67 . on the above work , when the copy pair state is “ warning ” or “ error ” ( yes in s 408 ), the storage monitoring program 63 records the detailed information such as the id of a corresponding copy pair , the id of a storage subsystem having the copy pair , and the state update time ( time at which the state is updated ), on the display copy pair state table 67 ( s 409 ). it should be noted that although the information recorded on the display copy pair state table 67 shown in fig1 b is the information recorded using the copy pair state table shown in fig1 a , the state update time can be taken as the time included in the information which is received from the control program 75 in order to construct the copy pair state table shown in fig1 a . moreover , the detailed information may include information on an element configuring the target of display ( in other words , the aggregation scope ), in addition to the information on the copy pair corresponding to “ error ” or “ warning ”. for example , if the target of display is a copy group , the detailed information may be information related t each of the all copy pairs configuring the copy group ( for example , at least one of the id of the copy pair , the detailed pair state of the copy pair , and the pair state for display of the copy pair ). finally , the storage monitoring program 63 displays the states determined as any of “ normal ”, “ warning ”, “ error ”, “ backup / restoration being executed ”, and “ under maintenance ”, on the monitor screen 61 on the basis of the display copy pair state table 67 through the above processing . at this moment , each of the determined states can be expressed by different icons . hereinafter , a display example for each case is described . ( 1 ) when the pair states for display of all copy pairs are “ normal ”. fig1 b shows a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where all copy groups as the targets of monitoring are determined as “ normal ”. fig1 b shows an example of the case in which all of the targets of display ( that is , the aggregation scope ) in the table 65 shown in fig1 a through fig1 a and the display copy pair state table 67 shown in fig1 b are copy groups . a mark 601 shows a pvol group of one or a plurality of pvols or a svol group of one or a plurality of svols , and each of lines 603 , 605 , 607 , and 609 represents a copy group . specifically , the short lines 603 and 609 indicate a copy group of local copies , and the long lines 605 and 607 indicate a copy group of remote copies . more specifically , the short line 603 indicates a target of display ( copy group ) “ cg - c ”, the long line 605 indicates a target of display ( copy group ) “ cg - a ”, the long line 607 indicates a target of display ( copy group ) “ cg - b ”, and the short line 609 indicates a target of display ( copy group ) “ cg - d ”. the cascade forms of the copy group “ cg - c ” and the copy group “ cg - a ” can be detected by , for example , receiving , from the control program 75 , the id of each logical volume configuring the copy pairs “ pair - a ”, “ pair - b ”, “ pair - d ” and “ pair - e ” and the id of the storage subsystem 31 comprising the logical volume , and determining whether the logical volume id and the storage subsystem id are the same , and the detected configurations can be displayed as shown in fig1 b ( the above screen configuration is applied for fig1 a and fig1 a ). the storage monitoring program 63 displays , in the vicinity of each line , an icon representing the pair state corresponding to the target of display on the display copy pair state table 67 . here , the pair state is “ normal ” for all the targets for display , thus an icon 611 indicating “ normal ” pair state is displayed . the user can immediately understand that all copy pairs are in an expected state regardless of the type of copy , by looking at the screen shown in fig1 b . ( 2 ) when the pair state for display of at last one copy pair is “ warning ”. fig1 a shows a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where there exists a copy pair in the copy groups , which is determined as “ warning ”, the copy groups being targets of monitoring . fig1 a is a screen displayed on the basis of the display copy pair state table 67 shown in fig1 b . specifically , the storage monitoring program 63 displays an icon 613 showing the pair state corresponding to “ warning ”, in the vicinity of the lines corresponding respectively to the target of displays “ cg - c ” and “ cg - b ”. accordingly , the user can immediately understand the copy group having copy pairs which are not in the error state but may be brought into the involuntary state . moreover , in response to that the icon 613 representing “ warning ” is designated by the user ( that the cursor of the mouse is caused to overlap on the icon 613 or that the icon 613 is clicked when the cursor overlaps thereon ), the storage monitoring program 63 can display the detailed information ( detailed information recorded on the display copy pair state table 67 ) of the target of display corresponding to the icon 613 , on a pop - up . specifically , the storage monitoring program 63 does not display the detailed information first , thereby creating a screen so as to have a nice panoramic view thereof , and then displays the detailed information in response to a request from the user . the pop - up may be deleted when a designation for deleting the pop - up is received from the user ( for example , when the cursor is no longer allowed to overlap on the icon 613 or when the mouse is clicked ). if there are a number of icons 613 representing “ warning ”, a plurality of pop - ups may be displayed on a single monitor screen 61 . in this case , the storage monitoring program 63 may display each of the pop - ups on a position which does not overlap with other pop - ups , or may display each pop - up by adjusting ( reducing , for example ) the size of the pop - up so as to avoid an overlap between the pop - ups . it should be noted in the screen shown in fig1 b that , since the target of display of the copy group “ cg - d ” is “ pool - a ” in fig1 b , the storage monitoring program 63 displays a mark 614 , which represents a pool volume , instead of displaying the copy group “ cg - d ”, and further displays an icon 615 representing “ error ” inside the mark 614 ( or in the vicinity of the mark 614 ) since the pair state is “ error ”. ( 3 ) when the pair state for display of at least one copy pair is “ error ”. regarding a copy group as the target of monitoring , a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where an error occurs at a communication port for performing remote copy is shown in fig1 b , and a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where an error occurs at the storage subsystem 31 is shown in fig1 c . according to fig1 b and fig1 c , since the icons corresponding to the communication port and the storage subsystems indicate errors , the user can have a panoramic understanding of sections where error occur . this case is described in detail hereinafter . in the display copy pair state table 67 , in the case where the targets of display ( aggregation scope ) of the copy groups “ cg - a ” and “ cg - b ” are the communication ports and the pair state of target of display “ ctl - a ” is “ normal ” but the pair state of the target of display “ ctl - b ” is “ error ”, the storage monitoring program 63 displays the screen shown in fig1 b . specifically , since the aggregation scope is the communication ports , the storage monitoring program 63 displays , instead of the marks of the copy groups , a mark 621 representing a subsystem of “ array - a ” and a mark 623 representing a subsystem of “ array - b ”, displays a mark 625 representing the communication port “ ctl - a ” and a mark 627 representing the communication port “ ctl - b ”, displays lines showing that two subsystems are connected via the communication ports , and further displays an icon representing each pair state in the vicinity of each of the lines . at this moment , the line corresponding to a “ normal ” pair state is displayed by an arrow indicating that transfer is carried out , but the line corresponding to an “ error ” pair state is displayed simply as a line indicating that transfer is not carried out . by looking at the screen of fig1 b , since an error occurs at a communication port of one of the subsystems , the user can immediately recognize that all copy pairs belonging to the communication port are in the error state . it should be noted that when the target of display is “ port ” and the pair state of the target of display is the error state , such panoramic display is performed even when other port of the same storage subsystem is normal and the target of display is not “ port ”. therefore , the storage monitoring program 63 may change the target of display to “ port ”. alternatively , if other port is normal , the copy pairs belonging to this port may be displayed in accordance with the aggregation scope of the copy pairs . in the display copy pair state table 67 , when the target of display ( aggregation scope ) for the copy groups “ cg - a ” and “ cg - b ” is the storage subsystem and the pair states of the targets of display “ array - a ” and “ array - b ” are “ error ”, the storage monitoring program 63 displays the screen shown in fig1 c . specifically , since the aggregation scope is the storage subsystem , the storage monitoring program 63 displays , instead of the marks of the copy groups , the mark 621 representing the subsystem of “ array - a ” and the mark 623 representing the subsystem of “ array - b ”, and further displays an icon corresponding to an “ error ” pair state inside or in the vicinity of each of the marks 621 and 623 . by looking at the screen of fig1 c , since an error occurs at the both subsystems , the user can immediately recognize that all copy pairs belonging to each of the subsystems are in the error state . although not shown in particular , as in fig1 a , in fig1 b and fig1 c as well , the user can referred to the detailed information corresponding to the targets of display by designating the icons corresponding to the errors . moreover , in the example of fig1 c , although a failure occurs in both local and remote storage subsystems , if a failure occurs in either one of the storage subsystems the icon representing the error is displayed only on the corresponding storage subsystem ( 4 ) when the pair state for display of at least one copy pair is “ backup / restoration being executed ”. fig1 a shows a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where there exist a copy pair in the copy groups as the targets of monitoring , which is determined as “ normal ”, and a copy pair determined as “ backup / restoration being executed ”. specifically , fig1 a shows an example of the case where the pair state of the target of display ( copy group ) “ cg - c ” indicates “ backup / restoration being executed ”. the storage monitoring program 63 displays an icon 631 , which indicates a pair state changed by an intentional operation of the user , in the vicinity of the line corresponding to the target of display “ cg - c ”. according to fig1 a , the user can immediately recognize that a “ normal ” pair state of a copy group is the pair state changed by the intentional operation of the user . whether such an operation is the backup / restore operation or the maintenance operation can be identified as change performed by the backup / restore operation , since the target of display indicates the copy group . fig1 b shows a display example of the monitor screen 61 in the case where an operation mode of the storage subsystem ( for example , the subsystems “ array - a ” and “ array - b ”) having the copy groups , which are the targets of monitoring , is “ under maintenance ”. in this case , in the display copy pair state table 67 , the ids of the storage subsystems are written as the targets of display and “ maintenance ” is written as the pair states , thus the storage monitoring program 63 displays marks indicating the subsystems , and further displays , inside ( or in the vicinity ) of the marks , the icons 631 indicating that the pair state is a pair state changed by an intentional operation of the user , in accordance with the table 67 . according to fig1 b , unlike fig1 a , the marks are displayed in units of the subsystem and the icons 631 are displayed inside the marks of the subsystems , whereby the user can immediately recognize that all copy pairs belonging to each of the subsystems are affected by the maintenance work . it should be noted in the example shown in fig1 b that , although the operation modes of the both local and remote storage subsystems 31 indicate “ under maintenance ”, if only one of the storage subsystems 31 is under maintenance the icon of “ under maintenance ” is displayed only on the corresponding storage subsystem . although the above has described the embodiments of the present invention , the above descriptions are merely examples provided to describe the present invention and thus are not to restrict the scope of the present invention to these embodiments . the present invention can be implemented in various other embodiments . for example , on the screen for displaying in units of the copy group or in units of the common storage resource , display may be performed so that a volume group configuring each copy group or subsystems having the common storage region can be specified easily . for example , a display region representing each subsystem may be prepared , and a mark representing the volume groups owned by the subsystem or a mark representing the common storage resource may be displayed inside the display region . moreover , for example , the storage monitoring program 63 may acquire information indicating a detailed copy type from the task server 11 or the storage subsystem 31 , an display a mark representing the pair state and its detailed copy type . “ detailed copy type ” is not merely a broad type such as a local copy or a remote copy , and thus may be displayed with a mark indicating , even in the case of the local copy , that a snapshot is acquired using a pool volume or an actual volume , or indicating , even in the case of the remote copy , whether a copy type is asynchronous remote copy using a side file , asynchronous remote copy using jnlvol , or synchronous remote copy . furthermore , when the data related to three or more storage subsystems are registered in the table 65 shown in fig1 a through fig1 a and in the display copy pair state table 67 shown in fig1 b , display can be performed as shown in fig1 a through fig1 d . specifically , for example , the monitoring server 51 can specify configurations of the three or more storage subsystems from the copy pair state table 65 , and , on the basis of the specified configurations and the display copy pair state table 67 , create and display at least one display screen of the display screens shown in fig1 a through fig1 d . | 6 |
fig1 shows a spark - ignited gas engine 1 , e . g ., a large - volume natural gas engine for the compression of natural gas during natural gas transport or of process gases in the chemical industry , which drives a load 3 , e . g ., a pump , a compressor , or a generator . the gas engine 1 has , in the known manner , a number of cylinders z 1 . . . z n in which a respective piston 13 ( see fig2 ) is moved by the combustion of a gaseous fuel . here , the gas mixture in the cylinder z is ignited by a spark plug 19 at the end of the compression stroke . each piston 13 is connected in the known manner by a connecting rod to a crankshaft , not shown here , via which the generated torque is transmitted to the load 3 . here , the gas engine 1 can be designed as a two or four - stroke engine . the fundamental design of such a spark - ignited gas engine is sufficiently known , and not discussed further here . fig2 shows by way of example a cylinder z of the spark - ignited two - stroke gas engine 1 . the cylinder z has an inlet port into which an air feed line 17 opens , forcing air into the cylinder z . an exhaust port which leads into an exhaust pipe 16 is likewise provided on the cylinder z . in the upper region 18 of the cylinder z is arranged a mechanical fuel feed valve 11 which is connected to the fuel line 2 and opens into the cylinder z and via which the fuel can be fed to the cylinder z . to this end , the fuel feed valve 11 is controlled in the known manner by a camshaft 14 and by pushrods and rocker arms 15 . the opening of the fuel feed valve 11 consequently takes place as a function of the speed of the gas engine 1 and for a given crank angle range . here , the gaseous fuel is supplied with low pressure at low cylinder pressure , e . g ., before the start of the compression phase . to this end , each cylinder z is connected to a fuel line 2 through which the gaseous fuel is fed to the gas engine 1 . in the flow direction of the gaseous fuel upstream of the fuel feed valve 11 a controlled valve 10 , e . g ., a solenoid valve , is arranged in the fuel line 2 according to the invention , into which the fuel line 2 opens . thus , a defined intermediate volume 12 , which is able to accommodate a defined amount of fuel , is created between fuel feed valve 11 and controlled valve 10 . such an intermediate volume 12 can also obviously be created or enlarged by providing a separate or additional fuel chamber between fuel feed valve 11 and controlled valve 10 . when the fuel feed valve 11 is opened , e . g ., at the start of the compression phase , the defined amount of fuel present in the intermediate volume 12 is fed to the cylinder z . here , the feeding of gaseous fuel into the cylinder z can be controlled in different ways : to this end the fuel feed valve 11 opens before the controlled valve 10 , which is again closed before the fuel feed valve 11 . however , for a given pressure the maximum amount of gaseous fuel that can be supplied is determined only by the size and the opening time of the controlled valve . 2 ) fuel feed valve and controlled valve are partially open at the same time the controlled valve 10 in this case opens for a defined period before the fuel feed valve 11 in order to pre - store a defined amount of fuel in the intermediate volume 12 before the fuel feed valve 11 opens . the controlled valve 10 can be closed after or simultaneously with the fuel feed valve 11 . here , a defined amount of fuel can be stored in the intermediate volume 12 before the fuel feed valve 11 opens . 3 ) fuel feed valve and controlled valves open in a staggered manner the controlled valve 10 opens when the fuel feed valve 11 is closed in order to pre - store a defined amount of fuel in the intermediate volume 12 . before the fuel feed valve 11 is opened by the cam control , the controlled valve 10 is closed . the two valves thus operate in a staggered manner relative to each other . thus , a precisely y defined amount of fuel can be fed to the cylinder z . in order to suitably control the controlled valve 10 , a control unit 20 can be provided which has a control input c via which a control objective can be set , e . g ., a certain speed , a certain output or a certain torque . the control unit 20 has a separate control output s 1 . . . s n , for each cylinder z or for each controlled valve 10 , via which the appropriate control signals are transmitted to the controlled valves 10 , e . g ., indicating when the valve opens and closes and which opening cross section is exposed ( e . g ., the stroke in the case of a solenoid valve ). to this end the control unit 20 can have additional inputs such as for instance an input for the current speed n or the current torque t , crank angle signal , pressure in the fuel line p g , etc . appropriate sensors can be arranged on the gas engine 1 for this purpose . although the invention is described above taking the example of a 2 - stroke spark - ignited gas engine , the invention is obviously also applicable to 4 - stroke engines . for a gas engine that is configured as described above , it is very easy to not fuel one or more cylinders (“ skip - fire ”) if the power from all cylinders is not needed due to the engine having a load less then the rated load . the control system 20 can monitor load ( e . g . torque t ), and once the load is light enough to warrant disabling a cylinder z or a number of cylinders z , the control system 20 can simply not give the signal for a specific controlled valve 10 to open , and no fuel will be delivered to that cylinder z . due to the design of the system it is imperative that a certain cylinder z not be simply skipped for just one cycle , since a single skip would result in an admission of the gas trapped in the intermediate volume for the skipped cycle . this admission would be less than the required amount of fuel required and would result in a very lean mixture . this much leaner mixture would result in poor combustion quality and the fuel from that cycle would be largely wasted . when re - activated , the controlled valve would first have to re - fill the intermediate volume before effectively fuelling the main cylinder , because of this the first fuelled event after a skip would also be very lean and result in poor combustion quality with fuel from that cycle being largely wasted as well . for these reasons , it is important that if the load is such that it would be advantageous to disable a cylinder z , one or more cylinder ( s ) z should be selected , and not be fuelled for some period of time ( or number of cycles ), but not so long as to allow excessive lubrication to build up in the cylinder and cause a problem . further , when re - enabling a cylinder it would be advantageous to increase the fuelling event for first fuelled cycle to make up for fuel required in the intermediate volume and ensure good combustion immediately upon re - activation . the length of time ( number of cycles ) one cylinder can be disabled depends on the gas engine 1 and may be defined and stored in the control system 20 . with this system , also more than one cylinder z can be disabled if the load on the gas engine 1 is light enough . again , it is imperative that the chosen cylinders z be disabled for some period of time , and not simply skipped for one revolution . also , the method for determining the number of cylinders z to disable , and for how long , can all be programmed into the control system 20 . the calculation for determining when a cylinder z can be disabled without overloading other cylinders z depends basically on the number of cylinders z the gas engine 1 has , and on the parasitic load that the gas engine 1 must supply even when there is no output load on the gas engine 1 . these cylinders can be ‘ reactivated ’ by having the control system 20 begin to open the controlled valve 10 , thus reactivating the cylinder z . once the cylinder z that has been down for a period of time is reactivated , a different cylinder z can be disabled , thus avoiding the lubrication accumulation that could cause the spark plug 19 to foul , or drainage into the exhaust manifold 16 . this is possible since the spark to the cylinder z was never shut off , but continued to fire in the presence of air only while the cylinder z was disabled . the control system 20 should have the ability to determine what the load is on the gas engine 1 , and continually monitor the load in order to prevent over - loading the active cylinders z . as experiments on existing gas engines showed , the fuel saving for a gas engine 1 operating at less than 85 % load can be as high as 10 % with this method , and the percentage is even higher when the load is less , and more cylinders z can be disabled . moreover , it was found that the improved part load combustion performance is manifested as reductions of emissions related to slipped fuel when this method is applied . the inventive fuel control allows for the implementation of optimized power cylinder disablement schemes to improve fuel economy at low load operations for different types of engines . e . g . lean burn engines have an over abundance of air available for combustion . in a proper air fuel ratio scheme , the air is managed as a function of the fuel delivered to the engine . however , there is a lower limit to the air pressure that a turbocharger will supply and in the case of piston scavenged engines , it is not possible to turn the air down . because of this , there comes a point when the air cannot be decreased for any additional fuel ( load ) reduction . when this happens , the mixture goes overly lean , combustion stability suffers and the fuel rate of the engine goes up . by implementing a “ skip - fire ” strategy at just prior to the onset of the lean misfire condition , it is possible to improve the combustion quality of the fired cylinders and to dramatically improve the off load fuel performance of the engine . skip fire works e . g . by withholding fuel from one or more cylinders and then re - distributing at least part of that fuel to the fired cylinders . this scheme is used to richen the mixture in the fired cylinders so that their combustion performance and efficiency improves and the number of fuelled misfires is greatly reduced or eliminated . the reduction in fuelled misfires results in a reduction in the engine fuel rate . the inventive fuel control may also be used for the automatic or continuous balancing of the engine . balancing of an especially large , industrial engine is essential to obtaining optimum performance . the large size and relatively slow speed of the engines results in each cylinder operating slightly differently than the other and therefore requires that each cylinder be tuned for its local condition . the inventive fuel control allows for fuelling each cylinder individually and , hence , for balancing the engine . this can be reached , e . g ., by implementing a feedback system , e . g ., a periodic or continuous pressure - based feedback or an ion - based feedback system that can be used to maintain the engine balance on a periodic or real time basis . this feedback system ensures that as operating conditions change , the unit balance is maintained and the engine is continuously operated at peak efficiency . the balancing control can also be integrated into the control system 20 , which may then have additional inputs required for feedback . an existing spark - ignited gas engine 1 with a mechanical fuel feed valve 11 can also be converted with little effort . for this purpose , it is merely required for a controlled valve 10 to be installed on each cylinder z between the fuel line 2 and the fuel feed valve 11 . to do so , the fuel line 2 is removed , the controlled valve 10 arranged upstream of the fuel feed valve 11 and the fuel line 2 connected to the controlled valve 10 . if required , a separate or additional fuel chamber for creating or enlarging the intermediate volume 12 can be arranged in the flow direction upstream of the cylinder z to create a larger intermediate volume 12 . | 5 |
referring to fig1 circuit element 10 is shown which includes a chip carrier 12 comprising a thin flat insulative substrate having a plurality of electrically conductive portions or traces 14 thereon . chip carrier 12 is substantially square in shape , and the conductive traces 14 extend on one surface 12a from the central region thereof to the marginal edge . an integrated circuit semiconductive chip 16 is mounted in approximately a central location on the bottom surface 12a of carrier 12 . the traces 14 extend from the chip 16 and are electrically connected thereto . as the particular patterns of traces 14 on the carrier 12 may vary according to the content of the chip 16 , traces 14 as shown are considered as representative . referring now to fig2 - 4 electrical connector 20 is shown comprising a substantially square body 22 which is constructed typically of an insulative plastic , having four side walls 24 . body 22 defines between side walls 24 , a central cavity 26 , which accommodates and houses therein circuit element 10 . as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , circuit element 10 includes thereon , shown by way of example in schematic fashion , a heat sink 15 which is positioned over chip 16 to dissipate the heat that is generated during use . the size and shape of heat sink 15 may vary depending on the heat generated by the particular circuit element 10 employed . with certain connector and heat sink construction , power dissipation may be in the range of three to four watts . body side walls 24 each include a plurality of slotted channels 28 each opening into the central cavity 26 . each slotted channel 28 receives and supportably separates an electrically conductive contact 30 ( fig4 ). in the present illustrative embodiment each side wall is segmented by thirty - three channels , thus providing a 132 contact connector . while the present invention is particularly useful with a connector having contacts numbering in this range , the invention may also be employed with connector having a lower or higher number of contacts . as particularly shown in fig4 each contact 30 is supported by a portion of side wall 24 in an individual channel 28 . each contact 30 includes a main body portion 32 which secures the contact 30 to the body 22 . an inclined spring element 34 extends in cantilevered fashion from the main body portion 32 into the central cavity 26 . a rounded upper portion of the cantilever element 34 forms a contact portion 36 which serves to make electrical contact with an individual trace 14 of carrier 12 upon insertion of carrier 12 into connector 20 . as will be described hereinafter , cantilever element 34 is resiliently deflectable upon insertion of carrier 12 into cavity 26 . contact 30 further includes an projecting portion 38 which extends downwardly through the bottom surface of body 22 . projecting portion 38 serves to make exterior electrical connection with a conductive element on a printed circuit board 29 shown in phantom in fig3 to which electrical connection of connector 20 is ultimately made . such connection may for example be made by flow soldering or other conventional means . referring again to fig2 and 3 , connector 20 further includes a pair of oppositely oriented plate - like levers 40 and 42 which serves as closing lids for connector 20 . lever 40 is a centrally - opened , square member having a base member 44 hingedly secured to one side wall 24a of body 22 at coaxial hinge pins 46 at opposites extents of base member 44 . a pair of arm members 48 extend from hinged base member 44 toward opposite side wall 24b . a distal transverse bridging member 50 connects the distal extents of arm members 48 . thus base member 44 , arm members 48 and bridging member 50 form a four - sided , open frame which substantially spans the upper portion of connector 20 . extending downwardly from each side member of lever 40 is a cantilever spring 52 . the four springs 52 are arranged in a head - to - tail configuration , around the central opening of the lever 40 , the secured extents of one spring being adjacent to an unsecured extent of another . with the chip carrier 12 inserted into cavity 26 , the lever 40 may be closed down over and onto the carrier 12 . the upwardly extending heat sink 15 is accommodated by the open frame configuration of lever 40 . lever 42 is of similar construction to that of lever 40 , and includes a base member 43 hingedly secured to body 22 adjacent a side wall 24b opposite side wall 24a . a pair of arm members 47 extend from hinged base member 43 toward side wall 24a . a distal bridging member 49 connects the distal extents of arm members 47 to form a four - sided open frame . coaxial hinge pins 53 secure base member 43 of lever 42 to connector 20 . with reference to fig3 - 6 , the operation of connector 10 can be described . initially the connector 20 is in the open position with both levers 40 and 42 fully upright . the carrier 12 is positioned in the central cavity 26 of connector 20 so that the carrier 12 is seated on the contact portions 36 against the bias of the cantilever spring contacts 30 . the chip 16 is placed face down from view shown in fig1 in the connector 20 so that the traces 14 engage the contacts 30 . the first lever 40 is brought down over carrier 12 until one or more of the springs 52 bears against the upper surface of carrier 12 . further downward movement of the lever 40 and thus the carrier 12 will be resisted by the force exerted by the spring contacts 30 against the carrier 12 . this force is sufficient to prevent further reasonable manual depressoin of the lever 40 . in this position ( shown in fig5 ) the arm members 47 of the second lever 42 will rest against or be propped up by the distal bridging member 50 of lever 50 which is contacting the lever 42 below the perpendicular intersection of the two levers . downward pivotal movement of the second lever 42 will force the first lever 40 slidingly down onto the chip carrier 12 . as the first lever 40 moves downward upon depression of the second lever 42 , the length between the distal end of lever 42 and the intersection of levers 40 and 42 will increase . by continuously increasing this length , which occurs as a result of the progressive sliding downward movement of lever 40 , the force applied by the first lever 40 to the chip carrier 12 will effectively increase , thus allowing the installer to overcome the spring force of the contacts 30 and provide for easy manual insertion of the carrier 12 into the cavity 26 . as shown in fig6 connector 10 is in closed position with first lever 40 overlying by engaging first lever 40 . in this position , chip carrier 12 is sufficiently urged against the bias of the spring contacts 30 to provide suitable electrical connection . such urging is enhanced by the springs 52 of lever 40 which in closed position further bias carrier 12 against contacts 30 . a further feature of the present invention is shown in fig6 . with the lever 40 and 42 closed in overlapping position over chip carrier 12 , there will be sufficient urging of the carrier 12 against contacts 30 to provide adequate electrical connection . it is important to maintain this continuous urging by assuring that the lever 40 and 42 remain in a closed position over the chip carrier 12 . lever 40 is constructed to have an extent d , which , when in the closed position , will extend beyond the hinge pin 53 of lever 42 . by extending beyond the hinge pin , and thus beyond the center of the hinging mechanism of lever 42 , the distal bridging member 50 will exert upward force ( due to the spring biases of both springs 52 and contacts 30 ) against the rear portion of lever 40 . since such force is extended upwards on one side of hinge pin 53 it will force by means of a moment the other side down into closed position against lever 40 . construction in this manner will serve as a latch preventing inadvertent opening of the levers 40 and 42 . the connector 20 can be opened normally by lifting the distal bridging member 40 of lever 42 . referring again to fig3 a still further feature of the present invention is shown . it is often desirable to make a ground connection between the printed circuit board 29 which supports connector 20 , and certain ground traces or pads ( not shown ) on chip 16 or carrier 12 . in order to provide such a grounding path , connector 20 is designed to place lever 40 and 42 in the ground path and thus provide continuous ground between the printed circuit board 29 and chip 16 . connector 20 has on the undersurface 59 thereof four slots 60 , one at each corner . slots 60 accommodate ground contacts 62 . each ground contact extends through the undersurface 59 of connector 20 for ultimate connection to ground traces on the printed circuit board . the upper portion of the ground contacts engage with and are connected to the distal bridging member 50 of lever 40 , when in the closed position . as levers 40 and 42 are constructed of conductive metal a grounding path will be established between the ground traces of the printed ciruit board and levers 40 and 42 . springs 52 which are integrally formed with lever 40 extend down and contact chip carrier 12 when the lever 40 and 42 are in a closed position . the ground path will continue to the selected traces of carrier 12 which are in contact with the spring 52 . a yet further feature of the present invention is shown in fig3 . connector 20 includes on the undersurface 59 thereof a pair of mounting posts 65 spaced at diagonally opposite corners of body 22 . posts 65 extend through aligned openings in printed circuit board 29 to properly position connector 20 on printed circuit board 29 . in order to securely anchor connector 20 to printed circuit board 29 prior to the flow soldering operation , a back up plate 70 is positioned adjacent the one side of printed circuit board 29 , opposite the side to which connector 20 is mounted . back up plate 70 , which is preferably made of steel , is a square plate approximately the size of the undersurface 59 of connector 20 and includes four holes 72 one at each corner thereof . holes 72 accommodate binding screws 74 which are inserted through holes 72 and up through similarly aligned openings ( not shown ) in printed circuit board 29 . the undersurface 59 of connector 20 includes four screw threaded insert openings 66 , one at each corner thereof which are aligned with holes 72 of plate 70 . openings 66 receive binding screws 74 thus securing connector 20 to plate 70 with printed circuit board 29 fixedly supported therebetween . in preferred form an insulative gasket 75 is interposed between plate 70 and printed circuit board 29 . the present invention further contemplates placing the steel back plate 70 in the grounding path of connector 20 . in certain application it may be necessary to provide an electrical shield for the chip 16 . such a shield may be provided by the steel back plate 70 . as previously set forth , grounding contacts 62 in electrical contact with lever 40 thus placing the levers 40 and 42 at ground potential . by placing the back plate 70 in electrical connection with the levers 40 or 42 the back plate 70 will also be at ground potential . the back plate 70 can be connected to one of levers 40 or 42 in a variety of ways . one method for example would be to extend the length of the binding screws 74 so that they contact lever 40 in closed position thus establishing electrical connection therebetween . having described the preferred embodiment of the invention together with its attendant advantages herein , it should be appreciated that other various modifications may be made without departing from the contemplated scope of the invention . accordingly , the particularly described preferred embodiment is intended to be illustrative and not limited thereto . the true scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims . | 7 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a spray gun , as illustrated in fig1 includes a housing 4 having a connection end 2 which is depicted without a nozzle attachment set . housing 4 defines a coating material channel 8 which extends from an inlet 6 to the downstream located connection end 2 . another inlet channel 10 extends through a pistol handle 9 which inlet channel 10 is in communication with connection end 2 via two gas channels 12 and 14 defined in housing 4 . a trigger 16 actuates a valve 18 located in inlet channel 10 and also controls an actuating member 20 which will be used to control another valve located in a nozzle attachment set which will be connected to connection end 2 of housing 4 . the last - mentioned valve blocks or opens the flow path for coating material from the coating - material channel 8 to the nozzle attachment set . a flow choke 22 for adjusting the size of or entirely closing gas channel 14 is provided within the subject channel as shown . connection end 2 of housing 4 is formed to reduce the number of parts in the attachment sets as much as possible . several nozzle attachment sets are described below . the nozzle attachment set 30 of fig2 includes a valve body 32 in the shape of a valve needle which can be screwed onto actuating member 20 and a separate nozzle body 36 which coaxially and symmetrically surrounds valve body 32 and which is secured to housing 4 of the spray gun by means of internal thread 34 formed in connection end 2 . nozzle body 36 has an inner valve seat for valve body 32 and an atomizer air cap 40 which grips and surrounds valve body 32 and nozzle body 36 and which is screwed to the spray gun by means of its internal thread 42 and an external thread 44 formed on connection end 2 . with nozzle attachment set 30 connected to connection end 2 , coating material flows , upon actuation of trigger 16 , out from channel 8 via valve 32 or 38 through nozzle body 36 . atomizer air flows in gas channel 12 and emerges via holes 46 and 48 in nozzle body 36 and atomizer air cap 40 . additional air emerges from gas channel 14 via channels 50 defined in slanted protrusions 52 of atomizer air cap 40 . nozzle attachment set 30 in cooperation with the spray gun permit spraying of coating material in accordance with the compressed - air atomization method . electrodes 53 on cap 40 electrostatically charge the coating material . a second embodiment identified as nozzle attachment set 60 is shown in fig3 . included are a valve body 62 having a valve ball which can be screwed to actuating member 20 , a valve seat 64 for said valve body which can be threadedly secured to internal thread 34 of connection end 2 , and a nozzle cap 66 with internal thread 42 which is threaded onto outer thread 44 of connection end 2 . when nozzle attachment set 60 has been screwed onto connection end 2 upon actuating of trigger 16 , coating material emerges from channel 8 via valve body 62 and valve seat 64 through an atomizer nozzle 68 which is axially screwed into nozzle cap 66 and which operates to atomize the coating material in accordance with the airless atomization method as a result of the special , but known , shape of its nozzle mouth 70 . additional air can enter nozzle mouth 70 from gas channel 14 via channels 72 of atomizer nozzle 68 . this additional air assists in the atomization of the coating material . a third nozzle attachment set 80 is illustrated in fig4 . it contains several parts which are identical to parts found in nozzle attachment set 60 of fig3 . accordingly , corresponding parts carry identical reference numbers . the only difference between the second and third embodiments is that , instead of the atomizer nozzle 68 of fig3 an atomizer nozzle 82 is inserted into nozzle cap 66 in the third embodiment of fig4 . atomizer nozzle 82 has no gas channels . no air source need be connected to channel 10 of the spray gun . flow choke 22 can remain closed . atomization of the coating material is carried out in accordance with the airless atomization method without use of additional air . spray guns for spraying powdered coating material onto objects are shown in fig5 and 6 . the construction is tubular and there are included a base body 102 , a replaceable intermediate piece 104 and , as in fig5 a nozzle attachment set 106 which is located on intermediate piece 104 , or , as shown in fig6 a replaceable nozzle attachment set 108 . a coating material channel 110 extends axially through base body 102 and intermediate piece 104 . channel 110 discharges into nozzle attachment set 106 or 108 . nozzle attachment set 106 of fig5 atomizes the powdered coating material so that the stream of material produces a vacuum within nozzle mouth wall 112 in accordance with the coanda effect , as a result of which the stream of material is torn apart radially . atomization is supported by atomization air which is supplied from an external source of compressed air 114 via shut - off valve 116 and is to a gas channel 118 of the spray gun and flows via an outlet 120 into nozzle mouth 121 . the atomization takes place in accordance with the well - known impact - plate - less atomization method . electric wires 122 are connected to electrodes 124 which are arranged in material channel 110 to electrostatically charge the coating material . another source of gas 126 supplies compressed air via a shut - off valve 128 to another gas channel 130 from which the air emerges via an annular slot nozzle 132 to form a jacket of gas which surrounds and contains the atomized coating material . the nozzle attachment set 108 of fig6 closes gas channels 118 and 130 , and the atomization of the coating material is effected by an impact member 134 which blocks the coating material flow path downstream of nozzle wall 136 . the presently described embodiment does not require compressed air and compressed air sources 114 and 126 can be disconnected . nozzle attachment set 108 of fig6 operates in accordance with the well - known impact - plate atomization method . although the present invention has been described in connection with a plurality of preferred embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is preferred , therefore , that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein , but only by the appended claims . | 1 |
fig1 is a sectioned front view illustrating schematically the construction of an image reader according to this invention . an image reader 1 is provided on the upper surface of a rectangular housing with a platen glass 2 which is capable of supporting thereon an original document of the a3 size and an original document cover 3 adapted to keep an original document placed on the platen glass 2 fast in place . the platen glass 2 is provided at the front end part thereof relative to the direction of scanning with a standard pattern 14 which is formed of a white image for the compensation of shading . inside the housing , there are provided an optical system set in place so as to be capable of scanning an image on the original document in the direction of an arrow m5 ( direction of sub - scanning ) below the platen glass 2 and an electric circuit system 12 adapted to form image data in conformity with the density or color of the image of the original document . the optical system is composed of a first slider 13 incorporating an illumination lamp 4 , a reflection mirror 5 , and a mirror 6 therein , a second slider 13a incorporating a mirror 7 and a mirror 8 therein , and a main lens 9 , etc . the first slider 13 and the second slider 13a are driven as controlled so that the rate of motion of the second slider 13a is v / 2 relative to the rate of motion of the first slider 13 taken as v . the scanning light which has passed through the main lens 9 is allowed to impinge on an image sensor 10 attached to a supporting member 11 and is converted into an electric signal ( image signal ). the image sensor 10 is formed of a plurality of ccd chips arranged in a continuous pattern in the direction of main scanning ( direction of line ) and adapted to read the original document at a resolution of 400 pixels / inch . in each of the ccd chips , a multiplicity of light - receiving elements are arranged in a row . the light - receiving elements in the row are divided into three regions . the component light - receiving elements of these three regions are severally provided on their surfaces with spectral filters such that the regions severally admit the three colors , r ( red ), g ( green ), and b ( blue ). the light - receiving elements correspond one each to the pixels of the image on the original document and they severally emit to the electric circuit part 12 an image signal conforming with the intensity of a reflected light relative to one of the colors of relevant pixels . fig2 is a block diagram of the electric circuit part 12 of the image reader 1 . the electric circuit part 12 is composed of a color separation part 21 for separating the image signal from the image sensor 10 into signals of the colors r , g , and b and subjecting the separated color signals to prescribed amplification , a digitization processing part 22 for quantizing the analog signals in different colors and emitting image data d7 to d0 of eight bits ( 256 gradients ), a shading compensation part 23 for compensating the dispersion in the direction of main scanning of the image data d7 to d0 due to an uneven distribution of the light from the illuminating lamp 4 or a difference in sensitivity among the bits of the image sensor 10 , an image discriminating part 25 for discriminating the attributes of binarization and the attributes of color , a lookup table type density conversion part ( γ conversion rom ) 26 for performing γ conversion in conformity to the density level adjustment and the density characteristics ( γ characteristics ) of the externally connected device , an image processing part 28 for performing digital processing including binarization and image editing , an output control part 29 for controlling data output , an attribute memory 30 for recording designated attribute data a2 to a0 , an attribute data output control part 31 , a clock generation circuit 41 , a line memory 24 for memorizing one line full of the image data d17 to d10 issued from the shading compensation part 23 , a synchronous signal generation part 40 for issuing various synchronization signals , a lamp control part 4a for controlling the switching of the illumination lamp 4 , a driver 16a for driving a scanner motor 16 for scanning , and a cpu 20 for controlling all of the component parts mentioned above . the cpu 20 has built therein a rom 201 for storing a processing program , a register 202 for storing various flags and status data temporarily therein in execution of the program , and a ram 203 destined to form a work area . the cpu 20 performs communication for the reception and transmission of data indicative of a varying command and the operation state ( status ) of the image reader 1 with an external host device fitted with manual operation means , forms designation attribute data a2 to a0 for designating image editing or binarization processing based on the received commands prior to the reading of the image of an original document , and stores the designation attribute data a2 to a0 in the attribute memory 30 . in the image reader 1 , the designation attribute data a0 , a1 , and a2 are the data for designating the binarization processing , the negative - positive inversion , and the trimming respectively . incidentally , the synchronization signals to be issued by the synchronization signal generator 40 include a horizontal synchronization signal hsync which is issued for each line of main scanning , an pixel clock signal synck which forms the standard for data transmission timing for each pixel , and an output enable signal vd which indicates the effective duration for the data issued from the image reader 1 , for example . in the shading compensation part 23 , the image data d7 to d0 are subjected to shading compensation and , at the same time , these image data d7 to d0 which have been data proportional to the intensity of the reflected light are converted by a logarithmic computation based on visional characteristics into density data proportional to the density of an image . the image discrimination part 25 is intended to form a judgment to discriminate between a character region and a photograph region in an image or decide whether or not the color edition has a place designated therefor . the discrimination attribute data α0 issued by the image discrimination part 25 assumes the value &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; when the divided region subjected to the discrimination corresponds to a character image ( character region ) or the value &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; when this divided region corresponds to an intermediate tone image ( photograph region ). in contrast thereto , the discrimination attribute data a1 assumes the value &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; when the divided region subjected to the discrimination corresponds to a specific color or the value &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; when the divided region corresponds to a color other than the specific color . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of the density conversion part 26 . the density conversion part 26 is formed of a γ conversion rom incorporating three memory regions ( banks ) me1 to me3 therein . the memory regions me1 to me3 have respectively stored therein conversion tables t1 to t3 for input / output characteristics which will be described specifically afterward . the conversion tables t1 to t3 are selectively used by the density conversion control which is effected by the cpu 20 . to be specific , in the γ conversion , the cpu 20 allows access to one of the memory regions me1 to me3 and causes the data at an address designated by the memory region and the value &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 255 &# 34 ; of the image data d17 to d10 received from the shading compensation part 23 to be read out as image data d27 to d20 . fig4 is a block diagram illustrating the image processing part 28 . the image processing part 28 is intended for the processing of an image signal introduced from the image sensor 10 and , thus , is composed of a variable power part 281 , a filtering part 282 , a trimming - masking part 283 , a simple binarization processing part 284 , a pseudo - intermediate tone processing part 285 , a data selection part 286 , a selector 287 , and a negative processing part 288 . to the image processing part 28 , the image data d27 to d20 from the density conversion part 26 are serially injected in the order of arrangement of pixels . the image data d27 to d20 thus introduced are first subjected in the variable power part 281 to variable power processing as set by the cpu 20 . then , in the filtering part 282 , the data are subjected to processings for the improvement of image quality such as edge enhancement and smoothing to give rise to image data d37 to d30 to be discharged . in the trimming - masking part 283 which operates in response to the designation attribute data a2 , when the data a2 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the processing of masking forces the image data d37 to d30 to assume the value of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; corresponding to a blank part and to be consequently discharged as image data d47 to d40 . when the data a2 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the image data d37 to d30 are passed unaltered and are discharged as image data d47 to d40 ( data through ). the image data d47 to d40 issued from the trimming - masking part 283 are binarized in the simple binarization processing part 284 and the pseudo - intermediate tone processing part 285 and are simultaneously discharged as binary image data da , db to be injected as such into the selector 287 . the selector 287 selects either of the two binary image data da , db in accordance with the output data d - sel from the data selection part 286 and emits the selected data as an output . to the data selection part 286 , the designation attribute data a0 for controlling the binarization processing are imparted together with the aforementioned discrimination attribute data α0 obtained by automatic discrimination of the binary attribute . the value of the output data d - sel is fixed by the value of the data a0 . to be specific , when the data a0 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the discrimination attribute data α0 are emitted unaltered as the output data d - sel . when the data a0 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the data obtained by the inversion of the discrimination attribute data α0 are issued as an output . in the image processing part 28 , when the designation attribute data a0 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, the external designation of the binarization processing is defaulted and the binary image data based on the automatic discrimination of the binarization attribute by the image discrimination part 25 are issued as an output . when the data a0 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, the binary image data which have undergone the binarization processing which is the opposite of the result of the automatic discrimination of the binarization attribute are issued as an output . the negative processing part 288 issues the binary image data introduced from the selector 287 in their unaltered form when the designation attribute data a1 is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; or the inverted binary image data when the data a1 is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; respectively as image data video 0 to 7 each composed of eight parallel pixels . now , the operation of the image reader 1 will be described below with reference to the flow charts of fig5 to 14 . fig5 is a main flow chart schematically illustrating the operation of the cpu 20 . when the power source is connected to the system and the program is started , the system is initialized at step # 1 . then , the presence or absence of a command from the host device is checked at step # 2 . when the presence of a command is confirmed , the kind of this command is discerned ( step # 3 ) and , depending on the kind of the command , the read processing ( step # 4 ), the read mode designation processing ( step # 5 ), the attribute designation processing ( step # 6 ), and the output data designation processing ( step # 7 ) are executed . thereafter , other processings such as for effecting detection of the status of operation ( step # 8 ) are executed and the program is returned to step # 2 . the processings at steps # 2 to # 8 are subsequently repeated . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating the reception processing and fig7 is a flow chart illustrating the transmission processing . these routines are interrupt routines and are executed from time to time in response to an access from the host device . in the reception processing of fig6 first the received signal is subjected to code analysis ( step # 11 ). when the reception of a command is confirmed at step # 12 , the received command is stored at a prescribed area in the register 202 ( step # 13 ). when the received signal happens to designate a request for information on the status ( step # 14 ), the data indicating the status such as the state of wait are read out of the register 202 and transmitted to the host device ( step # 15 ). when the received signal does not correspond to either the predefined command or the request for status , code data which indicate a reception error are transmitted ( step # 16 ). in the transmission processing shown in fig7 the system waits until the previous transmission is completed and the next transmission is readied ( step # 21 ) and code data to be transmitted are set in the register 202 ( step # 22 ). then , at step # 23 , the presence or absence of code data to be subsequently transmitted , namely the presence or absence of necessity for transmission , is checked . when the necessity for transmission is confirmed , the flow of processing is returned to step # 21 . fig8 is a flow chart of the initialization processing at step # 1 shown in fig5 . first , the status &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; which indicates that the system is being readied for read scanning is set . specifically , the data corresponding to &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; are stored at the status area in the register 202 ( step # 31 ). then , at step # 32 , a self test for checking the system to find whether or not the component parts are normally operating is carried out . at step # 33 , the presence or absence of a mechanical trouble in the system is checked . when the presence of a mechanical trouble is confirmed , the flow of processing is moved to step # 37 to effect transmission of the code inhibiting operation to the host device . when the absence of a mechanical trouble is confirmed , the flow of processing is advanced to step # 34 to effect initialization of the relevant component parts . in the initialization at this time , &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; is written in the attribute memory 30 as the designation attribute data a0 , a1 , and a2 . thereafter in the image processing part 28 , therefore , the image editing processings by trimming and negative - positive inversion are not executed and the binarization processing is destined to be carried out on the basis of the discrimination attribute data α0 unless the designation attribute data a2 to a0 are not rewritten . the density is set at a standard level in the density conversion part 26 and the inlet to the selector is so selected in the output control part 29 that the image data video 0 to 7 and the attribute data a2 to a0 are alternately issued . after the initialization which is carried out as described above , the first slider 13 is moved to the home position ( step # 35 ) and , subsequent to this motion , the status is changed from &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; ready &# 34 ; representing the state of readiness ( step # 36 ). fig9 is a flow chart illustrating the read processing performed at step # 4 as shown in fig5 . first , the status is set at &# 34 ; busy &# 34 ; which indicates that the reading is in process ( step # 41 ) and the illumination lamp 4 is turned on ( step # 42 ). then , a scanner motor 16 is turned on ( step # 43 ) and the arrival of the first slider 13 at the shading position , namely a position directly below the standard pattern 14 , is waited ( step # 44 ). after the arrival of the slider 13 at the standard pattern 14 , the standard pattern 14 is read for the sake of compensation of the shading and the standard image data ( white data ) are stored in the line memory 24 ( step # 45 ). subsequently , the arrival of the slider 13 at the leading end position of the original document is waited at step # 46 and the synchronizing signal generation part 40 is turned on and made to issue a signal to synchronize at step # 47 . as a result , the relevant parts of the system operate in response to the signal to synchronize and the image data video 0 to 7 and the attribute data a4 to a0 which are rendered effective after the scanning of the 9th line is started are alternately issued . the completion of the scanning of the whole image on the original document , namely the arrival of the slider 13 at the trailing end position of the original document , is waited ( step # 48 ). then , the synchronizing signal generation part 40 is turned off ( step # 49 ), the scanner motor 16 is provisionally turned off ( step # 50 ), and the illumination lamp 4 is turned off ( step # 51 ). now , the scanner motor 16 is operated reversely to set the sliders 13 , 13a in a return motion ( step # 52 ), the return of the slider 13 to the home position is waited ( step # 53 ), the scanner motor 16 is turned off ( step # 54 ), and finally the status is set at &# 34 ; ready &# 34 ; in step # 55 . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the read mode designation processing which is performed at step # 5 in the flow of processing shown in fig5 . the status is set at &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; at step # 61 , the parameter contained in the command is checked at step # 62 , in accordance with the parameter , the density is designated ( step # 63 ), the ratio of variable power is designated ( step # 64 ), and other designations such as the designation of a device as the destination of the output are executed ( step # 65 ). then , the status is returned to &# 34 ; ready &# 34 ; at step # 66 . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the density designation processing which is performed at step # 63 in the flow of processing shown in fig1 . first , a preliminary scanning for detecting the trend of image density is carried out and the image data d17 to d10 which are sequentially stored in the line memory 24 are admitted from time to time in the ram 203 at step # 71 . in the preliminary scanning , the sliders 13 , 13a are moved at a higher rate than in the main scanning to read the original document at a coarse pitch of 2 mm , for example . in this case , the luminous energy of the illuminating lamp 4 is set at a level at which the output of the ccd to be emitted when the ccd reads out the standard image ( white image ) verges on saturation . at step # 72 , the outputs ( data values ) of the component pixels are produced based on the image data d17 to d10 of the ram 203 and are plotted to obtain a histogram . in this case , since the density - output characteristics existing under the conditions of preliminary scanning ( such as the luminous energy of the lamp , the sensitivity of the image sensor 10 , and the ad conversion characteristics ) are already known , this histogram can be converted into a histogram showing the density of each of the component pixels as shown in fig1 . the new histogram affords data of density distribution . then , the image contrast c is obtained on the basis of the histogram of density at step # 73 . though the contrast c ought to represent theoretically the difference between the maximum and the minimum of density on the original document , it is actually obtained for the sake of the present invention on the basis of the maximum and the minimum of a range to be fixed by deducting several % from each of the opposite ends of the total range of density in due consideration of the effects of electrical noise and dust dust on the original document . at step # 74 , one of the three memory regions ( banks ) me1 to me3 of the density conversion part 26 ( hereinafter referred to as &# 34 ; γ conversion rom &# 34 ;) is selected as specifically described afterward in accordance with the contract c obtained above . the banks me1 to me3 of the γ conversion rom 26 have severally stored therein conversion tables t1 to t3 which respectively correspond to three density - output characteristics ( γ curves ). the three density - output characteristics of the present embodiment ( herein referred to respectively as γ curve 1 , γ curve 2 , and γ curve 3 ) are invariably such that the output data values are proportional to the densities within a prescribed range , though the lines which depict the relation under discussion vary from one γ curve to another . in other words , they are the ranges of input in which the output values are varied with the input - output characteristics , namely the ranges of density ( substantial ranges of compensation ) γ1 , γ2 , and γ3 , in which the gradients are repeatable during the pseudo - intermediate tone processing by the dither method , are different from one another ( γ1 & lt ; γ2 & lt ; γ3 ). when the value of the contrast c is smaller than ( γ1 + δ ), the conversion table t1 of the bank me1 is selected as the lookup table for the purpose of the γ conversion . the symbol δ stands for an empirically optimized constant . the conversion table t2 of the bank me2 is selected when the value of the contrast c is an intermediate between ( γ1 + δ ) and ( γ2 + δ ) and the conversion table t3 of the bank me3 is selected when the value of the contrast c is larger than ( γ2 + δ ). in the repetition of the gradient of a photographic image , for example , an appropriate pseudo - intermediate tone image can be obtained in spite of the contrast c by using a conversion table of a γ curve of a large inclination for an image of a small contrast c or a conversion table of a γ curve of a small inclination for an image of a large contrast c as described above . in short , where the γ curve of the γ conversion is fixed as has been conventionally usual , the repeatability of the white and black parts is impaired by extremely increasing the contrast c as compared with the range of density in which the gradient is repeatable and , conversely , such an unnatural image as a binary image is obtained by extremely decreasing the contrast c . the repeatability of gradient is improved by altering the γ curve of the γ conversion proportionately to the contrast c . then , at step # 75 , the method of setting the density is checked to decide whether or not the setting is automatically effected . when the method of setting is not automatic , namely when it is manual , the luminous energy of the lamp is set on the basis of an operation designated by an operator at step # 76 . the value of density designated by the operator corresponds to the image density which forms the threshold of the simple binarization ( hereinafter referred to a &# 34 ; threshold density nth &# 34 ;). in the positive image , the threshold density nth increases in proportion as the value of designated density increases . here , the action of changing the luminous energy of the lamp in conformity with the value of designated density equals the action of fixing the luminous energy of the lamp and altering the threshold density nth by shifting the γ curve as illustrated in fig1 . in contrast thereto , the action of changing the inclination of the γ curve proportionately to the contrast c in the case of a specific value of designated density as described above equals the action of suitably selecting the ranges of density γ1 , γ2 , and γ3 permitting repetition of gradient as illustrated in fig1 . at step # 76 , the luminous energy of the lamp is set so that in the γ curve of a prescribed inclination selected in conformity with the contrast c , the median γm in the substantial range γ of compensation of the γ curve ( the density corresponding to the median &# 34 ; 128 &# 34 ; of the output ) coincides with the threshold density nth to be designated as illustrated in fig1 . in the case of the data illustrated in the diagram , the luminous energy of the lamp is set at a value smaller than usual . when the decision to be made at step # 75 finds the method of setting the density to be automatic , the threshold density nth is selected based on the histogram of density obtained in advance and the luminous energy of the lamp is set so that the median ym of the range of density γ of the γ curve coincides with the selected threshold density nth ( step # 77 ). the automatic setting of density is effective only when the image of a given original document consists mainly of characters . generally in this case , the histogram has peaks p1 , p2 in each of the character part and the background part as illustrated in fig1 . the threshold density nth is defined as the median of the values of density which correspond to the peaks p1 , p2 of each of the character part and the background part . incidentally at step # 76 mentioned above , the switch of the γ curve may be conceived besides the change of the luminous energy of the lamp as a method for altering the threshold density nth proportionately to the value of density designated by an operator . the adjustment of density by the luminous energy of the lamp proves advantageous , however , in due consideration of the optical noise and the electrical noise in the image sensor 10 . for the purpose of adjusting the density , therefore , it is desirable to utilize the luminous energy of the lamp within the range in which this luminous energy allows the adjustment to advantage and then rely on the switch of the γ curve outside the range . fig1 is a flow chart of the attribute designation processing to be performed at step # 6 in the flow of processing shown in fig5 . first , the status is set at &# 34 ; wait &# 34 ; ( step # 81 ) and the designation is checked to find whether or not it is correct ( step # 82 ). when the designation is not correct as when an area outside the range set for reading is designated or when an error exists in the sequence of designation of coordinates , for example , the flow of processing moves to step # 85 and an error code is transmitted to the host device . when the designation is correct , the attribute data write processing for writing the designation attribute data a0 , a1 , and a2 in the attribute memory 30 is executed ( step # 83 ) and the status is set to &# 34 ; ready &# 34 ; ( step # 84 ). fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the attribute data write processing to be performed at step # 83 in the flow of processing shown in fig1 . at step # 91 , the designation from the host device is checked to find the kind of designation and , depending on the kind thus found , the various processings of steps # 92 to # 98 are executed . when automatic discrimination of the binarization attribute is designated , the designated attribute data a0 with respect to the designated region e is set at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at step # 92 . when the binarization attribute has been designated in advance , the designation attribute data a1 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; with respect to the designated region e at step # 93 . when the positivity of image is designated , namely when the nonnecessity of the white - black conversion is designated , the designation attribute data a1 is set at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; with respect to the designated region e at step # 94 . in contrast thereto , when the negativity is designated , namely the necessity of the white - black conversion is designated , the designated attribute data a1 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; with respect to the designated region e at step # 95 . when the trimming is designated , the designation attribute data a2 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; with respect other region than the designated region e at step # 96 . when the masking is designated , the designation attribute data a2 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; with respect to the designated region e at step # 97 . when the cancellation of trimming - masking processing is designated , the designation attribute data a2 is reset at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; with respect to other region than the designated region e at step # 98 . fig1 is a flow chart illustrating the output data designation processing to be performed in the flow of processing at step # 7 shown in fig5 . in this routine , first the output data data is checked to find the kind of data at step # 101 and , depending on the kind of data so found , the processings at steps # 102 to # 104 are executed . when the outputs exclusively of the image data video 0 to 7 are selected , the output control data c0 and c1 are both set at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at step # 102 . when the outputs exclusively of the attribute data a4 to a0 are selected , the processing of step # 103 is executed and the output control data c0 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and the output control data c1 is set at &# 34 ; 0 .&# 34 ; when the outputs of both the image data video 0 to 7 and the attribute data a4 to a0 are selected , the output control data c0 is set at &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and the output control data c1 is set at &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at step # 104 . in the embodiment described above , since the γ conversion is effected by preparing a histogram indicative of the density distribution of an image on a given original document and , based on this histogram , switching the conversion tables t1 to t3 in conformity with the contrast c , ideal repeatability of pseudo - gradient enough to permit production of an image enjoying an improved quality is attained without reference to the overall status of density of the image as to lightness or darkness . in the embodiment described above , the distinction of an image of characters on a given original document can be exalted without reference as to the density of characters because the threshold density nth of the simple binarization is selected based on the histogram indicative of the density distribution of an image on an original document and the adjustment of density is effected by setting the luminous energy of the lamp during the automatic setting of density . in the embodiment described above , the contents of the image processing can be suitably selected to suit the purpose for which the produced image is used and such factors as the construction of each of the component parts of the image reader 1 and the timing of the operation of the image reader 1 can be altered variously to fulfill the spirit of this invention . the embodiment described above represents a case of using an image reader 1 which is so adapted as to operate by effecting photoelectric conversion of a scanning light reflected on an original document . this invention can be applied likewise to a film scanner adapted to operate by effecting the photoelectric conversion of a scanning light which has passed through an original document . further , the embodiment described above represents a case of using a rom for preparatorily storing therein three γ curves as a plurality of sets of gradient compensation data . it is permissible to have one γ curve stored preparatorily in the rom and , immediately prior to compensation of gradient , have the γ curve in the rom revised in conformity with the contrast of a given image and put to use for the gradient compensation . | 7 |
a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described . fig1 a through 1e and fig2 a through 2d show a configuration of a pixel of an active matrix type liquid crystal display which employs the invention disclosed in this specification . fig1 a through 1e are schematic sectional views showing fabrication steps according to the present embodiment , and fig2 a through 2d show the configuration of each of a bus line , a common electrode , pixel electrodes , a semiconductor layer , and the like according to the present embodiment . the reference numbers in fig2 a through 2d are in correspondence with those in fig1 a through 1e . fig1 a through 1e are conceptual views and are not exactly identical to fig2 a through 2d in configuration . further , fig1 a through 1e and fig2 a though 2 d show a configuration of only a substrate on which a thin film transistor is provided . in practice , there is provided another substrate opposite thereto ( opposite substrate ), and liquid crystal is held between the opposite substrate and the substrate shown in fig1 a through 1e with a gap of several μm therebetween . the fabrication steps will now be described with reference to fig1 a through 1e . as shown in fig1 a , a semiconductor layer ( active layer ) 12 of a transistor is provided on a glass substrate 11 having an underlying silicon oxide film ( not shown ). the active layer 12 is formed by a crystalline silicon film which has been crystallized by heating an amorphous silicon film or by irradiating the same with laser beams . a gate insulation film 13 is formed so as to cover the active layer 12 . the gate insulation film 13 is preferably made of silicon oxide or silicon nitride and , for example , a silicon oxide film formed using a plasma cvd process may be used . a gate bus line ( gate electrode ) 14 made of an aluminum - titanium alloy is formed on the gate insulation film using a well known sputtering process ( fig1 a ). the configuration of this circuit in this state is shown in fig2 a . next , a well known ion doping process is performed using the gate bus line as a mask to introduce n - or p - type impurities in the active layer , thereby forming a source 15 and a drain 16 . after the impurities are introduced , thermal annealing , laser annealing or the like may be performed to activate the impurities ( to recrystallize the semiconductor film ) if required . after the above - described steps , a silicon nitride film ( or a silicon oxide film ) 17 is deposited by means of a plasma cvd process . it serves as a first layer insulator ( fig1 b ). next , contact holes are formed in the first layer insulator 17 such that they reach the source 15 and drain 16 . then , a well known sputtering process is performed to form a multi - layer film of titanium and aluminum which is in turn etched to form a source bus line 18 and a drain electrode 19 . after the above - described steps , a silicon nitride film ( or a silicon oxide film ) 20 is deposited by means of a plasma cvd process . it serves as a second layer insulator ( fig1 c ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig2 b . next , a spin coating process is performed to form a first organic resin layer 21 . the organic resin layer is formed to have a flat upper surface . then , a well known sputtering process is performed to form an ito film which is in turn etched to form a common electrode 22 ( fig1 d ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig2 c . the common electrode is shaded in fig2 c to show its position clearly . as apparent from fig2 c , the common electrode is formed so as to cover the source bus line and gate bus line . further , a spin coating process is performed to form a second organic resin layer 23 . then , a well known sputtering process is performed to form an ito film which is in turn etched to form pixel electrodes 24 a and 24 b . the pixel electrode 24 b is a pixel electrode for the transistor as described above , and the pixel electrode 24 a is a pixel electrode adjacent thereto . capacitors 25 a and 25 b are respectively formed at regions where the pixel electrodes 24 a and 24 b overlap the common electrode 22 ( fig1 e ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig2 d . in fig2 d , the pixel electrodes and the regions where the pixel electrodes overlap the common electrode ( regions where the capacitors are located ) are shaded to show their positions clearly . as apparent from fig2 d , the pixel electrodes are formed so as to overlap the source bus line and gate bus line . as a result , the boundaries of the pixel electrodes are all located on the bus lines which consequently serve as a black matrix ( fig2 d ). a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described . fig3 a through 3e and fig4 a through 4d show a configuration of a pixel of an active matrix type liquid crystal display which employs the invention disclosed in this specification . fig3 a through 3e are schematic sectional views showing fabrication steps according to the present embodiment , and fig4 a through 4d show the configuration of each of a bus line , a common electrode , pixel electrodes , a semiconductor layer , and the like according to the - present embodiment . the reference numbers in fig4 a through 4d are in correspondence with those in fig3 a through 3e . fig3 a through 3e are conceptual views and are not exactly identical to fig4 a through 4d in configuration . as shown in fig3 a , a semiconductor layer ( active layer ) 32 of a transistor is provided on a glass substrate 31 having an underlying silicon oxide film ( not shown ). a gate insulation film 33 is formed so as to cover the active layer 32 . a gate bus line ( gate electrode ) 34 made of an aluminum - titanium alloy is formed on the gate insulation film ( fig3 a ). the configuration of this circuit in this state is shown in fig4 a . unlike the first embodiment , the gate bus line of the present embodiment is configured to be reduced in width at the region of the gate electrode of the transistor ( fig4 a ). next , n - or p - type impurities are introduced to form a source 35 and a drain 36 . after the above - described steps , a first layer insulator 37 which is a silicon nitride film ( or a silicon oxide film ) is deposited ( fig3 b ). next , contact holes are formed in the first layer insulator 37 such that they reach the source 35 and drain 36 . then , a source bus line 38 , a drain electrode 39 , and a protective film 40 are formed . after the above - described steps , a second layer insulator 41 which is a silicon nitride film ( or a silicon oxide film ) is deposited ( fig3 c ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig4 b . the protective film 40 is insulated from the source bus line 38 , the drain electrode 39 , and other wiring and electrodes to be at floating potential . such a protective film 40 is effective in blocking light incident upon the transistor from above ( fig4 b ). next , a common electrode 42 is formed by an ito film . further , an organic resin layer 43 is formed ( fig3 d ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig4 c . the common electrode is shaded in fig4 c to show its position clearly . as apparent from fig4 c , the common electrode is formed so as to cover the source bus line and gate bus line . strictly speaking , it is not essential to cover the protective film 40 with the common electrode . this is because there is a bare possibility that the protective film has some influence on the pixel electrodes as it is at floating potential . in the present embodiment , however , the protective film 40 is also covered by the common electrode 42 as illustrated ( fig4 c ). then , pixel electrodes 44 a and 44 b are formed by ito films . the pixel electrode 44 b is a pixel electrode for the transistor as described above , and the pixel electrode 44 a is a pixel electrode adjacent thereto . capacitors 45 a and 45 b are respectively formed at regions where the pixel electrodes 44 a and 44 b overlap the common electrode 42 ( fig3 e ). the configuration of the circuit in this state is shown in fig4 d . in fig4 d , the pixel electrodes and the regions where the pixel electrodes overlap the common electrode ( regions where the capacitors are located ) are shaded to show their positions clearly . as apparent from fig4 d , the pixel electrodes are formed so as to overlap the source bus line and gate bus line . as a result , the boundaries of the pixel electrodes are all located on the bus lines which consequently serve as a black matrix ( fig4 d ). by forming an electrode opposite to a pixel electrode that constitutes an auxiliary capacitor using a transparent conductive film , a great auxiliary capacitor can be formed without decreasing the aperture ratio . in addition , a source bus line and a gate bus line can be used as a black matrix . more particularly , the present invention is effective especially in improving an aperture ratio when the pixel is small and , especially , with design rules kept unchanged . as described above , the present invention has advantages from an industrial point of view . it should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention . various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . accordingly , the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embedded device 10 , which , in the illustrated embodiment , comprises a wireless mobile communication device . the illustrated embedded device 10 comprises a system bus 14 , a device memory 16 ( which is a main memory in the illustrated device 10 ) connected to and accessible by other portions of the embedded device 10 through system bus 14 , and hardware entities 18 connected to the system bus 14 . at least some of the hardware entities 18 perform actions involving access to and use of main memory 16 . the hardware entities 18 may include microprocessors , asics , and other hardware . a graphics entity 20 is connected to the system bus 14 . the graphics entity 20 may comprise a core or portion of a larger integrated system ( e . g ., a system on a chip ( soc )), or it may comprise a graphics chip , such as a graphics accelerator . in the illustrated embodiment , the graphics entity 20 comprises a graphics pipeline ( not shown ), a graphics clock 23 , a buffer 22 , and a bus interface 19 to interface graphics entity 20 with system bus 14 . buffer 22 holds data used in per - pixel processing by graphics entity 20 . buffer 22 provides local storage of pixel - related data , such as pixel information from buffers ( not shown ) within main memory 16 . in the illustrated embodiment , graphics entity 20 is capable of performing localized image transformations on portions of images . to that end , graphics entity 20 includes a region of interest defining mechanism 24 to display and allow a user to select a region of interest within an image to be transformed and a transformation device 26 to perform the image transformation . as shown , the region of interest defining mechanism 24 is coupled to the user interface 28 of the embedded device 10 . the image transformations that may be performed by embedded device 10 will be described in greater detail below . the image on which the embedded device 10 operates may be stored in the main memory 16 of the embedded device 10 , the buffer 22 of the embedded device , or on another machine - readable medium interoperable with the embedded device . additionally , although the graphics entity 20 performs the transformation functions in the illustrated embodiment , in other embodiments , those functions may be performed by the other hardware 18 . fig2 is a schematic illustration of an image 50 . the image 50 has a width w and a height h . in the illustrated embodiment , the width w and height h are expressed in units of pixels , although other measurement units may be used . the height h of the image 50 extends along the y - axis 52 in fig2 , and the width w of the image extends along the x - axis 54 . in fig2 , the width coordinates of the image 50 extend from 0 to w - 1 and the height coordinates extend from 0 to h - 1 , as shown . image 50 may originally be created in a number of ways , including digital photography , film photography followed by digitization , digitization from a non - photographic source , and pure digital illustration / rendering . particular implementations of the image transformation methods presented here on specific types of images and specific platforms or computing systems will be described in greater detail below . transformation methods illustrated herein provide for localized transformation of an image . as shown in fig2 , the transformation may be localized using a defined region of interest 56 , such as , for example , a circular region of radius r centered at ( x o , y o ). more specifically , the transformation may be localized by limiting it to the area within the region of interest 56 . the center coordinates ( x o , y o ) of the circular region 56 may be arbitrarily selected , and the entire circle need not be located within the bounds of the image . although the region of interest 56 is illustrated as a circle , it need not be a circle , and may vary in shape and dimensions . regions of interest of other shapes will be described in more detail below . most image transformations can be described as sets of mathematical transformation functions represented by sets of mathematical equations ; these equations are descriptive of the operations being performed on the image regardless of the particular platform on which the transformations are implemented . the mathematical equations describing one exemplary set of transformation functions for the illustrated embodiment are given below as equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). for each pixel in image 50 : x out = { x o + ( x in - x o ) · a [ 1 - ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 x in otherwise ( 1 ) y out = { y o + ( y in - y o ) · a [ 1 - ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 y in otherwise ( 2 ) in equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), ( x in , y in ) is the input pixel location , ( x out , y out ) is the output pixel location , and the parameters a and k control the type of distortion ( i . e ., magnification or pinching ) and the level of magnification or pinching . the parameter a can take a value between zero and infinity ; the parameter k can take a value between negative infinity and infinity . ( the effect of varying the parameters a and k will be described in greater detail below with respect to certain examples .) as equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) state , pixels within the region of interest 56 , which is circular in this embodiment , are transformed , while for all other pixels , the output is the same as the input . the parameter a , as given in equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), has effects on both the magnitude and type of distortion . while equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) may be directly applied in some circumstances , it is useful to separate the magnitude effects of the parameter a from its effects on the type of distortion . this can be done by restricting the permissible values of parameter a to values between one and infinity and introducing a separate binary parameter m that determines whether the distortion is magnification ( m = 0 ) or pinching ( m = 1 ). equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) illustrate the use of the binary parameter m : x out = { x o + ( x in - x o ) · a ( - 1 ) m · [ 1 - ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 x in otherwise ( 3 ) y out = { y o + ( y in - y o ) · a ( - 1 ) m · [ 1 - ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for ( x in - x o ) 2 + ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 y in otherwise ( 4 ) equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) are identical in effect to equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), taking into account the mathematical identity : thus , if a is restricted to the range 1 ≦ a ≦∞ and a negative exponent is used by setting m = 1 in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), it is equivalent to varying a in the range 0 & lt ; a & lt ; 1 in the original transformation functions . alternatively , setting m = 0 to get a positive exponent in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) is equivalent to varying a in the range 1 ≦ a ≦∞ in the original transformation functions . by adjusting the value of m , the new transformation functions cover the same range of a as the original transformation functions . equations ( 1 )-( 4 ) perform the transformation , whatever its parameters , in both the horizontal and vertical directions . in an alternate embodiment , the transformation may be applied in only one direction . in that case , an exemplary set of transformation functions for one dimensional transformation along the horizontal are : x out = { x o + ( x in - x o ) · a ( - 1 ) m · [ 1 - ( x in - x o ) 2 d 2 ] k for x in - x o ≤ d x in otherwise ( 6 ) y out = y in ( 7 ) and an exemplary set of transformation functions for the one dimensional transformation along the vertical are : y out = { y o + ( y in - y o ) · a ( - 1 ) m · [ 1 - ( y in - y o ) 2 d 2 ] k for y in - y o ≤ d y in otherwise ( 9 ) in which d is half the width or height of the region of interest . the effect of transformation equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) and the values of parameters a , k , and m are better understood in view of the following two examples . when the three parameters in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) are set as indicated above , equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) reduce to : equations ( 10 ) and ( 11 ) produce a magnified image with a maximum magnification power of two . at the center of the region of interest 56 , where ( x in , y in )=( x o , y o ), the exponential term is equal to two ; therefore , the center is magnified by a factor of two . however , at the edge of the region of interest 56 , where ( x in − x o ) 2 +( y in − y o ) 2 = r 2 , the exponential term equals one ; therefore , pixels along the edge are unmagnified . the overall effect of equations ( 10 ) and ( 11 ) is to provide a magnification power of two at the center of the region of interest 56 which gradually decreases as the distance from the center of the region of interest 56 increases . fig3 is an image in rgb format with an original image size of 520 × 390 pixels . fig4 is the transformed image of fig3 , illustrating the application of equations ( 10 ) and ( 11 ) using the parameters of example 1 with a magnification radius of 100 pixels . when the three parameters in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) are set as indicated above , equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) reduce to : equations ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) produce a locally pinched image with a maximum pinching factor of two . at the center of the region of interest 56 , the exponential term is equal to one half ; therefore , the center is pinched by a factor of two . at the edge of the region of interest 56 , the exponential term is equal to one ; therefore , pixels at the edge of the region of interest 56 are unpinched . the overall effect of equations ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) is to provide a pinching power of two at the center of the region of interest 56 which gradually decreases as the distance from the center of the region of interest 56 increases . fig1 illustrates an image transformed with these paramaters . table 1 below presents the results of several additional examples , illustrating the use and selection of the parameters a , k , and m for equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ). all of the examples presented below used nearest - neighbor pixel duplication , although other methods , such as interpolation , could be used to fill in pixels in the magnified images . the image size and the radius and location of the region of interest in the examples presented below are the same as those in examples 1 and 2 . in table 1 , certain examples are duplicative of others , but are presented nonetheless for ease of reference . in general , the examples presented above show that as the value of the paramater k increases with the values of a and m held constant , the transition between the point of greatest magnification or pinching and the points of least magnification or pinching becomes smoother and more gradual . thus , the parameter k can be interpreted as determining the size and the degree of distortion of the transition region between the most and least distorted areas of the image . the examples presented above also show that as the value of parameter a inscreases with the values of k and m held constant , the maximum power of magnification or pinching increases . table 1 shows the effect of varying the parameters a , k , and m on the transformed image . however , there are two cases in which the output image is the same as the input image . the first case is when a = 1 , k = 1 , and m = 0 . the second case is when a = 1 , k = 1 , and m = 1 . in addition to the examples presented above , certain comparative examples were prepared using the image editing program adobe photoshop ® and its spherize and pinch operations . six cases could be approximated using the conventional software . these are presented in table 2 . two out of the six comparative examples , examples c1 and c2 , required two photoshop ® operations to produce a comparable effect . ( although comparable , the effect created by the photoshop ® software was not identical , as can be seen from the figures .) thus , one advantage of these transformation methods is that fewer transformation operations may be required to produce a desired effect . these transformation methods also appear to provide slightly more magnification and pinching at the center of the transformation region . in the examples above , all of which used equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), the area on which the transformation is performed is circular . however , the area of the transformation need not be circular , and may be chosen depending on the application , provided that appropriate equations are used for the transformation . for example , equations ( 14 ) and ( 15 ) below provide for a transformation in an elliptical area . in equations ( 14 ) and ( 15 ), two additional parameters , b and c , describe the major and minor axes of the ellipse , i . e ., its width and height . ( however , the parameters b and c do not themselves equal the major and minor axes of the ellipse . the major axis is equal to 2br and the minor axis is equal to 2cr .) x out = { x o + ( x in - x o ) · a ( - 1 ) m - [ 1 - b ( x in - x o ) 2 + c ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for b ( x in - x o ) 2 + c ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 x in otherwise ( 14 ) y out = { y o + ( y in - y o ) · a ( - 1 ) m - [ 1 - b ( x in - x o ) 2 + c ( y in - y o ) 2 r 2 ] k for b ( x in - x o ) 2 + c ( y in - y o ) 2 ≤ r 2 y in otherwise ( 15 ) in embodiments in which the area of transformation or region of interest is not a geometric shape with an easily located center , an arbitrary focal point may be chosen . even where the region of interest 56 has an easily located geometric center , a different ( not co - located ) focal point may be chosen . the illustrated transformation methods may be implemented to run on a computing system of limited capabilities , such as an integer microprocessor . integer microprocessors are commonly used on mobile devices , such as mobile telephones , mobile telephones with digital cameras , and other portable computing devices . while integer microprocessors typically include a floating - point ( i . e ., decimal ) mathematics emulator , it can be more time consuming and computationally expensive to use the emulator . the transformations may be implemented using integer arithmetic . when implementing transformation equations such as equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) on an integer microprocessor , two considerations arise : the calculation of the power functions in those equations using only integer arithmetic , and the ordering of operations so as to avoid integer overflow ( i . e ., the condition in which a calculated number exceeds the largest integer that the microprocessor can handle ). fig2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embedded device 60 that is adapted to perform the transformations described above using integer arithmetic . the embedded device 60 includes a main memory 16 connected to a system bus 14 , a graphics entity 66 connected by an interface 19 to the system bus 14 , and a integer microprocessor 61 connected to the system bus 14 . embedded device 60 also includes a transformation operations facilitator 62 connected to the microprocessor . an integer operations facilitator 64 is included within the transformation operations facilitator 62 . the transformation operations facilitator 62 calculates the power functions of equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) and performs the other transformation operations in a manner compatible with the microprocessor 61 . the integer operations facilitator 64 ensures that all of the necessary calculations are performed using integer arithmetic with an order of calculation that avoids integer overflow in the integer microprocessor 61 . ( the functions of both components 62 , 64 and the calculations that are performed will be described below in more detail .) an advantage of an embedded device such as device 60 is that no floating - point emulator is used , which makes the transformations more efficient on the integer microprocessor 61 . the transformation operations facilitator 62 and the integer operations facilitator 64 may be implemented in hardware , in software , in some combination of hardware and software , or in any other way compatible with the microprocessor 61 . although illustrated in fig2 , the graphics entity 66 need not be included in embedded device 60 . in order to calculate the power functions in equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ), in the illustrated embodiment , a taylor series expansion of the function is used . for an arbitrary power function , the taylor series expansion is given by equation ( 16 ): a n = 1 + ( ln a ) n + ( ln a ) 2 2 ! n 2 + ( ln a ) 3 3 ! n 3 + … + ( ln a ) k k ! n k + … ( 16 ) as in any use of a taylor series , the approximation becomes more accurate as more terms are added . however , the more terms of a taylor series that are used , the more computationally expensive the process becomes . additionally , successive terms of a taylor series add ever more diminishing amounts of accuracy to the final result . therefore , the number of taylor series terms that are used to calculate the power function will depend on the accuracy desired as well as the computing power available . in one implementation , which will be described below in greater detail , the first four terms of the taylor series were found to provide sufficient accuracy without requiring undue computing power . using the first four terms of the series with a = 2 , equation ( 16 ) above reduces to equation ( 17 ): although equation ( 17 ) does not contain strictly integer terms , the non - integer terms can be converted to integers for the purpose of performing the calculations . for example , the natural logarithm of 2 can be multiplied by 2 23 ( i . e ., shifted 23 bits to the left ) to result in the integer 5767168 . the results of the calculations can subsequently be shifted back ( i . e ., divided by 2 23 ) to remove the effect of the multiplier . in general , large factors of 2 are used to preserve accuracy by preserving a number of significant digits ; smaller factors may be used if less accuracy is desired . additionally , although any large integer factor can be used when converting floating - point numbers to integers , factors of 2 are used in the illustrated embodiment so that relatively slow multiplication operations can be replaced by relatively fast bit - shifting operations . a sample of the implementation code for a 32 - bit microprocessor using the four - term taylor series expansion of equation ( 17 ) and a 2 23 integer conversion multiplier for the magnification operation is as follows for the case in which a = 2 , k = 1 , and m = 0 : int32 r , xo , yo , xin , xout , yin , yout , rsq , k1 , k2 , xy , factor ; factor = 8388608 + ( 5767168 − ( xy * k1 ) / r ) + ( 2048 − ( xy * k2 ) / r ) * ( 1024 − (( xy * k2 ) & gt ;& gt ; 1 ) / r ) xout = xo + (( factor * ( xin − xo )) & gt ;& gt ; 23 ); yout = yo + (( factor * ( yin − yo )) & gt ;& gt ; 23 ); in the above code snippet , 8388608 is 1 × 2 23 , and the operations are ordered so as to avoid integer overflow on the 32 - bit microprocessor . the value of the taylor series is calculated as a multiplicative factor , is multiplied by the difference between the location of the input pixel and the center of the transformation region , and is added to the location of the center of the transformation region . a shifting operation at the end removes the effect of the 2 23 multiplier . these operations are performed on each input pixel in the region of interest . in general , the difference between the magnification and pinching transformations lies in the sign ( i . e ., addition versus subtraction ) of certain operations . the code for the pinching operation for the case in which a = 2 , k = 1 , and m = 1 is as follows : int32 r , xo , yo , xin , xout , yin , yout , rsq , k1 , k2 , xy , factor ; factor = 8388608 − ( 5767168 − ( xy * k1 ) / r ) + ( 2048 − ( xy * k2 ) / r ) * ( 1024 − (( xy * k2 ) & gt ;& gt ; 1 ) / r ) xout = xo + (( factor * ( xin − xo )) & gt ;& gt ; 23 ); yout = yo + (( factor * ( yin − yo )) & gt ;& gt ; 23 ); the above code snippets were found to provide real - time results on an arm926ej - s 32 - bit integer microprocessor . although this described embodiment is coded in c and implemented on a 32 - bit microprocessor , other embodiments may be coded in any programming language , including c , c ++, java , j ++, and assembler , may be implemented on microprocessors of any capabilities , including 64 - bit microprocessors and 128 - bit microprocessors , and may use any values of the parameters a , k , and m . the implementations need not use integer - only arithmetic and need not be ordered so as to avoid integer overflow . if these methods are implemented on an integer microprocessor , they may be provided as image processing functions on a mobile telephone with a digital camera or other portable electronic devices . it should also be understood that these methods may be implemented in software , hardware or any combination of software and hardware on a microprocessor , an asic , or any other platform with sufficient computing capability to implement them . fig2 a block diagram of an exemplary embedded device 70 that is adapted to perform the transformations described above using floating - point arithmetic . the components of embedded device 70 are generally similar to those of embedded device 60 , and thus , the description above will suffice with respect to the similar components . unlike embedded device 60 , embedded device 70 includes a floating - point microprocessor 72 . embedded device 70 also includes a transformation operations facilitator 74 coupled to the floating - point microprocessor 72 , but the transformation operations facilitator 74 has no integer operations facilitator . calculations are performed in embedded device 70 using floating - point numbers , omitting , for example , the tasks of converting the terms of equations ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) to integers . although an integer - only implementation of the illustrated transformation methods would function correctly if performed on embedded device 70 , it is advantageous to make use of the floating - point capabilities of microprocessor 72 . fig2 is a more general flow diagram illustrating a method 100 for applying localized magnification or pinching to an image . method 100 may be implemented on any platform capable of performing the necessary calculations . method 100 begins with input image processing at s 102 and control passes to s 104 . in s 104 , the region of interest in the input image is selected . the region of interest is typically defined by a geometric shape ( such as the circles and ellipses described above ), although an arbitrary geometric region may be used if the transform calculations are modified appropriately . in s 104 , the user would select the center and radius or other dimensions of the region of interest . once the region of interest is selected , method 100 continues with s 106 , in which a pixel of the input image is selected . following s 106 , method 100 continues with s 108 , a decision task in which it is determined whether or not the selected pixel is in the region of interest . if the selected pixel is in the region of interest ( s 108 : yes ), that pixel is transformed at s 114 by performing one or more of the operations described above and a resulting output pixel of an output image is generated . if the selected pixel is not in the region of interest ( s 108 : no ), control of method 100 is transferred to s 110 , in which it is determined whether there are other pixels remaining in the input image . if there are other pixels remaining in the image ( s 110 : yes ), control of method 100 returns to s 106 . if there are no other pixels remaining in the image ( s 110 : no ), control passes to s 112 . in s 112 , any interpolation or replication of missing pixels in the output image necessary to create a complete transformed output image may be performed . ( in the simplest cases , any necessary pixel replication may be performed by nearest neighbor duplication .) any other tasks required to create a whole , viewable image may also be performed at s 112 , including the writing of header information for the output image file . once s 112 is complete , method 100 terminates and returns at s 116 . in some of the foregoing description , it has been assumed that the image to be transformed is in the rgb ( red - green - blue ) format , in which each image pixel has a value for the red content of that pixel , a value for the green content , and a value for the blue content . however , the illustrated transformation methods can be used directly on other image formats without first converting to rgb . this is advantageous because although rgb - format images are relatively easy to transform , they are more difficult to compress , and generally consume more storage space . two other common image formats are ycbcr and ycrcb . whereas in an rgb image , data is stored in terms of the red , green , and blue color values for each pixel , the ycbcr and ycrcb formats store image data by recording the luminance ( y ) and chrominance ( cb , cr ) values for each pixel . the ycbcr and ycrcb formats are popular because they are used in the common jpeg picture file format . the ability to operate on rgb , ycbcr , and ycrcb images is advantageous if image transforms are implemented on a portable device such as a digital camera , because all three formats may be used in a digital camera . this is because of the way digital images are created and processed . for example , most digital camera image sensors are composed of individual sensor cells that are sensitive to only one of red , green , or blue light , not to light of all three colors . therefore , individual cells are typically deployed in a pattern , called a bayer pattern , in which cells sensitive to green are dispersed among and alternated with cells sensitive to red and blue . in consumer products , green cells usually predominate because the human visual system is more sensitive to green , and the inclusion of more green cells tends to increase the perceived image quality . in one typical bayer pattern , an array of 16 sensor cells may include 8 green cells , 4 red cells , and 4 blue cells arranged roughly in a checkerboard pattern . when an image is taken by a digital device that uses single - color cells in a bayer pattern , the raw image is typically interpolated such that each pixel has a red value , a green value , and a blue value and stored , at least in an intermediate stage of processing , as an rgb image . the image may be further converted to ycbcr or ycrcb for compression and storage . although images in ycbcr and ycrcb formats may be directly processed by applying the transformations described above , there are some circumstances in which additional tasks may be performed , for example , with subsampled ycbcr and ycrcb images . in a subsampled image , some chrominance values are discarded or subsampled in order to reduce the size of the file . for example , in the common h2v1 ycbcr 4 : 2 : 2 format , pixel columns are subsampled , but pixel rows are unaffected . in this subsampling scheme , if the columns are numbered starting from zero , only even columns have the cb component and only odd columns have the cr component . another subsampled format is the ycbcr 4 : 2 : 0 format , in which each 2 × 2 pixel array shares a single cb value and a single cr value . ycrcb format is generally the same as ycbcr , except that the order of cb and cr components is reversed . the transformation methods described above may be directly applied to subsampled ycbcr and ycrcb formats , although doing so may not result in an end image with correctly alternating cb and cr components . to overcome this issue , a temporary unsubsampled image ( ycbcr 4 : 4 : 4 or ycrcb 4 : 4 : 4 ) may be created from the subsampled image by considering pairs of adjacent pixels and duplicating the appropriate cb and cr values so that each pixel has a cb and a cr value . for storage purposes after transformation , the extra cb and cr values may be discarded . tests performed by the inventor showed no visually perceptible differences between the processed result of an rgb image and the processed result of that same image in ycbcr and ycrcb fornats . fig2 shows an embodiment of a mobile telephone 200 with a digital camera 202 . the mobile telephone 200 and its digital camera 202 include the region of interest defining mechanism 24 and the transform device 26 of fig1 , or other mechanisms for performing image transformations as described herein . in typical use , a user would take a digital picture using the digital camera 202 of the mobile telephone 200 , and would then use the processing capabilities of the mobile telephone 200 to perform a transformation . as shown in fig2 , a digital image 204 is displayed on the display screen 206 of the mobile telephone 200 . ( typically , the display screen 206 is a relatively small liquid crystal display driven by graphics entity 20 , although other types of display screens 206 may be used .) as shown , the image 204 has been transformed by local magnification of a region of interest 208 . an overlay or pull - down menu 214 temporarily overlaid on the image 204 may provide instructions for changes in the type and magnitude of transformation . for example , the user may be instructed to use the arrow keys 210 of the mobile telephone 204 to move the region of interest 208 . ( if the region of interest 208 is moved , the transformation would be repeated , centered about a new focal point , by performing a method such as method 100 again .) the user may also be instructed that some combination of number / letter keys 212 can be used to change the magnification / pinch level , switch between magnification and pinch , or use both on the same image 204 . ( in which case , a method such as method 100 would be repeated with new parameters .) depending on the implementation , the user may or may not be able to directly modify the values of the parameters a , k , and m ; in some embodiments , the user may simply modify settings such as “ magnification factor ,” the values for which are mapped to particular parameter values . depending on the implementation , the parameters of the transformation may be hard - coded or pre - set into the device , such that the transformation always results in , for example , magnification about the same predetermined point with the same radius of transformation . this may be useful in image analysis applications with a number of similar images . an advantage of the implementation shown in fig2 is that the user is presented with detail while preserving the context of the image as a whole . whereas in a traditional linear transformation magnification scheme , the user would typically see only a portion of the image on screen and would scroll to change the visible portion , thus losing the view of the entire image , localized magnification keeps the entire image 204 visible while a desired region 208 is magnified . this may increase user efficiency by lessening the amount of time a user spends changing the magnification of the image and scrolling to see the entire image . transformations may also be applied to images to create artistic effects . in addition , the illustrated transformations may be implemented on portable devices such as mobile telephone 200 for these purposes . for example , fig2 - 29 show the effect of these transformation methods on a facial image . fig2 is an original , unmodified facial image . fig2 illustrates the image of fig2 after magnifying a circular region of radius 60 pixels localized around the mouth using parameters a = 2 , k = 3 , and m = 0 . fig2 illustrates the image of fig2 after pinching a circular region of radius 70 pixels localized around the nose using parameters a = 2 , k = 1 , and m = 1 . combinations of transformations performed on the same image may produce additional effects . each element described hereinabove may be implemented with a hardware processor together with computer memory executing software , or with specialized hardware for carrying out the same functionality . any data handled in such processing or created as a result of such processing can be stored in any type of memory available to the artisan . by way of example , such data may be stored in a temporary memory , such as in a random access memory ( ram ). in addition , or in the alternative , such data may be stored in longer - term storage devices , for example , magnetic disks , rewritable optical disks , and so on . for purposes of the disclosure herein , a computer - readable media may comprise any form of data storage mechanism , including such different memory technologies as well as hardware or circuit representations of such structures and of such data . while certain illustrated embodiments are disclosed , the words which have been used herein are words of description rather than words of limitation . changes may be made , for example , within the purview of the appended claims . | 6 |
an exemplary embodiment of one aspect of the present invention is depicted in the block diagram schematic of fig1 . this exemplary embodiment provides a cross - board solution that allows a daughter board to interface to a variety of native signaling standards across a set of different mother boards . referring to fig1 , fixed logic circuits of one printed circuit board ( pcb ) 10 which may be a mother board , for example , operate at a first voltage level which may be on the order of 2 . 5 to 2 . 8 volts , for example . in the present embodiment , the fixed logic circuits of board 10 are designed into an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) 12 which is powered by a local power supply v s . in this embodiment , the voltage level of the signals of the asic 12 are set by the voltage vs . an interfacing pcb 14 , which may be considered a daughter board , is interfaced with the mother board 10 . the pcb 14 contains logic circuits that operate at a different voltage level . in this embodiment , some of the logic circuits of board 14 are programmed into a programmable gate array ( pga ) 16 which may be of the field programmable type manufactured by xilinx corp . under the model no . xc3s100 , for example . the pga 16 may be powered by several power supply voltages . the core logic of pga 16 is powered by a local power supply v c , which may be at 1 . 2 volts , for example . i / o signals of the pga 16 are conducted through a bank of i / o gates 18 to a signal bus 20 which interconnects the i / o signals of the pga 16 with i / o signals of the asic 12 . the bank of i / o gates 18 is powered by a voltage , supplied to a bank power supply port 22 , which may be set different from the core logic voltage level of the pga 16 . accordingly , the operational voltage level of the i / o gates 18 will be set by the voltage at the supply port 22 . in this embodiment , the i / o signals of the pga 16 may be rendered compatible with the i / o signals of the asic 12 by setting an appropriate voltage at the bank power supply port 22 . since the operational voltage levels of the i / o signals of the asic 12 are set by the power supply v s , one way of providing voltage level compatibility of the i / o signals over the bus 20 is by connecting the power supply v s of board 10 to the supply port 22 as shown in the schematic of fig1 . in this configuration , the bank of i / o gates 18 of the pga 16 will operate at a voltage level compatible with the i / o signal levels of the asic 12 notwithstanding the different operational signal levels of the logic circuits 12 and 16 of the interfacing pcbs 10 and 14 , respectively . in this manner , the i / o signals of logic circuits of one pcb may be interfaced with i / o signals of logic circuits of another pcb independent of the difference in operational voltage levels thereof . there may be occasions in which connecting the power supply of one board to another board is considered undesirable for whatever reason . the block diagram schematic of fig2 depicts a suitable alternative embodiment to that of fig1 for configuring the bank of i / o gates 18 to render the i / o signals of the interfacing board 14 compatible with the i / o signals of the board 10 . in the embodiment of fig2 , a voltage regulator ( vr ) 30 may be disposed on board 14 to power the bank of i / o gates 18 via port 22 . an exemplary voltage regulator 30 for the present embodiment may be of the type manufactured by linear technologies under the model no . lt1963 , for example . the vr 30 may be powered by the local supply v c and its output voltage level governed by an external signal over line 32 to set the operational voltage level of the bank of gates 18 . in the present embodiment , the governing signal 32 may be generated by a signal generator circuit 34 disposed on the mother board 10 . if the operational voltage level of the logic circuits 12 of board 10 are set by the supply v s , then the signal generator 34 may be governed thereby to generate the signal over line 32 to control the vr 30 as illustrated by the line 36 . in the alternative , the signal generator 34 may be governed by a signal generated by the logic circuits 12 as shown by the dashed line 38 . the intent is to set the operational voltage level of the bank of gates 18 by the vr 30 to render the i / o signals of the interfacing board 14 compatible with the i / o signals of the motherboard 10 . for example , if the daughter board 14 is installed on a different mother board which is powered by a different voltage level than v s , then the operational voltage level of the i / o signals of the asic of the different mother board will also change . in the embodiment of fig2 , the signal generator 34 may detect this change by either monitoring the voltage level of its power supply via line 36 or monitoring the operational voltage of the logic of the new asic via line 38 . in either case , the signal generator 34 may adjust the governing signal 32 accordingly to control the vr 30 to render the appropriate supply voltage to the bank of i / o gates 18 via port 22 . in this manner , the signal generator 34 may render the i / o signals of the pga 16 on the daughter board 14 compatible with the i / o signals of any mother board and asic interfaced thereto . in one case as depicted in fig3 , the governing signal 32 may be an analog signal which is input to a voltage reference port of the vr 30 to adjust its output voltage v o commensurate therewith . the output v o powers the bank of gates 18 via port 22 . in this example , the signal generator 34 is connected via line 32 to the vr 30 to adjust the output voltage thereof to render the i / o signals of the logic circuits 16 compatible with the logic circuits 12 . in one embodiment as depicted in fig4 , a governing analog signal 32 of the vr 30 may be set by a resistance network comprising resistors r 1 and r 2 powered by a voltage v d which may be the same as v s or different therefrom . in this embodiment , the voltage of signal 32 may be set commensurate to the supply voltage powering the asic 12 or by adjusting the resistance of the resistance network r 1 / r 2 accordingly . in another embodiment as depicted in fig5 , the governing signal 32 of the vr 30 may be digitally set by a plurality of resistance networks 40 , 42 and 44 configured in parallel and powered by the voltage v d which may be the same as v s or different therefrom . each resistance network may include a pull - up resistor and a pull - down resistor . the voltage at each connecting node of the pull - up and pull - down resistors of the resistance networks 40 , 42 and 44 may be considered a digital one or zero to provide the digital code 32 to the vr 30 . in this embodiment , the digital code of signal 32 may be set commensurate to the supply voltage powering the asic 12 by adjusting the resistance of the resistance networks 40 , 42 and 44 . for example , when the asic 12 is replaced with a new asic with a different operational voltage , the resistance of the networks 40 , 42 and 44 may be set to provide the appropriate digital code for signal 32 to reflect the new operational voltage . the resistance of each network 40 , 42 and 44 may be adjusted or set by installing or removing a pull - up or pull - down resistor thereof . for instance , for a ‘ 1 , 1 , 1 ’ digital code may be implemented by installing a predetermined ohm pull - up resistor and removing the pull - down resistor in each of the networks 40 , 42 and 44 . another implementation to adjust the resistance of the networks 40 , 42 and 44 for the same code may be to install a 100 ohm resistor for each pull - up resistance and install a 1k ohm resistor for each pull - down resistance . in yet another embodiment as depicted in fig6 , a microcontroller 50 may be included on the pcb 10 to control a digital - to - analog ( d / a ) converter 52 to render the appropriate voltage of the governing signal 32 . in this embodiment , the microcontroller 50 may be operative to monitor the voltage of the power supply v s of the asic 12 via line 54 or to monitor the operational voltage of the logic of the asic 12 via line 56 and control the output voltage of the d / a converter 52 accordingly . in yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in the block diagram schematic of fig7 , the voltage regulator 30 may be replaced with a programmable power module 60 which may be of the type manufactured by linear technology bearing model no . ltc7510 , for example . in this example , the power module 60 may be governed by the governing signal 32 to produce the desired voltage output to power the bank of gates 18 via port 22 . the power module 60 may either accept an analog or digital signal 32 to adjust or trim its output voltage to the desired level to render the i / o signal levels between the logic circuits 12 and 16 compatible with one another . in summary , the present invention allows i / o signals of logic circuits on an interfacing pcb to interface compatibly with i / o signals of fixed logic circuits having different operational signal levels . accordingly , the invention increases design flexibility on future systems by allowing for i / o signal level adjustments to achieve interface compatibility as chip technology changes the operational voltage level of fixed logic circuits . while the present invention has been described herein above in connection with one or more embodiments , it is understood that such presentations were made merely by way of example . for example , some of the embodiments depict control circuits on the pcb 10 and the voltage regulation circuits on pcb 14 , but this need not be the case . these circuits may be embodied on either pcb 10 or pcb 14 or in a different location altogether . therefore , the present invention should not be limited in any way to any such described embodiments , but rather construed in breadth and broad scope in accordance with the recitation of the claims appended hereto . | 7 |
the polygonal packaging sleeve 31 is shown with various cross section shapes in fig2 to 4 , as well as 6 to 8 , within the device for manufacturing same , by a sample of a square sleeve form . its edges could either be made as longitudinal edges 33 ( fig3 and 4 ) which have stable edge forms , rounded off with a large curve radius , or provided with longitudinal grooves 34 which have comparable sharp - edged longitudinal edges 32 ( fig1 and 7 ) wherein the polygonal sleeve 31 can be folded easily , so that it can be folded together flat , diagonally and thereby can be stocked in a space saving manner and transported . by impressing grooves 34 into the still glue - moist sleeve wall , its wrapping layers are being variably stretched very much over the thickness of the wall or broken so that a kind of folding joint results , wherein in the folding edge not all positions of the layers are firmly glued together and can be folded relatively , a little toward each other . in this manner the material resists return into the original round form . on the other hand , the separation of the individually wrapping layers is avoided , in that , when the radially outward directed deformation takes place , a sharp pull or a tensile strain is exercised on the flat sides of the sleeve 31 . laminating can again be done , for instance , according to fig9 in order to support the glueing process on the flat sides . by attaching a cover ( not shown ) to the front opening of a foldable polygonal sleeve 31 , or by slightly indenting a cover with press fit into the front opening , a flat foldable sleeve also receives the desired form - stable polygonal shape . the device shown in fig1 works in the case of packaging sleeve 31 -- according to the drawing -- from right to left ( see arrow 2 ). fig1 shows a stationary round wrapping spindle 1 of a conventional sleeve wrapping machine on which in a known manner strips of wrapping material are stacked in several layers and guided on to the wrapping spindle 1 , parallel to each other , inclined to the longitudinal axis of spindle 1 . by winding around a belt ( not shown ), the pre - glued strips of material are , when producing the sleeve , at the same time pulled off from the delivery spool , pressed under the loop of the belt and by constant rotation moved ahead , i . e . according to the direction arrow 2 . in this manner results a theoretically endless round sleeve 3 . the glueing process of the wrapped material which is started by the stretching of strips and by impressing the material as a result of the winding around the belt , occurs upon complete rotation of the round sleeve 3 to a severing device , so that a severing of the round sleeve 3 is possible . ( not shown ). the device has , moreover a rotatable spindle 4 at the end of the stationary spindle 1 , i . e . in a bearing 5 which extends the spindle coaxially . this spindle 4 carries several rows ( 2 or preferably 4 , but also three or any amount ) of rotatably layered rollers 6 , which are arranged radially to the longitudinal axis of the spindle , that the joint tangents of the rollers of each row , when joined to the side diverted from the spindle 4 , form the edges of a regular pyramid , whose center line coincides with the longitudinal axis of spindle 4 . if only two rows of rollers 6 are provided , they are situated in a plane which is cutting the longitudinal axis of spindle 4 ; that is , symmetrical to each other and divergent to the axis , according to direction arrow 2 . the angle which is formed by the rows of rollers 6 with the longitudinal axis of spindle 4 , is only as many degrees as are necessary for the deformation of the round sleeve to the polygonal form . the rotatable spindle 4 does not have to be a solid cone or solid cylinder , but can consist of a shaft with bearings 8 for the rollers 6 . the rollers 6 held by the bearings 8 consecutively conically increasing . if a sleeve 3 wrapped on the stationary spindle 1 arrives at the moveable spindle 4 , the sleeve is moved forward to the rollers 6 supported at its inside wall . since rollers 6 are positioned freely rotatable , no special energy consumption is necessary . because of the diverging arrangement of the rows of rollers , the round sleeve 3 is expanded slowly from the inside by the push force of the belt and is converted from the original cylindrical form into a shaped which corresponds to the shape of the rotatable spindle or to the course of the outer tangent of the rows of rollers 6 . since the round sleeve 3 , because of the absorption of water contained in the glue retains its softness for some time , the wrapping material can be well shaped mechanically . the sleeve receives , therefore , at first a cross section , as is shown , for instance in fig2 and 3 , and then a final polygonal cross section , as in fig4 according to the manner in which the rollers are positioned . since rollers 6 , associated with the stationary wrapping spindle are not only means of transportation , but also serve increasingly as a pre - rolling tool , they form slowly by pressure on the interior wall of the sleeve its longitudinal edges 32 or 33 , according to the profile of the sleeve without causing a slit in the inner wall of the sleeve . because of the only slight divergence of the rows of rollers 6 , the material of the round sleeve 3 which is flexible because of the penetrated glue , can be deformed within certain limits or be formed into its forced upon shape , also into a rectangle . in the embodiment of fig2 and 4 at times 4 rows of rollers 6 are provided . the profile of these rollers 6 , the hub 7 of which is positioned in a freely rotatable manner in u - shaped bearings , can be distinguished according to the kind of desired longitudinal edges . according to fig2 the rollers 6 consist of relatively thin wheels , which can form a polygonal wrapping sleeve 31 with sharp longitudinal edges 32 , also without an upper tool and however , without deep grooves . according to fig3 the rollers 6 consist of two parallel thin discs , kept apart by the hub 7 which form a double groove 34 with the spherical , drum - shaped rollers 6 , according to fig4 a polygonal wrapping sleeve 31 , with considerably rounded - off longitudinal edges 33 can be produced . if only three or more than four rows of rollers 6 are provided , a corresponding triangular , pentagonal , etc ., cross section of sleeve may be achieved . with only two rows of rollers a two - edge results , whereby both sides are inclined to curve upwards due to the radial expansion of the rotatable spindle 4 from the plane where rollers 6 are arranged . also , in the case of sleeves with 3 or more longitudinal edges by suitable shaping of the rotatable spindle 4 it is possible to retain , more or less , the curvature of the region between the longitudinal edges 32 of the sleeve and therefore , produce , for instance , a practically cylindrical sleeve with 4 edges ( fig5 ). as soon as the sleeve 31 has obtained its highest possible stretch or polygonal deformation by the rollers 6 of the rotatable spindle 4 , the rotatable spindle 4 changes over into a part 4 1 wherein the rows of rollers 6 run parallel . here in line c -- c of fig1 b the end step of the deformation of polygonal sleeves with rounded - off corners ( fig4 ) by rollers 6 , is achieved . the insertion of an additional pressure station 18 ( fig8 ) is only necessary in the case of sleeves with considerable wall thickness in order to support satisfactory glueing of the wrapping material . at the end of this part 4 1 , which is also the end of the rotatable spindle 4 , a groove station 30 ( b -- b in fig1 b , as well as fig5 and 7 ) can be inserted . with this groove station two kinds of grooves 34 can be produced , depending upon the kind of inserted lower and upper roll - tools . these grooves can , as already mentioned , stretch the flat sides of the sleeve , reinforce their longitudinal edges 32 and at the same time make the wrapping sleeve 31 foldable . if a double scoring is accomplished with the inner rollers 6 , according to fig5 and 6 , an interior groove 34 can be produced ( fig5 and 6 ) with a thinner outer wheel 10 as upper tool . in this case , however , a narrow interior roller 6 as in fig7 is inserted for the polygonal deformation with the double outer wheel 10 as an upper tool . the required , adjustable rollers 6 or outer wheels 10 for the additional outer scoring , which produce grooves 34 , are rotatably positioned at a ring - shaped support 9 in u - shaped bearings 11 . this support 9 consists of a ring 17 coaxial to the spindle or sleeve axis which ring is also positioned rotatably in a coaxial ring - shaped guide 12 on rollers 13 and 14 and can therefore follow the rotation of the sleeve . ring 12 is attached to the support 15 of the machine ( not shown ). the pressure station 18 ( a -- a of fig1 b or fig8 and 9 ) can optionally be inserted between the ends of the rotatable spindle 4 or after the grooving station respectively and the separation device ( not shown ), when it is necessary for the retention of shape or support of the glueing process of the sleeve by lightly pressing rollers 20 . the convex tightening shown in fig8 and 9 serves as a means for the previously mentioned purpose , but can also be more or less necessary for the shaping of the flat sides , specifically in the case of wrapping sleeves 31 with considerable wall thickness . the construction of the pressure station 18 ( fig1 b a -- a ) is similar to that of the grooving station 30 . the rollers 20 can be developed as more or less cambered rolls which , however , do not affect the groove furrows of the already produced polygonal sleeve , but can only roll over the in between lying surface of the packaging sleeve 31 between such furrows . the cambered rolls 20 are kept in adjustable bearings 21 , in a freely rotating ring - shaped support 19 , which , for its part , circulates in a stable ring - shaped housing 22 on wheels 23 and is supported by an axial ball bearing 24 . the housing 22 can be attached to a detached post ( not shown ) with a bearing 25 to the separation device or also between the end of the rotatable spindle 4 . the inward warping of the sleeve areas with rollers 20 are shown in an exaggerated manner . generally , a small tightening pressure is sufficient to smoothly press the slight curving of the flat sides of the sleeves . therefore , the tightening station is only an auxiliary tool which is not absolutely necessary for the manufacture of a polygonal sleeve , according to the described grooving process . only the manufacture of foldable polygonal packaging sleeves 31 employs the grooving method , whereby the texture of the wrapping material in the case of grooves 34 , are additionally broken in such a manner that the material does not return to its original form and moreover is also foldable after final hardening . there is a foldability because the material is flexible in the area of grooving , that is , that the wrapping sleeve 21 shown in the drawings having grooves 34 diametrically opposite from each other , in paris , can take any prismatic form with edge angles between 180 °. in other words , the sleeve can not only be placed completely flat , but also in polygonal form , or , see fig5 can be erected again in near cylindrical form . the cylindrical form can also be achieved with a sleeve which has only two diametrically opposite grooving furrows , in the cross section , therefore , the form of a two - edge with convex or concave sides , according to the kind of grooving furrows . the originally round shape of the sleeve can be established again by turning it up on a wrapping spindle or by attaching impressed covers or covers in inverted position . the endless polygonal packaging sleeves 31 produced according to the described method can be separated , as a fule , with known cutting saws , as they are employed in the case of round sleeve wrapping machines , into the desired size . in the case of larger sleeve cross section sizes , a change in the saw cam is necessary . the separation of the flatly folded sleeves in smaller sections can be done with a crosscutter or with a bridge punch with which also a sleeve clasp , with simple tools , as is usual in the case of folding cartons , can be punched at both ends . polygonal packaging sleeves 31 which show in the erected state the cross section of a square or also of a rectangle , do not only have the advantage of being foldable flat , and thereby can be stored and transported without waste of space , but also have the additional advantage of using far less space in the erected state next to each other and one after another flat or erected , than sleeves with round or oval cross sections . they can , therefore , be compared in their mechanical characteristics of resistance to bursting and strain with the conventional sleeves . | 8 |
a plant comprises a turbine casing 1 and a compressor casing 2 each of which is made up of a number of smaller parts and each of which is supported separately . between the casings 1 and 2 there is arranged a tubular intermediate member 3 . within the casing 1 there is arranged an axial single stage turbine 4 , while within the casing 2 there is arranged a double - stage radial compressor 5 . the turbine 4 is followed by two axial turbine stages 6 and 7 . the rotor of the double - stage turbine is arranged on a shaft 8 and the rotor 9 of the single stage turbine 4 and the compressor 5 is arranged on a multipart shaft 10 , the left portion of the shaft 10 , being supported by bearings 11 and the right portion by bearings 12 . the turbine 4 is provided with an annular combustion chamber 13 having a number ( for instance sixteen ) of nozzles 14 . the combustion air emanating from compressor 5 enters the casing 1 via some ( for instance four ) radial inlet conduits 15 which debouch in a chamber 13 . the casing 1 is provided with some apertures 16 . between the rotor 9 of the turbine 4 and the following turbine stage 6 there is arranged a transition piece 17 , while an outlet diffuser 18 is arranged behind the turbine stage 7 . the support of the rotor of the turbine 6 , 7 is effected near the ends of the shaft 8 by means of the bearings 19 , 20 . the bearing 20 on the right side in fig1 is a combined radial and axial bearing . one of the bearings 11 and 12 of each shaft portion 10 is a combined radial and axial bearing too . the compressor 5 is made up of a double - sided low pressure stage 21 the rotor of which is arranged on the left - hand portion of shaft 10 and the rotor of the high pressure stage 22 of the compressor is located on the same shaft portion . the shaft 10 is co - axial with the shaft 8 of the turbines 6 , 7 . as may be seen from fig2 the plant is provided with a compressor inter - cooler 23 which is placed in the foundation 24 of the machine . this variant is intended for application in a place where cooling water is available . the drawing shows furthermore very schematically a heat exchanger or regenerator 25 which is connected with the outlet 26 from the turbines 4 , 6 , 7 , and the conduit 27 between the compressor stage 22 and the inlet conduits 15 . furthermore , in fig2 the starting motor 28 and some lubricating oil coolers are visible . fig3 shows a variant with an air / air cooler 30 . for the sake of clarity , the regenerator has not been shown in this figure . this embodiment is suitable for situations in which no cooling water is available , for instance in a desert area . the plant described above makes it possible to achieve a high output . in the first place , the application of the compressor inter - cooler 23 , 30 in combination with the regenerator 25 ( see fig4 - 6 ) contributes thereto . in the second place , the application of an axial single stage turbine 4 with a favorable stage output made possible by the application of the compressor intercooler , contributes to the high output of the plant . without the inter - cooling a multistage turbine would be required . a single stage turbine demands a smaller amount of cooling air than a multistage turbine as a result of which the output of the gas turbine plant is favorably influenced . in the plant according to the invention , this combination is also particularly favorable in that the ratio between the amount of inlet air and the capacity of the plant is smaller than that of the greater part of the turbine plants now known . with a view to raising the output of the gas turbine plant the regenerative intercooled cycle may be combined with a so - called bottoming cycle , for instance a rankine cycle . a plant of this nature is illustrated in fig6 and comprising a closed system heat exchanger 32 , expansion turbine 33 , condensor 34 and circulation pump 39 which operates with a medium with a low latent heat of evaporation , such as freon . in the embodiment shown in fig6 an additional cycle with water as the medium is provided its purpose being to collect the heat available in the exhaust gases via a heat exchanger 38 and the heat available in the compressor inter - cooler 23 and of supplying it to the medium of the rankine cycle via heat exchanger 32 . the circulation of the water and freon is provided by circulation pumps 39 . another advantage of the application of this cycle leading to greater safety is the fact that the medium of the rankine cycle cannot contact directly the hot portions of the gas turbine . in certain circumstances , application of a steam cycle comprising a closed system of steam boiler 35 , steam turbine 36 and condensor 37 ( see fig5 ) to the outlet from the turbines may be favorable . in this case , the regenerator is not applied . fig7 and 8 give an illustration of the advantages which will be achieved by the application of the intermediate cooler 23 or 30 arranged between the two stages 21 and 22 of the compressor 5 . in . fig7 the hatched portion shows the amount of heat still present in the exhaust gases which is available for raising the temperature of the compressed air prior to combustion . from fig8 it appears that as a result of the application of the intermediate cooling a larger amount of heat is available . in the plant according to fig6 the amount of heat exhausted into the inter - cooler 23 , 30 may still be utilized in the water cycle between the heat exchangers 32 and 38 . summarizing , it may be observed that the plant according to the invention presents various important advantages . as a result of the possibility of the application of a high gas temperature on the inlet side of the turbine 4 , the output ( see fig8 ) may be raised . as a result of the application of the inter - cooling in the compressor 5 , the requisite power for this compressor may be provided by the single stage axial turbine 4 so that the axial turbine 6 , 7 is fully available for the power to be supplied by the shaft 8 . it is a further favorable element that the bearings 19 , 20 of the turbine shaft 8 are located in the relatively cool portion of the plant . finally , there follows a numerical example of the most important parameters of a plant according to the invention : ______________________________________amount of air 25 n / secinlet temperature compressor stage 21 15 ° c . exhaust temperature compressor stage 21 160 ° c . inlet temperature compressor stage 22 30 ° c . exhaust temperature compressor stage 22 180 ° c . compression ratio stage 21 3 : 1compression ratio stage 22 3 : 1yield regenerator 25 85 % inlet temperature of turbine 4 1115 ° c . power compressor 5 6300 kwpower turbine 6 , 7 7350 kwnumber of revolutions turbine 6 , 7 ± 9200 rpmtotal yield of the plant according tofig4 . 5 % total output of the plant acording tofig5 . 5 % total output of the plant according tofig6 % ______________________________________ the most important applications of the plant according to the invention are considered to be : | 5 |
this invention will now be described in more detail referring to drawings of the embodiments . fig1 a - 1d are drawings showing the structure of a back panel in a first embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . fig1 a is a plan view , fig1 b is a cross - sectional view along a line a - a ′ of fig1 a , fig1 c is a cross - sectional view along a line b - b ′ of fig1 a , and fig1 d is a cross - sectional view along a line c - c ′ of fig1 a . this back panel includes a first insulating substrate sub 1 ( preferably glass ), and a groove tre is formed by sandblasting on the planarized principal surface ( surface ) thereof . this groove tre extends in one direction ( up / down direction of fig1 a ) on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 , plural grooves being juxtaposed ( arranged side - by - side ) in another direction which intersects ( is perpendicular to ) this direction . the groove tre is printed with silver paste ( ag paste ) by screen printing or slit printing to coat the groove tre , this silver paste which fills the groove preferably forming a lower layer electrode film da . an upper layer electrode film db superimposed on at least part of the lower layer electrode film da is formed from the upper surface of this lower layer electrode film da ( groove tre ) to a region of the planarized principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 adjacent to the groove tre of an aluminum ( al ) film or aluminum alloy ( aluminum - neodymium alloy : al — nd ) film evaporated ( deposited ) by sputtering method or the like . hence , the data line d is formed as a laminated film of two layers , i . e ., the lower layer electrode film da and the upper layer electrode film db . in the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 , the “ region ” adjacent to the groove tre , wherein the lower layer electrode da is formed which is electrically connected thereto , extends to another groove tre adjacent to this groove tre , but the upper layer electrode film db is electrically isolated from the other lower electrode film da formed in the other groove tre . therefore , if this “ region ” is defined as extending from this groove tre to the other groove tre , the extension of the upper layer electrode film db terminates within this “ region ”. in the following description , the aluminum ( al ) film or aluminum alloy ( aluminum - neodymium alloy : al — nd ) film is referred to simply as the aluminum film . a second insulating film ins 2 is formed by anodization surrounding the region wherein the emitter els of the upper surface of the upper layer electrode film db is formed , and a third insulating film ins 3 is likewise formed as a tunnel film by anodization in the region wherein the emitter els is formed . scanning lines s insulated by the first insulating film ins 1 are formed on both sides of the data line d . the scanning line s is a double layer laminated film including a lower layer electrode film sa , which is a thick film formed by screen printing or slit printing of ag paste , and an upper layer electrode film sb which is an aluminum film . a thin film aed of a noble metal such as platinum , gold , platina or the like which is the upper electrode of the emitter , is formed on the whole of the principal surface of this back panel ( first insulating substrate sub 1 ). by cutting the part of this thin film aed shown by an arrow l with a laser , the forming regions of the emitter els are separated for each adjacent scanning line s . next , the process of manufacturing the back panel in the image display device of the first embodiment will be described referring to fig2 a - fig2 c . the film structures shown in fig3 a - 24c are sequentially formed on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 shown in fig2 a - 2c . the line a - a ′ in fig2 a - 24c extends in the extension direction ( or planned extension direction ) of the scanning line s , the line b - b ′ extends in the extension direction ( or planned extension direction ) of the data line d , respectively , and both pass over or are considered to pass over the groove tre . the line c - c ′ extends in the extension direction of the data line d , and is a line which passes over the emitter in a part not lying over the groove tre . first , the first insulating substrate sub 1 which is preferably a glass plate , is prepared . if required , it is polished flat so that the principal surface of this first insulating substrate sub 1 is a predetermined planarized surface , and is cleaned ( fig2 a - 2c ). a photosensitive resist reg is then coated on this principal surface as a sandblasting protection film , and dried ( fig3 a - 3c ). the dried photosensitive resist reg is exposed , developed and dried in this order , and patterning is performed in order to form the groove tre in the extension direction of the data line ( fig4 a - 4c ). sandblasting is then performed using the patterned photosensitive resist reg as a protection film to form the groove tre in parts without the photosensitive resist reg ( fig5 a - 5c ). following this , the resist reg which is the sandblasting protection film is removed from the first insulating substrate sub 1 , the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 is cleaned , and dried ( fig6 a - 6c ). silver paste is then embedded in the groove tre by screen printing , drying / baking is performed , and the surface is polished to form the lower layer electrode film da of the data line ( fig7 a - 7c ). next , low melting point glass is printed by screen printing , slit printing or the like in the scanning line - forming part which intersects the lower layer electrode film da of the data line , and dried / baked to form the first insulating film ins 1 ( fig8 a - 8c ) silver paste is then coated by screen printing on the first insulating film ins 1 , and dried / baked to form the lower layer electrode film sa of the scanning line ( fig9 a - 9c ). at this time , part of the first insulating film ins 1 on the emitter - forming region side is exposed so that the cross - sectional surface is stepped . an aluminum film dsb which is the upper layer electrode film of the data line and the upper layer electrode film of the scanning line is formed by evaporation method e . g . vapor - deposition method , sputtering method , or the like so as to cover the lower layer electrode film da of the data line , the lower layer electrode film sa of the scanning line and the exposed part of the first insulating film ins 1 ( fig1 a - 10c ) the whole of the aluminum film dsb is then coated by the photosensitive resist reg , and dried ( fig1 a - 11c ). this photosensitive resist reg is exposed , developed and dried in this order using a photo mask having a predetermined pattern , and the resist is removed at the boundary between the upper layer electrode film of the data line and the upper layer electrode film of the scanning line ( fig1 a - 12c ). this is etched so that the aluminum film dsb is split into the upper layer electrode film db of the data line and upper layer electrode film sb of the scanning line ( fig1 a - 13c ). the data line d has a double layer structure including the lower layer electrode film da and upper layer electrode film db . the emitter - forming region of the upper layer electrode film db lies directly on the surface of the planarized first insulating film ins 1 . the scanning line s also has a double layer structure including the lower layer electrode film sa and upper layer electrode film sb . following this , the resist is removed , and cleaning / drying are performed ( fig1 a - 14c ). next , the whole surface of the first insulating film ins 1 is coated by the photosensitive resist reg , and dried ( fig1 a - 15c ). the photosensitive resist reg is exposed using a photo mask having a predetermined pattern , developed and dried in that order , and the resist reg is removed in the part of the upper layer electrode film db ( aluminum film ) of the data line d excepting the emitter - forming region to form an opening pattern for a second insulating film ins 2 ( field insulating film ) ( fig1 a - 16c ). in this state , the first insulating substrate sub 1 is dipped in an anodizing bath , and the second insulating film ins 2 is formed on the surface by anodization of the upper layer electrode film db ( fig1 a - 17c ). following this , the resist reg is removed from the first insulating substrate sub 1 , and the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 is cleaned / dried ( fig1 a - 18c ). next , the whole surface of the first insulating film ins 1 is coated by the photosensitive resist reg , and dried ( fig1 a - 19c ). the photosensitive resist reg is exposed using a photo mask having a predetermined pattern , developed and dried in that order , and patterning is performed in order to form a third insulating film ins 3 ( tunnel film ) ( fig2 a - 20c ). in this state , the first insulating substrate sub 1 is again dipped in an anodizing bath , and the third insulating film ins 3 is formed on the surface ( part to become the emitter ) by anodization of the upper layer electrode film db ( fig2 a - 21c ). following this , the resist reg is removed from the first insulating substrate sub 1 , and the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 is cleaned / dried ( fig2 a - 22c ). a metal film for forming the upper electrode aed of the emitter is then formed by , e . g ., sputtering of iridium ( ir ), platinum ( pt ), gold ( au ), or two or more thereof , on the whole surface of the first insulating film ins 1 on which the third insulating film ins 3 was formed ( fig2 ). the regions between adjacent scanning lines are then separated by a laser ( fig2 a - 24c ). the above series of processes from fig2 - 24 completes the back panel shown in fig1 . the front panel is fixed to the back panel via the sealing frame , the back panel forming a one piece - structure together with the sealing frame and front panel . the display panel is then completed by placing the interior of the space enclosed by the front panel , back panel and sealing frame under a vacuum . the image display device is obtained by combining this display panel with drive circuits and other members . according to this structure , since the data lines d have a double layer structure including a thick film obtained by printing ag paste and an aluminum film , a lower resistance can be achieved . further , since the lower layer electrode da wherein the emitter els is formed directly by evaporation method on the planarized surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 , is the lower electrode , and its tunnel film is planarized , the upper electrode formed thereupon is also planarized and of good quality , so the emitter els obtained has a uniform electron emission . fig2 a - 25c are diagrams showing the back panel of a second embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . fig2 a is a plan view in the vicinity of one pixel , fig2 b is a cross - sectional view along a line a - a ′ in fig2 a , and fig2 c is a cross - sectional view along a line b - b ′ in fig2 . in embodiment 1 , the lower resistance data line d was obtained by coating and embedding silver paste in a groove on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 , but in the second embodiment , this groove is not formed in the first insulating substrate sub 1 . instead , a lower resistance data line d having a double layer structure is obtained by forming a film of a highly conducting metal on the principal surface , and then coating ag paste on this highly conducting metal film . also , a high quality tunnel film ( third insulating film ins 3 ) is formed by directly forming a lower electrode dc of the emitter on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 . in the back panel of the second embodiment , the lower electrode film da is formed along the data line on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 which is preferably a glass plate . this lower electrode film da is formed by sputtering a conductive material ( an electrically conducting material ) which does not lead to insulation defects due to oxidation , such as platinum ( pt ), gold ( au ) or iridium ( ir ). as shown in fig2 c , this lower layer electrode film da has an extension da ′ which extends on the emitter - forming region side . ag paste is then coated on the lower layer electrode film da to form the upper layer electrode film db , and the data line d provided therefore has a double layer structure including the lower layer electrode film da and upper layer electrode film db . the first insulating film ins 1 which provides insulation from the scanning lines , is formed by coating the data line d including the lower layer electrode film da and upper layer electrode film db with low melting point glass . the lower layer electrode film sa of the scanning line is then formed by printing ag paste in the scanning line part , and an aluminum film is formed by sputtering thereupon . as shown in fig2 a , by forming a gap g around the region in which the emitter is formed by photolithography , the aluminum film is split into the upper layer electrode film sb and lower electrode film dc of the scanning line . as shown in fig2 c , the aluminum film is laminated on the extension da ′ of the lower layer electrode film da of the data line d , the lower layer electrode film da of the data line d and lower electrode dc of the emitter being electrically connected together . to suppress oxidation of the surface of the lower layer electrode film da when the upper layer electrode film db is formed , and lower the electrical resistance at the join interface between the lower layer electrode film da and upper layer electrode film db , the lower layer electrode film da is formed of a metal material such as platinum , gold or iridiumas described above , but it may be formed also of an conductive material oxide such as ito ( indium - tin - oxide ) or izo ( indium - zinc - oxide ). since the surface of the lower electrode film da formed by the conductive ( electrically conducting ) oxide is not easily oxidized even if exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere when the upper layer electrode film db is formed thereupon , the electrical resistance at the join interface between this and the upper layer electrode film db can be suppressed low . however , if the aforesaid lower electrode dc is formed of aluminum or aluminum alloy ( anodized metal or alloy ) on the surface of the lower layer electrode film da of the conductive oxide , oxygen contained in the lower layer electrode film da ( conductive oxide ) thermally diffuses into the lower electrode dc , and reacts with aluminum so that aluminum oxide may be formed in the vicinity of the join interface between the lower layer electrode film da and lower electrode dc . even if the metal used to anodize the lower electrode dc is tantalum ( ta ), there is still a possibility that tantalum oxide will likewise be formed in the vicinity of the join interface between the lower layer electrode film da and lower electrode dc . if this type of oxide is formed due to process conditions when the lower electrode dc is laminated on the lower layer electrode film da , the electrical resistance between the lower layer electrode film da and lower electrode dc may increase , and lead to conduction defects between the two . in view of this phenomenon , when the lower layer electrode film da is formed of a conductive oxide , it is recommended that the lower electrode dc has a laminar structure including a first layer of chromium ( cr ) formed on the lower layer electrode film da , and a second layer of aluminum or aluminum alloy (“ anodized metal or alloy ”) formed on the first layer , and that this is patterned . the chromium of the first layer may be replaced by another metal or alloy which is not easily oxidized and which can bond to the anodized metal or alloy with low resistance . if the second layer of the lower electrode dc formed in this way is the thin film dc shown in fig2 c , the first layer can be inserted at the join interface between the thin film dc and the lower layer electrode film da , and the join interface between the thin film dc and first insulating substrate sub 1 , respectively , and patterned . also , by forming the lower electrode dc in this way , conduction defects between the lower layer electrode film da and lower electrode dc can be avoided . on the upper surface of the lower electrode dc of the emitter , the second insulating film ins 2 ( field insulating film ) is formed by anodization surrounding the part to become the emitter , and the third insulating film ins 3 ( tunnel insulating film ) is formed in the part to become the emitter , respectively . also , although not shown , a metal film for forming the upper electrode aed of the emitter , is formed by sputtering iridium ( ir ), platinum ( pt ) or gold ( au ), or two or more thereof , on the whole surface of the back panel substrate sub 1 to which these various film - forming treatments have been applied . following this , as described for embodiment 1 referring to fig2 a - 24c , the back panel is completed by separating adjacent scanning lines . the display panel is completed by integrating the back panel and front panel in a one - piece structure via the sealing frame , and placing the space surrounded by them under a vacuum . the image display device is obtained by combining this display panel with various drive circuits and other members . according to the second embodiment , a lower resistance is achieved since the data line d has a double layer structure including a thick film formed by printing ag paste , and an aluminum film . since the emitter els uses an aluminum film formed directly by evaporation method on the planarized surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 as the lower electrode dc , the tunnel film ( third insulating film ins 3 ) formed on this lower electrode dc is planarized , and the upper electrode formed on this tunnel film is also a planarized , high quality film . due to this , the emitter els can give a uniform electron emission . fig2 a - 26c are diagrams showing the structure of a back panel in a third embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . fig2 a is a plan view of one pixel formed on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 and its vicinity , fig2 b is a cross - sectional view along a line a - a ′ in fig2 a , and fig2 c is a cross - sectional view along a line b - b ′ in fig2 a . in embodiment 3 , the lower layer electrode film da of the data line d is formed only in the vicinity of the region in which the emitter is formed on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 . this lower layer electrode film da is also formed by sputtering a conductive material which does not lead to insulation defects due to oxidation , such as platinum ( pt ), gold ( au ) or iridium ( ir ). by forming the upper electrode film db of the data line as a thick film of ag paste , lower resistance is achieved . also , by providing the extension da ′ in the lower layer electrode film da , which extends on the emitter - forming region side , and directly forming the lower electrode dc of the emitter on the principal surface of the back substrate sub 1 in contact with this extension da ′, a high - quality tunnel film ( third insulating film ins 3 ) is formed . the remaining structure is identical to that of embodiment 2 , and its description will not be repeated . the second insulating film ins 2 ( field insulating film ) is formed by anodization surrounding the part to become the emitter , and the third insulating film ins 3 ( tunnel insulating film ) is formed in the part to become the emitter on the upper surface of the lower electrode dc of the emitter , respectively . also , although not shown , a metal film for forming the upper electrode aed of the emitter , is formed by sputtering iridium ( ir ), platinum ( pt ) or gold ( au ), or two or more thereof , on the whole surface of the back panel substrate sub 1 to which these various film - forming treatments have been applied . following this , as described for embodiment 2 referring to fig2 a - 24c , the back panel is completed by separating adjacent scanning lines . the display panel is completed by integrating the back panel and front panel in a one - piece structure via the sealing frame , and placing the interior under a vacuum . the image display device is obtained by combining this display panel with various drive circuits and other members . according to the third embodiment , a lower resistance is achieved since the data line d has a double layer structure including the thick film db formed by printing ag paste , and the aluminum film da . since the emitter els uses an aluminum film formed directly by evaporation method on the planarized surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 as the lower electrode dc , its tunnel film ( third insulating film ins 3 ) is planarized , and the upper electrode formed thereupon is also a planarized , high quality film . due to this , the emitter els can give a uniform electron emission . in embodiment 2 and embodiment 3 , although the upper layer electrode film db extends over the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 from the lower layer electrode film da with which it is electrically connected , to another lower layer electrode film da adjacent to this lower layer electrode film da , it is electrically isolated from the other lower layer electrode film da . therefore , considering the “ region ” extending between the pair of lower layer electrodes da which are mutually adjacent on the principal surface of the first insulating substrate sub 1 , the extension of the upper electrode film db terminates within this “ region ”. fig2 is an enlarged cross - sectional view following fig4 of the emitter part of the back panel for the purpose of describing a fourth embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . fig2 is an enlarged cross - sectional view following fig4 of the emitter part of the back panel for the purpose of describing the fourth embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . this back panel uses a glass plate as base member ( hereafter , referred to as back plate sub 1 ), and the data line d , first insulating layer ins 1 , second insulating layer ins 2 , contact electrode elc , scanning line s and upper electrode aed are laminated on its principal surface . the data line d has a double layer structure including the lower layer electrode db formed by coating ag paste , and the upper electrode da including an alloy al — nd of aluminum and neodymium nd . the surface of the lower layer electrode da is planarized by polishing , and the upper layer electrode db formed as a layer above it ( e . g ., on the surface ) by sputtering is a planarized film patterned after ( e . g . having similar contour to ) the surface contour of the lower layer electrode da . if the principal surface of the underlayer of this upper layer electrode db has irregularities due to the contour of the lower layer electrode da or back plate sub 1 , its upper surface will consequently also have irregularities , but its thickness is maintained relatively uniform regardless of the irregularities . the first insulating film ins 1 and the third insulating film ins 3 which is a tunnel insulating film are formed by anodization on the upper layer electrode db . in particular , since the third insulating film ins 3 is formed on the planarized upper layer electrode db patterned after the surface of the lower layer electrode da , the film quality is also high . the remaining structure is identical to that of fig4 and fig4 . fig2 is a diagram describing a process for manufacturing the fourth embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . the process for manufacturing the back panel shown in fig2 and fig2 will be described using fig2 . first , ag paste is coated by printing the pattern of the lower layer electrode da of the data line on the inner surface of the glass plate forming the back plate sub 1 ( p - 1 ). the ag paste preferably contains frit glass . this is baked , solvent is cleaned off , and the frit glass is melted and solidified ( p - 2 ). the printing of the ag paste may be performed by applying an overcoat on plural occasions so as to obtain the required film thickness . the lower layer electrode da is formed by polishing this surface by tape polishing using no . 3000 - 10000 polishing tape so that the surface roughness rms does not exceed 5 nm ( p - 3 ). the polishing tape number is known also as the tape count , the polishing tape ( polishing surface ) being rougher , the smaller this value is . this polishing method is well - known by those skilled in the art , and polishing tape with abrasive particles such as alumina or the like can easily be procured . this lower layer electrode da is covered by sputtering an aluminum film ( p - 4 ), and patterning is performed using photolithography so as to form the upper layer electrode db ( p - 5 ). here , the sputtering aluminum film was an aluminum - neodymium alloy . the upper layer electrode db is preferably formed so as to cover the whole surface including the side surfaces of the lower electrode da . a photoresist is coated on the upper layer electrode db , and patterning is performed so as to leave photoresist for anodization ( ao ) protection of the part to become the emitter ( p - 6 ). next , the back plate sub 1 is dipped in an anodizing bath , and a field anodizing voltage is applied between the exposed part ( field part ) of the photoresist of the upper layer electrode db and an electrode installed in the anodizing bath so as to form the first insulating layer ins 1 ( field ao ), which is an anodized film of the upper layer electrode db in this field part ( p - 7 ). after removing the photoresist pattern for anodizing protection covering the part to become the emitter of the upper electrode db ( p - 8 ), the back plate sub 1 is dipped in an anodizing bath wherein the anodizing voltage is set for tunnel ao , and the third insulating film ins 3 which is a tunnel ao film is formed in the part to become the emitter ( p - 9 ). the second insulating layer ins 2 for maintaining insulation from the scanning line is then formed over the whole region including the third insulating layer ins 3 ( p - 10 ). next , the scanning line s is formed ( p - 11 ), and an opening is formed in the second insulating layer ins 2 ( p - 12 ) to expose the third insulating layer ins 3 and the required part of the surrounding area . finally , using the exposed third insulating layer ins 3 as a tunnel film , the upper electrode aed is formed on this tunnel film ( p - 13 ). the scanning line is covered by the contact electrode elc preferably including an aluminum layer and chromium underneath this aluminum layer . on the emitter side , this contact electrode elc has the function of ensuring electrical contact between the upper electrode aed and the scanning line , and on the opposite side to the emitter , has the additional function of isolating adjacent emitters in a self - adjusting way by etch back treatment . fig3 is a diagram describing the resistance lowering of the data line relative to the film thickness of the lower layer electrode having a double layer structure . the resistance ( ω / line ) of the data line ( in fig3 , shown as data line ) is 1000ω / line or more in the case of the upper electrode alone , but when the lower layer electrode is provided by coating ag paste , it becomes 100ω / line for a film thickness of 2 μm or more , which is a very large reduction in resistance . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of a back panel identical to fig2 showing the emitter part describing a fifth embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of a back panel corresponding to fig2 of the emitter part describing the fifth embodiment of the image display device according to the invention . as in the case of embodiment 4 , this back panel is a laminate of the data lined , first insulating layer ins 1 , second insulating layer ins 2 , contact electrode elc , scanning line s , and upper electrode aed on the principal surface of a glass plate which is the back plate sub 1 . the data line d has a double layer structure including the lower layer electrode da formed by coating ag paste , and the upper layer electrode db including an alloy a — nd of aluminum and neodymium nd . in embodiment 4 , the surface of the lower electrode da which is in the emitter part , is planarized by polishing , and the upper layer electrode db is formed as a layer above it by sputtering thereupon . on the other hand , in embodiment 5 , the lower layer electrode da is not formed in the emitter part , and is formed directly on the surface of the back plate sub 1 which is originally a planarized surface . the upper electrode db is a planarized film patterned after ( having similar contour to ) the surface contour of the black plate sub 1 . the structure of this lower electrode da and upper electrode db will be described later in fig3 a - 36b . in the upper layer electrode db formed directly on the surface of the back plate sub 1 , the first insulating film ins 1 and third insulating film ins 3 which is a tunnel insulating film , are formed by anodization . in particular , since the third insulating film ins 3 is formed in the planarized upper layer electrode db patterned after the surface of the plate sub 1 , the film quality is also good . the remaining structure is identical to that of fig2 and fig2 . according to the emitter of embodiment 5 , an image display device is obtained having data lines with a significantly greatly reduced wiring resistance ( interconnection resistance ), there is no unevenness in the emission due to the planarized surface , and film defects are suppressed so electron emission properties are good . fig3 is a diagram describing the manufacturing process of embodiment 5 of the image display device according to the invention . fig3 describes the process of manufacturing the back panel shown in fig3 and fig3 . first , ag paste is coated by printing on a pattern of the lower layer electrode da of the data line on the inner surface of the glass plate forming the back plate sub 1 ( p - 10 ). at this time , the ag paste is coated excepting in the emitter part . the ag paste preferably contains frit glass . after coating , this is baked , the solvent is cleaned off , and the frit glass is melted and solidified ( p - 20 ). the printing of the ag paste may also be repeated on plural occasions so as to obtain the required film thickness . the surface of the lower electrode da formed excepting in the emitter part and the back plate sub 1 of the emitter part is covered by sputtering an aluminum film ( p - 30 ), and patterning is performed using photolithography so as to form the upper electrode db ( p - 40 ). here , the sputtering aluminum film was an aluminum - neodymium alloy . the upper layer electrode db is preferably formed to cover the whole surface including the side surfaces of the lower layer electrode da . a photoresist is coated on the upper layer electrode db , and patterning is performed so as to leave photoresist for anodization ( ao ) protection in the part to become the emitter ( p - 50 ). this is dipped in an anodizing bath wherein the field voltage is set to form the first insulating layer ins 1 ( field ao ), which is an anodizing film , in the field part ( p - 60 ). the photoresist pattern for anodization protection which was in the part to become the emitter , is removed ( p - 70 ). the work piece is dipped in an anodizing bath where in the anodizing voltage is set to the tunnel ao , and the third insulating layer ins 3 , which is a tunnel ao , is formed in the emitter part ( p - 80 ). the second insulating layer ins 2 is then formed over the whole region including the third insulating layer ins 3 to ensure insulation from the scanning lines ( p - 90 ). next , the scanning line s is formed ( p - 100 ), and an opening is made in the second insulating layer ins 2 ( p 110 ) to expose the third insulating layer ins 3 and the required part of the surrounding area . finally , using the exposed third insulating layer ins 3 as a tunnel film , the upper electrode aed is formed on this tunnel film ( p - 120 ). the scanning line is covered by the contact electrode elc preferably including an aluminum layer and chromium underneath this aluminum layer . on the emitter side , this contact electrode elc has the function of ensuring electrical contact between the upper electrode aed and the scanning line , and on the opposite side to the emitter , has the additional function of isolating adjacent emitters in a self - adjusting way by etch back treatment . in embodiment 5 , it is not required to polish the lower layer electrode da , and since the upper layer electrode db is sputtered directly on the surface of the planarized back plate sub 1 , high reliability is obtained and the number of manufacturing steps is reduced . fig3 a - 34b are diagrams describing a first example of a data line in embodiment 5 of the image display device according to the invention . in this example , the lower layer electrode da is formed excepting in the part where the emitter is formed , i . e ., the film - forming part of the third insulating layer ( tunnel film ) ins 3 and its surrounding area ( inclined surface - forming part of the upper electrode aed ( fig3 a ). the upper layer electrode is formed thereupon by sputtering aluminum or aluminum alloy . the emitter - forming part is shown by the dotted line ( fig3 b ). since the tunnel film ( insulating layer ins 3 ) of the emitter is formed by anodizing the upper layer electrode db , the surface of the upper layer electrode db is a planarized film patterned after the planarity of the surface of the back plate sub 1 , and the tunnel film is free of any defects . the upper electrode aed is formed by sputtering a metal thin film , preferably gold , iridium or platinum , thereupon . according to the emitter manufactured in this way , the emitter has a data line with a significantly lowered wiring resistance ( interconnection resistance ), and since it has a planarized surface , there is no emission unevenness , film defects are suppressed and good electron emission properties are obtained . fig3 a - 35b are diagrams showing a second example of the data line in embodiment 5 of the image display device according to the invention . in this example , the lower layer electrode da is formed excepting in the part where the emitter is formed , i . e ., the film - forming part of the third insulating layer ( tunnel film ) ins 3 and its surrounding area ( inclined surface - forming part of the upper electrode aed ( fig3 a ). the upper layer electrode is formed thereupon by sputtering aluminum or aluminum alloy . the emitter - forming part is shown by the dotted line ( fig3 b ). since the tunnel film ( insulating layer ins 3 ) of the emitter is formed by anodizing the upper layer electrode db , the surface of the upper layer electrode db is a planarized film following the planarity of the surface of the back plate sub 1 , and the tunnel film is free of any defects . the upper electrode aed is formed by sputtering a metal thin film , preferably gold , iridium , platinum or the like , thereupon . according to the emitter manufactured in this way , the emitter has a data line with a sufficiently reduced wiring resistance ( interconnection resistance ), and as it has a planarized surface , there is no emission unevenness , film defects are suppressed and good electron emission properties are obtained . fig3 a - 36b are diagrams showing a third example of the data line in embodiment 5 of the image display device according to the invention . in this example , the lower layer electrode da is formed excepting in the part where the emitter is formed , i . e ., the film - forming part of the third insulating layer ( tunnel film ) ins 3 and its surrounding area ( inclined surface - forming part of the upper electrode aed ( fig3 a ). the upper layer electrode is formed thereupon by sputtering aluminum or aluminum alloy . the emitter - forming part is shown by the dotted line ( fig3 b ). in the third example also , as in the case of the first and second examples , since the tunnel film ( insulating layer ins 3 ) of the emitter is formed by anodizing the upper layer electrode db , the surface of the upper layer electrode db is a planarized film patterned after the planarity of the surface of the back plate sub 1 , and the tunnel film is free of any defects . the upper electrode aed is formed by sputtering a metal thin film , preferably gold , iridium or platinum , thereupon . according to the emitter manufactured in this way , the emitter has a data line with a significantly lowered wiring resistance ( interconnection resistance ), and since it has a planarized surface , there is no emission unevenness , film defects are suppressed and good electron emission properties are obtained . according to embodiments 4 and 5 of the invention , the emitter has a data line with a significantly lowered wiring resistance ( interconnection resistance ), and since it has a planarized surface , there is no emission unevenness , film defects are suppressed , good electron emission properties are obtained , and a high quality image display device is obtained . fig3 is a schematic view of a display panel describing the effect of the invention . for a pixel region ar forming a large size screen , data drivers ddr need be installed only in one of the long sides outside the pixel region ar . if the scanning lines also have a double layer structure to lower the resistance , scanning drivers sdr also need the installed only in one of the short sides outside the pixel region ar . fig3 is a schematic view of another display panel describing the effect of to the invention . for the pixel region ar forming a large size screen , the data drivers ddr need be installed only in one of the long sides outside the pixel region ar . the scanning lines have the structure of the prior art and do not have a low resistance , so the scanning drivers sdr are installed in both of the short sides of the pixel region ar . fig3 is a schematic view of a display panel according to the prior art for the purpose of describing the effect of to the invention . for the pixel region ar forming a large size screen , the data drivers ddr are installed in both of the long sides outside the pixel region ar , and the scanning drivers sdr are also installed in both of the short sides of the pixel region ar . as is clear by comparing fig3 , fig3 and fig3 , according to the invention , the number of drivers to be installed can be largely reduced which contributes greatly to cost reduction . fig4 is a perspective , partial cutaway view describing one example of the overall structure of the image display device according to the invention in more detail . fig4 is a cross - sectional view along a line a - a ′ in fig4 . as described earlier , the inner surface of the back plate sub 1 forming the back panel pnl 1 has data lines d and scanning lines s of double layer structure , and emitters are formed in the vicinity of the intersections between the data lines d and scanning lines s . a data line extension dt is formed at one end of the data line d , and a scanning line extension st is formed at one end of the scanning line s . a black matrix bm , anode ad and phosphors ph are formed on the inner surface of a base member ( hereafter , front plate ) sub 2 forming the front panel pnl 2 . the back plate sub 1 forming the back panel pnl 1 and the front plate sub 2 forming the front panel are stuck together via a sealing frame mfl interposed between their edges . the spacer spc which is preferably a glass plate or ceramic plate is disposed between the back panel sub 1 and front panel pnl 2 to maintain the gap therebetween at a predetermined value . fig4 shows a cross section along the spacer spc . the spacer spc is fixed to stand on the principal surface of one of the back panel pnl 1 ( back plate sub 1 ) and front panel pnl 2 ( front plate sub 2 ). fig4 shows three spacers standing next to each other along a scanning line s , but this arrangement is only an example . the interior space sealed by the back panel pnl 1 , front panel pnl 2 and frame glass mfl is evacuated by a vacuum tube exc provided in part of the back panel pnl 1 , and maintained under a predetermined vacuum . fig4 is a diagram showing an example of an equivalent circuit of the image display device according to the invention . the region shown by the dotted line in fig4 is the pixel region ar , the data lines d ( d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , d 4 , d 5 , d 6 , d 7 , . . . dn ) and scanning lines s ( s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 , . . . sm ) being disposed so that they mutually intersect to form a nxm matrix . the intersection parts of the matrix are sub - pixels , a group of three sub - pixels r , g , b in the diagram constituting one color pixel . the structure of the emitters is not shown . the data lines d are connected to the data line drive circuit ( data drivers ddr ), and the scanning lines s are connected to the scanning line drive circuit ( scanning drivers sdr ). an image signal ns is input to the data line drive circuit ddr from outside , and a scanning signal ss is likewise input to the scanning line drive circuit sdr . in this way , by supplying an image signal from the data lines d to the sub - pixels connected to the scanning lines s which are selected in order , a two - dimensional color image can be displayed . while we have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with the present invention , it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art , and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
it is to be understood and appreciated that the process steps and structures described below do not form a complete process flow for the manufacture of integrated circuits . the present invention can be practiced in conjunction with various integrated circuit fabrication techniques that are used in the art , and only so much of the commonly practiced process steps are included herein as are necessary to provide an understanding of the present invention . as will be described in greater detail below , the present invention relates to the provision of a parasitic capacitor in place of a conventional junction diode for protecting the gate oxide of the device from cumulative charging damages . since , for any capacitance c , where with large surface area , the parasitic capacitors of the present invention can share the majority of process - induced cumulative charges thereby inhibiting the associated gate oxide of the protected device from overcharging and breakdown during processing phase . in addition , the metal electrodes of the parasitic capacitors provide a dummy pattern , which can compensate the cmp dishing problem . furthermore , because the dummy pattern is formed in the regions where the lead lines of the integrated circuit are absence , the use of the parasitic capacitors of the invention can utilize chip area with higher efficiency , meanwhile , diminish the cmp dishing problem . in addition , due to the larger capacitance of the parasitic capacitors , one parasitic capacitor can be connected to more than one protected device , thus designers or layout engineers can save more chip area . [ 0030 ] fig2 a depicts a protection device 40 of the invention used to prevent the process - induced cumulative charge damages , and fig2 b shows the corresponding equivalence protection circuit . it is to be appreciated that the illustrated device can be constructed in accordance with a variety of known processing techniques , the specific manner of process not being relevant to the following discussion . the protection device 40 includes a substrate 52 that is typically formed from a semiconductive material such as silicon , which is doped with a p - type impurity , such as boron ions . the semiconductor substrate 52 can also be formed from a variety of other semiconductive materials , such as gaas and hgcdte , for which the principles of the present invention that are set forth below are likewise applicable . in the illustrated structure , a mosfet under construction , which can be treated as a mos capacitor , is designated generally by reference character 50 , and the associated protective component , which is a parasitic capacitor , is designated generally by reference character 60 . source and drain regions 64 a , 64 b is formed in the semiconductor substrate 52 by using conventional methods , and a channel region 56 is formed between the source and drain regions 64 a , 64 b . a gate oxide region 54 that is typically thermally grown to a thickness of about 4 - 20 nm is formed between the source and drain regions 64 a , 64 b and on the semiconductor substrate 52 . a gate electrode 58 , which can be a polysilicon layer , is formed by patterning and applying in an appropriate manner over the gate oxide 54 , and doping with an appropriate impurity , such as phosphorus ions , to render the polysilicon layer conductive . the gate electrode 58 is connected to conductive layers 74 b and 76 by a lead line 68 a . these conductive layers 74 b and 76 , that are sited on different levels separately , become “ antennas ” unavoidably during processing phases . the parasitic capacitor 60 , comprising a conductive layer 74 a as an electrode and a dummy conductive layer 72 constituting the dummy pattern as the other electrode , is used to protect the mosfet 50 . the conductive layer 74 a is connected to the gate electrode 58 by the lead line 68 a and the dummy conductive layer 72 is connected to the semiconductor substrate 52 by the lead line 68 a , so that the parasitic capacitor 60 can share cumulative charges with the mosfet 50 whenever the antenna effect occurs . the conductive layer 74 a and the dummy conductive layer 72 can be copper , aluminum and polysilicon , and they are unnecessary the same material . furthermore , the electrode 74 a of the parasitic capacitor 60 and the conductive layer 74 b are formed together and both are part of the integrated circuit , whereas the dummy conductive layer 72 is not . the dummy conductive layer 72 constituting the dummy pattern can be formed in a similar manner that used to form lead lines of the integrated circuit in the art . moreover , it is noted that the inter - metal dielectric ( imd ) layers interposed between the dummy conductive layer 72 and the conductive layer 74 a are not shown in the illustrated structure . in addition , the parasitic capacitor 60 can also be a stacked multilayer capacitor with polysilicon - to - metal or polysilicon - to - polysilicon or metal - to - metal electrodes . in such manner , the parasitic capacitor 60 can be treated as many single capacitors connected in series . furthermore , more than one parasitic capacitor similar to the parasitic capacitor 60 can be connected in parallel in the integrated circuit . referring to fig2 b , the mosfet 50 and the parasitic capacitor 60 can be regarded as capacitor c 1 and c 2 connected in parallel , wherein r 1 and r 2 are the equivalent resistance of the lead line 68 a . the equivalent capacitance c , a 2 = area of the electrode of the parasitic capacitor 60 , t 1 = thickness of the gate oxide 54 , and t 2 = average distance between the electrodes of the parasitic capacitor 60 . if a 2 = 2a 1 , t 1 = t 2 , then c 2 = 2c 1 . for cumulative charges q and applied voltage v , since q = cv , the charges accumulated on c 1 are 0 . 33q , and the charges accumulated on c 2 are 0 . 667q . in view of the foregoing relationships , the parasitic capacitor 60 can be constructed to protect the mosfet 50 from undesired cumulative charge damages incident to charging for a prescribed period of time . furthermore , due to the use of the dummy pattern as electrodes and larger capacitance of the parasitic capacitor 60 , one parasitic capacitor 60 can be connected to more than one mosfet 50 in parallel , thus designers or layout engineers can save more chip area . [ 0039 ] fig3 a depicts a protection device 40 ′ of the invention used to prevent the cumulative charge damages , and fig3 b shows the corresponding equivalence protection circuit . in this embodiment , a parasitic capacitor used to protect the mosfet 50 is designated generally by reference character 70 . the parasitic capacitor 70 comprises the conductive layer 74 a , the dummy conductive layer 72 , and a portion of semiconductor substrate 52 beneath the dummy conductive layer 72 . unlike the parasitic capacitor 60 , the dummy conductive layer 72 of the parasitic capacitor 70 is “ floating ”, that is , the dummy conductive layer 72 and the portion of semiconductor substrate 52 beneath the dummy conductive layer 72 constitute an additional capacitor . the dielectric layers , also known as the inter - metal dielectrics ( imd ), which are interposed between the conductive layer 74 a and the dummy conductive layer 72 , and between the dummy conductive layer 72 and the portion of the semiconductor substrate 52 , are not shown in the structure . moreover , similar to the parasitic capacitor 60 , the parasitic capacitor 70 also can be a stacked multilayer capacitor with polysilicon - to - metal or polysilicon - to - polysilicon or metal - to - metal electrodes . in such manner , the parasitic capacitor 70 can be treated as many single capacitors connected in series . in addition , similar to the parasitic capacitor 60 , more than one parasitic capacitor 70 can be connected in parallel in the integrated circuit . referring to fig3 b , the parasitic capacitor 70 can be regarded as capacitors c 2 and c 3 connected in series . when it connects with the mosfet 50 in parallel , the equivalent capacitance c , a 3 = area of the dummy conductive layer 72 , t 2 = average distance between the electrode 74 a and the dummy conductive layer 72 , and t 3 = average distance between the dummy conductive layer 72 and the semiconductor substrate 52 . if t 1 = t 2 , t 2 = t 3 , a 2 = 2 . 5a 1 , and a 2 = a 3 , then c 2 = 2 . 5c 1 and c 2 = c 3 . for cumulative charges q and applied voltage v , since q = cv , the charges accumulated on c 1 are 0 . 44q , and the charges accumulated on c 2 and c 3 are 0 . 56q . in view of the foregoing relationships , the parasitic capacitor 70 can be constructed to protect the mosfet 50 from undesired cumulative charge damages incident to charging for a prescribed period of time since it shares more charges . furthermore , due to larger capacitance of the parasitic capacitor 70 , one parasitic capacitor 70 can be connected to more than one mosfet 50 in parallel , thus designers or layout engineers can save more chip area . other embodiments of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples to be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims . | 7 |
fig1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a computer system including a magnetic disk controller according to an embodiment of the present invention . numeral 1 denotes a main memory unit , and 2 a central processing unit . the main memory unit 1 and the central processing unit 2 constitute a higher rank apparatus 3 . d1 , d2 , . . . , dn denote magnetic disk units . numeral 4 denotes a cache memory , 5 a battery used when a main power supply is off , and 6 a magnetic disk control unit for controlling transfer of information among the magnetic disk units , the higher rank apparatus 3 and the cache memory 4 . the magnetic disk control unit 6 , the cache memory 4 and the battery 5 constitute the magnetic disk controller 7 . further , a voltage of the battery is monitored by the magnetic disk control unit 6 and the battery is charged when the voltage thereof is reduced . the magnetic disk control unit 6 writes data into the cache memory 4 in response to a writing instruction of the data to the magnetic disk from the higher rank apparatus 3 since the data can be written into the cache memory 4 at a high speed . when the data has been written into the cache memory 4 , the magnetic disk control unit 6 reports completion of the writing to the higher rank apparatus 3 . however , at this time , the write data is not written into the magnetic disk unit yet . fig2 is a flow chart showing operation of the magnetic disk controller according to the present invention when the power supply is cut off . the magnetic disk controller according to the present invention is set to make the backup by the battery in the normal operation ( step 200 ). when the main power supply is cut off due to a power failure or the like without using the main power supply switch ( step 201 ), data in the cache memory are backed up by the battery in order to protect the write data which is not written in the magnetic disk unit ( step 202 ). when data which are not written into the magnetic disk yet remain in the cache memory and the main power supply is cut off by means of the main power supply switch ( step 211 ), the magnetic disk control unit 6 writes all the data remaining in the cache memory 4 into the magnetic disk unit without immediate disconnection or shortage of the power supply ( step 212 ) and then stops the backup by the battery ( step 13 ) to thereby disconnect the power supply ( step 214 ). in this case , since the data have been written into the magnetic disk unit from the cache memory before disconnection of the power supply , it is not necessary to back up the cache memory by the battery . accordingly , in such a state , the battery is dissipated by the backup of the cache memory uselessly . further , when the backup by the battery is continued for a long time , the battery is discharged excessively and cannot be sometimes used again even if the battery is charged again . accordingly , when the power supply is cut off by the main power supply switch , the magnetic disk control unit 6 writes all the data in the cache memory into the magnetic disk and then stops the backup by the battery . the main power supply for the magnetic disk units and the magnetic disk controller is cut off . fig3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the cache memory 4 and the magnetic disk control unit 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention . memory modules 40 - 1 and 40 - 2 are general dram memory modules . the magnetic disk control unit 6 includes , as a circuit for backing up the dram 41 by the battery , a refresh circuit 26 , a selector 23 , a battery backup management memory 22 , and nand gates 21 for setting ras - cas signals 16 , 17 , 18 and 19 to the standby state when the backup by the battery is not performed . these circuits are backed up by the battery through a battery backup power supply line 10 . when the main power supply is turned on , a memory control circuit 20 which is supplied with electric power through the normal power supply line performs reading and writing of the dram . when write cache data is written into the memory module , the memory control circuit 20 sets the battery backup management memory 22 so that the backup by the battery is performed . when the write cache data is written into the magnetic disk unit , the memory control circuit 20 resets the battery backup management memory 22 . when the main power supply is off , the refresh circuit 26 produces a pulse 27 for cbr refresh and the selector 23 selects an output of the refresh circuit 26 . when signals 24 and 25 of the battery backup management memory are 1 , the nand gates 21 transmit a refresh signal to the memory modules 40 - 1 and 40 - 2 . when the signals are 0 , the nand gates set the ras - cas signals 16 , 17 , 18 and 19 to a high level so that the memory modules 40 - 1 and 40 - 2 are set to the standby state and are not refreshed . more particularly , the signals 24 and 25 of the battery backup management memory are 1 when the main power supply is on , while when the main power supply is off , the signals 24 and 25 are changed depending on contents of the memory . when write data is stored in the memory , the signals are 1 and when read data or no data is stored in the memory , the signals are 0 . thus , only the dram module in which write cache data is written is refreshed and remaining modules are in the standby state , so that the power consumption is reduced and consumption of the battery is reduced . further , in the present invention , since it is not necessary to add a circuit for controlling the backup by battery to the power supply line , variation of the power supply voltage is effectively reduced in the memory such as the dram in which a large power supply current flows in a moment such as a refresh . fig4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cache memory and a magnetic disk control unit according to another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the memory modules are divided into a memory module group 30 which is backed up by the battery , a memory module group 40 which is backed up by the battery under control of the memory control circuit 20 , and a memory module group 50 which is not backed up by the battery . the memory module group 30 is connected to the battery backup power supply line 10 and all of memory modules thereof are backed up . the backup of the memory module group 40 is controlled by the circuit as shown in fig3 and only the memory module in which write data is stored is backed up . in fig4 circuits other than the memory control circuit 20 are omitted for clarification of the drawing . the memory module group 50 is connected to the normal power supply line 11 and is not backed up by the battery . in addition , in this embodiment , a power supply monitoring circuit 61 and a clock 62 are provided . in other words , it is premised that the module in which write cache data is written is backed up and the module in which read cache data is written is not required to be backed up . the memory control circuit 20 determines a ratio of using the write cache memory requiring the backup by battery on the basis of a value of the clock 62 when the power supply monitoring circuit detects the normal power supply voltage . for example , in the case of an application having a low use ratio at night and in a holiday and requiring a time for recovery upon a power failure , the use ratio of the write cache memory is automatically set to be low at night and in a holiday . alternatively , a set value of the use ratio may be inputted to the memory control circuit 20 by means of input means 63 . the memory control circuit 20 does not use the memory module group 40 as the write cache memory at night and in a holiday by the above setting . accordingly , even when a power failure occurs during use , a current consumed by the backup by battery is low and accordingly disappearance of data can be prevented . further , in the normal operation , the memory module group 40 can be used as the write cache memory and accordingly the performance can be maintained . in the embodiment , since only the necessary memory module can be controlled to be backed up by the battery , the power consumption of the backup by battery can be reduced as compared with when all the same memory modules used are backed up and an amount of hardware for control of the backup by battery can be reduced . fig5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the cache memory 4 and the magnetic disk control unit 6 according to still another embodiment of the present invention . fig6 shows a memory map of the cache memory of the embodiment of fig5 . in the embodiment , the memory modules are divided into memory module groups 30 and 70 which are backed up by the battery and memory module groups 50 and 80 which are not backed up by the battery . the memory modules which are backed up by the battery are used as the write cache memory and the memory modules which are not backed up by the battery are used as the read cache memory . more particularly , addresses b to d of the memory map of fig6 are used for the write cache memory and addresses d to e are used for the read cache memory . thus , the cache memory having small consumed current for the backup by battery can be configured . however , when read data are increased , there is a case where the capacity of the read cache memory is lacking and the performance is reduced . accordingly , the disk controller according to the embodiment of the present invention controls the cache memory in accordance with the flow chart shown in fig7 . in the flow chart of fig7 when the disk control unit receives write data to the cache memory ( step 601 ), the disk control unit judges whether the data is the write cache data or the read cache data ( step 602 ). when the data is the read cache data , the disk control unit judges whether the memory using the general power supply ( memory which is not backed up by battery ) is full or not ( step 603 ). when the memory is full , the disk control unit judges whether the memory backed up by the battery is full or not ( step 604 ). when the memory is not full , a part of the memory backed up by the battery is used as the read cache memory ( step 605 ) and the read cache operation for writing the read data into the cache memory is performed . further , in step 602 , when the data is the write data , the disk control unit judges whether the memory backed up by the battery is full or not ( step 607 ). when the memory backed up by the battery is not full , the write cache operation for writing the write data into the cache memory is performed ( step 610 ). when the memory backed up by the battery is full , the disk control unit judges whether the read data is present between the addresses b and d of fig6 or not ( step 608 ). when the read data is present , the write data is written thereon in a memory location of the address of the read data ( steps 609 , 610 ). further , when the read data is not present between the addresses b and d of fig6 the write cache data on the cache memory is written in the magnetic disk . in this manner , the disk control unit performs the predetermined process when the write cache memory is full ( step 611 ). in the magnetic disk sub - system according to the embodiment , when the memory backed up by the battery is not used as the write cache memory , the disk control unit 6 controls to use the memory as the read cache memory . in other words , the addresses b to c of the memory map of fig6 are used as the write cache memory and the addresses c to e are used as the read cache memory . further , when the write cache memory is full , the write data is written on the read data in the memory backed up in which the read data is stored . thus , the read cache memory can be increased or extended , so that the performance can be ensured . particularly , by setting addresses of mounted memory modules adjacent to each other , address space can be formed continuously and accordingly control is made easily . as described above , according to the present invention , the backup of the cache memory by the battery can be exactly controlled to be performed and stopped to thereby effect saving the power consumption , extension of the backup period , prevention of over - discharge of the battery and the like . | 6 |
the resins used as the bronsted acid catalyst of the present invention may be a gel or macroporous . in one embodiment , a macroporous resin is preferred . macroporous resins have permanent porosity ( i . e ., “ permanent ” “ macroporosity ,” as the terms are used in iex ). in another embodiment , a macronet resin is particularly preferred . macronets have permanent microporosity with or without permanent macroporosity . the resins useful in the present invention include crosslinked polymeric alkenylaromatic resins such as polystyrene copolymer resins . preferably , the resins are formed having 1 - 80 %, or more commonly 1 - 25 % ( by weight ) of a crosslinking agent such as divinylbenzene . the pores in the macroporous resins , as described herein , can be formed to have various sizes . the pore sizes can be varied by modifying the synthesis parameters , as is known in the art . further , the resin can be formed with varying pore density ( i . e ., “ light sponge ” to “ heavy sponge ” as needed ). macroporous resins have high surface areas , due to the internal surface of the pores throughout the bead , typically circa 40 m 2 / g dry whereas the outer surface of the bead has & lt ; 1 m 2 / g dry , which is what gel resins show . in one embodiment , the macroporous resins ( i . e ., “ orthoporous resins ”) have exceptionally large pores , compared to common macroporous resins . pore size affects diffusion and flow kinetics within the resin bead . therefore , the catalytic rates may be increased compared to other resins having smaller pores , depending on the application . orthoporous resins have appreciable porosity of pores greater than 10 , 000 angstroms ( 1 micron ). as used herein “ appreciable ” porosity means at least 0 . 05 ml / g dry or more preferably 0 . 10 ml / g dry . in another embodiment , the resin of the present invention is a macronet [ davankov et al ., the journal of polymer science , symposium no . 47 , pages 95 - 101 and 189 - 195 ( 1974 ), and purolite technical bulletin “ hypersol - macronet ™ sorbent resins ,” the purolite co . ( pa ), pp . 1 - 11 ( 1995 )]. macronet resins are produced by post - crosslinking to provide a stable , rigid , “ permanent ” micropore structure . they may be formed for example , by hypercrosslinking ( a .) linear polystyrene in solution or ( b .) crosslinked styrenic copolymers in the swollen state , under friedel - crafts conditions . [ see davankov ; u . s . pat . no . 3 , 729 , 457 .] some resins relevant to the present invention include commercial resins , for example mn - 500 , mn - 502 . particularly useful are resins with selected , permanent , micropore structures . these resins have a controlled pore size below 50 angstroms in diameter , or more preferably below 30 angstroms . in another embodiment , the resin is a gel resin . gel resins are glassy - transparent beads that swell in the presence of good solvents . generally , gel resins are considered as being homogenously crosslinked without “ permanent ” macropores or micropores . the resins described herein are bronsted acid , proton - donor resins having reduced sulfonation . it is posited that this achieves not merely a lower quantity of sulfonic acid groups but , more decisively , a decrease in protonation power , thereby reducing deleterious ( a ) side reactions and / or ( b ) further reactions . with thorough or high sulfonation of even an external surface layer and / or the internal surface of the polymeric macropores , highly acidic arrays or clusters of sulfonic acid groups can form , just as with high sulfonation throughout the entire bead . in addition , for some resins — e . g ., the macronets — the rigid microporosity can be used to restrict the sulfonic acid groups and thereby also inhibit their cooperating together catalytically or forming highly acidic arrays . the partial distribution of the sulfonic acid groups can be achieved by using a solvent that also swells or permeates the beads and also in which the sulfonating agent is soluble . the solvent may swell the bead completely or only partially , as long as it allows the sulfonating agent to permeate throughout the polymeric matrix , to be sulfonated . [ see wheaton ; u . s . pat . no . 3 , 133 , 030 ; issued 12 may 1964 , filed 22 aug . 1960 .] in one embodiment , the resins are uniformly partially sulfonated through the entire bead . thus , the exterior surfaces of the bead , the internal pore surfaces in the interior of the bead itself are uniformly sulfonated . the term uniformly sulfonated means that the density of sulfur groups throughout the uniformly sulfonated region is substantially the same . preferably , the variation in sulfur ( or other marker ) density within the region will be within 25 %. in one embodiment , the variation in sulfur density will be within 14 %. in another embodiment , the sulfonated resins have regions that are partially sulfonated and regions that are un - sulfonated . the resin is preferably uniformly sulfonated through the sulfonated region . each resin bead may have one or more regions of sulfonation and one or more region that is not sulfonated . the term “ region ,” as used herein means a portion of the bead , either on or near the surface , in the bead interior , or both at or near the surface and in the bead interior . each region includes at least 10 % of the bead volume . in one embodiment , each sulfonated or unsulfonated region includes at least 20 % of the bead volume . in another embodiment , each sulfonated region expands through both the shell and the core of the bead . in yet another embodiment , a sulfonated region or regions are located solely on the surface of the bead , with optional additional sulfonated region ( s ) in the bead interior . in one embodiment , a polymeric alkenyl aromatic copolymer is swollen with a mostly inert solvent . a mostly inert solvent is a one that is essentially chemically unreactive in the process . methylene chloride is such a solvent for chlorosulfonic acid . the resin , solvent , and a chosen , limited amount of chlorosulfonic acid are ( a ) mixed at low temperature and ( b ) then heated to where reaction occurs . reaction times are generally about ½ - 2 hours or longer . this process is described in detail in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 133 , 030 , herein incorporated by reference in its entirety . numerous variants can be envisaged , following the principals of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 133 , 030 , and are applicable in the present invention . it is contemplated for this invention that solvents other than methylene chloride and reagents other than chlorosulfonic acid , may be used to form the partially sulfonated resin . it is contemplated that other specific methods may be used or devised to achieve partial or limited sulfonation . the phrase “ partially sulfonated ,” however it is achieved , means throughout the whole bead or a region or portion of the bead . the sulfonic acid groups are distributed both at the surface and in the interior of the polymeric region , identified . that can range from a uniform to a gradient sulfonic acid density . the functional group distribution for the bead can be determined using sem ( scanning electron microscopy ) with edx ( energy dispersive x - ray ) analysis for sulfur or an exchanged metal ion on a cross section . resins used in the present invention are partially sulfonated resins , having up to 10 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, 50 %, 60 %, or up to 75 % of the sulfonic acid groups of a conventional , highly - sulfonated resin ( i . e ., nearly mono - sulfonated ). traditional , fully - functionalized , commercial resin will have a dry weight capacity up to 5 . 0 eq / kg ; although , that becomes difficult to achieve with higher dvb crosslinking , probably due to the steric - hindrance - tightness of the polymeric matrix . in one embodiment , 51 % or less of the aromatic groups are sulfonated . in another embodiment , 33 % or less of the aromatic groups are sulfonated . in another embodiment , 20 % of or less of the aromatic groups are sulfonated . in one embodiment , the resins have a dry - weight cation - exchange capacity of 2 to 70 % of a conventional , fully - sulfonated resin . in one embodiment , the dry - weight cation - exchange capacity is between 2 to 50 %, and in another embodiment , the dry - weight cation - exchange capacity is between 2 to 30 % of a conventional , highly sulfonated resin . not wishing to be bound by theory , nonetheless , we hypothesize that because of site isolation , there are fewer arrays or clusters of sulfonic acid groups in these partially sulfonated resins . an array or cluster is a region with adjacent sulfonic acid groups , which can associate by hydrogen bonding . these ( a ) confer higher acidity and ( b ) allow cooperative effects catalytically . regardless of any theory , the observed operational result of using the resins of the present invention is better reaction control generically . the degree of sulfonation — or number of active sites , or ionizable groups , or exchangeable groups — on the resin can be determined by a number of techniques , well recognized in the art . elemental analysis , for sulfur , is one ; but this necessitates thorough combustion of the polymer ; ( 1 ) exhaustive ion exchange or ( 2 ) neutralization are two other techniques , and much simpler : for example , a known weight or volume of the resin is titrated with sodium hydroxide , using a simple ph indicator or electrode . analysis on shell - core beads gives a mass average , of the shell and core , and not the degree of substitution in the shell itself . the bronsted acid catalysts as described herein can be employed for a number of reactions including esterification and transesterification , ether formation , polyether synthesis , bisphenol formation , alkylphenol formation , the formation of phenol ethers , and olefin oligomerization . any reaction catalyzed by acidic resins may employ the catalysts of the present invention as long as that reaction does not require higher acidity — i . e ., reactions where the partial sulfonation would render the resin catalytically inactive or inert in the system . as used herein , the phrase “ using a catalyst in a chemical reaction ” means that a first and a second reactant , where the first and second reactants may be the same , are combined with the catalyst and a reaction proceeds to form a product . the chemical reaction may be carried out in a continuous or batch - type process . in one embodiment , a fixed resin - catalyst bed is used ; in another , a fluidized bed can also be used . for some reagents , which resist protonation , higher temperatures can be used to compensate . however , the temperature must remain below that causing loss of significant catalytic activity of the resin due to de - sulfonation . in one embodiment , the method comprises using a single step . in another embodiment , the first and the second reactants are the same . the methods of the present invention are particularly useful in reactions where reaction control is an issue , that includes reactions where by - product formation , or catalyst lifetimes , or process run times , or process control ( exotherms , pressures , etc .) can be an issue . few chemical transformations are free of side reactions or the sensitivity of products or by - products to further reaction . some are troublesomely so . thus , the methods described herein are particularly useful for these reactions . such reactions include , but are not limited to olefin oligomerization , the formatin of bisphenols , and the formation of alkylphenols , the term “ side product ” means specifically any compound produced in a reaction occurring alongside the desired reaction ( i . e ., in a side reaction ). as used herein , a “ by - product ” is a compound other than the desired product generated in the reaction , and may occur as well from further reactions of undesired or desired product ( s ); side products are included within by - products . for example , ethers and olefins are common side products formed during catalytic production of an ester . a reaction may produce more than one by - product . in one embodiment of the present invention , the reaction of the present invention will produce a product with less than 20 % of by - products . preferably , there will be less than 10 % by - products , and more preferably , less than 5 . 0 %. even more preferably , the present invention will provide a product with less than 2 . 0 % by - product . the reaction of the present invention will produce a product with less than 20 % of side products . preferably , there will be less than 10 % side products , and more preferably , less than 5 . 0 %. even more preferably , the present invention will provide a product with less than 2 . 0 % side product . as used herein , a chemical reaction that is “ better controlled ” means that the physical parameters can be better controlled — i . e ., heat evolution , gas formation , etc . one example of a better controlled reaction is a reaction having reduced by - product ; another example of a better controlled reaction is a reaction having an extended runtime ; another example of a better controlled reaction is a reaction wherein the catalyst shows increased lifetime compared to the same reaction using a fully - functionalized resin catalyst . in an exemplary embodiment , the catalyst lifetime is increased at least 20 %; in another embodiment , the catalyst lifetime increased at least 40 % compared to the same reaction using a fully - functionalized resin catalyst . in another exemplary embodiment , the reaction runtime increased at least 20 %; in another embodiment , the reaction runtime increased at least 40 % compared to the same reaction using a fully - functionalized resin catalyst . preferably , the methods of the present invention will have increased fouling resistance . due to the increased fouling resistance , the catalyst lifetimes can be significantly greater than the catalyst lifetimes for other catalyst used in the same reaction . as used herein , the term “ fouling resistance ” means that the catalyst resists contamination that reduces catalyst activity caused by deposits forming within the catalyst matrix , or on the catalyst surface , or filling and narrowing of the catalyst pores . preferably , the fouling resistance is at least 1 . 10 times that of the fully - sulfonated traditional catalysts . even more preferably , the fouling resistance is at least 1 . 25 times that of fully - sulfonated traditional catalysts , or even more preferably 1 . 5 times . in one embodiment of the present invention , the resin catalyst is used in the esterification of an organic acid and organic alcohol , or transesterification of an organic ester with an organic acid or alcohol . the esterification process may be any catalyzed esterification process which suffers from deleterious side reactions , such as the synthesis of dimethyl maleate . the organic acid for the esterification or transesterification reaction is preferably a c 1 to c 24 mono -, di -, or polycarboxylic acid or ester ; it may be a linear or branched , aliphatic or aromatic , saturated or unsaturated acid , or it may be an alkyl or aralkyl acid , again with the aliphatic portion being saturated , unsaturated , linear or branched . the organic acid may have one or more of its hydrogens substituted by halogen , nitro , or other similar groups . the corresponding anhydrides of these acids may be employed in the process of the present invention . the preferred acids have from two to twenty carbon atoms including the carboxyl carbon . examples of such acids are acetic , propionic , butyric , valeric , caproic , caprylic , capric , stearic , oleic , linolenic , and arachidic acids , acrylic , methacrylic , crotonic , vinylacetic , and other unsaturated acids ; oxalic , malonic , succinic , maleic , fumaric , itaconic , glutaric , adiptic , sebacic , citric , phthalic , isophthalic , terephthalic , trimellitic , pyromellitic , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - butanetetracarboxylic , fumaric , tartaric , glycolic , malonic , and other similar polycarboxylic acids ; benzoic , toluic , phenylacetic , diphenylacetic , cinnamic , hydrocinnamic , phenylpropionic and similar aromatic acids , substituted acids such as trifluoroacetic , fluoroacetic , chloroacetic , α - chloropropionic , methoxyacetic , β - ethoxypropionic , p - chlorobenzoic and 2 , 4 - dichlorophenoxyacetic acids ; and anhydrides such as acetic , propionic , butyric , maleic , stearic , succinic , benzoic , phthalic , pyromellitic , and naphthalic anhydrides , and pyromellitic dianhydride , and fatty acids of natural source or man - made . the organic alcohols , for the esterification or transesterification reactions are preferably c 1 to c 24 linear or branched mono -, di -, or polyhydric alcohol . more specifically , the alcohol is linear or branched , aliphatic , aromatic , alkyl , or aralkyl hydrocarbons , and the preferred alcohols may have from one to twenty twenty - two carbon atoms . the alcohols may be primary , secondary or tertiary ; they may be mono -, di - or polyols ; and they may have one or more of their hydrogens substituted by halogen , nitro , ether or other similar groups , so long as these groups do not interfere , at the chosen reaction conditions , with the esterification reaction , as by causing competing reactions such as alcoholysis , hydrolysis or other hydrolytic displacement at the substituent group . in one embodiment , alcohol is a monohydric aliphatic alcohol a monohydric aromatic alcohol or a polyhydric alcohol . examples of such alcohols are methanol , ethanol , n - propanol , isopropanol , butanols such as n - butanol ; pentanols such as n - pentanol , isopentanol or cyclopentanol ; hexanols such as n - hexanol , cyclohexanol or methyl isobutyl carbinol ; heptanols , benzyl alcohol , octanols , lauryl alcohol , cetyl alcohol , stearyl alcohol , ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , triethylene glycol , propylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , butylene glycol , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - butanetetrol , glycerine , glycerol monomethyl ether , glycerol monoethyl ether , 1 , 5 - pentanediol , 1 , 3 , 5 - pentanetriol , pentaerythritol , 1 , 6 - hexanediol , hexanetriols such as 1 , 2 , 6 - hexanetriol ; hexanetetrols , hexanehexyls such as dulcitol , mannitol and sorbitol ; and branched analogs of any of the above , and fatty alcohols of natural source or man - made . the organic ester for the transesterification reaction is preferably a c 2 to c 76 linear or branched ester of an aliphatic carboxylic acid or aromatic carboxylic acid or polycarboxylic acid , or a mixture thereof and a c 1 to c 24 linear or branched monohydric alcohol or polyhydric alcohol . more specifically , it may be , for example , an ester of a carboxylic acid such the acids discussed herein above or a dicarboxylic acid or a mixture thereof and a monohydric aliphatic alcohol such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , butanol , octanol and stearyl alcohol , a monohydric aromatic alcohol such as benzyl alcohol , or a polyhydric alcohol such as ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , glycerol , pentaerythritol , and sorbitol . examples of such an ester include a natural vegetable oils such as monoglyceride , diglyceride , triglyceride , coconut oil , palm oil and palm - kernel oil , and animal oils such as a beef - tallow and a pork - lard . the esterification process of one embodiment of the present invention involves contacting an organic acid with an alcohol and the partially sulfonated catalyst under reaction conditions . in another embodiment , the resin catalyst is used for transesterification wherein ( a ) a starting ester is mixed with an alcohol , ( b ) a starting ester with a carboxylic acid , or ( c ) a starting ester with another ester , and the under reaction conditions . conventional methods of esterification can be used . for example , the starting ester and the starting alcohol can be continuously fed to a reaction - column charged with the sulfonated resin catalyst , or can be reacted in batch - wise in a reaction chamber . in addition , the reaction can be carried out under standard pressure and temperature . and the reaction may be run at increased pressure to , for example , accelerate alcohol liquefaction and increase reaction kinetics . the alcohol and acid or ester may be mixed in the presence of the partially sulfonated resin beads , or mixed and subsequently added to them , or the partially sulfonated resin beads may be added to the mixture . the reaction mixture may be heated to the reaction temperature prior or subsequent to mixing the reagents or contacting them with the partially sulfonated resin beads . the reaction may be conducted with the reagents , the catalyst , and also an added solvent or solvents . the reaction temperature for an esterification or transesterification is preferably at least about 60 ° c . lower temperatures are possible ; however , the reaction rate of the reaction is reduced at lower temperatures . for each catalyst and reaction type , the reaction temperature will be determined by the reaction rate required as well as the temperature where the catalyst de - sulfonates and / or decomposition begins to occur , as is generally understood in the art . the esterification or transesterification reaction in the process of the present invention will proceed over a wide range of reactant ratios . for example , over an alcohol : ester or acid ratio range from about 0 . 5 : 1 to about 20 : 1 on a molar basis . the reaction is often favored , though , by an excess of the alcohol over the organic acid . when a higher purity of the ester product is desired , it is possible that an excess of the starting alcohol is fed so as to shift equilibrium to ester . accordingly , a higher yield of high purity product can be obtained . therefore , a preferred range for the ratio of alcohol : acid or ester is from about 1 : 1 to about 15 : 1 on a molar basis , and a still more preferred range is from about 2 : 1 to about 10 : 1 on a molar basis . because the esterification with an alcohol is an equilibrium reaction , the water produced during the reaction is preferably removed to favor formation of the ester . the water may be removed by boiling , distillation , adsorption with an adsorbing agent that is relatively non - reactive with the alcohol , organic acid or ester , or by other processes which will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art . one method of removing the water is maintaining the reaction temperature above the boiling point of water or a water azeotrope at the pressure employed , thereby allowing the water or water azeotrope to boil off continuously . further , in a different embodiment , a separate liquid by - product such as glycerol is generated as the reaction proceeds ; this may be separated and removed continuously or intermittently . the reaction of olefins with alcohols to form ethers — mtbe being a well - known case — is quite similar to the reaction of olefins with carboxylic acids to form esters . the very same problems can occur : olefin polymerization and formation of the symmetrical ether from the alcohol . the use of high alcohol to olefin ratios can be used to minimize olefin polymerization , but that reduces overall yield . thus , the present invention provides for improved ether formation . ethers of polyols have a number of important uses : reducing particulate emissions in diesel fuels ( kesling , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 308 , 365 ), decreasing shrinking and cracking in cements ( shawl , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 413 , 634 ), lubricating fibers , as wetting agents and detergents ( blake , u . s . pat . no . 2 , 934 , 670 ), or precursors therefore . the bronsted acid catalysts as described herein are applicable for the catalytic formation of polyethers . in another embodiment of the present invention , the bronsted acid catalyst described in the present invention may be used for the condensation of phenols with aldehydes or ketones . bisphenols are prepared by the reaction of a carbonyl compound with stoichiometric excesses of a phenolic compound as described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 740 , 684 and in the references cited therein . the use of acidic cation exchange resins to catalyze these reactions is long known [ u . s . pat . no . 3 , 242 , 219 ; ( farnham , issued 2 mar . 1966 , filed 31 dec . 1957 ), u . s . pat . no . 3 , 049 , 569 ( issued 14 aug . 1962 , filed 20 oct . 1958 ), both assigned to union carbide corp .]. thus , the use of the catalysts of the present invention combined with the known processes for forming bisphenols offers a method having reduced by - products compared to other reactions , including a reaction using a fully sulfonated resin . among the by - products not produced or produced to a lesser extent in the present reaction are organic tars which block , foul , and deactivate the catalyst ( see melby ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 051 , 079 ) as well as contaminating the desired product ( see konrad ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 107 , 218 ; issued 15 aug . 1978 , filed 6 may 1977 ). the phenolic compounds used in the present invention preferably have 6 - 20 carbon atoms . preferred phenolic compounds are unsubstituted in para position and optionally substituted in the ortho - and / or meta - position with one or more non - reactive groups , such as alkyl or halo . preferred phenolic compounds are those substituted with one or more halogen or c 1 - 8 - alkyl , preferably methyl , ethyl or tertiary butyl . examples include phenol , mono -, di -, tri - or tetraalkylphenols , such as o - cresol or m - cresol ; o - sec - butylphenol , o - tert - butylphenol , 2 , 6 - dimethylphenol , 3 , 5 - dimethylphenol , 2 - methyl - 6 - tert . butylphenol , 2 - isopropyl - 5 - methyl - phenol , 5 - isopropyl - 2 - methyl - phenol , 2 - methyl - 6 - ethylphenol , 2 , 3 , 6 - trimethylphenol , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 - tetramethylphenol , 2 , 6 - di - tertiary - butylphenol , 3 , 5 - diethylphenol , or 2 - methyl - 3 , 5 - diethyl - phenol ; dichloride - phenols , or bromophenols , such as o - bromophenol . the carbonyl compound employed for producing the bisphenol can be a ketone or an aldehyde . preferred carbonyl compounds are those having one or two aliphatic , cycloaliphatic , aromatic or heterocyclic group attached to the carbonyl moiety having 1 - 8 carbon atoms . these groups are optionally halogenated . alternatively , the carbonyl may be part of an aliphatic ring . examples of suitable ketones include , for example , acetone , 1 , 3 - dichloroacetone , methyl ethyl ketone , diethyl ketone , dibutyl ketone , methyl isobutyl ketone , cyclohexanone , fluorenone , preferably 9 - fluorenone , propiophenone , methyl amyl ketone , mesityl oxide , cyclopentanone or acetophenone . examples of suitable aldehydes include formaldehyde , acetaldehyde , propionaldehyde , butyraldehyde and benzaldehyde . in one embodiment , the carbonyl compound is acetone . the phenolic compound and the carbonyl compound are preferably reacted at a temperature of from 35 to 100 ° c ., more preferably from 40 to 90 ° c ., most preferably from 45 to 85 ° c . in one embodiment a “ promoter ,” 3 - mercaptopropionic acid or the organic ester thereof , is added as well to the reaction mixture to further slow the rate of deactivation of the resin over time ( cipullo ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 414 , 152 ). alkylphenols , in particular para - alkylphenols , are valuable starting materials for the manufacture of detergents , dyes , pesticides , pharmaceuticals , emulsifiers , dispersing agents , stabilizers , antioxidants , plasticizers , corrosion inhibitors , disinfectants , seed dressings , anti - aging agents , plant protection agents , and perfumes . preferred alkylphenols of the present invention are phenols or substituted phenols attached to an alkyl chain or substituted alkyl chain having 1 to 20 carbon atoms . a problem particular with the catalyzed alkylphenol production is the large amounts of heat evolving during the exothermic reaction between phenols and olefins . local overheating due to the strongly exothermic reaction can result in contaminated and especially in discolored alkyl phenols which are unsuitable for further use , and the excessive heat can also damage the catalyst . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 198 , 531 ( merger , issued 15 apr . 1980 , foreign application priority 14 jun . 1975 ) teaches the use of ( 1 ) fine - particle , ( 2 ) gel iex resin ( 3 ) suspended in the reaction mixture . however , this reaction is limited to batch reactions and requires the use of a fine particulate resin . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 168 , 390 ( alfs , issued 18 sep . 1979 , german application priority 14 sep . 1973 ) provides a two - stage process or reactor , using iex catalysts which uses 0 . 50 - 0 . 95 eq / liter catalyst at 80 - 120 ° c . for the 1 st stage and 1 . 0 - 1 . 8 eq / litre at 110 - 130 ° c . for the 2 nd stage . a reduced acid capacity was achieved by exchanging with al 3 + ions . however , this reaction also is limited to processes where two stages can be used , adding substantial reaction time and costs to the process . other problems associated with the catalyzed production of alkylphenols are the production of other alkylphenols and dialkylphenols . for example , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 461 , 916 ( alfs , issued 24 jul . 1984 ; german application priority 29 dec . 1981 ), describes the bi - products of the alkylation of diisobutene as including include para - t - butylphenol ( from cleavage of diisobutylene and / or disproportionation of the initially formed octylphenol ) and dialkylphenols . the butylphenol bi - product production can be reduced by adding water which suppresses the formation of the butylphenol . however , this slows the reaction velocity greatly at 100 - 105 ° c . and increases the disproportionation of undesired dialkylphenols . another known method of reducing bi - product formation is by using a regular resin at higher temperature ( i . e ., 115 - 130 °) with water present , but with the addition of a second stage ; so , overall , the reaction comprises conducting the initial reaction and then react the dioctylphenol by - product within phenol in another reactor to obtain p - t - octylphenol . again , such a process is problematic in that it is limited to two stages , which add substantial reaction time and cost to the process . thus , the present invention provides a catalyzed reaction that can be performed more inexpensively than current reaction . the present invention also provides improved space - time yields , longer resin life , higher purity , and no need for the expensive separation of mixtures of o - and multi - alkylated products or recycling . phenyl alkyl ethers are valuable , for use as solvents for organic residues and are particularly good for dissolving resinous varnish - like deposits formed in crank - cases . they are also used as antioxidants , heat - transfer agents , and ingredients in perfumes . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 299 , 996 ( parlman , issued 10 nov . 1981 ; filed 1 mar . 1980 ) observed that in phenol alkylation with isobutylene , using a resin in the h + form gave only c - alkylation ( 100 %, mono - plus di - alkylation ) at 50 ° c . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 447 , 652 ( kurek , issued 8 may 1984 , filed 21 may 1982 , example - ii ) found the same at 100 ° c . ; but when the resin was 20 % in the na + form ( 80 % in the h + form ), 75 % o - and 19 % c - alkylation occurred . thus , the effect of a catalyst too high in acidity is evident in this reaction . therefore , the use of the catalyst resins of the present invention provides for improved products and processes for phenol ether formation . dimerization of isobuylene yields diisobutene ( 2 , 4 , 4 - dimethylpentene - 1 and - 2 ) which can be hydrogenated to isooctane , the sought - after fuel additive . higher oligomers are also formed ( mainly trimer and tetramer ) which are not desirable for carburetor fuels because of their higher boiling points . rearrangement of the diisobutene also occurs , giving less desirable c 8 isomers . one approach has been to add moderators ( i . e ., mtbe , t - butanol , water ) to control activity and selectivity of the catalyst or jointly produce ethers ( marchioness ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 723 , 687 ). in another approach , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 161 , 053 ( beckmann et al ., issued 9 jan . 2007 , filed 6 aug . 2003 ) showed that partially neutralizing the resin reduced higher oligomers and rearrangement . yet again , the effect of a catalyst too high in protonation power is found in this oligomerization reaction . thus , improved products and processes are provided by using the catalyst resins of the present invention in these and like oligomerization reactions . the terms “ about ,” “ approximately ,” “ nearly ,” “ essentially ,” etc ., bear their common language meanings and are to be construed in the context of their use . as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ,” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a molecule ” includes one or more of such molecules , “ a resin ” includes one or more of such different resins and reference to “ the method ” includes reference to equivalent steps and methods known to those of ordinary skill in the art that could be modified or substituted for the methods described herein . the following examples are included to demonstrate particular embodiments of the invention . it should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples , which follow , represent techniques discovered by the inventor to function well in the practice of the invention , and thus can be considered to constitute preferred modes for its practice . however , those of skill in the art should , in light of the present disclosure , appreciate that many changes and variations can be made in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . a macroporous resin was prepared according to example - 2 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 426 , 199 , using sulfuric acid with acetic acid , except at 80 ° c . rather than 50 ° c . the h + form of the resin had a dry weight capacity of 1 . 75 eq / kg . a bead cross section was imaged using scanning electron microscopy ( see fig1 ). the shell - core morphology is easily discernible visibly and also shown by the edx sulfur line - scan ( fig1 ). thus , the bead shows a non - uniform distribution : functional groups evident on the surface layer of the bead and none — or only a few — in the core . a macroporous resin was sulfonated ( sulfuric acid with acetic acid at 50 ° c .) according to example - 2 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 426 , 199 . the h + form of the resin had a dry weight capacity of 0 . 31 eq / kg . the shell - core morphology , although not discernable visibly with this sample , is confirmed by the edx sulfur line - scan ( fig2 ). thus , this resin contains a non - uniform distribution : functionalized shell with unfunctionalized core . a gel resin was prepared in accord with u . s . pat . no . 3 , 133 , 030 . the following being convenient on a laboratory scale : ( a .) 100 g of dry copolymer was swollen in 800 ml methylene chloride for ca . 1 hour , then chilled by holding above liquid nitrogen in a dewar flask ; ( b .) chlorosulfonic acid was added and the mixture stirred for ca . 2 hr , ( c .) the stirrer was stopped and the unabsorbed liquid siphoned from the bead mass , which ( d .) then was allowed to warm to room temperature and stand over night . the h + for of the resin had a dry weight capacity of 1 . 48 eq / kg . the non shell - core morphology was established by the sulfur line - scan , across the bead section ( fig3 , with a line - scan below ). a non - functional macronet resin ( purolite hypersol - macronet ™) was sulfonated according to the principles of u . s . pat . no . 3 , 133 , 030 and as described for example 3 . the h + form of the resin had a measured dry weight capacity of 1 . 01 eq / kg . a sample of the resin was exchanged with cesium ion , and a cross section imaged ( see fig4 ). the atomic line scans for cesium and sulfur are provided . the cs line - scan ( bottom ) as well as the s line - scan ( top ) show the same uniform substitution throughout . example - 4 was repeated , giving essentially the same resin : dry weight capacity of 1 . 07 eq / kg . example - 4 was repeated using more vigorous conditions . the measured dry weight capacity of the resin was 2 . 17 eq / kg . a reaction , prone to by - product generation , was chosen to evaluate the present resins as well as standard ones of the prior art : the reaction of n - butyl acetate with n - hexanol ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 426 , 199 , example - 9 ). twelve grams dried ( vacuum , 12 hours , 100 ° c .) resin catalyst were added to a flask with a distillation condenser ( to collect butanol ), followed by 110 grams n - butanol . the mixture was heated to and held at 120 ° c . for 1 hour , adding 25 grams of n - butyl acetate when it first reached 80 ° c . : no or very little conversion or by - products was observed . the mixture was then heated to and held at 140 ° c . for 1 hours . gas chromatographic analysis showed the results compiled in table - 1 . table - 1 shows the extraordinary fact that the partially - substituted resins of the present invention can give higher conversions as well as reduced by - products ( in comparison to fully - substituted resins , entries example - 5 & amp ; example - 6 versus ct175 & amp ; amberlyst - 15 in table - 1 ) in the transesterification . the resin of example - 6 showed higher conversion than example - 5 , but also somewhat higher by - products . a further study of conversion efficiency was conducted ; this time in an esterification reaction , the reduction in free fatty acids in vegetable oil : 30 g dry resin was soaked in methanol , drained , and added to 500 ml of oil plus 50 ml methanol ; the decrease in fatty acids was measured at 50 ° c . over 6 hours . fig5 shows the data points and trendlines . here , the resin of example - 5 showed faster conversion than example - 6 ( see fig5 ). | 1 |
there will now be described a high - speed sputtering device for formation of an insulation film according to a first embodiment of this invention will reference to fig2 to 4 . fig2 is a diagram showing the cross - sectional structure of the sputtering device . portions corresponding to those in the prior art device shown in fig1 are denoted by the same reference numerals . the sputtering device includes cathode flange 11 , o - ring 12 , chamber wall 13 , chamber side protection plates 14a and 14b , cathode mounting cs , backing plate 17 for target 16 , substrate holder 18 , a . c . power source 20 and heater controller hc . cathode flange 11 , o - ring 12 , chamber wall 13 and backing plate 17 are combined to constitute vacuum chamber vc in the same manner as in the conventional apparatus . chamber side protection plates 14a and 14b are added elements respectively arranged on the upper and side portions of chamber wall 13 . the sputtering device further includes three sputtering units each including target side protection plate 15 , target 16 , first and second heater units 21 and 22 , and temperature sensors sr1 and sr2 . in fig2 only first sputtering unit su , which is one of the three sputtering units , is shown ; and the other two sputtering units are not shown . target 16 is formed of high purity quartz and is mounted on backing plate 17 functioning as a target electrode . backing plate 17 is mounted on cathode mounting cs . permanent magnet mg is embedded in cathode mounting cs . the pressure within vacuum chamber vc is reduced after cathode mounting cs is disposed in the slot of cathode flange 11 and cathode flange 11 is disposed in contact with chamber wall 13 via o - ring 12 . at this time , target 16 is held at an angle of 85 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of vacuum chamber vc . protection plate 15 is formed in a dome shape , and mounted on cathode flange 11 to surround target 16 and the peripheral portion thereof . protection plate 15 has an opening 15a which is slightly larger than the diameter ( e . g ., 5 inches ) of semiconductor wafer substrate 19 . opening 15a is disposed to face target 16 . protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 are formed of stainless steel , and side surfaces of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 near target 16 are entirely coated with quartz films 15b and 18a having substantially the same thermal expansion coefficient as the target material . heater units 21 and 22 are fixed on chamber wall side surfaces , which are surfaces of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 . temperature sensors sr1 and sr2 are used to measure the temperature of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 and generate output signals , respectively . heater controller hc controls heater units 21 and 22 so as to heat protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 to a preset temperature which is supplied from the outside and maintain the preset temperature based on the output signals from sensors sr1 and sr2 . a . c . power source 20 is used to supply power to target 16 for each sputtering process to form a sputtered film on semiconductor wafer substrate 19 . semiconductor wafer substrate 19 is supplied in a 24 - sheets wafer carrier ( not shown ) and moved into pressure - reduced vacuum chamber vc . then , semiconductor wafer substrate 19 is taken out of the wafer carrier , horizontally transferred onto substrate holder 18 disposed in front of target 16 , and held by substrate holder 18 . substrate holder 18 is raised , i . e ., rotated upward , as shown by the arrow in fig2 to orient semiconductor wafer substrate 19 at a specified position in which it is parallel with target 16 . the sputtering process is started after semiconductor wafer substrate 19 is in the specified position . in the sputtering process , ar gas is supplied into pressure - reduced vacuum chamber vc , and a . c . power is applied to target 16 via backing plate 17 functioning as the target electrode . at this time , ar + ions are created and strike target 16 because of the magnetron - type discharge , thereby causing target material to be emitted from target 16 as sputtered particles . the sputtered particles are attached to semiconductor wafer substrate 19 to form a sputtered film . at the same time , sputtered films are also formed on protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 . in the sputtering process , the temperature of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 is raised to 200 ° c . at maximum . when the sputtering discharging operation or sputtering process is occurring , heaters 21 and 22 are in the off state ; but the temperature of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 rises to 200 ° c . by heat generated in the sputtering process . after the end of the sputtering process , heaters 21 and 22 are placed into the on state to keep the temperature of projection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 at 200 ° c . since , in this case , protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 are kept at a constant temperature , any increase in the number of particles due to peel - off of the sputtered film can be significantly suppressed even if the material of protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 has a thermal expansion coefficient different from that of the material of the sputtered film deposited thereon . fig3 shows the dependency of the number of particles of more than 0 . 3 μm attached to a wafer substrate of 5 inch diameter on the thickness of the sputtered film ( the total thickness of the sputtered films deposited on the wafer substrates using a clean protection plate 15 and clean substrate holder 18 ). in each sputtering process , one lot of 24 sheets of bare silicon wafers were subjected to the sputtered film formation process ; sio 2 films were formed on 8 sheets of wafers in each sputtering unit so as to have a thickness of 1000 å on the first and eighth ones of the wafers and a thickness of 10000 å on the second to seventh ones of the wafers , and the first and eighth ones of the wafers were subjected to measurement . in this case , the numbers of particles measured in the three sputtering units were averaged to provide the measurement . the measurement was effected under the condition that the ultimate degree of vacuum was 1 . 5 × 10 - 7 torr , the partial pressure of ar in the sputtering process was 3 . 0 × 10 - 3 torr , flow rate of ar was 30 sccm , and the sputtered film formation speed was 1500 å / min . in the above embodiment , the preset temperature was set at 200 ° c . however , the ultimate or maximum attainable temperature of the protection plate will vary depending on the distance between target 16 and wafer substrate 19 , the shape of chamber vc , target power and the like , for this reason , the optimum preset temperature of the protection plate may be different for each sputtering device . therefore , the preset temperature may be determined depending on the stable temperature of protection plate 15 attained during the sputtering process of each sputtering device . further , it is preferable that the preset temperature is not more than 20 ° c . below the maximum temperature of protection plate 15 attained during the sputtering process . in the above embodiment , the preset temperature is determined as shown in fig4 . fig4 shows the relation between the variation in the number of particles and variation in the temperature of protection plate 15 during sputtered film formation ( discharging operation ) and after the end of the film formation . as is clearly seen from fig4 the number of particles rapidly increases as the temperature of the protection plate decreases after the discharging operation . further , in an illustrative test of this embodiment , the temperature of the sputtered film formation portion ( protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 ) was kept at 200 ° c . ; and a running test for formation of the sio 2 sputtered film was effected . the dependency of the number of particles on the thickness of the sputtering film was attained as the result of the test . in fig3 the dependency of the particle number on the film thickness is shown by solid lines x , and the dependency of the particle number on the film thickness attained as the result of the conventional running test effected without maintaining the preset temperature is shown by broken lines y and dot - dash lines z . the specified value of the number of particles of more than 0 . 3 μm size is normally set less than 100 . in the conventional method , the specified value will be exceeded when a film of 7 μm is formed . in contrast , according to this invention , the specified value will not be exceeded even when a film of approximately 40 μm is formed . assume that one lot of 24 wafers is simultaneously processed in a sputtering device with the three targets and films are formed on 8 sheets of wafers by each target . in this instance , if a film of 1 μm thickness is formed on each wafer , a film of 8 μm thickness will have been deposited on the respective protection member 15 and exposed portions of substrate holder 18 for each target . therefore , each time films are formed for one lot of wafers according to the conventional method , it is necessary to clean those chamber portions on which the sputtered film is deposited . however , in this invention , the cleaning operation is required only once each time five lots are processed . when the protection plate is consequently replaced , it is necessary to set the pressure of the vacuum chamber to the atmospheric pressure and it takes a long time to reduce the pressure of the vacuum chamber after the replacement . generally , it takes a total of 5 hours at a minimum to set a ready condition again after such replacement . in this invention , the overall lost time is significantly reduced , thus improving the through - put of the sputtering device . fig6 shows another embodiment of this invention . unlike the dome - shaped protection plate in the former embodiment , protection plate 15 &# 34 ; in this embodiment is formed as a part of a partition wall and heater 21 is mounted on protection plate 15 &# 34 ;. in this case , target power dispersing opening 31 and groove 32 are provided in the lower portion of vacuum chamber vc . opening 31 is connected to a vacuum pump ( not shown ). with this construction , the same effect as in the former embodiment can be attained . in fig6 denotes a target earth shield . this invention is not limited to the above described embodiments , and can be variously modified . for example , in the above embodiment , high purity quartz ( sio 2 ) is used as the source target material . however , this invention is effective when metals such as mo and w series alloys , whose internal stresses are large enough to cause easy peel - off , are used as the target material . in this case , a . c . power source 20 is replaced by a d . c . power source . further , in the above embodiment , heater units 21 and 22 are mounted on protection plate 15 and substrate holder 18 . however , the same effect can be attained even when only heater unit 21 is mounted on protection plate 15 as shown in fig5 . as described above , according to this invention , a sputtering device can be provided in which the number of dust particles produced in the chamber in the sputtering process can be reduced ; while the advantage of a high speed sputtering device with the wafer substrate and target facing each other can be maintained . | 2 |
the present invention comprises a link metric and a set of distributed routing methods that maximize wavelength sharing among independent protection light paths . these methods support on - demand path computation , so complete information about traffic demand is not required . the link metric and distributed routing methods are implemented as a extensions of the existing ip routing protocols , e . g ., open shortest path first ( ospf ). the resultant protection paths are optimized to reduce wavelength redundancy while working light paths are routed using minimum - hop paths thus separating optimization of the working path selection and protection path selection . fig1 is an illustration of a wdm optical network . a plurality of oxcs are connected in a network and communicate with their neighbors using a plurality of wavelengths wherein separate communication channels correspond to the separate wavelengths supported by each oxc in the network . a first source oxc 80 is operably coupled to a first terminal oxc 82 via first intermediate oxcs 84 and second intermediate oxc 86 . the fist source oxc communicates to the first terminal oxc via a first wavelength 88 . a second source oxc 90 is operably coupled to a second terminal oxc 92 via the first and second intermediate oxcs along with the first source and terminal oxcs . however , the second source and terminal oxcs use a different wavelength 94 than the first source and terminal oxcs . this leaves at least one wavelength 96 in the connection between the first and second intermediate oxcs free for reservation as a link in a protection path . for example , a third source oxc 97 is operably coupled to a third terminal oxc 98 via a third intermediate oxc 99 . if the third intermediate oxc fails , the first and second intermediate oxcs can be used as an alternative path for the third source and terminal oxcs because the first and second intermediate oxcs have a wavelength reserved for the third source and terminal oxc &# 39 ; s use . fig2 is an illustration of an exemplary wdm network having a working path and a plurality of possible protection paths . the exemplary network consists of nodes a 100 , b 102 , c 104 , d 106 , e 108 , and f 110 . a working pathway between a and c is denoted with a solid line linking a to c through b . in the case of a link failure within the working pathway , for example a link from b to c 105 , a &# 39 ; s traffic to c can be rerouted through e and f to reach c as denoted by the pathway denoted by the dotted and dashed links , 112 , 114 , and 116 , between a , e , f , and c . this is an example of pathway protection as the entire pathway from a to c is protected by an alternate pathway . alternatively , the link between b and c can be protected by rerouting the link &# 39 ; s traffic through d as noted by the dashed links 118 and 120 . the alternate route through d is therefore a protection path for the b to c link . this is an example of link protection . given a description of a wdm network , g ( n , e ) where n is the set of nodes and e is the set of links , there exists a set of demands u which request light - paths to be established across the networks . these demands are protected by link - based restoration paths . for example , each link ( i , j ) on the working path of demand uεu is protected by an alternative path connecting i and j . let x ( i , j ) u denote the amount of reserved wavelengths on link ( i , j ) in order to carry the traffic of demand u . similarly let y ( m , n ) ( i , j , u ) be the wavelength reservation on link ( m , n ) for demand u in case link ( i , j ) fails . therefore , x ( i , j ) u and y ( m , n ) ( i , j , u ) denote the routing of working and protection paths respectively . this problem formulation fits well into a centralized management paradigm where the network management system ( nms ) may optimally configure every protection path , utilizing the complete knowledge of the demand set u . however , such an off - line algorithm is not desirable in an environment where the demands for light - paths arrive and depart dynamically . it is costly to reconfigure the whole network whenever traffic demands change . instead , an online protection routing algorithm may be preferred in a dynamic environment . an online algorithm determines the protection routing based on the existing network status . nor is it assumed that all future demands are known or the existing demands can be rerouted . thus the objective of an online algorithm is to minimize the marginal wavelength requirement due to any newly arrived demand u *. suppose the working path x ( i , j ) u has been determined by the minimum - hop path . an optimization problem can be formulated to determine the protection path , i . e ., y ( m , n ) ( i , j , u ) : min ( ∑ ( m , n ) ∈ l δ w ( m , n ) ) ∑ n y ( m , n ) ( i , j , u * ) - ∑ y ( n , m ) ( i , j , u * ) = { x ( i , j ) u * m = i - x ( i , j ) u * m = j 0 m ≠ i , m ≠ j b ( m , n ) ( i , j ) = { 0 if w ( m , n ) ( i , j ) + 1 ≤ w ( m , n ) 1 otherwise δ w ( m , n ) ( i , j ) ≥ b ( m , n ) ( i , j ) × y ( n , m ) ( i , j , u * ) y ( n , m ) ( i , j , u * ) ∈ { 0 , 1 } in the above constraints , b ( m , n ) ( i , j ) is the additional wavelength requirement on link ( m , n ) if link ( m , n ) is used by u * to restore from the failure of link ( i , j ). the additional wavelength requirement is based on the reservation sharing with other failures . determining y ( m , n ) ( i , j , u *) is therefore equivalent to finding the minimum - cost alternative path from i to j , and the existing network status can be aggregated into w ( m , n ) ( i , j ) and w ( m , n ) . as a result , the protection routing problem in wdm networks draws upon shortest path routing algorithms in data networks . the following is a link metric that provides the necessary network state information in an aggregated form . the link metric is used in an online protection routing method that fits into the framework of current internet routing . the link metric provides protection paths for different link failures by sharing protection wavelengths since the protection paths need not to be activated at the same time . the link metric uses a “ bucket - based ” link state representation . in the network g ( n , e ), each link l εe maintains a set of “ buckets ”, h l =( h l k , kεe , k ≠ l ). each bucket , h l k , corresponds to a failure event k , and the “ height ” of the bucket , i . e ., the value of h l k , indicates the protection wavelengths reserved on link l for the failure event k . in terms of the notation in the statement of the optimization problem , we have the correspondence h l k = w ( m , n ) ( i , j ) for link l =( m , n ) and failure k =( i , j ). the number of wavelengths needed to be reserved is equal to the maximum of the bucket heights or max k h l k . thus the necessary information on the sharing potential offered by each link is captured by maintaining a sequence of values indexed by the failure events . the sharing potential is a function of the failure event . for example , in fig3 , link 4 200 can serve as a link in a protection path for link 1 202 , link 2 204 , and link 3 206 . link 4 therefore maintains three buckets : bucket h 4 1 208 for link 1 , bucket h 4 2 210 for link 2 , and bucket h 4 3 212 for link 3 . in this example , link 4 has reserved two wavelengths for link 2 and only one wavelength for links 1 and 3 . this indicates that in order to protect an additional wavelength on link 2 , link 4 has to reserve an extra wavelength if it is selected as part of a protection path for link 2 . on the contrary , to protect an additional wavelength on links 1 or 3 , no extra wavelength needs to be reserved . this is because link 4 has already reserved two wavelengths for link 2 and the reservation of these two wavelengths can be shared with either link 1 or 3 , thus not requiring the allocation of another wavelength . in one embodiment of the present invention , the previously described link metric is coupled with a “ shortest - widest ” algorithm within a process to determine a protection path through a network for a particular link . the “ width ”, l_width ( l , k *), of a link 1 with respect to a link failure k *, is defined as the normalized difference between the maximum bucket height , max k h l k , and the bucket corresponding to link failure k *. the width is calculated as : l_width ( l , k * ) = 1 - h l k * max k h l k if max k h l k & gt ; c and 0 if otherwise . therefore , l_width ( l , k *) is between 0 and 1 , and this value indicates the sharing capability link 1 has to offer for the protection of the failure k * i . e ., the greater the value the greater the sharing capability . if the value of a l_width ( l , k *) is 0 , then the link is said to be “ exhausted ” and must reserve an additional wavelength if it is to serve as a link in a protection path . in one embodiment of the invention , a modified bellman - ford algorithm is used to identify the widest paths between the end nodes of the protected link , i . e ., the path that offers the most sharing . here the width of the path p with respect to a link failure k *, p_width ( p , k *), is defined to be the minimum of its link components , i . e ., p_width ( p , k *)= min lεp l_width ( l , k *). by this definition the marginal cost of traversing a path is dictated by the “ narrowest ” links along the path . in the event that there are more than one such path candidates , and their widths are all 0 ( i . e ., these paths all go through links with non - zero marginal wavelength consumption ), the link traversing the least number of “ exhausted ” links , i . e ., the links of width 0 , is selected . on all other cases of tie breaking with positive path width , i . e ., the marginal costs are zero , a widest path is randomly selected . the above described protection path selection method requires only the current demand and no knowledge of future arrivals to determine an efficient protection path . in one embodiment of the present invention , the above described link - based protection path selection method is modified to be a node - based protection path selection method . the previously described “ bucket ”- based link metric and corresponding shortest - widest routing algorithm are based on the loss of an optical signal caused by a link failure . the resultant calculated protection paths are constrained to go from one end of the protected link to the other end . being forced to go from one end of the failure link to the other end , even for the traversing demands that are destined to different nodes , the group of restoration paths may unwittingly clog the “ local area ” and under - utilize the potential sharing capability in the network . fig4 a and 4 b illustrate this situation . fig4 a is a diagram illustrating the demands of two working paths sharing a single link . a first source node 400 is operably coupled to a first terminal node 401 through a first intermediate node 402 , and a second intermediate node 403 thus creating a first link 405 between the first intermediate node and the second intermediate node . a second source node 406 is operably coupled to a second terminal node 407 through the first and second intermediate nodes thus creating a second link 410 between the first and second intermediate nodes . with link - based restoration , a protection paths for the demands from the first and second source nodes to the first and second terminal nodes begin at the first intermediate node and terminate at the second intermediate node . this creates two protection paths 414 and 416 passing through a third intermediate node 412 . this may limit the possible inclusion of alternative protection paths including fourth intermediate node 418 . alternatively , if protection paths are selected such that they start from the first intermediate node and end at a fifth intermediate node 404 and a sixth intermediate node 408 respectively , there is a better chance for the exploitation of “ network - wide ” sharing potential including the third intermediate node . fig4 b is an alternative solution to the restoration problem of fig4 a . this restoration solution is herein termed a “ node - based ” restoration solution . a first source node 400 is operably coupled to a first terminal node 401 through a first intermediate node 402 , and a second intermediate node 403 thus creating a first link 405 between the first intermediate node and the second intermediate node . a second source node 406 is operably coupled to a second terminal node 407 through the first and second intermediate nodes thus creating a second link 410 between the first and second intermediate nodes . with a node - based restoration scheme , protection paths for the demands from the first and second source nodes to the first and second terminal nodes begin at the first intermediate node and terminate at the fifth and sixth intermediate nodes respectively . this creates two protection paths . a first protection path 419 passes through a third intermediate node 412 . a second protection path 420 passes through a third intermediate node 418 . these alternative protection paths include a “ network - wide ” sharing potential not available in a link - based protection path scenario . fig5 a and 5 b illustrate another restoration mechanism , wherein the protection path for a given link ends at the node two hops away on the corresponding working path . this restoration mechanism is also a form of node - based restoration . for example , in fig5 a , protection path 505 is a link - based protection path protecting link 500 between a source node 502 to a first intermediate node 504 . alternatively , in fig5 b , a protection path 506 protecting link 500 is constructed linking a source node 500 to a second intermediate node 508 . a special case of a node - based protection path is protection path 510 linking the second intermediate node to a terminal node 512 . in this case , the node - based protection path has the same end nodes as its link - based counterpart , since the terminal node is the destination and there are no nodes further down the working path . a failed node may also cause disrupted service , in which case all links adjacent to the failed node will “ fail ” simultaneously . under such condition , the construction of the protection path for a particular link should consciously exclude the links that are experiencing a problem at the same time . however , differentiation of a link or nodal failure often takes time and causes undesirable delay in service restoration . in certain cases it is more advantageous to be conservative , i . e ., to use nodal failure as the general model of the failure event , and treat a single link failure as a special case . the node - based “ jump - ahead ” operation proposed above is well suited to implement such a strategy . fig6 is a process flow diagram depicting one embodiment of a path selection process according to the present invention . the path selection process accepts as input 600 : a description of the networks as g ( n , e ) where n is a set of nodes and e is a set of links between the nodes of n ; s a source node to which a path is to be found to t a terminal node ; and a set of vectors of previously described link metrics associated with each link in e , h e . the path selection process determines a working path of links , r ( s , t ), between s and t 602 . each link in the working path is capable of failing and generating a failure event ; therefore , for each link in the working path there is a corresponding possible link failure , k *. for each possible link failure in the working path the path selection process determines a protection path 604 . the path selection process determines a start node , s_node , and a destination node , d_node , for the possible link failure k * 606 . from the start node , a width for each link in the network 608 is calculated 610 as previously described using link metrics taken from h e . the width of the possible link failure back to itself is removed from consideration as a protection path 614 . using the set of widths calculated at step 608 , the path selection process determines a set of possible protection paths , widest_paths , and determines the width of the widest protection path , widest_width , using the previously calculated widths . if the width of the widest possible protection path through all of the possible protection paths is zero , this means all of the possible protection paths in the set widest_paths include at least one exhausted link as previously described . if the number of possible protection paths in widest_paths is greater than one and the widest width is equal to zero 618 , the path selection process selects a protection path for possible link failure k *, p [ k *], by selecting the protection path in the set of possible protection paths containing the least number of exhausted links , steps 620 , 622 , and 626 . if the widest width is greater than zero and there is more than one possible protection path in the set widest_paths 628 , the path selection process selects a protection path for possible link failure k *, p [ k *], at random from the set of possible protection paths 630 . if there is only a single possible protection path in the set of possible protection paths , then the single possible protection path in the set of possible protection paths is selected by the path selection process 632 as the protection path for possible link failure k *, p [ k *]. the path selection process continues selecting protection paths until it has selected a protection path for each possible link failure in the working path 634 . the path selection process returns r ( s , t ) which is the working path , and a set of protection paths for all of the possible link failures in the working path . in another embodiment of the present invention , the process depicted in fig6 is distributed across a network with each node in a pathway determining a protection path for its link to the next node in the pathway . fig7 depicts the process of fig6 distributed across a pathway through a network . fig7 is a sequence diagram of an embodiment of a distributed protection path selection process according to the present invention as applied to an exemplary network . in response to a request to establish a light - path through a network , source node 700 computes the end - to - end working path as previously described in step 602 ( fig6 ). in this example , the working path is source node to node n 1 706 to node n 2 716 to terminal node 724 . the source node sends a setup message 704 to node n 1 . the setup message includes the working path so that node n 1 knows the next node in the working path . node n 1 configures itself 707 to be part of the working path . the source node determines a protection path for the source nodes &# 39 ; s link to node n 1 as previously described in steps 606 - 634 ( fig6 ). the source node signals all related nodes to do a proper configuration . in this example , node s - n 1 721 is selected as a node in a protection path for the link between the source node and node n 1 . the source node sends a notification 710 to node s - n 1 so that node s - n 1 will reserve a wavelength for protection of the link between the source node and node n 1 . node n 1 forwards the setup message 714 to the next node in the pathway , node n 2 . node n 1 doesn &# 39 ; t determine the next node in the pathway as the source node has included the pathway in the setup message . however , node n 1 is responsible for selecting a protection path to protect the link between node n 1 and node n 2 . node n 1 computes a protection path for the link between node n 1 and node n 2 as previously described in steps 606 - 634 ( fig6 ) 718 . in this example , node n 1 - n 2 722 is selected as a node in a protection path for the link between node n 1 and node n 2 . node n 1 sends a notification message 720 to node n 1 - n 2 so that node n 1 - n 2 can reconfigure itself as a node in a protection path . each node in the working pathway repeats the process of configuring itself as part of the working path , signaling the next node in the working path , determining a protection path for the link to the next node in the working path , and signaling the nodes along the protection path to configure themselves for use in a protection path . fig8 is an architecture diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an oxc . the exemplary oxc 800 comprises an optical switch fabric 802 for switching a plurality of optical inputs 803 between a plurality of optical outputs 805 , a wavelength demultiplexer 804 operably coupled to the plurality of optical inputs for separating out the separate wavelengths in an input multi - wavelength signal 808 , a wavelength multiplexer 806 operably coupled to the plurality of optical outputs for combining the optical outputs into a single multi - wavelength output signal 810 . the optical switch fabric is operably coupled to a controller . the controller determines which of the plurality of optical inputs to switch between the plurality of optical outputs and sends appropriate switching control signals 824 to the optical switch fabric . the controller includes a processor 818 for execution of controller instructions 814 implementing the previously described distributed protection path selection method . the controller includes a random access memory ( ram ) for storage of intermediate results while calculating protection paths and for storage of previously described bucket data . the controller receives input network management signals 820 from other oxcs in a network . the network management signals include information about the configuration of other oxcs in the network including the previously described bucket information . the input network management signals also include previously described setup messages from other oxcs requesting the exemplary oxc to reconfigure itself to be a node in a working pathway and notification messages requesting the exemplary oxc to reconfigure itself as a node in a protection pathway . the controller transmits output network management signals to other nodes in the network . the output network management signals include information about the configuration of the exemplary oxc including previously described bucket information about the number of wavelengths used and reserved by the exemplary oxc . the output network management signals also include setup messages requesting the other nodes to reconfigure themselves as nodes in a working pathway . the output network management signals also include notification messages requesting other nodes to reconfigure themselves a nodes in a protection pathway . although this invention has been described in certain specific embodiments , many additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is therefore to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . thus , the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention to be determined by the claims supported by this application and their equivalents rather than the foregoing description . | 7 |
hereunder , embodiments of a seat belt retractor according to the invention are explained with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a first embodiment of the invention . in fig1 reference numeral 1 represents a microcomputer for controlling a motor , 2 is a relay , 3 is a first motor , 4 and 5 are relays , 6 is a second motor , tr 1 - tr 4 are transistors . the first motor 3 is a normal retraction motor for retracting a seat belt with a force which does not give any pressed feeling to a passenger . the second motor 6 is a motor for forced retraction , and is used for holding the passenger to a seat at an emergency time or holding a child seat to the seat . at a normal time , for example , in case it is detected that a buckle and a tongue plate of the seat belt are engaged with each other or that the buckle and the tongue plate are disengaged from each other , the information is provided to the motor controlling microcomputer 1 as an external signal . when the motor controlling microcomputer 1 , with reference to other conditions , decides that it is necessary to retract the seat belt , the transistor tr 1 is turned on for a predetermined time . accordingly , a contact point of the relay 2 is closed , so that a voltage from a dc power source is applied to the first motor 3 and the first motor 3 is rotated with a predetermined torque to thereby retract the seat belt . the transistor tr 2 is turned off by the external signal when , for example , an engine key is pulled out or no passenger is in a car , so that supply of power to the motor controlling microcomputer 1 is shut off to prevent a battery from wasting power . in case an unusual situation , such as a collision , is predicted beforehand by detection of an excessive deceleration by an acceleration sensor provided to a car , a transistor tr 3 is turned on by the external signal , but the transistor tr 4 remains off . then , a contact point of the relay 4 is closed , and a voltage is applied to the second motor 6 from the dc power source through the relays 4 , 5 , so that the second motor 6 is subjected to a normal rotation by a large torque to retract the seat belt . for some reason , in case the seat belt is desired to be unwound by the motor , the transistors tr 3 and tr 4 are turned on together by the external signal . then , since the connection of the contact point of the relay 5 is switched , a voltage is applied in a direction for allowing the second motor 6 to make a reverse rotation from the dc power source through the relays 4 , 5 , so that the second motor 6 is reversely rotated to thereby unwind the seat belt . in the circuit , since a speed control of the motor is not carried out , in other words , a pulse width modulation ( hereinafter referred to as “ pwm ”) circuit or like is not used , a structure of the circuit becomes simple and noises are prevented from entering the power source to thereby not require any large filter . the effect is applied to other embodiments described hereunder . [ 0033 ] fig2 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a second embodiment according to the present invention . in the drawings referred to hereunder , the constituting elements of the first embodiment as shown in fig1 are represented by the same symbols and explanations thereof are omitted . in fig2 reference numerals 7 , 8 are relays , and tr 5 tr 6 are transistors . since a control circuit for a first motor 1 is the same as that shown in fig1 its explanation is omitted . in case an unusual situation , such as a collision , is predicted beforehand by the detection of an excessive deceleration by an acceleration sensor provided to a car , the transistor tr 5 is turned on by an external signal but the transistor tr 6 remains off . then , a contact point of the relay 7 is connected to a dc power source , and a voltage is applied to one terminal of the second motor 6 from the dc power source through the relay 7 . since a contact point of the relay 8 is connected to an earth side , an electric power is supplied to the second motor 6 from the dc power source and the second motor 6 is subjected to a normal rotation with a large torque to retract the seat belt . for some reason , in case the seat belt is desired to be unwound by the motor , the transistors tr 6 is turned on by an external signal but the transistor tr 5 remains off . thus , a contact point of the relay 8 is connected to the dc power source and a voltage is applied to one terminal of the second motor 6 from the dc power source . since a contact point of the relay 7 is connected to an earth side , an electric power is supplied to the second motor from the dc power source , and the second motor 6 is subjected to a reverse rotation to thereby unwind the seat belt . for some reason , if an input for subjecting the second motor 6 to a normal rotation and an input for subjecting the second motor 6 to a reverse rotation are simultaneously applied , since the contact points of the relay 7 and relay 8 are connected to the side of the dc power source , the second motor 6 does not rotate to thereby prevent a dangerous state . the circuit including the relays 7 , 8 constitutes the interlock . [ 0037 ] fig3 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a third embodiment according to the present invention . in fig3 tr 7 is a transistor . since a control circuit shown in fig3 is different from that shown in fig2 in that there is provided the transistor tr 7 , through which the dc power from the power source is supplied to coils of the relays 7 , 8 . thus , only these portions are explained . for example , in case only a driver sits on a driver &# 39 ; s seat and there is no passenger on a passenger &# 39 ; s seat , a forced retraction is carried out only for the driver &# 39 ; s seat . in this case , with respect to the passenger &# 39 ; s seat , the transistor tr 7 is turned off by an output of the motor control microcomputer 1 to thereby not operate the relays 7 , 8 . thus , even if an external signal is inputted , the second motor 6 can not be operated . in addition to this , while the first motor 3 is operating , the transistor tr 7 is turned off by an output of the motor control microcomputer 1 , so that the second motor 6 can not be operated , neither . conversely , not shown , while the second motor 6 is rotating , the first motor 3 can be controlled not to rotate . to constitute such a circuit is easy for a person skilled in the art and does not require any explanation . as explained hereinabove , according to the first aspect of the invention , since it is not required to carry out a speed control and torque control in a control circuit , the control circuit becomes simple , and at the same time , noises generated by switching are suppressed . thus , a filter for preventing the noises from entering the power source is not required , or if required , its size can be small . according to the second aspect of the invention , the normal retraction can be simply done , or change of the logic can be simply done . with respect to the forced retraction , an operation can be securely carried out with a simple circuit . according to the third aspect of the invention , the motor for the forced retraction and the motor for the normal retraction are prevented from being simultaneously rotated . according to the fourth aspect of the invention , the interlock for preventing the power for the forced retraction motor from being supplied can be carried out by a combination of complicated conditions . while the invention has been explained with reference to the specific embodiments of the invention , the explanation is illustrative and the invention is limited only by the appended claims . | 1 |
with reference to fig1 , a safety device 10 according to the present invention can be used to define a covering , or closure of the empty space between an oblong element , such as a tubular service element 12 , a pair of pipes 14 , a through cable - conduit raceway 16 , and the edges 18 of a through aperture 20 made on a support or bearing plane 22 , such as a grill plane or similar plane , for example which functions as a walkway , also elevated , in industrial plants and suchlike , through which aperture 20 the oblong element passes ( fig8 - 13 ). the device 10 comprises a base body 11 formed by a plurality of modular sections , of which , in this case , at least a first central adapter element 24 , which can be configured to allow the passage of said oblong element , and a second barrier element 26 , which peripherally surrounds the first adapter element 24 , sized in a way so as to define , an effective and reliable closure of the aperture 20 , preventing the passage or fall of objects and thus guaranteeing safety . the first adapter element 24 is formed by a pair of first semi - elements 28 of an identical shape . the second barrier element 26 is formed by a pair of second semi - elements or semi - shells 48 , identical in shape and which can be coupled with each other as shown in fig2 , 9 , 11 , 13 . with reference to the first adapter element 24 , each of the first semi - elements 28 comprises a shaped frame 30 , made of plastic , metal or suchlike , comprising a first central concave wall 32 , which defines a first housing space 34 able to contain the oblong element and which is associated to a second wall 36 transverse to the first central concave wall 32 and disposed to close the first housing space 34 at the upper part , in correspondence to the top edge of the first central concave wall 32 . the second wall 36 is made of material which can be shaped , plastic , metal or suchlike , by the user , in such a way as to adapt it , creating suitable windows , passages and apertures , to contain the desired oblong passage element to be housed , as explained in more detail hereafter in conjunction with fig8 - 13 . the shaped frame 30 also comprises a third attachment wall 38 , made of plastic , metal or suchlike , from which the central concave first wall 32 centrally projects . the third wall 38 of each first semi - element 28 functions as a first connection flange , cooperating with an equal third wall 38 of another first semi - element 28 to be connected ( fig4 - 7 ). the third wall 38 is also made of a material which can be shaped by the user , such as plastic , metal or suchlike , so as to adapt it , creating suitable windows , passages and apertures , in a similar way to that of the transverse second wall 36 associated to the first central concave wall 32 . in this case , the third wall 38 has a central passage 40 , with a width substantially equal to that of the first housing space 34 , defining two lateral segments 42 of the third wall 38 , with a height slightly higher than the first central concave wall 32 and a central segment 44 which overlaps the central passage 40 , connecting the two lateral segments 42 . the first central concave wall 32 connects the lateral edges of the central passage 40 of the third wall 38 . the third wall 38 has a first face 39 able to be put adjacent to a corresponding first face 39 of the third wall 38 of a similar first semi - element 28 , in the closed condition , and a second face 41 able to be put adjacent to a corresponding second semi - element 48 of the second barrier element 26 , again in the closed condition . the upper edge of the third wall 38 has first housing holes 46 for attachment means to constrain the two first semi - elements 28 in a closed condition of the device 10 ( fig4 - 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 ). moreover , in this case , the third wall 38 of each first semi - element 28 has , on the second face 41 , a ridge 43 which acts as both a lead - in element and as a holding element , in positioning each first semi - element 28 in association to the corresponding second semi - element 48 . with reference to the second barrier element 26 , each second semi - element 48 which makes it up comprises a fourth barrier wall 50 of a correlated part of the aperture 20 ( fig1 ), which has a lateral edge 52 able to cooperate , in the closed condition , with the second face 41 of a corresponding first semi - element 28 adjacent to it . on the lateral edge 52 , centrally , a second housing space 54 is made , of a shape mating with the first central concave wall 32 of a corresponding first semi - element 28 , so as to house the latter inside it in the closed condition . on the lateral edge 52 , laterally to the second housing space 54 , fifth attachment walls 58 are provided , made of plastic , metal or suchlike , which act as second connection flanges , cooperating both with the pairs of third walls 38 of the connected first two semi - elements 28 , and with the identical fifth walls 58 of another second semi - element 48 to be connected . the upper edge of the fifth walls 58 has second housing holes 66 for attachment means to constrain the two second semi - elements 48 in a closed condition of the device 10 ( fig4 - 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 ). the lateral edge 52 has a groove , or notch 63 ( fig1 ) of a shape mating with the ridge 43 and able to cooperate with it , acting as a guide , or insertion lead - in , and as a holding seating in positioning each first semi - element 28 in association to the corresponding second semi - element 48 . fig8 and 9 show , respectively in an open and closed condition , a first application of the device 10 in which the second wall 36 of each first semi - element 28 , as well as the corresponding central segment 44 of the third wall 38 , are completely removed to create a suitable passage window 76 ( fig5 ) for a tubular service element 12 . in this first application it shows , by way of example , how if there is an aperture 20 of a regular shape , in this case circular , the fourth wall 50 of each second semi - element 48 determines an efficient and complete closing of the aperture 20 in the closed condition , preventing the accidental fall of objects . fig1 and 11 show , respectively in an open and closed condition , a second application of the device 10 in which the second wall 36 of each first semi - element 28 , as well as the corresponding central segment 44 of the third wall 38 , are only partly shaped , by removing suitable portions of material to define two passage holes 78 ( fig6 ) for the passage of a pair of pipes 14 . the second application shows , by way of example , how if there is an aperture 20 of an irregular shape , the fourth wall 50 of each second semi - element 48 determines , in any case , an efficient and complete closing of the aperture 20 in the closed condition , preventing the accidental fall of objects . fig1 and 13 show , respectively in an open and closed condition , a third application of the device 10 in which the second wall 36 of each first semi - element 28 is only partly shaped , by removing suitable portions of material , and in which the corresponding central segment 44 of the third wall 38 is removed , to define a crack 80 ( fig7 ) for the passage of a cable - conduit raceway 16 . the third application shows , by way of example , how if there is a rectangular aperture 20 , the fourth wall 50 of each second semi - element 48 determines , in any case , an efficient and complete closing of the aperture 20 in the closed condition , preventing the accidental fall of objects . whilst specific embodiments of the invention are described herein , it will be appreciated that a wide range of modifications and alterations may be made to the arrangements described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention . | 8 |
the invention provides a malware detection and response ( mdr ) system that may be easily integrated into the hardware of existing network equipment , and preferably at the edge devices of the network . as an example , the malware detection system may be incorporated into , but not limited to , a network switch , or into the intelligent service access manager ( isam ), the digital subscriber line access multiplexer ( d - slam ), or even the asymmetric digital subscriber line ( asdl ) modem . the network elements listed above by way of example belong to a product family that enables a telecommunications equipment vendor to provide a next generation access network ready for massive triple play ( 3p ) deployments , in term of bandwidth , service intelligence , ip / ethernet features and scalability . thus , the isam is a wire - speed ip dslam , tailored for non - blocking 3p services delivery ; the d - slam is a dsl ( digital subscriber line ) access multiplexer that operates into an ip / ethernet aggregation network ; and adsl supports high - speed data communications on top of traditional telephone service on a single telephone access line , for transforming an operator &# 39 ; s existing copper twisted pair investment into a multimedia broadband distribution system . fig1 shows the block diagram of the malware detection and response ( mdr ) system 1 according to the invention . this figure shows generically a network element ( ne ) 10 with a port 12 ; ne 10 is connected in this example at the border between an access network and the internet . in this specification , units through which digital data is transmitted from one point to another over a communication line are referred to generically as protocol data units ( pdu &# 39 ; s ). this term includes data units formatted according to various transmission protocols ; pdu &# 39 ; s can be ip packets , tcp packets , frames , etc . generated according to a respective transmission protocol . the pdu &# 39 ; s can be for example arp requests , tcp / syn requests and acknowledgements , tcp / rst packets , dns / netbeui name lookups , out - going icmp packets , udp packets , etc . in these examples , address resolution protocol ( arp ) is a tcp / ip protocol used to convert an ip address used on the transport network into a physical address such as an ethernet address used on a lan / man / wlan . arp requests and responses may be present on port 12 if the ne uses ) arp . in this case , when the ne wishes to obtain a physical address of a host on the access network , it broadcasts an arp request onto the access network . the host on the access network that has the ip address in the request then replies with its physical address . there is also reverse arp ( rarp ) used by a host to discover its ip address . in this case , the host broadcasts its physical address and a rarp server replies with the host &# 39 ; s ip address . ne 10 may also use ip / tcp . it is known that in order to establish a connection , tcp uses a “ 3 - way handshake ”, by exchanging packets of a specific type . the internet protocol header carries several information fields , including the source and destination host address information . the header also includes 6 control bits ( or flags ) that are set according to the packet type . a syn flag is set in a packet during the three - way handshake , and is used to synchronize sequence numbers of the packets in the respective flow . when a normal tcp connection starts , a destination host receives a syn ( synchronize / start ) packet from a source host and sends back a syn ack ( synchronize acknowledge ). the destination host must then hear an ack ( acknowledge ) of the syn ack before the connection is established . when an end - point of a tcp connection wishes to stop its half of the connection , it transmits a fin packet , which the other end acknowledges with a fin / ack . a fin flag is set in a packet during the graceful teardown of an existing connection , and is used to indicate that there is no more data from sender . rst flag is set to request reset of a connection . a typical connection teardown requires a pair of fin and fin / ack segments from each tcp endpoint . other types of pdu on port 12 may use domain name systems ( dns ) for translating names of network nodes into addresses . network basic input / output system ( netbios ) is a transport protocol , connecting network hardware with the network operating system ; it enables lookups in the dns . netbios extended user interface ( netbeui ) is an enhanced version of the netbios protocol used by network operating systems such as lan manager , lan server , windows for workgroups , and windows nt . returning now to fig1 , the mdr system 1 of the invention monitors the pdu &# 39 ; s arriving on port 12 . the monitoring may be performed on selected ports or on all ports of a ne ; fig1 shows only port 12 by way of example . in broadest terms , system 1 includes a header data processing unit 14 , a counters unit 16 , storing means for limits table 20 , an attack identification and containment ( aic ) unit 24 , and a timing unit 11 . header data processing unit 14 monitors the pdu &# 39 ; s seen on the port 12 and examines the data in various fields of the pdu &# 39 ; s header with a view to determine the pdu type with a view to establish which counter of the counters unit 16 should be updated . the “ type ” of a pdu is established based on the information in the header and identifies an action initiated by the pdu . examples of pdu types are , syn_in , arp_query_in , etc . for example , the syn_in packets are identified by examining if the respective flag is set in the header of an incoming ip / tcp packet . unit 14 monitors the header in both the incoming and outgoing directions ; the term “ seen ” refers in this specification to the pdus that arrive on port 12 from far - end hosts ( incoming pdu &# 39 ; s ), or to the pdu &# 39 ; s that are transmitted from port 12 to far - end hosts ( outgoing pdu &# 39 ; s ). it is to be noted that the term “ traffic direction ” is used to identify the “ outgoing ” and “ incoming ” pdu &# 39 ; s . the terms “ outgoing ” and “ incoming ” are used here relative to the port 12 of the network element 10 . header data processing unit 14 can be built in hardware , in which case it can comprise simply a number of comparators for each bit position of interest in the pdu header . a hardware based solution could also use a content addressable memory ( cam ) to detect the specific fields in the packet header . alternatively , a simple software module can be used to test the respective fields in the header . other alternatives will be evident for persons skilled in the art . counters unit 16 includes a plurality of counters 15 , also referred to as simple counters , and a complex counters unit 25 . complex counters unit 25 is preferably used in more sophisticated implementations of system 1 for determining the number of far - end hosts , as described later . it is to be noted that there can be multiple “ complex counters ” 25 , for each port that is to be protected . the content of a counter 15 is referred to in this specification using the term “ count value ”. each counter 15 is associated with a particular type of pdu and is incremented when the corresponding pdu is detected . as such , each pdu seen on port 12 updates zero , one or more of the counters ; the number ( and implicitly the types ) of counters 15 is a design parameter that depends on the type of information that is to be collected at the respective port . thus , ne 10 may be equipped with arp counters for counting the arp requests ( queries ) and responses , respectively : an arp_query_in packet will update an arp_query_in counter 15 , an arp_response_out packet will update the arp arp_response_out counter , etc . more information of the traffic is obtained when the port is provided with a complex counter unit 25 , which enables counting the number of far - end hosts . in this case , for outgoing arp requests , a counter 15 counts the total number of arp requests and unit 25 determines the number of different hosts mentioned in the requests . similarly , for the incoming arp responses , the counters count the total number of arp responses , the number of different hosts responding and the number of responding hosts mentioned in outgoing arp requests . tcp counters 15 may also be used for the syn and syn / ack packets . now , for outgoing syn requests , the tcp counters count the total number of syn requests sent , the number of distinct far - end hosts and the number of distinct far - end host and port number pairs . for incoming tcp syn / ack acknowledgements , a counter 15 counts the total number of syn / ack received , and complex counters unit 25 determines the number of distinct far - end hosts , the number of distinct far - end host and port number pairs , and the number from hosts / ports that match the host in out - going syn packets . in a similar way , for the incoming rst packets , a counter 15 count the total number of rst packets received , and unit 25 counts the number of distinct far - end hosts , the number of distinct far - end host and port number pairs , and the number of hosts / ports that match the host in out - going syn packets . for other connection types ( non arp , etc ) the counters count the total number of outgoing broadcasts . dns counters 15 may also be used for obtaining statistics on dns / netbeui lookups . for the outgoing dns / netbeui lookups , the system of the invention counts the total number of lookups and the number of distinct names looked up for the incoming requests . for incoming dns / netbeui lookups , the system counts the number of successful lookups , the number of failed lookups and the number of intermediate results , which are dns queries that result in a forwarding to another dns server . counters may also be used for counting each type of outgoing icmp packet . internet control message protocol ( icmp ) is an extension to the internet protocol ( ip ), which supports packets containing error , control , and informational messages . as well , upd packets may be counted in designated upd counters . the user datagram protocol ( udp ) is a minimal , datagram - oriented , transport network protocol above the ip network layer that does not guarantee data ordering or delivery . because it is datagram oriented , each send operation by the application results in the transmission of a single ip datagram . this mode of operation contrasts with the tcp , which is byte stream oriented and guarantees the delivery and ordering of the bytes sent . in one embodiment of the invention , the udp counters for outgoing udp packets count the total number of packets sent , the number of distinct far - end hosts and the number of distinct far - end host and port number pairs . for the incoming udp packets , the counters keep track of the total number of packets received , the number of distinct far - end hosts , the number of distinct far - end host and port number pairs and the number from hosts / ports that match the host in out - going udp packets . it is to be noted that the above list of counters 15 is not exhaustive . table 1 provides the types of counters used in an experimental embodiment of the invention . as indicated above , the terms incoming ( in ) and outgoing ( out ) are used relatively to port 12 . it is to be noted that even though the list of counters is very long , each packet can only be of one protocol tcp , arp , udp , etc , so the work per packet amounts to a few tests to determine the type of packet and then increment a few counters for the respective protocol . mdr system 20 maintains limits table 21 stored in any suitable memory available at the network element ; this is generically shown by storing means 20 . limits table 21 maintain individual limits for each counter , as well as composite limits for groups of counters that involve performing some simple operation on the count value in a number of counters . table 20 also stores a rules set 22 defining attacks and containment actions for the respective attack . the rules in set 22 are configurable for each port with a view to detect anomalous traffic patterns , having in view the known patterns for the legitimate traffic , etc . another variant of the limits table 21 is to keep probabilistic limits , whereby the counters track the count values and the limits are pre - converted to a probabilistic value . preferably , the limits are set or changed by the nms ( network management system ) or the oss ( operation support system ) of the respective network ( not shown ). since most networks use dhcp to assign ip addresses , the nms can immediately download a set of boundaries tailored for the class of hosts . this can be a function of the host mac address , physical port , vlan assignment , or any other local characteristics . dynamic limits in conjunction with distinct containment actions ( or responses ) may also be envisaged . for example , it is possible to initially set the boundaries for certain counter 15 to be tight , and to respond with a containment action for these boundaries that only slows - down the port when the boundary is triggered , rather than shutting it down . in this way , the ne gets an early alert of a possible attack being under way , without overly annoying the user / s . when specific counters trigger alerts , the response could be to automatically loosen the limits . this type of response is useful during initial setup to adaptively set limits for servers , etc . the attack identification and containment unit 24 comprises an attack identification block 23 for identifying an attack , and an attack containment unit 26 which triggers an appropriate defensive action based on the attack type . thus , block 23 calculates composite count value from individual count values as needed and compares the individual and composite count values against the corresponding individual and composite limits . if one or more limits are crossed , block 23 identifies a probable type of attack based on the rules in rules set 22 . if ne 10 is equipped with a complex counters unit 25 , attack identification block 23 identifies an attack by correlating the limits that were crossed for individual / composite count values provided by counters 15 and the number of far - end hosts provided by complex counters unit 25 . in short , if the count value in one or more counters crosses a limit / threshold , unit 24 identifies in rules 22 the particular rules disobeyed by the respective traffic flow on port 12 . once the type of attack has been identified , attack containment block 26 triggers a certain defensive action , again based on rules in rules set 22 . ideally , attack identification and containment unit 24 should check the limits each time a counter is changed . while this mode of operation gives the fastest response time , it requires processing power in the data - path . preferably , a time window tw is set for each counter according to the type of the respective counter . most counters 15 may use a very short time window , e . g . 5 seconds . for example , the arp failures counter is a pretty unambiguous indicator of scanning of the local subnet , so it should trigger its limit immediately . other counters are more statistical in nature , so a longer interval — say thirty seconds , is reasonable . for example , the counters for the tcp / ip packets need longer windows since the duration of a connection may extend over longer periods of time , etc . table 2 gives examples of different rules used by the mdr system 1 , and provides the rule name , the time window for assessing compliance with the limit set for the respective rule , the individual / composite count value relevant to the respective rule ( and how the composite value is obtained ), the limit for the rule and the ( probable ) attack type . examples of individual count values are arp_query_out that indicates the number of peers on a local subnet , and the rst_in that indicates the number of rst packets received by port 12 . an example of a composite count value is syn_out − synack_in , which indicates the number of outgoing attempts that fail . in table 2 , the limit for syn failure denoted with a ) provides the number of out - going connections that fail , as calculated from syn_out − synack_in . during normal usage , almost all outgoing connections succeed . there are some cases where a lot of outgoing connections fail , such as for example in the case of p2p software where the destination may be turned off . a two - part rule is used for detecting this : if syn_out is small , no action taken . if syn_out is large ( say 10 attempts in 30 seconds ), failure rate over 20 % is cause for alarm limit b ) is set for indicating a port scan . normally , the number of ack outgoing packets occurring in response to incoming syn packets ( synack packets ) is expected to be close to the number of the syn packets . when there are too many outgoing synack packets , it is probably a port scan . a two part test is used : if synack_out − syn_in is small , no action if the difference is & gt ; 2 , a ratio of ( synack_out / syn_in )& gt ; 0 . 20 is a port scan . limit c ) for finack_diff indicates a mismatch between the numbers of finack packets in the two directions . during normal usage , the two should track very closely , irrespective of which side started the fin sequence . if the host sends more than it receives , this is an indication of a scan , such as for example the xmas tree scan with all the flags set . a two part test is used : if the absolute difference between the incoming and outgoing finack packets is small , no action . if the absolute difference is large ( 5 more finack packets sent than received in 30 seconds ), then finack_out / finack_in or finack_in / finack_out & gt ; 1 . 2 is cause for alarm . limit d ) provides the number of incoming rst packets . each rst packet is possibly the response to a scan attempt , but rst is also used in many legitimate cases , so the trigger is set relatively high , for example 50 rst packets in 30 seconds . if countudpout & gt ; 100 , a worm tries to connect to many hosts with udp ; a ( countrst + counticmpnonreachable )& gt ; 19 indicates that many far - ends refuse to talk or are unreachable . still further , composite limits may be set as combinations of above conditions . for example if (( countsynhosts & gt ; 50 ) & amp ; ( countsyn − countsynack & gt ; 30 )) a worm tries to connect too many hosts but only gets through to some . it is to be noted that not all equipment within a network needs to implement all of the counters , limit and rules provided above . each implementation may chose some subset depending on the protection required , the memory footprint , the processing powers of the fast data - paths , the processing powers of the slow control - path , and so on . after all the counting is done , attack identification block 26 checks the count values against the limits in tables 21 and identifies the attack type based on rules 22 . then , attack containment unit 26 can take a number of actions , based on the attack type and its gravity , based on pre - set rules 22 : a . shut down the port totally , until manually reset . this would be suitable for rules that have very low false - positive . b . quarantine the port to a vlan that is dedicated to remediation only , where virus scanners and other tools can be brought to bear . c . quarantine the port to a honeypot vlan so that the worm can be observed in action d . shut down the port temporarily ; say for 1 second , then for 2 seconds , then for 4 seconds , doubling each time . this is suitable for rules that have fuzzy boundaries when legitimate users may occasionally reach the limit , this action means we only slow down the user at the limits ( so legitimate users are not greatly affected ) but worms will be slowed down and eventually shut down . because the detection is done in the “ fast ” path , the above actions can be taken immediately , including discarding the very packet that triggered the action . also , because the detection is performed at the very edge of the network , the action taken is highly specific to a single host , or a small number of hosts connected to a physical port . as indicated above , counters for each side ( far - end and near - end ), or for each direction of traffic are kept separately . keeping separate counts for each direction eliminates the need to match up request / response pairs for each connection , simplifying the malware detection . this eliminates the need to keep a list of the far - end host addresses , which list would consume a lot of memory and cpu cycles . while such lists will enable more accurate malware detection , it is prohibitively expensive to count the number of far ends , to remember and match up each ip / port combination for each packet ; the usual methods are rather slow and use too much memory . providing the physical ports of a switch with the malware detection and response system of the invention , results in determining which port is under attach , without relying on the packets to identify the culprit —; so that free anti - spoofing is obtained . a more accurate detection can be provided by counting distinct ip addresses of the far - end hosts ; these could be just far - end ip addresses or ip address - port combinations . usual methods of keeping track of far - end hosts would , again , run into cpu and memory limitations . rather than using lists of addresses for far - end hosts for the incoming pdu &# 39 ; s , the system of the invention uses a complex counters unit 25 to keep track of the number of far - end hosts . this technique is much faster than keeping address lists , saves processor cycles and memory at the expense of accuracy . complex counters unit 25 comprises a plurality of buckets 19 , a bucket selector 18 and a buckets counting unit 17 . for example , the complex counters unit 25 may be equipped with a set buckets counting unit 17 for each direction of traffic and each protocol type . preferably , the buckets 19 are provided in the form of an array of a selected size . it is to be noted that while it is desirable to maintain distinct buckets 19 of far - end hosts for each of the pdu categories listed above , it is possible to combine the buckets . there is a lot of value even in the extreme case of using only a single hash table for all incoming and outgoing packets . the idea is to hash the address data from the fields of the header that identify the far - end host , as generically shown by bucket selector 18 . the hash value obtained is then used as an index into array 19 , and the bucket ( bit ) corresponding to the respective hash value is set . alternatively , a set buckets count unit 17 can count the buckets that are not set ( or unset ). in this way , each bucket is associated with a certain far - end host address . buckets counting unit 17 determines how many buckets are set over a certain time tw . the bucket number indicates how many far - end hosts received / transmitted traffic during that time interval . an attack may be for example detected if the number of far - end hosts is suspiciously high . a bucket is set only once during the time window , using a very simple algorithm . if bucket selector 18 identifies let &# 39 ; s say bucket #, and that bucket has already been set , nothing happens . if , on the other hand , bucket # has not been set yet , it is set . the pseudo code for bucket updating step is : the obvious way to determine the number of buckets that are set ( or unset ) is to loop over each bit , or to take each byte and look up a table ; both these approaches are fairly slow . on the other hand , the system of the invention uses an algorithm that basically treats each bit as an individual number and sums pair in parallel . with this approach , it takes around a dozen instructions to count the number of bits set in a 32 - bit word . preferably , bits that are hashed are the ip address bits of the packet , or the ip address bits and the port number bits ; we refer to this data in the following as address data . in one experimental embodiment of the invention the buckets were implemented on a bit array of 256 bits ( m = 256 ) and the hash function selected reduced this number to 8 bits . since the ip address space is 32 bits , for an 8 - bit hash , there is a choice of 2 24 combinations in the same bucket . in other words , 2 24 address data may set the same bucket . this means that an attacker could attempt to avoid the triggers by talking to hosts / ports that fall into the same bucket in order to keep the number of far - end hosts low . certain countermeasures may be used with a view to address this situation . for example , the hash function may be designed so that addresses in the same subnet are likely to use different buckets ( this is the “ randomize ” property that is expected from hash functions ). xor - ing the four address bytes together as shown in fig2 a will differentiate the sub - networks . xor - ing the last byte of the ip address and the lower byte of the port number as shown in fig2 b will ensure that neither horizontal scanning ( same port number , different ip address ) nor vertical scanning ( same ip address , different port ) will end up in the same bucket . another solution is to add a randomizer to the hash function , as shown in fig2 c . thus , a random 32 bit number may be picked at boot time , and added to the ip address before doing the xor . this preserves the sub - net scattering property above and is difficult for the attacker to stay in the same bucket . in general , selection of the function depends on the complexity of the attack detection desired . as discussed above , each port or only some ports of interest may be equipped with the mdr system of the invention . it is to be noted that another advantage of the invention is that it is not necessary to synchronize the polling for all the ports of the ne ; there is no harm in spreading out the polling . depending on the platform , one easy way is to integrate the pooling of the counters with snmp polls , which means checking the counters of a port as the snmp for that port is processed . also , realistically , there is no need for high precision in the polling interval so it can be done as a low priority task . a “ linear counting ” function is preferably used for hashing the address data , as described by k - y whang et al . in the paper “ a linear - time probabilistic counting algorithm for database applications ”, which presents a thorough mathematical treatment of these counting techniques . this type of function has been selected because it is the most accurate of the whole family of probabilistic counting techniques . whang et al . derive the best estimate of the actual linear count : where m is the array size , z is the number of unset entries in the array , and n is the real count . whang et al . also derive the error estimate for this type of function as : where t is a load factor determined by the n / m ratio . the paper also gives guidelines for obtaining a desired accuracy . if we apply the finding of this paper to the system of the invention , it is noted that the size of array 19 may be reduced significantly from the 256 bits discussed above , without a significant impact on the accuracy of malware detection . a smaller array is desirable in order to make the implementation easier in software . for the mdr system of the invention , if array 19 has four bytes ( rather than a 256 ), the resulting accuracy is 17 %. for a two byte array , the accuracy drops to 35 %. this means even a very little memory space dedicated to the array still enables comprehensive results . it is also possible to transfer relevant counts to an nms / oss to do long term ( as in minute / hour ) analysis to detect very low - rate stealth worms . some examples of how the mdr system of the invention operates are provided next . let &# 39 ; s assume that there is a tcp flash worm scanning the local sub - net by address . this will cause a large number of arp requests , with a smaller number of arp responses ( basically , only the addresses with an actual host will respond ). the arp &# 39 ; s that succeed will be followed by syn packets trying to establish connections . having in view that the limits are configurable , this kind of worms will be caught by any of : a . if countarp & gt ; 100 ; this limit triggers if the subnet has too many addresses that are unused . b . if countsyn & gt ; 100 ; this limits triggers if most the addresses are in use , so the worm will try to talk to them all c . if ( countsyn − countsynack )/ countsyn & gt ; 0 . 15 ; this limit triggers when most of targets refuse to respond to the worm ( since the worm is just blindly probing ) d . if countsynhosts & gt ; 100 ; this limit triggers when the worm actually succeeds in finding and talking to a lot of hosts . a udp flash worm will be caught if it violates any of the limits for the corresponding udp counters . let &# 39 ; s assume that a syn flood attack originating from port 12 . any high intensity attack will be easily detected by the limits set for the syn counter . even low intensity attacks will be caught by a rule established for the difference between the number of syn and syn / ack packets : a targeted worm , namely a worm that does not blindly scan addresses , but uses a contact book to get machine names , will be caught by any of : let &# 39 ; s assume that a smurf attack , is underway , i . e . an attack that sends many broadcast packet eliciting response packets to the originator , which is forged to be the victim &# 39 ; s ip address , will be caught jf countbroadcast & gt ; 100 . fig3 illustrates a flow chart of the method of monitoring the traffic in the fast datapath using mdr system 1 . first , the limits are established in table 21 , shown in step 30 and the counters and the bucket array are initialized , step 31 . it is noted that all counters may be initialized at regular intervals of time , or may be initialized at the end of the respective time window . as well , the attack identification and containment unit may interpret the counts at regular intervals of time , after a certain number of time windows elapsed , etc ; these are design implementations that can be executed in different ways , as well known . the method involves then the following main steps , executed for each pdu received over the time window : in step 32 , header data processing unit 14 monitors port 12 and examines the header of the pdu &# 39 ; s received on that port ; in step 33 , the data in defined header fields is used to identify the type of pdu and to update the relevant counters . in the meantime , if the mdr system is provided with the complex counters unit 25 , the relevant address data is hashed as shown in step 34 to identify a bucket corresponding to that hash value , step 35 . if the bucket identified by the hash is not set , shown by the no branch of decision block 36 , it is set in step 37 . if not , as seen by the yes branch of decision block 36 , the bucket is left unchanged and the next packet is examined , etc . note that for simplicity , only one hashing is shown ; it is possible and sometimes desirable to use multiple hashings . fig4 shows a flowchart of the method of identifying an attack . after processing the packets received during tw as shown in fig3 , all counters are read , step 40 ; and the attack identification unit 23 compares the counter values against the limits in step 41 ; identifies in step 42 the limits that were crossed , if any ; identifies the attack type in step 43 based on the counter or the combination of counters that violate / s the limit / s , and triggers in step 44 an appropriate defense action according to the rules that were violated . | 7 |
fig1 shows a conventional ups system 201 . the system 201 can have some drawbacks that the energy power efficiency will be reduced significantly through two stages . firstly , the energy is sent to the dc to ac converter 205 . secondly , the energy is sent from the ac to the standard atx power supply 202 . each stage can cause up to 10 - 20 % of energy lost in heat . in addition , the standard atx power supply uses different voltage rails architecture than the single voltage ac adapters to convert ac to dc electricity . the conventional ups system can lose up to 20 - 30 % energy efficiency . fig2 describes the current invention , an integrated ups power system 100 that connects to an ac power source and outputs dc power to the server . the energy storage unit 102 can be positioned inside the same mechanical chassis of the server / computer 200 or close to it thereof in order to reduce the length of the power wiring connected to the server / computer 200 . the integrated ups power system 100 is comprised of an ac adapter / charger 101 , an energy storage unit 102 , and a dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 . the dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 is to provide multiple dc voltage rails to the sever / computer 200 . in fig3 , the energy storage unit 102 comprises at least one unit of battery packs 107 , a microcontroller 106 , and a programmable current limit 105 . the battery packs 107 comprise at least one battery pack in any type of battery chemistries or combined . examples of the battery types include , but not limit to , the lead - acid chemistry , lithium - ion chemistry , the combinations thereof , or other conventional battery chemistries . based on power requirement , the integrated ups power system 100 can also connect to one or more external energy storage units 102 . in fig2 , the integrated ups power system 100 comprises an alternative power source 104 . this feature serves as an extra power source in addition to the ac adapter / charge 101 . the alternative power source 104 comprises a programmable power converter system that provides voltage or current conversion , filtering , and control from outside energy source . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt (“ maximum power point tracking ”) for converting the powers acquired from the outside energy sources . the outside power sources can include , but not limit to , the data center or cloud application , the green technologies including the solar panels , wind electricity , fuel electricity , etc . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt and a microcontroller for programming the voltage or current conversion from outside sources . the ac adapter / charger 101 connects directly to the ac power source and outputs the voltage source suitable for charging the energy storage unit 102 and for powering the dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 . the energy storage unit 102 monitors the charging voltage and current decides when to stop the charging . the dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 provides multiple dc voltages to power the server main board . intelligence is implemented in the integrated ups system 100 to communicate with the pc server / computer 200 to collaborate on the overall energy usage plan . the energy usage plan of the current system 100 comprises the following three operation scenarios , the normal operation , the stage of power outage , and the recovery mode . in the normal operation , the ac adapter charger 101 serves as the power source for the server / computer 200 and also charge the energy storage unit 102 . during the power outage , there is no ac power and the ac adapter 101 is disabled . the energy storage unit 102 provides power to the server / computer 200 , which may work under a lower power mode to extend the battery backup time . the power outage is communicated to the server 200 by the energy storage unit 102 when it detects that the ac adapter 101 is not providing the power . fig3 shows the recovery mode 110 , wherein the external ac power is back and ac adapter / charger 101 now provides sufficient energy to power the server 200 and charge the energy storage unit 102 . to minimize the ac adapter output capacity and to alleviate the design requirements of the ac adapter , the charging current will be optimally controlled . a special programmable current limit 105 is built into the energy storage unit 102 . the server / computer 200 also can communicate the energy storage unit 102 through built - in microcontroller 106 to inform how much current it actually needs so the energy storage unit 102 can decide to provide more current to charge the battery packs 107 inside energy storage unit 102 . for normal design , the ac adapter only supplies about 30 % to 40 % more current than server / computer system 200 requires . therefore , only 30 % to 40 % current will be used to charge the energy storage unit 102 . but under some operation condition , such as server / computer 200 either in idle state or sleep mode , the server / computer 200 will not need the original assigned maximum power , so server / computer 200 can inform energy storage unit 102 through microcontroller 106 . the microcontroller 106 can control programmable current limit 105 to increase the charging current from ac adapter / charger 101 , hence the charging time can be reduced without increasing the rated capacity of ac adapter / charger 101 . this communication can happen dynamically through ipmi (“ intelligent platform management interface ”) normally used in server / computer control interface system or other interface system . fig4 shows the flowchart of the energy depletion mode of the integrated ups power supply system 100 . block 151 shows when the energy storage unit is depleted extensively to a preset low power mode during power outage and the charging current is not immediately available . the integrated ups power supply system 100 makes the following two commands . first , as shown in block 152 , the integrated ups power supply system 100 notifies the server / computer 200 to take proper action . in block 154 , the server / computer 200 performs system shut down accordingly . as shown in block 153 , the integrated ups power supply system 100 then disable the power output as detecting the low current drainage due to the server / computer shutdown . second , the energy store unit 102 detects the overall energy down to a minimum predetermined capacity level and server / computer still not responds , it also disables its power output . when the ac power resumes , the integrated ups power supply system 100 will then switch back to its normal operation . fig5 shows another embodiment the integrated ups power system 120 that connects to an ac power source and outputs dc power to the server . the integrated ups power system 120 is comprised of an integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 , and a dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 . the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 comprises an ac adapter / charger 101 , and an energy storage unit 102 to minimize the design components for some application , the system may not need higher power capacity , so the size of ac adapter charger 101 and energy storage unit 102 is minimized . in fig3 & amp ; 5 , the energy storage unit 102 comprises at least one battery packs 107 , a microcontroller 106 , and a programmable current limit 105 . the battery packs 107 comprises at least one series - connected lead - acid ( la ) battery pack , at least one series - connected lithium - ion ( li ) battery pack , and the combinations of at least one series - connected lead - acid ( la ) battery pack and at least one series - connected lithium - ion ( li ) battery pack . based on the user &# 39 ; s needs in the design of energy supply , the integrated ups power system 120 can also connect to an external energy storage unit 102 . in fig5 , the integrated ups power system 120 comprises an alternative power source 104 . this feature serves as an extra power source in addition to the ac adapter charge 101 . the alternative power source 104 comprises a programmable power converter system that provides voltage or current conversion , filtering , and control from outside energy source . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt (“ maximum power point tracking ”) for converting the powers acquired from the outside energy sources . the outside power sources can include , but not limit to , the data center or cloud application , the green technologies including the solar panels , wind electricity , fuel electricity , etc . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt and a microcontroller for programming the voltage or current conversion from outside sources . the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 comprising the ac adapter 101 connects directly to the ac power source and outputs one voltage rail suitable for charging the energy storage unit 102 and for powering the dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 . the energy storage unit 102 of the integrated ac and energy storage unit 121 monitors the charging voltage and decides whether to accept the charge . the dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 provides multiple dc voltages to power the server main board including the standard atx power supply . intelligence is implemented in the integrated ups system 120 to communicate with the pc server / computer 200 to collaborate on the overall energy usage plan . the energy usage plan of the current system 120 comprises the following three operation scenarios , including the normal operation , the stage of power outage , and the recovery mode . in the normal operation status , the ac adapter serves as the main power source for the server / computer 200 and then for charging the energy storage unit 102 inside the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 . during the stage of power outage , the ac adapter 101 is disabled . the energy storage unit 102 provides power to the server / computer 200 , which may work under a lower power mode to extend the battery backup time . the low power mode is communicated to the server 200 by the integrated ups power supply system 100 when it detects that the ac adapter 101 is not providing the power . fig6 shows another embodiment the integrated ups power system 130 that connects toan ac power source and outputs dc power to the server . the integrated ups power system 130 is comprised of a ac adapter / charger 101 , an energy storage unit 102 , and sever computer assembly 131 comprises a dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 integrated inside main board of the server / computer 131 . in fig6 , the integrated ups power system 130 comprises an alternative power source 104 . this feature serves as an extra power source in addition to the ac adapter charge 101 . the alternative power source 104 comprises a programmable power converter system that provides voltage or current conversion , filtering , and control from outside energy source . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt (“ maximum power point tracking ”) for converting the powers acquired from the outside energy sources . the outside power sources can include , but not limit to , the data center or cloud application , the green technologies including the solar panels , wind electricity , fuel electricity , etc . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt and a microcontroller for programming the voltage or current conversion from outside sources . intelligence is implemented in the integrated ups system 130 to communicate with the server computer assembly 131 to collaborate on the overall energy usage plan . the energy usage plan of the current system 130 comprises the following three operation scenarios , including the normal operation , the stage of power outage , and the recovery mode . in the normal operation status , the ac adapter serves as the main power source for the server computer assembly 131 and then for charging the energy storage unit 102 . during the stage of power outage , the ac adapter 101 is disabled . the energy storage unit 102 provides power to the server / computer 200 , which may work under a lower power mode to extend the battery backup time . the low power mode is communicated to the server computer assembly 131 by the integrated ups power supply system 130 when it detects that the ac adapter 101 is not providing the power . fig3 & amp ; 6 show the recovery mode 110 of the integrated ups power supply system 130 , wherein the external power is back online and ac adapter 101 now provides sufficient energy to power the server computer assembly 131 and charge the energy storage unit 102 . to minimize the ac adapter output capacity and to alleviate the design requirements of the ac adapter , the charging current will be optimally controlled . a special programmable current limit 105 is built into energy storage unit . the server computer assembly 131 also can communicate the energy storage unit 102 through built - in microcontroller 106 to inform how much current it actually needs so the storage unit can decide to provide more current to charge the battery packs 107 inside energy storage unit 102 . for normal design , the ac adapter only supplies about 30 % to 40 % more current than server / computer system 200 requires . therefore , only 30 % to 40 % current will be used to charge the energy storage unit 102 . but under some operation condition , such as server computer assembly 131 either in idle state or sleep mode , the server computer assembly 131 will not need the original assigned maximum power , so the server computer assembly 131 can inform energy storage unit 102 through microcontroller 106 . the microcontroller 106 can control programmable current limit 105 to increase the charging current from ac adapter / charger 101 , hence the charging time can be reduced without increasing the rated capacity of ac adapter / charger 101 . this communication can happen dynamically through ipmi normally used in server / computer control interface system . fig4 & amp ; 6 show the flowchart of the energy depletion mode of the integrated ups power supply system 130 . block 151 shows when the energy storage unit is depleted extensively during power outage and the charging current is not immediately available . the integrated ups power supply system 130 will cut off the output power in order to protect the life of the internal battery packs inside the energy storage unit 102 and to prevent from further damages . the ups power supply system 130 makes the following two commands . first , as shown in block 152 , the ups power supply system 130 notifies the server / computer 200 to take proper action . the action includes shutting down the ups power supply system 130 . in block 154 , the server / computer 200 commands the ups power supply system 130 to shut down . the usp power supply system 130 is then automatically and completely shut down in order to avoid complete power drainage . second , as shown in block 151 , the energy store unit 102 can detect the situations when the internal battery packs have been drained extensively showing the low current drainage . the energy store unit 102 can also detect when the overall energy lowers down to a minimum predetermined capacity level . the energy store unit 102 sends data and / or signals to the server computer assembly 131 . in block 153 , the energy store unit 102 disables the output supply . when the ac power resumes , the energy storage unit 102 is recharged sufficiently . the integrated ups power supply system 130 will then switch back to its normal operation . fig7 shows another embodiment the integrated ups power system 140 that connects to an ac power source and outputs dc power to the server . the integrated ups power system 130 is comprised of an integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 , and a server computer assembly 131 . the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 comprises an ac adapter / charger 101 and an energy storage unit 102 . the sever computer assembly 131 comprises a dc - to - dc converter circuit 103 integrated into main board of the server computer 131 . in fig3 & amp ; 7 , the energy storage unit 102 comprises at least one battery packs 107 , a microcontroller 106 , and a programmable current limit 105 . the battery packs 107 comprises at least one series - connected lead - acid ( la ) battery pack , at least one series - connected lithium - ion ( li ) battery pack , and the combinations of at least one series - connected lead - acid ( la ) battery pack and at least one series - connected lithium - ion ( li ) battery pack . based on the user &# 39 ; s needs in the design of energy supply , the integrated ups power system 100 can also connect to an external energy storage unit 102 . in fig7 , the integrated ups power system 140 comprises an alternative power source 104 . this feature serves as an extra power source in addition to the ac adapter charge 101 . the alternative power source 104 comprises a programmable power converter system that provides voltage or current conversion , filtering , and control from outside energy source . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt (“ maximum power point tracking ”) for converting the powers acquired from the outside energy sources . the outside power sources can include , but not limit to , the data center or cloud application , the green technologies including the solar panels , wind electricity , fuel electricity , etc . in another embodiment , the alternative power source 104 comprises an mppt and a microcontroller for programming the voltage or current conversion from outside sources . intelligence is implemented in the integrated ups system 140 to communicate with the server computer assembly 131 to collaborate on the overall energy usage plan . the energy usage plan of the current system 140 comprises the following three operation scenarios , including the normal operation , the stage of power outage , and the recovery mode . in the normal operation status , the ac adapter serves as the main power source for the server computer assembly 131 and then for charging the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 . as shown in fig7 , during the stage of power outage , the ac adapter 101 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 is disabled . the energy storage unit 102 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 provides power to the server computer assembly 131 , which may work under a lower power mode to extend the battery backup time . the low power mode is communicated to the server computer assembly 131 by the integrated ups power supply system 140 when it detects that the ac adapter 101 is not providing the power . fig3 & amp ; 7 show the recovery mode 110 of the integrated ups power supply system 140 , wherein the external power is back online and ac adapter 101 now provides sufficient energy to power the server computer assembly 131 and charge the energy storage unit 102 . to minimize the ac adapter output capacity and to alleviate the design requirements of the ac adapter , the charging current will be optimally controlled . a special programmable current limit 105 is built into energy storage unit . the server computer assembly 131 also can communicate the energy storage unit 102 through built - in microcontroller 106 to inform how much current it actually needs so the storage unit can decide to provide more current to charge the battery packs 107 inside energy storage unit 102 . for normal design , the ac adapter only supplies about 30 % to 40 % more current than server / computer system 200 requires . therefore , only 30 % to 40 % current will be used to charge the energy storage unit 102 . but under some operation condition , such as server computer assembly 131 either in idle state or sleep mode , the server computer assembly 131 will not need the original assigned maximum power , so the server computer assembly 131 can inform energy storage unit 102 through microcontroller 106 . the microcontroller 106 can control programmable current limit 105 to increase the charging current from ac adapter / charger 101 , hence the charging time can be reduced without increasing the rated capacity of ac adapter / charger 101 . this communication can happen dynamically through ipmi normally used in server / computer control interface system . fig4 & amp ; 7 show the flowchart of the energy depletion mode of the integrated ups power supply system 140 . block 151 shows when the energy storage unit is depleted extensively during power outage and the charging current is not immediately available . the integrated ups power supply system 140 will cut off the output power in order to protect the life of the internal battery packs inside the energy storage unit 102 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 and to prevent from further damages . the ups power supply system 140 makes the following two commands . first , as shown in block 152 , the ups power supply system 140 notifies the server computer assembly 131 to take proper action . the action includes shutting down the ups power supply system 140 . in block 154 , the server computer assembly 131 commands the ups power supply system 140 to shut down . the usp power supply system 140 is then automatically and completely shut down in order to avoid complete power drainage . second , as shown in block 151 , the energy store unit 102 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 can detect the situations when the internal battery packs have been drained extensively showing the low current drainage . the energy store unit 102 can also detect when the overall energy lowers down to a minimum predetermined capacity level . the energy store unit 102 sends data and / or signals to the server computer assembly 131 . in block 153 , the energy store unit 102 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 disables the output supply . when the ac power resumes , the energy storage unit 102 of the integrated ac & amp ; energy storage unit 121 is recharged sufficiently . the integrated ups power supply system 140 will then switch back to its normal operation . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , the static electricity dissipator drain 10 of the invention is intended to be installed within a structure 12 such as a storage tank 14 to dissipate the build - up of static electricity within the tank 14 as the product is filled with product 16 via inlet 18 or emptied via outlet 20 . more particularly , conventional storage tanks 14 comprise a generally cylindrical configuration composed of a side wall 22 covered by a top wall 24 and supported by a bottom wall 26 . in some storage tanks 14 , the top wall 24 is fixed whereas in other storage tanks 14 , the top wall 24 floats upon the fluid product 16 to move upwardly upon filling the tank via inlet 18 or to slide downwardly upon emptying the tank via outlet 20 . without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , the tank 14 may alternatively comprise barges and ships that have internal tanks for the storage of flammable or explosive material . the standing end of the static electricity dissipator drain 10 of the invention is preferably suspended from the top wall 24 . as shown in fig1 , in floating - roof tanks , the trailing end of the static electricity drain 10 may then be connected to either the side wall 22 or bottom wall 26 of the storage tank 14 so as to move upwardly during filling or downwardly during emptying of the tank , with the trailing end remaining submerged . as shown in fig2 a , the static electricity dissipator drain 10 of the invention may be installed in the underside of the top wall 24 of the storage tank 14 by simply drilling a hole 28 through the top wall 24 within a reachable distance from the thief - access hatch 30 . upon opening of the thief - access hatch 30 , the static electricity dissipator drain 10 may be fed therethrough with its upper portion grasped by the installer and then inserted upwardly through the hole 28 drilled in the top wall 24 . as shown , the upper end of the drain 10 comprises a threaded boss 32 ( into which the drain 10 is crimped ) for receiving a washer and threaded nut 34 once it is inserted back through the hole 28 in the top wall 24 . the lower end of the drain 10 may be clamped to the bottom or side wall of the tank as shown in fig1 by an end connector 35 l crimped onto the lower end of the drain 10 , or simply be left dangling . notably , the natural helical lay of the drain 10 allows the drain 10 to fold as the top wall 24 moves upwardly or downwardly with respect to the bottom wall 22 . as shown in fig2 b , an alternative embodiment for installing the static electricity drain 10 to the underside of the top wall 24 . specifically , an end connector 35 u crimped onto the upper end of the drain 10 and bent at a 90 ° angle . the connector 35 u is fastened to a threaded length of rod 37 by opposing nuts and washers 37 a . the rod 37 is inserted into the holes 28 and secured by opposing nuts and washers 28 a . the end connector 35 l of the static electricity drain 10 may be sufficiently long to dangle in the storage tank 14 on or just above its bottom wall 26 or may be long enough to extend all the way to its bottom wall 26 and connected thereto as described in connection with the embodiment of fig2 a . as shown in fig2 c , d and e , the static electricity dissipator drain 10 of the invention is preferably installed by via one of the mounting bolts 15 of the collar 30 c of the thief hatch 30 . more specifically , upon opening of the cover 30 cc of the thief hatch 30 , one of its mounting bolts 15 may be removed , and discarded . the static electricity dissipator drain 10 is then installed in a similar manner to that described above in connection with fig2 b with the rod 37 taking the place of the mounting bolt 15 . note that the rod 37 is secured into position by a pair of opposing nuts and washers 31 . as noted above , the lower end of the drain 10 may be clamped to the bottom or side wall of the tank as shown in fig1 by an end connector 35 l crimped onto the lower end of the drain 10 , or simply be left dangling in contact with or slightly above the tank bottom . as also shown in fig2 c , d and e , the thief hatch collar 30 c and the thief hatch cover 30 cc are electrically grounded together by a flexible electrically conductive jumper 36 a having one end connected to a metal bracket 39 mounting onto the end of the metal rod 37 by another nut and washer 33 and the other end connected to the thief cover 30 cc by a crimped - on end connector 35 ll electrically connected to the thief cover 30 cc by a metal bolt and nut 30 b mounted through a drilled hole in the thief cover 30 cc . as also shown in fig1 and 2a and 2 b , the upper end 32 of the drain 10 may be connected via an electrical ground 36 to a catwalk and steps 38 surrounding the tank 14 which is itself electrically connected to earth ground via a ground electrode 40 . the electrical ground 36 may also be connected to the inlet 18 and outlet 20 . when used in conjunction with a floating top wall 24 , as shown in fig3 , it is noted that the top wall 24 is sealed against the lumen of the side wall 22 by means of an annular seal 42 formed about the annular periphery of the top wall 24 . it is also noted that conventionally the top wall 24 is composed of a material that would not otherwise float on the surface of the product contained within the tank 14 and , therefore , conventionally a pontoon 44 is affixed to the underside of the top wall 24 to provide the needed buoyancy . conventionally , an annular deflector 46 is affixed to the top periphery of the top wall 24 to slide up and down the lumen of the side wall 22 to deflect dirt , precipitation , snow and other possible contaminants away from the annular seal 42 . however , it is noted that the deflector 46 traps vapors flowing from the product 16 contained within the tank 14 and thereby potentially creates an explosive environment . as shown in fig2 a and 2e , the static electricity dissipation drain 10 of the invention is preferably manufactured from a length of cable 48 whose upper end is crimped in the boss 32 or connector 35 u . the strands of cable wires 50 may be unfurled from the balance of the cable 48 , whereupon a multitude of very fine dissipator wires 52 may be laid into the remaining strands 52 . the removed strands 50 can then be refurled onto the cable 48 to securely retain the dissipator wires 52 to fully entrain the dissipator wires 52 within the cable . it should be appreciated , however , that other embodiments of a dissipator may suffice without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . referring to fig5 , the present invention substantially reduces or eliminates altogether the conditions ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) noted above that might otherwise result in combustion in or around the tank battery . more particularly , in the case of non - conductive ( fiberglass ) tanks 12 , all of the metallic masses are bonded electrically with a bonding conductor 36 . the bonding conductor 36 is bonded to the vent pipe 60 ( the actual connection to the tank is usually metal ) or the vent pipe manifold ( if metal pipe is used ) on top of the tank 12 ( see detail a ), which is in turn bonded to any other metal masses associated with piping atop the tank 12 . it is noted that if plastic piping is used , conductors must be run along the piping to complete the necessary electrical bonding . as shown in fig1 and 2a , the bonding conductor 36 is then run to the metal walkway 38 such that the metal walkway , supports and stairs ( collectively 38 ) are employed as an integral component of the bonding conductor system . at the base of the tank , the bonding conductor is connected to the drain pipes and , if installed , the carbon veil . the bonding conductor is then run to the truck loadout provisions or injection well , using conductive product piping if available , or with conductor , if the piping is non - conductive . this eliminates any source of arcing . it also bonds the vacuum trucks , piping , injection well loading water or oil to the system , thereby eliminating another potential problem area . as noted above , the in - tank static drain 10 is installed in each tank 12 . preferably the drain is sized to be approximately equal to the height of the tank 12 is tall . a connector is preferably installed at the bottom end of the static drain 10 ( mostly to keep it from unraveling ) and it just hangs in the tank 12 . the length is preferably short enough that it will not become fouled in valves or other tank appliances . it must be mechanically secured to the top of the tank , either through a purpose - drilled hole , or through an existing hole ( preferably the bolt in the thief hatch collar is replaced with the stud atop the static drain ). it is then bonded electrically to the conductor system described above . this brings the stored product in the tank to the same potential as the remainder of the site . it is noted that when installed in flow - back tanks 12 wherein the fluid is injected at a high volume or velocity , both ends of the drain 10 are preferably secured to prevent too much whipping around of the end of the drain 10 as the tank 12 is filled , with one end bonded to the filler pipe or support gussett . in the case of conductive , fixed roof tanks , the tank steel provides all on - tank bonding , except for the thief hatch flexible jumper , which is installed as noted above . at the base of the tank , conductors on non - conductive piping are installed , bonding the truck loadouts or injection well . again , an in - tank static drain 10 is installed in each tank 12 as described above to bring the stored product to the same potential as the remainder of the site . notably , drain 10 is also electrically connected to the metal catwalk surrounding the tank farm , which is in turn electrically connected to earth ground , to function as a grounding buss for the entire system . in the case of floating roof tanks , bonding is provided by the manufacturer in the form of shunts between the floating roof and tank shell wall . the most recent edition of api 545 , lightning protection for hydrocarbon storage tanks , will requires additional bonding in the form of conductors between the floating roof and tank shell wall installed at intervals not to exceed 100 ′. in - tank static drains are installed as these conductors . in this case , the drain must be approximately 20 % longer than the height of the tank , and must be secured to both the floating roof and either the bottom of the tank or the side near the bottom in such a manner that it will not interfere with tank operations or maintenance . to incorporate structural lightning protection into the system , air terminals ( lightning rods ) of the streamer - delaying type ( see dissapators 62 , 64 and 66 of details a , b and c ) atop the tank or tank battery and associated walkway handrails . air terminal layout should meet the requirements of nfpa 780 ( the us lightning protection standard ). in order to provide a convenient means for electrical bonding of the air dissapators 62 , 64 and 66 and the bonding conductors 26 , specially configured grounding clamps 100 and 120 of fig6 and 7 may be employed . more specifically , the grounding clamp 100 of fig6 a , 6 b and 6 c comprises a metal base plate 101 to which is welded one end of a generally u - shaped metal arbor 102 . a metal nut 103 is welded to the other end of the arbor member 102 in alignment with the base plate 101 . a bolt 104 may then be threaded through the nut 103 to clamp the structure being clamped between the base plate 101 and the end of the bolt 104 . a cable bracket 105 is mounted to the underside of the base plate 101 by means of a nut 106 mounted onto another bolt 107 welded to the underside of the base plate 101 , thereby allowing the bonding conductor 26 to be electrically and mechanically fastened to the clamp 100 . it is noted that this clamp 100 is particularly suited for electrically and mechanically connecting the bonding conductor 26 to various “ flat ” components of the catwalk and steps 38 . the grounding clamp 120 of fig7 a , 7 b and 7 c comprises a generally u - shaped channel 121 having opposing holes 122 positioned therethrough for receiving the opposing threaded ends of a c - clamp 123 . nuts 124 threaded onto the opposing ends of the c - clamp 123 allowing it to be electrically and mechanically clamped onto generally circular cylindrical objects such as fill and vent pipes 60 . the sides of the generally u - shaped channel 121 may include arcuate cut - outs 125 for a tighter fit around the vent pipe 60 . to facilitate easy grounding by the bonding conductor 26 , the opposing ends of the c - clamp 123 each includes a cable bracket 126 held into position by the nuts 124 . additionally , to facilitate connection of air terminals , the clamp 120 includes a threaded nut 127 welded to the inside surface of one side of the u - shaped channel 121 about a hole 128 and another threaded nut 129 welded to the inside bottom surface of the u - shaped channel 121 about a another hole 130 . it is noted that the resulting angles are at 90 degrees so that the air terminal may be positioned vertically irrespective of the orientation of the clamp 120 itself by simply installing the air terminal in to the appropriate nut 127 or 129 that is vertically oriented . earth grounding may be provided for by the inherent self - grounding of steel tanks connected to the battery , driven ground rods ( particularly at the base of the stairway for personnel safety ), ground beds , counterpoises , etc . referring to fig8 a - d , the invention also comprises a tubular standoff 210 through which is threaded a by - pass conductor 212 connected at a lower end 212 l to the floating roof 214 and an upper end 212 u to the upper edge 216 of a tank 218 . preferably , the tubular standoff 210 is composed of a lightweight , electrically nonconductive material such as fiberglass or kevlar . preferably , the by - pass conductor 212 is composed of a multitude of fine conductive wires such as would be found in conventional welding cables . referring to fig9 a & amp ; 9b , the lower end 210 l of the tubular standoff 210 attaches mechanically to the perimeter of the floating roof 214 by means of a unidirectional pivotal bracket 220 . more specifically , the unidirectional bracket 220 comprises a base plate 222 with four corner holes 224 allowing it to be mechanically connected to the floating roof 214 by threaded fasteners or the like . a pair of opposing upstanding flanges 226 are welded to the base plate 222 to extend upwardly for receiving an inverted u - shaped connector 228 having a pair of opposing ears 228 e that fit between the corresponding flanges 226 . a bolt 230 extends through aligned holes in the flanges 226 and ears 228 e to create a pivotal connection therebetween . a tubular socket 232 is welded to the flat portion of the u - shaped connector 228 for receiving the lower end 212 l of the tubular standoff 212 . the socket 232 is preferably slotted 232 s and includes a tension fastener 232 f to allow tightening about the lower end 212 l of the tubular standoff 212 to mechanically secure it in the socket 232 . it is noted that the pivotal connection between the flanges 226 and ears 228 e assure that the tubular standoff 210 may pivot only in one arc ( i . e ., unidirectional ) thereby defining the unidirectional pivoting of the tubular standoff 210 along such arc . in this manner , the base plate 222 may be fastened to the floating roof 214 at an orientation to miss any upstanding protuberances that might exist on the roof 214 as the tubular standoff 210 pivots from its generally horizontal position when the floating roof 214 is at its highest position ( e . g ., tank 218 is full ) ( see fig8 a ) to its tilted upward position when the floating roof 214 is at its lowest position ( e . g ., tank 218 is empty ) ( see fig8 d ). still referring to fig9 a & amp ; 9b , the by - pass conductor 212 is threaded through the tubular standoff 210 and then through a hole ( not shown ) formed in the flat portion of the u - shaped connector 228 to then be mechanically and electrically connected the floating roof 214 by means of an eye crimp connector and bolt ( not shown ). as shown in fig9 c , a preferred embodiment of the ears 228 e of the u - shaped connector 228 comprises an offset hole 228 h formed through the flat portion and one of the elongated ears 228 s having an elongated slot 228 s formed therethrough . the purpose of the offset hole 228 h and elongated slot 228 s is to increase the bending radius of the by - pass conductor 212 to minimize chaffing as it passes through the u - shaped connector 228 . a cable clamp 228 c is attached to the other elongated ear 228 s to securely retain the by - pass conductor 212 in the u - shaped member 228 , thereby providing some strain relief to the by - pass conductor 212 . referring now to fig1 a - d , a rim bracket 234 comprising a generally inverted u - shape is provided to be fitted over the upper edge of the tank 218 and electrically and mechanically connected to the upper edge of the tank 218 by means of a threaded bolt 236 threaded through a hole in one of the legs of the u - shaped rim bracket 234 . the upper end 212 u of the by - pass conductor 212 is stripped of any insulation and provided with a crimp eye connector 238 whose eye is mechanically and electrically connected to the flat portion of the u - shaped rim bracket 234 by a threaded bolt 240 . a cable clamp 234 c is connected to the u - shape to securely affix the by - pass conductor 212 thereto and provide additional strain relief the rim bracket 234 includes a downwardly extending arcuate channel 242 that supports the by - pass conductor 212 extending from the rim bracket 234 . the radius of the arcuate - shaped channel 242 defines and therefore limits the bending radius of the by - pass conductor 212 extending from the top of the tank 218 . the end of the channel 242 may be welded to rim bracket 234 or simply connected to the by - pass conductor 212 adjacent to the eye connector 238 by a cable fastener 244 . fig1 e - h show alternative embodiments of the rim bracket 234 designed to accommodate different upper edges of tanks 218 ( the upper edges being illustrated in bold ). it is noted that the rim bracket 234 may be positioned along the edge of the tank 218 in alignment with the upper end 210 u of the tubular standoff 210 when it is in its uppermost position such that the by - pass conductor 212 is prevented from fouling on any tank appurtenances . referring to fig1 , a strain relief 246 is provided at the uppermost end 210 u of the tubular standoff 210 to reduce any chaffing of the by - pass conductor 212 as is exists from the tubular standoff 210 . for added strain - relief protection and to provide more guidance to the by - pass conductor 212 while defining its upward bending radius , another arcuate channel 250 may be provided at the uppermost end 210 u of the tubular standoff 210 . more particularly , referring to fig1 a and b , the arcuate channel 250 comprises a series of non - conductive rectangular tube segments 252 interconnected by a respective series of non - conductive u - shaped segments 254 pivotally connected by a respective series of hinge pins 256 extending through the respective overlapping ends of the rectangular tube segments 252 / u - shaped segments 254 . importantly , the hinge pins 256 are offset from the centerline of the arcuate channel 250 to define a pathway through which the by - pass conductor 212 is threaded . also importantly , the offset positioning of the hinge pins 256 limit the relative pivoting of the adjacent segments 254 / 256 thereby defining the minimum diameter that the arcuate channel 250 may be curved into due to the abutting of the edges 254 e against the rectangular tube segments 254 . finally , as shown in fig1 a , the arcuate channel 250 may be inserted into the tubular standoff 210 and secured therein by means of threaded fasteners 210 f or the like . alternatively or in addition to the arcuate channel 250 , a segment of semi - rigid flex conduit may extend from the upper end 210 u of the tubular standoff 210 , to provide strain relief and guidance to the by - pass conductor 212 . another embodiment of the tubular standoff 210 comprises a guywire - supported mast configuration 260 . in this embodiment , the tubular standoff 210 comprises a mast 262 and mast extension 264 interconnected by a mast extension adaptor 266 , each of which are composed of a non - conductive material . to allowing pivoting of the mast 262 , its bottommost end is connected to a mast receiver assembly 268 . the mast receiver assembly 268 comprises a hinge tube receiving tube 272 for rotatably receiving a hinge tube 270 . the hinge tube 270 is rotatably connected to the floating roof 214 by means of a series of co - linearly aligned hinge tube receiving tubes 274 mounted to pivot brackets 276 connected to mounting pads 280 affixed to the floating roof 214 . a guy wire tube 282 is connected to the opposing ends of the hinge tube 270 . opposing non - conductive guy wires 284 extend therefrom to the mast extension adaptor 266 , thereby providing lateral support to the mast 262 / 264 . as shown in fig1 a - d , for added support each tube bracket 276 may be more rigidly connected to the floating roof 214 by providing four pads 280 . further , to provide longitudinal support for the mast 262 , longitudinal non - conductive guy wires 286 may be provided along its longitudinal length and tensioned by a tensioner 288 . finally , as shown in fig1 b , the upper end 210 u of the mast 262 / tubular standoff 210 may be fitted with a non - conductive arcuate channel 250 to limit the bending radius of the by - pass conductor 212 . as shown in fig1 a , the perimeter of some floating roofs 212 are provided with a knee - height wall 290 supported by a triangular framework 292 to define a space between the wall 290 and the inside of the tank to capture the fire - retardant foam that is released in the event of a fire . these “ foam ” walls 290 may be used by the present invention to support the guywire embodiments of the invention . more particularly , as shown in fig1 a and b , the tubes 274 may be welded to the brackets 276 which are then in turn bolted to the angular members of the triangular framework 292 . as shown in fig1 c and d , the center bracket 276 may b provided with an adjustable stop 294 to limit the backward travel of the mast 262 / tubular standoff 210 , thereby preventing it from contacting the inner side of the tank 218 . in lieu of the tubular standoff 210 , in another embodiment the invention comprises a helical by - pass conductor 212 having a natural twist that is connected at one end to the upper edge 216 of the tank 218 by the rim bracket 234 and at another end to the floating roof 214 . the natural twist of the by - pass conductor 212 urges the by - pass conductor 212 into a coiled mass on top of the floating roof 214 as the roof 214 raises . a plurality of spherical separators 300 are fastened along the length of the by - pass conductor 212 to assure that the coils do not become entangled as they lay down onto or played out from the floating roof 214 and to assure that no part of the by - pass conductor 212 becomes trapped or pinched in the juncture between the outer periphery of the floating roof 214 and the inner tank wall as the by - pass conductor 212 lays down onto or is played out from the floating roof 214 . the present disclosure includes that contained in the appended claims , as well as that of the foregoing description . although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views , one sees that fig1 shows the film strip 100 in the various stages of forming the first embodiment of the shrouded zipper assembly 10 of the present invention . as shown near plane 2 - 2 of fig1 and the cross - sectional view of fig2 , film strip 100 , with first and second longitudinal edges 102 , 104 , is typically initially provided in a planar configuration . this configuration would be typical for the film strip 100 being provided from a roll as shown in fig7 , as will be discussed hereinafter . the slider shield 12 is placed on film strip 100 and secured thereto using a sufficiently strong adhesive , or tack seal , that slider shield 12 stays attached to film strip 100 during the removal of the resulting tear - away header , as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 103 , 751 entitled “ reclosable package with slider zipper shielded for high pressure pasteurization ”, filed on apr . 12 , 2005 , the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . as described in this commonly owned application , slider shield 12 is made from material typically chosen from silicone , foamed polymeric materials , elastomeric sheet materials , tape , or polymer films with a thickness greater than that of the film forming the reclosable bag . those skilled in the art will recognize a range of equivalents after study of the present disclosure . thereafter , as shown near plane 3 - 3 of fig1 and the cross - sectional view of fig3 , slider 14 of zipper 16 is laid below ( in the perspective and orientation shown in fig1 ) the longitudinal mid - line of slider shield 12 and typically joined thereto by an adhesive which is relatively weak compared to the adhesive or tack seal holding the slider shield 12 to film strip 100 thereby allowing slider shield 12 to detach from slider 14 while remaining attached to the tear - away header formed from film strip 100 . zipper 16 includes first and second profiles 18 , 20 with respective first and second flanges 22 , 24 . first flange 22 is sealed to film strip 100 along first seal line 106 . alternately , flanges 22 , 24 can be sealed to film strip 100 as shown in fig4 , and strip 100 sealed to bag walls 150 , 152 , or both flanges 22 , 24 and film strip 100 can be sealed at the same time to bag walls 150 , 152 . tear lines 110 , 112 are also provided as previously indicated . additionally , first line of weakness 110 is formed in film strip 100 between slider shield 12 and first seal line 106 . likewise , second line of weakness 112 is formed in film strip 100 between slider shield 12 and where second seal line 108 ( described hereinafter ) is formed . thereafter , as shown near plane 4 - 4 of fig1 and the cross - sectional view of fig4 , film strip 100 is thereafter folded around a longitudinal mid - point thereof and first and second longitudinal edges 102 , 104 are brought together so that slider shield 12 is brought around slider 14 and secured thereto by a relatively weak adhesive . second flange 24 is sealed to film strip 100 inwardly adjacent from second longitudinal edge 104 along second seal line 108 . fig4 is shown with a variation including a loop 200 in film strip 100 formed above slider 14 . a further embodiment is shown in fig5 a and 6 b wherein an air pocket 130 is formed in lieu of a slider shield 12 . air pocket 130 is formed by a strip 132 sealed to the interior of the shroud formed by film strip 100 as shown in fig6 a . lower and upper bag walls 150 , 152 are sealed to and extend from first and second flanges 22 , 24 . alternatively , as shown in fig6 b , upper bag wall 152 can extend past second flange 24 whereby upper bag wall 152 forms the interior wall of air pocket 130 while film strip 100 forms the exterior wall of air pocket 130 . in other words , edge 153 of upper bag wall 152 is sealed to film strip 100 and edge 101 of film strip 100 is sealed to upper bag wall 152 . as shown in fig5 , air pocket 130 is bounded by end seal 160 , cross seal 162 and longitudinal seals 164 , 166 . a further process is shown in detail in fig7 a and 8 . a continuous roll of semi - soft or similar material 380 ( such as slider shield 12 is made from ) is supplied from roll 300 , wherein material 380 extends over and above the edge 302 of film 304 , which forms one bag wall of the reclosable bag to which one side of material 380 is applied . as shown in fig7 b , material 380 is indexed with patches 306 of relatively strong adhesive 382 on one side ( the sides that are applied to the bag walls ) and relatively weak adhesive 384 on the other side ( the sides that are applied to and over the slider 14 ). non - stick layers of film 400 , 402 are applied on both sides of material 380 to prevent the adhesive patches 306 ( comprising strong and weak adhesive 382 , 384 ) from sticking to the material 380 , with non - stick layers of film 400 , 402 being peeled off as material 380 is unwound . the adhesive patches 306 are indexed , depending on the size of the bag to which they are to be applied , to the position that slider 14 will have when the zipper 16 is attached to the bag walls . zipper 16 with mounted sliders 14 a , 14 b , 14 c is attached to bag wall 304 at location 309 so that the sliders 14 are , as indicated , indexed to the adhesive patches 306 . lower flange 22 ( see fig9 ) of zipper 16 is sealed to film 304 at seal 106 . material 380 is then folded over sliders 14 a , 14 b , 14 c and pressed onto the sliders . the sliders 14 a , 14 b , 14 c are now attached to continuous folded material 380 by the indexed adhesive patches with weak adhesive 384 , while strong adhesive patches 382 attach material 380 to bag wall 304 . thereafter , cut - outs 160 are punched out through the folded soft material 380 and the lower bag film 304 at the locations of future cross seals , because material 380 would otherwise impede satisfactory cross seals . to cover punched out cut - outs in bag wall 304 , film strip 180 is introduced from roll 320 from below bag wall 304 and continuously sealed by seal bars 340 and 342 to bag wall 304 at seals 162 , 164 . perforations or tear line 110 can be formed in bag wall 304 at this time or earlier in the process . bag wall 352 , which can be from a separate film , is applied over the zipper 16 , and sealed to bag wall 304 at seal 354 . alternately , bag wall 304 can be folded over the zipper to form bag wall 352 . simultaneously , bag wall 352 , with preformed perforation or tear line 112 , is pressed onto the strong adhesive patches 382 on the outside of material 380 ( see fig1 ). alternately , the same process can be used to attach material 380 to a separate strip , which is then attached to the film ( s ), forming the bag walls as shown in fig1 . thus the several aforementioned objects and advantages are most effectively attained . although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein , it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims . | 1 |
a stress concentrator feature on the shaft of a golf tee can be defined as an area of the tee shaft where the shaft strength has a local minimum . that is , on either side of the location of the stress concentrator feature on the shaft , the strength of the shaft is greater than the strength of the shaft at the location of the stress concentrator feature . in the preferred embodiment , the shaft strength is reduced over a relatively small section of the shaft length . the most straightforward method to reduce shaft strength is to reduce the shaft diameter . the preferred embodiment has a small section of shaft with reduced diameter , which in effect forms a notch in the shaft . the notch acts as a stress concentrator , which focuses the energy input from the club head to the location of the stress concentrator feature . in order to act reasonably as a stress concentrator , the diameter ( or thickness ) of the tee shaft at the location of the local minimum should be at least 10 % smaller than the nominal diameter of the shaft in the local region around the stress concentrator . the preferred embodiments have a local minimum in the shaft diameter that is 40 % smaller than the nominal shaft diameter . however , it should be noted that there is no limitation on the required percentage difference in shaft diameter at the local minimum compared to the nominal shaft diameter . different ratios may be desirable for different nominal tee shaft diameters or with tees made of different materials . most of the discussion here focuses on tees made of wood , which are made on high - speed lathes . this manufacturing process results in tees that have a cylindrical geometry , and are circularly symmetric . the invention is not however limited to such geometries . a stress concentrator feature could be added to a tee with a shaft that had a square or rectangular cross section , for example . such a tee could be made using a different manufacturing process , such as injection molding of a polymer material . a stress concentrator feature also does not need to extend around the entire perimeter of the tee shaft . an effective stress concentrator feature could exist on only one side of a tee shaft , or on opposite sides of the shaft ( or extend over only a portion of the circumference of a round shaft ). for example , a second operation could be added where a traditional tee is placed in a press to form notches on opposite sides of the tee shaft . drilling a small hole , either partially or completely through the tee shaft , can also create a stress concentrator feature . such a hole would weaken the shaft at the location of the hole . the invention is not limited in any way in the materials used to form the tee , the geometry of the tee shaft ( cross section shape or thickness ), or the geometry of the stress concentrator feature and the extent to which it extends around the perimeter of or through the tee shaft . all that is required is a feature that creates a local minimum in the strength of the tee shaft . a tee with a stress concentrator ( formed by a notch ) in the shaft is straightforward to manufacture . since traditional wood tees are simple turnings , changing the diameter over a section of the shaft can be accomplished by changing the geometry of the tool used to make the turning . there is no increase in manufacturing time or cost required to accomplish this . no secondary operations are needed to form the stress concentrator in the shaft . a stress concentrator feature can also easily be incorporated in the tooling for a molded tee without affecting the cost of the part . no increase in material costs or machine cycle times would be needed . fig2 a shows a cross section of the preferred embodiment of the new tee design . tee 200 is similar to prior art tee 100 shown in fig1 except for stress concentrator 40 in shaft 1 . holes or other geometries that can form stress concentrators can be accomplished without additional costs when certain manufacturing methods are used ( holes can be done easily in injection molding , for example ) or with slight cost increases using secondary operations ( such as drilling a hole in a formed tee ). tee 500 in fig5 shows hole 80 drilled through the shaft 10 of tee 500 , where hole 80 forms a local minimum in perpendicular shaft strength at the location of the hole . in use , the new golf tee 200 is inserted into the ground until the portion of shaft 10 with reduced strength ( stress concentrator feature 40 ) is approximately flush with the ground . when the club head contacts the golf ball and tee 200 , shaft 10 of tee 200 will break at the location of stress concentrator feature 40 . furthermore , by locating this point flush with the ground , the moment arm that is formed between the location where the club head impacts top 30 of tee 200 and the stress concentrator feature 40 maximizes the force applied at stress concentrator feature 40 , for a fixed energy input from the club head . when the club head applies a force to the top of tee 200 perpendicular to the axis of tee shaft 10 , tee shaft 10 will break with a much smaller applied force than would a traditional tee . the accompanying reduction in club head velocity that occurs when the tee 200 breaks will be significantly less than the reduction that occurs when a traditional tee is used . in order for tee 200 to function properly , the club head must contact tee 200 somewhere between the location of the stress concentrator 40 and the top of tee 30 . if the club head contacts tee 200 between the location of stress concentrator 40 and the ground , then tee 200 will break along shaft 10 below stress concentrator 40 , and the tee will absorb the same energy ( or momentum ) as a traditional tee . this is the reason why the preferred embodiment locates stress concentrator 40 a distance below the top of tee 30 so that stress concentrator 40 will be approximately flush with the ground when top of tee 30 is the desired height above the ground . note that it is also possible to insert tee 200 farther into the ground ( so that stress concentrator 40 is slightly below the surface of the ground ) and still have it function correctly . the amount stress concentrator 40 can be pushed past the ground surface and still have the tee function correctly depends primarily on the characteristics of the ground . the softer the ground , the farther tee 200 can be inserted and still work effectively . tee 200 retains sufficient strength to resist breaking when a force is applied to top 30 of tee 200 , parallel to the tee shaft 10 axis . this is required in order to be able to insert the tee into the ground . it has been determined that the diameter of traditional tees provides a column that can withstand much greater compression loading than is needed in order to insert a tee into the ground . reducing the diameter of a portion of the shaft as required by the current invention can therefore be done while still maintaining sufficient strength to withstand the compression loads typically encountered . the preferred embodiment locally reduces the diameter of shaft 10 of tee 200 by approximately 40 % to form the stress concentrator feature 40 . shaft 10 of tee 200 in the preferred embodiment has a nominal diameter of 0 . 19 ″, and the diameter at the location of the stress concentrator feature 40 reduces to 0 . 11 ″. note that the invention is not in any way limited to these dimensions . the invention only requires that there be a section of the shaft with a locally reduced strength compared to the rest of the shaft . stress concentrator 40 in shaft 10 of fig2 a is shown with sharp corners . sharp corners increase the stress concentration that occurs , by reducing the area over which the input force is distributed . it may be desirable to reduce the amount of stress concentration for a given shaft strength ( a given diameter or thickness ) to improve the manufacturing yields of the device . the radiuses of the edges of stress concentrator 40 determine the areas over which stress is concentrated . a very small radius results in very high levels of local stress , and could adversely impact manufacturability of the device . a slight increase in the radius can be used if desired to accomplish a reduction in stress concentration for a given reduction in shaft strength . tee 201 is shown in fig2 b with a radiused stress concentrator . joint 41 of stress concentrator 40 is the most critical to radius to reduce stress concentration if needed for manufacturability . the preferred embodiment uses a radius of 0 . 015 ″ for joint 41 of stress concentrator 40 . it should be noted that the invention is not limited to the use of any particular radius . the depth of the notch and the dimension of the radius in joint 41 can both be varied to achieve different mechanical characteristics . the invention is not limited in any way in the combination of shaft diameter and stress concentrator radius used . stress concentrator 40 in shaft 10 ( of tees 200 and 201 ) should be located a distance below top of tee 30 so that top of tee 30 is the desired height above the ground when the tee is inserted in the ground ( to the point where stress concentrator 40 is approximately flush with the ground ). the preferred embodiments locate stress concentrator 40 approximately 1 . 0 ″ below top 30 , which is a desirable distance for use with a typical driver . it should be understood however that the invention is not in any way limited to this dimension . in fact , the preferred distance between stress concentrator 40 and top 30 will be smaller for a tee shot with an iron club ( or a fairway wood ) than a tee shot with a driver . in the case of a tee shot with an iron club , stress concentrator 40 will preferably be located approximately 0 . 30 ″ below top of tee 30 . again , it should be noted that the invention is not in any way limited to locating the stress concentrator at any of the above - identified distances away from the top of the tee . the use of distances other than those identified above will still result in a tee with reduced momentum absorption compared to traditional tees . it is also possible to construct a tee with more than one section of the shaft with reduced strength ( or more than one stress concentrator feature ). the invention is not limited in the number of stress concentrators contained in the shaft . an example embodiment is shown in fig3 where tee 300 contains two stress concentrators in shaft 10 . stress concentrator 40 in shaft 10 of tee 300 is located a distance from top 30 of tee 300 selected to be optimum when a driver is used for a tee shot , and stress concentrator 50 in shaft 10 of tee 300 is located a distance from top 30 of tee 300 selected to be optimum when an iron is used for a tee shot . tee 400 in fig4 shows another alternative embodiment of the new invention . the nominal diameter of shaft 10 on either side of stress concentrator feature 40 is no longer the same , as was shown in fig2 a , 2b , and 3 . the nominal diameter of shaft section 70 , which is the section between top 30 and stress concentrator feature 40 of tee 400 is smaller than the nominal diameter of shaft section 60 , which is the section between tip 20 and stress concentrator feature 40 of tee 400 . there is still a local minimum shown in the shaft diameter that forms stress concentrator 40 . this alternative embodiment allows the stress concentrator feature to continue to function , regardless of the depth tee 400 is inserted into the ground . tee 400 can now be inserted into the ground past the point where stress concentrator 40 would be flush with the surface of the ground , yet still function as intended . only section 60 of tee shaft 10 will be held in place by the ground . since section 60 has a larger diameter than section 70 , section 70 will not be held firmly in place by the ground , even if tee 400 is inserted so that stress concentrator 40 is located a significant distance below the ground surface . input force will still be concentrated at stress concentrator 40 , and the tee will still break at this point . this design can effectively be used for a driver or an iron shot without the need for multiple tees with different distances between the top of the tee and the location of the stress concentrator , or tees with multiple stress concentrators . this design does not require the tee to be fully inserted , pulled out to a desired height and then rocked forward as required by one prior art tee . tee 400 will be held firmly in place in the ground while still providing its driving distance improvement . the preferred embodiment shown in fig4 uses a diameter for shaft section 60 of 0 . 20 ″, a diameter of 0 . 15 ″ for section 70 , and a diameter at joint 41 of stress concentrator 40 of 0 . 1 ″. stress concentrator 40 is located 1 . 0 ″ from the top of the tee ( the same as the distance identified earlier for tees 200 and 201 , for use with a driver ). it should be noted that this embodiment is not limited in any way in the diameters ( or thickness ) used for the various shaft sections , or in the location of stress concentrator 40 . the dimensions given here are representative , and have been shown to work well . they are not the only dimensions that will work , and the invention should not be construed to be in any way limited to use of only these dimensions . the key elements of this embodiment are : 1 ) use of a stress concentrator feature located at a point along the shaft of a tee , and 2 ) a first section of the tee shaft below the stress concentrator feature that has a first diameter or thickness , a second section of the tee shaft above the location of the stress concentration feature that has a second diameter or thickness , where the diameter or thickness of this second section of tee shaft is less than ( or equal to , as described in previous embodiments ) the diameter or thickness of the first section of tee shaft . other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims : | 0 |
referring to fig4 through 8 for a preferred embodiment of the present invention , a washing machine cock is comprised of a tee shaped body ( 30 ) having its lower end connected to a spindle ( 31 ) and further to a water supply pipeline ( not illustrate ). a sideway water outlet ( 32 ) connected to a drain pipeline ( not illustrated ) is disposed to one side of the body ( 30 ) to guide the water to flow into a basket of a washing machine . the body ( 30 ) contains a chamber ( 33 ) to accommodate a precision ceramic valve ( 40 ). a thread ( 34 ) is disposed on the upper section of the chamber ( 33 ) to lock up a packing nut ( 35 ) to restrict an assembly of the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) to the body ( 30 ). a stem ( 41 ) of the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) extends through the packing nut ( 35 ) is fastened with a bolt ( 52 ) to a handle ( 50 ) for manual operation . a semi - circular packing retainer ( 51 ) in proper width extends from the lower edge of the handle ( 50 ). an indention is cut at the top edge of the body ( 30 ) in corresponding to a limit gradation ( 36 ) to define a limit interface to limit the packing retainer ( 51 ) of the handle ( 50 ) for the handle ( 50 ) to drive the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) in supplying or sealing the water . to correct flaws found with the prior art in the use of a ball valve to control switch between water supply and water seal , the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) is used instead of the ball valve . the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ), as illustrated in fig5 , is essentially comprised of a stem ( 41 ), a bifurcate plate ( 42 ), a control plate ( 43 ), a water inlet plate ( 44 ), a casing ( 45 ), and multiple washers . wherein , both of the bifurcate plate ( 42 ) and the water control plate ( 43 ) are overlapped to each other to be linked to the stem ( 41 ). upon turning the handle ( 50 ), the stem ( 41 ) of the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) linked to the handle ( 50 ) causes both of the bifurcate plate ( 42 ) and the water control plate ( 43 ) to change their relation with the water inlet plate ( 44 ) to determine supplying or sealing up water of the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ). since both of the water control plate ( 43 ) and the water inlet plate ( 44 ) are made of ceramic material , they provide excellent watertight results . the assembly relation between the precision ceramic valve ( 40 ) and the body ( 30 ) of the cock is not affected and changed by the operation of water supplying or sealing function . the switch between functions of water supply and seal is achieved by changing the relation between the water control plate ( 43 ) and the water inlet plate ( 44 ) thus to prevent water leak and wear . the precision ceramic valve by providing better wear resisting and sealing up performances effectively correct the flaws found with the ball valve of the prior art . to improve the appearance of the washing machine cock , a limit gradation ( 36 ) used to limit the handle ( 50 ) by the body ( 30 ) of the cock is disposed at its front edge and the indention provided at its rear edge . meanwhile the packing retainer ( 51 ) extending from the lower edge of the handle ( 50 ) is provided at in the rear of the handle ( 50 ). consequently , without affecting the water supply and seal switch function on the handle by the body ( 30 ) of the cock , the indention created in the course of switching between water supply and seal by turning the handle ( 50 ) is concealed from the view in facing its user as illustrated in fig8 . with the concealed indention , the integral and aesthetic appearance of the cock is maintained . use of precision ceramic valve instead of the ball valve and the concealment of the indention of the present invention not only significantly upgrade the wear resisting and water sealing up results but also maintain the integral and aesthetic appearance of the washing machine cock . therefore , this patent application is filed accordingly . | 8 |
the present invention relates to the discovery that melanoidins , and higher molecular weight fractions of products containing melanoidins , provide significant corrosive inhibition , which render these melanoidins suitable for use as anticorrosive agents in corrosive environments . melanoidins are brown - colored polymers formed by the interaction of amino acids and carbohydrates ( e . g ., mono -, di -, and oligosaccharides ). melanoidins are formed by a reaction between carbohydrates / saccharides and amino acids during aqueous processing at elevated temperatures ( e . g ., 70 to 120 ° c .). this is known as the maillard reaction which is a complex reaction with a network of consecutive and parallel chemical reactions . although the molecular weights of melanoidins can vary from about 400 to more than 100 , 000 depending upon reaction conditions ( e . g ., temperature , time , ph , water content ), the molecular weight of the melanoidins suitable for use in the present invention is above about 10 , 000 , with a preferred range being about 12 , 400 and higher ( i . e ., higher molecular weight melanoidins ). melanoidins contain groups ( e . g ., amino , carboxyl ) which can chelate ferrous ions . in the corrosion cell , ferrous ions are produced at the steel anode . inhibition of the corrosion process at the anode occurs when chelation / complexation of the ferrous ions occur . it has been shown that the type of saccharide is a significant factor in the chelation reaction . for example , glucose is more efficient than the disaccharide lactose in iron binding ability . it has also been shown that glucose / glutamic acid readily complexes with several cations e . g . mg 2 + , cu 2 + , ca 2 − and zn 2 + . therefore anodic inhibition will occur . the cathode in the corrosion cell requires the presence of oxygen for corrosion to occur . removing oxygen causes cathodic inhibition . melanoidins from the maillard reaction have been shown to have anti - oxidative properties . researchers have examined a glucose / glycine model and found anti - oxidation effects . others have used the glucose / glycine model and found that the high molecular weight fraction , with a molecular weight greater than 12 , 400 was significantly more effective than other fractions . still others have examined maillard reaction products from lactose / lysine model systems and concluded that high molecular weight fractions were more colored and had the highest anti - oxidative activity . therefore cathodic inhibition will occur . molasses derived from sugar cane was selected as the exemplary source for obtaining the higher molecular weight melanoidins of the description of the present invention . melanoidins are present in molasses , which is a product of the manufacture and / or refining of sucrose from mainly sugar cane or sugar beets , although molasses can be obtained from the processing of citrus fruit , starch ( from corn or grain sorghum ) which is hydrolyzed by enzymes and / or acid , also from hemicellulose extract which is a product of the manufacture of pressed wood . however , the scope of the present invention is not limited to a particular source of melanoidins , which may be derived from various agricultural sources ( e . g ., corn , wheat , barley , rice , sugar beets . and sugar cane , which after processing , yield other products ), corn steep liquor ( csl ), brewers condensed solubles ( bcs ), and distillers condensed solubles ( dcs ). in addition , other products having similar molecular weight ( gpc ) profiles to these known examples with respect to higher molecular weight components and fractions would also provide melanoidins suitable for corrosion inhibition . it is known that a mix ( e . g ., 80 / 20 ) of salt brine and molasses ( e . g ., 79 . 5 brix molasses ) provides significantly more corrosion inhibition as compared to the corrosion caused by the salt brine alone . in order to identify the components in the molasses that contribute to the anticorrosive effect of the product , chromatographic separation ( e . g ., column chromatography , gel permeation chromatography ) can be used to separate the components of a mixture by size , with the results shown on a chromatogram profile . for example , in some of the experiments described herein , chromatogram profiles were obtained on various diluted samples using gel permeation chromatography ( gpc ) under the following chromatography conditions : column ( bio - s - 3000 ), mobile phase ( sodium azide 0 . 05 %), detector ( refractive index ), flow rate ( 1 . 0 ml / min ), injection volume ( 10 . 0 μl ), and run time ( 20 minutes ). fig1 through 7 show gpc profiles for various samples . each profile shows peaks for the molecular weights of components present in the sample . peaks do not necessarily represent a single compound , but , particularly at higher molecular weight ranges , may be comprised of multiple components or polymers having heterogeneous composition . each profile also provides the elapsed time before a particular molecular weight component was released from the column ( retention time ( rt )). as general rule , the higher the molecular weight of the component , the shorter the retention time . likewise , the lower the molecular weight of the component , the longer the retention time . each profile also provides the height and area of the peak representing a particular molecular weight component , which allows for the determination of the weight percent of that particular molecular weight in the sample . for example , fig1 illustrates a gpc profile for sucrose ( mw = 342 ) having a retention time under those particular test conditions of 15 . 371 minutes . similarly , fig2 illustrates a gpc profile for a component having a molecular weight of 12 , 400 having a retention time under those same test conditions of 12 . 993 minutes . accordingly , based on those standards and under those same test conditions , for components with molecular weights less than 342 , one would expect retention times longer than 15 . 371 minutes . similarly , for components with molecular weights greater than 12 , 400 , one would expect retention times shorter than 12 . 993 minutes . fig3 illustrates a gpc profile for 79 . 5 brix molasses , which shows a retention time of 15 . 360 minutes for the most significant peak ( i . e ., the largest concentration has a molecular weight that corresponds to a retention time of 15 . 360 minutes ). comparing this gpc profile for the molasses ( fig3 ) to the gpc profile for sucrose ( mw = 342 ) ( fig1 ) and the gpc profile for a molecular weight standard of 12 , 400 ( fig2 ), one can see that there is a significant concentration of sucrose in the molasses and other lower molecular weight components in the molasses ( i . e ., that would have retention times near15 . 371 minutes for sucrose ). there is also a very low concentration of higher molecular weight components ( i . e ., that would have retention times near or less than 12 . 993 minutes for a mw = 12 , 400 ). turning to the experiments used to identify the components in the molasses that contribute to the anticorrosive effect of the product , in one experiment , 79 . 5 brix molasses ( 200 g / 150 ml ) was diluted ( 1 : 1 ) with distilled water ( 200 g / 200 ml ) and then separated into five fractions ( a - e ) by adding increasing amounts of denatured alcohol ( 85 % ethanol / 15 % methanol ) employing an alcohol precipitation method by sequential addition . alcohol precipitation is one method of selective precipitation widely used for isolating higher molecular weight fractions from heterogeneous mixtures . in alcohol precipitation , denatured alcohol is used as the non - solvent in a step - wise manner , filtering off the precipitate between each addition . fraction a was a precipitate with the least amount of the alcohol mixture and contained the highest molecular weight components , while fraction e had the greatest amount of the alcohol mixture and was the lowest molecular weight fraction of the molasses . these precipitates could be filtered and dried . fig4 illustrates a gpc profile for fraction a with eight peaks , showing the inclusion of higher molecular weight components with retention times near or shorter than the retention time for mw = 12 , 400 ( rt = 12 . 993 minutes ), but still having a significant amount of lower molecular weight components with retention times near or longer than the retention time for sucrose ( mw = 342 ) ( rt = 15 . 371 minutes ). a 100 ml sample of each fraction ( a - e ) was then mixed with 400 ml of 30 % nacl to yield an 80 / 20 mix for corrosion rate testing according to the nace standard tm - 01 - 69 method as modified by the pacific northwest snowfighters ( pns ). corrosion rate testing showed that certain fractions include corrosion inhibiting components , with fractions a ( 55 . 5 % reduction ), b ( 29 . 4 % reduction ), and e ( 63 . 2 % reduction ) all reducing the corrosiveness of the magnesium chloride when used alone . organic acid analysis of the molasses and these fractions demonstrated that trans - aconitic acid , which comes from sugar cane , is present in the molasses ( 1 . 63 %), and more specifically , fraction a ( 0 . 88 %) and fraction b ( 0 . 23 %), but is absent from fraction e . aconitic acid is a compound found in sugar processing and is the main organic acid in sugar juice and in raw sugar . aconitic acid is bound or associated with polysaccharides with a molecular weight of 300 , 000 . protein analysis of the molasses and these fractions demonstrated that protein is present in molasses ( 5 . 2 %), and more specifically , fraction a ( 1 . 9 %) and fraction e ( 1 . 6 %). amino acid analysis of the molasses and these fractions demonstrated that amino acids are present in the molasses ( 0 . 37 %), and more specifically , in trace concentrations in fraction a and fraction e , with aspartic acid having the most significant concentration ( 0 . 25 %). carbohydrate analysis of these fractions demonstrated that the concentration of carbohydrates present ( after dilution ) in fraction e ( 5 . 25 %) are sufficient to account for the bulk of the corrosion inhibition shown by that fraction , but the low concentrations of carbohydrates present in fractions a ( 0 . 78 %) and b ( 0 . 40 %) are not sufficient to account for corrosion inhibition shown by those fractions . corrosion rate testing on the molasses and selected carbohydrates present in the molasses demonstrated that the corrosion inhibition of the molasses is greater than that of its constituent carbohydrates alone . furthermore , corrosion rate testing demonstrated that higher molecular weight ( hmw ) fraction a , which contains 25 % of the total solids in the molasses , exhibits similar corrosion inhibition to lower molecular weight ( lmw ) fraction e , which contains 60 % of the total solids in the molasses . given that data , it was shown that , on a weight basis , the higher molecular weight components in fraction a have approximately twice the corrosion inhibition activity of the lower molecular weight carbohydrates in fraction e . this suggested the presence of higher molecular weight components in fraction a other than carbohydrates are largely responsible for the corrosion inhibition demonstrated by that fraction . these higher molecular weight components are melanoidins . these various analyses also indicated that approximately 23 % of the total solids in the molasses are not organic acids , proteins , amino acids , or carbohydrates , with a significant amount of those unidentified solids ( 3 . 5 %) present in fractions a and e , which show corrosion inhibition . to further identify the higher molecular weight components in the molasses and fraction a ( prepared using alcohol precipitation ) that are largely responsible for corrosion inhibition , various techniques can be used , including selective precipitation , dialysis , ultrafiltration , or a combination of those techniques . in another experiment , the 79 . 5 brix molasses was subjected to dialysis at room temperature using a regenerated thin semi - permeable cellulose ( rc ) spectrum laboratories membrane with a defined molecular weight cut - off of 12 , 400 . the membrane allows the components having molecular weights below the cut - off to pass through or permeate the membrane (“ permeate ”), leaving behind the components having molecular weights above the cut - off ( and lower molecular weight components closely associated with them ) that are stopped or retained by the membrane (“ retentate ”). in the experiment , 3 g of the molasses was dissolved in 30 ml of distilled water contained in the cellulose membrane , which was then placed in a 2 l beaker containing 500 ml of distilled water . a magnetic stirrer agitated the contents of the beaker . after at least 24 hours of dialysis , the membrane package containing the brown higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) was removed from the yellow lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ). the brown retentate was then dissolved in 500 ml of distilled water . the brown higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) contained the higher molecular weight components with molecular weights greater than the cellulose membrane cut - off ( 12 , 400 ) as well as lower molecular weight components that are closely associated with the higher molecular weight components stopped or retained by the membrane . the brown color and molecular weight data indicates the presence of melanoidins in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ). the yellow lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) contained the lower molecular weight components with molecular weights less than the membrane cut - off ( 12 , 400 ) that passed through or permeated the membrane . the yellow color and molecular weight data tends to indicate the absence or limited presence of melanoidins in the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ). after the dialysis of the molasses , both the resulting higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) and the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) contained the relative amounts of components that would be present in a solution of 0 . 6 % molasses ( 3 g molasses / 500 ml distilled water ). separate corrosion rate testing was performed on solutions of sodium chloride ( 3 %) combined with molasses , the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ), and the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) using a method based on the pns test , modified to increase the speed required to perform the test . the results of the corrosion rate testing are shown in table 1 . the percent reduction in corrosion for a particular solution is calculated by taking the difference between steel metal loss for that solution and the steel metal loss for the chloride salt solution and dividing that difference by the steel metal loss for the chloride salt solution , and multiplying that ratio by 100 . w 1 = weight loss of uninhibited chloride solution w 2 = weight loss of inhibited chloride solution these results demonstrate that the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) is a far more potent corrosion inhibitor than the molasses or the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ), despite the fact that the solids content of the retentate ( 63 . 0 mg / 100 ml ) is significantly less than the solids content of the molasses ( 424 . 2 mg / 100 ml ) and the permeate ( not recorded but approximately 360 mg / 100 ml ). for example , even though the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) has almost seven times less solids content than the molasses ( i . e ., only represents approximately 15 % of the dry weight molasses or 10 % of the liquid molasses ), it provides a much greater reduction in corrosion . the melanoidins present in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) inhibit corrosion by both anodic and cathodic inhibition . separate corrosion rate testing was performed on solutions of sodium chloride ( 3 %), magnesium chloride ( 3 %), and calcium chloride ( 3 %) combined with the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) using the modified pns test . triplicate 10 ml samples were evaporated to dryness in an oven for one hour at 105 ° c ., cooled in desiccators for thirty minutes and weighed . the cycle of drying , cooling , and desiccating , and weighing was continued until a constant weight ( in mg / 100 ml ) was obtained . the results of the corrosion rate testing are shown in table 2 . these results demonstrate that as the concentration of the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) is increased , the corrosive inhibition also increases . similar results when combined with other chloride salts ( e . g ., potassium chloride ) would be expected . the melanoidins present in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) inhibit corrosion by both anodic and cathodic inhibition . in another experiment , fraction a of the 79 . 5 brix molasses was obtained using the alcohol precipitation method described above . recall that fig4 illustrates a gpc profile for fraction a , showing the inclusion of higher molecular weight components with retention times near or shorter than the retention time for mw = 12 , 400 ( rt = 12 . 993 minutes ), but still having a significant amount of lower molecular weight components with retention times near or longer than the retention time for sucrose ( mw = 342 ) ( rt = 15 . 371 minutes ). fraction a was then subjected to the same dialysis process described above for the molasses using a cellulose membrane with a defined molecular weight cut - off of 12 , 400 . after dialysis , the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) of fraction a had a brown color ( similar to but less intense than the color of fraction a ) and contained the higher molecular weight components with molecular weights greater than the cellulose membrane cut - off ( 12 , 400 ) as well as lower molecular weight components that are closely associated with the higher molecular weight components stopped or retained by the membrane . fig5 illustrates a gpc profile for the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) of fraction a , indicating a major unimodal peak at a retention time of approximately 12 minutes , which is near and shorter than the retention time for mw = 12 , 400 ( rt = 12 . 993 minutes ). this illustrates the increased concentration of higher molecular weight components in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) of fraction a ( fig5 ) as compared to fraction a ( fig4 ). the brown color and molecular weight data indicates the presence of melanoidins in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) of fraction a . the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) of fraction a had a bright yellow color and contained the lower molecular weight components with molecular weights less than the membrane cut - off ( 12 , 400 ) that passed through or permeated the membrane . fig6 illustrates a gpc profile for the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) of fraction a , showing five peaks , all with retention times longer than the retention time for mw = 12 , 400 ( rt = 12 . 993 minutes ). this illustrates the theoretical absence of all higher molecular weight components in the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) of fraction a that were stopped or retained by the cellulose membrane . the yellow color and molecular weight data tends to indicate the absence or limited presence of melanoidins in the lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) of fraction a . molasses fraction a was subjected to hydrolysis using 2m trifluoroacetic acid heated at 120 ° c . for 2 hours . no increase in carbohydrate peaks was observed . the acid caused a precipitate to form related to the hmw material . the addition of sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acid caused the hmw material to dissolve and again be detected by gpc . in another experiment , ultrafiltration was used to identify the higher molecular weight components in the 79 . 5 brix molasses that are largely responsible for corrosion inhibition . ultrafiltration is a pressure - driven process where a fluid stream is pumped at low pressure and high flow rate across the surface of thin semi - permeable polymeric membranes with a defined molecular weight cutoff . as with dialysis previously described , ultrafiltration uses a membrane having a defined molecular weight cut - off that allows components having molecular weights below the cut - off to pass through or permeate the membrane (“ permeate ”), leaving behind the components having molecular weights above the cut - off ( and lower molecular weight components closely associated with them ) that are stopped or retained by the membrane (“ retentate ”). the ultrafiltration equipment used for the experiment was quix stand ultrafiltration system ( amersham biosciences , ge healthcare ) with a hollow fiber cartridge ufp - 10 - e - 3 ma with a nominal molecular weight cut - off of 10 , 000 and surface area of 110 cm 2 . in the experiment , 10 g of molasses was added to 800 ml of distilled water , mixed , and added to the feed reservoir of the ultrafiltration system to obtain a higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) with components having molecular weights above 10 , 000 and a lower molecular weight fraction ( permeate ) with components having molecular weights below 10 , 000 . gpc profiles were then obtained using a high pressure liquid chromatograph ( hplc ) with a waters 410 differential refractometer under the same chromatography conditions as previously described . the reference retention times determined for comparison to some of the later - obtained test results are shown in table 3 . fig7 illustrates a gpc profile for the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) obtained from the ultrafiltration of the molasses . the gpc profile for the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) shows a total of ten peaks . the retention times , weight percents , and molecular weights for each of the peaks are shown in table 4 . based on the retention time for the standard mw = 12 , 400 ( rt = 8 . 93 ), the gpc profile shows that higher molecular weight components with molecular weights greater than 12 , 400 make up approximately 6 % by weight of the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ), while higher molecular weight components with molecular weights greater than or equal to 10 , 000 make up approximately 10 % of the retentate . based on the results of the earlier experiments demonstrating that the higher molecular weight fractions ( retentate ) exhibited superior corrosion inhibition over molasses , additional corrosion rate testing was performed using the retentate from the ultrafiltration process to confirm these earlier results . the results of the corrosion rate testing are shown in table 5 . these results once again demonstrate the superior corrosive inhibition of the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) as compared to the molasses . for example , although the concentration of molasses ( 904 . 5 mg / 100 ml ) on a weight basis is approximately fifteen times greater than the concentration of the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) ( 59 . 7 mg / 100 ml ) in one example , the retentate resulted in approximately 6 % greater corrosion reduction ( a relative improvement of approximately 14 %). based on that data , on a weight basis , the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) is approximately 17 times more efficient as a corrosion inhibitor than molasses ( i . e ., 14 % improvement on top of a weight difference of 15 times ). the previously described experiments have shown that it is the higher molecular weight components in the retentate of the molasses ( i . e ., those components with molecular weights greater than 10 , 000 or 12 , 400 ) that provide the greatest and most unexpected corrosion inhibition . those components only constitute 6 % to 10 % of the weight of the retentate . given this data , those higher molecular weight components are approximately 170 to 280 times more efficient as a corrosion inhibitor than molasses on a weight basis . the melanoidins present in the higher molecular weight fraction ( retentate ) inhibit corrosion by both anodic and cathodic inhibition . there are a number of applications and industries where corrosion is a problem that additives including melanoidins ( or higher molecular weight fractions of melanoidin - containing products ) can be used ( e . g ., additives to industrial brines , deicing formulations for roadways and bridges , oil well drilling , and in other industrial and marine applications where corrosion is a problem ). any suitable concentration of the higher molecular weight fraction of the melanoidin - containing product that effectively reduces corrosion in a chloride salt , brine , or a deicing formulation may be used . a typical concentration can vary from about 0 . 03 to 10 . 0 % by weight . for example , one embodiment of a deicing formulation using the melanoidins of the present invention is as an additive to a known deicing and anti - icing formulation : the basic composition of the known deicing formulation consists of at least the first two of the following three components in aqueous solution depending upon ambient weather conditions , terrain , nature and amount of freezing / snow precipitation , and environmental concerns : ( 1 ) inorganic freezing point depressants preferably in the form of chloride salts which include magnesium chloride , calcium chloride and sodium chloride . metal acetates e . g . calcium magnesium acetate , may also be used . ( 2 ) low molecular weight carbohydrates in the 180 to 1 , 500 range ( 180 - 1 , 000 preferred ) wherein the carbohydrate is at least one selected from the group consisting of glucose , fructose and higher saccharides based on glucose and / or fructose and mixtures thereof . these carbohydrates can be obtained from a wide range of agricultural based products such as those derived from corn , wheat , barley , oats , sugar cane , sugar beets etc and products such as corn syrup and molasses . ( 3 ) thickeners are used in certain applications as the third key component to increase the viscosity of the composition so that the liquid remains in contact with the road surface or with the solid particles in piles of rocksalt / sand , or rocksalt / aggregates , or salt alone , or sand or aggregate . thickeners are mainly cellulose derivatives or high molecular weight carbohydrates . typical molecular weights for cellulose derivatives are for methyl and hydroxy propyl methyl celluloses from about 60 , 000 to 120 , 000 and for hydroxy ethyl celluloses from about 750 , 000 to 1 , 000 , 000 . carbohydrate molecular weights range from about 10 , 000 to 50 , 000 . 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 language of the claims . | 2 |
disclosed herein are methods and apparatus for producing a coating on a substrate , beginning with electrostatic spray to deposit a base - or green - coating layer . fig1 illustrates a two - step process for producing a coating on a substrate . the substrate 170 is placed in a deposition system 200 . one or more coating materials 150 are introduced into the deposition system 200 . these coating materials may be in dry powder or liquid suspension form , and may contain nano - or micro - sized particles or a combination of the two . multiple materials may be combined together or introduced separately into the deposition system 200 . a variety of materials can be used , including nitrides , carbides , carbonitrides , borides , oxides , sulphides and silicides . the deposition system 200 may use any of several methods to produce an initial coating or base layer on the substrate . one such deposition method is electrostatic spray coating ( esc ), as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 544 , 599 issued apr . 8 , 2003 to william d . brown , et al ., and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 607 , 782 issued aug . 19 , 2003 to ajay p . malshe , et al . esc deposition may be done as dry powder spray , or as liquid spray using a dispersion of the coating material in a suitable carrier liquid . after the initial deposition step , dry solid particles of the coating material ( s ) are in contact with the substrate . the substrate with deposition 270 is the output of the deposition step 200 as illustrated in fig1 . the substrate 270 with deposition of a base layer then undergoes a post - deposition treatment step 300 . post - deposition treatment is used to bind the deposited dry particles to one another and to the substrate . suitable treatment methods include : chemical vapor infiltration ( cvi ), which is similar to chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) but using a slower reaction rate such that the binder infiltrates the porous dry powder deposition , coming into contact with both the substrate and the dry particles ; and sintering , using any of several alternative sintering methods , singly or in combination , including : each of these methods applies one or more short bursts of high energy ( microwave , laser , infrared , or high temperature and high pressure ) to sinter the particles of the initial coating deposition , binding them to each other and to the substrate . another binding method is use of high temperature — high pressure ( ht - hp ), a process that is currently used for a variety of purposes including fabrication of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride ( pcbn ) solid compacts . in one embodiment of this invention , ht - hp is used as a post - deposition binding step to bind the deposited particles to each other and to the substrate . in some embodiments , an additional treatment step ( not shown in the figures ) is applied after the post - deposition treatment step 300 , to add an additional phase to the coating . one example of this is the use of electrostatic spray coating or ultrasonic spray deposition as a final step , after deposition and sintering of a base coating , for the purpose of applying active biological agents to the base coating . as a more specific example , a dental implant or other biomedical device , possibly with a porous surface layer , can be coated using esc followed by microwave sintering of the base coating . then in an additional post - sintering deposition step , an active agent can be applied , such as a biocidal or anti - bacterial agent , other active agents such as bone - morphogenic proteins , or particles carrying drugs for drug delivery at the surface of the device after implantation . these are just examples of how a post - processing step can be used to apply additional components to a base coating for specific purposes . other additional treatment steps ( not shown in the figures ) that can be applied after post - deposition treatment 300 can be used to enhance the binding of the coating and to reduce or eliminate defects and non - uniformities in the coating . for example , suitable treatments for hard coatings such as those used for cutting tools include high temperature — high pressure ( ht - hp ) and infrared sintering ( pulsed infrared radiation ). other methods using transient energy sources also may be used to enhance the characteristics of the final coating on the substrate . as shown in fig2 , some embodiments of the invention include an optional pre - deposition treatment step 100 . untreated coating materials 50 are treated prior to being passed as treated coating materials 150 to the deposition system 200 . pretreatment may be used to de - agglomerate the coating material particles . the pretreatment methods disclosed here can be used to treat materials prior to coating deposition , or for other purposes independent of any coating deposition system . as a pre - processing step prior to deposition , the pre - treatment methods disclosed herein may be used for any one or more of the following purposes : fluidization , size discrimination and separation — fluidization helps maintain separation of dry powder particles , reduces agglomeration or clumping of particles , and allows preferentially feeding ultrafine particles or particles of smaller sizes ; other methods for discriminating and preferentially feeding smaller particles also can be used . de - agglomeration — it is well known that ultrafine particles and nanoparticles in particular have a tendency to clump together or agglomerate , forming clusters or ‘ agglomerates ’ that can be much larger than the base particle size . de - agglomerating the material helps reduce the number and size of clusters , which helps to maintain beneficial characteristics of nanosized particles , and improves the uniformity and surface roughness of the final coating when desired based on the application . functionalization — particles can be functionalized for specific purposes . various methods and apparatuses for pre - deposition treatment of materials are described here . these may be used alone , or with the various deposition methods / systems described herein . in one embodiment , dry powders consisting of nanoparticles , microparticles , or combinations thereof are fluidized using aerodynamic forces . fig3 illustrates this . a fluidized bed ( 11 ) receives incoming powder via one or more powder inlet ports ( 7 ). the incoming powder may contain particles of different sizes , all of which are introduced to the fluidized bed . a supply of compressed air is provided through a suitable filter ( 1 ), flowmeter ( 2 ) and control valve ( 3 ) to the fluidizer air inlet ( 4 ). the control valve and flowmeter allow for control of the air flow rate . the air passes through a bed of silica beads ( 5 ), which help ensure uniform gas flow across the flow area and also act as a desiccant ( the beads are replaced periodically ). the air then passes through a porous fluidizer plate ( 6 ) and enters the chamber above where the powder is introduced at the inlet port ( 7 ). the air flow rate is adjusted such that aerodynamic forces place the powder particles in motion , with smaller particles rising to the top of the fluidized bed ( 11 ). the result is a vertical gradient of average particle size over the height of the air flow column ( 8 ), with larger particles residing toward the bottom of the column and smaller particles residing toward the top . multiple powder exit ports ( 9 ) are provided , allowing for adjustment of the size of particles to be drawn from the fluidizer . a powder pickup tube ( 10 ) is placed in one of the exit ports ( 9 ) to remove particles from the fluidizer . the unused ports are capped . the provision of multiple exit ports provides the capability for preferentially feeding ultrafine powder particles by adjusting the position of the powder pick - up tube ( moving it from one exit port to another ). in this method , the fraction of particles that are ultrafine must be balanced against deposition time due to the smaller mass flow rate of ultrafine particles . in some embodiments , vibration also can be applied in combination with aerodynamic forces by incorporating vibrators ( not shown ) into the fluidizer . vibration from the vibrators helps incite the additional movement of powder particles . the vibrators use mechanical vibrating energy created by a motor with an off - center mass rotating at high speed , or acoustical energy from sound waves . larger clusters of the powder accumulate at the bottom of the fluidized bed ( 11 ) and may be removed manually as part of a batch operation . for larger - scale operations , this may be automated by providing a powder removal and recycling capability . another method of discriminating the size of particles and preferentially feeding nano - sized or ultrafine particles is by screening the powder using a micron sieve . a sieve ( perforated plate or screen ) can be used to screen out larger particles , collecting and feeding only the smaller particles based on the size of the openings in the sieve . this can be used as an option for any of the pre - deposition treatment methods described herein . still other methods for separating and feeding particles of a certain size range include use of gravity , buoyancy , and / or centrifugal forces to separate particles of different sizes . one example is to entrain the particles in a fluid stream ( using air , nitrogen or other gas ), and turn the direction of this stream such that larger particles are thrown to the outside where they are removed and recycled , while smaller particles are carried downstream to the deposition system 200 . a second example is to create a low - velocity upward flow of particles entrained in a gas such that buoyancy tends to cause smaller particles to rise while larger particles tend to fall due to gravity forces exceeding buoyancy forces . smaller particles are removed from the top or side and fed to the deposition system 200 . methods for de - agglomerating particles are described below . these may be applied independent of any deposition system . some of these methods of de - agglomeration will be described later in conjunction with integrated pre - treatment and deposition methods , and apparatus for performing pre - treatment and deposition . one method for de - agglomeration is use of a jet mill to break up clusters through impingement from a high - pressure gas jet . the gas may be air , nitrogen , or any of a variety of other suitable gases . fig4 illustrates the jet mill . dry powder enters the mill through a feed funnel ( 3 ). two sources of air ( or other gas ) are provided , one as pushing air and the other as grinding air . pushing air enters at the feed gas inlet ( 2 ), and it carries the incoming powder to the grinding chamber ( 6 ). grinding air enters at the grinding air inlet ( 1 ) and is distributed around the chamber by the grind air manifold ( 7 ). aerodynamic forces produced by the grinding air cause impact of the mixture of pushing air and powder particles against a solid wall or impingement pivots . this causes agglomerations to be broken apart , resulting in finer particles that collect at the center of the grinding chamber . these are picked up by the vortex finder ( 5 ), and the fine ( or micronized ) powder particles ( 4 ) then exit the mill via the powder outlet . a second method for de - agglomeration is to disperse the particles in a liquid where the liquid has certain properties that promote dispersion and de - agglomeration . for example , we have used a solvent such as ethanol , combined with a surfactant that is “ neutral ” or bipolar . the liquid dispersion can be coupled with sonication to help achieve and maintain the desired dispersion of particles in the liquid . the liquid dispersion can be fed directly to the deposition system ( e . g ., for liquid esc ) or dried prior to feeding the material to the deposition system ( e . g ., for dry esc ). a third method of de - agglomeration is to disperse the particles in a liquid as noted above , and then further de - agglomerating and drying the particles using an ultrasonic spray drying technique prior to feeding the dry powder to the deposition system . ultrasonic spray drying involves use of an ultrasonic spray nozzle , which atomizes the liquid dispersion and in the process breaks up agglomerations through the action of the ultrasonic vibration . the droplets exit the ultrasonic nozzle and are then dried ( e . g ., via a cyclone dryer ), evaporating the carrier liquid and leaving the fine particles behind in dry form . these are then carried in a gas stream to the deposition system . in addition to de - agglomerating the particles , ultrasonic spray also helps produce particles of uniform size by creating droplets of uniform size . a fourth method of de - agglomeration is to create an aerosol that is fed to the deposition system 200 . fig5 illustrates this , showing one suitable apparatus for creating an aerosol . powder is dispersed in a liquid ( see discussion above regarding choice of suitable liquids for dispersion ) and stored in a pressurized fluid storage chamber ( 6 ). the chamber may be pressurized using an over - pressure of air , nitrogen , or other suitable gas . the pressurized liquid with entrained particles becomes an aerosol as it exits the chamber via the aerosol spray nozzle ( 5 ). the aerosol is then heated using heating coils ( 4 ) such that the liquid is evaporated , leaving dry particles in a powder spray ( 3 ). the powder spray from the aerosol unit is directly connected to the inlet of the esc gun ( 1 ) for electrostatic deposition . the flowrate of the mixture may be adjusted by modifying the pressure and / or the nozzle flow characteristics . the speed of evaporation may be accelerated or retarded by adjusting the power to the heating coil . combinations of the above - described methods also may be used . for example , one combined method of de - agglomeration is to first disperse the particles in a liquid to break up tightly - bound agglomerates ( see discussion above for desirable liquid properties ), then remove the liquid to dry the particles ( at which point they may tend to re - agglomerate but in loosely - bound clusters ), and then use a jet mill as a final step to break up any loosely - bound agglomerates that formed during or after drying . we have used this method successfully for pre - deposition treatment of cubic boron nitride powder prior to electrostatic spray deposition ( see discussion of integrated pre - treatment and deposition below ). the method we have used involves specifically the following steps : 1 . disperse cbn powder received from the manufacturer in a mixture of ethanol and a neutral or bipolar surfactant , for example zonyl ( made by dupont )— we have used a mass ratio of surfactant to powder of about 0 . 51 ˜ 1 . 5 %. 2 . manually stir the liquid suspension , and then use vibration or ultrasonication to further ensure a uniform dispersion . 3 . dry the mixture in a container on a hot plate . to speed up the drying and also prevent humidity incursion , apply a flushing gas ( we have used nitrogen at 50 - 70 deg . c . with controlled humidity / dewpoint ) through several nozzles located around the periphery of the open container . manually stir the mixture during drying to reduce caking note that for scale - up to production levels , this operation could be automated . 4 . manually break up the resulting caked material using a mortar and pestle so that the result is a dry , loose powder that can be poured . 5 . pour the powder into the funnel of the jet mill , weighing the portions that are added so that the amount of material deposited can be controlled . for scale - up , this can be automated with a powder measurement unit ( pmu ). for those methods that use liquid dispersion , the liquid dispersion can be coupled with sonication to help achieve and maintain the desired dispersion of particles in the liquid . functionalization of particles prior to deposition can allow coatings to be created for specific functions , or otherwise improve the characteristics of the resulting coating . functionalization is typically realized by introducing a second phase or mixed phases of materials . for example , cubic boron nitride ( cbn ) particles can be over - coated with titanium nitride ( tin ), titanium aluminum nitride ( tialn ), or aluminum oxide ( al 2 o3 ) to improve the flowability of cbn particles and to increase the resistance of the coating to oxidization ( for the case of tialn overcoating ). functionalization also can introduce a guest material ( such as silica in ultrafine particle size ) that is stable and provides effective spacing between host material particles , reducing the chances of agglomeration . this will further help to improve powder coating surface quality such as surface roughness . one method of functionalizing particles , including nanoparticles , microparticles , and combinations thereof , is to over - coat the particles with other materials chosen for specific functionality . a second method of functionalizing particles is to disperse them in a liquid containing a surfactant , where the carrier liquid and surfactant are chosen to provide a stable dispersion . the liquid dispersion can be fed to the deposition system 200 as a liquid dispersion ( e . g ., for liquid esc ) or dried prior to feeding the material to the deposition system ( e . g ., dry esc ). liquid dispersion can be coupled with sonication to help achieve and maintain the desired dispersion of particles in the liquid . other pre - deposition treatment methods also can be used for pre - processing the coating materials prior to deposition , either alone or in combination with the methods described above . for example , the powder can be pre - heated to help drive moisture from the powder material . ball milling also may be used to break up agglomerates and adjust the size of the powder particles provided to the deposition system . fig6 illustrates a deposition chamber that can be used for electrostatic spray coating ( esc ) as well as other coating or deposition methods . a spray nozzle assembly ( 1 ) is mounted such that it sprays coating material ( dry powder or liquid suspension containing particles ) into the coating chamber ( 2 ). the spray nozzle assembly may employ electrostatic , ultrasonic , or ultrasonic plus electrostatic deposition means . the substrate ( s ) or part ( s ) to be coated are placed on a stage ( 4 ) that is suspended in the chamber using a stage suspension assembly ( 3 ). the orientation of the stage may be fixed or , as an option , a rotating stage may be used as described further herein . the distance between the stage and the spray nozzle can be adjusted . the chamber is sealed so as to prevent egress of the coating material or ingress of contaminants . material that is not deposited on the substrate ( s ) is collected in a powder recycling collector ( 5 ) so that material may be recycled . in the preferred embodiment , the unused material exits the sealed chamber via a liquid bath or other filtering means so that the material is captured for re - use and is prevented from being released to the environment . in a preferred embodiment , the adjustments provided on the stage suspension assembly ( 3 ) are located external to the chamber by extending the assembly through the top of the chamber through openings that are sealed using o - ring type seals or other sealing means . with this design , adjustments in stage - to - nozzle distance can be made without opening the chamber . fig7 illustrates the rotating stage that is used as an option to improve uniformity of deposition across the surface of the substrate . the rotating stage can be used with electrostatic spray and other deposition methods . an electric motor ( 1 ) drives the apparatus through a reduction gear ( 2 ), causing the center shaft ( 6 ) to rotate . a sun plate ( 7 ) is attached to the center shaft ( 6 ) and rotates with the shaft . a number of planetary gears ( 5 ) are mounted to the sun plate ( 7 ) using planetary shafts ( 8 ). the planetary gears mesh with an internal ring gear ( 4 ) that is mounted to the fixed mounting base ( 3 ). in one embodiment shown in the figure , six planetary gears are used . as the sun plate rotates , the planetary gears move around the central axis of the assembly and , due to their interaction with the internal ring gear , the planetary gears also rotate on their own axes . substrates are mounted on the individual planetary gear stages . the dual rotation action enhances the uniformity of the deposition on the substrate by ensuring that all points on the surface of the substrate are exposed equally to the material spray . the planetary and ring gears can mesh using conventional gear teeth , or the planetary gears can be made as rollers that are pressed outward ( e . g ., by springs ) such that the outer edge of each roller contacts the surface of the internal ring gear and friction causes the planetary gears to rotate . for any type of electrostatic deposition , the planetary gears must be grounded in order to ground the substrate that is mounted on them . this requires that a means be provided to electrically connect the planetary gears to a grounded member . in one embodiment in which the planetary gears are rollers , the springs that press against the planetary gear shafts and hold the planetary gears against the internal ring gear also act as brushes to make an electrical connection between the planetary gears and the rest of the grounded rotating stage assembly . the speed of the electric motor can be adjusted to ensure that the substrate to be coated is exposed to all parts of the deposition spray pattern equally in order to achieve the desired uniformity of coating . the speed can be adjusted by changing the power input ( voltage ) to the dc motor . in the specific embodiment shown in the figure , the ratio of the rotational speed of the planetary gears to that of the overall sun plate is fixed by the gear ratio . however , in alternative embodiments one or more additional motors or other means can be provided such that the two speeds can be adjusted independently . the rotating stage also can be translated by mounting it on an appropriate platform that is moved laterally in either the x or the y direction , and the stage also can be translated in the z - axis direction ( vertical direction in the figure ), moving the rotating stage closer to or further away from the spray source . fig8 illustrates an electrostatic spray coating ( esc ) system integrated with a fluidizer for pre - deposition treatment of the powder . compressed air , nitrogen or other suitable gas is fed to a set of pressure control valves . these valves control the air to the fluidizer and the feed air to the esc gun . by combining fluidization with esc deposition , agglomeration of the dry powder particles is reduced and ultrafine particles are preferentially fed to the esc gun . this system has been used to provide uniform deposition of powders such as hydroxyapatite on substrates including titanium implants for biomedical applications . the system is suitable for use with many other materials and applications . fig9 illustrates an electrostatic spray coating ( esc ) system with integrated jet mill for de - agglomeration of the incoming powder material . compressed air , nitrogen or other suitable gas is provided to a set of pressure control valves . these valves control the feed air to the esc gun , and both feed air and grinding air to the jet mill . dry powder is fed to the powder inlet of the jet mill . the grinding action of the jet mill breaks up agglomerates , and fine powder particles are carried by the feed air out of the jet mill directly to the esc gun . commercially - available jet mills typically incorporate a cyclone powder collector with a collection bag for capturing the milled powder . in this invention , the cyclone and bag are removed and a custom - designed coupling is used to connect the jet mill output directly to the input hose connection of the esc gun . the pressure control valves are used to adjust the overall air pressure applied , and the relative pressures applied in grinding and ‘ pushing ’ ( feed air ) through the jet mill . this allows adjustment of the balance between pushing and grinding forces in the jet mill , and adjustment of the balance between aerodynamic forces and electrostatic forces during particle deposition in the esc chamber . esc guns typically use a much lower air pressure than is used in a jet mill . electrostatic forces dominate the particle deposition . by coupling the jet mill directly to the esc gun the aerodynamic forces play a much larger role . we have found that the increased aerodynamic forces provide a much more uniform coating deposition . this is likely due in part to the fact that the electrostatic field lines are not uniform at the substrate , due to non - uniformities in the surface characteristics of the substrate . the aerodynamic forces tend to overcome these non - uniformities by reducing the influence of electrostatic forces in the deposition . this result , significantly improving uniformity of deposition owing to increased aerodynamic forces relative to electrostatic forces , was unexpected . integration of the jet mill with the esc system provides de - agglomeration of the incoming powder particles , which by itself improves coating uniformity , and further improves uniformity of particle deposition through the increased influence of aerodynamic forces . other optional features that can be included in the system described here are : pre - heating of the carrier gas , when desired for specific applications ; automatic feed of the powder material to the system , and automatic measurement of powder quantity ( e . g ., using a powder measurement unit ) and other key variables such as temperature , pressure , etc . ; also , automation of the substrate rotation / translation ; use of a sieve as a further means of screening and separating particle sizes so that desired sizes of particles can be preferentially fed to the system ; vibration and sloped surface design to help prevent accumulation of powder on feed surfaces ; additional translation ( in the x , y and / or z directions ) of the substrate or esc gun or both , to allow deposition on large surfaces ; and use of multiple guns to allow coating large surfaces or complex geometries . commercially - available esc guns can be used for the electrostatic spray coating systems described herein . however , the off - the - shelf guns commonly used for painting and powder coating have some disadvantages when applied for deposition of micro - and nano - sized particles . specifically , the guns do not provide uniform flow within the passages internal to the gun , resulting in some spatial non - uniformity of the flow exiting the gun . also , there are areas within the gun where powder tends to accumulate , which affects the ability to control the thickness of the deposition by controlling the mass of powder sent to the gun . fig1 illustrates a modified gun design that resolves these problems . like the commercially available guns , air or other gas under pressure is provided to the gun along with a powder feed . an electrode ( 2 ) located at the nozzle exit charges the particles as they exit the gun , producing a charged powder spray ( 1 ). however , in this case multiple powder feed inlets ( 4 ) are provided and they are angled in the direction of the flow , so that powder more easily joins the air flow path . in addition , by providing multiple inlets ( three are provided in the example shown in the figure ); powder is more uniformly distributed around the circumference of the flow path . also , two separate air inlets are provided . one is the booster air inlet ( 5 ), which provides the main feeding air for creating the electrostatic spray . in addition , air is provided to one or more vortex air inlets ( 3 ). in the example shown in the figure , two vortex air inlets are provided . these inlets are oriented such that air enters tangentially , creating a vortex within the esc gun that helps to prevent powder accumulation on the surfaces of the nozzle body ( 6 ) and also helps maintain uniformity of the gas and powder mixture flow . the nozzle body is designed to have smooth surfaces with no crevices or cavities in which powder can accumulate . | 2 |
referring to fig1 a practical application of the deduster of the instant invention can be seen . an injection molding machine 1 has a feed hopper 2 at the input into which is fed a controlled amount of raw material in the form of plastic pellets . the molding machine may be of any form or type , and is not part of the instant invention . generally depicted affixed to hopper 2 is the deduster 10 of the instant invention through which the plastic pellets must pass on their way to hopper 2 . the embodiment of the instant invention shown here is intended to be part of a closed loop air circulation system , so there is a hose 12 feeding clean air to the deduster from the dust collector 14 , and a return hose 16 directing contaminated air from the deduster to the dust collector . the dust collector creates a vacuum in the return hose 16 . the instant invention permits the development of a deduster that is much smaller in physical size than ever before possible , and thus the insertion of such device in a location in the overall molding process that is immediately at the molding machine input . in this way , contaminants are substantially eliminated , saving considerable losses , reducing wear within the molding machine itself and reducing maintenance costs , and providing for the production of a more consistent looking and salable final product . for purposes of explanation , fig2 is provided as a simplified perspective of a first embodiment of the overall machine 10 of the instant invention , though it should be noted that the embodiment shown in fig2 is somewhat different from that shown in the remainder of the drawings ( however , there is no significant difference between the embodiments shown ). product ( in this example , plastic pellets plus the usual contaminants associated therewith ) is fed into inlet 15 where it enters a flux field generated by the primary magnetic flux field generator 20 . as more fully explained in earlier u . s . pat . no . 5 , 035 , 331 , issued on jul . 30 , 1991 , which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference , this magnetic flux field disrupts the electrostatic bond between dust and pellets . the product then encounters agitator 25 that drops the pellets in a measured , consistent flow onto a wash deck where they are fluidized by wash air that lifts the lighter contaminants above the main product stream . the pellets then pass through a venturi chamber that regulates updraft air velocity , via an air knife ( to be discussed further below ), to a sufficient level to remove even difficult contaminants . the dust , fluff and streamers are carried out of the deduster through air outlet 30 . the air is filtered at the air inlet 35 and either recirculated to the wash deck through a dust collector , or discharged to the atmosphere . the cleaned pellets are then discharged through outlet 40 at the base of the unit 10 and into the utilization process , in this example , a plastic molding machine , as depicted in fig1 . the flux field serves to disrupt the static charge attraction of dust and other contaminants adhering to the primary particulate product , thereby allowing this unwanted material to be separated and removed from the product flow path . the magnetic field is varied in strength and frequency to vary the level and intensity of the flux field in order to more effectively cause separation of the contaminants and the primary product . primary separation is achieved by airflow through the product by means of a perforated screen or wash deck to both remove the unwanted material from the flow path and to accelerate the primary product along that path . prior art machines generally required multiple wash decks to achieve acceptable levels of product cleaning . due to the ergonomic design and unique utilization of the instant invention it accomplishes acceptable levels of product cleaning with a single deck . a venturi zone creates high relative velocity counter - airflow to more effectively promote separation of the contaminants . secondary cleaning and magnetic fields can also be provided . the discharged air is treated to trap the removed contaminants , preventing it from returning into the flow path . the subject apparatus preferably has a slight negative internal pressure to assure collection of the separated contaminants . the magnetic flux generator 20 is not necessary in every application . if the dust particles to be removed are less than 100 microns in diameter , the generator should be used ; however , for removal of dust particles greater than 100 microns in diameter , a magnetic flux generator 20 may not be necessary or essential . referring now to fig3 and 4 , a second embodiment of the deduster can best be seen . one of ordinary skill in the fabrication arts will readily recognize that the deduster 10 can be constructed in many different ways from many different materials . the construction variables are generally not part of this invention , and the structure actually described should be taken as but a single example of how one can build such an apparatus that will be fully functional . more specifically , the components , assembly and subassemblies can be made from steel or plastic and other similar materials , and may be fabricated , cast or molded . casting the housing 100 in aluminum or , for installations requiring high quality operations , in stainless steel has proven to be an economical alternative to fabricating the housing 100 from sheet metal which has been bent and welded into shape . the housing 100 is a single assembly that can be comprised primarily of subassemblies fabricated from steel sheeting and tubes . while the fabrication of the subassemblies and housing assembly will be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art from these figures , there are a few elements and structural components that should be described in more detail . a third embodiment of the instant invention can be seen in fig5 - 13 . while the configuration of the structural components of the deduster 10 vary between the embodiments disclosed in fig2 - 13 , the general operation of the deduster 10 is substantially the same . particulate material , such as plastic pellets , contaminated with dust or other associated contaminants , are fed into the deduster 10 through top opening 15 . the system and controls for feeding the pellets from bulk storage is known in the art and will not be described herein . the pellets fall onto chute 102 that is angularly fixed to feed the pellets from the rear toward a feeding and regulating device 25 , to be described in greater detail below , called an agitator . the chute 102 , importantly , is shaped to have an opening therein 104 with a curved lower portion , best seen in fig1 . a sight window 106 , seen best in fig8 and 11 - 13 , is positioned at the rear of the deduster 10 to allow an operator to view the operation of the wash deck 120 and judge the overall operation of the deduster 10 . referring now to fig1 through 12 , additional details of the invention will be described . particulate material to be cleaned is fed through the top opening 15 and onto chute 102 where they feed angularly and downwardly toward the bottom of opening 104 . as can perhaps be seen best in fig1 and 12 , an agitator rotor 110 , mounted to motor 112 , extends into the opening 104 and generally blocks the opening 104 with respect to the flow of the material . fig1 a through 14f show the structure of the rotor 110 as being formed as a metal hub 113 with reverse threads and flexible blades 114 adhered thereto . the blades 114 , when rotated by motor 112 , feed a measured amount of material through the opening . the number of blades 114 , and , therefore , the configuration of the metal hub 113 , can vary , as depicted in fig1 e and 14f , depending upon the size and type of pellets being fed ; however , for most situations three blades have been found to be acceptable and provide satisfactory results . a critical component of this structure is the use of flexible material for the blades 114 . if the blades 114 are rigid , it has been found that the pellets tend to clog and jam the opening 104 and / or between the blades 114 and the chute 102 , resulting in an interruption of the flow of pellets to the wash deck 120 and in a breakage of the pellets . on the other hand , flexible blades 114 provide a continuous measured flow with no breakage or interruption . if a blockage is encountered , the blades 114 flex and thus pass enough material into the opening 104 to automatically and quickly restart the desired flow . the flexible material used for the blades 114 must be flexible enough to deflect when an obstruction is encountered , yet rigid enough to last a reasonable period of time . polyurethane has been found to be a very acceptable material . the angle of the blades 114 , i . e ., the angle between the flight with the hub as seen in fig1 d ( the acute angle to the left in fig1 d ) is different than the angle of the chute 102 , as seen best in fig1 g . this relationship , which can vary with the size of pellets being fed , tends to “ walk ” pellets that are caught down the flight toward opening 104 . the motor 112 is set to operate at about one revolution per minute , though can be modified , or made variable , depending upon the parameters mentioned above . the blades 114 are triangular - shaped to fit the opening 104 . immediately below the opening 106 is the wash deck 120 that is also an angled surface running from just below the rotor 110 downwardly toward the circular output 40 . though designs corresponding to operation with different particulate materials or pellets may differ , the concept of an air wash deck 120 is known in the art and shown , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 631 , 124 . in general , however , wash deck 120 is a flat sieve - like member with holes or slots therein to allow air to flow through as part of the cleaning process . it has been found that the air is passed through and is properly directed by using a perforated directed material for the screen — the perforations are “ louvered ” to give better directional air flow . as best seen in fig3 an optional air filter 122 can be located within the air flow immediately adjacent the wash deck 120 . in this second embodiment , a closed air inlet fixture 128 can be added that includes inlet and outlet openings 124 and 126 to direct the air flow through the deduster 10 in the desired manner . referring primarily to fig5 - 13 , a vacuum draws air through the wash deck 120 via the return hose 16 interconnecting the outlet 152 and the dust collector 14 . a curved baffle 136 , best seen in fig1 - 13 , helps prevent the pellets themselves from being pulled through the outlet tube 152 . a pressure gauge 140 may be conveniently added to provide a visual representation of the pressure in the deduster 10 . for improved clarity , particular reference is made to fig1 and 12 . clean air from the dust collector is drawn into the inlet 150 , from which the air may flow along three different paths : ( 1 ) directly through the wash deck 120 ( and through a filter if provided ), and then through outlet stub 156 to outlet 152 back to the dust collector for cleaning ; ( 2 ) directly across the housing 100 to the return conduit 158 and back to the dust collector via outlet 152 ; or ( 3 ) through the slot 160 below wash deck 120 , up into the semi - circular venturi chamber 162 and eventually out through outlet 152 . in the second embodiment shown in fig3 and 4 , the inlet and outlet 150 , 152 are completely separated by a fixed closure 164 ; however , in the preferred third embodiment , the inlet and outlet are not structurally joined except via the paths defined above . a pressure relief valve 166 , that is adjustable by manual movement of a thumbscrew working against a spring representatively shown at 167 , will provide a relief against excessive pressures . in the second embodiment shown in fig3 and 4 , the relief valve 166 is incorporated into the closed air inlet fixture 128 . in the preferred embodiment of fig5 - 13 , the pressure relief valve 166 is mounted vertically in the front face of the deduster 10 . an adjustable damper 168 is fitted into outlet conduit 158 to further control the direction of the flow of air through the housing 100 . the adjustable damper 168 includes a rotatable baffle 169 mounted within the outlet conduit 158 and connected to an external actuator lever 169 a to manually control the orientation of the baffle 169 . the actuator lever 169 a can be disposed on the side of the return conduit 158 , as shown in fig3 or more conveniently placed on top of the return conduit 158 , as is depicted in fig5 , 9 and 11 . the positional orientation of the baffle 169 varies the amount of air that can be passed through the outlet conduit 158 and , therefore , varies the amount of air passed through the wash deck 120 and the venturi chamber 162 . one skilled in the art will recognize that different particulate material , particularly different sized pellets of particulate material will require different air flow rates to provide effective cleansing of the pellets before being fed into the processing machine 1 . in operation , pellets are dropped periodically or constantly depending on the product into opening 15 where they engage chute 102 and are fed to opening 104 and agitator 110 . upon entering the deduster 10 , the pellets are subjected to the flux field created by the flux field coil 20 , and the powders , dust particles and other contaminants are thereby separated from the pellets . as the rotor 110 turns , pellets are released in a constantly metered flow onto wash deck 120 . the constant airflow created by the vacuum in outlet 152 is drawn through the openings in the wash deck 120 , fluidizing the stream of pellets and removing the contaminants from the deduster 10 . within the venturi chamber 162 the air taking what was described above as the third path is adjusted to create an “ air knife ”, i . e ., the air flows within the system are adjusted so that the air flow upwardly through venturi chamber 162 almost supports or suspends the pellets falling from the wash deck 120 , thus moving the maximum amount of dust and contaminants upwardly to the outlet stub 156 . this air adjustment is done by the operator as he views the activity through sight window 106 . more specifically , the operator adjusts overall flows , including the damper 168 and valve 166 to control the activity he sees in the window 106 . finally , the pellets fall through the outlet 40 into the molding machine . the deduster 10 is of such size and construction to handle relatively small volumes of primary product . generally , volumes less than 500 or 600 pounds per hour make up the best range for this apparatus 10 . other practical applications for this invention will be apparent to one of skill in the art . wherever it is critical that the primary material be as free from contaminants as possible , this compact deduster will find use . it will be understood that changes in the details , materials , steps and arrangements of parts , which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles of the scope of the invention . the foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention ; however , concepts , as based upon the description may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention . accordingly , the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly , as well as in the specific form shown . | 1 |
a bit error rate tester 10 includes a transmitter 11 and a receiver 21 , as shown in fig1 . transmitter 11 includes a transmitter generator 12 and parallel transmission lines tl1 - tl4 . receiver 21 includes a receiver generator 22 and reception lines rl1 - rl4 , essentially identical to the corresponding components of transmitter 11 . transmitter 11 includes a start line 13 , while receiver 21 includes an injector 23 . receiver 21 also includes four comparators c1 - c4 in the form of xor gates conventionally used with bit - error - rate testers . a pattern processor 24 , in the form of a resettable counter , provides for a novel method of synchronizing bit - error - rate tester 10 . transmitter generator 11 comprises five flip - flop registers tfo - tf4 arranged as parallel latches and four xor gates tx1 - tx4 arranged in feedback relation with the registers . transmitter generator 11 generates a prws , illustrated in fig2 comprising four evenly staggered replicas of a single prbs identified by their respective transmission lines tl1 - tl4 . a fifth prbs replica , identified by register rfo that generates it , shown separately in fig2 is not available for transmission . initialization of transmitter generator 11 is effected by activating start line 13 , which sets register tf3 to logic one by activating its set input s , while clearing the remaining registers to logic zero by activating their respective clear inputs c . this initializes receiver generator 12 with the 5 × 1 word 01000 , as indicated at time bit 1 of fig2 . the five bit words of fig2 indicated at rlo and tl1 - tl4 are generated over successive clock cycles . flip - flop registers rlo - rl4 and all other components represented by boxes in fig1 and 3 are driven at implied clock inputs . the bits generated by registers tf1 - tf4 can be transmitted along transmission lines tl1 - tl4 respectively . the number n of registers used in a transmitter generator is also the order of the polynomial for the generated prbs ; the cycle length of the prbs is 2 n - 1 . the cycle length of the prbs of fig2 is 2 5 - 1 = 31 . in generators of the parallel latch design , the number w of xor gates tx1 - tx4 represents the number of available evenly staggered outputs . in this case the number of available outputs is w = 4 . when properly synchronized , ber receiver 21 receives the prws transmitted by transmitter generator 12 at reception lines rl1 - rl4 ; normally rl1 receives the transmission from tl1 , rl2 from tl2 , and so on . comparator c1 receives corresponding remotely and locally generated sequences at its inputs . ideally , the inputs are always the same and comparator c1 maintains a logic low output . however , an error reflected in the received sequence will show up as a logic high output from comparator c1 , which can be used in computing a bit error rate for communications channel tl1 - rl1 . bit error rates for the remaining channels can be determined by the outputs of the remaining comparators c2 - c4 . receiver generator 22 is able to &# 34 ; predict &# 34 ; the prws that should be received from transmitter generator 12 because it is essentially identical to transmitter generator 12 . receiver generator 22 includes registers rfo - rf4 and xor gates rx1 - rx4 arranged in the same configuration as the corresponding components in transmitter generator 12 . synchronization is effected in a novel manner as follows . pattern processor 24 , coupled to reception line rl1 , is basically a resettable 5 - bit counter . when activated , pattern processor 24 counts up each time a 1 is received along reception line rl1 , and resets itself each time a 0 is detected . when five consecutive 1s are detected , pattern processor 25 generates an injection signal , activating injector 23 which initializes receiver generator 22 with a predetermined bit pattern . the chosen 11111 pattern extends between time bits 3 - 7 , as shown in fig2 . thus , the pattern is detected at time bit 7 . this triggers injector 23 to initialize receiver registers rfo - rf4 ith the word pattern 10101 , the five - bit word at time bit 8 of fig2 effecting synchronization . note that this synchronization scheme is dependent only on the proper linkage of tl1 and rl1 . the other lines can be crossed or unused , and synchronization can be achieved . thus , ber tester 10 permits testing of any number w = 4 of parallel channels up to the number of available channels . the embodiment of fig1 is directly scalable to larger ns and ws . as long as a proper connection is made on the line with the pattern processor , synchronization is achievable , even where fewer than w channels are transmitting . the principles of the foregoing embodiment are extended in a ber tester 30 comprising a transmitter 31 identical to transmitter 11 of fig1 and a receiver 41 differing from receiver 21 in having a more sophisticated pattern processor 44 and adding a cross connect array 45 . this ber tester 30 can provide , in addition to synchronization , proper rerouting of reception lines rl1 - rl4 to comparators c1 - c4 so that , for example , comparator c1 indicates the bit error rate for transmission line tl1 no matter how the channels are crossed between transmission and reception . receiver 41 is otherwise identical to receiver 21 of fig1 incorporating an identical generator 22 , and similar injector 23 . the remaining identical components retain the referents used in fig1 . the preferred mode of operation for ber receiver 41 is illustrated by the following steps . an initialization step establishes one communications link between transmitter 31 and receiver 41 . for example . transmission line tl1 transmits an identifying repeating 5 - bit pattern 00001 ; if tl2 were used instead the pattern would be 00011 . pattern processor 44 detects the 00001 pattern on reception channel rl2 , establishing that rl2 is linked to tl1 . prws transmission is then started on all w = 4 channels . pattern processor 44 detects the next 11111 pattern at time bit 7 on , for example , reception line rl2 determining a channel between tl1 and rl2 . the time of this pattern detection determines the synchronization for the entire prws . however , reception lines rl1 , rl3 and rl4 must still be matched correctly with tl2 , tl3 and tl4 . next , pattern processor 44 looks for the next 11111 pattern to appear on any of the remaining reception lines r1 , r3 and r4 . eight bits latter , at time bit 15 , it finds the 11111 pattern in reception line rl3 , establishing its linkage with tl2 . at time bit 23 , eight bits latter , pattern processor 44 finds another 11111 pattern in channel rl4 , which is thus linked with tl3 , implying a channel between tl4 and rl1 . pattern processor 44 uses these matches to configure cross connect array 45 . rl1 is routed to the respective input of comparator c4 , rl2 is routed to c1 , rl3 to c2 and r4 to c3 . then , synchronization is effected by actuating injector 43 after the next 11111 pattern is found on rl2 , e . g ., at time bit 39 . synchronization is effected and each comparator c1 - c4 provides data reflecting the bit - error rate of the like - numbered transmission channel tl1 - tl4 . injector 43 includes a 10 : 5 multiplexer 46 . once receiver generator 42 is synchronized , multiplexer 46 provides &# 34 ; straight - through &# 34 ; connection of the inputs to registers rfo - rf4 , so that the connections follow those for transmitter generator 31 . when pattern processor 44 outputs an injection signal along line 47 , the data from pattern processor 44 provided along 5 - bit bus 48 is input to the registers rfo - rf4 for one clock cycle . in the present case , the pattern is 10101 . however , in other modes of operation , pattern processor 44 has the flexibility to select any data pattern for injection into the registers rfo - rf4 . determinations of the desired cross connection for array 45 depends only on knowledge of the phase relations of the sequences being transmitted and is independent of the number of channels actually used . if this is not known to start with , it can be established once the transmission line and reception line corresponding to at least one transmission channel is known , either through the foregoing initialization procedure applied to one of the transmitting lines or other means . thus , complete synchronization and proper cross connection can be effected for any set of channels employed for transmission . the inputs and outputs for the pattern processor and the injection pattern can be generalized by those skilled in the art for any prws . the selection and programming of the required hardware is then straightforward . the cross connect array need not be located between the receiver coupling to the pattern processor and the receiver coupling to the comparators . the cross connect array can be arranged in front of the pattern processor couplings or between the register outputs and the comparators . in the latter case , the correspondence between comparators and transmission lines must be changed . alternatively , a pair of cross connect arrays can be incorporated in the generator , one between the register outputs and the xor gate inputs , and one between the xor gate outputs and the register inputs . other means can be employed to obtain correspondence of the received and locally generated sequences . the pattern processor can be used without a cross connect array . in this case the pattern processor simply provides cross connect information to a user . the user can then reconnect to effect a predetermined correspondence , e . g ., tl1 to rl1 , tl2 to rl2 , etc . the described initialization routine is not required for synchronization . it is useful for proper cross connection where fewer than all w available lines are used in transmission . however , other information can suffice to effect cross connection in applications where that is desired . cross connection can be completely determined where the relative phases of all used transmission lines are known . the relative phases are known if the transmission lines or registers providing the transmitted sequences are known . accordingly , if transmission lines tl2 and tl4 are used , the received sequences can be properly routed to c2 and c4 , irrespective of what reception lines are used . of course , the pattern processor must be programmed and informed through the illustrated interface port i / o , for example , that tl2 and tl4 are the sources of the sequences . the desired cross connections are effected as follows . in the absence of the initialization routine , the pattern processor 44 can begin looking at all used channels for a 11111 pattern . upon detection , it looks for a 11111 pattern in another channel . upon this second and succeeding 11111 pattern detections , the number of bits between the present and the preceding pattern detection are determined the detections can continue until at least one odd spacing , e . g ., 7 , 15 or 23 bits , is detected . the reception line in which the odd detection is made corresponds to the lowest - numbered active transmission line . if tl1 is transmitting , the pattern is from tl1 , if tl1 is not transmitting but tl2 is , the pattern is from tl2 , and so on . if tl2 is the lowest transmitting line and the odd 11111 pattern appears on rl3 , then the tl2 - rl3 link is established . as demonstrated above with respect to the method employing an initialization signal , the establishment of one link is sufficient to allow the pattern processor to determine the relative phases and cross connections for the remaining links . in the illustrated embodiments , the pattern detected was a string of all one &# 39 ; s . generally , any n - bit pattern can be used , other than n - zeroes , since that pattern is excluded from a prbs . since a prbs is a fixed sequence , determination of the phase of any non - zero n - bit pattern determines the phase of all other n - bit patterns in the sequence . thus , the same information can be obtained using any pattern for detection . note that a single counter can provide the necessary pattern detection capability for an entire system provided there is also means for switching the counter from one reception line to another as patterns are detected . the pattern processor is not required to search for a predetermined pattern . the pattern processor can simply examine the contents of any n - bit sample over parallel reception lines . these contents together with the identification of a single link , either through initialization , knowledge of which transmission channels are employed or other means completely determine the correspondence between transmitting and receiving channels irrespective of crossing and rotation of communications links . if it is important to synchronize quickly , and processing power is not a constraint , one can simple sample the first valid n - bit long word and effect synchronization and proper cross connection . the samples need not comprise consecutive bits . most clearly , a sample can comprise n bits successively spaced 2 n bits apart . this yields the same information as a sample of n consecutive bits , so the same conclusions can be obtained . however , other spacings can be used in defining non - consecutive bit samples . it is apparent that the present invention applies irrespective of the actual transmitting hardware used to generate a given prws . considerable flexibility is provided for receiver generators , while the injector must be adapted to the type of receiver generator employed . in the illustrated embodiments , the injector simply injects a predetermined sequence when actuated . aiternatively , an injector could accept an injection pattern calculated by the pattern processor , for example , on the basis of the contents of an arbitrarily captured n - bit long prws sample . these and other modifications and variations are provided by the present invention , the scope of which is limited only by the following claims . | 7 |
the phase inductance cycle of a switched reluctance machine is the period of the variation of inductance for the , or each , phase , for example between maxima when the stator poles and the relevant respective rotor poles are fully aligned . one illustrative embodiment to be described uses a 2 - phase switched reluctance drive in the motoring mode , but any phase number from one upwards optionally is used , with the drive in either motoring or generating mode . [ 0036 ] fig5 shows a system for implementing a method according to an embodiment of the invention . fig7 illustrates graphically the continuous current waveform for the system of fig5 . in this system , a power converter 13 optionally is the same as that shown in fig1 and like reference numerals have been used where appropriate . the converter 13 controls the switched reluctance machine , as before . the converter 13 is itself controlled by a controller 42 which , in this embodiment , incorporates a digital signal processor 44 , e . g . one from the analog devices 2181 family . alternative embodiments optionally incorporate a microprocessor or other form of programmable device . the illustrated 2 - phase machine has a stator 30 and a rotor 32 . the stator has four poles 50 , on which are wound phase windings 34 / 36 . the rotor has rotor poles 52 and , to assist with starting the machine , has a pole face 54 that defines a stepped airgap with the face of a stator pole . one skilled in the art will realize that a machine with a different phase number or pole combinations optionally is used , since the invention is not necessarily specific to any particular machine topology . similarly , embodiments of the invention are not necessarily restricted to a particular type of control technique , and any controller and converter optionally are used as long as they are suitably programmable . phase current is sensed by a current transducer 38 arranged in relation to each phase winding . the output signals indicative of current in each phase are fed to the controller 42 . a look - up table 46 storing phase inductance for rotor angles is also connected with the controller 42 . while a current transducer for each phase is shown , one or a selection of phases optionally is monitored for phase current according to embodiments of the invention . an integrator 40 depicted in the controller 42 is used to derive measurements of flux by integrating the phase voltage v across the winding provided by voltage transducer 43 . for greater accuracy the voltage drop ( ir ) across the winding optionally is factored out of the integrated value . only one voltage transducer 43 is shown in fig5 as the supply voltage will be common to each phase . it will be appreciated that each phase optionally has a respective voltage transducer . while the integrator is shown as a discrete device 40 , it is optionally implemented in the software running in the processor 44 . a method according to an embodiment of the invention operates as follows . it is assumed that the machine is operating in continuous current mode and that the rotor position is known sufficiently well to allow the winding to be energized . at the point of turn on , when positive voltage is applied across the phase , the value of current is measured by the transducer 38 and held by the controller 42 . knowing the turn - on angle , the look - up table 46 of phase inductance against angle is interrogated to return the phase inductance corresponding to the rotor angle . the value of inductance is multiplied by the stored current value to give the flux - linkage in the phase at the point of turn on . this value is stored . as the rotor turns , the integrator 40 operates to integrate the voltage across the phase winding . when the control system determines that the subsequent predetermined position has been estimated to have been reached , the current is measured using the transducer 38 for the active phase and the estimate of flux linkage from the integrator 40 is added to the stored value from the table 46 to give the total value of flux linkage in the phase at that position . this total value is then used , in conjunction with the current , to find the true position which , if necessary , is used to correct the previous estimate . the angular difference δθ between the predicted rotor position θ m and the reference rotor position θ r is calculated by the processor 42 as δ θ = { ∂ θ ∂ ψ m } · δψ ( 1 ) in order to determine the angular difference between the predicted position ( at which the measurement of flux and current is made ) and the reference position , it is therefore also a feature of this embodiment to store in the processor for the reference position values of partial derivative ∂ θ /∂ ψ ( or its inverse ∂ ψ /∂ θ ) for a set of values of phase current i . since the reference rotor position θ r is known , the true rotor position at the predicted instant in time is calculated from δθ e . g . as the expected time to the next rotor position then is estimated using the known value of motor speed . under accelerating or decelerating conditions a correction may need to be made to the motor speed . if all phases are used for measurement the next rotor reference position will be that for phase 2 ( or whatever is the next phase in the sequence ). for an n - phase motor with p rotor poles , the angle of rotation to this position will be ( 360 / np ) o − δθ and , by dividing this angle by the speed , the time required to reach this next position is estimated . if only one phase is used for measurement , the next rotor reference position will be after a rotation of ( 360 / p ) o − δθ and , by dividing this angle by the speed , the time required to reach this position is estimated . the predicted time to the next reference position is then counted out using a high frequency clock ( not shown ) by known means and at the instant such time has elapsed a further measurement of flux ψ m and current i m is made for the corresponding phase . due to changes in speed , and tolerances in stored data and calculations , the predicted position θ m will not be identical to the reference position θ r . the angular difference θ r − θ m again is calculated e . g . using equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) and the procedure outlined above . the process of predicting rotor positions on a phase by phase basis and measuring the true rotor position at each measurement instant is repeated to provide an incremental indication of rotor position as a direct replacement for existing optical or electromagnetic rotor position sensors . the procedure for the case of single - pulse operation under regenerating conditions is the same as described above except that the values of ∂ θ /∂ ψ shown in fig6 will be negative ( rather than positive ) for the corresponding typical reference rotor position . various arrangements optionally are used for the measurement of flux . any known form of flux transducer optionally is used . however , the measurement is e . g . by means of analog or digital electronic resettable integrators ( which integrate the phase voltage with respect to time t ), together with means for compensating for the resistive voltage drop in the phase winding . ψ = ∫ t o t m ( v - ir ) t ( 3 ) the integrator start time t o is arranged to be the instant of application of voltage to the phase each time the phase is energized ( for the higher speed mode ). the digital processor is informed of the instant of application of the voltage to the phase by the electronic controller using a control interface ( not shown ). the integrator is reset by the digital processor after each flux reading has been made . in applications for which the direct source voltage v is relatively large compared to the voltage drop across the semiconductor switches in the power converter , the direct source voltage optionally is measured and integrated in place of the individual phase voltage . this has the advantage that only one voltage need be measured . ψ = ∫ t o t m ( v - ir ) t ( 4 ) as an alternative to using separate electronic integrators , the digital processor is used e . g . by multiplying the direct supply ( or phase ) voltage by time on a step - by - step basis . this has the disadvantage that the digital processor is substantially busy and may need to be a separate unit . however , provided the supply voltage is substantially constant and large compared with the resistive voltage ir , various approximations optionally are made . for example : ψ m =( v − ki m r )( t m − t o ) ( 5 ) ki m ( t m - t o ) ≈ ∫ t t m i t as a further embodiment , in the case where the supply voltage v is relatively large compared with the resistive voltage ir , the need to compensate for the resistive voltage drop optionally is avoided by using a modified value for the flux in the stored data or ignoring ir altogether . in this case the values of phase flux linkage v for a particular current i and particular rotor position θ stored in the digital processor are replaced by values of the volt - second integral ψ ′ required to create the phase current i for the rotor position θ are given by in testing the machine to establish the table of values of ψ ′ and ∂ θ /∂ ψ ′, v optionally is , for convenience , held constant ( provided v is relatively large ) and is e . g . equal to supply voltage . the rotor position measurement procedure is the same as already described in this application except that the measured flux ψ m and expected flux ψ e and partial derivative (∂ θ /∂ ψ ) are replaced by ψ ′ m ′ ψ ′ e and (∂ θ /∂ ψ ′) respectively , where ψ ′ e and (∂ θ /∂ ψ ′) are obtained as described from the stored data represented by fig4 and 6 and where the flux ψ m ′ is measured as equations ( 3 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) represent different methods of evaluating the phase flux linkage for the purpose of identifying rotor position and these represent different implementations of the technique . the various embodiments described above are all based on the measurement of flux ψ m and current i m at a predicted rotor position , the look - up of the expected flux ψ e for the measured current i m corresponding to the reference rotor position , and the calculation of the difference δθ between the reference rotor position and the predicted rotor position according to the equation : δθ = { ∂ θ ∂ ψ m } · ( ψ m - ψ e ) ( 7 ) [ 0067 ] fig6 illustrates a method embodiment of the invention graphically . the saw - tooth waveform ψ a represents the actual flux linkage associated with a phase while the machine is in the continuous current mode . the flux - linkage value ψ s is the minimum , or “ standing ” value during the cycle . the saw - tooth waveform ψ i represents the flux linkage indicated by the output of the integrator . the phase is switched on at the angle θ on , prior to which the integrator has been held in reset for the period r by means of a signal from the processor 44 . this period r is long enough to return the integrator output to zero . at θ on , the current is measured ( see fig7 ) and the look - up table 46 of inductance is interrogated to find the inductance of the phase for that rotor angle . the product of the current and the inductance is calculated by the processor 44 . this gives an estimate of ψ s , which is then stored by the controller 42 . after θ on , the actual flux linkage in the phase increases at a rate dictated by the applied voltage , and is tracked , with an offset of ψ s , by the output of the integrator . at some point ( not critical to this discussion ) the phase is switched off and the flux linkage begins to ramp down . when the control system determines that the rotor is at the predetermined position θ ref , the output from the integrator and the value of phase current are sampled and held . the stored estimate of ψ s is added to the value of ψ i to give an estimate of ψ a . the current and ψ a are then used to find the actual rotor angle in the way described above and taught by ray in ep - a - 0573 198 . this embodiment of the invention is particularly advantageous in that it works equally well when the phase current is discontinuous , i . e . in the conventional single - pulse mode . this is illustrated graphically in fig8 . since the current is zero immediately before θ on , the multiplication with the inductance value gives the correct result of zero standing flux - linkage . thus , the same program code is useable in the controller 42 for both discontinuous and continuous current . the method described above provides a simple , yet effective , way of combining continuous current operation with sensorless position detection , without any unwanted degradation in the performance of the machine . the skilled person will appreciate that variations of the disclosed arrangements are possible without departing from the invention , particularly in the details of the implementation of the algorithm in the controller . also , the diagnosis on which rotor position detection is based optionally is carried out in only one phase of a polyphase machine . accordingly , the above description of several embodiments is made by way of example and not for the purposes of limitation . it will be clear to the skilled person that minor modifications can be made to the drive circuit without significant changes to the operation described above . the present invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
referring now to fig4 and 5 , an embodiment of the present invention comprises a printer body 28 and a tractor assembly 24 . the assembly 24 comprises a pair of tractors 2 ; a support rod 16 for supporting the tractors 2 ; a drive bar 15 whose rotation causes the tractors 2 to advance paper , a tractor gear 25 coupled onto one end of the bar 15 ; a chassis 17 for mounting the tractors 2 , the rod 16 , the bar 15 and the gear 25 ; support plates 14a and 14b provided on sides 17a and 17b of the chassis 17 via pins 27 respectively ; knobs 26a and 26b provided at a space between the side 17a and the plate 14a and at a space between the side 17b and the plate 14b respectively to rotate around the axis of the rod 16 ; and torsion springs 34a and 34b provided , on both ends of the rod 16 to constantly apply torque to knobs 26a and 26b . the printer body 28 , on the other hand , comprises a chassis 29 , first projections 19a and 19b and second projections 18a and 18b formed on sides 30a and 30b of the chassis 29 , a print head 4 , and a platen 1 . referring to fig6 and 7 , the support plate 14a ( 14b ) includes notches 22a and 23a ( 22b and 23b ) formed adjacent to each other , and a curved portion 21a ( 21b ) having a contour engageable to the contour of the projection 18a ( 18b ). referring to fig5 through 7 , description will now be given to the case where the embodiment is applied to a pull - tractor type structure . the projections 19a and 19b are first engaged with the notches 22a and 22b . then , an external force is applied to the knobs 26a and 26b in the direction of an arrow a ( shown in fig7 ) by an operator &# 39 ; s finger to rotate the knobs 26a and 26b around the rod 16 by a desired angle . this permits the lower ends of the knobs 26a and 26b to move in the direction of an arrow c . as a result , the curved portions 21a and 21b of the plates 14a and 14b becomes engaged with the projections 18a and 18b . after the engagement of the portions 21a and 21b with the projections 18a and 18b , if the force applied to the knobs is released , the knobs 26a and 26b will rotate around the rod 16 in the direction of an arrow b due to the elasticity of the springs 34a and 34b . this revolution allows the projections 18a and 18b to be held between the portion 21a of the plate 14a and a curved portion 31a of the knob 26a and between the portion 21b of the plate 14b and a curved portion 31b of the knob 26b . in this manner , the assembly 24 and the body 28 are fixed to each other with the plates 14a and 14b and the knobs 26a and 26b of the assembly 24 as well as with the projections 18a , 18b , 19a and 19b of the body 28 . the gear 25 is driven with a motor pinion gear 33 via a gear 32 provided on the side 30a of the body 28 . the gear 33 is attached to a motor ( not shown ) and rotated by the motor . the rotation of the gear 25 drives the tractor 2 to pull out the paper 3 which has been printed with the head 4 . referring to fig8 through 10 , description will next be given to the case where the embodiment is applied to a push - tractor type structure . the notches 23a and 23b of the support plates 14a and 14b are engaged with the projections 19a and 19b of the sides 30a and 30b . then an external force is applied to the knobs 26a and 26b in the direction of an arrow a ( shown in fig1 ) by an operator &# 39 ; s finger . in the manner similar to that described for the pull - tractor type structure , the projections 18a and 18b are held between the curved portion 21a and the curved portion 31a and between the portion 21b and the portion 31b . in this state , the assembly 24 is supported but inclined by an angle θ from the position of the assembly 24 in the pull - tractor type structure . in the push - tractor type structure , the gear 25 is directly driven by the gear 33 . the tractors 2 driven by the rotation of the gear 25 feed the paper 3 to be printed near the head 4 . the reduction ratio of the gear 25 against the gear 33 is expressed by the following equation , where the number of teeth of the gear 33 is n 1 , that of the gear 32 is n 2 and that of the gear 25 is n 3 : ## equ1 ## for the pull - tractor type structure , and ## equ2 ## for the push - tractor type structure . the reduction ratio is equal in both structures . therefore , the rotation speed of the gear 25 is the same in both pull - tractor type and push - tractor type structures so that the paper can be fed in both structures at the same speed without taking trouble to change the revolution - per - minute speed of the motor . as described in the foregoing description , the invention has an advantage in that if multiple paper is employed , the printer can be switched to the pull - tractor type structure while if the paper should be cut near the platen immediately after printing , it can be switched to the push - tractor type structure . | 1 |
the foregoing and other features and advantages of various aspects of the invention ( s ) will be apparent from the following , more - particular description of various concepts and specific embodiments within the broader bounds of the invention ( s ). various aspects of the subject matter introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in any of numerous ways , as the subject matter is not limited to any particular manner of implementation . examples of specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes . unless otherwise defined , used or characterized herein , terms that are used herein ( including technical and scientific terms ) are to be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their accepted meaning in the context of the relevant art and are not to be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein . for example , if a particular composition is referenced , the composition may be substantially , though not perfectly pure , as practical and imperfect realities may apply ; e . g ., the potential presence of at least trace impurities ( e . g ., at less than 1 or 2 %, wherein percentages or concentrations expressed herein can be either by weight or by volume ) can be understood as being within the scope of the description ; likewise , if a particular shape is referenced , the shape is intended to include imperfect variations from ideal shapes , e . g ., due to manufacturing tolerances . although the terms , first , second , third , etc ., may be used herein to describe various elements , these elements are not to be limited by these terms . these terms are simply used to distinguish one element from another . thus , a first element , discussed below , could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the exemplary embodiments . spatially relative terms , such as “ above ,” “ below ,” “ left ,” “ right ,” “ in front ,” “ behind ,” and the like , may be used herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of one element to another element , as illustrated in the figures . it will be understood that the spatially relative terms , as well as the illustrated configurations , are intended to encompass different orientations of the apparatus in use or operation in addition to the orientations described herein and depicted in the figures . for example , if the apparatus in the figures is turned over , elements described as “ below ” or “ beneath ” other elements or features would then be oriented “ above ” the other elements or features . thus , the exemplary term , “ above ,” may encompass both an orientation of above and below . the apparatus may be otherwise oriented ( e . g ., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations ) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly . further still , in this disclosure , when an element is referred to as being “ on ,” “ connected to ” or “ coupled to ” another element , it may be directly on , connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present unless otherwise specified . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of exemplary embodiments . as used herein , singular forms , such as “ a ” and “ an ,” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context indicates otherwise . additionally , the terms , “ includes ,” “ including ,” “ comprises ” and “ comprising ,” specify the presence of the stated elements or steps but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements or steps . various ions ( e . g ., cations , such as ca 2 + , ba 2 + , sr 2 + , mg 2 + ) found in aqueous compositions ( e . g ., sea water , brackish water or produced or flowback water resulting from shale - gas or shale - oil extraction ) can precipitate to form scaling compounds by , for example , combining with carbonates and sulfates . this scaling may occur at high temperatures due to inverse solubility ( i . e ., lower solubility of the scaling compound at higher temperatures ) and may compromise the treatment of the aqueous compositions and / or may foul or damage the high - temperature components of the apparatus , which tend to be the most expensive components in the apparatus . according to the methods described herein , these scaling ions can be sequestered and prevented from precipitating by capturing the ions 14 in a chelating multi - dentate ligand 12 , such as ethylenediamine tetra - acetic acid ( h 4 edta ). in one embodiment , the multi - dentate ligand 12 can be provided in the form of na 4 edta , which forms edta 4 − in solution . an illustration of the molecular structure of h 4 edta is provided in fig1 . the hydrogen ( h ) atoms in the h 4 edta are released from the oxygen ( o ) atoms in the presence of the cations 14 , and the oxygen atoms to which the hydrogen atoms were bonded in the h 4 edta then bind to the cations 14 ; additionally , the free electron pair on each of the nitrogen ( n ) atoms also forms a bond with the cations 14 to sequester each of the cations 14 orthogonally on six sides . the chemical reaction of this process can be expressed as follows : in the above expression , edta serves as the multi - dentate ligand ( chelate ), and calcium ( ca 2 + ) is the scaling ion . the capture of the calcium ion is facilitated by establishing a ph greater than 4 with k s substantially greater than 1 in the aqueous composition . as shown , above , one mole of edta traps one mole of metal - divalent or transition - metal ion . specifically , in this case , when sequestered as caedta 2 − , the calcium ion is trapped and does not scale . the resulting new complex ion ( caedta 2 − ) has a much higher solubility than even sodium chloride ( nacl ) under the relevant temperatures . the use of edta as the multi - dentate ligand is advantageous because of its high stability constant , though any of a variety of other ligands can be used . examples of ligands that may be used in these methods are provided in table 1 , below , with their respective stability constants . a schematic illustration of a first embodiment of an apparatus for scale - preventive desalination is provided in fig3 . in this embodiment , the aqueous feed composition is produced water from oil or gas extraction . the aqueous composition can be fed from a source 22 , such as a tank or an open pool , into a high - recovery desalination system 28 via a first conduit 16 . the multi - dentate ligand 12 can initially be supplied by and replenished from a source 24 and injected into the first conduit 16 , where the multi - dentate ligand 12 captures the cation 14 to form a non - scaling ionic complex 15 , as shown in fig2 ( where hydrogen bonds are omitted from the illustration for simplicity ), which is then injected with the produced water into a high - recovery desalination system 28 into which thermal energy 46 is also fed . a schematic illustration of the components of an embodiment of the high - recovery desalination system 28 is provided in fig5 . the aqueous composition 26 ( e . g ., produced water ) is fed first via a conduit through a reverse - osmosis unit 62 , from which a first fresh - water output 32 ′ is extracted via a first output conduit . the remaining aqueous brine composition is then fed via a conduit through a mechanical vapor compression distillation unit 64 , from which second fresh - water output 32 ″ is extracted via a second output conduit . the remaining aqueous brine composition is then fed via a conduit through a crystallizer 66 , from which a third fresh - water output 32 ′″ is extracted via a third output conduit . the crystallizer 66 also outputs ( a ) a brine 34 including the cation 14 still sequestered by the multi - dentate ligand 12 in the form of the ionic complex 15 and ( b ) a solid ( crystallized ) output 30 of , e . g ., nacl , kcl , na 2 so 4 , and na 2 co 3 . alternatively , or in addition , the high - recovery distillation system 28 can include units for multi - stage flash distillation ( msf ), multiple - effect distillation ( med ), extractive distillation ( ed ), membrane distillation ( md ), humidification / de - humidification ( hdh ) distillation , etc . these distillation processes can be carried out in this method at temperatures ( e . g ., at least 50 ° c .) at which the cation 14 would precipitate from the aqueous composition 26 , were the cation 14 not captured by the multi - dentate ligand 12 . returning to fig3 , the brine 34 including the ionic complex 15 from the high - recovery desalination system 28 , after the fresh ( substantially pure ) water 32 and solids 30 are removed , is fed via third conduit 20 into a ph - reduction chamber 36 , where the ph of the brine 34 can be reduced to below 2 via the addition of an acid ( e . g ., hydrochloric acid , sulphuric acid or oxalic acid ) from a source 38 . in particular embodiments , where oxalic acid is added , the ph need only be reduced to a ph of about 5 ( or less ) because the oxalic acid can trigger the precipitation of calcium oxalate rather than edta from the ionic complex . this lowering of the ph causes the multi - dentate ligand 12 to disassociate from the cation 14 . the multi - dentate ligand 14 with remaining aqueous composition is then fed as a recycled feed 42 through a second conduit 18 back to the first conduit 16 through which the initial aqueous composition 26 is fed . en route , a neutralizing base , such as naoh , is injected from a source 44 into the second conduit 18 to raise the ph of the recycled feed 42 to about neutral ; and additional ( replenishing ) multi - dentate ligand 14 can be injected into the second conduit 18 from source 24 . brine ( after the removal of multi - dentate ligand 12 in composition 42 ) that is output from the ph - reduction chamber 36 is fed to a chiller 54 that extracts thermal energy 46 from the brine ( e . g ., reducing the temperature of the brine to less than 20 ° c .). the thermal energy 46 extracted from the brine can then be transferred via a thermally conductive link and reintroduced into the high - recovery desalination system 28 . cooling the brine in the chiller 54 results in the separation of additional multi - dentate ligand 12 ( that was not released in the ph - reduction chamber 36 ) from the cation 14 in the brine . composition 42 ′ with the additional release of multi - dentate ligand 12 is injected into the flow of composition 42 from the chiller 54 to recycle even more of the multi - dentate ligand 12 . the chiller 54 also outputs brine including the released ions ( e . g ., na , ca , ba , sr , and / or mg , as well as cl ) to a reservoir 40 . a second embodiment of the apparatus without the chiller 54 and without the additional release of composition 42 ′ therein is illustrated in fig4 . a schematic illustration of a third embodiment of an apparatus for scale - preventive desalination is provided in fig6 . in this embodiment , the aqueous composition feed 26 is fed via first conduit 16 through an ultra - filtration unit 48 , which can include a membrane having sub - 1 - μm pores through which the aqueous composition feed 26 flows . the ultra - filtration unit 48 removes the ionic complex 15 from the aqueous composition 26 before the remnant 52 of the aqueous composition is injected into the high - recovery desalination system 28 . the brine 34 with the ionic complex 15 that was filtered out of the aqueous composition 26 by the ultra - filtration unit 48 is directed via the third conduit 20 into the ph - reduction chamber 36 . the ph - reduction chamber 36 outputs a brine with the released cations to a reservoir 50 and also outputs a composition 42 including the multi - dentate ligand 12 for reinjection into the aqueous feed composition 26 via the second conduit 18 . accordingly , this embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments ( shown in fig3 and 4 ) in that the non - scaling ionic complex 15 is removed from the aqueous feed composition 16 before it reaches the high - recovery desalination system 28 . in describing embodiments of the invention , specific terminology is used for the sake of clarity . for the purpose of description , specific terms are intended to at least include technical and functional equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar result . additionally , in some instances where a particular embodiment of the invention includes a plurality of system elements or method steps , those elements or steps may be replaced with a single element or step ; likewise , a single element or step may be replaced with a plurality of elements or steps that serve the same purpose . further , where parameters for various properties or other values are specified herein for embodiments of the invention , those parameters or values can be adjusted up or down by 1 / 100 th , 1 / 50 th , 1 / 20 th , 1 / 10 th , ⅕ th , ⅓ rd , ½ , ⅔ rd , ¾ th , ⅘ th , 9 / 10 th , 19 / 20 th , 49 / 50 th , 99 / 100 th , etc . ( or up by a factor of 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 20 , 50 , 100 , etc . ), or by rounded - off approximations thereof , unless otherwise specified . moreover , while this invention has been shown and described with references to particular embodiments thereof , those skilled in the art will understand that various substitutions and alterations in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention . further still , other aspects , functions and advantages are also within the scope of the invention ; and all embodiments of the invention need not necessarily achieve all of the advantages or possess all of the characteristics described above . additionally , steps , elements and features discussed herein in connection with one embodiment can likewise be used in conjunction with other embodiments . the contents of references , including reference texts , journal articles , patents , patent applications , etc ., cited throughout the text are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety ; and appropriate components , steps , and characterizations from these references may or may not be included in embodiments of this invention . still further , the components and steps identified in the background section are integral to this disclosure and can be used in conjunction with or substituted for components and steps described elsewhere in the disclosure within the scope of the invention . in method claims , where stages are recited in a particular order — with or without sequenced prefacing characters added for ease of reference — the stages are not to be interpreted as being temporally limited to the order in which they are recited unless otherwise specified or implied by the terms and phrasing . | 8 |
fig1 and 2 are directed to a conventional , prior art , shaft seal system , a discussion of which highlights the contribution of the new and improved shaft system set forth in fig3 - 5 . in the conventional shaft seal system 10 a shaft 12 may be driven to rotate by an electric motor ( not shown ). shaft 12 may be utilized in a mechanical system in which the shaft is required to transmit high levels of torque at low rotational speeds while being capable of rotating at high speeds with reduced torque . as has previously been set forth , such a shaft is used to drive pumps in coolant systems employed in automotive vehicles . the shaft 12 is supported in opening 14 in a wall 16 which might , for example , be the wall of an electric motor or the wall of a pump ( not shown ). disposed in the opening 14 is a bearing 18 , which in this disclosure is a roller bearing comprised of a plurality of rollers 20 . while rollers 20 are illustrated , the bearings may be ball bearings or tapered bearings . the roller bearings 20 are mounted between an outer race 22 , which contacts the surface of the hole 14 and inner race 24 , which contacts the shaft 12 . the inner race 24 abuts an annular shoulder 26 of the shaft while the outer race is axially retained within the opening 14 in the housing 16 by an annular spring retainer 28 and shoulder 30 . in order to seal the bearing 18 from the external environment , a seal 32 has one end 34 fixed to the housing 16 and a sealing end 36 with a seal contact 38 engaging a surface 40 of the shaft 12 along a sealing contact area or line 42 . referring now to fig2 it is seen that with the arrangement of fig1 the seal contact velocity as a function of the shaft surface velocity is a straight line 50 , having a magnitude 52 . referring now to fig3 - 5 , there is shown a sealing system 60 configured in accordance with the principles of the present invention . the sealing system 60 is used in lieu of the prior art seal 32 of fig1 . in the sealing system 60 , a bearing cage 62 keeps the roller bearings 20 spaced from one another and rotates around the shaft 12 as the bearings revolve and the shaft 12 rotates . the bearing cage 62 has an outer surface 64 and an inner surface 66 . the outer surface 64 forms a cylindrical sealing surface which is engaged by an outer seal 70 which has an outer end 72 fixed to the surface of an opening 74 in the wall 16 of the housing and a sealing surface 76 which engages the outer surface 64 of the roller cage 62 . an inner seal 80 has one end fixed to the inner surface 66 of the roller cage 62 and a sealing surface 84 which engages the surface 40 of the shaft 12 along the sealing contact area or line 42 ( which , for purposes of velocity considerations includes the contact point ). in essence , by extending the roller cage 62 in the axial direction , the inner seal 80 is fixed to the extended roller cage which provides a seal - to - shaft contact point or line 42 at the surface 40 of the shaft 12 . the outer seal 70 has a contact point on the outer surface 64 of the extended roller cage 62 . consequently , the outer surface 64 of the roller cage 62 acts as the &# 34 ; shaft &# 34 ; surface for the outer seal 70 . accordingly , if the outer race 22 of the bearing 18 is stationary within the housing wall 16 , the rotational speed of the bearing roller cage 62 is always less than that of the shaft 12 supported in the bearing . by using a bearing roller cage 62 as both an outer seal contact point and inner seal carrier , the seal 80 - to - shaft 12 and seal 70 - to - cage 62 contact speed is less than that of the single seal 32 installed on a shaft of the same diameter using the conventional arrangement of fig1 . these lower velocities are evident from the graph of fig4 where it is seen that the outer seal 70 - to - roller cage 62 contact velocity 90 and the inner seal 80 - to - shaft 12 contact velocity 92 are both less than the seal contact velocity 52 of fig2 for the same shaft surface velocity . fig5 provides a graphical representation of various component part tangential velocities as a function of shaft and bearing component radii . in the graph of fig5 the tangential velocity of the rotating shaft 12 is represented by the line g - a . the value of the tangential velocity is determined by the following equation 1 : since the bearing inner race 24 is rotating with the shaft 12 , the roller surface of the inner race and the point on the rollers in contact with the roller surface represented by line h - b have a tangential velocity represented by equation 2 : where : t inner race = thickness of the inner race in inches ( in ) moreover , since the rollers 20 are rolling without slippage on the inner surface of the outer race 22 which is mounted rigidly to the wall 16 , the instantaneous tangential velocity of the rollers is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; as is represented by point c on the graph of fig5 . by the principle of similar triangles , the tangential velocity of the center of the rollers 20 and the tangential velocity of the roller cage 62 at the same radius from the center of the shaft 12 is represented by the line j - d determined by the value of equation 3 : the orbit speed of the rollers 12 and rotational speed of the cage 62 ( n roller center ) are determined by the following equations 4 and 5 . or , substituting from eq . 3 and eq . 4 for v roller center and v inner space : since the inner seal 80 is rotating with the roller cage 62 , the tangential velocity of a point on the inner seal at the seal - to - shaft 12 contact line 42 is provided by equation 6 : the tangential velocity of the seal contact point 40 on the shaft is determined by equation 7 : consequently , the inner seal 80 - to - shaft 12 contact velocity is therefore represented by equations 8 and 9 : substituting in the equation 8 , it is seen that the outer seal 70 - to - roller cage 62 contact velocity is the tangential velocity of the outer surface 64 of the roller rage since the outer seal is stationary . the outer seal to roller cage contact velocity is , therefore , determined by the equation 10 : without further elaboration , it is believed that one skilled in the art can , using the preceding description , utilize the present invention to its fullest extent . the following preferred specific embodiments are , therefore , to be construed as merely illustrative , and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever . in comparing the prior art , single seal 32 arrangement of fig1 to the double seal arrangement 60 of fig2 - 5 , it is seen that for the same shaft diameter , contact velocity can be substantially reduced , thus improving the effectiveness of shaft contact seals . as an example consider a shaft 12 and bearing 18 , sealed by a seal manufactured by federal mogul , with the shaft and bearing having the following parameters : d shaft = 1 . 0 inch ; n shaft = 19 , 000 rpm ; t inner race = 0 . 050 inch ; when the above values are substituted into equation 1 , the sealed contact velocity , v seal / shaft , equals 4 , 974 feet per minute ( fpm ) which exceeds the maximum for a federal mogul seal of 3 , 000 fpm by 1 , 974 fpm . accordingly , the risk that the seal 32 of fig1 might fail or be compromised is relatively large in that it exceeds the federal mogul seal maximum by about 66 %. when the parameters for the shaft 12 and race 18 are substituted into equations 9 and 10 for the inner seal 80 - to - shaft 12 and outer seal 70 - to - bearing roller cage 62 contact velocities of the fig2 arrangement , the following velocities result : in both cases , the seal contact velocity is less than the 3000 fpm maximum for federal mogul seals . it is seen for the sealing system 60 of fig2 - 5 that the inner and outer seal contact velocities are reduced to 59 % and 57 %, respectively , of the contact velocity of a traditional , prior art seal , 18 of fig1 on the same shaft 12 running at the same rotational speed . from the foregoing description , one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention , and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions . | 5 |
detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system , structure or manner . turning first to fig1 there is shown a typical chlorosilane production reactor , 100 , which produces an effluent , 101 , comprising a mixture of solids and gases including , but not limited to , powdered silicon and other solids , chlorosilanes , hydrogen , hydrogen chloride , aluminum chloride and other metal chlorides . this stream , 101 , enters a solid removal means , 102 , such as a cyclone or filter system , from which most of the solids are discharged in a stream , 103 . however , sufficient solids , which serve as an external source of seeds , remain in a cleaned gas stream , 104 . the cleaned gas , 104 , is then cooled by a heat removal means , 105 , such as a heat exchanger or cooling system , wherein a portion of the cleaned gas stream , 104 , is condensed to form a stream , 106 , which contains solids , liquids and gases . this stream , 106 , then enters an initial gas separator / crystallizer , 107 . a gas stream , 112 , is cooled in a heat removal system , 113 , which has a coolant supply , 118 , and a return , 119 . the gas stream , 112 , now comprising mostly hydrogen and hydrogen chloride , leaves the initial gas separator / crystallizer , 107 , to be recycled . the liquids and solids are collected in the bottom of the initial gas separator / crystallizer , 107 , where they are mixed by an agitator , 108 , to keep the solids suspended in the liquid and to mix in a possible recycle stream , 152 , which can provide additional seed if needed . the mixture of liquid and solids in a stream , 120 , exits the initial gas separator / crystallizer 107 and enters a further heat removal means , 121 , such as a heat exchanger or cooling system , resulting in the formation of a supersaturated solution , 122 , and further crystallization on the seeds suspended in the solution , 122 . the supersaturated solution , 122 , then passes through a control valve , 123 , and exits as a lower pressure stream , 124 , which enters a second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 . any released gas and vapor , 128 , goes overhead , and then through a control valve , 129 , which maintains the pressure in the second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 . a reduced pressure gas stream , 170 , then enters a first chlorosilane distillation column , 160 . the liquids and solids entering the second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 , are retained in its bottom section and mixed with an agitator , 126 . a slurry , 127 , leaves the second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 , and enters a first solids separation means , such as a liquid cyclone or filter , 130 . the majority of the solids exit in a solids stream , 131 , together with some liquid chlorosilanes . this stream is then further processed in a second solids separation means , such as a liquid cyclone or filter , 132 , to further concentrate the solids in a high solids stream , 140 , and additional useful chlorosilanes are recovered in a primarily liquid stream , 133 . the high solids stream , 140 , is discharged through a valve , 141 , directly into a waste tank , 142 , which is agitated by an agitator , 143 , and heated by a jacket , 147 , which in turn has a heating supply , 148 , and a return stream , 149 . a liquid and solids stream , 144 , is sent for disposal or further treatment . a vapor stream , 145 , can also be sent for disposal or further treatment . an additional waste stream , 146 , is shown entering the tank from elsewhere in the facility . a recovered liquid chlorosilanes with reduced solids stream , 136 , exits the first solid separation means , 130 , and passes through a control valve , 137 , to form a lower pressure stream , 138 . the recovered liquid chlorosilanes with reduced solids stream , 133 , exits the second solid separation means , 132 , and passes through a control valve , 134 , to form a lower pressure stream , 135 . both streams merge to form a liquid feed stream , 139 , for the distillation column , 160 , which typically operates at 2 - 10 bar . the purified trichlorosilane , with a typical aluminum concentration of less than 1 ppb , exits in a stream 161 , the remaining alcl 3 exits in a bottoms stream , 162 , with a typical concentration of 30 - 100 ppm . the feed stream , 139 , may be heated by an optional feed heater , 163 , to form a heated stream , 159 , prior to entry into the column , 160 , as is common distillation practice . it is also possible to recycle some of the slurry from the second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 , by the provision of an additional suction line , 150 , a pump , 151 , and a discharge line , 152 . further modifications are possible to serve the same purposes . for example , a compressor , 164 , may be used to reduce the pressure in the second gas separator / crystallizer , 125 , and thus cause cooling as the liquid is evaporated ; this would also require the use of a pump ( not shown ) to pressurize the slurry stream , 127 . the control valve , 123 , may be located in front of the cooling means , 121 . in an example of the application of the process according to fig1 , there is shown a mass balance in table 1 . the reactor , 100 , operates at 30 bar and the solid removal means , 102 , is a cyclone with an efficiency of 96 % which produces 0 . 03 kg / hr of seed in the effluent . the mixture of gas and seed is cooled in a shell and tube heat exchanger , 105 , which recovers heat for the process and then enters the initial degasser / crystallizer , 107 , which is a pressure vessel with one hour residence time with a magnetic drive agitator , 108 . the outlet liquid stream , 120 , typically contains impurities in concentrations as shown in table 2 in addition to the chlorosilanes and methyl chlorosilanes . the heat removal means , 121 , is a shell and tube heat exchanger with internally polished or teflon coated tubes to reduce sticking . the outlet temperature is preferably maintained between 40 - 60 ° c . to ensure it is below the melting point of the alcl 3 . ph 3 adduct , which is 83 ° c . the second degasser / crystallizer , 125 , is a pressure vessel also of one hour residence time with a lower pressure of 10 bar and is agitated with a similar magnetic drive agitator , 126 . it should be noted that both agitators also generate seed by causing impact of the existing seed crystals with the agitator blade , the vessel wall and the seeds themselves . the crystal size distribution can thus be controlled within the preferred size range of 5 to 200 microns . the slurry , 127 , is fed to the first solids removal device , 130 , which is a liquid cyclone or hydroclone , which uses the liquid pressure to spin the liquid and remove the solids in a manner analogous to the more common gas cyclones . in order to achieve the high efficiency of about 98 %, four 1 inch diameter liquid cyclones are manifolded together in a common pressure vessel . operation is continuous and controlled by the control valves 137 and 134 which adjust the pressure differential and hence the flow splits . erosion in the cyclones is reduced by use of very hard alumina ceramics on the walls and / or the exit nozzles and provision of easily replaceable wear parts . the second solids removal device , 132 , is also a hydroclone but has only one liquid cyclone of ½ inch diameter and a solids accumulator which allows the build up of a high solids concentration ( typically 40 % by weight ) with periodic discharge of the solids , typically every 4 - 16 hours . the liquid discharge is still continuous even during solids discharge . the waste tank , 142 , receives some other waste , 146 , which is low in solids but has other impurities such as titanium tetrachloride and boron trichloride . the jacket , 147 , is heated by 150 psig steam , 148 , and there is a condensate stream , 149 . a vapor stream , 145 , and liquid / solids stream , 144 , are sent for further processing . the waste tank , 142 , isolates the solids which can contain the phosphorus adducts and prevents the return of phosphorus to the system even if some phosphorus is released . it can be seen from table 1 that the solids stream , 140 , has only 1 kg / hr of solids . therefore , even if the hydroclone , 132 , is only emptied at the maximum discharge time period , once every 16 hours , the maximum solids content is only 16 kg ; thus the chance of a significant phosphorus spike is minimized . turning to fig2 it can be seen that the solubilities of aluminum chloride , alcl 3 , are fairly linear when the log of the mole fraction is plotted against the reciprocal absolute temperature . it is of importance that the solubility in trichlorosilane ( tcs ) is one - third to one - quarter of the solubility in silicon tetrachloride ( stc ). thus the solubility of alcl 3 is dependent on the temperature and the mole fractions of tcs and stc in the mixture of chlorosilanes . it is important to establish that the alcl 3 stays in solution throughout the distillation column , 160 , when fed with the calculated feed concentration of alcl 3 . a convenient way to do this is to first use a stage by stage distillation column program , with standard properties for chlorosilane and aluminum chloride based on the assumption that the alcl 3 is dissolved , in order to establish the ideal alcl 3 , tcs and stc concentrations at every stage . second , confirm that the alcl 3 concentration remains below the solubility limit based on temperature and composition . it is important to note that the solid phase alcl 3 exerts its full vapor pressure while the dissolved alcl 3 exerts its vapor pressure based on its concentration multiplied by the full vapor pressure of the liquid alcl 3 . a simple check is to ensure that the bottoms stream 162 , which contains essentially all the alcl 3 in the column , can keep it in solution . from stream 159 the amount of alcl 3 is 1 . 35e − 3 kg moles and the stc is 28 . 8 kg moles . this is a concentration of 4 . 69e − 5 . the minimum temperature , from the equations in fig2 , is as follows . therefore , the minimum temperature of the bottoms stream , 162 , is 73 . 8 ° c . thus the tower operating pressure can be set to ensure the bottoms temperature is above this minimum temperature . the pressure in this example is 8 bar and the bottom temperature would be between 140 - 150 ° c . which is well above the required temperature . the minimum required pressure would be 1 . 6 bar assuming 100 % stc in the bottoms stream , 162 . it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that similar calculations can be performed for other column designs , such as using side draws . a further step is to check that the incoming feed stream , 159 , is free of suspended solids . at the feed stream temperature of 81 . 7 ° c . ( 354 . 85 k ) the solubility , from the equations in fig2 , is as follows . the further step is to multiply the respective molar solubility by the number of moles of stc and tcs ( see table 1 , stream 139 ), then sum those results to obtain the maximum number of moles of alcl 3 that can be dissolved in the stream . turning to table 1 , stream 139 , there is a suspended alcl 3 content of 2 . 28 e − 4 kg moles and a dissolved alcl 3 content of 1 . 12e − 3 kg moles for a total alcl 3 content of 1 . 348 e − 3 kg moles . the ratio of the maximum alcl 3 dissolved content for composition of stream 139 at 81 . 7 ° c ., 1 . 634e − 3 kg moles , to actual alcl 3 content in stream 139 , 1 . 348 e − 3 kg moles , is 1 . 21 which provides sufficient driving force to dissolve the very fine particles which have carried through the solids separation devices within the residence time provided by the heater , 163 and the connecting piping to the distillation column , 160 . lower driving forces may be sufficient with longer residence times and vice versa . 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 included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . ** these may be present in the copper catalyst which is usually added to the metallurgical grade silicon , in which case the concentrations could be higher . | 2 |
the amino group in the cephalosporin compound of formula ( i ) may be protected with a common protecting group . the term “ a common protecting group ” as used herein refers to a protecting group which is conventionally used in cephalosporin - based compound ; and exemplary protecting groups include fomyl , acetyl , chloroacetyl , benzyl , benzylidene , salicylidene , diphenylmethyl , triphenylmethyl , trichloroethoxycarbonyl , tetrahydropyranyl , t - butoxycarbonyl and carbobenzyloxy , wherein t - butoxycarbonyl , which can be easily removed by the action of an acid , is preferred . further , exemplary carboxy protecting groups include alkyl esters such as methyl and t - butyl ; alkoxyalkyl esters such as methoxymethyl ; alkylthioalkyl esters such as methylthiomethyl ; haloalkyl esters such as 2 , 2 , 2 - trichloroethyl ; and aralkyl esters such as benzyl , p - methoxybenzyl and diphenylmethyl , wherein p - methoxybenzyl which can be easily removed by the action of an acid is preferred . the cephalosporin compound of formula ( i ) may be prepared by reacting a cephem compound of formula ( ii ) with a 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine derivative of formula ( iii ) or formula ( iv ), the reaction involving the compound of formula ( iii ) being carried out preferably in the presence of an acid . the cephem compound of formula ( ii ) used in the present invention may be prepared in accordance with any of the known methods ( see u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 867 , 380 , 3 , 489 , 752 and 4 , 520 , 022 ). exemplary solvents which may be suitably used in the present invention are methylene chloride , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride , acetonitrile , ethyl acetate , 1 , 4 - dioxane , tetrahydrofuran or a mixture thereof , wherein methylene chloride and acetonitrile are preferred . the amount of the solvent used ranges from 5 to 30 volumes ( v / w ), preferably from 10 to 20 volumes ( v / w ) based on the amount of the cephem compound of formula ( ii ). exemplary acids which may be suitably used in the inventive process involving the compound of formula ( iii ) are formic acid , acetic acid , propionic acid , butyric acid , isobutyric acid , benzoic acid , methanesulfonic acid , benzensulfonic acid or p - toluenesulfonic acid , wherein isobutyric acid is preferred . the acid may be used in an amount ranging from 0 . 2 to 2 . 0 equivalents , preferably from 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 equivalents based on the amount of the cephem compound of formula ( ii ). the above reaction in accordance with the present invention may be performed at a temperature ranging from 0 to 50 ° c ., preferably , from 10 to 30 ° c ., for a period ranging from 3 to 20 hours . in the inventive process , 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine derivative of formula ( iii ) or formula ( iv ) may be used in an amount ranging from 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 equivalents , preferably from 1 . 2 to 1 . 5 equivalents based on the amount of the cephem compound of formula ( ii ). the 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine derivative of formula ( iii ) used in the present invention may be prepared by reacting a compound of formula ( v ) with n , n - disuccinamidyl carbonate of formula ( vi ) in the presence of a base : wherein r 1 is hydrogen or an amino protecting group . the compound of formula ( v ) used in the above reaction may be prepared by protecting the amino group of 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine with a protecting group which may be any of those conventionally used in cephalosporin synthesis , e . g ., fomyl , acetyl , chloroacetyl , benzyl , benzylidene , salicylidene , diphenylmethyl , triphenylmethyl , trichloroethoxycarbonyl , tetrahydropyranyl , t - butoxycarbonyl and carbobenzyloxy , wherein t - butoxycarbonyl , which can be easily removed by the action of an acid , is preferred . n , n - disuccinamidyl carbonate of formula ( vi ) may be prepared by reacting n - hydroxysuccinimide with triphosgene or trichloromethyl chloroformate ( see tetrahedron letters , 49 , 4745 ( 1979 )). in the above reaction , n , n - disuccinamidyl carbonate may be used in an amount ranging from 1 . 0 to 3 . 0 equivalents , preferably from 1 . 2 to 2 . 2 equivalents , based on the amount of the compound of formula ( v ). exemplary solvents which may be suitably used in the above reaction are methylene chloride , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride , acetonitrile , ethyl acetate , 1 , 4 - dioxane , tetrahydrofaran or a mixture thereof , wherein tetrahydrofuran is preferred . the amount of the solvent used may range from 5 to 30 volumes ( v / w ), preferably from 10 to 20 volumes ( v / w ), based on the amount of the compound of formula ( v ). exemplary bases which may be suitably used in the above reaction are triethylamine , n - tributylamine , n , n - dimethylaniline , pyridine , 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane , 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo [ 4 . 3 . 0 ] non - 5 - ene , 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene , n , n - dimethylaminopyridine or a mixture thereof , wherein n , n - dimethylaminopyridine is preferred . the base may be used in an amount ranging from 0 . 05 to 1 . 5 equivalents , preferably from 0 . 1 to 1 . 0 equivalent based on the amount of the compound of formula ( v ). this reaction may be performed at a temperature ranging from 0 to 50 ° c ., preferably from 10 to 30 ° c ., for a period ranging from 3 to 5 hours . further , the 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine derivative of formula ( iv ) used in the present invention may be prepared by reacting a compound of formula ( v ) with a pivaloyl halide of formula ( vii ) in the presence of a base : r 1 is hydrogen or an amino protecting group , and in the above reaction , the pivaloyl halide of formula ( vii ) may be used in an amount ranging from 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 equivalents , preferably from 1 . 1 to 1 . 5 equivalents , based on the amount of the compound of formula ( v ). exemplary solvents which may be suitably used in the above reaction are methylene chloride , chloroform , tetracarbonate chloride , acetonitrile , ethyl acetate , 1 , 4 - dioxane , tetrahydrofuran or a mixture thereof . the amount of the solvent used may range from 3 to 15 volumes ( v / w ), preferably from 5 to 10 volumes ( v / w ), based on the amount of the compound of formula ( v ). exemplary bases which may be suitably used in the above reaction are triethylamine , n - tributylamine , n , n - dimethylaniline , pyridine , n , n - dimethylaminopyridine or a mixture thereof , wherein triethylamine is preferred . the base may be used in an amount ranging from 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 equivalents , preferably from 1 . 05 to 1 . 2 equivalents , based on the amount of the compound of the formula ( v ). this reaction may be performed at a temperature ranging from − 10 to 10 ° c ., preferably from 0 to 5 ° c ., for a period ranging from 1 to 2 hours . the inventive process described above is much simpler and entails a higher yield of a pure cephalosporin product as compared with any of the conventional methods . the following reference examples and examples are intended to further illustrate the present invention without limiting its scope ; and the experimental methods used in the present invention can be practiced in accordance with the reference examples and examples given below , unless otherwise stated . further , percentages given below for solid in solid mixture , liquid in liquid , and solid in liquid are on the bases of wt / wt , vol / vol and wt / vol , respectively , unless specifically indicated otherwise . 33 . 4 g ( 0 . 20 mol ) of 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine and 87 . 3g ( 0 . 4 mol ) of di - tert - butyl dicarbonate were dissolved in 340 ml of methanol , 41 ml ( 0 . 294 mol ) of triethylamine was added thereto and then , stirred for 1 hour at 40 ° c . the resulting solution was cooled to room temperature and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . 400 ml of ethyl acetate and 100 ml of water were added to the residue , the resulting solution was adjusted to ph 3 . 0 with 5 % hcl , and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . 200 ml of benzene was added to the residue and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes . the solid formed was filtered and washed with benzene and dried in a vacuum , to obtain 45 . 8 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 86 %. [ 0041 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 37 ( 9h , s ,— oc ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 4 . 94 ( 1h , d , 8 . 0 hz ,— ch ), 6 . 69 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 16 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5hz , benzene ring - h ), 9 . 42 ( 1h , br s , nh ), 12 . 57 ( 1h , br s , cooh ). 50 g ( 0 . 168 mol ) of triphosgene and 97 g ( 0 . 842 mol ) of n - hydroxysuccinimide were dissolved in 700 mn of tetrahydrofuran and cooled to 0 ° c . added dropwise thereto was a mixture of 240 ml of tributylamine and 300 mf of tetrahydrofuran while maintaining the temperature at less than 5 ° c . then , the resulting solution was stirred overnight at room temperature . the solid formed was filtered and washed with tetrahydrofuran , to obtain 96 . 1 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 90 %. [ 0044 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d 6 ): 2 . 88 ( 4h , s ,— ch 2 ch 2 —). 10 . 7 g ( 40 mmol ) of t - butoxycarbonylamino -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) acetic acid obtained in reference example 1 , 10 . 8 g ( 42 mol ) of disuccinamidyl carbonate obtained in reference example 2 and 0 . 24 g ( 1 . 96 mmol ) of n , n - dimethylaminopyridine were added to 100 ml of tetrahydrofuran and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 5 hours . 20 ml of water was added thereto and the mixture was stirred overnight . then , tetrahydrofuran was removed under a reduced pressure , 100 ml of ethyl acetate was added thereto and washed twice with 100 ml portions of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , followed by washing twice with 100 ml portions of saturated nacl solution . the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure , and then , dried under a vacuum , to obtain 11 . 8 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 80 %. [ 0047 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 39 ( 9h , s ,— oc ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 2 . 49 ( 4h , s ,— ch 2 ch 2 —), 5 . 46 ( 1h , d , 6 . 4 hz , — ch ), 6 . 73 ( 2h , d , 7 . 0 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 27 ( 2h , d , 7 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 98 ( 1h , d , 6 . 3hz , nh ), 9 . 58 ( 1h , s ,— oh ) ir ( cm − 1 , kbr ): 3335 , 2980 , 1736 , 1518 , 1369 , 1208 , 1163 , 1090 , 841 , 650 . 561 . 26 . 7 g ( 0 . 10 mol ) of t - butoxycarbonylamino -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) acetic acid obtained in reference example 1 was added to a mixture of 30 ml of n , n - dimethylformamide and 100 ml of methylene chloride and cooled to 0 ° c . added thereto was 14 . 6 ml ( 0 . 105 mol ) of triethylamine and the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes . then , 12 . 9 ml ( 0 . 105 mol ) of pivaloyl chloride in 70 ml of methylene chloride was added dropwise thereto over 20 minutes while maintaining the temperature at less than 5 ° c . the resulting solution was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes and the organic layer was washed three times with 100 ml portions of water . the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure , and the residue was dried in a vacuum , to obtain 31 . 6 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 95 %. [ 0051 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 08 ( 9h , s , pivaloyl c ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 1 . 38 ( 9h , s , — oc ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 5 . 20 ( 1h , d , 7 . 5 hz ,— ch ), 6 . 74 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 24 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 86 ( 1h , d , 7 . 4hz ,- nh ), 9 . 56 ( 1h , s , — oh ) ir ( cm − 1 , kbr ): 3451 , 2980 , 1804 , 1701 , 1513 , 1173 , 1055 , 1021 , 953 . 566 2 . 0 g ( 5 . 04 mmol ) of p - methoxybenzyl 7 - amino - 3 -[ propene - 1 - yl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylate hydrochloride was dissolved in a mixture of 40 ml of ethylacetate and 40 ml of water and adjusted to ph 3 . 3 with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the organic layer was separated and dried over ianhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . 40 ml of acetonitrile was added to the oily residue and combined with 1 . 93 g ( 5 . 29 mmol ) of 4 - hydroxyphenylglycine derivative obtained in reference example 3 and 2 ml of isobutylic acid , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight . then , acetonitrile was removed under a reduced pressure and the resulting solution was dissolved in 40 ml portions of ethyl acetate and then , washed twice with 40 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate solution , followed by washing twice with 40 ml of saturated nacl solution . then , the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . the residue was dissolved in 6 ml of methanol , 1 ml of water was added dropwise thereto , stirred for 1 hour , and the solid formed was filtered , to obtain 2 . 88 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 91 %. [ 0055 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d 6 ): 1 . 37 ( 9h , s ,— oc ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 1 . 47 ( 3hx 10 / 11 , d , 6 . 8 hz , z — ch 3 ), 1 . 74 ( 3hx1 / 11 , d , 5 . 7 hz , e — ch 3 ), 3 . 74 ( 3h , s , — och 3 ), 5 . 02 ˜ 5 . 19 ( 4h , m ,— co 2 ch 2 ch —, 6 - h ), 5 . 53 ˜ 5 . 60 ( 1h , m , vinyl h ), 5 . 08 ˜ 5 . 72 ( 1h , m , 7 - h ), 6 . 01 ( 1h , d , 11 . 3 hz , vinyl h ), 6 . 65 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 6 . 91 ( 2h , d , 8 . 6 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 19 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 34 ( 2h , d , 8 . 6 hz , benzene ring - h ), 9 . 03 ( 1h , d , 8 . 4 hz — nh ), 9 . 34 ( 1h , s ,— oh ). 10 g ( 16 . 4 mmol ) of p - methoxybenzyl 7β -[ d - 2 -( t - butoxycarbonylamino )- 2 -( p - hydroxyphenyl ) acetamido ]- 3 -[ propene - 1 - yl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylate obtained in example 1 was added to 100 ml of trifluoroacetic acid and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . then , 200 ml of isopropylether was added dropwise thereto while maintaining the temperature at 5 to 10 ° c . the solid formed was filtered and washed with 100 ml of isopropylether and dried overnight under a vacuum . the resulting pale - yellow solid was suspended in 25 ml of methanol , 5 . 45 g ( 32 . 8 mmol ) of sodium 2 - ethylhexanoate in 350 ml of ethyl acetate was added thereto , and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour . the crystals formed were filtered , washed with 100 ml of ethyl acetate , dried under a vacuum . sodium cefprozil thus obtained was dissolved in 30 ml of distilled water and adjusted to ph 3 . 5 to 3 . 7 with in hc1 . then , the resulting solution was stirred for 30 minutes and further stirred for 30 minutes at 0 ° c . the solid formed was filtered , washed with 5 ml of chilled water , and dried under a vacuum , to obtain 5 . 41 g of the title compound as a pale yellow solid in a yield of 81 %. [ 0058 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , d 2 o + na 2 co 3 ): 1 . 73 ( 3hxio / l l , d , 6 . 5 hz , z — ch 3 ), 1 . 87 ( 3hx1 / 11 , d , 6 . 0 hz , e — ch 3 ), 3 . 27 ˜ 3 . 60 ( 2h , m , 2 - h ), 5 . 13 ˜ 5 . 18 ( 1h , d , 4 . 5 hz , 6 - h ), 5 . 22 ( 1h , s , chco ), 5 . 53 ˜ 6 . 03 ( 1h , m , vinyl h ), 5 . 73 ( 1h , d , 4 . 5 hz , 7 - h ), 6 . 01 ( 1h , d , 11 hz , vinyl h ), 6 . 98 ( 2h , d , 9 . 0 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 41 ( 2h , d , 8 . 8 hz , benzene ring - h ), 9 . 53 ( 1h , d , 8 . 4 hz , — nh ). 2 . 0 g ( 5 . 04 mmol ) of p - methoxybenzyl 7 - amino - 3 -[ propene - 1 - yl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylate hydrochloride was dissolved in a mixture of 40 ml of ethylacetate and 40 ml of water and adjusted to ph 3 . 3 with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution . the organic layer was separated and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . 40 ml of acetonitrile was added to the oily residue and 1 . 77 g ( 5 . 04 mmol ) of 4 - hydroxyphenyl anhydride obtained in reference example 4 was added thereto and stirred at room temperature for 4 hours . then , after removing acetonitrile under a reduced pressure , 40 ml of ethyl acetate and 40 ml of water were added thereto . the organic layer was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate , filtered , and the solvent was removed under a reduced pressure . 10 ml of methanol was added thereto and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes and the solid formed was filtered , to obtain 2 . 82 g of the title compound as a white solid in a yield of 89 %. [ 0061 ] 1 h - nmr ( δ , dmso - d6 ): 1 . 37 ( 9h , s ,— oc ( ch 3 ) 3 ), 1 . 47 ( 3hx10 / 1 , d , 6 . 8 hz , z — ch 3 ), 1 . 74 ( 3hx1 / 11 , d , 5 . 7 hz , e — ch 3 ), 3 . 74 ( 3h , s , — och 3 ), 5 . 02 ˜ 5 . 19 ( 4h , m ,— co 2 ch 2 ch —, 6 - h ), 5 . 53 ˜ 5 . 60 ( 1h , m , vinyl h ), 5 . 08 ˜ 5 . 72 ( 1h , m , 7 - h ), 6 . 01 ( 1h , d , 11 . 3 hz , vinylh ), 6 . 65 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 6 . 91 ( 2h , d , 8 . 6 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 19 ( 2h , d , 8 . 5 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 34 ( 2h , d , 8 . 6 hz , benzene ring - h ), 9 . 03 ( 1h , d , 8 . 4 hz — nh ), 9 . 34 ( 1h , s ,— oh ). 10 g ( 16 . 4 mmol ) of p - methoxybenzyl 7β -[ d - 2 -( t - butoxycarbonylamino )- 2 -( p - hydroxyphenyl ) acetamido ]- 3 -[ propene - 1 - yl ]- 3 - cephem - 4 - carboxylate obtained in example 3 was added to 100 ml of trifluoroacetic acid and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . then , 200 ml of isopropylether was added dropwise thereto while maintaining the temperature at 5 to 10 ° c . the solid formed was filtered , washed with 100 ml of isopropylether , and dried overnight under a vacuum . the pale - yellow solid thus obtained was suspended in 25 ml of methanol , 5 . 45 g ( 32 . 8 mmol ) of sodium 2 - ethylhexanoate dissolved in 350 ml of ethyl acetate was added thereto , and then , stirred for 1 hour . the crystals formed were filtered , washed with 100 ml of ethyl acetate , and dried under a vacuum . sodium cefprozil thus obtained was dissolved in 30 ml of distilled water and adjusted to ph 3 . 5 to 3 . 7 with 1n hcl . the resulting solution was stirred for 30 minutes and then , further stirred for 30 minutes at 0 ° c . the solid formed was filtered , washed with 5 ml of chilled water and dried under a vacuum , to obtain 5 . 41 g of the title compound as a pale yellow solid in a yield of 81 %. h - nmr ( δ , d 2 o + na 2 co 3 ): 1 . 73 ( 3hx10 / 11 , d , 6 . 5 hz , z — ch 3 ), 1 . 87 ( 3hx1 / 11 , d , 6 . 0 hz , e — ch 3 ), 3 . 27 ˜ 3 . 60 ( 2h , m , 2 - h ), 5 . 13 ˜ 5 . 18 ( 1h , d , 4 . 5 hz , 6 - h ), 5 . 22 ( 1h , s , chco ), 5 . 53 ˜ 6 . 03 ( 1h , m , vinyl h ), 5 . 73 ( 1h , d , 4 . 5 hz , 7 - h ), 6 . 01 ( 1h , d , 11 hz , vinyl h ), 6 . 98 ( 2h , d , 9 . 0 hz , benzene ring - h ), 7 . 41 ( 2h , d , 8 . 8 hz , benzene ring - h ), 9 . 53 ( 1h , d , 8 . 4 hz , — nh ). while the invention has been described with respect to the above specific embodiments , it should be recognized that various modifications and changes may be made to the invention by those skilled in the art which also fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
below , the technical contents of the present invention are described in detail in cooperation with drawings . fig2 shows a flowchart of a method for improving surface mechanical properties of non - austenitic stainless steels according to one embodiment of the present invention . in step s 1 , a non - austenitic stainless steel material is provided . the non - austenitic stainless steel material is an iron - based material containing less than 2 . 0 wt % carbon , less than 1 . 0 wt % silicon , less than 2 . 0 wt % manganese , 12 . 0 - 19 . 0 wt % chromium , less than 15 . 0 wt % nickel , less than 6 . 0 wt % molybdenum , and less than 6 . 0 wt % copper . the non - austenitic stainless steel material is a martensitic stainless steel material or a ferritic stainless steel material . in one embodiment , the non - austenitic stainless steel material is a 17 - 4 ph precipitation hardening stainless steel . the stainless steel material is fabricated with a forging or casting process . alternatively , a green compact is obtained with a metal injection molding ( mim ) process or a powder compaction process . then , the green compact is placed in a reducing environment and sintered at a temperature of 1 , 050 - 1 , 400 ° c . to obtain the stainless steel material . the reducing environment is a vacuum environment , a nitrogen - bearing atmosphere or a hydrogen - bearing atmosphere . in step s 2 , a modified surface layer is formed in the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material . the non - austenitic stainless steel material is placed in an environment containing at least one austenite - stabilizing element ( ase ). next , a driving force is applied to implant the ase into the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material to form a modified layer rich in the ase . in the present invention , the ase is an element able to stabilize austenite and may be nitrogen , carbon , copper , nickel , manganese , cobalt , or aluminum . in one embodiment , the ase - bearing environment is a nitrogen - bearing atmosphere , and the driving force is a temperature of 1 , 050 - 1 , 400 ° c . the non - austenitic stainless steel material may be placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace , and a cracked ammonia - bearing atmosphere or an atmosphere containing hydrogen and nitrogen is supplied to the sintering furnace . thereby , the nitrogen - bearing atmosphere surrounds the non - austenitic stainless steel material . next , the atmosphere furnace is heated to the abovementioned temperature and maintained at the temperature for 30 minutes to 3 hours . next , the atmosphere furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature , and the non - austenitic stainless steel is taken out from the atmosphere furnace . thus a passive layer originally existing on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel is removed and an ase - rich modified layer is formed on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material . in one embodiment , the ase - bearing environment is an electrolyte solution containing copper , nickel , manganese , or aluminum , and the driving force is an electric potential difference applied to an electrode and the non - austenitic stainless steel material . firstly , the non - austenitic stainless steel is placed in an electrolysis bath containing the solution of electrolyte . the electrolyte may be nickel sulfate , nickel phosphate , nickel phosphite , or nickel chloride . in the electrolyte solution , an electrode made of a material selected from a group consisting of pure ase ( copper , nickel , manganese , and aluminum ) or the alloys , is placed . the electrode and the non - austenitic stainless steel are connected with a power source . the power source is applied to the electrode and the non - austenitic stainless steel material , whereby the ase contained in the electrode are dissociated from the electrode into the electrolyte solution and deposited on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material . thus an ase - rich modified layer is formed on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material . in one embodiment , after being formed on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel material , the modified layer is further homogenized , wherein the non - austenitic stainless steel material is placed in a reducing environment and homogenized at a temperature of 1 , 050 - 1 , 400 ° c . the reducing environment is a vacuum environment or a hydrogen - bearing atmosphere . the homogenization may be undertaken in a vacuum furnace or an atmosphere sintering furnace . firstly , the non - austenitic stainless steel material is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is supplied with cracked ammonia or a gas mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is heated to a homogenization temperature and maintained at the temperature for a given period of time . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . then , the non - austenitic stainless steel material is taken out from the furnace . alternatively , the non - austenitic stainless steel material is placed in a vacuum furnace . next , the vacuum furnace is pumped to a given degree of vacuum and heated to a homogenization temperature and maintained at the temperature for a given period of time . next , the vacuum furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . then , the non - austenitic stainless steel material is taken out from the vacuum furnace . the given period of time ranges from 30 minutes to 3 hours . after homogenization , the ase is more uniformly distributed in the modified surface layer of the non - austenitic stainless steel . in step s 3 a carburizing process is undertaken . the non - austenitic stainless steel material containing the modified surface layer is taken to contact a carbon - bearing atmosphere and maintained at a carburizing temperature , whereby carbon atoms can implant into the modified layer on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel to form a carburized layer . the carburizing temperature is lower than 600 ° c . and preferred to be 400 - 580 ° c . in the present invention , the carbon - bearing atmosphere may be an atmosphere containing carbon monoxide , methane , or propane . in one embodiment , the non - austenitic stainless steel containing the modified surface layer is placed in a carburizing furnace filled with a carbon - bearing atmosphere ; the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 400 - 580 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for a given period of time . the carburization time is preferably 24 hours . next , the carburizing furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature , and the non - austenitic stainless steel material is taken out from the carburizing furnace . thus , a carburized layer is formed on the surface of the non - austenitic stainless steel and the thickness of the carburized layer is 10 - 50 μm . below , the below embodiments are used to demonstrate the method for improving surface mechanical properties of non - austenitic stainless steels of the present invention . however , the embodiments are only to exemplify the present invention but not to limit the scope of the present invention . table . 1 lists the chemical compositions of the stainless steels used in the embodiments and comparisons , wherein composition 1 belongs to a commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece , and wherein composition 2 belongs to a commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel powder . the 17 - 4ph stainless steel powder is fabricated into a green compact with a mim process . the green compact is further sintered to form a sintered body . herein , the non - austenitic stainless steel materials are only exemplified with the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece and a sintered body made from the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel powder . however , the samples may also be made of another non - austenitic stainless steel . in the embodiments and comparisons , the stainless steel workpieces of composition 1 are carburized according to the fabrication conditions listed in table . 2 . in embodiments i and ii , a commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature to form a nitrogen - rich layer on the surface of the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece ; then the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece containing the modified layer is carburized . in embodiments iii - v , a commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece is placed in a nickel - bearing electrolyte solution ; an electric potential difference is applied to deposit nickel on the surface of the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece to form a nickel - plated layer ; then the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel workpiece containing the nickel - plated layer is homogenized and then carburized . in embodiments vi and vii , a commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel sintered body is placed in a nickel - bearing electrolyte solution ; an electric potential difference is applied to deposit nickel on the surface of the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel sintered body to form a nickel - plated layer ; then the commercial 17 - 4ph stainless steel sintered body containing the nickel - plated layer is homogenized and then carburized . the thicknesses of the nickel - plated layers are measured via observing microscopic images . after carburization , the stainless steel workpieces are examined for the hardness , corrosion resistance , and the thickness of the carburized layer . the hardness tests include the surface hardness and the core hardness of the workpieces and the sintered bodies and are performed using a vickers hardness tester . the corrosion resistance is realized by the metal powder industries federation ( mpif ) standard 62 and a frequently - used salt - spray method . in the mpif standard 62 , the carburized workpieces are immersed in a 2 wt % sulfuric acid solution for 24 hours . then , the weight loss is measured . if the weight loss per square decimeter is less than 0 . 005 g , the workpiece is a qualified one and designated by o . if the weight loss per square decimeter is greater than 0 . 005 g , the workpiece is an unqualified one and designated by x . the carburized workpieces are also tested with the salt - spray method , wherein the carburized workpieces are placed in a mist of 5 wt % sodium chloride solution and observed with the naked eyes to determine the interval of time after which corrosion occurs . the thickness of the carburized layer is measured via observing the microscopic images of the carburized workpieces . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this embodiment . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours to form on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece a nitrogen - rich modified layer having a thickness of about 50 μm . next , the stainless steel workpiece is taken out from the atmosphere sintering furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 21 μm is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of about hv650 and a core hardness of about hv370 . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 40 hours . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this embodiment . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 120 ° c . for 2 hours to form on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece a nitrogen - rich modified layer having a thickness of about 35 μm . next , the stainless steel workpiece is taken out from the atmosphere sintering furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 20 μm is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of about hv653 and a core hardness of about hv365 . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 40 hours . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this embodiment . a nickel layer having a thickness of about 0 . 5 μm is plated on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . next , the nickel layer is homogenized . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . next , the stainless steel workpiece is taken out from the atmosphere sintering furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 25 μm is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of about hv710 and a core hardness of about hv350 . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 42 hours . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this embodiment . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an electrolyte solution to plate a nickel layer having a thickness of about 0 . 5 μm on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . next , the nickel layer is homogenized . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 120 ° c . for 2 hours . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . next , the stainless steel workpiece is taken out from the atmosphere sintering furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 22 μm is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of about hv695 and a core hardness of about hv350 . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 42 hours . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this embodiment . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in an electrolyte solution to plate a nickel layer having a thickness of about 0 . 5 μm on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . next , the nickel layer is homogenized . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in a vacuum furnace and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours . next , the vacuum furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . next , the stainless steel workpiece is taken out from the vacuum furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 23 μm is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of about hv680 and a core hardness of about hv322 . the carburized stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 42 hours . in this embodiment , the stainless steel powder of composition 2 is fabricated into a green compact in a mim process . next , the stainless steel workpiece is placed in a vacuum environment at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours to form a sintered body having a relative density as high as 96 %. next , the sintered body is placed in an electrolyte solution to plate on the surface of the sintered body a nickel layer having a thickness of about 0 . 5 μm . next , the nickel layer is homogenized . the sintered - and - plated body is placed in an atmosphere sintering furnace filled with cracked ammonia and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours . next , the atmosphere sintering furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . next , the sintered body is taken out from the atmosphere sintering furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 25 μm is formed on the surface of the sintered body . the carburized sintered body has a surface hardness of about hv720 and a core hardness of about hv302 . the carburized sintered body has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 38 hours . in this embodiment , the stainless steel powder of composition 2 is fabricated into a green compact in a mim process . next , the stainless steel workpiece is placed in a vacuum environment at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours to form a sintered body having a relative density as high as 96 %. next , the sintered body is placed in an electrolyte solution to plate on the surface of the sintered body a nickel layer having a thickness of about 0 . 5 μm . next , the nickel layer is homogenized . the sintered - and - plated body is placed in a vacuum furnace and maintained at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours . next , the vacuum furnace is cooled to an ambient temperature . next , the sintered body is taken out from the vacuum furnace and placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 22 μm is formed on the surface of the sintered body . the carburized sintered body has a surface hardness of about hv680 and a core hardness of about hv300 . the carburized sintered body has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 38 hours . a stainless steel workpiece of composition 1 is used as the sample in this comparison . the stainless steel workpiece is placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . no carburized layer is formed on the surface of the stainless steel workpiece . the stainless steel workpiece has a surface hardness of hv350 and a core hardness of hv352 . the stainless steel workpiece has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 35 hours . in this comparison , the stainless steel powder of composition 2 is sintered in a vacuum environment at a temperature of 1 , 320 ° c . for 2 hours to form a sintered body having a relative density of 96 %. the sintered body is placed in a carburizing furnace filled with carbon monoxide . the carburizing furnace is heated to a temperature of 500 ° c . and maintained at the temperature for 24 hours . thus , a carburized layer having a thickness of about 11 μm is formed on the surface of the sintered body . the carburized sintered body has a surface hardness of about hv610 and a core hardness of about hv250 . the carburized sintered body has qualified corrosion resistance and tolerates the salt spray test for 35 hours . in embodiments i - wi , the carburized layer may be as thick as about 25 μm , which can be further increased by increasing the carburization time . further , embodiments i - vii prove that the present invention can enhance the maximum surface hardness to about hv720 . in the comparison using a stainless steel workpiece , no carburized layer is formed on the surface ; the surface hardness thereof almost equals the core hardness . in the comparison using a stainless steel powder , the sintered body has a carburized layer of about 11 μm , which is much thinner than the carburized layers in the embodiments ; the surface hardness thereof is only increased to about hv610 , which is much lower than those in the embodiments ; the core hardness thereof is also lower than those in the embodiments . in conclusion , the method for improving surface mechanical properties of non - austenitic stainless steels of the present invention is characterized in that a modified surface layer , which is rich in austenite - stabilizing elements , is formed on the surface of a non - austenitic stainless steel . thus , carbon atoms can implant into the modified layer more easily , and a carburized layer is formed in the modified layer . thereby the surface hardness of non - austenitic stainless steels is enhanced . in the present invention , carburization is undertaken at a temperature of 400 - 580 ° c . in the abovementioned temperature range , chromium would not precipitate from stainless steel . therefore , the present invention can preserve superior resistance of stainless steel . further , the present invention does not use a halide - bearing gas or solution to activate the passive layer . therefore , the present invention neither harms human bodies nor damages the environment . furthermore , the present invention uses simpler equipment and has lower fabrication cost in comparison with the conventional low - temperature carburization process . the embodiments described above are only to exemplify the present invention but not to limit the scope of the present invention . any equivalent modification or variation according to the spirit of the present invention is to be also included within the scope of the present invention . | 2 |
fig1 and 2 show a radial type oil shaft seal of one preferred form embodying the principles of the invention . the seal 10 is of the single lip type and includes a single metal case 12 having a radially outermost axially extending cylindrical portion 14 and a stepped radial flange 16 extending inwardly from one end thereof . radial flange 16 includes lower radial portion 18 , an intermediate axially extending cylindrical portion 20 , and an upper radial flange portion 22 depending in from the axial inboard end of axially extending portion 20 . these latter two members , namely the intermediate cylindrical portion 20 and upper radial portion 22 form a counterbore . located within this counterbore and secured against flange portion 22 by means of an elastomeric bond is a flat radial outer portion 24 of seal element 26 , preferably made of polytetrafluoroethylene , and which also has a frustoconical portion 28 which constitutes the lip portion of the seal element . the flat radial outer portion 24 includes a plurality of holes 30 equally spaced about its circumference and filled with an elastomeric material , ( preferably buna - n ), which forms the elastomeric radial reinforcement member 32 . the elastomeric member 32 is bonded to the intermediate cylindrical portion 20 of the metal case at its circumference as well as at each interface 34 with the upper radial flange portion 22 . as desirable for some applications , the air side surface 36 of the frustoconical portion 28 of seal element 26 may have a spiral groove 38 leading outward from innermost edge 40 of the seal . this groove 38 is made so that during rotation of the shaft in a particular direction , the groove tends to return any oil which may leak along the shaft , due to scratches in the shaft or minor imperfections in the shaft or even in the shaft sealing element , though most of the leakage occurs in this instance from the shaft imperfections . as in all hydrodynamic scals , the purpose of the groove 38 is to return the oil beneath the seal lip 40 and back to the oil side of the seal . when the seal 10 is installed , there is shaft interference which flexes the inner portion 28 and makes a portion thereof substantially cylindrical for a short distance ; that is why the spiral groove 38 extends a substantial distance along the face , because the degree of shaft interference is somewhat indeterminate . it should perhaps be emphasized that the stepped configuration of radial flange 16 is important for several reasons . first of all , it provides a method of accurately locating the flat radial outer portion 24 of the seal element which it will be noted has already been pierced to its final inner diameter . any eccentricity or offset in location of the seal element within the metal case will naturally result in the lip portion of the seal element being offset from the shaft it is to seal . and this of course might well result in an oil leak . another advantage resulting from the stepped configuration is that this accurate location of the seal element can be effected with much less material usage than would be required if it were necessary to locate the seal element with respect to the radially outermost cylindrical portion 14 . less bonding material 32 is required for the same reason . it is likewise obvious that the stepped configuration allows metal case 12 to be sized consistent with those of conventional molded lip seals and therefor the seal of our invention can be used as a replacement therefor without the necessity of further design changes , such as resizing the shaft housing seal bore , and the like . fig3 shows a second preferred embodiment of an oil shaft embodying the principles of the invention . it is similar in construction in all respects , with one exception , to the seal shown in fig1 and 2 . therefore like numerals are used to indicate like features . the distinguishing feature of the seal of fig3 is that it is a dual lip type seal . the secondary lip 42 , which is provided for excluding dust and dirt from the primary seal lip , may be an integral portion of elastomeric member 32 . as seen it is likewise frustoconical in shape but extends in an axial opposite direction than frustoconical portion 28 . the lip 42 extends downward in the direction of the shaft on which it is to be installed a distance sufficient to make light sealing contact therewith . lip 42 need not extend inward as far as innermost end 40 of seal element 26 , and it is preferred that it does not do so . fig4 illustrates the polytetrafluoroethylene seal element 26 prior to assembly in the mold to the case . as such it is simply an annular frustoconically shaped disc with a plurality of holes spaced about the radially outermost portion . the most convenient method of manufacturing would be to stamp the annular disc from sheet stock and in the same operation to pierce the holes 30 . the spiral groove 38 may , during this same operation or subsequently , be coined . the frustoconical shape may likewise be imparted to the flat wafer by a suitable coining operation . the frustoconical preforming could also be accomplished in the mold cavity , if desired . assembly of the oil seal is accomplished in a mold such as shown in its fully open position in fig5 . the mold assembly comprises the usual elements and arrangement thereof conventional to those used in the forming of molded elastomeric lip seals such as shown for example in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 982 , 999 and includes lower mold 50 , mold core 52 , and upper mold 54 , all of which when in the fully closed position define a cavity which determines to which areas of the seal the elastomeric prep material will flow . the mold core 52 is located on a cap screw 56 having a lower head portion 58 which arrests the mold core and upper mold . lower mold 50 includes an upper portion which is shaped complementarily to that of the stepped metal case 12 &# 39 ; so that the latter may be securely located with respect thereto during assembly . upper mold 54 includes a shoulder portion 60 adapted to abut an adjacent portion 61 of mold core 52 . the upper mold 54 and mold core are made of separate pieces primarily for ease of machining the complex shaped cavity portion . they may be considered as fixed relative to one another , however gas generated during the molding operation is allowed to escape from the mold cavity and out of the mold assembly by passing upwardly between surface portions 60 and 61 . shoulder screw 62 retains belleville spring 64 which in turn allows alignment of the lower mold 50 with the mold core in the closed position . the oil seal , which as shown in fig5 is of the dual lip type depicted in fig3 is assembled by first locating metal case 12 &# 39 ; with seal element 26 &# 39 ; and an annular elastomeric prep all situated within the stepped portion of the metal case on lower mold 50 . inner wall 51 of the lower die is shaped complementarily to the frustoconical portion 28 of the seal element so that when the mold is closed the respective elements of the seal will not be dislodged . the mold which operates at an elevated temperature equaling the cure temperature of the elastomeric prep is then closed . the prep flows through holes 30 in the seal element and forms a bond with the metal case at the intermediate axial portion and at the inner radial flange portion in the area of holes 30 . if desired , mold core 52 may include a raised annular rib 66 which will coin the seal element and thereby eliminate elastomeric flash which might otherwise be present if the prep were to flow past that particular portion of the mold core which engages the radially outermost portion of the frustoconical portion 28 . as an alternative molding operation one may begin with a flat coined sealing element and coin or otherwise form the frustoconical shape of the sealing element in the mold simultaneous with the molding operation . to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates , many other changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting . | 1 |
fig1 illustrates an exemplary welding , cutting or heating power supply 10 , which functions to power and control a welding , cutting or heating operation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure . the power supply unit 10 in the illustrated embodiment contains a control panel 12 through which a user may control the supply of materials , such as power , gas flow , and so forth , to the welding , cutting or heating operation through knobs 14 or other panel components . the power supply 10 contains ports 16 , which may communicatively couple the power supply 10 to other system components , such as a torch , a work lead , a wall power outlet , and so forth . the portability of the unit 10 depends on a set of wheels 18 , which enable the user to easily move the power supply unit 10 to the location of a workpiece . fig2 is a circuit diagram illustrating one embodiment of an output power control circuit 20 of the welding power supply 10 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure . the power control circuit 20 converts an unregulated dc input to a regulated ac output as needed for the welding , cutting or heating operation being performed . for instance , typical submerged arc welding ( saw ) operations may require a regulated high current square wave output of several hundreds of amperes . however , primary power sources , such as a wall outlet , provide an unregulated ac output that is insufficient for a saw operation . therefore , it is now recognized that circuitry must convert the output of the primary power source to an output suitable for the welding , cutting or heating operation being performed . in operation , the power control circuit 20 illustrated in fig2 efficiently converts unregulated dc inputs to a first capacitor 22 from the primary power supply to regulated ac outputs for the welding , cutting or heating operation . in the following discussion , the power control circuit 20 illustrated in fig2 may be broken up into legs and sides for explanatory purposes . however , one skilled in the art would understand that the components of the circuit 20 may be arranged and / or grouped differently while retaining the overall function of the circuit 20 . a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) leg 24 modulates current received from the first capacitor 22 such that the received unregulated dc current is converted to a regulated dc current . the pwm leg 24 includes a first transistor 26 and a first diode 28 coupled in parallel , a second transistor 30 and a second diode 32 coupled in parallel , an inductor 34 , and a first terminal 36 of an output 38 . the first transistor 26 and the first diode 28 may be positioned in between a first node 40 and a second node 42 . as illustrated in fig2 , the first node 40 may be located such that it is positioned on a first outer edge 41 of the circuit 20 . the second node 42 is located below the first outer edge 41 of the circuit 20 but above a second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . the second transistor 30 and the second diode 32 may be positioned in between the second node 42 and a third node 44 , which may be located such that it is positioned on the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . the inductor 34 may be positioned in between the second node 42 and the first terminal 36 of the output 38 and parallel to the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . the pwm leg 24 alternates switching of the first transistor 26 or the second transistor 30 to increase or decrease current at the output 38 as dictated by the demands of the welding or plasma cutting operation . in some embodiments , the first transistor 26 , the second diode 32 , and the inductor 34 may be configured to function as a buck converter . similarly , in some embodiments , the second transistor 30 , the first diode 28 , and the inductor 34 may be configured to function as a buck converter , transferring energy from an input to an output by storing and subsequently releasing energy in the inductor 34 . taken together , the first transistor 26 , the first diode 28 , the second transistor 30 , the second diode 32 , and the inductor 34 may function as a bidirectional buck converter , which converts the dc voltage across the first capacitor 22 to a regulated dc current in the inductor 34 . a steering leg 46 , which includes a third transistor 48 and a third diode 50 coupled in parallel and a fourth transistor 52 and a fourth diode 54 coupled in parallel , forms a half bridge inverter that determines the direction of current flow through the inductor 34 . the steering leg 46 is positioned between the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . during operation , the steering leg 46 facilitates current flow either from right to left through the inductor 34 or from left to right through the inductor 34 by turning the third transistor 48 and the fourth transistor 52 on and off . the third transistor 48 and the third diode 50 may be positioned in between the first node 40 and a fourth node 56 . the fourth transistor 52 and the fourth diode 54 may be positioned in between the fourth node 56 and the third node 44 such that they exist in series with the first node 40 , which is positioned on the first outer edge 41 of the circuit 20 , and the fourth node 56 , which is positioned in between the first outer edge 41 of the circuit 20 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . a second terminal 58 of the output 38 extending from the fourth node 56 in parallel with the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 may be configured to receive current from the steering leg 46 . an output clamp leg 59 includes a second capacitor 60 that is configured to function as an output clamp circuit , which suppresses the energy in a parasitic output inductance of the welding or cutting cables during polarity reversal . the output clamp leg 59 is positioned between and connects the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . in some embodiments , the capacity of the second capacitor 60 is much less than the capacity of the first capacitor 22 . in some embodiments , the peak current in the second capacitor 60 during polarity reversal may be the current in the inductor 34 and the parasitic output inductance of the welding or cutting cables . an input leg 61 includes the first capacitor 22 and a blocking diode 62 arranged in series . as illustrated in fig2 , the blocking diode 62 may be positioned on the first outer edge 41 of the circuit 20 and the first capacitor 22 may be positioned in between the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . the input leg 61 is positioned between the first outer edge 41 and the second outer edge 43 of the circuit 20 . the first capacitor 22 is configured to receive power from a primary power source that may include a line frequency step down transformer and a rectifier . the transformer may be single phase or three phase and may output 50 hz or 60 hz . the transformer may have multiple primary taps to accommodate multiple input voltages . the blocking diode 62 allows the second capacitor 60 to resonate with the series combination of the inductor 34 and the parasitic output inductance during polarity reversal as described in more detail below . fig3 is a circuit diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the output power control circuit 20 with a current flow 64 established from left to right through the inductor 34 ( i . e . state 1 ). to establish the left to right current flow 64 through the inductor 34 , the fourth transistor 52 is turned on , and the first transistor 26 is pulse width modulated to regulate the magnitude of the current through the inductor 34 . the forward path of current 64 originates from the first capacitor 22 and flows through the blocking diode 62 , the first node 40 , the first transistor 26 , the inductor 34 , the first terminal 36 of the output 38 , the output 38 , the second terminal 58 of the output 38 , the fourth node 56 , the fourth transistor 52 , the third node 44 and back to the first capacitor 22 . when the pulse width modulation of the first transistor 26 dictates that it is off , a freewheel current path 66 , as illustrated in fig4 , is established to allow the magnitude of the current flowing through the inductor 34 to decrease ( i . e . state 2 ). the freewheel current path 66 flows from left to right through the inductor 34 and is through the second diode 32 , the second node 42 , the inductor 34 , the first terminal 36 of the output 38 , the output 38 , the second terminal 58 of the output 38 , the fourth node 56 , the fourth transistor 52 , and the third node 44 . the second transistor 30 , the first diode 28 , the third diode 50 , and the third transistor 48 are not used when dc current is flowing from left to right through the inductor 34 . fig5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the output power control circuit 20 with a current flow 68 established from right to left through the inductor 34 ( i . e . state 5 ). to establish the right to left current flow 68 through the inductor 34 , the third transistor 48 is turned on , and the second transistor 30 is pulse width modulated to regulate the magnitude of the current through the inductor 34 . the forward path of current 68 originates from the first capacitor 22 and flows through the blocking diode 62 , the first node 40 , the third transistor 48 , the second terminal 58 of the output 38 , the output 38 , the first terminal 36 of the output 38 , the inductor 34 the second node 42 , the second transistor 30 , the third node 44 and back to the first capacitor 22 . when the pulse width modulation of the second transistor 30 dictates that it is off , a freewheel current path 70 , as illustrated in fig6 , is established to allow the magnitude of the current flowing through the inductor 34 to decrease ( i . e . state 6 ). the freewheel current path 70 flows from right to left through the inductor 34 and is through the first diode 28 , the first node 40 , the third transistor 48 , the fourth node 56 , the second terminal 58 of the output 38 , the output 38 , the first terminal 36 of the output 38 , the inductor 34 , and the second node 42 . the first transistor 26 , the second diode 32 , the third diode 50 , and the fourth diode 54 are not used when dc current is flowing from right to left through the inductor 34 . in some embodiments , once current flow has been established either in the left to right current path 64 or in the right to left current path 68 through the inductor 34 , the direction of the current flow may be reversed . for instance , if current flow has been established in the left to right current path 64 through the inductor 34 , the direction of the current flow can be reversed by turning all the transistors 26 , 30 , 48 , 52 off . a first intermediate current flow path 72 illustrated in fig7 is established wherein the current continues to flow from left to right through the inductor 34 ( i . e . state 3 ). the first intermediate current flow path 72 flows from the inductor 34 through the first terminal 36 of the output 38 , the output 38 , the second terminal of the output 58 , the fourth node 56 , the third diode 50 , the first node 40 , the second capacitor 60 , the third node 44 , the second diode 30 , and the second node 42 . the inductor 34 releases the energy it stored during the left to right current flow 64 , charging the second capacitor 60 to a voltage greater than the voltage of the first capacitor 22 , at which point the blocking diode 62 begins to block . the second transistor 30 and the third transistor 48 are turned on to allow the second capacitor to unload its energy back into the output load 38 and the inductor 34 after the current in the inductor 34 reaches zero . when the current in the inductor 34 reaches zero , the voltage on the second capacitor 60 is at an upper limit . subsequently , the energy built up in the second capacitor 60 will begin to discharge , reversing the direction of the current flow and establishing a current flow path 74 from right to left through the inductor 34 , as illustrated in fig8 ( i . e . state 4 ). since the second transistor 30 and the third transistor 48 have been turned on , current will flow from the second capacitor 60 through the first node 40 , the third transistor 48 , the fourth node 56 , the second terminal of the output 58 , the output 38 , the first terminal of the output 36 , the inductor 34 , the second transistor 30 , and the third node 44 . when the voltage on the second capacitor 60 discharges to the voltage on the first capacitor 22 , current flow will be established through the inductor 34 from right to left at approximately the same magnitude as prior to polarity reversal , slightly reduced by circuit losses . subsequently , the third transistor 48 remains on and the second transistor 30 is pulse width modulated to regulate the current flow through the inductor 34 and reestablish the current path from right to left as previously shown in fig5 . once current flow has been reestablished in the right to left current path 68 through the inductor 34 , the direction of the current flow can be reversed by turning all the transistors 26 , 30 , 48 , 52 off . a first intermediate current flow path 76 illustrated in fig9 is established wherein the current continues to flow from right to left through the inductor 34 ( i . e . state 7 ). the first intermediate current flow path 76 flows from the inductor 34 through the second node 42 , the first diode 28 , the first node 40 , the second capacitor 60 , the third node 44 , the fourth diode 54 , the fourth node 56 , the second terminal 58 of the output 38 , the output 38 , and the first terminal of the output 36 . the inductor 34 releases the energy it stored during the right to left current flow 68 , charging the second capacitor 60 to a voltage greater than the voltage of the first capacitor 22 , at which point the blocking diode 62 begins to block . the first transistor 26 and the fourth transistor 52 are turned on to allow the second capacitor to unload its energy back into the output load 38 and the inductor 34 after the current in the inductor 34 reaches zero . when the current in the inductor 34 reaches zero , the voltage on the second capacitor 60 is at an upper limit . subsequently , the energy built up in the second capacitor 60 will begin to discharge , reversing the direction of the current flow and establishing a current flow path 78 from left to right through the inductor 34 , as illustrated in fig1 ( i . e . state 8 ). since the first transistor 26 and the fourth transistor 52 have been turned on , current will flow from the second capacitor 60 through the first node 40 , the first transistor 26 , the second node 42 , the inductor 34 , the first terminal of the output 36 , the output 38 , the second terminal of the output 58 , the fourth node 56 , the fourth transistor 52 , and the third node 44 . when the voltage on the second capacitor 60 discharges to the voltage on the first capacitor 22 , current flow will be established through the inductor 34 from left to right at approximately the same magnitude as prior to polarity reversal , slightly reduced by circuit losses . subsequently , the fourth transistor 52 remains on and the first transistor 26 is pulse width modulated to regulate the current flow through the inductor 34 and reestablish the current path from left to right as previously shown in fig3 . fig1 illustrates exemplary current and voltage waveforms generated during control circuit operation . in particular , fig1 illustrates an inductor current waveform 80 , a second capacitor voltage waveform 82 , a first transistor voltage waveform 84 , a second transistor voltage waveform 86 , a third transistor voltage waveform 88 , and a fourth transistor voltage waveform 90 . from an initial time 92 to a later time 94 , the circuit 20 is switching between state 1 and state 2 to maintain the current at the output 38 at 1000 a flowing from left to right through the inductor 34 as previously described with respect to fig3 - 4 . the fourth transistor 52 is on in both states 1 and 2 while the first transistor 26 is on in state 1 and off in state 2 . a current at the output 38 appears to be a constant 1000 a but is actually increasing a few amps in state 1 and decreasing a few amps in state 2 . from a time 94 to a later time 96 , the circuit 20 remains exclusively in state 2 , the fourth transistor 52 is the only transistor on , and the current at the output 38 is decreasing . at the time 96 , the fourth transistor 52 is turned off , and the circuit 20 is in state 3 as previously described with respect to fig7 . the second transistor 30 and the third transistor 48 are turned on in state 3 even though the current flow path is through the second diode 32 and the third diode 50 . during state 3 , the current at the output 38 rapidly decreases while the voltage on the second capacitor 60 increases . subsequently , at a later time 98 , the current at the output 38 reverses , and the voltage on the second capacitor 60 is at an upper limit . at the time 98 , the circuit 20 enters state 4 , as previously described with respect to fig8 . the current at the output 38 increases rapidly through the second capacitor 60 , the second transistor 30 , and the third transistor 48 . the voltage on the second capacitor 60 begins to decrease . subsequently , at an approximate later time 100 , the current at the output 38 has reversed and is flowing from right to left through the inductor 34 . the voltage on the second capacitor 60 has reached its initial condition . from the approximate time 100 to an approximate time 102 , the circuit 20 is in state 5 , as previously described with respect to fig5 . the second transistor 30 and the third transistor 48 are on , and the current at the output 38 increases . at the time 102 , the current at the output 38 has reached 1000 a and is flowing from right to left through the inductor 34 . the circuit 20 is switching between states 5 and 6 to maintain the output current at 1000 a as previously described with respect to fig5 - 6 . the second transistor 30 is on in state 5 while the current at the output is increasing a few amps . from a time 104 to a later time 106 , the circuit 20 is in state 6 as previously described with respect to fig6 . the third transistor 48 is on , the second transistor 30 is off , and the current at the output is decreasing a few amps . at the time 106 , the third transistor 48 turns off , and the circuit is in state 7 as previously described with respect to fig9 . the first transistor 26 and the fourth transistor 52 turn on in state 7 even though the current flow is through the first diode 28 and the fourth diode 54 . during state 7 , the current at the output 38 rapidly decreases , while the voltage on the second capacitor 60 increases . at an approximate later time 108 , the current at the output 38 reverses , and the voltage on the second capacitor 60 is at an upper limit . at the time 108 , the circuit 20 enters state 8 as previously described with respect to fig1 . the current at the output increases rapidly through the second capacitor 60 , the first transistor 26 , and the fourth transistor 52 . the voltage on the second capacitor 60 begins to decrease . at an approximate time 110 , the current at the output 38 has reversed , and current flow is from left to right through the inductor 34 while the voltage on the second capacitor 60 has reached its initial condition . from the approximate time 110 to an approximate time 112 , the circuit 20 returns to state 1 , wherein the first transistor 26 and the fourth transistor 52 are on , and the current at the output 38 increases . at the approximate time 112 , the current at the output 38 has reached 1000 a flowing from left to right through the inductor 34 , and the circuit 20 is switching between states 1 and 2 to maintain the output current at 1000 a . in the illustrated exemplary operation , the above described sequence of states repeats for the next 10 ms cycle ( i . e . 100 hz frequency ) of current at the output 38 . fig1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the output power control circuit 20 of fig2 . it is well known to those skilled in the art that certain welding processes , such as ac gtaw , require a voltage of approximately 200 volts or more during polarity reversal to maintain current flow and prevent arc rectification . other process , such as ac saw , may not require this high voltage during polarity reversal , and the embodiment of the output power control circuit 20 illustrated in fig1 may be used . in such processes , the output clamp leg 59 , which includes the second capacitor 60 that is configured to function as the output clamp circuit 59 in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , may be eliminated from the output power control circuit 20 . additionally , if the capacitor 60 is eliminated from the output clamp circuit 20 , then the blocking diode 62 , which was part of the input leg 61 in fig2 , is no longer required . accordingly , in the illustrated embodiment , the output current flows through the capacitor 22 of the input leg 61 during polarity reversal , and the output voltage is clamped to the voltage on capacitor 22 . while only certain features of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure . | 1 |
referring to the drawings and particularly to fig1 and 3 , a machine for producing protective pouches is provided . the machine for producing protective pouches comprises a feeding device 10 , a gluing device 20 and a cutting - forming device 30 . the feeding device 10 functions to transport a roll of an upper sheet 11 , a roll of a lower sheet 12 and a roll of a middle bar 13 therebetween . the gluing device 20 for providing glue to the upper sheet 11 , the lower sheet 12 and the middle bar 13 respectively in their proper positions has a case 21 with a first motor 22 mounted therein and forms a bottom part of the device 20 . a disk 23 provided beside the first motor 22 , having at least two sensors 231 , 232 which are situated at opposite directions is pivotally connected with a link 234 . a sensing element 233 is situated below the disk 23 . the link 234 engages with an upper plate 235 having a punch 236 and a pressing plate 237 . the punch 236 faces downward and is mounted on a bottom face of the upper plate 235 for punching holes in a certain part of pouches for easier cutting . two groups of opposite transporting wheels 24 , 25 are provided on a front part of the gluing device 20 . another two groups of opposite pressing wheels 241 , 251 are situated behind the latter group of transporting wheels 24 , 25 , and the upper sheet 11 , the lower sheet 12 and the middle bar 13 are able to be pressed to form a combined sheet of a pouch to be transported to a next device therebetween . a glue provider 18 is provided between the latter group of the transporting wheels 24 , 25 and a front group of the pressing wheels 241 , 251 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . the rotation of the pressing wheels 241 , 251 driven by a second motor 26 transports the glued middle bar 13 and passes the middle bar 13 through the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 ( as shown in fig4 ). a track 27 provided behind the gluing device 20 is designed for the continuous forward moving of the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 , and while the combined sheet of the pouches formed by pressing the middle bar 13 between the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 passes through the track 27 , the combined sheet of the pouches is properly dried . referring to fig4 a pair of third motors 28 each provided with a shaft 281 to control a group of gears 282 , 283 and lower pressing wheels ( not shown ) are respectively mounted on both sides of the case 21 . a group of upper pressing wheels 14 , 15 are mounted on top of the lower pressing wheels to allow a side bar 17 to be transported to the center of the gluing device 20 and pressed between the lower pressing wheels and the upper pressing wheels 14 , 15 . an opening member 29 , as shown in fig5 has an inclined surface 292 for opening the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 , and a recess 291 permitting the side bar 17 to be transported between the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 when the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 are opened by the opening member 29 . it is to be noted that when the disk 23 rotates due to the first motor 22 , the sensors 231 , 232 are sensed sequentially by the sensing element 233 ( as shown in fig3 ), which activates the third motor 28 to start the feeding of the side bar 17 and to position the middle bar 13 and the side bar 17 at the center and at both sides of the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 respectively . when the upper plate 235 is pulled by the link 234 due to the rotation of the first motor 22 , the punch 236 provided on the bottom of the upper plate 235 will centrally punch a plurality of holes 16 in the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 , the side bar 17 and the middle bar 13 will simultaneously be transported and pressed between the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 . after the abovementioned procedure is finished , the upper sheet 11 and the lower sheet 12 with the middle bar 13 and the side bar 17 therebetween are then transported to the track 27 to be received by the cutting - forming device 30 ( as shown in fig1 and 6 ). the cutting - forming device 30 comprises a cutting seat 31 driven by a powered shaft 33 and a base 32 , so that the cutting seat 31 is able to be moved up and down relative to the base 32 . a knife ( not shown ) mounted under the cutting seat 31 is subtantially configured as a &# 34 ; z &# 34 ;, therefore , pouches will be cut along one side bar 17 , one middle bar 13 of a sheet of the pouches and another side bar 17 of another sheet of the pouches when the cutting seat 31 moves close to the base 32 along with the knife , as shown in fig7 . after all the above mentioned processes are completed , two sheets of individual baseball card shields are presented because of the centrally pounched holes 16 . from the foregoing , it is seen that the objects hereinbefore set forth may readily and efficiently be attained , and since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 1 |
now with reference to fig1 there is shown a sample of an e - statement preferred format 1 which is transmitted electronically from the financial source , through a computer via conventional e - mail internet services . the statement 1 may appear upon a computer screen , or the like , and / or may be printed out in any tangible format . as shown , the e - statement 1 contains a first line 2 containing the title and the source of the statement and any advertising or promotional or legal notice requirements , such as “ member fdic ”. a date line 3 is provided for specifying the statement generation date and time of generation . as shown , the statement 1 has a statement generation field 3 specifying that it is generated “ as of close of business monday oct . 16 , 2000 ”. a salutation / description line 4 brings the attention of the reader to the subject matter of the e - statement 1 . fields 5 , 6 and 7 are clustered on one line to identify the type of account , and the digitized account number 6 , which may have one or more sub - fields in “ x ” ed or other disguising configuration , for security purposes . field 7 , as shown , describes the account as “ household account ”. below the field lines 5 , 6 and 7 are found the available balance field 8 and the exact balance field 9 as of the date of the generation of the e - statement 1 , reflected in field 3 . a field 10 is identified as “ last deposit ”, giving the amount field 11 in numbers , and an “ as of ” or “ on ” field 12 for identifying the date of the last deposit 10 which may or may not , be the same date as the generation date 3 of the e - statement 1 . field 13 specifies the transactions for the account identified in field 6 by date 14 , serial or transaction number 15 , amount 16 and transaction source and type 17 . as shown , under the date field 14 , three transactions , 18 , 19 and 20 are shown for oct . 16 , 2000 with each being identified by a separate serial number 15 . each of the amounts 16 for the transactions 18 , 19 and 20 are identified and described in the transaction identification field 17 , such as a check , ach , debit or a visa ® banking creditor debit card , well known to those skilled in the art . the e - statement 1 also has a similar information in fields for another account 22 which is identified in field 1 as a “ savings account ” and further identified in description field 23 as a “ household savings account ”. an available balance field 24 similar to that in field 8 is shown for the savings account 21 in a specific monetary amount at field 25 . a last deposit field 26 indicates , as shown , an amount of $ 2 , 000 in field 27 deposited to the account on oct . 13 , 2000 as shown in field 28 . again , particular transactions for the account are shown in field 26 with the account being respecified in field 27 . the transactions are identified along field line 29 by date , field 30 , serial number , field 31 , amount , field 32 and transaction source and type , field 33 . the date is provided in field 34 with the serial number identification field 35 and the specified amount of the transaction in the amount field 36 . in field 37 , the transaction is identified as a “ withdrawal ”, the amount of $ 40 . 00 , field 36 . the e - statement 1 may be provided in a number of formats , with fig1 being only representative of an arrangement of the accumulation of the financial data in the statement format 1 . the operation of the e - statement method and program will now be described . fig2 through 12 illustrate various computer generated video screen or crt displays of various menu selections incorporated within a preferred program for the e - statement process . as shown , and as previously described , the program is preferably generated through the computer by means of a windows ® computer operating system which is well known and generally publically available in numerous versions . with first reference to fig2 a main menu 38 is displayed . the main menu has sub - menus identified as customers 39 , options 40 , verify files 41 , enable auto e - mail 42 , generate e - mail 43 , broadcast 44 and general help fields or sub - menus 45 and exit field 46 . the customer &# 39 ; s menu or field 39 is more particularized in fig3 and discussed hereafter in detail . in this customer &# 39 ; s field 39 , a customer &# 39 ; s name , e - mail address and account information are entered or changed , from time to time . the main menu 38 also contains an option field 40 for the purpose of changing certain program options such as the directory path to reports , default fonts and graphics for statements , auto e - mail settings , and to define core processor transaction codes , and the like . the verify files field 41 assures verification that all files which are needed to generate a current days e - statements have been downloaded from the financial source core computer processor . the enable auto e - mail field 42 is used to turn on or off any program feature monitoring the progress of the daily report downloads from the financial organization &# 39 ; s core computer processor . additionally , this field 42 generates e - statements as soon as all required reports have been received and processed just prior to generation of the e - statement configuration to the customer . the generate e - mail field 43 is utilized to generate a current days , week &# 39 ; s or months e - statements which may be prepared and sent on any incremental time basis . this field 43 is a manual request field . the program itself verifies to confirm that all required report files are available . however , if some required reports are not available or are incomplete , the program allows the user the option to continue or abort the request through activation of the generate e - mail field 43 as shown and described in more detail in fig9 and discussion relating thereto . the broadcast field 44 is utilized to send an e - mail message to all or a selected group of customers receiving e - statements to announce changes , delays , modifications , or any other material information which is desired to be generated and transmitted to a select number of customers . the help menu selection field 45 is conventional in nature and is provided for purposes of immediate computer program operating assistance . finally , the exit program or field 46 maybe utilized for click - on to return to the original windows ® desktop configuration after termination of entry into the program . now with particular reference to fig3 the customer &# 39 ; s sub - program or field 39 in the main menu 38 will now be described . as shown in fig3 the customer &# 39 ; s field 39 is shown in spreadsheet configuration . fields 50 through 54 are entered in negative / zero configuration where the negative is reflective of a “ true ” state and a “ 0 ” is indicative of a false state , as further described below . sub - fields 47 through 55 are displayed across the spreadsheet in a horizontal configuration . the “ id ” field permits entry of a unique number or code correlated to a single customer . within the customer name field 48 are listed the individual customer names , by individual or business . the e - mail address field is horizontally displayed adjacent the customer name field 48 which is followed by fields 50 - 54 for a specific service information . for example , “ chrg ” field 50 is a field indicating whether or not the customer is to be charged for the service of providing the e - statement . a negative number in this field 50 would indicate that the customer is to be charged for the e - mail statement service . the “ conf ” field 51 is utilized to verify that the customer has returned the confirmation of the e - mail address . the “ susp ” field 52 is utilized to indicate possible temporary or permanent suspension of the service for this particular customer . the “ no ad ” field 53 is utilized to indicate whether or not electronic advertising is to accompany the e - statement with transmission to this particular customer . the “ rate ” field 54 is utilized to indicate the transmission of various interest rates being paid to customers on deposit accounts or charged to customer on loan accounts by the bank . the “ add / edit ” button 56 is a click field which will allow the program user to add a new customer , to delete a customer , or change any of the information about the customer in any of the fields 47 through 55 . selecting this button 56 with a customer &# 39 ; s information highlighted will display that customer &# 39 ; s information for editing purposes . selecting this button without a customer &# 39 ; s information highlighted will display the first customer &# 39 ; s information for editing purposes , or , alternatively , the last customer &# 39 ; s information for such purposes , as described below . the “ close ” button 57 will , of course , return the program to the main menu display , as in fig2 . the add / edit button 56 window display is particularized in fig4 . fields 47 through 54 are displayed vertically and correspond to the horizontal configuration for such fields in fig3 . the address name field 48 may be filled in by a click - on and type in of the data in field 48 a . likewise , the e - mail address field 49 may be clicked on to insert such information in field 49 a . as indicated , charge and confirmed fields 50 and 51 are positively indicated by click - on at fields 58 and 59 . fields 60 , 61 and 62 likewise are that they are click - checked or the field left blank , as the case requires . the sort name field 63 is filled in at corresponding field 64 by use of first , last or code names , as required . the add button 65 is conventional and clears all the fields and sets them to their default value thus allowing the entry of a new customer &# 39 ; s information , or update of such information . likewise , the delete button 66 deletes the displayed customer from the field . when the delete button 66 is utilized , no additional e - statement will be generated for that particular customer . the update button 67 is utilized to update the customer &# 39 ; s information with the contents displayed on the screen , fig3 fig4 or adds a new customer to the database after the information has been entered . the account button 68 allows the program user to add or edit account information for the customer currently being displayed . the close button 69 closes the window display fig4 to return to the display format of fig3 . now with reference to fig5 there is shown the statement account display which allows the program user to add or edit account information for the customer currently being displayed in particular fields . the account field 70 is entered in space 71 in alpha numeric format from the financial systems main computer processing unit . this number is assigned at the time the account is opened , such as a purchase of a certificate of deposit , or completion of a loan transaction . a limited number of digits for the account number field 71 are permitted to be displayed on the e - statement or account attachments as illustrated in fig1 for security purposes . the reference number field 72 is entered in space 73 from the financial organization &# 39 ; s main computer and this number may , or may not , be the same as the account number 71 , depending upon the particular operations of the bank &# 39 ; s central computer processing system . however , the number in the field 73 is never displayed or printed on the e - mail statements or account statement attachment due to a computer block for printout of this particular number , also for security purposes . the account name field 74 is filled in at space 75 as it will appear on the customer &# 39 ; s e - statement , as in fig1 . this can be any name which is meaningful to the customer . for security reasons it should not be the customer &# 39 ; s actual account name and preferably will be , as reflected in the e - statement of fig1 identified as “ household account ” or “ regular checking ”, or the like . the customer will be able to identify the respective accounts by the last four digits of the account number , as printed , and not particularly with reference to the specific name in the field 75 . the account type field 76 is entered at 77 by scrolling on button 78 for one of a number of account types reported on the program , such as checking , savings , certificate of deposit , commercial loan , consumer loan , line of credit , revolving account , or the like . the reports balance field 79 is checked in the adjacent area if the balance of the account is to be reported each day , week , month , or the like , along with certain other information specific to each account type . the scroll down button 78 may be clicked on to select one of a number of account type 76 in field 77 , such as checking accounts , savings accounts , loans , certificates of deposits , and the like . if the report balance field 79 is checked in the appropriate location , supplemental information for the various types of accounts as indicated in the field 77 will be generated and included within the e - statement . for example , if checking accounts is scrolled into the field 77 by click - on to the arrow button 78 , current balance , available balance , date of last deposit , amount of last deposit , posted transactions and nsf ( none sufficient funds ) items will be generated . if “ loans ” is scrolled into the field 77 , current balance , interest rate , payment amount , last payment due , next due date , maturity date , payoff balance , interest year - to - year and collateral description information will also be generated . if savings accounts is scrolled into the field 77 , available balance , date last deposit , amount of last deposit and posted transactions will be generated into the e - statement automatically . if certificates of deposit are entered into the field 77 , current balance , next payment date and accrued interest information will be generated . if the report transactions field 80 is checked , all transactions posted to the account will be listed in the e - statement along with other information , as described above . if the report nsf field 81 is checked , any debit , such as a check , or the like , presented for payment when the account does not have sufficient funds to pay the debit will be reported , so that the customer may make provision for supplemental or immediate deposits , or the like or transfer of other funds into the account . nsf items appear before any other account information on the e - statements as an alert courtesy to the customer . this option is , of course , valid for only checking accounts or accounts similar to conventional checking accounts . the attached statement field 82 is checked if it is desired for any statement produced for the account by the bank &# 39 ; s core processing computer system to be added to the e - statement as an attachment . integrated statements , i . e ., those with more than one account on a single statement , may be attached only once , if desired . the extract ascii field 83 is checked if it is desired to generate an ascii text file each day that there are transactions for an account and attached to that day &# 39 ; s e - statement . this file can be imported into many different accounting programs for account reconciliation operations , as desired . the extract qwicken ™ field 84 is checked if a file in qwicken ™ format is to be created each day there are transactions for an account and attached to that days e - statement for transmission to the customer . this file can be imported into qwicken ™ for account reconciliation . the report on given days , such as monday through fridays fields 85 through 89 are checked for generation of e - statement for that particular day . for example , the customer may only want certificate of deposit or loan information on a weekly basis since these accounts customarily have limited transactions , whereas checking accounts may have transactions on them several times each day . in such case , a report may be generated for each day of the week by checking in the appropriate fields 85 through 89 . alternatively , field 90 may be checked if a report is to be generated only on a monthly basis and field 91 is completed to indicate on the day of such month that the e - statement is to be generated and transmitted to the customer . field 98 is the “ last statement ” field and appears at the upper right hand corner of the window . this field is the date of the last statement generated for the account and is utilized for information purposes only . add , delete , update and previous and next buttons 92 through 96 are provided for respective adding , deleting , updating , or moving to previous and next displays , in conventional format . likewise , the close button 97 is provided to close the window and return to the previous format . [ 0077 ] fig6 represents the visual configuration of the program appearing on the crt or other screen from the main menu selection of options 40 . fig6 is illustrated with the change report path and change loan data path submenu options preparing in the window . these options allow the program user to designate the full path name to the directory where the computer download financial report files from the core computer are downloaded at the end of each day , the like . as shown on fig6 the correct report download directory may be selected by either clicking on to a location field 106 or by entry of the file name 99 in field 100 or by scrolling at 107 for designation in the field 104 of the files of type 103 and then clicking to the open button 101 . the selection may be cancelled by clicking at 102 prior to opening the file at 101 . opening the file 101 will change the path to the files in the windows registry . the report path and the loan data path typically will be identical . as shown in fig7 another submenu option is the “ change system information ” option . this submenu option permits the program user to change some of the program options , as provided . the system name field 108 will permit entry at location 109 of the brand name used for the title of the statement , such as “ e - statement ”. other service mark titles may be utilized as desired . the name which is entered and placed in the field 109 will be used on all customer e - mail that is generated . the bank name field 110 identifies the supplier of the service at 111 and is entered in the e - statement in the “ from ” field ( see fig1 ). the statement font size 112 is entered in space 113 which will be the font size used in the account statements created as attachments . the statement graphic field 114 is inserted at 115 if a valid graphic file name is to be entered and the graphic will be added to the upper left hand corner of the statement attachments , to include a logo , or the like in the e - statement configuration transmitted to the customer . the brouse button 116 is used to select reference to a graphic file , which may be created as needed . the save button 117 may be used to save the currently displayed program settings and close the window to return to the main menu . likewise , the close button 118 will close the window and return to the main menu without saving any changes . as shown in fig8 another submenu option is the “ edit auto e - mail settings ”. this submenu option will allow the program user to change the time to begin the e - statement generation each day , and a number of minutes between attempts to automatically generate e - statement through the computers and the internet to receipt by the customer , if all reports needed are not available at the time of initial desired generation . the “ begin e - mail ” function 120 time is entered in space 121 by scrolling up or down on buttons 122 , 123 . this time is the time that the computer is instructed to begin trying to generate and send the days e - statement . the minutes between attempts field 124 is selected and entered at 125 by scroll up or down at buttons 126 and 127 to reflect the time in between attempts to try to generate such e - statement because downloads from a core data processing system may take several minutes or even hours . if all of the reports are not completely downloaded , continual repetitious checks for the reports may not be successful . therefore , by increasing the time between checks , a computer processing usage can be limited and e - statement may be generated in a reasonable time after the last report is received . save and cancel button 128 and 129 are utilized to either save the currently displayed program setting and close the window and return to the main menu or to close the window and return to the main menu without saving such information . the program contemplates and enable / disable submenu option , which is used only during testing . disabling users will check the “ suspend ” option for each e - statement customer except the customer whose customer id is a specific number , such as “ 10 ”. this will allow the program user to test new program settings , while sending e - statements to only one customer , such as a staff member of the financial organization . selecting “ enable ” will return all customer &# 39 ; s to their previous suspended status . the next submenu option is illustrated in fig9 and provides the set up and screen profile for the generation of the selected e - statement . this submenu option allows the user to generate the selected portions of the daily e - statements generated by the financial organization main computer as well as to attach a personal message . this submenu may be used to send information of a special nature that may not have been available at the time that the e - statements were generated on a daily , weekly or other basis . fields 130 through 135 may be checked by appropriate click for balance information , transactions , loan information , statement attachments , csv attachments or qwicken ™ attachments . field 136 may be used for personal messages . after completion of this option , the continue button is click at 37 or the operation may be cancelled by clicking at 138 . [ 0086 ] fig1 illustrates another submenu option generally referred to as “ edit tran codes ”. this submenu allows the operator to provide descriptions used in the e - statement for the different type of transactions posted to deposit and / or loan accounts . a transaction code field 139 is typed in in area 140 and corresponds to a pre - determined code in the computer for a given transaction type and is assigned by the main data processor . a description field 140 is used for insertion of an identification if the title of the transaction code , such as “ new account opening deposit ” at area 141 . a debit field 142 may be checked at location 143 to indicate that the transaction code is for a debit transaction , such as a check or an ach debit for insurance , car payment or the like . the add button 144 clears the content of all the fields and resets them to their default value enabling the program user to enter a new transaction code , when desired . likewise , the delete button 145 will delete the information for the currently displayed transaction code . the refresh button 146 is used to realign all the transaction codes in numerical order . this button may be used after a new transaction code has been entered to get it in the proper numeric sequence for viewing . the update code 147 is used to update information with the contents displayed on the screen or may be used to add a new transaction code to the database after the transaction code &# 39 ; s information has been entered . the close button 148 will close the window and return to the previous screen . arrow keys 149 and 150 will function as “ next ” and “ previous ” buttons for displaying or scrolling from one transaction code to the next as reflected in field 151 . now returning to referred fig2 the verify files field 41 is used to verify that all necessary files are available to produce the days e - statements . each of these files is given a specific code and they &# 39 ; re contained within the main or core computer system . typically , and preferably , these files will include the following : 8 . daily posting journal containing all posted transactions for all account types in account number order . 9 . daily posting journal containing posted transactions for all account types in amount order . 12 . the daily nsf checks notices in officer order ( including copy ). if all the files are not present in the downloaded director , a message to that affect will be displayed on the screen . if they are not , a message showing each missing file is displayed as it is check . several of the files listed above are not used for information but the presence of the file indicates completion of certain downloading steps . [ 0102 ] fig1 is a main menu selection display for enablement and disablement of automatic e - mail generation . this function eliminates a need for a program user to remember to generate thee - statement each day at a certain time . when the program is running and auto e - mail is enable , the program monitors the time of day . when the selected time is reached , such as reflected in the next schedule field 152 reflected in area 153 , it checks to see if all reports needed have been downloaded . if they have , the program generates the daily e - statements and waits another 24 hours , or other time designed period , before repeating the operation . if not , the program will repeat checking every few minutes or other time increments until all the files have been downloaded . during the waiting phase , the display is as shown in fig1 . the last complete field 150 shows a date and time in the area 151 for the last completed cycle . the next schedule field 152 is completed in area 153 to show beginning of the next cycle for the generation of the e - statements . the last attempt field 154 will automatically reflect in area 155 a “ complete ” or “ waiting ” indicator . the missing files area 156 will automatically reflect in location 157 the number or identification of files that are missing and are required for the complete generation of the e - mail statement . finally , current time in field 158 is reflected in area 159 . [ 0103 ] fig1 reflects the view on the screen of the main menu selection for “ broadcast ”. the broadcast field is identified as “ send to ” at 160 and a list of selected classification of users , such as “ all paying users ” may be reflected and selected in area 161 by scrolling on 162 . the subject of the broadcast is identified at field 163 in area 164 , such as “ monthly charges ”. a message describing the subject is reflected in the field 164 may be manually inserted in a message are 165 and sent to the selected grouping of customers designated in 161 by clicking on the send 166 . alternatively , the message and the broadcast maybe cancelled by clicking at 167 which will return the user to the main menu . the software preferably utilized to implement the present invention may be any one of a comparatively low level machine code , such as visual basic . the logic and sub - routines utilized to form the e - statement method disclosed in fig1 through 14 is set forth below : the preferred method may also be described with reference to the process steps as set forth in fig1 through 17 . now , with first reference to fig1 , there is displayed the various steps in logical sequence from the beginning of e - statement generation up to the actual building of the e - statements . the statement generation step 168 is initiated by verifying input of the various files described above , for extraction of certain financial data , such as balances , debits and credits to checking accounts , loan accounts and the like , previously described and for ultimate display into the e - statement as shown in fig1 . during final verification step 169 , a negative response will block continued processing and return to menu reflected in block 170 . if all files are positively verified at 169 , all variables are initialized in step 171 . the variables initiated in step 171 then are loaded into a format in step 172 and dimension variables 173 are configured . if it is then desired to process the statements at step 174 , the functions are run and the statements are made at 175 . the actual creation step 176 for the statements is illustrated in fig1 . for the making of the statements 176 , the dimension variables 173 are considered and the various source files are searched to confirm their presents at step 177 . if the files are not present , step 178 , return to run function 175 to step 169 . if step 177 confirms the presents of various files , the files are open and the header lines are read as step 179 . the lines are then read until the top of the page is identified , step 180 . the first 8 lines are read and the account number is extracted at step 181 to confirm account number match up step 182 . if the confirmation cannot be made at step 182 , step 180 is repeated until confirmation is established . confirmation of account number through step 182 permits continuance of makeup of the statements and an html file is built by reading each line of the statement , step 183 . the file creation then is ended , step 184 or steps 180 through 183 repeated until creation of the file . creation of the file enables return step 185 to process balances in the selected accounts ( files ) step 186 . as part of the processing of the balances 186 , the loan files are accessed and processed for balances and the like at 187 . the loans are read as a sub - step 188 . the loan sub - step 188 is initiated 189 to process , as shown in fig1 two loan files , trial balances 190 . each line of the text from the files is conducted at 191 and extraction of selected character lines , such as 2 through 11 for purposes of fig1 is effected through step 192 . if the characters are numeric , 193 an account number match is effected 194 . if the characters are not numeric , 193 , steps 191 and 192 are repeated to search for any information which can be utilized to effect an account match - up . if the account number match - up is effected , 194 , the balance table is updated with data from 3 file lines , for example , to effect the configuration for fig1 at step 195 . the file is now complete , 196 or steps 191 through 195 are repeated until the file is completed and return to main program , 197 . after the return step 197 , the trial balances for deposit accounts are read and the balance information is extracted , step 198 . if the account does not reflect any active loans , step 188 is not initiated and the deposit trial balances readings is immediately effected . the deposit trial balances step 198 will now be described . first , old balances from the data base for all accounts are deleted as step 199 . confirmation of the existence of such files is then made at 200 . if no files are present , trial balances for deposits sub - step 198 is not effected . if presence of the files is confirmed at 200 , the files are processed , for example , 3 as shown in fig1 incrementally at 201 . each file is opened in sequence at 202 and each line is read to find and extract the account number , 203 . the account number match - up is either confirmed or not at step 204 and , if not , step 203 is repeated until confirmation of the account number match - up . the balance table is updated at step 205 and the file creation is completed , 206 , or steps 203 , 204 and 205 are repeated until completion of the file and return to transaction processing , step 207 . the processing is continued through step 208 by reading all transactions and non - sufficient funds information sub - step d 209 . the reading of the transactions and nsf information , sub - step 209 is as shown in fig1 . the availability of the transactions file is confirmed at 210 and a posting journal is opened , step 211 . each line is read and the account number is extracted , step 212 and an account number match is confirmed 213 . if the account number cannot be matched positively , the file is terminated at step 214 or procedure 212 repeated until confirmation is established 213 . if the file is terminated at step 214 , the run function is continued , step 175 and the statements of processed at 174 . if the account number is confirmed at 213 , the transaction is added to the transaction table step 215 and creation of the file is terminated , 216 , or steps 212 , 213 and 215 repeated until file completion . file completion enables run function and statement processing steps 175 and 174 , respectively , to be effected . upon completion of the file 216 , the availability of a non - sufficient fund file is checked at step 217 and the nsf report file is opened 218 . each line is read and the account number is extracted 219 with account number match up effected at 220 . if there is no match - up , the file is terminated as step 216 , or step 219 completed to effect an account match - up . after account match - up , 220 , nsf checks are added to the nsf table for generation in the e - statement at step 221 and the file is completed , 222 and the statements are created and processed , steps 175 and 174 . the e - statements are built as generally shown in fig2 through 12 . [ 0112 ] fig1 a through 17d illustrate the configuration and orientation of an e - statement printout 300 . with particular reference to fig1 a , the title block 301 is provided at the upper - most portion of the page with advertising or other special title trailer 302 , provided adjacent the title 301 . a logo 303 or other artistic embellishment is presented as field 303 . a special notice 304 or disclaimer is provided just prior to printout of further specific information . a special printout of the customer number 305 deletes some of the digits to make the customer number incomplete , but is sufficient for the customer to know and identify his account number through his own personal knowledge . field 306 designates a time period for coverage of the information within the statement 300 . a summary field 307 then is provided which basically summarizes and identifies the various accounts , such as checking 308 and savings 309 , also with only partial complete digits of the account numbers for security purposes , 310 and 311 . respective balances 312 and 313 are provided for the accounts . an account activity field 314 serves to identify various debits and credits 315 , 316 , 317 and 318 for the associated accounts . the summary 307 also includes an ending balance column 319 for printing of the respective ending balances 320 and 321 for the respective accounts 308 , 309 . more detail is provided in the statement 300 through a breakout of each of the account numbers identified in the summary 307 . as shown , the first account activity summary 322 is for checking account “ 06 ”, 308 . the account number configuration is repeated in field 323 with the previous balance field 324 being used to identify the previous date of information summary and the previous balances identified at 325 . a deposit total line 326 is given to identify the number 327 of deposits or other credits and a digitized 325 total of such deposits and other credits provided at 328 . likewise , a debit and withdrawal line 329 provides the total 330 of debits and other withdrawals and a digitized column reflecting such total . finally , an ending balance 332 includes a field 333 for referencing the date of the ending balance and digitized field 332 for printing out the amount of such ending balance . general summary information for the checking account 308 is provided below line 334 . as shown , the account disclosure field 334 may include an identification of average daily balance 335 in numerical format 336 and the total number od days for the statement cycle 337 and indicated as “ 28 ” in field 328 . details of account transactions are identified at 329 , such as deposits and other credits 330 identified in a date column 331 together with a description 332 such as deposit 333 or direct deposit 334 or other means . an amount column 335 is provided with digitized amounts identified , such as 336 . checks are identified in the area 337 by date , columns 338 , number 339 and amount 340 . a star or asterisk 341 indicates numerical sequence has been broken . as shown in fig1 b , the check transactions are continued and there below various miscellaneous charges of the bank or commercial organization are indicated at 342 by date 343 , reference number 344 , description 345 and amount 346 . these charges may be reflected as a debit card actual debit 347 from a business identified as 348 using a business designation code 349 and physical location 350 . electronic transfers for automatic payment of utilities may be made , such as at 351 to a supplier 352 . a daily balance field 352 is provided for the checking account 308 with a breakdown by date 353 and balance 354 , as shown in fig1 c . also shown in fig1 c is a breakdown for another account , in this case , a savings account identified at 353 with a digitized account identifier at 354 with the first 4 digits therein deleted for security purposes . a previous balance line 355 provides the previous balance as of a given date , such as 356 , together with total number of deposits or other credits 357 and total of debits and withdrawals 358 and ending balance line is provided 359 and , there below , a field for identifying and calculating the interest earned on a year to date basis through the last payment 360 . general account disclosure information is identified at title 361 which includes an average daily balance disclosure 362 , the number of days in the statement cycle 363 . interest earned during the current statement period is provided at 364 together with the annual percentage yield as calculated in a percentage format at 365 . finally , the general promotional information or advertising is provided at the end of the statement in a general field identified as 366 . 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 . | 6 |
fig1 and 2 of the drawings illustrate a conventional flush tank and flush mechanism with the apparatus of the present invention shown in place . the flush tank 10 contains a water supply conduit 12 having a valve housing 13 at the upper end containing a valve through which water is discharged into the tank through a fill pipe 14 . the valve is controlled in the usual way by a float 15 . the float 15 is connected to the actuator 16 of the valve through an operating linkage which includes a rod 17 , a rocker arm 18 pivotally mounted at 19 to the valve housing and connecting links 20 and 21 . the link 21 is pivotally mounted at 22 to the valve housing and the link 20 connects the free end of the link 21 and an end of the rocker arm . the float controlled valve thus admits water to the tank when the float drops below a certain level and shuts off the flow of water to the tank when the float rises back to the level . the tank contains a discharge port 23 at the bottom which communicates with the toilet bowl ( not shown ) to be flushed . an upright conduit 24 open at the top discharges water from a fill pipe 25 through the discharge port 23 to fill the toilet bowl . the discharge port 23 is normally closed to prevent discharge of water from the lower region of the tank , but the elbow 24a at the lower end of the upright conduit by - passes the closure . the discharge of water from the lower region of the tank is controlled by a pivotal ball - type discharge valve 26 which engages a valve seat 27 surrounding the discharge port . the discharge valve 26 is pivotally mounted at 28 from the elbow 24a . the discharge valve 26 is lifted to discharge water from the tank by a chain 29 connected at its upper end to the free end of a pivotal arm or trip lever 86 . in conventional flush mechanisms , the trip lever 86 is raised by depressing an actuating handle on the outside of the tank which is coupled through the tank wall to the end of the arm . as will be described in detail below , when employing the apparatus of the present invention with the conventional tank structure , the usual single flushing handle is replaced by a pair of cooperating handles , one of which operates the trip lever . the discharge valve 26 has a hollow interior forming a chamber 26a open at the bottom so that it is in open communication with air in the closed position . when lifted to discharge water from the tank , the flow of water through the discharge port traps air within the chamber and maintains the valve in floating condition unitl the discharge of water from the tank has been completed , at which time the valve is permitted to reseat and the tank and bowl are then refilled through the fill pipes 14 and 25 , respectively . when the water in the tank lifts the float 15 to its valve closing position , the refilling operation is completed . the apparatus of the present invention regulates the amount of water flushed from the tank during each flushing operation by venting the chamber 26a of the discharge valve before the water level drops to the bottom of the tank . as the air exhausts from the chamber , it fills with water and reseats , thereby ceasing further discharge of water from the tank and ending the flushing operation . the apparatus of the invention is preferably preassembled into a single assembly which may be readily inserted into a toilet tank with minimum difficulty . the assembly comprises a housing , indicated generally by the numeral 50 , which is supported from the inner wall of the tank by means of a tubular extension adapted to fit through the hole normally provided for the shaft to which the conventional flush handle is connected . as will be described more fully hereinafter , means are provided for use in conjunction with the tubular extension to firmly secure the entire assembly to the tank wall in a simple effective manner . extending from the upper portion of the housing 50 is a flexible air tube 90 which enters through the upper surface of the discharge valve 26 into the air chamber 26a . the lower end of the tube 90 may be fitted with a sleeve of hard plastic 92 having a pointed end , which may be simply pushed through the soft rubber of which many conventional discharge valves are made to complete the connection . alternatively , threaded or other types of connectors may be provided as appropriate to suit the material and construction of the discharge valve . similarly , at its upper end , the air tube 90 may be coupled to the housing 50 by frictional engagement with a suitably sized nipple or other connector . in place of the conventional single flush handle found on tank toilets , two separate actuating handles , 80 , 82 , are provided in accordance with the present invention . as is best seen in fig2 and 6 , the handle 80 is forward of the handle 82 and of substantially greater size . the large handle 80 is employed to provide the small volume flush . making this handle of relatively larger size and locating it forward of the handle 82 provides for easy selection of a short flush when desired . to obtain a large flush , the handle 82 must be depressed . as seen best in fig2 the flush handle 82 includes a curved lip portion 83 extending forwardly of the main part of the handle and overlaying the forward handle 80 . consequently , depressing the flush handle 82 necessarily causes depression of the handle 80 associated with the small flush operation . the handle arrangement enables the user to readily distinguish between small and large flush operation , both visually and tactilely . extending downwardly from the bottom of the housing are a pair of vertical rod members 60 , 62 , which carry floats 70 , 72 , respectively , each in the form of a hollow , inverted cup . one longitudinal surface of each of the rod members 60 , 62 , is provided with grooves or teeth which cooperate with a detent provided on the float so that the latter may be moved along the length of the member , but firmly retained in any position desired . as will be seen , the positions of the floats on the members 60 , 62 determine the amount of water discharged during a flushing operation . fig7 a and 7b illustrate the movement of the cooperating handles 80 , 82 to actuate the flushing mechanism . in a manner to be explained more fully below , downward movement of the handle 80 pivots the trip lever 86 to which the chain 29 is connected , thus lifting the discharge valve 26 and initiating the flushing action . for a small , or low - volume flush , only the handle 80 is depressed ; for a full or large volume flush , both the handles 80 and 82 are depressed . in either case , depression of the handle 80 lifts the trip lever 86 to initiate the flushing action . turning now to fig3 and 4 , the housing 50 comprises a generally rectangular chamber divided into a lower compartment 50a and an upper compartment 50b . the lower compartment 50a is formed of a casing 51 having back , side and bottom walls , a front panel 52 and a top closure 53 . these three elements may be snapped or otherwise fastened together , after assembly of the internal components , in any convenient fashion . the upper compartment 50b is formed by hermetically sealing a flanged lid 55 to a suitably disposed raised ridge 54 on the top surface of the cover 53 . this may be done by cementing or ultrasonic welding . as seen best in fig4 and 6 , the front panel 52 includes a raised portion 52a extending outwardly of the plane of the front panel and a tubular portion 52b projecting forwardly from the raised portion 52a . the tubular projection 52b has an internal circular bore and a threaded exterior with four orthogonally related flat surfaces formed therein . the diameter across the threaded portions is selected to be just slightly smaller than the diameter of the opening 11 generally provided in the front wall of a flush tank 10 to accommodate the conventional flush handle ( see fig6 ). the front face of the raised portion 52a on the front panel is grooved or striated , 52c , or otherwise roughened to provide a high - friction surface . as indicated above , the apparatus of the invention will be provided to the home - owner or installer completely assembled except for the flush handles and mounting hardware . referring to fig6 installation of the unit is effected by inserting the tubular projection 52b through the opening 11 left by removal of the conventional flush handle , from the inside of the tank outwardly . prior to this insertion , a soft rubber or plastic pad 57 , having a hole therethrough sized to receive the tubular projection 52b , is slipped over the tubular projection so that it lies between the inner wall of the tank 10 and the roughened face 52c . a wedging washer 58 having a central opening sized to accommodate the tubular projection 52b and with at least one straight side to engage one of the flats of the projecting member 52b , is slipped over the exterior end and finally , the nut 59 is threaded on the projection 52b . upon tightening the nut 59 , the washer 58 wedges itself in the annular clearance space that will generally be present between the opening 11 in the flush tank and the circumference of the projection 52b , to center it in that opening . as the nut 59 is tightened , the frictional engagement between the front surface 52c of the raised portion 52b , the pad 57 and the inner wall of the tank 10 , as well as the wedging portion of the washer 58 , will firmly retain the assembly against the inner wall of the tank with the float rods 60 , 62 in appropriate vertical orientation , and will resist any tendency of the assembly to rotate as the handles 80 , 82 are depressed during flushing actions . turning now to fig3 and 5 , the casing 51 includes two pairs of aligned guides 91 , 92 and 94 , 96 , of general u - shaped configuration , secured to the back wall of the casing 51 and sized to accommodate the float rods 60 , 62 , allowing for free vertical motion therethrough . the float rods 60 , 62 preferably are u - shaped in cross section ( see fig5 ) and are kept appropriately spaced from the interior back wall of the casing 51 by bosses 98 projecting inwardly from the wall . the front surfaces of the float rods 60 , 62 ( as viewed in fig3 ) are provided with horizontal grooves 60a , 62a , over an appreciable portion of their lengths extending below the housing 50 . as seen in fig3 and 5 , the floats 70 , 72 that are mounted on the float rods are in the form of inverted hollow cups provided with vertical channels to accommodate the respective float rods , only channel 72a in float 72 being shown . the front wall of the channel is removed over part of its length leaving an inwardly turned detent portion 72b which engages the grooves on its respective float rod and maintains the float frictionally anchored at the point of engagement . the float 70 is similarly formed , but with its channel on the opposite side ; see fig1 . the frictional force between the detent on a float and the grooves on its float rod is sufficient to prevent the float from sliding along with the float rod during normal use but allows manual adjustment to desired predetermined heights . as seen in fig1 the channels for accommodating the float rods are positioned towards the left and righthand outside surfaces of the respective floats 70 , 72 so as to minimize the overall width of the assembly . the upper end of each of the float rods is provided with a forwardly projecting platform and a rearwardly projecting pin . thus , as seen in fig5 the float rod 62 includes a forwardly extending platform 62b and the rearwardly extending pin 62c . similarly , the float rod 60 includes a fowardly extending platform 60b and a rearwardly extending pin 60c ( see fig3 ). associated with each of the float rods is a valve lever 100 , 102 pivoted partway along its length on pins 101 , 103 , respectively , which project forwardly from bosses formed on the rear surface of the casing 51 . retainers 104 , 105 , project downwardly from the lower surface of the top closure 53 of the housing and serve to prevent the levers from slipping off their pivot pins . the remote ends of the respective levers 100 , 102 , extend outwardly towards the side walls of the housing 50 and are relatively narrow in cross - section . the interior ends of the levers 100 , 102 , are provided with angled projections 100b , 102b . in assembly , the pins 60c and 62c on the float rods hook over the remote ends of their respective levers so that downward motion of the float rods will cause the levers to pivot . when the float rods are in their uppermost position , the tops of the float rods will raise the remote ends of their respective levers to retain them in the position shown in fig3 . formed in the closure member 53 of the housing is a ball valve 110 having a tubular upstanding wall 112 and a bottom opening 114 smaller in diameter than the interior of the tubular wall 112 ( see fig1 c ). the interior wall of the tubular portion 112 is provided with vertical splines 116 extending inwardly into the opening . the bottom of the tubular portion is turned inwardly and formed to provide a tight seat for a stopper in the form of a polished steel ball 118 , which thereby forms an air valve between the lower compartment 50a and the upper compartment 50b . during the at - rest condition , shown in fig3 the ball 118 is of sufficient weight to remain seated at the bottom of the tube 112 thereby closing the valve 110 and preventing air flow between the compartments 50a and 50b . projecting outwardly of the lid 55 is a nipple or other connector 56 , adapted to receive the tubing 90 in air - tight coupling relationship . as thus far described , the function of the assembly is as follows . the upper compartment 50b is coupled through the tubing 90 to the air chamber in the discharge valve 26 . however , with the ball 18 firmly seated in its valve seat , air cannot escape from the chamber 29a . should the ball 118 be lifted from its sealing position , air can then escape from the chamber 26a , through the tubing 90 into upper compartment 50b and thence through the open valve 110 into the lower compartment 50a which is not air - tight . consequently , the air can leak into the surrounding atmosphere . the interaction of the float rods 60 , 62 and the ball valve assembly 110 , can best be seen from fig1 a and 10b . in fig1 a , the float rod 62 has dropped because the water level in the tank has dropped below the level of buoyancy provided by its associated float 72 . consequently , the remote end of the lever 102 is privoted downwardly , causing its opposite end to raise up and lift the ball from its seat . this provides an air escape passage from compartment 50a to 50b . should float rod 62 be unable to drop and the water level continue to fall to a height below the buoyant level of float 70 on float rod 60 , the conditions illustrated in fig1 b obtain . in that case , the remote end 100a of the lever 100 is moved downwardly causing its opposing end 100b to lift and raise the ball 118 from its seat to provide an air escape path from the chamber 50b . turning back to fig1 it will be seen that the floats 70 and 72 are disposed at different levels along their respective float rods . if the float rod 62 was always free to move vertically in accordance with the buoyancy provided by its float 72 , the float rod 62 would always drop before the float rod 60 , since its float is at a higher level in the tank . the vent valve 110 would then invariably open when the water level reaches the level of float 72 , causing the discharge valve 26 to reseat and terminate the flush . this of course , would be the small or low volume flush condition indicated by the line in fig1 . since however , it is desired to provide for a larger flush , represented by the amount of water discharged from the tank to reach the buoyancy level of the float 70 , means are provided to lock up , or prevent downward movement of the float rod 62 when a large volume flush is required , and allow the float rod 60 and float 70 to control the opening of the ball valve 110 . this provides a higher volume or large flush , as indicated by the line in fig1 . as an alternative , if desired , the float rod 60 , float 70 and its associated lever 100 may be eliminated from the assembly , thereby allowing complete emptying of the tank to effect a large flush . the operation of the short or small flush mechanism , including float rod 62 and float 72 and its associated lever and vent valve structure , will remain the same . likewise , the functioning of the lock - up mechanism for the float rod 62 , described below , will be the same whether the float rod 60 is used to control the flush volume or a conventional full tank flush is employed for the large volume flush operation . the lock - up or control mechanism will now be described with reference to fig3 , 5 , 6 and 8 . as best seen in fig4 and 6 , a pair of concentric shafts , 120 , 130 , extend from outside of the assembly through the bore in the tubular projection 52b and into the interior of the housing 50 . large volume flush handle 82 is keyed to the outer tubular shaft 130 so that the shaft 130 is rotated with depression of the handle . similarly , small volume flush handle 80 is keyed to the exterior end of the inner tubular shaft 120 so as to rotate it when depressed . a screw 88 retains handle 80 on the outer end of the shaft 120 and serves also to prevent axial displacement of the handle 82 . the washer 58 includes a forwardly extending ear 58a which projects into a gap provided in the peripheral wall of the handle 82 , to limit the extent of rotational motion that the handle is permitted . as seen from fig4 the interior shaft 120 extends into and through the housing 50 and is terminated in an expanded portion 122 including a pair of stepped cylindrical portions 124 , 126 of successively increasing diameter . a suitable opening is provided in the rear wall of the casing 51 to accommodate freely the diameter of the stepped portion 126 . the outer flange portion 128 is provided with a circumferential ridge 128a which is adapted to be slidably engaged by a plurality of angularly separated , arcuate retaining members 129 formed on the back wall of the casing 51 ( see fig3 ). the fit between the ridge 128a and the retaining members 129 allows for easy relative rotation therebetween . attached to , or preferably formed integral with , the outer flange portion 128 is the trip lever 86 . it will be seen then , that depression of the handle 80 causes counterclockwise rotation of the shaft 120 as well as its expanded portion 122 , resulting in the raising of the trip lever 86 from its rest position to its raised or flushing position , as shown in fig7 a . the lower or rest position is established by a shelf 51a provided on the rear surface of the casing 51 . the peripheral surface of the step portion 124 is provided with an axial ridge extending radially outward of its surface to form a cam lobe 125 , the function of which will be described hereinafter . the position of the cam lobe 125 in the rest condition of the apparatus is shown in fig3 . as indicated above , the outer concentric shaft 130 is keyed to the handle 82 to be rotated therewith . the shaft 130 terminates within the housing 50 in a larger diameter portion 132 on the periphery of which is formed a cam lobe in the form of a finger 134 . the radially extending ridge 136 lends structural rigidity to the elongated cam lobe 134 . finally , the larger diameter portion 132 of the shaft 130 includes an axial extending arcuate finger 138 , the purpose of which will be described hereinbelow . mounted for free rotation about the shaft 120 between its larger diameter portion 124 and the larger diameter terminal portion 132 of shaft 130 is a spring collar member 140 . the spring collar member 140 includes a hub portion 142 having an inner bore sufficiently large to allow it to slip freely about the shaft 120 and a spring arm 144 which extends outwardly from the hub 142 in a curved , approximately tangential path . in plan view , the spring arm is offset from the hub member in dog - leg fashion so that the remote end of the spring arm is close to the interior wall of the front cover 52 of the housing . the length of the spring arm 144 is such as to extend beyond the path of the float rod 62 towards the edge of the casing 51 . as seen from fig3 and 5 , the end of the spring arm 144 is disposed between the lower surface of the platform 62b at the upper end of the float rod 62 and the upper surface of a horizontally extending platform formed on the rod guide 94 . extending axially along the hub 142 of the spring collar 140 , and projecting generally radially therefrom is a finger or cam lobe 146 . also extending axially along the hub 142 and projecting outwardly from its periphery is a spline or detent 148 . the interrelationship of the shafts 120 and 130 , with their respective expanded portions and cam lobes , and the spring collar 140 is best seen from the perspective view of fig8 which has been drawn somewhat out of scale to better illustrate the structure . as shown therein , the detent 148 on the periphery of the hub portion 142 of the spring collar 140 is disposed so as to be engageable by the arcuate finger 138 extending axially from the enlarged terminal portion 132 of the shaft 130 . thus , as the shaft 130 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction upon depression of the large flush handle 82 , finger 138 engages detent 148 to rotate the spring collar 140 about the shaft 120 with the consequent lifting of the spring arm 144 . a split or two - element leaf spring member 150 is secured between the front and rear walls of the housing 50 to cooperate with the cam line formed of the cam members on the shafts 120 , 130 and the spring collar 140 . turning to fig8 leaf spring 150 ( shown in dotted line for clarity ) is formed of two spring sections 154 , 156 extending upwardly from a common base portion 152 . spring 154 is longer than spring section 156 and includes a detent portion 158 along its upper edge that extends partially over the uppermost edge of the spring 156 . the base portion 152 is shaped to fit between two clusters of inwardly extending posts 160 , one cluster extending inwardly from the back wall of the casing 51 , the other from the interior wall of the front cover 52 . each of the clusters consist of four posts 160 disposed to snugly receive the ends of the base portion 152 of the leaf spring such that when the front cover 52 is assembled to the casing 51 , with the spring base 152 already inserted in the cluster in the casing 51 , the spring 150 will be firmly retained within the housing against movement in any direction . by this means , the spring member 150 is rigidly held with the spring leaves 154 , 156 extending generally vertically upward ; see fig3 and 5 . the spring leaves 154 , 156 , cooperate with the cam lobes on the shafts 120 , 130 and the spring collar 140 to enable the small and large volume flush selection capability of the invention to be readily effected . the precise manner of this cooperation will become evident from the following description of operation of the assembly heretofore described . the operation of the cam and spring system can best be understood by particular reference to fig3 , 9a , 9b and 9c . in the at - rest position , with the tank full of water , the lobe 134 of the large cam shaft 130 is in its lower position in contact with the short spring 156 of the spring member putting it under slight tension to maintain the handle 82 in its upper position . similarly , the lobe 125 on the small cam shaft 120 is in its lower position so that no tension is applied to the large spring 154 of the spring member . with the large cam shaft 130 at its rest position , the spring collar 140 is in position with its arm 144 resting on the ledge extending outwardly of the float rod guide 94 ( fig5 ). similarly , the cam lobe 146 and detent 148 are resting at their extreme clockwise position . both of the float rods 60 , 62 are in their uppermost position and their respective levers 100 , 102 are pivoted below and out of contact with the vent ball 118 . to obtain a small or low volume flush , the main flush handle 80 is depressed in the usual manner . this rotates , in a counterclockwise direction , the small cam shaft 120 which extends through the housing and is integral with the discharge valve trip lever 86 . the direction of rotation is such as to raise the trip lever from its ledge 51a and thus lift the discharge valve from its seat to initiate the flushing action . since the large cam shaft 130 is not rotated in this instance , the axially extending finger 138 does not engage the detent 148 and the spring collar is not rotated from its rest position . the float rod 62 thus is free to fall until its platform 62b reaches the top of the spring arm 144 of the spring collar . as the water level drops in the tank during the flushing action , the float rod 62 remains in its upper position as long as its associated float 72 is below the water level . when the water level drops below the buoyant level of the float , the float rod begins to drop with the water level . as it drops , the pin 62c at the upper end pulls down on the end of the lever 102 moving the opposite end of the lever upwardly . after a short downward movement of the float rod , the lefthand end of the lever is moved upward sufficiently to raise the ball 118 in the vent valve 110 above its seat , thereby opening an air passage from the chamber 26a of the discharge valve , through the tubing 90 , into the upper compartment 50b of the housing and then into the lower compartment 50a of the housing , from which it can escape into the surrounding atmosphere . this permits water to enter the air chamber in the discharge valve , causing it to reseat immediately and stop the discharge action ( see fig1 a ). during the rotation of the small cam shaft as the flush handle is depressed , the lobe 125 on its cam 124 rotates counterclockwise , initially coming into contact with the large spring 154 of the spring member and displacing it to the right , as seen in fig9 a . this moves the detent portion 158 of the large spring sufficiently to the right so that the spring collar 140 can rotate freely . if the spring collar had been in its locked - up position , the displacement of the spring 156 would release it from that position , as will be described below . after depression and release of the main flush handle 80 , the weight of the trip lever 86 and the action of the large spring 154 on the cam lobe 125 act to return the flush handle to its normal position . for a large volume flush operation , the auxiliary long flush handle 82 is depressed . since the lip 83 on the auxiliary flush handle overlaps the main flush handle , depression of the former also depresses the latter , thereby rotating both the large cam shaft 130 and the small cam shaft 120 , in unison , in a counterclockwise direction . rotation of the large cam shaft causes its axially projecting finger 138 to engage the detent 148 extending along the lower periphery of the spring collar , thereby rotating it in the counterclockwise direction . prior to appreciable rotation of the spring collar , however , the cam lobe 125 on the small cam shaft had already come into engagement with the large spring 154 , moving its detent portion 158 to the right , away from the cam shaft assembly . this permits the radially extending lobe 146 on the spring collar to clear the detent portion 158 of the large spring , thus permitting the entire spring collar to rotate counterclockwise . the spring arm 144 thus moves upwardly into engagement with the lower surface of the platform 62b at the top of the float rod 62 . the relative positions of the cam lobes and springs at this time are shown in fig9 b . when the flushing handles are released , the small spring 156 acting on the lobe 134 , together with the weight of the trip lever 86 and the action of spring 154 on the cam lobe 125 , return the shafts 120 , 130 and their respective flush handles to their rest positions . however , the spring collar 140 stays in its rotated position because its projecting cam lobe 146 is now above the detent portion 158 of the large spring which prevents its rotation in the clockwise direction . this alignment is illustrated in fig9 c . as the water level in the tank falls , it first reaches the float level established by the float 72 on the float rod 62 . the float rod cannot drop when the water level drops further , however , because the spring arm 144 bearing up against the underside of the platform 62b at the top of the rod prevents it from doing so . thus , the low volume flush float rod 62 is rendered ineffective and cannot actuate its lever 102 to open the vent 110 . when the water level drops below the buoyancy level of the float 70 on the float rod 60 , that rod is free to drop with its float , thereby actuating its associated lever 100 to open the vent , as in fig1 b , thereby causing the discharge valve to reseat and terminate the flush . as indicated above , depression of the short flush handle 80 and rotation of its associated cam shaft 120 , cause its cam lobe 125 to engage the large spring 154 and move it to the right beyond possible engagement with the lobe 146 on the spring collar 140 . if the spring collar had been in its uppermost or large flush position as a result of prior actuation of handle 82 , the disengagement of the detent portion 158 of the large spring would permit the lobe 146 to clear the detent and the spring collar to rotate in the clockwise direction , thereby dropping the arm 144 from engagement with the platform 62b on the float rod to its lower position on the ledge of the float rod guide 94 . thus , the float 72 and float rod 62 will respond to produce a small flush . the arrangement is such that the user may readily discern the two possible handle actuations and avoid unnecessary water use . to enhance the distinctions between the handles , they may be of different colors and may bear prominent legends such as &# 34 ; solid &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; liquid &# 34 ;. for similar purpose , the cam arrangement is such that the lock - up of the low volume flush float rod is released at the beginning of the subsequent flushing operation , regardless of whether its intended to be a long or short flush . if a long flush is intended , the spring collar will again lock up at the beginning of the cycle . thus , there can be no accidental lock - up of the mechanism in the large volume flush position . the variable volume flush tank assembly of the present invention may be installed as original equipment by toilet manufacturers , and is also uniquely adapted for addition to conventional flush tank systems already installed . the construction lends itself to packaging in completely assembled form for easy installation by the home - owner or plumber . all that is required is that the existing flush handle be removed , usually by unscrewing a single nut on the inside wall of the tank , along with the trip lever . the assembly is then inserted by extending the tubular projection 52b through the opening in the tank wall left by the removal of the original flush handle , with the gasket 57 in place , inserting the washer 58 and tightening up the nut 59 . the handles are then secured to the end of the assembly as shown in fig6 . finally , the chain 29 from the discharge valve is hooked into one of the holes provided near the outer end of the trip lever 86 and the tubing 90 slipped over the nipple 56 and either punched through the discharge valve 26 or attached to a suitable fitting provided thereon . in the latter instance , it would be convenient to provide , along with the control assembly , a replacement discharge valve having a fitting designed to couple to the tubing 90 . the floats 70 and 72 are then suitably adjusted to provide the required flush volumes . by way of example , a typical flush tank holds six gallons of water , all of which would be discharged during a conventional flush . with the present invention installed , the float 72 could be adjusted , for the small volume flush , to a height which would provide approximately a one and three quarter gallon discharge , adequate for liquid waste . the large volume setting , established by the position of the float 70 , could be adjusted to provide a three and one half gallon discharge , suitable for solid waste . in either case , after a flush is completed , the tank is filled to its regular level as established by the float 15 and valve 13 and the mechanism of the invention limits only the extent to which the tank is emptied during a flush . thus , maximum water pressure is available for all flush volumes , providing peak flushing effect even with low volume discharges . in its preferred form , all of the parts of the structure of the invention may be formed of suitable plastic , such as an acetal ( aldehyde polymer ) known as delrin , manufactured by e . i . dupont denemours & amp ; company of wilmington , delaware . this material is characterized by high strength , rigidity , resilience and toughness , as well as resistance to corrosion and wear . moreover , it lends itself to high precision molding and is dimensionally stable . other materials exhibiting the requisite characteristics may of course be used without departing from the inventive concepts . the invention has been shown and described in preferred form and by way of example only , and different variations and modifications can be made therein within the spirit of the invention . the invention , therefore , is not intended to be limited to any particular form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are expressly set forth in the claims . | 4 |
in the composition and process of this invention , the choline compound can be in the hydroxide or salt form , such as choline hydroxide , choline bicarbonate or choline chloride . as used herein , the term “ choline compound ” also embraces related quaternary ammonium compounds , such as tetramethylammonium hydroxide ( tmah ), tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide ( tbah ), their salts , and the like . suitable organic solvents in the composition and for practice of the process include such polar solvents as dimethyl sulfoxide , ethylene glycol , ethylene glycol alkyl ether , diethylene glycol alkyl ether , triethylene glycol alkyl ether , propylene glycol , propylene glycol alkyl ether , n - substituted pyrrolidone , ethylene diamine and ethylene triamine . additional polar solvents as known in the art can also be used in the composition of the present invention . optionally , a corrosion inhibitor may be included in a formulation used to clean damascene structures with exposed copper present . the corrosion inhibitors are present to protect copper from being corroded , and may be chosen from a variety of classes of chemical compounds , including any compounds used for the prevention of copper corrosion in other systems comprising the art . may be employed , where x , y , and z are chosen from c , n , o , s , and p . under these conditions the valence requirements and presence of pendant r groups may be set appropriately . pendant r groups r1 - r5 may be chosen independently as h , optionally a substituted c1 - c6 straight , branched or cyclo alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl group , straight or branched alkoxy group , optionally a substituted acyl group , straight or branched alkoxy group , amidyl group , hydroxyl group , a halogen , carboxyl group , alkoxyalkyl group , alkylamino group , alkylsulfonyl group or sulfonic acid group ; or the salt of such compounds . in a preferred embodiment x , y and z are nitrogen , nitrogen and carbon , respectively , and r1 - r5 are hydrogen . in another preferred embodiment , x , y and z are nitrogen , r3 another class of copper corrosion inhibitors , the hydroxybenzenes , may be employed in the invention independently or in conjunction with the classes already cited herein . these comprise the general class ” wherein n = 1 - 4 , r6 may be present from 2 - 5 times and may be chosen independently as h , optionally a substituted c1 - c6 straight , branched or cyclo alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl group , straight or branched alkoxy group , optionally a substituted acyl group , straight or branched alkoxy group , amidyl group , a halogen , carboxyl group , alkoxyalkyl group , alkylamino group , alkylsulfonyl group or sulfonic acid group ; or the salt of such compounds . suitable specific examples of corrosion inhibitors include catechol , t - butyl catechol and benzotriazole . the composition optionally contains hydroxylamine or a hydroxylamine salt . if present , the composition desirably contains from about 2 to about 12 % by weight of the hydroxylamine or hydroxylamine salt . in practice , the composition contains from about 10 percent by weight to about 50 percent by weight of the choline compound , from about 10 percent by weight to about 80 percent by weight of the water , and from about 20 percent by weight to about 80 percent by weight of the organic solvent . if present , the corrosion inhibitor is typically provided in an amount of from about 0 . 5 to about 5 percent by weight . because of its inability to create a passivation layer , traditional cleaning solvents are not well suited to work with copper as they usually contain aggressive complexing agents . a screening has been undertaken to evaluate new candidates to gently remove copper etch residues without damaging the existing interconnects . etch rates on blanket copper were measured by sheet resistance measurement using a four point probe . some solvents , including hydroxylamine chemistries , show a severe incompatibility with copper . the incompatibility of cu with hydroxylamine - containing chemistries is most likely a result of two factors : the known strength of hydroxylamine as a reducing agent , and its propensity ( along with amine solvents and other chelating agents ) to effectively complex and solubilize metal ions . copper - containing etch residues in a high oxidation state ( cu ii ) may be reduced and solubilized to cu i , then reoxidized by water or dissolved oxygen back to cu ii in an equilibrium process : 2cu ii o x f y + 2h 2 noh + 20h → 2cu i + n 2 +( 2 y ) f +( 4 + 2 x ) h 2 o ( 1 ) where l is an available ligand . reaction 1 serves to assist in breaking up what is probably an amorphous , highly oxidized cu residue of ill - defined stoichiometry , while ( 2 ) complexes the cu , most likely oxidizing it back to cu ii ( especially in the presence of water ) in the process . at the same time , dissolved water and / or oxygen can oxidize native copper ( cu 0 ) to an oxidized form that can be dissolved by the strong complexing agents ( including hydroxylamine ) comprising an hydroxylamine - containing chemistry . what is important is to design a chemistry that is capable of dissolving oxidized cu residues while shutting down the thermodynamic drive that thaws native cu into solution ; this is accomplished through judicious change of the ionic medium employed . a purpose of this invention is to remove residues and / or polymeric materials from damascene type structures after processing when copper is exposed . in the first example presented here ( fig3 ), the sample is a blanket copper with a single layer of teos ( silicon dioxide type of dielectric ) etched . the etch has been realized in two steps : first the main etch through the bulk dielectric , followed by a cleaning step where photoresist and main post etch residues are removed into conventional solvent while copper is still protected by a thin nitride layer ; then a second short etch is realized to open the structure to copper , leaving a minimum of residues on the bottom and sidewall of the structure . a solution of choline hydroxide ( solution b6 ) was used to successfully clean those residues at 50 ° c . for 10 mm ( fig3 ). xps ( x - ray photo spectroscopy ) analysis of such a structure shows the effect of the invention at removing cuo and cuo 2 compounds ( fig4 ). table i summarizes various compositions used to clean such a structure , and their result on the cleaning efficiency and copper attack at the bottom of the structure . results are rated from 0 to 10 by subjectively analyzing sem pictures . a 0 rating means bad and 10 is good . however we note that if cleaning is bad , corrosion inhibition is usually good only because the residues protect the copper material . this is for example the case of pure water ( a1 ). from solutions a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 , and a5 we observe that cleaning efficiency increases when choline concentration reaches 20 %. however we note that such concentration creates a thin foam at the surface of the solution and that adding a solvent such as , for example , propylene glycol , reduce this foaming effect without reducing the cleaning efficiency ( solutions b1 , b2 , b3 , b4 , b5 and b6 ). this foaming effect however is reduced depending upon the type of stabilizer used with the raw material of choline hydroxide , and if the raw material is chosen correctly , the solution might not require an additional solvent . we have investigated the process conditions for those cleaning solutions and found better results at temperatures below 50 ° c . the time does not appear to be important and we would recommend a process time between 10 and 30 minutes depending upon the difficulty of removing the residues . alternatively the use of other quaternary ammonium systems such as tmah ( tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide ), or tbah ( tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide ) can have satisfactory results on the cleaning of such structures . in our second example the structure has been etched in one step directly opening on copper . fig5 shows the example of residue found at the bottom of the structure . fig6 shows that the invention was not able to clean such a residue under the conditions employed . dual damascene structures have the advantage of reducing process steps for interconnect manufacture . hence , process engineers research the simplest structure possible in order to preserve this cost advantage . also , the introduction of too many layers participates in the increase of the global dielectric constant of inter - metal dielectric materials . this increase can be as high as 20 %, in which case the benefits earned by using a new dielectric material are lost . the simplest structure , the first approach tested , consisted of etching both lines and via levels down to the underlying copper . in this example a buried hard mask is included and used to pattern the via level , while photoresist was used to pattern the line level . a typical example is shown in fig2 , where the opening on copper forms some “ mushroom ”- type residues . the high aspect ratio of such a structure , the wafer non uniformity of the etch , and etch lag all demand a minimum overetch of the structure into the copper , resulting in two main issues that need to be addressed : firstly , copper is back sputtered all over the structure ( sidewalls and top ), likely to diffuse later into the dielectric material and eventually reach the front end device ; and secondly , post etch residues created in this case are more difficult to remove . they are very strongly anchored to the wall , and have a complex composition ( cu , cuo , cu 2 o , silicon from the dielectric , carbon from the photoresist , fluoride species from the etching gases , etc .). various traditional cleaning treatments were tested on these residues , and failed to give satisfactory results . therefore , from a process integration standpoint , the use of a one - step etch opening directly on copper is not ideal . one of the strategies chosen in this work was the introduction of a thin si x n y layer at the bottom of the structure , which is used as an etch stop for the main etch step . this permits photoresist removal while isolating the etch residues generated from the dielectric etch from those generated from opening on copper . at the same time , photoresist removal can proceed in the absence of exposed copper . here again , the weakness of the natural copper oxide layer makes the photoresist removal step an issue . indeed , traditional methods of photoresist stripping ( such as plasma o 2 ) will in most cases oxidize and attack the metal . lithography was performed on the duv 248 nm asml / 90 stepper and damascene structures are etched on the tel unity 85 drm . the photoresist was removed by a combination of downstream oxygen and forming gas plasma ( ipc branson 3500l ) followed by a copper compatible product , to compensate for the possibility of premature punch - through of the si x n y layer . posistrip ® ekc ® le is used in wsst 640 from semitool at 60 ° c . for 15 minutes . the remaining residues are now easier to remove . however , an issue still remains with back sputtered copper on the sidewall of the structure , because in the second etch step copper is exposed . at this stage the generated residue contains a large quantity of copper , which can be removed as discussed above . as shown in the tem picture in fig2 , the final etch back - sputters a large amount of copper residue on the sidewalls and top of the structure . this contamination has to be removed before the next metallization step ; otherwise , it will be trapped under the diffusion barrier . various papers report the use of dilute hf solutions to clean these types of residues . the ability of these solutions to clean is well known for front end processing , but shows some disadvantages at the interconnect level , in that cleaning proceeds through attack of the dielectric and results in a loss in critical dimensions . it has also been reported that these solutions are not effective in removing cu 2 o types of residues . the samples used in this study are composed of a blanket layer of cvd copper , with a single damascene of teos . solution b6 is used at 50 ° c . for 10 min in a semitool to remove these residues . the tem cross section ( fig2 ) shows the cleaning efficiency of solution b6 at the bottom of the via and on the sidewalls . a slight attack of the metal at the bottom of the via is due the ability of the chemistry to remove damaged or oxidized copper . during opening of the via on copper , there is not only some copper backsputtered onto the sidewall but also the structure of the exposed copper is mechanically changed ( hammer - hardened ) by the etching . it is necessary to remove this transformed material , which would increase the via resistance . the resulting shape of the material is not a problem as the lateral attack is lower than 50 nm and the via will next be filled by fresh copper . a tof - sims analysis on the top of the surface shows the quantitative reduction of copper contamination from 9 × 1014 atoms / cm2 before cleaning to 9 × 1013 atoms / cm2 after use of solution b6 . the detection limit of the equipment is about 1012 atoms / cm2 . furthermore , a blanket silicon wafer is introduced in the semitool during processing as a control for copper contamination . the contamination of the native oxide of this wafer is analyzed by vapor phase decomposition total reflection x - ray fluorescence ( vpd - txrf ), and shows that not only does the chemistry remove copper contamination but also does not redeposit this contamination elsewhere . fig2 - 33 demonstrate the cleaning efficiency of solution b6 on large areas of exposed copper ( fig2 - 29 ), trenches ( 30 - 31 ), and holes ( 32 - 33 ). we note that an artifact due to sample cross sectioning breaks some teos lines which allows a comparison between the copper exposed to the etch process and that which was protected by the dielectric . this shows that solution b6 effectively cleans the residues , with no global attack of the copper ( as demonstrated in fig2 ), but the gentle action of the product is shown by the clear definition of the grain boundaries . fig3 and 39 show electrical results on an integrated circuit with 2 levels of copper . via resistance is a measure of the cleaning efficiency at the contact between the 2 layers . the via resistance after cleaning with solution b6 corresponds to the theoretical via resistance , which proves a good cleaning with the via dimension being respected . fig4 shows the efficiency of solution b6 to reduce post etch residues . curve ( 1 ) shows the composition of the blanket copper in ambient air , with a high peak intensity at 932 . 5 ev . for cu 2 o . curves ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) show the composition of the blanket copper after an o 2 / n 2 plasma etch for 34 sec . and 68 sec . respectively . the residues consist of cuo detected at 935 ev . curves ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) show the composition of the blanket copper surface after processing through plasma etch , followed by cleaning in solution b6 for 2 min . and 20 min ., respectively . this shows a reduction of the cuo residues to a less oxidized state . because a purpose of this invention is to remove residues and / or polymeric materials from damascene type structures when copper is exposed , a series of solvents were tested for compatibility with copper . etch rates on metals are measured by using a four point probe on blanket sample , measuring the evolution in sheet resistance of the material versus time processed into the solution . the resultant etch rates are converted into angstrom per minute ( å / min ), as in table 2 . it is shown that choline solutions ( for example solutions a5 , d19 , or d3 ) are compatible with copper material and will not attack the copper material when it is exposed to the solution during cleaning . the concentration of choline hydroxide has been varied from 10 % to 50 % with added solvent , e . g ., propylene glycol varying from 0 % ( solution a5 ) to 50 % ( solutions b6 , c2 , c4 ) and show good compatibility with copper ( table 2 ). the invention shows good compatibility with most low - k dielectric materials used in integrated circuit fabrication . compatibility with dielectric materials is evaluated by the two following methods : thickness measurement by ellipsometry ( table 3 ); material characteristic by ft - ir ( fourier transform infra red ) ( fig7 to 10 ) as above in the case of metal , thickness evolution is evaluated versus time of processing in the solution , and results are given in å / min . ( table 4 ). ft - ir spectra of the processed material are compared to the initial spectrum in order to detect any structural or chemical change in the material . materials tested were silicon dioxide ( teos ), hydrogen silsesquioxane ( hsq ), methyl silsesquioxane ( msq ) and organic dielectric , in solutions of choline hydroxide 50 % ( a5 ), propylene glycol 100 % ( e13 ), and mixtures of both ( solution b6 ) ( fig7 - 10 ). we observe good compatibility between these solutions and teos , msq , and organic dielectric . the ft - ir of hsq however shows a slight absorption of moisture ( around 3500 cm − 1 ) which correlate to our observation of spots in the material . we anticipate a lift - off of this material if a patterned sample is processed in these solutions . a c ( v ) curve measures the capacitance of a structure composed of metal / dielectric / silicon versus voltage . it gives an indication of the dielectric under stress conditions . fig3 shows that processing with solution b6 does not change the properties of an organic dielectric material and that no hysteresis is induced . these results show that the invention is compatible with most materials used to integrate copper in modern interconnects . this new chemistry has been developed in order to be compatible with low - k dielectric materials . because of the introduction of silk , special efforts were made to study the particular compatibility of solution b6 with this material . fig3 shows the ft - ir spectrum of the material as deposited ( reference ), and after treatment in solution b6 ( processed at 50 ° c . for an extended period of 30 minutes ). as shown in the graph , no structural change of the material through processing is observed . similarly , the change in the dielectric constant of silk was followed by the mercury probe method . the mercury probe measures the capacitance of the dielectric between a mercury droplet and the bulk silicon . the dielectric constant is calculated from the equation : after processing in solution b6 there is no noticeable change in the dielectric constant from its initial value of 2 . 7 . by sweeping the voltage , the c ( v ) curve gives an indication of the behavior of the dielectric under stress conditions . the c ( v ) curve in fig3 shows that the material is not modified , as no hysteresis is induced in the material by processing in solution b6 . tests on patterned silk ( fig3 - 37 ) corroborate the blanket silk data , as no change in the morphology ( e . g ., bowing ) is observed between the before treatment sample ( fig3 ) and the after treatment sample ( fig3 ). again , solution b6 was used in the semitool apparatus at 50 ° c . for 10 min . the recent introduction of copper as the new interconnect material challenges standard processing and requires new strategies . etching and cleaning steps need to be redesigned in coordination with each other for optimum results . this invention deals with one of the problems encountered during etching : creating residues difficult to remove by any traditional cleaning treatment . the new etching strategy consists of a “ 2 - step etch ” process , in which a protecting layer helps to deal with easier to remove residues . a new chemistry has been developed in order to deal with the results of this process flow . this new chemistry , exemplified by solution b6 , efficiently cleans post etch residues containing copper , without damaging the metal and with perfect compatibility with silk . the invention has been tested to remove photoresist and other polymeric materials on a sample covered with such . the sample in this example is a dual damascene structure etched in a double layer of teos . the solutions reported in table 4 were successful in attacking the photoresist in various degrees : a concentrated choline hydroxide solution ( a5 ) successfully removed the photoresist ( fig1 - 12 ); solutions of other choline types , even at low concentration ( for example 10 % choline chloride [ d2 ], or 3 % choline bicarbonate [ d20 ]) have a non - negligible effect at thinning down the photoresist ( fig1 - 14 ); solutions containing low concentration ( 2 . 3 % in our example ) of choline hydroxide mixed with other solvents such as , for example , dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ) ( solution d4 ) or monoethanolamine ( mea ) ( solution d6 ) have a lift off effect on the photoresist ( fig1 - 16 ); solutions of choline ( hydroxide , chloride , or bicarbonate ) can remove the photoresist at high concentrations . the addition of a small amount of hydroxylamine in the base solution increases the removal efficiency while keeping the solution compatible with copper . table 5 shows the results on sample 2 , consisting of blanket silk film ( organic low - k dielectric ) with patterned silicon dioxide . the results show that these chemistries can effectively remove the organic resist without damaging the organic dielectric . a chemistry composed of 2 % to 12 % of hydroxylamine with a strong base such as a quaternary ammonium hydroxide compound can be used to remove tough resist on inorganic substrate with an organic material exposed . the chemistry is compatible with both copper and the organic material . the invention has been tested for removing polymer after metal etch . the metal etched in our example is an aluminum line , with post etch residues ( fig1 ) relatively easy to clean . a dilute solution of choline bicarbonate ( 3 % [ d20 ] to 5 % [ d21 ]) successfully removes this polymer at room temperature , with treatment for about 5 minutes ( table 6 and fig1 ). however we anticipate that tougher residues will require either higher temperature or higher concentration of the solution to be removed efficiently . either way , care is required to maintain compatibility with the aluminum or aluminum alloy line . the invention has been tested for removing polymer after via etch . dilute solutions of choline hydroxide ( 2 % to 5 %) with or without added solvents , such as , for example dmso ( solutions d4 and d5 ) or mea ( solutions d6 and d7 ) successfully clean residues from via samples ( table 7 ). those solutions give good results at cleaning dielectric substrate , but underlying aluminum lines are subject to attack due to the higher temperature used here . the invention has been tested on a sample where misaligned tungsten plugs are corroded by conventional amine cleaner ( fig1 ). we can successfully clean the sample without damaging the plug by using a dilute solution of choline bicarbonate ( 3 % [ d20 ] to 5 % [ d21 ]) as a rinse at room temperature for about 5 minutes prior to using the conventional amine cleaner ( fig2 and 21 ). furthermore we show in fig2 that adding a small amount ( 3 %) of choline bicarbonate into the conventional cleaner slows down the attack of the exposed plug by the conventional amine system . the use of those solutions as an intermediate rinse between the photoresist removal step and the conventional solvent step avoids corrosion of misaligned tungsten plugs , especially in a case such as the present one where the post metal etch residue is relatively easy to remove . in summary , these tests demonstrate a new chemistry , exemplified by composition b6 , for example , in the above tables , which has a negligible etch rate on copper and other metal used for copper integration ( e . g ., fig2 ). it is perfectly compatible with silk and some other low - k materials ( e . g ., fig2 ) and at the same time , gently removes residues containing copper as well as photoresists and polymers ( e . g ., arc polymers ), preferably photoresists and polymers containing somewhere within the molecular structure a carbonyl moiety , a carboxyl moiety , a nitrile moiety , an imide moiety , or a combination thereof , most preferably photoresists and polymers containing a carbonyl moiety . the present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and no restrictive , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . as would be apparent to those skilled in the art , the invention may be embodied in other specific forms with various changes in form and details of the invention as described herein without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . | 7 |
fig1 shows what are known as talker echo tolerance curves , which allow conclusions to be drawn about voice quality from the echoes occurring . the curves thereby allow the acceptability of the conversation to be judged . the abscissa shows the mean echo transmission time t and the ordinate the talker echo loudness rating telr . the curve k 1 shows the masked threshold , the curve k 2 shows the acceptable . the acceptable is equivalent to the curve , in which a disruptive echo occurs with a probability of 1 %. the curve k 3 shows the limiting case , the curve k 4 the binaural limiting case for an arrangement of stereophonic speakers at an angle of 80 °). fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the inventive device as a functional block circuit diagram . here a transmitter - side data terminal is shown with the reference character a and a receiver - side data terminal with the reference character b . the transmitter side data terminal b is ideally equipped with binaural headphones , which in turn have a first speaker l and a second speaker r . to control the signal flow accordingly , there is a signal processing device 1 between the respective terminals a , b . in this embodiment the signal processing device 1 has three function blocks f 1 , f 2 , f 3 and a level processing element pve . the function blocks f 1 , f 2 and f 3 each have at least one transit time element ( not shown ). alternatively or additionally the function blocks f 1 , f 2 and f 3 can also each be configured with at least one attenuation element and / or an hrtf ( head related transfer function ) processing element ( not shown ). in this exemplary embodiment the function block f 1 and the function block f 2 are connected in series , while the function block f 2 is connected parallel to the function block f 1 . a voice connection is set up from the receiver - side data terminal b to a transmitter - side data terminal a , whereby the link operates by means of a switching network using voip . the receiver - side data terminal b transmits a monaural input signal in a step 100 to the first function block f 1 . at the same time the receiver - side data terminal b transmits the monaural input signal in a step 101 to the function block f 2 and in a step 102 to the level comparison element pve . the function block f 1 delays the received signal and transmits it in a step 200 to the function block f 3 . at the same time the function block f 1 allows the received signal to pass unmodified and transmits the unmodified signal similarly in a step 201 to the function block f 3 . the signal present at the function block f 2 from step 101 is subject to a first delay in the function block f 2 and is transmitted with this in a step 300 to the function block f 3 . at the same time the signal present at the function block f 2 from step 101 is subject to a second delay and is transmitted with this in a step 301 to the function block f 3 . in a step 102 the level comparison element pve also receives the signal supplied by the receiver - side data terminal b . at the same time a signal supplied by the transmitter - side data terminal a is present at the level comparison element pve and this is forwarded in a step 502 . the first and second delays to the signal supplied by the receiver - side data terminal b implemented in the function block f 2 and described above are then effected as a function of a mean level comparison of the signals supplied by the data terminals a , b . the signals originating from steps 200 and 300 or from steps 201 and 301 are now present at the function block f 3 . at the same time the signal from the transmitter - side data terminal originating from a step 501 is present at the function block f 3 . in this exemplary embodiment the signals originating from steps 200 and 300 can pass function block f 3 without hindrance and are then fed in a step 400 to the first speaker l . the signals resulting from steps 201 and 301 and present at the function block f 3 can also pass the last function block f 3 without further processing but are fed in a step 401 to the second speaker r . the signal delays already implemented beforehand in the function blocks f 1 and f 2 mean that on the one hand static positioning of a sound event induced by the transmitter - side data terminal a takes place “ closer ” to the second speaker r , while on the other hand dynamic positioning of a sound event induced by the transmitter - side data terminal a is achieved “ closer ” to the respective speaker , which receives the signals with the shorter delays in each instance . the function block f 3 delays the signal transmitted in step 501 and feeds this to the second speaker r . at the same time the signal transmitted in step 501 passes the function block f 3 without hindrance and is transmitted to the first speaker l . as a result , as mentioned above , static positioning of the sound event induced by the transmitter - side data terminal a is achieved “ closer ” to the first speaker l . finally in a step 500 the transmitter - side data terminal a sends a signal without further processing directly to the receiver - side data terminal b . the splitting of a monaural input signal proposed here and its processing to achieve transit time differences allows three - dimensional hearing via binaural headphones , which is experienced as natural hearing . as natural hearing results from transit time differences , level differences and tone loss in the incoming sound from different sound sources , hearing experienced as three - dimensional can ideally be experienced by generating transit time differences along with level differences and tone loss . the exemplary embodiment described above describes the function blocks as signal processing blocks , the purpose of which is to generate transit time differences and therefore phase differences from a monaural input signal by splitting it . alternatively it is possible to replace the transit time elements with attenuation elements . a spatial hearing experience is thereby experienced , which is only achieved by means of amplitude amplification or attenuation . it is also possible to provide only hrtf ( head related transfer function ) processing elements , to simulate the nature of the head and ears and thereby the directional characteristics of the ear . the function blocks f 1 to f 3 can however hold all the signal processing elements at the same time , to achieve an optimum result in respect of simulation of natural hearing . alternatively ( not shown ) it is for example possible to combine the function blocks f 1 and f 3 . this essentially corresponds to the embodiment shown in fig2 , without however making the monaural input signal supplied by the receiver - side data terminal b available at the function block f 2 . the signals then pass through the function block f 3 at the same time as the input signal supplied by the transmitter - side data terminal a is being processed to be fed to the speaker l or r . it is also possible ( also not shown ) for the function blocks f 2 and f 3 to be combined . fig2 , as already described , can be used as a basis here too but without function block f 1 . the monaural input signal supplied by the receiver - side data terminal b is supplied here exclusively to the function block f 2 or to the level comparison element pve , to forward the resulting output signals via the function block f 3 to the speakers l and r . according to the sub - function f 3 processing of the monaural input signal from the receiver - side data terminal b takes place in the function block f 3 . the combination of two function blocks represents a high - quality but nevertheless low - cost variant , whereby the quality of the three - dimensional simulation can be tailored in each instance to the area of use of the headset . changing the monaural signal using one of these processing elements also generates a hearing event , which reflects at least components of natural hearing . it is therefore possible using the proposed headset to locate different sound sources and particularly to suppress the perception of reflections . this is substantiated by the natural hearing experience , with which people have actually learned to suppress reflection perception . the exclusive use of individual function blocks as transit time elements and / or attenuation elements and / or hrtf processing elements allows a spatial hearing experience , which is for example adequate , if little background noise occurs during communication . it should be pointed out here that all the above elements described , taken alone and in any combination , particularly the detailed representations in the drawing , are claimed as essential to the invention . the person specialized in the art is accustomed to making modifications . therefore means for reversing the sign of one of the processed signals can replace the transit time elements or delay elements mentioned above . | 7 |
the process of the present invention may conveniently be summarized by the following reaction diagram : ## str4 ## in words relative to the above reaction diagram , the acetone dicarboxylate starting material 1 ( r 1 is alkyl having from 1 - 6 carbon atoms , aryl , such as phenyl , or aralkyl having from 7 - 12 carbon atoms ) in a solvent such as toluene , methylene chloride , ethyl acetate , ether or the like is treated with an amine , nh 2 r ( r is hydrogen ; phenylalkyl having from 7 - 12 carbon atoms such as benzyl ; 2 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl ; alkyl having from 1 - 6 carbon atoms such as t - butyl ; or an amine , such as α - methylbenzylamine , or the like ) at a temperature of from - 10 ° to 110 ° c ., for from 0 . 5 to 24 hours . the above reaction mixture for the transformation 1 → 2 is conducted in the presence of a dehydrating agent such as sodium sulfate , molecular sieves , or the like . the transformation 2 → 3 is accomplished by treating 2 in a solvent such as toluene , methylene chloride , ethyl acetate , ether or the like with a stoichiometric to 100 - fold excess of ketene , acetic anhydride , or acetyl halide such as acetyl chloride in the presence of a base such as a triorganoamine , for example , triethylamine , at a temperature of from - 10 ° to 95 ° c . for from 10 minutes to 15 hours . the transformation 3 → 4 is accomplished by treating 3 in a solvent such as acetic acid , ethanol , methanol or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 80 ° c . with a reducing agent such as sodium cyanoborohydride , sodium borohydride , sodium acetoxyborohydride , or the like , in the presence of a carboxylic acid such as acetic , tartaric , oxalic or the like . cyclization of 4 to form the lactone 5 is accomplished by treating 4 in a solvent such as methylene chloride , ether , toluene , water , or the like with an acid such as hydrochloric , sulfuric , phosphoric , trifluoroacetic , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 100 ° for from 0 . 5 to 20 hours . cyclization of 4 to form 5 , wherein r 1 is hydrogen , is accomplished by heating a solution of 4 in concentrated aqueous hcl or equivalent acid , at from 25 ° to 100 ° c . for from 2 to 12 hours . it should be noted that these latter conditions will also convert 5 ( r 1 = protecting group ) to 5 ( r 1 = hydrogen ). the deblocking transformation 5 → 5a is typically achieved by catalytic hydrogenation in a solvent such as acetic acid , water , or the like under a hydrogenation pressure of from 40 - 1500 psi in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst such as palladium on charcoal , palladium hydroxide , platinum oxide or the like . the transformation 5a → 5b is accomplished by treating 5a with an alcohol such as benzyl alcohol , 2 , 2 , 2 - trichloroethanol , methanol , phenol or the like at a temperature of from 25 °- 100 ° c . for from 1 to 24 hours . the value of r 1 is determined by the alcohol r 1 oh utilized in the transformation 5a → 5b . suitable values for r 1 have generically been defined above relative to starting material 1 . it should be noted that intermediate 5a is racemic . resolution at this stage to the desired 2s , 3s , 4r - isomer affords optically pure thienamycin on completion of the synthesis . resolution of 5a ( or its protected intermediate 5 ) is conveniently accomplished by crystallization with an optically active acid . the preferred means of resolution is accomplished on crystallization with camphorsulfonic acid , (-) or (+) phenethylsulfonic acid and (-) or (+) α - methoxy - α - trifluoromethylphenylacetic acid , or the like . such resolution is described and claimed in concurrently filed , commonly assigned u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 020 , filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now abandoned , [ merck & amp ; co ., inc . of george gal , et al . ]; this application is incorporated herein by reference to the extent that it describes the resolution of 5a . the transformation 5b → 5c is accomplished by treating 5a with dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ), or the like in the presence of a base such as triethylamine , 4 - dimethylaminopyridine , pyridine , or the like . the oxidation 5c → 5d is accomplished with an oxidizing agent such as jones reagent , dipyridine chromium ( iv ) oxide , trifluoroacetic anhydride - dimethylsulfoxide - triethylamine , pyridinium dichromate , acetic anhydride - dimethylsulfoxide - triethylamine in a solvent such as methylene chloride , acetonitrile , or the like at a temperatore of from - 78 ° to 25 ° c . for from 5 minutes to 5 hours . the reduction 5d → 6 is accomplished by treating the ketone with a reducing agent such as sodium cyanoborohydride , potassium tri ( sec - butyl ) borohydride , lithium tri ( sec - butyl ) borohydride , sodium borohydride , lithium aluminum hydride or the like in a solvent such as diethylether , tetrahydrofuran , toluene or the like at a temperature of from - 20 ° to 25 ° c . the reaction can conveniently be conducted in the presence of an added complexing salt such as potassium iodide , magnesium bromide or the like . establishment of protecting group r 2 is accomplished by the transformation 6 → 7 preferably 6 in a solvent such as dimethylformamide , ethyl acetate , methylene chloride , or the like is reacted with a reagent capable of establishing r 2 . preferred protecting groups are triorganosilyls such as tert - butyldimethylsilyl , or the like . typically , protecting groups r 2 are established by treating 6 in a solvent such as dimethylformamide , ethylacetate , methylene chloride , or the like in the presence of a base such as pyridine , triethylamine , or the like with a stoichiometric to 4 - fold excess of tert - butyldimethylsilyl chloride at a temperature of from 25 ° to 70 ° c . for from 3 to 48 hours . it should be noted that establishment of protecting group r 2 is optional ; the chain elongation reaction 8 → 9 can efficiently be accomplished when r 2 = hydrogen . the deblocking of the carboxyl group is accomplished in the transformation 7 → 8 . typically the deprotection is accomplished by catalytic hydrogenation . typically , 7 and the solvent such as methanol , ethylacetate , ether , or the like under a hydrogen pressure of from 1 to 3 atmospheres in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst such as palladium on charcoal , platinum oxide , or the like is held at a temperature of from 0 ° to 40 ° c . for from 1 to 3 hours , to provide 8 . other deblocking procedures , such as hydrolysis , are also appropriate . thus , for example , when r 1 is methyl , basic hydrolysis is preferred : typically , this is accomplished by the addition of an equivalent amount of a base such as naoh , koh , ba ( oh ) 2 , na 2 co 3 , or the like to an aqueous solution of 7 ( for example , as the methyl ester ) at 25 °- 100 ° c . for from 1 . 0 min . to 10 hours . the addition 8 → 9 is accomplished by treating 8 with 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- carbonyldimidazole or the like in a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran , dimethoxyethyane , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 50 ° c ., followed by the addition of 1 . 1 to 3 . 0 equivalents of ( r 3 o 2 cch 2 co 2 ) 2 mg , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 50 ° c . for from 1 to 48 hours . r 3 is a readily removable carboxyl protecting group such as p - nitrobenzyl , o - nitrobenzyl , benzyl or the like . the removal of the protecting groups r 2 is accomplished by treating 9 in a solvent such as 10 % aqueous methanol , tetrahydrofuran , or the like in the presence of hydrochloric acid , sulfuric acid , phosphoric acid , or the like at a temperature of 0 ° to 50 ° c . for from 10 minutes to 10 hours to provide intermediate 10 . the diazotization reaction 10 → 11 is accomplished by treating 10 in a solvent such as ethyl acetate , methylene chloride , toluene , or the like , with a diazotization reagent such as p - toluenesulfonyl azide , p - carboxybenzenesulfonyl azide or the like in the presence of a base such as pyridine , triethylamine , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 40 ° c . for from 10 to 20 minutes . cyclization ( 11 → 12 ) is accomplished by treating 11 in a solvent such as benzene , toluene , thf or the like at a temperature of from 50 °- 110 ° c . for from 1 - 5 hours in the presence of a catalyst such as bis ( acetylacetonato ) cu ( ii ) [ cu ( acac ) 2 ], cuso 4 , cu powder , rh 2 ( oac ) 4 , or pd ( oac ) 2 . alternatively , the cyclization may be accomplished by irradiating 11 through a pyrex filter ( a wave length greater than 300 nm ) in a solvent such as benzene , ccl 4 , diethylether or the like at a temperature of from 0 °- 25 ° c . for from 0 . 5 to 2 hours . [&# 34 ; oac &# 34 ;= acetate ]. establishment of leaving group x ( 12 → 13 ) is accomplished by reacting the keto ester 12 with r ° x such as p - toluenesulfonic acid anhydride , p - nitrophenylsulfonic acid anhydride , 2 , 4 , 6 - triisopropylphenylsulfonic acid anhydride , methanesulfonic acid anhydride , toluenesulfonyl chloride , p - bromophenylsulfonyl chloride , or the like ; wherein : x is the corresponding leaving group such as toluene sulfonyloxy , p - nitrophenylsulfonyloxy , methanesulfonyloxy , p - bromophenylsulfonyloxy ; or other leaving groups which are established by conventional procedures and are well known in the art . typically , the above reaction to establish leaving groups x is conducted in a solvent such as methylene chloride , acetonitrile or dimethylformamide , in the presence of a base such as diisopropylethylamine , triethylamine , 4 - dimethylaminopyridine or the like at a temperature of from - 20 ° to 40 ° c . for from 0 . 5 to 5 hours . the leaving group x of intermediate 13 can also be halogen . the halogen leaving group is established by treating 12 with a halogenating agent such as φ 3 pcl 2 , φ 3 pbr 2 , ( φo ) 3 pbr 2 , oxalyl chloride or the like in a solvent such as ch 2 cl 2 , ch 3 cn , thf , or the like in the presence of a base such as diisopropylethylamine , triethylamine , or 4 - dimethylaminopyridine or the like . [ φ = phenyl .] the leaving group x can also be a phosphate . it is typically prepared by treating 12 with diethyl chlorophosphate or the like in the presence of a base such as diisopropylethylamine , triethylamine , or 4 - dimethylaminopyridine or the like . the leaving group x can also be a carbonate . it is prepared by treating 12 with a chloroformate such as methyl , benzyl , p - nitrobenzyl or the like in the presence of a base such as diisopropylethylamine , triethylamine , or 4 - dimethylaminopyridine or the like . the leaving group x can also be an imino ester : ## str5 ## it is prepared by treating 12 with an imidoyl chloride such as n - phenyl trimethylacetimido chloride in the presence of a base such as diisopropylethylamine , triethylamine , or 4 - dimethylaminopyridine or the like . the reaction 13 → 14 is accomplished by treating 13 in a solvent such as dioxane , dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide , acetonitrile , hexamethylphosphoramide , or the like in the presence of an approximately equivalent to excess of the mercaptan reagent hsch 2 ch 2 nhr 4 wherein r 4 is hydrogen or a readily removable n - protecting group such as p - nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl , o - nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl , formimidoyl , phenoxyacetyl , phenylacetyl , 2 - methyl - 2 -( o - nitrophenoxy ) propionic , and o - nitrophenoxyacetic , or the like in the presence of a base such as sodium hydrogen carbonate , potassium carbonate , triethylamine , diisopropylethylamine , or the like at a temperature of from - 40 ° to 25 ° c . for from 1 to 72 hours . the mercaptan reagent , hsch 2 ch 2 nhr 4 , is typically prepared by treating aminoethylmercaptan in the presence of the desired acid chloride in the presence of a base such as sodium bicarbonate , sodium hydroxide , or the like in a solvent such as aqueous diethylether , aqueous dioxane , aqueous acetone , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 25 ° c . for from 0 . 5 to 4 hours . the final deblocking step 14 → i is accomplished by conventional procedures such as hydrolysis or hydrogenation , or enzymatically . typically 14 in a solvent such as dioxane - water - ethanol ; tetrahydrofuran - aqueous dipotassium hydrogen phosphate - isopropanol ; tetrahydrofuran - water - morpholinopropane - sulfonic acid ( adjusted ph to 7 . 0 by adding sodium hydroxide ); or the like is treated under a hydrogen pressure of from 1 to 4 atmospheres in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst such as palladium on charcoal , palladium hydroxide , platinum oxide , or the like at a temperature of from 0 ° to 50 ° c . for from 0 . 5 to 4 hours to provide i . in the foregoing word description of the above schematic reaction diagram for the total synthesis of thienamycin , it is to be understood that there is considerable latitude in selection of precise reaction parameters . suggestion of this latitude and its breadth is generally indicated by the enumeration of equivalent solvent systems , temperature ranges , protecting groups , and range of identities of involved reagents . further , it is to be understood that the presentation of the synthetic scheme as comprising distinct steps in a given sequence is more in the nature of a descriptive convenience than as a necessary requirement ; for one will recognize that the mechanically dissected scheme represents a unified scheme of synthesis and that certain steps , in actual practice , are capable of being merged , conducted simultaneously , or effected in a reverse sequence without materially altering the progress of synthesis . the following examples recite a precise scheme of total synthesis . it is to be understood that the purpose of this recitation is to further illustrate the total synthesis and not to impose any limitation . all temperatures are in ° c . benzylamine ( 89 . 1 g , 0 . 83 moles ) is added over 10 minutes to a suspension of 5 a powdered molecular sieves ( 270 g ) and diethyl 1 , 3 - acetonedicarboxylate ( 160 g ) ( 0 . 79 moles ) in 350 ml toluene ( external cooling applied to control exotherm ). the suspension is stirred at room temperature for 14 - 17 hours and then filtered to provide 2 . the filter cake is washed with three portions of toluene . the combined filtrates may be used as in the subsequent ketene reaction . ketene gas ( generated by pyrolysis of acetone ) is passed through the stirred solution of 2 ( see example 1 , above ) at 22 ° c . when starting material 2 is completely consumed ( followed by tlc - solvent system 1 : 1 hexane / etoac ), the solution is concentrated to give the product as a tan solid . recrystallization from ethanol affords the pure product 3 as colorless needles , mp 87 °- 8 ° c . ______________________________________elem . anal . calc . found______________________________________c . sub . 18 h . sub . 23 no . sub . 5 c 64 . 85 % 64 . 90 % h 6 . 95 7 . 06 n 4 . 20 3 . 94______________________________________ a solution of the enamine 3 ( 83 . 3 g , 0 . 25 mmoles ) in 400 ml hoac ( acetic acid ) is chilled to ca . 10 ° c . and sodium cyanoborohydride ( 20 . 9 g , 0 . 33 moles ) is added as a solid portionwise over 15 - 30 minutes . the cooling bath is removed and the solution stirred at room temperature ( 22 ° c .) for 3 . 5 hours . the solution is concentrated in vacuo and the residue flushed with toluene to remove most of the acetic acid . the residue is partitioned between 400 ml etoac ( ethyl acetate ) and 300 ml saturated aqueous nahco 3 . the organic layer is washed with another 300 ml portion of aqueous nahco 3 . the combined aqueous layers are back extracted with 200 ml etoac . the organic layers are dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and concentrated in vacuo to give 4 as a colorless gum , 100 g . the crude amino alcohol 4 ( 110 g ) is cautiously dissolved in 900 ml concentrated aqueous hcl . the solution is heated to reflux and 80 - 100 ml of distillate is collected ( discarded ) during the first hour of reflux . after a 3 hr . reflux period the solution is cooled to 0 ° for 45 min and filtered . the solid is washed with three portions of 40 % etoh in isopropanol and dried in vacuo to constant weight to yield 5 : 24 - 30 g of white crystalline solid ; mp 160 °- 170 ° ( dec ). ______________________________________elem . anal . calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 14 h . sub . 18 clno . sub . 4 . h . sub . 2 o c 52 . 91 52 . 79 h 6 . 34 6 . 41 cl 11 . 16 11 . 00 n 4 . 41 4 . 51______________________________________ a similar batch of crude amino alcohol 4 ( 101 . 7 g ) in 900 ml ch 2 cl 2 is treated with hcl gas ( subsurface introduction ) for 1 hour . the saturated solution ( or suspension ) is stirred at room temperature for another 2 hours . ether ( 800 ml ) is added to the suspension and cooled to 0 ° for 1 hr . the solid is collected , washed with two cold portions of ch 2 cl 2 and dried in vacuo to yield 5 : ______________________________________elem . anal . calcd found______________________________________c . sub . 16 h . sub . 22 clno . sub . 4 c 58 . 62 58 . 95 h 6 . 77 6 . 79 cl 10 . 82 10 . 94 n 4 . 27 4 . 69______________________________________ triethylamine ( 0 . 937 g , 9 . 28 mmole ) in 3 ml dmf ( sieve - dried ) is added to the β - lactam ( 1 . 056 g , 4 . 01 mmol ) in 15 ml dmf at room temperature . the solution is chilled to 0 ° and tert - butyldimethylsilyl chloride ( 1 . 39 g , 9 . 28 mmole ) is added as a solid in 3 portions over 5 minutes . the suspension is aged at 0 ° for 15 minutes then at room temperature for 19 hours . the orange - brown suspension is diluted with h 2 o and extracted with etoac . the organic layer is washed with h 2 o , brine , dried and concentrated to give the product 11 as a colorless gum ( 2 . 0 g ) that solidifies on standing . a suspension of the crude benzyl ester 11 ( 2 . 00 g , 4 . 01 mmole ) and 1 / 2 g 10 % pd / c in 40 ml . meoh is pressurized ( 40 psi ) with h 2 and shaken for 75 minutes . the suspension is filtered and the filtrate is concentrated in vacuo to give the product 12 as a white solid , 1 . 60 g . ______________________________________calcd . for calculated found______________________________________c . sub . 19 h . sub . 39 no . sub . 4 si . sub . 2 c 56 . 81 56 . 95 h 9 . 79 9 . 98 n 3 . 49 3 . 45 si 13 . 98 did not analyze properly______________________________________ to a solution of the β - lactam 12 ( 1 . 46 g ., 3 . 62 mmole ) in 30 ml . ch 2 cl 2 at room temperature is added 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- carbonyldiimidazole ( 0 . 64 g ., 3 . 95 mmole ). after stirring for 30 minutes the solution is treated with 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxane - 4 , 6 - dione ( 0 . 78 g ., 5 . 43 mmole ) and 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ( 0 . 66 g ., 5 . 43 mmole ) and the solution aged at room temperature for another 70 hours . the solution is washed with 1n aqueous hcl followed by h 2 o and then dried with na 2 so 4 and concentrated . the residue is dissolved in 20 ml . mecn , p - nitrobenzyl alcohol ( 0 . 94 g ., 6 . 15 mmole ) is added , and the solution is heated to reflux for 1 hour . the reaction mixture is concentrated to a gummy solid . the pure product 13 is isolated by crystallization from isopropanol ; or by chromatography on silica gel ( eluent , hexane - etoac , 7 / 3 ). analytical sample from 1 / 1 hexane / et 2 o , colorless needles , m . p . 113 . 5 °- 115 °. ______________________________________calcd . for calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 28 h . sub . 46 n . sub . 2 o . sub . 7 si . sub . 2 c 58 . 09 58 . 31 h 8 . 01 8 . 25 n 4 . 84 4 . 76 si 9 . 70 did not analyze properly______________________________________ concentrated aqueous hcl ( 0 . 45 ml ) is added to a suspension of the silyl derivative ( 0 . 63 g ., 1 . 09 mmole ) in 30 ml . of 10 % aqueous meoh . after stirring at room temperature for 6 hours , the solution is concentrated almost to dryness . the residue containing 14 is partitioned between h 2 o and ch 2 cl 2 . the organic layer is dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated to a colorless gum , 0 . 40 g . the crude product is used as is in the next step . ______________________________________calcd . for calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 16 h . sub . 18 n . sub . 2 o . sub . 7 c 54 . 85 55 . 02 h 5 . 18 5 . 38 n 8 . 00 7 . 79______________________________________ a solution of the crude β - keto ester 14 ( 0 . 83 g ., 2 . 37 mmole ) and p - toluenesulfonyl azide ( 0 . 56 g ., 2 . 85 mmole ) in 10 ml etoac at room temperature is treated with a solution of net 3 ( 0 . 31 g ., 3 . 08 mmole ) in 2 ml . etoac . the resulting suspension is stirred for 1 hr ., chilled to 0 ° and filtered . the product 15 ( 0 . 77 g ) is analytically pure , m . p . 160 . 5 °- 2 ° ( dec .). ______________________________________elem . anal . calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 16 h . sub . 16 n . sub . 4 o . sub . 7 c 51 . 06 51 . 04 h 4 . 29 4 . 22 n 14 . 89 14 . 76______________________________________ a stirred suspension of the diazo compound 15 ( 500 mg , 1 . 33 mmole ) and rhodium diacetate ( 15 mg ) in dry toluene ( 35 ml ) is heated to 80 °- 5 ° for 2 . 5 hours . after filtration of the catalyst , the solution is concentrated in vacuo to give the product as a white solid , mp 92 °- 8 °. to a stirred suspension of the bicyclic ketone 16 ( 100 mg , 0 . 287 mmole ) in dry methylene chloride ( 1 ml ) is added dropwise a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 62 mg , 0 . 481 mmole ) in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 4 ml ) at 0 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere . the resulting mixture is aged for 15 min . then trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride ( 90 mg , 0 . 319 mmole ) is added to give a clear solution . to the mixture is added a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 250 mg , 1 . 94 mmole ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 3 ml ) followed by n - p - nitrobenzyloxycarbonylcysteamine ( 77 mg , 0 . 30 mmole ) as a solid at 0 ° c . the mixture is stirred for 30 min during which time the product crystallizes as a colorless solid . the solid is collected by filtration and washed with ch 2 cl 2 . an additional crop of product is obtained by washing the filtrate with dilute aqueous nahco 3 . the organic layer is dried with na 2 so 4 and concentrated in vacuo . the residue is crystallized from etoac . the combined yield is 108 mg ( 64 %) of product 17 . to a suspension of the bicyclic ketone 16 ( 50 mg , 0 . 144 mmole ) in acetonitrile ( 3 ml ) is added dropwise a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 22 mg , 0 . 171 mmole ) in 1 ml ch 3 cn at - 5 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere . after aging at this temperature for 10 min , a solution of p - toluene sulfonic anhydride ( 51 mg , 0 . 156 mmole ) in 1 ml ch 3 cn is added . the resulting mixture is stirred for 2 hr . at 0 ° c . the solution is concentrated in vacuo to a volume of approximately 1 ml and then 3 ml of dry n , n - dimethylformamide ( dmf ) is added and the remaining ch 3 cn removed in vacuo . to the dmf solution at - 5 ° c . is added a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 40 mg , 0 . 31 mmole ) in 0 . 5 ml dmf and the resulting mixture stored in a refrigerator for 70 hrs . the solution is diluted with brine and extracted with five portions of ch 2 cl 2 . the combined extracts are washed with brine , dried over na 4 so 4 , and concentrated in vacuo . the residue is crystallized from an ethylacetate - ether mixture to give the product 17 as a colorless solid , 68 mg ( 81 %). to a suspension of the bicyclic ketone 16 ( 100 mg , 0 . 29 mmole ) in ch 3 cn ( 1 ml ) is added dropwise a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 37 mg , 0 . 29 mmole ) in 0 . 4 ml ch 3 cn at 0 ° under a nitrogen atmosphere . the resulting mixture is stirred for 15 min then a solution of diphenyl chlorophosphate ( 77 mg , 0 . 29 mmole ) in 0 . 4 ml ch 3 cn is added . the mixture is stirred for 15 min at 0 ° and then 15 min at room temperature . the mixture is again cooled to 0 ° and a solution of diisopropylethylamine ( 38 . 7 mg , 0 . 30 mmole ) in 0 . 4 ml ch 3 cn is added followed by n - p - nitrobenzyloxycarbonylcysteamine ( 77 mg , 0 . 30 mmole ). the reaction mixture is stored overnight in a freezer , diluted with etoac , and filtered to give the product 17 as a colorless solid , 118 mg ( 70 %). a mixture of the protected thienamycin 17 ( 4 . 9 mg , 8 . 362 × 10 - 6 mole ) and platinum oxide ( 3 . 4 mg ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 2 ml ), water ( 1 ml ) and 0 . 5m morpholinopropane sulfonic acid ( adjusted to ph 7 . 0 by adding sodium hydroxide ) ( 0 . 5 ml ) is hydrogenated at 40 psi on a parr shaker for 60 minutes . the suspension is filtered to remove catalyst and the catalyst is washed with water ( 2 × 20 ml ). the filtrate is washed with etoac ( 2 × 15 ml ). the aqueous layer is diluted to 50 ml and assayed for thienamycin . hplc assay 81 . 4 % yield , retention time = 298 sec ., natural thienamycin 298 sec . a suspension of the benzyl lactone ( 5 . 00 g 0 . 0167 moles ) and 1 . 0 g of 10 % pd / c in 200 ml acetic acid is pressurized to 1500 psi with hydrogen . the mixture is agitated at room temperature for 3 days , vented , and filtered . the recovered catalyst is washed with 2 portions ( ca . 15 ml ) of hoac . the combined filtrates are concentrated in vacuo . yield = 4 . 00 g ( 114 %) of white , foamy gum containing residual acetic acid . analytical sample prepared by crystallization from an acetic acid - acetonitrile - toluene mixture , mp 160 °- 5 ° ( dec ). ______________________________________elem . anal . calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 7 h . sub . 12 clno . sub . 4 c 40 . 10 40 . 05 h 5 . 77 5 . 90 n 6 . 68 6 . 93 cl 16 . 91 16 . 97______________________________________ the crude amino acid ( 2 . 90 g , ca . 12 . 1 mmole ) is dissolved in 40 ml . of benzyl alcohol and heated to 70 °- 75 ° for 1 day . the solution is diluted with toluene ( 70 ml ) and the product extracted with 2 portions ( 20 ml each ) h 2 o . the combined aqueous layers are washed with toluene ( 40 ml ) and concentrated in vacuo , to give 3 . 10 g of crude product as a foamy gum . this crude material can be used as is for the next step . alternatively , pure , crystalline material can be obtained as follows : acetonitrile ( 40 ml ) is added to 2 . 61 g of the crude amino acid and the mixture is stirred until the gum is all transformed to white solid ( 1 - 2 hrs .). the suspension is cooled to 0 °, filtered , and washed with isopropyl alcohol . ______________________________________elem . anal . calcd . found______________________________________c . sub . 14 h . sub . 20 clno . sub . 5 c 52 . 91 52 . 80 h 6 . 34 6 . 54 cl 11 . 16 11 . 00 n 4 . 41 4 . 33______________________________________ the combined filtrates containing additional product and unreacted lactone can be concentrated and recycled . triethylamine ( 5 . 24 g , 51 . 9 mmol ) is added to a suspension of the pure amino acid ( 16 . 00 g , 50 . 3 mmol ) in 200 ml acetonitrile at room temperature . the mixture is aged for 5 minutes , then n , n &# 39 ;- dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 10 . 88 g , 52 . 8 mmol ) is added as a solid . after aging at room temperature for 10 minutes , the suspension is heated to 60 ° for 3 hours and then concentrated . the residue is slurried in cold etoac and filtered to remove the urea . the filtrate is washed successively with 2n hcl , h 2 o , satd . nahco 3 ( these extracts are all back - extracted with etoac ), and brine , dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated . the crude product ( 13 . 2 g ) is pure enough ( the only impurity is about 5 % of the cyclohexylurea ) to use in the subsequent steps , however , analytically pure material may be prepared either by crystallization from diethyl ether or chromatography on silica gel ( eluent , 20 % hexane - etoac ), mp 67 . 5 °- 68 . 5 °. ______________________________________elem . anal calcd found______________________________________ c 63 . 86 63 . 86 h 6 . 51 6 . 56 n 5 . 32 5 . 43______________________________________ the alcohol ( 1 . 07 g , 4 . 07 mmole ) in 20 ml acetone is cooled to 0 ° and treated with jones reagent ( prepared according to eisenbraun , organic syntheses , coll . vol . v , pg 310 ) until the orange color of the reagent persists . the mixture is aged 15 min . and the excess reagent destroyed by addition of 0 . 2 ml isopropanol . the mixture is concentrated and the residue partitioned between etoac and dilute aqueous hcl . the organic layer is washed with brine , dried with na 2 so 4 and concentrated to give the product as a pale yellow solid ( 0 . 96 g ). to a solution of the ketone ( 249 mg , 0 . 95 mmole ) in 3 ml hoac at room temperature is added sodium cyanoborohydride ( 60 mg , 0 . 95 mmole ) as a solid . the solution is aged for 1 hour and concentrated in vacuo . the residue is partitioned between etoac and saturated aqueous nahco 3 ( 2 portions ). the organic layer is dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and concentrated to a gum . the crude product containing both isomeric alcohols is crystallized from etoac / hexane to give the rsr / srs alcohol as colorless needles . the following concurrently filed , commonly assigned u . s . patent applications are similarly directed to totally synthetic schemes for the preparation of thienamycin and in that respect complement the disclosure of the present application ; consequently , these applications are incorporated herein by reference . 1 . u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 058 filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now abandoned , 2 . u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 020 filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now abandoned , 3 . u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 021 filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now abandoned , 4 . u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 057 filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 269 , 772 , 5 . u . s . patent application ser . no . 112 , 022 filed nov . 4 , 1980 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 282 , 148 | 2 |
referring to fig1 , during a multiple - bundle , ligament repair and reconstruction procedure , tissue grafts 200 a , 200 b are secured at openings 19 a , 19 b to femoral channels 14 a , 14 b within a knee 100 using graft fixation members 300 a , 300 b , respectively . the tissue grafts 200 a , 200 b are tensioned at opposing ends of the channels 14 a , 14 b from the fixation member 300 a , 300 b by a surgeon and secured in place with bone anchors 20 a , 20 b within tibial channels 16 a , 16 b . the use of a multiple - bundle technique , e . g ., more than one femoral channel 14 , tibial channel 16 , tissue graft 200 and fixation member 300 , results in a repaired joint that is more anatomically correct than a single bundle technique , e . g ., a single femoral channel 14 , tissue graft 200 and fixation member 300 . the multiple - bundle technique results in multiple anchor points to transfer stresses evenly across the knee joint and / or permits a surgeon to drill femoral and tibial channels that are more laterally oriented , closer to the joint between the tibia 13 and fibula 15 , and shallower than bone channels that are typically drilled farther away from the knee joint , and thus deeper . further , securing the tissue grafts 200 a , 200 b directly to the fixation members 300 a , 300 b permits the surgeon to drill shallower bone channels than what may be possible when intermediate suture is used to connect a tissue graft to a fixation member , and due to the larger size of the fixation member as compared to conventional fixation members , such as the endobutton cl , available from smith & amp ; nephew , inc ., permits the bone tunnels to have a uniform cross - section that receives both the tissue graft and the fixation member to lie over the larger sized bone tunnel when the fixation member is positioned against the cortex at the opening to the femoral tunnel . as shown in fig2 a - 2c , the tissue graft 200 is indirectly coupled to the fixation member 300 via a continuous loop 210 of material passed through central holes 304 , 306 formed within an intermediate portion 310 of the fixation member 300 . a lead suture 220 is passed through a lead suture hole 308 at a first end portion 305 of the member 300 , and a trailing suture 230 is passed through a trailing suture hole 302 at a second end portion 320 . the lead suture 220 is used to pull the fixation member 300 and the coupled tissue graft 200 through a tibia channel 16 and the femoral channel 14 . the intermediate portion 310 of the fixation member 300 includes a prominence 325 on a surface 330 of the intermediate portion 310 . the prominence 325 is in the form of a pair of transversely extending tabs or bosses 340 , 350 including a pair of keels or flanges 342 , 344 , and 352 , 354 , respectively , extending from leading and trailing edge portions of the tabs or bosses 340 , 350 . the tabs 340 , 350 facilitate alignment of the tissue graft 200 with the fixation member 300 thus limiting any tendency of the fixation member 300 to rotate off - axis as it is being drawn through the bone tunnel . in addition , the tabs 340 , 350 extend into or partially into the femoral tunnel when the fixation member 300 is positioned against the cortex at the opening to the tunnel , thereby assisting in centering the fixation member 300 on the bone . the continuous loop 210 of material can include a strip of polyethylene tape , suture material , or other suitable material . referring to fig2 b and 2c , the fixation member 300 is an elongated member having the first end portion 305 , the second end portion 320 , and the intermediate portion 310 extending between and coupling the first and second end portions 305 , 310 . the first and second end portions 305 , 320 define openings 308 , 302 , respectively , which are configured to receive the lead suture 220 and trailing suture 230 , as noted above . the boss or tabs 340 , 350 are formed at an outer edge of the intermediate portion 310 and extend transversely from the surface 330 of the intermediate portion 310 . the boss or tabs 340 , 350 include a pair of integrally - formed keels or flanges 342 , 344 , and 352 , 354 , respectively , axially extending from leading and trailing edge portions of the tabs or bosses 340 , 350 . as can be seen in fig2 c and 2d , the keels or flanges 342 , 344 , and 352 , 354 are thinner as compared to their associated tabs or bosses 340 , 350 , and are generally formed integrally with their associated tabs or bosses 340 , 350 via a tapered transition region 341 , 351 . in addition , the keels 342 , 344 , 352 , and 354 include a tapered cutting edge 342 a , 344 a , 352 a , and 354 a , respectively , each of which seats or cuts into the cortical bone surrounding the tunnel 14 when the fixation member 300 is positioned against the cortex at the opening to the tunnel , which helps limit rotation of the fixation member 300 . referring to fig2 b , the keels 342 , 344 , 352 , and 354 are tapered at an angle with respect to the surface 330 of the fixation member . this angle can be in the range of between about 95 degrees and about 160 degrees depending on the type of tissue graft tunnel and particular procedure . an exemplary fixation member 300 has an overall length of between about 15 mm to about 25 mm , a width of between about 4 mm to about 9 mm , and a height of between about 1 mm to about 3 mm . the width of the boss is about 1 mm to about 2 mm and the thickness of the boss is about 1 mm . the length of the boss is such that it can fit in a tunnel of about 4 mm to 5 mm . the keel is angled at about 35 degrees to about 45 degrees from the bottom of the fixation member and is about 2 mm to about 3 mm in length . while only certain implementations have been set forth , alternatives and modifications will be apparent from the above description to those skilled in the art . for example , rather than coupling the tissue graft indirectly to the fixation member , the tissue graft can be coupled directly to the fixation member by routing portions of the tissue graft through , for example , the two holes formed within the intermediate portion of the fixation member and between the boss / keel structures . the leading and / or trailing ends can each be provided with one or more suture holes to facilitate positioning of the fixation member within the bone tunnel , and drawing the fixation member through the bone tunnel , and flipping the fixation member . the graft fixation member is formed from a biocompatible material such as titanium or peek , or a bioabsorbable material . the tissue graft may include autograft tissue , allograft tissue , or synthetic tissue . additionally , instead of being positioned against the outer surface of the cortex at the opening to the femoral tunnel , the fixation member may be positioned inside the bone , thereby lying against the endosteal surface of the near cortex . as described above , suture material is used . however , other material that is strong enough to withstand pulling the fixation member / tissue graft combination through the bone tunnel could be used . although the present disclosure relates to graft fixation members and methods of use in a multiple - bundle technique , the graft fixation members and methods can be used in a single bone tunnel technique , advantageously with the bone tunnel positioned as tunnel 200 b as shown in fig1 . the aforementioned tissue graft fixation procedure may be applicable to other parts of the knee or other parts of the human body requiring tissue reconstruction . these and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and the appended claims . | 0 |
as briefly discussed above in the background section of this disclosure , provided is a f - p piezoelectric tunable filter for use in , but not limited to , color sensing and color display applications . this disclosure describes a color printing application of a piezoelectric f - p tunable filter , however , other applications unrelated and related to printing are within the scope of this disclosure and claims . these other applications may include handheld battery operated devices , color filters , lcds , mems displays , hyper spectral imagers , “ fancy ” colored glass and chemical analysis . with reference to fig1 , illustrated is a f - p piezoelectric tunable spectrophotometer according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . one application of this spectrophotometer includes the detection of color associated with a printing system . the spectrophotometer 10 is composed of a f - p filter 12 , a photodetector 16 , a substrate 20 , a silicon wafer 18 and an optical fiber 14 . the f - p filter 12 is composed of two reflective mirrors 28 and 30 which are attached to substrates 24 and 26 , respectively , where the reflective mirrors 28 and 30 form an air gap of distance d to provide spectral filtering . in order to provide tunability of the air gap distance d , piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 are attached to electrodes 44 and 46 , respectively , which are attached to substrate 26 . electrodes 44 and 46 can be electrically connected to substrate 20 ( not shown in fig1 ) and can be electrically controlled through substrate 20 . the piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 are connected electrically using conductive adhesives ( not shown in fig1 ) such as silver - containing epoxy resins to transparent electrode 22 which is fixed to substrate 20 . the conductive adhesives can have thickness from about 0 . 2 microns to about 30 microns to allow piezoelectrical materials to change dimensions under actuation . in operation , a voltage is applied to electrodes 44 and 46 which causes the piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 to increase or decrease air gap d . other features of the spectrophotometer illustrated in fig1 include spacers 32 and 34 , substrates 36 and 38 , and elastic supports 48 and 50 . the substrates may be made of glass or silicon or other materials that allow light at the wavelengths of interest to be detected by the photodetector 16 . with reference to fig2 , illustrated is a detailed view of the f - p tunable filter used in the spectrophotometer 10 illustrated in fig1 . notably , the f - p tunable filter includes two reflective mirrors 28 and 30 , and the air gap d between the mirrors 28 and 30 is changed by the piezoelectric actuators which are comprised of strips of piezoelectric material 40 and 42 and conductors 44 and 46 which act as electrodes . with reference to fig3 , illustrated is a detailed view of a silicon wafer 18 according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . the silicon wafer includes a recess which is etched in the wafer using either a dry or wet etch . the recess has a depth of about 20 mm according to the exemplary embodiment and lithographic patterning is performed prior to etching the circular hole 21 which is used to guide an optical fiber 14 to direct light through to the f - p filter to the photodetector . with reference it fig4 , illustrated is a view of another silicon wafer 18 according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . in this embodiment , a v - groove is etched into the silicon wafer 18 and an optical fiber 14 is mounted in the v - groove . with reference to fig5 , illustrated is a means for attaching substrate 26 to another substrate 38 according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . the attachment means comprises a first spring member and a second spring member attached together with a crimp 64 . the substrate attachment means provides an elastic coupling of the substrates where substrate 26 can be controllably displaced vertically transfixed substrate 28 during tuning of the f - p filter 12 . with reference to fig6 a - 6c , illustrated is an exemplary method of manufacturing a f - p piezoelectric tunable spectrophotometer according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . with reference to fig6 a , illustrated is a method of manufacturing the moveable part of the f - p piezoelectric spectrophotometer illustrated in fig5 . initially , during step 1 , a substrate 26 of glass or quartz is produced . glass or quartz are typically used because they are transparent in the visual light range . notably , unlike conventional electrostatic f - p devices , the substrate 26 does to need to be recess cut , which eliminates a process step . during step 2 , metal layer 30 , 44 and 46 are deposited on substrate 26 by a metal deposition process . the function of these metal layers is electrical conduction and optical reflection . according to the exemplary embodiment , the metal contact layers 44 and 46 comprise about 300 å cr and 5000 å gold . another material suitable for the metal layers is aluminum . other technology available for producing the required optical reflectivity is the deposition of distributed bragg reflectors ( dbr ). one method of producing a dbr is disclosed in u . s . patent publication no . 2006 / 0221450 . an acceptable range of metal layer 30 thicknesses is 50 å to 400 å where the metal layers are thick enough to achieve a moderate reflectivity , but still thin enough for some light to pass through the p - metal layer . transmission of light through the metal layer 30 is required to achieve optical resonance in the f - p cavity . during step 3 , removal of substrate material by etching produces areas 70 and 72 . one process to produce the through substrate areas is deep reactive ion etching ( drie ) and another is wet etching through the wafer . notably , drie is a single wafer process and it can take several hours to etch through a 600 μm wafer . while feasible , etch times that long using a serial process make the process expensive . one method of wet etching is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 405 , 774 , filed apr . 18 , 2006 by lin et al . wet etching has the advantage that many wafers can be etched in parallel . during step 4 , piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 are deposited on the underside of substrate 26 . this can be accomplished with a shadow mask as the piezoelectric materials are deposited . alternatively , patterned piezoelectric materials may be transferred from another substrate . notable , it is possible to deposit the piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 before the substrate etching step in step 3 . with regard to the piezoelectric materials , acceptable materials include zno ( zinc oxide ), aln ( aluminum nitride ) and pzt ( lead zirconate titanate ) as well as others . there are several methods for depositing the piezoelectric materials , including but not limited to , sputtering and screen printing . with reference to fig6 b , illustrated is a method of manufacturing the top member of the f - p piezoelectric device illustrated in fig1 . notably , step 1 may be performed as step 1 of fig6 a is performed , and step 2 bay be performed as step 2 of fig6 a is performed . during the fabrication of the top member , as illustrated in fig6 b , initially during step 1 , a substrate 24 is produced of glass or quartz , or other suitable material . glass or quartz are suitable materials because they are transparent to the visible light . during step 2 , metal layer 28 is deposited on the substrate 24 using techniques as described with reference to metal layers 30 , 44 and 46 in fig6 a . during step 3 , spacers 32 and 34 are deposited on substrate 24 . the thickness of the spacers provides the active optical gap . in order to sweep the entire desired wavelength range from 400 - 800 mm , the optical gap range must be 0 . 2 - 0 . 4 mm . in other words , half the wavelength range because light traverses the gap twice . any variations in the spacer thickness and other processing steps can be corrected for by applying a correction to the voltage applied to the piezoelectric materials 40 and 42 . acceptable spacer material includes conducting films , such as aluminum and gold , and insulating films such as silicon dioxide and silicon nitride . with reference to fig6 c , illustrated is the final manufacturing step of the f - p piezoelectric device illustrated in fig1 . during this final step , substrate 26 is bonded to substrate 24 with spacers 32 and 34 in between by means of soldering , wafer bonding , polymeric adhesives , or other suitable bonding technology . with reference to fig7 , illustrated is a printing system application of a f - p piezoelectric device as disclosed herein . the printing system comprises a f - p optical system 80 including an optical f - p piezoelectric filter array 82 , a light sensing array 84 , and an optical lens . illumination sources 88 and 100 direct light to a photoreceptor belt / paper associated with a printing system . the photoreceptor belt / paper 96 carries an image to be measured by the f - p optical system 80 . the photoreceptor belt / paper travels in the direction illustrated 98 . light transmitted from the illumination sources 88 and 100 is reflected by spot color patches 94 of toner or ink carried by the photoreceptor belt / paper . the reflected light is directed to the f - p piezoelectric filter array 82 by the lens array 86 . the f - p piezoelectric filter array is controlled to filter specific wavelengths of color for detection by the light sensing array 84 . control of the f - p piezoelectric filters associated with the array is provided by applying predetermined voltages to the piezoelectric materials to control the optical resonance air gap distance . with reference to fig8 , illustrated is a block diagram of a f - p piezoelectric optical system 110 according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure . the f - p piezoelectric optical system 100 comprises a central controller 116 , a f - p filter array 112 , a light sensing array 114 , a computer / controller memory 118 , a f - p array reconfiguration controller 122 , an illumination controller 124 , an input / output controller 126 , a spectral filtering processor 128 , and a bus to provide integration of the f - p piezoelectric optical system 110 . attributes associated with a f - p piezoelectric actuated filter device as disclosed herein include a ( 1 ) full range of actuation from 10 nm to 400 nm as opposed to electrostatic activated f - p devices where the electrodes may collapse as the gap distance decreases due to runaway electrostatic attraction , ( 2 ) there is no need to have an etching step for a recess as in electrostatic actuators , ( 3 ) the piezoelectric actuator can produce more force per unit area and requires less space , as compared to an electrostatic actuator , ( 4 ) stronger mechanical arms can be used to support the mirror to prevent electrical shorting from vibration , and ( 5 ) no breakdown or shorting occurs between the mirrors at small gap distances because there is no electrical field between the mirrors . it will be appreciated that various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 6 |
mass flow controller ( mfc ) refers to any computer controlled analog or digital device of use in controlling the flow rate of fluids and / or gases . temperature controller refers to any device of use in controlling temperature in a process . laboratory scale reactor / test bench refers to any apparatus suitable for testing a material with a test gas . oxidizing agent refers to any substance that may take electrons from another substance in a redox chemical reaction . reducing agents refers to any substance that may give electrons to another substance in a redox chemical reaction . gas mixture refers to the mixture obtained from combining oxidizing agents , reducing agents , inert gases , or any other suitable gases . water - gas mixture refers to the mixture obtained from combining water vapor with a gas mixture . test gas refers to any gas mixture of use in chemically testing an interaction between it and one or more materials . catalyst refers to one or more materials that may be of use in the conversion of one or more other materials . the description of the drawings , as follows , illustrates the general principles of the present disclosure with reference to various alternatives and embodiments . the present disclosure may , however , be embodied in different forms and should not be limited to the embodiments here referred . suitable embodiments for other applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . fig1 is a flowchart for a method of testing a material in a laboratory scale reactor . testing process 100 may include the preparation of oxidizing component mixture 102 and may include the preparation of reducing component mixture 104 . oxidizing component mixture 102 and reducing component mixture 104 may then be mixed and may form full component mixture 106 , which may then undergo preheating 108 . full component mixture 106 may then undergo water vapor addition 110 , where full component mixture 106 may then undergo heating 112 . a portion of full component mixture 106 may then undergo catalyst sample treatment 114 , where any portion not undergoing catalyst sample treatment 114 may undergo venting in vent 116 . a portion of full component mixture 106 having undergone catalyst sample treatment 114 may then be analyzed in any suitable untreated analysis 118 . another portion may undergo analysis pretreatment 120 previous to undergoing analysis 122 . any portion not undergoing analysis may be vented in vent 124 , as well as any portion having already undergone untreated analysis 118 or analysis 122 . fig2 shows gas feed system 200 . gas feed system 200 may include gas source 202 , control valve 204 , pressure regulator 206 , one or more mass flow controllers 208 , and one or more output lines 210 . gas source 202 may be any source suitable for delivering any suitable gas to the system , including any tank or line able to provide n2 , c3h6 , c3h8 , h2 , co , no , no2 , co2 , so2 or any suitable combination thereof at any suitable concentration . control valve 204 may be any valve suitable for restricting or allowing flow from gas source 202 , including solenoid valves , hydraulic valves , pneumatic valves , or any suitable combination . pressure regulator 206 may be any device suitable for regulating the pressure of gas in gas feed system 200 , including devices including any suitable pressure gauge or pressure transducer as well as any suitable valve , including solenoid valves , hydraulic valves , pneumatic valves , or any suitable combination . mass flow controllers 208 may be any mass controller or series of mass controllers suitable for controlling the flow of gas from gas source 202 to one or more output lines 210 at a suitable frequency , including frequencies in the range of 1 to 25 hz . suitable mass flow controllers 208 may include mass flow controllers able to provide any suitable flow rate , including flow rates between 100 cubic centimeters per minute to 60000 cubic centimeters . fig3 shows test gas generator 300 , having oxidizing components branch 302 , reducing components branch 304 , evaporation block 306 , pump 308 , water reservoir 310 , heater 312 , temperature controller 314 , and output 316 . oxidizing components branch 302 may include any number of suitable gas feed systems 200 , where the included gas feed systems 200 may provide any number of oxidizing gases , dilutants , and combinations thereof , including n2 , o2 , and co2 . reducing components branch 304 may include any number of suitable gas feed systems 200 , where the included gas feed systems 200 may provide any number of reducing gases , dilutants , and combinations thereof , including n2 , h2 , co , no , and any suitable hydrocarbons . suitable hydrocarbons may include c3h8 . suitable heavy hydrocarbons may also be added using any suitable method , including liquid injection and evaporation . suitable heavy hydrocarbons may include decane , tolune , and dodecane . the flow of the mixture of gases generated by oxidizing components branch 302 and reducing components branch 304 may then be preheated by any suitable means , including heated lines , where the heated lines may be heated using heat jackets . suitable temperatures may include temperatures in the range of 130 ° c . to 180 ° c ., including 150 ° c . evaporation block 306 may be any device suitable for evaporating water and adding it to the flow of gas generated by the combination of gas flows from oxidizing components branch 302 and reducing components branch 304 in test gas generator 300 . evaporation block 306 may evaporate water which may be provided by pump 308 , where pump 308 may be any pump suitable for pumping water from water reservoir 310 to evaporation block 306 . suitable temperatures in evaporation block 306 may include temperatures in the range of 110 ° c . to 150 ° c ., including 130 ° c . the gas flowing out of evaporation block 306 may then be heated by heater 312 , where heater 312 may be any suitable heating device , including serpentine heaters . heater 312 may be controlled by temperature controller 314 , which may be any suitable temperature controller , including thermocouples and thermistors . the resulting test gas exits test gas generator 300 through output 316 . fig4 shows sample tester 400 , including catalyst sample 402 on catalyst holder 404 , heated block 406 , pump 408 , cooling liquid reservoir 410 , radiator 412 , fid unit 414 , cooling bath 416 , chiller unit 418 , gas analyzer 420 , water reservoir 422 , vacuum 424 , calibration gas 426 , filter 428 , heated mass flow controller 430 , radiator 432 , control valve 434 , water reservoir 436 , control valve 438 , and purge valves 440 . catalyst sample 402 may be any material suitable for testing with test gas delivered by output 316 , placed on any suitable catalyst holder 404 . catalyst sample 402 may interact with any suitable portion of test gas delivered by output 316 , where any portion not of test gas delivered by output 316 may undergo any suitable venting , including venting through catalyst holder 404 and venting to the environment . the temperature of test gas treated by catalyst sample 402 may then be controlled by heated block 406 , where heated block 406 uses cooling liquid provided by pump 408 from cooling liquid reservoir 410 . cooling liquid in cooling liquid reservoir 410 may be any suitable cooling liquid , including water , ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , or any suitable combination thereof . cooling liquid exiting heated block 406 may then be cooled by radiator 412 . a suitable portion of test gas exiting heated block 406 may then flow through heated lines to fid unit 414 , where fid unit 414 may be any suitable flame ionization detector device . another suitable portion of test gas exiting heated block 406 may be cooled to a suitable temperate in cooling bath 416 . cooling bath 416 allows the test gas to be cooled to a temperature suitable for condensing the water vapor content in the incoming test gas , and is kept at a suitable temperature using chiller unit 418 , where chiller unit 418 may be any suitable chilling device . dry test gas exiting cooling bath 416 may then be analyzed by one or more suitable gas analyzers 420 . moisture condensed in cooling bath 416 may flow into water reservoir 422 , where the moisture may then exit to vacuum 424 or be purged by purge valve 440 . another suitable portion of test gas exiting heated block 406 may then flow through one or more suitable filters 428 . the flow of gas may be controlled by one or more suitable heated mass flow controllers 430 , where heated mass flow controllers 430 may provide a suitable flow rate , including rates between 0 to 100 liters per minute . test gas flowing through heated mass flow controllers 430 may then be cooled in radiator 432 , where it may then flow through control valve 434 . control valve 434 may be any valve suitable for restricting or allowing flow from heated mass flow controllers 430 , including solenoid valves , hydraulic valves , pneumatic valves , or any suitable combination . during calibration of one or more of fid unit 414 and / or gas analyzers 420 , heated mass flow controllers 430 may be set to a suitably low flow value , including zero . calibration gas 426 may then flow to fid unit 414 and through cooling bath 416 to gas analyzers 420 , and may also flow through catalyst sample 402 in a direction which may be contrary to that of flow in normal operating conditions . test gas exiting control valve 434 may then flow into water reservoir 436 , where it may then flow through control valve 438 into vacuum 424 , or may be purged intermittently along with the water when water reservoir 436 is emptied . control valve 438 may be any valve suitable for restricting or allowing flow from water reservoir 436 , including solenoid valves , hydraulic valves , pneumatic valves , or any suitable combination . one or more purge valves 440 may be used to purge water reservoir 422 and / or water reservoir 436 , where suitable valves may include solenoid valves , hydraulic valves , pneumatic valves , manually activated valves , or any suitable combination . fig5 show test bench 500 , including test gas generator 300 and sample tester 400 . | 6 |
in the method disclosed in the publication no . 2006 - 319463 , the traffic is increased by the doubling . therefore , jumping is prone to occur if the capabilities ( cpu processing speed , buffer capacity , and nic communication rate ) of a transmission - side or reception - side apparatus are insufficient or the bandwidth of a communication line is insufficient . the method disclosed in the publication no . h02 - 143636 has a problem that jumping occurs if processing is not performed according to the priority ranks on a communication line and a first packet ( i . e ., a packet consisting of higher bits ) is thereby lost . an embodiment described below is intended to solve the above problems . fig1 shows an example of a configuration of a call system 1 according to the embodiment . fig2 shows an example of a hardware configuration of each terminal apparatus 2 . fig3 shows an example of a functional configuration of each terminal apparatus 2 . the call system 1 is a system which allows users distant from each other to converse with each other . as shown in fig1 , the call system 1 is composed of plural terminal apparatus 2 ( 2 a , 2 b , . . . ) and communication lines 3 . examples of the communication lines 3 are the internet , a lan , public lines , and dedicated lines . as shown in fig2 , each terminal apparatus 2 is composed of a cpu 20 a , a ram 20 b , a rom 20 c , a hard disk 20 d , a display 20 e , a network interface card ( nic ) 20 f , a microphone 20 g , a speaker 20 h , a keyboard 20 i , a track pad 20 j , etc . referring now to fig3 , programs and data for realizing the functions of a sample processing section 201 , a sample value storing section 202 , a packet generation section 203 , a packet transmission control section 204 , a call packet acquisition section 211 , a reception packet storing section 212 , an audio signal reconstruction section 213 , and a sound reproduction processing section 214 are stored in the rom 20 c or the hard disk 20 d . when necessary , these programs and data are loaded into the ram 20 b and the programs are run by the cpu 20 a . all or part of the above functions may be implemented by circuits only . each terminal apparatus 2 is a personal computer , a pda ( personal digital assistant ), or the like . the communication protocol is tcp / ip or the like . next , the details of processing performed by each section of each terminal apparatus 2 shown in fig3 and related features will be described . fig4 illustrates an example method for allocating sample values to packets pt . as shown in fig4 , the sample processing section 201 samples and encodes an analog audio signal sa that is generated by the microphone 20 g at a prescribed cycle tm . a respective value of vertical axis indicated by circled numerals 1 , 2 , . . . are sample values in the figure . the sample values produced by the sample processing section 201 are stored temporarily in the sample value storing section 202 . the packet generation section 203 generates packets in the following manner using sample values of a voice in a prescribed period ta ( e . g ., 20 ms ). to simplify the description , examples shown in the drawings of this specification employ sampling rates that are much lower than in actual cases . the packet generation section 203 extracts odd - numbered sample values in time order from the sample values in the period ta stored in the sample value storing section 202 . the packet generation section 203 generates a packet pt that contains the extracted sample values , identification information ( an ip address , a mac address , or the like ) of a transmission destination apparatus , a sequence number ( sn ), etc . a packet pt 1 shown in fig4 is an example of such a packet . furthermore , the packet generation section 203 extracts the remaining sample values ( i . e ., even - numbered sample values ) in the period ta stored in the sample value storing section 202 in their old order . as in the case of the odd - numbered sample values , the packet generation section 203 generates a packet pt which contains the extracted sample values , the identification information ( ip address , mac address , or the like ) of the transmission destination apparatus and a sequence number ( sn ) etc ., such as a packet pt 2 . in this manner , the packet generation section 203 generates two packets pt by dividing sample values belonging to the same section into odd - numbered sample values and even - numbered simple values . regular sequence numbers are assigned to the two generated packets pt so as to indicate that they are paired as a sequence number . for example , if a sequence number “ 2n − 1 ” ( n : natural number ) is assigned to a packet pt consisting of odd - numbered sample values , a sequence number “ 2n ” is assigned to the other packet pt . the data of the sample values that have been used for the generation of the packets pt are deleted from the sample value storing section 202 . the packet transmission control section 204 controls the network interface card 20 f so that the packets pt generated by the packet generation section 203 are transmitted to the call destination apparatus . then , the packets pt are transmitted to the destination apparatus over the communication lines 3 . fig5 is a flowchart showing an example process for reconstructing an audio signal sd . fig6 illustrates an example method for combining the sample values of two packets pt . fig7 illustrates an example method for reconstructing an audio signal sd when one packet pt is lost . fig8 illustrates a modified method for reconstructing an audio signal sd when one packet pt is lost . referring again to fig3 , the call packet acquisition section 211 acquires packets pt transmitted from a speaking - person - side apparatus from various packets received by the network interface card 20 f . the acquired packets pt are stored temporarily in the reception packet storing section 212 . that is , the reception packet storing section 212 serves as a buffer for received packets . however , the number of packets that can be stored simultaneously in the reception packet storing section 212 is limited . as described later , packets pt are deleted as soon as they are used by the audio signal reconstruction section 213 . packets pt that have not been used for a prescribed time since their storage are also deleted . packets pt that are acquired by the call packet acquisition section 211 with a delay are discarded without being stored in the reception packet storing section 212 . the audio signal reconstruction section 213 reconstructs a digital audio signal sd by combining packets pt stored in the reception packet storing section 212 . a procedure for reconstructing an audio signal sd will be described with reference to fig5 - 7 . as a general rule , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 generates audio signals sd using packets pt in their old order . in order of transmissions from the transmission source , that is in young order of sequence numbers . therefore , the sequence number of the packet pt to be used next to reconstruct an audio signal sd is always managed . referring to fig5 , at operation # 501 , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 tries to call a packet to be used next and a packet pt that is paired with it from the reception packet storing section 212 . at operation # 502 , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 judges whether the paired packets pt have been received before a lapse of a prescribed time tb ( i . e ., a time that is short enough to avoid an undue delay of sound ; 200 ms , for example ) from the order of calling of those packets . if the paired packets pt have been received (# 502 : yes ), at operation s 503 the audio signal reconstruction section 213 reproduces an audio signal sd using the paired packets pt ( see fig6 ). more specifically , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 reproduces an audio signal sd by using the sample values of the paired packets pt alternately in time order , that is , in order of a first sample value indicated by a circled numeral “ 1 ” of the older packet pt , a first sample value indicated by a circled numeral “ 2 ” of the newer packet pt , a second sample value indicated by a circled numeral “ 3 ” of the older packet pt , a second sample value indicated by a circled numeral “ 4 ” of the newer packet pt , . . . . on the other hand , if only one of the paired packets pt has been received before a lapse of the time tb (# 504 : yes , # 505 : yes ), at operation s 506 the audio signal reconstruction section 213 reproduces an audio signal sd using only the received packet pt ( see fig7 ). that is , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 reproduces a digital audio signal sd as if the sampling cycle were two times that of the case of fig6 . alternatively , sample values of the packet pt that could not be received ( in the example of fig7 , sample values corresponding to the even - numbered circled numerals ) can be interpolated by using the sample values of the received packet pt ( in the example of fig7 , the sample values corresponding to the odd - numbered circled numerals ). as shown in fig8 , each sample value may be interpolated by calculating a simple average of two successive sample values of the received packet pt . as a further alternative , sample values may be interpolated by the least squares method . if neither of the paired packets pt could be received before a lapse of the time tb ( yes at # 504 , no at # 505 ), at operation # 507 the section corresponding to it is made a silent section . at operation s 508 , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 deletes the used packet ( s ) pt from the reception packet storing section 212 . if one or both of the paired packets pt could not be received , even if such a packet is acquired by the call packet acquisition section 211 after a lapse of the time tb , it is discarded , since it is regarded as invalid . returning to fig3 , the sound reproduction processing section 214 generates an analog audio signal using the audio signal sd that has been reconstructed by the audio signal reconstruction section 213 . the sound reproduction processing section 214 outputs the analog audio signal to the speaker 20 h . in this way , a voice of the speaking person is reproduced from the speaker 20 h . fig9 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed by transmission - side and reception - side terminal apparatus 2 . a process which is executed by terminal apparatus 2 a and 2 b when two users ua and ub make a call using the two terminal apparatus 2 a and 2 b is described with reference to the flowchart of fig9 . after connection between the terminal apparatus 2 a and 2 b has been established , the user ua of the terminal apparatus 2 a speaks in the microphone 20 g of the terminal apparatus 2 a . the terminal apparatus 2 a picks up the voice at operation # 11 and performs sample processing at operation # 12 . the terminal apparatus 2 a divides sample values which are generated by the sampling process into groups for each period ta . at operation # 13 , as shown in fig4 , the terminal apparatus 2 a divides the sample values of one group into odd - numbered sample values and even - numbered sample values and converts the sample values into packets pt . at operation # 14 , the terminal apparatus 2 a transmits the thus - generated packets pt to the terminal apparatus 2 b . while the user ua continues to speak , operations # 11 to # 14 are executed as appropriate . at operation # 21 , the terminal apparatus 2 b receives packets pt one after another from the terminal apparatus 2 a . at operation # 22 , as shown in fig6 , the terminal apparatus 2 b reconstructs audio signals sd one after another using pairs of packets pt in their old order . if only one of the paired packets pt is received , the terminal apparatus 2 b reconstructs an audio signal sd using only the received packet pt ( see fig7 ). at operation # 23 , the terminal apparatus 2 b reproduces an analog audio signal by connecting the reconstructed audio signals sd arranged in time order , and outputs the analog audio signal from the speaker 20 h . a voice of the user ub is transmitted in such a manner that the processes executed by the terminal apparatus 2 a and 2 b in this order in the above example are executed by the terminal apparatus 2 b and 2 a in this order . this embodiment can make the probability of occurrence of jumping lower than the conventional cases without increasing the traffic . although the embodiment is directed to the case of a two - party call , the invention can also be applied to a call involving three or more parties . although the embodiment is directed to the case of a two person call , the invention can also be applied to the case of a three or more person call . although the embodiment is directed to the call system 1 which is constructed by personal computers and tcp / ip , etc ., the invention can also be applied to a call system of a cell phone network , phs , or the like . fig1 illustrates a modified method for allocating sample values to packets pt . in the embodiment , as shown in fig4 , sample values in one time slot are allocated to two packets pt . alternatively , they may be allocated to three or more packets pt . for example , they may be allocated to four packets pt in a manner shown in fig4 . fig1 shows example audio signals sd of a case that a pair of packets pt are lost . fig1 illustrates another modified method for allocating sample values to packets pt . fig1 shows example audio signals sd of a case that two successive packets pt are lost . fig1 illustrates a further modified method for allocating sample values to packets pt . in the method described above with reference to fig5 and 6 , the speaking - person - side terminal apparatus 2 transmits a pair of packets pt simultaneously . therefore , both packets pt may be lost due to the same event . if both packets pt are lost , a silent section occurs like a section from time jb to time jc in fig1 and jumping occurs there . one method for lowering the probability of an occurrence of jumping is to construct each terminal apparatus 2 in the following manner . the packet generation section 203 of a speaking - person - side terminal apparatus 2 generates packets pt as shown in fig1 according to the following rules ( 1 )-( 3 ): ( 1 ) generate one packet every time slot having a length ta / 2 . ( 2 ) allocate odd - numbered sample values in a ( u − 1 ) th time slot and odd - numbered sample values in a uth time slot to a uth packet pt , where u is a positive odd number . but the first packet pt is allocated odd - numbered sample values in only the first time slot . ( 3 ) allocate even - numbered sample values in a ( v − 1 ) th time slot and even - numbered sample values in a vth time slot to a vth packet pt , where v is a positive even number . the last packet pt is allocated odd - numbered sample values in only the last time slot . the packet transmission control section 204 transmits generated packets pt one after another to a listener - side terminal apparatus 2 . on the other hand , the audio signal reconstruction section 213 of the listener - side terminal apparatus 2 reconstructs an audio signal sd by alternately using the sample values of the second half of an nth packet pt and the sample values of the first half of an ( n + 1 ) th packet pt . since , as described above , a speaking - person - side terminal apparatus 2 generates and transmits one packet every half cycle ( length : ta / 2 ), two successive packets being lost due to the same event may be prevented . furthermore , as shown in fig1 , the length of a silent section , which occurs if two successive packets pt could not reach a listener - side terminal apparatus 2 , can be shortened to about ½ of the length of the silent section shown in fig1 . alternatively , as shown in fig1 , sample values may be allocated to packets pt in such a manner that one packet pt is generated every time slot having a length ta / 4 . fig1 a - 15c show an example of a conventional buffer overflow . fig1 a - 16c show an example of a buffer overflow occurring in the embodiment . numerals shown in fig1 a - 15c and 16 a - 16 c are sequence numbers . conventionally , if data occurs that should be stored in a buffer that is already full , the data is discarded without being stored in the buffer . an example will be described in which this conventional method is applied to the reception packet storing section 212 . for example , if the rate at which the call packet acquisition section 211 acquires packets pt is higher than the rate at which packets pt stored in the reception packet storing section 212 are processed , plural packets pt having successive sequence numbers are discarded as shown in fig1 a - 15c . however , this causes jumping as described above with reference to fig1 . in view of the above , what packets pt should be stored in the buffer with higher priority may be determined in advance . for example , priority is given to packets pt having odd sequence numbers . if a packet pt having an odd sequence number is acquired , as shown in fig1 a and 16c , one packet pt having an even sequence number among the packets pt stored in the reception packet storing section 212 is deleted . the acquired packet pt is then stored in the reception packet storing section 212 . when a packet pt having an even sequence number is received , it is discarded as shown in fig1 b as in the conventional example . the method of fig1 a - 16c is particularly effective for an ip network that is prone to fluctuations and delays . if the degree of fluctuation increases in an ip network , a buffer overflow becomes prone to occur . however , as described above , jumping can be prevented even if a buffer overflow occurs . alternatively , three or more priority ranks may be provided . for example , priority ranks may be provided in such a manner that first priority is given to packets pt whose sequence numbers are multiples of 4 and second priority is given to packets pt whose sequence numbers are multiples of 4 minus 2 . as a further alternative , priority ranks may be provided according to another set of arithmetic progressions . the configurations of the whole and the individual components of the call system 1 and each terminal apparatus 2 , the processes executed therein , the order of execution of the processes , the packet structure , etc . can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the turn of the embodiments isn &# 39 ; t a showing the superiority and inferiority of the invention . although the embodiments of the inventions have been described in detail , it should be understood that the various changes , substitutions , and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings . a configuration example of the present invention is shown in fig1 . in this embodiment , the embodiment of the present invention will be explained by use of a second storage system as a second storage . a second storage system 101 comprises a disk controller 102 , hard disk drives 103 , 104 , and 105 for actually storing data , an internal network of working group 106 for connecting the disk controller 102 with the hard disk drives 103 , 104 , and 105 . in fig1 , the internal network has a circular form , but the present invention does not depend on the form of the internal network . the second storage system 101 is connected to a network of working group 1 ( 107 ) and a network of working group 2 ( 108 ). the network of working group 1 ( 107 ) is connected to host computers 109 , 110 , and a network of working group 108 is connected to host computers 111 , 112 . the above network is a control unit assumed by an ip ( internet protocol ) technology . various enterprises and organizations take part in wan ( wide area network ) represented by the internet . also in the enterprises and organizations , the network is internally laid , and the wan has a hierarchical structure . one unit of this hierarchical structure is the network in this embodiment . a junction point is always present at one location between the different networks . a device for relaying a transmission at this junction point is called a gateway or a router . the gateway has to be passed in the transmission between the different networks , but the firewall is simultaneously installed in the gateway , so that illegal intrusion is difficult . the disk controller 102 receives and interprets i / o commands requested by the host computers 109 to 112 , and converts them into a proper form , to issue to the hard disk drives 103 to 105 . a network port 0 ( 113 ) and a network port 1 ( 114 ) communicate with host computers 109 to 112 via networks of working groups 1 or 2 . access controllers 115 and 116 interpret and execute i / o requests transmitted by host computers 109 to 112 . disk side network controllers 117 and 118 control communication with hard disk drives 103 to 105 via the internal network of working group 106 . when data generated in an i / o process is transmitted , data transfer control units 119 and 120 transfer data between the network port 0 ( 113 ), the network port 1 ( 114 ) and the disk side network controllers 117 and 118 . internal buses 121 , 122 interconnect the network port 0 ( 113 ), the network port 1 ( 114 ), the access controllers 115 and 116 and the data transfer control units 119 and 120 . an access controlling table 123 stores access authorization setting information on data stored in the hard disk drives 103 to 105 . a management console 124 is used for an information display for an administrator to maintain and control the second storage system 101 and to send / receive a maintenance request . the management console 124 is provided with a screen ( not shown ) for the information display and an i / o device ( not shown ) such as a keyboard for accepting a request from the administrator . further , the management console 124 is physically integrated with the second storage system 101 , and the operator cannot perform operations which have important influences on the system such as a configuration change , power - off , and power - on unless he or she stands in front of the system . the reason is that to stand in front of the system is the hardest obstacle to an intruder . a table controller 125 communicates with the management console to display contents of the access controlling table 123 to the management console , or to change them . in fig1 , the second storage system has two network ports , but the present invention does not depend on the number of the network ports . fig2 shows a form and a setting example of the access controlling table 123 . an access authorization setting in each logical disk is described in columns of a logical disk 0 ( 201 ), a logical disk 1 ( 202 ) and a logical disk ( n - 1 ) ( 203 ). here , the logical disk means a magnetic disk which the disk controller 102 has virtually realized with respect to the host computers 109 to 112 . the logical disk may coincide with the hard disk drives 103 to 105 , or may not coincide therewith . the logical disk is advantageous in that a capacity can be set without depending on a storage capacity of the actually mounted hard disk drive , so that a degree of freedom in a control aspect increases . i / o commands in which access from the network port 0 ( 113 ) is authorized for each logical disk are described in a row of a network port 0 204 . a field of a network port 1 205 is also same . in this manner , the i / o commands authorized from the network port for the logical disk are described in each field of the access controlling table 123 . three types of “ read enable ,” “ write enable ” and “-” can be described in those fields . “ read enable ” is a read only enable , and “ write enable ” is a write only enable , and “-” is to be not recognized by the host computer connected to such network port . since a conventional security technology controlled at a level of an authorization or non - authorization of a network connection , the above is equivalent to the effect that either “ read / write enable ” or “-” only can be entered into each field of the access controlling table . in fig2 , the logical disk 0 indicates that access from the network port 0 is read - and write - enabled , but that the access from the network port 1 is read - only - enabled . the logical disk 1 indicates that the access from the network port 0 is read - and write - enabled , but that the access from the network port 1 is recognition - disabled . that is , the host computers 111 and 112 connected to the network port 1 114 do not know even existence of the logical disk 1 . as for the logical disk ( n - 1 ), the access from the network port 0 is a recognition disable , but that the access from the network port 1 is a read / write enable . according to this embodiment , the authorized i / o commands are specified as “ read ” and “ write ,” but this is extensible to the possible i / o commands for data . for example , in the scsi standards as a typical standard of a second storage interface , several tens of types of i / o commands are specified , and the respective i / o commands of the scsi standards can be described in each field of the access controlling table 123 . further , according to this embodiment , the access authorization is set in logical disk units , but the access authorization can also be specified in control units of other data , for example , in file or record units . fig3 shows a flowchart that the second storage system 101 receives and executes the i / o commands . step 301 : start of processing step 302 : the i / o commands from the host computer reach the network port 113 or 114 via the network . the network port 113 or 114 transmits the i / o commands to the corresponding access controllers 115 and 116 . step 303 : the access controllers 115 and 116 extract a target logical disk number included in the i / o commands . in an i / o system to be controlled in logical disk units in this embodiment , the logical disk number is included in the i / o commands . further , the controllers acquire an identifier of the network port the i / o commands reach . step 304 : the access controller 115 or 116 refers to the access controlling table 123 via the table controller 125 . the access controller 115 or 116 reads contents of a corresponding field of the access controlling table 123 from the logical disk number and the identifier of the network port acquired in step 303 . step 305 : the access controllers 115 and 116 read the corresponding field of the access controlling table 123 , and as a result , the access controllers 115 and 116 judge whether or not such i / o command is authorized . step 306 : if the i / o command is authorized , the access controller 115 and 116 execute the i / o command . step 307 : if the i / o command is not authorized , the access controllers 115 and 116 notify the host computer of a failure of the i / o command . in the scsi standards , when the i / o command is failed , the host computer occasionally issues a “ request sense ” command which requests error information of the device to the second storage system 101 . the second storage system 101 may take a step of transmitting a non - authorization of such request to the host computer in response to the “ request sense ” command . step 308 : the access controllers 115 and 116 report to the management console 124 that unauthorized access has been gained . the management console 124 records this unauthorized access event in a log file . step 309 : the management console 124 displays on a screen the unauthorized access event to notify the administrator . step 310 : end of the processing . in this manner , the access can be controlled in each network port . fig4 shows an information setting and changing method of the access controlling table 123 . step 401 : start of processing step 402 : the administrator stands in front of the management console 124 of the second storage system 101 , and operates the management console 124 . the administrator issues a change request of the access controlling table 123 . step 403 : the management console 124 carries out an authentication work of judging whether or not a person who issued the change request in step 402 has a managerial authorization . as an authentication method , there is provided a method by a password , or a method by biometrics such as finger prints , patterns of blood vessels of a retina , patterns of veins of fingers of a hand . however , the present invention does not depend on the authentication method . step 404 : as a result of the authentication work in step 403 , it is judged whether or not the administrator has a managerial authorization . step 405 : in the case where , as the result of the authentication work , the management console 124 recognizes that the administrator has the managerial authorization , the management console 124 issues a table change request for the table controller 125 . the table controller 125 changes such region of the access controlling table 123 according to the request . step 406 : after the change is ended , the table controller 125 reports an end of the change to the management console 124 . the management console 124 displays the end of a series of operations on the screen . step 407 : in the case where it is judged that the administrator does not have the managerial authorization in step 404 , the management console 124 displays as the administrator not having the managerial authorization on if the screen . further , a failure of the authentication is recorded in the log file . when a number of failures in the authentication occur in a short period of time , the management console takes a measure of stopping input acceptance from a person . step 408 : end of the processing next , a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig5 and 6 . the second embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a system of sharing the second storage system 101 between networks . when the second storage system is shared between a plurality of networks , there are three types of data consisting of data authorized to read only , data authorized to both read and write and data of which the existence is not at all recognized , with respect to the other network . if the present invention is applied thereto , it is possible to readily realize such a proper use . the second storage system 101 is connected to a network of working group 1 501 and a network of working group 2 502 . the network of working group 1 501 is connected to host computers 503 and 504 to be used by a person of the network of working group 1 . the network port 0 ( 113 ) is connected to the network of working group 1 501 and the network port 1 113 is connected to the network of working group 2 502 . the network of working group 2 502 is connected to host computers 505 and 506 to be used by a man of the network of working group 2 . the administrator allocates logical disks 0 507 to 4 511 in the second storage system 101 . the logical disk 0 507 and logical disk 1 508 are specified as a disk area 512 for the network of working group 1 . they are both read - and write - enabled from the network of working group 1 . the logical disk 2 509 and logical disk 3 510 are specified as a disk area 513 for the network of working group 2 . they are both read - and write - enabled from the network of working group 2 . a logical disk 4 512 is specified as a shared area 514 between the networks of working groups 1 and 2 . that is , it is read - and write - enabled from the networks of working groups 1 and 2 . further , the disk area 512 for the network of working group 1 is divided into an area 515 occupied by the network of working group 1 and an area 516 shared by the other network . the area 515 occupied by the network of working group 1 is not recognized from the other network . the area 516 shared by the other network is read - only enabled from the other network . the disk area 513 for the network of working group 2 is similarly divided into an area 518 occupied by the network of working group 2 and an area 517 shared by the other network . to realize such a proper use , the access controlling table 123 is specified as shown in fig6 . in a field 601 of the logical disk 0 , both “ read enable ” and “ write enable ” are set in a row of the network port 0 204 . on the other hand , “-” is set in a row of the network port 1 205 . in this manner , the logical disk 0 507 is read - and write - enabled from the network of working group 1 and recognition - disabled from the network of working group 2 . in a field 602 of the logical disk 1 , both “ read enable ” and “ write enable ” are set in the row of the network port 0 204 . on the other hand , “ read enable ” is set in the row of the network port 1 205 . in this manner , the logical disk 1 508 is read - and write - enabled from the network of working group 1 and read - only - enabled from the network of working group 2 . same applies to the logical disk 2 509 and the logical disk 3 510 belonging to the disk area 513 for the network of working group 2 . in the logical disk 4 511 belonging to the shared area 514 between the network of working group 1 and network of working group 2 , “ read enable ” and “ write enable ” are set in all the fields in the column of the logical disk 4 605 . such setting can create a read - and write - enabled area from both the networks . the method easily realizes the data sharing between the networks and the proper security setting . next , a third embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig7 and 8 . fig7 shows a typical web server system . the system is connected to the internet 701 , which is connected to a client 702 using the web system . a firewall 703 is disposed at a junction point with the internet 701 so as to relay the communication . the firewall 703 is connected to the intranet 704 and a demilitarized zone 705 . as described in description of related prior art , the demilitarized zone 705 is set for the purpose of limiting the server which accepts the access from the internet 701 like a web server 706 . the firewall 703 relays a packet which reaches from the internet side only to a side of the demilitarized zone 705 , so that the web system is realized . the intranet 704 is connected to a db server 707 for accessing a database in the second storage system 101 , and an ap server 708 which generates a dynamic web page and presents an interactive service to the client 702 . the functions of the web system which provides the interactive service in recent years , are generally assigned to the web server 706 , the db server 707 and the ap server 708 . the second storage system 101 is connected to the intranet 704 and the web server 706 . according to this embodiment , the network port 0 ( 113 ) is connected to the intranet 704 and the network port 1 ( 114 ) is connected to the web server 706 . the inside of the second storage system 101 is divided into an internet region 709 and an intranet region 710 . the internet region 709 comprises a logical disk 5 711 , and mainly stores files of a web page . these are only displayed for users , and to prevent tampering , it is necessary to specify the region as read - only - enabled from a side of the web server 706 . on the other hand , since a web administrator updates the web page files , it is necessary to specify the region as read - and write - enabled from a side of the intranet 704 . the intranet region 710 comprises a logical disk 6 712 , and mainly stores a user database . these must be read - and write - enabled on the side of the intranet 704 , but are never accessed from a side of the internet 701 . accordingly , they have to be recognition - disabled . the present invention realizes the setting easily . fig8 shows the setting of the access controlling table 123 in this embodiment . in a column 801 of the logical disk 5 , both “ read enable ” and “ write enable ” are set in the field of the network port 0 204 . on the other hand , only “ read enable ” is set in the field of the network port 1 205 . in a column 802 of the logical disk 6 , “ read enable ” and “ write enable ” are set in the field of the network port 0 204 , and “-” is set to the field of the network port 1 205 . the setting in fig8 prevents the tampering of the web page , and it can be updated from the side of the intranet 704 as the occasion demands . the intranet 704 need be intruded to tamper the web page ; however , since a barrier like the firewall 703 exists , it is more difficult to intrude there into than into the web server 706 . a fourth embodiment of the present invention is an access controlling method in which the two network transportation ports are connected to different networks , respectively , and data is divided into two regions , and such a setting is carried out that it is possible to refer to and update the two data regions from the first network transportation port , and no access to the first data region is authorized and the second data region is authorized only to refer to from the second network transportation port . furthermore , this embodiment is the access controlling method in which the two network transportation ports are connected to the different networks , respectively , and data is divided into two regions , and such a setting is carried out that it is possible to refer to and update the two data regions from the first network transportation port , and no access to the first data region is authorized and the second data region is authorized to refer to and update from the second network transportation port . as described above , according to the present invention , since the access to data is controlled based on information on a physical layout of the network , it is possible to increase the security of data as compared with a conventional security system . furthermore , the host computers are not authenticated one by one like the prior art ; however , since all the host computers connected to the same network have the same authorization , and so the operation burden on administrator can be reduced . furthermore , because it is specified whether or not each i / o command is authorized at the second storage side , authorization can elaborately be set on data sharing . this prevents the data tampering or such like which has not been prevented . | 7 |
one component of the ceramic composite according to the present invention is ceramic fiber . ceramic fibers are known and many are commercially available . preferably the ceramic fibers will be alumino - silicate fibers , but other fibers may be utilized including , but not limited to , fibers of silica , alumina , boroaluminasilica ( commercially available under the trademark ultrafiber ® 440 from 3 - m company ), zirconia , silicon nitride , and mixtures thereof . the fibers are available in various dimensions , usually from about 0 . 3 to 4 inches in length ( the longest dimension of the fiber ) and about 1 to 10 microns in diameter . it should be realized that the dimensions of the fibers can generally be tailored to meet the physical characteristics which are desired in terms of mechanical strength , etc . preferred fibers are from about 1 / 4 inch in length and about 1 micron in diameter . another component of the slurry may be ceramic microparticles , preferably glass microballoons , many types of which are commercially available in many sizes and are generally hollow spheres , made from various types of glass compositions with various wall thicknesses , usually in the size of about 5 to 200 microns in diameter . solid spheres or diatoms may also be utilized in place of or in addition to the hollow microballoons . as in the case of the fibers , the size of the microballoons will in part determine the mechanical strength and physical characteristics of the composite . preferably , the microballoons should be in a range of about 5 to 50 microns , which appears to be the preferred size for filling the voids which would otherwise exist between the fibers , thus increasing the strength of the composite . in some cases the slurry may contain microballoons and / or diatoms without fibers . also , diatoms ( porous silica inner support structures of certain marine and fresh water algae ) may be added to the slurry . the extremely fine porosity of the diatoms may increase mechanical strength while also increasing the bulk porosity , if desired . the diatoms may comprise up to 100 % of the combined weight of the fibers and microparticles ( microballoons and diatoms ). typically , an aqueous slurry of the ceramic fibers and microballoons and / or diatoms is mixed to provide a substantially uniform dispersion . the concentration of the slurry is not particularly critical . a useful slurry will comprise up to 10 ; wt % of the fibers , up to 10 wt % of the microballoons with the remainder being water . the slurry may contain from 0 - 99 wt % of ceramic fibers and from 1 - 100 wt % microparticles , based on the combined weight of fibers and microparticles . an aqueous slurry of ceramic fibers is thoroughly mixed to provide a substantially uniform dispersion of the fibers . the slurry will preferably comprise from up to about 10 weight percent alumino - silicate fibers , but other fibers of silica , alumina , boroaluminasilica ( commercially available under the trademark ultrafiber ® 440 from 3m company ), zirconia , silicon nitride , or mixtures thereof may be used at different concentrations , as desired . it may be desirable to use fibers of different materials to tailor the mechanical characteristics or density of the ceramic composite . for instance , a mat having distinct layers of alumina and aluminosilicate fibers would be useful at higher temperatures . fibers of boroalumiasilica or of an alumina - zirconia mixture would reduce the density of the resulting ceramic composite without substantially affecting , for example , its insulation or temperature limit . after the slurry has been thoroughly mixed , it is poured over a form - defining mold ( usually porous enough to allow passage of the water therethrough but not the fibers or microballoons ) which may be flat , irregular , curved , or virtually of any size or shape . the water is then removed typically by vacuum through the porous mold thereby forming a wet mat . then , optionally , the mat may be secured by weaving or tying with a ceramic or glass thread . such threads are commercially available . this may be desirable in order to provide a relatively even surface for application of the ceramic cloth . then the ceramic cloth is applied over the mat and , if desired , woven into the mat again using ceramic thread . the weaving may or may not be necessary depending upon the ultimate use of the ceramic composites , strength desired , etc . for example , if the ceramic composite is not intended to be exposed to severe mechanical stresses then the weaving of the cloth to the wet mat may not be unnecessary . then more of the fiber slurry ( optionally containing microballoons ) is applied over the ceramic cloth to form a fiber mat over the cloth , thereby forming a sandwich of the fiber cloth between two fiber mats . the wet mat is then molded , preferably by the vacuum removal of the excess water , as described above . in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention , the cloth utilized is larger than the upper and lower fiber mats between which it is sandwiched so that a portion of the cloth extends beyond the periphery of the mat . this flap of cloth will provide a means for attaching the final ceramic product to adjacent ceramic pieces , substrates , structural pieces , etc . then the process of applying a ceramic cloth in a fiber mat may be repeated as desired to obtain the required thickness of the overall mat and number of reinforcing cloths which are desired . of course , the thickness of each of the fiber interlayers between the fiber cloth may be varied by thereby altering the mechanical , dielectric properties , etc . of the mat , as desired . the mat is then dried , usually at a temperature of up to about 200 ° f ., to remove the water . duration of the drying will , of course , depend upon the size and shape of the mat . then , a sol - gel binder is introduced , usually in incremental stages , although a single stage application may be utilized in some instances . the binder is preferably an alumina sol - gel glass that can be prepared by known techniques , such as those disclosed in our prior application . other sol - gel glasses may be utilized , such as silica sol - gel glass or sol - gel glass of similar compositions to the particular fiber in the mat . incremental addition of the binder involves repeating the steps of impregnating the mat with the binder , gelling the binder and curing the mat and binder . usually a light coating of binder is applied in the first stage followed by an air dried gelation to dimensionally stabilize the fiber mat . thereafter , the steps of impregnating , gelling and curing are repeated one or more times until the total desired amount of binder has been added . typically about 15 to 300 wt % of binder is used based on the initial weight of fibers and microballoons in the mat . the impregnating step may be accomplished by wicking , spraying , vacuum infiltrating , and the like . spraying is preferred . after impregnation , the binder is converted to a rigid gel , usually by air drying or by subjecting the binder - impregnated mat to an atmosphere of ammonia gas . since the ammonia - sol reaction is exothermic , there is a tendency for bubbles to form in the mat which can be avoided , however , by allowing the first batch of binder to gel in air . thereafter , the trapped bubbles are not a problem and ammonia gelation can be used . after gelling the binder , the mat is cured , preferably by heating to about 200 ° f . for several hours ( about four hours are preferred ), then by slowly increasing the temperature to about 600 ° f . for a longer period of time ( usually about five hours ), and finally by rapidly reducing the temperature ( quenching ). in addition to the ceramic fibers and microballoons , the slurry may also contain additives which can alter the physical characteristics of the composite . for example , by adding small ceramic whiskers ( about 0 . 4 to 1 micron in diameter , 100 : 1 aspect ratio average ) in small amounts ( usually about 5 to 30 % by weight of the slurry ), the compression strength and modulus of the composite may be increased . whiskers of silicon carbide of about 0 . 4 to 1 micron in diameter are useful for this purpose . the final ceramic composite may also be coated with glass , metals , metal oxides , and the like , if desired . for example , this may be accomplished by brushing a water slurry of pyrex ® glass powder (- 325 mesh is a convenient size ) on its surface , drying , preferably in air , in an oven at about 160 ° f ., and firing the composite at about 2000 ° f . this forms a layer of pyrex ® glass on the surface of the composite . other methods of applying pyrex ® glass to the surface include fusing the glass to the composite surface by torch , plasma spray , laser rastering , etc . pyrex ® glass may also be applied to the composite by the method disclosed in copending , commonly assigned application serial no . 212 , 397 , filed jun . 27 , 1988 , which is incorporated herein by reference , in which a mixture of colloidal silica , boroaluminasilica powder , single crystal whiskers ( such as silicon carbide or silicon nitride ) and trona are mixed with pyrex ® glass powder and applied as a slurry onto the composite . the coating may be dried and fired as described above . referring to the figures , in fig1 there is shown the steps for a preferred method for making the composite ceramic according to the present invention . in step 10 , a slurry of ceramic fibers in water , optionally containing glass microballoons , is prepared . this slurry is then applied in step 11 to a porous mold and a vacuum is applied to the mold to form the wet fibrous mat . optionally , in step 12 the mat is secured with a glass or ceramic thread . in step 13 a ceramic cloth is applied over the mat . in step 14 more of the slurry is applied over the cloth . if desired , edges of the cloth are left exposed to provide a means for attaching the ceramic to a substrate . then , steps 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 are optionally repeated as many times as desired , depending on the desired number of fiber mat layers and reinforcing cloths . in step 15 the entire mat , including the cloths , are dried by heating . in step 16 the mat , including the cloths , is soaked with a sol - gel ceramic precursor and in step 17 , the sol - gel is gelled and heat - cured to solidify the ceramic composite . thereafter , the soaking in sol - gel , gelling and heat curing ( steps 16 and 17 ) are repeated as necessary . in step 18 a glass binder or overcoat is applied to the completed composite , if desired . this produces a ceramic fabric reinforced fiber ceramic composite according to the present invention . in fig2 there is shown an apparatus and its use to form a cylindrical ceramic composite according to the present invention . referring to fig2 a , a hollow drum 20 is shown having solid ends 21 and 22 with a porous cylindrical surface 23 . the interior of the drum can be subjected to vacuum through opening 24 . referring to fig2 b , the porous drum 20 is immersed into a tank 25 containing the fiber ( and microballoon ) containing slurry . a vacuum is applied to end 24 . while still applying the vacuum , referring to fig2 c , the drum 20 is withdrawn from the tank 25 and the vacuum is continued until the fiber mat 26 is firmly in place . referring to fig2 d , the fiber mat 26 is then held in place by winding or weaving a glass or other fiber thread 27 around the mat 26 . referring to fig2 e , the ceramic reinforcement cloth 29 is then wrapped around the fiber mat 26 . referring to fig2 f , to add additional layers of fiber mat , the entire drum 20 , mat 26 and ceramic reinforcement cloth 29 are then reimmersed into tank 25 and the vacuum is applied as described above to add another fiber layer . the wrapping or weaving with glass thread , binding the ceramic reinforcement cloth and reimmersing in the tank 25 are then repeated until the desired thickness and number of cloth layers are attained . thereafter , the entire mat , including the reinforcement cloths , are dried , the sol - gel applied , gelled and cured as described above . referring to fig3 a there , is shown a form for making the leading edge of a airfoil according to the present invention . the tool 30 is hollow and has solid sides 31a and back 3lb with porous upper and lower surfaces 31 . an inlet 32 for applying a vacuum to the interior of the form 30 is provided . this form can be used as described in fig2 to make a single mat composite 34 ( fig3 b ) or multiple fiber mat composite 35 ( fig3 c ) wherein desired portions of the mat are selectably reinforced with the reinforcement cloth 33 . reinforcement cloth may be , for example , glass cloth , graphite cloth , or a cloth which may be chosen for other characteristics , such as electrical characteristics . while preferred embodiments have been shown and described , those skilled in the art will recognize modifications , variations , or alternatives that can be made without departing from the invention . the examples are provided to illustrate the invention and are not meant to limit it . therefore , the specification and claims should be interpreted broadly to protect the invention here described . the claims should be limited only as is necessary in light of the pertinent prior art . | 8 |
the following detailed description of the invention is divided according to the major steps in fabricating a mems radio frequency switch device according to the invention . these major steps are generally identified as switch metal fabrication , dielectric switch encapsulation and switch sealing using a liquid or gaseous phase sequence notwithstanding a division into these major steps in the description , this process at least through fig6 , may be viewed as a unitary sequence with the processing step headings disregarded . alternatives and other details appear in the drawings subsequent to fig6 . the process described herein accomplishes a capacitance operated mems switch ; the process is however equally relevant to a metal contact switch . rf metal defines the bottom contact in a capacitive switch arrangement according to the invention . the metal thickness used determines the power handling capability of the switch . high power switches require thick metal ( greater than 1 micrometer ) that in turn requires planarization processing . fabrication of an rf metal layer is preferably accomplished according to the steps represented in the fig1 drawing , including the steps of fig1 a through fig1 p . in this fig1 drawing and each other fig1 through fig9 drawing herein the left hand or odd - lettered steps represent a top view of the work piece and the right hand or even - lettered steps a side or profile view . by way of explanation , in the following each step in this description includes one or more references to a drawing fig . this fig . reference in most instances also includes use of a identifier having a numerical value in accordance with the drawing number involved — including a hundreds digit corresponding to the drawing number ( e . g . the numerical identifier 802 appears in an individual of fig8 , i . e ., in fig8 d ). fabrication begins in fig1 a , and 1 b with a bare high resistivity wafer substrate 100 , such as sapphire . spin coat the wafer substrate 100 with one coat of a photo - imagable polydimethylglutarimide ( pmgi ) polymer photoresist 102 such as micro chem corp . nano pmgi sf - 11 photoresist , fig1 c and 1d , cure at 270 ° c . on a hot plate or in an oven . spin coat the wafer substrate with one coat of a photo - imagable positive photoresist such as shipley microposit s - 1813 photoresist 104 , fig1 e and 1f , cure at 110 ° c . on a hot plate or in an oven . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer substrate 100 to an appropriate rf metal mask and develop the s - 1813 resist 104 using a diluted sodium hydroxide based developer such as shipley microposit 351 developer , fig1 g and 1h . expose the patterned wafer substrate 100 to deep ultra violet ( duv ) light and develop the sf - 11 resist 102 using a tetraethylammonium hydroxide solution such as micro chem corp . nano - pmgi 101 developer , fig1 i and 1j . coat the wafer substrate 100 with evaporated metal such as titanium / gold ( tiau ), 200 å ti / 3000 å au 106 . the titanium is used as an adhesion layer and could be replaced with chromium ( cr ), fig1 k and 1l . the gold is used as the conduction layer . lift - off the excess metal using tape and dissolve the s - 1813 resist 104 using acetone , followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and de - ionized ( di ) water rinse , fig1 m and 1n . the di water rinse is desirable to minimize cracking of the pmgi photoresist 102 . strip the sf - 11 photo resist 102 using a hot ( 90 ° c .) 1 - methyl - 2 - pyrrolidinone stripper such as shipley 1165 remover , followed by a de - ionized ( di ) water rinse and nitrogen dry , fig1 o and 1p . for thicker metal , omit the sf - 11 strip to achieve the thick metal planarization described in the initial sentences of the rf metal process . the completed rf metal step is shown in fig1 o and fig1 p and includes the isolated conductors 101 , 103 and 105 . the rf dielectric defines the capacitance of the switch in the “ closed ”- state . processing steps involving the rf dielectric appear in the fig2 drawings including the steps shown in fig2 a through fig2 p . coat the fig1 o and fig1 p metallized wafer 100 with a thin dielectric material such as 2000 å alumina al 2 o 3 200 using rf sputtering , fig2 a and fig2 b . alternative dielectrics include silicon nitride si 3 n 4 and silicon dioxide sio 2 . spin coat the wafer with one coat pmgi photoresist ( sf - 11 ) 202 , cure at 270 ° c ., fig2 c and fig2 d . this step is also omitted for the thick metal planarization option . spin coat the wafer with one coat of positive photoresist ( s - 1813 ) 204 , cure at 110 ° c ., fig2 e and fig2 f . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to an appropriate rf dielectric mask and develop the s - 1813 resist 204 using a diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig2 g and fig2 h . expose the patterned wafer to deep ultraviolet light and develop the sf - 11 resist 202 using nano - 101 developer , fig2 i and fig2 j . etch the exposed thin - film dielectric film 200 using a dry or wet chemical etch , fig2 k and 2l . strip the s - 1813 resist 204 using an acetone rinse followed by an isopropyl alcohol and di water rinse fig2 m and 2n . strip the sf - 11 resist 202 using hot ( 90 ° c .) 1165 remover , fig2 o and 2p . for thick rf metal , delete this step to maintain planarization . the completed rf dielectric sequence is shown in the top and side views of fig2 o and fig2 p . in the present invention a sacrificial layer - derived post determines the gap height of the switch and its switch open capacitance in the movable member - up - state . to explain in more detail , fabrication of a mems switch ( i . e ., a switch having a movable bridge or cantilever beam ) requires a sacrificial layer to support the suspended portion of the beam during processing . this sacrificial layer is also herein referred - to as the post layer . the completed post is shown at 312 in fig3 k and fig3 l where the sacrificial layer or post layer is added to the switch portions fabricated in the fig1 and fig2 steps . post height is determined by the thickness of the photoresist used during post formation . spinning this photoresist at a slow speed results in a thicker film and a thinner film at higher speed . the achieved switch gap spacing can be varied from 1 to 5 micrometers with this process . details of the fig3 sacrificial layer process portion of the switch fabrication follow . spin coat the wafer with one coat of pmgi photoresist ( sf - 11 ), fig3 a , cure at 270 ° c . repeat this process for three total coats of resist 300 , 302 and 304 in fig3 b to form a three - micron stack thickness . the pmgi coats determine the gap height of the switches . sf - 11 pmgi photoresist provides about 1 . 0 μm of thickness per layer . for thicker gap spacings , pmgi sf - 19 resist could be used to achieve a 5 . 0 μm thickness per layer . spin coat the wafer with one coat of positive photoresist ( s - 1813 ), 306 in fig3 c and fig3 d , cure at 110 ° c . using an i - line stepper or a contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the sacrificial layer mask and develop the s - 1813 resist 306 using a diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig3 e and fig3 f . expose the pmgi ( sf - 11 ) resist 300 , 302 and 304 to deep ultraviolet light and develop the sf - 11 resist 300 , 302 and 304 using nano - pmgi - 101 developer , fig3 g and fig3 h . strip the s - 1813 resist 306 using acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and a di water rinse ; fig3 i and fig3 j . the di water rinse is desirable to minimize cracking of the pmgi photoresist 304 . reflow the pmgi coating layers 300 , 302 and 304 in a 250 ° c . hot air oven . the reflow step achieves a uniform sloped sidewall , 310 in fig3 l , for the layers 300 , 302 and 304 to ensure continuous metal coverage in the bridge metal process . the completed sacrificial layer process is shown in fig3 k and fig3 l where the photoresist layers 300 , 302 and 304 appear in merged condition at 312 . bridge metal defines the top , movable portion of the present invention switch . the careful choice of bridge metallization minimizes curling of the switch . ( see for example k . leedy , et al , “ metallization schemes for rf mems switches ”, j . vacuum science technology a 21 ( 4 ) july / august 2003 , pp . 1172 – 1177 .) spin coat the fig3 k and fig3 l wafer with one coat of a pmgi lift - off resist such as micro chem corp . lor - 10 photoresist 400 , cure at 170 ° c ., fig4 a and fig4 b . the resist chosen for this step should not interact with the existing pmgi sacrificial post resist at 312 . the cure temperature should also be lower that the 250 ° c . reflow temperature of the previous fig3 k and fig3 l step . spin coat the wafer with one coat of a positive resist ( s - 1813 ) 402 , cure at 110 ° c ., fig4 c and fig4 d . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the bridge metal mask and develop the s - 1813 resist 402 using a diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig4 e and fig4 f . develop the lor - 10 photoresist 400 using a tetramethylammonium hydroxide developer such as shipley microposit developer ldd - 26w . this developer should not interact with the existing pmgi sacrificial post resist 312 , fig4 g and fig4 h . coat the patterned wafer with a thin metal film such as 7000 å of evaporated au 404 in fig4 i and fig4 j . notably this step uses gold that adheres to the exposed gold of the rf metal process without requiring an adhesion layer . such an adhesion layer may produce a stress gradient within the film resulting in curling of the switch being fabricated . a thin adhesion layer ( of ti or cr ) may be used on the bridge metal top surface to promote cap adhesion . lift - off the excess metal using tape and remove the s - 1813 resist 402 using acetone , followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and a di water rinse . the completed bridge metal step is shown in fig4 k and fig4 l . the cap sacrificial layer defines the region to be covered by the encapsulating shell . the thickness of the sacrificial layer determines the inner shell height over the switch . this process covers the captive switch and does not compromise the existing structures . the ability to stack sacrificial layer materials such as photoresist on the fig4 metal 404 of the movable switch element 405 without causing harmful distortion to the metal 404 is in fact believed to be a notable aspect of the present invention . often it is found that the curing of newly stacked organic materials is so permanently disruptive to an underlying metal layer or an underlying oxide layer as to preclude such procedures . the materials , sub layer thickness measurements , temperatures and other details recited for the fig5 sequence are therefore of special interest with respect to the present invention . although this fig5 sequence accomplishes the addition of a second sacrificial layer on top of a first sacrificial layer and its exposed metal , it is believed the disclosed sequence is applicable to the fabrication of more than two such layers as accomplished herein and can be extended to three or more layers without significant difficulty where needed . spin coat the fig4 k and fig4 l wafer with one coat of pmgi photoresist ( sf - 11 ), cure at 200 ° c . repeat this step for three total coats of resist 500 , 502 and 504 as appear in fig5 b . three coats of sf - 11 resist provide 3 . 0 μm gap spacing . this is the same pmgi photoresist used for the switch gap spacing 312 and should be cured at the indicated lower temperature to minimize impact on the existing films . pmgi sf - 19 photoresist could be used for thicker gap spacing . spin - coat the wafer with one coat of positive photoresist ( s - 1813 ) 506 , cure at 110 ° c ., fig5 c and fig5 d . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the cap sacrificial mask and develop the s - 1813 resist 506 using diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig5 e and fig5 f . expose the pmgi sf - 11 resist 500 , 502 and 504 to deep ultraviolet light and develop the sf - 11 resist 500 , 502 and 504 using nano - 101 developer , fig5 g and fig5 h . strip the s - 1813 resist 506 using acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and di water rinse , fig5 i and fig5 j . strip the remaining lift - off resist ( lor - 10 ) 400 using a tetramethylammonium hydroxide developer such as shipley microposit developer ldd - 26w , followed by a di water rinse and nitrogen dry , fig5 k and fig5 l . reflow the pmgi coated wafer in a 250 ° c . hot air oven . this reflow provides a uniform sloped sidewall 508 required for the capping layer step coverage . the reflow process should not exceed 250 ° c . to minimize impact on the existing pmgi films 312 . the exposure time for this reflow temperature is preferably made somewhat short in the interest of damage avoidance to the underlying layers of a device ; exposure times in the range of 60 to 300 seconds are thus found to be practical . no adverse impacts on the existing films have been observed . the completed second sacrificial layer step is shown in fig5 m and fig5 n . the capping layer defines the dielectric shell that will enclose the rf mems switch . this step also defines access holes or tunnels within the dielectric shell allowing for removal of the sacrificial layer photoresist of the shell and the switch . access holes are shown in fig1 of the drawings . access tunnels are shown in the fig1 and fig1 drawings . although a combination of access holes and access tunnels may be used in the invention one or the other of these communication paths from outside to inside of the dielectric enclosure is believed a satisfactory arrangement . because of the larger aperture dimensions involved , the resulting improved flow of reactant materials achieved and the difficulty in fabricating the small holes shown in , for example , fig1 and fig1 we have found the use of tunnels to be the most desirable arrangement . coat the fig5 m and fig5 n wafer with a thin adhesion layer 600 composed of 0 . 01 μm oxygen rich sputtered alumina , al 2 o 3 , followed by a thick dielectric film , of nominally 1 . 67 μm sputtered silicon nitride si 3 n 4 602 , fig6 a and fig6 b . the alumina layer provides adhesion of the silicon nitride film 602 of cap 603 to the gold and sapphire substrate surfaces at 604 and 605 . films deposited by pecvd at low temperatures ( below 200 ° c .) could also be used . possible alternative dielectric films at 602 also include alumina al 2 o 3 . the sputtered silicon nitride film 602 used in the cap at 603 has undergone extensive deposition development . silicon nitride thin films may be fabricated by reactive rf sputtering using a 99 . 999 % pure si target with a denton vacuum discovery - 18 type of magnetron sputtering system and a base vacuum of 5 × 10 − 6 pa . a mass flow regulated ar — n 2 sputtering pressure of 0 . 53 pa and 400 watts of forward power result in a nominal deposition rate of 0 . 13 nm / s . the n 2 partial flow rate ( the ratio of the nitrogen flow rate to the total flow rate of nitrogen and argon ) is 50 %. deposited films for the shell cap at 603 are 1670 nm thick and have an intrinsic compressive stress of 102 mpa . spin coat the dielectric coated wafer with one coat of positive photoresist ( s - 1818 ) 606 , cure at 110 ° c ., fig6 c and fig6 d . a thick photoresist 606 is necessary to serve as an etch mask for the cap layer dielectric . s - 1818 photoresist provides about 1 . 8 μm of film thickness per coat . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the capping layer mask and develop the s - 1818 resist 606 using a diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig6 e and fig6 f . access holes 804 ( in fig8 b ) and access tunnels 608 and 610 are also defined in this lithography step . etch the exposed thick film dielectric at 602 using a dry or wet chemical etch , fig6 g and fig6 h . visual examination should ensure the access holes or tunnels 608 and 610 are cleared to allow complete removal of the pmgi sacrificial resists at 508 and 312 . strip the s - 1818 resist 606 using acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and a di water rinse , fig6 i and fig6 j . strip all the remaining pmgi sf - 11 photoresist 508 and 312 using a hot ( 90 ° c .) 1165 stripper 618 acting via access holes 804 and tunnels 608 , 610 etc ., fig6 k and fig6 l , to achieve the structure shown in these figs . immediately rinse the wafer in a submersion bath of isopropyl alcohol . repeat the isopropyl alcohol bath step 3 – 4 times . rinse the wafer in a bath of methanol . repeat the methanol bath rinse step 3 – 4 times . complete the release step by using a carbon dioxide critical point dry . the completed capping layer step with released rf mems switch is shown in fig6 k and fig6 l . although not expressly shown in the drawings the access tunnels of fig1 and fig1 in the drawings are preferably formed during the fig6 sequence . this may be accomplished by providing the capping layer mask with combination tooth - like extensions at its periphery followed by covering these extensions and removal of the mask material . a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ) process may be used to seal the access holes and tunnels of the encapsulation shell . bake out the fig6 k and fig6 l encapsulated wafers in a 90 °, nitrogen oven for 1 hour . coat the wafer with a thin adhesion layer composed of 0 . 01 micrometer of oxygen rich sputtered alumina , al 2 o 3 , followed by a thick film of pecvd silicon oxide , nominally 2 μm , 700 in fig7 a and fig7 b . pecvd sio 2 is deposited at 270 degrees centigrade and 900 millitorrs of pressure . since such pecvd plugs the access tunnels or access holes such as 608 and 610 the pecvd sio 2 is not observed to deposit within the encapsulated shell . as an alternative , pecvd silicon nitride may also be used . spin coat the wafer with one coat of positive photoresist ( s - 1818 ) 702 in fig7 c and fig7 d , cure at 110 ° c . a photoresist is necessary to serve as an etch mask for the sealing layer dielectric . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the sealing layer mask and develop the s - 1818 resist 702 using a diluted developer ( 351 : di ), fig7 e and fig7 f . etch the exposed thick film dielectric at 704 in fig7 e and fig7 f using a dry or wet chemical etch , fig7 g and fig7 h . strip the s - 1818 resist 702 using acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and a di water rinse , fig7 i and fig7 j . the completed pecvd sealed switches are shown in fig7 i and fig7 j . the spin - on - glass process may also be used to seal the access holes in the encapsulation shell . the low viscosity of the spin - on - glass minimizes penetration into the access holes or tunnels . ( see for example h . elderstig and p . wallgren , “ spin deposition of polymers over holes and cavities ”, sensors and actuators a 46 – 46 , 1995 , pg . 95 – 97 .) spin coat the fig6 k and fig6 l wafer with a spin - on - glass film 800 such as 3 micrometers of honeywell accuflo - 3025 , cure the film at 160 ° c ., 200 ° c ., and 240 ° c ., fig8 a and fig8 b . a three - step sequential cure cycle using progressively higher temperatures is desirable to completely cure this type of spin - on glass . a single layer is formed . the cap holes are formed in fig6 e and fig6 f ; they may be at the sides ( 608 and 610 ) or on top as shown at 804 or in each of these locations . spin coat the wafer with a thick positive photoresist , 802 in fig8 c and fig8 d , such as hoechst celanese corp . az - 9260 resist , cure at 110 ° c . this photoresist will serve as an etch mask for the spin - on - glass . this resist provides a 5 – 6 μm film thickness . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the az - 9260 resist - coated wafer to the sealing mask and develop the az - 9260 photoresist with a diluted potassium hydroxide developer such as hoechst celanese corp . az - 400k , fig8 e and fig8 f . etch the patterned spin - on - glass 800 using a dry or wet chemical etch , fig8 g and fig8 h . strip the az - 9260 photoresist 802 using acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse . the completed spin - on - glass sealing process is shown in fig8 i and fig8 j . this alternate sealing process involves deposition of epoxy droplets onto individual switch caps . for this process , a dam can be fabricated around the switch to contain the epoxy however epoxy sealing without such a dam is also feasible . this process may also be used as an alternative after the step of fig6 j above . for the epoxy sealing process , the sacrificial layers at 312 and 508 are not initially removed . spin coat the wafer with a thick negative photoresist such as microchem . nano su - 8 - 2007 , 900 in fig9 c and fig9 d , cure at 95 ° c . this resist provides ˜ 7 . 0 μm film thickness . using an i - line stepper or contact lithography system , expose the coated wafer to the sealing ring mask and develop the nano su - 8 - 2007 using an ethyl lactate and diacetone alcohol developer such as microchem su - 8 developer , fig9 e and fig9 f . strip the remaining pmgi sf - 11 photoresist 508 and 312 using 90 ° c . 1165 stripper . immediately rinse the wafer in several baths ( 3 – 4 ) of isopropyl alcohol , followed by rinsing in baths of methanol , and a carbon dioxide critical point dry , fig9 g and fig9 h . coat the switch shells with an epoxy sealant 902 such as optocast 3401 or 3410 supplied by electronics materials corp . cure the epoxy using uv light followed by a 125 ° c . bake . the completed epoxy sealing process is shown in fig9 i and fig9 j . now that the foregoing formal description of a mems capacitance coupled radio frequency switch device and fabrication sequence has been disclosed , it may be helpful to an appreciation of the invention to consider several differences between the disclosed fabrication sequence and the fabricated device in comparison with the more conventional fabrication sequences and devices of similar general nature as are known in the art . readers familiar with the mems device art will for example appreciate that the device fabricated in the disclosed sequence is of an electrical switch nature as opposed to a transducer or other mems device and that such mems switches are attended by a somewhat unique collection of characteristics and susceptibilities . first among these characteristics and susceptibilities is a sensitivity to normal semiconductor device fabrication temperatures , temperatures in the 900 ° centigrade region for example . temperatures of this magnitude and even lower ( but especially higher temperatures ) are found to be destructive to the metal components of a mems switch device in that they result in warping or distortion of previously fabricated switch metal components . in addition to temperature sensitivity it appears significant that the disclosed fabrication sequence enables the use of silicon oxide , silicon nitride and other dielectric materials in the fabrication of the switch device . these especially useful materials are excluded from possible employment in many mems devices that are dependent on hydrofluoric acid etching steps in achieving release of a stabilized transducer or other element for example or for other processing steps . a wet hydrofluoric acid etch removal would typically require a water rinse to remove all acid ; any water rinse employed can however be catastrophic to a mems switch structure . use of hydrofluoric acid also precludes the use of many dielectrics in the switch and shell including silicon dioxide , sio 2 , silicon nitride , si 3 n 4 and alumina , al 2 o 3 ; this is especially true for a switch dielectric where precise thickness and integrity should be maintained . thus in the above disclosed processing sequence a release of switch elements from their bound state by an organic material using an organic solvent rather than an acid , is for example employed . a notable attribute of the present invention mems switch processing is the achieved seamless merging of switch formation , dielectric enclosure and dielectric enclosure sealing operations in a single integrated processing sequence , a sequence performable at the integral wafer level of mems fabrication as opposed to during individual die processing . notably the photoresists and other materials involved in closure of the mems package and sealing of the closed package are either the same as those already employed in the fabrication of switch elements or of compatibility with these already employed materials . mems radio frequency switches are typically fabricated in a coplanar waveguide configuration as shown in the scanning electron microscope - produced microphotograph of fig1 . in this fig1 the bridge 1000 is anchored on the ground ( gnd ) lines 1002 and 1004 and spans the center signal line 1006 . by way of explanation , the fig1 and several other of the microphotograph “ drawings ” herein originate in the form of mounted glossy photographic prints . in order to designate specific details in such “ drawings ”, where drawn - in lead lines are impractical on the glossy photographic paper surface , the usual number and single lead line procedure is replaced with vertical and horizontal drawing coordinate lines each bearing the appropriate reference number and each located in a margin adjacent the glossy print surface . the two numbers 1000 relating to the fig1 bridge structure provide an example of this arrangement in the fig1 drawing . additionally , the lower margin line at 1008 in fig1 indicates the length of a 200 micrometer or 200 micron feature in the fig1 photograph . other details regarding scanning electron microscope variables used for the photograph also appear in the lower margin of fig1 and each of the other microphotographs herein . operation of the fig1 switch may be understood from a consideration of the fig6 l drawing . an rf signal is applied to the rf metal conductor 612 in fig6 l and passes into the switch area un - attenuated by the overarching bridge metal 614 . to actuate the switch , a direct current ( dc ) voltage is superimposed on the rf signal , i . e . applied between the rf metal signal line 612 and the bridge metal line 614 . electrostatic attraction pulls the bridge 614 into contact with the rf dielectric film 616 covering the rf metal signal line ; the dielectric film 616 prevents an electrical short circuit between conductors 614 and 612 . the resulting increased capacitance formed by the signal line 612 , dielectric 616 , and bridge 614 effectively shorts the rf signal between conductors 612 and 614 . when the dc voltage is removed , the elastic restoring force of the structure pulls the bridge 614 up and allows the rf signal to pass . transmission line conductors communicating radio frequency signals to and from the switch conductors 612 and 614 are represented at 618 and 620 respectively , these conductors extend into the page of the fig6 j drawing beyond the switch structure . the fabrication process described herein has been used in a class 100 clean room device fabrication facility . the following microphotograph - representing images describe graphically some of the results achieved while developing this fabrication process . notably the fabrication process integrates rf mems switches with dielectric shells . the radio frequency test measurements included in these results show the presence of a dielectric shell does not degrade switch performance . fig1 in the drawings represents a scanning electron microscope micrograph showing a silicon nitride cap with the cylindrical holes at 804 in the fig8 b drawing appearing in the cap top . these holes are needed to remove the two sacrificial photoresist layers 508 and 312 . the fig1 nitride cap is disposed on a silicon substrate . the nitride cap brightness in the fig1 image is due to the non - conductive nature of the material when viewed in an electron microscope . note the crispness of the cap sidewalls in contacting the substrate surface and the slope of the cap in the region where the access holes are present . the fig1 drawing additionally shows that the stress level in the silicon nitride film is well controlled ( e . g . the cap is neither sagging nor buckled ). device dimensions and other details are shown along the lower edge of fig1 . fig1 in the drawings illustrates the cap 603 adhering to the ground and signal conductors and to the silicon substrate . the cap holes at 1204 are also clearly visible in fig1 . the fig1 sample is flash coated with approximately 100 angstroms of gold for electron microscope viewing . fig1 in the drawings shows the fig1 switch in a cut - away or torn - away condition . in this drawing the nitride cap is partially removed to reveal the switch underneath . the nick 1300 at the edge of the bridge structure is where an electrical probe tip was pushed into the bridge 1306 to verify switch integrity . note that in addition to the gap between the mems switch bridge 1306 and the rf signal line 1304 and the substrate , a gap exists between the mems switch bridge 1306 and the normally located underside of the nitride cap 1302 . the fig1 sample is also flash coated with approximately 100 angstroms of gold for electron microscope viewing . dimensions and other details also appear at the lower edge of fig1 . fig1 in the drawings shows a microphotograph including a switch that has been released from sacrificial layer captivity . in the fig1 drawing there appears at 1400 and 1402 two metal conductors of the switch while at 1404 and 1406 the sapphire substrate is shown . tunnel apertures for removal of sacrificial layer materials appear at 1408 in fig1 ; these tunnels are shown in even better perspective in the scanning electron microscope view of the fig1 microphotograph . fig1 in the drawings shows a microphotograph of a functional rf mems switch with a silicon nitride encapsulant on a sapphire substrate . rf probe marks as at 1600 appear on both sides of the ground and signal lines in fig1 . the result of rf test measurements made on the nitride capped devices and compared with switch performance measurements on non - capped capacitive rf mems switches are shown in the fig1 drawing . these measurements indicate no loss in rf performance with the cap being present . in the fig1 drawing the switch isolation of the lowermost curves relates to the left hand scale and switch insertion loss of the upper curves relate to the right hand scale . in the two fig1 curves , the recited no measurable loss from switch cap presence is observed . switch insertion loss in fig1 is less than 0 . 3 db ( at 26 ghz ) and isolation is greater than 20 db ( at 26 ghz ). several methods may be used to seal the access holes or tunnels in the switch package of the present invention . the primary sealing approach using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ) achieves the sealing configuration shown in the fig1 drawing where sealed access tunnels appear . additional rf test measurements taken with pecvd sealed switches verify this sealing process also does not degrade switch performance . test results for three sealed switches are shown in the fig2 drawing where again both switch isolation and switch insertion loss are indicated . in the fig2 drawing insertion loss is less than 0 . 3 db ( at 26 ghz ) and isolation is 14 – 15 db ( at 26 ghz ). fig1 in the drawings shows a switch of the fig1 type in an encapsulated and sealed condition . a dimension line in the lower right corner of fig1 and fig1 provides feature size indication . several alternatives in materials and processes may be employed in achieving the invention . these include the following : other high resistivity substrates , such as quartz , gaas , or si may be used . other materials may be used to seal the holes in the dielectric cap ; materials such as dow corning q1 - 4939 silicone ; honeywell accuglass 512 b ; electronic materials inc . optocast 3500 or 3600 series epoxies ; thermoset glob - top encapsulants ; or solder shots . a thin , stiff template similar to a shadow mask ( such as made from stainless steel or other metal ) could be made to include holes over the cap areas needing to be sealed . the template could be placed over the wafer containing the nitride caps and the sealing material , such as epoxy , could be flowed across the top of the caps with a squeegee or similar applicator . a dry process can also be used to seal the access holes . following an oven bake - out , a film is laminated over the encapsulated wafer and is heat cured . the sealed wafer is then patterned and the film removed from the contact pad areas . a reflow process can also be used for access hole sealing . in this process , following an oven - bake out , glass or other frit beads are deposited on the wafer and reflowed to form a continuous film over the shells . the sealed wafer could then also be coated with photoresist , patterned , and etched to remove the glass film from the contact pad areas . once the rf mems switches are capped and access holes sealed additional process steps can be followed to hermetically seal the switch if required . for the case of the non - hermetic epoxy sealed cap , bake - out of the epoxy can be done in a controlled environment . a hermetic over - seal cap may then be placed on the individual switches as the next stage of the process . the individual devices can then be separated after wafer dicing and handled by conventional methods , such as by pick - and - place techniques . an attribute of the present invention is that it is multi - step in nature and allows for the possibility of hermetic sealing if needed . the present invention represents an integrated multi - step wafer - level process tailored to the fabrication and encapsulation of rf mems switches . the encapsulation arrangement is compatible with the switch fabrication process and utilizes the same sacrificial photoresist for both the device and dielectric shell . the sacrificial photoresist for the dielectric shell is cured at a lower temperature than the switch sacrificial layer to minimize secondary reflow of the switch sacrificial layer . the approach inherently protects the rf mems switch with sacrificial photoresist until the final process step when all the sacrificial photoresist is removed . specifically , the dielectric encapsulant and rf mems devices are released simultaneously as a photoresist stripper penetrates cylindrical through - holes or tunnels patterned into the dielectric shell . a separate fabrication step seals the holes or tunnels in the dielectric shell to fully encapsulate each mems structure on the wafer . rf mems switches have been fabricated and released concurrently with a perforated silicon nitride shell covering them . the measured rf performance of suspended switches when tested up to 26 ghz does not show degradation due to the presence of the dielectric encapsulant . the present invention involves a multi - step encapsulation method in which the shell is formed using a sputtered dielectric material such as silicon nitride or alumina . this shell has photo - lithographically defined access holes that are used to simultaneously release both the rf mems switch and the shell sacrificial photoresist . the access holes are sealed using silicon oxide or spin - on - glass or an epoxy layer . the resulting switches are sealed at atmospheric pressure or below atmospheric pressure and can thus provide sealed - in air for switch damping . in addition , the choice of photoresists and associated curing temperatures distinguish the present process . the present invention concept is thus believed unique for the following reasons : ( 1 ) it allows for simultaneous release of both the mems switch and the dielectric encapsulating shell ; ( 2 ) it provides options for sealing the dielectric shell access holes ; ( 3 ) it is suitable for rf mems switch encapsulation , specifically the dielectric shell does not impede the rf performance of the devices ; ( 4 ) the individual packaged switches can then be diced ( or handled ) and are suitable for further incorporation into an electronic circuit ; ( 5 ) the sputtering technique used to deposit silicon nitride results in structurally sound cap shells ; and ( 6 ) a multi - step concept has been demonstrated . while the apparatus and method herein described constitute a preferred embodiment of the invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus or method and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
it is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of embodiments have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding , while eliminating , for the purpose of clarity , many other elements . those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other elements and / or steps are desirable and / or required in implementing the embodiments . however , because such elements and steps are well known in the art , and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments , a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein . described herein is a method and system that provides a mechanism for collecting wireless device debug output and viewing them in real time on a console user interface and saving the information to a file system . logs from various applications and portions of the wireless device are collected in a series of native buffers , which can then be viewed and filtered by the file reader of the logging system . the wireless device generally maintains multiple buffers for log messages . some examples of these buffers are the radio buffer ( which is the radio signal of the mobile device which allows you to make phone calls and send messages ), events buffer and the system or main buffer . the logging system collects these log messages on a periodic basis or at real time , processes these log messages , formats them into a readable output and then writes the log messages to a server console or database which can be viewed by a remote technician . it also provides the remote technician with an environment where the log messages can be filtered based on its severity and a multitude of attributes . the log messages can be viewed in various different formats and can be saved to a file system . apart from collecting and presenting device generated log messages , the logging system captures all networks and global positioning system ( gps ) related events that occur on the wireless device and presents them to the remote technician . the logging system also has the ability to set alarms to notify the remote technician in case of catastrophic events or errors on the device . the remote technical may also be provided with the ability to specify the time period during which the logs need to be retrieved and whether or not the wireless device needs to be in remote connection with the server during the logging . the logging system also allows for markers to be set on the log messages to help with indexing and easy reading of high volume logs . fig1 is an example overall architecture of a remote logging system which comprises at least a device client residing inside a device ( collectively device client and client are referred to as device 10 or device client 10 , as applicable ), a control center system 20 and a technician console 30 . the device 10 communicates with the control center 20 through a wireless network 1 , for example . for purposes of readability , block numbers starting with : 1xx relate to the device 10 and its components ; 2xx relate to the control center system 20 and its components ; and 3xx relate to the technician console 30 and its components . the control center system 20 is responsible for data management , device management , web services , analytics , security management , administrative services and device connectivity . the components of the control center system 20 includes a communication end point gateway ( ceg ) 200 , an admin and control function or entity 220 , a registration and authentication function module or entity 240 , a data repository 260 and a logging tool 280 . the gateways , modules and / or entities are implemented as or in processors , servers and / or any computing device or system . the ceg 200 manages the device connections within the system . in particular , the ceg 200 provides communication endpoints between the admin and control function module or entity 220 and the device 10 , allows for multiple requests to be serviced within one session from multiple consoles , provides a consistent manner of device connection and tool service in a system with heterogeneous devices running different operating systems , and provides load balancing across multiple connection handlers ( as described herein below ) on each ceg 200 in order to minimize single point of failure . fig2 shows an example ceg or connection proctor which includes at least a connection monitor 201 and connection handlers 205 . the connection monitor 201 creates and manages connection handlers 205 , creates session ids for new connection requests and monitors all the scheduled and existing sessions . by default , a connection handler 205 is setup for every ceg , where the number of connection handlers 205 is configurable . all the sessions are load distributed across the connection handlers 205 . each connection handler 205 handles multiple device sessions . referring back to fig1 , the admin and control function or entity 220 administers and manages all types of communication between the control center 20 and the client devices . for example , the admin and control function or entity 220 may include an administrative service that acts as the central administration entity of the system . through this service , system administrators perform administration , management and instrumentation of all the servers within the system , create and maintain multiple tenants , assign tenant administrator roles , and other like functions . in another example , the admin and control function or entity 220 may have a management service which provides the operational end point to the system and performs load distribution among the ceg , management of device registration , administration of devices and session queuing . a management entity may be included which is responsible for providing the management service with in - memory data storage for key operational data user / group / zone structures , and the like . in another example , the admin and control function or entity 220 may have a service coordinator which is responsible for coordinating the communication between various elements within the system . it provides the database interface to the registration and authentication function 240 . all services register themselves with the service coordinator . the service coordinator is responsible for service discovery . the data repository 260 stores all the information about the devices 10 , server configuration , tasks and status settings . these databases are pivotal to configure and update managed devices and server components . it is also responsible for maintaining the device authentication information . the data repository 260 may comprise three database ( db ) elements : an admin db , operations ( ops ) db , and a reports db . the admin db maintains all the system configurations , tenant configuration and management information , system administration and server instrumentation data . this database is accessed by the administrative service . the ops db maintains data that is required for the operations of the system such as device enrollment , groups , users , zones , and the like . this database is accessed by the management service and the service coordinator . the reports db contain historical data of device enrollment , session , audit , report views , and the like . the registration and authentication function 240 provides a single point of entry for all devices for enrollment and authentication services during a session . in an example , the registration and authentication function 240 comprises a registration service . in another example , the registration and authentication function 240 includes an enrollment service , which is responsible for enrolling registered devices with the system . in another example , the registration and authentication function 240 includes a software update module which manages the various client packages in the system . devices connect to the software update module to request client updates . if an update is available , the software update module will provide the appropriate client download link . the logging tool 280 interfaces with both the technician &# 39 ; s console 30 and the device client 10 . the logging tool 280 receives instructions from the technician to start the logging process . these instructions might include the time period during which the log messages need to collected , the severity of the log messages and filters that need to be applied to the log message in order to reduce the amount of data received for easy reading . the device client 10 is activated by a short message service ( sms ) message which initiates a secure communication channel between the console 20 and device client 10 . the logging tool 280 then processes the instructions received from the technician and relays it to the device client 10 . the device client 10 initiates the process of recording and capturing log messages based on the instructions received . these instructions might include various sub commands which specify how and when the log messages need to be collected . in an example , only for log messages containing fatal errors might be requested . in another example , log messages with specific tags or process ids might be requested . the logging tool 280 also performs the function of receiving the log messages from the device client 10 . once received , the log messages are formatted into a readable output . the logging tool 280 is responsible for transferring the logs received from the device client 10 onto the remote technicians console and displaying it in the desired structure . the logging tool 280 is also responsible for writing the log messages to a database or a file system when desired . the device client 10 includes at least device management modules 100 , application sub - layer 120 , session layer 140 and data link layer 160 . these modules are explained in detail in fig3 . referring to fig3 , the device client module includes a virtual mobile management ( vmm ) layer or entity 300 , an access control entity 310 and a communication core 320 . the vmm entity 300 includes a vmm manager 301 , vmm modules 302 , a state machine 303 , a tool service coordinator 304 , and a non - volatile data repository 305 . the vmm modules 302 provide a multitude of tool services . the tool services are grouped together to exhibit common functionality such as remote control and log management . the logging module 400 which is one of the vmm modules 302 is described in more detail further in the fig4 and fig5 . each tool service maintains an instance of a state machine 303 , which defines a set of shared states that the tool service on the device application shares with the control center 20 . the tool service coordinator 304 maintains the lifetime of all tool services , and is responsible in creating and destroying tool services . the non - volatile data repository 305 stores authentication and authorization specific data that is shared between the vmm application and the control center 20 . the non - volatile data repository 305 also serves the purpose of maintaining tool service configuration as well as vmm configuration data . the access control entity 311 provides a set of functions to the tool services to communicate with the control center 20 . the access control entity 311 provides encapsulation of messages before forwarding it to the communication core layer 320 . it invokes an instance of the communication core layer 320 and provides a state machine 313 that defines the state of the vmm application . the access control entity 311 interacts with an access control interface ( aci ) 312 , which provides a set of standard application programmer interfaces ( api ) to the tool services . these apis provide a consistent communication platform to facilitate both synchronous as well as asynchronous communication . the state machine 313 identifies the overall state of the vmm application . state transitions within the state machine 313 trigger events that are handled by the vmm layer 300 . the states are open and close and traffic flows through the aci 312 only in the open state . an authentication entity 316 is responsible for ensuring that the device 10 receives a connection and processes requests from the control center 20 with which it is enrolled . the authentication entity 316 ensures data integrity , security and authentication . a message routing entity 314 is responsible for routing all signal messages destined to tool services to the respective event handlers . a message processing function 315 is a signal message pre - processor and receives signal messages from the session layer 322 destined towards tool services . the message processing entity de - frames these messages prior to forwarding it to the message routing entity 314 , which applies the routing rules . messages that are destined to the control center 20 from tool services are encapsulated in the message processing entity . the communication core layer 320 setups and maintains a dedicated communication channel with the control center 20 . the communication core layer 320 provides the necessary framework to transport messages between the upper layers 300 and 310 and the control center 20 . the communication core layer 320 provides message encapsulation , framing , fragmentation and packet re - construction of tool service messages . referring back to fig1 , the technician console 30 comprises a graphical user interface , communication engine , protocol stack and the control center apis . the technician can use the graphical user interface to initiate the logging process on the device . the technician is also provided with the environment to configure the collection filters . these filters include specifying the log level , log type , process id , tracking id , application name and so on . the technician can also specify the log collection duration and type . the different types of logging are extended logging , periodic logging and offline logging . the log messages received from the device client are parsed and decoded to a readable output . this is then displayed on the graphical user interface and can be viewed by the technician . the log files can also be saved to the database or a remote file system . referring to fig4 , a logging module 400 is responsible for pulling the log messages from the device native buffers , recording events related to changes in network and gps location of the device and relaying the log data back to the control center 20 . in an example , the logging module 400 includes a log message listener entity or module 410 , logger entity or module 420 , log manager entity or module 430 , log transporter entity or module 440 , buffer entity or module 450 and communication message bearer entity or module 460 . inside the wireless device operating system , every application runs its own process , each of which runs its own virtual machine . each virtual machine exposes a unique port that a debugger can attach to . the debugger writes the log messages to a set of native buffers . when the remote technician initiates the logging process , the control center sends a logging command to the device . this logging command includes information about when to start and stop logging , log level , log types and markers , for example . for example , the logging command might be to retrieve all event logs with the log level error and process id x . the log message listener entity or module 410 receives these commands through a bearer channel . the logging command is then parsed and decoded for further action . the communication message bearer module 460 contains detailed information about each command that might be sent from the control center 20 . some examples of these bearer commands are start logging request , start logging response , enable device info logging request , disable device info logging request and so on . the decoded command is then sent to the logger module 420 which starts pulling log messages from the device native buffers and records events related to location and network change . the log messages that are retrieved are stored in the buffer 450 in case of online logging and into a file system in case of offline logging . the log manager 430 is responsible for pulling all the log messages from the buffer 450 or file system and composing a log post message . each log post message includes a pre - determined number of log messages . the log post is then transferred to the control center 20 by the log transporter 440 over the communication bearer channel . referring to fig5 , the logger module 420 includes a device info module or entity 422 , debug monitor module or entity 427 and marker module or entity 421 . the device info module or entity 422 is responsible for recording events and changes in the device location and network . the device info module or entity 422 includes a location listener 423 , a gps log record 424 , a phone state listener 425 and a network log record 426 . the location listener 423 tracks any changes in the wireless device location . when the change occurs , the information is sent to the gps log record 424 which composes the log message . the log message has the following information — timestamp , latitude , longitude and description . the description contains provider name , location accuracy , altitude , speed and so on . the phone state listener 425 tracks any changes to the wireless device data network . when a change occurs , the information is sent to the network log record 426 which composes the log message . the log message contains the following information — timestamp , latitude , longitude , network event type , network type , signal strength and description . the description contains active network , network type , state , operator name , operator code , roaming , signal description , network id , base id and so on . the debug monitor function module or entity 427 includes the following components — device monitor service ( dms ) logger 428 , and dms log record 429 . the dms logger 428 is responsible for keeping track of the device native buffers and pulling the log messages from the native buffer every time a new log message is written . this log message is sent to the dms log record function 429 which formats the data into a readable output and appends additional information to the log message . the additional information might include the log level , the log type , log filters , message length and so on . the following are some exemplary log levels that might be available . an example log level may be error , which indicates the system is in distress , customers are probably being affected and the fix probably requires human intervention . another example log level may be warn , which indicates an unexpected technical event occurred , customers may be affected but probably no immediate human intervention is required . another example log level may be info , which includes system lifecycle events , session lifecycle events and significant boundary events . another example log level may be debug , which is used for entry / exit of most non - trivial processing , and marking interesting events and decision points . another example log level may be all , which includes extremely detailed and potentially high volume logs . the log type specifies which native buffer the log messages were pulled from and may include system , event and radio , for example . the log filters help with filtering the log messages to reduce the volume of data that needs to be transferred and helps the remote technician analyze the data conveniently . some exemplary filters are timestamp , process id , tracking id , tag , application name , and version . the appended information helps the control center 20 filter and categorize the log messages for convenient viewing . the log files usually contain a lot of low level data . during wireless device testing , errors and failures could be caused by a lot of known external factors . marker function 421 provides the remote technician with the ability to specify event start and event end markers inside the log files when these external factors take effect to reduce the amount of data that need to be analyzed by the remote technician . fig6 describes an example flow of control during a connection establishment . the ceg 200 receives a control signal ( c - s ) link connection request from technician console 30 . an authentication request is received by ceg 200 from the technician console 30 ( 1 ) and an authentication response is sent by ceg 200 to technician console 30 ( 2 ). the c - s link is established ( 3 ) followed by authentication ( 4 ) and acknowledgement ( 5 ). a peer_connect_req signal is received by ceg 200 from technician console 30 ( 6 ). the ceg 200 sends a mobile terminated sms to device 10 ( 7 ). the ceg 200 receives a data signal ( d - s ) link connection request from device 10 ( 8 ). an authentication request is received by ceg 200 from device 10 ( 9 ). an authentication response ( shown as an ack ) is sent by ceg 200 to device 10 ( 10 ). a peer_connect_req signal sent by ceg 200 to device 10 ( 11 ). an acknowledgement ( ack ) is received by ceg 200 from device 10 ( 12 ). an ack is transmitted by ceg 200 to technician console 30 ( 13 ). a tool_svc_req is received by ceg 200 from device 30 ( 14 ). a tool_svc_req is relayed by ceg 200 to logging tool 40 ( 15 ). the ceg 200 receives a data bearer ( d - b ) link connection from logging tool 40 ( 16 ). the ceg 200 receives an ack from logging tool 40 for the tool_svc_req ( 17 ). an ack is relayed by ceg 200 to technician console 30 ( 18 ). the ceg 200 receives control bearer ( c - b ) link connection request from technician console 30 ( 19 ). at this point , the control plane and bearer plane is ( are ) established ( 20 ). the log data is carried over the bearer channels ( 21 ). fig7 , along with fig5 , describes an example logging process when the wireless device is online and is in remote connection with the control center . the command to start the logging process is sent to the wireless device through the bearer channel ( 705 ). an example of such command could be an enable dms logging for log level error and log type radio . another example could be enable device info logger for network events . the log msg listener 410 parses and decodes the bearer message ( 710 ). the logger 420 receives the decoded message and activates the dms 427 or device info logger 422 ( 715 ). taking the above mentioned command as an example , the dms logger 427 would pull the log messages from the device radio buffer ( 720 ). the device info logger 422 records network related events . all the log messages are written to a buffer 450 within the logging tool ( 725 ). the log manager 430 pulls the log messages from the buffer 450 and composes a log post message ( 730 ). the log transporter 440 sends the log post message to the control center 20 over the bearer channel ( 735 ). fig8 , along with fig5 , describes the logging process when the wireless device is offline or loses data connection . as described above , the command to start the logging process is sent to the wireless device through the bearer channel ( 805 ). the log msg listener 410 parses and decodes the bearer message ( 810 ). the logger 420 receives the decoded message and activates the dms 427 or device info logger 422 ( 815 ). the dms logger 427 pulls the log messages from , for example , the device radio buffer ( 820 ). all the recorded log messages are written to the buffer 450 with the logging tool ( 825 ). during this process , if the bearer channel is broken or the device loses data connection , all the log messages in the buffer 450 are transferred to a file system within the device ( 830 ). the logger 420 continues to write log messages to the file system as long as the device is offline ( 835 ). once the device comes back online , the bearer channel is reestablished ( 840 ). all the logs in the file system are transferred to the control center 20 in the correct order . once all the files have been transferred , the logger 420 continues writing the log messages into the buffer 450 ( 845 ). fig9 , along with fig5 , describes the high level end to end logging process . a technician configures the collection options , as described herein above , on the remote system ( 905 ) and initiates the logging process . an sms is sent to the device to wake up the device client 10 ( 910 ). once the device client 10 is awake ( 915 ), it exchanges authentication information with the remote system . the configuration parameters received are then analyzed ( 920 ). the device client 10 begins recording logs from the native buffers and recording gps and network related events ( 925 ). the recorded event logs and state information is forwarded to the remote system ( 930 ). the remote system parses and decodes the log messages received ( 935 ). the logs are compressed and stored in the database ( 940 ). post processed logs are then retrieved and displayed on the graphical user interface on the technician &# 39 ; s console ( 945 ). while detailed embodiments of the instant invention are disclosed herein , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention , which may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representation basis for teaching one skilled in the technology to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . although features and elements are described above in particular combinations , each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements . | 7 |
fig1 is a block diagram of a solar power circuit in an electronic apparatus of the present invention . referring to fig1 the solar power circuit of the present invention comprises a solar battery ( sb ) 1 , and a large scale integrated circuit ( lsi ) for receiving a solar power voltage v ddin generated by the sb 1 to power and drive the electronic apparatus . the lsi is positioned rightside from a broken line 1 in fig1 . within the lsi , v dd is + 1 . 5 v and v ss is at ground potential . a light emitting diode ( led ) is provided as a constant voltage supplier , which is driven with v dd . a forward voltage ( v f ) of the led is 1 . 5 v . in fig1 the inner voltage ( v ddin - v ss ) of the sb 1 is about 0 to 2 . 8 v . a resistance r of the lsi is provided for limiting the current passing through the led . a condenser c1 is provided for protecting the malfunction of the apparatus due to the interruption of the solar light for a very short time . the protection period of this condenser c1 only is about 1 to 2 seconds , normally . a p - channel mos transistor tr is provided whose threshold voltage v th is set at - 0 . 3 v . when the transistor tr is conductive , the extra voltage generated by the sb 1 can be reserved in a condenser c2 . the capacitance of the condenser c2 is selected to be much greater than that of the condenser c1 . first , voltage can be applied to the lsi through the resistance r when the following condition occurs : the current consumed in the lsi is very small so that the voltage drop by the resistance r can be neglected . therefore , v ddin ≈ v dd . that is , v ddin - v dd ≈ 0 . the transistor tr is placed in a nonconductive to pass no current through the condenser c2 . second , when the condition of 1 . 5 v ≦ v ddin - 1 . 8 v stands , some current can start to pass through the led because the source voltage v dd is more than 1 . 5 v . then , the source voltage v dd is limited to the forward voltage v f of the constant voltage led . further , since v ddin - v dd & lt ; 0 . 3 v , the voltage difference between v ddin and v dd is less than the threshold vth of transistor tr to keep the transistor tr off . however , when 1 . 8 v ≦ v ddin , the condition of v ddin - v dd ≧ 0 . 3 v can occur , so that this voltage difference can exceed the threshold vth of the transistor tr . the transistor tr is switched to a conductive state and the condenser c2 can start to be charged . at the initial charge ( charge q = 0 ) of the condenser c2 , a large current may pass through the transistor tr to thereby reduce v ddin . however , when the condition of v ddin - v dd & lt ; 0 . 3 v stands , the transistor tr is switched nonconductive again and the current to the condenser c2 is stopped . a diode di is connected to condenser c2 for preventing a current from passing into the condenser c2 through the resistance r when backup to the v dd is carried out . with the above - described circuit arrangement , when v ddin is much greater than v dd , the extra charge can be stored in the condenser c2 . as soon as the condenser c2 is saturated ( the addition of v dd and the forward voltage of the diode di ), the stored charge can flow in the led through the transistor tr and the diode di . because the capacitance of the condenser c2 is much greater than that of the condenser c1 , the voltage of the source voltage v dd can be maintained for a long time through the diode di as long as the condenser c2 has been charged up once , even after the solar energy supply is stopped from the sb 1 . the threshold voltage vth of the transistor tr is selected to be 0 . 3 v by referring to the variations of the elements and the manufacturing conditions of the transistors . therefore , such a value is not limited to 0 . 3 v . fig2 is a block diagram of a polar power circuit according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig2 like elements identical to those in fig1 are indicated by like numeral and characters . the circuit of fig2 is to additionally provide a buzzer voltage vp for driving an additional element such as a piezoelectric buzzer . the piezoelectric buzzer , although not limited to , consumes a large current in a short circuit . the operational principle of the circuit of fig2 is the same as that of fig1 . the value of the voltage vp may greater than v dd . in the circuit of fig2 the voltage v dd is not back up and the power is consumed for the different voltage , so that the diode di is eliminated . according to the present invention , when the solar power voltage exceeds the necessary voltage for driving the apparatus , the extra voltage is stored within the condenser c2 . with the help of the present invention , the application of the solar power energy can be expanded . while only certain embodiments of the present invention have been described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as claimed . | 8 |
turning now to fig3 a first preferred embodiment of an intraocular lens 100 according to the invention is shown . the lens includes a pliable optic portion 102 having an elastic memory , and is peripherally surrounded by a skirt portion 104 . a restraining element 106 is provided on the skirt portion 104 and operates to hold the skirt portion and optic portion 102 in a stressed ( i . e ., stretched ) configuration . comparing fig3 showing the optic portion in a stressed configuration , with fig8 showing the optic portion in a non - stressed configuration , it is seen that the optic portion has a smaller diameter in the non - stressed configuration . more particularly , the optic portion 102 is typically approximately 5 to 6 mm in diameter and made from a silicone polymer or other suitable flexible polymer . the optic portion defines an anterior surface 110 and a posterior surface 112 . the optic portion may have a biconvex shape in which each of the anterior surface 110 and posterior surface 112 have similar rounded shapes . fig4 illustrates such a lens in a stressed non - accommodating configuration , while fig5 illustrates such a lens in the non - stressed accommodating configuration . alternatively , referring to fig6 the anterior surface 110 a may be provided with a substantially greater curvature than the posterior surface 112 a . in addition , referring to fig7 the anterior and posterior surfaces 110 , 112 of the optic portion can be evenly pliable throughout , or , referring back to fig6 greater flexibility and pliability can be fashioned into the central portion 114 of the anterior 110 surface of the lens to enhance the accommodating effect . this may be done by using materials of differing modulus of elasticity or by altering the thickness of the central portion and / or anterior surface 110 of the optic portion 102 . referring back to fig3 the skirt portion 104 has substantially less pliability than the optic portion 102 . the periphery 116 of the skirt portion 104 is preferably provided with a plurality of circumferentially displaced fenestration holes 118 . the fenestration holes 118 operate to promote firm attachment of the capsular bag to the lens skirt 104 during the healing period . that is , during the healing process , the capsular bag shrinks by a substantial amount and portions of the anterior and posterior capsular bag enter into the fenestration holes 118 and join together to lock the lens 100 within the capsule without necessitating any bonding agent , sutures , or the like . alternatively , the peripheral portion 104 could be fashioned with a textured surface , ridges or any surface modification that promotes strong adhesion of the capsule to the lens skirt 104 . referring to fig3 and 4 , according to a preferred , though not essential , aspect of the invention , a preferably thin and pliable collar 120 is positioned around the anterior surface of lens near the junction 122 ( fig8 ) of the optic portion 102 and the skirt portion 104 to keep the more central portions of the anterior capsular remnant from adhering to the optic portion . the collar is preferably made from silicone or another smooth polymer . as discussed above , the skirt portion 104 is maintained in a stressed configuration by the restraining element until the restraining element is removed . according to a preferred embodiment of the restraining element , the restraining element is a band provided on the outside of the skirt portion . the band 106 is preferably comprised of a dissolvable , preferably bioasborbable material that is adapted to preferably naturally dissolve in the fluid of the eye within a predetermined period of time after implantation . alternatively , the dissolvable material may be selected so that it dissolves only upon the addition of a dissolving - promoting agent into the eye . preferred dissolvable materials for the restraining band 106 include collagen , natural gut materials , glycan , polyglactin , poliglecaprone , polydioxanone , or other carbohydrate - based or protein - based absorbable material . referring now to fig9 and 10 , according to a second embodiment of the restraining element 106 a , the restraining element comprises a circumferential channel 130 a in the skirt 104 that is filled with a fluid or gel 132 a . preferably an isotonic solution such as a balanced salt solution is used . alternatively , other suitable fluids , solution , or gels , including viscoelastics can be used . the channel 130 a has an outlet 134 a that is blocked by a dissolvable , preferably bioabsorbable seal 136 a . the filled channel 130 a operates to stress the optic portion 102 into a non - accommodating configuration until the seal 136 a is dissolved and the outlet 134 a is thereby opened . then , the material 132 a within the channel 130 a is forced out of the channel by the natural elasticity of the lens and permits the lens to move in accord with the excitation state of the ciliary body ; i . e ., between non - accommodative and accommodative states . alternatively , the seal material 136 a may not be naturally dissolvable within the environment of the eye , but rather is dissolvable within the presence of a chemical agent , such as an enzyme , which can be added to the eye . in such case , the eye surgeon can non - surgically control the release of the seal . turning now to fig1 and 12 , according to a third embodiment of the restraining element , the restraining element 106 b comprises a circumferential channel 130 b in the skirt portion 104 that is filled with a balanced salt solution or other suitable material 132 b that maintains the optic portion into a non - accommodating stressed configuration . the channel 130 b has an outlet tube 134 b that is biased outward from the optic portion 108 but which is preferably anchored with an anchor 135 b toward the optic portion 102 but which preferably does not overlie a central area of the optic portion which would interrupt the vision of the patient when the lens is implanted . the outlet tube 134 b is provided with a seal 136 b made from a material , e . g ., hard silicone , polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) or plastic , that is ablatable or otherwise able to be unsealed by laser light from a yag laser or other laser suitable for eye surgery . likewise , the anchor 135 b is also made from such a material . when the lens is implanted , as discussed in detail below , the anchor 135 b and the outlet tube 134 b , by being directed toward the optic portion 102 , is visible to the eye surgeon through a dilated iris and is positioned to receive laser light . in this embodiment , the seal 136 b can be removed and the outlet tube 134 b opened under the full control of the eye surgeon ( at his or her discretion upon post - operative evaluation of the lens recipient ) by use of a laser to remove the pressure in the channel 130 b to equilibrate with the anterior chamber pressure of the eye . moreover , removal of the anchor 135 b enables the outlet tube to move away from the optic portion in accord with its bias and toward the periphery to minimize any potential interference with the patient &# 39 ; s vision . according to a fourth embodiment of the restraining element , any mechanical means for maintaining the lens in a stressed configuration can be used . for example , referring to fig1 and 14 , a relatively stiff restraining element 132 c having a circular form can be inserted or otherwise provided within a circumferential channel 130 c . the restraining element is made from a material designed to be ablated or broken upon receiving laser energy , e . g ., hard silicone , polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) or plastic . alternatively , the end of the element 132 c can be provided with a length of flexible material 134 c , e . g ., suture , which can be extended to outside the eye . when it is desired to remove the restraining element , the surgeon grasps the suture with a forceps and pulls the suture . this either removes the restraining element from the lens or breaks the restraining element . in either case , the stress is released from the optic . as yet another less preferred alternative , stiff restraining element is removable or broken only upon an invasive ( requiring an incision ) surgical procedure . other embodiments for the restraining elements and removal thereof are possible . for example , and not by way of limitation , the seal for an inflated channel can be attached to a suture or other length of flexible material which extends outside the eye . the suture can be pulled by the surgeon to remove the seal . in yet another example , shallow shells , adapted to be dissolvable naturally or in conjunction with an additive agent , may be provided to the front and back of the optic portion to force the optic portion to adopt a flatter ( i . e ., stressed ) configuration . by way of another example , dissolvable or laser - removable arced struts may be provided across the lens which force the optic portion into a stressed state . moreover , embodiments of the restraining element which maintain the stressed state of the optic via external flattening of the optic or by arced struts are suitable for use with a non - circumferential skirt portion ; i . e ., where the skirt portion is defined by a plurality of haptics extending outward from the optic portion . for example , fig1 - 18 , illustrate the “ skirt portion ” defined by a plurality of haptics , rather than a complete ring about the optic . fig1 discloses a skirt portion 104 a a defined by three haptics 140 a , each of which preferably includes fenestration holes 118 a . dissolvable or laser - ablatable arced struts 142 a are situated to maintain a radial stress on the optic portion 102 a ; i . e ., the struts 142 a function together as a restraining member . fig1 and 17 discloses a skirt defined by four haptics 140 b , each of which preferably includes fenestration holes 118 b . shells 144 b are coupled to the haptics anterior and posterior of the optic to flatten the optic . fig1 discloses a skirt defined by two haptics 140 c , each of which preferably includes fenestration holes 118 c . multiple struts 142 c are coupled to each haptic 140 c . in addition , it is recognized that the optic portion may be provided in an optically transparent bag , and the bag may be pulled or otherwise forced taught to stress the optic . the bag may be pulled taught by using one of the restraining element described above , e . g ., retaining rings , channels , shells , or struts , or any other suitable means , provided either directly to the bag or provided to an element coupled about a periphery of the bag . moreover , it is recognized that the lens of the invention may comprise two optic elements : one stationary and the other adapted to change shape and thereby alter the optic power of the dual optic system . in such an embodiment , the optic element adapted to change shape would be provided in a stressed - configuration , according to any embodiment described above . in each embodiment of the restraining element , the restraining element is preferably configured on or in the lens during manufacture , such that the lens is manufactured , shipped , and ready for implant in a fully stressed configuration . the lens is implanted according to a first method of implantation , as follows . referring to fig1 , the patient is prepared for cataract surgery in the usual way , including full cycloplegia ( paralysis of the ciliary body ) at 200 . cycloplegia is preferably pharmacologically induced , e . g ., through the use of short - acting anticholinergics such as tropicamide or longer - lasting anticholinergics such as atropine . an anterior capsullorrhexis is then performed at 202 and the lens material removed . a stressed lens according to the invention is selected that preferably has an optic portion that in a stressed - state has a lens power selected to leave the patient approximately emmetropic after surgery . the lens is inserted into the empty capsular bag at 204 . cycloplegia is maintained for several weeks ( preferably two to four weeks ) or long enough to allow the capsular bag to heal and “ shrink - wrap ” around the stressed and elongated lens at 206 . this can be accomplished post - operatively through the use of one percent atropine drops twice daily . as the lens shrinks , the anterior and posterior capsular bag walls enter into the fenestration holes and join together to lock the lens in position . if the lens includes a restraining element having a dissolvable component , eventually the dissolvable material is lost from the lens , and the lens is unrestrained . if the lens includes a restraining element having a laser - removable component , a surgeon may at a desired time remove the component to place the lens in a unrestrained configuration . if the lens includes a retraining element which must be surgical removed or altered , the surgeon may at a desired time perform a second eye procedure to remove the component and place the lens in an unrestrained configuration . regardless of the method used , when the lens is unrestrained ( i . e ., released from the stressed state ) at 208 and the post - operative cycloplegic medicines are stopped at 210 the lens is initially still maintained in a stressed state ( fig4 ) due to the inherent zonular stress of the non - accommodating eye . when the patient begins accommodating , the zonular stress is reduced and the implanted lens is permitted to reach a more relaxed globular conformation , as shown in fig5 and 8 . this change in shape provides the optic with more focusing power and thus accommodation for the patient is enabled . as with the natural crystalline lens , the relaxation of the implanted lens to a more globular shape is coupled with a development of strain or stress in the ciliary body during accommodation . further , when the patient relaxes accommodation , the stress in the ciliary body is reduced , and there is a compensatory gain in stress as the lens is stretched into its non - accommodative shape ( see again fig2 ). referring to fig2 , according to another embodiment of the method of the invention , a lens of similar design as described above is used , except that there is no restraining element on the lens . temporary cycloplegia is induced , and a capsulorrhexis is performed 300 . the lens is implanted while the ciliary body is in a fully relaxed state at 302 . the patient is then fully accommodated ( i . e ., the ciliary body is placed in a contracted state ) at 304 , preferably through pharmacological agents such as pilocarpine . once the capsular bag is fully annealed ( affixed ) to the lens periphery at 306 , the pharmacological agent promoting accommodation is stopped at 308 . then , as the ciliary body relaxes , the lens is stretched into an elongated shape having less focusing power . conversely , as accommodation recurs , the lens returns to it resting shape having greater focusing power . referring to fig2 , in yet another embodiment of the method of the invention , the patient is cyclopleged during cataract surgery at 400 , a capsulorrhexis is performed at 402 , and a flexible lens in an unstressed state is implanted in the capsular bag at 404 . after a few weeks of complete cycloplegia and during which capsular fixation of the lens periphery is accomplished at 406 , light ( e . g ., ultraviolet or infrared ), a chemical agent , or another suitable means is used to shrink or otherwise alter the optic or the adjacent skirt of the lens while the patient is still fully cyclopleged at 408 . in this manner , the optic is again placed into a stressed configuration while the ciliary body is fully relaxed . as with previous embodiments , when cycloplegia is stopped and accommodation occurs at 410 , the lens is able to return to a more relaxed globular configuration . the intraocular lens systems described with respect to fig1 through 18 operate to provide accommodation through a change in shape in the optic resulting from an equilibrium of the anatomical forces and the forces in the lens . as now described , it is also possible to provide accommodation through axial movement of a lens within the eye , all while maintaining equilibrium between the anatomical forces and the structural stress designed into the lens . turning now to fig2 through 24 , an embodiment of another intraocular lens system according to the invention is shown . the lens 500 includes a central optic 502 , two peripheral haptics 504 , and a junction 506 between the optic 502 and the haptics 504 . the junction 506 preferably has an elastic memory such that , in a relaxed configuration of the lens 500 , free ends 505 of the haptics 504 are oriented at a posterior angle a relative to the optic 502 ( fig2 ); i . e ., there is a bias induced between the optic and haptics along an anterior - posterior axis . a preferred range for angle a includes 1 to 60 degrees , with a more preferred angle a being 25 to 35 degrees . the junction 506 can be a skirt portion attached about the periphery of the optic , or can be integrated into the periphery of the optic , particularly where the optic and junction are unitarily formed as one piece from a flexible polymeric material . in addition , the junction 506 can vary in size allowing elastic bias over part or all of the haptic . for instance , the unstressed conformation of the haptic can describe an arc over all or part of its length . a restraining element 508 is preferably provided either at the junction 506 to restrain flexing at the junction ( fig2 ) or extends as a bridge from the optic 502 to the haptics 504 ( fig2 ) to maintain the lens 500 in a stressed preferably substantially planar configuration during implantation and for a post - operative period . alternatively , the stressed configuration can be any configuration of the lens in which the optic is oriented in a more posterior orientation relative to the haptic than in the non - stressed configuration . when the restraining element 508 is removed , the haptics 504 are biased toward an angled configuration relative to the optic 502 , with the optic moved anteriorly relative to the haptics ( fig2 ). more particularly , the optic 502 can be a flexible construction , as in the previous embodiments , or may be substantially rigid . the optic is preferably fixed in power , but may contain zones of different optic power . as such , the optic is either constructed of a suitable flexible polymer such as a silicone polymer , or a suitable stiff plastic such as polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ). the optic preferably has a diameter of approximately 4 mm to 7 mm , and most preferably approximately 5 mm . the haptics 504 can be substantially planar , curved or loop - like in structure ; i . e ., they may generally conform to any well - known haptic structure . moreover , as shown in fig2 , there may be more than two haptics , e . g ., four haptics 504 a . furthermore , as described with respect to the previous embodiments , the haptics 504 may be provided with any number of surface modifications , including knobs , protuberances , textures , fenestration holes , ridge , etc ., that promote strong adhesion with the shrink - wrapped capsular remnant . for example , referring back to fig2 and 26 , a peripheral ridge 510 may be provided to the haptics 504 . the ridge 510 promotes adhesion as well as forces the lens into a more posterior portion of the capsular bag upon implantation , which may be desirable . in addition , the haptics may contain portions of varying flexibility , such as a more flexible peripheral extent to promote flexion of the peripheral haptic against the capsular rim . the restraining elements 508 , as described with respect to the earlier embodiments , are preferably bio - resorbable , chemically resorbable , laser - removable , or surgically removable . any restraining element that is removable in the one of the above listed manners or in any other relatively atraumatic manner and which provides the necessary function of maintaining the lens in a relatively planar stressed configuration during implantation and during a post - operative period can be similarly used . the lens 500 is implanted as described above . that is , cycloplegia is induced , an anterior capsullorrhexis is performed and the lens material removed . referring to fig2 , the lens , in a stressed , substantially planar configuration is inserted into the empty capsular bag . cycloplegia is maintained long enough to allow the capsular bag to heal , “ shrink - wrap ”, and fibrose around the stressed lens . after the bag has healed , cycloplegia is terminated and the restraining element ( not shown in fig2 ) is removed . referring to fig2 , with the lens unrestrained , the optic 502 of the lens 500 is able to move anteriorly forward during accommodation and increase the focusing power of the eye . the optic 502 moves forward for at least two reasons . first , with accommodation , the stress in the ciliary body 16 is increased causing constriction of the ciliary body , and resultant reduced tension on the zonules 26 . this allows bending of the haptic - optic junction 506 back to its relaxed non - planar configuration . second , during accommodation there is anterior movement of the ciliary body 16 . then , when the patient relaxes accommodation , the stress in the ciliary body 16 is reduced and the ciliary body dilates and moves posteriorly . there is a compensatory gain in stress across the optic - haptic junction 506 as the junction is bent against its memory into a more planar configuration and the optic 502 moves posteriorly ( see again fig2 ). in addition , as discussed above with respect to the first embodiment , a photoreactive intraocular lens may be implanted in an unstressed state . after capsular fixation of the lens , light ( e . g ., ultraviolet or infrared ), a chemical agent , or another suitable means is used to alter the optic into a stressed configuration while the ciliary body is fully relaxed . then , when cycloplegia is stopped and accommodation occurs , the lens is able to return to non - stressed configuration in which the lens is located anteriorly relative to the haptic portion . moreover , as also discussed above with respect to the first embodiment , the lens can be implanted in the eye in a non - stressed configuration , and the ciliary can be pharmacologically induced to contract during the healing period . after healing , pharmacological inducement of ciliary contraction is stopped , and the lens operates in the same manner as described above . there have been described and illustrated herein several embodiments of an intraocular lens and methods of implanting the same into an eye . while particular embodiments of the invention have been described , it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto , as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise . thus , while two particular states of intraocular lenses ( fully stressed and fully accommodating ) have been disclosed , it will be appreciated that there is a continuum of states of stress that can be fashioned in the inserted lens that would be appropriate for any given state of the ciliary body . in addition , while particular types of materials have been disclosed for the lens , the dissolving material , and a viscoelastic material ( where used ), it will be understood that other suitable materials can be used . also , while exemplar pharmacological agents are disclosed for maintaining a state of the ciliary body , it is understood that other agents can be used . furthermore , while the skirt has been shown comprised of two to four haptics , it is recognized that a single haptic or five or more haptics may be utilized . moreover , while the restraining struts and shells have been described with respect to skirts comprising haptics , it will be appreciated that the restraining struts and shells can be used with a circular skirt , as described with respect to the preferred embodiments . in addition , while in the second embodiment the optic - haptic junction is stated to preferably have a memory , it is appreciated that other means may be employed to cause the haptics to assume a non - stressed angle configuration relative to optic . for example , an elastic membrane or struts may connect the free ends of the haptics to urge the free ends toward each other and consequently the optic forward . it will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its spirit and scope as claimed . | 0 |
prior to describing a cache coherency mechanism , there will first be described a cache architecture within which the mechanism can be implemented . fig3 is a block diagram of a computer incorporating a cache system . the computer comprises a cpu 2 which is connected to an address bus 4 for accessing items from a main memory 6 and to a data bus 8 for returning items to the cpu 2 . although the data bus 8 is referred to herein as a data bus , it will be appreciated that this is for the return of items from the main memory 6 , whether or not they constitute actual data or instructions for execution by the cpu . the system described herein is suitable for use on both instruction and data caches . as is known , there may be separate data and instruction caches , or the data and instruction cache may be combined . in the computer described herein , the addressing scheme is a so - called virtual addressing scheme . the address is split into a line in page address 4 a and a virtual page address 4 b . the virtual page address 4 b is supplied to a translation look - aside buffer ( tlb ) 10 . the line in page address 4 a is supplied to a look - up circuit 12 . the translation look - aside buffer 10 supplies a real page address 14 converted from the virtual page address 4 b to the look - up circuit 12 . the look - up circuit 12 is connected via address and data buses 16 , 18 to a cache access circuit 20 . again , the data bus 18 can be for data items or instructions from the main memory 6 . the cache access circuit 20 is connected to a cache memory 22 via an address bus 24 , a data bus 26 and a control bus 28 which transfers replacement information for the cache memory 22 . a refill engine 30 is connected to the cache access circuit 20 via a refill bus 32 which transfers replacement information , data items ( or instructions ) and addresses between the refill engine and the cache access circuit . the refill engine 30 is itself connected to the main memory 6 . the refill engine 30 receives from the translation look - aside buffer 10 a full real address 34 , comprising the real page address and line in page address of an item in the main memory 6 . the refill engine 30 also receives a miss signal on line 38 which is generated in the look - up circuit 12 in a manner which will be described more clearly hereinafter . the cache memory 22 described herein is a direct mapped cache , although this is not necessary to implement the invention . that is , it has a plurality of addressable storage locations , each location constituting one row of the cache . each row contains an item from main memory and part of the address in main memory of that item . each row is addressable by a row address which is constituted by a number of bits representing the least significant bits of the address in main memory of the data items stored at that row . for example , for a cache memory having eight rows , each row address would be three bits long to uniquely identify those rows . for example , the second row in the cache has a row address 001 and thus could hold any data items from main memory having an address in the main memory which ends in the bits 001 . clearly , in the main memory , there would be many such addresses and thus potentially many data items to be held at that row in the cache memory . of course , the cache memory can hold only one data item at that row at any one time . the cache memory includes a tag ram 23 ( fig7 ) which holds for each row a tag identifying the page ( by page address or some bits thereof ) for the item held in that row in the cache . to provide a cache system with greater flexibility , an n - way set associative cache memory has been developed . an example of a 4 - way set associative cache is illustrated in fig4 . the cache memory is divided into four banks b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , b 4 . the banks can be commonly addressed row - wise by a common row address , as illustrated schematically for one row in fig4 . however , that row contains four cache entries , one for each bank . the cache entry for bank b 1 is output on bus 26 a , the cache entry for bank b 2 is output on bus 26 b , and so on for banks b 3 and b 4 . thus , this allows four cache entries for one row address ( or line in page address ). each time a row is addressed , four cache entries are output and the real page numbers of their addresses are compared with the real page number supplied from the translation look - aside buffer 10 to determine which entry is the correct one . if there is a cache miss upon an attempted access to the cache , the refill engine 30 retrieves the requested item from the main memory 6 and loads it into the correct row in one of the banks , in accordance with a refill algorithm which is based on , for example , how long a particular item has been held in the cache , or other program parameters of the system . such replacement algorithms are known and are not described further herein . basic operation of the computer system illustrated in fig3 will now be described , as though the cacheable behaviours of different pages did not exist . the cpu 2 requests an item from main memory 6 using the address in main memory and transmits that address on address bus 4 . the virtual page number is supplied to the translation look - aside buffer 10 which translates it into a real page number 14 according to a predetermined virtual to real page translation algorithm . the real page number 14 is supplied to the look - up circuit 12 together with the line in page number 4 a of the original address transmitted by the cpu 2 . the line in page address is used by the cache access circuit 20 to address the cache memory 22 . the line in page address includes a set of least significant bits ( not necessarily including the end bits ) of the main address in memory which are equivalent to the row address in the cache memory 22 . the contents of the cache memory 22 at the row address identified by the line in page address , being a data item ( or instruction ) and the address in main memory ( or the tag ) of the data item ( or instruction ), are supplied to the look - up circuit 12 . there , the real page number of the address which has been retrieved from the cache memory is compared with the real page number which has been supplied from the translation look - aside buffer 10 . if these addresses match , the look - up circuit indicates a hit and generates a match signal ms ( fig6 ), which causes the data item which was held at that row of the cache memory to be returned to the cpu along data bus 8 . if however the real page number of the address which was held at the addressed row in the cache memory 22 does not match the real page number supplied from the translation look - aside buffer 10 , then a miss signal is generated on line 38 to the refill engine 30 . it is the task of the refill engine 30 to retrieve the correct item from the main memory 6 , using the real address which is supplied from the translation look - aside buffer 10 on bus 34 . the data item , once fetched from main memory 6 is supplied to the cache access circuit 20 via the refill bus 32 and is loaded into the cache memory 22 together with the address in main memory . the data item itself is also returned to the cpu along data bus 8 so that the cpu can continue to execute . in a direct mapped cache memory as outlined above , it will be apparent that the data item and its address recalled from the main memory 6 will be loaded into the storage location from which the data item was originally accessed for checking . that is , it will be over - written into one of a small number of locations which can accept it , having a row address matching the set of least significant bits in the line in page address in main memory . fig5 illustrates in more detail the content of the refill engine 30 . the refill bus 32 is shown in fig5 as three separate buses , a data bus 32 a , an address bus 32 b and a bus 32 c carrying replacement information . the address and data buses 32 b and 32 a are supplied to a memory access circuit 50 which accesses the main memory via the memory bus 54 . the replacement information is fed to a decision circuit 52 which also receives the real address 34 and the miss signal 38 . the decision circuit 52 determines the proper location of the cache into which data accessed from the main memory is to be located . some possible variations on the above described embodiment are mentioned below . in the described embodiment above , the address issued by the cpu on address bus 4 is split into a virtual page number 4 b and a line in page 4 a . however , the entire virtual address could be sent from the cpu to the look - up circuit for the cache . conversely , the cpu could issue real addresses directly to the look - up circuit . in the embodiment described above , a single cache access circuit 20 is shown for accessing the cache both on look - up and refill . however , it is also possible to provide the cache with an additional access port for refill , so that look - up and refill take place via different access ports for the cache memory 22 . in the described embodiment , the refill engine 30 and cache access circuit 20 are shown in individual blocks . however , it would be quite possible to combine their functions into a single cache access circuit which performs both look - up and refill . as can be seen in fig2 and 4 , each location in the cache holds an address in main memory and the item ( data or instruction ) from that address in main memory . it is not necessary for the whole of the memory address to be held at the cache location . for example the most significant bits of the address would generally be held to constitute a tag for that cache entry and is held in the tag ram 23 . this is known in the art and is not described further herein . the principles of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the following examples . the cache coherency mechanism revolves around the data cache instructions flush , purge and validate and how they act on the cache and memory . the action of each of these instructions is dependent on the type of the page on which the data resides and whether the implementation has hardware to assist in the maintenance of coherence . the developer of the software targets their code to the model which they believe will be most effective — either by dint of performance or simplicity . the two cacheable page types which allow sharing are known as software coherent and automatically coherent . here , software written which uses either ( or both ) page types will work on a wide variety of implementations without requiring the provision of coherency hardware . for data resident on pages of type automatically coherent , the software program does not include any coherency instructions ( flush , purge , validate ) to maintain coherency — the implementation guarantees this automatically . for data resident on pages of type software coherent , software takes full responsibility for keeping data coherent in the system . it does this by issuing coherency instructions to establish coherency at appropriate points in the software . 1 . it does not require the implementation to provide coherency hardware to support automatic coherency . programs will function on all suitable platforms . 3 . implementations can use special hardware to expedite coherency operations used for data resident on software coherent pages . 4 . although they are not strictly necessary , coherency instructions may be issued to addresses which are on pages of type automatically coherent with impunity . there is a page type known as unshared which is designed to contain data which is private to a single cpu . it is normally implemented write - back . in this case the coherency instructions have simple semantics as described in table i . because data on unshared pages are used by only one user there are no coherency implications and it is not described later . this permits efficient libraries of software to be written without knowing the coherency implications of data on which the software routines in the library operate . if the software is written with coherency instructions then the library will function on any of the three cached data types — with varying degrees of efficiency . three exemplary implementations follow which further illustrate the invention . note that in each of the following the coherency unit has conventional functionality and design . the novelty lies in the page type usage specified in the tlb and the way the function of the instructions is modified by it . in the simplest implementation , data on pages of type software coherent is cached using a write - through procedure and data on pages of type automatically coherent is prevented from residing in the cache . as described earlier , the tlb 10 is an associative store comprising a number of entries , one for each page , containing the virtual address vp and the associated physical address rp . a tlb entry is shown in fig6 . as can be seen , each entry contains thee bits ( denoted cb ) which indicate the cache behaviour page type . the operation of the cache system and coherency instructions is governed by the contents of these bits . the names of the page types is given in table ii . all memory and coherency instructions are implemented by the operation of first visiting the tlb then performing an action dependent , among other things , on the value in the cb field of the matching tlb entry . for the purposes of this disclosure the tlb is otherwise conventional . the operation of load and store instructions on data resident in the shared cache page types is summarised in table iii . the action of flush , purge and validate instructions for this simplest write - through implementation is described in table iv . a scheme suitable for providing automatically coherent data will now be described with reference to fig1 and 7 . in this implementation , data on pages of type software coherent are cached using a write - through procedure and data on pages of type automatically coherent may be resident in the cache and are implemented using a policy of write - allocate , write through with “ snooped ” invalidates . fig7 illustrates a tag ram 23 which forms part of the cache 22 . the tag ram holds address tags associated with items in the cache . in addition , there is a dirty bit db and valid vb held for each location in the cache 22 . the coherency unit 3 is similar to that referenced 3 in fig1 and allows automatic coherency to be implemented . for data which is resident in the cache 22 and on a page of type automatically coherent , a load instruction will service the request from the cache . a store instruction is implemented as write - through , so that all stores are immediately updated in the cache and main memory . additionally , all other coherency units on the system bus perform a look - up based on the address lua ( look - up address ) which accompanies the store . this is called snooping . if the address matches an address in the tag ram 23 of the cache 22 then the coherency logic asserts a signal iv ( invalidate signal ) which results in the valid bit vb being negated . this invalidates matching cache lines in every other cache in the system . for data which is not resident in the cache , and resident on a page of type automatically coherent , a read request simply fetches the line into the cache with no other effects . a write request wr to an address addr in similar circumstances first of all reads the data into the cache by transferring a line from main memory into a location in the cache , then updates the cache copy by modifying the bytes in the centre location only . the value is written through to memory and the coherency unit ensures that all other cached copies are invalidated . for data which is resident in the cache and on a page of type software coherent , a load instruction will service the request from the cache . if the data is not in the cache it is fetched from main memory . a store request to data which is resident in the cache updates main memory and the cache copy if the data is in the cache . if the store request is to an address not in the cache , only the main memory version is updated . the data is not fetched into the cache . the operation of load and store instructions on data resident in the shared cache page types is summarised in table v . the action of flush , purge and invalidate instructions for this example is described in table vi . fig7 illustrates the operation of coherency hardware which can be used to invalidate caches on write . when a write occurs on the system bus the writenotread line wr and the write address addr are latched by all caches in the system which are not attached to the processor performing the write . each coherency unit causes a look - up to occur on the write address using the look - up signal lua . if a hit occurs ( i . e . the write address is equivalent to the address tag and the valid bit is set ), as indicated by the match signal ms , the coherency unit causes the valid bit on the matched cache line to be cleared using the invalidate signal . this invalidates the cache line . if the look - up results in a miss , i . e . no matching cache tag is found , then nothing further happens for that cache . for load instructions which miss in the cache the data is fetched from memory . more complex hardware suitable for providing automatically coherent data may be used . in this implementation , data on pages of type software coherent and automatically coherent are implemented identically . they use a write - allocate , write - back with “ snarfed ” updates to other caches . the scheme is illustrated in fig1 and 8 . fig8 illustrates the tag ram 23 and a coherency unit 3 ′. in addition , a data ram 25 which forms part of the cache 22 is also illustrated . the data ram 25 has a plurality of lines corresponding to lines in the tag ram 23 for holding data items . for data which is resident in the cache and on a page of type automatically coherent , or software coherent , a load instruction will service the request from the cache as normal . if the requested data is not in the cache then the coherent hardware will attempt to locate the data ( by its address ) in any of the other caches in the system . if this attempt fails it will fetch the data from external memory . a store to data resident in the cache will cause the update of the copy held in the cache and additionally update all other caches which already hold a copy of the data . the mechanism for this is as follows . when a store occurs , which hits in the cache , the cached copy is updated . concurrently , the new value is copied onto the system bus and all other coherency units on the system bus perform a look - up based on the address which accompanies the store . if the address matches an address in the tag ram then the coherency logic asserts a signal which results in the cache updating the line with the data on the bus . this is a conventional technique sometimes referred to as snarfing . for data which is not present in the cache when a store is attempted , the data is first fetched as described earlier for a load , and then the write takes place on the resident line . the operation of load and store instructions on data resident in the shared cache page types is summarised in table vii . the action of coherency instructions for a more complex write - back implementation is described in table viii . fig8 illustrates the action of coherency hardware which can be used to update caches on write or take a copy of data on a read . when a store occurs on the system bus the writenotread line wr and the address addr are latched by all caches in the system which are not attached to the processor performing the store . each such coherency unit causes a look - up to occur on the store address by supplying the address to the tag ram 23 as the look - up address lua . if a hit occurs , as indicated by the match signal ms , the coherency unit causes write data also called update data to be copied into the cache using the updatenotcopy signal unc . this updates the cache line . if the look - up results in a miss , i . e . no matching cache tag is found , then nothing further happens for that cache . when a load occurs on the system bus the writenotread line wr and the address addr are latched by all caches in the system which are not attached to the processor performing the load . each such coherency unit causes a look - up to occur on the load address by supplying it as the look - up address lua . if a hit occurs , as indicated by the match signal ms , the coherency unit causes the cached copy , in the data ram 25 to be copied onto the system bus using the copy data and read data lines and using the updatenotcopy signal unc . when the data is placed on the system bus the processor performing the load will copy it into its cache . if there are several caches which have copies of this data a system bus arbiter ( not shown ) selects one ( they are all the same ) and uses it to drive the bus . if the look - up results in a miss , i . e . no matching cache tag is found , then nothing further happens for that cache . the present cache coherency mechanism provides the following instructions . in these instructions , the denotation dmem refers to the main memory of the computer system . these instructions are provided to make certain that dirty data is visible to other users . that is , the item held at the relevant cache location is written back to the address in main memory held at that cache location with the item . flush a dirty cache line which could be replaced by a memory these instructions are provided to remove data from the cache — they write back data items in the cache to addresses in main memory specified with those items , then invalidate the cache contents . write back to memory any dirty items in the line containing purge a valid cache line which could be replaced by a memory a line is purged by writing to memory any dirty data it in another embodiment , the partition - based flush instruction can have the following form . in the following instruction , var & lt ; a : b & gt ; is bits a to b of the variable var . the purge instruction can take a similar form where a single instruction is to operate on a plurality of lines in the cache . | 6 |
a support member 10 , shaped like the calotte of a head , of a hair - piece substantially consists of a plurality of resilient rods 12 and 13 of plastic material , curved to form a basket , which extend radially from a circular knot piece 11 and may be of different lengths . the plate - like flat knot piece 11 may be integrally formed with the rods 12 , 13 by producing the support member 10 in an extrusion process , the rods being of either a circular or a flattened cross section and having a smooth outer surface without projections . in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , the knot piece is arranged eccentrically with respect to the calotte of the head , so that it rests on the back of the head of a user . the front rods 12 are associated with the front part of the head and extend toward the hairline at which they end freely . according to the respective course of the hairline and the desired hairdo , the rods 12 may be shortened by cutting . rods 13 are shorter than the front rods 12 and extend radially from the knot piece 11 across the sides and the back of the head . an optional shortening of these rods by cutting is possible as well , so that certain effects and adaptations to the head and the hairdo of the user may be obtained by unequal lengths of the rods . rods 12 and 13 enclose almost triangular spaces 14 in pairs , the points of which lie at the knot piece 11 and which are open and free of transversal webs over their entire extension . the angles between rods 12 , 13 may be coincident or different for groups of rods in order to vary the number of rods 12 , 13 in dependence from the density of the user &# 39 ; s own hair . a larger angle between two rods 13a , 13b is provided in the plane of the nose in the region of the back of the head of the support member 10 , which results in a gap 15 in the circle of rods 12 , 13 . it is the effect of this gap 14 that the wearer of the hair - piece may lay back his head without being hindered by the rods ( fig . 2 ). each rod 12 , 13 and the knot piece 11 bear hair on the surface facing away from user &# 39 ; s head , which hair may be optionally dyed and / or waved ( fig1 a ). the hair - piece is pushed on the head of the user from behind , such that the free dull ends of rods 12 , 13 slide over the skin of the head until knot piece 11 abuts on the back of the head . then , a pointed object is applied at the hairline , i . e . in the region of the free ends of all rods 12 , 13 , which object is drawn over the skin of the head through each triangular space 14 towards knot piece 11 . in doing so , the user &# 39 ; s own hair 21 ( fig1 a ) is drawn out easily and may be uniformly mixed with the supplementary hair 20 , such that the user &# 39 ; s thin own hair 21 is filled up by the hair - piece 120 , thus obtaining a voluminous hairdo in which also the hairline looks natural due to the freely ending rods 12 . hair pins may be inserted into the area of knot piece 11 between the cylindrical even rods 12 , 13 in order to fix the hair - piece 120 on the head . alternatively , each rod 112 , 113 ( fig . 4 ) may be lined with barbs 16 the openings of which face the knot piece 111 , so that , upon drawing out the user &# 39 ; s hair in the direction of the arrow a with the help of an object moved over the skin of the head , the barbs 16 are not hindering . in the embodiment of fig4 the knot piece 111 is formed as a circular plate 17 having a central hole 19 open at the top and the bottom , through which a so - called rider pin may be inserted into a knot of hair at the back of the head by turning . rider pins are coiled and provide for a good hold of the hair - piece 120 on the head . radially oriented pockets 18 , open to the outside , are distributed over the circumference of the plate 17 . each pocket 18 serves for the clamping reception of an adapted end of a rod 12 , 13 or 112 , 113 that may be optionally pulled out of the pockets 18 . in this way , it is possible to change rods having different hair and the hair - piece 120 may be used as a demonstration object . the way the hair 20 is fastened to the rods 12 , 13 or 112 , 113 is illustrated in fig6 and 7 . in order to enlarge the surface of each rod 12 , 13 , 112 , 113 on which to fasten hair , the rod is preferably formed with a semi - circular cross section , the round portion facing outward , as shown in fig5 and 6 with respect to rod 12 . according to fig5 longer and / or shorter hair 20 is glued or welded onto the semi - circular outer surface along the entire length of rod 12 . in fig6 the rod 12 is longitudinally parted with hair 20 being clamped into the clamping gap 12a . both longitudinal halves of rod 12 are subsequently adherently connected . whereas in the embodiment of fig1 to 3 and 4 the knot piece 11 or 111 was a circular plate , the knot piece 30 of the hair - piece 100 according to fig7 to 10 is provided as a longitudinal bar , the longitudinal axis extending in the plane of the ears of the wearer of the hair - piece . the longitudinal knot piece 30 forms the crown area situated in the upper portion of the back of the head , from which rods 31 , 32 , 33 extend peripherally that are bent such that the support member 100 forms a basket - like structure receiving the head fittingly . since the rods 31 , 32 , 33 are resilient , a support member 100 will fit on various forms and sizes of heads . the longitudinal shape of the knot piece 30 allows to let the front rods 31 and the rear rods 33 extend from the knot piece 30 such that they extend in parallel for the greater part and that the intermediate spaces 34 are of almost the same width at the upper and at the lower ends . avoiding acute angles facilitates drawing out the wearer &# 39 ; s own hair between the rods . in addition to their curvature , the front rods 31a , associated with both ends of the knot piece 30 , are bent at least once in the plane of the head surface for adaptation to the shape of the head , thereby achieving a natural adaptation of the course of the hair of the hair - piece to a hairdo . the lateral rods 32 and the end rods 33 may also be bent in the plane of the head . a clipping 35 at the lower edge of the rear rods 33 prevents any inconvenience to the wearer of the hair - piece when laying back his head . knot piece 30 that may be integrally formed as an extruded part with rods 31 , 32 , 33 has a central longitudinal slot 36 serving as a passage for hair pins or the like which are inserted into a braided knot of hair beneath knot piece 30 and which secure hair - piece 100 against displacement . in the embodiment illustrated , rods 31 , 32 , 33 are of circular cross section . contrary to fig5 and 6 , the hair is not provided directly on the rods but on hoses 40 that may be clampingly slipped onto rods 31 , 32 , 33 and which , due to their flexibility , adapt to the form of the rods . the length of each hose 40 corresponds to the length of the rod 31 , 32 , 33 for which it is destined . for a secure connection of rods 31 , 32 , 33 with hoses 40 , one end of the hoses is provided with a hole on the side bearing the hair , which , when hose 40 is slipped onto a rod , receives a pin 41 protruding from rods 31 , 32 , 33 in the vicinity of the knot piece ( fig1 ). if it is intended to use the support member 100 and the hoses 40 to demonstrate hair tints , securing means may be omitted in order to facilitate pulling the hoses off the rods 31 , 32 , 33 . in order to maximize the hair - bearing surface on hoses 40 , they are flattened , as shown in the final view of the arrangement according to fig1 , so that they may receive rod 31 , 32 , 33 having a circular cross section , but extend beyond the rod on two parallel sides . moreover , this form is advantageous , since it provides a close fitting to the skin of the head and the hair sits closer to the skin of the head . | 0 |
the following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings . the embodiments are described in such detail as to clearly communicate to one of ordinary skill how to make and use the claimed invention . however , the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments ; on the contrary , the intention is to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims . a foodservice container caddy ( hereinafter referred to as a “ caddy ”) according to various embodiments can be used to transport and place foodservice containers without portions of the foodservice containers coming into contact with a surface . in addition , such a device can enable foodservice staff to handle foodservice containers without risk of personal exposure to hazardous surfaces . note that although caddies designed for bus tubs and steam table pans are used as the primary examples throughout , some embodiments of a caddy can be used for handling various different foodservice containers . as used herein , the terms “ container ” or “ foodservice container ” are used interchangeably unless otherwise specified . foodservice containers include , but are not limited to , tubs , trays , pans , or the like used in the foodservice industry or foodservice establishments such as restaurants , dining halls , cafeterias and cafés . bus tubs , steam table pans , and food serving trays are examples of foodservice containers . in some embodiments , the container can have a shape that includes an upper portion and a lower portion . for example , a container might have a bottom , one or more sides , and a lip structure , where the bottom and a lower portion of the sides make up the lower portion of the container , and the lip structure and an upper portion of the sides make up the upper portion of the container . in some embodiments , the lip structure of the container can be a circumferential “ lip ” that extends along the top of all sides of the container , handle structures integrated into the structure of the container , or the like . in some embodiments , a caddy allows foodservice staff to handle and utilize a container without portions of the container coming into contact with a surface . for example , a bus tub , which can be utilized by foodservice staff to clean a dining - room table and collect used diningware after consumers have departed , may accumulate water , grease , or some other liquids on its outer surfaces after the bus tub has been deposited on a kitchen surface to unload the used diningware to be cleaned . placing the bus tub into a caddy can help ensure that , when the bus tub is carried to and placed on a surface or dining - room surface , any liquids on the outer surface of the container do not touch or otherwise contaminate the dining - room surface , thereby preventing such liquids from damaging the dining - room surface or damaging clothing or other personal assets of customers . as used herein , the term “ dining - room surface ” includes , but is not limited to , a dining - room table , dining - room floor , dining - room upholstery , or the like . in another example , a steam table pan , which can be utilized by foodservice staff to deliver cooked food to a steam table in a dining room , may , in addition to accumulating water on its outer surface from steam condensation , have surfaces that are too hot to be safely handled by foodservice staff without some form of thermal protection device , such as a thermal glove . some embodiments of the caddy can incorporate materials that have insulating properties to ensure that , when the steam table pan is carried to or from a steam table , any liquids that have accumulated on the outer surfaces of the steam table pan do not drip onto dining room surfaces , and that foodservice staff , dining - room surfaces , and the like are not damaged , injured , or otherwise harmed by the temperature of the steam table pan . in some embodiments , the caddy can include a sleeve ( also referred to herein as a “ receptacle ”, “ sheath ”, and the like ) and handles . in some embodiments , the sleeve can be made of multiple layers of materials , some of which are different from other layers . for example , in some embodiments , the sleeve can include an outer layer that comes into contact with dining - room surfaces . the sleeve can also include an inner layer that comes into contact with a container placed in the caddy . in some embodiments , the inner layer can have insulating properties . various layers of the sleeve can be made of materials such as fabric , vinyl , leather , plastic , metal , wood , or the like . one or more of the sleeve layers may be waterproof , water - resistant , grease - proof , grease - resistant , proofed or resistant against absorbing or retaining other liquids . in some embodiments , the handles can be irreversibly attached to the sleeve . for example , where the sleeve is formed or constructed from a single piece of material , the handles can be formed or constructed out of the same piece of material . in some other embodiments , the handles can be reversibly or irreversibly attached to the sleeve via one or more various attachment means including , but not limited to , snap - buttons , zippers , adhesives , stitching , stapling , or the like . in some embodiments , the handles can be holding straps , lengths of cord or rope , other pieces of material , or the like . in some embodiments , the handles can be coupled to each other to form a handle assembly which may be formed or constructed from a single piece of material including , but not limited to , fabric , vinyl , leather , plastic , metal , wood , or the like . in some embodiments , some or all of the handle assembly or handles can extend on one or more sides of some or all portions that make up the sleeve . a handle assembly can extend along the outer layers of the sleeve , or between two or more layers of some or all portions that make up the sleeve . in some embodiments , part of the handle assembly extends along the inner layers of the side portions of the sleeve , while part of the handle assembly extends between the inner layer and outer layer of the bottom portion . the portion of the handle assembly which extends between two or more layers of a portion of the sleeve can be attached to one or more of the layers . in some embodiments , a part of the handle assembly that extends between the inner layer and outer layer of the bottom portion of a sleeve can be attached to the inner layer via stitching . in other embodiments , parts of the handle assembly are attached to both inner and outer layers via one or more forms of attachment including , but not limited to , stitching , stapling , adhesives , soldering , welding , or the like . in some embodiments , the various portions of the caddy can be attached to each other using various forms of attachment . for example , in some embodiments where the caddy includes two side portions and one bottom portion , the side portions can be attached to each other via stitching that extends through some or all layers of material that make of the side portions , and the side portions may be attached to the bottom portion via an adhesive . in some other embodiments , other forms of attachment or combinations thereof may be utilized , including , but not limited to , stapling , soldering , welding , or the like . in some embodiments , an additional piece of material covers the edge along which an attachment between two or more portions of the sleeve extends . for example , an attachment cover can extend along the edge between the side portions and the bottom portion , with stitching extending between one or more points on the attachment cover and through some or all of the layers that make up the side portions , bottom portion , or both . the attachment cover may be coupled to the portions by a different form of attachment . in some embodiments , the side portions are attached to the bottom portion via stitching , while the attachment cover can be attached to both portions via one or more of adhesives , stapling , another set of stitching , soldering , welding , or the like . in some embodiments , the sleeve of the caddy can be sized to fit over the lower portion of a foodservice container in such a manner that the fit is snug , yet still enables the foodservice container to be removed from the caddy with minimal effort . for example , in some embodiments the sleeve of the caddy may be sized to fit snugly and removably over the lower portion of a bus tub , where the sleeve must ensure that the outer surfaces of the bus tub do not contaminate or otherwise damage or room surfaces , foodservice staff , consumers , or the like , yet also enable the bus tub to be quickly removed from the sleeve to unload dirty dishes or the like . in some other embodiments , the sleeve of the caddy can be sized to fit loosely over the lower portion of a foodservice container such that the foodservice container can be removed from the caddy as quickly as possible . for example , in some embodiments the sleeve of the caddy may be sized to fit loosely over the lower portion of a serving tray , where the serving tray must be removed from the sleeve often . in other embodiments , the sleeve of the caddy can be sized to fit tightly over the lower portion of a foodservice container such that the caddy forms a tight seal around the lower portion of the foodservice container . for example , an insulated sleeve of the caddy can be sized to fit tightly over the lower portion of a serving tray , where quick removal of the foodservice container from the caddy is a lower priority . referring first to fig1 , embodiments of a foodservice container caddy (“ caddy ”) 102 are illustrated and discussed . fig1 illustrates a perspective view 100 of caddy 102 , which is adapted to receive part of container 103 , which has a lower portion 105 and an upper portion 107 . caddy 102 can include a sleeve , made up of a bottom portion 104 and one or more side portions 106 , and two or more handles 108 . in some embodiments , the sleeve of caddy 102 can have one or more of various types of shapes including , but not limited to , generally rectangular , circular , elliptic , hexagonal , some other polygonal shape , or the like . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , the sleeve of caddy 102 has a generally rectangular shape . in some embodiments , bottom portion 104 and side portions 106 can include one or more layers of material . in the illustrated embodiment , side portions 106 include an inner layer 120 and an outer layer 116 . one or more layers can have certain properties including , but not limited to , waterproofing or water - resistance , liquidproofing or liquid - resistance , water - absorbance , impermeability to some or all elements or compounds , heat resistance , stain resistance , insulating properties , opacity , transparency , varying levels of translucence , or the like . in some embodiments , the layers that make up a bottom portion 104 or side portion 106 are attached to each other . in the illustrated embodiment , for example , the inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 that make up side portion 106 are attached to each other via stitching 114 that extends through both layers . in some embodiments , the layers can fold at or near the point of attachment . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 of side portions 106 can be folded inwards upon themselves near the point of attachment such that stitching 114 can pass through each layer more than once . the point of attachment between two layers can vary in some embodiments . in the illustrated embodiment , the area of attachment between inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 on the side portions 106 is near the top edge of the side portion . other forms of attachment to attach layers that make up a bottom portion 104 or side portion 106 , such as adhesives , stapling , soldering , welding , or the like , which may or may not extend partially or fully through one or more layers , exist between two or more layers , or attach one or more layers in another manner are contemplated and should be considered to be encompassed by the scope of this disclosure . in some embodiments , caddy 102 is adapted to receive a container 103 . container 103 can be a bus tub , a steam table pan , some other foodservice container , or the like . in some embodiments , caddy 102 is configured to receive only a lower portion 105 of container 103 , leaving an upper portion 107 of container 103 to extend above the side portions 106 of caddy 102 . for example , in some embodiments , the side portions 106 may extend only four inches above the bottom portion 104 , such that the caddy 102 is adapted to receive a container 103 which features a combined height of the lower portion 105 and upper portion 107 that exceeds four inches . in some other embodiments , container 103 may feature a circumferential lip that extends substantially around part or all of the upper portion 107 of container 103 , and caddy 102 can be configured to receive only the lower portion 105 of container 103 so that the circumferential lip remains above the side portions 106 of caddy 102 . in some embodiments , caddy 102 may be sized to fit over the lower portion 105 in such a manner that ensures a snug fit between caddy 102 and container 103 yet enables container 103 to be quickly removed from the sleeve of caddy 102 . in some other embodiments , caddy 102 may be sized to fit more tightly or loosely over the lower portion 105 of container 103 . where more than one side portion 106 make up the sides of caddy 102 , side portions 106 can be attached to each other via one or more forms of attachment . in the illustrated embodiment , for example , two side portions 106 are attached to each other via stitching 118 that can extend through one or more layers of one or both side portions 106 . other forms of attachment to attach side portions 106 , such as adhesives , stapling , soldering , welding , or the like , which may or may not extend partially or fully through one or more side portions 106 , exist between two or more side portions 106 , or attach one or more side portions 106 in another manner are possible and should be considered to be encompassed by the scope of this disclosure . handles 108 can be formed or constructed of a single length of fabric that is looped back upon and attached to itself , via stitching , adhesive , stapling , or some other method , to form a single handle assembly that extends adjacent to at least one layer that makes up bottom portion 104 and side portion 106 . in some other embodiments , handles 108 can be formed or constructed of a single piece of material formed or constructed from a mold , cast , or the like . in some embodiments , a handle assembly can be formed or constructed from one or more pieces of material . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , a handle assembly is formed or constructed from two handles 108 and two straps ( not shown ) which are stitched together . the straps in the illustrated embodiment extend below bottom portion 104 and are attached to the inner layer 120 of bottom portion 104 via stitching 110 , which can extend partially or fully through one or more layers of bottom portion 104 and partially or fully through the strap itself where one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 are formed or constructed of more than one piece of material , some or all of the handle assembly can extend between layers that make up one or more side portion 106 and bottom portion 104 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , bottom portion 104 is made up of an inner layer 120 ( shown ) and an outer layer ( not shown ), and the straps that are attached to handles 108 to make up a handle assembly , which are not shown but are denoted by stitching 110 , extend between the inner layer 120 and the outer layer ( not shown ) that make up bottom portion 104 . in some embodiments , one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 can include one or more layers that have insulating properties , including but not limited to some type of thermal insulation . for example and not by way of limitation , in some embodiments where side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 include an inner layer 120 and an outer layer 116 ( not shown for bottom portion 104 ) that are attached to each other to make the sleeve of caddy 102 , one or more layers of insulating material can be located between the inner layer 120 and the outer layer 116 . in some embodiments where caddy 102 is used to receive a container 103 that has hot or cold outer surfaces , one or more layers of insulating material located in side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 can protect foodservice staff and other objects , surfaces , and the like from being burned , injured , damaged , or otherwise affected by the hot surfaces of container 103 . for example , in some embodiments where container 103 is a steam table pan , the surfaces of which may be hot , insulation layers in one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 can help protect the foodservice staff handling caddy 102 and others from being affected by the hot surfaces of container 103 . other types of insulation layers can make up one or more portions of caddy 102 . for example , an inner layer 120 , an outer layer 116 , or both , making up one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 may have insulating properties . in some embodiments , side portions 106 are attached to bottom portion 104 to form a sleeve . in the illustrated embodiment , for example , side portions 106 are attached to bottom portion 104 via stitching 122 that extends one or more layers of one or both of the side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . other forms of attachment used to attach side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 are possible and should be considered to be encompassed by the scope of this disclosure . such forms of attachment can include , but are not limited to , adhesives , stapling , soldering , welding , or the like and can extend partially or fully through one or more layers of the sleeve , lie between two or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , or attach one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 in some other manner . furthermore , in some embodiments , an attachment cover 112 can cover the point of attachment between one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , attachment cover 112 covers the point of attachment between side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , with stitching 122 extending from one side of attachment cover 112 , through one or more layers of one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , and , in some embodiments , to another side of attachment cover 112 ( not shown ). in some embodiments , an attachment cover 112 can protect the point of attachment between one or more portion from deteriorating due to friction , frequent impacts , thermal stresses , or the like . in some embodiments , an attachment cover 112 can be integrated into the attachment of side portions 106 to each other . where some or all of the inner layer 120 of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 is waterproof , water - resistant , grease - proof , grease - resistant , liquid - proof , liquid - resistant , or the like , caddy 102 may be adapted to catch and trap liquids leaked from or on the outside of container 103 . for example , in embodiments where container 103 is a steam table pan , which may have steam condensate on its outer surfaces , the condensate could drain into the sleeve formed or constructed by side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , thereby preventing such condensate from dripping onto other surfaces , including but not limited to dining room tables , floors , and upholstery . in some other embodiments , container 103 is a bus tub , which may have water , grease , or some other liquid on its outer surfaces . in such an embodiment , the liquid could drain into the sleeve formed or constructed by side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , thereby preventing such liquid from dripping onto other surfaces , including but not limited to dining - room surfaces . in some such embodiments , caddy 102 can be provided with an absorbent inner layer ( not illustrated ) that may or may not be removable . referring to fig2 , embodiments of a foodservice container caddy (“ caddy ”) are illustrated and discussed . fig2 illustrates a cross - sectional width view 200 of the embodiment of caddy 102 illustrated in fig1 from near the midsection of caddy 102 . fig2 illustrates an embodiment of caddy 102 where side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 that make up the sleeve of caddy 102 are each made up of inner layer 120 , outer layer 116 , and an internal layer 204 , which in some embodiments has insulating properties . in some embodiments , the inner layer 120 on the bottom portion 104 may be different from , or be made of a different material than the inner layer 120 on one or more of the side portions 106 , and the outer layer 120 on the bottom portion 104 may be different from , or be made of a different material than the outer layer 120 on one or more of the side portions 106 . in some embodiments , some parts of the handle assembly illustrated and discussed in fig1 can extend between layers that make up one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . for example , as shown in the illustrated embodiment where the handle assembly illustrated and discussed in fig1 includes handles 108 ( not illustrated ) and two straps 202 , the straps 202 can extend through bottom portion 104 between the inner layer 120 of bottom portion 104 and the outer layer 116 of bottom portion 104 . the straps 202 can , in some embodiments , be attached to one or more layers by stitching , stapling , adhesives , welding , soldering , or the like . in the illustrated embodiment , straps 202 are attached to the inner layer 120 of bottom portion 104 by stitching 110 that can extend partially or fully through straps 202 , but not the outer layer 116 . in some other embodiments , stitching 110 , or some other form of attachment , can be used to attach straps 202 to both the inner layer 120 and the outer layer 116 . in some other embodiments , straps 202 can extend between two other different layers that make up one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . in some embodiments , as discussed above in fig1 , bottom portion 104 and side portions 106 can be attached via stitching 122 that extends through one or more layers of one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , bottom portion 104 and side portions 106 are attached via stitching 122 that extends through both the inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 of both a side portion 106 and the bottom portion 104 . in some embodiments , the stitching can also extend between one or more sides of attachment cover 112 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , stitching 122 extends through two sides of attachment cover 112 . in some embodiments , the attachment cover 112 may not be present . in some other embodiments , other forms of attachment might be used to attach side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 including , but not limited to , stitching extending through one or more layers of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , stapling , adhesive between portions , and the like inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 of side portions 106 can be attached via stitching 114 , as illustrated , by adhesive , by stapling , or by some other form of attachment . in some embodiments , internal layers 204 do not extend through an entire side portion 106 or bottom portion 104 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , internal layers 204 do not extend throughout the entire interior of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 between inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 , as some of the interior of bottom portion 104 is occupied by strap 202 and adjustment space for stitching 122 , 114 , and 110 . some or all internal layers 204 of one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 can extend throughout the interior of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 , such that the internal layer 204 is stitched , stapled , or attached in some other manner to one or more of the inner layer 120 or outer layer 116 , or both , that make up side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . in some embodiments , a sleeve made up of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 may be formed or constructed of a single piece of material , including , but not limited to , a single cut piece of fabric , a piece of material formed or constructed from a mold or cast , or the like . referring to fig3 , embodiments of a foodservice container caddy (“ caddy ”) 102 are illustrated and discussed . fig3 illustrates a cross - sectional side view 300 of caddy 102 in an embodiment where handle assembly 302 includes handles 108 and one strap 202 . in some other embodiments , additional straps 202 may be present and be attached , via stitching , stapling , adhesives , or some other form of attachment , to two or more handles 108 . some embodiments of caddy 102 may feature portions of strap 202 extending between inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 , or some other combination of one of the above layers and an internal layer ( not shown ) of some or all of one or more of side portions 106 and bottom portion 104 . for example , in the illustrated embodiment , strap 202 extends between inner layer 120 and outer layer 116 of bottom portion 104 , but strap 202 extends adjacent to the inner layer 120 of side portions 106 . in some other embodiments , strap 202 can extend adjacent to the outer layer 116 of side portions 106 . it will be understood that the foodservice container caddy can include other components , elements , or interfaces without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . furthermore , although particular embodiments have been discussed above , the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments , but includes subject matter encompassed by the scope of the appended claims . it will be understood that , although certain embodiments employing particular materials and forms of attachment are illustrated , other materials and forms of attachment can be used without departing from the present scope of the disclosure . for example , adhesives between materials can be used as a form of attachment . in addition , various arrangements of particular components can be employed to accomplish the same functions disclosed herein , also without departing from the present scope of the disclosure . | 0 |
in such a type of machine , which has been known for a very long time ( see u . s . pat . no . 3 , 026 , 063 ), each workstation thus makes it possible to join two elementary yarns ( a , b ) by twisting , said yarns coming from two supply sources ( 1 , 2 ). the yarn ( a ) coming from the bobbin ( 1 ) passes through a turntable ( 3 ) or the like , so as to form a balloon ( 4 ), within which the supply source ( 2 ) for the yarn ( b ) is arranged . the two yarns ( a ) and ( b ) are combined by being twisted at the joining point ( 5 ), and then the strand ( 6 ) formed is wound conventionally , for example on a winding system ( 7 ) which does not impart any additional twist . the takeup of the two yarns ( a ) and ( b ) forming the strand ( 6 ) is determined by the winding speed at ( 7 ). in order to equalize the tensions so as to have a balanced assembly , tension systems ( 8 , 9 ) are provided for each of the yarns ( a , b ). the tension device ( 8 ) makes it possible to adjust the reserve length of the yarn ( a ) around the table ( 3 ) and performs the function of a shock absorber which absorbs the jolts occurring during the unwinding of the bobbin ( 1 ), thus making it possible to maintain a highly uniform balloon ( 4 ). the tension device according to the invention is particularly suitable to be used for imparting tension to the yarn ( a ) which passes within the turntable ( 3 ) and forms the balloon ( 4 ). the strander equipped with tension devices ( 8 ) according to the invention therefore consists of a plurality of identical workstations arranged side by side , and the tension devices ( 8 ) making it possible to ensure the tension of the yarn ( a ) coming from the support ( 20 ) carried by a creel which , in the present case , is arranged on the upper part of the machine , are mounted individually on a support plate ( 35 ) carried by said frame . the positioning of these tension devices is advantageously located on the frame of the machine in the region of the winding system and in front of the latter , the yarn ( b ) being delivered directly to the brake ( 9 ) located upstream of the stranding point ( 6 ) in the extension of the axis of the supply source ( 2 ) of the yarn ( b ). as emerges from fig2 and 3 , in the embodiment illustrated substantially to the scale 1 , the tension device ( 8 ) according to the invention comprises , as an element making it possible to impart tension to the yarn , a pulley consisting of two dishes ( 11 , 12 ), between which the yarn ( a ) passes , these dishes being mounted on a hub ( 13 ) which is itself mounted freely rotatably by means of rolling bearings ( 14 ) at the end of a shaft ( 15 ). said dishes ( 11 , 12 ) are locked on the hub by means of an assembly in the form of a nut ( 16 ), thus making it possible to adjust the pressure of the dishes one against the other and consequently the tension which they impart to the yarn . the yarn ( a ) passes through the space contained between the two dishes and is maintained in the region of their zone of interpenetration , the enveloping of the yarn around said dishes being determined by two guides ( 17 , 39 ) ( illustrated in fig3 only ) which are arranged respectively upstream and downstream of the bearing plane . as emerges from fig2 the hub ( 13 ) supporting the pulley comprises , on its face opposite said pulleys , a ring ( 18 ) made from a ferromagnetic material based , for example , on ferrite . the means making it possible to ensure the braking of the pulley consist of a plurality of permanent magnets ( 19 ), of which there are two in the present case and which take the form of pellets having a diameter of 15 mm . these magnets are mounted concentrically to the shaft ( 15 ) on a support ( 20 ) which is itself immobilized inside a housing ( 21 ). the support ( 20 ) is locked by means of screws ( 22 ) and is immobilized in terms of rotation relative to the shaft ( 15 ), but , by contrast , is free in terms of translational movement relative to the latter . according to the invention , the tension device comprises means making it possible to vary the spacing between the magnets ( 19 ) and the ring ( 18 ) carried by the pulley , this variation being between a minimum value of 1 mm , thus making it possible to avoid any risk of interference attributable to geometrical faults , and a maximum spacing which depends on the power of the magnets and which , in the present case , is 4 mm . these means making it possible to ensure adjustment comprise , first of all , a first thrust assembly which tends to bring the support ( 20 ) of the magnets ( 19 ) nearer to the ring . this displacement is limited by a predetermined minimum value and , in the present case , is obtained by means of an assembly in the form of a spring ( 23 ) which is arranged around the shaft ( 15 ) and which bears , on the one hand , on a fixed annular bearing ( 24 ) integral with the housing ( 21 ) and , on the other hand , on the rear face of a piston ( 32 ) integral with the shaft ( 15 ), thus allowing the housing ( 21 ) to slide relative to the assembly ( 32 - 15 ). as emerges from fig2 the housing ( 21 ) is designed so as to have a shoulder ( 34 ) on its rear face ( 33 ), thus making it possible to produce a chamber ( 25 ) between the bottom of the housing and the face ( 26 ) of the piston , the other face of the piston bearing against a shoulder provided on the shaft ( 15 ). seals ( 30 ) and ( 31 ) are provided for ensuring the leaktightness of the chamber ( 25 ). the inlet ( 36 ) of a compressed air supply opens out inside this chamber ( 25 ). the shaft ( 15 ) is mounted fixedly on a support plate ( 35 ) integral with the frame of the machine . by virtue of such a design , it is therefore possible to be able to adjust the tension imparted by the pulley during the passage of the yarn . in the illustration shown in fig2 the various elements of the tension device are illustrated in their position , in which the magnets ( 19 ) are at a predetermined minimum distance , namely , in the present case , of the order of one millimeter , from the ring ( 18 ) mounted on the hub ( 13 ) in the pulley ( p ). this position makes it possible to obtain maximum tension on the yarn . when the tension value is to be modified , compressed air is supplied to the chamber ( 25 ), thus tending to push back the piston ( 32 ) which exerts a counterthrust on the spring ( 23 ) and therefore tends to displace the housing ( 21 ) carrying the magnets relative to the shaft ( 15 ), in the direction toward the left , as seen in fig2 thus making it possible to increase the spacing between said magnets and the ring ( 18 ). the braking carried out by means of the magnets consequently tends to decrease . as emerges from fig4 it is possible , by virtue of such a design , to supply a plurality of tension devices from a single compressed - air supply source ( 37 ), the injection of air being adjusted by means of a central pneumatic valve ( 38 ), and each tension system ( 8 ) being connected to said supply source by means of a pipe ( 36 ). in the example described , the displacement of the magnets relative to the pulley is obtained by displacing the housing supporting the magnets on the shaft which is held fixedly on the machine . the converse procedure would be conceivable , that is to say mounting the housing fixedly on the machine , thus then causing the pulley to be displaced relative to said housing . of course , the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described above , but embraces all its variants produced in the same spirit . | 1 |
referring to the drawings , a bucket attachment 10 , in accordance with the present invention , broadly includes a generally upright rear wall or attachment plate 12 , a generally rectangular bottom 16 , a pair of upright triangular forward tapering side walls 20 and a fork assembly 22 preferably of one piece having two tines 24 . the bucket attachment 10 has a generally low wedge shaped side profile with the bottom 16 joined generally perpendicularly relative to the pair of side walls 20 . the bottom 16 and the side walls 20 may be bent and formed of a single plate . the attachment plate / rear wall 12 is attached to the rear ends of the sidewalls 20 and bottom 16 . fork assembly 22 is secured to the nose end of the bucket attachment 10 . referring particularly to fig4 exemplary attachment plate 12 comprises an upper flange 32 and a pair of lower hookups 34 . the attachment plate may be configured differently to adapt the bucket for attachment to different earthmovers . the attachment plate 12 may have a safety bar 30 affixed to the top edge thereof . gussets 36 strengthen and stiffen the connection of attachment plate 12 connection to sidewalls 20 . gussets 36 may be flat plates as depicted in fig1 or rectangular tubes as in fig2 . risers 38 are secured to the bottom of attachment plate 12 and bottom plate 16 . safety bar 30 is a robust grid structure of vertical and horizontal bars secured to and extending above the attachment plate . upper flange 32 extends across the upper edge of the attachment plate 12 and comprises a ridge protruding from the rear of attachment plate 12 angled downward at about thirty degrees . hookups 34 each comprise pockets similarly angled downward at about thirty degrees . aperture 35 extends through attachment plate 12 and has a racetrack configuration with the long axis generally horizontal . side bars 37 reinforce the ends of upper flange 32 . referring to fig3 and 18 , the fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ includes two tines 24 and is removably connected to the nose end of the bucket by nut and bolt assemblies 25 received through recessed bolt holes 26 . the fork assembly 22 may be composed of two separate plates or , preferably , may be part of a single integral unit . the tines 24 may include beveled forward edges 50 which are beveled forwardly upward from their lower extremity . if the tines 24 are part of a single unit , the forward edge 52 of the portion of the fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ interposed between the tines has a similar upward beveled edge . thus , the sharpest edges of fork assembly 22 are located at the upper forward edge . the forward edge 52 of the portion of the fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ between the tines may be curved as depicted in fig3 or straight as depicted in fig1 . fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ may include a beveled rear edge 53 . at least one grading bar 54 may be secured to the underside of the bottom of the bucket 10 , also by nut and bolt assemblies 25 held in recessed bolt receiving holes 27 , at or near to the nose end of the bucket 10 . the grading bar or bars 54 preferably are beveled upward from their lower edges to create an angled edge 56 . it is noted that the upward beveling at the nose edges of the bucket and grading bar 54 , and fork assembly 22 is the opposite of that used on conventional earth moving equipment buckets and also the opposite of normal backhoe teeth . referring to fig1 and 6 , the side rails 58 reinforce sidewalls 20 of the bucket attachment 10 and may also comprise collars 60 defining an opening in each side to receive a locking pin 62 to secure sub - attachments to the bucket 10 . these collars 60 are preferably set back somewhat from the nose end 28 of the bucket 10 . mini - bucket sub - attachment 70 is depicted in fig5 and 6 . the mini - bucket 70 has a generally upright rear wall 72 and triangular sidewalls 74 secured to generally rectangular bottom 76 . it is sized to slip fit between the sides of the bucket attachment 10 . the mini - bucket further comprises a latching mechanism 77 comprising a sleeve 78 to receive the pin 62 placed through the collars 60 of the bucket attachment 10 for selectively removably securing the mini - bucket in place . a lip or lips 80 may be placed on the underside of the mini - bucket . lip 80 comprises a transverse plate with a rearwardly extending overhang defining a gap between the lip and the bottom 16 of the bucket attachment 10 . the locking pin 62 comprises a shaft , sized to fit through collars 60 and sleeve 78 , an enlarged head 82 large enough to prevent the locking pin 62 from passing through collar 60 , and a securing fastener 84 to prevent the other end of the pin 62 from passing through the other collar when in place . fastener 84 may include a hairpin or safety pin type fastener and a bore through lock pin 62 , a bolt and nut , a snap ring and circumferential groove in lock pin 62 or other appropriate fastener . other sub - attachments may be employed with bucket attachment 10 . some attach in a manner similar to that of mini bucket 70 . others may be bolted to the bucket attachment 10 in place of fork assembly 22 . referring to fig1 , 11 and 12 , several different embodiments of a bolt on chute sub - attachment are depicted . referring particularly to fig1 , a bolt on chute sub - attachment 86 takes the form of a straight sided chute having a generally flat , rectangular bottom 88 and generally vertical sides 90 . the chute sub - attachment 86 is secured to bucket attachment 10 by nut and bolt assemblies 25 after removal of fork assembly 22 . fig1 and 12 depict an alternative embodiment of chute sub - attachment 86 . funnel chute sub - attachment 86 ′ is similar in construction to chute sub - attachment 86 aside from presenting a width tapering from approximately that of bucket attachment 10 at the rear to substantially less at the front thereof . referring to fig1 , elongate funnel chute sub - attachment 86 ″ presents a funnel shape similar to sub - attachment 86 ′ but having a further extended reach . referring to fig1 , an extended digging bar 92 is depicted . the extended digging bar 92 is similar in structure to bolt on chute sub - attachment 86 but is made of a heavier material . extended digging bar 92 also includes a beveled front edge 94 and a beveled rear edge 96 . extended digging bar 92 may be bolted to bucket attachment 10 in place of fork assembly 22 by via nut and bolt assemblies 25 . referring to fig1 a scraper sub - attachment 98 is depicted . scraper sub - attachment 98 includes an extended support 100 , a scraping member 102 , and reinforcing gussets 104 . scraping plate 102 is connected to the end of extended support 100 in a generally perpendicular orientation . scraper 98 may be attached to bucket attachment 10 in place of fork assembly 22 via nut and bolt assemblies 25 . referring to fig1 a further sub - attachment is depicted . rock chute 106 generally includes side plates 108 rising generally vertically from bottom 110 . transverse braces 112 extend transversely interconnecting opposed side plates 108 . each of opposed side plates 108 further include a collar 114 passing through reinforcement plate 116 . collars 114 are positioned so as to be alignable with collars 60 on bucket attachment 10 . collars 114 are further sized appropriately to receive locking pin 62 therethrough . referring to fig1 , an alternative construction of bucket attachment 10 includes nose brace 118 . note that alternative nose brace 118 reinforces each side of the nose of bucket attachment 10 as well as partially enclosing the ends of grading bar 54 . the width of the bucket attachment 10 is substantially uniform and relatively quite narrow as compared to conventional bucket attachments . preferably , the width of the bucket , not including the mounting plate , is between fifteen and thirty inches , optimally about twenty - three inches . the rear wall 12 and bottom 16 of the bucket attachment preferably meet at an acute angle 40 . most preferred is an angle of about seventy two degrees . an angled inside plate 14 may be secured into the acute corner 42 formed by the rear wall 12 and bottom 16 . bottom 16 is generally rectangular in shape with the longer axis of the rectangle having length l positioned orthogonal to the attachment plate 12 . the shorter axis of the rectangular bottom 16 having width w is generally parallel to rear wall 12 . in order for the bucket attachment to have a longer reach than conventional buckets and to assure that the bucket attachment can be safely used it is helpful that the bucket attachment be self - limiting in load capacity . this is accomplished by limiting the width of the bucket itself . a ratio of width to length of about 0 . 30 to 0 . 38 is preferred . this also reduces the weight of the bucket , leaving more load capacity available . additionally , the wedge shaped profile concentrates the weight of the attachment and load near to the loader so as not to overbalance the counterweight . as noted above , the bucket attachment 10 has a much smaller ratio of width w to length l than conventional loader buckets . it also provides for a greater length l than conventional loader implements . the length l of the bucket attachment 10 ( exclusive of the fork assembly 22 ) can range from thirty to one hundred inches , and preferably is about sixty two inches . the ratio of width w to length l for the bucket attachment is less than about 0 . 50 . optimally , the ratio of width to length is about 0 . 30 to 0 . 38 . in operation , and referring to fig8 and 9 , the skid steer loader or tractor 90 is positioned so that the lift arms 92 of the loader are in contact with the attachment plate 12 . the hookups 34 and the upper flange 32 are engaged by the attachment mechanism at the end of the loader lift arms to raise and manipulate the bucket attachment . a locking mechanism secures the lift arms to the attachment plate . in operation the bucket attachment 10 is removably attached to a skid steer loader 90 , and is used to dig , trench , spread granular materials , and manipulate unit items . referring to fig8 the skid steer loader 90 and bucket attachment 10 are depicted in a load carrying configuration . note that a granular material load is held near to the front of the loader for stability . the fork assembly 22 is angled to cradle a unit load securely . fig9 depicts the bucket attachment 10 in a position that facilitates digging . the fork assembly 22 loosens packed soil to allow its removal with the bucket attachment 10 . this position may also be employed for the unloading of flowable materials when a load is to be placed . a position ( not shown ) between that in fig8 and fig9 is used to pick up unit items on the fork assembly 22 and to use the fork assembly 22 and grading bar 54 to grade and smooth materials . a plurality of other operating positions will be apparent to those skilled in the art for placing and moving materials . the safety bar 30 serves to prevent loads carried by the bucket attachment 10 from sliding rearward , passing over the attachment plate 12 and injuring the operator or damaging the tractor . the greater length and narrow width of the bucket attachment facilitates improved maneuverability and reach for the attachment in confined areas such as between boulders , trees and structures and over terraces and plantings . in particular , this allows the bucket attachment to reach over obstructions such as when reaching over a retaining wall to back fill behind it . the acute angle 40 at which the attachment plate meets the bottom plate 16 provides the preferred angle of tilt for the bucket attachment to carry granular materials low and close to the center of gravity of the tractor as well as keeping unit items securely on the fork assembly . the angled inside plate 14 serves to increase strength and fill the acute comer 42 to prevent the compaction of granular materials into the rear of the bucket attachment 10 . the fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ facilitates the handling of heavy unit objects such as boulders , concrete items , balled and burlapped plants and the like . the fork ends 50 are beveled upward to ease the lifting of unit items and to facilitate the spreading and smoothing of granular materials . the upward bevel 50 of the fork assembly 22 and grading bars 54 moves gradable material down and away from the grading bar 54 and fork assembly 22 , preventing the buildup of materials therebetween and making the bucket attachment especially useful in spreading and smoothing operations . the upward bevel 50 of the fork assembly 22 facilitates the lifting of unit objects by allowing the forks to slide under the unit object readily . the upward bevel 50 of the fork assembly 22 also loosens hard packed material for digging . the bucket attachment 10 may include a locking device to releasably connect a sub - attachment such as mini - bucket 70 thereto . the mini - bucket 70 further extends the reach of the bucket attachment and is preferably sized to have a capacity equal to that of a standard six cubic foot wheelbarrow . this allows the easy and rapid filling of wheelbarrows to transport granular materials to extremely confined areas . other sub - attachments may be used in concert with the bucket attachment . sub - attachments generally can be placed so that a pin 62 can be inserted through the collars and through collars 114 or sleeve 78 on the sub - attachments to secure the sub - attachments to the bucket attachment 10 quickly and easily . in practice , the sub - attachment is located within or outside of bucket attachment 10 and locking pin 62 is placed through the first collar 60 , then through the sleeve 78 of the sub - attachment then through the second collar 60 . a fastener 84 is then used to secure the locking pin 62 from unintentionally being retracted from the collars 60 and sleeve 78 . alternately , fork assembly 22 may be removed and a different sub - attachment bolted in its place . the lip 80 of the mini - bucket sub - attachment may be hooked under the nose edge of the bucket attachment 10 , the fork assembly 22 , 22 ′ to assist in securing the mini - bucket 70 to the bucket attachment 10 . note that lip 80 both prevents mini - bucket 70 from lifting relative to bucket attachment 10 and transmits digging force from fork assembly 22 to mini - bucket 70 along with pin 62 . lip 80 also aligns sleeve 78 with collars 60 to ease placement of pin 62 therethrough . other means of securing the mini - bucket sub - attachment 70 to the bucket attachment 10 may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention . the mini - bucket 70 can then be used to place small quantities of granular material at a great distance from the tractor 90 or to fill a wheelbarrow easily . a liner made of a durable nonstick material such as polyethylene may be incorporated into the bucket 10 to facilitate the hand mixing of small quantities of concrete . the liner may be held in place by spring clips or other appropriate connectors to prevent it from inadvertently sliding out of the bucket during concrete pouring operations . funnel chutes 86 ′ and 86 ″ may be used to fill postholes with gravel or concrete . scraper sub - attachment 98 may be employed to push or pull materials in difficult locations such as to spread gravel under a low deck or to remove weeds from the shoreline of a pond . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential attributes thereof ; therefore , the illustrated embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention . | 8 |
in general , for a virtual connection associated with a schedule , a reservation system includes reservation procedures that find an available slot within the schedule . the reservation procedures find the available slot subject to timing requirements imposed by the rate of the virtual connection , when such requirements exists . the reservation system also includes a hierarchical reservation vector whose structure supports efficient lookups of first available slots by the reservation procedures . the reservation procedures are encoded as computing instructions that are executable by one or more automated processors . referring to fig1 , a reservation system 20 includes hierarchical reservation vector 22 and reservations procedures 24 . hierarchical reservation vector 22 is a data structure . reservation system 20 uses a schedule repository 26 that provides information on schedules 28 , including the timing and boundaries of each such schedule 28 . reservation system 20 also uses a virtual connection ( or “ vc ”) repository 34 . vc repository 34 provides information on virtual connections 36 whose transmission opportunities are governed by schedules 28 in schedule repository 26 . vc repository 34 provides information including the rate and affiliated schedule 28 for each virtual connection 36 . broadly , reservation system 20 manages transmission opportunities for virtual connections 36 according to multiple schedules 28 . a transmission process 38 uses reservation system 20 to determine when to offer a transmission opportunity to a given virtual connection 36 . reservation system 20 , schedule repository 26 , vc repository 34 , and transmission process 38 are component software processes of routing / shaping software 30 . in general , routing / shaping software 30 includes software processes that control the operation of a router / traffic shaper 40 ( shown in fig2 ). the inner workings of transmission process 38 are beyond the scope of the description . transmission process 38 is a software process that controls transmissions of network traffic by router / traffic shaper ( to be discussed below ). referring to fig2 , a router / traffic shaper 40 is a networking device . router / traffic shaper 40 includes components such as main memory 42 a , storage 42 b , one or more processors 42 c , network interface 42 d , and bus 42 e interconnecting components 42 a - d . main memory 42 a and storage 42 b store computing instructions and data readable by a processor 42 c . main memory 42 a is random - access memory . storage 42 b is non - volatile storage such as a disk drive , programmable memory , writable media , or non - writable media . processor 42 c can access and transfer computing instructions , such as router / shaper software ( item 30 , fig1 ), between main memory 42 a and storage 42 b . furthermore , processor 42 c , which contains multiple registers 48 , executes computing instructions of router / shaper software ( item 30 , fig1 ). in the present embodiment , router / traffic shaper 40 is a networking device conforming to architecture standards for the intel ixp series of network processors , manufactured by intel corporation , santa clara , calif . in this case , processor 42 c is an intel ixp 1200 , and registers 48 each hold 32 bits . network interface 42 d includes physical ports 44 a and 44 b , which carry communication between network interface 42 d and a network 46 . network interface 42 d provides logical access to physical ports 44 . transmission process 38 controls transmissions of network traffic by router / traffic shaper 40 onto network 46 . in the intel ixp1200 architecture , bit addressing is conventional , i . e ., the least significant bit of a byte is rightmost . byte addressing is little - endian , i . e ., less significant bytes have lower addresses . referring now to fig3 a , schedule repository 26 is a source of information on schedules ( item 28 , fig1 ). schedule repository 26 includes a schedule space 50 , which is divided into 64k ( i . e ., two to the sixteenth power ) slots 52 . a slot 52 represents a unit of time for possible transmission of a cell . slots 52 can be reserved for use by virtual connections ( item 36 , fig1 ) as will be described . slots 52 are sequenced relative to one another in schedule space 50 according to a timing sequence 54 . schedule space 50 has a schedule space start 50 a and a schedule space end 50 b which correspond to its first and last slots 52 , respectively . schedule space 50 includes one or more schedules 28 a , 28 b , 28 c . there can be many hundreds of schedules 28 a , 28 b , 28 c in schedule space 50 . in general , a schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c describes when to transmit cells to a network . the transmissions described by a schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c can have local or remote origins , relative to router / traffic shaper ( item 40 , fig2 ). that is , a schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c can govern the local behavior of the router / traffic shaper 40 in its capacity as a store - and - forward network device on network 46 . alternatively , a schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c can govern transmissions in other devices or systems than router / traffic shaper ( item 40 , fig2 ). for instance , router / traffic shaper ( item 40 , fig2 ) could manage schedules 28 a , 28 b , 28 c for other devices or systems accessible via network ( item 46 , fig2 ) each for a different port , network domain , or the like . each schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c is encoded in schedule space 50 as a contiguous block of slots 52 in schedule space 50 . schedules 28 a , 28 b , 28 c therefore represents a block of time that is divided into slots 52 . each schedule 28 a , 28 b , 28 c has a schedule start 56 and a schedule end 58 which correspond to its first and last slots 52 , respectively . referring now to fig3 b , schedule space ( item 50 , fig3 a ) describes a finite amount of time divided into schedule slots ( item 52 , fig3 a ). the amount corresponds to a transmission cycle 51 that repeats with a regular period in time . typically , the transmission cycle describes a window of transmission choices made by a transmission process ( item 38 , fig1 ) of router / traffic shaper ( item 40 , fig2 ). periodic repetition maps the transmission cycle 51 forward in time . repetition creates a correspondence between a finite amount of time ( corresponding to a transmission cycle ) and an arbitrarily large amount of time ( corresponding to the future transmission choices of transmission process ; item 38 , fig1 ). in particular , any future transmission choice corresponds to some unique iteration of the transmission cycle . furthermore , transmission cycle repeats with a regular period . the timing of events governed by schedule space ( item 50 , fig3 a ) is therefore predictable , at least until the configuration of schedule space ( item 50 , fig3 a ) changes . referring now to fig4 , vc repository 34 is a source of virtual connection information . vc repository 34 includes a vc schedule map 60 and collection of virtual connections 36 . a virtual connection 36 includes a type 36 a and rate information 36 b . type 36 a can adopt values consistent with atm forum traffic management specification 4 . 1 . for instance , acceptable values for type 36 a include constant bit rate ( cbr ), variable bit rate ( vbr ), and unspecified bit rate ( ubr ). in general , rate information 36 b describes traffic parameters for virtual connection 36 , such as for quality - of - service contracts or bandwidth allocations . rate information 36 b includes fields for pcr (“ peak cell rate ”) 62 a and mbs (“ maximum burst size ”) 62 b . pcr 62 a describes a maximum data rate at which virtual connection 36 is specified to operate , measured as an average over time . mbs 62 b describes the maximum number of sequential cells that can be sent at pcr 62 a on virtual connection 36 instantaneously ( or within a small window of instantaneously , relative to the measurement of pcr 62 a ). some types of rate information 36 b depend on the value of type 36 a . for example , virtual connections 36 with a vbr value for type 36 a include a field for sustained cell rate ( scr ) 62 c . scr 62 c describes a minimum data rate at which virtual connection 36 is specified to operate , measured as an average over time . alternatively , a virtual connection 36 with a non - vbr value for type 36 a can include a minimum cell rate ( mcr ) 62 d . a third possibility is a ubr virtual connection 36 that has a zero - valued mcr 62 d , indicating that there is no minimum rate associated with them . vc schedule map 60 associates virtual connections 36 with schedules 28 . broadly speaking , a hierarchical reservation vector ( to be discussed below ) is a data structure that tracks whether slots ( item 52 , fig3 a ) in schedule space ( item 50 , fig3 a ) are reserved , i . e ., have transmission commitments to a virtual connection 36 . referring now to fig5 a & amp ; 5b , a hierarchical reservation vector 22 includes a first level 22 a , a second level 22 b , and a third level 22 c . in the present embodiment , third level 22 c includes a left longword 70 a and a right longword 70 b . hierarchical reservation vector 22 also features a time direction 22 d , which organizes first level slots 72 into a sequence corresponding to their relative positions in time within the transmission cycle of schedule space . first level 22 a is a bit vector organized to correspond to schedule space 50 . first level 22 a includes first level slots 72 , each of which is encoded as a bit that uniquely corresponds to a schedule space slot 52 in schedule space 50 . first level 22 a has as many first level slots 72 as there are schedule space slots 52 in schedule space 50 — in this case , 64k . time direction 22 d is an ordering of first level slots 72 that corresponds to timing sequence ( item 54 , fig3 ). in the present embodiment , time direction 22 d simply uses the ordering given by bit addressing in main memory ( item 42 a , fig2 ). thus , schedule space slots 52 and collections of schedule space slots 52 have corresponding locations in first level 22 a . in particular , a given schedule 28 in schedule space 50 corresponds to a schedule image 74 in first level 22 a . in this way , schedules 28 are encoded as variable - size arrays ( schedule images 74 ) within hierarchical reservation vector 22 . second level 22 b is a bit vector organized to correspond to first level 22 a according to a scaling factor 78 . the scaling factor 78 is the number of bits in first level 22 a that are represented ( or “ shadowed ”) by a single bit in second level 22 b . the scaling factor 78 is constant throughout hierarchical reservation vector 22 . in the present embodiment , the scaling factor 78 has the value thirty - two . in fig5 a , for visual simplicity and clarity , scaling factor 78 is drawn such that the scaling factor 78 is four . the value of thirty - two for scaling factor 78 is based on the word size of processor ( item 42 c , fig1 ), i . e ., the number of bits that can fit in register ( item 48 , fig2 ). each bit in second level 22 b corresponds to a full word in first level 22 a . conversely , every bit in first level 22 a has one bit in second level 22 b that shadows it . scaling factor 78 determines the size of second level 22 b relative to the size of first level 22 a . because first level 22 a has 64k members , second level 22 b has 2k ( i . e ., 2048 ) members . third level 22 c relates to second level 22 b in much the same way that second level 22 b relates to first level 22 a . each bit in third level 22 c corresponds to a full word in second level 22 b , as determined by scaling factor 78 . because first level 22 a has 2048 members , therefore , second level 22 b has 64 members . the first half of these is shadowed by left longword 70 a , while the second half is shadowed by right longword 70 b . reservations are represented in hierarchical reservation vector 22 as follows . a bit off in first level 22 a ( i . e ., a value of a slot 72 ) indicates the corresponding slot 52 is reserved . a bit off in second level 22 b indicates all of the bits it shadows are off in the next lower level , i . e ., all of the corresponding first level slots 72 are reserved . therefore , a bit on at second level 22 b indicates at least one of its shadowed first level slots 72 is available . similarly , a bit off at third level 22 c indicates all of the bits it shadows are off in lower levels , i . e ., 1024 first level slots 72 are reserved . a bit on at third level 22 c indicates at least one of the 1024 first level slots 72 it represents is available . referring now to fig6 , a vector address 80 is a 16 - bit unsigned binary integer that describes hierarchical reservation vector 22 . vector address 80 describes a bit position of a first level slot 72 within first level 22 a . vector address 80 also describes bit positions of shadowing bits in second level 22 b and third level 22 c . the bits of vector address 80 are numbered sequentially from least significant to most significant . thus , the least significant bit of vector address 80 is numbered zero , and the most significant bit is numbered fifteen . vector address 80 is organized into portions that yield offsets 82 a , 82 b , 82 c into levels of hierarchical reservation vector 22 , when the portions are evaluated as unsigned binary integers . for example , treated as a 16 - bit unsigned binary integer , the entire vector address 80 is an offset into the 64k bits of first level 22 a , shown as first level offset 80 a . conversely , every first level slot 72 has a unique value , representing its offset position in first level 22 a , that can be represented as a vector address 80 . vector address 80 includes a second - level sub - address 80 b , stored in bits five through fifteen of vector address 80 . note that the scaling factor ( item 78 , fig5 a ) is such that first level slots 72 are grouped together in groups of thirty - two . also note that for a given 11 - bit prefix on a 16 - bit unsigned binary integer ( that is , for fixed values of bits five through fifteen ) there are precisely thirty - two such integers that have that prefix . ( a prefix of length n is the n most significant bits .) further note that 11 bits is precisely the number of bits necessary to address the 2048 members of second level 22 b . vector address 80 takes advantage of these inherent properties of unsigned binary integers to use bits five through fifteen as second - level sub - address 80 b , describing an offset 82 b into second level 22 b . in particular , for a given first level slot 72 having a vector address 80 , the offset of its corresponding shadowing bit in second level 22 b is given by second - level sub - address 80 b . vector address 80 includes a third - level sub - address group 84 , stored in the six bits numbered ten through fifteen of vector address 80 . third - level sub - address group 84 is divided into a branch sub - address 80 d and a third - level sub - address 80 c . note that the six bits of third - level sub - address group 84 use several of the same principles of unsigned binary integers that define the value of second - level sub - address 80 b . a given 6 - bit prefix of a 16 - bit value is held in common by a group of 1024 distinct values , which is a size that corresponds exactly to the shadowing of 1024 first level slots 72 as already described . furthermore , the 6 - bit prefix also corresponds to a shadowed group when considered only as the prefix of the 11 - bit second - level sub - address 80 b . that is , a given 6 - bit prefix is held in common by a group of 32 distinct 11 - bit values . thus , third - level sub - address group 84 could be used as an offset into third level 22 c , but this is not how vector address 80 is structured in the present embodiment . instead , third level 22 c is divided into two 32 - bit arrays , namely , left longword 70 a and right longword 70 b . bit fifteen of vector address 80 is used to specify the branch to use , while bits ten through fourteen are used as an offset into the particular array . an advantage of this branched approach is that each of left longword 70 a and right longword 70 b can be placed entirely in register 48 of the processor ( item 42 c , fig2 ). the fact that an entire array ( or a significant portion of one ) can be stored in register 48 or processed in native operations of processor 42 c is beneficial to certain manipulations of hierarchical reservation vector 22 . for instance , it is useful if the processor ( item 42 c , fig2 ) supports finding the first set bit in a 32 - bit array , as will be explained in regards to circular priority find procedure ( to be explained below ). thus , for sufficiently small lengths of bit arrays in hierarchical reservation vector 22 , addressing the arrays via the branching approach used for third - level sub - address 80 c may have advantages over the non - branched approach used for second - level sub - address 80 b . referring now to fig7 , a range 91 ′, 91 ″ associates a virtual connection ( item 36 , fig4 ) with a schedule image 74 ′, 74 ″ in the hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ). therefore , a range ( e . g ., 91 ′) can describe a period of time in which a reservation can be made for the virtual connection ( item 36 , fig4 ) that would satisfy both the traffic parameters of the virtual connection ( item 36 , fig4 ) and the time constraints of a schedule image ( e . g ., 74 ′). for example , range 91 ′ includes a could - send reference 91 a ′ and a must - send reference 91 b ′. together , could - send reference 91 a ′ and a must - send reference 91 b ′ specify one or more contiguous blocks of first level slots ( item 72 , fig6 ) in hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ), such that the blocks occur within the boundaries of the schedule image 74 ′. could - send reference 91 a ′ specifies a could - sent slot 74 a ′, while must - send reference 91 b specifies a must - send slot 74 b ′. the relative position of could - sent slot 74 a ′ and must - send slot 74 b ′ in schedule image 74 ′ determines at least two possible values for a range topology 91 c ′. when could - sent slot 74 a ′ occurs before must - send slot 74 b ′ with regards to time direction ( item 22 d , fig5 a ) of hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig5 a ), topology 91 c , has a contiguous range 100 . alternatively , for example , when could - sent slot 74 a ″ occurs after must - send slot 74 b ″, topology 91 c ″ has a wrapped range 102 . in schedule image 74 ′, contiguous range 100 is a contiguous block of slots , which begins with could - send slot 74 a ′ and ends with must - send slot 74 b ′. for schedule image 74 ″, wrapped range 102 includes a high component 102 b and a low component 102 a , each of which is a contiguous block of slots in schedule image 74 ″. low component 102 a begins with could - send slot 74 a ″ and ends with the last slot of schedule image 74 ″. low component 102 a represents an earlier time than high component 102 b , due to the wrap . high component 102 b begins with the first slot of schedule image 74 ″ and ends with must - send slot 74 b ″. conceptually , wrapped range 102 begins with could - send slot 74 a ″, continues uninterrupted to the last slot of schedule image 74 ″, wraps to the first slot of schedule image 74 ″, and ends with must - send slot 74 b ″. this conceptual wrapping of wrapped range 102 reflects the cyclical structure of schedules ( item 28 , fig1 ) and their corresponding schedule images ( e . g ., 74 ). reservation system 20 includes reservation procedures 24 ( to be discussed below ). broadly speaking , reservation procedures maintain and inspect schedule information stored in hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ). for instance , various reservation procedures set , clear , and detect slot reservations in the schedule space ( item 50 , fig3 a ) as it is represented in hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ). referring now to fig8 , reservation procedures 24 include a shape procedure 90 , a schedule next slot procedure 92 , a circular priority find procedure 94 , a zeroes - compensation procedure 98 , a schedule bit set procedure 96 , and a schedule bit clear procedure 97 . broadly , shape procedure 90 determines a range ( e . g ., range 91 ″, fig7 ) for a given virtual connection ( item 36 , fig1 ) associated with a schedule ( item 28 , fig1 ). given a virtual connection ( item 36 , fig1 ) having traffic parameters , shape procedure 90 calculates a could - send time , which is the earliest time the next cell can be sent according to the traffic parameters . shape procedure 90 also calculates a must - send time , which is the latest time the next cell can be sent according to the traffic parameters . shape procedure 90 correlates these times to slots ( item 72 , fig6 ) in the hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ). referring now to fig9 , shape procedure 90 receives as input a virtual connection and a base slot index ( i . e ., process 90 a ). virtual connection is associated with a schedule , in that schedule has a schedule image in hierarchical reservation vector . the base slot index references a first - level slot that corresponds to current absolute time , i . e ., the time at which the shape procedure 90 is executing . shape procedure 90 examines the rate of virtual connection to determine a maximum permissible current transmission speed , then expresses this speed as a could - send offset ( i . e ., process 90 b ). the could - send offset is a count of first - level slots . maximum permissible current transmission speed is calculated based on the current state of virtual connection and its traffic parameters . generally , the maximum permissible current transmission speed is the lesser of an overall maximum , given by pcr , and a situational maximum based on burst size , given by mbs . shape procedure 90 tests whether the could - send offset added to the base slot index yields a slot before the end of the current schedule ( i . e ., process 90 c ). if the test is positive , shape procedure 90 designates that slot as the could - send slot ( i . e ., process 90 d ). if the test is negative , shape procedure wraps the offset to the corresponding slot within schedule ( i . e ., process 90 e ), then designates the wrapped slot as the could - send slot ( i . e ., process 90 d ). shape procedure 90 also examines the rate of virtual connection to determine a minimum permissible current transmission speed , expressing this speed as a must - send offset ( i . e ., process 90 f ). the must - send offset is a count of first - level slots . minimum permissible current transmission speed is calculated based on the type and traffic parameters of virtual connection . for instance , for a vbr virtual connection , the calculation uses scr ( item 62 c , fig4 ). alternatively , for a non - vbr virtual connection ( item 36 a , fig1 ) that has a minimum , the calculation uses mcr ( item 62 d , fig1 ). shape procedure 90 then tests whether the must - send offset added to the base slot index yields a slot before the end of the current schedule ( i . e ., process 90 g ). if the test is positive , shape procedure 90 designates that slot as the must - send slot ( i . e ., process 90 h ). if the test is negative , shape procedure 90 wraps the offset to the corresponding slot within schedule and designates the wrapped slot as the must - send slot ( i . e ., process 90 i ). broadly speaking , unless schedule next slot procedure encounters a failure condition , as will be explained , schedule next slot procedure starts at the highest level of hierarchical reservation vector and repeatedly applies circular priority find procedure at each successive level , until reaching first level and finding a first level slot . the slot , if found , is the first available slot within a given range . referring now to fig1 , schedule next slot procedure 92 first determines which branch ( e . g ., items 70 a and 70 b , fig5 a ) of hierarchical reservation vector ( item 22 , fig6 ) is appropriate to the could - send reference ( i . e ., procedure 92 a ). schedule next slot procedure inspects branch sub - address of the could - send reference , which is a vector address . for example , in the described embodiment , where branch sub - address can be stored in one bit , schedule next slot procedure 92 determines the branch by testing the bit of branch sub - address . if the bit is on , schedule next slot procedure 92 selects the left longword 70 a . otherwise , schedule next slot procedure 92 selects the right longword 70 b . schedule next slot procedure 92 then invokes recursive slot subroutine ( i . e ., procedure 92 b ). generally , starting from an arbitrary location within a branch , recursive slot subroutine either finds a first available slot subject to a range and a schedule image , or returns a failure result ( e . g ., if no such slot is available ). schedule next slot procedure 92 provides recursive slot subroutine with the range that schedule next slot procedure received as inputs , and also provides the top level of the branch and a zero offset into that branch . schedule next slot procedure 92 next tests the output of recursive slot subroutine ( i . e ., procedure 92 c ). if the recursive slot subroutine returns a slot , schedule next slot procedure 92 returns that slot as a result value ( i . e ., procedure 92 d ). otherwise , schedule next slot procedure 92 tests whether the given range spans a subsequent branch ( i . e ., procedure 92 e ). if such a spanning exists , schedule next slot procedure 92 loops back to select the next branch , according to the ordering given by time direction and the range topology ( i . e ., procedure 92 a ). thus , schedule next slot procedure 92 continues evaluating branches according to the ordering given by time direction until either the entirety of range has been searched , or an available slot has been found . for a range topology having a contiguous range , the ordering of branches is that given by time direction over contiguous range . for a range topology having a wrapped range however , the ordering of branches has two parts : that given by time direction over high component , followed by the same ordering over low component . if the test of procedure is negative , schedule next slot procedure 92 returns a result indicating failure ( i . e ., procedure 92 f ). referring now to fig1 , recursive slot subroutine 93 takes as input a range , a schedule image , a level of hierarchical reservation vector , and an offset within that level . the offset specifies a unique longword within the given level . recursive slot subroutine returns a first available slot after the starting point and within the range , or a failure result . recursive slot subroutine 93 invokes a primary instance of circular priority find ( item 94 , fig8 ) on the longword specified by the offset ( i . e ., process 93 a ). as will be explained , circular priority find ( item 94 , fig8 ) returns a first set bit within a longword . this discussion will refer to that bit as the “ primary bit ”. if the level given to recursive slot subroutine 93 is first level , the primary bit represents a slot that is available to be allocated . for higher levels such as second level and above , the primary bit shadows a block of slots , at least one of which is available to be allocated . moreover , since bits of the longword are ordered according to time direction , the primary bit typically represents a first available allocation opportunity . an exception to this general rule occurs for degenerate cases , as will be explained . recursive slot subroutine 93 next invokes a secondary instance of circular priority find on the portion of the longword , if any , that follows the bit position returned by the primary instance of circular priority find ( i . e ., process 93 b ). the bit returned by the secondary instance of circular priority find , if any , represents a next available allocation opportunity , subsequent to the first . this discussion will refer to that bit as the “ secondary bit ”. process 93 b also sets a “ fallback flag ” to a true / false value , initially indicating whether the secondary bit is available as a fallback alternative to the primary bit . recursive slot subroutine 93 tests the result of the primary instance of circular priority find ( i . e ., process 93 c ). if the primary bit was successfully found , recursive slot subroutine 93 uses the primary bit as a working bit ( i . e ., process 93 d ). the working bit is a candidate for the bit that recursive slot subroutine 93 will return . otherwise , if a primary bit was not found , recursive slot subroutine 93 tests the fallback flag ( i . e ., process 93 e ). if the fallback flag is true , recursive slot subroutine 93 uses the secondary bit as the working bit and sets the fallback flag value to false ( i . e ., process 93 f ). if the fallback flag is false , recursive slot subroutine 93 returns a failure result ( i . e ., process 93 g ). following a selection of the working bit , recursive slot subroutine 93 tests whether the current level of hierarchical reservation vector is the first level ( i . e ., process 93 h ). if the current level is the first level , recursive slot subroutine returns the working bit as a result value representing a slot ( i . e ., process 93 k ). otherwise , if the current level is not the first level , an opportunity exists to recurse from the current level to a next level , toward first level , such that the next level includes a longword shadowed by the working bit . if such a next level exists , recursive slot subroutine 93 begins processing the next level at the longword shadowed by the working bit , using the same range as was passed to recursive slot subroutine 93 ( i . e ., process 93 i ). for example , a current instance of recursive slot subroutine 93 can pass control to a dependent instance of recursive slot subroutine 93 , where the dependent instance executes to completion before returning control to the current instance . in general , unless failure conditions occur , this pattern of recursive control - passing repeats until recursive slot subroutine 93 processes a longword at first level . the number of repetitions is therefore bounded by the number of levels between first level and the level passed to the top - level instance of recursive slot subroutine 93 . process 93 i can return a problem result , comparable to that returned by recursive slot subroutine 93 itself . in the absence of a problem result , however , process 93 i continues a recursive chain that eventually reaches first level . thus , if process 93 i returns a bit , that bit represents a first - level slot . recursive slot subroutine 93 tests the result of process 93 i via process 93 m . if a problem result is found , recursive slot subroutine 93 goes to process 93 e to test the fallback flag and proceeds from there as already described . otherwise , if no problem result is found , recursive slot subroutine 93 uses the bit returned by process 93 i as the working bit ( i . e ., process 93 n ). recursive slot subroutine 93 then returns the working bit as a result value representing a slot ( i . e ., process 93 k ). circular priority find procedure ( item 94 , fig8 ) takes as inputs a range and a longword of hierarchical reservation vector . circular priority find procedure ( item 94 , fig8 ) returns a first set bit , or an error if no first set bit exists . in the present embodiment , the first set bit is the least significant bit which is not off and which is in the intersection of the longword and the range . referring now to fig1 , circular priority find procedure 94 tests whether the given range has a could - send reference which is less than its must - send reference ( i . e ., process 94 a ). this is equivalent to testing whether the given range has a contiguous range topology . if the range is contiguous , circular priority find procedure 94 creates a contiguous mask ( i . e ., process 94 b ). contiguous mask is a bit mask that selects for bits of the longword that correspond to the range topology of range , using exclusive - or (“ xor ”) bit operations . contiguous mask is a longword . thus , there is a one - to - one correspondence between contiguous mask and the longword passed as input to circular priority find procedure 94 . a bit in contiguous mask is on if the corresponding slot in hierarchical reservation vector is covered by the range topology of range . next , circular priority find procedure 94 applies contiguous mask to the longword and finds the first set bit in the result ( i . e ., process 94 c ). in the present embodiment , circular priority find procedure 94 can take advantage of a hardware - supported processor operation of processor to find the first set bit in a longword . circular priority find procedure 94 returns the resulting bit or indicates that no such bit exists . this can happen , for instance , if all bits in the intersection of the range 91 and the given longword represent slots that are already allocated . when the range 91 is not contiguous , circular priority find procedure 94 creates a low mask and a high mask ( i . e ., process 94 d ). in this case , range topology has a wrapped range . low mask is a mask that selects bits of the input longword that correspond to the low component of wrapped range . similarly , high mask is a mask that selects bits of the input longword that correspond to the high component of wrapped range . next , circular priority find procedure 94 applies low mask to the input longword and finds the first set bit in the result ( i . e ., process 94 e ). circular priority find procedure 94 then determines whether process 94 e found a set bit ( i . e ., process 94 f ). if so , circular priority find procedure 94 returns the resulting bit . otherwise , circular priority find procedure 94 applies high mask to the input longword and finds the first set bit in that result ( i . e ., process 94 g ). circular priority find procedure 94 returns the resulting bit or indicates that no such bit exists . one advantage of reservation system applies to lookups of the first available time slot in a contiguous range of time slots — for instance , by the schedule next slot procedure . the hierarchy encoded in hierarchical reservation vector allows lookups to take advantage of register - based processor operations . this reduces the number of memory accesses needed to accomplish the lookup , relative to approaches that use processor operations that cannot be accomplished within the registers . for example , a three - level hierarchical reservation vector keeps reservations for multiple calendars over 64k time slots . a processor provides 32 - bit memory accesses and a 32 - bit circular find first bit set . the hierarchical reservation vector keeps its top level ( level 3 ) in two local registers as 64 - bits . the reservation system can perform a search over the 64k time slots in four operations . one memory reference and a circular find first bit set reduces the candidates to 2048 time slots , while a second memory reference and another circular find first bit set to reduce the candidates to one . in another advantage , the reservation system also supports circular lookups , i . e . lookups within a schedule where the range of possible values wraps around the end of the schedule and continues from the beginning of the schedule . still another advantage of the hierarchical reservation vector is a relatively small footprint in memory for its representation of the schedule space . a number of embodiments have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the description . in the described embodiment , schedule repository and vc repository are component software processes of routing / shaping software . in other embodiments , schedule repository or vc repository ( or both ) could be applications or services external to routing / shaping software . indeed , schedule repository or vc repository ( or both ) could be external to router / traffic shaper — for instance , they could remote software in communication with routing / shaping software via network . in other embodiments , slots can be reserved to entities other than virtual connections . the details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below . other features , objects , and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings , and from the claims . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to an embodiment . the embodiment is directed to a cellular video telephone , which communicates both voice and dynamic image . in the embodiment , a communication or access may be carried out in the cdma ( code - divided multiple access ) processing using divided codes . referring first to fig1 a cellular video telephone terminal comprises a control unit 1 , which includes a programmed microcomputer and is connected to a radio unit ( radio transmitter / receiver ) 2 connected to an antenna 3 through its transmitter / receiver terminal . the control unit 1 is connected to a voice processing unit 4 , which is connected to a speaker 5 for outputting sound messages and a microphone 6 for inputting sounds . the control unit 1 is connected to an image processing unit 7 , which is connected to a display 8 for displaying dynamic picture images of opponent users and a camera 9 for inputting dynamic picture images of a user . the voice processing unit 4 is connectable through a coaxial cable to an earphone 11 and an external microphone 12 , which may be integrated into a single earphone - microphone unit . the control unit 1 is further connected to a keyboard unit 10 , which has a number of key buttons labeled as send , end , image , numeric figures 0 - 9 and the like . the control unit 1 , particularly the microprocessor therein , is programmed to effectuate the following operation in the generally known manner . that is , when a user of the cellular video telephone presses a power button on the keyboard unit 10 , the video telephone is enabled to operate with the electric power supplied from a built - in battery . the antenna 3 receives radio signals from nearby base stations and transmits a signal having the highest electric field to the radio unit 2 as a high frequency signal . the radio unit 2 responsively transmits the received signal to the control unit 1 after converting it into a base band signal by a high frequency amplifier , a receiver mixer and the like . the control unit 1 demodulates the base band signal to provide a report information included in the received radio signal . if registration of location is required in the report information , the control unit 1 converts a location registration information into a transmission base band signal to be transmitted to the radio unit 2 in return . the radio unit 2 converts the transmission base band signal into a high frequency signal by a transmitter mixer and transmits it as a radio signal from the antenna 3 through a power amplifier and the like . thus , the cellular video telephone , particularly the control unit 1 , is put in a wait condition . in issuing calls , the user ( caller ) inputs a phone number of an opponent user ( call - receiver ) through key operations on the keyboard unit 10 . the control unit 1 responsively causes the image processing unit 7 to display the inputted phone number on the display 8 . when the user presses the send button on the keyboard unit 10 after checking the displayed phone number to effectuate calling , the user is enabled to start communication with the opponent user . voice of the user is converted into an electric signal by the microphone 6 and is applied to the voice processing unit 4 as a voice signal . the voice processing unit 4 , after amplifying and converting the voice signal into a corresponding digital signal , compresses the converted voice signal into a low bit rate signal by its voice coding circuit . this low bit rate voice data signal is applied to the control unit 1 . when the user presses the image button on the keyboard unit 10 , the image of the user is converted into an image signal by the camera 9 to be applied to the image processing unit 7 as long as a high speed data transmission in excess of 64 k bps is possible due to good radio transmission condition . the image processing unit 7 , after amplifying and converting the image signal into a corresponding digital signal , compresses the converted image signal into a low bit rate signal by its image coding circuit . this low bit rate image data signal is applied to the control unit 1 . the control unit 1 subjects those voice data signal and the image data signal into the code - divided multiplex access ( cdma ) processing and digital modulation to transmit the resulting signal to the radio unit 2 as a base band signal . the radio unit 2 responsively converts this base band signal into a high frequency signal and transmits it from the antenna 3 to the base station after power amplification . when the antenna 3 receives a radio signal from the base station in return , it transmits the received radio signal to the radio unit 2 as a high frequency signal . the radio unit 2 converts this high frequency signal into a base band signal to be transmitted to the control unit 1 . the control unit 1 demodulates and converts the base band signal into a voice data signal and an image data signal by subjecting it to the cdma processing . those voice data signal and the image data signal are applied to the voice processing unit 4 and the image processing unit 7 , respectively . the voice processing unit 4 expands the received voice data signal by a voice demodulation circuit into a corresponding digital voice signal , which is in turn converted into an analog voice signal to drive the speaker for providing a voice message . the image processing unit 7 similarly expands the received image data signal by an image demodulation circuit into a corresponding digital image signal , which drives the display 8 to provide an image of an opponent user or the like on the display 8 . in receiving calls , a call message is transmitted from the base station to be received by the antenna 3 under the wait condition . the radio unit 2 converts a received radio signal into a base band signal to be transmitted to the control unit 1 . the control unit 1 processes this base band signal and recognizes an arrival of message to effectuate a call - responsive operation . thus , when the message indicative of the call from the opponent user is received , the control unit 1 informs the user of the arrival of the call by driving a ringer or a vibrator . then , generally the similar operation as described above with respect to the call - issuing operation is carried out , when the user presses the send button on the keyboard unit 10 . more specifically , the control unit 1 , particularly the microcomputer , is so programmed that the video telephone operates based on the control routine shown in fig3 . the control unit 1 first sets at step 101 a communication speed to a lower value , 8 k bps . then , the control unit 1 sets the volume of the speaker 5 and the volume of the microphone 6 to appropriate levels at steps 102 and 103 , respectively . here , the volume of the speaker is set to a lower level suitable for using the speaker 5 near the user &# 39 ; s ear , and the volume of the microphone 6 is set to a lower level suitable for using the microphone 6 near the user &# 39 ; s mouth . this volume setting may be effected by decreasing the amplification gains of amplifiers in the voice processing unit 4 . the control unit 1 causes at step 104 the voice processing unit 4 to reproduce vocal sounds of the opponent user from the speaker 5 and to input vocal sounds of the user from the microphone 6 , so that voice communication mode is set up . the control unit 1 disables the image processing unit 7 , so that the image communication mode is cancelled at this moment irrespective of receiving the images from the opponent user side . this is for the reason that , as described later , the volume of the speaker is automatically set to a larger value , which will disturb nearby persons and unveil provacy of the opponent user , when both of the voice communication and the image communication are carried out , that is , when the hand - free condition is set . thus , the user is enabled to determine at the time of receiving the call whether the video telephone can be used under the hand - free condition . the control unit 1 then determines at step 105 whether the image communication is requested , that is , whether the image button 13 on the keyboard unit 10 is turned on or pressed by the user . if the image communication is not requested ( no ), the control unit 1 executes steps 106 to 109 , which are the same as steps 101 to 104 , so that only the voice communication is allowed to be continued . if the image communication is requested ( yes ), the control unit 1 executes steps 110 to 113 to enable both of the voice communication and the image communication . that is , at step 110 , the control unit 1 sets the communication speed to the higher value 64 k bps . then , the control unit 1 sets the volume of the speaker 5 and the volume of the microphone 6 to appropriate levels at steps 111 and 112 , respectively , suitable for using the video telephone away from the user ( hand - free mode ). here , the volume of the speaker 5 is set to a higher level suitable for using the speaker 5 away from the user &# 39 ; s ear , and the volume of the microphone 6 is set to a higher level suitable for using the microphone 6 away from the user &# 39 ; s mouth . this volume setting may be effected by increasing the amplification gains of the amplifiers in the voice processing unit 4 . the control unit 1 now operates at step 113 the image processing unit 7 as well as the voice processing unit 4 , so that both of the voice communication and the image communication may be carried out . in addition to the above operation of the voice processing unit 4 , the image processing unit 7 causes the display 8 to provide the dynamic image of the opponent user and causes the camera 9 to input the dynamic images of the user to be transmitted to the opponent user . thus , according to the present embodiment , the operation modes can be switched between only voice communication ( normal cellular phone mode ) and both of voice and image communication ( hand - free mode ) by the user , who actuates or deactuates the image button 13 on the keyboard unit 10 . thus , it becomes possible to use the video telephone for voice communication with low output sound level in the crowded place , and to use it for both voice and image communication with high output sound level and high input sound level in the non - crowded place . in the voice and image communication mode , the user can communicate with the opponent user while watching the images of the opponent user on the display 8 , that is , while not holding but placing it away , for example , on a desk or the like . further , no image of the opponent user can be provided on the display 8 even under the voice and image communication mode , if the opponent telephone is not a video telephone type or not set to the voice and image communication mode . however , because the voice communication mode can be switched to the voice and image communication mode by the image button 13 , the output and input sound levels are raised so that the video telephone can be used under the hand - free condition . as the hand - free condition for both of the voice communication mode and the voice and image communication mode by the single image button 13 , operability is improved . further , as the image button 13 can be used in common for setting and resetting the image communication and for switching the operation modes , the number of buttons and hence the area for the button arrangement on the keyboard unit 10 need not be increased . as a result , the video telephone terminal can be sized small and light - weight . it is preferred in the above embodiment that , as long as the earphone 11 and the external microphone 12 are used for communication , the amplification gains of the amplifiers in the voice processing unit 4 are held unchanged even if the operation mode is switched to the voice and image communication mode by the image button 13 . in this instance , as the output sound level and the input sound level are not increased even when the operation mode is switched from the voice communication to the voice and image communication , the user can communicate with the opponent user while watching the image of the opponent user on the display 8 and without disturbing other people around the user . the present embodiment should not be limited to the mobile radio cellular type but may be modified to the wire desk - top type for home or business use . further , the present embodiment may also be modified such that a message indicative of the arrival of a call including images is provided on the display 8 when the video telephone is called from the opponent video telephone . in this instance , the call from the opponent user can be received by turning on the image button 13 . other modifications and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 7 |
in one exemplary embodiment , as shown in fig1 a and 1b , the present invention comprises a rectangular deployable / folding truss structure . the construction of modified primary 1 and secondary orthogonal joints 30 causes the two adjacent primary chordal members 2 to fold inward in a plane orthogonal to the folding planes of the side diagonals 3 while the two secondary chordal members 4 fold in planes orthogonal to the plane of the in - folding chords 2 , thus synchronizing their motion . in fig1 , it can be seen that when the truss is fully retracted , the folded diagonals and the folded chords of each bay lie in the same transverse space , and can provide space for two integral panels 11 mounted within the secondary chords 4 . this compact nesting of truss members allows the retracted truss to stow in typically 4 - 8 % of its deployed length . as seen in fig1 a - b , 2 a - b and 5 , in one embodiment the truss comprises two primary chords , said primary chords comprising a plurality of primary chordal members 2 connected end - to - end by alternating primary orthogonal joints 1 and primary chord center - hinge joints 32 . the primary orthogonal joints may have different geometry than the primary chord center - hinge joints . the truss also comprises at least one secondary chord ( two for a rectangular or square truss , in cross - section ), said secondary chord comprising a plurality of secondary chordal members 4 connected end - to - end by alternating secondary orthogonal joints 30 and secondary chord center hinge - joints 34 . the secondary chord hinge joints may have different geometry than the secondary chord center - hinge joints . the primary orthogonal joints of the prior art comprised two angled fittings to which the truss diagonals and folding chords were attached . the new joint disclosed herein , as shown in fig3 a - c and 4 a - c , uses a single two or three - axis fitting ( 7 , 7 a , or 8 ) to connect the hinge joint 6 connecting the diagonals 3 to an offset hinge joint 9 in the folding chords 2 . this joint fitting constrains the diagonals 3 to fold in a plane orthogonal to the plane of the primary chords . as long as the pivot axes are oriented as shown , a single two pin fitting 8 can be used , as shown in fig4 a , located either outside or inside of the hinge joint which connects the diagonals . alternatively , a clevis fitting 7 which fits around the hinge joint connecting the diagonal ends can be used . an alternate 3 - axis fitting embodiment 7 a is shown in fig4 c , which has the same kinematic behavior but provides for the adjacent primary chords to be connected directly to the primary joint 1 without use of an offset hinge joint as in the alternative embodiment using fittings 7 . in one embodiment , the primary chordal members are connected directly to the joint on opposite sides of the clevis axis . the joints connecting the diagonals at their respective ends in a z - fold manner , have an offset hinge pin to allow the diagonal members to fold parallel to each other as the truss retracts . the primary chords ( and the secondary chords ) have the same hinging , but the primary chords connect to the diagonals with the fitting 7 , 7 a , or 8 as described above , while the secondary chords connect with a single axis hinge pin 10 in the secondary orthogonal joint 30 . this allows the secondary chords to fold orthogonally to the primary chords creating the stability and stiffness of the extending or retracting truss . the primary chords , which are center - hinged in the preferred embodiment , can optionally be replaced by flexible tension members . referring to fig1 a - b and 3 a - c , it should be noted that the primary orthogonal joints 1 may be connected by transverse members 5 which connect the truss sides and determine the truss width ( not shown in fig4 ). similar transverse members , braces , or chords ( flexible or rigid ) 35 may extend between the secondary orthogonal joints 30 . cross - bracing 12 may also be used between the secondary chords , as seen in fig3 b . this unique joint configuration permits the truss to deploy one bay at a time ( as shown in fig2 ), and with lateral bending stability . the truss bays thus can extend and retract in a sequential manner without need for a complex deployment system or mechanism . the truss can deploy , in z - fold manner , either flat panels 11 nested between the secondary folding chords 4 , or transverse members 35 , or cross bracing 12 without panels . panels may comprise any type of panels known in the art , including , but not limited to , solar panels , heat radiation panels , floor panels , wall panels , lcd panels , display panels , or radar panels . although the truss can be readily deployed on a flat surface or in low gravity , in one exemplary embodiment an important method for powered truss deployment and retraction is the use of a support frame 16 with side rails into which rollers 18 fit to support and guide the deployment motion , as seen in fig7 . the rollers 18 can be mounted on the primary joints 1 , in line with the transverse members 5 . the rail structure or support frame may be folding . the rails are preferably long enough to accommodate the first two truss bays and can fold or stow around the retracted truss bays . the support frame can be vertical , horizontal , or angled , and can be used with the rectangular , square , triangular , or other forms of the truss . in one embodiment of the rail - supported powered truss , a transverse bar 17 moves longitudinally up and down the rail structures , and can grasp or engage each of the primary orthogonal joints . the bar successively engages the joints and moves them until truss chords lock ( or , conversely , unlock ), thus forming or collapsing each truss bay in succession . the transverse bar and truss structure may be powered by a motor or other suitable means known in the art . with or without integral panels , the folded members and joints can form a rectangular or a square truss beam . with an alternate embodiment of the truss diagonals , it can be configured as a triangular beam using the same in - folding center - hinged chords and joints , but with a single chord of center - hinged secondary chordal members 4 at the apex of the resulting hinged triangular frames . in this triangular configuration pairs of opposite truss diagonals 14 are connected to the secondary ( apex ) chordal members 4 , as seen in fig5 a - b . the diagonals have angled hinge fittings at each of their ends , as shown in fig5 c , and fold as shown . the kinematic behavior is the same as for the rectangular embodiment . as shown in fig6 , the transverse members 5 may be successively lengthened or shorted along the truss , so that the truss has a tapered configuration . the diagonals 24 and angled end fittings are configured such that retracted assemblies deploy to form a tapered truss structure . the truss can be tapered in one or two directions ( e . g ., longitudinal and lateral tapering ). the orthogonal joints may have the same geometry as in the non - tapered configuration , and the primary and secondary chords may comprise the same general geometry . in one embodiment , to achieve proper folding of the primary and secondary chords , the center hinge joints are off - center . in all cases the trusses have at least one - axis symmetry . they can be retracted as shown in fig1 a - b until ready for deployment . in this manner , the truss , with or without various types of panels 11 , can be folded together compactly for transportation and handling . truss actuation can be manual or powered using a variety of methods : electrical , fluid , stored energy or other means . the primary and secondary truss joints , as well as the chordal center hinges can also be adapted to use flexible material hinges replacing certain or all of the pin / hole revolute joint hinges , with potential for spring - powered deployment using energy stored in the hinge material . the flexible material may comprise shape - memory alloy ( sma ) or spring material . with further reference to fig1 a - b , the center hinge joints of the primary chords and secondary chords may be fitted with suitable locking devices to lock the truss in its fully deployed state . they can be of various types and can be manual or remotely operated . in one embodiment , the secondary chords , to which flat panels 11 can be attached , comprise a support strut 15 which deploys in synchronization with the folding of the truss members . for optional powered truss operation , the chordal center joints can be fitted with suitable rotary actuators . fig8 shows an embodiment with a latching support strut 15 and a power actuator 15 a . the power actuator is optional . the support strut 15 deploys from the folded state with spring - force mating to the center hinge joints of the secondary chords . the joint &# 39 ; s hinge pin slides in a groove on the backside of the strut until it is captured in a hole at the top of the strut , thereby latching the strut to the secondary joint and providing structural support . the strut is retained in position by spring force . this eliminates the need for latching of the secondary chord center hinge joints . this motion may be caused by the lifting of the joints , but also can be assisted or effected by a linear power actuator 15 a , which in effect drives the hinge pin to the latch hole where it is captured . the basic truss of the present invention can also be configured in a system as a plurality of truss bays merged laterally . fig9 shows an alternative embodiment with two trusses merged laterally to form a double - row folding truss . interior diagonals are not duplicated , but instead are shared by adjacent truss rows . this permits deployment of twice the number of panels while using fewer chords and diagonals overall , but still deploying and retracting in the same fashion as described above for a single truss . in several embodiments , the interior ( or center ) support strut 15 c is modified to support the center hinge joints of the center secondary chords . the interior center strut 15 c deploys and latches passively or actively in the same manner as the support strut 15 described above . in yet a further embodiment , the present invention comprises an apparatus and method for sequentially deploying a plurality of single truss bays upon a surface ( such as , but not limited to , the ground , terrain , or a flat structure ) being traversed by a moving carrier , such that a long , contiguous truss structure is formed or laid down on the surface . the carrier can be repeatedly reloaded with another set of truss bays for subsequent deployment . this arrangement is of particular use for the efficient and low - cost deployment and installation of both large and small arrays of solar panels . for example , a plurality of solar panels can be deployed and ready for operations in a fraction of the time and expense required to install the equivalent solar panels in the field by piece - wise assembly . fig1 a shows the truss of fig1 a and 1b mounted on an angled carrier platform or cart 101 . the carrier platform may be wheeled or otherwise configured to allow movement . the truss is being deployed at an angle to the surface ( e . g ., ground , terrain or flat structure ) from the fixed frame 109 on the surface towards the right side ( i . e ., in the direction of the arrow ). multiple truss bays deploy from the angled - top carrier platform 101 with the plurality of folded truss bays in a “ stack .” 102 . the first truss bay 105 is fixed to the surface or terrain by the frame 109 . as the carrier 101 moves forward and away from the frame 109 , the stack 102 sequentially releases truss bay members 104 , which unfold as shown to form a long contiguous truss structure with solar panels 103 . the solar panel center hinges may be raised by either manual or automated means . as the carrier moves forward , the primary joints 106 for one or both primary chords , which are initially supported by the carrier 101 , become supported by fold - down struts 107 , which are vertically deployed sequentially under each primary joint 106 as needed . the struts are suitably hingedly attached to the primary joints . in the embodiment shown , carrier 101 with stack 102 is angled so as to cause the solar panels deployed with the truss to be positioned at a pre - determined angle for solar operation ; thus , one primary chord is maintained at a greater height than the other primary chord , and the struts 107 under the higher primary chord are of a height essentially equal to the height of the back of the frame in order to maintain this pre - determined angle . the angle may be pre - determined for optimal exposure to the sun ( or other light source ) for the deployment location , and the season . in one exemplary embodiment , the angle is between 0 to 45 degrees with respect to the surface . the frame 109 also may be angled . following deployment of a desired length of truss , some or all of the surface terrain contact points may be suitably anchored , manually or by automated means . it should be noted that the carrier 101 with stack 102 may be fixed or stationary , while the truss is deployed from the stack . in one example , the truss is deployed from the stack by a mobile frame moving away from the carrier in the desired direction . in any case , the truss may be fully removed from the carrier when deployed , and supported by a frame 109 or equivalent at both ends . in an alternative embodiment , the carrier may remain and be used to support an end of the truss when fully deployed . a truss with integral solar panels thus can be sequentially deployed , in automated fashion , truss bay by truss bay , upon a surface being traversed by the moving carrier such that a long contiguous truss structure is readily formed or laid down on the surface or terrain . this system thereby establishes a plurality of solar panels positioned at a predetermined angle ( i . e ., tilted ), performed in a fraction of the time and expense required to install the panels with conventional support racking in the field using existing piece - wise assembly operations . the carrier can move at variable or constant speed . in one exemplary embodiment , the carrier moves at a speed of approximately 2 mph . a plurality of tilted solar panel trusses can be deployed in multiple rows to create a larger array . fig1 b shows an example of a football - field sized array with multiple rows of trusses . in one embodiment , as a carrier completes deployment of one of said solar panel multi - bay trusses , it is reloaded with a new stack ( which may include the identical number of truss bays as other trusses being deployed in the larger array , or a different number of truss bays , as desired ), which is then deployed as a new row in the array . if it is desired to deploy rows horizontally from a fixed or moving carrier , so that the truss is flat on the surface or terrain , fold - down support struts are not required . the first bay is deployed from the carrier in essentially the same fashion as described above , with bays unfolding and forming sequentially from the stack . to assist the truss bays transitioning down from the carrier to the surface or terrain in an articulated fashion , the primary chords 201 may be modified to fold in an upward or vertical plane ( as seen in fig1 ). the primary chords 201 thereby provide an additional degree of freedom to permit the transition . alternatively , the center - hinged primary chordal members may be replaced with flexible cables . fig1 shows a modified truss in retracted position . the primary chords 201 are folded in a vertical plane orthogonal to the transverse members 202 and panels 204 . the primary chord hinge axes are rotated 90 degrees from the arrangement described above with respect to fig2 b , so that the primary chordal members fold upward during retraction , rather than inward . this provides the extra degree of freedom to the primary joints allowing deployment from a height above the surface or terrain without the need for additional support or hardware . fig1 a and 12b show a unique lockable hinge joint that may be used for the center - hinged primary chords , and within the primary and secondary orthogonal joints . the hinge joint comprises a male clevis half 210 hingedly connected to a female clevis half 211 around a center hinge pin 212 . a movable latch cylinder 213 on the male half ( best seen in fig1 b , where the female half has been rotated below the male half ) moves longitudinally . an optional internal spring 214 may be provided to press the latch cylinder 213 out and into a locked position . a pin 216 on the latch cylinder 213 may be used to move or rotate the latch cylinder . a detent feature 215 on the male half engages the pin 216 ( as shown in fig1 b ) and hold the latch cylinder in a withdrawn ( or unlocked ) position , which allows the devises freedom to rotate with respect to each other . when the pin 216 is disengaged from the détente ( as shown in fig1 a ), the cylinder is pushed forward by the spring to enter a receiving hole on the female clevis , thereby locking the joint against rotation . in yet a further embodiment , as seen in fig1 a and 13b , a hybrid configuration of the multi - bay truss of fig1 a and 1b may be deployed . a truss bay 301 is centrally deployed , with half - bays 302 deployed on either side . the central truss bay 301 comprises four chordal members 310 ( corresponding to the secondary chordal members described above ) with three transverse members 320 and two panels 330 . each half - bay comprises two chordal members 310 with traverse member 320 and a panel 330 . as seen in fig1 a , the configuration comprises four panels , with two chords ( corresponding to the secondary chords described above ) connected by four transverse members 320 . the half - bays are locked in a rigid position using the barrel lock hinge assembly 305 shown in fig1 a and 12b . with the single bay 301 deployed on a suitable mounting frame 303 , the half - bays thus are locked without requiring diagonal supports . the half - bays 302 fold compactly beside the folded center bay 301 assembly when retracted ( as seen in fig1 b ). in one embodiment , the mounting frame 303 can pivot or move on a support cart 304 ( which may be wheeled or otherwise mobile ). this permits the truss assembly to be manually or automatically tilted or rotated to the desired angle . additional support ( such as struts ) may be provided . it should be noted that two or more bays with panels may be used for a longer version of the hybrid configuration ( i . e ., multiple bays in a linear configuration , with two half - bays deployed on either end ), with suitable modifications to the mounting frames . thus , it should be understood that the embodiments and examples described herein have been chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited for particular uses contemplated . even though specific embodiments of this invention have been described , they are not to be taken as exhaustive . there are several variations that will be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 4 |
as can be seen , the exemplary method starts from an initial state in a first step s 1 designated start . this state can occur for example once , namely at the start of the projection process , that is to say after the projector device has been switched on , or else can be repeated at regular intervals during the current projection phase after switch - on or after such initialization it is possible to react virtually in real time to changes in the environmental parameters , to position changes or to other changes affecting the projection parameters so that , despite any changes , the viewer experiences no changes in the display quality of the projected image . starting from the first step s 1 , the method begins in a second step s 2 by setting an angle for an imminent light emission . starting from this second step s 2 , a light signal is transmitted in a third step s 3 by a light source contained in the terminal . in a fourth step s 4 , the period between transmitting and receiving reflected components of this signal is measured . in addition , in a fifth step s 5 , the light intensity is ascertained using the received signals . a check is thus performed as to whether a third distance measurement has already been carried out . this takes place in a sixth step s 6 . if three distance measurements have not yet been carried out , the method jumps back to the second step s 2 and repeats the preceding steps . if the third distance measurement has already been carried out , however , the light intensity is ascertained in a seventh step s 7 , in which only light components of the surroundings , and thus the brightness of the surroundings , are ascertained because no signal previously been emitted . in an eighth step s 8 , the ascertained values and the necessary parameters , which permit optimum projection which is matched to the current conditions , are then evaluated . these parameters are set in a ninth step s 9 and , in a tenth step s 10 , a timer is started , after whose time - out , eleventh step s 11 , the steps according to the invention are repeated starting with the first step s 1 . the orientation of the projection plane relative to the projection axis is ascertained by emitting light signals in three different steps . in addition , the distance between projection surface and projector is also calculated hereby , and the reflectivity of the projection surface is determined . the further light intensity detection process is also used to detect the brightness of the surroundings as a final parameter of the current conditions . the method according to the invention is therefore used to detect characteristics essential for the projection and to match them to the conditions described thereby with little effort . as an alternative to checking at discrete time intervals , the method can also be implemented and carried out such that the measurements are taken in real time parallel to the current projection . this is possible in particular if the mobile projection appliance has a second signal source which emits signals and detects their reflections in the non - visible or inaudible range such that adaptation in real time is possible , thereby always achieving the advantages listed below : image equalization because the projection axis and the normal to the projection surface are always checked for parallelity , furthermore an optimum autofocus because the distance data can be evaluated in order to produce a sharp projection image , which is achieved in particular in conventional projectors by adjusting the optical elements . a further advantage is the reduction in power consumption , because the distance of the projection surface from the projector and the brightness of the surroundings can be calculated from the reflectivity of the projection surface , in which the brightness is necessary to project an image which can be seen well and the controls are set such that exactly said minimum level of brightness is selected and no more power than necessary is consumed . another power - conserving advantage is provided by a safety disconnect which can supplement the described example . this safety disconnect is activated if , for example , a distance measurement shows that no useful projection surface is available at that time , as is usually the case if the distance is too long or the angle between projector and projector surface exceeds specific values . it may also be activated , however , if the distance that is measured is too short . all these aspects mentioned leading to switch - off can be initiated via threshold value comparisons , within implementation of this method in a projector using laser light offering the advantage of protecting any people present against laser light striking their eyes , in addition to the advantage of saving power . the invention is also distinguished by its simple design such that it can be used in any desired projection appliances . while the invention has been described with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference now to fig2 , a realtime or near realtime communication arrangement 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated . in general , the communication arrangement 200 involves a number of communication nodes 204 a - c interconnected to one another by communication networks 220 and 224 . the communication nodes are further in communication , via the networks 220 and 224 , with a primary and secondary communication servers 212 and 216 . the communication nodes 204 a - c can be any terminating or intermediate node . for example , the nodes can represent one or more of a gateway , port network , center stage switch , and a communication terminal , such as a wired or wireless circuit - switched or packet - switched telephone ( e . g ., an ip soft phone or hard phone , a digital signal processor or dsp telephone , a video phone , a personal digital assistant , a computer running an instant messaging application , and the like ). in a preferred embodiment , the first , second , and third communication nodes 204 a - c are gateways , particularly the g700 ™ or g350 ™ media gateways by avaya inc . modified as hereinafter described . as will be appreciated , a gateway provides for an interconnection between a communication endpoint ( or to a non - ip protocol network ) that is not capable of direct interconnection to the ip protocol communication network . the networks 220 and 224 can be synchronous and / or asynchronous transfer mode , connection - oriented and / or connectionless , and circuit and / or packet - switched . the networks can be the public switched telephone network ( pstn ), wireless cellular networks , wide area networks , ( wans ), metropolitan area networks ( mans ), regional area networks ( rans ) or local area networks ( lans ), depending on the application . the primary and secondary communication servers 212 and 216 function to facilitate or enable communications between the first , second , and third nodes 204 of the communication networks 220 and 224 . for example , the communication servers control media gateways during call set - up and termination and maintain communication - related information , such as call state information . examples of call state information include session initiation protocol ( sip ), h . 248 , and / or h . 323 communication information generated in connection with real - time or near real - time communications over an ip protocol communication network . by way of illustration , communication information may include static and dynamic call - state information , such as calling and called party identities , call setup , tear down , address translation , call appearances for each party , feature selections , and billing information . as will be appreciated , in the h . 248 standard the communication information is saved as properties of the termination of a corresponding communication , and the “ context ” refers to a particular node &# 39 ; s data representation of a communication , such as a group of ( physical and / or ephemeral ) terminations which are associated together in a communication . the servers 212 and 216 also function to control access to the communication networks . in a preferred embodiment , the primary and secondary communication servers are software - controlled , and the call control functionality is provided by a modified version of communication manager ™ by avaya inc . the secondary communication server 216 includes a reconstruction agent 228 to reconstruct communications , during communication node transition from the primary to the secondary communication servers , by populating a communication map 232 that replicates the call state information on the primary communications server 212 . as will be appreciated , a media gateway is in transition from the time it detects failure of its signaling link to the primary communication server to the time it regains connectivity to the primary or secondary communications server ). the primary and secondary communication servers commonly have identical copies of the static data but the primary server and not the secondary communication server has the call status information . during node transition from the primary to the secondary server , the call state or status information must be reconstructed by the secondary server . to facilitate communication reconstruction , each of the communication nodes 204 a - c maintains in memory a corresponding node identifier 236 a - c and a communication identifier 240 a - c . in connection with a communication between the host node and a distant node , the node identifier 236 a - c identifies uniquely the distant node and / or a component thereof and / or the distant node &# 39 ; s communication information relative to a selected group of network components . the node identifier is commonly unique within a group of network nodes and / or primary communication and secondary servers . more typically , it is unique among a group of network components controlled by the primary communication server and / or within the set of nodes that fail over to the secondary communication server . the group of network components is typically part of an enterprise network . the communication identifier uniquely identifies a communication uniquely relative to a set of other communications handled by a group of network nodes and / or primary and secondary communication servers . typically , the set of other communications is handled by one or more of the group of network components controlled by the primary communication server and / or the set of nodes that fail over to the secondary communication server . thus , the node identifier will typically be different from node - to - node ( so that the first , second , and third identifiers are each different from one another ), and the communication identifier is the same for each node involved in the selected communication . in one configuration , the node identifier is one or more of an electronic address ( e . g ., a media access control or mac address or an internet protocol address ) of a node or a network endpoint involved in a specific communication , an identifier of a data structure ( e . g ., a pointer ), such as a communication context , related to or used by the communication , an identifier of one or more resources ( e . g ., port , port network , dsp , dsp channel , set of one or more tones , tone detector , set of one or more announcements , and the like ) in the node involved in the communication , and combinations thereof . in a preferred configuration , the node identifier has two components , namely a resource identifier and a local identifier , that are each associated with a far end - node that is connected as part of the same communication to a selected node . with reference to fig2 , for example , the first node identifier could be a unique identifier associated with the second and / or third communication node ; the second node identifier a unique identifier associated with the first and / or third node ; and so forth . in one configuration , the local identifier refers to a unique identifier of context information stored in a far end - node that is connected as part of the same communication to a selected node . within the h . 248 standard , for example , the resource identifier is an identifier ( such as an electronic address ) of a node , such as a gateway , and / or a resource on the node that is at the far end of an inter - node connection , such as an inter - gateway connection , and the local identifier identifies the context stored in the node identified by the resource identifier . as will be appreciated , a resource can refer to a gateway or a resource thereof , such as a port , dsp channel , set of one or more tones , tone detector , set of one or more announcements , and the like , used by the selected communication at the far end node . the resource and local identifiers are commonly saved in a selected node as a property ( each of which includes a property name and value ) of the ephemeral termination corresponding to the selected communication being handled by the selected node . the communication identifier is any identifier generated as part of the communication and / or generated in addition to the communication . for example , the identifier can be a session identifier , a session key , or a random variable generated specifically for the purpose of acting as the communication identifier . the node and / or communication identifiers are pushed , as properties of the termination , to the communication nodes by the primary communication server 212 during normal operations . for example , the identifiers can be specified in the h . 248 add / subtract / modify / move messages . thus , the identifiers can be included in messages currently being exchanged between the primary communication server and the node . the operation of the reconstruction agent 228 will now be described with reference to fig2 - 4 . with reference to fig3 , in step 300 a node will detect a failure of a signaling link with the primary communication server 212 . it then attempts to register with the secondary communication server 216 . in step 304 , the node registers with the secondary communication server 304 . the communication server 304 determines , based on the type of registration and identification of the primary server 212 , that the node has failed over with active call state information . in step 308 , the secondary communication server 304 retrieves connection state and termination property information . for example , this can be done using the h . 248 audit mechanism known to those skilled in the art . in step 312 , the agent 228 uses the retrieved information to construct a temporary communication map , such as a temporary connection or context map . the termination property information is saved with each termination in the map . after the temporary map is constructed , the agent 228 sweeps through the map and discards unstable connections and corresponding terminations . in step 316 , which is discussed in detail below with reference to fig4 , the agent 228 populates the map to reconstruct the primary communication server &# 39 ; s records . in a preferred configuration , the agent 228 processes the filtered temporary communication map , one context at a time , to reconstruct the connection records . once the connection records and user state of the terminations with preserved connections are in place , call records are reconstructed . step 316 will now be described in greater detail with reference to fig4 . fig4 assumes that the various node and communication identifiers have been or are being received at different times from the nodes impacted by the failure . to illustrate the operation of the agent 228 , two examples will be considered in which the first , second , and third nodes are gateways . in a first example , a communication spans the first and second communication nodes or an inter - gateway connection exists between the two nodes . in this example , the first node identifier is related to a representation of the communication maintained by the second communication node , and the second node identifier to a representation of the communication maintained by the first communication node . in a second example , a communication spans the first , second , and third communication nodes or an inter - gateway connection exists between the first and second nodes and between the second and third nodes . in this example , the first node identifier is related to representation of the communication maintained by the second communication node ; the second node identifier to different representations of the communication maintained by each of the first and third communication nodes ; and the third node identifier to a representation of the communication maintained by the first communication node . since gateways migrate to a secondary server one at a time , the node and communication identifiers move to the secondary communication at different times . in the examples , the nodes fail over to the secondary server as follows : the first node precedes the second and third nodes and the third node precedes the second node . in step 400 , the agent 228 selects and reads a next node data for processing . in the examples , the next node data is next communication information maintained by the first node ( which is the first node to migrate over ) for a selected communication that includes the first node and communication identifiers associated with that communication . in decision diamond 404 , the agent 228 determines whether an inter - node connection exists . when no inter - node connection exists , the agent 228 reconstructs the communication normally . when , as in both examples , an inter - node connection exists , the agent 228 retrieves the far end information , or first node identifier , in step 408 and proceeds to decision diamond 416 . in decision diamond 408 , the agent 228 determines whether a far end or node identifier exists ( or whether the node associated with the identifier has already migrated to the secondary communication server 216 and has corresponding data structures already created ). in one configuration , the agent 228 searches for an unmerged inter - node connection ( inc ) termination that matches the information contained in the first node identifier . the agent 228 searches among the unmerged terminations belonging to the first communication node for a match in a communication already received from another communication node . in the first example , no such communication information exists as the second and third communication nodes 204 b and c have not yet registered with the secondary communication server 216 . in the first example , when the second communication node 204 b migrates to the secondary communication server 216 , the answer is “ yes ” as the second node identifier is associated with the previously migrated first communication node . in the second example , when the third communication node 204 c migrates to the server 216 , the answer is “ no ” ( as the third node identifier is associated with the as yet - unmigrated second communication node ), and , when the second communication node 204 b migrates to the server 216 , the answer is “ yes ” ( as the second node identifier is associated the previously migrated first and third nodes ). in other words , the first node identifier causes the existence of the second ( in the first and second examples ) and not the third ( in the second example ) node to be flagged to indicate that it has not yet migrated to the secondary communication server . when the far end or node identifier is in the map , the agent 228 in step 428 associates the selected communication information with the selected communication in the communication map 232 . when the far end or node identifier does not yet exist , the agent 228 in decision diamond 420 determines whether the far end information is flagged in the communication information associated with already migrated communication nodes . in other words , the agent 228 determines if the selected node identifier and any existing unmerged ( inc ) terminations belong to the same far end communication node and associated communication information . the agent 228 searches for an unmerged inc termination among all terminations such that the unmerged inc termination &# 39 ; s far end communication node is the same as the selected node identifier &# 39 ; s far end node . in the second example , when the third communication node 204 c migrates to the server 216 , the agent 228 searches for an unmerged termination among all of the terminations in all of nodes previously migrated to the secondary server , including in the first node &# 39 ; s communication information , such that the unmerged termination &# 39 ; s far end node matches the node identified in the third node identifier . because the first node identifier matches the third node identifier ( each of which are associated with the second communication node ) a match is found . when the unmerged termination &# 39 ; s far end node matches the node identified in the selected node identifier , the agent 228 proceeds to step 428 . when the unmerged termination &# 39 ; s far end node fails to match the node identified in the selected node identifier , the agent 228 proceeds to optional decision diamond 424 . in optional decision diamond 424 , the agent 228 determines whether the selected communication information includes a communication identifier . the communication identifier permits the association of communication information with a communication even where an identified far end node is more than one hop away from the currently migrating node . when the communication identifier is present in the map 232 , the agent 228 proceeds to step 428 . when the communication identifier is not present in the map 232 , the agent 228 proceeds to step 412 . after step 428 , the agent 228 determines whether next communication data from the instant node has been received . if so , the agent returns to step 400 . if not , the agent 228 terminates operation until data from another node arrives . as will be appreciated , this algorithm is invoked as node node migrates over . a number of variations and modifications of the invention can be used . it would be possible to provide for some features of the invention without providing others . for example in one alternative embodiment , the node identifier or communication identifier can be used alone to effect communication reconstruction . in another alternative embodiment , the reconstruction agent is embodied as a logic circuit , such as an application specific integrated circuit or asic or as a combination of software and a logic circuit . in other embodiments , the invention is used with protocols other than sip , h . 248 , and h . 323 , such as mgcp . the present invention , in various embodiments , includes components , methods , processes , systems and / or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein , including various embodiments , subcombinations , and subsets thereof . those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the present invention after understanding the present disclosure . the present invention , in various embodiments , includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and / or described herein or in various embodiments hereof , including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes , e . g ., for improving performance , achieving ease and \ or reducing cost of implementation . the foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . the foregoing is not intended to limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed herein . in the foregoing detailed description for example , various features of the invention are grouped together in one or more embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure . this method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim . rather , as the following claims reflect , inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment . thus , the following claims are hereby incorporated into this detailed description , with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the invention . moreover though the description of the invention has included description of one or more embodiments and certain variations and modifications , other variations and modifications are within the scope of the invention , e . g ., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art , after understanding the present disclosure . it is intended to obtain rights which include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted , including alternate , interchangeable and / or equivalent structures , functions , ranges or steps to those claimed , whether or not such alternate , interchangeable and / or equivalent structures , functions , ranges or steps are disclosed herein , and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter . | 7 |
the following description refers to a number of parts or structures common to several embodiments of the invention . it should be understood that common parts or structures that have the same function are identified herein by the same reference numeral . in all the figures , a transparent film sheet is located on a reel 1 , and reel 2 contains a tear - open strip sheet . the transparent film sheet is delivered to a drum 4 , to which the tear - open strip sheet is also fed at the same time via a roller 3 , in such a way that the tear - open strip sheet is laid onto the transparent film sheet . the two sheets are joined to one another by means of a heating element 5 , the heating element 5 being arranged adjacent to the periphery of the drum 4 in a region in which the tear - open strip sheet runs past in engagement with the transparent film sheet . the tear strip typically has a width of one or two millimeters and the length of heater 5 in the direction parallel to the axis of drum 4 , is of commensurate width . the sheet of packaging material formed in this way is kept taut by means of a spring - prestressed pendulum 6 and is fed via rollers 7 to a pair of rollers 8 which are driven intermittently . the continuous sheet of packaging material is delivered from rollers 8 to a knife station 9 , where &# 34 ; leafs &# 34 ; of predetermined length are cut off the sheet of packaging material . the severed leaf is located between a cigarette pack 10 and a &# 34 ; mouthpiece &# 34 ; 11 , and the cigarette package 10 pushes the cut - off leaf through the mouthpiece 11 , thereby forming the first u - shaped wrapping . this wrapping is subsequently folded further round the cigarette pack 10 and welded , these operations being carried out in the known way , as described , for example , in the publications mentioned above . in the embodiment of fig1 an infra - red emitter 12a is arranged , for example , adjacent to the drum 4 and serves to heat the transparent film sheet and the tear - open strip sheet on the drum 4 . the heater 12a extends along the full axial length of drum 4 , to provide a uniform heating across the sheets . the sheets are expanded as a result of this heating , the pendulum 6 ensuring that the expanded sheet of packaging material is kept taut . consequently , the expanded sheet of packaging material passes between the cigarette package 10 and the mouthpiece 11 and is folded around the cigarette package while in the expanded state . the subsequent cooling of the thus formed wrapping ensures that the wrapping tightly and evenly conforms to the cigarette package . the infra - red emitter 12a is controlled as a function of processing , i . e . machine speed and thus in accordance with the advancing speed of the transparent film in the feed device , so that uniform heating of the sheets to approximately 50 ° to 70 ° c ., especially approximately 60 ° c ., is carried out . the thermal expansion of the film preferably is within the range of 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 %. this temperature increase is less than that typically produced by the heating element 5 used for adhesively joining the tear open strip to the transparent film . a substantial cooling down during the wrapping of the cigarette pack 10 does not occur because of the high packing rate of the system . for example , at a packing rate of 500 packages per minute , only 0 . 12 second is needed to wrap one package . according to fig2 a heating element 12b is provided in contact with the film between the last roller 7 and the pair of rollers 8 . an air gap can selectively be established between the heating element 12b and the film , by means of levers 13 and a pneumatic or magnetic cylinder 14 , so that the sheet of packaging material is not burnt or damaged when the machine stops . here again , the film is kept taut by means of the pendulum 6 . according to fig3 the drum 4 has an internal heating element 12c , so that the transparent film sheet and the tear - open strip sheet are appropriately heated and consequently expanded via the heated drum 4 . the heating element 5 would normally also be provided , although it may in some cases be possible to use an adhesive which is activated at low tempertures and thus the heater 5 could be omitted . while preferred embodiments have been shown and described , for purposes of illustration , the foregoing description should not be deemed a limitation of the invention herein . accordingly , various modifications , adaptations and alternatives may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . | 1 |
fig5 shows a specific structure of a dnm ; under conditions of high frequency and a small size , an electron sheet beam is used to produce a high current . by changing dnm parameters and electron sheet beam parameters , sw amplitude in vacuum , characterized by time - averaged poynting vector amplitude |& lt ; s & gt ;|, and reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm are greatly enhanced . the electron sheet beam is generated by an electron sheet gun and stably transported under actions of a periodic focusing magnetic field . combining with a diagram shown in fig6 , five methods for greatly enhancing the sw amplitude and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy are following . first two methods are realized by changing the dnm parameters and rest three methods are realized by changing the electron sheet beam parameters . under a premise of keeping the parameters of the electron sheet beam x 0 = 1 μm , y 0 = 5 μm , z 0 = 10 μm , n = 5 × 10 9 , υ = 0 . 1c ( c is a velocity of light in vacuum ) and d = 50 μm unchanged , for following predetermined parameters of the dnm comprising electronic plasma frequency ω p = 2π × 3 . 5 × 10 12 rad / s ; magnetic resonant frequency ω 0 = 2π × 1 × 10 12 rad / s ; and for a convenient analysis , supposing that magnetic loss γ m equals electric loss γ e , i . e ., γ e = γ m = γ = 5 × 10 10 rad / s , by changing metal srr sizes of the dnm the magnetic resonant intensity thereof is increased , as shown in fig7 a . time - averaged poynting vector amplitude at x =− d / 2 in vacuum and reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm increases with an increasing filling factor f 0 between 0 and 1 as shown in fig7 b . under a premise of keeping the parameters of the electron sheet beam x 0 = 1 μm , y 0 = 5 μm , z 0 = 10 μm , n = 5 × 10 9 , υ = 0 . 1c and d = 50 μm unchanged , for the predetermined dnm parameters ω 0 = 2π × 1 × 10 12 rad / s , ω p = 2π × 3 . 5 × 10 12 rad / s , and γ e = 5 × 10 10 rad / s , by choosing different dielectric materials and metal materials the magnetic loss γ m of the dnm is decreased to further increase magnetic resonant performance thereof as shown in fig8 a . with decreasing γ , the time - averaged poynting vector amplitude at x =− d / 2 in the vacuum and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm increase , as shown in fig8 b . under a premise of keeping the dnm parameters ω 0 = 2π × 1 × 10 12 rad / s , ω p = 2π × 3 . 5 × 10 12 rad / s and γ e = 5 × 10 10 rad / s unchanged , for the predetermined parameters of the electron sheet beam , x 0 = 1 μm , y 0 = 5 μm , z 0 = 10 μm , υ = 0 . 1c and d = 50 μm , by changing the electron number n of the electron sheet beam radiation performance is changed . it is worthy to be noted that dimensions of the electron beam must be smaller than an operation wavelength . when n increases , the time - averaged poynting vector amplitude at x =− d / 2 in the vacuum and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm are obviously enhanced and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy increases by square orders of magnitude with the increasing n , as shown in fig9 a . under a premise of keeping the dnm parameters ω 0 = 2π × 1 × 10 12 rad / s , ω p = 2π × 3 . 5 × 10 12 rad / s and γ e = 5 × 10 10 rad / s unchanged and a current density of the electron sheet beam unchanged , for the predetermined parameters of the electron sheet beam x 0 = 1 μm , z 0 = 10 μm , n = 5 × 10 9 , υ = 0 . 1c and d = 50 μm , by changing the transverse dimension y 0 of the electron sheet beam radiation performance thereof is changed . for example , when y 0 increases 10 times , the time - averaged poynting vector amplitude at x =− d / 2 in the vacuum and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm increase respectively about 10 times and 100 times , as shown in fig9 b . ( 5 ) providing the electron sheet beam moving possibly close to the dnm under a premise of keeping ω 0 = 2π × 1 × 10 12 rad / s , ω p = 2π × 3 . 5 × 10 12 rad / s and γ e = 5 × 10 10 rad / s unchanged , for following parameters of the electron sheet beam x 0 = 1 μm , y 0 = 5 μm , z 0 = 10 μm , n = 5 × 10 9 and υ = 0 . 1c , by changing a distance d between the electron sheet beam and an interface of the dnm and the vacuum radiation performance is changed . when d decreases , the time - averaged poynting vector amplitude at x =− d / 2 in the vacuum is enhanced and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm is also greatly enhanced , as shown in fig1 . after a further comparison , effective methods for greatly enhancing the sw amplitude and the reversed cherenkov radiation energy in the dnm are replacing normal dielectric materials with the dnm and increasing the electron number n of the electron sheet beam , based on which small - sized and high power terahertz radiation sources and cherenkov particle detectors and emitters are accessible . one skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting . it will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished . its embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles . therefore , this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims . | 7 |
the present invention provides a method of using computer to find all the intersection curves or the absolute shortest distance of two arbitrary surfaces methodologies of finding all the intersection curves , creating nc tool paths and checking the motion of the cutter will be introduced after a brief description of the standard terminologies which is necessary for understanding the method . for example , see &# 34 ; plane vector fields &# 34 ; by m . a . kransnosel &# 39 ; skiy , 1966 . in most solid geometric modeling systems , the boundary surface of an object is represented as a parametric surface . a 3d surface s is called a parametric surface , if it has the form where 0 ≦ u , v ≦ 1 and s is a one - to - one function on the interior of the unit square . and this unit square is called the uv - plane of the surface s . all the surfaces mentioned in this article , are parametric surfaces with cl continuous condition ( i . e . the first derivative of the surface s exists ). since there are differences between the 3d space and the 2d uv - plane of a parametric surface , in the following sequel the capital p ( or t ) is used to represent a point in the 3d space and the small case p ( or t ) is used to represent a point in the uv - plane . ( 2 ) shortest distance , intersection and minimum pair . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . let p be a point of the uv - plane of s1 . let p = s1 ( p ) be the image of p on the surface s1 . if there exists a point q on s2 such that pq gives the shortest distance from p to s2 , then ( p , q ) is called the shortest distance ( corresponding ) pair of p . in fig1 points p and q represent a shortest distance pair . if the distance between p and q is zero , then ( p , q ) is called an intersection pair . although , pq gives the shortest distance from p to surface s2 . in general , pq does not give the shortest distance from surface s1 to surface s2 in the neighborhood of p . if pq also gives the shortest distance from s1 to s2 in the neighborhood of p , then ( p , q ) is called a minimum pair . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . let p be an arbitrary point of s1 and q a point on s2 such that ( p , q ) is the shortest distance pair of p . let d be the distance between p and q . a curve eh of s1 passing through p is called an equal height curve , if for any point r of eh the distance from r to s2 equals d . fig1 shows an equal height curve eh which passes through the point p . note that as a special case , the intersection curves of s1 and s2 are also equal height curves with distance d equal to 0 . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . let eh be an equal height curve of s1 such that the distance from eh to s2 is d . note that two different equal height curves of s1 have two different distances . hence , the set of all equal height curves of s1 can be represented as since s1 is a parametric surface , { ehd } induces a set of curves on the uv - plane uvp of s1 . let be the induced curves . then , { uvehd } is called the induced equal height curves on the uv - plane of s1 . fig1 a illustrates the equal height curves from a plane s1 to a sphere s2 and fig1 b shows the induced equal height curves on the uv - plane of s1 . use the same notation as ( 4 ). consider all the 2d curves in the uv - plane of s1 which are perpendicular to { uvehd }. then this set of curves forms an orthogonal dual system of { uvehd } and is denoted as in fig1 b og1 , og2 and og3 belong to the orthogonal components of induced equal height curves . use the same notation as ( 5 ). let uvp be the uv - plane of s1 . let p be a point of uvp , ogh be the curve of { ogr } which ( see fig1 b ). then for every point p of uvp , we can define t ( p ) as the vector which is associated with p . by considering all the points of uvp and the vectors associated with the points , the set defines a plane vector field vf on uvp . and vf is called the induced vector field of the orthogonal components of the equal height curves from s1 to s2 . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . note that in constructing the vector field vf , the role of s1 and s2 is interchangeable . if the vector field vf is constructed on the uv - plane of s1 , then s1 is called the master surface and s2 is called the slave surface . on the other hand , if a vector field is constructed on the uv - plane of s2 , then s2 is called the master surface and s1 is called the slave surface . ( 8 ). integral curves , singular points and connecting curves . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . let vf be the vector field constructed in ( 6 ). a curve ic in the uv - plane of s1 is called an integral curve of vf , if for any point p of ic the tangent vector of ic at p is equal to the vector vf ( p ) at p . from the construction of vf the orthogonal components { ogr } constructed in ( 5 ) are the integral curves of vf . a point p of the uv - plane of s1 is called a singular point of vf , if the vector vf ( p ) at p is either zero or undefined . let cc be an integral curve of vf . cc is called a connecting curve , if cc &# 34 ; connects &# 34 ; two singular points c1 and c2 of vf . in fig2 a , c1 and c2 are two singular points of a vector field . in fig2 b , cc is a connecting curve between two singular points . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . let p be a point of s1 and ( p , q ) the shortest distance pair of p . a crossing vector vec ( p ) at p is defined as fig4 b illustrate the vector vec ( p ). in fig4 b ( p , q ) is the shortest distance pair of p and vec ( p ) is the vector from p to q . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system and vf the vector field constructed in ( 6 ). the equations of vf can be described as follows . let p be a point of the uv - plane of s1 , p the image of p and ( p , q ) the shortest distance pair of p . then the vector field vf at p is given as : where ( 1 ) vf ( p ) u and vf ( p ) v are the u and v components of the vector vf ( p ) at p , ( 2 ) δs1 / δu ( p ) and δs1 / δv ( p ) are the partial derivatives of s1 at p and ( 3 ) n2 ( q ) is the surface normal of s2 at q . hence , based on the two equations listed above the vector field vf can be constructed by the system . once the vector field is constructed , the next step is to detect intersection curves . consider the two intersecting surfaces s1 and s2 as described in fig4 b . the uv - plane of s1 is described in fig4 a in which sc is the intersection curve of s1 and s2 and ic is an integral curve of the vector field vf constructed in ( 6 ). in fig4 b , p is the image of p lying on the image of ic and q is the point on s2 such that ( p , q ) is the shortest distance pair of p . it is easy to see that the crossing vector vec at the image p of p changes direction when p marches across the intersection curve sc along the curve ic . hence , by marching along an integral curve ic of the vector field vf , an intersection curve is detected whenever the direction of the crossing vector vec ( p ) is changed . note that the above method of detecting an intersection curve sc of s1 and s2 can be applied to all curves which intersect sc , in addition to an integral curve ic of vf . so far , only the well intersected curves are considered . in the event an intersection curve is deformed , the following method needs to be adopted . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . if s1 and s2 are just touching at a point t , then the touching point t can not be detected by using the same method described in ( b ), since the crossing vector vec ( p ) does not change direction when p marches across the point t . a different method must be considered . in fig5 b , s1 is a plane and s2 a sphere of a solid geometric modeling system . s1 and s2 are touching at a point t . as p marches across the touching point t , the crossing vector vec at the point p approaches to a vertical vector and it does not change direction . however , in fig5 a , the vector field vf constructed in ( 6 ) changes direction as the point p marches across t . hence , by marching along an integral curve ic of the vector field vf , a touching point of s1 and s2 can be detected whenever the direction of the vector vf is changed . other cases such as : ( 1 ) two surfaces are tangent at a curve , ( 2 ) two surfaces intersect at a small curve or ( 3 ) the intersections of the two surfaces are close to each other , can all be detected in a similar way . after an intersection curve is detected in ( b ) or ( c ), it is a standard procedure to locate an intersection pair ( p , q ) of s1 and s2 and use the intersection pair ( p , q ) to trace out the entire intersection curve . for example , see &# 34 ; surface / surface intersection &# 34 ; by e . lee , 1984 . this standard method will not be stated in this article . the calculation of equal height curves is a necessary step in the methodology of finding all the intersection curves . the methodology of calculating intersection curves can be adopted in the calculating of equal height curves , since an intersection curve is only a special case of an equal height curve . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system and vf the vector field constructed in ( 6 ). a most important property of the vector field vf can be stated as follows : if vf is continuous , then the intersection curves of s1 and s2 are connected by connecting curves through intermediate singular points of vf . consider the two intersecting cylinders in fig3 a . fig3 b illustrates this property of vf . in fig3 b , sc1 and sc2 are the two intersection curves of s1 and s2 . q3 is a singular point between sc1 and sc2 . there are two connecting curves cv1 and cv2 which connect sc1 and sc2 through the point q3 . hence , if the intersection curves are considered as nodes of a graph and connecting curves are considered as connecting arrows , then the intersection and connecting curves form a graph tree gt . and gt is called the global structure of the intersection curves generated by vf . fig 12 illustrates a possible structure of gt . conceptually , if one intersection curve is found by the system , then it is equivalent to a node found in the graph tree gt . furthermore , the system can follow the connecting curve in gt from one node to the other nodes . by exhausting all the connecting curves in gt , the system can find all the notes in the tree ( i . e . all intersection curves of s1 and s2 ). however , in practice , two nodes in the graph tree are connected physically through initial points of the intersection curves . the following is a description of the definition and method of locating initial points . ( g ) method of locating initial points of an intersection curve or an equal height curve . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system and vf the vector field constructed in ( 6 ). let sc be an intersection curve of s1 and s2 in the uv - plane of s1 and cc a connecting curve of vf . if sc and cc are intersected at the point ip , then ip is called an initial point of the intersection curve sc . as an example , in fig3 b , sc1 is an intersection curve of the two cylinders and cv1 is a connecting curve of vf . ip2 is the intersection point of sc1 and cv1 . hence , ip2 is an initial point of sc1 . one important problem in practice , is to identify all the initial points which lie on the curve sc . a method of computing all the initial points on sc can be described as follows : first , we define a normal product value k ( p ). let p be a point of sc and ( p , q ) be the shortest distance pair of p . then define where k ( p ) is the dot product of n1 ( p ) and n2 ( q ) and n1 ( p ) ( or n2 ( q )) is the normal vector of s1 ( or s2 ) at p ( or q ). if p is an initial point of sc has the following important property , then the normal product value k ( p ) at p is a local extremum on sc ( i . e . k ( p ) is an extremum value in the neighborhood of p on sc ). however , this is only a sufficient condition . on the other hand , if k ( p ) is an extremum value in the neighborhood of p , then p may not be an initial point of sc . further checking of p is necessary . the following methodology can be used as a guideline for finding initial points . ( 1 ) find the points ipi , i = 1 , 2 , . . . on sc such that each ipi has a local extremum normal product value k ( pi ) and ( 2 ) check which ipi are lying on the connecting curve of vf . again , notice that the terminology of initial points and the methodology of calculating initial points can be adopted into equal height curves , since an intersection curve is only a special case of an equal height curve . the above section provides the fundamental methods of finding all the intersection curves . in certain applications such as nc machining , when two surfaces do not intersect , the distance between the two surfaces needs to be calculated by using the following method . assume that s1 is a surface to be machined . in general , a cutter path on s1 is generated by the intersection of s1 and another surface s2 which contains the center axis of the cutter . if there exists only one intersection curve , then the tool path can be created easily . however , when the two surfaces s1 and s2 are not simple , there are two problems associated with finding the tool path ( 1 ) is to find all the intersection curves of s1 and s2 , and ( 2 ) is to identify the right curve for the tool path . the first problem can be solved by the methodology described in ( f ). now , let sci , i = 1 , 2 , . . . , be the set of intersection curves of s1 and s2 and assume that the cutter is initially located at at a point p of s1 . to identify the correct tool path , first we find a point p on the uv - plane of s1 such that p is the image of p . then determine which sci , i = 1 , 2 , . . , contains the point p . if scj contains p , then scj is the correct cutter path . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system . assume that s1 does not intersect s2 . then there exists a set of between s1 and s2 . a minimum pair ( pi , qi ) has the same geometric property as a touching point . hence , a minimum pair and a touching point of s1 and s2 can be found in a similar way . this can be also observed in fig5 b , if the sphere s2 is pulled away from the plane s1 with a distance d . after all the minimum pairs have been found , the shortest distance between s1 and s2 is the shortest distance between all the minimum pairs ( pi , qi ), i = 1 , 2 , . . . of s1 and s2 . one of the most common problems in nc tool path generation is that the cutter cuts into the finishing surfaces of the part accidentally . the clearance between the motion of the cutter and the boundary faces of the part must be checked . to solve this problem , a &# 34 ; look - ahead &# 34 ; strategy can be built into the system to guide the motion of the cutter . the methodology is described as follows : assume that s1 is a surface to be machined let scj be a cutter path of s1 created in ( h ). assume that the cutter is initially located at a point p of s1 . let s3 be the surface that the cutter may cut into it . let p be the point on the uv - plane of s1 such that p is the image of p . now , march p along the curve scj . at each step , calculate the image p of p . use ( i ) to find the distance d ( clearance ) between the cutter surface s4 at p and s3 . the distance d shows how far the cutter is away from the surface s3 . it is used to look ahead and guide the next move . notice that this method works only when the absolute distance between two surfaces is calculated accurately . fig1 illustrate the concept of the &# 34 ; look - head &# 34 ; methodology . let s1 and s2 be two surfaces of a solid geometric modeling system and vf the vector field constructed in ( 6 ). the purpose of constructing vf is to locate all the intersection curves of s1 and s2 . however , vf is not the only vector field which can be used to find the intersections . there are a number of other vector fields on the uv - plane of s1 which will yield the same result . the simplest example is to enlarge the length of the vectors of vf . the definition of associated vector field is provided here to demonstrate the equivalence of similar vector fields . let gt be the global structure of the intersection curves generated by vf . let vf &# 39 ; be another 2d vector field on the uv - plane of s1 . if all the singular points of vf and vf &# 39 ; are similar , then vf &# 39 ; is called an associated vector field of vf . more specifically , let gt &# 39 ; be the global structure of the intersection curves generated by vf &# 39 ;. if vf &# 39 ; is an associated vector field of vf , then gt and gt &# 39 ; have the same graphical structure . in short , all the methodologies described above can be applied in the same manner to both vector fields . while the method of the present invention has been described in the context of the presently preferred embodiment and the examples illustrated and described herein , the invention may be embodied in other specific ways or in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . therefore , the described embodiments and examples are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 6 |
the following description is of the best - contemplated mode of carrying out the invention . this description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense . the scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims . the nano chains are introduced to the dflc medium to form poly - domain regions , such that the problem of low contrast between clear and scattering states due to insufficient scattering of the scattering state is solved . the nano chains are cured of curable nanoparticles , being evenly mixed in dflcs , by photo - radiation . first , dflcs , incurable nanoparticles , curable nanoparticles , and a photo initiator are evenly mixed . the dflcs and the combination of the curable and incurable nanoparticles have a weight ratio of about 98 / 2 to 93 / 7 . if the ratio of the combination of the nanoparticles is too high or too low , it will be unfavorable for the bistable states . the dflcs can adopt mlc - 2048 commercially available from merck , df - 02xx , df - 05xx , fx - 1001 , or fx - 1002 commercially available from chisso , or use lab - made formulation . the incurable nanoparticles have a diameter of 5 nm to 50 nm , and include titanium oxide , silicon oxide , aluminum oxide , iron oxide , or combinations thereof . the incurable nanoparticles include aerosil ® 300 or r812 commercially available form degussa , hdk ® n20 , t40 , or h15 commercially available from wacker , or cab - o - sil series commercially available from cabot . in addition , incurable nanoparticles can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic . the curable nanoparticles have a diameter of 5 nm to 50 nm , wherein the core thereof includes titanium oxide , silicon oxide , aluminum oxide , iron oxide , or combinations thereof , and the surface thereof has an organic segment having a carbon - carbon double bond from modification . the carbon - carbon double bonds on the nanoparticles surface can be further cured by the photo initiator to form nano chains . the described curable nanoparticles include aerosil ® r711 or r7200 commercially available from degussa . similarly , the nanoparticles may be hydrophilic or hydrophobic . in the combination of the nanoparticles , the curable nanoparticles and incurable nanoparticles have a weight ratio of about 10 : 90 to 60 : 40 . if the ratio of the curable nanoparticles is too high , the system tends to monostable state ( only clear state ) and it would be difficult to form a scattering state . if the ratio of the curable nanoparticles is too low , its effect would be similar to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 729 , 320 and therefore the system would have low contrast . the photo initiator determines the exposure factors such as radiation type , radiation wavelength , and radiation intensity . the photo initiator includes acetophenones such as 2 - methyl - 1 -( 4 -( methylthio ) phenyl )- 2 - morpholino - propane ), 1 - hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone , diethoxyacetophenone , 2 - hydroxy - 2 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - propane - 1 - one , 2 - benzyl - 2 -( dimethylamino )- 1 -[ 4 -( morpholinyl ) phenyl ]- 1 - butanone , or other suitable acetophenones . the photo initiator also includes benzoins such as benzoin , benzoin methyl ether , benzyl dimethyl ketal , or other suitable benzoins . the photo initiator further includes benzophenones such as benzophenone , 4 - phenyl benzophenone , hydroxylbenzohenone , or other suitable benzophenones . the photo initiator also includes thioxanthones such as isopropyl thioxanthone , 2 - chlorothioxanthone , or other suitable thioxanthones . the photo initiator also includes anthraquinones such as 2 - ethylanthraquinone , or the likes . the described radical photo initiator can be used individually , or collectively to obtain higher photosensitivity . for example , the photo initiator combination can be isopropyl thioxanthone mixed with 2 - benzyl - 2 -( dimethyl amino )- 1 -[ 4 -( morpholinyl ) phenyl ]- 1 - butanone . note that the ratio between the photo initiator and the curable nanoparticles will determine the length of the nano chains . the curable nanoparticles and the photo initiator have a weight ratio of 99 . 5 / 0 . 5 to 95 / 5 . if the weight ratio of the photo initiator is too high , the length of the nano chains will be too short to assist the frame structure . it is similar to the condition without adding the curable nanoparticles , and the contrast of the system cannot be enhanced . on the other hand , if the weight ratio of the photo initiator is too low , the nano chains length will be too long . the system with the too long nano chains only has a single stable clear state . the mixtures were filled in two transparent substrates without any alignment treatment , and then applied an electrical field . the substrate can be chosen as hard plate as glass , quartz , or the likes , or flexible plate such as plastic , rubber , polyester , polycarbonate , or the likes . in one embodiment , the electrical field is a low frequency field of 10 hz to 500 hz , and the dflcs in the mixture will rotate homeotropically to follow the applied electrical field . meanwhile , the hydrogen bonding on the agglomerates of the curable and incurable nanoparticles are broken due to the dflcs &# 39 ; rotating , and quickly new hydrogen bond will link as pseudo - bridge frame structure corresponding to the direction of the rotated liquid crystal molecules . a clear appearance will be observed . next , the system is exposed under electric field , the curable nanoparticles in the frame are cured to form some short nano chains . in one embodiment , the exposed light has a wavelength of about 320 nm to 350 nm and an exposure period of 20 seconds to 1 minute . in the present invention the nano chains are a critical and distinguishable portion . in conventional arts , the incurable nanoparticles in the frame structure are bridged to each other by hydrogen bonding . applying a high frequency electrical field may break the hydrogen bonding between the incurable nanoparticles , wherein the incurable nanoparticles rotate to be parallel with the electrical field direction , and the incurable nanoparticles are re - bridged by hydrogen bonding therebetween . in the invention , the incurable and the curable nanoparticles are simultaneously adopted , and the nanoparticles in the frame structure before exposed a light are bridged by hydrogen bonding . the system is applied a high frequency electrical field to be a totally clear state , and is simultaneously exposed a light . as such , the curable nanoparticles are cured to form dislocated nano chains in parallel with the electrical field direction . the non - continuous nano chains may assist the frame structure , and the nano chains are not easily broken by the liquid crystal molecules rotation during electrical field conversion . alternatively , the non - continuous nano chains restrain the liquid crystal molecules rotation during the electrical field conversion . the nano chains provide sufficient anchoring energy to the liquid crystal molecules under the high frequency electrical field , such that the dflcs will form more polydomain regions due to competition between the high frequency electrical field and the nano chains in parallel with the electrical field direction . accordingly , the scattering degree of the system is largely enhanced , thereby improving the contrast ratio thereof . when the liquid crystal system is converted back to the clear state by applying a low frequency electrical field , the non - continuous nano chains accelerate to bridge the frame structure and therefore efficiently enhance the response speed . accordingly , the non - continuous nano chains of the invention may serve as assist frame . furthermore , the dislocated nano chains also enforce the scattering degree of the system , such that the contrast between the clear and the scattering states is improved . fig1 shows the bistable display device of the invention in a clear state . as shown in fig1 , the nano chains 11 and the dflcs 13 of the bistable display material disposed between two substrates 10 are aligned in parallel with the low frequency electrical field direction 15 . the nano chains are cured by curable nanop articles ( not shown ) under the electrical field by exposing a light . the description of the bistable display material of the invention has been completed . even if the electrical field is removed , the system remains in a clear state . as shown in fig2 , the system in a clear state is applied an electrical field 25 , such that a part of the dflcs 13 a rotate to align in horizontal with the electrical field 25 direction . in one embodiment , the electrical field 25 has a high frequency of 1 khz to 120 khz . the frame structure constituted by hydrogen bonding in a clear state is broken by the realigned dflcs 13 a , and then form a new frame structure ( not shown ) corresponding to the realignment direction ( horizontal with the electrical field 25 direction ) of the dflcs 13 a . on the other hand , other parts of the dflcs 13 b are anchored by surrounding nano chains 11 , such that the alignment direction of the dflcs 13 b cannot be totally horizontal with the electrical field 25 direction . as such , the system is in a scattering state of polydomain regions . even if the electrical field 25 is removed , the anchoring effect of the nano chains and the new frame structure ( not shown ) will still stabilizes the described scattering state . because the nano chains are formed in a clear state , the system will transfer to a clean state when applied a low frequency electrical field . even if the low frequency electrical is then removed , the clear state will remain . by repeating the conversion between the high and low frequency electrical fields , the bistable display material is transferred to scattering / clean states , respectively . as described , the stable clean / scattering states remain even if the electrical field is removed . different weight ratio of the dflcs ( mlc - 2048 , commercially available from merck ), the incurable nanoparticles ( aerosil r812 , commercially available from degussa ), and the curable nanoparticles ( aerosil r711 , commercially available from degussa ), were weighted as shown in table 1 , all were used without any further purification . the composites were dissolved in acetone and sonicated for about 1 . 0 h ( sonicator , commercially available from misonix ) in order to achieve good dispersion . then , acetone was evaporated off slowly for about 24 h above 40 ° c . before the samples were placed in a vacuum system for 24 h at 50 ° c . the well dispersed mixtures with photo initiator ( 1369 , commercially available from ciba ) were melted and placed between two ito glasses to be fabricated as a cell without any alignment treatment . pet films of 6 μm thickness were used as cell spacers . the liquid crystal cell was applied a low frequency electrical field of 70v and 100 hz , such that the cell was switched from a foggy appearance ( scattering state ) to a transparent appearance ( clear state ) and remained in the clear state after removal of the electrical field . for the description of the on - state memory effect , some parameters should be introduced : the initiating transparency ( t i , milky state ), the transparency under saturation voltage ( t s , the most clear state ), and the transparency after removal of the field ( t 1 ), respectively . the memory effect of the liquid crystal cell before exposed a light can be calculated by the formulae as below : m on =( t 1 − t i )/( t s − t i )* 100 % subsequently , the liquid crystal cell was applied a high frequency electrical field of 60v and 40 khz , such that the liquid crystal cell was transferred from a transparent appearance ( clear state ) to a foggy appearance ( scattering state ) and remained in the scattering state after removal of the electrical field . for the description of the off - state memory effect , some parameters should also be introduced : the transparency under saturation voltage ( t 0 for the most scattering state ) and the transparency after removal of the field ( t 2 ), respectively . the memory effect of the liquid crystal cell before exposed a light can be calculated by the formulae as below : m off =( t 2 − t 1 )/( t 0 − t 1 )* 100 % thereafter , the liquid crystal cell under the low frequency electrical field was exposed to an uv light ( ea - 180 , commercially available from spectroline ) of 1300 μw / cm 2 for 20 seconds . after exposing and removing the field , it is found the cell remained at clear state , and also can be switched to scattering state . the electrooptical data of the exposed cell were measured to calculate memory effect for comparison ., the results are shown as table i . m on =( t 1 − t i )/( t s − t i )* 100 % m off =( t 2 − t 1 )/( t 0 − t 1 )* 100 % r711 % means the weight ratio (%) of r711 in total weight of the curable and incurable nanoparticles ; “ before ” means the liquid crystal cell before being exposed a light , and “ after ” means the liquid crystal cell after being exposed a light ; the photo initiator i369 and the curable r711 have a weight ratio of 1 : 100 . as shown in table 1 , the total weight of nanoparticles preferably are about 2 % to 7 % of the bistable display material , where the curable nanoparticles preferably occupies 10 wt % to 60 wt % of the total weight of the total nanoparticles , such that the bistable display device will have better memory effect . while the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements ( as would be apparent to those skilled in the art ). therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements . | 2 |
fig1 illustrates a specific embodiment of a hemi - wedge valve to which the invention had been applied . the valve body 20 includes an inlet 2 and outlet 3 for the main fluid flow which is being regulated by the valve . the valve also includes a hemi - wedge valve element 7 which includes an upstream valve surface 31 and a downstream valve surface 30 . valve seat seals are provided at 12 and 10 respectively . the hemi - wedge valve of fig1 has a core member that defines the main fluid flow path through the valve . in this example of a hemi - wedge valve , the valve member includes three portions , 4 , 5 , and 6 . upstream portion of valve core member 4 includes a seal 16 that engages a surface at the inlet 2 . intermediate valve core member 5 has an outer cylindrical portion 51 that receives a reduced diameter portion 52 of valve core member 4 . valve core member 5 also has a stepped portion 59 that forms a chamber for a seal 53 between valve core members 4 and 5 . valve portion 6 also includes a sealing ring 12 . the downstream surface of hemi - wedge valve member 7 is in sealing contact with seal 10 which is supported by valve seat member 8 . a unique feature of a hemi - wedge valve is that the valve member 7 has a thickness that increases from its leading edge to its tailing edge as the valve closes . this in conjunction with the three piece valve core construction as described above , results in a closing force being applied to both sides of the valve member 7 . this design in and of itself tends to minimize the buildup of particulate material in the sealing components of the valve . in addition , in order to prevent buildup of particulate material , the present invention provides for a flow of secondary fluid within the housing of the valve . as shown in fig1 , an inlet port 61 for the secondary fluid is formed in the housing and an outlet port 62 is formed in the housing for exit of the secondary fluid from the valve housing . the secondary fluid inlet and outlet may be located anywhere in the housing . as shown , it can be seen that the inlet and outlet secondary fluid ports are isolated from the main fluid flow when the valve is in the open or closed position . other hemi - wedge valves to which the present invention may be applied are shown and described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 962 , 911 and 7 , 357 , 145 , the contents of both disclosures being expressly incorporated herein . a system for supplying the secondary purging fluid will now be described by reference to fig3 . hemi - wedge valve 20 located in a fluid pipeline 130 as described above . a fluid supply tank 101 is provided . in the embodiment shown , the fluid can be pressurized by a pump 102 connected to inlet port 61 . alternately the fluid tank could be constructed at a higher elevation with respect to the pipeline and a pressure increasing pump provided if needed . also as a third embodiment , fluid under pressure from the pipeline could be diverted to the upper portion of the purging fluid tank as shown at 120 to pressurize the contents of the tank by exerting a force on a flexible diaphragm or a piston within the tank as is well known in the art . if the fluid in the pipeline is a gas and the purging fluid is a liquid , then the diaphragm or piston would not be needed . a filter 103 and a variable choke valve 104 are also provided in a return conduit 106 . in order to make sure that the pressure of the secondary fluid is greater than that of the fluid in the pipeline , two pressure sensors 110 , 111 are provided at the upstream and downstream sections of hemi - wedge valve 20 . a third pressure sensor 107 is placed in the return conduit 106 . information from the three sensors is sent to a microprocessor 113 . microprocessor 113 analyzes the information and regulates variable choke valve 104 as necessary to maintain the pressure of the secondary liquid above that in the main flow line . microprocessor 113 is also used to monitor the position of the valve actuator 112 , and to turn pump 102 on and off . power for the microprocessor may be provided by conventional land power lines or by a battery 114 that is connected to a charging solar cell 115 as is known in the art . furthermore the microprocessor may be connected to a satellite link 116 for sending and receiving information and commands as is known in the art . fig4 and 5 illustrate the invention as applied to a conventional ball valve 200 . ball valve 200 has a main fluid inlet 202 and outlet 203 . the ball valve 205 has a central bore 206 to provide a flow path for the main fluid . valve seats 212 and 210 are provided and include seals 213 and 211 as shown in fig4 . valve 200 includes an inlet 261 and outlet 262 formed in the housing 215 for circulation of a secondary fluid for purging and cleaning of the internal parts of the valve . ball valve 200 is positioned in a pipeline in the same manner as hemi - wedge valve 20 is positioned as shown in fig3 . although the present invention has been described with respect to specific details , it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations on the scope of the invention , except to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims . | 5 |
in one embodiment , the invention relates to a method of detecting the presence of a biogenic amine or ammonia in a sample . this may be done by : wherein m a is a ru ( ii ) complex and m b is a lanthanide metal complex ; b . bringing the vapor of the sample into contact with said complex of formula i , whereby said biogenic amine or ammonia displaces the m a - c ≡ n portion of the complex of formula i from the m b portion ; and c . detecting the presence of displaced m a - c ≡ n by measuring a colorimetric response . in one embodiment , the invention relates to a method for detecting and / or measuring a biogenic amine or ammonia in a food sample . this may be done by a . providing a complex of formula i m a - c ≡ n - m b ( i ), wherein m a is a ru ( ii ) complex and m b is a lanthanide metal complex ; b . exposing the complex to a food product ; and c . detecting any change in color , said detected change being indicative of the presence of biogenic amine or ammonia in , on or in association with , the food product . in some embodiments , the invention relates to a process for preparing a complex of formula i : this process comprises mixing a 2 : 1 ratio of k 2 [ ru ( 4 , 4 ′- di - tert - butyl - 2 , 2 ′- bipyridine ) cn ) 4 ] and eucl 3 . 6h 2 o together in a 1 : 1 mixture of water and alkanol . in some embodiments , the invention relates to a sensor for detecting the presence of a biogenic amine or ammonia in , on or in association with a fluid which comprises a complex of the general formula m a - c ≡ n - m b ( i ) and a support structure having a surface , the complex being attached to the support structure as a coating thereon , wherein said complex undergoes a detectable color change upon exposure to a biogenic amine or ammonia . it is to be understood that the biogenic amine or ammonia to be detected may be in the vapor phase . in some embodiments , the structure comprises a plastic sheet , film or tray food packaging . in other embodiments , the structure comprises a gas permeable film or membrane . in some embodiments , the invention relates to a food container comprising the complex of formula i : m a - c ≡ n - m b ( i ). in some embodiments , the invention relates to a food container comprising the complex of formula ii in some embodiments , the invention relates to a method of measuring the amount of a biogenic amine or ammonia in a sample . this may be accomplished by : wherein m a is a ru ( ii ) complex and m b is a lanthanide metal complex ; b . bringing the vapor of the sample into contact with said complex of formula i , whereby said biogenic amine or ammonia displaces the m a - c ≡ n portion of the complex of formula i from the m b portion ; and c . measuring the colorimetric response to determine the amount of displaced m a - c ≡ n . in some embodiments , the invention relates to a complex of formula ic : in some embodiments , r 1 is ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkyl . for instance , r 1 may be t - butyl . in other embodiments , r 1 is phenyl . in still other embodiments , r 1 is halogen . for instance , r 1 may be fluorine , bromine or chlorine . in yet other embodiments , r 1 is ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkoxy . as an example , r 1 may be methoxy or ethoxy . to be perfectly clear , r 1 in each instance may be selected from any of the above options . for instance , in one embodiment , r 1 may be t - butyl on one pyridine group , methyl on another pyridine , fluorine on a third pyridine and methyl on the fourth pyridine . in another embodiment , r 1 may be t - butyl on all four pyridines . r 1 may be located at any of the 3 , 3 ′, 4 , 4 ′, 5 and 5 ′ positions on the bipyridine rings . in some embodiments , r 1 in each instance is t - butyl , such as is found in formula ii : in some embodiments of the invention , the sample comprises ammonia . in other embodiments , the sample comprises an amine with aliphatic amino functionality . in some embodiments , the amine is histamine . in other embodiments , the amine is spermidine . in still other embodiments , the amine is putrescine . in yet other embodiments , the amine is cadaverine . in some embodiments , the sample comprises an amine with aromatic amino functionality . in some embodiments , the amine is aniline . in some embodiments of the invention , the complex is in a suitable solvent . a “ suitable solvent ” is one in which the complex is sufficiently soluble to allow the reaction between ammonia or a biogenic amine and the complex to take place . illustrative suitable solvents include alkanols and other solvents , such as dimethyl sulphoxide and dimethylformamide . in some embodiments of the invention , the vapor of the sample is brought into contact with the complex . this technique will be especially desirable when testing for biogenic amines or ammonia as it relates to food products , as it will not be necessary for the chemical complex to come into direct contact with the food itself . in some embodiments of the invention , a colorimetric response is detected . in some embodiments , the colorimetric response is ultraviolet light or emission . in other embodiments , the colorimetric response is visible light or emission . alkyl is intended to include linear , branched , or cyclic hydrocarbon structures and combinations thereof . a combination would be , for example , cyclopropylmethyl . hydrocarbon refers to any substituent comprised of hydrogen and carbon as the only elemental constituents . lower alkyl refers to alkyl groups of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms . examples of lower alkyl groups include methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , cyclopropyl , butyl , s - and t - butyl , cyclobutyl and the like . preferred alkyl groups are those of c 20 or below . cycloalkyl is a subset of alkyl and includes cyclic hydrocarbon groups of from 3 to 8 or more carbon atoms . examples of cycloalkyl groups include c - propyl , c - butyl , c - pentyl , norbornyl and the like . substituents r n are generally defined when introduced and retain that definition throughout the specification and in all independent claims . a “ sample ” refers to a solution that may contain one or more biogenic amines . the sample may be the material of interest or it may be derived from a material of interest by an extraction process . commonly , because biogenic amines have a modest vapor pressure , the extraction process may involve a vapor phase . if the analysis involves a vapor phase , the vapor phase may be brought into a separate solution to enhance analysis , for instance , in a buffered solution . for example , if the sample of interest is a food product , which is itself a solid , a liquid or a mixture of the two , the sample could be the liquid portion of the product or it could be the vapor in the head space above the product . further , the sample could be obtained by sparging the sample with a carrier gas and then measuring the biogenic amine in the carrier gas . in both instances in which the biogenic amine is in the vapor phase , it will be brought into contact with a separate solution in which the compounds of the invention are dissolved or suspended . aliphatic amino functionality refers to an amine that is attached directly to a non - aromatic moiety . for example , spermidine possesses aliphatic amino functionality , while aniline does not : aromatic amino functionality , on the other hand , refers to an amine that is attached directly to an aromatic moiety . in this case , aniline possesses aromatic amino functionality , while spermidine does not . the term “ colorimetric response ” is meant to include any qualitative or quantitative response measurable by , for instance , visual or spectroscopic methods . this could include luminescence , phosphorescence , fluorescence , visible light color changes or uv light measurements . “ contact ” refers to the physical contact of at least one substance to another substance . for instance , a vapor of a sample , such as a biogenic amine or a substance containing a biogenic amine , is considered to be in contact with a heterobimetallic complex of the invention if the biogenic amine is able to react with the heterobimetallic complex . a comprehensive list of abbreviations utilized by organic chemists ( i . e . persons of ordinary skill in the art ) appears in the first issue of each volume of the journal of organic chemistry . the list , which is typically presented in a table entitled “ standard list of abbreviations ”, is incorporated herein by reference . the following abbreviations and terms have the indicated meanings throughout : t bubpy = 4 , 4 ′- tert - butylbipyridine et = ethyl etoh = ethanol mlct = metal - to - ligand charge transfer me = methyl ppb = parts per billion ppm = parts per million 4 , 4 ′- di - tert - butyl - 2 , 2 ′- bipyridine ( t bubpy ), potassium cyanide , rucl 3 . 3h 2 o , eucl 3 . 6h 2 o aniline , histamine , putrescine , spermidine and anhydrous gaseous nh 3 ( 99 . 99 %) were obtained from aldrich . gaseous h 2 s ( 99 . 5 %) and co ( 99 . 95 %) were obtained from hong kong special gas company . gaseous ch 4 ( 99 . 95 %), h 2 ( 99 . 995 %) and n 2 ( 99 . 995 %) were purchased from hong kong oxygen company . k 2 [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] was synthesized according to literature method . ( m . kato , s . yamauchi , n . hirota , j . phys . chem . 1989 , 93 , 3422 .) all solvents used were of analytical grade . infrared spectra in the range 500 - 4000 cm − 1 in kbr plates were recorded on a perkin elmer model ftir - 1600 spectrometer . uv - vis spectra were measured on a hewlett packard 8452a ultraviolet visible diode array spectrophotometer . emission spectra were recorded using a horiba fluoromax - 3 spectrofluorimetric with 5 nm slit width and 0 . 5 s integration time . 1 h - nmr spectra were recorded using a varian yh300 300 mhz nmr spectrometer . electrospray mass spectra ( esi - ms ) were measured by a pe sciex api 365 lc / ms / ms system . elementary analyses were performed on a vario el elementary analyzer . k {[ eu ( h 2 o ) 4 ]-[ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 }. 8h 2 o ( ru 2 eu - 1 ) a mixture of k 2 [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] ( 0 . 110 g , 0 . 2 mmol ) and eucl 3 . 6h 2 o ( 0 . 037 g , 0 . 1 mmol ) was stirred in 5 ml of a water / methanol mixture ( 1 : 1 ) at room temperature for 30 min . and was allowed to stand overnight . yellow crystalline plates were obtained by slow evaporation of solvent . yield : 0 . 084 g ( 69 %). ir ( kbr ): ν c ≡ n = 2061 , 2105 cm − 1 . esi - ms (− ve mode ): m / z 1099 {[ eu ]-[ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 } − . anal . calcd . for c 44 euh 56 kn 12 o 4 ru 2 . 7h 2 o : c , 39 . 55 ; h , 5 . 28 ; n , 12 . 58 . found : c , 39 . 54 ; h , 5 . 24 ; n , 12 . 58 . yellow single plated crystals of complex ru 2 eu - 1 were grown by slow evaporation of its corresponding aqueous methanol solution in open atmosphere . geometric and intensity data for the complex was collected on a bruker smart 1k ccd area detector with graphite monochromated mo — kα radiation ( λ = 0 . 71073 å ). crystal of the complex used for data collection was mounted in glass capillaries to prevent rapid solvent loss . the collected frame was processed with the software crystalclear ( rigaku ). the data was corrected for lorentz and polarization effects . a correction for secondary extinction was applied to the collected reflections . the structure of the complex was solved by direct methods ( shelx97 ) in conjunction with standard difference fourier techniques and subsequently refined by full - matrix least - square were analyzed on f 2 . non - hydrogen atoms were refined anisotropic displacement parameters except for the atoms of some of the free water molecules where these atoms were refined isotropically . the hydrogen atoms were generated in their idealized positions and allowed to ride on the respective carbon atoms . ru 2 eu - 1 has been fully characterized by x - ray crystallography , electrospray - mass spectrometry and elemental analysis . the electron donor [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 − is brightly luminescent under photo - excitation in the visible range ( λ = 400 - 500 nm ). in an ethanol solution at room temperature , it possesses a uv - vis absorption peak at ca . 435 nm and a broad emission peak at ca . 654 nm . without wishing to be restricted to this proposed mechanism , applicants believe the uv - vis absorption is due to the ru ( dπ )→ t bubpy ( π *) mlct transition , and the orange - red color luminescence is attributable to the radiational phosphorescent relaxation of the 3 mlct excited state . upon coordination with the eu 3 + electron acceptors and the formation of the ru 2 eu - 1 coordination complex , the uv - vis absorption band of [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 − is blue - shifted to 417 nm and the photoluminescence at 650 nm is blue - shifted to 644 nm with a drastic reduction in luminescent intensity . it is believed that the blue - shift of the uv - vis absorption and emission peaks is due to the increase in effective nuclear charge of the ru ( ii ) metal centre as the σ - donating ability of the cyano ligands is weakened upon coordination with electron acceptors . it is also believed that the decrease of the 3 mlct emission intensity is attributable to the concomitant increase in energy of the 3 mlct state and the decrease in energy of the non - emissive d - d * state of [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 - , which results in the quenching of the 3 mlct luminescence . when ammonia ( nh 3 ) gas or vapor of organic amines is bubbled into an ethanol solution of ru 2 eu - 1 , the uv - vis absorption and the characteristic luminescent properties of [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 − is resumed in the solution . fig1 shows the typical spectroscopic and spectrofluometric changes of ru 2 eu - 1 upon the addition of histamine as a model organic amine . fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ) show the uv - vis spectroscopic changes and spectrofluorimetric changes of the titration of ru 2 eu - 1 ( 3 . 33 × 10 − 5 m ) with histamine ( 0 to 6 . 67 × 10 − 5 m ). fig1 ( c ) illustrates the fitting of the spectrofluorometric data into a 1 : 2 ( ru 2 eu - 1 : histamine ) benesi - hildebrand binding model , revealing a binding constant of log k = 4 . 51 ± 0 . 03 m − 1 . all titrations were carried out in etoh at 298 k with excitation at 466 nm . without wishing to be restricted to this proposed mechanism , applicants believe that these results are due to the histamine displacing the ruthenium species from the europium complex to free the [ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ] 2 − units , which act as luminescent indicators to reveal the presence of ammonia and / or organic amines . the observation of { k +[ ru ( t bubpy )( cn ) 4 ]} − ( m / z 513 [ m + k ] − ) and [ eu ( histamine ) 2 ( h 2 o ) 2 ( oh ) 2 ] + ( m / z 445 [ m − 2h + ] + ) in the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry ( esi - ms ) of ru 2 eu - 1 — biogenic amine mixtures suggests that this mechanism is correct . fig2 summarizes the spectrofluorimetric titration ( i / i 0 at 640 nm ) of ru 2 eu - 1 ( 1 . 0 × 10 − 4 m ) with common volatile analytes including biogenic amines ( histamine , putrescine , spermidine and aniline ) and other common gases , such as ammonia ( nh 3 ), hydrogen sulfide ( h 2 s ), carbon monoxide ( co ), methane ( ch 4 ), dihydrogen ( h 2 ), dinitrogen ( n 2 ), atmospheric air and aniline ( nh 2 — c 6 h 5 ). these analytes were monitored as a function of their concentrations . all titrations were carried out in ethanol at 298 k with excitation at 466 nm . among all the analytes , only those with aliphatic amino functionality ( histamine , putrescine , spermidine and ammonia ) are able to induce the spectrofluorometric responses . aromatic amino functionality and other common moieties are not able to induce any observable spectrofluorometric changes . in the case of spermidine , ru 2 eu - 1 can produce a luminescent response at a level of 10 ppb ( 10 ng - amine ml − 1 ), which is among the highest detection sensitivity for biogenic amines in the literature . table 1 summarizes the formation constant , log k , and the detection limit of ru 2 eu - 1 for histamine , putrescine , spermidine , aniline , ammonia and other common gases ( h 2 s , co , ch 4 , h 2 , n 2 and atmospheric air ) in etoh at 298k : luminescent responses of ru 2 eu - 1 can actually be detected with the naked eye . fig3 shows the photographs of the luminometric responses of the ru 2 eu - 1 ( 1 . 0 × 10 − 4 m ) in etoh at 298 k and 1 atmospheric pressure . 3 ml of each gaseous sample of nh 3 , h 2 s , co , ch 4 , h 2 , n 2 , atmospheric air and vapors of histamine , aniline , putrescine and spermidine ( over the headspace of their neat compounds ) was purged into the headspace of ethanolic solutions of ru 2 eu - 1 . ( 1 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + histamine ; ( 2 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + putrescine ; ( 3 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + spermidine ; ( 4 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + nh 3 ; ( 5 ) ru 2 eu - 1 only ; ( 6 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + aniline ; ( 7 - 12 ) ru 2 eu - 1 + h 2 s , co , n 2 , ch 4 , h 2 and air respectively . excitation λ ex = 365 nm . for the final verification of the chemodosimetric detection of biogenic amines by ru 2 eu - 1 , the chemosensor was used to examine the freshness of alantic mackerel ( scomber scombrus ). 60 . 0 g of fresh alantic mackerel loin was homogenized and kept sealed in three separated 50 ml glass containers . these fish meat samples were subjected to three different storage conditions : room temperature , frozen temperature ( 0 ° c .) and room temperature with 60 g of a chemical preservative ( sodium nitrite , nano 2 ). fig4 summarizes the spectrofluorimetric responses of ru 2 eu - 1 ( 3 . 33 × 10 − 5 m in ethanol ) to 20 ml of vapor sampled from the headspace of these enclosed containers . the time trends of spectrofluorometric responses ( h o at 624 nm ) of ru 2 eu - 1 ( 3 . 33 × 10 − 5 m in etoh ) to the headspace vapour ( 20 ml ) from 20 . 0 g of homogenized atlantic mackerel ( scomber scombrus ) fish meat stored under : (▪) room temperature conditions ; () frozen ( 0 ° c .) temperature conditions ; and (▴) room temperature conditions in the presence of 60 g of sodium nitrite as preservative are shown . all titrations were carried out in ethanol at 298 k with excitation at 466 nm . levels of biogenic amines ( putrescine , cadaverine , histamine and spermidine ) in the fish meat samples were determined by gc / ms analyses . among all the storage conditions , only the fish sample storing at room temperature showed an enhancement of spectrofluorometric responses with storage time . gc - ms analysis showed that , after 30 hours of storing at room temperature , extracts from the fish meat samples contained putrescine , cadaverine , histamine and spermidine , which were shown as characteristic peaks at retention times 10 . 8 , 11 . 4 , 11 . 8 , 15 . 5 minutes , respectively . levels of these four biogenic amines were estimated to be ≧ 70 ppm . ( it is worth noting that 50 ppm of histamine is classified as the borderline of freshness of fish .) at frozen temperature and in the presence of a chemical preservative , no biogenic amine was detected by gc - ms after 30 hours of storage . | 8 |
fusarium lateritium nees ex fr . is on deposit with the usda - sea - ar southern weed science laboratory in stoneville , miss . ; and with the agricultural research culture collection ( nrrl ) in peoria , ill ., and has been assigned the following accession number : nrrl # 12552 . the address of the agricultural research culture collection ( nrrl ) is : a . j . lyons , curator , ars patent collection culture collection research nrrc , 1815 n . university st ., peoria , ill . 61605 . spores ( macroconidia ) of this fungus are typically falcate to straight , 3 - 7 septate , beaked at the apex and have a prominent foot cell . these spores measure 40 - 75 × 2 . 5 - 5μ . microconidia are absent . chlamydospores are generally sparse . fusarium lateritium nrrl # 12552 was isolated from stem sections of cankers from diseased spurred anoda plants , were surface sterilized for 5 to 10 min . in 1 % ( v / v ) sodium hypochlorite , rinsed in sterile distilled water , then placed in petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar ( pda ) with 125 mg / l streptomycin sulfate and 75 mg / l chloramphenicol . cultures were incubated at 25 ° c . with 12 h diurnal light . the light was supplied by two 15 - w cool - white fluorescent lamps that were suspended 45 cm above the cultures . the pathogen was grown on v - 8 juice agar supplemented with 1 . 3 g / l of l - proline . a sterile distilled water rinse was used to harvest the spores from 7 to 10 day old cultures , and the spore concentrations were determined with a hemacytometer . the fungus was maintained on pda at 25 ° c ., and preserved in screw capped culture tubes of twice autoclaved sandy loam . the soil cultures were stored at room temperature ( 23 °- 26 ° c .) and at 4 ° c . plant species included in the host range studies for the fusarium sp . are listed in table i . these seedlings were grown in a commercial potting mix in peat strips that contained 12 plants each and were fertilized weekly with a water soluble fertilizer . greenhouse temperatures ranged from 28 ° to 32 ° c . with 50 to 80 % relative humidity . the day length was approximately 12 h with 1650 μe · m - 2 · s - 1 photosynthetically active radiation at noonday . except where noted , the plants used in these studies were in the cotyledon to first leaf stage of growth at the time of inoculation . the plants were sprayed to wetness using an atomizer connected to a portable air pump . inoculation mixtures contained 0 . 02 % ( v / v ) surfactant , nonoxynol ( 9 to 10 poe ) 1a -( p - nonyl - phenyl )- w - hydroxypoly ( oxyethylene ) in distilled water and 1 × 10 5 fusarium spores / ml . control plants were sprayed with water and 0 . 02 % surfactant only . all plants were placed in dew chambers for 19 h at 25 ° c . the plants were then moved to greenhouse benches and evaluated daily for 14 days . all tests were repeated on at least two dates and 12 plants were used for each treatment or control in each test . the fusarium isolate grew well and sporulated profusely on the modified v - 8 juice agar . cultures grown on pda ( ph 5 . 8 ) produced a blue pigment and cultures grown on the modified v - 8 juice agar ( ph 6 . 9 ), produced a blue - green pigment . both fungi were readily recovered from the soil cultures after storage for as long as 18 months . spurred anoda , prickly sida , velvetleaf , okra , venice mallow , and hollyhock were susceptible to fusarium lateritium ( table i ). disease symptoms first appeared 24 to 48 hours after inoculation as cotyledonary and leaf lesions . these tan to dark brown lesions , initially pinpoint to 1 mm in diameter , enlarged rapidly and often induced defoliation of the cotyledons and inoculated leaves within 72 hours after inoculation . stem lesions often occurred at the base of infected petioles . oblong , tan stem lesions , up to 2 mm in length , were apparent 48 to 72 hours after inoculation . these lesions became dark brown to black after 3 to 5 days and enlarged with time to become sunken in appearance . these lesions girdled the stems of 50 to 100 % of the susceptible plant species within 2 weeks . of the susceptible species , prickly sida and velvetleaf seedlings appeared to be most severely affected by the pathogen ; whereas , spurred anoda seedlings were the most tolerant . corn , cotton , soybeans , and 13 other crop and weed species in six families were resistant to the pathogen ( table i ). a search of the literature revealed that this pathogen had not been previously reported on these weeds . a laboratory fermenter was used to culture mycelia of the fungus in 10 - l quantities of v - 8 3 juice medium that had been modified by deletion of the agar and by the addition of 30 g / l sucrose . conidia for inoculum for the liquid medium were aseptically harvested in sterile distilled water from 5 - to 7 - day - old cultures grown in petri plates of v - 8 juice agar that were incubated at 25 ° c . with 12 hour diurnal light . light was provided by two 20 - w , cool - white fluorescent lamps suspended 45 cm above the cultures . approximately 5 ml of the conidia / water suspension was aseptically injected into each fermenter vessel . a silicon - based antifoam agent was added to a final concentration of 0 . 02 % ( v / v ). the cultures in the fermenter vessels were maintained at 25 ± 1 c . with vigorous agitation and aeration . after 48 to 72 hours , the mycelia were harvested and comminuted . blended mycelia from each 10 - l culture were mixed with approximately 1000 g of horticultural vermiculite divided among 8 to 10 aluminum foil - lined plastic pans ( 41 by 27 by 5 . 5 cm ). the pans of freshly poured vermiculite - mycelia mixture were covered with a clear polyethylene film to produce granular formulations containing abundant spores of f . lateritium nrrl # 12552 . this covering prevented rapid drying and permitted the 24 - to 48 - hour incubation times necessary for optimum spore production . these granular preparations contained 6 × 10 6 macroconidia / g of the air - dried vermiculite preparation . these pans of vermiculite and mycelia were exposed to 7 hour diurnal light that was provided by two 40 - w , cool - white fluorescent lamps . recent studies have shown that the light requirement for sporulation can be provided by a single 20 - to 30 - min exposure to direct sunlight . after 24 hours , the surfaces of the vermiculite particles were covered with spores . the formulation of vermiculite - mycelia - spores was air - dried in an incubator at 35 ° c . for 24 to 48 hours , then sieved , packaged in plastic bags , and stored at 4 ° c . spore counts were estimated with a hemacytometer after the spores were eluted from a known weight of the granular preparation into water . for mycelia yield determinations , the mycelia were collected onto window screen , washed with distilled water , and dried to constant weight at 75 ° c . table i______________________________________reaction of various plant species tofusarium lateritium in the greenhouse . sup . 1______________________________________amaranthaceaepigweed ( amaranthus sp .) rcompositaecocklebur ( xanthium pensylvanicum wallr .) raster ( aster sp .) rgramineaecorn ( zea mays l . )` trucker &# 39 ; s favorite ` r ` xl 394 ` rbarnyardgrass [ echinochloa crus - galli ( l .) beauv .] rgrain sorghum [ sorghum bicolor ( l .) moench ]` texas c 424 ` rjohnsongrass [ sorghum halepense ( l .) pers .] rwheat ( triticum aestivum l .) r ` coker 68 - 15 ` roats ( avena sativa l .) rleguminosaecrotalaria ( crotalaria spectabilis roth ) rhemp sesbania [ sesbania exaltata ( raf .) cory ] rnorthern jointvetch [ aeschynomene virginica ( l .) rb . s . p . ] soybean [ glycine max ( l .) merr .] r ` forrest ` r ` lee ` rsicklepod ( cassia obtusifolia l .) rmalvaceaecotton ( gossypium hirsutum l . )` camd - e ` r ` camd - s ` r ` deltapine 61 ` r ` stoneville 213 ` rcotton ( gossypium barbadense l . )` pima s - 5 ` rhollyhock [ althaea rosea ( l .) cav .] sokra [ abelmoschus esculentus ( l .) moench ]` clemson spineless ` sprickly sida ( sida spinosa l .) sspurred anoda [ anoda cristata ( l .) schlecht .] svelvetleaf ( abutilon theophrasti medic .) svenice mallow ( hibiscus trionum l .) ssolanaceaetomato ( lycopersicon esculentum mill . )` big boy ` r ` heinz ` r ` rutgers ` r______________________________________ . sup . 1 the plants were inoculated with foliar applications of spray mixtures that contained 2 × 10 . sup . 5 macroconidia / ml and surfactant plants were observed 4 weeks after inoculation . r = resistant , s = susceptible the method described permits the granula formulation of f . lateritium , nrrl # 12552 . greenhouse and field studies indicate that this type of formulation , when applied to the soil either preemergence or postemergence , can be effective for initiating disease on spurred anoda , prickly sida , and velvetleaf seedlings . a formulation of f . lateritium with residual activity that can be applied at the time of planting for spurred anoda control could enhance the effectiveness of the pathogen by concentrating the inoculum in a band on top of the seed furrow . this would help to ensure that the pathogen will infect weed seedlings as they emerge and will reduce or eliminate the multiple applications that would be necessary for foliar applications of the pathogen . greenhouse studies for the feasibility of utilizing the granular formulation as inoculum were conducted in flats ( 52 by 25 by 6 . 5 cm ) of pasteurized sandy loam . to study the feasibility of utilizing this type of formulation for preemergence applications , seeds of prickly sida and velvetleaf plus ` stoneville 213 ` cotton , and cotton only , were seeded in flats of pasteurized soil . each flat had a total of 24 cotton seeds arranged in one furrow along each side of the flat . eighty seeds for both prickly sida and velvetleaf were broadcast in each flat . the seeds were previously scarified 15 min in concentrated sulfuric acid , rinsed in tap water , and air - dried . the seeds were then covered with a small amount of additional soil . fifteen grams ( 1155 kg / ha ) of the f . lateritium nrrl # 12552 - vermiculite formulation , or 15 g of blank vermiculite , was spread evenly on the soil surface of each flat . flats were placed on benches in a temprature - controlled greenhouse maintained at 28 ° to 32 ° c . with 40 to 60 % relative humidity . the day length was approximately 12 h with 1650 μe · m - 2 · s - 1 at noonday . flats were watered from the bootom by subirrigation as needed . dew chambers were used to provide moisture for spore germination . seven and eight days after emergence of the cotton , prickly sida , and velvetleaf seedlings , all plants received two 18 - h dew periods at 25 ° c . all greenhouse studies were replicated three to five times with one flat per replication and were repeated on three different dates . a randomized block design was used . seedlings were harvested 4 weeks after seeding . mean differences were determined by duncan &# 39 ; s multiple range test at the 5 % confidence level . in greenhouse tests , the fungus controlled 90 to 100 % of prickly sida and velvetleaf seedling after four weeks when applied preemergence , table ii . table ii______________________________________reaction of cotton , prickly sida andvelvetleaf to a preemergenceapplication of fusarium lateritiumin the greenhouse . sup . 1 no . of plants alive after 4 weeks cotton prickly sida velvetleaf______________________________________control . sup . 2 21 82 50treated . sup . 3 21 3 1______________________________________ . sup . 1 flats of bosket silt loam . treatments were replicated and randomized . . sup . 2 each flat received 15 g blank vermiculite . . sup . 3 each flat received 15 g of f . lateritium / vermiculite formulation ( × 10 . sup . 6 macroconidia / g ). spurred anoda plants in the second to third leaf stage of growth were used to study the disease symptoms produced by combining a . macrospora and the fusarium sp . the pathogens were applied alone and in combination . the spore concentrations in spray mixtures were 2 . 5 × 10 4 spores / ml for each pathogen . after inoculation , the plants were given an 18 h dew period , then moved to the greenhouse . the spurred anoda plants inoculated with a . macrospora developed multiple stems and leaf lesions . about 50 % of the inoculated leaves were defoliated within 4 to 6 days after inoculation . the tan stem lesions were oblong and 1 to 2 mm in length and were first apparent 48 to 72 h after inoculation . most stem lesions were superficial , and could be removed with the epidermis . the spurred anoda plants inoculated with the fusarium only developed fewer leaf and stem lesions then the plants that were inoculated with a . macrospora only , and these lesions were generally slower to develop . no appreciable defoliation of inoculated leaves occurred . the stem lesions that developed were dark brown and penetrated into the conductive tissues . within 10 to 14 days after inoculation , the stems of about 25 % of the plants were girdled by cankers . spurred anoda plants that were inoculated with a . macrospora plus the fusarium sp . exhibited severe disease symptoms . multiple stem lesions developed within 48 to 72 h after inoculation . these dark brown to black lesions rapidly enlarged to form 1 - to 4 - cm long sunken cankers that girdled the stems in multiple locations . the symptoms progressed and 75 to 100 % mortality occured within 2 weeks after inoculation . these symptoms closely resembled those exhibited by the field collected spurred anoda plants . combinations of f . lateritium and a . macrospora could be more effective control of spurred anoda , particularly older plants , than can be achieved by a . macrospora alone . in the summer and fall of 1979 and 1980 , a naturally occurring disease occurred at stoneville , miss ., in dense stands of spurred anoda plants that were cultivated to supply seeds for weed control research . disease symptoms included stem cankers that girdled the stems . many plants were stunted or killed and seed production was greatly reduced . many of the severely damaged plants were 1 - m or more in height and had several secondary branches . f . lateritium nrrl # 12552 was isolated from these plants . in the spring of 1980 , an epidemic occurred in a stand of prickly sida plants that were growing in the same field as the diseased spurred anoda plants . most of these plants were in the cotyledonary to fourth leaf stage of growth . on may 21 the prickly sida plants in 10 randomly selected 1 - m 2 plots were counted and evaluated for disease symptoms . the stand consisted of an average of 108 prickly sida seedlings per m 2 . an average of 66 % of these plants were dead and 37 % of the remaining live plants exhibited disease symptoms . after two weeks the number of live seedlings was reduced to 28 / m 2 , and 87 % of these remaining plants exhibited disease symptoms . the plants that did not exhibit disease symptoms were seedlings in the cotyledonary stage of growth that had emerged within the previous 2 or 3 days . the disease symptoms included cankers that girdled stems and roots and induced wilting . these lesions were dark brown to black , sunken , and penetrated to the conductive tissues . a fusarium sp . was isolated from the diseased prickly sida plants , and spore morphology , culture characteristics , and host range studies indicated this to be the same pathogen that was previously isolated from disease spurred anoda plants . the foilar pathogen can be formulated and applied as a spray ( wettable powder ) or as granules that consist of the fungus and a carrier such as vermiculite , corn cob grits , or clay . preemergence or postemergence applications of granules can be used . the granular formulation of a foilar pathogen for soil applications for preemergence weed control is not easily recognizable because soil inhabiting organisms compete with the pathogen . the satisfactory performance of this fungus for preemergence weed control was extremely difficult to identify because soil - inhibiting oraganisms compete with the pathogen . the satisfactory performance of this fungus for preemergence weed control is determined by the method of formulation . all the prior art concerning weed control with plant pathogens have involved pathogens that controlled only one weed species . fusarium lateritium controls multiple weed species without damage to crop plants . since the target weeds affected by this pathogen are so close to the agricultural crop to be protected it was even more difficult to develop the instant invention . in no other prior art have two weed pathogens been demonstrated to produce enhanced control of a single weed species . mixtures of alternaria macrospora and fusarium lateritium produce a disease complex that is effective for the control of spurred anoda . this interaction is difficult to develop because it was not heretofore known to exist , and because f . lateritium produces an antifungal inhibitor that retards the growth of a . macrospora in laboratory cultures . therefore , this combination represents new art . the f . lateritium was first discovered as part of a disease complex that included a . macropora . initial isolation of f . lateritium was impaired by the presence of the a . macrospora . a macrospora is also a pathogen to spurred anoda , and this fungus grew much faster on the acidified growth media used in initial attmepts . this difficulty was overcome by using growth media containing the antibiotics , and by varying the ph of the growth media . a ph of 5 . 0 was favorable for isolation of f . lateritium , while a ph of 4 . 5 was favorable for isolation of a . macrospora . spores ( macroconidia ) of the f . lateritium are not produced in submerged liquid culture . these spores are produced in petri dishes , but this procedure is impractical for large scale production . this difficulty was overcome by a method for large scale production that represents new art . | 0 |
there is shown in the figure an embodiment of the present invention , wherein a transparent electrode ( 2 ), an electrochromic material layer ( 3 ), an ion - conductive material layer ( 4 ) and a counter - electrode ( 5 ) are provided on a substrate ( 1 ), respectively . the material constituting the electrochromic material layer according to this invention is not critical , but any transition metal oxide may be used , such as tungsten oxide ( wo 3 ), molybdenum oxide ( moo 3 ), titanium oxide ( tio 2 ), and the like . the materials constituting the ion - conductive material layer according to this invention , which may have a layer thickness of from 0 . 1 to 100 um , are an organic polymeric resin and an inorganic ion - conductive material . the organic polymeric resin is not critical but any organic polymeric resin having transparency on fabrication into a film may be available . for example , there may be included polystyrene , polyvinyl chloride , a vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer , polyvinyl acetate , polyvinyl acetal , phenol resin , epoxy resin , alkyd resin , acrylic resin , polyacrylonitrile , butadiene type synthetic rubber and polyolefin . there may be employed one kind or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these resins . the inorganic ion - conductive material is not also specifically limited , so long as it contains li + or na + which participates in color formation and extinction . for example , there may be included lithium fluoride ( lif ), lithium iodide ( lii ), lithium hydroxide ( lioh ), lithium perchlorate ( liclo 4 ), sodium fluoride ( naf ), sodium iodide ( nai ), sodium hydroxide ( naoh ) and sodium perchlorate ( naclo 4 ), and one kind or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these materials may be used . the above inorganic ion - conductive material may be formulated preferably in an amount of 0 . 01 to 1000 % by weight , more preferably 20 to 100 % by weight , based on the organic polymeric resin . when the amount of the inorganic ion - conductive material formulated is less than 0 . 01 % by weight , contrast during color formation may be lowered to make display function bad , while at a level exceeding 1000 % by weight , film forming chracteristic as a composite material may be lowered to give difficultly an ion - conductive material layer with a uniform composition . the ion - conductive material layer according to this invention may further contain a plasticizer for the purpose of improving the flexibility to the organic polymeric resin film and the color forming and extinguishing response . the plasticizer which can be used in this invention may include tricresyl phosphate ( tcp ), tributyl phosphate ( tbp ), triethyl phosphate ( ted ), trioctyl phosphate ( top ), trisdichloropropyl phosphate ( crp ), tributoxyethyl phosphate ( tbpx ), methylacetyl ricinoleate ( mar ), octyldecyl phthalate , butyllauryl phthalate ( blp ), butylphthalyl butylglycolate ( bpbg ), butylbenzyl phthalate ( bbp ), dilauryl phthalate ( dlp ), dibutyl phthalate ( dbp ), cyclohexyl phthalate ( dchp ), diethyl phthalate ( dep ), diisobutyl phthalate ( dibp ), diisodecyl phthalate ( didp ), dioctyl phthalate ( dop ), dioctyl adipate ( doa ), diisodecyl adipate ( dida ), octyldecyl adipate ( oda ), dibutyl sebacate ( dbs ), tributyl citrate , acetyltributyl citrate , triethyl citrate , acetyltriethyl citrate , di - 2 - ethylhexyl maleate ( dom ), dibutyl fumarate , polyethylene glycol ( peg ), etc . one or more of these may be used ; a mixture of bpbg and peg , for example . the amount of the plasticizer may appropriately be within the range of from 1 to 100 % by weight , preferably 5 to 70 % by weight , based on the polymeric resin . when the amount of the plasticizer formulated is lower than 1 % by weight , no improvement in response characteristic of the element can be observed , whereby no effect of addition of the plasticizer can be exhibited . on the other hand , when it is added in excess of 100 %, formation into a thin film is difficult . in this invention , addition of a plasticizer improves flexibility of the polymeric resin film and makes migration of the inorganic ionic material in the polymeric matrix to improve the ion - conductivity , thereby enabling formation of an electrochromic element excellent in response characteristic . the ion - conductive material layer according to this invention may further contain a pigment for the purpose of improving the display function and imparting a beautifying effect . the pigment to be used in this invention may be exemplified by white pigments such as titanium dioxide ( tio 2 ), aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ), magnesium oxide ( mgo ), zirconium oxide ( zro 2 ), yttrium oxide ( y 2 o 3 ), tantalum pentaoxide ( ta 2 o 5 ) and silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ), and coloring pigment such as nickel titanium yellow , cadmium yellow , chromium yellow , cadmium red , molybdenum orange and colcothar . one kind or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these may be employed . among them , it is particularly preferable to use a white pigment from the standpoint of the beautifying effect . the above pigment may be formulated preferably in an amount of 5 to 50 % by weight , more preferably 10 to 30 % by weight , based on the organic polymeric resin . when the amount of the pigment formulated is less than 5 % by weight , the color of the background can be thinly seen through to give no sufficient beautifying effect . on the other hand , at a level exceeding 50 % by weight , the film forming characteristic and ion - conductivity of the ion - conductive material layer may be lowered . other materials to be used in this invention may include those conventionally used in electrochromic display elements . as the substrates , there may be employed , for example , transparent materials such as glasses , polyesters , etc . as the transparent electrode and the counter - electrode , there may be employed , for example , in 2 o 3 , sno 2 , au , etc . the electrochromic display element of this invention constituted by use of the above materials may be prepared according to , for example , the following procedures : namely , a transparent electrode is first formed on a substrate by using a conventional method such as sputtering . then , on the aforesaid transparent electrode is formed an electrochromic material layer by using a method such as vapor deposition . for formation of an ionoconducive material layer , first an organic polymeric resin and an inorganic ion - conductive material are formulated in predetermined amounts , or optionally with further addition of a pigment thereto , to prepare a dispersed and mixed product . the mixture may be diluted with an appropriate solvent , if necessary , or an organic polymeric resin previously diluted with an organic solvent may be used so as to control its viscosity , and then ready for coating on an electrochromic material layer by using , for example , the spinning coating method , the dipping method , the roller coating method or the spray coating method . when a solvent is used , for the purpose of removing the solvent remaining in the thin film , it is preferred to apply a heating treatment at a temperature range of from 50 ° to 150 ° c . as the solvent to be used for controlling the viscosity of the above ion - conductive material , there may be included non - aqueous solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone ( mek ), methyl isobutyl ketone ( mibk ), toluene , xylene , cresol , ethylcellosolve acetate , butylcellosolve acetate , propylene carbonate , acetonitrile , dimethylacetamide , n - methylpyrrolidone , and dimethylformamide , and one kind or two or more kinds selected from the group consisting of these solvents may be employed . the above organic solvent may be formulated in an amount , which may preferably be selected suitably depending on the use as well as the preparation method during film formation of the composition of this invention , and it may be preferably employed in an amount so that the resin concentration may be within the range from 2 to 20 % by weight . next , a counter - electrode is formed on the ion - conductive material layer by using a method such as sputtering similarly as in formation of the transparent electrode , to give the electrochromic display element of this invention . since the ion - conductive material layer is formed according to a coating method , the electrochromic display element of this invention is free from generation of pin holes and the like , and therefore free from occurrence of short - circuit between electrodes . also , due to good close contact between the electrochromic material layer and the ion - conductive material layer , response of color forming and extinguishing is rapid . further , the electrochromic display element of this invention , since color formation and exinction are effected by inorganic ions such as li + or na + in the ion - conductive material layer , suffers from no generation of hydrogen during usage over a long term , thus having an advantage of substantially no lowering of display function . moreover , it is possible to prepare an electrochromic display element having better response characteristic by adding plasticizer to the above - mentioned ion - conductive material layer . the electrochromic display element of this invention having the advantges as mentioned above can also be prepared , in manufacturing thereof , to have a uniform thin film ion - conductive material layer according to a simple step . this invention will be described in a greater detail by the following example : as organic polymeric resins were employed polymethylmethacrylate ( pmma ) and polystyrene ( pst ), and the organic solvents as shown in table 1 were added thereto to dissolve these polymers therein . then , the inorganic ion - conductive materials as shown in table 1 were added to the solutions , followed by mixing by means of a ball mill , to obtain 10 kinds of compositions for forming the ion - conductive material layer . with the use of each of the above 10 kinds of the compositions , an ion - conductive thin film having respective film thickness was formed on a borosilicate glass substrate according to the method as shown in the table , and dried under the conditions of 100 ° c .× 30 minutes . conductivity of each ion - conductive thin film obtained by the above treatment was measured according to the conventional method by means of a direct current conductivity measuring device ( produced by horiba seisakusho co ., ltd .). the results are shown together in table 1 . as comparative examples to the above referential examples , there were employed samples which were prepared from nafion ( trade name , produced by du pont co .) as also shown in table 1 to form as ion - conductive thin films . for each of these two kinds of ion - conductive thin films , conductivity was measured according to the same method as in examples . the results are shown together in table 1 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ inorganic ion - film organic conductive thick - conduc - polymer organic solvent material coating ness tivity resin kind amount * kind amount * method ( μm ) ( ω . sup .- 1 · cm . sup .- 1 ) __________________________________________________________________________referential pmma methyl 700 liclo . sub . 4 50 spinner 2 1 × 10 . sup .- 4example 1 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; methyl 700 &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ; 3 1 × 10 . sup .- 3example 2 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; methyl 700 &# 34 ; 300 &# 34 ; 2 3 × 10 . sup .- 2example 3 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; toluene 800 &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ; 2 2 × 10 . sup .- 3example 4referential &# 34 ; toluene 800 lii 100 bar coater 1 1 × 10 . sup .- 4example 5referential pst toluene 1000 &# 34 ; 100 spinner 2 1 × 10 . sup .- 4example 6referential pmma methyl 700 lif 200 &# 34 ; 5 3 × 10 . sup .- 4example 7 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; methyl 700 &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ; 10 6 × 10 . sup .- 4example 8 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; methyl 700 naclo . sub . 4 50 &# 34 ; 3 2 × 10 . sup .- 3example 9 isobutyl ketonereferential &# 34 ; methyl 700 &# 34 ; 300 &# 34 ; 2 1 × 10 . sup .- 2example 10 isobutyl ketonereferential nafion water 1 -- -- -- 50 1 × 10 . sup .- 10comparativeexample 1referential &# 34 ; water 10 -- -- -- 30 1 × 10 . sup .- 7comparativeexample 2__________________________________________________________________________ * each amount represents weight % based on the organic polymeric resin . as apparently seen from table 1 , while the ion - conductive films formed by use of the ion - conductive compositions of referential comparative examples show conductivities which are as low as 10 - 10 to 10 - 6 ω - 1 . cm - 1 , the ion - conductive films formed by use of the ion - conductive compositions used in this invention are all confirmed to have higher conductivities of 10 - 6 to 10 - 2 ω - 1 . cm - 1 . also , the ion - conductive films formed by use of the ion - conductive compositions used in this invention are confirmed to have good light - transmissivities as well as good film forming characteristics . on a glass plate was formed a transparent electroconductive film comprising in 2 o 3 by the sputtering method , and after patternization of said electroconductive film so as to afford desired displays , a tungsten oxide was vapor deposited to a thickness of 0 . 3 μm on the electroconductive film . thereafter , 10 kinds of compositions for formation of ion - conductive material layer as shown in table 2 were prepared . that is , to a solution of each organic polymeric resin dissolved in a suitable solvent was added a predetermined amount of an inorganic ion - conductive material and dispersed thoroughly therein by means of a ball mill and three rolls . on the substrate having the wo 3 film as described above , the aforesaid compositions were coated by use of the respective coating methods of the dipping method , the spinning method , the spraying method and the roller method indicated in table 1 . then , each substrate was left to stand on an iron plate heated to 100 ° c . for about 30 minutes for drying to prepare a thin film of a homogeneous ion - conductive material layer . on each ion - conductive material layer was formed in 2 o 3 to a thickness of 0 . 2 μm by sputtering to provide a counter - electrode . for each substrate obtained by the above treatment , an epoxy resin was sealed in vacant portions thereof and hardened to obtain 10 kinds of electrochromic display elements . as comparative examples , two kinds of electrochromic display elements were obtained according to the same procedure as in examples 1 to 10 except for using ion - conductive membranes nafion ( trade name , produced by du pont co .) as shown in table 2 in the ion - conductive material layer . for the respective electrochromic display elements obtained in the the above examples 1 to 10 and comparative examples 1 and 2 , the voltages and response times required for the contrast ratio [ ratio of absorbance at the time of color formation by he - ne laser ( 633 nm ) to absorbance at the time of extinction ] of 3 were examined . the results are shown together in table 2 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ inorganic ion - organic conductive formation conditions driving response polymeric material coating film thick - voltage time resin organic solvent kind amount * method ness ( μm ) ( v ) ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 1 polymethyl methyl liclo . sub . 4 100 dipping 2 2 . 0 700 methacrylate isobutyl ketoneexample 2 polymethyl methyl liclo . sub . 4 300 spinning 2 1 . 5 500 methacrylate isobutyl ketoneexample 3 polymethyl methyl lioh 50 spray 0 . 8 3 . 0 900 methacrylate isobutyl ketoneexample 4 polymethyl methyl lif 10 spray 0 . 5 3 . 0 700 methacrylate isobutyl ketoneexample 5 polymethyl methyl lii 10 spray 0 . 5 2 . 0 400 methacrylate isobutyl ketoneexample 6 polystyrene toluene liclo . sub . 4 100 spinning 1 2 . 0 600example 7 polystyrene toluene liclo . sub . 4 300 dipping 4 3 . 0 600example 8 polyvinyl toluene liclo . sub . 4 300 spray 0 . 2 1 . 5 300 acetateexample 9 methyl toluene liclo . sub . 4 100 roller 1 . 5 2 . 0 500 methacrylate - methacrylic acid copolymerexample 10 methyl toluene liclo . sub . 4 300 spinning 1 . 5 2 . 0 400 methacrylate - methacrylic acid copolymercomparative nafion -- -- -- -- 50 6 . 0 3000example 1comparative nafion -- -- -- -- 30 5 . 0 2500example 2__________________________________________________________________________ * each amount represents weight % based on the organic polymeric resin . as apparently seen from table 2 , the electrochromic display elements of comparative examples are slow in response speed under a high driving voltage because they have thick electrolyte layers , as contrasted to those of the present invention , each of which was confirmed to be drivable at a low voltage and rapid in response speed . in addition , in each of the electrochromic diplay elements of this invention , a clear deep blue pattern is displayed by application of a voltage so as to make negative on the display electrode side , and the displayed pattern is extinguished by application of a voltage of the opposite polarity . further , the electrochromic element of this invention is free from generation of hydrogen , etc . because of absence of side reactions at the electrodes , thus being confirmed to be electrochemically stable . the same glass plates as used in examples 1 to 10 were prepared and electrochromic material layers comprising transparent electrodes and tungsten oxide were formed according to the same method . thereafter , ten kinds of the compositions for formation of ion - conductive materials as shown in table 3 were prepared . that is , to the solutions having respective organic polymeric resins dissolved in appropriate solvents , predetermined amounts of inorganic ion - conductive materials and pigments were added , respectively , followed by sufficient dispersion by means of three rolls . subsequently , similarly as in examples 1 to 10 , by using the respective coating methods as shown in table 3 , ion - conductive material layers were formed . further , on the respective ion - conductive material layers , there were formed by vapor deposition ni as counter - electrodes to a thickness each of 0 . 2 μm , followed by sealing with an epoxy resin in the same manner as in the foregoing examples , to obtain ten kinds of electrochromic display elements . for each of the electrochromic display elements obtained in the above examples 11 to 20 , the voltage and the response time required for a contrast ratio of 3 were examined . the results are shown together in table 3 . table 3__________________________________________________________________________ inorganic forming ion - conductive conditionsorganic organic material coat - film driving responsepolymeric solvent kind amount * pigment ting thick - voltage timeresin ( amount *) kind amount * kind amount * method ness ( v ) ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 11 polymethyl methyl liclo . sub . 4 100 tio . sub . 2 20 spinning 2 2 . 5 600 methacrylate ethyl ketone ( 500 ) example 12 polymethyl methyl liclo . sub . 4 300 zro . sub . 2 30 spinning 1 1 . 5 500 methacrylate ethyl ketone ( 1000 ) example 13 polymethyl methyl lii 50 y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 30 spinning 1 2 . 0 900 methacrylate ethyl ketone ( 1000 ) example 14 methyl methyl lioh 80 tio . sub . 2 20 roller 3 2 . 5 700 methacrylate - ethyl methacrylic ketone acid ( 400 ) copolymerexample 15 methyl methyl lii 40 tio . sub . 2 10 roller 2 2 . 0 600 methacrylate - ethyl methacrylic ketone acid ( 1000 ) copolymerexample 16 polystyrene toluene lif 100 zro . sub . 2 10 dipping 1 . 2 1 . 5 700 ( 2000 ) example 17 polystyrene toluene liclo . sub . 4 200 zro . sub . 2 20 dipping 1 . 5 1 . 0 400 ( 1000 ) example 18 polystyrene toluene lioh 100 y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 15 dipping 1 . 5 3 . 0 500 ( 500 ) example 19 polyvinyl toluene liclo . sub . 4 300 tio . sub . 2 10 spinning 2 2 . 0 300 acetate ( 500 ) example 20 polyvinyl toluene lif 100 tio . sub . 2 10 spinning 4 2 . 0 700 acetate ( 500 ) __________________________________________________________________________ * each amount represents weight % based on the organic polymeric resin . as apparently seen from table 3 , each of the electrochromic display elements of this invention was confirmed to be drivable at a low voltage and rapid in response speed . in addition , in each of the electrochromic diplay elements of this invention , a clear deep blue pattern is displayed by application of a voltage so as to make negative on the display electrode side , and the displayed pattern is extinguished by application of a voltage of the opposite polarity . further , the electrochromic element of this invention is free from generation of hydrogen , etc . because of absence of side reactions at the electrodes , thus being confirmed to be electrochemically stable . on glass plates were prepared patternized transparent conductive films , on which there were provided tungsten oxide films to the thickness of 0 . 3 μm by the vapor deposition method . on these films , the compositions as shown in examples 21 to 25 in table 1 , after being sufficiently dispersed , were coated by a spinner . then , the coated products were dried under heating at 150 ° c . for 2 hours for removal of the organic solvents remaining in the solid electrolyte layers . subsequently , counter - electrodes were provided by vapor deposition of gold . additionally preparing three kinds of comparative examples as shown in table 4 , eight kinds of the electrochromic elements thus obtained were tested for actuation characteristics to give the results which are also shown in table 4 . each of the elements obtained was found to be a display element which was good in response characteristic by driving at a low voltage . the response time is a time required before reaching the contrast ratio of 3 when a volage of 1 . 5 v was applied . comparative examples 3 to 5 employ the composite materials as solid electrolytes without addition of a plasticizer , which , however , correspond to the embodiments according to some of examples 1 to 20 of the invention . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ film driv - solvent organic ion - conductive plasticizer white pigment thick - ing re - ( amount , polymeric material amount amount ness vol - sponse wt . %)* resin amount ( wt . %) ( wt . %) ( wt . %) ( μ ) tage ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 21 mibk polymethyl liclo . sub . 4 100 poly - 100 titanium 100 2 . 0 1 . 5 400 methacry - ethylene dioxide 2 . 0 1 . 5 300 late glycol 200example 22 toluene polystyrene liclo . sub . 4 80 poly - 10 titanium 100 ethylene dioxide glycol 200example 23 mibk polymethyl liclo . sub . 4 150 poly - 100 -- -- 1 . 8 1 . 5 250 methacry - ethylene late glycol 200example 24 mibk polymethyl lioh 200 poly - 100 -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 5 300 methacry - ethylene late glycol 200example 25 toluene polystyrene liclo . sub . 4 100 poly - 10 -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 5 200 ethylene glycol 200comparative mibk polymethyl liclo . sub . 4 100 -- -- titanium 100 2 . 0 1 . 5 600example 3 methacry - dioxide latecomparative mibk polymethyl liclo . sub . 4 150 -- -- -- -- 1 . 8 1 . 5 700example 4 methacry - latecomparative toluene polystyrene liclo . sub . 4 100 -- -- -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 5 500example 5__________________________________________________________________________ * each added in amount of 1000 % by weight based on the organic polymeric resin . prepared were another 10 kinds of electrochromic display elements according to this invention and two kinds of comparative electrochromic display elements as shown in table 5 in the same manner as in examples 1 to 10 and comparative examples 1 and 2 , except that moo 3 was used in place of wo 3 for the electrochromic material layer . for the respective electrochromic display elements obtained in the the above examples 26 to 35 and comparative examples 6 and 7 , the voltages and response times required for the contrast ratio [ ratio of absorbance at the time of color formation by he - ne laser ( 633 nm ) to absorbance at the time of extinction ] of 3 were examined . the results are shown together in table 5 . as apparently seen from table 5 , the electrochromic display elements of comparative examples are slow in response speed under a high driving voltage because they have thick electrolyte layers , as contrasted to those of the present invention , each of which was confirmed to be drivable at a low voltage and rapid in response speed . in addition , in each of the electrochromic diplay elements of this invention , a clear deep gray pattern is displayed by application of a voltage so as to make negative on the display electrode side , and the displayed pattern is extinguished by application of a voltage of the opposite polarity . further , the electrochromic element of this invention is free from generation of hydrogen , etc . because of absence of side reactions at the electrodes , thus being confirmed to be electrochemically stable . table 5__________________________________________________________________________ inorganic ion - organic conductive formation conditions driving response polymeric material coating film thick - voltage time resin organic solvent kind amount * method ness ( μm ) ( v ) ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 26 polymethyl methyl liclo . sub . 4 100 dipping 2 2 . 2 750 methacry - isobutyl late ketoneexample 27 polymethyl methyl &# 34 ; 300 spinning 2 1 . 6 550 methacry - isobutyl late ketoneexample 28 polymethyl methyl lioh 50 spray 0 . 8 3 . 0 950 methacry - isobutyl late ketoneexample 29 polymethyl methyl lif 10 &# 34 ; 0 . 5 3 . 0 750 methacry - isobutyl late ketoneexample 30 polymethyl methyl lii 10 &# 34 ; 0 . 5 2 . 0 450 methacry - isobutyl late ketoneexample 31 polystyrene toluene liclo . sub . 4 100 spinning 1 2 . 0 650example 32 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; &# 34 ; 300 dipping 4 3 . 0 650example 33 polyvinyl &# 34 ; &# 34 ; 300 spray 0 . 3 1 . 6 350 acetateexample 34 methyl &# 34 ; &# 34 ; 100 roller 1 . 5 2 . 0 550 methacrylate - methacrylic acid copolymerexample 35 methyl &# 34 ; &# 34 ; 300 spinning 1 . 5 2 . 0 450 methacrylate - methacrylic acid copolymercomparative nafion -- -- -- -- 50 6 . 0 3500example 6comparative &# 34 ; -- -- -- -- 30 5 . 0 3000example 7__________________________________________________________________________ * each amount represents weight % based on the organic polymeric resin . prepared were further 10 kinds of electrochromic display elements as shown in table 6 in the same manner as in examples 11 to 20 , except that moo 3 was used in place of wo 3 for the electrochromic material layer . for each of the electrochromic display elements obtained in the above examples 36 to 45 , the voltage and the response time required for a contrast ratio of 3 were examined . the results are shown together in table 6 . as apparently seen from table 6 , each of the electrochromic display elements of this invention was confirmed to be drivable at a low voltage and rapid in response speed . in addition , in each of the electrochromic diplay elements of this invention , a clear deep gray pattern is displayed by application of a voltage so as to make negative on the display electrode side , and the displayed pattern is extinguished by application of a voltage of the opposite polarity . further , the electrochromic element of this invention is free from generation of hydrogen , etc . because of absence of side reactions at the electrodes , thus being confirmed to be electrochemically stable . table 6__________________________________________________________________________ inorganic forming ion - conductive conditionsorganic organic material coat - film driving responsepolymeric solvent kind amount * pigment ting thick - voltage timeresin ( amount *) kind amount * kind amount * method ness ( v ) ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 36 polymethyl methyl ( 500 ) liclo . sub . 4 100 tio . sub . 2 20 spinning 2 2 . 5 650 methacry - ethyl late ketoneexample 37 polymethyl methyl ( 1000 ) &# 34 ; 300 zro . sub . 2 30 &# 34 ; 1 1 . 6 500 methacry - ethyl late ketoneexample 38 polymethyl methyl ( 1000 ) lii 50 y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 30 &# 34 ; 1 2 . 0 900 methacry - ethyl late ketoneexample 39 methyl methyl ( 400 ) lioh 80 tio . sub . 2 20 roller 3 2 . 5 700 methacrylate - ethyl methacrylic ketone acid copolymerexample 40 methyl methyl ( 1000 ) lii 40 tio . sub . 2 10 &# 34 ; 2 2 . 0 650 methacrylate - ethyl methacrylic ketone acid copolymerexample 41 polystyrene toluene ( 2000 ) lif 100 zro . sub . 2 10 dipping 1 . 2 1 . 6 700example 42 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ( 1000 ) liclo . sub . 4 200 zro . sub . 2 20 &# 34 ; 1 . 6 1 . 2 400example 43 &# 34 ; &# 34 ; ( 500 ) lioh 100 y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 15 &# 34 ; 1 . 6 3 . 0 500example 44 polyvinyl &# 34 ; ( 500 ) liclo . sub . 4 300 tio . sub . 2 10 spinning 2 2 . 3 350 acetateexample 45 polyvinyl &# 34 ; ( 500 ) lif 100 tio . sub . 2 10 &# 34 ; 4 2 . 0 700 acetate__________________________________________________________________________ * each amount represents weight % based on the organic polymeric resin . prepared were electrochromic display elements according to this invention and comparative electrochromic display elements as shown in table 7 in the same manner as in examples 21 to 25 and comparative examples 3 to 5 , except that moo 3 was used in place of wo 3 for the electrochromic material layer . the electrochromic elements thus obtained were tested for actuation characteristics to give the results which are also shown in table 7 . each of the elements obtained was found to be a display element which was good in response characteristic by driving at a low voltage . the response time is a time required before reaching the contrast ratio of 3 when a volage of 1 . 5 v was applied . comparative examples 8 to 10 employ the composite materials as solid electrolytes without addition of a plasticizer , which , however , correspond to the embodiments according to some of examples 26 to 45 of the invention . table 7__________________________________________________________________________ film driv - solvent organic ion - conductive plasticizer white pigment thick - ing re - ( amount *, polymeric material amount amount ness vol - sponse wt . %) resin amount ( wt . %) ( wt . %) ( wt . %) ( μ ) tage ( msec ) __________________________________________________________________________example 46 mibk polymethyl liclo . sub . 4 100 poly - 100 titanium 100 2 . 0 1 . 6 450 methacry - ethylene dioxide 2 . 0 1 . 6 350 late glycol 200example 47 toluene poly - &# 34 ; 80 poly - 10 titanium 100 styrene ethylene dioxide glycol 200example 48 mibk polymethyl &# 34 ; 150 poly - 100 -- -- 1 . 8 1 . 6 300 methacry - ethylene late glycol 200example 49 mibk polymethyl lioh 200 poly - 100 -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 6 300 methacry - ethylene late glycol 200example 50 toluene poly - liclo . sub . 4 100 poly - 10 -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 6 250 styrene ethylene glycol 200comparative mibk polymethyl &# 34 ; 100 -- -- titanium 100 2 . 0 1 . 6 600example 8 methacry - dioxide latecomparative &# 34 ; polymethyl &# 34 ; 150 -- -- -- -- 1 . 8 1 . 6 700example 9 methacry - latecomparative toluene poly - &# 34 ; 100 -- -- -- -- 1 . 5 1 . 6 500example 10 styrene__________________________________________________________________________ * each added in amount of 1000 % by weight based on the organic polymeric resin . | 8 |
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , a method for dynamically creating and then automatically selecting an optimum manufacturing process routing is provided . specifically , a framework for encoding a set of manufacturing processes is provided , with key features including the ability to construct routing definitions hierarchically as well as support for routings containing optional and repeated process steps . the framework provides a language for specifying routing definitions recursively . the primary application of this framework is for optimizing manufacturing cost in a computer - aided design ( cad )- integrated cost management system , however , other applications such as computer aided process planning systems may also utilize this invention to optimize production time or manage capacity constraints . an embodiment according to the invention may be implemented in the context of an automated costing system of the type described in u . s . patent application publication no . 2005 / 0120010 a1 of philpott et al ., published jun . 2 , 2005 , entitled “ system and method for determining costs within an enterprise ,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . in such a system , a costing system automatically analyzes the geometry and other characteristics of a manufacturable component , which may , for example , be in the process of being designed by a cad system . the costing system determines a set of cost drivers for the manufacturable component , and stores them in a cost driver database . the cost drivers are variables that the costing system uses in computer - implemented mathematical equations to determine the cost of manufacturing the component . for example , the cost drivers might include the number of small holes and bends in the component , or the perimeter of the component . these features “ drive ” the cost and are used by the system to calculate , for example , cycle times and incentive times that determine costs . in some cases , the number of features is the cost driver ( such as number of holes , edges , and different types of bends , etc . ), and in other cases , measurable parameters of the feature may be a cost driver ( such as perimeter length , part volume surface area , etc .). in the costing system , feature extraction algorithms may distinguish true manufacturing features — that is , features that directly affect cycle time and cost computation . for example , “ small holes ” are holes less than 5 mm in diameter , the size below which a laser needs to make a step change in cut speed . as another example , the feature extracting algorithms might identify collinear “ bends ” that can be completed by one action of a bend brake . such a costing system within which an embodiment according to the invention may be used , may include cost engine and cost model components . specifically , the cost engine is a computer implemented system that uses the logic and data representing a given process , and runs the cost model with reference to the cad data . the cost engine has logic for implementing the process framework , and is the execution environment for the costing , whereas the cost model is the costing script that is executed by the cost engine . in the context of such a costing system within which an embodiment according to the invention may be used , there may be provided the ability to define process routings , which identify the allowable sequences of processes or routings that run in a company &# 39 ; s factory or at their suppliers &# 39 ; factories . in previous systems , the allowable routings could be specified in a list - like fashion . for example , a script “ ctl - shear - turret - bendbrake ” could be used to identify a process routing of starting with a cut - to - length ( ctl ) process , then moving on to a shear process , followed by a turret press , and finishing with a bend brake operation . another process routing could be defined , for example , as “ ctl - laser - bendbrake ,” meaning that a ctl process is followed by a laser process , and finishing with a bend brake operation . a key challenge in the development of the methodology according to an embodiment of the invention was devising a method for encoding the set of available process routings that comprise a real or virtual production facility . initially , each routing was stored individually as a list of process steps , as just described . however , as the system evolved and the complexity of the manufacturing facility increased , such an approach encounters a number of shortcomings . for example , supposing that the “ ctl - shear - turret - bendbrake ” process routing could be executed in any order , it would be necessary to specify in a list each different possible combination of orders in which the processes could be implemented : “ ctl - turret - bendbrake - shear ,” “ ctl - bendbrake - shear - turret ,” and so on . when the number of possible operations becomes large , such a technique of specifying process routings could rapidly become prohibitively difficult for a user . and the separate listing of process routings would have to be used even where processes were redundant or related . shortcomings such as the foregoing are remedied by a process routing template framework in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the process routing template framework in accordance with an embodiment of the invention provides a language for specifying process routings as a set of trees . each node in a process routing tree represents an individual process . a process may further decompose into a sequence of sub - processes , in which case the process would be represented as a branch node in the tree . the language used to define these trees is referred to as the process routing template specification language . a program written in this language is referred to as a routing template specification . each line in a specification defines a process and the rules used to expand that process into a list of sub - processes . in an embodiment according to the invention , the process definitions in a template specification are recursive . additionally , the template specification language supports labeling certain nodes as optional or repeated . optional nodes represent processes that may or may not be necessary in a given routing depending on the specifics of the part cad model and the manufacturing environment . the system determines whether or not to include an optional node at runtime by evaluating rules supplied by the underlying manufacturing process model . optional nodes can also be manually included or excluded by the user . repeated nodes represent processes that can occur an arbitrary number of times in a routing . the algorithm used to compute the cost of a part cad model in a framework according to an embodiment of the invention can be conceptualized as consisting of two distinct phases of analysis : ( i ) routing generation and ( ii ) routing evaluation . in the routing generation phase in an embodiment according to the invention , the cost engine parses the routing template specification supplied by the cost model and produces a set of routing trees to evaluate . a routing tree is produced for each alternative defined in the routing template specification . as part of this phase , the feasibility of each node in the template is evaluated in a depth - first fashion . if a node is found to be infeasible according to the rules supplied by the cost model , the portion of the template rooted at that node is discarded from further analysis . in the routing evaluation phase in an embodiment according to the invention , the cost engine computes a detailed cost estimate for each of the generated routing trees . the cost of a routing tree is calculated by performing a post - order traversal of the tree , meaning that the costs of a node &# 39 ; s children are computed prior to computing the cost of the node itself . in this way , the cost of a process can be derived from the costs of its sub - processes . once the total cost of each tree has been computed , the cost engine selects the lowest cost result and presents it to the user . the user can override this selection and choose to cost any subset of the trees defined in the template specification . a primary advantage of the routing template framework in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is the ability to construct routings hierarchically . presenting routings as a hierarchical tree of processes instead of a flat list is beneficial from a usability perspective because different classes of users may be interested in exploring varying levels of detail within a set of manufacturing alternatives . for example , a design engineer may simply wish to compare the costs of sand casting and die casting without being concerned with the details of the sub - processes involved in sand casting . on the other hand , a manufacturing engineer with expert knowledge of the sand casting process may wish to explore the tradeoffs between different core making processes within sand casting . fig1 is an example of a routing template specification in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . the routing template specification shown in fig1 supports both such levels of analysis by defining a hierarchy of alternatives , i . e ., a high - level alternative between sand casting and die casting , and a lower - level set of core making alternatives within sand casting . typically , an embodiment according to the invention may be used to select an optimum process routing within constraints that a user of the system has specified . for example , a user could specify that the user wishes to consider only sand casting processes . the user may be given choices , in a computer - implemented display , in order to choose which processes are of interest , based on a recursive template in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , such that the recursive template drives the choices available to the user . in addition , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , structuring a routing as a hierarchical tree improves the computational efficiency of the feasibility analysis phase of cost analysis because the rules that govern the feasibility of a set of alternatives can be associated with a parent node containing that set , thereby eliminating the need to check each alternative individually . in comparison , a list - based approach would require that each alternative be encoded as a separate routing and analyzed individually . another advantage of the routing template framework in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is the ability to label nodes as optional or repeated . this allows the exact sequence of processes in a routing to be determined dynamically based on the specifics of the part cad model and manufacturing environment being analyzed , and eliminates the need to explicitly list every possible combination of processes when defining the set of valid routings . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , templates are used at both the process or component level and at a lower operation level . at the process level the template establishes viable processes , and at the operation level the template defines valid operations or operation sequence . the template specification language in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may be used by the cost model of a costing system , such as that of u . s . patent application publication no . 2005 / 0120010 a1 of philpott et al ., published jun . 2 , 2005 , entitled “ system and method for determining costs within an enterprise ,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference , including in particular incorporated with reference to the contents related to the costing system , cost engine and cost model . the cost model may include the actual templates , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , such as the template of fig1 ; while the cost engine runs the templates . in the routing template specification of the embodiment of fig1 , a syntax is used in which a juxtaposition of processes represents performing one of the processes followed by the other of the processes ; while a vertical bar between processes represents a choice between using one or the other of the processes . thus , for example , the statement : in the first line of the embodiment of fig1 means that the combined “ casting / machining ” process routing consists of performing the casting process , followed by performing the machining process . in the second line , the process of casting is further defined with reference to its sub - processes , namely , that is , the process of casting consists a choice between either performing sandcasting or performing diecasting . continuing through the routing template specification of fig1 , each process is defined recursively with reference to its sub - processes , if any . in the syntax of fig1 , square brackets around a process signifies an optional process . routing alternatives can be marked as non auto - selectable or “ user - only ” by preceding the alternative with ∥. for example , in the following template snippet , the manual floor alternative has been marked as user - only . a user - only alternative is presented like a standard alternative in a routing editor . however , in auto - select mode it is ignored by the cost engine and thus will only be costed if the user explicitly selects it . the primary use for this feature is to speed up auto - costing by limiting the number of alternatives that are considered . it also provides a natural way to include alternatives that are only intended to be used when explicitly indicated by the user . a template can reference a node defined in another process group . this is referred to as an “ external reference ” and is indicated by appending a process group modifier to the node . for example , the simplehole casting template might contain the following line : here , finish machining is an external reference to a node defined in the active machining template . it is possible that the active machining template does not contain a definition for finish machining in which case the node will be removed from the template at runtime . nodes with process group names are treated as implicit external references . in other words , the nodes machining and machining : machining are treated equivalently . 1 . the manufacturing alternatives provided by a secondary progress group are defined in exactly one place ( the template belonging to that process group ). 2 . it is no longer necessary to list specific processes belonging to a secondary process group within the template of a primary process group . this eliminates ( or at least reduces ) tight coupling between cost models . multiple versions of a template can be defined , one per primary process group . for example , consider the following machining component template : here two definitions of the “ machining ” template are provided . the first is used when casting is the primary process group and the second is used in all other cases . any node can be specialized in this manner , e . g . : this feature allows the manufacturing alternatives within a secondary process group to vary based on the primary process group , and does so in a way that doesn &# 39 ; t require changes to the primary process group template . consider the following example simplehole template , which defines a set of operation sequences for manufacturing a hole on a 3 axis mill : it is now desired to add equivalent operation sequences for a 2 axis lathe process and provide a high - level choice between the milling and turning a hole . this would require defining multiple definitions of the holemaking node , one for 3 axis mill and a second for 2 axis lathe . alternatively , the same may be achieved with nested scopes . using nested scopes the template can be rewritten as follows : the rewritten template makes use of node scoping to provide two definitions of the holemaking node ( as well as other nodes ); one within the context of milling and the other within the context of turning . nodes defined within a { . . . } block only exist within the scope of the enclosing node and cannot be referenced outside it . note that these scopes can be nested . in the example above , holemaking is defined within the scope of the milling node which is in turn defined within the scope of the machining node . following is a description of an embodiment of the invention for a simplified sequence of fabrication processes in a process group referred to here as “ bar and tube .” this has been simplified from the actual embodiment only to assist in the explanation of how it works . fig2 shows a set of templates for the simplified process group , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . as can be seen , three different possible templates are offered : the component template , the simplehole template , and the bend template . fig3 is a block diagram of the overall flow of the cost analysis , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . at step 301 of the embodiment of fig3 , the component inputs are properties related to the individual component being manufactured . for example , these may include a geometry analysis as well as non - geometric manufacturing inputs such as production volume , years of production , where the component is being manufactured , and the materials from which it is made . at step 302 of the embodiment of fig3 , either the user , or the system automatically , has triggered the performance of a cost analysis by the system . in step 302 , the routing template is selected . the routing template is found in the cost model . an administrative user of the system may modify the template , typically as a one - time exercise , based on the routings that are actually available at a given manufacturing plant . in step 302 , the cost engine determines which template environment to use , either by using a user - specified template or by using a default . individual features of interest in a component have been identified by a geometry analysis ( for example , a hole , a bend , etc .). when the cost engine runs the cost model , the cost engine is determining how the features of interest will be manufactured . thus , for every feature of a component there is a template ; and for the component as a whole there is an overall template ; and , in some cases , for every assembly of components , there is a template . at step 303 of the embodiment of fig3 , the entire template is expanded as a number of combinations — for example , six combinations for the last two lines 204 and 205 of the component template of fig2 , since there are two possible processes in the holemaking process and three possible processes in the bending process . after the template is expanded in step 303 , the system performs a cost analysis ( step 309 ) for each template , by evaluating the cost for each feature ; and performing this evaluation for each feasible routing . as will be seen , when an individual feature &# 39 ; s cost is being evaluated , it is being evaluated in the context of one specific routing choice . once each feasible routing has been costed , the best routing is selected ( step 310 ). continuing with step 303 of the embodiment of fig3 , expanding the template includes performing a feasibility analysis 307 do determine which processes are actually possible . the system also performs a material stock selection 306 , to determine the actual size or dimension of the stock . the system also performs a machine selection 308 , in which , for each possible routing , the system determines which machine to use . for example , for laser cutting , one could use several different choices of machines with different power levels . in performing machine selection 308 , either a user can pre - specify which machines to use , or the cost model can determine which machine to use , using logic within the cost model for determining optimum machine selection . in step 309 of the embodiment of fig3 , the cost engine is used to determine the cost estimate for each of the different possible expanded templates . each geometric cost driver ( gcd ) is costed , by determining how each feature will be manufactured in the context of each given routing . at step 312 , the first operation in the list of those that is feasible is selected . then , at step 313 , the system maps the operations to the actual processes . for example , the operation of “ boring ” may be mapped to the process “ 3axis mill ,” which is a process that supports the operation of boring . next , in step 309 , the cost scripting language ( csl ) is executed by the cost engine to determine the cost for the routing . at step 314 , cost routing is performed . first , in step 315 , the yield csl determines how much raw material is necessary at the front of the process in order to yield the final part . this is computed from the end back to the beginning of the process ( for example , determining losses of material at each stage ). next , in step 316 , the cost taxonomy csl is executed by a front - to - back routing . the taxonomy is a list of the time and cost , and is evaluated depth - first . in step 310 of the embodiment of fig3 , the cost engine selects the lowest cost routing that also manufactures all features , by first determining routings for which all features are completed , and then selecting the lowest cost of the routings that complete all of the features . in step 311 of the embodiment of fig3 , the system has determined the lowest cost routing for manufacturing the component . fig4 through 14 are flow charts illustrating operation of a cost analysis , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . these flow charts illustrate the flow of logic within the cost engine when costing a part . an example is provided that uses a simplified version of the bar & amp ; tube templates ( see fig2 ), and a hypothetical part with a bend and two simpleholes ( one with high tolerance ). in the embodiment of fig4 , there is shown a component template . feasibility analysis and machine selection are performed . the feasibility analysis is top - down , and is performed prior to expansion ( routing creation ). in fig4 , arrows indicate the flow of global state . navigating the tree , the global state thus goes from the bar & amp ; tube / machining process to the bar & amp ; tube process , to the holemaking process , and so forth around the tree . however , when the global state reaches the lasercutting process , the system determines that no feasible machine is found . likewise , when the system navigates around the tree to the bendbrake process , it is determined that it is not possible to bend around a tube . thus , the lasercutting and bendbrake processes are identified as not feasible . in the embodiment of fig5 , the two possible routings resulting from the feasibility analysis and template expansion are shown . in both routings , the lasercutting and bendbrake processes that were not feasible have been removed , by comparison with fig4 . routing 1 represents the choice of rotarydraw as the bending process ( see middle of tree ), while routing 2 represents the choice of compression as the bending process . in the embodiment of fig6 , there is illustrated the expanding of the templates for the simplehole : 1 feature in the context of routing 1 from fig5 ( shown in the upper right of fig6 ). in step 1 , all unsupported nodes are removed . here , the lasercutonly and lasercutting nodes are removed , as well as the laserbore , lasercutting and boring nodes . next , in step 2 , the tree is navigated to evaluate feasibility and select tools . thus , the system navigates from bar & amp ; tube / machining to punchonly and then to punching , at which point the first feasible operation sequence has been selected ( bar & amp ; tube / machining , punchonly and punching ). the punchbore and punching and boring nodes have not been selected . finally , in step 3 , the system costs the selected operation sequence . in the embodiment of fig7 , there is illustrated the operation assignments after costing the simplehole : 1 feature . operations are costed at this point . the operation is assigned to the first process that supports it . for example , here , the simplehole 1 : punching assignment is made . in the embodiment of fig8 , there is illustrated the expanding of templates for the feature simplehole : 2 . here , a high tolerance requires a boring operation . as with the expanding for simplehole : 1 , the steps are followed of removing unsupported nodes , evaluating feasibility and selecting tools , and costing the selected operation sequence . the unsupported nodes are removed ( lasercutonly and its child node , and laserbore and its child nodes ). then , in evaluating feasibility , it is determined that the punchonly process cannot achieve the required tolerance , and is therefore determined not to be feasible . finally , the selected op - sequence is costed , namely , the sequence bar & amp ; tube machining , punchbore , punching , boring . in the embodiment of fig9 , there is illustrated the operation assignments after costing simplehole : 2 . again , operations are costed at this point . operations are assigned to the first process that supports it . thus , simplehole 2 : punching and simplehole 2 : boring are assigned as shown . in the embodiment of fig1 , there is illustrated the expanding of templates for the bend : 1 feature in the context of routing 1 . as previously , the first step is to remove unsupported nodes : here , the compressionbending and bend brake . next , step 2 is to evaluate feasibility and select tools — here , the bar & amp ; tube process followed by rotarydrawbending is selected . the selected operation sequence is then costed . in the embodiment of fig1 , there is illustrated the operation assignments after costing the bend : 1 feature . the operation is assigned to the first process that supports it . the bend : 1 feature is assigned to rotarydraw bending . in the embodiment of fig1 , there is illustrated the removing of unused available ( system - optional ) nodes . an available node is removed if there are no operations assigned to it ( and the user has not explicitly added it ). here , the punching node is removed . in the embodiment of fig1 , there is illustrated the costing of routing 1 — here , the first pass , which involves calculating yield . the arrows indicate the flow of global state . in the embodiment of fig1 , there is further illustrated the costing of routing 1 — here , the second pass , which involves calculating cost taxonomy . the arrows indicate the flow of global state . in another embodiment according to the invention , there is provided a technique for determining an optimum number of times to perform a repeated process . such a technique may be advantageous , for example , for staged tooling . in this embodiment , a template encodes a node that is to be repeated , and the cost model determines how many times to repeat the node . the cost model determines the operation sequence for each geometric cost driver ; and then determines how to assign processes using the minimum number of variable processes that are needed . compatibility and precedence rules are used to determine which process steps are used . the system creates new process steps “ on the fly ” as it performs the evaluation . for example , such a technique could be used in the context of stage tooling , where a compatibility rule could specify , for example , when holes may not be used if they are too close together . the technique involves first creating one stage of a tooling process , and assigning an operation to it ; then determining whether a second operation can be assigned ; and so forth , until the operation fails a compatibility rule . then the technique creates the second stage of the tooling process . thus , the technique uses a similar process to that discussed above , but with the addition of compatibility and precedence rules . fig1 through 20 are examples of templates in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . fig1 is an illustration of a sheet metal component template for sheet metal fabrication , while fig1 is the template for a simple hole and fig1 is the template for a bend , within the context of sheet metal fabrication . the sheet metal component template of fig1 illustrates the syntax that may be used for repeated nodes , for example for stage tooling : parentheses and an asterisk are used . fig1 is a casting component template , while fig1 is a template for a simple hole and fig2 is a template for a void , within the casting context . here , a void is a manufacturing feature , or geometric cost driver , that is created to represent regions of negative space around a part that a casting mold needs to fill . fig2 is a diagram of the internal structure of a computer 2141 which may be used for implementing an embodiment according to the invention . the computer 2141 contains system bus 2142 , where a bus is a set of hardware lines used for data transfer among the components of a computer or processing system . bus 2142 is essentially a shared conduit that connects different elements of a computer system ( e . g ., processor , disk storage , memory , input / output ports , network ports , etc .) that enables the transfer of information between the elements . attached to system bus 2142 is i / o device interface 2143 for connecting various input and output devices ( e . g ., keyboard , mouse , displays , printers , speakers , etc .) to the computer 2141 . network interface 2144 allows the computer to connect to various other devices attached to a network . memory 2145 provides volatile storage for computer software instructions 2146 and data 2147 used to implement an embodiment of the present invention ( e . g ., the routing generation system and the routing evaluation system ). disk storage 2148 provides non - volatile storage for computer software instructions 2149 and data 2150 used to implement an embodiment of the present invention . central processor unit 2151 is also attached to system bus 2142 and provides for the execution of computer instructions . in one embodiment , the processor routines 2146 and data 2147 are a computer program product ( generally referenced 2146 ), including a computer readable medium ( e . g ., a removable storage medium such as one or more dvd - rom &# 39 ; s , cd - rom &# 39 ; s , diskettes , tapes , etc .) that provides at least a portion of the software instructions for any aspect of the invention system . computer program product 2146 can be installed by any suitable software installation procedure , as is well known in the art . in another embodiment , at least a portion of the software instructions may also be downloaded over a cable , communication and / or wireless connection . further , it will be appreciated that an embodiment according to the invention may be implemented by one or more than one computer processor , potentially located on one or more than one computer , any or all of which computers or computers processors may be connected to each other over a network , including local and wide area networks and / or the internet . the teachings of all patents , published applications and references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to example embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims | 6 |
15 grams of 7 - anilino - 3 - diethylaminofluoran were dissolved in 100 grams of castor oil at about 130 ° centigrade . the temperature of the solution was lowered to 90 ° centigrade and a mixed dispersion of 2 grams of castor oil and 2 grams of benzoyl peroxide was added to the resulting solution and dissolved therein with stirring at high speed . then , the solution was heated to 150 ° centigrade , maintained at said temperature for about 30 minutes and then gradually cooled to room temperature . the thus obtained color - reactive colorless dye solution was stable and contained more than 12 percent , by weight , dye material . 15 grams of crystal violet lactone ( referred to hereinbelow as cvl ) was dissolved in 100 grams of castor oil at about 130 ° centigrade . the solution was then cooled to 100 ° centigrade and 2 grams of 2 , 5 - dimethylhexane - 2 , 5 - di -( peroxylbenzoate ) was added to the solution . the resulting solution was again heated to 150 ° centigrade to react for about 30 minutes and then gradually cooled to room temperature . the solution obtained contained more than 12 percent , by weight , of color - reactive colorless dye and exhibited a high stability without precipitating . 10 grams of castor oil was heated to 130 ° centigrade and 0 . 6 grams of 7 - anilino - 3 - diethylaminofluoran , 0 . 2 grams of cvl , and 0 . 3 grams of a green color - reactive fluoran dye were added to the oil and dissolved with stirring . the solution was then maintained at about 90 ° centigrade and 0 . 1 grams of benzoyl peroxide , dispersed in about 0 . 1 gram of castor oil , was added thereto and dissolved with stirring . the temperature of the mixture was raised to about 150 ° centigrade , the stirring was continued , and the mixture was maintained at that temperature for about 30 minutes . then , 0 . 1 grams of a polyvinyl butyral resin was dissolved in the solution to modify the viscosity and the solution was gradually cooled to room temperature . the obtained solution was stable and the solution , printed on a processed paper , gave a deep black print . 5 . 0 grams of castor oil and 5 . 0 grams of linseed oil were heated to 130 ° centigrade and 0 . 9 grams of cvl and 0 . 1 grams of benzoyl leuco methylene blue were mixed therein to dissolve . the solution was then cooled to 100 ° centigrade and 0 . 1 grams of 2 , 5 - dimethylhexane - 2 , 5 - di -( peroxylbenzoate ) was mixed to the solution to dissolve with stirring . the solution was again heated to 150 ° centigrade , maintained at said temperature for 30 minutes , then 0 . 1 grams of polyvinyl butyral resin was dissolved in the solution to modify the viscosity and the solution was gradually cooled to room temperature . the solution obtained was stable and the solution , printed on a processed paper , gave a deep blue print . 4 . 2 grams of castor oil was heated to 130 ° centigrade and 0 . 9 grams of cvl was dissolved therein . then , 0 . 2 grams of a mixture of equal parts of benzoyl peroxide and dioctyl phthalate was added to the solution , maintained at about 90 ° centigrade . the temperature of the mixture was raised to about 130 ° centigrade , the stirring was continued , and the mixture was maintained at that temperature for about 30 minutes . the mixture was gradually cooled to room temperature . the resulting solution was dissolved in 15 . 0 grams of a mixed liquid of 30 weight parts of a diaryl ethane and 70 weight parts of kerosene . the diaryl ethane can be dimethyl - substituted diphenyl ethane . the solution obtained was stable and developed instantaneously in blue on a processed paper . the above examples demonstrate that a color - reactive colorless dye can be dissolved in an amount of several percent in a mineral oil such as kerosene whereas , such has not heretofore been possible . thus , dye solutions obtained in accordance with the present invention are effective as pressuresensitive copying ink compositions as well as being useful as printing inks . | 2 |
the invention is preferably realized as a feature or addition to the software already found present on well - known computing platforms such as personal computers , web servers , and web browsers . these common computing platforms can include personal computers as well as portable computing platforms , such as personal digital assistants (“ pda ”), web - enabled wireless telephones , and other types of personal information management (“ pim ”) devices . therefore , it is useful to review a generalized architecture of a computing platform which may span the range of implementation , from a high - end web or enterprise server platform , to a personal computer , to a portable pda or web - enabled wireless phone . turning to fig1 , a generalized architecture is presented including a central processing unit ( 1 ) (“ cpu ”), which is typically comprised of a microprocessor ( 2 ) associated with random access memory (“ ram ”) ( 4 ) and read - only memory (“ rom ”) ( 5 ). often , the cpu ( 1 ) is also provided with cache memory ( 3 ) and programmable flashrom ( 6 ). the interface ( 7 ) between the microprocessor ( 2 ) and the various types of cpu memory is often referred to as a “ local bus ”, but also may be a more generic or industry standard bus . many computing platforms are also provided with one or more storage drives ( 9 ), such as a hard - disk drives (“ hdd ”), floppy disk drives , compact disc drives ( cd , cd - r , cd - rw , dvd , dvd - r , etc . ), and proprietary disk and tape drives ( e . g ., iomega zip ™ and jaz ™, addonics superdisk ™, etc .). additionally , some storage drives may be accessible over a computer network . many computing platforms are provided with one or more communication interfaces ( 10 ), according to the function intended of the computing platform . for example , a personal computer is often provided with a high speed serial port ( rs - 232 , rs - 422 , etc . ), an enhanced parallel port (“ epp ”), and one or more universal serial bus (“ usb ”) ports . the computing platform may also be provided with a local area network (“ lan ”) interface , such as an ethernet card , and other high - speed interfaces such as the high performance serial bus ieee - 1394 . computing platforms such as wireless telephones and wireless networked pda &# 39 ; s may also be provided with a radio frequency (“ rf ”) interface with antenna , as well . in some cases , the computing platform may be provided with an infrared data arrangement ( irda ) interface , too . computing platforms are often equipped with one or more internal expansion slots ( 11 ), such as industry standard architecture ( isa ), enhanced industry standard architecture ( eisa ), peripheral component interconnect ( pci ), or proprietary interface slots for the addition of other hardware , such as sound cards , memory boards , and graphics accelerators . additionally , many units , such as laptop computers and pda &# 39 ; s , are provided with one or more external expansion slots ( 12 ) allowing the user the ability to easily install and remove hardware expansion devices , such as pcmcia cards , smartmedia cards , and various proprietary modules such as removable hard drives , cd drives , and floppy drives . often , the storage drives ( 9 ), communication interfaces ( 10 ), internal expansion slots ( 11 ) and external expansion slots ( 12 ) are interconnected with the cpu ( 1 ) via a standard or industry open bus architecture ( 8 ), such as isa , eisa , or pci . in many cases , the bus ( 8 ) may be of a proprietary design . a computing platform is usually provided with one or more user input devices , such as a keyboard or a keypad ( 16 ), and mouse or pointer device ( 17 ), and / or a touch - screen display ( 18 ). in the case of a personal computer , a full size keyboard is often provided along with a mouse or pointer device , such as a track ball or trackpoint ™. in the case of a web - enabled wireless telephone , a simple keypad may be provided with one or more function - specific keys . in the case of a pda , a touch - screen ( 18 ) is usually provided , often with handwriting recognition capabilities . additionally , a microphone ( 19 ), such as the microphone of a web - enabled wireless telephone or the microphone of a personal computer , is supplied with the computing platform . this microphone may be used for simply reporting audio and voice signals , and it may also be used for entering user choices , such as voice navigation of web sites or auto - dialing telephone numbers , using voice recognition capabilities . many computing platforms are also equipped with a camera device ( 100 ), such as a still digital camera or full motion video digital camera . one or more user output devices , such as a display ( 13 ), are also provided with most computing platforms . the display ( 13 ) may take many forms , including a cathode ray tube (“ crt ”), a thin flat transistor (“ tft ”) array , or a simple set of light emitting diodes (“ led ”) or liquid crystal display (“ lcd ”) indicators . one or more speakers ( 14 ) and / or annunciators ( 15 ) are often associated with computing platforms , too . the speakers ( 14 ) may be used to reproduce audio and music , such as the speaker of a wireless telephone or the speakers of a personal computer . annunciators ( 15 ) may take the form of simple beep emitters or buzzers , commonly found on certain devices such as pdas and pims . these user input and output devices may be directly interconnected ( 8 ′, 8 ″) to the cpu ( 1 ) via a proprietary bus structure and / or interfaces , or they may be interconnected through one or more industry open buses such as isa , eisa , pci , etc . the computing platform is also provided with one or more software and firmware ( 101 ) programs to implement the desired functionality of the computing platforms . turning to now fig2 , more detail is given of a generalized organization of software and firmware ( 101 ) on this range of computing platforms . one or more operating system (“ os ”) native application programs ( 23 ) may be provided on the computing platform , such as word processors , spreadsheets , contact management utilities , address book , calendar , email client , presentation , financial and bookkeeping programs . additionally , one or more “ portable ” or device - independent programs ( 24 ) may be provided , which must be interpreted by an os - native platform - specific interpreter ( 25 ), such as java ™ scripts and programs . often , computing platforms are also provided with a form of web browser or micro - browser ( 26 ), which may also include one or more extensions to the browser such as browser plug - ins ( 27 ). the computing device is often provided with an operating system ( 20 ), such as microsoft windows ™, unix , ibm os / 2 ™, linux , mac os ™ or other platform specific operating systems . smaller devices such as pda &# 39 ; s and wireless telephones may be equipped with other forms of operating systems such as real - time operating systems (“ rtos ”) or palm computing &# 39 ; s palmos ™. a set of basic input and output functions (“ bios ”) and hardware device drivers ( 21 ) are often provided to allow the operating system ( 20 ) and programs to interface to and control the specific hardware functions provided with the computing platform . additionally , one or more embedded firmware programs ( 22 ) are commonly provided with many computing platforms , which are executed by onboard or “ embedded ” microprocessors as part of the peripheral device , such as a micro controller or a hard drive , a communication processor , network interface card , or sound or graphics card . as such , fig1 and 2 describe in a general sense the various hardware components , software and firmware programs of a wide variety of computing platforms , including but not limited to personal computers , pdas , pims , web - enabled telephones , and other appliances such as webtv ™ units . as such , we now turn our attention to disclosure of the present invention relative to the processes and methods preferably implemented as software and firmware on such a computing platform . it will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art that the following methods and processes may be alternatively realized as hardware functions , in part or in whole , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . we now turn our attention to description of the method of the invention and it &# 39 ; s associated components . it is preferrably realized as a standalone executable script , which accesses and modifies certain system files and resources as described in more detail in the following paragraphs , but may well be integrated into existing online collaboration client software such as instant messenger ™, navigator ™ or internet explorer ™ without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . according to the preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented to cooperate with lotus &# 39 ; sametime product and ibm &# 39 ; s bluepages corporate personnel contact database . ibm &# 39 ; s bluepages is an administered database containing personnel contact information , including name , division , location , mailing address , email address , supervisor , telephone number , and fax number . it can be accessed or queried over a corporate intranet through a number of utilities , including a microsoft windows - based graphical user interface program , or a dos - based command line . in alternative embodiments of the invention , any administered contact information database may be accessed by the invention , such as an online services members database ( e . g . yahoo !&# 39 ; s members directory or white pages , aol im &# 39 ; s directory service , etc . ), through any number of query methods including but not limited to sql . lotus &# 39 ; sametime ™ product supports immediate communication with people across the hall or around the world , through secure text message , audio and video , or full collaborative meetings . the sametime ™ product family includes the sametime ™ server , the sametime connect client ™, and a range of application developer tools . the sametime server was designed to be t - 120 compliant and inter works with microsoft &# 39 ; s netmeeting service . the sametime server also works seamlessly with popular web browsers as well as lotus notes ™, and has audio and video capabilities to enhance a user &# 39 ; s online experience . the sametime connect client program lets users find other team members who are concurrently online , and to create personalized lists of team members and colleagues in a contact list . this contact list is stored as a text file on the computing platform on which the sametime connect client is running , which makes interfacing to this contact list particularly straightforward . for alternate realizations of the invention with other collaboration client products , the contact list may be a proprietary format file or database , requiring use of appropriate querying and modification functions and interfaces . once a team member is aware of who is online , immediate communication is easy . a single mouse - click lets users send an message instantly to any other team member , start a chat session with several people , or establish an instant , online meeting . users can take advantage of sametime &# 39 ; s shared - objects capabilities to quickly move into an application - sharing or whiteboard session . session participants can share a screen frame , their desktops or applications with others . sametime &# 39 ; s shared - objects capabilities can also be used to show presentations and drawings on the whiteboard . with application sharing , users can share any application , from desktop word processing or spreadsheets , to project management software , without requiring other users to have that application installed . like many of the other online collaboration products , sametime allows a session participant to automatically store another session participant &# 39 ; s email address into his or her own contact list . very often , the bluepages are used by a participant to find phone information , location or division details for other corporate employees subsequent to a online meeting or collaboration session as this information is not captured into the user &# 39 ; s sametime contact list . for example , two days after an online meeting is conducted , a first participant may wish to telephone a second participant instead of sending the second participant an email . so , the first participant would access bluepages , search on the second participant &# 39 ; s email address , and usually find the telephone number of the second participant . a similar process may be followed by a user of netmeeting ™ or instant messenger ™ by accessing alternate administered personal contact information databases , such as online white pages ( administered by telephone operating companies ) or members directories ( administered by the club or service management ). however , this process sometimes has the problem in that the administered contact database ( e . g . bluepages , white pages , members directory , etc .) server may be down , or query responses may be very slow which , in mission critical situations , may mean the difference between catching a person before they leave an office in a different part of the world , or having to wait until the next day to hold the telephone conversation . to solve this problem , the invention retrieves phone information and potentially other available contact information from an administered contact database , such as bluepages , for each user listed in a contact list , such as the sametime contact list , and adds that retrieved information to the contact list used by real time collaboration client . according to a preferred embodiment , the invention uses email addresses as search keys , but those skilled in the art will readily recognize that other available data items ( e . g . name , employee or member number , etc .) may be used for searching keys as well . preferably , the invention also removes invalid entries from the contact list , as well . turning to fig4 , the arrangement of components ( 40 ) according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown . a real time conference chat or messaging client ( 32 ) is typically provided with a contact list or database ( 33 ) on the user &# 39 ; s local computing platform persistent storage such as on a hard drive . the contact builder script or executable program ( 41 ) is provided to interface ( 42 ) to the contact database or list ( 33 ), according to the preferred embodiment in association with the sametime connect client . the contact builder ( 41 ) interfaces to the sametime contact list ( 33 ) through opening the text file of the list and scanning in lines looking for incomplete records for team members stored in the list . table 1 shows a typical record construction of the text - based contact list file used by sametime . in this format , semi - colons “;” are used to separate data items within a contact record , and end - of - line characters & lt ; eol & gt ; are used to separate contact records . other implementations of the invention with other real - time collaboration clients products may require the interface ( 42 ) to the contact list ( 43 ) to be more sophisticated , such as a sql database interface . the contact builder ( 41 ) also interfaces one or more managed personal information stores ( 43 ). this may include such things as an netscape address book ( 44 ), a company directory ( 45 ) such as ibm bluepages , or a member &# 39 ; s database ( 46 ). interfaces to these managed personal information stores typically use well - known methods such as hyper text markup language (“ html ”) or sql . according to the preferred embodiment , implementation and cooperation with ibm bluepages products requires only the use of a dos command line function . turning to fig5 , the process ( 50 ) of the invention is shown in more detail . the process is started ( 51 ) either by manual invocation or by automatic triggering , such as on a timed basis or due to a detected change to the user &# 39 ; s contact list . first , the contact list or database is accessed ( 52 ), such as by opening a text file or obtaining a reference to a database query function . the first record or entry in the contact list is retrieved , and a first search key item is retrieved from that record ( 53 ). according to the preferred embodiment , the email address of that particular record is extracted . an email address is normally the most unique data key available to use as a search key . in an enhanced embodiment , multiple keys can be extracted ( e . g . email address , location , etc .) to produce more exact search results . then , unless all other possible elements are present in the record , such as a telephone number for that contact and location or other desired data items , the managed personal information store may be queried ( 54 ) for matching related records and data items using the search key item previously retrieved from the record ( 53 ). if any matching entries in the managed personnel information store are found ( 55 ), then the entry in the contact list or database is modified ( 56 ) or otherwise updated ( 56 ) to include the additional data items found in the managed personal information store record . if no matching entries in the managed personal information storer are found ( 55 ), then processing may simply proceed to the next entry or record in the contact list . according to the preferred embodiment , the user may optionally enable the invention to automatically delete entries in his or her contact list if no matching or confirming records are found in the managed personal information store . next , if more records exist in the contact list or the database ( 57 ), then the next search key item from the next contact list record or entry ( 58 ) is retrieved . this next key item is then processed by querying the managed personal information store for matching related data items ( 54 ), and updating ( 56 ) any matched entries in the contact list or database . this process is continued until all entries in the contact list or database have been updated and expanded to include all available information ( or all desirable information ) from the managed personal information store . as the invention may be run periodically on a timed basis , upon detection of changes to the contact list , or by manual invocation , a user may control how often his or her contact list is updated and expanded to include other data from their most trusted administered contact database . while certain examples and details of a preferred embodiment have been disclosed , it will be recognized by those skilled in the are that variations in implementation such as use of different programming methodologies , computing platforms , and processing technologies , may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . therefore , the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , and particularly , fig1 shown generally at9 is an intravaginal device ( ivd ) of this invention . the device is shown asbeing initially mounted in a telescopic - type of applicator tubing of the type that is generally used with tampons and which facilitates axial insertion of the device into the vagina . the applicator tubing consists ofouter tube 10 and an inner tube 11 . the ivd is mounted within the upper part of the outer tube 10 . the ivd 9 incorporates an outer shield 15 of a flexible , membrane - like material that may be the general shape of a fingerstall of approximately one and one - quarter inch diameter by three inches length from its apex a to its skirt s . although the shield is shown in fig1 as draping about the exterior of the upper end of outer tube 10 , it will be understood thatthe ivd may be arranged such that the shield is situated within the upper end of the tube 10 . the contact surface of the shield may be scarified or pocketed to facilitate contact between medicaments thereon , such as topically active ingredients , and the vaginal mucosa or walls . at its upper or proximal end ( i . e ., the end at the first inserted end of the device as it is inserted into the vagina ), the shield 15 is connected to atube 16 running axially therethrough . the other end of the tube 16 may be in turn connected to a capsule 18 for containing medicaments to be introduced into the vagina , such as lubricants or estrogen - containing materials used in the treatment of post - menopausal syndrome . the upper or proximal end of the tube 16 ( i . e ., the end connected to the shield 15 ) maybe closed by a removable plug 19 to prevent the escape of the contents of the capsule 18 prior to use of the device . the plug may be of stopper - shape as shown in fig1 or may be another type of seal , such as tape . within the shield 15 and within the upper or proximal end of the outer tube10 is located a pressure element 20 that is of a cylindrical finger - shape of shape - restorative , compressible , non - reactive , human body - cavity - compatible , lightweight polyurethane foam or sponge , or any ofa number of similar materials . it is about two to about four inches in length and about one - half to about two and one - half inches in diameter when measured in a relaxed state . the center of this pressure element 20 may be provided with a passage to accommodate a cord for easy withdrawal of the device from the body , as with standard tampons . the pressure element might also receive a frangible capsule therein instead of employment of capsule 18 . the entire pressure element 20 is enveloped in the shield 15 with the skirtof the shield extending below the lower end of the pressure element . thus , even if the pressure element is a moisture absorbent material , the vaginalwalls need not fight against this absorbency to maintain themselves within the medicament bath . the shield provides a moisture barrier between the absorbent material and the vaginal walls . upon axial insertion into a vagina and release from the insertion tube 10 into which the ivd has been compressed , the pressure element attempts to regain its relaxed shape , thus filling the shield and expanding the vagina by exerting a gentle pressure upon the walls of the vagina so as to unfold and extend the vaginal walls for optimum contact with the shield and the intervening introduced substances . additionally the gentle pressure exerted by the pressure element upon the vaginal walls may stimulate adjacent and underlying muscle tissue reaction , which may improve the tonicity of the vagina and adjacent organs . as shown in the drawings , the pressure element 20 may have a conical recessextending upwardly from its bottom end . this recess receives a core such asa cone tampon 22 of lightweight cotton or other suitable , possibly absorbent material similar to that used for catamenial tampons . this is approximately two and one - fourth inches long and one - half inches in diameter at its bottom part . the core can be employed as an absorbent or as a stiffening means for adding rigidity to the device , or both . immediately below the core there is an absorbent material , such as a sponge or leaf tampon 24 that is adapted to expand as shown in fig1 whenthe confining effect of the tube 10 is removed . this insertion is done by moving the tube 10 inwardly into the vagina and then withdrawing a tube 10while maintaining the tube 11 against the device . this leaf tampon engages the walls of the vagina to trap by absorption or barrier action flow of the liquids such as medicaments , vehicles therefor or vaginal exudates which otherwise might flow from the shield 15 and leak from the vagina . the cone tampon may further serve to absorb and prevent leakage of liquidswhether excess medicament , medicinal vehicles , lubricants , body fluids , or other liquids , from the vagina during the period of ivd use . the ivd of the present invention is shown in place in fig4 . it will be seen that it extends inwardly of the os o or open end of the vagina v and against the fornix f of the vagina v . the cervix c may extend at other angles to the vagina but as will be evident it can be accommodated in any of those by the present invention . the invention as shown in fig1 is ready to be inserted into the vagina ofa user . to this end , the injection capsule is filled with medicaments adapted to be applied to the walls of the vagina . the plug 19 can then be withdrawn and the device inserted axially into the vagina by the conventional techniques for insertion of tampons . the applicator tubing can then be removed in accordance with such conventional techniques . initially the pressure element 20 will expand owing to the relief of the confining pressure of the tube 10 . this will cause it to apply modest pressure to the walls of the vagina . this expansion of the pressure element tends to expand radially outwardly the walls of the vagina which may even be quite close together before insertion of the present invention . the removal of the tubes 10 and 11 then leaves the injection capsule 18 accessible . the injection capsule 18 can be squeezed to cause liquid or other jelly - like material or the like to pass through the tube 16 to the outside of the shield 15 . the injection capsule is normally sized to discharge the proper amount of liquid to coat the shield 15 to form a liquid layer between the shield and the walls of the vagina . the arrangement minimizes leakage of the medicaments or other liquids from the vagina . however , it is not required that there will be a total elimination of such leakage in all cases . the presence of the absorbent leaf tampon and , optionally , absorbent cone tampon means that such leakagewill normally be absorbed before it passes from the vagina . fig5 illustrates a second embodiment of the device , which employs different kind of expansion arrangement . in this case , the pressure element consists of an expansible member of generally cylindrical shape such as about one and a quarter inch in diameter by three inches in length . it is formed of very flexible but reasonably strong plastic material . the expansible member has a tube 36 extending through it and opening at the top end in the same manner as does the tube 16 of the earlier type . alternatively , the tube 36 may extend along the side of the expansible member . in any event , the expansible member is surrounded by a shield 37 that is in effect the same as the shield 15 of the previous type . however , as opposed to the open skirt of the shield 15 , the shield 37 connects to tube 36 at the lower end as well as at its upper end , thereby to form an axially extended , balloon - like structure , referred to hereinafter as an expandible member or bulb 39 . as with the first embodiment , there is an absorbant such as the leaf tampon 40 that is similar to the one for the leaf tampon 24 of the previous description . in addition there is a tube 41 connecting from a supply 42 of fluid such aswater or other liquid or gas that opens into the expandible member or bulb 39 . if the tube 36 extends axially through the center of the bulb 39 as shown in fig5 and 7 , the bulb 39 is in the form of an axially extended , balloon - like torus structure , with the tube 36 extending throughthe central axis thereof and the tube 41 extending to the interior thereof . on the other hand , if the tube 36 extends along the side of the bulb 39 , the bulb 39 is generally cylindrical in its expanded condition . alternatively , tube 36 may be eliminated and the medicament may be appliedin another manner . for example , the device may be compacted in its pre - expanded or deflated form and placed within a small receiving vessel shaped as a cup at the end of a rod . the medicament may then be placed as a glob on the compacted device . the device may be inserted into the vaginaby means of the rod , the rod withdrawn and the device inflated . the action of insertion and inflation would then tend to spread the medicament over the shield of the device and tube 36 may thereby be unnecessary . in another form , the medicament may be applied by a syringe . by any of these arrangements a charging member 42 ( as shown in fig7 which illustrates the second embodiment of the device in place in a vagina ) can be activated to discharge liquid or gas into the expansible member 39 to cause it to fill the vagina and to seal off the cervix . as inthe first embodiment , a capsule 43 may be provided for injection of medicament if a tube 36 ( or other such mechanism ) is employed for introduction of medicament . the shield 37 may be the outer surface of the bulb 39 . alternatively , a separate membrane - like material may be applied to the outer surface of the bulb 39 to form the shield 37 . in certain respects , this fluid activated embodiment may be preferable to the sponge - type embodiment . for example , this second embodiment might morereadily adapt to asymmetries or inconsistencies in the vagina or the walls thereof . thus , if the muscles associated with one portion of the walls arerelatively strong while the muscles associated with another portion are relatively weak , the stronger portion may apply a force against the deviceand fluid therein to distort the device to apply greater pressure against the weaker portion , thereby to exercize the weaker muscles in compensation . in the preferred construction , the filler material for the bulb 39 is gaseous . it is also preferably non - reactive gas that will not react with the body or with the medicaments . such a gas would be air or carbon dioxide , for example . the incompressibility of liquid produces two disadvantages . the first is that the incompressibility limits the ability of the device to yield once it is set in place . thus , it may be uncomfortable to the wearer . the other is that introduction of even a slight excess of a liquid risks rupture of the bulb 39 , whereas a gas is compressible and so may allow great room for error in this respect . also , a gas filled bulb might more sensitively adapt itself to the variations inshape and size of the vagina as indicated in the drawing . in either of these two forms of the device , it will be understood that it may be inserted by being mounted into the telescopic tubes 10 , 11 , which are then removed . the insertion of the second embodiment may require an initial admission of a certain amount of fluid into the bulb 39 so that itmay be inserted into the vagina . alternatively or additionally , tube 36 maybe of rigid material to aid insertion . withdrawal of each device may be by standard techniques as employed in conjunction with standard tampons , suchas by pulling a cord or the tube 36 attached thereto . i the fluid activatedembodiment , it may be preferable to remove the fluid from within the devicebefore withdrawal of the device from the vagina . as the injection capsule in both cases is activated , the vagina is essentially cut off from leakage and the medicaments from the injection capsules are then effective to act on the vagina . in view of the above , it will be seen that the several advantages of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained . as various changes could be made in the above methods and devices without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 0 |
referring now to the drawings and more particularly to fig1 the device in accordance with the present invention is generally designated by numeral 10 . the electrotherapeutic device 10 comprises a portable , lightweight housing 12 which has a closed bottom and vertically extending walls attached to the bottom to form an interior chamber 18 . the chamber 18 is divided into two compartments by a separation plate 20 , dividing the interior chamber into a circuit board chamber 22 and a battery , or power source chamber 24 . the box 12 is shown to have a general parallelepiped configuration ; however , the shape of the box can be changed if necessary . the box 12 is provided with a cover 26 , sized and shaped so as to cover the open top of the box 12 , along the perimeter of its walls . the cover 26 can be bolted to the box 12 or otherwise secured thereto , so as to be detachably affixed to the box 12 . in the embodiment shown in fig1 the cover 26 is secured to the box 12 by four screws 17 passing through apertures 19 made in the cover 26 which are aligned with respective apertures 21 formed in supports 15 secured at four corners in the box 12 . one of the vertically extending walls of the box 12 , wall 28 , is provided with an opening 29 therethrough , the purpose of which will become more apparent hereinafter . mounted within the chamber 22 is a circuit board 30 carrying the electronic circuit of a relaxation oscillator 40 in accordance with the present invention . mounted within chamber 24 is a power source , such as 9 - volt battery 32 supplying electrical power to the electronic circuit of the relaxation oscillator 40 . the battery 32 and the relaxation oscillator are disengagingly connected by wires 25 extending from chamber 24 to chamber 22 . reference will now be made to fig2 - 4 illustrating some of the preferred embodiments of the electronic circuit of the relaxation oscillator in accordance with the present invention . the relaxation oscillator illustrated in fig2 is designed to produce a sawtooth waveform . a suitable electronic circuit for oscillator 40 comprises a transistor comprising emitter / base structure 42 connected to diode 44 and resistor 46 . connected to the diode 44 is a first resistor 48 and a second resistor 50 . connected in series to resistor 50 is a variable resistor 52 , which in turn is connected in series to a capacitor 54 . an antenna 60 is provided to facilitate delivery of the signal generated by the relation oscillator 40 outside of the housing 12 . the light - emitting diode 44 is aligned with an aperture 29 in the wall 28 of the box 12 , so that visual observation can be conducted of the operative mode of the relaxation oscillator and non - operation thereof can be visually detected which may be due to inability of the power supply to provide sufficient power to facilitate function of the electronic circuit . the transistor 42 may be a unijunction transistor . the resistor 48 may be a 1 kohm . variable resistor 50 may be a 10 kohms , set on 4 . 1 kohms . the capacitor 52 may have a capacitance of 10 microfarads , while resistor 46 may have a resistance in the order of 43 kohms . the relaxation oscillator used in the present invention is designed to take advantage of the frequency which is determined by a capacitor - resistor combination . this oscillator has distorted wave shapes , allowing various outputs such as square waves , trapezoidal waves , traingular waves and pulses of a very short duration . the use of the unijunction transistor in the relaxation oscillator was influenced by the existence of a negative resistance region in its emitter characteric . fig2 illustrates a relaxation oscillator which produces &# 34 ; sawtooth &# 34 ; waveform . fig3 illustrates a relaxation oscillator which produces positive pulse waveform and fig4 illustrates a relaxation oscillator which produces negative pulse or negative square waveform . operation of the relaxation oscillator 40 will now be addressed in more detail . the transistor 42 has a peak voltage vp and a valley voltage vv . peak point voltage vp controls firing of transistor 42 while valley voltage vv controls the voltage point at which transistor 42 turns off . the system time constant , that is the time required to transmit signals from input to output , can be determined by the value of the resistance and capacitance , in this case by resistance of resistors 48 , 50 , 52 and capacitor 54 . the resultant time constant value rc ( in seconds ) determines frequency of the relaxation oscillator 40 . the timing circuit of the oscillator 40 can be modified , so that the on - off switching of the transistor 42 produces a rectangular wave at base 2 of the transistor 42 . capacitor 54 charges through variable resistor 52 , resistors 50 and 48 until it acquires a charge equal to the firing peak voltage vp . at this point , the transistor 42 fires and the consequently , a negative voltage spike is produced at emitter base 2 when the transistor 42 fires . the electronic circuit 40 of the present invention generates a low frequency current of about 7 - 10 cycles per second . a pulsating electro - magnetic field with the cycle frequency of 7 - 10 per second creates a certain magnetic signal which is believed to provide a therapeutic effect on a human body by stimulating and balancing the flow of bioenergy along acupuncture meridians . alternatively , a resistor 46 may be substituted by a variable resistor connected to base one of the unijunction transistor 42 . depending on the type and the kind of the transistor used , the resistance of the resistor 46 will change from one to two hundred ohms , in accordance with a particular elements utilized in the relaxation oscillator circuit . the relaxation oscillator of the present invention can operate at frequency from the range of 7 - 30 hertz . it was found that such frequency range of below 30 hertz demonstrates a more beneficial effect on a human body than frequency range of above 30 hertz . it can be invisioned , however , that under certain circumstances , this frequency range may be increased depending on the particular type of reaction expected by creation of a high frequency gravitional field in close proximity to a human body . many modifications and changes in the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art . i , therefore , pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
the features and other details of the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims . it will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention . the principal features of this invention can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention . all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise specified . the present methods of using mutational load distribution analysis (“ mlda ”) for cancer diagnosis and recurrence monitoring offer several advantages over what had previously been known in the art . mlda of dna found in bodily fluids yields biometrics that enables early cancer diagnosis . mlda provides increased sensitivity and specificity of cancer detection ; these values each approach 100 % using the methods of the present invention . also , the present invention allows for the discrimination not only between cancer and non - cancer , but among stages of cancer and allows the discrimination of the risk of an individual to have or develop cancer of a given stage . further , although the art discloses the use of various tissues or fluid samples to perform mlda , disclosed herein is the high degree of specificity regardless of the sample type used . in a preferred embodiment , stool mlda is a useful non - invasive marker of a distal and proximal colonic neoplasms . for convenience , certain terms used in the specification , examples , and appended claims are collected here . unless otherwise defined , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains . however , to the extent that these definitions vary from meanings circulating within the art , the definitions below are to control . as defined herein , the term “ allele ” refers to any one of a series of two or more different genes that occupy the same position ( locus ) on a chromosome . the term “ hpa ” refers to highest prevalence allele and means allele present in the greatest amount in any given sample . the term “ mutated allele ” refers to an allele that possesses one or more nucleotide changes ( e . g ., a point mutation ) or a deletion or insertion of one or more nucleotides in its nucleic acid sequence . a mutated allele also includes alleles containing modified dna , e . g ., dna methylation , thymidine dimerization . the phrase “ frequency of a mutated allele ” refers to the relative numbers of a given allele that is mutated relative to the numbers of the given allele that are nonmutated ( wild type ). the phrase “ reference frequency ” refers to the frequency of a given allele of a gene in a reference population of subjects . the subjects of this reference population may or may not have cancer . the phrase “ proportion of mutated alleles ” refers to the number of alleles that are mutated alleles , relative to the number of nonmutated ( wild type ) alleles . as used herein , a “ test sample ” includes any organic material obtained from a subject , from which one or more alleles can be determined . the phrase “ degree of diversity ” refers to the type of mutational change displayed in a mutated allele . for example , a mutated allele may display three types of point mutations at a specific locus , relative to the wild type ( wild type = t ; point mutations are c , g , or a ). a high degree of diversity would result from all three point mutations occurring at equal frequency ( essentially randomly ). a low degree of diversity would result if a specific point mutation becomes favored relative to the wild type . the term “ correlating ” refers to describing the relationship between the proportion of mutated alleles and the degree of diversity of mutated alleles for a selected allele . such correlation may be displayed graphically , or may be displayed in tabular format . the phrase “ sufficient time ” refers to any time period required to assess the risk of cancer development with reasonable accuracy ( generally on the scale of weeks to years ). “ subject ” includes living organisms such as humans , monkeys , cows , sheep , horses , pigs , cattle , goats , dogs , cats , mice , rats , cultured cells therefrom , and transgenic species thereof . in a preferred embodiment , the subject is a human . a subject is synonymous with a “ patient .” administration of the compositions of the present invention to a subject to be treated can be carried out using known procedures , at dosages and for periods of time effective to treat the condition in the subject . an effective amount of the therapeutic compound necessary to achieve a therapeutic effect may vary according to factors such as the age , sex , and weight of the subject , and the ability of the therapeutic compound to treat the foreign agents in the subject . dosage regimens can be adjusted to provide the optimum therapeutic response . for example , several divided doses may be administered daily or the dose may be proportionally reduced as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic situation . “ substantially pure ” includes compounds , e . g ., drugs , proteins or polypeptides that have been separated from components which naturally accompany it . typically , a compound is substantially pure when at least 10 %, more preferably at least 20 %, more preferably at least 50 %, more preferably at least 60 %, more preferably at least 75 %, more preferably at least 90 %, and most preferably at least 99 % of the total material ( by volume , by wet or dry weight , or by mole percent or mole fraction ) in a sample is the compound of interest . purity can be measured by any appropriate method , e . g ., in the case of polypeptides by column chromatography , gel electrophoresis or hplc analysis . a compound , e . g ., a protein , is also substantially purified when it is essentially free of naturally associated components or when it is separated from the native contaminants which accompany it in its natural state . included within the meaning of the term “ substantially pure ” are compounds , such as proteins or polypeptides , which are homogeneously pure , for example , where at least 95 % of the total protein ( by volume , by wet or dry weight , or by mole percent or mole fraction ) in a sample is the protein or polypeptide of interest . “ administering ” includes routes of administration which allow the compositions of the invention to perform their intended function , e . g ., treating or preventing cardiac injury caused by hypoxia or ischemia . a variety of routes of administration are possible including , but not necessarily limited to parenteral ( e . g ., intravenous , intraarterial , intramuscular , subcutaneous injection ), oral ( e . g ., dietary ), topical , nasal , rectal , or via slow releasing microcarriers depending on the disease or condition to be treated . oral , parenteral and intravenous administration are preferred modes of administration . formulation of the compound to be administered will vary according to the route of administration selected ( e . g ., solution , emulsion , gels , aerosols , capsule ). an appropriate composition comprising the compound to be administered can be prepared in a physiologically acceptable vehicle or carrier and optional adjuvants and preservatives . for solutions or emulsions , suitable carriers include , for example , aqueous or alcoholic / aqueous solutions , emulsions or suspensions , including saline and buffered media , sterile water , creams , ointments , lotions , oils , pastes and solid carriers . parenteral vehicles can include sodium chloride solution , ringer &# 39 ; s dextrose , dextrose and sodium chloride , lactated ringer &# 39 ; s or fixed oils . intravenous vehicles can include various additives , preservatives , or fluid , nutrient or electrolyte replenishers ( see generally , remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical science , 16th edition , mack , ed . ( 1980 )). “ effective amount ” includes those amounts of the compound of the invention which allow it to perform its intended function , e . g ., treating or preventing , partially or totally , cancer or another disease or disorder characterized by aberrant cell proliferation , as described herein . the effective amount will depend upon a number of factors , including biological activity , age , body weight , sex , general health , severity of the condition to be treated , as well as appropriate pharmacokinetic properties . for example , dosages of the active substance may be from about 0 . 01 mg / kg / day to about 500 mg / kg / day , advantageously from about 0 . 1 mg / kg / day to about 100 mg / kg / day . a therapeutically effective amount of the active substance can be administered by an appropriate route in a single dose or multiple doses . further , the dosages of the active substance can be proportionally increased or decreased as indicated by the exigencies of the therapeutic or prophylactic situation . “ pharmaceutically acceptable carrier ” includes any and all solvents , dispersion media , coatings , antibacterial and antifungal agents , isotonic and absorption delaying agents , and the like which are compatible with the activity of the compound and are physiologically acceptable to the subject . an example of a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is buffered normal saline ( 0 . 15m nacl ). the use of such media and agents for pharmaceutically active substances is well known in the art . except insofar as any conventional media or agent is incompatible with the therapeutic compound , use thereof in the compositions suitable for pharmaceutical administration is contemplated . supplementary active compounds can also be incorporated into the compositions . “ pharmaceutically acceptable esters ” includes relatively non - toxic , esterified products of therapeutic compounds of the invention . these esters can be prepared in situ during the final isolation and purification of the therapeutic compounds or by separately reacting the purified therapeutic compound in its free acid form or hydroxyl with a suitable esterifying agent ; either of which are methods known to those skilled in the art . acids can be converted into esters according to methods well known to one of ordinary skill in the art , e . g ., via treatment with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst . “ additional ingredients ” include , but are not limited to , one or more of the following : excipients ; surface active agents ; dispersing agents ; inert diluents ; granulating and disintegrating agents ; binding agents ; lubricating agents ; sweetening agents ; flavoring agents ; coloring agents ; preservatives ; physiologically degradable compositions such as gelatin ; aqueous vehicles and solvents ; oily vehicles and solvents ; suspending agents ; dispersing or wetting agents ; emulsifying agents , demulcents ; buffers ; salts ; thickening agents ; fillers ; emulsifying agents ; antioxidants ; antibiotics ; antifungal agents ; stabilizing agents ; and pharmaceutically acceptable polymeric or hydrophobic materials . other “ additional ingredients ” which may be included in the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention are known in the art and described , e . g ., in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences . somatic mutations result from seemingly random environmental mutagenesis and are often followed by expansion of the allele within a clonal population of cells . the vast majority of such clones die before they accumulate additional mutations or before they expand further under the pressure of a selection mechanism . it is this fluctuation that is observed by the methods of the present invention as random drift in the frequency of mutated alleles . thus , for a randomly mutated normal population , the mutational load distribution is broad . conversely , with the emergence of a single clonal population of cells carrying a given allele ( an oncodeme ) that expands many fold against the same background population , a loss of mutational load diversity is observed . therefore , by measuring altered ( e . g ., mutated or polymorphic ) alleles in a tissue or organ , and determining any expansion of these alleles within a cell population over time , one is able to predict the location of where a tumor is likely to emerge . the determination of either the proportion or diversity of mutated cancer gene alleles , or both , in samples that represent a large population of cells from an organ or tissue using the methods disclosed herein , one is able to evaluate the acquired cancer risk for the subject as well as identify the stage and metastatic potential of the cancer of which the subject is at risk . as used herein , a mutation includes any change in a nucleic acid ( e . g ., dna or rna ) that can be reproduced . generally , a mutation in a subject &# 39 ; s genomic dna will involve the change in sequence of one or more nucleotides . mutations include point mutations ( such as substitutions , transitions , and transversions ), insertions , and deletions . mutations involving multiple nucleotides include inversions and rearrangements . for use of mlda in cancer diagnosis , any gene implicated in cancer by mutation can be assessed . examples include point mutations leading to the gene either being inactivated or activated . specific examples of genes to be assessed for colorectal cancer include apc , k - ras and , p53 . in addition to mlda analysis using point mutations , mlda can also be used to assess dna which has been modified post - synthetically . for example , dna methylation is a common form of dna post - synthetic modification in which a cytosine - guanine base pair is modified by the addition of a methyl group . dna methylation is associated with regulation of expression of the methylated gene . therefore dna hypo - or hyper - methylation changes can be used with the method of the present invention to provide information for diagnosing cancer , staging cancer , or monitoring the recurrence of cancer . the present invention is based , in part , on the ability to differentiate cancer cells from normal ( i . e ., non - cancerous ) cells by analyzing certain dna mutations or polymorphisms . in particular , it has been found that the proportion of mutated alleles in cancer cells from the subject , or the total mutational load of the cancer cells , are useful in predicting or determining the stage of the subject &# 39 ; s cancer , or monitoring the recurrence of cancer . thus , one aspect of the invention provides a method of evaluating the risk of cancer development in a subject that includes the following steps : ( 1 ) providing from the subject a test sample of material for which the risk of cancer development is to be evaluated ; ( 2 ) quantitating the proportion of one or more mutated alleles in the test sample , relative to one or more nonmutated alleles ; and ( 3 ) comparing the proportion of the one or more mutated alleles in the test sample with a reference proportion . as described herein , the inventor has discovered that when a higher proportion of one or more mutated alleles is observed in the test sample than in the reference proportion , the subject from whom the sample was provided either has cancer or has an elevated risk of cancer . the afore - mentioned steps are described in greater detail below . the total mutational load ( tml ) of a limited number of selected mutational hotspots , for example , in k - ras and p53 genes and the highest prevalence allele ( hpa ) provide information that is highly predictive of the state of the colonic epithelium including the identification of benign and malignant neoplastic lesions , irrespective of their location . in addition to mutations in k - ras and p53 genes , mutations in any cancer related genes can be used . as opposed to conventional biomarkers that are based on a single or multiple tumor - specific targets , mlda exploits the sensitive and quantitative assessment of mutation to use the intrinsic variability within non - tumor and tumor tissues as a source of information . multiple quantitative assessments are key in enabling the discrimination of different pathological states of progression ( adenoma - cis / invasive carcinoma ). this analysis of variability in mutant allele prevalence offers a balanced sampling of the entire length of the colon and allows the correct classification of all normal mucosae due to the low variance in tml and hpa metrics present in cells originating from endoscopically normal mucosa . by distributing the mutational load in 22 alleles belonging to two genetic loci , mlda diminishes the false positive results associated with the detection of mutations in ki - ras or p53 in the absence of pathological lesions ( imperiale tf , et al . n engl j med 2004 ; 351 : 2704 - 14 ). fecal mlda has allowed the identification of all tumors , irrespective of their location in distal or proximal colon . interestingly , two distinct mlda profiles underlie a high tml value . when highly predominant allele / s are present mlda probably reflects the result of strong selection acting on a low level of genetic instability . alternatively , when a high tml metric results from uniformly high values equally distributed throughout the alleles examined it is likely to reflect a high level of genetic instability or the possibility that the probe for the dominant allele was not included in the panel . in the latter setting mlda overcomes the intrinsic limitation of conventional markers that miss the tumors failing to harbor specific mutations suggesting that quantitative assessment of multiple alleles is a key factor . even the use of a multiplicity of markers , scored as present or absent ( imperiale tf , et al . ), would fail to encapsulate the information derived from quantitative variational metrics in mlda . for this purpose the use of robust , quantitative and sensitive analytical techniques that allow the definition of consistent quantitative thresholds is critical . the majority of mlda data reported here derive from colonic lavages , a source of readily amplifiable dna . results obtained in a limited set of samples extracted from solid stool suggest that mlda could be more widely applicable provided that consistent and efficient dna extraction techniques are used ( whitney d , et al . j mol diagn 2004 ; 6 : 386 - 395 ., tarafa g , et al . mutational load distribution yields metrics reflecting genetic instability and selection during pancreatic carcinogenesis . submitted .). finally , the comparison between tissue and fluid mlda corroborates the notion that fecal dna tests obtained with no diet modification can provide relevant information derived from the entire length of the colon ( osborn nk and ahlquist da . gastroenterology 2005 ; 128 : 192 - 206 ). in average - risk population , fecal dna testing detected a greater proportion of relevant benign or malignant tumors than fobt ( imperiale tf , et al .). fecal dna is becoming a practical alternative to fobt . in our preliminary experience 4 of 4 normals and 2 of 3 carcinomas analyzed were fobt positive . altogether , our approach opens new vistas to the use fecal dna as the analyte in the non - invasive diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma due an initially encouraging accuracy in discriminating between normal mucosa and any type of advanced neoplasia . accordingly , fecal mlda can be a useful strategy to overcome the intrinsic limitations of single or multipanel strategies and thus contribute to the early detection of colorectal cancer , pancreatic cancer or any type of cancer . none of the fecal tests reported to date ( ahlquist da , et al . gastroenterology 2000 ; 119 : 1219 - 27 , imperiale tf , et al ., sidransky d , et al . science 1992 ; 256 : 102 - 105 , puig p , et al . int j cancer 2000 ; 85 : 73 - 77 , eguchi s , et al . cancer 1996 ; 77 : 1707 - 1710 , traverso g , et al . n engl j med 2002 ; 346 : 311 - 20 , traverso g , et al . dna . lancet 2002 ; 359 : 403 - 4 ) has yielded such initially encouraging results regarding sensitivity and specificity and correlation with corresponding biopsies . the present invention provides test samples from a subject . the subject can be a human , a non - human mammal , or any animal . any test sample that contains cells from the subject or any cellular material that contains a nucleic acid from the subject is suitable for use in the present invention . thus , any body tissue or body fluid may be used as a sample source of dna for organs or anatomical regions where mutations are to be quantitated . in preferred embodiments , the test sample is a colonic lavage , a cathartic preparation , a stool sample , or a colonic brushing . in other preferred embodiments , the test sample is blood , a tumor biopsy , a tumor aspirate , a cultured tumor cell , or bone marrow . examples of other useful tissues or fluids include sputum , pancreatic fluid , bile , lymph , plasma , urine , cerebrospinal fluid , seminal fluid , saliva , breast nipple aspirate , pus , biopsy tissue , fetal cells , amniotic fluid , and the like . preferably , fluids derived from pancreas ( ercp aspirates ), breast ( nipple aspirates or nipple lavages ), or colon ( stool ) are selected because of the possibility of obtaining surrogate fluids that contain cells and cellular material representative of the cell population ( e . g ., epithelial cells ) from which cancer originates . fluids can be collected from patients at risk for cancer using protocols and methods well known in the art . for example , dna can be isolated with relative ease from the fluid and cells obtained by endoscopic retrograde cannulation of the pancreatic duct . for breast , collecting nipple fluid yields cells and biological material from a wide basin . active aspiration of the nipple yields approximately 50 microliters of fluid from which cells , protein and soluble dna are obtained ( sauter e . r ., cancer epidemiology , biomarkers & amp ; prevention 7 : 315 - 320 , 1998 ), and which results in nanogram - range quantities of dna . for colon , it is possible to perform cell brushings from small areas of mucosa during colonoscopy . using this procedure , dna samples from the interior of the colon may be obtained . dna from colon is extracted directly from colon cells present in a stool sample . tissue samples may be obtained by laser capture microdissection . generally , nucleic acids ( e . g ., dna ) are extracted from the test sample . although the method of the present invention is preferably implemented with dna as a source for mutations , alternative nucleic acids , such as rnas , may also be used in the method of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is not intended to be limited by the source of nucleic acids in the samples . dna thus extracted is quantitated and stored in aliquots containing diploid genome equivalents . cytological specimens from brushings or fluids are fixed in a fixative solution or on slides in a way that preserves the material for the identification of mutations . in embodiments of the invention , different fractionation procedures can be used to enrich the test samples for specific molecules such as nucleic acids . the molecules obtained are then be passed over one or several fractionation columns or other nucleic acid separation means . following sample preparation , each of the samples is then analyzed for mutations including point mutations and / or microdeletions using the methods described below . allele detection in accordance with the method of the present invention , following test sample isolation and preparation , the proportion of mutated alleles and the degree of diversity of mutated alleles in the sample are quantitated . in one embodiment , the step of quantitating the proportion of mutated alleles is done by first identifying the mutated alleles , relative to wild type ( normal ) alleles using techniques described below , and scoring ( e . g ., counting ) the number of alleles with mutations . similarly , in one embodiment , the step of quantitating the degree of diversity of mutated alleles in the sample may be performed by identifying the type of mutation relative to the wild type , and scoring that mutation . in general , the steps directed to quantitating the proportion of mutated alleles and the degree of diversity of mutated alleles in the sample may be performed by any method known in the art ; preferably , the method is a sensitive , quantitative , and efficient ( i . e ., high throughput ) procedure that can simultaneously assess mutations in many alleles in cell populations the size of an oncodeme . preferably , the selected method or methods will be capable of ( 1 ) detecting specific point mutations , microdeletions , or hyper - or hyper - methylations in a quantitative fashion ; ( 2 ) testing a large number of samples ; and ( 3 ) have a sensitivity at the level of detection of 1 % of altered alleles in a background of wild type alleles . examples of useful technologies for mutational analysis in accordance with the method of the invention include rolling circle amplification techniques , beacon array techniques , and comparative genomic hybridization . each of these methods are described in more detail below . any gene that , when mutated , is associated with the onset and / or progression of cancer ( termed “ cancer - associated ” genes ) can be analyzed using the methods of the present invention . these genes include oncogenes , proto - oncogenes , and tumor suppressor genes , and family members of such genes . in embodiments of the invention mlda is performed using multiple alleles of a given cancer - associated gene . the present inventor has identified a number of genes containing mutated alleles that are informative in determining the proportion of mutated alleles and the mutational load , including k - ras , p53 , apc , and bat26 . by way of non - limiting example , the invention discloses several mutated alleles in table 1 . however , other genes containing mutated alleles can be used in the methods of the invention by those skilled in the art . disclosed in table 1 by way of non - limiting example are 23 alleles of two cancer - associated genes . the present invention provides for methods that examine any number of alleles of any number of genes , e . g ., cancer - associated genes . for example , mlda is performed using 1 , 2 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 15 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 35 , 40 , 50 or more alleles . mlda can also be performed by analysis of dna methylation markers to predict the presence , recurrence , or stage of cancer in a subject . ( see example 4 for additional details .). in one embodiment , rolling circle amplification ( rca ) techniques may be used to quantitate the proportion and degree of diversity of mutated alleles as described in ladner et al ., laboratory investigation 81 : 1079 - 1086 ( august , 2001 ). briefly , rolling circle amplification driven by a strand - displacing dna polymerase can replicate circularized oligonucleotide probes with either linear or geometric kinetics under isothermal conditions ( lizardi , p . m . et al ., nature genetics , 19 : 225 - 232 , 1998 ). using a single primer , rca generates hundreds of tandemly linked copies of the circle in a few minutes . if matrix - associated , such as in arrays or cytological specimens , the dna product remains bound at the site of synthesis where it may be fluorescently tagged , condensed and imaged as a point light source . hybridization of a target sequence to immobilized and arrayed oligonucleotides can be visualized as single hybridization events and quantitated by direct molecular counting . when allele discriminating oligonucleotides are used to catalyze specific target - directed ligation events , wild type and mutant alleles can be discriminated as each allele generates a different fluorescent color signal when amplified by rca . thus , when used in an array format , rca is particularly amenable for the analysis of rare somatic mutations and the study of mutational load . in rca , oligonucleotide probes are hybridized to complementary dna targets and circularized by ligation . this ligation reaction may be exploited . for allele discrimination , or may be used to copy part of the target sequence into the circularized dna . using a single primer , complementary to the arbitrary portion of the circular dna , a strand - displacing dna polymerase ( from phage . phi . 29 ) may be used to generate dna molecules containing hundreds of tandemly linked copies of the covalently closed circle . in general , it takes less than 20 minutes to generate several hundred copies of the circular dna template . when rolling circle dna replication is carried out in the presence of two suitably chosen primers , one hybridizing to the (−) strand , the other to the (+) strand of the dna , a geometrically expanding cascade of sequential dna strand displacement reactions ensued , generating 10 9 or more of copies of each circle in 90 minutes . this geometrically expanding cascade is called hyperbranched rolling circle amplification ( hrca ). hrca can be used to detect , among other things , point mutations at a specific locus of the cftr gene in small amounts of human genomic dna ( lizardi , p . m . et al ., supra ). like pcr , the hyperbranched rca reaction is capable of generating hundreds of millions of copies of a single dna probe molecule . therefore , hrca is primarily useful for solution - based genetic analysis . for detection applications on the surface of microarrays , the linear , single primer reaction is a more attractive approach . in one embodiment , rca is useful for generation of individual “ unimolecular ” signals that may be localized at their site of synthesis on a solid surface . the dna generated by a rolling circle amplification ( rca ) reaction can be detected on a surface as an extended single strand , or as a condensed , tightly coiled “ ball ”. cross linking reagents and fluorescence labeling may be used to permit observation of small spherical fluorescent objects of tightly condensed dna arising from the amplification of a single circularized oligonucleotide ( lizardi , p . m . et al ., supra ). the individual signals are approximately 2 to 0 . 7 microns in diameter , and are easily imaged using an epifluorescence microscope with a tooled ccd camera . there are two alternative approaches for the use of localizable rca signals in gene detection . the first approach consists of using a circularizable probe ( called the open circle probe ) to interrogate the target sequence of interest ( lizardi , p . m . et al ., supra ). the second approach consists of using a pre - existing circular dna of arbitrary sequence , to extend a primer that is bound to a target on a surface of the primer is linked covalently to a detection probe , which defines target recognition specificity , while the circle is merely a reagent for a subsequent amplification reaction . generally , the probe - primer may contain any probe sequence . the circular dna oligonucleotides , as well as the primers , contain arbitrary sequences . because in this system the primer is a generic reporter that can be amplified by rca , it is also possible to implement assays where the detection “ probe ” is an antibody capable of binding a specific antigen . as mentioned above , rca can be used for the generation of individual “ unimolecular ” signals that may be localized at their site of synthesis on a solid surface . simple procedures known in the art using cross linking and fluorescence labeling permit observation of small spherical fluorescent objects that consist of a single molecule of amplified dna . in this embodiment , multiple analytes may be detected using either dna sample arrays , or oligonucleotide arrays . these types of applications require optimized surface chemistry , multicolor labeling protocols and dna condensation methods , which are described below . a strategy for detection of dna targets using derivatized glass surfaces has been described and is known in the art ( lizardi , p . m . et al ., supra ). briefly , the method exploits the capability for localizing rca signals originating from single dna primer molecules . genomic dna mixed in different ratios is amplified by pcr and hybridized on slides with immobilized probes , in the presence of an equimolar mixture of two allele - specific probes in solution . after a hybridization / ligation step , ligated probe - primers are detected by rca . the images show many hundreds of fluorescent dots with a diameter of 0 . 2 to 0 . 6 microns , which are generated by single condensed dna molecules . the ratio of fluorescein - labeled to cy3 - labeled dots corresponded remarkably closely to the known ratio of mutant to wild type strands , down to a value of 1 / 100 . the single molecule counting method is based on target - dependent ligation of reporter allele - specific probe - primers on a glass slide surface . in situ methods may also be used to detect mutations in alleles . in one embodiment , dna fibers may be used in conjunction with fluorescence in situ hybridization ( fish ) techniques to detect mutations in alleles . briefly , dna fibers are prepared from cultured fibroblasts or lymphoblasts from normal individuals and individuals with homozygous or heterozygous mutations at the g542x locus of the cystic fibrosis gene using conventional dna stretching techniques ( heiskanen m , et al ., genomics 30 : 31 - 36 ( 1995 )). 1000 - 5000 cells in pbs buffer were spotted onto the end of a clean microscope slide , and the cells lysed for 5 minutes by the addition of an equal volume of 0 . 2 % sds . the slide was placed in a coplin jar in a vertical position and the cell lysate allowed to dribble down the surface by gravity and then air dried . the sample was then fixed in methanol - acetic acid ( 3 : 1 ) for 10 minutes , washed , air dried and then treated with 0 . 1 mg / ml proteinase for 30 minutes , rewashed and air dried . molecular beacons are structured dna probes that generate fluorescence only when hybridized to a perfectly complementary dna target . the utility of these probes for the detection of specific sequences in pcr amplicons has been widely documented ( tyagi , s . et al ., nature biotechnology 14 : 303 - 308 ( 1996 ); tyagi , s ., et al ., nature biotechnology 16 : 49 - 53 ( 1998 )). molecular beacons may be immobilized on solid surfaces , where they function with the same excellent sequence specificity ( ortiz , e ., et al ., molecular and cellular probes , 12 : 219 - 226 ( 1998 )). notably , immobilized beacons offer much larger potential for multiplexing relative to beacons used in solution . an important feature of molecular beacons is their improved capacity for allele discrimination , as compared to linear probes . the beacon stem provides an alternative stable structure that competes successfully with a mismatched hybrid , and thus the beacons remain in the quenched ( closed ) conformation even in the presence of target dna capable of forming a mismatched hybrid . allele discrimination ratios of 70 : 1 have been documented for many loci ( marras s . a . et al ., genet . anal . 14 : 151 - 6 ( 1999 ); bonnet , g . et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa ( 1999 )). molecular beacon arrays also offer advantages in terms of cost , reusability , and simplicity . immobilized molecular beacons are generally derived from oligonucleotides synthesized with a 3 ′- terminal dabcyl moiety , a reactive aminolinker side chain , a stem of 5 bases , a probe domain of 18 to 20 bases and a stem - complement of 5 bases , terminating with a fluorescent residue at the 5 ′- end . some of the original molecular beacons utilized fluorescein as the fluorophore . however , dyes which are less susceptible to photobleaching are generally preferred . most notable among these are the alexa dyes ( molecular probes , inc .) which combine high fluorescence yield with high resistance to photobleaching . the oligonucleotide synthesis generally takes place in an automated synthesizer using standard phosphoramidite chemistry using standard reagents . oligonucleotides are aliquoted on standard microtiter dishes at a concentration of about 200 □ m . they are then dispensed as small droplets on the surface of activated glass slides ( 20 nanoliters per droplet ) using the microarraying robot . standard glass microscope slides are pre - activated with monomethoxysilane , generating a derivatized monolayer harboring the functional group 1 , 4 - phenyler adiisothiocyanate . the primary amine in the second position of the molecular beacon oligonucleotide reacts with the derivatized glass surface , generating arrays with a high coupling efficiency ( 1 × 10 11 beacon molecules per square mm ). comparative genomic hybridization ( cgh ) has become a powerful tool for assessing chromosomal abnormalities ( genetic losses and gains ) in a broad spectrum of tumors . cgh has been used to determine genetic alterations in a variety of tumor types and at various stages of progression . however , the major limitation of cgh is the level of resolution obtained using metaphase chromosomes as the endpoint readout . recently , it has been demonstrated ( pinkel , d ., et al . nature genetics . 20 : 207 - 11 ( 1988 )) that cohybridization of reference and sample dnas to an array of cloned ( and mapped ) genomic dna can provide higher resolution analysis of copy number variation in tumor specimens . in using such clone arrays and the inclusion of sufficient control parameters for hybridization efficiency and specificity , differences in fluorescent ratios of clones represented in the tumor dna at one , two or three copies per cell could be detected . the performance criteria for array cgh ( a - cgh ) are more stringent than those of related array - based methods for measuring levels of gene expression . single copy gene changes relative to the normal diploid state must be detected as reliably as large copy number changes . since the entire genome is used as a hybridization probe , it is between 10 to 20 fold more complex than those used to profile expressed sequences and it contains significant amounts of highly repetitive sequence elements . pinkel , et al . ( supra ) added various amounts of 1 dna to reference human genomic dna to define the sensitivity and quantitative capability of their a - cgh protocol . using cosmid , p1 , bac and other large insert clones as array targets , pinkel , et al . demonstrated that the measured fluorescence ratios were quantitatively proportional to copy number over a dynamic range of 200 - 500 fold , beginning at less than 1 copy per cell equivalent . the hybridization of two different samples of genomic dna ( one tumor and one normal ), each labeled with a different fluorophore , to an array of cdna clones in order to establish their relative dna copy number has recently been reported ( pollack , j . et al ., symposium on dna technologies in human disease detection , san diego , november 1998 ). these investigators were able to demonstrate an analytical sensitivity sufficient to detect a two - fold change in dna copy number , equivalent to the detection of low level dna amplification or allele loss . significantly , this approach provides the opportunity to monitor gene expression and dna copy number changes in the same sample . the method of the present invention implements a similar strategy using either cdna clones or , preferably , synthetic oligonucleotides , to form an array of genes or ests from the chromosomal regions described above . the number of mapped cdnas and est markers has increased dramatically over the past few years thus making it feasible to synthesize defined oligonucleotide probes spanning large segments of the genome . a unique feature of the method of the present invention is the use of rolling circle amplification ( rca ) technique in an immunodetection mode to markedly increase the sensitivity of hybrid detection . genomic dna from the tumor cells , e . g ., a small set of cells constituting a potential oncodeme , can be labeled by nick translation or random priming with biotinylated nucleotides . control reference cell dna can be labeled similarly using digoxigenin nucleotides . post - hybridization detection can be done using “ immuno - rca ”, a method recently shown to be capable of visualizing single antigen - antibody complexes in a manner analogous to the detection of single dna - oligonucleotide hybridization events . antibiotin antibody can be covalently coupled to an oligonucleotide that will form the primer for rca amplification of a preformed circle . antibodies to digoxigenin can be labeled with a different oligonucleotide sequence that will prime rca on a second circle sequence . the resultant rca products , reflecting amplification from the hybridization of tumor dna ( biotin ) or control ( digoxigenin ) dna , can be distinguished by using two rca detector probes labeled with different fluors . two color ratio imaging of rca products should define the relative copy number of genes within the sample . using immuno - rca to visualize and count individual oligonucleotide - genomic dna hybridization events should both enhance the sensitivity of detection of a - cgh and provide a higher resolution analysis than large clone arrays . as gene map densities increase , immuno - rca should permit copy number ratio imaging on a gene by gene basis . oligonucleotide probes are generally selected by sequence analysis of chromosomal regions known to display loss of heterozygosity ( loh ) or gene amplification in cancer lesions . candidate sequences will be compared to genbank entries using the blast program , in order to find sequence domains that represent unique , single copy sequences with no known homologues at other chromosomal loci . only unique sequences will be selected for inclusion in the arrays . the length of the sequences will be 60 bases to permit very stringent washing after array hybridization . following quantitation of the proportion of mutated alleles and the degree of diversity of mutated alleles , the data is correlated to determine the risk of cancer development . this is done by comparing the proportion of the one or more mutated alleles in said test sample with a reference proportion . generally , the reference proportion is a proportion derived from data generated by performing mlda on a population of one or more subjects that are known to not have cancer or an elevated risk of cancer . as indicated above , correlating means establishing a relationship between the proportion of mutated alleles and the degree of diversity of mutated alleles for a selected allele . in the method of the present invention , a preferred type of relationship is one in which , for a specific allele , there is an increase in the proportion of this particular allele , relative to the wild type , and a concomitant decrease in the diversity of mutations at that allele . in other words , a natural selection occurs such that a particular mutation becomes dominant and is preferred for a particular allele . simultaneously , there may be a decrease in the mutational load of one or more other alleles , such that the total mutational load remains the same as a randomly mutated population . the quantitating and correlating steps of the method of the present invention are repeated over a period of time and the particular locus is monitored for proportion of mutated alleles and degree of diversity . preferably , the steps of the method of the present invention are repeated 2 to 10 times , and at intervals ranging from 6 times per year ( every other month ) once every two years , and more preferably twice per year to once per year . as indicated above , it is difficult to determine whether a particular mutated allele will mature into a malignancy by simply identifying the mutation because the background of normal mutational occurances and complexity significantly masks those true premalignant clones that are likely to progress into cancer . by repeating the steps of the method of the present invention over time , a pattern of identifiable alleles will emerge that are likely to progress into cancer . the data collected on each evaluation can be stored and compared over time to evaluate the risk of cancer . it is worthwhile to note that even genes with no direct relevance to cancer are useful in this analysis , since to a first approximation somatic mutational events target all genes randomly . thus the method of the present invention can focus on genes of known tumor relevance , and additional applications of this method can achieve ever increasing levels of sensitivity and discrimination by analyzing larger gene panels . while it is recognized that the methods described herein are generally applicable to all cancers , the present inventor has determined that these methods are particularly beneficial in evaluating the risk of colorectal cancer development in a subject and determining the stage of colorectal cancer in the subject . as demonstrated in example 1 , the methods of the invention allow the discrimination of multiple types of colorectal cancer , including adenoma , carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma . a preferred test sample contains an exfoliated cell , such as an epithelial cell that has sloughed off from the colorectal cancer . further , non - invasive methods of obtaining test samples are disclosed . as described in example 1 , results of mlda performed using a stool sample is about as reliable as when the test sample is obtained from a colonic brushing , a more invasive method of sample procurement . the present inventor has also determined that these methods are particularly beneficial in evaluating the risk of pancreatic cancer development in a subject and determining the stage of pancreatic cancer . as demonstrated in example 2 , the methods of the invention allow the discrimination of multiple types of pancreatic cancer , including pre - cancerous pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma . moreover , the methods of the present invention allow for the identification of subjects at risk for pancreatic cancer due to familial susceptibility . a preferred test sample contains pancreatic juice obtained by canulation of the pancreatic duct . alternatively , the test sample is a bodily fluid obtained after stimulation of the subject with secretin . the present invention provides methods for the early detection of a cancer recurrence in a subject following treatment of the subject for the cancer . for example , a subject is treated by surgically removing all or essentially all of a solid tumor . at one or more times following this removal , a tissue sample is taken from the subject and analyzed with mlda . a subject without cancer recurrence has a frequency of one or more alleles of a gene below a given reference frequency . however , a subject whose cancer has recurred will have an increased frequency of one or more mutated genes relative to a reference frequency . the present invention provides for the identification of subjects ( e . g ., humans ) at risk for developing a given stage of a cancer . this allows for the generation of a population of subjects to test candidate anti - cancer drugs . by identifying those subjects likely to be affected by an anti - cancer drug , screening efficiency is increased over the methods currently known in the art . the invention provides populations of nucleic acid molecules that contain mutated alleles in genes associated with cancer . in embodiments of the invention , the population of nucleic acid molecules contains a first nucleic acid molecule and a second nucleic acid molecule , wherein the first and second nucleic acid molecules each contain a mutated allele obtained from a cancer - associated gene such as k - ras , p53 , apc , or bat26 . these populations are useful , e . g ., to obtain clinical information of the status of a tumor or cancer in a subject , such as the likelihood that the tumor or cancer will progress to a more malignant stage . in some embodiments , the populations are used when the subject is a human suffering from or is at risk of cancer . in embodiments , the nucleic acid molecules are covalently bound to a solid or semi - solid support medium , such as an array . in other embodiments , the population further comprises a means for detecting one or more mutated alleles the invention also provides kits containing a population of nucleic acid molecules containing a first nucleic acid molecule and a second nucleic acid molecule , means for obtaining from a subject a test sample , and instructions for use thereof . in embodiments of the invention , the first and second nucleic acid molecules of the kit each contain a mutated allele obtained from a cancer - associated gene such as k - ras , p53 , apc , or bat26 . the means for obtaining the test sample includes any means capable of collecting blood , urine , a tumor biopsy , a tumor aspirate , a cultured tumor cell , bone marrow , a stool sample , or a colonic brushing . in some embodiments , the kit also include a means for calculating the proportion of mutated alleles in a sample from the subject , or the total mutational load of the sample . the methods of the present invention were performed on a population of human subjects ( termed “ patients ” herein ) suffering from or at risk of developing a colorectal cancer . a total of 67 samples from two centers ( institut catalá d &# 39 ; oncologia and hospital de sant pau ) were included . forty ( 9 normal , 31 tumors ) bowel lavage fluid samples were collected during performance of screening colonoscopies after positive fobt testing . the remaining 20 ( 11 normal , 9 tumors ) fluids were obtained immediately prior to colonoscopy from symptomatic patients after cathartic preparation . finally , a set of 7 solid stools ( 4 normal , 3 tumors ) of symptomatic patients undergoing a colonoscopy was collected . final diagnosis was : 24 non - neoplastic diseases ( 6 inflammatory bowel disease , 9 colonic diverticulosis and 9 normal colonoscopies ), 16 adenomas , 6 carcinomas in situ and 21 invasive carcinomas . all fluid samples were collected and immediately frozen and stored at − 80 ° c . biopsies of endoscopically evident lesions for which ravages were available were collected in 25 of the 37 tumors and an aliquot was frozen for mlda studies . in one case with tumor , biopsies of three areas of endoscopically normal mucosa were also obtained . in four cases with no evidence of disease biopsies obtained from three distinct normal areas were available for analysis . a written informed consent was obtained from patients for their willingness to participate in this laboratory - based study , and the work was carried out after approval of the institutional reviews board at both participating centers . dna was extracted from cellular material obtained after centrifugation of bowel lavage or solid stools as previously described ( puig p , et al ., int j cancer 2000 ; 85 : 73 - 77 , puig p , et al . lab invest 79 : 617 - 618 , 1999 .). an oligonucleotide zip - code micro - array with rolling circle amplification signal enhancement that enables the simultaneous quantitative interrogation of tissue fluids for a moderate number of alleles was used ( ladner dp , et al . lab invest 2001 ; 81 : 1079 - 86 .). alleles of both the ki - ras and p53 genes are well suited for stool mlda since both are altered in a significant proportion of colorectal neoplasms ( olivier m , et al . hum mutat 2002 ; 19 : 607 - 14 .). we selected 22 mutations , 7 in exon 1 of the k - ras gene and 15 in exons 5 and 7 of the p53 gene that were both prevalent enough and technically compatible for being interrogated simultaneously ( ladner dp , et al .). fiftying of genomic dna were used to pcr - amplify ki - ras exon 1 and p53 exons and 7 in a final volume of 30 microliters . amplified dna was used for a multiplex ligation detection reaction ( ldr ). ldr products were hybridized onto generic zip code 3d - link slide microarray and detected by rolling circle amplification decorated with complementary fluor - oligonucleotides . slides were scanned at 635 nm on a gsi lumonics 4000 scanarray and analyzed with spot ( csiro , mathematical information analyses , australia ). the array was composed of 12 subarrays each containing 3 replicates of any interrogated mutation as well as 3 replicates of printing controls and three reconstituted controls with serial dilutions of a known mutation that allowed for quantitation of the total number of mutant alleles ( ladner dp , et al .). normalization of a given sub - array was performed using the signal intensity of three sample - control replicates and the added intensity of all controls . trimmed median values of the intensities of the 36 replicates for a given mutation were used to make all calculations . the intensities of all alleles interrogated for a given nucleotide were added and percentages were obtained . the distribution of the alleles was represented in a color scale grading . in order to assess reproducibility mlda hybridizations of a pool of 3 colorectal carcinomas ( tml = 41 , 53 ) were independently repeated . mean sd was 0 . 055 . when duplicates were performed in 14 samples ( 4 normal , 5 adenomas and 5 carcinomas ) mean sd of mlda was 0 . 048 confirming the robustness of the assay . since , after adjusting for diagnosis , no significant differences were observed between results obtained from fecal dna of colonic lavages obtained prior to or during colonoscopy or solid stools , a joint analysis of all samples was performed . all laboratory results were read without knowledge of clinical status . to assess the predictive accuracy of tml as a metric derived from mlda in distinguishing the different groups , two approaches were used . a training set of the first 40 samples analyzed ( 9 normal , 15 adenomas and 16 carcinomas ) was used to define the halfway cut - off point between the maximum values of normal and the minimum of neoplasia . this value was used in a testing set including the remaining samples ( 15 normal , 1 adenoma and 11 carcinomas ; 20 lavage and 7 solid stools ) to confirm sensitivity and specificity . secondly , a modeling statistical approach using all data was used to confirm the predictive accuracy of tml . a logistic regression model was chosen to build a predictive rule for the diagnosis . when building discriminant models to differentiate normal from adenomas and from carcinomas , polytomous logistic regression was used . in order to explore whether a subset of mutations could account for most of mlda information , stepwise logistic regression and random forest analyses ( breiman , l . machine learning 2001 ; 45 : 5 - 32 .) were used . to properly estimate the misclassification error rates , accounting for overfitting , 10 - fold cross - validation and bootstrap techniques were used ( efron b and tibshirani r . j am stat assoc 1997 ; 92 : 548 - 560 ). throughout the manuscript we have followed the stard recommendations for reporting studies of diagnostic accuracy ( bossuyt p m , et al . clinical chemistry 2003 ; 49 : 7 - 18 ). the arrays we utilize enable precise quantitation of the alleles present in a dna sample expressed as the allele prevalence ( calculated as %). the profile of the percentage of all the abnormal alleles constitutes a mutational load distribution for a given sample and yields two biometrics : total mutational load ( tml )- calculated after adding the prevalence of mutant alleles for every mutation — and highest prevalence allele ( hpa ). the combined analysis of these variables is termed “ mutational load distribution analysis ” ( mlda ). the mlda profiles obtained for all the cases studied are shown in fig1 ( table s1 ). inspection of the patterns suggests that the different categories of individual examined can be easily distinguished . tml of non - neoplastic disease ranged from 5 . 3 to 7 . 15 ( average 6 . 18 ) and no single mutant allele constituted more than 1 . 2 % of the population of molecules examined for a given nucleotide . tml of adenomas ranged from 16 . 50 to 22 . 24 ( average 19 . 17 ) with several alleles ( range 5 - 9 out of 22 ) showing prevalence higher than 1 . 2 % but never exceeding 9 . 5 %. tml of carcinomas in situ ranged from 22 . 30 to 36 . 29 ( average 29 . 5 ) and tml of invasive carcinomas ranged from 25 . 06 to 67 . 9 ( average 47 . 71 ). single mutant alleles showing prevalence above 12 . 3 % associated with carcinoma although in some cases ( 3 of 21 ) they were not present . tml clearly discriminated non - neoplastic disease from tumors and a progressive increase in tml can be observed through the adenoma - carcinoma sequence ( fig3 ). adenomas and carcinoma in situ clustered together with a trend towards increased load in the latter and invasive carcinomas appear as a distinct category ( fig1 and 3 ). hpa identified two categories : ( i ) carcinoma defined by an hpa of 12 . 3 % or higher ( malignant dominant allele ); and ( ii ) adenoma or carcinoma in situ characterized by an hpa representing 1 . 2 to 9 . 5 % of the molecules (“ benign dominant ” allele ). sscp analyses confirmed the presence of a ki - ras dominant allele mutation in 11 of 13 cases analyzed . the two cases with hpa lower than 6 % could not be confirmed ( data not shown ). in four cases with a p53 dominant allele , mutation was confirmed by direct sequencing . to preliminarily assess the predictive accuracy of mlda the population was split into two sets . in the training set the halfway tml cutoff value for the presence of any neoplasm — either benign or malignant — was 11 . 87 . using this cutoff value sensitivity and specificity was 100 %. when applied to the independent set , sensitivity and specificity were again 100 % respectively . using the complete set of samples , and taking into account the potential overfitting , the estimated sensitivity was 100 % ( 95 % cl 91 . 7 - 100 ) ( 46 / 46 ) and specificity was 100 % ( 95 % cl 86 . 2 - 100 ) ( 24 / 24 ). although mlda - derived metrics in carcinomas were always greater than in adenomas , there was imperfect separation between benign and invasive lesions ( fig2 ). the misclassification error rate estimated from bootstrap re - sampling was 2 %, corresponding to an average of 1 misclassified individual : almost systematically , an individual with in situ carcinoma was classified as adenoma . no specific subset of mutations included in the panel of probes used for mlda could account for mlda information derived from the entire set . though stepwise logistic regression identified a set of mutations that perfectly discriminated normal from pathologic samples , the misclassification error rate after bootstrapping was 30 % when three categories ( normal , adenoma and carcinoma ) were considered . accordingly , random forest analysis of all data created a final tree with a 30 % misclassification error rate . interestingly the relative importance of all mutations in the construction of the tree was similar suggesting that no specific mutation was especially informative . in each of 4 cases with no evidence of disease we analyzed three biopsies ( ascending , traverse and descending colon ) that were confirmed to have normal architecture by histology . for each case , all three samples yielded metrics that belong to “ no - disease ” category ( variation coefficients ranging 5 - 35 %) ( table s2 ). when dna from the three biopsies was pooled , mlda metrics strongly resembled that of the corresponding solid stool ( mean tml difference between pairs 0 . 16 representing 6 % of the average tml value found in the stool samples ) suggesting that fecal mlda offers a balanced representation of the colonic epithelium . mlda profile of tumor biopsies and corresponding stool samples showed a high degree of correlation ( pearson r = 0 . 992 ) ( fig4 ; table s4 ). biopsies of normal mucosa in a tumor - bearing patient showed the profile and metrics of the normal class . ( table s2 ). in 11 of 14 adenomas and in 8 of 11 carcinomas an average of 2 - 3 alleles , out of the 22 , gave discordant prevalence values . interestingly in 4 adenomas and 2 carcinomas novel hpa of the “ benign dominant ” class appeared in stools ( fig3 ; table s4 ). thus , information contained in fecal dna mainly derives from neoplasm - exfoliated cells the remaining large bowel mucosa also contributing to mlda metrics . mlda was performed to compare biological samples obtained from biopsies and stool samples . biopsies from 15 subjects having adenomas and 10 subjects having carcinomas were provided . an extremely high correlation was obtained between tissue and bowel lavage samples regarding total mutational aggregate and its distribution ( fig2 and 4 ). tml was slightly higher in tissues usually associated with higher values of the dominant alleles . also , allele distribution was slightly different in stools when compared with biopsies . in 13 of 15 adenomas and in 7 of 10 carcinomas an average of 2 - 3 alleles gave distinct signal intensity range . interestingly in 4 adenomas and 2 carcinomas novel benign dominant alleles appeared in stools . this observation suggests that information contained in dna from bowel lavage mainly derives from neoplasm - exfoliated cells although the remaining large bowel mucosa also contributes to overall . finally in one case ( ad7 ) that harbored two adenomas , both lesions and 3 normal biopsies of the descending , transverse and right colon were analyzed . tml of both lesions ( 20 . 12 % and 19 . 85 %) was similar to fecal mlda ( 18 . 17 %). in contrast average mlda of normal biopsies was 6 . 09 %. ( see table s2 ). to further explore the feasibility of our approach a small set of selected solid stools ( 4 colorectal carcinomas and 4 normal endoscopy ) that also has had fobt ( fig2 ) were studied . again mlda correctly discriminated between carcinomas and lack of disease . interestingly in two cases mlda correctly identified a normal mucosa whereas fobt yielded a positive result . the analyses presented in this example demonstrate that mlda clearly discriminates between normal mucosa and neoplastic growth — either benign or malignant — due to the low degree of dispersion in the total and distribution values of mutations present in cells originating from otherwise endoscopically normal mucosa . interestingly a sequential increase in the total ml becomes apparent during the adenoma - carcinoma sequence with a further increase in invasive carcinomas . this trend shows some overlapping between adenoma and carcinoma in situ . however , no clinical impact for type of misclassification can be envisioned . while both ras mlda and p53 mlda independently contribute to the differential diagnosis a clear distinction between normal and neoplastic disease is evident when combining data obtained from both genes . it is intriguing that mlda of carcinomas shows a high degree of variability , a finding that leaves open the possibility of mlda values , probably reflecting the degree of genetic instability present in the tumor , may relate to clinical aggressiveness . as opposed to conventional biomarkers that are based on a single or multiple targets that are specific for the tumor cell , mlda exploits the quantitative assessment of mutation to use the intrinsic variability — heterogeneity — within tumor and non - tumor tissues as a source of information . the analysis of variability has allowed the correct classification — based on the total mutational load — of tumors that did not harbor a malignant dominant allele . whereas conventional markers will miss the tumors falling to express the specific molecule ( s ), mlda will report the emergence of any dominant tumor genotype . however the limited sample size analyzed may have introduced some bias ( i . e . excess of k - ras positive and p53 mutations tumors ) that should add caution to the interpretation of our results . the use of robust , quantitative and sensitive analytical techniques in mutation detection has been also instrumental in this achievement . the reduced intra — and interassay variability and the low variance observed permits the definition of reliable quantitative thresholds that correctly discriminates between normal and neoplastic disease . eventual technical developments in allelic discrimination are likely to help in reducing the number of replicates while improving throughput . these results confirm previous observations suggesting that most of the information obtained by mlda of stools come from tumor cells . differences observed between stools and tumor biopsies probably reflect the contribution of exfoliated cells originating in other areas of the colon that have died and harbor mutations . it can be foreseen that the mlda information contained derived from the normal epithelium will be helpful in evaluating the genetic stability of otherwise endoscopically normal mucosa prior to or after tumor development . feasibility of this type of assays in non - invasive samples is mandatory to change medical practice . the body of evidence reported derives from colonic lavages , a readily amplifiable sample difficult to obtain since it requires , at best , cathartic preparation . our results in a limited set of solid stools show that mlda strongly support its usefulness in the easy - to - obtain solid stools suggesting that this technique could be widely applicable provided efficient dna extraction techniques are used . it is of note that in our hands , amplifiable dna can be extracted in up to 80 % of the samples using standard dna extraction methods . as already noted for other fecal dna tests , a single stool sample obtained with no diet modification can provide relevant information derived from the entire length of the colon . fecal dna testing is expected to be a feasible alternative to conventional crc screening strategies . so far , a multi - target panel is the best option available still hampered by a limited sensitivity for advanced adenomas and a modest decrease in specificity ( 16 ). our approach seems to initially overcome most of these limitations . the methods of the present invention were performed on a population of human subjects ( also termed “ patients ” herein ) suffering from or at risk of developing a pancreatic cancer . data in human subjects suffering from or at risk of developing pancreatic cancer was obtained by analyzing the soluble dna found in pancreatic juice obtained by canulation of the pancreatic duct , or after stimulation with secretin . an oligonucleotide zip - code micro - array with rolling circle amplification signal enhancement enables the simultaneous interrogation of tissue fluids for a moderate number of alleles ( bhatia et al . j of clin one 2003 : vol 21 , no 23 ; 4386 - 4394 ) and the detection of low prevalence allelic variants . alleles of both the ki - ras and p53 genes are well suited for mlda of pancreatic juice ( olivier et al . hum mutat 2002 june ; 19 ( 6 ): 607 - 14 ; hruban et al . clin cancer res 2000a ; vol 6 : 269 - 2972 ) since both are often found to be altered in a high proportion of pancreatic carcinomas . from the mutational spectrum of these two genes we selected 22 somatic point mutations ( see fig6 ) that were both prevalent enough to be informative and technically compatible for being simultaneously interrogated in an rca enhanced zip - array format . based on the known prevalence of the dominant alleles found in fully evolved malignant pancreatic tumors we predicted that we should be able to identify the emergence of 85 % of cancers harboring a dominant ki - ras clone and 70 % of the tumors with a dominant p53 clone . the ability of mlda to discriminate among three distinct cohorts was determined . these cohorts included subjects without known pancreatic pathology or risk factors for pancreatic cancer , patients thought at increased risk for pancreatic cancer because of repeated bouts of pancreatitis , and patients with symptomatic pancreatic carcinoma . mlda separated the three groups based on the aggregate value of the mutational load and on the level of the highest allele ( see fig5 a ). among the subjects with no known pancreatic pathology , no single allele constituted more than 1 . 2 % of the population of molecules examined . an allele constituting more than 3 . 8 % indicated the presence of carcinoma and for all the cases of pancreatitis , category at risk , the frequency of the predominant mutant allele was found in the interval between 1 . 2 and 3 . 8 %. two dimensional plots of the aggregate and individual gene mutational load and multivariate linear estimates of the profiles obtained for the 22 alleles examined indicate that the differences observed are significant ( differences among the three groups for ki - ras p = 0 . 004733 ; for p53 p = 0 . 01458 kruskal - wallis test ). a comparison between the in silico simulation ( see example 3 ) and empirical data derived from patients with pancreatic cancer was performed and allowed the definition of boundaries that indicated a transition from normal to risk and risk to cancer . a cross sectional sampling of the different simulated populations , a low risk ( undisturbed ), a high - risk group ( fraction of the disturbed population that does not develop tumors ) and the fraction that develops tumors determines thresholds that separate the three groups by both the highest proportion of a mutated allele and the “ aggregate mutational load ”. as seen in fig5 b the empirical data and the data obtained from the simulation exhibit a strikingly similar pattern . to test the clinical validity of the empirical cut - off values chosen based on the initial set of cases we blindly examined a retrospectively assembled set of samples comprising eight additional cases of pancreatitis and sixteen cases of pancreatic carcinoma . seven of the 8 pancreatitis patients were identified as belonging to the risk group by both a distribution profile that revealed at least one allele above the 1 . 2 % level but none above 3 . 8 % and the aggregate mutational load . one case could be classified as “ at risk ” by the aggregate mutational load . similarly all the pancreatic cancer patients were identified by the same two parameters with no false positive or false negative events , as shown in fig6 . when these groups are added to the initial ones the differences among the three categories remain significant ( at the ki - ras alleles , p = 0 . 000001324 and for p53 alleles , p = 0 . 0001162 using the kruskal - wallis test ). the definition of the boundaries for the at risk for pancreatic cancer category indicates that it is possible to divide the interval between 1 . 2 % and 3 . 8 % in 100 equivalent segments to generate an arbitrary risk scale that should enable the longitudinal estimate of risk with the passage of time . to test this possibility we analyzed pancreatic juice from members of families predisposed to pancreatic cancer by a germ line p16 mutation . blinded examination of the mlda patterns in 16 samples showed two homogeneous groups : a “ normal like ” pattern and a “ pancreatitis - like ” pattern ( see fig7 legend ) after un - blinding the series of samples and ordering them according to the individual of provenance , 4 individuals , harboring a p16 germ line mutation and belonging to 3 independent families , turned out to have iterative studies that provided data on the time dependent variation of mlda derived parameters . the random fluctuation of the values for specific alleles obtained at different times can be appreciated in the serial samples of individuals exhibiting a normal like pattern as well as in some of the alleles in pancreatitis - like patterns . as can be seen in fig7 , of the six individuals with a p16 germ - line mutation , two had initial low risk samples and moved to the high - risk category , two were classified as “ high risk ” and remained in this class and two had a single time point study . it is important to note that the alleles that show the highest values vary from time point to time point . however in two instances the ascending allele remains identical suggesting an additional predictive factor for the development of cancer ( see fig7 ). fig8 shows the risk estimates for two human subjects with serial samples . these observations underscore the value of using a wide mutational spectrum for each locus interrogated by mlda . not only is it impossible to predict which of the alleles will be driven by selection to be ultimately and predominantly expressed in the invasive tumor state but the allele that is dominant within the risk boundaries may vary due to chance events a disturbance , or a deleterious mutation , can eliminate an expanding oncodeme ( s ) and thus alter the subsequent mlda pattern ( see below and fig9 ). two individuals with normal p16 genotype showed profiles in the normal “ no risk ” zone . in the absence of longitudinal empirical data that show the transition from high risk to tumor in a single subject , the in silico simulations enable us to validate the value of mlda to serve as a biometric for the early detection of pancreatic cancer . for any specific run we can ascertain the in silico mlda profile at each of the time steps for the entire time length of the simulation . since the model is non - deterministic we can select runs that terminate in tumor formation and compare the mlda profiles for each step to those of runs that terminate in tumor formation . we find that the mlda profile does cross the “ cancer threshold with no return ” in the instances in which disturbance acts as a factor causing the emergence of a tumor ( fig9 ). thus the results of the in silico simulation provide evidence of the measure of risk by longitudinal mlda determinations . in the absence of empirical data that may take years to obtain , the model provides a strong argument to justify large prospective clinical validation studies for the measure of risk and early detection of tumors . the capacity of mlda to provide a personalized longitudinal measure of risk , opens new vistas for the early detection of cancer and the monitoring of chemo - prevention . fluids derived from a subject is a useful test sample to obtain when practicing the methods contained herein . generally , bodily fulids contain soluble dna , and thus provide the means to repeatedly sample and monitor events occurring in the tissues without physical disruption . because cells harboring mutations are more likely to die , either spontaneously or under the effect of disease ( disturbance ), the frequency of mutations found in fluids is higher than that expected in tissues . the results disclosed herein demonstrate that the aggregate mutational load , the proportion of the predominant mutated allele ( s ) and the persistence of dominance through time are informative parameters that are readily derived from mlda analysis of pancreatic juice . as opposed to conventional bio - markers that are based on a single molecule ( protein or nucleic acid ) that is specific for the tumor cell , mlda exploits variability as the source of information . whereas conventional markers will miss the tumors failing to express the specific molecule , mlda will report the emergence of any dominant tumor genotype . most useful for longitudinal studies is the generation of a scale that enables the measurement of risk . the risk scale is based on the identification of two boundaries separating normal individuals from individuals at risk and the latter from patients harboring a tumor . although not known at this point , we hypothesize that the values defining the boundaries depend in part on the size of the physiological clonal patches that form an adult tissue . for each organ ( tumor type ) to be studied by mlda it will be necessary to determine the boundaries separating each category by conducting cross - sectional studies . risk measurement using mlda in tissue or fluids from any material derived from a subject is applicable to any tissue or organ at risk of cancer . breast cancer ( nipple aspirates or ductal lavage ), epithelial malignancies of the lower urinary tract ( urine ), broncho - pulmonary cancer ( bal ) and others are potentially detectable at an early stage by mlda . herein described is an in silico simulation disclosing a stochastic model that explains the dynamics and distribution of mutational load and provides insight into the relation of parameters reflecting metapopulation dynamics to the emergence of tumors and therefore to the measure of cancer risk . the model , based on a micro - evolutionary view of carcinogenesis , takes into account intermittent global disturbances applied to a spatially structured tissue containing metapopulations of cells . without disturbance , and for an arbitrary length of time representing the life span of the organism - host it is possible to parametrize the model in such a way that despite the occurrence of mutations no tumors emerge . within a broad range of parameters we observed that intermediate frequencies and intensities of disturbance would lead to higher probabilities of tumor formation than in states with more extreme or no disturbances but with equivalent mutation rates , mutated phenotypes and otherwise identical model parameters . in the model , demes evolve on a grid with periodic boundary conditions . the fitness of a deme is a function of mutations affecting three general biological functions : the proliferative rate ; the death rate ( either promoting deme survival or more commonly by several orders of magnitude , deleterious to deme survival ); and susceptibility to disturbances . demes were initially randomly distributed throughout the grid at various densities . the parameters of a single run included a baseline mutation rate , wild type and mutated growth , death , and susceptibility probabilities , as well as disturbance frequency and intensity . runs consisted of 5000 monte carlo iterations . the simulations show that the hypothetical transition , from a randomly varying mutational spectrum to a spectrum persistently dominated by a pre - eminent allele ( s ), does take place during in silico carcinogenesis and distinguishes a population at risk from a population developing a tumor . note particularly the similarity of the risk and tumor profiles during the early time period preceding the “ early detection band ”. the simulation indicates that the progressive increase in risk identifies the individual runs marked by the emergence of a “ tumor ”. more importantly , “ play back ” of mlda values for individual runs that result in tumor formation , shows that longitudinal mlda can detect early stages of tumor development if applied in a prospective mode . the present invention also provides for the analysis of dna methylation markers to predict the presence of cancer in a subject and the stage of cancer of the subject . cytosine methylation occurs after dna synthesis by enzymatic transfer of a methyl group from the methyl donor s - adenosylmethionine to the carbon - 5 position of cytosine . about 70 % of cpg dinucleotides in mammals are methylated during normal physiology ; this amount and the specific cpg dinucleotides that are methylated changes over the development of cancer . the present invention provides for the measurement of dna methylation in a subject suspected of having cancer or a predisposition thereto . methods of detecting dna methylation include anti - mc antibodies , lc - mass spectroscopy , hplc - tlc , southern blotting , pcr , and the methyllight assay . ( see eads et al ., nucleic acids research 28 : e32 ( 2000 ); and laird , nature reviews - cancer 3 : 253 - 66 ( 2003 ). dna methylation markers include cdkn2a ( arf , ink4a ); mlh1 , apc , cdh1 , cdkn2b , dapk1 , gstp1 , and mgmt . ( see laird , p . 261 ). the preceding examples are put forth so as to provide those of ordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description of how to make and use the present invention , and are not intended to limit the scope of what the inventors regard as their invention nor are they intended to represent that the experiments below are all or the only experiments performed . efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respect to numbers used ( e . g . amounts , temperature , etc .) but some experimental errors and deviations should be accounted for . unless indicated otherwise , parts are parts by weight , molecular weight is weight average molecular weight , temperature is in degrees centigrade , and pressure is at or near atmospheric . while the present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiments thereof , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation , material , composition of matter , process , process step or steps , to the objective , spirit and scope of the present invention . all such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims appended hereto . table s1 gene ras ras ras ras ras ras ras ras p53 p53 p53 p53 codon 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 135 151 175 176 mutation gat gct gtt agt cgt tgt gac tac cgc tgc cat cac n1 0 . 00 0 . 69 0 . 00 0 . 12 0 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 79 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 00 n2 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 49 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 n3 0 . 00 1 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 n4 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 42 0 . 41 0 . 00 0 . 74 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 80 0 . 00 n5 0 . 00 1 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 n6 0 . 22 0 . 19 0 . 08 0 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 67 0 . 12 0 . 11 0 . 13 0 . 78 0 . 00 0 . 00 n7 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 81 0 . 33 0 . 28 0 . 16 n8 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 49 0 . 00 0 . 60 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 40 0 . 12 0 . 00 n9 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 34 0 . 16 0 . 00 n10 0 . 42 0 . 30 0 . 00 0 . 38 0 . 00 0 . 86 0 . 47 0 . 29 0 . 00 0 . 38 0 . 39 0 . 11 n11 0 . 48 0 . 22 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 96 0 . 62 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 28 0 . 32 0 . 09 n12 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 81 n13 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 88 1 . 10 0 . 00 n14 0 . 00 0 . 76 0 . 00 0 . 97 0 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 28 0 . 22 0 . 33 0 . 56 0 . 65 0 . 00 n15 0 . 73 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 26 0 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 88 0 . 23 0 . 29 0 . 77 0 . 00 n16 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 40 0 . 00 0 . 53 0 . 90 0 . 00 0 . 30 0 . 91 n17 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 17 0 . 18 0 . 74 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 n18 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 58 0 . 99 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 88 n19 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 99 0 . 23 0 . 21 0 . 75 n20 0 . 00 0 . 79 0 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 38 0 . 46 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 76 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 n21 0 . 55 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 92 0 . 64 0 . 22 0 . 48 0 . 00 0 . 56 n22 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 18 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 31 0 . 89 0 . 67 n23 0 . 43 0 . 41 0 . 00 0 . 28 0 . 00 0 . 37 0 . 91 0 . 50 0 . 16 1 . 05 0 . 12 0 . 78 n24 0 . 95 0 . 45 0 . 15 0 . 86 0 . 00 0 . 16 0 . 79 0 . 72 0 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 66 0 . 00 ad1 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 15 3 . 39 0 . 00 0 . 70 0 . 00 1 . 32 0 . 00 0 . 31 2 . 19 0 . 00 ad2 2 . 81 0 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 25 2 . 12 0 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 41 0 . 33 0 . 56 0 . 09 1 . 91 ad3 0 . 55 0 . 34 1 . 65 0 . 91 0 . 00 2 . 07 0 . 25 0 . 88 0 . 93 0 . 71 1 . 5 0 . 00 ad4 1 . 95 0 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 86 0 . 00 2 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 72 0 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 66 0 . 00 ad5 1 . 70 0 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 82 1 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 93 1 . 02 0 . 33 0 . 49 2 . 14 ad6 1 . 89 0 . 98 2 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 75 0 . 00 1 . 75 0 . 00 2 . 11 0 . 00 1 . 65 0 . 33 ad7 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 15 0 . 00 2 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 19 1 . 92 2 . 26 ad8 0 . 00 0 . 78 3 . 12 2 . 33 1 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 34 0 . 50 0 . 00 0 . 24 1 . 98 1 . 76 ad9 0 . 49 0 . 71 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 25 2 . 39 1 . 98 0 . 00 0 . 36 0 . 99 1 . 07 0 . 26 ad10 3 . 03 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 00 2 . 44 0 . 23 0 . 34 0 . 78 0 . 65 1 . 09 1 . 77 ad11 0 . 39 2 . 98 0 . 33 0 . 00 1 . 28 0 . 77 0 . 00 1 . 76 1 . 98 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 00 ad12 1 . 71 0 . 73 0 . 00 6 . 20 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 34 2 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 56 1 . 65 0 . 36 ad13 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 3 9 . 5 0 . 00 2 . 10 0 . 26 1 . 70 0 . 03 ad14 1 . 70 0 . 87 2 . 79 0 . 00 0 . 88 0 . 00 1 . 93 0 . 00 3 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 49 ad15 1 . 41 5 . 34 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 3 . 31 0 . 00 1 . 71 0 . 21 0 . 16 0 . 00 ad16 4 . 5 1 . 27 0 . 00 1 . 36 4 . 9 1 . 29 0 . 71 0 . 10 0 . 16 1 . 37 0 . 00 0 . 30 cis1 4 . 67 0 . 30 0 . 56 0 . 54 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 22 1 . 41 0 . 63 0 . 20 2 . 03 0 . 00 cis2 2 . 08 0 . 44 0 . 00 1 . 32 1 . 41 2 . 53 0 . 25 1 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 09 1 . 54 0 . 25 cis3 2 . 33 0 . 79 1 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 38 2 . 46 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 76 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 10 cis4 2 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 69 0 . 00 1 . 33 0 . 93 0 . 55 0 . 58 0 . 00 1 . 78 0 . 12 cis5 0 . 75 0 . 00 0 . 00 17 . 2 0 . 00 2 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 44 1 . 92 0 . 89 cis6 0 . 55 1 . 87 3 . 09 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 42 0 . 64 0 . 22 0 . 48 0 . 73 0 . 00 ca1 0 . 88 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 71 0 . 38 2 . 82 0 . 70 0 . 20 0 . 29 2 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 00 ca2 0 . 82 2 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 84 2 . 91 0 . 86 3 . 41 3 . 57 0 . 00 0 . 65 0 . 00 ca3 0 . 39 0 . 00 3 . 11 0 . 55 0 . 00 3 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 71 3 . 15 0 . 61 2 . 88 0 . 73 ca4 0 . 55 1 . 87 3 . 09 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 42 0 . 64 0 . 22 0 . 48 0 . 73 0 . 00 ca5 0 . 00 1 . 42 0 . 60 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 32 1 . 52 0 . 71 0 . 10 2 . 21 0 . 00 ca6 3 . 18 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 79 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 63 0 . 00 0 . 95 2 . 65 ca7 1 . 71 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 32 25 . 4 2 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 10 0 . 30 ca8 0 . 44 1 . 47 0 . 28 2 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 12 3 . 42 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 73 0 . 35 ca9 0 . 44 15 . 1 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 55 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 25 2 . 03 0 . 34 ca10 31 . 5 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 01 0 . 00 2 . 42 0 . 10 0 . 29 0 . 44 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 38 ca11 0 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 00 27 . 2 0 . 00 3 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 84 2 . 92 0 . 89 ca12 3 . 01 1 . 08 21 . 7 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 32 0 . 43 1 . 76 0 . 00 0 . 81 2 . 54 0 . 13 ca13 26 . 1 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 31 0 . 00 1 . 99 0 . 87 0 . 23 0 . 32 0 . 00 1 . 74 0 . 65 ca14 21 . 5 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 01 0 . 00 2 . 42 0 . 10 0 . 29 0 . 44 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 38 ca15 3 . 44 0 . 67 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 32 1 . 90 2 . 31 0 . 13 0 . 77 0 . 16 0 . 89 0 . 91 ca16 2 . 73 0 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 26 1 . 94 0 . 00 0 . 86 0 . 88 0 . 23 0 . 29 0 . 77 3 . 11 ca17 0 . 00 2 . 21 1 . 33 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 66 0 . 92 1 . 69 3 . 56 2 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 77 ca18 0 . 00 2 . 13 1 . 50 0 . 57 0 . 00 0 . 79 0 . 81 1 . 82 3 . 45 2 . 10 0 . 00 0 . 82 ca19 2 . 81 0 . 00 1 . 71 26 . 2 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 88 0 . 00 0 . 50 0 . 00 0 . 41 0 . 55 ca20 2 . 22 0 . 00 25 . 4 0 . 00 0 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 41 1 . 21 0 . 91 2 . 79 ca21 2 . 12 0 . 00 35 . 4 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 40 0 . 56 0 . 81 2 . 79 gene p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 tml codon 178 179 241 244 245 245 245 248 248 248 249 mutation tgc ccc ttc gct agc gct gac tgg cag ctg atg n1 0 . 66 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 64 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 32 0 . 24 0 . 00 0 . 41 5 . 36 n2 0 . 7 0 . 51 1 . 12 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 17 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 59 0 . 41 0 . 00 5 . 70 n3 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 75 0 . 00 0 . 00 5 . 75 n4 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 51 0 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 34 0 . 41 5 . 75 n5 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 75 0 . 00 0 . 00 5 . 75 n6 0 . 31 0 . 09 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 52 0 . 00 0 . 44 1 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 22 5 . 77 n7 0 . 83 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 89 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 64 0 . 00 1 . 15 0 . 00 5 . 80 n8 0 . 00 0 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 80 0 . 50 0 . 05 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 21 0 . 00 1 . 02 5 . 80 n9 0 . 00 0 . 57 0 . 00 0 . 72 0 . 54 0 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 19 0 . 00 1 . 09 5 . 80 n10 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 27 0 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 50 0 . 00 0 . 59 0 . 00 0 . 12 0 . 19 5 . 88 n11 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 17 0 . 56 0 . 00 0 . 46 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 08 0 . 31 5 . 88 n12 1 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 93 0 . 90 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 49 0 . 00 0 . 36 5 . 99 n13 0 . 00 0 . 64 0 . 00 1 . 09 0 . 66 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 81 0 . 25 6 . 14 n14 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 13 0 . 21 1 . 15 6 . 15 n15 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 13 0 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 21 0 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 43 6 . 17 n16 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 72 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 49 0 . 00 0 . 41 0 . 00 1 . 03 6 . 21 n17 0 . 99 0 . 91 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 58 0 . 00 0 . 49 0 . 00 6 . 27 n18 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 69 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 44 0 . 00 0 . 48 0 . 00 1 . 18 6 . 55 n19 1 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 69 0 . 00 0 . 38 0 . 00 0 . 48 0 . 00 1 . 18 6 . 58 n20 0 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 55 0 . 81 0 . 77 0 . 12 0 . 00 0 . 14 0 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 59 6 . 69 n21 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 76 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 97 0 . 00 7 . 05 n22 0 . 96 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 39 0 . 48 0 . 72 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 75 0 . 00 7 . 12 n23 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 56 0 . 63 0 . 32 0 . 00 0 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 07 0 . 23 0 . 21 7 . 14 n24 0 . 23 0 . 17 0 . 14 0 . 70 0 . 18 0 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 23 0 . 24 0 . 00 7 . 15 ad1 0 . 00 0 . 51 0 . 00 0 . 68 0 . 57 0 . 12 3 . 44 0 . 00 1 . 13 0 . 00 1 . 99 16 . 50 ad2 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 11 0 . 42 2 . 02 0 . 26 3 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 07 0 . 30 1 . 43 16 . 58 ad3 2 . 21 0 . 21 0 . 94 0 . 15 0 . 07 0 . 30 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 21 0 . 19 16 . 84 ad4 0 . 23 1 . 97 3 . 14 0 . 00 0 . 18 0 . 16 0 . 00 3 . 12 0 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 97 16 . 86 ad5 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 21 0 . 16 1 . 99 2 . 03 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 15 0 . 00 2 . 35 17 . 42 ad6 0 . 56 3 . 05 0 . 41 0 . 27 0 . 95 0 . 00 1 . 92 0 . 53 0 . 00 0 . 09 1 . 77 18 . 17 ad7 0 . 73 3 . 42 0 . 77 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 51 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 28 18 . 42 ad8 1 . 56 0 . 00 0 . 18 0 . 13 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 63 2 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 18 . 66 ad9 0 . 77 0 . 25 0 . 66 0 . 00 2 . 41 2 . 02 1 . 01 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 11 0 . 71 18 . 77 ad10 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 17 0 . 34 2 . 36 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 42 0 . 40 0 . 00 2 . 08 19 . 71 ad11 0 . 00 0 . 35 1 . 32 0 . 55 0 . 78 1 . 88 2 . 08 0 . 37 0 . 00 0 . 41 1 . 99 19 . 76 ad12 0 . 00 2 . 21 0 . 42 0 . 00 0 . 44 0 . 32 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 06 0 . 00 2 . 03 21 . 43 ad13 0 . 16 1 . 50 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 40 2 . 21 0 . 00 1 . 31 0 . 27 0 . 00 21 . 7 ad14 0 . 33 1 . 86 0 . 78 0 . 73 0 . 55 0 . 00 0 . 87 0 . 23 1 . 67 0 . 98 0 . 00 21 . 77 ad15 0 . 25 1 . 87 0 . 00 2 . 02 0 . 08 0 . 00 2 . 44 0 . 22 2 . 36 0 . 12 0 . 20 22 . 01 ad16 2 . 02 0 . 07 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 49 1 . 71 0 . 35 0 . 06 0 . 00 1 . 33 0 . 00 22 . 24 cis1 0 . 00 1 . 27 0 . 00 2 . 10 0 . 18 0 . 00 0 . 17 0 . 21 0 . 34 7 . 81 0 . 00 22 . 3 cis2 0 . 00 2 . 10 1 . 66 0 . 00 2 . 05 0 . 22 1 . 37 1 . 40 0 . 00 2 . 26 1 . 29 23 . 60 cis3 0 . 16 2 . 34 0 . 55 0 . 61 0 . 87 0 . 12 3 . 77 3 . 10 0 . 23 1 . 57 1 . 59 28 . 66 cis4 2 . 55 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 65 0 . 41 0 . 25 0 . 00 15 . 2 0 . 00 1 . 87 0 . 33 31 . 34 cis5 0 . 67 1 . 65 0 . 98 0 . 31 0 . 00 3 . 12 0 . 11 0 . 42 1 . 71 2 . 73 0 . 00 35 . 13 cis6 3 . 11 16 . 8 0 . 09 0 . 16 0 . 76 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 54 2 . 33 0 . 97 0 . 00 36 . 29 ca1 3 . 07 0 . 66 0 . 75 0 . 91 0 . 49 2 . 87 0 . 00 0 . 44 0 . 67 3 . 30 0 . 81 25 . 06 ca2 0 . 00 0 . 48 2 . 77 0 . 45 0 . 78 0 . 51 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 13 0 . 53 1 . 92 25 . 88 ca3 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 91 0 . 00 3 . 92 0 . 71 0 . 49 3 . 83 0 . 00 0 . 00 26 . 06 ca4 3 . 11 16 . 8 0 . 09 0 . 16 0 . 76 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 54 2 . 33 0 . 97 0 . 00 36 . 29 ca5 0 . 00 1 . 33 0 . 00 2 . 34 0 . 28 0 . 00 0 . 21 0 . 19 0 . 43 25 . 41 0 . 00 37 . 78 ca6 0 . 75 3 . 44 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 11 0 . 45 0 . 81 0 . 00 19 . 45 0 . 00 1 . 72 38 . 86 ca7 1 . 23 1 . 45 0 . 45 0 . 19 0 . 69 0 . 00 1 . 91 0 . 04 0 . 54 1 . 52 2 . 16 42 . 01 ca8 3 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 42 2 . 12 0 . 06 21 . 8 1 . 09 0 . 00 3 . 29 0 . 00 0 . 00 42 . 23 ca9 0 . 71 1 . 95 16 . 5 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 42 1 . 31 1 . 78 42 . 85 ca10 1 . 56 0 . 35 0 . 65 0 . 19 0 . 53 2 . 19 2 . 48 0 . 00 0 . 27 0 . 00 0 . 44 48 . 78 ca11 0 . 77 2 . 65 0 . 78 0 . 91 0 . 00 2 . 12 0 . 11 0 . 42 3 . 71 2 . 73 0 . 00 49 . 73 ca12 0 . 00 2 . 13 0 . 00 12 . 3 0 . 33 1 . 73 0 . 00 0 . 22 2 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 55 51 . 25 ca13 1 . 44 0 . 76 0 . 15 0 . 24 0 . 34 0 . 00 13 . 7 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 56 51 . 40 ca14 1 . 56 0 . 35 0 . 65 0 . 19 0 . 53 2 . 19 15 . 8 0 . 00 0 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 44 52 . 30 ca15 0 . 65 0 . 58 2 . 21 2 . 54 1 . 64 0 . 00 3 . 02 0 . 00 0 . 24 30 . 8 0 . 00 53 . 89 ca16 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 13 0 . 45 1 . 51 42 . 1 0 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 22 56 . 78 ca17 0 . 00 3 . 72 0 . 18 0 . 24 35 . 69 0 . 53 1 . 46 1 . 66 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 20 60 . 69 ca18 0 . 00 3 . 14 0 . 21 0 . 19 36 . 2 0 . 33 1 . 76 1 . 89 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 98 60 . 69 ca19 0 . 79 1 . 98 0 . 00 1 . 40 0 . 00 0 . 56 0 . 32 0 . 00 26 . 79 0 . 00 0 . 00 65 . 90 ca20 0 . 76 0 . 65 0 . 00 3 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 16 25 . 68 1 . 59 0 . 00 65 . 90 ca21 0 . 66 2 . 98 0 . 00 3 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 36 0 . 00 0 . 70 14 . 9 1 . 60 0 . 00 67 . 63 table s4 gene k - ras k - ras k - ras k - ras k - ras k - ras k - ras k - ras p53 p53 p53 p53 codon 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 135 151 175 176 mutation gat gct gtt agt cgt tgt gac tac cgc tgc cat cac ad2 stool 2 . 81 0 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 25 2 . 12 0 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 41 0 . 09 1 . 91 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad2 biopsy 2 . 47 0 . 28 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 32 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 52 0 . 15 2 . 02 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad3 stool 0 . 55 0 . 34 1 . 65 0 . 91 0 . 00 2 . 07 0 . 25 0 . 88 1 . 5 0 . 00 2 . 21 0 . 21 ad3 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 51 1 . 83 1 . 16 0 . 00 2 . 15 0 . 53 0 . 99 1 . 75 0 . 00 2 . 52 0 . 00 ad5 stool 1 . 70 0 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 82 1 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 93 0 . 49 2 . 14 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad5 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 82 0 . 00 1 . 03 2 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 43 0 . 99 0 . 61 2 . 32 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad6 stool 1 . 89 0 . 98 2 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 75 0 . 00 1 . 75 0 . 00 1 . 65 0 . 33 0 . 56 3 . 05 ad6 biopsy 2 . 10 1 . 05 2 . 56 0 . 00 0 . 87 0 . 00 1 . 86 0 . 00 1 . 95 0 . 46 0 . 61 0 . 00 ad7 stool 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 15 0 . 00 2 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 92 2 . 26 0 . 73 3 . 42 ad7 biopsy 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 30 0 . 00 2 . 85 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 03 2 . 45 0 . 93 3 . 61 ad8 stool 0 . 00 0 . 78 3 . 12 2 . 33 1 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 34 0 . 50 1 . 98 1 . 76 1 . 56 0 . 00 ad8 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 98 3 . 33 2 . 67 1 . 96 0 . 00 0 . 52 0 . 65 2 . 17 1 . 96 1 . 74 0 . 00 ad9 stool 0 . 49 0 . 71 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 25 2 . 39 1 . 98 0 . 00 1 . 07 0 . 26 0 . 77 0 . 25 ad9 biopsy 0 . 61 0 . 94 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 51 2 . 66 2 . 12 0 . 00 1 . 18 0 . 35 0 . 98 0 . 34 ad10 stool 3 . 03 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 00 2 . 44 0 . 23 0 . 34 1 . 09 1 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad10 biopsy 3 . 34 0 . 87 0 . 00 1 . 15 0 . 00 2 . 68 0 . 54 0 . 00 1 . 17 2 . 01 0 . 00 0 . 00 ad11 stool 0 . 39 2 . 98 0 . 33 0 . 00 1 . 28 0 . 77 0 . 00 1 . 76 0 . 54 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 35 ad11 biopsy 0 . 48 3 . 11 0 . 51 0 . 00 1 . 43 0 . 98 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 52 ad12 stool 1 . 71 0 . 73 0 . 00 6 . 20 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 34 2 . 09 1 . 65 0 . 36 0 . 00 2 . 21 ad12 biopsy 1 . 93 0 . 99 0 . 00 6 . 59 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 00 2 . 13 1 . 88 0 . 51 0 . 00 2 . 43 ad13 stool 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 3 9 . 5 0 . 00 1 . 70 0 . 03 0 . 16 1 . 50 ad13 biopsy 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 62 10 . 1 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 14 0 . 22 1 . 65 ad14 stool 1 . 70 0 . 87 2 . 79 0 . 00 0 . 88 0 . 00 1 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 49 0 . 33 1 . 86 ad14 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 87 2 . 79 0 . 00 0 . 88 0 . 00 1 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 49 0 . 33 1 . 86 ad15 stool 1 . 41 5 . 34 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 3 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 16 0 . 00 0 . 25 1 . 87 ad15 biopsy 1 . 62 6 . 10 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 00 3 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 00 0 . 37 1 . 99 ad16 stool 4 . 5 1 . 27 0 . 00 1 . 36 4 . 9 1 . 29 0 . 71 0 . 10 0 . 00 0 . 30 2 . 02 0 . 07 ad16 biopsy 5 . 10 1 . 45 0 . 00 0 . 00 5 . 23 1 . 41 0 . 98 0 . 21 0 . 00 0 . 54 2 . 19 0 . 18 cis1 stool 4 . 67 0 . 30 0 . 56 0 . 54 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 22 1 . 41 2 . 03 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 27 cis1 biopsy 5 . 20 0 . 47 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 39 1 . 62 2 . 24 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 43 cis2 stool 2 . 08 0 . 44 0 . 00 1 . 32 1 . 41 2 . 53 0 . 25 1 . 36 1 . 54 0 . 25 0 . 00 2 . 10 cis2 biopsy 2 . 34 0 . 61 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 67 2 . 77 0 . 52 1 . 54 1 . 78 0 . 33 0 . 00 2 . 32 cis3 stool 2 . 33 0 . 79 1 . 93 0 . 00 0 . 38 2 . 46 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 10 0 . 16 2 . 34 cis3 biopsy 2 . 41 0 . 98 2 . 08 0 . 00 0 . 50 2 . 59 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 35 0 . 28 2 . 64 cis4 stool 2 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 69 0 . 00 1 . 33 0 . 93 0 . 55 1 . 78 0 . 12 2 . 55 0 . 33 cis4 biopsy 2 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 00 1 . 52 1 . 14 0 . 71 1 . 91 0 . 23 2 . 74 0 . 00 cis5 stool 0 . 75 0 . 00 0 . 00 17 . 2 0 . 00 2 . 23 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 92 0 . 89 0 . 67 1 . 65 cis5 biopsy 0 . 87 0 . 00 0 . 00 19 . 6 0 . 00 2 . 44 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 12 1 . 09 0 . 71 1 . 73 cis6 stool 0 . 55 1 . 87 3 . 09 0 . 43 0 . 00 0 . 33 0 . 42 0 . 64 0 . 73 0 . 00 3 . 11 16 . 8 cis6 biopsy 0 . 70 2 . 01 3 . 16 0 . 51 0 . 00 0 . 56 0 . 49 0 . 00 0 . 98 0 . 00 3 . 31 17 . 9 ca7 stool 1 . 71 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 32 25 . 4 2 . 45 0 . 10 0 . 30 1 . 23 1 . 45 ca7 biopsy 2 . 01 0 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 47 27 . 6 2 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 53 1 . 11 1 . 60 ca10 stool 31 . 5 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 01 0 . 00 2 . 42 0 . 10 0 . 29 1 . 98 0 . 38 1 . 56 0 . 35 ca10 biopsy 33 . 2 0 . 00 0 . 00 3 . 13 0 . 00 2 . 51 0 . 22 0 . 39 2 . 12 0 . 46 1 . 78 0 . 44 ca13 stool 26 . 1 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 31 0 . 00 1 . 99 0 . 87 0 . 23 1 . 74 0 . 65 1 . 44 0 . 76 ca13 biopsy 28 . 2 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 55 0 . 00 2 . 13 0 . 97 0 . 42 1 . 88 0 . 79 1 . 53 0 . 00 ca15 stool 3 . 44 0 . 67 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 32 1 . 90 2 . 31 0 . 13 0 . 89 0 . 91 0 . 65 0 . 58 ca15 biopsy 3 . 61 0 . 51 0 . 92 0 . 00 0 . 50 2 . 11 2 . 45 0 . 26 1 . 07 1 . 15 0 . 77 0 . 71 ca20 stool 2 . 22 0 . 00 25 . 4 0 . 00 0 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 91 2 . 79 0 . 76 1 . 98 ca20 biopsy 2 . 39 0 . 00 27 . 2 0 . 00 0 . 88 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 1 . 09 2 . 93 0 . 83 2 . 21 gene p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 p53 tml codon 178 179 241 244 245 245 245 248 248 248 249 mutation tgc ccc ttc gct agc gct gac tgg cag ctg atg ad2 stool 0 . 33 0 . 56 0 . 11 0 . 42 2 . 02 0 . 26 3 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 07 0 . 30 1 . 43 16 . 58 ad2 biopsy 0 . 33 0 . 00 0 . 21 0 . 51 2 . 11 0 . 31 3 . 22 0 . 00 0 . 12 0 . 41 1 . 51 16 . 71 ad3 stool 0 . 93 0 . 71 0 . 94 0 . 15 0 . 07 0 . 30 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 21 0 . 19 16 . 84 ad3 biopsy 1 . 09 0 . 91 1 . 18 0 . 30 0 . 00 0 . 55 0 . 00 0 . 91 0 . 00 2 . 43 0 . 35 19 . 16 ad5 stool 1 . 02 0 . 33 0 . 21 0 . 16 1 . 99 2 . 03 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 15 0 . 00 2 . 35 17 . 42 ad5 biopsy 1 . 17 0 . 55 0 . 40 0 . 00 2 . 20 2 . 13 0 . 00 0 . 37 0 . 27 0 . 00 2 . 67 18 . 07 ad6 stool 2 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 41 0 . 27 0 . 95 0 . 00 1 . 92 0 . 53 0 . 00 0 . 09 1 . 77 18 . 17 ad6 biopsy 2 . 17 0 . 00 0 . 40 0 . 00 1 . 09 0 . 00 2 . 17 0 . 73 0 . 00 0 . 13 1 . 97 20 . 12 ad7 stool 0 . 00 0 . 19 0 . 77 0 . 65 0 . 00 0 . 51 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 28 18 . 42 ad7 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 90 0 . 77 0 . 00 0 . 72 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 55 1 . 65 0 . 00 20 . 07 ad8 stool 0 . 00 0 . 24 0 . 18 0 . 13 0 . 00 0 . 54 0 . 63 2 . 09 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 18 . 66 ad8 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 39 0 . 28 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 63 0 . 88 2 . 17 0 . 00 1 . 01 0 . 00 21 . 60 ad9 stool 0 . 36 0 . 99 0 . 66 0 . 00 2 . 41 2 . 02 1 . 01 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 11 0 . 71 18 . 77 ad9 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 62 2 . 19 1 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 32 0 . 97 19 . 75 ad10 stool 0 . 78 0 . 65 0 . 17 0 . 34 2 . 36 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 42 0 . 40 0 . 00 2 . 08 19 . 71 ad10 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 24 0 . 60 2 . 51 0 . 00 2 . 11 0 . 69 0 . 67 0 . 00 2 . 17 21 . 53 ad11 stool 1 . 98 0 . 00 1 . 32 0 . 55 0 . 78 1 . 88 2 . 08 0 . 37 0 . 00 0 . 41 1 . 99 19 . 76 ad11 biopsy 2 . 14 0 . 00 1 . 56 0 . 76 0 . 00 2 . 09 2 . 23 0 . 60 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 16 19 . 28 ad12 stool 0 . 00 0 . 56 0 . 42 0 . 00 0 . 44 0 . 32 0 . 00 1 . 98 0 . 06 0 . 00 2 . 03 21 . 43 ad12 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 66 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 65 0 . 42 0 . 00 2 . 19 0 . 18 0 . 00 2 . 15 23 . 25 ad13 stool 2 . 10 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 00 0 . 40 2 . 21 0 . 00 1 . 31 0 . 27 0 . 00 21 . 70 ad13 biopsy 2 . 34 0 . 35 0 . 00 0 . 95 0 . 00 0 . 61 2 . 32 0 . 00 1 . 44 0 . 40 0 . 00 24 . 45 ad14 stool 3 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 73 0 . 55 0 . 00 0 . 87 0 . 23 1 . 67 0 . 98 0 . 00 21 . 77 ad14 biopsy 3 . 11 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 73 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 87 0 . 23 1 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 18 . 54 ad15 stool 1 . 71 0 . 21 0 . 00 2 . 02 0 . 08 0 . 00 2 . 44 0 . 22 2 . 36 0 . 12 0 . 20 22 . 01 ad15 biopsy 1 . 97 0 . 00 0 . 00 2 . 13 0 . 19 0 . 00 2 . 61 0 . 50 2 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 41 24 . 74 ad16 stool 0 . 16 1 . 37 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 49 1 . 71 0 . 35 0 . 06 0 . 00 1 . 33 0 . 00 22 . 24 ad16 biopsy 0 . 25 1 . 46 0 . 39 0 . 00 0 . 62 1 . 90 0 . 00 0 . 17 0 . 00 1 . 57 0 . 00 23 . 65 cis1 stool 0 . 63 0 . 20 0 . 00 2 . 10 0 . 18 0 . 00 0 . 17 0 . 21 0 . 34 7 . 81 0 . 00 22 . 3 cis1 biopsy 0 . 87 0 . 44 0 . 00 2 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 26 0 . 33 0 . 50 8 . 02 0 . 00 24 . 74 cis2 stool 0 . 00 0 . 09 1 . 66 0 . 00 2 . 05 0 . 22 1 . 37 1 . 40 0 . 00 2 . 26 1 . 29 23 . 60 cis2 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 21 1 . 89 0 . 00 2 . 24 0 . 00 1 . 51 1 . 62 0 . 00 2 . 33 1 . 41 25 . 09 cis3 stool 3 . 76 0 . 00 0 . 55 0 . 61 0 . 87 0 . 12 3 . 77 3 . 10 0 . 23 1 . 57 1 . 59 28 . 66 cis3 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 68 0 . 79 0 . 96 0 . 30 3 . 91 3 . 32 0 . 31 1 . 62 0 . 00 25 . 72 cis4 stool 0 . 58 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 65 0 . 41 0 . 25 0 . 00 15 . 2 0 . 00 1 . 87 0 . 33 31 . 34 cis4 biopsy 0 . 67 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 79 0 . 55 0 . 38 0 . 00 17 . 1 0 . 00 2 . 11 0 . 00 34 . 75 cis5 stool 0 . 00 0 . 44 0 . 98 0 . 31 0 . 00 3 . 12 0 . 11 0 . 42 1 . 71 2 . 73 0 . 00 35 . 13 cis5 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 46 1 . 17 0 . 50 0 . 00 3 . 35 0 . 21 0 . 55 1 . 92 2 . 88 0 . 00 39 . 6 cis6 stool 0 . 22 0 . 48 0 . 09 0 . 16 0 . 76 0 . 77 0 . 00 2 . 54 2 . 33 0 . 97 0 . 00 36 . 29 cis6 biopsy 0 . 11 0 . 23 0 . 16 0 . 25 0 . 00 0 . 95 0 . 00 2 . 73 2 . 49 1 . 09 0 . 00 37 . 63 ca7 stool 0 . 00 0 . 78 0 . 45 0 . 19 0 . 69 0 . 00 1 . 91 0 . 04 0 . 54 1 . 52 2 . 16 42 . 01 ca7 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 89 0 . 00 0 . 11 0 . 78 0 . 00 2 . 15 0 . 10 0 . 76 1 . 70 2 . 09 45 . 15 ca10 stool 0 . 44 0 . 00 0 . 65 0 . 19 0 . 53 2 . 19 2 . 48 0 . 00 0 . 27 0 . 00 0 . 44 48 . 78 ca10 biopsy 0 . 52 0 . 00 0 . 71 0 . 33 0 . 70 2 . 30 2 . 58 0 . 00 0 . 35 0 . 00 0 . 59 52 . 33 ca13 stool 0 . 32 0 . 00 0 . 15 0 . 24 0 . 34 0 . 00 13 . 7 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 56 51 . 40 ca13 biopsy 0 . 47 0 . 00 0 . 22 0 . 00 0 . 50 0 . 00 16 . 3 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 73 56 . 70 ca15 stool 0 . 77 0 . 16 2 . 21 2 . 54 1 . 64 0 . 00 3 . 02 0 . 00 0 . 24 30 . 8 0 . 00 53 . 89 ca15 biopsy 0 . 98 0 . 30 2 . 39 2 . 67 1 . 99 0 . 00 3 . 31 0 . 00 0 . 54 33 . 1 0 . 00 59 . 34 ca20 stool 0 . 41 0 . 66 0 . 00 3 . 19 0 . 00 0 . 26 0 . 00 0 . 16 24 . 9 1 . 59 0 . 00 65 . 90 ca20 biopsy 0 . 00 0 . 87 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 00 0 . 37 0 . 00 0 . 29 26 . 3 1 . 77 0 . 00 67 . 13 | 2 |
this invention relates to a process implementable as interacting programs / program components , distributed over computer networks , with the effect of making select information retrievable through knowledge - based mechanisms on a broad scale . the process applies to information held in local or distributed electronic documents of any type (“ knowledge resources ”), which can be accessed through electronic paths such as directory paths , url &# 39 ; s ( uniform resource locator ) or database requests . knowledge - based retrieval in this context encompasses the origination , knowledge extraction from such documents and their qualification , as well as their elucidation and distribution of knowledge gained about them , in concert with targeted access to , and display of , the original documents . origination deals with the source and type of the documents . extraction derives knowledge by analyzing their content and relevance , and determining their classification . qualification assesses the quality and significance of a document by using filtering , inspection and annotation . elucidation provides for the creation of dedicated knowledge presentation environments by domain experts . distribution warrants efficient and controlled access to the recorded knowledge by the targeted users . e - stract is a process that integrates instances of these tasks into a consistent framework for context - driven management of knowledge about qualified documents . this process constitutes a comprehensive approach to networked knowledge management . at the time of this writing , most components have been implemented as proof of concepts ; no actual large - scale deployment has yet been undertaken , however , and the notion of “ knowledge ” has been limited to “ context ” information , that is , determination / approximation as to the context ( s ) in which a document or portions thereof evolve . the top - level architecture of the principal components of the process is shown in fig1 and 2 : [ 0022 ] fig1 illustrates the knowledge acquisition part ( ex - stract ) of the process , with its main components origination , extraction and qualification . it shows also their connectivity to data services such as the key item base ( akin to a dictionary ), the context base ( which holds the context definitions and descriptions ), the reverse index ( which records the locations that point to select documents ), and the knowledge base which records the acquired and qualified knowledge . [ 0023 ] fig2 illustrates the knowledge enrichment and distribution part of the e - stract process . the content manager uses ab - stract to select appropriate material from one or more k - bases , to annotate it , to structure it and to build a knowledge distribution environment , complemented with interactive services , for a target audience . the diagram illustrates how objects from the resulting k - node are submitted to the ccr , which then distributes the corresponding context information to the routing service ( crs ). the figure shows also how the end - user interfaces implicitly with the routing service ( via the context lens in vue - stract ). in fig6 the virtual network topology of networks of qualified knowledge is shown , connecting knowledge nodes via ccr ( central context registry ) and crs ( context routing service ) for the end - user . the details of the knowledge node are symbolized as a rounded rectangle with the services ( ex - stract and ab - stract respectively ) available to the ke ( knowledge engineer ) and to the cm ( content manager ) and the servers servicing the knowledge base ( k - base ) and the knowledge node ( k - node ). the end user &# 39 ; s viewer ( vue - stract ) is connecting implicitly to a crs when search requests are initiated , the context information provided by the crs is then used to direct the requests to the k - nodes most likely to deliver appropriate information — this is symbolized by the double arrows attached to the viewers . the diagram shows also viewers connecting directly to knowledge nodes to use other services offered by the knodes . origination [ 1 . 01 ]: documents of interest may be referenced in many different ways — as bookmark lists [ 1 . 01 . 08 ], as lists compiled from search engines [ 1 . 01 . 09 ], as graphs generated by hyperlink sequences [ 1 . 01 . 10 ], as directory hierarchies , as database requests [ 1 01 07 ], or any combination thereof . the mechanisms used to generate such collections of references are recorded as search tasks [ 1 . 01 . 06 ] that can be invoked at any time or on programmable schedules . particular lists are generated also on demand or periodically for verification , review and updating of previously recorded knowledge by database update bots [ 1 . 01 . 05 ]. such bots are autonomous programs that monitor the usage of the database content and generate the review lists according to timing parameters or algorithm selection ( e . g . lru , mru ) specified by the operator [ 11 01 . 02 ]. documents may exhibit any single type ( e . g . text , image , sound ), collections of a same type ( e . g . newsgroup . video ) or aggregates of various types ( e . g . html , xml ). e - stract may record individually addressable components of collections and aggregates as separate entities , if required for qualification or retrieval purposes , from entire documents down to individual entries in interactive sessions . the results of the origination process are queued in a “ document queue ” [ 1 . 01 . 11 ] where duplicate requests within the queue are being removed . [ 0026 ] fig3 summarizes the above details of the origination sub - process : the operator ( ke ) interacts with this part by setting up the extraction tasks ( i . e . defining the search criteria and the filter criteria ) and by setting up the operating parameters for the k - base update bots . extraction tasks can be stored and scheduled at will , thus allowing for automation of repetitive tasks . note that the filter criteria are attached to the documents : they will be used only after completion of the context elaboration phase ( see fig4 ). this diagram shows also the various types of document origins that e - stract may handle and the option to follow links in documents for further analysis . extraction [ 1 . 02 ]: the extraction task relies on the notions of key items ( also concepts ), contexts and context filters . key items are terms , phrases , shapes , sequences or patterns identified as relevant for a given document ; they are characteristic for the content and the meaning of a document . e - stract maintains a dictionary of key items [ 1 04 ], that records relevant items , items to be ignored and frequently misspelled items . contexts are key items , deemed relevant for specific knowledge domains ; they are characterized by fuzzy sets over key items ( context sets for short ), i . e . as sets of weighted key items where the weight rates the probability of the item to appear in a document referring to that context . e - stract provides for manual and computer - assisted generation of context definitions [ 1 . 06 ]. contexts are the classification keys for a document . it should be noted that context terms do not necessarily appear in the referenced document and that documents are rarely written in a single context ; it is therefore appropriate to characterize the domain of discourse of a document by a fuzzy logic expression where the and operator relates dependent contexts and the or operator suggests juxtaposition of contexts . we refer to these expressions as classification expressions . in the e - stract process , key items and contexts are continuously refined and revised as more documents are being analyzed . it is a main design goal to automate most of this part of the e - stract process — expert human interaction nevertheless , must be part of the validation of the resulting successive enrichment . context sets may contain key items that are contexts themselves . they cause a transitive relationship and hence induce graphs to which we refer as context graphs . these graphs are used extensively in the distribution part of the process ( see below [ 2 . 21 ]). e - stract distinguishes between intrinsic contexts [ 1 . 02 . 06 ] and external contexts [ 1 . 02 . 07 ] of a document . using lexical analysis ( text ) or pattern analysis ( image , sound . . . ) it [ 1 . 02 . 01 ] generates first a document abstract [ 1 02 03 ] that records the document structure , the hyperlinks and the occurrences of key items . the intrinsic context is obtained by evaluating the document abstract : known key items and their distribution in the document are used heuristically to estimate their relevance ( weight ) for the document . ( a number of rating criteria can be considered at this stage but they are of no significance to the description of the e - stract process , even though their performance may affect the outcome of the process .) what is of essence here is that each key item is associated with a weight factor . the occurrence patterns of weighted key items can then be used in three ways . ( i ) context matching , i . e . infer a fuzzy logic expression from matching context sets to document sections and the overall document , or ( ii ) context induction , i . e . derive context sets through “ normalization ” of key item patterns for blank external contexts , or ( iii ) context fitting , i . e . adjust existing context sets through best fitting of key item patterns . a priori knowledge about the documents being analyzed and the degree of completion of the context descriptions for a given knowledge domain , guide the operator in the selection of the method to apply . context matching is the normal operating mode : when a sufficiently large set of context definitions / descriptions is established , the program seeks the best matching context descriptions and calculates a factor proportional to the closeness of the matching . context induction is a priming tool for context information : it is applied when reference documents are being analyzed in order to fill ( empty ) context definitions with suitable descriptions . this phase relies on expert human intervention , deciding which pattern suggestions of the program should be associated with which context definitions . context fitting is the tool of choice during the building phase of context information : it is applied when documents from reliable sources are being analyzed . the referral knowledge of a document consists of its hyperlinks and a ( not necessarily symmetrical ) window of key items in the vicinity of each link . in order to find such referral knowledge we use reverse indices [ 1 . 07 ], i . e . data structures that record the location of documents referencing a given document — such indices can be licensed or maintained by e - stract . this latter option is attractive once e - stract is in wide use : a network of cooperating ( extraction ) programs will jointly maintain a central reverse index by submitting all non self - referential references they extract . if access to the reverse index for referral knowledge processing becomes a performance bottleneck , the index may have to be mirrored . referral knowledge can be used ( a ) to discover new ( blank ) context items and ( b ) to infer likely contexts of the targeted documents . e - stract uses these key items as candidates for external contexts of the documents targeted by the links . the external domain of discourse of a document is a fuzzy expression in external contexts ; it is therefore characterized by the referral knowledge of all the documents that point at it . the frequency of occurrence of context terms across all referencing documents determines likely candidates for external contexts with their corresponding weights . the knowledge acquired about intrinsic contexts and external contexts of a document can now be used to consolidate the knowledge about the document by best fitting [ 1 . 02 08 ]. following situations are being considered . ( 1 ) external context terms and intrinsic context terms match — the weights are balanced across all terms , in relation to the external and intrinsic relevance rankings . ( 2 ) intrinsic context terms have no external matching — flag and accept as is . ( 3 ) external context terms have no intrinsic matching — present terms with entire selection of nameless intrinsic sets and suggest for manual set allocation . ( 4 ) remaining nameless intrinsic sets — find closest matches in existing named sets and suggest for manual name allocation . this mechanism is at the root of successive adaptation of contexts evolving over time , and it forms the conceptual basis for automated context learning . [ 0029 ] fig4 shows a graphical summary of the extraction sub - process . the goal of this phase is the best possible determination of the context ( s ) of any given document and then filter out the documents that do not meet the operator &# 39 ; s filter criteria . as side effect , the process produces link information for the reverse index , and successive enrichment of both the key item base and the context base . items that are identified as potentially interesting ( heuristics ) but can not be found in the key item base are submitted to the operator for validation ; [ note that documents with pending validation requests are queued ]; evaluation of external and internal contexts may refine or create entries into the context base . qualification [ 1 . 03 ]: significance and quality assessments are performed in two steps ( a ) filtering [ 1 . 03 . 01 ] and ( b ) inspection [ 1 . 03 . 02 ]. once the knowledge extraction phase is completed , the document is checked against a context filter . context filters consist of a fuzzy logic expression over named / unnamed context sets ( using the standard operators and , or and not ), paired with a threshold parameter and other constraints ( e . g . type of documents , date last modified , author . . . ). [ note : the not operator is used to formulate exclusions of subsets , rather than negations , i . e . “ this documents relates to apples , but not green apples ”, rather than “ this document does not relate to green apples ”— which obviously cover different sets . it is therefore more likely to appear in context filters , which express specific limitations , rather than in automatically generated classification expressions for a domain of discourse ]. the fuzzy logic expression delimits an ncube in the key items space . documents contained within that space are considered a fit ; for all others a distance function ( absolute norm ) is used to determine the proximity to the cube and the threshold parameter acts as cut - off value . if the document fails the thresholds , it is rejected ; if it passes , it is queued for possible human inspection and annotation . human inspection [ 1 03 02 ] consists of a review of the extracted knowledge ( recorded in knowledge records — or k - records ), and a visual inspection of the referenced document . the knowledge engineer may annotate the records [ 1 . 03 . 03 ] with comments pertaining to the raw knowledge of documents ( e . g . reliability of the source , completeness , accuracy , etc . . . . ). such annotations are displayed jointly , whenever the corresponding document is accessed via e - stract . after completion of the qualification step , the k - records are successively committed [ 1 . 03 . 03 ] to a knowledge base or k - base [ 1 06 ]. in case of duplicate records , the operator may choose to discard either or , or merge . [ 0031 ] fig5 summarizes the activities involved in the qualification phase . the k - records supplied by the extraction process are tested against the context filter ( it &# 39 ; s parameters are defined at the time of extraction task setup ). records that do not meet the filter criteria are dropped ; the remainder is presented for visual inspection of the extraction results and optional review of the corresponding document . the ke may also add annotations that will be presented any time a user retrieves the corresponding document via the k - base . documents that are being ( re ) analyzed as a result of a database bot request ( review list ) do not normally proceed through the qualification phase : after origination , documents that have become inaccessible cause a corresponding flagging of their k - record — if that flagging persists over an extended ( operator adjustable ) time period , the record is removed ; after extraction , the results are compared to the k - record entries in the database — if there is “ little change ”, the record is updated automatically ; if there is major change , the new and the old records are queued for the operator to qualify . in this context , “ little change ” refers to slight variations in context weighting ( threshold may be operator adjustable ); major changes include changes in context weighting above thresholds , as well as mismatch in sets of recorded contexts . [ note : for clarity , the path of review requests is omitted from the diagrams .] elucidation [ 2 . 01 ]: the above phases — origination , extraction and qualification — are executed under the authority of a domain expert ( knowledge engineer [ 1 . 00 ]), trained in the use of search tools and qualified to assess the relevance and quality of documents in specific knowledge domains . this sets the stage for the elucidation task , which caters to augmenting the knowledge acquired so far and to the creation of dedicated knowledge environments . it is executed under the authority of domain experts ( content managers [ 2 . 00 ]), qualified to structure , comment and present domain knowledge to target audiences . knowledge engineer and content manager are distinct roles , relating to each other , like researcher and teacher ; they may be held by a same individual , but at different times . the tools to create dedicated knowledge environments consist of a library of e - stract objects [ 2 . 03 ] that provide particular items and services , and a structure builder [ 2 . 01 ] that allows to manipulate ( create , move , alias , duplicate , group . . . ) object instances into graphs and hierarchies . views are primitive objects ; they form the basic containers for the structure builder , they can be nested or linked , and they can be displayed in different presentation formats ( indented list , “ tree ”, 2d iconic panel , 3d spatial view . . . ), to underline roles such as book , collection , lens , etc . . . . the linking capability of views allows creating variants over common subsets of objects by offering different entry points . open views can be adorned with embedded textual and graphical annotations . collapsed views , like any instantiated object , are represented as icons ( may vary with the presentation format ). the e - stract object library is a growing collection of templates for simple objects such as text panel , graphical canvas , k - record , url , or context filter , and container objects such as chat , meeting , task list , announcement , conference , km ( knowledge management ) tools and more . . . . the fundamental service of e - stract lies in finding quality information ; and since seeking information is frequently part of a problem solving task , and problem solving is often done in teams , the object library is geared to support collaborative problem solving . the ability to combine knowledge and means for interaction at any level is therefore a particular feature of the e - stract process . container objects hold sub - objects , instantiated objects become part of the knowledge base . every object can be complemented with comments by content managers , and by end - users ( subject to appropriate access rights )— such comments , being attached to the object handle rather than to the object itself , can be viewed without opening the object and give the end - user the option to skip documents without downloading . also every object / sub - object is associated with a list of context terms , and hence can be processed through context filters , and of course , they are searchable in the traditional sense of boolean key term search . the list of context terms is derived from the object &# 39 ; s contents ( e . g . through context matching — cf . ( i ) under extraction ) and may be adjusted by the content manager . as a result , populating views can be achieved in several ways — manipulation of existing objects ( move , alias , copy ), instantiations from the object library , or selections from context filtering and search results . this approach allows constructing environments with “ dynamic ” elements such as context filters [ 2 . 01 ], offering dynamic views into local and remote knowledge bases , and with more “ static ” elements such as web - books that contain not just static references to web pages , but also any other object such as chat , conference , or even context filter . by default , objects in a hierarchy inherit the context properties of the parent view . since the e - stract structure builder supports the construction of graphs , a same object may inherit different contexts , depending on the path along which it is being visited . similarly , since objects inherit by default the security settings of their parent view , the access conditions of an object depend on the access path , unless it has been given a local access policy — more on this below . distribution [ fig2 ]: distributing the content of the knowledge nodes involves three principal components : context services , viewer and security . context services consist of a central context registry ( ccr ) [ 2 . 11 ] and context routing services ( crs ) [ 2 . 21 ]. knowledge engineers may grant ( license ) access to their k - bases ( or part thereof ) to select local or remote knowledge nodes . content managers create access paths to knowledge nodes through filter objects , books or searches [ 2 . 01 ]. as they build knowledge environments for their target audiences , they may also decide to make parts of their environments accessible to a larger public and submit a selection of their e - stract objects to the ccr . acceptance of the objects by the ccr is subject to quality control , conflict resolution in context descriptions and consistency checks of the associated contexts . object registration is time limited : it is reviewed periodically and may be subject to periodical renewal / re - registration . corresponding updates are dispatched to the crs which relies on a set of distributed lookup tables placed on strategically selected hosts and complemented with access pointers located as close as possible to the end user . such an approach is intended to set up an implicit routing infrastructure [ similar to the pervasive domain name service ( dns )]. the task of the crs consists in efficiently presenting the available contexts to the end - user and reporting all registered e - stract objects that match the user &# 39 ; s selection . this combination of ccr and crs induces virtual network structures over the internet , linking knowledge nodes via the contexts of e - stract objects . we refer to them as networks of qualified knowledge ( nqk ). the viewer ( vue - stract ) [ fig2 ] is the end user &# 39 ; s tool to access the services of knowledge nodes . it connects implicitly to the “ closest ” crs and guides the user through a context selection / refinement process using a context lens [ 2 21 ] which can be “ focused ”, displaying the relevant e - stract objects with varying sharpness , depending on the quality of the match . this context focusing process is directed by the context graphs that are induced by the submissions of e - stract objects to the ccr . results of this focusing step are transferred to the search builder [ 222 ] which generates concurrent search requests for all k - nodes revealed by the lens . to further refine a selection of objects , vue - stract supports boolean search [ 2 23 ] for key items this type of search is limited to the objects that fit the context requirements of the user . vue - stract presents context selection and search results as collection of object handles which can be previewed for comments by content managers and other users . it supports structural navigation through the object collection and , subject to proper access rights , enables the use of the services provided by e - stract objects and invokes external applications that may be required for viewing specific document types [ 2 24 ]. the security mechanism manages the access protocols for groups and individuals , consistent with access rights established by the content managers for each node . e - stract supports a combination of policy and security applicable at the level of individual objects , where policy determines generic access based on current rights of users , and security allocates / modifies rights based on user identity or group membership . | 6 |
firstly , as shown in fig1 ( a ), a transparent electroconductive layer 2 is formed on a substrate 1 . the substrate 1 can be any one which is known to the art in this field , preferably glass or plastic . the transparent electroconductive layer can be prepared from tin oxide , indium oxide , antimony oxide and the like . then , as shown in fig1 ( b ), a negative type photosensitive resin layer 3 is formed on the transparent electroconductive layer 2 by electrodeposition . the photosensitive resin layer may be colored with red , green , blue or black . in this context , the color layer is formed in the order of red , green and blue , but this is not limited . in the present invention , the negative photosensitive layer 3 is formed by electrodepositing in an electrodeposition bath with passing electric current through the electroconductive layer 2 . the electrodeposition bath generally contain ( i ) a negative type photosensitive resin as a film - forming component which becomes water depositable by neutralizing with acid or alkali , ( ii ) a dyestuff which gives color to the electrodeposited film , ( iii ) an organic solvent which controls electrodeposition properties and bath stability , ( iv ) an alkaline or acidic material which makes the photosensitive resin electrodepositable , ( v ) a photopolymerization initiator and if necessary ( vi ) a photosensitizer or some additives for controlling surface smoothness , electrodeposition properties and bath stability . the negative type electrodepositable photosensitive resin composition is disclosed in japanese kokai publications 61 - 247090 and 62 - 262856 ( corresponding to u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 671 , 854 and 4 , 845 , 012 ), which are incorporated hereto . fig1 ( c ) shows that a negative mask 4 having a desired pattern is contacted on the photosensitive resin layer 3 . the contact may be conducted in a vacuum condition . the photosensitive resin layer 3 is exposed to light through the negative mask and then developed with a developer to elute out the non - exposed portion ( see fig1 ( d ), thus obtaining a red patterned filter . exposing and developing techniques are known to the art . for example , the light source for the exposure is not limited , but preferably has a wave length between 300 to 450 nm . examples of the light sources are sun light , a mercury lamp , a xenone lamp , an arc lamp and the like . the curing of the photosensitive resin layer by the irradiation of light is generally conducted for one second to several minutes , preferably within the range of one second to 20 seconds . if the electrodeposition is anionic , the developing can be conducted by spraying a weak alkali solution to the non - exposed portion . examples of the alkali solution are sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate , potassium hydroxide , ammonia , sodium metasilicate and the like . if sodium hydroxide is employed , the alkali solution contains it in an amount of 0 . 1 to 5 % by weight . if the electrodeposition is cationic , a weak acidic solution is employed as a developer . the weak acidic solution contains an acidic material in an amount of 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 % by weight . examples of the acidic materials are acetic acid , lactic acid , crotinic acid , itaconic acid and the like . next , a green photosensitive resin layer 5 is formed by electrodeposition as mentioned above ( see fig1 ( e )). the red patterned filter acts as an insulating layer and the green layer 5 is not formed thereon . a negative mask 4 &# 39 ; having a desired pattern is contacted with the surface of the resin layer and 5 and the red patterned filter , as shown in fig1 ( f ), and then exposed and developed to form a green patterned filter between the red patterned filter ( see fig1 ( g )). the third color ( blue ) filter is also formed by an electrodeposition ( fig1 ( h )), an exposure through a negative mask 4 &# 34 ; ( fig1 ( i )) and a development to form a three color ( red , green and blue ) color filter ( fig1 ( j )). the color filter is generally formed from the three color ( red , green and blue ) filter , but in a case where 4 colors or more ( including black stripe ) are desired the above steps can be effected again . also , the black stripe may be formed between the color filter by a art - known coloring method . according to the process of the present invention , once a transparent electroconductive layer is formed , it can be used as an electrode for all colors , thus simplifying the steps . the color filter is formed by electrodeposition and therefore uniformity of film thickness is kept throughout the substrate . the color layer which has been formed on the substrate functions as insulating layer and therefore it never happens that one color layer is piled on another color layer . the conventional spin - coating method consumes an expensive photosensitive resin composition , but the method of the present invention does not consume it , which reduces costs . in the process of the present invention , the color filter is formed on the same transparent electroconductive electrode , and therefore is very suitable for an active matrix type liquid crystal color display . the present invention is illustrated by the following examples which , however , are not to be construed as being limited to their details . a reaction vessel was charged with 90 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether and heated to 90 ° c . to the content , a mixture of 30 parts by weight of methacrylic acid , 20 parts by weight of styrene , 50 parts by weight of ethyl acrylate and 2 parts by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile was added dropwise over 3 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere . after finishing the addition , it was aged for 30 minutes , to which a mixture of one part by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile and 10 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether was added dropwise over 30 minutes . it was then aged for 3 hours to obtain an acryl resin solution having an acid value of 99 . next , 3 parts by weight of 2 , 2 - dimethoxy - 2 - phenylacetophenone and 15 parts by weight of trimethylolpropane were added and then neutralized with 0 . 6 equivalent of monoethanol amine . it was diluted with deionized water to obtain an electrodeposition bath having a non - volatile content of 10 %. a reaction vessel was charged with 90 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether and heated to 90 ° c . to the content , a mixture of 40 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate , 40 parts by weight of butyl acrylate , 20 parts by weight of acrylic acid , and 2 parts by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile was added dropwise over 3 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere . after finishing the addition , it was aged for 30 minutes , to which a mixture of one part by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile and 10 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether was added dropwise over 30 minutes . it was then aged for 5 hours to obtain an acryl resin solution having an acid value of 155 . next , 24 parts by weight of glycidyl methacrylate , 0 . 12 parts by weight of hydroquinone and 0 . 6 parts by weight of tetraethyl ammonium were added and the reaction was conducted at 90 ° c . for 5 hours with air - blowing to obtain a photosensitive resin composition having an acid value of 50 . the solution was neutralized with 0 . 6 equivalent of monoethanol amine and 3 parts by weight of 2 , 2 - dimethoxy - 2 - phenyl acetophenone . it was diluted with deionized water to obtain an electrodeposition bath having a non - volatile content of 10 %. a reaction vessel was charged with 90 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether and heated to 90 ° c . to the content , a mixture of 30 parts by weight of n , n - diethylaminoethyl methacrylate , 20 parts by weight of styrene , 50 parts by weight of ethyl acrylate and 2 parts by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile was added dropwise over 3 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere . after finishing the addition , it was aged for 30 minutes , to which a mixture of one part by weight of azobisisobutylonitrile and 10 parts by weight of ethyleneglycol monobutyl ether was added dropwise over 30 minutes . it was then aged for 3 hours to obtain an acryl resin solution having an acid value of 99 . next , 3 parts by weight of 2 , 2 - dimethoxy - 2 - nonylacetophenone and 20 parts by weight of trimethylolpropane were added and then neutralized with 0 . 5 equivalent of acetic acid . it was diluted with deionized water to obtain an electrodeposition bath having a non - volatile content of 10 %. the obtained electrodepositable resin composition was mixed with a pigment in the following formulation to obtain three color negative type electrodeposition bath . ______________________________________ red green blue______________________________________negative type photosensitive 970 . 0 965 . 0 970 . 0electrodepositable resincomposition ( anionic = preparation 1 or 2 )( cationic = preparation 3 ) azo metal salt red pigment 30 . 0phthalocyanine blue 35 . 0phthalocyanine green 30 . 0 1000 . 0 1000 . 0 1000 . 0______________________________________ an ito ( indium tin oxide ) transparent electroconductive layer 2 was formed on a substrate 1 . the electroconductive layer 2 was connected to a positive electrode and a metal bath for the electrodepositable composition was connected with a minus electrode . the substrate was immersed in the electrodeposition bath and a direct current of 100 volt was applied between electrodes for one minute to deposit a red negative type photosensitive resin layer of preparation 1 with a thickness of about 2 microns on the electroconductive layer 2 . it was rinsed with water and dried to form a red negative type photosensitive resin layer 3 . then , a negative mask 4 having a desired pattern was placed on the resin layer 3 and exposed to a high pressure mercury lamp to cure the exposed portion . the substrate was spray - developed with a 0 . 5 wt % sodium hydroxide solution at 50 ° c . for 60 seconds and the non - exposed portion was eluted to form a patterned red filter . the substrate was then immersed in a green electrodeposition bath and electrodeposited as generally described above to form a green photosensitive resin layer between the patterned red filter . it was exposed and developed as mentioned above to obtain a patterned green film . the same process was conducted to form a red , green and blue patterned resin layer on the substrate . a color filter was prepared as generally described in example 1 , with the exception that the cationic negative type photosensitive resin composition of preparation 3 was employed instead of the anionic negative type photosensitive resin composition of preparation 1 , and the electrodes were reversely connected . | 6 |
the embodiments of the pallet and associated components thereof according to the present invention will be specifically described , with reference to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the figures . [ 0024 ] fig1 illustrates a pallet 10 of the present invention which comprises an upper or top deck member 20 , a lower or bottom deck member 30 , and a plurality of support members 40 . the support members are secured at predetermined locations between the deck members by a securing means , such as adhesive , tape , fasteners , or the like , with common white glue being preferred . the upper deck member 10 typically serves as a support or load - bearing surface for the goods or materials adapted to be stored on and / or transported by the pallet . the upper deck member is preferably formed from a single sheet of corrugated linerboard paper . the corrugated paper can be single wall , double wall or triple wall . as known in the art , single wall corrugated sheets are formed from two face sheets , 22 , 24 connected by a layer of flutes 26 , as shown in fig3 . the individual double wall and triple wall corrugated sheets include two and three layers of fluting , respectively , each separated by a single layer of thin paper or sheeting , with a layer of the paper or sheeting covering the outer surfaces of the outer flutes . accordingly , the double and triple wall corrugated sheets have alternating layers of flutes and thin paper layers , with the paper layers being the outer surface of the sheets . the flutes can be described as having a repeating “ s ” shaped pattern or wave profile . the height of the flutes , i . e ., from peak to trough , can vary as known in the art and can be , but are not limited to , a , b , c , and e grade . when double or greater wall corrugated sheet is utilized , different grade and thus different heights of flutes can be used in a single sheet of the corrugated paper , with b and c grade preferred for double wall sheets and a , b , and c ; or a , c , and c preferred for triple wall . the flutes of the corrugated sheeting form hollow tube or straw - like passageways and connect the remaining layers together . top deck member 20 is a planar structure having a predetermined length and width , with sizes for both ranging generally from about 12 or 14 to about 50 inches , and preferably from about 30 or 40 to about 48 inches . the main plane formed by the upper deck member is substantially horizontal and parallel to the lower deck member and adapted to be parallel with a ground surface . the top member is maintained a predetermined distance , usually about 3 to about 5 or 6 inches from the lower deck member 30 . the lower deck member 30 can be formed in the same size , manner and construction as the upper deck member 20 . depending on the intended use of the pallet , the corrugated sheets of the upper and lower deck members can be the same or different such as both being single wall corrugated paper , or one member being single wall and the other triple wall , etc . the lower deck member contacts or rests upon the ground surface . the planes formed by the upper and lower deck members are , as noted , substantially parallel and thus provide a level surface for goods or materials . the support member or stringers 40 of the pallet provide both strength and rigidity to the structure . each individual support member is formed from a single continuous piece of corrugated paper , such as single face . alternatively , a plurality of pieces such as generally about 10 or about 8 or less , desirably about 6 or about 4 or less , and preferably about 3 or about 2 , can be utilized and the same are butted at their ends to one another , either with or without a fastener such as an adhesive and wound in the same manner as a single continuous piece of corrugated paper . the continuous piece of a predetermined height is wound or wrapped in a direction around itself to form a predetermined length and width or thickness . support member 40 is preferably formed from single face corrugated paper comprising a single layer of paper with flutes co - extending therewith . glue or other adhesive is utilized to secure the continuously wound layers to each other . during formation of the support member , the glue is preferably applied to the outer flute edges that will contact the succeeding paper layer . the continuous wind has a continuous nature of alternating layers of flute and liner or paper . the overall size of a support member 40 can vary with the height ranging generally from about 3 inches to about 5 or about 6 inches , desirably from about 3 . 5 to about 4 inches , and preferably about 3 . 5 inches ; the width ranging generally from about 2 to about 4 or about 6 inches , desirably from about 2 to about 3 inches , and preferably from about 2 to about 2 . 5 inches ; and the length ranging generally from 12 or 14 to about 50 inches ; desirably from about 40 to about 48 inches and preferably from about 46 to about 48 inches . the support member flutes are arranged parallel to the height of the support member to provide strength . in this manner , the deck members will cover the open ends of the support member , which are then fully enclosed . the overall dimensions of a support member will vary and depend on the intended use and weight the pallet will be used to support . often a support member will run substantially the entire length of a pallet from one side or end to another . the number of support members utilized between the deck members will also depend on the weight that needs to be supported , and preferably about 2 or about 3 to about 6 support members are utilized in a pallet . in a preferred embodiment , the flutes 26 , 36 of the deck members 30 , 40 are disposed in a direction perpendicular to the longest length ( as opposed to the width ) of the support members , thus providing strength to the pallet as shown in fig3 . thus , the flutes of the support members are perpendicular to the flutes of the deck members . this configuration is also illustrated in fig2 and has been found to provide a lightweight , recyclable pallet which is strong and sturdy in construction . as shown at least in fig2 support members 40 preferably have rounded or curved end portions 42 . the curved end portions are adapted to guide the forks of a fork lift truck into the pallet . this is , the curved end portions will allow the forks to slide into the passageways formed between adjacent support members . [ 0035 ] fig3 is a detailed cross - sectional view of a pallet of the present invention , particularly illustrating the orientation of the flutes of the corrugated members . the flutes 26 of the upper deck member 20 are orientated in a direction perpendicular to the length of support member 40 . the upper deck member is a single wall corrugated paper sheet having face paper layers or sheets 22 and 24 connected by flutes 26 . in a similar manner , the lower deck member includes face paper layers or sheets 32 and 34 connected by flutes 36 , which are also orientated perpendicular to the length of support member 40 . [ 0036 ] fig4 illustrates a support member 40 which can be utilized to create a four - way entry pallet . support member 40 includes at least two cut - outs 44 which extend completely through the width of the support member . the size of the orifice or cut - outs can vary and are at least large enough to accommodate a fork of a fork lift truck . the cut - outs 44 enable the pallet of the present invention to be entered from all four sides for lifting and moving the same . in a further embodiment , as illustrated in fig2 the lower deck member 30 can have jack holes 50 formed therein to accommodate lift wheels of a hand jack . the jack holes 50 can be formed of any shape or size and are generally at least adapted to be larger than the size of the lift wheels of the hand jack . jack holes 50 allow the pallets to be utilized and lifted by hand jacks which are generally manually operated . the hand jacks generally include wheels on the fork portions for rolling movement across the ground surface . the jack holes 50 are adapted to allow the wheels of a hand jack to be freely moved , as the wheels are prevented from contacting the pallet 10 due to the presence of the jackholes . additionally , either or both of the upper and lower deck members can be treated with an oil and / or water repellent compositions as known in the art and to the literature to prolong the life of the pallet . the pallets of the present invention being formed of corrugated paper are completely recyclable and are thus beneficial to the environment . the construction of the pallet also renders the same insect resistant . in a further embodiment , a support member or article can be utilized alone , that is not in a pallet assembly . the support member is used as a wood substitute and is used as , but not limited to , stack separators , supports , spacers , braces , stabilizers , and the like . as stated hereinabove , the support members 40 are generally elongated in length as shown in at least fig4 . in addition to the above - noted size ranges for the support members used in a pallet assembly , support member construction is versatile and thus a support member is sized accordingly to fit an intended application . for example , in one embodiment the support member is used as a brace on the floor of a truck trailer or rail car ; or used between adjacent items or rows of items . the support member 40 is formed in sizes of about 0 . 50 × about 2 × about 2 inches to about 8 × about 8 × about 50 or about 100 inches or from about 1 × about 2 × about 2 inches to about 6 × about 6 × about 50 inches . in further embodiments , the support member is also be manufactured to typical wood board specifications similar to 2 ″× 4 ″, 4 ″× 4 ″, or 2 ″× 6 ″ in substantially any desired length . in one embodiment , two or more support members are glued together , i . e ., side by side , one on top of the other , or the like if desired to provide a larger surface area . although the relative size of the support member can vary , the construction method is generally the same . the support member is formed as a wind or coil of corrugated paper . the wind is considered a spiral wind , more specifically a flattened , elongated wind or coil . as disclosed hereinabove , the support member is preferably formed from single face corrugated paper having a corrugated paper layer of a predetermined thickness and a flute layer attached thereto ; typically with an adhesive as known in the art . the assembled flattened , spirally wound or rounded end rectangular support member has alternating layers of paper sheet and fluting . as stated hereinabove , the flutes can be , but are not limited to , a , b , c , or e grade . the paper layer of the corrugated paper generally ranges from about 23 to about 90 - pounds per msf ( thousand square feet ) in medium or linerboard as known in the art . advantageously , the weight or thickness of the paper is exactly tailored to fit the desired end use , wherein if more support or strength is needed , a heavier grade of paper is utilized . thus , the support members can be custom tailored to specific applications . the support member 40 is generally formed in the following manner . starting with a first end 41 , corrugated paper of a predetermined height is extended a predetermined length “ x ” forming a central area or core 42 , preferably in a straight line so that when a predetermined number of layers are wrapped or wound around the central core , a support member is formed having a total length l and width w . when the corrugated paper has been extended to length “ x ,” the paper is then bent or folded either clockwise or counter - clockwise and routed back along and adhered to central core 42 . when the first end 41 is reached , the corrugated paper is wrapped therearound . the process is repeated until the central area is wrapped with a desired number of layers . each layer of paper of the support member is preferably adhered to an adjacent layer with an adhesive . as illustrated in the fig4 the flute layers and sheet layers alternate . end 43 of the corrugated paper can be essentially located at any point along the outside of the support member , and is not limited as shown in fig4 . while the support member can be formed from a single piece of corrugated paper , it should be understood that more than one piece can be utilized with ends being abutted or even slightly overlapped . the support member of the present invention has excellent strength . the wrapped structure provides rigidity and stability to the support member . the curved end portion 45 is very stable and aids in preventing separation between the layers . the support member is used wherever bracing , support or the like are needed . the support member provides cushioning properties and absorbs vibrations which can occur in transit , thereby reducing damage to a product . moreover , the support member is free of nails , splinters , or other protrusions harmful to products which can be supported thereby . the support members are recyclable and repulpable , thereby reducing waste in landfills . a two - way entry pallet of the present invention was constructed having an upper deck , a lower deck , and four support members . both the upper deck and lower deck had dimensions of 40 inches wide by 48 inches long and were formed from a single sheet of single wall corrugated paper , 75 - pound version . the support members were each constructed from a single sheet of single face corrugated paper . glue was applied to the flute edges and the single piece of single face corrugated paper was wrapped around itself to form a support member 3½ inches high , 48 inches long and 2 inches wide . two support members were placed at the width ends with the remaining supports being disposed therebetween at equal distance intervals from the remaining support members . the deck members were adhered to the support members utilizing common white glue . 7 , 200 pounds of weight was placed on the pallet . the pallet maintained its initial shape and dimensions and did not deform under the pressure of the weight for two weeks when the load was removed . a pallet having the above - noted construction and dimensions as in example 1 was placed in a gauged hydraulic press . pressure was then applied to the top and bottom deck members of the pallet and increased incrementally . the pallet withstood 17 , 000 pounds of pressure before being compressed . while in accordance with patent statutes the best mode and preferred embodiment have been set forth , the scope of the invention is not limited thereto , but rather by the scope of the attached claims . | 1 |
referring to fig1 , a turbofan gas turbine engine incorporating an embodiment of the present approach includes a bypass duct 10 , a core casing 13 , a low pressure spool assembly seen generally at 12 which includes a fan assembly 14 , a low pressure compressor assembly 16 and a low pressure turbine assembly 18 , and a high pressure spool assembly seen generally at 20 which includes a high pressure compressor assembly 22 and a high pressure turbine assembly 24 . the core casing 13 surrounds the low and high pressure spool assemblies 12 and 20 in order to define a main fluid path ( not indicated ) therethrough . in the main fluid path there are provided a combustor seen generally at 25 and a fuel system 28 , including fuel nozzles ( not depicted in fig1 ) for delivery of fuel to the combustor 25 for combustion . the compressor assemblies 16 and 22 provide a compressed airflow ( not indicated ) through the main fluid path and in communication with the combustor 25 for combustion therein . referring to fig1 and 2 , the fuel system 28 according to one embodiment , comprises a fuel pump 30 ( a vane type of fuel pump is preferred , which is driven independent of the high pressure spool ) for pressurizing the fuel to establish a fuel pressure under which fuel is delivered from a fuel source 32 through a fluidic connection of the fuel system 28 preferably to at least one pilot nozzle 34 such as a torch nozzle or some other form of primary nozzle , which is used to initialize ignition of combustion in a combustion chamber defined by the combustor 25 , and a main manifold 36 of the combustor 25 which distributes fuel to a plurality of main fuel nozzles 37 ( only one shown ) of the combustor 25 in order to supply fuel for combustion within the combustor 25 . both the pilot nozzle 34 and the main fuel nozzles 37 of the main manifold 36 are in fluid communication with the combustion chamber which , in turn , is in a fluidic communication with an outlet stage of the compressor 22 . the fluidic connection of the fuel system 28 further includes , for example , a minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 having an inlet 40 and outlets 42 , 44 , which are normally closed under a spring force of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 . the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 is adapted to open the outlet 42 only when inlet 40 is exposed to a low pressure which is equal to or above a predetermined minimum pressure threshold , but is lower than a predetermined high pressure threshold , or to open both outlets 42 and 44 when inlet 40 is exposed to a high pressure , which is equal to or above the predetermined high pressure threshold . this will be further discussed with reference to the system operation process . a fuel flow passage 46 interconnects the fuel pump 30 and the inlet 40 of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 , and a fuel flow passage 48 is connected between the outlet 42 and the pilot nozzle 34 . there is a fuel flow passage 50 extending between the outlet 44 of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 and the main manifold 36 in a parallel relationship with the fuel flow passage 48 . it should be noted that due to the flow rate difference between the required fuel flow to the pilot nozzle 34 ( the igniter flow ) and the fuel flow to the main manifold 36 ( the manifold flow ), the fuel flow passage 48 is sized in cross - section smaller than the fuel flow passage 50 , thereby resulting in a high flow resistance of the fuel flow passage 48 relative to the fuel flow passage 50 . a differential pressure transducer 52 is preferably connected between the fuel flow passage 48 and the fuel flow passage 50 such that a pressure differential between fuel flow passages 48 and 50 can be monitored from time to time and particularly during engine start up while no fuel flow is delivered to the main manifold 36 . the differential pressure transducer 52 is electrically connected to an electrical engine control ( eec ) 60 such that the pressure differential between the fuel flow passages 48 and 50 monitored by the differential pressure transducer 52 , can be used by eec 60 as a reference signal for controlling the operation process of the fuel system 28 . a flow equalization solenoid valve 58 is preferably connected by fuel flow passages 54 , 56 to the respective fuel flow passages 48 and 50 , in a parallel relationship with the differential pressure transducer 52 . the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 is a normally open valve to allow a fluidic communication between the fuel flow passages 48 and 50 when the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 closes outlets 42 and 44 thereof . the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 is electrically connected to and controlled by eec 60 and is adapted to close the fuel flow passages 54 , 56 when a control signal is received from the eec 60 . the differential pressure transducer 52 is in fluidic connection with the respective pilot nozzle 34 and the main fuel nozzles 37 via the main manifold 36 which are , in turn , in fluid communication with the combustion chamber , which is supplied with air pressure from the compressor , for example , p3 compressor air . however , the pressure measured in the combustion chamber is somewhat lower than the p3 compressor air pressure due to a pressure drop across the combustor liner , and is indicated as p4 combustion chamber air pressure . therefore , the p4 combustion chamber air pressure is automatically provided to the differential pressure transducer 52 as a reference pressure via fuel flow passage 50 , when the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 is in the closed position and outlet 44 of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 is closed ( when the compressor 22 is rotated either by the turbine 24 or by a starter ) for monitoring the pressure differential between the fuel flow passages 48 and 50 . for example , the pressure differential between the fuel flow passages 48 and 50 monitored by the differential pressure transducer 52 , can be used for monitoring a fuel flow through the fuel flow passage 48 to the pilot nozzle 34 during the engine start - up process , and to determine when to deactivate the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 to open the fuel flow passages 54 , 56 in order to allow the fuel flow to pass through the fuel flow passage 50 to the main manifold 36 . this will be further described hereinafter . an ecology solenoid valve 62 is preferably provided to control fuel flow passages 64 , 66 which are connected to the respective fuel flow passages 46 and 48 to form a bypass over the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 . the ecology solenoid valve 62 is normally closed and is electrically connected to eec 60 . the ecology solenoid valve 62 can be controlled by eec 60 to selectively open for establishing the fluidic connection of the fuel system 28 between the fuel source 32 ′ and the main fuel nozzles 37 of the main manifold 36 , as well as the pilot nozzle 34 when required . a check valve 68 is optionally provided within the fuel flow passage 66 . should the ecology valve 62 be opened in malfunction , the check valve 68 ensures that the bypass connection over the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 should be used only for fuel flowing therethrough back to the fuel pump 30 and the fuel source 32 , but not for fuel supply therethrough from the fuel pump 30 . fig3 - 4 illustrate the steps of operation of the fuel system 28 . for convenience of description , different numerals in those figures are used in connection with arrows to indicate fluid flows under pressure differentials having different values . a single head arrow indicates the direction of the fluid flow and a double head arrow indicates the fluid flow is blocked . referring to fig3 , eec 60 controls the fuel pump 30 to operate at a speed to establish the low fuel pressure during engine start conditions . the low fuel pressure forces the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 to open the inlet 40 and outlet 42 , allowing a fuel flow indicated by arrow 70 to pass through the fuel passages 46 , 48 to the pilot nozzle 34 . the ecology solenoid valve 62 is normally closed such that there is no fuel flow through the bypass formed by the fuel flow passages 64 , 66 . the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 is activated by eec 60 to be closed during the initial engine start condition such that there is no fuel flow passing through fuel flow passage 50 to the main manifold , either via the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 or via the fuel flow passages 54 , 56 . the fuel flow passage 50 and the main manifold 36 may remain in a dry condition ( empty of fuel ), having a pressure therein equal to the air pressure in the combustor 25 of fig1 , i . e . the p4 combustion chamber air pressure . the air inside of the fuel flow passage 50 and the main manifold 36 under such air pressure conditions , is indicated by the hollow double - head arrows 72 . the low fuel pressure in the fuel flow passages 46 , 48 is higher than the pressure in the fuel flow passage 50 , thereby forming a pressure differential therebetween . the pressure differential is monitored by the differential pressure transducer 52 which sends corresponding signals to eec 60 . a measured value ( which may be a varying value ) of the differential pressure transducer 52 is indicated as δp . it should be noted that a relatively low range ( i . e . sensitive ) pressure transducer may be preferred for the purpose of monitoring flow during start and fuel pulses on manifold filling . it is preferable to use a sensitive or low range pressure transducer in practical terms , because the transducer never has a high pressure differential applied to it . the differential pressure is shunted out via fuel passages 54 and 56 in conjunction with flow equalization valve 58 , limiting the maximum differential pressure to which the transducer is exposed . for example , the differential pressure during start may be of the order of 120 psi maximum , however the fuel system pressure may be over 1000 psi during take off conditions . a transducer used for applications involving 1000 psi is very poor at resolving small pressure differentials needed to control flow at low flow conditions . therefore , it is optional to have a transducer having a maximum pressure indication for example , not greater than 150 psi . during the engine start procedure , the low start fuel flow to the pilot nozzle 34 is accurately controlled by adjustment of fuel pump 30 which in turn is controlled by eec 60 . nevertheless , such accurate control of the low start fuel flow is based on the accurate metering of the low start fuel flow , which is achieved by a start fuel flow calculating software 61 which may be included in eec 60 using the measured values of pressure differential by the differential pressure transducer 52 , in this embodiment if pp is used to indicate the low fuel pressure established by the fuel pump 30 during the engine start procedure as shown in fig3 , the start fuel flow 70 can be calculated as f = pn ( pp − p4 ) 1 / 2 wherein f represents the calculated amount of start fuel flow 70 and pn represents the flow number of the pilot nozzle 34 . it is understood that pp − p4 represents the pressure differential which causes the start fuel flow 70 because the start fuel flow 70 is driven by the established low fuel pressure pp against the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 to which the pilot nozzle 34 is exposed . it is further noted that the air pressures inside the empty passage 50 and the main manifold 36 are substantially equal to the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 because the main manifold 36 is in fluid communication , through the main fuel nozzles attached thereto , with the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 , while the fluid communication between passage 50 and passage 48 is closed . therefore , a measured value δp of the differential pressure transducer 52 is equal to pp − p4 . the measured value δp can replace ( pp − p4 ) and can therefore be used to calculate the start fuel flow amount f , that is f = fn ( δp ) 1 / 2 . the software 61 for calculating the start fuel flow , includes the formulation f = fn ( δp ) 1 / 2 . the flow number of pilot nozzle 34 is determined by the configuration of the pilot nozzle 34 and the fuel system 28 , which is known and is stored in the software . during the engine start procedure , the fuel flow passage 50 and the main manifold 36 are generally in a dry condition , because in a previous operation of the engine the residue fuel existing the fuel system 28 has been purged back to the fuel source 32 by the residual air pressure remaining in the combustion chamber upon engine shutdown — however , this ecology function is not part of this concept and will not be further discussed in this application . nevertheless , when the fuel from the previous engine operation remains in the fuel system 28 , the fuel remaining in the fuel flow passage 50 and the main manifold 36 is substantially stationary and the stationary fuel pressure within the fuel flow passage 50 and the main manifold 36 is generally equal to the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 or may be slightly different from p4 affected by the height of the fuel in the fuel flow passage 50 above the differential pressure transducer 52 . considering the value δp measured by the differential pressure transducer 52 being of in the order of 120 psi maximum , the minor difference relative to the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 caused by the fuel remaining in the fuel flow passage 50 , is ignorable with respect to the accuracy of the start fuel flow calculation . the combustion chamber air pressure p 4 may vary during the engine start procedure and therefore the measured value δp of the pressure differential may also be a varying value . the start fuel flow calculation process is conducted at least until the light - off condition of the pilot nozzle 34 is detected . the instant result of the start fuel flow calculation is continuously used as an input of a controlling process of the rotational speed of the fuel pump 30 in order to provide an adequate amount of fuel to the pilot nozzle 34 for ignition . in fig4 , during the engine start - up procedure the flow from the pilot nozzle 34 is lit up , upon which eec 60 commands the fuel pump to increase the pump drive to establish a higher fuel pressure in order to force the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 to open both outlets 42 and 44 which results in a gradual and controlled increase in the fuel flow , as the compressor speed increases . meanwhile , eec 60 commands the flow equalization solenoid valve 58 to open the fuel flow passages 54 , 56 , thereby allowing fuel flow via both outlets 42 , 44 through the fuel flow passage 50 to the main manifold 36 for establishing a properly distributed fuel flow between all nozzles and a stable combustion process in the combustor 25 of fig1 . at the same time , fuel flow 76 moves via outlet 42 of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 through the fuel flow passage 48 to the pilot nozzle 34 to maintain the pilot flame . this process begins upon the light - up of the pilot nozzle 34 during the engine start procedure and will be maintained during engine operation for a stable combustion in the engine combustor 25 . the check valve 68 in fuel flow passage 66 does not allow fuel flow from the fuel pump 30 to pass the bypass formed by the fuel flow passages 64 , 66 , to the fuel flow passage 48 . eec 60 also commands the ecology solenoid valve 62 to close the bypass . therefore , during the entire engine operation process , fuel is supplied from the fuel source 32 to the pilot fuel nozzle 34 and the main nozzles 37 of the main manifold 36 through the fluidic connection of the fuel system 28 via the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 , but not via the closed bypass of fuel flow passages 64 , 66 . the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 includes a leakage drain tube or duct 80 to collect any fuel that may leak along the length of the valve 38 to the location where the spring is located ( not indicated ). the leakage drain tube 80 is connected to the inlet side of the pump 32 . the leakage drain tube 80 preferably serves to both ( i ) collect fuel that may leak past the valve 38 piston , and ( ii ) provide a reference pressure to the rear of the valve 38 piston , such that , if fuel is delivered under pressure to the inlet of the pump 32 , the fuel pressure will not be capable of opening the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 to inadvertently cause a fuel flow before the pump 32 is deliberately rotated . it will be understood that the supply or boost pressure of the fuel delivered to the inlet of the main fuel pump will also appear at the outlet of the pump , and will therefore be applied to the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 . however , since the leakage tube 80 permits this supply or boost pressure to also be applied to the other side of the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 , pressure across the valve 38 piston is equalized , thus preventing the valve from inadvertently opening . once the pump begins to rotate and generate pressure at its outlet , the minimum pressure / flow divider valve 38 will open , since the reference pressure provided by the leakage tube 80 does not increase when the pump is rotated , and thus a differential pressure across the valve 38 results . the above description is meant to be exemplary only , and one skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodiments described without departure from the scope of the invention disclosed . for example , the present teachings can be applied to various types of gas turbine engines other than a turbofan gas engine which is used as an example to illustrate one application hereof . any suitable fuel nozzle ( s ) arrangement may be employed , and any suitable fuel system architecture may be employed — the invention is not limited to the nozzle or manifold arrangements described in the example . any suitable manner of determining pressure differential may be used . a fuel system may include more or less components therein for various types of gas turbine engines without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed , and may include but is not limited to fuel reheating devices . still other modifications which fall within the scope of the invention disclosed will be apparent to those skilled in the art , in light of a review of this disclosure , and such modifications are intended to fall within the appended claims . | 5 |
structurally and functionally identical elements present in several figures are assigned a same numeric or alphanumeric reference . the present description refers more particularly to a timepiece formed by a watch , but is in no way limited to this particular example application . fig1 shows a timepiece 1 including a movement 16 , not shown in this figure , and housed in a case 2 . this movement 16 includes a control arbor 30 provided for setting the time and , optionally , for winding if the movement 16 is mechanical . the timepiece 1 is equipped with a first accessory 3 , typically assuming the form of a bezel . it is also equipped with second and third accessories 4 , in the proposed example , each assuming the form of a bracelet strand , assembled on the case 2 . as will be understood hereafter , the accessories 3 and 4 are removably mounted on the timepiece 1 . the latter further comprises a locking system activated to secure the accessories 3 , 4 on the timepiece 1 and deactivated to allow the removal of said accessories 3 , 4 from the timepiece 1 . as shown more particularly in fig2 to 7 , the first accessory 3 includes a functional part arranged to cooperate with the second accessory 4 to secure it and lock it to the timepiece 1 . more particularly , the bezel comprises an arbor 6 extending orthogonally relative to the extension plane of the bezel . furthermore , each bracelet strand is dimensioned so as to be able to be adjusted in a bed 10 of the case 2 , provided to that end . each bracelet strand also includes an opening 9 , positioned such that the arbor 6 passes through it when the accessories are in the functional position . preferably , the opening 9 is dimensioned such that the second accessory 4 is maintained without play when the arbor 6 passes through it . the sections of the arbor 6 and the opening 9 therefore have similar dimensions . the functional part of the first accessory 3 , i . e ., in the proposed example , the arbor 6 of the bezel , is arranged to cooperate with a locking organ , which is part of the locking system . to that end , the arbor 6 includes a collar 8 , the section of which has a dimension larger than the arbor 6 and which thus defines a rim . the locking organ advantageously assumes the form of a rigid and annular clamp 5 a , completely visible in fig1 . in this example , the clamp 5 a is translatably mounted in a locking bed 12 , which extends substantially on the periphery of the timepiece 1 , around the movement 16 . the locking organ is movable between an active position and an inactive position to respectively lock and unlock the first accessory 3 . a complementary elastic organ 5 b is arranged to exert a return force on the clamp 5 a , tending to keep it in the active position . as will be described hereafter , a manual control device is arranged on the case 2 to move the locking organ . the locking system is thus made up of the locking organ , the complementary elastic organ 5 b and the manual control device . the clamp 5 a is provided with at least one window 11 for the passage of the functional part . preferably , for better stability and better guiding of the first accessory 3 , the latter includes several functional parts and the locking organ cooperates with each of them through an equal number of windows 11 . each window 11 is dimensioned so as to define a banking with which the collar 8 can cooperate when the locking system is activated , so as to allow the free passage of the collar 8 when the locking system is deactivated . preferably , the windows 11 each have two areas with different dimensions and able to position themselves across from the corresponding collar 8 , during the movement of the clamp 5 a from one position to the other . one of the areas having the smallest dimensions is dimensioned so as to block the passage of the collar 8 when the locking organ is in the active position , whereas the other area , having larger dimensions , allows the passage of the collar 8 when the locking organ is in the inactive position . fig2 to 7 additionally show that the timepiece 1 has automatic expulsion means arranged so as to exert a force on the first accessory 3 tending to remove it from said timepiece 1 . the automatic expulsion means comprise at least one elastic organ 13 such as a spring , pre - stressed to exert a force on the first accessory 3 in its removal direction . such a spring is advantageously associated with a piston 14 , thus forming a subassembly mounted in an additional bed 15 of the case 2 . as long as the first accessory 3 is locked on the timepiece , the elastic organ 13 is not effective . once the locking system is deactivated , the elastic organ 13 pushes the first accessory 3 in a removal direction tending to separate it from the timepiece 1 . the additional bed 15 includes a banking that forms an organ limiting the travel of the automatic expulsion means , which thus defines an intermediate removal position , shown in fig5 , in which : the position of the first accessory 3 is stabilized by safety means , the first accessory 3 may be grasped manually to be completely removed , the second accessory 4 is kept secured to the timepiece 1 by the first accessory 3 . indeed , in this position , the locking organ , in this case the clamp 5 a , exerts friction on the functional part , in this case the arbor 6 , under the action of the complementary elastic organ 5 b , which exerts a braking force opposing the complete removal of the first accessory 3 . the clamp 5 a is pressed below the collar 8 , in reference to the removal direction . in other words , the collar 8 no longer abuts against the clamp 5 a . it will be understood that the securing means begin to work and the braking is exerted automatically once the user has released the manual control device . thus , the complementary elastic organ 5 b participates both in the locking of the first accessory 3 and the safety means . when the first accessory 3 is in the intermediate removal position , it is positioned protruding relative to the timepiece 1 . a user may therefore grasp it . given that , in this position , the locking organ only produces braking , but no longer any blocking , the user may grasp the first accessory 3 and remove it completely by exerting a pulling force greater than the braking forces . it will be noted that advantageously , the arbor 6 is always engaged in the opening 9 when the first accessory 3 is in the intermediate removal position . thus , owing to the braking exerted by the locking organ , both the first and second accessories 4 are always secured to the timepiece 1 , even if they are no longer locked . the risk of losing the accessories during accidental actuating of the manual control device is therefore limited . furthermore , during deliberate actuation of said device , the passage through the intermediate removal position ensures complete oversight of the operations and prevents loss of any of the accessories . it will be noted that although in this example , the braking and locking are exerted on the arbors 6 , it is possible to consider having the locking organ cooperate with different functional parts , to perform the locking and braking functions , respectively . thus , in fig2 , the locking system and the locking organ are in the active position . the bezel is mounted on the timepiece 1 and the locking organ locks the bezel by cooperating with the collar 8 . through this locking and the engagement of the arbor 6 in the opening 9 , the bracelet is also secured and locked to the timepiece 1 . the complementary elastic organ 5 b exerts a return force on the clamp 5 a , tending to keep it in the active position and maintaining the locking . in fig3 , the locking system is deactivated . a user has actuated the manual control device to move the locking organ by stressing the complementary elastic organ . the position shown in this fig3 is very fleeting , since the automatic expulsion means promptly exert their action to bring the first accessory 3 into its intermediate removal position . when the user has not yet released the manual control device , the locking system is as illustrated in fig4 , i . e ., the clamp 5 a does not yet exert a braking force on the arbor . when the user has released the manual control device , the locking system is then only subjected to the force from the complementary elastic organ 5 b . this then creates the situation of fig5 , and the first accessory 3 is in its intermediate removed position . the user can then grasp the first accessory 3 and remove it completely , i . e ., separate it from the timepiece 1 ( fig6 ). the clamp 5 a is then placed abutting in its locking bed 12 . the second accessory 4 and the other additional accessories , in this case the two strands of the bracelet , are then separated from the timepiece 1 ( fig7 ). fig8 and 9 are detailed views of the timepiece 1 of fig1 . fig8 is a half cross - sectional view along axis oa . the manual control device is a pushbutton 32 . it makes it possible to move the locking organ by translation in the plane of the case 2 , along a radial direction . the pushbutton 32 cooperates with a leaf of the clamp 5 a , situated in the travel of the pushbutton . these figures in particular show the movement 16 , which is topped by a dial 17 . conventionally , a glass 18 a is fixed to the middle and protects the dial 17 and the hands . thus , even when the bezel is removed , the dial , the hands and the movement 16 remain protected . nevertheless , in order for the bezel not to appear raised relative to the glass , which is not esthetically desirable , the bezel 4 is secured to a second glass 18 b , which closes the timepiece 1 , substantially in its middle , or an optional flange . fig9 is a half cross - sectional view ob of the timepiece 1 of fig1 . this figure more particularly illustrates the complementary elastic organ 5 b , in this case formed by a spring , and its action on the locking organ . fig1 proposes another embodiment of the invention , in which the locking organ is rotatably mounted in the locking bed 12 . it is actuated by a manual control device assuming the form of a crown 19 capable of being rotated . fig1 is a partial cross - sectional view oc along the axis of rotation of the crown 19 of the locking system of the timepiece 1 of fig1 . the crown 19 may be moved axially to engage a meshing pinion 20 with a toothing 21 forming a rack section of the locking organ . the meshing pinion 20 is secured to the crown 19 by a cylindrical arbor 19 a , so as to rotate the locking organ for example to go from an active position illustrated in fig1 to an inactive position . fig1 shows the control crown 19 in a neutral position inasmuch as the meshing pinion 20 is in a non - meshed position . accidentally actuating the control crown 19 therefore has no effect on the locking organ , as long as said control crown 19 is not moved axially to mesh the meshing pinion 20 with the toothing 21 . fig1 is a partial cross - sectional view od along an axis passing through a functional part , in this case an arbor 6 , of a first accessory 3 and through a second accessory 4 of the timepiece 1 of fig1 . it illustrates the activated locking system . fig1 , 14 and 15 also show alternatives for implementing the invention in a shaped , i . e ., non - circular , case . in fig1 , the manual control device is a crown and the locking organ is a rectangular clamp 5 a that can be translated by rotating the crown 19 . in fig1 and 15 , the manual control device is a crown and the locking organ is rotatable . the locking organ is in the active position in fig1 and the inactive position in fig1 . the kinematic link between the crown 19 and the clamp 5 a is similar to that previously described . fig1 and 17 illustrate example embodiments of the invention , in which the clamp 5 a is driven by the sliding of a bolt 22 . in fig1 , the clamp 5 a is annular and rotatable . in fig1 , the clamp 5 a is rectangular and translatable . the bolt 22 can be mounted secured to the clamp . fig1 and 19 illustrate example embodiments of the invention , in which the clamp 5 a is driven by actuating a push - piece , like the embodiment of fig1 . in fig1 , the clamp 5 a is annular and rotatable . in fig1 , the clamp 5 a is rectangular and translatable . the push - piece 24 is arranged to cooperate with an inclined plane 5 c comprised by the clamp 5 a . the present invention also relates to a method for removing removable accessories 3 , 4 from a timepiece 1 , equipped with a locking organ manually movable between an active position and an inactive position to separate said accessories 3 , 4 from the timepiece 1 . according to a first step , the method consists of manually moving the locking organ into its inactive position to unlock the first accessory 3 mounted on the timepiece 1 . according to a second step , the method consists of automatically moving the first accessory 3 in a removal direction from timepiece 1 , over an initial removal travel to reach an intermediate removal position . in this intermediate position : the position of the first accessory 3 is stabilized by safety means , the first accessory 3 may be manually grasped to be completely removed , the second accessory 4 is kept secured to the timepiece 1 by the first accessory 3 . in a third step , the first accessory 3 is moved manually so as to completely remove it and free the second accessory from the timepiece 1 . the present invention also relates to a method for replacing accessories of the timepiece 1 . the accessory replacement method according to the invention consists , after carrying out the aforementioned steps , of securing the accessories 3 and 4 of the timepiece 1 by : manually positioning the locking organ in its inactive position , engaging at least one second accessory 4 in the timepiece 1 , engaging the first accessory 3 in the timepiece 1 in the direction opposite the removal direction , by blocking the second accessory 4 in the timepiece 1 , and automatically moving the locking organ into its active position . the locking is therefore done automatically once the first accessory 3 is engaged in the timepiece 1 and the user releases the control of the locking organ . it appears advantageous to give a conical shape to the collar 8 as well as the positioning hole 11 , so as to facilitate the passage of the collar 8 through the locking organ and consequently facilitate the engagement of the arbor 6 in the case 2 . in one additional alternative that is not shown , the securing means are automatically activated , independently of the fact that the user has released the manual control device . this may in particular be useful if the control device is actuated in an untimely manner . such a system may for example be done with a manual control organ in the form of a bolt , by adapting a so - called “ all or nothing ” system , similar to what is found in the manual release systems of repeater watches . in this case , the bolt is not secured to the locking organ , but it comprises a hook pivotably mounted on the bolt , kept engaged on a post fixed on the clamp 5 a by a spring . the hook and the spring are arranged such that the hook disengages from the post when the locking organ has reached an extreme position , beyond the inactive position . it is possible to provide a small notch in the movement of the control organ , to mark the inactive position . the locking organ may then automatically , under the action of the complementary elastic organ 5 b , perform the braking function . owing to the pivoting of the hook , it may return to its initial position . an independent return spring is positioned on the manual control device . to engage the second accessory 4 , the user may bring the locking organ into the inactive position , given that the hook only disengages beyond that position . the present description is of course not limited to the examples explicitly described , but also comprises other embodiments and / or implementations . thus , a described technical feature or implementation step may be replaced by an equivalent technical feature or equivalent step , respectively , without going beyond the scope of the present invention . | 8 |
in the following , there is a detailed description of the present invention provided . the basic principles underlying the present invention are illustrated by a special kind of non - mhc restricted cells , i . e . by lak cells . however , it is noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to lak cells and their use . lak cells from rcc patients and healthy donors recognize mhc class i negative target cells and hla class i positive tumor lines lak cells generated from pbmc of patients with rcc and healthy donors were tested for cytotoxic activity directed against mhc class i negative target cells and various tumor cell lines . fig1 summarizes composite results of several independent experiments in which the hla class i negative target cells l721 . 221 , k562 and daudi were efficiently lysed by four different lak populations . no substantial differences in levels of cytotoxic activity were observed between lak - 26 and lak - 53 , derived from two rcc patients ( fig1 a ) and lak - cp176 and lak - cp41 , derived from two healthy control donors ( fig1 b ). the patient - derived lak - 26 were able to lyse the autologous rcc line ( rcc - 26 ) and , in addition , they could recognize various allogeneic rcc lines ( skrc ) as well as the mel - 25 melanoma line , independent of hla background ( fig1 c ). the control donor - derived lak - cp176 line lysed these various tumor cell lines in a similar fashion ( fig1 d ). all of these tumor lines were shown to be class i positive through binding of the class i - specific mab , w6 / 32 ( data not shown ). these results demonstrated that the lak populations were able to recognize target cells in a non - mhc - restricted manner and lysis was not specific for any single tumor entity . lak populations are composed primarily of cd4 + and cd8 + t cells phenotype analyses of lymphocyte subsets were made of the expanded lak cultures derived from the four different donors utilized in these studies . table 1 shows the distribution of cd3 − cd56 + nk cells and cd3 + cd56 − t cells in these lak populations . differences between lak cells derived from rcc patients and healthy donors were not evident : cd3 + t cells were the major cell type , representing more than 95 % of the cells in all samples . while the lak - cp176 culture was dominated by cd8 + t cells , the other lak samples contained approximately equal numbers of cd4 + and cd8 + t cells . in contrast , cd3 − cd56 + nk cells were present in only very low numbers , ranging from 0 - 6 % of total cells . these results revealed that the culture conditions used for generation and maintenance of these lak cells led primarily to expansion of the t cell fraction of lymphocytes rather than the adherent fraction of nk cells . the phenotype of these lak cell lines indicated that the major cytolytic component was attributable to activated t cells . in fact , depletion of the small remaining fraction of nk cells from the mixed lak populations did not alter their cytotoxic potential or specificity ( data not shown ). mhc class i enhancement is associated with ifnγ - mediated inhibition of lak - t cells and activated nk cells it has been shown previously that ifnγ treatment of tumor cells can lead to resistance to purified nk cells and to lak cells ( 29 ; 30 )). to determine whether mhc expression could also affect tumor cell sensitivity to lak - t cells , rcc - 26 cells were analyzed after enhancement of their class i expression through exogenous ifnγ stimulation . alternatively , the rcc - 26 line was transduced with human ifnγ cdna , leading to endogenous cytokine production and subsequent upregulation of class i expression ( 31 ). susceptibility of these different ifnγ - modulated rcc - 26 cells to lysis was assessed using autologous lak - 26 t cells ( fig2 a - c ). purified b . 3nk cells which were shown previously to exclusively express p58 . 2 receptors of the kir family that bind hla - c molecules of the cw1 , 3 , 7 subgroup were included for comparison ( fig2 d - f ). unmodified rcc - 26 cells and the control line carrying empty vector ( rcc - 26vc ) were lysed by both effector cell types , whereby the activated nk cells showed a stronger lytic capacity . following stimulation with exogenous ifnγ both tumor lines displayed substantial resistance to lysis by both lak - t and nk cells ( fig2 a , d ). a similar degree of resistance was observed with one ifnγ transductant ( endoγ1 ) whereas the second transductant ( endo □ 2 ) showed only partial resistance to both effector populations ( fig2 b , e ). however , further stimulation with ifnγ led to an increased resistance of this transductant to both lak - 26 t cells and b . 3nk cells ( fig2 c , f ). this resistance was comparable to that induced by exogenous ifnγ stimulation of rcc - 26 and rcc - 26vc cells . in parallel studies , the lak - 53 , lak - cp41 and lak - cp176 t cells showed cytotoxic patterns like those of lak - 26 t cells and b . 3nk cells , demonstrating a general correlation between ifnγ - induced effects and resistance to lak - derived cytotoxic t cells ( data not shown ). the decrease in lak - t and control nk activity following interaction with the various target cells was consistently seen in all experiments in which increases in class i expression were detected by flow cytometry . fig2 g shows representative results of one of numerous experiments analyzing the enhancement of mhc class i expression by ifnγ in rcc - 26 cells . even though rcc - 26 and rcc - 26vc cells constitutively expressed substantial levels of class i molecules , expression was increased following ifnγ stimulation , as detected by staining with the class i - specific mab , w6 / 32 . while the total levels of mhc expression varied among the different cell lines , these were reproducible and apparently reflected variations in the responsiveness of the individual lines to ifnγ induction . interestingly , the endoγ2 line displayed lower constitutive levels of mhc molecules when compared to endoγ1 cells . this transductant was also more susceptible to lak - t - and nk - mediated cytotoxicity . however , stimulation of endoγ2 cells with exogenous ifnγ led to enhanced class i expression ( data not shown ) and increased resistance to both effector cell types ( see fig2 c , f ). in additional experiments it was shown that other tumor cell lines acquired resistance to lak - t cells following their treatment with ifnγ ( data not shown ). the availability of a cell line derived from normal kidney parenchyma of patient 26 ( nkc - 26 ) ( 32 ) allowed assessment of whether the ifnγ - induced inhibition of lak - t and nk cytotoxicity was restricted to tumor cells or also affected lysis of normal epithelial cells . nkc - 26 cells were lysed by autologous lak - 26 t cells ( fig3 a ) and allogeneic b . 3nk cells ( fig3 b ), demonstrating that these effector cells were not tumor specific . as seen with rcc - 26 cells , exogenous ifnγ stimulation of nkc - 26 cells resulted in substantial inhibition of cytotoxicity by both lak - t cells and activated nk cells , revealing that ifnγ - induced resistance was also not tumor specific . in studies not shown it was found that allogeneic lak - t cells could lyse the nkc - 26 line and that ifnγ stimulation led to its partial resistance , indicating that this effect was not limited to autologous lak - t cells . parallel studies analyzing class i expression following ifnγ stimulation showed increased binding of w6 / 32 antibody by both rcc - 26 ( fig3 c ) and nkc - 26 cells ( fig3 d ). likewise , the levels of hla - c molecules which serve as the ligands for the p58 . 2 inhibitory receptors that govern the activity of b . 3nk cells were found to be increased on both cell lines using mab l31 ( fig3 e , f ). the weak staining pattern observed with mab l31 may be explained by its preferential reactivity with β 2 m - free heavy chains of hla - c molecules ( 33 ). since ifnγ regulates expression of many different genes , functional inhibition studies using mab to block class i ligands on target cells were used to demonstrate that these molecules directly contributed to the downmodulation of lak - t and nk activity . preincubation of ifnγ - stimulated rcc - 26 or nkc - 26 cells with w6 / 32 mab led to reversal of inhibition of both effector populations ( fig3 a , b ). thus , resistance of normal epithelial cells and tumor cells was mediated by class i molecules and antibody masking of class i surface expression could restore susceptibility of both target cells to lysis . the class i - dependent inhibition of lak - t cytotoxicity was confirmed by extended blocking studies summarized in table 2 . cytotoxic activities of lak - t cells ( lak - 26 , lak - cp41 ) and b . 3nk cells against various target cells were analyzed in the presence of w6 / 32 or isotype control mab . preincubation of unstimulated rcc - 26 and rcc - 26vc cells with w6 / 32 mab led to small increases in lysis by the different effector cells when compared to isotype controls . addition of w6 / 32 mab led to substantial reversal of the inhibition of lysis seen with the ifnγ - stimulated rcc - 26 and rcc - 26vc cells . moreover , lysis of both ifnγ - expressing transductants was substantially increased in the presence of w6 / 32 mab . the consistently improved cytotoxicity achieved through masking of class i molecules was also observed with a second rcc line and a corresponding ifnγ transductant ( data not shown ). these results demonstrated that class i molecules contributed directly to the ifnγ - mediated inhibition of lak - t cells and activated nk cells . hla cass ia and class ib molecules can inhibit lak - t cytotoxicity since lak - t cells efficiently lysed class i negative target cells we investigated whether expression of class i molecules in such cells could directly inhibit lak - t activity . the class i negative cell line l721 . 221 was derived from a class i positive lymphoblastoid cell line ( l721 ) by irradiation induced mutagenesis with selection for sequential hla loss variants . the l721 . 112 line represents a hemizygous cell line generated in this series which still expresses one of the two parental haplotypes ( hla - a1 , b8 , cw7 ). while l721 . 221 cells were very sensitive to lak - 26 t cell - mediated lysis , the expression of class i molecules by l721 . 112 cells provided partial protection ( fig4 a ). the daudi cell line does not produce β 2 m and thereby does not express stable class i molecules at the cell surface . transfection of the β2m gene into daudi cells reconstituted their expression of class i molecules ( 28 ) which was confirmed by staining with w6 / 32 mab ( data not shown ). the unmodified cell line was efficiently lysed by lak - 26 t cells whereas transfectant cells showed substantial resistance ( fig4 b ). it was also found that the k562 cells became partially resistant to lak - 26 t cell - mediated lysis following transfection with the class ib gene encoding hla - e molecules ( fig4 c ). l721 . 221 cells that were genetically modified to express b35 , hla - cw6 and hla - cw7 molecules were also analyzed as target cells for lak - 26 t cells . while no reproducible inhibition was seen by hla - b35 or hla - cw7 molecules , partial resistance ( 25 %) was induced by hla - cw6 expression ( fig4 d ). these results confirmed that class i molecules alone could directly inhibit lak - 26 t cell cytotoxicity . insight into the fine specificity of mhc inhibition was also obtained for other lak - t cells ( lak - cp41 and lak - cp176 ) since it was possible to specifically inhibit their lysis of l721 . 221 cells by more than 50 % through expression of hla - cw6 ( fig4 e , f ). in contrast , expression of hla - g , - b35 and - b27 and - cw7 molecules in these cells did not induce resistance to lak - t cells . an inhibitory influence of hla - e molecules appeared unlikely since the signal peptide of hla - g can bind to hla - e molecules , allowing their stable surface expression ( 34 ). therefore the l721 . 221 - g cells can simultaneously express both hla - g and hla - e molecules . because these cells did not cause inhibition it appears that hla - e played no regulatory role in these two lak - t cell populations . lak - derived cd4 t cells are also negatively regulated by mhc molecules enrichment of cd4 + lymphocytes was made by depleting the cd8 + cells from a mixed lak - t cell population . to confirm directly that these t cells were cytolytic and their activity could be downregulated by exposure to ifnγ - modulated tumor cells , the cd4 - selected t cells ( fig5 a left ) were compared to the unseparated lak - 26 t cell population containing both cd4 and cd8 cells ( fig5 a , right ). the highly purified cd4 + t cells were able to lyse rcc - 26 , nkc - 26 and k562 target cells in a manner analogous to the unseparated lak - t population ( fig5 b and c ). furthermore , ifnγ - modulation ( exogenous stimulation or endogenous expression ) of rcc - 26 and nkc - 26 cells led to inhibition of lysis of the purified cd4 + t cells in a similar fashion to the unseparated population of lak - t cells . the demonstration that the lak - t cells were regulated by class i - mediated inhibition suggested that they might carry inhibitory receptors like those expressed by nk cells . therefore , surface phenotyping to identify such receptors was made using mab specific for several known inhibitory receptors that interact with hla - b , c or e molecules . as summarized in table 3 , inhibitory receptors belonging to the kir immunoglobulin superfamily ( p58 . 1 , p58 . 2 or nkb1 ) were not present on the t cells . small percentages of both cd3 + and cd3 − cells ( 3 - 7 %) expressed cd94 molecules . in nk cells it has been found that cd94 associates with the nkg2a coreceptor molecule to create an hla - e - specific heterodimeric inhibitory receptor . because k562 cells expressing hla - e substantially inhibited lak - 26 t cell - mediated cytotoxicity ( see fig4 c ), we expected to find t cells bearing such receptors in this population . however , less than 1 % of lak - 26 t cells bound nkg2a antibody ( data not shown ). likewise , because lak - 26 , lak - cp41 and lak - cp176 were partially inhibited by hla - cw6 molecules ( see fig4 d - f ), some t cells expressing p58 . 1 receptors were expected , but were also not found in these populations . thus , the known inhibitory receptors governing nk cell inhibition by hla - c and hla - e ligands were not expressed to any appreciable degree by lak - t cells , even though the specific class i ligands characteristic for these receptors were apparently delivering inhibitory signals to these t cells . the following examples are set forth for illustrative purposes and should not be considered as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention . blood samples are obtained using either heparin ( 50 units / ml ) ( for example : heparin - natrium , braun melsungen ag ) or defibrination to prevent coagulation . to obtain larger numbers of pbmc an apheresis can be performed to obtain the equivalent of 1 - 4 liters of blood ( methods for blood preparation are described in ( 35 ). peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( pbmc ) are isolated by ficoll / hypaque ( for example : biocoll separating solution , biochrom ag ) density gradient centrifugation using standard methods ( 35 ). pbmc are washed 2 × in phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ) and cultured directly or cryopreserved for future use . for cryopreservation , pmbc are frozen at concentrations of 5 - 20 × 10 6 cells / ml in 1 ml aliquots in rpmi culture medium containing 25 - 50 % autologous serum and 10 % dmso in rpmi 1640 medium ( for example : rpmi 1640 medium , fa . invitrogen ) and stored in the gas phase of a liquid nitrogen tank . cryopreserved pbmc are thawed by adding rpmi medium containing 50 % human serum dropwise to a partially thawed cell sample . following transfer into a plastic centrifuge tube the volume of medium is increased to 3 - 5 ml and the cells are washed 2 ×( 35 ). freshly isolated pbmc or thawed pbmc are resuspended after the 2nd wash in “ lak ” medium at a density of 1 × 10 6 cells / ml . a ) rpmi culture medium containing 15 % human serum and 1000 units / ml of recombinant human interleukin 2 ( il - 2 ) ( for example proleukin , cetus , emeryville calif ., usa ) b ) rpmi culture medium containing 15 % human serum and 1000 units / ml il - 2 and 1 % ( vol / vol ) of phytohemagglutinin ( for example : difco laboratories , detroit mich ., usa ) pbmc are cultured in 50 ml culture flasks ( for example falcon , becton - dickinson , san jose , calif ., usa ) standing upright containing a volume of 4 - 15 ml at 37 ° c . and 5 % co 2 for 72 - 96 hours . thereafter , the cultures are counted and cell densities readjusted to 1 × 10 6 cells / ml using lak medium without pha . when the volume of a culture reaches & gt ; 15 ml it is divided between two flasks and cultures continued under the same conditions . larger numbers of cells can be obtained by scaling up the volume of the cultures into 250 ml culture flasks ( falcon , becton - dickinson , san jose , calif ., usa ) (& gt ; 45 - 150 ml / flask ). if enough pbmc are available ( for example derived from an apheresis ) several 250 ml flasks can be cultured simultaneously up to high cell numbers such as 10 9 cells . at the completion of the culture period the activated cells can be phenotyped for lymphocyte subpopulations to determine the composition of nk and lak - t cells . it is our experience that after two to three weeks of culture the populations are predominantly lak - t cells . functional assessment of their cytolytic potential can be made using a standard chromium release assay using daudi and k562 cell lines as target cells ( 27 ). activated lak cells can be cryopreserved for future use using the same freezing protocol as described above or applied directly after completion of the culture phase . tumorspecific ctl can be generated by different approaches using either fresh tumor material or known , recombinant tumor antigens , respectively , depending on tumor entity and availability of tissue material . in the rare cases where an in vitro tumor line is available , ctl can be generated by stimulation of pbl against irradiated tumor cells . briefly , tumor cells were grown in 24 - well plates and , following irradiation of the tumor cells , autologous pbl were added in human serum containing medium , optionally supplemented with il - 2 and / or il - 4 . every 7 to 10 days , t cells were harvested and again restimulated with irradiated tumor cell cultures . after several rounds of restimulation , the activity and specificity of the mixed ctl populations were tested using standard chromium release , elispot , or cytokine secretion assays . alternatively , if no tumor line is available , a lysate of tumor tissue can be used in vitro to pulse dendritic cells ( dc ) in order to promote the presentation of specific peptides derived from tumor antigens by these professional antigen presenting cells ( apc ). with respect to known tumor antigens , in the case of the malignant melanoma , for instance , synthetic peptides or recombinant protein fragments derived from known melanoma antigens are used to pulse dc . another principle of tumor antigen presentation by dc is based on the generation of tumor - derived rna which can be used to directly pulse dc by endogenous expression of tumor - rna . the procedures for restimulation and for the analysis of activation and specificity of mixed ctl populations are described above , i . e . standard chromium release , elispot , or cytokine secretion assays . independent of the procedure for ctl generation , most approaches must deal with similar limitations such as very low frequency of tumor - specific ctl precursors in the blood , time consuming and laborous production of tumor - specific ctl and the availability of individual tumor material or common tumor antigens . pbmc obtained from rcc patients undergoing tumor nephrectomy or from healthy donors were used for the generation of lak cells by culture in rpmi 1640 medium supplemented with 2 mm l - glutamine , 1 mm pyruvate , 100 u / ml penicillin / streptomycin ( complete medium ), 15 % heat - inactivated , pooled human serum , 1 % phytohemagglutinin ( pha , difco - laboratories , detroit , mich .) and 1000 u / ml ril - 2 ( proleukin , cetus corp . emeryville , calif .). these cultures were maintained over several weeks in order to obtain expanded populations of activated cd4 + and cd8 + t cells . lak - derived cd4 + t cells were enriched by magnetic bead separation ( dynal , oslo , norway ) by depleting cd8 + t and nk cells according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . human nk cells were activated as described previously and purified nk cells were obtained by depleting t cells using cd4 - and cd3 - coated immunomagnetic beads ( dynal ). the enriched nk cell line used in these studies , designated as b . 3nk cells , was maintained in complete medium supplemented with ril - 2 ( 300 u / ml ). cytotoxicity of these effector cells was assessed using epstein - barr virus transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines ( lcl ) derived from the l721 cell line . the l721 . 112 cell line represents a hemizygous variant of l721 that expresses the a1 , cw7 , b8 haplotype ( kindly provided by t . spies , fred hutchinson cancer research center , seattle ). the l721 . 221 cell line does not express any mhc class i molecules ( 36 ). this line was transfected to express the class i alleles , b * 3501 , b * 3702 , cw * 0602 , and cw * 0702 , as described . an hla - e transfectant of k562 was generated by transfecting hybrid dna cloned into the pcdna3 vector encoding exon 1 of hla - a2 and exons 2 - 7 of hla - e . this construct allows hla - e surface expression by stabilization of the hla - e heavy chain with an hla - a2 - derived peptide . daudi cells transfected with the gene encoding beta - 2 - microglobulin ( β 2 m ) ( 28 ) were kindly provided by p . parham ( stanford university , palo alto , calif .). the rcc - 26 tumor line was established from a primary stage i ( ti , g2 , n0 , m0 ) tumor of patient 26 ( hla alleles : a * 0201 , a * 3303 , b * 4101 , b * 5101 , cw * 1502 , cw * 1701 ) and the normal kidney line , nkc - 26 , was established from normal kidney parenchyma obtained at the time of tumor nephrectomy ( 32 ). both cell lines were cultured in 10 % fcs containing complete medium without antibiotics . rcc - 26 cells were transduced with the human ifnγ cdna , using the retroviral system described previously ( 37 ). two ifnγ - expressing lines ( designated as endoγ1 and endoγ2 ) were generated by independent retroviral transduction ( 31 ). a control line ( rcc - 26vc ) was made using the same vector without ifnγ cdna ( 31 ). exogenous ifnγ stimulation of tumor cells was performed for 96 h in medium containing 1000 u / ml of recombinant ifnγ ( roche , basel , switzerland ). cell - mediated lysis was quantitated in standard 4 h chromium - 51 release assays ( 27 ). spontaneous release was determined by incubating target cells alone , total release by directly counting labeled cells . percent cytotoxicity was calculated as follows : % specific lysis =( experimental cpm − spontaneous cpm / total cpm − spontaneous cpm )× 100 . duplicate measurements of three step titrations of effector cells were used for all experiments . to compare data from independent experiments , % relative cytotoxic responses (% rcr ) were calculated using specific lysis of untransfected l721 . 221 or k562 cells in each experiment as reference values of 50 %. the % lysis of other target cells was determined in relation to the reference value and expressed as % rcr ( 27 ). to evaluate the influence of mhc class i molecules , the class i - specific mab , w6 / 32 was added to target cells 30 min prior to addition of effector cells : mab w6 / 32 was used as ascites diluted 1 : 100 and upc10 ( igg2a ) ( sigma , deisenhofen , germany ) was used as the isotype control . effector cells were characterized using a panel of lymphocyte specific mab : fitc - or pe - labeled mab specific for cd3 ( ucht1 ), cd4 ( 13b8 . 2 ), cd8 ( b9 . 11 ), cd56 ( nkh - 1 ), were purchased from beckmann / coulter , westbrook , me . inhibitory receptor expression was analyzed with fitc - or pe - labeled mab specific for p58 . 1 ( kir2dl1 , eb6 ), p58 . 2 ( kir2dl3 , gl183 ), cd94 ( hp - 3b1 ) all purchased from beckmann / coulter and nkb 1 ( kir3dl1 , dx9 ) from pharmingen , san diego , calif . cells were incubated for 30 min on ice , washed twice , fixed with pbs - 1 % paraformaldehyde and analyzed using flow cytometry ( facs - callbur , becton / dickinson , san jose , calif .). tumor cells were tested for surface expression of mhc molecules by flow cytometry using culture supernatants of the w6 / 32 hybridoma ( american type culture collection , rockville , md .). the hla - c - specific mab l31 was kindly provided by p . giacomini , milano , italy ( 33 ). mab upc10 and mopc21 ( sigma ) were used as negative controls . cells were incubated with mab for 90 min on ice , washed twice with pbs and incubated with pe - conjugated goat - anti - mouse immunoglobulin ( f ( ab ) 2 , 115 - 116 - 146 ; dianova , hamburg , germany ) for 30 min and analyzed using flow cytometry . 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the injection unit comprises a bridge 14 which is able to slide on the guide rods 11 of a pair of guide rods , and which carries the plastification cylinder 26 equipped with a plastification screw 22 and heating sleeves 26a . the plastification cylinder fits into a central hole in the bridge 14 , which bridge is lengthened in the axial direction by an extension 14a that projects forward . the injection unit furthermore has a hydraulic injection cylinder 20 , 21 for the injection stroke of the plastification screw 22 , which cylinder lies in the injection axis and can be loaded from one side . the cylinder 20 of injection cylinder 20 , 21 is kept centered within matching annular shoulders 14c by tabs 14b diametrically opposed around the diameter of the injection axis . these tabs form the boundary of a vertical passage 38 in the bridge 14 . at the rear , the cylinder 20 is centered in another bridge 13 on annular shoulders 13a . two hydraulic drive cylinders 18 , 19 which drive the injection unit , that is , which move it toward and away from the injection mold , are disposed in diametrically opposed fashion around the injection cylinder 20 , 21 and coaxially with the guide rods 11 . the drive pistons 19 are firmly seated on the guide rods 11 . the axes of cylinder 18 and cylinder 20 lie in the same plane . decompression or retraction cylinders 16 , 17 are furthermore provided for the reverse stroke of the plasticizer screw . the plasticizer screw forms an axially moving unit with its coaxial rotary drive motor 25 , the piston 21 of the injection cylinder 20 , 21 , and the cylinders 16 of the decompression cylinders 16 , 17 . cylinders 20 , 18 of the injection cylinder 20 , 21 and of the drive cylinders 18 , 19 form a structural unit e with the two cross - members 13 , 14 , which structural unit is mounted on the pistons 19 or guide rods 11 in such a way that it is capable of sliding on them via the cylinder heads 18a of the drive cylinders . two decompression cylinders 16 , 17 having plunger pistons 17 are disposed in diametrically opposed fashion around the rotary drive motor 25 . the plunger pistons 17 are rigidly connected to structural unit e . the cylinders 16 of the decompression cylinder 16 , 17 are anchored to the flange 12 of the rotation motor 25 . in the exemplary embodiment portrayed in the drawing , each of the plunger pistons 17 is screwed to the adjacent bridge 13 via a threaded portion on its front . the rotary drive motor 25 with its pump hose and tank hose connections 30 is connected by means of a coupling 23 to the plasticizer screw 22 through the spindle 24 which passes through the piston 21 and its piston rod 21a . the injection pressure of the piston 21 is transmitted via an axial thrust bearing 34 to the spindle 24 and from there to the spiral conveyor 22 . the axial thrust bearing abuts a radial flange on the spindle . a combined radial / axial thrust bearing 35 is disposed on the front of the radial flange , which bearing receives the axial forces when the plasticizer screw 22 retracts . an anti - backlash element 36 prevents undesired rotation of the spindle 24 and spiral conveyor 22 during the forward stroke . the two bridges 13 , 14 are pulled together by tie rods 15 and at the same time are supported and spaced by the cylinders 18 , 20 . the compression nuts 15a for the tie rods 15 are easily accessible , as can be seen from the drawing . the cylinders 18 , 20 are formed of steel casings , the bridges 13 , 14 of cast iron . the inside diameter of the cylinder 20 of the injection cylinder 20 , 21 is approximately four times the inside diameter of the cylinder 16 of the decompression cylinders 16 , 17 . the coupling 23 between the spindle 24 and the spiral conveyor 22 is accessible via passage 38 . hydraulic flow controllers 32 and 33 are components of the injection unit &# 39 ; s hydraulic control system . hydraulic flow controller 32 is for advancing and retraction of the injection unit to and from the mold . hydraulic flow controller 33 is for controlling the operation of the plastification screw 22 . during preplastification , the axially movable unit consisting of the rotating plastification screw 22 , the spindle 24 and rotary drive 25 , and cylinders 16 with flange 12 moves back out of the way under dynamic pressure of the preplastifying material when the nozzle is applied . this sucks oil into the enlarging space within the cylinders of decompression cylinders 16 , 17 . the maximum stroke of these cylinders necessarily matches the maximum stroke of the piston 21 of the injection cylinder 20 , 21 when the plastic is injected into the injection mold , or during preplastification . the back of the injection unit can be supported on the machine pedestal 37 of the plastic injection molding machine through its two bridges 13 and 14 . this is made possible by a support device provided with a roller 40 . the support device in the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing has a single roller 40 which is located in the plane of vertical symmetry of the injection unit . the elevation of roller 40 can be adjusted by means of an eccentric 41b . the eccentric 41b is mounted in the walls of support pillar 47 by means of a trunnion 41a . the roller 40 , on ball bearings , is disposed so that it can rotate with respect to the eccentric 41b . by setting the elevation of the support device appropriately , it is possible to compensate for manufacturing tolerances which affect the distance between the elevation of the injection unit support device and the top of the machine pedestal . besides the hollow support pillars 47 and the eccentric 41b and its roller 40 , the support device includes a support member 45 reinforced by a hardened strip 43 . the support member runs between the bridges 13 , 14 and is fastened to them . the strip 43 forms the track for the roller 40 . each time the injection unit is moved toward or away from the injection mold , the injection unit &# 34 ; runs &# 34 ; to a certain extent on the roller 40 in the direction of the injection mold or away from it , while the greater part of the load of the injection unit is transmitted through the support member 45 with the hardened strip 43 to the roller 40 of the support device . the support device thus is composed of a fixed support element 44 , 47 , a movable support element 43 , 45 and an elevation - adjustment device 41 to transmit the supported load . a roller 40 , or runner , facilitates relative movement between the support elements 44 , 47 , 43 , 45 . it is to be noted the drive cylinders 18 , 19 have front ends including front cylinder heads 18a &# 39 ;. the injection unit is additionally supported on the machine pedestal 37 by means of support bracket 10 which fits into the guide rods 11 at level a -- a , which lies directly in front of the front cylinder heads 18a &# 39 ; of the drive cylinders 18 , 19 when the injection unit is applied to the injection mold . the support bracket 10 includes a u - shaped element with a transverse member 10a which rests on top of the machine pedestal 37 transverse to the injection axis . a connecting piece 44 runs between the stationary support 44 , 47 and the support bracket 10 . connecting piece 44 removably connects to the stationary support of 44 , 47 to the transverse member 10a of the support bracket 10 . | 1 |
reducing thermal resistance for more effective heat dissipation is a major challenge in high power vcsels . in addition , lowering the electrical resistance in the current path of the vcsel is useful in further reducing power consumption and heat generation . embodiments of the present invention that are described herein provide a new vcsel structure with embedded heat sink , which enhances heat dissipation without compromising mechanical strength . after moderate thinning of the vcsel wafer , cavities , such as vias or trenches , are etched into the back side of the chip , extending from the back side through the substrate almost all of the way to the epitaxial layers below the vcsel emitters . these cavities are then filled with metal or another material with high thermal conductivity ( i . e ., substantially higher conductivity than that of the semiconductor substrate ), thus creating pillars through the substrate that serve as embedded heat sinks in the vcsel chip . the thermal resistance between these embedded heat sinks and the emitters is low , thus facilitating efficient heat dissipation without compromising mechanical strength . if filled with metal , the pillars can also serve as electrodes for driving the vcsels . typically , the embedded heat sinks are positioned directly under the emitters in order to reduce emitter junction temperatures . in vcsel arrays , the sizes , positions and densities of the heat sinks can be adjusted in order to control the temperature profile across the array . thus , the embedded heat sinks not only reduce temperature , but also facilitate a more uniform temperature distribution and thus improve the uniformity of optical power and wavelength across the array . the embodiments of the present invention that are described herein provide a method for forming efficient , embedded heat sinks for vcsels . the method comprises forming cavities , such as vias or trenches , from the back side of the semiconductor substrate ( also referred to as a semiconductor wafer ) carrying the vcsels , with the cavities reaching close to the epitaxial layers of the vcsels , and filling the cavities with material possessing thermal conductivity substantially higher than that of the semiconductor substrate . when the fill material also possesses high electrical conductivity , the filled cavities will , in addition to conducting heat away from the vcsels , also serve as electrical contacts to these vcsels . heat sinks comprising materials that are electrically insulating may be made in a substantially identical fashion . the method uses standard semiconductor processing techniques and is compatible as an add - on to existing vcsel array designs and manufacturing methods . the embedded heat sinks and the methods for their manufacturing are applicable to substantially all common top - emitting vcsel structures , such as etched mesa , proton - implanted , dielectric - apertured , and buried heterostructure designs . the techniques described herein can be used in manufacturing both vcsel arrays and singlets , including both long - wavelength and short - wavelength vcsels based on various semiconductor materials , including gaas , inp , znse , and gan , inter alia . in the disclosed embodiments , an array of vcsels is formed on the front side of a semiconductor substrate using standard processes of epitaxial layer growth and patterning , after which the back side of the substrate is moderately thinned . an array of cavities , such as vias or trenches , is then defined by photolithography on the back side of the thinned substrate , followed by an appropriate etching process ( either dry etch or wet etch ) to create the cavities . the etched cavities are fully or partially filled with metal or another appropriate heat - conducting material to create embedded heat sinks under the emitters that were formed in previous process steps on the front side of the substrate . these steps are followed by standard process steps of substrate demounting , annealing , dicing , and chip packaging , as are known in the art . the cavities that contain the embedded heat sinks can have either straight or tapered profiles , and their lateral dimensions can be smaller than , the same as , or larger than the vcsel emitters themselves . ( by lateral dimensions we are referring to the dimensions parallel to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor substrate .) the cavities are typically , but not necessarily , aligned with the positions of the vcsel emitters . such alignment effectively brings the heat sink and back - side electrodes closer to the vcsel emitter active regions , thus reducing both the thermal resistance and the electrical resistance between the emitters and the embedded heat sinks / electrodes . for further reduction of thermal and electrical resistance between the heat sink and the vcsel , it is desirable that the inner ends of the embedded heat sinks be as close as possible to the active areas of the vcsels , without disturbing their distributed bragg reflector ( dbr ) structures . to control the separation between the inner ends of the embedded heat sinks and the epitaxial layers of the vcsels , an etch - stop layer may be formed on the semiconductor substrate before depositing the epitaxial layers . the etch - stop layer will ensure that the cavities are not etched too deeply . to prevent thermal stresses in the chip , it is also desirable that the material that is used to fill the cavities for the embedded heat sinks have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is similar to that of the semiconductor substrate . multiple materials and multiple layers can be used in filling the cavities in order to achieve both good thermal conductivity and good ohmic contact . for example , a thin metal layer may be deposited on the inside walls of the cavities for good ohmic contact , with the choice of metal depending on the choice of semiconductor substrate , followed by partial or complete filling with a thicker heat - conducting layer . alternatively , a thick metal layer with both good thermal and electrical conductivity , such as gold or copper , for example , can be used as both heat sink and electrode . standard plating and sputtering processes may be used in applying the metal layer or layers . it is desirable that all individual vcsels in an array have the same output of radiative power . as the output of an individual vcsel depends , among other factors , on its temperature , which in turn depends on the thermal environment of the vcsel , the embedded heat sink array provides a way to even out the temperature differences between the individual vcsels . the positions , lateral dimensions , and / or other features of the pattern of the embedded heat sinks can be varied in order to achieve uniform temperature distribution in the vcsel array . for example , due to the fact that the center of a chip with a vcsel array usually has a poorer heat dissipation than the edge of the chip , an increase of the lateral dimensions of the embedded heat sinks from the edge of chip towards its center may be used to compensate for the heat dissipation imbalance , achieving a more uniform vcsel array temperature distribution . although the embodiments described herein and shown in the figures relate specifically to vcsels , and particularly to vcsel arrays , the principles of the present invention may similarly be applied in the design of other sorts of integrated high - power emitters . fig1 a - c are schematic sectional views of a vcsel array 20 with embedded heat sinks 21 at different stages of manufacture , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . fig1 a shows vcsel array 20 formed on a semiconductor substrate 22 . fig1 b shows vcsel array 20 after the photolithographic definition and etching of an array of cavities 24 in a back side 26 of substrate 22 . fig1 c shows vcsel array 20 after filling the cavities with a heat - conducting fill material , forming heat sinks 21 . in the schematic sectional illustration of fig1 a - c , as well as in subsequent illustrations , the dimensions of the features are not to scale . as illustrated in fig1 a , vcsel array 20 is manufactured , using standard semiconductor processes , on semiconductor substrate 22 , starting with an epitaxially deposited etch stop layer 34 and continuing with an epitaxially deposited multilayer 36 . three individual emitters 38 , as well as their front - side drive electrodes 40 , are formed over epitaxial layer 36 . in fig1 a , semiconductor substrate 22 is shown after the process step of thinning back side 26 , and consequently the same thickness of substrate is shown in subsequent fig1 b - c . in fig1 b , cavities 24 have been defined by photolithography from back side 26 of substrate 22 so as to be aligned with emitters 38 . after photolithographic definition , cavities 24 are etched using standard semiconductor processes to a depth reaching close to epitaxial layers 36 , without however encroaching on these layers . etch depth of cavities 24 is controlled by the use of etch - stop layer 34 formed on substrate 22 before depositing epitaxial layers 36 . as shown in fig1 c , cavities 24 are filled with heat - conducting material , forming heat sinks 21 . heat sinks 21 are aligned with emitters 38 , with the tops of heat sinks 21 brought into close proximity with epitaxial layers 36 . the alignment with emitters 38 and proximity to epitaxial layer 36 is designed for providing efficient cooling to emitters 38 , as well as for providing low ohmic losses when heat sinks 21 also serve as back - side electrodes to emitters 38 . additional heat - conducting material has been deposited over back side 26 as an unpatterned , continuous film 42 , serving as a common back - side electrode of vcsel array 20 . fig2 a - b are schematic sectional views of a vcsel array 50 with embedded heat sinks 52 at different stages of manufacture , in accordance with another embodiment of the invention . in contrast to the preceding embodiment , cavities 24 in array 50 are lined with a metal layer 54 for ohmic contact . in other respects , array 50 is produced in a similar manner to array 20 . as shown in fig2 a , cavities 24 are , after etching , coated with metal film 54 , for example , by depositing a thin metal layer on the inner cavity surfaces , which serves as an ohmic contact to the semiconductor material of substrate 22 . a metal film 56 , as a continuation of metal film 54 , is deposited on back side 26 for ohmic contact . in fig2 b , cavities 24 , coated by metal film 54 , are filled with heat conducting fill material , forming heat sinks 52 for emitters 38 . the combination of metal film 54 , providing ohmic contact , and the heat conducting material forming heat sinks 52 serves as an array of back - side electrodes to emitters 38 . as in fig1 c , additional heat - conducting material has been deposited to form unpatterned , continuous film 58 on back side 26 , serving as a common back - side electrode of vcsel array 20 . it will be appreciated that in some embodiments the shapes and relative dimensions as well as the alignment of heat sinks 21 are different from those shown in the above figures . fig3 is a flowchart that schematically illustrates the manufacturing process of vcsel array 20 ( fig1 a - c ) with embedded heat sinks 21 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . a similar process can be applied , mutatis mutandis , in producing array 50 ( fig2 a - b ). vcsel array 20 itself is manufactured in a fabrication step 60 . in a thinning step 62 , semiconductor substrate 22 is moderately thinned from back side 26 ( fig1 a ). steps 60 and 62 are typically carried out using techniques of thin film deposition , lithographic patterning , and wafer processing that are known in the art . in a patterning step 64 , cavities 24 ( fig1 b ) are photolithographically defined on back side 26 of substrate 22 . cavities 24 are etched through the back side of the substrate , using dry or wet etching techniques that are known in the art , in an etching step 66 . the cavities are then filled with a metal or other thermally conductive material to form heat sinks 21 ( fig1 c ), for example by plating or sputtering , in a filling step 68 . further in step 68 , unpatterned film 42 is formed over the back side of the substrate . step 68 may involve only a single - material filling , as in fig1 c , or separate coating by metal film 56 for ohmic contact , followed by filling with thermal conducting material for embedded heat sinks 52 , as in fig2 a - b . after fabrication of heat sinks 21 , substrate 22 is demounted , annealed , diced , and packaged in a process completion step 70 , using standard semiconductor manufacturing techniques . in process completion step 70 , film 42 of fig1 c ( or film 58 of fig2 b ) is typically brought to contact with an external heat sink and / or electrical conductors ( not shown ). fig4 a - b are schematic top views of respective arrays 72 and 74 of vcsels and embedded heat sinks , in accordance with embodiments of the invention . these figures compare an embodiment in which embedded heat sinks have uniform lateral dimensions ( fig4 a ) to an embodiment in which the lateral dimensions of embedded heat sinks 78 , 80 are adjusted according to the thermal environment of the vcsel which each heat sink 78 , 80 is cooling ( fig4 b ). the lateral dimensions of the vcsels and heat sinks are shown schematically as circles , with vcsels denoted by a solid line and heat sinks denoted by a dotted line . as shown in fig4 a , array 72 comprises vcsels 82 , 84 and their associated heat sinks 76 aligned with the respective vcsels . although in fig4 a heat sinks 76 are shown as vias , in some embodiments the heat sinks have a different design , for example a trench - like design . in vcsel array 72 , all heat sinks 76 have the same lateral dimensions and consequently the same thermal conductance . as vcsel 84 inside array 72 is surrounded by additional vcsels 82 , its temperature may be higher than that of the surrounding vcsels , with a possible detrimental impact on its performance , as has been previously described . in fig4 b , array 74 comprises vcsels 86 , 88 and their associated heat sinks 78 , 80 . in this embodiment , the lateral dimensions of individual heat sinks 78 , 80 have been adjusted for the individual vcsel environment and vary in proportion to the local heat load across array 74 . vcsels 86 at the edge of array 74 have heat sinks 78 with the same lateral dimensions as the other heat sinks at the edge of array 74 . however , as opposed to array 72 , heat sink 80 aligned with vcsel 88 , located in an inside position in array 74 , has lateral dimensions larger than that of heat sinks 78 , aligned with vcsels 86 on the edge . consequently , the thermal conductance of heat sink 80 is higher than that of heat sinks 78 , and heat sink 80 will cool vcsel 88 more efficiently than a heat sink of smaller lateral dimensions would . the different dimensions of heat sinks 78 and 80 are chosen so as to ensure that the temperature of vcsel 88 is similar to that of the surrounding vcsels 86 . by the same token , as shown in fig4 b , the heat sinks of the vcsels at the corners of array may have smaller dimensions than those at the edges . it will be appreciated that the embodiments described above are cited by way of example , and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather , the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove , as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art . | 7 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention , example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . referring to fig2 there is shown a data driver for a liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present invention . the data driver includes a data substitution unit 34 and a d - ic chip 36 connected , in series , between a controller 30 and a liquid crystal panel 32 . the controller 30 successively supplies the data substitution unit 34 with m - bit pixel data . the m - bit pixel data includes red ( r ) pixel data , green ( g ) pixel data and blue ( b ) pixel data . when pixel data has 18 - bits , each of the r , g and b data has 6 - bits . the controller 30 applies a data reset signal drs to the data substitution unit 34 and the d - ic chip 36 . the data reset signal drs is enabled to a specific logical value ( e . g ., high or low logic value ) in a certain time interval when power is turned on , or is enabled to a specific logical value in a certain time interval whenever pixel data for one picture are transmitted . also , the controller 30 applies a clock signal indicating a transmission frequency of a pixel data to the data substitution unit 34 and the d - ic chip 36 . for each bit , the data substitution unit 34 compares the m - bit pixel data with m - bit pixel data from the previous line . the data substitution unit 34 transmits the compared result for each bit , that is , the compared m - bit data , via the m - bit data bus 31 to the d - ic chip 30 . to this end , the data substitution unit 34 includes a line memory 40 and an exclusive or gate array 42 for commonly inputting a pixel data from the controller 30 . the line memory 40 initializes pixel data for one line stored thereto in a time interval when the data reset signal drs from the controller 30 has a specific logical value ( e . g ., “ 0 ” or “ 1 ”). the line memory 40 inputs new m - bit pixel data from the controller 30 every specific edge ( i . e ., rising edge or falling edge ) of the clock signal from the controller 30 and , at the same time , applies m - bit pixel data input during a transmission interval for a prior line to the exclusive or gate array 42 . in other words , the line memory 40 may be a shift register having a storage capacity able to store pixel data for one line . the exclusive or gate array 42 consists of m exclusive or gates . the m exclusive or gates distributively receive m - bit pixel data for the current line from the controller 30 and , at the same time , distributively receive m - bit pixel data for the previous line from the line memory 40 . also , each of the m exclusive or gates checks whether or not the bit pixel data for the current line is identical to the bit pixel data for the previous line . if both bit pixel data are same , then each exclusive or gate delivers the compared bit data having a logical value of “ 0 ”, via the data bus 31 , to the d - ic chip 36 . otherwise , if both bit pixel data have a different logical value , then each exclusive or gate delivers the compared bit data having a logical value of “ 1 ”, via the data bus 31 , to the d - ic chip 36 . accordingly , the compared bit data has a logical value of “ 0 ” continuously while a logical value of “ 1 ” intermittently due to a characteristic of a picture that pixels having the same gray level value appear continuously in the vertical and horizontal direction . as a result , the frequency of the compared bit data is dramatically reduced compared to the original pixel data . the d - ic chip 36 sequentially inputs m - bits of compared data for one line from the data bus 31 , and reconstructs pixel data for one line from the compared bit data for one line . the d - ic chip 36 also converts the pixel data for one line into analog pixel signals to apply the converted analog pixel signals for one line to n data lines dl 1 to dln of the liquid crystal panel 32 . to this end , the d - ic chip 36 includes a shift register 44 , a bit reconstruction unit array 46 and a digital to analog converter array 48 that are connected between the data bus 31 and the liquid crystal panel 32 in cascade . the shift register 44 inputs the m - bit compared data by from the data bus 31 on every specific edge ( i . e ., rising edge or falling edge ) of the clock signal from the controller 30 to shift the same to the right . the shift register 44 applies the compared bit data for one line inputted thereto to the bit reconstruction unit array 46 . the bit reconstruction unit array 46 includes data substitution units equal to the number of bits , e . g ., ( m · n )/ 3 , of the compared bit data for one line . each of these bit reconstruction units selectively inverts the pixel bit data stored previously in accordance with a logical value of the compared bit data from the shift register 44 to reconstruct the pixel bit data . more specifically , if a logical value of the compared bit data is “ 0 ,” then the corresponding bit reconstruction unit transmits the previously stored pixel bit data ( i . e ., the same pixel bit data as for the previous line ) to the d - a converter array 48 as the pixel bit data at the current line . on the other hand , if a logical value of the compared bit data is “ 1 ,” then the corresponding bit reconstruction unit inverts the pixel bit data stored previously and transmits the inverted previously - stored pixel bit data to the d - a converter array 48 as the current pixel bit data . the d - a converter array 48 includes d - a converters equal to the number of data lines dl 1 to dln of the liquid crystal panel 32 . each of these d - a converters inputs m pixel bit data ( i . e ., m - bit pixel data ) from the bit reconstruction unit array 46 . each of the d - a converters converts the m - bit pixel data into an analog pixel signal and applies the converted analog pixel signal to the corresponding data line dl 1 to dln . fig3 is a detailed circuit diagram of the data reconstruction units of the bit reconstruction unit array shown in fig2 . in fig3 the data reconstruction unit includes an exclusive or gate 50 inputting compared bit data tbd from the shift resistor 44 , and a flip - flop 52 having an input terminal d connected to an output terminal of the exclusive or gate 50 . the exclusive or gate 50 performs an exclusive or operation on the compared bit data tbd and pixel bit data pbd of the previous line , fed back from an output terminal q of the flip - flop 52 , and applies the operation result to an input terminal d of the flip - flop 52 . more specifically , if a logical value of the compared bit data tbd is “ 0 ”, then the exclusive or gate 50 applies the pixel bit data pbd from the previous line to the input terminal of the flip - flop 52 as it is . on the other hand , if a logical value of the compared bit data tbd is “ 1 ”, then the exclusive or gate 50 inverts the pixel bit data pbd from the previous line and applies the same to the input terminal d of the flip - flop 52 . in other words , the exclusive or gate 50 selectively inverts the pixel bit data pbd to be fed back from the output terminal q of the flip - flop 52 to the input terminal d thereof in accordance with a logical value of the compared bit data tbd . the flip - flop 52 selectively responds to a data reset signal drs applied from the controller 30 in fig2 to its clear terminal clr to initialize the pixel bit data pbd at the output terminal q to a logical value of “ 0 ”. the pixel bit data pbd at the output terminal q of the flip - flop 52 is initialized to a logical value of “ 0 ” when the data reset signal drs has a low logic level . also , the flip - flop 52 responds to a line pulse hp to latch a logical signal at the input terminal d into the output terminal q . a logical signal at the input terminal d of the flip - flop 52 is latched into the output terminal q every rising edge ( or falling edge ) of a line pulse . the operation of the flip - flop 52 as described above is just to carry out a function of a 1 - bit memory for temporarily storing the previous pixel bit data . as described above , the data transmission apparatus according to the present invention delivers bit data to be transmitted in the form of a comparison signal indicating whether or not it is identical to the previous bit data , so that it can dramatically lower the frequency ( i . e ., the frequency of logic changes ) of a data file in which data having the same logical value appears several to tens of times consecutively in the horizontal and vertical direction . accordingly , the data transmission apparatus according to the present invention can minimize the power consumption and the emi . although the present invention has been explained by the embodiments shown in the drawings described above , it should be understood to the ordinary skilled person in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments , but rather that various changes or modifications thereof are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention . for instance , it should be understood that the data transmission line between the controller and the d - ic chip as shown in fig2 has been described as an embodiment of the present invention , but the present invention is applicable to a transmission line between the graphic card within the computer main body and the controller as well as a data transmission line between the graphic card and the d - ic chip . accordingly , the scope of the invention shall be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
referring now to fig3 , a memory architecture according to the present invention includes the same first set of data lines 22 , dram subarrays 12 a and 12 b , and sense amplifier blocks 14 a and 14 b as shown in fig1 . additionally the same selection transistors m 0 , m 1 , m 2 , and m 3 , as well as corresponding selection control signals sel 0 and sel 1 are shown . however , note in fig3 , that a second set 24 of data lines is provided . sense amplifier block 14 a is also coupled to the second set of data lines via selection transistors m 4 and m 5 under control of the “ sel 2 ” control signal . sense amplifier block 14 b is also coupled to the second set of data lines via selection transistors m 6 and m 7 under control of the “ sel 3 ” control signal . the selection transistors are coupled between local data lines 15 and 17 and the second set of data lines 24 . a bi - directional data transfer register or buffer 19 is interposed into the second set of data lines 24 between m 4 / m 5 selection circuitry and the m 6 / m 7 selection circuitry . the row and column decoding circuitry is not shown in fig3 for sake of clarity . in operation , the second set of data lines 24 are used so that data can be transferred from a first dram subarray to a second dram subarray , while data from a third dram subarray can be written or read to the outside world via the first set of data lines 22 . also , both sets of select control signals from a given sense amplifier block ( for example , sel 0 and sel 2 ) can go valid so that data from one dram subarray can be transferred to another dram subarray and that data can be written to or read from the outside word at the same time . in this example , control signal sel 3 is high and control signal sel 1 is low . in this way , the same data that is being read or written to the first set of data lines 22 from dram subarray 12 a is also being transferred to dram subarray 12 b . the data transfer register 19 assures that there is sufficient drive capability to correctly write the transferred data . referring now to fig4 , an expanded view of the memory architecture 40 of the present invention includes dram subarrays 12 a , 12 b , and 12 c , as well as sense amplifier blocks or columns 14 a , 14 b , and 14 c . the sense amplifier blocks 14 a , 14 b , and 14 c are coupled to the first and second data line sets 22 and 24 via select circuits select 0 - 5 . the select circuits include the same two selection transistors and control signals as shown in previous fig3 . data transfer registers are shown interposed between the selection circuits associated with the second set 24 of data lines . data transfer register 19 is interposed between the select 4 and the select 5 selection circuits . the actual select control signal nodes are not shown in fig4 . still further functionality of memory architecture 40 can be demonstrated with reference to fig4 . in particular , while data can be read to or written from the outside world via the first set of data lines 22 , data can simultaneously be transferred between unrelated dram subarrays . for example , with proper switching of the appropriate select circuits , data can be read from or written to sense amplifiers 14 c , while simultaneously transferring data from sense amplifiers 14 c to sense amplifiers 14 a or 14 b . similarly , data can be read from or written to sense amplifiers 14 b , while simultaneously transferring data from sense amplifiers 14 c to sense amplifiers 14 a . finally , data can be read from or written to sense amplifiers 14 a , while simultaneously transferring data from sense amplifiers 14 c to sense amplifiers 14 b . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modes of operation can be effected with the memory architecture 40 of fig4 or variations thereof , including reading and writing of external data , coupled with transferring the same data or data between unrelated dram subarrays as desired . of course , the number of dram subarrays and associated sense amplifier columns is limited only by the requirements of a specific application and the size of the integrated memory circuit . referring now to fig5 , a schematic diagram of a portion 50 of a memory subarray including local and global data lines and selection circuitry according to the present invention is shown . in fig5 , it is possible to see the actual bit lines bl & lt ; 0 & gt ;, blb & lt ; 0 & gt ;, bl & lt ; 1 & gt ;, blb & lt ; 1 & gt ;, bl & lt ; 2 & gt ;, and blb & lt ; 2 & gt ; that are coupled directly to sense amplifiers sa & lt ; 0 & gt ;, sa & lt ; 1 & gt ;, and sa & lt ; 2 & gt ;, respectively . transistors m 7 and m 8 , for example , couple the full data levels on sense amplifier sa & lt ; 0 & gt ; to the dlb and dl lines . in fig5 , transistors m 1 and m 2 are used to couple the dlb and dl local data lines to the first set of global data lines , labeled crw and crwb . the first selection control signal is designated wbk . in fig5 , transistors m 5 and m 6 are used to couple the dlb and dl local data lines to the second set of global data lines , labeled gdq and gdqb . the second selection control signal is designated rw . only a portion of a representative dram subarray is shown and the numbers of rows and columns of memory cells ( e . g . pass transistor m 16 and storage capacitor c 3 ) can be extended as required for a particular application . another embodiment 60 of the present invention is shown in fig6 . in the embodiment shown in fig6 , first and second sets of selection transistors are used . this arrangement may provide benefits when the circuit is actually configured and laid out on an integrated circuit , as well as having other performance advantages . note that in fig6 , selection transistors m 1 and m 2 are used to couple the data from sense amplifiers sa & lt ; 0 & gt ; through sa & lt ; 7 & gt ; to the first set of global data lines crw and crwb . selection transistors m 3 and m 4 are used to couple the data from sense amplifiers sa & lt ; 8 & gt ; through sa & lt ; 15 & gt ; to the first set of global data lines crw and crwb . selection transistors m 7 and m 8 are used to couple the data from sense amplifiers sa & lt ; 0 & gt ; through sa & lt ; 7 & gt ; to the second set of global data lines gdq and gdqb . selection transistors m 7 and m 8 are used to couple the data from sense amplifiers sa & lt ; 8 & gt ; through sa & lt ; 15 & gt ; to the second set of global data lines gdq and gdqb . note further that there are two select control signal associated with the first set of global data lines , namely wbk & lt ; 0 & gt ; for selecting transistors ml and m 2 , and wbk & lt ; 1 & gt ; for selecting transistors m 3 and m 4 . similarly , there are two select control signal associated with the second set of global data lines , namely rw & lt ; 0 & gt ; for selecting transistors m 5 and m 6 , and rw & lt ; 1 & gt ; for selecting transistors m 7 and m 8 . in fig6 a data transfer register 62 is shown for transferring the data on the local data lines dl & lt ; 0 & gt ;, dl & lt ; 1 & gt ;, dlb & lt ; 0 & gt ;, and dlb & lt ; 1 & gt ; to other dram subarrays through global data lines gw and gwb . an i / o circuit block 64 is also shown for transferring the data on the gdq and gdqb global data lines to the external data input and output terminals designated d and q . in operation , data can be transferred to either the data transfer registers 62 , or the i / o circuit block 64 , or both . to transfer data to the data transfer registers 62 only , wbk & lt ; 0 & gt ; or wbk & lt ; 1 & gt ; are active , and rw & lt ; 0 & gt ; and rw & lt ; 1 & gt ; are inactive . to transfer data to the i / o circuit block only , wbk & lt ; 0 & gt ; and wbk & lt ; 1 & gt ; are inactive , and rw & lt ; 0 & gt ; or rw & lt ; 1 & gt ; are active . to transfer data to both the data transfer registers 62 and to the i / o circuit blocks , either wbk & lt ; o & gt ; and rw & lt ; 0 & gt ; are active and wbk & lt ; 1 & gt ; and rw & lt ; 1 & gt ; are inactive , or wbk & lt ; 0 & gt ; and rw & lt ; 0 & gt ; are inactive and wbk & lt ; 1 & gt ; and rw & lt ; 1 & gt ; are active . while there have been described above the principles of the present invention in conjunction with specific memory architectures and methods of operation , it is to be clearly understood that the foregoing description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention . particularly , it is recognized that the teachings of the foregoing disclosure will suggest other modifications to those persons skilled in the relevant art . such modifications may involve other features which are already known per se and which may be used instead of or in addition to features already described herein . although claims have been formulated in this application to particular combinations of features , it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure herein also includes any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed either explicitly or implicitly or any generalization or modification thereof which would be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art , whether or not such relates to the same invention as presently claimed in any claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as confronted by the present invention . the applicants hereby reserve the right to formulate new claims to such features and / or combinations of such features during the prosecution of the present application or of any further application derived therefrom . | 6 |
in the following detailed description of the invention , reference is made to the drawings in which reference numerals refer to like elements , and which are intended to show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . referring to fig1 through 4 , an energy efficient tricycle 100 is shown having a frame 120 . frame 120 is lightweight and strong . it is made of a high carbon steel such as chromoly , aluminum or even a carbon fiber composite as long as the frame remains strong yet flexible . a handlebar 115 telescopically fits within a steering tube 144 . a clamp 106 selectively secures handlebars within steering tube 144 . a front wheel 114 is secured with fork 148 which is rotatably attached to steering tube 144 . a front axle 124 is attached to fork 148 and allows wheel 114 to roll . a front hand brake 154 is provided to control front wheel 114 . handlebar 115 has two handgrips 102 and hand brakes 104 . brake cables 110 and 112 are secured using brake ties 108 . in order to allow tricycle 100 to be easily transported and stored , a handlebar folding hinge 116 is provided and will be discussed in detail later . a rotating hinge lock 146 is provided to lock steering tube 144 in place during use and then to easily move into a storage position . a front wheel rotating hinge 118 is provided for folding as well . two foot pedals 122 are provided to allow a user to apply a locomotive force . each pedal 122 is independently operable and need not be in any special position to operate . a cover 126 is provided to cover and protect the transmission , electronics and battery if so equipped . the downward force from pedals 122 is transmitted to the rear wheels 140 using a main drive chain 128 . of course , a belt or other force transmitting mechanism could be used as long as the downward force is able to be turned into a torque to turn the wheels 140 . two rear drive sprockets — one on each side 130 are provided to transmit the torque to the wheels 140 . in operation , energy efficient tricycle 100 is able to operate over varying terrains by adjusting the height of the rear wheels 140 using an adjustment 132 . a series of holes allow a user to select the desired height . a pin , or other detent fits within the hole to maintain the selected height . each rear wheel 140 is supported by a rear wheel support frame 134 is used both for structural purposes as well as providing the axle to support the wheels . this configuration allows the end portion of tricycle to be open and completely accessible . because of this , a platform 142 is provided to allow easy access . the user can merely step on platform 142 and is ready to go . to provide superior braking performance , disc brakes are provided on rear wheels 140 . the disc brakes consist of a rotor 136 and caliper 138 for each rear wheel 140 . two rear wheel drive chains 150 are provided to transmit the torque from pedals 122 and main drive chain 128 . to further enhance the foldability of tricycle 100 , two rear wheel rotating bushing 152 are provided . during operation , rear wheel support frames 134 are securely held in place by rear wheel clamps 170 . when released , rear wheels 140 may be rotated to a compact position . pedals 122 are rotatably attached to frame 120 using pedal arms 156 using a bearing or bushing 158 . also provided are two recoil pistons 160 which bias pedals 122 to an operable position and will be discussed in detail below . now referring to fig5 through 8 , energy efficient tricycle 100 is able to fold for transportation and storage . handlebar 115 telescopically slides down within steering tube 144 by loosening telescopic clamp 106 ( fig1 ) and then sliding al the way down and then retightening . next handlebar rotating hinge is release and steering tube 144 folds down until it rests on front tire 114 . now front wheel rotating hinge lock 146 is released and this allows front wheel assembly ( wheel 114 , fork 148 , brake 154 and steering tube 144 ) to rotate around 180 degrees so that front wheel 114 is now facing an opposite direction and is alongside cover 126 . next , rear wheel clamps 170 are released and rotated towards the front . in this configuration , tricycle 100 is in a very compact configuration which allows a user to easily carry and transport . it easily fits within a truck of a car , etc . to operate , the procedure is reversed . now referring to fig9 , a seat 174 is provided to allow a user to sit down while operating in a motorized embodiment . seat 174 is cushioned by riding on a spring shock absorber 176 to absorb bumps and road conditions . seat 174 may be adjusted forwards and backwards using seat adjustment 178 . additionally , a height adjustment may be provided ( not shown ). referring now to fig1 , 11 and 12 , two direct drive motors 180 are provided to allow a user to have a motorized assist while operating . a battery 168 is used to provide energy to direct drive motors 180 . in this embodiment , the operator may still pedal and have the motors 180 automatically assist during given load situations such as going up hills , speed falls below a selected level or in a completely motorized mode where the pedals are not used or are only used to control the speed . of course a throttle ( not shown ) may also be provided which can be mounted on hand grips 102 as is known in the art . in the motorized embodiment or even in a pedal mode if coasting , leg support 172 are provided to allow a user to rest against pedals 122 while standing on platform 142 . leg supports 172 are made of a resilient material such as foam or rubber to absorb vibration and provide a comfortable support while operating in a standing position . now referring to fig1 and 14 , half of the transmission is shown . since there are two pedals 122 , the other half if the transmission is mirrored and not shown in the figures . pedal arm 156 is rotatably anchored around a pedal arm pivot 190 . recoil piston 160 is attached to the base of cover 126 and attached to the end of pedal arm . an eccentric gear 186 is rotatably secured to the inside of cover 126 and a recoil cord 192 is attached therein . the other end of recoil cord 192 feeds around a recoil pulley and then a pulley located within pedal arm 156 and secured to cover 126 using a hold down 196 . in this way , as pedal arm 156 rotates down the acceleration is get relatively constant due to the eccentricity of pulley 186 . a main shaft gear 188 is centrally located to mechanically communicate with main drive chain 128 which is connected to main drive gear 166 which transmits torque to rear drive chains 150 . now referring to fig1 , a sensor 184 is provided on main shaft along main drive gear 166 . a sensor disk 182 has magnets or holes or both so that sensor 184 can detect rotational speed and acceleration which can be transmitted to a central processing unit ( not shown ) as is know in the art . in this embodiment , the cpu can automatically assist the user to add power to help even when pedaling . this option is especially helpful to users who want the benefit of exercise but may not have the stamina to rely solely on muscle power . the energy efficient tricycle has a completely open end due the fact that the rear axle is part of the structural support rather than just a axle alone and this allows the user easy access from the back . the instant invention is designed to be operated while standing ( except for the seated embodiment ) and this is good for exercise , posture and visibility . the center gravity of the instant invention is very low which leads to a very stable ride . even novice users will feel confident while operating . unlike standard bicycles and tricycles , each pedal is independent and can be operated using only one pedal if desired . this would allow some disabled users to operate . the height of the tricycle can be adjusted which is extremely useful by allowing a user to adjust for grass , smooth road , etc . although the instant invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art . | 8 |
a structure for actuating a printing hammer in a teleprinting or other printing device is shown in fig1 wherein that portion of the printing hammer received in the actuating device is referenced at 1 . an armature 2 , rotatable about a pivot 2a , normally engages a lower portion of the printing hammer 1 in a rest position . the armature 2 operates against the action of a return spring 6 , normally urging the armature 2 into the rest position shown in fig1 and the printing hammer 1 operates against the action of a bias spring 7 , also urging the printing hammer 1 into the rest position shown in fig1 . the armature 2 is actuated by a pair of electromagnetic coils 3 , each having a pole - piece 3a which magnetically attracts the armature 2 toward the coils 3 until the armature 2 abuts either the pole pieces 3a or an adjustable stop 32 . the printing hammer 1 is simultaneously moved in conjunction with the armature 2 and when the armature 2 strikes against the pole surfaces 3a or the adjustable stop 32 , the printing hammer 1 continues to move as a result of its inertia so that the printing hammer 1 is no longer in contact with the armature 2 and carries out the actual printing of a character by striking against a particular portion of a type wheel ( not shown ). the bias spring 7 in combination with the elastic rebound of the type urges the printing hammer 1 back toward the rest position shown in fig1 . by the operation of the circuit shown in fig2 described in greater detail below , when the printing hammer 1 moves out of contact with the armature 2 , the relatively high excitation current formerly present in the magnetic coil is switched to a holding current . the excitation current is graphically illustrated in fig3 as jer , and the holding current is designated as jh . the holding current jh is dimensioned so that it overcomes the action of the return spring 6 and maintains the armature 2 against the pole pieces 3a of the magnetic coils 3 . when the printing hammer 1 now returns to its rest position , the hammer 1 strikes against the armature 2 and overcomes the attraction of the armature 2 with the pole pieces 3a and thereby transfers a specific proportion of its kinetic energy to the armature 2 in such a manner that although the armature 2 returns to the rest position together with the printing hammer 1 , the armature 2 reaches a stop surface 4 carried on an angle lever 5 before the printing hammer 1 reaches such a position . the printing hammer 1 never directly reaches the stop surface 4 , but only a rest position which is determined by the stop surface 4 and the armature 2 . the stop surface 4 is disposed at an end of an arm 33 of the angle lever 5 , with the lever 5 being rotatable about a pivot 34 . a second arm 9 of the lever 5 , disposed generally at a right angle to the arm 33 , carries a frictional abutment surface 8 which is moved into engagement with the printing hammer 1 when the armature 2 strikes the stop surface 4 . the surface 8 serves to frictionally brake the movement of the printing hammer 1 , thereby further enhancing the damping effect . a second stop surface 10 also carried on the arm 9 of the lever 5 limits the range of rotational movement of the lever 5 by abutting a stationary portion of the armature structure . the above described sequence is achieved by the use of the circuit illustrated in fig2 which includes two monostable trigger stages 11 and 12 which control the timing of the operation of the circuit and damping device . three switching transistors 13 , 14 and 15 connect the electromagnetic coils 3 to a constant voltage source 17 . the switching transistors 13 , 14 and 15 are in a conducting or non - conducting state depending upon the output signal of an amplifier 16 which regulates the excitation current jer and the holding current jh . the amplifier 16 , which is connected as a current regulator , is connected at its positive input to a voltage divider arrangement consisting of resistors 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 and 22 and to a fourth switching transistor 23 . in accordance with the required current in the electromagnetic coil 3 , the switching transistor 23 which is driven by the trigger stage 12 , modifies the dividing ratio of the voltage divider which is connected to a reference voltage 24 through the resistor 18 . the negative input of the amplifier 16 is connected to a measuring resistor 25 which serves to establish the actual value of the current in the electromagnetic coils 3 . the additional resistors 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 and 30 serve in a known manner to match the switching transistors . a detailed operation of the circuit shown in fig2 is explained as follows with reference to the current - time diagram of fig3 and the displacement - time diagram of fig4 . at a time t1 the monostable trigger stages 11 and 12 are set by means of a start pulse which is applied at an input 31 shown in fig2 . the trigger stage 11 produces a pulse as shown in fig3 at k11 which opens the switching transistor 13 through the transistors 15 and 14 so that coils 3 are connected to the voltage source 17 . the current in the coils 3 rapidly rises to the value of the excitation current jer . the influence of the magnetic field produced thereby moves the armature 2 toward the pole - pieces 3a and the printing hammer 1 is correspondingly moved to begin a printing stroke . at a subsequent time t2 , the armature 2 strikes against either the pole pieces 3a or against the stop 32 so that the printing hammer 1 is released from contact with the armature 2 as a result of its own inertia . at this time , the monostable trigger stage 12 is triggered as shown in the curve k12 in fig3 and a switch over results to the holding current jh . the printing hammer 1 which then rebounds from a printing position is returning to the rest position and strikes against the armature 2 at a time t3 and thereby exerts a kinetic energy transferring impact on the armature 2 . this impact is sufficient to overcome the magnetic attraction exerted on the armature 2 by the holding current so that the armature 2 is released from contact with the pole - pieces 3a and at a time t4 strikes against the stops surface 4 . the printing hammer 1 is further decelerated by the action of the angle lever 5 which is rotated about the pivot 34 when the armature 2 strikes the stop surface 4 and frictionally engages the printing hammer 1 at the abutment surface 8 . at approximately this moment , the holding current jh is disconnected when the monostable trigger element 11 returns to its initial state . the armature 2 is at this moment in effect &# 34 ; bouncing &# 34 ; on the stop surface 4 and again strikes against the printing hammer 1 at a time t5 , as a result of which the printing hammer is further decelerated such that at a time t6 both the armature 2 and the printing hammer 1 have reassumed their respective starting positions and are at rest . the displacement path of the printing hammer 1 and the armature 2 are graphically illustrated in fig4 with the vertical axis s representing a displacement distance . the curve representing the movement of the printing hammer 1 is shown at 1s , and the displacement path of the armature 2 is represented by the curve designated 2s . in order to achieve a movement sequence of the type described above , the mass inertial moments of the printing hammer 1 and the armature 2 should be matched to one another in a ratio of approximately 2 to 1 . a structure operational in the manner described above may , for example , exhibit the following values . the moment of inertia of the printing hammer may be 140 g . cm 2 , the moment of inertia of the armature 2 may be 72 g . cm 2 , the mass of the printing of the printing hammer may be 4 . 2 g , the distance of the printing hammer from the axis of rotation of the armature lever may be 58 mm , the length of the armature 2 may be 65 mm , the mass of the armature lever may be 12 g , the maximum path length of the portion of the hammer abutting the armature may be 7 mm with a maximum path length out of contact with the armature being 2 . 5 mm . the maximum excitation current may be 2 amperes and a maximum holding current may be 0 . 3 amperes . in addition to the movement sequence described above , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other movement sequences are possible by appropriate dimensioning of the currents . thus , for example , the magnitude of the holding current may be selected such that although the returning printing hammer 1 releases the armature 2 from contact with the pole pieces 3a , before the armature 2 reaches the stop surface 4 the magnetic attraction from the pole pieces 3a is sufficient to pull the armature 2 again toward the pole pieces 3a before reaching the stop surface 4 . in such operation , the moments of inertia of the printing hammer 1 and the armature 2 must be adapted to one another such that after a small number of impacts the printing hammer 1 and the armature 2 together reach the stop surface 4 at a low speed . when the stop surface 4 is finally reached , the holding current is then disconnected . although other modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art . | 1 |
embodiments of the present invention are directed to a multi - media printer capable of transferring images to media using either direct thermal or dye diffusion imaging process . multiple media trays are adapted to dispense media sheets to a single input path . the media trays may dispense different sizes and types of media for direct thermal or dye diffusion printing . a print station including a printhead receives media sheets from the input path fed by multiple media input trays . the print station may be configurable in real - time to transfer images to media using either the direct thermal or dye diffusion imaging process . in embodiments of the invention , a single motor may drive a capstan roller , a platen roller and kicker assemblies for output trays . this allows for a reduced size and cost while providing superior image quality suitable for medical imaging . other embodiments described herein are directed to providing additional cost and size advantages , as well as improvements in media selection and identification capabilities and image quality using the direct thermal and dye diffusion imaging processes . embodiments of the multi - media printer described herein are capable of dispensing media sheets from anyone of a plurality of media input trays . the media trays may hold stacks of media sheets of different sizes ( e . g ., 8 . 0 × 10 inches , 8 . 5 × 11 inches , 14 × 17 inches , etc .) and / or different media types ( e . g ., opaque media for direct thermal imaging , opaque media for dye diffusion imaging , transparent film for direct thermal imaging and transparent media for dye diffusion printing ). thus , each media input tray may hold a stack of media sheets of an associated media size and media type . the media printer may include a separate picker assembly associated with each of the input trays for individually dispensing media sheets to a common input path . the print station includes a platen roller and a printhead which is capable of transferring an image to media sheets dispensed from the input trays using either a dye diffusion or direct thermal printing process . when employing the dye diffusion process , a donor carriage may provide a multi - colored dye diffusion donor ribbon between the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) and a sheet of receiving media . the donor ribbon may provide any one of several color combinations such as cyan , magenta and yellow ( cmy ); cmy and black ; and cmy and laminate . when the printer performs direct thermal imaging onto a subsequent media sheet , the donor ribbon may be removed so that the printing is applied directly to the subsequent media sheet . accordingly , the multi - media printer of the illustrated embodiment can perform either dye diffusion or direct thermal imaging from a single print station that receives media sheets from a single input path . a capstan and pinch roller combination may translate the imaged media through a common discharge path . the media may then be diverted to anyone of a plurality of output trays . fig1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the multi - media printer . input media cavities 6 may be adapted to receive input media trays ( not shown ) as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 979 , 683 , filed on nov . 26 , 1997 , entitled “ system and method for dispensing media for capturing images ,” assigned to codonics inc ., and incorporated herein by reference . the multi - media printer may include compartments for housing various electromechanical systems for controlling the printer . for example , compartment 2 may include a central printer controller such as a 600 megahertz pentium printer controller ( not shown ), which may be used as a printer controller among other functions , and which may be combined with a motor control board ( not shown ). alternatively , the printer controller and motor control board may be separated in a motherboard / daughterboard combination . fig2 shows a perspective view of the multi - media printer with enclosure components removed exposing a chassis thereof . the chassis includes side walls 10 . as shown in fig9 a , the chassis may further include a base 75 and a cross chassis 73 forming a back portion , a bottom portion coupled to the base 75 and side portions coupled to each of the sides 10 . the compartment 2 may include a bay for securing a removable memory device 8 ( e . g ., a high density disk drive , such as a zip drive sold by iomega ). fig3 a shows an embodiment of the multi - media printer with a top panel of the enclosure removed while exposing a picker assembly 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , each of the media input cavities 6 is associated with a separate picker assembly 12 . each of the picker assemblies 12 includes two picker tires 13 to provide a lateral force to the top sheet in a stack of media disposed within the respective media tray when the tires are rotated . in response to the lateral force , the top sheet is translated , causing the top sheet to be dispensed from the media tray through a media input path to a print station . as discussed below , each of the picker assemblies 12 receives a source of torque from a single source of torque at dc servo motor 30 ( shown in fig4 ). the dc servo motor 30 may receive signals from the printer controller to control the speed and rotational displacement of the dc servo motor . the dc servo motor 30 may include an encoder to directly or indirectly measure its rotational displacement , speed , etc . the dc servo motor 30 may also include one or more optically detectable flags and a sensor for detecting the flag to provide a feedback signal to the printer controller for controlling the speed and displacement . this structure eliminates the need for having a separate picker motor for each of the picker assemblies 12 , permitting a reduced size and cost for the printer . the single source of torque causes the picker tires 13 of each of the picker assemblies 12 to rotate simultaneously . when a particular media tray is selected to dispense its top media sheet , the picker tires 13 of the corresponding picker assembly may be lowered to the top sheet of the selected media tray to provide the aforementioned lateral force until the leading edge of the dispensed media sheet reaches the print station . after such time the picker tires 13 may be lifted from the stack of media sheets . in the embodiment shown in fig3 a , the picker tires 13 are rotated using a side belt drive 16 . fig3 b , 3c and 3 d illustrate an alternative embodiment of the picker assembly 12 in which the picker tires 13 are rotated in response to a torque applied by a center belt 222 located between the picker tire 13 . a picker drive shaft 223 receives a torque from the center belt 222 for rotating the picker tire 13 . the picker drive shaft 223 is fixed at a pivot point 228 such that the picker drive shaft 223 can rotate in directions ( illustrated by arrows 230 ) in a plane substantially normal to the top sheet and the media stack . as illustrated , the pivot point 228 may be a pivot bushing joining two separate shafts to form the picker drive shaft 223 . by having a center belt 222 and allowing the picker tires to move in the direction 230 along with the drive shafts 223 , the force applied by the picker tires 13 to the top sheet of media is substantially evenly distributed between the picker tires 13 . this prevents skewing of the media sheets while being dispensed from the media trays when a greater lateral force is being applied to the media sheet by one of the picker tires 13 . fig3 c and 3d show a side view of a picker arm 231 in a raised and lowered position , respectively , according to an embodiment of the invention . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig3 b , a picker assembly 12 may have a picker arm 231 on each side of the center belt drive 222 . the picker arm 231 may include a diagonal slot 226 which receives the drive shaft 223 . when the picker arm 231 is in the lowered position to apply a lateral force to the top media sheet from the picker tire 13 , the diagonal slot 226 may be aligned so as to be substantially vertical to the bottom media sheet . the length of the diagonal slot may thus serve to limit the range of movement of the picker arm 13 in the direction normal to the top sheet ( shown by arrows 230 ). when the picker arm 231 is in a position such that the picker tires 13 are not touching the bottom sheet of a stack of media or the bottom of the media tray , the diagonal slot creates a lifting force vector . this creates a negative feedback so one tire does not grab more than the other , by allowing the shaft 223 to move in the vertical direction ( i . e ., direction 230 ) to balance the forces on the media sheet applied by the two picker tires 13 . in the illustrated embodiment , picker tires 13 may be made of a spongy rubber composition having a width of up to 1 - ½ ″ and a diameter of about ⅝ ″ to provide optimal traction to many different types of media to be dispensed from the media trays . returning to an embodiment in which side drive belts 16 are used , fig4 illustrates a mechanism for raising and lowering the picker assemblies 12 . each of the picker assemblies 12 is coupled to a torque shaft 32 for driving the side drive belts 16 to rotate the picker tires 13 in response to the dc servo motor 30 . each of the picker assemblies 12 includes a sheet metal arm 17 that may be rotated to raise and lower the picker tires 13 . torsion springs 34 apply torque through members 19 to each of the sheet metal arms 17 in a direction that raises the picker assembly 12 . torque springs 36 apply a torque to the sheet metal arms 17 in the opposite direction of the torque of torsion springs 34 . if the torque applied by torsion springs 34 is greater than the torque applied by torsion springs 36 , the picker assemblies 12 are maintained in a position such that the picker tires 13 are raised above the top sheet in the media tray . as discussed below , a motor 30 raises and lowers a bar code scanner for reading a bar code on the side of media trays as illustrated on the aforementioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 979 , 683 . as the bar code scanner moves to a media tray position , the corresponding torsion spring 34 is pulled back , reducing its torque on the sheet metal arm 17 of the selected picker assembly 12 , to allow the corresponding torsion spring 36 on the same sheet metal arm 17 to lower the picker tires 13 . the torque translates to the lateral force of the picker tires 13 of the lowered picker assembly 12 against the top media sheet in the selected tray to translate the top sheet through the input path . fig6 shows a perspective view of the multi - media printer with all enclosures removed . a donor lift motor 38 may provide torque to a jack shaft 40 to move timing belts 42 to raise or lower a donor donor spool ( not shown ) attached to the timing belts 42 at each end . the timing belts 42 may raise or lower the donor spool depending upon whether the multi - media printer is to imprint an image on the media using a direct thermal or dye diffusion process . if the printer is to use a direct thermal process , the timing belts 42 may raise the donor spool to remove the donor ribbon from between the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) and the media receiving the image . if the printer is using a dye diffusion process , the timing belts 42 may conversely lower the donor spool to extend the donor ribbon between the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) and the receiving media . a five - phase stepper motor 44 may provide a belt - driven torque to a capstan shaft 52 using a belt tension idler 46 . a platen shaft 54 may be selectively clutched with the capstan shaft 52 to drive a platen as discussed below with reference to fig9 . the five - phase stepper motor enables the printer controller to accurately control the rotations of the capstan roller and platen using pulse encoded signals . a worm gear ( not shown ) enclosed within worm gear housing 56 is driven by worm gear motor 58 to control the torque applied by a torque arm to the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) as discussed below with reference to fig1 and 20 in response to control signals from the printer controller . fig7 shows a rear view of the multi - media printer which may include vents for cooling a power supply 138 ( fig1 ), a printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ), and a printer controller and other electronics disposed within the compartment 2 ( fig1 ). in the illustrated embodiment , these vents allow air to circulate about the heat sink , power supply and electronics disposed within the compartment 2 while remaining insulated from the print station . this reduces the amount of dust and particulates that may interfere with the direct thermal or dye diffusion processes occurring at the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) resulting in artifacts . intake vent 70 and exhaust vent 72 allow external air to circulate through to the power supply 138 under the power of a fan ( not shown ). similarly , printhead vents 62 and 63 allow air to circulate to a heat sink of the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ) under the power of one or more fans ( not shown ). printhead vents 62 and 63 each have eight vertically arranged horizontal slits . the lower five slits of the printhead vents 62 and 63 provide intakes and the upper three slits of printhead vents 62 and 63 provide exhausts . again , as illustrated below with reference to fig2 , the air circulated through the vents 62 and 63 is insulated from the print station . vents 66 and 68 permit air to circulate through to the printer controller and other electronics while maintaining insulated from the print station under the power of a fan . vent 66 provides an intake while vent 69 provides an exhaust . fig8 shows a perspective view of the multi - media printer with the enclosure pieces removed so as to illustrate components of an output diversion mechanism discussed more thoroughly below with respect to fig1 . fig9 a shows another perspective view of the multi - media printer with the enclosure covers removed . a pinch roller 77 is in contact with a capstan roller 79 which receives media sheets receiving printed images from the printer ( not shown ). capstan drive 80 receives a torque from stepper motor 44 ( fig6 ) through a compliant belt as discussed above . a platen gear 82 may be moved inward or outward by an arm 84 to form a clutch mechanism for applying and removing torque to the platen shaft 54 ( fig6 ). this clutch mechanism receives torque from the capstan gear 86 to rotate the platen roller 76 . the capstan drive 80 also engages a compliant belt drive 90 for transferring torque to output kickers after the media passes the print station to be dispense into an output tray 113 ( fig2 ). accordingly , a five - phase stepper motor 44 may provide a single source of torque for rotating the capstan drive 80 which may be engaged with the clutch to rotate the platen roller 76 and transfers torque to output kickers through belt drive 90 . fig9 b shows a pinch and capstan roller combination in which a pinch roller 77 is composed of a soft , elastic ( e . g ., spongy ) substance and the roller 79 is rigid and substantially non - deformable . the capstan roller 79 may be coated to provide a high coefficient of static fraction when in contact with the media sheets . this combination provides a substantial surface area of contact of the media sheet with the pinch and capstan rollers 77 and 79 , and prevents slippage of the media with respect to the capstan roller 79 . accordingly , the surface speed of the capstan roller 79 and the surface speed of the media sheet are substantially the same . the surface of the capstan roller 79 may be formed ( e . g ., by coating ) to provide sufficient traction for multiple dye diffusion passes without marring imaged or unimaged film , transparency or other media . in one embodiment , the outer surface of the capstan roller 79 may be coated with a plasma substance to provide the necessary traction for dye diffusion printing while not marring scratchable film or transparencies . fig9 c shows an enlarged view of the pinch arm 98 that forces the pinch roller 77 against the capstan roller 79 . the pinch arm 98 includes a slot 101 for securing the shaft of the pinch roller 77 . hole 100 provides a pivot point while hole 99 receives a force from spring 96 ( fig9 a ). while fig9 a only shows one pinch arm 98 at one side of the pinch roller 77 , it will be understood that a similar pinch arm 98 , while not shown , exists at the opposite side of the pinch roller 77 . a rod 89 fits in each of the holes 99 of the two pinch arms . the rod 89 may be moved in a direction opposite to the desired direction of movement of the pinch roller to rotate the pinch arms 98 about their respective pivot holes 100 to force the pinch roller 77 against the capstan roller 79 . as shown in fig9 e , two gear driven arms 314 position the pinch roller 77 radially with respect to the capstan roller 79 . these arms are driven by a gear train 316 . a dc servo motor 315 with a built in position encoder may supply the torque to drive the gear train 316 . in embodiments of the invention , the gear train 316 may be driven by the same dc servo motor 30 that is used to rotate the picker tires 13 of the picker assemblies 12 . fig9 a shows an embodiment of the present invention in which sources 102 and sensors 103 are located on each side of the media tray cavities . a source 102 and sensor 103 pair on opposite sides of the media tray cavities is associated with each media tray 87 . fig9 d illustrates how the sources 102 and sensors 103 may be used to detect whether a media tray 87 is empty . a source 102 transmits light to the top sheet 83 of a stack of media in a media tray 87 . the corresponding sensor 103 receives light reflected from the top sheet 83 . a bottom surface 81 of the media tray 87 does not reflect light from the transmitting source 102 to the receiving sensor 103 . this can be accomplished by , among other things , providing a rough , deflected or non - reflective surface on the bottom 81 facing upwards . as long as there are media sheets in the media tray 87 , the receiving sensor 103 may receive a reflection of the light transmitted by the transmitting source 102 . when the receiving sensor 102 no longer receives a reflection , it may be determined that the media tray 87 is empty . therefore , when the information gathered from the aforementioned optical system is used in conjunction with bar code scanning information received from the bar scan coder described in the aforementioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 979 , 683 and below , the printer controller in the media printer can determine the type and size of media in each tray loaded to the printer , and whether any of these trays are empty . the optical system described is also advantageous because its components are not embedded in the media tray 87 . in embodiments in which optical components are embedded in the media tray 87 , the media tray 87 may be inserted into the media tray cavity so as to engage an electrical connector so that the signal from the embedded component may be transmitted to the printer controller . in such embodiments in which opaque or translucent media are used , the source 102 may be located above the media stack and the sensor may be located in the bottom surface of the media tray ( or vice versa ). a significant increase in the amount of light received by the sensor may indicate that the tray is empty . furthermore , in embodiments of the invention , a sensor 103 may extend laterally downward and may be comprised of multiple optically - sensitive areas . in such embodiments , the location at which the light from the source 102 is received by the sensor 103 may indicate the height of the media stack . this information may be used by the printer controller to indicate to a user when the media stack should be replenished . moreover , in the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig9 d , the light from the source 102 may be relatively unfocused so that it is received by the sensor 103 regardless of the height of the media stack . for example , the source 102 may be a bulb or lamp . alternatively , the source may be a focused or coherent source and may be moved so that the direction at which light is emitted may be changed until light reflected from the top sheet 83 is received by the sensor 103 . in such embodiments , the direction at which the source 102 emits light may be used by the printer controller to determine the height of the media stack , so that the user may be warned when the media stack should be replenished . fig9 a also shows holes 104 on opposite sides of output trays 113 ( fig2 ) which provide electric eyes across each output tray 113 . the electric eyes detect when a corresponding output tray 113 is full . fig1 a shows a perspective view of the multi - media printer with enclosure panels removed to illustrate the belt drive to the capstan and a bar code scanner for the media trays . the five - phase stepper motor 44 drives a compliant belt 126 through a belt tension idler 46 . knob 128 may provide a manual override for raising and lowering the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ). bar code scanner 110 is raised and lowered by a drive mechanism 114 . when a media tray is inserted into the printer , drive mechanism 114 moves bar code scanner 110 in position to read a bar code on the side of the inserted media tray . this bar code identifies the size and type of the media loaded therein . mechanism 114 is driven by the dc servo motor 30 which is also used for lowering the picker tires 13 of the picker assemblies 12 ( fig4 ). a catch attached to the drive mechanism 114 at about the bar code scanner 110 provides an opposing force to the torsion springs 34 as the bar code scanner is positioned to read the bar code of associated media tray . this opposing force on the associated torsion spring 34 allows the torsion spring 36 to lower the picker tires 13 onto the top sheet of the media tray . mechanism 116 locks a top donor door ( not shown ). when the mechanism 114 raises the bar code scanner 110 to the top in contact with the mechanism 116 , the mechanism 116 unlocks the donor door . fig1 b and 10c are directed to an embodiment of the bar code scanner 110 for identifying the contents of the individual media holders ( e . g ., media size , type and lot number ). media holders 220 a , 220 b , and 220 c , each include a bar code label 222 a , 222 b , and 222 c respectively . the bar code labels 222 a , 222 b , and 222 c are preferably located on a side perpendicular to the front wall portion of the media holder on a portion which is inserted into the printer for use and represent at least 80 bits of information . a vertical track 230 ( fig1 a ) positions a movable optical system included in an elevator housing 234 to position optical elements therein to selectively read from any of the individual bar code labels 222 a , 222 b , or 222 c . fig1 c shows the assembly of the optical elements disposed within the elevator housing 234 which include a bar code scanner element 224 and a mirror 232 . according to an embodiment , the drive mechanism 114 ( fig1 a ) can selectively position the elevator housing 234 to receive an optical signature from any of the bar code labels 222 a , 222 b , or 222 c . the bar code scanner element 224 may be a commercially - available lm 500 plus scanner . alternatively , other bar code scanning systems may be used . the elevator housing 234 may also include a small infrared sensor ( not shown ) for detecting an optical flag ( not shown ) on the side of the media trays 220 a , 220 b and 220 c . as the elevator housing 234 travels vertically , detections from the infrared sensor may initiate feed - back signals back to a circuit ( not shown ) for controlling the motor 30 and drive mechanism 114 which drives the elevator housing 234 to accurately position the optical elements to read the bar code labels . alternatively , position can be determined by a built in optical position encoder on the dc servo motor 30 . in other embodiments of the invention , the position of the elevator housing may be determined by changes in readings taken by the bar code scanner element 224 . in such embodiments , the bar code labels 222 a - 222 c may have a readable mark on a leading edge ( or some other known location thereon ). the bar code labels 222 a , 222 b , and 222 c , may be used to support various automation features of the printer . for example , the media trays may be for a single use only . thus , the manufacturer may provide the customer with sealed media trays as illustrated in fig2 of the aforementioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 979 , 683 . each of the media trays would then have a bar code label with a unique code . when the media tray is then inserted into the printer for a first use , the printer positions the optical elements within the elevator housing 234 to read the bar code from the bar code label of the newly inserted media tray . the printer controller maintains a record of all media trays which have been inserted into the printer . thus , if the bar code of an inserted media tray , as read from the bar code scanner 224 , corresponds with a pre - stored bar code signature of a previously inserted media tray , the printer will not dispense media sheets from the newly inserted media tray and provide an error signal to the user . additionally , the bar code may include information which identifies the type of media ( e . g ., transmissive or reflective ) stored therein and the size . thus , whenever a media tray is inserted into the printer , the printer may position the optical elements within the elevator housing 234 to read the bar code of the media tray to determine the size and type of media sheets therein . in this manner , the printer can determine which pick roller assemblies 12 to lower for dispensing the desired size and type of media sheet to the input path . based upon information relating to size , type and lot information of the media sheets in an associated input tray from a bar code label 222 a , 222 b or 222 c , the printer controller can control the picker assemblies 12 to optimize feeding of the media sheets into the input path . for example , the printer controller may apply an optimum speed and duration of application of the picker tires 13 based upon size and media type as indicated in the bar code labels 222 a - 222 c . alternatively , the bar code labels 222 a - 222 c may have information directly specifying the picker speed and duration for applying to media sheets in the associated media tray . by having a single optical system disposed within a movable elevator housing 234 , the bar code labels from multiple trays can be read with only a single optical system . this reduces manufacturing costs by only requiring a single optical system rather than multiple optical systems . conventional apparatuses for dispensing media may have a system for reading an optical signature on a media tray as it is inserted . in these systems , the motion of the media tray as it is inserted moves the optical signature past the optical system to effect a scan of the optical signature . thus , if the optical system cannot read ( or misreads ) the optical signature when the media tray is inserted , the media tray must typically be manually removed and reinserted so that the optical signature can be re - scanned over the optical system . additionally , if the optical signature is scratched or distorted where the optical system is directed , the optical system cannot read the optical signature even if other undistorted portions of the optical signature have all of the desired information . in the embodiment of fig1 b and 10c , on the other hand , the optical elements within the elevator housing 234 may read any of the bar code labels 222 a , 222 b and 222 c while the corresponding media holders 220 a , 220 b and 220 c are stationary . thus , if the optical elements do not read ( or misread ) any of the bar code labels 222 a , 222 b or 222 c on a first scan , the optical elements can re - scan the bar code label without moving the media holder 220 a , 220 b or 220 c . according to an embodiment , the optical elements within the optical housing 234 periodically scan each of the bar code labels 222 of each of the inserted media holders 220 . additionally , if one portion of a bar code label 222 is scratched or distorted , the bar code scanner 224 can be vertically adjusted to read from an undistorted and unscratched portion of the bar code label 222 to extract the desired information . fig1 a shows a notch 122 adapted to receive an output tray assembly which includes three output trays 113 ( fig2 ) and a hide track 117 ( fig1 d and 10e ). a sensor 120 detects whether or not the output tray assembly is installed . the hide track 117 receives media sheets during intermediate passes of dye diffusion processing . a compliant belt 92 may transfer torque from the capstan shaft 80 to a kicker drive 90 ( fig9 a ) to drives a gear drive 118 . the compliant belt 92 may also dampen vibrations from the output kicker tires 121 ( fig1 e ). the gear drive 118 drives the kicker assemblies on the output tray assembly . fig1 d shows an expanded view of the output trays 113 in conjunction with the capstan drive 80 . here , the belt 92 transfers torque from the capstan drive 80 to provide torque to the gear drive 118 . the gear drive 118 then provides torque to each of the kicker assemblies associated with each of the output trays 113 . fig1 e shows a perspective view illustrating how the kicker shafts 119 may all be driven by the torque applied to the gear drive 118 from the capstan drive 80 . hide track 117 may be sealed from the output trays 113 and the exterior of the media printer to reduce the incidence of dust at the print station , which can cause artifacts in the image , in subsequent passes of the dye diffusion process . fig1 a shows perspective view of the multi - media printer with the media trays 87 , picker assemblies 12 , bar code scanner apparatus 110 , etc . removed to expose the assembly for moving the printhead 151 ( fig1 c ). as discussed above , a mechanism 116 may release the donor doors when the bar code scanner apparatus 110 is raised to the top of the media - printer . drive 132 may apply a torque to the torque arm ( not shown ) attached to the printhead 151 in response to the worm gear 56 driven by the motor 58 ( fig6 ). fans 134 may be attached to vents 62 and 63 ( fig7 ) to circulate air through the printhead heat sink ( not shown ). holes 130 may secure the shafts for the platen , capstan , and pinch rollers . fig1 b shows an enlarged view of the holes 130 for securing the platen shaft 135 , capstan shaft 137 and pinch roller shaft 139 . the hole 130 for securing the platen shaft 135 and the capstan shaft 137 are formed in a chassis wall 10 . the hole 130 for securing the pinch roller shaft 139 ( which may be the same as slot 101 in fig9 e ) is formed in the pinch arm 98 . each of the holes 130 includes a rounded portion 133 and a “ v ” block section 131 . the rounded portions 133 may be adapted to be packed with bearings and the v block sections 131 may secure the respective shafts 135 , 137 and 139 in place in response to an opposing force . for example , when the printhead 151 is engaged with the platen , the printhead 151 may force the platen shaft 135 against the v block section 131 to prevent movement of the platen shaft 135 in any direction . similarly , the pinch roller 77 and capstan roller 79 may apply opposing forces to one another ( fig9 b ), causing the pinch shaft 139 and capstan shaft 137 to be pushed into their respective v blocks portions 131 . this essentially prevents movement of the capstan shafts 137 and pinch shaft 139 . the pinch and capstan rollers may not move relative to one another . nor will the platen move relative to the printhead 151 ( in fig1 c ). fig1 c shows a printhead assembly including a printhead 151 and a heat sink 150 in a print position . the arrows extending from the printhead 151 illustrate the forces acting upon the platen shaft 135 , the capstan shaft 137 and pinch shaft 139 which maintains these members in position against the v block portions 131 of their respective holes 130 . the printhead assembly may also include a printhead alignment tab 204 that serves to position the printhead 151 with respect to the media sheet and the ends of the platen roller 76 . the position of the printhead 151 may be changed from a print position , in which the printhead 151 and the platen roller 76 may sandwich the media sheet , by moving the torsion arm 170 . fig1 shows a media wall 136 , which may be placed to guide media dispensed from the input trays directly to the print station ( not shown ), without the use of any intermediate rollers . fig1 shows a perspective view of the interior of the multi - media printer which illustrates the location of a power supply 138 with respect to the printhead which is to receive power from the power supply 138 . the power supply 138 provides dc power to the printer controller through cable 141 and provides dc power to the printhead through cable 144 . the placement of the power supply 138 with respect to the printhead ( as shown in fig1 a ) reduces the inherent parasitic resistance associated with the power cable 144 and that of thermal elements of the printhead , resulting in very low power loss . however , in alternative embodiments of the invention , the power supply 138 may be located elsewhere based on space / interference , heat or other considerations . sensors 142 position the donor spool of the donor carriage as it travels vertically with the timing belt 42 ( fig6 ). a sensor 148 detects when the printhead reaches a home position . fig1 a shows a cross - sectional view of the multi - media printer including a media input path to a print station including a printhead 151 and platen roller 76 . printhead 151 may be coupled to a printhead heat sink 150 , which may be rotatable about the torsion arm 170 between a print position ( as shown ) and a retracted position in which the printhead assembly is rotated upwards in the direction 172 until a printhead home position sensor 154 is tripped . a ball joint 152 enables the printhead 151 and heat sink 150 to float on the platen surface to substantially distribute the load of the thermal elements of the printhead along the platen roller 76 . a donor spool 161 is moveable in the vertical direction and extends a donor ribbon between the printhead 151 and the platen roller 76 ( or a media sheet in contact with the platen roller 76 ) when performing dye diffusion imaging . a take - up spool 160 remains stationary . the donor spool 161 is snapped into a position 162 while direct thermal imaging is performed . when transitioning to dye diffusion printing , the torsion arm 170 retracts the printhead assembly in the direction 172 , and the timing belt 42 releases the donor spool 161 from the snapped position 162 and lowers the donor spool 161 to extend the donor ribbon across the platen roller 76 . the torsion arm 170 then returns the printhead assembly to the printing position with the printhead 151 against the extended donor ribbon , media sheet and platen roller 76 . when the media printer transitions from performing imaging using the dye diffusion process to the direct thermal imaging process , the printhead assembly moves in the direction 172 to the retracted position with the heat sink 150 meeting the stop 164 . the timing belt 42 then lifts the donor spool 161 while rotating the take up spool 162 to remove the donor ribbon from the print station , moving the donor spool 161 into the snapped position 162 . the printhead assembly then returns to the print position with the printhead 151 meeting the platen roller 76 . in alternative embodiments of the invention , the donor spool 161 may remain fixed in position and the take - up spool 160 may be moved from a first position to a second position so as to place the donor ribbon between the printhead 151 and a media sheet and the platen 76 . media sheets fed through the input path to the print station meet the capstan and pinch roller combination 77 and 79 . the capstan roller 79 rotates to translate the media sheets from the print station through an output path . an output diverter 156 receives media sheets from the output path and diverts these media sheets to one of the output trays 113 ( if there is no further processing to be done on the image ) or to the hide track 117 if the media sheet is in an intermediate stage of a dye diffusion printing process ( fig4 d ). the output diverter 156 rotates about the arch 158 into position for placing a imaged media sheet into a pre - selected output tray 113 or a media sheet during an intermediate dye diffusion color pass into the hide track 117 ( fig1 d and 10e ). each of the media trays may dispense media sheets to the print station formed by the platen roller 76 and printhead 151 through a single input path against the media wall 136 . in embodiments of the invention , there may be no intermediate rollers used in the transfer of media sheets from the media trays to the print station as media sheets are translated along the surface 136 by the picker assemblies 12 . diverters 174 may include a lower surface 167 and an upper surface 169 for guiding media sheets from the media trays against the media wall 136 and preventing media sheets from reentering the media trays after being dispensed through the print station . by not having a separate motor for driving each of the picker assemblies 12 , the lowest media tray may be placed substantially near the print station to eliminate the need for using an intermediate roller . as media sheets are being dispensed from either of the two lowest media trays , the lower surface 167 and upper surface 169 may guide the leading edge of the media sheet through the input path against the media wall 136 . while dye diffusion printing is performed , media sheets may be translated back and forth through the print station such that the trailing edge of the media sheet at times travels backwards towards the media trays along the media wall 136 between intermediate color passes . the surfaces 169 of the diverters 174 may prevent the trailing edge of the media sheets from reentering either of the two lower media trays when translated backwards during these transitions between intermediate color passes . fig1 shows a view of the print station including the printhead 151 and platen roller 76 . a printhead shield 180 may protect bond wires as well as some integrated circuits that are on a printed circuit board ( not shown ) of the printhead assembly . the printhead shield 180 may also serve as a mechanism for feeding media as it approaches the print station . a leading edge sensor 186 detects a leading edge of the media sheet as it is translated between the print station and the pinch and capstan roller combinations 77 and 79 . the printhead assembly may include an internal portion 285 with a ball joint 152 ( shown as 283 in fig1 ). the ball joint 152 may allow the printhead 151 and heat sink 150 to rotate in one dimension . the internal portion 285 may be enclosed within a ventilation channel formed by sealing member 187 . the sealing member 187 may be coupled to the printhead heat sink 150 by a flexible seal 189 that allows movement of the printhead heat sink 150 with respect to the internal portion 285 . this may allow further freedom of the thermal elements of the printhead 151 to uniformly distribute the load of the printhead 151 against the platen roller 76 . alternatively , a flexible sealed 291 may be provided at the base of the internal portion 285 to allow similar movement . fig1 a shows an enlarged portion of the print station , which may include the platen roller 76 and the printhead 151 . in addition to protecting bond wires and integrated circuits of the printhead 151 , the printhead shield 180 also diverts the media through the input path in a manner that minimizes vibrations causing artifacts . the print station may include an area of inflexion 188 , which is proximate the platen roller 76 . this area of inflexion may dampen the trailing edge of the media sheet as it is dispensed through the print station between the platen rollers 76 and the printhead 151 . accordingly , vibrations caused by feeding the trailing edge through the print stations are reduced to result in fewer artifacts in the image . regarding the path of the media from the platen roller 76 to the capstan and pinch roller combination 77 and 79 , the media may exit the print station from point 190 , the point where the printer applies force to the platen roller 76 , and travels from a point of substantial tangency with the platen roller 76 to point 191 between the capstan and pinch rollers 77 . this reduces the incidences of media curling when , for example , performing direct thermal imaging on film using a smaller diameter platen roller 76 yields suitable imaging results . fig1 b and 17c show an alternative embodiment for a pivot point 152 ( fig1 a ) for allowing the printhead heat sink 150 to move relative to the torsion bar 170 . bracket 301 is disposed between portions of the air channel for drawing air to the printhead heat sink 150 as illustrated below with reference to fig2 . bracket 301 includes a first member 303 that couples to event housing 307 . the event housing may be useful in directing later scenes from a movie . it includes a torsion bar 170 . the second member 305 , couples to the printhead heat sink 150 . members 305 and 303 are permitted to move relative to one another to allow the thermal elements of the printhead 151 to have uniform load distributed across the platen 76 . as discussed above , the ball joint 152 in the embodiment of fig1 a allows the printhead 151 and heat sink 15 to rotate in a single plane . the bracket 301 , on the other hand , allows movement of the printhead 151 and heat sink 150 with additional degrees of freedom , enabling greater flexibility to uniformly distribute the load of the printhead 151 on the platen roller 76 among the thermal element of the printhead 151 . fig1 shows a perspective view of the internal works of the media printer including the output diverter 156 . fig1 shows a cross - section of the printhead assembly . fig2 shows an enlargement of embodiment of the printhead assembly including a printhead alignment tab 204 and a ventilation channel 212 , which may include an intake path 208 and an exhaust path 206 . fig2 shows a perspective view of the printhead assembly shown in fig2 . fig2 shows the bracket assembly 301 ( fig1 b and 17c ) being disposed between ventilation channel members 213 for transporting external air to the heat sink 15 through external vents 62 and 63 ( fig7 ). fig2 shows an external view of the multi - media printer illustrating kicker tires 216 for a top output tray 113 . as discussed above , similar kicker tires may be similarly placed to guide media sheets to the lower two output trays 113 . returning to fig1 a , a portion of the media sheets during direct thermal imaging does not receive an image . this includes borders at the leading and trailing edges of the media sheet and at the sides of the media sheet . according to the embodiment , these areas may be blackened during the direct thermal processing . here , the printhead may blacken the border at the leading edge up until the desired image portion begins . this may be accomplished by engaging the platen roller 76 with the clutch members 82 and 84 to pull the leading edge past the printhead 151 until the pinch and capstan rollers can grab the leading edge to commence translating the media sheet . after the border of the leading edge is blackened by the printhead 151 , the clutch members 82 and 84 disengage the platen roller 76 from the capstan drive 80 to allow the capstan and pinch rollers 79 and 77 to pull the media sheet through the print station for transferring the desired image portion to the sheet . while transferring the desired image portion between the borders at the lending and trailing edges , the printhead 151 may also blacken the borders at the side edges . after the desired image portion is transferred to the media sheet , the platen roller 76 capstan and pinch roller may pull the trailing edge of the media sheet past the printhead 151 to be blackened . the size of the borders at the side edges of the media sheet may be determined based upon the positioning of the media sheet relative to the printhead 151 . a side edge sensor system may be located at one of the sides of the media sheet in the discharge path ( and positioned relative to the printhead 151 ) to determine the lateral positioning of the media sheet with respect to the printhead 151 . by knowing the lateral positioning of the media sheet , the location of the side edge borders in the media sheet can be precisely determined . this allows the printer controller to control the printhead 151 to blacken the side borders without marring the desired image received in the area of the media sheet within the side borders . according to an embodiment , the printhead 151 may have a length greater than the widest media sheet used in the media printer . this may enable the printhead 151 to transfer an image to any portion of the imaging surface of the media sheet , regardless of the lateral alignment of the media sheet in the print station . therefore , upon detection of the lateral alignment of the media sheet at the side edge sensors , the printer controller can control the printhead to blacken the borders at the side edges while transferring the desired image portion onto the media sheet between the borders at the side edges . fig2 shows an embodiment of the sensor for detecting the side edge of the media sheet in the discharge path . the transmitter 322 may be placed at one side of the discharge path over or above a space where a side of the media sheet is to travel . a corresponding receiver portion 320 may be placed on the same side of the media sheet opposite the transmitter 322 to detect light energy emitted by the transmitter 322 . transmitter 322 may includes several led lights or other light sources such as bulbs or lamps for providing a light source . a linear wave polarizer and quarter wave retarding filter 324 may be disposed over the transmitter 322 to provide a polarized light source directed to the receiver 320 . the receiver 320 may include an array of light detecting elements formed in a charge coupled device ( ccd ). a second linear polarizer may be disposed over the ccd which is eighty degrees ( 80 °) out of phase from the linear polarizer of the transmitter 322 . a second quarter wave retarding filter may be disposed over the second linear polarizer . therefore , the ccd detecting elements may receive approximately 20 % of the energy from the transmitter 322 when no media is present . opaque media blocks all light . therefore , for opaque media , the absence of energy at a pixel element in the receiver 320 that is adjacent to a pixel element detecting energy , processing may indicate that this point of change is the side edge of the media sheet . since the receiver 320 is capable of detecting changes in phase , the side edge detectors may detect edges not only for opaque media , but also for transparent media which have defraction properties introducing phase changes detectable at the pixel elements of receiver 320 . energy in excess of 20 % may be transmitted when transparent plastic media are in the input path . therefore , for transparent media , the detection of a high energy at a pixel element in the receiver 320 that is adjacent to a pixel element detecting no energy may indicate that the point of change is the side edge of the media sheet . in addition to using the side edge sensor for blackening the borders of the sides of the media during direct thermal imagining , information from the side edge sensors may be used to calibrate the positioning of the printhead 151 in the lateral dimension . given the exact placement of the side edge sensor with respect to the printhead 151 , the lateral placement of the media sheet with respect to the printhead 151 can be precisely determined . fig2 illustrates a donor ribbon 346 that may be used in conjunction with the donor carriage including the donor spool 161 and the take up spool 162 ( fig1 a ). in the illustrated embodiment , the donor ribbon 346 provides for four - color dye diffusion printing having color sections for the following colors : cyan ; magenta ; yellow ; and black . in the dye diffusion process , the media sheet is translated to the print station between the platen roller 76 and the donor ribbon 346 in multiple passes , each pass transferring a corresponding color component of the image onto the media sheet . fig2 shows a yellow color section 342 and a magenta color section 344 . although only two color sections are shown , it will be understood that the illustrated embodiment may include color sections of four different colors for each of the aforementioned colors in the process . the color sections of donor ribbon 346 may repeat any given pattern such that each set of four consecutive color sections may span the four colors used in the dye diffusion process . donor ribbon 346 may also includes a bar code portion 340 that extends along side of all of the color sections . this bar code information may indicate a specific lot number associated with the donor ribbon 346 and other manufacturer designated information . additionally , in the illustrated embodiment , the bar code information at bar code portion 340 may indicate the specific linear location on the donor ribbon 346 . for example , the bar code portion 340 at a particular location on the donor ribbon 346 may indicate the particular color associated with the adjacent color section . additionally , the bar code portion 340 may indicate when a transition occurs between adjacent color sections . for example , as shown in fig2 , point 338 of the bar code portion 340 may indicate that the position of the donor ribbon 346 corresponding to point 338 is the border between the yellow color section 342 and the magenta color section 344 . accordingly , the media printer may use a single sensor to extract information about the particular lot of the donor ribbon and locations of transition between color sections . returning to fig1 , an embodiment of a sensor for reading the bar code 340 on the side of the donor ribbon 346 is shown . an emitter 159 may generate light that is reflected from reflecting piece 157 onto the bar code portion 340 . a sensor 155 then receives the reflected bar code signature to decode . the printer controller can then determine the lot number and other manufacturing information and detect transitions between color sections in the donor ribbon 346 . returning to fig1 , an embodiment of the present invention is directed to aligning a media sheet as it is translated to the print station . as discussed above , the picker assemblies 12 may be selectable for translating a top media sheet in a corresponding media tray against a guide surface 181 . the leading edge of each top sheet in each of the media trays may be at a known distance from its position in the media tray to the print station where the printhead 151 meets the platen roller 76 . the dc servo motor with encoder 30 , the source of torque which drives the picker assemblies 12 , may respond to a set number of encoded pulse signals that indicates that a particular top media sheet has traveled a particular distance . in other words , depending upon which media tray a top sheet is being dispensed from , the dc servo motor with encoder 30 receives a discrete number of encoded pulses to translate the leading edge of the top sheet to the print station where the platen roller 76 meets the printhead 151 . this discrete number of encoded pulses may depend upon the size of the media sheet in a tray . the torsion bar 170 may place the printhead assembly in any one of four positions : a retracted position ; a load position ; a feed position and a print position . in the retracted position the printhead assembly is retracted back until a head home position sensor 154 is tripped . in the print position , the printhead 151 is pressed against the platen roller 76 with a force sufficient for printing . in the load position , the printhead 151 is raised off of the platen roller 76 slightly , allowing a media sheet to be pulled through the print station by rotating the platen roller 76 . in the feed position , the printhead is brought into contact with the platen 76 , but with less force than in the print position . in the feed position , a media sheet may be translated over the printhead by rotating the platen roller 76 . as the leading edge of the media sheet approaches the print station , the printhead 151 is in the feed position against the platen roller 76 , preventing the leading edge of the media sheet from passing through . a nip is formed between the printhead 151 and the platen roller 76 when the printhead is in the feed position . the dc servo motor 30 may drive the picker assembly 12 until the leading edge of the media sheet is received at the nip . under the control of the printer controller , the dc servo motor 30 may continue to drive the picker assembly 12 to slightly buckle the media sheet proximate the leading edge thereof to align the leading edge of the media sheet in the nip . as the leading edge aligns in the nip between the printhead 151 and the platen roller 76 , the printhead 151 may be raised to the load position momentarily and then to the feed position . the platen 76 may then be engaged to rotate ( via the clutch members 82 and 84 ) to translate the media sheet a certain distance further . the media sheet then meets the capstan and pinch roller combination 79 and 77 to be further translated through the print station as the clutch 82 disengages the platen roller 76 from the capstan shaft 80 . the printhead 151 then moves from the load position to the print position against the platen 76 to commence printing . the media wall 136 ( fig1 a ) is shaped to support media sheets to maintain longitudinal rigidity to prevent buckling except at the leading edge when aligning the media sheet in the nip performed at the capstan and pinch roller combination 79 and 77 . accordingly , no intermediate rollers are required between the media trays and the print station . in another embodiment , the media printer includes a leading edge detection sensor 186 ( fig1 and 17 a ) for detecting a leading edge of a media sheet being dispensed during the input path . upon detection of the leading edge of a media sheet by the leading edge sensor 186 , the printer controller may be able to determine how many additional encoded pulses should be transmitted to the dc servo motor 30 to rotate the picker tires 13 until the leading edge of the media sheet reaches the nip where the platen roller 76 meets the printhead 151 . in addition to controlling whether the printhead 151 is in either a retracted position , load position , feed position or print position , the printhead assembly may be adjusted to provide a controllable force at many levels to the platen 76 to support several different imaging techniques . this is enabled by the worm gear 56 and motor 58 , which control the torque applied to the torsion arm with great precision in response to signals from the printer controller . this enables the media printer to provide the appropriate force of the thermal elements of the printhead 151 against the platen roller 76 depending upon whether the intended printing process is dye diffusion or direct thermal printing . also , the force of the printhead 151 against the platen roller 76 may be adjusted based upon the width of the media sheet being imaged . the force of the printhead 151 against the platen roller 76 , therefore , may be controlled by the printer controller by providing control signals to the motor 58 for application to the worm gear 56 . one embodiment of the present invention employs media trays as described in the aforementioned u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 979 , 683 incorporated herein by reference . in particular , the media trays may be vacuum formed from a thermoplastic sheet and have internal dimensions that are formed to the specific size of media to be dispensed from the tray . in one embodiment , the media trays are intended to be disposable . therefore , each media tray may be specifically formed to dispense media sheets of a particular type and size . the top media sheet in each media tray may adhere to the media sheet immediately below the top media sheet with some retention force . the picker tires 13 may apply a lateral force to the top sheet which exceeds the retention force , causing the top sheet to translate forward while a nail in the media tray fixes the leading edge in the media tray , causing the top sheet to buckle until the leading edge flips over the tray and into the input path . according to an embodiment , each media tray may be specially formed ( e . g ., by varying the angles of the front nail which secures the leading edge of the top sheet while the trailing edge is translated forward ) based upon the specific media type ( and retention force associated therefore ) and media size . in the illustrated embodiment , the thermal elements of the printhead 151 are adapted for thermal imaging using either a direct thermal or dye diffusion process . thermal elements in a printhead are typically formed by a resistive heating element ( s ) coated with a ceramic bead to provide an imaging surface . for dye diffusion printing , the optimum printhead geometry is typically provided by a thermal imaging surface in the form of a rounded bead . on the other hand , the optimal printhead geometry for direct thermal imaging is typically a flatter imaging surface . fig2 shows a thermal element printhead geometry 350 which is optimized for either direct thermal or dye diffusion processing according to an embodiment of the printhead 151 . the dimension shown are in inches . as discussed above , embodiments of the present invention are directed to a multi - media printer which is capable of interchangeably using a direct thermal or dye diffusion process . direct thermal printing and dye diffusion printing each have different requirements for heating the printhead . each process has an associated subimaging temperature . maintaining a printhead at a subimaging temperature between prints allows the printer to quickly raise the temperature of the thermal elements as required to transfer an image to the media using either process . in an illustrated embodiment , the media printer maintains the thermal elements of the printhead at the lowest subimaging temperature supported by the media printer . therefore , the imaging surfaces of the thermal elements can be raised to a temperature suitable for imaging in any of the imaging methods employed by the media printer . the printhead 151 of the illustrated embodiment receives a series of voltage pulses at a set pulse width and a set duty cycle to provide certain levels of intensity or gray to a pixel in the image . while for any particular media type there may be a set pulse profile for each desired level of intensity or gray , media sheets of the same type from different manufacturing lots may have different responses to the same pulse profile . for example , a first lot of media may require fifteen pulses at 15 volts to provide a level of gray or intensity of 2 . 0 . on the other hand , a different lot may require fifteen pulses at 15 . 6 volts to achieve the same level of gray or intensity . as discussed above with reference to fig1 a through 10c , a bar code scanner 110 reads a bar code on the side of each media tray as inserted into the media printer . in addition to identifying the media type and size associated with the media sheets disposed therein , this bar code may also identify a particular manufacturing lot associated with the media in the media tray . therefore , the printer controller can , upon associating a media type and manufacturing lot number with the media sheet to receive the image , change the voltage of the pulses applied to the thermal elements to provide the desired level of intensity or gray at points in the image . additionally , the voltages can be further modified based upon a parasitic resistance which results from the combination of the resistance of the power cable from the power supply 144 ( fig1 ) and the known resistances of the thermal elements which may be measured according to techniques described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 262 , 988 , filed on mar . 5 , 1999 entitled “ system for printhead pixel heat compensation ,” assigned to codonics , inc ., and incorporated herein by reference . the different sensors in the media printer , including the side edge sensor , leading edge sensor and bar code sensor for the donor ribbon , may rely on a light emitting diode ( led ) source for light . over time , leds such as those employed in the media printer for the various sensors , typically decrease in brightness . according to an embodiment , a printer controller includes logic for compensating for the decreases in the brightness of the leds by recalibrating the sensors periodically . this may increases the life of a sensor by keeping it from going out of adjustment from changes in the intensity of light emitted by the leds . returning to fig1 a , the take - up spool 162 of the donor carriage may be driven by gears with a clutch . the gears may be sized to provide enough drag on the donor roll 161 without introducing any artifacts . a gear casing 159 houses the drive mechanism of the take up spool 160 . as shown in fig1 b , a built - in slip clutch , comprised of a pressure plate 308 , friction disc 310 , spring member 309 , adjustment nut 312 and drive gear 311 , decouples the motor 314 and pinion gear 313 noise and provides for an even pull on the donor ribbon . embodiments of the media printer may include a densitometer located in the discharge path on the opposite side of the print station from the input path . as known to those of ordinary skill in the art , a densitometer includes a sensor system for determining the image density in a particular portion of an image transferred onto media . if this is on a known portion of the image with a corresponding desired image density represented in image data at the printer controller , the printer controller can determine whether the printed image , in general , has an image density which accurately reflects the image data of the desired image . as discussed above , embodiments of the media printer may adjust the voltages applied to the printhead elements based upon a media type and the lot number detected from the bar coder 110 . the voltages of the pulses applied to the printhead may be further modified based upon the densitometer readings to provide an even more accurate image density by taking into consideration not only media type and specific lot number , but also the unique characteristics of the print station of the printer as measured by the densitometer . in another embodiment of the present invention , a smart card or removal memory is provided as an adjunct to a nonvolatile memory of the print controller which includes information stored in the print controller such as gamma contrast , license keys , postscript settings , a tcp / ip address associated with the printer , and the like . when the printer is not in service or is malfunctioning , this memory may be removed and inserted into a functioning printer so that the new printer does not need to be reprogrammed to the settings of the malfunctioning computer . the malfunctioning printer may then be shipped off site for repair . as discussed above , in one embodiment of the present invention the top and bottom and side borders of the image may be blackened during direct thermal imaging . this is particularly useful in applications where direct thermal imaging is used on film for medical diagnostic imaging such as x - ray images . in an alternative embodiment , the media sheets may have perforations on top and bottom and sides so that the unprinted borders can be easily removed and the imaged media sheets can be used in medical analysis in the normal fashion . embodiments of the multi - media printer are directed to allowing the user easy access to areas of the multi - media printer for removal of jammed media sheets and cleaning . referring to fig3 a and 4 , the user may remove jammed paper in the input path by removing a media tray from its media input cavity 6 and rotating the sheet metal arm 17 of the associated picker assembly 12 upward . the sheet metal arm 17 is rotatable upward by manually lifting to apply a torque against the torsion spring 36 of the associated picker assembly 12 . additionally , the user may have unobstructed access to the discharge path following the capstan and pinch roller combination 79 and 77 . fig8 and 18 illustrate an output media guide 360 which may be manually rotated about a point 372 to allow access to the capstan and pinch rollers when the output media tray and kicker assembly ( shown fig1 d and 10e ) are removed . in the illustrated embodiment , the output media guide 360 may rotated in a direction 366 about point 372 to place the output media guide 360 in an open position . when the output media guide 360 is in the closed position ( as shown in fig1 ), the output media guide 360 is secured at clips 362 on opposite sides of the media printer . when the user moves the output media guide 360 from the closed to the open position , the user detaches the output media guide 360 from the clips 362 , rotates the upward media guide 360 in the direction 366 , and attaches the output media guide to clips 364 ( fig4 ). accordingly , the user can gain unobstructed access to the pinch and capstan roller combination 77 and 79 at the discharge path by first removing the output tray assembly shown in fig1 d and 10e and then moving the output media guide 360 in the open position to be secured at clips 364 . fig4 and 18 show that the output diverter 156 is coupled to the output media guide 360 so that it is rotated upward in the direction 366 when the output media guide 360 is rotated in the direction 366 from the closed to the open position . the user may also gain unobstructed access to the capstan and pinch roller combination 77 and 79 through the discharge path by manually positioning the output diverter 156 while the output media guide remains in the closed position . in another embodiment , the output diverter 156 may include a lower portion 370 and an upper portion 368 . the user may manually separate the lower portion 370 from the upper portion 368 by rotating the upper portion 368 in a direction 372 . fig2 shows an embodiment of the printhead 151 , which includes an array of thermal elements 372 . each thermal element 372 has a “ u ” shaped structure having a common lead 378 and an individual lead 376 . each of the thermal elements may include a bridge 380 coupled at a first end to the associated common lead 378 and coupled at a second end to the associated individual lead 376 . the first and second ends of the bridge 380 may be coupled to the associated individual lead 376 and common lead 378 through a resistive element 374 . the common leads 378 of the thermal elements 372 may be coupled to a common fixed voltage or ground while a signal having a pulse profile is applied to the individual lead 376 for imaging . by having two resistive elements 374 for each thermal element 372 aligned in line with the linear array of thermal elements , the imaging surface of the thermal element 372 may be concentrated over a smaller area . this allows placement of the imaging surface of the printhead 151 ( i . e ., the ceramic printhead bead ) closer to the edge of the printhead 151 toward the pinch and capstan roller combination 77 and 79 as shown in fig2 . fig2 shows an alternative geometry of a printhead bead which is placed near the edge of the printhead 151 so as to minimize the size of the borders at the leading and trailing edges of the media sheet which cannot receive portions of the desired image during direct thermal imaging . fig1 and 18 show that the printhead shield 180 may include a leading edge portion 390 which is in contact with the donor ribbon ( not shown ) during dye diffusion printing . fig1 shows the printhead assembly in a preprint position . during printing , the torsion arm 170 may apply an increased level of torque such that the printhead assembly bends at ball joint 152 . this positions the lending edge portion 390 to guide the donor ribbon between the supply and take up spools . fig1 a shows a donor ribbon supply carriage 394 which may hold the take up spool at a location 159 and includes a snap portion 162 for removably receiving the donor roll 161 . a donor access door 392 is adapted to receive the donor ribbon supply cartridge 394 when the donor roll 161 is removed and inserted from the snap position 162 . in the illustrated embodiment , when the printhead assembly is in a retracted position applying a force to stop portion 164 of the donor ribbon supply cartridge 394 , the donor roll 161 may be pulled out of the snap position at 162 while the printhead assembly maintains force against the portion 164 ( while the printhead assembly is in the retracted position ). while there has been illustrated and described what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other modifications may be made , and equivalents may be substituted , without departing from the true scope of the invention . additionally , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the present invention without departing from the central inventive concept described herein . therefore , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed , but that the invention include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
the novel compounds of the benzofuroxan series used for cardiovascular disorders are represented by the general formula ( i ). r ′ is lower alkyl ( c 1 - c 8 ), aromatic , heteroaromatic , substituted or unsubstituted saturated heterocyclic ring with one or two hetero atoms such as nitrogen or oxygen wherein substitution is with lower alkyl , the representative compounds of the invention showing tolerance resistant no donor activities as defined above are given in the table - 1 . the present invention also provides a process for the preparation of novel benzofuroxan derivatives of the general formula ( i ), and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts , wherein one of the processes comprises , ( a ) reacting chloro carbonyl benzofuroxan and an alcohol in solvent such as . tetrahydrofuran at room temperature ; ( b ) adding a base such as triethylamine to the reaction mixture ; ( d ) removal of the solvent followed by addition of water and extraction with organic solvent such as ethyl acetate ; said products of steps ( f ) and ( g ) are characterized by m . p . and the conventional spectroscopic techniques . the present invention also provides a process for the preparation of novel benzofuroxan derivatives of the general formula ( i ), and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts , wherein the said process comprises , ( b ) removal of excess of alcohol under reduced pressure to get the residue ; said products of steps ( c ) and ( d ) are characterized by m . p . and the conventional spectroscopic techniques . such products can also be prepared by the other equivalent processes of ester formation , which comprises , ( a ) reacting carboxy benzofuroxan and an equimolar amount of an alcohol such as n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- nicotinamide , n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) isonicotinamide , n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - pyrolidinone , n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) morpholine , propylene glycol , methylcellosolve , ethylcellosolve , pyridine - 3 - methanol , solketal , isosorbide - 5 - mononitrate , etc . in methylene chloride ; ( b ) adding 4 - dimethylamino pyridine and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide under stirring and continuing the stirring for a period of 2 to 16 hours at room temperature to complete the reaction ; ( c ) filtering the reaction mixture when the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gives the crude product ; the said product of steps ( d ) and ( e ) are characterized by m . p . and the conventional spectroscopic techniques . the invention also provides a process for the preparation of 5 ( 6 )-[( 2 , 3 - dihydroxy propyloxy ) carbonyl ] benzofuroxan , ( compound 7 ), wherein said process comprises , ( a ) reacting a mixture of 5 ( 6 )-((±)- 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolane - 4 - methyloxy carbonyl ) benzofuroxan and acid such as 75 % acetic acid and stirring at 80 ° c . for 4 hours ; ( b ) evaporating the solvent under vacuum to give an oily product ; and said product of step ( c ) is characterized by m . p and the conventional spectroscopic techniques . the compounds according to this invention as given by general formula ( i ) or their salts or complexes can be administered orally , intravenously or parenterally as a pharmaceutical preparation in liquid or solid form . it may also be administered via topical , transdermal , sublingual , buccal or rectal route for example as a suppository , ointment , cream , powder , transdermal patch , metered aerosol or spray . the pharmaceutically acceptable carriers present in the composition of this invention are materials recommended for the purpose of administering the medicament . these may be liquid or solid materials , which are otherwise inert or medically acceptable and are compatible with the active ingredients . the method adopted was a modified method of nishikawa et al ( 1982 ). albino rabbits of either sex were stunned and exsanguinated . thoracic aorta was quickly removed and cut helically ( at an angle of 450 ) into strips 4 - 5 mm wide and 25 to 30 mm long , after removal of adventitial connective tissue . the endothelium was rubbed off gently using a cotton swab soaked in kreb &# 39 ; s solution . two strips were fixed vertically in organ baths containing 20 ml . kreb &# 39 ; s solution maintained at 37 ° c . and bubbled with oxygen . a resting tension of 4 g was applied and the preparation was allowed to equilibrate for 30 min . each preparation was exposed to two primer doses of kcl ( 30 mm ). after the contraction reached a maximum , the bath was drained off and replaced with fresh kreb &# 39 ; s solution . half an hour later , cumulative dose response curve for the test compound was taken on one tissue ( test ) and for glyceryl trinitrate ( gtn ) in the other ( standard ). the dose range used was from 10 − 9 m to 10 − 3 m with a contact period of 4 min . for each dose . after the maximum relaxation was achieved with the last dose , papaverine ( 10 − 4 m ) was added to obtain the maximum relaxation . tolerance was induced in both the tissues by adding 440 μm of gtn for 90 minutes . during this period the bath solution was changed every 30 min . and 440 μm of gtn was replaced . later both the tissues were washed thoroughly and the dose response curve ( drc ) for both the test and the standard were repeated . the percentage relaxation with individual doses was calculated by taking the maximum relaxations to 10 − 4 m papaverine as 100 % relaxation . a graph was plotted by taking the percentage relaxation vs the log ( m ) concentration of the compounds . the relaxant activity of the test compound was assessed by calculating the mean relative potencies ( mrp ) and the mean activity ratio ( mar ), both before and after tolerance , as defined below : mpr = concentration of gtn producing 50 % of its maximum relaxation concentration of test compound producing 50 % of the maximum relaxation of gtn . mar = maximum relaxation produced by the test compound maximum relaxation produced by gtn selection criteria for in vivo study : compounds having mrp greater than 3 and mar greater than 1 . 3 after tolerance were selected for in vivo study . dose response curve for compound 1 is given in fig1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings as an example for the estimation of mrp and mar . a modified method of benedini et al ( 1995 ) was adopted for studying the anti - anginal effect of the chosen compounds . guinea pigs of either sex , weighing approximately 400 - 600 g were used for this study . animals were anesthetized with urethane ( 1 . 25 g / kg , i . p .) and jugular vein was cannulated for intravenous administration of drugs / vehicle . mean arterial blood pressure ( mabp ) was monitored by a cannula inserted into the right carotid artery and connected to a pressure transducer . standard limb lead ii electrocardiogram was recorded continuously . all the recordings were carried out on a maclab system ( ad instruments , uk ). the ability of the test compounds to suppress the vasopressin induced t - wave elevation was used as the model for studying the anti - anginal effects of the compounds . guinea pigs were divided into two groups for the purpose of this study , i ) control group ( pretreated with the vehicle for the compound ) and ii ) drug treated group . in this group of animals the solvent used for dissolving the test compound was administered intravenously in a volume of 1 ml / kg . the basal t - wave heights , heart rates and mabp and changes after vehicle administration were noted . thirty seconds later 1 i . u ./ ml / kg of vasopressin was administered intravenously . the t - wave heights , heart rates and mabp and their changes after vasopressin administration were also noted . the t - wave elevation ( after vasopressin administration ), maximum rise in mabp , and changes in heart rate were calculated from the above data and expressed as mean ± standard deviation . the effects of the test compound in suppressing the t - wave elevation caused by vasopressin were evaluated with atleast three dose levels . groups of 6 guinea pigs were used for each dose . the test compound was injected 30 seconds prior to vasopressin administration . changes in mabp , heart rate and t - waves were recorded as described for the control group . the percentage inhibition of vasopressin induced t - wave elevation was calculated for each dose taking the t - wave height estimated in control group as 100 %. from the dose vs percent inhibition relationship , the dose required for 50 % inhibition ( ed 50 ) for the t - wave elevation was estimated . determination of the ed 20 values for drop in mabp in a separate group of animals the drop in mabp after administration of the test compound ( dose range of 0 . 1 - 1000 μg / kg , i . v .) was studied . atleast three animals were used for each dose . care was taken so that the doses were given only after the mabp had stabilized from the effects of the previous dose . all doses were injected in a final volume of 1 ml / kg . the drop in mabp was noted for increasing concentrations of the test compound and a dose response curve was drawn . from this graph the dose required to produce a 20 % fall in mabp ( ed 20 ) was calculated . the specificity of the test compound was defined by the selectivity index , which was shown below : selectivity index = dose required for 20 % reduction in mabp ( μ g / kg ) dose required for 50 % inhibition of t - wave elevation ( μ g / kg . ) compounds having selectivity ratio greater than 30 times that of gtn were selected toxicology evaluation . the selectivity index for gtn was estimated to be 0 . 017 . the results of in vitro screening of the no donors are given in the following table 2 . the compounds , which were selected based on in - vitro studies , were subjected to in - vivo studies to assess their anti - anginal action . compounds with sufficient selectivity ( i . e . lower hypotension ) and anti - anginal action are listed in table - 3 . it was observed that compounds 1 , 6 , 9 and 10 have a high selectivity index as compared to gtn . in the case of these compounds , the index is significantly higher . the index showed that these compounds could elicit anti - anginal activity at a dose , which had minimum systemic effects . their selectivity in dilating the coronary arteries was quite high as compared to a conventional drug like gtn . the high selectivity index of these compounds as compared to nitroglycerine show that they selectively dilate the coronary arteries and have a lower tendency to cause hypotension during clinical usage . for example , compound 1 is 30 times more selective as compared to gtn . this shows that these compounds have very little tendency to cause hypotension . conventional nitrates like gtn cause tachycardia , retrosternal discomfort , palpitations , collapse , syncope and postural hypotension , etc as a manifestation of hypotensive effect . this could limit their use in selected patients . however , the compounds described in this invention due to a lower tendency to cause hypotension are superior to conventional nitrates . the benzofuroxans described in this invention can be used in cardiovascular disorders like acute effort angina , angina prophylaxis , mixed angina and silent ischemia , acute myocardial infarction , congestive heart failure , etc . they can be used alone or in combination with beta adrenergic blockers like propranolol , atenolol , carvedilol , etc . and calcium channel antagonists like verapamil , diltiazem , etc . the following examples are presented to further illustrate the invention but do not limit it in any way . the method of preparation of the novel compounds of this invention are given in the following examples : in 20 ml of methylene chloride , 0 . 9 g of 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan was added at room temperature . to this solution was added 0 . 83 g of n - 2 - hydroxyethyl nicotinamide . then 1 . 1 g of dicyclohexyl carbodiimide and 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ( 70 mg ) were added at room temperature and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 16 hours . methylene chloride was removed on a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure to give a gummy material which was purified by column chromatography using hexane : ethyl acetate ( 5 : 7 ) to give 300 mg of solid . 100 mg of the above solid was dissolved in 10 ml of methanol at 0 ° c . to it was added 5 ml of methanolic hcl solution and the reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 15 minutes to give 90 mg of 5 ( 6 )-( 2 - nicotinamide ethyloxycarbonyl ) benzofuroxan hydrochloride . pmr ( cdcl 3 , 300 mhz ) δ : 8 . 99 ( 1h , s ), 8 . 75 ( 1h , s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , s ), 8 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 9 hz ), 7 . 85 ( 1h , s ), 7 . 4 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 85 ( 1h , s ), 4 . 6 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 92 ( 2h , s ) 5 ( 6 )- chlorocarbonyl benzofuroxan ( 100 mg ) and n - 2 - hydroxy ethyl nicotinamide ( 150 mg ) were dissolved in thf ( 10 ml ) at room temperature . to the reaction mixture triethylamine ( 0 . 1 ml ) was added and reaction mixture was refluxed for 24 hrs . thf was removed under reduced pressure . to the residue 10 ml water was added and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 20 ml ). ethyl acetate was removed under reduced pressure to get sticky mass which was purified by column chromatography using etoac : n - hexane ( 90 : 10 ) to give 65 mg of compound 1 . 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) and n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) isonicotinamide ( 1 . 66 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 100 ml ) and thf ( 100 ml ) mixture . to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 70 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 3 g , 0 . 0145 mole ) were added under stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 16 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 90 : 10 ) to give the title compound as yellow solid ( 0 . 2 g , 74 %). ir ( kbr ): 3423 , 3180 , 1720 , 1677 , 1613 , 1585 , 1543 , 1490 cm 1 pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 2 . 58 - 2 . 6 ( 2h , t , j = 1 . 7 hz ), 3 . 55 ( 1h , s ), 4 . 52 - 4 . 57 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 26 hz ), 7 . 67 - 8 . 45 ( 3h , m ), 8 . 95 - 9 . 65 ( 4h , dd ) mass : 328 ( m + ) 298 , 229 , 181 , 164 , 147 , 117 , 105 , 77 , 50 . 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 0 . 9 g , 0 . 005 mole ) and 1 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 2 - pyrolidinone ( 0 . 7 g , 0 . 005 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 40 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethyl amino pyridine ( 70 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 2 . 06 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were added under stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 3 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product , which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 50 : 50 ) to give the title compound as pale yellow solid ( 0 . 7 g , 48 %). pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 1 . 99 - 2 . 14 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 35 - 2 . 43 ( 2h , t , j = 7 . 72 hz ), 3 . 49 - 3 . 56 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 9 hz ), 3 . 68 - 3 . 73 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 2 hz ), 4 . 48 - 4 . 53 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 7 . 6 - 7 . 86 ( 3h , m ) mass : 291 ( m + ), 273 , 225 , 111 , 98 , 70 , 56 . 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) and propylene glycol ( 0 . 76 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 80 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 140 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 4 . 4 g , 0 . 021 mole ) were added with stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 20 : 80 ) to give the title product as pale yellow solid ( 1 . 16 g , 49 %) pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 1 . 3 - 1 . 33 ( 3h , d , j = 6 hz ), 3 . 82 ( 1h , s ), 4 . 22 - 4 . 4 ( 3h , m ), 7 . 6 - 8 . 26 ( 3h , m ) mass : 238 ( m + ), 179 , 163 , 147 , 103 , 75 , 58 , 45 . 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 0 . 9 g , 0 . 005 mole ) and n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) morpholine ( 0 . 71 g , 0 . 005 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 70 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 2 . 06 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were added under stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 50 : 50 ) to give the title compound 5 as white solid ( 0 . 5 g , 34 %) the base ( 0 . 2 g ) was transformed into the corresponding hcl salt , by 5 % methanolic hcl ( 0 . 14 g , 64 %) pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 2 . 58 - 2 . 59 ( 4h , t , j = 4 . 5 hz ), 3 . 18 - 3 . 2 ( 4h , t , j = 13 . 63 hz ), 3 . 55 - 3 . 43 ( 2h , t ), 3 . 97 - 4 . 17 ( 2h , t ), 7 . 48 - 7 . 98 ( 3h , m ) 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) and methyl cellosolve ( 0 . 076 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 60 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 0 . 3 g ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 2 . 3 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were added with stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product as oily liquid . crude product was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 5 : 95 ) to give the title compound . it was crystallized from n - hexane to yield 5 ( 6 )- methyloxy ethyloxy carbonyl benzofuroxan as yellow solid ( 1 . 2 g , 50 %). pmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 43 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 72 - 3 . 75 ( 2h , t , j = 6 hz ), 4 . 5 - 4 . 53 ( 2h , t , j = 6 hz ), 7 . 26 - 8 . 26 ( 3h , m ). mass : 238 ( m + ), 207 , 180 , 163 , 103 , 75 , 58 . 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 0 g ) was heated to 80 ° c . in a saturated solution of methyl cellosolve hcl for 16 hours . excess methyl cellosolve was removed under vacuum and the residue was redissolved in diethylether and washed with aqueous naoh , followed by water and dried over na 2 so 4 . ether was removed under vacuum and the residue was purified by column chromatography to get 280 mg . of compound 6 . a mixture of 5 ( 6 )-((±)- 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dioxolane - 4 - methyloxy carbonyl ) benzofuroxan ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 001 mole ) and 5 ml of 75 % acetic acid was stirred at 80 ° c . for 4 hours . evaporation of the solvent under vacuum ( 40 ° c .) gave oily product , which was purified by column chromatography ( hexane : etoac = 80 : 20 ) to give the title compound as yellow solid ( 0 . 4 g , 93 %) pmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 89 - 3 . 90 ( 1h , d , j = 4 . 2 hz ), 4 . 03 - 4 . 06 ( 1h , t , j = 4 . 5 hz ), 4 . 36 - 4 . 52 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 61 - 8 . 34 ( 3h , m ) 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) and ethylcellosolve ( 0 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 0 . 3 g ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 2 . 4 g , 0 . 011 mole ) were added under stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product as brown oily liquid , which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 20 : 80 ) to yield the title compound as pale yellow viscous oil ( 1 . 0 g , 40 %) pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 1 . 2 - 1 . 27 ( 3h , t , j = 7 hz ), 3 . 54 - 3 . 64 ( 2h , q , j = 7 hz ), 3 . 76 - 3 . 81 ( 2h , t , j = 6 hz ), 4 . 5 - 4 . 54 ( 2h , t , j = 5 hz ), 7 . 59 - 8 . 26 ( 3h , m ) 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 8 g , 0 . 01 mole ) and pyridine - 3 - methanol ( 1 . 1 g , 0 . 01 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 70 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 3 g , 0 . 014 mole ) were added with stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product , which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 25 : 75 ) to give the title compound as a pale yellow solid . the base ( 0 . 5 g ) was transformed into the corresponding hcl salt , by 5 % methanolic hcl ( 0 . 4 g , 71 %) pmr ( 300 mhz , dmsod6 ) δ : 5 . 59 ( 2h , s ), 7 . 88 - 8 . 04 ( 3h , m ), 8 . 63 - 9 . 09 ( 4h , m ) 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 0 . 99 g , 0 . 005 mole ) and solketal ( 0 . 66 g , 0 . 005 mole ) were dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 40 ml ). to this solution , 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 0 . 2 g ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 1 . 33 g , 0 . 006 mole ) were added under stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product as oily liquid , which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 10 : 90 ) to give the title compound as pale yellow solid ( 0 . 6 g , 41 %) pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 1 . 39 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 46 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 83 - 3 . 89 ( 1h , dd , 6 hz ), 4 . 13 - 4 . 20 ( 1h , dd , 6 hz ), 4 . 39 - 4 . 48 ( 3h , m ), 7 . 85 - 8 . 27 ( 3h , m ) to a solution of 5 ( 6 )- carboxy benzofuroxan ( 1 . 0 g , 0 . 0055 mole ) and isosorbide - 5 - mononitrate ( 0 . 09 g , 0 . 0047 mole ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ) were added 4 - dimethylamino pyridine ( 50 mg ) and n , n ′- dicyclohexyl carbodiimide ( 2 g , 0 . 0097 mole ) with stirring . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature . it was filtered and the filtrate on evaporation under reduced pressure gave crude product , which was purified by column chromatography ( etoac : n - hexane = 20 : 80 ) to give the title product as a yellow solid ( 1 . 0 g , 51 %) pmr ( 200 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 91 - 4 . 16 ( 4h , m ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 66 ( 1h , d , j = 6 hz ), 5 . 07 - 5 . 12 ( 1h , dd , j = 4 . 5 hz ), 5 . 39 - 5 . 68 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 61 - 8 . 36 ( 3h , m ) orally they may be administered as solid dosage forms for example as pellets , granules , powder , sachet or as discreet units such as tablets or capsules , etc . other orally administered pharmaceutical preparations include monophasic and biphasic liquid dosage forms either in ready to use form , or forms suitable for reconstitution such as mixtures , syrups , suspensions or emulsions . the preparations in addition may contain diluents , dispersing agents , buffers , stabilizers , solubilizers , surface active agents , preservatives , chelating agents and / or other pharmaceutical additives . aqueous or non aqueous vehicles or their combination may be used and if desired may contain suitable sweeteners , flavouring agents or similar substances . in the case of a suspension or emulsion a suitable thickening agent , suspending agent or emulsifying agent may be present . pharmaceutical preparations can have a slow , delayed or controlled release of active ingredients as is provided by a matrix or diffusion controlled system . for parenteral administration , the compounds or their salts or suitable complexes may be presented in a sterile vehicle which may be an aqueous or non aqueous vehicle or a combination thereof . the examples of vehicles are , water , ethyl oleate , oils and derivatives of polyols , glycols and their derivatives . it may contain additives common in injectable preparations like stabilizers , solubilizers , ph modifiers , buffers , antioxidants , cosolvents , complexing agents , tonicity modifiers , etc . some suitable additives are , for example tartrate , citrate , or similar buffers , alcohols , sodium chloride , dextrose and high molecular weight liquid polymers . another alternative is sterile powder for reconstitution . the compound may be administered in the form of injection , intravenous infusion / drip , or suitable depot preparation . when the present invention , its salts or a suitable complex is presented as a discrete unit dosage form like a tablet , it may contain in addition medically inert excipients as are used in art . diluents such as starch , lactose dicalcium phosphate , lubricants or similar additives like talc , magnesium stearate , polymeric substances like methyl cellulose , hydroxy propyl cellulose , fatty acids and derivatives , sodium starch glycollate , etc . can also be used . preparation of oral dosage form of the benzofuroxan derivatives given in table 1 the compounds described in table 1 can be prepared in the form of tablets , containing the active ingredient in the range of 0 . 03 to 3 mg per tablet . a typical tablet has the following composition : preparation of parenteral dosage form of benzofuroxan derivatives given in table 1 these examples are presented by way of illustration alone and in no way limit the scope of the invention . | 2 |
referring initially to fig1 there is shown the major components of a preferred magnetic resonance imagine ( mri ) system which incorporates the present invention . the operation of the system is controlled from an operator console 100 which includes a keyboard and control panel 102 and a display 104 . the console 100 communicates through a link 116 with a separate computer system 107 that enables an operator to control the production and display of images on the screen 104 . the computer system 107 includes a number of modules which communicate with each other through a backplane 118 . these include an image processor module 106 , a cpu module 108 and a memory module 113 , known in the art as a frame buffer for storing image data arrays . the computer system 107 is linked to a disk storage 111 and a tape drive 112 for storage of image data and programs , and it communicates with a separate system control 122 through a high speed serial link 115 . the system control 122 includes a set of modules connected together by a backplane . these include a cpu module 119 and a pulse generator module 121 which connects to the operator console 100 through a serial link 125 . it is through this link 125 that the system control 122 receives commands from the operator which indicate the scan sequence that is to be performed . the pulse generator module 121 operates the system components to carry out the desired scan sequence . it produces data which indicates the timing , strength and shape of the rf pulses which are to be produced , and the timing of and length of the data acquisition window . the pulse generator module 121 connects to a set of gradient amplifiers 127 , to indicate the timing and shape of the gradient pulses to be produced during the scan . the pulse generator module 121 also receives patient data from a physiological acquisition controller 129 that receives signals from a number of different sensors connected to the patient , such as ecg signals from electrodes or respiratory signals from a bellows . and finally , the pulse generator module 121 connects to a scan room interface circuit 133 which receives signals from various sensors associated with the condition of the patient and the magnet system . it is also through the scan room interface circuit 133 that a patient positioning system 134 receives commands to move the patient to the desired position for the scan . the gradient waveforms produced by the pulse generator module 121 are applied to a gradient amplifier system 127 comprised of g x , g y and g z , amplifiers . each gradient amplifier excites a corresponding gradient coil in an assembly generally designated 139 to produce the magnetic field gradients used for position encoding acquired signals . the gradient coil assembly 139 forms part of a magnet assembly 141 which includes a polarizing magnet 140 and a whole - body rf coil 152 . a transceiver module 150 in the system control 122 produces pulses which are amplified by an rf amplifier 151 and coupled to the rf coil 152 by a transmit / receive switch 154 . the resulting signals radiated by the excited nuclei in the patient may be sensed by the same rf coil 152 and coupled through the transmit / receive switch 154 to a preamplifier 153 . the amplified nmr signals are demodulated , filtered , and digitized in the receiver section of the transceiver 150 . the transmit / receive switch 154 is controlled by a signal from the pulse generator module 121 to electrically connect the rf amplifier 151 to the coil 152 during the transmit mode and to connect the preamplifier 153 during the receive mode . the transmit / receive switch 154 also enables a separate rf coil ( for example , a head coil or surface coil ) to be used in either the transmit or receive mode . the nmr signals picked up by the rf coil 152 are digitized by the transceiver module 150 and transferred to a memory module 160 in the system control 122 . when the scan is completed and an entire array of data has been acquired in the memory module 160 , an array processor 161 operates to fourier transform the data into an array of image data . this image data is conveyed through the serial link 115 to the computer system 107 where it is stored in the disk memory 111 . in response to commands received from the operator console 100 , this image data may be archived on the tape drive 112 , or it may be further processed by the image processor 106 and conveyed to the operator console 100 and presented on the display 104 . for a more detailed description of the transceiver 150 , reference is made to u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 952 , 877 and 4 , 922 , 736 , which are incorporated herein by reference . the mri system of fig1 performs a series of suitable pulse sequences to collect sufficient nmr data so as to produce an image of the left ventricle , as is well known in the art . fig2 illustrates a schematic representation of a typical chest cavity image identifying a human heart 169 having a left ventricle 172 , a blood pool 174 , and an epicardium 182 . a lung field 170 surrounds or partially surrounds the heart 169 . referring now to fig3 an epicardial detection process 200 is performed on the acquired image data by the image processor 106 . the first step indicated at process block 202 determines a pixel intensity range in the image for the muscle comprising the left ventricle . this intensity segmentation process 202 is illustrated in more detail in fig4 which begins at step 214 using the blood pool mask 228 illustrated in fig6 . it should be appreciated that the mask 228 could be generated by the user or produced using another segmentation algorithm . the blood pool mask 228 , as illustrated , is defined by a rectilinear grid 230 having shaded pixels 232 that are turned “ on ” to represent the structure of interest ( blood pool ), and clear pixels 234 that are turned “ off ” to represent space not occupied by the blood pool . next , at step 214 , the blood pool mask 228 is dilated , using a morphological operator that defines a method for expanding a binary mask , and is defined by the following equation : where x is the image ; b is a structuring element represented by kernel 236 illustrated in fig5 ; b x is the translation of b such that its origin is at x ; and x is a specific pixel . the structuring element b is moved across the blood pool mask 228 . when a pixel 238 in b is “ on ” and the corresponding pixel in the image mask is “ on ,” ( 232 ) then the pixel in the blood pool mask 228 corresponding to the center of b 240 is turned “ on .” fig7 illustrates a mask 242 of the blood pool mask 228 once dilated , and having an outer boundary 244 surrounding the image 232 . once the original blood pool mask 228 has been dilated , the blood pool mask 228 is subtracted from the dilated mask 242 at step 216 to produce a one - pixel wide boundary 246 illustrated in fig8 . the subtraction is defined by the following operation : where x n is the blood pool mask dilated n times , and x n − 1 is the blood pool mask dilated n − 1 times . the boundary 246 therefore represents the advancing boundary of the dilated mask 242 as shown in fig8 . the intensity segmentation process 202 then continues at step 218 and performs a statistics calculation of the { overscore ( x )} dilation boundary 246 . in particular , first order statistics are calculated for the dilation boundary 246 . the mean of the sample is defined by the equation : x _ = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n x i ( 5 ) where n is the number of pixels defining the dilation boundary 246 ; and x i is the intensity of a pixel in the dilation boundary . the standard deviation metric sd of the intensity of the sample is defined by the equations : v _ = 1 n - 1 ∑ i = 1 n ( x i - x _ ) 2 ( 6 ) see a . papoulis , “ probability , random variables , and stochastic processes ,” ( third edition ), new york , ny : mcgraw hill , inc . ( 1991 ), citing equations ( 5 ) and ( 6 ), and where { overscore ( v )} is variance . at step 220 , the intensity segmentation process repeats steps 214 - 218 to once again dilate the once dilated mask 242 , perform the subtraction of the previous mask from the newly dilated mask , and finally perform the statistics calculation . these dilation iterations are performed n times , where n is chosen to be sufficiently large to ensure that the dilation boundary 246 grows beyond the epicardium 182 and into the areas surrounding the heart 169 . thus , n depends primarily on the field of view of the image . if the field of view is small , resulting in the heart occupying a large portion of the image , n would increase . if , however , the field of view is large , resulting in the heart occupying a smaller portion of the image , n may be decreased to save computation time . n is set to 15 in accordance with the preferred embodiment . because it is desirable to calculate an intensity map ( as described below ) which includes the left ventricle 172 and excludes as many surrounding areas as possible , it is of interest to calculate the statistics indicative of the point at which the boundary 246 has moved beyond the epicardium 182 . therefore , once n is satisfied , the intensity segmentation process 202 proceeds to step 222 , where the point at which the outer boundary 246 crosses the outer wall of the left ventricle 172 is determined . as this occurs , the boundary 246 will encounter vastly differing pixel intensities , which are the result of the different tissue compositions of the regions beyond the heart 169 , for example the lungs and the diaphragm ( not shown ). fig9 illustrates a graph of the mean and standard deviation of intensity values corresponding to the boundary 246 plotted against the natural log of the iteration number . as illustrated , as the boundary 246 advances from the endocardium , the standard deviation gradually decreases , as indicated in fig9 at 248 , until the boundary 246 begins to reach the epicardium 182 . at this point , the standard deviation begins to increase significantly , as indicated in fig9 at 250 . the standard deviation then begins to decrease once again as the boundary 246 moves away from the epicardium 182 and begins to move through more homogeneous materials . the boundary 246 defined by the maximum change in standard deviation yields a good approximation of the region containing the epicardial boundary , and is definad by the following equation : δ sd n = sd n - sd n - 1 in ( n ) - in ( n - 1 ) ( 8 ) where sd n is the standard deviation metric for n ; and sd n − 1 is the standard deviation for iteration n − 1 . the statistical data from the iteration having the largest δsd are used to calculate the intensity range for an intensity map 227 , as illustrated in fig1 . the intensity segmentation process is completed at step 224 , whereby the intensity map 227 is defined by the following equation : where p is a specific pixel ; i ( p ) is the intensity of p ; sd is the standard deviation from equation ( 7 ); x is the sample mean from equation 6 ; and α and β are constants . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , α and β are empirically derived to yield a map having a predetermined intensity range . the intensity map 227 as illustrated in fig1 contains a blood pool 174 , edges 229 , and islands 237 . the intensity map 227 that was produced by the intensity segmentation block 202 represents an image having a plurality of “ off ” and “ on ” pixels representing non - mask values and mask values , respectively , according to whether a given portion of the mr image meets the intensity threshold requirements of the intensity segmentation block 202 . some of the “ on pixels ” in the mask will define the left ventricular epicardial boundary while others define images such as the blood pool 174 , edges 229 and islands 237 . accordingly , once the intensity map 227 is refined to produce a classification map lacking the blood pool 174 , edges 229 , and islands 237 , boundary points that define the epicardial boundary will be detected based on the remaining “ on ” pixels , as will be described below . referring again to fig3 the epicardial detection process 200 next generates a one - pixel wide edge map for the image at step 204 using a plurality of compass operators on the input image data . compass operators are functions which measure gradients in intensity for a selected number of directions , and were chosen in accordance with the preferred embodiment due , in part , to their low computational requirements . step 204 is illustrated in detail in fig1 in which the first step 270 calculates the intensity gradient at a given location ( m , n ) as defined by the following equation : g ( m , n ) ≡ max k { g k ( m , n ) } ( 10 ) where g k ( m , n ) is the compass operation in the direction θ k for k = 0 , . . . 7 ; and θ k is the gradient direction for a given compass operator . the compass operators can be calculated from a weighted average of the pixel values in the acquired image . a full set of compass operators can be represented by the following kernels 254 , 256 , 258 , 260 , 262 , 264 , 266 , and 268 representing kernels positioned north , northwest , west , southwest , south , southeast , east , and northeast , respectively , as shown in fig1 . it can be observed that pixel values are positive in the direction representing the overall position of the kernel , negative in the direction opposite that representing the kernel separated by pixels of 0 . for example , kernel 254 includes positive pixels in the north direction , negative kernels in the south , separated by a row of kernels of 0 . the values of the elements of each kernel are used as multiplicative weights for the pixels in the neighborhood of interest to determine the gradients in each direction . after g k is calculated for all k at a given pixel at step 270 , the maximum value of g k is used to represent the gradient at that pixel . a gradient map is then calculated for the entire image at step 272 . the intensity values of the gradient map are histogrammed at step 274 . to generate the edge map at step 276 , a gradient threshold is selected whereby all values in the gradient map falling below the designated threshold are ignored . the gradient threshold is adjustable , and is set to 20 % in the preferred embodiment , thereby retaining those pixels having intensity values falling within the top 20 %, and discarding the remaining 80 % of the pixels . the gradient values which remain after the thresholding step are defined to be the edge map corresponding to the edges 229 in the intensity map 227 . referring again to fig3 once the intensity and edge maps are created , the epicardial detection process 200 refines the intensity map 227 at step 206 . as shown in more detail in fig1 , the intensity map 227 defines the areas that contain pixels in the intensity range of interest . the edge map defines strong edges in the image , some of which likely defining the epicardial boundary . the intensity map 227 and edge map are combined by subtracting the edge map from the intensity map to produce a classification map ( not shown ) at step 278 . the subtraction is performed according to the technique described above with reference to equation 4 . the classification map therefore defines the areas of proper intensity , with edges 229 of interest being cut out of the intensity map 227 . to further refine the classification map , the first dilation of the blood pool mask 228 is subtracted from a classification mask ( corresponding to the classification map ) at step 280 to produce a classification map with the blood pool 174 removed . subtracting the blood pool mask 228 removes stray pixels in the blood pool 174 which may have been in the intensity range of the epicardium 182 , as a pixel cannot be a member of both the blood pool and the epicardium . next , with continuing reference to fig3 an island removal process is performed at step 282 , whereby small groups of pixels are removed to reduce noise in the mask and to increase the probability of choosing a correct epicardial boundary . such groups of pixels , or “ islands ,” are illustrated in fig1 at 237 . the island removal process 282 is an iterative process which employs the mask 284 of fig1 and identifies areas of structure (“ on ” pixels ) 286 . in particular , the mask 284 is scanned from left to right in each row , starting with the upper left corner . each non - adjacent “ on ” pixel 286 is labeled with successive numbers to produce a labeled image 288 , as illustrated in fig1 . the labels are then merged , as shown in fig1 , by scanning the labeled image 288 and joining pixels that are connected . for example , when scanning the labeled image 288 , the first value encountered in the first row is a “ 1 ”. connected to that pixel labeled “ 1 ” are two other pixels labeled “ 3 ”. the pixels labeled “ 3 ” are replaced with “ 1 ” since they are connected . a “ merged labels ” image 292 , illustrated in fig1 , is produced as a result of merging and labeling all of the islands 290 in the labeled image 288 . finally , the island removal process histograms and thresholds the image 292 . if an island does not include enough labeled pixels ( i . e . the island &# 39 ; s pixel count value is not above a predetermined threshold ), all pixels in that island are turned off . the threshold should be set so as to remove those islands which are small enough to be properly attributable to noise while retaining those that are representative of anatomy , and is set to 50 in accordance with the preferred embodiment . in the illustrated example , in fig1 , because the island labeled “ 2 ” did not meet the threshold , the pixels corresponding to that island have been turned “ off ” in fig1 . fig1 illustrates a final classification map 235 after the edges 229 , blood pool 174 , and islands 237 have been removed . referring again to fig3 once the intensity map is refined at step 206 , the epicardial detection process 200 executes step 208 to approximate the center point of the left ventricle using the blood pool mask 228 . the following mass equations are used to calculate the center of the blood pool 174 : x c = 1 m ∫ r ∫ x ρ ( x , y ) a ( 11 ) y c = 1 m ∫ r ∫ y ρ ( x , y ) a ( 12 ) where x c is the x coordinate of the center point ; y c is the y coordinate of the center point ; r is the region of interest ; ρ ( x , y ) is the density function ; da is an element of infinitesimal area ; and m is the total mass , as defined by : m ≡ ∫ r ∫ ρ ( x , y ) a ( 13 ) to find the center of the blood pool 174 , r is taken to be the blood pool mask . because all pixels in the blood pool mask 228 are of equal value , ρ ( x , y ) can be taken as 1 to indicate constant density . m therefore reduces to the total area of the blood pool 174 . using these simplifications , and recognizing that the image data is represented as discrete pixel values , equations ( 12 ) and ( 13 ) may be rewritten , respectively , as : y c = 1 n ∑ y ∑ x y ( 14 ) x c = 1 n ∑ y ∑ x x ( 15 ) where n is the number of pixels in the blood pool mask 228 . it should be appreciated that equations ( 14 ) and ( 15 ) are simply the average values for x and y , respectively , for the points contained in the blood pool mask 228 . fig1 illustrates an example calculation of center of mass 294 ( x c , y c ) for an object 296 outlined in cartesian space , having grid lines 298 representative of pixel location . in the illustrated example , x c = 6 . 025 ( 388 / 64 ), and y c = 5 . 0625 ( 324 / 64 ). referring again to fig3 the calculated center point 294 is used with the intensity map 227 to find an approximate epicardial boundary in a radial boundary search process 210 . as shown in fig2 , rays ( not shown ) are cast radially outwardly from the center point 294 in search of a transition from a first non - mask intensity value to a mask intensity value , and then back to a second non - mask intensity value . the first non - mask value is representative of the rays traversing the location formerly occupied by the blood pool 174 ; the mask - value is representative of the rays crossing the myocardium ; and the second non - mask value is representative of the rays crossing the epicardium 182 . because the edges 229 have been removed during step 206 , many areas of the epicardium 182 are sufficiently defined . in some areas , however , where no strong edge was present and the intensity range is therefore that of the myocardium , a reliable approximation of the epicardial boundary 300 may not exist . in this case , the search will fail at decision block 211 , and the radial value stored for the search will be the final distance at which the search was attempted . a direct correlation exists between the number of radii having no reliable definition of the corresponding epicardial boundary 300 and the successful completion of the epicardial detection process 200 . the ability to detect failure , therefore , is particularly useful when providing a completely automated segmentation of a dataset . the failure may be communicated to the user at step 209 so that particular attention may be given to reviewing those images identified as having a failed boundary . therefore , even though a failure may have been detected , the epicardial detection process 200 will proceed after notifying the user of the failure , as will now be described . once the epicardial boundary points 300 are determined , and after any failures have been communicated to the user , a boundary smoothing process 212 is performed to transform the boundary points into a smooth closed curve 308 as illustrated in fig2 . the boundary smoothing process 212 is illustrated in detail in fig2 and begins at step 302 , where any points having a small probability of actually being on or near the epicardial boundary are discarded , as defined by a thresholding operation : r ^ ≡ { r : { ( 1 - γ ) * r ave ≤ r ≤ ( 1 + γ ) * r ave r ave2 otherwise } } ( 16 ) where { circumflex over ( r )} is the set of all radii defining an estimate of the epicardial boundary ; r is a specific radius ; r ave is the average value of all radii prior to thresholding ; r ave2 is the average value of all radii within the threshold ; and γ is the threshold coefficient . once all radii exceeding the threshold have been removed , the new radial average ( r ave2 ) is calculated at step 304 , and radii exceeding the threshold are replaced with r ave2 at step 306 . the boundary smoothing process 212 thereby produces a set of boundary points 300 having corresponding radii that are all within the empirically derived threshold . once the refined estimate of the boundary points 300 is obtained , the radii values are further smoothed at step 309 to obtain a smooth , closed curve 308 representing the epicardial boundary using a window averaging technique . referring now to fig2 and 24 , the window averaging process 309 begins at step 312 , where a window 310 is applied to a particular radius at step 312 , and encompasses a plurality of surrounding radii that comprise the refined boundary 300 . the window iteratively rotates radially about the center 294 until the entire boundary 300 has been smoothed . the radial orientation of the window is initially set to the 0 ° location , and the angle of the window is predetermined so as to encompass a predetermined number of radii at each iteration . the average length of all radii falling within the window at a given point in time is calculated at step 314 , and an interval is empirically derived so as to define an acceptable range above and below the calculated average . the length of the particular radius under examination is compared to the calculated average at decision block 316 . if the length falls within the interval surrounding the calculated average , then the process 309 will continue to step 320 and rotate the window to examine the next radius in succession . if , however , the length falls outside of the interval surrounding the calculated average , then the length of that radius will be replaced with the calculated window average at step 318 before rotating the window at step 320 . once window 310 is rotated to the next radius at step 320 , it is determined at decision block 322 whether the window has rotated again to the 0 ° location , thereby signifying completion of a 360 ° revolution about the center point 294 . if a complete revolution has not yet been completed , steps 312 - 320 are repeated until decision block 322 determines that all radii have been examined and modified , if necessary . as illustrated in fig2 , once the window has returned to the 0 ° position , a smooth closed contour 308 is produced . it should be appreciated that the threshold coefficient γ in equation ( 16 ) may be decreased to produce a smoother curve incorporating a more refined approximation of the boundary 300 . alternatively , the increasing the coefficient γ will yield a more accurate representation of the boundary 300 that was determined above . the effects of the boundary smoothing process 212 and window averaging process 309 is illustrated with reference to fig2 , which depicts curve representing original radii lengths 326 that are thresholded to produce curve 328 , and that are subsequently smoothed to produce curve 330 , as described above . it should be appreciated that the above described epicardial detection process 200 , while generally illustrated to segment a left ventricular epicardium in mr images , may also be used to segment cardiac images acquired with other imaging modalities such as x - ray , x - ray ct , ultrasound , and nuclear . indeed , the above described technique may be expanded to segment other bodily organs . accordingly , the present invention is not intended to be limited to fitting a smooth boundary to a segmentation mask of a left ventricular epicardial boundary . while the steps performed in accordance with the preferred embodiment have been described , alternate embodiments may be implemented to improve the epicardial detection process 200 . in particular , factors such as speed and memory conservation are desirable for use in a clinical setting . this may be achieved by 1 ) combining the dilation and statistics calculation steps 214 and 218 , 2 ) simplifying the edge detection process 204 , and 3 ) reducing the number of floating point calculations . the dilation and statistics calculation steps 214 and 218 may be improved by calculating the statistics during the dilation step . calculating the statistics for each dilation iteration while the { overscore ( x )} dilation kernel is moving through the image foregoes the need for additional passes through the image . calculation of the mean { overscore ( x )} may also be expedited by summing the values of each pixel added by the dilation kernel 236 . once the dilation kernel 236 has passed completely through the image 228 , the only additional step necessary to calculate the mean { overscore ( x )} is to divide the sum of the added pixels by the number of added pixels . to increase the speed of calculating the standard deviation metric sd , equation 6 may be rearranged to allow partial terms of the variance { overscore ( v )} to be calculated as follows : v _ = 1 n - 1 [ ∑ i = 1 n x i 2 - 2 x _ ∑ i = 1 n x i + n x _ 2 ] ( 17 ) equation 17 provides a way to calculate the variance during the dilation , or “ on the fly .” specifically , the first term is calculated by summing the squares of the pixel values for each pixel added by the dilation kernel 236 . the second term is twice the mean { overscore ( x )} after the dilation kernel 236 has passed completely through the image 228 . the final term is calculated after { overscore ( x )} the dilation is complete by squaring the mean and multiplying by the pixel counter used to compute the mean . because the statistics are being calculated on the fly , it is not necessary to store copies of the dilated masks 242 for later statistics calculations . however , a dilated blood pool is still needed later in the process to clean up the binary pixel mask . therefore , in the dilation process , rather than adding every dilated pixel with the same intensity value in the dilation mask 242 , a pixel value may be used which is related to the iteration number . for example , the original blood pool mask 228 may be stored with a value of 1 , with the values incrementing by 1 as successive iterations are performed . accordingly , the results of all dilations may be stored in one image mask for future access while conserving memory space . the edge detection process 204 may also be modified to increase the speed of the epicardial detection process 200 . for example , a mere sign difference separates those compass operators indicating north 254 and those indicating south 262 . because only the magnitude of the operators is used when calculating the edge map , only one of the operators need be used . the result is a reduction of the number operators needed to calculate the edge map by a factor of two . additionally , because the compass operators rotated at 45 ° ( 256 , 260 , 264 , and 268 ) provide little additional information , they may be eliminated altogether . while this step does minimally decrease the accuracy of the edge map , it provides benefits in time conservation . accordingly , only two compass operators need to be used — one along the north - south direction , and one along the east - west direction . the invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments . however , the present invention has been presented by way of illustration and is not intended to be limited to the disclosed embodiments . accordingly , those skilled in the art will realize that the invention is intended to encompass all modifications and alternative arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention , as set forth by the appended claims . | 6 |
the multi - antenna technology has become a member of crucial technologies of a next - generation radio communication system , and linear pre - coding / beam - forming in the multi - antenna technology is an effective means to deal with a fading channel , to lower an error probability and to improve the performance of a system . with reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels , a tdd system can obtain information of a downlink channel from a base station to a ue according to information of an uplink channel , from the ue to the base station , estimated by the base station to thereby calculate a pre - coding matrix / a beam - forming weight . however , reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels may not exactly hold in a practical system , and a technical solution according to embodiments of the invention addresses the problem of antenna calibration when reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels does not hold . in the solution , amplitude information and phase information ( a delay ) are separated out from the downlink channel information estimated by the ue and fed back , and the base station uses the information for calibration . particular embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings . the following description will be given respectively for implementations at the ue side and at the base station side , but this will not mean that both of them must cooperate for an implementation , and indeed , issues at the ue side and at the base station side can also be addressed respectively in the separate implementations at the ue and at the base station although a better technical effect can be achieved when both of them cooperate . a method for reporting antenna calibration information at the ue side and a method for determining an antenna calibration factor at the base station side will be described respectively . fig1 is a schematic flow chart of a method for reporting antenna calibration information , and as illustrated in fig1 , a reporting process can include the following steps . step 101 . a ue estimates an equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of a plurality of antennas of a base station to an antenna of the ue . step 102 . the ue determines an amplitude response ρ k and a delay value δ k to be reported according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel . in this step , the ue calculates ρ k and δ k according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel and can report the calculated ρ k and δ k only after quantizing them , so the calculated ρ k and δ k may not be totally the same as the reported ρ k and δ k . a normal quantization process can be performed in an implementation . in lte and lte - a systems , the ue estimates the equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of the plurality of antennas of the base station to the antenna of the ue using a reference signal which can be a cell specific reference signal ( crs ), a channel state information measurement reference signal ( csi - rs ) or another well defined reference signal . step 103 . the ue reports the ρ k and δ k the to the base station . in an implementation , the ue can estimate the equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of a plurality of antennas of the base station to the antenna of the ue in the step 101 after the ue obtains an instruction of the base station . specifically , the base station can select and instruct a specific ue to participate in calibration and the specific ue performs measurements and a feedback required for calibration . the selected ue can be a ue with a good channel quality and at a low movement speed ( e . g ., a signal quality above a signal threshold and a movement speed below a movement threshold ). in an implementation , the ue estimates an equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of the plurality of antennas of the base station to an antenna of the ue in the step 101 can include : the ue measures an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to the antenna of the ue , which includes a response of a transmission circuit , a spatially propagating channel and a response of a reception circuit ; and the ue determines h k dl ( f i )= α k ( f i ) h k ( f i ) e − j2πδ k f i , where h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue , h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel , α k ( f i ) is an amplitude response of the transmission circuit of the k th transmission antenna of the base station , and e − j2πδ k f i is a phase response of the transmission circuit of the k th transmission antenna of the base station . furthermore , in a long term evolution ( lte ) system , the specified frequency band can be several consecutive physical resource blocks ( prbs ) among which the frequencies f are sub - carriers . in an implementation , the ue can determine δ k according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel in the step 102 as follows : the ue measures an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , and the ue calculates δ k according to h k dl ( f i ) as follows : phases of h k dl ( f i ) of the n frequencies are linearly fitted , and the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π is taken as an estimation value of δ k : θ k ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )+ 2πδ k f i with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k dl ( f i ), h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel ; or the ue measures an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , linearly fits phases of the n frequencies taking the first antenna as a reference point , takes the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π as δ k − δ 1 , and takes δ k − δ 1 as δ k : θ k ( f i )− θ 1 ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )− φ h , 1 ( f i )+ 2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i , with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k dl ( f i ), h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel . specifically , the ue can calculate δ k according to the measured h k dl ( f i ) by linearly fitting phases of h k dl ( f i ) at the n frequencies and taking the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π as an estimation value of δ k or deriving δ k − δ 1 with the first antenna being a reference point in a similar way that δ k is estimated . in an implementation , the ue can determine ρ k according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel in the step 102 as follows : the ue measures an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , and the ue calculates ρ k according to h k dl ( f i ) as : ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) , where h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue , or ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) 2 , where h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue ; or the ue measures an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , calculates an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna as ρ ′ k = ρ k / ρ 1 taking the first antenna as a reference antenna , where ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) or ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) 2 , and h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the antenna of the ue , and then takes the derived ρ ′ k as ρ k . of course , only ρ k will be fed back in an implementation . specifically , when the ue calculates an amplitude response , since an amplitude response of a transmission circuit of an antenna of the base station in a specific range of frequencies is approximately constant , that is : α k ( f 1 )≈ α k ( f 2 )≈ . . . ≈ α k ( f n ), thus ρ k can be calculated in the equation of : if the first antenna is taken as a reference antenna , an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna is ρ ′ k = ρ k / ρ 1 , where ρ k can alternatively be calculated as : in an implementation , the ue reports ρ k and δ k − δ 1 to the base station in the step 103 , and the ue can feed the calculated δ k and ρ k back to the base station , where δ k can be replaced with δ k − δ 1 , and ρ k can be replaced with ρ ′ k . a number m of antennas of the base station can be antennas located at the same geographical location or antennas separate in geographical location or antennas controlled respectively by a plurality of base stations . fig2 is a schematic flow chart of a method for determining an antenna calibration factor , and as illustrated in fig2 , a determining process can include the following steps . step 201 . a base station receives an uplink signal transmitted from a ue over a time and frequency resource specified by the base station . step 202 . the base station estimates an equivalent uplink baseband channel from an antenna of the ue to each of reception antennas of the base station according to the uplink signal . step 203 . the base station determines an amplitude response λ k and a delay value π k according to the equivalent uplink baseband channel . step 204 . the base station receives ρ k and δ k reported from the ue . step 205 . the base station calculates an antenna calibration factor according to λ k and π k , and ρ k and δ k . in an implementation , reference can be made to the foregoing implementations for ρ k and δ k received in the step 204 , and the step 204 may not necessarily be performed in a required sequential order relative to the steps 201 , 202 and 203 as long as λ k and π k , and ρ k and δ k are available when the step 205 is performed . the step 204 can be scheduled as required in a specific implementation . in an implementation , the ue transmits an uplink signal , e . g ., an uplink sounding reference signal or another pilot signal , over the time and frequency resource specified by the base station in the step 201 . in an implementation , before the base station receives an uplink signal transmitted from the ue over a time and frequency resource specified by the base station , the process can further include : the base station instructs a ue with a good channel quality ( e . g ., a signal quality above a signal threshold ) and / or at a low movement speed ( e . g ., a movement speed below a movement threshold ) to transmit an uplink signal over a time and frequency resource specified by the base station . the base station can estimate an equivalent uplink baseband channel from an antenna of the ue to each of reception antennas of the base station according to the uplink signal in the step 202 as follows : the base station estimates an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the antenna of the ue to each of reception antennas of the base station , which includes a response of a transmission circuit of the ue , a spatially propagating channel and a response of a reception circuit of the base station , according to the uplink signal transmitted from the ue and a received signal ; and the base station determines h k ul ( f i )= β k ( f i ) h k ( f i ) e − j2ππ k f i , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , h k ( f i ) synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel , β k ( f i ) is an amplitude response of the reception circuit of the k th reception antenna of the base station , and e − j2ππ k f i is a phase response of the reception circuit of the k th reception antenna of the base station . in a specific implementation , h k ( f i ) here may be different from h k ( f i ) in the step 102 . the base station can determine π k according to the equivalent uplink baseband channel in the step 203 as follows : the base station calculates π k according to h k ul ( f i ) as follows : phases of h k ul ( f i ) of the n frequencies are linearly fitted , and the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting is taken as an estimation value of π k : θ k ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )+ 2ππ k f i with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ul ( f i ), h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel ; or phases of of the n frequencies are linearly fitted taking the first antenna as a reference point , and the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π is taken as π k − π 1 , and then π k − π 1 is taken as π k : θ k ( f i )− θ 1 ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )− φ h , 1 ( f i )+ 2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i , with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ul ( f i ), h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of ) the base station at the i th frequency , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel . the base station can determine an amplitude response λ k according to the equivalent baseband channel in the step 203 as follows : the base station calculates λ k according to h k ul ( f i ) as : λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the antenna of the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , or λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) 2 , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the antenna of the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency ; or an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna is calculated as λ ′ k = λ k / λ 1 taking the first antenna as a reference antenna , where λ k is calculated as λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) or λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) 2 , and where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the antenna of the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , and then derived δ ′ k is taken as λ k . specifically , λ k is calculated according to h k ul ( f i ) as : λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) ≈ β k ( f 1 ) 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ( f i ) , where β k ( f n ) is an amplitude response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the base station ; or an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna is calculated as λ ′ k = λ k / λ 1 taking the first antenna as a reference antenna , where λ k is calculated as : λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) 2 ≈ β k ( f 1 ) 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ( f i ) 2 , where β k ( f n ) is an amplitude response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the base station . when the base station calculates π k or π k − π 1 , and λ k or λ ′ k = λ k / λ 1 , reference can be made to the implementations for the ue to calculate ρ k and δ k − δ 1 , and the base station and the ue can calculate λ k and π k − π 1 , and ρ k and δ k − δ 1 in the same way . in an implementation , the base station can calculate an antenna calibration factor according to λ k and π k − π 1 , and ρ k and δ k − δ 1 in the step 205 as follows : with e − j2ππ k f i being a phase response of the reception circuit of the k th reception antenna of the base station , the base station calculates a calibration factor as : c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i e − j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i ρ k / λ k ; or 1 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i e − j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i ; or 2 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k ) f i e − j2π ( π k ) f i ρ k / λ k ; or 4 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i e − j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i ρ ′ k / λ ′ k ; or 5 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i e − j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i ρ ′ k / λ ′ k ; or 6 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( δ k ) f i e − j2π ( π k ) f i ρ ′ k / λ ′ k ; or 8 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i ρ k ; or 9 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i ; or 10 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i ρ k ; or 12 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i ; or 13 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k − δ 1 ) f i ρ ′ k ; or 14 ) c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i ρ ′ k ; or 16 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i / λ k ; or 17 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i ; or 18 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k ) f i / λ k ; or 20 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k ) f i ; or 21 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i /′ λ k ; or 22 ) c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k ) f i / λ ′ k . 24 ) specifically , the base station calculates calibration factors and also multiplies the calibration factors of all the antennas by a scalar and obtains a new set of calibration factors without any influence on performance . in an implementation , the process can further include after the step 205 : the base station calibrates by the calibration factor in the following equation the channel estimated according to an uplink pilot signal to obtain an estimation value of a downlink channel : ĥ k dl ( f i )= h k ul ( f i ) c k ( f i ), where i = 1 , 2 , . . . n ; and / or pre - processes a signal to be transmitted in the downlink : y k ( f i )= y k ( f i )/ c k ( f i ), where y k ( f i ) is a data signal and / or a pilot signal to be transmitted over the k th antenna of the base station , and y k ( f i ) is the pre - processed signal . particularly , the two alternatives can also be combined dependent upon a differently calculated calibration factor , that is , the channel is adjusted by the calibration factor in equations 17 ) to 24 ), and the signal to be transmitted is adjusted by the calibration factor in equations 9 ) to 16 ). specifically , the base station can save the calculated calibration factor and thereafter calibrate by the saved calibration factor a channel estimated according to an uplink pilot signal to obtain a downlink channel . in the foregoing implementations , a calibration process is assumed involving one antenna of one ue to thereby obtain a set of calibration factors . in fact , calibration can involve a plurality of antennas of a plurality of ues , and a set of calibration factors can be obtained for each of the antennas . these sets of calibration factors can be further processed , for example , through linear averaging , to obtain a general calibration factor . it shall be noted that the respective sets of calibration factors can be normalized as c ′ k ( f i )= c k ( f i )/ c 1 ( f i ) prior to linear averaging or the like . also in the foregoing implementations , the antennas to be calibrated can be antennas in the same cell or antennas in different cells . a number m of antennas of the base station can be antennas located at the same geographical location or antennas separate in geographical location or antennas controlled respectively by a plurality of base stations . based upon the same inventive idea , there are further provided in embodiments of the invention a base station and a user equipment , and since these devices address the problem under a similar principle to the method for reporting antenna calibration information and the method for determining an antenna calibration factor , reference can be made to the implementations of the methods for implementations of the devices , a repeated description of which will be omitted here . fig3 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment , and as illustrated in fig3 , the ue can include : an estimating module 301 configured to estimate an equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of a plurality of antennas of a base station to the ue ; an amplitude response module 302 configured to determine an amplitude response ρ k to be reported according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel ; a delay module 303 configured to determine a delay value δ k to be reported according to the equivalent downlink baseband channel ; and a reporting module 304 configured to report ρ k and δ k to the base station . a measuring unit configured to measure an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to the ue , which includes a response of a transmission circuit , a spatially propagating channel and a response of a reception circuit ; and h k dl ( f i )= α k ( f i ) h k ( f i ) e − j2πδ k f i , where h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the ue , h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of an antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel , α k ( f i ) is an amplitude response of the transmission circuit of the base station , and e − j2πδ k f i is a phase response of the transmission circuit of the base station . in an implementation , the measuring unit can further be configured in an lte system to determine the frequency band specified by the base station as several consecutive prbs among which the frequencies f are sub - carriers . in an implementation , the delay module 303 can include a first determining unit and / or a second determining unit , where : the first determining unit is configured for the ue to measure an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , and calculate δ k according to h k dl ( f i ) as follows : phases of h k dl ( f i ) of the n frequencies are linearly fitted , and the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π is taken as an estimation value of δ k : θ k ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )+ 2πδ k f i with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k dl ( f i ), h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the ue , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel ; and the second determining unit is configured for the ue to measure an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , linearly fit phases of of the n frequencies taking the first antenna as a reference point , and take the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π as δk − δ1 , and then take δ k − δ 1 as δ k : θ k ( f i )− θ 1 ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )− φ h , 1 ( f i )+ 2π ( δ k − δ 1 ( f i ) with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k dl ( f i ), h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent downlink baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the ue , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the reception circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel . in an implementation , the amplitude response module 302 can include a third determining unit and / or a fourth determining unit , where : the third determining unit is configured for the ue to measure an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , and calculate ρ k according to h k dl ( f i ) as : ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) or ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) 2 , where h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the ue ; and the fourth determining unit is configured for the ue to measure an equivalent downlink baseband channel from a transmission antenna at each of a number n of frequencies f in a frequency band specified by the base station to an antenna of the ue , and calculate an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna as ρ ′ k = ρ k / ρ 1 taking the first antenna as a reference antenna , where ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) or ρ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k dl ( f i ) 2 , and h k dl ( f i ) is an equivalent baseband channel from the k th transmission antenna at the i th frequency to the ue , and then take derived ρ ′ k as ρ k . in an implementation , the estimating module 301 can be further configured to estimate an equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of the plurality of antennas of the base station to an antenna of the ue upon obtaining an instruction of the base station . a number m of antennas of the base station can be antennas located at the same geographical location or antennas separate in geographical location or antennas controlled respectively by a plurality of base stations . fig4 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station , and as illustrated in fig4 , the base station can include : an uplink signal receiving module 401 configured to receive an uplink signal transmitted from a ue over a time and frequency resource specified by the base station ; an equivalent uplink baseband channel module 402 configured to estimate an equivalent uplink baseband channel from an antenna of the ue to each of reception antennas of the base station according to the uplink signal ; an amplitude response module 403 configured to determine an amplitude response λ k according to the equivalent uplink baseband channel ; a delay module 404 configured to determine a delay value π k according to the equivalent uplink baseband channel ; a receiving module 405 configured to receive ρ k and δ k reported from the ue , reference can be made to the foregoing embodiments for reception of ρ k and δ k in an implementation ; and a calibration factor module 406 configured to calculate an antenna calibration factor according to λ k and π k , and ρ k and δ k . in an implementation , the equivalent uplink baseband channel module 402 can include : an estimating unit configured to estimate an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the antenna of the ue to each of the reception antennas of the base station , which includes a response of a transmission circuit of the ue , a spatially propagating channel and a response of a reception circuit of the base station , according to the uplink signal transmitted from the ue and a received signal ; and h k ul ( f i )= β k ( f i ) h k ( f i ) e − j2ππ k f i , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel , β k ( f i ) is an amplitude response of the reception circuit of the base station , and e − j2ππ k f i is a phase response of the reception circuit of the base station . in an implementation , the delay module 404 can include a first determining unit and / or a second determining unit , where : the first determining unit is configured to calculate π k according to h k ul ( f i ) as follows : phases of h k ul ( f i ) of a number n of frequencies are linearly fitted , and the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting is taken as an estimation value of π k : θ k ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )+ 2ππ k f i , with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ul ( f i ), h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel ; and of a number n of frequencies taking the first antenna as a reference point , and take the slope of a straight line resulting from fitting divided by 2π as π k − π 1 , and then take π k − π 1 as π k : θ k ( f i )− θ 1 ( f i )= φ h , k ( f i )− φ h , 1 ( f i )+ 2π ( π k − π 1 ) f i , with i = 1 , 2 , . . . n , where φ h , k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ( f i ), θ k ( f i ) is a phase of h k ul ( f i ), h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent uplink baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , and h k ( f i ) is a synthesis channel including the response of the transmission circuit of the antenna of the ue and the spatially propagating channel . in an implementation , the amplitude response module 403 can include a third determining unit and / or a fourth determining unit , where : the third determining unit is configured to calculate λ k according to h k ul ( f i ) as : λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) or λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) 2 , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency ; and the fourth determining unit is configured to calculate an amplitude value of the k th antenna relative to the first antenna as λ ′ k = λ k / λ 1 taking the first antenna as a reference antenna , where λ k is calculated as : λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) or λ k = 1 n ∑ i = 1 n h k ul ( f i ) 2 , where h k ul ( f i ) is an equivalent baseband channel from the ue to the k th reception antenna of the base station at the i th frequency , and then take derived λ ′ k as λ k . an instructing module 407 configured to instruct a ue with a good channel quality and / or at a low movement speed to transmit the uplink signal over the time and frequency resource specified by the base station . in an implementation , the calibration factor module 406 can be further configured to calculate the antenna calibration factor according to λ k and π k , and ρ k and δ k by calculating the antenna calibration factor as : c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i e j2π ( π k ) f i ρ k / λk ; or c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i e j2π ( π k ) f i ; or c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i ρ k ; or c k ( f i )= e − j2π ( δ k ) f i ; or c k ( f i )= e j2π ( π k ) f i ; or with e − j2ππ k f i being a phase response of a reception circuit of the base station . a calibrating module 408 configured to calibrate by the calibration factor in the following equation the channel estimated according to an uplink pilot signal to obtain an estimation value of a downlink channel : ĥ k dl ( f i )= h k ul ( f i ) c k ( f i ); and / or to pre - process a signal to be transmitted in the downlink : y k ( f i )= y k ( f i )/ c k ( f i ), where y k ( f ) is a data signal and / or a pilot signal to be transmitted over the k th antenna of the base station , and y k ( f i ) is the pre - processed signal . for the convenience of a description , the respective components of the foregoing devices have been described respectively by functionally dividing them into respective modules or units . of course , the functions of the respective modules or units can be performed in the same one or a plurality of items of software or hardware to put the invention into practice . as can be apparent from the foregoing embodiments , amplitude information and phase information ( a delay ) are separated out from downlink channel information estimated by the ue and fed back , and the base station uses the information for calibration in the technical solution according to the invention . a ue estimates an equivalent downlink baseband channel from each of a plurality of antennas of a base station to an antenna of the ue ; the ue calculates ρ k and a delay value δ k − δ 1 according to the equivalent baseband channel ; the ue feeds back quantized ρ k and δ k − δ 1 ; the ue transmits an uplink srs signal , and the base station estimates λ k and π k − π 1 according to the srs signal ; and a number m of antennas of the base station can be antennas located at the same geographical location or antennas separate in geographical location or antennas controlled respectively by a plurality of base stations . in the technical solution according to the invention , amplitude information and phase information are separated out from channel information and fed back , and the base station uses the information for calibration , thereby calibrating amplitude and phase concurrently . the technical solution according to the invention can become less sensitive to a channel estimation error and channel doppler spreading due to additional pre - processing by the ue . those skilled in the art shall appreciate that the embodiments of the invention can be embodied as a method , a system or a computer program product . therefore , the invention can be embodied in the form of an all - hardware embodiment , an all - software embodiment or an embodiment of software and hardware in combination . furthermore , the invention can be embodied in the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer useable storage mediums ( including but not limited to a disk memory , a cd - rom , an optical memory , etc .) in which computer useable program codes are contained . the invention has been described in a flow chart and / or a block diagram of the method , the device ( system ) and the computer program product according to the embodiments of the invention . it shall be appreciated that respective flows and / or blocks in the flow chart and / or the block diagram and combinations of the flows and / or the blocks in the flow chart and / or the block diagram can be embodied in computer program instructions . these computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general - purpose computer , a specific - purpose computer , an embedded processor or a processor of another programmable data processing device to produce a machine so that the instructions executed on the computer or the processor of the other programmable data processing device create means for performing the functions specified in the flow ( s ) of the flow chart and / or the block ( s ) of the block diagram . these computer program instructions can also be stored into a computer readable memory capable of directing the computer or the other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory create an article of manufacture including instruction means which perform the functions specified in the flow ( s ) of the flow chart and / or the block ( s ) of the block diagram . these computer program instructions can also be loaded onto the computer or the other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are performed on the computer or the other programmable data processing device to create a computer implemented process so that the instructions executed on the computer or the other programmable data processing device provide steps for performing the functions specified in the flow ( s ) of the flow chart and / or the block ( s ) of the block diagram . although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described , those skilled in the art benefiting from the underlying inventive concept can make additional modifications and variations to these embodiments . therefore , the appended claims are intended to be construed as encompassing the preferred embodiments and all the modifications and variations coming into the scope of the invention . evidently , those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention . thus the invention is also intended to encompass these modifications and variations thereto so long as the modifications and variations come into the scope of the claims appended to the invention and their equivalents . | 7 |
in fig1 a two - wire proximity sensor 10 , which is not part of the present invention , is connected to terminals 12 and 14 of the present invention using leads 16 and 18 , respectively . because leads 16 and 18 commonly have identifying colors such as red ( r ) and blue ( b ), respectively , terminals 16 and 18 may be identified by corresponding colors . similarly , a three - wire sensor 20 , which is not part of the present invention , may be connected to terminals 12 and 14 using leads 22 and 24 . sensor 20 is also connected to a third terminal 26 using lead 28 , which may have an identifying color such as yellow ( y ). as shown in fig4 leads 16 and 18 may be constructed using a suitable cable 30 having a connector 32 that mates with a connector 34 of sensor 10 . leads 22 , 24 and 28 may be constructed in a similar manner . a microprocessor 36 receives operator commands , which are described in further detail below , from a suitable input device such as a keypad 38 and provides output indications to a suitable output device such as a display 40 . as shown in fig2 keypad 38 may comprise two mode - select buttons 42 and 44 , two sensor - select buttons 46 and 48 , and an activate button 50 . in addition , two alternate - select buttons 52 and 54 may be provided for additional functions not described herein . buttons 42 - 54 are switches that may be of the momentary - contact type . microprocessor 36 operates in accordance with suitable software , which is stored in a portion of memory 56 . memory 56 is preferably a non - volatile memory such as erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom ). microprocessor 36 is also connected to a relay controller 58 , which is connected to relays 60 , 62 , 64 , 66 , 68 , and 70 . relay controller 58 controls relays 60 - 70 independently of one another using control signals 74 . microprocessor 36 can close relays 60 and 64 and set relay 70 to connect leads 16 and 18 of two - wire sensor 10 to a frequency measurement circuit 76 through an inductor 84 . alternatively , microprocessor 36 can close relays 62 and 64 to connect leads 16 and 18 of sensor 10 to a resistance measurement circuit 78 . microprocessor 36 can also close relay 68 to connect lead 28 of three - wire sensor 20 to resistance measurement circuit 78 . relay 66 is not required , but provides additional switching flexibility . this arrangement of relays 62 - 68 allows microprocessor 36 to isolate frequency measurement circuit 76 from resistance measurement circuit 78 to prevent one circuit from applying damaging signals to the other . frequency measurement circuit 76 provides a frequency signal 86 to microprocessor 36 . resistance measurement circuit 78 provides a resistance measurement signal 83 to an analog - to - digital converter 80 , which in turn provides a resistance value 82 to microprocessor 36 . analog - to - digital converter 80 may include a suitable scaling circuit to produce a convenient range of resistance values 82 . when resistance measurement circuit 78 is connected to sensor 10 as described above , microprocessor 36 may cause resistance measurement circuit 78 to apply a small direct current , such as one milliampere ( ma ), to terminals 12 and 14 of sensor 10 . resistance measurement signal 83 has a voltage that corresponds to the voltage across the resistive component 85 of sensor 10 . microprocessor 36 may read resistance value 82 from analog - to - digital converter 80 and calculate the resistance of resistive component 85 using ohm &# 39 ; s law . when resistance measurement circuit 78 is connected to a three - wire sensor such as sensor 20 , the method described above may be used to calculate the resistance of resistive component 87 of sensor 20 . frequency measurement circuit 76 oscillates when an inductance is connected to it . any suitable circuit for producing oscillations , such as a tank circuit , may be used in frequency measurement circuit 76 . such circuits are easily constructed by a person skilled in the art . microprocessor 36 can set the positions of relays 60 , 64 , and 70 to connect frequency measurement circuit 76 either to an inductor 84 or to both inductor 84 and sensor 10 . when connected to only inductor 84 , frequency measurement circuit 76 oscillates at a frequency determined by the inductance of inductor 84 . when connected to both inductor 84 and sensor 10 , frequency measurement circuit 76 oscillates at a frequency determined by the inductance of inductor 84 in series with the inductive component 86 of sensor 10 . when frequency measurement circuit 76 is connected to a two - wire sensor , such as sensor 10 , the value of inductor 84 should be chosen to ensure an oscillation frequency between approximately one and ten kilohertz ( khz ). however , when frequency measurement circuit 76 is connected to a three - wire sensor , such as sensor 20 , the value of inductor 84 should be chosen to ensure an oscillation frequency between approximately one and two khz because dissipative loss in such sensors increases to undesirable levels at high frequencies , as known in the art . these frequency ranges can be determined by reference to information provided by sensor manufacturers , of which the ranges provided above are exemplary . frequency measurement circuit 76 oscillates at a different frequency when only inductor 84 is connected to it than it does when both inductor 84 and sensor 10 are connected to it . frequency signal 86 has a frequency equal to the frequency at which frequency measurement circuit 76 oscillates and an amplitude that can be detected by microprocessor 36 . microprocessor 36 can measure these frequencies by monitoring frequency signal 86 and counting the number of pulses that it receives from analog - to - digital converter 80 during a sampling time , such as a few milliseconds . microprocessor 36 can then calculate the inductive component 86 of sensor 10 using the equation below . f 1 is the oscillation frequency of the circuit when both inductor 84 and sensor 10 are connected to the circuit ; and f 2 is the oscillation frequency of the circuit when only inductor 84 is connected to the circuit . in fig5 a target 88 is mounted on an aircraft cargo door 90 using a suitable target mounting bracket 91 , and sensor 10 is mounted on the door frame 92 using a suitable sensor mounting bracket 93 . when door 90 is in the closed position as shown in fig5 a rigging gap 94 exists between target 88 and the face of sensor 10 . using the calculated inductance l of sensor 10 as an index , microprocessor 36 can obtain a value corresponding to the width of rigging gap 94 from a lookup table 96 , which is stored in memory 56 . each location in lookup table 96 corresponds to an inductance value , and a gap width value is stored in that location . the relation between inductance l and gap width that is stored in lookup table 96 may be empirically determined . although microprocessor 36 may use the method described above to calculate the inductance of the inductive component 98 of sensor 20 , which is a three - wire sensor , it must perform an additional calculation before obtaining a value corresponding to the width of rigging gap 94 from a lookup table . when such a three - wire sensor is used in an aircraft , the aircraft electronics ( not shown ) use the third wire to compensate for the resistance of the wires connecting the sensor to the electronics . in the present invention , resistance measurement circuit 78 measures the resistance of resistive component 87 between terminals 12 and 14 by applying a direct current , as described above . in the same manner , it also measures the resistance of resistor 100 between terminals 14 and 26 . microprocessor 36 can then calculate a bridge ratio , r , using the equation below . f 1 is the oscillation frequency of the circuit when both inductor 84 and sensor 20 are connected to the circuit ; r 1 is the resistance of resistive component 87 of sensor 20 ; and r 2 is the resistance of resistor 100 of sensor 20 . using the bridge ratio r as an index , microprocessor 36 can obtain a value corresponding to the width of rigging gap 94 from another lookup table 102 , which is stored in memory 56 . each location in lookup table 102 corresponds to a bridge ratio , and a gap width value is stored in that location . the relation between bridge ratio and gap width that is stored in lookup table 102 may be empirically determined . in operation , an operator ( not shown ) disconnects sensor 10 from the aircraft electronics and connects the sensor to terminals 12 and 14 of the present invention . the operation of the present invention is described herein generally with respect to sensor 10 , and will only refer to sensor 20 to the extent that differences between a two - wire sensor such as sensor 10 and a three - wire sensor such as sensor 20 affect the operation . in the absence of a reference to sensor 20 , the present invention may be used in substantially the same manner with respect to both two - wire and three - wire sensors . microprocessor 36 provides a menu of operating modes and sensor types on display 40 , which may be an alphanumeric liquid crystal display ( lcd ). in fig2 the operator may use sensor - select buttons 46 and 48 to scroll forward and backward through a menu . the menu items for selecting a sensor type may consist of the part numbers that manufacturers imprint on the sensors . the operator uses button 50 to select the sensor type that matches the part number ( not shown ) on sensor 10 . the operator then uses mode - select buttons 42 and 44 to select a mode by scrolling forward and backward through a menu . the menu items include a test sensor mode , a display sensor gap mode , a display sensor resistance mode , and a display improved gap mode . the operator uses button 50 to select a mode . a special precision target tool 104 , shown in fig3 a , is used in test sensor mode and display improved gap mode . tool 104 comprises a handle 106 , a metallic target 108 , and a dielectric spacer 110 bonded together using a suitable adhesive . a similar tool 112 , shown in fig3 b , comprises a handle 114 , a metallic target 116 , and a dielectric spacer 118 . to test a sensor , the operator places dielectric spacer 110 of tool 104 , for example , against the face of sensor 10 , as shown in fig4 . holding tool 104 in place , the operator selects test sensor mode , and the microprocessor 36 measures both sensor resistance and sensor inductance . as described above , microprocessor 36 uses lookup table 96 and equation 1 if sensor 10 is under test and uses lookup table 102 and equations 1 and 2 if sensor 20 is under test . microprocessor 36 uses the selected sensor type as an index to obtain a range of resistance values from a lookup table 120 , which is stored in memory 56 . microprocessor 36 compares the measured resistance to the range of resistance values and provides a sensor failure indication on display 40 if the measured resistance exceeds the range . a single resistance value may be stored at each location in lookup table 120 , and microprocessor 36 may add and subtract a fixed tolerance from the stored resistance value to obtain upper and lower limits , respectively , for the range . if the range of resistance values is not exceeded , microprocessor 36 converts the measured inductance into a gap width value , as described above . microprocessor 36 uses the selected sensor type as an index to obtain a range of gap width values from a lookup table 124 stored in memory 56 . the range corresponds to the width 122 of dielectric spacer 110 plus or minus a fixed tolerance and may be determined with any desired precision by measuring width 122 of dielectric spacer 110 using a precision measuring device such as calipers . microprocessor 36 compares the gap width value to the range of gap width values and , if the range is exceeded , provides a sensor failure indication on display 40 . if the range is not exceeded , microprocessor 36 provides an indication on display 40 that the sensor is functioning properly . the operator may remove tool 104 after the test is completed . to measure rigging gap , the operator closes the cargo door , as shown in fig5 . the operator selects display sensor gap mode , and the present invention measures gap 94 and displays it on display 40 . as described above , microprocessor 36 uses lookup table 96 and equation 1 if sensor 10 is under test and uses lookup table 102 and equations 1 and 2 if sensor 20 is under test . in this mode , microprocessor 36 may also use the selected sensor type as an index to obtain a range of gap width values from a lookup table 124 . microprocessor 36 compares the measured gap width to the range of gap width values and provides a sensor failure indication on display 40 if the measured gap width exceeds the range . the present invention measures sensor resistance . in all operational modes , microprocessor 36 compares the measured resistance to the range of resistance values obtained from lookup table 120 and provides a sensor failure indication on display 40 if the measured resistance exceeds this range . if a sensor is determined to be functioning properly , the operator may wish the present invention to correct any measured gap width values to compensate for errors caused by stray capacitance or resistance before displaying any gap width values . the operator may use test sensor mode , as described above , to make the initial determination that sensor 10 is functioning properly . the operator then places dielectric spacer 110 of tool 104 , for example , against the face of sensor 10 , as shown in fig4 . holding tool 104 in place , the operator selects display improved gap mode , and microprocessor 36 obtains a gap width value , as described above . microprocessor 36 then calculates the arithmetic difference between this gap width value and width 122 of dielectric spacer 110 and stores the difference or &# 34 ; gap error &# 34 ; in memory 56 . the gap error will be less than the acceptable tolerance for a sensor of the type under test because the sensor is assumed to be functioning properly . in this mode , microprocessor 36 adds this stored difference to any subsequent gap measurements before displaying them on display 40 . the software may provide other modes in addition to those described above . for example , a units select mode may be used to change the units in which gap width is displayed between millimeters and inches . also , a display status mode may be used to test whether a mechanical or reed switch ( not shown ) connected to terminals 12 and 14 is in the open or closed position by measuring resistance . the present invention is preferably enclosed in a portable case 126 having a power switch 128 and is preferably powered by an internal battery ( not shown ). however , the present invention may be powered by connecting the power connector 130 to a standard electrical outlet or aircraft electrical power using a suitable cable ( not shown ). obviously , other embodiments and modifications of the present invention will occur readily to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of these teachings . therefore , this invention is to be limited only by the following claims , which include all such other embodiments and modifications when viewed in conjunction with the above specification and accompanying drawings . | 6 |
referring to fig1 - 4 , an anchor 10 according to the present invention is adapted to attach a cord 12 which forms part of a netting section 14 to a base layer 16 such as carpet or a thin plastic panel . one possible application for the invention anchor 10 is shown in fig2 where four anchors 10 are used to restrain the corners of rectangular netting section 14 to an interior rear quarter panel covered in carpeting , thereby forming a storage compartment for preventing articles from rolling or sliding around the vehicle interior . once attached to the carpet 16 , the invention anchor 10 is able to swivel freely relative to the carpet so as to adjust itself to stretching and other movement of the netting section during use . additional non - swiveling anchors 20 may be located at other points on the netting section 14 to restrain one or more edges of the netting section against the surface so that objects retained in the storage compartment are unlikely to slip out through the closed edge . the invention anchor 10 may be formed of any appropriate material and by any method , however in the preferred embodiment it is formed as a single , integrally molded piece of high - strength plastic material such as abs . the anchor 10 generally comprises a cylindrical central plug 22 , a circular upper flange 24 disposed at the top end of the plug , an attachment tab 26 extending upwardly from the upper flange and having an aperture 28 formed therethrough , and a spiral - shaped lower flange 30 disposed at the lower end of the plug . the confronting surfaces of the upper and lower flanges 24 , 30 which are oriented toward the plug 22 are preferably substantially flat and parallel with one another . in the preferred embodiment , the attachment tab 26 is generally semi - circular when viewed along the axis of the aperture 28 , and extends perpendicular to the plane of the upper flange 24 ( see fig3 ). the aperture 28 in the attachment tab 26 is of the proper diameter to allow the cord 12 to pass therethrough , as illustrated in fig2 and 6 . a pair of detent bumps 32 are formed on each side of the attachment tab 26 . the detent bumps 32 have smooth , rounded outer surfaces and project outwardly from the surface of the tab 26 by only a small amount , on the order of one millimeter . the lower flange 30 is spiral - shaped , having a minimum radius approximately equal to the radius of the plug 22 and gradually increasing to a maximum radius somewhat greater than the plug radius and the radius of the hole which the anchor 10 is designed to fit . a radially extending step 34 in the outer edge of the lower flange 30 connects the point of minimum radius and the point of maximum radius . referring to fig4 and 5 , an installation tool 36 for use with the invention anchor 10 comprises a handle portion 38 shaped to be grasped by a worker ( not shown ) and an arm 40 projecting generally perpendicularly from the handle . two upper prongs 42 a , 42 b and two lower prongs 44 a , 44 b extend from the distal end of the arm 40 . each of the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b has a hole 46 passing therethrough in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm 40 . the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b are properly configured to receive the attachment tab 26 therebetween , with the upper prongs 42 a , 42 b on one side of the attachment tab 26 and the lower prongs 44 a , 44 b on the opposite side , as seen in fig7 . as the anchor 10 is inserted between the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b , the tips of the prongs contact the respective detent bumps 32 and are forced to flex slightly outward to allow the detent bumps 32 to pass therebetween the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b then snap back inwardly as the detent bumps 32 come into alignment with the respective holes 46 in the prongs . the engagement of the detent bumps 32 with the holes 46 retains the anchor 10 in connection with the installation tool 36 . although the invention is shown with the engagement between the anchor 10 and the installation tool 36 provided by detent bumps 32 disposed on the anchor and mating holes 46 disposed on the installation tool 36 , any equivalent engagement means may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , any type , shape , or number of male or female features may be disposed on the sides of the attachment tab 26 for engagement with mating features disposed in corresponding positions on the installation tool 36 . a first gap 48 divides the two upper prongs 42 a , 42 b , and a second gap 50 divides the two lower prongs 44 a , 44 b . the gaps 48 , 50 prevent the installation tool 36 from obstructing the aperture 28 through the tab 26 when the anchor 10 is engaged with the installation tool . this allows the installation tool 36 to be snapped into engagement with an anchor 10 having a cord 12 passing through its aperture 28 , as shown in fig7 . in a preferred embodiment of the invention anchor 10 , the plug 22 has a diameter of 15 millimeters ( mm ), the upper flange 24 has a diameter of 25 mm , the lower flange 30 has a minimum radius of 7 . 5 mm and a maximum radius of 10 mm , the upper and lower flanges are spaced 5 mm apart , and the aperture 28 has a diameter of 6 mm . according to the invention method of anchoring a cord 12 to a flexible base layer 16 , a circular hole 52 is first formed in the base layer 16 . an anchor 10 for installation in the hole 52 should have a plug 22 of a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the hole , and the distance between the upper and lower flanges 24 , 30 should be approximately equal to the thickness of the base layer 16 for which the anchor is intended . the anchor 10 is inserted into engagement with the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b of the installation tool 36 . the cord 12 to be anchored may already be threaded through the aperture 28 in the attachment tab 26 , or this may be accomplished later . the worker then urges the anchor 10 against the base layer 16 directly over the hole 52 , tilting the tool 36 slightly with respect to the plane of the base layer 16 so that the point of minimum radius of the lower flange 30 is urged into the hole 52 . the worker then twists the anchor 10 approximately 90 ° in the clockwise direction , as viewed in fig7 so that the spiral lower flange 30 works its way through the hole 52 until the base layer 16 is between the upper and lower flanges 24 , 30 . as can be seen in fig7 the anchor 10 is inserted into the base layer 16 . the lower flange 30 passes from the first side 18 of the base layer 16 to the second side 19 thereof . the worker then disengages the installation tool 36 from the anchor 10 by simply pulling the tool away from the anchor , the prongs 42 a , 42 b , 44 a , 44 b flexing outwardly a small distance to allow the detent bumps 32 to escape from the holes 46 in the prongs . an alternative embodiment of the invention anchor 110 shown in fig8 is adapted for use with a clip 112 . a narrow slit 114 passes through the attachment tab 126 and communicates with the aperture 128 in the tab . the clip 112 has a similar arrangement of an aperture 112 a and slit 112 b . the anchor 110 and clip 112 may be joined and separated by aligning their respective slits 114 , 112 b . the anchor 110 is shown without any means for engaging an installation tool , but this feature may be added if desired . as is apparent from the above description , the invention provides an anchor that is easily and quickly mounted to a flexible base layer such as carpet without requiring access to the rear surface of the base layer . when installed , the invention anchor is able to freely swivel within its hole so that it is not necessary to install the anchor in any particular angular position that might be required for a given netting installation . as the cord 12 passing through the aperture 28 moves during loading and unloading of the netting storage compartment , the anchor is able to swivel in response to that movement . accordingly , the anchor maintains a secure grip on the cord , without the cord being subjected to undesired stress and / or becoming wrapped around the attachment tab 26 in a manner which would cause it to bind within the aperture 28 . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but , on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims , which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law . | 1 |
detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system , structure or manner . the invention is a computer implemented process for manuscript review . a “ manuscript ” is a set of data comprised of at least one of the following : text data , audio data , and video data . before the manuscript can be published ( either in print , electronically , or in some other form ), the publishing organization requires that the manuscript meet a certain set of criteria and / or quality level as determined by one or more reviewers . “ manuscript review ” embodies the steps involved in approving or denying the manuscript for publication based at least in part upon reviews provided by reviewers . fig2 shows a centralized computer 203 . the embodiment of the computer implemented manuscript review entails using the centralized computer 203 in communication with a distributed computer network 202 having remote terminals 201 . an author can use the remote terminals 201 to transmit the manuscript via the terminal 201 and network 202 to the centralized computer 203 via the distributed computer network 202 where it is stored into a database 204 . the remote terminal 201 preferably is a personal computer running web browser software . the distributed computer network 202 preferably is the internet . the centralized computer 203 preferably is a web server running web server software . the centralized database 204 may be a commercial software package , such as any version of access , sql server , sybase , or oracle . custom software could be used to augment the web server and database software to read and write information to the database and compose , send , and receive html web forms and screens to the remote terminals to implement the process . after the data defining the manuscript is transmitted 102 from the author to the central computer , the publishing organization can then retrieve the electronic representation 112 , 113 of the manuscript and assign it for review to one or more reviewers , 109 , 110 , 111 . the publishing organization can , optionally , assign an editor , monitoring editor , or associate editor to oversee the review process 104 , 105 , 106 , and make the final publishing approval decision . the terms “ monitoring editor ” or “ associate editor ” are used synonymously in this specification . a monitoring or associate editor normally reports to an editor of the publication . reviewers report either directly or indirectly to the monitoring / associate editor or editor of the publication . “ potential ” monitoring editor refers to a monitoring editor assigned to a manuscript that has not yet accepted or rejected the assignment . “ potential ” reviewer refers to a reviewer assigned to a manuscript who has not yet accepted or rejected the review assignment . the embodiment of the invention displays unassigned manuscripts to the editor ( or the editorial staff ) of the publication via one of the remote terminals , and the editor ( or staff ) then assign one or more of the following : monitoring editor 104 , 105 , 106 , associate editor 104 , 105 , 106 , and / or reviewers 109 , 110 , 110 . this assignment could be facilitated by a set of computerized lists and forms . another embodiment of this specific step entails automating the assignment processes so that no human intervention is required . unassigned manuscripts could be sequentially or randomly assigned to a pool of monitoring editors and / or reviewers depending on who has free time or has performed the least amount of work , etc . the terms “ free time ” and “ least amount of work ” refer to determinations based upon tracking information stored in association with an identification of each editor and reviewer in the database 204 . during and after a manuscript is assigned , the editor , monitoring editor , and / or reviewers need to receive and view the manuscript in a secure method 112 , 114 . the central computer 203 , database 204 , distributed network 202 , and remote terminals 201 preferably are used with one another to provide the secure means of delivering the manuscript to the authorized individual ( s ). authorization preferably is generates based on a set of tokens in possession of the individual who wants to view the manuscript . the tokens including one or more of the following : user &# 39 ; s name , user &# 39 ; s password , manuscript identification tag or number , and role assigned to the user for that manuscript ( e . g ., reviewer , editor , or author ). the user would transmit a set of these tokens from a remote terminal 201 across the communications network 202 to the central computer 203 to be validated by data residing in the database 204 . the manuscript data could then be retrieved from the database 204 and sent over the communications network 202 by the central computer 203 to the user operating the remote terminal 201 . this is inherently more secure than the traditional manuscript delivery processes such as mail or fax where the manuscript could be view by non - authorized intermediary individuals . a user &# 39 ; s “ role ” includes one or more of the following relationships between the manuscript and the associated person : author , editor , associate editor , reviewer , or staff member . associated with each role is a set of tasks that make up the computer implemented manuscript review . one embodiment of these roles / tasks associations include : an author can submit 102 , view 112 , 113 , and get status information for a manuscript 112 , 114 ; an editor can assign monitoring editor ( s ) 104 , 105 , 106 , assign reviewer ( s ) 109 , 110 , 111 , view 112 , 113 , approve / deny for publication 119 and get status information for a manuscript 112 , 114 ; an associate editor can assign reviewer ( s ) 108 , 110 , 111 , view 112 , 113 , approve or deny for publication 119 and get status information for a manuscript 112 , 114 ; a reviewer can view 112 , 113 , approve or deny for publication 117 , 118 and get status information for a manuscript 112 , 114 . each of the tasks can be performed at a remote terminal 201 via a distributed communications network 202 attached to the central computer 203 which stores the manuscript and event tracking information into the database 204 . one embodiment of event tracking information includes the date , time , manuscript identification , person identification , and task description . a report can be compiled by the central computer 203 using the data residing in the database 204 and displayed on the remote terminals 201 to convey important status information about the manuscript , person , and / or tasks , such as whether reviewers reviews have been received in a predetermined time period , editors inputs have been logged in a predetermined time period , whether a set of anticipated events , such as receipt of a number of reviewers reviews and editors actions occurred in a predetermined time period . automatic messages may be sent over the communications network 202 ( via e - mail ) in response to status information . for example , a message may be sent upon a status check that determines that a reviewer has not transmitted to the central computer a review in a predetermined time period . after a reviewer or monitoring editor has viewed a manuscript , they can use the remote terminal 201 attached to the distributed communications network 202 , attached to the central computer 203 and database 204 to store their publication approval or denial decision 118 . one embodiment of the system has the remote terminal display a form 117 where the reviewer can enter a decision and additional comments for subsequent storage 118 into the database 204 located on the central computer 203 . after all of the reviewers have supplied their publication approval / denial decision to the central computer , the editor ( or delegated associate editor or staff member ) can then correlate the publication decisions 119 about the specific manuscript and store a final publication approval / denial decision 120 . authorized users ( the author ) can later retrieve this decision , as they desire via the remote terminals 201 . alternatively , the decision to publish may be automated based upon a ranking of the review decisions received from the reviewers . for example , a simple majority tallying of the individual reviews associated with a manuscript can make the final publication approval / denial decision 119 . any manuscript with a positive percentage of reviews ( the actual percentage level set by the editor or publication staff ) could automatically be accepted for publication while the rest were rejected for publication . for another example , if all reviewers indicate the manuscript should be published , the system might automatically indicate that the manuscript has been approved for publishing , store the decision 120 , and send the manuscript to a printing queue or printing facility . optionally , the author of any manuscript denied for publication or “ rejected ” could be sent a notification via the distributed communications network and remote terminals of the rejection , and offered another attempt for approval upon making general or specific changes to the manuscript suggested by the reviewers . by using a central computer , distributed communications network , and remote terminals a computer implemented manuscript review is more efficient then existing manuscript review methods . the described embodiment reduces time to deliver the manuscript between parties , provides a more secure manor of delivering the manuscript , and provides for a means of tracking detailed events and tasks which have occurred relating to the manuscript . additionally , the tasks , which need to be accomplished for manuscript review , can be orchestrated by using the event / task information stored in the database on the central computer . this orchestration of tasks can be done with reduced human intervention , thus reducing human errors , manpower requirements , increasing accuracy , and reducing overall time and costs to accomplish the manuscript review . 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 included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 8 |
fig1 - 2 depict an embodiment of an arc welding technique , referred to herein as mawuo , for use in hydrocarbon oil environments . generally , mawuo is a process that utilizes an arc maintained between a wire electrode and a workpiece to generate the heat required for depositing material on the workpiece . in certain embodiments , the equipment utilized in mawuo includes a welding gun , a wire electrode , a wire feed unit , and a welding power supply . shielding gas and flux are not required to perform mawuo . referring to fig1 , a welding gun 2 is provided for welding a workpiece 6 . the welding gun 2 may be any suitable gun or torch used to carry out embodiments of the present invention . as depicted , a wire feed unit 10 draws a consumable wire electrode 14 from a reel 16 and continuously feeds the wire electrode 14 through the welding gun 2 into an arc formed between the consumable wire electrode 14 and the workpiece 6 . the wire feed unit 10 includes a feed roll and a drive motor to feed the wire electrode 14 at the speeds necessary to achieve the desired deposition rates . as illustrated in fig1 , a power supply 20 supplies power to the wire feed unit 10 and the welding gun 2 through cabling 22 . a contact tube is connected to the welding gun 2 and supplies power to the wire electrode 14 . in certain embodiments , the power supply 20 is voltage controlled to provide a constant voltage to the wire electrode 14 . to complete the deposition circuit , the workpiece 6 is connected to a ground in common with the power supply ground through cabling 22 . although not depicted , electrode selection influences the mechanical properties of the weld and is a factor of weld quality . in general , the finished weld metal should have mechanical properties similar to those of the base material with minimal defects , including discontinuities , entrained contaminants , or porosity within the weld . generally , the consumable wire electrode may be composed of a suitable metal composition appropriate for the particular welding application . as discussed previously , in some embodiments , the consumable wire electrode is a solid wire composed of an iron alloy with nickel and / or manganese . for example , in some embodiments , the consumable wire electrode comprises an iron - nickel alloy having a nickel content of at least 55 percent of the total wire chemistry by weight . in some of these embodiments , electrode wires with a classification of enife - 2 may be utilized to generate acceptable weldments . in operation , an arc is established between the consumable wire electrode 14 and the workpiece 6 by energizing the power supply 20 and feeding the electrode into direct contact with the workpiece 6 . the arc voltage between the electrode 14 and the workpiece 6 is kept substantially constant during the welding process , which means that the arc voltage varies by not more than five percent from the set point during the welding process . the arc voltage setpoint is determined based on the chosen metal transfer mode . the substantially constant voltage allows for a self - regulating welding condition in that as the arc length varies during welding , the wire melt off rate also varies to keep the arc voltage substantially constant . this allows for stable welding conditions to be maintained with uniform weld penetration and bead shape . the consumable wire electrode is fed through a welding gun contact tube into the arc and metal is transferred from the wire electrode 14 to the workpiece 6 . in certain embodiments , the linear actuator speed is within the range of about 2 to 8 inches per minute , the arc voltage is within the range of about 15 to 40 volts , the current varies within the range of about 75 to 300 amperes , and the wire feed rate is within the range of about 200 to 450 inches per minute . in some embodiments , the linear actuator speed is about 7 . 2 inches per minute , the arc voltage is between about 25 to 38 volts , and the wire feed rate is between about 200 to 400 inches per minute . referring to fig2 , another view of the arc welding technique depicted in fig1 is provided . as depicted in fig2 , a welding gun 2 and a workpiece 6 are disposed in oil 24 , and the direction of welding is proceeding from right to left . in some configurations , the oil comprises crude oil . as illustrated , the electrode wire is being fed through a contact tube 26 towards the workpiece 6 , and an arc 28 has been formed between the wire electrode 14 and the workpiece 6 . the arc 28 vaporizes the oil 24 and creates an oil vapor bubble 30 that shields the arc 28 from the hydrocarbon fluid and protects the molten weld pool 26 from fusion defects , porosity , and weld metal embrittlement . as the arc 28 moves , it carries the oil vapor bubble 30 along with it . the arc 28 also generates heat , which in turn melts the wire electrode 14 for deposition to the molten weld pool 32 . as illustrated in fig2 , molten droplets 34 are being transferred from the wire electrode 14 to the molten weld pool 32 . as the arc progresses along the workpiece 6 , the molten weld pool 32 cools , thus solidifying into a weld metal 36 . to improve welding behavior , inductance control can be adjusted to maximum inductance in order to manage short - circuiting current surge and violent transfer of material from the wire electrode 14 to the molten weld pool 32 . inductance control also assists with arc starts while welding . gradual ionization of the oil medium 6 between the electrode 14 and metal workpiece 6 sustains and stabilizes the arc 28 . the arc 28 generates heat , which produces a molten weld pool 32 and forms molten droplets 34 at the tip of the electrode 14 for deposition into the molten weld pool 32 . like any other arc fusion welding process , including gmaw , the pendant molten metal droplet at the electrode tip 38 is transferred by one of the three major transfer modes : short - circuiting , globular , or spray depending on the voltage and the wire feed rate . within the arc plasma region 28 , ionization of the different chemical species of the hydrocarbon 6 takes place . outside of the arc plasma region 28 , hydrocarbons with lower boiling temperature readily vaporize while hydrocarbons with higher boiling temperature only vaporize at a distance closer to the arc plasma region 28 . additionally , larger hydrocarbon molecules undergo decomposition into smaller molecules in the outskirts of the oil vapor bubble 30 , while smaller hydrocarbon chains generally require higher temperatures for their break up and thus decompose in regions closer to the arc to result in gases including methane ( ch 4 ) and carbon monoxide ( co ). typically , liquid hydrocarbon exists outside of the oil vapor bubble 30 . as illustrated in fig1 and 2 , in some embodiments , no external shielding agent or flux is used . rather , shielding is generated from fractionated hydrocarbons under the arc plasma region 28 . additionally , flux is not utilized in an effort to minimize the creation of contaminants , which adversely affects the quality of the hydrocarbons in an in - service pipeline , tank , or vessel . referring to fig3 , an embodiment of a pipeline pig 42 used to perform mawuo is illustrated . as depicted , the smart pig 42 is disposed within a pipe 44 and includes an outer housing 46 that houses a computer system 50 , a power supply 54 , and a welding tool for repairing a defect in a pipeline . the computer system 50 includes a memory , a processor , and a navigation system . the welding tool includes a welding gun 2 , a wire feed unit 10 , a wire electrode 14 , and a reel 16 , as discussed above in connection with fig1 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the welding gun 2 is at least partially positioned outside of the housing and is able to move in three dimensions . for example , linear actuators may be utilized to achieve the directional movement . additionally , the pig may be maneuverable to accommodate translational and rotational movement within a pipeline to assist in welding a defected section of pipe . the power supply 54 powers the welding gun 2 and the computer system 50 and , in some instances , a pump 58 . more specifically , a pump 58 may be provided that receives hydrocarbons via a pump inlet , accelerates those hydrocarbons , and expels the accelerated hydrocarbons from the pump outlet to provide thrust . wheels 62 also may be employed along the outer diameter of the pipeline pig 42 to help maintain its radial position within the pipeline , for locational control , and / or for propulsion if the wheels are driven . those with skill in the art will appreciate that additional features , including cameras or other monitoring devices , may be employed without departing from the scope of the invention . in operation , the pipeline pig of one embodiment of the present invention is sent down a pipeline that has a pipe defect . the defect may be located by a separate inspection pig , or a pig with welding capabilities may include onboard equipment that identifies the location of cracks , leaks , and other possible pipe defects . once a defect is located , a pig with onboard welding capabilities is sent to the identified location to repair the identified defects . the computer system 50 controls the movement of the pig 42 through the pipeline . for example , the computer system 50 can store the location of a defect identified in the pipeline and then use those coordinates to control the pig &# 39 ; s propulsion means to selectively position the pig in the pipeline to allow the welding tool to repair the identified defect . propulsion means include an onboard pump , controllable wheels , and other means known in the art . once at the desired location , the welding tool repairs the defect by depositing weld material onto the pipe . after the repair is completed , onboard equipment verifies that the pipe defect has been fixed . the pipeline pig is then returned to a pig catcher for retrieval . alternatively , a second diagnostic pig can be run to determine the effectiveness of the repair . referring to fig4 , another embodiment of a pipeline pig 74 used to perform mawuo is illustrated . the pipeline pig 74 includes wheels 78 and a rotatable sleeve 82 coupled to a body 86 . a pivotable lever 90 connects the wheels 78 to the body 86 , and the levers 90 are biased outwardly to bring the wheels 78 into engagement with the inside wall of the pipeline . as such , the wheels 78 abut against the inside wall of the pipe when the pig 74 is moving along the pipe to guide the pig 74 through the pipe . additionally , the wheels 78 may cause the body 86 to be positioned on or near the center axis of the pipe . the pig 74 may be driven through the pipeline under its own power . for example , the wheels 78 may be controllable and / or a pump may be used to propel the pig 74 through the pipeline . alternatively , the pig 74 may be driven through the pipeline due to a pressure differential of the product within the pipeline . for example , the pig 74 may include seals to abut against the internal surface of the pipe and act as a pressure surface for driving the pig 74 through the pipe . alternatively , the pig may be pulled through the pipe with some form of a slickline or electric line . as depicted in fig4 , a rotatable sleeve 82 is disposed on the circumference of the body 86 . in some embodiments , the rotatable sleeve 82 includes a nondestructive evaluation tool 94 , a grinding tool 98 , a machining tool 102 , and a welding tool 106 . the nondestructive evaluation tool 94 includes sensors which can detect the properties of the pipe , changes in magnetic flux paths , irregularities , etc . and thus provide an indication of the presence and size of pipe defects . for example , ultrasound or magnetic resonance measurements can be performed to determine the integrity of the pipeline wall . the grinding tool 98 cleans the defined flaw or crack area before welding . additionally , it may be necessary to clean the wall before inspecting the integrity of the pipeline wall . the grinding tool 98 may be in the form of brushes or scrapers adapted to remove deposits like mineral salts , wax , or oxides from the pipe wall . the machining tool 102 may be provided to machine a weld produced by the welding tool 106 to bring the weld parallel to the surface of the inside wall of the pipeline , thereby creating a smooth transition between the pipe and the weld material . referring to fig5 , a side elevation view of an embodiment of the rotatable sleeve 82 is depicted . as shown , a nondestructive evaluation tool 94 , a grinding tool 98 , a machining tool 102 , and a welding tool 106 are fixed on the rotatable sleeve 82 . the grinding tool 98 , the machining tool 102 , and the welding tool 106 are surrounded with boxes 110 to collect any debris generated by the rotatable sleeve 82 . for example , any spattered droplets from welding and flakes or debris from grinding and / or machining are collected in the surrounding box 110 and sucked with a pump into debris holes formed in the rotatable sleeve 82 that are designed for each of the grinding , machining , and welding tools . the box 110 surrounding the welding tool 106 also provides a static welding environment and isolation from the rest of the pipeline fluid for improving the weld environment and safety during the welding process . by fixing the tools on a rotating sleeve , embodiments of the in - situ repairing method provide more flexibility for the different tools to alternate during the repairing process . for example , the nondestructive evaluation tool may be utilized first to detect a defect in the pipe wall . after detection , the rotating sleeve 78 selectively rotates the grinding tool 98 into position to clean the affected area . then , the rotating sleeve 78 selectively rotates the welding tool 106 into position to weld the affected area . finally , the rotating sleeve 78 selectively rotates the machining tool 102 into position to machine the weld to finish the repairing process . referring to fig6 - 7 , a pig body 86 according to an embodiment of the present invention is depicted . as shown , the body 86 has lugs 114 for interconnection with pivotable levers , openings 118 provide a flow path for debris to be stored in a cavity 122 formed within the body 86 , and a central aperture 126 provides a flow path for hydrocarbons to flow through the body 86 . as illustrated , three openings 118 are provided , and each opening 118 is associated with a cavity 122 disposed within the body 86 . in some configurations , only one opening 118 and associated cavity 122 is provided . in certain embodiments , the opening 118 is in fluid communication with the debris holes formed in the rotatable sleeve 82 through an annular groove formed in the outer circumference of the body 86 or in the inner circumference of the rotatable sleeve 82 . in operation , an internal pump suctions debris into the cavity 122 to prevent the debris from contaminating the hydrocarbons flowing in the pipeline . it is contemplated that the internal cavity 122 may be associated with a filter screen and an outlet opening to allow the suctioned hydrocarbons to flow out of the cavity while entrapping the debris in the cavity 122 . the body 86 provides a flame proof and explosion proof environment for electrical equipment , which is sealed from the interior of the pipeline . additionally , the body 86 may contain the instrumentation for recording data and a battery for powering the pig and associated instrumentation . in some embodiments , the internal structure of the pig 74 may be conventional and the rotatable sleeve 82 may include the equipment necessary to operate the tools . for example , in some configurations , a reel , a wire electrode , a wire feed unit , a welding power supply , and a welding gun are disposed on or within the sleeve 82 . referring to fig8 - 9 , a pig 74 is partially disposed within a section of pipe 44 . as depicted , the wheels 78 are contacting the interior wall of the pipe 44 to guide the pig 74 along the interior of the pipe 44 . the nondestructive evaluation tool 94 , which may utilize eddy currents , is positioned near the wall of the pipe 44 to search for flaws or cracks in the pipe . once the nondestructive evaluation tool 94 detects a flaw , the rotatable sleeve 82 selectively rotates to position the appropriate tool near the flaw . controllable wheels or other propulsion means may be utilized during the grinding , machining , and welding process to provide longitudinal movement through the pipe . as illustrated , the grinding tool 98 , the machining tool 102 , and the welding tool 106 are surrounded by boxes 110 . in some configurations , only one box is provided that surrounds the grinding tool 98 , the machining tool 102 , and the welding tool 106 . shapes other than a box may be utilized . in some embodiments , the grinding tool 98 , the machining tool 102 , and the welding tool 106 extend to contact the interior surface of the pipe 44 . for example , the tools may telescope outward until the tools contact the pipe 44 . the following examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . experiments were performed to validate the process and apparatus of embodiments of the present invention . experimental mawuo welding processes were conducted inside a crude oil media to study the validity of making repairs to an in - service pipeline , tank , and vessel . the experiments assessed ( 1 ) the viability of using the hydrocarbon , i . e ., crude oil , to form the required plasma shielding for the arc during the welding process , ( 2 ) the effect of contained oxygen on the weld , ( 3 ) the effects of low oxygen diffusivity , even at elevated temperatures , and ( 4 ) fire factors inside an in - service pipeline . thus , a method of metal arc welding under oil is provided that characterizes welding parameters and also the metallurgical and mechanical effects on the weld integrity . the experiments have also revealed that many factors need to be taken into consideration when using this process to get an acceptable weld , including voltage , current , wire feed , travel speed , bead morphology , and bead dilution . it was found that the weldments were totally martensitic , e . g ., a very hard form of crystalline steel structure , when conducted using steel wire . ni — fe wires , however , showed better results in managing the hard martinsitic structure through managing the carbon and porosity . fig1 is a schematic representation of a test fixture 202 used to validate the under - oil welding technique contemplated by various embodiments of the present invention . in one experiment , a tank 206 of crude oil 210 is provided with a steel weld sample 214 positioned therein . a wire feeder 218 continuously feed a consumable electrode wire 222 through a contact tube 226 to maintain close proximity between a tip 230 of the wire electrode 222 and the test sample 214 . the contact tube 226 was interconnected to a moving arm 234 , which in turn was interconnected to linear actuators 238 and a motor driver 242 . the linear actuators 238 rested on racks 246 , and thus the linear actuators provided electrode tip 230 movement along the length and width of the tank 206 . data and additional information related to the tests conducted to validate metal arc welding under oil is provided herewith as example 1 and example 2 . the tests validated that a weld deposit can repair defects in an in - service pipeline , tank , and vessel . specifically , successful metal transfer through arc welding under a liquid of mixed hydrocarbons is achievable , and can result in weld deposits exhibiting acceptable mechanical properties . experiments were conducted according to the test setup depicted in fig1 using steel electrode wires . voltage , current , wire feed , and linear actuator speed were varied , and the resulting weldments were analyzed to determine if the weld properties met aws standards . the parameters are summarized in the following table . based on the above parameters , weld samples 8 and 15 were acceptable welds . however , in general , the welds made using er70s - 6 grade filler wire showed a high carbon percentage , a high porosity , and a high hardness . experiments also were conducted according to the test setup depicted in fig1 using a nickel alloy electrode wire . voltage , current , wire feed , and linear actuator speed were varied , and the resulting weldments were analyzed to determine if the weld properties met aws standards . the experiments are summarized in the following table . based on the above parameters , weld samples 12 and 13 were acceptable welds . additionally , in general , the welds made using the enife - 2 grade filler wire showed a lower porosity and a lower hardness than the er70s - 6 grade filler wire . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art . however , it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention , as set forth in the following claims . further , the invention ( s ) described herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways . in addition , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . | 1 |
a4 androstenedione adf androgen - dominant follicles allopregn allopregnalone andr androgen auc area under curve cv coefficient of variation dhea dehydroepiandrostenedione 11dc 11 deoxycortisol e cortisone e1 estrone e2 estradiol e3 estriol edf estrogen - dominant follicles esi electrospray ionization estr estrogens f cortisol ff follicular fluid gc - ms gas chromatography mass spectrometry 17ohp 17 - hydroxyprogesterone 17ohpregn 17 - hydroxypregnenolone hplc high performance liquid chromatography hsd hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase ia immunoassay is internal standard ivf in - vitro fertilization lc - ms / ms liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry mrm multiple reaction monitoring m / z mass to charge ratio pregn pregnenolone prog progesterone pcos polycystic ovary syndrome ria radioimmunoassay rm regularly menstruating roc receiver operating characteristic sd standard deviation shbg sex hormone binding globulin te testosterone as used herein and in the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . for example , reference to “ a steroid ” includes a plurality of such steroids , and reference to the “ a steroid profile ” is a reference to one or more profiles , and so forth . as used herein , “ comprising ,” “ including ,” “ having ,” “ containing ,” “ characterized by ,” and grammatical equivalents thereof , are inclusive or open - ended terms that do not exclude additional , unrecited elements or method steps , but also include the more restrictive terms “ consisting of ” and “ consisting essentially of .” as used herein , “ successful pregnancy ” or “ viable pregnancy ” means the successful implantation of a fertilized ovum such that fetal development and birth are likely to result . as used herein , “ outcome ,” when used in association with “ in vitro fertilization ,” is inclusive of both viability of an oocyte and non - viability of an oocyte for in vitro fertilization . as used herein , “ successful outcome of in vitro fertilization ” means successful fertilization of an ovum that is suitable for implantation and intrauterine development . during the last decade , tandem mass spectrometry has become the method of choice for analyzing endogenous steroids . the methods used herein allow accurate quantitation of thirteen steroids from 40 μl of ff . analysis of these steroids using ia - based methods would require at least a few milliliters of ff , which is a sample size that is unrealistic for follicles during early follicular stage of the menstrual cycle or for follicles of women with pcos . in addition there are some pitfalls associated with use of immunoassays for analyzing ff samples . compared to serum , ff has significantly higher concentrations of some of the steroids , and the difference in concentrations may cause cross - reactivity that is not observed in the serum samples ( for which ia are typically validated ). another pitfall is related to the need of reducing the concentration of steroids into the range measurable by the ia by diluting the ff . the characteristics of the diluents could alter the binding of proteins thus affecting the observed concentrations in methods not including extraction steps prior to ia . the above problems are not relevant to the mass spectrometry - based methods . methods for the analysis of steroid patterns in ff samples from rm women twenty - one regularly menstruating ( rm ) women of caucasian decent were recruited for the study . the women attended the hospital for laparoscopic treatment of infertility presumably caused by pelvic adhesions . all women had regular cycles and normal ovaries on pelvic ultrasound examination , were in good general health and had not taken hormonal medication or oral contraceptives during the last three months before inclusion in the study . the study was approved by the ethics committees in donetsk state medical university ( ukraine ) and in uppsala university ( sweden ). in rm women , ff samples were obtained between days 4 and 7 of the follicular phase of a cycle during laparoscopic adhesiolysis . ff aspirated from ovarian follicles ( 5 - 8 mm diameter ) was pooled within each subject and centrifuged . size of the follicles was measured by transvaginal ultrasonography performed during laparoscopic adhesiolysis . the samples were transferred in microcentrifuge tubes and stored at − 70 ° c . until analysis . clinical and anthropometrics characteristics of participating women are listed in table 1 , below . testosterone ( te ), estrone ( e1 ), 17βe2 , 17αe2 , estriol ( e3 ), pregnenolone ( pregn ), 17 hydroxypregnenolone ( 17 - ohpregn ), 17 hydroxyprogesterone ( 17ohp ), 11 deoxycortisol ( 11dc ), cortisol ( f ), cortisone ( e ), progesterone ( prog ), allopregnalone ( allopregn ), hydroxylamine , formic acid , trifluoroacetic acid , dansyl chloride and sodium carbonate were purchased from sigma chemical company ( st . louis , mo .). androstenedione ( a4 ), dehydroepi - androsterone ( dhea ), dihydrotestosterone ( dht ) and androstanedione ( a ) were purchased from steraloids inc . ( newport , r . i .). the internal standards ( is ) were deuterium labeled analogs of the steroids d 3 - te , d 3 - pregn , d 2 - 11dc , d 8 - 17ohp , d 3 - 17ohpregn , d 4 - f , d 3 - e ( cambridge isotope laboratories , andover , mass . ); and d 4 - e1 , d 3 - e2 , d 3 - e3 and d 4 allopregn ( cdn isotopes , toronto , on ). methanol , acetonitrile , and methyl - tert - butyl ether ( mtbe ) were all hplc grade from vwr ( west chester , pa .). all other chemicals were of the highest purity commercially available . concentrations of all steroids in ff were determined using lc - ms / ms based methods ( 20 - 25 ). estrogens were analyzed as dansyl derivatives ( 23 , 24 ); ketosteroids were analyzed as oxime derivatives ( 21 - 22 ), cortisol and cortisone were analyzed as non - derivatized ( 20 ). the hplc system consisted of series 1200 hplc pumps ( agilent , santa clare , calif . ); a 10 - port switching valve , a vacuum degasser and an autosampler htc pal ( leap technologies , n c ) equipped with a fast wash station . an api 4000 ( applied biosystems / mds sciex ) tandem mass spectrometer was used in the positive ion mode with a turboionspray ™ ion source . sample preparation , chromatographic separation conditions , and mass transitions used in the methods have been previously described ( 20 - 25 ) and are summarized in table 2 , below . the quadrupoles q1 and q3 were tuned to unit resolution and the mass spectrometer conditions were optimized for maximum signal intensity of each steroid . two mass transitions were monitored for each steroid and the steroid &# 39 ; s is . concentrations of each steroid were determined using the primary mass transitions ; specificity of the analysis for each steroid in every sample was evaluated by comparing concentrations determined using the primary and secondary mass transitions of each steroid and the steroid &# 39 ; s is ( 26 ). quantitative data analysis was performed using analyst ™ 1 . 4 . 2 software ( applied biosystems / mds sciex ). the assays showed within - run variation of less than 10 % and between - run variation of less than 12 %. calibration curves were generated with every set of samples using six calibration standards ; three quality control samples were included with every set of samples . concentrations of steroids in ff fluid of women after ovarian stimulation , obtained using lc - ms / ms methods , were compared to values observed in three studies ( 13 - 16 ) using ia methods and one study using liquid chromatography followed by spectrophotometric detection ( 14 ). the comparison of steroid concentrations is shown in table 3 , below . values obtained by lc - ms / ms methods were usually lower , and in some cases were considerably lower than those obtained by the other techniques , especially for testosterone ( e . g ., up to 18 - fold difference ). these differences are likely due to cross - reactivity of ia methods intended for performing measurements in specific matrices ( i . e ., serum ) rather than in ff , and suggest the necessity of using highly specific methods for performing measurements of steroids in ff samples . the distribution pattern of steroid concentrations in androgen - dominant follicles ( n = 13 ) and estrogen dominant follicles ( n = 8 ) was also analyzed , as illustrated in fig2 a and fig2 b . androgen - dominant follicles ( adf ) were defined as having an e2 / te ratio & lt ; 4 , and estrogen - dominant follicles ( edf ) were defined as follicles with the e2 / te ratio & gt ; 4 ( 26 ). steroids for which significant differences were demonstrated between adf and edf are given in table 4 , below . compared to adf , edf had significantly higher concentration of e2 , significantly higher e2 / e1 - ratio and significantly lower concentrations of a4 and te , ( table 4 ). in adf , a4 was the dominating steroid ( 56 . 4 %), followed by 17 - ohp and dhea . in edf , a4 was also the dominating steroid ( 30 . 8 %), followed by 17 - ohp and e2 ( fig2 ). study subjects were recruited and investigated at the donetsk regional center of mother and child care , donetsk , ukraine . ff from 27 women with pcos and 21 regularly cycling women without pcos were included in this study . the diagnosis of pcos was based on amenorrhea or oligomenorrhea (& lt ; 10 cycles per year ), a characteristic ovarian image on ultrasound examination 10 small follicles per plane , in association with a marked ovarian stroma ) ( 27 ). hirsutism , was assessed by a modified version of the protocol used by ferriman and gallwey ( 28 ) and women with a score of & gt ; 8 were considered clinically hirsute . bmi was calculated as weight ( kg ) divided by height ( m ) squared . all the ultrasound examinations were performed transabdominally or transvaginally ( 3 . 5 and 5 mhz sector probe , respectively ; kranzbithler gmbh , germany ). the pcos patients were treated for infertility by ovarian wedge resection and ff was collected during that surgery . control subjects were women with infertility presumably caused by pelvic adhesions . these women had regular menstrual cycles and normal ovaries on pelvic ultrasound examination . all subjects were in good general health and had not taken hormonal medication or oral contraceptives during the preceding three months prior to inclusion in the study . ultrasound images from women diagnosed with pcos and controls were blindly evaluated by two independent swedish gynecological ultrasound experts . sampling was performed between days 3 and 7 in the follicular phase in rm women ( controls ) and at any day in oligo -/ amenorrheic patients . ff from women diagnosed with pcos and ff from follicles having a diameter of 5 - 8 mm in control women were pooled within each subject and centrifuged . follicle size was measured by transvaginal ultrasonography performed during laparoscopic surgery ( wedge resection for pcos women ) or adhesiolysis ( controls ). the samples were kept frozen at below − 20 ° c . until used for analysis . the reagents and standards for ff analysis were the same as described in example 1 , above . likewise , the lc - ms / ms methods were the same as described above in example 1 . baseline comparisons between the study groups ( pcos and rm women ) were assessed using non - parametric wilcoxon two - group tests for continuous variables and chi - square test . associations between variables were accessed using the spearman rank correlation test . multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the putative independent effects of measured hormones and product / precursor ratios ( enzyme activities ) with regard to presence of pcos . receiver operating characteristic ( roc ) curves , were plotted for evaluation of steroids biomarkers of pcos in ff samples . for every statistically significant result cited , the p value was less than 0 . 05 , unless otherwise specified . statistical analyses were performed using the jmp software ( sas institute inc ., nc , usa ). values of steroid concentrations and the ratios of steroid concentration are expressed as median and range , unless otherwise stated . clinical data and hormone concentrations for individual study participants are given in table 6 , below . table 7 anthropometric and reproductive characteristics of pcos women and rm women of fertile age . pcos control ( n = 27 ) ( n = 21 ) mean ± sd mean ± sd variable median [ range ] median [ range ] age ( years ) 25 ± 3 . 5 #, b 28 ± 3 . 2 ## height ( cm ) 164 ± 6 . 4 165 ± 6 . 2 weight ( kg ) 73 . 5 ± 14 . 9 64 . 8 ± 10 . 4 bmi ( kg / m 2 ) 27 . 2 ± 5 . 2 b 23 . 9 ± 3 . 8 parity ( n ) 1 . 4 ± 0 . 9 2 . 1 ± 1 . 7 average number of menstrual cycles 6 / 12 [ 0 - 9 ] 12 / 12 during last 12 months menstrual cycle day of follicular fluid na 6 [ 4 - 7 ] sampling menstrual cycle length ( days ) na 28 [ 21 - 32 ] serum shbg ( nmol / l ) 42 . 8 ± 31 67 . 0 ± 27 hirsutism index ### 9 [ 6 - 24 ] c 3 [ 1 - 8 ] serum testosterone ( nmol / l ) 2 . 69 ± 1 . 2 b 1 . 6 ± 0 . 7 serum t / shbg 0 . 11 ± 0 . 2 c 0 . 03 ± 0 . 02 current smokers ( n ) 9 / 27 9 / 21 # range : 21 - 34 years ; ## range : 19 - 32 years ; ### modified ferriman and gallwey scale ; a p & lt ; 0 . 05 , b p & lt ; 0 . 01 , c p & lt ; 0 . 001 fig3 shows pie diagrams of distribution of median concentrations of measured steroids in ff of rm women ( a ) and ff of women diagnosed with pcos ( b ). in ff from women diagnosed with pcos , as compared to ff from rm women , concentrations of total androgens were significantly higher ( p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ), whereas concentrations of total estrogens ( p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) and the ratio of total - estr / total - andr ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) were significantly lower . all of these tests remained statistically significant after adjustment for differences in bmi , as set forth in table 8 , below . in addition , in ff of women diagnosed with pcos , concentrations of 11 deoxycortisol , dhea , 17 hydroxypregnenolone , androstenedione , testosterone , androstandione , cortisol and cortisone were significantly higher and concentrations of e1 , e2 and e3 were significantly lower compared to samples from rm women ( table 8 ). in pcos women , bmi was negatively associated with ff concentrations of total estrogens ( r =− 0 . 53 ; p = 0 . 006 ), 17ohprog ; (− 0 . 40 ; 0 . 04 ), and e2 (− 0 . 57 ; 0 . 003 ) and marginally associated with e2 / e1 ratio (− 0 . 38 ; 0 . 056 ). hirsutism index was positively associated with ff concentrations of te ( 0 . 51 ; 0 . 006 ). in regularly menstruating women , bmi was negatively associated with concentration of pregn (− 0 . 51 ; 0 . 018 ). among the three estrogens tested , e1 was strongly associated with the presence pcos . when tested alone , e1 yielded auc = 0 . 77 ; p = 0 . 009 . the association was even stronger than for the total concentration of estrogens . among the pregnenolones tested , 17ohpregn had the strongest , significant and independent association with pcos ( p = 0 . 0491 ), followed by pregn ( p = 0 . 061 ), 17ohpregn ( auc = 0 . 84 ; p = 0 . 0007 ) and total andr ( auc = 0 . 84 ; p = 0 . 0010 ). when evaluated in the same model , e1 and 17ohpregn yielded an auc of 0 . 95 , and both steroids had significant independent effects , although it was stronger for 17ohpregn ; p = 0 . 031 and p = 0 . 0026 , respectively . total andr and total estr , when included in the same model , yielded an auc = 0 . 87 ; both being independent predictors but a stronger relationship was observed for total andr , p = 0 . 0044 and p = 0 . 044 , respectively . fig4 shows examples of roc curves for potential steroid biomarkers of pcos identified herein ( only markers with auc & gt ; 0 . 75 are shown ). the greatest sensitivity and specificity out of the identified potential biomarkers was the ratio of 17ohpregn / pregn , followed by concentrations of dhea , 17ohpregn , androstanedione , the ratio of total estrogens / total androgens and the concentration of estrone . the predictive ability of the biomarkers for determination of pcos improves when they are used in combination . thus , the invention includes use of individual biomarkers , ratios of concentrations of the steroid biomarkers , and all combinations of the steroid biomarkers . comparison of the product / precursor ratios , as markers of the enzyme activities in the ovarian follicles , as shown in table 9 , below , showed that women with pcos had a higher activity of cyp17 - linked enzymes , favoring higher concentrations of 17ohpregn and a4 . in addition , ratios of e1 / a4 and e2 / te were five times and 3 times lower , respectively , in pcos women , indicating a reduced ovarian activity of cyp19 - linked enzymes ( aromatase ). when six product / precursor ratios , illustrating enzyme activities in the pathway of steroid biosynthesis ( fig1 ) were evaluated simultaneously , the auc reached 0 . 99 . however , the only significant and independent ratio was 17ohpregn / preg , p = 0 . 021 . when evaluated alone , 17ohpregn / pregn yielded auc = 0 . 95 , p = 0 . 0027 . the optimal cut - off value for the 17ohpregn / pregn ratio was found to be 0 . 89 and yielded a sensitivity of 89 % and a specificity of 90 %. when e1 / a4 ( cyp19 ) and 17ohpregn / pregn ( cyp 17 ) were included in the same model , the auc = 0 . 96 . however , only the 17ohpregn / pregn ratio had an independent effect ( p = 0 . 019 ), suggesting the strong impact of increased cyp17 activity in ff of the pcos patients . in roc analysis , the highest values of auc were found for 17ohpregn / pregn , a4 / 17ohprog , total andr , dhea , a4 and the ratio of total andr / total estr , all pointing to higher activity of cyp 17 and a lower activity of cyp 19 in women diagnosed with pcos as compared to women without pcos . the distribution of concentrations ( table 8 ), product / precursor ratios ( table 9 ) and the roc analysis suggest higher activity of the enzyme cyp 17 and a lower activity of the enzyme cyp19 ( aromatase ) in women diagnosed with pcos . the results of the present study favor the hypothesis of a reduced activity / inhibition of aromatase enzyme in the ovaries of pcos women compared with rm women . the present data also indicates a strong influence of increased cyp17 activity leading to increasing concentrations of ff androgens . analysis of steroid profiles in ovarian ff following ovarian stimulation in women undergoing ivf treatment follicular fluid was sampled from patients attending ivf treatment at uppsala university hospital ( uppsala , sweden ). reasons for infertility in these patients included male factor infertility , tubal factor infertility , non - ovarian endometriosis and unexplained infertility . most currently , the treatment protocol consists of pituitary down - regulation by gnrh analog ( suprecur : sanofi - avensis ) employing the “ long ” protocol initiated at the mid - luteal phase ( 1200 micrograms / day , intranasal administration ). recombinant fsh ( puregon : schering - plough ) was injected daily ( 100 - 450iu / day ) starting on cycle day 3 ( subcutaneous injection ). dose adjustment was performed , when necessary , from cycle day 7 . human chorionic gonadotropin ( hcg ) ( pregnyl : schering - plough ), 10 , 000 iu , was administered when one or more follicles reached a diameter of & gt ; 17 mm , additional details and modifications being included in table 10 . transvaginal oocyte retrieval was performed under ultrasound guidance 36 - 38 hours after hcg administration . follicles larger than 15 mm in diameter were aspirated . ff samples were kept frozen at − 20 ° c . until analysis . the reagents and standards for follicular fluid analysis were the same as described previously in example i . likewise , the lc - ms / ms methods for this aspect of the invention were the same as previously described in example i . thirteen subjects had a positive outcome ( viable fetus by ultrasound and delivered babies ) following ivf treatment , while the remaining 33 subjects had a negative outcome . negative outcomes included failure to become pregnant ( 29 subjects ) and spontaneous abortion following a positive pregnancy test ( 4 subjects ). stimulation protocols and ivf methodology did not correlate with outcome ( data not shown ). table 10 , below , shows information on the participants and the treatments . table 11 shows concentrations of steroids in ff samples of women undergoing ivf treatment , and ratios of concentrations of the steroids and ivf outcome . fig5 - 8 show graphical representations of observed values for steroid concentrations associated with both positive and negative ivf outcomes . median values for concentrations of steroids and ratios were grouped for the subjects based on the outcomes ( viable pregnancy vs . no viable pregnancy ), along with the central 90th percentile of these values , as shown in table 12 , below . the percent difference between the 5th percentile and 95th percentile values associated with each group were also determined . this analysis reveals differences in the distribution of the values for specific analytes between the groups . in comparison to the group with viable pregnancies , negative outcomes were associated with an altered distribution of steroid concentration . steroids for which 95th percentile values were markedly elevated by approximately 50 % or more in the group with no viable pregnancy , compared with those with viable pregnancy , were 17 - oh progesterone , 17 - oh pregnenolone , pregnenolone and total pregnenolones ( pregnenolone and 17 - oh pregnenolone ), indicating that higher concentrations of these steroids in ff may serve as markers predictive of a decreased probability of viable pregnancy . analytes for which 5th percentile values were decreased by 20 % or more in the group with no viable pregnancy , compared with those with viable pregnancy , were e1 , e2 , e3 , dhea , a4 , cortisol , cortisone , total estrogens ( estrone , estradiol and estrone ), and total glucocorticoids ( cortisol , cortisone ). the 95th percentile values for a4 and total androgens ( a4 , dhea , and te ) were also markedly decreased in this group . thus , lower concentrations of one or more of these steroids in ff may also be an indicator of a decreased likelihood of viable pregnancy . for some analytes , particularly hydroxyprogesterone ( a chromatographic peak which eluted at relative retention times of 0 . 89 relative to progesterone and 1 . 15 relative to 17 - hydroxyprogesterone and possessing the same characteristic mass transitions as progesterone and 17 - hydroxyprogesterone ), 11dc , estrone , pregnenolone , androstenedione , total andr , as well as the ratio 17oh - pregnenolone / pregnenolone and the ratio estradiol / estrone , it appears that both elevated and lowered values are associated with a decreased likelihood of viable pregnancy . to determine the frequency of the steroid levels occurring outside of the distribution of the values observed in the group with no viable pregnancies compared to the viable pregnancy group , data were evaluated as follows : the minimum and maximum observed values for concentration of each steroid or ratios of concentrations of steroids in the group with viable pregnancies were determined , and the number of samples from the group with no viable pregnancy which fell outside of this range , were calculated , as shown in table 13 , below . values from the group with no viable pregnancy which were above the maximum values seen in the group with viable pregnancy were designated “ out of range high ”, and those which were below the minimum values were designated “ out of range low .” a chi - square test was performed to determine statistical significance of the findings . the results of this analysis suggest that elevated concentrations of 17 - oh progesterone , pregnenolone , 17 - oh pregnenolone , and total pregnenolones in ff are significantly less likely to be associated with a viable pregnancy , as illustrated in table 14 , below . lower concentrations of e2 , e3 , a4 , hydroxyprogesterone , 17 - ohprog , 11 - dc , e and total androgens and total estrogens in ff are also significantly less likely to be associated with a viable pregnancy , as suggested in table 15 , below . in addition , elevated ratios of 17 - oh pregnenolone / pregnenolone and a lowered ratio of 17 - oh progesterone / pregnenolone also appear to be indicative of a decreased likelihood of viable pregnancy . the invention thus provides analytical means for determining the viability of oocytes for ivf based on analyzing follicular fluid samples and determining steroid profiles therefrom . the invention also provides means for determining which oocytes are unlikely to produce favorable ivf outcomes , thereby enabling the determination of the usefulness of such oocytes for stem cell protocols . several distinct profiles of steroid distribution in ff were observed within the group of samples from women who did not become pregnant , as shown in fig9 . one group is characterized by an elevated concentration of pregn and its immediate metabolites , 17ohpreg and 17ohp ( profile 1 ). this profile appears to indicate an enhanced rate of steroidogenesis coupled with a deficiency in the activity of the enzymes required for biosynthesis of sex steroids . subjects who exhibited higher concentrations of pregnenolone and its metabolites in ff were also likely to have elevated concentration of 11 - dc . this profile is characterized by lower activity of enzymes cyp 11 , cyp17 , 17βhsd , cyp 19 , and 3βhsd , as shown in table 15 , below . another distinct steroid profile observed in ff of women who did not become pregnant was associated with reduced concentrations of the progestines , sex steroids 11 - dc and e ( profile 2 ). this profile is characterized by lower activity of the enzymes cyp17 , 3βhsd , cyp21 , increased activity of the enzymes cyp11 and cyp19 . ratios of concentrations of the steroids which indicate these changes in enzyme activities are shown in table 16 . the invention provides novel descriptions of steroid concentrations in ff from women diagnosed with pcos and from regularly menstruating women , thereby providing means for determining the underlying causes in more detail . simultaneous measurement of multiple steroids provides a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and processes involved in the regulation of the menstrual cycle , ovulation and anovulation . in addition , the invention provides diagnostic and / or prognostic methods that allow for the tailoring and fine - tuning of ivf regimens to reach the goal of successful ovulation and pregnancy . the invention provides a panel of laboratory tests that provide a diagnostic test for pcos and related conditions or diseases relating to ovarian function , such as hyperandrogenism , reproductive abnormalities , infertility , menstrual disorders , anovulation , and can be useful for identification of the underlying deficiencies in ovarian function which are the cause of these and similar conditions . the invention also provides a diagnostic and / or prognostic test that may be used to refine stimulation regimens during fertility treatment , such as ivf , for selecting oocytes having a higher probability of achieving viable pregnancy , as well as for selecting oocytes which have low probability of achieving viable pregnancy , and , therefore , can be used for other purposes , such as production of embryonic stem cells for research or therapy . the invention further provides a method of analyzing the output or affect of potential drug candidates on ovarian function . while this invention has been described in certain embodiments , the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure . this application is therefore intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention using its general principles . further , this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims . all references , including publications , patents , and patent applications , cited herein , and contained in the following list , are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein . 1 . speroff l , et al . ( 1999 ), chapter 6 : regulation of the menstrual cycle . in : mitchell c , editor . clinical gynecologic endocrinology and infertility . 6th ed . philadelphia , pa . : lippincott williams & amp ; wilkins ; 202 - 246 . 2 . brailly s , et al . ( 1981 ), androgens and progestins in the human ovarian follicle : differences in the evolution of preovulatory , healthy nonovulatory , and atretic follicles j . clin . endocrinol . metab 53 : 128 - 134 . 3 . itskovitz j , et al . ( 1991 ), relationship of follicular fluid prorenin to oocyte maturation , steroid levels , and outcome of in vitro fertilization j . clin . endocrinol . metab 72 : 165 - 171 . 4 . van dessel hjhm , et al . ( 1996 ), normal human follicle development : and evaluation of correlations with oestradiol , androstenedione and progesterone levels in individual follicles . clin endocrinol ( oxf ) 44 : 191 - 198 . 5 . franks s , ( 1989 ), polycystic ovary syndrome : a changing perspective . clin endocrinol ( oxf ), 31 ( 1 ): 87 - 120 . 6 . hillier s g , et al . ( 1980 ), intraovarian sex steroid hormone interactions and the regulation of follicular maturation : aromatization of androgens by human granulosa cells in vitro . j clin endocrinol metab , 50 ( 4 ): 640 - 647 . 7 . hillier s g , et al . ( 1981 ), control of preovulatory follicular estrogen biosynthesis in the human ovary . j clin endocrinol metab , 52 ( 5 ): 847 - 856 . 8 . lewicka s , et al . ( 2003 ), cortisol and cortisone in human follicular fluid and serum and the outcome of ivf treatment . hum reprod . 18 : 1613 - 7 . 9 . michael , a e , et al . ( 1999 ) relationship between ovarian cortisol : cortisone ratios and the clinical outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer ( ivf - et ). clin endocrinol 51 : 535 - 40 . 10 . andersen c y et al . ( 1999 ), assessment of the follicular cortisol : cortisone ratio . hum reprod . 14 : 1562 - 8 . 11 . basuray r , et al . ( 1988 ) high progesterone / estradiol ratio in follicular fluid at oocyte aspiration for in vitro fertilization as a predictor of possible pregnancy . fertil steril . 49 : 1007 - 11 . 12 . franchimont p , et al . ( 1989 ) correlation between follicular fluid content and the result of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer . i . sex steroids . fertil steril . 52 : 1006 - 11 13 . andersen c y , et al . ( 1993 ) characteristics of human follicular fluid associated with successful conception after in vitro fertilization . j clin endocrinol metab . 77 : 1227 - 34 . 14 . de sutter p , et al . 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( 2006 ), performance characteristics of a novel tandem mass spectrometry assay for serum testosterone . clin chem , 52 ( 1 ): 120 - 128 . 23 . kushnir m m , et al . ( 2008 ), a tandem mass spectrometry assay for estrone and estradiol in serum of postmenopausal women , men and children . american j clin path , 129 : 530 - 539 . 24 . m m kushnir , et al . ( 2007 ), high sensitivity tandem mass spectrometry test for serum estrogens . clin chem 53 : a183 . 25 . kushnir m m , et al . ( 2008 ), steroid profiles in ovarian follicular fluid from regularly menstruating women and from women after ovarian stimulation . clin . chem 55 : 519 - 526 . 26 . kushnir m m , et al . 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the following specific embodiments of the present invention and as described within the specification herein are for illustrative purposes only . various deviations and modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention without departing from the main theme thereof . as shown in fig1 , a climbing tree stand is provided in accordance with the present invention as comprising a seat platform 10 and a foot platform 22 . each of the seat platform 10 and the foot platform 22 are illustrated as being operatively connected , respectively , with flexible cable components 18 and 24 , in accordance with the present invention for replacing the flexible belts and chains of the prior art or a rigid back bar . the platforms can be manipulated to climb as described within the background section above and in a similar manner as those of the prior art . for example , u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 986 , 404 ; 6 , 308 , 800 ; 5 , 234 , 077 and publication no . 2010 / 126803 shown climbing tree stands , the entire contents of each being fully incorporated herein by reference . by the present invention , instead of sliding a roller chain , flexible belt , rigid back bar , or cable along a tree bark surface , the flexible cable components 18 and 24 of the present invention are used . the flexible cable components 18 and 24 advantageously can be controllably flexible within a plane and can provide sufficient strength for supporting the platforms 10 and 22 along with a user &# 39 ; s weight . the flexibility of each flexible component 18 and 24 preferably allows the flexible components to wrap around trees of a range of sizes . moreover , by the design of such flexible components 18 and 24 of the present invention , described below , the flexible components 18 and 24 slide more easily up and down a tree &# 39 ; s bark surface as the components can slide along the uneven surfaces of tree bark . also advantageously , the flexible components 18 and 24 of the present invention are designed to hold their shape when an upward force is provided to a platform 10 or 22 so that the flexible component 18 or 24 , respectively , is moved along the tree surface along with the platform while maintaining their shape and the angle of attachment to the platforms 10 and 22 . maintaining this angle of attachment is important to providing adequate support without downward sliding of the platform . the angle of the extension of the flexible components 18 and 24 with respect to the respective platform 10 or 22 is preferably determined based upon the ability to support the platforms 10 and 22 is position based upon a downward force as applied to the platforms 10 , 22 . maintaining that angle during repositioning steps of the platforms 10 , 22 is advantageous to a smooth climbing operation . fig3 shows an embodiment of the present invention for a construction of the seat platform 10 onto which a flexible seat 11 ( see fig1 ), as known , can be supported to the platform 10 . any seat shape and construction is contemplated , although it is preferable that the seat 11 be collapsible along with each of the platforms 10 and 22 for storage and transport . in the illustrated construction , arms 12 and 14 are pivotally connected to the sides of the platform 10 by brackets 13 and 15 , respectively . the arms 12 and 14 could instead be fixed in position to the seat platform 10 if collapsibility of the platform components is not desired . a support 16 connects between a point 17 of the seat platform and points 19 and 21 of the arms 12 and 14 , respectively for fixing the arms 12 and 14 at a desired angular relationship to the platform 10 . this angle also facilitates the preferred angle for the flexible component 18 to adjustably extend from the arms 12 and 14 . the construction of the support 16 and connection points 17 , 19 and 21 , respectively , with the seat platform 10 and arms 12 and 14 can be varied . the purpose of the support 16 is to fix the arms 12 and 14 at a preferred angle with respect to the seat platform 10 . the connections at points 19 and 21 can be selectively coupled or uncoupled or they can be permanently fixed depending on whether it is desired for the platform 10 and arms 12 and 14 to be collapsible or not . conventional connectors are illustrated for the connection points of the platform 10 , brackets 13 and 15 , the support 16 and the arms 12 and 14 . these connections are preferably removable to allow collapse of the components to one another . quick connect and disconnect pins or the like are also contemplated for easy set up and collapse . for example , a threaded knob 23 is shown in fig3 for securing the support 16 to the platform 10 at connection point 17 . the knob 23 allows a user to easily disconnect the support 16 from the platform 10 and the pivotal connections to the arms at 19 and 21 and to the platform 10 at brackets 13 and 15 then allow the support arms 12 and 14 and the support 16 to collapse to the platform 10 . seat platform 10 also preferably is shaped at one end thereof for tree engagement . preferably , the platform 10 is shaped in that portion to partially encircle or surround a tree during use . to facilitate gripping of the platform 10 with a tree , tree engagement elements 25 are preferably positioned along the tree engagement end of the platform 10 , which elements can comprise a plate having a series of tree engaging spikes . the tree engagement elements can comprise other known or developed designs , the purpose of which is to dig into the tree bark when a downward force is applied to the seat platform 10 during climbing and in use . fig2 illustrates a connection at 21 between the support 16 and a top portion of the arm 14 . the end of the arm 14 preferably includes a receiver opening for a passage 26 ( see fig7 ) that extends within and along the arm 14 into which a portion of a flexible component 18 of the present invention can slide . this connection allows a spring loaded pin 20 to insert into any selected opening 27 as are provided along the flexible component 18 for adjustability of the flexible component 18 around trees of different sizes . a user can pull the pin 20 against a spring force , as such spring loaded pins are known , and slide the flexible component 18 to a desired position within the passage of the arm 14 and then release the pin so that the spring bias locates the pin 20 within the selected opening 27 of the flexible component 18 . one end of the cable 18 is preferably connected to an end of the arm 12 , such as by a conventional bolt and nut assembly . the other end of the cable 18 is preferably fed within an internal space extending longitudinally within the arm 14 . as above , this end of the cable is connected to the arm 14 by selective activation and positioning of a spring loaded pin 20 . the cable 18 is preferably of a sufficient length to accommodate a variety of tree sizes , which can be varied for different products . the foot platform 22 can be similarly constructed . referring to fig4 , a construction of the foot platform 22 is shown . the foot platform is shown as including a frame 28 and a plurality of fixed slats 30 . other configurations are contemplated . in the illustrated construction , arms 32 and 34 are pivotally connected to the sides of the platform 22 by brackets 33 and 35 , respectively . the arms 32 and 34 could instead be fixed in position to the seat platform 22 if collapsibility of the platform components is not desired . a support 36 connects between a point 37 of the foot platform 22 and points 39 and 41 of the arms 32 and 34 , respectively for fixing the arms 32 and 34 at a desired angular relationship to the platform 22 . this angle also facilitates the preferred angle for the flexible component 24 to adjustably extend from the arms 32 and 34 . the construction of the support 36 and connection points 37 , 39 and 41 , respectively , with the seat platform 22 and arms 32 and 34 can be varied . the purpose of the support 36 is to fix the arms 32 and 34 at a preferred angle with respect to the seat platform 22 . the connections at points 39 and 41 can be selectively coupled or uncoupled or they can be permanently fixed depending on whether it is desired for the platform 22 and arms 32 and 34 to be collapsible or not . conventional connectors are illustrated for the connection points of the platform 22 , brackets 33 and 35 , the support 36 and the arms 32 and 34 . these connections are preferably removable to allow collapse of the components to one another . quick connect and disconnect pins or the like are also contemplated for easy set up and collapse . a threaded knob 43 is shown in fig3 for securing the support 36 to the platform 22 at connection point 37 . the knob 43 allows a user to easily disconnect the support 36 from the platform 22 and the pivotal connections to the arms at 39 and 41 and to the platform 22 at brackets 33 and 35 then allow the support arms 32 and 34 and the support 36 to collapse to the platform 22 . seat platform 22 also preferably is shaped at one end thereof for tree engagement . preferably , the platform 22 is shaped in that portion to partially encircle or surround a tree during use . to facilitate gripping of the platform 22 with a tree , tree engagement elements 45 are preferably positioned along the tree engagement end of the platform 22 , which elements can comprise a plate having a series of tree engaging spikes . the tree engagement elements can comprise other known or developed designs , the purpose of which is to dig into the tree bark when a downward force is applied to the seat platform 22 during climbing and in use . like that illustrated in fig2 and 7 , the end of the arm 34 preferably also includes a receiver opening for a passage 26 that extends within and along the arm 34 into which a portion of a flexible component 24 of the present invention can slide . this connection allows a spring loaded pin 50 to insert into any selected opening 27 as are provided along the flexible component 24 for adjustability of the flexible component 24 around trees of different sizes . a user can pull the pin 50 against a spring force , as such spring loaded pins are known , and slide the flexible component 24 to a desired position within the passage 27 of the arm 34 and then release the pin so that the spring bias locates the pin 50 within the selected opening 27 of the flexible component 24 . one end of the flexible component 24 is preferably connected to an end of the arm 32 , such as by a conventional bolt and nut assembly . the other end of the flexible component 24 is preferably fed within the internal passage 27 extending longitudinally within the arm 34 . as above , this end of the flexible component is connected to the arm 34 by selective activation and positioning of a spring loaded pin 50 . the flexible component 24 is preferably of a sufficient length to accommodate a variety of tree sizes , which can be varied for different products . as shown in fig5 , the flexible component 18 , 24 preferably comprises a plurality of metal segments , such as comprising segments 60 and holed segments 62 . these segments 60 and 62 can comprise aluminum extrusion pieces , although other metals and plastics and the like are contemplated . any number of segments 60 and 62 can be utilized of one or more lengths , but it is preferably to keep the segment lengths short enough to provide a desired level of flexibility to easily wrap around a tree trunk . a length of about 30 mm is preferred for typical tree size design . the segments 60 and 62 are preferably shaped to facilitate flexibility of the flexible component 18 , 24 in a single plane while maintaining its shape with minimal sag in other off - plane directions . specifically , it is desirable that the flexible component 18 , 24 does not sag significantly so that the shape of the flexible component 18 , 24 does not significantly change . moreover , the flexible component 18 , 24 should have sufficient tensile strength to support the weight of a user along with the weight of the stand . each segment can be provided with one or more bores 61 for receiving a flexible cable 64 . this flexible cable 64 is important in providing the needed tensile strength to the flexible components 18 , 24 in order to support the weight of a user along with the weight of the stand . in a preferred embodiment , a steel braided cable of less than 0 . 125 inch is threaded as the cable 64 through a bore of 0 . 125 inch of the segments 60 , 62 to create a flexible component 18 , 24 for supporting the seat and foot platforms of the present invention . each segment 60 , 62 is preferably spaced just slightly from an adjacent segment 60 , 62 to allow for the desired flexibility . the steel cable length and spacing aspects can be determined empirically based upon desired flexibility and the ability of the flexible component 18 , 24 to substantially hold its shape during a climbing operation . that is , it is desirable for the flexible component 18 , 24 to substantially maintain the desired angle with the seat and / or foot platforms 10 , 22 while climbing so that the segments 60 , 62 and thus the flexible component 18 , 24 slide along the tree trunk . preferably , the segments 60 , 62 comprise a smooth shape and material to facilitate sliding along a tree surface . segments 60 , 62 having a greater width ( as viewed in fig8 and 9 ) than height are preferred . the relatively shorter height dimension more easily allows for the desired flexible component 18 , 24 to have flexibility in a single plane , while the greater width dimension prevents movement out of plane . these dimensions and shapes of the segments can be varied based upon design criteria including expected tree diameters . the smaller the tree diameter , the greater is the need for flexibility in the single plane . the desired level of flexibility and thus each of the segment designs can be determined empirically based upon segment sizes and the spacing between segments as determined by the length of the flexible cable 64 . as above , an aluminum or other material extrusion having a desired width and height and preferably also having one or more bores for receiving the flexible cable 64 can be utilized . as an extrusion , holes 27 can be drilled at spaced locations , and the extrusion can simply be cut into desired segment lengths providing segments 60 without holes and segments 62 with holes located as desired . aluminum or another light weight metal is preferred for the segments 60 , 62 , although other materials including plastics , ceramics , or the like can be used . holed segments 62 need not be provided within all of the length of the flexible component 18 , 24 and may only be provided in the portion of the flexible component 18 , 24 that is needed for adjustment for a range of tree sizes ( like a belt for clothing ). in order to set the segment spacing , the ends of the steel cable 64 can be connected with a final segment 66 on each side of the cable 66 by conventional means , such as by a swaging technique . as shown by the cross sectional drawings of fig8 - 11 , it is preferable that the flexible inner cable 64 be threaded through each segment 60 , 62 at plural spaced points , the spacing being in the width direction of the segments 60 , 62 . as shown , the inner cable 64 can travel through the plural segments 60 , 62 along one side thereof and then be returned to travel back through the plural segments 60 , 62 along another side of each segment 60 , 62 . such an arrangement can include a loop at one end of the cable 64 where the cable 64 turns back into the same end segment . at the other end , see fig1 and 11 , the cable 64 can be run back into an end segment 66 and swaged in place . the cross section of fig8 shows a cross through an opening 27 of a segment 62 of the flexible component 18 , 24 . fig9 , shows a cross section through a solid portion of a segment 60 , and fig1 shows a cross at an end segment 66 swaged to the flexible cable 64 at three points . the swaging or other functionally equivalent manner of defining the length of the flexible cable 64 relative to the segments 60 , 62 sets the length , segments spacing , and flexibility of each flexible component 18 , 24 , as described above . in fig1 , the flexible cable 64 is shown in an example of cable routing with both end portions of the cable 64 within the end segment 66 . in this example , the cable 64 runs from the end segment 66 through all of the other segments 60 , 62 , then turns back at the distal end of the flexible component 18 and again runs all the way through the segments 60 , 62 . also in this example , the end of the cable 64 is then turned back into the end segment 66 and terminated within the end segment . that way , the cable 64 can be swaged with the end segment 66 by partial compression of the end segment 66 to frictionally secure the cable 64 with the end segment 66 at three locations , as shown in fig1 . this cable routing example thus defines the length of the flexible component 18 while the segments 60 , 62 are freely slidable along the cable 64 . the end segment 66 limits movement of the segments 60 , 62 at one end of the flexible component 18 and a cable loop limits movement of the segments 60 , 62 at the other or distal end of the flexible component 18 . other cable routing variations are contemplated . for example , a single bore 61 can be provided through each segment 60 , 62 and the cable 64 can pass only once throughout the length of the flexible component 18 . in this case , a swaging or other cable locking technique can be utilized at each end of the flexible component 18 . more than two cable runs can also be accomplished by having additional segment bores 61 . the cable 64 can be connected to any one or more end segments 66 as desired . the cable 64 can also be connected with any one or more of the segments 60 , 62 if desired to limit segment movement at any point along the cable 64 . other cable and segment clamping techniques can be used including utilizing other mechanical clamps or fasteners , adhesives , or bonding or welding techniques . the flexible component 18 , 24 can also be coated with or provided within a flexible material . an advantage of providing a flexible material , such as pvc , over the length of the flexible component 18 , 24 is that noise is reduced when climbing the platforms 10 and 22 . such a material could allow the desired flexibility in a single plane , as above , and can help limit movement in other directions . such a material can facilitate easier sliding of the flexible component 18 , 24 over tree bark . materials other than pvc are contemplated including other polymeric materials including natural and synthetic rubbers and the like . the material preferable does not significantly affect the flexibility of the flexible component 18 , 24 in the single plane . other manners of adjusting one end of the flexible component 18 , 24 relative to a structural component of a platform 10 , 22 , such as arm 14 or 34 , are also contemplated instead of utilizing a spring pin 20 , 50 to be inserted within a hole 27 of a segment 62 . for example , a movable fork element can be guided and operatively connected with an arm 14 , 34 to engage between adjacent segments 60 . other locking mechanisms can likewise be operatively connected with an arm or other structural component of a platform to engage and lock any segment , such as comprising clamps or other mechanical fasteners . adjustability can be provided by any mechanism for engaging and disengaging with a segment . | 0 |
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